In this episode, I share something very personal and deeply resonant for the times we’re living in: how we vacillate between hope and fear, and how the Buddhist path invites us to wake up beyond either one. Also, drugs. Just gotta say that right up front. 

We often think of mindfulness or meditation practice as a way to feel better, to reduce stress or calm down—and while those benefits are real and important, this path is so much more. It’s about learning how to live fully awake, moment to moment, even in a world that feels increasingly chaotic, confusing, and difficult to make sense of.

I talk about:

• Why hope and fear, despite being opposites, are really two sides of the same coin—and how both can pull us away from the present.
  
  
  
• A wild (and yes, drug-fueled!) story from my younger years in a legendary Austin blues club that showed me this truth in vivid, unforgettable  ( and weird) detail.
  
  
  
• How beliefs, including those we cling to in hope or hide from in fear, can become obstacles. .
  
  
  
• Why anxiety is often a symptom of mind and body splitting apart, and how we can work with that.
  
  
  
• And most importantly, how meditation is the simplest, most profound practice I know for returning to presence and synchronizing body and mind.
  
  
  

Highlights:

• The Buddhist view of beliefs: Why even “positive” ones can be a trap
  
  
  
• What Stevie Ray Vaughan and meditation have in common (sort of!)
  
  
  
• What happened  to me when they suddenly dropped away (this is the drugs part)
  
  
  
• How anxiety may simply be a case of your mind and body being out of sync
  
  
  
• Practical ways to come back to the moment, even when the world feels like it's falling apart
  
  
  

Learn to Teach Meditation

The Open Heart Project Meditation Teacher Training returns this January.
We begin January 17th, 2026.
I teach every session. It’s intimate, rigorous, supportive—and it’s for anyone who wants to help others work with their own minds and hearts.

Click here to learn more & sign up.

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Produced by Citizens of Sound

Music by: Derek O'Brien

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