Dr. Matt May

Right.

Right.

I'm so happy that that project is occurring right now. I'm also delighted to be a part of it.

I'm so happy that that project is occurring right now. I'm also delighted to be a part of it.

I have one comment. I love that Rhonda is taking some notes, but I can also hear the note taking a little bit.

I have one comment. I love that Rhonda is taking some notes, but I can also hear the note taking a little bit.

Yeah. That's okay. I wonder, I would love, David, just to hear a brief summary of what you were describing. What is the difference between healthy and unhealthy acceptance? How do I know if I'm accepting myself in a way that's appropriate versus inappropriate?

Yeah. That's okay. I wonder, I would love, David, just to hear a brief summary of what you were describing. What is the difference between healthy and unhealthy acceptance? How do I know if I'm accepting myself in a way that's appropriate versus inappropriate?

Yeah, it seems a little strange to me that hopelessness and despair would be so close cognitively to enlightenment. That a state of mind that, you know, I'm defective and that's horrible and it means it's hopeless is so close to I'm defective and I embrace that. And I'm delighted to be in good company with all of us.

Yeah, it seems a little strange to me that hopelessness and despair would be so close cognitively to enlightenment. That a state of mind that, you know, I'm defective and that's horrible and it means it's hopeless is so close to I'm defective and I embrace that. And I'm delighted to be in good company with all of us.

Hey, David, I'm your negative thoughts, and I have a really important message for you. I need you to understand that you're really defective.

Hey, David, I'm your negative thoughts, and I have a really important message for you. I need you to understand that you're really defective.

Absolutely true, yeah. An excellent example of the acceptance paradox.

Absolutely true, yeah. An excellent example of the acceptance paradox.

Yeah, I'm happy to speak to Rodolfo's question. It's an excellent one. I'm glad we're revisiting it. So I'll just point out maybe one of the common places where people get stuck or a little bit trapped trying to defeat their negative intrusive thoughts. And that is that they're trying to eliminate them from their mind. They're trying to control their brain.

Yeah, I'm happy to speak to Rodolfo's question. It's an excellent one. I'm glad we're revisiting it. So I'll just point out maybe one of the common places where people get stuck or a little bit trapped trying to defeat their negative intrusive thoughts. And that is that they're trying to eliminate them from their mind. They're trying to control their brain.

And that's simply not a switch that we have. There's no button to unsubscribe from our own minds. Our minds just kind of create thoughts and images and might play annoying jingles that we heard on an advertisement 20 years ago. That's just something that the brain will do. what we're actually offering is to not be disturbed or upset or to get stuck having those thoughts recurrently.

And that's simply not a switch that we have. There's no button to unsubscribe from our own minds. Our minds just kind of create thoughts and images and might play annoying jingles that we heard on an advertisement 20 years ago. That's just something that the brain will do. what we're actually offering is to not be disturbed or upset or to get stuck having those thoughts recurrently.

And that requires an understanding that our efforts to try to control our brain will backfire. It's like a law of physics that if we try to press or force or demand that we not think about something, we will inevitably end up thinking about it. And you can just try and experimentally right now demand loudly in your mind that you do not think about a blue-eyed tiger.

And that requires an understanding that our efforts to try to control our brain will backfire. It's like a law of physics that if we try to press or force or demand that we not think about something, we will inevitably end up thinking about it. And you can just try and experimentally right now demand loudly in your mind that you do not think about a blue-eyed tiger.