If It Ain't Broke ... ? Upgrading Self-concept & Worldview

     We may use computers constantly, but very few of us would dream of upgrading (by personally reprogramming) the operating system (OS) of our computer. Most of us are not competent programmers, making the task seem impossible. So even if the computer is working sub-optimally, fear keeps us from personally meddling with the OS.
     For human beings, the closest equivalent to the computer's OS is one's self-concept & worldview. For many (psychosocial & spiritual) reasons, including their rightfully assumed central importance, most of us fear approaching these and firmly assume that we ourselves cannot "upgrade" them.

     On the other hand, the world's mystics & wisdom traditions have always been focused precisely on systematically approaching & upgrading what has become these days a virtually taboo - our self-concept & worldview. Like computers with outdated OS's, humans also function poorly when this central aspect of their being is neglected.
     Fortunately, there is now a widely-accepted means of approaching & upgrading our self-concept & worldview - Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.
     We should not wait till we break down, "shipwrecked", before we upgrade our OS. It's DOABLE, and there IS an approachable, intelligent, evidence-based method.

Aperture P   www.dpreview.com