A guy from one of the forums I frequent, named Scix,  made a really cool monologue video called 'On Love' that he put on youtube.com.  When I watched it, I thought what he had to say hit on a lot of Buddhist thought, whether he intended it that way or not, so I decided to use some of what he said as the basis for this weeks podcast.

This week we are talking about being in the moment, what that means, what it doesn't mean and how it becomes very intertwined with the concept of attachment.

Today, I'm reading and responding to some viewer mail.  

If there is no local Meditation Center in your area, what are your options?

Books on Meditation

• 'Turning The Mind Into An Ally'- The Sakyong, Mipham Rinpoche
• 'The Path Is The Goal' - Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche

Meditation Instruction On Line

• Meditation Instruction - The Sakyong, Mipham Rinpoche
  

Online Buddhist Discussion

• E-Sangha
  

Other Buddhist Podcasts

• The Interdependence Project
• Buddhist Geeks 

As I'm sure most of you are aware, it's been awhile since the last Enlighten Up Podcast and I should tell everyone that I have not died or fallen off the face of the earth or anything like that.  I was on a business trip for a week and didn't get a chance to record.  On top of that, the last half of the trip I developed the flu, which I am still dealing with.  At any rate, I now have no voice, so podcasting is on hold for a few days. 

If you haven't already done so, you could take a listen to to the Podcast from the Shambhala Meditation Center of San Antonio.  Acharya Moh Hardin and Sangyum Cynde Grieve came in from Halifax, NS and gave some wonderful talks that are getting posted over there slowly.

We've talked quite a bit about the spiritual path, what the path is and how we get on the path, but can we ever take a trip and not ask "Are we there yet?" or "How much farther?" or even "Did I make a wrong turn?"  That's what we talk about on this EUP episode, or at least we talk about  what happened in my experience.  And you even get a little personal history of the old Meditator Man.

Happy New Year!  Welcome to the 33rd episode of the Enlighten Up Podcast and our first podcast of 2008.  On today's episode, we talk about how you become a Buddhist.  Again, we do a little compare and contrast with other religions then we talk about the Refuge Vow ceremony, what happens and what it means.

In the new voice mail segment (actually I think we have had a voice mail segment for awhile, just no voicemails) we hear from our very first voicemail caller, Brad P. from NJ from the Whole Lot Of Nonsense podcast, who gives me some much appreciated positive feed back and then gives me something to think about:  "There is truth in all spiritual paths but no single spiritual truth."  This seems to make a lot of sense.

A question I'm often asked is 'Is Buddhism a religion?'  That's our subject this time.  Is Buddhism a religion?  A philosophy?  Or something else?  Does it even matter?  I tell you what I think in the latest episode of The Enlighten Up Podcast.

Unfortunately, due to some problems with my ISP (Internet America) the 14th episode of the podcast is going to have to be delayed for a few days.  I am definitely NOT podfading.  Please stay tuned because the Enlighten Up Podcast WILL be back as soon as these technical problems are solved.

Metta,

Lans, the Meditator Man