Podcast appearances and mentions of peter pans

.Fanns det homon i svenkfinland? Är dom kvar? Julle och Lina ser tillbaka på de två åren som har gått och kan gott konstatera: JA! Julles röst är oigenkännelig och Lina känner sig mer säker i sin lesbiska identitet. Har deras frontallober utvecklats till slut?På homohissa kommer DOKTOR James Barry på besök - inte att förvirras med Peter Pans författare, som Julle gjorde.

Carin fyller 35 och det kommer med blandade känslor. Har vuxen blivit ett skällsord, något man inte vill relatera till och varför i så fall? Är det kanske så att vuxenvärlden har failat en hel generation som nu inte vågar ta ansvar och idealiserar en Peter Pan-livsstil. Antingen det, eller så är det bara så att vi vill göra vår egna grej och byta glödlampor när det passar oss, även om det innebär att badrummet är nattsvart i tre veckor. Frihet och ansvar dissikeras.

In this episode of the Rising Man Podcast, Jeddy Azuma explores the distinction between being a "Peter Pan" and a "real man." He discusses how some men are labeled as Peter Pans for prioritizing fun and adventure over responsibilities and commitments, likening them to the character who never grows up. Azuma argues that while imagination and play are crucial, they should not replace the importance of commitment and building a vision for one's life. He emphasizes that true maturity involves balancing fun with responsibility and encourages men to honestly assess their lives.  Rising Man Links: The Brotherhood || The Rising Man's online community - FREE to join for any man interested in brotherhood, connection, and purpose. Featuring weekly community calls + sharing prompts! Instagram || @risingmanmovement & @jeddyazuma YouTube || The Rising Man Movement Website || RisingMan.org

THE NERVE REUNIONThis is Bill Mesnik of the Splendid Bohemians with a musical tale that could Hit A Nerve with you:Sometimes life surprises you, and families are created and sustained where you don't expect. I belong to a garage band brotherhood, consisting of five late-life Peter Pans, swaddled in the moon-glow of teenage rock n roll dreams, and dedicated to the proposition that all musical talent, although not necessarily created equal, can restore rejuvenation to those who practice together. We call ourselves The Nerve (as in: “of all the…”), and we are: Steve Rockwell (guitar and vocals); Rees Pugh (drums and vocals); Preston Maybank (bass and vocals); myself - they call me “Professor” (guitar and vocals); and our harmonica emeritus Bob Pescovitz, who relocated to Bellingham, WA. We've played in bars, bowling alleys, house parties, and street fairs….. for over 25 years, and I love them dearly. When I retired and moved and hour and a half away, I thought, “Ok, that's the end of that”, and even when our eternally optimistic leader Rocky vowed to organize a jam to anoint my new garage I have to admit I doubted that it would ever happen. But, lo, the waters parted last weekend and the Nerve reunited. I offer this document as proof that miracles, even ragged ones, can come true. The cuts are: Kansas City, Tough Enough (with Ben Math sitting in) , Go to Work, Go to Church (my original), and Clyde Played Bass - worked up by Preston in honor of my new grandson.  

If you don't believe in heaven, then you have to try to find it here on earth. And you won't. But you will spend a lifetime looking for it. You may think you found it for a minute, but it's fleeting. There is no metaphor used more often as an illustration of heaven than sex, and there is no more apt metaphor for the illusion of an earthly heaven as well, because no matter how much sex you have, you still have most of the day where you are not doing it. After the ecstasy, the march of hours awaits. You might even say this is the difference between Pop music and the Blues, where Pop suggests that good feelings set you free, and the Blues (and Country) confirm the aftermath. Belinda Carlisle sings “You make heaven a place on earth” and Bill Withers reports from Act II of life, after you've made a lover your idol and she fails to live up to it, “Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.” What we substitute for God is the definition of an idol, and sex is the #1 greatest hit substitution of all time. It's not the only thing. There are others: there is the next big thing, the exotic, the new, the sensory high, the perfect partner, the perfect society, the flawless family, a career, a new spouse, a life where we are never offended or hurt, or sports teams, or cars and boats. But all of these substitutes prove to be empty trophies in the long run. Why? Because they are substitutes, like Splenda or Equal instead of real cane sugar. They taste similar but they are artificial replacements that lack nourishment. All of our substitutes for God are attempts to arrange the world in a way that we want it, in a struggle with how God set this world up for us to live in. Like it or not, we are here, and even the mystics and mindful have to come back to earth to eat and go to the bathroom. There is no substitute for the needs of both the body and the soul. This is why our relationship to God must be personal for the good of the soul, and our relationship to food, drink, sex, and all of creation must be personal for the good of the body. You will never arrive at heaven here in this world. Good feelings do not equal heaven. I don't care how hot she is; I don't care how delicious the cake is; I don't care how high the drug takes you: you will never find peace in any of those things. Billions have tried it. And billions have come down that mountain empty-handed. The illusions fade. The high wears off. Youth, beauty, power, and wealth fades. In the 21st century, nowhere is this illusion more obvious than in these areas: sports, careers, relationships, and entertainment. Everyone is squabbling over these scraps as if they bring eternal life. So no, you will never arrive at heaven here in this world. But you can get a peek of it. It's just not via the ways that the world promises, and the media today, most of all, from Disney to Victoria's Secret to OnlyFans, pretends that sex is the key to unlocking heaven here on earth, but it's a mirage in the desert that offers no living water to those who pursue it. You need something more substantial, steady, rock-solid, and unchanging to provide the food for your life, your hope, and your peace. That food is from the Bread of Life, both divine and human. That peace comes through a relationship in prayer, in humility before God. Any other angle or technique and it's not going to happen. As long as you try to be the potter instead of being the pot, as long as you try to shape everything into the shape you want instead of conforming your will to God's, you will be searching for something that did not exist in the beginning, is not now, and never will be. There is only one that was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. I know many, many people, including myself, that have tried to find it the quick and easy way, and didn't get what they wanted. Worse, many have got what they wanted and found that it wasn't really what they were looking for. It's interesting to watch people get what they want and then start chasing the next thing. I did this, repeatedly, for many years, until I finally landed on the one thing that fulfills all desire. What's interesting is that sex became a centerpiece of what we think of as “fulfillment” and chastity has become the dirty word. That which dare not speak its name is not not adultery or homosexuality or pornography. No. It's chastity. Is anyone surprised by this? I can recall watching a thousand TV shows, from Doogie Howser to Desperate Housewives to Game of Thrones, and hearing a thousand songs, from Led Zeppelin to Snoop Dogg to Rihanna, that suggested that virginity and chastity were not something to celebrate but something to be mocked. Virginity was to be removed, as quickly as possible, like a malignant tumor. That is the environment and message that anyone growing up with a TV in the last fifty years had to experience. Most men have a story of the first Playboy centerfold they witnessed, or other magazine, that opened the door to artificial concepts of women and sex. Upon sight, those images were embossed into the memory, seared like a steak on a blazing hot grill. You cannot unsee pornography. Millions of men are stuck in that rut forever after, because women have become objects of pleasure and nothing more. Today, thanks to science and technology, billions of children who are raised on iPhones have this capability to discover what cannot be unseen, and they can see it whenever they wish. Here is my thesis on all of this. Men have failed women. More precisely, men have failed to grow up and take responsibility. We tend to think of education and career as signs of maturity, but these are false signals. A career is not “growing up.” Nice possessions do not indicate maturity. A mortgage does not make a man. A laundry list of experiences do not lead to wisdom. All of these things have been promoted as giving purpose to life, and none of them do that. These are all selfish things, which are not bad by themselves, but when placed as the highest thing lead to the abandonment and rejection of women, who become just another object to obtain, use, and discard. If you read the history of the sexual revolution, it was not driven by women. This is probably the greatest myth of our era, more damaging than the UFO mythology, and less fun as well. The sexual revolution was driven by men, by so many Peter Pans who weren't stuck in innocent childhood but were stuck in perpetual adultolescence, playing adult while acting like college sophomores forever after. Here's something you need to consider and examine very seriously to understand and de-program yourself from what you've been sold: The birth control movement was not about women. The abortion movement was not about women. Neither of those movements was for the benefit of women.It was always about men.It was about men getting away with treating women like objects, like single-use throwaway humans, and taking no responsibility for the sex that they wanted to have without acting as fathers and husbands. That's the dirty secret of the whole sexual revolution. It wasn't about freedom for women. It was about freedom for men. The fact that everyone bought into it doesn't justify it any more than slavery was justified by bad-faith interpreters. No, the argument of “Fifty million Elvis fans can't be wrong” doesn't hold up, especially when it comes to issues of faith and morals. The fact that Americans and Europeans buy the modern identity lies just illustrates how well the sales pitch and demonstration was, but we are now all witness to the real world application and the disaster it has brought over the past fifty or seventy years. As I've mentioned in this series, there are three parts to a sale: the pitch, the demonstration, and the real world application. The pitch and demo looked good, but now we see the fruit of buying a bad product. And this should be where the second sale fails. It should fail, because the product and idea that was sold didn't work. When the first sale had a good pitch and initial demonstration, but the product is a flop in the real world, the second sale should never happen unless the buyer is a sucker. We will find out in the Generation after Z if the suckers are really suckers, or if the world turns back to the truth. One thing is certain, written about from Plato's Republic to the Book of Judges to The Fall of Ancient Rome to 20th Century Nationalism: calamity must come from a bad idea that has taken hold of a people before they are awakened to repentance. There is spiritual combat on a personal level and a group level, and of course the only way to win on both levels is to fight the spiritual warfare starting with oneself. Now, a good salesperson can ram that second sale through. They often do. I've watched them do it to customers who should absolutely ditch a software product. But eventually, with a bad product, the employees, buyers, and users revolt. No, let me rephrase that. They don't so much revolt as simply withdraw support. Employees leave the company, buyers write bad reviews, and users find a new method of doing their work. In other words, in seeking the good, people go elsewhere when bad ideas are selected and insisted upon. You can see this today in public schools and police forces, where bad ideas have been selected by the governors and administrators. It is rare to talk to a teacher or police officer who is not praying for the day they reach twenty years of service so that they can lock in their pension, and then quit, or find a new way to increase their years in government service. They are withdrawing. As we are made in the image and likeness of God, we act in ways that mimic God without even knowing it - in some things. In choosing sin, we do not act like God, but in pursuing the good, true, and beautiful, we do act like God, and why is this? Because what we are really pursuing is God himself. Heaven. To be with God - that's the whole point of all of our actions, we just don't usually realize it. For those who think God “causes” bad things to happen, he does not. He acts just like employees, buyers, and users of a bad product. He simply withdraws and allows the chaos to re-enter. Recall how the Bible opens, where God stretches his hand out over the “watery chaos.” We are never that far from chaos, and all that keeps us from it is God's hand. The universe could be snapped out of existence now if God merely tweaked the gravitational constant by a hundredth. Many do not understand what the Great Flood story is about, because we don't teach it properly to children, so we just think it's some folklore about animals and a localized flood in the middle east. But it's not about that, not at the deeper level. God does not send the flood, he simply withdraws his protection over sinful people, because they have adopted a substitute for God, and since they refuse to turn back to him, he simply stops holding the chaos back. The deluge happens on its own as he no longer graces creation with order. He allows the full disorder to occur again - the watery chaos. I didn't understand what “watery chaos” meant until my near-drowning in the Ironman race, but once I was floating in a stormy lake, the penny dropped on the meaning. This withdrawing of God also happens at the Tower of Babel story, where God withdraws from sinful people and scatters them. He doesn't send us sin, we create it, and then he lets it play out, like the loving father in the Prodigal Son. God says, “Yes, I've given you free-will, so if you want to drink and w***e around, you can, but you can't do it with my blessing, so you're on your own.” Notice that the father in the Prodigal Son gives the wild child his money and the child leaves - he doesn't bring the prostitutes into his father's house. God remains perfect, and we go chasing foolish substitutes. So you could say that either we withdraw from God, or he withdraws from us, but either way, he is good and loving and the choice of rejection via substitution is always, always one that we make. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.whydidpetersink.com

In this week's ASK ME ANYTHING, Ryan Michler and Shawn Villalovos take on your questions from the Iron Council. Hit Ryan up on Instagram at @ryanmichler and share what's working in your life.  ⠀ SHOW HIGHLIGHTS   (0:00) Show kick-off⠀ (3:40) What can we do to combat the rise of “Peter Pans” (i.e., men who are acting like boys and don't want to grow up) (19:30) How do I reconcile maintaining the relationship with my mentor and not necessarily taking all of their advice? (33:40)) How are you dealing with the “here and now?” What methods are you using on the daily basis to stay on the path? (44:10) How do you draw the line between comforting a loved one after a loss or setback and rewarding less than ideal results? (51:30 Do you have any advice or direction for guys looking for intentional/professional help - therapy or life coach? (1:00:40) What is the best way to handle ultimatums in relationships?     Get your signed copy of Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto   For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.   Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready   Download the NEW Order of Man Twelve-Week Battle Planner App and maximize your week.

Que é a idade? Que significa e por que hai a quen lle importa tanto? Esta semana discutimos estas preguntas coa lingüista e escritora Teresa Moure co gallo da publicación do seu novo libro "La edad bajo sospecha. Una crítica al edadismo y a las edadofobias". Poñemos o foco tamén sobre os termos que empregamos para referirnos ás persoas segundo a etapa da vida en que se encontran e sobre a propia necesidade de marcamos límites para definir esas etapas. Ilustramos as diferenzas entre idade biolóxica e idade sentida e desabrochamos os corsés de todas as cousas que se consideran acaídas para unha idade ou outra. Para as revellas, para os Peter Pans, para as que beberon da fonte da eterna xuventude - velaquí un novo episodio das Womansplainers!

Welcome to the glorious chaos that is my sit down with Machine Gun Kelly's "Taurus" co-lead, Maddie Hasson. Why is it as such, you ask? It's like dating, sweetie, and I don't give it up that easy. So stay tuned as the ghost of Steve Jobs possesses Maddie's devices while we ALSO dive into: power dynamics and bitches vs. dicks in the workplace, Peter Pans: an epidemic beyond Hollywood, narcissism, ego, and insecurity among superstars, Disney gone woke, Maddie's sexual awakening via co-star Megan Fox, and how behind MGK's provocateur persona is actually the sweet little emo boy who needs a hug. Enjoy. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/taylor-ferber/support

WE ARE BACK! Sorry for the delay but we are back! Season 4 BABY! Still missing Irv :( but he will be back soon. The gang catches up with some recent pick ups, discuss some news topics in the sneaker and disney world, going down the rabbit hole in this FOTW, in Land vs World we compare Peter Pans rides, Irvs plant based option of the week?, and catch up on Disney+. Feels good to be back!    Follow us!  @kicksatthecastle @weekends_with_walt @mainstreetdad @roobss @thedisneyhypebeast @jamesbwill2

"TAMBÉM NOS ALEGRAMOS AO ENFRENTAR DIFICULDADES E PROVAÇÕES, POIS SABEMOS QUE CONTRIBUEM PARA DESENVOLVERMOS PERSEVERANÇA, E A PERSEVERANÇA PRODUR CARÁTER APROVADO, E O CARÁTER APROVADO FORTALECE NOSSA ESPERANÇA, E ESSA ESPERANÇA NÃO NOS DECEPCIONARÁ".

Paul Rubin flew in to speak to Wyatt about his work on Broadway, across the country, and around the world. Widely regard as the best in the business Paul has flown Peter Pans, "Wicked" witches, Mermaids, and more. He shares the story of his start as a magician and he and Wyatt get into some favorite myth mashups, how mishaps are less funny when people are flying, and a SUPER SECRET "Thank You, Five" exclusive about a lifetime achievement award being given to a certain supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Nun who hung out in Camelot...  It's Julie Andrews y'all. Paul choreographed a flight sequence where a performer dressed as Mary Poppins will present Julie Andrews her lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute. No big deal. But you did hear it here first!!Check out ALL his stuff at www.theflyguy.com 

Check out our sponsors! www.sleepterrorclothing.com Use promo code 'untrained' for 15% off your first order! www.ohfishl.com Use promo code 'untrained' to get 25% off your first order! - This week, Johnny Depp won his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, The Plunge can't stop, won't stop, Peter Pans tragic backstory, we find out who's blacker, gun control means two hands on your weapon, and we get a call back from Legendary NASCAR Hall of Famer David Galifenni! Plus 2010s trivia! Thank you all so much for listening! We love you! -Beth and DJ - Our recommendations this week: www.patreon.com/teamalme The Delvin Cox Experience Episode 249 In The Mind of Adam Simmons Simmons and Moore Podcast YouTube - Small business we support: @brickbodykids you can DM on Instagram to buy direct or find them on Ebay dot com the website https://www.ebay.com/usr/brickbodykids - DJ also does a solo podcast called Dragging The Table - We are a proud part of the ⭕Inner Circle Podcast Network⭕ Visit www.innercirclepn.com to subscribe, follow, and listen to all the shows! - Follow the link to these shows to check out our appearances on them! The All Bro's #NoOffense Married AF Drinks With Larry The Inner Circle Presents: The Winners Circle NE Podcast - Wanna send us something? Now you can! Our mailing address is: The Untrained Eye P.O. Box 6225 Sun City Center, FL 33571 - If you love our intro and outro music, please visit Cullah.com Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter We have stickers and buttons! DM our socials or send an email to untrainedeyepod@gmail.com and we'll send you some

Rise and shine. Time to grow up and put away your foolishness. We are supposed to be women for our men. Peter pans the boy who never grew up had a sister who stayed a child with him. Are you a girl in a woman's body. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/averagewomanpodcastshowut/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/averagewomanpodcastshowut/support

Be Strong | Timmy Burnette | Breakout Men, your role in life is never separated from your doctrine. How should the Gospel guide our daily lives as men? Titus 2 directs us to be examples in the community and in our homes. We're to be sober-minded and to not be controlled by outside sources. We need to develop a whole and healthy belief in the Word of God. Let's pursue the Lord to be godly men, husbands, and fathers. “If we're not careful, we'll raise up Peter Pans who never grow up.”References: Titus 2Learn more about our student and adult conferences at Swoutfitters.com. P.S. If you liked this episode, we'd love to hear your feedback! Please leave us a review on Apple or Spotify and help us get the content out to help others grow in their faith and mission to equip the Church.Want to go deeper? Join the Snowbird Newsletter and get our list of favorite books! ==================================================Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the exposition of Scripture and personal relationships in order to equip the Church to impact this generation.==================================================We'd love to connect with you. Follow us here:FacebookYouTubeInstagram

From Disney Fairies. Tink loses her hammer and is unable to do her tinkering job properly. She has a spare one but it has been left at Peter Pans and they don't talk much anymore. She is nervous about getting it but she has to fix Queen Clarions bath tub!

Benny Fergusson, aka The Movement Monk, joins Mason on the podcast for an insightful discussion around how we can be more adaptive in our physical practices, embody flexibility with integrity, and bring a broader range of diversity into the way we approach movement. Bringing 20 years of experience and wisdom to the table, Benny comes versed in many forms of physical practice; Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Shaolin Kung Fu, Martial Arts, Yoga, Bodyweight training, to name a few. But what really lights him up and continues to evolve his work is providing people with unhomogenised frameworks of physical movement; Connecting them back to their unique bodies, their nature, and supporting them to thrive and achieve what they never knew was possible. Through his business (The Movement Monk), Benny and his team offer personal support, coaching, and an epic range of transformational online courses that hone in on movement exploration, better physical performance, and personal growth. In this episode, Benny explores many notions of movement and flexibility. He encourages the listener to look beyond mainstream prescribed ideas of physical workouts towards a limitless realm of movement exploration; One that isn't bound by body image, a singular goal, or a season. Mason and Benny also move around the concept of approaching both life and physical practice with more flexibility and connection to the body/self; With less dogma and more diversity, allowing us to change and adapt with ease as we go through the different seasons of life. Benny is a pioneer revolutionising the way we approach movement. Tune in now.     "With regards to movement, the body is always changing. My body now, in my thirties, is different from what it was in my twenties. There's a different context, and it's going to continue to change and evolve. And because of this, I need greater diversity to choose from. So I can adapt to an ever-changing environment, to the different seasons and how I'm feeling. In times where I'm feeling more lethargic. How do I work with that? There might be times when I'm feeling less grounded; How do I work with these things? There might be times when I'm feeling tired or when I'm feeling looser. To be able to continue to look at things and then go, oh, okay, cool. I have a series of choices that I know that I can make continually to keep the process of life going".    - Benny Fergusson   Mason and Benny discuss: Hypermobility. Hypomobility. Embodied flexibility. The quality of flexibility. Flexibility, stability and injury. Benny's process of movement. The explorative mobility method. Sustainability in physical practice. Chronic tension and pain in the body. Not letting our bodies do not define us.    Who is Benny Fergusson? After living with chronic scoliosis & pain for years, getting no lasting relief from mainstream fitness and therapies.. Benny embarked on a journey to heal his body and get to know himself better. Through years of research and the practice of movement & meditation arts, Benny found a way to restore his physical freedom, leading to profound personal growth. Benny now shares his findings with his students at MovementMonk.xyz   CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON APPLE PODCAST    Resources: The Freedom Academy Embodied Flexibility Course The Movement Monk Website The Movement Monk YouTubeThe Movement Monk Facebook The Movement Monk Instagram Use The Code MASON10 For 10% Off     Q: How Can I Support The SuperFeast Podcast?   A: Tell all your friends and family and share online! We'd also love it if you could subscribe and review this podcast on iTunes. Or  check us out on Stitcher :)! Plus  we're on Spotify!   Check Out The Transcript Here:   Mason: (00:00) Hey, Benny. Welcome back.   Benny Fergusson: (00:01) Thanks for having me again, Mase. It's good to be back   Mason: (00:03) [crosstalk 00:00:03] Yeah. You've been on long enough. I think you'd say friend of the podcast. Regular.   Benny Fergusson: (00:10) Friend of the podcast.   Mason: (00:11) Yeah. You're a regular. I think it's been a decent amount of time since we've been chatting on here.   Benny Fergusson: (00:19) Yeah.   Mason: (00:19) Even as much for the people that haven't met you before, but for those who haven't heard you for a year and a half or two years since you've been on. Do you just want to give them a little bit of an intro to what you do? But for you, where you're at with your movement practise that could just help frame out what you're doing in the world a little bit?   Benny Fergusson: (00:44) Yeah, well, a little bit like you, a lot can happen... I'm always evolving. I'm always growing. I'm someone that I never rest on my laurels. I love this work. I love the process of having a body and exploring it and how that then intersects with who we are as people and what life is and what it can be. So, I'm always growing. Flexibility practise is something that just continues to be a cornerstone of my life. I think because my body is always reflecting back to me. Flexibility is very symbolic of how I meet my edges in life, how I adapt and stay supple. I continue to run a business, Movement Monk, and we provide online education and I'm always looking at how can we serve our members better?   Benny Fergusson: (01:50) How can we get the message out? There's just so much homogenised physical exercise out there that doesn't open up people to themselves. So, I'm always pushing my edge within myself to see how I can educate better and also see what I'm made of. So, I've been continuing to grow in my personal practise. One thing that has continued to evolve is looking at the same situation, say like a stretch. What are the multiple ways that we can look at that so that we can be adaptive? Like when we're talking about embodied flexibility and that whole notion of what it means to embody something. In this case, the quality of flexibility. It's something that is not just... you're not a one trick pony.   Benny Fergusson: (02:52) It's not just like I stretch in this way and then that just works infinitely. I've tried that and it doesn't actually work like that. You start to stagnate. We see this in so many different schools of thought, Philosophy, movements where you become a product of your own dogma, and then you're no longer living. You're just a series of regurgitated thoughts and actions repeated and nature doesn't work in that way. It's always adapting. It's going through so many different cycles. Having gone through this, maybe the hard way, I don't know, doing it for 20 years, you start to come to these realisations and realise that you need greater biodiversity in the way that you approach things. I'm really interested in that from a physical practise perspective.   Benny Fergusson: (03:53) With regards to movement, the body's always changing. My body now, in my thirties, is different to what it was in my twenties. There's different context and it's going to continue to change and evolve, and I need a greater diversity to be able to choose from, to adapt to an ever changing environment, to the different seasons and how I'm feeling, whether there might be times where I'm feeling more lethargic. How do I work with that? There might be times when I'm feeling less grounded, how do I work with these things? There might be times when I'm feeling tired or when I'm feeling looser. To be able to continue to look at things and then go, oh, okay, cool. Maybe not have all of the right answers, but I have a series of choices that I know that I can make continually to keep the process of life going.   Benny Fergusson: (04:51) So, these are the things that have been evolving. Like when I started this process with Movement Monk, and even this course in body flexibility, it happened around the same time, about nine years ago, in the online space. I was inspired by Shaolin practises, particularly Shaolin Qi Gong and stretching practises and that came through a lot in that process. That's where it was a lot about not just stretching for an end result, but also who you become in that process. Then, you put it out in the world. I was stoked about sharing that and I'm like, "oh, I've got to get this out to people, It's really helped me". Then, you get almost 3000 people come through and you get all this feedback, and it's just wonderful and it's humbling and you get all these different perspectives and then you come back and [inaudible 00:05:50] and you saw it and you go "okay, what can I do with this feedback?"   Benny Fergusson: (05:53) How can I continue to grow and be better and provide something that is able to go to that next level, rather than be overly prescriptive of "do this, do that, do what I do and get what I got". It's now more about, these experiences have helped me, but use this process as a way to get to know yourself, and at the end of that, then you've got these tools to start to go "okay, how would I like to apply it? I can actually keep using these skills for a long time."   Benny Fergusson: (06:27) The idea is that you could use these principles and practises for the next 10, 15, 20 years. A lot of the time we don't think about that in this transformational world of befores and afters in the realm of movement and fitness. I went from this amount of flexibility to that amount of flexibility.   Benny Fergusson: (06:50) And that's cool. I think that's useful. It's an important part of the process, but then where do you go from there? Where do you go to keep your heart alive in your practise? Rather than just "Yeah, I've got the splits now what ?", "has that changed me?" "Does that touch the very fibre of who I am?"   Benny Fergusson: (07:08) Is that just something that gave me some social currency and validation amongst my peers to go "whoa, you're really cool because you can do this thing", but I think this starts to then go deeper and go "okay, cool, Our bodies do not define us".   Benny Fergusson: (07:28) We enter this bit of a paradox, yet here we are in this physical existence, living in this proverbial meat sack. It gives us a wonderful learning opportunity and it grounds us and thrusts us into these kinds of challenges and opportunities for growth, and brings us back to deeper questions about perhaps there's more to me than just my body. So, to come to that point through a physical practise is something that, to me, after 20 years of being interested in this, or more, 20 years of structured cultivation and exploration, it still keeps me yearning. There's a thirst to continue, to learn and grow, and also through that process to realise what I've accumulated and to be inspired to unlearn as well and come back to our essential nature, whatever that is for whoever we are.   Mason: (08:37) Yeah. Uniquely. [crosstalk 00:08:42]I'm looking forward to checking out the new, improved, current reflection of everybody's flexibility, really reflecting on where it's all at and what's developed. What I like about the idea of embodied flexibility, it's an initiation process. Some people might come with the intention solely around what you're talking about. It might not be flexibility in particular that they have any specific goals revolving around, but they might feel the more metaphysical or emotional like, "Hey, if I bring this flexibility to my body, I'm going to be able to use that to bring adaptability and flexibility to the way that I think", or "I'm with my kids or when I'm in my job or running my business" or whatever it is. Likewise, I think if I went in there, I'd probably, at this point in my life, I'd probably be like "You know, I'd have a few mobility goals that I'd really be"...   Mason: (09:45) I think the reason I got pleasantly surprised going through it probably eight years ago that I had those mobility intentions around maybe getting my forehead closer towards my shin, moving closer towards the wide split. I won't even talk about the front split yet. That's... maybe I can bet. That's a horrendous stretching for me. I love it, but you go in and you move towards those goals, but then you also get that pleasant surprise of, hang on... I said it in the live we did earlier, you make yourself and the system just that little bit too slippery that you can't just hook into an ideological outcome or an ideal outcome of what you're going for or attach what you want to you or any of the other instructors.   Mason: (10:38) It just keeps on falling back into the self. And if you keep on going with the practise, so I'm [inaudible 00:10:43] understanding this. I imagine the new courses, especially particularly designed to just show up and keep on having faith in this process and keep on showing up in your practise in the way that we've loosely built it. You can still explore for yourself and through the other side; one, you probably do have some serious improvement in your mobility than when you're in your actual flexibility, but then there's that pleasant happy accident for many people that "wow" and all those things you're talking about, I'm feeling way more adaptive in my everyday life because I've altered the way that I relate with being uncomfortable, seeing that there's ways that I can explore being uncomfortable, move beyond that and see that things do move, even though it was very hard when I first arrived there. Does that sum it up a little bit ?   Benny Fergusson: (11:33) Yeah, totally. It's an ongoing... To put this in an online course format that's digestible... It's a process of art and to give what our intention has been and is with this is to provide structures and frameworks and clarity that then open up someone to exploration. So, first and foremost, we put the focus on really two key things, the methodology rather than it. So, for example, to highlight an evolution, we started off with a simple process of in the first version of embodied flexibility, it was a series of dynamic stretching movements. So, you'd move in and out of the range to acclimatise with what you're doing, and then you'd focus on generating good quality contraction in your end range to stabilise and give your nervous system an opportunity to go "Okay, I'm safe here."   Benny Fergusson: (12:37) And then a natural result is your body is more confident and able to move into deeper ranges. Which was good, really useful. That, at the time of my research was a very widely applicable process. It had to evolve, then, to different questions of "okay, well, what if I have a natural propensity toward hyper mobility?" So my joints are a little bit more lax and they can hyper extend and all that sort of stuff. What do I do? I've done a lot of strength training and my body is hyper mobile. My muscles can contract well, but they have trouble letting go. I've got a lot of armour, so to speak, real stoic warrior vibe, but how do I learn to put down my shield and surrender into deeper layers of the body.   Benny Fergusson: (13:33) So, you can't do that with just one type of stretching, and you see what happens then in my observations and experiences in lots of different realms of movement is... you see... and none of this is a negative on any of them, but you see the necessity of how they've popped up, for example, Yin Yoga is a lot about surrendering into deeper postures and it's a psychological, physiological unravelling process through surrendering to what is. It's kind of a meditative process and unfurling, which is wonderful. Yet, what often happens is people who have that natural propensity toward that quality gravitate toward it. So they just get more of what they're already good at and then other people, it can be really beneficial, but then it can reach a point of your physiology needs more diversity.   Benny Fergusson: (14:30) So, this is where one of my intents is to provide options so we can see the benefits of all of these different approaches, but then we can change and adapt. For example, my body started off and I was into strength training. I was into strong man. I was into CrossFit-like activities before CrossFit existed. So, that came naturally to me and I could put on muscle and all that stuff. But, when it came to flexibility, that was not a natural realm for me. So, I need to find ways to work with my body, but then there's the other side of the coin as well. People who maybe are a little bit lighter in their frame, that their joints don't have as much structural and integrity and all that sort of stuff.   Benny Fergusson: (15:24) So, with all these questions and as working with thousands of people now, over the years, you start to get a greater diversity of the different types of bodies, and that brings up the question, how do we make a method that is adaptive to the individual?   Benny Fergusson: (15:40) So, this is where the method turned from a rhythmic strength stretching as we started, to now the explorative mobility method, which is what it sounds like. We combined four different types of stretching as options. So, you can go into the same stretch, but then realise, "Oh my God, I've got four key different ways which each have different physiological impacts and also different mental approaches to elicit an effect in the same stretch", which is really, really cool. So, it means that in a practise you can either, let's say you like that variability, that's a part of your constitution.   Benny Fergusson: (16:24) I don't want to just be locked in a box with one thing, and that's a part of the individual's makeup that is not just physiological. Then you give that space for that part of the beam to flourish, and then there might be another type of beam that's, "No, I want to focus on one clear thing to get this outcome". We can do that, too. And then once we satisfy these parts of the beam, then it's like, "okay, cool, what else is there? How can I start to actually grow into new space, that is beyond what my natural inclination is?"   Benny Fergusson: (17:03) So, that's a big part that I was actually surprised that it came out. I started coming back and taking all this feedback and then looking at what do we need to do to do better.   Benny Fergusson: (17:18) Then this came along the way and I was actually also really surprised. I continued to bring it into my practise and then just seeing how it gives structure, but then also gives someone a sense of personal agency that they have choice of that overwhelm in a flexibility practise.   Benny Fergusson: (17:35) So, that's one of the cornerstones that's in this new process and it's something that if I had have seen it around in the world, I wouldn't have had to do it. So, this is a driving force of going, "Okay, we deserve more options when we're working with our body. We deserve more ability to personalise and find something that not only suits us where we're at now, but gives us space to grow." So, these sorts of things that are exciting me at the moment.   Mason: (18:13) I had a really new, sapling thought when you were talking about the bulking muscle men and women. Again, don't have this to take anywhere. I just wanted to share it with you quickly. Especially in relation to when I was in the live, I was talking about the spleen. For most people with deficient muscle, you're going to see deficient capacity to create strong bonds and have strong boundaries within your relationships and with yourself, because that's the virtuous nature of the spleen. I was just thinking about that, that being jacked up and high, having that hypermobility, you can see that it's a hyper bond. It's like "bro! You're my bro!"... Same with the women. You just see that the bonds between them is so intense and the boundaries between their tribe and other tribes seem really intense and really defined as well.   Mason: (19:11) You know what, I can really just see those bonds and boundaries becoming excessive. Maybe using a little bit of that medicine of... I guess a little bit of flexibility could be coming in, especially from the liver, for those of you that have the Taoist incline to help bring some balance into that. Especially, some balance to the frustration and anger that can come up in that from that world, which the liver has to deal with. I just wanted to talk about quality of flexibility when we talk about stretching, quality of stretching, quality of flexibility, because I know my colonised mind, my reductionist mind still hears you go "you know, flexibility" and I'm like, "oh yeah, yeah, cool. Yeah. I need more flexibility and doing some stretching in your practise."   Mason: (19:59) Yeah, yeah. I got it. I should stretch and it's all the courses and I read every... Anyone who's focused on doing... It was an athlete and now I got in. Then, of course, I stretch. I stretch at the end of the day. And I'm like, "what do you mean, You know?" I know you've just said that you've got four different types. So, it's not just one myopic concept. I remember you've talked a lot in the past about someone who... and you brought up hyper mobility and how some people might think, "Oh, that person's going to breeze through embodied flexibility."   Mason: (20:37) But, can you talk to a little bit about what that process would be like for someone with hypermobility? And then I'm sure that can take us into whether we're hypo or hyper...   Benny Fergusson: (20:47) Yeah.   Mason: (20:47) What's that quality of flexibility that you're looking for? And does it necessarily just mean going to your furthest range that you have right now?   Benny Fergusson: (20:57) Yeah, yeah. Well, qualities... Probably one of the... So, I don't like to be too hierarchal in the way that I think, but if I have a look at my evolution as I've journeyed into the body further, I started off with techniques, which is what a lot of people do. It's like I do a stretch. Now, what I realised with a technique is you bring yourself to that technique under the illusion that you think that that technique is going to somehow magically change your wiring. So, what often happens is that we then highlight... The practise reflects back to us, ourselves, like a classic case is... like the technique of stretching is just so open and ambiguous. It's like going to what someone has described as a stretch. What does that mean? It's going to mean 10 different things to 10 different people.   Benny Fergusson: (22:08) So, it's not enough for you to then have some sort of personal agency in the experience. So, then you go a little bit deeper into principles. So, what are the things underneath, the cogs that turn to make that technique work? Why that technique came about? So, principles are really useful because that then starts to take a little bit deeper into the conversation you start to look at. Ah, okay. Rather than just doing, focusing on the tip of the iceberg, I then start to look at all of the supporting structures that allow it to float, because it's such an illusion. This tip is everything that you need to create that reality. It doesn't work like that. We need foundations and those foundations are principles which I'll go into some of the ones that I find really useful, in a moment.   Benny Fergusson: (23:10) Then you go a little bit further and you start to talk about qualities. Like when we start to look into different qualities of being, qualities of mind. So, if I go into something and my intention is very strong, very attachment based, very future focused, then that quality will be reflected through the activity that I do. In this case, a stretch. An example... I'll give more examples in terms of how we apply this to someone who's hyper mobile. For me, at the start of my journey, I wanted to get flexible. We're talking about, I wanted the splits, I wanted the backbend. To be honest, I'm still interested in those things as much as I was when I started.   Benny Fergusson: (23:58) However, the level of attachment has significantly loosened off. It's something that is less future-based and now more I'm appreciating where I'm at in the process of where I'm going. So, the quality of patience has emerged. The quality of, for want of a better term, flexibility, to be able to adapt with what is, because I'll wake up and some days I might be tighter, and if I push my body on that day, my body's going to give me some sort of feedback to say whether that's okay, whether that's not okay.   Benny Fergusson: (24:38) It's like anything in nature, you just can't force it to grow. It grows through a product of being supported to grow. So, rather than trying to force... and you can see these other types of qualities, if this is underlying factor driving the being, so that quality of pushing, of striving, of achieving, then you will get a result, but it will reach a ceiling pretty quick, because it's out of the accordance of natural law which has cycles and interrelationships and all of that sort of stuff.   Benny Fergusson: (25:15) So, when you look into qualities, that's when things start to get rich into How does our level of being influence what we do and then interrelate to what we have. It's that very classic notion of be, do, have.   Benny Fergusson: (25:30) So, who I am will then inform what I have, what I experience. So, if we track it back and look at someone who's hyper mobile, someone who has maybe less joint integrity, less structural integrity, more gravitation toward flexibility. This is what a lot of people... you see it in the yoga world... a lot of women demonstrate wonderful flexibility and you get the guys going, "I could never do that", or some women who don't have that quality naturally going "Oh, well, yoga is not for me because I can't do those [inaudible 00:26:11], those postures from day dot". Maybe that person who's demonstrating it has cultivated it over years.   Benny Fergusson: (26:20) Maybe, also, they've just always been that way. So, either way we need to find ways for... because there's also people who are hyper mobile, who don't feel stable, who get injured easily, who are also not very flexible. So, there's all of these wonderful, different variants in someone's body.   Mason: (26:43) Yeah. There was that woman, I don't know her name, not that I want to share it, but I remember Tahnee, Tahnee keeps me up to date with all the scandals in the yoga world.   Benny Fergusson: (26:52) Yeah   Mason: (26:52) She was a pretty famous Ashtanga teacher ? [crosstalk 00:26:56]   Benny Fergusson: (26:56) Yes, yes, yes.   Mason: (26:57) The classic lunge. The really sexy knee over the ankle, one calf right up on the thigh and her back acetabulum popped out ?   Benny Fergusson: (27:08) Yes. [inaudible 00:27:10]   Mason: (27:09) Just popped out. Hip just popped out. Popped right out of the hip, I should say. And I think that's a perfect example that what you're talking about.   Benny Fergusson: (27:20) Yeah.   Mason: (27:20) Right.   Benny Fergusson: (27:21) Totally, totally. So, here we are with unique circumstances of the body. If we focus on an external posture being the primary goal, we push outside of what our internal needs are. So, if we go back to that layer of principles and we just start first, this is a really useful place of starting at something easy.   Benny Fergusson: (27:50) I think a lot of the time we, in my experiences, focus on flexibility and that end goal is really clear. I know where I want to get to. So. you put yourself in a stretch that maybe you've seen on YouTube or someone's shown you, or you learn in high school or something like that. Then you go directly at that path, but it doesn't tend to work like that if you don't yet have the underlying foundations to support that.   Benny Fergusson: (28:21) So, if someone is hyper mobile or even hypo mobile, this will work for both sides of the coin, which is great, you find a space that is reflective of where you'd like to go, but it's easy, and what starts to happen in the mind is you go, "oh, okay, cool, I can do this". What also can happen in the mind is, "is this enough for me to improve?", and that's another little hook that can come up. "Do I need to push myself harder in order to get the gains?" This is where you see it can challenge people's ongoing sustainability in their practise.   Benny Fergusson: (29:04) So, first I feel when we're coming to the conversation of flexibility, we need to understand those two spaces, the space of ease. So, "What can I already do?", "What is the ease or quality that I already possess that's already there?"   Benny Fergusson: (29:22) Then, that space of challenge. "What do I do when I get to that space?", "Is that a positive incentivizing experience for me to go harder?", because it's the whole, no pain, no gain adage, or "Is that something that I've become hypersensitive to, and I tense up in the experience of, and go into fight or flight?", and then I don't give my body an opportunity to open up into its innate potential because we are actually all naturally flexible, and that's the thing, it's an innate state, we've just lost touch with it.   Benny Fergusson: (30:05) So, starting with that space of ease, whatever you need to do, maybe you take that... I remember we were talking about the pancake and that being a more challenging position for you. We let go of the attachment of what it needs to look like and we find that basic pattern and then we go, "Okay, what's my space of ease within that basic shape?"   Benny Fergusson: (30:27) Then we get accustomed with that first. Then the hyper mobile, or even hypo mobile, you'll notice that a lot of these things, what it does is it brings together to then just focus on our experience as we're going into spaces of ease and spaces of challenge. So, then everyone will have different noticing. As that hyper mobile person goes into it, they might notice, "Ah, as I go and I bend forward, my knees start to hyper extend, or my hips start to push into the socket and that sort of thing. So, you can feel when it starts to come on and then adapt and go, "Okay, that doesn't happen when I'm in this space of ease."   Benny Fergusson: (31:20) Then, as I go into that challenge, it starts to come on. So, rather than just put yourself into it, system's all kind of hyper stimulated, and then it's just too much sensory information to be able to make a clear decision. That's a really, really useful principle, so basic, but how many people apply it and value it as a thing? So, that's one thing that I want to bring out is sometimes it's the obvious things, but to really let people know from someone who has not just done this with themself for 20 years, but observed thousands of different bodies and different people for probably the last 15 years of working with people one-to-one and 10 years of doing it in an online space to realise, keep going with this, it's worthwhile. Pull that thread.   Mason: (32:21) I just wanted to speak to you a little bit to your process. You mentioned about some people just want to go real hard and they would just want to give it their all. It's almost like you've got that dominating kind of approach to your practise in life. I think that's a great quality you brought up that you're still just as interested in those and getting into those extreme poses, say, but there's just other elements there. I think I'll just reiterate for everyone, you can still go hard. This is a challenging approach where you can go hard, but there's just other qualities there like that back off patients breathe, explore. It does enable you to go way further and way deeper into this. So, you don't have to relinquish that part of you that's, "Oh, I like to just get after it."   Mason: (33:10) You will be able to get after it in here, [crosstalk 00:33:13] and one of those areas I just wanted to reiterate you've gone into that big view of around, especially like if you're hyper mobile, what happens, but can you just talk a little bit as you go down the road a little bit, that relationship between just having extreme flexibility where there's a floppiness versus where that intersection of strength, flexibility, having stability comes into effect, and how does that... just tack onto the back of that... I think about this often in terms of injury. I think about football players and athletes getting knees and hip injuries constantly and crutch injuries constantly that are debilitating and I often think about your work. Could you just give us a little insight there and to how that all works?   Benny Fergusson: (34:11) Yeah. The way I look at it is I love woodworking, so I relate to it with the quality of wood. So, if you have a certain quality, so let's say strength, you focus on that. If you look at a lot of athletes, they strengthen themselves, or they do specific movements to improve that thing that they're doing. That's one thing that athletes can benefit from to reduce their rates of industry injury, massively, which is actually more diversity in movement, and you've seen it in MMA fighters, like Conor McGregor is a great example of this, how he's challenged the typical ways of MMA people training. He has brought in a broader approach of movements and you can see that in his fighting style.   Benny Fergusson: (35:09) Also, it reflects on him as well as a person and his general outlook. Of course, I don't know him, but I can just observe, but we've got one quality, like strength. That's like a groove. The more you do it, the deeper that groove gets in the wood. Eventually you can dig yourself a trench. The same as flexibility. If you continue to focus on the end posture, you dig yourself a trench into that posture.   Benny Fergusson: (35:40) We often don't have a spectrum between those two qualities. We want to equally focus on both. Not separately, but at the same time. So, then we're starting to get a wider spectrum. If you had the choice... You got a highway and you wanted to spread the load across multiple lanes, that road is going to get worn out a lot less quickly than if you just had one or two lanes where all the traffic goes down.   Benny Fergusson: (36:15) These things are the breeding ground for injury. So, when it comes to bringing that into the context of training flexibility, we need to start to not just look at the end space we get into, but bringing... What's the thing that merges it all ? Movement. Can I move in and out of these postures ?   Benny Fergusson: (36:37) So, then you realise that flexibility's not a static thing. It's not an end goal. It's a continuum of me being where I am and being able to move in and out of where I'd like to go with the quality of ease. So, the end goal I find... It's like a car... if you're always redlining the car, you're always pushing it to its maximum capacity. Shit gets worn out faster.   Benny Fergusson: (37:05) It's like that with injury. If you're a sportsperson, you're always doing that turn or doing that adjustment to the edge of your current ability. Then the circumstances that breed injury are going to be higher. You see it in... If you watch enough 100m races, the tear in the hamstring doesn't just happen gradually. It's a buildup, and then, boom! It's done. It's a lot of pressure built up in the system over time to one glorious culminating moment and, boom, you're injured.   Benny Fergusson: (37:41) So, if you create, this is the beautiful thing of creating more than what you need. This is a very abundant mindset. This is the thing that keeps me struggling. Yeah, it's cool to get these outcomes and it looks cool and people will celebrate it, but for me, I look at... I just started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu again. So, if I go into that class, I know my ability and I know where I can go more and I can play in my 80-90 percent zone.   Benny Fergusson: (38:16) If I want to really dial it up; if I get into a challenging situation, I can, but it doesn't have to be a constant where I'm always struggling, I'm always redlining and then I'm setting myself up for the injury.   Benny Fergusson: (38:31) When I work with another person, I can start to feel "Okay, where am I at in my spectrum ? Can I play?" and then also bring context with going "Okay, I'm challenging this situation. This is where I need to focus to give myself a bit more space."   Benny Fergusson: (38:48) Then, I'm not always pushing, pushing, pushing right on that edge and setting myself up for potential injury. Sometimes things happen. I don't actually believe you see a lot. We talk about bulletproofing the body. It's bullshit, to be honest, because shit happens.   Benny Fergusson: (39:08) Through the process of training flexibility, I've torn my adductor twice. I've torn my hamstring twice. It's been big setbacks. They were big ego moments of where my mind, my sense of striving, achievement was pushing further than what my body was ready for. I wasn't listening to the subtle signals.   Benny Fergusson: (39:28) So, my body had to go "Hey, dude, I'm going to give you a really clear message that you can hear, that's going to reflect back to you your way of living, and this is not sustainable. So, get your shit sorted and come back to the foundations, so we can be more robust."   Benny Fergusson: (39:46) In short, look at the picture of movement, how it interrelates rather than just these fixed states and linear ideas of what flexibility is. Strength, flexibility and them merging together into one as you practise is really, really useful, and highly applicable. We do become more resistant to injury. Will it completely stop injury ? Well, that's a personal choice.   Mason: (40:20) This might be a bit of a weird question. You've got quite a large community now and the community is growing. We know, not for everyone and not in definitely every movement, so [inaudible 00:40:38]. Largely, when we begin to talk about movement, the people who are motivating us, or we're learning from, have a real high aspiration for a shiny thing. They may say it's not about achieving this thing, but yet their life revolves around, quite often, achieving a big thing.   Mason: (41:03) Do you find a lot of people... Again, not a bad thing... I've got large goals that I'm uniquely going for as well. I'm also someone who can get quite quickly... If I fall into step with someone motivational, I can quite quickly, maybe in the past, get hijacked and think I've got to go and achieve something amazing, physically, through running or something like that. All of a sudden, it's marathons and ultras are on the mind.   Mason: (41:34) Do you find a lot of people gravitate towards your community with those... Maybe they're athletes and maybe they're really focused, maybe not on the process of being an athlete, but on that shiny thing. Do you find when they come into your community... Do you help them ? I know you don't have an agenda, there... Do they continue to be obsessed with the shiny thing ? Do they stop looking for it, sometimes ? Do they continue to go for it, yet find substance in the middle ?   Mason: (42:07) Or, do you find the people that come to you are those who are no longer thinking that that's the pinnacle, to find the shiny thing and they say they wanting something else ? I'm curious about that world.   Benny Fergusson: (42:24) What comes to mind... What I will say first is that people that tend to come into our space, they've done and tried a lot of things. That might be, "I've done this type of yoga", "I've done this", "I've done Crossfit", "I've done these different modalities and I've seen benefits in them. I'm interested. I feel there's something more. I don't know what it is, but I feel like there's more potential within me to explore. Just putting that label on it, I now know there's a limitation."   Benny Fergusson: (43:07) So, that's one type of person. That can also go on the other side where "I've had pain, discomfort. All that... I've done the Chiro, I've done the Physio, I've done the Osteo, and all of these are beautiful. I've done the Chinese Medicine or like you were talking about, the colonialized versions of it. I've done all these things, but I need to come back to a place of taking personal responsibility, rather than building reliance on any one person or one thing."   Benny Fergusson: (43:41) We do have people who have those goals. We have Martial Artists. We have rock climbers. We have adventurers. People who would like to experience more out of their body. A great example that comes up is one of our senior teachers, Marcus, based in Austria. When we started, he had been a personal trainer for a long time. He didn't come in green. He came in with a good level of physical ability and strong level of aspirations. He wanted to do the splits. He wanted to handstand. He wanted to do all these sorts of things.   Benny Fergusson: (44:20) So, the wonderful thing is, because I've been walking this path for a long time, I can empathise with that because that was me at a certain point, too. I used to, and we've talked about on the podcast, run a facility in Melbourne called Cohesion. We had classes just on handstands. How to get the handstand. Is that sustainable? That's questionable, because a lot of people come into it and they go, "ah, my wrists are hurting" and all that sort of stuff.   Benny Fergusson: (44:49) So, it highlights when we overly focus on one thing and then neglect the foundations that support that thing where it naturally happens. Wonderful thing that I've noticed. I used to train handstands daily for, sometimes, an hour plus, which is not actually extreme compared to the handstand world. You've got people, by their choice, and I'm not taking away from that choice, but they might be spending one, two, three plus hours a day focused on that specific skill. Now, I look at that, and I'm like "Oh God, I may be able to make the time, but why would I choose that particular thing just to get a handstand, if I'm not working for Cirque du Soleil ?"   Benny Fergusson: (45:33) I have a friend who performs in Cirque du Soleil and the training he goes through for that is immense, but it's contextual to his life. That's the one thing that tends to happen in our community. Rather than make something a negative, like "Ah, cool, just because you want to do a handstand or do the splits, you're less of a person". I celebrate that and those goals and those achievements. What tends to happen is the self reflective nature of[inaudible 00:46:09] movement practises that we share, get you to question your deeper "why". "Why would I put in this amount of effort for that outcome?" "Does that really align with me?"   Benny Fergusson: (46:21) What tends to naturally happen is people start where they start, wherever that is. Then, they get reflected back their deeper drive. Then they make choices. So, Marcus started off and when we were working together seven years ago, might be a bit more, I nurtured that. I was like "Cool, you want to do a handstand ? Let's do a handstand. Let's do that. Let's do the things you want to do and we'll do some other things that maybe you haven't considered, that are nurturing for not just your muscles, but also your organs and your general quality of how you experience your body. We'll start to do some reflective practises where you get to know the nature of your mind and listen to the way you're breathing affects your physiology, and all that sort of stuff".   Benny Fergusson: (47:11) So, through that process, you start to ask bigger questions. You start to go, "Ah, okay, I'd like to still do this, but there's something bigger that's calling me."   Benny Fergusson: (47:23) So, if I then fast forward into what that has looked like for Marcus, myself, in this example, we still like to do a handstand and still can do a handstand. Maybe not quite as well as when we were practising x amount of hours a day, but I remember there was a little kid who was like "Can you do a handstand?". I was like "I can't remember, it's been a little while", and up into the handstand and all that body memory was there. Plus all of this deep awareness through the whole system rather than just this specific skill.   Benny Fergusson: (47:56) There I am in a handstand, surprised, going "Oh, this is the easiest handstand I've ever done and I haven't systematically practised it for many years." So, I look at that and the freedom that comes with. It's just incredible to know that I can honestly say I've enjoyed the process, the challenges along the way so much more because it's provided so much more diversity than just at the end. Pouring my heart and soul into one thing and just having a handstand that doesn't really enrich my life at a deeper level. That's one of my observations. I don't always know how our community is going to adapt because I'm always on the edge of my game as well.   Mason: (48:44) Yeah   Benny Fergusson: (48:45) It's a common thing where I do my best to not control, but to give people an opportunity to reflect and make choices. That's a consistent thing that I notice is they do tend to look a little deeper into their underlying intention for why they are practising .   Mason: (49:05) Yeah. It was a very broad question. What just came up at the end there when we were talking about the handstand. If we're not objective, if we don't have an objective, focused, outlook, or community. But, more of a community, a process that focuses on creating possibilities, or potential. Creating that ecosystem. It makes me think of... You heard of [Rostiano's 00:49:34] Tonic herbs ? Like Ashwagandha. One of the ways they describe what they can do is create an environment where you have a great capacity to have spontaneous joy. "So, we're not focusing on a shiny thing, being joy. I'm not doing this so I can have joy all the time. There's just the potential for joy to emerge".   Mason: (49:55) And if there's an ecosystem, an environment created, where "Ah, there's joy", and "Ah, actually I'm feeling patient", "Ah, I can actually climb under a fence, pretty easily", "Ah, I can get up that tree pretty easy", "Ah, I'm [inaudible 00:50:08] and I've got mobility", "You can't just push me over, and I don't have to worry as much about breaking my hip by falling over, because I know I have stability". These things just emerge. Versus, "Hey, here's this course to create stability for seven year olds", and that might be really good as a starting point. Like in here. It's a structured entry point. Like the Embodied Flexibility course and the challenge you've got going on. Like, "Hey, let's get flexible", "Hey, let's get stable and let's do that" and then "Oh, my gosh, look what's on the other side of this".   Mason: (50:45) These secret treasures hidden within that makes it... It's not just about stability. It's not just about flexibility. And that flexibility or stability, let's just pretend there is a geriatrics course that you have, so elders don't fear falling over and breaking their hips. On the other side, there's all these other diverse outcomes that are applied to everyday life, rather than just sticking straightly [inaudible 00:51:11].   Mason: (51:11) I think it's good, man. I think you've created something special, as always, because as you said, you're always on the edge of your own creativity and your own process, yet in this trail, this business you've created, this organisational structure that you've got behind you, are these places where people can safely go in and it's super clear and obvious what they need to do to start stepping into that place where they do have greater mobility and they can adventure around their body and their practise and their physical practise however they want. That's the fun thing.   Mason: (51:53) You go in and you go "Benny's doing it his way" and, again, it's hard to attach. That's the way. It's just not there. The same with Marcus. It's not what's generated. You can't just go "Ah, I have to be like them and aspire to them". It's just within your own practise.   Mason: (52:13) A practise that has integrity will take you and connect you to your own nature and the qualities within yourself. That self informs your path, through your practise, which I think is really cool how you've... It's one thing to talk about it right now. It's a hell of a thing to create a landscape of community and courses and also the academy, I love. It helps breed it.   Benny Fergusson: (52:38) Totally. Yeah. I think that's one of the things that I'm really inspired by is how do we continue to integrate the notion of human design, technology and community, altogether with physical practise, or [inaudible 00:53:03] and physical practises. That's where we're going. To continue to push the boundaries of what can we do with technology, how can we utilise that as a tool to not separate people, but bring them together, open up conversation. For us to just discover what the heck lights us up. At the end, take that last breath and go "Ah, you know what, that was a wonderful story. That was a wonderful movie that I participated in. I'm at peace."   Benny Fergusson: (53:43) It's wonderful. I look at... continually, just asking the question, "What can I do to contribute ?", "How can I share my experiences ?", "How can I create space for someone to make it their own, rather than just to always be held under me ?"   Mason: (54:09) Putting it that way, the glass ceiling being "held under" either an ancient particular philosophy or movement patterns or teacher ?   Benny Fergusson: (54:24) Totally   Mason: (54:25) That's an interesting skill. That's something I know we've talked about the nature of developing that skill to teach and be a leader without actually placing yourself up there, which is a natural... Naturally, you gravitate there, or people try and put you there. All of the time, be the source of my inspiration and where I need to go next. To do that a little bit, infusing what you're talking about as well.   Benny Fergusson: (54:54) Yeah.   Mason: (54:55) That's a skill you learn in your practise, right ?   Benny Fergusson: (54:57) Yeah, I think the thing that I've continued to learn through... Physical practise is something that I talk about. It helps me so much. It's a part of the relationship that I've established with myself. Getting to know myself and being okay with who I am and being okay that that's... I'm still discovering who that is, even though this is part of me that just knows. Moving beyond my conditioned self. What I get to is, "Okay, the best that I can be, the best leader I can be, is being me."   Benny Fergusson: (55:43) If I can then support other people, give space for them to just be themselves, what ends up happening is whatever level of achievement someone gets to, someone might be more flexible or stronger or have different mental capacities or different energetic qualities in another person. It might appear on the outside, "Ah, that person's achieved more than what the other person...", but if we then start to meet in a space of, "You're you, I'm me, here we are having an experience of life". Living to the highest level that we can, then we don't meet in a space of competition. We meet in a space of collaboration.   Benny Fergusson: (56:32) That's the thing that's helped at least myself as I'm a sharer of information, an educator, as my intention. It's taken out the "me holding back" out of fear that someone will take all of my knowledge and be better than me and then, I'll be irrelevant.   Benny Fergusson: (56:54) I know that no one will ever be me. I know that I will never be anyone else. I've tried and it just doesn't work. There's something in me that's like, "This is not you, this is not your nature". Let other people be themselves. That's what inspires me to educate. That's what inspires me around community where we all do come to a point of self agency and we exercise. Some people are more inherent in leadership. That is a quality that I notice that I have that's just a part of me. It's partly cultivated, partly just innate, in me. I've been averse to that for a long time of being "The Guy" who has all the answers, and "Come this way. Off we go. Do what I do. Say what I say. It's the way of virtue".   Benny Fergusson: (57:50) To a point now, where I go, "Okay, I can lead people and inspire them to maybe something greater than what they thought they could get to within their own belief structure, within their own environment". I can inject that new vibrancy into their physical goals, into these sorts of things. I also love to just, once they're running, step away and see what they make, and we meet at this space. That's what I notice is happening and, God, I don't know how it's happened, because I couldn't have done it with just a product of strategy and all of that sort of stuff. These things light me up at the moment.   Mason: (58:35) I can tell. I love it, man. I just encourage everyone to... If you're new to the community, Benny is... been a part of the Super Beast family for a long time. He's come out back in the day, when I used to run retreats, fasting retreats. Just basic lifestyle upgrade retreats. I think you came out to every single one of those and held a workshop. We're going to get you in doing more workshops with the Super Beasts as well when we can. I think we've been friends for, it must be coming up, nearly 10 years.   Benny Fergusson: (59:19) Yeah. [crosstalk 00:59:20] Close to that   Mason: (59:22) About that point, and I couldn't recommend the offerings through movement month, enough. We'll pop links down in the Bio for you to go and find the Embodied Flexibility Course. The website. The Freedom Academy. The Freedom Academy is where you can move around and have endless access to all these various movement patterns and styles of cultivating flexibility and strength and peace within. It's really wonderful. You can also use the code MASON10 through the website movementmonk.xyz   Mason: (01:00:06) Cool, man, thanks so much for coming on.   Benny Fergusson: (01:00:08) Thanks for having me, Mase. It's wonderful to keep the conversation going. I think one last little thing I'd just love to share is off the back of the new course. We're bringing out teacher training soon. Any people in your community. Yoga teachers, personal trainers, movement coaches, and all that sort of stuff, I'm looking forward to sharing the conversation with them and providing ways on which we can facilitate journeys for people to transform. Not just in the short term, but in the longer term in their physical practise. With their flexibility.   Mason: (01:00:46) So, that module of teacher training is revolving around the Embodied Flexibility [crosstalk 01:00:52] ?   Benny Fergusson: (01:00:52) Yeah, we've built it around all the frameworks and with that, we basically have more personal support. It's a 12 week journey and, at the end, basically what happens is someone produces case studies on how they've applied [inaudible 01:01:08] We take them through everything from what happens in situations if someone's results stagnate or if they are hyper immobile, or hypo immobile. How do we adapt these things ? One of my thing is I love to get into any situation, working with different types of people that I've never worked with before. Different challenges. There's some confidence that's being built within me of like, "Okay, cool, I do have value here, and that's something that I'd like to impart"   Benny Fergusson: (01:01:39) It's a really wonderful thing. Just when you're confident working with people, in the realm of flexibility. It's just like, "Okay, cool, I don't have to have all the answers, but I've got some really good frameworks to then support this person to thrive", rather than, "Ooh, God, what am I going to do in this session", scrounging around, reading books, and then you piece it together and underneath the surface, you're like a duck paddling on water and at the end of it, I just would like to support people to just be relaxed and confident in what they're sharing. We're doing that in the realm of flexibility.   Mason: (01:02:13) Magical!   Benny Fergusson: (01:02:14) Yeah!   Mason: (01:02:16) movementmonk.xyz again. For people to get details for that.   Benny Fergusson: (01:02:21) Yeah. We'll be talking more about how we... I think one thing I'd like to continue to focus on is how we bring herbalism and all of that sort of stuff. The physical practise. The things of what we do is the part of it. What's the engine underneath in our physiology that's supporting the robustness of the physical regeneration? That's why I just love what you guys are doing.   Mason: (01:02:51) When you go into the core... Let's go to the core of the foundation. When the Taoists have... They've gotten to that point. They've dedicated to their practise and they're disciplined. Not just the Taoists. Those who are... They've gone next level and they're cultivating something special. It's herbalism and physical practise. [inaudible 01:03:14]become the foundations of what's going to then lead to that greater capacity to have potential. As we said before, not looking for a shiny thing. Just creating this landscape within us, where the potential and the possibilities can blossom.   Mason: (01:03:30) So, as you said, the physical regeneration, bringing physical herbs in there to do that regenerative work and then getting to that point where... when you're self sustainable and you're flowing and you just looking to bring this opening up through your fascial system, through your capacity to stand erect and strong, become flexible.   Mason: (01:03:51) We start looking at mushrooms coming in and the Chi herbs nourishing the fascial system. The Yin liver herbs. The ones in beauty blend. Goji. Schizandra. Bringing that capacity to yield and become flexible. Those Yang liver herbs, like Eucommia Bark bringing that upright bamboo erectness. They fall all into the same tribe. Once you've got lifestyle dialled, then your potentiation, when you're going towards potentiation, that practise, that physical practise breath, movement meditation and herbal practise, they come in and they just light it up. I'm with you, man. I'm glad that we hopefully dial in and work together more and more in that space, and I think a lot of people have already got it in this community.   Mason: (01:04:40) I'd love to see them dip into the movement, Monk World, and take it to another level. Especially because a lot of people are like, "Should I do QiGong or Tai Chi, or Kung Fu ?" or these kinds of things.   Mason: (01:04:52) Yeah, you can, and they're amazing. What's at the heart of them ? You should go and explore those worlds, but when you go into Movement Monk World, Benny's been through lots of Tai Chi, and Qi Gong, Shaolin practise, Kung Fu practise, lots of Martial Arts, both the Yin and Yang nature.   Mason: (01:05:15) A lot of those principles that are there and those attentions you will find there, as long as you can stay consistent, as long as you can show up to your practise. I'll put it out there. Even though this is a place, you can see Benny's a very gentle, grounded, person. Once you get in there, you can get gritty with yourself. In terms of, "Come on, I know you don't feel like it. Show up. Show up".   Mason: (01:05:44) There will be a reflection practise and I think you'll be generally gentle and soft, "Okay, let's approach why that is." But, at the same time, I'll come in and, because this is generally what I need... Come on, I can't find anything super legitimate right now around why you don't want to get in there and have a sustainable, exploratory, stretch.   Mason: (01:06:04) I think you're just avoiding what is going to become opened up and therefore the potential and the peace that you're going to be able to find in yourself, because you're going to have to dredge through a little bit of shit. Then you forget, "I can go slow and I can go sustainable and gentle", but nonetheless, that shit's going to get dragged up and I am going to find out that I can really start accessing some beautiful things within my body. Openness, flexibility, adaptability.   Mason: (01:06:33) You don't get that reward without the discipline. Through that structure. It's something I'm feeling more than ever. I'm feeling it in the business, and I know a lot of you love structure and you go, "Yeah, whatever Mase". That's fine. Then I challenge you to go into the Magic and exploring the vision of what's possible to keep on going into the nether lands of your body.   Mason: (01:06:55) Once you start opening that up. But, a lot of you are such free flowing. You're already Peter Pans and Wendys. Never wanting to grow up. Flying off in Neverland. Grow up for a little bit. Come and get structured. Allow that structure and discipline into your life. Allow those qualities to be cultivated and the freedom and the capacity to dream and step back into the Magic.   Mason: (01:07:23) When you've created that next platform, it's beautiful and it's your life, breathing through different processes. You're coming in. Maybe you need that structure right now. Don't fight it, because if you're fighting it, it will always come again, but you can miss that opportunity of your life for a little bit. That stage of your life.   Mason: (01:07:45) Don't fight it. Grit your teeth. Get in there. Then release the tension from your jaw, because you're doing Benny's work. [inaudible 01:07:54] Grit your teeth and get in there and accept that things are evolving and changing and trust that process. That's one thing I've really experienced in your work. I just wanted to share. I think a lot of people listening to this would need to hear that. Create a new relationship with that showing up and experience the freedom that's going to come from that discipline. For others, experience the Magic. The further discipline that will come for you and the further structure that will come for you. If you step into exploring the unknown.   Benny Fergusson: (01:08:31) Hmm, powerful, man.   Mason: (01:08:34) Yeah   Benny Fergusson: (01:08:34) Yeah, truth.   Mason: (01:08:37) As a friend, more than anything, but as a teacher, you've helped me get to that place a lot. So, I just wanted to make sure that that was sharing my little piece and testimonial on the backend here and as I said, everyone, I really encourage you to either do The Embodied Flexibility Course. Maybe you've got a shitload of tension in your body and you start there with the tension release. Is that right ?   Benny Fergusson: (01:09:02) Yeah, literally.   Mason: (01:09:02) Maybe some people are here with chronic pain ? Do you want to just quickly share that with the entry point for people with chronic pain ?   Benny Fergusson: (01:09:08) Yeah. The best way is in the physical freedom academy. At the moment. Inside that, we've got all sorts of different processes. We run a call every week for people with chronic tension and pain. First, just know, from someone who has been through chronic pain. You're okay. It's okay. You're not broken. And there are other ways that we can move forward. It doesn't have to be something that just lives at a dull level in the background. That's where me sharing this process called Break Through Your Pain is based around key questions we can ask ourselves to then start to really have moments of truth and go, "Oh, okay, I see that I have power in this. I see that I'm not a victim to my circumstances. I can stand up and go, you know what, yeah I'm in pain and I can work with it, rather than through it. To just be something that I manage and wrap myself in cotton wool and then just become limited in what I feel like I can do in my life."   Benny Fergusson: (01:10:17) I know how that feels. I've been there and it's time to stand up to it. You can, irrespective of what you're told. That's one of the reasons why I think I love working with all different types of people in different situations is to realise that there is a space where we can connect that is maybe a different conversation than what's in your family or your friendship circle. That's why we exist. To create high level conversations to start to really call people to truth. We do it through physical practice.   Mason: (01:10:59) That's powerful, man! Alright, thank you so much. Big love to you. Hope I can see you soon. All the way up there in Queensland.   Benny Fergusson: (01:11:08) Yeah, we're so close, but yet so far, at the moment.   Mason: (01:11:10) Forbidden Land.   Benny Fergusson: (01:11:12) Yeah.   Mason: (01:11:14) Alright, man. Have a great weekend. Thanks for coming on.   Benny Fergusson: (01:11:17) Thanks Mase. Thanks for having me.   Dive deep into the mystical realms of Tonic Herbalism in the SuperFeast Podcast!

In this episode, we'll discuss some nonsense in small topics, Michael will give us the latest news, Will will take us on a trip down main tweet USA, and then we'll shine the spotlight of an opening day attraction at Disneyland and opening day adjacent at Walt Disney World, Peter Pans' Flight!

Welcome to the latest episode of The Florida Project – the podcast where Disney fans celebrate Walt Disney World and all things Disney! In this episode, we'll discuss some nonsense in small topics, Michael will give us the latest news, Will will take us on a trip down main tweet USA, and then we'll shine the spotlight of an opening day attraction at Disneyland and opening day adjacent at Walt Disney World, Peter Pans' Flight! All of that and more is coming up in this week's episode of The Florida Project! Small Topics If you were to create a time capsule to open in 500 years, what animated and live-action Disney movies would you include? You're having a birthday party with up to 50 of your closest friends and are going to rent out an area of a park. Which area do you choose? Which park is the most advantageous to rope drop? Which one is the least advantageous? News Walt Disney World to Welcome Guests Back From the UK and EU New 50th Anniversary Scene Added to Walt Disney World's Electrical Water Pageant “Let the Magic Begin” Castle Stage Show Returns to the Magic Kingdom Mickey's Philharmagic to Temporarily Close for the New Coco Scene Main Tweet USA Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Pauses Boarding PassesMuppetVision 3D Getting New Pre-Show to Celebrate Muppets Haunted Mansion Discussion Topic Attraction Spotlight: Peter Pan's Flight Upcoming Episodes Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary (next week) Plugs Jason: @Schmuck00 Will: @ThyWillBDunn Michael: @MichaelMcDuck Site: http://www.tfppodcast.com Twitter: @tfp_podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/tfppodcast Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/tfppodcast Podcast Feed: http://www.tfppodcast.com/feed/podcast/tfp_episodes Thanks for listening. Tell a friend. Driver, we're clear.

Kate can see clearly now that Doree has lifted the fog of egomaniac Peter Pans and Doree ventures into the world of personal styling. Then, they're joined by Favianna Rodriguez, cultural activist and artist, as she discusses womb trauma, how growing her own bouquet is self-care, and what cultural justice means to her.To leave a voicemail or text for a future episode, reach them at 781-591-0390. You can also email the podcast at forever35podcast@gmail.com.Visit forever35podcast.com for links to everything they mention on the show.Follow the podcast on Twitter (@Forever35Pod) and Instagram (@Forever35Podcast) and join the Forever35 Facebook Group (Password: Serums). Sign up for the newsletter! At forever35podcast.com/newsletter This episode is sponsored by:ULTA BEAUTY - Ulta Beauty. The possibilities are beautiful. So, shop skincare at ULTA Beauty now. HOMEGOODS - Go Finding at HomeGoods today. CALM - For 40% off a Calm Premium subscription, head to calm.com/forever35. GROVE - Go to Grove.CO/FOREVER35 to choose a FREE gift with your first order of $30 or more. PURPLE - Go to Purple.com/forever10, and use promo code FOREVER10. For a limited time, get 10% off any order of $200 or more! BETTERHELP - Get 10% off your first month with the discount code Forever35 at betterhelp.com/FOREVER35. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robbie from Crash Rabbit Pod joins in. The voice of the voiceless has returned to pro wrestling. Join the patreon Intro w/ K from Big Egg Joshi Podcast (0-6) Recommended matches: (6-33) NXT Takeover Walter vs Dragunov NXT UK title (6-12) AAA TripleMania 2021 (12-33) Bishonen: (33-end) AEW Dynamite to Rampage Aug 18-27 w/ Robbie from Crash Rabbit Pod (33-1:21) NJPW Strong Aug 14 Resurgence (1:21-1:44) Dragongate Aug 11 Korakuen, Aug 21 Kyoto Gate of Adventure Day 4 and 7 (1:44-2:01) DDT Summer Vacation and Peter Pan (2:01-end) Part 2 over women and retro will release as scheduled for Sept 1 Website: https://redleafretrocast.blogspot.com https://linktr.ee/RedLeafRetrocast Twitter: @BowlingJD K at Big Egg Joshi Podcast Robbie at Crash Rabbit Pod

Have you ever heard of the Peter Pan syndrome? In essence, this is someone who simply refuses to grow up. Do you know any spiritual Peter Pans? Someone who has come to God but hasn't grown up in Him? This is not God's will for us! In this episode, we will delve into the richness of 2 Peter 1 on how to grow in our faith. Part 1 of a 2-part series. For more, visit: abecomingjourney.comScriptures referenced: 2 Peter 1:1-10; 1 Peter 2; Hosea 4:6; Galatians 5; Proverbs 25:28

Yo Yo Yo Yooooo! Relatives how y'all doin? Hopefully Blessed & Less Stressed as we always say. Today your favorite cousins are talking to you about the difference between bein "Grown" in Age versus being "Grown Grown", because there is definitely a diiference. They examine where they are on the "Grown Spectrum", the difference between the two, and how they feel about these Peter Pans & Panettes out here lol.

La indústria de la medicina i l'estètica, però també la cinematogràfica, la comercial i la musical, exploten tant com poden la nostàlgia: uns ens diuen que la joventut i les èpoques passades eren molt millors i els altres refan productes i pel·lícules i ens venen articles de la nostra infantesa. I funciona. Perquè eren temps per gaudir, perquè ens ho podíem passar bé sense preocupar-nos i perquè el més gros que ens podia passar era un genoll pelat. No és fàcil fer-se gran, i molta gent no ho accepta: són les Wendys i els Peter Pans.

La indústria de la medicina i l'estètica, però també la cinematogràfica, la comercial i la musical, exploten tant com poden la nostàlgia: uns ens diuen que la joventut i les èpoques passades eren molt millors i els altres refan productes i pel·lícules i ens venen articles de la nostra infantesa. I funciona. Perquè eren temps per gaudir, perquè ens ho podíem passar bé sense preocupar-nos i perquè el més gros que ens podia passar era un genoll pelat. No és fàcil fer-se gran, i molta gent no ho accepta: són les Wendys i els Peter Pans.

This week Cat and Reagan discuss why telepathy is a shitty form of communication, why mums need to stop being martyrs, weaponizing sobriety and the Peter Pans of Charleston.(The Real Housewives of Potomac, The Real Housewives of the O.C., Keeping Up with The Kardashians, Southern Charm)

What is Peter Pan Syndrome? Thanks for asking!Peter Pan was the original Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, a character from J.M. Barrie’s 1911 children’s novel. But some people also struggle with adulthood for a long time, due to the “real world” responsibilities it brings. American psychoanalyst Dan Kiley noticed this pattern of behaviour in some of his patients during the 1970s and 80s. He wrote a book entitled “The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up.” While Kiley’s work focused on men, the so-called Peter Pan Syndrome can affect women too.What are the symptoms of Peter Pan Syndrome then?Kiley noticed that many young adults were afraid of growing up and bearing the weight of adulthood on their shoulders. Once reaching an adult age, they continued to remain “kidults”. It’s not a recognised condition with a clinical diagnosis, but there is some consensus about the signs and attitudes relating to Peter Pan Syndrome. Those who have the syndrome often struggle with relationships, showing emotional unavailability and avoiding addressing issues. Finding or holding onto a job may also be a point of difficulty. Peter Pans might bet their hopes on a longshot dream like becoming a professional athlete or self-supporting actor.The syndrome is often discussed alongside narcissism, as there are some similarities, such as a failure to accept accountability or a fear of criticism for example. But Peter Pans don’t necessarily meet the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, or always have narcissistic traits.So what’s behind this syndrome then?A lot of the time, people affected by Peter Pan Syndrome haven’t fully lived their youth and have been thrown into adulthood too quickly. In other cases, it may be people who have experienced a violent trauma which ruined their innocence at a young age. To protect themselves, they unconsciously keep their emotional development at the childhood stage. Michael Jackson is a prominent example of a celebrity who was labelled as having Peter Pan Syndrome. Jackson said he developed his Neverland ranch to live the childhood he never had, having been an entertainment performer from an early age. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Elsa Moreck has been through it all when it comes to looking for love: chasing aloof Peter Pans, trying to fix men who won't take personal responsibility, and diminishing her power because of a partner's insecurities. - After years of studying the complexity of human psychology, mastering the science of human attraction, and integrating all of that into modern dating culture, she finally cracked the code and is now a certified dating coach. - In this episode of the Love Intently Podcast, we discuss: - -The best thing to have in your dating app profile photo, based on human psychology (hint: it’s NOT a puppy) -How to slide into someone’s DMs the RIGHT way -The SIX WORDS to say when someone ghosts you to guarantee a response -The most common mistake Elsa sees of singles getting back into the dating scene -Why Elsa suggests you peek under the table during your first date (it’s not THAT! Get your head out of the gutter) -How to use body language to show you are open to meeting new people - Elsa Moreck is a dating coach who helps millennials find love in the swiping area. It’s her mission is to facilitate meaningful relationships and connections in a world where they're going extinct by empowering you to take control of your life. She is a co-host of Pandemic Love, and she has been featured on Tinder, HuffPost, and Bustle. She does private one on one high-touch coaching, as well as quarterly masterminds. - For full show notes and resources: https://www.loveintently.com/podcast - Connect with Elsa Moreck Website: https://www.elsamoreck.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elsamoreck/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2484985058397858 - Connect with Sophie and Love Intently https://loveintently.com Follow @love.intently on Instagram Follow @sophkwok on Instagram

Esta Operacion fue diseñada para transportar ninos Cubanos hijos de padres preocupados que temian la ideologia comunista de la dictadura cubana y ya conocian lo sucedido con los ninos de Rusia , enviados por la segunda republica espanola a la Union Sovietica.En la actualidad, habiendo tenido posibilidad de recuperar su nacionalidad perdida, disponen de ciertas ayudas por parte del Estado español.Aunque los Niños de Rusia no son los únicos, ni siquiera la mayoría de los niños enviados al exilio, es común también la referencia a los mismos, en general, como los Niños de la Guerra.El sacerdote católico estadounidense, el Padre (posteriormente Monseñor) Bryan Walsh trabajó con Washington para coordinar la tramitación de visas para los niños. Vuelos de Pan Am llevaron a los niños a Miami, Florida, que, en la jerga de la operación era llamada "La tierra de Nunca Jamás" (Neverland), y por ello los niños fueron conocidos como los "Peter Pans". El plan original de la operación contaba con que los niños se reunieran con sus padres al cabo de pocos meses.En 1961, los Estados Unidos cerraron su embajada en Cuba como parte de los preparativos para la Invasión de Bahía de Cochinos. En respuesta a la invasión, Cuba llegó a un acuerdo con el premier soviético Nikita Jrushchov para trasladar armas nucleares al país, lo que llevó a la Crisis de los Misiles en 1962. Durante esta crisis, el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos canceló los vuelos entre los dos países; esto tuvo un efecto dramático, dejando a ochocientos niños a la espera de sus padres en Miami. Cuando se hizo obvio que los padres no llegarían pronto a los Estados Unidos, grupos católicos recogieron a los niños de Miami y los ubicaron en diferentes orfanatos, o con diversas familias por todo el país, para que fueran adoptados.Después del cese de los vuelos comerciales entre Cuba y EE.UU. se delinearon otras rutas alternativas para el éxodo de los niños desde Cuba, y más tarde, para los propios padres, con miras a una eventual reunificación. Muchas de estas operaciones fueron secretas pero eventualmente fueron descubiertas.Los padres viajarían a un tercer país (por lo general México o España), desde Cuba y tendrían que esperar en el limbo para obtener visados que les permitieran viajar a los Estados Unidos más tarde. El Reino Unido permitió que niños cubanos viajaran a Jamaica con visas emitidas por la embajada de Gran Bretaña, para luego viajar directamente a Estados Unidos desde allí. Si bien la Operación Peter Pan era un programa clandestino, el gobierno cubano lo descubrió.Apoyame suscribiendote a mi canal y activando las notificaciones para que formes parte de mi familia digital. Gracias, muchas gracias por tu apoyo.Sigueme en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/borissanchotvInstagram https://www.instagram.com/borissanchoTwitter https://www.twitter.com/borissancho Y tambien en TikTok https://vm.tiktok.com/J63Q5yV/Consultas Disponibles en director@hispatvdigital.comVisita mi pagina web https://www.hispatvdigital.comIntro https://youtube.com/iksonY te invito con mucho cariño a leer mis articulos en el Blog Hablando Clarohttps://www.hablandoclaro.hispatvdigi... Gracias por ser parte de mi familia digital.

Join my friends Shannon, Amber and I as we talk all things dating, the Peter Pans of Australia and share some of the funny stories you sent in.This episode is sponsored by Swanned Dating App, bringing together British and Irish Expats.Get downloading and Get Dating:https://www.getswanned.com/ and follow @getswannedatingMake sure to rate the podcast and follow @acountydownunder page.

Four cynical, semi-hopeful, and single working women explore love in the city of Los Angeles. Swimming in a sea of Peter Pans, and wanna-be fame whores, the powerful foursome, (Blake, Zoe, Anna, and Jazzy) face the ugly truth to see if love is dead, or if it's just Mercury retrograde. Episode 1: Blake recovers from her recent breakup with her closest friends in LA Written and Directed by Jenny Shakeshaft Starring: Blake: Jenny Shakeshaft Anna: Syd Wilder Zoe: Amanda Lehan Jazzy: uncredited Mr. Hudson, Devin, and more: Jonathan Freeman Peter Pan, Catch Waiter, and more: Cooper Johnson Jazzy's Dad: Jenny Shakeshaft Janet the waitress: Jenny Shakeshaft Brought to you by Monument Productions For more from Monument Productions visit www.monument.productions Subscribe to Lately in La-La Land on Soundwise

This is amazing journey through the story Peter Pan!! We're off to NeverLand!!!!!!!!! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We're back! After a short absence, we have returned. This episode we continue Laura's Birthday month picks with Hook staring Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Dustin Hoffman and Bob Hoskins. In this movie we learn of Peter Pans life on earth with a wife and kids. He's left neverland behind and forgot all about his lost boys and tink, until Hook comes back to get his revenge. So slide on up to the T.V Rufio style and strap in for our breakdown! Check out our page here And please shop all our amazing sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Video games have an unpleasant reputation as the childish refuge of the adult unwilling to accept the responsibilities that life demands of them, of being a series of infantile fantasy worlds into which these modern Peter Pans retreat, but this week Tommy Dassalo, Ben Vernel and Adam Knox are here to reject these claims with reviews of a Pokémon game and a Star Wars game. Also some chat about a couple newsy things and the not-too-hot looking launch of Google Stadia, plus more!Listen to our new premium Bandcamp episode all about the history of Rareware, available now at https://filthycasualspod.bandcamp.com for only $1 (or more if you’d like).Subscribe the YouTube channel for Let’s Plays (including the upcoming playthrough of Until Dawn), highlights and fan videos at https://youtube.com/c/FilthyCasualsIf you’d like to support us on Patreon head to http://www.patreon.com/filthycasualspod for free weekly bonus episodes, early access to Premium Episodes, the secret Patrons Facebook Group more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Enjoy hearing my mistakes!

Peanut butter is the world's commonest breakfast condiment. Even in Malaysia, where kaya reigns supreme in the realm of spreads, peanut butter still gets a lot of love. So this week, skip your Skippys and put aside your Peter Pans, as we talk to the co-founders of Jobbie, a home-grown, premier peanut butter brand with big dreams and even better peanut butter.

Peanut butter is the world's commonest breakfast condiment. Even in Malaysia, where kaya reigns supreme in the realm of spreads, peanut butter still gets a lot of love. So this week, skip your Skippys and put aside your Peter Pans, as we talk to the co-founders of Jobbie, a home-grown, premier peanut butter brand with big dreams and even better peanut butter.

Too many Late Bloomers? Peter Pans? Stunted Adolescents? Or does patience make perfect? Dr. Sharon Cohen joins The Debate Team to talk emotional availability, mid-life maturity, dating with intention, owning your status, living without regret, sending strong signals, the purpose of judgment, and why there's no better time than the right time!

Too many Late Bloomers? Peter Pans? Stunted Adolescents? Or does patience make perfect? Dr. Sharon Cohen joins The Debate Team to talk emotional availability, mid-life maturity, dating with intention, owning your status, living without regret, sending strong signals, the purpose of judgment, and why there's no better time than the right time!

In this episode Noe and I cover down on 50 year old Peter Pans, odd obsessions, and finances. Not sure how that all adds up but hey, money can't buy happiness right? .....right? How to connect with me! Apple Podcast : Side Conversations Spotify: Side Conversations Patreon: Patreon.com/SideConversationsPodcast Anchor : Anchor.fm/sideconversationspodcast instagram: @sideconversationspodcast Twitter: @SideConvo Email: sideconversationspodcast@gmail.com Where to find Kevin! Twitter: @kevinraydeanda Instagram: @KevinRayDeanda --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sideconversationspodcast/support

Bluetooth Attacken und das perfekte Po Selfie. In der fünften Folge geht es um kindische Streiche und die herrlich ernüchternde Feststellung: wir werden nie erwachsen sein!

Call it failure to launch, Peter Pan syndrome, or hikikomori, it’s the phenomenon of adult children not making the transition to adulthood. The Savvy Psychologist, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, explores why Peter Pans stay on the launchpad—plus, 3 ways to encourage liftoff. Read the full transcript at https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/239-failure-to-launch-syndrome Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts FOLLOW SAVVY PSYCHOLOGIST Order Ellen's book HOW TO BE YOURSELF: https://us.macmillan.com/howtobeyourself/ellenhendriksen/9781250161703/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist On Twitter: https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych Download free, science-backed resources to fight social anxiety: http://EllenHendriksen.com

We've all seen the movie, Peter Pan. It's fictional work but it seems that more and more it paints an eerily familiar picture with what we see in the boys who never want to grow up into men. I'll give you a prime example. Just the other day, there was a piece I read about a 30-year old man who had taken his parents to court because his parents were "evicting" him from their house. How pathetic is this? Maybe there's something wrong with this guy (obviously there's something wrong with this guy). But it's amazing that his thought process is to fight so hard to stay at home. I can't help, but there's something seriously wrong with him. But in addition to that, I can't help but think there's something wrong with the parents. How was this guy raised? How was he fathered? When I was done with high school, we went on our senior trip. The day I got home - the very next day - I moved out. It wasn't' because I had anything against my mother but because it was time. It was time to leave the nest. I see so many boys who are more concerned with staying at home than experiencing life. They're more concerned with not having bills and upholding their responsibilities. They're more concerned with Call of Duty or Fortnite (or whatever the game is that they're playing). They're shirking their responsibilities. They don't have jobs. And, their parents are enabling them to actually do this. And we question why we're having problems with our boys turning into men. This is the failure to launch syndrome - the rise of the Peter Pans. The good news is that there are some solutions to this. If you find yourself in a position where you're a boy or a male who wants to grow up but can't figure out how to do it, this article will provide the solution. I see so many men who use the excuse of not having a father figure in their life to justify their lack of performance as men. I can't believe that it needs to be addressed, but it certainly does. So, let's talk about this today. www.orderofman.com/FFN110 Please leave us a rating and review!

If you like war memoirs — and WWII memoirs in particular — then you have to read Band of Brothers. Hell, even if you don’t like war memoirs (or don’t know if you like them) but do like to read about how ordinary people find the courage and capability to do extraordinary things, then you should read it, because Band of Brothers is so much more than a clinical recounting of battles or analysis of soldiering. It’s an inspiring story of how a motley crew of freewheeling young bucks became one of the most elite and effective light infantry units to fight in the European theater, and it follows them from beginning to end, from their grueling basic training to jumping into Normandy on D-Day, holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, and, in the end, drinking Hitler’s champagne in the Bavarian Alps. Band of Brothers also made me #thankful365 that Hitler had to fight the GI Generation and not our current crop of spineless, self-absorbed, “safe space” Peter Pans and Pams that can’t even stomach the basic realities and responsibilities of adulthood, let alone fighting the Nazi war machine. Methinks the latter would have rather stayed home, smoked a bowl, and spluttered a few “sieg heils”… Want to be notified when my latest book recommendations go live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/  

Peter Pans are men who don’t want to grow up....

Peter Pans are men who don't want to grow up....

We're back! Yes, we have more laughs, tears, whiskey, and embarrassing AF moments this season for all our fam. This week, Joe and Travis interview Veronica and Eliza about Peter Pan syndrome and how we help these lost boys find home.

Peter Pans & Perpetual Princesses - Colossians 2:1-5 - Pastor Steve Yohn (3 Apr 16) by Strasburg Community Church

Just a couple of Peter Pans, proving boys will be boys. And boys love their toys. Featuring Slipknot, Scott Cam and Lang Lang. Proudly bought to you by our new sponsor, Reeking Ron's Hair Hole. 

One of the best ways for you and I to understand and learn is this story, isnt it? I might make some points in this sermon that youll forget, but ten years from now you will be able to remember some story that was told. Thats how our minds think. They didnt have tapes, books, or CDs, DVDs. They would hear this once, and that was it. They couldnt go back and read it like we can, time and again. Jesus would tell us in a parable, so people could retain that and think about what He said. [It would give them] that word picture that they would take home with them that day. So, He is going to tell the parable of the sower and the seed to teach them an important point about how we receive the Word of God and how it grows in our lives. In Luke 8:4, we will start reading (page 1023 of pew Bibles). It says, While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told this parable: A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering his seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. When He said this, He called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. He would often say that. What does that mean: he who has ears to hear let him hear? What Hes really saying there is those who are seeking truth, those who are listening for truth, Youll find it. You know you can listen and not really listen. By the way, just so you know, were flipping our service this morning. Were doing the preaching first and the music second. So, if youre walking in, and Im already preaching and youre really confused, thats why. Were preaching first this morning. So, ears to hear…Sometimes, even on a Sunday morning, I can look out, and some of you look like youre really listening to what I have to say. But, if I were to walk down to you and say, What did I just say? youd say, I dont know. I wasnt listening. At some point in time, youre going to tune out during the sermon. Have you ever experienced this: somebody is talking to you, and it dawns on you that you havent heard what he or she has said for like the last three minutes or so? You look like youre listening, but you really havent listened. Sometimes Ill have to have my wife repeat something to me, and Ill say, You said all of that? Where was I? She said, You were right here. I heard about a man who read a story on men and women and how they communicate. He went home and he told his wife, Honey, this study is really scientific, and it says that women speak twice as much as men. You girls just love to talk. You use twice as many words to communicate as men do. She said, Well, honey, thats easy to figure out. Its because we have to say everything twice because you never hear it the first time. He replied, Did you say something? Verse 9, His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand. Thats also a little bit of a perplexing verse. Jesus is saying, Parables both reveal and conceal. It depends on where your heart is. There were those in the audience who were coming not to learn from Jesus but to find words that would accuse Him, to find evidence against Him, to affirm what they already believed about Him-that He was a deceiver. He was an imposter. So those were the kind of ears they listened with. They listened not with ears to learn, but ears ready to accuse, ready to catch Him in something. So Jesus would tell them a parable, and the one who was really seeking truth would meditate on it, pray about it, reflect on it, and discuss it. Over time, they would start to remember things. Yes, I understand what Jesus meant now. For those who were looking for reasons to accuse and condemn, theyd go home and someone would ask, What did you think about this Jesus of Nazareth? Hes quite a teacher, ha? Oh, no. Overrated. He had some story about birds, seeds, and plants. It really wasnt that good. He just talked about nature. It wasnt deep at all. They totally missed the mark. It was concealed from them. So Jesus talks about that. It depends on the condition of our hearts. This morning, were going to focus on how to prepare our hearts to receive the seed of the Word of God. Jesus is going to explain the parable here. He doesnt always do that. We wish He would. We wish after every parable, Jesus would go back and say, Now, let Me tell you what it meant. Some of them, we have to scratch our heads and really read them through again and again to try to figure out what Hes saying. This one, He goes back and says, Let Me explain to you what it means. Verse 11, The seed is the Word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. That, right away, should get our attention. It talks about spiritual conflict. It talks about the fact that God wants to plant His Word-or His truth-in our lives. The enemy wants to take it away. When we share the Word of God on a Sunday morning, you should be all the more ready and all the more prepared and sober-minded and alert because there is somebody who is trying to steal it from you. [That gives you] all the more reason to be on your guard. How does he steal it? How does that happen? If I know how he steals it, then I can prevent him from stealing it, correct? If I know what his methodology is? Keeping our place in Luke, lets turn to Matthew 13 together. In Matthew 13:18 (page 968 of pew Bibles), Jesus also was explaining the same parable, but He adds a phrase in this book that we dont read in Luke. This phrase is very insightful. Listen to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. So how does he steal it from us? Because we dont what? Understand. Its easy for him to take away what we dont understand. You cannot retain-is another way to put it-what you dont understand. If I say something to you in French right now, probably only Tim and maybe a handful of others are going to be able to understand what I said. If you dont speak that language, it doesnt mean anything to you. You dont understand it. Have you ever had somebody explain a concept to you-it could be a theological concept? It could be mathematical. It could be something to do with construction or mechanical or musical. Youre listening to what theyre saying, and youre saying, Ah ha, and youre pretending like you understand everything thats being said. If we were to ask you, What did they say? youd say, I have no clue. But, you act like you know what they are saying. You dont even tell them you dont understand. Have you ever done that? Some of you are nodding your head. Does that mean you understand me or are you doing what I just talked about? Weve all done that. Weve all gone, Mmm. Yeah. Mmm hmm. They walk away, and one person turns to you and says, What did that mean? You say, I have no idea, but you pretend like you did, right? Sometimes well talk about theological matters, and maybe youre in cross training or maybe its a weekend message, and there is something you dont understand. Rather than seeking out the answer, rather than studying it more and gaining understanding, asking the right questions, you dont do anything with it. Whats going to happen to that seed? Its gone. That will be stolen. You dont understand it. I would rather humble myself and admit I dont know something and learn than have it stolen away from me. All of us are students. Never be ashamed or embarrassed to ask a question. Everybody in this room is a student. Im a student of the Word of God. Im learning and growing. Youre a student of the Word of God. You learn from me; I learn from you. We learn from each other. Never think, I dont want this person to think I dont understand or I am too embarrassed to admit I need help. Thats just pride, and that will hinder you. That will prohibit the seed from growing in your life as God wants it to. Lets return back to the parable in Luke 8. Jesus then goes on to explain what the other seed that was sown means. Verse 13, Those on the rock are the ones who receive the Word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. In other words, when some sort of persecution arose, in those days, if you were to be a follower of Christ, it would cost you. When I was ministering in Sweden-to be a Christian in Sweden, it costs you something. They didnt understand that. They would ridicule you in that secular society. They didnt understand in America: You mean in America, you can go to church and be a Christian, and its acceptable? I said, Yes. They thought we lived in a Utopia of some sort. They couldnt conceive of living in a country like we live in. When were persecuted or the threat of persecution arises, Jesus says, People neglect the Word that has been sown in their hearts. The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by lifes worries, riches and pleasures… There are three distractions, the worries of life. We all have worries and concerns and riches, the good things the world has to offer us materially and by pleasures-the good things the world has to offer us sensually, through our senses. We become distracted from Godly things or spiritual matters and begin to pursue these other matters. When that plant is growing up, if its surrounded by weeds, thorns, and other things, those things steal and rob the nutrition thats meant for that good plan. They robb the rays of the sun. They rob the water, the nutrients that are in the soil. In that same way, these concerns of this life rob you and me of what we need to have Gods Word grow in our lives. The result is our growth is stunted. We dont grow and mature as we should. Notice, what the Lord says here. He did not say the plants in this case died. He says, in Verse 14, …and they do not mature. They dont grow up. They become spiritual Peter Pans. Weve heard the Word. Were excited about the Word, but we become distracted by these other things. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the Word, Number one. …retain it… They seek to understand it. They contemplate it. They discuss it. They ask questions; they ponder it. …and by perseverance, produce a good crop. Even good seed doesnt grow up over night. The things were talking about, this is Jesus Word, so this is good seed, but it may not produce a crop in you instantly. Its not going to grow instantly. It could be that a year from now, when you come to church, you will be coming to church with a different mindset. Heres what I mean: Because the enemy is trying to snatch away the seed, when you come to the services, are you preparing your heart? When youre driving here in your car, what are you doing? Do you pray? Do you spend any time cracking the Bible on a Sunday morning before the service starts? Have you ever opened up Luke to read through it before we get here? To specifically pray and say, Lord, I need to hear from You today. We sang a hymn in our traditional service this morning that Neil picked out. Understand, he knew the topic, but he didnt know exactly how I was going to preach it. I just know what my topic is. The programming team does their thing, and the music team picks out their music, but I dont prepare sermons weeks in advance. I havent started on next weeks message yet because I just finished this one. So, its hard to tell them every detail of what Im going to say because I havent prepared it yet. When I got done, the team came up and led us in music. Listen to the song they picked out: Open my eyes that I might see, glimpses of truth Thou has for me. Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free (unlock the mysteries of the Word). Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God, thou will to see. Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine. Thats what Im talking about, that we prepare our heart to receive. Maybe a year from now or a month from now, when you come to church, youll have a different mindset. Ill walk around sometimes, and Ill see people who get here early. Ill see them reading the text that were going to talk about. Or, Ill see them with their head bowed in prayer. Ill say to myself, Theres a person with ears to hear this morning. I guarantee when I look at them, theyre going to be locked in. Ill be able to tell theyre receiving the same Word. Another person will come in here, and their mind is somewhere else. [They come in with the] worries of life, the pleasures of life, the material things of life, other distractions, and theyll walk out of here. Youll say, What did the pastor talk about? I dont know, but I have to get home. I didnt really get anything out of it this morning. Another person thought it was great. [Even if you have] the most boring speaker, the most boring monotone lecture in the world, if someone is preaching the Word of God, you should get something from that if your soil is prepared. You should walk away with something from that. Were going to do a little case study this morning with the time we have left. Were going to look at a man who had seeds sown in his life by the ultimate sower of seeds. He had Jesus Himself plant seed of the Word of God in his life. Were going to watch how he deals with it when he doesnt understand it, how he deals with it when theres persecution, and how he deals with it when there are distractions in his life. Were going to find out if it grows. Before we talk about whom he is, I want us to turn in our Bibles to John 12 (page 1066) and talk about the situation thats going on here. Lets read together verses 42 and 43 of John 12. John writes, Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue… In other words, the fear of persecution; the fear of a loss of their privilege-of their status; of their position as theyre seeking to climb in the ranks of the hierarchy, seeking advancement, the loss of friends and colleagues and peers; the loss of the reputation prohibited them from saying, Im a believer in Jesus. If he or she said, Im a believer in Jesus, they would be ostracized. …for they loved the praise from men more than praise from God, John writes. Sometimes, that can be said of you and me. There have been times in our lives when we have been silent or have not acted because we are afraid of what others might think or do, so at that particular moment-in that particular day, we cared more about what men thought about us than what God thought about us. The Pharisees-for the most part-were the enemies of Christ. They didnt like the way He acted. He broke their traditions, not Gods traditions-not Gods love, but mans love. He broke them. He went out of his way to cause trouble for them. They didnt approve of his theology. He would say things like, I and the Father are One. If youve seen Me, youve seen the Father. They didnt approve of that. They saw that as blasphemy. They didnt like the fact that this man-who had gone through no formal education-was attracting followers by the thousands; He was a threat to their powerbase. He was a threat to their security. They deemed him a blasphemer; they deemed him a heretic; they even believed He needed to die because He was having too much negative influence. He was teaching too contrary to what they believed. He was bucking the system. If you swore allegiance to Jesus, you were seen as a betrayer by the other Pharisees. So, to come out as a Pharisee and say, Im a believer in Jesus meant the loss of all of these other things. Really, its a gain, but they were looking at it from an earthly perspective and said, Its a loss. So, they would refuse allegiance to Christ. They refused to verbalize their faith in Him. The seed would be choked in their lives. Now, there was a man by the name of Nicodemus in John 3 (page 1051) who were going to meet. Lets read about him together in Verse 1, Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. This is an important individual. His name means conqueror, so hes maybe grown up with a little bit of an ego because every time hes addressed, he hears the word conqueror. How would you like to hear that? What if your parents had named you Conqueror? Conqueror, its time to eat. Conqueror, have you done your homework yet? I dont have to. Im the conqueror. Nicodemus, his mindset is that of a leader from the very onset. He is a Pharisee, so that means hes one of the most religiously powerful people of the day. Hes also a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. The ruling council was like the Supreme Court and Congress all rolled into one. That is what were talking about. So this is a man who was wealthy, educated, powerful in religious circles, powerful in the government circles. This man also is a key teacher. He was very prominent in society. He comes to the Lord it says at night. Why does he come at night? He didnt want to be seen. He didnt want to stir up any rumors. He didnt want anyone to think he was a follower of Christ, so he comes at night. He comes in secret. In Verse 2, he says, Rabbi, we know… Now, when he says we know, he doesnt mean all of the Pharisees. Hes probably talking about a few, maybe Joseph of Arimathea or a couple others that were talked about in John 12 who recognized that Jesus is from God, but they were afraid to speak out of fear. When he says we, its probably a few people that hes referring to. We know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. In reply, Jesus declared, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. These are the first times these words are every uttered, to be born again. Understand, weve heard those words. Many of us have grown up with those words. Those words have been used in our pop culture. Theyve been misconstrued, but Jesus spoke those words, and those words still apply. We still better understand what they mean because Jesus says, You have to be born again to see the Kingdom of God. If Jesus said it, I better listen to it, right, because it still applies? It hasnt changed. He is very perplexed at that statement, I must be born again. You might be afraid to ask some stupid questions, but I promise you-you will never ask as dumb of a question as Nicodemus is about to ask. He listens to Him and he says, How can a man be born again when he is old? Nicodemus asked. Surely, he cannot enter a second time into his mothers womb to be born! The Nicodemus question is well how does that work? You have to go back inside there somehow? I dont get it? You may have asked some doosies in your life, but you think, Well, I wouldnt have asked that. Common sense tells you thats impossible. Lets give Nicodemus the credit. He asked the question. The teacher asked the question. He becomes the pupil, the student. When Jesus says you must be born again, Nicodemus doesnt say, Oh, yes. Thats what I thought. Thank You, Jesus, and you have a good day. He walks out and reports to his friends who ask, What did He say? He said we must be born again to see the Kingdom of God. Whats that mean? I dont know. He asked the question. Hes not too proud to say, I dont know what that means. Jesus explains what He means. Nicodemus still does not understand what Hes talking about, so what does he do? Verse 9, a second time, he says, How can this be? Im still lost. Im still confused. Nicodemus is grappling with this. Nicodemus has questions, so hes not just allowing those questions to be unanswered because if he does, that seed is going to be gone. He wants to be sure he understands, I need more information. I need more facts. I need more knowledge. I need more. I need more, Jesus. Thats what we have to be like. We have to be tenacious like that. When we dont know the answer, [we need to] get the answer. Study it. Dig into it. Discuss it. Ask more questions. Dont walk away and pretend like you know it when you dont. You want that seed to grow? Dig into the Word of God and say, Okay. Because once you say, Okay, now I get it, then no one can take it from you. Its not going to be stolen. It takes work, but you can say, Now, Ive got it. Now its mine. Jesus replies and says, You are Israels teacher, and do you not understand these things? Now, He is not cutting Nicodemus down. Jesus is just a little bit taken back at Nicodemuss total lack of understanding of spiritual matters because…Listen to what Jesus says, You are Israels teacher. When you read this in the Greek, theres a definite article there. In other words, it could be read like this: You are the teacher of Israel, and you dont understand these things? Nicodemus wasnt just a teacher; he was a teacher. He was regarded as one of the premier teachers in the land. We learn that simply from what Jesus says here, You are Israels teacher. Youre the teacher of Israel, and you dont understand these things? I mean, here he is. Everybody comes to Nicodemus to get their questions answered, and here is Nicodemus coming to Jesus like a little kid and saying, Im lost. I dont understand anything You said. Think of the greatest teacher you know, a math teacher, science teacher-somebody you learned the most from. Think of that person talking to somebody else about that subject they are so good at, and saying, Im lost. Could you explain it to me? But Nicodemus, to his credit, asks the question. He was not content with simply being confused. He wants to know the truth. Now, lets watch what happens as that seed is in his life because I guarantee he has ears to hear. I guarantee hes reflecting on it; hes contemplating it; hes continuing to search. Were going to meet him again in John 7 (page 1058). Theres persecution that has starting to come because of the teachings of Christ. Verse 44, Some wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him. Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, Why didnt you bring Him in? We wanted to talk to Him. Why didnt you bring Him in like we asked? No one ever spoke the way this man does, the guards declared. You mean the guy you told us to go seize? When we went to seize Him, [we learned] that guy can talk! That guy is smart! I dont think we should be bringing Him anywhere! You should go listen to what He has to say! You mean He has deceived you also? the Pharisees retorted. Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in Him? No! There sits Nicodemus sort of going, Mmmm. I do. Remember Nicodemus says, I believe in the Lord. I believe youre from God. Right? But Nicodemus isnt going to tell his peers that he thinks Jesus is from God because he is afraid. That persecution is choking out that seed, causing that seed to not grow. He could lose his place. He could lose his status as a teacher of Israel. Hes been a Pharisee, Sanhedrin, teacher, and [it would all be] gone, all of it! The money, the status, the power, [it would be] gone. So Nicodemus zips his lip, sort of. He doesnt come out and say, Well, I think Jesus is from God because no body could do the works He did. I went to Jesus and spoke to Him. Heres what He said. Nobody knows. Its still a secret. By the way, let me ask you this question: John records for us [what happens] behind closed doors with the Pharisees, right? He tells us the discussion. He tells us what Nicodemus said. John was not there. Jesus was not there. Who is the source of this conversation behind closed doors? Were going to learn at the end of the message this morning that it might be Nicodemus. He could be the very man who tells John what happened that day. There were no apostles back there when they were having this discussion. How did they find out? Nicodemus speaks in Verse 50, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing? What Nicodemus is saying is listen, we have to give this guy a fair shake. We have to cut Him some slack. We have to hear what He has for us before we judge Him. So hes speaking up and defending the Lord, but not fully coming out all the way. They replied, Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee. Now, lets turn to John 19 (page 1074). In John 19, Jesus is dead. Theyve had their way. Now at the foot of the cross are those who have to be there, the Romans. Its their job. Those who want to be there are because theyre saying good-bye. His followers, His family, are there. Theyre weeping and theyre crying. Theyre crushed. His enemies are there too. Theyre making sure the job is done. They want to make sure Hes dead. They want to be sure Hes buried and gone. Its no longer nighttime. Its daytime. Who emerges from the people to take care of the body of Jesus? The Pharisees want Him buried with the two thieves. [They want to] just dump the corpse in the ground. The world is rid of a nuisance. His voice is silenced forever. He got what He deserved. They have no care for the body, but two very unlikely people step forward. Both of them are Pharisees. One is named Joseph of Arimathea, and the other is named Nicodemus. They come out; they take the body of Jesus down from the cross. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. I didnt research how much this would have cost him, but myrrh was very expensive. Remember when the kings brought Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh. This is very costly, and [they have] 75 pounds of it! Nicodemus spent a lot of money. Taking Jesus body, the two of them wrapped it with the spices and strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. They found the tomb where nobody had been laid, and in there they put Jesus. They came out and said, Listen, we dont care who knows anymore. We love this man. They took his body with loving care, wrapped it, anointed it, and placed it in a tomb with expensive spices. We dont have the words he spoke here, but his actions spoke volumes. His actions said Nicodemus no longer was hiding, no longer coming at night. He didnt care anymore who knew that he loved this man Jesus. The seed had taken root. The seed had grown. Persecution didnt matter. The loss of the comforts of this world-those worries-didnt matter anymore. All that mattered was Jesus.

We begin by saying, Its not about us. Its about Him. We talked about two of our purposes: We were planned for a purpose. We talked about worship and what that is. Our second purpose was fellowship; we were formed for Gods family. This morning were looking at our third purpose: You were created to become like Christ. Paul speaks of that purpose in Galatians 4:19 (page 1154 of the pew Bibles) when he says, My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth, until Christ is formed in you... So, that is the goal of the Holy Spirit. He works within our life to form Christ in us. That is what God desires: that our character-our person, reflects His Son. That is the third purpose of our life that were going to be speaking on this morning. You notice he uses the word until. What does that signify to you, the word until? Until Christ is formed in you? That this thing we call discipleship is not an event; its not a program. Starting a discipleship…you dont understand discipleship. Discipleship is not contained in a program anymore than fellowship is contained in its totality in a small group. No, a small group cannot contain the totality of Koinonia. It has to go beyond a small group where you do life together. Discipleship is the whole of your Christian experience, not a program or an event. Its all of it, and it is a process. That process is discussed in Philippians 1:6 (page 1161 of pew Bibles), if youll flip over to that. Paul writes, …being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. The tense of the verb is the future active, which means God is doing it, was doing it, He is doing it now, and He will continue to do so. God will continue to work in your life to conform you to the image of His Son. Discipleship is a process. That is something God is doing. Hes using the circumstances, the people, your environment, your heredity, the things youre learning, the ways youre serving, the relationships and friendships you have, the spiritual disciplines, your spiritual gifts. All of these things in totality, God is using to form Jesus in you. That process lasts our whole life long. That process is called discipleship. God wants you to grow up and mature in Him. God doesnt want a bunch of spiritual Peter Pans running around that just choose to never grow up. There are some Christians who are just content to stay immature their whole lives. Babies are cute; we like babies. Theyre cute, and sometimes theyre messy. They drool and spit up, but theyve very dependent. They have diapers that need to be changed; they need to be spoon fed, but theyre cute. Let me tell you something: thirty year olds who are in diapers and need to be spoon fed, have pacifiers, and drool arent cute. You have to grow up. The same thing is true in the realm of the spirit. God wants you to mature. God wants you to grow up in him. You have a part to play in that. When I was a young believer, this verse ministered to me so much because I felt like I am willfully inadequate when it comes to being a disciple of Christ. I bet Gods ready to kick me out. I bet hes ready to throw in the towel and say, This guy isnt going to make it. The pastor preached on this verse when I was 18 years old. It said to me, God is not going to give up on me. Even though Im unfaithful, even though Im not always what Im supposed to be, God is going to continue to work in me. Hes not a quitter. So, that is a good promise, isnt it? Thats a wonderful promise of His Word. But that promise is based on a partnership. You may want to read Philippians 1:6 and say, Oh, all I have to do is kick back, put my hands behind my head, feet up on the footstool, and, God, do your thing. It says Youre going to work in me until the day of completion. Well, thats not Biblical. We have a part to play in our discipleship as well. Flip over one page to Philippians 2: 12-13. Paul writes, Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling… Notice he says-and this isnt going to be in your book as youre reading this week, youre going to run across a phrase: its work out not work for your salvation. If he had said work for your salvation, wed all be in trouble. How do we know when weve worked enough? How do we know when its good enough? Well, you dont have to work for your salvation because you cannot earn it. Christ bought it for you. You receive it by faith. You dont work for it. Continue to work out your salvation. He says, You dont work for a body. You work out your body. You work out because you have a body. In the same token, you dont work for your salvation; you work out your salvation. Its because you are saved that you want to be discipled. You want to grow in the image of Christ. He says you do so with fear and trembling. What does that mean? Does that mean God wants us to be afraid of Him? Does that mean we are going to lose our salvation, so we better work hard on it or were going to lose it. No. Its talking here about sober-mindedness. Its talking about how some people approach their spirituality and their own discipleship rather casually, rather flippantly, as if itll happen. Gods in charge of that. Its going to happen. Thats careless. Thats going to hurt you. That is going to cripple you, and its going to cause you to not grow in Christ as God desires you to grow in Christ. That kind of mentality is not Biblical. He says when you approach the subject of discipleship, there is a sober-mindedness to it. Youre serious about it. Go to the gym and be haphazard sometime. What kind of results are you going to get? You walk in [and someone asks], [Are] you going to work out today? I dont know. I think Im just going to stand in the weight room. Ill get big muscles. Ill get toned. Ill just stand here. It doesnt work that way, right? You have to be sober-minded. If youre going to develop into a person thats fit, youre going to have to do something about that. Thats what hes talking about here: approach your spirituality seriously. Recognize you have a part to play. You have a responsibility in what God is doing in your life. Verse 13 says, For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. Its not about you. Whose good purpose? His good purpose. Hes working in you for His good purpose. Its not about you. Notice something interesting: sometimes people get hung up in certain theological circles about free will and sovereignty issues. Do you see that sovereignty and free will exist in perfect harmony in these two verses? Do you put verse 12-13 in juxtaposition? One is talking about mans free will, and the other is talking about Gods total sovereignty, and guess what? They coexist. They get along. Paul had no problem with it. God is sovereign, and man is free. I did a little detective work for you, free of charge. I decided I was going to investigate the word work in Verse 12. I knew I wouldnt be content with investigating Verse 12. I wanted it investigated in Verse 13 [as well]. What if the word work in Verse 13 is a different word from the word work in Verse 12? I was just curious because I didnt know. I dont have the Greek New Testament memorized. I dont know what every single word is, right? So I thought, What is this word? I looked it up in Verse 13, and guess what? It was a different word for work. I dont know if that gets you excited, but if youre a pastor, that gets you really excited. I just found a clue! I just found something! Its like a detective when he finds a clue, and he gets all excited. Hes gathering evidence. I think Im starting to figure this out! Whats this other word work here? Well, the first word work had to do with performing a task, going through directives, accomplishing a mission, and youre carrying out a task. It has to do with you fulfilling your purpose. You do what God has called you to do. You work on the commands God has given you to work on. You do your part. Thats the first word work. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Its work to love when you dont want to love, to forgive when you dont want to forgive, to speak out when you dont want to speak out, to not quit when you want to quit. Thats work. Work out your salvation. Do what God has called you to do and be. Put elbow grease into it. You have a part to play. The second word for work in Verse 13 was used exclusively for what God does. That word meant to work within for a purpose. I looked up every incidence of these two words in the Bible, and it was very clear that that meaning was different, to work within something for a purpose. Ill give you a couple of illustrations of this working hand in hand. Lets say you have a stain in your bathtub, and you cant get it out. Youre scrubbing, and youre trying what they say on the commercials. Nothing is working, so you call Grandma. You say, Hey, Grandma, I have a stain in my bathtub. How do I get it out? Grandma says, You just buy… You say, Okay, I will, so you go to the store, buy this product, and you put it on. You notice that the stain starts to dissolve. You start seeing some bubbles. You start to work at it; you put your elbow into it. Pretty soon, you look at the rag, and that stain is coming up. Youre getting all excited. You put more on there, and you start scrubbing away. Next thing you know, that stain comes out. Now, the first word work is in Verse 12. Thats what you do. Thats the elbow grease, I have to get this stain out of here. I have to put some effort into it, some sweat and hard work. When youre watching that product work on that stain, and it starts to dissolve, what do you usually say when that happens? You look at it, and you go, Its working! Its working! Its happening! Thats the word work that God does. Its working within for a desired purpose, a desired result. Its breaking down that stain so it can be clean. You need both because you cant get that stain out of yourself. There are sins in your soul that-I dont care how much you work-youre never going to remove them. If you just sat and worked on your own strength and might, you will never remove that stain no matter how hard you try. You need the Holy Spirit. Its not simply a matter of Holy Spirit, remove that stain from my life. Ill just watch Oprah while you do that. Ill just watch the ballgame today while you work that stain out of my life, Lord. It doesnt work that way either, folks. You see, I do my part, and God does His part. I work out; God works within. Ill give you another illustration. Im taking a class now called Power Pump. I had to have my arm twisted a little bit to do it because I thought it sounded like it was for women. I didnt want to be dancing around with weights going four more and three more, that kind of thing. Im not doing that. I was told, No, its not just going to be just for men or women. Its light weights, high rep. There is music, but youre not dancing to it. I said I would give it a shot. It was work. Some of you women work muscles that we guys didnt even know we had. They had me doing something where I had a band, and I was lying on my side doing this. I didnt know I had muscles up and down here. Boy was I sore the next day. Women were just flying with that thing. The guys were like, Ahhhhhh! It was terrible-and embarrassing. You work out everything; you work out your chest, your back, and your legs; everything gets worked out during the course of that hour, which seems like it lasts a long time. A couple of my friends from the church are in it too, and were kind of teasing each other as we work out. Were stretching-which is another thing most guys dont do-and Ive started noticing some results. Its like Im a little bit more flexible. Im starting to feel some muscles that werent toned and now are. They are making a difference when Im walking, going up steps, or playing basketball. Im starting to see some results here. What happens is when I work out, I go through the task that my teacher tells me to do, and I do them to the best of my ability, and I do them in the right form. I work hard at them. After that, what do I do? Whats my responsibility? Eat and rest. What happens then is my muscles work within to strengthen. I dont have any control over that. I dont turn to my quadriceps and think, How am I going to make that quadriceps tone up? Ive done my part. Now, within my body, my muscle fibers begin to grow and build back up to make me stronger. I work out, and my body works within, two different kinds of work. Both are essential. If I do my part, my body is going to do its part. So it is in spirituality, in discipleship. As we engage in all the things were doing right now-were memorizing Scripture; were reading the Word or reading a book thats Scripture-based; were going to small groups; were attending weekend services; were reading the book and discussing the sermons and all were learning; what happens is when we do that and put those things into practice, the Holy Spirit then starts to produce Christ in us. Sometimes changes arent seen right away. Ive been doing this for 20 days, and I still sin… Were never going to get there, folks, but Im telling you if youll apply yourself over these 40 days, youre going to see change. Whats more, youre going to form new habits that are going to carry on for the rest of your life-long after this time of ministry is done. This passage talked about Gods sovereignty. I want to talk about another passage that talks about His sovereignty in the Book of Romans 8, if youd turn there (page 1119 of pew Bibles). This is a verse many of us are familiar with. Gods purpose is that we be conformed unto His Son. Thats a process-not an event or program; it is a partnership of us working in conjunction with the Lord in our lives. We do our part, and the Lord does His part. In Romans 8, it says God has a plan. There is a plan in His sovereignty to form Christ in us. Romans 8:28 says, And we know that in all things… Notice it doesnt say in some things or in most things-in all things. …God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to… their purpose? Whose purpose? …His purpose. Is it about you? Its not about you. Its about Him. Called according to His purpose. Does it say all things are good? No. It doesnt say all things are good. If something is evil and is bad, its evil and bad. It will always be evil and bad. Sickness-bad; death-bad; somebody steals from you-bad. If you go through a divorce-bad. Bad! If you get injured and break a bone-bad. What it says is that God will work through that situation and turn it into something good in your life to transform you more into the image of His Son. When our car breaks down, we go to a mechanic. We say, My window isnt working anymore. Can you fix it? My air conditioning isnt working anymore. Can you fix it? My muffler is loud. Can you fix it? The mechanic makes your car run the way it used to. It makes the window function. He makes the exhaust system quiet. He makes it start when it doesnt start. He fixes it so it performs the way it did before. You break something; if something goes wrong inside, you go to the doctor. He fixes it so it can perform at or close to the level it used to. He repairs it. We thank God for doctors. We thank God for mechanics, but God does something better. God does something eternal. God says, I will use those things in your life-those things that have been taken from you, those things that have been broken, those hurts and losses-and I will make you better than you were before. Thats what He promises to do. I will use them and weave them into your life better than you were before, more like Christ than you were before. Sometimes thats a hard pill to swallow. Years ago, I would say over 10 years ago, I was-and this is the truth-30 pounds lighter than I am now. Im not heavy; Im not skinny either, but Im not heavy. I was 30 pounds lighter. I was in the best shape of my life. I was playing basketball at a pretty high level. One day I got hurt. I came down on my knee; I got catapulted in the air and came down directly [on my knee] on the gym floor. I put the patella into the femur so hard, it shattered my cartilage. The doctor said it looked like Id been in a car accident. When he got in there, he said, No more sports for you. You can ride a bike. You can play golf; you can swim, but you will never be able to play basketball, volleyball, football, baseball-anything with running or jumping is done for you for the rest of your life. I said, What if I dont play as hard, as long, or as often. He laughed and said, Thats the anesthetic talking, Mr. Williams. Your athletic career is over. You have no cartilage. He drilled holes in my bone, and for four months, I laid on my back. The only time I would get up was Sunday morning to give my one sermon [while I] was sitting down in a chair with my leg up and elevated. Then Id go back to my couch for the rest of the week while that blood clot formed. I began focusing on my pain and my problem, and I was miserable. I was angry. I said, God, how can you take this away from me? This was my release. I have my friends. Its something I enjoyed doing. How could you do this to me? I was angry. Pastor Rick Warren said something in his book on Day 25. He said, When were going through problems, it is vital that you stay focused on Gods plan and not your pain or problem. Vital that you stay focused on Gods plan and not your pain or problem. I had a turning point in my recovery. I began to focus on Gods plan. I began to say, Okay, God, what are you going to teach me? If this is gone from me, Im going to accept that, but the thought of never running again bothered me, so Im going to believe you. Maybe you want to teach me some things about faith. As I looked back, I learned some tremendous things about faith and patience. I learned that faith is not a passive thing; faith is an aggressive thing. Faith goes after stuff relentlessly. I learned that. Faith is not waiting for God to part the waters. Faith is God, we need these waters parted, and You know that, so Im going in the water and Im heading out. Im expecting You to part them as I go. Thats faith. I went out there with my brace, and the doctor said, You shouldnt do it, but I know youre stubborn. Im going to give you one anyway. I went out there with my brace, and the only way I could stop myself [when I was running] was to hit a wall. Thats how Id stop myself. Id feel sharp pain, and Id fall down. Id get back up. I played 15 minutes. Two weeks later, I could play for 20 minutes. Then I could play two days a week. Then I played for nine years until I had my second surgery. My second surgery took me a year and a half to rehab. I wanted to play basketball with our church team. In December, I couldnt run from here to the wall. The games were in January. I got out there with my brace, and I said, Im staying, God. I want to play, so you have to touch me. I played all season. Now, Im back up to playing three days a week. Im not very good anymore. I recognize that I occasionally can get the ball in the basket. Im not sure how much of its age, but I know a lot of it has to do with just the cartilage issue. Im out there; Im playing; Im contributing. Im working up a sweat. Im hanging out with some of my friends again. I learn that faith is something you just press on. Its aggressive. The things I learned about patience and faith, I wouldnt trade them. God took that very difficult situation, and as soon as I turned it over to Him, guess what? He used it. He used it to make my faith stronger than it ever was before. I would not trade that experience. The fourth point we want to make has to do with the fact that when we yield to the Lord, when we yield to Him, He produces in us Christ-likeness. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew 26. While were turning there, were going to listen to a song by Joy Williams called Do They See Jesus in Me? (To read the lyrics, click here: http://www.christian-lyrics.net/artist/joy-williams/track/do-they-see-jesus-in-me) Christ is formed when the person yields to the Lord. When our desire and Gods will collide, who wins? Who wins? Its the mark of maturity. The spiritual Peter Pans who dont want to grow up, they win. In a mature believers life, the Lord wins. I had a birthday party this week to go to for my great niece. Right before she got ready to eat the birthday cake, ready to sing, the ice cream was out, everything was ready to go, she got an attitude and started pouting. The next thing you know, were ready to sing, and she walks away. She leaves. Wheres Brittney? my niece says. Brittneys gone. Brittney they call. Brittney is pouting. She doesnt want to come to her party. The ice cream is melting, the candles are burning, Mom makes a call and says, Lets sing and lets eat. So we sing Happy Birthday in part to the guest that is not there, and we cut the cake and we feast. Who missed out? Brittney did. We think we win by saying no to God and not yielding to God and doing our own thing. We dont win. We lose. We missed the party; we missed the blessing. Somebody else gets to enjoy what was meant for us. Our Lord Jesus, in Matthew 26-we looked at this last week in talking about relationships and friendships-He brought Peter, James and John into His inner-circle and bared His soul. He said in Verse 38 (page 985), My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me. Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will. Can you pray that prayer? If you can pray that prayer, Christ is being formed in you because thats what He looks like. Pastor Warren said that the change discipleship comes about not by imitation, but by habitation: the Holy Spirit residing in our lives, changing us. Our responsibility when our will and Gods will collide is to yield. Can you pray that prayer? Or do you say, I dont want to drink that cup! I didnt ask for that cup! Whyd you give me that cup? Im not going to drink that cup! Or do you say, Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will, but Your will be done because, God, I know you work all things for good. Even though I dont understand it, I trust You, and Ill drink of the cup. What is it You want to teach me? How are you going to use this to conform me to the image of Your Son? If you can pray this prayer and say, Not my will, but Your will be done, discipleship is happening in your life. Maturity [is going on]. Youre growing. Youre getting stronger. Youre becoming like Jesus. Lets pray and then well receive communion together. Father, thank You for the purpose You have for us in Discipleship, to be formed to the image of Your Son. We thank You that that is a process that Youre working in us to this day and for the rest of our lives. We thank You that it is a partnership between us and You, that its not all You, and its not all us. We work in harmony in conjunction with Your spirit. I thank You that You have a plan in Your sovereignty. You are working all things together for good in our lives according to Your purpose. Father, I thank You that as we yield to You, You will produce Christ-likeness in us. Lord, there is a lot we have to work on. We want to start right here and right now; and I pray during this communion time, Youd speak to our hearts; [if there is] anything that is non-conforming, any area where our desire and Your will are colliding, and were winning right now-we [understand] were really losing. I pray that even here, even now-this morning, the process of yielding, the decision to yield would start right here. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.