Elephant Journal: The Mindful Life With Waylon

" We can do better. We can teach men that real masculinity is based on taking responsibility and being willing to apologize. That's owning something. That's true leadership. It's built on being kind to others." This week on our long-running "Walk the Talk Show" podcast and video series, Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the mind-blowing factoid he discovered about the origins of the "alpha male" concept when it was studied in the 80s and about how it actually means the exact opposite of what we believe today.

This week, Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the reality of aging and growing older...about how it doesn't match our childhood utopic idea of what being an "adult" may mean, and shares his advice for younger folks who may be realizing that they're surrounded by cynics—and a lack of ethics. Read the full article on Elephant!

Support the Good Wolf. This week, Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about April Fools' Day, why he calls it a holy Buddhist holiday, and shares the reasoning behind why we go hard on the so-called joking on this day each year as a publication. He also offers a reminder for us all about The Man and Big Tech, and how we may not be walking our talk as often as we think we are. Waylon: "When Elephant talks—jokes—about selling out on April Fools' Day, people are offended, or freaked out, or just plain sad. Which I actually think is healthy! What I think is actually troubling is how many 'congratulations' I get every year for 'selling out to The Man and becoming filthy rich...'"  If you can't boycott 'em, use them...instead of just being used by them.

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the upcoming No Kings Day on March 28th, 2026, and gives us two small tasks we can do to protect our democracy: 1. Subscribe to real, actual journalism versus social media or corporate media. 2. Show up peacefully to protest this Saturday. Find a protest near you! Our Walk the Talk Show Editor, Molly, will be joining the flagship event being held in St. Paul, Minnesota. There's also an event in good 'ole Indy for Waylon to join! Waylon sums it up:  "There's nothing more American than peacefully protesting when you feel your government has absconded or failed its duty to uphold democratic and peaceful, transparent values."   As Ben Franklin said, it's our republic if we can keep it.

"Is it okay to feel anger, from a Buddhist point of view?" This week, Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the very real feeling that many people across the United States (and the world) are feeling: anger. Each week Waylon and Molly, our Walk the Talk Show editor, chat about what's going on in the world and what might be of benefit to our Readers on the next Walk the Talk Show episode. In an act of angry desperation about the state of the world, Molly sent Waylon a text at the end of a long day and said: "I think people want some wisdom or some method to help them process the current events and (dare I say it) anger. Like, I want a podcast called: It's Okay to be Angry & Still be a Buddhist." And that, friends, is where this moment of everyday wisdom came from. Waylon—heroically sallying forth despite being visibly in a pre-morning coffee state of half-being—talking about anger and if it's "okay" to feel those feelings from a mindful perspective.

Recently, thanks to Shambhala Publications and our friend Ivan Bercholz, we had the chance to ask Pema Chodron, the wonderful Buddhist teacher I've been lucky enough to know all my life, a brief question. It was Willa and Kelsey's first time meeting Pema! It was a pleasure and an honor and helpful in an earthy way. Dharma is always surprising in how it rings true and surprises my thinking mind. ~ Waylon Lewis Read the full article on Elephant: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2026/03/im-a-new-father-i-asked-pema-chodron-how-we-should-prepare-our-daughter-for-a-wild-world/

The thing I'm always trying to explain to my liberal idiot friends is that the climate crisis, global warming, global shawarmaing—whatever you want to call it—doesn't really matter. You know why? 'Cause I'm 51. Even if global warming were true—which, obviously, it's not; FAKE NEWS!—I'll be dead. So it doesn't matter, right? Right? ~ Read the full article on Elephant: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2026/03/it-doesnt-matter-if-were-good-to-mother-nature-right-waylon-lewis-walk-the-talk-show-podcast-video/

Waylon speaks with the Elephant community about the very real reality that many people in cities across the United States are dealing with the endless, overwhelming onslaught of outright lies, disinformation, political retribution, and loud-and-proud discrimination we are living in during Trump's second term in office. The attacks are never-ending, and they naturally lead to a feeling of overwhelm, and overwhelm can lead to…you guessed it: burnout. After speaking to a friend in Minneapolis who has seen and experienced this firsthand, he's here to offer a Buddhist perspective on burnout plus three specific things we can all (un)do right now if we want to climb out of the burnout hole. Find the full article on Elephant Journal: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2026/02/three-things-to-undo-right-now-if-youre-burned-out-waylon-lewis-walk-the-talk-show-podcast-video/

Waylon meets Jeff Fulmer, the author of the book "The Two Prophets," and discusses how this is a book to help millions of readers digest, process, and even enjoy this over-full moment in human history. "Touching on every issue we're all going through in these turbulent times, it's a page-turning adventurous read that's fun, yet serious. You can sit down with a good book, read it, and take in current events—which are pretty stressful—but have a good time doing so because it's been novelized. It's a fun story. I read it and loved it. I'll be reading his other books now." ~ Waylon H. Lewis  Want to learn more about the book? We've got the goods: https://www.elephantjournal.com/the-two-prophets-by-jeff-fulmer-partner/ Find the full article on Elephant Journal about this interview: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2026/02/a-novel-for-this-moment-waylon-w-jeff-fulmer-author-of-the-two-prophets-walk-the-talk-show-podcast-video/ 

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

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/

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.