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Paul M Vincent

@paulmvincent

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Making sense of the HUMAN EXPERIENCE
🔴TEDx / Keynote Speaker • Writer • PhD candidate
Host Of The Nature Of Being

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This explains why your mind has been running the same programme for years.

Try these 4 steps:

1) Observe your thoughts objectively, notice which beliefs, fears and opinions keep repeating.

2) Don’t follow them or let yourself get pulled in.

3) Bring your attention inward, what does it feel like to be in your body right now? The weight of it. The air on your skin.

4) Stay in the present moment, not in your thoughts.

#humanbehaviour #reaction #alanwatts #personaldevelopment by @paulmvincent

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2 months ago

My path wasn’t linear.

I struggled. I searched. I lost everything. And then I rebuilt.

Somewhere in all of it I stopped trying to fix myself — and started looking beyond the fear to who I could be.

You have more in you than you think.

#selfgrowth #humanbehaviour by @paulmvincent

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6 months ago

My TEDx talk is live!

If you’d like to see it, there is a link in my bio 👆🏻

In just over 6 minutes I do my best to make some sense of the boundaries of self and reality and highlight how to look beyond the fixed self and choose who you are.

If you’re curious about the lessons behind it, I write about this more deeply in my newsletter

I’d love to know what you think about the talk.

It nearly didn’t happen - but that’s a story for another time - and I’m so grateful to @thekinn.co for hosting it and @tedxpacificavenue for allowing me time on their stage.

#mindfulness #limitlessmindset #mindset #selfidentity #openminded #tedx #tedxtalks by @paulmvincent

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a year ago

Alan Watts asks us if we need a knower of everything we experience.

We don’t experience the world exactly as it is, but through our own senses, perceptions and beliefs. What could you let go of if you remembered that?

#alanwatts #philosophy #perception #humanbehaviour #selfawareness by @paulmvincent

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11 days ago

Thich Nhat Hanh talks about creating inner space, but how do you actually do that?

You have to clear something first. And what needs clearing isn’t your thoughts, it’s the emotions underneath them. Thoughts follow emotions. Always.

Most people don’t even notice what they’re feeling because they’ve felt it for so long it’s become their normal.

Here’s where to start:

1) Find it, drop into your body, what are you actually feeling right now, not the label, the sensation. Tight chest. Shallow breath. Flutter in the stomach. That’s where it lives.

2) Allow it. Don’t try to fix it or push it away. Breathe and let it be there, but stay aware. Tell yourself: “it’s okay to feel this, and I’m here with you”. That simple act creates a separation. Part of you feeling it, part of you witnessing it.

Stay, don’t check if it’s working. Don’t want it gone. Just be there with it.

Over time the feeling shifts. And when it does, the thoughts that came with it dissolve too because the emotion that was driving them has finally been met.

#personaldevelopment #reaction #thichnhathanh #humanbehaviour by @paulmvincent

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20 days ago

Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche’s advice sounds simple, but living by it is much harder. Try for one day living as if each moment is your life, with as much presence as you can.

#tulkulobsangrinpoche #mindfulness #presence #personalgrowth #reaction by @paulmvincent

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a month ago

I avoided living this way for a long time, can anyone else relate?

Gabor Maté’s reflection is a powerful reminder not to sacrifice playfulness and joy along the way.

A few things I find helpful when you notice yourself constantly turning outward:

1) Create a few minutes of space without distractions and notice what comes up.

2) Instead of immediately trying to change an uncomfortable feeling, allow yourself to feel it.

3) Ask yourself: “What am I trying not to feel right now?”

4) Notice where you’re using work, busyness or achievement to seek validation.

5) Make space for things that have no productive purpose at all, play, connection, creativity, rest.

#gabormaté #reaction #humanbehaviour #personaldevelopment by @paulmvincent

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a month ago

What if instead of escaping discomfort you got curious about what it’s trying to tell you?

Every emotion that gets triggered in you is pointing at something underneath. Here’s a simple exercise to find it.

The Why Exercise:

When you feel triggered, sit with the feeling. Then ask why it matters. Answer honestly. Then ask why that answer matters. Keep going until you hit the core fear you’ve been avoiding.

Example:

I’m worried my request will get rejected.

Why does that matter?
Because rejection means I’m not important to them.

Why does that matter?
Because if I’m not important I might be left out.

Why does that matter?
Because I’m scared that if I’m alone, I’ll be forgotten. That I can’t survive on my own.

The real fear underneath wasn’t rejection.
It was abandonment.

That’s where the work is. That’s what needs your attention.

#humanbehaviour #personaldevelopment #marielouisevonfranz by @paulmvincent

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a month ago

Rumi understood this 800 years ago!

#rumi #quoteoftheday #wisdom #nervoussystem by @paulmvincent

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a month ago

Jimmy Carr was right, sometimes we just need to stop, look at what’s already around us and appreciate how extraordinary the ordinary actually is.

Try looking at your life with a beginner’s mind today. What have you stopped noticing simply because you’ve gotten used to it?

#reaction #jimmycarr #humanbehaviour #personaldevelopment #mindset by @paulmvincent

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2 months ago

Post two | Kefir journey

It’s finally time to strain my home made kefir and give it a first taste! by @paulmvincent

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2 months ago

According to Dr Ramani, THAT is what a healthy personality looks like.

I work at the intersection of three worlds: Western science, Indigenous wisdom, and Eastern teachings.

One thing the Eastern traditions taught me is not to start with the thought or the behavior, but to go deeper and work with the emotional state underneath them.

Because when that state changes, our thoughts and behaviors often begin to change with it.

If you watch yourself closely, you’ll notice you probably have a default set of emotions. That emotional state can make it harder to have a flexible mind and let things go, or pivot when you need to.

Try this:

Be okay with feeling what you feel. It sounds obvious, but sit quietly long enough and you may notice feelings really deep down that you’ve been holding onto or avoiding.
For 7 minutes, breathe slowly and deeply. Let each inhale and exhale last for roughly a count of 10, without forcing the breath.
Let yourself know it’s okay to feel what’s there. Instead of trying to change the feeling, allow it to be present.
Then hum gently for 7 minutes. Yep, hum. The vagus nerve is closely involved with the larynx and vocal cords, and humming combined with slow breathing can help the body settle.

When your nervous system is calmer, your brain has an easier time with things like perspective, flexibility, and letting go.

I hope this helps.

#reaction #drramani #jayshetty #jayshettypodcast #personality by @paulmvincent

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2 months ago