Headspace Studio Hi Sam here.
Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Monday!
So across the span of my 20 plus years practicing mindfulness meditation, I've relied heavily upon the wisdom of Buddhist teachings to get me through some of the toughest times.
They really are relevant to our lives and can help us with everyday dilemmas like whether we should tell a white lie or how to build a healthy habit.
So over the next 8 episodes, we'll be exploring the eight -fold path.
They are, in essence, described by the Buddha as a way of living that reduces unnecessary suffering.
Each concept starts with the word write, as in right speech.
I know this language can sound pretty rigid, so I like to substitute the word skillful instead, which gives us a little more room for the non -striving attitude that we've come to know and love as part of mindfulness.
With that being said, let's begin to explore right or skillful speech.
According to the Buddhist texts, this is about being truthful and not lying, but it also includes using speech that's free from slander and speech that may cause others to feel hatred.
It encourages us to speak considerately and meaningfully and not to use speech that's filled with gossip.
So as we begin to think about this, let's just pause and just bring to mind your own habits of speech, the things that you feel good about, and maybe some things you want to shift a bit.
When I first reflected on this concept, I remember thinking about how damaging lying can be.
In fact, I once heard a mindfulness teacher say that when you lie, you make a fool out of the person who believes you.
And I think about this whenever I feel the urge to lie, even before telling white lies.
Thinking about lying from this perspective can help us connect to the sting we may feel when we know our deception has caused someone to act in a way that's out of line with the way things really are.
An example of this is telling our boss that we love their new plan when in fact we really don't.
And this may cause them to move forward with something that could harm the business overall.
And maybe we told this lie because we don't want to rock the boat, but that could lead your boss to act in a way that doesn't reflect how you really feel or how things really are.
And that sting of guilt or regret can be a helpful deterrent moving us to be more honest in the toughest moments.
When we start to practice more skillful speech, we begin to speak with more intentionality, more gentleness, and with good timing in mind.
One way of building more awareness of speech patterns is to be intentionally silent for extended periods of time.
Some retreats offer what's called noble silence for long periods during the day, if not during the whole retreat, but you can also declare a period of noble silence for yourself, perhaps for the length of a hike or for a whole weekend.
When I took my first day of silence in high school, I was able to witness my inner thoughts with more clarity and see urges to say certain things arise and fall away.
It also strengthened my impulse control and the habit of taking a pause before speaking to make sure I felt good about what I was about to say.
And if you'd like more guidance and mindful speaking, we have a mindful communication course in the app by yours truly.
However you end up exploring skillful speech, reach out and let me know how it goes.
You can find me on Instagram at anchored underscore sam or write to asksam at headspace .com and share any questions or comments that come up.
Tomorrow we'll be exploring the Eightfold Path teaching on skillful action, so be sure to join us back here for that.
Take good care and I'll see you back here soon.
