Eyes Wide Open Life Podcast

A must-listen for anyone interested in how the stories we tell shape the lives we lead and the societies we create. Whether you're looking to better understand your own place in the world or seeking ways to impact the broader societal narrative, this discussion will provide valuable insights and practical tools for navigating the complex interplay between myth and reality. This episode is a recording of a talk I delivered at The Walled Garden Philosophical Society in August 2024, in which I explore:The Influence of Historical Myths on Modern Identity: How do ancient stories and cultural narratives continue to shape our beliefs and behaviours? We uncover the threads connecting past mythologies to current societal norms and personal identities.Authenticity in the Age of Social Media: In a world dominated by digital personas, how can we reclaim our true selves? We discuss the challenges of maintaining authenticity when online platforms encourage conformity.Awakening to Personal Agency: What does it mean to 'awaken' in a culture steeped in preconceived narratives? We contemplate the process of recognizing and asserting our individual sovereignty within the emergent tapestry of societal roles and myths.Navigating Cultural and Psychological Landscapes: How can we help ourselves and others navigate complex cultural narratives? This conversation provides insights for those guiding others through the labyrinth of societal expectations and self-discovery.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

"If yoga, breathwork and meditation are the way to establish the internet connection and improve the clarity of that connection, BEYOND THE MAT is the way to upgrade the operating system, upgrade the browser, download new updates and create a new map by which to explore the boundless internet of human potential."This Episode outlines a game-changing and proven approach to holistic self-mastery tailored for those navigating the pressures of urban life, corporate demands and general overwhelm. We discuss the necessity for us to embrace practices and modalities that take us "beyond the mat", to empower us in our efforts of wellness and personal growth, complementary to, not replacing, essential technologies such as Yoga, Breathwork or Meditation, but using those as starting points for journeys of self-awareness and self-knowledge that are informed by psychology and neuroscience but remain approachable and digestible enough for us to become the debuggers of our own complex operations systems. "Beyond the Mat" is a project that leverages the foundational benefits of Yoga, Breathwork, and Meditation to address the deeper complexities of our personal narratives. It enhances self-understanding and upgrades our internal dialogue, giving all yoga practitioners a new dimension in wellness practices. SUBSTACK ARTICLE:https://eyeswideopenlife.substack.com/p/beyond-the-matENQUIRIES:rocco@eyeswideopenlife.orgSOUL SPEAKING EXAMPLE:Close Your Eyeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP1ps4rI62UJUST BE LIKE THIS TODAY EXAMPLES:Forgiveness: https://eyeswideopenlife.substack.com/p/forgivenessDaring to Dream: https://eyeswideopenlife.substack.com/p/daring-to-dreamSign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

This is a recording of a teaching session on the online platform created by Eyes Wide Open Life called myMojoDojoLife.com. It is a session that would be very relevant and meaningful to everyone right now.The main theme of the session was the troubling invitation to consider how our entire lives have been described in the language of the Left Brain, of sterile facts and details, that are actually too small to accurately describe or define our fuller and deeper experience, and by refusing to hold the other side of that conversation, the one about our Hero Journey, our personal Mythos, the language of Imagination, we actually cauterise and abandon our vitality and essence along the long road.The dedicated practice I mentioned at the back end of that recording can be found here: REFRAMING YOUR STORY (YouTube)Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

"You are the crowning emergence of your own process."This is a recording from Just Be Like This Today!This is part of a series of daily invitations to grant yourself permission to drop all your other nagging ‘Musts' and ‘Shoulds' about self-improvement, personal development and living a virtuous life. Just enjoy this one cup of Living Wisdom, just choose this one thing and sit with it today.Shame is the mind virus of our society, accidentally arrived at, as a result of tribal survival mentality designed to optimise for social cooperation. If you inspect closely any modern virtue, any fear you have, beneath all the masks, you will encounter the parasite of shame.Self-acceptance is not about being worthy by some universal standard; it is about becoming your own worthy leader precisely because no one else is coming. We are all imperfect. And all any of us can do is commit to the code that says “As soon as I know better, I do better.” You start from where you are with what you have.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

A thousand times the waves will come and a thousand times you must say: Not Today!This is a recording from Just Be Like This Today!This is a daily invitation to grant yourself permission to drop all your other nagging ‘Musts' and ‘Shoulds' about self-improvement, personal development and living a virtuous life. Just enjoy this one cup of Living Wisdom, just choose this one thing and sit with it today.The real trick is to invest the lion's share of your energy and attention, not for what seeks to unmake you—the silence from the gallery, the old stories of inadequacy—but rather on how resilient you are in holding together and mending, and the blessing of your life for making you so. You are either riding the waves, being tossed by the waves or you are perhaps making the waves. Either way, there will be waves.Every wave you ride becomes a wave you make!This episode includes a reading of my masterpiece of encouragement called Not Today!Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

Opening the cage, and taking flight...This is a recording from Just Be Like This Today!This is a daily invitation to grant yourself permission to drop all your other nagging ‘Musts' and ‘Shoulds' about self-improvement, personal development and living a virtuous life. Just enjoy this one cup of Living Wisdom, just choose this one thing and sit with it today.You get the dream you live, if you aren't daring to dream your own dream, you are living someone else's. Maybe that's why some of it feels like a bad dream?Overwhelm, Burnout, Depression and Anxiety are some of the Body's ways of waking up the Heart, out of the bad dream, and getting the attention of Attention into the dawning Reality of what is Unfolding and what is Possible.This is a 13-minute exploration of the essentiality and practice of Dreaming.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

The Power of an Examined Life.This is a recording from Just Be Like This Today!This is a daily invitation to grant yourself permission to drop all your other nagging ‘Musts' and ‘Shoulds' about self-improvement, personal development and living a virtuous life. Just enjoy this one cup of Living Wisdom, just choose this one thing and sit with it today.It helps to think of your life in packets. There was the packet you spent in the womb. There was the packet of your infancy, then the toddler packet, and so on. In a way, this last cycle you have been through was a packet. And if you are open to the idea of renewal, it means you will be getting ready to pick yourself up and face a new cycle, a new packet. To live an examined life then, implies that you have to look back, and examine the packets of your life. How far back, is up to you. Your heart will tell you what magnitude of death and rebirth you are facing right now.If you want to move forward you have to plan forward. If you want what you have never had, you must do what you have never done. You need to look back to see forward more clearly.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

On Being okay with Not Knowing...This is a recording from Just Be Like This Today!This is a daily invitation to grant yourself permission to drop all your other nagging ‘Musts' and ‘Shoulds' about self-improvement, personal development and living a virtuous life. Just enjoy this one cup of Living Wisdom, just choose this one thing and sit with it today.Trying to figure life out is like rummaging in a sack trying to pull a mystery object out, that you are looking for, without knowing what it is. Having a phone in your pocket means you never get to sit with a question and let it nag at you. You have become used to having instant answers on tap. You have normalised the abnormal.The recording is a short guided reflection on the necessity and power of Sitting with Questions, even ones that do not have ready answers. —there is a way that you can shape the hand of your grasping mind as if it knows what it is trying to grab and draw out. Sometimes the way you are holding a question is exactly what will make the answer evade your grasp. This is what the Zen Koan means: Not Knowing is Most Intimate. A Koan is in fact a tool used in the Zen tradition that poses a riddle or question, that is not meant to be solved. The work, if it can be called that, is done in the interstitial space of uncertainty.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

Forgiveness is both the province of the well and the door to wellness. You will notice those who struggle to forgive, struggle also to be well.This a recording from Just Be Like This Today!This is a daily invitation to grant yourself permission to drop all your other nagging ‘Musts' and ‘Shoulds' about self-improvement, personal development and living a virtuous life. Just enjoy this one cup of Living Wisdom, just choose this one thing and sit with it today.Forgiveness is always so much less about someone else than it is about you. And yet paradoxically, only when you hold the same wish for the other person to also be made again both whole and free, do you find a way for yourself to be both whole and free.If the wound is great, we will have to let it go many times.The recording is a short guided reflection on the necessity and power of Forgiveness. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In this episode I discuss Actualization, unpacking what I mean by this, and the Power of Permission, which we need to give ourselves, to pursue our intents, to take mastery of our life and our choices, to enter courageously into a conversation with the Universe and with the reality of our lives, where it becomes okay to 'fail', so that we can learn, grow and develop.Indirectly I also discuss in some detail what the entire project of the Eyes Wide Open Life podcast is about, what my motivations and intentions are, and what my main thesis in all of my work is, which is found throughout the @rocco.jarman humanitarian art project on Instagram and the Courses and Coaching I deliver via Eyes Wide Open Life. I also cover:feedback loopsself-measurement and reflectionradical honesty and vulnerabilitypeerlessnessthe false attraction and pursuit of wisdom vs the more authentic project of actualization and discovery of selfIf you take nothing else away from this episode, this is the part i hope truly lands:I believe, and in many ways, Iam living proof, that the pursuit and attainment and the successful negotiation of all the obstacles that stand in the way of self-mastery and self-liberation, is at bottom, psychological.  That is, our pursuit or failure to achieve connection, is as a result of the ideas we carry, ideas we have been infected with through conditioning, the ideas we have failed to challenge and correct in ourselves.  Ideas about love, acceptance, forgiveness, worthiness, power, belonging, divinity, and consciousness, are the ideas we need to get straight, and redundant impediments like shame, guilt and the confusion between Fear and Danger, between Pain and Injury, between Discomfort an unbearability, that discernment, is KEY.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

Looking with genuine care at the source and nature of conflict in Palestine."It is entirely possible for two sides in a conflict to both be guilty of separate and irreconcilable transgressions that do not justify either nor balance each other out."This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and resist the urge to form quick opinions. With the understanding that conflict cannot be resolved through one side being right, we aim for a transcendent perspective through which everything can be held and reconciled. Our focus is not just on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, but on conflicts that manifest in various forms—be it emotional, political, or otherwise.Most of all, it is part of a mandate we each need to consider and own to be open to this necessary form of generosity and courage, in a word Leadership, whereby can live up to the claim that we care more about a path to peace, than we do about retribution and vindication.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In this episode, my guest Rowan shares his insights on an much needed culture shift and prevailing leadership paradigm in business. His views and wisdom are visionary, pragmatic and quite overdue and we take a thoughtful and immersive dive into the nature and culture of corporate business, covering both strident critique as well as what better might look like. Rowan is a specialized consultant for CEOs. With formal education from Berkeley University and Harvard Business School, Rowan has honed a unique set of methodologies aimed specifically at enhancing CEO and Leadership performance in Business. Aside from his extensive experience and impressive professional resumé, Rowan holds an unflaggingly positive perspective on the potential of business, viewing it as an evolving masterpiece. Rowan's LinkedIn NewletterLockStep GlobalSign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In Conversation with Daniele Bolelli. Danielle is the host of the incredible History on Fire Podcast. We get together from time to time and discuss the state of the world, our moment in history through the lenses of our individual and shared philosophies.Daniele is wonderful conversationalist with a discerning eye on both our complicated human history and our troubling present moment.We discussthe uniqueness of our shared moment in history,the general state of apathy that we find in company and conversation,dogmatic ideology,ideological capture,identity politics,our default psychological models of adapting to social challenge, andthe disturbing trend of mass appeal of content and opinion on streaming services and the internet in general. Daniele's links: https://linktr.ee/danielebolelliSign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In conversation with Agatha Nowicki, Hollywood actor, writer and soulful human caught at the very edge of the war for the human soul, playing out in the current battle of the writers' strike, sparked by the motions of the streaming platforms and the power brokers in Hollywood and Silicon Valley as they move to further disenfranchise artists and creatives in their ongoing quest for 'more'.We discuss the strike, Agatha's own calling to vulnerability and expression through art and what the toll the unfolding madness is having not just on her own life, but on humanity.We share our shared and private experiences from our recent walking tour in Ireland where we met as well as the rude return to 'normal' as we both struggled to integrate that powerful and transformative experience.We also discuss the Murmuration project.To Follow Agatha's work:Instagram: @agaloves, @asilentkind Substack: A Silent Kind of Light IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2063520/Credit for the photography goes to Bodi Hallett, pictured at the end of that pier reaching out into Lough Inagh, is Agatha, contemplating the vastness.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

The episode brings to light the hidden struggle faced by creatives, thought-leaders -anyone who is looking to share their gifts with the world, who are increasingly outpaced by the algorithmic machinery and soul-dead formula of online engagement and marketing. With my wonderful guest, Karna, we reflect on the startling reality of the tech industry's escalating race to maximize engagement at the expense of soul, in the arms race of human attention we encounter in online marketing today.My guest is a talented and powerfully aligned human being who is challenging and re-engineering everything we think about marketing, how to approach it, how to execute and how to operate from a place of unwavering integrity and alignment where real creativity can blossom, where sincere connection can flourish, where it is fun, and where everyone wins.Karna is the champion and midwife of engagement ecosystems based on sincere connection.  This long form conversation and what Karna has to share, is well overdue in the world right now.Please follow Karna: karnalivnau.comKarna's substack: karnalivnau.substack.comKarna's Instagram: instagram.com/_alignmentmarketing_Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

As a society, we faced and struggled with the reality of mental illness long before it dawned on us, the crucial necessity for practicing Mental Health. In the same way, we have been living with the reality of spiritual illness long before it dawned on us as a species, the crucial and long overdue necessity to prioritise and practice Spiritual Health.The project of mental health is necessary, but comparatively small. The invitation via Spiritual Wellness is so much deeper and vaster. We are so much deeper and vaster than we imagine. We are so incredibly empowered right now. We are standing on the threshold of Tomorrow.This podcast episode is about the advocacy for the necessity and relevance of Spiritual Health and wellness, and how it is at the heart of all our Crisis of Meaning.The message is: Take care of your spiritual health and your mental health will take care of itself. Recconnect with your sense of 'Soul' and your sense of meaning, of vitality and belonging will be found.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

"Who do you think you are?" is a complex question that reveals multiple dimensions of our self-perception, societal expectation, and the interplay of power dynamics. It questions our self-identity and the perception of others, highlighting the gap that often exists between the two. It underscores our tendencies to perceive the world, including others and ourselves, through subjective lenses. This statement is reminiscent of Anais Nin's perspective that our understanding of the world is a reflection of our own selves.Echoing Socrates' sentiments on the worth of an unexamined life, this question prompts us to self-reflect and introspect on who we believe we are. It prompts us to question the source of our power and the need for external validation.Implicit in this inquiry is the accusation of arrogance, which can stem either from one's inability to accept their mistakes or from others' reluctance to accept one's correctness. Hence, having the courage to voice your truth, ensuring your self-awareness, welcoming challenges, and discerning the value of others' opinions, are vital steps in authentically answering this query.In asking "Who do you think you are?", we are invited to confront and reconsider our own self-conceptions through honest self-exploration.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

50th Episode.The term "soul" is often misunderstood due to its broad and varied interpretations across different cultures, religions, philosophies, and even individual beliefs. It's a concept that's both deeply personal and universally applicable, making it prone to a multitude of definitions and meanings.The 'soul' is an innate, essential aspect of our existence, which has been overlooked in the face of societal and technological progression. This spiritual neglect has resulted in a sense of disconnection, isolation, and depletion within individuals and society. The 'soul' is the reservoir of spiritual health and the source of deeper meaning, symbolic understanding, and a sense of real connection to the broader universe.However, the world we live in is predominantly dictated by the more egoic (and egotistic) perspective and the logical thinking of the left brain, overshadowing and disconnecting us from our 'souls', causing a deep crisis of meaning and spiritual illness. The potential for healing and reconnection lies in reawakening our 'souls' and restoring balance in our lives. The unfolding of our 'soul' is a continual process, parallel to the constant unfolding of our lives.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In this episode we explore the deep and troubling implication of Breaking Promises, something that we believe defines everything noble about us, but also something we learn through life's seasons, is an inevitability. Promises have seasons which we cannot sustain without cost to ourselves and to the people held in the chains of those promises.This episode continues the Ending Cycles arc of the last 4 episodes.Our promises hold us, and the other person, to a place and a season, which we cannot contain without chaining us, and them, to a static smallness.  Our Promises are absolute and binding and cannot endure in a relative and changing world, and we break ourselves and limit ourselves in trying to keep them.We look at the skilful way to release ourselves and other people from promises, with grace and the better way to define our commitments to our loved ones, to ourselves and the world; Making Agreements, and letting there be Terms.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In our ongoing arc of shorter episodes processing necessary endings to make way for new beginnings, we look at the reality that some people are not open to growth or the level of self-honesty we need for connection and security. Sometimes reconciliation fails when the other person is not ready to have that level of conversation or that level of self-ownership.There is still a way to process this with grace and compassion, as much for yourself as it is for them. We cannot please our way to happiness, and we cannot hold space for the weakness in others forever without incurring a cost to our own projects of growth.  Sometimes we have to choose ourselves.This episode explores the way to find closure in that unfolding circumstance and how to Let Go and Walk Away. Anything that does not bring us alive, is too small for us. Goodbye, I cannot love you, because you never were a friend to me.Goodbye, I cannot keep you, because you were unsafe to yourself.Goodbye, I cannot care for you, because I cannot love you the way that you expect me to love. I can only love the way that is true in my heart, and for all the light I can wish into these eyes, I cannot see how you are true in yours. Goodbye,I cannot hold for you,Because you are weak in the placeswhere I choose to be defenceless.Goodbye,I cannot trust you, because you are so reliable, to be the same as this, on any day,when the wind stops blowing your way.So reliable, to raise the flags of victimhood when we should be taking turns, adjusting the sails, adjusting our course,and toiling at the oars. Goodbye.I cannot love you, because.Because you don't care for my 'because', and yours has taken up all the room in our shared harbour.Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

This episode explores the art of this ceremonial necessity of Reconciliation - and how it is possible only if it is mutual, but that we can lead with the invitation.In a second of a 4 part series on ending cycles, and the ceremonies of closure and processing we need to observe to allow ourselves to fully move forward.Reconciliation is not about trading forgiveness, it is about Understanding. It's about acknowledging our past actions and working through the consequences they have had on our relationships. It requires courage to recognize our own failings and willingness to improve upon them. It is not an act performed in solitude, but rather, a willing dance between two, stepping in rhythm with one another.We never get taught the art of reconciliation. It is an art, and its canvas and easel are acknowledgement of the human experience of the other, and an acceptance of the necessary relationship between boundaries and healing, and of the appreciation of relative perspective.My FriendMy friend. I do not ask you for forgiveness, nor for an apology. In that currency, let there be no farebetween us. I do not want for forgiveness, for I must forgive myself.Do not ask me for forgiveness;it was our great mistake to believe it is another's to give. I will tell you what it is that I want,what my heart truly desires,it is reconciliation;between me and the all, and also between all things with each Other.And I see fit to begin here, between you and I. To be reconciled, we would earn and give the blessingof being seen more fullyand thereby understood. Being that it always was ever and only ignoranceand painthat lead us to the first wounding and the first spite. And I would know that you are no longer ignorant, because I feel that I am not.I have learned firstly that we are not always right, and that even when we are, we are not always kind.And secondly, that good walls make good neighbors,but the boundary needs careful mendingfrom both sides.And I would make a stile between your fieldsand mineand with you, share its keep. And I would know,that you, by grace,learned how to hold the pain you were given to carry, or perhaps how to let it go.Because i know that I have. And most of all,there are treasures and keys and secrets and rare signsand gems of humour that of all the people on this wide earth, I can only share with you. © Rocco Jarman , March 2023Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In this deeply personal episode, I invite you to delve with me into profound themes of loss, transformation, forgiveness, and personal growth. Drawing from my own experiences and reflections encapsulated in a powerful piece I wrote about forgiveness, which is not just a bunch of words, but a vehicle that many friends and clients have found profound utility in, in their own journeys, getting ready to let go of who we were and what got us, here, and those we loved and who loved us into the person we are today. We look into the heart of the human experience and the transformative power of letting go.The episode reflects on the essential role that loss and tension play in our personal transformation. Together, we explore the profound notion of "I release you, so that you may release me," discussing the interconnectedness of forgiveness, compassion, and self-love.We unpack the concept of wholeness, not just as a state of being but as a gift that we give and receive. As we each embrace our unique paths, we learn to honor our scars as symbols of resilience, carriers of understanding, and harbingers of transformation.Join me for this soul-nourishing episode that promises to leave you with a newfound appreciation for your personal journey and the transformative power of release. As we journey through a thoughtful exploration of love, loss, and growth, we are reminded that we are free, we are whole, and above all else, we are human.Loss is a necessary part of change, change a necessary part of Growth.The secret aim of all tension is Transformation.Transcript of PRAYER FOR LETTING GO:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfAv4hvVKW/Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

The core of the episode covers the idea that our work, our healing, our growth, begins with us. It is a powerful call to action. It advocates for the transformative power of self-understanding, self-compassion, and love in facilitating personal growth and meaningful relationships.- The first in a series of shorter episodes, transcriptions from my work I have been trickle-feeding via Instagram for some years, in the project of self-ownership, and self-directed evolution.We also cover the drag-down effect of social media and any other low-brow relationship or environment and the responsibility we have to curate that. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

An invitation to the MojoDojo, a session I ran to break away from the tedium of learning and lessons, a session is devoted to stopping, to leaving things alone, to coming to stillness and opening ourselves again to the Invitation, to the Deeper Conversation. We spend our hour together in reflection.We explore the idea of Rewilding: a concept of honouring the process and grace of Nature, letting a place alone so Nature can re-establish itself. We come to a stillness, like coming to a sacred well, not to drink from an outside source, but to drink from our inner wellspring, even as we fill it with our allowing, and our being.Secretly we are all longing for Belonging. We are in a desperate search for Meaning and Purpose. And we fill every space and every silence with urgent questions and hurried answers, and we end up taking shallow sips, and brushing right past the deep and ancient wellspring from which our true sense of nourishment and belonging actually stems. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.comIf you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

A thought-provoking insight about the enabling technology of AI and Machine Learning, and how, so often the way we walk through change and unfamiliar terrain has more to do with our stance and less with the very narrow question of whether it is good or bad.We discuss how humans tend to immediately nucleate into camps and talk in convicted charged ways about things we don't take the time to fully understand before forging an opinion, and tend to miss a broader perspective on the issue than the simple binary of whether it is good or bad.If you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

In this reflections episode, we examine two prosaic pieces from my new book Keeper of the Flame, a Message from Tomorrow (available on Amazon) These two pieces, under the titles, Letters to the Vigilant and Letters to the Sensitive, offer a strident critque of the current divisive far-left and far-right political signal and the state of dysfunction we are encountering in how those signals are boosted into social media to engage and madden the crowd.The first piece explores the human obligation of listening to diverse voices and engaging in constructive dialogue, even when we disagree with them. It criticises the power of the mob, of cancel culture on both sides of the ailse, how the silencing of dissenting opinions and warns of the dangers of groupthink and mob mentality. The second piece urges specifically the woke, and the religious fundamentalists, to become resilient enough to face life's challenges with strength and compassion, while cautioning against becoming too sensitive to the words and ideas of others. It also warns of the dangers of those who seek to gain power through the persecution of others. Together, these pieces challenge us to move beyond the divisive rhetoric of the far-left and far-right and instead, promote open-mindedness, critical thinking, and respectful dialogue.If you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

Eyes Wide Open Life has just made a new friend in the form of the energetic and beautifully aligned Mike Murphy!Mike is a human being that has known deep loss, self-destructiveness and disconnection, and his journey from there to here has yielded many great gifts which he shares as his life's purpose.Mike joins me in conversation to discuss a successful no-bullshit approach to manifesting and attraction outlines in his new book  "the Creation Frequency".Aside from being an authentic and accomplished author, speaker and coach, Mike is also an entrepreneur of necessity and a hands-on philanthropist, my favourite kind of human!  Mike's 'why' is the most attractive thing about him, and it powers a number of incredible 'hows':He's also the co-founder of the Love from Margot foundation, which helps cancer patients get the alternative treatments they need. We also discuss his newests initiative which is the hugely impressive Mountains of Hope retreat facility in Colombia, offering a pathway to personal healing and transformation profound that is actually holistic.If you are interested in a month free trial, go to mymojodojolife.comemail info@eyeswideopenlife.com

My guest in none other than Daniele Bolelli, the host of the popular podcast "History on Fire" captured beautifully by its tagline: Whether you like history or not, if you care about bravery, wisdom, passion, larger than life characters and some of the most emotionally intense moments in human experience, Let's set History on Fire.In this episode we talk a bit about history but probably more about the present moment, and Daniele's insights on the dysfunction of social discourse and political process in America.It is a warm and intellectual conversation which enthusiasts of philosophy and current affairs will find engaging.With any luck, there will be a part 2.Daniele Bolelli is an Italian-American writer, martial artist, and university professor, and an accomplished exponent of all three. He is known for his work in the fields of history and philosophy. He is a year older than me, he comes from a family of artists and intellectuals. Daniele has a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion from the UCLA, and has taught courses on the history of religion, philosophy, and the martial arts at various universities. Daniele is the author of several books, including "On the Warrior's Path," "Create Your Own Religion," and "Not Afraid."  If for some insane reason History is not your jam, you can make contact with Daniele's philosophical conversations on the Drunken Taoist podcast as well.http://historyonfirepodcast.com/https://thedrunkentaoist.com/Join Rocco's virtual Dojo: https://mymojodojolife.com/      Or follow Rocco's other work at: https://eyeswideopenlife.orginfo@eyeswideopenlife.org

A recording from The Enter the Lionheart Podcast with Host Lawrence Dunning.The Enter the Lionheart Podcast is a passion project of entrepreneur, MMA fighter, marathon runner and author Lawrence Dunning, engaging with dynamic and interesting people who have a relationship with both success and adversity, in various fields of endeavour.In this Episode Rocco is interviewed by Lawrence, sharing some of his backstory and what led him to a life of striving for meaningful answers.We are all focusing on how to live a great life and how to minimizing regret; the fascinating concepts of actualized potential and grieving the loss of the opportunities of youth, which is something that I have been thinking a lot about.Rocco's new project is helping people find their mojo in life. In Rocco's words: “After years of intensive study, evaluation, trial and error we arrived at a core of profound yet pragmatic insights…We have distilled the best of all the courses and practices into weekly lessons and other powerful resources for our community, enabling them to level up steadily and sustainably in all the key areas of life that matter to us.”Join Rocco's virtual Dojo: https://mymojodojolife.com/      Rocco is also the host of the Eyes Wide Open Life Podcast: https://eyeswideopenlife.org

This is  Reflections Epsisode on the topic of Generational Trauma.Generational trauma can be understood so simply by the fact that every child is too busy waiting to hear "I'm sorry" to understand the power of gratitude and every parent too busy waiting to hear "thank-you" to understand the power of apology.To paraphrase Fred Rogers: "So many people have helped us both, have loved us into being", to be here in this moment, as we read and reflect on this together.For more reflections like this visit mymojodojolife.com 

This Episode covers our human fascination and obsesession with Messiahs and Gurus, we talk about how the phonomenon comes about and Rocco gives a cutting critique on two of our popular celebrity figures Elon Musk and Jordan Peterson.The episode discusses at lenth the Messiah trope and the origin of the most famous one in the west namely Jesus Christ and some surprising facts about the origins of the trope, and the high likelihood that the story of Jesus, and the gospel and the canon of Christianity, that it The New Testament, is all the product of opportunistic propaganda designed and executed by the Romans to subdue the Jews and establish order across the Roman Empire.

A Reflections Episode covering three spoken word pieces I have uploaded to the Eyes Wide Open Life YouTube channel recently:The PilgrimWe Bring Each Other MedicineThey Might Have Told Us.Reflections episodes are designed to slow us down and bring us into the private secret of the present moment, a change for contemplation to connect with something which exists both deep within us and also far far beyond ourselves.I also include a reading of the Opening chapter Preface of my upcoming book GameChanger, A working hypothesis on life, consciousness and the potential of human existence.There are other great pieces loaded up to the Eyes Wide Open Life YouTube channel and also another 5 Chapters of the Game Changer book to preview.info@eyeswideopenlife.orgEyes Wide Open Life Podcast is a member of The Walled Garden (TWG) network family of podcasts.thewalledgarden.com/rocco-jarman

My guest this week is Andy Schmookler,  prize winning author, speaker and former radio talk-show host and former Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia and the author of several books on his articulate and well elaborated theories on the Human Condition, how we ended up as a species in such a state of dis-ease and turmoil and how the forces that shape our current dysfunction were inevitable and are still addressable.Andy has lived a life dedicated to his cause of sharing these insights with the past two generations, a charge that arrived one fateful day 50 years ago, to which he has invested his life fully and left nothing on the field.As you will hear, Andy was struck by much the same lightning bolt that I once was, and drank from something of the same aqueduct of insight that I recognise.  Our languages are a little different, and we have a few key differing intuitions about human nature, but I have taken the time to read portions of Andy's work and he is articulate, intelligent and pointing to something that is undoubtedly worth noticing.    The result of his efforts were 6 books, which had some reception but less than Andy expected and less than it rightly deserved.  We are a distracted species, living in overwhelming time.abetterhumanstory.orginfo@eyeswideopenlife.orgEyes Wide Open Life Podcast is a member of The Walled Garden (TWG) network family of podcasts.thewalledgarden.com/rocco-jarman

This week I am joined in conversation with Avigail Gimpel.Avigail is a mother of 6, college lecturer and author of Hyper Healing - a book dedicated to educating teachers, coaches and primarily parents of children with symptoms that would fall under the blanket diagnosis of ADHD. My guest  is a voracious relentless researcher, who has a gifted husband and 6 gifted children all on the spectrum and is committed to leaving no stone unturned in her quest for deeper understandings and solutions -  Something you will hear come out very clearly as we meander enjoyably through our conversation.We Discuss:Instant gratification type personalitiesLiving with ADHD Kids or PartnersThe flaws of the Education SystemThe Importance of DietThe false diagnosis of ADHD as a condition The wide array of ADHD symptoms with varying underling causesOur personal journeys of Actualisation require self-acceptance and integration through Inner Child Healing.  So many of us are struggling in our life paths, in relationships, in careers that simply do no stimulate us, or feel alien in a culture that seems filled with other people who seem more well-adjusted to all those things than we are.  Ultimately all of us except the absolutely vanilla core of the mainstream, are on the spectrum, one way or another.  The entire human species is undergoing individuation as we transition into the next phase of evolution.   A big part of understanding ourselves and taking ownership of our own inner child and accepting our nature is captured in the core of this conversation.As a culture we have spent the last 30 years trying to work out how to fix children that were not adapted to the traditional academic K12 education model.  The kids were never broken.  An education system that expected children to sit still for hours at a time and learn by wrote was always woefully, outdated, inept and was in fact the problem that should never have existed in the first place. Education after all is the lighting of a fire, not the filling of a cup.The book  Hyper Healing is subtitled The Empowered Parents Complete Guide to Raising a Healthy Child with ADHD Symptoms.  Hyperhealing.orgEmail: info@eyeswideopenlife.orgWebsite: eyeswideopenlife.org

This episode is an edit clip from The Walled Garden Podcast where I was a guest recently.  The interviewer is a collaborator and friend of mine, Australian Poet and Philosopher Simon Drew.As you'll hear from this interview Simon is a thoughtful host who is incredible at holding space for rich and meaningful conversation. We discuss:The project of bringing Mysticism and Science together intelligently and elegantly, without doing a disservice to either.The nature of skewed incentives and how that has affected public trust of institutions and degraded public discourse.The daring leadership of asking difficult questions, sitting with paradoxes and how important these are in the service of progress and evolution of consciousness.Actualisation, and what that can mean for both individuals and our species as we stand on the brink of an impossible moment.The kind of trouble the human race is facing, the tendency towards fatalism or apathy, and what we can do about this in the context of self-ownership and what it means to come from Love not from Fear.Simon is the founder of The Walled Garden - a global community of philosophers, artists, and seekers who are dedicated to the pursuit of Truth, Wisdom, Virtue, and the Divine wherever they may be found.Simon is also the host of The Walled Garden Podcast, the flagship of a growing network of podcasts centring on topics ranging right through the spectrum of the humanities, including philosophy, theology, mysticism, mythology, poetry, history and spirituality, a community I am planning to become an active part of.Email info@eyeswideopenlife.orgConnect with me on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/rocketsprocket/Checkout my YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAhHg8lI-GbAFL9cPtLxMFg

This episode is a direct and unfiltered window into a revision week of the Eyes Wide Open Life Alchemy Program.The audio for this episode one of the recent fortnightly group call with the participants and it is a summary of everything we have covered and been practicing to date, wrapped up in one clean lesson which provides clarity, context and inspiration for how to engineer a life of meaning and fulfilment.It is completely unedited, but he message is so relevant and poignant that a few of the members of the current working group taking part in the alchemy program encouraged me to release this on the podcast.  I reached the end of 2021 quite burnt out and I sat  just before the new year to work out where I had gone wrong, and what I needed to do to never been in this position again.I don't believe in resolutions or ambitions. I believe in Actualisation and Integration, Being and Becoming, and meeting the road along the way, I believe in leadership and coming from Love, and I believe in practicing stillness and mindfulness.I distilled all of my philosophy, my understanding of human behaviour, biology, metabolism, and all my spiritual sensibilities and worked out how to follow that with Authenticity and how to teach other people to do that.  The result was the Alchemy Program.The Alchemy Program is a 6 part program that runs until mid-June.  It is based on a combination of Agile principles and the philosophy I apply in my own life to pursue a life of purpose and meaning.  The context to help orientate to what you are about to hear is that the Alchemy program logo is a honeycomb hexagon, a six sided cell, with each side representing one of the six focuses: Make Space, Invest Well, Honour the Cycles, Transmute  Energy and Story, Receive More to Give More and Live my Purpose.  The results are phenomenal.  The chaos and drama and over spend of energy has been replaced by steady cadence, a time for everything, clear focus on short and near term objectives and a total paradigm shift.  The Alchemy Program prescribes the What we need to do, the Way we need to do it, the How and Why it works and the guidance on When to invest energy, when to go with the flow and when to withdraw.Email info@eyeswideopenlife.orgConnect with me on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/rocketsprocket/Checkout my YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAhHg8lI-GbAFL9cPtLxMFg

In this solo episode we cover two insights around the Depp Heard Trial that firstly would not have occurred to most people, but also which I believe have implications to us as society, especially given the mounting mental health crisis and the rapidly deteriorating forum of public discourse and specifically the farce of Social Justice movements and the sentiment supporting it.  We discuss from a psychological and philosophical perspective how this is the natural end to a destructive cycle and what that could mean for our future.We also discuss:how the Pandemic evaporated off the news cycle,the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the power of Propagandathe Will Smith Slap at the OscarsElon Musk's bid to buy Twitter and remediate public discourse onlinethe psychological power game of the Victim and Social Justice paradigmsthe psychological effect of Redeemers and ScapegoatsThe normalisation of dysfunction.I also share details of the exciting upcoming event with Sarah Elkhaldy on the 18/19 May.More information: eyeswideopenlife.orgEmail: info@eyeswideopenlife.org

The renowned creator of the perennially popular cafeausoul.com, and always young at heart Kari Hohne joins me for a discussion on Taoism, Poetry and the language of Jungian and mythical archetype. We explore the paradox of Being and Becoming, of acceptance and above all the power of connecting with and living from a place of Authenticity.  We discuss what Kari has learned over a lifetime of exploration and practice in this area has revealed, about what oracles and even our dreams can teach us if we learn to listen. Kari is the author of seven books  on using music, dream analysis and ancient traditions in the context of self-help. Kari's translation of the I Ching has been developed and available for years now as an Online oracles, and a key source of inspiration and guidance to thousands of people daily.  - - - - - If you want to explore working with me or are interested in the upcoming Online Event please visit the website: EyesWideOpenLife.org Enjoying the new format, the new look of the podcast, got any feedback or questions?Email info@eyeswideopenlife.org Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/rocketsprocket/YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAhHg8lI-GbAFL9cPtLxMFg 

I am joined in conversation with acclaimed mediator and peacemaker, and exceptional human being Doug Noll.Doug is the author of several books on the subjects of De-escalation and Emotional Competency.  He is the co-founder of the Prisons for Peace Project the recipient of countless awards from his 22 year legal practice and more recently with his work in Peacemaking and the Prisons for Peace initiative which is now running in several countries.Doug is an inspiring, warm, compassionate, intelligent and highly driven individual with a lot of wisdom and insight to share about his areas of extraordinary skill and expertise, namely Emotional Competency, and how to master one's emotions.  Above all, Doug is authentic. Doug and I discuss his life of overcoming significant disability and adversity, a childhood of neglect, his successful legal career, subsequent awakening, grief, connecting with purpose and specifically how finding your purpose does not have a time-limit.   Doug's WebsiteEnjoying the new format, the new look of the podcast, got any feedback or questions?Email info@eyeswideopenlife.orgConnect with me on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/rocketsprocket/Checkout my YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAhHg8lI-GbAFL9cPtLxMFg

"What is this thing about? What is Life about? How does this work? What is this game we're playing?  How can I best play the game? How can I get what I want out of it? How can i make sure I am living the life I am supposed to live?"These are the questions that drive my guest.This episode is an inspiring conversation with Nic Gregoriades, author, entrepreneur, elite men's coach, senior instructor at Subconscious BJJ in North Hollywood and host of the popular and rising podcast The Nicholas Gregoriades Show.Nic's Life is an authentic lived example of the idea that success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal and he is infectiously passionate about rejecting a life of mundanity.  We discuss Nic's worthy ideal of being a consummate student of life, embarking on and embracing the adventure of life.  We cover topics like regret, pursuing purpose, leadership, actualisation and the power of decisions. Nic is also the author of the book Aligned - The Modern Mans' Guide to True Health, Wealth & Fulfilment. His ethos is captured by a quote of his:"All of Life is Story, you might as well make it a good one!"Email info@eyeswideopenlife.orgConnect with me on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/rocketsprocket/Checkout my YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAhHg8lI-GbAFL9cPtLxMFg

In conversation with Sarah Elkhaldy, someone with the rare and sincere blend of true understanding, authenticity, emotional intelligence and a mature and total lack of confusion about their own intentions, which are the essential pre-requisites for identifying true teachers.We draw attention to the esoteric depths which lie just below the surface of superficial understanding of the mainstream.  Together we unpack Energy and Energy healing, Consciousness,Cosmology,Alchemy,Oppression,Domination andWar.Sarah is a mystic, spiritual teacher, and spoken word performing artist.  Sarah has described herself  as PR for spirit, and is exceptional at what she does.  Sarah is widely known as a leader in the field of Spirituality and the Esoteric Arts.Sarah is also the first lady guest on the podcast and as can be heard throughout the episode someone I have a lot of time for.The Alchemist YouTube ChannelThe Alchemist Energy Healing Websiteinfo@eyeswideopenlife.org

I am joined in conversation with Australia poet, philosopher, musician and Podcaster Simon Drew.  Simon and I began speaking in regards to the promotion of his new book The Poet and the Sage.  Simon shares two beautiful readings with us from the book.We cover some of Simon's work, I share some of my own and we discuss the experience and the calling that leads us through journeys of awakening and the paradox of simultaneous blessings and burdens one is asked to assume along the way.Simon and I have significant overlap and convergence in our areas of vocation, namely Poetry and Philosophy, and some interesting areas of digression namely academia and theology, but as you will tell, Simon has a humility around submitting himself to the process of a masters degree through academia, finding ways to challenge the limitations and find the room for creative expression within those boundaries.  As you will tell Simon has developed his previous intuitions very much within the context of Christianity, but again, as you will hear he has the heart and the mind to plumb the universal essence of that wisdom, and diplomatically but earnestly sidestep the dogma and haughtiness that usually typifies the Christian domain.Simon's Podcast: The Walled Gardeninfo@eyeswideopenlife.org

This is an episode which I have spent a long time biting my tongue about;  the sticky, polarising topic of the Pandemic.  In this episode I do not to tell you what to think.  I do not even want to tell you exactly what I think.  I tell you how I think, and try and persuade you through reason, not emotion, that this is the better way to think about all of this.It is a long episode, but honestly, if you have just spent the last two plus years of your life feeling frightened, angry, confused, controlled, stifled, disconnected and completely unsure what the f$&# is going on, what is 90 minutes between friends?  This is exactly the kind of investment of time that makes sense right now.  The endless arguing in the public sphere cannot resolve itself, and is invariable going to just get worse, and the dysfunction of public discourse has dire consequences.  How many friendships have you already lost to other peoples or your own commitment to an idea, the edges of which it turned out later were not so firm?  How many family conversations have been strained or broken because of a failure of reasoning and critical thinking, yours or theirs?  There is no other thing to be doing with our time and attention right now.email: info@eyeswideopenlife.org

In Conversation with Logo Designer Author and Professional Creative James Martin.James and I discuss the role adversity plays in growth, the power of 'failure' and how to enjoy the improvement process, in your work and in yourself.James is an easy-going conversationalist that knows his subject matter and himself, very well, he doesn't take himself or his work too seriously, but is at the same time very passionate and committed to the work he does, to self-development and to growth.  James has some refreshingly honest insights about the outdated dogma of the design industry and academia on the subjects of creativity, design, collaboration and expression.  James has a great eye for looking at our present moment, and the unflattering face of our society which we call the the internet, and some thoughts on how to go about challenging that in positive and constructive ways.The pre-amble of the episode includes some housekeeping and exciting announcements around key upcoming projects at Eyes Wide Open Life and programs the listeners can join.IG: @made.by.jamesWeb: themadebyjames.comBook: Made By James

A short bonus episode on my commentary of the brilliant, timely and disturbingly accurate movie Don't Look Up starring Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio.If you replace the apocalyptic disaster scenario in the movie, with any number of possible alternatives, (man-made or otherwise), but you keep the perfect-storm of compounding dysfunctional anti-synergy of terribly incentivised Science, Journalism, Pop-journalism, Social Media, Pop-Media, Politics and Capitalism amplified by an apathetic ignorant population; you have yourself a prescient documentary of how our civilisation will end.This movie is a showcase, like a documentary almost of how our civilization will end.  It is no longer a question of if, it is now a matter of when.   There is not a single issue people can agree on, and everything they disagree about can be further influenced by misinformation, people's lack of critical thinking and general ignorance on how to read and process information, in order to arrive at facts.  

Discussing Crypto, Blockchain and Brokering Trust with my guest and dear personal friend Lawrence Dunning.Lawrence and I share a mutual concern about the mounting global crisis, a perfect storm, a coming together of a number of severely neglected issues around disparate wealth and equality, climate concerns, failing education, failing healthcare, failing political system and most importantly a failing forum of public discourse.Join us over a long (2 hour) discussion as we explore what it is, what crypto is, and how they can help us change the future, without bloodshed.  We dispel many myths and provide a mix of relevant technical detail and everyday language to shape the discussion and hopefully broaden your understanding. We take a while to lay some foundations, but be patient, the content and insights are extremely rewarding.  And right at the end, I will share all the links and resources Lawrence mentions during the episode.My guest Lawrence is entrepreneur, family man and concerned citizen of the world, living in Chicago in the US.Lawrence has an MBA in Finance, began his career as a derivatives trader, a ten year he was very successful in, during that decade eventually starting and ultimately selling his own trading business, to focussing on a 5 year career as a professional martial artist.  Lawrence hung up his professional gloves and became a now successful real estate dealer in Chicago, and hosts his own engaging podcast called Enter the Lionheart.  In Lawrence's own words, his is not an expert on crypto, but at this early stage of the game, there are no experts.  It is all too soon, and is all happening too fast, and the maturation of this space is happening outside the narrow confines of academia.We discuss the every growing need for our awakening to a shared understanding of how important co-ordination is, and the means to broker co-ordination and the underlying system of trust that would be required to achieve this.  We talk about what blockchain is all about, what crypto currencies are, why there are good and bad ones, and why we both believe, it is the future of trust and consent.Books and Podcasts Mentioned:The Internet of Money - Andreas M. Antonopoulos. A solid introduction to the phenomenon of Bitcoin and other decentralized digital currencies focusing more on they WHY rather than the HOW.Hard Money you can't F*ck With.  Why Bitcoin will be the next global reserve currency - Jason A. Williams.  A great read for anyone new to Bitcoin and wanting to understand why it is relevant.The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking  - Saifedean Ammous, an more detailed academic look at bitcoin and cryptocurrencyLex Fridman Podcast - Episode 231 - Alex Gladstein - titled Bitcoin and the Fight for Human RightsLex Fridman Podcast - Episode 171 - Anthony Pompliano - Bitcoin

An episode of virtual communion with a great soul, Oscar Perez, who is, as you will discover, a consummate communicator. One quote pinned to my Facebook page is: "You think you seek fire; you seek gravity - the fire is already within."Oscar is an exemplar of both fire and gravity.  He is undoubtedly a keeper of the sacred fire, with much to share, much to teach, and moreover, he has done the work in himself, and so he comes at the work with authenticity, stillness and a warm sincerity that is disarming and reassuring, especially in our troubled times.  Oscar is a true kindred spirit, a self acclaimed Alchemist and Spiritual mentor, and as evidenced in the conversation, someone who easily lives up to those titles.We discuss shadow work, spiritual awakening, dark nights of the soul, and a new concept which we coin a term for right here in the episode: Long Dark Winter of the Soul.We discuss archetypes, naïve notions from many would-be seekers, enchanted by the trope of the Hero or the Warrior, where sometimes, the more adult, less glamorous truth, is that it is the anti-hero in us, that needs to do the boring tasks of sticking with discipline, and making the lasting changes in our life.Oscar's Website: tendingthefires.comOscar's Medium.com Articles: medium.com/@hightechtoltecOscar's Instagram: instagram.com/tendingthefiresQuestions and comments: info@eyeswideopenlife.org

I sit down with Roy Dean for a conversation covering Zen, Dharma, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the umbrella of 'allowing what is', accepting the seeming imperfection, of where we are now.Roy Dean is a 3rd Degree Black belt and highly regarded BJJ Instructor, and the creative mind behind several popular and utterly unique online repositories of articulate instructional content, subtly infused with philosophy, and a touch of the Zen mindset which Roy ascribes to.We start off in what is familiar territory for Roy, which is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and we come back to it many times over the hour, but primarily we discuss the Art of simply being, the courage to be ourselves against the groundswell of noise and influence.Roy is the author of two books, "The Martial Apprentice" and "Becoming the Black Belt."https://roydeanacademy.selz.com/item/thecollectionhttps://www.roydean.tv/Any questions about the guest, other episodes or the upcoming Accepting Your Nature course email: info@eyeswideopenlife.org

In this Reflections episode we visit the classic treatise on Stoicism by Rudyard Kipling, in his timeless Poem IfThis episode explores themes ofself-initiation into Adulthood for Men (and Women), self-leadership and actualisationthe messages we wanted to hear from our Fathers, the message we want to share with our Sons and Daughters, and the way in which we need to make a stand regards generational trauma, no matter where we may have failed in the past, and decide that it does no go past us.No One Else is Coming.The Guided Meditation Series on YouTube mentioned is: Guided MeditationsIf you would like a piece covered in a reflections episode, email: info@eyeswideopenlife.org

What is Stable Mutual Actualisation and why does it matter?Why do I do this podcast?  Why does Eyes Wide Open Life exist at all?Why am I public-thinking, what is the art page for, why don't i just relax?  What's all the fuss about?Why did I not just become a Stoic, or a Buddhist, or a Taoist?Why is Love simply not the answer to it all?There is a very serious chance that things are going to get worse, more chaotic, more fast paced, more overwhelming and more dysfunctional.  Human nature brought us all this way, but our features have become bugs.This Episode covers the reason for this podcast, the outline and clear superiority of my core Philosophy for our time: Stable Mutual Actualisation.We are living in unprecedented times.  Our old ways are failing us.  Our systems and 'isms' are all failing.  We are incapable of reaching consensus, and we lack the effective means to steer away from the cliff of existential demise and become as individuals and a society, the very best possible version of ourselves.There are no Right or Only ways.  There are better and worse ways.  Stable Mutual Actualisation is not only a 'better way' it is a means to keep seeking out better ways, a philosophy designed to change, not designed to last.email: info@eyeswideopenlife.org 

The second Ask Me Anything episode."The answers we come to are tied to the questions we dare ask."We cover some really great philosophical questions like: If you had the entire world's undivided attention for 30 seconds… what would you say?How would you define progress Objectively for the whole Human Race?If you could have any one superpower, which would you pick and why?How much can we rely on our intuition in trying to make sense of all the argument and disagreement on everything in the world right now?We discuss Redeemers & Scapegoats, Evolution of the Human Species, Consciousness, Mind Viruses and Cultural Operating Systems and the inferiority of canned food!There is a quick-fire round of fun questions at the end of the episode.If you would like to ask any follow up questions, send feedback or submit questions for a future episode, we will be adding in weekly questions from folks who write in info@eyeswideopenlife.org