Bhavana Learning Group

05/01/2025

"Let us as a community think—why do I keep scrolling? Why can't I stop? Instead of saying 'one more,' let us say 'no more.'"

Investigating how digital overstimulation is eroding focus, creativity, and deep thinking—and whether we can break free from the dopamine trap. Vishnu is a n...

04/30/2025

"'brain rot' — the deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially as the result of over-consuming trivial or unchallenging online content."

As attention spans shrink, storytelling — and truth — may be the greatest casualties of digital culture.

03/19/2025

"More broadly, the difference between a routine and a ritual is the mindset behind the action. While routines can be actions that just need to be done—such as making your bed or taking a shower—rituals are viewed as more meaningful practices that have a real sense of purpose."

The key is to understand the difference between habits, routines, and rituals, and to design a life where your daily actions allow you to play with the entire spectrum of consciousness.

03/17/2025

This blog explores "Showing Up" as the embodiment of inner wisdom through presence, integrity, and responsiveness.

In part 1 of this blog series, I introduced the flood—the overwhelming distractions, disconnection, and dissatisfaction of our time. Shaped by mechanistic and digital worldviews, this “Flood” – creating a crisis of meaning -- conditions us to prioritize consumption, transactions, and speed o...

03/12/2025

"This is what’s called zero-sum thinking — the belief that life is a battle over finite rewards where gains for one mean losses for another. And these days, that notion seems to be everywhere. It’s how we view college admissions, as a cutthroat contest for groups defined by race or privilege. It’s there in our love for 'Squid Game.' It’s Silicon Valley’s winner-take-all ethos, and it’s at the core of many popular opinions: that immigrants steal jobs from Americans; that the wealthy get rich at others’ expense; that men lose power and status when women gain."

https://nytimes.com//2025/03/01/world/asia/trump-zero-sum-world.html

03/05/2025

"We found that having participants start with identifying their values allowed them to maintain focus on their long-term goals. Too often, people focus on the immediate ability of an object to 'spark joy' and forget to consider whether an object has greater meaning and purpose..."

Assessing how well items align with your core beliefs may make it easier to let them go.

02/26/2025

"If your goal is to lead a life bereft of [these] negative emotions, number one, you’re not going to be successful. They’re a part of how we operate. Number two, that is an undesirable goal because those negative emotions we experience serve a function. They’re really good for us when they’re experienced in the right proportions."

Ethan Kross, psychologist and author of Shift, explains how our negative emotions help us live safely and well.

02/19/2025

"According to Buddhist philosophy, the principal thing humans crave above all else is a permanent sense of self. Unlike most other religions, Buddhism argues against the existence of a “me” or “soul” that remains the same over time. So instead of seeking to perfect your posts as an extension of yourself, Buddhism would advise accepting the impermanence of appearances and the reality of your imperfections. Craving for the contrary will only cause further suffering."

Social media can never capture the intimacy of being with someone else, which means reliance on it will always leave a sense of lingering isolation.

02/18/2025

This blog explores "Cleaning Up," a process to cultivate inner wisdom by confronting challenges that cause us to bypass our shadow and attachments.

In my previous blog, I introduced the Flood—the overwhelming distractions, disconnection, and dissatisfaction of our time. Shaped by mechanistic and digital worldviews, this crisis of meaning drives us toward consumption, speed, and transactions over depth, connection, and purpose. Superficial sol...

02/12/2025

"Almost every dinner and lunch out starts with whatever is viral on TikTok. The app is my generation’s search engine. 'Where should we go for sushi?' 'I don’t know. Look it up on TikTok.'"

What worries me most right now is the future of my generation.

02/05/2025

February marks Black History Month, a time to reflect on dignity. At Bhavana Learning Group, we are committed to promoting dignity and full participation in organizations through ongoing conversations about policies and practices that uphold these values. With many companies scaling back or eliminating DEI programs, we believe efforts to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion must evolve, and we’ll share articles to explore meaningful ideas for what comes next.

"Drawing from research, conversations with colleagues, and my own work over the last decade as a DEI practitioner, I’ve developed a replacement that I call the FAIR framework. It’s built around the core outcomes of fairness, access, inclusion, and representation that DEI was supposed to achieve for all, and it offers four principles to guide this work."

While backlash to DEI has challenged how many companies and practitioners approach creating more equitable workplaces, fewer have considered whether DEI work itself has room to improve. A new framework, built around the core outcomes of fairness, access, inclusion, and representation (FAIR) that DEI...

01/30/2025

"There’s no blanket answer to how long you should meditate, of course. But if you’re interested in deepening your meditation practice, there are at least two general principles to follow:

- It’s more important to practice regularly than to sporadically do longer sessions.
- Therefore, you should do the most meditation that you will actually do every day."

And other practical meditation questions, answered.