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
12 Walking Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Sensitizing the awareness to walking and the feet is a great meditation and complement to sitting meditation. Learn this meditation here, or refresh your connection to it with this guided walkthrough of walking meditatio…
11 Grounded Body Breath guided meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:20
Starting with a grounded sense of the body, this breath meditation explores breathing into and from a sense of presence, and has a contemplative benefit to it as well as a centering effect.
10 Contemplation of Commitment and Distraction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:31
Commitment to the moment is to the moment alone, and does not even include committing to meditation or any future endeavor or even to future moments, and it is not regret about past moments lost to distraction. In this g…
9 Body of Space, Space of Body Guided Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:38
Bodies are made up mostly of space, on the atomic level, and the sensations in our body can be experienced as space-like, giving us a new perspective on them, taking our sensitivity deeper, and helping us accept and make…
8 Whole Body Breath guided meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:55
Learn mindfulness on whole body breathing, a very deep meditation that gains us access and sensitivity to the body. It can also be deeply healing.
7 Guided Sleep Body Scan Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:50
Meditation that prepares the body and mind for sleep, using a guided body scan leading into a guided rest in a natural effortless awareness. Great as a regular sitting meditation when we are stressed and over-energized t…
Guided Meditation 6: Attention to Attention [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:31
One of the first, best tools that a meditator can acquire is an awareness of attention itself, and a way to experiment and play with, and investigate, attention. In this guided exploration we will develop a taste for att…
Guided Body Scan Meditation – 35 min. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:27
Today's guided body scan meditation is medium-length, definitely enough to sink very deeply into awareness of the body. This is one of the fundamental practices of meditation, because it sensitizes us in a way that helps…
10 Minute Breath Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:51
This 10 Minute Guided Mediation on the Breath gets us directly in touch with our feeling presence and resets the day, readies us for the day, or prepares us for night.
Talk 1: Should I Use a Natural or a Pleasant Breath? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
There is more to breath meditation than "Pay Attention to the Natural Breath." This talk explores some of the ways to play with and experiment with the breath that are equally "mindful" as the more common instruction, an…