 So when you ask about are we one I would say that as We head towards self-actualization What gives us if you will transcendence and this is a deep sense of meaning and purpose is When we look at another and see ourselves And that's where ego merges with altruism And you see when you look at the world that way when you see the other as you It is impossible for you to hurt another It is impossible for you to not care what happens to the other. Yeah, and so instead of looking at Another person a separate from yourself you see them as yourself and that is transcendence and that is When you structure how you walk in the world with that belief that is true meaning and contentment and purpose when every action you take is for the benefit of the other What's up everyone? Welcome to simulation. I'm your host Alan Sakyan We are on site at the transformative technology conference for our second partnership with them We are now going to be talking about compassion science and so much more. We have dr. James Doty joining us on the show Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm so pumped for this What an incredible record that you have behind you of flowering the consciousness of the civilization Your verse I'm so pumped to dive in with you. We have to start with this question We've been obsessed with this question. It's gonna be so interesting to hear your thoughts. Are we really all one? Yes You want me to expound please So if you sort of go back a little bit and For most of the world They're just trying to survive and in fact most people don't have time Actually for deep reflection. I mean, you know a 50% of population lives on $2 and 50 cents a day Their life is a struggle to survive If you were to look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs Beyond that And frankly, it's a blessing to be there. You have more time to have self-reflection You have more time to connect with people your life does not only revolve around survival and within that area There's a subset of people who are trying to answer the question of why am I here? That's very natural question Our species is unique in that we're the most evolved to have something called theory of mind to have complex language to have abstract thinking and a Natural sequence of that or following of that is what is my purpose? Why am I here? Why do I exist? Now you could be a nihilist and say there is no purpose this was an evolutionary accident and You live you die. That's it and I not cannot necessarily argue against that But that being said what do we know is true and you ask about compassion science as a species unlike other species our species require us the parents if you will to care for our offspring 15 years longer even and Which is a huge requirement and resources time effort. Why do we do that? the reason we do that is because our offspring learn from modeling through the mirror neuron system and When we care when we connect when we nurture our physiology has evolved to work at its best and this is true whether it's our offspring or another's offspring although it is limited by a defect in our evolution, which is the nature of tribalism and When resources are readily available people are much more open and accepting when resources get scarce people have a tendency to shut down and this is how our Autonomic nervous system works it regulates our response to events and or how we perceive events and when there's scarcity we have a tendency to Connect with people who look like us act like us what we define as our tribe. We don't share. We're not as open that being said the reality is that When there is abundance and frankly I think scarcity is an artificial construct when there's abundance we're much more open and what we know is that when You care for another Your physiology works its best you feel good and in fact it stimulates others to care to be compassionate and to Try to if you will alleviate their suffering, which is what compassion is so when you ask about are we one I Would say that As we head towards self actualization what gives us if you will transcendence and this is a deep sense of meaning and purpose is When we look at another and see ourselves Mmm, and that's where ego merges with altruism And you see when you look at the world that way when you see The other as you it is impossible for you to hurt another It isn't possible for you to not care what happens to the other Yeah, and so instead of looking at another person a separate from yourself you see them as yourself and that is Transcendence and that is when you structure how you walk in the world with that belief that is true meaning and contentment and purpose when every action you take is for the benefit of the other Yeah, yeah spoken from a very long amount of Diverse stimuli that you've taken in your life at the edge and here you are synthesizing it all into that eloquent Story right there I'm very curious is the root of all of our Issues the most upstream Issue is that we have these feelings of separation Separateness not the interconnectedness. I think that's exactly right. I think that the epidemic of loneliness Stress anxiety depression or manifestations of disconnection from others and We know as an example if you look at places in the world where people routinely live to be over a hundred You could argue that the reason that is is because their physiology Works at its best their mental state is at its best. So what do we see in those places? We see environments where a Person's whole life is spent in essentially the same place They have grown up with the same neighbors They live oftentimes with their parents their grandparents their children all in proximity or maybe even in the Same house and what does this person know from the time their child to their death? they know that Everyone accepts them Everyone loves them Even for every part of them that they think is not good. They're still loved and When you have a sense that you are cared for and loved and you're not afraid of judgments of other people Then your physiology works very very well You know, I have had the pleasure and the joy of Dispending of spending a fair amount of time With some of the major spiritual and religious leaders in the world including the Dalai Lama Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh, Amma, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, Sadguru, Eckhart Tolle and When you were in the presence of an evolved Individual What happens is that those people have an extraordinary capacity to give you unconditional love and In the modern world what happens to so many of us is we present a projection of how we want to be perceived And not how we truly are We will tell people, you know, here is who I am here is my title here is what I've accomplished Etc. Etc. Etc. And this is so we are can protect ourselves against being judged When you're in the presence of an individual who gives you absolutely unconditional love a Burden is lifted from you because the weight of that psychological Construct you've created to protect yourself It goes away. You know people have said to me, you know Jim I saw you with the Dalai Lama sitting next to him and talking with him or with Amma and I could just See that you had this smile and the sense of joy and It's true because you don't have to prove anything that person just loves you unconditionally and If someone can live that and feel that about themselves It's extraordinary, but it's very hard You know oftentimes when I talk on Stage my voice will crack or I'll shed a tear about a story. I'm telling and I Had a woman come up to me. She said I'm a psychiatrist and a hypnotist She said you must have been embarrassed to buy that, you know, if you spend three sessions with me I can get rid of it and I looked I started laughing. I said, you know what happens though when I do that I show my Humanity and it allows everyone to show theirs and invariably in that situation almost everyone Either feels emotional or cries and I've never seen a single instance Where I've shown my authenticity if you will or my vulnerability That has not been rewarded with people caring and hugging and wanting to give and That is what all of us want, you know, sometimes when I give talks, it's extraordinary because not only is the audience crying But there's a whole line of people who want to just be hugged and That is How we should live and connect with others, you know People talk about leadership all the time and of course, you know Google, you know, they did the study to say what makes the best teams What are the most successful teams and after this deep analysis? It had nothing to do with great point average from what college you went to domain experience It had to do with showing your vulnerability being authentic being non-judgmental and creating an environment of psychological safety and That says it all if you can do that in the way you walk in the world and not judge others It's profound it's profound for you and it's profound for them So that you know what before I came in here an individual came up to me He said you probably don't remember me He said we fly from here to Chicago and what is that four or five hours and he said Our conversation was so profound it changed my life and you gave me these incredible Insights and I'll never forget it now. I hate to say this. I actually don't remember But my point is if we can spend time with someone and in that interaction with them You can be completely with them Where they feel that that interaction with you has been profound And that's a wonderful gift and the reality is all of us can give that gift to another Because what it takes is simply to be present The process of being present the process of developing unconditional love the process of developing the these Feelings of deep interconnectedness with all What are some of the key? strategies Well, I'm not a Buddhist if I were to have a philosophy to live by It would incorporate some of the philosophies of Buddhism and the reason I say that is I think there are two particular aspects That cause separation and cause suffering One is ego two is craving and three is attachment and being attached to outcomes wanting feeling you are important or above another and realizing you're not and Striving to be in that position Those are the things that for most people cause the most suffering and if you can sit and be aware of the fact that it's okay to have a goal or But if you don't achieve your goal, even though you've tried it's okay. You're not bad If you can limit how you crave things, you know in Western society We have a conspicuous consumption way of living You know if you look at the places where some of the greatest wisdom traditions have developed which is in the third world People are satisfied Because they're not exposed to Or at least they weren't exposed to I need this I need that and that'll make me happy whether it's a car or a better car or a bigger car or both planes watches, whatever it is. Yeah, and I'm not opposed in any way to having things It's though Feeling that you have to have them because by having them You feel that that defines you in a certain way, you know from my perspective I would like to believe that whether I had X house or Y house or this watch or that watch or this car or that If I don't have them, I'm exactly the same and as you may know I Went through an experience where Because of my own background of scarcity if you will I came from a challenging background of Poverty a father who's an alcoholic a mother who had had a stroke and was paralyzed chronically depressed attempted suicide You know neither had gone to college. We were in public assistance and I thought by having things and Doing things and achieving things that that meant success and Having had all of those things. I was never more unhappy in my entire life because I Would do something and say well, I didn't really get a whole lot out of that I need to do the next thing and the next thing and I Wanted people to look at me and say well he's successful. He's done it I had all my friends telling me that yet. None of it made me feel good and what made me Finally understand and if you will get the monkey off of my back that was driving me was Losing close to 80 million dollars in six weeks and being bankrupt and What I tell people is that experience changed everything because it was a period of reflection and I was bankrupt, but I had made some commitments to charity and The only asset I had left was stock in a company that had yet to go public of which I had been the CEO and When I was going through all the legal stuff of You know basically bankruptcy My lawyers told me that in fact what I had Thought I had given away. They had not processed the paperwork and actually I could keep all the stock and It would be worth tens and tens of millions of dollars if the company would public and I canvass my friends and 100% of them said Well, I wouldn't give anything away But what I did was I went ahead and lived up to those commitments and gave everything away Which ended up being tens of millions of dollars and I ended up funding the Health clinics blood banks a wing of a hospital research and doubt chairs and all sorts of stuff around the world and That's when Actually, I understood and this relates back to our the other earlier question on the one hand I had everything and realized I Had nothing When I gave everything away when I had nothing I got everything and that was the transition from self-interest to a worldview of service and Connection to the other and here's a question that so many of us are aiming to figure out We have Identified what we are uniquely blueprinted to do in this world We are striving to achieve this beautiful gift that we want to bring to ourselves our families our communities and civilization and the whole biosphere To all that is to creation we want to bring this unique gift forward and There does there not need to be a process of discernment of some sort of Judgment of me figuring out who the right people are that I should spend these limited 2.5 billion seconds or heartbeats that I get in my 82-year life that I should at least be Discerning with trying to identify these other people that are somewhat more blueprinted towards these similar goals that I'm striving to achieve Well the reality is that for most people a Significant part of our lives pass before we have any discernment Because what does discernment come from? discernment comes from wisdom Wisdom can either be through reading watching For most people it comes from experience by not listening by not reading and experience what others have gone through but discernment Frequently is a manifestation of suffering and what I mean by that is we have a tendency To want to grasp and hold on to those events that made us feel good. I Accomplished this I graduated at the top of my class. I just bought this big house, etc. etc and those of course result in transitory feeling of happiness and They're always transitory And if you grasp for that all the time, that's where your attention lies And a lot of people do that and it's often times out of insecurity Or wanting others to look at them and be jealous Or to look at them and want to be like them and that's ego The reality though is that When you have experienced the down parts of life's existence when you have had downturns which have resulted in pain and suffering When you were distanced from them a bit you realize How important they were for you to learn and that's where discernment occurs You start seeing the world in a different way you start saying I don't want to experience that again You start saying this isn't helpful to me And I think that's critically important at the end of my pool at my house There is a wall and on that wall water runs down But in the center of it is a modern art sculpture of a Buddha and It's a modern art sculpture because of two things one is it doesn't have a head and The second thing it sits with its hands up between its crossed legs and it's sitting with a persimmon and So there are two aspects of that and I consciously Purchased this sculpture for this reason one is the Buddha without its head reminds me Not to get lost in my head But to focus on my heart the persimmon is Analogous to what we just talked about if you've ever eaten a persimmon It starts out as hard and bitter But if you're patient, yeah, it becomes soft and sweet and that's the nature often of Experiences in our lives that are painful when we reflect back on them They've had incredible lessons and we can look at them and say, you know, I see why that happened Or I'm so glad that happened because it gave me this incredible inside or this ability to discern things More clearly treasures on the other side of the traumas. Yes, exactly. And so I with great intention Created that sort of place in my house that I look at every day Jim we have to ask you this as well. What is the purpose of creation? Well, I could say I don't fucking know I mean But Perhaps a better question is what do you think? That purpose is and then that of course shows my own biases, but it's not Presented as a fact. Yes. It is simply my belief in my opinion and I would like to believe That Whether when we talk about the term oneness Well on the one level we look at each other and as I said see the other as you But I would suggest it even goes far far beyond that, you know, some people have used the term we're all stardust and We are we're all particles and whether we Are in this physical body or in a different form of matter All matter is connected and I think Cosmology is demonstrating that Factually and so I would suggest that There's no beginning. There's no end. There's no separation and When you See yourself in that way You're part of everything and it's an extraordinary way to think of yourself that Every bit of you touches every bit of everything. Yes, and It brings great awe and joy and a sense of Gratitude no beginning. No end. No separation. I Think you've summarized the world's summarized the world's philosophies and those three words. Yeah, which of course is You did it. I led you down that And it was very difficult We stand on the shoulders of the giants that we've learned from these well, you know It's interesting because I think that what we're talking about and remember our DNA has not changed for the last 200,000 years And this is why people from millennia ago and when we had the first ability to communicate with another to look at the stars but to Think deeply and share that deep thinking a lot of this has been known and Frankly as much as I would like to believe I have incredible insight and self-awareness The fact of the matter is almost everything if not everything we've already talked about has been thought of deeply by many many other people and It would be great in terms of ego to say it was my original thought but I'm sorry. It's not But I'm thankful. I've had the ability To learn from a variety of people and you know the interesting thing is oftentimes will quote Famous philosophers But some of the greatest wisdom That has been imparted to me are from some of the most humble By appearance average people in the world and even children and so You know, there's sometimes an arrogance that people have about How they get information or who useful information can come from but frankly Anyone We can learn something from and if you again walk in the world and understand That everyone is a teacher you just have to be a student and this is the idea of The beginner's mind Yes, I Really want to ask you also about C-care the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education Neuroeconomic models for altruism compassion cultivation training Potentially even optogenetic techniques to influence these incredible states This is so Important if we can catalyze this this could lead to that next world that we all want to be a part of well, I think the key is giving people tools That allow them to live in this world and thrive and I believe that By giving people tools that allow them to be more present and connected by giving them tools that result in Them diminishing their stress and anxiety by giving them tools that Make them realize that With every criticism they have for themselves They're worthy of love That's what a lot of people have challenges with of accepting love because they feel they're not worthy And they have a negative dialogue that goes on in their head that tells them that and when you give them an understanding that that negativity that voice Is an artificial construct and that they have Immense power within themselves which oftentimes they give away to another by accepting criticism about themselves by listening to negative self-talk When they can Understand that reality Then it allows them to gain immense power and control of their own reality, you know events Have no power in themselves There's no positive. There's no negative Yet what happens to so many people is a memory that they carry They attach an emotional content to and when they relive it It causes them suffering When you're able to understand That these events Only have meaning if you give them meaning If you understand that If you use the word can't it's not possible then it is not You know, you simply need to look out at others around the world who've accomplished tasks that People have said are not possible Happen over and over again. Yeah, we have extraordinary capacity within each of us to change our reality It's whether you believe it Because once you believe it then you can manifest it and one of the things is to give people the ability To manifest their own reality Which then allows them to be their best selves and to thrive What they're uniquely blueprinted for and gifted to do in this world and build a social fabric that enables That flourishing and you gave these again these three Catalyzing presence catalyzing unconditional love and these feelings of interconnectedness That's so beautiful Two quick questions on the way out was this one I feel may Be a slight shocker maybe to you. Do you feel as though? Humanity is a biological bootloader for digital super intelligence. I don't know what the fuck that means Can you explain All of the artificial general intelligence super intelligence that we are building Are we is our role to build that apparently it is since we're doing that I mean by definition if we're doing it that is our role now the question is for what purpose yeah Is the purpose to upload ourselves into A machine and then no longer be constrained By a body that dies And that's an interesting proposition, but let me follow it with this observation As you get more and more quote-unquote intelligent Why does that with that intelligence have any interest in us Since it would so quickly bypass our limited abilities It doesn't need us at all. You know, there's a subset of the billionaire class Whose egos drive them to think that somehow they should be uploaded. I mean it's ridiculous For a couple reasons one is obviously it is narcissistic and egotistical Exponentially Who gives a shit about that one billionaire oftentimes that billionaire is there by accident His existence his presence is an accident of fate You know, I mean and I'm not Saying every billionaire is a bad person. I don't want to imply that at all, but there's some A subset of people who feel that they are of such high value to the world That it is them that should be uploaded And oftentimes they'll spend significant resources to promote this belief But oftentimes these are some of the people who cause the greatest problems You know, why not upload a person like desmond tutu? Why not upload somebody like the dolly lama? Why would you want to upload a billionaire who oftentimes the very nature of what they do Is destructive to so many people The most spiritually enlightened rather than the most rich Yes, because the very definition of having that conversation is a separation from the other as an example Who gets to be the first one? Who do you think it's going to be? Is it a person in sub-saharan africa? No, are they going to be the first ones on the next celestial bodies? No, it's going to be the 0.001 percent And I don't necessarily think they represent the best in humanity Boom. There it is right there Yeah You know, I mean the best that how do you measure that by enlightenment or self-actualization or You know, I mean as an example, why does an individual one individual? Need 110 or 120 billion dollars. What is one individual need a 200 or 400 million dollar yacht? Why does one individual need 10? Multi million dollar homes of which they're never at What is that? I mean Why would you pick those people who every action they take? Demonstrates a sense of arrogance Ego Versus someone who Is in their world having a profound profound impact By fundamentally acting As if they have no ego And their purpose Is to connect with the other and help them and that can be at the most humble humble level I would much rather have that person uploaded Than the other Wow Such a cool back and forth on that one. Okay, and then the very last question is What is most beautiful in creation? Well, I would suggest that Obviously that's very individual What I would say is and actually this relates to two experiences Have you ever heard of the toad? The sonoran desert toad, yeah, boofa verse five MU DMT. Yeah, exactly. Wow. So I Do you know how to rest tops it? Have you ever heard of hunt rest? Yeah heard. Yeah, you know, he was a gonzo journalist, right? He uh You know because of the timing for your talk. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes He made a statement, you know, I don't advocate the use of drugs and alcohol, but they work for me But in closing what I what I would say is One should I did that not because I have an interest in so much in psychedelics. That's another story but What I felt when I did that but what I can also feel through simply meditation is sitting out in the universe floating with nobody and feeling That I am connected to everything and to me that is the most beautiful thing I better get mic'd up because they're gonna be on a moment-to-moment basis doing exactly that. Yeah Thank you so much for coming on the program. We greatly appreciate it. We'll go ahead and close out the show Rock the talk and then we'll yeah. Yeah. I'm sure they're looking for me. Yeah. Yeah, okay That was awesome Thank you Well, let's do part two. Yeah, let's do it. Wow Wow Mind blown We love you. We love you Yeah, of course we'll close it out. Holy cow Uh brady and alan are gonna spend the next 10 seconds just Wow Wow Damn, you can tell when someone's been doing it for a long time Wow Okay, so thanks everyone for tuning in to that episode with james dodie Wow, what a profound conversation that was hopefully There were things in there that That jim shared with us that just so deeply resonated that they can just catalyze some significant profound change in our lives, so No beginning no end no separation. I mean there were so many of them guys Check out the links in the bio below to jim's work. Also check out the links in the bio below to the transformative technology conference And you know support the the conference support jim's work support the artist the entrepreneurs the spiritual leaders the organizations around the world that you believe in Your communities you can support simulation our links are below You can find our paypal cryptocurrency patreon links down there You can also design cool merch and get paid brady spronger. Thank you so much for co-producing this one. Whoo uh You're giggling so much back there because it was that like And go and build the future everyone manifest your dreams into the world really looking forward to part two with uh with jim That was fantastic much love everyone. We'll see you soon