Launch of Meaning of Life Show & Discussion Group | Ashok Gupta | iRise |

Foreign. Hello and a warm, warm welcome to our Facebook Live event here today celebrating the launch of our live discussion groups on the Irise app. So I'm so excited that you're with me here today. It's quite historic moment actually for all of us here at the Meaning of Life team and the Irise team. So I'm glad you can be part of this with us. So to give you a bit of introduction, my name is Ashok Gupta and I'm the founder of the Meaning of Life Experiment, which is what we'll talk about and also an app, a brand new app called Irise. The Irise app, which is available now on App Store and Play Store. And today is the launch of our Meaning of Life discussion groups. So these are going to be groups where people can get together and discuss content from a documentary series that I created called the Meaning of Life Experiment. I'm going to explain everything about that and I know many of you are very well aware of the Meaning of Life experiments. So if you'd like to share this video on your own timelines, potentially on other groups, that would be fantastic. And we can get the word out there that these particular events are being launched. So to introduce what Meaning of Life actually is. For those of you who don't know, the Meaning of Life Experiment was launched a few years ago and it was essentially a 30 part documentary series with meditations and accompanying self reflection questions, based upon an app which is also on the App Store and Play Store. And I created this app and, you know, the videos that accompanied it because I wanted to really look at what I'd learned over the last 25 years or so and put them into one place, into, you know, almost BBC style documentaries that were easy to consume for everybody. And the next evolution of that documentary series, what we call meaning of life 2v2, is to have that documentary series and all the meditations on this brand new platform called iRise. And as part of that platform, we've always had this dream of having discussion groups. Discussion groups and the Meaning of Life Experiment content. The Content of Meaning of Life is all about discovering more happiness, meaning and purpose in your life. So happiness in the Meaning of Life Experiment, we go deeper into understanding the science of happiness. What brings us happiness, meaning in terms of understanding what is this life about? Are we really here to just wake up, go to work, get stressed, come home, watch Netflix, have dinner, go to bed? Is that really the meaning of our lives? Or are we here for something more profound, something greater, something more meaningful? That is our discovery and finally, the third aspect of the meaning of Life experiment is purpose discovering. Is there a deeper reason whilst we're here on this planet, is it once again not just about consuming and entertaining ourselves, but could there be a higher purpose? It's a lot of the content of the Meaning of Life experiment. And I'd like to demonstrate this with a friendly little spotty teacup here. Sorry, teapot and a cup. So most of us in life are identifying with being the cup. We're looking for things to fill our cup, whether it be external money, wealth, fame, power, what can fill up the emptiness that we feel inside? So we identify with being the cup and the cup looks to be filled by others around or other situations, people, circumstances or things. And the meaning of Life experiment is realizing if we identify with a cup, we're living life from a smaller experience. Whereas what's the difference between a cup and a teapot? The difference is the teapot is already full of tea, it is already complete, and it looks to simply fill others cups because it comes from a place of completion. And in the same way, the meaning of Life experiment helps us understand why it's so easy for us to identify with a cup, what that identification is actually due to, and how we can gradually shift our identification to becoming the teapot that's already filled, full of love and happiness and joy. And then we go from consuming and entertaining ourselves to actually growing and giving back. Could that be the purpose of life? The meaning of life? To grow, to expand from a place of completion and also to give back to others? Now, I make no judgment on that. I'm simply sharing my observations and my experiences over the last 25 years of research and my own growth. And so this isn't a program where it's like I'm telling you the right answer or I'm some holy man informing you. Absolutely not. This is simply a sharing and I want to hear from you as well. So based on that background to the Meaning of Life Experiment, we've always wanted to have discussion groups where people can get together. I can share further information and go deeper into those documentaries and then people can share their experiences, their perspectives. And why do we have discussion groups? What's the point? It's because actually discussion groups form a very important pillar of our learning. Studies show that when we learn something new, within a few days we've lost, you know, 50, 60% of that retention of that knowledge. And within a few weeks we've lost pretty much all of it. And what is required to continue that connection to that Knowledge to go from just informing ourselves to truly transforming ourselves. What is required is two things. Number one, repetition. We are creatures of habits, so actually having these discussion weeks or these discussion groups each week allows us to stay connected to that knowledge. So we're not just informing ourselves, but we're transforming. How many times do we just simply attend, I don't know, a webinar or we might watch a YouTube video? We think, we nod our heads in agreement. Yeah, the speaker is very intelligent, very, very good. But we find that we go back to the same life that we had before, the same patterns that we had. We're not really transforming. And it's because transformative experiences rely on these two things once again. Number one, the repetition of this knowledge, so it goes deeply embedded into our nervous system. And secondly, a community of like minded seekers. When we become accountable to the people around us and when we are learning in a social environment, we know that retention is so much higher and transformation truly occurs. And that's one of the reasons for having discussion groups now. And it's always been our dream to do that. And the irise platform has come along and is the perfect way that we can have these discussion groups starting straight away today. So in around 20 minutes or so we'll be starting our first discussion group and it's free and open to all. Okay, so you can download the irise app and we will share. The links are actually in the event calendar for today's event. So you can find the links to the IRISE apps or you can join us on the IRISE website which is iriseapp.com so you just type in iriseapp.com and go to the Live Events tab and then you will see today's discussion starting at 6pm UK, which is 1pm Eastern. And why do we have these discussion groups? Because actually it's about cultivating deeper understanding of this knowledge. And so many times we think we understand something, we think we get it, but when someone asks us to explain it, we get lost because we realize that until we are able to share it and express it to others, it hasn't truly become integrated into our own wisdom and our own learnings. So that's why discussion groups are so powerful. So it's deeper understanding and that expression which embeds it deeper within us and we get to hear other people's perspectives in the room. How do other people interpret this knowledge? How has it impacted on their lives? Which gives us aha, moments for ourselves and of course the opportunity to ask me questions. And finally that sense of community that you're in a roof of like minded seekers who are truly embracing this type of knowledge and choose to go deeper. So the way this will work each week is we will have the Meaning of Life show here on Facebook every Wednesday. There'll be some gaps where I'm traveling or perhaps aren't able to present it, but we're aiming for, you know, three Wednesdays out of a month and we're calling this Wisdom Wednesday on Iris. So we're having a live Facebook event where I'll go through and summarize some of the content of a particular video from the Meaning of Life Experiment. And then following that, we will go live into the app, into the Irise app and we'll have an interactive discussion. People will be on zoom, you'll be able to have the opportunity to ask questions. And of course, if you want your camera off, that's totally fine. You can join anonymously and just listen in. But of course it really helps if you've got your camera on and we can all feel part of that community. So this really is Meaning of Life Experiment Part 2 or Version 2, where we are now going deeper and creating that community. And just to tell you a bit about the Irise platform, which this will be hosted upon. So Irise is a brand new app, it's just been launched and it is essentially the only personal transformation app you'll ever need. That was how we phrase it, it's a one stop shop for all your personal development needs. So mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, however you choose to uplift yourself in life, there are courses and classes on this particular platform. So we have over 600 courses and classes across three and a half thousand videos. We have a how are you feeling? Section which looks at your particular mood or situation you're in and then gives you customized content based upon the mood that you have in that moment. So if you're feeling anxious, okay, here are some courses, some meditations on, on anxiety, you just had an argument with someone. Okay, once again, here is a fitness thing you can do. Here is a meditation you can listen to. Here's an exercise that you can do to help you let go of anger. So whatever mood or experience you're in, there's something for you in the app. Thirdly, there are these live events and discussion groups in the app. And of course we have a loving and supportive community so you can join discussion forums and connect with others. So. So it's an entire ecosystem designed for your personal transformation. Not just personal information informing yourself, but actually Personal transformation. And to give you just a bit of a glimpse, a bit of an experience of what Irise is all about. I just want to share with you our trailer and that will give you a better flavor of irise. Okay. Just a 11 minute trail. So that was our trailer. We haven't formally released it yet, but I hope you enjoyed that. Let's give you a flavor what Irise is all about. And why did we create irise? Because the founders, we just felt that there were so many people in the world suffering from mental, emotional, physical challenges. For all the talk of mental health, the situation is getting worse and worse and worse. And we wanted to democratize access to personal development and personal transformation, make it accessible to everybody for a cheap, low monthly fee. And so we've created Irise as a simple, almost like Netflix style interface where you can find all these courses and classes any way you want to grow. So if you want to take a yoga class, it's there. If you want to meditate for 10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes, there's loads of meditations on the platform. If you want to learn how to become more productive or have better relationships or deal with a difficult boss, all of this type of content is on the platform for a single monthly fee for as little as $10 a month. Compare that to just a few cups of coffee that you consume in a month versus having access to the world's collective knowledge on how to uplift yourself mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. There's no choice really. It's such a low price. And you know, we've been able to do this because a lot of our content partners, the people who've provided these video courses, sometimes these courses may sell on the Internet for a hundred dollars, two hundred dollars. But because they believe in this mission and we're a mission driven company, they've come on board and we're very grateful that they've given us their video content to share with the world for this low monthly fee. And Irise is live now, as I said, you can go to the App Store or Play Store, you can type in Irise app and you'll see the little, the little birdie, the little bird that represents our company. And there you can download the app, go to the live event section and you'll be able to join our discussion group which will start in just 15 minutes or so at 1pm Eastern and 6pm UK time. And another reason that this is so important in our lives, to have this weekly connection to knowledge, is that who we are as human beings is deeply dependent on what we're consuming. What are you consuming? Think about that. Not just what are you eating that affects your vibrational quality, but what are you consuming? Sure, what you eat has an impact on your energy levels, but also on the vibration. How other people receive you and how they feel about you all depends on your vibration. So the food you eat, the things you read, are you reading lots of negative news on the Internet or watching the news daily and getting fearful about what's going on in the world, what are you reading? What kind of company are you keeping? All of these things impact on us. And when we choose just to spend some time each week with like minded seekers who are also on that journey of self discovery to discover something amazing and incredible about ourselves, then what that does is it raises our vibration. It makes us help once again go from being the teacup that's looking for the outside world to make us feel good to fill our cup. And we move from consuming entertaining to, as I said, growing and giving back. And that is really what we're here to do through the Irise platform and for the Meaning of Life discussion groups. And of course the Meaning of Life has been going for a few years and it's actually won an award. It won the People's Award for best new app and it has a rating on App Store or play store of 4.6 stars. So I'm incredibly proud of the team who put the whole a documentary series and the videos and the meditations together for how well we've, we've done as a not for profit in that area. And now I'm excited that we're going to that next phase, that next step, the evolution of the Meaning of Life experiment. And I just want to also show you where you can find this on the Irise platform because I know some people have found a little difficulty in just knowing where they can find these particular details. So I just want to make sure that you can find this. So you go to irisapp.com and on this particular courses page, if I'm looking at the courses page right now, let me just move this up here one second. Then you can see you've got all your courses in these Netflix style rows. And the place that you can find the Meaning of Life Experiment is under the 30 day mission. So under 30 day missions, if you hover above over Meaning of Life experiment, you see it gets you a bit of detail and you can once again click on that and you have access to all the 30 videos and the meditations associated with The Meaning of Life experiment. You can find this@iriseapp.com under Courses and When you want to then join the live event you simply take a look at the navigation bar, click on Live Events. And you will see launch of the Meaning of Life show. You can see our first event on Facebook and at 6pm we have this introductory interactive session on the Irise platform and there you will see the Zoom link. You simply click that meeting details link there. Join the Zoom discussion and today will just be an introductory session. So I'll be introducing discussion group what you can get out of it and answer any questions that you may have and then we will formally start next week. So you can see also just want to share a little plug for something we've got on the Irise platform on Friday. Harmonies of the A Singing Workshop with Mike Robeson we believe that personal transformation is not just about watching courses, it's about having fun as well. So how do we uplift our spirit through singing, dancing, moving, sharing, laughing? So we're going to be having singing workshops. Last week we had an 80s night on the Irise platform and we're also going to have future events that really uplift the spirit and the soul that take us beyond the mind. So look out for some of the fun loving Friday events. This is this Friday in a similar fashion, 5.30pm UK, 12:30 Eastern we'll be interviewing Mike Robeson live on Facebook about how singing is so important a part of our lives and it's kind of the importance of it has been reduced in our modern civilization. And at 6pm on Friday live on the IRISE app UK time 1pm Eastern, we'll be having our singing workshop and trust me, it's going to be fantastic. It's an amazing, amazing experience. You come away feeling so good about yourself, so uplifted. I remember there was a friend of mine who was going through therapy and was on antidepressants and she came over and we sang karaoke an hour, a couple of hours and she felt so good she said wow, this is way better than therapy. So I hope you can join us this Friday. Once again, this is free to all Singing workshop on Friday 28th January and finally next week this is when we'll be starting the first session, our first group session together, the Meaning of Life discussion groups. Once again at 5:30 we'll be having an event on Facebook which is all about the deeper meaning of meditation in our lives and I'll be just sharing some further thoughts and hopefully you would have watched the first video, the meaning of life experiment and then we will go on to the discussion group live on the Rise app 6pm UK time. And there we will look at going deeper into this knowledge, sharing this knowledge amongst ourselves and once again going deeper into the content of that particular video. Okay, great. So all is left for me to do is to thank you for joining this Facebook Live event here today. And just as a reminder, please do share this on your social media. Please share this on your Facebook page. Other groups that might be interested in this type of content because we want to bring as many people to this knowledge. How many people could we uplift around the world with this kind of content and discussions? And in 10 minutes or nine minutes or so, you can join us live on the Irise platform for this discussion discussion, just go to the live events tab of iriseapp.com or you can download the app itself. And that's why I look forward to seeing you again. And once again, this is something that's really profound. You know, sometimes in our lives we leave this type of things to the last thing. It's like, well, if I get my washing done and I just reply to that email, then I'll go and meditate, right? Or then I'll look at reading something that I know is positive for me in my life. Sometimes it gets left to the very bottom of our to do list. But I want us to know when we prioritize our own mental and emotional and spiritual upliftment, when we put that first, then we become more dynamic, we become more efficient. Example, many CEOs around the world, they say the only way they can handle their workload is to regularly meditate. Meditation isn't optional anymore. Our busy modern lives, the amount of stress we're experiencing, the pandemic, these are all messages and clues for us to prioritize meditation and prioritize things. Like the Meaning of life discussion group where we get to go deeper into the soul, a deeper dive. And instead of living life from the mind, we get to live life from our soul. Where are you living life from today? So thank you so much for watching today. We'll be back live here on Facebook this coming Friday for our interview with Mike Roberson. Friday 28th of Jan at 5:30pm UK time, 1:30, sorry, 12:30 Eastern. And then next Wednesday once again, we'll be back here on Facebook for our live event at 5:30 talking about the deeper meaning of meditation. It's not just about feeling relaxed. There's a lot deeper benefits that come from regular meditation and we'll be going deeper into that and then we'll have our discussion group live on Facebook. Sorry, live on the Irise app. So thank you so much for watching and in a few minutes time, I hope to see many of you in the discussion group. Thank you and goodbye.