Protect Your Noggin

We discuss the insights from the Tao Te Ching that help us all evade various forms of manipulation & mental shenanigans. In addition to some introductory matters, we explore at least 5 common pitfalls or "wipeouts" that many experience when learning to surf the Tao.  Lest you become crestfallen, as hard as these temptations & challenges are at the outset, rest assured that they soon give way to deep peace for those who are ready to rest secure in the source of deep rest.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

The Tao seems like an empty vessel, but when you pour it out, it never ceases to flow. It is fathomless! A wellspring of all that exists.  (Note: Stacie was not a fan of Jeff's special effects on her voice toward the end of the recording, but she appreciates the spirit of playfulness nonetheless.) Protectyournoggin.org Taosurfers.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Idolize celebrity and success, and men will bicker in envy. Overvalue possessions, and men will turn into thieves. Flaunt what you have, and others’ hearts will become restless. The sage leads by helping men let go of longing and fulfill living needs, let go of striving and enjoy good health. The sage emancipates men from mental slavery, and restrains the crafty from their manipulations. Surf the Tao and everything will be okay.    --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

We made a list of seven reasons why the Tao Te Ching helps people from all (or no) faith tradition protect their noggins and learn to outfox religious wolves. In other words, this is an explanation of why we thought this text was ideal for our next set of lessons. We aren't quite ready to commit to 12 total lessons, but these 7 will likely be the backbone.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Once we perceive beauty in the world, we also discern ugliness. After we gain knowledge of goodness, we also recognize evil ... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

A tranquil meditation on the first chapter of Lao Tzu's classic. Each week this season, we will be offering two such reflections alongside regular long-form discussions. For information about our rendering of the text, check out www.taosurfers.com. For additional written commentary and show notes in general, check out www.protectyournoggin.org.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Season one is all about Lao Tzu's classic The Tao Te Ching, and our two years of overland travel and exploration of this ancient Chinese book of wisdom. We discuss how this too can help us develop the mental, emotional and spiritual skills needed to find our own agency and avoid the wiles of unscrupulous religious folk. Show notes are always to be found at www.protectyournoggin.org Glossary of Terms we Use Throughout this Season Best Translations and Paraphrases to Use  Dao De Jing --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

This is the twin parable of the new wine and old wineskins and the new cloth patch on an old garment. Religious people tend to be critical of any deviation from the way things have traditionally been done. Despite this, Jesus encourages us to not focus on the external appearances or outward manifestations of spirituality, but instead focuses on the quality of the content. Ancient wisdom may take slightly new forms in each age, but nostalgically clinging to old forms without being flexible can lead to ruin both for the content and the form of a spiritual movement. Finally, healthy religious communities do well to let the younger generation grow and expand through the power of bold imagination, without the unnecessary restrictions that come when they are pressured merely to mimic their elders instead of taking ownership of their core ethical and spiritual values. Ultimately, this text is about Jesus warning folks that they are in danger of screwing up the kingdom if they fail to pay attention to the importance

According to Jesus, blasphemy against the Spirit is bearing false witness to the sacred. Find out more about The unpardonable sin, a.k.a. the unforgivable sin, the eternal sin, or the sin against the Holy Ghost. Mark 3:28-30 Luke 12:8-10 John 11:48 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

What is a cult (defined as a high? How can you get out of one? How can you help a friend who's got caught in their snare?  For additional notes, go to https://www.protectyournoggin.org/podcast  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

It's possible for the official leaders of a movement—even a righteous one—to completely miss the point. Meanwhile, it's possible that outsiders actually are better at understanding the movement’s mission. Jesus emphasizes faithfulness to his way over membership in the group. Moreover, in the case of the movement that Jesus was ushering in, those who harm or hinder children on their path are condemned in the strongest terms, while children themselves are held up as models of the true kingdom. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

A nonpartisan discussion of the ways in which the psychological theory of moral injury parallels what most Americans are facing now, as they must choose to vote or not vote, or vote for a candidate accused of serious misdeeds. Whatever you think of Tara Reade, Joe Biden's accuser or the list of allegations against Donald Trump, being forced to decide here threatens to implicate all of us in injustice. How does this work, what light does it shed on  the ways we deal with similar issues in religious communities, and how can we restore moral perspective in our chaotic times? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

The parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Jesus invites us all to let go of spiritual & relational bean-counting & to recognize the crushing burden of indebtedness. Those of us who cling to our systems of transaction & obligation end up condemned by those same accounting systems. If we let go of those systems, we can find peace. True nature forgiveness isn't meant to allow continued abuse or to force a traumatized person to move too quickly past their pain without processing it. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Sometimes, people keep you from adapting and thriving by labeling you in a way that limits your freedom to grow. We came to this topic because Stacie was getting to a spot where she wondered whether she might be cut out for podcasting, so instead of the episode we were planning, she applied lessons from the past couple episodes to her own life and to the question of whether we might be able to move past pre-conceived labels and self-doubt. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Jesus teaches his followers to be less judgmental about the lives of outsiders and yet more discerning about abusive behaviors in their own midst. Judgment involves condemnation with contempt.  Discernment involves radical honesty with deep compassion. Most importantly, discernment starts with assessment of our own situation. Jesus isn’t inviting us to negative self-talk, but rather an unflinching confrontation and merciful embrace of what psychologist Carl Gustav Jung calls our shadow selves. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Dr. Betsi Little (Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, Univ. of North Dakota & a faculty at Palomar College) shares a “Quarantine Positive Psychology Intervention Challenge” she offers to her students & provides tips for clearing quarantine head fog. Betsi's research focuses on the perceptions held of, and by, marginalized populations She lives in San Diego with her husband, toddler and beagle, Kyle. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

The false sense of security we place on material wealth is detrimental to spiritual freedom. Jesus invites us to enjoy the peace and liberation that comes from letting go of our accumulated wealth and sharing with our fellow humans. Those who respond to Jesus’ invitation will find that, instead of feeling impoverished, they will receive the inheritance of the whole world, and will be free from the manipulations of people and systems that try to control us by dangling rewards or threatening to take away what we have. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

If Jesus came to your place of worship, what would he think? If he were to tell you directly about the last being first, would you be ready to be last, least, and lost? Jeff shares a message reflecting on the teachings of Jesus related to facing death, the concept of resurrection, childlike faith, letting go, and the nature of the true church.  This is a special episode of comfort and hope amid the current pandemic. A significantly abridged version of this was sent to students at Concordia University, in lieu of in-person chapel.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Obviously the way of Jesus invites us to love everyone, and this includes your parents. Moreover, it is good to seek wise counsel from people who have lived longer than you have. But Jesus teaches that it is important for you to follow what you believe to be good, true and beautiful, regardless of what your parents, teachers, and religious authorities might say. After seeking the wisdom of others, you as an individual are invited to think what you think you should think, believe what you believe you should believe, and do what you think you should do. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support

Reflections on our anxious times facing Covid-19 and uncertainties. A poem from Isaac Frazee. Stacie shares insights from her training as a death doula that apply to valuing life in the present. A bonus reflection from Stacie on Tao Te Ching chapter 10 closes the show out.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepynp/support