THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS The First Noble Truth: be aware that life brings with it many forms of dissatisfaction, frustration, irritation, and many levels of suffering. The Second Noble Truth: recognise that these different types of suffering are produced by your mind, even if the apparent cause is external. The mind reacts negatively to life experiences that we didn’t want, and does the same when we don’t get things we were hoping for. The Buddha called these wants and dislikes “thirsts”. It is thirsts that cause unhappy states of mind. The Third Noble Truth: we can learn to cultivate skills that stop our thirsts and thus end our various forms of suffering. The Fourth Noble Truth: to cultivate these skills we have to follow a path that contains eight components, as follows. Right Mindfulness: mindfulness is a three-pronged skill with regards to our state or frame of mind. Notice. Pause. Change. Although taught around the world today mindfulness is often misunderstood by its teachers and therefore also by its students, so it is important to learn mindfulness the way it was originally taught, that is, within the wider context we are summarising here. One could say that Right Mindfulness is the development of the ability to notice unhealthy thoughts and feelings, then shift the mind away from these to much wiser ones. Right Concentration or Focus: if mindfulness is taking the mind away from unhelpful states, then Right Concentration or Focus is its partner. We try to develop the ability to keep our mind on positive or useful states of mind or where we want our mind to be, rather than constantly being distracted, say by emails, passing moods, daydreams, etc.  To find out more about our unique programme and how it can help you and your family business, please follow this link and download our brochure. Alternatively, you can email us [email protected] Copyright 2024 Russ Haworth and Martin Stepek