Do you ever wonder how you can step away from getting carried away by emotions? Or, how you can step away from reacting when something goes wrong or isn’t turning out as you expected it to? Or have you ever caught yourself reacting via automatic pilot and then wished you hadn’t?

Hello and welcome everyone. This week we're investigating how pausing is a powerful ally helping us to stay balanced even when emotions are running strong.

Often we react on automatic pilot. We automatically lash out. In this mode we are not aware of how we are reacting. And, often feelings of regret swamp us when we realize what we have just done or said. 

Automatic pilot is sometimes helpful. We don't have to think how to drive a car each time we get behind the steering wheel. We don't have to remember how to tie our shoes or type. We just know.

But when someone says something we don't like or a situation is different than what we expected and we lash out either through words or actions, we suffer. The pause is the path to mindfulness and away from this suffering. 

The pause gives us time and space to focus our awareness on the breath and calm down our overwrought nervous system. It gives us space and time to ask ourselves "What's happening now?" helping us to wake up our awareness. 

It gives us time to consider what our intention is so that we enquire if that intention serves us or not.

It gives us time to WAIT asking ourselves "Why Am I Talking." It shows us how silence and listening help.

When we pause we slow down the interaction, we give ourselves time for our thinking brain to come on line. We give ourselves the opportunity to respond appropriately. 

I hope you enjoy the podcast and invite you to pause often.

Thanks for listening and thanks to the people behind the scenes that make the podcast possible. 

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production; 

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show 

Be well. Be mindful. 

SUPPORT THE SHOW 

Follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

Become a member via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife. All members have access to a new guided meditation each week on the member website. That’s https://www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife. 

DISCLAIMER 

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

Do you ever wonder why we are always talking about the body when we talk about mindfulness? Do you wonder what the body has to do with knowing the mind? 

Hello and welcome everyone. This week we are talking about the body and why the body is essential to our practice of mindfulness.

It's simple. We live our lives through the body. We practice mindfulness through the body. Remember our very first meditation is mindfulness of the breath! The body and mind are intricately linked. 

But it is not so simple. We are conditioned to have an adversarial or unrealistic relationship with the body. We are taught to ignore the body.

We explore how the body supports training our minds. How we decondition the mind from beliefs about the body by understanding how the body is a portal to the mind--the seat of our dissatisfaction and suffering. The body tells us exactly what is happening in the moment and with this information we can be with what is happening, enquire about what's behind it, and allow it to unwind and let go. 

I hope you enjoy the podcast. Thanks for listening.

I’d also like to thank the people behind the scenes that make it possible

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

Become a member via Patreon.  All members have access to a new guided meditation each week at the member website. Become a member and get your meditation at https:// www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife.

RESOURCES/CREDITS

Galeano, Eduardo, Walking Words, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1997

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

Do you ever feel there is something getting in the way between you and presence—being fully aware and alive in the moment?

This week we’re looking at obstacles—those mind states that get in the way of our being present—of being mindful. Learning to recognize them is the first step in alleviating them. Learning how to use mindfulness to alleviate them follows.

Often it feels like we are in battle when in the throes of these mind states. Using the imagery of battle might be jarring but with it comes a flash of recognition. “Yeah, it does feel like that.” We are at war with our minds. 

So what are these mind states that keep us from presence? 

Desires of the senses—attachment to sense pleasures. You know, the thrill and excitement of buying stuff, doing stuff, and showing off stuff. We get attached to it. We grasp at it and don’t let go. We get what we want and then we want something else or something more. There is always something more that we have to have.

Dislike, hate, and anger. When these arise we are pushing what doesn’t please us away. We don’t like it. We hate it. We’re angry—get out of here. We feel the energy of pushing it away, turning our back on it or wanting to get rid of it.

Lethargy, laziness or a reluctance or unwillingness to make an effort. How often do we feel stuck or we feel unwilling to move from a position?

Restlessness—the inability to stop the pin ball mind. Racing thoughts and an inability to concentrate on anything characterize this mind state.

Doubt—that feeling of uncertainty and confusion that stops us in our tracks. It doesn’t feel good. Emotions of fear usually arise.

We can free our minds of these states. Using mindfulness and aids to help us enter mindfulness accompanied by loving kindness are the ways that we change these mind states and train our minds not to get caught up in them. We show you how.

I hope you’ll enjoy the show.

And,  I’d like to thank the people behind the scenes that make it possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

Become a member via Patreon. Go to www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife. All members have access to a new guided meditation each week at the member website. That’s https://www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife.

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

When something happens and you don’t like it what then? Do you feel compelled to fix it? Are you always wanting the situation to be different than it is or to go away?

Hello and welcome everyone. This week we are looking at how we get stuck when we don’t like the world as it is and feel compelled to fix it.

We don’t like what is happening. It should be different. We hate it. We want it to go away. We have to fix it. So, we start fixing life to make it look like how we want it. It feels like we are at war—that we must change it or else. Or, else what?

We ask what are we holding onto that makes us feel so miserable and how do we let it be and how do we let it go. We see that mindfulness sets us free.

I hope you enjoy the show this week. Thank you for listening.

I’d also like to thank the people behind the scenes that make the podcast possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show.

Be well. Be mindful. 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Follow or subscribe to the podcast.

Become a member via Patreon. All members have access to a new guided meditation each week on Thursdays at the member website. Click here or copy and paste https://www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife in your browser to become a member and access the guided meditations.

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

 Have you ever thought about the importance of community and what it means in your life?

 Today’s podcast is about The Man Who Wouldn’t Come In From the Cold and how he teaches us about community and the meaning of life. 

I hope you are enjoying the show . To thank you and to support your practice each week on Thursday a new guided meditation will be available on the member site. To access the guided meditation go to https://patreon.com/yourmindfullife.

Awhile ago I read an article in The New York Times about a doctor who has spent his career working with unhoused people living on the streets and sleeping rough under bridges, in subways, and in makeshift accommodations.  It stayed with me and with it came questions about the meaning of life and community, asking to look deeper into what it means to be mindful—to really pay attention in the moment—and what it means to be compassionate—to really help without having a stake in the outcome.
 
Some of the questions we explore are : Am I really present? Am I seeing what is here? Or am I seeing only some perspective that serves me in some—to scare me away so I’ll be safe or to assume that somehow I have the answer  to the messiness in front of me.

Some of the questions are tough—like who is this compassionate act serving? Me? Or the person who is receiving my action? And, am I tied somehow to the outcome—something in me wanting to be this way and not that way.

When we are really present we are not taking sides, nor are we assuming we have the answers. The power of presence is that it allows us to really see—to pause and to ask clarifying questions—and the power of compassion is that is allows us to answer the question, "How can I help without being tied to the outcome?" Both show us the power of letting go—letting go of our attitudes and beliefs and letting go of wanting to control outcomes.

Perhaps this week, ponder how the stories we hear can help us to be more present, to get to know how our minds work, and to be truly compassionate.

Thank you for listening.

I’d also like to thank the people behind the show that make it possible

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Follow or subscribe and review the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

Become a member of the show via Patreon and receive a weekly guided meditation by clicking here or copy the link and :paste in your browser www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife.

Thank you with all my heart.

CREDITS/RESOURCES

Kidder, Tracy, “‘You Have to learn to Listen’: How a Doctor Cares for Boston’s Homeless.” The New York Times, digital edition, January 5, 2023. Adapted from the book by Tracy Kidder, Rough Sleepers: Dr Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People, Random House, New York, January 2023 

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

How can we be more mindful in our everyday lives? How does mindfulness open us us to see and alleviate our own suffering?

Hello and welcome everyone. In this week’s podcast we’re looking at how mindfulness operates in our everyday lives by examining it through the lens of our experience. So much of the time we operate under automatic pilot even when we think we are being mindful of the present moment.

I am delighted to let you know that beginning this week every Thursday, I will be posting a weekly guided meditation for members of the podcast. If you are already a member just go to the member page on Patreon to access the guided meditation. If you are not a member and would like to become one, sign up here or copy and paste the link https://www.patreon.com/yourmindfullife into your browser.

Your support is so important and I thank you with all my heart.

Being mindful in our everyday lives takes effort. We may practice meditation and have the intention of being mindful throughout the day and then what happens?

Our minds, instead of being here moment-to-moment, get busy and we begin leaning forward rushing from this to that. Congestion builds and tension and constriction arise as we lose spacious awareness. Concentration fizzles as the mind rushes here and there. Equanimity drifts away—we become reactive rather than even, balanced and non-judgmental. We forget to respond compassionately; instead we beat ourselves up. And, our emotional states instead of flowing through us, may start running the show.

All of this may be ,subtle… so subtle that we don’t realize it until something big happens that grabs our attention.

The big thing that happened that grabbed my attention was my hand. And what my hand taught me is what I share today. It taught me about suffering, concentration, equanimity, and compassion and how wisdom starts with mindfulness. I hope that my experience resonates with you and enlivens your mindfulness in your everyday life.

I so appreciate you and hope you are enjoying the podcast. In addition to your membership, you can support it by following or subscribing to the podcast, downloading the episodes and sharing them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

I also grateful for the people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

CREDITS/RESOURCES

I would like to acknowledge my teacher, Joseph Goldstein, whose wise teachings have guided my practice for so many years and to who, I am so grateful. https://www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein/

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

Today we’re exploring playfulness and how to be more playful. 

I hope you are enjoying the show and that you will continue to welcome it into your lives.  Follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

Beginning next month, in April 2023, as a member of the podcast, you’ll receive a weekly guided meditation from me as a thank you for your support. If you are not already a member, sign up today at Patreon.

Your support is so important and I thank you with all my heart.
  
Some of us are more playful than others by nature. Some of us embrace our playfulness while others don’t. We may forget to be playful or we steer clear of playfulness because we’re afraid others won’t take us seriously. Maybe we remember how others disparaged the class clown or we have been taught that to get anywhere in this world we need to be serious and no one told us to be seriously playful.

Our brains get in the way—the negativity bias of the brain always being on the lookout for threats and sees the negative rather than the positive.

Playfulness thrives when we let in the good, the novel, and the unexpected. It springs forth when we make new associations, use our creative juices, and feel comfortable with others. We become more playful by practicing playfulness.

Playfulness is for everyone, not just kids. When we are playful, we’re learning how to learn, reducing stress and decreasing tension, and increasing our ability to see things in new ways and solve problems. There are different ways in which we can be playful.By listening to the podcast, maybe you’ll discover which flavor of playfulness suits you and you'll explore how it manifests in your life.

Our mindfulness practice helps us to cultivate a playful state of mind and our playfulness helps us to cultivate mindfulness. So how do we practice being more playful? Here’s a glimpse.

Have the intention.

Pay attention.

Be curious.

Spend time.

Write it down.

This week I invite you to explore all the ways in which you are playful and make the intention to cultivate playfulness in your life. See where it takes you. Enjoy the show.

Thank you to all the  people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

CREDITS/RESOURCES

Mission Joy: Finding Happiness in Troubled Times. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14779306/

Proyer R.T., Gander F., Brauer K., Chick G. Can Playfulness be Stimulated? A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Online Playfulness Intervention Study on Effects on Trait Playfulness, Well-Being, and Depression. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2020). doi: 10.1111/aphw.12220

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

Do you ever project what is going on inside of you onto to someone else? Do you ever find yourself being unkind to someone and then afterwards asking, “What was that all about?”  Do you notice how different aspects of who you are show up in different relationships?

Today we’re exploring how who we are in the moment shows up in our relationships—in our connections with those around us and how by being mindful and investigating what arises allows us to change behaviors, feeling, and attitudes that don’t serve us and to cultivate those that do. 

I hope you are enjoying the show and that you will continue to welcome it into your lives. Please follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen.

It might sound strange, but by supporting the show in these ways, the show becomes more visible and more easy to find so that others can join us in living a mindful life.

Your support is so important and I thank you with all my heart. 

When we are in our relationship with others that we act out both our helpful and hurtful aspects of ourselves—those that serve us and those that don’t. How we are in relationship tells us who we are in that moment. 

Today we explore many of the ways that we project who we are in the moment onto others and how others project who they are onto us. We talk about how to act skillfully whether we are giving or receiving. 

In relationship, we find our kindness, compassion, generosity, and wisdom.  These qualities are not abstractions or nice to think about, they require our direct experience with others to realize their benefits of calm, peace, freedom, and clarity, and courage.

When we are these aspects of ourselves, we open ourselves to the good. When we let the good permeate every aspect of ourselves, we change who we are. 

In relationship, we also find ourselves acting out the habits and patterns that cause us suffering—that bring us feelings of dissatisfaction, pain, regret, and stuckness and makes us feel heavy, inert, and unable to move. We may feel trapped, needy, sad, or agitated.

In these moments, we may believe it is the other that is the cause of all this when it is actually us. When we wake up to what's happening right now honestly, we see it is us--not the other person. We talk about the skillful practices of equanimity, intention, and impact. And, we see how being compassionate with ourselves and others breaks through everything.

This week I invite you to be mindful in your interactions with others. What aspects of yourself are showing up? What dissatisfaction is showing up? Hold up a mirror and you’ll see yourself just as you are—your discontent as well as your contentment. Use the reflection to skillfully investigate with curiosity and friendliness what’s not serving you and bringing your generosity, let it go.

Enjoy the show.  I so appreciate you and also appreciate the people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professio

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

Today we’re exploring generosity and how it is so much more than we think it is, how it can free us and reshape the world in which we live. 

I hope you are enjoying the show and that you will continue to welcome it into your lives. Please follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen. 

When you review the show, you are letting others know that the show is worthwhile and of value. The algorithms recognize your preferences and then make the show more visible to others who might also enjoy it. Your support is so important and I thank you with all my heart.

Our social conditioning makes us immediately think about generosity as giving away stuff—things like money, belongings we no longer use, or food.  But it is more than that. Generosity is relinquishing—letting go—not just of material things but also attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints that don’t serve ourselves and others. 

Letting go is what frees us from the constant, nagging sense of dissatisfaction that we carry around with us—manifesting in the mind as worry and feelings of unworthiness, and in the body as stress, tension, and illness.

We explore how generosity is at the heart of discovering and letting go of ideas, attitudes, and viewpoints that are invisible to us because we are so accustomed to them. These attitudes and viewpoints permeate our society and create what Isabel Wilkerson calls the invisible scaffolding that keeps in place who is valued and who is not; who receives privilege, recognition, and access to the beneficial.

Do we value all equally? Do we see everyone as worthy? We do not. Cultivating generosity leads us to actively relinquishing our privilege, our bias, and our hurtful attitudes towards ourselves and others. Do we see the racism, ageism, sexism, and institutionalization of violence that permeates the structure of our society?

Once we are aware, what then? Awareness is necessary but not enough to create change. What actions will we take to relinquish these invisible ideas, attitudes, and privileges that keep the scaffolding in place?  What will we do to relieve our own and others’ suffering?

This week, take some time to contemplate how the invisible scaffolding of who is valued and who is not plays out in your life. And, then see in what ways you can increase your generosity and reduce suffering by purposely changing your ideas, attitudes, and viewpoints through action.

Thank you for listening. I so appreciate you and also appreciate the people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful. 

REOURCES/CREDITS
Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The origins Of Our Discontents, Random House, New York, 2020

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your medical or health professional.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful. 

Have you ever wanted to experience life like a child with no point-of-view or opinion because everything is fresh and new? How often do you feel wonder in your everyday experience?

Hello and welcome every one. This week we’re exploring Beginner’s Mind. When we are of Beginner’s Mind everything is fresh and new; there are no preconceived answers or attitudes. When we are with Beginner’s Mind, we are full of wonder and acceptance in each moment.

I hope you are enjoying the show and that you will continue to welcome it into your lives. Please follow or subscribe to the podcast, download the episodes and share them with friends and on social media. And, don’t forget to review the podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen. Your support is so important and I thank you. 

Beginner’s mind is the attitude of mind that is open, eager, and free from preconceptions of how to do something, think about something, or be something. A person with beginner’s mind has a mind that is open and receptive and void of conditioned attitudes, views, and beliefs. There is no being stuck in a certain way of doing things or thinking because the mind is accustomed to thinking or doing things in a particular way and therefore not open to any other way of thinking or doing. It comes from a place of equanimity.

Beginner’s mind sounds simple, but it takes practice. The more crowded our minds are with all the stuff of self, the harder it is to have Beginner’s Mind. This is why mind cleaning is so helpful and why we practice. 

This week I invite you to contemplate Beginners Mind before you enter a new interaction or before you assert a point-of-view to a colleague, friend, or partner.

What point-of-view or opinion am I bringing to this?

Is this point-of-view familar to me?

How long has it been around? 

Do I remember the first time it popped up in my consciousness?

In this interaction, am I attached to a certain outcome?

Can I let go of it? If not, why not? What is it doing for me? How does it bolster or relate to my I-identity? How is my point-of-view tied to an outcomes I am attached to?

What does it feel like in my body when I let it go? What does it feel like in my body when I don’t let it go?

Thank you for listening today. I so appreciate you and also appreciate the people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.

Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;

Bill Rafferty for technical web support; 

Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and 

Margaret Haas for announcing the show

Be well. Be mindful.

CREDITS/RESOURCES

Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice, Shambhala, Boston and London, 2011

Joseph Goldstein, “7 Treasures of Awakening: The Benefits of Mindfulness,” excepted from the book: Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, Sounds True, Boulder Colorado, 2013, 2016

Stanley A Temple, “Rachel Carson and a Childhood sense of Wonder,” Fellows Forum, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters Magazine, Summer 2015 https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/magazine/rachel-carson-and-childhood-sense-wonder

DISCLAIMER

The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, 
diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and g

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
Be well. Be mindful.