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How do you summon your courage when everything seems hopeless? How do you gain the strength to keep fighting when all your efforts seem to be in vain? Learn from Harriet.

• Around 120 years ago, a young woman freed herself from slavery. However, when Harriet Tubman crossed into the free lands of Pennsylvania, she knew her own freedom wasn’t enough — she was compelled to help others attain their freedom.
• For the next 11 years, she crossed back into the hell she had escaped over and over again. She ultimately rescued around 70 enslaved people.
• Most of us in the modern world won’t endure conditions as horrific as Harriet and other enslaved people faced. Nonetheless, we face a set of challenges that are unprecedented in human history, from the decline of democracy to the existential threat of climate change.
• Whenever we feel dejected or lost by the weight of the difficulties we face, we can channel the strength of those who came before to meet what lies ahead. We can learn from Harriet and countless other brave souls who paved the way for our efforts today.

Read the full transcript here: https://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-51-to-hell-and-back-again/

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Few activities create more anxiety than thinking about the future. However, when we let go of the need for certainty, we prepare our minds for clarity and creativity to bloom.

Whenever we’re faced with a hard problem or a major decision, we often find ourselves gripped with anxiety. Our minds churn with visions of the many ways things might go wrong.

However, we can take comfort in the fact that nobody knows what's going to happen. While uncertainty often makes us uncomfortable, it also equals possibility.

When we let go of our need to have everything all figured out, we can open the door to new ways of thinking and being.

The Buddhist concept of “store consciousness” offers a helpful approach to do this. When you have a problem, rather than ruminate endlessly, you can rest in the wisdom of “not-knowing” and allow insight to arise organically.

Listen to the full transcript here:
https://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-50-i-dont-know-and-thats-ok/

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We fill our homes with too much stuff, our calendars with too many activities, and our minds with too much mental chatter. When we practice saying no and letting go, we make more space for the things that truly deliver value in our lives.

If you’ve ever been in the home of an extreme hoarder, you will recognize how useless a room becomes from an excess of stuff. With junk piled on every surface from floor to ceiling, you have to carve a path just to walk across the room.

When we lack space, the utility of emptiness becomes clear. Over 2000 years ago, the Tao Te Jing pointed out that form and space work together to make things useful.

We can experience this with material things in our lives, like rooms or the surface of our desks, or more intangible things like our calendars or our minds. Too much stuff filling every corner diminishes the utility of these things.

To make space, we must practice the challenging but liberating art of saying no and letting go. Doing so allows us to make the best use of the forms and spaces in our lives.

Check out the full transcript here:
https://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-49-i-need-some-space/