Appamada

Appamada

By AppamadaReligion & Spirituality
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Appamada episodes

  • 2025-08-07 I Inquiry I Is Truth brutal? I Trudy Johnston
    Could It Happen Anywhere?
    Listen to the rhythm of things that never die.
    —Mark Nepo, “For a Long Time”
    Worried about what was to come, I went to the river
    and listened to the constant song as water met stone,
    met log, met wall. The endless white hush of it.
    Song of building up banks. Song of tearing them down.
    Song of surrender to invisible force. Song of change
    that is ever the same and not the same. And in the listening,
    I found refuge—not in the longing to hide, not in the sound—
    I found refuge in the listening. Refuge in the opening
    of the senses. In attuning to what is here. Wave and current
    and eddy and flow and the attentiveness that lives
    through this woman. And I listened and listened, listened
    to it all, and was opened by listening. At some point
    the listener disappeared. What was left was
    listening itself. For a time, peace found me there.
    Intention
    To wonder. To wonder with no plan
    for where it might lead. No strategy
    for arrival. No finish line. No pot
    of gold. No perfect score. No striving for.
    To wonder. To wonder the way a small child
    might wonder when seeing a roly poly for the first time—
    oh, look at all those legs. Look at how
    it curls! Look how it moves again. Feel
    how light it is in the palm. Feel how
    it tickles as it moves. Imagine
    an awareness that new meeting a life form that old.
    Can I be that new as I meet this infinite world?
    To wonder not just with my mind
    but with my belly. To let every neuron
    spark. To notice where there is a channel
    and imagine the great wing of life
    is scraping it clean so the stream might flow
    in new ways. To wonder beyond the edge
    of the known, and in that spaciousness, play.
    —Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
    The listing of Chat GPT response to brutal truths:
    Here are five core truths about your own psychology that everyone must understand—or risk sabotaging their success, happiness, or relationships:
    ⸻
    1. You are not your thoughts.
    Your mind generates a constant stream of thoughts—some true, some false, some helpful, many harmful.
    If you believe every thought, especially negative self-talk, you’ll:
    • sabotage goals,
    • erode self-esteem,
    • and avoid taking necessary risks.
    ✅ Learn to observe thoughts without obeying them. This is the root of emotional resilience.
    ⸻
    2. Your emotions are messengers, not dictators.
    Feelings like anger, fear, jealousy, or sadness carry signals—but they don’t always point to truth or demand action.
    Avoiding or overreacting to emotions leads to:
    • impulsive decisions,
    • emotional burnout,
    • or constant anxiety.
    ✅ Name your emotions, listen to them, and respond—don’t react blindly.
    ⸻
    3. You have unconscious patterns driving your behavior.
    Much of your personality and decision-making is shaped by:
    • childhood experiences,
    • unresolved trauma,
    • or defense mechanisms.
    Ignoring these patterns means you repeat them—even when they hurt you or others.
    ✅ Self-awareness requires digging into your past, habits, and triggers with honesty.
    ⸻
    4. Your brain is wired for comfort, not growth.
    Your mind naturally resists discomfort, uncertainty, or change—even when it’s what you need.
    This resistance:
    • kills dreams,
    • prevents growth,
    • and reinforces stagnation.
    ✅ Discomfort is a sign you’re on the edge of transformation. Don’t run from it.
    ⸻
    5. You are responsible for your reactions—even when others hurt you.
    Blaming others or circumstances for how you feel or behave keeps you powerless.
    Psychological maturity means:
    • owning your choices,
    • setting boundaries,
    • and healing, not blaming.
    ✅ Victimhood might be justified, but it won’t help you thrive.
    ⸻
    Bottom Line:
    Mastering your psychology is not optional—it’s the difference between drifting through life and designing it.
    If you don’t do the work, your patterns will run you, and you’ll wonder why life keeps turning out the same.
    1 hr 1 min
  • 2025-07-29 I Inquiry I Continuous Mistakes I Joel Barna
    Here is the poem by Hilda Raz, reflecting on a time when she was the poet laureate of Nebraska and did some teaching about poetry in public schools.
    I hope you will search out her book "Letter from a Place I Have Never Been."
    Diction
    ~ Hilda Raz
    "God is in the details,"
    I tell the kids in the public school
    at Milligan, Nebraska.
    They wonder what I mean.
    I tell them to look
    out the window
    at the spring fields
    the mud coming up
    just to the knee
    of the small pig
    in the far pasture.
    They tell me
    it's not a knee
    but a hock
    and I hadn't ought
    to say things I know
    nothing about. I say
    the light on the mud
    is pure chalcedony.
    They say the mud
    killed two cows
    over the weekend.
    I tell them the pig
    is alive and the spring
    trees are standing in a green haze.
    The tell me school is out
    in a week and they have to plant.
    The grain elevator at the end
    of Main Street stretches out
    her blue arms. The kids say chutes.
    58 min

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Appamada is a contemporary center for Zen practice, inquiry, and community, located in Austin, Texas. If you appreciate these offerings, please consider making a contribution to support Appamada with…