The Paradox of Happiness in the GREATEST Spiritual Story Ever Told
The paradox of happiness is a realization reserved for a great master after they have stepped beyond the pale of enlightenment. What is this happiness? In this episode of The Sacred Word, I will explain an important verse from the Ashtavakra Gita, a text one is ready to assimilate after enlightenment. The Ashtavakra Gita is for those to absorb oneself in the presence of the Ultimate Reality after awakening. 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.
Digital Addiction and Smartphone-Related Youth Suicide | Book Excerpt
Digital Addiction and Smartphone-Related Youth Suicide | Book Excerpt To understand the widespread disease of digital addiction, we have to differentiate between behavioral and substance addictions. A substance addiction to alcohol or drugs (or any substance with psychoactive compounds) can directly change your brain chemistry, leading to a vicious dependency on a substance. Substance addiction was the only form of addiction considered until recent studies suggested otherwise. Appearing in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse was an important survey paper in 2010 that concludes, “growing evidence suggests that behavioral addictions resemble substance addictions in many domains.” We have to, as a result of such research, reframe our understanding of addiction to include both behavioral and substance addiction. Psychologists give us a clearer representation of how addictions should be understood: Addiction is a condition in which a person engages in use of a substance or in a behavior for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeatedly pursue the behavior despite detrimental consequences. Yet to be clear, behavioral addictions are extremely moderate compared to strong chemical dependences people have for substances such as alcohol or drugs. Addictions to digital technology and substances are different. For example, if someone quits social media, they won’t suffer the same withdrawal symptoms as someone with a strong chemical dependency. Nevertheless, behavioral addictions are quite detrimental to your health and well-being. Someone with a behavioral addiction will feel helpless when checking your social media is only a tap of the screen away. It’s just too hard to resist for most people. We are like a rabbit with a carrot dangling in front of it, we just can’t resist the urge to try and get it. As I mentioned, positive reinforcement and social approval are evolutionary behaviors that are hard to kick. So, checking how many likes you got on a Facebook post is like getting a hit from a drug, however, it’s not a substance we’re addicted to but rather a behavioral pattern. We constantly check social media to see how we are faring in our “apparent” worth to others (most of whom you likely don’t know). We want to stay relevant and feel like we are needed by others. This seems to be a cup that is never full, it’s never capable of satisfying you completely. But we constantly post and then anxiously monitor our social media accounts awaiting likes and retweets, and sometimes they never come. As a result, social media is more about vanity metrics than anything else, as we lean into those behavioral tendencies of positive reinforcement and social approval which the social media networks are exploiting. We are addicted to this feedback loop. We are gambling every time we post, but we aren’t spending our money as we do with a slot machine, but instead our precious time and attention. The constancy of this feedback loop is dangerous for our health and sanity. It causes a lot of psychological problems that can threaten our life. The Debt is Suicide Suicide rates in general have increased a lot in recent years, where an estimated one million people worldwide die by suicide every year (in the last 45 years suicide rates have increased 60%). Especially with our youth. The main cause of suicide is mental illness, very commonly depression. And it’s no surprise that rates in depression and self-harm are all up and it seems that it is hard to categorically point to one reason. But we might be a little too kind in our assessment. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes the main culprit is social media. Haidt explained on Joe Rogan’s podcast that there is evidence of this with the exponential growth in major depressive episodes, psychological disorders, and nonfatal self-harm for young boys and girls, especially girls. The increase in rates are alarming. Haidt explains (for young people in America, Canada, and the UK) that the rates of depression and anxiety on average were fairly stable throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Haidt explains, “The percentage of kids aged 12 to 17 in America who met the criteria for having a major depressive episode… the rate for boys is around 5% and then around 2011 it starts going up and now it’s around 7%.” This is a substantial increase since the graph (Figure 7.1) Haidt was explaining only goes up to 2016, so 2% in five years is worrisome. But this is nothing compared to the increase with girls. Haidt explains, “The line for girls starts off higher because girls have more mood disorders, more anxiety and depression. Boys have more antisocial behavior, alcoholism, crime and violence… Girls basically make themselves miserable, boys make other people miserable.” He continues, “The girls’ rate is higher but it was stable from 2005 through 2010 and then right around 2011 and 2012 it starts going up, and it goes way up to the point where it goes up from about 12% to now about 20% of American teenage girls have had a major depressive episode in the last year, 1 in 5 [girls].” Figure 7.1 Data from Higher Education Research Institute (Figure 7.2) asked college men and women, do you have a psychological disorder (depression, etc.)? For the people who answered yes, the rates from 2010 to 2012 were low when it was millennials (Gen Y/ Generation Y): college men were on average 2-3%, while college women were about 5-6%. But then as iGen (Gen Z/Generation Z born in 1995 and after) began arriving at college in 2013, the rates began to skyrocket. From 2012 to 2016 men went from 2-3% to 6% and women went from 5-6% to a staggering 15% in a space of only four years. By 2016, college is almost all iGen’ers. This is extremely concerning considering the future of our world. Figure 7.2 But there is another alarming and
Taoism’s Paradoxical Path of Power and Enlightenment
In this podcast, we will explain Taoism’s paradoxical path of power and enlightenment. This is the thirty-third 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 thirty-three 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.
The Most SHOCKING Spiritual Story Ever Told
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain the most shocking spiritual story ever told, found in the Zhuangzi text of Taoism and featuring the cannibal thief Robber Zhi and Confucius. How can a cannibal thief enlighten a sage? Find out more. 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 Most DANGEROUS Two Sentences in the GREATEST Spiritual Book in the World
There are two dangerous sentences within the most dangerous spiritual book in the world that shouldn’t be read before enlightenment. This verse is typically reserved for those who have gone beyond the pale of enlightenment. In this episode of The Sacred Word, I will explain an important verse from the Avadhuta Gita, a text one is ready to assimilate after enlightenment. The Avadhuta Gita is for those to absorb oneself in the presence of the Ultimate Reality after awakening. AVADHUTA GITA TRANSLATIONS DATTATREYA’S Song of the AVADHUT Translated by Swami Abhayananda https://amzn.to/3VBKcE5 AVADHUTA GITA Translated by Swami Chetanananda https://amzn.to/3VYOQfu 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 Most DANGEROUS Spiritual Book in the World
There is a belief that the most dangerous spiritual book in the world shouldn’t be read before enlightenment and should be reserved for those who have gone beyond the pale of enlightenment. What is this sacred book? In this episode of The Sacred Word, I will explain an important verse from the Avadhuta Gita, a text one is ready to assimilate after enlightenment. The Avadhuta Gita is for those to absorb oneself in the presence of the Ultimate Reality after awakening. 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 You Are Already Enlightened BUT Don’t Know It
In this podcast, we will explain the paradoxical nature of enlightenment according to the great Eastern spiritual traditions. 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.
Ramana Maharshi’s Final Message to His Mother | How He Transformed Her Life
One of the greatest statements to ever be uttered or written down came from the great twentieth-century sage Ramana Maharshi to his mother, when she pleaded with him to break his silence. In this episode of The Sacred Word, I will explain this short, yet extremely profound message and teaching that Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi gave to his mother. 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.
Zhuangzi’s Final Teaching | Do You Truly See Reality?
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain Zhuangzi’s final truth. This final truth is essentially the final teaching on the spiritual path for those who are ready to assimilate the truth by overcoming the last obstacle. 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 Medicine for a World Divided
In this podcast, we will explain Taoism’s medicine for a world divided. This is the thirty-second 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 thirty-two 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.