The Practice is a way of clearing mental and emotional space so you can root yourself in the present moment, experience gratitude and serve with loving kindness along the way. No matter how life shows up, a Practice that does this for you, can free you from suffering and create an opening for you to experience joy and peace while you serve others.
challenges
In this episode, Rick and Keith discuss the importance of addressing the valleys and challenges of life from a place of acceptance and love. Ignoring or reacting to “life’s valleys” from a place of resistance, only leads to suffering. And while the hills or life’s good times are more fun, the growth is in dealing with the valleys. Be sure to attend to those for a peaceful life.
“Quincy” Netflix link: https://www.netflix.com/title/80102952
“Quincy” is a 2018 American documentary film about the life of American record producer, singer and film producer, Quincy Jones. The film was co-written and co -directed by Alan Hicks and Rashida Jones and produced by Paula DuPré Pesmen. The film was released by Netflix on September 21, 2018.
“Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart,” Tara Brach. https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Acceptance-Embracing-Heart. Believing that something is wrong with us is a deep suffering. This suffering emerges in crippling self-judgments and conflicts in our relationships, in addictions and perfectionism, in loneliness and overwork—all the forces that keep our lives constricted and unfulfilled. Radical Acceptance offers a path to freedom, including the day-to-day practical guidance developed over Dr. Brach’s twenty years of work with therapy clients. Step by step, she leads us to trust our innate goodness, showing how we can develop the balance of clear-sightedness and compassion that is the essence of Radical Acceptance. Radical Acceptance does not mean self-indulgence or passivity. Instead it empowers genuine change: healing fear and shame and helping to build loving, authentic relationships. When we stop being at war with ourselves, we are free to live fully every precious moment of our lives.
Many people think life is here to make us happy. Life is here to challenge us and make us conscious. Accepting this changes everything and creates the space for you to see that whatever goes wrong in life becomes the practice for being present, conscious, grateful, kind and a service to yourself and others.
The details matter. Whether it be in the paint strokes of a work of art or the way in which you practice your craft, the details matter if you care about quality. The same applies to your life. Listen to Keith and Rick share how you can stay present to the details so you live your best life.
Most people want to be around positive kind people. And we can easily spot someone who isn’t. It’s a lot more challenging to identify that person if it’s you. Let’s call it a blindspot. In this show, Rick and Keith share how they’ve been troublemakers, the cost of being one and how to go from troublemaker to being positive, kind and loving all the time.
What We Are Reading:
– Naht Hanh, Thich, “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy and Liberation” (1998).
– Harris, “Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics” (2017) News anchor and author of “10% Happier,” Harris outlines meditation methods that focus on inner peace and gratitude, crowding out the need to gossip, blame and argue.
– Cain, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” (2013) Silence as a tool for understanding self and others.
– Reynolds, “Easing Brain Fatigue with a Walk in the Park,” New York Times, March, 2013, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com
The true measure of whether you are truly courageous, resilient, kind and loving, is to be tested. It’s easy to be brave and a good person when life lines up for you and other people behave. But what about when life is very challenging and people are really difficult. How do you respond in these situations? In this podcast, the guys discuss how life and relationships are the real spiritual practice because they provide opportunities to really test your personal development, growth and consciousness. Learn to see them that way, practice being your best when dealing with them and watch life become more peaceful.
The experience of the sacred is available through relationship with our spouse, lover, parents, children, and closest friends. They are all our holy teachers providing us with opportunities to practice. There are many paths that can lead to spiritual awakening: service, devotion, meditation, and wisdom are but a few.
Check out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/…the…/relationship-spiritual-practice-part-1, and
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/…/relationship-spiritual-practice-part-2