Psychology
Mindfulness
Sep 14, 2025
Martin Goodson

Transcending Mindfulness: 8 | Crisis, Chaos and Uncertainty

What is the role of chaos in spiritual development and what can we do to navigate it effectively?

In this podcast:

•   What is the role of Chaos in spiritual development.

•   The reaction against rationalism & chaos as a creative force - Dadaism

•   The challenge of a crisis is to bring forth personal creativity to get out of it.

•   Initiation can be a deliberate attempt to create a crisis for the novice or neophyte.

•   Anxiety: the loss of control of ourselves and the environment.

•   How fictional narratives resist change & uncertainty.

•   Archetypal stories of crisis and the hand of providence.

•   What happens when we open up to chance and uncertainty?

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Transcending Mindfulness: 1 | How Sacred Places Change Consciousness

Podcast
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Transcending Mindfulness: 2 | Emotional Intelligence
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Transcending Mindfulness: 3 | The Power of Now
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Transcending Mindfulness: 4 | Self-Esteem v. No-Self
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Transcending Mindfulness: 5 | The Awakened Ape
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Transcending Mindfulness: 6 | Deeper Shadow
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Transcending Mindfulness: 7 | Trauma and Healing
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Transcending Mindfulness: 8 | Crisis, Chaos and Uncertainty
From the series

Transcending Mindfulness

Topics

AUDIO COURSES
BOOKS
DAILY LIFE PRACTICE
INTERVIEWS
MEDITATION
MINDFULNESS
PEOPLE
PSYCHOLOGY
TROUBLESHOOTING ZEN STUDY & PRACTICE
ZEN PRACTICE

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Further reading

Why do we chant The Repentance Sutra?

Troubleshooting Zen Study & Practice
If feelings of shame and guilt reinforce the delusion of 'I', why is the Repentance Sutra seen as one of the most important daily chants in the Zen tradition?

Gentling the Bull | Chapter 7

Book Extract
A reading from a foundational text about Zen training. We learn how the student has managed to transform their heart and so is able to perceive (and be in the presence of) a great mystery.

Step Carefully

Gateway Talks
In this talk Martin explores the subject of the heart’s aspiration, and how it may be awakened in an encounter with the Buddha and his teachings, leading to a life affirming turn - around of the heart.

An Interview with Randolph Whitfield: Translating the Core Texts from the

For many years, Randolph Whitfield has laboured to render a seminal Zen text into the English language. He joins Zen teacher Martin Goodson to discuss the text’s history, it’s implications for the practice and the deeper mysteries of Zen hidden within.