The World - Part IV: Becoming Part of the Living System

At the systemic level, the world reveals itself as a living structure—moving with you, through you, and without you. This episode explores how the world operates as a dynamic, interconnected whole and how personal development becomes inseparable from participation in that larger motion. By seeing the world as an organism rather than an obstacle, we begin to understand what it means to contribute energy to systems in ways that create real, lasting change.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• The world is an interconnected system that influences and is influenced by your actions
• Systemic change requires adding energy to the structures you want to transform
• Seeing yourself as part of the world—not separate from it—reduces suffering and increases agency

💬 Featured Quotes

• 0:00:00–0:00:12 — “At a sort of philosophical or systemic level, the world operates kind of with you, through you, and without you at the same time.”
• 0:00:12–0:00:22 — “When you look at the way the world is, if you will, it contains all things without definition, without holding onto them, without clinging.”
• 0:00:28–0:00:41 — “It is a story in motion… where you can influence and be influenced by it.”
• 0:00:52–0:01:05 — “The world has this deep and profound interconnectedness that you have to begin to at least fathom at your periphery in order for you to be able to really become part of the change you want to see.”
• 0:01:15–0:01:34 — “You start to move out of this operator model… and you begin to approach the world in the underpinning of Gandhi’s quote about ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’”
• 0:03:59–0:04:15 — “When you get to this level of understanding of how the world works, it immediately lowers the temperature on your suffering experience to a degree.”

🔗 Explore Related Episodes
Cognitive Dissonance and the Work of the Craft
Reflects the systemic truth that personal narratives and collective systems often conflict, requiring awareness of how one's internal world interacts with the external one.
Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and Result
Parallels this episode’s systemic insights by exploring the ongoing, emergent process of becoming part of something larger than oneself.

Creators & Guests

• Brian Mattocks - Host

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ Click here to view the episode transcript.