The Unplug Podcast: Activated Living for Truth Seekers and Critical Thinkers in a Collapsing World

Sean Howard is a man on a mission to change the world – one heart at a time.

Sean has been a regular listener of the Unplug podcast for quite some time. When he reached out with an invitation to join him on his own podcast, Taking the Leap!, I was both honored and intrigued. I said yes. The rest is history.

Since then, Sean and I connected in person for an inspiring day on the Sunshine Coast laughing, exploring, and engaging in meaningful conversations about how to remain compassionate in a world that is often challenging. His transparent authenticity made for a fast friendship and I’m delighted to now have his loving presence in my circle of compassion.

Sean’s journey of self exploration led to a plethora of professional experiences including dog trainer, juggler, 3D artist, digital strategist, brand consultant, and more. There was one constant however – he knew that something was missing. Sean’s creative spirit was desperate for self expression.

This inner awakening inspired the pursuit of what was truly meaningful in life. This is the direction for today’s very moving Unplug conversation.

This week, with raw authenticity, we dig into topics such as:

• The fear of success.

• How we need to feel safe to be real.

• Why presence is the greatest form of service.

• How opinions and advice are judgment in drag.

• The inherent power of sharing our stories.

• The necessity for like-minded community.

• How inspiration can be found everywhere.

• How creative expression serves ourselves and the world.

• Why there is nothing more powerful than our vulnerability to facilitate connection.

• What is talent?

• How purpose is alignment with our true self.

• How pain and purpose are intricately intertwined.

• Gratitude is the gateway to an abundant mindset.

• The power of silence.

I’m thrilled to share a deeply intimate conversation with podcast host, author, photographer, creator, and fellow traveller on the path of self discovery, Sean Howard.

There’s an exciting revolution underway – a revolution in consciousness that begins with…plants! Yep, you read that right. Plants as in Mother Nature’s miraculous culinary offerings that energize and inspire wellness – for body, mind, and soul. Julie Piatt sums it up in one powerful sentence, “food is the first portal to discovering who you are.” I couldn’t agree more.

Potential isn’t found in Slurpees, donuts, and bacon. Plants are where it’s at. Living foods. High vibrational foods. Energizing foods. This is the Plantpower Way.

The plantpower wayThis week I speak with Julie Piatt about the soon to be released, The Plantpower Way – part cookbook, part lifestyle guide, and a whole lot of inspiration. Co-authored with her powerhouse husband, ultra athlete, Rich Roll, this book is sure to please the toughest crowd. I say this with authority as I savor the design, photography, content, and recipes in my coveted copy of the pre-released book.

Julie and I have…a “thing”; a like-minded spiritual connection that defies physical proximity and geographical boundaries. We click. We connect. We open our hearts to inspire a better way of being. If you think that today’s conversation is just about a book, think again. It’s about a way of life that unlocks the limitless potential of who you are – from deep within your heart.

This week we explore topics such as:

• What is the Plantpower Way?

• How your health is in your hands.

• Living creatively in alignment with your heart.

• How food is the first portal into discovering who you are.

• What is divine love?

• How eating higher vibrational food aligns with your heart.

• The difference between diet and lifestyle.

• What is extreme faith?

• The warrior path for transformation.

• The “four-month” rule for focusing on what is important for your soul.

• Do you worship the system or what really matters?

• Living your life in alignment with your mission every day.

• What is neutral loving compassion?

• How creative energy is spiritual energy.

• How creativity is the language of the Gods.

If you haven’t yet heard my conversation with Julie on episode #55, I implore you to check it out. It’s worth it.

In the meantime, enjoy this enlightening and entertaining conversation. I promise that you will feel uplifted and inspired, ready to embrace The Plantpower Way.

“Spirituality” is a loaded word that often triggers misconceptions. Many of us associate it with mainstream religion or blissed out folks who levitate their way through life. But neither of these memes accurately define the essence of spirituality.

In a nutshell, spirituality is about living the human experience with gusto.

Spirituality is about being in your body – really being in your body. It means living with presence, feeling your feelings, and honoring the calling that lives in your heart.

Spirituality is about living with kindness, and compassion – for yourself and for others. It’s about living authentically with grace, having solid boundaries, and not being afraid to feel the fullness of both the pain and joy in your life.

What does this all boil down to? Quite simply, it’s about living from the heart. A spiritual existence is not about perfection; it’s about being real, transparent, vulnerable, and accepting all that life throws you while knowing that you have the power to grow and expand from every experience.

Living you moment by moment truth is living an everyday spiritual life.

A few months back, this week’s Unplug podcast guest, Sylvie Gouin, wrote a powerful blog post that sums it all up.

She wrote:

Would you rather:

Live in the present or live with presence?

Find your purpose or live with purpose?

Operate on auto pilot as a human doing or mindfully experience life as a human being?

Talk about your potential or simply express it?

Today lets remember that spirituality is not complicated or airy fairy. It’s actually a grounded way of respecting life, right here, right now, exactly as it is, within what we are doing.

Simple. That’s the essence of spirituality. Just be who you are.

This week we chat about:

• What is spirituality?

• How can spirituality be an everyday part of our lives.

• Breathing life into our “to-do” list.

• Seeing the sacredness in every moment of life.

• What are you breathing life into through your beliefs?

• The practice of discipline without attachment.

• Using discipline, non-attachment and devotion to support stress management.

• The vibration of language and how it can either expand or contract us.

• How gratitude shifts our consciousness.

• The importance putting knowledge into action (rather than being a perpetual knowledge collector).

• The simple meaning of life.

• What is love?

Spirituality isn’t hard. It’s who we are. Enjoy this inspiring conversation!

I love meeting people who selflessly do beautiful things to inspire a better world.

This week’s Unplug podcast guest is one such person.

Matt Noble is a beautiful man with a massive heart. He’s the director of the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank – a progressive food bank model that caters to compassion. The traditional food bank model has few veg options and tends to negate inclusive compassion. Not so with the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank which offers fresh, healthy, and compassionate food choices for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone actively transitioning to a more compassionate lifestyle.

Matt and I met a few years back. He’s a man who radiates kindness and hope. I’m grateful to have him in my circle of compassion and honored to bring this conversation to you about compassion, service, selflessness, and how this powerful combination of caring makes for a really awesome of life.

This week we chat about:

• The gradual unraveling of old beliefs to expand our worldview.

• How to be a compassionate activist.

• How being open to change is what creates change.

• The importance of like-minded community for nurturing transformation.

• Inspiring paradigm shifting conversation around food justice.

• How giving to others feeds the soul

• How global change is emerging from the grassroots level.

Matt Noble is proof positive that action from the heart is where its at for paradigm shifting transformation!

SHOW NOTES:

• Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank website.

• Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank on Facebook and on Twitter.

• Toronto Pig Save website.

• Overturning the Culture of Violence on Amazon.

Are you inspired by this podcast? If so, here’s how you can fan the flame for the message:

1. Support the show!

Support the paradigm-altering Unplug movement on Patreon. Every little bit makes a difference!

2. Subscribe & Review the Show on iTunes:

Here’s a simple 5-step process to quickly rate, review and subscribe to the show.

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3. TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW and spread the word FAR AND WIDE!

As always, thank you for listening and thank you for helping to co-create a better world!

When I was young, I grew up reading James Herriot books. I couldn’t put them down. I dreamed of working as a veterinarian – saving the lives of animals and meeting interesting people along the way.

Things changed as I grew older. My affinity for math and science was…absent for lack of a better word. My sensitivity around animal research and euthanasia was intense, which made it very clear that veterinary medicine would not be my calling in life.

As a long-time animal mom having rescued many wonderful souls along the way, I have always sought out the best for my furry kids. I grew up with the James Herriot mindset for all healing modalities. It made no difference whether it was for my furry companions, or for myself. I was blessed. I used to love going to our family doctor, dentist, or veterinarian. They were always more like family to me. The depth of caring went well beyond the call of duty. I thought that this is the way it would always be.

Sadly, things changed. The world was corporatized. Healing modalities became more competitive, selfish, and impersonal. Integrity went the way of the dinosaur and the heart to heart connection virtually disappeared. The seduction of today’s profit-focused world consumed many “health” care practitioners. In many cases, they became nothing more than legalized pill pushers preying on fear as they moved as many bodies as possible through their clinic doors. How did it ever get this way?

Fortunately, there’s a growing movement of people who are fed up with today’s corporatized health care system. This grassroots groundswell of people like you and I are seeking out alternatives that bring compassion, connection, and love back into the forefront of consciousness. The wisdom of those who are gifted with the knowledge and power to heal is being sought after like never before. Energy healing modalities are being integrated with the western medical model for a total whole body/mind/spirit approach to healing. The paradigm of wellness is shifting. Thank goodness is all I have to say with that.

I’m always grateful when I find wellness practitioners who choose wisdom, knowledge, integrity, and connection above all else. I’m particularly grateful when I find these practitioners for the animals in my life. The corporate veterinary system disappoints me more than any other “health” care modality. This corrupt model of “wellness” preys not only on those with no voice – our animals – it also preys on the tender emotions of those who love these animals. I am a very unhappy camper when I see what the veterinary world has become – especially since it has always been so close to my heart.

So let me just say that when I find the true healers who remain unscathed by the corporate veterinary model, I take notice.

This week I have the absolute honor of speaking with a woman who I deeply respect – for her wisdom, her extensive knowledge, her compassion, and, most importantly, her beautiful soul.

Dr. Marlene Smith is a healer in the true sense of the word. Graduating from State University in Utrecht, Holland, she went on to expand her veterinary knowledge with extensive studies in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, homeopathy, homotoxicology and veterinary chiropractic care. Not only is her foundation of knowledge expansive, so too is her heart.

There is so much I could write about this woman, but instead, I share a powerful conversation this week as Marlene and I speak about the life lessons we can learn from animals.

This week we explore such topics as:

• How the beauty of life is the journey, not the destination.

• Healing the world begins with healing ourselves.

• The waves of consciousness throughout our lives.

• The power of nature to reconnect us to love.

• What is D’aoist medicine and how does it differ from Weste...

It always amazes me how complicated we tend to make our lives. The dysfunctional culture we’ve normalized seems to thrive on this notion. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The way out of this mindset is actually quite simple – not necessarily easy, but simple nonetheless. If we would drop the stories we’ve accepted as reality, trust our bodies, breathe, and cherish ourselves, we would live in a completely different world – internally and externally.

With this high level of self care we’d lose our capacity to reason and excuse the nasty things we do to ourselves and others through our thoughts, choices, behaviors, and actions. The conformity, consumption, judgment, fear, and indifference that makes up the separation-based world model we’ve collectively normalized, would disintegrate with ease. We would live our lives guided by the truth within, and “nasty” would fade from our consciousness.

This week, I have the pleasure of conversing with someone who is deeply connected to her own inner truth. Sheila Winter Wallace is a woman who does not compromise on the truth of who she is.

She’s a healer in every sense of the word – commencing with herself. By healing her own life, Sheila has been able to embrace the fullness of the healer within. She is now sharing her remarkable gifts in ways that help so many others.

Sheila has an eclectic background. She’s a retired nurse with a plethora of deep wisdom about energy medicine. She has taught NLP, hypnosis, and energy psychology. She’s also a practitioner of cranial sacral therapy, somato-emotional release, applied kinesiology, reiki, the ancient Hawaiian practice of Huna, and so much more. She’s a Registered CODE model coach through the WEL-Systems Institute and the creator of BSI, or BodySpirit Integration.

As Sheila writes on her website, “The power to heal lies in letting go of the internal noise of our old stories/our safe ‘lies’… so that we can relax into the deep silence of our internal knowing… and hear the authentic intelligence/truth of our bodies. In the depth of that relaxation, pain must let go…”

This week our conversation leads us to interesting places such as:

• Losing the stories that hold us captive.

• The importance of curiosity to enhance our lives.

• The body is the last frontier for the stories we create about our lives.

• How our stories become addictions.

• How we are spiritual beings looking for a human awakening.

• How our thoughts create our emotions.

• We are wired to know joy and bliss but we’ve become compliant to the opposite.

• The power of breath to change our stories.

• How compassion has an essence of fire.

• Living a life of definition, not dogma.

• How people who feel cherished make very different decisions.

Sheila’s work inspires the movement from victim to pain to creator of ease. By moving into ease, we claim our courage, confidence, and compassion for the true Self.

This is a profound conversation that I’m grateful to bring to you. Be prepared to have your worldview blown wide open!

SHOW NOTES:

• Sheila’s website.

• WEL-Systems website.

Are you inspired by this podcast? If so, here’s how you can fan the flame for the message:

1. Support the show!

Support the paradigm-altering Unplug movement on Patreon. Every little bit makes a difference!

2. Subscribe & Review the Show on iTunes:

Here’s a simple 5-step process to quickly rate, review and subscribe to the show.

Take a moment to consider the thousands of people around the globe who listen to the powerful conversations shared through this podcast. Consider the conscious collective of women and men who are interested in conversations about transformation, critical thought, and social change – both on an individual level and on a global level. We may not know one another, but we all share an interest in personal evolution and collective transformation with the intention to manifest peace.

We are allies of the soul united by a commitment to put love above all else. Very often in our capacity to care, we can feel isolated and alone. In this podcast, there is community. We are a tribe – a unique community of people who care to live more, give more, be more, and love more.

It’s no big news that we live in strange times. On a macro level, things seem to be more violent, selfish, and separate. Belief systems and paradigms are breaking down all around us. Fear and oppression seems to be on the rise from those who hold power. But, on a micro level, there are grassroots movements, community initiatives, co-creative efforts, and creative solutions springing up all over the place to create progressive change that is more in line with what lives in our hearts.

This is the great news.

This podcast is a co-creative effort to unite in a way that creates a new story for humanity. We are all the story embodied. Since there are two stories currently at play, we must choose whether to continue living the old status quo story of separation or to become a co-creator in the new story of interbeing – love, compassion, creative and authentic expression, purpose, service, simplicity, truth, critical thought, and action.

When we live with our heads in service to our hearts, we shift the power structure within ourselves and we relax into a life of spontaneity, faith, and action that pulses effortlessly on its own. We’re more relaxed with uncertainty and the unknown. We trust that our heart has our back and that it will always take us to places that are expansive, loving, meaningful, and purpose-driven. Shifting the paradigm from head to heart is all about faith, trust, love, compassion, purpose, integrity, authentic expression, creativity, and action that is based on the spirit of who we are.

More and more people are expanding into their soul self to live a greater life of meaning. With that blossoming reality, we have an extraordinary opportunity to create massive transformation. If enough of us come together with a positive vision for what we’re evolving into and we synergize between one another individually and collectively, we can move forward with a real spirit of possibility. We really can create a massive paradigm shift. This not a pipe dream. This is a fact based on the very real creative solutions that are spreading among the growing number of people who have had enough of today’s cultural nonsense.

And this is a great lead in to introduce this week’s Unplug podcast guest.

Howard Lyman is a man who has been breaking down paradigms for many years. The first paradigm began with himself.

Howard was raised as a fourth generation cattle rancher who was actively engaged in large scale industrial animal production including dairy and beef cows, pigs, chickens, and veal.

In 1979 Howard was diagnosed with a tumor in his spine. He was faced with the very real possibility of paralysis and he vowed to change his ways if he beat the cancer. He survived a precarious operation and began to transform his land into an organic farm.

In 1990, he was again faced with health problems. He took his healing even further and became a vegetarian.

In April 1996 Howard became somewhat of an infamous celebrity. In an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he made startling remarks about beef production and mad cow disease. This led Oprah to publicly announce that she would never again eat another ha...

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” —Steve Jobs

I think we can all agree that today’s world is changing at an accelerated rate. This is not some new age fantasy, it is very real. We need only look at the results of our collective choices over the past 100+ years to witness the breakdown of what no longer works. Consumption, competition, conformity, fear, judgment, and selfish indifference have reaped ugly repercussions – climate change, dying oceans, superstorms, rampant obesity, anxiety, depression, and addiction for starters. Sadly, the list is endless and we are all paying dearly for what never should have occurred in the first place.

Today’s cultural “leaders” are the villians who have paved the way for this breakdown. Why we bought into it is anyone’s guess, but the bottom line is that the time is ripe for change. There are far too many pressing issues to transform and we need to remain focused on the present so that we can create a future more in line with what our souls desire. By fighting existing structures from within the box that created the problems in the first place, we go nowhere. This is exactly what we’ve seen for years. Frustration and burnout at worst, incremental progress at best.

Fortunately, there is a compassionate movement involving a higher level of consciousness that is sweeping the globe. The players involved are everyday people like you and me who are fed up with a society that is hell-bent on its own demise. As I write in The Status Quo Crusher Revolution: A Call to Arms for the Emergence of Humanity 2.0:

“The new paradigm being birthed is emerging as a leaderless movement inspired by a collective awakening that no longer tolerates the absence of truth. As the old ways break down, we are clearly able see the liars and frauds of the power-based structures for the hopelessly lost souls that they are. It is not our job to save them. It’s our job to save ourselves by returning to the essence of our authentic humanity – love, kindness, courage, compassion, joy, service, truth, and action.”

Today’s solutions for yesterday’s problems are no longer based on the limitations of the thinking mind. Instead, they are coming from the vast reservoir of creative possibility that live within the human heart. Our role in the emerging new world is not to fix what is broken, but to embrace who we’ve always been meant to be and to allow the infinite powerhouse within to lead the charge for an entirely new way of being.

I am blessed to speak with beautiful souls doing beautiful things to expedite this transformation. The deeper I delve into this work, the more I see the intricate web of co creation that we are all responsible for. From my vantage point as one who is committed to exposing truth and inspiring awakening, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s really happening. The only requirement is to buck status quo and return to essence. That’s it. With the soul leading the way, we become an unstoppable force for paradigm shifting transformation which allows the creative urge in the heart to “do its thing” to create a better world.

This week I speak with my dear friend Paula Pyne who has created a unique service where she blends her background in business with her passion for yoga in a way that unites work with well being. This is a beautiful example of the creative urge doing its thing to make for a better world.

As she states on her website:

Many of us know that the way we are living and working does not reflect the lives we want or how we were meant to be. Burnout rates, disability claims, lackluster leadership, turnover statistics, and marital problems attest to this. In the workplace, engagement and productivity are the victims.

Last month I received an email titled “brain fart”. The sender was my mentor and wise friend, Louise LeBrun.

Confession: There’s something about the word “fart” that garners my immediate attention. The eight year old within still giggles every time I hear the word – or the actual sound. Needless to say, Louise hooked me with the subject line.

Since our powerful conversation in episode #36, I’ve been eager to have Louise back on the show. We finally set a date for early January – topic of conversation to be determined.

Louise’s brain fart was our answer.

Here’s a whiff of the inspired fart that literally blew me away (email excerpt):

“When we connect in early January for our conversation, it occurred to me that what is important to me as we move into 2015 is the enquiry:

What will it take to create a very different world?

With that enquiry, within, these three things came to mind:

* Waking up! My awakened presence is MY responsibility and no one else’s. If I am not awake/present/conscious/aware/etc., I am in that deep cultural coma…and the spiral descends.

* Staying awake! And there is no greater invitation to that than engaging fully with others. Each an aspect of my own consciousness, speaking to me that I might notice how else I might choose to live my life, today.

* Awakening others! My world demands more and greater than only my Self- and yet, without my Self, there is no possibility.

I think there is much there to be fleshed out.”

Needless to say, I was very excited about this email, and I am very excited about the subsequent conversation that followed. Louise’s brain farts are positively explosive!

All joking aside, I will tell you this – there is no fluff to be found in this week’s conversation. We go deep. We go wide. We get real.

The time has arrived to claim the truth of who you are. No more excuses. 2015 is the year of being seen, heard, and felt. We’re at a pivotal time in the history of our existence and collectively we are desperate for a revolution in consciousness.

This week’s show is all about swallowing the red pill of truth to discuss:

* Waking up – and staying awake.

* Knowing the awakening.

* The rage, fear, and terror emerging from today’s societal breakdown. How these feelings can be utilized in an empowering way.

* The importance of self trust.

* How we can only “do” as a reflection of who we are “being”.

* What is authenticity?

* How to connect to our authentic self every day…with one powerful question.

* Replacing judgment with discovery.

* Authenticity with grace.

* How authentic conversations facilitate awakening.

* How the more we feed our evolution, the hungrier we become.

Louise’s work has transformed my life. I have a deep respect for her body of work and I’m grateful to call her friend.

Get ready to expand your worldview because it’s time to wake up and become the powerhouse you know yourself to be!

SHOW NOTES:

* New Paradigm – New World. Awakening the Quantum Biological Human. The innovative and inspiring multi-media book experience that will change your life!

* Layers of Discovery blog post by Louise.

* Whispers from Within: Writing for Self Discovery podcast with Louise.

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Confession: I am not a personal growth, self-improvement, how-to kind of person.

I believe that the self-improvement movement has caused more problems than it has solutions. I also believe that this is the primary reason why so many people in the world today have mastered the spiritual/new age/personal growth lingo (and they know all the cool memes to post on Facebook) – but they’re still a mess on the inside. In other words, they talk the talk, but the walk still fills them with pain.

You know how it goes, talk is cheap. On the other hand, practice makes perfect and actions will always, always, always speak louder than words.

Much of what is offered in today’s personal growth/self-improvement world is comprised of various methodologies aimed at trying to fix or improve what is perceived as “broken” within ourselves. Essentially, we’re set up for failure from the get-go by starting from a place of lack where we believe that we’re deficient in a way that requires some sort of miraculous technique or affirmation to fix us. This ensures that we continually search outside of ourselves for what we will never find. What we’re really after is right under our nose – literally – bursting from within our hearts desperate to emerge. We don’t need to fix anything. We just need to open up to the truth of who we’ve always been.

When we shift our perception and move through life from a place of wholeness and allow ourselves to expand from there, this is when we experience true growth.

What I’ve learned from my dabblings in the personal growth world through the books I’ve read and the workshops I’ve taken is that alot of the “how-to fix myself” stuff only made me feel worse. I felt disillusioned and confused about who I was supposed to be (always be love and light or the boogeyman will rain on your parade), how I was supposed to think (always be positive or you’ll attract negative crap into your life), and how I was supposed to feel (if someone makes you feel like shit, it’s because they’re mirroring something deficient within you). Really?! Fortunately it didn’t take long before I was pissed off enough to just chuck it and embrace all of me instead – warts and all. Liberation!

Sure I meditate, spend time in silence, live compassionately, choose vegan, and live lightly on the planet. I give a damn about life for all living beings – including myself. I do my best to live as mindfully as possible and aim for love as often as I can. But the state of the world pisses me off and I don’t plan to just sit around in a coffee shop griping about it. Instead, I get off my butt and do something about it. My righteous anger motivates me towards action that is aligned with my deep desire for a better world. If I bought into the personal growth mindset, anger would be a flaw to be “healed” or “fixed” and I’d only end up loathing the part of myself that drives me towards love. Screw that is what I have to say!

Alot of the how-to methodologies trap us in a perpetual cycle of looking outside of ourselves for techniques, strategies, and answers that only distract us from discovering our truth. The truth of who we are exists within – it always has and it always will be within – waiting patiently to be activated by something as simple as an inspired thought.

This is why on this podcast you will never hear me telling you how to live your life. In your heart, you already have everything you need to engage your greatness. This show is about bypassing the cultural conditioning that keeps you trapped in feelings of deficiency so that you embrace the truth of who you are – a perfectly whole being of light with a few rough edges that only enhance your unique magnificence.

In this week’s Unplug podcast, I have the honor of speaking with a man whose passion for crushin...