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 using the RAIN acronym of recognize, acknowledge/accept, investigate and nurture. This is tragic, unexpected and challenges everything we discuss in t...
Dec 03, 2021•23 min•Ep. 63
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 of being - a return to mindful awareness and a return to a felt sense of the unity of all beings. This is about a realization and being on a path to ...
Nov 20, 2021•44 min•Ep. 62
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 be fixed? Although your mind may not allow you to believe this, exploring awareness and discovering the qualities at the core of your being leads to ...
Nov 09, 2021•51 min•Ep. 61
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 and not comfortable. This very common tendency is called dualistic thinking. In this episode, we bring compassionate awareness to this tendency and ex...
Oct 30, 2021•50 min•Ep. 60
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 small and aggressive protective stance that can be amplified by the loudest voices on TV, radio and social media. It is possible to realize an identi...
Oct 09, 2021•48 min•Ep. 59
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 cultural groups who judged us and made it seem normal. In this episode, we look at the roots of judgement by becoming aware that we are judging, and then exp...
Oct 01, 2021•49 min•Ep. 58
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, we discuss a perspective that emerges from exploring awareness of change. Instead of the change occupying the thoughts and energy, a shift occurs to w...
Sep 12, 2021•39 min•Ep. 57
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 if an event has occurred, becoming aware opens a compassionate channel through which we can move. “What you resist – persists” and “the only way out i...
Aug 29, 2021•42 min•Ep. 56
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 realized. With the realization of awareness comes a freedom experienced as spaciousness, open heartedness, open mindedness. When you’re no longer locked ...
Aug 22, 2021•31 min•Ep. 55
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?
Aug 01, 2021•57 min•Ep. 54
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 of self and forgiveness of others as part of the realization of ourselves as awareness for the benefit of ourselves and others. This is part of the Big...
Jul 22, 2021•57 min•Ep. 53
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 allow what’s happening to happen – a sense of Awe will emerge as a wonderful feeling of connection. By taking the opportunity to be present, to be aware, ...
Jul 02, 2021•52 min•Ep. 52
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.
Jun 19, 2021•48 min•Ep. 51
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 seen through a clear window. Understanding gets deeper and integrates into daily life. As conditioned beliefs and habitual thought patterns start to f...
Jun 08, 2021•52 min•Ep. 50
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 thinking, discursive thoughts, and the overwhelm of negative information coming into our lives every day. Our usual ways of thinking, creating expectatio...
May 22, 2021•50 min•Ep. 49
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 can be created as well, so a future scenario seems to be completely true even though it hasn’t happened yet! These mental creations can lead to stres...
May 10, 2021•47 min•Ep. 48
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 difficulties. Some people say –its hard work! Nevertheless, there is a choice to be made between the “cold comfort” of the known habits and thought patterns and...
May 01, 2021•55 min•Ep. 47
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 dimension of peace, love, joy and equanimity. Consider words a sound that you make, and that there is a choice about what those sounds are and what you ...
Apr 18, 2021•54 min•Ep. 46
“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 techniques to open to a place of mindful and loving awareness. You will naturally experience a sense of peace, love, joy and generosity- something that ...
Apr 12, 2021•59 min•Ep. 45
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 and continued an even more frantic life fraught with risk and fear. Either way, the pandemic year taught us some valuable lessons and asked us to try so...
Mar 28, 2021•55 min•Ep. 44
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 picture, taking things apart and looking at them as they are and responding in new and authentic ways. Cultivating the ability to be aware of everything i...
Mar 17, 2021•57 min•Ep. 43
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 thinking, what else could it be? Defensiveness and fear arise if we start to entertain an idea that who we are isn’t who we “think” we are. This whole idea...
Mar 10, 2021•50 min•Ep. 42
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 explain how using mindfulness meditation techniques to open to awareness unleashes a wellspring of healing energy – for self-healing and guiding others to ...
Feb 14, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 41
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 bottom -making it seem unlikely, time consuming, and difficult to fit in the schedule. However, the essence of meditation is not a “doing” but is “bei...
Feb 07, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 40
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 encounters.” Yet, to see them happen in life requires a sense of presence, “Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have the eyes to see.” A ...
Jan 24, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 39
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 thoughts and emotions. All year, the discussion has been about how to apply mindfulness techniques to explore “awareness” and how this leads to conne...
Jan 10, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 38
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 make a lot of sense, but here we discuss deeper intentions of connection to core, finding inner peace and moving through the world on solid ground. We d...
Dec 30, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 37
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 connection expressed through the gifting of a tangible item- chosen or made during a process of attention to what might make our loved ones happy and an ...
Dec 20, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 36
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 awareness concepts that create some space between the painful situation and the reaction to it. We ask the ultimate questions- are you willing to give up your...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 35
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 matter what other people might be saying. A place of “awake awareness” that is not affected by the challenges of daily life, but is already within for us ...
Dec 07, 2020•59 min•Ep. 34
