The Practice of Groundedness

The authors of these studies suspect a large part of the health and longevity benefits owes itself to the communal aspect of worship. These studies explored a diverse array of religious services. In other words, it’s not that any specific belief system or deity is saving you. It’s far more likely that you and the people in your community are saving

Hayes learned that the more someone tries to avoid unpleasant circumstances, thoughts, feelings, and urges—exactly what Hayes had been doing before his insight on that fateful night— the stronger and more frequent they become.

For most consequential endeavors, long-term progress is less about heroic effort and more about smart pacing; less about intensity on any given day and more about discipline over the course of months, and in some cases even years.

judgmental and critical, you are likely to get stuck, or worse, go backward.

The goal is to more quickly notice when you are distracted without beating yourself up about it, so that you can redirect your attention to where you want it. The result is that you end up owning more of your attention, and thus owning more of your life.

Anyone can feel inspired and motivated. Anyone can get started and stick with the program when things are going well.

What would it look like to take a soft step back and let things unfold on their own time for a bit longer? (This practice can be used on a smaller scale, too, like holding off on sending an email.)

Presence is a concentrated quality of mind that lends itself to strength and stability.

You see and feel it, smile at it, and refocus on the breath. What you’ll find is that left unscratched, most itches resolve on their own. If