It's been a year since I started this podcast and I'm amazed at how the time has flown by and by all that has happened in the last twelve months. In the spirit of mindfulness, I am listening to myself and recognizing that it's time to take a break. Today I'll talk about the what I've gained through creating the podcast and what I hope you'll take with you.
Sit down and shut down. On a bad day, that's my strategy for retreating from difficult feelings. What about you? Withdrawing into a fog, claiming we don't understand, getting lost in habits that undermine us--these are all ways that we retreat from clarity and insight. How can a mindfulness practice help us to be brave enough to face our fears?
What's the place in your life--your heart, your mind, you body where you experience an emptiness that you cannot seem to fill? Or is there an experience you're chasing, or a particular set of feelings you're trying to hold on to? What are you greedy for? What are you grasping at? How can mindfulness practices help you let go and allow who you are right now to be enough?
It might be anger. It might be shame. It might be fear. What's the feeling that for you is like a match being struck? It arises so quickly and with such intensity that the idea of pausing long enough to become an observer of that feeling seems like an impossible task. But is it? Are we really at the mercy of our feelings?
My work as a life coach and this podcast encourage mindfulness so it might seem odd that my goal today is to explain the case against mindfulness. But being mindful does not mean giving up our critical thinking skills so let's look at this issue from more than one perspective.
No matter how focused we are on the present moment, we all have a past. Friends, relatives, photographs, songs, even smells can suddenly, unexpectedly, sometimes, unwillingly, take us on a journey into our past. Happy memories sustain us but difficult ones may overwhelm us. I can't avoid the fact that I have a past so I want to understand how I can stay present while I visit it. What does that mean for my body, heart, and mind?
As I enter the next decade of my life I am awake to the opportunity, present in each moment. Who do I want to be in relationship to myself, others, and the world? How can mindfulness practices support me in this journey?
"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." That quote's been attributed to more than one person but the important question is: is it true? Focusing on the topics my clients bring to me in my life coaching practice, I discuss the daily dynamics of suffering and what we can do to reduce it.
Watch live on Facebook. www.facebook.com/transformationtalkradio/
We all have them in our life. And we all probably are a difficult person to someone else! How can mindfulness help us understand what's happening when we are with, and when we are, a difficult person?
I make a list every day, well almost every day. I sometimes add items I've already done just so I can cross them off. Is my identity, my sense of having a self dependent on what I get done each day? It sometimes feels that way. What would it mean to understand self differently, mindfully?
Was it a day for love or a day manufactured to test love?
In an effort to understand our experience, we often ask "Why?" Why do I feel so sad? Why do these hard things keep happening in my life? Why is it so difficult to be happy? Why am I the way I am?
Although I encourage people to become students of their own mind, to seek a greater knowledge of their interior life, I find that focusing on answering "Why?" does not reduce suffering. Too often why questions don't usually move us forward but keep us stuck in a loop of unhappiness and frustration. Let's talk about why that happens!
Attorney Erin Johnson Turner saw the the pain her clients experienced when they sought her help in divorce actions. She and her partner had a great idea--assign each client a life coach and reimagine what it means to help clients at one of the toughest points in their lives. Erin and life coach Matt Tuttle join me to talk about what they've learned from their work.
My guest, author, editor, book-writing coach, and founder of ClickClack Writing, LLC, Kate Leibfried, joins me to talk about the restorative power of writing.
As our country enters a new era it's important to take a moment to reflect and ask ourselves how mindfulness practices can keep us grounded, grateful, and awake.
The wind is howling, events are swirling, and many of us feel as if we are being torn apart. What can we do to repair the seams and patch the tears in the fabric of daily life?
Instead of a making resolutions, I like to choose a word for the year, something that will support me on my mindfulness journey. For 2021, I've chosen "perspective." In this first episode of 2021, I'll talk about the benefits and the challenges of remembering that we see the world from a particular perspective.
What are we able to see now, that we couldn't see in this last year?
Each day seems to bring more worries, more anxiety, more fear. In this episode, we'll focus on the basics of mindfulness as a way of reminding ourselves that mindfulness is needed more now than ever.
Daniel J. Pineau, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Mississippi discusses his research on disseminating evidence-based mental health information including mindfulness, psychoeducation, and diverse outreach seminars to a large college audience. Daniel’s current research looks at how best to provide brief online tools (mindfulness, information about the functions of emotions, etc.) effectively to college students.
Stay up to date
For any inquiries, please email us at hello@podcastworld.io