How to be Mindful when Bad Things Happen–Brother Dave

This week Ellen talks to Zen teacher Brother Dave Kenneally, aka the Marine Monk, whose practice and study as an ordinand in the tradition of the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing spans more than twenty years. Brother Dave and Ellen talk about how to respond to hearing bad news in a mindful way, the exhaustion of near constant exposure to news that many of us experience in the modern world, and the importance of directing energy  inward as well as outwardly looking for solutions to problems. 

How can we stay in touch with our deepest intentions? How can we truly care for ourselves as well as for others? How can we become more aware of a false sense of urgency? How can we be kept beware of being incoherent when we merely react to hearing a story in the news? How can we reverse the tendency to be more outward than inward focused in our attention, and in turn, show up more powerfully in the world? Brother Dave offers reflections on these and many more questions in this inspiring conversation.  

Thich Nhat Hanh said, “peace in oneself, peace in the world." Brother Dave explains how we can each make this our practice, offering many words of wisdom in ways that relate to being in the world. He also reflects on his own experiences of how easy or otherwise practising mindfulness while living in a monastry is compared to living in the world and the constant external stimuli it presents. Brother Dave’s answer may surprise you!    

Websites, people and organizations mentioned in this episode:    

Read about Brother Dave’s amazing story,  find out about his work, his weekly Zen teaching on Zoom (Sundays 5-6pm PST, free), and sign-up for his newsletter on his website, https://www.davekenneally.com/  

Join a brand new Mindfulness Facilitator's Sangha hosted by Brother Dave, starting  Saturday, April 27th from 4:30 - 6pm PST / 7:30 - 9pm EST, via Zoom and FREE to join. Find out all about this, including the Zoom link at the bottom of the Resource Page:

https://www.davekenneally.com/factx-resource-page

 

Information and links to Brother Dave’s free 3-month training course in facilitating sangha are also available through his website, https://www.davekenneally.com/factx-resource-page   

Brother Dave’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveKenneally 

FOLLOW Brother Dave on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dave.kenneally.5

Brother Dave on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brotherdavekenneally/

Brother Dave has generously offered us access to his teaching video, Mindfulness of the News, normally only available for folks registered with his Mindfulness for Resilience course: https://youtu.be/8hCc9Jr9Xd0?si=hkVlQBozjDWYOt1g (see https://www.davekenneally.com/healyourheart for more about the course).

Mindfulness Makes us Part of the Solution, watch Brother Dave share his reflection at https://youtu.be/JTxLC_AwkNU 

Plum Village The Five Mindfulness Trainings https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings  

Join us in person for intenton holding:  

https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 ~ Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls  

https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.  

Our websites:  

www.heartfulimpact.com/   ~ Our show website.   

https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.   

https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project  

https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.   

https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry  

https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Events and offerings aimed at building beloved community, including weekly energy holding vigils and Power of Eight group.   

Impact! Is presented by Ellen Bintz and Clive Johnson. It is produced by Impact Productions.   

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Our logo artwork is by AltoClassic (Getty Images/istock).   

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Impact! www.heartfulimpact.com