Practicing Human - podcast cover

Practicing Human

Cory Muscarawww.corymuscara.com
Practicing Human is a daily podcast, hosted by Cory Muscara, offering insights and practices into how to live a fulfilling life. Cory pulls on his time living as a Buddhist monk in Burma, his many years as a mindfulness and meditation teacher, and his work in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Episodes

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

“Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft starts that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.” -Mary Elizabeth Frye...

Jul 08, 20205 minEp. 178

The Process of Developing a Skill

In this episode, we discuss the four psychological stages one progresses through when moving from incompetence to competence in a skill, and a simple reframe to help us stay with the process. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text the word "podcast" ...

Jul 06, 20208 minEp. 177

The Subtle Art of Being Present

In this episode, we discuss the difference between "sitting with" your experience and "sitting on" your experience. The episodes is informed by a quote from Robert Augustus Masters in his book, Spiritual Bypassing, where he says: "Plenty of meditators work at sitting with their “unwholesome” states, including anger, not realizing that they may not be so much sitting with these states as they are sitting on them." As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guide...

Jul 03, 202012 minEp. 176

The Trap of Spiritual Practices

"Even the most exquisitely designed spiritual methodologies can become traps, leading not to freedom but only to reinforcement, however subtle, of the “I” that wants to be a somebody who has attained or realized freedom (the very same “I” that doesn’t realize there are no Oscars for awakening)." -Robert Augustus Masters As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to:...

Jul 02, 202013 minEp. 175

Grounding Technique: Rainbow Walk

In this episode, I share a simple, practical exercise you can do when you're feeling lost in thoughts and need to re-ground. It's also a great practice to get more connected to the environment around you. Enjoy! As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text...

Jul 01, 20204 minEp. 174

Create More Head Space

We've all had that feeling of being constricted--consumed by a thought, sucked into an emotion, lost in a sensory experience. When we are constricted in this way, the perceived bounds of who we are are small. In today's episode, we discuss how to go about creating more mind space, expanding the bounds of who and what we are in each moment. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text yo...

Jun 30, 20209 minEp. 173

3 Tips for Self-Control

In this episode, I share 3 tips you can use to develop great self-control in those moments where you feel yourself falling back into old habits, patterns, or negative behaviors. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text the word "podcast" to 1-631-305-2...

Jun 29, 202014 minEp. 172

The Magical "VOO" Sound

In this episode, we discuss a secular chanting practice that can be used to calm your nervous system, feel more alive, and start to heal unresolved trauma. It stems from the work of the great trauma therapist, Peter Levine. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from m...

Jun 26, 202010 minEp. 171

Meditation and Life Extension

Can meditation extend your life? There's lot to say on how it can increase your lifespan, but nothing that confirms we could double or triple our lifespan. However, there is a different way we can increase life that meditation addresses more directly, and much more immediately. We'll discuss what that is in this episode. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to...

Jun 25, 20208 minEp. 170

Postponing Worry (anxiety technique)

In this episode, I share a simple psychology technique for working with the worrying mind called "postponing worry." It's extremely simple but highly effective for many people. Enjoy! As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text the word "podcast" to 1-631...

Jun 24, 20208 minEp. 169

My Morning Hack for A Great Day

I have always been very protective of my mornings; it's my sacred time. Over the years, I've found different strategies that help me enhance my morning. In this episode, I'll share one of the simplest but most effective strategies I have found to enhance my morning and subsequently my day. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd...

Jun 23, 202011 minEp. 168

4 Tips to Relax Your Body

Most of us carry much more bodily tension than we realize. As this tension builds, we become more moody, impatient, and uncomfortable. In this episode, I'll share four strategies you can use to release bodily tension. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, jus...

Jun 22, 202013 minEp. 167

How Breaking Down Leads to Growth

In this episode, we discuss how our most painful, broken moments are often the catalyst for the greatest growth and clarity. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text the word "podcast" to 1-631-305-2874

Jun 19, 20207 minEp. 166

The 5 Stages of Change

When we're changing a pattern, be it a way of thinking, speaking, or behaving, the first step is simply becoming aware of what we're doing and when we're doing it. However, even once we have that awareness, we can still get caught be our habitual tendencies. In this episode, we'll discuss the five stages we often go on our path to change, illustrated through a poem by Portia Nelson. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendat...

Jun 18, 20206 minEp. 165

The Paradox of Meditation

"[When we meditate], we often think that somehow we’re going to improve, which is a subtle aggression against who we really are...We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest." ~ Pema Chodron ...

Jun 17, 202010 minEp. 164

Doing The Inner Work Around Race

When it comes to social justice, I’ve noticed my impulse to jump into action, without also doing the inner work. I’ll quickly condemn oppression, express my support as anti-racist, talk to white friends about these issues, but not actively reflect on my role in the problem, because “of course I’m not racist.” In this episode, I'll share some of the harder questions I’ve been asking myself -- ones that require more honesty, humility, and vulnerability. I’ve found that it’s one thing for me to be ...

Jun 16, 202012 minEp. 163

The Magic of a Timer for Presence & Productivity

Do you struggle to bring your mindfulness practice into real life where it matters most? Do you find yourself creating a dichotomy between meditation and life? in this episode, I share a new strategy I'm using to bridge the gap, helping me be more present, grounded, attuned, and productive throughout the day. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 3...

Jun 15, 20209 minEp. 162

How to Be Confident

Most of our usual ways of developing confidence are about thinking positive, changing our state, and changing our beliefs. In this episode, we discuss a different (and more intuitive, basic) way to develop true confidence. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me...

Jun 12, 20208 minEp. 161

How to Be With Someone in Pain

In this episode, we discuss how to hold space for a difficult conversation or being with someone in pain.

Jun 11, 20203 minEp. 160

The Counterintuitive Antidote for Stress, Anxiety, & Pain

In this episode, we discuss how many people in the personal development world try to "combat" their painful experiences, and why that is only a half-baked prescription. We'll discuss the powerful alternative to this, and why it's becoming more popular. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298 And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text ...

Jun 10, 202013 minEp. 159

The Simple Reminder That Gives us Power

If someone were to ask you if you could be with a moment of pain or discomfort, you'd probably say yes. You might not want to, but you could if you needed to. The pain becomes overwhelming once we consider that it could last for many more moments beyond our current experience. In this episode, we discuss the power of the simple recognition that life is just one moment at a time. And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text the word "podcast" to 1-63...

Jun 09, 20206 minEp. 158

Permission to Rest (and to go)

Our levels of energy and "doing" are inextricably connected to our capacity to rest. In this episode, we discuss the importance of rest, giving ourselves permission to rest, and also giving ourselves permission to GO.

Jun 08, 20205 minEp. 157

Feeling More Fully

So many of us are walking through life holding incomplete cycles of emotions, experiences we've only partially allowed ourselves to feel and thus still feel burdened by. The only way to release these emotions is to feel them fully.

Jun 05, 202010 minEp. 156

Stay With It

In the wake of George Floyd's murder, our country and our world are asked to take a closer look at what needs to change. In this episode, we'll make space for the many different experiences that could be arising, and discuss the importance of staying present through the process--it's the only way through.

Jun 04, 202013 minEp. 155

The Positive Power of Negative Experiences

In this episode, we discuss how to reflect on past difficult events to find the learning and growth that they offered us, and then to use that reflection to cultivate hope for a positive future, ultimately changing our relationship to the present moment. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298

Jun 02, 20208 minEp. 154

Learned Hopefulness

In this episode, we discuss a powerful gratitude practice to help shift our perception of the past so that we change our hope for the future. You can get the book Learned Hopefulness on Amazon by clicking here.

Jun 01, 202010 minEp. 153

How To Let Go and Embrace the New

A core tenet of mindfulness and meditation is that each moment is a new beginning, a new opportunity to start fresh. Of course, this is easier said than done, or easier understood than embodied. In this episode, we'll discuss how to really understand this truth so you can start to live with greater freedom and opportunity. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address ...

May 29, 20207 minEp. 152

You're Ok and It's Time to Change

The process of growth holds a paradox. In one sense, you're ok exactly as you are. In another sense, you may need to make some changes to your life. In this episode, we'll discuss how to hold these two realities in our path of personal and spiritual growth. As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298

May 28, 20206 minEp. 151

The Creative Process: 6 Stages

In this episode, we discuss the typical trajectory of the creative process in six steps. Every person is a creative in their own unique way, whether it's in business, art, parenting, or being in relationship. And if you've ever struggled with the creative process, I think you'll enjoy what we discuss here. Also, we discuss a new way that I'm sharing my teachings via text and audio message! To be part of the text community, you can text me anything, like "Hey!" to this number: 1-631-305-2874...

May 27, 202010 minEp. 150

Is This Missing From Your Meditation?

In today's episode, we discuss when it may not be appropriate to meditate, and also what you might do before you meditate as a way to improve the experience. Also, we discuss a new way that I'm sharing my teachings via text and audio message! To be part of the text community, you can text me anything, like "Hey!" to this number: 1-631-305-2874

May 26, 20209 minEp. 149
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