Dr Dosti Regmi Blog

  The Wisdom of the Body Some days, I feel that my body is far wiser than I will ever be. It speaks so quietly that I often miss it—under the noise of thought, the flicker of screens, the urgency of plans. Yet, when I pause, when I let the noise settle even for a moment, it begins to hum. A subtle pulse, a tension here, a warmth there—the body saying, I am here. I have been here all along. I realize how little the mind truly cares for this soft creature it inhabits. It pushes it, feeds it things it doesn’t need, keeps it awake when it longs for rest, and intoxicates it when it hungers for presence. The mind chases pleasure, control, and stories—it drinks to forget its restlessness, scrolls to silence its boredom, thinks endlessly to avoid the simple ache of being. And yet the body keeps whispering, “I only want to breathe.” When I notice how often my mind overrides my body, I feel a quiet sorrow. I drink coffee when my stomach is already tight. I stay awake long after my eyes burn....

  Takeaways from Focusing by Eugene Gendlin Felt Sense The term was popularized by Eugene Gendlin (in Focusing, 1978). It refers to a vague, bodily awareness of a situation or meaning — before it is verbalized or clearly conceptualized. It’s nonverbal knowing, a sense that something is there, meaningful, but not yet defined. “A felt sense is not an emotion, but the unclear, preconceptual body sense of a whole situation.” — Eugene Gendlin The tight heaviness in the chest when something feels off, even before you know why. A warm openness in the belly when something feels right or true. A bodily intuition, a “rightness” or “wrongness” of direction, without mental reasoning. In meditation, this is the intuitive texture of awareness felt through the body, not yet named or interpreted. Perceived Sense: Refers to sensory or cognitive perception — seeing, hearing, touching, or thinking about an experience as an object. It is what the mind recognizes through the sense organs and labels. It...

Morning Grounding Prompts (Use one each morning before you start the day or check your phone.) “What is this moment before thought arises?” “Can I begin the day not by doing, but by being?” “If awareness is already awake, what needs to be fixed?” “Let me feel the breath — not to control it, but to remember that life breathes me.” “How can I meet today with curiosity instead of expectation?” Don’t strive to be mindful; simply notice how striving feels. So when you ask, “What is this moment before thought arises?”, you are literally shifting neural processing from conceptual (DMN) to sensory-motor and attentional networks — returning to bare awareness before narrative forms. Midday Refresh Prompts (Ideal for between tasks, during lunch, or walking to your car.) “Am I here, or in the story of here?” “How does the body feel before I label it as tense or relaxed?” (Is the felt sense different from the perceived sense? There is a difference between direct embodiment and conceptualized e...

The Narrowing   It began with anxiety. The word itself comes from angina—narrowing. Anxiety is a bottleneck, a constriction. It is like the birth canal: tight, dark, suffocating. Yet when we pass through it, what awaits is relief, peace, and the opening of a new world. Even pain instructs, if we let it. The task is not to recoil, but to listen, to observe. On the airplane, I felt claustrophobic, pressed in by the cabin walls and the closed air. It reminded me of a tragedy—a medical student who died while exploring a cave, trapped in a passage as narrow as a birth canal. The body suffocates, the mind suffocates, when it cannot see a way through.   The Heart in Its Masks The heart, too, can narrow. A disheartened heart is ugly. An indifferent heart turns cold. A possessive heart creates anger. An assaultive heart wounds. A demanding heart repels. A judgmental heart hardens. And yet, even when told it is wrong, the heart feels pierced. We live caught in craving and aversion, plea...

Implementing the teachings and principles of Vipassana(insight meditation) in daily life involves cultivating mindfulness, wisdom, and equanimity in all activities.  1. Cultivate Mindfulness (Sati)    - Observe the Present Moment: Be aware of your body, sensations, thoughts, and emotions without judgment.    - Daily Activities Meditation: Practice mindfulness while eating, walking, brushing teeth, or even washing dishes—focus fully on the task.    - Mindful Breathing: Take short pauses during the day to observe your breath, anchoring yourself in the present. 2. Develop Equanimity (Upekkha)    - Accept Impermanence (Anicca): Recognize that all experiences—pleasant or unpleasant—are temporary.    - Non-Reactivity: When faced with strong emotions (anger, desire, fear), observe them without reacting impulsively.    - Balanced Response: Train yourself to respond wisely rather than react out of habit. 3. Practice Right Understan...

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck — When I was in high school, Lakeside in Pokhara—the bustling tourist hub—was my sanctuary for books. I never had enough money to buy them outright, so I devised a little routine: I’d pick a book, read it carefully without folding a single page or leaving even the faintest mark, jot down notes in my worn-out notebook, and return it the very next day. The shopkeeper would give me a small refund, just enough to borrow—or sometimes buy—the next one. It was a cycle of fleeting ownership, a trade between longing and necessity. But then came The Road Less Traveled. Something about it felt different. Maybe it was the weight of its words, the way its lessons lingered in my mind long after I’d closed its pages. For the first time, I didn’t want to return a book. I wanted to keep it—to underline my favorite lines, to revisit its wisdom whenever I needed it. That book wasn’t just another read; it felt like a companion. So I broke my own rule. I kept it. An...

Socrates once said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” But what does it truly mean to examine life? To examine life is to awaken from autopilot—to live deliberately rather than drift passively through inherited assumptions and societal expectations. It means turning inward, questioning deeply, and choosing to live authentically, on our own terms, with awareness and intention. The Buddha examined life and uncovered its true nature: it is impermanent, unsatisfactory, conditioned, and fabricated. He did not just observe the world—he observed the mind, and saw that the roots of our suffering lie in our reactions to experience. And so, the examination of life begins with examining the mind. The sense of I , me , and mine arises as a reaction, clinging to what is pleasant and pushing away what is unpleasant. But in truth, 98% of our daily life is neutral. We overlook it. Think of the thousand discomforts that are not happening to you right now: no stomachache, no fever, no thirst, ...

Happiness drop by drop The little girl was feeble, fragile, and wounded. I made her swallow the bitter medicine, something bitter than life. Because I had bribed her with a cracker, She gulped it with a grim face, Then reached for the cracker, with a cute little smile and joy. Happiness does not shower upon us. It just leaks, From tiny little cracks, wounds, and holes, often the most neglected ones. And it leaks drop by drop. We have to be ready with our pitcher. And gather it drop by drop.

  “Man is an amphibian who lives simultaneously in two worlds – the given and the home‑made, the world of matter, life and consciousness and the world of symbols.” This is the opening of the preface by Aldous Huxley. Amphibians, like frogs, can live both in water and on land. Likewise, Huxley says that human beings have the capacity to live in: The conditioned , sensory world (like land), and The unconditioned , spiritual or transcendent world (like water). But—just as amphibians are not fully at home in either realm, humans often struggle to reconcile or navigate these two dimensions . Krishnamurti emphasized choiceless awareness , freedom from conditioning, and direct perception of truth without the mediation of thought or belief systems. Huxley highlights that Krishnamurti’s teachings are a bridge or pointer to the deeper, eternal world , helping humans recognize and live from their spiritual nature—not just their psychological or material conditioning....

Neuroscience Studies Suggesting Habits for Happiness 1.   Gratitude Practice Study : Kini et al., 2016 (University of Indiana) Findings : Writing gratitude letters increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) — even 3 months later . Sustained activation suggests lasting rewiring for positive emotion and pro-social thinking . Daily Habit : Write down 3 things you’re grateful for each day. Even once or twice a week improves brain function and mood. 2.   Acts of Kindness Study : Moll et al., 2006 Findings : Giving to others activated the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex — areas linked to reward and pleasure . Altruism lights up the brain like eating chocolate or winning money. Daily Habit : Perform 1 small act of kindness — a compliment, donation, or simple gesture. 3.   Mind-Wandering & Unhappiness Study : Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010 (Harvard) — “A wandering mind is an unhappy mind” Findings : Participants reported lo...

Step-by-Step Traditional Yoga Nidra Practice rooted in classical texts and Tantric–Vedantic principles , particularly the kosha model from the Taittiriya Upanishad and the states of consciousness from the Mandukya Upanishad .  A sacred journey from body awareness to pure consciousness ( Turiya ), traversing the five koshas and waking the inner seer ( sākṣin ).  This version aims at spiritual awakening (moksha) , not just relaxation. Traditional Yoga Nidra – Step-by-Step (Kosha-Based) PREPARATION Posture : Lie in śavāsana (corpse pose), supported and still. Close your eyes gently. Sankalpa (Spiritual Intention): Silently affirm your deepest life vow or soul desire . Keep it short, positive, and present-tense (e.g., “I abide in truth.” ). Common Ground : All aim at freedom from identification with the conditioned self and cultivation of non-reactive awareness ( sākṣī bhāva / sati-paññā ). Yoga : Sankalpa arises from dharma , the soul’s truth. Buddhism : ...

Silencing our inner critic with self compassion: Each of us carries within us an inner voice —a running commentary on who we are, what we do, and how we fall short. Sometimes this voice is gentle and discerning, helping us reflect and grow. But often, especially under stress or failure, it transforms into a harsh inner critic —a relentless judge that magnifies our flaws, replays our mistakes, and whispers that we are not enough. This inner critic doesn’t arise out of malice. In fact, it often develops early in life as a misguided form of self-protection. It tries to push us toward achievement, perfection, or social acceptance, fearing that without its control, we might become lazy, unworthy, or unloved. Yet paradoxically, the critic’s harshness can make us anxious, ashamed, and disconnected from ourselves. The antidote to the inner critic is not silence or suppression—it is self-compassion . Self-compassion, as defined by psychologist Dr. Kristin Neff, involves three ...

Recently, I took the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). At first, the questions seemed   deceptively simple—things like ‘Do you notice the sunshine?’ or ‘Can you identify when you’re feeling sad or angry?’ These centered around observing and labeling emotions, and I scored well. It gave me a sense of confidence, even a quiet pride in my awareness. But as the questionnaire progressed, it became more revealing. The later questions probed deeper—asking whether I stay truly present during routine actions, whether I judge myself harshly for my thoughts and feelings, or whether I get carried away by them. These touched on acting with awareness, non-judgment, and non-reactivity. And that’s where the cracks showed. It was humbling to realize that while I might notice the sunshine or name my emotions, much of my inner life still runs on autopilot—often reactive, self-critical, or entangled in thought loops. The FFMQ became a mirror, gently but unmistakably showing me ho...