Gelong Thubten - How to Start a Meditation Practice That Actually Sticks (with Guided Session)

Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat

This is a very special episode with Gelong Thubten, the Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author.
At the age of 21, Thubten gave up the life of an actor and ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk at the Kagyu Samye Ling in Scotland - Europe’s oldest and largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery. He has spent over six years in intensive meditation retreats, the longest of which was 4 years, and he has been trained by some of the world’s greatest masters of meditation.
He is now regarded as one of the UK's most influential meditation teachers. Thubten contributed to Ruby Wax's most recent book, How to Be Human (stay tuned for my interview with Ruby in the coming weeks!). His own book, A Monk's Guide to Happiness was a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller with editions in 10 countries internationally.
He was kind enough to come and tell his story (with admirable honesty and humility), but also treat us to a guided meditation practice after spelling out perhaps the simplest and most effective explanation of how to meditate I've ever heard.
Listen as we discuss:

• Gelong Thubten's life as a party animal through his teenage years.
• The resulting brutal burnout that led him to a meditation practice.
• His decision to join a monastery for a year - that turned into 26 years.
• His 9 month silent retreat.
• Is the monk path the best path?
• How Thubten's extreme nature made it difficult for him to meditate.
• Spiritual materialism and the phenomenon of "faking" spirituality early in training.
• You know you're on the right track if your compassion is growing.
• The simplest explanation of how to actually meditate (the best I've heard)
• The importance of setting a time limit to meditate
• A short guided meditation practice led by the teacher himself, Gelong Thubten

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Connect with Gelong Thubten on Instagram @gelongthubten, on Facebook @GelongThubtenOfficial, on Twitter @Gelong_Thubten, and his website, gelongthubten.com
Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Sunday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy.

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Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
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X: @mgawdat
Website: mogawdat.com
Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy