Happy Buddha Purnima to all. May the authentic teachings of Gautama the Buddha find their way into your heart and initiate the process of dissolving your identity, forging a path towards enlightenment for you and all beings. #BuddhaPurnima #buddha #dharma
Review of my book Effortless Living back in 2018 by New Dawn Magazine. This book is essential reading before my next book on Taoism, out in 2025, published by Inner Traditions/Bear & Co. I'm excited to share more news about that very soon. BUY EFFORTLESS LIVING NOW: amzn.to/2z0EG3Q #EffortlessLiving #taoism #tao #wuwei #innertraditions
Often people want to learn and be creative, but they canāt focus for long periods of time and have no creative calling. This is common in our world today because we are so distracted. A mind constantly distracted will only seek more distraction because it is used to overstimulation. A distracted mind is like the ocean waters during a hurricane. On the other hand, a tranquil mind is like a pristine lake on a bright and sunny day. A motionless lake is transparent and reflective; you can see right down into its ultimate depth.
Our attraction to entertainment is destroying our innate ability to learn and be creative. Constant entertainment pacifies our mind. As a result intelligence is undervalued in our world, and creativity is thought of as something isolated to artists. The truth is eclipsed when we overfeed our mind with entertainment and poor food, forget to exercise, and just allow our thoughts and emotions to run amok. We become desensitized to the world around us and even ourselves, as we vicariously watch the whole world implode into unconsciousness.
Becoming more conscious of our inner and outer landscape allows us to learn and create at an optimal level. However, developing expert skill and reaching peak performance also depends on having the discipline and dedication for cultivating more intelligence and creativity, which will enhance your overall life. The irony is that many people who just go through life with no discipline and allow life to push them around are often arrogant about what they āthinkā they know and are incapable of learning as a result. They have not been humbled by life, so they continue to fight and be jaded. We are unable to learn when we are rendered unconscious by overstimulation of body and mind.
Cultivating Intelligence
Cultivating intelligence requires us to finally admit that we donāt really know anything. This is not a desirable position to be in in our world. We always want to save face by appearing to be intelligent. We often speak about topics and current affairs that we really donāt know anything about because we are paranoid that not knowing about something opens us up for criticism. But it is highly unintelligent to speak on matters we donāt really know about. Even current affairs are issues we shouldnāt speak about. Just because the news broadcast or newspaper gives us information on certain matters doesnāt mean we actually know whatās really going on. Itās unintelligent to formulate opinions on such scarce information without diving deep into the subject.
By nourishing the little things in our life we realize that we actually donāt know much, but on the flip side we are eager to learn. As a result we are not afraid to admit that we donāt know because that is the most honest and intelligent position to be in. We learn to be truly humble and not at all worried about not knowing, and as a result we approach life as explorers rather than know-it-alls. We embrace the seekerās mind, meaning we remain a student of life. Having a seekerās mind cultivates intelligence, which allows us to grow psychologically. Our minds become more articulate and clear, which becomes evident in our speech and emotional conduct. If we pretend we know, we cannot learn. And if we cannot learn, we cannot grow. Learning is the fertilizer for growing our intelligence. Learning is just like nature because it is nourishing, moving, and growingāitās alive! Learning itself grows our mind, and if we are growing, then we are fully alive.
Our habit to try to be a know-it-all cuts us off from the feeling of growing and being alive. Once we think we know something categorically we stagnate and disconnect from our mindās natural growth. Our all-knowing habit makes us come across as an authority on certain matters, but we forget that information always changes and knowledge deepens as our mind grows. By remaining a student and continuing to learn throughout our lives, we understand more and continue to grow. Even when we think we arenāt learning, life is teaching us, as philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti explains:
āThere is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born till the moment you die is a process of learning. Learning has no end and that is the timeless quality of learning.ā
There should be no end to learning. If you are humble enough to remain a student your growth will be continual, and as a result your mind will cultivate a keen intelligence that has a deep understanding of self, others, and life. This process should continue to the day we die, as Mahatma Gandhi said, āLive as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.ā Learning nourishes this deep intelligence, making us more aware with a profound sense of understanding. Deep intelligence is something we all can have if we are willing to do the work. We are losing contact with intelligence because of the toxic habits that keep us distracted. Instead of diving headfirst into distractions, we need to go old school with simple habits that have become background noise in our modern world.
Reading as a Discipline
Reading books is essential for learning. Books are a super fuel for cultivating intelligence. But in our modern world books have taken a backseat to the toxic habit of watching screens. We watch television and watch on our smartphones and computers. Itās a constant observation of everybody elseās lives but our own. When we watch whatever it may be, including mindlessly surfing the internet and scrolling the social media feeds, we zone out in a stupefied zombie state. As a result, watching too much stuff on screens makes us stupid.
Watching screens doesnāt require a lot of our attention. The more we partake in watching activities the less our mind can concentrate and think clearly. When people have these types of habits it is hard for them to complain about their lives. How can any of us complain if we are not making our lives conscious?
We need to take our power back. Instead of watching stuff on screens mindlessly, we need to turn to reading books, preferably physical books. Turn the act of reading into a discipline. Reading itself requires an ability to focus for extended periods of time, so a daily discipline of reading cultivates focus and concentration. As a result we have an improved ability to focus and concentrate that can be applied to anything. So buy a bookcase and fill it full of books. Not fiction books, but nonfiction books on philosophy, science, religion, art, and so on. To cultivate intelligence you need to tackle the big subjects that will give you a clearer understanding of life.
Make your reading discipline a daily ritual. When it is time for digital sunset, switch over to a physical book. I like to read at least three hours a day, usually after digital sunset, but if Iām not writing in the morning I will read then. Extended periods of reading are similar to meditation. Your mind is focused on reading, and as a result you enter a state of effortlessness, where time disappears. The added bonus of this is that at the same time you are cultivating intelligence.
The evidence that reading makes you more intelligent can be found in your expanded vocabulary. Your ever-growing vocabulary enables you to be more specific in conversations and writing, so you can articulate ideas in a way people truthfully understand. This ability is what attracts us to intelligent people, who are usually well read. Comedian and actor Bryan Callen is a voracious reader, and he inspired illusionist David Blaine to read more. As he explained to Blaine, āThe difference between the people you admire and everybody else is that the former are the people who read.ā
We should not neglect our ability to be more intelligent. The key is to remain a student without becoming clever. Even if you believe you know something categorically, that understanding will likely change over time and you with it. The more we cultivate intelligence, the better creators we will be.
Book excerpt from Emotional Intuition for Peak Performance by Jason Gregory Ā© 2020 Inner Traditions.
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#intelligence #reading #books #cultivate #emotionalintuitionforpeakperformance
With access to all information at our fingertips we could be excused for thinking that this is a positive thing. Weāve always wanted access to more information, we want to know more. But at what expense are we willing to know everything? Are you willing to trade-off parts of your innate nature just so you can know more? Why I ask these questions is because we lose something precious to our nature when we begin to know too much: our innocence. Most people donāt know this because they donāt pause and reflect, as we are in environments where everyone else is trying to know as much or more than anyone else. When youāre in a culture geared in this way, it is hard to know that innocence is disappearing. But if youāve traveled the world experiencing other cultures then it is so obvious that the world is losing its innocence at the hands of knowing too much.
Iāve traveled the world extensively and have spent almost a decade in Asia. I spend a lot of time in rural India and Nepal, sometimes living there for six months in each place. When Iām there, there is an overwhelming sense of innocence in the people, even though in most cases they are less fortunate materialistically than people in the West. They look you in the eye, greet you as if you were God, listen deeply to every word, and have a smile as innocent and pure as a child. When you are around people like this you naturally feel more peaceful and they bring you back to your own innocence which has been covered over with knowing too much.
Learned people often go into these areas and start telling the people how to think and act, as if learned people know best. The irony is that it is the learned person who needs to learn about intrinsic human nature from just being in the presence of those innocent people. But what happens is the learned person comes off as an asshole because, just like many Western intellectuals, they decide what is best for everyone. We become this type of asshole when we learn too much. As a result, we lose our innocence, not to mention our humility.
The digital world is fueling this fire because having access to all information is a relatively new phenomenon, and so we are intrigued. We become addicted to learning and devalue being. There is nothing wrong with learning per se, but learning too much about everything destroys our purity. Actually, trying to learn too much scatters our mind, which coincidently means we donāt absorb deeply all the information we are trying to learn if there is an overload.
Our mind is analog, not digital. You just canāt upload information to your mind and think you understand what it is youāre trying to know. It takes time to zero in on a subject matter to know it completely. But the digital world is developing a culture where skimming over the surface of a subject matter is normal for one to say they know it. We donāt learn something completely, but instead we learn in soundbites. Craftsmen, for example, dedicate their life to their craft and learn what is necessary for their craftmanship to grow, keeping their innocence intact during the process. There is always more to learn about their craft which inculcates humility. Their humble attitude of not knowing keeps them innocent. On the other hand, in a soundbite culture we think we know everything so our innocence disappears.
The digital world might be able to explain a lot of information, but it can never give you the natural experience of life, where the majority of the real lessons are learned. That can only happen when we make a conscious decision to refrain from the digital world and return to simplicity. We have to be fine with not knowing. In reality, we can never know everything. Innocence is not lost because we know everything, but because we believe we know everything. The digital world fuels this delusion. When we choose to simplify our life, we regain our innocence and enjoy the sweet nectar of life itself. This is more important than knowing everything.
Excerpt from my book Spiritual Freedom in the Digital Age. BUY NOW: amzn.to/3iDNaHL
Photo taken at Sujata Temple, Bodh Gaya, India.
#innocence #humility #digitaldetox #nature #spiritualfreedominthedigitalage
From infancy to adulthood social training warps our nature (hot cognitive system). We are trained along hardened socially accepted lines, which often run counter to our natural intuitions. Social training is centered on enhancing the ability to be primarily rational agents (cold cognitive system). As a result, we replace our sense of spontaneity and awe with an analytical view of the world where we slice and dice it up to try to make sense of what the hell this life is about. Instead of enjoying the beautiful dance of life, we would rather sit back and make calculations about it, as if it can be measured.
Trying to remain analytical and rational has warped our naturalness and made the world stale and joyless, which are some of the hallmarks of a āno room for errorā secular world. Without nourishing the spontaneity of the hot system, we can feel no real deep-down joy in the world, which leads to the rational opinions that contribute to conflict, debate, arguments, and ultimately unnecessary war. Our innate childlike innocence is rubbed out in favor of the illusion that we can come to a logical conclusion on all matters (even a logical meaning for life, which is absurd).
Earlier I mentioned the childlike innocence that still exists in some parts of rural India. This innocence really does humble our so-called all-knowing intelligence because we intuitively sense this innocence as an innate natural aspect of our mind. In the affluent developed world, we have lost this innocence. As a result we have a common tendency to think we know what is best for the rest of the world.
Chuang-tzu was suspicious of anyone who thought they knew what was best for the rest of us. He didnāt believe there was one right philosophy or way to behave and act in this world, and he was a skeptic of those who tried to teach a certain philosophy. This is why he was sometimes critical of the Warring States period sages and philosophers such as Confucius and Mozi. Chuang-tzuās focus was on how to cultivate intelligent spontaneity, so we can move skillfully through life without regressing into the lowly motives that drive society.
As we discover in Chuang-tzuās skill stories, we need to foster methods to disengage from cold cognition to allow the natural hot system to flourishāthough allowing naturalness to flourish is paradoxical. We cannot just be naturally spontaneous because our nature is warped from social training. What we actually need is to train ourselves to be natural.
Excerpt from my book Emotional Intuition for Peak Performance. BUY NOW: amzn.to/2oZZdFm
#emotionalintuitionforpeakperformance #taoism #daoism #chuangtzu #Zhuangzi #confucius #mozi #cognitivescience #spontaneity #skills
For those new to my channel, I also have a travel channel with my wife, Gayoung, where we take you to some of the places we love to visit and live in, as well as give you an insight into the way we like to live. If you are interested in staying up-to-date on our whereabouts, please subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/@JasonandGayoung We recently filmed a bunch of vlogs in India, which will be released over the next few months. We just dropped one yesterday about a 54,000 year old Shiva Lingam in Varanasi. The link for this is below, along with our most recent vlogs from India and Thailand (newest to oldest). Please click the links to view our amazing adventures throughout Asia. Only love for all. Enjoy!
VARANASI'S 54,000 YEAR OLD DISCOVERY - Exploring the Secrets of India's Holiest City https://youtu.be/in76xpgwrT4
We Climbed the HIGHEST TEMPLE in Thailand | First Time in Rural Lampang https://youtu.be/ND_-grEOJgE
FIRST TIME in Pai's Wood Cabin Resort | Is It worth It? https://youtu.be/3FSx-TYgYMk
The Other Side of Pai | Visiting a SECRET Temple and a Chinese Tea Village ABOVE the Clouds https://youtu.be/k0jNxieswQg
The SECRET Chinese Tea Village in Thailand | INCREDIBLE BAN RAK THAI https://youtu.be/pj-T2Pz01zw
The BIZARRE Market Food of Traditional Thailand | Mae Hong Son https://youtu.be/5n6w8k4zbl0
THAILAND'S WAR HIGHWAY | Historical WW2 Route https://youtu.be/WfQDxyC_Q-k
I lost my Wife in Thailand | Mae Sariang https://youtu.be/WV0XBuLRECM
Thailand's Most DANGEROUS Road Trip | Doi Inthanon https://youtu.be/NWyS9-NPKO8
Thailand Mountain Village Market Hunt https://youtu.be/zKGoukWeonA
Luxury Duplex Hotel in the Heart of Bangkok | ONLY $40 A Night https://youtu.be/L2sdiEC7VKA
$3 Indian Street Haircut in Bodh Gaya - He's Been Cutting Hair on the Street for 23 years https://youtu.be/3uAhlYnNRmQ
Inside the BEST Guesthouse in INDIA | Bodh Gaya https://youtu.be/rp0d4CuVUz4
Peaceful Mornings at the MAHABODHI TEMPLE | Bodh Gaya, India https://youtu.be/MvWwy9PoxNY
The UNKNOWN Cave Buddha Lived in for 6 Years https://youtu.be/XUmfKJ2hqQU
Village Life in India | Sujata Temple Pilgrimage | Bodh Gaya https://youtu.be/PJtgY8_Pqvg
Inside the World's First University | NALANDA, INDIA https://youtu.be/Fxinbh914no
RAJGIR, INDIA | This Was Buddha's Holiday Destination https://youtu.be/bz6YwGDd83g
GOKARNA, INDIA | Was Coming Here a Mistake? https://youtu.be/y7SooEgkAt0
Gokarna to Murudeshwar Temple Road Trip | Exploring the Second Biggest Shiva Statue in the World https://youtu.be/jEYWPvbZ9ug
First Impressions of Munnar, India š®š³ https://youtu.be/fpizd4GPmaE
Best BUDGET Hotel in Kochi, Kerala š®š³ https://youtu.be/_q8fv3yiZyA
KOCHI, INDIA | Our First Visit Ends in Disaster https://youtu.be/FlmuT_efr9s
SHOCKING DISCOVERY | Biggest Natural SHIVA LINGAM Found Inside a Mountain in Thailand https://youtu.be/E7kq7o5dufg
Chiang Mai Hot Spring & Temples: Exploring the Natural Wonders of Thailand https://youtu.be/E5Y7FdQ-r7s
The SECRET Temples of Chiang Mai Explained by Best-selling Spiritual Author https://youtu.be/BbFiZGSavA4
Our Morning Routine in Thailand š¹š The Authentic Thai Experience https://youtu.be/EKoAbIq79qM
$500 Chiang Mai Condo Tour - Cost of Living in Thailand https://youtu.be/9vAA5iNs18I
People in the West often cry and whine about some perceived privilege others have. But not in India and many countries throughout Asia. This cult of comparison has infected the hearts of many in the West, which is a special type of sickness stemming from a trained tendency towards competition and comparison. What an immature society and culture we have created in the West, so sick with jealousy and envy. But, astonishingly, there is always an insane justification for such a mental illness for those infected by this disease. Luckily, as I said, places such as India generally are not victims of such immaturity. In contemplating this cult of comparison, I think about my restaurant waiter friend in Pushkar. He is quite the character. Every day when I would see him, I would ask how he was doing. He would always reply, "This is a perfect life." Some may say, How can he be so content "just" being a restaurant waiter? Well, he wasn't sold on the illusion of the American dream, where one must be "special" in order to be validated by others and society at large. Isn't it silly that we feel we need to be validated by the world instead of being content with who we are naturally?
Often, those who work their whole lives to gain that validation realize that it is not an American dream but rather a nightmare, and the torture on their souls in chasing this illusion leaves scars on their hearts that, in most cases, are irreversible. My friend, on the other hand, doesn't even know what the American dream is and has no idea that people outside of India try so hard to be noticed and validated. He can't grasp the concern about trying to be special. His contentment arises from not having such illusions drilled into him daily by a society and culture that does not care for you. He is not "just" a restaurant waiter but rather a brilliant restaurant waiter. He doesn't need millions of dollars, loads of unnecessary material possessions, or validation from others. Why? Because he is content with his plight in life, and nothing is more fulfilling than being content with where you are in life. He has no idea of specialness, so, as a result, he has no desire to be somebody special. He is not looking over the fence or scouring the social media feeds for what others have and what he apparently lacks because he has no desire to measure his life against others.
His liberated content state of mind we can all have if we accept where we are in life, and if that needs to change, then do something about it rather than measure your life against others. Take ownership of your life and realize that in most cases, a lotus flower indeed grows out of the mud, but that doesn't make that lotus flower special; rather, it has its own unique path in life if you allow your life to grow as it intended without comparing your path to others. These are the lessons one can learn from being away from cultures that continually promote lack due to the preposterous idea that you are not good enough. But when you realize you aren't more special than anyone else, you realize you are good enough as you are and that this is truly a perfect life when you stop complaining about privilege and comparing your life to others. When you stop complaining or see no need to complain like my friend, then you come to the realization that the real privilege is to be alive and breathing in this moment together. What a blessing we all have to be graced with the amazing lives we share together, exactly in our right place, as naturally ordained by the Ultimate.
What an amazing ten days traveling north India on the Footsteps of the Buddha Tour! It was truly a life-changing experience for all of us. We did so much in ten days that it felt like years. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to everyone yesterday. We developed into a close-knit family, and some participants were old and some were new, but we all left as lifelong friends. These tours always remind me of what is possible for humanity. It feels like a microcosm of what we could attain on the macro level when we just let go and accept one another for who we are and life as it truly is. If we could just come together with mutual respect and an unconditional love not bound by any belief, anything is possible.
The Footsteps of the Buddha Tour began in the Indian state of Bihar and ended in Uttar Pradesh, where we traveled to Patna, Nalanda, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Varanasi. We visited some of the most important locations in the Buddha's life. It truly is a great privilege to share such places with people and give them an insight into how Gayoung and I live our lives in India. I got quite emotional sitting under the Bodhi Tree with my group because I could feel how important it was for them to be there and also that I could be there with them to experience it for the first time. Likewise with the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi, especially in the morning, celebrating existence itself by paying humble gratitude to the ultimate reality of Shiva in all of our hearts. Gayoung and I were quite emotional because it just means so much to facilitate this experience for people.
To all of our new and old friends in alphabetical order: Alethea, Chris, Curt, Karen, and Laura, we love you all and we'll see you again down the river of life. Imagine a group of strangers from all over the world who came together from all walks of life and left as brothers and sisters, hand in hand. Well, that is how life truly isājust surrender and allow it into your heart. #india #northindia #Bihar #UttarPradesh #buddha #shiva
It has been a blessing to meditate at Satyalok Lahiri Mahasaya Temple since returning to Varanasi. I was introduced to the Kriya Yoga lineage when I was younger through Swami Sri Yukteswar's brilliant book, 'The Holy Science.' That book came at a pivotal time in my life and was a small part of the journey I began many moons ago. I even spent time in Swami Sri Yukteswar's ashram, Karar Ashram, in Puri many years ago. So to meditate near Lahiri Mahasaya's samadhi mandir (who was Sri Yukteswar's guru), his son Tinkori Lahiri's and grandson Satya Charan Lahiri samadhi mandirs, and also in the presence of Mahavatar Babaji (who was Lahiri Mahasaya's guru) is a real privilege. The Satyalok Temple is a real hidden gem of Varanasi, where your being is absorbed in the power of silence and shanti.
Jason Gregory is an author, philosopher, and spiritual teacher specializing in Eastern and Western philosophy, comparative religion, psychology, cognitive science, metaphysics, and ancient cultures. He is the author of Effortless Living, Fasting the Mind, Enlightenment Now, and The Science and Practice of Humility. For many years he has lived in Asia studying the spiritual traditions and meditative practices of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, visiting some of the most remote places in the world.
The primary focus of his work is Eastern spirituality and culture, for which he is an expert. For over a decade he has been teaching the philosophy of the East and their meditative practices, expounding the benefits of their importance in the modern world and, as a result, how they will transform our lives to live more optimally and peacefully.
Visit his website jasongregory.org