The last 7 days have been very special.
Great achievements, reflections and many anecdotes to share.
These are the 6 highlights of my week.
H1: A global event
Last Tuesday, September 17, one of the great dreams I had when I started managing younity at an international level materialized: to carry out a global launch, simultaneously, in our 16 markets.
Hundreds of thousands of people (from over 90 countries) have already registered to enjoy a global screening of Dr Joe Dispenza’s new documentary, “SOURCE”, and our goal is to share this content with at least 1 million people.
If you want to know a little more about the documentary, I leave the trailer below, and if you want to register to participate in this experience, just click on the orange button 🙂.
Do you want to participate for free?
H2: Radical compassion
Despite being very busy the last few days with the launch of the new project, I still had time to finish reading another book.
On my seventh consecutive time finishing reading the books I started this year, it was the turn of “Radical Compassion” by Tara Bach.
Here are the main lessons I took away:
- The RAIN meditation technique for managing stress and anxiety
I found the RAIN (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Nurture) technique to be an interesting meditation tool for dealing with difficult emotions and stressful situations, as it helps to create mental space to see things clearly. - How to Manage Fear and Anxiety
Instead of fighting and resisting difficult emotions such as fear or anxiety, the RAIN technique teaches how to process them in a healthier way by allowing us to fully feel these emotions in order to diminish their power over us and manage them more effectively. - Investigating the roots of desire to nurture inner wholeness
Many people seek satisfaction in external things, which leads to an endless cycle of desire.
RAIN, especially the Investigate step, can help us discover our true longings and nurture them in a healthier way.
By connecting with our deepest desires, we can find greater satisfaction and fulfillment. - Letting go of resentment to heal relationships
Holding on to anger prevents us from healing our emotional wounds and negatively impacts our relationships.
Applying the RAIN technique can help us see others in a more compassionate way, facilitating forgiveness and healing.
H3: Putting the RAIN technique into practice
As I always say that the most important thing is to put into practice, quickly, what we learn, I have created a small step by step to implement the RAIN technique.
If you also found the technique interesting, you may find it helpful:
Before you start
- Choose a quiet time of the day to practice.
- Find a comfortable place where you will not be interrupted.
- Take some deep breaths to center yourself.
- Observe your thoughts, emotions and body sensations.
- Name what you are experiencing without judgment.
- For example: “I am feeling anxious” or “I feel tension in my neck”.
- It allows the experience to be present as it is.
- Don’t try to change it or resist it.
- Say to yourself, “It’s okay that this is here now.”
- Explore your experience with curiosity.
- Ask yourself, “What do I need right now?”
- Notice how this experience feels in your body.
- Offer yourself compassion and care.
- Use kind phrases such as “Be at peace” or “I love and accept you”.
- Imagine embracing yourself or receiving love from an external source.
After applying the RAIN technique:
- Take a moment to notice how you feel now.
- Appreciate the effort you have made.
- Evaluate if there is a way to improve or adopt the practice based on your specific needs.
H4: “Knowing oneself is the beginning of wisdom”.
These words were spoken by Krishnamurti, an Indian thinker and speaker, renowned (and remembered) for his talks on the mind, meditation and personal development.
Although he died almost 40 years ago (1986), contemporary referents of mindfulness, such as Deepak Chopra or Eckhart Tolle, continue to refer to his teachings.
This week I started doing a series of posts about wisdom and Krishnamurti’s words came to my mind over and over again, so in addition to using them as inspiration, I also found it valuable to share the following video with you, which will surely make you reflect 🙂.
I hope you enjoy it.
H5: The seriousness of the game
Earlier this week I read an interview with actor (and director) José Sacristán.
I had never heard or read about him before, however, some of his answers seemed very interesting to me, so I decided to check out some of his other interviews…
And while browsing YouTube I came across this gem that I share with you below 🙂.
A speech of just over 4 minutes, which he gave when he received the National Cinematography Award.
Let me know what you thought.
H6: Anterior medial cingulate cortex
Earlier this week I had the fantastic opportunity to share a flight to Basel with a neurosurgeon from Zurich University Children’s Hospital.
It was 6:10 when we boarded the plane, and as soon as I sat down I opened the laptop and started answering emails.
For a few minutes, I noticed how the doctor looked at me, although without daring to speak to me, he even told me that he was not “used to seeing people so active at that time of the morning“.
The most interesting part of our conversation, without a doubt, was when he told me that he is currently investigating, together with a group of scientists from the hospital, the impact of the anterior medial cingulate cortex in autism spectrum disorder.
The doctor explained to me that, this brain mechanism is closely related to willpower (and in general to the will to live).
In the past, several studies have shown that doing uncomfortable things (things we do not like, such as intense exercise, an ice water shower, sauna, etc.) expands the anterior medial cingulate cortex. However, more recently, it has been concluded that this region of the brain only expands/strengthens if you don’t actually want to do the activity, for example, if you enjoy going for a run or going to the gym, it has no noticeable (or visible) impact.
Based on those results, the doctor told me, the research his team is now conducting, involves creating little challenges for children with autism spectrum disorder, so that every day they do some activity that takes them out of their comfort zone and thus continue to strengthen the cortex.
Although the study is at an early stage, the doctor told me that the response is being positive, and that the experiment may not only help people with autism; and he invited me to put it into practice, as anyone can (and should) do it to strengthen their anterior medial cingulate cortex (and increase their willpower).
The key, remember, is to do things that make you uncomfortable and take you out of your comfort zone, and preferably, to do a different activity every day.
Personally, I won’t find it so easy to find things that take me out of my comfort zone and not enjoy them, however, I will try to do so 😀.
Until next Sunday, with 6 new highlights 
Feedback? I would love to hear from you. Remember that you can contact me at any time through vladimir@younity.one.
