Gabriel Ellis, PhD | The Curious Mind Podcast Archiv

In this episode of "The Curious Mind Podcast", Gabriel Ellis, a doctor of Buddhism and psychotherapist, describes the core of the original Buddhist practice from a historical and scientific perspective: the meditation of bliss. In contrast to his historical contemporaries, who rejected any form of well-being as dangerous, the Buddha saw this meditative bliss as a path to liberation of the mind. If you apply the Buddhist teachings on dependent origination to this meditative bliss, you get a gradual refinement of well-being up to complete liberation.





Free 30-minute preliminary consultation: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min


Youtube: https://youtu.be/kcw-PdWjb38


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com

In this episode of the Curious Mind Podcast, Gabriel Ellis, psychologist and psychotherapist, delves into the teachings of Sigmund Freud, focusing on his psychoanalytic theory. Freud's model of the mind, developed in the 1920s, includes three key regions: the Es (It), the Ich (I), and the Über-Ich (Above-I). Freud believed that the It houses our primal drives and desires, while the I mediates between these urges and reality, and the "Above-I" represents our moral conscience. The podcast also touches on Freud's concepts of the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind, highlighting how these elements interact and influence behavior. Gabriel discusses the importance of understanding these concepts for modern psychotherapy and hints at further exploration and critique in the upcoming episode.





Free 30-minute preliminary consultation: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/b89Un5kmy1w


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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In this episode of the Curious Mind Podcast, psychotherapist and Buddhism scholar Gabriel Ellis delves into the historical aspects of Buddhism, focusing on what likely traces back to the historical Buddha. The discussion revolves around the Four Noble Truths, a core Buddhist concept, and their implications. Gabriel explains that suffering, the first truth, is rooted in the five dimensions of identification: form, feelings, perceptions, intentions, and consciousness. The second truth identifies the cause of suffering as craving, specifically for pleasure, self-continuity, and self-discontinuity. The third truth states that the end of suffering comes from the cessation of craving. The fourth truth outlines the path to end suffering, featuring eight factors like Right View and Right Meditation. Gabriel highlights how the Buddha's teachings challenge common perceptions of existence, emphasizing conditioned emergence and the concept of not-self, which leads to disillusionment and detachment as steps toward liberation. This episode sets the stage for a deeper exploration of the Eightfold Path in subsequent episodes.





My paper on ayatana: https://www.academia.edu/45655783/Āyatana_the_Buddhas_forgotten_teaching





My dissertation: https://www.academia.edu/63732680/Early_Buddhism_and_its_Relation_to_Brahmanism_A_Comparative_and_Doctrinal_Investigation





Free 30-minute preliminary consultation: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/nGccmZvZXJc


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com

Discover the practices of the historical Buddha. I delve into ancient texts to explore the distinct groups present during the Buddha's time: Buddhist monastics, ascetics from other sects, and laypeople. Get a glimpse of the unique teachings, practices, and paths to liberation that defined early Buddhism. Join me as I separate fact from myth and reveal the true essence of the Buddha's teachings.





Dissertation: https://www.academia.edu/63732680/Early_Buddhism_and_its_Relation_to_Brahmanism_A_Comparative_and_Doctrinal_Investigation


Suttacentral (here you can find all the teaching texts, in the original and in translation): https://suttacentral.net/





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/6Rz6PO9CGI0


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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Buddhism is fascinating. But it is surprisingly difficult to work out what the original teachings of the Buddha were. The oldest texts of Buddhism were not written until 200-400 years after the Buddha, and by then they had undergone many changes. In this episode I will give you an understanding of the historical context before I present the content of original Buddhism in the next episodes.





Dissertation (English): https://www.academia.edu/63732680/Early_Buddhism_and_its_Relation_to_Brahmanism_A_Comparative_and_Doctrinal_Investigation


Suttacentral (here you can find all the teaching texts, in the original and in translation): https://suttacentral.net/


Atthakavaga: suttacentral.net/snp4.1/en/sujato





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/aBIz80oRd3w


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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It seems to me that we have too high expectations of authenticity today. People want the "true self" to have priority, both in our private lives and at work. Psychologically, this is an unrealistic and unhealthy attitude. The task of the ego is not to be authentic, but to navigate life. And the "false self" and our self-ideals help us in this process. It only becomes dangerous when we split off and suppress authentic parts and needs. Then we lose important information that we depend on to navigate life in a sustainable and pleasant way.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/QaI_q0qLliM


Homepage: ⁠https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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As a philosopher of consciousness, Hegel was little interested in people's egocentric navel-gazing. But isn't this necessary for psychotherapy? After all, in therapy we want to overcome individual suffering. In this episode, I demonstrate how Hegel's perspective is not only compatible with therapy but even essential.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/WiRWV29pfIA


Homepage: ⁠https://www.gabriel-ellis.com

Healing is a much more individual challenge than many people think. And therapeutic methods have a little value if applied without discernment. Yet, there are some general principles that are valid in any real healing process: Truthfulness, benevolence, and responsibility.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min


Youtube: https://youtu.be/rjBLesYB32s


Homepage: ⁠https://www.gabriel-ellis.com


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The doctrine of the not-self is central to Buddhism. Aspects of such a teaching can also be found in Hegel. He even helps us to better understand how healing aspects of the not-self teaching unfold in everyday life and in psychotherapy.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/YG1M6MLjXFo


Homepage: ⁠https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





In my dissertation you will find a detailed discussion of the Buddhist non-ego in chapter 10:


https://www.academia.edu/63732680/Early_Buddhism_and_its_Relation_to_Brahmanism_A_Comparative_and_Doctrinal_Investigation





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Mindfulness can be useful and enriching - if rightly understood. But the practice can also become dull, boring, or even harmful in the long run. In this video I describe the conditions that makes the practice fruitful, and how a simplistic understanding is pointless or can cause harm.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/IwmHHFfZAZQ


Homepage: ⁠https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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We all struggle with feelings: Should we feel them and identify with them, or should we sometimes use and sometimes repress them? We cannot answer this question if we cannot understand the role and importance of feelings. G.W.F. Hegel can give us valuable clues with his classification of feelings in his large-scale system of philosophy of spirit. I refer to several passages in Hegel, but mostly to paragraphs §387 and §401 in Part Three of Hegel's “Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences” from 1830.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/_wUnT8YjmtM


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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In my clinical practice, clients often think that they are alone with their problem. Most of the time however, the challenges are very comparable, be it regarding relationships, work, burnout, fears or a lack of prospects. There are often systemic, i.e. societal, connections and causes that are unfortunately unclear to individuals. To solve these problems on a purely individual level is unrealistic.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





https://youtu.be/wfroWrXy_qo


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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There is still a lot to learn about psychology from Hegel. He created complex maps of the mind. And we can use these to understand “where we are,” psychologically speaking. And we can also use these maps to locate ourselves in meditation. In this podcast I focus primarily on Buddhist Vipassana meditation and how a Hegelian positioning can help us to correctly align our practice again. If you want to look it up, I mainly refer to paragraphs §448-§450 in Part Three of Hegel's “Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences” from 1830.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





Youtube: https://youtu.be/dl42TQzhjkE


Homepage: https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





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What is more relevant for me: virtue or needs orientation? And how do I get out of self-avoidance? I answer these and other questions about the three approaches to life I laid out in the previous episodes.





Free discovery call: https://calendly.com/gabriel-ellis/30min





https://youtu.be/w9gWqBAmN6o


https://www.gabriel-ellis.com





Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash