hello welcome to sophie and co i'm sophie shevardnadze and for as long as humans can remember that cell stay had been trying to push the boundaries of their own nature and even now everywhere from south america to siberia people are embarking on a spiritual journey so it's this. fantasy i ask a man who has been studying and practice and spiritual practices for the past twenty five years anthropologists author explorer agitator ass who likes to put it david that as he. has long been irresistible for humanity throughout history people have tried to stretch the limits of their capabilities through meditation and myriad other practices but can anyone really move beyond

biological constraints and train them to perform miracles spirituality and the trends in gentle just an angel. with their days it's really great to have you with us you're an author you're an anthropologist explorer in my opinion educator worth that i greatly admire so you have been studying for the past thirty years different people in a mystical from west to east you've been all around the world what is it that all these people have in common all these different people with different backgrounds different religions different worldviews there's something you told me they all have in common. probably more than one thing first of all that in common that all human beings looking for meaning looking for looking for a story. and

a story that will force field the meaning of their identity both personal and transpose it seems that whoever choose and goes successfully through a process of transpersonal development using doesn't matter which narrative it ends up to be someone who is more love. more kind more compassionate and not the other way around so we also can put that to him as one of those few results you know i could kind of but is it really is worth going through that journey i mean it's like oh it's that thing that you dedicate yourself when it's a transpersonal a journey is it really worth going through all that if you can just love without you know doing all those things that you did i mean i love my friends i love my family and love my job never science tell us that we produce roughly between seventy to eighty thousand votes but they. and our

mind. produces these thoughts a which we have pretty much no control of these seventy thousand thoughts what goes through the bar of the unconscious and makes it to where the conscious level are then percent roughly eight on the thoughts of these eight hundred thoughts the one that we interact with are about ten percent eighty roughly. of those eighty thoughts is only ten percent to positive constructing thoughts that is based on cooperation on love and kindness the rest so seven out of seventy thousand is a staggering number the rest of our mental activity is i won't say garbage buddies definitely not not as good as it could be but that thirty percent that is based on love and cooperation what does that give me in my everyday life why should

i strive so to towards that twenty five percent fifty sixty seventy hundred except what does that give me in my everyday life that i don't already have when our mind when the content of our mind. ease changed there are fees eco to ration at the level of the physiology that is a bit level of the brain the brain as a form of plasticity can rewire itself and not just the brain but also the rest of our body respond to that and if we can change deliberately with certain exercises the content and the quality of our mind we change the function and the physiology of our mind going to lower blood when for example maturity caught the french buddhist monk also happened to be a biologist that. went to be under invitation of the dalai lama to say please go and be scrutinized and analyzed. they did all

possible things m.r.i. scans easy and everything and they actually could measure that when he does whatever he does made for example on compassion or a different kind of meditation on stillness of the mind the focus there are actual narrow physiological changes that can be measured and he has been named the happiest man in the world because what the scientists so it is just completely of the scale you can just everyone can just research these and we have hundreds of thousands of papers of people that on the google is serious process using proven practice and the next and protocols and methods because if you just have it they can but you want a brother method the techniques won't work and if you then go and actually check you will see measurable changes so it's as if you're

a scientist and do this really cool discovery about a human brain you don't see lab ending up as a pilgrimage side where followers sleep and eat with you and follow you everywhere why is it that there is a terrorist realm a trot so much cunning teachers gullible followers what is. about this is a terry clip that is so. that i can't just point out what it is why do they aren't end up with these crazy people. being attracted to it and not to the to the reason of science for instance. i think because if the first. possibly is imagine go thinking a simple solution. to the deep need and the deep suffering of our society and of the individual minds of everybody like to put a very simple hope into an object of faith and belief and this one goes

a long way because i mean we could refer to these in most culture and just for the right. and i think that this really. is very sad them and as you mentioned before now with the when we when people speak about the word practices or or spiritual your meditation that has all these negative association ride. any in fact i can tell you that if you properly who do these practices you don't need to change the way that you dress or of the what you eat the what you don't eat or your sex life or anything like that if you need to this changes for me there is a deep suspicion that who teaches you or what you do. is probably not the best possible choice to select these where you during this journey ever skeptical of the mystical sides of what you're

learning or doing where you're like what am i doing. where at any instance of the journey were you like this is just crazy well when you where when you are under the reagan there waiting for pull days of and so to meet one of those holy men sometime you say what am i doing here it's like they the national geographic explorer waiting to catch the monkey emerging from the forest and staying for three days on the rain waiting so sometimes you do have this say why am i here you know why am i trying so hard to see something with to witness something or twelve the world to know something so yes i did have that but i never read that whatever i was researching or exploring would be purposeless so meaningless these on the net so what's like one of the. mind blowing things memories i mean you've said it all these things but some must be more vivid and important and deep than others from

all this incredible people that you met studied with one of the most iraq listed that i've witnessed in my life has been my that there i saw. she was a very old woman when i met her just a couple of years before she passed and. at the time i was really looking forward to this super supernatural lady taping people and you know really key mazes and this kind of stuff doesn't exist really people levitate just yes or no. do people levitate like it's a serious question i will get back to mother teresa. yes it's possible so why haven't we seen it i mean we live in an era of the media oh it's all around us you can just you know sort of fill it on i phone and it's out there in the internet there are actually the thing is that whatever you see in you can be fake this so

the key. is this is sort of the topic of conversation on terrorism but this is important because when people try to study how much they can do their powers their limits i mean this is the first thing that comes to your mind can i fly today let me take and this is the most common myth about you know if you met kate hard enough you will let me tape so have you actually seen it with your own eyes i mean i'm not asking you have you ever. i'm going to ask you do it. have you seen it like actually seen the person. who was a christian monk in. romania very well known people want to go into for it the past already but he was sort of a legend father justine in the mountains of romania a group of a. kind of saints with which i literally called the flying

wizard the flying monkey i don't remember the romanian word. and so definitely it's true and a few other people so you know just like told my mother saying you're going to sherman's. i do not know if it's those kind of things i mean to find someone that could repeat this kind of feats that we'll he will be a truly breakthrough in science and and i'd be very cool he was to actually start the scientific research on this kind of madness. to my knowledge has never been specifically for these kinds of things yet. so. let's go back to mother tears or shortly and then i would ask about science. well again considering the time i was more looking. to these miracle the stick kind of phenomenology of the human mind which in my view was never really

been a matter of. divine intervention or anything for me as old i would look at this thing as. it acknowledge well it can be done somehow i believe that the research some ways that we could out there the perception of ourself and hence of the reality around us. that certain feeds will become possible so i will do said this is very. to certain extent mckenney system views of this phenomena. and so at the time that i was very focused on these market there as well as the out a sort of something that at the time i missed. that so to the greatest miracle of all is the miracle of love the great the spoiler of all is the power of love. and i think it is something that dramatically change me because this for. perfection you know it's always about me myself and i. will master my

mind i will do these and i can do that and you know me me me and them is very narcissistic and self obsessive so to certain degree. of course some of the true great sayings that display these phenomena as they they reach this phenomenon says me are side effects a symptom of something that's wrong so there was my personal limitation of the time and and coming to see mother teresa. show me that there is something much greater and so to me that probably was who it was many years ago but was still something and now a day i go back as one of the most amazing thing that with this in my life although there was no meditation every day sure anything right we're going to take a short break right now when we're back we'll continue talking about whether there are any limits to what he can do all right chief we're talking about oh that was the biologist author educator david the busy.

most people think to stand out in this business you need to be the first one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice of the biggest raid in truth to stand out on the news business you just need to ask the right questions and demand the right answer. question. i had a great education a good job and a family that loved me. i never had to worry about how i would eat some where i

would sleep. i'm facing christmas alone out on the streets of london. well you look . at the story like growing up. you know the signal that it will still give a fee for the homeless. but you don't really feel like a human being you know. and then. the guy just came over to me saw me and gave me the judge a book. and .

now we're back with anthropologists author agitator david there david you like so well integrated into the scientific community which is a paradox because people of. your interest don't usually mesh well together with science as you do because you're a scientist at bates have you ever proposed to scientists who study human biology to maybe something up to your brain to observe. i raise differently i see things differently something is changing your on me when i do it the way i do it. do you want to just when i do it the way i do it do you want to just maybe observe it and see what's going on with the human brain oh yeah i mean absolutely i

mean i mean all that there are. just so it's a very simple post on the and as i mentioned on the cob the many monks specifically buddhists to somehow because buddhism is not a religion it is a very sign it's. the star of the mind. there is a lot of monks that have submitted. themself to use two very rigorous experimental research so we do have all these doctors and it's going to just grow and grow and grow what is interesting for me is like ok we have those monks maybe to do with that have been meditating for sixty thousand out of us that and so we can see some incredible meru physiological changes ride personality changes and sort of behavioral changes called if changes but can we heck can we speed up these results in any one so can we actually have some measurable changes from the

person that comes from nothing and just got to do some proper exercise and protocol and training to and then it's you know the qualities the functioning of the mind right the content of the mind and of the behavior of the clinician and my answer is that yes i believe it's possible and it is my great desire that we have more top us on these. so when we say practice and taisha and most of your answers lead to the same. that people just become more integrated more accepting her money is for themselves and it's all about love so i believe if you do this my taishan the right way you do get this natural healthy sense of high. which sort of you know makes you feel like well that's great. doesn't that take away. doesn't that take away because we all know that like the

hugest breakthroughs in culture for instance. composers who have been like alcoholics and were tortured souls have come up with like masterpieces or writers or puts or directors i mean you name it you know i don't know great hackers they're all tortured souls if you give them that feeling of everything is fine of all around me when that does make them. stop wanting more still you know like making breakthroughs in this earth's does that doesn't absolutely boxes take away ambition basically honest well you touch the every very very good topic in. in the star descent of the study of the mind which i bring back to buddhism which i am openly a great fan of. motivation plays

a key role. so again a proper training of the mind doesn't take away motivation it changes motivation so i could have the motivation to do something for you for the world or a project or something based on a rip scar city baze the fear is that. mind a motivation system that is taking more or if i am doing properly what i'm supposed to do by training my mind let's call it meditation to use this word although maybe mind training would be better. i was still have that ambition but the motivation behind changes any start to become a motivational mob in your order. so less self-centered less fear based less greed is. more based on the higher or the rebellious so the

motivation simply changes quality it is s. powerful less so when i ask you why do you do this interview. what is the motivation. and the motivation community right why am i here what is my motivation to be here. so meditation doesn't take away your mind training sort of preferred his word let's let's use his word. training of your mind doesn't take away motivation it just changes the quality of it obviously did to us is the truth . meditation and practices have long stopped being something marginal and it's a mainstream thing everyone does that especially in the west a lot of successful people do that. you worked with a lot of powerful people you've been there a person. their personal coach and he was those who were me. how do you want me to

. put that into words you've been there what life coach how do you what do you call yourself when you help them. get into practices and the right to practice their work right way very simple in that moment i take their role so it's a role of if these are sort of an educator so you've been an educator too many powerful men whether it's business men or politicians what do they need you for i mean these people are super successful very rich very busy very ambitious why would they spent their precious time sitting down meditating even if you look at the way that our brain has been evolving we started from europe to understand which we still have we have the molly and potter and then we have a very new pot that they knew from for cortex the start of the battle better recently and what is very interesting of their frontal cortex is that it grows and develops until our thirty's so until our thirty's that we are actually not truly

fully developed unconscious identities. so if it is true that the nature does drive to or the evolution from. that male from the cortex make has brought us to a society which is largely to the more regulated and less violent to a degree more compassionate it is only makes sense to believe that the national pollution of the individual full of the same steps so we go through life to a process of evolutionary development so the all powerful person that the radius everything still is driven by that. need of the bell and then because it here she'll read the as everything the quest cinese water next because doesn't matter you are a king you are a president or you are a businessman you have all the power in the world when you go to sleep at night on site fear anger revenge jealousies they steal. around your mind

doesn't matter much you have that used to made deep see that suffering is today at the churning of the mind didn't stop and everybody was there to sort them point to stop because it keeps you a bouncer limits you everybody want to see i want to know what i can be what i can do without it people in power always had and have spiritual leaders and there was this story just recently i think with a year ago where a south korean president was impeached because she had this here's your leader and according to people that spiritual leader would have an impact of her decisions for the nation. so people aren't still accepting of that size when it comes to politicians were why why is that why do you think having a spiritual it wiser isn't maybe thought that beneficial after all for politicians

and it could because people think it's dangerous they always lean pits to lady. it is a very good question and it is like choosing a good sick ologist or us to make your choice very wisely the more your level of impact on the world the wiser and more critical is the choice. is your choice in relation to the people that you surround yourself with that you are listening to because there is ignorance because many of these things are based on magical thinking because science the science of the mind didn't become mainstream people steal choose or not be on a rigorous criteria and so they fall prey of maybe charlot towns or people that maybe have good intentions but i have limited views and wisdom.

if i may know one of the advisor of the. russian so the royal family the famous rasputin. is one example with your culture my find them you know the people for what is what i have read very divided some people are great supporters and believe that he was a true mystic some people say maybe it was not. you obviously people in meditation you may take yourself there are a can you tell if a person meditates or not without knowing that person. but i like to. believe though for what they have seen for what the evil that they heard that your president does and it's all pretty redhead's well you know again for me meditation is a word that is also cinema with prayer you know after you contextualize the meaning of iti know we are not i mean i some stories of you know some great monkey riata

that he went to a some christian advise those monks or whatever else that he has a penny's almost on that occasion to these things so mush loss of anything and i believe that probably needs own way without making assumption the presumption he found in a way to meditate i mean that the power of his mind the. clarity of his mind and the obvious view and vision that it is unmatched. and which leads us to saying that logic that trump certainly doesn't meditate and. think you know larry this is a really good feeling that it would be like good luck with everything thank you.

lou. please. come to call russia no one has ever no one has ever heard of and never even heard about most. a.

lot of crazy things going up a lot of people you know. twitter izing and occasionally somebody pops up with something really really interesting. welcome to unique edition of cross talk we question answer. from you the viewers some of the sentiment very interesting.

midnight right now in the headlines the u.s. state of alabama looks into whether or not a pro democratic party operation involving thousands of. votes violated campaign laws and also cost the republican candidate is c. . story to watch the next few days syrian forces say they've entered the northern city of man page it comes at the request they say of civilians and kurds in the area turkey masses troops for possible offense in. france plans of control despite a number of serious injuries among those yellow vests protesters of late caused by rubber bullets.