Jack sits down with comedians Pete Holmes and Duncan Trussell to do some spiritual laundry.
Jack speaks with Pete Holmes and Duncan Trussell about a variety of topics including the amorphous construct of our identities, dreams and death, mystical experiences, and the interaction of spirituality with materialism. Jack also describes the illusory nature of perceived security and the freedom that can come when we discover the art of true awakening to our mysterious incarnation.
Pete Holmes is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. You can listen to him on his podcast You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes or check out his new book Comedy Sex God.
Duncan Trussell is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, and actor. You can listen to him on his podcast The Duncan Trussell Family Hour. He also appears on the Netflix series The Midnight Gospel, along with The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and Joe Rogan Questions Everything.
Listen to Duncan’s “Family Hour” Podcast Here. Listen to “You Made it Weird” with Pete Holmes Here.
Identity and Consciousness
Jack opens this discussion by talking about identity and how what we identify with is constantly changing. He poses the question, “what is real?”. The group then moves into a discussion of dreams versus waking life, death, and virtual reality. They compare these sudden shifts in consciousness and pose that this is how death can be understood.
Death and Judgement (9:16)
Jack and Pete talk about self-judgment. We hear them ponder the nature of original sin and other ancient depictions of punishment after death. Though we hold onto the fear of impending judgments and doom, many people who have had near-death experiences say that we are our own judges. We have the power to notice death as a part of the mystery of being. The more we awaken and accept ourselves, the better our reality will be in life and death.
“When you sit with somebody at the side of the bed when somebody is dying or you sit there with someone who is giving birth… the gates between the worlds open and you realize wow this is a whole mysterious thing to be an incarnated human being…what we are is consciousness, what we are is awareness itself, it is the direct mystical experience of the galaxies and your being apart of them”
For more on the mystery of death on Ep. 241 of the Mindrolling podcast.
The Vastness of Mystery (19:20)
We listen to Jack comment on the fear of silence and mystery. He says that the majority of Americans have had a mystical experience but opt against having another. He quotes Mythologist Joseph Campbell:
“Primarily, modern organized religion serves as an inoculation against mystery”.
When people realize that the world is illuminated by consciousness, that vastness can be overwhelming. Are you open to the mysterious pallet of possibilities?
Subscribe to the Jack Kornfield, “Heart Wisdom” podcast on iTunes: Subscribe.
The Beauty in Everyday Life (36:06)
Whether it is eating a kiwi or staring into a puddle, there is beauty to experience in everyday life. ‘Being here now’ is all about savoring each moment fully. Jack describes this as living like a child where everything is always new. Duncan insightfully says that sometimes applying effort to be in the moment takes away from being in the moment. Meditation can be a great tool to ground ourselves in each moment without hyper-focusing and getting stuck in our thoughts.
“You don’t have to believe your thoughts and that is tremendously helpful and liberating.”
To develop skills to be in the moment check out Ep. 83 of the BHNN Guest Podcast with Mingyur Rinpoche.
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