Episode 15: Whit Hornsberger—De-conditioning the Mind & Learning to See for Ourselves

On episode 15, I caught up with Whit Hornsberger, a meditation and yoga teacher who recently launched an online course with three 8-week progressions called, Teaching the Mind. I first met Whit in 2003 when I joined the University of Calgary basketball team where Whit was the starting point guard and I was a lowly red shirt. In this conversation we speak about reconnecting with one another and ourselves. Whit first stepped onto a spiritual path when his professional basketball career was ended by an ACL rupture causing his European career to fade away. But as he found yoga and the underlying philosophies his life began to unfold in an unexpected way. He now teaches meditation, yoga and Vipassanā around the world when he’s not surfing, playing music and enjoying life with a growing sense of wisdom and love.

“Patient endurance is the supreme practice.”

— Whit Hornsberger via the Buddha

SHOW NOTES

• 2:30 Connecting through basketball and ACL injury

• 4:30 Giving up the identity of being an athlete

• 7:00 Diving into emotional rehab by way of the physical

• 11:00 Finding the middle path through Buddhism 

• 12:30 How to integrate the deep insights and healing of ceremony

• 14:00 The process of de-conditioning the mind

• 15:40 Nurturing the physical practice

• 19:35 Young athletes working with yoga and inner practices

• 22:00 The only thing permanent is impermanence, especially with our bodies

• 23:15 Going through divorce and relating

• 27:10 What does, ‘Life is suffering’ really mean?

• 29:30 The Art of Happiness and introduction to Buddhism 

• 32:45 Experiencing 42 day silent meditation

• 37:00 The beauty of a mindfulness practice

• 40:30 Transitioning into teacher from student

• 45:20 Overcoming fear and making friends with Mara

• 47:45 How the physical condition is influenced by the mind

• 54:35 The value of committing to one practice and developing patience

• 58:45 Learning to see for ourselves and importance of asking questions

• 62:50 Why should someone start meditating?

• 67:30 Whit’s top book recommendations 

• 69:50 Moving beyond our survival software into the life we all deserve

• 70:30 Moving into a ‘new-self’ vs uncovering our ‘true-self’

• 72:55 Whit having parents at his workshops and learning from him too

• 76:20 “Patience endurance is the supreme practice”

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