Understanding Taoism with Jason Gregory

12 snips

Dec 17, 2025

In this enlightening conversation, Jason Gregory, an author and scholar of Taoism, shares profound insights on the essence of Taoist philosophy and its critique of social conditioning. He highlights the intersection of Taoism with other traditions like Buddhism and Confucianism, discussing concepts such as wu wei and effortless action. Gregory delves into the significance of aimless wandering and inner alchemy as modern practices. He also contrasts Taoist views of natural goodness with Western perspectives and explores the balance of yin and yang.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

East–West Cognitive Balance

Eastern traditions show a balance between collectivist and individualist tendencies shaped by subsistence modes.
Jason suggests Taoism helps bridge individualism and collectivism in modern life.

INSIGHT

Tao As Undifferentiated Ground

Jason equates the Tao with nirguna Brahman: an undifferentiated, quality-less ultimate.
He notes Tao (wuji) in stillness gives rise to tai chi and manifest yin–yang.

INSIGHT

Uncarved Block Versus Polishing

Taoism uses the 'uncarved block' metaphor to argue humans are naturally whole, not needing Confucian polishing.
Lao Tzu claims social cultivation warps innate goodness and disconnects us from the Dao.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Understanding Taoism with Jason Gregory

Jason Gregory is a student of the world’s spiritual traditions. He is the author of The Science and Practice of Humility. Jason Gregory is an author, philosopher, and teacher whose work draws from Eastern philosophy, comparative religion, psychology, cognitive science, metaphysics, and ancient cultures, bridging timeless wisdom with contemporary understanding.

Jason Gregory explores the essence of Taoism, emphasizing its critique of social conditioning and its guidance toward naturalness, spontaneity, and effortless being. He explains how Taoist ideas intersect with Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and wider metaphysical traditions, revealing a shared vision of an undivided reality beneath cultural structures. Gregory also discusses practices such as wu wei, aimless wandering, and inner alchemy as pathways for aligning with the Dao in modern life.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science.

(Recorded on **** 00, 2025)

Check out New Thinking Allowed’s AI chatbot. You can create a free account at awakin.ai/open/jeffreymishlove. When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews. It’s almost like having a conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove.

For a short video on How to Get the Most From New Thinking Allowed, go to

For a complete, updated list with links to all of our videos, see https://newthinkingallowed.com/Listings.htm.

Check out the New Thinking Allowed Foundation website at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database as well as opportunities to shop and to support our video productions – plus, this is where people can subscribe to our FREE, weekly Newsletter and can download a FREE .pdf copy of our quarterly magazine.

To order high-quality, printed copies of our quarterly magazine:
https://nta-magazine.magcloud.com/

If you would like to join our team of volunteers, helping to promote the New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel on social media, editing and translating videos, creating short video trailers based on our interviews, helping to upgrade our website, or contributing in other ways (we may not even have thought of), please send an email to friends@newthinkingallowed.com.

To join the NTA Psi Experience Community on Facebook, see https://www.facebook.com/groups/1953031791426543/

To download and listen to audio versions of the New Thinking Allowed videos, please visit our new podcast at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-thinking-allowed-audio-podcast/id1435178031.

You can help support our video productions while enjoying a good book. To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: Is There Life After Death? click on https://amzn.to/3LzLA7Y (As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.)

To order the second book in the New Thinking Allowed Dialogues series, Russell Targ: Ninety Years of ESP, Remote Viewing, and Timeless Awareness, go to https://amzn.to/4aw2iyr

To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: UFOs and UAP – Are We Really Alone?, go to https://amzn.to/3Y0VOVh To order a copy of Charles T. Tart: Seventy Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology, go to https://amzn.to/41jIX1o

To order a copy of Charles T. Tart: Seventy Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology, go to https://amzn.to/4oOUJLn

Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove’s Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf

To order a copy of The Science and Practice of Humility: The Path to Ultimate, by Jason Gregory, goto https://amzn.to/4400PQj