“Your Daily Dose” is a quick two minute read packed with bite-sized wisdom from all the great teachers. But you could also choose to turn it into something more… a powerful daily practice for personal growth. Give it a try!
A message from today’s meditation:
Let’s create a moment to take a step back from the noisiness of the world, for a clear-eyed look at the societal landscape we inhabit. It doesn’t take a mystic or a sage to sense that the world we have created crackles with tension. Division festers, and a pervasive sense of unease seems to cling to the collective consciousness.
Today’s meditation journey takes a look at the world around us with a slight pause, to recognize what society has created…
“If being appropriate means conforming to a deeply pathological society, then be wildly inappropriate. If finally seeing the oppressive suffering of others is painful, then endure the pain. If you want freedom from denial and guilt, then surrender to truth! Don’t observe the revolution. Be the revolution! Annihilate your old self. Give birth to your original soul. Raise it!” – Jaiya John
“It is no measure of health, to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
It’s certainly not just Jaiya John and Krishnamurti who have described the society we have created as very unhealthy. This sentiment echoes through the ages, finding resonance in the observations of a chorus of other voices:
“Conformity to a sick society is to be sick.” – Richard J. Foster
“We live in a society in which it is normal to be sick; and considered sick to live outside the norm.” – Edward Abbey
“The only reality is our society, and I mean this seriously, Western Society is a very sick society.” – Rob Walton
“Tell me, where do I belong in a sick society?” – Ozzy Ozborne
How do we rebel against this “sick society”?
Our first instinct might be to aggressively stand up to those we perceive as wrong, to point fingers at the “bad ideas” destroying our world. Yet this aggressive approach is itself part of the disease. The ease with which we attack those holding different views from us has become an entrenched symptom of our societal sickness.
So if attacking “bad ideas” won’t work, how do we become the antidote to a profoundly “sick society?”
We have to understand that our options are to either contribute to the hate in the world, or contribute to the love in the world. And if our response to what is “wrong” in the world is an aggressive finger pointing and attacking, then we are just contributing to the disease of division.
Jayia John’s answer to this sick society is not opposition but transformation. He says, “Give birth to your Original Soul” and, “Annihilate your old self.” Shake off society’s expectations! Peel off the layers that were never really you in the first place. Remove the conditioning, the should-be’s, the must-do’s until you stand in the authentic truth of your being – until you remember what you really are.
This original soul that is YOU, is the essence of love that raises us all. It is the embodiment of LOVE itself that knows when to act and when to wait – that knows when to say yes and when to say no. And even when it needs to say no, it refuses to fall into the trap of hating, because your “Original Soul” recognizes all others as soul too!
The revolution isn’t happening somewhere else, in some distant political arena or social movement. It’s happening right now, in your heart, in your choices, in your interactions. Your job as a SOULdier in this (r)evolution is not to fight the forces of “evil”, but to take on the responsibility of recognizing the “good” in the world around you, and then to add your energy and contribute where you are able to.
Today’s meditation doesn’t deny the problems we have in society, but asks us to be accountable for how we contribute…
Are you adding energy to the hatred in the world, or are you an ally to everyone who shows up as love?
Affirmations to connect to your original soul:
- “I release the need to conform to a society that doesn’t serve my highest good or the good of all.
- “My original soul knows the way; I trust its wisdom to guide my words and actions.”
- “I choose love over hatred, even when saying no to what doesn’t serve me.”
- “I recognize the divine spark in everyone, including those I disagree with.”
- “I am an immovable force for good, grounded in authentic love and truth.”
By examining these questions and nurturing your “Original Soul,” you become a beacon of love in a world desperately seeking it. Remember, change starts within. Be the revolution. Be the love the world needs.
Have a beautiful day peeps!
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Tonglen.
Today’s LIVE meditation
https://youtu.be/MA8kW5nVVls 2026
https://youtu.be/7NeuF02HlDI 2025
https://youtu.be/OTJ8kDDcNBE 2024
https://youtu.be/BlfmmkrOYUc 2023
Practice the “Daily Dose”
Let’s put it into practice! Choose what works for you – daily, once a week or whenever inspiration strikes. Putting pen to paper wires the neural pathways that will create your new habits.
1 – Affirmation
Write down your favourite affirmation on a sticky note and place it somewhere that you’ll be able to see it the whole day.
- “I release the need to conform to a society that doesn’t serve my highest good or the good of all.
- “My original soul knows the way; I trust its wisdom to guide my words and actions.”
- “I choose love over hatred, even when saying no to what doesn’t serve me.”
- “I recognize the divine spark in everyone, including those I disagree with.”
- “I am an immovable force for good, grounded in authentic love and truth.”
2 – A moment of reflection
Use today’s question as a journal prompt. If you don’t have the time to sit down and write, just take a moment to reflect on your response.
Reflecting on the “Sick Society”: The article presents a view of society as “sick.” Do you resonate with this perspective in any way? What specific aspects of modern society do you find troubling or unhealthy? Explore these feelings and identify any ways in which you might be unintentionally contributing to these aspects or feeling the effects of them in your own life. Also… take a moment to appreciate the healthy aspects of society or perhaps the people around you.
3 – Quotes to share
Send a quote to someone who needs it, or share them all on social media to spread the good vibes!
4 – Q&A for deeper learning
Read through the questions and answers and write down at least one “aha moment” that clicked for you.
Q1. What does it mean to say society is “sick”?
It means that the dominant patterns of our culture — hyper-competition, division, the normalisation of anxiety and disconnection — are harmful to human wellbeing and to our relationships with one another. Thinkers like Krishnamurti and Richard J. Foster argue that when dysfunction becomes the norm, people who conform to it absorb that dysfunction without realising it. Calling society “sick” isn’t cynicism — it’s a diagnosis that opens the door to healing.
Q2. Isn’t it important to fight back against injustice? Doesn’t this message encourage passivity?
Not at all. There’s a meaningful difference between action rooted in love and clarity, and reaction rooted in hatred and ego. Your original soul knows when to say a firm, clear no — when to stand up, speak out, and hold a boundary. What this message challenges is the reflexive aggression that mistakes hostility for strength. You can be a powerful force for change without letting hatred drive you.
Q3. What is the “original soul” and how do I access it?
The original soul is the version of you that exists before social conditioning shaped your beliefs, fears, and responses. It’s the part of you that can respond from love rather than fear, that can see the humanity in others even across deep disagreement. Accessing it is a practice, not a single moment of insight — it involves honest self-reflection, releasing learned behaviours that no longer serve you, and cultivating awareness of the gap between your conditioned reactions and your deeper values.
Q4. How can one person’s inner transformation actually change anything in the world?
Every interaction you have ripples outward. The way you speak to a colleague, respond to a stranger online, or show up in a difficult conversation either adds to the collective tension or reduces it. Transformation scales — not through grand gestures, but through the accumulation of thousands of small choices made differently. History consistently shows that cultural shifts begin with individuals who refuse to carry the old patterns forward.
Q5. What is the difference between “conforming” and simply being a functioning member of society?
Functioning within a society — following laws, building relationships, contributing to community — is healthy and necessary. The conformity being challenged here is something different: the unconscious adoption of fear-driven values like status-chasing, tribalism, and hostility toward the unfamiliar. You can be a fully engaged, contributing member of society while still questioning which of its norms genuinely serve human flourishing and which ones diminish it.
Q6. Why do the quotes from such different voices — philosophers, theologians, musicians — all arrive at the same conclusion?
Because the observation doesn’t require a particular worldview — it requires only honest attention to human behaviour. Whether you approach life through philosophy, spirituality, art, or lived experience, the patterns of division, disconnection, and fear are visible. The convergence of these voices across centuries and disciplines suggests this isn’t a political opinion or a passing cultural critique. It’s something deeper about the choices we keep making, collectively and individually.
Q7. How do I start the process of “annihilating my old self” without losing my sense of identity?
The self that gets annihilated isn’t really you — it’s the accumulated armour of conditioning, performance, and fear. Rather than a dramatic break, most people find this process is more like a gradual undressing: noticing which beliefs were handed to you rather than chosen, which behaviours come from fear rather than genuine values, which versions of yourself you perform for approval. What remains after that process isn’t emptiness — it’s something more solid and honest than what you had before.