Almost Awakened

The number one question heard by us from those who after having committed to stepping away from their religious system is “How am I going to raise healthy, wise, responsible children post religious deconstruction?” The answer to that is now easy…. UPLIFT.  Britt and Bill sit down with Jon Ogden, one of the creators of “Uplift”, a program designed to give your kids an inner compass utilizing resources designed to create weekly spiritual experiences that build wonder, resilience, and compassion without feeling the need to adhere to any religious dogma or belief system.

RESOURCES:

https://upliftkids.org/

https://upliftkids.org/our-approach/

https://upliftkids.org/lessons/

Britt does a deep dive into soul work through the story of Jonah and the Whale. She discusses the four existential fears, the places humans avoid most of all. Dive into the story and into your own fears to see what peace comes on the other side.

Britt and Bill sit down with author and the host of the “Secular Buddhism” Podcast, Noah Rasheta, and discuss second half of life principles and how secular Buddhism can be utilized to lean into growth and compassionate living.

RESOURCES:

No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C31XJGP/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Secular Buddhism: Eastern Thought for Western Minds – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7Y7953/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

The 5-Minute Mindfulness Journal: Daily Practices for a Calmer, Happier You – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641523050/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Secular Buddhism Podcast – https://secularbuddhism.com/

Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening – https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Without-Beliefs-Contemporary-Awakening/dp/1573226564

Buddhism for Beginners: Jack Kornfield – https://www.audible.com/pd/Buddhism-for-Beginners-Jack-Kornfield-Audiobook/B002V8OFZ0

Bill Reel was interviewed on the podcast “Rameumptom Ruminations” and below is a synopsis of the episode

Is there space for agency to exist in our causal and determined world? After listening to a recent Mormonism live episode where Bill and RFM discussed Agency with their guest Carah, Scott invited Bill onto the show to discuss the subject in further detail. This episode is a primer on the debate over the existence of a free will. In it, they cover determinism, compatibilism, and libertarianism and the arguments for and against each.

Schopenhauer, A., 1985. On the freedom of the will. Oxford, OX, UK: Blackwell.

Hume, David, and P F. Millican. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Britt and Bill sit down with Cami Hurst, host of the podcast “Sex Therapy 101” and discuss common issues within intimacy and relationships. Her podcast can be found at https://camihurst.com/sex-therapy-101-podcast.

Cami’s Bio: As a personal counselor I operate from a place of compassionate curiosity. I will help you visualize and own what you are wanting in life, explore blocks keeping you from attaining it, and walk with you towards realizing your personal power and internal authority. As a couples counselor I operate from a blend of attachment and differentiation based models. I believe our opportunity in relationships is to continue to grow and mature as individuals. It is appreciating our partner’s differences that make for long term fulfilling partnerships – not striving for sameness. As a sex therapist, I specialize in Female Sexual Development, Mutual Sexual Satisfaction for couples, Sexual Education for Premarital/Newlywed couples, Sexual Orientation and Identity congruence for individuals and their families (I do not offer conversion therapy), Affair recovery, and Post-addiction relationship recovery. I believe that sexuality is part of our wholeness. My focus is on creating mutual pleasure and sexual health within your own value system. I also specialize in spiritual issues such as faith crisis, faith reconstruction or transition, and mixed-faith marriages.

Today we dive into Alain De Botton’s Ted Talk Atheism 2.0. While in the original conversation we included the entire talk of Botton’s, his sections are condensed in this audio to the most important parts. The jist of the episode is that while we may discard religion as made up bunk, we will do ourselves a disservice if we don’t recognize Religion as a vehicle to transfer skills, tool, and technology that has been instrumental in perpetuating the human species and that we ought to at least consider repurposing religion so as to utilize its processes that are functioning positively within our world.

Bill’s wife Amanda fills in for Britt today and Bill and Amanda dive into a conversation about Miguel Ruiz’s book, the Four Agreements.
Agreement 1: Be Impeccable With Your Word
Agreement 2: Don’t Take Anything Personally
Agreement 3: Don’t Make Assumptions
Agreement 4: Always Do Your Best

And we wrap up talking about his book the Fifth Agreement which is

Agreement 5: Be skeptical, but learn to listen

Bill and Britt sit down with Teri Hales, a certified religious transition and trauma recovery coach, and the host of the Emancipate Your Mind Podcast to discuss multiple components of the deconstruction process and to talk about the skills and tools that one can lean into to create a healthier better second half of life.

https://emancipateyourmind.org/

Brittney and Bill sit down with David Peck Ph.D (Sufi al-Hajj Daud) to discuss sufism and its wisdom & value to the awakening soul. Sufism is among the most ancient spiritual traditions in the world. Sufism traces its origins back thousands for years through a golden chain of individually guided meditation and mystical practice. The modern stream of the Sufi tradition, called Universal Sufism, is growing globally, especially in the West. Universal Sufism invites all souls––from any faith tradition and background, or from no faith tradition or background–– to join with us on the Journey of Becoming.

RESOURCES:

https://www.ofsaintsandsufis.com/

In the Yoga tradition, there is a state of consciousness called, Atma Darshan, which simply means, “Glimpsing the Soul”. In todays episode we sit down with Philip McLemore as he shares preparatory “direct awareness” practices that have helped individuals “Glimpse their Soul”, which either motivated them to establish a practice or gain a vision of what the practice is intended to help them realize. The idea is to help the individual’s “taste” or “touch” his/her inner being or essential nature, in a simple, practical way, that doesn’t require months or years of practice. Today we give you the tools to glimpse your own soul which can be a catalyst for a deeper awareness and a more awakened life. We end discussing psychoactive substances as Tools to “glimpsing the soul”

The Meditation Practices:

1.) Gazing into a mirror to lookinto one’s own eyes to awaken awareness of a deeper or stable “Presence/Self” in self and others. Or Gazing into the eyes of another while asking the question, “What is the difference between you and me?” See Another’s Humanity and see yourself within them

2.) To awaken awareness of a continuity of a deeper or stable “Presence/Self” using a practice called “Life Review”, one examines how life and self have been experienced throughout one’s developmental stages in 5-to-10-year increments from as far back as one can remember to the present. One realizes that despite monumental physical, mental, and emotional changes throughout life, there has always been an unchanging, stable “Presence/Self”. – This process can be reversed and sometimes unveils repressed emotions, the source of “shadow” tendencies, and an understanding of how one’s essential nature has been limited or restricted by normal, human, developmental stages.

3.) To awaken awareness of an expanded self beyond time and space. – Sky or Star Gazing in such a way as to transfer the perception and experience of Infinity into oneself.

4.) Self-Inquiry or the Via Negativa. – Through contemplation of a series of questions, one “subtracts” the changing and temporal aspects of one’s “self” to discover what remains. – The question, “Who (or What) am I?”, is contemplated after reflection on a progressive series of questions such as, “Am I the body?” (Am I my arm, eyes, hands? ect… “Am I my thoughts?”; “Am I my emotions?”; and so forth, ie. personality characteristics, life circumstances, etc.

5.) To awaken awareness of the deeper “I” behind the “Me” using the the “Me” vs “I” contemplation.

6.) To awaken awareness of “the” or “a” deeper reality in self. – Difficult for traditional LDS, the “God (or Creative Energy of the universe) IN Me; God (or Creative Energy of the universe) AS Me” contemplation

7.) To awaken awareness of deeper “life” within or expanded “life” beyond self. – Use of vibration, chanting, or music. – Use of breath and/or “life force” within then without. – Use of breathing techniques like, Wim Hof Breathing, that can stimulate production of DMT.