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How do I live when I know I must die? Learning to Die is a show about exploring that question hosted by Ian Dunican and Ciaran O'Regan. They explore areas of philosophy, psychology, martial arts, culture, existential risk, and anything else that seems of interest and relevance to navigating a well-lived life. And, since Montaigne put it beautifully when he said "every man bears the whole form of the human condition," Ian and Ciaran can only hope that some of what they learn prior to returning their borrowed carbon to the Universe might be of benefit to you too. Namaste Sapiens.
Episodes
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Hanlon's Razor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Tao Te Ching (Download free copy here https://sourceoflightmonastery.tripod.com/webonmediacontents/1935012.pdf)
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
In this episode, we continue our journey through the book of five rings. The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin no Sho) is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts `Miyamoto Mushashi around 1645 read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings
Battle Drills https://www.mkbartlett.co.uk/
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
In this episode of the Learning to Die podcast we discuss the man that may be responsible for our lives today (Vasili Arkhipov) and how we have side stepped a nuclear war.
- Items we discuss in the episode Sting - Russians (Official Music Video)
- The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity https://www.amazon.co.uk/Precipice-Existential-Risk-Future-Humanity/dp/0316484911
- Indian/Pakistan border closing India Pakistan Wagah Attari Border Closing Ceremony (By Sanjeev Bhaskar - The Longest Road).
- The Future of Life Institute https://futureoflife.org/
- The Korean War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
- Cuban Missile crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis
- Vasili Arkhipov Vasili Arkhipov, 2017 Future of Life Award winner for averting nuclear war
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
In this episode, we continue our journey through the book of five rings. The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin no Sho) is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts `Miyamoto Mushashi around 1645 read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
In this episode of the Learning to Die Podcast, Ciaran and Dr Stephen Blackwood discuss a broad range of topics including the lessons to be learned from the Roman poet Boethius, confusions around what science is and isn’t, what reason and rationality can mean in their fullest sense compared to what they are often seen as in a more narrow one, what beauty is and the role it can play in the human experience, and the possible causes and remedies for the meaning crisis in which we are living through.
Stephen Blackwood is the founding President of Ralston College. He was born in Alberta and grew up in beautiful Prince Edward Island in a big family on a small family farm. He studied classics as an undergraduate, and received an MA (Classics) from Dalhousie and a PhD (Religion) from Emory University. He has held visiting positions at Harvard University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Cambridge.
His intellectual interests include philosophy, religion, psychology, theology, ethics, politics, nature, and art. His primary academic focus has been on the nature of the human person, specifically as it comes to be understood in ancient and medieval times, and on the evolution of the ideals, institutions, and cultural forms that enable human beings to flourish. His book on the Roman poet-philosopher-statesman, Boethius, was published by Oxford University Press.
He has co-founded or helped to direct several non-profit organizations, including in inner-city education and cancer research. He has lived and worked in many European countries and is a naturalized citizen of the United States,
Dr Blackwood’s website: https://www.stephenjblackwood.com/
Ralston College's website: https://www.ralston.ac/
Dr Blackwood is the host of the Ralston College Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVbAjoLkDnj5f6JkCVM-agw
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Wednesday Sep 01, 2021
Wednesday Sep 01, 2021
In this episode, we start our journey through the book of five rings.
The Book of Five Rings (五輪書, Go Rin no Sho) is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts`Miyamoto Mushashi around 1645 read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings
The "Dokkōdō" is a short work written by Mushashi a week before he died in 1645. It consists of 21 precepts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokk%C5%8Dd%C5%8D
Documentary: Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172047/
Book: Sam Sheridan, The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game https://www.amazon.com.au/Fighters-Mind-Sam-Sheridan/dp/0802145019
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
In this episode, we chat with Sonny Brown, a former MMA fighter, and BJJ black belt.
Sonny was victorious in 3 MMA title bouts becoming a 3 time Australian Mixed Martial Arts Champion in the lightweight division beating standouts Dan Hooker and Damien Brown. He is the only person to secure an MMA victory via Gogoplata choke in Australia. He is successful in No-Gi Grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions winning roughly 18 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze medals in state and national competitions. These days Sonny teaches kids as a PE teacher and hosts and runs the world-famous Sonny Brown Breakdown podcast and YouTube channel. Be sure to check it out at https://www.sonnybrown.net for links to the podcast and the breakdown videos.
Sonny has also written an excellent article on the Book of Five Rings that you can access here
https://www.sonnybrown.net/notes-book-of-five-rings-miyamoto-musashi/
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a video and some slides.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
In this episode, Ciaran and Ian sit down to discuss the horrific events of World War II, in particular the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities on the 6th and 9th August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.
Oppenheimer Bhagavad-Gita Quote https://youtu.be/pqZqfTOxFhY
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions. The YouTube version of this episode has a slideshow.
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Strap yourselves in for this story. This one hit me hard. Colin sits down with Ciaran and Ian to discuss his near-death experiences and the impact on his life. Colin goes into great detail in this episode...I can't do it justice in the show notes. Please listen to this. This episode has changed my life already (Ian).
Colin is a professional coach for the past ten years. Over more than twenty-five years of training and coaching, he has worked with and trained extensively under ex British special forces instructors, attaining a 4th-degree black belt and high-level weapons training in the Chinese martial art of Akanaryu.
He has been involved in Corporate Wellness Training for more than eight years, first with large companies then working with executives and CEO’s on their personal performance goals.
Working with his wife and business partner Karma he has worked to bring functional fitness into every sector. Included in this has been an extensive structured schools programme, two European seminar tours covering 12 countries and providing training with Olympic Medalist athletes, and a series of professional CrossFit Competitions in Europe.
Along with his academic studies in biomechanics, nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine, his deep interest in philosophy and the inner world has guided him in his work and family life for over twenty years, and particularly in the past three years where he has experienced and survived four cardiac arrests stemming from a formerly undiagnosed genetic condition.
He now owns and runs Optimise Health and Performance with his wife in Clonmel Co. Tipperary where they work on an individual basis with clients from the corporate and business community to help them achieve more balance in their daily lives.
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
In this episode, Ian sits down face to face with Dr Stephen Bright in Perth, Western Australia to discuss the subject of psychedelics. A topic of taboo in our society, but are these so-called drugs bad or can they be used to improve health and wellbeing. We discuss why setting and intention are key in this process and the spiritual elements of such a journey. This is a great conversation and I got extremely excited during this as we attempt to discuss the integration of science, spirituality and the wonder and awe of life.
- A quantitative exploration of the relationships between regular yoga practice, microdosing psychedelics, wellbeing and personality variables https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049530.2021.1882266
- Australia should be initiating a psychedelic research program: What are the barriers?https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004867416670520
- Exploring the relationship between microdosing, personality and emotional insight: A prospective study https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/5/1/article-p9.xml
You can find out more about Stephen here and his research
Check us out at www.learningtodie.com.au for all episodes and links to the YouTube video versions
Contact us at ian@learningtodie.com.au or ciaran@learningtodie.com.au