Aware Relaxed Connected

In this episode I am interviewing Gabriela Gutierrez who has been deep in both a practice and scholarly investigation of mythology, particularly based in ancient greece. We talk imaginal, and the balance of the rational intellect and irrational relationship to the living animate world. Gabriela runs a Substack called 'Under a Fig Tree' and also has a bunch of online study options on her website. I...

A semi rant/call for clarification about martial arts and what they actually do and what to keep an eye on if you're after real martial capacities. I don't consider myself a martial artist, but I do use a lot of martial drills as cultivation tools, and I have enough insight to understand that traditional drills are not effective unless you're also doing a whole lot of actual fighting (which I'm no...

In balance and opposition to the previous episode, this episode explores the opening of potential, and the link this has to dreams, growth and a drive that takes us forward in life. Modernity treats dreams, and many of its associations like the realm of the imaginal, as childlike and immature. This leads to many people being stuck in a life that inherently frustrates and irritates them. Connecting...

In this episode I discuss the benefits of cultivating density in the system. It's an in depth look at how condensing practices can really help most of the problems people in the modern world experience these days: it can help you know who you are, where you are, where you're going, where your boundaries are, what you need and don't need, and prevent you being possessed by group thoughts or peer pr...

In this episode I interview Adrian Cannovo, a friend of mine who is a practitioner of an internal martial art called Yang Mian. Adrian is one of the real deals of Internal Chinese Martial Arts, and has worked as a bouncer as well as honed his skills in real MMA bouts. In our talk shares his experiences and insights into the martial arts as he sees them, including some of the more esoteric aspects....

In this episode I answer some questions from listeners on the topics of tension, ADHD, coherence across many topics of practice, emotions and more. If you're keen to get on the patreon, you can support me by buying me a coffee each month, or getting on board with the practice of the week. www.patreon.com/AwareRelaxedConnected If you'd like to check out my latest online course on the spine, you can...

In this episode I am interviewing Denis Poisson, host of the Youtube Channel 'Foolish Fish'. Denis has a long standing practice of magic, and on his channel he spends a lot of time both reviewing esoteric books and presenting basic orientations and practices for all to enjoy. In the episode we dive into magical practices, pitfalls, how magic can't be proven, and Denis shares a story of the event t...

In this episode I interview Jackson's (from episode #010) teacher Damo Mitchell. This was the first time I had met Damo, and we had a good chat about his approach to Neigong. His public teachings have inspired my work quite heavily, and I find the way he explains things is very clear. Some of his cuing and framing was instrumental for me in passing some of my own sticking points and improving my o...

In this episode I interview my friend Nil Teisner who teaches an approach to movement and soft acrobatics he calls Finding Flow. It's a bit of a change up from the previous episode, getting back into the territory of the value and need for a good old fashioned physical practice, and the many benefits that one can bring you. We cover quite a bit of ground, including soft acrobatics, falling, intera...

This is an episode I hesitated putting out for all kinds of reasons. This practice is something I mostly keep to myself as a personal thing but I'm getting more and more people contacting me about it so I figured it's time to let the cat out of the bag. In it, I explore the idea of what it means to relate to an animate world that is magical and responds to all kinds of ritualized actions. It's abo...

In this episode I talk about the nuances and intricacies of internal practices vs visualization based practices. In some systems, visualizations are used to provoke a change in the body, in others it is recommended to stay away from visualizations and stick to direct awareness of physical sensations. I actually use both modes of practice, but for very different reasons (and outcomes). When you hav...

In this episode I interview my friend and fellow cultivator Jackson Collings. When I asked him what he wanted to call the episode, he said "Daoist Bro Down" which is pretty apt, we basically spend the whole time geeking out about the finer points of cultivation from the Daoist perspective. I spent a little bit of time prompting Jackson to talk about the difference between his previous explorations...

In this episode I talk about some approaches to the how & why of creating a daily practice. More easily said than done, as we often run into the fact of non-perfection in our practice when we keep it up every day without end. So many days will not be perfect, so many days will not allow the time to do full suite of practices you want to do. How do you keep it going despite these hindrances? Th...

It's time for the non-dual episode! This week I am talking about this topic that is a rather tricky topic to talk about. When we start leaning into these principles, the mind can easily grab hold of it and use it to excuse a whole bunch of gnarly behaviour, and we obviously don't want to end up like that guy. Nevertheless, it's a topic that needs to be broached, as it's talking about how we relate...

In this episode I interview my buddy and fellow cultivator Ramon Castellanos. Ramon has a colourful history, from being raised in a family with an ancient animist lineage to working in a wolf sanctuary, and throughout this time he has engaged in practices of magic, devotion, rewilding, natural movement, human domestication, internal and external martial arts, and deep meditations. We talk about th...

Want to support the podcast? Join my patreon right here: https://www.patreon.com/c/AwareRelaxedConnected In this episode I dive into my approach to understanding the mind. It's a tricky beast, and it's worth spending time getting to know the tricks, how they work, and the various ways they might appear. Beyond this, I also discuss an approach to gathering the mind and how the orientation towards h...

Want to support the podcast? Join my patreon right here: https://www.patreon.com/c/AwareRelaxedConnected In this episode I interview my good friend Soisci Porchetta. Soisci has a wealth of experience, she's a former women's world champion Thai kickboxer, trained in the inner circle with Ido Portal, learnt traditional Indian meditation and Yoga, and has dived deep into the philosophies and practice...

In this episode I dive into some of the aspects of the 2 main qualities which form the heart of my approach: opening and releasing. But what do I mean by these words? What dynamics do each of the concepts point to, and how are these dynamics realized in different ways depending on the context? The next question is why...why train in this way, why go to all the effort? I explore how this process ca...

I have a Patreon now! If you'd like to support the podcast, head on over to https://patreon.com/AwareRelaxedConnected In this episode, I interview my good friend Joe Fairleigh. Joe is one of those guys who is both masterful at his arts, and super humble and down to earth. He has been a cornerstone for many other people I know, helping them find stability and meaning in their lives. I'm super stoke...

In this episode I take a bit of a deep dive into the topic of orientation and motivation. Why do we train what we train, what do we believe we are going to get from it? Often people will use terms like "to get well/healthy/fit" but these terms mean such different things to different people that it's worth clarifying for yourself and understanding the lens you're looking through. This is all tied t...

In this inaugural episode of the podcast, I introduce the tone of my approach to self cultivation and the basic pillars that make up my current curriculum: Physical Cultivation Internal Cultivation Cultivation of the Mind Cultivation of Relationship to Reality as a whole I also take a quick tour of my history to see the main influences on this approach and hopefully set the context for everything...