LAURA LING: You're a philosopher.

You've been described as a Timothy

Leary for the viral video age.

What sorts of things are you waxing poetic about these days?

JASON SILVA: Pretty much every time

I stumble upon an idea that captures my imagination,

something articulated in a counter intuitive way,

a different spin on technology, a different spin

on the future of humanity, that kind of gets my motors going

really, really fast.

LAURA LING: Tell me about your series "Shots of Awe."

JASON SILVA: So "Shots of Awe" came from a desire

to use media, to use cameras to immortalize inspiration.

I refuse to accept that these moments had

to be passing moments.

I was like no, no, no.

I choose to film them, to record them, to capture them.

And it was a way of gaining control over these experiences.

And I could create an intersubjective communication

with somebody else, because I actually

got to show you what it was like to be in my head

when I had this epiphany.

So "Shots of Awe" are philosophical espresso shots,

this condensed trailers for ideas.

What they hint at is the exception,

a vision of something more.

LAURA LING: Tell me about your process,

your ritual, how you are able to come up

with these stream of consciousness riffs?

JASON SILVA: I started getting into this idea of flow states

because I read this article that talked

about doing brain scans on freestyle rappers

when they were improvising.

And then they did brain scans on them

when they were reciting memorized lyrics.

And what the studies found, a part

of the brain that is responsible for our self-editing, our sense

of self-consciousness, that part goes dim during the freestyle.

So essentially, you're getting out of your own way.

It's like that line in "Black Swan" that

say perfection is not just about control,

it's also about letting go.

So I can have all my notes and my thoughts

and my ideas and this and that.

But then I go for the walk.

I go into the woods.

I go to Sea Ranch, California.

I go to Big Sur.

I go to some park.

And just the stroll and the disconnection from distraction

gets your brain daydreaming.

When you're in daydreaming mode, you

start to do a little bit of the lateral thinking.

So you start connecting this to that and this.

So you start to go through the aha moments.

And if you are lucky enough to have the camera around,

you're capturing that real time flow.

It's creativity happening in real time.

I mean it literally feels like channeling.

So for me, I figured out how to create my flow state.

And the results tend to be these riffs that people really love.

And they're like what, there's no script.

That was a completely extemporaneous stream

of consciousness?

I'm normally kind of an introvert and kind of shy

in most social situation.

But if the conditions are right, like a flame it emerges.

We never have a true, accurate rendition of reality

because it's all about our perception, our projections,

our longings.

Our romantic partners are creations

and we are the creators.

LAURA LING: So you said if you can create that flow state,

how do create it?

JASON SILVA: I have found that the best way is to take

yourself out of context, so a new experience,

a new space in a new place so that I transcend what Michael

Pollan calls the been there's and done that's of the adult

mind/ And I can enter the consciousness of the child.

I can be in wonderment.

I can be curious about everything

around me-- so rest, relaxation, novel spaces, novel

environments, disconnection, disconnection

from the every day, disconnection

from your daily responsibilities,

disconnection from your trivialities,

just a daydream space, a space to dream,

to fuse cognition and dream.

LAURA LING: What happens when you don't achieve that flow?

JASON SILVA: If it's not working,

I become highly anxious.

Actually, irritable is probably the best word.

I just kind of retreat.

I just withdraw.

LAURA LING: Can you describe how it feels to be in that state?

JASON SILVA: It feels like unbelievable lucidity, instant

recall, just this capacity to explain what you're feeling

and what you were thinking effortlessly.

Do we love the harder?

Do we squeeze tighter?

You just feel your best, and you perform your best.

The minute you choose one thing you've effectively

said no to everything else.

And there's a gnawing anxiety in realize that you can't possibly

have it all.

I'm like a reality hacker.

I'm like literally hacking my ontological reality.

And I'm studying how to trigger certain moods and modalities.

I'm literally playing with my consciousness

so that I can feel how I want to feel when I want to feel it

as often as possible.

LAURA LING: How important is this ritual

of achieving that flow state?

JASON SILVA: Hugely important.

You are building the foundations for something

magical to happen.

The ritual is as important as chopping the wood

and making sure it's dry before you light the fire.

It's providing the necessary ingredients

for you cognitive salad.

It's very, very, very, very important.

Almost, I would say that it's everything.

LAURA LING: I hope you were inspired

by Jason Silva's ritual and discover your own flow state.

This series is so special to me because I

learn something new from every person we future.

We have so many more intriguing episodes of rituals coming up,

so please, please subscribe to watch them and so much more.

And be sure to check out this other episode of rituals

to see how this Hollywood stuntman prepares

to get lit on fire.

JAMES ARMSTRONG: If I'm about to do something

and I feel my heart thumping or my hand shaking,

then I'll close my eyes and I breathe,

[INHALING]

JAMES ARMSTRONG: There is no other distraction,

no other thought.

It's just this absolute pinpoint focus of the task at hand.