"Find Peace and Joy in the most unlikely places". Season One Season One of the Exploring Awareness Podcast provides listeners a dual learning opportunity. First, to learn about and, through guided meditations, experience Mindful Awareness, Being and Presence and the innate Peace, Joy, Compassion that come from this practice. Starting with the first episode and listening through to episode 62, you will increasingly understand how a Mindful Awareness perspective connects one back to the essenc ...
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Grieving the Unexpected and Sudden Death of Lisa Barry
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It is with a very heavy and grieving heart that I share with you that Lisa Barry the co-host and co-founder of the Exploring Awareness podcast died unexpectedly on November 30, 2021. In this episode, we grieve together using David Whyte's poem entitled The Well of Grief, and a guided meditation, with emphasis on mindfulness of the emotion of grief …
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Episode 62: Return To Unity And Common Consciousness
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There is a deep place of connection within each of us, that is shared by all. In today’s world, distractions, conditions, and inflexible ideas pull us away from the present moment and our connection to each other. In this episode, we focus on the word RETURN as an invitation and intention to connect to a deeper sense of presence, an authentic sense…
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Episode # 61: The Myth of Self Improvement The self-improvement industry thrives on a fundamental myth that there is something wrong with you that needs to be improved. Where does the idea that “I’m not ok” come from in the first place? In this episode, we turn the idea of self-improvement on its head. What if you are already fine and don’t need to…
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Episode 60: Exploring Awareness Of Dualistic Thinking And Its Impact
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Episode 60: Exploring Awareness Of Dualistic Thinking And Its Impact Opinions, advice and judgments tend to be experienced as having to be either this way or that way with little room in between, There is your way- which you might feel is the right, usual, customary, comfortable way and then there is the other way – which may seem wrong, not usual …
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Episode 59: Could Your Natural State Be Loving Awareness?
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Episode 59: Could Your Natural State Be Loving Awareness? A popular Ram Dass quote- “The natural state of the mind is pure love, which is not other than pure awareness”- sums up much of the dialogue in exploring awareness podcast episodes. The conditions in our current moment in history could lead one away from an open hearted loving awareness to a…
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Episode 58: Are Judgements Blocking You from Peace and Happiness?
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Episode 58: Are Judgements Blocking You from Peace and Happiness? Judging, putting people into categories, assigning negative attributes, sticking with first impressions, even ghosting can become a personal and community norm performed without thought or consciousness. Self judgement as well stems from our experience with families and other cultura…
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Episode 57: How the Awareness of Change Can Lead to Peace and Ease
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Episode 57: How the Awareness of Change Can Lead to Peace and Ease Change is part of the human experience. Welcome change can be fun and challenging, unwelcome change can lead to resistance and stagnation. Changes imposed by family or work situations can be especially difficult to accept, especially if they appear without warning. In this episode, …
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Episode #56: Finding Acceptance and Grace in Present Moment Awareness
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Forcing oneself to "accept things as they are" or asking others to, sets up conflict, invokes defensiveness and leads to stuck, judgmental feelings. Exploring awareness leads to a spaciousness where the present moment event is allowed to be what it is- good or bad. This is not the same as allowing bad things to happen if they can be prevented- but …
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Episode 55: Open Mindedness Comes from Exploring Awareness of the Mind
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What is the Mind, and is the Mind just the neurological activity of the brain?. Although we don't solve this problem in this episode, this question helps create an "exploring awareness" perspective. By becoming aware of the brain as an amazing resource similar to computer hardware and software, the part of us that is aware becomes activated and rea…
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Episode 54: An opportunity for peace and love in this very precious human life through exploring awareness
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When you’re aware you’re aware- that is another level of existence that has an opportunity for some real peace and love and a real authentic experience with this very precious human life. It’s so precious and rare and it doesn’t last that long and there are so many ways that you can use it, so why not use it for good?…
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Episode 53: How Awareness Can Lead to Forgiveness and Self Compassion
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Episode 54: How Awareness Can Lead to Forgiveness and Self Compassion "Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past."- this quote by Lily Tomlin asks us to realize that the past is over, and failing to forgive keeps us locked in the habitual thoughts and judgements that keep us small and confined. In this episode, we discuss forgiveness o…
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What would it take to find Awe in a brick? How to experience Awe everyday is the topic of this episode. We discuss how there is a constant opportunity to connect at a deeper level and to be aware of what is happening in the present moment -as it is -without judgement, analyzing or overthinking. To allow yourself to be in the present moment and allo…
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Episode 51: Ways to Practice Exploring Awareness
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While we often have great intentions to practice meditation and awareness, lack of a framework leads to inconsistency. In this episode, we discuss the foundations of practice from Adyashanti's book The Way of Liberation and provide a guided meditation to help get the practice started.By Frank Anderson and Lisa Barry
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Episode 50: Exploring Awareness to Experience Unity
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Episode 50: Exploring Awareness to Experience Unity Mindfulness practices and exploring awareness can lead to a deep realization and experience of Unity. When we practice the 4 foundations of mindfulness and get a sense of our true identity as pure awareness a deep realization emerges. Experiences of Unity first come and go in glimpses then become …
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Episode 49: Finding Joy in Knowing What Makes You Tick
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Episode 49: Finding Joy in Knowing What Makes You Tick A “Joy that has no opposite” can be realized when we use mindfulness techniques to explore awareness. Happiness is wonderful too, but - as an emotion - comes and goes. The “Joy of Being” is always present. We discuss Joy as an essence of authentic human life that gets covered up by habitual thi…
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Episode 48 : Awareness of the Present Moment Plus a Mediation for Sleeplessness
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Episode 48 : Awareness of the Present Moment Plus a Mediation for Sleeplessness The actions of our mind are a wonderful gift as we enjoy past memories, solve problems and plan for the future. Taken to extremes however, our minds can come up with the details of past events so vivid, it is as if we are reliving them over and over again. Future events…
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Episode 47: Enjoying Awareness – A Big Fun Journey!
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Episode 47: Enjoying Awareness – A Big Fun Journey! Meditation and spiritual awareness opens up a wonderful sense of freedom and expansion that reflects an ever present inner sense of being. During the sometimes difficult work of spiritual practice, we catch glimpses of residing inner peace only to get pulled down the rabbit hole to more difficulti…
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Episode 46: Did I Really Mean to Say That? Exploring Awareness of Words
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How conscious are you of the words that you speak? Where do the words come from and what do they represent? Words are one way to communicate, and in this episode, we explore the awareness of what is happening in our mind that generates the words we use. Words used habitually, reflexively, and not formed with awareness may not represent the inner di…
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Episode 45: What Does It Mean To Be Mindful And How Does It Relate To Awareness?
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“Being mindful” means more than just the ability to focus or pay attention. Being mindful doesn’t mean getting rid of thoughts or getting to a relaxed state. Being mindful is not about something we need to do to gain something. In this episode, we discuss the “how” of mindfulness, we break down the definition and learn how to utilize mindfulness te…
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Episode 44: Looking To A Post-Covid World- What Are We Learning?
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Looking to a Post-Covid World- what are we learning? The Covid pandemic is giving the world a long pause from routine and turning expectations upside down. Even as we may be nearing the end, this past year provided time to go inward, to see what is important, and note what may or may not have been working in life. Some did not have such a luxury an…
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Episode 43: Loving Awareness and the Freedom it Provides
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Episode 43: Loving Awareness and the Freedom it Provides When one is mindful, a quality of “deep awareness” opens to wonderous opportunity for discovery and freedom. We call this now a BIG FUN JOURNEY. No longer are we just acting like robots running on autopilot, no longer just reacting to painful or pleasurable events - we are seeing the big pict…
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Episode 42: Thoughts are important, but do they define who you are?
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Episode 42: Thoughts are important, but do they define who you are? As we explore the various methods and issues in mindfulness and awareness, we often hear about how “ you are not your thoughts”. This is often said by experienced teachers to people starting out - and to the thinking mind, this does not make any sense whatsoever. If a mind is think…
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Episode# 41: The Art of Healing Your body is constantly wanting to heal itself, but the question is “how” to heal. Healing is a return to balance and wholeness - exploring awareness brings imbalance into view reconnection to a balanced core bringing a sense of healing. In this episode, we discuss the difference between curing and healing, and expla…
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Episode #40: Are you a Human Doing or a Human Being?
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Episode #40: Are you a Human Doing or a Human Being? We “do” lots of things- that’s what life seems to be all about. Many of the things we do are fun, some are not, and some just need to get done. The never ending list of things to do is always there, even if they are not written down. Meditation is probably somewhere on that list -may be near the …
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Episode #39: Being Open to Synchronicity and Intuition
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Synchronicity and Intuition When you explore awareness, fun things can happen! In this episode, we discuss Synchronicity- a concept made popular by psychiatrist Carl Jung who said that synchronicities are “meaningful or even miraculous coincidences that occur in your life” which are “experiences that seem far more significant than day to day encoun…
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Episode 38: Lessons From The First Year-The Anniversary Episode
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Episode 38: Lessons From The First Year-The Anniversary Episode The exploring awareness podcast is a year old, and in this episode, Frank and Lisa discuss how the podcast got started, and their experiences over the year. “Exploring Awareness” has become a question - an invitation to a journey toward a way of being that includes and then goes beyond…
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Episode 37: What Is Your New Year’s Intention?
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Episode 37: What Is Your New Year’s Intention? The start of a new year brings opportunity. Instead of the typical “New Year’s Resolution”, why not consider a “New Year’s Intention” of exploring the possibility of another way of being in the world beyond what our current situations and culture offer. Some intentions of course can be practical and ma…
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Episode #36: Exploring The Spirit Of Gifting and Giving From A Heart of Generosity
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EPISODE 36: Exploring The Spirit Of Gifting and Giving From A Heart of Generosity The holiday season is a season of generosity. Through exploring awareness, gift giving can take on a deeper meaning and reflect the core elements within each of us-peace, joy love and generosity. Where does generosity come from? It’s a human expression of love and con…
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Episode #35: Do painful things always have to lead to suffering?
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Episode #35: Do painful things always have to lead to suffering? It is easy to say that pain is part of the being human and suffering is optional -but when you are in the middle of it, this can be difficult to hear. In this episode, we break down this concept- with a focus on mental pain. We discuss the mindfulness techniques and exploring awarenes…
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Episode 34: Exploring Kindness As A Response To Whatever Happens
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Are you noticing a lack of kindness in the conversation lately? We are all taught to be kind but thinking that you must be kind is different from “being” kind. What if kindness was an innate quality that is already a part of us? Through exploring awareness, we may discover that “loving kindness” is a core element that already exists within, no matt…
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Episode 33: Connect to your core and say goodbye to the stories!
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What’s your “story”? Are you aware of the stories you tell yourself about what happened in the past or what may be in the future? “Being awareness” means we can know that we have stories, and in the knowing we can know who we are. It brings up the question- who are you - beyond the labels and conditions of life? There may be something more to life …
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Episode #32 Tools To Use In Exploring Awareness
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Current times can seem chaotic, and cause us to experience a multitude of feelings and emotions. There are simple tools available to remind us how to connect to a deeper place of peace, love, joy and generosity. Tara Brach’s RAIN tool – Recognize, Allow, Investigate and Nurture and Don Miguel Ruiz’s 4 agreements- Be impeccable with your word; Don't…
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Episode 31: What's Behind the Stories We Tell Ourselves?
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Episode 31: What's Behind the Stories We Tell Ourselves? Exploring awareness of thoughts goes beyond just single thoughts to the sometimes elaborate stories we create in our own mind. In this episode, we explore awareness of what drives our need to create stories and figure things out. Clearly, we use our brains to solve problems but sometimes we t…
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Episode #30: Healing And Coping With A Major Medical Diagnosis By Exploring Awareness
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Healing And Coping With A Major Medical Diagnosis By Exploring Awareness Living with chronic pain or a disturbing medical condition creates a great challenge but can also be an opening to exploring awareness. As paradoxical as it seems, these types of difficulties can present an opportunity for transformation. Physical pain can be accompanied by re…
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Episode # 29: The Courage to Be Your True Self
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The Courage To Be Your True Self Finding Peace and Joy in the most unlikely places seems impossible given the way things are going in the world. In this episode we continue to explore how connecting to a stable inner core can be accomplished, no matter what the situation. Exploring the words “faith” and “courage”, and incorporating a guided mediati…
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Episode 28: What You Resist Persists and The Only Way Out is Through
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Title -What You Resist Persists and The Only Way Out is Through Our collective challenge these days is a constant flow of difficult information that pulls us out of the present moment. Sometimes we think about things and anticipate different outcomes, none of which may ever happen. For many, this leads to a sense of fear or foreboding that is a con…
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Do you react or respond? What is the difference? Is there a sense of spacious freedom that can be naturally experienced? Exploring awareness 24/7 changes the way the day unfolds and just may result in a lived experience that doesn’t include angst and fear – but instead peace and joy. We have talked a lot about being aware using meditation technique…
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Episode 26: Exploring Awareness of Attachment
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Ever think about what brings you a sense of security or what you may be holding on to in life that may not best serve you? Who are, or what are you attached to, and what would happen if you didn’t need to attach to anyone or anything including your own ego? Some people have a yearning for something more -it may be a loud voice or a just a whisper, …
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Episode #25: Why Is It So Difficult To Love Ourselves?
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Why Is It So Difficult To Love Ourselves? In this episode, Frank and Lisa discuss one of the innate qualities that emerge from exploring awareness- a sense of unconditional Love. From the awareness perspective, this type of Love is not conditioned on anything, but purely exists as a quality of or inner aspect of a conscious, aware life. It is the l…
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Episode 24: How To Feel Steady In Unsteady Times
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How To Feel Steady In Unsteady Times This episode consolidates many of the concepts of exploring awareness to bring together the ideas and tools we have discussed that would allow you to feel more steady in unsteady times. Inner calm, moving outside your comfort zone, equanimity and connecting to your core so you always feel at home no matter where…
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Episode 23: What Burning Man Can Teach Us About Love, Peace, Generosity and Joy.
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What Burning Man can teach us about Love, Peace, Generosity and Joy. Put aside what you think you know about Burning Man and in this episode learn how this event is a model for a life that puts the core essences of exploring awareness into practice. In the exploring awareness podcast, we always return to the core human essences of peace, joy, love …
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Why can’t I figure this stuff out? There is a difference between figuring something out and letting it be. Meditation and awareness practices are about letting things, people, situations be – as they are. Our powerful, amazing and analytical brain- a great tool- will try to figure this stuff out. When we talk about exploring awareness, there is ano…
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Episode # 21: Making The World a Better Place From The Inside Out
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Episode # 21 Making The World a Better Place From The Inside Out Awaken to Something Deeper We always hear from people “I can’t meditate”. Take that thought and put it in awareness. Instead of letting thoughts create a restrictive and small world, take the opportunity to let yourself move through constrictive thoughts to a place of spaciousness. Wh…
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Episode # 20: Finding Fulfillment is an Inside Job
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Episode # 20 Finding Fulfillment is an Inside Job In this episode Frank and Lisa explore the word “fulfillment”, and provide methods as to how we can connect with the sense of fulfillment. The word can have different meanings depending on your mindset. Feeling fulfilled may come from achieving something that you have striven for- a material item, a…
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Episode 19: Why Can't I Just Let Go?
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Why Can't I Just Let Go? We always hear the phrase – “Let it Go”. We are asked to let go of old habits, ideas or demands and expectations that we impose on others that aren’t working. It's a paradox- the part of you that’s trying to let go is the same part of you that’s holding on -which means you could be holding on and letting go at the same time…
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Episode 18: Wondering what you can do? Start with yourself!
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Wondering what you can do? Start with yourself! The world situation now makes finding peace and joy in the most unlikely places seem unlikely! In this episode Frank and Lisa discuss the bottom up approach to discover an inner essence that connects every human being. A grace, if you will, that unites us in something deeper. Thoughts, emotions and re…
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Tumult continues during a global pandemic, and in the United States, a massive response of millions of people demanding change. There is an option to make sense of this – an option that includes accessing a wellspring of inner wisdom that can inform thoughts, response and action. This inner resource isn’t accessed by thoughts, because it dwells bef…
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Episode 16: There is Wisdom in Change
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There is Wisdom in Change How to be a Cow with no Nostrils In this episode, Frank and Lisa continue exploring awareness in the context of the changing corona virus pandemic. We are all witness to a very changing lifestyle guided both by our intense desire to return to normal life, while at the same time knowing that it could be dangerous. How you m…
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Epidsode 15: Openheartedness and Discovering your Essence through Exploring Awareness.
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In this episode, Frank and Lisa explore openheartedness as one of the qualities that emerges when using mindfulness techniques to explore awareness. Who would you be, if, no matter what, you could be openhearted? Issues, events, people’s decisions and acting out from bias and fear can create negative thoughts that lead to a reaction of close hearte…
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Episode 14: Coping with COVID with Calm and Courage
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Where there's Love there is Joy and when there is Joy there is Peace! Frank and Lisa continue the conversation and the journey during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide a guided meditation on being aware of what connects you to a deeper place of calm. What do you connect to that bring you joy? Walking in nature, taking time to meditate? They discuss…
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