Know Thyself - E50 - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Awakening Joy & 100k Subscriber Q&A

Starting point is 00:00:00 See, today, more and more people are feeling lonely and that's become like a pandemic. In spite of having all physical comforts, social connectivity, people still feel lonely. What is needed to get out of this loneliness is wisdom and meditation. Either through a curious or inquisitive mind or through a frustrated mind, you reach a point where you want to know yourself. You want to find what is the meaning of life. The journey of life is from an ugly, I don't know, to a beautiful I don't know. Life is joy, life is bliss.

Starting point is 00:00:37 Our spirit is that way. And that's your nature. Hello, beautiful beings. Welcome back to the Know They Self podcast where every single week we get the opportunity, the privilege just down with a brilliant mind and open heart to know more about ourselves and the world around us. My guest today is the founder of the Art of Living Institute. and he is an individual who is a leader and pioneer in stewarding a more stress and violence-free

Starting point is 00:01:07 world. He's an extremely joyful being to be around, and he is a profound humanitarian and spiritual leader. Shishri Guru, Deborah Shankar, thank you so much for being here today. Nice. So I always find that the most wise, profound spiritual leaders are always laughing, you know, as if they're in on some sort of inside secret or cosmic joke that the rest of us are catching up to. In your experience of reality, how have you come to this place of just so much joy and laughter? And why do you feel like the more wise you are, the more you laugh?

Starting point is 00:01:48 That's life. Life is joy, life is bliss. You know, our spirit is that way. if we are free from stress and tension and laughter is natural to us, isn't it? You know? See, when a baby is not hungry, not sleepy, not stressed,

Starting point is 00:02:12 laughter, joy oozes out of it, naturally. That's why the ancient rishis of India, they have already said, the life has sprung from bliss. And that's your nature. So that's the place we come from and that's the place we're going to, right? The true self that's within, outside of the accumulated memory of stress and anxiety. Good it, good, okay, good.

Starting point is 00:02:39 So for the vast majority of people, we're under the identification that we are a somebody. You were this persona personality that's operating in the world and that's the source of so much suffering. So how do you support people and breaking through the illusion of who they think they are into tapping into who they truly are to truly know their self. First of all, this urge to know oneself

Starting point is 00:03:06 has to rise from within. This rises on two occasions. One is when one has a inquisitive mind, scientific mind, a researcher's mind. On the other side, the second

Starting point is 00:03:22 option is when people are miserable, when they confused, they don't know what to do then also it says hey wait a minute what is that I want to know. Who am I? What is that I want in my life? These questions should arise and it is

Starting point is 00:03:40 natural that it arises when you are fed up with all the problems and miseries. When you're up to the brim then you say enough is enough right? So either through a

Starting point is 00:03:56 or inquisitive mind or through a frustrated mind, you reach a point where you want to know yourself. You want to find what is the meaning of life. I prefer the earlier one. He should have that scientific temper.

Starting point is 00:04:15 See, that inquisitive mind what is life is all about? Who am I? These questions indicate maturity of of our intellect. That's so beautiful

Starting point is 00:04:28 because we all start in this world with these bright, white eyes, we're so curious. We have such a seeking. We wanted to learn and then we kind of

Starting point is 00:04:36 get pushed on dogmas and beliefs onto us, right? And we create these conclusions about what reality is and then we think of good. Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:04:48 A true seeker will be free from all type of dogmas. A lot of, of people really struggle with coming to terms with their own ignorance, you know, just saying I don't know is really difficult for a lot of people. So how do you support individuals coming back to the realization that they just don't know what they don't know and it's okay and that can actually be the starting point for to eventually know? Absolutely, yes. See, the journey of life

Starting point is 00:05:17 is from an ugly I don't know to a beautiful I don't know. And you're frustrated at all I don't know. I don't know, don't ask me. Even the things you know, you deny. You say, I don't know. At least you say that way, correct? But then you move on to a space where in you realize

Starting point is 00:05:39 there is so much more to know. What you know is very little. So then you come to a place of, I don't know. You see? That's what all the scientists do say. The more you know,

Starting point is 00:05:55 the unknown growth. So now, the beautiful I don't know leads you to meditation. The ugly I don't know leads you to more frustration and misery. That beautiful I don't know, most people are familiar with the former, right? Where it's I don't know and I need to know and it caused a lot of stress, stress for individuals. but when you find silence in the many ways that you can, you allow that natural curiosity to bubble back up within you. So supporting individuals to find the quiet silence within

Starting point is 00:06:36 to kind of allow their mental activity to settle down a little bit. How do you support individuals in doing that? Meditation and also Sudhashan Kriya, the sky breathing techniques. Kria if you do Kria, this issue of your mind racing all the time and not

Starting point is 00:07:00 settling down will all be taken care of Korea helps individuals and also in communities it has helped millions around the globe to calm down

Starting point is 00:07:16 settle and all that yeah we're all seeking for freedom when it comes down to it, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. We kind of have many of us this habitual tendency to go back into compulsive pleasure seeking as a source for freedom. But to come back into consciously seeking freedom like you're speaking to is a beautiful invitation for people. And so how do you see when you look at the world and how individuals act, how we seek for freedom consciously and unconsciously? Doesn't matter. As I said,

Starting point is 00:07:52 Conscious seeking freedom is the wisdom of the intelligent. Unconscious seeking of freedom is natural because you don't want to be miserable. Either case, it's okay, you must find the freedom. Just seeking alone doesn't help. And finding freedom, you have to go with him. it cannot just come from outside. And to go within, you need tools and techniques. See, because we are so programmed in dealing with things outside,

Starting point is 00:08:37 we never take time to go in. And here, the meditation, breathing techniques, Korea, all this help. So you're somebody that has so much activity in the world, right? you're impacting millions and millions of individuals and you have a new book, notes for the journey within, which were a series of your own teachings and talks spread to people and facts all over the world before the wild days of the internet and messaging through texts. So for you, the journey of supporting and spreading these message, has it been something that has just meant something to your whole life?

Starting point is 00:09:17 Have you always wanted to support and serve the world in this way? it's quite natural to me see when you're happy it's very natural for you to spread the happiness right you don't when you're happy you don't say oh don't disturb me leave me alone no when you're happy you want to share it that's a nature of happiness

Starting point is 00:09:38 and wisdom is so same thing you know when you have wisdom it just get shared through you now in the 90s there were no facts there were There were facts. There were no internet, no cell phones in those days.

Starting point is 00:10:00 So we used to get together, real seekers. Few people would get together, 30, 40, 50, sometimes even 100. And every Wednesday they would ask some questions or come up with a topic. And I would just say those things then. And then they would, write it down and fax it to people around the world. So on Thursday when they meet for group meditation,

Starting point is 00:10:30 they would all read it. And many have always felt that it was just needed at that time for them. So for seven years, I kept doing it. And those have been compiled as a book. So the notes for the journey within that's there. they're done. Yeah, it's so beautiful. And I loved reading through the various different topics of life and people.

Starting point is 00:10:56 And practical, what is needed for you in your life. It's not just some concept out there, but something that can impact your life on a day-to-day basis. It's beautiful to see the practices that you're sharing with people and how that really makes a profound level of true transformation in life. But then also the intellectual understanding. and sharing your perception on the true nature of self. And even just hearing those words, when true wisdom is heard, it can actually be very transformational as well.

Starting point is 00:11:29 So how do you share? And what is your perspective on what wisdom really truly is and its ability to transform lives? When knowledge becomes a part of your life, it becomes wisdom. When you embody it. And you imbibe it. And I say three things need. One is music.

Starting point is 00:11:52 We all As kids, the first thing we did is we started singing. Ah, something. And then we started speaking, right? A baby sings first. Makes a sound that's musical. So music needed in life, meditation needed. And then wisdom.

Starting point is 00:12:14 These three things make your life complete. anyone if it's not there you feel a big lack and there will be a vacuum yeah see today more and more people are feeling lonely and that's become like a pandemic

Starting point is 00:12:33 in spite of having all physical comforts social connectivity friends family kids people still feel lonely you must have heard in England they have started even loneliness

Starting point is 00:12:49 ministry. Right? So what is needed to get out of this loneliness is wisdom and meditation? So we were talking about a little bit earlier how we are so often identified as who we're not. I think it's so important to find who we are to discover all the different parts of ourselves that we're not, you know? We come and we think we're our name,

Starting point is 00:13:23 where identity cast color creed and a certain religious group so how do you support people and breaking away more of those layers of who we think we are to have more access to our true selves like we spoke to earlier which is connected with all lives and you can't

Starting point is 00:13:41 feel lonely when you feel like you're connected to everything yeah see when you are stressed your perception gets shadowed and when your perception is not okay you become miserable and your expression becomes even worse

Starting point is 00:14:02 so in many sense if you have to improve your perception your expression in life you have to have clarity of mind that can come only if you get rid of stress and that happens through meditation I love how you share one note and one notes for the journey within you share is that we often tend to doubt our capabilities and not our weaknesses. So we often will doubt the positive.

Starting point is 00:14:34 Yeah, we doubt the positive and not the negative. We doubt the love, we doubt honesty and all that is positive. Why do we do that? Why do we have that habitual nature to go back and doubt? Well, that's how we are. That's what happens, right? So, but it's not the same with a kid or with an innocent person, with someone who is fresh in their mind.

Starting point is 00:15:06 So, but once you know that this is what is happening, like our mind clings on too negative, right? You give 10 compliments to someone and one insult, they'll hold on to that insult, right? So this tendency can be reversed. And that's what is called yoga. Yoga has to get back to the true self that you are. Coming back into that true self that you are, you've had for much of your life such a strong devotion to sharing this work with the world.

Starting point is 00:15:39 I'd be curious to hear a little bit more about your own personal path when you devoted yourself and you went on periods of silence. That became the starting point in which you wanted to share so much with the world. I would love for you to share a little bit more about at what point did you really decide to go down this journey of sharing yourself in this way. And I'm always curious when I'm. You know, spiritual path was like fish to water for me.

Starting point is 00:16:05 On the very beginning, I've been like this. I didn't do any particular thing to be someone or do something. No, I'm just what I am. I keep sharing what I have. I'm just an instrument for things to flow. Do you have memories of past lives that you live? I do, yeah. You know.

Starting point is 00:16:30 So do you believe that we all come to the place because of the things that we've done in the past as well? Oh, yes, oh, yes. So do you have recollection of doing this work for lifetime? Oh, yeah. But I won't reveal now what I was in the past. You don't like to share. you like to keep people guessing why is it that

Starting point is 00:16:55 often spiritual leaders love to never fully answer questions like to keep people confused you know every question should have to be turned into wonder you know wonders don't have answers right you don't want to destroy the seeking you just simply have to wonder about it wonder turns into being wonderful absolutely

Starting point is 00:17:17 when somebody like for myself, I feel so called and devoted to sharing more about the true nature of self and sharing yoga, sharing meditation with the world in deeper ways, as somebody who's scaled it to such a big level of impact, what advice do you have individuals that feel like they're conscious creators? They want to raise the consciousness on the planet. And yet there's the whole logical, practical side of building the infrastructure, right, in the world. And how are you able to balance balance the both. You know, I never bothered to building infrastructure. I never put my attention to, okay, build this, build that, nothing.

Starting point is 00:18:01 I'm just there, hollow and empty, and let things happen the way it should happen, it keeps happening. So you just, you just are... I just let things happen. So you just magnetize the people to you that build the systems, structure. Even that I don't know. Why should I magnetize? I don't, if it's one person or millions, it's the same message. It's the same thing. Yeah. And people come with their personal problems issues and I just talk to them, I address them and that. You know, things happen through vibrations more than the talking or doing. Things happen. Things happen

Starting point is 00:18:47 from the state of being. And when we are in that state of being, this state of being, automatically things happen. There's no death for miracles. There's no death for anything. And you just get it. The way you're describing that feels very much so

Starting point is 00:19:09 like an effortlessness. Absolutely. But there's still effort in the world. But it doesn't feel like as much internally, right? you carry that easefulness within you. I think so many individuals are so focused on the action they're doing and not as much the being that's in between it. You've got that.

Starting point is 00:19:28 We can be more through our vibrations. And our intentions and vibrations does all the job. So you think the vast majority of our efforts should be then to purify and raise our vibration and focus on that. in mind, purity in heart, sincerity in action. That's it. That's beautiful. The sincerity of the action, right?

Starting point is 00:19:57 It's like the ripple that comes from the pebble that's thrown. It's not the first place, the first source that it comes from within. So developing clarity of mind then becomes really the most important task. Would you say so? You see, when there is a right intention, things start happening. Of course, obstacles do come in your way, but when your attention is there,

Starting point is 00:20:29 you'll find the way. As you continue to do this work, I think we all realize how important so much of life is the quality of relationships that we have, right? It takes teams, it takes, you know, whether it's romantic partnerships, business partnerships, relationships with friends. How have you realized the importance of cultivating relationships

Starting point is 00:20:53 and to continue to water them? How do you view relationships as our own path to awakening and service to the world? See, relationships stay longer if you are not focused on getting something out of it. When you are there to contribute, whether it's in business or in personal life, when you come from a space of

Starting point is 00:21:19 what I can do how I can contribute and I'm here to help out then it stays long but if you are just focused on getting and grabbing things for oneself there will be

Starting point is 00:21:36 rough waters very so so it is needed and then knowing thyself being in a bigger context about life.

Starting point is 00:21:48 You'll see you'll have such immense satisfaction and you're not wanting or seeking anything from anybody outside. You are here to radiate, give. Right? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:22:04 See, we are having this world culture festival end of September, beginning of October. We're in just bringing people from all over the world. This is the fourth World Culture Festival. It's like cultural Olympics, so as to say. And it's not very famous artists,

Starting point is 00:22:23 but simple artists on the ground level coming from all over the world and sharing its states. No competition, no juggling here or they. But just realizing we are all one human family. Today in a polarized world There's so much stress and so much mistrust I think it's time for people to come together and meditate When we do meditation in mass

Starting point is 00:23:00 It impacts the atmosphere And that is very, very important In a good atmosphere, a clean atmosphere is needed for a healthy living in society. So your vision for a stress and violence-free world, I think it's so beautiful to bring large amounts of individuals to tap into that vibration of stillness and openness. And that, like you shared, it really does impact the world in a big way, right?

Starting point is 00:23:36 That vibration carries through into the bigger coherence that the world feels. So your mission with sharing, what is your vision for where we are going to, you know, and what course we're on as a humanity? One world family. We must wake up and see all our differences. With all the diversity in the world, we must learn to celebrate life. And realize we are, life is too short to get into. meaningless conflicts.

Starting point is 00:24:13 And spread love and happiness. All right. Well, everybody, thank you so much for tuning to this episode of the Know Thyself podcast, this bite-sized beautiful episode. But as well, you can find everywhere. Shreeshvi Guru Dev, Ravarvary Shankar will be linked down in the description below. Thank you for coming on this journey. And thank you so much for your time today.

Starting point is 00:24:33 Thank you so much. All right. Andre from the future here. Thank you for tuning into this episode of the Know Thyself podcast. I hope you got some nuggets and enjoyed this episode. We had to cut it a little bit short because Guru Dev got a cough and unfortunate he's all right. But I figured I would use this time. The rest of this podcast is an opportunity just to catch up and drop in with you all.

Starting point is 00:24:55 And I asked you all for some questions on Instagram. And so I just do a Q&A and figure that would be a good way to spend the rest of this episode. A lot has happened since I started this podcast almost a year ago, exactly, actually. And it'd be cool to just reflect on some moments. And yeah, get to answer some of the questions that I've been seeing come in quite frequently. So before we do that, a quick share from our sponsor today. I'm a warm beverage kind of guy. I like my tea, cacao, and other products.

Starting point is 00:25:23 Like from our sponsor today, Mudwater. Mudwater is a coffee alternative with adaptogenic mushrooms and Iermitic herbs. With only a fraction of the caffeine as a cup of coffee, you get the energy without the jitters or crash. Their original blend has chai and cacao. mushrooms like Lionsman to support focus, and Chaga and Rishi to support your immune system. I personally also love to use the rest blend as a part of my nighttime ritual. It has no caffeine and ingredients like ashriganda and chamomile to help you chill out. Everything is 100% organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, and delicioso.

Starting point is 00:25:58 I love what this company stands for, how they believe in creating healthy minds, through healthy habits, and how they donate monthly to mental health causes. To try them out, you can go to mudwhtr.com slash know thyself and use code know thyself for 15% off. And they'll even throw in a free rechargeable frother. As always, everything is linked down in the description below. Back to the episode. All right. Let's get into it.

Starting point is 00:26:23 So before I jump into some of these questions, I just figured to be cool to reflect a little bit on the journey of getting to this point with this podcast. It's been so rewarding to be able to see this vision for this. show, right? Like we as creative beings, we all have this idea, this impulse, this urge, this thought, this creative thing, this ethereal essence that's just in the ethers, that's in this invisible realm. And then we get to bring it into the physical. We get to actually do the things and buy the microphones and the cameras and do the branding for the show and put your energy into how you want to shape it. And for me, the whole process of the show coming to fruition, which is still very early on. I feel like there's just so much potential for where we're going to take the show and the

Starting point is 00:27:09 conversations that we get to have and the value that I want to continue to provide you guys at an extremely high quality. It's just been so fulfilling for me to be able to see the journey of it come into fruition. And so I just want to say thank you all so much for coming on this journey. I'd be curious if you're listening on YouTube to drop a comment down below and let me know which episode for you has been most impactful. It's so fulfilling and rewarding for me to see the breakthroughs, the insights, the new level of awareness and slightly different altered perception on maybe an arena of life that has been really supportive for you. And this show is extremely fulfilling for me for being able to sit down with brilliant minds from all across the world and

Starting point is 00:27:48 explore different topics of life. But then being able to share that and have that be a gift for the world is just the best thing ever. So again, thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. And let's keep the show on the road, shall we? All right. Question number one. I have not put thought into these, by the way. They just came in through Instagram. What is your process for preparing for podcasts? So it totally depends on the guest. If it's a friend of mind, which is often the case, usually requires less preparation. I'll still put probably an hour, probably two to three hours. I would say either listening to other podcasts that they've been on or just thinking or going on a walk and thinking about what I want to talk to them about, also kind of

Starting point is 00:28:28 preparing roughly for like the intro of how I'm going to open the show. But for, bigger guests. Like recently, we had Joe Dispenza on, Sam Harris. These are some of the big wigs that I, you know, really wanted on the show since I set out to create this thing in the beginning. And I spent over a week preparing for both of those. I read all their books, watched many, many hours of podcasts, just reflected on my own podcast notes for the show. I definitely know going into it where I want to take the conversation, but I'm also creating enough space to see what's alive in the moment. And oftentimes, if you're too rigid, I find in podcast and just trying to get a question and answer, question, answer, it kind of sucks the life force out of it. And so I,

Starting point is 00:29:11 my preparation process is usually a few hours to maybe sometimes a couple of days or even a week for some really big guests. Just because I really want to feel like my guests, when they come and sit in these chairs and we have this conversation, it's sacred to me. And I want them to feel fully honored for their life, their wisdom, their message. And I know that in that process, I get to be on a revelatory discovery process myself and see what I can learn. But then also it's going to translate to such a much better experience for you all to witness the conversation. So that's kind of my process too. At what age did you have your first taste of a spiritual experience slash awakening and what happened to spark it?

Starting point is 00:29:53 At 19, I went inside of Apasana. And I think that was extremely transformational for me because I got. to experientially submerge myself in an energy that I had just not been familiar up to in that point. There's a level of peace, of stillness, of lightness. I literally felt like I was levitating by day nine. I was just so light in my body. You're spending like eight to 10 hours a day, just examining the energy and awareness over different parts of your body. And you can get extremely high by just sitting still. And it's extremely uncomfortable for your body to be sitting that still for that long, but you go through ups and downs and waves of bliss and agony. And I think that was

Starting point is 00:30:37 one of the first times that I got to kind of taste beyond what I had accumulated and what I had come to know as myself, as this name, as this body, as somebody who just wants to make a certain amount of money and live a certain lifestyle. But I tasted this reality that everybody can have access to. And since then, I've been devoted to deepening my own practice of knowing myself, creating this show to be able to support and give access for everybody else out there in the world to tools and conversations and ideas that have supported me on my journey that I think can continue to support you guys. So that was my first experience, I would say. Number three, how were you inspired to start this podcast? So the conjunction of me having a podcast

Starting point is 00:31:25 media production company, which is Maraki Media. We produced almost a dozen shows in the health and wellness and personal development space now, which I feel extremely blessed to be able to support. Also, many of my friends who have awesome shows, some that have been on this podcast. So I've been running that business for about four years now. It's been super fulfilling. I get to really hone in my mission of media as medicine and utilizing the internet and videography in the power of podcast to spread messages that raise the consciousness on this planet.

Starting point is 00:31:59 And since working with Logan, Paul, like six years ago and helping him launch the impulsive podcast and then through building my own media production company, I learned so much of what goes into creating a successful podcast. And so I've taken that knowledge and the skill set of that and merged it with my own passion for storytelling, for having these conversations around consciousness and how that can really be supportive for individuals like it has been for myself. And so I knew that I could create something really unique and fill a hole and fill a void in the market of podcasts. Right. There's millions and millions of podcasts nowadays. Some might say it's saturated. I think that's total BS. If you have a message,

Starting point is 00:32:42 if you have a narrative, if you have an angle that is unique to you that is really lighting your soul on fire, there is always room for the best at the top. And I'm, you know, trying to just simply be the best version of myself and what I can bring through in the show. How I define myself being a success on the show is that it stays truest to what I want to bring forth from within me. And so far, there's been plenty of success and I feel like it will continue to grow, but I'm not going to change my trajectory of how I want to show up on the show simply because of how I think people might perceive it. I'm going to do my best, and it's a journey to stay true to myself and what I want to bring forth from within me.

Starting point is 00:33:25 So that's how I really wanted to start the show. And it's been one of my most rewarding endeavors since starting it. So all right, number four, where are those chairs from? I've seen this question a few times. For those that watch on YouTube, I got these chairs from a place called Mid-Century, L.A., here in L.A. They sell pretty expensive chairs and custom creations. And I wanted to find two chairs that were comfortable, but were also representative of being able to have these type of conversations that felt open, that didn't slouch too much.

Starting point is 00:34:01 And I sat in them and I was like, yeah, this feels great. I can sit in lotus posture and they have like kind of rock and that look good. You're kind of floating. And it just worked out. So I don't think anybody else can buy these as they were like a custom make from like these old antique chairs. But I'm glad you like them. Number five. How did ancient technology with water and the human body actually work?

Starting point is 00:34:27 I have no idea. I don't know how to answer that question. And I'm not going to pretend like I do. Number six, how do you think you got to 100K subscribers? High quality content and a consistent output over here. sustained period of time almost a year now, I would say that's exactly why I got to where I'm at. I'm putting out something that I'm really proud of every single time. It has high quality. I know it has real value and substance. And I'm just letting the world catch up to the dope

Starting point is 00:34:58 creation. Number seven, what moment made you step back and say, wow, I'm really doing this? I would say that it's been fulfilling to see the numbers and the comments and the interactions online, but nothing really compares to in-person reflections. I've had some people come up to me when I'm working out or at the grocery store and share like really emotional reflections of how the shows impact them or how a specific episode led to a breakthrough for them. And that's super fulfilling. And everybody who responds and puts in the comment section below, I really love seeing

Starting point is 00:35:34 and hearing your guys' feedback. But there's just something about being in person that really makes it tangible. And the second that, the live in-person events, I did the first one with Sad Guru, the second one with Gabramante, and the one most recent,

Starting point is 00:35:48 with 250 people with Dr. Joe Dispenza, that was, I definitely would say is one moment that was like, holy shit. Like, you know, for me having an idea of doing this podcast sitting on my couch in Venice Beach, California, to then creating the show.

Starting point is 00:36:04 and going in the journey of pouring myself into it to then having 250 people crammed in a room that are all powerful, influential, conscious creators in their own right coming together to have this conversation about raising the consciousness and what we can do, both on an individual and collective level

Starting point is 00:36:22 to support that process. That was really surreal. It was really cool to just look in the audience and feel the power in the room and then have an incredible teacher like Joe Dispenza be able to co-create that conversation with was super fulfilling. So I would say that's a moment that really stuck out for me. Eight, do you still fear about feeling certain emotions? I think that there's going to be

Starting point is 00:36:47 always just unconscious material that we're oblivious to that I'm sure if I spent time trying to dig up or process, there would be things that would come up that I might have fear around feeling. but in my conscious sober waking life, I don't think that there's anything that I'm afraid to feel. Because even if there's resistance around feeling something, which I wouldn't necessarily label as fear, I know that if I fully felt it, I kind of, I move through it. And so I've just learned and built trust over myself throughout my years of development that I'm going to be all right no matter what I go through and whatever I feel. that even feeling fear is safe.

Starting point is 00:37:33 So that's what I would say to that. Number nine, what has been the most valuable lesson you've learned so far? That is a big question. I'll change the question and say something most recent, I would say over the past year or two, really with creating the show, that it really pays off to take risks in your life. It's like jump into the abyss to really bite off more than you can chew and just see what you're of. I feel like with, I just recently moved into an amazing new home that was a big stretch for me financially, starting the show and the financial investment and time and resources I poured into it.

Starting point is 00:38:15 There's just many, many things that have showed up in the past year of my life that I've kind of stepped into and like stretched myself into. And I feel like that's how you really grow. When you take those leaps, when you take those risks. And so what I would say the biggest, lesson I've learned is just to fully bet on myself and to know that a lot of really beautiful things are on the other side of taking those risks and especially for individuals that are in their 20s and 30s like this is the time to be doing that this is the time to be going all in on yourself and so that's been a big lesson recently and also just the power and feeling it tangibly the power of what it means to be a conscious creator that you can have an idea for something

Starting point is 00:38:56 and if you apply yourself, you can make that idea manifest and applied and loved and admired by millions of people around the world. So use the power of your creativity to actualize your potential. Number 10, what do you have visualized for this platform that you've created? For one, I want to keep on creating the best week by week, maybe going to two a week. We'll see if I have the capacity to do that. I'm sure as we bring more team and bring like a few more assistance on board, we'll be able to scale to that point.

Starting point is 00:39:28 But right now, I feel really good about the quality of the show and the quantity of once per week. And maybe we'll up that in the future. But right now I'm really focused on bringing in just powerful individuals to drop into conversation with. A lot of people that I'm getting to meet now because I'm kind of slowly exhausting my own personal network of friends that I can have on, which has been a great springboard for the beginning of the show. But now as we're starting to do some outreach and bring in some people that I'm meeting for the first time, I just want to keep on bringing the best show a week over week for you guys. About once a quarter, I want to continue to do live Know Thyself podcast events.

Starting point is 00:40:04 So this most recent one with Joe Dispenza was an incredible inspiration and an example of what that can look like. And I want to extend them out. I want to do like live activations, group meditations, potentially grow into day events, two day, three day events, retreats eventually. I'm low key. I guess not low key because I'm saying right now, but I'm working on building out a course. It's going to be eight to 10 video course module about an hour each where I'm going to be

Starting point is 00:40:30 diving into the deep depths of the human condition of both being and becoming how to find self-realization in this life, but then also self-actualization and the power of becoming a conscious content creator and creating sacred structure in your life. Just all the things that have really supported me and my own blossoming. I want to take all of that knowledge and my life experience and pour it into a format that is really digestible and can be accompanied with PDFs and homework and things that can be really supportive for you guys and at an accessible price point. So if you guys want to hear more about that, you can leave your email down in a link in the description and you'll be notified whenever that comes out. But I'm going to have

Starting point is 00:41:14 courses, live events continue to build out the platform. And I'm sure as it's been so already, the path will continue to reveal itself as I continue to go down it. So a lot of things in the unknown are going to come. But one last thing I will say is I want to do roundtable discussion dinners. I did one kind of test one and I just have an idea of how to make it so much better and bring them around specific areas of life. But bringing about eight to 12 powerful individuals, lots of individuals that you've already seen on the podcast, but bringing in together those minds and having them.

Starting point is 00:41:52 be able to be in dialogue and conversation, I think would be such a potent creation. And so definitely be on the lookout for that in the years to come. Number 11, what is your favorite episode? What guest has impacted you the most? I feel like they're all my babies and I can't choose one over the other. But in terms of what's impacted me the most, I would say the most recent one with Dr. Joe Dispenza because studying his material, you know, the weeks leading up to the event, I only had like two or three weeks of notice from getting the, yes, actually booking the venue and then having it happen, which was pretty wild. But the whole study process for that and then also just getting to be surrounded by community and a couple hundred

Starting point is 00:42:32 people, that was super impactful. So if I had to pick one, I would just say that as of now. All right. 12. How can we balance masculine and feminine energy within us? I would say, at least for my personal experience and what I've seen supportive for individuals, is that if you feel like you're a guy or girl who has an overflow, of feminine energy, one thing that can be really supportive is to use the body to influence the mind. So if you have what you would feel like is too much feminine energy and you feel like your emotions can override you a lot, try weightlifting. I think that can be really balancing for that. If you feel like you're a guy or a girl who has too much masculine energy, or maybe you're

Starting point is 00:43:14 in a period of your life or you're coming off of a long corporate job where you had to be really structured and in your masculine or the various different things that can. could lead you to that. See if you can incorporate more yin exercises in your life. Yoga Nidra, meditation, going in bodies of water, taking baths, going in the ocean. Those things can, I feel like, really balance out your energies as well. Yoga is a science that dives deep into this. And same with Ayurveda. I'm not an expert in either of them, but there's definitely many modalities and tools that I've learned through studying those avenues and those past that I think can be really supportive and I think would be really good.

Starting point is 00:43:52 for anybody who wants to dive deeper into seeing how they can balance their own energies out. For me, I feel like I've just kind of created a system and flow in my life to where I do the weightlifting. I go in water. I have a balance in my diet and what I eat. That's obviously a huge one. And so I try to create my life to flow in balance. And I just become in harmony with that. So I don't have to feel like I have to balance it out with anything else. Number 14, what motivates you every single day? What motivates me every single day is the never-ending journey of actualizing my limitless potential. I think that just the progress, the growth of becoming more and more of who you are and what you can share with the world is exciting. And that's what motivates me every single day.

Starting point is 00:44:43 What also motivates me is the very real possibility of the massive healing shift on this planet. I think firsthand getting to see people have those breakthroughs and heal their heart and move through trauma and find freedom on the other side of suffering. That is the most fulfilling and worthwhile thing that I can devote my life to. And so service to the world in a way that propagates more and more of that is extremely motivating and exciting for me every single day. Number 16. How to get over the fear of being judged for starting a new YouTube channel slash podcast. Yeah, this is the big one. It's really the start that stops most people. It's having the fear of what your friends that you've grown up with or people that are in your circles are going to judge you for. You have to ask yourself, do you really want people in your life that are going to judge you for following your higher calling or for following something that's exciting or for just trying something? The answer is no, you don't want those people in your life. And so you have to realize that anybody who's done anything great has started at zero. They started at a point where they had zero followers, zero subscribers, zero podcast listeners.

Starting point is 00:45:56 So just realize that it's a process. And you learn so much just by being in the doing of it. You learn so much about yourself. You develop your skill sets. And so don't try to think about having the most successful show. Try to create something that means a lot to you that you can do consistently over years. And I guarantee you your 10th video, your 50th, your 100th video. is going to be so much better than your first one in terms of the quality, in terms of the video

Starting point is 00:46:25 production, in terms of your ability to articulate your inner realm and your ideas. So much of it gets improved over time and you just have to put that time in. So what I would say is set a deadline, set some accountability for you just to create your first video. Tell somebody that you care about that you know is not going to judge you. Maybe it's a family member, maybe it's a friend who's a big supporter for you. Let them know like, hey, I would love your support and accountability just to hold me to it that I'm going to start a YouTube channel by the end of the week. And just make one video and put it out there. And if it gets a one view, who cares? Like just it's about the process, not the product. And the more that you can really imbibe that and feel into that, the more that

Starting point is 00:47:09 you can create something that is truly worthwhile in your life because what creates the end result is the process. So focus on the process. Number 16. How do you deal with the pitfalls of social media while using it as your main platform? Not always the best. I've got to be honest. Being able to post clips on social media and on Instagram is an incredible tool for outreach and for collaboration and for getting the message out there. And I've tried my best to create guardrails around using my phone and using social media and not using me. and I've gotten way better at that. I've just created systems. Like I said, I just don't touch my phone for the first hour in the morning.

Starting point is 00:47:53 And giving yourself those non-negotiables, I think, allows you to be more conscious and less compulsive around things like social media. So I try to do it with as much grace as possible. What does it take to go from corporate life suck to conscious creation? It's an interesting question. I would say, no matter where you're at in life, you know, if you need to work a corporate job or maybe something you're less stoked, undoing to have a paycheck to provide some financial stability for yourself, don't give up on following your passions and your gifts and your dreams and cultivating that. No matter how often if you can do hours a day or if it's five minutes a day that is honing in on the craft that

Starting point is 00:48:31 really lights you up or experimenting to find that thing that really does light you up, the process of getting really competent at that thing is going to allow you to translate that into being a career or financially sustain you. So the process is not to necessarily jump ship from quitting your job right off the rip and diving to the deep end of following your dream. I think you totally can do that. I feel like a more kind of stable approach for most people is to continue to have the comfort of your paycheck. And in the after hours, which you will have likely plenty of, pour yourself into what really likes you up. And I guarantee you over six months, 12, 18 months, you're going to get really good at that thing.

Starting point is 00:49:15 And maybe you could switch careers that are into that industry that you really love. Maybe you can work as a podcast agent or a video production assistant for podcasters because you want to go into that field. And you can learn a lot more by working in that field than just working as an accountant. And so seek to find as much alignment in your career, financial, and dream kind of endeavors as much as possible. And then one day I think you'll find yourself ready to take the job. jump into fully going after what lights you up the most. And that, that's a fun chapter.

Starting point is 00:49:50 19. How has Shunya meditation affected your life? I learned Shunya meditation from Sad Guru at his Ashram Triple I in Tennessee a few years back. And it's essentially an emptiness meditation. And it's been extremely powerful. Do it before my meals. Twice a day is the prescribed amount sometimes only get one a day in. But I have my morning meditation. outside of that as well. So the Shunya meditation, I think, just allows you to completely be dead to everything outside of you and to find stillness and to find coherence and oneness with all life around you. And from that place, I find myself just way more conscious in my life. I find myself way less compulsive and way happier. I just find myself taking pauses and appreciating and

Starting point is 00:50:38 being filled with gratitude for the simplest view or the birds singing or. or yes, usually something around nature. But being able to find more of those pauses spontaneously has been a big byproduct from doing that emptiness meditation, which is Shunya. Number 20. How to move to a space of divine union within yourself. Curious to hear your thoughts.

Starting point is 00:51:02 I would say that there's already a part of us, who we are in our deepest essence, is already at one with all of existence. and that there are various modalities that can begin to melt the illusory walls of separation that we've become accustomed to. And for me, that's been yoga and meditation. And that is a big umbrella that contains many different modalities and tools to get more familiarized with your inner self. And so for me, longer periods of submerging myself in meditation retreats or darkness retreat

Starting point is 00:51:36 has been great, but then also my consistent daily practice of yoga and meditation. has supported me and attuning myself to that realization of divine union, if you want to call it that. Number 21, thoughts on dating through a spiritual journey. I think everything really just gets better. The more that you realize you're on a spiritual journey and the more that you can not let anything get wasted on you. Being on the spiritual path means taking full responsibility for your life. And so if you're going to date or go into a romantic partnership with somebody, that becomes one of the most profound mirrors for you to have the opportunity constantly to take responsibility and ownership for your own emotional state, for your own mind, body, and spirit.

Starting point is 00:52:23 And because you see the real time effects that has on another being and the relationship. And so typically for individuals who go through an awakening process or go on a spiritual journey, if you're growing a lot and you don't have somebody who is also a, on that process with you or on their own spiritual journey inwards, it can become like oil and water to be where you guys really won't resonate as much. Because if one person is adopting a growth paradigm and another person is not, well, one person is going to one day be in a different realm in their own life in their own being than the other person. And so there's going to be a disconnect there. Now, the idea of going on the spiritual journey is to remove the barriers between you and others. So if you feel like going on the spiritual journey is creating more separation,

Starting point is 00:53:14 I would also inquire within how that is another opportunity for you to look at your lens of spirituality as something slightly different. And so I would say use romantic partnerships as a part of your spiritual awakening and do your best to find another individual that can also look at it from that lens. And I think that will create the most harmonious outcome in that dynamic. Number 22, what is the most influential answer you've heard on a podcast of yours? Man, I would really, I would really have to think of this. I think there's, I think there's been so much that has impacted me and how I live my life. That's just become a way of being so much from so many of my podcast. I think one thing that's just coming to me now is the power of author

Starting point is 00:54:03 authenticity and vulnerability and honesty. I think that we can get so good at bullshitting ourselves in lives and thinking that we're portraying the truest version of ourselves, but there is always, I find deeper and deeper levels of just honesty within ourselves. And so coming back into that and authenticity has been really powerful. I would say that's an overarching theme. And then another thing is also in preparation for the podcast, getting to study the individual's books and podcasts, kind of like I mentioned earlier, that's been really

Starting point is 00:54:32 rewarding as well, but I don't know if I can pick off one single thing. Number 23, we'll do a few more here and then wrap up. We'll do another one. I'm sure at another time, but this has been fun. Number 23, advice on how to pray. Also, do you pray? I definitely don't pray in the traditional sense that most people would think of kind of this westernized view of asking for things with your eyes closed. I don't really see that as something that has power. There's this funny meme once I saw, and it was, when did you realize that you were God? And it said, I was praying and I realized I was talking to myself. Well, that was pretty funny. So I look at more so the energy in which I'm emitting. I sometimes do metam meditation, loving kindness for the planet. If I'm going to send a prayer,

Starting point is 00:55:28 it's for the well-being of the world or for other people around. And so I don't pray in the traditional sense of asking for things. I try my best to align my mind, my thoughts, my words, my actions into that alignment, into that integrity and have my life become a living prayer because the universe speaks in vibration. It doesn't speak in English. And so if you say, can I please have a new car or can I, you know, I'm asking for this, X, Y, and Z, what you're saying to the universe is that I don't have.

Starting point is 00:55:58 it. Otherwise, why would you be asking for it? So the work is to get to yourself to such a vibratory state that you actually don't even care to ask for those things. And that's when you ironically become a match to it. So that's what I would say in terms of prayer, or at least how most people perceive it. Number 24, what was your path as a young adult like ages 18 to 25? Well, I'm just coming out of that as I'm 26. And I would say my path has been a beautiful process. of staying devoted to my own spiritual practices, to cultivate community and meaningful relationships, to adventuring and traveling and getting to see some cool places.

Starting point is 00:56:38 I would say it's been pretty rad. I'm very grateful. I am very blessed. I'm very privileged. And I acknowledge that. And there's also been really challenging moments of trying times, of leaving the comforts of life that I've created for myself that had become a prison of my own making,

Starting point is 00:56:55 of taking big risks and leaps into, the unknown. Some of the biggest things is to accept the own bigness of my light and what I'm here to bring. I think that's been a big theme for me that I haven't necessarily been scared of my own darkness or my own shadow, but almost the capacity for my own light. And that has been a trying thing. I think because I feel the deep potential of my life and the impact that I can have on this planet over the next 80 plus years, God willing, knock on wood, I feel the bigness of what I'm here to bring and I'm stepping into owning that more and more every single day. And I'm grateful for the individuals in my life that support and reflect that back to me. And I'm on that journey of

Starting point is 00:57:39 realizing that more and more individually every single day as well. Number 25, what does it mean to have a vision of the future for you? What it means to have a vision of the future for me is to close my eyes and feel into the essence of the lifestyle of the future. the day that I would want to live, of the people that I would want to have around me, of the qualities of myself that I want to have online, what is a vision for the world that I can get excited for? What is a vision for my family and my community that can get really excited for? So what does it mean to have an exciting vision of the future? For me, it's aligning my desire with nature's desire.

Starting point is 00:58:22 And define homeostasis, define balance on the planet, both on a big macro level, but then also on a micro level within my communities and on an individual level. So that's what comes to mind. Number 26. How do you manage to build such a balance, apparently, living in your Dharma, but also in financial abundance? This is something that I feel really called to continue to support people on, and I'll probably be putting in courses and more podcasts. I want to do some more podcasts on becoming a conscious creator where you can, you know, be able to sustain yourself. I think there's this idea that if you're going to walk the spiritual path or be of service in the world that you're destined to poverty. And I am so not into that idea and that paradigm. I think that the healers on this planet, the people that are bringing medicine, media as medicine, those individuals really should be rewarded the most because it's what's most needed on this planet.

Starting point is 00:59:15 unfortunately, a lot of people that find the level of sensitivity and calmness within their own spiritual path, sometimes they also don't have the desire or the means to create the structure for abundance to pour through. And so it's been a beautiful path of honing in my own masculine and feminine energy. It's been a path of really developing my own skill sets and competency in business, but then also my own spiritual path. and to realize that they can actually support each other, that I can create financial abundance for myself and time freedom, which is what money really allows, to dive deep into a retreat that I want to go into for two weeks

Starting point is 00:59:57 and not have to worry about, you know, just paying rent all the time. So I'm going to dive deeper into this. That's what comes to mind right off the bat. But I will make more podcasts and content for you guys on that in particular because I think it's really important. and I feel really passionate about supporting individuals who are on the spiritual journey to be able to not be broke and to find large amounts of financial abundance in their life. 27.

Starting point is 01:00:26 Your view of connecting with your inner child in the context of non-duality. It's a great question. I love the framework of both growing up and waking up. I talked a little bit about this and how gurus can misbehave on the podcast with Sam Harris. how you can wake up and have a large disidentification with your own thought and emotion and still not have done the shadow material work to reconcile your own characterological defects. And so if you just do the shadow work without realizing that there is this never-ending unconscious material that can continue to be purged through you and from you, then you're going

Starting point is 01:01:05 to be on this hamster wheel of continually trying to fix what's wrong with you. and that to me is actually a very disempowering way to live. Now, if you're just doing the waking up work, which is waking up beyond the illusory nature of thought and becoming disidentified thought and realizing the illusory nature of self, and you don't do the shadow material, if you neglect that side of things as well,

Starting point is 01:01:27 you are going to be somebody that will maybe have a very profound experience of being connected with life or disidentification with thought and the freedom that can bring. but your relationships will suffer. You'll probably act like an asshole without realizing it. And that also has his own limitations. You'll be in a prison of your own making as well. So for me, it's been really important to do my meditative practices,

Starting point is 01:01:53 to wake up beyond the illusory nature of my own persona. But then also realize that on one level, I still am a human who has history and has memory lodged within my own being. traumatic experiences that I've had when I was younger that I'm not even aware of and there's material there. So to acknowledge both, I think is super important. And yeah, number 28, are you plant-based? Yep, I've been plant-based for seven years and don't have any plants to change right now. I feel like it's a more compassionate way to live as long as you don't have to suffer your own physiological being and you can feel good in your animal self and you can build muscle and you can feel good,

Starting point is 01:02:36 which I would assert I think most people can if you're doing it right. Then plant-based lifestyle, which I'm going to be diving into more in some recent podcast, I believe is a beautiful way to live. So that was a lot. I feel like there's some more questions, but we can do another round two in the future. This has been fun for me. Please let me know what resonated with you. If you have more questions as well, drop down below.

Starting point is 01:03:01 We'll add it into the bucket for round two for doing maybe 200, a subscriber Q&A. And again, I know I say thank you a lot for tuning to this podcast, but without you guys, this doesn't happen. Without having a family that I feel like is building, I use family instead of audience because I do feel like at least how I approach this podcast is that we are a global family of people that are waking up to the true nature of themselves. And with that, we get to collaborate.

Starting point is 01:03:32 We get to work together. We get to communicate and share ideas and resources and tools. tools that can allow the awakening on this planet to become a living reality. And that is a vision of the future I am extremely excited about. So thank you so much for coming on this journey of knowing yourself at deeper and deeper levels. And for me to be able to fulfill my dream and fantasy with this show and get to do it is just so, so amazing. So until next time, be well and I'll catch you on the next podcast. Blessing.

Know Thyself - E50 - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Awakening Joy & 100k Subscriber Q&A

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