29 - Unlock Inner Fulfillment: How to Overcome Stress and Embrace Happiness with Don Joseph Goewey

Sep 6 2023 • 1 hr 21 mins

Join us for this thought-provoking conversation with Don Joseph Goewey. Don is the managing partner of ProAttitude, a human performance firm focused on ending work stress. He is also the executive director of the Center for Spiritual Exchange, which is the official archive for all the works of Anthony de Mello. He previously managed the department of psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School and is the former director of the International Center for Attitudinal Healing. He is the author of the book The End of Stress: Four Steps to Rewire Your Brain.

In the episode, we talk in-depth about how stress is a spiritual crisis causing us great unhappiness. Don shares how stress is tied to fear for our survival and how awareness can help us rewire our brains. We also talk about how to connect to courage when we are aware of the misery of our current situation. Don gives some incredible actionable steps and stories to bring this incredible knowledge into your life.

Highlights from the episode:

Stress as a Spiritual Crisis: Don shares how the current fast-paced, shame-based culture is causing people stress. We are programmed to upset ourselves when things don’t go our way or meet our expectations. We are wired to believe that we can only be happy if we have all of these external things, but happiness does not come from outside.

Impact of Advertising: A study in Europe, involving 900,000 people, reveals that advertising tends to make people unhappy by constantly sending the message that they are not enough and need products or experiences to be happy.

The Source of Suffering is Attachment: Don shares how our belief that we will be happy when we have certain conditions leads to great unhappiness. He shares that detaching from the outcome allows one to enjoy the experience rather than having our happiness and self-worth at stake.

Inner Fulfillment is Always Available: Don talks about how fulfillment isn't something that we have to earn. It is our very nature and we have blocked it. Fulfillment is an inner state that doesn't depend on external circumstances. Research supports that happiness leads to success, not the other way around.

Fear and stress: Don shares how the stress reaction is triggered when we perceive a threat to our survival. He describes how we are often misperceiving a situation as a threat which is leading to chronic stress. He emphasizes that awareness is the key to asserting self-control over the stress reaction.

Embracing Emotions: Don shares how instead of repressing emotions, it is vitally important to learn to fully feel emotions instead. He describes taking on the role of the witness and observing yourself passing through an emotion. This process helps emotions pass and leads to an open, light-filled space within, where happiness and peace naturally arise.

Shift in Perception: When people practice self-awareness and stay in this light-filled space, their perception of reality shifts. They start to see the beauty and divinity in themselves and the world around them.

Courage to Make a Change: Don shares how everyone has the courage to make big changes in their lives. Once we see that the misery of the current situation is built on indoctrinated societal beliefs, then we can connect to the deepest need to step away from that and choose a different life.

Don't miss this episode if you're ready to embark on a journey toward unlocking your inner fulfillment and experiencing a profound shift in your life. Remember that these changes and mindset shifts are available to everyone.

What we discuss:

0:00:00 Intro

00:08:45 Stress as a Spiritual Crisis

00:14:47 The Source of Our Suffering is Attachment

00:18:44 Attachment Exercise

00:26:22 Fear and Stress

00:34:51 Embracing Emotions

00:42:17 Making External Changes

00:46:37 Stepping into Courage

01:04:54 Final Questions

Announcements:

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