We got off our phones, began Tiny Habits, and started meditating 30 minutes a day.

While we started each of these challenges at different times, we have already experienced major benefits from all three.

We go over what worked, what didn't, and what we are going to improve.

We hope you enjoy our results!

In this episode, we break down The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer and the idea that the problem isn’t what happens to us, it’s that we don’t let go of it.

We talk about the voice in your head, why you’re not your thoughts, and how holding onto past pain shapes your life.

To test this, we craft our new meditation practice, challenging ourselves to explore this path to fulfillment.

We hope you enjoy!

Find The Untethered Soul here; https://untetheredsoul.com/untethered-soul

0:00 Intro

3:15 The Voice In Your Head

4:36 Have You Ever Experienced Separation?

8:14 Thoughts Are The Root Of Suffering

11:19 Mind Dictating Experience

13:00 Who Are You If Not Your Thoughts?

18:33 The Surrender Experiment

20:30 Expectations and Sufferings

22:51 How Michael Singer Surrendered

29:13 How Do You Actually Surrender?

36:48 What Is Experience Without Preference

41:42 Inspiration, Flow State, and Meaning

44:53 Does Flow State Lead To Meaning

49:05 Flow State and Performance

52:16 What Would it Mean to ‘Let Go’?

56:21 Spiritual Experience

59:26 Reality vs. Perception

1:01:23 Are You Open to Spiritual Experiences?

1:04:19 Alternative Explanations for Spiritual Experiences

1:08:24 Episode Closure

Find The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer here: https://untetheredsoul.com/surrender-experiment

Find Tiny Habits here: https://tinyhabits.com/

We break down our experimental results of our no phones challenge and social media detox. We discuss our reactions to the "Brain Rot Emergency" episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast, which is centered around attention spans, loneliness, and the growing impact of technology on our lives. We also share our thoughts on "Deep Work" by Cal Newport and look into how we can harness the skill of focus as a means of fulfilment.

Topics covered in this episode:

• What actually happened after 3 weeks without unessential screen time

• Figuring out how to live a meaningful life in a world designed to distract us.

• How attention and “Deep Work” shape the person you become

• Why environmental design is key to overcoming "willpower" challenges

Deep Work, Cal Newport:

https://calnewport.com/deep-work-rules-for-focused-success-in-a-distracted-world/

Brain Rot Emergency, Diary of a CEO:

https://youtu.be/EScgrk7oEwU?si=wgkiWMxYU7_uTdmp

In this episode of Learning To Live, we dive into one of the biggest problems facing our generation: screen addiction.

We break down the research behind dopamine, attention, motivation, and the reward systems in your brain, and explore why phones and social media are so hard to put down. From Instagram reels and YouTube shorts to doom scrolling, we examine how modern technology is designed to capture attention, and what it might be doing to our focus, sleep, and overall well-being.

We’re experimenting with reducing our own phone usage to zero and redesigning our environments to see what actually works and how we change.

Topics we explore in this episode:

• Why phones feel addictive

• Dopaminergic reward systems

• How short-form content rewires attention

• The impact of screen time on focus, productivity, and sleep

• The role of escapism and emotional numbing through technology

• Why willpower alone often fails when it comes to screen time

• How environment design might be the real solution

This is episode one; our introduction and the beginning of our journey.

Each episode will break down different schools of thought across health, performance, philosophy, and personal development to understand what actually works.

Our goal is to demystify the black box of “fulfillment” by actively implementing what we learn into our own lives, and sharing the results honestly, regardless of outcome.

As two guys in our early 20’s, we don’t have the answers, but through self-experimentation, research, and conversation, we hope to document our authentic struggle and progress.