Listen Now

Episode 112 - "Seeing What Is Around Us, with Honesty" Hey folks!  This episode brings us a chat about chapter 3 in Maria Arpa’s book, “Mindfulness at Work.” This chapter, for us anyway, describes where the real work starts! When we turn our magnifying glass to all that is around us in the workplace, or anywhere for that matter, what do we notice, what do we like, and what could use a little attention? We especially like the use of the metaphorical magnifying glass in this chapter. With that, we can see things up close, or we can see them from farther away. Is it the details that we like or don’t like, or is it the whole thing, in its entirety?  Let us know what you think about this one! Next time, Chapter 4 - “The Conflicts!” If you’d like to pick up the book, “Mindfulness at Work,” by Maria Arpa, here is a link to the book from the publisher page :  https://www.quartoknows.com/ourbooks/bookinfo.aspx?ean=9781782409342&bkey=39221980 Thanks folks!  P + C Shoutouts A big shoutout to the Zoom corporation, the makers of some of the best, affordable sound and video equipment out there. Notice that we seem to be into video now! Check us out on YouTube! This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey folks!  In this episode, we talk through Chapter 2 of Maria Arpa’s book, “Mindfulness at Work.” The title of this chapter, “Freedom & Sustainability,” seems to us to be about how we might find a way to operate in a joyful, mostly resistance-free way in the structure of our workplace. We live with this contrast between doing what we want, and needing to pay the bills. How do we find a middle ground in this that might be more than merely acceptable? Can we find ways to do the work we love to do AND hold a steady job, or does that require a total change in the container in which we operate? Give this one a listen and let us know what you think! Next time, Chapter 3 - “The Honest Audit!” If you’d like to pick up the book, “Mindfulness at Work,” by Maria Arpa, here is a link to the book from the publisher page :  https://www.quartoknows.com/ourbooks/bookinfo.aspx?ean=9781782409342&bkey=39221980 Thanks folks!  P + C Shoutouts A big shoutout to the Zoom corporation, the makers of some of the best, affordable sound and video equipment out there. Notice that we seem to be into video now! Check us out on YouTube! This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey folks!  In this episode, we talk through Chapter 1 of Maria Arpa’s book, “Mindfulness at Work.” The title of this chapter, “Wake Up & Smell the Coffee,” seems to us to be about acknowledgement. It starts with the acknowledgement that we are where we are in the workplace because we accepted things as they were, made decisions, even unconscious ones, on how to best operate in the environment we found ourselves in, and reacted and responded to situations as a result of the causes and conditions of our lives. As Maria Arpa writes, “By remembering and acknowledging those experiences, you will understand their effect on the choices you have made about work and can begin to take steps to remedy this.”  Give this one a listen and let us know what you think! Next time, Chapter 2 - “Freedom and Sustainability!” If you’d like to pick up the book, “Mindfulness at Work,” by Maria Arpa, here is a link to the book from the publisher page :  https://www.quartoknows.com/ourbooks/bookinfo.aspx?ean=9781782409342&bkey=39221980 Thanks folks!  P + C Shoutouts A big shoutout to the Zoom corporation, the makers of some of the best, affordable sound and video equipment out there. Notice that we seem to be into video now! Check us out on YouTube! This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hi Everybody! We have a bonus episode for you this time! It’s just a little short one to let you in on what’s been going on over here at the TMUL shop. Long story short… acknowledging limitations! There are times in our lives when we discover that we can’t do it all (blah blah blah - the same words we’ve heard all our lives). We do hit limitations sometimes, and as we discovered this month, until we can acknowledge our limitations, we can never be free. That’s the message of this one. How do we acknowledge our limitations and be ok with them? On the one hand, we want to do great and be invincible. On the other hand, we’re humans… humans with limitations.  For the long story long, check this bonus episode out, and let us know what you think! We’ll be back with the longform regular programming soon.  Take care, folks! P + C Shoutouts Last week we had a shoutout to Zoom Corp - the A/V hardware company. This week, a mad props to Zoom the software company, without whom this episode, and many other podcasts by awesome creators around the world wouldn’t be possible.   This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey folks! This episode marks the first in a seven-part series where we discuss the book, “Mindfulness at Work,” by Maria Arpa. As we work to bring our contemplative practices more fully developed into all aspects of our lives, we naturally ask, “how might we do this at work?” What we do on nights and weekends is one thing, what we do on the job, however… is that something else altogether? Or might these mindful awareness practices apply to all aspects of our lives? It’s easy to be mindful while engaging in leisure activities or perhaps during times of rest, but during the majority of your waking, workday hours? What does that look like? This week we discuss the introduction of the book and the history of why we’ve chosen this one as the subject of conversation. Also, if you would like to join us in this experience, you too may pick up a copy of the book and come along on this journey with us. You could even start your own Mindfulness at Work book group at your place of employment! That’s what we’ve done! If you’d like to join in with us, here is a link to the book from the publisher page :  https://www.quartoknows.com/ourbooks/bookinfo.aspx?ean=9781782409342&bkey=39221980 Thanks folks!  P + C Shoutouts A big shoutout to the Zoom corporation, the makers of some of the best, affordable sound and video equipment out there. Notice that we seem to be into video now! Check us out on YouTube! This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

What, indeed, is the advantage of embracing the practices of mindfulness in the workplace? So often, we hear of businesses and organizations promoting mindfulness at work, and working on ways to institutionalize mindful approaches and activities, such as yoga, meditation breaks, and other holistic invitations. Is a 10 minute breathing break in the middle of the workday what we really need, though? In this episode, we talk through what it might mean to change our workplace experiences in a more complete and personal way by using awareness of communication with our colleagues and ourselves as the actual framework for workplace wellness. Can we actually ask for compassion in the workplace outright, and how might that request be made to those with whom we work?  We hope that you enjoy this episode! Let us know what you think! Link to Grok It Cards - https://groktheworld.com/ P + C Shoutouts A huge TMUL shoutout to our new patron, long-time supporter Jessica! THANK YOU JESSICA!!!! Your support means the world to us! Expect merch soon. :-) This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www .patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

We all have heard about workplace burnout, and there are whole books - many books - written about this topic. We sometimes think that if we REALLY loved our job, and if we were really happy with our work, we wouldn’t ever actually experience burnout. What if, however, occasional bouts with burnout were an inevitable part of any work that we do? If we approach feelings of burnout honestly and with a little compassion and patience, we can see it for what it might truly be - a natural, occasionally inevitable part of what it means to do work. How do we know when it’s time to change course with what we’re doing or how we approach our work? It turns out that occasional feelings of burnout might be a window into this. We hope that you enjoy this episode! Let us know what you think! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

  What if compassion in the classroom was the foundation of the environment, rather than something “else” that you “ought” to do as a teacher? So often, we, as academics, are left with the thought that good classroom practices are “something else” that we have to do on top of the content that we teach. In this episode, we talk through the possibility that the content might actually be the second thing that we bring with us, and why the very nature of the classroom environment itself must be the first consideration to attend to, which, if established with compassion and non-violence as first principles, enables true, deep learning to happen. This episode also briefly hits upon a side topic not fully addressed in this episode, but one that has been raging on for years: what, in fact, does a grade in a class represent? Rather than this just being a gathering of opinions, which does have value, we also wonder if folks actually agree on what it is “supposed” to represent. If the goal is mastery of content, then clearly not everyone is starting from the same place, and PRESTO… academic privilege! As such, we explore some clear equity vs. equality conversation in this one, while anticipating that we’ll circle back to this topic for many years, as we see equity and inclusion as active ongoing aims in a complex educational landscape. We hope you like this one! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey folks! From tea imagery to coffee! Where we go: into the grind! Truth - there are times when our days are easy, and there are times when days are hard. Sometimes we find joy in the daily little things, yet, sometimes what happens is met with resistance. Stuff happens, both expected and unexpected, and we look for opportunities for ease when we can. We also suffer the unexpected struggles when they arise. There’s no avoiding that! In that, we really don’t have too much choice. Easy things and hard things will happen, we promise. When faced with the truth of unpredictability, it can seem like this life is just happening to us, and that we really don’t have any agency in this life. Although unexpected and challenging things happen, what choices can actually be made that can have a meaningful impact in how we show up for what arises? We don’t always get to choose what happens, but we might actually have more options than we realize. Check this episode out, and let us know what you think! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey all! Question… what do you think of tea? Throughout the course of the day, we drink a lot of tea! We enjoy it in the morning, after class, sometimes during class, in workshops that we host, and in meetings, with friends, colleagues, students, and even on our own. Most of the planning and conversation that we have, between ourselves and with others, starts with, “You want a cup of tea?” Our invitations to others often take the form of, “Join us for tea?” For us, and we suspect for many others, tea holds this special quality that not many other drinks can produce. There indeed seems to be something primal, mystical, or magical, about simple tea.  To be clear, this conversation is about more than tea, it gets pretty deep into what we do, who we are, and what makes us tick. It all starts, however, with a cup of tea. Kick back, relax, grab a cup of tea, and give this one a listen and let us know what you think!  So, let’s start with tea! Fire up the kettle, y’all! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Here’s an episode about fire! At last! How have two fire signs (one a Leo, the other, Aries) gone this long without tackling this topic? Well, it’s taken us a bit of time to learn to understand our own fire! Check this one out and hear more about how we have come to accept what fuels us and aim our “fire” in ways that help us - and those around us. The truth is that carefully aimed fire can bring life and warmth, while unfocused fire risks burning the whole place to the ground! Check this one out and let us know what fuels you and how you focus that energy in ways that you find sustainable! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hi all! When was the last time you really had to take some time to figure something out? If you’re anything like us, the times when we have the A-HA moments are quick and sudden, but they only really occur as the end of a much longer, more involved investment of time, energy, confusion, familiarizing, and quite often, struggle! Rather than the A-HA moment representing the process of learning, we suggest that the whole process of it - including the awkward, uncomfortable times of fumbling around - represents the learning process.  If we put it like that, this means that the struggle, the challenge, the awkward fumbling, and even the frustration that comes with not “figuring it out” more quickly does not represent failure, or slowness, or inadequacy, or anything that one could disparage themselves for! Rather, quite the opposite might be true! To feel the struggle and challenge that comes with learning a new skill or idea IS the learning process itself, in its purest form. It’s that awkward fumbling through that truly represents learning, rather than the A-HA moment at the end. Besides, that A-HA moment really doesn’t last too long before we move onto the next thing. That A-HA moment does feel fantastic though, right? Of course it does. That is the reward we receive for our struggle.  Thanks, folks, and keep learning! Discover something new to figure out, and embrace the awkward! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey folks! Hello beloved podcast listeners! Here it is, at long last (for us anyway!) - podcast episode 100! Question for you…. How do you honor the 100th time you do something? Just like with some other milestones, such as birthdays and New Years’ Day, in many respects it’s just another day. Likewise, in many ways episode 100 is just like any other episode! It has a beginning, a middle, one or several tangents, an ending, and it runs about an hour long.  There is, however, a bit of a different feeling with notable episodes like 100, as there are with birthdays and anniversaries. There is cause for a bit of celebration, because that is what we do as humans, and it might actually represent something else. Clearly, it seems… we’re all in! To do 100 of something, we think, means something. That’s not always easy to do! And there have been many times when we’ve started things that can be counted, and didn’t get to 100 before we, or it, flamed out. What does it take then? Or, maybe better put, what does it mean to be all in? Lasting. Staying power. Commitment? Value and meaning? Purposefulness? Importance? Any, or all of these, may be true. We can do things 100 times, but what does it mean to do that with joy? That does tap into something deeper, we think. Yet, there’s another side to facing the sustaining power of something. How do we keep it going - or do more than 100 repetitions of something - without expectations? What’s that? Are you wondering: what’s so bad about expectations??? It turns out that, sometimes, rather than adding something that sounds meaningful, like accountability or validation, we see that those expectations are external to us. To do things from a place of true joy, meaning, purpose, and value, is to do them for ourselves! It’s the doing that is the reward, not the metrics!  Expectations can set us up for challenge. Like we know what’s going to happen or something? We find we’re about as good at predicting the future as we can the weather! To release ourselves from expectation is to let go of what we think we know and can control, and to find true freedom in purpose. Surrender to the flow, y’all! And give this one a listen! We’d love to hear what you think!  Thanks, folks! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hey folks! Welp, we’ve done it! 99 Red Record Buttons later and we’re here:  Episode 99! And here’s a spoiler: if you listen to this one all the way through, you’ll get to hear Paul’s excellent interpolation of “99 Red Balloons”! The same tune - in a totally new context! And…well, that’s kinda the theme this week! We’re thinking about times with the work to be done and the context for doing that work needs a remix! Have you ever been in a situation where you’re really TRYING to do something and to get something done, but something feels like it’s in the way, or like you’re being blocked somehow from actually making progress or doing the thing that it is you’re trying to do? Well, if you’ve answered “yes” to this, us too!! Why is it that some events require a “change in location” in order to do the thing that could, by all appearances, could be done where you are, or anywhere for that matter? For example, hunkering down in a coffee shop to do some typing, or going to Massachusetts to sit on a cushion. When, and under what circumstances, are we in need of a little “change of scenery?,” or even a “change of venue?” In this episode, Cheri and Paul talk through the many times that they have, in their lives, invoked different places to do some rather specific things. Why do some things work in some locations, but others work in other places? It is curious, isn’t it? Where is it that you do your work? Give this one a listen! And…who knows…maybe you might try listening from a new location this week! If you do, let us know how that goes! Thanks y’all! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Have you ever attended an event wherein you find yourself with others gathered around a round table with tons of forks and spoons and the expectation for polite and witty dinner conversation?  For us, as academics, we have found ourselves in these situations most commonly at conferences, but these circumstances often emerge at weddings, fundraisers, and probably on a number of other occasions, too. What we notice about ourselves is that we both itch at the awkwardness of polite conversation in these contexts AND find those experiences meaningful - even fun. Based on our unique personalities, histories, and experiences, anxiety can arise at situations like these, even though they’re meant to be “fun.” Sometimes they feel like these social situations are being imposed on us rather than offered.  We talk around these conversation occasions on today’s episode. How did we get to that topic, you ask? Well, there might be two reasons. We’re hoping to attend an academic conference in person this April and for us both it will be the first time we’ve participated in such an event in quite some time. Additionally, Paul just came from a retreat grounded in shared silence, and Cheri’s about to head off to one. In these spaces where silence is expected, we have come to find some peace and ease. Yet, similar experiences where the convention is to keep the conversation going, tend to unsettle us. We all show up differently for these situations that involve groups of people, and with different feelings and reactions. May we be kind to ourselves in these situations, and if you’re one of those folks who are perfectly comfortable in such a setting, be mindful that not everyone may be! Hold space lightly, and gently, for all. Thanks folks! P + C This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Ah! The first episode of 2022! This one’s an interesting exercise in time travel! We recorded it on December 27, knowing it will be released on January 4, while Paul is away at a meditation retreat!  As a result, this episode bridges 2021 and 2022, and we’ve let that reality become the theme of the episode.  We look once more at New Year’s plans and traditions. What we notice is a tendency to look back and reflect, paired with a desire to long for a different future. So often as we prepare to enter a new year we do so by taking inventory of our successes and failures and making idealized visions for what might come next.  In this episode, we round out 2021 with a bit of gratitude for what’s unfolded along with an admission that: well, we couldn’t have predicted the year we had if we tried! We’re delighted by so much that we’ve had the opportunity to do, but find ourselves surprised by what we’ve experienced as a result of showing up for what unfolds rather than pressuring ourselves to make some kind of prescribed outcome happen.  Perhaps we walked away from this episode with this big point to ponder: what if we used the New Year transition as a moment to recognize and accept what is? Can we allow ourselves to just be with and witness what is for just a moment? It is with this intention we hope to come to the new year. Since we can control so little in life, we’re committed to witnessing what is and showing up fully and with curiosity to whatever unfolds before us. May it be so!  So, fear listeners, as you listen, we ask you: What intention will you bring to this new season?  Are you setting intentions that are kind to yourself and that will bring ease and joy to yourself? Or are you driving yourself toward some sense of “more” or “better” that might contribute to your suffering more so than your success?  Happy New Year, Everybody! We can’t wait to see what unfolds in 2022! P+C   This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to the final episode of 2021! We recorded this one fresh on the heels of visiting places that we might call, “home,” as in, “home for the holidays” or something like that.  As we talked through our respective trips and how they went, it became curious to us that it’s not quite clear what we mean by the word, “home,” and what actually defined that particular place? In other words, what defines “home?” What, exactly, are the properties of “home?” Home might be where you grew up, where particular people are, a specific house, or where you are right now. It might be where your pets are, and it might be where your people are. However, we wonder, is it always “where the heart is?” In this last episode of 2021, we work through what home means to us, and where it is, and why that might be so. Maybe home was one thing or place, and maybe now it’s another. What associations do you have with “home”? Has it changed over the course of your life? Has your sense of home been fixed over your life, or have you noticed ways that it has evolved as circumstances in your life change? We think it’s a curious concept - one that’s sometimes reassuring, and also, maybe, at other times uncomfortable or awkward. Where is your home, and what does “home” mean to you? We’d love to hear how you associate with home! Happy New Year, Everybody! We’ll see you soon! P+C   This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Episode 95 - Mindfulness and Resilience Happy Solstice, everyone! This week, we’re sending out something a little different. A little while ago, Paul was afforded the opportunity to present for an annual Wellness Summit, and had the presence of mind to press the record button before he began! The episode for this week is that recording, and our own Cheri was kind enough to record an intro.  For a little context, the theme of this summit was “resilience,” a word that we’ve all heard quite often lately. Resilience is often thought of as something to get us through the hard times, but that’s not really it. Resilience, in its purest, most technically correct usage, is the act, or the art, of rebounding after the damage has been done. Because of this, resilience is often talked about after big tragic events or difficult times like the one we’re in now. However, there is great value in becoming familiar with resilience because even in the best of times, things can go awry and challenge us. What do we get from mindfulness in all of this? If we can learn to recognize challenges when they occur, and pay attention to how we react and respond to them, we might bring a little wisdom into exactly how that rebound takes shape. We might recognize that the form that we were in wasn’t serving us too well, or maybe it’s just time to make a few adjustments to how we’re living our lives while we have them. Mindfulness, as it were, brings order to resilience. It can bring structure to the new shape we wish to take.  We hope that you enjoy this one! It was recorded in mid-October, and now we present it to you for your consideration! Again, happy solstice, and have a lovely day! We’ll see you soon! P+C   This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hello, all! Well, the inevitable is upon us, and who are we to not acknowledge it fully? The holiday season is fully here, and once again we feel whatever that need is to embrace tradition, and we consider how it is that we might fulfill and/or satisfy our real, or perceived, holiday obligations. Traditions are one thing, and they’re great! Many of us have traditions that have been passed down through time and generations, and they bring a certain meaning and flavor to the season. The obligation to satisfy them though. Now THAT can be stressy! Stressier than it needs to be, especially in times like these when so much seems in change, flux, and disarray. How can we still make it feel like the holidays when there is so much unsettled stuff going on out there? In this episode, we take this apart a little big, and begin where I think all respectable treatments of holiday tradition might begin - by acknowledging that we have traditions, and identifying them, no matter how untraditional they might be! All traditions start as a thing that happens for the first time. If you find yourself unable to satisfy all of your holiday traditions, just think… this could be the beginning of a new one! They can be respected without being sacred, and in the end, the tradition isn’t really the point anyway, is it? Your traditions might be set in stone, with all the stops pulled out to ensure commitment to their satisfaction, or your holiday tradition might even be that you don’t have traditions, and therefore the obligation might be to not do the same thing two years in a row! Whatever the case, we hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, and find some space and some ease that refreshes and relaxes the hardened, overworked soul.  We’ll see you soon! P+C   This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Hello, everyone, and happy December!  Well, has it been? Has it been happy? What about joyful?  Is your month starting off full of joy? Are you noticing when joy emerges or when it seems to be in short supply?  This podcast episode emerged from an unexpectedly joyful experience Cheri had recently…in a Lyft. Her driver was the personification of joy! He insisted that although a prior passenger tried to steal his joy, he wasn’t going to let her! Instead, he both held onto it and was about to share it with Cheri and her fellow passenger, Beth, last Tuesday night.  Have you experienced joy in this manner?  Do you notice when it seems infectious?  Have you ever noticed how those who come to steal others’ joy don’t end up holding onto it for themselves?   As we move closer toward the darker days of fall and the often hectic close of the year, it can be hard to make space for joy and to both defend it and share it at the same time.  How are you navigating joy this season?  Are you hoping to take it off the hands of someone else? Or are you finding ways to cultivate it with those around you?   Joy is an intentional practice. It’s not one we have all figured out, but we do delight in times where it seems to come easily!  This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup! If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link! https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter Social Media Links Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Email Support the Podcast! We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife