Tag: meditation

Meditate with a monk in a Thai Buddhist temple – Episode 193

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The Story: Lessons from an expert meditator

If you’re an meditator, you’ve probably mentioned the practice to your friends and heard them say “Meditation isn’t for me. I can’t sit down and stay still for more than a minute. My mind just can’t stay quiet.” Then you yell at them “That’s the whole point of it!” And then you go and sit in meditation because you realise that you still haven’t learned to remain calm.

In this episode, I interview my friend who is a monk in the temple of Wat Tham Krabok in Thailand and an experienced meditator, asking him about why some people find meditation boring or frustrating to begin with, and what the experience is like once you reach a certain level, enjoying sitting with your own mind. We talk about different techniques, such as active and passive, mindfulness, mantra, and stacking layers of awareness, deliberately filling up your mind, and allowing it to be more empty.

Join us on a journey into your own mind on the next episode of … The Paradise Paradox!

The Eps:

Thai Temple Drug Detox – Episode 192

The Links:

The toughest rehab in the world – Vice

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please become a patron on Patreon, or have a look at The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit.

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link. Or buy some of our great T-shirts here.

The Episode:

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Thai Temple Drug Detox: An interview with a Buddhist monk – Episode 192

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The Story: A monk tells the story of Wat Tham Krabok

Wat Tham Krabok is a fascinating place, home to scores of monks and nuns who practise an austere lifestyle, working patiently, making statues, sweeping paths, chanting and sitting for meditation three times a day. It’s also the home to a narcotics detox program for people looking to leave their bad habits behind. Vice once sensationally named their rehab program as “the world’s toughest”.

I had the opportunity to stay on the temple grounds for a few weeks, spending time with monks and others looking to improve their lives, trying the vomit-inducing medicine which officially contains 108 herbs, created by the temple’s founder, the mystic “Great Father” Yai.

There are many stories about the temple, and its founder, many of them contradictory. Luang Paw Yai was a mystic, illiterate, who gave lectures in a combination of Thai, the ancient tongue Bali, and a channelled language unknown to humans. Some say that Luang Paw Yai was ordained as a nun, others say she was a female monk. The detox program was started because a drug addict approached her two nephews and pleaded them to help, but it was also started because Luang Paw Yai predicted the problems that Thailand would have with drugs in the future.

In the Thai conception of history, there’s nothing unusual about these contradictions. Unlike in the west, Thai people aren’t hung up about discovering one true and factual version of the past. After all, in many cases, Buddhism is all about leaving the past alone, and focusing on what we can control – our mind, our speech, our actions.

In this episode, I interview my friend who has lived as a monk for some years in Wat Tham Krabok, talking about the reputation of the temple, the process of detoxification, the herbal medicine, the historical and religious context of its founding, and how drug addicts are actually excellent candidates to absorb the teachings of the Buddha.

Join us on another karma-cleansing episode of … The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

I believe in holy things Part 1

I believe in holy things Part 2

I believe in holy things Part 3

I believe in holy things Part 4

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please become a patron on Patreon, or have a look at The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit.

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link. Or buy some of our great T-shirts here.

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Meditation on self-love

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The Story: Give yourself the gift of tenderness

It’s common to hear people talk poorly of themsevles, getting frustrated at themselves when they make a mistake, even saying things like “I’m a horrible person.” When you hear someone speak that way about themselves, you can deduce, unfortunately, that it’s only the tip of the iceberg. They probably say much nastier things about themselves within the privacy of their own minds. Most people wouldn’t tolerate a person who hung on their shoulder, poison dripping into their ear, and most would never say such things about their friends, instead encouraging them, comforting them and uplifting them. Let’s always be such a friend to ourselves.

In this short episode, Kurt describes a meditation on self-love, imagining your love for an innocent child and then turning that love back on yourself, in order to give the gifts of compassion, kindness and tenderness.

The Eps:

Receive the universe’s gifts – Episode 187

Down at the ashram with Link McElvenny – Episode 44

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please become a patron on Patreon, or have a look at The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit.

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link. Or buy some of our great T-shirts here.

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Put your worries in the hands of Providence – Episode 180

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The Story: Have a little faith that things will be okay

Many people have an aversion to the word “faith”, because they think it refers to a superstition. However, it’s perfectly rational to have faith – at least a little bit, and you will see for yourself if you look back over your life, examine your experiences, and project the likely future.

Every day of your life, or almost every day of your life, you have woken up once more. Every day of your life you have faced your challenges, in one way or another, by yourself or calling on the support of loved ones, and helping your loved ones face their challenges. I know this is true, because you wouldn’t be reading this if you hadn’t. You might not have always found a perfect solution, but without a doubt, you did find a solution.

You might have gone through dark times, and you might even be going through dark times. Even so, when you look you can find things to be grateful for. If you’ve lost your house, you may still have your family. If you’ve lost your family, you may still have your health. If you’ve lost your health, you still have your life, perhaps even surviving against terrible odds. So, in one way or another, things have worked out for you.

In all probability, your life is much better than that worst case scenario. You may even have had the fortune of finding a partner to share your life with, or been blessed with children whom you adore, who inspire you to previously unknown purpose and resolve, or perhaps you have found some wealth by well-timed investments, or even just managed to get by, day after day – even when it seemed that fate was against you.

Think about when you were a child of 5 or 10 years old. You probably had many ideas of how your life would turn out. Your life probably turned out very differently to how you expected, and when examined, you may well find that it turned out much better than expected – with intricacies finer than the finest painting, and details that you never anticipated which delight you. So, things generally do work out, and you can expect that things will continue to work out.

Whether you think of it as a metaphor or a literal expression, putting your worries in the hands of Providence, expecting things to work out – providing you take all reasonable steps to protect yourself  and your loved ones – makes sense. If you take that first step towards faith, opening the curtains just a chink to let some light shine in, who is to say exactly what it might illuminate, what courage it might grant, what change it might bring. Go ahead. Find out for yourself.

The Eps:

Being grateful in Bangladesh – Episode 178

Everyday existential crisis – Episode 176

The Links:

Ayahuasca Diaries – Why I believe in God by Macey Tomlin

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please become a patron on Patreon, or have a look at The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit.

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link. Or buy some of our great T-shirts here.

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Episode 44 – Down at the Ashram: Link McElvenny

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The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

The Cash:

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate by BitCoin: 182CzJUbz8xb1JZjuVm2S4YUBfd3xk2XfM

Or donate your Altcoins using Shapeshift:

Or give us a small amount of money every month using PayPal:

Ongoing donation via PayPal



The Story:

The year is 400 ACE. A scholar dutifully reads Sanskrit from a decaying fern leaf, contemplating the words, arranging them within the forefront of the mind, and again writing them in fine caligraphy onto another leaf. The scholar couldn’t have known that even more than a thousand years later, people would be referring to those words and the wisdom contained within. That scholar’s name was Patañjali, and the words are known as the Yoga Sutras.

Not even Patañjali could trace the exact moment, or even the exact millenium, in which the first person decided to sit down and contemplate, to calm their mind, to say some sweet words to themself, representative of some idea greater than their own personal existence, to explore inner space, and attempt to find some kind of transcendent truth. Nobody knows exactly where this practice started, individually, or in parallel. Nevertheless, the threads of this first meditation, this first yogi, extend all over the world today, permeating every major religious tradition in the world, in what’s known as “mysticism”.

One such tradition continues today. Thousands of people all over the world chant the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya“, patiently waiting to experience divine gratitude, happiness, and grace. In this episode, Kurt interviews his close friend Link McElvenny to find out about his three month trip to an ashram in India. Join us on a spiritual journey as we are transformed, in this exciting chapter of … The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

Om Namah Shivaya on Wikipedia
The Yoga Sutras
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
Inkstain Pro on Bandcamp
Inkalot.net
Inverter Alter on Soundcloud
Link interviews Kurt on The Space Between

Cover image used and modified under Creative Commons. Original image.

Episode 29 – Frequencies: Emotions, Character and Consciousness

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An episode by special request.

Frequency is a measurement of place and the change over time, As your state of consciousness grows and develops, changed perception, distinct noticeable changes in awareness, knowledge of the place and modes of your mind. Generally your awareness will widen.

Awareness of your emotional state and location in your emotional cycle, will create your character and personalty. Locating your own frequency will allow you to then see your personality traits and reactive modes. further assisting in the identifying of low and high frequencies.

In this episode, Aaron gives us a run-down of his ideas about frequencies – the way we’re vibrating on the levels of our emotions, our personalities, and our reality. How can we increase our vibrations to a more positive state? How can we avoid getting fixed a particular negative frequency? Do those around you affect your vibrations in regards to your emotional state, or the spectrum of your possible personalities?

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

Please donate to show your support. BitCoin address: 182CzJUbz8xb1JZjuVm2S4YUBfd3xk2XfM

Or donate your Altcoins using Shapeshift:

Or give us a small amount of money every month using PayPal:

Ongoing donation via PayPal



Related links:

Solfeggio Frequencies

Fear Or Love – Which is Your Driving Force?

LOVE Versus Fear

Definition of “manifest”

Root Chakra Colors

The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding

Scientific Proof that Our DNA is Mutating

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill