Libsyn Directory

013 - Zen & The Evolution of Human Consciousness

Release Date: 08/31/2021

033 - Letting Go, Celebrating, and Moving On

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

Welcome to the final episode of the Bowing to Elephants Podcast. It is with bittersweet feelings that I announce I'm discontinuing the podcast, just for the time being. Life is calling me to address different creative work right now. I appreciate all of you who have steadfastly listened to the show. Here today to help me reflect on the last six months and discuss my next adventure is my friend and cohort, Ben Gioia. What You Hear/Learn/Discover [1:40] Mag explains why she started the podcast in the first place. [03:08] Mag talks about her successes and disappointments with...

032 - Cultural Lens Shapeshifter

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

Jill Mott is a “cultural lens shapeshifter,” photographer, and photojournalist who brings a unique, sparkling energy to everything she does. Armed with only her camera and imagination, she once traveled the world from England to Zimbabwe… with a stop in Italy for art school! Today, Jill teaches and shares her understanding of communication and storytelling — across a myriad of forms — particularly with the camera.

031 - A Gourmet Destination on the Northern California Coast

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

Andrew and Liya Truong are stunningly talented chefs. They own and run Terrapin Creek Cafe & Restaurant in the sleepy, small town of Bodega Bay, California. Their fantastic menu garnered them a Michelin Star in 2011. And they have the love and devotion of Bodega Bay citizens and all those traveling along the coast who happen to stop by for a bite.

030 - The Writer and Her Hammock

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

An author, a poet, and phenomenal woman, Bella Mahaya Carter is a writing teacher and coach who promotes self-awareness and mindfulness. Bella believes in the power of writing to heal and transform lives. She sees publishing one’s work as an opportunity to deepen self-awareness, nourish meaningful connections, and delight in peak experiences while being of service.

029 - Becoming a Scholar

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

A creative soul and lifelong scholar, Sands Hall is a blessing to everyone who meets her. She shares her brilliant spark in many ways: as a teacher, musician, actor, and writer. And today, she joins us to talk about her moving memoir, Reclaiming My Decade Lost in Scientology. In her memoir, Sands shares what first led her to Scientology, the darker undercurrents of Ron L. Hubbard’s leadership, and how she eventually disentangled herself from the Church.

028 - In The Shadow of Poets

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

Meet Author Gretchen Cherington, who, after many years of silence, chose to share her story of abuse. Sexually molested by her father, Richard Eberhardt, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Gretchen broke decades of silence to share what life with him was really like. Her memoir, Poetic License, is an authentic, brave piece of work.

027 - The Seasons of Life

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

Tania Casselle calls herself a book doctor, a spiritual follower, a therapist, and a teacher. This multi-talented woman emigrated from England to the United States, where she now lives in Taos, New Mexico. She’s received multiple awards for her writing.

026 - Burma & Bodhisattva Vows

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

To listen to Jack Kornfield is to be brought close to his heart and exquisite mind. Come hear him speak about his love for Burma. Listen to his thoughts on renunciation and the spiritual effects of the pandemic.

025 - The Art of Storytelling

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

Today, my honored guest is Michael Katz, a professional storyteller who performs and works with children in the Santa Barbara area and teaches mindfulness in elementary schools. Michael has worked as a storyteller since 1985 and was the host of a radio show dubbed The Katz Pajamas. He also performs at elementary schools, festivals, and illustrious events like the opening of the Disney Concert Hall.

024 - Feeding, Healing, & Loving The Soul

Bowing To Elephants Podcast

If anyone could light up a room or a person's heart, it’s Allison Post. An integrative health coach and somatic educator, Allison is a healer and a lover of all life. Over the last four decades, Allison taught courses in many massage modalities plus breath and bodywork.

More Episodes

Today, we explore the benefits of meditation and why meditation is the best tool for evolving human consciousness. Award-winning author and teacher Sean Murphy joins me. Sean is a fully authorized Zen teacher in the American White Plum lineage. He's also the founder and director of the Sage Institute of Taos, New Mexico, which hosts an innovative meditation and mindfulness training program.

Sean’s the author of One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories as well as three novels with another one in the works. He also teaches creative writing, meditation, and literature for the University of New Mexico in Taos.

[PLEASE NOTE: the starting date for Sean's 200 hour Sage Institute online/zoom

Meditation & Mindfulness Leader Program has been moved back to Sept. 7.

Spaces are still available. For more info, see www.sagetaos.com.]

What You Will Hear/Learn/Discover

[0:36] Guest introduction

[2:23] Sean answers the question, “What part of teaching brings you the most joy?”

[5:20] Mag and Sean discuss his Write to The Finish program.

[7:34] Sean talks about the Sage Institute and the work they do there.

[10:46] Discover how even children can practice mindfulness.

[16:35] Sean explains how his Zen training pulled him out of deep depression and helped him manage his anxiety.

[21:58] Learn how Zen embraces the mystery of life and lets you build your own beliefs.

[29:28] Sean talks about his upcoming fourth novel, Wilson’s Way.

[39:15] Sean explains how meditation gives you a more profound understanding of life.

Quotes

“There were points in my 20s and 30s that if … I went to a psychiatrist, I'm sure I could have gotten a clinical diagnosis for depression or anxiety. And I would have been medicated and all that. Instead, I did Zen, which as it turns out, really gave me this way to handle these things internally.”

“But finally, I have to say that it's about becoming comfortable, and I'd say, intimate with the mystery of life. We penetrate life ever more deeply through Zen practice. And we become so intimate with the mystery of life, that what naturally grows is compassion, gratitude, and appreciation for the beauty of simply living.”

Resources

The Time of New Weather

The Finished Man

The Hope Valley Hubcap King

One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories