People Who Suffer

"It" can seem terrifying. "It" can seem overwhelming. "It" can cause us a lot of suffering. Seeing "It" from Understanding changes all that.

We live in a time where everything (and everyone) is getting labeled. This is absolutely not helpful in our pursuit of happiness or at least our pursuit of less suffering. Language is a great indicator of what we're thinking and it would serve us to be much more aware of our own language. The first thing to do is cut back on our tendency to label everything.

My delightful bride, Jilly joins me for a convo about what we learned from our pantry remodel and the powerful metaphor of the spiritual pantry we all have.

Burning man was a huge news story a couple of weeks ago and it just so happened that my friend Landon was there and joins me for a fun and insightful take on what happened, what could have happened, and powerful things we can learn from a wild experience!

A very important personal relationship had taken a turn that left me sad and it wasn't going to change on its own. I found myself being really protective of my feelings and what might happen if I texted or emailed and didn't hear back. I could have continued to protect my identity, but I didn't. Here's what happened.

I talk about a near tragedy with my son, Jacob, and a tragedy that occurred in my family when I was young. The short answer as to if tragedies are avoidable is yes. The impact that knowing they are avoidable can have on our lives is indescribably valuable.

In this episode, I revisit a story from when I was really young and didn't know how to see things any differently than the way I did. I dig a little deeper in that experience and share a valuable insight that would have changed so much about how I saw myself and life. It will work for you too.

Haylie shares her story of change over the last couple of years. The sound on my mic didn't work out well but please listen because Haylie is who you want to hear on this one!

Another guest appearance from the fantastic Morgan. We discuss lots of things on this but mostly the fact that inner work doesn't really exist. It may feel like work to access what's inside us, but if it does, we're doing it wrong.

Relationships can be challenging. They can be the greatest source of suffering in our lives. They can also be the greatest source of joy. There is one thing that will influence the success or failure of committed relationships more than any other thing.

Why? Lots of reasons that are all tied to the same reason. Also, maybe they don't and we just don't know it.

Steve Chandler is one of the greatest Life/Personal Development/Business Coaches on the planet. He is the author of close to 40 books, one of the world's best public speakers, and one of my best friends. I am honored to have him join me for this conversation and I think you'll hear lots of valuable things in it. 

You'll love this guy and what he shares! He is a life-long friend, a phenomenal Coach, a world-class magician and a pretty decent basketball player. He's so funny, intelligent, thoughtful, inspiring, and many other things. You can find him at @BlackSheepThinking on IG and online. Enjoy!

In this episode I talk about a metaphor that I absolutely love. It has helped me understand what it is to live in the moment better than anything else I've ever known.

Chronic mental stress is the root of all mental illness and the source of suffering. We think it's just a necessary part of our experience and we all have to learn to cope with it. There is another way.

Chronic mental stress is creating an epidemic of mental illness and that makes perfect sense because it is the mental illness. It's completely understandable that so many of us are suffering with chronic mental stress and it's also completely unnecessary. 

We have really come to appreciate that living in the moment creates a more enjoyable experience of life than living in the past or the future. But what does it really mean? What is really happening? Why does making an effort to "be present" have an impact on our experience and how would truly understanding what's going on have that impact be profoundly simple? That's today&apos...

You can mentally process thoughts, feelings, and events, or you can allow your mind to quiet and understand them instead. Both produce results. One is far better than the other.

People often have real resistance to believing that everyone is doing the best they can. But we/they are. It's called Psychological Innocence. We, and I mean all of us, can only live from our level of understanding at any given moment. Low level of understanding=pretty unpleasant experience of life. The cost of living disconnected from understanding can be really high. From brutal relationshi...

We find ourselves in suffering and want to find a way out. The way we choose will have a monumental impact on the directions of our days and lives. Understanding the difference between choosing pleasure as a way to feel better or finding a truer source of happiness is really important in helping us get what we all want. We all want to feel better.

My daughter Jaci joins me for a very impromptu conversation to help me with something I suffer with-a very bad relationship with social media. We cover this a little but end up straying all over the place. She's delightful and I loved this convo.

We worry and obsess over what people think about us. Of course we do. It's the natural go-to move of our identities. We judge ourselves constantly. We worry about others judging us. None of it is necessary or helpful to our experience of life. How do we get it to stop, or at least become less of a source of suffering? It's easy, actually.

The biggest barrier to experiencing pure emotional and mental freedom is the inability to comprehend that it's possible. It is possible. For all of us. Here are a few simple stories of how change occurred for people I've worked with and the value of that change in their experience of life.

Rejection can feel horrible. It doesn't have to. It can be a gift that opens the door to seeing what we couldn't see before.

This is a simple conversation around identity and the role it plays in mental suffering, along with just a glimpse into the unnecessary nature of that mental suffering.