The High Vibe Guide
You can feel happier! You can feel more positive, and it's so much easier than you think.
Whether you're a seasoned venturer or just starting out on your journey to radiating a more positive energy, my episodes will provide a wealth of inspiration, tools and wisdom to guide you in creating a more vibrant and positive life. It is possible. I have lived and breathed this journey. Let me explain how you can do it too.
The High Vibe Guide
47. The Power of Metta
In today’s episode of *The High Vibe Guide*, I’m diving into my recent exploration of Buddhism and how its teachings have resonated deeply with my personal journey. I share my experience visiting a local Buddhist centre and how the practices, especially Tonglen meditation, align with the mission of the podcast—helping you create a happier, more content life. Tune in to learn about this powerful Tibetan meditation technique, the importance of loving-kindness, and how you can incorporate these teachings into your daily life to nurture your heart and compassion.
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Welcome to the High Vibe Guide, the podcast where I demystify the concept of raising our vibration. I'm Jenna, a yoga teacher, mum of three and passionate advocate for helping others to just feel happier. Let me explain to you how we can all live more contented and fulfilled lives, and how it's so much easier than you think. Hello everybody, welcome back to the High Five Guide, where we're diving into the tools, the practices, the insights to help us all live happier, more contented lives. So today I want to talk to you about something that's been really lighting me up the last few months, and I can't remember if I mentioned it last week or the week before, but I've just been really drawn to exploring Buddhism and its teachings because I just realized lately how much they resonate so deeply with me and what we actually talk about here on the podcast. And I've actually been visiting a local Buddhist centre recently and it's been an incredibly eye-opening experience. And I've got a very basic understanding of Buddhist teachings through my yoga teacher trainings, which draws from Buddhism along with many other ancient traditions. So I've got the basic understanding of it, but being in that space and learning a little bit more about the teaching firsthand and doing a lot more. Reading into it on my own and seeing how it's practiced has been quite transformative. And you know, I want to share with you everything that I'm going through, because if it helps me, then I think it might also help someone else. So what drew me to Buddhism initially was noticing all these parallels between its principles and what we explore here on the high vibe guide. So you know, my mission on here has always been to help us discover how to lead more joyful, more meaningful lives, and realizing that only we can do this. It's us that has the power to do this, and only us. And guess what? Buddhism's mission or overall philosophy is exactly the same. One of its teachings really struck a chord with me, and it's this quote. And it says don't practice Buddhism to become a better Buddhist. Practice Buddhism to become better at what you already are. Isn't that just beautiful, isn't it incredible? It's not about labels or identity. It's just about becoming the best version of ourselves, which aligns so perfectly with why I created this podcast.
Speaker 1:So, today, what I want to talk about? I want to talk about Buddhism, and there was so much for me to choose from. I was like what do I talk about first? I mean, there's so many kind of foundations and basic principles we could talk about, but I thought one that's really resonating at the minute and tied in with something this week and just this month in general, and it's huge in Buddhism teaching, so I thought I'm going to go with it. It just makes sense and that's loving kindness, and that is one of the most profound teachings and something we can all benefit from, no matter where we are in life or what we believe.
Speaker 1:So loving kindness, or metta it's referred to, as in Buddhism is all about cultivating an attitude of unconditional love, compassion and goodwill, not just to others but towards ourselves. And it's not just the warm, fuzzy feeling we get when being loving and compassionate is easy, you know, but it's about an intentional practice of opening your heart and keeping it open, even to people or situations that may challenge us, where we don't naturally want to open our heart towards these experiences or people. That's when it counts. And let's be honest, how often do we close ourselves off when life gets hard? I've done it this week. I caught myself even today just closing off saying, nope, it's not at all, it's too hard. When someone hurts us or something frustrates us, our instinct is to build walls. It's what we do, it's what the mind does, but what loving kindness does? It teaches us that true peace comes when we can keep our hearts open, even when it feels difficult.
Speaker 1:An example that I just instantly think of don't know why you can tell that I have young children is Cinderella. Cinderella, especially the version with Kate Blanchanchett, who plays the evil stepmother or the wicked stepmother. All through poor Cinderella's tortuous life with the wicked stepmother and the stepsisters, she keeps her heart open. She never loses it, she never retaliates, she never fights fire with fire. Love always kind of conquers evil with cinderella. And even at the end if you've seen the one I'm talking about, not the animated one, the original one, the one with kate blanchett at the end cinderella turns around just before she's about to walk out of the house and go marry her Prince Charming. She's like forgive you, and it really kind of shocks Cate Blanchett Like what, what do you mean? You forgive me, but it's because she's kept her heart open. And yeah, what a beautiful message to learn from Cinderella.
Speaker 1:What a beautiful message to learn from Cinderella, but steering away from Disney and back to Buddhism. What it teaches us is that our capacity for love and compassion is infinite, but it's like a muscle we have to exercise it for it to grow stronger. And that's where meditation comes in as a really powerful tool. You guys know I'm a huge, huge, huge advocate for meditation and one meditation that I've learned through Buddhism it's a Tibetan Buddhism practice and it ties really beautifully into loving, kindness and it's called Tonglen, and Tonglen means giving and receiving, and it involves breathing in the pain or suffering of yourself or someone else and then breathing out love, compassion and healing.
Speaker 1:So if, if you're going to try this yourselves, you start by just getting into a nice comfy position and withdrawing, focusing on the breath, then you visualize yourself, or maybe you visualize someone else experiencing pain or difficulty and with each inhale, imagine breathing in that pain, not to keep it but to transform it. And then, on your exhale, you imagine this energy is transformed and you're now sending out love, light and relief and you're filling the whole space with this healing energy. And it may sound kind of counterintuitive at first, like why we want to breathe in pain, but the idea is not to dwell in the suffering. Instead, we're cultivating empathy and reminding ourselves of our capacity to transform darkness into light. Because we do, we all. We all hold this capacity. We just have to remember how to do it.
Speaker 1:What I love about this practice of Tonglen is how empowering it feels, because it shows us that even in the face of pain, whether it's our own or someone else's, we have the ability to transmute it into something healing and positive. Remember, it's all energy, and energy can be transformed. It can be transmuted. Energy is always flowing and it's always changing. So the benefits of this kind of practice I mean it's going to reduce stress and anxiety, it's going to increase feelings of connection and empathy. But something also really important that it's going to do it's going to enhance our emotional resilience. That's pretty self-explanatory when you think about the practice. You are transforming pain into love and light and compassion. If we can learn to do that, we're like winning at life in every single way.
Speaker 1:But it's also fostering forgiveness and then the release of resentment, which I think is something so important for us to learn and continue to carry on learning throughout our life to keep practicing this release of resentment. How much do we hold on to stuff? And it's triggered years later because we're storing it in the body. We're not allowing it to pass through when it comes in. So this practice is supporting that release. We don't need to hold on to these things, and I think perhaps the most beautiful benefit of this is the ripple effect. It comes back to kindness and when you start showing up with more love and compassion, it naturally inspires those around you to do the same thing. It's this chain reaction of kindness.
Speaker 1:I've talked a lot about this on social media lately and I've been really surprised at how much, how many messages I got from these acts of kindness, these small acts of kindness, and how powerful they are. Someone could have done the tiniest thing, tiniest act of kindness, to a stranger 10 years ago and I bet you that person will still remember it just can have such a greater impact than you ever believe. It just can have such a greater impact than you ever believe. But to help you along with this firsthand, I'm going to make this week's guided meditation on the High Vibe Guide centered around a Tonglen meditation. I'm going to record it now, straight after this, because I've been playing around with it, experimenting with it, and it's such a powerful practice and I'm really excited to share it with you.
Speaker 1:So, whether you're dealing with your own struggles or you're looking to hold space for others, because that can be equally challenging. If you're close to someone or living a lot, living alongside someone who's going through some real pain, it's difficult not just for them but for you. So it's a really powerful experience to have from both perspectives and it's going to help you tap into your heart's infinite capacity for love and light. Because it is it's just this ever glowing, ever shining this constant, powerful beam, the center of love and light that's always there. We just have all these layers over it and we shut it down. We place like kind of plasters and bandages around it and then walls go up around it, but it never goes anywhere. It's still there, it's infinite. So, remember, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1:All my podcast episodes are obviously free, but if you want access to my weekly guided meditations they go out on a friday, it's four dollars a month that's it. Four dollars a month, that's nothing. It's like a dollar per meditation and I create a new one every week. I put so much thought and heart into it because I know how much meditation can change lives really can. It's changed mine and I know how challenging it can be in the very beginning, when you're trying.
Speaker 1:You've tried it a few times, don't feel it works, because you might not feel it working in the first instant. It might take a few months, but it's a really easy practice to integrate into your life if you, if you hold on to the trust that it will work because some people just try it for a couple of weeks and think, man, I didn't feel anything, can't be arsed, I'm not going to carry on but if you sit with that trust that it will work, it is doing something, even when you feel like it's not. Trust me, when you get to that first point where you have a real experience of meditation and you can see how it's helping you in day-to-day life, not just when you're sat there meditating, but it carries over into your life when you first experience that, you will get what I mean. And, guys, it only gets better from there. You just keep experiencing these more powerful and transformative things within the meditation and then you take it into everyday life and you are just a more contented person. You deal with struggles better, your attitude changes, your emotional resilience changes and your emotional reactivity changes. You are just a different person. Please trust me on this one, okay? So that is what's going to happen this friday you are going to have a tom glenn based meditation. I'm very excited to hear what you guys think about it. So, my friends, you lovely lot, thank you for all your messages. Please, please, please, keep sending them in. And as we go through this week, let's remember the power of staying open, open-hearted, open-minded, both very equal and open to the idea that we can transform even the toughest situations into something meaningful. That's not just, you know, to put on a quote and attack a gift shop. That's true stuff there, guys.
Speaker 1:And if you've ever been curious about buddhism, find your local buddhist center. Your local buddhist center. There's a couple here in shrewsbury, and just hit google. They're so warm and welcoming because communities and group kind of support is at the heart of buddhism as well. You're not expected just to go away and read a book and do it all on your own. It's really inclusive, but in a really just non-pressured way. It's so relaxed, it's so chill.
Speaker 1:You don't get the feeling you're being converted or persuaded to commit to anything. It's because. That's because there isn't a god in buddhism. There's no deity. Buddha was a person. And buddha said you know, you don't need to believe 100% what I'm saying, but I've had this huge realization, this huge awakening on what the secret to happiness and contentment is in life. Please let me share it with you. Take what works and I'm obviously paraphrasing but take what works for you, and that's the feeling, that's the real vibe you get when you walk into a Buddhist center at least the ones that I have.
Speaker 1:So if you are curious about Buddhism, hit up your local center. They're all just lovely, beautiful, amazing people. Or if you want to share your thoughts on loving, kindness or anything that you know or have experienced about Buddhism, I'd love to hear from you. You can find me on Instagram or email me directly. I'll put all that information in the show notes for you. And don't forget to check out your guided Tonglen meditation this Friday. It's truly one of the most beautiful practices that I have come across. So thank you as always. Thank you so much for joining me today. Keep leading with the heart, stay curious, stay open and always keep looking for the good stuff. Thank you guys. Thank you guys. Thank you all so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share with your friends and family to continue spreading that positivity. You can find me on instagram at thehighvibeguide. Get in touch. I would love to hear from you. Thank you all so much for listening and I'll see you back here next time at the High Five Guide.