Only Go Straight, Don’t Know: Returning Mindfulness to Its Zen Source with Dr. David Lee Fish

Mindfulness now arrives as apps, courses and checklists. What did it look like before all that? This episode is for anyone who practises mindfulness and wonders what the techniques grew from. Dr. David Lee Fish traces mindfulness back to the Zen teaching “only go straight, don’t know” and shows how it speaks to performance anxiety. You leave with a quieter question to sit with, not another method to add. About the Guest: Dr. David Lee Fish is a saxophonist, music professor and performance coach. He teaches online courses on speaking, performing and competing with confidence, and studied Zen for decades under the same Korean Zen master as Jon Kabat-Zinn. Key Takeaways: Notice “don’t know mind”, the moment before thinking adds meaning and judgment. “Only go straight” means staying with the task in front of you. When you eat, only eat. Performance anxiety needs three things: an audience, being judged, and a felt threat. Anxiety often undermines confidence you already have, so you may not need more of it. Techniques are a path, not the destination. Use them, then return to the source. Connect With the Guest: Website: https://riseupeight.com/ (courses, coaching and social links in the footer) LinkedIn Episode Chapters (times from the raw recording): [06:11] Mindfulness Before the Apps: Why the origin matters [09:15] Only Go Straight, Don’t Know: Seung Sahn and Kabat-Zinn [15:48] When Technique Is Not Enough: What gets smoothed away [18:05] It Is Not a Lack of Confidence: Performance anxiety explained [21:41] Three Ingredients of Performance Anxiety: Watched, judged, threatened [25:03] What Zen Points To: Flow, tarab and the before-thinking self [30:31] Your Thinking Is Not You: The whole problem in one line 🎙️ Want to Be a Guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? Send me a direct message on PodMatch. 👉 DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik 🌱 About Healthy Mind By Avik™️ Healthy Mind By Avik™️ Global Mental Wellness Podcast Network - focused, credible, no more identity clutter. 👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey. Refer a Guest Know someone who would be a great fit for one of our podcast shows? Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Refer a Guest.” Requests without this subject line cannot be catered to. Support Our Podcast: Support this Podcast 📬 Contact & Links Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™️ Contact Us Based in: India & USA 🎧 All Podcast Shows 🤝 Be a Guest 📩 Newsletter Substack 👉 Join the LinkedIn Community 📌 Disclaimer - This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements. If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here. #podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #mindfulness #zen #zenmeditation #performanceanxiety #stagefright #mindfulnesspractice #innerwork #meditation #mentalwellness #flowstate #publicspeaking #TheMindfulJourney #dontknowmind