Life is full of challenges. Some of them can seem impossible to get through. In this episode, Rick and Keith share steps they utilize to overcome some of the biggest challenges they’ve faced.

Keith References:

Wayne Dyer, see www.waynedyer.com. Dyer told readers to pursue self-actualization calling reliance on the self a guide to “religious” experience. Dyer criticized societal focus on guilt, which he saw as an unhealthy immobilization in the present due to actions taken in the past. He encouraged readers to see how parents, institutions, and even they, themselves, had imposed guilt trips upon themselves. Although Dyer initially resisted the spiritual tag, by the 1990s he had altered his message to include more components of spirituality when he wrote the book Real Magic and discussed higher consciousness in the book Your Sacred Self. He passed away at age 75.

Tara Brach, see www.tarabrach.com American psychologist and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW). Dr. Brach teaches their Wednesday night meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. Her colleagues include Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein and others in the Vipassana or Insight meditation tradition. Brach also teaches about Buddhist meditation at centers for meditation and yoga in the United States and Europe including Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, the Kripalu Center,  and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. Meditations lead by Tara Brach, see www.tarabrach.com

Eckart Tolle is a German-born resident of Canada, best known as the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose. In 2011, he was listed by Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world. In 2008, a New York Times writer called Tolle “the most popular spiritual author in the United States”. Tolle has said that he was depressed for much of his life until he underwent, at age 29, an “inner transformation”. He then spent several years wandering “in a state of deep bliss” before becoming a spiritual teacher. Later, he moved to North America where he began writing his first book, The Power of Now, which was published in 1997 and reached the New York Times Best Seller lists in 2000.

The Power of Now and A New Earth sold an estimated three million and five million copies respectively in North America by 2009. In 2008, approximately 35 million people participated in a series of 10 live webinars with Tolle and television talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Tolle is not identified with any particular religion, but he has been influenced by a wide range of spiritual works. He has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia since 1995.

Unguarded is an ESPN Films documentary about Chris Herren. who was a “can’t miss” basketball superstar until drug addiction eventually destroyed his career. With the support of his wife, family and recovery program, Chris conquers his demons and reclaims his life. Part of his recovery was the result of serving others and sharing his story. 

Rick’s References: “No mud, no lotus,” means without suffering there can be no happiness; without the grit there is nothing to create the pearl. The inevitable crap of life can give birth to the glorious if we re- conceptualize tough times this way.

Alain de Botton is a Swiss-born British author. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy’s relevance to everyday life. He published Essays in Love (1993), which sold two million copies. Other bestsellers include How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), Status Anxiety (2004) and The Architecture of Happiness (2006).

He co-founded The School of Life in 2008 and Living Architecture in 2009. In 2015, he was awarded “The Fellowship of Schopenhauer”, an annual writers award from the Melbourne Writers Festival, for this work.

Seneca (c. 1 BCE – CE 65) was born in Spain and was a Roman Stoic philosopher and playwright best known for his Medea and Thyestes.

Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics based on understanding the natural world. The path to happiness for humans is found in accepting that which we cannot control and refusing to wallow in victimhood. Stoicism teaches that we must not allow our lives to be controlled by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain. Stoicism encourages working together and treating others in a fair and just manner.

The Four Agreements is a book by don Miguel Ruiz who suggests four principles to practice in order to create love and happiness in your life:

1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama.

4. Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and avoid self-judgment and regret.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (“ADAA”) Search the free ADAA member directory of licensed mental health providers who specialize in anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, PTSD, and related disorders: www. treatment.adaa.org.