Meditation teacher and 1 Giant Mind co-founder Jonni Pollard is interviewed by curious minds looking for insights on meditation and the wellbeing of our humanity.
In this episode show producer Dan asks the question- What was that covid thing all about? For more information- 1giantmind.com
The mighty Jez asks about increased sensitivity as he progresses toward enlightenment. Jonni reflects that as we become more able to process the data that our senses yield we increase sensitivity to detect ever more subtle layers of information.
Daniel takes the hot seat to make an enquiry about a seeming lack of abundance and limiting self belief structures. Jonni explains that not having the distraction of money can be a gift to help to refocus on what is actually most important.
Guest Haley asks about her spiritual practice of Speaking in Tongues now that she no longer practices in a religious setting. Jonni reveals that it is an intimate practice that can be a powerful tool in self development.
Josh jumps back in the hot seat to delve deeper into relationships, specifically how to know when you’re asking too much of a partner to fulfill our needs.
Our guest Bish asks for Jonni’s perspective on night terrors & sleep paralysis
Our guest Niko asks a juicy Q about how to interact with people that seem to be trapped in their story of victimhood.
In this episode Bini asks how to bring the experience of going beyond boundaries and being quite expansive in Meditation back into a relative and relevant form and follows up with a second question around the enquiry into- "who you are"?Jonni unpacks both offering a different perspective on a question that many are seeking to answer.
Our guest Jen asks what is the purpose of a committed relationship outside of procreation and what is the basis for cultivating a healthy and loving relationship. Jonni explains that relationships are the format for our deepest expression.
In this episode Julie asks one of the most important questions of the season regarding feeling overwhelmed and isolated because of divisive news and information circulating the internet. She asks how to best wake people up and Jonni sheds light on the un-sustainability of taking our life cues from outside of ourselves particularly from the news or online.
The next inquiry came from Vanessa and she asks Jonni to break down the different types of meditation in relation to the 5 functions of the mind and why practicing a being technique is so important as a solid foundation.Refer to earlier episode*
Our guest Damien asks Jonni about surrender and how do we let go when we realize something is no longer good for us? What unfolds is a discussion on the misconceptions around the ego.For deeper exploration see previous 1GM podcast episode #10 Meditation and the Ego.
In this episode Jonni’s mum Lesley Anne who had a 20 year career as a psycho-therapist and is now a Vedic Meditation teacher asks for his take on depression which unfolds a fresh perspective on what is set to be the biggest health epidemic of our time.
In this episode Josh asks Jonni exactly what he means when he says that the world needs more embodiment. What unfolds is an interesting conversation about staying diligent and vigilant with the process of unfolding our potential.
In this episode Stellios asks an important question regarding the awakening of humanity and wanted to know if nature will support us or the environment? Jonni elaborates on the role that Nature (creative Intelligence) takes creating circumstances that bring about the awakening of humanity.
Our guest Ashwin asks Jonni to share his perspective on the experience of Love as it pertains to unfolding our human potential through meditation and more importantly how to gain deeper access to our full expression of Love.
In the first episode of season 3 podcast producer Daniel asks Jonni to bring us up to speed on the history of 1 Giant Mind. Jonni reflects on his encounter with the Dalai Lama that shifted the trajectory of 1GM from a science based endeavor gathering data on mass meditations, back into the heart.
In our final episode of season 2 our guest Sarah asks about the importance of community and the role it plays in our pursuit for self knowledge, belonging and having impact in the world. Jonni shares his view of how community forms the basis for all of it.
In this ep our guest Shaunn asks Jonni’s perspective on using substances for accessing higher states of consciousness. Jonni shares a view of the pro’s and con’s the need to be honest about why we would trade them. Then Shaunn asks a bonus question for Jonni’s take on meditation reaching a critical mass in the mainstream. Both answers may not be what you would expect.
Our guest Rachael asks for Jonni's perspective on the lack of racial diversity in the wellness industry. Jonni welcomes the highlighting of the issue and encourages everyone to have the difficult conversations around creating equality in the world and then asks Racheal what she sees as a solution.
Our guest Harriet asks how do we break the habit of getting caught up in the doing so that we can come back to Being. Jonni explains that going against the mainstream requires being uncomfortable and requires diligence to resist the powerful pull of that current. He then shares about the power of action that is driven from a state of Being and the effect it has.
Our Guest Nat Brooks describes the challenge of being more conscious and aware in her workplace environment and questions if staying in her role in TV industry will slow down or stop her personal growth. Jonni points out that she is uniquely positioned to be a champion for change. Remaining in the place of need can actually accelerate and assist that personal growth but reinforces the need for her to be patient in her approach.
In this episode our guest Cimarra asks for some advice on maintaining a meditation practice while being confronted with the emotional turbulence that can come with working through past trauma. Jonni encourages Cimarra to remember the reason why we are meditating and points out that the first phase of healing and recovery can be the purging of emotion, stress and agitation. A key take away was the importance of being surrounded by community to support us in our experiences.
Our guest Lindon has been using the 1 giant mind app for a few months with great effect and asks Jonni what to expect from deepening his understanding and experience of meditationby learning with a teacher and how to bring the family along. Jonni offers insight into the intelligence that is structured within our awareness. How meditation enlivens our capabilities and the knowledge of how to fulfill our desires.
Our show producer Dan explains his familiarity with the way our thinking can seemingly create fear in the body more easily than love chemistry and asks, why are we afraid of love?Jonni highlights that it isn’t necessarily thinking that creates the body sensations that we refer to as fear, nor absolutely body sensations that create fear based thinking. He suggests the solution is the resolution which comes through acceptance of the thoughts and feelings whilst connecting to our deeper experience of Being within us.
Our host Skye Tipler asks “Why do I avoid my second meditation”. Jonni asks her to explain the reason she thinks she avoids it which reveals an underlying fear that becoming all that is possible might render her irrelevant in her role in life. Jonni unpacks the reasons why we self sabotage and place an upper limit on our potential such as fear of rejection or failure before explaining theexponential benefits we gain from the second meditation of the day.
Our guest Sam asks if we need to cultivate a level of non-attachment in response to the amount of suffering in the world. Jonni speaks about the need for us to stay connected and practice compassion in place of detachment, understanding that the individuals acting in ignorance are part of a larger problem and not the source of it. He also points out that contributing to the solution will set our frustration at ease knowing that we are acting to bring positive benefit to the world. Growth happens by transmuting our frustration and anger into positive action.
Rachael asks if her ability to witness her experience and quickly move through emotional difficulty with a knowingness that everything is going to be ok is preventing her from feeling on a deeper level. Jonni offers the perspective that if we are “doing the work” any suppression of emotion will be short lived and that if the intelligence of the body is suppressing emotion that it is for good reason. Rachael then asks a follow up question about the body struggling with stress while the mind is clear which leads to an explanation of evolutionary biology and our need to belong.
Our guest Emily asks for a clear definition of Enlightenment. Jonni describes Enlightenment as a knowingness of oneness and reveals the importance of this an experience directly and not just an idea to be contemplated on the level of thinking. He presents the concept of human awareness as being infinite in its nature and describes how we’re all working out how to be infinite while existing within finite boundaries. Racheal poses a very interesting connecting question, do we still feel emotions in an enlightened state?
Welcome back! Our guest Allie Oishi asks “If we are all at our essence, love. Why must we go through struggles, pain and suffering to find our way back to our nature of love? Jonni shares a perspective that this life is one of many on a journey to reveal the truth of who we are. Moving from a sense of separation into connection and unity of life. Jonni suggests that our personal suffering is an extension of the suffering that we inflict on the planet and it’s inhabitants. But zooming out further what we find is that it’s all a beautiful chapter of awakening on a global scale.
"What do you make of the generational shift?" asks Leslie Hoffman, President of the New York City Open Center. From Boomers to Gen Z, the range of students, teachers, and wellness practitioners has never been so diverse as today. But in the modern, stressed out world, holistic life has become a survival mechanism, rather than a way of enlightenment.
Has meditation been ruined by the mainstream? Alida Brandenburg, a daring brand strategist and former Director of Social Media at Refinery29, talks about the commodification of the wellness world. This is an increasingly relevant topic and Jonni delivers a response that trades the cynicism for an outlook of grace and personal responsibility.
Jesse Israel, founder of The Big Quiet and a certified meditation teacher with 1 Giant Mind, asks: Can you teach meditation even if you struggle with stress and anxiety yourself? Jonni explains that meditation teachers don't need to be perfected humans, because the role is not to sell perfection but to teach an elegant process of self-discovery.
Alida, a digital strategist and the daughter of a Zen Buddhist priest, inquires about how to live a life where we’re not attached to results but also still be someone who is ambitious and seeks to excel in their life, studies, and career. Does meditation inherently make us passive, or can it help us be passionate, dedicated, and even more engaged with the world around us?
How do we truly heal and recover after a period of self-loathing and self-harm? Aloynka, a Russian born journalist and television personality now living in the US shares her challenges as she recovers from a life-threatening eating disorder. The deepest truth emerges in the end and results in one of the most powerful and insightful 1 Giant Mind podcasts to date.
Alida Brandenburg (digital brand strategist, of a Zen Buddhist household) asks: in times of anxiety or depression, how can one still prioritize a daily meditation practice? We examine the way that personal goal-setting and resources such as friends, family, and even certified professionals, can give us the capability to keep our practice in difficult moments.
Can we change our thoughts with thought alone? Caroline asks Jonni what role meditation plays in shaping how and what we think. In this episode we consider the problems of over-identifying with the “thinking mind” and we explore how meditation leads to a deep form of human intelligence.
Leslie Hoffman (president of New York's Open Center) asks Jonni why we can't stop the chatter in our heads.
How do we remain positive and engaged when we’re around friends or colleagues who tend to rant or complain? Olivia is a Canadian lawyer who asks Jonni for advice on how she can maintain her cool and not become affected by people who tend to be negative. In the conversation, Jonni uncovers the truth of the responsibility we all have to each other and ourselves in these situations.
“If I’m not stressed and I’m a generally happy person, why should I meditate?” Nick DiMattina, a recent graduate of the 1 Giant Mind Teacher Training Academy and now meditation teacher explains to Jonni that he sometimes gets this response from people. As Jonni explores the topic with Nick, a deeper insight about why we meditate emerges.
The mind thinks and the body feels. But does the mind tell the body what to feel? This week's question is from Caroline Aulis, who prompts a deep exploration of maladaptation.
Our guest Caroline, a meditation teacher in training asks: How do we use the intellect in conjunction with meditation? Jonni first makes the important distinction between the intellect and intelligence and this provides a foundation for the discussion. The discussion makes it way through our relationship to our thinking and how meditation is an extraordinary tool that causes us to access our intuition, creativity, and sense of ourselves. Jonni explains how that after a regular practice we start to ween ourselves off the addiction of our intellect and the need to control everything.
When does sharing vulnerability cross a line and become exploitative? The most impactful leaders have overcome personal strife, and Jesse Israel is no exception. Once at odds with bouts of anxiety and depression, today Jesse is an influential community leader. Co-founder Cantora Records, signing bands such as MGMT and Francis and the Lights, Jesse now leads some of the world's most innovative mass meditations, through The Big Quiet & Medi Club. And certified as a meditation teacher by 1 Giant Mind, he asks: are there boundaries to how far a teacher should go in revealing their personal vulnerabilities, while teaching and leading others? The discussion opens up a candid look at the growing trend in the wellness world to be profoundly open and vocal about one's vulnerabilities. How much is too much? As a veteran teacher and community leader himself, Jonni provides thoughtful insight on how one can lead and teach in the most human way, without losing sight of boundary and student need. Taking the subject further, Jonni poses examples in which sharing vulnerability with students can be appropriate and effective. "Vulnerability is not necessarily power, but instead a gateway to it.” In response, Jesse talks about his own experiences and relates what a minister once told him: “share from the scar, not the wound.” Speak about your vulnerability from a place from empowerment, not of victimhood. This is a great episode for anyone trying to find that balance, as a teacher or as leader of any kind.
Why do so many of us get love wrong and struggle to find self-love? Lesley-Anne, a former psychotherapist now Vedic meditation teacher and counselor, and mother to Jonni Pollard, poses this important question. Jonni presents a new definition of love that bucks the common conception that love arrives "only when someone else loves you." Rather, love is our most fundamental nature. It's the spontaneous way we respond to life and treat others, so long as we're not overwhelmed by fear. Jonni suggests that love is a self-referenced phenomenon. Though it can elude us, it occurs within. In doubting our lovability, we disconnect from ourselves, and then from others. The conversation comes to a beautiful ending as Lesley-Anne shares her experience with clients and patients who integrate meditation into their lives, and how this is the backbone of self-love.
Caroline, a meditation practitioner, asks Jonni about the 1 Giant Mind Teacher Training Program and how she can incorporate teaching meditation into the coaching practice that she is developing. Her sincere inquiry about how to do this the right way starts a beautiful conversation around leadership, the role of a teacher, and our desire to help others. This is a great podcast for anyone considering becoming a meditation teacher while continuing their own personal development. Since recording this episode, Caroline has enrolled as a student in 1 Giant Mind's Teacher Training Program.
What is the point of meditation and is there a "best" kind of meditation? Ameena, a practicing Sufi meditator of 20 years shares her experience as a student who was challenged by a teacher who didn't agree with her open-minded perspective on meditation. The story inspires Jonni to explain the 6 categories of mediation and how each stimulates specific functions of the mind. Jonni suggest that meditation, in all of its forms, are processes of increasing our awareness and that it's a modern misconception it is exclusively about stilling the mind. The conversation ultimately reveals 1 Giant Mind's inclusive and sequential model to understanding meditation.
How do we reconcile our disappointment with people that may be great at marketing a life of wellbeing and kindness but not living it in real life? Liz, a marketing and communications strategist in the wellness space shares how she sometimes finds herself confronted by the inauthenticity and contradictions she sees in the wellness world. The question leads Jonni to help open up our minds to how we respond to situations when we feel disdain for someone because we believe they are being inauthentic or misleading. His practical advice provides tangible steps toward avoiding the trappings of being righteous while applying a constructive approach to how we can help elevate ourselves and others in the most loving way.
As meditators, do we have a responsibility to investigate the origins and history of meditation? Joey, a creative professional who discovered meditating after working on 1 Giant Mind's Teacher Training Programs, poses this question to Jonni as he seeks to have a deeper understanding of the practice. The question inspires Jonni's perspective on not mistaking the map for the terrain but also honoring our innate desire to understand the source of things.
How does meditation cultivate creativity, and how do we become intimately connected with how it works? Sofia, a Columbian-born brand strategist and designer now living in New York, seeks to understand the relationship between meditation and creativity. The conversation not only answers this question but goes deeper into the source of our primal creative instinct to innovate, and how our suffering is rooted in our resistance to this instinct. Jonni presents a new way of looking at creativity and also challenges the notion that some people are creative and others are not. The conversation continues with a practical look at exactly how some meditation techniques help us access and cultivate our own creative instinct.
How do we live a more meaningful and holistic life without disregarding or judging the rest of world? There's a growing movement towards minimalism and away from materialism but with this lifestyle shift comes its own challenges. In this episode, Rita, a stylist in the fashion world, shares her experience of weening herself off the addiction of status and possessions. Living in New York, she is confronted with how to co-exist in a world so consumed by so many of the things she rejects. Jonni reveals an entirely new, and a surprising perspective on how to reconcile this conflict while remaining true to yourself and your beliefs – yet still participating in society.
Is the ego a good thing or a bad thing? And what is the ego's role in meditating? Our guest Kenny returns for more deep questions around topics we don't always talk about. In this episode, Jonni shares his view on the ego's role in our pursuit for living our deepest truth. The discussion challenges some of the conventional thinking about our ego as it's often demonized and misunderstood. The exchange takes some unexpected detours and what results is a memorable podcast that gives some new insights on a very misunderstood subject.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
