You don’t have to turn ambition off; September AMA with Cort

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.dharmalab.coWhat happens to our drive when we stop looking to the next achievement for fulfillment?In our latest AMA, Cortland Dahl explores topics such as how to widen awareness when the mind feels contracted, why the motivation behind a practice matters, and how compassion can become the energy behind an engaged, creative life. Kim brought your questions, and Cort joined us for the hour while Richie was traveling.What’s inside* Three ways to widen the aperture of awareness: the body, the breath, and the mind* Shamatha and loving-kindness: why the same technique can serve different purposes* Meditation, autism, and ADHD: promising research, unanswered questions, and strengths worth recognizing* Career ambition and the shift to a different source of motivation* What we know—and still don’t know—about consciousness* A 2-minute guided practice led by Cort* Practicing with death, impermanence, and the moments before sleepThe full hour mapped below, plus the flashcards and the recording for paid members.Companion Flashcards At BottomYou don’t have to turn ambition offAn anonymous listener asked how to balance “the false promise of desire” with career ambition. If Buddhism teaches being, are we supposed to stop progressing and find contentment in the job we already have?Cort looked to the people who have gone deepest into the practice of being. The teachers he knows are productive, creative, and engaged. Learning to be has not left them sitting on the couch.We are not losing the energy and drive in our life. What we’re doing is we’re changing the energy source.—Cortland DahlHe described the familiar mixture that powers a career: some care and purpose, some competition, some hope that success or status will finally make us feel fulfilled. Practice can change that mixture. We still need to make a living, and we can still want to accomplish things. But caring for our family, our community, and the wider world can become the driving force.There can be an awkward stretch in between. The old motivation has weakened before the new one feels fully available.It’s almost as though they’ve unplugged from the old energy source, but they’re just beginning to find the light socket for the new one.—Cortland DahlCort suggested learning about people who have navigated that transition. Their lives can help us recognize what a different motivation looks like in action. The energy may carry us further along our current path, or it may lead somewhere else.The moment before you start meditatingMary Beth asked what we are actually doing when we “widen the aperture,” and whether there are different ways to practice it.Cort offered three entry points. With the eyes, let attention include the edges of the visual field. With the breath, notice the release that comes with an exhale. With the mind, sit as though you are about to meditate, but haven’t started yet.You are a little more alert because you are getting ready. But you haven’t begun following the breath or running a technique. See whether you can remain in that small space of wakeful presence.So if that feels like nothing’s happening, that’s perfect.—Cortland DahlEven the thought “Am I doing it?” can show up. The invitation is to become familiar with being, without turning it into another task to perform correctly.Cort recommended short doses: five or ten seconds, then return to whatever you were doing. These little moments can happen during meditation or in the middle of the day. With repetition, the opening becomes more familiar.2-MINUTE PRACTICE LED BY CORTIn the recording, 01:25–03:042-minute practice: Wherever you are, if you’re sitting still, let your eyes close or remain gently open. Take a few slow, deep breaths and feel the breath moving in and out of your body. Allow the mind and body to settle. Then bring a little kindness and compassion into the moment. In words or images that resonate with you, form an intention that whatever good comes from this time might ripple outward—benefiting your own life, the people around you, and the wider world. Rest with that motivation for a few breaths.The full hour, mappedRead the gist below, then drop into the recording at any timestamp.01:25 — Begin with a compassionate motivation. Cort leads the opening micro-practice: settle with the breath, then imagine the good from this time rippling outward. He uses this pause before meetings and other activities throughout the day.03:49 — Three ways to widen the apertu