The Cultivation of Effortlessness
In this podcast, we will explain why spiritual practice and renunciation (nonreaction) are essential for cultivating effortlessness. Abiding in an effortless mind is explained thoroughly in the 196 observations on the nature of consciousness known classically as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. We will explain sutras 12-19 which is the second episode of the 196 Meditations of the Yoga Sutras, a new series where we explore each sutra. We will dissect the sutras 12-19 to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of these sutras. This series is extremely important for those interested in the nature of consciousness. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
TAOISM | Why Losing Interest in the World is Freedom
In this podcast, we will explain why losing interest in the mundaneness of the world is a sign of spiritual growth and maturity. Going back to ancient times it was imperative for a spiritual aspirant to withdraw from worldly affairs as we see within the teachings of Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism. The importance of this distance from worldliness for the spiritual aspirant hasn’t changed, but the power of distractions in the modern world has intensified. This is why now more than ever is a great opportunity to develop spiritually and eliminate distractions to overcome the deepening madness of the world. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Taoism’s Aimlessness vs Western Goals and Success
The general mindset of the West is to strive for socially manufactured goals and to try and achieve them according what society determines is successful. The Western social model of goals and success is incorrectly assumed to be a universal way of thinking. As a result, this type of mindset is then superimposed onto foreign ideas, such as spiritual enlightenment in the East. But to attain enlightenment one has to overcome goal orientation and essentially stop striving and give up the search. This Eastern perspective is best explained by the essential teaching of wu-wei in Taoism. In the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi there is no consideration of goals, but rather a focus on aimlessness as a method for creating healthy and sane individuals. Having goals, according to Taoism, is a blind alley that can lead to all sorts of psychological problems and social unrest. In this episode of Ask Jason, I will answer a question about whether or not a goal oriented focus can fit into the art of wu-wei (effortless living/non-doing/non-interference) and whether or not we should have a goal or goals in life and on the spiritual path. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Why LESS is MORE | Taoism’s Wisdom for True Freedom
In this podcast, we will explain why too much of anything is a bad idea and how to live in balance according to Taoist wisdom. Lao-tzu uses three primary images to explain why less is more: the overflowing cup, the blade that is too sharp, and the room full of treasures. But this is not about the material world, but rather the three images are about the mind, essentially how our “mind cup” can overflow from thinking itself. Find out why less is more in the ninth episode of the 81 Meditations of the Tao Te Ching, a series where we explore each chapter of the Tao Te Ching. We will dissect chapter nine of the Tao Te Ching to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of this chapter. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
An Artificial Problem in a Natural World | Book Excerpt
An Artificial Problem in a Natural World | Book Excerpt We currently live in a culture where we believe we should know “everything,” or at least have access to the possibility of knowing everything. Our culture also ingrains in our mind that we should be “popular” and “relevant.” This mix implies that we should be a popular version of Einstein, maybe close to Neil deGrasse Tyson, but even cooler, more popular, and smarter. Think of a hip version of Iron Man. Our modern culture of popularity teaches us to stick out in front of the crowd for no apparent reason at all. We should be popular even though we don’t know why. As a result, we are building a culture where we project an artificial persona into social media platforms as if this is a surefire way to popularity and being loved by the world. But this behavior exposes our psychological flaws and fears because our craving for attention is subtly an attempt to try and establish that we are worthy. We incorrectly believe we are worthless if we are not popular and respected by others. These sorts of deep-seated psychological issues that the digital world exposes are only the tip of the iceberg (I will go into these problems and many others throughout the book). If we are fidgety with our phones and trying to be popular to feel worthy and accepted, then isn’t this anxious use of digital devices questioning our sanity? What is wrong with just sitting still and breathing calmly while listening to the natural sounds of the world? Why don’t we understand that we are worthy no matter what and that it is actually socialization that makes us feel worthless? Oh, that’s right, we have built a culture that can’t sit still for five seconds because we are trying to always distract our mind from the brutal reality we call our lives. We are addicted to busyness and so we identify with what we do rather than who we are. Well, it’s time to grow up and understand ourselves more intimately and reconnect with life itself. Until that time comes, we need to realize that we live in a culture not mature enough to use technology wisely for the benefit of humanity. Well, not yet anyway. Are We Headed in the Right Direction? Or is the Digital World a Dead End? Since we exhibit a level of immaturity with the use of digital technology, is it wise to go full steam ahead in that direction? If we keep falling down the rabbit hole of the digital world, who knows where we will end up and how a human being will be (if we will be human at all. More on this later in the book). If we keep pursuing this artificial life there is a trade-off. The trade-off is we will lose all contact and sensitivity to the natural world and also our own individual naturalness. When was the last time you went into nature and just listened to her while observing your own natural breathing? Sounds like an odd question doesn’t it. But that’s what life itself is and we are trading it off for a world that is not real. A sad fact of reality is many people find the digital world much more interesting than the real world. But when we compare man-made technology to the natural world there is no comparison, because the mystery and complexity of nature is spellbinding. You have direct access to the most sophisticated technology in the known universe, and I don’t mean your smartphone. I’m talking about the human organism. You are the most sophisticated piece of technology in the known universe and most of us sadly don’t know anything about it. But, on the other hand, we can teach someone to turn on the television and channel surf. Sadly, we hardly know anything about our body and mind. We’re so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the world that we’ve forgotten we even have a body and mind. We forget about consciousness itself. We are like fish who aren’t aware of the water. We invest so much time and effort in everything else but ourselves. And I don’t mean investing in your business, home, career, social media presence, and so on. I mean invest in your actual life, your health and sanity. How can we have a healthy and sane world if we don’t invest in health and sanity on an individual level? It’s not possible. We strive for favorable circumstances externally, but often neglect our inner world. We don’t consider how the digital world is affecting our mind. Having a sense of equanimity and harmony in our life is sadly not our concern in the digital age. We have built a world on comparison and competition, and those competitive juices are being directed into the digital world. Our natural survival instincts are alerting us to keep up with everyone else by taking advantage of the digital revolution. We better invest our time and energy into our projected self-image of who we think we should be on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts or people will know our lives are truly empty and boring (my sarcasm is noted). We spend so much time and energy trying to keep up with everyone else on social media that we totally forget about the real social aspect of life. We lock our eyes onto our digital screens every waking moment. We clutch our smartphone to the very last minute as we lay down in bed and fire off that last tweet as if it couldn’t wait until tomorrow. We’ll wait for a bus and instead of making eye contact with someone else, we stare blankly into our glowing screens. Life is going by and you don’t even know it. All you know is what the Facebook feed tells you to believe, as we vicariously
5 Reasons You Don’t Exist | The Mind Science of Buddhism
In this podcast, we will explain if you really exist or not. To examine the self, we will explain the mind science of Buddhism from the perspective of the the five aggregates, especially the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools of Mahayana Buddhism. People often assume Buddhist beliefs are built on the idea that the self (ego/persona) is a persistent illusion, but this is not entirely true because it is much more complicated than that unfounded belief. The five aggregates are actually an advanced mind science centered on how the self is developed and, as a result, why the illusion of a self is based on a cognitive error we all make before waking up (nirvana). NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Who is PATANJALI and What is YOGA? | The Mind Science Behind Yoga
In this podcast, we will explain the mind science behind yoga that informs a large portion of the philosophies and spiritual practices of the East. The mind science of the East is explained thoroughly in the 196 observations on the nature of consciousness known classically as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. We will explain the first eleven sutras which is the first episode of the 196 Meditations of the Yoga Sutras, a new series where we explore each sutra. We will dissect the first eleven to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of these sutras. This series is extremely important for those interested in the nature of consciousness. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
The Tao of Humility – How to be Flexible and Avoid Conflict
In this podcast, we will explain how those who live in the Tao act in their lives and dealings as water acts in nature. Being flexible and humble, water does not compete nor fight obstacle because it flows naturally to the lowest places. Water is the ideal image of what Lao-tzu means when he explains the humility of non-interference, non-action, and non-being (wu-wei). Find out why we should emulate water in the eighth episode of the 81 Meditations of the Tao Te Ching, a series where we explore each chapter of the Tao Te Ching. We will dissect chapter eight of the Tao Te Ching to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of this chapter. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Loving Kindness Meditation: The Buddha’s Teaching of Compassion
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain the practice of loving kindness meditation in Buddhism. In a world lacking compassion and forgiveness, loving kindness meditation is a great practice to cultivate and amplify those intrinsic human qualities. The decline of compassion and forgiveness was also a problem during the time of the Buddha. But instead of blaming others, Buddha turns our gaze within to expand our love beyond the boundaries of our associated affection, to include our so-called enemies and strangers. This practice will transform your mind and has a profound impact on how you experience the world. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
How a Sage Aligns with the Tao
In this podcast, we will explain how the Taoist sage is a mirror reflection of the eternal nature of Heaven and Earth. The secret to lasting forever is embodied in the nature of how the Tao is and we need to emulate that nature within our own lives. Find out what this secret is in the seventh episode of the 81 Meditations of the Tao Te Ching, a series where we explore each chapter of the Tao Te Ching. We will dissect chapter seven of the Tao Te Ching to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of this chapter. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.