Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life. Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye. When Muhammad Ali was asked, what is the central part of your training?

Is it jogging? Is it sparring? He answered,

The central part of my training is not running or vitamins or punching the bags.

The central part of my training is avoiding the nightclubs, the parties, and the girls. You want to know the truth?

The central part of my training is being in bed by 9 p.m. That was his answer.

And although I am not a boxer, when it comes to training the mind or living in line with my values and staying on the path,

my spiritual practice is also more deeply supported by what I choose not to do than by what I do.

Regardless of what decision I contemplate,

my process starts by asking the following question.

What am I getting from it versus what is it taking from me?

When I decided to no longer play volleyball,

for example, after many years of playing on a daily basis,

my dad asked me, why stop?

What's the harm in playing volleyball?

And I told him, there is no inherent harm in it, but what would I be doing with my time if I no longer played?

I knew that I wouldn't have the answer to that question until after I stop. Just like years before that, it was only after I stop.

Just like years before that, it was only after I got rid of my TV that I got into hiking,

and it was only after I plugged my internet modem to a timer that shut it off at 6 p.m. that I started reading a book a week.

Perhaps most unexpectedly, it was the decision to remove alcohol from my life that opened doors for me that

I didn't even know were closed, like Muhammad Ali avoiding

the nightclubs.

Asking, what am I getting from it versus what is it taking from me is a game changer.

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