299. A Buddhist Teaching for when Everything’s Awful.

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/

We're seeing a lot of talk about being Christian and the Rapture and all. Most of it is missing the point: Jesus' message of compassion was radical for his time, and clearly still is today.

What was your favorite Redford film or two that you’d recommend to others here? RIP, Bob. Thank you, Mr. Robert Redford, for being an iconoclast—an example particularly to so many young men like myself of humor and strength and kindness and integrity in a world of unoriginality, greed, willful harm, and suffering.   Read the full article with more context from Waylon, here, on Elephant Journal: A Personal Goodbye to Robert Redford. ~ Waylon Lewis {+ Podcast, Walk the Talk Show video}

Breathe through the Big Moment. Easier said than done, right? Serious psychological issues, trauma, or deep-seated issues...those require a different approach. But this conversation is an opportunity to talk openly about the Buddhist approach to our everyday stress and anxiety that we’re all experiencing—perhaps more in 2025 than ever. "I'm talking about sort of surface everyday stress and anxiety. You're speedy. You're not getting enough done. You're lazy. From a Buddhist point of view, laziness is a reaction to busyness where you want to take a break, but you tune out in a way that isn't actually relaxing." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon shares a wish for our sweet, sweet (endangered) place in the solar system: Imagine if we could celebrate Halloween without trashing our planet and teaching our children that it’s okay to do so.

What we *All* (especially Parents, hopefully) Want. Waylon shares a reminder that while we all want nice air to breathe, healthy water to drink, a stable planet for our children to grow up on, and for our children to be safe...we vote for politicians and support corporations that do the exact opposite. Again and again. "We gotta walk our talk. So that's the name of this video series, Walk The Talk Show. It's exhausting. It's exhausting to talk about the same thing. So this is just a reminder, if you do care—let's deeply care. Let's be willing to care, willing to expose our hearts and actually make some changes." ~ Waylon H. Lewis ~ "The vast majority of Americans want to take action. Thoughts and prayers are a great start. Nothing's wrong with thoughts and prayers, but if that's where it ends, everything's wrong with thoughts and prayers." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon shares with Elephant Readers, our community, and everyone listening, a simple plug for love in a moment when the GOP / MAGA is again looking to take away gay marriage rights. "Ultimately, we all want to be happy, whatever that looks like. We need to remember that when people are in love, that's one of the greatest contributors to societal happiness and stability." ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon shares a counter-intuitive, Buddhist-inspired tip for those struggling to find motivation—whether you're an entrepreneur, a parent, a teacher, or simply a human who has to "produce something." If we have to do something, have to earn something, want to accomplish something...well, we all sometimes struggle. " If you’re struggling to 'produce' at work, take a step back. Pressure won’t help. That’s burnout and doesn’t create great work or good leadership. Rediscover your motivation. Do something fun or kind for yourself. Then jump back in, with mission harnessed to motivation. You got this!" ~ Waylon H. Lewis

Waylon speaks about four (plus a bonus fifth!) methods we can use to clean our minds in these times that are, to put it kindly, a little nuts. " We need to actively clean our minds, and by that I don't mean we need to be pure. I mean that we need to come back to our basic human goodness." ~ Waylon H. Lewis