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Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich,

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and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life. 

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Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.

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Last month, I moved from Ventura to a small town two hours up the California coast,

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so I haven't been able to record as many episodes as I would have liked during 

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the transition. When I visited Ventura during the wildfires that tore through the mountains 

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a of couple weeks ago, I met a friend who had lost her home in the flames.

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She saw it as a great opportunity to start over, while others equated their houses

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in ruins with their lives destroyed. Perspective affects our experience in life 

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more than the actual events that take place. And while we can't control what happens,

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we have full control of how we respond. As the Buddha said, "You can't really miss

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"or lose anything to which you've never developed an attachment."

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It doesn't mean we don't celebrate, enjoy, or love the gifts and people in our lives, I think

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we actually appreciate them even more BECAUSE they may be taken away from us 

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at any moment. So, on a daily basis, we either fear change, or we anticipate it.

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I personally seek change in order to get ahead of it, or avoid getting too comfortable, if that

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makes sense. Have you ever been so deeply immersed in a TV show, or a video game,

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or a book you were reading, that you lose awareness of what's going on around you?

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People are entering or leaving the house, you go for hours without eating,

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and before you know it, it's the middle of the night? I remember enjoying a novel so much 

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one time on a train that I missed my stop by quite a few stations. This is another reason 

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why daily meditation is such an important part of life: it gives us an opportunity to

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stop doing whatever we're doing and just BE. Breathe, take inventory of your 

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surroundings, scan your body and your mind, and remember where you are. 

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Because if we don't then we lose track of time in life not just in a day. And before we know it

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ten years go by. We miss our exit, or, worse yet, we mistake the autopilot of going

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through the motions with actual living, at least until something jars us awake,

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be it an illness, an accident, or anything that abruptly puts a stop to our routine.

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The alternative is to get ahead of surprises by actually scheduling regular stops to our

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routine. Every morning, take a time out to reflect on where you are in relation to where

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you've been, and where you are in relation with where you intend to go. If you are lost 

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at sea, as we all are, the only things that keep us going is a sense of purpose 

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and an intended direction. So it's important to check the compass every once in a while,

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consult the stars, and keep a log of our progress. Perhaps that's why I find writing

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so therapeutic; it journals and records my process like when kids mark their height 

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on the wall when they grow up. Except this isn't about physical growth, it's an inventory

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of everything we've already let go of, as well as a few fears or insecurities, attachments, 

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or issues that we still need to purge. The important thing is to never discourage 

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progress no matter how slow, and to keep in mind that progress is not about speed,

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it's about direction. So introduce a gap in your daily routine, at least a five to ten minute 

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break every day, to self-reflect, not to look for answers but to ask yourself some very 

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difficult questions like Am I the kind of person I want to be? Am I living in congruence with

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my values? What ARE my values? Where, if anywhere, can I loosen my grip a little bit

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and allow the process to unfold as it inevitably will so I can enjoy the ebb and flow

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of the tide instead of trying to fight the ocean.

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Remember: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Namaste.

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Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Faithfully Religionless

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and Buddhist Boot Camp.

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For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com,

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where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project,

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watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list.

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We hope you have enjoyed this episode

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and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.

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Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏