Tag: self-improvement

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

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:

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.

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

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

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.

Everyday existential crisis – Episode 176

The Story: Facing an “inbetween place”

Sooner or later, everyone comes to certain points in their life where they start to realise that they’ve devoted a substantial amount of effort to something that turns out to be bullshit. Sometimes it’s a project or a partner that betrays them, but sometimes it’s something more simple, like an idea.

If you base your identity on an idea, it is inevitable that the idea will one day fail, leaving you confused and disheartened, because no one concept can ever fully express the complexity that is you, and no one ideal can ever capture the elegant simplicity that is your essence.

The question is, what do you do when you reach one of these mini existential crises, or “inbetween places”? What is an effective attitude to address the emotional discomfort? And what are we all doing here on Earth anyway? These questions and more will go completely unanswered in this soul-shaking episode of… The Paradise Paradox!

The Eps:

Everything is meaningless – Episode 169

The Links:

Alan Watts – People behind masks

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 and Aaron’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.

Gela Amini – A life without precedent: Episode 174

The Story: Geliqua’s way of living the dream

A couple of months ago, Kurt had the opportunity to interview vegan chef, traveller and free spirit Gela Amini a second time, exploring the concepts of creative visualisation and living an unusual life in more detail, building upon the previous interview.

In this episode, Gela shares her thoughts the way she lives life as an adventure, spending time in Costa Rica, travelling, her philosophy on teaching as a collaboration and interactive experience, learning about life from the children she works with, and the difference between traditional schooling sitting all day and education as a fun experience. We also talk about how people seem to offer her houses to live in, such as her time living on La Playa Blanca in Colombia, among other places in South America, her mental process in finding such remarkable opportunities – especially believing that you deserve good things in your life, how your perspective can make the difference between seeing something as an advantage or disadvantage, depression and mental health.

Join us in another free-wheeling, globe-trotting, dream-fulfilling episode of … The Paradise Paradox!

The Eps:

Gela Amini – The electricity of your intentions: Episode 172

Value is everywhere: Episode 170

Why artists should quit their jobs and move to Thailand: Episode 166

The Links:

Gela on Steemit

Gela’s Facebook profile, where she posts videos

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 and Aaron’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.

Using your passion to manifest your dreams – Gela Amini

Gela explains how she put herself in the mental and emotional space to manifest a much better life situation – receiving an insurance payout and gaining her Swedish citizenship.

Transcript

Part of the reason this manifestation came as quickly as it did is that – and I’m going to explain how to get manifestations to come quicker instead of waiting for a time, because time again is an illusion – right?

So I actually ended up writing myself a letter – oh, there was something else as well. I had a 2008 debt that was miniscule, that had just accumulated to this giant amount that they were threatening to mess up my credit and then I wouldn’t have gotten my passport again. And from nowhere this company contacted me after all these years.

So again this sets the panic mode, because again, these were manifestations of my perspective at that time. I was thinking that life was happening to me, everything’s going wrong, no money, this and that. So that was continuously coming back just to shove itself in my face basically.

So I didn’t have a choice other than to face it, and I started writing a letter, and actually, it’s funny that you say that. I’m not a really big fan of “The Secret” because there’s a lot I don’t agree with. However, the fundamentals touch base on spirituality and the power of manifestations. And I remember I took something out of that, and I wrote myself a letter from that company and from the immigration board about my citizenship.

And each letter – I kid you not, I have saved them and when I go back to Sweden I’ll take pictures of them so you can add them on anywhere you want. But, more or less identical – the letter from the company that I owed money to, I wrote a very short letter saying “we have dropped the case, and that’s it – we don’t have sufficient evidence so we have dropped the case,” and the other one from the immigration board saying “you’ve got your citizenship, please go apply for your passport.”

I wrote them in a little letter to myself, put them in an envelope, heading outside to go grocery shopping. So I put them in the envelope, throw it in the mail slot, I go get my food I come back and I push it out of my mind. But I remember the feeling as I was writing – again this is how you get manifestations to come back a lot faster – is the emotion that you put into it. People call it intention, emotion, electricity, whatever you want to call it. But that’s the power that we put behind it, and that comes from within.

So I remember how excited I was to be able to see these words come back to me, to see the magic of life, which is again, it’s in our own hands. And once I came back home and I picked up those letters and I pretended I never read them and I opened it up and again that excitement came back, and again within such a short period of time, I got the exact same letters from both different places, and they’re more or less identical to what I wrote myself.

And these are little games and activities you can play within life that remind us of the magic that exists already out there. It’s like when you open the fridge and you’re looking for something and you’re not going to be able to see it, until you shift your perspective, and then you can…

You can have these little exercises and they start at miniscule levels. You can do things like – I know in “The Secret” they talk about seeing the green light. When you hit traffic, just see green lights. Again, it’s not about what you envision, it’s about putting the power behind that vision.

-Okay, so feeling it, the emotional content.-

Allowing yourself an excitement. Excitement and anxiety are two sides of the same coin. The question is again, if we realise the duality of those two actually when they’re unified, we can bring forth. We can create something with it. If they’re still in dualities, we’re going to end up having that “good or bad” perspective, that “unlucky or lucky” perspective, “I can’t do it but she did it” perspective.