B is for Being

Jeremy is the author of The Pursuit of Clarity - a book which documents his journey through different levels of awareness as he gave up the distractions and numbing habits of the Western World, and entered deep states of meditation.

Jeremy is also a gardener, musician, poet, and artist.

I first met Jeremy in 2018 while attending the New Warrior Training Adventure run by the ManKind Project in Western Australia. Jeremy was a facilitator and guided me through a particularly challenging experience at the workshop. I was intrigued by Jeremy's compassionate and grounded nature as he interacted with me and others even in demanding situations.

In this episode, Jeremy and I talk about the practicalities and obstacles to experiencing states of oneness, how to tune into different frequencies of consciousness, the process of letting go of an undesired habit, and much more.

Please enjoy this insightful and heartfelt talk with Jeremy Albertsen.

Kemane Bâ (@kemaneba) is an artist, musician, and multi-talented being who is deep on the journey of self-discovery. Kemane has a passion for teaching art and removing the internal obstacles to allow creativity to flow. He lives off-grid in his self-built garden hut in Frankfurt, Germany and is the founder of the Konduktum – an online learning 'playground' for artists to learn and share from each other's artistic experiences while developing their technical skills.

I first learned about Kemane through the marvellous Simon Höfer while I was living in Berlin. Simon told me of Kemane's various explorations into consciousness during dreams states and meditation, and also introduced me to his creative work.

In each animation, painting, and song, I sensed Kemane's deep appreciation and curiosity for life. Kemane's art has frequently brought me to states of wondrous calm and has been a reminder for me to walk gently on my journey.

It's now been four years that I've followed Kemane's work online and I've finally invited him to the podcast - and I'm very glad I did!

In this long-form discussion, we dive deep into the origins of Kemane's journey, different approaches to self-growth, daytime lucidity, social media fasting, and much more.

Please enjoy this nutritious discussion with the delightful Kemane Bâ.

Take a tour of the new home of B is for Being.

We start this episode with a realisation which has brought more compassion to my creative process and removed the pressure from me to produce content on a hard deadline.

Then, we take a tour of the new site of B is for Being. I guide you through each section of the site, including a brand new section dedicated to rest and reflection.

If this is your first time on the site, this episode will provide a good overview of B is for Being.

Hit play and let's dive in!

The Realisation Which Brought Compassion to My Creative Process

How I burned myself out and caused myself creative trauma. [01:22]

The realisation which changed the way I look at creating. [02:53]

Doubts! Others will lose interest if I don't release content on a regular schedule! [05:20]

Trusting the people who are interested in what I'm saying, creating, making, will make the time to watch or listen. [06:20]

Tour of B is for Being Version 2

Introduction to the new site. [07:30]

Podcast - Conversations with friends, psychologists, and thought leaders on authentic expression and self-discovery. [08:07]

Slow Video - Gentle videos for rest and reflection. (An essential part of my self-discovery process.) [08:50]

Blog - An open journal of thoughts and observations as I uncover my authenticity. Including how I'm navigating the obstacles which come up along the way. [12:11]

Selected Links from this Episode

Slow Videos on B is for Being

Slow Videos on YouTube

I've been on an extended break from the podcast after burning myself out.

I realised I was forcing myself to produce episode after episode from a place of fear instead of a genuine desire to create.

I forced myself to keep producing episodes because I thought if I stopped, you might lose interest in what I’m doing and never come back. Sounds familiar, right?

So in this episode, I explain what kept me in this fear as well as the new agreement I've made with myself to stop creating if I’m not having fun or being kind to myself.

Also, did somebody say ‘new video series?’ Yes, yes they did! Tune-in to learn about the new series where I will be exploring the courage to express my creativity openly.

(Note: Apologies for the clicking sound in this episode. I recorded this with my earbuds and the microphone was tapping against the zip of my jacket every time I moved :/)

I've struggled with anxiety for the greater part of my life.It wasn't until I went through a particularly anxious period that I went on a search to find an 'off' button for my incessant anxious thinking.I discovered that by bringing my attention to the present moment the intensity of my anxiety began to lessen. Over time, by continuing to practice present moment awareness, I’ve experienced such a significant reduction in my anxious thinking that I often forget how much I was suffering previously.In this episode, I share how we can use the present moment to diminish the power of our anxiety and begin experiencing effective relief from our worrisome thoughts.Disclaimer: The technique outlined in this episode assumes that a low, to moderate level of anxiety is present. Practicing this technique may become difficult when experiencing high levels of anxiety.

A short episode outlining the benefits of recording the compliments we receive.After realising how much negative self-talk I was doing, I went searching for some ways to bring more positivity back into the picture.I didn’t expect that writing down the compliments I received would have such a great effect on my self-worth and provide me with a source of support during times of intense self-doubt.In this episode, I let you know why I started keeping a compliments journal and how it’s allowed me to receive the nice things people say about me, while simultaneously reducing my bias towards self-negativity.

I had my first performance review at work this week.After receiving feedback that I needed to improve in certain areas, I felt my self-worth drop. However, my supervisors weren't unhappy with me nor had they delivered an ultimatum that I either improve or lose my job.I left work with a big question: Why does our competency in certain areas of life dictate our level of self-worth? In this episode, I take a walk through the city and break down what was behind my feelings of worthlessness. I also share my thoughts on how particular parenting styles serve to connect a child's actions with their sense of worth, and how this connection can be broken by practicing self-acceptance.

You might have realised by now, expressing myself authentically is pretty important.I’ve written about it many times on the site, yet I find myself drifting back into not speaking and writing from my current level of knowledge and understanding. I change how I write and speak to sound like I know more than you about the topics I share.In this episode, I explore the reasons why I stop sharing myself authentically with you, and how my inauthenticity always guides me back to being myself.

I went to a workshop about overcoming fear.While I was there, I became highly critical and judgemental of a particular person who was sitting calmly, meditating, and sharing helpful techniques on how to overcome fear.What?!Why was I being so critical of a person who wasn’t doing anything to annoy me or make me feel uncomfortable?This episode is a live exploration of the feelings which came up during the workshop, and an attempt to explore the deeper roots of my critical judgements.

I remember when I started to do friendly things for myself consciously it felt a bit awkward. But when I began experiencing some big positive changes I knew I was doing something very right.The most significant change (which I didn't see coming) was being able to express myself more freely around other people. Instead of overthinking how to say what I wanted to say, I would just say it.I realised later this was happening because I wasn't as concerned about other people’s thoughts and ideas because I was providing myself with the validation and support that I needed when I needed it.Over the years I've continued exploring the different ways of being a self-friend, and in this episode, I share some of the most effective ways I've discovered for developing this friendship and the situations in which they can be used.I’ve also included some of the small yet powerful internal actions which I often overlooked when I first started this self-friendly exploration.