[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:13] Speaker B: This is Padmasana. And I am Brenda Knorr.
In the vast landscape of human potential, there exists a hidden terrain more powerful and mysterious than any external force.
The human mind.
Imagine a realm where every achievement, every transformation, every moment of breakthrough begins not with action, but with a single ephemeral spark.
A thought.
Everything starts with a thought, writes psychotherapist Pete Allman in his book Thoughts, the Power of your Mind.
But these are no ordinary thoughts.
These are the architects of our reality, the silent sculptors of our destiny.
For over 25 years, Allman has journeyed through the intricate corridors of human consciousness, studying how thoughts shape our deepest experiences.
From the depths of anxiety and depression to the heights of personal growth and marital harmony.
His work is a compass guiding readers through the complex terrain of mental landscapes.
What makes this book extraordinary is its unique structure.
Each chapter includes a provocative quote for each letter of the Alphabet. From Aristotle to Gary Zhukov, Weaving wisdom across centuries and disciplines, each chapter is not just an intellectual exercise, but a practical roadmap illuminated by anonymous patient stories and transformative insights.
Like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz, we are all travelers on an internal journey, the discovering that the power to transform our lives has always been within us.
Allman invites readers to become their own guru, their own spiritual leader, to understand that the mind is a wonderful servant, but a dangerous master if left unexamined. Part 1 the power of thought and.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: Interpretation Pete, welcome to Padmasana. Thanks for being here.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: Well, thanks for having me. And I'm excited to talk about this really exciting subject.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: Yeah, me too. Well, let's go ahead and dive in.
In the introduction of your book the Power of youf Mind, you include an introduction that encourages and empowers readers to be their own guru, spiritual leader, or sage, comparing their journey, perhaps the journey of all of us, to that of the character Dorothy, who from wizard of Oz.
[00:03:08] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: What about Dorothy's journey mirrors that of our own?
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Well, as we all know, life is pretty unpredictable and we're thrust into some things that we're like, why did this happen? And I didn't create this.
Like Dorothy, she was thrown in, into something that was outside her normal world and she had to go on a journey. And I believe these things that happened to us or are for us and help us on our own journey. And so the external characters in it, like the lion, et cetera, Scarecrow, really are internal to us where we need that intellect, we need a good heart, and we need courage. So the yellow brick road, you know, it's not a straight and narrow road. It is winding and meandering and it's kind of uncertain. But you gotta trust yourself and honor what's in front of you. Be smart, have a good heart, have courage and continue on. And the wise person didn't turn out to be the wise person. It's inside of us and we gotta realize that. And so say, okay, this is Pete's truth, this is Brendan's truth, and I want to honor it. And then I can, quote, go home, which is where we've always been. But we have more wisdom in which to then live in the world in a more successful, functional manner.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: Yeah, it's interesting to think of the wizard of Oz.
[00:04:31] Speaker A: When you watch that movie as a kid, you don't pick up on all the layers of it, but there's definitely some layers there for sure. So in each chapter of your book, Pete, you include three truths that you connect to each chapter's quote and an anonymous story from those that you've counseled in therapy. What are these three truths and how should we apply them to.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: To our lives?
[00:04:55] Speaker C: Thank you for that question, because truly, it's very empowering. I believe these three quotes, and sometimes mind boggling it was for me before I entered my yellow brick road, the first truth, I believe, and all the wise people before me believed, is your thoughts create your reality.
And most people, many people think, well, no, these outside conditions create my reality. And that's not true. They're all really neutral. And it's our thoughts, our perception of those external events is what creates our reality.
So it's the rainy day and you want to go play golf. You're like, oh, I can't believe it. Well, your thoughts are creating a negative reality for you.
[00:05:39] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:39] Speaker C: Compared to, okay, it is what it is. I need to accept it. And I'm going to do now an indoor house project. Say, so your thoughts create your reality is very empowering because that means you have control over your state of being. The second one, which I thought was also mind boggling, is there is no reality outside your interpretation of it.
I was like, whoa. I was not taught that for many, many years. So again, everything's neutral. So there's a prime rib in front of you and another person, one person's a meat eater, saying, that is so great. I'm a vegetarian. I'm like, oh, no, thank you.
It's the same piece of prime rib, but two different interpretations. And so when you find yourself in a negative place, you got to think of yourself, oh, I must be really. The cause is resisting what's in front of me. Because through that resistance, I'm creating a negative interpretation. And so if I say, okay, it's neutral. Pete, change your thoughts. And what's the most therapeutic functional thought I can come up with? And it's not passive. It can be very active, but it's changed your interpretation. So then you can continue on your journey, learn your lesson, and then have a more functional life.
And the last one we Westerners are not taught is you are not your thoughts.
Descartes said, I think, therefore I am. So we think our thoughts is who we are, and that is just not true. They are merely thoughts.
And the best example I've read about is the Buddhist philosophy is you see a rainbow and you think it's real, but really the conditions is what creates that quote, real look, meaning sun and moisture.
But if the conditions change, the rainbow disappears.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:07:39] Speaker C: So the same thing in our lives. A condition appears. That driver cut me off. That's bad. That's wrong. No, that's just a condition that occurred. You're not your thoughts, and so the conditions will change. Or you can change the conditions of your mind, create a new interpretation, and then you're back to peace. So really, these three truths are freedom to lead a happier, healthier life. Yeah.
[00:08:03] Speaker B: That last one made me think it.
[00:08:05] Speaker A: Should be something inculcated by all of us when we go in our cars and drive the road.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: Yes. And I don't know if that's more of a male issue, but I know it's true for all of us.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: Who knows?
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Who knows?
[00:08:15] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah.
[00:08:16] Speaker A: All right. So, yeah. The first chapter of your book also includes a quote from Aristotle which a lot of people know or who a lot of people know. The quote states, it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. What should listeners understand from this quote as it pertains to thoughts in our own minds?
[00:08:37] Speaker C: Great question. And really lucky that, because the chapter, the book goes A through Z, and Aristotle's quote is really a foundational piece, meaning we gotta get to a point to, quote, see our thoughts, meaning they're not me, but I see them, and am I gonna choose to act on that thought? And so if you can entertain a thought, see it without acting on it, it's a healthier, happier life.
And that, again, is freedom, because many of us get reactive and we don't see the thought, we don't entertain the thought, and then we react, and usually something negative happens.
My language would be see the thought and then have your wisdom and not react, but respond to the thought. And then that's going to create a little distance, that's going to create a little more wisdom. And then it's going to most probably happier, healthier action which lead to a happier, healthier interaction and life.
[00:09:38] Speaker A: Yeah, I like that distinction between reacting and responding. It's an important one to understand the difference there for sure.
[00:09:43] Speaker C: Correct.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: So in chapter two of your book, you include a quote from the Buddha which states, you are what you think pain will follow bad thoughts, as certain as happiness will follow, will follow good ones. How does this quote relate to the two different sources of thoughts that you describe in the chapter?
[00:10:02] Speaker C: You bet I'm going to answer that two different ways. One, what really led me to the interest in Eastern thought and Buddhist quote there and all of his other teachings is really, that's why I was taught in my master's program, that's cognitive behavioral therapy. Your thoughts can create something negative or something positive. See your thoughts and then choose, you know, they're called cognitive distortions and choose a healthier thought. Then my thinking is.
And Brendan, this is a pay grade way above me.
Where our source of thoughts can come from simply either ego or a higher source, whatever you want to call it, spirit, divine, God, you know, whatever the higher source is.
So many of us get caught in our ego and then ego thoughts tend to be reactive and then that's going to lead to sadness or anger or, you know, whatever Buddha said on that side. But if we step back and say, okay, this is not all about Pete. This is not about Pete's ego separate, and what would my higher self, what would the spirit guide me to do? Oh, okay, that's a healthier response. That's a healthier reaction. That's going to lead to he know happiness and more peace.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: Yeah. So you include a quote from Albert Einstein in, I believe it was chapter five of the book that states, we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
[00:11:31] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: Do you think this quote can be applied on a global or societal level to contemporary issues that we all experience today? I know that's kind of like a big question.
[00:11:42] Speaker C: Well, that's a huge question. And of course the answer is yes. And it takes critical thinking, Brendan, to think about our thinking because we think our thoughts are real.
And that goes back to, you know, the first three truths is you're not your thoughts. And our reality is based on our interpretation. So it takes critical thinking to say, okay, we've been doing it this way for X amount of years. It's not working. We need to come up with a new way. And people don't like change.
And I'm in a profession that tries to help people deal with change.
And so it's gonna be incremental. But this is, it's a big one. And that's why one could say society, global issues are really pretty dark because we're not changing, we're not evolving, we're not stepping outside our ego to say what's the higher truth here and what's best for everybody.
And I know this story is shared later in the book, but I really like the parable about what heaven and hell are like. And in hell, there's a long table with scrumptious food and the eating utensils are six feet long. So people in hell can't turn it around and feed themselves. So they're an eternity in starvation and suffering. In heaven, there's a long banquet table of food. Scrumptious feeding utensils are six feet long. They can't turn around, but they feed the person across from them. So the people in heaven live with happiness and fulfillment throughout rest of their lives. So it's getting outside of egos, only about me and what's best for humankind, because I'm part of humankind. And if you win, then I win.
Not win, lose. It's win, win.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Everything's connected.
[00:13:24] Speaker C: A little.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: A little more responding than reacting. Yeah, some, yeah, some themes throughout all of this, for sure.
[00:13:32] Speaker B: When we come back, what Gandhi, Jesus, Tina Turner and Oprah Winfrey have to say about the power of belief, what Maya Angelou has to say about attitude, what you thaunt said about war and peace, what Yoda thinks about the mind of a child, and what Gary Zhukov has to say about authentic power.
Next on Padmasana. Hey, listeners, if you're enjoying this show and would like to see it continue, consider subscribing to Padmasana plus the Podcast premium subscription on a monthly or yearly basis. A variety of perks are available and a 20% discount is available for yearly subscriptions.
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Thank you.
Part 2, the Power of Belief all right, Pete.
[00:14:38] Speaker A: Chapters 7, 10, 20, and 23 contain quotes from an interesting group of people. We've got Gandhi, Jesus, Tina Turner, and Oprah Winfrey that seem to touch on the same concept of Power of belief.
Gandhi is quoted as saying, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning.
[00:15:08] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: The quote attributed to Jesus states, it is done unto you as you believe. Turner is quoted as saying, my legacy is that I stayed on course from beginning to end because I believed in something inside of me. And the quote Renfrey states, you don't get what you hope for, you don't get what you wish for. You get what you believe. What do these quotes have to say about the power of belief and the power of the mind?
[00:15:39] Speaker C: And aren't those four powerful quotes? And I love it. It comes from people from the west and people from the east, meaning there's truth in this, everybody.
So what this means is I think I found a good strategy to figure out what are your beliefs and is to look at what's happening in your external world because your external world is showing up to show you you. And so if you have a negative situation, really it's reflecting to you a belief that's most probably unconscious. And the old picture of Freud with the iceberg and he had like 97% of it under being unconscious. I didn't believe that initially and now I do believe it. Many of our beliefs are unconscious because they were ingrained in us as children.
We didn't have a bunch of awareness back then and we just took it as truth. There's some core beliefs that I think everybody needs to look at that again was formulated in our childhood by how we were parented.
But now we're adults and we need to parent ourself if situations are, you know, dysfunctional. So one of the core ones, and Brendan, all of this is on a continuum from low to high is one of the core beliefs is I am worthy or I am not worthy. And that of course was reflected to us by our parents. Anywhere on the continuum cousins, that is I am capable or I am not capable. A huge one is people can be trusted that belief or people cannot be trusted.
Cousin to that is the world is safe or no, the world is hostile. And the last one pulls into self esteem of my voice matters. I was heard as a kid versus my voice doesn't matter. And then I feel less about myself. So let's say the belief I am worthy. Many people don't understand why a person would stay in an abusive relationship where the partner, the spouse, treats the other person like crap.
[00:17:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:40] Speaker C: And like, why would you keep doing that? Why are you saying that? Well, it's multifaceted. But one of the cores, the belief is that person feels like I'm crap. So that belief shows up in the outside world.
And once you change your belief, like, you know what? I am not crap. I'm not perfect, but I'm not crap. And guess what? I don't deserve that. I'm moving on.
And of course it's more complex than finances and all that stuff, but really, your outside world is showing your beliefs because that's the way you're perceiving the world. My thoughts create my reality. A person that was raised in an abusive home and it wasn't safe, they don't view the world as safe. And the partner or spouse says, why are you freaking out about that? It's not that big a deal. They had. The belief of anything can set things off because they learned that belief. It is a foundational piece of life, and it states it in the book. You got to figure out your belief system. And the best way is just look at your world, because your will, it's done unto you as you believe.
[00:18:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I was just going to connect it to that Buddha quote as well. You can see the negative and positive aspects of belief and the mind playing out here. For sure.
[00:18:53] Speaker C: Yeah. So the beauty of this, Brendan, is then we're no longer victims.
Meaning all the outside world is doing this to me. All these external conditions, all these people, no, they're showing up to show you. You work on your beliefs, and then you will change, and then the outside world will change. It's empowering and it's a difficult journey, but it's worth it.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Agreed.
[00:19:16] Speaker A: So in chapter 13, the chapter begins with a quote from the poet Maya Angelou, which states, if you do not like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
[00:19:30] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: If we accept that life and existence as a steady stream of constant change, what should listeners understand from Angela's quote?
[00:19:41] Speaker C: Okay, it's brilliant because it talks about both ends of the continuum.
If you don't like them, try to change it. Find your voice, be active. Because life is not meant to be passive. And so try to change it. Communicate, try to resolve. But of course, it takes two to dance. And if the other party is not listening or does not want to change, change, then you gotta accept and then move on and change your perspective on it, which is not passive. That's also an active empowering strategy, because then you're not gonna be a victim. You're like, okay, I'm gonna accept. But that accept doesn't Mean, I have to stay there?
You could stay there, but you might also move on. Accepting or allowing is not passive. It's healthy in which to figure out what's my next step.
[00:20:31] Speaker A: Gotcha. So in chapter 21, you include a quote from someone I wasn't familiar with, admittedly Yu Thaunt, who was a Burmese diplomat and the Secretary General of the United nations from 1961 to 1971.
And he said, wars begin in the minds of men, and in those mines, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace. How can listeners process this in terms of wars between sovereign nations and the wars that are waged in the thoughts we as humans can have towards ourselves and each other?
[00:21:13] Speaker C: Yeah, so the big one, you know, the wars between sovereign nations, you see it and you don't agree with it. And then you do what you can, whether it's voting or, you know, walking around with signs. But again, accept and then be active about it. The biggest one, though, is the wars that we create in our own little worlds and the war on poverty, the war on drugs, wars don't work. That's just bad thoughts, bad language, because they just nothing. A win, lose is. There's a lose in it. So we gotta create win wins and say, okay, I might disagree with this person or I might find my own prejudices and I gotta change from thoughts of war or hatred or any of those negative thoughts to, okay, how can I do this in a peaceful, loving manner?
You know, that's what Gandhi tried to have us do and Martin Luther King had us try to do and Jesus tried to have us do.
It's love.
And I kind of define that as is kindness because love's so multifaceted. So please don't think a war or fighting will do anything because you're just creating more of an enemy down the road. But it's accepting, loving, challenging, and maybe distancing. Because as you can tell in the political atmosphere now, fighting back and forth is not changing too many minds. In fact, it's making people dig in even more.
So, yeah, spend your time on love and kindness. It's going to help you. And hopefully at a unconscious undercurrent, it's going to help the world.
[00:22:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I like that.
[00:22:57] Speaker A: Chapter 25 includes a quote from what could be my favorite fictional character, Yoda, the wise Jedi Master from the Star wars franchise.
And, you know, the book includes a quote that says, truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.
[00:23:16] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: How does Yoda's wisdom echo that of Socrates or Zen Buddhism within the context of this Concept of beginner's mind.
[00:23:27] Speaker C: You have great questions, Brendan. So we adults think we know the truth and we really don't. We just know what we've been taught. And so is to get outside that kind of ego mind and say, okay, the beginner's mind is openness. And you see a kid just being open to whatever in front of him or her. So let go of your preconceptions. Oh, this is dumb. Oh, I've done this before. Let go of that. Have an open mind. And then another part of that beginner's mind is be eager. I mean, don't you see kids being eager to play on the playground or eager to play with that toy?
They're just eager along with being open. And so kind of say, okay, I'm going to enter this like, I'm doing it for the first time. I'm eager to learn it in a new way and experience it in a new way. And then the last is let go of our prejudices, meaning I already know how this is going to turn out, or, you know, this is dumb or whatever. Let go of prejudices and be open. Be eager. Enter in like you've never done it before. And most probably you're going to be surprised. Like, hey, that was pretty good. I had fun. Or I learned something new.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I really like that, Pete.
[00:24:40] Speaker B: In many of my yoga classes, sometimes.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: When I'm teaching a challenging asana, I like to tell people to flip into their six, seven or eight year old self before, before tackling it. Because that mindset shift that you alluded to, like, I mean, it helps it, it helps them be a little more playful, a little more willing to tackle something new. For sure.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:02] Speaker C: It's a good strategy, isn't it?
[00:25:03] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. In the final chapter of your book, Pete, you include a quote from the author and spiritual teacher Gary Zhukov, which states, the more aware of your intentions and your experiences you become, the more you will be able to connect the two and the more you will be able to create the experiences of your life consciously. This is the development of mastery.
It is the creation of authentic power. How can listeners apply this quote to living more authentic lives?
[00:25:37] Speaker C: I have teenagers coming to my private counseling practice and they're flunking school, getting in trouble, problems with teachers and parents, so, you know, gain a relationship. And then I say, okay, what this next semester, what are your intentions? Meaning, what are you going to do? Well, I'm going to get good grades. I'm going to 10, I'm going to stay out of Trouble. I'm like, okay, because whatever your intentions are and you have control over them, they'll come true. And we do this fun little exercise. A couple weeks later, I'll say, okay, you're going to school. You're getting good grades, staying out of trouble. No, no, I'm not. But. But no, those are really my intentions. Like, no, whatever your intentions are, they'll come true. And your intentions are to have fun and say screw you.
And their eyes just pop open because they know we reached a deeper point where whatever your intentions are come true. So same thing with adults. Look at your outside world, and if you have intention to whatever, write the next great American novel. Are you at your computer screen? Are you collecting notes? Are you joining a writer's group? Is it really your intention or is it a dream, a wish, which is different than intention?
[00:26:43] Speaker B: Next on Padmasana, we learn Pete's favorite quote from the book.
Pete expands on the master and servant aspects of the mind.
Yoda teaches us about fear, anger, and hate. And Pete shares what role he thinks mindfulness and spirituality will play in our future.
Part three, how dominant thoughts shape our reality and life outcomes.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: All right, Pete, do you have a personal favorite chapter or quote from your book Thoughts the power of your mind?
[00:27:17] Speaker C: You know, I actually do because this one really made me look at my life, and I got a lot of growth from this and then writing about it. And it's chapter 11, the K chapter by Sren Kierkegaard.
And he said, quote, our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.
I was like, okay, I've never heard it stated like, dominant thoughts because, you know, I practice meditation and I practice mindfulness, and, you know, I'm aware of my thoughts. Like, there's a crazy driver, or I wish my wife had done X or, you know, random thoughts, but dominant thoughts. And that's what's expressing in my life.
So I started trying to write on my dominant thoughts, and I couldn't get at it. But I looked at my list and said, okay, again, look at your outside world. Like, one of my dominant thoughts is I am love.
So I looked at my outside world and I'm like, is that dominant? Because it's going to express itself.
I'm like, it's not fully dominant because person X and person Y and person Z, I am not fully loving.
So now I'm working on loving all. And so it will be more of a dominant thought. So that's what's going to express in my life.
And again, Brendan, that's empowering. Yes, it's an intention, like, you know, the previous question you had. So again, look at your life because your thoughts create your reality. And if you want to change something outside world, it's created from your inside world, your thoughts, and then start incrementally changing that thought and then your world.
[00:29:00] Speaker B: Will change like that.
So in the book you mentioned that.
[00:29:05] Speaker A: The mind is a wonderful servant, but a dangerous master if left unexamined.
[00:29:14] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:29:15] Speaker A: Would you care to expand on this?
[00:29:18] Speaker C: Yeah, well, wonderful servant, you know, I want to write a book and so I'm going to focus my thoughts on, you know, philosophers and people way smarter than I am and kind of put it all together. And as a servant, it helped me create this book.
I wanted to become a therapist. Well, I trained my mind to study and, you know, pass the exams and get past my first client in that small room with a two way mirror. And it was a wonderful servant to get me where I am now.
But, oh, it can be a terrible master.
And Michael Singer refers to our mind as like, we have a bad roommate.
And that roommate's just, why didn't you do it? And you didn't do that good enough and you should have done this. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and a lot of people live with that bad roommate, that terrible master. So again, it's us.
And so we gotta see that bad roommate and let go him or her and then start retraining our mind to be a better servant to us. Because I want to be happy and healthy and help other people be happy and healthy.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: I wonder if the wonderful servant maybe lives more in the present moment now and that master, that dangerous master, maybe is a little too preoccupied with the past and the future. Would you care to respond?
[00:30:45] Speaker C: Oh, I absolutely love that. Yes. Because if we go to the past, that terrible master is going to make us anxious. And if we go to the past, it's going to be depressed. If we go to the future, it's anxiety. And you know, that's, that's unhealthy. But we can handle the present. And like, okay, Pete, what should I do here? Got my mind as a servant to figure out problem solving and communication. So that's a great insight of how to kind of work with that.
[00:31:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So again, I'm going to circle back to my favorite fictional character, Yoda. And there's another Yoda quote that, you know, has been with me throughout my life. But I find it coming to my mind more and more often these days and both as a personal reminder and to help me process What I see playing out in modern times, the quote goes, fear is the path to the dark side.
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering. What are your thoughts on this nugget of wisdom from Yoda in terms of its application either to your own life, your approach to therapy, or society at large?
[00:31:59] Speaker C: Yeah, I also love that quote. And remember, our thoughts create our reality.
And there are things that led up to the end result of suffering, our thoughts. So in counseling, I help people work with that by the four letters, F, E, A, R could stand for future event appearing real.
And that's what you talked about before. That bad roommate is living in the past or the future. So we make stuff up, Brandon, about the future.
And the darndest thing is it's usually got a negative twist to it.
Me, too. Why?
Well, that's the ego. And so if we say to ourselves, okay, I'm making up that thought about the future because I don't know the future.
And I'm going to come back to the present based on what you said about going to make my mind a better servant. I'm going to depower that fear and try to create a better life circumstance now, which then, you know, everything's a ripple effect. And that ripple effect will go more towards, say, a loving outcome than which is light than a dark, fearful outcome.
[00:33:10] Speaker A: So how has your own spirituality informed your work as a therapist?
[00:33:17] Speaker C: Oh, my.
Well, that's multifaceted because, you know, my belief system, I can't put on clients, of course. So.
And what I found is, Brendan, truth is truth.
So, you know, Jesus said, as you so shall, so shall ye reap. Oh, Buddha's talk about karma, it's the same thing.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:33:41] Speaker C: You know, Jesus said, your life is done unto you as you believe. Well, Buddha said, you know, your thought's going to create the happiness of the sorrow. So they're all saying the same thing. I'm like, oh, that helps me because I know the Western world really well. But the Easter rolls, saying it just a hair different and that little bit of difference has helped me, which then can help other people in my office. And I don't say to them, that's a Buddhist thought. Or Gandhi said this, you know, I just share, hey, this truth has helped me.
Play it out in your life and see how it helps you. So I feel it's more 360 now compared to more like 180, just the West.
And they're basically all saying the same thing.
[00:34:21] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: I really like that.
[00:34:23] Speaker A: And using your 360 degrees or 180 analogies. You know, there's some sayings or writings out there essentially talking about that there's multiple donkeys to take you to the same summit.
[00:34:34] Speaker C: There you go.
[00:34:35] Speaker A: The view at the top is the same. So, yeah, whatever donkey you want to get on, whatever trail works for you, if you're getting to the summit, that's where we're going. That's where we'll be. And taking the view together. Yeah, yeah, like that.
[00:34:47] Speaker C: I like that.
[00:34:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:49] Speaker A: So what role do you see mindfulness and spirituality playing in humanity's future?
[00:34:58] Speaker C: Oh, that's a great question.
Luckily, it's catching fire.
You know, the 360, the 180, the eastern side, that's been a common practice. It's coming to the west, and it's being used a hair different. They're maybe significantly different than the east, but that's okay. Like the medical. The health world is saying, okay, be mindful of what your body's saying to you. Be mindful how many steps. Be mindful of what you eat.
I mean, it's brilliant compared to just doing what you've been doing. But that got you to where you're at, which is unhealthy. So being mindful. Being mindful of your thoughts when you're driving.
So the Westerners now are aware of. Aware of the word in the practice. I mean, we're probably in elementary school of where we are in the practice, but that's okay because we'll get to middle school and we'll get to high school, and then all of that is leading to being more awake to our thoughts. And guess what the term the Buddha means. The Awakened One.
[00:36:03] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:36:03] Speaker C: Give us awake to his thoughts.
[00:36:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:06] Speaker C: He had unhealthy thoughts.
He just said, oh, hello, you illusion. I'm gonna let go of you and then choose a healthier thoughts. Because I love this Buddhist saying, thoughts are not the problem because it's the nature of mind to come up with thoughts. Identifying and acting to thoughts is the problem. So we all have negative, egotistical, dark thoughts. Yes, but thoughts are not me. Just this thought. Don't know where it came from. I'm gonna let go of it. I'm gonna create a healthier thought.
[00:36:34] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:36:35] Speaker C: Because I was being mindful of what's going on in me and what's happening to me at every successive moment.
[00:36:43] Speaker A: Love that. Well, this has been great, Pete. I really appreciate you being on Padmasana. And is there anything else you'd like to say to anyone who may be listening.
[00:36:53] Speaker C: Oh, well, Brennan number one, thank you. Because I appreciate you bringing these thoughts and thoughts, the power of your mind, to the public. And I just think it's going to be beneficial to everybody. And really, we do need to do our work to bring more light to the world because we could all see a lot of dark. And you can complain about the dark, but I have found the best thing to do is be more of a light.
And that's what this book can help you with and many other strategies. But be the light, everybody, and then that will depower the dark.
[00:37:25] Speaker A: Yes. Love that. That's a great place to end. So, yeah.
[00:37:27] Speaker B: Thanks again, Pete.
[00:37:29] Speaker C: You bet.
[00:37:30] Speaker B: Hey, listeners, what did you think of this episode? Let us know by emailing
[email protected] or connect with us on social media. We're on Mastodon, Blue Sky, Instagram and Threads. Padmasana members can also join group discussions in the show's Discord community and dive deeper with me and other listeners. Thanks for listening.
Catch you next time on Padmasana.
