Most of us genuinely feel alone. If not daily, a few times a week. We internalize the outside circumstances and we feel targeted and alone…

Maybe we need a reminder that ANYTHING happening out there is happening to everyone. It is a matter of what we expose ourselves to and how we process it.

The emotional representation of our pain, our joy, our struggles, and our strength shows up in our tone of voice, our facial expressions, and our body language.

It’s just that people process things differently.

When people think that no one understands them, they give up. We should remind each other that we are all in it together. We are the collective. We are the community.

You know what happens when we assume? We make an ASS out of U and ME. Preconceived notions about people we have not met, places we have never visited, events that have not yet happened— assumptions have never told us something that we actually wanted to know.

So why do we do it?

Where do they start?

What is the origin of assumptions?

Why do we depend on them for so much of our happiness?

In this week’s episode, we consider the origin of assumptions. We trace the origin of our thoughts and beliefs to restructure our approach in defining our circumstances and relationships...

It is often easier for us to explore the external physical space than it is for us to explore our Selves. It is easy to look around us and identify problems and offer suggestions for improvement, but how often do we objectively evaluate our Selves?

How often do we make changes in our behavior with the intention of improvement?

What gifts do we believe that we possess?

What do we believe we have the ability to create?

Do we think we can? Or is there a seed of doubt?

In this week’s episode, we focus on how we feel. We examine our beliefs and how our fundamental beliefs influence how we feel...

There is a constant commentary going on in our mind. Listen to it.

What is the quality of our commentary?

Are we offering a critique or a judgment? Do we feel positive and confident? Or negative and self-defeating? Do we believe that our body should look a certain way to conform to a standard of beauty, that we should play a certain role, and that we should have a certain level of material wealth or financial income?

What belief systems do we hold on to that direct our emotional energy and influence our feelings? How have they impacted our relationships?

The theme for this podcast episode is thoughtful patterns and habits— using the present moment awareness of this breath to create mindful patterns of thought that become thoughtful habits.

We move through life with thoughtful patterns and habits so that we are listening instead of speaking, offering instead of asking, and complimenting instead of criticizing.

Global Calm— the idea of harmony and connection, of being in sync with one another without feeling like someone has to get out of our way for us to move forward, and of understanding that the only way to make progress is by moving forward together.

But what is required of us to create that level of understanding?

What must we believe to feel that sense of unity? To know that although we may be moving at different paces, we are only as fast as those moving at the slowest pace?

What belief system do we have to have in order to feel a sense of camaraderie and connection?

Do we work toward understanding or are we more comfortable arguing our point?

In this Zen Den Sanctuary Podcast episode, the theme is harmony and understanding as a foundation for global calm.

How we communicate depends as much on what we say and how we say it and on HOW WELL WE LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND…

Too often, we think we are ALONE.

There are billions of other people who are having the same emotions, same thoughts and same challenges and have already found a solution to the problem that you think you have right now.

In fact, there are at least a hundred million people in the world right now who have a problem that you have already found a solution for.

Maybe that problem is rooted in Self-doubt or lack of confidence.

Maybe the problem is with a relationship with a relative, lover or friend.

We are NEVER alone.

MENTAL MASTURBATION: The art of enjoying time alone with your Self. When you are alone in the kingdom of your mind, how often do you feel pleasure? The fastest path to pleasure is our thoughts. Are you aware of what you consider pleasurable? Are you giving your Self the pleasure you deserve? I believe we should find the pleasure in as many experiences as possible one thought at a time. This is my version of Meditation Masturbation.

Check on your strong friends…check on the friends floating in the highs and offer a supportive hand to those working through the lows…we never truly know how high someone has climbed or how low they have fallen, so give people room to rise and fall with out judgement but offering continued support and encouragement to everyone.

Be nice knowing we are all riding the highs and lows together…

Have you ever felt like you had to catch your breath? Like the breath is running away and you're struggling to catch it. Our breath is our life force. We don't realize how significant each breath is until we can't catch it and are desperately gasping for the next breath. Take the time to breathe...deep, long quality breaths...and define the rhythm of your life one breath at a time.

The experimental experience is the most effective learning tool. Think of every situation as the laboratory, mixing, matching, and mingling until we find what is comfortable…knowing every once in a while there will be a spontaneous reaction that might be explosive or uneventful, but the reaction is always temporary until eventually everything falls back into equilibrium. Set the intention to enjoy the experimental experiences that life brings, so there is never a reason to dwell in the explosive reaction because the questions are revealing the answers to everything we need to know to attain equilibrium.