Brad4d Savasana

It can be hard to get up when you get knocked down so many times. It can be tempting to just stay down and never try again. It’s also tempting to abandon your faith, especially when you see people with no faith faring much better. In Psalm 30, David essentially asks how his rejection glorifies God. He pleads to God to have mercy on him. God then changes his mourning into dancing.

Although I’m attracted to secular orders, I noticed they have a little too much structure for people still working and taking care of families. They also might include body and mind practices to develop the whole person. While I believe structure is necessary in every life, there’s also a need for a bit of fluidity to serve the individual’s unique circumstances and purpose. We need less extremes a...

False prophets aren’t new. So many cults have come and gone claiming to be prophets and apostles of God. They prey on people who have a need to belong, taking their money and making them all the more vulnerable to manipulation. It’s important to be aware of them and discern their message. Does this message resonate with scripture and tradition? Does it seek power? Most of all, is it rooted in love...

So much media tells us to put our needs first. While this can be appropriate in certain circumstances, we get into trouble when we get too consumed with I, me, and my. This puts us in direct conflict with our community and the world. Rather than relinquish the ego, which might seem impossible, adopt a servant perspective. Rather than ask, “what can I get out of this,” we can ask, “what can I give?...

Recalling fond memories of our past can sometimes leave us in a state of yearning, especially when our current circumstances seem troublesome. This state of yearning, clinging, and desperation adds more heaviness to the present moment. It also weighs us as we step into the next moment. Instead, we hold in our minds those feelings of joy, freedom, and peace, allowing them to lighten our emotional l...

It pains me to see so few role models these days. Some role models might be entrepreneurs, only to find out later how they cheated others to be successful. Social media influencers try to dazzle us with their tricks and hacks while they hide their empty lives behind a facade. There are even fewer moral or ethical role models because they don’t want to market morality. I like to read about the live...

When our lives are riddled with chaos, we can take a few moments and look around. There is peace when you can be mindful of something beautiful around you. Even if you’re surrounded by too much chaos, close your eyes and imagine a moment where you can feel at peace. And create moments for yourself by stepping away from the chaos and savoring something beautiful.

Many people no longer attend church because they no longer “feel” anything. But you can experience God in the everyday if you open up space for God to dwell. It’s about making an intentional effort to turn away from the distractions and temptations of the world for a few moments a day to draw within. Through patience and time, eventually you’ll hear the still, soft voice of God.

We can easily become consumed with fear and helplessness. These can blind our ability to see the gifts of the present moment. When we take a moment, open ourselves to a moment of joy, that moment can fill us with enough strength to endure the trials of that day.

Spirituality means different things to different people, but it recognizes that’s there’s much more to our physical existence than what appears. Spirituality puts all of us on a level playing field, which is why many people are spiritual but not religious. On an individual level, spirituality is what holds you together when your world seems to be crashing down around you. If you like this episode,...

Every once in a while, take a moment to do something that makes you feel giddy. Whether it’s swinging on a swing set or bobbing up and down in a swimming pool, we still have that inner child that loves to play. Losing ourselves in this giddiness can be good for the soul.

Depression can get you stuck in a perpetual loop of negativity. While you are healthy, every once in a while, take a moment and notice something different. Notice something that’s new or changing. If we train our minds to continually look for something new, we’re practicing mindfulness. That’s one tool to help keep our minds healthy.

We know everything in our 30s, don’t we? It’s when we reach our 40s and 50s that many of our illusions and insecurities drop and we’re left vulnerable to deal with those issues we pushed under the bed. Our world seemingly falls apart. It’s a call for renovation, remodeling, reconciliation. Sometimes it’s building our lives on a more firm foundation.

Brain scans of Tibetan monks and Franciscan nuns show that a part of the brain goes quiet during deep stages of meditation and prayer. But it doesn’t happen quickly to a majority of us because our minds are so preoccupied with the outside world. We also don’t train our bodies to allow us to sit attentively. We’re all unique, and we can find suitable ways to prepare our minds and bodies for meditat...

Fear can cripple us. Fear can keep us locked in a cage and prevent us from abundance. God has the power to cast out fear. We might not be aware of His presence at every moment, but if we can remain strong in our faith, we can boldly face our fears. By the way, the obnoxious birds attacking my feeder are grackles. I suppose God loves them, too.

Yoga has many benefits to the body, mind, and spirit. Yet those benefits only lie within the intention and mindset of each person. We bring different experiences to a yoga practice, so the benefit will be unique. However, you must be especially discerning about promises about chakra activation or chakra cleansing. Many people who make these promises are misinformed about the chakras and simply sel...

The will is pretty strong, sustaining us through some arduous moments. But what does the will serve? Does the will serve our ego or something greater? This is where training the mindset falls short. Mindset training serves the ego and can lead us to perpetual craving, aversion, and ignorance. Mindset becomes the enemy because it keeps us stuck in patterns and attachments. When the will is aligned...

Spiritual and self-help texts will often speak of the false self, or the many personas we adopt to fit into the world. The false self isn’t necessarily false if it adheres to the virtues and values we hold most dear to us. What makes it false is when we’re dishonest with ourselves and others in keeping up that facade. The “work” is really about unifying these various layers of ourselves so they re...

In a society that eschews religious traditions, I’m wondering about its connection to our inner conflicts. No, it doesn’t explain it all, but it could be one of many factors. Carl Jung has written how important it is for us to connect with our souls so we can integrate the conflicted parts of ourselves into a unified whole. If we don’t, we bring these internal conflicts into the world, thinking th...

What’s common in meditation practices and depth psychology is integrating the various energies—or personas—into your whole being. Rather than let these energies run the show, we learn to harness them so they serve what’s appropriate at the given moment. It requires for us to live more mindfully with discernment.

Thich Nhat Hanh writes about the precepts of Interbeing in his book, Being Peace. These 14 principles of Interbeing can be incorporated into anyone’s life, whether you believe in God or not. These core values of Interbeing are values of humanity. They are important principles that can weave a better community and spark conversations without judgement or competition. It’s not about winning or gain....

Popular self-help people can be like drug dealers. They give you a glimpse of what life could look like until you reach a pay wall. Sure, we all have to make a living somehow, but cultivating a better life can be free. If you truly want more out of life, desire less.

Self-help and get-rich schemes like to promise The American Dream and having whatever you desire. Some will even use spiritual words like “the Universe” or “positive energy” to make promises of fulfilling what people lack. However, the core of most spiritual traditions is the idea of service, of giving back to the world. We’ll never have enough if we’re always taking. And the world continues to be...

Too many messages from society tell us we “need” social interactions. It’s true to a certain extent, but a healthy person knows how to balance social life with quality time alone. Solitude is rich when you give yourself time to cultivate it. Although I’m an introvert, extroverts need time alone as well.

We often define maturity as the number of birthdays we’ve had, but some adults still lack maturity. Maturity is about owning our part of a problem and taking care of it. It requires a little space for us to reflect on our problems so we can learn from them. I’m a little foggy this morning, so I apologize.