PODCAST · education
Living the Inner Life
by Chris Sheridan
Streams of Consciousness - about Consciousness. Unscripted. Unedited. I am Chris Sheridan (M.A. Transformational Psychology), and I have been teaching ancient wisdom, consciousness, and the mind-body connection for 30 years. Join me on a discussion of mind science, spirituality, metaphysics and the mysteries of being a human soul. Self improvement and self-help takes place within our Inner Life.
Episodes
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072: Seeing the Big Picture
Never lose sight of the big picture. Re-state your mission statement. When the goal becomes more about the tasks and to-do lists, focusing more on the means than the end, it's easy to lose sight of what you're doing and more important - why you are doing it.
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071: Divine Discontent
Shakespeare wrote: "Now is the Winter of our Discontent" and this episode explores the idea of Divine Discontent - that there is a soul stirring, a restlessness that occurs when we are not fully living our best life. The discontent is more of an indicator or signal that is telling us something…
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070: Being Thankful
It is easy to be thankful and grateful for good things that come our way. But what about the negative things? How can we be thankful for pain or difficulty? For me, physical pain from being in a wheelchair is an indicator that it is time to shift my weight, sit in a different chair, or lie down…
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069: Feelings over Facts
People say, facts don't care about feelings. Perhaps with scientific laws of physics, this may be true. But in the human experience, feelings can completely overpower the facts. Even if we know the facts, we can convince ourselves that something else is true. Especially with ourselves. We can…
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068: The "Enemy" Within
One of the greatest conflicts we ever have to face is the battle with ourselves. Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Man, and Man vs. God are the other three, but Man vs. Himself is within and not 'out there'. So, if you 'win' this conflict, do you also lose? How can you defeat yourself and yet be…
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067: Many Paths to the Mountain Top
There are different ways to learn something or do just about anything. Some need a lot of instruction, while others learn best on their own. We have different body types and chemistry, so there isn't a one-size-fits-all when it comes to diet and nutrition. Same is true with spiritual growth. The...
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066: What are You?
In the wake of A.I. and UFO Disclosure of "non-human intelligence", we are at a crossroad where we may want to look at not just who we are, but what we are. What does it mean to be a human being? We share many similarities with other earth creatures but we are somehow different. With the…
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065: You Can't Live from the Past
The Greek Philosopher, Heraclitus, said: "You can't step in the same river twice." The water has changed - and more importantly - YOU have changed. But sometimes we approach new situations with old ways of thinking that no longer work. One definition of insanity is: trying the same thing, over…
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064: Inner Divinity
St. Paul said it was the Christ in YOU that is the hope of glory. Jesus said it was not him but the Father within him that doeth the works. Socrates had an inner advisor, or daemon, who guided his philosophic life. Throughout time and across cultures, the idea of a higher power - one that can…
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063: Fear Itself
Natural fears are needed for survival. Our bodies respond to the threat by engaging the fight or flight response. False Evidence Appearing Real. Many fears that we have are really not that scary, but constantly thinking about them, feeling fearful, we make things harder than they need to be....
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062: Abundance and Lack - The Allegory of the Acorn.
Well, it started out as a discussion on abundance and lack but turned into a metaphor for growing new ideas. An acorn is small, but when it is planted in the ground, it suddenly comes to life to fulfill its destiny of becoming a mighty oak tree. Ideas are the same. We need to plant them in the...
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061: Intuition: False vs Real
Intuition - what it is and what it is not. A lot of times, we get a hunch or idea from within and think it's our intuition. Often, it may just be a fear that says 'no' - and other times it may be wishful thinking or an impulse that says 'yes'. A true intuitive insight comes from deep within and…
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060: The Art of Listening
Listening is not waiting for the other person to stop talking, or rehearsing your response until it's your turn. Listening is an art form and requires a combination of passive, non-invasive hearing, and, an active and very present 'here and now' consciousness. Or is that Hear and now? Same with…
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059: Why You Need A Strong Ego
Actually, we need a mature Ego. The ego is that part of ourselves that we feel is 'Me or I". But it's only part of our total Self. Ego will defend itself over bad decisions, justify emotions and behavior, and doesn't like to be called out. But the ego shouldn't be in control over everything - it...
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058: We Are All One
The fact that we all have a favorite food makes us all the same. We all have different ideas on what that food is, and on this level, we can greatly differ and disagree. This is the paradox that we face today. We are so caught up in our petty differences and personal identities that we lose sight...
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057: The Prayer of St. Francis - A Practical Guide
St. Francis lived around the year 1200 and may or may not have written this prayer, but that's not important. The words have so much meaning and are quite relevant today in a world that needs to not only hear them - but to live these words as a personal philosophy of life. I will read through the...
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056: Spiritual Nutrition | Don't feed your mind "junk" ideas
Just as junk food is unhealthy for the body, junk ideas and poison thoughts can lead to poor mental, emotional and spiritual health. Feed your inner life with good thoughts, harmonious ideas, beautiful imagery and soulful stories. Try to limit the news pieces and social media posts that make you...
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055: Who Cares for the Caregiver?
Caregivers who unselfishly dedicate themselves to the service of others are the unsung heroes of society. Most are caring for a disabled child, elderly parent or other close person at home. Yet, caregivers often do not take care of themselves very well, nor do they accept and receive help that is...
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054: The Mirror of the Other
We need a mirror to see our outer self. To look within, we also need a mirror - the mirror of the other. This reflection coming from another person is a strange one - distorted and exaggerated like a circus mirror - but if we can see through the glass, we can recognize a part of ourselves that...
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053: Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude and you will see even the smallest positive parts of your life grow into more and more. If you focus instead on lack or what is wrong in your life, you will get more of that. The tiny mustard seed can grow into a whole field of plants or make a powerful spice.…
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052: The Art of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is for the one who forgives. To forgive someone who did something harmful to you does not mean that you approve of what they did. Forgiveness releases you from the chains that bind you to the initial injury or insult. We can carry this around with us for years, re-living and feeling...
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051: How to Become a Disciple (Self-Discipline)
While the term 'discipline' may often refer to punishment, or self-discipline as being an unpleasant chore, actually the word comes from the same root as 'disciple'. This simply means that we are dedicated and enthusiastic about something. All of us have something we enjoy, spend time being...
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050: The Dark Curtain of History - Inner and Outer
Missing years and Dark Ages are found throughout history, just as there are blank spots and memory lapses in our own individual lives. This 'selective amnesia' can keep us from remembering traumatic events that might otherwise haunt us. Other times, there are memories that we want banished to the...
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049: How to Conquer Anger
Anger is something with which we are all familiar - in ourselves and in others. Manly P. Hall defined anger as "an intense emotion caused by real or imaginary injury or insult". The Dalai Lama suggests that anger can be a positive, motivational emotion for good, but when it turns to hatred, it...
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048: Is Multi-Tasking Even Possible?
In our busy lives, we often wear many hats to do different things. Multi-tasking is an attempt to do several things at once, but can we really? If our attention is divided, we may only be semi-tasking, or doing things half a$$ed. Often, we cycle or flip from one task to the next, and then back...
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047: Free Will vs. Determinism
Do we actually have free will or are things pre-determined from the start? Einstein believed in immutable, predictable laws of physics, differing from the quantum physics of Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, who instead believed in probabilities that were not always predictable. This has also…
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046: The Power of Silence: Calm the Inner Storm
Silence is Golden, Be Still and Know... Our minds can become cluttered with 'voices' and static and a constant ringing of thoughts and feelings. We need to clear inner space to hear the still, small voice within. The wisdom of our inner higher power, or intuition, or creative inspiration often…
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045: Personal Transformation and Jung's Individuation
Personal Transformation is a process like Alchemy. It is also a journey - an Inner Hero's Journey - which is also process. Jung's termed this as Individuation - or going from the small 's' self to the capital 'S' Self. In Buddhism, this is releasing the inner Buddha nature. This all points to the...
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044: The Hero's Inner Journey
The story of The Odyssey is the archetype for mythic storytelling. Yet even with the incredible journey filled with dramatic encounters and battles, it is essentially an inner journey of Odysseus. Same with Star Wars. Even though Luke traveled across the galaxy, the real journey was one of him...
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043: What is Consciousness? 1: Becoming Aware of Your Thoughts
Consciousness can be difficult to define, and William James wondered if consciousness was even a 'thing'. Consciousness is more than just our thoughts and sense of awareness - it is the sum total of our inner lives and all the tools and powers that we can utilize to think better thoughts, and, to...
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042: The Meaning of Life: More Questions than Answers
The meaning of life may come down to what meaning we bring to it. To make a meaningful life, each of us not only has to find meaning and purpose, we also have to make life meaningful - full of meaning. When asked what is the meaning of life, the Buddha held up a flower and asked, "What is the...
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041: Reconciling the Opposites: Get Your Yin and Yang Together
There is no difference between night and day - the Earth is always in a constant state of half day, half night. But from our perspective, it really seems like they are completely separate things. Same with people. Each of us are seemingly different individuals yet deeply connected with One Humanity.
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040: How to Break Through Blocks: When to Use Brute Force
Most inner work involves relaxation, meditation, contemplation and quietude. Sometimes you need to use brute force to plow your way through obstacles. Often these obstacles are ones we set in the way of our own goals. Resistance, self-doubt, and overthinking can become blocks that frustrate our...
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039: Are We Living in a Simulation? Life is But a Dream
In Plato's "Allegory of the Cave", people are watching shadow forms cast on the wall, thinking that they are seeing the real world. In the movie, "The Matrix", most are also living in a false reality. Simulation Theory is very popular now, and it makes for an interesting thought exercise. How…
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038: The Golden Key: Emmet Fox | Living the Inner Life
Emmet Fox was a popular speaker and writer whose works include "The Sermon on the Mount" and this very small booklet, "The Golden Key". In it, Fox describes a method by which you visualize a 'golden key' as a mediator between you and what troubles you. This could be a person in your life, a...
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037: Divination: Beyond Fortune-Telling | Living the Inner Life
The practice of Divination - seeking divine wisdom - is as old as history. From dream interpretation and astrology to Tarot cards and Rorschach tests, people have long used various methods of ganging insight that goes beyond conscious thought. Whether you take the advice from these oracles or…
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036: Myth and Meaning: Timeless Wisdom Stories
Joseph Campbell suggested there are 4 functions of myth - the fourth being the psychological function that helps to show us who we are in the world. A myth in this case is not a falsehood, but an archetypal story about who we are as human beings. Told and re-told throughout the ages, from…
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035: The Reason for Rituals - An Outer Ordeal for Inner Transformation | LiL Podcast
Spirit + Ritual = Spiritual • In older, tribal cultures, as well as modern secret societies and military groups, a candidate has to go through an initiation before being accepted in the group. Most are difficult, yet possible to accomplish. Some are even more severe, which is a way of weeding out...
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034: On Death and Dying: Some Recent Experiences | Living the Inner Life
No one here gets out alive (Jim Morrison). Death ends a life but not a relationship. It is also an inner experience, both for the one who passes on and those left behind. I have assisted two very close people through the dying process in the last year, and have some thoughts and experiences to...
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033: Freemasonry for Everyone: Build your own Structure Within | Living the Inner Life
Just like the Little Pig who built his house out of brick and mortar, we need to build an inner structure that is strong and secure. Freemasonry uses the metaphor of constructing physical buildings for our inner lives. Our inner structure must be well-designed, built on a stable foundation, level...
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032: Human Consciousness vs. Artificial Intelligence | Living the Inner Life
ChatGPT and other A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) platforms making news lately. While A.I. might be powerful and potentially dangerous, the really frightening part is that we seem so eager to give up our natural intelligence for an artificial one. Before the industrial and information revolutions,...
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031: The Power of Presence: The Eternal Gift | Living the Inner Life
There are only two days of the week you never have to worry about - yesterday and tomorrow. We only really live in the present, but can often find ourselves mired in the past or grappled with the future. Like Ram Dass said: Be Here Now. There is power in the present. We can recognize dangers long...
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030: How to Find Your Center | Living the Inner Life
What are your core values? Having a strong center, like the trunk of a tree, will strengthen and balance everything else. In exercise, developing a strong core will help make the rest of you strong, resilient and balanced. In Judo, martial arts and other sports, keeping your center is vital to...
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029: Self Government - Who is in charge within you? | Living the Inner Life
Often we turn to government and elected leaders to solve our problems. While there are many things a government can do quite well, like the military, police and fire departments, and infrastructure, there are so many things it can't. Prohibition altered the Constitution of the United States to…
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028: UFOs and the Psyche - Visitors from Inner Space? | Living the Inner Life
With all the recent UFO and UAP sightings and publicity lately, I take a look back at what Dr. Carl Jung wrote about the flying saucers in the late 1950s. Jung didn't doubt the existence of the saucers, nor the truthfulness of the eyewitness accounts, but instead focused on the psychological...
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027: Inner Alchemy: Transform the Gold Within | Living the Inner Life
The metal Alchemists of long ago sought to change lead into gold by subjecting it to heat, chemicals, distillation and various experiments in the laboratory. We also do this in the kitchen when we mix flour, sugar, egg, water and a few other things, subject them to heat, and wind up with a cake....
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026: Reaction vs. Response: How Do You Reply? | Living the Inner Life
When you reply to the people and events in our lives, are you reacting or responding. A reaction is an automated reply, like a knee-jerk reflex, usually without any thought. It can also be a habit of speech, triggered by a stimulus. But if you respond, there is thought involved, and at least a...
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025: The Hermetic Marriage: Romance of the Soul | Living the Inner Life
The great love stories from religious scriptures, mythology, movies and fairy tales are actually metaphors for our inner lives. It is that beauty within ourselves that is sleeping and needs to be awakened. We are under a spell of materialism that has made us beastly, which only beauty can…
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024: Self-Sabotage - Is It Real or Something Else? | Living the Inner Life
Sabotage is usually an attempt to disrupt or derail something that is deemed negative. This is a solution. But when we 'self-sabotage', it is most often something that we DO want, yet we have this urge to dismantle it. So how is self-sabotage a solution? If we want to disrupt a negative part of…
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023: Faith as Scientific Fact: Belief in Things Unseen | Living the Inner Life
Faith is the belief in things unseen. In this podcast, I am not talking about 'faith' as being a style or sect of religion, nor a belief in a supreme being. These are great topics I hope to cover soon. Here, I am only talking about the hidden possibilities that lurk in the unseen world. When we...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Streams of Consciousness - about Consciousness. Unscripted. Unedited. I am Chris Sheridan (M.A. Transformational Psychology), and I have been teaching ancient wisdom, consciousness, and the mind-body connection for 30 years. Join me on a discussion of mind science, spirituality, metaphysics and the mysteries of being a human soul. Self improvement and self-help takes place within our Inner Life.
HOSTED BY
Chris Sheridan
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Living the Inner Life have?
Living the Inner Life currently has 72 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Living the Inner Life about?
Streams of Consciousness - about Consciousness. Unscripted. Unedited. I am Chris Sheridan (M.A. Transformational Psychology), and I have been teaching ancient wisdom, consciousness, and the mind-body connection for 30 years. Join me on a discussion of mind science, spirituality, metaphysics and the...
How often does Living the Inner Life release new episodes?
Living the Inner Life has 72 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Living the Inner Life?
You can listen to Living the Inner Life on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Living the Inner Life?
Living the Inner Life is created and hosted by Chris Sheridan.
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