Ep. 140 - Equanimity Feels Different on a Roller Coaster

After tariffs were broadly imposed by the current American regime (including, apparently on uninhabited islands populated mostly by penguins) causing a nearly unprecedented crash of the stock market, and after attending the lovely and unexpectedly massive protest marches that took place on April 5, Ethan ponders how to deal with extreme states of mind with a world on a roller coaster marked by fear and greed. The key, he says, is to be able to differentiate between arising mental emotions and the awareness that contains and welcomes them, and then to continuously generate compassion for all human beings. He offers two simple questions we can each ask ourselves when we encounter intense states of mind as humanity's roller coaster ride become increasingly topsy turvy—and perhaps increasingly hopeful—in the months ahead. Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras like guided meditations, extra podcast episodes and more! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon. Free video courses, such as The Three Marks of Existence, are also available for download. Notes: To find further explanation of the eight worldly winds, check out Ethan's latest book Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds or the adapted essay in Lion's Roar Magazine.