Raising our happiness baseline (with Sasha Chapin)

Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/215/#transcript) • How easy is it to shift our baseline level of happiness? What sorts of things can most effectively shift that baseline? And are they highly specific to each individual or generalizable to most people? What are the differences between conceptual and phenomenal self-love? Why might it be useful to view shame as a kink? How does self-love or self-acceptance differ from indulging or even just tolerating the worst parts of yourself? What's the best way to think about "woo"? How genuine is the stereotypical guru demeanor of serenity, graciousness, and attentiveness? Is it possible for people with aphantasia to learn visualization? What's so interesting about perfume? What can people do to become better writers? • Sasha Chapin is a writer currently living in California. Most of his recent writing is on his Substack (https://sashachapin.substack.com/). His most popular posts there are "What the humans like is responsiveness" (https://sashachapin.substack.com/p/what-the-humans-like-is-responsiveness) and "50 Things I Know" (https://sashachapin.substack.com/p/50-things-i-know). He also wrote a book called All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything (https://www.amazon.com/All-Wrong-Moves-Ruining-Everything/dp/0385545177). Learn more about him at his website, sashachapin.com (https://www.sashachapin.com/), or follow him on Twitter / X at @sashachapin (https://twitter.com/sashachapin). • Further reading • Cate Hall's Clearer Thinking episode (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/113/cate-hall-are-we-all-the-heroes-of-our-own-stories/) • Loch Kelly's Clearer Thinking episode (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/093/loch-kelly-accessing-pure-consciousness-at-any-moment/) • Mind's Eye Development eCourse (https://rcdc-courses.teachable.com/p/aphantasia-to-mental-imagery) — the course that helped Sasha overcome aphantasia • Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life, by Byron Katie (https://www.amazon.com/Loving-What-Four-Questions-Change/dp/1400045371) • Expanding Awareness, by Michael Ashcroft (https://expandingawareness.org/) • Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen (https://www.amazon.com/Difficult-Conversations-Discuss-What-Matters/dp/0143118447) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host / Director • Josh Castle (mailto:joshrcastle@gmail.com) — Producer • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Audio Engineer • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/) [Read more: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/215/sasha-chapin-raising-our-happiness-baseline]

Om Podcasten

Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?