There are eight stages to the process of self-mastery. Sadly, most of us are stuck at Stage 2, which we call Dysfunction. We call it that because we all want to be happy but very few of us are, really. Yet even though we can see they don't work, we keep trying the same strategies over and over anyway. In this episode, we unpack that the hallmarks of a dysfunctional person are so that we can recognize whether we're at that level or not and begin to see how to advance beyond it.
I should say that I am indebted to my late teacher George Falcon for much of the ideation behind this model and my thinking on levels of consciousness more generally. Those familiar with his teachings will note many similarities so full credit to George here. In summary, the 8 stages in total are:
LOWER SELF -- DYSFUNCTIONAL Stage 1: Physical (aka Gross) Stage 2: Dysfunction (aka Emotional or Astral) Stage 3: Recovery (aka Rational or Mental)
PIVOT/BRIDGE Stage 4: Healthy (aka Transpersonal)
HIGHER SELF -- MASTERY Stage 5: Cosmic (aka Holy Spirit) Stage 6: Universal (aka Buddha/Illumination/Subtle) Stage 7: Divine (aka Transcendental/Enlightened/Causal)
Stage 8: Fully Liberated (non-describable/non-doing/Wu Wu Wei) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stages of Mastery 2 - Dysfunction

It turns out when you strip away the religious and institutional covers from the ancient masters, you can see that they figured out how to feel happy, healthy and fulfilled and told us how to do it. The practices they espoused like meditation and prayer are only now being demonstrated by scientists to transform mood and outlook at the least and permanently alter human consciousness. But just learning to meditate, practicing mindfulness, or learning how to sense and move your energy isn't enough to continue to make progress and get the most out of the time spent on these mystical practices. You need a framework in which to practice these ancient techniques. Unfortunately, if you don't want the layers of institutional confusion and control that come with religion, it is difficult to know where to begin and who to trust. In the tradition of "Dharma talks," this podcast addresses that gap. It breaks these mysterious teachings of old down into contemporary language so that we can all benefit from the profound insights into the human condition provided to us by the likes of Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu and so many others. And rather than dwelling entirely on esoteric texts, we anchor many of the teachings on great quotes from Star Wars, The Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda, Harry Potter and other classics from our modern mythical toolbox. You can also find the Happy Mind Guided Meditations and the Happy Body Podcast as separate shows for more hands on guidance and practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Self-Improvement

My meditation teaching is moving to a new level: I have just released four of my meditations on the Alyte app with more to come. Starting next week, I’ve scheduled sessions of my pre-recorded meditation classes. This means anyone can join the sesh with me live via the Alyte app by going here: http://www.alyte.app/zeb.
For those of you who don’t know, Alyte is the new social fitness app. With Alyte, you don’t have to make compromises, you can hang out while you work out, and build friendships, while you build fitness. So join me, as we start the movement, for social movement.
Thank you Melanie Kansil, Roisin Ryan, Emma Pilotti Krantz and the whole Alyte team for the smooth onboarding experience!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Announcement: Meditations are launching on the Alyte App!!

Nearly a thousand years ago, the founder of the first of the great Sufi orders, Abdul-Qadir Gilani (1077–1166), wrote an extraordinary book aptly called The Secret of Secrets where he unveiled the secret to mystical awakening. Gilani is widely considered to be one of Islam’s greatest saints and yet “The Secret” was only translated into English in the last thirty years. With gems like these gathering dust it is perhaps not surprising that here we all are (at least in the English-speaking world), almost a thousand years later, still stumbling around looking for answers. 

 
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Parable of the Weed and the Trowel

The great masters of old told us of a world that for most of us seems unimaginable and unattainable. They spoke of a Kingdom of Heaven, a place of unlimited joy and  inconceivable perfection, holding hidden treasures of divine beauty and love. An experience so good that is is beyond measurement or calculation. They claimed this not as a place we go when we die if we're good (contrary to the more mundane or popular accounts to the contrary) but as an experience available to every one of us right here, right now. And these masters also taught us how to achieve this in our own lifetime. In this talk, I share some of these extraordinary insights and practical tips ancient masters from Lao Tzu to Buddha shared. And I unpack a couple of real world examples to try to illustrate how these sometimes obscure sounding insights can be applied in real situations today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All that the world confers

A talk to explain Karma. Before you can understand Karma, you need to understand the nature of reality and the nature of the self which is where the video beings. The talk then goes through the four kinds of grasping, the three kinds of actions that create Karma (with 10 examples). To more deeply understand Karma, the talk then goes through the four aspects of Karma, the four results of Karma and the four principles of Karma. Fortunately, Karma can be released so we then cover the four powers each one of us has to break the cycle of Karma. Finally, we take a quick look at the various religious expressions of Karma through history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karma Explained

According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there are six "Bardos" in the continuous turning of the wheel of life. "Bardo" means intermediate state or 'gap'. Each Bardo represents a moment that we can use to escape the continuous cycle of suffering caused by an unenlightened approach to a human life. Three Bardos occur in a human lifetime (our actual Life, the time we spend Dreaming, and the time we spend in Meditation) and three occur in between lives (the Painful Bardo of Dying and Death, the Luminous Bardo of Dharmata or the Afterlife, and the Karmic Bardo of Becoming or Rebirth). In this talk, Zebediah Rice walks you through what happens when we die, at least according to the culture that has thought most carefully and thoroughly about the end of our human lifetime.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stages of Mastery 2 - Dysfunction

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