Your Great Journey

Can you think of turning points in your life? Times when you can honestly say, “I was never the same after that.” Most us go through life trying to avoid pain, but it inevitably finds us. As a result, when we experience the crisis of heartbreak, illness or misfortune, often our impulse is to despair and sink into ourselves. However, there are times when pain can be good for the soul. There are times when crisis can be the inspiration for tremendous personal growth. Sometimes, we need to be at our lowest before we can truly make contact with our potential for greatness, peace, and happiness.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from the audiobook Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life. Written by Doctors Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, Cassandra Vieten, and Tina Amorok, this audiobook offers wisdom and spiritual nourishment. It presents a unique combination of cutting-edge science and wisdom gathered from the world’s transformative traditions. A helpful resource whether you seek to transform your life completely or simply make adjustments that will add richness and depth to your life, Learn how we can all experience deep shifts in consciousness, and how those shifts can lead to healing and wholeness.

In this excerpt, Doctors Schlitz, Vieten, and Amorok discuss the events in life that can lead to powerful personal transformation. They focus on what they refer to as “the portal of pain”—moments of intense suffering or crisis that lead to personal growth and transformation. Most importantly, if you’ve been touched by tragedy or set back by challenges, we hope you’ll find this episode inspiring. There is often a transformative power in pain and crisis. Your struggles can become the personal growth that influences your life for the best.

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I came to my current path and practice…out of my own personal despair, suffering, and confusion. Everything that I’d thought would work in the material world—drugs, violence, pleasure, crime, my own confused attempts to  find satisfaction—actually led to great personal despair and suffering. [I came] around to some place of willingness and [said], “Okay, that didn’t work. Maybe this spiritual stuff”—which I had great resistance to—”maybe these spiritual folks knew something that I don’t know.”

Vipassana meditation teacher, as interviewed in "Living Deeply"

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Being kind to yourself and opening your heart to others are two important aspects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a clinically proven program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Simple mindfulness practices can enhance the experience of connection we feel with ourselves and with others.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from an audiobook full of techniques to help you mange stress and increase mindfulness: MBSR Everyday: Daily Practices from the Heart of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction by Dr. Elisha Goldstein and Dr. Bob Stahl. If you are ready to permanently change the way you handle stress, gain powerful inspiration, and live more fully and peacefully in the moment, this audiobook is the perfect guide.

In this episode, Drs. Elisha Goldstein and Bob Stahl discuss the power of small acts of kindness and generosity — for ourselves and for others. The best place to start practicing these simple mindfulness practices may be with yourself!

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Practicing generosity with yourself helps you feel “good enough” to accept kindness from yourself without guilt. Set any judgments aside and notice what it’s like to simply receive.

MBSR Every Day

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There are times when it can be painful to allow ourselves to truly feel our feelings. Maybe we stifle tears or laughter when we think they aren’t appropriate. Maybe we don’t communicate our true feelings to those we love. Perhaps we refuse to feel feelings by repressing them. According to psychologist Chuck Hillig, the author of Seeds for the Soul: Living as the Source of Who You Are, this is because we’ve made the mistake of thinking there’s such a thing as a bad feeling. In reality, there are no bad feelings, only uncomfortable ones.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from the audiobook Seeds for the Soul: Living As the Source for Who You Are. This short and witty audiobook combines the wisdom of eastern philosophy with the principles of western psychology. Chuck points the way to true happiness for those who have struggled to find peace of mind. He suggests that letting go of the illusion of control over life is the path to fulfillment. He touches on deep truths with a light hand. This audiobook is packed with nuggets of wisdom that you can turn to whenever you need guidance, clarity or inspiration.

In this episode, Chuck Hillig takes on a big, amorphous subject: Feelings. If you’re hesitant to feel your feelings or address them head on, then this excerpt may inspire you to investigate your own misconceptions about feelings. He asks us to consider the possibility that there is no such thing as a “good or bad” feeling. In fact, there is liberation in feeling everything!

Chuck Hillig presents an empowering worldview to his audiences by combining the mysticism of eastern philosophy with the practicality of western psychology. Although his books and presentations address the great questions of life, his overall approach is very down-to-earth, lighthearted, and easily accessible. A life member of Mensa, Chuck is a regular speaker at both their regional gatherings and at Mensa annual gatherings. He has been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist since 1978. His print books are published by Sentient Publications.

Visit Chuck’s website here.

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Seeds for the Soul is a powerful expression of spiritual truth. These pages are like lotus flowers that open, revealing deeper and deeper insights and wisdom.

author, One: Essential Writings on Nonduality

The post Chuck Hillig: Finding Liberation in Feeling Everything appeared first on Your Great Journey.

What is it about ambiguity that sends us into spirals of anxiety, depression or panic? How do we overcome the unexpected, and the unplanned? If you wake up tomorrow morning and your life is fundamentally different than it is today, how would you fare? Or perhaps that has already happened to you, and now you’re wondering how to deal with your fear of the unknown.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from the audiobook Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety by Kelly Wilson and Troy Drufrene. We all know this to be true: sometimes things fall apart, crack open, and miss the mark. You can plan and strategize and keep your eye on the horizon, watching for trouble. And nothing can protect you from the fact that things might, when you least expect it, go terribly, horribly wrong. So, how can we learn to accept the unknown? Is it possible to be comfortable in the face of life’s ambiguities? This comprehensive audiobook is packed with in-the-moment strategies listeners with anxiety can use to calm their fears.

In this episode, Kelly and Troy discuss a fascinating mentality that many of us share: the preference for predictable, obvious suffering over the possibility of suffering. Ask yourself: would you rather have a rock fall on your head right now, or be told that a rock may very well fall on your head at any moment during the next week? Even though it’s counter-intuitive, due to our fear of the unknown, many of us would choose to have the rock fall on our head now. Kelly and Troy reveal the thinking behind this mindset and share why ambiguous situations often trigger anxiety. You’ll come to have a better understanding of your fear of the unknown, and learn how to live freely and confidently in a world full of unexpected happenings.

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If your house burns down or you lose your life savings in a stock market crash, you’re likely to be pretty upset. But you could also be out of sorts if your house might burn down or your finances might take a turn for the worse. We not only suffer when things actually go terribly, horribly wrong, but we also suffer when they might go wrong.

Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong

The post Fear of the Unknown: Why Ambiguity Makes Us Anxious appeared first on Your Great Journey.

We’re all imperfect. What would life be like if we practiced more self-kindness—instead of fear and hate—toward our imperfections? While stress is an unavoidable part of life, practicing self-compassion is an effective way to reduce reduce stress. Although we often consider it normal, stress can actually lead to anxiety, depression, and even chronic pain.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from an audiobook full of techniques to help you mange stress: MBSR Every Day: Daily Practices from the Heart of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction by Dr. Elisha Goldstein and Dr. Bob Stahl. MBSR Every Day will introduce you to mindfulness-based stress reduction—MBSR—a clinically proven program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. If you’re ready to permanently change the way you handle stress, gain powerful inspiration, and live more fully in the moment, this book is the perfect guide.

In this excerpt, Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Stahl share the importance of being kind to yourself―imperfections and all. Every moment is an opportunity to hone mindfulness and self-compassion. Why not take the leap into self-compassion, even if it’s only to be 10 percent kinder for now?

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Authors Goldstein and Stahl teach us how to cultivate a mindful, heartful awareness with great simplicity and mastery. Giving yourself to the practices offered in this clear, wise, easy-to-use book is truly a gift to the soul. Enjoy!

author of Radical Acceptance

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