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 14: Reality and Illusion in Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:16
What does "Life is an Illusion Mean" and what does it have to do with your electricity bill? I mean, you have your real life, while there are many spiritual statements that seem to indicate there is an ultimate reality a…
42: Quick Body Scan Guided Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:40
Making the body more accessible to us gives us a base point with which we can get perspective on excessive thinking, explore our emotions, and get communication from our body that leads us in beneficial directions. The b…
40: Feel Your Way into Your Being [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:11
This guided meditation starts with a soothing breath to feel your way into the core of the breath-body and from your alive, sensitive presence, and then guides you to remain there, to enjoy your being now and to more eas…
Talk 11: Feel the Natural Joy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:06
There is a natural joy always here. Where is it? This question is an important one that requires radical honesty to answer, yet it is otherwise simple and natural to get into contact with this fount of aliveness.
38: Simply Being Short Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:27
Without having to do very much at all, simply being as you are is a very powerful meditation that uses our intention and attention in just about the most skillful way possible, which is to say, in the slightest, easiest,…
Talk 10: The Quiet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:02
The real Quiet is not the physical quiet of sounds, nor is it even a quiet from thoughts or a quiet mind. What is it and how can we recognize it? This can be a sticky point for meditators, but this sticky point cannot ov…
36: The Vivid Body Scan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:15
This guided tour through the body sensitizes you to all the flavors of feeling in the body, and brings you to the vivid enjoyment of subtle breath sensations interacting with whole body sensations. This is a profoundly a…
Live Call-in Show!  Sept. 10, 2014 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:27
The tensions between meditation and our natural state are explored through great questions about restlessness, how to begin a practice, and what the "inner mental attitude" is all about . This is the straight raw recordi…
34: Giving Yourself a Gift in Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:14
This guided meditation leads you to discover the light-hearted, warm-hearted feeling that is already there, and from that place give a gift to yourself and the world. Very simple, very easy, very good.
Talk 8: After I Meditate, It Goes Away [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:25
The states of mind we generate through meditation are like all states that come and go. If they don't last, what's the point of meditation? This talk explores two reasons why temporary states of equanimity through medita…