A Pedantic Side Note about CBT and Buddhism/Mindfulness

There's a reason why practitioners of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) have recently been investigating the integration of CBT with meditation and mindfulness training -- CBT combines:

• Reasoning through one's rational and irrational thoughts
• Forcing behaviors that help one reinforce that reasoning. 

Thoughts alone don't cut it, nor do deeds alone -- you need both.

The Eightfold Path has a very similar structure:

• Be mindful of what you're doing, thinking, and feeling
• Understand the source of your thoughts and actions, while accepting that some will be rational, some irrational
• Live in a way that decreases the likelihood of surrendering to irrational (they say "unskillful") thoughts and actions

There do seem to be differences: CBT is more change-centered, where irrational thoughts are challenged, whereas mindfulness practice seems to be more about acceptance of irrational thoughts. However, as we'll discuss in the future, the Buddhist idea is that while all thoughts -- rational and irrational -- should be accepted, they should also be understood to be transient, impermanent, and not something to invest in and/or deeply identify with. This puts the two approaches on pretty much the same page.

Given the lack of humorous content in this post, I was going to leave you with a lolcat, but I do not believe that would be what one would call Skillful Action. Thus, much like the audience of someone who has gone to see Joe Rogan, you will just have to suffer and wait for it to mercifully end.

And you may now go.