From a Buddhist Monk

JJ Parker  0:03  
So recently, we got the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with a former Buddhist monk.

Melissa Albers  0:11  
Yes. And it was awesome because we get to share it with you.

JJ Parker  0:15  
So we talked about a whole bunch of things with Tupton. It was really insightful. But I thought what we'll be talking about here is a couple of things that we picked up in the idea of like mindfulness and self awareness as it applies to work is that we learned from him.

Melissa Albers  0:30  
Yes, absolutely fantastic. You know, one of the things that we're always talking about the self awareness journey is like being more mindful or being more aware of ourselves in the moment, which is the mindfulness part, right. And he really talked a lot about how meditation can bring us to mindfulness and that neither one of those things are big or scary, or difficult to get to.

JJ Parker  0:52  
Yeah, one thing he said that I loved, when we talked about how would you start a meditation practice? And he said, five minutes? Yeah, five minutes there for five minutes. And what I find at work, though, there's a lot of times where I might get a little bit emotional. Yeah, you know, we have to deal with big heavy topics. And taking just a couple of minutes, just kind of taking that little break for myself. Yeah, during the day at work is really helpful. Yeah, gets me centered, and I make better decisions. I mean, when it comes down to it, that's the thing it does. For me, it helps me make better decisions.

Melissa Albers  1:27  
Yes, exactly. Right. And I think another one of the things that he talked about that were so interesting was your intention. Yes. So I always felt a little funny talking about, like, a Buddhist philosophy or sort of that you shouldn't have things like, you know, you should give everything away.

JJ Parker  1:45  
Oh, yeah. We, we asked him about that. Like, yeah, like, if I, you're in that philosophy, and you don't have attachment to material things? Yeah. Like, does that mean I should just give up completely and not pursue anything? Right, right.

Melissa Albers  1:59  
Yeah, exactly. And he was like, No, of course not. You should have whatever it is that you want. But But the important thing behind it is intention. And that's pulled us into a whole different part of the conversation around setting your own intention and recognizing what that energy is in within yourself before you push out anything.

JJ Parker  2:17  
Yep. And yeah, we were talking about really big topics like life goals, but I think setting intention is super important on little things like walking into a meeting. Yeah, like, right before you walk through that door, say, Okay, what is my intention? At in this meeting? Right. Right. It's to be helpful. Yeah, it's to be like contributing object, right? objective like, and set that intention before you walk in? Because sometimes, really weird things happen. Like, yeah, maybe I was like, out, and I was kind of having a bad day, like, not related to work at all. Like, maybe I got the wrong spot in the parking ramp, you know, and it doesn't happen, though. But I understand what you're saying. Did you get my spot? And then I walk into the conference room kind of irritated at Yeah, yeah. And that energy kind of like blocks out all over? Again, it does. But if I take that moment, set my intention, yes, purposefully, before I walk in, it's much better.

Melissa Albers  3:11  
Yes. And he had such amazing things to say about that. It was really interesting.

JJ Parker  3:15  
Then the last thing we talked about was anxiety and worry. And dealing with that. And

Melissa Albers  3:21  
particularly now because there's so many in our,

JJ Parker  3:23  
in our current climate with a pandemic and the election and kids and school and like all this stuff going on. Everyone's got a lot of anxiety and worry. Yeah. And how we deal with that and how that how we bring that in. I mean, obviously that comes in to work too.

Melissa Albers  3:40  
Yes. Right. Yes. To Finn's way of talking is just so his energy is so beautiful. And how he answered that speaking about anxiety is he used the word precious is to recognize how precious Your life is right now. And that whole interview I feel like all the questions we asked, the way he presented was beautiful and precious. Yeah.

JJ Parker  4:05  
So it's amazing. If you want to learn more about what he had to say in his worldview, you can check it out on our website at the self awareness journey.com

Melissa Albers  4:14  
and it's under videos and conversations with

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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