The Examined Life with Bram Levinson

On Tuesday, January 23, while onstage at Madison Square Garden, Madonna spoke about, and to, two nurses who had been on the frontlines during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City in the 1980's and 1990's. Her words paid homage to these unsung heroes, and Valery Hughes and Ellen Matzer sat down with me for today's episode of the podcast to talk about their experiences, their bond and their shared history, among other things. 

After heading to Costa Rica for a yoga, meditation and mindfulness retreat in the jungle that elicited zero emotions or feelings leading up to it, I found myself with my heart blown open in a land of enchantment and wonder. Enjoy the contents of my heart and my mind as I felt compelled to share them in the moment. 

On my last full day in Paros, I got into the car and let intuition guide me to wherever I felt compelled to be on the island. I ended up in the mountains, no surprise there. Some thoughts at the tail end of an adventurous couple of months. 

A stream of (pre-considered) consciousness that may just change the way you think about certain things. Enjoy!

A frank and in-depth conversation with Sarah Wilkinson, a woman who has spent the last couple of years redesigning her life and who has some valuable insight and wisdom to show for it. 

As I take a day out of the sun, I can't help but reflecting on the past decade of offering the Paros wellness trip and gleaning some wisdom from it all. Enjoy!

Yoga philosophy tells us that attachment is an obstacle to finding truth, and mindfulness and meditation tell us that withdrawal of the person and the senses are essential, yet attachment theory tells us that every one of us will seek out someone to attach to and that that is not only ok, we are hardwired for it. To attach or not to attach, that is the question. How do we navigate conflicting messages when all we want is to make the most out of life? Give this episode a listen for my thoughts on the subjects.

Life had a major lesson in store for me over the last couple of months, and as I believe lessons are meant to be shared, let this one be a lesson that stays with us all. It all started back in 1988 with a Rolling Stone article that changed my life, and the rest...well give this episode a listen to find out the rest.

As has been the norm over the last few episodes, there has been an extended pause since this podcast has been updated. The sea change seems to be occurring, and I'm back, this time broadcasting from my other home away from home, England. Some musings and sharing to kick things back off, so enjoy.

What is it about beautiful geographical locations that resonates so much with us? And what can we do when, even in the most engaging moments, the mind wanders into the anxiety and rumination-inducing patterns? Welcome to The Woodpecker Rule, a daily mindfulness practice that is easy to use, available to us all, and is always helpful.

I am in Greece taking time and space for myself, and as I had hoped would happen (but could not have planned for), I woke up this morning with somewhat of an epiphany I felt compelled to share. Enjoy!

It's been nine months since the last episode, and I am back, this time recording live from Paros. Some thoughts, musings, epiphanies and observations I felt compelled to share, so enjoy! 

I have been talking to students this week about channeling the energy of calm and well-being that they find in their personal meditation or yoga practice out into the world for this Holiday season. Then, tonight, I came across a social media post my younger brother posted that introduced me to an initiative that does just that. Check out The Kindness Calendar and please make it your mindfulness practice for this month. Special thanks to www.action for happiness.org for putting this out into the world!

Pandemica. Terror attacks. Election Day in the US. The fight for freedom and equality. We are living in a concentrated moment of life happening, and the tendency is to anesthetize from the discomfort it elicits in us. Don't. Here's why.

Happiness seems to be in short supply these days. All the more reason to talk about it, give some insight into it and dip into The Ashtavakra Gita to get some wisdom that will only steer us in the right direction, closer to happiness and closer to enjoying the ride. So enjoy the ride :)

I stepped out today into the greenery of Mont-Royal with musician Mike Daigle for some quality conversation about meditation, music, the artistic process and even tiny bit about anti-maskers. Enjoy!

I woke up this morning exhausted from my digestive system trying to deal with the massive Indian dinner I ate last night. That somehow inspired me to produce this latest episode :)))) Enjoy!

Many of my coaching clients over the past few months have been working to balance out all the doing with some down time, and it has not been easy. Every single one of us needs to give ourselves an opportunity to rest, to properly allow the nervous system to come closer to its default settings. So here's a relatively short offering that should be of help to many of you. Jump to 4m30s to dive into the meditation, or enjoy the short talk before. 

We all have work to do, work that allows us to shed old habits and patterns that may be doing more harm than good, and I am no exception. In this episode, I reference a spiritual teaching that helps me keep myself accountable and in check when necessary. Enjoy!

In Yogic and Hindu studies we are taught that attachment is an obstacle to finding peace. And so what does the practice of non-attachment actually entail? Here are my thoughts about it all.