In this episode we talk to Michael McCord, president of San Francisco Zen Center, on bringing Zen practices into daily life and work, and how enlightenment is seen as an ongoing process of increasing awareness, not a fixed end state to achieve.

• Includes a guided meditation introducing the Zen practice of breath counting.

To learn more about Michael McCord, please visit these San Franciso Zen Center pages:
https://www.sfzc.org/
https://blogs.sfzc.org/blog/2024/09/10/meet-sfzcs-new-president-michael-mccord/
https://www.sfzc.org/teachers/sozan-michael-mccord
and on YouTube:
@SFZenCenter

The Zen manual discussed in this episode is the Tenzo Kyokun (Instructions for the Cook).
This site has links to a few translations:
https://www.themathesontrust.org/library/instructions-cook-tenzo-kyokun

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 6 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 47 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we talk to Stephen Zerfas, co-founder of Jhourney, which offers retreats facilitating rapid access to jhana meditation states, described as positive feedback loops between attention and emotion, offering profound states of gratitude, peace and non-duality.

• Includes a guided meditation focusing on relaxing the body while turning our attention to positive concepts such as gratitude and wishing for the well-being of all others.

To learn more about Stephen Zerfas, please visit:
https://www.jhourney.io/
and on X:
@jhanatech
https://x.com/jhanatech?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

The Oxford professor Stephen mentions in this episode is Shamil Chandaria. To learn more, please visit his YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@ShamilChandaria

And the books recommended in this episode:

Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhānas, by Leigh Brasington

The Path to Nibbāna. How Mindfulness of Loving-Kindness Progresses through the Tranquil Aware Jhānas to Awakening, by David C. Johnson

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 6 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 48 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we discuss strategies for handling bad news as an awakening person, balancing awareness and action..

• Includes a guided meditation addressing the dichotomy between taking action and acceptance, and how to bring these two seeming opposites into a workable equilibrium.

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 6 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 47 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash

In this episode we discuss the concept of the Middle Way and explore how to move beyond polarities in spiritual practice and daily life, thus finding a balance between extremes and recognizing the interconnectedness of all things.

• Includes a guided meditation in which we bring two opposite energies together to sense how they are intertwined and to feel a balance and a gentle equilibrium as we use breath to weave the two together.

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 6 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 47 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

Photo by Greg Jewett on Unsplash

In this episode, we talk to Kat (Katrijn) van Oudheusden, author of Seeing No-Self, and Beyond Illusion, about discovering the illusion of separation, and her set of essential inquiries that use empirical investigation of direct experience to point to our true nature.

To learn more about Kat van Oudheusden, please visit:
https://katoudheusden.com/

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 7 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 46 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we talk to Samuel Jacob, a contemporary spiritual teacher specializing in radical self-inquiry. He emphasizes the immediate availability of awareness, completeness, and happiness in the present moment.

• Includes a guided meditation focusing on being aware that all appearances arise “here” without effort, and emphasizing the relaxation of any attempt to arrive here, which is where the I, awareness is.

To learn more about Samuel Jacob, please visit:
https://www.samueljacob.org/
or on YouTube:
@being-happiness
or on Instagram:
@samueljacobness

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 7 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 6 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 45 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we explore the concepts of the inward and outward facing paths. They are presented as different approaches in various traditions that, if pursued to their core, eventually arrive at a direct experience of a unified life.

• Includes a guided meditation that extends the ancient neti neti practice of excluding all concepts of what you conceive yourself to be, and then re-including all so-called outer experience, thereby seeing that all is awareness and not separate from your true self.

Short phrases to help you get a handle on the inward and outward facing paths:
Nothing you can name or conceive of is awareness. Nothing you could name or conceive of is not awareness.
Meditating with your eyes closed and looking within at awareness, and meditating with your eyes open and looking at the world as awareness.
“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.”
― Nisargadatta Maharaj

The song Jonathan mentioned in this episode is “Impermanence” by John Astin:
https://music.apple.com/us/song/impermanence/72793994

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 7 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 5 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 45 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers

NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian

Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash

In this episode, we interview John Travis, founding teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation Center, exploring his spiritual journey and teachings, and his emphasis on the importance of integrating mind, heart, and body in spiritual practice.

• Includes a guided meditation grounding attention in the body and sense perceptions as a pathway inward to the recognition of awareness as encompassing everything, thus breaking the illusion of separateness.

To learn more about John Travis, please visit:
https://www.mtstream.org/
and
https://www.mtstream.org/john-travis

Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature.

NEWS:

Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:
# 6 in the Top 100 awakening All time chart
# 7 in the Top 100 joy All time chart
# 6 in the Top 100 awareness All time chart
# 8 in the Top 100 consciousness All time chart
# 45 in the Top 100 meditation All time chart

To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/

If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z

Or on our Awareness Explorers website:
https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations

To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers
NOTE: If you are a Patreon supporter and have not been receiving our bonus material, please check to make sure that the email address you have on Patreon is an active one.

To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit
https://findinghappiness.com/
and
https://www.playawarenessgames.com/

You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n

Enjoy,
Jonathan and Brian