Great Writing: Surprising and Inevitable

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode #430 "Elizabeth Gilbert’s Creative Path: Saying No, Trusting Your Intuition, Index Cards, Integrity Checks, Grief, Awe, and Much More" and episode #300 "Jack Kornfield — Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy in the Present."

Please enjoy!

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Start

[05:36] Notes about this supercombo format.

[06:38] Enter Elizabeth Gilbert.

[07:04] Liz shares who Rayya Elias was and how she's remembered her in story at The Moth.

[14:53] What kind of stories and storytellers make Liz break out in applause?

[21:05] What has Liz learned from Martha Beck?

[23:49] Staying true to one's inner compass and saying "No" without remorse.

[27:03] The simple "No" via Byron Katie.

[33:07] The wisdom of the body.

[36:56] Enter Jack Kornfield.

[37:24] Jack's connection with hang gliding and paragliding.

[40:06] Jack's childhood, abusive father, and role as family peacemaker.

[45:12] "If you're going to be angry, do it right."

[47:48] Jack's transition from pre-med to Asian studies at Dartmouth.

[49:28] From hippie to Buddhist monk.

[50:57] Psychedelics' influence on Jack's spiritual path and current stance.

[59:53] Meeting Stanislav Grof.

[1:03:32] Finding and studying under Ajahn Chah.

[1:05:59] Rookie monk training in Thailand and enduring suffering.

[1:13:49] Long silence periods and out-of-body experiences.

[1:16:37] Mystical experiences aren't always pleasant.

[1:19:15] Tim's experience at Spirit Rock.

[1:20:10] Challenges during training in Thailand and Burma.

[1:24:47] "Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed..."

[1:29:55] Advice for deep inner work with real-life responsibilities.

[1:42:04] Compassion vs. empathy.

[1:46:19] Technology's role in developing compassion.

[1:47:26] Lovingkindness meditation for Westerners.

[1:56:04] Attending the first White House Buddhist Leadership Conference.

[1:57:59] The mission of CASEL.

[1:59:18] Introducing mindfulness practice and love as a superpower.

[2:10:11] Returning to self-discovery after derailment.

[2:15:57] Apparent derailment as necessary communication.

[2:19:17] Self-talk for managing inappropriate anger.

[2:37:21] Returning to the US to study clinical psychology.

[2:42:50] Using forgiveness to help veterans and at-risk youth.

[2:45:30] Why community support beats community apathy.

[2:49:23] Lack of significant initiation rituals in modern society.

[2:53:10] Recommended book for newcomers to Jack's work.

[2:57:48] Jack's billboard.

[2:59:02] Parting thoughts.

*

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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