Podcast appearances and mentions of John C Parkin

  Dans cet épisode, Charlotte te lit un extrait du livre Rien à foutre ! L'ultime voie spirituelle de John-C. Parkin... Et te montre comment tu as le choix ici et maintenant, et que, au final, rien n'a de vraie importance (c'est pas du tout pessimiste c'est promis).   Bonne écoute ! ________ Tu as aimé cet épisode ? Ce n'est que le début de l'aventure Pose ta Dem' ! 1/ Reçois directement par email nos meilleurs contenus, conseils et inspirations pour réussir ta reconversion : https://neon.ly/NKgbd 2/ Rejoins la communauté en ligne sur le groupe Facebook Pose ta Dem' : https://www.facebook.com/groups/20137381379798 3/ Prépare ta tisane et ton plaid, pour une séance de lecture inspirante avec le livre Pose ta Dem' : https://posetadem.com/livre-pose-ta-dem ________ CRÉDITS Pose ta Dem' est un podcast de l'entreprise Pose ta Dem', créé par Charlotte Appietto. Animation : Charlotte Appietto Réalisation : Anastasia De Santis. Musique : www.bensound.com ________ Tu as aimé cet épisode ? Ce n'est que le début de l'aventure Pose ta Dem' ! 1/ Reçois directement par email nos meilleurs contenus, conseils et inspirations pour réussir ta reconversion : https://neon.ly/NKgbd 2/ Rejoins la communauté en ligne sur le groupe Facebook Pose ta Dem' : https://www.facebook.com/groups/201373813797988 3/ Prépare ta tisane et ton plaid, pour une séance de lecture inspirante avec le livre Pose ta Dem' : https://posetadem.com/livre-pose-ta-dem ________  CRÉDITS  Pose ta Dem' est un podcast de l'entreprise Pose ta Dem', créé par Charlotte Appietto et animé par Charlotte Appietto.  Réalisation : Anastasia De Santis.  Musique : www.bensound.com 

Healthcare professionals and people in demanding careers often accept stress as a way of life. However, unchecked stress will someday lead to burnout and create more problems for everyone involved.Our bold solution to this relentless problem is to start becoming obsessed with relaxation! We all know we need to calm down and relax, but how many of us actually do it? John C. Parkin joins us today and encourages us to say 'f**k it' more in our lives! Not everything is important, and sometimes we try too hard to live up to society's excessive expectations. John shares how overcoming stress and setting boundaries often results in overthinking and feelings of guilt.Let's learn to finally prioritise relaxation in our lives and see how much better we become through it.Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:Discover the power of saying ‘f**k it'.Learn how to say ‘f**k it' — even in situations that matter.Understand the importance of relaxation and why it should be a daily priority.Episode Highlights[05:07] How John Discovered the Power of ‘F**k It'[09:23] You Can't Solve Stress with Thinking[14:14] How to Practise ‘F**k It'[16:07] How to Say ‘F**k It' When It's Hard [26:22] The First Step of ‘F**k It'[31:57] The Obstacle to Setting Boundaries and Overcoming Stress[35:06] How to Start Relaxing[41:52] How Relaxation Can Help You[50:08] The Power of Affirmations [59:13] John's Top 3 Tips for RelaxationResourcesSign up for the FREE Summer Holiday Working Survival Guide!Find out how to ‘Relax Very Quickly' for FREEYou Are Not A Frog Ep 15: Eff It Living. An evidence-based way to beat stress and change your life with John C. ParkinConnect with John: The Fuck It Life | LinkedIn | Twitter | EmailF**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. ParkinAll the books in the F**k It seriesStroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor: Book | TED Talk THRIVE Weekly PlannerEnjoyed This Podcast?Write a review and share this with your friends.Connect With MeHave any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris Twitter: @DrRachelMorrisEmail: hello@youarenotafrog.comFind out more about our training here.Support the show

Today on the You Can Heal Your Life podcast, you'll hear a chapter from international best-selling author John C. Parkin's newly revised audiobook, F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way. John introduces the concept of saying “f - it” to the problems and chaos in your life and explains the freedom and joy created by releasing other people's judgements with these two magic words.  You can listen to the full audiobook FREE for 14 days in the Empower You Unlimited Audio App. To download the app today, Apple users visit hayhouse.com/apple and Android users visit hayhouse.com/google. 

Discover how to stop struggling and find fulfilment, joy, and inspiration by saying "F**k It" to the stress, problems, and chaos in your life. In this episode, UK Managing Director Michelle Pilley talks to international best-selling author John C. Parkin about how saying “f- it” can transform your life. By reminding us to stop listening to other people and start listening to ourselves, we can take a leap and unlock freedom and happiness.  You can listen to John's newly revised audiobook, F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way FREE for 14 days in the Empower You Unlimited Audio App. To download the app today, Apple users visit hayhouse.com/apple and Android users visit hayhouse.com/google. 

Many of us spend most of our days within the four walls of our home and workplace. With everything we have to do, it seems challenging to set aside a few minutes out of our indoor spaces. But when you find the time to connect with nature, you might discover new perspectives and insights into your life.Henri Stevenson joins us to talk about the ways connecting with nature can shift our thinking and open up new solutions. We discuss the differences in our thoughts and feelings when we're in nature versus within artificial walls. She shares her stories of finding metaphors for life situations reflected in nature and what she learned from them. Henri reminds us that sometimes, the solutions to our problems may show up in quiet spaces when we take a few moments to connect with nature.Curious about how to take time to learn and connect with nature? Learn how and much more when you tune into this episode!3 Reasons to Listen:Find out the importance of taking some time to relax and take your thoughts on a walk.Learn to connect with nature in a way that fits your life (even if you only have 5 minutes!).Discover different perspectives on your life with the help of nature.Episode Highlights[05:33] How Henri Learned to Connect With Nature[08:41] Stepping Out of the House and Office[09:48] Bringing Your Thoughts Into Nature[14:40] Life Lessons From Nature[17:09] The Seasons of Life and Nature[19:28] Finding Meanings[22:34] Learning in Relaxation[25:50] The Outside VS Office Perspective[28:45] Where to Connect with Nature[31:29] Setting Aside Time for Walk[36:54] A Long Retreat Into Nature[41:26] Henri's Final AdviceResourcesHenri is also running a one-day thinking nature retreat in Hertfordshire this July.Join us in connecting with nature during our September Retreat. Reserve your place here.Beat stress and work happier with the Shapes Toolkit. Use the toolkit with your team by joining the Resilient Team Academy.Find out more about Henri Stevenson on her websiteWanderful: Human Navigation for a Complex World by David PearlPodcast Street Wisdom by David PearlYou Are Not a Frog Episode 15 with John C. Parkin talking about his book, F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way Grounded: How Connection With Nature Can Improve Our Mental and Physical Well Being by Dr Ruth AllenBirds songs from the RSPB Nature ReserveYou Are Not a Frog Episode 117 with Dr Claire Kaye on self-coachingGreen and Blue Spaces and Mental Health, a study by the World Health OrganizationFind walking routes on the Ramblers Association websiteYou Are Not a Frog Episode 94 with Support the show

Happy New Chi'er! You know that every show I craft is a gift for you, each and every week. I do this, not because I have to, but because I can and have access to amaZing guests, often pioneers in the field of energy medicine which at its core is preventative powering-up self care. With such useful stuff to share on how and why attending to your primary energy does indeed matter, very much, it does us well to prioritise this relationship with ourselves, so we can tap into a free wellspring of resource, from whence to burst forth and be of service - and know how and when to relax. This episode started with a draw to discuss Space and Time for oneself as I have been needing to craft me some Chi Time over the winter break. It then grew into sharing a keen meditation to prepare you for some highlights from 2021. Deep and rich and even (balanced)  Here's the direct link to UK Health radio, which I highly recommend as the music is an integral part of the flow of the show IMHO :) Your can, off course pick it up on the podcast channels as 'Clara Apollo's Chi Time'.  https://bit.ly/3znt76H We begin with a powerful call-to-action track by Estas Tonne and Tobias 'The Call' (from the Time of the Sixth Sun movie) followed by qi-full thoughts on the importance of letting oneself drop into spaciousness and a guided meditation that invites you to access that via inner space presencing to drop into a deep well of resource. In second half of this first Chi Time of the year, I choose x3 excerpts as highlights from 2021. The first from the much loved Qigong teacher and author Mimi Kuo Deemer, Institute of Integral Qigong Arts CEO Dr Roger Jahnke and F*** Its Qi-teach John C Parkin.  Topics are on balance, nature, power, activating high vibe and how Qi is an actual barometer of truth.  Happy 2022 Chi-stars, wish well and wisely as we imagine the New Earth into Being together. With Love All The Way Clara A ⭐️

Drop back from the drama and feel your Qi The key into managing your vitality and truth, with Eff-it's John C. Parkin. Find out how you can use Qigong in everyday life as he describes his way into the practice and way out of stress and anxiety, including the following; Chi = the language of utter truth  Kinesiology with Qigong  The 'Eff-it' response to dismantle stress Music makes chi flow How to feel your chi Sitting in the back Wayward Taoism Barefoot Doctor, Stephen Russell - his track 'Trust' plays us out Earth Nature and our natures Importance of reframing drama into what's really occurring for you   Chi Time is originally produced for UK Health Radio, this episode can be heard in full tuneful glory here: https://bit.ly/3b4dBBp You can also catch the video version on Clara Apollo's Chi Time TV on YouTube https://youtu.be/p9w3IgGdyB0  Connect with John here:  https://www.thefuckitlife.com  The F**k It Way https://www.facebook.com/thefkitlife/  Connect with Clara for Elemental Qigong here: https://consciouslivingevents.co.uk   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm taking the pressure off myself and saying F**k It. “Whenever things matter too much. Whenever you feel tense or anxious or afraid. Just say F**k It and sigh and breathe out. It works a treat," said John Parkin.   Check Me Out On Instagram @iamSincerelyTam   Book F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin

Sometimes it doesn't last long. But it's an unforgettable taste.   Check Me Out On Instagram @iamSincerelyTam   Book F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin

Approval is like anything else in this life: it can cause pain if it has a lot of meaning for you, if you're attached to it.   Check Me Out On Instagram @iamSincerelyTam   Book F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin

Over the summer we've curated a series of past You Are Not A Frog episodes to help you reflect, take stock, and to help you get some headspace as you prepare for what's bound to be a busy and challenging Autumn. These episodes are some of my personal favourites and I'm so pleased to be able to share them again. This week… Eff it living. This was one of the very first YANAF episodes I recorded. I'm talking with John C. Parkin about his life mantra - the clue is in the title! Whilst it might seem to be a bit dismissive, this philosophy is based on some ancient principles which might just help ease some of the stress and anxiety we experience. And it certainly helped me on holiday when my family were driving me mad…..find out more by listening to the episode here. Caution - this episode does contain swearing!Find the original episode shownotes here Find more episodes hereFind out more about our training programmes hereSupport the show (https://youarenotafrog.com)

"A goal is the more anal twin brother of the plan. The plan dreams about what he wants to do; the goal then Saying F**k It gets really focused and sets some deadlines for achieving these things." — John Parkin   Check Me Out On Instagram @iamSincerelyTam   Book F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin

Just be who you are. You are just fine exactly as you are right now. Just feel that now.   Check Me Out On Instagram @iamSincerelyTam   Book F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin

This week I am joined by John C. Parkin, author of the F**k It series of books. 18 years ago John and his wife Gaia said F**k It to the corporate life and moved to Italy with their twin baby boys where they would host retreats. John’s books have sold nearly 1 million copies and have been translated in to 26 languages. Head to John’s website to find out more about the books, the retreats and working 1 on 1. In this episode you will hear: 06:00 packing up and heading to Italy 6 months after having children 08:00 European Retreat of the year 12:00 F*ck It! 11:30 It’s so F*cking irresponsible this! 13:00 F*ck IT! Be at peace with life as it is 16:15 an act of surrender 19:30 Do more of what you love and less of what you don’t 23:30 for the love of creation 25:30 Doing what you love takes courage 29:45 raising children the F*ck It way 34:00 F**k me that’s amazing 35:10 sometimes we F**k it and leap and sometimes we need incremental change 36:00 the iteration of an idea - being better than yesterday is the result of love not the cost of entry 38:00 use F**k it as a mantra to tune in to yourself and the flow of life I really hope this episode inspires you to say F**k it and do more of what you love. Please do share it with someone you’d love to inspire too. Always love Ryan Connect with John Website: https://www.thefuckitlife.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefkitlife Connect with Always Better than Yesterday Website: www.ryanhartley.co.uk Email: ryanbhartley@gmail.com WhatsApp: (+44) 07970339936 Master Heart and Mind Group Coaching / Merch / Free Life Languages mini profile: www.ryanhartley.co.uk Instagram: @ryanbhartley Thank you to our friends at WebCreation, proud supporters of the Always Better than Yesterday Interview Sessions. Head to www.WebCreationGroup.com for stunning websites at sensible prices. Don't forget to subscribe and come join our community on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/weareABTY

John C. Parkin is the author of publishing phenomenon 'F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way' which has sold over 600 000 copies. The book has changed people's lives with its simple message of saying 'F*** It' to unnecessary concerns, societal pressures and auto-generated stresses..This podcast is a clarion call to relax and give up any worries that are not warranted. What can you walk away from? What can you leave behind? What can you say 'I'd really rather not' to?.James and I got so much from this podcast and we're sure you will too..New Course: Lifefulness 101.In the podcast you'll hear about our new course - Lifefulness 101 - that launches in January. Lifefulness 101 is a 12 week group learning experience that will give you the skills, tools and team to thrive in 2021.You can find tickets on the link below Super Early Bird Tickets are available until December 3rd for 50% off at £90. There's a very limited number available and they're already selling fast.https://www.lifefulness.io/lifefulness-101Thanks so much for listening, and please get in touch if you've got any questions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Rachel is joined by John C Parkin, author of the bestselling F**k It: The ultimate spiritual way, to talk about the powerful philosophy behind the F**k It mentality, and how using it can make our lives better. We chat about how the phrase F**k it is so powerful as it helps us form a bridge from our left brain to our right brain to access the very powerful, creative aspects of brains – the part of ourselves which lives in the present and helps us to truly relax. We discuss the concept that one of the reasons why we feel so stressed is that we attach too much meaning to too many things (what other people think of us being a prime example). When we relax, others relax and we get better outcomes in both work and life. We discuss how the F**k It principle might help busy doctors even with things that matter very much and how a bit of self-coaching (anabolic coaching – you heard it here first!) can help us to get some perspective, work out what really makes a difference in life, move forwards and take action to overcome stress and overload.Podcast linkshttps://www.thefuckitlife.com Follow John on twitter @thefuckitlifeF**k It: The ultimate spiritual way book The Effect of Swearing of Strength and Power Performance, Keele Universityhttps://www.facebook.com/thefkitlife/Sign up for downloadable CPD reflection forms plus more tools and resourcesFor more episodes of You are not a frog, check out our website www.youarenotafrog.co.uk and sign up to our mailing list here for loads of useful resources about thriving at work. Follow Rachel on twitter @DrRachelMorris or LinkedIn and find out more about her online and face to face courses for doctors on surviving and thriving at work at www.shapesfordoctors.com or for other organisations at www.wildmonday.co.ukSupport the show (https://shapesfordoctors.com/)

Mis comentarios sobre “Fuck it” de John C. Parkin

Ah crap, I’ve gone and made it weird, haven’t I? We were getting on so well with all the brain stuff, physical health talk and mindset topics. Even the mental and emotional health shizzle from last week ended up being pretty cool after starting off with an awkward eye roll. But now I’ve gone and mentioned the ‘s’ word… spiritual. What a dick. Hear me out though. Because I’m not simply going to suggest we all need to become hippies and spend 10 years meditating on a mountain in Asia. What is Spiritual Health? I suppose we’d better start, then, by looking at what ‘spiritual health’ actually is. Now this potentially is going to open up one hell of a can of worms as I know there can be a whole host of definitions here. To me, however, the term ‘spiritual health’ has nothing to do with religion, hardcore dogmatism or falling into being any particular stereotype or ‘type’ of person. In other words, you can benefit from improving your spiritual health without needing to start memorising a particular book or developing an obsession with Buddha statues. But there’s also nothing wrong with doing that if you want to (personally, I love Buddha statues). Essentially, spiritual health is about continually looking to ‘grow’ as a person, while still understanding that we will never be ‘fully grown’. So however much we grow and learn, there will always be more room to grow and more things to learn. To me, a spiritually healthy person is someone who feels like they’re living a meaningful, purposeful existence and lives with a constant awareness and openness to the idea that everything they believe about life could be wrong. So What’s the Point? It all sounds kind of cool and fancy, doesn’t it? But then there’s also the consideration of why do we need to bother looking after all this and thinking about spirituality and improving our spiritual health? Well, in my view, it allows us to move away from, or at least begin to move away from, the bullshit of everyday life. The perfectionism, the illogical fear, the worry, the comparing ourselves to others, the constant judgements being made, the drifting through life – it all starts to get put into a kind of perspective when we begin working on our spiritual health. When we start doing this, things start to become a little bit clearer and simpler. That horrible empty kind of feeling can begin finally filling up. And we can start to experience more joy, happiness, love and that oh so elusive ‘inner peace’ in our lives. So, as I’m sure you’ll agree, our spiritual health is a pretty good thing to get a handle on. How to Improve Spiritual Health Let’s take a look at some things that we can do to start working on our spiritual health. What we can do to give ourselves a ‘spiritual workout’, so to speak. By no means is this an exhaustive list. I’m sure there’s much more that can be done, depending on what one would bring into the bracket of ‘spiritual health’. But here are six things I feel are pretty important and useful when it comes to improving our spiritual health. #1 Just Let Go “Let it go” is a phrase we tend to throw around a lot. But what exactly is ‘it’? What are we trying to let go of? Well, this all stems from meaning and how and where we attach meaning. You see, meaning is a self-made concept. When you first arrive in this world, nothing means anything to you. Nothing matters except getting food and going to the bathroom. But as we progress in life and get older, we start to give meaning to more and more things. How we look, how successful we are, how much money we make, the people we have around us, our social status, making a difference with our life, meeting deadlines, paying bills, not upsetting people, having a nice car, watching the latest TV series, travelling to see other parts of the world, sports teams, doing the garden, keeping the house tidy, setting a good example, God or a religion. We give all, some or possibly even more of these things meaning in our lives and convince ourselves that they matter so much. In fact, we convince ourselves they matter so much that we attach them to our happiness. After years of being told by parents, teachers, authorities and our whole world about how much these things matter, we create this belief that all these things create an infrastructure to happiness and living life the ‘right way’. We feel like we need these things. That having them all sorted out is so important or… well that’s just the thing. Or what? Trouble is, life sometimes has other ideas and kicks us in the gonads when it comes to all this stuff. It blocks things from happening, makes it hard and creates situations where we fuck up. And when this happens, we start to feel like broken human beings who can’t even carry out the simple act of living a good life. Letting go, or, as I like to call it, saying ‘fuck it’, is the act of breaking that bond of attaching meaning to all these random things. Breaking Up with Our ‘Meaningful’ Things I realise I’ve titled this first point “just let go”, as if it’s so simple to just say “fuck it” and all the meaning and attachment you’ve built up over the years will disappear. Job done. Zen-master Buddha badass you now are. Or maybe not. But think of these things like an ex-girlfriend or an ex-boyfriend. And let’s imagine that you’re the one initiating the breaking up (you bastard). If you’ve been in a relationship with someone for a number of years, even if you’re the one doing the breaking up, it takes time for you to ‘get over it’. It takes time for you to, essentially, detach the meaning of that relationship from your life. To disassociate that relationship or that person from your idea of happiness so that you can move on. What I’m driving at here is that ‘letting go’ of the attachment of meaning we have with so many different things in our lives is tough, requires work and takes time. But if we can break that bond, break up that relationship, then we can see that none of this stuff really matters in the grand scheme of things. Let’s Get Some Perspective Now I know you’re probably sat there screaming at me “this all sounds so idealistic and great, but some things do matter. I need to pay my bills and have a good job and make a difference, etc.” Okay, I agree. But they only matter because you choose to create a feeling that they matter. And this means you can also choose to say ‘fuck it’ and create a feeling that they don’t matter. People who find out they have cancer often have a sudden realisation that all the shit they were worrying about just doesn’t matter anymore. All the things they were allowing to take over their lives – the work emails building up, paying off that bill, getting that more important job – they just all begin to seem so… insignificant. I’m not saying you’re not allowed to care about anything and should give up on goals and dreams, but maybe just not attach so much meaning to it all and sacrifice our happiness and inner peace in the present moment because of fears we may lose what we have now or not get what we want in the future. So invite you to simply zoom out, take a look at your life from a distance and consider the possibility that you could maybe let go of the meaning you are attaching to some things. Note: An unbelievably epic book that really helped me on this concept is “F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way” by John C. Parkin. #2 Take Time for Introspection It’s so easy in this modern day world to get caught up in the ‘rat race’ of life and spend our time always pushing and driving forward. Of course, this is good in one sense. We all want to achieve things and live rich, fulfilling lives. And in order to do that, we need to work and be consistent action takers. But we also need to remember the importance and value we can get from taking a step back and having regular moments of introspection. If we’re constantly on, moving and driving, then we have very little time to consider whether we’re actually going in the right direction. By taking the time to reflect inwardly every so often, we can allow ourselves the pleasure of assessing everything in our life and whether we are living in line with our values. We can ask ourselves deep questions and give ourselves the time and space to answer them properly without thinking about having to rush back to the next client call, marketing activity or staff meeting. Because when we ask ourselves these deep questions, and allow ourselves the time to go beyond the superficial ‘fake’ answers, we discover things about ourselves. And when we discover things about ourselves, we become more aware of who we really are. And when we can become more aware of our truest selves, then this provides room for growth. Discovering Purpose Many people go through periods where they are trying desperately to “figure out their purpose”. I hear so many podcasts and see so many blogs that give all kinds of ways of ‘discover one’s purpose’. In fact, I had a crisis of purpose myself recently. But I discovered that focussing on this one purpose, finding that one thing you were put here to do, is pretty much a needless frustration to have. Nobody wants to ‘have a purpose’. We just want to feel purposeful. So we should, in fact, be focusing on trying to simply find and do what makes us feel purposeful. This feeling is what we desire when we all delve into this whole ‘purpose thing’. And feeling purposeful can come from anything. Acts as small as helping an old man cross the street, to as big as building an international charity that helps millions of people. But finding out what makes us feel purposeful is an introspective act. And it takes regular moments or periods of stepping back and assessing in order for us to ensure we are properly aligned in this way. #3 Express Some Self-Love Of course, we can give ourselves some love in a physical way. (No not like that, I can tell what you’re thinking). I mean loving yourself through positive actions, such as exercise, healthy food, meditation, good sleep and all that good stuff. But perhaps more importantly is loving yourself on a more spiritual level. Sometimes we can do all these ‘good’ things, such as exercise and eating well, from a place of fear and hate. We can get to a position in our thinking where we hate how we look and how we feel (or fear losing it) so much that we become obsessed with constant exercise and never putting a foot wrong with our diet. On the other side of that coin, of course, we can also punish ourselves with poor exercise and eating habits. But it can still come from the same place of hating ourselves. Either way, coming from a place of fear and hate is not exactly the most spiritually badass thing we can do. Self-Love from Self-Acceptance So where we can start with all this is to make the decision to accept ourselves, just as we are, right now. Each and every person reading this is worthy of love from themselves and others, regardless of things that happened in the past, what they look like or any other factor. Nobody needs to be ‘fixed’ or to experience ‘self-improvement’, because there is nothing that is broken or that needs improving upon. All there is, is room to grow. Think about the acorn. At its smallest, the acorn still has everything it needs within it to keep growing. As long as it stays nourished, it will become a mighty oak. The acorn is continually looking to grow, but at no point is it ever ‘broken’. The only way it can do anything ‘wrong’ is to stop growing. We each start off as a human form of an acorn. And we have the ability to grow into a human version of a mighty oak tree. But it is key to embrace our imperfections, accept and love ourselves unconditionally as we are and be on a path of growth, not trying to fix. #4 Make Room for Growth So how do we stay on a ‘growth pathway’, so to speak? Essentially, we need to make room for and be open to growth to take place and consistently nourish ourselves with things that will create growth. One of the most crucial things we can do is open ourselves up to the idea that everything is an opportunity for growth. Rather than staying closed off and ‘set in our ways’, being open and genuinely listening to new ideas without any bias can be extremely powerful. We tend to form deep-rooted beliefs and opinions based on previous experiences and what we’ve been told by authorities in our lives. But growth occurs when we put ourselves in a position to challenge these. If we accept that everything we know and believe could be wrong, then growth is so much easier. In fact, dispel the idea that there is in every situation a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ opinion. Simply the opportunity to learn, grow and add more knowledge. Actually seeking out and listening without judgement to opinions, thoughts and experiences that are perhaps opposing our own or come from outside our usual sources can be one of the most powerful things we can do. Read books you wouldn’t normally read. Listen to people you wouldn’t normally listen to. Seek out experiences you wouldn’t normally seek out. By submerging ourselves in only ‘one side of the argument’, so to speak, we’re simply reinforcing old beliefs and patterns and not allowing ourselves room to grow. Ridding Ourselves of Judgement The key phrase here in all this is ‘without judgement’. If something disagrees or goes against our current belief set, it goes a long way to just consider it without passing instant judgement and blindly casting it away as complete BS. Of course, things will trigger you. I’m not expecting you to just be able to from now on sit back and not react to anything like some kind of crazy Buddhist monk. There will be times when you read or see something that instantly sparks something inside and, sometimes, pisses you off. But rather than running with that, denying any possibility that you could be wrong and potentially launching into some tirade of abuse, it can be extremely useful for you and your future growth to simply ask why it triggered you in the first place. Be honest with yourself and ask ‘why don’t I really like this person?’ or ‘why did I really just get pissed off by what that person said?’. This can be tough, but the truth will set you free. There We Go… I now feel like I’ve unleashed my spiritual zen master knowledge on you. By no means am I claiming this to be the ultimate guide to spiritual health and everything you need to know. But these are things that have really helped me and I wanted to share. Feel free to non-judgmentally cast them away as complete bollocks (see what I did there? ;) ) But this is my truth at the moment. Hopefully some of it will help you in some way. Take a listen to the podcast episode for this blog post via the player at the top. Or head over to iTunes and subscribe there for Apple lovers, and over on Stitcher for non-Apple peeps. Love, Laughter & Light, Mike P.S. If you haven’t done so already, click here to join my Facebook group and engage with all the other dudes and dudettes in the Enlightened Entrepreneurial Badasses tribe!

This week's guest is John C. Parkin, author of the hugely successful self help books, F**k It. In the show we discussed John's background, philosophical outlook on life and what inspired him to use a very powerful profanity as a spiritual tool in helping people let go. We also discussed his beautiful Italian retreat where spiritual seekers can go to chill out and experience the full impact of his light hearted but affective philosophical teachings. You can find out more about John and his retreat via the links at the bottom. Warning this show does contain spiritual swearing, if you're easily offended, then please find your inner childish streak to proceed.