My guest today thinks nature might be one of our greatest teachers. Forty years ago, Mark Coleman was a punk rocker and self-described anarchist in London, until he found Buddhism and began looking inward.

Today, he’s a renowned meditation teacher who takes mindfulness out of the temple and into the woods, believing nature can transform how we experience ourselves and the world.

We get into nature, self-care, ADHD, and the ethical dilemmas of taking the natural world seriously.

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Joan Tolifson spent the sixties drinking herself into blackouts before becoming one of the most unflinching voices on addiction, shame, and what actually gets you free of them — a path built not on willpower, but on attention.

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We’re gonna get to the bottom of whether or not “you” exist. Here’s why it matters practically. If you don’t exist, you might navigate life with so much more joy. Because what exactly are you protecting, every time you get defensive, jealous, insecure, anxious? Nothing.

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?

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Todd Fink has the ability to casually articulate some of the most complex spiritual paradoxes all while exuding an aura of warmth and love. We explore the ego, the healing effect of nature, and the way society and commerce can commodify art and turn spirituality into an industry - in an effort to figure out what’s real and what’s performance, what’s authentic - who are we really when nobody’s watching? 

More from Todd: michaeltoddfink.com

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?

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Jonah writes on Substack

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A tech founder tried the same dark retreat as Nate and tapped out after three hours. One of favourite friends of the show - Nate Green, did over a hundred, straight, alone, and with a real risk of losing his grip on reality. He walks us through what a hundred hours in blackout darkness does to your sense of time, your sense of self, and your ability to tell whether you're living or dying. Then faces the Reckoning of Self, my closing gauntlet of questions on fear, death, and regret. 

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?

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What if Nirvana isn't a mountaintop, monastery thing, but something available to you right now wherever you are. Stephen Batchelor spent ten years as a monk chasing exactly that, including three-month stretches sitting in silence asking "what is this?" He came out the other side as a controversial figure with his own brand of secular Buddhism that requires no mythical beliefs - essentially, we've been overcomplicating the whole path. Today on The Overexamined Life Podcast: a modern attainable definition of Nirvana, what "embracing suffering" really means, and how to get there without leaving your house. 

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?

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Jonah writes on Substack

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Buckle up you philosophy degenerates for one of our more "out there" ones. Richard Lang has spent his life teaching Douglas Harding's "Headless Way" — a philosophy that starts with a genuinely disorienting perceptual experiment and ends up somewhere close to boundlessness, reduced stress, and a different relationship with your own self-consciousness. We talk through the exercise itself, what people report feeling when it lands, and why something this simple has stuck with people for seventy years.

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?

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Want more from Richard? https://www.headless.org/

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Paul Sagar was a world-class rock climber until a freak accident left him tetraplegic overnight, paralysed in all four limbs, torso, and pelvic organs, losing not just his body but the identity and dreams built around it. Paul is also a Cambridge-trained philosopher who teaches political theory at King's College London, and he brings that same rigour to unpacking his own experience, from the physical horror of his new reality to the depression that came with it. Somehow, and against every expectation, he's emerged with an ease around words like "lucky" and "happy" that most people couldn't muster on their best day. This is a hard listen that goes to some dark places before it climbs back out, but what Paul finds on the other side might change how you think about what actually matters.

Sick of being ruled by your emotions?

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Can you actually do anything to change your dopamine levels? The "Dopamine Detox" is trending, but today we look into some studies to help figure out what's true and what's bollocks. I also go into some strategies that have really helped me enjoy every day life a bit more.

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Today I'm chatting with Anne Jolles who has built an entire movement around the idea that help people access gratitude, courage, and inner wisdom through walking rather than stillness. We'll explore why walking in nature seems to calm the nervous system, whether self-compassion is really worth all the hype, and Anne will even guide us through a virtual Grace Trail that you can follow along with as you listen.

Grace Trail | Wellness Trails That Inspire Reflection & Resilience

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Jonah writes on Substack

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