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Human blossoming is akin to the delicate yet profound process seen in the natural world, where flowers unfurl their petals to reveal their inner beauty.
The metaphor of blooming relates to maturity and is explored in various contexts, from spiritual growth to personal transformation. Just as flowers need the right conditions to bloom, folks too require nurturing environments and opportunities for growth to reach their full potential.
Concepts such as the Flower of Life in sacred geometry and the Chinese teachings from "The Secret of the Golden Flower" illuminate the interconnectedness between nature and human existence, emphasizing the importance of harnessing inner wisdom to navigate life's journey.
At the heart of this discussion lies the notion of the light reflex, a metaphorical beacon guiding individuals towards enlightenment and spiritual awakening. Like a flower turning upward or backward towards the sun to absorb its nourishing light, humans can cultivate inner radiance by turning towards their spiritual essence. Blooming where they are planted, individuals can unfold their unique potential and transform the social garden with grace and wisdom.
(original “frequency” artwork for this episode can be seen on the podcast website)
Recorded on Oct 15, 2023, the day after a solar eclipse and “ring of fire.”
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Kindness takes on both light-hearted and profound expressions in our intricate world.
In its playful form, it encompasses spontaneous acts that bring joy and laughter, offering a refreshing break from gravity. In its most thoughtful expression, it addresses pressing societal issues with compassion and wisdom.
Striking a balance between these dimensions is pivotal and crucial; playfulness fosters connections and resilience, while empathy grapples with deep-rooted challenges, striving for enduring transformation.
Together, they cultivate a mature mind and harmonious society adept at navigating the complex dynamics of life with love and awareness.
This episode explores the concept of “space” not as the separation but as the link.
(original artwork on the podcast website and music “The Loudest Meditation” by Solar Plexus)
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Thank you!
Stillness is often associated with meditation, contemplation, and spiritual practices aimed at transcending the superficial layers of social life and the conventional sense of self.
There is a three-part harmony to stillness including physical stillness of movement, auditory stillness of unnecessary sounds, and mental tranquility of thoughts.
This episode parallels these three dimensions with the still pond which can accurately reflect the environment, the quiet forest in which the true sounds of nature can be detected, and the clear mirror free from smudges or debris like a calm mind without judgment.
Original artwork can be seen on the podcast website.
You can pitch in to support this work and access bonus content at https://patreon.com/kindmind
This episode explores the transformative powers of music and meditation, practices that serve as vessels for introspection, revelation, and communal connection.
We delve into the philosophical and spiritual intricacies of how silence complements music—the way meditation underlines our active lives—inviting listeners on a contemplative journey toward self-discovery and collective understanding.
In an era marked by global secularization, remote interactions, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainties, the quest for meaning and genuine connection has never been more urgent. Meditation can help us examine these challenges and awaken to a unique refuge in the communal pursuit of curiosity and understanding.
In the cacophony of modern life, we can find solace and clarity in the intentional embrace of stillness and service to others.
Drawing on the linguistic roots of 'ministry' and 'meditation,' both connected to the concept of 'minus,' this episode uncovers the elegant process of shedding false identities through contemplation and altruistic service.
It posits that by minimizing our ego and distractions, we can reveal our divine essence, leading to a deeper appreciation of our shared human experience.
Listeners are invited to reflect on the role of music and meditation as ministries in their own lives, avenues for fostering fellowship around wonder rather than conviction.
This discussion extends beyond personal growth, touching on how these experiments can counteract the existential and societal challenges of our time, offering a blueprint for building communities of seekers united in their quest for understanding and peace.
Original artwork can be seen on the podcast website.
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Understanding the nature of knowledge has been a timeless pursuit for thinkers and seekers throughout history. This branch of study in philosophy is often referred to as epistemology.
There is an interplay between sensory perception, intellectual understanding and the notion of objective truth. The limitations, complexities, and transformative power inherent in the quest for knowledge cannot be understated.
What does it mean to KNOW something?
HOW does one know something?
We are never able to fully stand outside the world and its apparent parts in order to objectively examine as separate from ourselves. Absolute truth may be like the horizon that ever expands as we attempt to approach it, revealing new frontiers and the endless depth of unknowing.
Power dynamics play a significant role in the production and dissemination of knowledge. Institutionalized structures, privileges and biases can influence whose "knowledge" is valued and whose perspectives are marginalized. Recognizing and challenging these power imbalances is vital to foster a more inclusive and equitable knowledge ecosystem.
We might consider the restorative potential of egalitarian inquiry and the implications of its obstruction. Some research methodologies require significant resources such as labor, money and time to gain access to knowledge. Who is able to participate and how might our understanding of the world be different otherwise?
An ethical dimension emerges when contemplating the function of knowledge. While knowledge empowers and enlightens, it can also be a double-edged sword, capable of destruction and exploitation. Moral responsibility requires discernment in how knowledge is acquired, shared, and applied. The preservation of certain knowledge, such as the occult, may have been conceived as a protective measure, honoring the need for maturity and wisdom in its application.
This episode explores the interconnectedness of these thought-fragments. Like a mosaic, knowledge can be taken as relatively complete depending on where you look, while paradoxically offering countless possibilities for continuation.
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The archetype of the wounded healer, a concept deeply rooted in psychology and mythology, offers profound insights into the human condition, empathy, and the transformative power of healing through sacrifice.
This talk touches on the intricate dimensions of this archetype, paralleling its essence with the natural process of an oyster creating a pearl — a metaphor that elegantly encapsulates the journey from wound to wisdom.
Original artwork for this episode can be found on the podcast website along with event details.
This original sci fi tale has been expanded! I’ve added more words and MUSIC and hope this makes it easy to access anytime through the podcast.
Brazilian artist Gabriel Melo (_TMist) has enhanced the story with futuristic imagery. Please watch on my youtube channel and subscribe at https://youtu.be/L2LpRgZn_8M
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The Aurascope is a dark allegory about the commodification of human empathy.
A tech innovation blurs the boundary between empathy and voyeurism in a future society marked by diluted authenticity and disconnection from the power of personal sacrifice.
The narrative also serves as a de-stigmatizing portrait of neurodivergence, adding meaning to the adventure.
You can support this show, connect with the Kind Mind community, and access bonus content at https://patreon.com/kindmind
This is episode 101.
The origin of speech remains rather mysterious. The development of complex vocalization and symbology is unique and may involve evolutionary necessity. Human survival has historically been dependent on social cooperation. Language allows us to share information, coordinate activities, and form complex bonds for success among species.
At the same time, there are profound ways that language shapes our understanding of reality, its construction and our place within it.
This episode explores the interplay between words and worlds and examines the limitations associated with ineffable mystical experiences and divine truth.
Music “Winter Lake” by Lee Hannah.
Episode artwork can be found on the podcast website.
This is the 100th episode! Thank you for listening!
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This episode delves into the underground world of seeds and the unexpected life lessons they can teach us. From the sacred lotus seed which can remain viable for over 1,000 years to the dust-like orchid seeds that rely on fungus to germinate to the lodgepole pine which requires fire to release its seeds from the resin in cones - there is much to glean about resilience, potential, and interconnectedness.
These odd timelines and strange conditions can remind us that human progress is also not always straightforward. It can also inspire us to remain engaged in sowing the seeds of kindness and transformation in the face of adversity, trusting the latent magic will unfold.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, "bija" is often used to describe the seed or essence of something, which can represent the beginning or source of a concept, idea, or practice. For example, in yoga, bija mantras are seed syllables that are considered to hold the essence of a specific energy or deity. When chanted or meditated upon, these bija mantras are believed to help activate and harmonize the associated energy or invoke the deity's presence.
We will reflect on the wisdom of seeds in nature and culture and explore ways to apply the insights to daily life for nuturing a destiny of peace and happiness.
(Music “Sunset Serenade” by Ethereal Ephemera and original artwork for this episode can be found on the podcast website)
This is the 99th episode and patreon members will receive a special gift in the mail to commemorate the centennial occasion.
Give, receive and elevate at https://patreon.com/kindmind
'Tis the season of giving, but the societal expectation to buy a bunch of gifts or marketing pressure to spend, spend, spend is not the real spirit of generosity.
As mystic poet Kahlil Gibran wrote,
"It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding; and to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving. And is there aught you would withhold? All you have shall some day be given; therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'."
Sincere generosity is good for our health and according to psychological studies, our happiness is more linked with prosocial behaviors. And the "warm glow" or "helpers high" corresponds to an actual rise in body temperature and release of feel-good hormones like oxytocin and endorphins.
But how, when or what to give is worth considering further. Additionally, experiments with "hedonic adaptation" reveal that the happiness we enjoy from the same activity or experience diminishes over time but this is not true when giving in the same manner.
This episode explores the ways to give not just materially or commercially once a year but as a healthy habit, to give of ourselves as a spiritual practice but also between mind and body.
(Music “Fade to White” by Bing Satellites and original episode artwork on podcast website)
Recorded live in-person on Oct 25 2022 at The Homestead in Plano, IL.
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Why are so many people attracted to scary movies when in real life we typically avoid frightening situations?
There are a multitude of reasons but recent studies have indicated that fans of the horror genre fared better in the pandemic in terms of preparedness and psychological resilience. Therefore, it could function as a kind of virtual reality tester and mechanism of exposure to worst-case scenarios.
In the final episode of “Dirty John,” the true story of a murderous conman, the daughter Terra credits her survival and ability to fight like hell from having previously binged AMC’s apocalyptic zombie-gore series "The Walking Dead."
There are many different types of fear but psychologist Karl Albrecht believes that they can be categorized and fit into a hierarchy or “Feararchy.” However, philosophers like Jiddu Krishnmurti asserted that these are still only the branches of one tree of fear and implored seekers to cut it down at the root.
And on an evolutionary level, our instincts associated with fear are predominantly codes for responding to a long-gone world. Most of the ancient imminent death threats like predators, storms and enemies have been replaced by longform health complexities like addiction, obesity and loneliness.
What will it take to download the smart-brain updates and how could that transform our lives and society?
(Music “Make Sense of Everything” by Bing Satellites and original episode artwork can be found on the podcast website)
You can support the podcast on Patreon and access bonus content: https://patreon.com/kindmind
True leadership goes beyond mere titles and positions. It involves a convergence of inner and outer realms.
At its core, leadership is an outpouring of the inner work. Through introspection, one can illuminate their own positionality and the pathways to decentralize power within themselves and elsewhere. Then, the finest leaders do not merely stand in the spotlight but, instead, use their inner light to cast away the shadows enveloping others.
To lead without leading and serve without imposing, the echoes of kindness resound louder than shouts of authority. Today's world often rewards individuals for audacious certitude. However, timeless wisdom and contemporary insights remind that true leadership engages with the panorama of possibilities from a space of intellectual and cultural humility.
This transformative journey, rooted in self-reflection, is what differentiates true leaders from mere figureheads, making leadership not just an external role but also an ever-evolving inner quest.
(Music “The Stone of Rejuvenation” by The Lovely Moon and original artwork for this episode is on the podcast website)
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One of the predecessors of the word "create" is creare in Latin. This verb meant "to form out of nothing" as in the phrase creatio ex nihilo from the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Accordingly, God manifested heaven and earth from the void.
Thus, artists sometimes refer to their spark of inspiration as being in the likeness of God.
However, the art from us mortals is creatio ex materia. Stravinsky may have said it best with the annotation of "refitting old ships." Astronomer Carl Sagan added that if you really want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
So, does ego help or hinder art?
Another etymological root of create is keres or later ceres from ancient Indo-European language. Ker means "to grow" like the Roman Goddess of agriculture known as Ceres.
Egoism believes that the “I” is the origin of creative ideas and offerings, but the spiritual attitude is that of a steward tending to the growth and garden of community.
We will explore whether ego impedes or augments one's creative output and how the mode of operation is different.
(music “Divine Influence” by Bing Satellites and original artwork for this episode is on the podcast website)
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The paradox of curiosity is a contest between our innate desire for knowledge and our aversion to uncertainty.
A delicate balance can be negotiated when the curious awareness is anchored to its Latin word origin. "Cura" meant cure, care, concern or even choosiness. Put simply, curate the curiosity. Then, it serves as a transformative force, guiding us on the perpetual quest for understanding and self-discovery.
In our conversation and beyond, let this spark of inquiry light the way up - towards kindness and necessary innovation. Embracing curiosity, we become weavers of our own wisdom, ever learning never concluding.
(music “Everything is Beautiful” by Solar Plexus)
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Today, we often associate adventure with planned activities or deliberate pursuits as is the case with travel itineraries or business ventures of calculated risk with defined goals.
However, the prefix ad in the word "adventure" means "towards" and therefore indicates that in the true spirit of adventure, the unknown is not just a means to an end but the end itself. In other words, the adventurous life is one that journeys beyond the familiar or comfortable and towards surrender and acceptance of the divine mystery.
This episode explore various perspectives on adventure and how it has been associated with rites of passage, renouncing or risking self-interest and the quest for harmony with the natural world.
(Music “Even” by Bing Satellites)
Mary Oliver wrote that "empathy is a kind of seeing, and it involves imagination as well as vision."
The word "empathy" has origins in Greek "Empatheia" and the root "pathos," which means "feeling." It was first introduced to the English language in the early 20th century as a translation of the German word "Einfühlung," which means "feeling into." The term was initially used in the context of aesthetics and art appreciation.
Over time, the concept of empathy has evolved to encompass a broader range of psychosocial processes associated with 1) affective empathy (experiencing or sharing the emotions of another) and/or 2) cognitive empathy (understanding the perspective of another). Empathy is a crucial component of emotional intelligence and the development of meaningful relationships.
The opposite of empathy is apathy or the lack of feeling. So as a virtue, empathy can be the foundation for generating compassion and a motivating energy for prosocial behavior. However, it could also be argued that the value of empathy is unstable on its own and may need to be balanced with rationality and discernment in order to navigate between the extremes of excessive empathy and calloused indifference.
Otherwise, the drawbacks involve our susceptibility to emotional exploitation as targets of manipulative marketing or weaponized empathy. There is also the risk of empathy distorting facts as evidenced by proximity bias (preference for those close in distance or likeness) and other modes of selective empathy, short-term focus, and the prioritization of identifiable individuals (stories) over large groups or abstract statistics. These limitations have inspired the effective altruisim movement which aims to update our evolutionary empathy instincts to match the often complex modern social problems.
Additionally, unbound empathy can lead to distress and burnout. Preoccupation with the feelings of others can result in decision paralysis or the hindering of our ability to respond timely and skillfully. When a river floods its own banks, it turns turbulent and loses the balance that sustained its nourishing flow; or like the tides of the sea, we naturally require a cycle of rising and retreating.
Ultimately, empathy's true spiritual power reorients to our recurring theme of kindness and discovering our underlying circulation with totality. Feeling into oneness. It is an elegant common cornerstone among most major religions. At the heart of their moral philosophy, the empathic aphorisms enshrine the same message in colorful ways.
Beyond "The Golden Rule," other verses include "the whole world is a family" in the Rigveda, "all beings are Buddha nature" in the Lotus Sutra, and "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle," attributed to Philo of Alexandria.
This episode explores the ends of empathy in all its bittersweetness.
(Music “To New Beginnings” by Bing Satellites)
Historically, morality was in the domain of religion. Although most existing faiths claim their teachings go back to the dawn of time, we can understand that these belief systems have emerged and disintegrated like empires.
However, scholars trace living spiritual traditions of the Indian subcontinent to the 15th century BCE suggesting seniority at least among scriptures. The cornerstone of these and many other organized moral philosophies around the world is nonviolence. Also known as ahimsa in Sanskrit, it is the central theme of Jainism and the very first step in the first (yama) of eight limbs of yoga in Hinduism.
This ancient virtue can also be found as a basis for other maxims and codes around the world as attempts to do the least harm such as the golden rule, Mill’s utilitarianism or Kant’s categorical imperative. Despite this principle being woven into the fabric of social construct, it seems so many civilizations fall way short of its vision.
In this episode, we will explore the role of nonviolence today and the challenges or limitations. Violence is quite prevalent in nature, so it cannot be only a matter of living more naturally. Some modern thinkers assert that you cannot have life without death elsewhere nor construction without destruction. So, what about other life forms, self-defense, war, criminal justice, disease, mental health, etc?
If there is a time to kill, then perhaps the important clue for spiritual growth lies in ahimsa’s explanation in Jainism. Guided by simplicity, necessity and intention, one can aspire to cultivate a mind with less and less desire to increase suffering while adopting a lifestyle that harmonizes with the balance of the broader ecological community to which we belong.
(intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “Light in the Summer Air II” by Ethereal Ephemera)
In 1976, German social psychologist Erich Fromm published a book which presented the titular question, "To Have or To Be?"
This philosophical inquiry would resurface throughout his work as two distinct modes of existence. He further claimed that modern society in its materialism prefers having.
On this podcast, we often consider the dialectic of being vs doing. Well, Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa wrote, "to have is to tarry." In a sense, the more you have, the more you have to do - which can weigh you down in terms of freeing your mind.
But does that mean that the goal of spiritual growth would be to eliminate possessions? I don't think it's that simple. It is more about transcending possessiveness.
There is a clear cultural example of this difference when comparing the legacies of human relations with the land or ecology. If you look at a map of Native Land that shows historically Indigenous territories, you will not find the straight lines and rigid markers as is the case with modern states and countries. It's much more fluid like the area of defense on a baseball field, with any location more or less covered by a player. This ties into the notion of stewardship as opposed to ownership of the land, as well as the experience of land as a community rather than a commodity.
Today, what could change with our life, work, responsibilities and relationships if we brought this awareness into our consciousness and mode of existence?
What changes and what matters more in the moment between:
having something and being present?
having friends and being friendly?
having success and being sincere?
having love and being loving?
(intro song “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “To New Beginnings” and “Clouds in Dark Skies” by Bing Satellites)
You can support this work and access bonus content at https://patreon.com/kindmind
Unlike other virtues that may be situational or context-dependent, integrity is seen as a constant, underlying quality that inspires and threads all of our actions and decisions into a spiritual tapestry.
It is not simply a commitment to certain core principles but a psychosocial, structural and creative coherence in how we live our lives. However, integrity is delicate, easily unraveled, and difficult to repair. Therefore, it involves maturity in steadfastly navigating the tensions between personal values and external pressures, temptations and social norms.
Intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “Herbarium” by Lee Hannah.
You can support this show on Patreon https://patreon.com/kindmind and access bonus content.
This episode considers the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society and the human condition, and explores the ethical and existential concerns surrounding it.
We also contemplate the limitations of AI in terms of consciousness, creativity, and complex emotional and social contexts, and warn of the potential dangers of its weaponization for propaganda or bias and the possibility of humans becoming too dependent on technology.
This episode also emphasizes the need for collaboration across different fields to ensure that AI is developed and deployed in an ethical and equitable manner, and to enhance the human condition.
Intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “Cultivate” by Lee Hannah (https://leehannah.bandcamp.com/)