Podcasts about then alan

In this episode, hosts Alan Sanders and Walt Murray sit down with Jeff Leiboff, one of the hosts of the Radio Labyrinth podcast. They start all the way back to 4th grade, when Jeff and Tim Andrews first became friends. As they got ready for college, Jeff was moving toward a journalism degree. He had taken a few early "graphics" classes in high school, but nothing was computerized at that point. Once in college, Jeff got involved with the campus newspaper and other publications. Within a few years, he found himself gravitating more toward layout and design. An opportunity opened and he spent two years living on a Caribbean island. He enjoyed it, but after a few hurricanes and living hand to mouth, he returned to the states, moving to Atlanta. As his graphic design career continued to grow, Jeff discovered the world of podcasting. Being forced to commute an hour each way to his job, he got hooked on listening to shows on-demand. Jeff tried for years to convince Tim to do a podcast. Finally in December of 2015, the first episode of Radio Labyrinth was released. With the interview winding down, Jeff Leiboff sticks around to help with the rest of the show. Walt first dives into yet another terrible movie review. Then Alan and Walt do their news segment and close with an entertainment recap. WATCHING Walt gave WWII in Color documentary on Netflix a solid endorsement. He is suggested The Naked Gun and The Outlaw Josey Wales, both available on Netflix. Jeff highly recommends Alone on the History channel. He also just started Clarkson's Farm with Jeremy Clarkson. Finally, he liked the most recent episode of WWE Most Wanted on A&E about Andre the Giant. Alan got his visiting father-in-law to watch The Fellowship of the Ring. They also watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. READING Jeff highly recommends the book, "Project Hail Mary," by Andy Weir. Jeff also loved the audiobook version of the story! Alan is reading, "The Fifty-Year Mission: The First 25 Years." LISTENING Walt continues to dive into the podcasts, Gangster House, Camp Hell: Anneewakee and Comedy Bang Bang. Jeff really liked the debut of Patton Oswald's podcast called, Did You Get My Text? Of course he likes Radio Labyrinth, The Office Ladies, Fake Doctors Real Friends and The Office Deep Dive. Alan does a shoutout for The Marriage Fit Podcast, Radio Labyrinth and 60MW Podcast. Make sure you have subscribed to The Wilder Ride on your pod-catcher of choice so you will not miss a single episode! If you have not already done so, please come join our Listener's Group on Facebook. Just visit our public page and click on the button to join the group. You can learn more about us by visiting our About Us page. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Trip reports a-hoy as Sean returns from his first visit to Pigeon Forge and Dollywood. Then Alan discusses his mega Nevada trip including leaking bathroom light fixtures, resort fees, Freemont Street, fainting in a Chi-Fil-A, and the incredible Omega Mart in Area 15! Plus Alex listens in and Joe grabs a spot of tea.

In this episode, hosts Alan Sanders and Walt Murray spend time with Micha Muzio, an auto enthusiast, videographer and star of his own YouTube channel. Micah actually started his video work when joining Kelley Blue Book. He also wanted to learn how to fly helicopters and making the career shift afforded him that option. As he become more of a personality in his videos for Kelley Blue Book, he was also becoming a proficient pilot. When the pandemic hit, Micah found himself in a unique position to get footage of abandoned streetscapes and landmarks. Posting those videos made his YouTube channel explode. He still loves shooting video and hopes to continue to keep it within the family. He plans to keep making aerial videos and post them online for his followers to see. After the interview, Walt dives into another review of a listener selected "bad" movie. This one may have made Walt hit rock-bottom! Then Alan and Walt exchange some crazy news stories from the week. Then they wrap up the show with their entertainment segments, diving into what they are watching, reading and listening to. WATCHING Walt went to see Godzilla v. Kong and thought the fight scenes were good. He found himself entertained. He also recommends WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Alan has been watching a couple of specific YouTube channels. He recommends The Daily Doug and The Charismatic Voice. He has also been watching season 2 of ST: TOS, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and mentioned the release of the Loki trailer. READING Walt is still reading, "Running with the Devil." In preparation for his other podcast, The Marriage Fit Podcast, Alan discussed the questionnaire entitled, "36 Questions that Lead to Love." LISTENING Walt did a pitch for Ben Cramer's latest release from his band, Old Sea Brigade. He is also listening to the podcast ABCD:TOS and Office Space Minute. Alan gave a plug for the History of the Marine Corps podcast. He has also continued listening to the band Nightwish and has been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden.

In this episode, Alan and Walt sit down with former Alabama football player, Navy Seal, Actor, body guard and now businessman, Mike White. The conversation opens with a discussion of how Mike was recruited to play for the University of Alabama. During college, he never thought about a career in the military. He admits the irony in being an English major in school, more interested in Chaucer than anything more concrete. But, Mike believes in effective communication and a robust vocabulary. A chance look at a magazine is what sent him to the US Navy, where he became a Navy Seal. Some time is spent discussing the intense training and teamwork to make the Seal team. After serving his time, Mike White started to get into acting. His physical size and abilities got him roles on several television shows and films. After four years, he had the chance to perform security for Bill and Melinda Gates. After that, he became head of security for Bruce Springsteen for a year. Mike recounts one particular story about how the "Boss" nearly got pulled out of a van on the way to the airport. We end the interview segment with where Mike White is today. He believes each and every move in his path led him to the job he has today. After the interview, Walt reviews the horrible movie selected by our listeners. Then Alan and Walt each share a couple of crazy news items. The two wrap-up with the entertainment segment. WATCHING Alan is working his way through season one of ST:TOS (remastered) and commented about how good, "The Balance of Terror," was so far. Alan and his wife are also onto season 4 of The Good Place. Walt was turned on to a pair of documentaries he recommends. The first is, Murder Among the Mormons. The other is called, The Ripper. READING Alan has been buried in the news with all the additional radio work he was doing. Walt is about a third of the way through the book, "Running with the Devil," by Noel E. Monk. LISTENING Alan highly recommends episode 344 of the 60MW Podcast entitled, "Re-looking at Music Videos Part 2 (remastered)" with visual conceptualist Keith Williams as the guest. Walt is listening to Gangster House, talking about how an FBI top 10 most wanted was taking up residence in his neighborhood when he was a kid. The other is The Dirty Harry Minute. Walt was part of a live, real-time discussion about the film Sudden Impact. The audio of that session was just published.

Sick of lockdown and not being able to see your friends and family? Think that maybe it's time to get back to normal? So did we. Then Alan contracted Covid. Find out what's happened.Connect with us here: https://bit.ly/mmmcovid

Many chronic pain sufferers struggle with negative thoughts like self-criticism, pressure, and fear. Not surprisingly, this type of thinking makes our pain worse. In this episode, Alan and Alon explore where these thought patterns come from and how you can change them. Alan talks to Lindsey, a chronic pain sufferer who constantly beats herself up and puts pressure on herself. Alan gives her the key ingredient to change these thought patterns and reduce her symptoms. Then Alan and Alon provide a set of concrete steps so that you can change your own negative thoughts to help break the pain cycle.

Living with chronic pain means living with chronic worry. But it's actually this fear, frustration, and despair around the pain that keeps your pain signals activated. Even once you know how destructive these thought patterns are, it’s so hard to keep your mind from going there. In this episode, Alan and Alon explain why your brain keeps pulling you to pain, and how you can break this habit. Alan talks to Chris, a chronic pain sufferer with so much fear and frustration around his pain, he can think of little else. Alan teaches him a new technique to calm these thoughts, cutting off the fuel source for his pain. Then Alan and Alon describe how you can use this same technique to overcome your own pain.

Adam and Mark welcome attorney and retired academic Alan Dershowitz to this week's episode of Reasonable Doubt. Adam and Mark open this show talking to Alan about his time testifying in defense of President Trump during the impeachment hearings. Then Alan talks about false allegations against him and being sued by attorney David Boies. Later the gang discusses Alan's time representing Jeffrey Epstein and what he knows about Ghislaine Maxwell. Before his departure, Alan makes the case for being a Liberal without being on the Left. Before they wrap up the show, Adam and Mark talk about what an exceptional intellectual Alan is and why he's a good model for what a lawyer should be. Please Support Our Sponsors: TommyJohn.com/Adam Upstart.com/Doubt SueTheCollector.com MadisonReedMr.com use code Adam

Dr. Randy Houska is an interesting guy. He's a dentist in Vermillion, South Dakota which is home to the University of South Dakota. Alan and Randy discuss the pros and cons of being a dentist in a university town. Then Alan brings up a problem he's having with a particular earworm. Somehow, he can't get "You Got Lucky" by Tom Petty out of his head. Then they talked about AC/DC and team building events.  Even though Randy is a self-professed "regular-ass" dentist he has an amazing Twitter following that you should definitely check out!  Our friends at Microcopy Dental have been making Damn Good Burs for more than 50 years! You need to give their single patient use burs a try! You need to request a free sample of their damn good NeoDiamond 1116.8C. It's a work horse round end taper coarse bur for crown preps and operative. It's a terrific bur by any standard, but the fact that it's single patient use means there's no risk of cross contamination and you always get a great cutting, brand-new-out-of-the-package bur. Go check it out at dentalhacks.com/damngoodburs! Let Microcopy's experience change the way you see dentistry with their damn good burs! 

On this episode of Stories of Hope in Hard Times, Tamara K. Anderson interviews Alan Gulledge. After a life-altering accident, Alan learned to set powerful goals, face his fears, and move forward with faith. He now helps others learn reach their physical goals as a coach.Alan Gulledge – Setting Goals, Facing Fears and Recovering with FaithBioAlan Gulledge has lived in Virginia, California, Honduras, and Utah. He was a Division 1 collegiate track and field athlete in the pole vault who was fortunate enough to win conference championships, competed in the NCAA finals and appeared in the top 50 in the pole vault for world rankings in the 2000 Olympic year. Once he retired from pole vaulting he began to explore the world of triathlon/endurance sports and has been hooked ever since—having competed in over 200 competitive endurance events.Alan qualified for the Boston Marathon and became and All-World Ironman tri-athlete (top 5% division worldwide). After receiving his undergrad in Psychology and getting his MBA had a 13 year career in corporate sales. About 8 years ago he left the sales world to pursue his passion of working in the world of health and fitness. He is the owner and operator of TriFit Evolution a small strength, endurance coaching and personal training business located in Arlington, Virginia. His goal is to help others achieve their fitness goals. He married his sweetheart, Laura Dawn two and a half years ago and they have been blessed with a beautiful son.Loving the ProcessPole VaultingAlan says he could never sit still as a kid. He was always wanting to be running outside. Alan became a pole vaulter in high school, but he actually joined the track team after moving to Utah in order to make friends. At first, he was the worst one on the entire team at the pole vault. Alan was very competitive and started practicing more and more. He would drag his twin brother to the track on Saturday mornings to help him get better. Alan says even though he wasn’t a gifted athlete, he believes that applying yourself and working hard is what it takes to become better.In college, Alan loved training for pole vaulting. Most of the time, he was running, working in the weight room, working on technique, plyometrics, running stadiums, and working on aerial and body awareness. Alan truly loved that process. He retired from pole vaulting in his mid twenties.TriathlonsAlan moved to California and that’s where his friends introduced him to the triathlon. Again, he was not very good in the beginning. He could barely swim across a 25 meter pool doing a unique combination of many swimming strokes. He was familiar with challenging athletic goals, as he had tried to qualify for the Olympics in the pole vault the year before. Alan thought pole vaulting was difficult and that a triathlon wouldn’t be as challenging since it was just running, riding a bike, and swimming.He was wrong. Alan did not do well in his first race. In triathlons, they put you in a division based on age, so your age is written on your leg for the race. He remembers women in their 50’s just flying past him on their bikes, and he was this 26-year old collegiate athlete. That was very eye opening for him and made him want to work even harder to excel. He thinks that is a good life lesson to learn: even if you aren’t a natural or something, you just work on the process and become something that you never imagined you’d become.The AccidentIn September of 2015, Alan was two weeks away from running an Iron Man. An Iron Man involves swimming 2.4 miles, riding a bike for 112 miles, and then running a full marathon, 26.2 miles. This was not Alan’s first Iron Man and he was excited. He was poised to do well as an amateur in his division. On that fateful day, Alan decided to go out for an easy training ride of about an hour. He was riding across a bridge on a bike path alongside a major highway. There had been a car accident and another cyclist was distracted by the accident and crossed over into Alan’s lane and ran into Alan head on.The force of the impact went down his spine and caused compression fractures in three of his vertebrae. He also broke a rib and his left knee and hand were severely damaged. Alan was in the hospital for four days, rehab for four months, required knee surgery, and then had four more months of rehab after the surgery . The whole healing process took him out of training for a year and a half.SetbacksJust before the accident he had started his own personal fitness company. His livelihood depended on his ability to work with clients and he was no longer able to do so. Alan faced major setbacks both professionally and athletically, but says that amazing doctors and other medical professionals, as well as wonderful people in his community rallied around him to help him get through it. The road to recovery was very long but Alan says he is stronger and faster now than he was before, a miracle in his life.Lesson One: Patience & GratitudeAlan says one of the biggest lessons he learned during that long period of recovery was being patient. Life can be very fast-paced and everyone has their own agenda and things to do. The timeframe of life (especially back east) is now and yesterday.Alan says his recovery taught him to slow down and work through the process. He learned to appreciate the things he had taken for granted. Alan prayed for patience and faith and doing so helped him to have a different perspective. He often thought about how he, as a competitive athlete, was worrying about getting a faster marathon time or a higher bike power or a smoother swim stroke but during that time it was a blessing just to be able to move without pain.This experience helped Alan think about those who experience chronic pain and those who can’t walk at all. He remembers running and wondering if he would ever be able to run without pain again. His doctor took some x-rays and told him that he was extremely lucky. If his head had moved at all when the accident happened, he would more than likely be in a wheelchair or worse. Even now, while he trains other athletes, he looks back on a regular basis and reminds himself to be grateful for all that he can do.Lesson Two: Service & HumilityAlan says another thing that he was extremely grateful for was the support of others. When tragedy strikes, having people that come to your aid can seem like a silver lining. He had people reaching out to him that he hadn’t seen in almost 30 years.Learning HumilityAlan took time to say a prayer of gratitude for all the wonderful people who were so helpful in his time of need. The service of others taught Alan another important lesson: humility. Alan considers himself to be fiercely independent. He doesn’t like to ask for help, but prefers to do things on his own. While he believes it’s important to be self-reliant, experiences like his require us to humble ourselves.Alan says he had to work on humbling himself and allow others to do things that he would normally do on his own. With his injury, he had to lay on his back for an extended period of time, and he was bedridden for weeks. He found himself, an athlete, requiring help to get out of bed, take a shower, even go to the bathroom. He had friends who would sleep on the floor in his apartment in order to be able to help him in the middle of the night when his pain medication wore off and he couldn’t move.Allowing ServiceAlan thinks that many times we aren’t willing to ask for help as often as we truly need it. We often talk about the virtues of service and how we strive to be Christlike and loving towards others. But in order to do so, we also have to provide others with the opportunity to serve. If we don’t ask for help, we are withholding precious opportunities for service. Alan realized he could give others those opportunities by saying, “yes, please bring me meals or just come sit with me while I watch Netflix,” one of the only things he could do at the time. Sitting with him was something Alan considered a service.We often don’t think that we are helping others by allowing them to serve us. We view it as being a burden. But Alan experienced a shift in perspective and learned that he was truly allowing someone else the opportunity to learn and serve. Alan has learned that life is about both giving and taking. Finding the balance between the two is crucial. Alan believes that if we don’t allow others into our lives to help us, we become prideful. All too often we see accepting help as a sign of weakness. Alan believes this can be corrosive to our spirits.Lesson Three: There’s Not Always a WhyDespite the extremely difficult challenge Alan faced, he doesn’t remember asking God why he had to go through this. Alan thinks sometimes we try to hard to attribute meaning to things that happen to us. While he remembers trying to find meaning in his accident, he also says that we don’t necessarily have to have a reason for everything.We tend to think that the trials we go through are going to be a blessing, but that’s not what people want to hear in the moment. Hindsight is 20/20, and Alan is grateful that he went through what he did and he sees the blessings that came from it. But he also says he’d be fine if it had never happened. “We often try to look for meaning but sometimes terrible things happen, whether it’s trauma, illness, or someone passing away too soon.”A Painful ExampleAlan had some friends from high school who were coming back from a camping trip they had taken together. The driver of the car fell asleep at the wheel and the car rolled. Three of his friends died. All of them had given a few years of their lives for church service. They had their whole lives ahead of them.When Alan attended the funeral, he thought that the church leader, Jeffrey R. Holland, who spoke would give a talk about there being a reason and to have faith and that this was God’s will. That was not the topic of his message. Mr. Holland said that sometimes we don’t know why things happen and that it’s ok to question and not have the answer. Terrible things happen and that’s simply part of living in an imperfect world with imperfect people.Build Back StrongerEven if we don’t know the reason why, Alan believes that when we go through a process, whether it be grief, physical rehabilitation, emotional rehabilitation, or something similar, we come back stronger. If we do the physical, spiritual, or emotional work, Alan says it’s like strengthening a limb or a joint. We have to take it one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, and keep our focus and perspective and be grateful for what we do have.Lesson Four: Let Go of FearThrough his experience, Alan has learned how to approach those he coaches now with more patience and understanding. Running with a limp and constantly in pain was yet another humbling experience, and he channeled that into his coaching. Alan coaches many people who are coming back after an injury. He understands what it is like to be afraid of pain if you perform a certain movement.When he was in rehab after his accident, his physical therapist had to teach him to trust his injured knee again. He had developed a protective stride because he was afraid of the pain he might experience in his leg. He likens this to real life when we are afraid to move forward with something because we are afraid it may hurt us in the end.Obviously we want to heal, but we also have to unlearn that fear. We have to consciously make a decision that we aren’t going to let the pain of failure, pain, trial, or tribulation, get in the way of our progress. Instead, we have to find something else to focus on.Lesson Five: Focus on Your GoalsAs a coach, one of the first things Alan asks his clients is to tell him about their goals. Then Alan is able to help them break down the big goal into an achievable process. Breaking a goal down into bite-sized, manageable chunks is an important part in setting the course. Then their whole training cycle is process oriented. Alan then reminds them of their big goal on a regular basis. He believes that having that focus is crucial, especially when coming back from a challenge or injury.Keys to Setting Appropriate GoalsBut how do we set appropriate goals? Alan says there are three keys.Set a specific, time bound goal. (Example: I will lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising 40 minutes three times per week).Have a process written down or recorded in some way that you are going to follow.Have someone who you are accountable to. Of course you are accountable to yourself. Alan’s clients are also accountable to him as their coach. Alan also thinks it’s important to have someone else, like a spouse, friend, partner, coworker, or family member to be accountable to. He explains that those who stick to these three keys are the ones who are successful.Alan also believes in involving God in your goals. He often finds himself preparing for an event and kneeling down to say, “Lord, I have done my part. I did this training and I need you to help fill in the gaps. Help me to be focused on whatever else it is that I need.” While Alan knows that coming first or last doesn’t make a difference in God’s eyes, he also knows that races matter to him, and because racing is important to him, it’s important to God. The greatest accountability we have is to God.Favorite Bible VerseAlan’s favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord in all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Even if things don’t go our way and we aren’t delivered from our trials, we still need to remember and worship God. Our trials can be used as stumbling blocks or stepping stones, we just have to choose which one.Lesson Six: The 40% RuleRecent studies have indicated that your mind gives up before your body does when you are pushing yourself physically. There is a phenomenon called the 40% rule. When you think you have reached your physical limit, you have actually only given 40%. You have another 60% effort left to give.Alan says this is a good reminder to have a little tough love for ourselves. We need to push ourselves a little harder each day in order to reach the goals we have set. It is important to remember not to push yourself to the point of injury, but Alan says it is good to make yourself hurt, in a good way.Getting outside of your comfort zone can be helpful physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Alan says that during his rehabilitation, pushing his limits made him more present. He had to check in with himself. Was he hurting or just uncomfortable? On the other hand, Alan also says it’s important to practice self care in the form of getting enough rest, taking time out of your day to meditate or pray, and do something that helps to calm your mind. It’s all about balance.ResourcesAlan takes a holistic approach to combating life’s difficulties. He believes that the soul is the body and spirit combined, so we have to nurture both.Scripture Study: In trying times, the first and foremost resource he would recommend is any type of scripture.Get Inspired: Alan also recommends listening to inspirational talks or podcasts.Exercise/Stress Relief: From a physical standpoint, Alan says that exercise is a great stress reducer and also influences our behavior and mental health in a positive way. Physical activity can be a great preventative treatment for stress. Take the time to take a walk, go for a jog, ride your bike, take a hike.Diet: Watching what we eat is another facet of physical health that can improve our wellbeing.Alan also recommends the book, “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. What Alan took away from the book was that it’s important to look at yourself every day and ask, “Am I the person that I want to be?” (Please note that David is a former marine and uses some harsh language in the book).Contact InformationAlan has a personal Facebook page, as well as a Facebook and Instagram page for his business, TriFit Evolution. You can also reach out to him via his website, trifitevolution.com. 

 Kerri Kasem returns to the show this week and dances around the reasons for her absence. Should be compelling radio! Then Alan and Kerri welcome ballerina Rikke Liska to Gurvey's Law to talk about how she balances her performances with the Canyon Concert Ballet Company and her law practice. Also, joining Alan and Kerri in studio is one of the “Fifty Female Founders in Legaltech”, Dorna Moini, the CEO of Documate, a document automation software that promises to cut down on 90% of drafting time for attorneys. Gurvey's Law airs on Sundays at 5 p.m. on KABC-AM 790 TalkRadio and kabc.com! #ballet #legal #tech #automation #attorney #talkradio #interview

Alan M. has been a poly activist for 13 years. He is best known for his website Polyamory in the News. On this episode, we discuss how Alan has seen Poly change over the years in terms of community, acceptance, and portrayal in the media. Then Alan shares predictors of the most successful poly relationships and tips for being a powerful Poly spokesperson. We also discuss the possibility of poly marriage as it relates to ceremony and legal acceptance.

Alan M. has been a poly activist for 13 years. He is best known for his website Polyamory in the News. On this episode, we discuss how Alan has seen Poly change over the years in terms of community, acceptance, and portrayal in the media. Then Alan shares predictors of the most successful poly relationships and tips for being a powerful Poly spokesperson. We also discuss the possibility of poly marriage as it relates to ceremony and legal acceptance.

Alan Howarth returns for part 2 of our 40th Anniversary celebration of the Halloween film series. Alan and Blake continue their conversation about Alan and John Carpenter's collaborative relationship, with a discussion about the score for Big Trouble in Little China and the Coupe de Ville's recording sessions. Then Alan dives deep into the creation of his scores for Halloween 4: The Return of Michale Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

We start today with a question from John wants more info on Herbalife after it popped up last week. Then Alan asks Frank what his opinion is on brokerage accounts that allow you to trade international stocks and set up watch lists.  Jay wants to know more about Under Amour and Peter wants to know about Facebook.  And Bill sends Frank a great email explaining how he’s doing his own due diligence. Last question today is from Ryan who wants to know more about virtual reality. Is it for real? Plus, Franks brand new website is live at     to learn more about it, and don’t forget send in your questions

We start today with a comment from John today asking how he can get onto Frank’s email list.  It’s easy, just go to and sign up. James wants to know if Frank thinks this oil rally is for real. Frank did a lot of research, call a lot of of his friends in the oil business and gives you his take today.  Chester wants to know that what he thinks about the system of  “trend following” is the only system that can work and he follows up with a comment about Doug Casey and a few other questions about Frank’s education. Then Alan asks about Mylan and did he miss the bus and Harry asks about McDonalds. Plus, Franks brand new website is live at and his new newsletter Disrupters and Dominators has launched.   to learn more about it, and don’t forget send in your questions

Alan started the teaching this evening by posing the question why we should venture into these practices of apprehending the clear light of deep sleep at all, when he repeats all the time that this is meant for people who have achieved shamatha and vipashyana. According to one advice he has received, one should spend around 75-80% of the day’s practice on something one is familiar with, that corresponds to the actual state of maturation one has reached, and from which results an observable effect in our daily life. But about 25% of the practice should be spent on what we are not quite ripe for at the moment, but which gives us a vision of where we are aiming to go. Then Alan emphasizes the importance of taking our body seriously, to give it a chance to calm down, to heal in our practice. This is often overlooked in all schools of Buddhism, while the Buddha himself found it important to first get his body back into balance again before he was determined to totally go for enlightenment. And to achieve this healing of our body he again recommends Mindfulness of Breathing, with having a special eye on the phase where the breaths become short, they can be either deep or shallow during that time, since this is the phase that is most soothing for the energies and for the body. During this phase we should be releasing deeply into our breath. After the silent meditation we went on with Padmasambhava’s Natural Liberation. During one meditation session of apprehending the clear light one should focus the awareness again at the heart, and without losing the sense of indivisibility of luminosity and emptiness just slip into deep dreamless sleep, and the clear light will be apprehended. For those who find this just too simple and who want to go for something more elaborate, he then recommends another meditation session where one apprehends the phases of dissolution of the elements, starting with earth dissolving into water etc. This same process happens during the dying process, so again this practice provides the ideal preparation for dying lucidly. Alan then draws a parallel of the end of this dissolution process, where air dissolves into the conditioned consciousness, and then the conditioned consciousness dissolves into the clear light, with the last phases of Settling the Mind, called absence of mindfulness and self-illuminating mindfulness. Questions: Q1: How does a dream arise out of rigpa? Silent meditation cut out at 27:52 min

In today’s teaching we focused on the preliminary practices (Ngondro). If we do Mandala Offerings etc. with blind faith and without any understanding of their meaning, and instead just engage in an empty ritual, such action is meaningless according to Shantideva. 100 000 * 0 stills equals 0. But if there is really faith and understanding behind our practice, there will be signs of purification sooner or later. Then Alan quotes several Mahayana Sutras that emphasize the importance of meditative equipoise, shamatha, as a foundation for all higher realizations. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have an insight into emptiness or an experience of rigpa, but you just will not be able to sustain it. After the meditation Alan quotes from Dudjom Rinpoche that according to some the main practices are most important, but to him the preliminary practices are most important, and Alan stresses that this is really shamatha, bodhicitta and vipashyana. If you focus on these practices, you can lead a life without regret. Meditation starts at 22:11 min

Alan started the teaching this evening by posing the question why we should venture into these practices of apprehending the clear light of deep sleep at all, when he repeats all the time that this is meant for people who have achieved shamatha and vipashyana. According to one advice he has received, one should spend around 75-80% of the day’s practice on something one is familiar with, that corresponds to the actual state of maturation one has reached, and from which results an observable effect in our daily life. But about 25% of the practice should be spent on what we are not quite ripe for at the moment, but which gives us a vision of where we are aiming to go. Then Alan emphasizes the importance of taking our body seriously, to give it a chance to calm down, to heal in our practice. This is often overlooked in all schools of Buddhism, while the Buddha himself found it important to first get his body back into balance again before he was determined to totally go for enlightenment. And to achieve this healing of our body he again recommends Mindfulness of Breathing, with having a special eye on the phase where the breaths become short, they can be either deep or shallow during that time, since this is the phase that is most soothing for the energies and for the body. During this phase we should be releasing deeply into our breath. After the silent meditation we went on with Padmasambhava’s Natural Liberation. During one meditation session of apprehending the clear light one should focus the awareness again at the heart, and without losing the sense of indivisibility of luminosity and emptiness just slip into deep dreamless sleep, and the clear light will be apprehended. For those who find this just too simple and who want to go for something more elaborate, he then recommends another meditation session where one apprehends the phases of dissolution of the elements, starting with earth dissolving into water etc. This same process happens during the dying process, so again this practice provides the ideal preparation for dying lucidly. Alan then draws a parallel of the end of this dissolution process, where air dissolves into the conditioned consciousness, and then the conditioned consciousness dissolves into the clear light, with the last phases of Settling the Mind, called absence of mindfulness and self-illuminating mindfulness. Questions: Q1: How does a dream arise out of rigpa? Silent meditation cut out at 27:52 min

In today’s teaching we focused on the preliminary practices (Ngondro). If we do Mandala Offerings etc. with blind faith and without any understanding of their meaning, and instead just engage in an empty ritual, such action is meaningless according to Shantideva. 100 000 * 0 stills equals 0. But if there is really faith and understanding behind our practice, there will be signs of purification sooner or later. Then Alan quotes several Mahayana Sutras that emphasize the importance of meditative equipoise, shamatha, as a foundation for all higher realizations. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have an insight into emptiness or an experience of rigpa, but you just will not be able to sustain it. After the meditation Alan quotes from Dudjom Rinpoche that according to some the main practices are most important, but to him the preliminary practices are most important, and Alan stresses that this is really shamatha, bodhicitta and vipashyana. If you focus on these practices, you can lead a life without regret. Meditation starts at 22:11 min

In today’s meditation Alan went on with the pointing-out instructions from Natural Liberation. In the teachings Alan discussed the different levels of teacher-student relationship and how we can bring the Indo-Tibetan understanding of it into our modern world. In a way the relationship between teacher and student is completely symmetrical, and that regards the courtesy and respect between both sides. Where it is not symmetrical is on the level of knowledge, the student comes to the teachings to learn, the teacher to be of service, and the relationship is established totally for the sake of the student. In the Indian tradition the teacher is called guru, and that could be translated for us as spiritual mentor, somebody who has a great knowledge and leads us to true insight. The Tibetan understanding of lama is different from that, it is more a spiritual guide, somebody who is leading you along a path, so that you don’t fall into pitfalls or have to take detours or the like. But that means that you need trust in your spiritual guide, that he will actually be able to help you along the path. Then Alan gave some commentary to the pointing-out instructions from today’s meditation, and finally he ended on his rationale why he keeps giving us all these citations from philosophy, science and the like, in order to help us to respond to our non-Buddhist environment when we are asked what we actually do and why we are doing this. Meditation starts at 03:00 min

In today’s meditation Alan went on with the pointing-out instructions from Natural Liberation. In the teachings Alan discussed the different levels of teacher-student relationship and how we can bring the Indo-Tibetan understanding of it into our modern world. In a way the relationship between teacher and student is completely symmetrical, and that regards the courtesy and respect between both sides. Where it is not symmetrical is on the level of knowledge, the student comes to the teachings to learn, the teacher to be of service, and the relationship is established totally for the sake of the student. In the Indian tradition the teacher is called guru, and that could be translated for us as spiritual mentor, somebody who has a great knowledge and leads us to true insight. The Tibetan understanding of lama is different from that, it is more a spiritual guide, somebody who is leading you along a path, so that you don’t fall into pitfalls or have to take detours or the like. But that means that you need trust in your spiritual guide, that he will actually be able to help you along the path. Then Alan gave some commentary to the pointing-out instructions from today’s meditation, and finally he ended on his rationale why he keeps giving us all these citations from philosophy, science and the like, in order to help us to respond to our non-Buddhist environment when we are asked what we actually do and why we are doing this. Meditation starts at 03:00 min

Equanimity is understood as a sense of composure in engaging with life situations and persons as well as even heartedness. Is an attitude transformation that gives you freedom. Since you conceptually designate, you can change the designation and there lies the power to be totally present, engaged, without grasping. Fully alive, revolutionary! It’s possible since we never leap outside the space of our minds. We then meditated on Equanimity.Suggested that we read the Patience or Fortitude chapter from Shantideva’s “Way of the Bodhisattva” for the occasions when you are mistreated. Be decent. Sprinkle kindness al around you. Wish well to strangers. That’s totally without attachment. There are no Buddhas without patience!.Then Alan spoke on Dzogchen, the spirit of emergence, subjective experiences, the role of information and Prana.

We started with a silent meditation with free choice on practicing one of the Shamatha practices. Then Alan gave some examples of the path of Shamatha. He joked that commenting on your daily meditation practice as being “bad” or “good” or having “highs and lows” is like the habit of coming home to a spouse and reporting on your day. Alan encouraged us not to measure and evaluate our practice in a hedonic way, but rather to think about what we can bring to our practice in terms of motivation, and to evaluate our performance based on that. He gave the example of a farmer: a farmer doesn’t reap a harvest very quickly; it takes a while to plow the land, sow the seeds, etc. He said that he hopes we will respond to the question, “How is your practice?” by saying that we are doing “GREAT” (GREAT being the acronym for: “Gently but Relentlessly Easing and Arousing Tension”). In Shamatha it is necessary to “tune our instrument.” At times we’ll have to release and tighten the tension. This is the Middle Way.

We started with a silent meditation with free choice on practicing one or more of the Four Immeasurables. Then Alan gave a little bit of advice and encouragement to all the meditators about dealing in a healthy way with all kinds of obstacles that arises on continuous practice. After that there were 5 Q&A. The first one about the practice of the Four Immeasurables, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th about the three methods of shamatha that Alan has been guiding and the last one about controversial teachers and how to deal those issues if we are interested in their teachings. For this last question Alan gave a superb and profound answer that we definitely recommend you to listen.

This afternoon we revisit some of the main points of Immeasurable Loving-Kindness, and also the issue of how to develop one’s practice of all Four Immeasurables in a natural way, both in and out of formal meditation sessions. Then Alan answers some very practical questions relating to transitory meditation experiences, loving-kindness, mindfulness of breathing and settling the mind in its natural state.

Today as the title suggests we combined Compassion and Loving kindness into a practice of Tonglen. Furthermore, we incorporated the four modes of enlightened acvitity, using each one where needed, and in the visualization we let the light or energy sent out with the breath take the form of whatever is actually needed in the situation (not just necessary a generic light of compassion/loving kindness) and tinted it with the respective enlightened acvitity color. Whew!After the mostly silent practice, we went into a diverse Q&A session which got very interesting and set the stage for tomorrow's talk on death, the bardo, and dream yoga.Among the topics for the Q&A are the length of sessions and how to manage it for the greatest benefit, the great question of "Time," specifically the relative qualities of time and how they can and do manifest daily in our Shamatha practice. Of course this also gave Alan the chance to go into the explanation of time in the substrate conciousness, and in the innate mind of clear light. And to top things off, Alan went cosmic for a few minutes into the mainstream science theory of frozen time which arises from quantum cosmology (applying the Schrödinger equation to the entire universe). Then Alan answered a question/analysis about the Dalai Lama's next reincarnation possibilities, and the last 20 minutes of the podcast were the start of an answer about the bardo, which will continue tomorrow.Enjoy (along with this beautiful photo from Sara!)

  NOTE: This was also cross posted in the otakugeneration LJ community. Shownotes :: (show 129) :: (website) :: (podcast feed) :: (direct download) :: (direct iTunes link) With Vinyl Toys, recorded live on November 26th, 2007. This we pulled out a topic we completely forgot about. Long, long ago... twas this week's topic! Our expert of the time didn't come through. Then Alan realized Dan is expert on said topic as well. Anyhow, this week's show is short but we had to record something for your post Thanksgiving weekend nap. Plus a we had last minute announcement and yadda yadda yadda... that I betcha didn't know about! NEWS: Vas built something unique for IE7 and FF 2.0 users... a search option for OGlink (click here) and shortner (also click here) that will let you get to the shortner/oglink redirect pages quicker! Check it out! 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I guess it's time for Dan to draw a new frame? Whatcha think? I agree! But to get started download the 1st frame here... but listen to the show to find out why want to download this file! Dan eventually remembered to the 2nd contest-frame (thanks to Jefferson)... so download it now!HERE! You want to win this prize pack! There's unique OG merch, the eventual book of the contest (listen to the show for details)... give-a-ways... including some signed stuff from past guests. So what are you waiting for? Enter the contest now! Convention Schedule (1.0) by Anne Packrat Convention Schedule @ fansview.com Promos / Break Underground :: by The Details :: (now on music.podshow.com) Gits in Space - GitsGiving :: by Peeper Radio Theatre :: (now on music.podshow.com) Stuck For The Summer :: by Two Hours Traffic :: (now on music.podshow.com) Jefferson's Wierd News (1.0) by Jefferson This week Jefferson brings us some news that interests him... 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So, tell us something about yourself... than we'll give you a nick! This way you can be uniquely identifiable among the other OG listners! If you send us feedback, and you want us to nickname you, email us, at: otaku.generation@gmail.com With somewhere in the subject: NICKNAME ME NOTE: If we've already nicknamed you, you can't be re-nicked... unless you plead... lots! ...and we mean LOTS!!! =D For Podcast promos or MP3 Feedback, email us, at: otaku.generation@gmail.com With the exact subject: MP3 PROMOTION :: (for podcast promos) MP3 FEEDBACK :: (for audio feedback) In the body of the message, put: Your Name Your Podcast Your website Brief copy about your podcast for us to read NOTE: No copyrighted music, or clips! We won't play promos with this kind of content! Unless you own the copyright, and have given us written authorization! Join us next week... for more of something we call a "podcast talky"! Cause we like it that way! A new show every Wednesday, so "podcast-in" with us! Download us, snear at us, but give us a listen... and maybe we won't respect you in the morning... *meh* It's still Novmeber! But will soon be December! So vote for us! [insert something OG-Uber scremo-oOo-mation-nal (if that's even a word) here... alan is always still up on tuesday night, cause it's late ((>.