This week's talk is not quite a 'bait and switch' but it's different that the topic at hand. While the title was 'Mindfulness at Work," I thought I'd explore something transcendent to that, which is the cultivation of courage. To wake up requires a capacity to identify what is between you and feeling free and to actively investigate the attitude in your mind, how you are holding your experience and what is actually true.

I've learned that doing the most difficult thing first in the day often leads to some kind of breakthrough.  When I work through some gnarly action item and make progress, I feel great.

In that same way, bringing attention to difficulty can open up new possibilities.

The blurb:

Waking up to who you really are requires a blend of deep relaxation and  applied concentration.  Relaxation helps you sense outside the comparing and judging mind.  Concentration helps you identify habitual patterns and helps you wake up out of the trance of busyness, fear, confusion and cycle of endless desires.

Waking up requires a special form of energy which is not just biological, but also mental and emotional.  Courage gives you the strength to identify where you are stuck or lost and can open up possbilities where they did not exist before.  Courage is the opposite of retreat.  It is the capacity to engage with difficulty and open to new levels of aliveness.

iTunes podcast here and online streaming here.