Ep. 8 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - The Buddha and "Mindfulness"

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Podcast Links:
•Anchor: anchor.fm/john-vervaeke
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Books in the Video:
• Stephen Batchelor - Alone with Others: An Existential Approach to Buddhism
• Michael Eysenck - Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook
• Ellen Langer - Mindfulness
• Christopher Mole - Attention is Cognitive Unison: An Essay in Philosophical Psychology
• Amir Raz & Michael Lifshitz - Hypnosis and Meditation: Towards an Integrative Science of Conscious Planes
• Susan Wolf - Meaning in Life and Why It Matters
Series Playlist: kzbin.info?list...
Facebook: / vervaeke.john
Twitter: / vervaeke_john
Eighth episode of Dr. John Vervaeke's Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.

[@uij8439]

Prof, @ 43:53 , You say “language of explaining rather than the language of explaining”. Did you mean the language of training rather than the language of explaining? Earlier, you were making a distinction between both of those terms, and I found this part confusing.

[@kjekelle96]

I'm sure he meant to say "the language of explaining rather than the language of training", because he wants to understand the structural functional organization in this course by using the language of explaining (such as defining insight and reduced reactivity), rather than to teach the practical method by using the language of training (such as practicing being present and non-judgemental).

[@honestkurtis]

enjoy what you understand. im drunk

[@thehorizontries4759]

He pinned it but didn’t respond 😂

[@mateinastafil]

@@thehorizontries4759 he responded by pinning 🙂

[@TheHangedMan]

@@thehorizontries4759 I think probably because the comment from Emit above answered sufficiently.

[@aaronnelson6699]

This is like therapy for people who overthink.

[@mcnallyaar]

Absolutely!

[@marivn8156]

indeed

[@kasupa14]

Can I ask how? Asking because I don't really have an overthinking habit but would like to help smo who does. I thought the chance calculating mechanism with the metaphor of smoking may cause death in City A, may cause death in City B etc leading to smo underestimating general death from smoking worked. And more specifically the other side of that, of taking chance calculation too far. But what about this bit? Maybe it's good advise to tell someone to become a part of, to conform to whatver they are anxious about? Gain more participatory knowledge about it? But idk, that just sounds too much like step-by-step therapy. I'd ve grateful if smo could share their insights with me!

[@segasys1339]

@@kasupa14 I would say overthinkers have considerable capacity for attention but don't always know how to constructively go about directing it, thus hampering their ability to achieve flow. Vervaeke is explicitly articulating what is to the uninitiated the very hazy, amorphous process of thinking (and overthinking).

[@kasupa14]

@@segasys1339 Right, definitely! So would you say understanding how thinking works could help overthinkers? And should they learn to redirect their attention elsewhere or somehow learn to stop directing their attention at whatever they are overthinking?

[@mathewhill5556]

17:22 "Negation is not transcendence. To negate something still frames it in the same way" These are wise words that I will be forever grateful for. Thank you Dr Verneake.

[@standingbear5692]

My thoughts exactly

[@johncart07]

What does that make come to mind? Hmmmmm....

[@yankous]

In other words: overcompensating is also a problem ;-)

[@conforzo]

Solution: aufhebung

[@user-hy9nh4yk3p]

There is the - negation of negation - in Heartfulness (Raja Yoga meditation). But it is a rather rare state of consciousness - as one moves - towards Infinity. The Absolute - has no particles or movements - in it - it is merely/totally - Absolute. Fare thee well.

[@mannysmandatories5595]

Mr. Vervaeke, you have NO IDEA how valuable these lectures are in shaping our understanding of our own human nature, at a personal level. The last few decades of disintegration of value systems and the arbitrary nature of mass media messages had left millions with NO meaning. The likes of you and your efforts allows individuals to rediscover the right path back to the True, the Right and the Beautiful. We are eternally in your debt.

[@saurabh7667]

Dude externally in debt?? Just be grateful . This is too much flattery.

[@mannysmandatories5595]

@@saurabh7667 I'll be eternally in debt. You be grateful. We'll all get beers.

[@saurabh7667]

You handled my negative criticism very well.

[@punjab135]

I think he does which is why he has created them

[@aydnofastro-action1788]

“The center cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...” - T. S. Elliot. And we are “externally in debt”.

[@thegoldenthread]

IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY COG SCI TIME ON FRIDAY EVERYBODY'S LOOKING INWARD FOR SOME MEANIN'

[@daNihilism]

Thank you for giving meaning to the that awful song. Blasting that in college and just walking away from the speakers was so fun...

[@SapientEudaimonia]

Haha. Yay!

[@psychlops924]

I both hate and love this comment.

[@traviskurtz2903]

This should be the most widely viewed video on the internet. I don’t think I’ve gone a day since Covid without listening to or engaging in conversation on mindfulness, and this is this most detailed and helpful description I’ve heard of how to actually practice.

[@outoftheabyss5540]

Anticipating Vervaeke's new lecture every week like it's the newest episode of Game of Thrones.

[@SapientEudaimonia]

Hopefully the last "season" of this series will be better.

[@Jefrejtor]

Comments that age like fine milk

[@keystoneeducationforburmes5882]

Thank you so much, Dr! I came here because of your conversation with Dr Jordan Peterson. Now, I have discovered a gold mine! I even have goosebumps while listening to this lecture. Thank you so much! 🙇🙇🙇

[@Future_looksbright]

Same

[@JosephVK]

I'm beginning to wonder where I'd be today if I'd known about this series back when they were being released. Thank you from the deepest places of my being.

[@joshsmith8066]

Seriously, these were being released exactly at the time in my life where I was just beginning the desperate search for meaning. It's so strange to think that if I had just somehow stumbled upon this series as it was being released, I may have been able to avoid the traumatic nightmare that has been the last three years. Then again, I most likely wouldn't have understood a single word of what was being said back then...so I'm just going to be grateful that I'm finally here now.

[@1993HBh]

I get smarter with ever lecture, or I realise how little I was actually taught! Thank you!!

[@super-eth8478]

Same feeling :)

[@Paevoensis]

For decades anxiety has tormented me and dominated my life. Within few weeks with your lectures my anxiety has reduced significally. I feel hope, for the first time in my life, that I can cure completely from the anxiety. This feels like permanent change in my person, not just shallow relief. Words cannot express how I feel right now. I cry out of happiness and gratitude here. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💜🙏

[@TomasProchazkaCZE]

What a cliffhanger! Thank you very much Mr. Vervaeke. Once again, amazing lectures you are sharing with the world!

[@lievenyperman9363]

I wonder if, for John, giving these lectures are flow-state experiences. It certainly appears so. He seems so in tune with the content and seems to effortlessly find the perfect words and body language. Truly a joy to watch these lectures. Edit: A couple of hours later listening to episode 11, he actually mentions getting into the flow state during lectures.

[@jenniferbrockelman7118]

I feel so fortunate to have access to your lectures. I am experiencing this series for the 2nd time with more understanding after the last year I've been a KZbin/podcast student. I just wanted you to know that I'm growing with you and through you.

[@drm54321]

This is probably the best introduction to Mindfulness on KZbin! I plan on watching all of Dr. Vervaeke's videos and buying his books as well. I'm so grateful that there are people in the world like him sharing their wisdom. Thank you very much Doctor!!!

[@ShutUpDonny1]

This series is the most interesting thing I have ever encountered in my entire life. Mr. Vervaeke, I'm lost on that fascinating journey for a while, and you just gave me the more accurate map to date. Thank you, sir.

[@accadia1983]

05:00 meeting sickness, age, death and renunciate. running back to a castle as remaining in our comfort zone 11:35 dissilliusionment 12:55 leaving home and family to rediscover meaning 14:00 self-denial as an opposite of self-indulgence. Trying to not have is also a modal confusion 18:00 as in music: strings cannot be too tight or too loose ... Feature of mindfulness 40:00 how these features relate? 45:30 right and wrong concentration ... yelling or soft vigilance .. renewed interest (being within something) 48:30 too hard!! Too loose!! Keep the interest, be in experience. Tuning as taking time 49:30 attention as spotlight metaphor, more salient, but incomplete, because it does not have wisdom

[@kyleganse4978]

Wow as a meditator this is a really revolutionary example for me! Thank you.

[@con_sci]

That soft vigilance concept is amazing. I think I do that intuitively on long subway drives from time to time.

[@tmrws_ultrabeam]

Greatest thing on youtube..

[@goodsirknight]

I'm a week into these lectures and I absolutely blown away. These are life changing

[@JodyLeeSchroeder]

this is where my heart and wisdom comes alive :) Thanks John ! loved this episode and you spoke my language without me having to , i completely agree with you with this view and aim

[@shawndegraw1401]

Mindblowing work you're doing John. I have never noticed before how people often describe mindfulness by its feature's list - like being present, not judging, etc. - but not at the depth of it like you described in this lecture. Thank you so much!

[@SapientEudaimonia]

The musicality of intelligibility. I loved that term. Also, the "soft vigilance"! Often, with highly stressful situations within the learning process, my vigilance tends to be so hard that I am stuck.

[@hamedmoradi5291]

There is so much wisdom in these lectures. Thanks Dr. Vervaeke.

[@trinitycare2023]

Thank you for your time.

[@meaganadamczyk203]

Wonderful lectures. Is anyone else watching this during the pandemic? It is really helping me see the world in a different way

[@tracywilliamsliterature]

Stunning, crucial, compelling and soooo badly needed in my life.

[@basic7536]

my week has been spent listening to these talks... amazing.. i fell so much joy for having access to this information. Thank you Professor Vervaeke!

[@antoniobarbalau1107]

This whole series is mind-blowing and the idea of not moving to the opposite but transcending the framework is shattering. Thank you for everything you do for us Dr. Vervaeke ♥️

[@MarioChilaq]

“Sati”. This is a much deeper definition and it’s starting to answer some deep questions I’ve had about meditation and Buddhism. Thank you!

[@daneracamosa]

"Negation is not transcendence"... so easy to understand intellectually... but perhaps impossible embody...Thank you John, your efforts are appreciated...

[@baronvonbeandip]

It's a third of it.

[@JoshFlorii]

5:38 LOVE to see that passion. It's like vervaeke is on fire with a passion for waking us up. Beautiful!

[@mikkoturpeinen5774]

The description of attention and how to focus in the end was just fantastic!

[@squallada586]

God, I could watch 6 hours of this no problem. Thank you so much, John.

[@saurabh7667]

You answered many of the questions I asked my self while thinking about my thoughts,I always ended up assuming they were a) stupid b) were not getting me any where. Thank you

[@alexkeis7272]

The video has the highest rate of insight per word spoken of any video I have ever watched. A true example of an insights cascade!

[@nugzarkapanadze6867]

THANK YOU!

[@nice-job]

Eight episodes in and I am already learning a lot. Thank you Dr. Vervaeke and also Dr. Peterson for introducing him to us!

[@brandonhands5182]

Absolutely brilliant John. Really getting a lot of value from this series. Thank you.

[@andrewseymore4506]

Thank you for this, your insights are helpful

[@Valosken]

Basically my intellectual idol now John.

[@bnmahathero6990]

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu Great Great Sreat !

[@diegomunoz4867]

This is completely amazing. Thank you for such an enlightning 'class'.

[@anthonykrkovski650]

Each episode is an awakening, well done!

[@13lmcp]

Thank you, I love the detailed investigation

[@toshe21]

So much to read and realize, thank you again! When we ask our children to pay attention, this doesn't work until you engage their focus with participatory learning and I realize, as we grow-up, we loose sharpness of attention, so we require to remember what we are. How much of truth it is to hear about morning hours, when something is calling you up, almost begging to resist, transform and become your-self. How hard it is to realize you've betrayed yourself again, lost self-respect and you absolutely know that what your failure. But there is a hope in you, unless you've given yourself up. You may fall down only to learn how to walk more carefully. We don't need Myna's birds to call us for Attention only, it's not sufficient. We need structure which says to what attention should be paid and how to train attention. Thank you John for this dedication, it vibes through, how personally you are entitled to it.

[@Circulism]

are you referencing Huxley's island with the birds?I love that book, read it a few times

[@toshe21]

@@Circulism yes, very interesting concept, acted out on human collaboration and care. What i realize however, is you need to know certainly what TO remember, against just mentally fall back and recall everything from your past. Calling for attention is a good thing, but better to be aware to what to pay this attention to.

[@deannadelrios6162]

So happy I came across this series.

[@donnettelawrence8160]

This series is brilliant! Your knowledge is truly a gift. I applaud you for sharing. Thank you, kindly

[@mariabyrne1954]

I wish I ☘️had heard this a long time ago, many thanks🙏🏻 so glad I came across this🎶

[@TheCarlespuyol]

This man is pure gold. Interview - as soon as possible. Thanks a lot from the deepest depths of my heart. Regards from SA team.

[@antonyliberopoulos933]

Thank you John.

[@calebeveritt9556]

This series is one of the biggest gifts of my life. A wild thing to say about a series of videos on KZbin, but it's true. I've very slowly been getting clear, sober and finding that this series is adding to the illumination. Thank you, John. Your light shines bright and your intellect is a gift to all. Would love to study vipassana with you soon. Blessings.

[@Beederda]

I truly appreciate YOUR time JV ❤️🍄

[@Gormstaaz]

This is a great episode. I've been practising mindfulness for several years and he really brought something new to it.

[@Lucasvoz]

2:48 Love learning about Sautama Giddharta

[@leedufour]

Thanks John.

[@projectmalus]

Thanks for the video.

[@dillonlane18]

enthralling lecture, very well done. thank you!

[@JeremyNathanielAkers]

The self is central to both self-indulgence and self-denial, being transcends this duality

[@user-dj7nl2ct3q]

I thought I knew how to pay attention. I am learning a lot during this series.

[@FreakyBr0]

You are incredible, keep going!

[@OfCourseICan]

I'm in flow watching this series.

[@johncerdena]

This is very helpful John.

[@ANiMALFRiENDS_GOLDMAN]

The Saints of India. I adore the Saints of India I adore Beloved Anandamayi Ma Will you be my Mother Beloved Anandamayi Ma I adore beloved KRiSHNA I devote myself to thee I feel you within mine Heart The happy bliss inside of me I thought I was a clever man Ignorance dwelled in I Now I am with you my All The Sun is my third eye I love the Saints of India I love the Saint Germain I worship many deities Divine love is much the same I open my Heart to The ELOHiM I AM an open door No human can close I AM the light of God I AM a Violet Rose CHRISTED ONE Oh yee Christed One Though wholly Heart before me From deepest love inside of me I assure I do adore thee For when one prays To thine own Heart One prays to God Directly And when one prays From thine own heart God's Angels can protect thee We must direct divinely The flame within our being We must ask direct divinely For your flame they will be seeing Tis why one must shine so brightly As bright as one can shine With sureity and wisdom And perfect love divine GOLDMANWALKiNG I AM POETRY kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y563iIiNfK6ga5Y 💙 💛 💜 💙 💛 💜 💙 💛 💜

[@SillySimon818]

This is potentially the best thing on KZbin regardless of how it is visually playing out... Thank you sir! Seriously though thank you!

[@conner3323]

Of course intellectual endeavors are not competitions with others whom attempt similar explanations of such topics. But I must say, I have read all of Peterson’s books and listened to nearly all of his lectures and I’m deeply gripped by these lectures in a way that is hard to articulate. I bring that up due to the fact your discussion with him brought me here. Keep being persistent with content production please, you will reach people in unimaginable ways. May you be blessed with harmony and love John!

[@PJ-hi1gz]

amazing, thanks for sharing.

[@con_sci]

That Sati girl from the Matrix makes a lot more sense now.

[@courtneyleeds]

As also evidenced by Michael Sandel's compelling series, it seems pretty clear that intensity/depth/charisma is required to hold people's attention... In other words, I am hooked! LOL And it takes actual effort for me to refrain from binge consuming these lectures... Again, in being a history course where the subject is the mind, this series has been ridiculously interesting so far... BIG LOVE (whatever that word means)

[@ChrisOgunlowo]

Beautiful!!!

[@yafz]

The last part of the lecture reminded me of some passages from "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values".

[@danieldeveau9250]

Fantastic lecture

[@MonkeyFabGarage]

Great work sir

[@1993HBh]

Amazing!!!

[@yazanasad7811]

'Renewing interest is powerful for meditators. It's elegantly worded

[@Loffeno]

Perhaps it is overly simplistic, but I have found that to be "present" just means to pay attention to all five senses without adding additional adjectives (without judgment): what do I hear, feel, smell, taste, and see. After getting focused on my breath, I start with each sense sequentially and then try to pay attention to all at once. The amount of raw information taken in makes it almost impossible for thoughts to form while actively being present in this manner. Doing this gives an idea of a feeling/mental "place" to return to as needed once it has been practiced.

[@dalibofurnell]

I find this is also linked to understanding an aspect of eating disorders in a semi abstract way. I think more so to recovery. Mindfulness is definitely a part of the recovery process. The soft vigilence , renewal of interest and then the spot light metaphor reminds me of photography and it's mechanisms for example: aperture and shutter speed.

[@corruptcatalyst4141]

A missed opportunity that you didn't end this lecture with "thanks for your time and ATTENTION."

[@chrisgreiner854]

brilliant series, some word games dont work in other languages. this needs to be made available also in german, spanish and french (at least!)

[@hippopotamusrex2175]

I had always envisioned memory as space and didn't really think of the problem with it until you brought it up. What if you added in gravity to the spatial map of memory? Where gravity is the question and how it arranges space is the retrieval. That leaves room for the palace of objects, but it also makes sense in the way you can still have room for shoe AND red next to blue because the gravity shifts based on the question: are we looking for a rhyme or are we looking for a color association? So it's not just a frozen moment in time but a matter of how the question's gravity shifts the room around.

[@marktomasetti8642]

He’s rather good at painting phenomenology. Ah, so finally in Ep. 8 he explains the title, what all 19 lectures are about. He spends about 30 seconds on it at 24:04. Probably need to listen from the start of this lecture to understand it. The training vs. explaining thing is brilliant.

[@lynnlavoy6778]

8 is a good number, curiosity brought me here, Thanks!

[@baronvonbeandip]

phi is an even gooderer number. Therefore, you should proceed to either Episode 5 or Episode 13. Safe travels!

[@lynnlavoy6778]

@@baronvonbeandip Boundaries #29

[@andrewgreenhut5795]

Hi @JohnVervaeke. This is the first lecture describing the "Having Mode" and the "Being Mode", and how one mode can't fulfill the other. Is there also something like a "Doing Mode" (e.g. work for happiness)? I find myself consistently focused on doing things with the mindset that if I do x-y-z, then I will be happy, but of course doing things only leads to doing more things. It's sort of orthogonal to both having and being. My mind thinks that If I build this thing (e.g. work) then I will earn money and I then will have this thing that will make me happy, or if I do this task (e.g. exercise) then I will feel young and I will achieve the being I want. What winds up happening is that I keep doing things, but not ever feeling fully satisfied when I achieve them. It's a feedback loop that exhausts me. Thanks.

[@robynbonnycastle8933]

In Waldorf Education teacher training we were given very similar lectures! We studied the evolution of human consciousness through art history. We studied all of the great myths and epics of ancient civilizations including ancient India, Mesopotamia, Old Testament, etc. We looked at the “levels’ of the human being ie: mineral,plant,animal,mental,spiritual. Interesting that a lot of this information was given by Rudolf Steiner. I am now studying all of Campbell and Jung’s work. It all brought me to these fabulously done lectures!

[@baronvonbeandip]

Since you are into Steiner, check out Piaget's "Language and Thought of the Child". Its where he formalized the concept of accomodation/assimilation but, also, where his Jungian individuation is explicitly stated.

[@HantonSacu]

I noticed that buddha and river are associated and it makes sense because a river invites you to look at the whole picture, since it moves the whole eyesight has something to do, i.e. it affords RRR to break frame, because it makes you notice that 'everything flows', everything changes, everything is connected. But since on earth a lot of things change slowly our other half has it's affordances. But the main point is to distinguish between those modes of being and I think buddha did that, hanging down the river.

[@praveenrai6965]

"Sati" is Pali and the Sanskrit word is "smriti," what is "remembered." Dharma traditions have sacred texts classified under "shruti", "what is heard" and "smriti."

[@MrMarktrumble]

Thank you

[@Pneumanon]

The idea of 'soft vigilance' seems much like what you do when you practice observational drawing.

[@charmjasmi]

thank you so much for this lecture, i really enjoyed and was even moved to tears. I think "'awakened" and '"enlightened" words in psychology or all these related/connected world are only belonged to Buddha who actually possessed the best qualities of it at ultimate level ! but nowadays a lot of people especially those who call themselves as gurus or masters or hypnotists or even some motivational speakers used they are enlightened or awakened people which really ruin these words and meaning of these words !

[@thewanderer37]

Truly loving this series. What an avalanche of knowledge. I wonder if your channel would benefit from a Clips Channel alongside it; it could be a great on-ramp for lots of people and get more exposure to the main videos. E.g. a shortened clip from this lecture explaining concentration. I'm tempted to make a few clips myself but don't know if it would violate YT's copyright etc.

[@algernoncalydon3430]

Holy Hernan. This is the first person I've seen or read that has the idea that connects memory palace and myth. I had that idea thirty five years ago, that myths were much more than what they weemed and then when I heard memory palace described that was the first thing to come to mind, that a myth is a sort of memory palace.

[@relaxmarco]

In Portuguese we say interesse (interest). But I didn’t know it’s root deeper meaning. Makes sense.

[@d.r.m.m.]

WOW! Fantastic episode! Thank you, John. _/\_

[@conforzo]

I think the story of Siddhartha also shows the necessity in dialectical movement. Siddharta HAD to negate his previous existance and go too far in the opposite direction in order to sublate them both, preserve and annihilate, to a higher level.

[@hollycamara8007]

If anyone needs a transcript we've made them for this & all episodes here: www.meaningcrisis.co/episode-8-the-buddha-and-mindfulness/

[@sb9512]

Thank you!

[@JamesPond]

Holly - so appreciate this!

[@reprogrammingmind]

soft vigilance...thats how you teach!

[@rodjacksn]

Rumor has it around town, that religious philosopher, Martin Boober was a breast man !!! Hello John Vervaeke, THANK YOU for an outstanding series of lectures so far !!!!!!

[@Werdna27]

Thanks John!! Isn't there a form of "practice" or "paying attention" that doesn't optimise some activity (such as playing chess), but that can still lead to "cognitive coherence"?

[@AktivistMusik]

Refreshed!