Loch Kelly – BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 23 – Into the Flow with Piet Hut

This week on the Be Here Now Network’s Guest Podcast, Piet Hut joins Loch Kelly to discuss what Western science and Tibetan Buddhism have to teach us about the timeless awareness that comes with being in the moment.

Piet Hut is one of the founders of YHouse, and currently its President. He is also a Professor of Astrophysics and the Head of the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. He has been invited to give talks at various conferences on science and consciousness for more than 20 years.

Show Notes

The Now (Opening) –Our host and his guest explore what it means to be in “the now.” Loch examines this quality of timeless awareness that allows us to be in the now, remember the past and plan for the future without getting caught up in the traps of the ego.

“Don’t invite the future. Don’t pursue the past. Let go of the present. Relax right now.” – Gampopa

Science and Mysticism (9:10) – Piet discusses the objective approach needed when studying the benefits of contemplative practice, one without blind superstition or dismissive skepticism. He looks at the history of contemplative thinking in the West and what the study of quantum mechanics has to teach us about how we think about reality.

Into the Flow (27:10) – We look at what Western psychology refers to as the flow state. Loch and Piet talk about what we can gain from the integration of the scientific and contemplative perspectives.

“In the flow state you feel like there isn’t an ego center, you are not referencing thought. Time slows down and you feel an interconnection with everyone and everything. You feel like you are optimally functioning without secondary worry or judgment.” – Loch Kelly

The Essence of Experience (39:05) – Loch and Piet talk about the dissatisfaction that arises when we are not in the flow of things. They close by leading us in a contemplative exploration on the essence of experience.

“We realize, even for us adults, that subject and object are emerging properties out of the field of experience. So, what is really the essence of experience?” – Piet Hut

Check out what BHNN teacher Joseph Goldstein has to say about the flow state and the root of suffering: Attachment & The Flow Experience
Art via Veronika Seppanen