This episode is for anyone who's tired of their own brain running the show and wants practical tools to stop getting stuck in the highs and lows of everyday life.

More info, resources & ways to connect & support - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/saw-myint

Saw Myint didn't set out to become a mental health advocate. She needed help as a kid and nobody was there to listen. That experience shaped everything that came after.

Growing up in a big household with extended family, Saw was treated like a servant by one of her mother's sisters. She was just a child who didn't know how to speak up. Nobody noticed. Nobody helped. That absence created a drive in her that's lasted decades: she wanted to be the person for others that she never had for herself.

Now 52, the Burmese Australian mom of two has built a life around helping people. She started at 20 doing translation work for immigrants who needed help navigating schools and government departments. As she made money, she sent it back to Myanmar where there's no welfare system. When she turned 30, she got serious about Buddhism and started incorporating those teachings into how she showed up for people.

But Saw ran into a problem when she tried to share her approach on social media. People saw her as a woman who couldn't speak perfect English. They weren't listening to what she was saying. So she pivoted to podcasts, looking for credibility in a different format.

What Saw teaches is far from your typical meditation practice. She struggled with traditional meditation herself because it had to make sense to her first. Why should she sit and focus on breathing? She wanted to understand the why before the how. So she learned from monks' lectures and found one teacher about three years ago whose approach clicked.

The core idea is simple: we only have two main feelings. Satisfied or unsatisfied. Happy or unhappy. And neither one lasts. Good food, good sex, good drugs - they all fade. Same with the bad stuff. Life keeps moving. We're aging every second but only notice it every ten years.

According to Saw, science backs this up. Everything is mind and body, moving millions of times per second. By the time you feel something, whatever triggered it is already gone. You're having feelings about things that aren't even there anymore or about reflections and memories. So why get too attached?

This isn't about becoming a monk or a saint. Saw wants to help everyday people living normal lives. You don't need to sit down and meditate for hours. Just recognize that happiness doesn't last, unhappiness doesn't last, and neither is worth getting addicted to. Feel it, show it, then move on to what's next.

She acknowledges that this approach isn't for everyone. You need to be open-minded and realistic. You need to face facts. But for people who are ready to listen, the practice happens while you're living your life. It's about developing the right mindset so that whatever you face, good or bad, you'll be okay.

During our conversation, Saw led a brief meditation exercise. Instead of focusing only on breath, she asked us to notice everything that came to mind without judgment. Worries, memories, plans - just let them in and observe. Most of what fills our heads is either memory or imagination anyway. Only about 25% of our worries actually happen.

Her advice for anyone struggling: don't be shy or scared. Open up. Talk to someone. Half the problem gets solved just by letting it out.

Healing & The Buddha Way with Saw Myint