I am so glad you could join us. I'm your host Mo Gaudet. This podcast is nothing more than a conversation between two good friends sharing inspiring life stories and perhaps

some nuggets of wisdom along the way.

This is your invitation to slow down with us.

Welcome to slow more. My guest today is wonderful in every possible way.

Gailon Tupton is a Buddhist monk, a meditation teacher, and an author.

At the age of 21, he gave up the life of an actor and an artist and a bit of a party animal

and ordained as a monk for what he originally

intended to be one year. Today 26 years later he had spent more than six full years in intensive meditation retreats,

the longest of which was one retreat that was four years long, which included five months of full silence.

He has been trained by some of the world's greatest masters of meditation,

and he is now regarded as one of the UK's most

influential meditation teachers. Topton contributed to Ruby Wax's most recent book How to Be Human and his own book A Monks Guide to Happiness

was a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller with editions in 10 countries around the world.

So good to see you, thank you so much for the time.

Thank you for inviting me.

I'm a big fan even though I've only been introduced to you and your work when

when basically it was suggested that we meet. You know I've had a very long journey with

meditation and when I hear you talk about it I go like wow that actually makes sense

Especially when you start inserting dopamine and cortisol and all of it's like really

really eye-opening but I don't want to start from there I actually would love

love for my audiences to know you as much as I have learned about you. So I was

hoping to start from the beginning of your story if you're open to this.

...