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#17 BEAUTIFUL BRAINS PROJECT: MOMENT series. Inside the brain of meditators: Shastri John Fox.

#John’s beautiful profile: "Exemplifying the fruition of the inward journey of meditation practice and embodying goodness, basic goodness."


When I met John, it was the first time I had heard about the word Shastri. In the Shambala tradition, Shastris (Sanskrit: teachers of the sutras and commentaries) are teachers meant to inspire both for meditation and for the engagement in society, one of the strongest tenets in this tradition. Maybe you should know two things: the first: shastris take their title lightly and their responsabilities very seriously, the second. there are only 70-80 shastri worldwide.


Shastri John Fox lives in Vancouver. he is most definitely NOT a last minute meditator ;-) "He has been a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham since 1974. He is close to Thrangu Rinpoche and has served as President of Namo Buddha Foundation, active in raising funds for projects in Nepal and India. Now retired, John was partner in an Insurance Consulting firm for 25 years. A father of 3, he has grand children and great grand children. John has held numerous positions within the Vancouver Shambhala Centre. In 2012 he was appointed as Shastri for Vancouver." (cfr. Shambala website).


Spending time with John is an incredible gift. There is peace, and slowness and kindness in his presence, there is depth and joy, and acceptance. It is like visiting a garden that has been cultivated for a very long and dedicated time. There are so many beautiful, interesting, flourishing plants in John Fox's garden of the brain.


#3 things about Shastri John's beautiful brain






1. FOCUSED. Imagine a line that goes from ear to ear, and then another one that goes from the base of your nose to the back of your head. That is the top of your head, a location called Cz. Right there you can measure a ratio of brainwaves called Theta/Beta that helps defining the ability for the brain to be focused and concentrated. The lower this ratio, the more focused in the owner of that brain ;-).


It is no surprise that this man is focused and that his Theta/Beta ratio is low aka that he is so good at focusing. Meditation is a practice that 



2. CALM: Russ' markers at the back of the brain indicate that he has good skills in quieting the brain and calming racing thoughts. In general, the brain is prone to always worry and fret, and with meditation and other techniques we can learn how to gently quiet the brain. Russ seems to have invested in doing this.




3. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Russ is obviously a charismatic man and also open and confident enough to be able to say that he is "sensitive". With Theta higher at the right frontal location (F4), this might be the case.





The MOMENT series is a branch of the #beautiful brains project dedicated to meditation and mindfulness.

MOMENT is a "meditation experience and it consists of the world's first fleet of mobile meditation studios. Our aim to make meditation simple, accessible, and relevant. We believe that through meditation, we are better able to manage and shift our thoughts. By shifting our thoughts, we can shift our lives and the world around us."



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