Inner Truth with David Newell

Alistair is an International Anger Management Expert and Author, who has been working with people worldwide, and professionally as a counsellor/educator since 1989 and as an anger management specialist in private practice since 1995.

Alistair has worked with those who have enormous challenges in the world: from high performance business leaders, gold medal winning Olympic and professional athletes and people that are close to homeless. As he puts it, anger is an equal opportunity emotion.

Recorded before the tragic death of George Floyd and the global outbreak of civil rights protests in response, this conversation is perhaps more timely than ever.

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive tea that has a long history of ritual use among indigenous groups of the Upper Amazon. Made from the ayahuasca vine and the leaves of a shrub, ayahuasca is associated with healing in collective ceremonies and in more intimate contexts, generally under the direction of specialist an ayahuasquero, experienced practitioners who guide the ceremony and the drinkers experience.

Ayahuasca has gained significant popularity in recent years in cities around the world. Ceremonies happen nightly and Hollywood stars, Wall Street players and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs now drink the brew.

This week Sophia Rokhlin, ethnobotanist, anthropologist, speaker, and co-author of the book When Plants Dream, is on the podcast to explore the economic, social, political, cultural and environmental impact that ayahuasca is having on society.

Stefan Jovanović is an architect, dance-theatre-maker, and trained facilitator in Systemic Family Constellations.

Developed by Bert Hellinger, the German psychotherapist, Family Constellations are a way of working with and through issues within human systems (particularly within family).

In Systemic Constellations, a model of a family (a system) is set up with volunteer representatives, objects or guided visualizations. Participants are chosen to represent members or elements of the family or organization that is being addressed. In this process hidden and unexpected dynamics operating within the system are revealed and addressed in a way that aims to find a healthy and respectful place for all members of the system in question.

A bedrock principle is that each family system has a conscience that requires that all members be connected and remembered in a particular way. If someone in the system is not remembered correctly then younger members, out of love or the need to belong, can become "entangled" with their ancestors, particularly with those who have been excluded, forgotten or shunned or have experienced a difficult fate. Unconscious entanglements are behind many of the issues that are explored in these constellations.

Long a fascination of mine, in this conversation I brought Stefan on to talk about his first experience doing a family constellation and what you can uncover from participating in one of these workshops too.

Rick Hanson Ph.D. is a neuropsychologist, speaker, meditation teacher, and the NY Times best-selling author of Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha's Brain, and Resilience.

For over 30 years he has been researching neuroplasticity and the impact of meditation and mindfulness practices on the human mind. His work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, and NPR, as well as in talks at NASA, Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard.

A recurring theme in his work is the need for mental resources such as mindfulness, self-compassion, and positive emotions. We acquire these resources through learning, but there has been remarkably little attention paid to the actual "how" of growing such inner strengths.

His latest book - Neurodharma - distils this wisdom into 7 scientifically proven and anciently practiced ways to gradually transform your mind for long-lasting well being.

When I first started Inner Truth, Rick was on my "dream list". Now, 2 and a bit years later, here we are :)

Sanjay Rawal is a documentary filmmaker, student of the legendary Sri Chinmoy, and a lifelong runner. In this week's conversation, we talk about his latest film 3100: Run and Become, which documents the Self Transcendence run, a 3,100-mile race around the same New York City block.

It is the biggest race in the word and has the least fanfare and no prize. The race starts with a 1-minute meditation & ends 52 days/3,100 miles later. Participants must cover at least 50 miles per day. The most decorated winner doesn't care about nutrition and has completed the 3,100-mile race 14 times.

In the conversation we talk about what is possible when you're aligned to a higher power.

Traver Boehm is the founder the Man Uncivilized Movement with the mission to transform how a million men view and express their masculinity by reconnecting them to their inner strength, leadership, and emotional intelligence. He is an ex MMA fighter, a TEDx speaker and published author.

"We're here to show men another way of being. To get them to embrace their innate duality. To own their power and use it responsibly. To express their greatness without apology. To be the men the world so desperately needs right now.

We're here to uncivilize millions of men, then gift them to the world — as heart-centered leaders, an undeniable force to be reckoned with."

In this conversation we dive into how and why men are fucked up in 21st century culture and what tides of change are happening to bring masculinity back into alignment with maturity.

Panache Desai is a bestselling author, thought leader, and life catalyst whose presence and power of insight have transformed many thousand individuals, organizations, and companies. He has appeared with Oprah on her show Super Soul Sundays and has been praised by numerous spiritual leaders including Deepak Chopra.

His latest book You Are Enough launches right into the heart of the human challenge of feeling whole. He argues that the soul--whole, unbroken, at peace, and one with the life source--isn't a destination. It already exists within each of us, just waiting to be revealed. When we are in union with our soul, we experience a personal evolution that not only illuminates our individual cosmic purpose but helps us to engage the sense of purpose and presence necessary to remake the world itself.

Returning to Inner Truth for the second time in 2 months, we took the opportunity to talk about the lessons from his latest book and how to apply them to ignite your inner light during this period of turbulence.

A year in the making and I'm honoured and privileged today to bring to the world one of the most powerful tools I've found in my years of self discovery.

In my experience I've seen that as humans we are all programmed with subconscious patterns through childhood that can block our true nature and as a result we can end up living off course, off-purpose or doubting our gifts.

So much of our true nature lies in the depths of our subconscious mind and our deepest longing and really the spiritual journey is to unveil that mystery to live in harmony with it.

We were each born with a unique purpose and a soul path that can be revealed by the archetypal code of our subconscious.

And today we launch The Destiny Course which through the ancient wisdom of the Tarot and Numerology in the Sphinx Code, unveils these precise insights for your persona life.

In today's pod I talk about my own experience with it over the last 3 years, including some of the insane insights its given me and how much it has been able to reveal (or predict) about the thousands of others that have used it.

Destiny has officially launched and you can sign up to get your get your archetypal blueprint and training at: https://www.seekingdestiny.com/

Lockdowns have us all indoors contemplating "what next?" and I can't help feeling let's not go back to normal please.

On some level we all chose this. We chose to be here, at this point in time, dealing with this situation, to search inside for what really matters and to deliver upon what are we supposed to be doing on planet Earth.

And so I think the question really is, what was normal for you before and what could be different after this?

If there's a flame of something inside you that can be nurtured, now is the time to do so.

If you've been sat on a book, a song, a course, a painting, an instrument, a poem, now is the time to pick that up. To use this period for your cultivation, your awakening, and for your gifting to others.

This crisis could be the greatest deliverance of your true gifts.

This week, best-selling author and transformational truth-teller, Kute Blackson (@kuteblackson) joined me to share an awe-inspiring call to bring your light to the world right now because it needs it.

We talk about turning crisis into opportunity, how to develop the courage to do so, and why now more than ever calling on your inner essence is ultimate act of grace.

To help, Kute is offering a 6-week course on Courage and how to cultivate inner strength in times of adversity. You can sign up via his profile (@kuteblackson). Its donation based and all proceeds go to charity to help feed children affected by Covid-19.

Week 2 (or 3) of this great global experiment in social isolation has been throwing up all sorts of shadow aspects in our homes and in our lives. I have personally found myself staring into some of my most punitive, frustrating, and angry patterns as a lack of distraction brings little escape!

Social isolation, lack of exercise, and financial uncertainty are almost certainly going to lead to deteriorating mental health around the world.

And with this likely to be a medium term feature in our lives, it's important we get real with it and learn how to do with our shadow aspects.

This week, fan-favourite and official coiner of the term "McMindfulness" - Dr. Miles Neale - comes back on the show to talk about how the pandemic meets all criteria of trauma, what impact that is having on our nervous systems, and how to navigate this most giant of hero's journeys we have each been initiated into in our own way.

Dr. Miles Neale is a contemplative psychotherapist based in New York and one of the leading voices of the current generation of Buddhist teachers. He is an author, international speaker, and faculty member of Tibet House US and Weill Cornell Medical College.