Podcast

SPOS #986 – Pico Iyer On Silence As A Technology

Welcome to episode #986 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Pico Iyer lives between worlds – geographically, culturally, and spiritually – and that makes him one of the most attuned chroniclers of what it means to be alive right now. Best known for travel writing that often transcends borders and genres (The Global Soul, Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk), Pico is also a deeply reflective thinker about silence, stillness, and solitude. In his latest book, Aflame – Learning from Silence, he returns to a Benedictine monastery in Big Sur – a place he has visited over 100 times – to explore what it means to pause in a world that won’t stop moving. This isn’t a religious retreat or a spiritual how-to. It’s a meditation on fire: what we lose, what remains, and how burning down can be its own kind of beginning. In this conversation, we talk about the power of silence in an always-on culture, why the monastic life holds so much wisdom even for secular people, and how loss (of home, of place, of identity) can be a clarifier rather than just a crisis. There are moments of levity (Leonard Cohen, a fellow monastery-goer, makes an appearance), but mostly what Pico offers is a quiet urgency: that we’re missing too much while looking at everything. His reflections on mindfulness, technology, climate anxiety, writing, and what it means to find meaning when everything feels untethered will resonate with anyone seeking more presence in a distracted world (also check out his other books: The Art of Stillness and The Half Known Life). Pico splits his time between Japan and California, writes with grace and generosity for The New York Times, Time, The New York Review of Books and others. If you’re struggling to make sense of modern life, this one offers something deeper than answers – it offers permission to pause. He is one of my mentors and someone I constantly think about. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:05:46.
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Here is my conversation with Pico Iyer.
Aflame – Learning from Silence.
The Half Known Life.
The Art of Stillness.
Video Night in Kathmandu.
The Global Soul.
The Lady and the Monk.

Chapters:

(00:00) – The Impact of Wildfires and Personal Loss.
(02:55) – Nature’s Call: The Urgency of Change.
(06:07) – Fire as a Metaphor for Renewal.
(08:47) – Mindfulness in a Fast-Paced World.
(12:04) – The Essence of Stillness and Silence.
(14:57) – The Role of Technology in Connection and Disconnection.
(17:58) – Finding Serendipity in Everyday Life.
(21:05) – The Monastic Experience: A Journey Within.
(23:58) – Exploring the Concept of Cells in Monasteries.
(27:00) – The Intersection of Religion and Personal Growth.
(35:25) – The Essence of a Holy Day.
(36:36) – Life in the Monastery: A Unique Perspective.
(39:00) – Leonard Cohen: The Monk and the Artist.
(46:45) – Solitude vs. Community: The Monastic Life.
(48:50) – The Art of Writing: Silence and Reflection.
(55:26) – Facing Silence: The Challenge of Solitude.
(57:35) – Creating in Chaos: The Need for Retreat.
(01:04:28) – Lessons from Japan: A Different Perspective.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #986.

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Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.