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David Whyte, Poet — The Conversational Nature of Reality

David Whyte is the author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, including his latest, Consolations II, which further explores what David calls “the conversational nature of reality.” This episode is brought to you by: GiveWell.org charity research and effective giving: https://givewell.org (If you’ve never used GiveWell to donate, you can have your donation matched up to one hundred dollars before the end of the year or as long as matching funds last. To claim your match, go to https://givewell.org and pick PODCAST and enter The Tim Ferriss Show at checkout.) Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save between $400 and $600 on the Pod 4 Ultra) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit https://tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at https://tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to https://tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: https://tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: https://instagram.com/timferriss Facebook: https://facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more. [00:00] Start. [00:51] Connecting with Henry Shukman. [05:05] Low times in the High Himalayas and a yak manger awakening. [10:57] The place from where David writes good poetry. [13:16] Invitational speech. [18:10] Catching up with the curve of one’s transformation. [24:39] A revolutionary moment reflecting on parameters and regret. [33:57] “Everything Is Waiting for You.” [39:19] The secret code to life and the agreed insanity of so-called adults. [45:59] Being found by the world in greater and greater ways. [46:16] Asking beautiful questions. [48:56] “Tan-y-Garth.” [59:53] Memorizing poetry. [01:06:45] “Zen.” [01:20:54] Courage. [01:23:34] How living in a trailer on the side of a Welsh mountain helped David develop as a writer. [01:31:06] Irish koans, French doors, and Tibetan bells. [01:38:55] Poetry as consolation. [01:42:45] The best place to hold a poem. [01:43:50] “Time.” [02:01:28] Writing and reading good poetry. [02:03:29] Parting thoughts.

David WhyteguestTim Ferrisshost
Dec 5, 20242h 7mWatch on YouTube ↗

Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
December 5, 2024
Duration
2h 7m
Channel
Tim Ferriss
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

David Whyte is the author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, including his latest, Consolations II, which further explores what David calls “the conversational nature of reality.” This episode is brought to you by: GiveWell.org charity research and effective giving: https://givewell.org (If you’ve never used GiveWell to donate, you can have your donation matched up to one hundred dollars before the end of the year or as long as matching funds last. To claim your match, go to https://givewell.org and pick PODCAST and enter The Tim Ferriss Show at checkout.) Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save between $400 and $600 on the Pod 4 Ultra) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit https://tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at https://tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to https://tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: https://tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: https://instagram.com/timferriss Facebook: https://facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more. [00:00] Start. [00:51] Connecting with Henry Shukman. [05:05] Low times in the High Himalayas and a yak manger awakening. [10:57] The place from where David writes good poetry. [13:16] Invitational speech. [18:10] Catching up with the curve of one’s transformation. [24:39] A revolutionary moment reflecting on parameters and regret. [33:57] “Everything Is Waiting for You.” [39:19] The secret code to life and the agreed insanity of so-called adults. [45:59] Being found by the world in greater and greater ways. [46:16] Asking beautiful questions. [48:56] “Tan-y-Garth.” [59:53] Memorizing poetry. [01:06:45] “Zen.” [01:20:54] Courage. [01:23:34] How living in a trailer on the side of a Welsh mountain helped David develop as a writer. [01:31:06] Irish koans, French doors, and Tibetan bells. [01:38:55] Poetry as consolation. [01:42:45] The best place to hold a poem. [01:43:50] “Time.” [02:01:28] Writing and reading good poetry. [02:03:29] Parting thoughts.

SPEAKERS

  • David Whyte

    guest

    Poet and author known for his reflective essays and talks on creativity, work, and the conversational nature of reality.

  • Tim Ferriss

    host

    Podcast host and author who interviews performers, artists, and thinkers on The Tim Ferriss Show.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring David Whyte and Tim Ferriss, David Whyte, Poet — The Conversational Nature of Reality explores david Whyte on poetry, invitation, heartbreak, and transformational attention David Whyte describes reality as fundamentally conversational—life repeatedly inviting us into wider self-understanding, generosity, and vulnerability.

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