Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Life: Finding Ease and Clarity with Charlie Gilkey

The One You Feed

Eric Zimmer

Education, Self-improvement, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness, Buddhism, Mental Health

4.6 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You're doing everything right, staying productive, chasing growth, keeping up. But what if the discomfort you feel isn't a sign that you need to do more, but a signal to let go? In this episode, Charlie Gilkey and I explore the Tao Te Ching, which is one of my favorite books of all time, but not as a relic from the past, but as a guide for navigating the speed and complexities of modern life, including the rise of AI.We talk about how ancient wisdom can live side by side with new technology and how presence, simplicity, and inner alignment still matter, now more than ever,

The Tao Te Ching is one of those books I keep coming back to. Ancient wisdom, wrapped in poetry, that somehow feels more relevant every year. Like this line: “If you look to others for happiness, you will never be happy. If your well-being depends on money, you will never be content.“Simple. Clear. Actually useful.I’ve teamed up with Rebind.ai to create an interactive edition of the Tao—forty essential verses, translated into plain, everyday language, with space to reflect, explore, and ask questions. It’s like having a conversation not just with the Tao, but with me too. If you’re looking for more clarity, calm, or direction, come check it out here.

Key Takeaways:

Discussion of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese text attributed to Lao Tzu.
Application of Tao Te Ching, teachings to modern life and contemporary challenges.
Exploration of themes such as presence, simplicity, and inner alignment.
The balance between engagement and busyness in daily life.
The metaphor of feeding the “good wolf” within us and acknowledging both positive and negative aspects of our nature.
The significance of flexibility and adaptability in navigating life’s changes.
The importance of mental health and accessibility to support systems.
Reflection on the “Three Treasures” of the Tao Te Ching: simplicity, compassion, and patience.
The role of philosophy in fostering human connection and understanding.
Encouragement to embrace the teachings of the Tao Te Ching, for personal growth and fulfillment.

If you enjoyed this conversation with Charlie Gilkey, check out these other episodes:

How to Get Things Done with Charlie Gilkey

Embrace the Chaos: Finding Clarity Through Meditation with Henry Shukman (Part 1)

For full show notes, click here!

Connect with the show:

Follow us on YouTube: @TheOneYouFeedPod
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Follow us on Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You thought you were crossing a frozen river.
0:02.4	It thawed overnight.
0:03.9	Guess what?
0:04.6	You don't walk across the river anymore.
0:07.2	You change your plan.
0:15.8	Welcome to the one you feed.
0:18.3	Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance of the thoughts
0:21.8	we have. Quotes like, garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true. And yet,
0:29.0	for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us. We tend toward negativity, self-pity,
0:35.5	jealousy, or fear. We see what we don't have instead of what we do.
0:40.2	We think things that hold us back and dampen our spirit.
0:43.6	But it's not just about thinking.
0:45.7	Our actions matter.
0:47.2	It takes conscious, consistent, and creative effort to make a life worth living.
0:52.0	This podcast is about how other people keep themselves moving in the
0:55.3	right direction, how they feed their good wolf. You're doing everything right, staying productive,
1:03.5	chasing growth, keeping up. But what if the discomfort you feel isn't a sign that you need to do
1:09.7	more, but a signal to let go.
1:12.6	In this episode, my good friend Charlie Gilke and I explore the Dow-Dai Ching, which is one of my favorite books of all time.
1:19.6	But not as a relic from the past, but as a guide for navigating the speed and complexities of modern life, including the rise of AI.
1:30.0	We talk about how ancient wisdom can live side by side with new technology,
1:34.8	and how presence, simplicity, and inner alignment still matter.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 24 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Eric Zimmer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Eric Zimmer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.