I wanted to let everyone know about Buddhist Geeks. As I've been seeking to learn more about Buddhism lately, I found Buddhist Geeks web site and podcast and they've both been a great resource for me.
I started by downloading just the latest podcast to see if it was cool. Podcasts can sometimes be pretty lacking in polish, which can detract from the information even if it's great information. I was very pleased by the quality. I then went back and started with everything from 2010 forward. When I finished that, I started at the beginning and I'm working my way to the middle…way.
Anyhow, I've been extremely pleased with the content, the production and most of all the openness of the whole thing. They really tackle all manner of Buddhist related material and don't seem to bring any slant to the table.
Anyhow, perhaps my favorite thing is how they've evolved from where they started (their motto was "Seriously Buddhist, Seriously Geeky") to where their identity really surfaced through their work as "Discover The Emerging Face of Buddhism". Now they are even taking a bold step and hosting a conference in California on this very topic that clearly is of interest to a lot of Buddhists and Buddhish people in America.
They've recently added a digital magazine aspect to the web site and also are hosting some coursework on Buddhism directly through the site from what it looks like. The site, and all of it's podcasts and articles are 100% free. They gladly accept donations and support if you are interested. After consuming untold hours of FREE educational audio from them, I finally decided it was well worth it, and signed up as a Micro-Patron. It's a VERY small price to pay for a vast collection of quality Buddhist audio.
I really encourage you to check Buddhist Geeks out and see if you find any value in what they have to offer. It's TOTALLY free and you do not *have* to donate, but if you enjoy it, you might want to consider a donation to help keep it coming. From my research it is some of the best material out there for free. It's also worth pointing out that a big part of the reason I was willing to donate to them is precisely because of them not requiring it, but consistently and gently reminding me about it. They managed to walk a thin line between annoying people by asking for money, and not asking enough. They basically have each podcast tagged with a message about "If you like what Buddhist Geeks has provided" then please feel free to donate. If I hadn't heard that message each time, I may not have done it. If I had heard it MORE than I did, I certainly wouldn't have. Good work on their part!
MS
Showing posts with label Meditation Geek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meditation Geek. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Don't leave home without it!
If you travel, particularly by airplane, then you know that it can be a very stressful event. Getting ready, packing, planning and all the other things that go in to just getting out the door offer a variety of stressful scenarios. Then there's the drive to the airport. Depending on where you live, and what airport you use, the trip TO the airport can be very grueling.
And then there's the airport itself. That bastion of befuddlement. The continent of confusion. The sea of stress. The isle of irritation. The....well...you get the idea. And that's to say nothing of the compounding of these issues if you are also overweight!
Thich Nhat Hanh touches on dealing with this kind of stress in "Savor
" very briefly when he talks about "Standing-In-Line Meditation". He offers a nice meditation for the security check line or baggage check line.
Mindfulness will serve you very well in the entire adventure though. You can practice mindful mediations like the one above in any of the stressful portions of your travel I mentioned.
Another thing that I like to do, and which helps me immensely, is making sure I get to the airport extremely early. I always allow myself three hours at the airport before my flight. This allows me to walk calmly amid the sea of people running wildly to catch their flight. I can't "stress" (sorry for the pun) enough what a difference this will make in your entire trip. You'll not only find you are much calmer, and more able to deal with unexpected challenges that inevitably arise, but I believe that you will actually derive great pleasure from the fact that you are so calm when everyone else is stressed.
You'll find that when you are so calm, you'll be ready with a friendly smile for the stressed airport workers who are berated all day, and they will be very grateful for your kindness. You'll spread your calm and joy to the people you encounter, thereby spreading your mindfulness to others who sorely need it.
In "Peace Is Every Step
" Thich Nhat Hanh also talks about this. He says he does the same thing with arriving at the airport early. He also suggests using walking meditation to help with airport stress as well. Most airports are large, offering ample opportunity for walking. In the Atlanta airport, which is gigantic, I no longer ride the tram to my terminal. I started taking Thays' advice and walking to my gate. In ATL this can easily add up to a few miles!
As I write this, I am sitting in the airport waiting for an international flight. I did a little quick research and found an interesting item that I wasn't aware of. Apparently a lot of airports now offer meditation rooms, or they may refer to them as quiet rooms, which people can use for meditation or prayer. It seems they are offered to people of any, or no, religion for their spiritual or relaxing needs. VERY cool. Check out the story on meditationgeek.org. I was not familiar with this blog, but it looks like the author is also a "Savor" fan himself. Skimming through while looking for this link, it looked like there were a lot of useful articles on meditation during stressful times there.
Another item I discovered while I was writing this post is minutesuites.com. They apparently operate rooms by the hour, and not the bad kind that springs to mind when you hear that! Meditation Geek mentioned it in the same article I believe. Check this out, it might be a very big benefit for your state of mind during travel!
If you're traveling today, give some of these things a try. I think you'll find it's worth it. Just be sure that when you leave home, you bring mindfulness with you!
Travel safe!
MondoSamu
And then there's the airport itself. That bastion of befuddlement. The continent of confusion. The sea of stress. The isle of irritation. The....well...you get the idea. And that's to say nothing of the compounding of these issues if you are also overweight!
Thich Nhat Hanh touches on dealing with this kind of stress in "Savor
" very briefly when he talks about "Standing-In-Line Meditation". He offers a nice meditation for the security check line or baggage check line. Mindfulness will serve you very well in the entire adventure though. You can practice mindful mediations like the one above in any of the stressful portions of your travel I mentioned.
Another thing that I like to do, and which helps me immensely, is making sure I get to the airport extremely early. I always allow myself three hours at the airport before my flight. This allows me to walk calmly amid the sea of people running wildly to catch their flight. I can't "stress" (sorry for the pun) enough what a difference this will make in your entire trip. You'll not only find you are much calmer, and more able to deal with unexpected challenges that inevitably arise, but I believe that you will actually derive great pleasure from the fact that you are so calm when everyone else is stressed.
You'll find that when you are so calm, you'll be ready with a friendly smile for the stressed airport workers who are berated all day, and they will be very grateful for your kindness. You'll spread your calm and joy to the people you encounter, thereby spreading your mindfulness to others who sorely need it.
In "Peace Is Every Step
" Thich Nhat Hanh also talks about this. He says he does the same thing with arriving at the airport early. He also suggests using walking meditation to help with airport stress as well. Most airports are large, offering ample opportunity for walking. In the Atlanta airport, which is gigantic, I no longer ride the tram to my terminal. I started taking Thays' advice and walking to my gate. In ATL this can easily add up to a few miles!As I write this, I am sitting in the airport waiting for an international flight. I did a little quick research and found an interesting item that I wasn't aware of. Apparently a lot of airports now offer meditation rooms, or they may refer to them as quiet rooms, which people can use for meditation or prayer. It seems they are offered to people of any, or no, religion for their spiritual or relaxing needs. VERY cool. Check out the story on meditationgeek.org. I was not familiar with this blog, but it looks like the author is also a "Savor
" fan himself. Skimming through while looking for this link, it looked like there were a lot of useful articles on meditation during stressful times there. Another item I discovered while I was writing this post is minutesuites.com. They apparently operate rooms by the hour, and not the bad kind that springs to mind when you hear that! Meditation Geek mentioned it in the same article I believe. Check this out, it might be a very big benefit for your state of mind during travel!
If you're traveling today, give some of these things a try. I think you'll find it's worth it. Just be sure that when you leave home, you bring mindfulness with you!
Travel safe!
MondoSamu
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