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This week I share one of the central teachings in Tibetan Buddhist practice: the Four Reminders that turn the mind toward the dharma. I had a recent conversation with Lama Sonam Rinpoche who said to me multiple times in the course of a few hour conversation: there is no more important teaching than this. In this episode, I try to offer some insights into why a great Lama might say such a thing. 

Highlights:

• How the Four Reminders create a trustworthy foundation for spiritual practice
• Why your life really, really matters
• How impermanence brings clarity to everyday living
• A practical way to understand karma 
• The weird way that acknowledging suffering actually helps
• How these contemplations can deepen any meditative or contemplative practice

Listener Question
Can we get so focused on spirituality that we lose touch with the “real world”? I talk about the difference between real practice and spiritual bypassing, and why the path is never separate from ordinary life.

Ask me a question
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Music
This week's track is "Okie Dokie Stomp" by the musical miracle known as Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.

Mentioned in this podcast: Episode 12, Buddhist Cosmology: The Six Realms of Being

Also mentioned: great contemporary blues artist Sue Foley’s live version of Okie Dokie Stomp

My new book is now available

Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics, is available for purchase. Explore the spiritual path through 7 principles which run counter to conventional wisdom on mindfulness. 

Learn more and buy your copy here.

Watch this episode on video
If you’d like to watch the podcast, the video version is here.

New course: 30 Days of Dharma

For 30 days, beginning September 13th, I’m offering a chance to practice all of this together with a small group of people who want to take the dharma off the cushion and into ordinary life. We'll create a personalized daily routine, meditate, study the teachings, and look at how wisdom, compassion, and power actually show up at home, at work, and in our relationships. Every participant will have one-on-one time to consult with me and my co-teacher, Crystal Gandrud, about your practice before, during, and following the program. You don't need to be a Buddhist. You only need a willingness to begin where you are and be yourself. Space is limited. Learn more here.

Proclaiming Basic Sanity: Living the Bodhisattva Path Retreat 

Let’s practice together in person at Drala Mountain Center, up in the Colorado Rockies, for a retreat on the bodhisattva path: what it takes to live with real courage and an open heart in the middle of our ordinary, chaotic, beautiful lives. We'll talk honestly about how to recognize and rouse basic sanity right where we already are. Everyone's welcome, and you don't need any prior meditation experience. Learn more and register.

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Produced by Citizens of Sound

Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project