The Downward Facing Spiritual Spiral

I am really excited to welcome Nashville based singer/songwriter Troy Akers to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. I met Troy maybe six years ago at a music supervision conference in Santa Barbara and at the time, he was one of the members of the band The Co. Since then, he has gone out on his own as a singer/songwriter creating Bandit Heart . The music is much more cinematic, dramatic and lush with voc...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I felt inspired to talk about this idea of savoring and it came up for me after watching the amazing show Escape at Dannemora. You have to check this show out because it's one of the best TV shows I have ever seen. After finishing the show, I thought about how much I enjoyed watching it over a two week period because I felt like I truly lived with the show. I...

The Spiritual Spiral has reached episode 50 and I am so appreciative that you've taken the time to listen to the show and I have been so inspired by the process of creating a podcast, sharing my thoughts and getting to meet and talk to so many incredible guests. It's truly been life changing for me. Today, I felt inspired to talk about Serena Williams and the way she handled herself during last ye...

Today I am stoked to welcome LA based yoga teacher Madeleine Tiabldi to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. Maddy currently teaches full-time over at Sweat Yoga in Downtown LA as well at Hot 8 in Koreatown. She is originally from Manhattan, New York and she talks about what inspired her to move to Australia then to Thailand for a yoga teacher training and ultimately why she would up in Los Angeles. We t...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I wanted to talk about the huge earthquake we had this past week and talk about the day I had leading up to it. I talk about some of the anxiety I was feeling afterwards and how I was probably subconsciously reliving the experience of being in Los Angeles during the huge Northridge quake in 94. I also talk about this idea of being in control and why that may...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I talk about this idea of what it means to have an actual "conversation." Instagram wants you to believe a DM or a text or responding to an "IG story" constitutes a conversation but an actual "conversation" happens when two people are actually talking. I play a clip from Recode Decode where Instagram's CEO Adam Mosseri talks about what they're doing to create...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I welcome writer/actor and stand-up comedian, Menachem Silverstein to the show. Menachem is originally from Brooklyn, New York and even at the young age of four, he always had a gift for telling jokes and making people laugh. He talks about his Orthodox Jewish upbringing and growing up in a household with six brothers and sisters. He talks about what it was l...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I talk about our culture's insatiable desire or the expectation to have to always be "on." Everywhere I look, people holding their phones, always available or wanting to capture every waking moment of their lives to share on IG. It's creating a culture where people feel as though they always have to look happy or people think they have to be available 24/7. I...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I first talk about insecurity and I wonder if I could have handled a situation better or was I just worried what people would think about me. I try to make sense of the origin of my podcast and I also give some thoughts on the chaotic methods of communication. Texting, IG, What's App, FB messenger and voicemail. It feels like chaotic communication so is Seth...

Tonight on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I felt inspired to talk about IG and a Black Mirror episode called Smithereens I watched last night on Netflix. I also started to think of some odd cultural similarities between present day and the World War 2 Era and it made me wonder how easily manipulated human beings can be. Put a charismatic person on TV or on the screen of our phones and notice how qu...

This week, I welcome the lead singer of Seattle based Alt-band Among Authors , Ian Ketterer to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. I met Ian about 8 years ago when I was on tour in the Northwest and I was instantly impressed by Ian's stage presence, his voice and songwriting as well as his down to earth personality.  His band Among Authors is currently on tour during the next few weeks in the midwest an...

On today's episode, I talk about how IG is creating a world of egomaniacs and how people pretty much do whatever the hell they want with no regard to anyone but themselves. They may sweat all over your yoga mat and not offer to wipe up. People may even stand in the middle of the street trying to save a parking space and don't even care if they get run over by your car. And a famous pro athlete lik...

I watched When They See Us this past weekend on Netflix and I can't stop thinking about it. I've had my issues with Netflix in the past because I've felt they're really not writing high quality programs with strong characters or a focus on plot, but maybe my tune has changed. For now at least. When They See Us is so freaking well done and I also feel a connection to the show because my friend Aaro...

This week, I am excited to welcome musician/producer  Josh Onstott to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. Josh is probably best known for his work in the band Other Lives , which has gone on to tour the world as a headliner as well as open for Radiohead and Bon Iver. We sit down and talk about Other Lives, how they met in Stillwater, Oklahoma and what led to them recording their first record in Los Ange...

This week, I felt inspired to post an emergency podcast. An emergency podcast is when the insanity of social media takes over our culture at such a rapid pace, it leaves me no choice but to record a last minute show to discuss what's going on. Today, I welcome back Matt Dery to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. Matt is my go-to when sports and social media collide so we sit down and talk about the NBA...

This week, I am excited to welcome Austin based yoga teacher, Zoe Welch to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. I met Zoe a couple years ago when I DJ'd one of her yoga classes here in Los Angeles and right away I was impressed by her humility, fun energy, outgoing personality and her ability to lead an inspiring and freaking rad yoga class. Zoe currently teaches over at Wanderlust Austin . We obviously...

This week, I am stoked to welcome singer/musician and producer Kenny Zhao to the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. I met Kenny a couple months ago at a party in LA and right away we hit it off talking music, what it's like being an artist in LA and we also talked about the good and bad of social media. We continue where we left off and talk about music, growing up as an Asian American and what led him to...

After a two week vacation in Europe, I'm happy to be back to record a new episode of the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. Next week I welcome musician/producer Zhao to the show but for this week's episode, I felt inspired to talk a bit about my vacation, the importance of travel and how Instagram is a huge "downgrade." I'll also talk more about Recode Decode and a recent episode with Tristan Harris, I di...

On today's episode of the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, my cat Nellie joins me in the studio to celebrate my birthday and to talk about Kara Swisher , Cal Newport and how I think Instagram is turning human beings into robots and "brands." And that's probably not a good thing. Hope you enjoy the show! You can always support the podcast by visiting my Patreon page and as always, thanks for listening to...

This week, I welcome Paul Teodo to The Spiritual Spiral Podcast. Paul is a freaking stud and a rad guy and someone I really look up to and admire. Why? Because not only is he a musician and an amazing yoga teacher, but about two years ago, he and his fiancé packed up and left Los Angeles and moved all the way to Bali to teach yoga. How freaking cool is that?  Paul was anointed the best yoga teache...

This week on the Spiritual Spiral Podcast, I am super excited to welcome Andrea Marcum to the show. Andrea is an author, musician and yoga teacher based in L.A. where she teaches at Yoga Works West Hollywood and on Montana Avenue. She teaches online classes at Udaya.com and also leads teacher trainings, workshops and retreats all around the world. I discovered Andrea about seven months ago after a...

This week, I'm excited to welcome my friend Matt Dery to The Spiritual Spiral Podcast. I went to high school with Matt and ever since I can remember, Matt has been a huge fan of sports. So much so that Matt went on to become a well-known sportscaster and sports reporter in Detroit, Michigan where he currently resides. Matt hosts three sports podcasts including Locked on Lions  and he currently tea...

This week for episode 30, I am excited to welcome Colin Wright to the Downward Facing Spiritual Spiral Podcast. I met Colin a couple months ago when he was in Los Angeles on his book tour and he has become someone who truly inspires me and the way I live my life. Colin is a writer, public speaker, hosts a podcast called Let's Know Things , and writes a blog called Exile Lifestyle where he shares h...

In this week's episode, no guests lined up but I do get a quick visit from my cat Nellie which is always awesome for the show. After she says hello, I dive in and talk about why it's time to stop "liking" specific accounts on Instagram. The people who post model shots and pretty pics all the time and who constantly share their "perfect happy life" on Instagram. Yep it's time to unfollow them or st...

One of the biggest reasons I started the podcast was to shed a little light on why I think Instagram is ruining the world. Obviously, it's complicated but I've decided to record episodes where I give specific reasons on why I think Instagram can have such a negative effect on people's lives. There are so many reasons so I'll start by talking about the comparison factor and how introverts and the s...