The Counterintuitive Need to Slow Down and Find Spaciousness with Iain McGilchrist | TGS 217

Comments · 580

• TH

  @thegreatsimplification · 5 months ago · pinned

  Want to dive deeper into the concepts covered in this episode? Follow along with the Show Notes &amp; Links to Learn More here:<br><a href="https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Iain-McGilchrist-Show-Notes-3.pdf">https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Iain-McGilchrist-Show-Notes-3.pdf</a>

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• IG

  @Igel-jo8xv · 5 months ago

  Pan-experiencialism is for me an astounding phenomenon. Having been a stonemason for many years, my day came as predicted by my mentor, when the rocks would speak (metaphorically) to me. That was when I bent and stretched and lifted the stone whilst maintaining a space of acceptance and gratitude, quiet patience, and a respectful station, the rock would travel in my hands to the wall and fit into place so neatly and securely and without resistance that I felt a presence of divine guidance at work. And yes, it is a dance of emotion that when completed the stone in my walls lay beautifully and pleased the eye because the dance remained visible and alive for all to see for as long as that wall would stand. I have concluded that there is intelligence in all things and that the underlying energy driving all this is emotion.

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• MI

  @midi510 · 2 months ago

  A great analogy for Ian&apos;s take on the hemispheres is to imagine living in a valley surrounded by mountains. You can see the terrain up close and in detail. You can&apos;t see a lot at once, but you can travel around to different places and see them up close in detail. This is the left hemisphere experience. If you climb to the highest mountain top, &nbsp;you can see the layout of the whole terrain and the relationships between the different places. This is the right hemisphere experience. &nbsp;We need both and the best life entails a dance between the two, constantly moving from one perspective to the other in ratios required by specific circumstances.

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• RM

  @rm2026-j5p · 5 months ago

  I am craving spaciousness and a slower pace. &nbsp;I have sheep, I have been trying to match sheep-pace.

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• ST

  @stanleykubrick8786 · 5 months ago (edited)

  My uncle would often say; it’s easy to be a gentleman and philosopher when your belly is full and you have a roof over your head. I recently came back from Lebanon and unfortunately, many people have neither.

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• RA

  @Raqueld333 · 5 months ago (edited)

  After spending the last six months homeless and being offered the POTENTIAL of support from various organisations (housing, disability, educational), I have come to realise that the focus of organisations is to deplete my resources (energy and time) with false promises and endless meetings that go absolutely no-where, with no-one interested or motivated to follow through on anything. This conversation helped me come to the conclusion that there may be an agenda to keep me (and probably others with chronic illness) distracted from adopting a naturally contemplative stance; namely gratitude and prayer in life.

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• ED

  @edithcrowther9604 · 5 months ago

  I was very &quot;left brain&quot; until I had a baby. &nbsp;Slowly, as the baby developed and refused point blank to go to nursery or school until the age of 6, I started to look at the world through infant eyes - not just my baby&apos;s, but the eyes of her playmates who had a permanent daily invitation to play with us at our home or in the park or whatever. &nbsp;&quot;Play&quot; is a weird word for what infants do - they are learning, really, and discovering and exploring. &nbsp;At the same time, they have poor survival instincts - which I presume means that their &quot;Play&quot; is controlled by, or at least wide open to, the right brain - and this must be what makes their personalities so deeply enchanting and transformative for any adults lucky enough to spend a lot of time with small children in a reasonably unrestricted manner.<br>It has recently occurred to me, reading or re-reading the great literary works of pre-20th century Europe, that it was not only mothers who got to observe infants closely every day - men of all classes also, perforce, spent a lot of time around children even if they had no duties or tasks to perform for them. &nbsp;Children swarmed everywhere pre 1900 - even in factories, where they often formed part of the workforce. &nbsp;Your own children and/or the children of your extended family and neighbourhood. &nbsp;This, IMO, accounts for the visionary skills of great writers (fact and fiction) which seem ingrained - and are now entirely lacking, so I find nothing worth reading in modern literature unless it is someone like D.H. Lawrence, who carried within himself enough right-brain material to make up for any lack of daily contact with bevies of small children. &nbsp;Indeed, brilliant though Lawrence is in an adult sense, his writing has a strange childlike quality, even in his Essays. &nbsp;<br>In more primitive societies, and in ancient civilizations before they get too complex, there is the same awareness of how a child sees the world amongst both male and female adults. &nbsp;The Bible, for example, is overall an exhortation to seek wisdom and spiritual guidance like a newborn seeks milk - one line encapsulates this, which forms the Introit for the Mass on the first Sunday after Easter. <br>&quot;Quasi modo geniti infantes rationabile sine dolo lac concupiscite ut in eo crescatis in salutem&quot; - &nbsp; &quot;Like newborn babies, without guile, crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may increase in salvation.&quot; &nbsp;[1 Peter 2:2] &nbsp;Good advice for all, Christian or not. &nbsp;Victor Hugo named his Hunchback of Notre Dame &quot;Quasimodo&quot; because he was found on that Sunday - and maybe for other reasons too. &nbsp;<br>Like all great writers, Hugo was aware that adults need to be ABLE to see as small children see - without guile, without taught biases, without closed doors to this and that idea or vision yet with an instinctive understanding of Boundaries and Limits - for instance they always know when to stop eating and their other physical needs are miniscule - to the extent of folly sometimes as they cast off items of clothing recklessly. &nbsp;Every day they wake up raring to go, and continue Life&apos;s Great Journey of Discovery - yet before setting off they like to recall the past (such as it is), checking favourite books and toys and recounting recent events which made an impression on them. &nbsp;Once the Past is secure, off they go into the Present, enjoying every moment. &nbsp;The Future has no meaning for them that I can discern. &nbsp;There is nothing to worry about, therefore - unless someone stops them from doing something they want to do, in which case there is a meltdown, but not for long because meltdowns use up a lot of energy and boredom sets in anyway. &nbsp;<br>The thing is, infants consume so little that they have no need to think about the Future - which makes you realize that fussing about the Future is the result of Consumption and even of Addiction to Consumption. &nbsp;&quot;Give us this day our daily bread&quot; is enough for infants - no need for &quot;Give us tomorrow our daily bread&quot;.<br>Of course Ecologists and Biologists and Naturalists are worried sick about the Future - but remove Over-Consumption (and Over-Production to feed Over-Consumption) from the picture - and they can relax. &nbsp;Are any of them proposing this? &nbsp;No. &nbsp;They have salaries to earn, taxes to pay, children to educate, etc. &nbsp;So do all other humans - whom they do not want to upset.

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• BO

  @Borderlandsbird · 1 month ago

  I’ve listened to this repeatedly and love the blend of the esoteric and practical, complex and simple. Ian is such a wise soul - and Nate’s questions, and skill in not interrupting, help this develop into a fascinating distillation of wisdom - and a springboard to so many positive possibilities for contemplation and action!

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• EL

  @elizabethmolnar4643 · 2 months ago

  GOD bless you Drm McGilchrist. Heal you, protect you, and yours. Thank you for giving us all you have.

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• KA

  @katzdrool · 1 month ago (edited)

  Thank you immensely for this. &nbsp;I&apos;m an artist but have been paralyzed about the last 3 years by all the pain (and anger and confusion and frustration) I&apos;m feeling for the world. &nbsp; This is already helping me live again. &nbsp; &nbsp;❤❤

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• AN

  @andrewrosser8550 · 3 weeks ago

  Love is very difficult but worth the suffering that accompanies it. More than anything it is the desire and determination to nurture and grow a relationship through shared experiences. These gentlemen have been quite inspiring to listen to. The greatest people are often the most humble and modest in demeanor. Thank you for two captivating hours of discussion covering the 21st century malaise of mankind and a possible solution to recover decency and morality in a world sorely lacking both.

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• KI

  @kittypallesen9957 · 1 month ago

  I only just discovered today you Nate and this amazing conversation with Dr McGilchrist. Fate? My intention to fumble the logarithms with the variety of what I click on? &nbsp;Or my unrelenting joy and adventure of discovering &amp; learning? &nbsp;In any case, thank you for this conversation that has triggered my excitement &amp; hope about what is possible in my life and the world. Subscribed now. Thanks so very much for what you are bringing forth here.

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