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The Ultimate Health Podcast

382: Dr. Pedram Shojai - Becoming A Taoist Monk, Meditation Is the Ultimate Drug, Managing Your Life Garden

The Ultimate Health Podcast

Jesse Chappus

Exercise, Realfood, Vegetarian, Nutrition, Superfoods, Glutenfree, Superherbs, Adaptogens, Springwater, Nongmo, Paleo, Plantbased, Health, Rawfood, Longevity, Nextlevel, Alternative Health, Ultimatehealth, Health & Fitness, Spirituality, Nutritionist, Vegan, Experts, Wellness, Selfhelp, Podcast, Jerf, Marniwasserman, Tea, Interview, Fitness, Meditation, Jessechappus

4.51.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2020

⏱️ 82 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dr. Pedram Shojai (IG: @official_urbanmonk) is former Taoist monk who is a physician of Chinese medicine and has lectured on wellness around the world.

His no-nonsense approach teaches esoteric concepts to Western readers in an easy to understand way.

Pedram is a New York Times bestselling author and producer of multiple films and series.

Today we're discussing his latest book Focus: Bringing Time, Energy, and Money into Flow.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Pedram becoming a Taoist monk
  • The integration of Qigong and Kung Fu
  • Choosing to live as an urban monk
  • Don’t use spirituality to run from your past
  • Sex is a path to enlightenment
  • The hardest part about being a monk
  • Developing good work ethic early on
  • No one is perfect, we all have flaws
  • What Pedram learned after fasting for 5 days in Hawaii
  • You've got to do the work
  • The benefits of meditation
  • Basic meditation tips
  • Meditation is the ultimate drug
  • What if the answer to complexity was simplicity
  • Social media algorithms pull your attention away from your life
  • Focus on your own life
  • Developing the life garden framework
  • Learning how to say no
  • Understanding energy economics
  • Qigong is the secret to life
  • What is the difference between Qigong and Tai Chi?
  • If it’s not in your calendar, how important is it to you?
  • Practicing the art of disengaging from effort
  • Meditation is a muscle
  • Creating empty space in your life
  • Pedram's work/life balance in Utah
  • Hunting is a primal experience
  • How to identify the weeds in your life garden
  • Newsflash “you’re going to die”
  • Being present every day
  • Honouring commitments to yourself
  • Get to work on your life

Show sponsors:

Paleovalley <== 15% off all Paleovalley products by using the code ultimatehealth at checkout

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Organifi <== 20% off all Organifi products

LMNT <== LMNT's tasty electrolyte drink mix comes in 7 flavours and is formulated to help anyone with their electrolyte needs

Related links:

Dr. Pedram Shojai - Focus (book)

Dr. Pedram Shojai's website (The Urban Monk)

Follow Dr. Pedram Shojai on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Dr. Pedram Shojai (books)

Watch Dr. Pedram Shojai's films on Whole.TV

Listen to Pedram Shojai previously on TUHP (episode #182)

Deng Ming-Dao - The Wandering Taoist (book)

Deng Ming-Dao - Chronicles of Tao (book)

Headspace (app)

The Social Dilemma (documentary)

Related episodes:

375: James Sebastiano – Chasing The Present

374: Dr. Jud Brewer – The Craving Mind, Finding Joy In Meditation, Overcoming Addictions

336: John Assaraf – Innercise, Goal Setting, Are You Committed?

332: Dr. David Perlmutter – Brain Wash, Prioritizing Meditation, The T.I.M.E. Tool

293: Mark Manson – We All Need Hope • Meditation Makes You Stronger • Happiness Is Overrated

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Coming up on the Ultimate Health Podcast.

0:02.6

That's where our culture is just broken.

0:05.5

Teach me how to get rich, don't teach me about money.

0:08.1

Teach me how to get healthy, don't tell me how to live helpfully.

0:11.0

Protect me, I don't know how to protect myself. Tell me what to think I don't want to read.

0:15.4

It's everything that's wrong with the world is also everything that's right with the world

0:20.4

if you just make a decision to step in and take control of your life.

0:24.6

Once you start meditating, you make better food decisions, better exercise decisions,

0:28.2

you're sleeping better, your stress goes down, your cortisol levels, balance, I mean all of the things that we need to turn around this chronic health

0:35.8

disease issue and I've been making films about this for years, meditation is the pivot. The pivot. Hello and welcome to the Ultimate Health Podcast episode 382.

0:50.0

I'm Jesse Chappas and I'm here to take your health to the next level.

0:54.3

Each week I'll bring you in-depth conversations with health and wellness leaders from

0:57.5

around the world.

0:58.8

And this week Pedro Shojai is back on the show.

1:01.4

He's a former Taoist monk who is a physician of Chinese medicine

1:04.8

and has lectured on wellness around the world. His no-nonsense approach teaches esoteric concepts

1:10.3

to Western readers in an easy to understand way.

1:13.0

Phedram is a New York Times best-selling author and producer of multiple films and series.

1:19.0

And I really appreciate Phedram's no-B-B-S approach to discussing the deeper things in life. You're going to get a lot from this conversation.

1:26.0

Highlights include the story of Pedram becoming a Taoist monk, the hardest part about being a monk,

1:32.0

what Pedram learned after fasting for five days in Hawaii, the ultimate

1:36.4

drug is meditation and creating empty space in your life.

...

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