0018 - Three issues with religions today, and how we can solve them.

A thought that every adult encounters ever so often is centred around the idea of how life was better when they were a kid, when they were more childlike. I think there are a lot of life lessons in this train of thought, and that is the epicentre of today's episode of The Unlearning Playground.

Even The Bible reportedly says something to the tune of "No one enters the kingdom of God until he is childlike." Please note that the call is to be childlike, not childish. There is a world of difference between the two words, and I explore that too in this episode.

I think that the various tips I give out here are central to living a good life as an adult, central to living your life to the fullest as a grown-up. The playfulness, spontaneity and flexibility of childhood is something that has captured the imagination of so many philosophers already - Alan Watts, Osho, Sadhguru, Jordan Peterson, Sandeep Maheshwari to name a few. So, here I am throwing my hat in the ring too on the same.

I hope this episode lands, and leaves you with a better life.
Until next time.
Peace out.

==== Outline ====

(00:00) - Intro
(02:12) - Was life better as a kid?
(10:14) - Being more spontaneous and expressive
(22:36) - Being more playful
(36:19) - Being more open and flexible
(48:51) - Recap and concluding thoughts

#lifelessons #selfimprovementpodcast #personalgrowth 

--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

If you have a question for me, ask me here - https://chetannarang.org/ask-a-human-not-an-ai/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Find all my book recommendations here - https://chetannarang.org/book-recommendations/

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

Sign up for The Unlearning Playground newsletter here - https://chetannarang.org/newsletter/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtracks:

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/augustine/another-life 
License code: A4IITIDDH56OQH7H

One of the most fundamental questions every person asks at some point in their lives is - “What is the purpose of life?”. Not surprisingly at all, this is also one question that most of us learn to suppress very early on in our lives.

In this episode, the first of season two of the unlearning playground podcast, I dive into this question head on. I think that the modalities discussed here - of being & becoming, of life & Life, of priorities, of sacrifices and of our soul’s calling - are of utmost importance in truly grasping this ever-evasive question.

It is ok to feel lost sometimes, it happens to everyone.
It is ok to feel stuck sometimes, it happens to everyone.
It is ok to not know what to do next sometimes, it happens to everyone.

However, I have come to realise that we should not be ok with not doing anything about such feelings. Most of what needs to be done has more to do with the stance we approach them with.

As you will find it in this episode, this is not a direct invitation to change WHAT you do, in the sense of quitting your job and following your “passion”. Although there is something to be said about that being absolutely necessary at times.

Rather, this is an invitation firstly to change HOW you are going about your life - how you’re looking at your life, how you view your job, your relationships, your career, your purpose, your questions, your conversations and all the rest of Life.

This is an absolutely vital episode in the grand scope of all of my work at the unlearning playground I would say.

==== Outline ====

(00:00) - Introduction
(02:50) - Why talk about this at all? The crisis of meaning today’s age
(09:52) - The two modalities - being & becoming
(10:51) - Being - life vs Life 
(23:59) - Becoming
(31:28) - How to find your purpose?
(48:38) - Priorities
(56:18) - Sacrifices & your soul’s calling
(1:01:19) - Concluding thoughts


--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Find all my book recommendations here - https://chetannarang.org/book-recommendations/

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGTAFgEsIneXtQ3H-HJqiGgJQX6HaRsj1
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtracks:

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/augustine/another-life 
License code: A4IITIDDH56OQH7H
"Reaching Out" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

#purposeoflife #lifelessons #selfimprovement #truespirituality

Endings are hard indeed. But if we keep ourselves stuck in the same old same old, we hold ourselves back to what might be.

And therefore, like a snake must shed its old skin someday to allow a new layer to flourish, I end season 1 of The Unlearning Playground podcast today with this episode.

I talk about 2 major updates about the content you can expect from The Unlearning Playground in the months to come, with the first major announcement being the launch of my new series of content - Ask a human, not an AI.

Check out the "Ask a human, not an AI" homepage here - https://chetannarang.org/ask-a-human-not-an-ai/

Also, I'm still collecting feedbacks for all my content thus far, so share your opinions with me here - https://chetannarang.org/feedback/
P.S. You can be anonymous with the form too.

That's about it.
Super psyched about the new season.
Until next time.
Peace out.

--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

Here are the 5 books I recommend in this episode:

Book 1 (https://amzn.to/45mPqs3)
Book 2 (https://amzn.to/455eRP8)
Book 3 (https://amzn.to/45lWk0E)
Book 4 (https://amzn.to/47qjbtH)
Book 5 (https://amzn.to/3YtGuPj)

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As we grow up, we take up positions of power or at least aspire to do so at some point. That could mean becoming a parent, taking up a managerial position in your workplace, or any other relationship where you can have a substantial impact on the life of another person.

In all such relationships, I think there is something that is usually missing in the advices, suggestions and trainings all of us seek out and therefore, receive.

In this short episode, I discuss that one missing advice, and try to make a case for it.
I think it's fundamentally applicable to all our relationships, especially the kind I talked about above.

Check it out, and share with your friends & family to help it reach out to more people. 
It'll be worth their time too, I promise. 
Until next time.
Peace out.

--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

There are some movies that sometimes, out of the blue, end up teaching you life lessons that stay with you forever. I understand it to be very unlikely that an action thriller movie franchise would make the cut to such a list, but it is what it is I guess.

What is Jason Bourne about? If you had asked me this question some years ago, my answer would have been very different than what I can say about it now.

Having recently revisited these brilliant movies, I can safely say that the perspective with which I watched Jason Bourne this time around really helped me catch the drift of the storyline much better than before. And one powerful life lesson came striking out at me, which is what this short episode is all about.

I would really recommend everyone to watch all the movies again, and this time with the perspective I talk about in this episode.

So without further ado, let's get into it.
Let's see what Jason Bourne has to teach us.
And was he any good at it.

Until next time.
Peace out.

--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtrack:
"Reaching Out" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Credits for the Bourne movie clips:
The Movieclips YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@MOVIECLIPS)

Credits for the thumbnail image:
nicolas genin, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Equality is a topic that is central to any relationship, family, community and society. And that makes it an extremely important subject to discuss, especially in today's world where like anything else it is subject to a host of interpretations and biases and opinions.

In this video, I delve into the topic of equality in some detail.

I talk about what is equality, how we are measuring it, how we ought to think about it and (I can't stress enough how important this is) where we are going wrong with it as of 2023.

I think this is one topic that must be properly understood by everyone, especially in 2023. And what's more, if misunderstood, it can lead to the divisions we find so prevalent in our society even today.

Let's see if I can do justice to the claims above.
Only one way to find out. Dig right in.
Until next time.
Peace out. 

==== Outline ====

(00:00) - Intro
(00:51) - What is equality?
(01:26) - How do you measure equality?
(02:10) - Equality of opportunity
(03:49) - Equality of outcome
(04:52) - The gender pay gap
(08:55) - Thomas Sowell, equity & equality
(12:11) - Equality in absolutely stupid things
(14:19) - Expecting equality where there can be none
(16:22) - Equality in the Indian context
(17:47) - Closing, with a Thomas Sowell quote

--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtracks:

"Reaching Out" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The book I'm covering in this video - The courage to be disliked

The courage to be disliked is a life changing book, if there ever was one.

And I do not say that lightly. As someone who has spent a good few years reading, devouring & digesting multiple non fiction books, of the self help kind, of the philosophy kind, of the psychology kind etc, I have a certain level of discernment now when it comes to recommending books.

This book is, in fact, the most recent addition to my list of favourite books.

In this episode of the unlearning playground podcast, I wanted to get into a brief summary of what the courage to be disliked is all about and why I recommend it (and in fact also gift it) to almost everyone looking for some must read books.

I also share 4 key powerful unlearnings (read life lessons) I think everyone should gather from this book, so even if I am not able to encourage you enough to pick this book for yourself, at least spend 14 minutes with me on this video so that you get a glimpse of the nectar it has to offer.

If I'm able to encourage you enough, please check out the book on Amazon from here.

==== Outline ====

(00:00) - Why this book
(00:32) - Intro to the courage to be disliked
(02:04) - How this book is different than most others
(03:09) - What I love the most about this book
(03:50) - A summary of the book summary
(04:31) - Life lesson 1 - Trauma does not exist
(06:28) - Life lesson 2 - The separation of tasks
(08:00) - Life lesson 3 - Life lies
(09:54) - Life lesson 4 - A bigger perspective of life
(10:55) - What I don't like about this book
(13:02) - An invitation, in closing


Well, alright then.
Let's catch up in the playground.
Until next time.
Peace out.

--------------

Here's the video for 3 perspectives on Life that I talked about in this episode - https://youtu.be/38C1v-Wbydk

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

Just this last week, Apple released a video introducing The Apple Vision Pro.

It is a first-generation AR/VR headset, and Apple claims that with this device, the era of spatial computing is here. They claim this to be a life-changing technology.

In this video of The Unlearning Playground podcast, I decided to record my first impressions about this new device, which is a part of a booming field in technology now - Augmented reality and Virtual reality. My thoughts are divided into three broad categories - the good, the bad & the ugly.

I think what you are about to consume in this video would serve to be a contrarian viewpoint, when compared to most other videos out there on the internet about the apple vision pro.

Also, consider it to be a genuine request from my side, I want you to stay with me till the ugly part of this episode. That is where the real nectar lies. Trust me.


==== Outline ====

(00:00) - The apple vision pro launch
(01:03) - The good stuff
(02:11) - The bad stuff
(02:24) - The apple vision pro price considerations
(03:32) - The ugly stuff
(05:41) - Photos, videos, memories & technology
(08:20) - Utility & corporate jargons
(11:03) - An invitation, in closing


--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtracks:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/pecan-pie/time-for-action
License code: LMO02LKZNWJ1OXOT
"Reaching Out" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Why we sleep is an internationally bestselling book by Matthew Walker, an English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is someone who's widely regarded as one of the foremost sleep experts in the world.

Why we sleep, by Matthew Walker on Amazon - https://amzn.to/45Whun6

In this episode, I talk about everything I learnt, and unlearnt, via this brilliant book. I can safely say that it is one of the best non fiction book recommendations of 2023 from me.

The amount of information he covers in this book is simply mind blowing. In close to 400 pages, he condenses close to twenty years of cutting-edge research on sleep and what every person should understand about it.

He talks about HOW MUCH one should sleep.
He talks about HOW one should sleep.
And he talks about WHEN one should sleep.

And of course, he touches upon various different aspects of these three massive areas - the role that caffeine plays in our sleep, the adverse effects of alcohol & smoking on a good night's sleep, the positive effects of watching sunlight directly at sunrise & sunset, etc.

And what's more - he also gives a bunch of real-life tips that you can directly apply to your everyday life as we speak. For instance, he talks in great detail about how to fix your sleep cycle in case it is messed up.

I think overall this is a brilliant book, and if you are one of those people who think they'll never really get to reading it, you should watch this summary video of mine where I cover 9 key tips that I learnt, or unlearnt, via it.

Let's catch up in the playground.
Until next time.
Peace out.

Check out the book on Amazon here - https://amzn.to/45Whun6

==== Outline ====

(00:00) - Intro
(00:59) - 3 main learnings from this book
(01:34) - It matters HOW MUCH you sleep. More than 5 hours daily?
(03:18) - How much should you sleep?
(04:18) - REM & Non-REM sleep - which is more important?
(05:52) - It matters HOW we sleep
(06:07) - Sleep only on weekends bio hack
(07:20) - Alcohol and sleep. Does alcohol help in sleeping better?
(08:29) - Exercise and sleep
(08:53) - It matters WHEN we sleep
(09:03) - Working late at night and cancer!
(10:13) - Circadian rhytm explained
(11:17) - Why your sleep cycle is messed up?
(12:08) - How to fix your sleep cycle?
(13:25) - Caffeine and sleep. How coffee disrupts sleep?
(15:30) - Recap

--------------

Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtracks:

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/augustine/another-life 
License code: A4IITIDDH56OQH7H

Most people wish to become better at handling and resolving conflicts, but out of the dozen or so things that get in the way, one of the main blockers is the fundamental attribution error.

It sounds like a bit of a mouthful, but it is actually one of the easiest cognitive biases to understand. Of course the precursor being that you actually want to understand better rather than seek validation for what you think is already right.

In this episode of The Unlearning Playground Podcast, I delve into this topic in an easy-to-understand and simple manner. I talk about what this cognitive bias really is, how to spot it in your everyday life and I also suggest 3 ways to help overcome it in situations where we most need to.

I think, once you get to seeing things from the perspective I try to build in this video, you would be well on your way to managing conflicts in a much more responsible and mature manner. This should enable you to be better at people skills which, as any adult in the room would tell you, is eventually what most of life is about.

I'll see you in the playground.
Hope you bring an open mind and an honest heart.
Until next time.
Peace out. 

Follow my youtube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

The suggested episode at the end of this episode (The one about the regression to the mean & how it is important to improve your people skills.) - https://chetannarang.org/improving-people-skills-using-regression-to-mean/

Here is a brief outline of the episode:

=== Outline ===

(00:00) - Intro
(00:22) - The fundamental attribution error
(01:17) - An everyday life example
(01:47) - The importance of understanding this
(02:19) - Advice 1
(02:55) - Advice 2
(03:31) - Advice 3
(04:02) - Recap

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Check out all of my work on my website -
https://chetannarang.org/

For one-on-one personal sessions for life coaching, counselling & philosophical mentorship with me -
https://chetannarang.org/nondual-philosophical-counselling-mentorship/

Subscribe to my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUnlearningPlayground

Connect with me, Chetan Narang, on Instagram here -
https://www.instagram.com/nrng.chetan/

Checkout The Unlearning Playground podcast here -
https://chetannarang.org/the-unlearning-playground-by-chetan-narang/

--------------

Credits for the beautiful soundtracks:

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/augustine/another-life 
License code: A4IITIDDH56OQH7H