God Yay or Nay?

In this episode I speak with author Sarah Selecky.  Sarah is author of 2 critically acclaimed books and founder of a creative writing school.   Sarah gives us insights on how to be more creative in our work and life.  We talk about the importance of understanding ourselves and our emotions and how this can help spark creativity and give us an idea of what you should be creating.  

Sarah shares some different exercises she does with her students to allow their creativity to flow.  We talk about the inner critic and how it hinders creativity.  We talk about the nature of the inner critic or ego and how to develop a better relationship with it that allows more creativity and risk taking.

Sarah talks about writer's block or just any blocks that stop us from creating.  She tells us the different types of resistance we feel to creating and why they stop us from doing what we want.  She gives us some tips on how to overcome this resistance and start creating again.  She also goes on to talk about the flow state, dreams and synchronicities and how they are a part of the creative process.

www.sarahseleckywritingschool.com

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In this episode I speak with comedian, pod caster and inspirational speaker Kevin Von Hevete.  Kevin tells us his intense story of getting paralyzed in a drunk driving accident when he was in his early 20s.  He tells us about his long recovery in the hospital and what it was like dealing with huge regrets.  He talks about the mindset he needed to get out of the hospital.  

    Kevin shares what it was like when he got out of the hospital and what kind of adjustments he needed to make.  He tells us about meeting another paraplegic Rick Hansen who convinced him to throw a community event.  Kevin shares how that event changed his life and made him a more giving person.

    Kevin tells us about rediscovering purpose and fulfillment in life.  He tells us about how he has become a public speaker and the impact he’s had on different people.  Kevin tells us about how he uses humor to help him and others through difficult experiences.  He tells us about his darker humor he prefers.  

Instagram - @justwiggleyourtoes 

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In this episode I speak with the author of “Recovering my True Self” Melissa Mayer.  Melissa has a doctorate in Physical Therapy.  She speaks about how she transitioned from a more traditional medical setting into a more holistic one.  Melissa talks about donating her kidney to her husband and how that sparked a huge transformation in her life.

Melissa and I talk about the importance of seeing obstacles as opportunities to grow.  She talks about quitting drinking and having a creative recovery too.     She talks about the “letting go” aspect of the process which allies for change to happen and creativity to flow. 

Melissa talks about going to Sri Lanka with the head monk of her local Buddhist center.  She talks about how being around monks helped her meditation practice.  She shares how the trip made her realize she needs to write a book.  She shares an influential book for her “The Artist’s Way” and how that allowed her to bring creativity and spirituality together.  

https://www.melissamayer.org/

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In this episode I speak with comedian Chris Griffin. Chris went on an amazing journey to the Amazon jungle in Northern Peru to go try plant medicine and psychedelic Ayahuasca for the first time. Chris tells us about why he decided to go and the process of actually getting out there. He did 3 Ayahuasca ceremonies and he goes into the full details of his journeys along with the healing and wisdom he gained. It's a must listen episode for people interested in the plant medicine Ayahuasca. 

Chis on Instagram - @gristopher

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In this episode I speak with comedian, actor and podcaster Amish Patel. Amish talks about getting back into spirituality after his father died and studying Buddhism and Hinduism. Amish teaches us about the 4 branches of Yoga according to Hinduism. He also shares the Hindu philosophy of Neti-neti translated into “Not this, Not that”.

Amish has been studying meditation and he explains different types of meditation he has tried. Amish talks about the idea of non-duality in meditation. We talk about how meditation can help us stop trying to please everyone and become more authentic.

We talk about the concepts of submit, surrender, and letting go in relation to spirituality. We talk about how these concepts can be misused by religions. We talk about some of our favorite poets and speakers and how they helped us understand our minds. 

Amish on Instagram - @fadetobrown

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In this episode I speak with educator and author Lorraine “Lorrie” Morales.  Lorrie speaks about her book “We Can Do This - Adult Children and Aging Parents Planning for Success”.  She explains the aging demographics in the western world and the new problems that families will face.  She shares her story of both her parents getting sick and having to turn into a caregiver.

    Lorrie talks about the conversations we need to be having as families right now before a crisis happens.  She talks about the hardships and benefits of being a caregiver.  She shares ways to prioritize your mental health during hard times.  We share stories of our own experiences with our parents.  

    Lorrie talks about the importance of ceremony at the end of life and how it's important for the people still living to have closure.  Lorrie tells us that the best thing we can do is talk about our trauma and grief with people you trust and how it helps with our healing.  Lorrie talks about how people with or without faith deal with their last days.

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In this episode I speak with Dr Russell Kennedy. Russell is a medical doctor, neuroscientist and author of the award winning

book "Anxiety Rx". Russell shares his battles with anxiety over the years and his journey to writing this book. He talks about

all the different types of therapies he tried to help his anxiety. Russell talks about how trauma in childhood effects our mental

and physical health. 

Russell talks about how anxiety happens when your body and mind are not connected. He explains the difference between anxiety and

alarm in your body. He explains how anxiety happens in your thinking mind and alarm happens in your body. He shares different

therapies that are gaining traction that are body and feelings based that can help get to the root of anxiety and actually heal.

Russell talks about the future of dealing with mental illness and how different therapies and also psychedelics will play a big

part in. Russell tells us his experiences with psychedelics and how it helped his anxiety. We also discuss the possible dangers

of taking psychedelics and the safe way to pursue them. 

https://dr-russ.com/

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In this episode I speak with Singer/Songwriter Craig Carswell. Craig is an up incoming Canadian Musician and also runs a recording studio. Craig talks about starting out as a musician and developing problems with drugs and alcohol. He shares how he left music for a few years to become clean and came back to start creating music in a different genre.  

Craig talks about having to find inspiration to start creating music again. He shares a trip he took to New York that inspired his single “New York Lights” and got him back to writing music again. Craig talks about trying to bring his mental health issues into his music. He talks about trying to share an emotion with the listeners of his music so they can feel the same feeling he is. 

Craig talks about having regular panic and anxiety attacks and how he has learned to deal with it. We talk about the importance for people and especially men to learn to be more vulnerable and talk more about our mental health and other issues. We talk about the good and bad parts of masculinity. 

Check out Craig Carswell on all music platforms

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In this episode I talk with Psychologist Debbie Nunziata. Debbie helps us understand what mental health is and the various components of it. Debbie talks about the importance of using proper labels when talking about mental health issues. She also explains how to choose a therapist and finding the proper fit.

Debbie us real life tips on how to improve our mental health. Debbie explains to us Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She talks about looking at the relationship between your thinking, feelings and behavior.  She explains on how we need to develop the skill of thinking about our thinking and feelings and understand that these arise from our core beliefs and to question those beliefs.

Debbie also explains how people deal with death and how the old model (anger, denial, ect) has been replaced by a new model. She tells us the new model of dealing with death that involves 3 tasks and she explains the 3 tasks.

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In this episode I speak with Visual Artist and Mental Health peer support worker John Francis Gerrard. John opens up about his experiences with Psychosis and other mental health issues. He talks about now trying to help other people deal with their mental health issues and explore it through his art form. 

We talk about the link between mental health and spirituality and how different cultures look at this. John talks about how his mental health issues were very isolating and disconnecting, while with spirituality is meant to be connecting to reality and people. We talk about the narratives that we internalize and how they affect our mental health and direction in life and how art can help confront those narratives. 

John talks about free will in relation to mental illness. He talks about the dangers of looking a free will from both extremes. John shares his process of creating an art piece. He talks about never really knowing how the end will look and learning to be comfortable with that. John also talks about creating art while working with neuroscientists.

www.johnfgerrard.com

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