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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)
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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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.
Please consider supporting this work on Patreon: https://patreon.com/kindmind
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)
If you would like to support this podcast, check out the options and benefitis here: https://patreon.com/kindmind
The word pray comes from the root sound “prek” as in precarious. It means to entreat or ask.
This corresponds to the often instinctive urge to seek something greater than ourselves or a higher power when in need or at a loss of options.
Check out the psychology and demographics of prayer in America in the intro of this episode and then learn more about the contemplative art and practice of praying power.
Intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “Everything is Beautiful” by Solar Plexus.
Happy New Year! You can support this podcast at https://patreon.com/kindmind
The theme is HOPE. It stands out among other virtues because it requires negative circumstances and straddles over the present and towards the future.
Charles Snyder was a psychologist and dedicated researcher of hope, who emphasized its relevance in the context of doing vs being. Accordingly, hope is a motivational set of cognitive traits that give people a reason to continue pursuing their goals despite the unpredictable nature of the human experience.
He had a beautiful quote,
"A rainbow is a prism that sends shards of multicolored light in various directions. It lifts our spirits and makes us think of what is possible. Hope is the same – a personal rainbow of the mind."
It suggests that additional pathways may exist or appear that we cannot always comprehend in the present. The past and the future are like the ends of that rainbow. They seem to be really out there, but they are always inaccessible.
However, a bigger view is always possible in the here and now.
(Intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “Cinnabar Sunset” by The Lovely Moon)
from the Dawn Chorus artist retreat at the Grand Canyon, New Year's Eve 2020.
you can join the virtual Kind Mind Gathering each month and access the Kind Mind Studio meditation page by becoming a patron of this podcast on Patreon for as little as $5/month:
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(music “Sunlight on Still Water” by The Lovely Moon and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Vitaliy Katsenelson was born in Murmansk, Russia, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1991. After joining Denver-based value investment firm IMA in 1997, Vitaliy became Chief Investment Officer in 2007, and CEO in 2012. Vitaliy is also an award-winning writer. Known for his uncommon common sense, Forbes Magazine called him "The New Benjamin Graham." He's written for publications including Financial Times, Barron's, Institutional Investor and Foreign Policy. Soul in the Game is his third book, and first non-investing book.
https://contrarianedge.com
https://soulinthegame.net
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the etymology of the word dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
https://www.michaeltoddfink.com
You can support this podcast and access bonus content here: https://patreon.com/kindmind
You can support this podcast and access live virtual events and bonus content via Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
Send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Compared with other organisms, humans are born significantly underdeveloped physically and highly vulnerable for a considerable period of time.
Therefore, trust and mistrust can be profoundly wired into our design as it is uniquely relevant in our survival.
People may say they don't trust others much, but that might apply more to one's attitude toward specific kinds of relationships. Meanwhile, most of us do trust others in daily life more than we may realize.
Trust can be altered by levels of oxytocin, a pro-social hormone in the body. We also have an evolutionary propsensity to trust faces that look similar to our own, perhaps because our brains recognize a higher probability of being related and thus protected.
Inside of the word trust you have “us” and this episode aims to expand and serve the sense of “us-ness.”
(Music is “The Stone of Rejuvenation” by The Lovely Moon and episode artwork is by Emily Dawn Duforest)
You can support this work and access live virtual events and bonus content via Patreon: https://patreon.com/kindmind
mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Why do we build and rebuild?
It could be because of breakdown or breakthrough and the interpretation may be up to us. Sometimes there are setbacks where things fall apart and need repair. Other times, we learn, grow and envision a better way to add on or redo.
We definitely encounter this on the individual level as in the arc of the hero's journey coded in folklore and mythology, where the aspirant seeks, finds, falls, despairs and rises again towards illumination.
In some sense, this path also applies now to the collective experience.
This episode explores what we and society are building - materially, digitally, spiritually - and the etymology of the word "build" with it's roots in Latin and Sanskrit connecting us to the Earth.
Additional analysis is given to the building metaphor and the symbolism of foundations, structures and roofs in life along with the tools to design beyond our breakdowns or breakthroughs.
(music “The Physical World” by The Lovely Moon and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Todd talks with Sandy Gibson.
Sandy Gibson is the Founder of Better Place Forests, America's first conservation memorial forest. Instead of graves, Better Places offers a sustainable alternative to cemeteries for families who choose cremation.
Launching in 2017, the 130+ acre woodland based in San Francisco has raised more than $75M in venture capital! Better Place Forests has also been featured in the New York Times, and on the Today Show.
https://www.betterplaceforests.com
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
Join the Patreon community and access bonus content and live events: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Sleep is really weird when you think about it. You get 16-24 hours of life out of a human and then they need 8 hours to fully charge.
There are so many interpretations of dreams from psychology and spirituality. They include descriptions of our subconscious resolving conflicts and playing out fantasies to intuition and prophecies.
fMRI studies of the brains of mice show activity similar to when they were trying to find cheese in a maze, suggesting that dreams have a lot to do with learning and integration.
Not only does life influence dreams but dreams sometimes alter the course of history.
(Music by Ethereal Ephemera “Reflections of Sunlight Drifting” and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Todd talks with Jose Hernandez.
In 2004 Jose began creating art as a meditative tool. His art has now exhibited in galleries across the US and hangs in private and corporate collections worldwide. Jose founded Inner Immersion, LLC and Immersive Arts, LLP. He is a member of the Association of Transformational Leaders. Jose is featured in the Netflix docu-series, Surviving Death, and the Dr Oz show. He regularly speaks on his near-death experience, and on Art as a Conduit for Healing.
More at https://www.innerimmersion.org
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
Join the Kind Mind patreon community and access bonus content and live events: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
You can send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
We tend to take for granted when our bodies are healthy and strong. We also tend to assume the worst when there is pain and worry that it will never go away.
In my understanding, health is not a permanent state. Consider all the factors involved with health or disease: physical, psychological, genetic, social, environmental and more. And til now, death is still inevitable.
Each side of life is an opportunity to go beyond our limiting notions of self. In so-called good health, we can expand our awareness past the boundaries of our skin to feel the dis-ease in the wider field of our existence. Then, we can be an agent for positive change and healing.
Dis-ease is a signal to come back to our innermost being. To observe pain in the body with compassion and curiosity, again helps us feel less identified with the corporeal and find equanimity in the pure consciousness.
(Music by Ethereal Ephemera - “Slow Movement in the Light” and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Artwork by Emily Dawn
You can support this podcast and access bonus content, mindfulness resources and Kind Mind Gatherings via Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
Send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Relgions have long been the purveyors of rituals or sets of actions deemed sacred or worshipful. Despite the growing disaffiliation with religious institutions, spirituality remains important to most people and rituals have been studied and found to be anxiolytic.
Therefore, we may need to establish secular rituals that are contempltive and modern in nature and serve to relieve and protect against the stresses associated with technology.
The word SPIRITUAL contains the word RITUAL. Todd explains that those three extra letters (S, P, I) can stand for three mindful qualites to remember when designing your own personal ritual for psychological well-being.
Music “A Whole World in Your Eyes” by Bing Satellites and artwork on website by Emily Dawn.
Image by Chung Chow
Todd talks with Jeff Booth on 12/6/21. You can also watch this conversation on the Michael Todd Fink Youtube Channel.
Jeff Booth is a visionary leader who has lived at the forefront of technology change for 20 years. He led BuildDirect, a technology company that aimed to simplify the building industry, for nearly two decades through the dot-com meltdown, the 2008 financial crisis, and many waves of technological disruption. He has been featured in Forbes, Bloomber, TIME and The Wall Street Journal.
Jeff is also the author of the extraordinary book The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future. Follow Jeff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffBooth
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within the "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
Happy Thanksgiving!
You can support this work, access bonus content and submit your own questions about anything for future segments of the show via https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
Feedback, mail and booking inquiries may be sent to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
(episode artwork by Emily Dawn)
Enjoy this October full moon Halloween spooktacular episode about ghosts and other paranormal experiences and the possible scientific explanations such as psychological bias, hallucination, sensory limitations and mental illness.
Music by Bing Satellites “Mysterious Ways Part 1-3” and episode artwork by Emily Dawn.
You can support this podcast and access bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
You cannot have opposites without some opposition. Right, left, masculine, feminine, hot, cold, day, night, and other seeming anitpodes dance or wrestle endlessly.
Another meaning of polarity has to do with terrestrial magnetism around the north and south pole, resulting from the dynamo effect of flowing liquid metal in the outer core generating electric currents.
In the body, there is also biomagnetism but metaphorically the spine is the axis and north is upward and the base is downward. Below, we have the currents of attraction for food, possessions and sex. Above, the search for knowledge, truth and love has its own pull.
Harmonizing these forces within leads to fulfillment in life and understanding our place in the universe. Raising one's consciousness to the north pole, all sense of direction ends. There is no further north and you get the best view of the inner northern lights. Then, one can engage in and enjoy everything below as it arises naturally but without the old attachment and selfishness.
Music “The Vastness of Night” by Ethereal Ephemera and episode artwork by Emily Dawn and the Kind Mind podcast design by Jon Marro.
This is the introduction only. The full episode is available via Patreon membership: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind Thank you for your support!
Free will is the ability to choose between possible courses of action. Many people feel themselves to be the authors of their thoughts, the agents of action and believe this to be true with respect to their decisions.
There is a sense that one could have behaved differently in the past, even though to rewind the tape of life would also remove the present insight. Or as one pop punk band sang it better: the past is only the future with the lights on.
However, most could readily agree that, at the very least, there is not always free will.
For example, a person with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia that severely impairs the ability to perform actions or utilize memory may not have the freedom to choose to behave politely or recognize their loved one. In addiction, it is widely understood that disruptions in the decision-making faculties of the brain lead to similar limitations of choice. Revelations in the neurobiology of drug use disorders continues to shape the moral implications and shift the legal interventions from punitive to rehabilitative.
To take this further, researchers have recently created choice experiments while observing the brain with magnetic resonance imaging and have been able to predict with statistical significance what subjects will choose up to 11 seconds before they are conscious of their choice!
Some argue that even if free will is an illusion, it is an illusion worth preserving. This episode explores different philosophical perspectives and considers what is worth paying attention to including the overlooked mental health benefits of reframing our understanding of free will.
(Music "Breathe" by Bing Sattelites and episode artwork on the podcast website by Emily Dawn)