Preview Pod: Upaya (Skillful Means) As Life Practice

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This preview pod explores the concept of upaya (skillful means) and its relevance in today's polarized world + how this focus will be reflected in the next iteration of the show.

Jen emphasizes the importance of developing presence and awareness in order to meet life's challenges with courage and heart.

Highlights include:
• Cultivating what Roshi Joan Halifax calls a strong back and soft front
• What kind of awareness is needed for this moment
• Recognizing "lab time" on the mat as preparation for real-life challenges
• Building a diverse toolkit of practices for various situations

Listener feedback and support is essential to the evolution of the how, so don't forget to fill out the survey form: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

~ ~ ~

SMP welcomes your comments and questions at [e-mail]. You can also get in touch with Jen through her website: https://www.sati.yoga

Fill out this survey to help guide the direction of the show: https://airtable.com/appM7JWCQd7Q1Hwa4/pagRTiysNido3BXqF/form

To support the show, consider a donation via Ko-Fi.

Episode Transcript

Jennifer O'Sullivan (00:07):
Welcome to Skillful Means Podcast.
I'm your host, jenniferO'Sullivan.
In this preview pod, I want torevisit the concept of skillful
means.
Sarah Jane and I did this wayback in episode two when we
first launched the show together.
It's a great episode and worthchecking out.

(00:27):
If you haven't listened, but Ithought I'd come back to it
because the world feels reallydifferent now.
People are more polarized thanever and if you're listening to
this, I'm betting you care aboutcultivating what Roshi Joan
Halifax calls a strong back anda soft front, in other words,

(00:50):
the courage and strength to meetthe moment while remaining
open-hearted and true to yourvalues.
And, as we say in the South,don't be ugly.
We can have difficultconversations without devolving
into screaming matches.
We can lead with wisdom ratherthan reactivity.

(01:10):
The Sanskrit word for skillfulmeans is upaya, which describes
teachings and practices thathelp us develop awareness and
presence, and when talking aboutawareness, we mean
self-awareness, situationalawareness, relational awareness,

(01:30):
the kind of awareness that alsoincludes a deeper understanding
of how we, as individuals,interconnect with the world
around us, in other words,awareness of how we show up.
When confined to yoga andmeditation spaces, skillful

(01:56):
means refers to specificactivities that one might pursue
in order to develop awarenessand presence.
These include yoga, asana andpranayama, mindfulness
techniques, listening to talks,reading dharma books.
Skillful Means also includesmodern practices like

(02:17):
self-inquiry methods, parts work, journaling, therapy, coaching,
all that stuff arts work,journaling, therapy, coaching,
all that stuff.
And thus far, the podcast hasmostly focused on introducing
themes and practices in aneducational way.
But we were never meant todevelop these practices for
their own sake a concern soimportant that it was the topic

(02:40):
of the Buddhist last talk, whichhe gave while dying.
They were always meant to helpus show up more well, skillfully
, in our real life.
What we do on the mat andcushion is lab time when, under
controlled settings, we examineour conditioning, our habitual

(03:02):
patterns, our biases, our fears,our concerns, and we do this so
that we can go out into theworld knowing ourselves better,
being ourselves more and lovingourselves unconditionally, and
knowing that the more integratedwe are on the inside, the more

(03:22):
capacitated we are to deal withthe outside.
And we're living in anincreasingly volatile and
uncertain world.
As a result, I find myself waymore interested in how to take
these teachings off the mat.
How can we apply skillful meansto both rise to the challenge

(03:43):
of our time while also tendingto our own suffering?
And how might we expand beyondmerely coping to flourishing?
So the discussion topics inSkillful Means 2.0 will focus
more on applying teachings toeveryday settings, rather than

(04:03):
just the whys and what fors ofthem.
This is why I really want tohear from you what are you most
concerned about when it comes tocontextualizing your practice
in this present moment?
Find the link to the submissionform in the show notes and tell
me what you think.
And we do still need to developcompetency with the various

(04:27):
practices that cultivateawareness.
This is why I'll continue tooffer the guided practices every
other episode.
Some of those are going toresonate and some won't.
That's okay.
Even the Buddha told hisfollowers to keep what works and
discard what doesn't.
Some of these practices willserve as a daily foundation,
while others you might call uponin a specific situation.

(04:50):
I recommend training up a wholetoolkit of practices so, like
Mary Poppins, you can pull outwhat you need when you need it.
In my more than 20 years as apractitioner, I can't count the
number of times my so-called bagof tricks has really saved me.
Sometimes it's the stillness ofyin yoga helping me re-inhabit

(05:13):
my body when I've been up in myhead too long.
Other times it's a few minutesof mindful breathing in a
doctor's office, or maybe it's abit of parts work to make sense
of an outsized emotionalreaction.
Skillful means are meant tolive in the world with us, guide
us, nurture us, sometimesinspire us.

(05:34):
I'm really looking forward toexploring these topics with you.
So please, please, please, getin touch with any and all
feedback.
You can reach me at feedback atskillfulmeanspodcastcom.
And while I was on hiatus, thecompany that hosts the podcast
introduced a new feature.
You can now send me texts.

(05:56):
Look for a link at the top ofthe show notes that says text me
your feedback.
Until next time, may we meeteach moment with courage and
compassion.