#850: The Peace That's Always Within You — Guided Meditation by Zen Master Henry Shukman
🤖 AI Summary
Overview
This episode features a guided meditation led by Zen master Henry Shukman, focusing on cultivating calm, peace, and awareness through the practice of taking the backward step.
The meditation introduces techniques to disengage from daily stressors and access a deeper sense of rest and timeless awareness.
Notable Quotes
- Take the backward step that shines the light inward.
- Henry Shukman, on the essence of Zen meditation.
- It's not some special accomplishment to find this. It's simply always been with us.
- Henry Shukman, on the innate nature of restful awareness.
🧘♂️ The Backward Step: A Zen Teaching
- Henry Shukman introduces the Zen concept of taking the backward step,
which involves disengaging from external activities and turning inward.
- This practice helps illuminate a peaceful, intrinsic awareness that underlies all experiences.
- By stepping back, individuals can access a sense of unconditional well-being and a broader perspective on life.
🌿 The Power of Rest
- Rest is described as a gateway to a different quality of awareness, fostering creativity and stillness.
- Henry emphasizes the importance of allowing the body to become completely relaxed, likening it to a ragdoll
state.
- In this state of rest, a quiet and timeless awareness naturally emerges, offering profound restoration.
🕊️ Disengaging from Stress
- The meditation explores how to approach stress without resistance, instead including it as part of one's experience.
- This approach cultivates patience and compassion toward oneself, transforming stress into an opportunity for growth.
- Henry highlights the restorative power of momentarily stepping away from life's demands to reconnect with inner peace.
⏳ Timeless Awareness
- Participants are guided to experience a flavor of timelessness
by stepping back from the stream of clock time.
- This broader awareness provides a new vantage point, less bound by the pressures of time and daily life.
- Henry describes this state as both restful and deeply refreshing, offering a unique perspective on existence.
AI-generated content may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as a sole source of truth.
📋 Episode Description
This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.
In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.
Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.
Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.
I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.
As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.
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