Thank you to everyone who tuned in to my live video chat with the inimitable
. Sasha is not only among my favorite Substack writers both substantively and stylistically (a rare convergence in itself), but is also probably the only meditation/mindfulness coach to whom I would unhesitatingly refer a dear friend or client. So it was pure pleasure to get to pepper him with questions on a topic we have both thought (and felt!) deeply about, albeit from fascinatingly different angles: the nature and psychology of the “self.”Specific areas of exploration included:
how to reconcile Sasha’s reported experience of letting go of his personal will with his being a person who exemplifies and is even co-authoring a book on agency
self-honesty vs self-dissolution as correctives for defensive identity?
the danger of severing our feedback loops with reality (as manifested in everything from Jiu Jitsu to corrupt guru scandals)
healthy (“habituating to openness”) vs unhealthy (“spiritual bypassing”) approaches to meditation
Interpreting Stoicism as “low-budget equanimity” versus “high-budget equanimity” (and the difference it makes)
what it looks like to go through “annihilatory grief” with grace
a bunch of other stuff like that
Tune in above if you missed it, and tell us what you think!
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