Virtuous and Vicious Cycles
| Term | Virtuous and Vicious Cycles |
| Definitions | Positive and negative patterns of cause and effect. Becoming clear about them relates to the “interacting in what ways” part of Sensory Clarity. Detecting how these important cycles work improves your understanding of mindfulness practice and its outcomes, so you suffer less, deepen your fulfillment, and act more effectively, which tends to lead to better outcomes in the world.
Example of a Virtuous Cycle: Your body feels relaxed and you’re in good spirits emotionally, which comes out in your voice and body language when you’re talking with a friend. Your friend picks up on your state, which boosts their spirits, so the conversation moves in fun directions. You enjoy that, which deepens your emotional positivity and relaxation. Example of a Vicious Cycle: You see an unpleasant post on social media which causes you emotional pain. You don’t know how to work with the pain, so you try to push it away. You start arguing with the post in your mind, which increases your agitation. Fifteen minutes later, you feel drained. A co-worker asks you for something and you snap at them before you can catch yourself. |
| Synonyms | |
| Antonyms | |
| Related | Suffering = Pain × Resistance, Fulfillment = Pleasure × Equanimity, Positive/Negative Feedback Loop, Rewards, Hedonic Valence, Habits, Micro Check |