Black Zen and the Weekly Wellness
130 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 43 ratingsThis podcast is a weekly discussion on selected wellness topics designed to make you laugh, provide insight and support meditation-based practices.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
E80_Are You Ready for Meditation?
April 29, 2019 16:07 - 15 minutes - 9.97 MBJas and I often discuss how meditation can assist and/or fix any difficult situation in life, and while we stand by this, there is another hitch to this cart to make it work. What meditation won't do is alleviate all of our problems quickly, especially if we don't have a true intention to change. All of us have an opportunity to retrain ourselves and live up to our full potential, and ultimately, the process is worth it! Once we are truly ready to grow, we have to start by being willing to ch...
E79_How To Celebrate Every Moment & Why It's So Important
April 22, 2019 16:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBI was digging through my purse a few days ago and found a $50 dollar bill. Now there are three things you should know about me before I continue this story: 1. My loved ones have frequently described me as, "frugal AF" 2. I rarely carry cash. 3. If I somehow have more than a $5 spot on me, it ain't mine. So imagine my elation at the discovery of this "big face" bill that miraculously made its way into my possession. My first thought, "Who's is this?!' My second thought - "Don't...
E78_The Silent Stalker
April 15, 2019 22:02 - 16 minutes - 10.2 MBWe talk a lot about letting things and people go that no longer serve or help us. This week, we want to add guilt and shame to that list! At some point in time, despite our best inclinations and intentions, we have all done something we are not proud of. Remembering these experiences can make us cringe, and at its most heavy-handed, make us feel worse about ourselves even long after the shameful event has occurred. So the question we're posing this week is, "Why dwell on these old memories?" ...
E77_Your Time Is Valuable
April 08, 2019 16:00 - 25 minutes - 16 MBIn last week's Weekly Wellness, we touched on the slight difference between being unmotivated and just plain tired! So once we've taken the needed rest to help us jump back into the swing of things or re-gained our motivation to see our goals through, we should still be calculated about next steps so we don't end-up in the same tired/unmotivated slump once again. For this week's Weekly Wellness we're going to focus on how to not mistake activity with achievement…
E76_How to Tell the Difference Between Being Unmotivated & Burnt Out
April 01, 2019 16:00 - 15 minutes - 9.88 MBJas and I were out to lunch today and we laughed for a good 5 minutes over the following statement: "The juice ain't worth the squeeze, and the squeeze ain't worth the juice!" Given the state of our appearance, it would have suggested that our efforts should have produced more than the current results and both the ridiculousness and realness of that statement truly hit home in that moment. We were taking stock of what we had accomplished this week with work, life's chores, etc. and since we b...
E75_The Unwritten Rules in Relationships
March 25, 2019 16:55 - 24 minutes - 15.5 MBIn sharing time and energy with the people we surround ourselves with, we've come to expect certain things. Whether we want to admit it or not, there are unwritten rules in every relationship - from romantic partners to friends, and even co-workers. It's when someone breaks one or more of these invisible guidelines that our relationships become fractured and possibly even end. This Weekly Wellness is dedicated to preventing that break. And if the break already happened, listen in to find out ...
E74_Who's Steering The Ship?
March 18, 2019 16:00 - 19 minutes - 12 MBThe idea of mind, body and spirit has been used by many to describe our human make-up. If we breakdown this concept in its simplest form, it suggests that the body informs the mind of what it needs and then the mind makes the decisions of how to get those needs met. While the body is rooted in nature and survival, the mind is consumed with the daily task of problem solving. This leaves the soul or spirit on its own to contemplate the higher concepts of meaning and existence. If we go with thi...
E73_The Last Swallow in the Container
March 11, 2019 16:00 - 19 minutes - 12.7 MBWe might be aging ourselves here, but does anyone else remember that hilarious scene in Harlem Nights when Della Reese's character goes off about the orange juice? For those not familiar with the movie (shade, no shade), think Eve in Barbershop inquiring about the disappearance of her apple juice. In both instances, it wasn't so much that someone drank the juice, it was that they "only left a swalla' in the container!" Both characters had their mouths all warmed up for a certain experience, o...
E72_The Emperor Has No Clothes!
March 04, 2019 17:00 - 19 minutes - 12.6 MBAs mindful people, we're usually able to clearly see when things (in the words of my grandma) make no damn sense. And it wasn't until I was watching the 10 o'clock news that I became confronted with my own ideas about what is acceptable. I sat and watched 30 minutes of crime and violence under the guise of "staying informed" until it finally hit me how unconstructive the news really was. Has being informed about crime ever reduced the crime rate? And despite it not adding anything to my life,...
E71_What We Owe Each Other
February 25, 2019 17:06 - 23 minutes - 13.6 MBT.M. Scanlon coined the idea of contractualism which examines our obligation to be moral human beings. In reading some of his work, really interesting questions pop-up like ... “What are we obligated to do for family and loved ones? And if it’s anything, does this obligation extend to people we do not know and/or society on the whole?” Most of us find it easy and almost instinctual to love and be kind to those close to us, but what about everyone else? While we agree it takes a certain heart ...
E70_Don't Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater
February 11, 2019 17:00 - 13 minutes - 8.63 MBI make fun of Jasmine often. It’s a light-hearted ribbing based on the old school “dozens” that comes naturally when knowing someone so well. The jokes this week started while I watched her tear her house apart looking for a pair of old shoes. As I’m watching (and not helping in any way, shape, or form), I realize I know exactly where those shoes are – at a Goodwill on the Westside where she donated them over a year ago during what I’ve dubbed a “Marie Kondo fit.” This got me thinking. Someti...
E69_Don't Take Anything Personally
February 04, 2019 17:00 - 14 minutes - 8.68 MBThe insensitivity or criticism of others has a tendency to trigger our insecurities like nothing else. For the ultra-sensitive person, even a quick glance from a stranger can have you questioning your entire appearance, if not just your fashion choices that particular day. For others, it could be that while you don't care about what a stranger thinks, as soon as a family member says something it can trigger all sorts of past hurts and perceived slights. It's in these moments that we have to r...
E68_Fasting - The Willpower Workout
January 28, 2019 17:00 - 23 minutes - 15.5 MBI'm not gonna lie, good food brings me joy! Should it though? Don't care. I refuse to even ruminate on this as I mentally plan my next meal. Food and I have been best pals for a minute and the only reason I'm sharing this personal TMI is to say - if I can fast, anyone can! Before adamantly rejecting the idea, know that fasting can take many forms outside of food. We're talking about any type of break (sex, drugs, rock n' roll, you name it) that's going to make you step back long enough to see...
E67_Fearlessness & Unconventional Wisdom
January 22, 2019 17:07 - 14 minutes - 9.24 MBJas and I had the benefit of growing up around wise people. And not wise by traditional standards, but wise in how they moved about the world and navigated through and around hardship or difficulty. An example of this unconventional wisdom is captured in our step-dad’s most memorable phrase while growing up: “Opinions are like butt-holes, everybody has one and most of them stink!” No parenting guide in the world would suggest such frankness (and crassness let my mother tell it) to children, b...
E66_How To Choose The Right Partner
January 14, 2019 17:30 - 16 minutes - 10.2 MBEver been in a three-legged race and your partner has a broken leg? I haven’t either, but I imagine you wouldn’t get very far! This is what happens when we tie ourselves to the wrong people. It makes progress in any direction slow and cumbersome. And while I’m all for helping people and propping them up, at some point we need to recognize when they are bringing us down. In past editions we’ve discussed the importance of choosing the right squad and personal growth within a partnership, but th...
E65_Mad Dash to 2019!
November 27, 2018 18:11 - 21 minutes - 14.6 MBAs much as we try to stay in the present while enjoying the holiday season, we can't help but think back to the goals we set at the beginning of the year. If you made New Year's resolutions and still have a few (or all!) of them left to achieve, don't worry. We’re using this last Weekly Wellness of our year (Reminder: Your Black Zen team goes on a wellness break for the full month of December) to help you make that last, mad dash to finish what you set out to do. This week we're giving you th...
E64_Checkers, Pain & Progress
November 19, 2018 17:00 - 21 minutes - 13.3 MBIt’s that time of year when your BZ team prepares for its annual December break. This is when we re-center, re-charge and practice personal wellness just as we encourage you to do each week. Don’t worry, we’re not gonna leave you hangin! This week and next week, we’re providing you with a wealth of useful tips and helpful life hacks to dig into while we’re away. There were so many lessons learned this year from the Weekly Wellness archives that we decided to pick out a few of our favorites...
E63_The New Definition of Success
November 13, 2018 17:00 - 11 minutes - 6.99 MBUsually when we hear the word success, we think wealth, perfect relationships, professional accomplishments, and essentially, all the typical outward examples of doing well. But the truth is that once accomplished, those ideal circumstances will only amplify the characteristics of our inner self. It's for these reasons we’re proposing a new definition of “success.” If you don't have peace and joy throughout life, how successful can you really be? If you haven't developed a deep, inner compass...
E62_Not Your Typical Proverb
November 05, 2018 17:00 - 17 minutes - 11.5 MBHave you ever had a day where everything and everybody seemed to be working on your last good nerve? Maybe it's not even a person, but a situation that just brings on a rant as to why this [insert annoyance here] is so horrible and completely unraveling your peace. I did this a lot when I was a kid. My family can attest that my nickname was Stacey Complain Johnson. You name it, it annoyed me. My grandma would listen intently to these rants and add an occasional "No she didn't?!" At the end of...
E61_The Best Way to Play Your Hand
October 29, 2018 16:07 - 21 minutes - 14.5 MBFor the longest time, there was one card game I could never seem to win. One day, I finally realized it was possible to win by playing each hand I was dealt (good or bad), really really well! I started to play with strategy, patience, and stopped taking every bad hand as a sign that that would be my position forever. It turns out I had a wild card - my ability to make decisions as best I could from the position I was in. Slowly but surely, I started to work my way up from the bottom. Even now...
E60_Winter Is Coming!
October 22, 2018 16:01 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBMaybe it’s just me, but as soon as I hear the days are about to get shorter all I can think is…winter is coming! It’s a time when I usually stay in the house more often than not, and end up sitting with my thoughts for far too long. It’s no wonder that so many of us can get trapped in a loop of negative thinking and may even be affected by the darker days of daylight savings time being gone. And while a meditation practice can definitely help keep the SAD’s at bay (Seasonal Affective Disorder...
E59_From Hustler to Stockbroker: Billy Ray Valentine
October 15, 2018 16:31 - 21 minutes - 13.9 MBOne of our favorite movies from the 80's is Trading Places. For those who have never seen it (I'm looking at you millennials), Billy Ray Valentine (hilariously played by Eddie Murphy, and btw, best movie name ever) is plucked off the street and made into a stock broker on a bet that anyone can do the job if given the right circumstances. What's so great about this story is the transformation of Eddie Murphy's character. He had these skills in him all along, and the only difference maker in t...
E58_What's On Your Bucket List?
October 08, 2018 17:48 - 17 minutes - 10.8 MBI remember waking up on my 31st birthday and realizing I hadn't done a thing on my bucket list. While I had the means (despite my early twenties spending habits!) and the opportunity (free time and no present obligations), I was still waiting to do so many things in life because I had expected to be doing them with someone else. I always wanted to travel, but thought the stories wouldn't be the same without a partner to share in the experience. I'd often thought about going back to school but...
E57_Don't Miss Your Boat!
October 01, 2018 16:00 - 27 minutes - 18.2 MBThis week reminded me of a story my dad told us when we were younger (some of you preacher’s kids may have already heard this one). A man finds himself in the middle of a storm (yes, the eye of the storm represents life's muck). The storm just doesn’t seem to let up and eventually becomes a full-fledged flood. Our man finds his way to safety on top of his roof. He thanks God for keeping him safe in spite of all the destruction around him, and asks God to come down and rescue him from the chao...
E56_Room To Grow
September 24, 2018 16:05 - 13 minutes - 8.36 MBHave you ever been dead wrong about something, but swore up and down it was true? This week I found myself lost in these city streets with nothing but the strong conviction that I was right, and my pride. After realizing we actually passed the same park thrice, my ego had me thinking they must’ve added a new freeway exit. (Really? A new exit? C’mon now.) So convinced that I was right, I wouldn’t let up and course correct - despite all of the evidence telling me to do so. As absurd as this was...
E55_A New Political Tactic...Guard Your Joy
September 17, 2018 16:16 - 19 minutes - 12.9 MBSometimes, all it takes is one Fox news story or an ignorant tweet to rock our peaceful boat. That was the BZ Team experience this week that led to this Monday's all-too-important topic… how to protect your peace and guard your energy from emotional and media vampires. Are we being dramatic with the use of the word "vampire"? Perhaps, but let me tell you, the draining of energy is real! Like all responsible adults, we want to know what's going on in the world around us, but this week the news...
E54_Out of Sight, Out of Mind
September 10, 2018 16:04 - 18 minutes - 12.1 MBSometimes we can get so caught up in making sure that we're focusing on the parts of our life that we want to see movement in, that we can easily neglect other areas that need attention as well. I liken this to a relationship where you both know something is wrong, but no one wants to say anything. The unspoken issue between the two of you doesn't mean the relationship is fine, it just means it's deteriorating at a slower rate. So the question is, what are we ignoring in our life right now or...
E53_No More Drama
September 04, 2018 16:00 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MBThe competitive nature of us as people is to do what people say can’t be done and excel in areas we’re not supposed to. And doesn’t every epic movie trailer start out that way? The down and out cop contemplates leaving the force, but then ends up taking down the cartel in a blaze of bullets and pyrotechnics. The woman who can’t find love until the unexpected happens, and now she’s living on a farm in bliss with thirty children and her soul mate. You get the idea. We all love a good “started ...
E52_What Position Do You Play?
August 27, 2018 16:02 - 22 minutes - 13.9 MBWith the NFL pre-season just about wrapped up, it's time for our annual family fantasy football league to begin. In scouring the internet to get tips on how to ensure I set up my team for the win, it got me thinking about how each player has a position to play. Depending on your current situation, which player you are might just determine your next best move...
E51_Hacking Your Code
August 20, 2018 16:18 - 22 minutes - 13.6 MBHave you ever questioned the nature of your reality? For you Westworld fans, you've heard this question many times throughout the series. While the humans in the story are base and uninteresting, it's the hosts that ponder their existence and question their programming. And it's these higher thoughts that make them more human, almost more so, than the programmers and park guests. So much happens in season one, I can't even! But that's the inspiration behind this week's wellness….Are we all ju...
E50_Your Secret Sidekick
August 13, 2018 16:00 - 12 minutes - 8.03 MBLast week was all about discovering our superpower, but in any good hero movie there is always a sidekick. It’s the teammate that quietly kicks butt in the background and helps the superhero complete their mission. For us, that sidekick is meditation. In a world full of noise, both literally and figuratively, sometimes silence is the most powerful tool at our disposal. This silence helps us to find stillness amidst our busy lives and provides refuge from all the nonsense happening in the worl...
E49_Re-Discovering Your Superhero Self
August 06, 2018 16:00 - 16 minutes - 10.2 MBWe've all had times when we thought we'd never recover or bounce back only to return stronger than before and triumph over setbacks or adversity. How many times have we surprised ourselves with our superstrength or discovered a powerful quality we didn't know we had until a particular circumstance in our life drew it out? Unlike the movies where the superpower is something unhuman, in real life our gifts look like those innate, impressive qualities we all possess. When harnessed, they yield a...
E48_Surprise & Delight
July 30, 2018 16:02 - 13 minutes - 8.83 MBI recently attended a 4th of July event that ended in fireworks and it was life changing! I’ll tell you why. If you’ve ever believed you had a good time watching fireworks, try watching a kid watching fireworks. The way that child literally gasped and became awestruck by the seemingly simple bright lights in the sky is a feeling worth hanging onto, even as we get older. It was so clear in that moment that while I was simply seeing a fancy light show, that kid was having a truly joyful experie...
E47_The Seeds We Plant
July 23, 2018 16:00 - 15 minutes - 9.41 MBBeing raised in a large city, I always fantasized about life in the country. More specifically, I admired folks who were able to live off the land and make their own food. So like any adventurous urban farmer, I tried my hand at growing something simple like tomatoes or mint. They didn't last long (turns out, I don't have a green thumb). However, that experience did get me thinking about how many times we plant seeds that will flower as results in our life, but then don't take proper care of ...
E46_Bossin Up! (w/ special guest - The Memo)
July 16, 2018 16:35 - 28 minutes - 16.4 MBLet's be honest - we all want to be successful. That's why we get up day after day and work as hard as we do. No matter the type of job we have, whether that's blue collar, white collar, member of the gig economy and everything in between, we all want to feel like we've accomplished what we set out to do. The moment we decide we're going to slay, it's time to put action behind that sentiment. This is what separates those who succeed vs. those who wish to succeed. And while each of our version...
E45_How To Move Past Survival Mode
July 09, 2018 16:07 - 21 minutes - 14 MBThere are numerous stories of animals that have been held in captivity for so long, that even when they are moved to larger spaces or freed altogether, they still end up living within a confined area that mirrors the footprint of their previous cage. And before we go thinking this only happens to animals, even the great Oprah Winfrey admits to hiding money under her mattress for the first few years of her success because she was afraid it could all go away at any moment. When we’ve finally re...
E44_Making Lemonade
July 02, 2018 16:05 - 17 minutes - 10.3 MBIt can be frustrating to put in work, be diligent and consistent about the execution of a plan, and still seem like we're not making progress in life. Or, when we do start to gain momentum, feel like there is a shoe that drops which we never saw coming. In the words of Mike Tyson, "Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face." ...So, now what? When life gives us the proverbial punch, do we shake it off and get back up? Do we go to our corner and regroup? Do we just lay there thin...
E43_Taking Radical Responsibility
June 25, 2018 16:02 - 15 minutes - 9.55 MBThere are two main ways to think about life. It is either happening to us or the choices we make determine our current circumstances. As children, we experience more of the first. Our parents determine the neighborhood we grow up in, the schools we attend and most of our environment. As adults, we now have the awesome opportunity (and radical responsibility) of shaping our life's trajectory. Radical responsibility means no longer blaming our past or our upbringing for the choices we make. If ...
E42_Silent Authority & Quiet Confidence
June 18, 2018 16:04 - 15 minutes - 9.78 MBWhen we were growing up, we had a healthy fear of our father. He could give one look and we found some "act right" quick, fast and in a hurry. He smiled often and rarely raised his voice, but something about his persona just said "don't try it with this guy." Thinking on it now, we see how much silent authority and power he had as an individual and as a parent. It's a trait that we as meditators have found to be one of the most useful qualities. Silent authority not only demonstrates strength...
E41_Time vs. Money Trade Off
June 11, 2018 16:16 - 19 minutes - 12.8 MBTime is money. Not sure who said it, or when that phrase became popular, but that has been the focus of our week. Why? Because your girls are exhausted! The Black Zen team has spent countless hours ramping up on partnerships, speaking and teaching engagements and secret projects (Yes, you read that right. Get ready for a big launch – can’t tell you what it is or it wouldn’t be a secret!). In as much, it’s become more and more important to manage our time and energy to bring you the goods. So ...
E40_How to Shut Up & Just Listen
June 04, 2018 16:02 - 11 minutes - 7.1 MBWhen was the last time you felt listened to? I mean really listened to. Somebody looked you straight in the eye and took in what you were saying without interjecting, making the conversation about them, or without a cell phone in hand? I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s been a while. In a conversation, we rarely listen as much as we think we do. Our brain is busy receiving information and dissecting it quick enough to process so we can appropriately respond to what another person is say...
E39_The Age Issue
May 29, 2018 16:00 - 13 minutes - 8.92 MBAnn Landers famously wrote, "At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At 40, we don't care what they think of us. At 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all." After going through the motions and the hard knocks of youth, age arms us with the experience and the knowledge of lessons learned to live life on our own terms. One of the biggest lessons in every decade is just how important self-awareness is to creating a life that is filled with decisions that accurately re...
E38_What Is The Sound of One Hand Clapping?
May 21, 2018 16:01 - 10 minutes - 6.69 MBWe found some new and nerdy info this week that we just had to share. I was reading a book from one of my old meditation classes and came across the word “koan” a few pages into my reading. I didn’t think much of it, but a few pages later it showed up again. Since it hurts my heart to read a word and not know what it means, I decided to look it up. In the definition of koan I found myself very much like Alice from Alice in Wonderland, tumbling down a rabbit hole of the obscure and truly inter...
E37_The Value of Sharing Your Knowledge
May 07, 2018 16:00 - 17 minutes - 11.1 MBThere's a great quote by author Louis L'Amour that says, "Knowledge is like money: to be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value." If we consider how many unique experiences we've all had, it's easy to see how the knowledge we've gained through each of our life lessons and experiences can become a powerful form of currency in someone else's life. In our own lives, we cash in on the lessons we've learned as soon as we make different ...
E36_What to Do When You Don't See Options
April 30, 2018 16:00 - 14 minutes - 9.41 MBSometimes all the positive self-talk in the world doesn’t change the fact that some situations leave us stuck. During these times, it may seem that no matter how much we try to have perspective, we just can’t help but feel wedged between a rock and a hard place. If you’ve ever found yourself in this position, and chances are if you’re alive and reading this right now you have, then you’ve experienced that sinking feeling of running out of options. Rather than give you a pie in the sky approac...
E35_The Magic Behind Time Management
April 23, 2018 16:00 - 14 minutes - 9.22 MBThere are 1,440 minutes in a day. How are those minutes being spent? This week’s wellness is all about how to make sure we’re incorporating what we value most in life into our busy schedules. For instance, while the majority of us acknowledge that a meditation practice will (or does) have a profound positive effect on our life, we've found the most common reasons for not committing to one is that it often seems like there isn't enough time in the day. Rather than provide a laundry list of the...
E34_When Will Enough, Be Enough?
April 16, 2018 16:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MBWhen I was a kid, I promised myself that when I became an adult I would have ice cream every day and then I would be completely satisfied. In my teens, I said I’d be satisfied as soon as I had a car of my own. In my twenties, I was going to be satisfied as soon as I got a great job. Time passed. Ice cream was eaten every day in college (my freshman 25), I had my own car (that came with a note, insurance and maintenance costs) and I had a decent job, but satisfied? Not so much. Thinking back o...
E33_What We Wish Someone Had Told Us
April 09, 2018 16:06 - 18 minutes - 12.1 MBFam, we're getting back to basics! With all of the topics we discuss, this week we wanted to re-emphasize and focus on the real root of all lasting change - developing a meditation practice. When we thought back to when we began meditating, and the resources we wish we had available as we stumbled through those first few years, a few things came to mind. So, we’ve provided important tips necessary to grow a personal practice and also answered a few of the questions that were in the back of ou...
E32_Patience With Your Progress
April 02, 2018 16:02 - 14 minutes - 9.3 MBOften, go-getters have two speeds – run and stop. Personally, I am either busting my hump to get things accomplished to the point of burnout, or I'm doing nothing at all and lamenting about life and wondering why things aren't happening the way I want them to. Learn from my mistakes! This week's wellness is all about patience. Hopefully, my week of toil and the lessons I’ve learned from it will save you from exhaustion and disappointment about why [insert incomplete goal here] is not happenin...
E31_Treat Yo'Self!
March 26, 2018 15:57 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBAs ambitious people, sometimes we can be so busy focusing on the big breakthroughs that we forget to give ourselves credit for the bite-sized improvements we've made or the mini milestones that we've racked up along the way. There are plenty of times where we may have stopped ourselves from fully celebrating an accomplishment "until the ink is dry," but by doing this, we're limiting our joy to a few short-lived moments rather than embracing the entire journey (and the mini-wins in between) as...