Rewire How You Talk To Yourself | Ofosu Jones-Quartey
🤖 AI Summary
Overview
This episode delves into Buddhist strategies for transforming self-talk, emphasizing the importance of self-compassion in meditation and daily life. Meditation teacher and hip-hop artist Ofosu Jones-Quartey shares personal insights, practical techniques, and reflections on how self-compassion can be a transformative force for individuals and society.
Notable Quotes
- I am the pain that I didn’t take care of that turned into all of the things that I’m scared of.
– Ofosu Jones-Quartey, on the importance of addressing inner suffering with compassion.
- If you’re caught in the thicket of a sense of unworthiness, how are we going to get to those lofty views?
– Ofosu Jones-Quartey, on the necessity of self-compassion for spiritual growth.
- At one point in time in your life, you got a standing ovation just for peeing.
– Ofosu Jones-Quartey, humorously illustrating the value of celebrating small wins.
🧠 The Power of Self-Compassion
- Ofosu describes self-compassion as treating oneself like a best friend, offering kindness and understanding instead of harsh criticism.
- He shares how self-compassion saved him during a period of deep depression, helping him reframe his inner dialogue and avoid burnout.
- Resistance to self-compassion often stems from misconceptions, such as it being cheesy
or weakening one’s edge. Ofosu counters these by emphasizing that self-compassion fuels resilience and effectiveness.
📋 Practical Tools for Off-the-Cushion Self-Compassion
- Journaling: Writing short, supportive letters to oneself can help process emotions and reinforce positive self-talk.
- Written Reminders: Notes like You’re doing the best you can
placed around the house can interrupt negative thought patterns.
- Accountability Partners: Sharing the journey with a trusted friend who checks in on your self-talk can provide motivation and support.
- Mindful Questions: Simple inquiries like What if I wasn’t so hard on myself right now?
or Is this really true?
can disrupt self-critical spirals.
🧘♀️ On-the-Cushion Practices for Self-Compassion
- Self-Compassion Body Scan: Pairing mindfulness of body sensations with gratitude for each part of the body.
- Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation: Offering phrases of kindness to oneself, tailored to current needs, such as May I feel safe
or May I move beyond fear.
- Check-In Practice: Reflecting on mental, emotional, and physical states, then responding with the same care you’d offer a loved one.
👶 Teaching Self-Compassion to Children
- Ofosu encourages children to consider how they’d treat a friend in similar situations, fostering empathy and self-kindness.
- He emphasizes planting Dharma seeds
by introducing these concepts gently and consistently, trusting they’ll grow over time.
- His own children practice journaling, therapy, and mindfulness, demonstrating the long-term benefits of these tools.
🎵 Integrating Self-Compassion Through Music
- Ofosu’s song In This Moment
reflects his journey of using mindfulness and self-compassion to navigate depression.
- Lyrics like Even though right now I feel like I’m worthless, I’m gonna just look at my mind and observe it
highlight the transformative power of awareness and kindness.
- His music blends Buddhist themes with hip-hop, creating an authentic and relatable medium for sharing his practice.
AI-generated content may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as a sole source of truth.
📋 Episode Description
Buddhist strategies for taming that nagging voice in your head.
Ofosu Jones-Quartey, a meditation teacher, author, and musician hailing from the Washington DC area, brings over 17 years of experience in sharing mindfulness, meditation and self-compassion practices with the world. Holding a bachelor's degree from American University and certified by the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, Ofosu is a graduate of the Teleos Coaching Institute and is the male voice on the Balance meditation app, reaching over 10 million subscribers.
Ofosu leads meditation classes and retreats nationwide, having taught and led retreats at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, The Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, Brooklyn Zen Center, Cleveland Insight, Inward Bound Mindfulness and more.
As an accomplished hip hop artist under the name "Born I," Ofosu released the mindfulness-themed album "In This Moment" in 2021. Born I's most recent album, "Komorebi" (2025), has been hailed by listeners as "a missing piece in hip-hop," praised for its meditative flow and spiritual depth. The companion book, "Lyrical Dharma: Hip-Hop as Mindfulness" (Parallax Press), arrives with a foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, further cementing Born I as a unique voice at the intersection of art and contemplative practice.
Beyond music, Ofosu is an author, releasing his self-published children's book "You Are Enough" in 2020 and "Love Your Amazing Self" via Storey Publishing in 2022. He lives in Rockville, Maryland, with his wife and four children.
In this episode we talk about:
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The relationship between self-compassion and a successful meditation practice
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All the reasons people resist self-compassion, and his rebuttals
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Whether self-compassion is selfish
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How to do self-compassion off the cushion, including practices like journaling, written reminders, establishing accountability partners, and simple questions you can drop into your mind when all else fails
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How to do self-compassion on the cushion, including practices like body scans, metta, and a check-in practice you can use at the very start of your sits
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And how to teach self-compassion to children
This episode was first aired in April 2024.
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