For Life on Purpose Episode #49, my guest is writer, author, yoga teacher, and traveler Dave Ursillo, who returns for a fourth conversation on my shows. Dave was Guest #1 on my very first podcast (Radio Enso) back in 2011 and his wisdom, tools, and life experience always make for an excellent chat!
Throughout the various threads of his work, he helps creatives, self-starters and everyday yogis use their words to live the stories they want to be telling.
Dave joined me for a great conversation about conscious life evolution, creativity, the freedom of NOT knowing, what he's learned from teaching yoga, habit change, cultivating the right container for personal and creative growth, the notion of "service", the importance of tribe, karma vs. dharma, and much more!
About: Dave Ursillo is a teacher of writing, yoga and self-expression. He helps self-starters use their words, stories and voices to create healing within and share love in our world. In his former life, Dave was an aspiring presidential speechwriter and sought a path of leadership after 9/11/2001 to become a part of positive change in our world. He abandoned his career in 2009 to dedicate his life to his writing, through which he knew he could lead by example.
Today, as a teacher, workshop leader and founder of an online writers' group, The Literati Writers (LiteratiWriters.com), Dave teaches conscientious creatives, self-starters and everyday-yogis how to cultivate their gifts, speak their truth and embody their deepest values. He has brought his teachings to hundreds of thousands of readers and across three continents, and has been seen on CBS News Sunday Morning, Psychology Today, Zen Habits, Inc.com and the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. He lives in Rhode Island.
To learn more about Dave and his work, visit: https://www.daveursillo.com/.
For Life on Purpose Episode #48, my guest is Zen teacher and author Brad Warner, who is also a punk bassist, filmmaker, Japanese-monster-movie marketer, and popular blogger.
Brad joined me for a great conversation about his new book Don’t Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dōgen, Japan’s Greatest Zen Master (New World Library), in which he paraphrases Dōgen’s work for modern times in his trademark style that readers have come to know and love, bringing his wisdom on topics like feminism, reincarnation, and the debate between science and religion to the forefront.
We also discuss Dōgen's great work The Shōbōgenzō, Brad's life story, a brief history of Zen, and philosophical topics such as the notions of "no self", "not knowing", and the question of why we need to practice, if as the Buddha says, "We are all perfect just as we are."
About: Brad Warner is an ordained Zen teacher and author of the books There Is No God And He Is Always With You (2013), Sex Sin and Zen (2010), Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate (2009), Sit Down and Shut Up (2007) and Hardcore Zen (2004).
He’s also a writer for the Suicide Girls website, bass player for the hardcore punk rock group 0DFx (aka Zero Defex), star of the movies “Shoplifting From American Apparel” and “Zombie Bounty Hunter M.D.,” director of the film “Cleveland’s Screaming!” and former vice president of the US branch of the company founded by the man who created Godzilla.
Born in Hamilton, Ohio in 1964, in 1972, Brad’s family relocated to Nairobi, Kenya. When he returned three years later, nothing about rural Ohio seemed quite the same anymore. In 1982, Brad joined 0DFx (Zero Defex), famous for an eighteen-second burst of noise titled “Drop the A-Bomb On Me.” 0DFx recently reunited and has a new CD out.
While still playing hardcore punk, Brad became involved in Zen Buddhism. The realistic, no BS philosophy reminded him of the attitude the punks took towards music. He made it to Japan in 1993 where he began studying the philosophy with an iconoclastic rebel Zen Master named Gudo Nishijima. After a few years, Nishijima decided to make Brad his successor as a teacher of Zen.
To learn more about Brad and his work, visit: http://hardcorezen.info/.
For Life on Purpose Episode #47, my guests are Leah Hynes and Naz Murphie, the Founders of RYPL – Rock Your Purpose Live. They joined me for an inspired conversation about the crucial importance of community for support and guidance as well as connecting with like-minded people as we each find our life purpose and then work to turn our goals into action.
We also discuss each of their life stories, as they've taken the sometime difficult lessons learned creating a life on their own terms and now apply those lessons to helping others do that same.
About: Leah Hynes and Naz Murphie are the Founders of RYPL – Rock Your Purpose Live- a community of more than 10,000 people all around the world crazy enough to believe we can change the world! They both did all the ‘right’ things that others said would make them happy, yet each realized there was something BIG missing.
So in 2012, they joined forces to make a real difference. And now "Whether you are just starting out on your journey to find what positive impact you want to have on the world or you already know and are interested in having your dream put into action, these driven ladies know how to get you there."
To learn more about Leah & Naz and their work, visit: http://rypl.rocks/.