A Quiet Mind

In this podcast, I talk about how to achieve self-love through the process of self-awareness. I delve into Shadow Side work and how to embrace our suffering and pain while acknowledging our compassion and empathy. We take the pathless path to awaken by embracing our so-called differences and traits. We are creators and makers that can give credit to the muse and free ourselves from the bondage of confusion and stagnation. Be love. Be well.

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Thousands of years ago our ancestor's curiosity about the afterlife led them to discover the process we call meditation...maybe? This is my theory about the origins of meditation and our exploration into the unknown forces that generate our reality. Through the method of self Inquiry can we explore beyond the known and into dip the void of no return? If we know that we're not our thoughts, feelings, or emotions, then who are we? We can observe the arising of the "I" in the mind as just a thought, just an idea. Who am I? What happens when I die? Am I a soul? These are a few questions that occur often in the podcast and I explore them once again with a unique concept that you may find interesting.

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Do you have an inner voice that makes you feel lousy or anxious? Learn to catch yourself before reacting to preprogrammed, unconscious reactions spurred on by invasive, destructive thoughts. In this podcast, I relate some concepts I’ve uncovered to help recognize and combat the unconscious mind’s ability to affect our emotions. I like to call it, “The Great Pause.” The great pause is where you’ve caught yourself, you’ve paused before being swept away by dark thoughts and feelings.

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This podcast is about Tonglen (Tong lin) meditation. I talk about how I use the practice to relieve anxiety, stress, anger, and frustration. This isn’t about by-passing reality or having wishy thinking, this is about inviting in the pain and suffering of all beings and seeing it transformed into love, light, and healing. The world seems like it’s unbalanced, unfair, and brutal at times and this practice helps me to change my thinking and cultivate a space of compassion and empathy. I encourage you to look up Tonglen for yourself, my practice is only loosely based on an ancient and complicated practice. The book I mention is Thomas E. Mails, “Fools Crow Wisdom and Power,” the teachings of Frank Fools Crow, ceremonial chief of the Teton Sioux.

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After almost thirty years of meditation I talk about the four things that I wished I knew sooner about meditation. What to expect when practicing zazen. What kind of changes I may experience during my spiritual journey. How mindfulness isn’t just about becoming a more productive cog in the wheel. The fact that I might be confronted with traumas, pain and suffering that I may have buried in my past. Lastly, that powerful spiritual experiences aren’t the goal of meditation, that embracing the mundane and ordinary is an organic outcome of the practice.

Here’s a link to my first podcast called Acceptance: http://www.aquietmind.com/?s=acceptance

Here’s the link to Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aquietmind

Here’s the link to TikTok link: https://www.tiktok.com/@a_quiet_mind

A talk about the ground of being, emptiness and the primordial state of being. Kicking ourselves out of any nest of supposed understanding we may have reached. Exiting the zero space of the non dual abiding. Compassion and empathy can pull us out of the bliss bunny ride. The perfect present is a part of our conciseness. We're not adding anything to our understanding. Instead, we're rediscovering what already exists within us all.

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Life is difficult. There is pain and suffering and at times there is a deep misery or depression beyond our control. Sometimes we fail and sometimes the world just kicks our ass.

It's ok to fail, forget, blow it, lose it and fall. To move forward we must allow ourselves to look the fool, to trip up and make mistakes. The saying goes, fall six times and get up seven but no one tells you how long you can stay down. I say, stay down as long as you need to and you'll know when to get back up.

Once upon a time there was a thought, and the thought was, "a quiet mind is all you need." A quiet mind is all anyone needs to feel happy, peaceful, whole and complete. If your mind just stops and becomes still, what remains? It’s simple really and anyone can see this. What remains is quiet and quiet by its very nature is peaceful and peace is nice. Peace feels good, it feels serene, and who doesn't like serene?

When we use our breath to come home and check in we can catch ourselves before we use a tactic, habit or substance to escape the rat mind. When we catch ourselves before we engage in that habit we can instill this practice, the practice or activity just observing. Observing silently, without judgment and letting the thoughts pass by. Try sitting today for just two minutes. If your mind say's it's bored, then just sit there and be as bored as you can. Do boredom all the way. If your mind wont stop spinning, just let it spin and don't try to do a thing. Do nothing all the way everyday for just a few minutes.There is no need to have a formal meditation practice, just sit quietly, watch, listen and breath.

If you think about it we were never taught to breath, isn’t that strange? We have been living out our whole lives without the basic instructions on how to breathe properly. Isn’t that shocking? Most of us breathe like little chipmunks that are being chased by Mr. Twinkles the neighborhood cat. That type of breathing is fight or flight, or panic breathing. We are all running from Mr. Twinkles in our own way throughout the day.

I'm jumping in and taking you with me! Join me on the journey of following your heart's desire. Let's step into the unknown together and take the leap of faith. In this podcast we talk about; Embracing your own inner teacher/guide and waking up to your full potential. We create an experiment to see what happens when we turn around 180 degrees and go in the direction we are guided to go. Embracing the opportunity to wake up and see our true self. The void we feel. The disconnect is nothing more than a thought or thoughts arising that we decide to hook in to, give meaning to, embellish and create the story we call 'self' We look at being content, happy and peaceful by dropping the concept that something from the outside will make us whole. (If only I could change such and such about myself, I could feel good and be happy.)

The practice of gratitude is honed over time with patience and humility at its’ core. A good way to experience this practice is bowing in gratitude. This doesn’t have to be the physical act of bowing (but that helps); you can just bow in your mind. When you see something arising in the mind where you see yourself stuck and desiring something you don’t have, stop and bow to what you already have. If you find yourself in the old habit of grumbling, complaining or finding fault in something, stop and find something to be grateful for. Look around you at those that are in need and give something to them. The ego resists this practice so we know we are chipping away at something of substance. I bow to you all.

I had always seen success as money, cars, big houses and fame.I lived most of my life in pursuit of all of these material things and it wasn't until I had many life changing experiences that my opinions on what success was dramatically altered.One of these life changing experiences happened while living on the Big Island of Hawaii and I relate that story in this podcast. So do we need a life altering experience to change the way we see things? Yes I believe sometimes we do. How can we have a life altering experience? Stay open and don't be afraid to look deeply into your heart. Assess your life daily and see where you can change current beliefs and opinions to bring about more compassion and empathy. Open yourself to new ways of thinking and seeing. Sit quietly on a daily basis. It is in solitude that we can begin to open to a new way of looking at our ourselves and our intention.

>Have you noticed yourself Tweet-ing and Facebook-ing in social situations to avoid talking and interacting with people? I'm constantly observing people in line at the store, at the airport, on a plane and in the elevator engaged with their device. We are immersing ourselves in a medium that is helping to create social barriers with our fellow beings. A new distraction that keeps us from meeting our true self in the form of those around us that manifests as our peers.Our peers can represent aspects of ourselves we may be having trouble accepting and we don't want to confront that because it's uncomfortable.

How can we obtain that which we already have? Should we drop the goal of obtaining peace as a result of our meditation practice? Can we just sit without wanting something to happen and just be with what is? Having a gaining idea can lead us into a circle of suffering, pain and confusion. Nothing is permanent, so trying to reach a state of permanent peace is an unreachable goal. Can we accept that we will never have a continuous, blissful state of oneness? Can we call off the search and see that the thing we are looking for is right here, right now, in this moment? It can be nowhere else but here because only this moment exists. Everything else is only thought.

These questions are the big questions in life right? I myself have been asking them for years and I know that I'm not alone in wanting to know the answers. I have read hundreds of books ranging from contemporary esoteric thought, to ancient texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, The Tao and the Bible. All of these books had answers to theses questions and not surprisingly they were very similar. After many years of self study, meditation and literary research I have come to a conclusion. In most cases the simplest answers to life's most difficult questions are usually correct.

Do you have the time or patience to meditate twice a day for two hours? Most of us just don't have that kind of time, energy, or focus. So how the heck will we ever become the perfect person we can be if we can't meditate daily? In this podcast we learn a few things about meditating while on our feet, doing our job, eating our lunch and brushing our teeth. How can that enlighten us? You'd be surprised. Why not try these few little steps and see what happens for yourself.

It's with great pleasure that I announce the re-release of my CD, Flight of the Hawk!

This CD was recorded in Sedona, Arizona in 2000 and then re-mastered by an old and dear friend of mine, Kevin Peterson (thanks Kev!). It contains music performed on the Native American Flute, drum, didgeridoo, and guitar, all performed by me and accompanied by nature sounds. This CD is very special to me as it has some recordings that were created in a little cabin in one of the most inspirational and spiritual places that I know. The magic and wonder of Sedona comes through strongly in this recording and I do hope that it heals, brings peace and a little joy into your lives.

Flight of the Hawk is available by download from Amazon , Itunes and many other distributors on the Internet. As a gift to you, my valued listeners, I am making two of the tracks available at no charge for your enjoyment.

If you have a coupon for this CD from a previous sale that had not gone through, please contact me and I will make sure that you get your copy. It's available only in digital format at this time.

Enjoy a few tracks from Flight of the Hawk by clicking one of the links below, when you do so it should open your web browser.

Dolphins

Cry of the Loon

If you vist A Quiet Mind You can download the mp3's to your hard drive as seen in the illustration below. Control click on the audio mp3 bar and choose "save as".

Live meditaion!

Hi All,

For those of you who don't know, a few of us have begun meditating together on Saturday mornings at 8:30am PST. We have tried out different broadcasting apps and we are now going to be broadcasting exclusively from Ustream. Unfortunately Yahoo Live has canceled its service.

After some testing, we have decided to invite you all formally once again to come and join us Saturday mornings. Last weekend we had some bugs with the chat but we're hoping that we have a smoother run this time. For those that aren’t familiar with Ustream, it’s very easy, you don’t need to have a log in to view or chat. You can just go to this link A Quiet Mind Live Meditation Please join us Saturdays at 8:30am Pacific Time!

Earlier today the BBC World announced a groundbreaking event for all humanity. Solar Power Concentrator Power Station - the first of its kind! Until recently ideas for such solar power stations were considered a mere science fiction and dreaming about our near future, but no longer. Engineers and Scientist joined forces in Seville, Spain and made the first solar collector power station. The system is made from 642 giant mirrors that focus sunlight into a single spot - the top of a 40 story concrete tower. The concrete tower is covered with water pipes and due to the intensive heat (sometimes more than 400 degree Fahrenheit) its converted into steam. The steam then goes to Steam Power Turbines which produce the electricity.

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LIVE Podcast Saturday @ 8:30 am Pacific!.

Join me this Saturday for a live meditation @ 8:30 am Pacific time. This time we will use Yahoo! Live which is a very cool interface and looks like it will be very easy to use. Looking forward to seeing you and please share your comments on which Live video chat application you like the most.

1. Remember to breathe.

Pause at least three times today and become aware of your breath for a short time. Try counting each breath or simply be aware of your chest rising and falling and as you do this be thankful for each breath you take. It is a wonderful thing that we can breathe.

2. Notice doorways.

Each time you walk through a doorway today notice that you are walking through that doorway by bringing your attention to it. You can do this by repeating to yourself "I'm walking through this doorway now." This brings present moment awareness to your conscious mind. (You can choose not to say "I" if you really want to see something interesting.)

3. Be Gracious

Pause three times today close your eyes and be thankful for three things in your life. You can write them down if you wish and remember to smile as you are doing this. Being gracious proliferates happiness.

Hello All!

Not much to report today on the fast and cleanse but a nasty coat on my tongue that feels like a slick and tacky everglades born moss - ewe. And a little athlete?s foot (not on the tongue thankfully but the foot). I've had a few skin break-outs but nothing too horrific. I'm still passing some things (sorry to mention that but hey, we?re all grown ups, right?) and I can't believe it! You would think after almost a full week of not eating that you would be pretty much emptied out. Apparently that's not the case for yours truly. I have taken a picture of what I've been consuming over the last six days not including the salt water flush that I drink in the morning (10 ounces of filtered water and 1/2 a teaspoon of sea salt)

The drink consists of filtered water that I'm getting from our neighborhood Whole Foods and a truly delicious grade B maple syrup that I received as a Christmas present from my brother-in-law Aron (thank you Aron!). Now I must warn you if you want to try this out, though you may be tempted to use that old bottle of Aunt Jemima with the crusted screw off top, don't do it. You really need this grade B syrup for this fast because it's not as processed as grade A syrup and not all corn syrup as Aunty's is. Therefore it has more of the good stuff like minerals and vitamins that you really need while on this fast. I'm also using organic California grown lemons as I can acquire them (some recently stolen from a friend?s house - thanks Tak!) and a good pinch of cayenne pepper to turn up the heat and get the old furnaces blowing nicely. No doubt some of you may find this recipe very familiar and know it by it's name "Master Cleanse ". (I wholeheartedly recommend getting the book and doing a little research on your own to get a better feel for what happens when you cleanse.) It's been around for years and as a matter of fact, this was my first introduction to cleansing about fifteen years ago. But that is not where I had first heard about fasting. My Dad had done it years ago when he had been inspired by Werner Erhard's "The Hunger Project". I know the guy got tons of bad press but that was one thing that made a very lasting impression on a young kid. Not so much Werner but seeing my Dad go without food so that he could better relate to those that had no choice and went without food because they had none to eat. Thanks Dad. I remember.

So getting back to my first fast. At the time I was living in Sedona, Arizona and I was reading a fantastic book about Frank Fools Crow that inspired me to do my first sweat lodge ceremony (more on that in a later post). As I researched more and began to meet people that did these ceremonies, I found out that much of the ceremony is in the preparation. It includes a fast of three days (not the same with all tribes ) and a bit of reflection on what you can release. I thought long and hard about this commitment to starve myself willingly and many things surfaced around that. One thought that kept coming up for me was how can I possibly go without eating for one day, let alone three. I'm going to go crazy and lose my mind, I'll never make it, and, can you die from fasting? Well I had proof of that being false because my Dad was still very much alive. I had gone without food before but never of my own free will. Unfortunately for me, poverty had forced me to go without food at times. I therefore had empathy and understanding for those who had to go without unwillingly (not nice). A close friend at the time recommend the Master Cleanse and promised me that I would not perish and that I had plenty of fat store to hold me through the lean times. So in my naivety that has so many times led me into the most amazing and memorable times in my life, I leapt in with both feet and began the fast.

Again I notice I'm carrying on a bit so I must steer myself back to the present moment which brings me to the big question some of you may be asking: Why fast now? Well I learned many things from that first fast and if or when you read the latest post to the blog "Happy New Year"you will already know the why. If you have not attempted to read what I have named the longest post yet, I will paraphrase here. Basically I just need to un-cloud my head and get centered and fasting is a great way to do that. I can highly recommend fasting if you see yourself as stuck or constipated (bad joke) in your life. It's a fantastic way of ridding yourself of mind, body and spirit toxins and getting things moving and flowing again.

I'm going to try and post about this as much as I can over the next few days as I expect the fast to last at least that long. I will also work on getting more details on the effects it's having with my type II diabetes as well if folks are interested in that. So far so good. I must say I'm not checking my glucose level as often as I should be on this fast so knowing that it can help you out if you have type II, I?ll start checking more often to see the results. Happy fasting and remember; be careful and use common sense when starting a fast or cleanse. Do your research and check forums for what to expect along the way.

Yours in service,

robert

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Well I see by the old clock on the wall that I have been doing this podcast for two years now. Wow has it really been two years? I can't believe it's been that long! I must say that I'm very happy that all of you out there like what you are hearing and continue to listen, learn and share. I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you for all of your support, love and kindness over these last two wonderful years. I know that "A Quiet Mind" would not be here without you and your support. I'm very grateful to all of you and I'm honored to have this gift in my life. I thank you with all my heart and so does little Crucita.

I'm writing this post on the second day of a fast so I'm feeling rather lucid and sentimental. I don't know how long the fast is going to be; as long as it takes I guess. Why am I fasting you ask? Well I wanted to do the fast for a few different reasons, number one being holiday over-indulgence and number two being the cheating. No not that kind of cheating - the other kind. For those of you who didn't know I'm diabetic (type II) and vegan (type IV "the cheating type"). Oh cheese you are a devil and a temptress. That being said, I also wanted to fast because it brings me clarity when I'm having difficulty with something and can't seem to get my head around it. Even when the usual means of walking meditation, quieting the mind, breathing, etc. have little or no effect, there's nothing like a little self imposed starvation to inspire clarity I always say. So the result is what you see before you. I've been inspired to write the longest post in AQM history. Hold on, here it goes...

I was reflecting back on the podcast today and I realized that many of you might not know the history of AQM and how it came about. So if you are interested, read on. One evening about two years ago, a co-worker of mine (that at the time of this posting shall remain anonymous) was in need of a good listener and confidant. I received a phone call from him and he began to confide in me with some of the difficulties he was facing in his life. I was simply there for him and listened intently. I gave him a few things to try out that I thought would hopefully ease his pain and suffering a bit like breathing, forgiving himself, and accepting what is so. We said good-bye and I thought nothing of it.

The next day he called and told me that he had not felt better in years and that his depression was gone! Not only that, he said he felt fantastic! As we spoke further, he related to me more information about his present "condition" and mentioned that the tools and suggestions I had shared with him that previous night had worked better and more effectively than the drugs and therapy he had been receiving for most of his life. I was amazed and in utter disbelief. As far as I was concerned we had just had a simple conversation between friends and I had mentioned very casually a few things that I thought may help him . I had no idea these few simple things I shared with him could have such a powerful and life changing impact on him and myself.

As the conversation continued, my friend mentioned that I should share these concepts and tools with others. He said that these concepts could really help people out like himself tremendously. Then he asked if I had ever heard of a thing called a podcast. "What's a podcast?" I said, "Sounds like a 70's Sci-Fi movie that I remember. Didn't it star Donald Sutherland?" Needless to say he patiently explained podcasting and blogging to me in great detail and of course, I was overwhelmed with all the techy stuff. After all, I was a visual web designer and back then we didn't do all that coding stuff. As I told him this he said something truly amazing, "Hey you helped me Robert so I'll help you. I'll set up a podcast for you and teach you how to do it." "Wow!" I said, "That's so cool!" So this wonderful new friend who just happened to be a very savvy web guy set up the AQM blog and podcast in a couple of days! Not only that, he mentored me for months thereafter in the ways of The Techy Warrior.

He taught me how to do everything that was involved from creating the podcast itself, to uploading the files, images and podcasts. He also taught me about blogging and how to post and tag things so that I could be found by people. He also set up the Itunes account as well. Every time I think back to that moment I'm forever grateful for his help and feel indebted to him always for his generosity and inspiration. I don't think he really has any idea of the impact that he made on me and what has become you, our listeners as well. One other thing that will always leave me in awe was the snowball affect that occurred after we launched. I can still vividly remember being blown away at being in the Itunes top 100 in Religion and Spirituality shortly after the blog was created. What a moment. Especially since I didn't even know this list existed and received the news one day from this same friend. It was also a real thrill to see my subscriber base rise and rise from hundreds to finally thousands of listeners in a few short months. What an amazing journey this has been.

As I look back over the last two years as host of A Quiet Mind, I can't help but think about the truly amazing miracles and many wonderful people not mentioned here that have led to its creation and success. It has brought me not only some of the most touching, personal and special moments in my life but has allowed me the gift of sharing and being of service to all of you. It's been my humble honor to be here for you and to be a part of your lives in my own small way. I will continue to help you in any way I can along your journey of awakening and enlightenment as long as I'm able.

On that note I must say that I have found out a truth in my life recently that has come about by hosting this podcast. I have discovered that this is my only wish; that I can be of service to those in need and help bring joy and peace where I can. I now realize that hosting AQM is not only my life's dream, it's my true purpose and passion as well and there isn't anything else I'd rather do in the world than be here for you right now in this way. I have seen that I have abilities that can help people that are in pain and I feel it's my duty and honor to continue to share these. The path that has been given to me is to serve. I know that I must share from my own personal experiences, traumas and triumphs the tools that have helped me to overcome my own pain and realize a more peaceful and happy life. I can see that when I do this it helps people to heal and it fills me with joy to see that happen for you. Not only that but I know that when I do this for you, you will do the same for someone else when they are in need. This is magical, miraculous and liberating. I love it! I love being a part of that magic.

The magic works a bit like this. When a person is in pain they can't function and can only think about and feel their own suffering. They become like an island unto themselves blinded by the aching misery from within. They are no good to anyone else or themselves. This causes a feeling of great sorrow in me to see this because I know that this pain can be lifted from us very easily and we can be free from our heartache. When a person is in this state there is only the pain and the primal need to escape or simply put an end to it forever. Without the necessary tools to make that escape, misery takes over. But once they posses the tools they need for transformation, they are free almost instantly. In this state of freedom they express joy instead of sorrow, courage instead of fear. Now that they have the tools for overcoming their agony, they can help others escape from their own self imposed prisons. This spreads joy from one person to the next. As others are relived of their pain and suffering they are filled with joy and pass it on. We are doing that with AQM; we are spreading joy. So as I see it, the more joy-spreading the better!

That's a good segway into the next part of this post. (I can't believe I just used the word "segway"!)

At this time I'm working on creating new and helpful content and more in-depth articles that deal in greater detail with the topics that are discussed on the podcasts. As you can see, the site has a new look and I have added some Amazon and Google links in the right hand rail and within the context of the blog. Some of you may wonder why these changes have been made. I'm glad you asked. Some of this has been added due to your requests for book recommendations and related content. Some of this has also been added in an effort to enable me to respond to the many requests I receive in comments and by email. Many of you who write are truly suffering and in need. I want to reach out to each and everyone and ease the sorrows right away and provide more in depth help but I simply can't find the time in my busy life. In order to be able to help all of you that are in need and do this full time I must put some ads on the site and make a few changes. I'm sure this will have little or no effect on the quality and content on the site and as a matter of fact, may actually help boost it.

I'm sure that a few ads will not scare you away and after all; they may make it possible for me to be here more for you and create more helpful content. As always the content of this site will remain totally free of charge and you may share it with those you love in any way, shape or form. So I do hope that I have your continued support as we let AQM grow to its full potential in the coming years.

In closing this very long post I just wanted to mention the two blogs that inspired me to take this giant leap into the full time blogosphere. They are Zenhabits and Steve Pavlina. Thanks to you Steve and Leo! I highly recommend both of these blogs for your self-enrichment and inspiration. If you don't already read them I'm sure that you will find them a good addition to your life and practice.

Happy New Year!

Yours in service,

robert

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