S1E6 Jon Kabat Zinn Full Catastrophe Living

Generated: 2025-07-04

Full Transcript

[00:03] Well hey lovely soul, welcome to Read Reflect Rise with Will Struthers-Cooper, the podcast [00:09] where words become medicine and that medicine can become your daily self for peace and empowerment. [00:15] I’m your host, Will Struthers-Cooper, and whether you’re walking the dog, hiding in [00:20] the loo for five minutes apiece or driving in blissful silence between the different [00:23] types of chaos in your day, I am so glad you’re here. [00:27] Today’s episode is focused on an absolute foundation, an anchor, a breath, a return [00:33] to yourself, and an absolute classic rooted in science and the wisdom of ancient practices. [00:40] We’re exploring a timeless piece of work from one of the most respected voices in mindfulness, [00:45] John Cabot Zinn. [00:47] John Cabot Zinn, if you don’t know who he is, you’re going to love him. [00:51] His book, Fuel Catastrophe Living, is a classic in the field of meditation and integrative [00:56] medicine, and it continues to offer grounded guidance in an ever-accelerating world. [01:01] I consider it an essential book in my teaching and coaching toolkit for facilitating wellbeing [01:06] and resilience skills. [01:08] So if you’ve been craving more presence, more steadiness, more breath in the midst [01:15] of it all, and the logical part of your brain wants a big, big authority on empirically [01:22] analyzed mindfulness practices, this is the one for you. [01:26] Let’s begin. [01:29] John Cabot Zinn was an early pioneer of bringing mindfulness into mainstream medicine, therapy, [01:34] and daily life. [01:35] He founded MBSR programs, the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program, in the 1970s, long [01:42] before mindfulness was popular. [01:45] Fuel Catastrophe Living distills his decades of research and practice into a compassionate [01:50] practical guide. [01:50] It’s not small, but it’s compassionate and it’s practical. [01:55] It contains the entire MBSR course. [01:58] So if you’ve been thinking, oh, I should really go do a meditation class, but you never have [02:02] time, it’s great. [02:04] It’s brilliant. [02:05] It is perfect to have next to your bed, have in your spare time, dip into it, dip out of [02:11] it, don’t be put off by the size of it. [02:14] It contains worlds, absolute worlds. [02:18] And don’t let the word catastrophe put you off, because the phrase actually comes from [02:22] a scene from a book, which was then turned into a film and a play. [02:27] It’s called Zorba the Greek, where Zorba is asked if he’s ever been married and he replies, [02:32] am I not a man? [02:33] Of course I’ve been married. [02:35] Wife, house, kids, the full catastrophe. [02:39] And that’s the heart of this book. [02:41] It’s not about escaping life’s chaos, but living fully within it. [02:48] Bringing your true presence via mindfulness practices to the mess and the magic alike. [02:54] Again, bringing your true presence via mindfulness practices to the mess and the magic of daily [03:01] life side by side. [03:05] Let’s dip into the book. [03:29] Of course I’ve been married. [03:31] Wife, house, kids, the full catastrophe. [03:34] It was not meant to be a lament, nor does it mean that being married or having children [03:39] is a catastrophe. [03:40] Zorba’s response embodies a supreme appreciation for the richness of life and the inevitability [03:47] of all its dilemmas, sorrows, traumas, tragedies and ironies. [03:53] His way is to dance in the gale of the full catastrophe, to celebrate life, to laugh with [04:00] it and at himself, even in the face of personal failure and defeat. [04:05] In doing so, he is never weighed down for long, never ultimately defeated either by [04:11] the world or by his own considerable folly. [04:15] Anybody who knows the book can imagine that living with Zorba must have in itself been [04:19] quite the full catastrophe for his wife and children. [04:23] As is so often the case, the public hero that others admire can leave quite a trail of private [04:28] hurt in his wake. [04:29] Yet ever since I first heard it, I have felt that the phrase the full catastrophe captures [04:35] something positive about the human spirit, ability to come to grips with what is most [04:41] difficult in life and to find within it room to grow in strength and wisdom. [04:47] For me, facing the full catastrophe means finding and coming to terms with what is [04:53] deepest and best and ultimately what is most human within ourselves. [05:00] There is not one person on the planet who does not have his or her own version of the [05:06] full catastrophe. [05:09] Catastrophe here does not mean disaster. [05:12] Rather, it means the poignant enormity, the poignant enormity of our life experience. [05:20] It includes crisis and disaster, the unthinkable and the unacceptable. [05:27] But it also includes all the little things that go wrong and that add up. [05:33] This phrase reminds us that life is always in flux, that everything we think is permanent [05:38] is actually only temporary and constantly changing. [05:43] This includes our ideas, our opinions, our relationships, our jobs, our possessions, [05:49] our creations, our bodies, everything. [05:56] In this book, we will be learning and practising the art of embracing the full catastrophe. [06:03] We will be doing this so that rather than destroying us or robbing us of our power [06:07] and our hope, the storms of life will strengthen us as they teach us about living, growing [06:14] and healing in a world of flux, change and sometimes great pain. [06:21] This art will involve learning to see ourselves and the world in new ways, [06:27] learning to work in new ways with our bodies and our thoughts and feelings and perceptions [06:33] and learning to laugh at things a little more, including ourselves, as we practise finding [06:39] and maintaining our balance as best we can. [06:53] There we go. That’s from chapter one. We’re not fixing anything. We’re not running away. [07:00] We’re just being in this moment as you are, as life is, with more laughter. [07:08] I think we could all do with more laughter sometimes. [07:14] Now, if you’re sitting comfortably, standing comfortably, walking, moving, driving, [07:19] wherever you are in the midst of life, this is your invitation to do a short practice. [07:34] If your hands are occupied, if a portion of your brain is occupied, [07:41] this is a meditation for you. If you’re sitting still, don’t worry, you can do it too. [07:50] All right, firstly, bring your focus to your feet, move your toes, the balls of your feet, [07:56] the heel, move your weight slightly. Notice what difference and change it makes. [08:03] Allow yourself to notice where your weight is. If you’re sitting, do the same with your [08:09] seat. Allow your pelvis to rock slightly forward and back, to the left, to the right, [08:17] and come into a neutral position. Now you know what your balance is doing, what your weight is doing. [08:28] Take yourself a breath in and a breath out with a sigh. [08:38] Allow your body to exist exactly as it is. [08:44] Again, allow your body to exist exactly as it is. [08:52] Notice if there’s tension anywhere and decide if you want to let it be or if you want to change [08:57] something. Bring your attention to your hands, to anything you might be holding or touching in them. [09:08] Perhaps it’s the steering wheel, perhaps it’s a pair of three-year-old socks that may or may not [09:15] match, perhaps it’s a pencil or a pen, maybe your hands on your phone, [09:25] maybe your hands are resting on your trousers. [09:34] Allow your fingertips to just gently explore with touch, with pressure, [09:42] whatever it is that exists in your life near your hands right now. [09:49] You’re not changing anything. [09:56] You’re just observing. [10:00] And explore if you take one small press, compression, if you stretch out a finger, [10:10] how does that change the rest of what you experience? [10:18] If you take a deeper breath in, how does that change? [10:24] Or affect what’s in your hands, how your body lies? [10:38] The smallest change, the smallest touch, the smallest amount of pressure can change everything. [10:54] The slightest smile, [10:59] a deeper breath, a little stretch, [11:09] all tiny steps, tiny moments of being. [11:22] And if your brain starts to run to the next thing on the to-do list, [11:27] bring the pressure back to your fingertips, to your feet, [11:33] to your breath, to the body you’re in right now, in this moment. [11:42] Observe kind, observe kind. [11:47] Copy the vibes and что automotive boys especially these days直. [12:04] Try to check that your mind is in the right place, [12:14] which will take your breath away. [12:14] [12:21] Is there anything else you notice in you or around you? [12:29] Any sounds? [12:31] Any sensations? [12:37] Any textures? [12:53] Bring your focus back to your feet, to the muscles that support you in your legs, in [13:02] your back, in your shoulders, in your neck, in your hands. [13:19] Perhaps connecting the fingers of one hand with the fingers of another hand. [13:25] Lifting your gaze, allowing your mind to arrive in this moment, ready for the next moment [13:40] and all it brings. [13:50] Again, ready for this moment and the next moment and all it brings. [14:07] What I think I love most about this passage and the idea of the book and just John Kabat-Zinn’s [14:12] whole approach is the reminder that we don’t need to be fixed. [14:16] And remember, this is someone who created this in a scientific setting. [14:20] This is something that’s medically prescribed, this MBSR course that focuses so heavily in [14:26] the book. [14:27] We don’t need to be fixed. [14:29] We don’t need to wait until life calms down before we’re allowed to feel peaceful and [14:35] have peace in our lives. [14:39] How many times do we wait until life is less busy, until there’s less to do or until there’s [14:44] that utterly mythical, when I’ve got a moment, peace can live inside the storm. [14:52] The fuel catastrophe is not a problem to solve. [14:55] It’s our life and it’s our life that we get to live. [15:00] And when we stop trying to escape our pain, our stress, our discomfort and instead turn [15:06] toward it with curiosity and kindness, even in the overwhelm, that’s when we’re living [15:11] life exactly as it is and seeing the beauty woven throughout all of our catastrophes. [15:19] So a mantra for you to carry with you this week. [15:23] This is an affirmation you can write down, whisper it to yourself, chant it, simply breathe [15:27] in. [15:30] I choose to be in this moment. [15:33] There is nothing for me to do in this moment. [15:40] I choose to be in this moment. [15:43] There is nothing for me to do in this moment. [15:49] And when that one does its magic, here’s another one. [15:54] I am allowed to exist. [15:57] I choose to breathe in. [16:00] I choose to breathe out. [16:03] I am allowed to exist. [16:05] I choose to breathe in. [16:08] I choose to breathe out. [16:14] Thank you so much for joining me today. [16:17] If this episode has stirred something in you or helped you to slow down even for a few [16:22] moments, I’d be so honored if you shared it with a friend, left a quick review or tagged [16:27] me at Will Struthers Cooper so that I can cheer you on. [16:32] And don’t forget to head to www.ReadReflectRise for your weekly grounding practice and weekly [16:38] mantras to help your eyes. [16:40] Until next time, please remember there is magic, medicine and power in the words that [16:45] we weave and wield. [16:47] Take good care of your breath, your being and your beautiful, messy, miraculous, catastrophic [16:52] life. [16:53] I’ll see you next week.