The honey-voiced Peter Flanagan joins me for human chats this week. Peter shares openly about his experience of moving country, getting older and the mental changes that comes with that, existential anxiety, death thoughts, NOW being the future, doing things NOW, questioning your life choices, self-reflection and letting go.

We also have a great discussion about Buddhism, balancing pursuit of ambitions with Buddhist zen, mindfulness, meditation, meeting a love guru, dating, relationships, mental well-being, self-care and leaving his job!

The DELIGHT that is Danny Ryan joins me for wonderful podcast chats this week. He talks very openly about relationships, comedy life, self-worth, self-reflection, making time for people in your life, his inability to take compliments, friendships, being too cynical to be considered a 'good person' and how life can kick your ass. 

Danny also shares with us his experience of working in the wrong job(s), feeling like he is not fulfilling his potential, living up to self-imposed expectations, finding comedy, writing, creativity, things not going to plan, wanting to stop the thoughts, death, implementing incremental changes in life, the patience and persistence required with change and transformation, personal growth, developing self-awareness and noticing tendencies towards self-destruction, discipline and being hard on himself. 

This was a really great chat. Danny is so open and honest - truly an honour to share this space with him! :)

The BEST and most fantastic Lynn-Ruth Miller kindly joins me for existential podcast chats in the corridor of a comedy club after she rocked a set there. The audio quality is terrible (my bad), but what Lynn-Ruth has to say is unmissable.

Lynn-Ruth Miller is a Comedian, Writer, Artist and has been many other things including teaching, freelancing, studying a Masters in Communication, among other things!

Lynn-Ruth tells us about her journey into stand-up comedy at 70 years of age and how that has transformed her, her mentality and her life.

Lynn-Ruth also tells us about being 30 years of age, divorced twice, having to do freelance work because, at that time, 30 was "too old to hire a woman".

In addition, Lynn-Ruth tells us of her experiences with eating disorders, being on Disability, having to heal herself, self-care regime, having a pet, doing Burlesque to songs she has created, her experience of depression, changing countries, leaving her roots behind, having a good time with life, losing her home, having Bladder Cancer, control issues & anxiety.

This really was such a wonderful and very special encounter.

Oisin Hanlon joins me for chats this week. Oisin tells us about his recent experiences in The States - very entertaining tales! :)

Oisin shares honestly about his reluctance to reveal his 'inner parts' on a podcast, which is entirely understandable and makes for an interesting encounter and chat. 

Oisin also talks about stand-up, street performing, procrastinating and following your passion.

Eddie Mullarkey joins me for terrific existential chats this week. Eddie talks about setting up his own comedy club, anxiety, how your culture shapes your being, trauma, epigenetic factors, cyclical happenings, self-acceptance and tapping into one's own 'shadow self'. 

We also talk about the positives of anxiety, the unhelpfulness of dysfunctional anxiety, the nature of anxiety in one's life, social anxiety and what we can learn about ourselves and our own anxiety. 

Eddie discusses his experience of having epilepsy, being medicated, rowing in your routine, trying to tap into one's emotional realm of being, catastrophizing thoughts, dating, apathy and relationships.

Writer and Poet Colm Keegan is my glorious guest on this week's podcast. 

In this chat Colm and I talk about various topics including: making big life decisions such as ending a long-term relationship, housing difficulties, having and caring for a family during difficult times, leaving a 'safe' job to follow your passion.

Colm also discusses poetry, writing a book, finding solace in writing, self-expression, honesty, personal growth, suppressing difficult emotions, using alcohol to cope, giving up alcohol, confronting reality - embracing the good and the bad, encountering a friend's death, inner anger, sober grief, keeping the sense of sadness and inner hurt to yourself, listening to and learning from your own pain, healing the hurt and spending time with - and in - trees! 

Colm shares tips for dealing with difficult times and self-care, including: eating well, opening up, talking to people, exercising, playing video games in moderation, going sober, observing his inner state - checking in with himself, acknowledging when he's not feeling great, getting out and about, being in nature, creating poetry, writing and getting enough sleep.

Bláithín took time out of her busy schedule to have existential chats with me this week.

Bláithín shares some past experiences from which she has learned a lot, including such things as: a friend taking her own life, stigma around suicide, empathy, having 'heavy' thoughts, enjoying the good times, being grateful for what you have, noticing selfishness and helping oneself out of difficult times - knowing that things will pass and good times are nearby.

We also discuss relationships, projection, our inner voices, feminism, changing societal tides, equality, peer-rope bondage, the emotional labour of social issues and how I'm considering going gay!

John Colleary compares this life thing to a football match - which is quite apt as it turns out! :) He talks about this being the second half, the injury times he has experienced, as well as the highlights. 

John also talks about his Dad's recent passing and the illness his Dad experienced leading up to his death. John reflects on life, how finite it is and the inevitability of death. 

Other topics discussed include: creative creating, going back to college, Irishness, cultural movements and identity in sport and communities.

Mags joins me for some great chats this week. Mags discusses caring for both her elderly ill parents and then dealing with both of her parent's subsequent deaths, getting a great job offer and then immediately getting run over by a car, going blind in one eye, having eye and heart surgery, getting run over by a van while in Edinburgh & her experience of Britain's Got Talent! 

Mags also discusses her determination and drive to make comedy gigs around Dublin more accessible to wheelchair users. The issue of how we, as a society, treat wheelchair users is also raised. 

In addition, other topics addressed include: domestic abuse, working in the field of confidence building, pottery, creativity and getting into comedy and how this has impacted her life and well-being!

In this quite unique and utterly delightful edition of Humans Discuss Being, I'm joined by TWO (yes, TWO!!) tremendous guests - poetry men! ...The very talented and wonderful Emmet O'Brien and the equally talented and wonderful, The Poet Geoff! 

Geoff speaks about the benefits of using the 'mask' of an alter-ego 'The Poet Geoff', how cathartic writing is as a coping mechanism. Geoff also talks about his young brother's death when Geoff was 8 years of age, his experience of being bullied, relationship break-ups, marriage, marriage break-up in his early 30s, how he has learned - through writing, poetry and performing - to 'open up' and connect on a deeper level to people in his life. Geoff also speaks candidly about having to 're-start' in life and having an excellent perspective on 'starting again' and taking small steps to 'get back to himself'. 

Other topics discussed include: acceptance, surrendering to your life situation, having a healthy mindset, making healthy choices in life, creativity, poetry, giving things a go, learning from mistakes, taking small steps towards personal development, growth, personal improvement and seeing the potential in others. 

Emmet chats openly about life, living and launching a book! Emmet also speaks about working creatively - independently and collectively. Emmet speaks about how helpful writing and poetry was for him and also about topics including: relying on drugs as a way of coping, being diagnosed with depression, dark times in his life, seeing a friend of his die at a young age, relationships, reflecting back over significant points in his life, dealing with a break-up and how having to write has helped him so much. 

Emmet and Geoff also illustrate beautifully how powerful friendship, concern, compassion and support is for people to recognise and appreciate their own self-worth. 

All the great chats were had. Give it a listen, a like and a share. Thanks & Enjoy! :)