#03007
The Listening Ear Recommends
The Listening Ear Recommends is my way of sharing podcast episodes, and other audio content. That have helped me gain a better understanding of the influence of my lived experience. These episodes contain a lot of wisdom about how we can improve our time spent at work. And create more space for non-work to better enrich our identity.
podcast episode
What I loved/learnt?
Did you know on average a person checks their phone 260 times a day! I did not, until I listened to this podcast episode. And it’s very likely that you didn’t either. But now you know you’ll hopefully be more aware or mindful of the next time you do check your phone. Are you checking it because you need to know what time it is or need to make a call. Or are you checking it just to see if someone has reached out, or uploaded a new video on tiktok or liked your IG post.
What I loved the most about this introduction to mindfulness. Is that they did not paint distraction as the root cause of lack of mindfulness. Instead they encourage realising when your attention has been given to a distraction. As doing this is still awareness, and therefore still mindfulness. And can work as a prompt to bring your attention back to what your were initially focusing on.
Why listen?
If you want to get started with mindfulness but struggle with “doing it right”?
This episode focuses on mindfulness as a form of meditation focused on cultivating awareness. And with that framework, any form of non-judgemental purposeful attention to the present moment counts as mindfulness.
This framework also helps to elevate some of the stress and pressure when the goal of mindfulness viewed as getting to a special “clear-minded” state. It instead shifts the importance to inhabiting life moment by moment. So that we have the resilience and clarity of mind, to show up for all the moments, regardless of how stressful or uncertain they may be.
Podcast episode
What I loved/learnt?
I liked that the host of the conversation strongly suggested that keeping a meditation practice simple is the best way to go. They didn’t dismiss the concept of meditating on a specific feeling. Instead they helpfully describe the ways doing that over complicating a practice can encourage your mind to meander into deep reflective thoughts. That actually pull you out of the practice rather than strengthen your connection to the present moment.
Why listen?
If you want to gain insight into meditative practices that train a specific feeling?
There are a variety of classes, apps, youtube videos, courses you name it, out there teaching a specific form of mindfulness. The same way there are a variety of yoga practices. The difficulty in this is knowing which one is right for you.
This episode gives a preview into a conversation discussing how including complex relationships as part of a meditative practice. Can take your away from the simplicity of the practice, which is what is needed to develop and strengthen your skills.
podcast episode
What I loved/learnt?
These bitesized little happier episodes are intended to make your day a little happier. And though I wouldn’t say I was happier by the end of the episode, I was still happy that I’d listened.
When I first listened to the episode, I had been thinking about the idea that you notice things that are familiar to you, more often than unfamiliar things. A good example of this is when you buy a new car. Suddenly it feels like the exact same car is showing up whether you go. When in actual fact it’s that you now notice the car more often, because it is familiar to you.
This episode echoes that same sentiment, through the story of her own experience when traveling to London.
Why listen?
If you need some reassurance that it is perfectly fine for the beauty and important of something to be within the eye of the beholder.
