The Overexamined Life

What if Nirvana isn't a mountaintop, monastery thing, but something available to you right now wherever you are. Stephen Batchelor spent ten years as a monk chasing exactly that, including three-month stretches sitting in silence asking "what is this?" He came out the other side as a controversial figure with his own brand of secular Buddhism that requires no mythical beliefs - essentially, we've been overcomplicating the whole path. Today on The Overexamined Life Podcast: a modern attainable definition of Nirvana, what "embracing suffering" really means, and how to get there without leaving your house.

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Buckle up you philosophy degenerates for one of our more "out there" ones. Richard Lang has spent his life teaching Douglas Harding's "Headless Way" — a philosophy that starts with a genuinely disorienting perceptual experiment and ends up somewhere close to boundlessness, reduced stress, and a different relationship with your own self-consciousness. We talk through the exercise itself, what people report feeling when it lands, and why something this simple has stuck with people for seventy years.

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?
Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub

Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo

Want more from Richard? https://www.headless.org/

WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube
Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website
Jonah writes on Substack
Email Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com
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Paul Sagar was a world-class rock climber until a freak accident left him tetraplegic overnight, paralysed in all four limbs, torso, and pelvic organs, losing not just his body but the identity and dreams built around it. Paul is also a Cambridge-trained philosopher who teaches political theory at King's College London, and he brings that same rigour to unpacking his own experience, from the physical horror of his new reality to the depression that came with it. Somehow, and against every expectation, he's emerged with an ease around words like "lucky" and "happy" that most people couldn't muster on their best day. This is a hard listen that goes to some dark places before it climbs back out, but what Paul finds on the other side might change how you think about what actually matters.

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?
Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub

Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo

WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube
Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website
Jonah writes on Substack
Email Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you actually do anything to change your dopamine levels? The "Dopamine Detox" is trending, but today we look into some studies to help figure out what's true and what's bollocks. I also go into some strategies that have really helped me enjoy every day life a bit more.

Join the free Gratitude Club: patreon.com/TOLclub.
WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube
Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website
Jonah writes on Substack
Email Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?
Join our freeeeeeeee Gratitude club!!!: patreon.com/TOLclub

Today I'm chatting with Anne Jolles who has built an entire movement around the idea that help people access gratitude, courage, and inner wisdom through walking rather than stillness. We'll explore why walking in nature seems to calm the nervous system, whether self-compassion is really worth all the hype, and Anne will even guide us through a virtual Grace Trail that you can follow along with as you listen.

Grace Trail | Wellness Trails That Inspire Reflection & Resilience

Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo

WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube
Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website
Jonah writes on Substack
Email Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.