The Wake Up Call for Lawyers

Apr 19 2024 2

The Wake Up Call for Lawyers Podcast artwork

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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Making Enthusiasm Cool Again

Apr 19 2024 18 mins

The trouble with letting my enthusiasm show is that most of the time I’m afraid I won’t look cool. I’ll be outed for being joyful in a world that’s scary and getting worse. Enthusiasm almost feels inappropriate.But what if enthusiasm is just effort infused by love? And what if we didn’t feel inhibited to bring love – not romantic love but the natural luminosity of our o

Patience With Ourselves

Apr 12 2024 20 mins

I don’t know whether I’m more impatient with the world and the people in it, or with my own impatience. When I’m impatient with the world and my people, the antidote, patience, feels like it softens striving. And more: patience with family, friends, the way things are, has a kind of alchemical quality. When it arises - in me or in anyone - everyone seems to relax, and to see

Ethics, Ferocity, and Harmony

Apr 04 2024 20 mins

One way of thinking about ethics is that we have a cannon, we have rules, and as lawyers, we’re bound to follow those rules. Another way of thinking about ethics is that on some fundamental level, all ethics are about not causing harm. From either perspective the question for me is, how to be a ferocious advocate and not cause harm? Which begs a larger question, which is, how can

Knowing How To Give

Mar 29 2024 20 mins

I like to think of myself as generous. Hopefully so do you. And, I know I could do more.It’s not just about philanthropy although that matters. It’s about being loving, compassionate, and patient, too.And it’s about giving the gift of fearlessness: asking myself how I can help make everyone feel safe and at home, even the “other side,” and even those whose political views

Letting The Raft Disintegrate

Mar 22 2024 20 mins

With all of this training of the heart and mind, shouldn't we be getting somewhere? I feel like at least we should have something to show for all the hard work.And yet the great teachers all say the same thing: there’s no place to get to and no one to become. There's only the journey of cultivation and letting go. There's only learning to love and slipping up; lear

Laziness and the Lawyer

Mar 15 2024 18 mins

Once upon a time there was a lazy lawyer. Said no one, ever.How can a lawyer be lazy? They wouldn’t last a minute, in law school or in practice. There’s an endless amount to do, and then there’s more to do later. And our job is to, well, do it all. Well.But maybe there are ways we’re lazy in terms of taking care of ourselves. I’m guilty of that. So...what if we could be

Getting Beyond Reproach

Mar 08 2024 20 mins

Whenever I say or do something unskillful, my first hope is that no one notices. Hat trick. But let’s say that happens - no one notices. What then? Then, I have to notice. And I need to call myself out. With humor, hopefully – after all, this 'being human' is an imperfect thing - but yes, call myself out.Which means that until the day I’m no longer unskillful, which

Can We Ever Truly Forgive?

Mar 01 2024 20 mins

For me, forgiveness is possible in many cases but in this heart, not all. Not all, yet, anyway. I wish I could forgive the people who caused me grave harm. Because not doing that feels like allowing something to fester. Underneath not-forgiving, I can feel dread. But about what? That not-forgiving is hurting me, or someone I love? That the people who caused me harm didn’t know, a

Working With Our Enemies

Feb 23 2024 18 mins

I want to be loving. I want to not separate people into camps: worthy of my love, not worthy of my love. Because who am I to decide? No matter what someone has done, no matter their views or even their actions, why would I want to hate them? All that does is create a hole in my heart. And yet so often, I parse. This person is good, this person is not. This person is giving me what

Ending Up With The Goodies

Feb 16 2024 20 mins

For sure I want all the goodies. And I’m pretty convinced that when I finally get them (or when I notice I already have them, if I do ever notice), then I’ll be happy. And for sure, life doesn’t work like that. The coach passengers want business class seats, business wants first, and first wants a charter. I have no idea what people who own planes want, but you get the point: