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“Awakening does not mean a change in difficulty, it means a change in how those difficulties are met.” - Dr. Mark Epstein

When we think of Buddhism, Taoism, and other Eastern philosophies, we often imagine achieving a state of permanent inner peace - being completely untroubled by the concerns of this world.

Unfortunately, we need to be able to deal effectively with the realities of everyday life, rather than shrink away from them.

According to Dr. Mark Epstein, most people have a fundamental misunderstanding about what Buddhism is trying to teach us.

It isn’t about dissolving the ego completely, or becoming totally detached from our past and future.

Rather, the point of the Buddha’s teachings is to use fundamental psychological truths to become more effective at actually engaging with the difficulties of everyday life.

So if you’re struggling with difficult relationships, have difficulties with past trauma, or simply have never been able to understand the point of meditation, then you’re sure to find something valuable in today’s episode.

And if you like what you see here, then you should definitely order Mark’s latest book: The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life: https://amzn.to/3NDZxk5


SHOW NOTES:
00:00 | Introduction
01:27 | Why Eastern Philosophy Is So Attractive
09:16 | The Core Tenets of Buddhism
19:50 | How Buddhism Heals Trauma
35:04 | The Four Noble Truths
51:05 | What is the Ego?
56:49 | The Eightfold Path
1:04:39 | Struggling With Meditation
1:19:06 | Psychedelics and Therapy


QUOTES:
“There's something beneficial in allowing ourselves, and in training ourselves, to be with that which is difficult in ourselves, in our partners, in life.” [13:34]

“It's not what you're experiencing, or what you've experienced, that matters. It's how you relate to it.” [23:42]

“The Buddhist teaching is such a help, because it's what it's saying is, this aspect of experience is unavoidable. And we can find our best selves by staying with it, rather than trying to get away from it.” [40:11]

“The ego doesn't need or doesn't actually want to be in control all the time. We just need it for certain things, and then we have to learn to let it go.” [55:23]

“Why don't you leave yourself alone? Why don't you just let yourself be? Why don't you see who you are that way? Why don't you discover who you are by relating naturally to the world, to other people, to yourself?” [1:03:08]


Follow Dr. Mark Epstein:
Website: http://markepsteinmd.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mepstein108
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markepstein108
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markepsteinmd/
Order The Zen of Therapy: https://amzn.to/3NDZxk5