Rebel Buddhist

This we wrap up our discussion of the Eightfold Path by talking about 3 components of Meditation/samādhi: Wise Effort, Wise Mindfulness, and Wise Concentration. We’ll talk about how our meditation practice isn’t just to calm the mind, and why we need it now more than ever. Plus I’ll give you some ways you can begin practicing samādhi in your own daily life.

You will learn:

// The real reason we meditate (it’s not what you think!)

// The 3 parts of samādhi: Wise Effort, Wise Mindfulness, and Wise Concentration

// Why...

We can often think that very few ancient teachings could apply to these historic times, when things seem upended in ways the world has never seen (or so it seems;). This week, we explore lessons that are over 2600 years old that remind us of our humanity and what really matters, no matter the era, our job, our age, our nationality, our sexuality, our religion, or any other way we might identify. This is about getting clear about how we want to show up in the world, and committing to that for the benefit of our liberation - and others’.

This week’s episode continues our Off the Cushion and Into the World series. We’ll try to save ourselves some time and headache by starting to step onto the actual path the Buddha laid out for how to live with more freedom — the Noble Eightfold Path. Today, we focus on the first section: Wisdom, or Pañña — specifically, “Right” - or Wise - View and Right/Wise Intention. I’ll break down what each means, and why they help us make our mind more peaceful and kind - and bring less suffering into the world and more joy and freedom. Plu...

This week we dive into something extra personal for me - snapshots of struggles in my own life story. We’ll explore the power of the choices we all make and why we often struggle to believe that we’re just as capable as anyone else to create the life we want. And I’ll give you some encouragement so you can go out and find your own freedom!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

This week we’re stepping right into the heart of a Buddhist version of a Reality Check. When the Buddha came out of his meditative state, he didn’t run to tell people about all the trippy things he experienced. Instead, he chose his first teaching to be about the Four Noble Truths - the fact that dissatisfaction is part of the human experience, and there’s a way to not get hooked by it. I’ll break down each of these aspects and how they lead to the most hopeful message of all: that despite the suffering and discomfo...

This week is the first in our Off the Cushion and Into the World series. This series came from multiple requests for a course on Buddhist philosophy and psychology, and I wanted to offer this series on the foundational teachings here on the podcast. As the Dalai Lama said, you don’t have to be Buddhist to benefit from the teachings of Buddhism! You can use the tools to have less suffering in your life - no matter what your path is. 

In this first episode of the series, we explore the story of Siddhartha and the tri...

This week’s episode is all about one of the foundational teachings of Buddhism: ehipassiko. We’ll jam on what it means to “live the question” and why it’s important for us to see things for ourselves instead of relying on others’ experiences. Plus, we’ll talk about how to not judge others for how they choose to live their lives.

In this Episode we talk about:

// WTF it means to “live the question” 

// Why “seeing for ourselves” is key to prevent, and protecting against, oppression (and gaslighting) 

// How to balance investigative in...

This week we talk about the misguided idea that if it’s meant to be, it should be easy, and if it’s hard, it’s a sign that something is NOT meant to be. While there’s some validity to certain experiences like this, it isn’t universally true. In this episode, I share ways you can actually differentiate if your suffering is an indication of misalignment, or if it’s a part of the universality of the human experience. Plus I’ll share one practice you can start today to connect with that discomfort and keep moving forward, inste...

This week’s episode is about some of the things we can do to help us show up as our best selves when there is someone in our life who has a mental illness. We’ll jam on cultivating practices that help us come to these challenges with more love, compassion + wisdom. Plus I’ll tell you the ONE thing you can do that matters more than anything else.

You will learn:

// 3 ways to practice self-compassion
// The importance of creating boundaries
// How to change your outlook on your relationships
// Relationship as spiritual practi...

This week we have some inspiration from my bodhisattva cab driver in Eugene, Bruce. He has intimate knowledge of The Ripple Effect. We’ll jam on how he uses it to make the world a better place through his Soul Work - even more evidence that our soul purpose can have nothing to do with our career.

You will learn:

// How two short interactions with a random stranger completely changed my life

// How each of us can make a big difference in someone’s life, even when we don’t know it

// W...

In this episode we talk about the two wings of freedom: wisdom and compassion. I’ll explain the importance of cultivating a balance of both, and what can happen when we are practicing one without the other (HINT: often, more harm than good). We will also go over some tips to help us cultivate both wisdom and compassion in our daily lives.

You will learn:

// The importance of having both wisdom AND compassion in our lives 

// What happens when we lack deep wisdom or cultivated compassion 

// How we can cause more harm...

This week I ask the question: would you still act in kindness if no one ever knew? We all want to be recognized for our actions - it’s part of our human nature (and our culture). But when we act anonymously, we may find ourselves feeling freer.

You will learn:

// Why we often want to be recognized for our good deeds, and how that isn’t always a good thing

// How letting go of our need to be seen makes us more free

// How our need for recognition is also a by...

This week we’ll discuss how it’s ok to make other people and ourselves uncomfortable…even if it makes you want to puke ;) We’ll dive into why discomfort can be a good thing and how to tell if it’s actually harming you. We’ll also talk about the myth of “feel good healing,” and why we need discomfort to grow!

You will learn:

// Why discomfort doesn’t equal unsafe… and what it ACTUALLY means instead

// When and where trigger/content warnings can be helpful

// The myth of “feel good” healing

...

This week we explore something that often makes a lot of people uncomfortable: Sacred Rage. Many of us don’t feel like it’s healthy to express rage, and/or we are thrown or upset when we see others express it. We’ll dive into why rage is actually necessary when it comes from a place of compassion + love and talk about ways we can use that rage for the betterment of ourselves and the more-than-human world around us.

You will learn:

// What sacred rage is, and how it differs from other forms of anger

...

This week’s episode is a special replay on a daily practice we can do to decrease unnecessary suffering - which is what this podcast is all about! It’s completely natural that things end - relationships, careers, objects we adore, and more. Yet we have so much resistance when things do come to an end, often feeling like it wasn’t supposed to happen. We’ll talk about the concept of “little deaths” that we experience in everyday life, plus the difference between when an ending is more easily accepted vs when we have more resistance. 

We also dive...

This week, we dive into Spiritual Practice vs Consciousness Exploration - and the dangers of not knowing the difference. I’ll talk about how we can use conscious exploration to nurture our spiritual growth (instead of letting it distract us) and how we can approach altered states with caution. Plus we’ll take a look at what Buddhism has to say about this and other psychic skills like telepathy, astral travel, and dream yoga

You will learn:

// The difference between conscious exploration and spiritual growth

// How conscious exploration can distract us from our spir...

In this week’s episode, we dive deeper into the concept that freedom is a FEELING - and not only the freedom TO, but freedom FROM. We’ll also jam on when to know it’s time to let go, and how our freedom affects more than just ourselves.

You will learn:

// Freedom ACTUALLY is (and what it isn’t)

// How to know when it’s time to let go

// The two sides to freedom

// How freedom isn’t just personal - it’s collective

Resources:

// Episode 2...

This week’s episode is short and potent reminder that joy is your birthright. In remembering our inevitable death and lack of control around it, we discover that we were ALL made for joy. I share a poem from the Persian mystic, Hafez, that is a mic drop moment you’ll want to hear, and invite you to begin to explore what fills your cup, and discover the special moments between despair and joy. 

In this episode, you will learn:

// Why living each day as if it were our last can lead to JOY

...

In this week’s episode, we revisit my own story of creating my coaching business and how I learned the hard way that defining success and having enough wasn’t just some random number I could throw out and work to achieve. We’ll jam on how to find your own version of “enough” and how that can naturally lead to abundance.

You will learn:

// Can money really buy happiness?

// Why do we correlate money with emotional wellbeing?

// How patriarchy has skewed our version of “enough”

// How “enough” can naturally lead to...

This week, we’re throwing it back to an episode celebrating our rebel minds ones. And yes - that means we’re celebrating YOURS, too! We’ll jam on some of my fave concepts and teachings from past episodes and why each one is a rebellious act on its own. Plus, we’ll review some of the most counter-culture concepts of all.

You will learn:

// Why the consumerist, materialistic world can never free us from unnecessary suffering

// Some of the most rebellious ideas and teachings from the past 200 episodes, including:

> Impermanence & non-atta...

This week’s episode is about enlightenment. We’ll break down one of my current fave quotes by Nisargadatta Maharaj and talk about the paradox of being both empty and full - nothing and everything, in our everyday lives.

You will learn:

// Why “nothing” isn’t a scary void, but a limitless place of freedom and wisdom, and how we can touch it

// How realizing the illusion of separation can lead us to love

// Where wisdom and love meet, and why living there IS the path

// Ways to find this in ou...

This week we’re going to dive into a simple - but not easy - experiment:mWhat if we assumed shit just might work out for us, instead of worrying it won’t? Join us as we explore this way of thinking that’s 100% available to all of us.

You will learn:

// Why we often struggle to control how things will work out

// Why worrying about the future is useless

// How we can begin to change our mindset

// How thinking that shit will work out can change our lives for th...

This week we dive into one thing that we all need to cultivate to really experience a good life: AWE. We’ll talk about all the ways we can experience awe (because it’s more than just sunsets and mountain splendor), and some practices we can do to cultivate awe in our daily lives.

You will learn:

// What awe is and why we need it to live a good life

// The different types of awe we experience, and why they’re all so critical in today’s world

// How awe connects us to ea...

This week we dive into our Foundational Attachments, exploring our relationships with nature and humans, and why we might see them as separate in the first place. This impacts how we experience the world, as well as how we suffer unnecessarily, AND how we find joy.

You will learn:

// How we cultivate (and have wounds) in our foundational attachments to Humans and Nature

// Why some people trust nature more than humans, and others trust people more than nature

// Why our ultimate wholeness includes BOTH other humans AND nature

// The...

This week, we dive into a truth that we often forget: We are the dreams of our ancestors. Join us as we explore the ways we can honor our ancestors in the lives we live today and how we can move forward in healing their wounds AND ours, not just for our own good, but for the good of our communities. Knowing this helps us get through anything, and this is the type of resilience many of us need right now.

You will learn:

// How I was inspired by my Black dharma teacher, Noliwe Alexander...

This week I reflect on a recent visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, and how a simple experience of crossing the street turned into a very healing and eye-opening lesson in trust and interdependence. We’ll talk about how in the US, when it comes to navigating traffic and driving, we are taught to assume we are invisible. Drive defensively. Cross streets assuming no one sees you. In Hanoi, it was the opposite. If you wanted to do something as basic as cross the street, you have to assume you would be seen, and that people cared and would take care. I...

This week’s topic is all about judgment and discernment. We can often default to judging situations and people, especially if we've been through trauma and we’re on the lookout for threats. Add to this a history of being gaslit, and it gets even harder to trust our inner wisdom. But understanding the difference between judgment and discernment can completely change how we respond to life and to other, making it more compassionate, expansive and creative.. The good news is that cultivating discernment is possible. In this episode, we dive into a practice that helps you do exactly that...

This week’s episode is about the importance of letting in what restores and realigns us so that we can let go of what no longer serves us. We’ll talk about the concept of crowding out and how we can use that as a framework to practice letting in wherever we find ourselves stuck in our old patterns.

You will learn:

// What “crowding out” is and how we can use to help us let go of what no longer serves us

// How to know what the rights things to let in are

...

This week we talk about the importance of showing up authentically in relationships… even when we are afraid the other person won’t accept us for who we are. I’ll share my own story about how my husband and I could have ended it… and how my choice to speak and act wisely changed the course of our relationship and our parenting forever (and for good)! 

Things you will learn:

// The truth behind why we fear being our true selves with others 

// How we can finally find out if we should stay or go 

This week’s episode is all about Sacred Discipline - not the authoritarian, “I told you so” type of discipline, but a sacred discipline that comes from creating what WE wants. A Sacred Discipline that can set us free and help us live our Soul Purpose into the world (which, BTW, really needs it right now!). We will explore how Sacred Discipline isn’t anti-freedom at all, and jam on some ways to develop our own Sacred Discipline in a daily practice.

You will learn:

// How our sneaky minds make us resist discipline - even when it’...

This week’s episode is all about forgiveness as a practice, and beginning again (and again). We often think of forgivensss as a singular act, but if you’ve ever tried to truly forgive, you likely know it’s a process. And if we succeed, it’s also something we might have to go through again when old wounds are reopened. We’ll be jamming on WHY we have to revisit forgiveness over and over again, and I’ll give some tools that will help you approach forgiveness as a practice.

You will learn:

// Why forgiveness...

This week’s episode is all about breaking the rules - really! We’ll jam on why some rules should be broken, and the importance of breaking little rules every day. Plus I’ll tell you some ways you can figure out which rules should be broken in the first place.

You will learn:

// Why some rules are worth breaking

// What “resistance calisthenics” are, and how we can apply them to our own spiritual practice

// How to discern if a rule is worth breaking

// The importance of practicing being rebellious...

This week we’re going to dive into how discomfort doesn’t always mean danger. We’ll also explore how we need not look for guarantees of complete safety - because nothing can guarantee 100% safety and comfort for everyone. You’ll also learn about some ways we can practice stepping INTO discomfort when we’ve found our safe enough space.

You will learn:

// Why there’s no such things as 100% safe 

// The trap of equating comfort with safety 

// The difference between discomfort and true danger

// How to use “safe enough” to step...

This week we talk about what we CAN do when - for myriad reasons - we can’t show up the way we’d like to in the world. We’ll talk about why we tend to ignore the not-so-awakened moments in our practice, and how that actually limits our growth. Plus I’ll tell you how we can look at our journey with a little more self-compassion and give you a super-special mantra from Larry Yang that can help us in these times.

You will learn:

// How moments of our non-awakened mind are essential to awake...

This week’s episode is a reminder that safety, stillness, and connection are our birthright. We’re going to remember what’s possible, what’s available, and what we most need today, in this moment. And we’re going to explore ways we can tap into all of it, right now, wherever we are.

You will learn:

// Why safety, stillness, and connection are our natural birthright

// What keeps us from experiencing them more regularly

// How to reclaim our birthright & unlearn the unhealthy patterns that keep us from it

// Ways we can pra...

This week’s episode is all about being a Cycle Breaker. We’ll dive into our lineage of trauma and wounding, how we’re already doing the work to break the cycle of generational trauma, and what we can do to help others break the cycle for themselves. Yes, even in these times.

You will learn:

// How generational cycles and trauma get passed on to future generations

// How to take creaking the cycle of trauma at an individual, family, and community level

// Ways we can meet the challenges of these times withou...

This week, we’re talking about how life is full of unpredictability and change and how resisting reality and clinging to the way we think things “should” be leads to unnecessary suffering. We also explore what we can do to learn to let it all BE, without losing our capacity to take actions for a better, more compassionate world.

You will learn:

// What the Bardo is and how we can shift our reactions to the unexpected endings we experience through our day to day lives

// How to let go of resistance to change and le...

This week, we’re diving into an essential topic for these times - how to stay through difficult experiences with others. I’ll talk about the importance of staying with discomfort for the benefit of our community and the more-than-human world around us. Plus we’ll talk about the key elements we need to help stay through the challenging times as well as when to say, “Thanks but no thanks!” and leave with integrity.

You will learn:

// Why discomfort is inescapable in any community… and how it’s a GOOD thing

// Why it’s important to s...

This week’s episode is all about the concept of KINDfulness and the way that being mindfully kind can have an impact on our world and our day-to-day lives… for ourselves, for others, and for the more-than-human world around us. After all, the world could use more kindfulness now, more than ever.

You will learn:

// What KINDfulness means, and why it’s important in our daily practice

// Stories of KINDfulness that touch the heart

// Why if we want to be “selfish,” we should be kind

// How tiny acts of kindfulnes...

This week’s episode is an extra special one, as we talk about how we can help each other during a crisis or disaster. I'm sure you agree this is a good time to learn these skills! I'll teach you some super practical tools to use when others are processing a recent crisis, and I’ll tell you some things NOT to do - and why. 

In this episode, you will learn:

// Ways we can all help one another stabilize and heal from disaster or crisis of any kind - even when you're not a thera...