Or when we have unhealthy egotistical goals Money for the sake of money Fame for the sake of fame Power for the sake of power Dominating for the sake of dominating All of this inherently subsidies the deep need of love, buried by tons of shame, fears, inadequacies, misconceptions. Poor lost souls
An ability to respond in the right way for any given situation, the right way, being a response from a persons inner self rather than just the external.
It's great to be able to stop When you've planned a thing that's wrong, And be able to do something else instead And think this song: I can stop when I want to Can stop when I wish I can stop, stop, stop any time. And what a good feeling to feel like this And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there's something deep inside That helps us become what we can. For a girl can be someday a woman And a boy can be someday a man. these kinds of topics always remind me of this mr rogers song. this was intended for children. and here we are, adults, struggling with the exact same thing.
@@omgnikolai3159 The difference is that Confucianism focusses on the social picture, Taoism focusses on the universal picture. But ofcourse there's also overlap between the two.
Have you ever heard Alan Watts interpretation of the first quote? He relates it to our tendency to define and separate things that in reality are all just one “thing” or happening. When he says the 5 colors blind you, the 5 tones deafen you, etc.: he is trying to say that by breaking colors or sounds down into divisions you are only able to hear those 5 notes when in reality sound and color are part of infinite spectrums. When you make reality into small segmented concepts, those representations become more important than what’s actually happening and so you miss out on 90% of everything going around you!
Very interesting interpretation from Mr Watts there - he was, of course, very much focused on the western dualist vs eastern monist distinction - ironically, itself a form of dualism. A true eastern interpretation would see both yin and yang together and yet also simultaneously separate. In which case, I think George's interpretation of the '5 colours' overwhelming is perfect for a discussion on desire and addictive behaviours.
We naturally crave information. So we become addicted to scrolling on FB or Insta, but we're supposed to take in a bit of information, and then rely on ourselves to generate creative solutions in our lives. If we indulge our thirst for sensory input, constantly, we never practice creating solutions when we deal with the real world. Happiness comes as a byproduct of competence, purpose and meaning. Constantly inputting info from social media actually disconnects us, rather than connects us, with the external world. Happiness does indeed come from within.
Totally agree with you ( about facebook and social media garbage ) I'm thinking if that does apply also for watching lots of videos about philosophy,self-growth,psychology on youtube for example(it's actually my case now )but i'm not watching it just passively instead i rethink about things in my life and try to feed my mind with self-growth stuff like this What do you think
@Natalie 1234 totally agree , from my point of view I think maybe perhaps the solution could be to add some kind of habits that allows us to think deeply about things and finding relationships between philosiphical , self-growth ideas we learn about in these videos and our life-experiences I think journaling is one of these habits to start writing down what you think about things ,your own ideas your own insights your own conclusion (btw i just made a journal and today is my first time to write down in it) and of course trying to take action which is the most important thing ,trying out our ideas in our everydaylife " knowledge is not enough we must take action"
@Natalie 1234 thank you so much! I really enjoyed conversing with you ,mm I see what you're looking for it's a little bit hard to find that kind of book but i have some suggestions for you i hope they'll help you , book number 1 :" the daily stoics 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living" by Ryan Holiday book number 2 :"acheiving anything in just one year " these 2 books have quietly the same concept ,you read one single page every day , each contains one single quote and its explanation and how to bring it into action in your everyday life book number 3 : "follow your heart" by andrew matthews hope you like them and they help you out !
@Natalie 1234 this is today's lesson from the daily stoics ,the strange thing is that it's related to the issue we discussed about social media... January 14th CUT THE STRINGS THAT PULL YOUR MIND “Understand at last that you have something in you more powerful and divine than what causes the bodily passions and pulls you like a mere puppet. What thoughts now occupy my mind? Is it not fear, suspicion, desire, or something like that?” -MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.19 think of all the in terests vying for a share of your wallet or for a second of your attention. Food scientists are engineering products to exploit your taste buds. Silicon Valley engineers are designing applications as addictive as gambling. The media is manufacturing stories to provoke outrage and anger. These are just a small slice of the temptations and forces acting on us-distracting us and pulling us away from the things that truly matter. Marcus, thankfully, was not exposed to these extreme parts of our modern culture. But he knew plenty of distracting sinkholes too: gossip, the endless call of work, as well as fear, suspicion, lust. Every human being is pulled by these internal and external forces that are increasingly more powerful and harder to resist. Philosophy is simply asking us to pay careful attention and to strive to be more than a pawn. As Viktor Frankl puts it in The Will to Meaning, “Man is pushed by drives but pulled by values.” These values and inner awareness prevent us from being puppets. Sure, paying attention requires work and awareness, but isn’t that better than being jerked about on a string
I love the path you have chosen for yourself! Keep going. You are showing people the alternative way that is possible instead of running around all the time, chasing things that cannot be held onto!
loved this video, it also reminded me of something my old psychoanalysis lecturer was once telling us...i think it was an off topic ramble...(be prepared for a long essay below) he set out this idea: say I was walking round town and I was hungry, so I started looking for somewhere to get something to eat. I knew 10 minutes away, there was a subway (I love subway) but right round the corner was some other foodplace I'm less keen on, say a Greggs. He asked where I'd go and, being honest, I knew I'd probably go to the subway because I know I like it and I'm not really that familiar with Greggs...even though it means a 10 minute walk. And then he asked why? Why choose subway when all I am is hungry, Greggs would fill me up fine and there'll be enough choices for me to find something I like. He suggested I'd choose subway because it's not actually about filling up, it's not even technically about the taste, but what it symbolises. There was probably once a time where I was hungry, so I went into subway, bought a sub and found it tasted delicious...and I remembered that feeling: that experience of being hungry and how subway turned it into something wonderful. As a result, I'm trying to replicate that feeling by going to subway again...it'll probably never quite be the same as that first time, but still. And actually, it's easier to explain this on a primitive level...because my lecturer then linked it back to babies. He said a baby feels hungry, which is terrifying at that age (hence all the screaming and crying babies do when they're hungry) because they don't really know what the feeling is, they don't have any power of their own to stop the feeling, they can't actually be sure it will ever stop and they won't just die from it...babies don't know that stuff, mum does (or whoever the carer is). Mum sees the baby is hungry, knows that her tit/bottle will ease that hunger pain and therefore also alleviate the baby's terror of "what the fuck is this horrible thing I'm feeling?" And so the baby experiences that mum's tit has the power to save the baby from this terrible feeling and all the anxiety that came with the feeling. It remembers that experience, and then the next time it has the terrible feeling, it wants mum's tit. But again, soon it doesn't actually become about the literal alleviation of the horrible feeling...because the baby gets older and is supposed to start drinking from a bottle instead or, eventually, eating actual food. And actual food will do the job just fine, better than mum's tit, really...and yet there's this stage of having to wean the baby because it doesn't want to give the tit up, why? Because of what it symbolises. The baby remembers the experience of how, at a time where it felt most helpless, breast milk solved everything...breast milk has come to symbolise something like a magical saviour for the baby. Ordinary food may literally do the same thing, but it doesn't come with that same remembered emotional experience, it doesn't carry the same emotional weight because it wasn't ordinary food that was there back then at a time when you were most helpless. The baby might even reach a stage where he wants breast milk regardless of actually being hungry because it symbolises such a magical, wonderful comfort for him. He doesn't need it, he just wants to know it's there. It's a craving, in this sense, got nothing to do with actual need: it symbolises some sort of impossible perfection that he wants again. That's craving for you: the pursuit of some impossible past experience, despite the fact it'll never be as good when you relive it. I have a clear memory of drinking dr. pepper with ice in this one particular glass in my house and it tasting amazing...so I always buy dr pepper and always drink it in that same glass but not only a) does it never taste quite as amazing as that first time b) sometimes i'm not even paying attention when I drink it, I'm not even noticing the experience of drinking dr pepper because i'm focusing on something else...therefore wasting it, which again, means it's not even about enjoying that experience again, it's just a symbol. On an unconscious level, just knowing I have the dr pepper in that glass, knowing I've got that beside me feels like a comfort: I just want it there, whether I saviour the experience or not. It just symbolises something nice, so I want it there, the same way a little kid might hoard all the coloured pens despite never planning on using any of them. So i guess the point is that we're a slave to craving because they symbolise perfection. Not total perfection but a 'perfect moment' a perfect sensation or experience. For just one short moment, we want something to feel utterly divine
Thank you. This beat me with a club of awareness that I have needed for some time. You wield the sword of truth well, and in doing so, you are setting others free. Godspeed on your journey.
'He allows things to come and go...' - this applies to the whole process of acceptance when it comes to thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations. Don't fight or suppress them, let them move through you and see them as a signal about where you are today and how you are feeling. Really good video here, George - there are some very useful and practical suggestions here. Many of which can be found in common psychological treatment for addictive and compulsive behaviours e.g. the chase, recognising the trigger/stimulus, riding the craving (the 7-10 min rule), noticing the thoughts (CBT & mindfulness approaches) and squeezing the fists (habit reversal). Very well edited and produced too (always appreciate top-notch audio efforts too).
Thank you for simplifying the language of the tao. Taoism is new for me. Im searching desperately for truth and the tao is fulfilling that void. Thank you, for you.
What helps you with your cravings? Let's get a discussion going ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Hope you enjoy. If you did, consider sharing on your socials! It helps me out 💫 Thanks as always family! ☯️☯️
What helps me (and what I forget to do most of the time) is to take a moment to realise that my graving is just something that rises in me, something I can acknowledge, observe and let go. Have to up that practise again ......
@Sophie SSS Pretty much the same. I can say I have no addiction, I give space to my cravings with moderation. Hard moments in life reveal the truth about yourself. Healthy lifestyle helps all the time.
Fear. Fear of not having enough. Parasites, desire to consume in order that parasite can survive. Survival mechanism. It's all crap, because we don't stay aware of what's going on around us.
For me in the case of quitting smoking, it really helped just to be conscious of the cravings. Before I quite I started keeping a log of the ciggarettes I smoked. for about 3 weeks I just became really aware of when I wanted to smoke and when I did. That enabled me to at first lower the number of smokes and also the amount of the ciggarette. End the end I smoke a quarter of a cig about 4 or 5 times a day. Then when they planned day for quittig came, I just stopped and so did my cravings....it was very rewarding.. that was shortly before I became aware of the Tao.
Please never stop with your videos. They help in ways that are very crucial in the world we live today. I know that what I just requested can be translated into any time period, but since I live here and now, I say how important they are. Balance is something that eludes most if not everyone, and I am no exception. I fall out of balance all the time and videos like these and a good social support group is the most valuable thing in these times of change. Cheers.
Love the way you managed to use your experience in China, your studies to get a better person, to become so wise. And thank you so much for trying to give us your wisdom, i wish i had your courage and get to China to spend some time just for me and my inner passions, that's my dream!
I have always been fascinated by Taoism, ever since I was very young. It is a good thing to not forget, to not get distracted, to take the squeeze you share about, ... thanks for sharing, George!
A lot of people today really are blinded by the "chase", by pleasure. A lot has become greedy and insatiable that they have forgotten who they are deep down and the things that are meaningful. I love you for making this video, it raises so much awareness out there and help turn the tables around for the better.
Good for you!! I know it is one of the hardest habits to break. My dad tried to stop and couldn't. He died from lung cancer. I wish you the best in finding your inner strength!
Amazing one man show documentary.. you are a born sage, wiseman, philosopher, do you realize that!? I love your voice and accent..I hope that you make a series of such vedioes about the wisdom of the Tao..
Your Mind is the worst enemy to practice quietness is the first step to become stable to stability can only be achieved by introduction of compassion the quiet ones have the strongest and stable minds in every situation this is one way to master-hood and self empowerment
*_wow..This is amazing. I have been clean from heroin 4 years but have had cravings come out of nowhere recently & today i overcame a strong craving. By delving into my Catholic faith i aim to grow in virtue & overcome vice & this is one video i will be saving to watch each time a craving comes..Thanks a lot George.._*
"Better it is to murder an infant in its cradle than to nurture unacted upon desires..." well, you proved THAT wrong no? Well done. I am on my own journey to beat my past demons. Stay strong. Cravings pass mate. Belive in you.....❤
I just love to come back to this video and reflect a bit more on the topic, review how far I've gone, and observe new details I haven't before. During this long corona virus retreat I started facing things coming up from inside which I didn't remember being there. I am the only one to be responsible for my own mental health. Thus reflect and review and double check are so important! Thanks George, always!
Wow this really opened my eyes. I’ve always been between those two extremes: Impulses and craving are bad. You should resist everything. And: just go with it and every impulse. I kinda knew that some impulses are important, like eating for not starving, and others are not. But I never knew how to separate. I’ll try out your technique of waiting for 10' and see how it’s going. Thank you for your inspiring words 🙏🏼
The wide range of historical examples you use, along with the fun of pop culture, combined with your objective analysis to better oneself... is awesome! You get a sub.
