Is it a big deal? Well.. that depends... Getting into the habit of asking yourself this question throughout the day will change the way you eat, drink, argue, text, relate to others, and dare I say... it will change your life (it's changing mine).

Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast

Big Deal

What we focus on, grows, and I made the mistake of focusing on what I wanted to change about myself, which only made it worse. What we think about, we bring about! So, what I needed to do (and will start doing from now on), is promote what I love instead of bashing what I hate (about myself and the world), because we see what we seek. I know there is beauty in the world (and in me), so if I don't see it, it's because I'm not looking at it. Seems so obvious now, but I failed to apply it to myself. The spiritual path is not linear... we zig-zag our way up this mountain, pause, re-evaluate, and keep going. Thank you for walking beside me on this journey

We See What We Seek

Give yourself the gift of depth by elaborating to better understand yourself and others, and strengthen your connections. 

Elaborate

 We all slip off the path from time to time. It's important to remember that a relapse is just a bruise, not a tattoo. In sports terms, it's like being down a point, not losing the game, and we are all still in the game. 

Relapse

Love and attachment are not the same thing, they are the healthy and unhealthy versions of the same thing. We get attached to items, people, ideas, beliefs, and opinions. The more attached we are, the less free we are. This episode is an abbreviation of a talk I gave on Sunday about the beauty of love without attachment, not because the love will last forever, but because nothing ever does. 

Nonattachment

These principles are helpful guides to ensure our actions are aligned with our beliefs. You can either accept these guidelines or reject them, amend or append, uphold or release; there is no wrong answer. The Buddha never told us WHAT to think, he told us to think! His intention was for us to contemplate WHY we do what we do. This is so we aren't even tempted to do certain things in the first place, not because we are told not to, but because doing them would be incongruent with mindful living. I hope these principles enrich your life as much as they have mine. If you find value in these videos, please show your support at https://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/support 

Guiding Principles

People seldom ask themselves if they are ready to love before they decide to get into a relationship or to have kids, they just want to BE loved and simply assume they will be able to love in return. For some, loving comes easily because they aren’t judgmental, but for many, judgment comes easily, making love difficult to find. What’s in question is no longer whether or not we can love freely, it is suddenly a discussion about us judging compulsively. Thankfully, we are not limited, restricted, or confined by our past, we are shaped by what we decide to do in the present. Have a listen to this 5-minute episode, and here is the link to the episode with captions if you want to share it with others: https://youtu.be/cjsslmpdHDI

The Absence of Judgment

It's a huge relief to distinguish between what is for us to decide and what is out of our hands. Some things are not up to us, yet we try to control every step of the process AND the outcome, which causes unnecessary stress and anxiety. The simple mantra "It's not up to me," keeps me grounded, and I hope it helps you as well.  To listen to the episode with captions, visit the Buddhist Boot Camp YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/jE9l6FHocH4

Not Up To Me

 In celebration of Pride Month, many people ask "What is the Buddhist view on homosexuality?" Here is the answer you can share with everyone you know: https://youtu.be/9WP3534V83Y               

Pride Month

Fear will run and ruin your life if you let it. The trick is to see fear as a speed bump, not a dead-end street. This episode is only five minutes long, but it can stay with you for a lifetime. The Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast is commercial-free without ads or sponsorships thanks to listeners like you who donate as little as $1 a month through patreon.com/buddhistbootcamp Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love.

Fear

What does "Normal" even mean? To what lengths are we willing go to fit in? From a very young age, I was told something was wrong with me simply because I was different. Would you pretend to be someone you're not in order to be liked and admired, celebrated or accepted? Would you commit a crime? Do drugs? Work 80 hours a week? Wear certain clothes to fit-in? Have kids? Sign a 30-year loan? Would you do what feels unnatural to you simply because it's expected of you? To what end? As Ani DiFranco said, "I was four years old when they showed me a picture of three oranges and a pear. They asked me which one was different and does not belong? They taught me that different was wrong." This short podcast episode is a glimpse into my own journey to where I am today.

Am I Normal?

Have you ever wondered why you have the urge to share your opinion with people without being asked? Even some of the information we THINK is helpful, caring, and kind, is actually demoralizing, hostile, and reeks of a superiority complex lurking behind our urge to share. All too often, we have ulterior motives when we dump our opinions on others unsolicited.

Why We Share

All sorts of random thoughts show up during the day and even while meditating, so we need a bouncer to decide which thoughts get to enter our minds, which have to stand outside, and which are banned for life. To listen with captions, visit: https://youtu.be/XnUAJB3Y0Xk

Bouncer

We think happiness will result from accumulating one instant gratification after another, but each gratifying moment is so brief, we spend more time chasing happiness than being happy. Practice not giving the mind everything it wants. 

Discipline & Dedication

Inside of you there is a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time. If you find value in these videos, please show your support at https://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/support or with as little as $1/month through https://Patreon.com/BuddhistBootCamp • You can schedule a one-on-one session at https://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/meet — Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love.

Distractions

The intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire. Timber Hawkeye, bestselling author of Buddhist Boot Camp and Faithfully Religionless, offers a secular approach to being at peace with the world, both within and around us. As the Dalai Lama says, "Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist, use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."