« Zoo Hypothesis »
Friday, May 7, 2010 Zoo hypothesis is “the untestable hypothesis that the Earth has been visited by extraterrestrial civilization whose members have left no signs of their visits, presumably because they did not wish to disturb the development of the primitive life-forms they found”.
Mind is a thought-zoo teeming with untestable hypotheses about what could’ve been or should’ve been, and about what might be. Mindful living – (just a testable hypothesis of mine) – involves a conscious choice to not bother with the untestable.
Mindful living tests no hypotheses: it just focuses on what is. Try it sometime. Why keep chasing your own tail? What are you, in a thought-zoo?
Un-zoo!
Resources:
Mind is Its Own Search-and-Rescue
7 Habits of Existentially Vibrant Living
The following are the seven Present Perfect habits that, in my opinion, comprise the basis of existentially vibrant living:
(1) the habit of making one’s own meaning,
(2) the habit of noticing ordinary perfection,
(3) the habit of being present in the moment,
(4) the habit of making conscious choices,
(5) the habit of self-acceptance,
(6) the habit of accepting uncertainty,
(7) the habit of forgiving and compassion.
These seven vital signs of conscious, meaningful, and mindful living are the goals of the program of existential rehabilitation. Developing these habits will help you feel freer and more alive, more at ease and psychologically invulnerable, more attuned to yourself and more connected with others, and, most importantly, less preoccupied with what should be and more in awe of what already is.
References:
Dictionary of Theories, Jennifer Bothamley