The Art of Becoming a Ghost

A Conversation with Jeff Goins

Photo by Kyle Larivee on Unsplash

Recently, I was joined by my friend

Jeff Goins

who authors 

The Ghost

 for a conversation about becoming a ghost in your life, quitting the Internet, and doing a little soul work.

You’ll find the video replay below.

We had a wonderful time, took some questions from the audience, and shared a few poems and thoughts that we’re pondering these days.

Here is the snippet I shared from Carlos Castaneda:

This question is one that only a very old man asks. Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

― Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

And, here is the excerpt from the Spanish play Jeff mentioned:

The king dreams he is a king,
And in this delusive way
Lives and rules with sovereign sway;
All the cheers that round him ring,
Born of air, on air take wing.
And in ashes (mournful fate!)
Death dissolves his pride and state:
Who would wish a crown to take,
Seeing that he must awake
In the dream beyond death's gate?

'Tis a dream that I in sadness
Here am bound, the scorn of fate;
'Twas a dream that once a state
I enjoyed of light and gladness.
What is life? 'Tis but a madness.
What is life? A thing that seems,
A mirage that falsely gleams,
Phantom joy, delusive rest,
Since is life a dream at best,
And even dreams themselves are dreams.

Finally, here’s the recording from the live recording. Please enjoy, and thank you for being a subscriber and supporting my work.