{"id":11328,"date":"2025-08-09T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/journey-from-burnout-to-mindfulness-mastery\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T22:00:00","slug":"journey-from-burnout-to-mindfulness-mastery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/journey-from-burnout-to-mindfulness-mastery\/","title":{"rendered":"Journey from Burnout to Mindfulness Mastery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
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His voice is calm and measured, just like someone who has spent years watching thoughts move without chasing them (which he did). There\u2019s a gentleness to the pauses, which makes his wisdom, when shared, so lived in<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Before he ever taught mindfulness to Fortune 500 execs or spoke on stages packed with neuroscientists, renowned Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten <\/strong>was an actor trying to make it big.<\/p>\n

For years, he chased applause from one casting call to another\u2026 until he burned out. But, as he\u2019d share in his talks worldwide, it was the moment he also woke up.<\/p>\n

As he shares in his Mindvalley program, Becoming More Loving<\/em>, \u201cMoments of tension<\/em> are moments of opportunity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You hear this truth reverberate when he speaks and feel it in the way he sits. And if you\u2019ve ever felt like life keeps pulling you down, then take a chance\u2026 and listen to him.<\/p>\n

Who is Gelong Thubten?<\/h2>\n

Gelong Thubten is a renowned Tibetan Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and Mindvalley trainer. With over two decades of monastic training, he teaches how to navigate modern life through meditation and the exploration of higher levels of consciousness<\/a>. His work has reached Fortune 500 executives, medical professionals, and seekers worldwide.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you looked up \u201cGelong Thubten\u2019s A Monk\u2019s Guide to Happiness\u201d<\/em> and found that he has that very book to his name, and then some. Or maybe \u201cWhat is Gelong Thubten\u2019s real name?\u201d <\/em>was what got you here. (P.S., it\u2019s not listed publicly, thanks to monastic vows.)<\/p>\n

What you won\u2019t find online? This heartfelt story on his turning point to monkhood, which he shares with Mindvalley members attending his program:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was desperate to be happy\u2026 I started to meditate in quite a kind of addictive way\u2026 trying to get happiness. [But] the more I was sitting there searching for happiness in my meditation, the more depressed I became.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And little did people know that this loneliness began long before Buddhism came knocking on his door.<\/p>\n

His origin story<\/h3>\n

Long before the robes and retreats, Gelong was a Cambridge native trying to find his place in the world. After studying English literature at Oxford, he moved to New York to pursue a career in acting.<\/p>\n

For a while, the flurry of auditions kept him busy. However, it didn\u2019t take long before he started feeling crushed by endless rehearsals and set appearances.<\/p>\n

Still, Gelong pressed on\u2026 until a chance encounter. He was deep in the industry when he crossed paths with Bernardo Bertolucci. The film director had just begun casting for Little Buddha<\/em>, an East-meets-West film that would later star Keanu Reeves and introduce Buddhist philosophy to a global audience.<\/p>\n

The reality was, Gelong didn\u2019t land the part. But the story of Buddha\u2019s life, captured by Bernardo\u2019s script, stayed with him. So wrapped up in it he was that he decided to book a one-way ticket to Scotland\u2019s Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About this chapter of his life, he recalls, \u201cI needed to do something incredibly radical to transform my life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How Gelong Thubten went from burnout to breakthrough<\/h2>\n

At the monastery, young Gelong began training under senior teachers and immersed himself in traditional Tibetan Buddhist study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The routines and long hours, punctuated only by profound silence, were intense. Days are structured around prayer, work, and meditation. \u201cI was getting frustrated and angry with myself and sad,\u201d <\/em>\u00a0he shares.<\/p>\n

However, eventually, after months of a strict, monastic regimen rooted in intuition training<\/a>, everything became easier. This marked the beginning of his self-mastery<\/a>. It was at this point that he realized he had been \u201ccompletely driven by ego\u201d <\/em>all this while.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe silence was uncomfortable at first,\u201d<\/em> he recalls. \u201cThen it became familiar. Then it became home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At the same time his ego death<\/a> happened, Gelong also realized that returning to New York was no longer the right thing to do. The monastic path, alas, was his new commitment. It showed him the ultimate goal of mastering his mind, including the subconscious vs. unconscious<\/a> landscapes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mind tries to pull you out,\u201d<\/em> he describes the process. But the point, he adds, is to keep training. \u201cAnd that\u2019s where real change begins.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Over the next few years, his training continued to deepen. In 2005, he even entered a traditional four-year meditation retreat at the remote Isle of Arran off the coast of Scotland.<\/p>\n

There, each day began before dawn and ended late at night. Nineteen hours of structured meditation, seven days a week. No phones, doomscrolling on the Internet, or contact with the outside world. During the second year, he took a five-month vow of silence.<\/p>\n

This was the period that cemented his inner clarity and access to experiences of higher consciousness<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a very powerful experience of having to face your own mind,\u201d <\/em>he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult but very rewarding.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

And the rest, as the adage goes, is history.<\/p>\n

8 steps for mindful living, the Gelong Thubten way<\/h2>\n

Mindfulness, Gelong believes, is not at all about forcing your headspace to go blank. It\u2019s about \u201clearning to be with the thoughts, not push them away\u2026 and to bring a gentle attitude towards our minds.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a very powerful experience of having to face your own mind. It\u2019s very difficult but very rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gelong Thubten, trainer of Mindvalley\u2019s Becoming More Loving program<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The goal with this? To build mental and emotional resilience and self-awareness<\/a>. All of this is much needed in a time where up to 30% of adults in the U.S. are grappling with anxiety<\/a>, and 27% feel trapped by the weight of chronic stress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what this state of mind looks like in Gelong\u2019s book:<\/p>\n

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  1. Start small. <\/strong>A few minutes a day of mindfulness meditation<\/a> practices is enough. Don\u2019t wait for the perfect moment. Begin where you are: right as you wake up, in transit to work, or while taking your evening walks.<\/li>\n
  2. Use the breath as your anchor. <\/strong>Every inhale is a place to return to, especially when the mind wanders. Any mindful breathing<\/a> technique will do.<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t chase calmness. <\/strong>Mindfulness isn\u2019t a \u201chigh,\u201d but rather, the ability to stay put through any discomfort, boredom spell, or emotion. Practice it enough, and your nervous system will thank you<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  4. Practice in daily life. <\/strong>Waiting in line? Stuck in traffic? These are your everyday grounds for training your mind to return to the present moment.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  5. Let go of performance.<\/strong> Forget wearing the right clothes while trying out mindful yoga<\/a>. You\u2019re here to reconnect with your body\u2026 and yourself.<\/li>\n
  6. Embody loving-kindness. <\/strong>In Buddhism, it\u2019s what the Metta Sutta<\/a> is all about. The moment we bring loving attention to something and choose warmth over judgment, Gelong says, \u201cwe\u2019ve changed the whole inner environment.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
  7. Listen intently to others.<\/strong> Consider what your loved ones and strangers alike have to share with you. Wisdom is found in the unlikeliest of interactions.<\/li>\n
  8. Be slow to anger. <\/strong>Anger clouds the mind and hijacks the moment. Awareness gives you space to choose clarity over reaction.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    All it takes to be mindful is your commitment to stay on course, no matter what happens in your life. As Gelong succinctly puts it, \u201cIt\u2019s all about training your mind to come back to the present moment again and again. That\u2019s where the transformation happens.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    Gelong Thubten\u2019s books<\/h2>\n

    No matter where you are on your personal growth<\/a> journey, Gelong\u2019s books offer practical tools, lived insight, and grounded wisdom. Each one reads like a conversation with someone who\u2019s been through the fire and stayed present:<\/p>\n