When we think of Buddhism, we think of meditation. In this episode I will take you on a tour of the many ways to meditate. But at the core of the episode is the simple awareness that all meditation rests on ... and that everyday happiness rests on. Join me…
There is a view of Buddhism that is idealistic. That it's all about meditating and chanting in an incense-filled room, hidden away from the world. That the peace promised in Buddhism comes from being away from, above, or different from, the troubles of the world. If your mind is full…
In this special episode, I celebrate with podcast listeners the publication of my book Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change. The book officially launches on Monday, November 26th. In this special episode, l'll share a bit about why I wrote the book and a few snippets…
2020 seems like something out of Sci-Fi. But here we are. And from my perspective—approaching my 67th birthday in a little under 2 weeks—we ARE living in what was the sci-fi from my childhood perspective. I imagine, though, that for most of my podcast listeners, how we are living today…
This is a special episode dedicated to the life of our good friend and neighbor—too soon lost. It focuses on the haiku by Issa: This world of dew is a world of dew, and yet, and yet. Listen as I read writings of my grief and how I come to…
The whole world is afraid. A tiny piece of biological stuff—this virus—brought the world to its knees. A contagion or plague of this level is not new to the world but new to most of us living today. We have very little experience dealing with this level of uncertainty. This…
In this podcast, we'll look at the sixth part of The Eightfold Path and the first step into the area of meditation: Right Effort. Is your energy, your efforts, positive contributors to making you more content ... and making the people around you more content? If not, maybe you need…
Join me in a conversation with Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon, authors of the just-released book, Radically Happy: A User's Guide to the Mind. In the book and in our conversation, ancient wisdom meets modern methods as we explore the universal search for well-being, for happiness. As Rinpoche and Erric…
Join me for a short episode check-in and sharing of how I am taking personal action despite living in our current reality of uncertainty. Awakening to the fact that I was spending too much time anxiously looking "out there" at what was or could be coming ... or focusing on…
The "Eastern Way" of psychology offers a profoundly different paradigm than Western psychology. Join me as a talk with Gregg Krech, one of the leading authorities on Japanese Psychology in North America, about this difference. Using the Buddhist concept of "skillful means", Japanese psychology offers methods to master the skills…
Up for a fun challenge? In this podcast, I talk about my love of Zen Koans, as one of the rarest practices for 'messing with' your conceptual mind and shaking your false trust in the stability of what we think is 'knowledge.' A koan is, in essence, a problem that…
In this podcast we're going to talk about "Right Intention" or how to be less of a jerk. Trying to be less of a jerk requires action ... not just thinking. We typically have trouble self-correcting, because we do things habitually or from a reactionary pattern. We never actually see…
Join me as I explore the very earthly foundations of Buddhism itself, as we turn the light of Dharma towards ecology. Siddhartha Gautama asked the Earth to confirm his enlightenment, his Buddhahood. He did not ask for help from heavenly beings. He asked the Earth. In an episode celebrating "Earth…
In this podcast I'm talking with Noah Rasheta of the Secular Buddhism podcast and author of the books: Secular Buddhism and No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners: Clear Answers to Burning Questions About Core Buddhist Teachings. Noah has a great story to share about a crisis of faith, existential angst, and a…
In this podcast, we'll look at how we can move from thinking about work as what we are ... or as something we're 'stuck with' ... or as something we are 'becoming' on our progression up the ladder ... to how and who we are being with our work. Are…
In this podcast we're going to talk about "Right Speech" or why we should consider just "zipping it." Talking. We're always talking. Even when we're listening we're talking ... mentally creating our responses. And, now, with endless social media forums and "drive-by" Twitter and Instagram talking, it's a constant stream…
When you consciously try to build mindfulness into your day, what you notice is that sometimes NOT speaking and NOT acting is the best possible action … the RIGHT Action. Our culture, we are hard-wired to respond to everything that happens to us, or around us, with either activity or…
In this episode I'll talk about my uneasy relationship with the 5 Precepts. Do they produce more questions—and more confusion—than answers? Do they cause more suffering than they prevent? I'll explore how, if looked at as rules and "thou shall not's", they set up barriers between Right View and the…
This episode is about finding your WHY. How do you feel about your life? Is it motivated by a big story, something bigger than yourself and your own little ego-driven, perceived wants and needs? The Buddha offered his followers an opportunity to become part of a big story. Being part…
Meditating on death is a traditional Buddhist practice. In this podcast, we'll talk about how thinking about our own and others' death can help us live more fully. All the things that keep us busy and entertained might help us forget about the certainty of death, but it won't help…
In the first podcast episode of Everyday Buddhism: Making Everyday Better we'll talk about what it means to be an "insider." The Tibetan word for Buddhist is called Nangpa. Nangpa means “insider.” Everything in our lives is about how we look at things and nobody makes us see things another…
In a listener-requested podcast I relate how the story of releasing cows from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering, helped me find freedom from suffering over a series of minor personal losses and disappointments...and freedom FROM the losses themselves. We each have "cows"…
In this podcast, we'll look at the Buddhist concept of "No-Self", or Anatta, I introduced in episode 2. Where is your "self"? Is it something you can describe? It's hard to describe or identify as a discrete and non-changing thing, yet we sometimes cling to ideas of self that cause…
In this episode, as a fun diversion, I'm going to talk about "the Buddhist answer to everything. And the answer is: "Maybe." A loose quote from The Lankavatara Sutra: "Things are not what they seem; nor are they otherwise” … which is really saying things are as we label them…
