"To me a visionary is someone who really knows that we create our reality from the inside out and has the courage and the willingness to actually go within and create a vision, an image, from within the inner realms of our own mind that we can really hold to and picture on a daily basis and really connect to that vision. And literally from a neuroscience perspective, our mind doesn't know the difference between what we hold in the inner realm of our mind and what we see out there in reality."

— Laura Dawn, HEx Podcast #26

Laura Dawn is a true visionary. The child of two entrepreneurs, Laura learned from an early age that it is indeed possible to manifest the realities you envision, no matter how "crazy" they sound to others. At just fifteen, Laura took her first high-dose of psilocybin, which changed everything for her and opened up previously unaccessible dimensions of reality.

Today, Laura is a published author, speaker, and sacred plant medicine expert who runs visionary retreats. Her business accolades include growing her first online brand to 1.5M people on Facebook, and building a volcanic hot spring retreat center from scratch, all using the visionary techniques she practices and teaches.

"It's been a huge teaching for me understanding the subtlety between trying versus aligning. Trying to make something happen, pushing and striving versus aligning and allowing and really opening to divine alignments and what wants to unfold synchronistically without really me having to make any effort at all."

— Laura Dawn, HEx Podcast #26

I was first introduced to Laura through HighExistence co-founder Martijn Schirp, who worked with Laura at Synthesis retreat, and in this episode you will get to hear Laura and my first ever conversation.

WHAT WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:

• What is a visionary?
• Are visionaries born or made?
• Laura's upbringing and what she learned from her parents.
• Why we have lost faith in our own inner visionary.
• How do we visualize properly?
• The nuances of embodying the visionary archetype.
• What are the psychological mechanisms behind visualization?
• The difference between trying vs. aligning.
• How Laura manifested her vision for a retreat center.
• How one might use sacred plant medicines like Ayahuasca.
• The power in paying attention to the voice of our intuition.
• Laura's early experiments in micro-dosing.
• Why wee need to check ourselves for spiritual narcissism.
• The problem with viewing psychedelics as a "magic pill."
• Laura's favorite books and thinkers.
• The path of the bodhisattva.
• Laura's advanced visionary retreat training program.
• How might one integrate their psychedelic experiences.
• The ways Laura balances outward productivity and inner work.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LAURA DAWN

AyaVisionary.com — Laura's retreat website

LiveFreeLauraD.com — Laura's personal website

@LiveFreeLauraD — Laura's instagram

LAURA RECOMMENDS:

Getting Unstuck by Pema Chödrön

Noble Heart by Pema Chödrön

Bodhisattva Mind by Pema Chödrön

The Places that Scare You by Pema Chödrön

From Fear to Fearlessness by Pema Chödrön

If you like this podcast, please remember to subscribe and leave a review! <3

“The Stoics can teach you how to find a sense of purpose in life, how to face adversity, how to conquer anger within yourself, moderate your desires, experience healthy sources of joy, endure pain and illness patiently and with dignity, exhibit courage in the face of your anxieties, cope with loss, and perhaps even confront your own mortality while remaining as unperturbed as Socrates.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

Donald Robertson is one of the world's leading experts on Stoicism, especially how it relates to cognitive science and therapy. Donald has spent decades as a clinical psychologist and has been studying the great Stoic classics for just as long. Recently, Donald released a book, part biography, part self-improvement, about the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. It's a truly amazing read, as practical as it is enjoyable.

“When we reason well about life and live rationally, we exhibit the virtue of wisdom. Living in agreement with Nature, in part, means fulfilling our natural potential for wisdom; that’s what it means for us to flourish as human beings.” ― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

In my first interview with Donald, we covered a lot of general Stoic principles, but in this episode we look specifically at decoding the mind of Marcus Aurelius so we can start living more like this philosopher king.

“According to Stoic philosophy, when we assign intrinsic values like “good” or “bad” to external events, we’re behaving irrationally and even exhibiting a form of self-deception. When we call something a “catastrophe,” for instance, we go beyond the bare facts and start distorting events and deceiving ourselves. Moreover, the Stoics consider lying a form of impiety—when a man lies, he alienates himself from Nature.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Stoic training of Marcus Aurelius
• The role of compassion in Marcus' life
• The battle between Stoicism and sophism
• The biggest influences on Marcus' development
• How Marcus journaled and reflected on his day
• The biggest mistakes and misconceptions when practicing Stoicism
• The Stoic view of pornography and other temptations
• Donald answers, do Stoics ever see themselves as victims of life
• The incredible emphasis and techniques Marcus used to manage his anger
• The hardships that beset Marcus' life
• The level of plagiarism found in Stoic texts
• Western philosophy and psychedelics
• The role of mysticism and psychedelics
• Much, much more!

If you like this podcast, please remember to subscribe and leave a review! <3

Most people have heard of Stoicism.

It's a philosophy dense with practical wisdom.

But how many Stoics do you know?

I don’t mean people who have read Meditations or Letters from a Stoic, I mean actual Stoics…

Individuals who are comparable to the authors of these books in their tranquility, wisdom, self-discipline, and joy.

This was a question I kept asking myself as I embarked on my study of Stoicism 10 years ago.

One of my passions is learning, or more specifically learning through systems.

I’m the guy who measures every workout at the gym, keeps detailed spreadsheets for my martial arts progress, and has pretty much every habit tracking app available on his phone. I believe technology, if harnessed correctly, can be an incredible tool for wisdom.

This is why, when I first started getting into Stoicism, I was disappointed by most peoples answer to “How do you ACTUALLY become a Stoic?”

Most of the time the answer was something like the following:

Read the original Stoic classics multiple times. Reflect on your day by journalling. Do a few visualizations throughout the day. Focus only on the things you can control.

It’s not a terrible answer, but it’s far from great. I needed a roadmap. I needed to know that I wasn’t going to be wasting my precious time focusing on the wrong things. I needed a system.

Since there weren't any available, I set out to create one (this would go one to become The Stoic Quest).

When I first started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu two years ago I realized the deep value of embodied wisdom. You cannot watch technique videos and expect to beat opponents at grappling. So much of the learning comes when you are faced with challenges you must overcome.

With Stoicism, many people spend time filling their heads with ideas and not putting any of it into practice. This means the time spent reading about the Stoic principles acts more like a distraction from problems than an antidote to them.

So how do we get around this? How do we get actually bridge the gap and put theory into practice and stop wasting time in intellectual lala-land??

That's what we discuss on the podcast today. On this episode, I relinquished my usual role as podcast host so I could sit in the hot seat. Fellow collaborator at HighExistence, Mike Slavin wears the interviewer hat and together we explore topics such as:

• How I used Stoicism to overcome my social anxiety
• The exercises I developed for reducing intense fear
• The right and wrong ways to learn Stoicism (and anything else)
• My favorite technique to live with more gratitude
• The key components missing from modern Stoicism
• My thinking process behind the Stoic Quest
• And tons more

Visit highexistence.com/stoicquest to learn more about the Stoic obstacle course.  

"In the last couple years there's seemed to be a... decided shift [in my mind] in the direction of dethroning rationality as... the primary tool that I use to parse reality, and putting it in its proper place... And through deep listening and deep internal experiences and even mystical experiences, arriving at a sense of a felt at-home-ness in reality and in the present moment, in which you're trusting and surrendering to the flow of reality..."

— Jordan Bates, HEx Podcast #23

Today I'm excited to share one of the best conversations I've ever had. 

In sunny Costa Rica just before our recent Apotheosis retreat, I sat down with my brilliant colleague Mike Slavin to talk about transcending rationality. 

Especially in recent centuries, Western culture has placed rationality on a lofty pedestal, increasingly glorifying it as the most powerful tool for parsing / understanding reality.

This misguided over-valuing of rationality has resulted in untold misery.

Rationality is a wonderful servant but a dreadful master. Employing it as one's primary tool for parsing reality tends to result in nihilism, disenchantment, existential aridity, and a paranoid sense of being a stranger in a hostile, alien universe. 

"And that's where mystical experiences or psychedelic experiences can temporarily melt away those linguistic filters so that you come into raw, unadulterated contact with the all-enfolding Ocean of Reality, and you see that you are a wave on that Ocean, just as the tree is a wave on that Ocean. And when you have that direct experience there can be a direct apprehension of this Sacred Sigh of Relief: 'Oh, wow, I don't have to think this rationally, but I just know this in my heart: Everything is Okay.' Everything is deeply, truly Okay, and it's where it needs to be, and I'm where I need to be, and I see now that the neurotic rabbit holes and spirals of my rational mind have functioned as a nihilism-producing trap that was preventing and blocking me from having this direct apprehension of the gloriousness of Reality because I was attempting to use the rational mind for a function for which it is not well-suited."

— Jordan Bates, HEx Podcast #23

Humanity is presently being summoned to transcend obsolete and unsustainable modes of being, and one aspect of this level-up is dethroning rationality, becoming trans-rational, and rediscovering deeper, wiser, intuitive levels of human intelligence that re-enchant / reconnect self and Nature. 

Intrigued yet?

I hope so.

Mr. Slavin and I undertook a mission to spelunk the rabbit hole of trans-rationality, attempting to illuminate the failure modes of rationality, its appropriate function, and to map out a blueprint for transcending rationality to attain a more expansive sense of at-home-ness in Nature. 

This was a tall order, but I must say that I think we did a pretty damn good job...

You can decide for yourself. Without further ado, here is my extra-ordinary conversation with the luminous legend, Mike Slavin.

WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

• What may truly be deserving of the word "God"
• Dethroning rationality as one's primary tool for parsing reality
• Realizing

In May 2019, Jordan Bates and I (Jon Brooks) met up in London to attend the Rebel Wisdom summit.

Having not seen each other in the flesh for 6 months, we thought we'd celebrate our reunion by recording our first ever podcast together.

Jordan and I have always had incredible, dizzying, profound conversations about topics that frequently come up on HighExistence, and we've been intending to start recording them and releasing them as podcasts for quite a while.

There is this segment of the spiritual or psychedelic or new age community that seems to be participating in these things more from a place of ego and kind of trying to really wear the costume and have this kind of spiritual chic clothing and have all the markers of spirituality. It's kind of like spirituality and psychedelia are a fashion trend for some people, and it's kind of all about what's on your spiritual resumé, how many ayahuasca ceremonies have you had, etc. There's this kind of misguidedness around what spirituality actually means. And some people don't even realize the extent to which they're using spirituality as a persona and another game of appearances and status and virtue signaling rather than being deeply invested in the inner journey which is largely a thing that no-one sees. 

— Jordan Bates, HEx Podcast #22

Personally, some of my favorite podcasts are not strict interviews but more of the "hanging out" genre, were I get to see individuals I'm interested in riff on topics I'm curious about.

If you're a regular HighExistence reader, or anyone interested in spirituality for that matter, I encourage you to hang out with Jordan and me in this episode and leave a comment with your thoughts and questions. Let's keep the conversation going!

Here are some of the themes we delve into on this episode:

• The toxic elements of modern spirituality
• The psychological need to create personas and identities
• The benefits and traps of "not caring what people think"
• Spiritual narcissism and the shadow
• The hidden danger of rebellion and non-conformity
• The beauty and magnificence of ordinary folk
• The limits of mass psychedelic healing in society
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a spiritual practice
• The art of letting go 
• And tons more...

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and leave a review! 

<3

Transformational Breath is a type of conscious connected breathing. It's a breathing awareness practice, and it's also a breath control practice. Essentially we breathe in what I'd describe as a conscious, rhythmic way where we don't pause between the inhale and the exhale. So we breathe in one continuous loop. And this type of breathing can help us tap into altered states. So we can use different types of breath to induce a trance-like state.

— Philippa Wilkin, HEx Podcast #21

Philippa Wilkin is a radiant, beaming healer and facilitator who uses the transformational power of the breath to help people let go of blocked emotions and live a flourishing and free existence. 

I first met Philippa at the first HighExistence Apotheosis retreat—she agreed to facilitate in a last minute change to the itinerary.

When I attended her breathwork workshop I was expecting good things, but what actually happened I could never have expected.

It was totally mind blowing and changed my opinion on the breath forever.

The breath is a profound healing tool, and if you're not using it you are missing a very important area for transformation.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE TOPICS WE DISCUSSED...

• What is transformational breath and how it links up with other self-improvement tools.
• Philippa's involvement in Apotheosis retreats.
• Jon's own experiences doing breathwork sessions with Philippa.
• The amazing benefits practicing transformational breath.
• Philippa's unlikely journey as a facilitator.
• The approach Philippa takes with self-improvement and spirituality that differs from the mainstream.
• How we can be better at practicing self-care.
• Philippa's view on having prophetic visions and how they fit in with her understanding of the world.
• Tons more! 

WHERE TO FIND PHILIPPA WILKIN

• Website
• Instragram

Akira is something of a musical-philosophical wizard.

He's been called the DJ of the Intellectual Dark Web and is the innovator of a new genre of music called Meaningwave.

He samples Terence McKenna, Alan Watts, Jordan Peterson, Hunter S. Thompson, David Foster Wallace, Elon Musk, Jock Willink, David Goggins, and a variety of other philosophers, thinkers, artists, and inspiring figures.

And he synchronizes these samples in delicious ways with a wide array of gorgeous beats he conjures to create a uniquely enchanting and mind-expanding listening experience.

His album 'The Path' with Jocko Willink has been particularly influential for me lately; it's a ridiculously motivational album and I highly recommend it, along with the rest of his work.

We'll be interluding some of his music throughout this episode so you can get a taste of his art.

Akira is an extraordinarily insightful and entertaining individual, and we had a lot of fun in this episode exploring a truly vast expanse of territory.

We discuss everything from space migration and the Jungian shadow to transcendental experiences and the wonders of being alive in 2019.

Without further ado, let's get into it; I hope you enjoy this technicolor journey as much as we did.

You may be having the most extraordinary psychedelic experiences. You may be communicating with DMT-entities. Mamma Ayahuasca might be visiting you nightly. But if it's not making you a kinder person. Then it's just a holiday. It's just a thrill. You might as well just be watching a movie. You might as well be watching Disney's Fantasia because it's not making you kinder person. It's not making you a more loving person. It might even be making you a worse person because you're becoming a self-regarding, vein dick.

— Jules Evans, HEx Podcast #19

If you look at the literature on ecstatic experiences, it often just focuses on psychedelic experiences, and it says this is the type of experience you can have when you're on LSD or magic mushrooms or MDMA and so on. That's a rather narrow way of looking at it. In fact, people have similar kinds of ecstatic experiences in lots of different domains, in lots of different fields of human activity. I'm a big admirer of Aldous Huxley, because I think he more than anyone else had this kind of bird's eye view of all the different ways in which people get out of their heads and go beyond their ordinary egos.

— Jules Evans, HEx Podcast #19

Jules Evans is a practical philosopher, writer, helps run the largest philosophy club in the world, and played a key role in the modern resurgence of Stoic philosophy. Jules' first book Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, explores how ancient Greek and Roman philosophies (particularly Stoicism) can help us flourish today. His second book, The Art of Losing Control, explores how people find ecstatic experiences in modern western culture.   In this episode, we discuss:

• The wonders and limits of Stoic philosophy
• Near death experiences
• Why Aldous Huxley was so great
• The value of ecstatic experiences
• Ayahuasca retreats stories
• The dark side of psychedelics
• Jules' most recommended books
• And tons more...

NOTABLE MOMENTS

What to you is the point of philosophy? [02:54]

How Jules became interested in Stoicism and Greek philosophy. [04:10]

Was your PTSD triggered by a bad LSD experience? [07:27]

What Jules could have done differently to manage the fallout from his difficult LSD trip. [10:06]

Jon discusses how he believes his levels of neuroticism has declined as he's gotten older. [11:36]

Jon shares his interest in Stoicism. [12:36]

Jon explains how he used Stoic techniques to help him cope with the fear of jaw surgery. [13:21]

How Jules used Stoicism to help him cope with social anxiety. [14:09]

Was simply learning about CBT and Stoicism enough for you to reduce your social anxiety, or was there a practical element too? [16:46]

Jules explains how cognitive bias, perfectionism, and poor coping strategies prevented hindered hindered his recovery from anxiety. [19:35]

Jules explains what happened in his near death experience (NDE). [22:02]

How Jules' epiphany from his near death experience led him to CBT. [30:54]

Stoicism is about being true to the god within you. [32:28]

How Jules connected his mystical experience with Stoicism, CBT, and eventually Buddhism. [32:54]

Jules explains his role in the modern resurgence of Stoicism. [34:17]

Some of the areas of human nature Stoicism doesn't address. [37:01]

Why did you call your second book The Art of Losing Control? [39:34]

Jules explains the wide-ranging states of ecstatic experiences. [41:04]

What are the main paths to losing control that you discovered in your research? [43:54]

Alcohol as a means to escape ordinary consciousness. [45:44]

Jules explains what he calls "The Festival of Ecstasy." [46:59]

Jules discusses how war, violence

"If someone says, “I’m a fucking loser,” that’s a form of dishonesty. What you actually are is a collection of atoms talking to each other. To say that you’re a loser isn’t accurately describing yourself. To say, “right now I’m having a thought that I’m a loser and engaging in some self-pity around that,” that’s more accurate." — Dan Munro, from HEx Podcast

“When I say I was working with criminal offenders, really I was just coaching people, and now I’m still coaching people it’s just they’re less likely to be in a gang these days.”

— Dan Munro, from HEx Podcast

I heard about Dan Munro from a friend who had received coaching from him. My friend was telling me how amazing this coach was and that he was even going to receive more coaching from him in the future.

I wanted to talk to Dan about coaching, so I arranged a call with him to pick his brains about this topic as well as connect in general. I was blown away by Dan's groundedness and willingness to share his ideas with me. As the call progressed, it turned out that Dan and I were already connected.

Dan told me that Donald Robertson, the Stoicism writer, was writing the foreword for Dan's new book on honesty. Quite the synchronicity considering I had recorded a podcast with Donald a few days prior.

Who is Dan Munro?

Dan Munro is a Confidence Coach based out of Auckland, New Zealand who now lives in the Czech Republic with his fiancé. Dan created the Brojo men's mastermind group which is growing every day, and is the author of The Legendary Life and Nothing to Lose. Dan also worked for many years as a probation officer where he learned how to make lasting change with the worst coaching clients you could wish to have—people who didn't want coaching.

Dan used to really struggle with authenticity, honesty, and making "real" connections. And as we know, it's usually the people who suffer in a particular area that go on to master it and become the best teachers.

There is nothing quite like hearing Dan's ideas straight from the man himself, however, so If you'd like to live a more authentic life, and walk through the world with more ease and confidence, give this episode a listen:

In the podcast, we discuss:

• The role of honesty in confidence
• The difference between good and bad coaching
• How to deal with manipulators
• The dark side of the pick up industry
• What it means to "be yourself"
• Dan's confidence boosting 30-day challenge

(Please remember to leave a review because it helps us to improve the podcast!)

NOTABLE MOMENTS

• What who Dan? [04:25]
• Why do you focus so heavily on "confidence"? [05:27]
• What is confidence? what does the word mean to Dan? [08:15]
• The power of having core values. [11:55]
• What did you used to be like and how'd you end up here? [14:15]
• Dan's time studying pick up artistry and how it relates to authenticity? [20:25]
• What kind of effects does "honesty" have on your coaching clients’ dating life? {25:25]
• Jon Brooks talking about his experience with authenticity and dating. [30:25]
• Should a self-hating person “be themselves”? [32:25]
• The power of focusing on accuracy when trying to be honest. [36:15]
• Do you ever lie or tell white lies, what is your relationship with the truth on a day to day basis. What would it take for you to tell a lie? [39:25]
• How would you deal with coaching clients who are caught up in pathological relationships that are founded on

Donald Robertson is the expert of experts when it comes to Stoicism—the ancient blueprint for living the good life.   Donald spends his days now residing in Canada writing books and creating online courses on how Roman and Greek philosophy can help us live more wisely. Prior to this, Donald spent over 20 years working in London as a psychotherapist.   What's so amazing about Donald is that he interweaves his academic career as a clinical psychologist with his love of philosophy to bring to life a very practical, wise, and ultimately healing ideas that we can all benefit from.   If you are at all interested in Stoicism, this podcast episode is a "must-listen."   Some things we discuss in the podcast:  

• The best books on Stoicism you've never heard of
• The overlap between Buddhism and Stoicism
• The intersection between psychotherapy and Stoicism
• The Stoic version of enlightenment
• How to think like Marcus Aurelius
• Some of the criticisms about Stoicism
• And tons more...

BOOKS RECOMMENDED

• Stoicism and the Art of Happiness by Donald Robertson
• How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald Robertson
• Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault by Pierre Hadot
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus (Handbook and Discourses)
• The Moral Epistles by Seneca
• Dialogues and Essays by Seneca
• Tusculan Disputations by Cicero
• On Moral Ends by Cicero
• The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
• A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
• Philosophical Regimen of Antony, Earl of Shaftesbury by Benjamin Rand
• The Memorabilia: Recollections of Socrates by Xenophon
• Euthydemus by Plato
• The Last Days of Socrates by Plato

PEOPLE MENTIONED

• Ryan Holiday