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Heads. Headspace Studios.
Hi, it's Sam. Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Monday.
Over the years that I've taught mindfulness, I've encountered a lot of cynicism.
For example, I've met many people who believe that heart centered practices like loving kindness and gratitude were just a waste of time.
And I get it, on the surface it can seem pointless to send silent and private wishes to someone who lives thousands of miles away, but tapping into our compassion is valuable.
And while I can understand cynicism, I try to be skeptical instead.
Skepticism comes from the Greek word skepticism, which means to inquire or find out.
And it invites us to question what we're told and adamantly seek truth.
Initially, I thought the word cynical described someone who decided to be cranky.
Someone who saw the world from a glass half empty perspective.
So I decided to be skeptical, questioning this assumption and finding out more about the roots of cynicism.
And I was fascinated by what I learned.
It starts with a man named Diogenes who lived in ancient Greece.
In the story, he created counterfeit coins and was stripped of his citizenship and all of his possessions.
He found that if he decided to shed societal norms and expectations, refusing to conform, he could live in alignment with what he truly cared about.
And he chose to live close to nature, giving up all of his material possessions.
As I read more about Diogenes, I was surprised to learn that his path was very similar to the story of the Buddha.
Traveling around with just a sack of necessities, questioning how people lived in a radical way.
I should add that unlike the Buddha, he chose to mock people and act disgracefully in public, to rouse people out of what he probably thought was their conformist stupor.
Diogenes and his followers became known as dog philosophers or cunecoy, which is where the word cynic comes from.
After Diogenes died, his followers were known as cynics for 900 years.
And eventually, cynicism came to represent those who criticized others, but could not add any meaningful feedback in return.
And this is where the meaning of cynicism lands today.
We may think of cynics as those who act out of self -interest even when they claim to have higher motives.
But if we think about the true wisdom of cynicism with its true meaning, we realize that it encourages us to look deeply at our world and what we've accepted as the norm, and then ask ourselves, what needs to be changed and re -imagined?
Every meditation is an opportunity to be skeptical.
And I'd like to propose a merger, calling it compassionate skepticism, where we observe and question with radical curiosity and the deepest loving kindness we can muster, just remembering that we're all trying to survive and find happiness.
And if you're interested, I have a loving kindness meditation in the Headspace app that you can try.
That's it for me for today.
Thank you so much for listening and I'll see you back here soon.
