The Ten Thousand Things cover art

The Ten Thousand Things

Written by: Sam Ellis Joe Loh and Ali Catramados
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  • Summary

  • Sometimes deep, often amusing, therapeutic chats touching on philosophy, spirituality, religion, consciousness, culture, music, dating, and life. Join Sam, Joe and Ali as they discuss the 10,000 illusions that make up “reality”. Musical theme by Ehsan Gelsi - Ephemera (Live at Melbourne Town Hall)
    Sam Ellis, Joe Loh and Ali Catramados
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Episodes
  • Just One Thing - Ep 4 - Jack Kornfield

    Just One Thing - Ep 4 - Jack Kornfield
    May 3 2024
    What we take to be a self is tentative, fictitious, constructed by clinging, a temporary identification with some parts of experience. Self arises, solidifying itself, like ice floating in water. Ice is actually made of the same substance as water. Identification and clinging harden the water into ice. In a similar way, we sense ourself as separate. Jack Kornfield - The Wise HeartThis realization that the separate self is an illusion must be one of the most useful things I've ever learned. I spent most of my life assuming that I was a separate self-contained unit and I felt disconnected from those around me. From the universe as a whole. But where exactly is this seat of the self? Where's the little Joe who's up there in my head, directing everything? Where is the seat of attention? If I look for myself, where do I find myself? I find a constant flow of sense data, sights, sounds, smells, temperature. I find thoughts. But who are these thoughts occurring to?As Jack Kornfield says, identification and clinging harden the water into ice. The closest thing I can find to a separate self is this contraction in my chest that seems to create some kind of locus in time and space. But actually I am in no way separate from the flow. This has been seen through for me in meditation. What I find in meditation, if I have a good session, is I drop into a much larger, possibly infinite, ocean of awake awareness. Which mostly has a fairly neutral quality, but there's actually a lovingness there. A gentle sense of support. And I find this encouraging to say the least.Of course, I have a social self and I need to function. And go to work and perform my roles in society. But there's no need to constantly reify the separate self, this particle, somehow split off from the rest of the universe. What I actually find is an openness, a sort of infinite openness, where I used to imagine my separate self to be. Jack Kornfield talks about ice and water. I've heard it talked about in terms of a wave. A wave that somehow thinks it's separate from the ocean. Or a sunbeam that's forgotten it's part of the sun. I'm a part of something much bigger than I always took myself to be. But it's also something incredibly simple. It's just the present moment. I'm not separate to you who's reading this. I really am just part of this flow.I only care about this because I guess I've always just wanted to know the truth. I guess I've always suffered feeling so separate from things around me. It's a great relief when I realize and drop into the fact that I'm this open, loving awareness. And I can then accept everything just exactly the way it is in the present moment. After all, what other choice, do I really have?Creators & GuestsJoe Loh - HostThis is part of an ongoing series of reflections by Joe on readings. He's also posting writing at https://joeloh.substack.com Image: courtesy of Craig over at https://wish-art.blog---------------------More about the author of today's quote:Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism.[1] He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India,[2] first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. He has taught mindfulness meditation worldwide since 1974. In 1975, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein, and subsequently[clarification needed] in 1987, Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. Kornfield has worked as a peacemaker and activist, organized teacher training, and led international gatherings of Buddhist teachers including the Dalai Lama. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_KornfieldWebsite | jackkornfield.comMore about The Wise Heart
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    3 mins
  • Film

    Film
    Apr 30 2024

    Thinking back on favourite films, it becomes clear what they say about us. Cinema, the Psyche, unveiling Inner Heroes

    It's always therapy and psychoanalysis around here, movies are the vehicle. Favourite films reflect deep psychological themes and evolving personal identities. What we once found aspirational in a character, we might later rethink, or realise it was not the healthiest hero to have. Others may have been right for the time.

    So we mainly talk about movies our younger selves were drawn to, Pulp Fiction, Terminator 2, The Matrix, Le Samurai, The Thin Red Line, Beaches, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Funny Girl, 'Now, Voyager', All About Eve, and Stella Dallas.

    It's the usual mix of personal stories, and psychological insights, plus film analysis and some half-remembered film theory, looking at identification with film characters, self-perception, the making and collapsing of reality, and the separate self. We also touch on the gender dynamics in film identification, the concept of sacrificial love, and the role of cinema in shaping or reflecting social norms and personal dreams. It all brings us eventually to the universal quest for connection and meaning.

    We delve into how these preferences illuminate our aspirations, fears, and personal development.

    Creators & Guests

    • Joe Loh - Host
    • Ali Catramados - Host
    • Sam Ellis - Host

    Image: still from Cinema Paradiso (1988) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095765/?quot
    • (00:00) - TTTT Film
    • (01:23) - Deep Dive into Favorite Films and Personal Identification
    • (03:28) - Self-image and cinema
    • (07:33) - The Psychological Impact of Film and the Matrix Deep Dive
    • (10:36) - Meditation, Reality, and Joe''s dis-Engagement with Cinema
    • (14:41) - Heroism, Mortality, and the Essence of Cinema
    • (21:02) - Heroism in Real Life vs. Cinema
    • (22:59) - Reflecting on how Mortality impacts Film Appreciation
    • (26:01) - Character Archetypes in Cinema
    • (26:30) - The Impact of Nature and Civilization in Film
    • (28:57) - The Power of Old Movies: Nostalgia and Reflection
    • (30:20) - The Power of Melodrama: Reflecting on Personal Sacrifices
    • (44:03) - Romantic Comedies and Their Influence on Personal Identity
    • (51:06) - The Secret Hopes and Dreams in Cinema
    • (52:55) - Concluding Thoughts on Cinema's Psychological Impact

    00:00 Welcome: A Thought Experiment on Favorite Films
    01:10 Personal Film Favorites and Identity
    01:10 Deep Dive into Favorite Films and Personal Identification
    03:15 Self-image and cinema
    07:19 Psychological Impact of Cinema
    07:19 The Psychological Impact of Film and the Matrix Deep Dive
    10:22 Meditation, Reality, and Joe''s dis-Engagement with Cinema
    14:27 Heroism, Mortality, and the Essence of Cinema
    20:48 Heroism in Real Life vs. Cinema
    22:45 Reflecting on how Mortality impacts Film Appreciation
    25:48 Character Archetypes in Cinema
    26:16 Nature vs. Civilization: A Personal Journey
    26:16 The Impact of Nature and Civilization in Film
    28:43 The Power of Old Movies: Nostalgia and Reflection
    30:06 The Power of Melodrama: Reflecting on Personal Sacrifices
    43:49 Romantic Comedies and Self-Discovery
    43:49 Romantic Comedies and Their Influence on Personal Identity
    50:52 The Secret Hopes and Dreams in Cinema
    52:41 Concluding Thoughts on Cinema's Psychological Impact
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    54 mins
  • Just One Thing - Ep 3 - Joseph Campbell

    Just One Thing - Ep 3 - Joseph Campbell
    Apr 26 2024
    “I have really found when I look around that the romantic love I see is this ideal, the anima. The anima is the ideal that you carry within yourself that you put onto the different entities out there and you unite with that. Pretty soon you see through the projection. And then what happens?”Transcript:That's Joseph Campbell from an interview he did. I won’t pretend to be an expert on what the anima is but I took note of this because it resonated with me. I can see that I've done this throughout my adult life. It's to project something, onto a woman in my case. And then basically have a relationship with that projection.And there's an incredible high that comes from doing that. And they become perfected in your mind. And quite often I can take photos of women when I'm in this state, they will be sitting in a café or wherever, and it will be a particularly attractive photo of them. And quite often they get some kind of high out of it too.But as Joseph Campbell says:“Pretty soon you say through the projection. And then what happens?”Well, in my case, what happens is I tend to end the relationship. And often the women are left hurt and confused about what went wrong. And it reminds me of the Joni Mitchell quote about monogamy and how if all you ever have is short-term relationships and casual dating then basically, you’re just dating yourself over and over again. Telling the same stories, revealing the same small parts of yourself, and having the same fun. Whereas to really go deep with someone and commit and really get into the complexities of getting to know someone is to have a much deeper experience. But I think that moves you past romantic love and chemistry and all the hedonism that's inherent in all those chemicals floating around. I think that moves you to something that maybe feels a lot more ordinary a lot of the time. That slow layering process of really getting to know one person. And sitting here now I can see that that is an ideal for me. The problem I have is whenever I meet a new person, I tend to project my anima onto them and have the same relationship over and over again. I’m trying to get out of that trap and move onto hopefully something more profound.Creators & GuestsJoe Loh - HostImage by Craig: writing and sharing pictures of his current travels with the beloved missus and greyhound over at wish-art.blog-----------Sam here. This is part of an ongoing series from Joe, of short personal reflections on quotes found during reading, usually on spirituality, and psychology. Joe is writing at https://joeloh.substack.comJoseph Campbell is also one of my go-to teachers. Not necessarily an authority on up to date folklore, but certainly someone who can open you up to new ideas and give you courage to face fears and challenges. Campbell has helped many people greatly with perhaps one the hardest things in life, to actually face our true purposes and choose to move towards lives of greater meaning and yes, love.Reading about anima/animus, I found an interesting summary of Jung's four levels of Eros (erotic romantic love) associated with development/integration of the anima. Maturation of romantic love felt towards women, moves from:1. Eve: desire, needs, nourishment, security and love2. Helen: recognition of women's intelligence, competences and achievements in their own right3. Mary: Righteous, paragon of virtue: recognition of women's moral accomplishments I would say4: Sophia: finally recognising women as wise and fully human, *gasp*, equal, and not at all an object.-----------I also found Maria Popova's wonderful article in the Marginalian, a great match with Joe's reflection today. Reviewing Pathways to Bliss, Campbell's book on love, purpose and reality, she also quotes Anais Nin, Zen teacher D.T Suzuki, Stendahl, Dan Savage and the poet Rilke. Popova offers a striking synthesis drawing on many sources, persuading us powerfully that embracing imperfection and compassion is the path to love and meaning. Joseph Campbell on Why Perfectionism Kills Love and the Pathway to Bliss in Romantic RelationshipsKindred Media has some powerful articles by Amy Wright Glenn, who works as a yoga teacher, doula and chaplain. Clearly she is someone who specialises in helping people at life's most difficult moments. She tells stories of love, grief, bliss and purpose. "Much of our experience of love’s intensity is due to our search for the other part of our original selves. According to Aristophanes, no earthly joy can compare to this reunification." I welcome the superb clarity she brings to Campbell's ideas and her own insight. While it’s human nature to sort through stories for meaning, I agree with Campbell about the supremacy of experience over meaning... Feeling is primary. Fully feeling brings integration and is the key to healing life traumas. Meaning comes later, if at all.Amy Wright Glenn in the same article, gives us a poignant outline of Campbell's notion of three kinds of ...
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    3 mins
Social Sciences Psychology Hygiene & Healthy Living Relationships
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