Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast

I found myself surprisingly motivated by pessimistic thoughts, driven to action by what I previously thought was a "negative" perspective, but I now realize is neither "good" nor "bad," it's just another voice that needs to have equal say during the decision-making process. Now pessimism has a "seat at the table," so to speak. What motivates you?

That which we don't like about someone else is often what we dislike about ourselves. So, next time someone triggers you, think to yourself "Thank you" instead of "F-you" because they are reflecting a side of you that you try to ignore.

What you DON'T do is as important as what you do (if not more so). So, instead of thinking you need to do MORE of something in order to be more mindful or spiritual or healthy, what do you need to STOP doing because it's working against you?

Does the way you cope with one challenge cause another problem down the line, sometimes even bigger than the initial difficulty with which your coping mechanism was designed to help? It's important to have multiple tools so we don't try to solve everything with food, for example, which would be like trying to build with only a hammer.

You get upset with people as if life has a script and they need to play along. There is no script. And nobody is under contract to act according to you. When I get upset with someone, this is the 3-minute episode I bring to mind to calm down.

If we chase happiness by seeking sense pleasures and avoiding unpleasant sensations, attachment to wealth and praise, or aversion to loss and blame, we may gain temporary happiness, but it will be accompanied by fear, restlessness, and concern, all of which make us miserable. But there is another way...

Nothing hurts the same way forever, though sometimes it seems right that it should. Gauge your pain by monitoring its intensity, frequency, and duration.

When we are emotionally triggered, we get tunnel vision and only see things from our perspective. We feel so wronged that our brains actually rationalize irrational behavior (like aggression) when we most need to remain calm and patient.

It's not literally about the people upstairs, it's about the few who make decisions that affect the many.

Is it possible to pay too much attention and lose perspective? Let's not miss the forest for the trees, nor the trees for the forest.

Understing what's going on with people who don't walk the talk. Are they hypocritical or reasonable? Is it possible for us to be driven by conflicting intentions, or is it our old friend Cognitive Dissonance? Does doing this create turmoil within? Only you can answer that for yourself.

Get curious about the many paths up this mountain of life, not just the trail most traveled. Neurodivergents are also known as being on the autism spectrum, processing data and feelings in ways that neurotypicals don't always understand, let alone accept. It's an operating system that works just fine, though not always compatible with others (like Android and Apple). This was one of the most difficult episodes for me to record, thank you for receiving it with gentle grace and kindness, I...

Why do some survive when others don't? Is it just luck, or is there a bigger reason behind it? Do we look for the meaning behind a second chance, or do we give it meaning by what we do with it?

Answering the question "Who Am I?" (without confusing identity with personality) is a lifelong journey of development, creation, and realization.

We either actively create the balance we seek or we are creating the imbalance we try to escape. To listen with captions, watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/N80LPA6mN3U

Are you what the Buddha called a Hungry Ghost? If you expect the world to run according to you, that expectation is the source of your misery, not anybody or anything else. And if this accountability feels like an attack to someone, they are not yet ready to acknowledge their own behavior. This episode is about the entitlement, the greed, the self-centeredness, and general preoccupation with our own desires at the expense of others.

How far must you go off the path before you realize you are off of it? If you define it well enough and frequently check, the reward of being on the path is enough motivation not to veer off.

Buddhism is called a practice, and we are practitioners. As such, we exercise mindful conduct, speech, resolve, livelihood, effort, and so on, the same way athletes exercise their skills between games. We are not perfect, but even professional basketball players don't make every shot.

It's impossible to stop wanting things, but there is a difference between wholesome desires and being blinded by greed. Buddhism is a practice of discernment with the intention to reduce suffering (for ourselves and others). It's easy to spot greed out in the world, but if we are mindful, we can spot it in our own thoughts and actions as well.

This is a call for us to rise as Soldiers of Peace in the Army of Love and put mindfulness into action, which instills a sense of purpose into our every thought, word, and action, because our beliefs alone don't make us "better people," our behavior does. So.. buckle up!