In the first podcast recording of 2023, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – discuss habits, both the positive ones that help us lead better lives, but also those that can cause us harm and make our lives difficult. Both presenters share negative and positive habits, and the difficulties of transformation. 

Can you guess the negative habit both presenters have in common? And how can we transform our negative habits and bring more positive habits into our lives? Is it possible to truly transform at the base? How important is friendship in facing our habits? Also, what is ‘shining light’ and how can this Plum Village practice help us? 

Brother Phap Huu shares on the topic of the most recent practice of shining the light during the annual Rains Retreat; rushing energy; generosity; dealing with inferiority complexes and accepting ourselves; folding clothes; mirroring each other’s transformation of habits; the interbeing of the community; and collective awakening through individuals’ positive habits. And what did Thich Nhat Hanh mean by “happiness is a habit”?

Jo delves into shining the light for lay practitioners; seeing the best in people and watering people’s positive flowers; cultivating awareness; speed, chasing deadlines, and rushing as a way of life; inherited habits; fear of humiliation; and the interbeing of complexes. And what happens when you look deeply at just one bad habit?

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:35 What Inspired This Topic
00:05:35 The Energy of Rushing
00:11:30 Impatience
00:15:35 Positive Habits
00:22:36 The Difficulties of Transforming Habits
00:29:04 Adding New Good Habits to Daily Routine
00:32:41 Potential Causes of Failing at Changing Habits
00:35:12 Interbeing and How to Get to the Base of Things and Transform Habits
00:42:57 No Mud, No Lotus
00:47:20 Daring and Acting for Transformation at the Base
00:59:27 Good Friends and Shining the Light
1:15:45 The Individual and the Collective, Changing Habits as a Society
1:26:22 Short Guided Meditation
1:31:20 Outro

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� Listen to previous episodes on YouTube ➛ http://pvapp.to/twoii-episodes

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� The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living is a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. �

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The podcast is co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/
And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/
With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

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� Listen to the podcast on the (completely free) Plum Village App ➛ https://web.plumvillage.app/talks/the-way-out-is-in and other streaming services.

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Resources:

Plum Village Community ➛ https://plumvillage.org/
Thich Nhat Hanh ➛ https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/
�️ Brother Phap Huu ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/br-phap-huu/
�️ Jo Confino ➛ https://www.instagram.com/joconfino/

‘Shining the Light’ ➛ https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/shining-the-light/
How to Take Care of the Habit Energy of Worrying ➛ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jANxd6YGdAA
‘Home Practices for the Rains Retreat’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/articles/home-practices-for-the-rains-retreat/
The Four Noble Truths ➛ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA
‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/
The Seven Factors of Awakening ➛ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Factors_of_Awakening
Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication ➛ https://plumvillage.org/books/beginning-anew/
The Way Out Is In: ‘Deep Reflection: The Calligraphy of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/deep-reflection-the-calligraphy-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh-episode-23/
The Way Out Is In: ‘Free from Views in a Polarized Wold’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/free-from-views-in-a-polarized-world-episode-36/

#TheWayOutIsIn #ThichNhatHanh #PlumVillageApp #twoii