Mindfulness Off the Cushion

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - In this final episode of Season 1, we wrap up our discussion of the ego and introduce a few ideas that may be helpful for you during the upcoming Holiday season. 

Between now and the start of Season 2, Lance and Claudio will review the 9 essential attitudes of mindfulness and provide a guided meditation for each.  We hope these resources will be of benefit to you. 

Namaste, God bless, and be well. 

We wish you all the best, and we’ll see you next year!

Show Notes:

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 Bonus - Claudio leads us through a 20-minute meditation on exploring the ego.

Show Notes:

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - In order to practice mindfulness, we commonly hear that we need to let go of the ego. But if you’re a student like me, you might struggle with this. Because it’s not always easy to identify when the ego is driving or influencing us.

One thing is clear, though. If we can bring intention and awareness to the observation of the ego, we can begin to implement positive changes in our lives. Partly because we’re acknowledging the ego, seeing it for what it is, recognizing when the ego is driving our car, our lives. And then intentionally saying to the ego, “No thanks. I’ve got this.”  And then we consciously, carefully, change our response to one that is more wholesome and helpful in our lives.

Today I learned that the ego is more than just the thinking mind. But I think it’s fair to say that the ego is a primary driver of the thinking mind. For now, let’s just say that the ego and thinking mind are really good friends. And that may not necessarily be a great thing. If we can learn to let go of the ego. We’ll make more room or space to have a better relationship with our thinking mind. And bring more of our decisions and thoughts and actions to our conscious awareness.

Living consciously seems to be the key to mindfulness and mindful living. Perhaps that’s the easiest and most elementary definition of mindful living. It's living consciously, being aware of our thoughts and emotions and not letting them drive us. It’s about not getting lost in thought or just letting US happen in the world. But, instead, to put our hands on the wheel, and make more intentional, conscious decisions. About the lives we’re living, and living the life we want to live.

We’re not done talking about ego. Next week, we’re going to go a little deeper and broach the topic of how we can tame the ego. I’m looking forward to our discussion and I hope you’ll join us. 

Show Notes:

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - Self-acceptance is the practice of complete acceptance of one’s complete self. True self-acceptance is embracing who we are unconditionally and without any exceptions.

It’s important to remember that even when we fail or fall short, we are still whole and worthy and perfect just as we are. And what’s cool about that is this, in turn, allows our happiness to be unconditional as well. It opens the door for our happiness to exist regardless of what others think about us or what we think others might be thinking about us. Instead, our joy is based on who we are. When I’ve been able to actually wrap my head around this idea and truly embody it, even if only for a moment, it’s so incredibly freeing. I can literally feel a sense of calm and warmth wash over me when I do this. I encourage you to give it a try.

Coming into this episode, I didn’t realize the strong relationship between acceptance and letting go. But it makes perfect sense to me now.

If we can let go of our expectations of the way things or the way we should be. We are also letting go of the stress that comes from being so attached to those expectations. And then we have the ability to more easily accept ourselves and our lives as they are.

When we let go of that which is unwholesome in our lives (these could literally be things, but also ideas, thoughts, people, habits), we make room for more wholesome things. The kind of stuff that builds us up instead of tear us down. 

Today, we also touched on ego -- how perfectionism comes from the ego, etc. And how our ego might be at the very root of our difficulties and struggles. So, what is it with this ego thing and what does it have to do with mindfulness? We’re going to go down that rabbit hole next week, and I can’t wait to see what we discover.

Show Notes:

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - Most of us understand the idea of compassion -- the meaning of the word comes from its latin roots and means “suffer with”. We’ve all had times when we sat with a close friend and listened to their struggles and supported them in whatever way they needed at that moment usually providing kind words in hopes of helping them feel a bitter about themselves and their situation. 

Self-compassion, quite simply, is just treating yourself like you would  a close friend. And that’s important because we all tend to be pretty hard on ourselves most of the time while being kind and gentle to others.

And the fact that we tend to see the best in others while focusing on our own shortcomings and failures can really make matters more difficult.

So let’s all agree to stop beating ourselves up and stop comparing ourselves to others. That sounds like a great place to start. We’re all perfectly imperfect in our own way and worthy of being treated with more love and kindness.

This idea of love and kindness, or lovingkindness, sounds a lot like mindfulness.

And mindfulness is key to self-compassion. According to Dr. Kristin Neff, you simply can’t have self-compassion without mindfulness.

Mindfulness gives us the ability to sort of step outside of ourselves and recognize our pain or struggles and to turn toward that suffering in a balanced and healthy way and to respond to that struggle with kindness.

Join us next week as we explore the importance of self-acceptance.

Show Notes:

Christina: It's Not Your Turn: What to Do While You're Waiting for Your Breakthrough
Patrick: How to Live: Boxed Set of the Mindfulness Essentials Series
Claudio: Ajahn Chah quote: “Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.”

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - The act of bearing witness is an important concept to understand as we prepare for our our upcoming discussions on self-compassion and self-acceptance in the next few weeks. The Webster definition of bear witness is to show or state that something exists or is true.  It is like observing or seeing, but it’s also with the act of holding an experience in compassionate awareness, whether joyful or painful.

Christina offers that the act of bearing witness is like a metaphor for the optic nerve-- it is how we experience life, how we discover ourselves, our family and friends, and the world. It is the process of acknowledging something or someone, and ideally, affording ourselves with the opportunity to approach every moment with a beginner’s mind, with boundless curiosity and being open to the uniqueness of whatever is arising and meeting it just as it is.

It’s the act of seeing or being seen and acknowledging the amazing power of that act. When we approach every moment with openness and curiosity and acceptance, life itself seems to open up before us like a flower blooming to the world and unveiling its natural beauty for all the world to see. I love the way Christina put it: Feeling seen equals feeling understand and feeling understood equals feeling loved.

The process of bearing witness is an important ingredient in the therapeutic setting, as well. As we bring our focus and awareness and attention to different aspects of our human experience, we explore and share those parts of our selves with someone we trust, and that process can be truly transformational.

Show Notes: (coming soon)

Christina:
Patrick:
Claudio:
Lance:

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - Gratitude helps us to be content and to recognize what is “good enough” in our lives so that we don't become imprisoned by the things or ideals we might be striving for or clinging to, whether consciously or unconsciously. 

Gratitude can be an attitude or a frame of mind that we can tap into throughout the day, but it requires the art of remembering and having the ability and space to be able to find the time to stay balanced in our lives and to be okay with being okay. 

It's about being mindful and accepting of life itself without putting all of our happiness eggs in one basket. In this episode, we also discuss how, in the process of being grateful, we should remember to be aware of the role that privilege and ego play in our gratitude. 

We recommend pausing amidst the stream of things and practicing seeing gratitude and being open to receiving it. 

If you struggle to find anything to be grateful in your life, we recommend counseling as a great way to dig deeper into the barriers that may be holding you back from not just gratitude or mindfulness, but from much of what life has to offer.

Show Notes:

Christina: Birds in Your Backyard by Robert Dolezal
Patrick: House: The Wounded Healer on Television by Hockley and Gardner
Claudio: In the Buddha's Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Lance: The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - Savoring is the umami of mindfulness. In this episode, we discuss the art of savoring and its expansive qualities. Savoring is not something you often run across when reading about or discussing mindfulness. And yet, it's an amazingly powerful resource that is available to all of us. Remember to slow down and savor your moments and the years will take care of themselves.

Show Notes:

Christina: Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Patrick: Hector and the Search for Happiness by by François Lelord
Claudio: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Lance: The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Dr. Christopher Germer

Lori Gottlieb's Podcast: Dear Therapists 

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - We explore the common challenges we can all experience when cultivating mindfulness in our daily lives. We'll also share a few keys to overcoming these barriers in hopes of helping you unlock the transforming power of mindfulness.

Show Notes:

* US life expectancy began decreasing in 2014. It has decreased the most significantly since the pandemic started in 2020.

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website. 

Season 1 with Christina Philburn and Patrick Harris - In our follow-up discussion from last week, we continue to explore the idea of practice. We start the episode with a pop quiz that doesn't go as planned, but it leads us into a great discussion on the importance of acceptance and gratitude and the importance of awareness.

Show Notes:

Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center
Co-host Christina Philburn, LCSW
Co-host Patrick Harris, LPC, PhD Candidate
Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor

If you're interested in mindfulness coaching, you can purchase coaching packages with either Patrick or Claudio on our website.