The Urban Monk podcast with Dr. Pedram Shojai

It’s no secret that women today are juggling a lot. They now make up more than half the workforce in the United States and are busier than ever with partners, children, family and friends, often putting the needs of others ahead of their own. And if they feel overwhelmed by it all or fall short of perfection, many have learned to be their own worst critic rather than their own best friend. To try to get women back on their own sides HeatherAsh Amara provides an antidote against the thinking that you are not enough. How can you be present here and now with work, your partner, your children, whatever is present in front of you right now? How can you reclaim your energy to focus on what you need to instead of worrying what happened in the past or worrying what might happen in the future? How can you get yourself unstuck from the everyday grind of life?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk121HeatherashAmara.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

For decades, we’ve been told the key to prosperity is to look out for number one. But recent science shows that to achieve durable success, we need to be more than just achievers; we need to be compassionate achievers. Compassion seems to be a big missing ingredient in a lot of human interactions. How can one be a better compassionate person and understand and connect with other people? Pedram Shojai welcomes author Chris Kukk to The Urban Monk to discuss why compassion can create more productive workplaces along with healthier, less violent communities.

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Direct download: UrbanMonk120ChrisKukk.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

Fear has a tendency to give us tunnel vision—we fill the unknown with our worst imaginings and cling to what’s familiar. But when confronted with new challenges, we need to think more broadly and adapt. When Isaac Lidsky learned that he was beginning to go blind at age thirteen, eventually losing his sight entirely by the time he was twenty-five, he initially thought that blindness would mean an end to his early success and his hopes for the future. After such a major setback, he didn't let being blind keep him down. He took responsibility over his reality and thrived. Pedram Shojai talks with him about the challenges he faced, what life was like before, during, and after he went blind, and how he is now able to run a business and raise children which in and of itself is difficult enough!

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Direct download: UrbanMonk119IsaacLidsky.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

For many, spring time is the time we finally get to leave the house and enjoy the outdoors after a cold and bitter winter. Spring is also the time we get to get our hands dirty with our garden. A garden is a great way to introduce some plant life right in our own front yards. Some people might just pick some plants and flowers to plant based on how they look or how they smell, but what thought do people put into how the plant might interact with the wildlife of the area? To talk about how to help protect wildlife through our own gardens, Pedram Shojai invites David Mizejewski of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). What are some major issues facing wildlife nowadays? What does the NWF do to help preserve wildlife? How can home gardens help or harm local wildlife?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk118DavidMizejewski.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:48am MDT

Elizabeth Bast and Chor Boogie are a couple that have navigated some choppy waters. Chor Boogie was a drug addict that was clean for over a decade. But then despite such a great run of being clean, he relapses. Unfortunately, 90% of narcotics addicts relapse in their first year of being clean. Elizabeth and Chor wanted to break this addiction once and for all and weren't finding any permanent solutions through the traditional medical system so they looked elsewhere. Their attentions were turned towards an obscure sacred plant from Central West Africa named iboga. What is iboga? How did the ancient people of Africa use it? Is there any research that has been done on this plant? How is it different from other sacred medicinal herbs like ayahuasca, peyote, or psilocybin mushrooms? How lasting are the effects?


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Direct download: UrbanMonk117BastAndBoogie.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

The ocean is a big place. And we keep putting our crap in it. But how is human-made trash ending up in our oceans? Surely people aren't still dumping tons of trash into our oceans purposefully, right? And with so much trash in the ocean, what can the average person do to help? On today's episode of The Urban Monk, Pedram invites Elizabeth Murdock, director of the Pacific Ocean initiative at the Natural Resources Defense Council, to discuss the current state of the oceans. How has human trash affected sea life in the oceans? Do we actively have to get into the ocean to clean it up? What preventative steps can we take to ensure our trash does not end up in the ocean?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk116ElizabethMurdock.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

Whether we’re in the boardroom or the classroom, we spend far too much time and energy looking for the right answer. But the truth is that questions are just as important as answers, often more so. If you ask the wrong question, for instance, you’re guaranteed to get the wrong answer. A good question, on the other hand, inspires a good answer and, in the process, invites deeper understanding and more meaningful connections between people. Asking a good question requires us to move beyond what we think we know about an issue or a person to explore the difficult and the unknown, the awkward, and even the unpleasant.

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Direct download: UrbanMonk115JamesERyan.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

For some there is a huge disconnect between mind and body. This can be exacerbated when regarding lovemaking. For Charu Morgan, she was able to find a strong connection to her body through the practice of tantra. What is tantra? Is it specifically related to the act of sex? How does the practice reconnect the body and mind and how does it lead to enhanced pleasure during lovemaking? Is this something that can only be practiced during the act? And for those of us currently flying solo, is there anything we can benefit from practicing tantra as well? I'm, uh, asking for a friend...

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Direct download: UrbanMonk114CharuMorgan.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

What is the principle purpose of a brain? A simple question, but the answer has taken millennia for us to begin to understand. So critical for our everyday existence, the brain still remains somewhat of a mystery. Gary L. Wenk takes us on a tour of what we do know about this enigmatic organ, showing us how the workings of the human brain produce our thoughts, feelings, and fears, and answering questions such as: How did humans evolve such a big brain? What is an emotion and why do we have them? What is a memory and why do we forget so easily? How does your diet affect how you think and feel? What happens when your brain gets old?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk113GaryWenk.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT

Economics affect all of us. Whether good or bad, whatever is happening in the world of economics affects policy decisions, multi-billion-dollar investments, and even social and environmental policy decisions. But according to economist Kate Raworth, most ideas about economics are extremely out of date and college courses are behind by decades. What is the traditional view of economics and how is it out of date? How would Raworth reframe the way we think about economics? What kind of changes could occur if we change this thinking?

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Direct download: UrbanMonk111KateRaworth.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am MDT