“Are we opening ourselves up to other ideas and stepping outside of the echo chamber?”
Bestselling author, entrepreneur, and host of the award-winning podcastOn Purpose,Jay Shetty, mixes purpose and ancient wisdom in a relatable, practical, and easily accessible way that has garnered him a following of more than 58 million across social media platforms.
In 2019, the London-born Shetty harnessed the transformative power of digital media with the launch ofOn Purpose,a platform where people can engage in transformative conversations aimed at enhancing one’s happiness, health, and healing through entertainment and education.
In its debut year, it ranked #1 on Spotify in India and featured in Apple’s Top 20 Podcasts of the Year. Today, the podcast tops the charts as the world’s leading Health and Wellness podcast with over 35 million monthly downloads, ranking in Spotify’s Top 5 Podcasts Globally and earning a spot among Apple’s Top 20 Podcasts of the Year.
Guests on the show have includedPresident Biden, discussing mental health and exploring childhood memories,Michelle Obama reflecting on the White House years and sharing the importance of personal responsibility in marriage, andSelena Gomez talking about overcoming heartbreak and public scrutiny, turning pain into confidence and self-love.Oprah talked about childhood trauma and healing, whileKendall Jenner opened up about anxiety, insecurity, and the pursuit of happiness.Will Smith shared his commitment to family and living by the golden rule. andKim Kardashiandiscussed the chaos and enlightenment of single motherhood.
He’s taking his podcast on the road with surprise guests along the way, and will be appearing in New York on Saturday, May 17, atThe Theater at Madison Square Garden.
A former monk and a dedicated Krishna since his youth, Shetty captivates audiences with his insightful and inspirational content, offering practical life advice resonating with those seeking personal growth and self-improvement. The conversations are designed to help listeners expand their mindset and cultivate healthier habits, with hope being a constant thread throughout his discussions.
“The tradition I follow is the book, The Bhagavad Gita, which would be likened to the bible or the torah. It’s of that stature in the tradition of Krishna,” the soft-spoken Shetty tellsThe Village Voicein a very restorative telephone conversation. “Its teachings are around 5000 years old, and I find that human challenges today are very similar. The historic epic of the Gita is a conversation between Arjuna, who is a warrior, and Krishna, who is God and divinity. Arjuna is on a battlefield, feeling anxious, doubtful, and fearful of the divisive nature that’s happening in front of him. I think anyone hearing that today would feel that’s the experience we’re having currently. We feel a sense of anxiety, stress, doubt, pressure, and fear. We look around us and don’t understand what’s going on. The message in the eastern philosophical teachings is very akin to the human experience of today. I find that despite all of our modern changes in technology, our human emotional needs have stayed the same. In one sense, they’ve become more heightened because of technology, but the actual core needs haven’t changed that much. We worry about the same things, like losing people we love, safety, and security. We worry about getting older and illness. These are still the same real challenges of humanity that change with the rise of social media and families living apart. We’re seeking more connection in different ways, but as humans, we are yearning and looking for the same things we’ve always been looking for; we’re just looking in different places.”
He attributes much of the divisiveness we are now experiencing to a lack of training, whether at school or work, in the ability to be critical, nuanced thinkers.
“Starting from when you’re young, you have to choose a subject, you have to choose a side or an option,” he says. “There’s goodness in making choices, but we need to have nuanced gray conversations. We used to have black and white TVs, but if you look very closely at those TVs, there were lots of gray pixels. So even a black and white TV isn’t black and white, it’s gray. And most things in the world are not black and white. The challenge is, we haven’t been trained to have gray discussions. It’s not the fault of families or people, it’s not having created platforms where people understand and learn how to have subtle conversations that allow for disagreement and healthy discussion. I don’t think we know how to engage with anything that we are uncomfortable with anymore. Echo chambers have naturally been created and accelerated by social media, and humans are becoming more and more divided because we’re only seeing and reading more of what we know and what we believe. We’ve lost the ability to question our beliefs. That’s why these ancient teachings of compassion and empathy are so important at a time like this. We can talk about the need for them, but we also need to practice them in positions when it’s difficult.”
So, what are some practical steps we can personally take to help keep peace at the dinner table?
“Step one is to predict the conversation,” says the author ofThink Like A Monk.“Some people feel like, ‘Oh, I hope no one is going to bring up XYZ at the family dinner.’ Well, predict that they probably are. You know what that uncle is like, and you know what to expect. And since you know what to expect, have a game plan. Some family members are open to a healthy conversation, and some aren’t. The second thing is to be aware that there is no point in debating or trying to change someone’s mind about something they’ve already made their mind up over. Accept that this isn’t somebody open to a healthy, honest conversation. Be aware that that’s not how they function. The third step, I think, is to make sure we are challenging our own beliefs. Are we opening ourselves up to other ideas and stepping outside of the echo chamber? Are we opening ourselves up to other forms of ideas, which is a healthy thing for our brains and mindset?”
But hope springs eternal with the life coach, who believes the next generation of critical thinkers will discover the gray and says that humans have always found a way to survive and thrive in the most difficult times.
“I have more faith that they are asking the right questions and challenging some of the status quo and that they naturally will rise and become stronger,” he says. “That’s what happens when you have chaos. You’re forced to find clarity. I think that’s what we’re seeing around us. The young people are coming up in the world looking for solutions, whereas maybe certain things were set up too comfortably for the generation of today, which makes it harder.
“TV shows likeAdolescenceare sparking mainstream conversations about what mental health should look like and what education should look like,” he says. “That’s a healthy and powerful thing.” ◊
– • –
NOTE: The advertising disclaimer below does not apply to this article, nor any originating from theVillage Voice editorial department, which does not accept paid links.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting the Village Voice and our advertisers.
