I've been meditating daily for 3 years. I'm still broke, still grinding 60+ hours a week doing deliveries, still struggling financially. So... does meditation actually work?

In this episode, I answer questions I've never seen before about spiritual materialism, whether meditation "fixes" your external life, how to reconcile spiritual surrender with survival responsibilities, and why I'm really doing this podcast.

Topics include:
- Why "raising your vibration" is spiritual materialism
- Has 3 years of meditation changed my external life?
- How to practice when you're grinding to survive
- The gap between spiritual ideals and real-world responsibility
- Is Standing Nowhere a spiritual practice or just a project?

Referenced: Ram Dass, Chogyam Trungpa, Third Patriarch of Zen, Alan Watts

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📌 EPISODE 11 MENTIONED:
"Why I Flipped Off a Driver 45 Minutes After Meditating (And What Anger Actually Is)"

Standing Nowhere explores contemplative spirituality through real-life experience, authentic struggle, and honest conversation. No bypassing. No pretense. Just presence.

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What does "resolution" actually mean at its root? Not forcing—loosening. In the final episode of 2025, I reflect on a year of struggle, growth, and showing up anyway. Honest thoughts on time constraints, mental health, sobriety, and trusting when you can't see the path forward. With wisdom from Lao Tzu, Meister Eckhart, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Rilke.

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🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/standingnowhere
🎧 Listen on your favorite app
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📩 Email: standingnowherepodcast@gmail.com

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What does compassion look like in action?

In this Christmas Day special, I share two powerful true stories that changed how I think about seeing people differently.

The first is "A Soft Answer" by Terry Dobson—an American aikido student in 1960s Japan who learns what his martial art really means when an elderly man transforms a violent encounter on a Tokyo train with nothing but kind words and curiosity.

The second is a story from 1952 about a father who can't drive past a family standing in the rain on Christmas morning—and makes a split-second decision that teaches his children the true joy of making others happy.

Both stories ask the same question: Can we see the humanity in people when they appear to be resisting our help? Can we turn around when we see suffering?

I also share how The Chronicles of Narnia became my gateway into reading as a contemplative practice, and why powerful stories have the ability to transform us.

A shorter episode for Christmas Day. Thank you for listening, and happy holidays to you and yours.

Episode Length: ~20 minutes
Stories Featured: "A Soft Answer" by Terry Dobson | 1952 Christmas Story from the National Story Project

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Support the show

🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/standingnowhere
🎧 Listen on your favorite app
💬 Join our community on Discord
📩 Email: standingnowherepodcast@gmail.com

(Tap “Support the show” above to become a Patron — thank you!)