Mindfulness+ with Thomas McConkie

This week in the United States we celebrate independence. There are so many beautiful things about independence. And yet, like all things, it can go too far. Too much independence leads to an illusion that we are alone in the world, and have accomplished what we have all on our own. At Mindfulness+ we celebrate Interdependence Day, a Buddhist-inspired practice that invokes a sense of gratitude and humility for all the conditions that sustain and support us.

A continuation of the lessons on the Energy Centers, i.e. Money, Sex, Fame, Power. This week Thomas discusses extreme monetary wealth as an unrecognized form of obesity in modern culture. Learn to recognize in this episode how much awareness you unnecessarily commit to feeling more secure, and reconnect with a profound sense of security at the heart of this very moment.

I take a moment in this episode to reflect on my brothers and sisters who are incarcerated and the inspiring way they’ve practiced since I joined their sangha as a guest teacher back in 2015. In this episode you’re invited to notice the places in your life where you don’t feel free. Don’t settle for anything less than freedom. Mindfulness is a practice of liberation and you were born to be free.

In this episode, Thomas deepens the conversation on Energy Centers by describing the theory behind them as well as pointing them out in a very practical and personal way. You will gain insight during this episode into the areas of your life that call for more awareness and compassion.

This episode opens up a series on how to bring mindful awareness to those areas in our lives that tend to pull us down and compromise our higher values. If we want to grow up, we’ve got to grow down. In order to express our most profound gifts and capacities as human beings, we have to pay special attention to our foundations; get back to the basics.

Continuing the conversation from last episode, Shinzen talks more specifically about what we can each do to achieve not just good results, but dramatic and life-changing results from our mindfulness practice. Visit Shinzen.org and unifiedmindfulness.com to learn more about his highly innovative work.

Join us with special guest, Shinzen Young, to learn from his over 50 years of experience in meditative practice. Shinzen is regarded as one of the great pioneers in bringing the best of Western science and Eastern contemplation into a deeper union. It is hard not to learn 10 new things every time this guy opens his mouth. Visit Shinzen.org and unifiedmindfulness.com to learn more about his work.

It's that time again–a longer, deeper guided meditation to support your ongoing practice. In this episode, Thomas leads a body-mind-spirit yogic "stretch" to help you inhabit ALL OF YOU a little more fully, freely, and joyfully.

Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, famously quotes that "when we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." It is a beautiful mantra for our mindfulness practice. We often think about freedom and happiness in terms of escaping from certain conditions. Frankl inspires us not to escape FROM oppressive conditions, but to escape INTO them; to fully meet them, allow them to inform us, and respond from a deeper truth.

Many a well-intentioned meditator has tried to get at the roots of the judging mind to no avail. It seems the more mindful we become, the more we're aware of our petty, judgmental, always-evaluating minds. But do not despair! In this episode, Thomas makes a key distinction for listeners between judging and being judgmental. When we realize that our judgments are never the final truth, we open up to a new space in our awareness that can appreciate life much, much more.

There is no small amount of anxiety around the impact technology is having on human life. From a mindfulness perspective, many believe that technology is decreasing our attention spans and intensifying the monkey-mind effect we all suffer from to some extent. But what if technology is just a reflection of our inner state–not the cause of our ADHD but merely an effect? Furthermore, what if we used technology to deepen & express our mindful awareness instead?

John Kesler joins us in the studio to share insights into mindfulness, developmental psychology, and the art of living an inspired life. His practice, what he calls Integral Polarity Practice, is an elegant model that deeply integrates the most profound wisdom from both Eastern and Western traditions. Enjoy the beautiful teaching that flows through John without his saying a word, and learn more about his work at theippinstitute.com.

A continuation of last week’s episode, Thomas leads an extended guided meditation on still point practice, pointing out different qualities in awareness the way a chocolate connoisseur would skillfully point out different flavors and notes in an exotic cacao bean. Find a place to settle in and enjoy a tour of the True Self! Also, check out lowerlightsslc.org for additional resources to support your practice.

Let’s face it–we are all creatures of habit. And although habit creates efficiencies in life and helps us get things done, it can also trap us in patterns of behavior that create suffering for ourselves and others. In this episode, Thomas introduces the practice of finding the “still point.” When we live in the still point, our habits start to soften and give way to greater creativity, spontaneity, and skillful action in the moment. With practice, we can all learn to live as an effortless flow of gr

We tend to talk about addiction in our culture as though only some of us are “addicts.” Mindfulness practice reveals to us that we are all, in fact, vulnerable to addiction. In this episode you can learn to understand the underlying dynamics of addiction, made especially clear in the Buddhist tradition, and start living a life of greater freedom and happiness beyond conditions. Now who wouldn’t want that? Also, check out lowerlightsslc.org