Brad4d Savasana

Mind you, I hate driving. Rather than ruminate how much I hate it, I use as practice. We can practice one-pointed focus by having zero distractions and using the silence to concentrate on the road. Other times I use podcasts with the understanding that certain podcasts will engage a specific mood. This way, the time isn’t wasted because you are being intentional with your choices.

How tempting it is to do things for attention! When we live our lives onstage through social media, we look for ways to shock others. We live exaggerated lives. Yet this is not sustainable. Instead, we seek balance, which uses discernment to choose wisely.

So often we get mired in our trials that we forget moments of beauty. We easily believe in negative thoughts, which bring more activation of our disappointments. But a voice, a text, a picture, or a song can catapult us out of our tornado of negativity. By recollecting a fond memory without clinging to it, we can remember the beautiful fluctuation of life.

Simone Biles had dropped out of an event in the Olympics citing she knew she couldn’t perform according to what others expected of her. We all can relate to the heavy, limiting feeling expectations of others. We eschew this heaviness by opening to our best at each moment, embracing all possibilities. Rather than live according to expectations, we aim to do our best at each moment. If that isn’t en...

Love songs often point to Eros, which is romantic love. They often point to “new” love, which often morphs into the deeper, agape love which is all-pervasive. Some songs can be conceived as love songs from God. Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” can be one of them.

Desiring success might motivate us, but we must not let it consume us. It feeds on your deep-seated desire to belong or be loved. Remain aware of how far you’ve come, and balance success with a little bit of humility.

Some of the best teachings are the most difficult because they pull us out of complacency. We become refined in the fire of tapas. But many will give up or bypass the difficult, thinking it’s unnecessary. The hardest teachings are there to transform us so that we truly become new.

If we move about the world looking for occasions to be offended, we’ll never find peace. We’re simply waiting for other people to behave the way we deem appropriate, and that might never happen. Instead, we can look at an emotional reaction with an inquiring mind. Not everything is about us.

We often want to be heard, to tell our story. This, too, can speak of ego. If we think, pray, and live human truth, it doesn’t matter if we’re heard. Those who want to listen will be drawn to you. Those who do not still need to prepare their hearts. Your actions will be seen, and they will listen when they are ready.

So much junk science slips through the cracks of more reputable publications. Because it’s so easy to publish, many people write articles that promote their products while providing misinformation to help sell. Then an uncritical reader will share this article, thinking that it’s valid because it was published on a somewhat reputable platform. We need to be more discerning about media that we read...

Ponds rely on the rain to sustain them, while lakes are fed by rivers and mountains. One is stagnant and one is continually replenished. If we’re not connected to something bigger, some greater source, our self-regard might dry up.

We love to play the blame game, don’t we? We look to find someone else to blame for our suffering without recognizing how we might be playing a part in our suffering. Eventually, we find a way to live without blame, recognizing that all of us are doing the best we can according to our level of consciousness.

How often do we stuff a variety of thoughts into one sensory experience? We love to judge, infer, and augment each moment rather than remain open to the purity of an unfiltered experience. This is where we can experience the inner silence and peace and find connection with life.

When we encounter something, we often seek the opinions of others before we form our own. I did the same when I encountered the crowdfunded series, “The Chosen.” Of course, I didn’t find much opinion about it. This allowed me to fully experience the series without the bias of others to color my experience. With any experience, we can use this simple criterion: Does this nurture my becoming a bette...

We all get stuck in routines. They make us feel comfortable, but they also lure us into complacency. This keeps us from realizing where our path might be changing. We must do something different, even though our stuck mindset doesn’t want to move. Yet there’s a part of you deep within that says, “Shut up and do it!” You’d be surprised at what you missed.

When times in our lives are rough, we often wonder, “Where is God?” Or we become so consumed with fixing things ourselves that we forget about God. During these times, we’re called to make a shift—to do something different. If you take off the blinders of your habits or routines, you might find God is exactly where you are.

When life feels so heavy, we must pause for a moment and find one small thing for which to be grateful. Just one small degree towards gratitude can set your day along a better course. Nature can help, whether it’s a cool breeze in a heatwave or a little diddy from a robin.

Mathieu Van der Poel’s epic finish at Stage 2 of the Tour de France gives us motivation. While “climbing” the Mur-de-Bretagne—the wall of Brittany—he had to reach deep within to find the strength to break away from the other cyclists. It would be the memory of his grandfather, the late Raymond Poulidor, that would push him beyond his limit and toward his finish. We can do it, too. It’s just a matt...

We live so much of our lives seeking approval from others, but what about our own dreams? Did we drop them somewhere along the way? If so, we must go back to the place we left them and take a good look.

A lot of pop psychology likes to overly simplify the two hemispheres of the brain. We hear that left brain is concerned with details and right brain integrates the details into the big picture. Although it’s more complicated than that, what’s important is that they need one another. One isn’t better than the other, and they must keep the communication channels open. This is a good metaphor for liv...

We get so caught up in ridiculous arguments, creating unnecessary stress about things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of life. When something grave in our lives does occur, such as a parent being diagnosed with dementia, the stress can overwhelm us. These trials force us into simplicity, where we no longer concern ourselves with petty arguments. Instead, we find peace in something as...

Many of us engage in a search for our “authentic” or “true” self, but what does that mean? Is it a personality, essence, or purpose? Or is an illusion? What’s more important is identifying patterns and routines that bring harm to ourselves and others. It’s about seeing clearly and responding to the present moment authentically.

It’s important for us to look closely at what gives us a rise of anger or shame. Those emotions can point at something that can bring about wholeness. What’s key is changing the way you see the situation and how you behave as a result. Choose a response that brings about wisdom and unity rather than division.

So much behind the crises of this world is our clinging to our identity. We try so hard to “find” ourselves, yet there is a person inside us who has never been lost. It is the essence of us that is inherently good because it’s not defined by roles, identities, or boundaries.

Your world is heavily influenced by what you pay attention to. If you tend to media that tell you the world is terrible and wrong, then you will see the world that way, and continue to select media that confirm your belief. But if you balance that media with something soothing (such as this podcast ;)), you’ll see the world much differently. Or if you turn off all media and simply look around you,...