Rebuilding From Within; Sanjay Sabnani

Sanjay Sabnani is an author, former public-company founder, and the creator of ActualizationOS. He is an independent researcher in Causal Neuro-Symbolic AI and serves as a senior executive and board member at a private-equity-owned technology company. His work focuses on integrating ancient wisdom from various traditions with modern neuroscience to create a diagnostic system for inner change, which he describes as a "system of inner architecture". Sabnani's book, ActualizationOS, explores the principles of stillness, alignment, and the process of transformation, drawing from Stoic philosophy, Buddhist psychology, and neuroscience. He has also authored a chapter in a Wiley medical textbook and holds two U.S. patents. 

Contact Info

• Website: SanjaySabnani.com

Most Influential Person

• Buddha and his teachings have had a profound influence on Sanjay’s understanding of mindfulness.
• Earlier in life, Sanjay found Buddhist teachings too abstract, but his perspective changed as he experienced their insights firsthand.
• He now sees tremendous value in teachings that have endured for thousands of years.

Effect on Emotions

• Sanjay says mindfulness has helped him stop suffering from the lingering effects of negative experiences.
• Difficult things still happen and painful emotions still arise, but rumination and downward thought spirals no longer have the same hold.
• He has learned to separate the feeling that something bothers him from the impulse to immediately react.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Sanjay views the breath as a subtle object of attention that can lead into deeper mindfulness.
• Breath watching became an important part of his meditation journey.
• When he needs to calm himself, he may use a physiological sigh with two sharp inhales through the nose followed by a sighing exhale through the mouth.
• He also watches his breath while falling asleep.

Suggested Resources

• Sanjay’s Book: Actualization OS: A System of Inner Architecture
• Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• Book: The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
• App: Youtube

Bullying Story

• Growing up in Hong Kong as an Indian student at a British Anglican school, Sanjay experienced significant bullying.
• He was bookish, chubby, short, and not athletic, so he developed sharp wit and cutting humor as a defense mechanism.
• Mindfulness later helped him recognize the difference between feeling triggered and needing to react.
• Today, he measures his progress partly by how little everyday frustrations disturb his inner state.