This Most Unbelievable Life!

Bonus Episode - Acknowledging Limitations

Hi Everybody!
We have a bonus episode for you this time! It’s just a little short one to let you in on what’s been going on over here at the TMUL shop. Long story short… acknowledging limitations! There are times in our lives when we discover that we can’t do it all (blah blah blah - the same words we’ve heard all our lives). We do hit limitations sometimes, and as we discovered this month, until we can acknowledge our limitations, we can never be free. That’s the message of this one. How do we acknowledge our limitations and be ok with them? On the one hand, we want to do great and be invincible. On the other hand, we’re humans… humans with limitations. 
For the long story long, check this bonus episode out, and let us know what you think! We’ll be back with the longform regular programming soon. 
Take care, folks!
P + C
Shoutouts
Last week we had a shoutout to Zoom Corp - the A/V hardware company. This week, a mad props to Zoom the software company, without whom this episode, and many other podcasts by awesome creators around the world wouldn’t be possible.  
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https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Episode 108 - ”Mindfulness at Work,” for Educators

Hey folks! This episode marks the first in a seven-part series where we discuss the book, “Mindfulness at Work,” by Maria Arpa. As we work to bring our contemplative practices more fully developed into all aspects of our lives, we naturally ask, “how might we do this at work?” What we do on nights and weekends is one thing, what we do on the job, however… is that something else altogether? Or might these mindful awareness practices apply to all aspects of our lives? It’s easy to be mindful while engaging in leisure activities or perhaps during times of rest, but during the majority of your waking, workday hours? What does that look like?
This week we discuss the introduction of the book and the history of why we’ve chosen this one as the subject of conversation. Also, if you would like to join us in this experience, you too may pick up a copy of the book and come along on this journey with us. You could even start your own Mindfulness at Work book group at your place of employment! That’s what we’ve done!
If you’d like to join in with us, here is a link to the book from the publisher page : 
https://www.quartoknows.com/ourbooks/bookinfo.aspx?ean=9781782409342&bkey=39221980
Thanks folks! 
P + C
Shoutouts
A big shoutout to the Zoom corporation, the makers of some of the best, affordable sound and video equipment out there. Notice that we seem to be into video now! Check us out on YouTube!
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
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Episode 107 - Can Compassion be a Request?

What, indeed, is the advantage of embracing the practices of mindfulness in the workplace? So often, we hear of businesses and organizations promoting mindfulness at work, and working on ways to institutionalize mindful approaches and activities, such as yoga, meditation breaks, and other holistic invitations. Is a 10 minute breathing break in the middle of the workday what we really need, though? In this episode, we talk through what it might mean to change our workplace experiences in a more complete and personal way by using awareness of communication with our colleagues and ourselves as the actual framework for workplace wellness. Can we actually ask for compassion in the workplace outright, and how might that request be made to those with whom we work? 
We hope that you enjoy this episode! Let us know what you think!
Link to Grok It Cards - https://groktheworld.com/
P + C
Shoutouts
A huge TMUL shoutout to our new patron, long-time supporter Jessica! THANK YOU JESSICA!!!! Your support means the world to us! Expect merch soon. :-)
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www
.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Episode 106 - Is Workplace Burnout Inevitable?

We all have heard about workplace burnout, and there are whole books - many books - written about this topic. We sometimes think that if we REALLY loved our job, and if we were really happy with our work, we wouldn’t ever actually experience burnout. What if, however, occasional bouts with burnout were an inevitable part of any work that we do? If we approach feelings of burnout honestly and with a little compassion and patience, we can see it for what it might truly be - a natural, occasionally inevitable part of what it means to do work. How do we know when it’s time to change course with what we’re doing or how we approach our work? It turns out that occasional feelings of burnout might be a window into this.
We hope that you enjoy this episode! Let us know what you think!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Episode 105 - Compassion in the Classroom

 
What if compassion in the classroom was the foundation of the environment, rather than something “else” that you “ought” to do as a teacher? So often, we, as academics, are left with the thought that good classroom practices are “something else” that we have to do on top of the content that we teach. In this episode, we talk through the possibility that the content might actually be the second thing that we bring with us, and why the very nature of the classroom environment itself must be the first consideration to attend to, which, if established with compassion and non-violence as first principles, enables true, deep learning to happen.
This episode also briefly hits upon a side topic not fully addressed in this episode, but one that has been raging on for years: what, in fact, does a grade in a class represent? Rather than this just being a gathering of opinions, which does have value, we also wonder if folks actually agree on what it is “supposed” to represent. If the goal is mastery of content, then clearly not everyone is starting from the same place, and PRESTO… academic privilege! As such, we explore some clear equity vs. equality conversation in this one, while anticipating that we’ll circle back to this topic for many years, as we see equity and inclusion as active ongoing aims in a complex educational landscape. We hope you like this one!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Episode 104 - Choices in the Daily Grind

Hey folks! From tea imagery to coffee! Where we go: into the grind! Truth - there are times when our days are easy, and there are times when days are hard. Sometimes we find joy in the daily little things, yet, sometimes what happens is met with resistance. Stuff happens, both expected and unexpected, and we look for opportunities for ease when we can. We also suffer the unexpected struggles when they arise. There’s no avoiding that! In that, we really don’t have too much choice. Easy things and hard things will happen, we promise.
When faced with the truth of unpredictability, it can seem like this life is just happening to us, and that we really don’t have any agency in this life. Although unexpected and challenging things happen, what choices can actually be made that can have a meaningful impact in how we show up for what arises? We don’t always get to choose what happens, but we might actually have more options than we realize. Check this episode out, and let us know what you think!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Episode 103 - Let’s Start with Tea!

Hey all! Question… what do you think of tea? Throughout the course of the day, we drink a lot of tea! We enjoy it in the morning, after class, sometimes during class, in workshops that we host, and in meetings, with friends, colleagues, students, and even on our own. Most of the planning and conversation that we have, between ourselves and with others, starts with, “You want a cup of tea?” Our invitations to others often take the form of, “Join us for tea?” For us, and we suspect for many others, tea holds this special quality that not many other drinks can produce. There indeed seems to be something primal, mystical, or magical, about simple tea. 
To be clear, this conversation is about more than tea, it gets pretty deep into what we do, who we are, and what makes us tick. It all starts, however, with a cup of tea.
Kick back, relax, grab a cup of tea, and give this one a listen and let us know what you think! 
So, let’s start with tea! Fire up the kettle, y’all!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
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Episode 102 - How we Direct our Fire!

Here’s an episode about fire! At last! How have two fire signs (one a Leo, the other, Aries) gone this long without tackling this topic? Well, it’s taken us a bit of time to learn to understand our own fire! Check this one out and hear more about how we have come to accept what fuels us and aim our “fire” in ways that help us - and those around us. The truth is that carefully aimed fire can bring life and warmth, while unfocused fire risks burning the whole place to the ground! Check this one out and let us know what fuels you and how you focus that energy in ways that you find sustainable!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
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Episode 101 - Learning Slow, and Pivoting!

Hi all!
When was the last time you really had to take some time to figure something out? If you’re anything like us, the times when we have the A-HA moments are quick and sudden, but they only really occur as the end of a much longer, more involved investment of time, energy, confusion, familiarizing, and quite often, struggle! Rather than the A-HA moment representing the process of learning, we suggest that the whole process of it - including the awkward, uncomfortable times of fumbling around - represents the learning process. 
If we put it like that, this means that the struggle, the challenge, the awkward fumbling, and even the frustration that comes with not “figuring it out” more quickly does not represent failure, or slowness, or inadequacy, or anything that one could disparage themselves for! Rather, quite the opposite might be true! To feel the struggle and challenge that comes with learning a new skill or idea IS the learning process itself, in its purest form. It’s that awkward fumbling through that truly represents learning, rather than the A-HA moment at the end.
Besides, that A-HA moment really doesn’t last too long before we move onto the next thing. That A-HA moment does feel fantastic though, right? Of course it does. That is the reward we receive for our struggle. 
Thanks, folks, and keep learning! Discover something new to figure out, and embrace the awkward!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
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Support the Podcast!
We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife

Episode 100 - All In. No Expectations!

Hey folks!
Hello beloved podcast listeners! Here it is, at long last (for us anyway!) - podcast episode 100! Question for you…. How do you honor the 100th time you do something? Just like with some other milestones, such as birthdays and New Years’ Day, in many respects it’s just another day. Likewise, in many ways episode 100 is just like any other episode! It has a beginning, a middle, one or several tangents, an ending, and it runs about an hour long. 
There is, however, a bit of a different feeling with notable episodes like 100, as there are with birthdays and anniversaries. There is cause for a bit of celebration, because that is what we do as humans, and it might actually represent something else. Clearly, it seems… we’re all in! To do 100 of something, we think, means something. That’s not always easy to do! And there have been many times when we’ve started things that can be counted, and didn’t get to 100 before we, or it, flamed out.
What does it take then? Or, maybe better put, what does it mean to be all in? Lasting. Staying power. Commitment? Value and meaning? Purposefulness? Importance? Any, or all of these, may be true. We can do things 100 times, but what does it mean to do that with joy? That does tap into something deeper, we think.
Yet, there’s another side to facing the sustaining power of something. How do we keep it going - or do more than 100 repetitions of something - without expectations? What’s that? Are you wondering: what’s so bad about expectations??? It turns out that, sometimes, rather than adding something that sounds meaningful, like accountability or validation, we see that those expectations are external to us. To do things from a place of true joy, meaning, purpose, and value, is to do them for ourselves! It’s the doing that is the reward, not the metrics! 
Expectations can set us up for challenge. Like we know what’s going to happen or something? We find we’re about as good at predicting the future as we can the weather! To release ourselves from expectation is to let go of what we think we know and can control, and to find true freedom in purpose. Surrender to the flow, y’all! And give this one a listen! We’d love to hear what you think! 
Thanks, folks!
P + C
This Most Unbelievable Newsletter Signup!
If you’d like to get the Official TMUL Newsletter in your email inbox each and every month, click on the link below and sign up! All sorts of nifty tidbits in there in the months to come, including some guided meditations. Here’s the link!
https://www.thismostunbelievablelife.com/newsletter
Social Media Links
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Support the Podcast!
We'd love your support! If you would like to help out, here is the link to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/thismostunbelievablelife