Conversation Among Masters 2010 Notes: Brian Johnson

It’s the morning of May 13th and the 200 master coaches are gathering in the main conference room at CAM’10. They lights go out. Spotlight a member of the local tribe in full native dress. Native American flute music fills the space. His name is William.

Then EJ, a member of the Bald Eagle Clan, delivers a welcome prayer in his native language, and tells us that the land we are on is part of 193,000 acres of the Santa Ana Pueblo and the Tamayame people.

The first official Conversation Starter this morning is Brian Johnson, author of The Philosopher’s Notes. He’s a modern day philosopher, who has studied the great philosophers of the ages.  He spent two years reading the top 100 self help books and distilled them down into accessible, relevant nuggets of wisdom.  He loves wisdom and inspiring people.  He sold a successful business online business (he sold zaadz.com to Gaia) prior to getting his PhD in optimal living.  He studies positive psychology and created a philosophy for the 21st century.  Here are my notes and quotes from his session…please add your own!

Being in integrity with what we talk about and believe

The world needs demonstration more than it needs instruction

Identify key values and virtues and live them

Embodiment of ideals

Joseph Campbell:  Follow your bliss.  Discipline becomes blissipline

Philo Sophia = Lover of Wisdom

What’s my darma – what are my unique gifts?

Energy is critical to our well-being

Integrating Spirituality and Capitalism:

1. step between stimulus response and choose
2. purpose:  law of darma.  Unique constellation of experiences
3. if you could do anything, what?
4. concrete goals
5. dynamic tension held in action
6. energy (nutrition, exercise, rejuvenation – we don’t recover enough)
7. wisdom: life as a classroom
8. courage: heart – virtue that vitalizes all other virtues
9. love: give what you have. study love.
10. spirit:  en theos, god within, enthusiasm

Connect to the divine within and radiate enthusiasm

Duality:  think of myself as a light or light bulb – how bright can we get?

What’s one thing that if you started doing it now, and keep it consistent, would have the greatest impact (most positive benefit) on your life?

Also, what’s one thing to stop doing?

Heartfelt habits to embody:

• meditate
• train your body
• nutrition
• journaling your highest goal
• connect to the divine within, live with joy, signature strengths – know your strengths and use them often
• create every day

Mastery  = actually practicing

transformative power to change the world

work diligently, patiently & persistently and you’re bound to be successful!

neuroplasticity:  strenthen or weaken the connections in your brain moment to moment

research has shown that you lose fewer brain cells by smoking pot all day than you do by checking your emails and text messages all day.

We’re distracted by busy.

Do 5 positive rituals before noon and transform your consciousness.

Tugboat of higher self tugging lower self:  battle within ourselves.

Sense of darma, purpose, #1 starts and stops.  When we win that battle, other things in the world will change, like healthcare, etc.

the word “jihad” in Arabic means “to struggle”.  The greater holy war is against our lower selves and our lower impulses.  Self mastery.

Lao Tzu said it’s egomania to think you can reach enlightenment without ritual, discipline.

Make it fun and it’s blissipline

Integrate – Integrity:  when what’s best for you is what you most love to do (versus disintegrated – out of integrity)

intentional removal of self – what is it that’s there for me to do in THIS moment?

Do things that allow genius to flow.  Eating certain types of foods as important practices.

Internet is an addiction.  Don’t turn on your computer until you’ve done 5 positive ritual practices.

The greatest among us are consistent on the fundamentals.

consistent rhythm and energy rewires the neuropathways

balance the relationships with Self, connecting with the divind

What’s the #1 NOW goal?

hard work separates the law of attraction from evidence-based work

there’s a dynamic tension between ideals and reality

take baby steps

Tal Ben Shahar suggest to spend 95% of our time on creative production goals and 5% on outcome goals.

We have been trained to think about results out of our control.

Archetypes:  Rat Racer (future focus), Hedonist (now focus), Nihlist (neither future nor now), a goal worthy of you is the happier archetype

hard work has somehow become a negative

Russel Simmons (vegan yogi hip hop mogul) in the book Do You says we burn through impurities through hard work

David Emerald wrote Power of Ted about setting Being goals and Creative goals versus the usual Doing and Having goals

baby steps = work hard

Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell:  Dynamic tension and baby steps

find a stretch zone not a panic zone

We’re caught in seduction of a guru trap, it’s not exactly right for each one of us – we have to do the work to find the missing ingredient.  What’s YOUR way?  What’s YOUR philosophy?

What’s your number one habit?

Tap into the divine within.

Our own authentic truth is the missing variable.  Emerson said, “Trust Thyself”

tension, truth

“If you aren’t living in tension, you aren’t living in integrity” ~ Buckminster Fuller

seeds grow in shit

a full-color conversation

PhilosophersNotes.com