What's Left When The Stories Stop? | Sunday Zen LIVE episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 19, 2026 · 59 MIN

What's Left When The Stories Stop? | Sunday Zen LIVE

from The ZDoggMD Show · host Dr. Zubin Damania

What happens when the mind stops telling stories? We explore insomnia and radical acceptance, the trap of identifying as awareness, why "the world is waking up" is just another story, and my journey from Doc Vader to whatever the f**k this is 😂 All the things are here. Topics and Timecodes: 0:00 - Going Live & Technical Difficulties 1:26 - When You Can't Say Anything Anymore 2:31 - Karma Yoga: Life as Sacred Practice 4:14 - Sleep, Insomnia & Radical Acceptance 7:02 - Sleep During Awakening: My Experience 8:38 - Waking Up at Night: Working with Panic & Repressed Emotion 10:24 - No Distinction Between Waking, Dreaming & Deep Sleep 11:43 - The Mind Creates Reality: Manifestation & Reconditioning 13:29 - Free Will, Determinism & Letting Go 13:53 - Dreams, Vivid Experiences & Higher Planes 15:00 - When Desire & Attachment Start to Fall Away 16:03 - Meaning Is Created: An Existentialist View 17:01 - Watching Thoughts: The Mirage of the Mind 19:02 - Who Thought This Thought? The House of Cards Collapses 21:04 - The "I Want to Wake Up" Trap 21:52 - Who Is Awareness Appearing To? 22:17 - Getting Stuck at "I Am Awareness" 23:04 - What Is the Unborn? 25:00 - Wide Angle Camera Fun (Tech Break) 26:04 - The Universe Is Unfolding As It Should 26:31 - Absolute vs. Relative: There's No Distinction 27:25 - From Doc Vader to This: My Journey Since 2019 30:35 - Burning It All Down: Deleting Twitter, Losing Followers, Finding Joy 31:05 - Gratitude for Spiritual Friends: Angelo, Simon, Ishwar 32:03 - When Suffering Arises After Awakening 33:31 - Resilience Is a Story: Working with Negativity 34:06 - Processing Emotions About Iran & the Ayatollah 36:07 - Letting Things Be Unsticky Even When You Care Fully 36:36 - Talking to Conservative Christian Parents About Buddhism 37:28 - All Paths Point to the Same Thing 40:25 - Jesus Was Enlightened 41:13 - Identifying as Awareness vs. Non-Duality: What's Beyond? 43:05 - Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti (Book Recommendation) 43:42 - Is the World Waking Up? (Spoiler: It's a Story) 46:05 - What's My Meditation Practice? It Changes Daily 47:03 - When Seeking Falls Away 48:00 - Don't Force-Feed Awakening: Many Called, Few Chosen 49:00 - Energy Grounding & Chakra Work 51:03 - The Brutal Side of Awakening 51:26 - Apple Watches & Fitness (Curveball Question) 52:32 - What Is "The Story" vs. Reality? 54:53 - Closing: This Beautiful Satsang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when the mind stops telling stories? We explore insomnia and radical acceptance, the trap of identifying as awareness, why "the world is waking up" is just another story, and my journey from Doc Vader to whatever the f**k this is 😂 All the things are here. Topics and Timecodes: 0:00 - Going Live & Technical Difficulties 1:26 - When You Can't Say Anything Anymore 2:31 - Karma Yoga: Life as Sacred Practice 4:14 - Sleep, Insomnia & Radical Acceptance 7:02 - Sleep During Awakening: My Experience 8:38 - Waking Up at Night: Working with Panic & Repressed Emotion 10:24 - No Distinction Between Waking, Dreaming & Deep Sleep 11:43 - The Mind Creates Reality: Manifestation & Reconditioning 13:29 - Free Will, Determinism & Letting Go 13:53 - Dreams, Vivid Experiences & Higher Planes 15:00 - When Desire & Attachment Start to Fall Away 16:03 - Meaning Is Created: An Existentialist View 17:01 - Watching Thoughts: The Mirage of the Mind 19:02 - Who Thought This Thought? The House of Cards Collapses 21:04 - The "I Want to Wake Up" Trap 21:52 - Who Is Awareness Appearing To? 22:17 - Getting Stuck at "I Am Awareness" 23:04 - What Is the Unborn? 25:00 - Wide Angle Camera Fun (Tech Break) 26:04 - The Universe Is Unfolding As It Should 26:31 - Absolute vs. Relative: There's No Distinction 27:25 - From Doc Vader to This: My Journey Since 2019 30:35 - Burning It All Down: Deleting Twitter, Losing Followers, Finding Joy 31:05 - Gratitude for Spiritual Friends: Angelo, Simon, Ishwar 32:03 - When Suffering Arises After Awakening 33:31 - Resilience Is a Story: Working with Negativity 34:06 - Processing Emotions About Iran & the Ayatollah 36:07 - Letting Things Be Unsticky Even When You Care Fully 36:36 - Talking to Conservative Christian Parents About Buddhism 37:28 - All Paths Point to the Same Thing 40:25 - Jesus Was Enlightened 41:13 - Identifying as Awareness vs. Non-Duality: What's Beyond? 43:05 - Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti (Book Recommendation) 43:42 - Is the World Waking Up? (Spoiler: It's a Story) 46:05 - What's My Meditation Practice? It Changes Daily 47:03 - When Seeking Falls Away 48:00 - Don't Force-Feed Awakening: Many Called, Few Chosen 49:00 - Energy Grounding & Chakra Work 51:03 - The Brutal Side of Awakening 51:26 - Apple Watches & Fitness (Curveball Question) 52:32 - What Is "The Story" vs. Reality? 54:53 - Closing: This Beautiful Satsang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOW PLAYING

What's Left When The Stories Stop? | Sunday Zen LIVE

0:00 59:29

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The ZDoggMD Show?

This episode is 59 minutes long.

When was this The ZDoggMD Show episode published?

This episode was published on January 19, 2026.

What is this episode about?

What happens when the mind stops telling stories? We explore insomnia and radical acceptance, the trap of identifying as awareness, why "the world is waking up" is just another story, and my journey from Doc Vader to whatever the f**k this is...

Can I download this The ZDoggMD Show episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!