Being Wide Open in Troubling Times (Excerpt)
The video captures a candid conversation between a seeker and spiritual teacher Adyashanti about the paradox of being "wide open" during personal crises. The speaker recounts cycles of surrender after traumatic events—his wife’s illness, 9/11, job loss—and describes how an open heart initially brings unity but later collapses under the weight of global horrors, leading to fear and heart closure. They identify the ego’s core fear as overwhelm and death, explaining that wide openness exposes both beauty and tragedy. This creates a split: a higher nature that knows everything is ultimately okay, and a lower ego that reacts with terror. Practical tools are offered—pause, breathe, name the ego, and ask it directly what it fears—to foster communication between these parts and prevent automatic shutdown. Key moments include the teacher’s analogy of the ego to a frightened child and the quote, "When the ego sees the world as dangerous, it shuts down." He emphasizes that the higher self can hold the certainty that "everything is okay even if everything collapses," while the ego remains stuck in fear, requiring compassionate dialogue. Integrating heart and ego can stop chronic paralysis, allowing individuals to stay engaged with reality without being overwhelmed. For leaders and professionals navigating turbulent times, this integration offers a pathway to resilient decision‑making and emotional stability, turning crises into opportunities for sustained flow.
What Lincoln’s Last Joke Teaches Us About Stoicism
The video examines one of Abraham Lincoln’s final jokes—a man repeatedly asking for increasingly modest jobs, ending with a request for a pair of pants in Lincoln’s office—and frames it as a lesson in stoic humility. The narrator argues that the...
Purpose, Mindset & Human Potential | Kris Land on The Infinity Within
The Infinity Within interview explores Kris Land's journey from teenage tech prodigy to author and serial entrepreneur, focusing on purpose, mindset, and human potential. He recounts selling a computer‑software firm as a teen, then spiralling into depression when he ran out...
The Voice That Calls Your Name
The video explores a recurring meditative phenomenon where participants hear an unmistakable voice calling their own name. The discussion frames this auditory cue as more than a random hallucination, suggesting it is a direct encounter with one’s essential consciousness...
How Culture Quietly Conditions Every Thought You Believe Is Yours | Eckhart Tolle
In this talk, Eckhart Tolle argues that the mind‑made sense of self is a curse that obscures clear thinking. He explains that culture conditions the subconscious narratives we mistake for our own thoughts, turning thinking into a vehicle of possession...
Arguing God From Consciousness? | Marilyn Schlitz
In a recent conversation, the host asks Marilyn Schlitz to evaluate the classic “argument from consciousness” that posits God’s existence because humans possess self‑awareness. Schlitz frames the debate within anthropology and sociology rather than pure theology. She cites Emile Durkheim’s “Elementary...
The Mind Is a Real Bastard 😉 | Friday Zen, LIVE (W/Zubin)
The livestream titled “Friday Zen, LIVE (w/Zubin)” opens with host UB greeting viewers while battling a splitting headache. He celebrates community milestones—most notably Ashley’s flawless pharmacy technician exam—and shares personal updates about his daughter’s senior prom, using the anecdote to...
Are We Truly Free? | Michael James
The video unpacks Advaita Vedanta’s view of identity, contrasting the temporary ‘person’ with the eternal ‘self’ and examining how ego, freedom, and karma fit into that framework. According to the speaker, a person is a bundle of five sheaths—body, life‑force, mind,...
The Blueprint for Becoming an Emotionally Mature Adult, in 68 Minutes | Mark Manson: Full Interview
Mark Manson sits down with Big Think to outline a practical blueprint for becoming an emotionally mature adult. He argues that contemporary society’s obsession with constant happiness—what philosophers call hedonia—distracts us from the deeper, purpose‑driven eudaimonia that truly sustains life...
Why a Hut Won’t Make You Happy | Hōjōki
The video examines Kamo no Chōmei’s 13th‑century essay Hōjōki, exploring how his retreat to a tiny hut amid societal collapse offers a lens on modern feelings of instability. It outlines Chōmei’s life—born privileged, witnessing fires, earthquakes, capital relocation, being passed over...
Peace Begins Within
The short video titled “Peace Begins Within” argues that lasting global peace must start with inner tranquility. It posits that when individuals achieve a peaceful mind, the perceived need for weapons diminishes. The speaker highlights loving‑kindness meditation as the foundation of...
![[Guided Meditation] Vipassana: The Practice of Seeing Clearly | Tara Brach](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c_bMXEUmY-Y/maxresdefault.jpg)
[Guided Meditation] Vipassana: The Practice of Seeing Clearly | Tara Brach
Tara Brach leads a guided Vipassana meditation that emphasizes “seeing clearly” by scanning the body and anchoring attention. She instructs listeners to relax each region—from eyes and tongue to shoulders, belly, pelvis, and feet—using imagery like melting ice. The breath or...
Alan Watts - Three Forms of Yoga
Alan Watts outlines three principal forms of yoga—Hatha, Bhakti and Karma—explaining how each represents a distinct approach to spiritual practice. He notes that Hatha yoga is a psychophysical system, widely shown on television for its visual appeal, while Bhakti yoga...
Even Marcus Aurelius Chose the Hard Way
The video examines how Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, despite absolute authority, deliberately sought discomfort to sharpen his character, using the Stoic text Meditations as evidence. Aurelius recognized that his left hand was “useless” without practice and used it as a daily...
The Day Is Precious – Writer Sarah Perry on the Lessons We Can Take From When Breath Becomes Air.
Sarah Perry uses Paul Kalanithi’s memoir *When Breath Becomes Air* to explore how literature can become a dialogue with one’s own loss. After her father‑in‑law’s sudden death, she realized that mortality is not only a distant possibility tied to terminal...