Episode Details

Live mindfully from the heart. In this episode of Inspired Evolution, we are inspired by Gelong Thubten. Thubten became a Buddhist monk 25 years ago at Kagyu Samye Ling in Scotland, Europe’s oldest and largest Buddhist monastery. He has spent over six years in intensive meditation retreats, the longest of which was 4 years in seclusion on a Scottish island. Thubten specializes in teaching mindfulness meditation internationally, in businesses, hospitals, schools, universities, prisons, and addiction counseling centers. He works with major clients such as Google, LinkedIn, Lloyds Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Accenture, the NHS, Clifford Chance and Linklaters, and lectures at Facebook.

He does not get paid, all funds go to charity, for building meditation training centers to benefit many people. Thubten was the meditation consultant on the set of Marvel’s latest movie, Dr. Strange, where he trained Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton in meditation techniques while they were filming. He has lectured on Buddhism and meditation at the universities of Oxford, Helsinki, and Cardiff, as well as for Mindvalley. He teaches in several schools and is often interviewed by the world’s media. He designs and delivers mindfulness programmes for 4th-year medical students at the National University of Ireland, and he has lectured at Parliament on the Channel Islands. He has co-authored a book on mindfulness with Ruby Wax and a neuroscientist: How To Be Human. He runs meditation centers throughout the U.K.

Gelong Thubten is a celebrated global expert on Mindfulness & Tibetan Meditation. In the episode of the Inspired Evolution, we explore Thubten’s journey to meditation. This is an especially surprising story as growing up he wasn’t really interested in meditation. In fact, he recounts that in his late teens he was actually quite wild, living the party lifestyle as an actor living in New-York. Burning the candle at both ends as he put it.

Unfortunately, his stressful lifestyle eventuated to a situation where he ended up quite ill for 6 months. It was during this time of illness that he started reading about meditation and the power of the mind. A friend of his recommended the Kagyu Samye Ling monastery in Scotland to deepen his meditation exploration for a short 12-month experience.

He was at Kagyu Samye Ling only 3 days before he become ordained as a monk. The commitment was initially for a full 12-months. However, as it would turn out, once he was there for 9 months he decided to commit to staying for longer. In his second year, he did his first 9-month isolated retreat. It was here that he decided to commit to monk-hood. A powerful decision yet an obvious one: to best serve himself and humanity. His decision being powered by the desire to live outside of his ego, which he identified as being unhealthy. Driven by compassion, he ended up taking life-vows committing to monk-hood and this way of life, for life. He joyfully remarks that his friends at this point though he’d lost the plot and that he was lucky that his family supported his decision. He’s now been a monk for over 25 years since he was 21 years old, on a life-long journey now towards perpetual growth and learning.

In this conversation, we talk about keeping mindfulness “now”, updated and modern. Specifically, how Thubten keeps mindfulness relevant for the 21st century and today’s society. How his unique approach blends ancient wisdom with modern challenges. Both Thubten and I are thrilled that neuroscience now complements ancient wisdom.

Thubten describes his passions to help people, not from a place of wanting to spread Buddhist philosophy, but to simply help people meditate and transform their minds. He started by supporting local prisons 25 years ago with mindfulness and meditation programs. Introducing mindfulness in a very pragmatic and needed situation.

He reflects on his own experience, traveling the world delivering talks,