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#358 | Soften the Judgment: A Mircodose Meditation Looking Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg
Episode 35813th April 2026 • Whole Again: Mindfulness and Resilience Through Kintsugi Wisdom • Michael OBrien | Mindfulness & Resilience Coach
00:00:00 00:06:29

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The Whole Again Podcast: Mindfulness and Resilience through Kinstugi Wisdom airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Pause Breathe Reflect Microdose Meditations, Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Tips, Transformation our scars into healing and resilience, and a new series from May to August called A Perfectly Imperfect Union.

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What if the person frustrating you most is only showing you the tip of their iceberg?

It’s easy to judge others based on what we see—their words, actions, or reactions. But beneath the surface lies a much deeper story shaped by experiences, fears, and beliefs we may never fully understand. This episode offers a simple mindfulness practice to help you shift perspective, soften judgment, and navigate challenging relationships with more compassion and ease.

  • Learn a powerful visualization to reduce judgment and better understand others
  • Discover how shifting perspective can ease tension in difficult relationships
  • Experience a short, calming practice that builds empathy, patience, and emotional resilience

Press play now to practice seeing beyond the surface—and transform how you relate to others with more compassion and clarity.

You can now download my Pause Breathe Reflect App with Microdose EQ for FREE in Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Discover how spend less time on your phone and more time on things that bring you joy. Also, find the support you need to navigate today’s uncertainty with more calm and grace.

Receive a FREE copy of my book: “My Last Bad Day Shift.”

Join me on Substack https://substack.com/@milkshakeswithmichael for more ways to stay resilient and navigate today’s uncertainty with more grace.

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With Whole Again: A Fresh Approach to Mindfulness and Resilience through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore mindfulness and resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome PTSD, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on building resilience, fitness, and stress management, as well as mindfulness practices and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools such as breathwork, micro-dose meditation, grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress reduction. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embodies healing as a transformative process, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and overwhelm to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and

Transcripts

 Hey there, it's Michael on Mondays. I love sharing a shorter practice with you to help you navigate today's uncertainty with more mindfulness, resilience, and grace in the world today. There's so much judgment, which I'm sure you can feel and have experienced. But as we judge, we tend to only look at the tip of the iceberg.

We might not consider what we can't see. After all. The largest part of an iceberg is underneath the water. You can also find this practice on my pause, breathe, reflect app, which is free to download in Apple's App Store and on Google Play. I hope you find it valuable and meaningful.

When ready, find a comfortable position and as you settle in, you can close the eyes. Keep 'em open or have a soft gaze if that makes you feel a little bit more comfortable, and we'll drop in taking a few healthy inhales, a nice slow releasing exhales,

giving yourself permission to tune out all the noise from outside. As you settle into the moment

and as you come into the natural rhythm of the breath. You can invite your body to relax,

softening the shoulders, bringing some ease to the jaw, and you can even put on your best Mona Lisa's smile.

I invite you now to bring to mind someone you know who's causing you some tension. The relationship is stressful, but not too stressful. This person may know how to press all your buttons. Could be a colleague or a friend, or maybe a neighbor, or even. A family member,

and as you bring them to mind, pay attention to what comes up. You might notice different thoughts or emotions, sensations in the body,

and offering your attention to your narrative about this person.

On why they do what they do, why they behave in the way they behave.

I invite you now to bring to mind the image of an iceberg.

Its tip jetting out of the water. And it's mass resting below the water surface,

and I invite you to think about this person's behavior as their tip of the iceberg. It's what you can see.

It is so easy to tell the story of that person or the iceberg based on what's above the water surface.

And now I invite you to dive below the water surface us seeing the entirety of the iceberg. Trying to see the entirety of this person who's pressing your buttons

below the surface lies their life experiences, their values, their worries, and doubts. It's all the stuff that makes them who they are,

taking some time here to appreciate that they're more than just their behavior. There's a deeper story to who they are that you might not fully understand.

And with this perspective, see if you could ease the judgment you have toward this person.

Allow it to soften,

and when you feel ready, you can begin to ease your attention. And start to flutter the eyes open and wiggle your fingers and toes. I hope you enjoyed the practice, and if you know someone who might find it valuable as well, I hope you'll share it with them. You can find this practice as well as many, many more.

On my pause, breathe, reflect app, which you can download for free in Apple's App Store and on Google Play. And until Wednesday's episode, may our practice together benefit all living creatures and may we celebrate our scars as golden symbols of our strength and resilience.

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