The School of Greatness - How to Develop Unbreakable Self-Discipline | Shi Heng Yi

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

Shi Heng Yi has spent nearly four decades studying and teaching the Shaolin philosophy of self-mastery, and his core insight may be the most honest thing you hear all year: the reason you are not wher...e you want to be is not bad luck, bad timing, or lack of talent. It is one of five ancient hindrances operating in your mind right now, without your awareness. So many people feel the pull of desire for things that do not serve them, carry ill will they cannot explain, move through the day in a fog of restlessness, or quietly doubt whether any of it is even possible for them. These are not character flaws or signs of weakness. They are predictable mental states that have been mapped and studied for thousands of years, and you can learn to see them clearly.  In this conversation, Shi Heng Yi teaches you his four-step RAIN method for catching a hindrance in the moment and moving through it with discipline rather than reaction. Whether you are building something, healing something, or simply trying to show up fully in your own life, this episode gives you the internal tools to stop being ruled by your mind and start leading it. Shi Heng Yi’s book Shaolin Spirit: The Way to Self-Mastery Shi Heng Yi’s TEDx Talk Shi Heng Yi’s website In this episode you will: Identify the five mental hindrances that silently block your goals and learn why every human being faces all five of them Understand why your intention behind a goal determines whether you will sustain it or abandon it when things get hard Apply the four-step RAIN method to recognize and move through disruptive mental states in real time Discover why gratitude is not optional when it comes to building a life worth living Learn how to calibrate your vision so it is large enough to pull you forward and grounded enough to act on today For more information go to https://lewishowes.com/1910 For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960 Follow The Daily Motivation for essential highlights from The School of Greatness More SOG episodes we think you’ll love: Lewis Howes Solo [7 Habits To Be Happier] Sadhguru Eckhart Tolle Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy!Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:02 I'm so excited that you're here because I feel like the modern world is lacking self-discipline, self-knowledge, and they're lacking connection to their authentic selves as human beings. And I've been there in my life where I've lacked these things as well, and it's a constant process of learning, staying accountable and discipline to these teachings that you have. So I'm very excited that you're here. And I want to make this a very special long format episode in the interview. And I want to ask you first about the five hindrances that you've talked about online before. These hindrances that hold people back from mastering themselves and their inner world.
Starting point is 00:00:49 I'm curious if you can talk about what those five are first. So when it comes to developing something about yourself, it doesn't matter what it is. If it is just following up in becoming great in any type of sport, or even if you want to build up like a small community or something for yourself, it's about if you want to go somewhere, if you have a goal and want to go somewhere. Along this way, you will meet different type of hindrances that we call that will sometimes make it difficult for you. to, let's say, reach the goal where you would like to go.
Starting point is 00:01:37 And to very easily explain it. One way, for example, is if you are too easily being caught by positive emotions. Which type of positive emotions? All types that is raising something inside of you that you are relating to, that feels really good now. But it takes you out of your ordinary. So that means you have a goal on the mind what you want to achieve. You start walking, you start doing your jobs and your obligations, but along this way you are meeting a distraction, which is giving you a lot of positive emotions. Because you are in that average state of the mind, that overall, let's say, normal state of the mind, now if it takes you out of the average of being,
Starting point is 00:02:29 positive, it's very easy for us that we get attached to these type of feelings. So what ultimately means you're going to lose track of your goal because you would prefer right now to spend more time with all of these things that give you positive emotions. Can you give an example of one of these positive emotions or a situation that someone might have? Positive emotions, for example, let's take a very nice one, fame. Yes, you have a goal in the mind what you want to achieve, but along this way you feel there is that word of fame. And so what does it mean? It means you are getting the views, you're getting the sight of different people, and now you are encountering something that you haven't planned about it before.
Starting point is 00:03:20 But now that you meet it and now that you feel it, that it's this type of fame that you could get for. from the people, well, now the question still is, if you can stick to your initial plan or not, or is the fame going to move in front of all of this? And it's not your mission anymore that was important to you, but now suddenly you are replacing your initial goal with something that gave you positive emotions along this way. Right.
Starting point is 00:03:52 So the positive emotion, is that the first thing that could be a hindrance for you? I definitely think it is something that you need to consider as a human if you walk through this lifetime and want to build something which is out of the ordinary. You are 100% going to meet various positive emotions and one of them is just that example that I brought right now. But it can also be very simple things that your eyes are catching the attraction too quickly about things that look beautiful, about things around you that taste too great, that
Starting point is 00:04:36 smell too good. So that means it's very easy, especially nowadays with all of the advertising being around, to lose your awareness in the outside, in the outside distractions, let's call it that like this. So I think, is this what you call sensual desire? Is this like having too much sensual desire, these positive emotions around the senses? Yes. That could distract you. For example.
Starting point is 00:05:07 And why is it called sensory desires? Because those desires are based on our five senses, for example. Because just think about it in a very simple terms. Everything in this world where you say, I like it or I dislike it. Those things happen only on five different levels. Either you see something that you start to judge, you smell something that you start to judge, you taste something, you hear something, or you feel something.
Starting point is 00:05:42 So it's the five senses actually that are building the bridge between what we regard as the outside impacts. and what you internally are then afterwards reacting to. And this is not to say that sensory desire is good or bad. It's really important to understand. I'm not talking about good or bad. I'm talking about if you have a specific goal on your mind. There are things that can happen to you which will be useful to have.
Starting point is 00:06:22 And there are other things that are going to hit. you, hinder you along this way. Hindrances, yeah. Hindrances. And so right now it's not about good or bad, it's about a hindrance. If you have a goal, just take care that these things are existing, the positive emotions, just like the negative emotions. Negative emotions, meaning you have a goal, you are already preparing yourself to go there.
Starting point is 00:06:49 But now things are becoming difficult. your daily schedule is not going according to plan how you wrote it down in your schedule. Things are coming in that you didn't expect. Because you didn't expect it and maybe are not prepared for it, it can easily happen that you are getting stressed out by so many different impacts. So that means there are now events coming along this way that are giving you, that are raising negative emotions. inside of you. And so what does it also mean? It means that the chances at these type of mental
Starting point is 00:07:31 states, it's easy right now to find an argument and give up and stop the journey. And this is exactly, it's the five hindrances of the mind. What I'm talking about is mental states. Beware of your mental state. Now sometimes in different traditions you hear it already, we have the body and the mind. Sometimes you also have traditions where we talk about the body, your thoughts and your emotions. So now you suddenly have three areas. You can make as many areas as you would like because these are just concepts. They are there to help us humans. help us humans just get into the right direction that you can work with. And now the reason
Starting point is 00:08:29 why very often we are only in our traditions say there's the body and the mind and are not separating anymore into the feelings is simply because of this. Feeling and mindset. Mental state and the way how you feel. I think they are very, very very close related to each other. And what you can try to just observe about yourself is the feeling, no matter what it is, very, very often, is just the postponed, let's say, the postponed reaction of what way before that was already implemented inside
Starting point is 00:09:16 or cultivated inside the mind. Can you give me an example of that? You go to any type of meeting where you have persons that you maybe meet for the first time. Just choose any of them. Before you talk to this person, sit somewhere in the corner, always observe the person and pay attention to everything that you can criticize. So that means consciously educate the mind to always find the mistakes in that person. Look how he dresses.
Starting point is 00:09:48 Look how he's walking. It's the sloppy of this. Look how he's talking. Look how he's behaving. And just make this, project this idea, always over and over again towards this person. A judgment. A judgment. Before you even go to that person.
Starting point is 00:10:05 So before that, just use it as an experiment. And then, after some time, really go to that person, even without talking to him or her. And just feel. what is it what type of feeling do you have when you are standing now next to this person and it is my it is my belief that you can either choose
Starting point is 00:10:32 how you judge the people you can continuously pre-condition your mind that your feelings are going to follow in this direction or you precondition your mind in general towards people around you, towards this world in a completely different way as well. In an empowering way, a positive way, a way that supports you
Starting point is 00:11:00 in building a relationship or a connection, right? For example. So what I'm saying is the way how you feel meeting people, getting into a situation and then saying, see, I told you it's going to be like this. No, it's like this. because you before that decided already it's going to be like this. Right.
Starting point is 00:11:21 It's interesting because when I meet people, like for today, when you were coming here, I just said to myself, I'm excited to connect with you. I'm excited to learn. I'm excited to learn about your lifestyle and your lessons. And that excitement, when you walked in, I was excited. And I enforced that belief of thinking, that prejudgment of excitement to learn. So hopefully you felt that excitement, right? as opposed to, who is this guy, you know, this Sheldon master, and what does he know?
Starting point is 00:11:51 And, you know, I didn't come in with that belief system. Is that correct? Yes, thank you very much. Yeah. So that's a good example. So I love this feeling and mindset conversation. Which influences the other? Is it the thinking that influences the feelings or the feelings which reinforce
Starting point is 00:12:15 and influence the thinking? I'm sure that this could definitely lead to any type of scientific discussion. What I'm saying is the easiest way to test for yourself without trying out too much, reading too much, is just like this. Next time you go into this situation or you have a feeling coming up inside, no matter which one it is. just ask yourself, where is the root of that feeling right now? Could it be that the way how you feel right now in regards to that situation? What is your relation? What did you thought about this type of situation?
Starting point is 00:12:59 Let's say weeks before, months before, in the past, when was the last time you had such a type of situation? Is it the first time you go into this situation? and actually you just heard from your friends, from your parents, from your teacher, this type of situations exists and then you need to be careful of this and that. So where is that feeling rooted in? And this you can do with many, many things. And what we call in our language or in what we're doing nowadays,
Starting point is 00:13:40 this idea of why is it called self-mastering? Because it is something you need to discover about yourself. It is not something other people are going to discover about you. It is you take the time and watch yourself. This is the path to go. Sometimes we call it also turn the view inwards. Because you see there's this nice picture. there's always something goes wrong.
Starting point is 00:14:13 And then it's always easy to say, yes, because of you, you and you. It's always easy that one. The hard part in this world is this one. It's the hard part and it is the one that opens the greatest doors. I'm curious. What have you been looking inward at yourself over the last few months that you've been able to, you know,
Starting point is 00:14:41 see in a different perspective that is opening up for you personally. Whether as a master teacher or as a human being or a friend or what are you seeing and learning about yourself at this season of life. So it's not just in the last months, let's say. I do think that it is a progress. The general idea is that from time to time it absolutely makes sense. to take that conscious decision, okay, I have a family, I have friends, I need to take care of them, I need to take care also of my job. So that means you're investing a lot of your lifetime trying to
Starting point is 00:15:22 support, trying to build up, trying to establish something, let's say, outside of you. At the same time, what we then have is that teaching of yin and yang. Everybody knows that symbol. What does it mean? Inside and outside, up and down. black and white, hot and cold, success and failure, outside, inside, belong together. And so besides the time that you spend outwardly oriented, I think it is normal and it's necessary. I think there is no choice to decide from time to time for yourself that you take your personal breakout, your personal time out. You can take care, of course, but you also need to take care of yourself in the first place. So, reason for that until I come back to the question.
Starting point is 00:16:23 You're responsible for your team, you're responsible for your employees, you're responsible for your family, you're responsible for your children. Responsibility. What is it essentially? Is it the way how you behave? or is the behavior which comes out of a responsible feeling what we're talking about. So that means how can you be responsible for something around you if inside of yourself, your body, in the world of your feelings,
Starting point is 00:17:00 you don't know how does responsibility feel? So that means we're talking about it's a feeling, just like you love the world. How can you love the world if inside of you you do not carry the feeling of love? Why is it important to respect your parents to be thankful and grateful towards your parents? Because if the people that granted you this life right now
Starting point is 00:17:36 you are not even grateful for, to who else you want to be grateful in this world then. Interesting. And these, let's say, feelings that I mentioned, sometimes we also call them, these are qualities of the heart. Because the heart, we know it's like, it goes very deep, yes,
Starting point is 00:17:57 because it's related to how you feel. So the point is, whatever you would like to express into the outside world. Number one is you need to have it. So this is the baseline. This is the main idea. So if you want to express love to the outside of world, you must have love within you. Yes.
Starting point is 00:18:22 But if you don't, if you have anger within you, it's going to be hard to express it to your friends, your family or the world. Yes, well, that's way easier because anger is something people are sure how this anger feels nowadays. With the other attributes, they're not so easy. because anger from its quality, it's a quality that naturally starts to separate things. Actions out of anger, thoughts out of anger. What is their nature? The nature is you are separating stuff. You're protecting yourself, is that right?
Starting point is 00:18:58 Yes. Loving is not the way of separating. Loving, if you carry love inside, you always, let's say, understand. You, me, in a way, we come from different mothers, we come from different areas, but there is still something that's connecting us. And so that means even if you have been mean to me, acting out of love or acting out of the feeling, no matter what, still we are connected, is different. And so this is what I regard as being really important to cultivate first of all. before we, let's say, do two big stuff on the outside world. And this is the point where it comes back again to this personal retreat,
Starting point is 00:19:50 to the time where you watch inside yourself. What do you have inside of yourself? What is your take off your clothes, take off the jewelry, take off the tattoos you have on the body, look into the mirror, And then just see who is standing there. If you take off everything that, let's say, artificially came on top of your being, take everything away. And then what is it that you see in the mirror?
Starting point is 00:20:25 Do you see there is the loving heart inside? There is the strength or the willpower inside this body. there is the discipline inside this body there is a loyal person standing there is pride inside of this and these are all things how do I put my pride
Starting point is 00:20:51 here on the table how do I put my discipline here on the table this is the area now where we talk about these are things they are just don't belong to the world of forms nevertheless
Starting point is 00:21:07 these are things that make the human being like human. So, and this is the special part that meanwhile, there are just methods where such attributes, such virtues can be developed. Right. One of the other things you talked about that I've seen you talk about online about mastering the inner self and the things that hold people back is ill will. And I think, you know, it's like if you look in the mirror and you say, oh, there's anger inside of me, there's judgment inside of me.
Starting point is 00:21:45 Is that also associated with ill will? Is it towards yourself, towards others, to the world? What does that mean ill will? To the mental state. Whatever triggers it is pretty irrelevant. No, it's sometimes also just think about it. When we were young and we didn't get what we wanted, we became angry. As a teenager, somebody took something away from you, you got angry.
Starting point is 00:22:12 Nowadays, 21st century, somebody takes something away from you, you were angry. The reasons why this anger came up always different. But the anger is always the same. The anger you feel today is the same anger that you felt when you were in young ages. So that means there might be the feeling that outside circumstances are triggering something inside of you. Yes, it's triggering something. But what eventually comes up is what you have not been able to adjust in the proper way yet. And the same is like ill will.
Starting point is 00:22:58 Ill will is a state of the mind. It's not just, doesn't matter. if it's towards yourself, towards another person, towards an animal, towards your colleagues, it's always the same ill will. It is something inside of you, which if you don't pay attention to, is going to be a hindrance along your way of walking. How do we heal or integrate ill will so that it's no longer inside of us? How do we re-evaluate it, mend it, heal it, go beyond it?
Starting point is 00:23:35 Go beyond it, I think, is the more proper expression because this is now really playing with the words, but it's still important because we don't try to get rid of all of these things. You don't want to get rid of the body that it's never going to be inside of your body anymore. You don't want to get rid of your jet. when it comes up. You don't want to get rid of the joy that you feel. You don't want to get rid of your feelings. You want to have a very great variety of different feelings that you can tap into. The only thing which makes the difference is if you are tapping into this world of feelings consciously or if that word of feelings is just unconsciously imploded. inside of you. This makes the difference.
Starting point is 00:24:33 And so to overcome it means to realize it is there. Yeah. But now, like sometimes what to do? You need to find something, a state of your, the state of level on which you are coordinating. Which means you have to stand. above you. Learn to get into a perspective where you are standing above you, which means this is not about you at the moment. This is not about you. Stand above it. It is about you see, okay, you see that person at the moment has an issue. How would you, as somebody watching at you,
Starting point is 00:25:26 help him. How would you coach, guide, teach? How would you coach yourself, guide yourself to the better version? And this is what it only means to sometimes de-identify yourself with this one. Yes. If you are caught inside here, I think it becomes difficult. There's a, there's some neuroscience that talks about that. You know, we're really good at being, a negative or a critical coach to ourselves and putting ourselves down in those situations, as opposed to stepping aside and coaching from a different perspective to ourselves. And there's neuroscience that backs the importance of that as a tool to go beyond it as well. So I think it's really important.
Starting point is 00:26:17 How often do you feel these emotions or feelings of ill will, anger, jealousy, frustration. How often do you feel them? and how do you teach or coach yourself beyond them? If I want to, I can tap inside of it right away and my whole day is filled with it. No matter where I watch around on the street, there's no problem at all for me to generate the feeling that ill will starts to dominate.
Starting point is 00:26:47 Really? Yes. At any moment, you could go there. Yes. It's just then I asked, but then I just ask, this feeling that you are in if you add does it feel good
Starting point is 00:27:03 you know and then the point is just like I said it doesn't even feel good to be in it you know so if we would say ill will if at least it would give you something by staying inside that state of the mind at least then I would understand
Starting point is 00:27:21 but if you watch at it there is nothing positive zero there is no to yourself and there is especially no benefit to the people around you that this ill will is going to cause. So that means what is the first thing that I do when I realize, let's say, I have this feeling. First of all, I need to know from what does it come. What is it at the moment that triggers it? So I try to identify very quickly what is at the moment the source that is triggering it.
Starting point is 00:27:56 What is usually the source for you in a situation that triggers ill will? Is it injustice? Is it someone treating someone poorly? Is it someone with a lot of money that triggers you? Like what's the root trigger? Actually, this is now a question where, for example, I say it's so super helpful if you already have, let's say, some type of concept, some type of teachings, they tell you already where it comes from, very simply. And this ill will, to 100% in all its different variation that it comes in this
Starting point is 00:28:38 world, mainly from three reasons. Oh, what are these? Either from greed, greed of not getting more than you want hate or jealousy of not getting what you want and sometimes it's called yeah let's say ignorance or not knowing greed hate ignorance and especially ill will easily fall into one of these categories or sometimes a combination of these things. So ill will can be, why does he get it? I deserve it. Why do you deserve it?
Starting point is 00:29:30 Because you think about yourself, you are the more hardworking person in this room. So what is that combination? In that combination, it is like there's unfairness from your subjective view, unfairness, jealousy, no respect towards yourself, so which then also can maybe mean a low level of self-esteem, self-confidence, a lack of it. So it's very often like a variety of these attributes, I think.
Starting point is 00:30:09 Yeah. But ultimately broken down, I think that's it. Greed, hate, not knowing. When does ill will enter your emotions? for you personally. Like what is it that you see where you feel it for a moment? Obviously it sounds like you know
Starting point is 00:30:25 how to catch it and go beyond it pretty quickly, but when it happens to you, what do you struggle with? I would say then when it is like a very subjective, I have to say that
Starting point is 00:30:40 because this is the reason why I always catch myself back and why then afterwards is not so bad anymore. But subjective, unfairness. Unfairness. Unfairness.
Starting point is 00:30:51 In the fairness in the world? Or is it something like a jealousy unfairness? Like, oh, they have something? No. It's not that about they have something. It's about they project something upon you, not knowing the full truth. Ah, so unfairness towards you.
Starting point is 00:31:10 For example. Gotcha, yeah. Maybe someone's judging you or has an opinion or criticism that they don't have the full story, the wisdom or the, they don't know you. Yes. Right. And so that's, so when that happens, when you feel judged or criticized or there's an unfairness
Starting point is 00:31:26 about you personally. They don't know better. How do you not let it ruin your day or stay in the emotions of anger or frustration or unfairness? How do you go beyond it personally? I breathe in deeply and I breathe out. And this sounds super ridiculous. But if you really ask me, how do I cope with such situation?
Starting point is 00:31:56 This is meanwhile what I do. I am very aware that I have it right now. And I combine my breath, meaning something is getting out of me, together with my deep intention and with my deep connection of the mind together with the breath. First of all, they don't know better. if they would have more information available, they would maybe see me differently. And together with that physical aspect,
Starting point is 00:32:28 this is what I do. This is the first and it's like a valve. Before you start imploding, before something starts to rise too much and the pressure builds up, first of all, get rid of that steam, get rid of that air out. And that's why it sounds,
Starting point is 00:32:48 very ridiculous sometimes to really say just breathe out but it's not about the breath only it's about how serious are you living different type of teachings and methods and if you are able to learn to combine the breath with an intention work with intention more consciously then I think it's very very possible to get into to an area where breath becomes everything to you. Yeah, I'm a big believer in breathing meditation strategies, whatever meditation and breathing strategies work for you. But having some type of breathing practice where you slow down the breath,
Starting point is 00:33:36 I feel like benefits all human beings. And there's lots of different strategies and styles of breathing. But I think focusing on the intention and the breathing combined, like you said, is extremely powerful. I'm curious, if someone is feeling, anger, unfairness, or any emotion around ill will about something that's happened to them. And they feel this is unfair. And they have this anger or defensiveness.
Starting point is 00:34:01 You talk about the breathing. What is the intention that they can think of during those moments, 60 seconds, 10 minutes, however long it takes, to go beyond it? What is the intentional thought while they're in that stressful, the heart is pounding? I don't like this. I want to break free of this. What can they think or say internally along with the breath to help them go beyond? This is sometimes what people then refer to as a mantra can be helpful.
Starting point is 00:34:33 So especially in such moments, you have something you always tell to yourself continuously repeat. And now these can be different things. If you merge together the thought, they don't know better. together with the cultivation of a heart quality of compassion inside of you. Then I think even this thought together with that heart quality and the breast has a very powerful impact. And this is why initially I said about
Starting point is 00:35:10 there are hard qualities. Hard qualities. Hard qualities, yes. So that means this is why it's helpful. to really from time to time make clear to yourself again. So the greatest love you have ever felt in this lifetime. How did it feel? How does it feel?
Starting point is 00:35:36 So if somebody would ask you nowadays, when was the moment you really felt love? Well, first of all, you can't make it on the go. Second of all, even probably people nowadays are ashamed. of even getting into this state of being while other people are watching around. This is why you need to do these practices alone. Where nobody is watching you and where are you assured you are only with yourself. And there what you do, you start to travel.
Starting point is 00:36:11 You travel into the world of your memories and you travel into everything that you are still able to recall in your mind that has a sense. happened in the past, when somebody hugged you, your father, your mother, your grandfather, your first girlfriend, your first boyfriend, it doesn't matter. Recall the situation where you think this was the greatest feeling I have ever felt when I hear about that word love. So then at least in the 21st century, you are at least recalling it again and now know maybe. how it feels. And after you have this feeling,
Starting point is 00:36:57 now you ask yourself if something like this is existing. And you would have the chance that the people in this world can choose in which state of being would you yourself personally would like to live and what would you wish the others to live in?
Starting point is 00:37:16 Wow. I think you will only, if you're intelligent, will only come up with one answer. which is for all of them. And this is the reason why out of that loving feeling arises then what we call compassion, which means I know how great this feeling is.
Starting point is 00:37:42 So that's why maybe I know in which direction I would like to guide my life to finally have this feeling, let's say more in my life. And now you walk around and you just, then you see people that are obviously sad, that are obviously having issues day in, day out, and busy with their mind, and you see how they are suffering. And because you see it, and now have this direct comparison to yourself, this is why it becomes so much easier now that you are not going to act anymore out of ill will.
Starting point is 00:38:20 So the ill will is only there Because you are not at that level yet Where you can stand above it Easily said Yeah Feel the love and the compassion for yourself and others At the same time It's really hard to do though right
Starting point is 00:38:42 When you feel like someone is against you Attacking you Hurting you Hurting someone you care about Saying mean things about you nasty lies about you, judging you, it's hard to have the feeling of love and compassion in those moments. Because you feel like this is unfair, this is not right, this is not just, why don't they just stop it?
Starting point is 00:39:05 Yes, exactly. In that moment. That's why if you feel like moments are too overwhelming for you, number one is get out of the situation. If we get into a big argument right now and you feel like, no, this is too overwhelming. overwhelming, I would now really start, get out of the room, number one. So something very practical. Yes.
Starting point is 00:39:29 If something is too overwhelming, then we say, get distance first of all. Get distance. Now this is a nice part for example, that our abbot, for example, in the monastery also teach us, he always said, you need to be able to adjust room and time. You need to be able to learn and adjust space and time. Yes. Sounds very philosophical. But space and time means if we are in an argument, a big one, I want space first of all,
Starting point is 00:40:07 so that means I have distance to observe, that is the space. And I want time because time lets me think more clearly if I'm not under pressure. If you have someone that you really don't like, then vice versa you also know exactly what to do then. If he's a friend, he or she is a friend, you always give room and time. If you want to make enemies, you steal room and space. You don't let them move and you don't give them time to react. This is how you treat enemies. Wow.
Starting point is 00:40:56 You pressure them. You pressure them. You lock them in. You confined them. Yeah. Because this is what it is. Wow. What arises out of that situation if you put people under pressure is something that is
Starting point is 00:41:09 overwhelming them. And overwhelming means your emotions are not under. That's your own control, which makes you vulnerable. Right. That is like the point behind this. So another thing to just keep in mind, no matter what type of emotion it is that we are sometimes feeling is you don't take decisions while you are emotional. Next one. Don't make decisions why you're emotional.
Starting point is 00:41:43 No. And, you know, I understand sometimes people in searching. in certain areas, fast-paced areas where, like, time is money. Yeah, I don't have time to think about, yeah. And so, meanwhile, we really have this culture where, like, somebody walks in, gives me a question and expects the answer right away. And I'm always asking myself, why can't you just to some questions just say, let me think about it?
Starting point is 00:42:17 I'm going to come back to it tomorrow. So that means sometimes there are questions you are being asked by people where you feel it puts you under pressure. But maybe think about it, why do you want to answer it right away? What's the point to give the answer right away, especially if it's an important answer? I personally would prefer, if I would come up to you with a really important question, I would even prefer for you to tell me, okay, that is something I cannot just decide on the spot.
Starting point is 00:42:53 Let me think about it and tomorrow we're going to talk about it again. And then also for me, I have no problem to say, okay, let's talk tomorrow. And this is also something where nowadays it's, yeah, a lot of pressure is coming from, from these type of things that unconsciously you just give answers for the sake of giving answers. for the sake of giving answers, whereas it would be better to just wait. Wait on it, yeah. Think about it. Speaking of, you mentioned enemies for a second ago, what is the Shaolin philosophy around enemies when you're not in an actual physical war?
Starting point is 00:43:34 When you're not in combat, when you're not fighting for your life, but there is a potential enemy psychologically, business, relationship, whatever, family, friend, who's feeling like an enemy. What is the philosophy of the Shaolin way on how to approach an enemy when it's not a physical attack? If we are really not talking about physical attack, then I think it's very easily expressed that we are right now in the field of Buddhist teachings or of Chan, Chan, or Zen teachings, which means it is about the mind.
Starting point is 00:44:18 We are only talking right now about psychological aspects. And every confrontation that you are feeling inside the mind, for me personally, what it means is if something is resonating and is still triggering me mentally and therefore also emotionally, The only thing it means is that is one of the next areas I need to learn to adjust. This is my initial, I don't know what else to say. That's the lesson. It's more adjusting within you, not them. No.
Starting point is 00:44:56 No. The reason why they are there is to show you your weakness. What was your biggest weakness that you had to overcome as you started to grow? to grow up, you know, studying martial arts, living in the modern world, and then becoming, you know, a teacher, a student in the temple. What was the biggest inner enemy that you faced and overcame or you're still in the practice of overcoming? It seriously is still the five hindrances. Because it is just something common. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:45:35 You know? So, for example, one of the next hindrances is laziness. Yes. Very easily. The lack of energy. Meaning, you have great ideas. You have great plans. All of this.
Starting point is 00:45:51 But the spark to put you under fire is just not there. Why do so many people lack the spark to act, to launch, to build momentum, to be consistent, Why do so many people lack that energy, desire and stay lazy or dull? I think it's a combination of the way of life people have lived before and the lack of vision what lies in front of them. So both of these things. So what I mean by that is not always it's just like, let's say, the physical appearance of that, laziness, of that dullness, of that heaviness. It's apparent. But why is it there? And this has so many
Starting point is 00:46:42 different variations now when you look into the past. It can really be because of the food that you're eating, because the lack of movement that you're having, because of your habits, whatever type of habits it is, that caused you to now end up in that body, which is at the moment pretty inefficient to generate fire. I have to say, sometimes in my spare time,
Starting point is 00:47:17 I like to build engines. Really? Yeah, I build engines. I build race engines. And there, for me, if I look at it, I really like that similarity. You want that engine to perform well. one of the things that then normally needs to be optimized is number one, air flow, the intake, and then also the amount of the air that gets in there, the quality of it.
Starting point is 00:47:45 That's why on the engine we filter it. But now it comes to us. What are you breathing in? How is it with your lung capacity? How much of your lung capacity are you able to really use? How clean are you inside of it? Because what is it eventually with that oxygen that we are taking in? What is it that you are burning and try to make into energy?
Starting point is 00:48:11 There are a lot of things that you can eat and try to burn, but the quality of this energy is very little. There is other food. They have a very, very high amount of energy once you burn them. So that means, of course, these things, the diet has an effect also. on the dullness of the body. This is the one thing. And now looking into the future,
Starting point is 00:48:40 well, if you are expecting fast results, this is, you know, looking out into the world, what comes fast, goes fast. And especially something that is changing the status quo of your life, your lifestyle, let's say, something that is changing it too quickly. It is like, let's just say, at the moment, I visit you, I see you like this.
Starting point is 00:49:19 In one month I come back and you might have 30 kilograms more on muscles. I know whatever you did, it was not good. It was too fast. Yeah? Because all these quick changes, also when we look outside sometimes, I mean, let's just take. the earthquake or the tsunamis or a lightning strike anything like this the natural forces they don't tell you one months before that they are coming the problem is when they come they very often have this destructive character not always but often and when it comes now to
Starting point is 00:49:59 creating our way of life when it comes to the transformation of ourselves at least in the my worldview, I take this into consideration, meaning I don't even expect myself to make huge jumps quickly. Quickly. Because I just feel like, okay, that might just not be sustainable. That might not just be something that is helpful on the long run. And therefore, to take pressure away from you, make small steps. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:50:33 And this is what I mean by how far is your view on your future vision of what you want to achieve there. How far should we be thinking out in terms of our vision or our mission? Is it based on the season of life we're in, you know, for 18 years old and we're going to school, we should just be thinking out, you know, the next four years? Or should we be thinking out five, ten, twenty years? Because so much can change so quickly in life. and situations. Okay.
Starting point is 00:51:06 I can only talk about myself. Yes. And I have to say, I'm a dreamer. Yeah. Yeah, I'm a dreamer and a visionist. A visionary, probably. I don't know how you call it. Visionary.
Starting point is 00:51:20 Visionary. My way of seeing this world where I'm embedding in is super huge. That's why, of course, you can always. say, yeah, but this is just your imagination, yeah. Yes, which is your most powerful source. Your ability to put something into your own mind where nobody else has impact on. And only you know that day in, day out, you just still walk this path and feel for yourself how it's getting real because it's unbroken. because there's nobody who can interfere.
Starting point is 00:52:06 It's all small things. And probably, I can just say that maybe to try it out. Of course you should not like dream too big, which is like unrealistic, let's say like this. Of course not. But the vision that there is something you can bring out about yourself that this world has not seen yet. This is something which is quite appealing to me. And it's therefore also something that I also, let's say, continuously practice and keep on the mind. And now comes the but.
Starting point is 00:52:52 Whatever vision and dream you have upon yourself, that you are projecting upon yourself, I do think that you need to have at the same time a commitment. And first on, for example, the commitment and what are you going to do with that identity of yours if you're going to get there? So you mean a commitment of like the daily actions you're going to take that you're committed to or once you're there, what are you going to do with it? The commitment now very clearly you are creating because you want to help. To serve. Yes. To help others.
Starting point is 00:53:38 Yes. You are not creating any identity of yours in order to harm. Because I think if this is what your initial intention is, then I think the penalty will come. What if you're in your intention? intention is to only serve yourself, is to look good, to make money for you, to get famous for you, to buy things for you because you want to be successful. But you're not including doing it in the service of other people as well. What happens when it's only about me?
Starting point is 00:54:22 You might reach it in this lifetime, but if you bring this one to the, to an end, or if you continuously go there. Not in my vision, not only in this lifetime. Yes. You're going to be lonely. You're going to have everything you want. You're going to have everything that blinks. You have all the reputation.
Starting point is 00:54:46 It's all great. Everything you ever dream of you have it. What you don't have is something that gives you real stability. Something that gives you real. value in this life. What is that? I think it is something that can't be taken off from you. I think it is the connection to other fellows.
Starting point is 00:55:15 It's a connection to people, to humans, to animals, to this world, and ultimately the connection of this life. And what happens with this person, if he only lives this way of life, he's going to repeat himself. Why repeat? Or what do I mean by repeating? Now I jump a little bit, but sometimes this life seems to me it's like a video game. And if you're at level one and continuously fail at level one,
Starting point is 00:55:53 you're never going to move up to level two and get into touch with the next challenges of life. So if somebody is still stuck on the material level of wanting this and that's really materialistic. So this is really the basic plane. This is a very, very basic plane. This is like level one. Sometimes it's necessary. You need to have it first. And then your relationship towards these things starts to shift.
Starting point is 00:56:30 And suddenly you find yourself that now it's not these things. things anymore that start to matter to you. Now suddenly, since you're in level two, now you're starting to ask yourself, okay, now it's not material things anymore, but I love my wife, I love my husband, I love my children, I love my dog, I love the jobs, I love my employees, but they are getting sick, they are starting to die away. This is now starting in level two to trouble you. So now it's the time figure out a way how do you walk through this lifetime figuring out these challenges of life.
Starting point is 00:57:11 That our ancestors lost people. Our future generations are going to lose beloved people. It's nothing new. How do you learn despite the fact of that is existing? How can you still find something about yourself to see? still keep going, stay strong, and still keep going and supporting and helping, despite of these things. And then maybe level two, you manage to find a way for yourself. And then you're going to be exposed to the next type of challenges that this life is giving to you. So what I'm
Starting point is 00:58:00 talking about is that I'm not sure if life is getting easier. I just think that you are becoming more mature. You are becoming more skillful in order to tackle the challenges of life. I think this is what ultimately, for me at least, seems to me like this. Yeah, it's learning to become a better leader for yourself. developing these skills, overcoming the challenges so that, I think I heard you say, like, life doesn't get easier, you just get stronger, and you can manage it with more peace and grace as these challenges and pains come to you, right?
Starting point is 00:58:47 When do you think it's the easiest time in life? When you're younger or when you're older? When you're younger. Out of just the fact that you have not learned yet and have not been exposed yet, to all of these adult ideas of what you are supposed to do with your life. How do you manage the level that you're at now? I'm not sure what level you're in in the video game. Is it level 7 or 28 right now for you?
Starting point is 00:59:17 But how do you manage this level where you're stepping into new seasons, new decade of the material number of the world you're in, the platform that you're building around the world globally, how do you step into that and master it? I think before we talked about it already a little bit, that within the last three years, four years, I could really witness in a way how like these type of teachings or let's say my name was really spread out into the world and more and more people starting to also participate in listening to what is it that is being shared out for example. And at the same time, I can also feel that everything I have to say, everything that I like
Starting point is 01:00:18 shared. The reason why I could share all of these things is because the first 35 years before that I was not the talker at all. couldn't be any more quiet person than me. So I was very, yes. Until when? When did you start using your voice? I think it happened in the moment where people asked me to explain what I'm doing.
Starting point is 01:00:44 So, and then I just said, look, I'm not just doing like my punch. This is not punching for me. So in the martial art, for example. I started to explain, for example, the punch is not just for me something, let's say, physical. It has also something to do. what are you doing to prepare inside of you before you throw out that punch? Because if you throw out something, if something moves outwards, the question for me is, where does it get in?
Starting point is 01:01:12 Because if you throw out punches, 500 punches every day, you just throw them out, where do you get the energy from? To throw 500 things out. And now different ways how you can express it. but for me coming from this field of martial arts where the yin-yang symbol does matter and also does matter why it is around. Means for me I started to explain. If you want to throw a punch, there are different ways how to throw it.
Starting point is 01:01:47 If you have a lot of mess already on yourself, you probably can just use straight line movements. No issue at all. But if you look at me, small Asian, I have to compensate for the lack of mess somehow. And therefore, I need to use another method. I need to use different methods to compensate for the lack of mess that I have in comparison to other people. And suddenly out of a question, how do you punch? Starts the talking discussion. And honestly, I think this is where the beginning lies, where then people found.
Starting point is 01:02:26 it interesting that apparently there's a whole philosophy just behind like a punch. And I said, yes. How did you, I can resonate with the fact that, you know, you were shy most of your life, right? He didn't speak that much up. He didn't use your voice as much. You were more introverted with your voice. Is that correct? Yes.
Starting point is 01:02:47 So how did you have the confidence and learn that skill of confidence to use your voice when you really didn't use it that much beforehand. Were you fearful? Were you nervous? Were you afraid? Or how did you step into that? I just had to laugh right now. Because I just imagine in my mind, there were very often also now in school time already. Of course, my friends, they were standing in the break time, everybody having discussions. I was always quiet. But internally, I could already like feel like I knew what I would say if I would open my mouth. It's just that I didn't. Why not?
Starting point is 01:03:33 Because ultimately I just thought that it's pointless. It's pointless because sometimes just sometimes the topics are just... Right. It's superficial or whatever, yeah. Yeah, it doesn't bring benefit to anything. It's just meaning maybe that you are like profiling yourself. but that was it, yeah. So that's why I kept it for myself. But internally, observing people, watching, just listening, inside of me, the language was always speaking. I always knew, like,
Starting point is 01:04:07 what would be my answer if somebody speak to me like this. Sure, sure. And so ultimately, I really think it was for me not difficult at all to then, when I was asked to just let it out. Say it, yeah. Because I already had it inside. I just had it. to let's say allow my mouth to speak it out. And yeah. That's beautiful. So you had the confidence because you had the inner wisdom, the inner answers to what you would say already.
Starting point is 01:04:35 You just didn't say them before as much. Probably. Probably. But of course, to sometimes use proper vocabulary, to use proper rhetorical ways. of course this I also had to learn. But like in general when it comes to, if I was fearful to speak out, normally not.
Starting point is 01:05:03 No. Because I only let out what I already have inside of me. So that means, you know, this is something important maybe. I don't know if there are public speakers or so, sometimes listening. But I concentrate on just, I can only talk about stuff I have inside. Yes. That's why very rarely I try to come up with new ideas. or anything like this, which doesn't come from me.
Starting point is 01:05:27 Then I don't feel comfortable. Mm-hmm. And... It's an authentic. Yeah, it's not authentic. You've been training for essentially 35 years of your life in some different form, whether it be physical training, mental training, emotional training, but specifically for the last 15 years,
Starting point is 01:05:45 you've really been having a disciplined life at the temple. And you've been practicing martial arts, I don't know, is it five days a week or seven days a week, physically, mentally, emotionally, in that discipline and in that practice. The fourth hindrance that you talked about that I've seen is restlessness. Can you talk about what is restlessness? And do you ever face it yourself in this practice and in this discipline?
Starting point is 01:06:16 So restlessness, there is a nice picture you can always think about. We say it's the monkey mind. monkey mind meaning there's always one you're jumping from one sword to another from one branch to another what it means is that you are maybe having contact with a lot of branches but it's very difficult to really focus and concentrate on one thing specifically Now, why would I say that it is important to learn and concentrate on one thing specifically? Because this is the pure expression of what the Buddhist teaching or also the Shaolin teachings are about. You can spend your time traveling this whole world, always visiting different lakes and oceans.
Starting point is 01:07:26 but the way how you are visiting them is, you drive on the coastline of it, watch over it say, okay, that's the ocean, and then you keep on driving to the next one. Which means what you do is you keep traveling the world watching at the surface of each of these lakes and oceans. I do think that if you just stay with the Pacific Ocean
Starting point is 01:07:50 and start diving down into it, you will never, ever again, need to visit another lake or ocean in order to make discoveries. So the point is that it is about going deeper. Going deeper means it is going to give you an insight. And so what is Buddhist teaching about? To give you insights into what? Sometimes into your body.
Starting point is 01:08:25 sometimes into your mind. So what's the problem with the restlessness? You don't gain insight because the monkey all the time is jumping too much and staying too much on that surface area. And now translated, it just means that on an average day,
Starting point is 01:08:53 whatever job you are doing, you do it under your possible potential. And also what it means is it's like you can't really embrace what you actually have there. It's like you are at work. You are supposed to concentrate and work right down your emails. But all the time you're already like jumping around, making plans for the weekend, who to call or that you're hungry or that you're thirsty, what movie to watch.
Starting point is 01:09:33 This is how you behave when you're at work. Then afterwards you drive home and maybe the family is waiting for you. And now it's a good example, but the children or your wife or your husband want to spend time with you, but they can see very clearly your body is there, your mind is not there. You're not present. You're just not present. So then sometimes the question, this is,
Starting point is 01:09:56 why do you have then the wife and the husband if you don't pay them the necessary respect and attention that they let's say deserve or also towards your children and if it's a conscious decision why you don't pay attention to them well there's something different then it's really the question why do you have one family then but that restlessness can also mean it happens unconsciously yeah And maybe for you yourself you don't realize it, but people around you, they realize very quickly if you are with them or not. And I just think that this is hindering you. Now in that picture of reaching that mountain or reaching that goal, it's hindering you because whatever you do, you don't do it properly.
Starting point is 01:10:50 You jump from one to another. You maybe have touched many different surfaces, but none of them, you can really, you don't really have an insight into them. You've been dove in deep into it. The fifth one you talk about, hindrance that holds people back, is skeptical doubt.
Starting point is 01:11:15 What is skeptical doubt? And why do we have it? Why do we have it? I don't know. I really don't know. What it means, therefore, or what it still means is, you need to trust in what you do. Once you have put something into your mind, don't let anyone else stop it anymore.
Starting point is 01:11:50 Now, I have to be careful how I say this. Of course, sometimes you can see, yeah, but come on, this is now really, really stupid idea. It's really stupid. So like obviously stupid. But what I'm talking about is that if you continuously develop yourself, educate yourself, train yourself, seriously observe yourself, try to be honest with yourself, listen to the opinions of other people. And after all of this, you finally come up with a plan. This one now, don't doubt anymore. The plan that before that you have well thought of,
Starting point is 01:12:42 that you have taken time to establish it, where you spend weeks and months of figuring out should you really do it. It is this type of plan where skeptical doubt is not necessary. You don't need it anymore. No. If you're still in the field or in that area of you are unsure, don't start the journey. So if you're still in the field of that mountain is so high, do you really think I can reach the top? But it looks dangerous.
Starting point is 01:13:19 If you're still in that state, don't even start. That this evaluation of your wrists. and should you and your benefits and all of this. You make that before. You make that in the moment where you still have time and space to look for yourself. Is it really what you want? And make a plan.
Starting point is 01:13:44 This is what's happening in those. We call it 99. 99% you stay calm. You stay relaxed. spend 99% of your lifetime relax but that 1% is the other way 99% I'm a very peaceful person very peaceful I'm a very easygoing person I think and as long as I stay in the 99% it stays like this right but if somebody forces you into the 1% then at least it is my attitude which is like this, 1% is 1%.
Starting point is 01:14:30 Inside the 1%, there is no compromise of jumping back into the 99 anymore. That's why the 99 is so big. Because you have time to really think about what are you willing to do. What are you willing to sacrifice? What is it worse for you fighting for? This is the 99%. And the 1% there is the no compromise. You decide, you walk the path, then here we go.
Starting point is 01:15:06 And this is what I relate to personally to this idea of that skeptical doubt. You shouldn't have it anymore. Once you're clear, once you've got the game plan, once you've assessed the risk, all that stuff. Yes. Yes. You have this four-step method you call rain to help you clear your mind and overcome these hindrances. Can you share what these four-step method is? So for example, once you are, once you know or have understood about yourself, what type of mental states these hindrances, for example,
Starting point is 01:15:45 represent the way how we just try to explain to them. Every time one of these mental states pops up into your mind, which means positive emotion, negative emotion, ill will. You feel depressed, you feel weak, you feel that lack of power. You have this restlessness inside of you, or you have, what was the last one? The skeptical doubt. Or the skeptical doubt coming up. So, most important is you need to realize it. Realize that it is just there.
Starting point is 01:16:33 Sometimes you realize it, sometimes you recognize it. This is the idea why it's a very, very nice simile to remember those four methods later on what we regard as rain. R-A-I-N. And we are at the moment with the R, meaning you recognize and you realize that apparently at this moment in time, you are finding yourself in one of these mental states which are representing hindrances. Now the next step, what are you doing after you have recognized that you are in it? now starts the point where it becomes very helpful if we start to analyze. And analyzing meaning you do everything that is in your possibilities
Starting point is 01:17:29 to just ask questions about why did it come up? What did it trigger? When did it exactly come up? How actually did this? feeling in the first place, get into yourself. When was, for example, the first time that you realized that you are having this type of mental state? So what analyzing means is you try to look into your past also. Is it something related to the education of your parents?
Starting point is 01:18:16 Is it something related to an idea that you caught up for? from, I don't know, from where. So, analyzing means that you make an investigation. Investigation means this time you go deeper. This is where we are at the I already. Oh, the third one, yeah. I is investigation. A, I'm sorry, I said, analyze.
Starting point is 01:18:45 Analyze, no, it's accept, it's accept, sorry. You're good. Accept it. Accept it. Accept it, acknowledge it. The difference is when you acknowledge something and accept something, it is that you're not pushing it away. You're not resisting it.
Starting point is 01:19:04 You're not resisting it. And the reason for that is, as long as something is not accepted or not acknowledged, it can't be changed because it is still outside of you. So if I have like a mental state, anything like this, and I say, yes, it's there, but I want to have it gone, then what you're trying to do in this approach is you're separating. You're trying to separate it. But this is not the way this method is expressing. This method tells you it is there. Why is it there?
Starting point is 01:19:42 It's because something inside of you already is resonating with it. So it's a matter of you. It's your business. So now what you're doing is I accept the business. I take it. I understand, okay, it's my business. That is the acknowledgement, the acceptance that you are saying, okay, I'm going to take care of it. This is like that A part, why it is important.
Starting point is 01:20:07 If you reject it, if you don't embrace it, it can't be changed. And then now in the third step, now comes the investigation. this is where you ask the questions. So that means where you try to find out more. You want to become familiar. You want to take that feeling into your family. Make him become part of you and make him become friend of you. Understanding, it is a part of you.
Starting point is 01:20:41 But maybe it's just a misunderstanding of the way how you saw it before. This is like the investigation of asking questions. Finding out more about it. Where does it come from? Who implemented it into your way of seeing the world? And ultimately, the last step after this type of process is what we call non-identification. Now, non-identification is quite similar to what I tried to express before that you sometimes need to stand above you and see from that perspective, how can you support yourself, how can
Starting point is 01:21:31 you support that person to get into the next development stage? Yeah. This is one type of non-identification. But at the same time also means nothing stays as it is. Nothing stays as it is. Just as sometimes things are so overwhelming, entering into your life, it can happen the other way around as well. And I mean, you just need to, everybody just look back into your person,
Starting point is 01:22:12 your personal life, how many bad moments did you have in the past? How many times did you suffer in the past? How often we were already thinking like this is the end of the world, girlfriend left you, boyfriend left you, different occasions. But none of them stayed. That is like also the other truth behind it. And the great part, like I also said already in our conversation, is the way how you are able to use either the imagination or just like the abilities of the mind. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:23:00 Because you can turn it both ways. Either you see it as why did it come so suddenly or you see the opposite. It's going to leave. Right. I mean, that's the other side. Of course, in this world we are living that we humans and this society, I think, is more easily being torn towards the positive or towards a very certain side, let's say. But this is because of, I think, the developments of our 20th century.
Starting point is 01:23:41 first century where there are certain values being propagated. There is no propaganda in learn how to be poor. Learn how to deal with failure. Learn how to not be successful. Learn how to accept the way how you are, not how to make yourself more beautiful and try to stay beautiful. There is a different agenda going on in the 21st century. And based on that, I do think that the mindset also has shifted, therefore,
Starting point is 01:24:25 in trying to fulfill the expectations what is present in our nowadays world. But it's your personal decision. It's really important for me to really say this again and again. I'm not here to judge whether something is good or whether something is bad. But I'm just saying that if you have placed something upon your mind, that right now you are trying with your lifetime to make it become real. But this is what you are trying to put into this life. It's not even an idea that comes from you.
Starting point is 01:25:07 I just want to express that I think it can go very wrong to one day, find out that you have lived a life and invested your lifetime, following up on a vision, on an expectation or anything like this, which first of all was never something initially coming from yourself. and afterwards, even if you followed up on it and achieved it, afterwards, realize, it doesn't give you what you were looking for in this lifetime. And that's just how it is. This has been about the five hindrances that hold people back from mastering their inner selves and really feeling more abundance, peace, love and joy.
Starting point is 01:26:04 I'm loving everything we're talking about. And I want to ask you now, I want to transition into a new topic about how to manifest your dream future and how you think we can step into this. If someone has a vision, a dream that they want to manifest something, where do you think we should begin in this process of dreaming and manifesting the future? And I know you've talked about heaven, man, earth concept that has helped you manifest a vision. Is this something that we should think about? And if so, what's this concept? Can you explain it? So this sentence, heaven, man, earth.
Starting point is 01:26:53 Heaven above us, man in the center, earth below us. It's just expressing from the same. let's say family of teaching, the same that also we find in the area of the yin and yang symbol. It's just a little bit more detailed. Meaning, there is something inside of us humans, which we say has some heavenly connection. At the same time, there is something about us humans, which has a very strong foundation rooted in the earth.
Starting point is 01:27:34 Earth. So let's start with the earthly aspects about ourselves. So Earth means for me, first of all, I can see it. If I fly on the plane, no matter where, if I look down, I know where to look to see the Earth. So what does it mean? It means there is something to see. Our whole world is based on seeing. What is it that you can see? You can only see something something that has a shape something without a shape you can't see but talking about you can see it talking about it has a shape what is the nature of a shape the nature of a shape is separating it's separating what is inside the shape and what is outside of the shape it's separate
Starting point is 01:28:35 So one quality of the earth is it's based already from the, let's say, from the natural side, based upon separation. Based upon this is life and this is death. This is growth and this is decay. And now our body, our physical body. How come when we were born, we maybe had our life. like three kilograms, four kilograms baby, and now look at how huge we have become, not me. Look how much like we have grown. So where all of this come from, very easily said, from the food, from the nutrition, from
Starting point is 01:29:25 everything that we have taken and give our body to eat or to drink. Even if it is meanwhile some products are created in a laboratory. but even the resources for that ultimately everything comes just from the earth so if you know just follow up on that thought our body is created upon let's say individual aspects from this earth that by nature already are limited in a way limiting inside and outside so limiting that means our automatically is limited it is what we call nowadays lifetime so simply said sorry for the long explanation sure but that is what it means for me it is no
Starting point is 01:30:23 doubt about it I don't need to philosophize around it I can see it this is out of question it's gonna go that is the earth part about ourselves at the same time giving me insights you want to change something about that what is it to take care of everything that comes from the earth very easily which means food drinks the breath yeah yeah yeah so that is like how I would use now this concept to in my daily life to just understand okay this body comes from there so the better the quality of the ingredients I put into this the more more quality this can generate. That is the earth aspect. And in comparison now to that earth,
Starting point is 01:31:15 we have that heaven aspect. Heaven aspect called like this, because looking up into the sky, it's really difficult to tell where does the sky end. Meaning, heaven stands for something which is borderless. There are no borders in the sky. And so what is it inside of us humans that I think we have something similar like this? That is for me
Starting point is 01:31:50 the way of how you are able to use your mind. Because sometimes you can use the mind and create something you have never seen in this world you are creating something in the mind you have never seen it in person why because it's not existing yet
Starting point is 01:32:16 yet you can see it here this can mean a fear a fear what's going to happen tomorrow a fear what will happen to my children if I will not be able to take care of them anymore so there is something you're projecting already that is not here yet.
Starting point is 01:32:36 It's not real. You are projecting it inside of you and the feelings based upon that way of thinking still makes it real to you. Even though it's not in the world yet. Yes. So this is how you need to be careful what you're creating on the mind.
Starting point is 01:32:56 This is the reason why it's so important to know what are you placing inside the mind because it's so powerful. Yes. But now assuming that we all do not want to create our own descent or decay, anything like this, let's say this is not what we want, but we want to have something that we would like to create. Yeah. Let's say. So the question right now is, how do I get something from what at the moment is only in my mind
Starting point is 01:33:39 into something that it becomes what we would call real? When is something real? It's real when it's here. When also other people can see it, not just you in the mind. Then it's real. Because, like, you can imagine you have like some beautiful woman. as a girlfriend, yeah. But no one else sees it.
Starting point is 01:34:04 Nobody else sees it, yeah? It's only real if there's another witness who sees you and that girl walking together. Then it's real. So, and how do we make this now happen? It is on the one side. Of course, you need a plan. You need a small step-by-step plan. And I really think that meanwhile, especially like in modern business,
Starting point is 01:34:30 of it's very similar like when you make project management. You break your ideas, of course, down into walkable steps. So that's why I think I don't need to say so much to it. But along this plan, along this way of, let's say, trying to make it become real. This can also mean you need to find more and more ways. how does something so fine like your thoughts start to shape into a form
Starting point is 01:35:09 so it is about find ways to give it expression. Can you explain? Yes, write it down on paper. It's one way of giving thoughts and expression. Speaking about it. Speaking it out to your friends. More people know about it. Writing it onto your fridge.
Starting point is 01:35:31 something where the sword starts to enter into your visible world. This is the small steps that just support you on this mission. These are small things. The next step would be whatever you would like to achieve there. What skills are necessary? Do you have the skills? Now a little bit more, a little bit more nicely drawn, It means you want to go on a mission, but at the moment you don't know yet in which direction you have to move.
Starting point is 01:36:22 So that means the first thing in order for you to answer this question, which direction to move is you need to know your location. And this now translated into, so what is it I'm supposed to do? Who are you at the moment? what are your abilities at this very moment what do you have available time wise financial wise it doesn't matter in which situation are you right now so we need to see where is our actual location
Starting point is 01:37:05 and from there now it starts at least now you have a hint if you want to go there but at the moment you don't know yet where are you located. If you're located here you know you need to walk here east.
Starting point is 01:37:26 If you are located here it's not east because then you're going to make a long way so that it really depends on where are you located and this is why it's from person to person is different and I cannot always tell to the same
Starting point is 01:37:40 person so you want to go there go east. You want to go there too, you also go east. No, because they are not starting from the same position. Some people have already some education and some experience previously that will immensely help them to already start from a different point. But where have we been? Skills. And now this is the part We are also jumping back into what is Shaolin also known for, known for abilities of the practitioners which are normally above average human abilities. Yeah, and this doesn't come because we bought it somewhere. You practiced it.
Starting point is 01:38:38 Yes, but there is a very specific type now of practice. And this is maybe also interesting, what actually is that original meaning of David Caradine, Kung Fu? Kung Fu. This Kung Fu meaning is attaining a skill through hard work. That is important. Attaining a skill through hard work. Why is only this one what we call Kung Fu? Because this Kung Fu is not about fighting at the moment. It is about something that you have, for example, also developed.
Starting point is 01:39:25 You also have Kung Fu. It is something that you have, you can do, you got. And if somebody else in this room would like to have the same ability like you, you. He cannot buy it. He cannot just like wish to have it. There's only one way how a person would ever get to the same skill set like you have. He needs to go through the same training, effort, sweating, suffering. Consistently. Yeah. Like you. And this is what we regard as these are the skills we are looking for. I'm not looking for a skill that I can outsource.
Starting point is 01:40:15 I'm looking for skills. I have them. And nobody else in this world can copy. If you want to copy, well, then you need to train. You need to do the same. And so that means along this way, you also realize in developing those skills right now, actually this is a way to make something unique about you. And this uniqueness goes hand in hand with the unbroken willpower that you put into it
Starting point is 01:40:50 and with that vision of yourself that this is what you want and this is what you're going to do. So it is a combination. It is a combination of you need to work for it, but also at the same time have the mind. set also that backs up your battle plan. Yeah. And why do you think most people fail to manifest what they want? Is it because they don't have the discipline, the willpower, the consistency? Is it because they're not strong enough, or are willing to develop the strength? Why do they fail at manifesting?
Starting point is 01:41:30 I think it is a question of time. In my world, people are repeating the same mistakes over and over again because they haven't overcome them yet. There's still level one. They keep failing at level one. Yes. They haven't beaten that level yet. Master the level. But it's out of question for me that they will.
Starting point is 01:41:57 Why is that? Because you can touch three times on the hot heat plate and it hurts three times. You touch the fourth time, it still hurts. Fifth time still hurts. There will come the day. They say, I know more. Now no more. No more, yeah.
Starting point is 01:42:15 It might take a while. I mean, I expressed it maybe like in a funny way, but it's true though. It is even said like this in the teachings, yeah? You cannot teach someone who is not willing to be taught. Don't waste your time on people or to teach people that are not having the willingness to learn. Don't waste. This is also the reason why this, what I try to present right now, we don't have missionaries going out like saying, look, we have the answers to your problems. We don't do that stuff.
Starting point is 01:42:55 Because if people aren't receptive to it, it's not going to work. Exactly. If people are becoming ready, how do they know they become ready? It's because they start to ask different questions. Right. And once you start to ask the question soon or later in this lifetime, let's just say what happens after death. Let's just assume this one.
Starting point is 01:43:23 This question only we can ask. People that are right now starving in the world, they are not asking what happens after death. People that are feeling too good. They are also not coming up with this type of question. So that means whoever is asking this question already is at a certain level in his life, in his development of the mind. And this is like why I appreciate this type of teaching so much, because for every person there is the right time. There's nothing to hurry.
Starting point is 01:44:05 There's nothing to worry. It's in each individual hands. So why do they fail at the moment? I could say because they haven't failed enough yet in order to make the next step. Or because they didn't take, they didn't see the lesson yet from that failure. I don't know.
Starting point is 01:44:34 I don't know. There are so many different reasons why people then do not continue. But it's just a question of time until they will. Right. I've made many mistakes over and over and over again until finally I said, oh, wait, it's not what I want anymore.
Starting point is 01:44:54 Let me really take a step back and reevaluate why this keeps happening, why I'm at the source of all these mistakes happening over and over again for 15, 20 years, and let me start to look at it differently and approach it differently. and it wasn't until I experienced so much pain and suffering where I was like, okay, no more. I'm done with this way of acting, being, experiencing, relationships, whatever it might be,
Starting point is 01:45:22 and I'm going to redefine what I want and step and act accordingly. And it took a lot of pain to get there. I was the one to touch the hot pan, you know, a hundred times probably, right, until I finally said, okay, this doesn't work. But I think that's what we get, each one of us gets to be on our own timing and learn the lesson the way we need to. Whereas other things in my life, I learn very quickly.
Starting point is 01:45:48 You know, I make one mistake and, okay, I don't want to do that. Let me learn, you know, let me improve. I'm curious in your life, where's the lesson that you feel like you haven't fully learned yet? You keep touching the hot plate just a little bit. Is there any area? that still causes pain or that still you haven't.
Starting point is 01:46:11 Something I, let's say, observed about myself also in the way how I grow up and also like afterwards now watching what type of, let's say, hobbies I spent my time in. There is something I witnessed about myself, which is always, I cannot leave the things as they are. I always have the urge to optimize. So it means optimize the bike, optimize the car, optimize the engine, optimize myself, optimize the body, optimize the mind, optimize the life. So at the moment, my biggest journey I still have to say is really, at the end these are
Starting point is 01:47:00 all just like optimize. This life itself is for me the area to just discover. So the thing is I don't know where this journey is going. Yeah, and this is maybe something also. So you don't have to always optimize, is what you're saying. Yes, maybe. You can just let it be and just experience it and just sit with it. Yes.
Starting point is 01:47:29 Inefficient sometimes, yeah. To find that balance. Yeah, okay. You know, many years now already, I have spent optimizing, thriving for goals, also like training-wise. So people always maybe misconfuse a little bit. So how could I have reached all these graduations, for example, or reach any type of position in the field of martial arts?
Starting point is 01:47:58 Because there is a difference inside the field of martial arts. You are not being measured by how much you can talk. In the field of martial arts, you are being measured by, does it work or doesn't it work? Is it effective or ineffective? For example. And so that means, of course, there is some fire inside of me in order to push through a lot of these hardships when it comes to the training. So that means it is still related to I want something.
Starting point is 01:48:30 But now to purely take the Buddhist teaching, Buddhist teaching is not about what you want. Buddhist teaching is about what can we take away from you until it is uncovered again what you really are you know so we have this world nowadays on the one side
Starting point is 01:48:54 where it is about in the picture speaking you're feeling not complete that's why first of all you go to the school until you get your college degree but even with that college degree you are not complete yet.
Starting point is 01:49:10 So that means you make a further education. Even with a university degree, you are not complete because you need a job. One job is not complete. Second job. Okay, second job, there's still something missing in your life. You need a family now. Now you need a car.
Starting point is 01:49:27 But actually, the second car wouldn't be so bad. So you get the point. There is something about, you're never enough. Wherever in which position you are located. in your lifetime. Apparently, you are never enough. There's always something more to add. That is the one direction. And what we nowadays know as the Buddhist teachings doesn't have this approach. The Buddhist teaching says, you come to this world as an empty cup. Then your parents put their drop inside of you. The teachers put their knowledge inside of you. The advertising
Starting point is 01:50:11 The government, the schools, your friends, the parents of your friends. So a lot of different influences, ideas, concepts, what you're supposed to do in this life is starting to fill up your cup. Now, really simply said, what Buddhist teaching now is, is to say, look, all of that stuff inside there. It's not coming from you. So that means spend some time and learn to empower. the cup. Make that cup empty. Then you will realize who you really are, what your essence is, the way how you came to this earth. And previous to the question, when you ask, when was life, let's say, easier as a child or as an adult? Like I said, I think as a child, because that cup
Starting point is 01:51:07 as a child is not so full yet. It's empty. Not completely empty, but more empty than Now as an adult, now you have the burden to cover, the expectations to fulfill, the role you have to play. This is why I think it's more difficult now. Yeah. And so that means you have these two approaches. Learning to get rid, learning to let go is one area, learning to attain is the second. And the balance of this.
Starting point is 01:51:44 I think this is the biggest challenge. Wow. I love your thoughts around mindset and your thoughts around how we can think in a certain way that can either impact us and be useful or hurt us and be ineffective and pull us backwards from manifesting the future that we really envision, the dream future.
Starting point is 01:52:08 I'm curious, what are the daily thoughts that people should generate to keep focused on their vision and not fall back into pains or problems of the past. Now, that word came flying before when I said
Starting point is 01:52:25 you need a commitment. I didn't mean commitment. You need an affirmation. Affirmation. That is the word. For your goal that you set into your life, for whatever you want to develop yourself in, you need to connect it with a personal affirmation.
Starting point is 01:52:43 that is something that fuels it. This is what fuels actions. Just similar, like I say, before, in the Kung Fu training, for example, you are learning techniques, you are learning body mechanics. Yeah, but that is something you learn on the outside. It's the form, it's the shape that you are supposed to take
Starting point is 01:53:12 in why you make, let's say, this movement. You need it, yes. But there's something more that you need. You need something that is going to fuel that movement. You need something that fills up that form. And now, just to explain to you, you have no real drive to fight. You don't want to win.
Starting point is 01:53:41 You don't care. You know how to do it against somebody who needs to do it because it's about an existential question, no matter what type. Okay. There is a different spirit behind it if you meet those two people. Somebody who has nothing to lose and puts everything on one card because you have no choice. Either you make it now or, yeah, or your family. family suffer. You fight differently. So that means it's not always the technique, the form that you see on the outside that is so impactful. What is it that fuels your actions, your daily actions?
Starting point is 01:54:36 What fuels when you walk to the office prepared to do the work? What fuels you to invite other people? waking up every day, even if it's hard, even sometimes you're sick, still go to the office and do the work. And that fuel, I think, is very, very essential. And yes. And I can only imagine, even if maybe you don't call it like this, or people are not officially expressing it like this. I cannot imagine there is one person existing in this world who, in some way has achieved something without an affirmation, I think it doesn't exist. What's your affirmation?
Starting point is 01:55:25 I think we are all connected. On the one side, I really love this life. So as long as I can, I would like to experience the variety of everything that is existing here. But at the same time, I also see it as part of my life. obligation that if I have a possibility to do something that supports other people along the way, this is what I do. Yeah. I just think this is what you do in the family.
Starting point is 01:56:03 I'm curious about your thoughts on the actions people should take in order to manifest. And it seems to me like there, that the world, there's a lot of weakness in the world. People don't have, in general, a lot of people don't have the discipline, the actions that create good habits that support them in being consistent, you know, having the right thoughts, the right actions, all those things. And I want to ask you about how can we, you know, you train the body, right? You're training the limbs, the weaknesses, you're callishing the bones and all these things to take on more force.
Starting point is 01:56:48 more stress. How do we harden certain things in us, but while also keeping our hearts open, loving, compassionate, giving, how do we do both in this process? Always when there is something consisting of two aspects, at least, or both, like you mentioned, The answer is always balanced. So now, the practical ways, what I would suggest. You need a healthy body. You need a healthy body. That means choose any type of physical activity.
Starting point is 01:57:42 It really doesn't matter. It only matters that you understand all your wishes, all your dreams, all the goals that you are putting to yourself what you want to achieve in this lifetimes. They all are not going to matter anymore if your body is not going to be on the earth to witness these things. Right. You got to take care of it. Simply said. But what we're talking about right now, greatness means you want to bring something out of yourself, which is not average. This is not what the mess
Starting point is 01:58:21 is able to do. If it is something that the messes are not able to do, which means your body, yourself, the way how you're sinking, the way how you're training, can't be average. So,
Starting point is 01:58:40 in our field, keep the body not just healthy, but watch out from methods to make your body really performant. Performant for that specific area where you maybe later want to find yourself in. Because let's just say, if I want to become a truck driver, I could never do it. Because my mind and my body probably is just not made for so long distances and this type of concentration which is needed.
Starting point is 01:59:17 So I have definitely a lot of respect of all the truck. drivers but I can feel it is something I couldn't do. There is a performance necessary in these type of areas that I have not developed in myself. It's like I can also watch back in my past. I had a lot of ill will when it came to running around the track. The track. Sprinting never a problem. I enjoyed. Yeah, but long distances. Yes. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:59:51 So that means short burst of energy, a lot of energy in a short period. This is what I really feel like, what that body is made for. But long distance, which is draining, this is draining me. Yeah. Yeah. So, but we were at the body, which means just physicality, activity, vitality, yoga, many things you can do. But there should be something. Yeah.
Starting point is 02:00:17 And when we lack confidence, when we lack the belief in ourselves, the esteem, the self-esteem, how do we learn to overcome the things that we doubt about ourselves and gain more confidence, not just in the material skill acquiring world, but in the spiritual world? How do we gain more confidence? Here, I think we're entering into an area that for me personally matters a lot why I think. Look, it seems like at the moment 21st century everything is about everybody can do what he wants. We are free to express. There's no hierarchy because we're all humans.
Starting point is 02:01:13 There's no hierarchy between all of us. seeing as a human being, there is no hierarchy, I agree. But if you want to learn something, there is a hierarchy. And the hierarchy is there are people who already possess what you want to learn. And there are people who don't possess what is possible to be learned. So if I want to develop myself and I want to learn something, attain a skill, at the moment I would just look out in the world
Starting point is 02:01:49 first of all to see who possesses that skill because it might be that you think about something but there's nobody else in the world who at the moment possesses it so it maybe is a little bit unrealistic that it even exists but if you want to have something
Starting point is 02:02:09 first of all look for the places or the persons that have it Very easily. And very often that means you are meeting in our tradition now, you are meeting masters. You are meeting a person who has already mastered a certain ability because you see it and then you say, yes, he has it. And then the next question is, how does now, either the knowledge or the skill is being transmitted? How does it come to you now?
Starting point is 02:02:50 And like I said, from my tradition, there's only one way. You need to get into a student-master relationship, a master-student relationship. And a master-student relationship, there is no democracy. Right. That's what the master says, you do. And I do think that in the field of where we are talking right now as well, Sometimes you need a mentor. Sometimes you need to surround yourself with people that are already standing at a certain point where you maybe would like to go to.
Starting point is 02:03:36 These are the people with experience. These are the people that walk the path already that you right now would like to walk. So I think there is a difference in a way of how then you talk to these people, how then you also see yourself in regards to these people. And this is what opens up doors, which means you are regarding yourself as a student. This is what it means in our tradition. If you think you are equal to the rest of the world, you are equal, this is a type of wrong pride, I have to say.
Starting point is 02:04:23 Because it absolutely stops you from further development and learning really what you would like to learn. So getting surrounded, searching for people that are already in that area where you would like to move to is also one of the next. next steps, for example, I would look for. So it is about with what type of people are you surrounded? One side. How are you taking care of your body? Other side. So now, taking care of the mind.
Starting point is 02:05:04 How do you do this? In order to know what is important to you, it's necessary to also know unimportant things. Unimportant things. Unimportant things. It's not necessary from seven days a week to only do important things. Because ultimately importance is a question which is also very subjective. Yeah. Importance for this life, nothing is too important. Yeah. What I mean is you need balance. You consciously sometimes need to do something where you really feel this is really unimportant.
Starting point is 02:05:56 Yeah, just doing whatever. Yeah, because it keeps something inside of you open. If you only do the important things, only be focused. You can only be focused because there's another state inside of you, which is, you're open-minded. You are open-minded, you are able to receive. Focus, there is no receiving anymore. There is already that guided intention of yours. So, switching the states of mind, putting yourself consciously into different states of mind,
Starting point is 02:06:42 I think this belongs to the category of mind development. And there are different ways how you can put this into practice. And I can now maybe share the way what we use in the monastery. I think it is super helpful if you are learning to work in cycles. Cycles. Cycles. So for example, when it comes to... to, you need a new skill.
Starting point is 02:07:20 You want to develop something. You need to learn how to program. You need to learn how to use a new software program. You need to learn accounting. I don't know. You need to learn to do the webpage. Something about you need to, you want to develop something new about you. I think the most effective way is to cut off yourself for a certain period of time and do nothing.
Starting point is 02:07:47 else in between for that period for that cycle. Can you give me an example? Yes. Now this is really simple example but it involves something more. If you want to change something about the appearance of your skin, you're not satisfied with your skin. So the good message is it probably is the quickest to do something about it. The quickest, why? Because it lies right on the surface. Because it's right on the outside of the body. So it's easily treatable.
Starting point is 02:08:35 So which means do a seven-day treatment where you take care of the body. Seven days long, go into the sauna, cream yourself, what, seven days? after seven days, I'm sure if you do it, it looks different. Now we go a layer deeper. You want to change something about your muscles. The muscles are lying underneath the skin, meaning not so easy accessible anymore, which automatically means the cycle needs to become longer. Seven days muscle training, no, it's not going to be enough.
Starting point is 02:09:11 So let's say 30 days. Yes, maybe not visibly but feelable definitely. Go even more deeper into the area of your tendons, your sinus, your fascia, 30 days is not enough. Because this is changing a very, this is going even deeper into your system, trying to change something. there so the cycles become longer. Right. So the deeper within the field of martial arts we get into our body until the bone, the longer these cycles become that you need to dedicate your time in practicing.
Starting point is 02:10:01 And similar I would say it is like now when it comes to the training of skills that modern people nowadays want to develop. You need to ask yourself how much of a software hack is it that you're trying to put upon yourself? How deep is it embedded? The deeper it is, the more time those cycles need, the more often you need to repeat those cycles. But the main point is that I don't think it is sensible and a good method. within a 30-day month to like spread it apart, to have too many things at the same time. Here you make that skill, here you make that, here you make another one. I think it's not effective.
Starting point is 02:10:59 Go all in on one thing for a cycle. Yes. Now maybe of course people say, yeah, but I can't concentrate on one. Well, concentrate on three. Better on three than on ten. Right. This is the main point, what I mean. Sure.
Starting point is 02:11:13 Because it's not just physically that we are transforming. It is mental changes, it is emotional changes, it is physical changes. And they just don't go so quickly if you jump too much. And also they don't penetrate deep enough. They don't penetrate deep enough for you to have a lasting impression of what it is that you trying to develop there. Which means also before when we said mind training or how do I react to ill will towards other people, I talked about the heart qualities.
Starting point is 02:11:57 Hard qualities, you make one a week, which means, let's just say we take the heart quality of gratefulness, just as an example. Gratefulness means you go to your close room, you close your eyes, you close your eyes, and if you want, you put some music on, but normally you better try without music. And then you recall all the moments in your lifetime where you think gratefulness was apparent in these moments. The gratefulness that you felt. Because, you know, like, yeah, Lewis, so thank you very much for this interview and for that cup of water.
Starting point is 02:12:43 You know, this is like talking. Gratefulness has never been about talking. Either you have it or you don't have it. It's feeling it. Experiencing gratitude. Yes. So this is why in order to get to that feeling again, every human had it in his lifetime.
Starting point is 02:13:02 Just sometimes it has been too much in the past and it has been forgotten. That's why we need to dig it out. And therefore, recall the moments where you think yes, towards that person, I really felt that gratefulness. Then it's like a small flame pops up. And there it is. It's not clear defined yet, but you feel there is something. And now, for example, what we use is you breathe into the feeling and try, use also like your mind to make that grow.
Starting point is 02:13:37 Right. Okay. Maybe it's a little bit more feelable. It feels maybe strange to many people, but since you are asking me, how do the ancient traditions look like? What are the methods? This is the way how we do it. Okay? You realize there's something you want it to grow means you need to put energy into it.
Starting point is 02:13:59 How do you put energy into it by using your intention in going there? And so like this on day one, it becomes like a small palate. of gratefulness, that you feel. But now you stay one week long. On the second day, it's already easier to identify. There is already. And you stay one week long, cultivating, cultivating it, until it's very easy for you now to identify,
Starting point is 02:14:32 especially to identify if people who apparently seem to be grateful towards you, if they really are. Because the good part is that now that you know how it feels, you just, you don't only know it how it feels inside of you, but you can detect it in other people. Yeah. This is that special part. Why all this development always starts with yourself. Because I know how my body is aligned. I know how your body is aligned.
Starting point is 02:15:11 because I know the weak points of my body. I know the weak points of your body. And this is that idea that sometimes you can't change people around you. You can't look into the heads of other people. But what you can do at all times every day is to do something about what is in your own hands. yourself. This is why this idea of turn the finger
Starting point is 02:15:45 around, do something about yourself, develop yourself, invest in yourself. You grow as a human being, you grow in skills, all of these things. They will naturally just follow. Because in the moment
Starting point is 02:16:04 where you are starting to express something that people nowadays are not seeing often anymore, you just become the magnet. This is how it is. Why? Because people are used already to average. Every day they see average. Yeah, but now they start to see something different.
Starting point is 02:16:32 They start to see somebody another attitude towards life. And so this feels, I think, very like a magnet. And so all of this, you don't even need to probably go there. It's going to come to you. Everything you want to create starts to come to you. Only if you work on yourself. How often do you embody gratitude and practice it on a daily basis? Are you...
Starting point is 02:17:06 We have therefore our ceremonies, for example. Our ceremonies in the monastery, which always evening time, 9 o'clock, And there we have parts of this type of cultivation integrated in the ceremony. Really? Yes. Do you think we can manifest a beautiful life without gratitude? No. No.
Starting point is 02:17:32 It might feel like it. It might seem like it. But ultimately, no way. Mm-hmm. Gratitude. It's the key to abundance. It's the key to being a magnitude. to drawing in the things you truly want.
Starting point is 02:17:48 They create a beautiful life. I've got a few final questions for you. This has been fascinating. Before I ask those questions, I want to make sure people follow you online because your content is amazing. You also have a 12-month course, a program that people can follow.
Starting point is 02:18:04 If they want more of this mental training, the philosophies that you've provided, the things that you've learned and that you teach to others, it'll help people in their life, improve their life. also physical a lot, yeah? Physical stuff as well on there. So they can get this 12-month course at Shaolin.on online
Starting point is 02:18:24 for all the information there, plus information about the temple, the practices, the teaching, your work, speaking and other things as you do. Some speaking. I'm not sure how much you'll be doing in the future, but every now and then you'll be doing some. Also, people need to follow you on social media,
Starting point is 02:18:42 Instagram, at Shaolin. online for that. And if you look up Shaolin Temple. Dot Europe on Facebook, you'll see it there as well. And if they look up your name, they'll see lots of great content, lots of great TED talks you've done, videos. We'll have a lot of this linked up in the show notes. But I just wanted to say I'm grateful for you for being here. And I've got a couple of final questions. I have so many more things I want to ask you, but you'll have to come back on another
Starting point is 02:19:13 time save your voice for the next time but this is a question i ask everyone towards the end of my conversations it's a hypothetical question so imagine you live as long as you want to live in this physical three-dimensional space time reality uh i think i heard you say a hundred and eight is that a hundred and eight hundred eight yeah hundred eight sounds good right yeah so imagine you're 108 right and you get to live the life you envision everything you want to do It happens. You create it. You overcome. You learn. You master all these different areas of life. And you serve and impact the world through your teachings. But for whatever reason, this hypothetical scenario at 108 years old, you have to take all of your content and message with you. So this conversation goes to the next place. All the TED talks, all the interviews you've ever done. For whatever reason, they're not here in this physical world anymore. Hypothetical scenario. But you get to leave behind three lessons with the world. Three lessons from all of your teachings and all your learnings.
Starting point is 02:20:23 And this is for whatever reason all you could share, these truths that I like to say. What would be those three truths for you if you could only share three? You know that this is a really super hard question. I know. I got to get you to think a little harder, you know. Okay. Sounds super funny, especially if I'm not going to talk about it. But one message is just a flower.
Starting point is 02:20:51 If you want a flower in a pot, it doesn't matter. The first message, one, I don't even need to speak about it. It's just the flower in the pot. This number one. What does that mean? A flower in a pot? It means everything. There is a history behind it. The future of that flower in a way is in your hand.
Starting point is 02:21:21 The care is... The care is integrated, the nature is integrated, no words to be speaking. Sometimes you don't need to speak about it. It's feelable what needs to be done. Okay. So this is one message, let's say. Okay, that's number one. Number two.
Starting point is 02:21:50 Keep community. It's not necessary to always be right. is more important to also have back up if you're not right. That feels better. And the third? I got to challenge you, you know? I got to challenge you. You do already.
Starting point is 02:22:20 You do already. Number three is, it's repeating. It's repeating. It's repeating. Everything? Just as I say. It's repeating. This was now kind of matrix stuff.
Starting point is 02:22:44 Yes, it's the inception. I love it. Master Shihang Yi, I want to acknowledge you for the gift you are in this world, for being a symbol of inspiration for a lot of people, and for dedicating decades of your life to mastering certain skills and philosophies, practicing them, and you know, and you know, and you teaching them to others. I want to acknowledge you for for showing up here, present, open, loving, giving, vulnerable, wise, and giving us this time and synergy from again, your near 40 years of existence and lessons. I really appreciate how you show up in your level
Starting point is 02:23:34 of discipline, your level of commitment to your message, to your community that you into the world. So I really appreciate your time here. Again, I want people to go and follow you. I want them to get your course, Shaolin.orgline.challin.com on social media. Well, I'll link up a lot of the TED talks and all the other information that you guys can learn more about the temple in Europe. And I recommend people seeing if they can get to your temple too. I know you guys host certain retreats there for people to study. to practice for shorter periods of time so they can see and experience smaller groups. So you can go to the website, learn more about that.
Starting point is 02:24:18 If you feel called to learning more, then go to the website for that. Is there any other way that we can support and serve you right now, besides sending people there and following your message online? Not really. the only thing that since I started sharing out all of these methods, what gave me super much confidence also of why I also came here, now I can tell you, I also did some search, where actually is Lewis How's come from? And it makes me so happy to meanwhile have that chance that I met so many people who from nothing build up so huge things.
Starting point is 02:25:14 And what does it show me? It means there is something that you can get. But you also need to give something back. You need to develop something about yourself in order to be able to receive these gifts from the world. And if you are selfish, you're not going to get it. This affirmation for your mission, I really think this is something to keep in the mind. And at the end, no one in this world is like your master.
Starting point is 02:25:55 I appreciate it very much if people call me master. But what is it that I'm trying to spread to the world? I'm spreading self-mastery. You are your master. You take your life into the hands and decide in which direction you want to take it. It's just that you need the right methods and the right tools sometimes to go in the right direction. And that's what it is about. Learning from different people.
Starting point is 02:26:30 Learning from people that already had experience before you. But ultimately, you are the one who needs to support. put it into practice. And this is that greatness of this whole path. That if you are open to it, things are going to come. Yeah. And so therefore, I think everything that you have said, thank you also very much, Lewis.
Starting point is 02:26:58 You really greatly appreciated. Yeah, I appreciate it, man. I've got one final question for you then. Okay. What is your definition of greatness? Yes. To impact, to be able to impact on the one side something beyond yourself in all different types of areas, which means this is not about your own wealth anymore.
Starting point is 02:27:21 It has become the wealth of the world. It is not just about your own personal peace. Your matters are the peace of the world. This is not about you are beyond yourself. greater than yourself. That is very close related, I think, to what greatness means. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's
Starting point is 02:27:54 episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad-free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.