Finding Motivation to Practice
from the Four Reminders
with Katherine King, PsyD
(Host Spotlight)
Listen:
Show Notes:
In this episode, Noble Mind co-host Katherine King, PsyD describes the Four Reminders, a traditional Buddhist teaching that can inspire us to engage more fully in mindfulness, meditation, and other meaningful practices. Sharing from her own experiences, she describes how appreciation of the preciousness of life, awareness of our own freedoms and privileges, as well as the realities of death, impermanence, and karma, can all help move us to practice and study with more commitment and enthusiasm.
Katherine King, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at William James College. She is a member of the Boston Shambhala Center Board of Directors, a vajrayana student of Buddhism, and has practiced meditation for over 20 years. She writes a blog for Psychology Today and has been featured in such publications as Buddhadharma, Women's Health, and American Public Media's Marketplace. Learn more about Kate and sign up to stay in touch at www.drkateking.com.
Key Takeaways:
- An overview of the traditional Buddhist teachings of the four reminders
- The value in contemplating the preciousness of human life
- How our suffering compels us to ask deeper questions and search for meaning
- What it means to appreciate being ‘free and well-favored'
- How reflecting on the auspicious coincidences that led us to practice give us energy to continue
- How mindfulness and meditation practices help us prepare for death
- How contemplating impermanence creates a sense of urgency around our practices
- The benefit in exploring the long-term consequences of our actions
- The eight worldly concerns of Buddhism that keep us in a cycle of suffering
- Why it’s futile to try to escape the suffering that comes with being alive
Resources:
- Kate on Understanding the Eight Worldly Concerns (Psychology Today)
- The Four Reminders
- Steve Jobs’ Daily Question
- Four Reminders Guided Practice
- The Eight Worldly Concerns
- The First Noble Truth
- The Three Kinds of Suffering
Recent Past Episodes:
Hosts:
Katherine King, PsyD
Katherine King, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at William James College. She was trained in evidence-based treatments within the Veterans’ Administration and has a private practice specializing in geropsychology. She is also a member of the Boston Shambhala Center Board of Directors, a vajrayana student of Buddhism, and has practiced meditation for over 20 years. Learn more about Kate at www.drkateking.com.
Alex Gokce, MSW
Alex Gokce, MSW has a master’s degree in social work from Salem State University and an undergraduate degree in Comparative Government from Harvard University. He has led psychotherapy groups on topics including mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and mind-body approaches to pain management. He has co-led programs at the Boston Shambhala Center on the topics of trauma and self-compassion. His personal and professional interests center around the individual, societal and intergenerational impacts of trauma, as well as the sociocultural roots of interpersonal harm.
Disclaimer: Please note that the information shared in this podcast is strictly for educational purposes only, and is not intended as psychological treatment or consultation of any kind.
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