Podcast
BuDhaBlog - 2021
Hosted by Jessica Jesse · EN
Jessica Jesse, founder, and CEO of BuDhaGirl has picked your favorite blogs and whimsically recorded them so you can now audibly follow them along.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Where am I me?
Dec 18, 202400:01:47Tap to summarizeJessica Jesse shares her thoughts on "Where Am I Me?" There are different versions of ourselves that do not allow us to be truly present, love ourselves and these versions bring us unhappiness and suffering.
Transcribe →Words of Wisdom || The Now
Dec 5, 2024Tap to summarizeThe Buddha tells us to live in the moment. But we worry too much about what is ahead. We continuously place ourselves ahead of the game. This is necessary to do to some degree in order to plan ahead and mitigate risks of course, but there is a balance. The 'now' is fleeting and will not come back. Enjoy it while you are in it not when it becomes a distant memory of the past.How we think manifests itself in our bodies, and while most of us 'visit the future' regularly, we can end up looking like turtles with our heads stretched forward, already mentally inhabiting the next place we're headed long before we have arrived. We derive a kind of happiness from the anticipation, but strangely, when we are actually in the situation or place we've mentally prepared for, we aren't present in the moment, because we've trained ourselves to look for happiness in the 'next' moment, not in the present one. Contentment is when we realize that this moment, this 'now', contains all the beauty and mystery of any other moment in time.
Transcribe →A Fire to be Kindled
Dec 3, 2024Tap to summarize“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” - PlutarchThis introspective quote by Plutarch makes me want to translate it into modern terms.I like to say that most people don’t care so much about data, they would rather hear a story. It sparks their interest. It warms their heart. It keeps them engaged.Although some will contend that data tends to be based in fact, these facts, unless they are dire, don’t really motivate us to modify our opinion or behavior. But when we hear a story that is relatable… a story that triggers empathy in us… one that we can follow from beginning to end… then, and only then, we are more likely to be called to action. Stories light the proverbial fire within us.A perfect example of this is BuDhaGirl. Many times, I begin to tell people about the science behind BuDhaGirl. There are not only hard numbers to analyze, but also scientific studies to read that validate how moments of focused meditation and intention setting do amazing things to the brain. Countless studies show how short brain breaks during the day can directly influence the neuroplasticity of our brain. In other words, meditation and brain breaks can actually keep our brains pliable and youthful as we age. People listen and are interested in these facts, but the moment I tell the story about rituals and bangles, the concept of BuDhaGirl becomes lit from within. The background story and the client testimonials are the keys to creating that emotional connection that makes BuDhaGirl a valuable, impassioned concept. BuDhaGirl strives to kindle the innate fire in you.
Transcribe →Hearing vs. Listening
Nov 26, 2024Tap to summarizeI often use an exercise using evocative language to help increase the awareness of our senses. As in the topic of our blog today: What is the difference between hearing versus listening?Listening vs. hearing is like comparing the Pacific Ocean to Lake Texoma. You can’t.Listening is choosing to be present. Whether we are in nature and we allow its sounds to embrace us; or by ourselves, listening to our inner voice until we are able to quiet our mind; and of course, when we listen to others. In each of these instances, what makes the leap from hearing to listening, is one very important thing: caring.Caring enough about what is being said, about what is being sung, at the wind through the trees, and the playful chime of a trickling brook. Caring about what we are listening to, allows us to connect with our environment and with others, while hopefully and very importantly, making an inner connection with ourselves. Listening takes effort on our part to pay attention to what is taking place at that particular moment. It is choosing to be present and respectful. Listening is not random; it is a choice.By listening we understand better. We become wiser because we increase our learning capacity. Listening allows our brain to make deeper connections providing us with an augmented ability for decision making.Above all, being a good listener is one, if not the most sought-after quality, in any relationship.
Transcribe →A Goal Without A Plan
Nov 20, 2024Tap to summarize“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” - Antoine de Saint-Expeiry Leave it to the Little Prince to express such a powerfully true statement.Our daily inner lives (thoughts) (conversations) are full of wishes…we are full of possibilities. These possibilities however are very much a struggle between good and not-so-good (bad).If we are able to quiet our thoughts and conversations, can we discern what we truly wish for?And once we identify our wish, can we understand that at first a wish is something like hope? You hope that X will take place. But what if we now come to understand that hope is something outside of ourselves, and that if we want our wish to come true, we need a plan.A plan, a road map, a guide, and some motivating fuel.Many people have an overdeveloped wishing muscle, expecting that if the universe wants them to accomplish their goal, a path will be laid out for them and all the accouterments for the journey provided. Wrong. The universe will give you opportunities, but you must be open to seize them, and you must execute actions each and every day to obtain your goal.So…take a moment to map it out, step by step, and do a happy dance at each completed step.
Transcribe →There Are Two Ways To Get Enough
Nov 18, 2024Tap to summarize“There are two ways to get enough: One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” - G.K. ChestertonWhen I first read this quote, I froze. It explained so much, it instantly showed me one of the areas that at least for me, had always been a problem. Acquisition. It is as if acquiring things made you happier and somehow better.When I looked around at my abundance…my health, my thoughts, and even my monetary status…I asked myself what else do I need? I all of a sudden stopped, I was complete. I had enough.But then the question was…what am I going to do with my abundance? Share it.“Enough” at the beginning of the day is having one more day in life, and at the end of each day, “Enough” is having led a day with grace, gratitude, and accomplishment using my three wealths: health, wisdom, and financial.But most importantly…” Enough'“ is having my children safe and happy, my husband still in love with me, and having the privilege of my freedom.
Transcribe →New Age, New Anxieties
Nov 14, 2024Tap to summarize“To each man’s ages the Lord gives it own anxieties.” Paulo CoehloAs children, many of us wrestled with daily anxieties. Fear of the dark. Monsters under the bed. Losing mom in the grocery store. We longed to be older - at an age where we were confident and less fearful. Then we aged a little. Fear of the dark evolved into anxiety about SAT scores and learning to drive. Once again, we longed to be older - at an age where we were accomplished and less fearful. Time goes on and we age even more. We take a job. We buy a house. We have a kid. A few kids. The anxieties don’t disappear, in fact, they get a little sharper. After all, there’s more at stake. We somehow think that with age things will be easier. Not so. Each day is completely new. Sure, certain fears have evaporated, but they have been replaced with others. Scary, right? The good news is that with age comes perspective. While we are encumbered by very real fears and anxieties as we get older, we also build our experiences and sense of awareness. Unlike our younger selves, we now have memories of all of the things we were able to accomplish and withstand even in the face of fear. Having this in mind, we can look our anxiety in the face and know that this, too, shall pass. We know that one day, this anxiety we wrestle with will fade into a memory as we move on to deal with other challenges. Our advice? Treat your fear or anxiety as a gift. It’s there to protect you, but also to help you grow. Only once you surpass it can you progress to the next summit of your journey.
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What Came First?
Nov 12, 202400:02:10Tap to summarizeThere is no need to spend time or money when it is within our own selves to simply decide that we want beauty in our life…simply begin by breathing.
Transcribe →Making Moolah
Nov 7, 2024Tap to summarizeThere are a few for whom the pursuit of making money is a passion…the way that a baker bakes incredible bread, a gardener harvests beautiful plants, a painter creates a masterpiece. These folks who hold a passion for finances will be very happy to make money while working at making money.However, for most of us, money is a by-product of our work. If we love what we do and are diligent in perfecting our craft on a daily basis (even when sometimes we really want to take a break) there is a very good chance that eventually we will feel successful. And look at it this way, even if you do not end up rolling in money, you are doing something you love.The tragedy is the inverse of this: doing something you hate for money. Ouch.That is the one lesson I tell both of my children time and time again. Please, please choose a line of work that you love. Work that will inspire you and make you better every day and work that will make a difference to you and those around you and maybe the world itself. I also tell them that diligence in work is what brings about rewards, and that reward absolutely can also be financial compensation.I often remember my very first paycheck. I couldn’t believe it…I was being paid to do something I loved. Throughout my career and really throughout any of my business ventures, I have tried to always find that passion, that feeling of: I deserve this, I have earned this.I like financial rewards. I want to make sure that I have earned them so I may enjoy them and value them.
Transcribe →Reading The Signs
Nov 5, 2024Tap to summarizeAre you one who can sit back and analyze a situation by reading the signs? Sometimes these signs are not tangibly or physically observed or manifested, but you (the inner you) can see past what is observable.Call it instinct. Call it intuition. Call it your third eye. Call it what you will, but you just know what’s going to happen. Many times, we ignore these signs because we want to be pragmatic, and scientific, we want proof and data. This willful avoidance of what is plainly evident to “us”, even though we can’t immediately prove it, causes us great angst. It messes with our psyche, and oftentimes, to our detriment, we regret not following our gut feeling.When either my team, a friend, or my family are in a quandary, because they are bothered by signs, I reply by saying: “If it looks like a skunk, smells like a skunk, and acts like a skunk…guess what? It is a skunk.” Read the signs.
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