Brave Awareness With Ronn Pawo McLane

Compassion Is a Survival Skill — Not a Soft Skill

Most people think compassion is softness. But what if it's your sharpest tool for staying present in a world that demands reaction?
In this episode, Ronn explores the misunderstood power of compassion — not as a passive indulgence, but as a radical, grounded response to life’s chaos, injustice, and pain. From letting go of the need to fix what’s not yours, to standing in neutrality without collapsing, this conversation unpacks why real compassion isn’t weak — it’s precise, resilient, and essential for waking up.
We talk about:– Why effort doesn’t always lead to the outcomes you want– The myth of “settling” and the judgment of being okay– How to stay present with difficult people without losing yourself– Political rage, personal peace, and the art of measured response– The difference between apathy and clarity
This isn’t about giving up. It’s about giving yourself back.Compassion is how we survive the world — without becoming what we’re against.
Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed)Learn more: https://cultivatemeditation.com

The Sacred Order of Chaos: What If Thermodynamics Is a Spiritual Teaching?

What if physics wasn’t just science… but scripture?What if the universe has been whispering truths about your nature all along — not through mystics alone, but through math, energy, and law?
In this episode, we explore the Four Laws of Thermodynamics not as formulas, but as spiritual teachings — elegant transmissions from the universe itself about change, connection, and the truth of being.
From entropy to equilibrium, from birth to breath, this isn’t just a science lesson. It’s a wake-up call.
You’ll discover:
How the laws of energy mirror Buddhist teachings on impermanence
Why “nothing is lost” may be the most sacred idea in physics
What the concept of entropy reveals about letting go
And how awareness itself might be the still point beyond decay
This is not theory.This is a sacred order beneath the chaos — and it includes you.
 
Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed)Learn more: https://cultivatemeditation.com

The Shame Spiral — And How to Interrupt It

Have you ever reached for your phone, hoping for a little connection — and been met with silence? That quiet drop in your gut, that subtle ache... it's more than disappointment. It’s the early stirrings of shame.
In this episode, we slow down and look closely at how the shame spiral begins — not when it’s overwhelming, but in those quiet, unnoticed moments. You'll hear a personal story of emotional depletion, the tender need for acknowledgment, and how a single breath and phrase — “Don’t chase” — became the doorway back to presence.
We’ll explore:
Why shame rarely starts as shame
How old narratives hijack present moments
Tools to notice and gently interrupt the spiral before it gains momentum
And how to come home to yourself, again and again
This isn’t about fixing yourself — it’s about remembering you’re already enough.
Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed)Learn more: https://cultivatemeditation.com

What You're Tuning Into Isn't Truth

Everywhere you turn — the news, social media, even your own mind — someone’s telling you what to think and how to feel. But what if what you’re tuning into isn’t truth at all… just noise, bias, and fear disguised as facts?
In this episode, we explore the concept of radical neutrality — the third channel of awareness that exists beyond pleasure and pain, beyond opinion and emotion. Inspired by a rare appearance from Connie Chung and reflections on Edward R. Murrow’s legacy, we confront the real cost of confusing opinion with truth… and how finding that neutral frequency changes everything.
If you’re tired of the emotional tug-of-war and ready to live from clarity, this one’s for you.
Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed via audiocoffee.net)Learn more at https://cultivatemeditation.comListen to Episode 1: What If You’re Not Wrong—You’re Just Afraid

This Isn’t Meditation—It’s Sedation

Episode 4: This Isn’t Meditation—It’s SedationMost of what’s sold as meditation is just branded relaxation. Calm voices. Soft music. Another numbing scroll through “good vibes only.” But here’s the truth: that’s not the practice.
The real work is noticing. Catching yourself in the spiral. Interrupting the pattern. Choosing differently—on purpose, in real time.
In this episode, I share a raw and personal story from my own relationship—how one ordinary Thursday night nearly became a blow-up, but instead became a breakthrough. Through the lens of everyday awareness, I walk you through what it actually means to meditate in the moment things fall apart. No cushion required.
We’ll explore:
The difference between sedation and transformation
Why “relaxation” is not the same as healing
The four stages of awareness that can shift your entire emotional reality
What it looks like to repattern your reactions, in real time, with compassion
If you’ve ever felt stuck in the same old loops, this episode is your invitation to stop trying to be perfect—and start noticing instead. Because noticing isn’t the first step, it is the practice.
🎧 Subscribe, share, and come home to your rhythm.
Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed via audiocoffee.net)Learn more at https://cultivatemeditation.com
 

Meditation Isn’t About Relaxing — It’s About Waking the F*ck Up

Forget everything you’ve been told about meditation being just a way to relax. That’s not the point.In this episode, we get honest about what meditation really is: the radical moment you notice that you're lost in thought, and come back.
This is about metacognition. Awareness. Interrupting the inner chaos with the clarity of presence.No fluff. No spiritual bypassing. Just a raw, real look at how waking up in your own life changes everything.
If you've ever felt like you're too scattered, too emotional, or too intense to meditate "the right way," this one's for you.
—Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed via audiocoffee.net)Learn more at https://cultivatemeditation.comListen to Episode 1: What If You’re Not Wrong—You’re Just Afraid
#BraveAwareness #FearHealing #Mindfulness #TraumaInformed #Meditation #Nonduality #LettingGo #SelfCompassion #PoeticPodcast #RonnMcLane

Before the Fear Speaks: Finding Yourself Before the Panic Hits

In a world drowning in outrage, distraction, and performance, fear has quietly taken the wheel.
In this episode of Brave Awareness, Ronn Pawo McLane goes deeper into what fear really is—not weakness, not brokenness, but a pattern that began before we even had language.
We explore fear not as something to conquer or eliminate, but something to see clearly, and gently take the lead from.
This is a poetic, grounded reflection on how Brave Awareness helps us untangle from survival mode, cultural panic, and personal stories that no longer serve.
If you’ve ever felt ruled by fear, or ashamed of it… this episode might be the reset you didn’t know you needed.
You are not broken. You were just scared. And now… You can choose something else.
—Written & Voiced by: Ronn Pawo McLaneMusic: “Gentle Piano Atmosphere” by AudioCoffee (licensed via audiocoffee.net)Learn more at https://cultivatemeditation.comListen to Episode 1: What If You’re Not Wrong—You’re Just Afraid
#BraveAwareness #FearHealing #Mindfulness #TraumaInformed #Meditation #Nonduality #LettingGo #SelfCompassion #PoeticPodcast #RonnMcLane

What If You’re Not Wrong—You’re Just Afraid?

This is the first offering of the Brave Awareness podcast — a spoken transmission for anyone feeling overwhelmed by division, anger, or noise.
In just over six minutes, Ronn Pawo McLane explores the uncomfortable truth that beneath much of our collective behavior—from cruelty to control—lives a single unspoken force: fear.
But this isn't a takedown. It's a return.
You don't have to act on fear just because you feel it. This short episode offers both the clarity and the practical guidance to recognize what's underneath and choose skill over reaction.
Listen. Pause. Let it land.

Brave Awareness Begins: A Welcome from Ronn Pawo McLane

In this welcome episode, Ronn Pawo McLane—meditation teacher, author, and former host of the Backyard Buddhist Podcast—returns with a new voice, a deeper message, and an invitation into a space where nothing needs to be performed.
After a long, internal sabbatical, Brave Awareness is here—not as a rebrand, but as a radical shift.
This is not a self-help show. It’s not a spiritual marketing funnel. It’s a podcast about truth.
Short spoken transmissions. Poetic reflections. Sacred interruptions. And the clear, calm courage to sit with what is real.
If you’ve been quietly holding your breath, waiting for a space that doesn’t preach, fix, or bypass—this is your place.
The first full episode drops Tuesday, May 27th, 2025. But this is where it begins.