Facing Anxiety with Inner Peace and Self-Acceptance with Lodro Rinzler
As humans, we want to control our fate as much as possible. We want to be rid of any uncertainty. But this is just an impossible task — no one can ever fully predict the future. Who would've thought that we would be living in a global pandemic in our lifetime, right? In these trying times, facing anxiety, finding inner peace, and being comfortable with not knowing what lies ahead are all essential.
In today's episode, best-selling author and long-time Buddhist meditation teacher Lodro Rinzler talks to us about meditation and escaping the “thought party.” He also discusses the fear of uncertainties, techniques to appreciate the present moment, and what to look forward to in his new book, Take Back Your Mind.
If you're feeling anxious about the things happening in our world today, this episode is for you.
Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
- Discover how to use gadgets and social media mindfully.
- Learn techniques to support you in facing anxiety and coping with uncertainties.
- How does Lodro feel radically loved? Find out at the end of the episode!
Resources
- Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times by Lodro Rinzler. Proceeds from Lodro's book will be going to two different organizations: Feeding America and Loveland Foundation.
- Connect with Lodro: Website | Instagram | Facebook
- Create a daily meditation ritual in just seven days! Download BUILD YOUR DAILY MEDITATION RITUAL and other freebies at com!
- FREE Podcast Action Guide! Apply the lessons you learn from this episode as you listen! Sign up at com and I’ll send it right away!
Episode Highlights
Lodro's Early Struggles With Anxiety and the Importance of His Book
- Lodro struggled with anxiety for most of his life.
- He started meditating at an early age.
- He learned to focus on the present problems instead of anticipating future problems.
- The pandemic brought stress and anxiety for everyone. It is important to learn how to healthily cope despite the uncertainties.
- Lodro’s book, Take Back Your Mind, is a helpful book for today’s time. It provides support in facing anxiety.
Facing Anxiety and Dysfunction amid a Global Pandemic
- Some of Lodro’s meditation students do not know how to navigate life without meditation practices.
- Mindfulness can help you recognize anxiety triggers. It helps with stabilizing thoughts and emphasizes focus on proper breathing.
- Take Back Your Mind offers other tips and techniques that are short and easy to do.
- We waste our mental energy, which we could have used to connect with our loved ones or do other activities, when we entertain anxious thoughts.
- With the ongoing pandemic, facing anxiety entails learning tools to unhook ourselves from the stories we welcome and enjoy life for what it is.
Recognizing Anxiety and Techniques On How to Disengage From It
- News and social media can deplete our mental and emotional battery. Worse, this often goes unnoticed.
- With depleted mental and emotional batteries, coping with the pandemic and facing anxiety become harder.
- Whenever you’re doing something, ask yourself two questions: “Is this helpful?” and “Is this useful?”
- Our minds have the capacity to unhook itself from stress-producing stories we create. Being gentle is the key.
- Lodro uses the term “thought party” to describe how we try and create as many thoughts as possible about a situation. Constantly thinking of “what ifs” is not helpful. It removes us from the present.
- We must not only step away from intrusive thoughts but also learn how to appreciate the present.
Accepting Ourselves hrough Meditation
- Lodro also feels anxious about not being liked by the people he admires.
- Often, we believe that we must find love from others.
- In Tibetan, the word Gom can mean meditation or familiarization with oneself. Meditation enables you to know yourself better.
- Meditation leads to satisfaction with the love we have for ourselves. We have enough love within, and it is the most important relationship to have.
- Growing up in a Buddhist household taught Lodro that he wasn't born as a mess that needed fixing.
Mindful Use of Devices and Social Media
- Social media bombards us with different sensory images.
- Listen to the full episode to know in-depth Lodro's threefold logic in using gadgets and social media — the sense of intentionality, being present as much as possible, and the fruition of how we feel after.
- Discernment is recognizing the things we want to cultivate or cut. Discipline is prioritizing our morals and doing the things that uplift us
- Life is a learning process. As humans, we continue to change and create better habits as we go.
Growing Up in a Buddhist Household
- Lodro talks about the generational anxiety and trauma he observed from inside and outside of his world in Buddhism.
- He's becoming more aware of the world and societal issues outside of Buddhism, such as toxic masculinity, patriarchy, and more.
- Lodro feels radically loved knowing that his book can help people and feel the love he infused into it.
5 Powerful Quotes
[1:54] “But for me, it's really been, what do I do when things fall apart? What do I do when it hits the fan, and there's a major stressor, there's a major move, or major financial thing and major... whatever it is for any of us.”
[14:25] “If you met a new friend, and you started hanging out regularly, and getting to know them, at some point you'd be like: I like this person, I like this one. And maybe months, years past, you look over your shoulder: I love this friend because we spend so much time getting to know them and embracing them for who they are. Meditation is us doing that with ourselves.”
[16:58] “And people asked like, ‘Oh, was it like growing up in a Buddhist household?’ The key thing that really stood out to me is that I wasn't raised with the idea that I was originally messed up and I needed to fix it. I was raised with the idea that I'm basically a whole good as is.”
[23:06] “We make mistakes as human beings. And then we continue to refine and say, ‘Well, I don't want to do that mistake again, I want to be more intentional.’”
[26:08] “There's a learning process along the way; and that's sort of the beautiful thing. As humans, we can continue to evolve, we can continue to change from who we were, and force better habits than we have in the past.”
About Lodro
Lodro Rinzler is a best-selling author, long-time Buddhist meditation teacher, and co-founder of MNDFL meditation studios in New York City. His new book, Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times, is now out for sale.
If you want to know more about Lodro, you may visit his website.
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