Forgotten Wisdom To Master Your Mind & Thoughts - Shaolin Monk Shi Heng Yi

1. 0:00 – 3:01

   The Meaning of Self-Mastery

   1. CWChris Williamson0:00

      Where did the mustache go? You grew a mustache for a while, and it's, it's been banished.

   2. SYShi Heng Yi0:07

      It is true, I, um, I rarely had a mustache. It's just that time when I appeared somewhere still having quite something on there, I just felt like, "Okay, let nature do its course and see how it feels."

   3. CWChris Williamson0:22

      (laughs)

   4. SYShi Heng Yi0:22

      (laughs)

   5. CWChris Williamson0:23

      Okay.

   6. SYShi Heng Yi0:24

      Yes, but I do feel like, like this is, is maybe at the moment is more proper.

   7. CWChris Williamson0:30

      Okay, okay. What do you mean when you talk about self-mastery? What are you referring to?

   8. SYShi Heng Yi0:41

      Now literally, let's talk about a little bit in the modern language maybe. We're getting into some type of position, and then we are supposed to manage people. But I do think in order to manage people, it makes sense to actually know how to manage yourself in the first place. And this idea of we talk about mastering kung fu, mastering any type of art, mastering any type of sport even. But prior to that, I do think you carry yourself along throughout this lifetime since the beginning, and there are so many areas about ourself, let's say, body related or also mentally or emotionally related that I just feel like... Many people haven't gotten to the point yet to really understand that just like we train our muscles and go to the gym to achieve something, there are also areas about us human beings, let's say, that also need to be trained. And all of this taken together, I refer to as self-mastery. Because no matter, uh, you might change your job one day, you might change the location where you are living, the surrounding is gonna change, the people that you are dealing with is gonna change, but there's always one, one thing that always remains the same, um, which is you always carry yourself along the way. So, you can't escape yourself. You can't escape your, your dark side. You can't escape your pain and your suffering and everything that, in a way, is triggering you also. And this is where I feel like to have this, let's say, concept at the moment to really invest time in bringing out, understanding yourself better, and then build yourself up in all layers that nowadays we can dive into.

2. 3:01 – 6:20

   The Areas People Neglect the Most

   1. SYShi Heng Yi3:01

   2. CWChris Williamson3:01

      What are the areas that you think people are neglecting the most when it comes to their self-mastery?

   3. SYShi Heng Yi3:10

      Let's start simple off. I, I think everybody knows the story of Frankenstein, yes? So meaning, you literally put together everything that is physical, everything that is biological, you glue it all together, but that body still doesn't come alive. So I think in the story of the Frankenstein, there is still one missing element, which sometimes you could refer to as electricity, or the spark, or the fire. And this, in the ancient traditions, if I read them and in my interpretation, for, for the sake of understanding, I would say it is the mind. This is why in ancient traditions you oftentimes have body and mind. So already, by just looking at ancient traditions, what are they observing? What are we made out of? Body and mind. And so I think about myself, "Okay, good. We do know nowadays all the possibilities of training the body, but what is it actually, how to train the mind? And how can you understand, what do you mean by training the mind?" And therefore, it's like, really s- simply speaking, you know, we have arrived at the point in our society, people have become aware that your diet does have an effect on your overall well-being. So you buy the most biological, uh, food. You invest a lot of time maybe only buying the best quality vegetables. Some people decide they only go vegan. So your diet matters. What you give your body to eat matters. And I do think in the same way, are you also paying so much attention and emphasis in actually paying attention what is it that we are, on a daily basis, giving our mind to eat? So, what type of thoughts are you aware of that, let's say, pop up right away when you wake up in the morning? What is it you're nourishing? Are you nourishing, right from the beginning, competitive thoughts? Are you nourishing, right from the beginning of waking up, like, "You need to do. There's always something to do"? So, and, and these things I do believe they matter because they also play into ultimately what...... is what is it that you are carrying along this world and in your daily life. You carry the quality of the body and you carry the quality of your mind, and both of them taken together is what makes you literally you, in this earth at least. (laughs)

3. 6:20 – 15:23

   How Much Control Can We Have Over Our Minds?

   1. SYShi Heng Yi6:20

   2. CWChris Williamson6:21

      We don't get to choose the things that we think. We can't necessarily predict the next thought that's going to come careening into our brain.

   3. SYShi Heng Yi6:31

      Yes.

   4. CWChris Williamson6:31

      So what do you mean when you talk about how we, uh, feed and focus on, uh, what's inside of our minds given that sometimes, much of the time, our minds are outside of our control?

   5. SYShi Heng Yi6:47

      Okay. So I'm very surprised and I'm very, very thankful for you asking this question. But now that you are asking this question, then let's go a little bit deeper into what, let's say, somewhere along the line I, I felt like it makes sense, yeah? I can only share what my observation is. So number one is I do like ancient traditions because I do believe that all the cultures in the past, all traditions in the past, they carry something which maybe is not understandable right away, but they carry some very, very valuable knowledge. And one of these knowledges is the saying that we are not the body and we are not the mind. This is one of these sayings. Now we are not the body, we are not the mind. It doesn't fit so good. It's not easily understandable in the society that we are living right now where everybody actually is identified so much with the creation of this and the creation of the identity that you want to express in this world. But let's go into some type of thinking experiment. If literally what I refer to as I, if I would be my body, I would simply take the decision right now, body, just stop aging. I don't want you to age anymore. I don't want you to feel pain. I don't want my body to tell me that I'm hungry right now. Just stop the, just stop the hunger. So raising this question, I feel like I can't. I cannot tell my body what to do literally. So this body somehow has his own cycle and his own intelligence that my body is going through. Okay. This is now the body. And just as you said, literally it is impossible to predict what is going to be the next thought that's gonna pop up in my mind. But if I would be my mind, how come I cannot have an influence in what I am thinking next? So leading again to this idea mind and body, both of them apparently have another own cycle of what they are following. What's the conclusion? The conclusion is that nevertheless, body and mind that we carry along this lifetime right now can be and are conditioned. They carry some type of information. Simply said, I didn't choose literally to have this nose on my face. I didn't choose my eye color. I, I didn't choose the features that I carry in this lifetime right now. So there is information that is being transferred from generations in the past that, in a way, represent themselves right now in the body that we carry. Yeah. You might call it, it is embedded in the DNA or it is embedded in any type of biological or physical information. So if this is staying true right now for the body, could it also be that everything that pops up in our mind also carries some information that has been passed on prior for us being even conscious about it? Yes. And the answer for me is definitely I do think it is like this, that modern science, if people, um, relate to this more, for example, opens the field of epigenetics. Now this is exactly what, what this field is about. And taking all of this into consideration right now still means, okay, but what literally is then the I? If I am not the body, if I am not the mind, what is the I? Yes. So and this is the essential question that Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and many mysti- m- mystic cultures are, like, trying to figure out. This is where when you go on YouTube and you just put in, "Who am I? What am I? Where do I come from?" you find plenty of that stuff. Yes. Okay.And it is a very, very ... It's a very, very interesting question. And why? Because this answer of, "What is it that you are identifying yourself with?" also gives you the answer, "How do I reduce the suffering of this lifetime?" That is essentially what all of this is about.

   6. CWChris Williamson12:38

      How so?

   7. SYShi Heng Yi12:41

      How so? If I could live a life, if I could live a life full of pleasure, full of enjoyable moments, no pain, no suffering, I would wish for eternal life, for sure, because it is the greatest thing that actually can happen to you. You're spending this life on earth and the only thing that you have is a pleasant life. So w- what more do you want? But the reality is not like that. The reality is we have pleasant moments, we have joyful moments, we have healthy moments, we have enriching moments, but at the same time, we're also facing something where, where we could absolutely live without it if we would have the choice. The fact of losing people, the fact of being betrayed, the fact of being judged, being insulted, being discriminated, being hurt. Many ways, many ways that do not feel pleasant. So ... And there is the question, isn't there a way how to find a proper perspective upon life to, to understand what is it that I am embedded in in order to still try my best and reduce the amount of unpleasant or suffering, what we re- refer to it. This is the whole idea about it. So also meaning, because I, I do think it's a very, very valid question, if somebody's watching this episode and he's just happy. (laughs) He has a perfect life, he is happy, there is nothing he's asking for, he's simply fulfilled. There is really no reason to continue listen to this, to this conversation. But I do think that either it hasn't been like this all the time, that person, first of all, went through some type of development or process, or the winning streak is gonna end at some point. So ...

4. 15:23 – 19:39

   Preparing for Difficult Times During Times of Comfort

   1. SYShi Heng Yi15:23

   2. CWChris Williamson15:23

      It's interesting thinking about how lots of the work that we do is able to take place when times are good but is needed most when times are bad. That if you are trying to develop a meditation practice, if you're trying to become more aware of your thoughts, if you're trying to become more peaceful while you're in the middle of some catastrophe or challenge that's going on in your life, uh, you're, you're playing on hard mode there. But when things are good, by design, you don't want to spend so much time having to prepare for when times are bad 'cause you think, "Well, everything's going great. I don't need to d- I don't need to do that." And, uh, yeah, increasingly when it comes to a, a mindfulness practice or journaling, gratitude, breathwork, anything that sort of steels your resolve, uh, I think the best time to do it is when you don't need it because it allows you to be prepared for the times when you do.

   3. SYShi Heng Yi16:27

      Yes. And I mean, nowadays, if you want to calm your mind, the first practice that is being recommended to you is, like, meditation practices most probably, yes? You know, if, if you come, for example, to any type of retreat place, to a temple, to a secluded place somewhere in the nature, somewhere in the forest, and you spend some time there, and by, by nature already, let's say, it's very calm, the surrounding is very calm, it definitely helps for you to calm your mind and to start developing, "How does it feel to be peaceful?" But the reality at the same time is also that from all the people living nowadays in this world, the majority of, of all of us will never be able to even spend any time at such secluded places. Their reality takes place in the cities, takes place at work, takes place in partially the modern world that is very fast-paced and, and, and crowded, let's say. But it's exactly in these places where this peace and this calm would be the most beneficial. Because if anyway in the forest nothing is going on, m- you don't necessarily need to practice too much to be peaceful and calm. It is in the moment where you have so much external stimuli that are triggering you, this is then the moment in order to really bring out the quality of your meditative practices.Yes. And this is why, like, you know, on the one side I receive plenty, plenty of, of critics in terms also of how come I give so much podcast and interviews and, and bring all of these things outside the walls of, let's say, prior of our temple.

   4. CWChris Williamson18:40

      Mm-hmm.

   5. SYShi Heng Yi18:41

      Maybe I'm jumping a little bit, but overall I do think that we humans are made to live in a community or in a society. We cannot just live by ourself. So this is the reason why I do feel like when I know that there is something valuable to know, something helpful, and you don't even have to spend any money on it because it's simply just, I tell you what it is and you practice it and that's it and it's gonna benefit your life, I do feel like it should go out there in the world. Very, very simply said. Regardless of whether it's... what's the origin or if there is a tradition behind it or not. So it's functional, first of all. It doesn't cost anything, it's functional and it's beneficial. And this is the reason why, um, yeah, why I do like to put these things out.

5. 19:39 – 22:28

   Why Become a Monk?

   1. CWChris Williamson19:39

      I'd always assumed that monks were sort of born into this life. I don't know where I thought they came from, but I didn't realize that people could have backgrounds like yours. You had a bunch of degrees, an MBA, and then gave that up to focus on this new life. Why leave all of that stuff behind?

   2. SYShi Heng Yi20:01

      So, and this is also a very, very interesting topic. So I grew up here in Germany and as you said, went, like, the system of academic education, doing university. And at some point I consciously took this decision that I actually wanna, wanna dedicate my life to something that for me internally felt it gives me purpose.

   3. CWChris Williamson20:33

      Yeah.

   4. SYShi Heng Yi20:33

      Meaning I didn't wanna sell any product I cannot stand behind and I cannot offer any type of service that I am myself not good in. And by that time where I took this decision, I was spending many, many years, since the age of four, practicing what nowadays you know as Chinese Kung Fu or Shaolin Kung Fu. And it helped me. Going through all this academic education under the pressure of my parents, under the pressure of the society, in a way, to prove yourself that you are worth something, my valve of balancing all of these energies has always been the physical practice or the training. So this was the initial point where I said, "Okay, let's try to emphasize a little bit this idea." You use physical methods with the right mindset in order to benefit your overall 24-hour day. And this was the moment where the Shaolin Temple Europe, as it is known today, was built. But completely free of, you don't have to be a monk, you don't have to live inside the monastery, but there are certain things to pay attention on. Because I didn't grow up as a monk, so how can I promote for the people, "You all have to become monks"? No. The special thing is that I just grew up like many people in this world, like in both worlds. At some point, I just consciously decided, ah, there is a link that we can use.

   5. CWChris Williamson22:27

      If

6. 22:28 – 28:45

   How to Begin Finding Your Purpose

   1. CWChris Williamson22:28

      it feels like something's missing from life in the way that it seems like it was for you, where should people begin?

   2. SYShi Heng Yi22:43

      If your life is fine, if your life is fine, then most probably y- you also don't have questions. But I do believe, let's say, either the longer you live this life or the more you start observing actually the patterns of this life, at some point questions will come up. And if a person doesn't ask the question, he also cannot receive the answer. And for me, it literally was like this, that I would consider myself also belonging to the category of, like, achieving, achieving, achieving and doing and being a workaholic and controlling things and, uh, yeah, and overachieving. But at some point after achieving many of these different areas, I still was left there with, with the question, "Was that it? W- Was that now the sense of my life?" And because it was, I felt like it was, like, not enough or I was missing out on something because it was just too, too simple. It was too, too shallow for me. I couldn't imagine that, like, attaining degrees or attaining whatever you, like, material-wise are looking for, that this is gonna be the purpose of your life. So going to work every day in order just to buy something that eventually you come to the conclusion you won't take it with you anyway.Yeah. So we came without it, and we're gonna go without it. And that was then the question, okay, so what is literally the, the, the sense of all of this? You know. And this is where, yeah, I do think it is a personal journey, but slowly I start to understand just more and more things by just observing what I'm all the time surrounded with, and what is it? It is pattern. This is now where it's maybe becoming interesting and where people can maybe start to relate to. You know, on the one side, everybody, what is it we, we truly feel like wanting or maybe not, but freedom, not being restricted. I want to be free. Freedom on the one side, but then what is it that is not granting you freedom? The opposite, I would say, it is structure and pattern. Because if there is a structure, if there is a pattern, what does it mean? It means you do not have the freedom to decide what you want to do. So it sounds like at the moment that freedom is on the one side and pattern and structure is on the other side. So now the fact is like this, like I just said before in regards to the body and in regards to the mind, our body already is following a certain pattern, his own biological pattern. Our mind, and therefore also our behavior, is also following certain patterns. Talking about this pattern also meaning just look at the very simple pattern that also appears in all of our lives and probably in the lives of our children, there comes the point they start to want something. So it could have been at some point we wanted to have the first mobile phone that came out at the time where mobile phones are just not existing yet. And so the first Nokia came out, we wanted to have it. After some time, we got it. But then came the next development, the smartphone. We wanted to have it, and we got it. And no matter what it is, there is always something that we want. We're gonna get it if we work hard enough for it, but then also something s- something always the same starts to hit in. Whatever was there that you wanted, at some point, after a day, after a week, after a month, it was forgotten. It didn't play a role even anymore in your life, especially if it is some type of material attainment. So the question is, should I spend my whole life now just following this pattern? Working for something that I put in my mind that I want, achieving it, and then realizing at some point, hmm, lifetime is gone, and the pleasure and the enjoyment of what I try to attain there actually isn't also really sustainable? So, and already this type of pattern to observe it can break a cycle, it can break the cycle of you or anyone running after things unconsciously because you are caught inside a pattern, which at some point is just very, very senseless.

7. 28:45 – 33:26

   Interrupting the Cycle of Pursuing Things

   1. SYShi Heng Yi28:45

   2. CWChris Williamson28:45

      I think that is a cycle that people are very familiar with. I want a thing-

   3. SYShi Heng Yi28:51

      Yes.

   4. CWChris Williamson28:51

      ... I work to achieve a thing, I get the thing. Maybe there's some respite from wanting for a little while, maybe there isn't. I want another thing, and the cycle just repeats. How do you come to think about interrupting that, this sort of permanent loop of want, pursue, achieve, want again?

   5. SYShi Heng Yi29:19

      When you yourself are caught in the pattern and you are being identified by this pattern, you cannot escape it. If you are identified with this pattern, you cannot escape it. So this is now where it helps this ancient saying before, "You are not the body, and you are not the mind." So even if you just take this as a concept right now, then it means from time to time try to just, let's say, jump out of yourself and just observe yourself. Just imagine it is a movie. This is the movie character, and I'm jumping out and I'm watching the movie of this one. And from this perspective, suddenly I see something differently. I can see it from a wider perspective because I'm not caught inside my own patterns anymore, but suddenly I begin to see the patterns of this character. So whether you believe in this now or not, it's just about a mind experiment, just use it as a game if you like. Just go out and watch yourself, watch your life unfolding.And then, this is the beginning where you actually see patterns, where you see behavior that is repeating. Well, some patterns are useful, some patterns are not useful. And step by step ... So number one is becoming aware, first of all. What type of patterns are you able to realize and see inside your own life? I think this is where it starts, the awareness and ability to observe yourself. And there you see the awareness to observe yourself, awareness, mindfulness, and be conscious about yourself. This is why meditation practice. For what? To become more aware. Mindfulness practices. Why? To become mindful, to become conscious, because this is the beginning in order to break the cycle of this conditioned being, of the conditioned identity. And, uh, just one more thing, maybe, in this case, to a- uh, to add. People may be also confused. I'm saying don't have goals and don't work for something you really wish for. I didn't say that because I still do it. I do have, I do have visions and I do have wishes sometimes. But those are very conscious wishes, meanwhile. So literally, when my mind is flooded with so many possibilities, I just have become more conscious in really deciding in what do I really want to invest my lifetime. Is it worth it to attain it that I'm working for right now? And if I still come to the conclusion, yes, even though this lifetime is limited, but to experience whatever it is, yes, it's worth it, I'm gonna go for it, well then, then do it. The only thing I- I try to really prevent people from doing is unconsciously following structures and patterns and cycles in the imagination it's gonna give them something that they're longing for, but it won't.

8. 33:26 – 37:49

   Balancing Self-Improvement & Self-Love

   1. SYShi Heng Yi33:26

   2. CWChris Williamson33:26

      You said that you're someone who likes to chase improvement, wants to achieve things, even if they're very well-designed, if they're very intentional. How do you come to think about balancing a desire for self-improvement with self-love? A lot of the time, the need for self-improvement comes with a side order of disdain for yourself until you achieve that thing. And that, I think, is also another cycle that people go through as opposed to trying to achieve something externally, trying to reach something, whether it's a- a- a new job title, a new, um, uh, qualification, uh, a- a streak on their medi- even a streak on their meditation, right? You're doing something to improve yourself, and there is a lack of self-love until you've achieved it. And if you fail at that thing, then there is a lack of self-love that comes along with it. And then you have regret as well about having not been able to achieve the thing that you said you were going to and the promises that you made.

   3. SYShi Heng Yi34:21

      Yes. Very, very nice. Why would I, in the first place, go into action at all? So why would I go into doing something? So? Well, because apparently something is lacking. I would say it's like this. Why would I set a goal? Because I assume that when I reach the goal, it's going to give me something that, in the moment where I'm setting the goal, I don't have. So this is why doing or going into action or achieving something comes into play. Why would I need to achieve something if, in this very moment, I don't feel like I'm missing anything, that there needs something to be achieved? So this is where, on the one side, we have this area of doing, achieving, going into action. And yet the part is everything is good as it is. There is nothing to achieve. I am, I am self-fulfilled. I'm self-satisfied. I am being. So we have being and we have doing so ... And this is for me literally, how do I find this balance between being and doing? Because now, of course, some people say, "Yeah, if all the time I would be just satisfied with being, well, then nothing would be done in this world, in a way. Nothing would happen. So how do I feed my children? How do I pay my bills?" So of course it is, it is not realistic to just s- stay in this state of being. But at the same time, if you're constantly doing, doing and go into action, the result of this is what we described before. You run after things, you achieve it. But instead of even holding on a moment and enjoy your achievement, be proud of you, of what you have achieved, remain a moment in this feeling of, yes, I...It feels good. Yeah. The problem is that we already put the next goal and start running again. So one is just leading to the fact of you never stand still. You don't find your peace. There is no peace. And the other thing is you have peace, but you have no progress. So. And this, I do think, is something that we as humans need to... or not need to, but I do think it's very natural to balance out exactly those two areas and be very aware. You're not supposed to do nothing, but you are also not supposed to run and run and run and never arrive. Both of them are, like, pointless. And I do think this is the balance.

   4. CWChris Williamson37:48

      How would you

9. 37:49 – 41:56

   Dealing With Regret

   1. CWChris Williamson37:49

      advise people to deal with regret? A lot of the time, we look back at decisions that we could have made. If only I'd realized that the balance between being and doing I'd, uh, come to earlier. If I'd not done that MBA that I didn't need to. If I'd found meditation sooner in my life. If I'd let go of that partner and moved on to the one that was supposed to be for me. People can be very captured, I think, and that's a different type of cycle that we get stuck into, one where we're ruminating about the past. What's your perspective on regret?

   2. SYShi Heng Yi38:21

      Okay, I'm trying to not get too philosophical about these things. If I wished, I wished that I would have lived this life (laughs) a- and I just have joyful and pleasant moments. No regret, no sorrow, no fear, nothing of that. The reality is, it's not like that. The reality is that every human being, at some point, is facing all of this. But I used to think I would never arrive or be at the place where I am right now with- without all the things that happened in the past. Because at some point, the sorrow or even the regrets, they have been so painful in a way, that I was left only with, like, two choices. Number one, you learn from what went wrong. And number two, and this is the, I do think it's a very hard part, it's the part of learning to let go by forgiving, forgiving two, two areas. In case somebody is involved, you for-... you forgive the one that is involved. But foremost, you forgive this one. You know, so it's a- we always think about how should we forgive, like, other people, which is already very hard. But it's even harder to sometimes forgive yourself. But, um.... (pauses) You can't, you can't move into the future. You cannot move on if you still carry old baggage, uh, inside of you. Yeah. And this is where I feel like, um, it must be learned. Yeah. Maybe people take it as normal to live a life and keep regret and keep frustration and keep all these things inside of them and not heal it, not let it out, not express it, not learn a way to get rid of it. Yeah. But at the same time, I also believe this is the reason why people suffer from so many different type of diseases at the same time, because there is some type of en-... I call it now in, in my terminology, there is energy locked inside of you that wants to be expressed. Yeah. But you suppress it, and this is why it has to find a way to, yeah, to, to make itself hurt, which can be a sickness, which can be cancer, which can be all type of mental diseases that nowadays I think the society has a lot of it. Yes. And, um, the letting go part. That is the letting go part.

   3. CWChris Williamson41:55

      Where

10. 41:56 – 46:17

    Where Do Discipline & Focus Come From?

    1. CWChris Williamson41:56

       does discipline and focus come from? That seems to be a huge part of your life of Shaolin philosophy as well. Where do you come to think about the origins of discipline and focus and how you build it?

    2. SYShi Heng Yi42:11

       So we talked before about the area of progress, meaning setting goals, achieving something, doing something. The quickest way, meaning to not waste lifetime, is when you really set up a schedule and just do the work. Free from how you feel, because also feelings sometimes, you wake up one day, you feel this way. You wake up the next day, you feel another way, and it's just not helpful.... to base your structure or your goal on how you feel. So, and this is where I think where, for example, discipline, meaning you stick to what you put there on paper. You take your time, you make the plan, and unless you really are sick or have some type of, um, of, of, of, of higher excuse, you just, you just do what you have committed to. So, and this struggling of there are still so many distractions every day coming up. No. But you stick to the plan. You stick to your plan. This is what I feel like is a part of discipline, to do what you have committed yourself to. It's the one area. And at the same time, discipline also meaning you don't do the things you already know are not good for you. So discipline is not just about the active part of doing something. It also relates to the, the passive part of leaving the things out of your life where you already know it's not gonna help you. Both of these areas is, let's say, discipline. Focus for me is the ability, the ability to mobilize your energy. Energy maybe doesn't tell anything to the people, your intention, your mind, your awareness. So let's say, uh, I need to do some, some type of work. I need to, I need to write a email. Simple. The quickest way and most accurate way to write this email is if you are completely, with complete your awareness, you are focused in writing this email right now. You don't look at the mobile phone at the same time. You don't listen to music. You don't watch another television show on the screen. You don't eat something at the same time. Your focus is on that one task. Because your focus is on that one task, this is why everything that you are made out of can flow into whatever you are creating there. Yes. So you, you don't do, like, the bench press and do, and do something for the legs at the same time. It doesn't make sense. And so to mobilize energy means to know exactly where am I focusing my attention, and therefore, where attention goes, there the energy flows. Yes. So this is what focus means for me. If you want to create something, it's better to know where does your attention go.

11. 46:17 – 51:02

    How Being a Monk Changes the Texture of Your Mind

    1. SYShi Heng Yi46:18

    2. CWChris Williamson46:18

       How different is the texture of your mind now after all of this time in contemplation, in releasing, in mindfulness, in physical practice? You know, as somebody that didn't come into this world completely untrained, it's not like you'd never seen any of this sort of insight before. You were probably practicing qigong, tai chi, stuff like that maybe a little bit beforehand. But I- I'm interested as someone who is a sort of normal level of, of mindfully aware, um, I, I don't even know if you can remember what it was like to have that mind previously or if it feels like anc- ancient history.

    3. SYShi Heng Yi47:02

       I would probably say, you know, it's not that you are, like, walking this path and then you are, like, becoming superhuman or anything like this. It is very, very simple. You, you just become less compulsive and less reactive to whatever is going on in this world. Because this is where I felt like at some point I don't want this anymore. I don't want to, to be driven by what is going on out there in the world. I don't want to be driven by what is happening out there where I feel like I have no influence on. It can be the decision of the governments, it can be the decision of whatever is being propagated in, in this world which is ultimately affecting me. And I just didn't feel like I want to be dependent on external circumstances, because this just doesn't feel like my life is in my hands. So how can it be that the people around me, circumstances around me that I literally have really no influence on, how can it be that all of this is influencing my life to such an extent that it makes me suffer, that it is frustrating me, that I feel depressed about it, that I feel angry about it, that I feel sad about it? At some point, I just felt like it's very unstable. And so I started to ask myself, "How come that, um, that I cannot manage myself better, in a better way?" And this is where now all this so-called inner work-... starts to take place, where the self-mastery takes place. You are not trying to solve the issues of your government. You are not trying to solve the problems of your neighbor. The first thing you try to solve is everything that is able to trigger you. To not be at ease with, with how this life is. So, and so, what is the ultimate outcome of starting to invest some time in yourself? I would say, you are getting more at ease regardless of what is happening on the outside. So, it doesn't mean you are becoming more ignorant to it. That is also a misconception, yeah? It is just the fact that the world around you, everything is, like, still in turmoil and everything is still, uh, burning, but because you are at ease, because you have become more stable, at loosed- at- at least in this burning surrounding, you can now still be the guide to help the people out of the house. Because if you lose your temper and if you are getting stressed when the house is burning, who's gonna guide the way? So, and this is how I felt my life was also slowly, slowly developing, in the sense that if I really feel like I would like to contribute something to this world, to this society, then it can only be done if I'm already at ease and with peace inside of myself that then I can carry out in the world.

12. 51:02 – 55:52

    Calming Our Unprocessed Trauma

    1. CWChris Williamson51:02

       It is strange to think about how much noise gets created by people panicking and sort of gripping and flapping at their unprocessed issues. You know, you're hearing people speak, but what's actually coming out of their mouth is not what they necessarily even mean to say. It's some strange secret code that their body, or the way that they've dealt with their past traumas, or the way that they've absorbed society's desires for them to follow. Uh, it's very odd how, mm, a lot, maybe most, maybe nearly all of what people are actually doing is not saying what they mean to say. It's saying ... They're, they're being puppeted by their own mind. They're being puppeted by their own past, in that way. And, uh, I think trying to quiet that is not just a gift that you can give yourself, but it's probably a gift that you can give the rest of the world as well because they didn't, don't need to put up with what it is that you're talking about that isn't what you meant to talk about.

    2. SYShi Heng Yi52:18

       So, primarily, my work, let's say, for the past 13, 14 years, you know, if you look, for example, on everything that primarily was, was shared with the world, mostly I just try to encourage people, "Do something with your body. Just do something with your body." Whether it's Qigong, whether it's some stretching exercises, whether it's kung fu, whether it's tai chi. So, it was something physical in the first place. But the whole idea was not only to make the people move. This was just, like, the beginning. But what we need is awareness. What we need is awareness. So, if you're already not aware of, of this body, it becomes even more difficult to be aware of what goes on in your mind, what type of traumas do you carry inside of you. If you're not even aware of your own body, something physical, something that you have every day in front of the mirror, how can you become aware of something that is so deeply rooted inside of you that you just can't even see it so easily? So, the whole idea of emphasizing physicality, I would say, is the first step to begin the path of becoming aware. With this awareness now, the journey hasn't ended. The journey has just begun. Because it's this awareness now that we need to use and actually start now looking inside ourself, yeah, but exactly in the areas that for many, many years maybe were hidden there, consciously hidden or sometimes unconsciously hidden. Areas that we ran away from, that we hided, that we rided, that we somehow started to cover up because in the past they caused us too much pain, too much irritation. But I do think that, at the same time, that there is no other way, um, to really clean yourself up. Yeah. There is no other way to clean yourself up than really looking at all the stuff that's hidden inside of you. I didn't wanna say shit, but sometimes there's a-

    3. CWChris Williamson55:01

       (laughs)

    4. SYShi Heng Yi55:03

       Sometimes there's a lot of it. Yeah, and I don't have to make a, a, a-You know, h-how do I know? Because I know, because I had to do it myself. So, it is uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable to, at some point, start to realize what type of stuff, dark stuff, negative stuff have you yourself, me, myself, done in this lifetime. But only after you really see it and you recognize that it was wrong, after you repent, then comes the freedom.

13. 55:52 – 59:01

    The Courage to Face Our Own Pain

    1. SYShi Heng Yi55:53

       (laughs)

    2. CWChris Williamson55:53

       Where does the bravery come from to face that? It's gonna be scary. It's gonna be painful. How should people think about the courage that they need to, to face it?

    3. SYShi Heng Yi56:07

       I think that there are many ways how you can, let's say, motivate yourself to walk this path. So, why would I face the dark side of myself knowing already that it's going to be painful? Why would I do that? So, there are many ways. Me, from the part, from the area of the martial arts, I just know every time I suffered in the training, afterwards something really good came out of it. Yeah. Same is like every time you face a challenge that was really, really difficult for you, but you still pushed it through somehow. You still, like, were patient and persevered and were consistent and still tried. And this type of challenge, for me, was a, was a way bigger victory than anything that was easily attained. So literally saying, nothing easy... No, nothing sustainable and worthwhile in this lifetime comes from something that's easily attained. And in the same way, I do regard it with all the areas now when we go into facing yourself. So, you know, it's the s- What I'm saying, it's the same that you find plenty of videos right now, you know, face your shadow, face the dark side, look at your demons. It's all that. And I, uh, I can only say that from the way of how I grew up. And after like 38 years right now being on this way, yes. Yes, I do think that's the way.

    4. CWChris Williamson57:56

       Shi Hong Yi, ladies and gentlemen. Where should people go if they're gonna wanna keep up to date with the things that you're doing, what you've got going on? Where do you want to send them on the internet?

    5. SYShi Heng Yi58:06

       Well, I do think the easiest, easiest thing, Chris, would be just add something in the description, and if people feel somehow resonating with some of the ideas, you know, everybody is free to, to just see whatever is available right now. I think there is plenty of information already. Yes. And, like I said, if you don't ask the question, the answer cannot come. But I do think that at some point we all going to face the same steps in our development. And if the question doesn't come now, just know the answer's already out there.

    6. CWChris Williamson58:48

       I appreciate you very much. Thank you for today. (instrumental music plays) Congratulations. You made it to the end of the episode. And if you want more, well, why don't you press right here? Come on.

Episode duration: 59:01