Feels a bit like cheating...listening to your insights as I just sit here and enjoy my morning coffee. What has taken you years and years of internal work to experience and understand, and then articulate. You are so generous with your wisdom. And so clear. I have Asperger's, so I have some serious blind spots when it comes to human psychology, but yet I seem to totally get what you are saying, almost every time. It's amazing to me. Much gratitude and respect, as always.
@Neil Thank you for saying so. I appreciate that very much. It's very true. We see and experience so much that neurotypicals block out, and it can be immensely frustrating trying to explain it to them. Especially when one's communication skills aren't one's strong suit. Thank you, again. It's not often that people understand.
This meta-analysis is really special and timely. Thank you! :) I haven't uncovered the inner wisdom you've described, nor do I have plans to become a teacher anytime soon, but I have had some life insights, that I unfortunately haven't managed to integrate into the way I live, despite having talked about those insights to others on occasion. And now that I think about it, I've begun to show signs of a "depressed hypocrite". Fortunately, after watching this video, I can at least see what the problem is, and can hopefully work towards resolving it.
Really needed to hear this. It’s interesting to hear you talk about this. Just last night I listened to your first scholar sage podcast and it is clear that what you talk about here you have incorporated into your teachings since your first podcast. You seem so much more at peace by the way you talk and more playful/ relaxed. Stoked to continue to follow. I recently started a company that fuses Indian yoga and qi gong and now I am seeing that they must remain separate due to your teachings. It is so clear. Thank you brother. -Michael
Thank you 🙏 the last couple of years in particular have been good for me and I am much more at peace :) much love to you and good luck with your path :)
I was talking with my step father on how impressed i am in your channel. He always complains about digital marketing "gurus" and people trying to make a quick money on the internet, it's always a flashing thing with huge investment on marketing. I told him "someone who really is a master on his subject attracts people by simply showing that he is indeed a expert on the subject". Showing your channel to him made he deeply impressed. Im a Qigong practicioner and Buddhist, my step father is a Christian and Krav Maga practicioner and he indeed saw that you are someone deeply knowledgeabe and educated. Thank you! Great, great Channel.
Thank you Damo. I am not a teacher but I found that this talk and the one that followed (from the forest in NM) cut across the classifications of teacher and student. Most refreshing and useful. Hope you will give us more of your energy in this way in future.
That is ‘funny’, I’m not a teacher, not even a practitioner (except of life with an open mind one might say), and yet this talk makes so much sense. Thank you Damo.
This is very true. However, I think I haven't met a single spiritual teacher or therapist who didn't have this hypocrisy to a certain extrent. There was always an aspect of their teaching they didn't fully embody themselves. I've always tried to accept that and see them as an imperfect transmitter of a valuable insight. People will often gain deep insight in the areas where their own biggest flaws lie. For example, the therapist Alice Miller wrote a brilliant book about childhood trauma and then it turned out she treated her own son horribly. Does it make the book less valuable? In a way yes, The wisdeom seems somehow tainted. And still what I've learned from this book remains with me. This pitfall probably can't be fully avoided, but it's good to see it so clearly. Thank you for your clarity!
Hi Damo, your channel and teachings are new to me and I'm very happy I found you. I studied Tao Te Ching and spent some time in China, a friend of mine recommended I look into internal alchemy and he also recommended a book called 'NeiPian of Ko Hung', I managed to find a copy translated by James Ware in the 60's (hard book to find!) And after searching for internal alchemy I found you. I am not a teacher, but I am a hypocrite - I've known this for a long time. This lesson taught me what I was already aware of but has given me a deeper understanding. I feel like there is a frame-work that I am consciously aware of but haven't managed to fully incorporate it with my life. One day I hope to get there - but like you say, I certainly will not be teaching any time soon! I hope to meet you and learn from you in person some day, thank you.
Thank you, Damo, what a profoundly humbling lesson that I’ve never ever heard another soul speak of. Truly grateful to have discovered you. Reminds me of a favorite quote by Lao Tzu: Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
What a thought-provoking and eloquently put monologue. I have thought about the subjects for quite a while but it is not something I've seen or heard directly addressed. Thank you Damo Mitchell
So true, for all of us. We have realizations through the path but applying them in life consistenntly...life knows how to challenge you so well and sometimes in more subtle ways then others. It also ferls that one realization deepens along the way, truth reveals more facets. One can't express truth, can provide at most a proxy and applying it in life goes the same way. It doesn't feel that what some call "enlightment" it's a station you can descend on and say I've arrived🙃🙏
@@LotusNeiGong I’m reading the book “The courage to teach” by Parker J Palmer and it brought to mind many of the things you’ve talked about. I couldn’t and wouldn’t directly attempt to change who someone is. Qigong, Buddhism, Daoism, tai chi, aikido…have helped me and helped with being able to share and explore ways of helping others to identify their reactions and to understand themselves.
Couldn’t one share some part of an unintegrated truth by prefacing honestly “I haven’t done/completed the work here but as far as I know this is the way it is.”? Would that necessarily violate that acquired truth or one’s role as teacher? Or am I already sliding down the slippery slope?
This reminds me of a story/fable my Tai Chi Master told me. Short version.There was a high level scholar who though he was the smartest man alive when he heard of a wise monk in the temple. He arranged a debate with him and the monk said, "lets just sit quietly before we begin". After a while the monk opened his eyes and said "what do you see when you look at me"? The scholar said, "all I see is a dirty monk in filthy clothes sitting in a dingy temple. The scholar asked, "what do you see when you look at me"? The monk said , I see a golden shining Buddha". The scholar left feeling so proud of himself and bragged to his sister how he won the debate and what the monk said. Luckily she was wise and insightful and told him, you are such a fool and you have embarrassed yourself'! She explained to him that because the monk was at such a high level of development he sees the world from an enlightened perspective. His inside world is so pure that he sees only the goodness and purity around him and all you saw was a reflection of your own ignorance and negativity. He went back to the monk and became his disciple. Damo speaks many truths. People would be lucky to study with him if given the chance.
1. listen to your wisest self, and follow its instruction 2. do not confuse wisdom for you as wisdom for others In this way you may prevent yourself from becoming a hypocrite
LOL- yeah since learning it and the meaning i must admit to sometimes using with gay abandon- perhaps another level of personal hipocracy for me to gently observe my own layers of influenced-self structure?!
@@LotusNeiGong I honestly don't get how anyone can dive into being centered in life, and the source of life, and not *have* to work through thought, emotion, personality and perspective with a need for finding what is true and discarding what isn't
I agree with you. Though mistakes will be made and everybody will no doubt stop up from time to time, the intention and nature of the path should be to live ‘truth’ :)
Is this the reason you do not talk on the precepts? I actually somewhat disagree as I believe relatability is needed much more than mechanics or the guru absolute truths. Sure, you can focus solely on mechanical causes that lead to the effects of wisdom. In this way, you stear clear of hypocricy. However, it is somewhat cowardly. I believe hypocricy should be faced head on and conquered. Why not discuss the integration process in a relatable manner that includes all the peaks and valleys? The mistakes and the triumphs? The failures and successes? Yeah, I am a human and fuck up consistently. Here is when and how. Here is how I used the wisdom gained through practice to change. Here is where I am at now and where I am going. Is this not needed more than mechanics? People need to understand and relate with the path and those who are walking it. Pure mechanics is not the way. Unshared wisdom is not relatable or useful. In fact, it is wasted. Shared wisdom without relatability and mechanics lacks usefulness. It's just words at the end of the day. Relatability, wisdom, and mechanics must go together to lead others down the correct path. Otherwise, how do we recognize the same traps and pitfalls that others have stepped into before? Integrate wisdom before sharing is a wise rule/limitation to navigate hypocrisy, but is it truly the best or most efficient? It is simply avoiding the problem. The problem will keep coming back because teachers are dragged into situations where hypocricy arises as a test. Avoidance is a bandaid fix. Could it not be better to share the integration process itself to showcase the stuggles and how best to conquer them? Teach others how exactly you mastered yourself in the past and how you are still in the process of mastering yourself. Tell others your weaknesses and strengths. Tell others how you are still flawed and make mistakes. If you are a renowned, public teacher, you do not conquer hypocricy by cowering away. You must face it. The route to success through this is relatability. Don't place yourself on a pedastal. Show others why you don't and why they shouldn't either. Have you had a struggle with macrocosmic annoyance due to recognition of common flaws between yourself and the world? If you have, say it. Tackle it. Regain meaning and climb out of the pit. Show others the internal struggle so they can relate. This is much more powerful. If it is impossible to avoid the situation or the problem, maybe it is best not to avoid it at all. You see? Is it better for me to keep this wisdom for myself while I spend 50 years mastering it or help someone further along the path than myself try to tackle the issue of hypocricy? Have you truly mastered hypocrisy and wisdom to the extent you can teach it? Do you claim to be there? I don't. But, I share anyway, as I believe it helps others to have their own thoughts and wisdom arise from the core of their being. It seems to me that you did not navigate hypocricy even in this video as I don't believe you to be past the hypocricy hurdle yourself. It would be much better to state that it is something that you still work on through practice and are continually integrating. Stating examples of past hypocricy and your own failures as well as how you navigated the situations going forward, to me, is a true conquering and navigation of hypocricy. Otherwise, it is simply avoidance and a waste of wisdom. No offense intended. Not meaning to be harsh :)
I think we talk of things at different levels, as in, precepts and minor things on emotions and psychology are not what I mean. I happily discuss these kinds of things with my students. The subjects I am taking of here are far higher; they are to do with truths way beyond the basic level of human mind and practice. A coward, I am not, but I am aware that a level of attainment must be reached that is appropriate to discuss certain parts of these practices. There are still many things I do not discuss as I am not at that level. Truth be told, the fact that you think that certain teachings are ‘only words’ shows me that you are not really at the level needed to fully comprehend what I am saying here. That is all good but perhaps, in the future, you will understand me more :)
@@LotusNeiGong That is fair. I was not saying you are a coward. I was trying to say that maybe discussions can be had while still in the process of integration with enough relatability. The teachings themselves are only words without the correct mechanisms and experiences. It is only with the direct experience that the words truly take on their full meaning. That was what I meant in my post. I just think that the hard rule you are stating can be bent at times to serve the needs of each person. Maybe, in some instances, it is okay to discuss the truths that haven't been fully integrated if we do it with enough relatability. But, to each their own! I do admit that you are right and that I am not at a high enough level yet! Practice is always most important. My stance is simply that silence is avoidance. Hypocricy is avoided by staying silent about truths we haven't fully integrated into our own being. However, my personal view is that we can confront hypocricy head on with enough relatability. Of course, we still need the mechanisms and direct experience. Otherwise, truths take the form of being merely words, when in fact, they are not. In my view, hypocricy is best confronted with a combination of relatability, mechanisms, and wisdom gained through pratice/direct experience. I don't think our views are too far from each other. I simply want to drive home how important it is to stay relatable and be completely transparent. From my perspective, without the disclaimer that you still regularly recognize hypocricy in yourself as a form of relatability, you still fail to navigate the issue. Unless, you feel you have conquered and integrated it enough to post the video? Not trying to attack you. Again, just being honest. Do you agree or disagree?
No no, I am not above hypocrisy, if I gave that impression then it was unintentional. I keep an eye on it and do my best; I am also happy to admit my weaknesses and failures. What I avoid doing is telling people to do things I haven’t done myself, but that’s a personal choice. I can see your point and I am sure there are other ways; this is just my personal way :)
@@LotusNeiGong Cool! Thanks for the honest replies! I try to do the same, but, of course, aiming for perfection is the most difficult of paths. I am still a lowly character, but I will keep trying my best
Feels a bit like cheating...listening to your insights as I just sit here and enjoy my morning coffee. What has taken you years and years of internal work to experience and understand, and then articulate. You are so generous with your wisdom. And so clear. I have Asperger's, so I have some serious blind spots when it comes to human psychology, but yet I seem to totally get what you are saying, almost every time. It's amazing to me. Much gratitude and respect, as always.
You are too kind 🙏 happy to share :)
🙏
I second this.
@Neil Thank you for saying so. I appreciate that very much. It's very true. We see and experience so much that neurotypicals block out, and it can be immensely frustrating trying to explain it to them. Especially when one's communication skills aren't one's strong suit. Thank you, again. It's not often that people understand.
This meta-analysis is really special and timely. Thank you! :)
I haven't uncovered the inner wisdom you've described, nor do I have plans to become a teacher anytime soon,
but I have had some life insights, that I unfortunately haven't managed to integrate into the way I live,
despite having talked about those insights to others on occasion.
And now that I think about it, I've begun to show signs of a "depressed hypocrite".
Fortunately, after watching this video, I can at least see what the problem is,
and can hopefully work towards resolving it.
Really needed to hear this. It’s interesting to hear you talk about this. Just last night I listened to your first scholar sage podcast and it is clear that what you talk about here you have incorporated into your teachings since your first podcast.
You seem so much more at peace by the way you talk and more playful/ relaxed.
Stoked to continue to follow. I recently started a company that fuses Indian yoga and qi gong and now I am seeing that they must remain separate due to your teachings. It is so clear. Thank you brother. -Michael
Thank you 🙏 the last couple of years in particular have been good for me and I am much more at peace :) much love to you and good luck with your path :)
I was talking with my step father on how impressed i am in your channel. He always complains about digital marketing "gurus" and people trying to make a quick money on the internet, it's always a flashing thing with huge investment on marketing. I told him "someone who really is a master on his subject attracts people by simply showing that he is indeed a expert on the subject". Showing your channel to him made he deeply impressed. Im a Qigong practicioner and Buddhist, my step father is a Christian and Krav Maga practicioner and he indeed saw that you are someone deeply knowledgeabe and educated. Thank you! Great, great Channel.
You are too kind. 🙏
Good luck to you in your practice and wish all my best to your step father as well, I hope he keeps enjoying his Krav Maga :)
Thank you Damo. I am not a teacher but I found that this talk and the one that followed (from the forest in NM) cut across the classifications of teacher and student. Most refreshing and useful. Hope you will give us more of your energy in this way in future.
Thanks for the feedback. That was a beautiful part of the world (NM) that I will certainly visit again :)
That is ‘funny’, I’m not a teacher, not even a practitioner (except of life with an open mind one might say), and yet this talk makes so much sense. Thank you Damo.
🙏
"If you go beyond that point, you have to live according it" loved it. Thanks D!
❤️
This is very valuable to me. For a way to share my wisdom, but much more for the dilemmas I had about some teachers. Thank you!
🙏
This is very true. However, I think I haven't met a single spiritual teacher or therapist who didn't have this hypocrisy to a certain extrent. There was always an aspect of their teaching they didn't fully embody themselves. I've always tried to accept that and see them as an imperfect transmitter of a valuable insight.
People will often gain deep insight in the areas where their own biggest flaws lie. For example, the therapist Alice Miller wrote a brilliant book about childhood trauma and then it turned out she treated her own son horribly. Does it make the book less valuable? In a way yes, The wisdeom seems somehow tainted. And still what I've learned from this book remains with me.
This pitfall probably can't be fully avoided, but it's good to see it so clearly. Thank you for your clarity!
Hi Damo, your channel and teachings are new to me and I'm very happy I found you. I studied Tao Te Ching and spent some time in China, a friend of mine recommended I look into internal alchemy and he also recommended a book called 'NeiPian of Ko Hung', I managed to find a copy translated by James Ware in the 60's (hard book to find!) And after searching for internal alchemy I found you. I am not a teacher, but I am a hypocrite - I've known this for a long time. This lesson taught me what I was already aware of but has given me a deeper understanding. I feel like there is a frame-work that I am consciously aware of but haven't managed to fully incorporate it with my life. One day I hope to get there - but like you say, I certainly will not be teaching any time soon! I hope to meet you and learn from you in person some day, thank you.
Hope to make contact with you in the future :) 🙏
Thank you, Damo, what a profoundly humbling lesson that I’ve never ever heard another soul speak of. Truly grateful to have discovered you.
Reminds me of a favorite quote by Lao Tzu: Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
🙏
What a thought-provoking and eloquently put monologue. I have thought about the subjects for quite a while but it is not something I've seen or heard directly addressed. Thank you Damo Mitchell
🙏
So true, for all of us. We have realizations through the path but applying them in life consistenntly...life knows how to challenge you so well and sometimes in more subtle ways then others. It also ferls that one realization deepens along the way, truth reveals more facets. One can't express truth, can provide at most a proxy and applying it in life goes the same way. It doesn't feel that what some call "enlightment" it's a station you can descend on and say I've arrived🙃🙏
👍
One of the few valuable channels on RUclips in these arts and in general. Thank you.
Thank you. That’s too kind 🙏
Thank you for sharing. Very insightful.
🙏
@@LotusNeiGong I’m reading the book “The courage to teach” by Parker J Palmer and it brought to mind many of the things you’ve talked about.
I couldn’t and wouldn’t directly attempt to change who someone is. Qigong, Buddhism, Daoism, tai chi, aikido…have helped me and helped with being able to share and explore ways of helping others to identify their reactions and to understand themselves.
Couldn’t one share some part of an unintegrated truth by prefacing honestly “I haven’t done/completed the work here but as far as I know this is the way it is.”? Would that necessarily violate that acquired truth or one’s role as teacher? Or am I already sliding down the slippery slope?
This would be a kind of ‘halfway house’ I guess, though I think a message is more powerful if coming from one who is living it :)
This reminds me of a story/fable my Tai Chi Master told me. Short version.There was a high level scholar who though he was the smartest man alive when he heard of a wise monk in the temple. He arranged a debate with him and the monk said, "lets just sit quietly before we begin". After a while the monk opened his eyes and said "what do you see when you look at me"? The scholar said, "all I see is a dirty monk in filthy clothes sitting in a dingy temple. The scholar asked, "what do you see when you look at me"? The monk said , I see a golden shining Buddha". The scholar left feeling so proud of himself and bragged to his sister how he won the debate and what the monk said. Luckily she was wise and insightful and told him, you are such a fool and you have embarrassed yourself'! She explained to him that because the monk was at such a high level of development he sees the world from an enlightened perspective. His inside world is so pure that he sees only the goodness and purity around him and all you saw was a reflection of your own ignorance and negativity. He went back to the monk and became his disciple.
Damo speaks many truths. People would be lucky to study with him if given the chance.
Probably the best advice in life ever. Thank you 🤙
🙏
1. listen to your wisest self, and follow its instruction
2. do not confuse wisdom for you as wisdom for others
In this way you may prevent yourself from becoming a hypocrite
Spoiler alert! 👆😁
Astounding.
This has got a name other than hypocrisy;
Cognitive dissonance, it is rife and a core aspect of the human condition- (duka).
Yes, true, would have used that term but couldn’t spell it 😁
LOL- yeah since learning it and the meaning i must admit to sometimes using with gay abandon- perhaps another level of personal hipocracy for me to gently observe my own layers of influenced-self structure?!
Love your stuff kick on love it👍
🙏
Thank you.
great talk.
There are those who teach. And there are those who teach, teachers. Jeesh.
Plato also says one can't teach wisdom.
🙏❤🙏
🙂🙏
Damn 🙏🙏🙏
🙏🏻
Integrity
It seems like you're thinking of one or two people in particular here?
I think any of us who have been in the scene for a while can easily think of some examples which set our thoughts into motion :)
@@LotusNeiGong I honestly don't get how anyone can dive into being centered in life, and the source of life, and not *have* to work through thought, emotion, personality and perspective with a need for finding what is true and discarding what isn't
I agree with you. Though mistakes will be made and everybody will no doubt stop up from time to time, the intention and nature of the path should be to live ‘truth’ :)
Best teacher I ever had was dead. He got me to move my ass , after years of procrastination .
👍
Is this the reason you do not talk on the precepts? I actually somewhat disagree as I believe relatability is needed much more than mechanics or the guru absolute truths. Sure, you can focus solely on mechanical causes that lead to the effects of wisdom. In this way, you stear clear of hypocricy. However, it is somewhat cowardly. I believe hypocricy should be faced head on and conquered. Why not discuss the integration process in a relatable manner that includes all the peaks and valleys? The mistakes and the triumphs? The failures and successes? Yeah, I am a human and fuck up consistently. Here is when and how. Here is how I used the wisdom gained through practice to change. Here is where I am at now and where I am going. Is this not needed more than mechanics? People need to understand and relate with the path and those who are walking it. Pure mechanics is not the way. Unshared wisdom is not relatable or useful. In fact, it is wasted. Shared wisdom without relatability and mechanics lacks usefulness. It's just words at the end of the day. Relatability, wisdom, and mechanics must go together to lead others down the correct path. Otherwise, how do we recognize the same traps and pitfalls that others have stepped into before? Integrate wisdom before sharing is a wise rule/limitation to navigate hypocrisy, but is it truly the best or most efficient? It is simply avoiding the problem. The problem will keep coming back because teachers are dragged into situations where hypocricy arises as a test. Avoidance is a bandaid fix. Could it not be better to share the integration process itself to showcase the stuggles and how best to conquer them? Teach others how exactly you mastered yourself in the past and how you are still in the process of mastering yourself. Tell others your weaknesses and strengths. Tell others how you are still flawed and make mistakes. If you are a renowned, public teacher, you do not conquer hypocricy by cowering away. You must face it. The route to success through this is relatability. Don't place yourself on a pedastal. Show others why you don't and why they shouldn't either. Have you had a struggle with macrocosmic annoyance due to recognition of common flaws between yourself and the world? If you have, say it. Tackle it. Regain meaning and climb out of the pit. Show others the internal struggle so they can relate. This is much more powerful. If it is impossible to avoid the situation or the problem, maybe it is best not to avoid it at all. You see? Is it better for me to keep this wisdom for myself while I spend 50 years mastering it or help someone further along the path than myself try to tackle the issue of hypocricy? Have you truly mastered hypocrisy and wisdom to the extent you can teach it? Do you claim to be there? I don't. But, I share anyway, as I believe it helps others to have their own thoughts and wisdom arise from the core of their being. It seems to me that you did not navigate hypocricy even in this video as I don't believe you to be past the hypocricy hurdle yourself. It would be much better to state that it is something that you still work on through practice and are continually integrating. Stating examples of past hypocricy and your own failures as well as how you navigated the situations going forward, to me, is a true conquering and navigation of hypocricy. Otherwise, it is simply avoidance and a waste of wisdom. No offense intended. Not meaning to be harsh :)
I think we talk of things at different levels, as in, precepts and minor things on emotions and psychology are not what I mean. I happily discuss these kinds of things with my students. The subjects I am taking of here are far higher; they are to do with truths way beyond the basic level of human mind and practice.
A coward, I am not, but I am aware that a level of attainment must be reached that is appropriate to discuss certain parts of these practices. There are still many things I do not discuss as I am not at that level.
Truth be told, the fact that you think that certain teachings are ‘only words’ shows me that you are not really at the level needed to fully comprehend what I am saying here. That is all good but perhaps, in the future, you will understand me more :)
@@LotusNeiGong That is fair. I was not saying you are a coward. I was trying to say that maybe discussions can be had while still in the process of integration with enough relatability. The teachings themselves are only words without the correct mechanisms and experiences. It is only with the direct experience that the words truly take on their full meaning. That was what I meant in my post. I just think that the hard rule you are stating can be bent at times to serve the needs of each person. Maybe, in some instances, it is okay to discuss the truths that haven't been fully integrated if we do it with enough relatability. But, to each their own! I do admit that you are right and that I am not at a high enough level yet! Practice is always most important. My stance is simply that silence is avoidance. Hypocricy is avoided by staying silent about truths we haven't fully integrated into our own being. However, my personal view is that we can confront hypocricy head on with enough relatability. Of course, we still need the mechanisms and direct experience. Otherwise, truths take the form of being merely words, when in fact, they are not. In my view, hypocricy is best confronted with a combination of relatability, mechanisms, and wisdom gained through pratice/direct experience. I don't think our views are too far from each other. I simply want to drive home how important it is to stay relatable and be completely transparent. From my perspective, without the disclaimer that you still regularly recognize hypocricy in yourself as a form of relatability, you still fail to navigate the issue. Unless, you feel you have conquered and integrated it enough to post the video? Not trying to attack you. Again, just being honest. Do you agree or disagree?
No no, I am not above hypocrisy, if I gave that impression then it was unintentional. I keep an eye on it and do my best; I am also happy to admit my weaknesses and failures. What I avoid doing is telling people to do things I haven’t done myself, but that’s a personal choice. I can see your point and I am sure there are other ways; this is just my personal way :)
@@LotusNeiGong Cool! Thanks for the honest replies! I try to do the same, but, of course, aiming for perfection is the most difficult of paths. I am still a lowly character, but I will keep trying my best
Buddhism not booty-ism
😁