Happy Mind: Meditations from the Ancient World to Modernity

There are reports from every culture and every age of certain human beings who somehow seem to be able to transcend the emotional disturbances that seem to be a given element of being a human being. An enlightened master once told me that their secret was simple: letting go. Anyone could experience this life of peace and joy and illumination that the great ones speak of just by learning to let go. Letting go. It was that simple. But how do you do that, and why does it work?  Well, it works because resistance, holding on, and wanting are the source of suffering. They are the mind patterns that sustain the illusion of our separation us from our true self. So, letting go shatters that illusion. And when the illusion is shattered, we sense the connection to the universal love and power and peace that is our source. That is why it works. But how do you do it and when can you practice it? In fact, you can practice it every day, all the time. Every thought that arises, every want, every resistance you have, you simply let go of it. Over and over again until it is second nature. With enough practice, the letting go becomes a reflex. And those who have taken this path before you teach that eventually, with enough letting go, the neurological habits of holding on and resisting and wanting fade away and your consciousness will stabilize on the true nature of your mind. The structure of your brain literally experiences a permanent physical and electrochemical change. This is a 20 minute version of the Reconnect with your Source episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An enlightened master once told me that the secret to a life of continual peace and joy was letting go. Anyone could experience the life of peace and love and joy and illumination that the great ones speak of just by learning to let go. Letting go. It was that simple. But how do you do that, and why does it work?  It works because resistance, holding on, and wanting are the source of suffering. They are the mind patterns that sustain the illusion of your separation from your true self. So, letting go shatters that illusion. And when the illusion is broken, you sense the connection to the universal love and power and peace that is your source. That is why it works. But how do you do it and when can you practice it? In fact, you can practice it every day, all the time. Every thought that arises, every want, every resistance you have, you simply let go of it. Over and over again until it is second nature. With enough practice, the letting go becomes a reflex. And those who have taken this path before you teach that eventually, with enough letting go, the neurological habits of holding on and resisting and wanting fade away and your consciousness will stabilize on the true nature of your mind. The structure of your brain literally experiences a permanent physical and electrochemical change.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This 90 minute long episode is an adaptation of a lesson taught by George Falcon, an enlightened Qi Gong master who passed away in recent times. It begins with a simple breathing and body scan meditation, transitions to a steady contemplation on the nature of the self and finishes with a sustained meditation on your true I AM. From the earliest wisdom teachers to the great living masters of today, we consistently hear the message that ‘you are free’, ‘you do without doing,’ and ‘you are not the self.’ It doesn't matter whether it is Lao Tzu or Krishna, Jesus or Mohammed, Buddha or Rumi, they all share this same insight. But what can they possibly mean? Unfortunately, we have to experience it to understand it. It is impossible to explain in a way the intellect can grasp. Bearing that truth in mind, you can use this extended meditation practice to help you remember who you really are. This guided meditation is a 90 minute version of the Letting Go Of Who You Think You Are episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the earliest wisdom teachers to the great living masters of today, we consistently hear the message that ‘you are free’, ‘you do without doing,’ and ‘you are not the self.’ It doesn't matter whether it is Lao Tzu or Krishna, Jesus or Mohammed, Buddha or Hermes Trismegestus, they all share this same insight. But what can they possibly mean? Unfortunately, we have to experience it to understand it. It is impossible to explain in a way the intellect can grasp. Bearing that truth in mind, this hour long episode contains an adaptation of a lesson taught by George Falcon, an enlightened Qi Gong master who passed away in recent times. It transitions from a steady contemplation on the nature of the self into a sustained meditation on your true I AM.This guided meditation is an hour long version of the Letting Go Of Who You Think You Are episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can you experience enlightenment right now? The great masters have told that you already have this enlightened state as your essential nature. You've just forgotten. You're just asleep. But then, who are you, really? Unfortunately, it is impossible to answer this question using words or concepts. So today, instead of giving a lecture on who you really are, I am going to guide you in a way that you might just be able to begin to get a sense of it. This model was taught to me by my teacher George Falcon and I have adapted it into a method of contemplation and meditation that you can use to begin to grasp this ancient teaching on the nature of self. It will give you a more intuitive understanding of what it is these masters are talking about when they say things like ‘you are free’, ‘you do without doing,’ and ‘you are not the self.’ You may wonder why it is so important to understand who you really are. It is because this confusion is the source, in one sense, of all your problems in life. Buddha tells us in the Diamond Sutra, for example, that "Nirvāna and samsāra are, for the human mind, merely the ultimate pair of opposites, and like all lesser pairs of opposites, such as ego and nonego, they are unreal. Only in the transcendent state, beyond the domain of opposites, is truth realizable." (The Diamond Sutra and The Sutra of Hui-neng (Kindle Locations 193-196). Shambhala Publications.)But never forget that this is just a model and, as Buddha said many times, these teachings "of the Dharma is to be likened unto a raft." and just like any model or teaching, or Dharma, "the buddha-teaching must be relinquished." (The Diamond Sutra and The Sutra of Hui-neng (Kindle Locations 395-396). Shambhala Publications.)This is a 45 minute version of the Letting Go of Who You Think You Are episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In one sense, all our problems in life stem from a confusion about who we really are. Buddha is among the most explicit on this point. He speaks repeatedly about how we are not an ego entity, a personality, a being or and individual. He tells us, for example, in The Diamond Sutra, that we “should leave behind all phenomenal distinctions [such as the idea that we are a self] and awaken the thought of the consummation of incomparable enlightenment”. But what does this mean exactly? And how do we awaken this thought? Unfortunately, this is not something we can put into words, as the somersaulting language of the Diamond Sutra attests. But we are told again and again by saints and sages throughout the ages that this experience of our higher self, our true self, is possible. So why not take them at their word and give it a go? Why not take seriously the possibility that this awakening is something we can experience. That is what we are going to do today. In this meditation, you will be guided to a place where you might just be able to get an inkling of the awakening Buddha speaks about. This framework was taught to me by my teacher George Falcon and I have adapted it into a contemplation/meditation practice. While you may not experience satori or the sudden awakening that Zen speaks about, it will at least bring you to a place where you can understand at a more intuitive level what it is these masters are talking about when they say things like ‘you are free’, ‘you do without doing,’ and ‘you are not the self.’Can you experience enlightenment right now? Maybe not but why not try? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a longer session for those ready to extend their letting go practice. Letting go, remembering who you really are, learning to act in accordance with the truths about free will--these things don't just start happening automatically. You have had a lifetime or learning a different method. All those years and decades of learning have to be overwritten. The brain rewiring just takes time. But we know that neurons that fire together wire together. So you marathon meditators can utilize this one to help you on your journey. Just make sure you have had a good night's sleep first! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It may feel like you are in command of your world and your body but that isn't true. And it isn't just people like Lao Tzu and Krishna that you hear this message from anymore. It is the scientific community. The ancient masters understood that free will is not what we think it is and modern science is finally beginning to catch up. To quote from Sam Harris' book, Free Will, "The physiologist Benjamin Libet famously used EEG to show that activity in the brain’s motor cortex can be detected some 300 milliseconds before a person feels that he has decided to move. Another lab extended this work using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): Subjects were asked to press one of two buttons while watching a “clock” composed of a random sequence of letters appearing on a screen. They reported which letter was visible at the moment they decided to press one button or the other. The experimenters found two brain regions that contained information about which button subjects would press a full 7 to 10 seconds before the decision was consciously made. More recently, direct recordings from the cortex showed that the activity of merely 256 neurons was sufficient to predict with 80 percent accuracy a person’s decision to move 700 milliseconds before he became aware of it. (Harris, Sam. Free Will (pp. 8-9). Free Press.)So, as hard as it is to comprehend, you are not the one doing the doing. You can use this meditation to learn to become comfortable with this truth and to start to unpack what this means for you and in your life, right now.This is a 60 minute version of the complete 'you are not the doer' set. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The ancient masters understood that free will is not what we think it is and modern science is finally beginning to catch up. To quote from Sam Harris' book, Free Will, "The physiologist Benjamin Libet famously used EEG to show that activity in the brain’s motor cortex can be detected some 300 milliseconds before a person feels that he has decided to move. Another lab extended this work using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): Subjects were asked to press one of two buttons while watching a “clock” composed of a random sequence of letters appearing on a screen. They reported which letter was visible at the moment they decided to press one button or the other. The experimenters found two brain regions that contained information about which button subjects would press a full 7 to 10 seconds before the decision was consciously made. More recently, direct recordings from the cortex showed that the activity of merely 256 neurons was sufficient to predict with 80 percent accuracy a person’s decision to move 700 milliseconds before he became aware of it. (Harris, Sam. Free Will (pp. 8-9). Free Press.)So, as hard as it is to comprehend, you are not the one doing the doing. You can use this meditation to learn to become comfortable with this truth and to start to unpack what this means for you and in your life, right now.This is a 45 minute version of the complete 'you are not the doer' set. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'Less talk, more meditation' version of the 'Be the witness' practice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Modern neurological research suggests that our concept of free will is unfounded. The ancient masters understood this long ago. And they developed a series of brain-training exercises to settle in to a state of so-called 'non-doing' or Wu Wei. But non-doing, or just being the witness to the unfolding of your existence, isn't what you think it is. You aren't sitting around doing nothing. Quite the contrary. It's just that the doing that you do do is more organic, appropriate and effortless.This is a 30 minute version of the complete 'you are not the doer' set. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'Letting go' can seem very scary. After all, if we let go, if we stop doing, then what will happen to us? Won't we starve or rot away on our couch? Or won't bad things happen to us? It turns out that letting go and stopping "doing" aren't what we might at first think. It is true that free will as we normally think about it is an illusion. Even though it feels like we are the authors of our existence, the reality is something quite different. Even though we think we perceive reality through our senses and make judgements about how to behave and what to do with our bodies and our lives, the great masters of old as well as the neuroscientists of our day tell us this is not true. So 'letting go' is really about acknowledging the world as it is. A world where we are the objects of things being done rather than their true author. So it doesn't have to be scary. The wisdom teachers of ancient times explained that, in fact, the realization of this fact that we are not the subjects of our life, that we are the objects of a greater flow, holds the secret to happiness. But we have to learn to let go for it to work. This guided meditation helps you practice this technique of letting go, of not thinking you are the doer in your life, of accepting what arises. Note: This is a 15 minute version of the Be the Object Guided Meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Free will as we normally think about it is an illusion. Even though it feels like we are the authors of our existence, the reality is something quite different. Even though we think we perceive reality through our senses and make judgements about how to behave and what to do with our bodies and our lives, the great masters of old as well as the neuroscientists of our day tell us this is not true. For some, this is quite a scary thought. But the wisdom teachers of ancient times explained that, in fact, the realization of this fact that we are not the subjects of our life, that we are the objects of a greater flow, holds the secret to happiness. But we have to learn to let go for it to work. This guided meditation helps you practice this technique of letting go, of not thinking you are the doer in your life, of accepting what arises. Note: This is a 60 minute version of the Be the Object Guided Meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It feels like we are the authors of our existence. We perceive reality through our senses and make judgements about how to behave and what to do with our bodies and our lives. But the great masters of old as well as the neuroscientists of our day tell us this is not true. Free will as we normally think about it is an illusion. For some, this is quite a scary thought. But the wisdom teachers of ancient times explained that, in fact, the realization of this fact that we are not the subjects of our life, that we are the objects of a greater flow, holds the secret to happiness. But we have to learn to let go for it to work. This guided meditation helps you practice this technique of letting go, of not thinking you are the doer in your life, of accepting what arises.Note: This is a 30 minute version of the Be the Object Guided Meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One of the more confusing and seemingly wrong teachings from the ancient masters is this idea that the secret to a happy healthy life is 'non-doing' (Wu Wei). But what in the world can they possibly mean?! How is doing nothing (if that is what they mean) the key to happiness and health? The answer isn’t what you think. You first need to learn what the old sages mean by expressions like “The wise person does nothing, yet nothing is left undone” (Lao Tzu) or “Self, confused by the idea of an ‘I’, thus thinks, ‘I am the doer’" (Krishna). Or, if you prefer, you can look to the Islamic mystics of 12thcentury CE (such as Ibn ‘Arabi) for a solution. He made a distinction between “Divine Will” and “Divine Wish” which helps elucidate what these ancient teachings mean. Ibn 'Arabi might express it by saying that the truth of reality is that everything that happens, the world as it is and as it becomes each moment, is an expression of God's Will (or you could just say is an expression of the forces of nature of physics, if God isn’t your thing). This is what he calls the ‘Divine Will.’ In contrast, ‘Divine Wish’ is concerned with how each one of us individually as a human can reach "heaven" or "Nirvana" or discover within ourselves the underlying perfection that union with the all (what Ibn 'Arabi would call "Oneness of Being") allows to become manifest. You see, it quickly becomes complicated and overly intellectual. For those that like that kind of thing, I explain what all that means in my blog. But sometimes it is just easier to experience the lesson. That is what this meditation is for. To teach you how to let go, to show you what that feels like, to open you to the possibilities that emerge when you learn this lesson. Just relax and let me do the work for you. Note: This is a 45 minute version of the Be The Vehicle meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.