The Courageous Life

"It’s very important work to be calm in a storm. To be a center for the people in your life." -Elizabeth Lesser (Courageous Life Episode 112)So often when storms arise in our life they unleash a variety of feelings:UncertaintyFearGroundlessnessWhen these experiences arise the mind will often will enter into a cycle of trying to find ground, often by running through future based scenarios, and planning thinking. And while planning can be helpful up to a point, if we spend too much time focusing on what ifWe can get lost in cycles of worry. In these moments a helpful practice to find calm, and return to center is to remember that: The only moment we have is this one.That, there is no "there".There's only here.And to return to the present. Finding calm again even in the midst of a storm. Today's practice will offer a clip from yesterday's Courageous Life conversation with Elizabeth Lesser, and a story of my time with Mark Nepo in 2018 where he offered a reminder of this beautiful practice. Curious to explore this topic further? Check out the full conversations Elizabeth Lesser and Mark Nepo:Strong Back, Soft Front: The Practice of a Lifetime | Elizabeth LesserFinding Inner Courage Where it Lives | Mark NepoThank you for your practice today.I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!-JoshuaLooking for more practice opportunities? Check out:LIVE 6 Week Training in Positive Neuroplasticity with Joshua (begins October 5th, 2024)Free Meditation Events - 60 minute gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoomThe Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.The FREE Practice LibrarySupport the show

In the more than forty years since she co-founded Omega Institute—now the world’s largest center for spiritual retreat and personal growth—Elizabeth Lesser has been an intimate witness to the ways in which people weather change and transition. In our conversation I shared the question we have been exploring on the show for years.A question that can serve as a natural companion to the experience of change, and transition we so often face in the many facets of our lives:When my heart begins to close, how do I open it again?Her response was that this question, may be the one that she’s explored more than any other in her life. Today we’ll explore the practice of opening the heart and mind again when it begins to close.The conversation is broken into 3 parts:In part one: Elizabeth will share insights she’s gained over the years about opening the heart and finding the courage to blossom into who we were meant to be.In part two:She'll offer some of her hard-earned wisdom about staying open, curious, and engaged in tough conversations. Whether it be across the political divide or elsewhere.She'll also share some of her personal story about an experience with her sister that centered around uncovering the depth of their love through the life-and-death experience of a bone marrow transplant. Particularly how this experience opened the door for them to engage in a practice of being radically honest with each other. A practice that ultimately transformed them both.In part three:We’ll discuss perhaps the most challenging form of opening. Relaxing into uncertainty.  Cultivating the ability to let go and relax into the vulnerability of being human. And as we wrap up Elizabeth will leave us with a closing thought around why a spiritual practice is so important for the challenging times we are facing now.Today's conversation is just scratching the surface on these themes. For more, I would highly encourage you to pick up a copy of her beautiful book, Broken Open.Did you find today's episode inspiring? Here are other conversations we think you'll love:Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity | Mark NepoNeuroscience, Spirituality, and the Quest for an Inspired Life | Dr. Lisa MillerMore about Elizabeth:ELIZABETH LESSER  is the author of several books, including New York Times Bestseller Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and Marrow: Love, Loss & What Matters Most. She is the cofounder of Omega Institute, recognized internationally for its workshops and conferences in wellness, spirituality, creativity, and social change. In 2011, she gave a popular TED talk called “Take The Other to Lunch,” a call for civility and understanding as we negotiate our differences as human beings. She gave her second TED talk in 2016, about the power of truth-telling. She is also one of Oprah’s Super Soul 100, a collection of a hundred leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity. Fore more about Elizabeth please visit: Elizabethlesser.org. and for more about the programming and wide variety of offerings at Omega Institute please visit https://www.eomega.org/Enjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks for listening!Support the show

In the hero's journey, the hero or heroine is called to adventure. Often in the form of a quest, a challenge, or an adversity,And often in unexpected ways.One of the things that’s interesting about the hero's journey is that shortly after the call a helper enters the picture.A mentor, sage, guide, or a coach of some sort.They help the hero:Navigate the adventureStrengthen themselvesAnd ultimately transform in ways that allow them to meet their life from a wiser, more skillful, and more responsive place. As we looked at starting a new series featuring everyday heroes, the role of the helper was striking.And we couldn’t help but think this new series would be incomplete if we didn’t include episodes featuring helpers.So here we are.Launching our next episode in this new adventure.Conversations featuring inspiring stories from everyday heroes and the helpers who walk beside them.Today I am honored and excited to share another beautiful helpers conversation, with Hayley Philander.Hayley is a Lawyer who co-founded an organization called IseeU.On the organization's website they share:Every morning young women from the Cape Flats face an overwhelming challenge – they wake to a community with some of the highest rates of gangsterism and drug addiction in South Africa. They also face an epidemic of gender based violence alongside a failing education system. It is from this environment that our young women begin to formulate their identity, their sense of potential and their dreams for the future.IseeU was launched eight years ago and offers a three-year mentorship programme supporting young female students from Grade 10 to 12, who are from the Cape Flats.The name IseeU was inspired by one of the young women participating in the programme – who shared that she felt seen, for the first time in her life. Building a future starts with feeling seen.Today, we’ll explore some of Hayley’s journey in co-founding IseeU, including:Growing up in Apartheid South Africa and the story of a mentor who saw her potential, believed in her, and helped her to feel deeply seen. More about the mission of IseeU and the incredible work they are doingTools and practices that have helped young women in their program move from reactivity, to responsiveness, dream about their future and find hope in the face of immense challenges. For more on Hayley and ways to get involved and support IseeU please visit iseeu.org.zaDid you find this conversation inspiring? Here are other Heroes and Helpers episodes we think you'll love:Becoming your own inner ally with Alfreda McCrayEmbracing the journey from 'doing' to 'being' with Amy Dong  Enjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts.     Thanks for listening!Support the show

After work one evening I met a friend who has been navigating big questions about their career and what’s next.We sat outside and they shared some of their story.A close friend of theirs, whom they care about and deeply respectHad called them up And offered advice about what to do.While well intended it completely missed the mark. My friend left feeling much worse than they had before. Wishing that the advice had never been given. Wishing that their friend had been aware that the advice they were giving, while well intended, was really more about their own discomfort with the situation, then truly about helping. Have you had this experience? Either being on the receiving end? Or the giving end of well intended advice that completely misses?It’s such a common experience as humans. When we care, when people matter to us, there can be a whole host of emotions and desires that arise in these types of moments. A desire to fixTo solveTo saveTo adviseTo pleaseSometimes these are born out of fearSometimes they are born from our lived experience (well this is how I did it so it should work for them). Or (well this happened to me, so I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to them). These are various Expressions of the ego.Expressions that we can only see when we pay attention closely, when we bring mindful awareness to our inner life in these moments.Without awareness it’s all too easy to fall into a trap of offering unwanted advice. Today’s episode will offer ways to not fall into the trap nearly as oftenAs you are invited into the practice of being real A practice that can help deepen relationships and foster more meaningful connection in our lives. Today's episode was in part inspired by a recent Courageous Life conversation with renowned therapist Dr. Jacob Ham.Curious to explore this topic further? Check out the full conversation with Dr. Ham:The Art of Meeting Life with Curiosity, Presence, and Love | Dr. Jacob HamThank you for your practice today.I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!-JoshuaWant these practices delivered via text?If you are located in the U.S. text the word COURAGE to 805-430-6801 to join Joshua's text community and you'll get a text once/week with a link directly to the practice.Looking for more practice opportunities? Check out:Free Meditation Events - 60 minute gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoomThe Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.Past Practicing Courage episodes in the podcast feedThe FREE Practice LibrarySupport the show

When veteran executive coach, professor, and ultra-endurance champion Urs Koenig signed up to be a NATO peacekeeping commander and United Nations peacekeeper in his fifties, he thought he knew a thing or two about leadership.In his new book Radical Humility he openly shares that what he discovered as he embarked on this journey was a new leadership paradigm. One that replaces the top-down, “heroic” leadership of the past,With a more human-centered approach that views humility as a strength and key to achieving goals in today’s complex world.Today we will take a deep dive into the topic of humility as we explore:Urs stories of facing various challenges, including struggling with academics and getting kicked out of school, and how these moments helped shape his professional trajectory.Why humility is a strength, but not a replacement for competenceAn athletic dream of completinga race across America. How it unraveled, and what Urs learned from failure that helped him find the resilience to come back stronger.How to stay open and receptive to learning when it’s hard. Including when we: Receive tough feedback, When we fail, And when we experience difficult emotions. Reflections on the intersection of backbone and heart in leadership and how leaders can get better at being tough on results but tender on people. The importance of building thriving relationships and practices that support doing so at work and in our lives.If you find this conversation intriguing I  would encourage you to check out Radical Humility: Be a Badass Leader and a Good Human, which you can find wherever books are sold. More about Urs:Urs Koenig is a former United Nations military peacekeeper and NATO military peacekeeping commander, a highly accomplished ultraendurance champion, a widely published professor, bestselling author of Radical Humility, and a seasoned executive coach and keynote speaker with more than three decades of experience helping hundreds of leaders and dozens of executive teams unlock new levels of achievement across four continents. He is the founder of the Radical Humility Leadership Institute and speaks frequently on the topic of leadership to corporations and associations across the globe. His message of Radical Humility in leadership has inspired teams from across the spectrum, including Amazon, Starbucks, the Society of Human Resource Management, Vistage, the University of Melbourne, and Microsoft. He holds a PhD in geography and a Master of Science from the University of Zürich, Switzerland, and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.  For more, please visit urskoenig.comDid you find this episode inspiring? Here are other conversations we think you’ll loveMeeting Failure with Curiosity and Compassion | Amy EdmondsonThe Transformative Power of Humility | Dr. Daryl Van TongerenMeeting Challenges with Backbone and Heart | Roshi Joan Halifax and Rhonda MageeEnjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks for listening!Support the show

The blank canvas.The blank page.The big questions:What’s next in my life?What do I want to do for work? How do I want to live?These are familiar moments and seasons of life marked by the unknown.Often filled with feelings of uncertainty, what’s beautiful about  these moments, and these seasons is that They are an invitation into creativity.But there’s a catch.To accept the invitation we often need to be able to practice opening. Finding ways to relax into uncertainty. What I see as a great superpower for our time. When we do, we find possibility. Today's recording comes from Day 3 of Unlocking Creativity, our most recent 5-day guided meditation challenge for living well and realizing your unique creative potential. In this practice you will be exposed to two eye opening insights from Courageous Life conversations with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, and yesterday's guest: leading meditation teacher Kaira Jewel Lingo. Together they will offer inspiration, and ideas for facing the unknown with greater joy, passion, and possibility.Interested in Unlocking Creativity? Learn more and sign up hereWhen you do you will also gain access to our two other guided meditation challenges:The 5-Day Transforming Stress ChallengeThe 28-Day Practicing Courage ChallengeCurious to explore this topic further? Check out the full conversation with Kaira Jewel Lingo:Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption | Kaira Jewel LingoThank you for your practice today.I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!-JoshuaWant these practices delivered via text?If you are located in the U.S. text the word COURAGE to 805-430-6801 to join Joshua's text community and you'll get a text once/week with a link directly to the practice.Looking for more practice opportunities? Check out:Free Meditation Events - 60 minute gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoomThe Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.Past Practicing Courage episodes in the podcast feedThe FREE Practice LibrarySupport the show

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a mindfulness and meditation teacher with a lifelong interest in blending spirituality and meditation with social justice.She spent her formative years growing up in an ecumenical Christian community where families practiced a new kind of monasticism and worked with the poor.When she turned 25 she entered a Buddhist monastery and spent fifteen years living as a nun under the guidance of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Today she sees her work teaching Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and compassion, as a continuation of the Engaged Buddhism she learned from Thich Nhat Hanh,As well as the work of her parents, inspired by their stories and her dad’s work with Martin Luther King Jr. on desegregating the South. In our conversation we will take a deep dive into Kaira Jewel’s story of entering the monasteryAnd the reasons for leaving 25 years later.The moments she’ll describe are deeply human.They are examples of those times we find ourselves at a crossroads, uncertain about which path to take.Kaira Jewel will generously share some of the practices and insights that were most helpful for her as she navigated these moments:From finding the strength to be in a place of not knowingTo sitting in the questions and discerning whether she was making these decisions driven by fear, or pulled by love. To engaging in the practice of finding stillness and listening to her life.As we explore these themes through Kaira Jewels story we’ll also talk about:What she’s learned about transforming the fear that often accompanies uncertainty into hopeful possibilityFinding the balance between letting go and taking wise action What she learned from her father and Thich Nhat Hanh about opening the heart in the face of some of the most pressing challenges of our time The possibility of fighting for what we care about from a place of love. This raw and moving conversation was inspired by themes from her beautiful book:We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change Loss and Disruption, which you can find wherever books are sold.Did you find this episode inspiring? Here are other conversations we think you'll love:Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love | Oren Jay SoferNeuroscience, Spirituality, and the Quest for an Inspired Life | Dr. Lisa MillerMore about Kaira Jewel:Kaira Jewel Lingo is a mindfulness and meditation teacher with a lifelong interest in blending spirituality and meditation with social justice. She began practicing mindfulness in 1997 and at the age of twenty-five she entered a Buddhist monastery and spent fifteen years living as a nun under the guidance of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She is also a teacher in the Vipassana Insight lineage through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In addition to writing We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving through Change, Loss and Disruption, and co-authoring Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy and Liberation, she is also the editor of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children. She teaches and leads retreats internationally, provides spiritual mentoring, and interweaves art, play, nature, racial and earth justice, and embodied mindfulness practice in her teaching. Visit kairajewel.com to learn mSupport the show

There is a beautiful teaching metaphor that comes out of buddhist psychology about 2 darts.As we move through life we inevitably experience pain.From minor bumps and scrapes,To major injury, loss, heartbreak, and catastrophe.This is the 1st dart.What’s interesting about pain though is that it can often be accompanied by thoughts about the pain:“This shouldn’t be happening.”“What if this doesn’t end?”“There’s something wrong with you." Etc.These are add ons.They’re the extras that in moments where we are in pain, can pile on.Adding to the weight and intensity of the experience.Turning what is already painful into experiences marked by additional suffering.These add ons are the 2nd dart. Within this metaphor though there is a possibility for less suffering. When we learn to put the second darts down, to not throw them as much, or not throw them at all, we suffer less and we experience more freedom. Today, we'll look at a simple practice for turning this possibility into a reality which in part was inspired by yesterday's Courageous Life conversation with renowned therapist Dr. Jacob Ham.Curious to explore this topic further? Check out the full conversation with Dr. Ham:The Art of Meeting Life with Curiosity, Presence, and Love | Dr. Jacob HamThank you for your practice today.I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!-JoshuaWant these practices delivered via text?If you are located in the U.S. text the word COURAGE to 805-430-6801 to join Joshua's text community and you'll get a text once/week with a link directly to the practice.Looking for more practice opportunities? Check out:Free Meditation Events - 60 minute gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoomThe Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.Past Practicing Courage episodes in the podcast feedThe FREE Practice LibrarySupport the show

Renowned therapist Dr. Jacob Ham discusses attuning to individuals' growth journey and relationship dynamics, emphasizing the art of meeting people where they are. The podcast explores empathy, healing relationships, and growth, highlighting the importance of love and responding to hate. Dr. Ham's journey in psychotherapy, opening one's heart, and navigating emotional closures in relationships are also discussed, focusing on cultivating wisdom, compassion, and surrender for personal growth.

In the hero's journey, the hero or heroine is called to adventure. Often in the form of a quest, a challenge, or an adversity,And often in unexpected ways.One of the things that’s interesting about the hero's journey is that shortly after the call a helper enters the picture.A mentor, sage, guide, or a coach of some sort.They help the hero:Navigate the adventureStrengthen themselvesAnd ultimately transform in ways that allow them to meet their life from a wiser, more skillful, and more responsive place. As we looked at starting a new series featuring everyday heroes, the role of the helper was striking. And we couldn’t help but think this new series would be incomplete if we didn’t include episodes featuring helpers. So here we are. Launching our fourth episode in this new adventure on the larger Courageous Life podcast. Conversations featuring inspiring stories from everyday heroes and the helpers who walk beside them. Last week we released a helper interview with Executive and Leadership Coach Alfreda McCray where we explored the practice of becoming your own inner ally.Today, I am honored and excited to share another beautiful helpers conversation, with Amy Dong. Amy is a therapist who specializes in working with individuals and couples, navigating anxiety, supporting relational health, healing from burnout, reprocessing trauma, and finding steady footing through life’s inevitable twists & turns.Amy is also a gifted writer.You can find her beautiful and inspiring work on her substack: The SofteningWhich she describes as a walk through our internal landscape, a journey with mental health and well-being in long form. Personally I subscribe to Amy’s blog and look forward to receiving each new piece as I find her writing a breath of fresh air. It offers an invitation to slow down in the midst of the hustle of everyday life, to reflect on what’s truly important, and often leaves me feeling hopeful and energized. I would encourage you to check it out.Today, we’ll explore:The story of a helper who during a particularly challenging point left a deep positive impression on Amy - not in what she did, but rather through her way of being. How she approaches her work, and the ways in which she walks beside her clients. Some of her favorite tools for regulating the nervous system, and finding greater ease as we navigate the 'messy middle' parts of our lives. Reflections about the practice of becoming a better friend to yourself. This conversation was deep, heartfelt, and also offered a number of practical takeaways. I hope you enjoy the time with Amy as much as I did. Did you find this conversation inspiring? Here are other episodes we think you'll love:Becoming your own inner ally with Alfreda McCrayCuriosity, trust, and inner wisdom with Shandra Lamotte Enjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts.   Thanks for listening!Support the show