Of all the things we can do to nourish ourselves, sleep is perhaps the most vital. Alongside food and hydration, sleep is the thing that helps us to function at our best, with clarity and confidence. So vital is it, that lack of sleep can slow us down and make life harder. And severe tiredness can also begin to affect our decision-making abilities, our self-esteem, our courage, our grip on reality and our mental health.

Getting enough rest, and good quality sleep, then, should be a crucial part of our toolkit if we are to live and act effectively, with conviction, and integrity. At our best, moving joyfully towards our potential.

At its most fundamental, Yoga Nidra is the practice of sleep. As Tracee Stanley, the world-renowned practitioner of Yoga Nidra, states in her book, Radiant Rest: “rest is vital to thriving.”

But there is more to Yoga Nidra than simply catching some good quality zees. Through deep relaxation we gain access to a deeper part of ourselves that is beyond the cognitive mind, beyond language and all its cultural trappings, and beyond all the baggage that we carry with us. Normally we only experience this part of ourselves while we sleep, and so we don’t remember it when we awake. At best there is, perhaps, a vague sense of it when we rise from our slumber, or maybe we glimpse something profound during a particularly deep meditation.

But with Yoga Nidra we are presented with both a process and a state of consciousness that allows us to remain aware while we are in this state. Known as hypnogogia, it not only allows us to come face-to-face with the void that lies deep inside ourselves, transcending duality and connecting us with the infinite universe of which we are so profoundly a part, but it also offers access to our deep intrinsic and ancient wisdom, returning with insights and clarity otherwise impossible to access.

The practical, spiritual and valuable benefits of a practice like this are nothing new. It is an ancient knowledge that has even influenced the greatest modern thinkers. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, was said to take regular naps throughout the day, clutching a large metal ball in each hand. As he feel asleep the balls would fall from his hands waking him up, and he would immediately note down any ideas or visions that he had seen in the semi-conscious dreamscape that lies between sleep and awakeness, before they evaporated from memory.

Perhaps this is where the idea for the lightbulb came from.

Practices such as this can offer us rich, nourishing rest. And they can also offer us guidance from the deepest part of ourselves, something Tracee Stanley refers to as “a connection to our inner knowing.”

Surely, getting to know ourselves so intimately, gaining access to our own profound knowledge – the light of our souls – that evades us during thinking hours, can only serve to heal our relationships with both ourselves and our day-to-day reality. And more than this, to move us towards our ultimate state of being. That is, a sense of meaning and purpose to why we are here at all.

As Tracee puts it: “Yoga Nidra is a healing salve for the world” and in this conversation she gives me a beginners guide to this powerful and useful practice, which can help us to show up as the best of ourselves, into a reality that is aligned with who we really are.

Useful links:

www.traceeyoga.com

As we hopefully begin to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we step into the harsh light of a world on fire. Social injustice, climate change, corruption, inequality have never appeared so prominent. A landscape of crisis begging to be solved, and the failed detritus of all previous attempts at stewardship are calling for a new approach.

Is a spiritual revolution the answer we’re looking for? And what would that look like in a world where the genie of materialism has been out of the lamp far too long to be pushed back in?

Perhaps, instead of looking for answers ‘out there’ we should follow the advice of Thich Nhat Hanh, who said, “the way out is in.”

But is contemplative introspection really the answer? Can that lead to the real change we need, or is it merely turning our backs on the problems of the world?

In this episode of Conversations on Living (the new name of this podcast) I speak with Jeff Krasno, founder of Commune and The Wanderlust Festival, about how we can first do the work on ourselves that is required to give us the strength to lead others towards healing.

Useful links:

www.onecommune.com

www.wanderlust.com

www.jeffkrasno.com

People like us don’t do things like that. People like us, with our low self-esteem, our lack of confidence, our imposter syndrome, our insecurities about what other people think, about how we’re not good enough, talented enough, clever enough, lucky enough, don’t realise grand vision. We don’t start companies. We don’t take on massive projects. We don’t change the world.

We leave that sort of thing to the others. The successful. The charismatic. The gifted. Those other people, who are not like us.

But what if they were exactly like us. What if those people over there, doing the big thing, taking on the big challenges, realising the visions and changing the world, were exactly like us. Filled with insecurities, struggling to keep the faith, wrestling with how to face the day. Yet facing it nonetheless.

Today I’m talking with Richard Hardiman, who is the founder of CEO of RanMarine. His company makes aquatic robots – automated drones that go into the sea in ports and harbours, and clear the plastic and other waste that’s polluting the water.

You’d imagine that someone like Richard, who has started a company that is tackling one of the biggest issue of the moment, would have bulletproof confidence and certainty about what he’s doing.

But as Richard reveals in this brutally honest and open conversation, is that just like me – and maybe just like you too – facing the day, getting out of bed, keeping the wheels turning and keeping the vision alive, can take a Herculean effort. And for me, knowing that, and hearing that, from someone who is doing such big things is hugely empowering.

Yes, for some of us, getting out and bed and turning up takes a huge amount of strength. Yes, for some of us, the self doubt can be crippling. But yes, we can still do immense and incredibly impactful things.

If you want find out more about what RanMarine are doing, check out their website at www.ranmarine.io.

www.conversationsonliving.com

What happens when we get quiet, push past the distractions of the world around us and the noise within us, and come face to face with whatever lies deep inside?

What monsters are waiting for us when we turn the volume down and listen to what is whispering beneath the hubbub? And how can we be sure that they’re monsters at all, and not instead, angels, keen to shine a light on our true authentic selves?

What happens when we shed all that we are not, and tune into everything that we really are.

I’m Chris Brock and this is Conversations on Living, and podcast about how to be well, do well, and live well. And these are just a few of the questions that I tackle in today’s episode with Donna Bond, spiritual psychologist and author of the book Original Wisdom: Harness the Power of the Authentic You.

Donna believes that if we can harness the courage to push past the fear, push past the cultural, societal and experiential programming of the ego-mind, and tap into the intrinsic, essential self that lies beneath, we can live much more in alignment with who we came here to be. And the rewards of a life in alignment are very much worth the journey to get there.

You can find out more about Donna at her website, www.donnabond.com.

www.conversationsonliving.com

Being who we came here to be, living and experiencing life in a way that is authentically ours, and remaining true to ourselves, is incredibly difficult when, from our earliest days, we become encumbered with the experiences of culture, the programming of society, and the big and small traumas of life.

Whether or not we’ve been through catastrophic events or situations, the low level stress of life, of getting by, doing and being our best every day, in world that seems – according the to 24-hour news cycle – increasingly broken and divided, is traumatic.

As we’ve explored in previous episodes of this podcasts, our emotional, mental, physical and spiritual selves are all closely interlinked, often to the point of being indiscernible from one another. So when negative patterns appear repeatedly in our behaviour, in our mental and emotional wellbeing, our health, or even our circumstance, the cause of our problems might be just as likely to come from within as from without.

In this episode I’m joined by psychologist, doctor, meditation teacher Radhule Weininger, who says that with compassion, loving self awareness, and a willingness to forgive and let go, we can unpick the deep seated traumas that cause the negative patterns that prevent us being who we really are, and having the life experiences we came here to have.

Radhule is the author of Heart Medicine: How to Stop Painful Patterns and Find Peace and Freedom - a book that helps us to identify our emotional and behavioral patterns – patterns she calls Long-standing, Recurrent, Painful Patterns of hurt (or Lurps!) ≠ through the lens of loving awareness—without self-judgment or blame, learning to hold ourselves as we would a dear friend, with space and grace. If you want to know how highly recommended the book comes, the forwards were written by his holiness the Dalai Llama and Joanna Macy.

You can find out more about Radhule and her book, at www.radhuleweiningerphd.com and also at mindfulheartprograms.org

From the moment we are born we are acted upon by the influences of the world we are born into. The programming of things like language, culture, aesthetics, behaviour, and etiquette all start to imprint themselves upon us. And so too do experiences, expectations, incidents and accidents, joy and happiness, and also trauma and hurt.

All of these things embed themselves in our memories, our neural pathways, our subconscious, and ultimately our ego, our identities, our inner narratives, and this, crucially, impacts the way we perceive the world, and interact with it. This then, in turn, has huge implications for our quality of life. If we go smiling into the world, sometimes the world smiles back.

But with all of these things from our world and our experiences imprinted upon us, it can be difficult to see where we end, and our baggage begins. And when this baggage begins to weigh heavy upon us, and ultimately impacts the direction and quality of our existence, we can very easily start to believe that life, and the world around us, are treating us unfairly and that none of this injustice has anything to do with what’s going on deep inside, within our own psyches. That is, until we start to dig, and offload, some of those things that have been dragging us off course.

This week I’m speaking with Polly Bateman - she’s a mindset performance coach, but that title is huge simplification of the work she does with her clients. She believes that in order to truly get the most out of life, we need to align the way we go into the world, with who we really are. And that means unstitching the internal narratives, digging deep into the past experiences, the stories, and traumas that impact who we think we are, and we go about our daily lives.

And we also talk about the books she is writing for Children, about the Grumpet, a character that she has created o help them manage their thoughts and feelings.

You can find Polly online at ThePollyBateman.com, and also on instagram at ThePollyBateman

What does it mean to be “always on”. To have the entirety of human knowledge in your pocket, and to know what’s happening right this minute on the other side of the world… all the time?

What does it mean to be “always available”. To be contactable, ready to respond at a moment’s notice. Never nowhere, always somewhere.

Of course this all has its benefits, right? But is it necessarily healthy?

This week I’m speaking with Christina Crook, author of the book The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World. She believes that being constantly connected to the 24-hour news cycle, having our relationships moderated by social media algorithms, being addicted to a constant flow of information that is curated by others who might not have our best interests at heart – and let’s not forget the dopamine hit that comes from getting another ‘like’ or another ‘follow’ – is not only bad for us, but is sapping the life out of our days, and replacing it with stress.

In this conversation we talk about why the need to be intentionally conscious about how we use technology, lest it use us, is vital if we are to build healthy lives and healthy relationships. And that getting offline is, in itself, a wellness practice.

If you want to find out more about Christina, her books, her speaking and her other work, head over to www.experiencejomo.com, and you should also check out her online store, where she has a range of non-digital products to help you get offline. That’s at www.jomogoods.com.

What does it take to do something new, a new career perhaps, and to build something bigger than yourself? What do you need in order to keep turning up even when failure and rejection seem to be the lay of the land? How much of finding success it is about experience and know-how, and how much of it is about attitude, courage, find the angles that work, and finding the energy to keep showing up when you just can’t face another day?

Today I’m chatting with Kelly Robinson, the founder of the Kelly Robinson Team of real estate agents working in New York City. She decided to try a career in real estate when her acting career, which was propped up with other jobs, wasn’t going in the direction she wanted it to go.

But building something new wasn’t just about turning up and working hard. It become facing failure and learning the hard way – and still persisting despite it all – until she learned to navigate the landscape and, ultimately, make it her own.

In this conversation Kelly generously shares her experiences about finding the courage to keep showing up, facing the fear of attempting something that seemed much bigger that her, and about how setting boundaries, investing in yourself, and taking scary but calculated risks are vital to building something great.

To find out more about Kelly, find her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/kellyrobinsonnewyork

When we think about nature, or we talk about spirituality, it’s easy to see it as something ‘other’. Something disconnected from the modern world that we have to live in, day to day.

We save it for the weekend or for our morning meditation sessions, and we view the wisdom of the ancients as something quaint – but certainly not something that we should bring into the office.

But this cultural disconnect could actually being doing us more harm than good. By turning our backs on nature, and creating lives that are more processed than ever in terms of what we consume – both into our bodies and our minds – we are making ourselves ill, or at the very least, living lives that are lacklustre and dull.

What if, instead, we were to find a way of connecting with the spiritual wisdom of nature, of ancient cultures, and bring into our daily lives – in a way that didn’t seemed perfectly, well, natural.

This week I’m speaking with Ben LeVine, he is a herbalist and co-founder of Rasa. It is a coffee alternative made with adaptogenic plants, mushrooms and herbs. Designed to nourish our nervous systems, enhance and balance our energy, and calm our stress, it is based on a relationship with nature that is not exploitative as in most western industries, but instead reciprocal. It’s about flavour and feeling – spiritually, emotionally and physically – as a form of communication between ourselves and our bodies, and the natural world around us.

I chatted with Ben about the science behind our relationship with plants, and how we can enter into dialogues with them that are beneficial to everyone – you, me, and the planet we live on.

To find out more about Rasa, and what they’re all about you can find them at wearerasa.com, and listeners to the podcast can get a discount of 15% on their first order – just enter the voucher codes LIVING15

To celebrate the release of Martha Beck's recent book, The Way of Integrity, we're replaying our episode from 2020. Here are the original show notes:

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This notion – that there is life beyond what we know in the physical world of systems and money and society and iPhones – is reflected in a drawing called Three Worlds by M.C. Escher. It depicts a lake with fallen leaves floating on it. Beneath the water you can see a beautiful carp swimming, and reflected on the surface of the water are the now leafless trees.

What these two works, from Jung and Escher, toy with is the idea that at any one time, we are not simply inhabiting one world, but there are others that exist right alongside it. Indeed, with practice we can even tune in to other ways realities, by seeing past the superficial distractions up here on the surface of the water, and adjusting our own perspectives to recognise what lies above it or beneath it.

In Polynesia there are fisherman who know the ocean so well they can navigate their canoes for thousand of miles across open sea just by watching the behaviour of the water - even if they are far, far from land. This is not something that they doing knowingly, logically, but instead they tap into their intuition, their skill and their experience – their innate knowledge – and let it guide them to their destination.

Author and life coach Martha Beck calls this “wayfinding”, and it is something that all of us can do, if we can open our minds and our hearts, get quiet and listen to what our intuition is telling us. It might simply be about noticing what we notice, the things that our non-conscious minds pick out of the constant cacophony of noise that we are bombarded with from dawn until dusk. Or it might a deeper exploration beyond the limitations of words that connects us to worlds that exist outside of space and time – the sorts of places that indigenous Australians might have called the ‘Everywhen’ – a state of eternal presence that takes us past the physical boundaries of what we know, into a unified space where we can connect to everything that was, is or will be.

Wayfinders find their way by listening to their inner compass. They find their own true north by stepping out of the confines of this man-made world of language and rules and processes, and by connecting to a wordless relationship with themselves, their environment, and the universe.

I spoke with Martha about some of the ideas in her book “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World” and explored the notion that maybe, just maybe, there is a spiritual revolution quietly taking place right now.

I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Martha’s website: www.marthabeck.com