Making Sense of How we live is how we die book by Pema Chodron - Episode 74
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Release Date: 01/24/2025
Making Sense of The Flow State - Episode 90
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
There’s a moment when everything clicks. Time dissolves, distractions vanish, and you become one with whatever you’re doing—whether it's writing, coding, competing, or creating. It feels effortless, but it’s far from accidental. Flow State is the pinnacle of human performance where focus, creativity, and productivity align in perfect harmony. We’ve all tasted it. Few know how to find it again. Even fewer understand how to control it. For decades, scientists and peak performers have sought to demystify the concept of Flow, turning what was once seen as a rare gift into a repeatable...
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Making Sense of Validation - Summary of Caroline Flecks Validation
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Validation is a groundbreaking yet often misunderstood communication tool that we often run on autopilot. Once armed with its awareness, it redefines how we interact with ourselves and others by highlighting one of human connection’s most overlooked yet vital elements: the need to feel seen, heard, and understood. Author and PhD, Caroline Fleck, a psychologist and expert in emotional intelligence, walks readers through the science, psychology, and practical application of validation, not as a tool for agreement, but as a strategy for connection and emotional regulation. At its core,...
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One From The Vault - Obtainment - Episode 88
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
DAILY FOCUS: OBTAINMENT: There’s an automatic process going on in our brains directed by our egoic construct. It’s the ongoing desire to obtain. Obtainment by definition is the act of obtaining or acquiring something with voluntary action. Let's unpack and become aware of the fact that we are in full control of creating our current reality. Resources for today's Rise Up: The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz: Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. Makes Sense Mondays is LIVE STREAMED weekly on Mondays at 8am est on Facebook, Linkedin, and...
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Making Sense of Change - Who Moved My Cheese - Episode 87
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Making Sense of Change – A Book Summary of If you’re someone who's been feeling like life is moving faster than you’re ready for, or maybe you’re facing a change that feels overwhelming, uncertain, or even unwanted, today’s episode is for you. Today, we’ll be making sense of one of the most universal and challenging experiences in the human journey: Change. To help guide the conversation, I’ll be unpacking some delicious takeaways from one of the most well-loved and deceptively simple books on this topic: Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson. So stick around because I’m...
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Making Sense of your Zone of Genius - with Gay Hendricks - Episode 86
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Today, we have a guest who has spent decades helping people transcend their limitations, break free from self-imposed ceilings, and step into their full potential—Dr. Gay Hendricks. Gay is a bestselling author, a visionary psychologist, and the mind behind transformative books like The Big Leap (which sits in my all-time top 5 most impactful books), The Genius Zone, and Conscious Loving. His work explores how we can shift from fear to creativity, from self-doubt to limitless possibility, and from ordinary to extraordinary. His teachings have helped millions step into their Zone of Genius and...
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One From The Vault - BUTT POWER? Episode 85
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
This is One From the Vault of the Rise Up With Dragon Podcast and one of the very first podcast Episodes the Dragon ever did. You will hear the voice difference. :) Enjoy this unique Rise Up and Go Down the Rabbit hole of how humans spend more time unconsciously living vs. consciously. Butt Power refers to our challenge of sitting in one place and focusing on one thing at a time. By learning how to hack this we can create a new normal today and make the unconscious mind work for us rather than against us. Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. Makes Sense Mondays is...
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Making Sense of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - Episode 84
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Let’s Make Sense of Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. Written nearly 2,000 years ago, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius remains one of the most profound and practical guides for self-mastery, emotional resilience, and personal growth. Originally penned as private journal entries, this timeless work invites us into the inner thoughts of a Roman Emperor who faced war, betrayal, illness, and loss—yet continuously returned to clarity, humility, and duty. At the heart of Meditations lies the Stoic philosophy, a school of thought born in ancient Greece and adopted by the Romans. Stoicism teaches...
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Making Sense of Whole Brain Living? With Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor - Episode 83
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Every once in a while, a story comes along that fundamentally shifts how we understand the human mind. Imagine losing all sense of past and future, stripped of language, logic, and identity. Imagine drifting into a state where the endless mental chatter disappears, and all that remains is the raw, undeniable presence of the present moment." Hmmm? Sounds nice no This is exactly what happened to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, best-selling author, and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. At just 37 years old, a catastrophic stroke shut down...
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One From The Vault - Bargained for - Episode 82
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
BARGAINED FOR: What does it mean when we get more than we bargained for? When we bargain, do we bargain for less, or do we not see what’s possible? RESOURCES: Idistractable Book by Nir Ayal Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast: This podcast covers topics that expand human consciousness and performance. On the Makes Sense Podcast, we acknowledge that it's who you are that determines how well what you do works and that perception is a subjective and acquired taste. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change....
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Making Sense of Resistance - Summary of Steven Pressfield's War of Art - Episode 81
Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick
Every single day, there is a force working against you. You wake up with an idea, a vision, a calling, but somehow, something always gets in the way. You put it off. You tell yourself you’ll start tomorrow. Fear creeps in. Distractions take over. And just like that, another day passes without progress. Steven Pressfield calls this force Resistance. It’s invisible, but it’s real. It’s universal. And if you’ve ever felt blocked, unmotivated, or sabotaged by your thoughts, you’ve met it firsthand." But what if Resistance wasn’t the enemy? What if it was proof that you’re on the...
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About the Author: Pema Chödrön, born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in New York City in 1936, is one of the most influential spiritual teachers in the West. A former teacher and wife, her life transformed after a series of personal challenges, including a painful divorce, which led her to explore Tibetan Buddhism. She became a student of Lama Chime Rinpoche in the French Alps and was later ordained as a Buddhist nun in London by the Sixteenth Karmapa. Under the guidance of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she deepened her practice and teaching.
Pema is the director emeritus of Gampo Abbey, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery for Westerners, in Nova Scotia, Canada. She is a prolific author, known for works like When Things Fall Apart and The Places That Scare You, which explore mindfulness, compassion, and resilience. Her teachings emphasize finding liberation through vulnerability and embracing life’s challenges as opportunities for growth.
About the Book: In How We Live Is How We Die, Pema Chödrön invites readers to explore the Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the bardo, the transitional state between death and rebirth. As a side note, Buddhism embraces the concept of reincarnation. These teachings highlight how the impermanent nature of life mirrors the bardo experience and how the way we live daily reflects how we will face life's ultimate transition—death. In essence, she’s saying that the gap between birth and death is what we call life. She contends that by cultivating mindfulness, compassion, and acceptance of birth, life and death, we can navigate the uncertainties of life and death with a calm state of grace and wisdom. My personal take on this topic? I think it's important in some way to acknowledge and accept the reality of death in order to live your life fully in preparation for it. Make Sense?
Highlights:
0:00 - Intro
1:14 - How we live is how we die
2:12 - About the author? Pema Chodron
4:21 - The Bardo
6:50 - Lessons and Takeaways
9:12 - Living Mindfully
13:40 - The power of letting go?
14:54 - Making Transitions Sacred
16:10 - Sacred Moments
17:46 - Integrating daily practices for resilience
19:18 - Closing Reflections