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PODCAST

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers

Mindfulness for the Legal Mind: a 10-minute talk plus 10 minutes of guided meditation. A brief refuge. The musings of a long-time lawyer, law professor, and mindfulness geek on lawyering from a mindful perspective. Tools to cultivate more joy, ease, and wellbeing in this crazy profession. Ideas to become even better at what you do, and save the world. A few minutes of peace every week, which you definitely deserve.

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All Episodes

19:41

Sitting Above the Fray

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/12/06

I have this image of myself as being mindful, sitting above the fray. In my dreams.The truth is, I’m not above the fray at all,because the fray is my own mind.For example, it’s never my intention to be blindsided by hate or greed.But I do get blindsided -in the sense that when they show up, I can’t see.My clarity is gone. They are the fray.So I do what I can, like I’m guessing we all do.For me that means trying to notice hate and greed before I’ve acted on them;once ...

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20:28

Is it gratitude, or something else?

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/11/23

I want to say this is the season for gratitude,and that’s not wrong, but I’m also not 100%.I’m grateful, and I’m also confused and fearful and nauseous. Or I’m pedaling fast and furious, or hiding behind my screen.Greed, hatred, exhaustion, restlessness, doubt:they all co-exist in this heart and mind right now,alongside gratitude. So the question I’m asking myself is,how do I create enough space for everything?How can I be gentle with the way things are?What creates spaciousness and...

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20:05

Seeing Clearly in Difficult Times

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/11/16

I’m finding that right now, practice can be challenging.It’s hard to get up an hour early in the dark.But that’s often the case. The bigger challenge right now is not the early dark mornings.It’s the lack of clarity that arises when anger, impatience, and fear take over my sit, or my day. That’s why right now, I’m understanding a little bit betterthe wisdom of all the great teachers, who counsel us to befriend these difficult states of mind.I’m noticing that befriending an...

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20:39

Just Breathe

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/11/08

Whether you’re celebrating right now or mourning,I feel like the best idea might be to just take a breath. Maybe you’re thinking about what’s next,gathering friends, gathering forces. Amazing. And, wouldn’t it be good if we could all just take a collective breath? There will be time. There is time. Right now, can we take care of ourselves and the people we love? Can we go to our cushions, our communities, our hearts – not to the mat, not yet - and connect and not turn away? C...

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19:21

Welcoming This Scary Moment: Happy Halloween. Happy...

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/10/31

This year it feels like there are real live goblins in the streets. So maybe it’s an odd time to put out the welcome mat.But to me it feels like there’s no other choice. If we notice our internal goblins - fear, anxiety, and concern or notice the goblins in others, and turn away, we’re missing the chance to care. If we welcome whatever we see and hear, however scary it is,then maybe there’s a chance that no matter what happens next, we’ll survive, because we care. Go to the pl...

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19:11

How to Feel Right Now

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/10/24

Sometimes I don’t know what’s happened today, or I know, but I’d rather not.The moment is so fraught and the consequences so big that turning away sometimes feels like an option. But turning away from the external - turning off the news, turning off my phone -is one thing. Deciding to stop checking in inside - stop pausing, stop taking a breath and observing how the moment feels, which is how to investigate a state of heart, state of mind is another. I feel like I can take a break f...

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20:22

Impermanence, Multiple Truths, and Door-Knocking

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/10/18

When I think about impermanence I think of it as an immutable quality of life.When I think about democracy, though,I want to believe in its permanence. That belief, or illusion,is what gets me knocking on doors,making calls, and mailing my ballot. Maybe both are true: empires come and go, and there is wisdom in believing in the illusion of their permanence, at least until proven otherwise.

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20:57

Turning Forgiveness Around

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/10/10

I’ve been noticing this week, as I practice apology and forgiveness, that these practices invite me to dig deep. What I’m digging for is generosity. To apologize with a full heart, I need to be generous enough to be willing to say I’m sorry.To forgive – and often I need to forgive myself – I need to be generous enough to see that when I cause harm, as awful as it feels, there is room to grow and (hopefully) time to make ame...

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19:58

Apology and Forgiveness

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/10/04

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. L’shana tova! It’s a celebratory day, but it’s also a time for contemplation: a time to consider any harm we’ve caused, apologize, and ask for forgiveness. From a mindfulness perspective, this invitation is always present. In each moment, we know how to look, and see, whether we’re causing harm, remember the consequences of doing that, and back away or, if it’s too late, apologize. It’s easier for me t...

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19:02

Wise Concentration

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/09/26

The funny thing about mindfulness is that even though it takes effort and solid intention, it’s also deeply relaxing. I used to think that focusing on my breath was some combination of dreary, boring, and hard. Now I’d say, it’s none of those things. It’s pretty interesting - sometimes the breath is interesting, but equally often, what’s interesting is how wild my mind is. And it’s also easy, when I remember to relax.&...

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20:08

Wise Mindfulness, A Tall Order

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/09/19

I want to say I’m ok with the news, the polls, the weather, my friends, my family. I want to say that, but plenty of times I’m just not. I’m anxious or impatient or fearful or just flat out exhausted. Mindfulness invites me to step back, observe what I’m feeling, and not flinch.And not only not flinch, but welcome whatever I see. Welcome, and then love.And then also do better: be a little kinder and wiser the next time.It’s a tall order, and it gets taller. Bec...

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19:53

Wise Effort - Goldilocks Was Right

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/09/13

How much effort is enough? In the law, often the answer is, it’s never enough.That’s a burnout-answer.But it doesn’t mean we don’t have to work our tails off to do a good job. Mindfulness invites us to work hard, too, but there is an “enough.”Sometimes “enough” is a few minutes of practice. Sometimes, it’s a ten-day silent retreat. Always, it’s practicing a least a little, every day. In the immortal words of Justice Stewart, we know it when we see it.Louis Armstrong famously said,“I...

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20:12

Wise Lawyering: Practicing Peace

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/08/29

When I think back on being 20 and choosing to be a lawyer, there was a lot of, “why not? That seems like a cool path.” There was less of, “how will this serve?” or “will this contribute to a more harmonious world?”I see now that whether my work created harmony or discord was always the important question.Pema Chodron invites us to ask, “am I going to practice peace, or am I going to war?” That’s the question I would ask my 20-year-old self today. It’s the question I ask my 65-year-old self as...

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18:56

Behaving With Wisdom

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/08/23

Behaving mindfully is not always easy. Don’t cause harm, don’t take anything that’s not mine to take, don’t be biased, don’t cloud the mind, always be kind: it’s clear what the invitation is. But for me it’s not easy to remember to accept that invitation and live each moment like that.What is easy for me to remember, when I’ve caused harm or taken more than my share or harbored (or spoken with) ill will, is that it’s possible to take responsibility, make things right as best as I can, and lea...

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19:41

Winning & Influencing Mindfully

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/08/15

I have no idea how many times I say something, or write an email, or post, with irritation on my mind. Or hit the numbers for Verizon, with exasperation. I do know that when I do, the result is often not great.When I remember to be mindful - to consider my timing, be honest, and be kind no matter what (and no matter who) –the result is decent. The other person seems more interested and relaxed. And I feel ok, even when I don’t get what I want. Timing, honesty, and kindness: I’m loving t...

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20:02

The Problem With Good Intentions

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/08/09

The problem with good intentions is that they’re subjective. Plus, I may have good intentions but what ‘good’ are they if my impact is still harmful?Wise intentions are different. Wise intentions are objective and aspirational. When I remember to set and follow them, I’m less likely to hurt anyone and more likely to be helpful and even, maybe, contribute in some small way to the goodDedicated to the U.S. women’s soccer (football) team, for the win …and for a much bigger win in November.

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20:08

The Path to Waking Up

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/08/02

The Path to Waking UpEach of the eight steps of the mindfulness path - the path to waking up - feels important. But the first, which emphasizes that everything we say and do matters, feels like the most important to remember. When I do, I’m kinder on call-center calls, more compassionate to people who upset me, curious about political views that seem diametrically opposed to mine and the neighbors who hold them.Everything we say and do matters…for one obvious reason, to me anyway: we belong t...

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19:50

Letting Go When the Stakes are High

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/07/25

Right now feels like a moment when I need to assert my beliefs and work very, very hard to create change. The stakes feel too high to do anything else.At the same time, when I act like an expert not too many people seem to want to hear what I have to say. When I let go of believing I’m right and they’re wrong, they seem at least a little bit interested. But is it even possible to let go, to cultivate beginner’s mind, right now, in this polarized moment? If it is, I wonder what would happ...

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20:45

The Reason Things Are Hard

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/07/19

The birds in the trees, the light at dawn, the gorgeousness of morning: these things are all mixed up right now with dysfunctional politics, a precarious climate, and so much going on at home.Mindfulness helps. Present moment attention without judgment, the first step, is crucial. And so is the next step. The next step is, don’t wish things were other than they are. Work hard to change things, absolutely. But be present moment to moment with the joys and the sorrows, too. It’s a big...

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20:37

Why Being Human is The Only Way

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers ·

2024/07/12

Each day of being relatively balanced feels to me like a day of possibility. What I notice is that when I’m balanced, when I’m really feeling human - not in survival mode, not activated, not checked out, there’s the possibility that mindfulness will point me towards kindness and compassion, for myself and for everyone. I also notice it’s circular. When I’m practicing mindfulness regularly, I’m less in survival mode, less activated, and less checked out. And I’m more likely to feel at lea...

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