Mindfulness practice

Jimmy NguyenVietnamese-American former banker and registered nurse turned college counselor who spent about a year at a Buddhist monastery (first half of the conversation)

• Nguyen described caring for elderly parents who were the source of much of his suffering as a central present-day practice.

  “I take care of elderly parents. That was a struggle coming back and taking care of my elderly parents because they're the root of a lot of my suffering, to be honest with you”

  Ctrl-Alt-Reset: Episode 3: From Chaos to Clarity: Jimmy’s Journey of Awakening (Apr 10, 2025) · Listen from 1:57:10

• Nguyen said he became a college counselor in order to help people find work environments that support their mindfulness.

  “why I decided to be a college counselor is to be able to help people find a career, how to find a job, how to find an environment that watered the conditions that helped them be more mindful”

  Ctrl-Alt-Reset: Episode 3: From Chaos to Clarity: Jimmy’s Journey of Awakening (Apr 10, 2025) · Listen from 1:53:10

• Nguyen argued that intention determines attention, so work aligned with one's values makes mindfulness easier.

  “Intention equals attention in life. If it connects to your intentions and your values, you'd be more attentive”

  Ctrl-Alt-Reset: Episode 3: From Chaos to Clarity: Jimmy’s Journey of Awakening (Apr 10, 2025) · Listen from 1:42:50

• Nguyen said he replaced the words 'bad' and 'wrong' with 'positive' and 'less positive' to weaken the ego's judging habit.

  “I use the word positive or less positive. So that way it loosens my grip of my ego judging”

  Ctrl-Alt-Reset: Episode 3: From Chaos to Clarity: Jimmy’s Journey of Awakening (Apr 10, 2025) · Listen from 1:30:15