Almost Awakened

In This Week’s episode of the Almost Awakened Podcast, Hartley and Reel peek behind the curtain of Zen Buddhism to discuss the rampant sexual misconduct happening there. We are so used to hearing about sexual abuse with Catholicism or Mormonism or the Jehovah’s Witnesses but while sort of unexpected, Buddhist circles are also deeply affected by these atrocious acts. We sit down with TikTok’r @LifeAfterZen to discuss this sensitive issue and to learn how we can better be aware of and address the such problems.

RESOURCES:
https://www.shilohproject.blog/sexual-misconduct-and-buddhism-centering-survivors/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzoMdW8GEVI&list=PLpxqAk60QqWrlqnlVVWr4IvLyv1GtBw5I&index=2
https://www.religionandsexualabuseproject.org/
https://tricycle.org/magazine/sexual-abuse-in-buddhism/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-shocking-scandal-at-the-heart-of-american-zen
https://tricycle.org/magazine/sex-sangha-again/
https://www.lionsroar.com/openletteronabuse/

Abraham Maslow’s pyramidal “Hierarchy of Needs” model is a highly-influential way of organizing human needs from the most “basic” to the most advanced. Maslow’s argument is that the most basic needs must be met before people can move “up” to the more advanced needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to higher needs. What is not as commonly known about Maslow is that toward the end of his life, he began to have some doubts about this model and just prior to his death added a 6th stage at the top of the pyramid called “Self-Transcendence” and today we review the standard hierarchy and finish by discussing at length the missing piece, Self-Transcendence.

RESOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs

https://www.wichita.edu/services/mrc/OIR/Pedagogy/Theories/maslow.php

https://www.thecareerproject.org/blog/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760

https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs

Hartley and Reel sit down TikTok Sensation Jordan The Grey Witch, an Atheist Witch to discuss what it even means in 2023 to be a witch and how being a witch plays out. https://www.tiktok.com/@jordanthegreywitch

Today we sit down with Dr. Lisa Miller author of “The Awakened Brain” and “The Spiritual Child”. The discussion centers around spirituality and awakeness and what the science and research says about both. How can we humans be our best healthiest selves? How can we thrive while also progressing as a species to achieve our potential?

Lisa Miller, Ph.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiritual Child and a professor in the clinical psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the founder and director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology, and for over a decade has held joint appointments in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University medical school. Her innovative research has been published in more than one hundred empirical, peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Cerebral Cortex, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children.

a.i. chat gpt was used to arrive at the following answers

Some potential solutions for world peace may include:

Ultimately, achieving world peace requires a sustained and coordinated effort from individuals, communities, and governments around the world. It is important to recognize that there is no easy solution or quick fix, but rather a long-term commitment to promoting peace and cooperation.

Global climate change is a complex and urgent issue that requires a comprehensive approach at all levels of society. Here are some steps that can be taken to address and solve global climate change:

Addressing and solving global climate change will require significant effort and action from individuals, businesses, and governments around the world.

Hartley and Reel take on a conversation around the book “The Four Agreements” by Miguel Ruiz. Reel has read the book 4 times but Hartley is tackling the content for the very first time. This will be the backdrop of this incredible conversation.

“The Four Agreements” is a self-help book written by Don Miguel Ruiz. It offers a code of conduct based on ancient Toltec wisdom that can help transform one’s life by breaking free from self-limiting beliefs and behaviors.

The book’s insights can be summarized in the following four agreements:
Be impeccable with your word – Speak with integrity, say only what you mean, and avoid using your word to speak against yourself or others.
Don’t take anything personally – What others say or do is a projection of their own reality and has nothing to do with you. Don’t take things personally or make assumptions about others’ motives.
Don’t make assumptions – Avoid misunderstandings by asking questions and clarifying things. Don’t make assumptions about others’ thoughts, feelings, or intentions.
Always do your best – Give your best effort in everything you do, regardless of the circumstances. Focus on the process, not the outcome.

These agreements can help you improve your relationships with others, free yourself from limiting beliefs and self-judgment, and live a more authentic and fulfilling life. One of the deepest insights of the book is the idea that much of our suffering comes from our own thoughts and beliefs, which can be changed through conscious awareness and a commitment to personal growth. The book encourages readers to take responsibility for their own happiness and to create their own reality through their thoughts and actions.

Brian McLaren has proposed 10 reasons to stay inside Religion and 10 reasons to leave Religion. Hartley and Reel dive into this list and share their thoughts and contemplate how much weight these reasons might have and what these reasons bring up within them.

Britt runs solo this week exploring a course for Teens she has created. The conversation will delve into what that course looks like and who it is designed for and will share several facets of Gen Z Spirituality.

Bill will be flying solo today (Britt had step away from this week’s episode due to an unexpected event). and discussing a couple of thoughts he had this week and to discuss the mass exodus out of Christianity.

The 5 Big Personality Traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Everyone of us at any given moment fall somewhere on a spectrum within each of these traits. These traits affect our mood, our energy, our behavior, our ability to connect with others, how we disagree, and how we perceive our outer and inner world. Reel and Hartley not only explain each trait and how such affects our perception and behavior but also give a ton of examples and insights into how an awareness of these traits and how they play out in our lives can help us navigate these differences with less disruption and less negative impact on ourselves and others.

RESOURCES:

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422

https://www.typematchapp.com/application-features/?forkey=Big%205%20Compatibility%20Dating%20-%20TypeMatch%20App

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/big-5-personality-traits

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html

https://www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test

https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-big-five-personality-traits

https://positivepsychology.com/big-five-personality-theory/

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/big-five-personality-traits

https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-self-distancing-this-practice-can-help-your-mental-health-relationships-17298648

https://effectiviology.com/self-distancing-rational-decisions/

http://selfcontrol.psych.lsa.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/1-s2.0-S0065260116300338-main-2.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Distancing_(psychology)

https://positivepsychology.com/psychological-distancing/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3mm/why-you-should-talk-to-yourself-in-the-third-person-inner-monologue 

Aphantasia: The inability to visualize images (medicalnewstoday.com)

Hartley and Reel sit down with “Faith Transition Coach” Kyle Bishop to discuss the process of deconstruction and what lies beyond God and Religion?

RESOURCES:
https://www.beyondgodandreligion.com/