RockneCAST

Thich Nhat Hanh is a luminous soul, the type of soul who radiates goodness and light even when his physical body is no longer present.

His book, The Heart of Buddha's Teaching, is not just a book. It's a practice manual for living in good times and bad, allowing us to live in the present moment.

These last couple of weeks have not been an easy one for me. At times, the pain has cut so deep that it has touched every cell in my body. But, through luminous souls like Thich, I now have to come to give thanks for the pain. It has deepened my soul, opened new pathways of understanding, and provided fuel to let my light shine.

I have so much gratitude that Thich shared his powerful life force through his enlightened teaching of the Buddha.

This episode covers the power of Thich Nhat Hanh to transform your suffering into peace, joy, and understanding. I'll also share a lecture of his that calmed me in the middle of the night. Finally, you will learn the health benefits of gratitude (it's not just for John Tesh) and a simple tip to begin your gratitude practice.

This episode focuses on the point of all: healing so you can be the best version of you to serve the people that you love. But to truly heal after a significant life event, healing only comes after you stop what your doing; calm yourself; rest; and finally heal.

This episode also explores the why of healing; what healing shouldn't; and some practical tips on how to heal.

The power, renewal and growth that comes from resting, the final step before healing.

This is the third in a four part series inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's book The Heart of Buddha's Teaching.

This the second in a four part series on reversing the rampaging horses of our mind with techniques outlined by Zen Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

I also identify a breathing technique to calm the mind that I learned from my man crush Andrew Huberman, cyclic sighing, both the why, and how.

Have you ever felt like you're on a runaway stagecoach? Running fast, running strong, but not really knowing where you are going. I know I certainly have except I am one of the horse, galloping hard, but not know precisely where. In situations like this, Zen Buddhist Monk Thick Nhat Hanh, advises the best thing you can do is to simply stop, preventing further mistakes while running strong and allowing space to heal.

This episode explores the power of stopping from five minutes to five days to five months, depending upon your circumstance.

This episode is the first in a four part series on Chapter Six of Hanh's introduction to Zen Buddhism, The Heart of Buddha's Teaching - Transforming Suffering Into Peace, Joy, and Liberation.

The next three will focus on calming, resting, healing.

In this episode, we will primarily explore Robert F Kennedy's favorite poet, Aeschylus, whom he quoted in his extemporaneous encomium upon learning that Martin Luther King Jr. had been murdered by an assassin.

"Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart until in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

No one wants to suffer. Not a single person embraces deep emotional pain, the kind that strikes to the vibrational core of the soul. It shakes you. It rattles you. It humbles you. It can even destroy you. Unless you realize...

That suffering, the very same kind that rattles us to a cellular level, also draws us nearer to the divine, opening up a channel directly to the Holy Spirit.

We'll dive deep into the Aeschylus's belief that "suffering alone" is our greatest teacher, making it essential to any authentic transformation.

On this path, I'll share the glory and light in suffering through Romans 5:3-5.

For now, I have experienced enough "glory", but I have learned so much from this path that I am on. I hope my experience will illuminate any darkness that you may be experiencing.

"Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5.

In this episode, we explore the concept of hugr. According to Neil Price, author of the viking history book Ash and Helm, it roughly translates as "soul", but it's even deeper than that. Hugr is the "absolute essence of you, free from all artifice or surface affect." It embodies personality, temperament, and character.

This episode explores the importance of aligning the inner soul with the outer world. Remove the shell. Be you.

This about about diving deep into your greatest fears lying in the Shadow. Confront What You Fear.

There is no other choice. Confrontation fears does not ensure a successful outcome. Avoidance of your fears guarantees failure, only resulting in a delayed manifestation of your worst fears.

In this episode, we explore how Luke Skywalker obtained the power of the Force by confronting and experiencing his greatest fear. It is not one of the ways to solve your greatest challenges. It is. The Way.

Only those that have confronted their Dark Side can be trusted with the power of the Force.

Wasn't going to do a podcast this morning, but came across a timely passage from Reuben Youngdahl's daily devotional for June 2.

It just made a real impact on me. So I am sharing it with you...

Hey, podcast listeners!

I just dove into an incredible 1987 biography on Ronald Reagan by Garry Wills, hands-down one of the best I’ve read about him. This isn’t just a timeline of Reagan’s life—it’s like stepping through a time portal into his world, feeling what shaped him.

Unlike most Reagan bios that zoom in on his presidency, this one focuses more on what made Reagan, well, Reagan: his boyhood, the Disciples of Christ Church, the political sparks at Eureka College, and his early broadcasting days in Des Moines. In this episode, I’m unpacking two fascinating slices of his story—his lifesaving heroics at Lowell Park on the Rock River and the Black Hawk War’s role in the settlement of Dixon and Davenport, where Reagan lived. Trust me, this one’s a gem!