Podcast
Bruce Lee Podcast
Hosted by Shannon Lee · EN
On this season of the Bruce Lee Podcast, join Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee as she engages in conversation with special guests from all walks of life about their approach to living life fluidly and the wisdom they have gained along the way. In concert with themes from her book Be Water, My Friend and the year of the dragon, Shannon continues to share Bruce Lee's philosophy as she and her guests dive deep into the challenges and joys of being human. See how guests have aligned with and been inspired by Bruce Lee and his philosophies and how they've motivated themselves to step into their own potential and keep on flowing!
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#132 Limitless
Jan 9, 2019Tap to summarize"Using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation." The idea of being limitless was a core tenet of Bruce Lee's approach to his art and his life. He lived the philosophy of being limitless and took action. The idea of being limitless is a mindset and a sense of freedom within one's own life; it does not mean that you have no boundaries or that you are negligible of your environment or others around you. Being limitless is the ability to make the decision to be and do anything that is centered in your heart and in harmony with you and the world. You do not have to ask for permission or get approval from any outside institution, person, or society. Most of our excuses or rationalizations for why we cannot do something is us giving voice to a fear we have about it. Sometimes we limit ourselves because we fear criticism. It is inevitable that we will receive criticism when we follow our hearts, and that can be really hard, but it is important to stay true to our hearts. "Limitless means infinite mobility." When Bruce says, "Having no limitation as limitation," he is talking about the limitations that we put on ourselves. When we do not put ourselves in a box then we can move in any direction. Being limitless is to have infinite mobility, not that you have no path or direction. Being limitless means you have the freedom to pursue any direction to create your life in the way that is the best and most enjoyable for you. We do not have to limit ourselves to one pursuit in life. If we follow Bruce Lee's example then we can pursue many different interests and be an Artist of Life. Being limitless is to never feel trapped. "Be a practical dreamer backed by action." Dream something that is achievable, and then go for it. In order to be limitless you have to be present. You have to be present in your thoughts, feelings, and environment so that you can be infinitely mobile and take action. "If you are in the now, you are creative. If you are in the now, you are inventive." "Unlimited living is turned into something dead for the sake of security. Pattern = limit. One ought to throw away all ideals, patterns, styles and throw away any concepts about what is ideal. Can you look at a situation without naming it? Naming it causes fear." We must be willing to examine things in the present moment. If the path is not working for you give yourself permission to turnaround from it and find a different route. Being limitless is skillfully and thoughtfully following your enthusiasm in your life. "The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement. To spend your time sitting in what might be." You do not learn anything in the avoidance of difficult situations or choices. "It is indeed difficult to see a situation simply. Our minds are very complex." We want to complicate everything. We want to think of every possible way and outcome and this can carry us away from the center of what we want to do. When living limitless, we have to be present, and not judge with our preconceived notions, so that we have the freedom to consider that there might be a path to take we would not normally consider. "To bring the mind into sharp focus and to make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere, the mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought process, and even ordinary thought itself." "To realize freedom requires an alert mind, a mind that is deep with energy, a mind that is capable of immediate perception without the process of graduation, without the idea of an end to be slowly achieved. Preformations simply lack the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing. At this point, many would ask, "how then do we gain this unlimited freedom?" I cannot tell you because it will then become an approach. Although I can tell you what it is not, I cannot tell you what it is. That, my friend, you have to find out all by yourself." "Create immediately and atmosphere of freedom so that you can live and find out for yourself what is true, so that you are able to face the world with the ability to understand it, not just conform to it. One can tell for oneself whether the water is warm or cold. In the same way, a man must convince himself about these experiences, only then are they real." "A mind that has no dwelling continues to flow ceaselessly and ignores our limitations and our distinctions. Do not localize the mind anywhere but let it fill up the whole body; let if low freely throughout the totality of your being." Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com
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#79 Peace of Mind
Jan 3, 2018Tap to summarize"All in all, the goal of my planning and doing is to find the true meaning in life – peace of mind." Achieving peace of mind was Bruce Lee's ultimate goal. Peace of mind is something that we all desire, whether we know it or not. We want to feel peaceful so that we can enjoy life fully. Having peace of mind does not mean that you are removed from your everyday life, but instead you are living in a calm state while fully engaged in life. Shannon shares that she has, at times, achieved peace of mind, but that it is very difficult to live your life constantly in that state. This is because there is always something that is going to come and shake things up in life. For Shannon, peace of mind can come in the form of acceptance, just accepting where she is in life right now, that she is in process, and that it is enough. Especially when things are difficult and challenging, being able to step back, observe, and reflect, helps Shannon accept where she is in the moment. This reflection and acceptance helps bring peace of mind in a challenging situation. The reflection and acceptance during challenging times becomes easier with practice. Life will not always be good, there will be struggles, but if we can approach these times with pliability and acceptance, we can move through our struggles more peacefully. Knowing that change is constant can be comforting because then we know that whatever difficulty we are facing, it will pass. For Sharon, she finds peace of mind through shifts in consciousness. From moments of beauty and laughter to practicing "zooming out" her perspective in order to take a step back from a situation. Sometimes Sharon finds herself too close to a situation and has to practice a mental exercise of visualizing zooming out, such as on Google maps. This zooming out practice helps her step back and get perspective on situations and decreases her anxiety surrounding the situation. The "zoom out" helps Sharon create distance and space from a situation and helps her process what is happening. Sometimes when our minds get caught in an anxiety loop with our thoughts racing around in a circle. Performing an action can help break that loop and can give peace of mind. Sharon uses laughter as a way to break her anxiety loop and when she feels stuck in sadness or anger, she seeks out either a funny movie or a comedy show to make her laugh and bring her peace of mind. Nature is another consciousness shifter for Sharon, so she will seek out natural places to help calm her mind. If you do not have the time to seek out a funny show or to go out into nature, your action to break your anxiety loop can be as simple as getting up and going outside. Taking a walk or just feeling the wind can help quiet your mind. Bruce Lee accomplished a great deal in his life, and it can be hard comparing our lives to his, but he accomplished so much because he pursued his passions with his ultimate goal of achieving peace of mind. The bigger picture of Bruce's life was to move toward a more heart-centered place, which he did by pursuing what he loved and wanted to express. That love is what drove the Bruce Lee machine. Bruce was kickass at kung-fu and wanted to express his passion for martial arts to the world. What are you kickass at? What is your kung-fu? It can be difficult to answer this question for yourself, so you should ask five people who are close to you, "What are some of my greatest contributions?" People will tell you what you're good at and can help you find your kung-fu. This is about finding what you love. What will help bring you peace of mind is integrating your internal with your external. "Man's mind and his behavior are one. His inner thought and outer expression cannot contradict each other." We know that in life our mind and our behavior contradict each other all of the time. What Bruce is saying that it is the aim to investigate the inner realm, to know yourself, and then to begin to match how you move through the world with how you are inside. "Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, love will flow back to oneself and soften and purify the heart." Many people fear putting themselves out in the world because they worry that people will not love them, or that they are not good enough. If putting your love out in the world is not well received, you can draw that love back into yourself. Peace of mind is the state where you are trusting yourself, knowing yourself, and expressing your honest self. "If you're busy with your mental computer, your energy goes into your thinking, and you can't hear or see anymore." #TakeAction Practice staying present. Be in the experience of where you are in this moment and engage with where you are right now. Synchronize your inner world with your outer expression. Be the same "you" wherever you go. Stop the mental chatter and remember that you are not your mind, accept where you are right now. #AAHA Karyn Kusama is an American independent film director know for the 2000 film Girlfight which she wrote, directed, and produced. It took two years to finance the film due to her insistence that the main character be Latina rather than allowing the film to become a vehicle for a well-known white actress. The film was released in 2000 and won the Director's Prize and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the Prix de la Jeunesse at the Cannes Film Festival. Kusama went on to direct Aeon Flux staring Charlize Theron in 2005. She also directed Jennifer's Body in 2009 and The Invitation in 2015. Starting in 2015, Kusama began working regularly in TV as a director on shows Halt and Catch Fire, Casual, and Billons. In 2017, Kusama directed a segment of an all female directed anthology horror film called XX. Karyn Kusama, thank you for being out in the world writing your own story, we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment A #BruceLeeMoment from listener Heath: "One of my greatest intuition moments just came this week. For several months now, I had been considering leaving my current job because of how toxic the environment had become. Although I was the leader of the organization, and had been through some terribly troubling situations over the past couple years with the team, the bonding we "felt" over persevering in those situations Was very short lived. The culture had always been very self centered and defensive of the status quo. Growth and change, even if better for our customers was seen as a negative, as a threat, and was defended against unfairly. Even as the leader of this organization, I felt completely helpless to change the culture of this team. I knew it was time to move on, but I was afraid of leaving without having something to go to. Wife, kids, home mortgage...a lot of responsibilities to take care of. Everyone can understand that fear. But it was killing me, and my intuition for MONTHS had been screaming for me to move on. So after telling myself I was going to do it tomorrow (for nearly one year of "tomorrows"), I finally did so this week. Not knowing what I was going to do or where that was going to be, I felt internally that nothing would be revealed until I took that ONE step. And it felt great when I did. Not in a vengeful or vindictive way, though. I felt like I had continuity with my mind and what my spirit was telling me. Harmony. And that harmony was freeing. Uplifting even. And I now had energy to move forward toward what was next, whatever...whenever that might be, without fear. Without anxiety. With hope that my intuition would continue to lead me and end up in my next "moment"." Read our full show notes at Brucelee.com/podcast Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com.
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