On the 21st episode of the "What is a Good Life?" podcast, I am joined by Katrijn van Oudheusden, who is the author of "Selfless Leadership," a writer, coach, and guide. Her work focuses on helping you see through the illusion of the separate self.
In this episode, Katrijn takes us on an exploration and investigation of the paradigm of the separate self. She references neuroscience, physics, and the traditions of Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, etc., which have been saying for centuries that there is no separate self.
Katrijn shares her own path in coming to this realisation and how this awareness leads to a life of freedom, where everything has meaning, and where one doesn't take things so personally or feel small and disconnected.
I found this conversation to be captivating, challenging, and enlivening. Regardless of the beliefs you hold, this episode will be a valuable tool in your own investigation of reality and what a good life means to you.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for daily clips and reflections.
Contact me at
mark@whatisagood.life to book a
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one-on-one coaching programs or to hear about
corporate workshops I am offering around this question.
Running Order:
01:25 The podcast begins
02:35 What is the separate self?
09:37 Duality of experience while knowing there’s no separate self
12:25 Free Will - where is the decider or the doer?
17:33 The paradox of personal consciousness
21:40 Everything has meaning
27:16 Personal path to seeing though the separate illusion
31:57 There is only this experience - you are everything
36:13 Life is no longer so personal - it simply occurs
41:57 Attachments to wonder, judgement, awe and labels
45:39 The mind’s role in separateness
51:07 Keep making plans but know we are pretending
57:11 What is a good life for Katrijn?
For further content and information check out the following:
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
- Katrijn's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrijnvo/
- Katrijn's website: https://selflessleadership.life/
What is What is a Good Life??
This isn’t a podcast about fixing you. It’s about living life more fully.
What Is a Good Life? is a long-form conversation project exploring how people actually live, feel, and make meaning of their lives. Over the past four years, I’ve sat with more than 300 people — artists, parents, executives, wanderers, therapists, and strangers — and invited them into a simple but profound inquiry: What is a good life for you?
These conversations aren’t about advice, formulas, or self-improvement. They explore presence, paradox, uncertainty, and the moments that quietly shape a life — love and loss, trust and fear, clarity and not knowing. It’s an invitations to slow down, to listen deeply, and to bring you into conversation with your own life.
New episodes weekly.