Brad4d Savasana

Do we need more anger, greed, and violence in the world? We all have things we need to work through, and sometimes this inner restlessness can be uncomfortable. That's why it's critical for us to find healthy ways to channel our restlessness. Yet our restlessness is also a call for wholeness. It's a deep longing for God. While we work through some of our inner demons, we also recognize...

We all fall out of step every once in a while. We lose our center and get easily swayed by the ways of the world that bring us stress and pain. God calls us to "Come to the water." Lectio Divina is a contemplative practice that invites you to engage with scripture in a deeply personal and meditative way. In this episode, I'll guide you through the steps of Lectio Divina, helping you...

Unselfish acts can easily result in unsavory effects if our deepest motives have alternate outcomes rooted in the ego. What we're seeing in the U.S. House of Representatives is a clear example. A politician might desire to serve the greater good, but if there are ulterior motives such as the desire for fame, power, or money, the actions will eventually be skewed towards these corrupted outcome...

Most Christians have good intentions when they say, “Give it to God.” Yet that’s not very helpful to someone who is struggling. It oversimplifies the spiritual process we must endure as we take a good, hard look at our lives. Simply saying, “Offer it up to The Lord” doesn’t make it magically go away, and it doesn’t give that person the spiritual tools to endure.

Envy—that sneaky little vice that not only steals other people’s joy, but also your joy. Envy pairs with pride and thrives in competition. Thousands of women competed in the Ironman World Championships in Kona yesterday, which means thousands more women probably sat at home feeling envy for not qualifying. Rather than let envy and competitiveness steal your joy, let that other person’s joy inspire...

How often does our inner peace get disturbed when someone comes at us with their anger, fear, or pride? Our initial response is to participate in the conflict to protect our ego. Yet peace never arises from heated reactions to conflict. It comes when one person or group decides that peace will begin with them. This Metta Meditation from the Buddhist tradition helps us cultivate compassion for ours...

Listen to this thought-provoking podcast as we delve into the world of self-improvement and discover why traditional wisdom may hold the key to true happiness amidst suffering. Understand how to find peace and joy by embracing life's challenges and letting go of the constant pursuit of instant gratification. Tune in for valuable insights and practical advice on navigating the complexities of m...

Do you want inner peace? Thousands of books will tell you their “way to inner peace.” The truth is there isn’t one way, but the most effective ways to inner peace are those that train the mind to be still. It’s difficult for the mind to be still at first, but you show up each day and begin again. Through practice, you’ll find moments when the mind becomes still. Those moments are when inner peace...

Our minds can get stuck in negative loops, and often the media we choose serve as step up transformers for our inner angst. It helps to engage with different media, saturating our minds with benevolent thoughts. That’s what prayers do. When we hear and repeat the prayers of the wise sages who’ve left their mark upon this world, we embody their benevolence. In this podcast, you’ll hear prayers from...

Many times we feel hopeless, and we’re desperate to have God throw us a bone. Rather than abandon our faith or become cynical, we ask ourselves how we might have stepped off our spiritual path. It might be areas in our life that we haven’t given to God, or it might be ways we’re letting our vices blind us from experiencing God. This passage from Padre Pio is a plea for God to stay with us in the m...

Our patterns and routines may give us comfort, but they will often keep us stuck. This can cause us pain when things change. Rather than remaining fixed on our patterns, it helps to step outside our comfort zone to experience something new. Oftentimes, we meet reminders that there is an abundance of joy in this world.

How often do we look to others to help us form an opinion? How often do we project our own faults onto others? Self-awareness is a huge part of the spiritual journey. We recognize how every moment the ego (or the false self) blinds our perception. If we don’t see clearly, we can’t make good choices that benefit humanity.

Ever feel depleted of your energy after an argument? Emotions like rage and grief can suck the life out of you. The yoga tradition calls it “prana.” You breathe in new prana every moment, and it’s important to keep this life force balanced throughout the day. Otherwise, you might find yourself continually depleted.

Social media feeds are rampant with efforts of “Look at me.” We want to be seen or heard—sometimes we demand it. Yet this mindset contradicts most spiritual traditions, which teach us the value of humility. While Jesus teaches us that who is first will be last, we continue to demand being first. Being first or being obsessed with winning never brings inner peace. When we practice humility, we reco...

Social media, entertainment media, and certainly the advertising industry perpetuates the idea of “more” and “better.” That tells us we should find ways to stand out, “be seen,” “be heard,” and “speak your truth.” That won’t bring you much meaning and purpose in your life. It only gets you stuck in the perpetual chase. When you approach midlife, you realize that the chase never brought you joy, le...

Social media is rampant with pleas to be seen and heard. We continually seek other people’s approval. We don’t want to say or do anything that our social groups might not like even though it might be an authentic expression of who we are, or it might be the truth. When our thoughts, words, or actions are governed by pride, we’re too fixed on the outcome, which isn’t always predictable. Instead, we...

In a culture that emphasizes positive thinking and a positive mindset, some of us believe that external forces, however illusory, cause us to make poor decisions. When people tell us to question limiting beliefs, isn’t a belief in Mercury retrograde just as limiting? Could believing in Mercury retrograde just be a way for us to excuse our poor decision-making?

How many of us “sit in meditation” where we’re just distracting our minds from our inner restlessness? Whether we’ve meditated for five minutes or five years, we can easily lie to ourselves. Meditation and contemplative prayer are practices. We learn to not silence but instead harness our inner restlessness. It takes practice to allow some of our restlessness to unravel one thread at a time. It al...

Entertainment and social media often fuel us with dopamine, but when we spend too long engaged with media, we lose too many moments in our lives. Rather than live our lives with purpose, we’re perpetually keeping ourselves stuck in routines and habits. If we could live each moment with awareness, asking ourselves, “What is this to eternity?” Maybe we can find a little more energy to live our lives...

How easy it is to judge others without looking for those same faults within ourselves! We accuse others of things without remembering that we’ve been guilty of the same things. If you can’t be honest with yourself, how can you be honest with others? Can you take a good look at what you’ve done, or what you’re currently doing, and say you have nothing to be held accountable for? Our spiritual journ...

In an age of echo chambers and “personal” truth, it can be hard to hear what’s actually true. We don’t like to hear that we’re wrong or we’ve made a mistake. We hate to hear that we’re contributing to a warming planet or to economic disparity. We don’t want to know where our meat comes from. The truth is often hard to hear—that’s why many of us avoid it. However, we never learn and grow if we alwa...

We can easily make a bad day worse by identifying with it. We feed our afflictive emotions like anger and frustration with more thoughts that give them more strength. Or we can just sit with them and let them exhaust themselves. We allow them to visit, but we don’t let themselves move in and take over. Eventually, those clouds move out and we can experience joy again.

People who live in rich nations have pleasurable options within a 6-foot radius. Why would someone sit in meditation when it’s so boring? That’s the point. When we’re continually seeking pleasure and getting stuck on a pleasure-pain cycle, we need time to withdraw from sensation-seeking. Meditation and prayer might not give you the dopamine you want, but it helps balance your brain.

What’s popular on various media channels appeals to our base desires. We see so many leaders promoting values such as power, fame, or money. So few role models of integrity exist. If we don’t have any teachers or role models who can show us how to live with integrity, we must become one of those examples. We can look back to some of the great role models in history, such as Maximus to Marcus Aurel...

In an excessively distracted society, we find it difficult to quiet our minds. It can be frustrating to sit in meditation or prayer because we have incessant thoughts that peck away our concentration. If we anchor our minds on the breath, a phrase, or even a sound, our pesky thoughts will grow tired. This is training the mind.