307. Last Year...Sucked. Get Ready: The Year of the Fire Horse is nearly here. (Feng Shui expert Anjie Cho w/Waylon Lewis).

Waylon catches up with one of our favorite guests: mindful meditator, sangha friend, and feng shui expert Anjie Cho. They discuss how hard last year was, the Year of the Yin Wood Snake, what we should consider at the tail of the Snake year before the official shift into the Horse year, and what we can do to prepare before the Lunar, or Eastern, or Tibetan/Chinese New Year. "It's interesting. No one has said that last year was wonderful. They're like—2025 sucked.  Because a lot of people had such a difficult 2025, many people have asked me: what can I do right now in this transition? They recognize there's this bardo—this in-between space—that feels important to pay attention to.  So what do we do specifically over the next couple weeks, if anything? I'm asking people to sit down and think about like what is it that they shed in the last year. Notice what's transformed, and what is still kind of there. Write that down and contemplate that. You could even burn that piece of paper and let it go. And then, think about what is it that you want to grow instead—you can use the energy of the Horse to propel you forward." ~ Anjie Cho Read Anjie's article and find your personal, mindful aspiration to contemplate in this Year of the Yang Fire Horse based on your zodiac animal. Find Anjie's podcast: https://www.holisticspaces.com

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the trap of positivity and how it can actually do the opposite of what we think, and result in us turning away from the outside world and instead showing up in the world in a more cold or withdrawn manner. Instead, if we are accepting, and powerful, and courageous, and brave, and vulnerable, by opening up to the world around us as it is—reality—we can hear, and learn from it and instead of sitting in stress or fear of hearing it, we can say, how can I help? How am I a part of this? And those are good questions to ask, because they then allow us to look at solutions. "Our hearts are not available if we're concerned first with feeling happy and relaxed. When our loyalty is to feeling happy and relaxed, it's actually a very stressful place to be because we're constantly trying to push away negative things and cling to positive things." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about being a new father and the need to provide a livable planet for our children to thrive on for generations to come. Now is the time to resist and not to give our power away, and we can do this by dozens of minute, mindful actions we can take every day, and by being  Buddhist (not religiously) in the sense that we're being kind to ourselves. "We need a habitable planet for Willa, and all our children, to live on. I know we know this, but we don't really act like it. " ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about not giving up our power. Last week's podcast was on the theme of reclaiming our power, and this week he digs into this a little more in-depth.  Some folks may ask, "Who cares if I do something environmentally-responsible or not?" Well, every little thing does matter to someone or something. And, billionaires' actions matter much more. But, still, too, every little thing we do matters—because there's billions of us. And, it's the right thing to do—the kind thing to do. "Powerlessness is actually convenient for our egos. The truth is that we have power. Most of us may not have a lot of power, but we have power. We have power to inspire. We have power to upset, and to depress. We have power for neurosis. We have power for sanity..." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about using our collective power for good. "Reclaim your own power—do what you can with where you are, now, starting now. Put more love and healing into our dear world and take out some of the aggression and casual, speedy, destructive selfishness." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the 2025 election and the power of small-d democracy in action. "So much to celebrate last night. Meaningful victories for public servants who will serve us and US, across the board. The beginning— just the beginning—of a repudiation of Donald Trump's corruption and willful destruction of democracy. But most of all: a reminder that most of us are good caring people. Let's do this!!" ~ Waylon H. Lewis

This is a challenge for most of us. Be kind to yourself. We have to work with our own thing—open up, be wakeful and available first, then we can help the world. There is nothing more intimate than working with family. That is a path of meditation or mindfulness. This is our practice.

Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis presents: our 300th Podcast! Waylon speaks with the founder of Boulder, Colorado-based Peak State Coffee, Danny Walsh, about what we should look for in our daily cup of joe and why we might want to re-empower our buying power and support a eco, ethical coffee companies.  Danny Walsh: " When I was going into business, I was like, 'I'm not gonna start just another business in this modern age unless it's better than what's out there from an environmental and sustainability perspective.' Not all coffee is created equal." Their conversation jumps from the misnomer that "coffee is coffee," to growing practices, to certifications, to flavor, cost, and the basic ethics and labor behind your cup of coffee.

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about a Buddhist teaching that will always bring you back to the truth, especially when things  are at their hardest and it feels like the world is going to crap. Lean on this notion. "Impermanence is a teaching that reminds us that when we can't find any ground, when there's chaos…that's actually good news because we're living in the truth that there is no solidity. That who we are doesn't really stop with who you are and doesn't really stop with this tree over here or with the sky above. Impermanence actually makes us an environmentalist because we care about everything—the greater good—including ourselves." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about a Buddhist method to apply toward making decisions in our lives—big, or little. Suggested Reading: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind ~ Shunryu Suzuki Read more about "don't-know mind": https://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/04/i-dont-know-do-you-know/