One way of looking at our experience is that five fundamental unconscious fears give rise to our reactive emotional states. These fears generate a predictable pattern of emotion, thought, behavior, and beliefs. For example, someone who tries to intensify their experience, such as with intense all-night conversations, jumping out of an airplane, drinking heavily and partying all night, is an indication that a pattern is running that has at the bottom of it the fear of isolation and rejection. When the pattern runs, it creates the conditions such that the fear comes true – in the example above, the person will end up feeling alone and disconnected. The feeling of aloneness triggers the fear of isolation and the pattern repeats. We have the ability to transform these five fears into five types of wisdom. In this session we will explore how these wisdoms manifest when we practice mindfulness meditation, and how the five fears operate unconsciously in our daily lives and how we can practice with them.
Paul Baranowski is the founder of Luminous Ground, a meditation group located in the heart of Toronto. Paul has been studying and practicing Buddhism and meditation since 2004. He is an ordained member of the Order of Interbeing in the Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, and author of Interdependent Liberation. Paul has also trained in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition with teacher, executive coach and accomplished translator Ken McLeod. By day, Paul helps produce Muse, a brain-sensing EEG headband and app. Muse is an innovative biofeedback wearable technology that teaches users how to meditate, gives real-time guidance during meditation sessions, and provides a motivational framework for positive habit-forming. Paul’s students benefit from his integrative teaching style which marries fundamental technique with action in daily life.