382: Dr. Pedram Shojai - Becoming A Taoist Monk, Meditation Is the Ultimate Drug, Managing Your Life Garden

<p>Dr. Pedram Shojai (IG: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/official_urbanmonk" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer">@official_urbanmonk</a>) is former Taoist monk who is a physician of Chinese medicine and has lectured on wellness around the world.</p> <p>His no-nonsense approach teaches esoteric concepts to Western readers in an easy to understand way.</p> <p>Pedram is a New York Times bestselling author and producer of multiple films and series.</p> <p>Today we're discussing his latest book <a href= "https://geni.us/m0jQaK" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer">Focus: Bringing Time, Energy, and Money into Flow</a>.</p> <p><strong>In this episode, we discuss:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Pedram becoming a Taoist monk</li> <li>The integration of Qigong and Kung Fu</li> <li>Choosing to live as an urban monk</li> <li>Don’t use spirituality to run from your past</li> <li>Sex is a path to enlightenment</li> <li>The hardest part about being a monk</li> <li>Developing good work ethic early on</li> <li>No one is perfect, we all have flaws</li> <li>What Pedram learned after fasting for 5 days in Hawaii</li> <li>You've got to do the work</li> <li>The benefits of meditation</li> <li>Basic meditation tips</li> <li>Meditation is the ultimate drug</li> <li>What if the answer to complexity was simplicity</li> <li>Social media algorithms pull your attention away from your life</li> <li>Focus on your own life</li> <li>Developing the life garden framework</li> <li>Learning how to say no</li> <li>Understanding energy economics</li> <li>Qigong is the secret to life</li> <li>What is the difference between Qigong and Tai Chi?</li> <li>If it’s not in your calendar, how important is it to you?</li> <li>Practicing the art of disengaging from effort</li> <li>Meditation is a muscle</li> <li>Creating empty space in your life</li> <li>Pedram's work/life balance in Utah</li> <li>Hunting is a primal experience</li> <li>How to identify the weeds in your life garden</li> <li>Newsflash “you’re going to die”</li> <li>Being present every da