Whole Phil

Hear this snippet from my appearance on Refractive, with Johnny Guidry, then go subscribe, and listen to the full episode (and ALL his episodes)! Subscribe to Refractive: https://refractivepodcast.com/ Hear the episode featuring yours truly: https://refractivepodcast.com/podcast/12-steps-heal/ Support Whole Phil by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-phil Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Whole Phil early April Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, and Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my twitch, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself.  I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil.  I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors.  Let's start the show. Today is Saturday, April10, 2021 and let me begin this show with an apology. It's been a few months since I've published and I'm sorry about that. If I'm being honest, I committed myself to doing the meditation series, and then fleshing it out became daunting and intimidating and then it paralyzed me mentally and creatively. And meditation should not do that.  I didn't think I could continue the show unless I stuck to my meditation series, and then I just got into this negative feedback loop.  While meditation is still very much a big part of my daily life, and has been for two years, I also am not ready to put this series together, I don't feel equipped just yet. When I started the series, there was a bit of the Dunning-Kruger Effect in play. Because I was doing so much meditation and already helping other people get more into meditation, I felt like I could do even more. If you've never heard of it before, The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a proposed cognitive bias in the field of psychology that states that people of entry-level experience with a subject underestimate the true complexity of the subject or skill and overestimate their mastery of the subject. It's the opposite of imposter syndrome where people with mastery of a subject or skill doubt their mastery.  I am not a master of meditation, by any means. And it will be a long time before I am. I hope to be some day, but for now, I still have some more learning to do. I have actually taken on new meditation teachers in order to do so in the right way. When it became obvious to me that I had no business, yet, recording a podcast series teaching meditation, I realized I had to abandon the plan, and return to my old format.  I do plan on returning to doing a meditation series in the future, but when I feel more confident in my ability to give the best direction to my listeners. Though I still encourage each of my listeners to do some learning on their own about how meditation can improve your life. I truly believe that it's life changing. For now I'm going to get back to just sharing whatever is on my mind, and back to a regular publishing schedule. I hope you're doing well, and thanks for staying subscribed in the mean time! I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover.  Follow my Facebook page, Phil Reese the DJ, or my Twitter, @reallyphilreese. My facebook page or my website is the best place to see when my upcoming virtual dj parties are coming up, like my new Tuesday and Thursday afternoon short live sessions, Club 45. And, remember, if you enjoy what you hear here, you can throw me a tip via Venmo, to help support me while I'm out of DJ work. My venmo is at phil-dash-reese. That’s at p-h-i-l-dash-r-e-e-s-e.   And, finally, remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together. Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-phil Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Set & setting I: get your space right Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter and my tiktok, and Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my twitch, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Monday, December 21, and we’re going to continue our talk about getting started with a meditation practice. This is the second in a whole new multipart series on beginning a meditation practice. In these episodes we will discuss the things a beginner to a meditation practice can do to make it worth their while.  Again, what even is meditation, anyway? What’s it do? What’s it for? How’s it done? What’s it like? Well, meditation is simply the practice of becoming intentionally aware of your thoughts and feelings and focused on how your mind is working. It’s basically watching what’s going on in your mind.  In order to watch what's going on in your mind, you're going to have to fully immerse yourself in it. And that means reducing or even eliminating all distractions coming from outside your mind. And at the very root if this is creating the right set and setting, or space and ambiance.  As I said in the last meditation episode, “To get started with meditation, you will need to find a quiet spot with minimal distractions and you should set aside at least 15 minutes at first. The idea is to quiet your mind for a bit, so the more you can minimize external sounds and scents, and keep lights at a calming level, the better. We can call this set and setting." The deeper into your practice you get, the more you will learn what works best for you for set and setting, but start we can begin with a few baselines. Ideally, you're going to want your practice to be flexible enough to do anywhere, any time you need it, whether that be on the train, at work, or even on a noisy plane, but for now, let's start in the space we tend to have the most control over: our home. You may share your home with several people, including children who may not understand why you would need a quiet isolated space, so adapt these tips so they work best for your situation. But you should be able to find somewhere in your home that isn't the bathroom or the kitchen where you can be left alone for awhile. This is your ideal space for meditation. If there is no such space in your home, then a bathroom or walk in closet will have to do in a pinch, or maybe you have to even leave your home and find an isolated park, an empty church, or a local library. Wherever you go to meditate, though, make sure you're able to be comfortable sitting still there for awhile. You don't need anything but yourself to meditate, but some people find that they can make themselves more comfortable by adding some additional objects.  Many meditators just sit cross-legged on the floor (usually on a rug or a mat), but you may want to sit on a large, thick pillow. I know I do this, as I'm unable to sit comfortably cross-legged on the floor for very long without something under my butt. There are also portable meditation benches -- padded or unpadded -- available on many online retailer sites. Barring these, you can meditate in a large, sturdy chair as well. Make sure your feet are able to reach the ground and remain flat. You can meditate while reclined in bed, though this creates the danger of falling asleep. You can't observe your mind if you're unconscious! In the next meditation episode I will have more tips about how to position your body in all of these posture modes in order to get the most out of your meditation -- and most importantly, not fall asleep or get a cramp! You've found your quiet spot and your sitting arrangement. Now let's further customize it to assist our practice.  The most important thing to keep in mind is that you want your space to reduce distractions as much as possible, not add distractions. Interesting music or incense may seem like perfect accompaniments to your meditation space, but if you're going to be thinking about the tune or the scent a lot, ditch it.  At the same time, a subtle, persistent scent or repetitive but not overwhelming music and sounds can give you something to return your focus to your meditation with when a distraction hits. It's good to find a delicate balance through trial and error.  My favorite meditation music is a very repetitive, simple melody of zithyr, harp and xylophone. The same 90 second melody repeats over and over for an hour. The repetitive nature of the melody can be hypnotic and act as a sort of mantra for my meditation. I have another beautiful one that is strings and whale sounds, but I find the whale sounds can actually take me out of the concentration. One good nature sound I've found for meditation is bird songs. Especially on repeat. They're distinctive enough I can move my focus from a distracting thought to these sounds easily but not distracting enough to be the reason I'm pulled out of my meditation. Whatever works for you! Just be sure the volume is high enough to cover up any other persistent and distracting noises but no louder.  Even a clock or metronome, though, could work, if your space is quiet enough, just to give you something very soothing, repetitive and not distracting to bring your focus back when your mind wanders.  I also really like to burn incense, but I find classic scents like nag champa, white sage, patchouli, frankincense, or cedar work much better to not cause distractions than more modern scents like "lemon vanilla rosemary," or "rose cucumber bergamot."  I’ve even just picked some wild good-smelling flowers on my morning walks to provide a little bit of happy smelling in the past. When I get distracted, I can focus on the smell of them to bring me back to center.  Make sure your lighting is low enough to allow you to not detect shadows and movement through your closed eyelids, as this can also take you out. Your space doesn't have to look like the lair of the phantom of the opera, but it needs to be low enough light to further assist your locking out distractions.  Finally, drink some water beforehand, to cleanse your palate, and just because water is good for you. But be careful not to drink so much you're going to have to pee!  -----  That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover.  Follow my Facebook page, Phil Reese the DJ, or my Twitter and tiktok, @reallyphilreese. My facebook page or my website is the best place to see when my upcoming virtual dj parties are coming up, like my new Tuesday and Thursday afternoon short live sessions, Club 45. My instagram and my Twitch, where those DJ gigs are livestreaming, are phillipjreese.  And, remember, if you enjoy what you hear here, you can throw me a tip via Venmo, to help support me while I'm out of DJ work. My venmo is at phil-dash-reese. That’s at p-h-i-l-dash-r-e-e-s-e.   I’m going to close the next few episodes out with a few minutes of just soft sounds and music with no talking, that you can hopefully use for practicing these meditation tricks with. For this first one, just get comfortable somewhere, close your eyes, and just try to focus on your breath. When your mind wanders, come back to studying everything you can about your breathe. That’s all you need to do for now! And, finally, remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together. Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-phil Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter, @ReallyPhilReese, find me on Facebook, Phil Reese the DJ, see me on Instagram, @phillipjreese, and join the Club Fourty-Five group on Facebook, bit.ly/club45group. And as always, phillipjreese.com Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-phil Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Saturday, October 23, and we’re going to start talking about getting started with a meditation practice. This is going to be the first in a whole new multipart series on beginning a meditation practice. Right now I have 12 episodes planned, but that could expand. A few months ago I did a podcast episode recommending meditation apps for beginners, but app or no app there are a few things a beginner to a meditation practice can do to make it worth their while. A lot of us KNOW that we SHOULD be meditating, but the idea of getting started with something that seems so exotic and mystical can be intimidating. What even is meditation, anyway? What’s it do? What’s it for? How’s it done? What’s it like? Questions and uncertainties can hang over our heads and prevent us from getting started and just doing it. So what even is meditation? Well, meditation can be a lot of things, and there are countless meditation traditions, some with religious affiliations, but what they all have in common is meditation is simply the practice of becoming intentionally aware of your thoughts and feelings and focused on how your mind is working. It’s basically watching what’s going on in your mind. So to what end? What good is watching my thoughts? Well, it seems counterintuitive to think so, but we’re actually usually not very aware of what’s going on in our heads at any given moment. We’re not very focused on our focus! Modern American society is extremely fast paced and our attention is often split in a hundred different directions at once. It’s difficult to keep up with all of the things popping in and out of your conscious mind at all times. But this computer that we call our brain is constantly rewiring itself. The things popping in and out of our conscious mind are also affecting our subconscious mind. Connections are being made between ideas and sensations we have no control over, and this can lead us to mental anguish when we can’t get to the bottom of what’s bothering us. There are many ways to unpack traumas and triggers, and conquer them, like good talk therapy. But a lot of people can also find a lot of relief through what’s become known as mindfulness meditation and other forms of mind-quieting meditation. It’s not a replacement for talk therapy but can do a lot of good for us in between sessions. So how do you get from knowing that meditation can be helpful for you to conquering your monkey-mind with it? Well, lots of practice of course, and that practice starts with jumping into meditation now, regardless of whether or not you have any experience with it. I’ve been meditating regularly -- almost every day and sometimes several times a day -- since early 2019 now, and I’ve seen a massive change in the way I handle situations that previously exacerbated my general anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. Like me, you don’t have to have any formal training in meditation to get started -- you just need time and patience. This week, I just want to encourage you to try out meditation and commit to doing it regularly. To get started with meditation, you will need to find a quiet spot with minimal distractions and you should set aside at least 15 minutes at first. The idea is to quiet your mind for a bit, so the more you can minimize distracting sounds and scents, and keep lights at a calming level, the better. We call this set and setting. The deeper into your practice you get, the more you will learn what works best for you for set and setting, but start with these minimums today. More on set and setting in the next episode. Next, you’re going to need to get your body ready. The idea of a meditation pose may conjure ideas of legs folded in pretzels and the like. But when you’re getting started with meditation, you’re going to want to get comfortable. Not so comfortable that you might fall asleep, but you don’t want cramps, pins-and-needles or pain to distract you. The best position to start with is usually sitting in a solid, comfortable, straight backed chair that allows you to keep your feet firmly, flat on the floor. More on poses in future episodes. Let's start with some deep breaths. During the meditation it's okay to both inhale and exhale through just your nose -- all your inhales are going to be through your nose -- but for these initial deep breaths, open your mouth slightly. Using your nose, slowly breathe in deep and even, letting your lower belly expand. Let this in breath last for a slow easy count of six. Now hold that breath in for four, before using your nose to slowly, easy and evenly exhale out of your mouth for a count of eight. Hold that empty feeling for a count of two. Now repeat. More on breathing in future episodes. Return to breathing normally, and set a timer on your cell phone or watch or even a kitchen timer to at least 15 minutes. With our eyes closed, let’s pay attention to our breath. Whenever we get distracted by what’s happening in our brains, or an external sound or scent, let’s go back to paying attention to the sensation of our breath, in and out through the nose. When thoughts come into our brain -- and they will -- don’t give too much energy to that thought. Just let it come and go out of your mind, and try to watch it from a distance. More on this in a future episode. Keep this up, with your body still, your eyes closed, your breathing regular until the timer goes off. You probably won’t be feeling zen and refreshed after this session. That’s okay. It takes time and patience to build a practice, and over the next 11 episodes I’m going to give you a few pieces to build on this basic routine to get more out of your meditation. But for now, congratulations, it may not have been perfect, but you just dipped your toe into meditating. Over the next few weeks, as we expand our practice together, try to find 15 or more minutes a day where you can set aside time to meditate. Whether in the morning, middle of the day, right after work if you’re working right now, or at night. Schedule the time ahead of schedule, and commit to it. If you really want to feel the benefits of meditating, you’re going to have to practice, practice, practice, every single day. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. Follow my Facebook page, Phil Reese the DJ, or my Twitter, @reallyphilreese. My facebook page or my website is the best place to see when my upcoming virtual dj parties are coming up, like my new Tuesday and Thursday afternoon short live sessions, Club 45. And, remember, if you enjoy what you hear here, you can throw me a tip via Venmo, to help support me while I'm out of DJ work. My venmo is at phil-dash-reese. That’s at p-h-i-l-dash-r-e-e-s-e. And, finally, remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together. Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-phil Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Monday, June 8, and We’re talking about self improvement culture in the face of a radical social paradigm shift. It’s no secret I’m pretty woo-woo hippie-dippie, and I talk a lot about self-improvement, and the ways I am trying to improve myself all the time. I want to share with others the tips, tricks and coping mechanisms I have found that have been invaluable to deal with my addictions, compulsions, behavioral issues, depressive disorder and generalized anxiety. I believe that the search for serenity and peace is a just and prudent pursuit for any human and every human. But we do not live in a vacuum. The world around us continues to turn even as we are doing work internally, and we are not exempt from having to interact with that change. For me, at least, the goal of self improvement is to make myself more capable of making the world a better place. I believe that the point of life is to leave the world better than you came into it, to spread goodness. I can’t be at my best in my efforts to affect change in the world if I’m ignoring the mess inside that constantly gets in the way. But those two activities have to occur concurrently. I am doing no good if I completely shut out the world and everything happening in a misguided effort to find serenity for me and me alone. That’s not self improvement, as Tyler Durden says in Fight Club, that’s masturbation. It’s impossible to be at your best to participate in the efforts to make change when you are still healing from past traumas or you are otherwise not doing the work you need to do for yourself to be able to dedicate yourself mentally to the fight in front of you, so by all means, a balance is necessary and good. You can’t be physically on the front lines of the protest every single day 365 a year. It’s impossible. You can’t be having difficult conversations with those in need of education 24/7, it’s too mentally exhausting. You can’t donate all of your money to the causes you believe in, you got to pay rent and utilities, and buy food and medicine first. As Lauryn Hill says “How you gonna win when you ain’t right within?” Balance your advocacy with time to heal. But early in the past few weeks of protest, I perceived that a lot of the people I respected, from whom I have learned a lot about making myself a better person over the last year, were hesitant to dip their toes into the discussion of George Floydd, Black Lives Matter, Police Brutality and the protests. And many have unfortunately emphasized the internal work over the community advocacy as a response to this. In short, lots of self-help gurus are suggesting everyone just go meditate a while instead of protest and we’ll all be better off. This is a crock of shit. Meditation isn’t a crock of shit, I’ve been meditating every day, even through all this, though I will admit my concentration has been shot, and my mind is wandering more than usual, and my meditations are shorter and less fulfilling than usual. But they are bringing me a little more peace than I would otherwise have. But I would not be authentically Phil if I wasn’t also doing what I can to push against the systemic problems I see in the society around me. I am here, after all to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Working to better myself, and provide guidance to others who are seeking help to better themselves is only part of who I am. And I have to be my whole self. That’s the name of the damn podcast after all. When we see police brutality against people of color and trans people, and then we see people from all over rising up and finally saying enough is enough, and our response to that is that everyone just needs to meditate more, it’s no different than that asshole who sees someone post “Black Lives Matter,” and decides to respond with “All Lives Matter.” YES we need to all seek a future where we can all be at peace and serene. We’re not there yet, that’s what we’re trying to do, because avenues to that life are COMPLETELY closed off for most people of color at the moment, and the powerful people in charge of those avenues aren’t going to budge if we ask nicely. YES, all lives SHOULD matter, but right now, it’s obvious that those in power don’t believe that applies to black lives. Saying black lives matter doesn’t mean white lives don’t matter. It means we need to shine a light on this specific problem right now. If you have the privilege to be able to tune out what’s happening right now because police brutality and racism do not personally affect you, it’s your duty to take a break from your crystals and your yoga block and proactively push for a paradigm shift right now. Sinking into your own little world right now is complacency with a fucked up racist system. And the complacency of the privileged is complicity with the racist power structure. Complicity with the racist power structure makes you, what? A racist. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. But white silence is violence. Put that in your chakra and smoke it. Right now is not the time to be encouraging everyone calm down. Right now is the time to use your privilege FOR GOOD, to advocate for change in a racist criminal justice system, and the way that our society looks the other way. Talk to those in power about replacing the militarized -- decidedly non-zen, by the way -- police force where you are with a community-based alternative. Advocate for better government funding in education and social support. Demand law enforcement be held accountable for their actions. And say it loud, and say it often: Black lives matter. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. Follow my Facebook page, Phil Reese the DJ, or my Twitter, @reallyphilreese. And, remember, if you enjoy what you hear here, you can throw me a tip via Venmo, to help support me while I'm out of DJ work. My venmo is at phil-dash-reese. That’s at p-h-i-l-dash-r-e-e-s-e. And, finally, remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together. Black Lives Matter. Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-phil Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Sunday, May 10, and we're talking about the best meditation apps for your phone that don't require a subscription. You're probably familiar with apps like Calm or Headspace. Maybe you're even subscribed. They're very popular apps, but they also have ongoing subscriptions to use most features, which for a lot of us can be prohibitive. Maybe you're new to meditation, and you're not sure subscribing to an app that charges you every month is for you yet.First of all, let's talk about why you should meditate. It may seem hippie dippie woo woo at first, but peer reviewed study after study has proven regular meditation has a measurable positive effect on the way your brain works. There are lots of claims that meditation can do just about anything from cure your physical ailments to bestow immortality to you, and many of these are dubious. But we do know for sure a consistent, regular meditation practice can relieve or even eliminate the symptoms of trauma,depression, anxiety, addiction, stress, PTSD, it can improve cognition and memory, increase your productivity, can reduce your risk of heart disease, and will help you get better sleep.Not to mention, I believe it can make you a better human being by making you more conscientious, compassionate, patient and empathic. These are of course my words, not from studies, but these are the benefits I've seen in my life.It's your brain, and it's your right to have access to letting it reach it's full potential. You shouldn't have to pay out the nose for something pre-recorded to get there. Almost all of these apps keep a record of your progress and have a social component so you can share your meditation experience with others on the app or your real world friends.There are three kinds of apps I'm going to review here: guided meditation apps with meditations created by qualified instructors, non-guided meditation resources, and non-meditation apps that can help with meditation. First app is Smiling Mind: 100% free Custom programs depending on your experience with mindfulness meditation Easy to use and great introductionLet's meditate: Donation based Guided meditations of various lengths and types Sort and organize by time, or name, favorite meditations to come back to the ones you like Set up a meditation schedule to start a regular practiceMeditation Studio: Free for the basic lessons, one time $3.99 purchase unlocks everything Guided courses for beginners, to experienced meditators Collections for topics and specific issues like stress and anxiety, insomnia, depression, health problems, and developing love and kindness Build a library of favorite meditations, and use Chromecast to stream to your tvStop, Breathe and think: Free for basic lessons, one time $4.99 purchase unlocks everything Check in with your body and emotions with a quick questionnaire and receive recommend meditations based on your results Collections of meditations on hundreds of topics Each meditation has several versions, you can usually choose between English or Spanish, select instructors, or choose between shorter or longer versions of the same meditation Save favorite meditations for later Set meditation remindersAfter a quick break, we'll discuss non-guided meditation resources. I want to pause for a moment to encourage you to keep this discussion going. If you like what you hear here, please share my podcast on social media or text the link bit.ly/findwholephil to your friends. We can keep this conversation going on Twitter, I'm @reallyphilreese, use the hashtag #getyourwholephil. If you're new, subscribe at the bitly link I just mentioned, and give me a rating wherever you subscribe. Thanks, fam. Now on with the show.Not everyone wants to be guided through their meditation every time. You may want to guide yourself. Here are some apps that may help.Insight meditation timer: Create and save a timed sequences with bells and knocks at various intervals Add background sounds like birds or water flowing to pick up your mood. Set reminders to do a meditation every dayWhite Noise Lite Choose from various sounds like nature sounds, chimes and bells, city sounds, or other white ambient noise Mix sounds together and save recordings Set multiple reminders to be sure you meditate throughout the day Access collections of mixes, or hear other people's recordingsMy noise Granular mixing of various types of sounds to get the perfect rain storm or perfect forest scene through their highly customizable equalizer Set a timer, or animate your equalizer to gradually bring you from a rainy thunderstorm into a serene forest after the storm, automaticallyBrain Waver If you know about the 5 brain waves: gamma busy thinking waves, beta consciousness waves, alpha subconsciousness waves, theta sleep waves and delta deep sleep waves, you probably already know the theory that listening to sounds that oscillate at the same frequency of these waves can encourage your brain to start producing the wave you want. These are colloquially called binaural beats Brain Waver lets you customize how much of each frequency you want in your beat, creating customized beats for you, with advanced options for timer, gradual changing of beats, type of noise, etc. Podcasting apps like Castbox: Access thousands of free guided and instructional meditation podcasts, with some I recommend being Coffee with Raph, Guided Meditation Podcast, Learn to Meditate, Mindful 15, Meditation Oasis, The One Mind Meditation Podcast, 60 Seconds of Solitude, Daily Meditation Podcast, Meditation Station and Deep Energy Podcast Castbox has a Zen Mode where you can mix nature and ambient sounds and set a timer for timed meditations or just to fall asleepYouTube:There are literally hundreds of thousands of meditation and ASMR YouTubers out there and I'm not going to list any here, but I'll probably do another podcast at some point on meditation podcasters and YouTubers. Search for specific types of meditation you'd like to do, like mindfulness meditation, Zen meditation, contemplative meditation, open monitoring meditation, focus meditation, vibration or trans meditation, which is the free, non-trademarked version of transcendental meditation, mantra meditation, chanting, raja yoga meditation, insight meditation, vajrayana meditation, autogenic meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, the relaxation response, daoist meditation, tantric meditation, movement meditation, I am meditation, etc.The important part is to give a specific meditation practice you want to cultivate a chance before you abandon it. Try an app or a type of meditation every day for two weeks, and see how it makes you feel. Then, if you're just still not getting anything out of it, try a different one out every day for two weeks. Eventually you'll find something that affects you positively, and you'll be able to cultivate a healthy daily practice! That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. Speaking of meditation, this coming Saturday, May 16, I am hosting Euphoria, a free, live, virtual meditation and dance party. I have wanted to do something like this for a while, and now is the perfect time. We will kick off with about a half hour of very slightly guided meditation over some meditative beats, and as that wraps up, we will gradually transition into dancier and dancier beats, until the music has evolved back into the kind of groove you can move to. Share it and join with your friends and make it a great Saturday night! Follow my Facebook page, Phil Reese the DJ, or my Twitter, @reallyphilreese or bit.ly/philreeseeuphoria for more info. And, remember, if you enjoy what you hear there or even here, you can throw me a tip via Venmo, to help support me while I'm out of DJ work. My venmo is at phil-dash-reese. That’s at p-h-i-l-dash-r-e-e-s-e. And, finally, remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Sunday, May 3, and we're talking about what prayer is for the deityless. When most of us think of prayer, we think of worship of a deity. Getting down on a kneeler, making the sign of the cross and repeating a 2000 year old mantra. But can those of us who don’t have a deity pray too? I’ve talked before about what spirituality means to me, and how you can be spiritual without having a deity -- even atheists can work on their spiritual side. But how does prayer fit into that? If the essence of spirituality is the health of your higher mind, as opposed to advancing your rational mind through learning new things, then prayer are those things that advance your higher mind -- the part of you that deals with your personal morals, ethics, and your relationships with your immediate communities, your greater society and the universe or nature itself. Prayer is what you do internally to make sure you are on the path to becoming a better human being, and you don’t need a deity to do it. When you focus on yourself, when you are self-involved, when you are driven by your own id, when you lose sight of your positive goals, when you beat yourself up over things you can’t change, when you take the good things in your life for granted, when you hate others and lack empathy for others -- even the people it’s hard to have empathy for -- when you manipulate others to get what you want, when you undermine others or throw others under the bus, when you fight against the natural flow of the universe and nature: all of these things do damage to your higher mind. While I am not an atheist, my conception of a higher power is not a personified, anthropomorphic being. I believe in the flow of the universe, the natural progression of time, the power and energy that moves around and throughout everything. Because I believe that my higher power is the flow of the universe and nature, I harm my higher mind when I fight against these things, and I want to stay spiritually fit, because I believe that life is best when we work with nature rather than against it. When we come back, we’re going to talk about how PRAYERS can help those of us without a deity to build up our higher mind. I want to pause for a moment to encourage you to keep this discussion going. If you like what you hear here, please share my podcast on social media or text the link bit.ly/findwholephil to your friends. We can keep this conversation going on Twitter, I'm @reallyphilreese, use the hashtag #getyourwholephil. If you're new, subscribe at the bitly link I just mentioned, and give me a rating wherever you subscribe. Thanks, fam. Now on with the show.Every day I turn my will and my destiny over to the care of the flow of nature, and try to open my mind up to see that flow so that I can follow it. In order to do that I say my PRAYERS. I don’t pull out a rosary and say 53 Hail Marys though. Here is what I mean by PRAYERS: I Park my ego--or id -- and my self-will and self-interest. I Reassess and realign my goals and hopes. I Affirm to myself my good qualities and the positive qualities I want to foster more of. Your -- or rather my -- gratitude list happens every day. I practice the joy of appreciating the good things in my life, and remember I am grateful for those things, so I don’t take them for granted and risk losing them. I Empathize with everyone, especially my enemies and people who I could easily dismiss. As difficult as it is, and as often as I can fail at it, this means people like Donald Trump, famous homophobes, and other evil people. I Return to the flow of life, nature and the universe, and I atone for anytime I’ve screwed that up. I Serve others, and show generosity and compassion. Park your ego, Reassess your goals, Affirm your positive qualities, Your gratitude list, Empathize with everyone, Return to the flow of nature, and Serve others. P. R. A. Y. E. R. S. Prayers. That’s how I execute my PRAYERS even though I do not have a deity. A lot of people who have a deity don’t even do all of these things. That’s why we see that a lot of people who have a deity are very unhappy. While they put a lot of focus on “R”, their goals and their hopes, they treat prayer like it’s their Amazon wishlist, and they are angry when the old man in the sky doesn’t deliver. But PRAYERS aren’t about what I want, or what my will is. That’s why the first thing I do is park my will in the garage and put it away. How is nature flowing, and how can I get into that current and follow it, instead of fighting it. If my goals and hopes -- my wish list -- aren’t in line with that flow, I jettison them. If I hold onto them, I’m going to get sucked into the undertow and drown. A few words on empathy, probably the hardest part of this. If you only show empathy for people who already show you empathy, you’re not doing anything difficult. The more difficult act is to show radical empathy. To empathize and see the humanity in even the people who have behaved the most inhumanely. This doesn’t mean excusing them of their wrongs. If they’ve not atoned for their wrongs, there is still an imbalance and I don’t endorse that. But I can forgive and see the basic human dignity in everyone. I can. I don’t always do, but I can. This is an important and powerful step to making your higher mind HELLA strong. You don’t have to like people to empathize with them. You don’t have to sign off on what they’ve not atoned for. But you do have to afford them basic human dignity, give them the space and freedom to atone for their wrongs if they decide to, and forgive them and move on whether or not they take that opportunity. Grudges and resentments are a poison that I drink expecting other people to die. So dump the poison out. Just because I have empathy for evil people doesn’t mean I’m going to start watching the Cosby show, go to the Super Bowl with George W. Bush as my guest, or playing R Kelly in my DJ sets. They still have not atoned and I cannot sign off on the imbalance in justice that they are refusing to correct. But I can move on, and at the very least, put them out of my head and let them be the flawed people they are on their own time -- nowhere near my life -- and let them go. If PRAYERS were easy, everyone would do them. This is hard work, and I often fail at following this as well as I should. My id is very strong. I often foolishly think that my way is best -- better even than the way of the universe itself. And reality often hilariously reminds me how very incorrect I am, when I do this. That’s why I try to start my day parking my id and my will, and opening up my mind, to how I can best operate in the world I already live in, instead of trying to force the planet to bend to me. That opens me to be able to practice the rest of my PRAYERS. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. About my DJ gigs: which I usually discuss here. I don’t have any right now. I still have my day job, and my rent is paid every month. But my monthly income has been cut by at least one third, and things are tight. I live in DC, after all. That monthly paycheck is spent pretty much as soon as it comes in. There are people struggling much more than I am, but things get dicey at the end of the month. I hope to set up some virtual DJ sets soon, so keep an eye out for that, but if you want to support me and help me break the ramen cycle with a pizza or burrito every once in a while, my venmo is at phil-dash-reese. That’s at p-h-i-l-dash-r-e-e-s-e. But please remember there are people right now with NO income who need it more than I do. I did want to put that out there, though. In the mean time, do keep a look out on Twitter and the Phil Reese the DJ Facebook page for upcoming announcements of virtual DJ sets. Ben Norman I and I did a great Kicks & Giggles virtual set last week, streamed from both of our apartments uncut, which was a technological marvel and was a lot of fun. I can’t wait to do more of these. And, finally, remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Be good to one another, love each other and remember, we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Sunday, March 8, and we're talking about Spring!Whether or not it feels like it, Spring is upon us. It's been a long, weird Winter, and Spring gives us a wonderful opportunity to really begin the year with a positive energy and solid goals.A lot of people like to make New Years Resolutions, or give up something for Lent. I prefer, however, to set my intentions for the year at the beginning of Spring. Winter is a terrible time to set goals, at least north of the equator. Even if you don't suffer from Seasonal affective disorder, what kind of mental state are you in in Winter? I know I am not of my right mind during Winter. I hold off on making big plans for my year until Spring.I'll be right back to go deeper after a quick break. I want to pause for a moment to encourage you to keep this discussion going. If you like what you hear here, please share my podcast on social media or text the link bit.ly/findwholephil to your friends. We can keep this conversation going on Twitter, I'm @reallyphilreese, use the hashtag #getyourwholephil. If you're new, subscribe at the bitly link I just mentioned, and give me a rating wherever you subscribe. Thanks, fam. Now on with the show.The world is dead during winter. Positive energy is lacking. Nature springs back to life in Spring, and so do I. As the morning frosts begin to be fewer, and the cherry blossoms begin to wake up around the tidal basin, I find the energy of the year really turning on. Now that the world is starting to wake up, I am ready to do the same. Now is a great time for me to look optimistically into the future. This year, nearing the end of my first year in sobriety, I'm ready to make some big swings to make my life more fulfilling and positive. This month is a wonderful time to meditate on my goals for the year and to make decisions on where I'd like to be next spring. Living in harmony with nature is very important to me, so I live on nature's calendar, not man's. Therefore, this is the real beginning of the year for me. Do you like setting new goals in Spring? What kind of goals are you setting for your year? Tweet me at ReallyPhilReese and tell me about how you may or may not use Spring to set your intentions going forward. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. Learn more about my upcoming DJ gigs at my website phillipjreese.com. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Saturday, February 22, and we're talking about fake meat.Plant based food is having a moment, and as a vegetarian, lots of you omnivores have asked me how I feel about these foods.I went full vegetarian in the Spring of 2010 -- I'm coming up on my 10th vegeversary! I had been pescatarian for almost 3 years at that point. Ten years ago, Boca and gardenburger were about the only options for me if I wanted to have a burger, so we've definitely come a long way. Today, any type of junk food meat you can imagine has a popular plant-based analog. From chicken nuggets, to tofurky bacon and deli slices, to fish sticks, holiday turkey, and yes, the famous Beyond Burger and Impossible Burgers that have all the look, feel and taste of good old-fashioned pink slime processed ground round, right down to the bleeding. Meat analogs, as they're called by the industry, are plant-based processed foods meant to mimic the experience of eating processed meat-based foods. The most important function they perform is allowing people flirting with a plant based diet the ability to try it out without changing their eating habits. These fake meats aren't made for us long-time veggies. They're for you, the omnivores who can't imagine your life without kielbasa, bacon, nuggets and Whoppers. Meat analogs are all the heartburn and preservatives of a regular junk food binge without the guilt that another living creature with feelings and a family was herded into a dark stinky room, terrified, and shot in between the eyes with a glorified nail gun, where it may or may not have died instantly, and if it didn't, was then subjected to unspeakable pain and torture before it was served up for you where you promptly and thoughtlessly gobbled it down without even a thought in under 3 minutes. But as far as being a "healthy alternative" to meat, that's debatable. If your diet consists of delicate, unprocessed, small farm raised, grass fed beef and lamb, and no junk food, switching to meat analogs is NOT healthier for you. But if your diet consists of at minimum 3 fast food trips a week, you may want to consider it. These plant based proteins are definitely highly processed and full of weird stuff, but if you're a junk food buff, absolutely none of that stuff is any worse than what you're already putting into your body. Side-by-junk-food-side, beyond burgers are lower in calories, cholesterol and saturated fats, pound-for-pound than your local dive's burger. However, they have tremendously higher sodium and other additives (all plant based and natural, but additives nonetheless) not present in your Angus burger, all while being devoid of iron and b vitamins.A bigger impact you may be having, though, is on the environment. According to NBC news, Beyond and Impossible patties require 87-99% less water, 93-96% less land, and 89-90% less fossil fuel emotions to get to your plate than traditional burgers. With no methane-leaden cow farts involved. But these emissions statistics are still five times higher than traditional fresh veggies and legumes.After a short break, we'll talk about these fresh veggies and legumes. I want to pause for a moment to encourage you to keep this discussion going. If you like what you hear here, please share my podcast on social media or text the link bit.ly/findwholephil to your friends. We can keep this conversation going on Twitter, I'm @reallyphilreese, use the hashtag #getyourwholephil. If you're new, subscribe at the bitly link I just mentioned, and give me a rating wherever you subscribe. Thanks, fam. Now on with the show.Yes, if you're eating like the average middle class American, substituting meat analogs into your already processed-food heavy diet is relatively better for both you and the environment, though they are at least twice the price. But this is missing the point. Both you and the environment would be even more better off if we all ate a hell of a lot less meat and fake meat and a hell of a lot more fresh vegetables and legumes. Remember the lack of iron and b vitamins in these foods? Spinach, beans and peas, asparagus, leeks and dried apricots are all high in iron and b vitamins. If you're worried about protein, you have a complete protein any time you combine a grain (which has half the amino acids of a complete animal protein) and a legume (which has the other half). Some legumes, like peas and soy/edamame already have all the protein, as do some grains like chia and buckwheat. All of this is FAR FAR FAR lower in calories, saturated fats, cholesterol AND sodium than any meat OR meat analog, and are far far better for the environment too, especially in terms of fossil fuels required to farm and distribute.If you're a junk food eater looking for a low barrier of entry route to vegetarianism because it means you are helping your body, the environment and opt out of a system of misery and torture for animals, a great start is to switch to these meat analogs in place of your processed foods. But it should be a stop on the way to an actually healthy diet of fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. And ultimately that is best.for your body, the environment, animals AND your wallet.Thank you to Josh V. for suggesting this topic. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. [DJ GIGS Thur Fri sun] Learn more about my upcoming DJ gigs at my website phillipjreese.com. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Some of my facts and figures come from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fake-meat-better-you-or-environment-n1065231 https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/jan/27/the-trouble-with-fake-meat-beetroot-burgers-food-substitutes Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Saturday, February 17, and we're talking about the end of the world.Or, at least, what feels like the end of the world.I'm the type of person who can get fixated on a specific problem or issue and not be able to move on. Sometimes this can be good. When faced with a problem at work or in an organization, I am a problem solver. I will work doggedly at an issue until it is fixed. But a lot of times in my personal life, this asset becomes a huge liability.I can get mired in how I'm currently feeling and get spiritually stuck. I start putting as much energy into my negative feelings as I do with a piece of website code that isn't quite working right, and in this case it just makes everything worse. For the last month I have been dealing with back pain and back issues that have been so acute and persistent it's started to feel like the end of the God damn world. This week I got extremely depressed over it. I was frustrated over the pain AND the mental and physical exhaustion of trying to get through the day with said pain. I was also feeling guilty and disappointed I had to miss two paid DJ gigs over it, and use up PTO at work. On top of that I was dropping all sorts of dollars on doctors and chiropractor appointments, yoga, massage, back braces and meds. In addition I had to bow out of a ton of other obligations, and I was feeling guilty over that.And all of that and I wasn't feeling any better.Stick around and in a minute I'll tell you whether or not the world actually ended. I want to pause for a moment to encourage you to keep this discussion going. If you like what you hear here, please share my podcast on social media or text the link bit.ly/findwholephil to your friends. We can keep this conversation going on Twitter, I'm @reallyphilreese, use the hashtag #getyourwholephil. If you're new, subscribe at bit.ly/findwholephil, and give me a rating wherever you subscribe. Thanks, fam. Now on with the show.The truth of the matter is this back pain sucks right now, but it's not going to last forever. I'm only at the very beginning of my treatment, and this pain may very well last a while longer. But the worst of it IS over. It's frustrating to have spasms and aches pop up frequently, but it's already reduced in severity. I really want to go to the massage, the chiropractor, yoga, and get up off the table or the mat, and be done with this. But that's not how this is going to work. I'm frustrated my injury recovery isn't happening more rapidly, but none of us has control over the timeline that things like healing from an injury happens on.I only have control over one thing, my reaction to this, and while I was trying to stay positive about all of this for a minute, I got impatient. And impatience is NEVER a constructive emotion. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. [DJ GIGS: Thurs Feb 20, Thurs Feb 27, Fri Feb 28, Sun Mar 1, Mon Mar 2] Learn more about my upcoming DJ gigs at my website phillipjreese.com. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

I ran out of time to record the episode I wrote, so here's a quickie with what's up this week and 2 podcast suggestions!Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Not everyone working in nightlife who needs to get clean may experience the same thing I have, but overall, Getting clean while retaining my nightlife gigs has actually in many ways been an asset to my recovery, not a detriment.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. Tweet me right now, hashtag #getyourwholephil and tell me about yourself. I am a loving, lovable, chubby, queer, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, and deejay in DC. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors. Let's start the show. Today is Saturday, January 18, and we're talking about PrEP. No, not getting ready for a big test, I'm talking about the big blue HIV preventing pill, Truvada. You probably know the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, attacks your immune system turning your immune cells into factories for more virus cells, and leaving you open to suffering from all sorts of diseases your body normally easily fights off. HIV is an insidious virus that even creates reservoirs of dormant virus in your body that reactivate later even if your body has fought off a previous wave of infection. HIV infection was once very fatal, but over the years, drug treatments have made it possible for most people infected with HIV to live full normal lives, as long as they maintain their daily drug regimens religiously. Early antiretrovirals had wicked side effects. Over time, though, new drugs were developed to try to minimize and even eliminate those side effects. Though there is no cure for HIV, after the invention of protease inhibitors in 1996, it became possible for drug regimens to destroy the live viral load in a person with HIV, which means their immune systems function normally and over time, in most cases, those sticking to these drug regimens are unable to transmit the virus to others. Undetectable means untransmittable.PrEP is an acronym for pre-exposure prophylaxis. It is an HIV drug that HIV-negative people take daily to prevent HIV infection. If a person on PrEP is exposed to HIV, the chemicals in their body from PrEP kill the HIV virus and prevent it from replicating and creating reservoirs in the uninfected person. It's like the 80s Star Wars defense system for HIV in your body. If HIV tries to get in, it's obliterated before it can do anything.This episode is in no way sponsored by the pharmaceutical company, Gilead, who have the patent on the brand Truvada. And while this is a pro-prep episode, Gilead isn't going to love everything I say here. Truvada is the name brand of em-tri-citi-bine/teno-fo-vir, a groundbreaking HIV and Hepatitis-B medication that came out in 2004, combining two antiretroviral HIV/Hep-B medicines. It was very successful in eliminating HIV viral loads in patients that took it; so successful folks started to wonder if it could even be used to prevent new infections. It also showed, long term, to have very few serious side effects in many of the patients who were on it, though some patients saw kidney and liver issues crop up from long term use. In 2007, the four year iPrEx study began in Peru and Ecuador, exploring whether or not those uninfected but high risk for HIV infections taking Truvada would remain uninfected long term. Truvada was selected because of it's effectiveness in knocking out viral load, and it's low instance of serious side effects. In 2008, the US, Brazil, South Africa and Thailand jumped in on the study. The results published in 2011 were significant. Not everyone who stayed in the study had stuck to taking it daily, and among those who stopped taking it altogether or took it very sporadically, there were infections. But among the study participants who maintained the recommended daily dose, there were zero new infections. That was huge.It was like a big giant triple locked steel door got kicked in for the HIV prevention community. In 2012, the FDA approved Truvada to be taken for prophylactic purposes. In 2013, as soon as my insurance would cover it, I got myself on PrEP. Despite all the hopeful data about PrEP, however, there was a huge backlash against those taking and promoting PrEP, and it sadly came from a very unexpected source: inside the LGBTQ community itself.We'll be right back. I want to pause for a moment to encourage you to keep this discussion going. If you like what you hear here, please share my podcast on social media or text the link bit.ly/findwholephil to your friends. We can keep this conversation going on Twitter, I'm @reallyphilreese, use the hashtag #getyourwholephil. If you're new, subscribe at the bitly link I just mentioned, and give me a rating wherever you subscribe. Thanks, fam. Now on with the show.Despite the fact that since the creation of protease inhibitor drugs, we've seen people living with HIV taking these drugs consistently maintain a viral load of zero, stigma of those living with and treating their HIV remained very high in the queer community. Despite all our best efforts at education, ignorance prevailed. Illogical fear and discrimination reigned. People did the wrong things to try to protect themselves based on this bad information, and HIV transmission remained high in our community. One in four HIV infected people did not know their status. That ignorance and stigma was extended to any discussion of PrEP. In the early days, like most people promoting PrEP, I was attacked online constantly and vociferously by people who I had previously respected. I was told I was encouraging bad behavior and irresponsibility, and that people on PrEP were going to create a supervirus that no HIV medicines would be able to treat. I was told by several people that their friends that had died from HIV related illness would be disappointed in me, and one said his friends were rolling over in their graves because of me.But even more shocking, Michael Weinstein, the founder and leader of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, started a massive and well funded disinformation campaign to sew fear in anyone considering getting on PrEP and shaming those promoting it. One of the biggest and most well funded HIV healthcare advocacy groups went to war with people trying to prevent new infections. It was gross and sad.But it looked like PrEP wouldn't be stopped. Aside from Weinstein and the uneducated people loudly protesting online, most voices in the HIV healthcare community began loudly banging the PrEP drum. Even the Human Rights Campaign started to promote PrEP, and I was featured as part of a social media campaign they did, proudly holding my big blue pill up in a picture, despite the public shaming I was still receiving. PrEP use grew, and despite detractors sensationalizing doomsday predictions, the numbers didn't lie. Since PrEP has become a cornerstone of HIV prevention strategies, new HIV transmissions have gone down 68% in New York City, 50% in San Francisco, 50% in DC, 44% in Australia, 32% in New Orleans, 19% in Chicago, 18% nationwide in the US and most starkly, more than 70% down in the UK.PrEP prevalence also reduces the stigmatization of HIV infected individuals, helping them be treated like everyone else in the community.Truvada is expensive, through, at nearly $12,000 a year. Gilead holds the patent on the drug in nearly every country it's approved for PrEP use. There is no hope for a generic anytime soon. The FDA recently approved another drug, Descovy, for PrEP. Guess who owns that one too.If you are insured, your insurance may cover large portions of the cost for PrEP. And Gilead has a copay assistance program that covers the copay up to $200 a month. If you're not insured, and you meet other eligibility requirements, Gilead may pay for a big portion of your annual bill for the drug. Still, people with shitty or no insurance can't afford to keep up with the daily efficacy that's required for PrEP to actually be effective.When HIV is properly treated, an infected person can live a long, healthy life. But you have to catch the infection before it ravages your immune system, and you have to have the money to afford that treatment. And again, HIV is incurable. If you can't continue to treat it or don't catch it, it can still be fatal. PrEP, is therefore for many at risk people, a LIFE SAVING NECESSITY. Drug patents can be diabolical. Look no further than Valiant Pharmaceuticals or Martin Shkreli to see recent stories of drug companies abusing their patients and using drug patents to fuck people over.Drugs like HIV drugs should have their patents broken, and generics should be available to all. At risk people should be able to get PrEP free without a hassle. If we're serious about actually ending new HIV infections, PrEP needs to be free.Until we can break the patents, though, on these life-saving drugs, you should do whatever you can to make daily adherence to PrEP a reality for you. Talk to your doctor and visit the Advocate article I've put at bit.ly/affordprep to start researching how to make it affordable to you. Then sign up at breakthepatent.org to find out how you can help us break the patent and make prep free for everyone. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and please drop me a rating. Tweet me at @reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. [DJ GIGS] Learn more about my upcoming DJ gigs at my website phillipjreese.com. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Subscribe to Whole Phil!http://bit.ly/findwholephilSubscribe to Disgraceland!http://disgracelandpod.comSong Exploderhttps://songexploder.net/Switched on Pophttps://switchedonpop.com/The Chartographershttps://facebook.com/TheChartographers/Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors (sorry Mom). Thanks for joining me today, Sunday, December 15. Let me tell you a little about me, I'm a loving, lovable, fat, hairy, queer, inked, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, video producer and deejay in DC. Now that you know a little about me and where we are, let me know a little about you. Tweet me, at reallyphilreese, I'd love to meet you. Let's start the show. Today's show is about some of the most common people you encounter every day. Service workers. At the coffee shop, at the door of your office building, at the diner, the pharmacy, the grocery store, the 7-11. Bus conductors, Uber drivers, door people, coat checks, receptionists, bank tellers: we usually encounter service workers multiple times every day. Though they are usually paid not much more than minimum wage, and have little to no power, these people are the public faces of the institutions and systems they work for, the sentries at the gates. Because of this, all the feelings that the public has about their employers gets aimed squarely at these people. More than that, many people pile their own personal shit on service workers. Having a bad day, and feeling powerless? Maybe a few minutes of talking down to a McDonald's cashier because the second nugget sauce isn't free will make you feel like a big man.Service work is incredibly hard, unrewarding and underappreciated. Things amp up at the holidays. This is an incredibly stressful time for all people, but many of us forget service workers are people and pile our anxieties right on them instead of going to get some badly needed therapy for our control and self esteem issues.People who have worked in service in the past, but no longer do, can be some of the worst. They seem to fantasize that despite being fired as a busser from four questionable quality diners, and a short six month stint as a bank teller who conveniently forgot how to math, that they were the paragon of the customer service workers, and therefore are justified in having impeccable standards. Just yuck.Food service provided the absolute worst situation for these workers. Because they are beholden to tips to be able to earn a living wage, they are forced to put up with absolutely inhumane treatment or risk homelessness. People who know this and sadistically take advantage of it have their own special circle in hell, trust. While tip culture should be banished, as everyone deserves a living wage REGARDLESS of how slow you perceive they brought you your triple espresso, I'm not so naive to think it's going anywhere anytime soon. So if you live somewhere where servers are paid differently than cooks, it doesn't matter how bad you perceive your service to have been, that 20% minimum tip is part of the cost of that meal you bought. Leave it every time. But even non-tip workers get shit on. It's important when we're interacting with the customer-facing component of an institution, that worker has no power over the rules of that institution. No matter how frustrated you are with whatever situation you are in, do not take it out on the service worker. Even at places as perennially as frustrating as the DMV -- hell especially in places as perennially frustrating as the DMV -- never take out your frustration on the customer service worker.Also keep in mind service workers don't owe you a smile, don't owe you pithy conversation, and DEFINITELY don't need your flirting or innuendo. Keep things business, because this is business. If you want affection, get a pet. Remember the last 50 people that the server just talked to were probably pretty shitty to them. Be different and don't expect anything more than what they're there to do: to perform a transaction with you and answer your questions. And even if you don't get the answers you want, don't take that out on the service worker.Be polite, say please and thank you, don't pry into their personal life, don't try to be charming and don't make their day worse than it already is. And be reasonableAnd as for ride shares, this is where I need to take my own advice. I can have incredibly unreasonable expectations for ride share drivers. I have no idea where this came from, and I'm working on it. But they are letting me ride in their car for under minimum wage in what we've come to learn is an incredibly shitty occupation. I have no business judging what they play on the radio, I have no business getting surly about talkativeness, or the temperature of the car. And if I know how to get where I am going better than anyone else, I should just get my own car and drive myself. Be kind, professional and patient to service workers all the time no matter what. Unless they assault or demean you unprevoked, I have no reason to do anything else. That's it for today. I want to give a late birthday shout out to my dad. Happy birthday. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil or go to bit.ly/findwholephil, and do please drop me a rating on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts if you want me to keep this going. Tweet me at reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. [Upcoming DJ gigs, JR's: Monday Dec 16, Thursday, Dec 19] Learn more about my upcoming DJ gigs at my website phillipjreese.com. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Sorry to not have a full episode for you this Sunday, but I should be getting a brand new one out to you in a few days!Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. I have a special guest this week! I’ll let her introduce herself:Hi, I'm Jillian, and my Instagram is Xoxojillzian!Thanks for joining me today, Monday, December 2. Now that you know my sister, let me tell you a little about me, I'm a loving, lovable, fat, hairy, queer, inked, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, video producer and deejay in DC. Now that you know a little about me and where we are, let me know a little about you. Tweet me, at reallyphilreese, I'd love to meet you. Let's start the show. How to un-dread the family holidays: Opting out when you can (Phil) Set boundaries and stick to them Don't be afraid to say no If you have big reservations, it's okay to say no, maybe try again next year Creating Space for yourself (Jillian) Bring a good book and leave time at the end of every day to read Booking a massage or nail appointment Cleaning house before you travel so you come home to a tranquil space to recuperate in Taking an extra day off of work for self care when you get home Preparing for disaster (Phil) Take stock of everything that could go wrong and make a plan for how to mitigate Have an exit strategy Help from your friends (Jillian) Finding allies in the family Having people outside the family you can call or text for some relief Finding humor and times to release tension Being open and vulnerable about your anxiety and talking to your family about how they can helpThat's it for this week. If you're in DC and want to hear me DJ check me out Monday the 2nd at JR's for Showtunes Sing-A-Long. On Wednesday, I'll be at The Big Board on H street for Market Crash, and then back to JR's Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Please tweet me what you think about this podcast at reallyphilreese. And as always, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together!Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no fucking censors (sorry Mom). Thanks for joining me today, Monday, November 25th. Let me tell you a little about me, I'm a loving, lovable, fat, hairy, queer, inked, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, video producer and deejay in DC. Now that you know a little about me and where we are, let me know a little about you. Tweet me, at reallyphilreese, I'd love to meet you. Let's start the show. Today's topic is DJingI've been DJing professionally for 5 years now at bars, clubs and parties around DC. When I first started, I was not very good, but by plugging away at it, I learned some secrets to success, and today I'm going to discuss just a few of those secrets.What's the difference between having a DJ and just having a preselected playlist or a jukebox at an event? A DJ is a curator, and can inject human judgement into selecting the music for the event. So to be a DJ you have to be discerning and responsive. That's what differentiates paying you to be there rather than just plugging in an iPod and hitting shuffle. You need to read the room and be willing and able to change the direction of your set on a dime based on the crowd feedback you're getting. This isn't feedback like comment cards, but crowd energy.Why was I bad when I started DJing? It wasn't because I was messing up the fades between the songs or had lots of goofs. I got a lot of the technical tricks very quickly. But I tried to impose my taste on the audience, rather than being responsive to the crowd. I mean, every DJ imposes their tastes on their set, you'd just be an internet jukebox if you didn't. But I would go in with a set playlist of things I wanted to hear, and play through it regardless of how the crowd reacted. A better DJ connects with their crowd and the set becomes a conversation between them. Remember, when you're a DJ, you're there for them, they're not there for you, unless you're also a producer playing your own work.And that's why most people wouldn't make good DJs right off the bat. While having an incredibly deep knowledge of music is a requirement for all DJs, the irony is that this can also be an Achilles heel. Most of us with deep knowledge and interest in music tend to also be music snobs, and a stubborn music snob can't connect with their audience. I love deep house music, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's not that I no longer have strong opinions about the music I like best, I'm still quite discerning, but I had to develop a little humility and open-mindedness in order to get better. Just because I think I know more about good music than these Queens, doesn't mean I can tyrannically impose myself on their good time. I'm there to serve them. So I need to be open minded about what I'm playing --to a point at least. If you're someone who dislikes more music that you encounter than you like, you probably won't make a good DJ.Conversely, though, a DJ should never play a song they dislike or are unfamiliar with. Again, you are not a jukebox. Only play what's in your collection, and only add to your collection music you enjoy. I prefer disco, house and electro influenced tunes, and I tend to dislike the most stereotypical elements of trap, dubstep and Big Room, so my collection is tailored to that. That doesn't mean I have NO trap in my collection, I'm just discerning about what I add. And just because you get a request, doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to play it, even if it's in your collection. Again, read the room. What gives a DJ set the human element is the discretion the DJ has about what to play in what order. But you must be flexible in terms of artist, type, genre, and era, depending on the mood of the room. So you need to have a deep catalog to select from, which means, you have to tone down your snobbery a bit. There are billions of hours of recorded music in the world. There is no way you can't find any common ground between your tastes and your audience's. But that means you gotta open up your tastes beyond your all time faves.In terms of getting the mood right, this is an artform, not a science by any means. It takes a lot of practice. At the beginning of a set, I really like to play some very diverse tunes in terms of genre, era, sound, and mood. I pay close attention to the audience and see if I can catch some people's attention. If the mood is dropping in the bar when I'm playing something, I try to avoid playing anything like it again. When I find a group within the audience really responding to something I'm playing, I try to elicit a bigger and bigger response from them, based on the music they initially reacted to. If I'm successful, that mood becomes contagious. Usually a great party starts out with just one person having a good time, and the good time spreads out from them.Therefore you have to have a deep bench of music to play. Again, a DJ is not a jukebox or an iPod so you should come prepared. But you also don't come prepared with a complete playlist you are married to. When preparing for a gig, you should pick 2-4 times enough music to fill the time you're playing. It helps if you've been to this venue or party before, and experienced a successful set there, so you have some parameters to work with.More than 2-4 times is too much, and you'll end up overwhelmed, but less than 2xs, your bench is not deep enough. With every track, make sure you've listened to closely for quality, for spots where you can transition, and have thought about other tracks that would pair well with it. And of course, the music you pull for your gig must be diverse, but all must be music you like!In terms of technique, that's really all learned in person and can't be taught in a podcast. But it's important that if you want to be a DJ, even moreso than your techniques, having the ability to respond to an audience's mood is the most critical factor in your success. That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil, and drop me a rating on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts if you want me to keep this going. Tweet me at reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. Thursday is Thanksgiving! If you're in DC, come see me DJ Thursday for a special Thanksgiving party at JR's bar on 17th Street NW No cover, ever. Learn more about my upcoming DJ gigs at my website phillipjreese.com. Next week I will have a special co-host for a very special episode! Watch out for that. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, Really Phil Reese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no bleeping censors (sorry Mom). Thanks for joining me today, November 17. Let me tell you a little about me, I'm a loving, lovable, fat, hairy, queer, inked, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, video producer and deejay in DC. Now that you know a little about me and where we are, let me know a little about you. Tweet me, at reallyphilreese, I'd love to meet you. Let's start the show. Today am going to talk about procrastination.I WANTED to talk about it tomorrow, but I promised you an episode today, and I guess I better stick to it.I am a natural procrastinator. Why do today what you can put off until ... infinity?Procrastination isn't just about putting something off. We have to reprioritize and rearrange our schedules sometimes. Just the other day I was planning to get a haircut, but I ran out of time because the very pressing priority of playing with my cats came up. Then just this morning I was going to go to the internet store and return a router that I'm not even using anymore and paying rent on, but then my bed was very warm and comfortable. Then there's the blankets I really need to take to the laundromat.I will find any excuse to procrastinate. And it's a real problem. Most people wouldn't call me lazy, though. That's because procrastination isn't about laziness it's about fear and anxiety. We put off those things we aren't sure we're prepared to deal with yet. Almost all the tasks I procrastinate on deal with having to leave my apartment, lug a bunch of stuff around town by myself on public transit, deal with strangers, and be unsure about how much time the task will take. My anxiety over these things lead me to want to banish the thought of the task from my consciousness so I can think of something more pleasant. We often use these anxieties to give us an excuse to then be lazy instead, but the laziness is a byproduct of the anxieties and procrastination, not the cause of it.What can I do to combat this then.Sometimes I use other anxieties as a motivator. In the case of my haircut, I may tell my DJ partner, Ben I'm going to get a fresh cut before our party on Friday. The anxiety of then showing up and looking like a liar Friday will overpower my anxiety about sitting around in the barber shop for God knows how long.In other cases I may seek out encouragement from someone with more experience. In the case of dealing with my internet company, I have a neighbor who deals with them frequently. I may ask him what his experience at their office was like, so I know a little better what to expect.Finally, necessity can take care of others. It's getting cold. I need clean blankets. So it's either freeze to death or buck up and haul my stuff to the boring laundromat. In this case, maybe I can ask a friend to join me to make it a little less unpleasant and pass the time.Knowing your procrastination's source is actually specific anxieties and not just laziness can help you conquer it. What are you procrastinating on? And what fears or anxieties might be behind that? Is there anyone you can talk to to help you alleviate that fear?So knock something out today you've been procrastinating on! That's it for today. I hope you're enjoying the show. If you like what you hear, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Whole Phil, and drop me a rating on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts if you want me to keep this going. Tweet me at reallyphilreese with topic ideas you think I should cover. If you're in DC, come see me Monday for Showtunes Sing-A-Long and Thursday for the weekly Top 10 countdown following the Drag Race UK finale, both at JR's. Then Friday, the 22nd, join me and Ben for Kicks & Giggles Go POP! at the Green Lantern. All of this info can be found on my website phillipjreese.com. And remember, be good to yourself, love yourself, and we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Welcome to The Whole Phil podcast, I am your host, Phil Reese, the DJ, that's my Facebook name, ReallyPhilReese, that's my Twitter, Phillip J Reese, that's my Instagram, my dot com and my real life. This is the podcast where you get your whole Phil. I talk about whatever I want, with whomever I want, and do whatever I want, because there's no rules, no format, and no bleeping censors (sorry Mom). Thanks for joining me today, Sunday, November 10. Let me tell you a little about me, I'm a loving, lovable, fat, hairy, queer, inked, sober, spiritual, vegetarian, feminist radical leftist web developer, video producer and deejay in DC. Now that you know a little about me and where we are, let me know a little about you. Tweet me, at reallyphilreese, I'd love to meet you. Let's start the show. Today I want to talk about one of my favorite topics: self care! Self care isn't just about putting mud on your face and cucumbers over your eyes and splurging on fine leather goods -- which, as an ethical vegetarian I never do anyway, but you have your own values. Self care tracks back to a fundamentally important piece of what I believe the meaning of life is and why I believe we're here. So let me start there.I believe the meaning of life is to serve others, and I believe we're on this planet -- or if you're listening from Nebulon 16, in this Universe -- to leave it better off than we found it. The reason we exist is to improve the reality we have contact with, for the other beings in it.So, how could self care possibly fit into that? Self care seems selfish on the surface, right? Well, you may know that the theory of the mind is that the mind is theoretically split into 3 parts: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is our basest instincts, the most selfish, self-serving proclivities we have. Immediate gratification and crass consumerism comes from here. The ego is the part of our mind that deals with rational thought, socializing, moderating ourselves, judgement, and so on. The superego is basically our conscience, the part of our psyche that acts as the counterbalance to our id. Usually when people are talking trash about someone else's ego, they're really talking about their id. Or at least implying their ego is out of balance and leaning too much toward the id. These all-id people lack empathy and are completely self-serving. I would say our President is all id. Kanye is all id. Martin Shkreli is all id. Jeffrey Epstein was all id. Most internet trolls are all id. Cult leaders are all id. On the opposite side, being biased too far toward the superego is not good either. Being all superego means being full of guilt, regret, anxiety, trauma, resentments, lacking self-confidence, and self-esteem. It's paralyzing. A healthy ego is balanced between; making sure that the person is tending to themselves and their well being without being selfish.A healthy psyche makes for a better performing mind. Someone with a fucked up psyche cannot function well in the real world. If you're paralyzed with doubt, fear and anxiety, how can you make the world better? How can you serve others.In Alcoholics Anonymous we talk sometimes about keeping your side of the street clean. That is, to say, before you can effectively help someone else you have to get things in order with yourself first. That's why self care is CRITICAL for being of service to others. If you're taking care of yourself you can be fully present for others and their needs. Self care is actually step 1 to saving the world.So what is self care, and what isn't self care? Self care is about putting your important needs first, but not about putting everything you want first. It's not about feeling happy; it's about feeling safe, secure and at peace, and that feeling can make you happy. If you're sick, tired, hungry, irritated, emotionally hurting or physically in pain, you can't be present for the needs of others. Getting enough rest, staying hydrated, eating well, seeing doctors, taking your medications, and extricating from your life people and things that take advantage of you, disrespect you, or hurt you is fundamental self care.The news is terrible to read these days, and we can get caught going down a rabbithole of despair when we're too exposed to it. And if I'm in a rabbithole of despair, I'm paralyzed. I can't do the stuff I need to do. While it's important we don’t just stick our fingers in our ears, cover our eyes and pretend bad stuff isn't happening -- that's id right there -- you need to taper your news diet so that it's helping to keep you energized for the fight, not overwhelming you with disillusionment. When the news is starting to make you feel irritable, turn it off. Close Facebook or Twitter, and go consume some content that makes you feel less anxious instead. Or better yet, turn it off, and go volunteer for something worthwhile. Every day take time to make sure your needs are met: you're rested, you're fed, your bills are paid. And also try to work meditation into your day. I recommend meditating a little in the morning to help you start the day with a peaceful, happy mind, and at night, but I also stop and take small meditation breaks during the day when the stress and anxiety are getting to me. And I'm finding the more I commit to my meditation practice, the more dividends it pays. I'm less anxious, less reactivate and more pleasant to those around me.And sometimes I just play a quick game on my phone, or do a little Sudoku, and concentrate on slowing my breathing down. Anything to get me back to that peaceful but energized feeling that I need to be at my best.And of course having routines, especially when you wake up, and before bed, is critical to regulating that psyche and feeling secure. I recently blogged on phillipjreese.com about night rituals, you should check it out for more on that.Having a psyche that is in the right state helps me do the work I believe in doing: making life better for other beings. That's it for now. Thanks for joining me today. I'm probably going to be releasing these episodes only once a week at first until I really get going. So for the next few months, I'll probably be dropping them on Sundays or early in the week once a week. But someday I hope to be releasing them more rapidly. If you're in the DC area, I hope you can join me at one of my upcoming DJ gigs! I'll be at JR's on 17th Street for Showtunes Sing-A-Long, tomorrow night the 11th starting at 8:30pm, get there early and plan to stick around a while if you plan on making any requests, because there's always way more requests than I have time to play, and I generally stop even accepting requests by 10:30 or 11, because by then the list is always full. On Thursday come for our watch party for RuPaul's Drag Race UK at 8 hosted by the one and only Vagenesis of the Haus of Stone, followed by my weekly all request top 10 Music video countdown. Vote for your favorite new music videos at bit.ly/JRsThursTop10VOTE, and I'll be accepting your votes all the way til the lip sync on drag race, and you can vote as often as you want, so vote every day and see your favorite rise to the top! I've got another party at The Green Lantern with my friend Ben -- together we are Kicks and Giggles -- coming up Friday, November 22, Kicks and Giggles Go Pop, an all inclusive queer underwear dance party! All genders, gender expressions and body types are welcomed and encouraged, it's a safe space to wear whatever you want and dance however you want to our funky house music. No cover at ANY of those events. I hope to see you there. Tweet me about your self care routines at reallyphilreese and like me on Facebook just search Phil Reese the DJ. Thanks for listening and I'll be back very soon. Take care of yourself, love yourself and remember we're all in this together.Support Whole Phil by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/whole-philFind out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes What the Whole Phil podcast is all about.Find out more at https://whole-phil.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.