Mental Fitness, Releasing & Lasting Bliss
Episode Overview
FitMind founder Liam McClintock returns to the podcast after several years of intensive meditation and monastic training to share what he learned and how his approach to mental fitness has evolved.
Liam and Josh explore predictive processing, evolutionary negativity bias, and the Buddhist principle of dependent origination, looking at how the mind constructs our experience through sensations, concepts, thoughts, and narratives—and how meditation can help us step outside that process through meta-awareness.
They also dive into the practices now at the center of Liam’s approach: releasing, loving-kindness meditation, the 4Rs, and jhana. Liam discusses the difference between temporary “fit states” and lasting “fit traits,” the neuroscience of internally generated bliss, lessons from his time with the Shipibo in the Amazon and his teacher Bhante Vimalaramsi, and his vision for the next chapter of FitMind—including deeper community practice and in-person retreats.
About the Guest
Liam McClintock is the founder of FitMind and the author of Fit Mind. His path began in finance before an increasing interest in psychology, Eastern philosophy, meditation, and the science of the mind led him toward intensive contemplative practice. He later earned a degree in Applied Neuroscience from King’s College London and ordained as a Buddhist monk, spending time training in monasteries throughout Asia and the United States.
His work brings together neuroscience, psychology, and Buddhist meditation with the aim of helping people move beyond basic stress reduction and systematically train toward deeper states of well-being, awareness, and mental fitness. After several years focused on monastic training, Liam has returned to devote more time to FitMind, teaching meditation and helping build a community of dedicated practitioners.
Show Notes
0:00 | Predictive Processing, Meditation & the Future of FitMind
1:35 | Introduction: Liam McClintock Returns
2:49 | Welcome Back to the FitMind Podcast
3:19 | From Finance to Meditation & Buddhist Monkhood
7:41 | Mental Health vs. Mental Fitness
11:26 | Why the Brain Is Wired for Negativity
14:10 | Predictive Processing & the Predictive Mind
15:57 | Dependent Origination, Narratives & Meta-Awareness
33:58 | Why Success and Wealth Don’t Create Happiness
38:45 | Fit States vs. Lasting Fit Traits
42:23 | Liam’s Current Approach to Meditation
43:29 | Releasing, Metta & the 4Rs
50:54 | Jhana & the Neuroscience of Bliss
56:23 | Internal Bliss & Our Dependence on External Rewards
1:00:03 | Lessons From the Shipibo in the Amazon
1:06:35 | Monkhood & Training With Bhante Vimalaramsi
1:13:41 | Building a Healthier Mental Diet
1:19:08 | A 60-Second Mental Rep: Forgiveness
1:20:37 | Fit Mind & Making the Practice Part of Your Life
1:26:08 | The Future of FitMind, Community & Retreats
