Elephant Journal: The Mindful Life With Waylon

Waylon shares a message with our dear Elephant community about the devastating fires ravaging California right now...and what it means for us. We have to do more than think about taking action. We have to actually do it. “I don't want to completely denigrate good feelings, or love, or caring, but it's just as meaningless as when folks offer thoughts and prayers around gun control. It doesn't change the unfolding reality that is hurting so many people. It was popular on Instagram, TikTok, et cetera, a year or two ago to say that our [personal, eco] changes don't matter. That [environmental damage is] all about rich people—billionaires—and there's a lot of truth to that. But at the same time, we, unlike some of these oligarchs and billionaires, hopefully care. We have to drive this change. We, en masse, are far more powerful than any one billionaire or oligarch.” ~ Waylon Lewis

Waylon welcomes the new year with a message to the Elephant community...and a little honesty for us all to take to heart. He asks: what can you do this year to serve our planet, be kind to yourself, and care about others? “Whatever you can do in this new year is going to be vital. And that includes taking care of yourself.” ~ Waylon Lewis

Jews have Hanukkah. Christians, Xmas. African-Americans, Kwanzaa. Buddhists? Children's Day. Waylon speaks about the Buddhist holiday of Children's Day ahead of the celebrations on December 21, 2024.

Waylon talks about the importance of embracing and appreciating the seasonality and cold weather as we push back against the effects of climate change. “The cycle of seasons is natural and something to appreciate, not take for granted. This is just a reminder that nice weather can be snowy weather!” ~ Waylon Lewis Read more on Elephant Journal on the topic:  Folks love to say “it’s bad weather” when it’s cold, or “it’s nice out” when it’s 60 in December in Colorado. - https://elejrnl.com?p=3268075  Frank. 95 years old. Shoveling 200 feet of snow, a big old smile on his face, eyes clear as day, memory sharp. - https://elejrnl.com?p=3642046  For all my friends who hate Christmas and/or Winter. - https://elejrnl.com?p=1168269   

Waylon talks about living in fear, and why he's making an effort as a journalist to speak to our mindful audience about the facts as they come to light during the Trump presidential transition and beyond. "Don't live in fear, but *do* be aware and do advocate for the world you want to live in." ~ Waylon Lewis

Shop local and small! Give nothing?! What it means to give goodness. Read the articles mentioned in the video: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/12/elephantjournal-coms-long-awaited-top-10-must-have-green-things-to-buy-for-christmas-list/ https://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/12/how-to-be-rich/ 

MAGA/Trump-voting family + Thanksgiving, what’s your approach? Politics aren’t something we can—or should—put in a private drawer and forget about or overlook. Read the article on Elephant Journal: https://elejrnl.com?p=4103058  

Waylon Lewis lists his favorite books to get the beginner Buddhist, or anyone, started. Bonus: Waylon leads a meditation at the end.

The notion of moreover: we can live life—relationships, work, neuroses—from the point of view of lost in it, lost in all the details, that feeling of overwhelm and chaos (we all know that feeling of busyness and inefficiency) or we can live it above the clouds, with clarity, moreover. How to get moreover all of it.

Waylon demonstrates how to use natural hierarchy to uplift your life without being uptight. Many of us have an expectation that spirituality should be pleasant, pretty, affirming. It can be. But it can also be tough, scary, uncomfortable. What it is, most fundamentally, is natural. In harmony with Nature, we learn to abide by its laws. Read the article on Elephant Journal: https://elejrnl.com?p=910955

Waylon shares his favorite poem with the Elephant Journal community. Poems can be helpful to us in a spiritual, heartfelt way. But there are also practical, life-helpful poems. And the poem he's sharing today is a practical poem for everyday life, that has been especially helpful for Waylon and his family in recent days. "This poem is a roadmap for a lot of life's challenges in a way that very few are." ~ Waylon Lewis

Waylon talks with Janette Spiezio of Sustainable Haus, a zero-waste store in Summit, New Jersey. Check out her helpful articles on Elephant! "The most inspiring woman you’ll want to learn from today!" ~ Waylon Lewis Waylon talks with Janette about: > Keys to successful entrepreneurship and why so many zero-waste shops close > How to actually change society: bottom-up creating more top-down change > Anti-plastic vs. non-toxic > Perfection vs. effort > The power of word of mouth

Waylon (dumb) vs Dr. John Douillard (expert) talk health!   The Ideal Summer Diet According to Ayurveda with Waylon Lewis & Dr. John Douillard. Has Walk the Talk Show been of benefit to your life? Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

We don't have to worship Biden to vote for him...because when we vote for him, we're voting for us and we're voting for democracy, and this is our last chance. If that sounds like partisan hyperbole, you're not listening to Trump and his acolyte's own words. And after that debate—lying on one side, goodness and aged exhaustion on the other...I feel a sense of care and sadness for this American experiment: that is, freedom, and democracy. While I said the below before the many and growing calls for his retirement to make space for a new group of candidates, the ethics or values herein apply 100%: Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis presents: Our natural and healthy tendency to become distracted by the daily vicissitudes of life and, is, on the flip side, the result of not treating what is urgent as urgent because we are...distracted.  Has Walk the Talk Show been of benefit to your life? Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

Selflessness is a path, not a state of perfection. If, along the way, we practice thinking of others, first, we might find our ego's self-concern dissolve. Enjoy Walk the Talk Show? Keep us sustainable. Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

Inside this classic Walk the Talk Show conversation, Waylon starts by leading us with a simple meditation and then discusses how to slow down, be present, and mindfully enjoy what’s left of summer. Enjoy Walk the Talk Show? Keep us sustainable. Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

Why July 4th is more than a party. Thoughtful Dissent & Non-violent Activism is Patriotism: Happy July 4th! Enjoy Walk the Talk Show? Keep us sustainable. Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

Waylon shares his views after the June 27th Presidential debate with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. He also addresses the common comments he, and Elephant Journal, field after sharing political articles and social media posts and why we do what we do.  Hint: it’s because we care. Enjoy Walk the Talk Show? Keep us sustainable. Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

Habitual patterns are so tough—we are stuck with them our whole lives. No matter how much discipline or willpower we exert, they come back. So start small: be gentle with yourself, meditate, relax with multi-tasking…and witness your whole life awaken like an unfolding flower. Try this for one week and let me know how it goes. Enjoy Walk the Talk Show? Keep us sustainable. Give us a Tip in our Tip Jar.

Waylon & Kelsey, sittin’ in a tree…have some big news. In the latest episode of Elephant's long-running, award-winning podcast and video series Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis... Waylon and his beloved, Kelsey, share some big news. They talk through the Buddhist framework they used as they navigated this change to their life paths: outer, inner, and secret.