Tag: Dhammapada

Sri Ravi Shankar, Get the Hell Out of Your Own Way, Before Sunrise, Psych2Go, and Dhammapada 33

Sri Ravi Shankar, Get the Hell Out of Your Own Way, Before Sunrise, Psych2Go, and Dhammapada 33

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on October 23, 2022

Sunday Supplement #76 (October 23rd, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have.”

– Sri Ravi Shankar

Book of the Week:

Get the Hell Out of Your Own Way – Jan Grobler

Jan Grobler is a Life & Transformation Coach, Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, Psychological Kinesiologist, and Teacher.

Get the Hell Out of Your Own Way contains the lessons Grobler learned along his journey that helped him heal his past trauma and obtain freedom to move forward.

The book is divided into three parts: How We End Up in Our Own Way, Cutting the Key to Your Freedom, and Be & Stay in the Driver’s Seat of Your Life.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the combination of wisdom the text provided and the prompts in the book to help you take actionable steps forward in your life.

Get the Hell Out of Your Own Way is an engaging read that leaves you with many gems to bring into your life.

Movie of the Week:

Before Sunrise

I’ve only seen the first film in Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, but it’s a movie I find myself thinking about long after I’ve seen it.

The story follows a young man and woman as they meet on a train in Europe and spend one evening together in Vienna.

Most of the movie focuses on the dialogue between the two characters as they explore their contrasting ideas and perspectives on life and love.

Before Sunrise premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and grossed $22.5 million from a $2.5 million budget.

The movie is an intriguing watch for its exploration of postmodern views on love and appears on many watch lists with favorable reviews from critics.

Brainfood of the Week:

6 Signs Your Burnt Out, Not Lazy | Psych2Go

Psych2Go’s mission is to make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone. Their YouTube page has just shy of 10 million followers.

This Psych2Go video defines burnout as a negative state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive stress and the inability to cope with it.

There are many overlaps between laziness and burnout, and it’s important to know the difference to recognize early signs.

Psycho2Go’s video is not a substitute for professional advice, but it is a good source of general education.

I’ve featured Psycho2Go before in Sunday Supplement #66 and recommend checking out their channel.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Just as a fletcher straightens an arrow shaft, even so, the discerning man straightens his mind— so fickle and unsteady, so difficult to guard.”

– Dhammapada 33

This verse from the Dhammapada reminds me of the constant task of attending to our minds.

I think of moments in my past when I’ve been happy with where I’m at but didn’t continue on the path of reflection and improvement.

The Dhammapada passage points out how the mind can be fickle, unsteady, and difficult to guard. It requires constant work.

The example reminds me of the necessity for continuing to exercise if you want to stay in shape. You can’t stop once you reach a certain point and expect to stay in shape.

Make tweaks to the arrow of your life to improve its flight, and have a blessed week ahead!

6 Comments

Mahatma Gandhi, The Lords of Discipline, Yojimbo, Sadhguru, and Dhammapada 258

Mahatma Gandhi, The Lords of Discipline, Yojimbo, Sadhguru, and Dhammapada 258

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on September 11, 2022

Sunday Supplement #70 (September 11th, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Book of the Week:

The Lords of Discipline – Pat Conroy

Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline recounts Will McClean’s time as a cadet at a fictional Military Institute in Charleston, South Carolina.

Will is in his fourth year in the Institute and narrates his experiences over the four years, focusing on the school’s emphasis on hazing.

Will and his friends discover a secret society that aims to drive out any cadet deemed unworthy of graduating through whatever means necessary.

Their lives are threatened when they uncover the secret, and they must decide how far they are willing to go to protect fellow cadets.

Pat Conroy was a brilliant author. I featured him in Sunday Supplement #55, and I highly recommend his best works. The Lords of Discipline is one of them.

Movie of the Week:

Yojimbo

Akira Kurosawa is a legendary filmmaker. There have been many remakes of his classic movies for Western audiences, the most famous being The Magnificent Seven from Seven Samurai.

Yojimbo tells the story of a town ruled by two criminal gangs. A ronin (wandering samurai) arrives and decides to play the gangs against each other to free the town’s people.

There aren’t too many classic movies that stand the test of time without being outdated in some way or another. However, Yojimbo holds up in every conceivable way.

The acting, led by Toshirô Mifune as The Samurai, is superb. The story is excellent. And everything from costume design to editing is beautifully detailed.

This is a great one to add to your list for those interested in delving into foreign films or seeing classics. If you’re just looking for an entertaining movie, Yojimbo fits the bill as well.

Brainfood of the Week:

How to Always Make the Right Decision? | Sadhguru

In this video, a young man asks Sadhguru, “How do we know we are making the right or wrong decision in the moment?”

Sadhguru discusses how you create conflict within yourself over every simple thing when you think this way.

Nobody knows if they are doing the right or wrong thing.

The best you can do is to ask, “Is this something that brings well-being to me and everybody around me?”

The best we can do is to be reasonably balanced, clear, and happy when we decide.

I featured Sadhguru in Sunday Supplement #8. He is an Indian yogi and bestselling author. I find his videos from time to time, and they always provide thought-provoking content.

If you find this one interesting, check out his YouTube page, which has over 10 million followers and over a billion views.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving, and fearless, then his is in truth called wise.”

– Dhammapada 258

This verse from the collection of Buddha’s sayings reminds me of the ideal of practicing what you preach.

I think the first step to action is realizing that there is something you wish to correct in yourself or in the world.

However, if those thoughts only remain words, then the actualized potential that comes through action will never occur.

The Dhammapada verse also shows how wise does not mean ruthless or dominating. I think power can be held in high regard, but while it may denote skill, wisdom can be absent.

My takeaway from this verse is to practice the ideals I hold up and to remember to center peace, love, and fearlessness in how I move forward.

Consider your beliefs, take action, and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed

Anne Wilson Schaef, The 4-Hour Body, The Karate Kid, Wendy Suzuki, and the Dhammapada 204

Anne Wilson Schaef, The 4-Hour Body, The Karate Kid, Wendy Suzuki, and the Dhammapada 204

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on July 31, 2022

Sunday Supplement #64 (July 31st, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account.”

– Anne Wilson Schaef

Book of the Week:

The 4-Hour Body – Timothy Ferriss

*I recommend this book with a grain of salt. I do not believe everything in The 4-Hour Body should be followed. Ferriss isn’t a dietician or doctor. He states as much in a disclaimer.

That being said, I picked up many useful tidbits from the book.

Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Body was his followup to his New York Times bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek (which I covered in Sunday Supplement #57).

In addition to his award-winning podcast, bestselling books, and successes as an entrepreneur, Ferriss is a tango world record holder and former national kickboxing champion.

The 4-Hour Body is the culmination of Ferriss’ quest to find the best and tiniest changes for all things physical that produce the biggest results.

There is an excellent introduction to the book that helps readers decide which sections are best for them. It covers everything from dieting and weight loss to sex and sleep.

While I gave the asterisks at the beginning of the recommendation, there is testing behind his research, and athlete and MD referrals.

For me, this was a great book to learn about the science behind health and exercise. I view it as a good introductory book that is an easy and fun read.

Movie of the Week:

The Karate Kid

John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid is an 80s film about a teenager, Daniel, who gets bullied after his move to California and his journey under the tutelage of a martial arts master.

The movie is a relatively simple story, along the lines of one of Avildsen’s previous films (Rocky), and it was able to capture something special like Rocky.

Daniel’s journey in the story is an interesting mix of standing up for himself physically and learning maturity and balance in all aspects of his life.

While Ralph Macchio did a brilliant job as Daniel, the star of the movie is Pat Morita as Daniel’s tutor Mr. Miyagi.

Morita was nowhere near the radar of the higher-ups for the role, but Avildsen advocated for Morita as Mr. Miyagi. Ultimately, Morita received an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

The Karate Kid went on to have three sequels and a currently running Emmy-nominated series after its massive success at the box office.

The movie is a fun summer popcorn flick that packs some substance along with its punches.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise | Wendy Suzuki

“What if I told you there was something you can do right now that would have an immediate, positive benefit for your brain, including your mood and your focus?”

“And what if I told you that same thing could actually last a long time and protect your brain from different conditions like depression, Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia? Would you do it?”

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki opens her TED Talks with these questions. She states that the way to achieve these powerful effects is through physical activity.

Suzuki tells a personal story that exemplifies why exercise is the most transformative thing you can do for your brain today.

Her findings through her own experience led her to change her research focus.

After years of analysis, Suzuki found exercise has immediate effects on your brain, long-term attention function, as well as long-term improvement of good mood neurotransmitters and protective effects on your brain.

Suzuki wraps up her TED Talks by answering how long you have to exercise to trigger these positive outcomes. Exercising three to four times a week for thirty minutes is the answer.

This TED Talk has many more valuable benefits and is worth taking 13 minutes of your day.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Health is the greatest gift.”

– Dhammapada 204

Health can be taken for granted until confronted with illness in oneself or a close friend or relative.

This Dhammapada quote reminds me to cherish my health and the health of my loved ones.

I think our physical well-being is as vital as our mental well-being. They are linked, and each can be used as a kickstart for the other.

There is a lot of toxicity around the vanity of health. I don’t think healthy living means a photoshopped magazine image. It means treating your body with kindness.

Kindness doesn’t mean saying nice things and spoiling oneself or others, though. It means being honest with oneself and others without being mean.

The Dhammapada and many other spiritual practices preach the benefits of treating one’s body as a gift.

There are many benefits to making your physical health a priority. This quote was a timely reminder for me to be more conscious of how I’m treating my body.

Treat your physical health with kindness, and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed

Sterling K. Brown, Kindred, He Got Game, Oprah Winfrey, and Dhammapada 21

Sterling K. Brown, Kindred, He Got Game, Oprah Winfrey, and Dhammapada 21

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on June 19, 2022

Sunday Supplement #58 (June 19th, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Empathy begins with understanding life from another person’s perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It’s all through our own individual prisms.”

– Sterling K. Brown

Book of the Week:

Kindred – Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler was a bestselling author with multiple Hugo and Nebula awards. She became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship in 1995.

Kindred is a standalone novel telling the story of a young African-American woman, Dana, as she inexplicably finds herself forced back and forth through time from present-day 1976 California to antebellum Maryland.

Dana’s first trip back in time puts her in the situation where she decides to save a drowning white boy from drowning.

Dana’s subsequent trips back have her encountering the same young man. Her trips to the past become longer, and she must face difficult choices to ensure survival and return to her own time.

Butler’s Kindred brilliantly traverses race and gender issues, the history of slavery, and prospects of future egalitarianism.

Kindred is one of Butler’s most famous books and well worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

He Got Game

Spike Lee is a legendary director and writer. His output as a filmmaker is phenomenal, and his Spike Lee “Joints” catalog contains many brilliant films and powerful stories.

Lee’s love of basketball is prolific, from the sidelines of New York Knicks games to commercials with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s documentary Kobe Doin’ Work.

However, one of Lee’s most prolific contributions to basketball might be his film He Got Game.

He Got Game tells the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the number one high school prospect in America, as he contemplates what college to ply his trade.

Jesus’s decision is preyed on by almost everyone who knows him. An unexpected influence comes from his absent father, Jake.

Jake Shuttlesworth is serving a long-term sentence for the death of his wife. He gets released on parole for a week to try and persuade his son to play for the governor’s alma mater in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

The story is beautifully told with standout performances from Denzel Washington as Jake and the young Ray Allen as Jesus.

Lee’s themes of acceptance, family strife, and the struggles of Black families living in the projects shine throughout.

There is much to appreciate in Spike Lee’s He Got Game, and it should be on any film lover’s or basketball fan’s watch list.

Brainfood of the Week:

Oprah Winfrey: The Secret of My Success

Oprah Winfrey spoke at Stanford Graduate School of Business’s View From The Top speaker series in 2014. This is a clip of Oprah answering a question about the secret of her success.

Oprah begins by explaining that her doing comes from her being. Compassion, willingness to understand and be understood, and wanting to connect make up her being.

Later, Oprah talks about the importance of her work on consciousness.

The video finishes with Oprah explaining that the core of her success was in the connection and understanding of her audience.

These are brief highlights of the video. The clip is five minutes, but the full video is worth checking out as well.

I’ve featured Oprah Winfrey in a few other Sunday Supplements. Her SuperSoul Sunday program is an excellent source of information on self-care and self-improvement.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Watchfulness is the path of immortality. Unwatchfulness is the path of death. Those who are watchful never die. Those who do not watch are already as dead.”

– Dhammapada 21

This verse from the Dhammapada reminds me of the importance of being open to view outside your own narrative.

Often we find ourselves filtering all our experiences through our own perspectives and passing judgments based on our viewpoint.

Keeping an open eye and observing without judgment is the key to welcoming a fresh perspective and leaving room for growth.

Our judgments and perspectives are often used to protect ourselves from foreign experiences and can be dangerous.

However, we are limited to our surroundings when we stay in our shells. We don’t let in any new sights and lose opportunities to grow.

The Dhammapada verse depicts how watchfulness allows us to love, experience new things, and continue growing—closing ourselves off does the opposite.

Observe without judgment, be open to new experiences, and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed

Maya Angelou, Michael A. Singer, City of God, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and verse 122 of the Dhammapada

Maya Angelou, Michael A. Singer, City of God, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and verse 122 of the Dhammapada

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 1, 2021

Sunday Supplement #12 (August 1st, 2021)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from this post that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.”

– Maya Angelou

Book of the Week:

The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer

Michael A. Singer is a remarkable person with a wild adventure of a life story. Singer studied and taught economics, established a meditation center, and later picked up programming as a hobby, which led to the founding of the Medical Manager Corporation. WebMD later acquired his company for around $5 billion. In his autobiography, The Surrender Experiment, Singer recounts these pivotal moments.

The Surrender Experiment was a New York Times bestseller, and Singer’s follow-up book The Untethered Soul reached the number 1 spot. While his first book recounts his life story, The Untethered Soul goes over his thoughts and insights on limitations in our human experience and how to break through those barriers to become more conscious of the many opportunities around us.

The best indication I can give for the quality of the book is Deepak Chopra’s endorsement, “Read this book carefully, and you will get more than a glimpse of eternity.”

A lot of self-help and spirituality books can be wordy and fluffed up unnecessarily. In this book, Singer makes every sentence convey something thought-provoking. It is one of those books you can put down in awe after reading one paragraph.

There are many brilliant thoughts and ideas in the book. The way Singer breaks down these concepts into easily digestible content is wonderful. I had a hard time not underlining everything when I read it. I highly recommend The Untethered Soul and hope you check it out!

Movie of the Week:

City of God (Cidade de Deus)

Two kids’ paths in the favelas of Rio diverge as one becomes a kingpin while the other struggles to become a photographer.

The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

In 2004, it wasn’t a common occurrence for international films to be nominated for anything other than Best Foreign Language Film. It’s baffling that City of God wasn’t nominated in this category, but it’s no surprise that it received nominations in the other categories. If it wasn’t for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the movie might have won a few awards.

Even though the movie didn’t win any Oscars, it is on many top films lists and is considered one of the best movies in Cinema history.

Director Fernando Meirelles explained how because of the content and his decision to cast unknown actors, he didn’t receive any funding for the movie. He ended up backing the film with his own finances and received support across the board in production and post-production from friends he worked with for years. The result was a critically acclaimed film that made over $30 million from a $3.3 million budget.

Many movies from the early 2000s don’t stand up to a modern viewing, but this is a film that will become an ageless classic. The movie may be in Portuguese, but its story breaks through any language barriers. Its themes of poverty and choice are powerful and are based on a true story. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll have a great movie night ahead.

Brainfood of the Week:

Tim Ferriss’s first interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show.

I’ve featured Tim Ferriss’s podcast on the Blog in a few posts now— Sunday Supplement’s #1, #5,and #9. The reason for this is because Tim is an excellent interviewer and has many interesting guests from a wide variety of fields on his show.

In this episode, Tim interviews Arnold Schwarzenegger. Most people won’t need an introduction to Schwarzenegger, and the podcast does a great job of quickly highlighting Swarzenegger’s career before delving into topics and stories Arnold hadn’t spoken about before. He recounts his time growing up in Austria, moving to California, and becoming a millionaire through real estate and landscaping before his career took off.

The above highlights are just a glimpse into the whole episode. There are many more entertaining and impactful stories that Arnold shares throughout the podcast. I didn’t know too much about Schwarzenegger before listening to this interview. I knew that he was an actor and the ex-governor of California. I’m glad I gave this episode a listen because there is a lot to learn from this man who journeyed from a very small village in Austria to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable people.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.”

– verse 122 of the Dhammapada

The Dhammapada is one of the best-known Buddhist scriptures, consisting of a collection of Buddha’s sayings in verse form.

This particular quote reminds me of the power of consistency and focus. It’s easy to be discouraged when one focuses on the distance between where you are and when you want to be. A reason for that experience is the concentration on the gap being the focus of your perspective. Instead of entertaining that viewpoint, a reframe can be knowing each step you take on the path is one step closer to your goals. Every drop in the water pot is progress.

In Sunday Supplement #8, I recommend the book Atomic Habits for insights and strategies on starting new routines or discontinuing negative ones. It discusses a similar principle as the above quote from the Buddha in taking small steps consistently over time to reach great distances. I try to adopt this mentality with any hobby or goal I set for myself, and I’m grateful for the synchronous moments that remind me to keep moving forward.

Take some small consistent steps, and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed