Talk 13: Balance Striving and Being

Talk 13: Balance Striving and Being

Author: Meditation and mindfulness daily practice to remain interested in, and remember, being present in every day life and living October 3, 2014 Duration: 22:37
The huge question of how to balance our striving in meditation practice opens a whole lot of possible things to say. In this talk however one very important point is made that before trying to work all that out, it is crucial to fully explore and surrender to single moments of allowing everything to just happen. And these moments should be kept separate from any plan, including how good it would be to do this! Including how to sustain it in time, how to stay with it, or how it relates to everyday life. Keep these special moments separate from all plans as much as possible. Then, we will be more open to the important two aspects of the rest of the question. 1. We have a planning and orienting energy, and it's there for a reason, and it can and should be used in some measure to go about our life, if it is arising for us. But we get out of balance when that energy captures our attention. 2. We don't have to figure out that balance by ourselves, life itself will show it to us and life itself will move us down the proper course. If we are open to it that may happen easier. But if we are not open, life will bite us until we get what it is telling us.

Finding a consistent space for quiet reflection can be a challenge, but I Should Be Meditating with Alan Klima offers a direct and practical path back to the present moment. This isn't about achieving a perfect state of silence, but rather cultivating a daily practice of mindful curiosity. Alan provides guided mindfulness meditations that feel like conversations with a knowledgeable friend, blending direct instruction with thoughtful discussion. You'll encounter fresh perspectives on foundational techniques-breath awareness, body scans, and loving-kindness-along with subtle tweaks and surprising approaches that can reinvigorate a routine practice. The podcast serves as a gentle, recurring nudge to remain interested in the texture of everyday life, whether you're new to meditation or have been sitting for years. Each session is designed to be a tool for personal investigation, helping to dissolve the distance between formal practice and simply living. Tune in for a blend of calm guidance and insightful talk that makes the intention to be present feel both accessible and deeply worthwhile.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 84

I Should Be Meditating with Alan Klima: Guided Mindfulness Meditation and Discussion
Podcast Episodes
Talk on Ekhart Tolle Power of Now – Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:45
The second installment of a series of talks on Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now. Alan Klima discusses questions sent by listeners regarding Eckhart Tolle’s book. Join in for an interesting discussion reflecting on trust.…
Talk on Ekhart Tolle The Power of Now [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:00
Part one of a series, listeners submit questions and Alan takes up some of the top things that come to mind when reading this book. The talk delves into questions like what relation our past history has to who and what w…
Meditation on After Thought [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:00
In this mindfulness meditation session learn to notice thoughts and mental activity while developing your awareness for intentionally being present. Going from the tensions in the body and hectic mind activity to subtly…
Pleasant Body [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
Relax into this mindful body scan and start developing skills to make the experience of the body joyful and interesting to play with. We move our attention through every inch of our body kindly noticing and becoming awar…
Training with Two Kinds of Thoughts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:00
Have you ever wanted to quiet your thoughts? To be able to silence all distractions, negative thinking, or simply noise in your head? This talk on mindfulness meditation as well as a meditation practice helps you develop…
59: Release into the Abdominal Breath [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:00
Recognize the quality of attention, how experiencing the breath shifts and changes things so easily around. Release into the sensation of breath and allow thoughts, feelings, and tensions to be present while the breath b…
Talk 9: Two Great Skills in Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
A talk and a meditation. A contemplation of life. Use this training to get acquainted with and understand in your bones two meditation skills that are most important to finding a natural way to practice meditation, not f…
Quickfire Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:26
It's great to train the attention to be fast and agile and play a kind of game to see how fast you can bring the attention home, or how fast you can hop off the train of the thought. It's a great training skill with some…
58: Dwelling in Presence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:00
What is it like to be present? In this guided meditation practice of looking inwardly, you return to that sense of presence to find another way of feeling, another way of being. Dwelling in presence, recognizing it, chec…
57: Guided Training in Two Meditation Skills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:00
[Podcast] Life is constantly in flux, often presenting changing situations you need to adapt to. This guided meditation is a practice in two (or maybe three) techniques for training to become flexible, adaptable. Underst…