12. On Staying Focused, Zen Study, Belonging, Healthy Relationships, and Feeling Safe (#54)

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.   This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses. For more information: https://www.zaltho.org If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to [email protected]. Book recommendations:- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003) - On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024) https://www.zaltho.org/books/ If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you. Questions and Time Stamps:1:30 How come it is sometimes difficult to just go ahead and do something? 2:05 What are the current requirements to study with you? 3:42 Do you have a secret to keeping the one breath in mind and not losing it? 4:54 What do you think of this movement of manifesting your life and of connecting it with quantum physics, does this work? 5:37 What is the role of courage? 7:00 Would you share something that was important at the beginning of your practice? 8:26 What can I do about feeling more safe about going into the unknown? 9:35 What would you say is the difference between the need for approval and insecurity?  11:23 What has become clear to you recently? 12:37 Which experiences did you make with feeling excluded and the desire to belong? 14:51 How would you define healthy relationships?