Thoughts just an illusion? + analytical thinking?

[Buddhakind]

Thanks Matt! Both of your points are very insightful!:)

[Buddhakind]

Heya! Here again a new question!:D

Currently, beside JKZ and other books that I am reading about mindfulness, I've started reading the classic "how to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie, which doesn't talk about mindfulness at all.

My question is: how do you approach other topics beside mindfulness?

Intellectually, my mind is telling me that there is no contradiction in pursuing a mindful path and reading and informing myself about other random topics or other self-help ideas.

But lately, since I have a strong focus on mindfulness, I have a resistent feeling when I read about other/new ideas, like "is this congruent with mindfulness?"
This is probably exactly the contrary attitude than what mindfulness stands for- openess and curiosity.

What do u think?

[JonW]

Hi Buddhakind.
Great question.
Here's my take on it.
The early stages of mindfulness are all about grounding oneself in the practice. That's why, for my money, the 8-week course is so important. It's beautifully calibrated so that one is gently guided from one stage to the next.
Whether you're following the course or applying some other method, I'd say it's important during that initial grounding period to focus on mindfulness alone and put all other practices, philosophies etc, to one side.
I haven't read the Dale Carnegie book but I understand that it is a motivational self-help guide. My guess is that it is some way removed from a mindful approach. So I'd advise caution in terms of reading it when you're still grounding yourself in mindfulness.
I started my mindfulness practice two and a half years ago and feel that I'm fairly grounded in it. But I'm still careful to avoid books that might complicate my mindful way of living. That's not to say I only read books about mindfulness. For example, I'm currently engrossed in Adyashanti's wonderful True Meditation which, though written from a Zen perspective, seems to dovetail with mindfulness quite nicely. But I'd probably steer clear of books about transcendental meditation as that's a whole other approach to meditation. Personally I would avoid most self-help books altogether. Many of those books advocate getting from A to B by doing X, Y and Z. That approach is very different from mindfulness which is not about getting anywhere at all - it's about BEING right here, right now by giving up the need to control thoughts and emotions in order to feel a certain way.
But that's just my take on it.
I'd be interested to hear how others feel about your question.
Have a cracking weekend,
Cheers,
Jon, Hove