Learning To Live

We live in the safest, most connected, and technologically advanced period in human history. So why does modern life feel increasingly empty? In Part 2 of our deep dive into The Master and His Emissary, we explore a provocative idea from psychiatrist and neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist: that the growing emptiness, anxiety, disconnection, and loss of meaning many people feel may not be random. It may be the result of how our culture has shifted toward one mode of thinking over another. According to McGilchrist, the brain’s left and right hemispheres don’t simply handle different tasks, but instead represent radically different ways of relating to reality. The right hemisphere sees the world as living, connected, meaningful, embodied, and whole. The left hemisphere categorizes, abstracts, analyzes, controls, and turns reality into systems, models, and representations. Both of these viewpoints are necessary. But what happens when the part of the brain designed to serve reality begins replacing reality itself? In this episode of Learning To Live we explore the drastic consequences of a world shifting to the left hemisphere's viewpoint and how we can course correct now. This is the follow up episode to Episode 11, where we talked Part 1 of The Master and His Emissary. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy! The Master and His Emissary: https://channelmcgilchrist.com/master-and-his-emissary/

For the past couple of months we’ve implemented challenging self-improvement habits into our lives: - No non-essential phone use - 30 minutes of meditation every day - 3 Tiny Habits - A strict “Good Energy” clean eating diet In this episode we sit down to reflect on our journey and rate the results. What actually improved? What completely failed? And why did some of these challenges feel impossible to sustain? We also reveal the new direction of the podcast: stricter accountability, tracked data, online tools, and a full system overhaul going forward. This is our second challenge check in, following Episode 7’s with the addition of a new diet. We hope you enjoy! Inspired by: - Deep Work by Cal Newport - Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg - The Untethered Soul and Living Untethered by Michael Singer - Good Energy by Casey Means

Your brain has two hemispheres, and they don't always agree. This week, we dive into The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist, breaking down what the left and right brain are actually doing, why they're in conflict, and what that means for how we think, feel, and live. We cover the Nietzsche parable at the heart of the book, the left hemisphere's overconfidence problem, how language shapes (and limits) our perception, and why too much analytical thinking can make life feel hollow. We also connect the neuroscience to everything we've explored on this podcast, from The Untethered Soul to Good Energy, and why this book might be the thread that ties it all together. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy! The Master and His Emissary: https://channelmcgilchrist.com/master-and-his-emissary/

In this episode of Learning To Live we're pulling back the curtain on our full blood work results and using them to build the most ambitious diet we've ever attempted, inspired by Casey Means' Good Energy. We break down our entire dieting history, what worked, what didn't, and why we kept falling off. Then we go through 15 key biomarkers from our extensive Function Health blood test, score ourselves on Casey Means' 8-category health quiz, and lay out the complete diet overhaul we're committing to. Thanks for listening, hope you enjoy! Good Energy by Casey Means: https://www.caseymeans.com/goodenergy

As guys trying to take control of our health, we realized we’ve been mostly guessing when it comes to what we eat and how it affects us. This episode, we react to Good Energy by Casey Means. We break down metabolic health, why so many people feel constantly tired, and how the healthcare and food industries may be exploiting you. We give our honest critique of the book, and look ahead to a complete diet overhaul. Thanks for listening, hope you enjoy!

As spiritual skeptics, we wanted to learn the science behind meditation. On this episode of Learning To Live, we examine how meditation structurally changes your brain and how a simple daily practice can begin your journey to unconditional happiness. We discuss Living Untethered by Michael Singer alongside various scientific articles on the biological effects of mindful meditation. We hope you enjoy!

We decided to challenge ourselves to be better. 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!

Small things ruin our entire day… but why?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

In this episode of Learning To Live, we break down The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer. We explore the core themes of the voice in your head, letting go of personal preference, inspiration and flow state, and spiritual experiences. Below is the list of topics and questions we cover, with corresponding timestamps. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy!0:00 Intro3:15 The Voice In Your Head4:36 Have You Ever Experienced Separation?8:14 Thoughts Are The Root Of Suffering11:19 Mind Dictating Experience13:00 Who Are You If Not Your Thoughts?18:33 The Surrender Experiment20:30 Expectations and Sufferings22:51 How Michael Singer Surrendered29:13 How Do You Actually Surrender?36:48 What Is Experience Without Preference41:42 Inspiration, Flow State, and Meaning44:53 Does Flow State Lead To Meaning49:05 Flow State and Performance52:16 What Would it Mean to ‘Let Go’?56:21 Spiritual Experience59:26 Reality vs. Perception1:01:23 Are You Open to Spiritual Experiences?1:04:19 Alternative Explanations for Spiritual Experiences1:08:24 Episode Closure Find The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer here: https://untetheredsoul.com/surrender-experiment

In this episode of Learning To Live, we break down the book Tiny Habits by Dr. BJ Fogg. We share the secrets we learned about behavior design and habit creation, and create our own Tiny Habits to implement in our lives. Find Tiny Habits here: https://tinyhabits.com/

In this episode of Learning To Live, we dive into the importance of attention. 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" challengesDeep 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

Are phones hijacking your brain? 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

We are Asher and Robert, hosts of the podcast Learning To Live (LTL). 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.