#037 Simon Delve - How Meditation Rewires Your Brain & Reduces Stress
Simon Delve is the CEO of Samten, a wellbeing company that teaches people how to learn and practice the art of mindfulness & meditation. Simon grew up in Newport, South Wales and went on to spend over 20 years in the corporate world, leading business and driving change and performance in human culture. Through these moments in his career and life experiences, he really began to understand how we operate as humans. Simon started looking at ways he could optimise his performance and that of others, which led him to firstly invest in Samten and then go on to lead the company on its vision into helping change the world one breath at a time.
> During our discussion, you’ll discover:
(00:07:10) Growing up in council housing
(00:11:11) The Awake event
(00:23:16) Why we need some stress in our lives
(00:27:49) Simon’s heart condition and how stress added to it
(00:34:09) Mindfulness vs meditation
(00:36:52) What is mindfulness
(00:42:58) SAMTEN
(00:51:12) Meditation and religion
(00:55:30) Rapid-fire questions
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Transcript
Welcome to the VP
Speaker:Love Podcast, the
Speaker:show where we
Speaker:bring you
Speaker:actionable health
Speaker:advice from
Speaker:leading minds.
Speaker:I'm your
Speaker:host, Rog.
Speaker:My guest today is
Speaker:Simon Delve, an
Speaker:entrepreneur and
Speaker:the current CEO
Speaker:of Sampton, a
Speaker:meditation
Speaker:platform and app
Speaker:that aims to
Speaker:bring mindfulness
Speaker:meditation
Speaker:to the masses.
Speaker:Expect to learn
Speaker:what stress
Speaker:actually is and
Speaker:why it's so
Speaker:damaging to our
Speaker:health, why
Speaker:mindfulness is
Speaker:such an effective
Speaker:way of helping to
Speaker:regulate stress
Speaker:in the body, and
Speaker:why you should
Speaker:consider using
Speaker:Sampton to
Speaker:support your own
Speaker:meditation
Speaker:practice.
Speaker:Now, on to the
Speaker:conversation with
Speaker:Simon Delve.
Speaker:Simon, welcome to
Speaker:the show.
Speaker:It's great to
Speaker:have you here.
Speaker:I know we'll
Speaker:shortly be diving
Speaker:into all things
Speaker:meditation and
Speaker:mindfulness.
Speaker:However, before
Speaker:we jump into that
Speaker:side of things,
Speaker:would you mind
Speaker:introducing
Speaker:yourself to the
Speaker:audience?
Speaker:I know you've got
Speaker:a diverse
Speaker:background and
Speaker:would love to
Speaker:hear all
Speaker:about it.
Speaker:Hey, Rob.
Speaker:Yeah, firstly,
Speaker:thank you very
Speaker:much for inviting
Speaker:me as a guest on
Speaker:the Vitality
Speaker:Probe Podcast.
Speaker:I really
Speaker:appreciate it.
Speaker:And yeah, I think
Speaker:I have got a bit
Speaker:of a diverse
Speaker:background in
Speaker:terms of my life
Speaker:and my work life.
Speaker:So I grew up in
Speaker:Newport in
Speaker:South Wales.
Speaker:As many people
Speaker:did, you know,
Speaker:years ago, grew
Speaker:up on a council
Speaker:estate and we
Speaker:didn't really
Speaker:have a lot as a
Speaker:family, but it
Speaker:just
Speaker:tended to work.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:everybody that
Speaker:you lived in the
Speaker:area where you
Speaker:lived were all
Speaker:kind of in the
Speaker:same position.
Speaker:Same place.
Speaker:Yeah. And so, you know,
Speaker:we had this
Speaker:element of
Speaker:freedom where we
Speaker:were able to be
Speaker:out and about and
Speaker:not have the
Speaker:worries that
Speaker:maybe some of the
Speaker:children
Speaker:have today.
Speaker:And then at 13,
Speaker:our life changed.
Speaker:So my father was
Speaker:diagnosed with
Speaker:cancer and within
Speaker:six weeks,
Speaker:that was it.
Speaker:He was 41
Speaker:years of age.
Speaker:My mother was 35,
Speaker:had four
Speaker:children,
Speaker:age 14, 13.
Speaker:I think my
Speaker:brother was seven
Speaker:and my
Speaker:sister was three.
Speaker:So, you know, our
Speaker:lives kind of
Speaker:changed at
Speaker:that point.
Speaker:Cancer was kind
Speaker:of a thing then,
Speaker:but not
Speaker:massively known.
Speaker:You know, you're
Speaker:talking like it's
Speaker:actually 32 years
Speaker:ago today,
Speaker:actually, that
Speaker:you passed.
Speaker:So our life kind
Speaker:of changed.
Speaker:And what happened
Speaker:then was my
Speaker:father asked me a
Speaker:question then or
Speaker:asked me to do
Speaker:something on my
Speaker:brother, which
Speaker:was to look after
Speaker:our mother and
Speaker:our
Speaker:siblings, really.
Speaker:And that's kind
Speaker:of where it went
Speaker:from there.
Speaker:So then I ended
Speaker:up being somebody
Speaker:that created this
Speaker:real big
Speaker:work ethic.
Speaker:I had many jobs
Speaker:from the age of
Speaker:13, really
Speaker:up to 23.
Speaker:So even at the
Speaker:age of 16, I
Speaker:start an
Speaker:apprenticeship
Speaker:with Land Rover.
Speaker:I still from 13
Speaker:to 23, 24 always
Speaker:had a minimum of
Speaker:three jobs.
Speaker:So I was just
Speaker:working, working,
Speaker:working and
Speaker:really trying to
Speaker:break free of the
Speaker:life that we had
Speaker:where we didn't
Speaker:have a lot.
Speaker:So I had this
Speaker:attachment to if
Speaker:I work hard, we
Speaker:get the freedom,
Speaker:I can look after
Speaker:my family.
Speaker:And that's kind
Speaker:of what I did.
Speaker:And in that time
Speaker:then, at the age
Speaker:of 16, I got my
Speaker:apprenticeship.
Speaker:And at the age of
Speaker:35, I'd been with
Speaker:Land Rover
Speaker:for 19 years.
Speaker:I'd gone from
Speaker:being an
Speaker:apprentice
Speaker:mechanic to a
Speaker:leader of a
Speaker:business, which
Speaker:is everything I
Speaker:said I was
Speaker:going to do.
Speaker:In those years,
Speaker:I'd had my son,
Speaker:Brandon, my first
Speaker:with his mother,
Speaker:which was a
Speaker:different
Speaker:relationship to a
Speaker:married to now.
Speaker:And yeah, that
Speaker:was kind of life
Speaker:was just
Speaker:happening as it
Speaker:does for people
Speaker:at a house, a
Speaker:child, a career.
Speaker:And I was ticking
Speaker:all the boxes
Speaker:that we were all
Speaker:supposed to
Speaker:tick, really.
Speaker:Then as time went
Speaker:on, I separated
Speaker:from Brandon's
Speaker:mother and they
Speaker:also developed
Speaker:the heart
Speaker:condition,
Speaker:which I had
Speaker:atrial
Speaker:fibrillation,
Speaker:atrial flutter
Speaker:and tachydermia.
Speaker:So with that, my
Speaker:heart would raise
Speaker:about 250 on a
Speaker:regular basis.
Speaker:So I found myself
Speaker:all of a sudden
Speaker:living with this
Speaker:kind of heart
Speaker:condition from
Speaker:the age of around
Speaker:about
Speaker:probably 28.
Speaker:At this heart
Speaker:condition, I was
Speaker:struggling with
Speaker:every day.
Speaker:I was on
Speaker:medication.
Speaker:And through that
Speaker:period of time,
Speaker:I've had an
Speaker:operation in 2010
Speaker:and an operation
Speaker:in 2019,
Speaker:which neither of them
Speaker:really worked.
Speaker:But we've got it
Speaker:settled down now.
Speaker:My life is a bit
Speaker:more or a lot
Speaker:more normal than
Speaker:it was for
Speaker:a long time.
Speaker:Over this period
Speaker:of time, I've got
Speaker:married to Jamie
Speaker:Lee, my wife.
Speaker:We've been
Speaker:together now for
Speaker:15 years and
Speaker:married for 10.
Speaker:We also have two
Speaker:children, Ashton
Speaker:and Riley.
Speaker:So we have three
Speaker:boys between us
Speaker:all together,
Speaker:which is
Speaker:fantastic.
Speaker:They're
Speaker:full of joy.
Speaker:My eldest boy is
Speaker:20 years of age
Speaker:and my youngest
Speaker:is eight.
Speaker:So there's also
Speaker:an age range of
Speaker:living life
Speaker:again, I suppose
Speaker:you could say.
Speaker:But at the age of
Speaker:35, I decided to
Speaker:make a change and
Speaker:leave my
Speaker:corporate career
Speaker:and move to
Speaker:Switzerland,
Speaker:which I did.
Speaker:I went to live in
Speaker:Zurich for a
Speaker:short period of
Speaker:time, trying
Speaker:something new.
Speaker:And when I
Speaker:came back,
Speaker:I had a newfound.
Speaker:The best way to
Speaker:put it really
Speaker:view of the world
Speaker:as a newfound
Speaker:view of the
Speaker:world, because
Speaker:over there, I was
Speaker:able then to find
Speaker:my authenticity.
Speaker:Even though it
Speaker:was only over
Speaker:there for six
Speaker:months, the
Speaker:authentic Simon
Speaker:started coming
Speaker:through.
Speaker:I realized how
Speaker:much I was
Speaker:operating on a
Speaker:daily basis back
Speaker:in the UK, in the
Speaker:Korea, in this
Speaker:belief system
Speaker:that I built up
Speaker:in to actually
Speaker:who I really was.
Speaker:Because as soon
Speaker:as I got into a
Speaker:place where
Speaker:nobody knew me, I
Speaker:didn't feel like
Speaker:I had to keep up
Speaker:any appearances
Speaker:and then the real
Speaker:me came through.
Speaker:So when I came
Speaker:back from
Speaker:Switzerland, I
Speaker:then ended up in
Speaker:a position where
Speaker:I was just
Speaker:different.
Speaker:I was just
Speaker:different the way
Speaker:I was, my
Speaker:attitude to
Speaker:learning really
Speaker:and trying to be
Speaker:more, talking
Speaker:about my
Speaker:potential and
Speaker:abundance of
Speaker:opportunity.
Speaker:My whole thought
Speaker:process was
Speaker:different to how
Speaker:I operated.
Speaker:And then over
Speaker:those last 10
Speaker:years, I found
Speaker:more of a skill
Speaker:set in developing
Speaker:human culture in
Speaker:businesses and
Speaker:specializing in
Speaker:business
Speaker:transformation
Speaker:and turnaround,
Speaker:working in
Speaker:business as an
Speaker:entrepreneur,
Speaker:in which then I
Speaker:invested in
Speaker:something and
Speaker:become the CEO of
Speaker:something where I
Speaker:sit today.
Speaker:Yeah, that's kind
Speaker:of a little
Speaker:overview of my
Speaker:life, really.
Speaker:Yeah, that's
Speaker:amazing.
Speaker:I just sort of,
Speaker:yeah, I've
Speaker:definitely spoken
Speaker:to a few people
Speaker:recently who have
Speaker:sort of, who've
Speaker:grown up in this
Speaker:sort of a council
Speaker:state sort of
Speaker:environment.
Speaker:I think you're
Speaker:the first one to
Speaker:actually sort of
Speaker:paint it in.
Speaker:I mean, I'm not
Speaker:to say that it
Speaker:wasn't maybe the
Speaker:best environment
Speaker:to grow up in,
Speaker:but you
Speaker:definitely sort
Speaker:of highlighted
Speaker:the fact that
Speaker:there was a
Speaker:community in
Speaker:that, at least
Speaker:initially.
Speaker:And I think
Speaker:although maybe
Speaker:the circumstances
Speaker:weren't ideal,
Speaker:that is quite
Speaker:special in a way.
Speaker:I don't know what
Speaker:you think, but I
Speaker:think community
Speaker:is something we
Speaker:just solely as
Speaker:black as a
Speaker:society today,
Speaker:which I think
Speaker:drives a lot of
Speaker:issues for a lot
Speaker:of people,
Speaker:especially this
Speaker:whole thing about
Speaker:sort of
Speaker:loneliness and
Speaker:isolation.
Speaker:Did you find that
Speaker:in your form to
Speaker:the ears that
Speaker:there was that
Speaker:sort of community
Speaker:there, even as I
Speaker:think you put it,
Speaker:you're all in the
Speaker:same position.
Speaker:Did you, were you
Speaker:able to sort of
Speaker:come together in
Speaker:that respect?
Speaker:Yeah, 100%.
Speaker:You know, I think
Speaker:my kids today,
Speaker:when they go out,
Speaker:you know, we've
Speaker:got Find My
Speaker:Child, or I think
Speaker:it's called on
Speaker:our iPhone, we
Speaker:can track them
Speaker:and, you know,
Speaker:we're worried
Speaker:about what's
Speaker:happening in the
Speaker:dangers.
Speaker:There were
Speaker:dangers back
Speaker:then, maybe not
Speaker:publicized
Speaker:because of the
Speaker:way social media
Speaker:wasn't present
Speaker:and the internet
Speaker:wasn't where it
Speaker:is today.
Speaker:However,
Speaker:we would go out
Speaker:and we come back
Speaker:when the lights
Speaker:came on, right?
Speaker:And I would go in
Speaker:just in a row, we
Speaker:had Margaret, one
Speaker:of my mother's
Speaker:friends, and our
Speaker:friends, I'd be
Speaker:going in there
Speaker:popping.
Speaker:I'd just maybe
Speaker:put my hand in
Speaker:the biscuit tin
Speaker:and say hello,
Speaker:and I'd go to the
Speaker:next house.
Speaker:And like
Speaker:everybody knew
Speaker:everybody, you
Speaker:know, there was a
Speaker:100% respect for
Speaker:adults, for
Speaker:elders when you
Speaker:walk down the
Speaker:street and you
Speaker:did feel like a
Speaker:community.
Speaker:So although we
Speaker:didn't have a
Speaker:lot, you know, we
Speaker:went to food
Speaker:banks, I
Speaker:witnessed a lot
Speaker:going on with my
Speaker:parents arguing
Speaker:over money all
Speaker:the time.
Speaker:We had, some of
Speaker:our Christmases
Speaker:were great, but
Speaker:the other 364
Speaker:days were hard,
Speaker:you know, because
Speaker:the lower you had
Speaker:community and
Speaker:everybody's in a
Speaker:similar space,
Speaker:when you're
Speaker:living in that
Speaker:and, you know,
Speaker:your Christmas
Speaker:day is made up of
Speaker:provident loans
Speaker:and shopper check
Speaker:loans and Kay's
Speaker:catalogue and
Speaker:Littlewood's
Speaker:catalogue and,
Speaker:you know, IOUs
Speaker:with everybody
Speaker:that will let you
Speaker:have one, as you
Speaker:got a little bit
Speaker:older, probably
Speaker:when I got to
Speaker:nine or 10, I
Speaker:started realising
Speaker:that what we were
Speaker:getting for a
Speaker:year for
Speaker:Christmas
Speaker:actually cost us
Speaker:a whole year of
Speaker:like peace, I
Speaker:suppose, you
Speaker:know, because
Speaker:anything that we
Speaker:would be doing or
Speaker:talking about
Speaker:would be money
Speaker:and work and
Speaker:money and bills
Speaker:and debts that
Speaker:need to be paid.
Speaker:So, yeah, there
Speaker:was probably a
Speaker:two pronged
Speaker:attack there
Speaker:where you were
Speaker:going
Speaker:through that.
Speaker:But when you're
Speaker:out in the
Speaker:street, everyone
Speaker:was smiling,
Speaker:everyone was
Speaker:happy, everyone's
Speaker:in the same
Speaker:position.
Speaker:You know, there
Speaker:was no
Speaker:comparison.
Speaker:We were all just
Speaker:living the same
Speaker:life and that
Speaker:felt good.
Speaker:Yeah, no, it is
Speaker:really powerful
Speaker:and that's
Speaker:obviously not to
Speaker:take away from
Speaker:the struggles.
Speaker:Of course, I do
Speaker:think I don't
Speaker:think money buys
Speaker:happiness, but it
Speaker:definitely sort
Speaker:of buys the
Speaker:freedom to not
Speaker:worry about
Speaker:having to be able
Speaker:to provide for
Speaker:your family or to
Speaker:be able to go.
Speaker:And it just helps
Speaker:alleviate that
Speaker:sort of stress,
Speaker:as you know, very
Speaker:little, will sort
Speaker:of drive or
Speaker:stress levels up
Speaker:or destroy your
Speaker:health fast and
Speaker:that sort of
Speaker:financial
Speaker:pressure.
Speaker:So, yeah, no,
Speaker:it's definitely
Speaker:something to sort
Speaker:of be aware of.
Speaker:But yeah, I think
Speaker:what I was just
Speaker:trying to sort of
Speaker:point to is maybe
Speaker:that that silver
Speaker:lining of that
Speaker:community, which
Speaker:is definitely
Speaker:something again,
Speaker:like I mentioned
Speaker:that we are
Speaker:missing today.
Speaker:We are.
Speaker:I completely
Speaker:agree with that.
Speaker:Simon, before we
Speaker:dig into
Speaker:the guts,
Speaker:actually, that's
Speaker:a poor
Speaker:choice of words.
Speaker:Let me
Speaker:rephrase that.
Speaker:Before we sort of
Speaker:dive into the
Speaker:conversation
Speaker:today and
Speaker:actually that's
Speaker:also cliched.
Speaker:All right, let's
Speaker:just go with it.
Speaker:I'd love to sort
Speaker:of talk about
Speaker:your recent
Speaker:experience
Speaker:with Awake.
Speaker:Now, I know I
Speaker:don't know to
Speaker:what extent
Speaker:you're involved
Speaker:in putting it
Speaker:together, but I
Speaker:do know that our
Speaker:mutual friend,
Speaker:Andrew
Speaker:McLaughlin, along
Speaker:with Jamie,
Speaker:so his second
Speaker:name escapes me.
Speaker:Yeah, we're
Speaker:instrumental in
Speaker:putting the whole
Speaker:event together.
Speaker:And for those in
Speaker:the audience who
Speaker:maybe don't know,
Speaker:Awake, from my
Speaker:understanding of
Speaker:it, is sort of a
Speaker:getaway or a
Speaker:treat, maybe, for
Speaker:the better word,
Speaker:or that aims to
Speaker:sort of help
Speaker:individuals sort
Speaker:of break through
Speaker:mental barriers
Speaker:and discover how
Speaker:to sort of move
Speaker:forward in life,
Speaker:especially from
Speaker:Andrew's side
Speaker:with the
Speaker:transformational
Speaker:coaching.
Speaker:And I know there
Speaker:was blood work
Speaker:involved and some
Speaker:physical
Speaker:parameters that
Speaker:were
Speaker:measured as well.
Speaker:But could you
Speaker:sort of speak to
Speaker:your experience
Speaker:with the event,
Speaker:though, maybe how
Speaker:involved and what
Speaker:you took away
Speaker:from it?
Speaker:Yeah, 100
Speaker:percent.
Speaker:So Awake.
Speaker:Well, like I
Speaker:said, really, the
Speaker:start off is wow.
Speaker:Like this.
Speaker:I've been in the
Speaker:wellness space
Speaker:for a little
Speaker:while in terms of
Speaker:maybe just
Speaker:getting an
Speaker:understanding of
Speaker:myself, because
Speaker:that's all we
Speaker:ever will really
Speaker:understand is
Speaker:ourselves more than
Speaker:anything else.
Speaker:And Andrew and
Speaker:Jamie are very
Speaker:good
Speaker:friends of mine.
Speaker:And Jamie kind of
Speaker:give birth to
Speaker:this idea that he
Speaker:would have a
Speaker:community which
Speaker:was just Jamie
Speaker:and friends.
Speaker:So it would be
Speaker:just him.
Speaker:No titles, no egos.
Speaker:It's very Welsh.
Speaker:Yeah, you know.
Speaker:And with myself
Speaker:and Andy and
Speaker:other people
Speaker:being very close
Speaker:with Jamie, Jamie
Speaker:was very keen to
Speaker:have some of us
Speaker:on board.
Speaker:Now, for myself,
Speaker:I didn't have the
Speaker:time really to
Speaker:commit to what
Speaker:was needed really
Speaker:to pull something
Speaker:like this off
Speaker:where, you know,
Speaker:Andrew and Jamie
Speaker:very much put a
Speaker:lot of effort
Speaker:into it.
Speaker:And they really
Speaker:designed
Speaker:something that is
Speaker:different.
Speaker:It is different.
Speaker:You know, it's
Speaker:we're not just on
Speaker:a retreat, we
Speaker:reconnect into
Speaker:source and that
Speaker:sources us and
Speaker:kind of what they
Speaker:delivered.
Speaker:Across the whole
Speaker:of the event
Speaker:really was
Speaker:conscious
Speaker:connection.
Speaker:It really was a
Speaker:conscious
Speaker:connection to
Speaker:ourselves and
Speaker:conscious
Speaker:connection
Speaker:to others.
Speaker:And that was like
Speaker:for everybody, a
Speaker:really special
Speaker:moment, because
Speaker:once you got in
Speaker:there, it wasn't
Speaker:probably until
Speaker:all of us got
Speaker:home that we got
Speaker:out of it.
Speaker:You know, we
Speaker:connected and
Speaker:stay connected
Speaker:every day, all
Speaker:day through over
Speaker:coffee in the
Speaker:morning, through
Speaker:the walks we were
Speaker:on, through the
Speaker:yoga, the
Speaker:meditation, the
Speaker:rope work, the
Speaker:breath work,
Speaker:the
Speaker:learning centre.
Speaker:And one of the
Speaker:breakthrough I
Speaker:had actually,
Speaker:which was quite a
Speaker:big breakthrough
Speaker:for me, everyone
Speaker:had one.
Speaker:And I kind of I
Speaker:was simmering on
Speaker:it for a
Speaker:little while.
Speaker:And then when I
Speaker:was there, I kind
Speaker:of I got it when
Speaker:I was doing my
Speaker:facilitation of
Speaker:my talk.
Speaker:And it was that
Speaker:we talked about
Speaker:my father passing
Speaker:obviously 32
Speaker:years ago today.
Speaker:So let's say 32
Speaker:years ago, minus
Speaker:two weeks was the
Speaker:last time that I
Speaker:spoke to my
Speaker:father two weeks
Speaker:before he passed.
Speaker:And at that age,
Speaker:I'd made a
Speaker:decision, a
Speaker:conscious
Speaker:decision with my
Speaker:mum to say, I
Speaker:don't want to see
Speaker:my father again.
Speaker:I could see him
Speaker:changing.
Speaker:And I didn't want
Speaker:to see him any
Speaker:different way
Speaker:than what
Speaker:I knew him.
Speaker:And when I think
Speaker:back now of like
Speaker:my middle boy is
Speaker:13, I think of
Speaker:him making those
Speaker:decisions.
Speaker:I can't
Speaker:quantify it.
Speaker:However, on that
Speaker:last time I see
Speaker:my father, I sat
Speaker:there with my
Speaker:brother, Peter,
Speaker:and he said,
Speaker:promise me you
Speaker:will look after
Speaker:your mother and
Speaker:your siblings.
Speaker:He said, your brother
Speaker:and sister.
Speaker:At which point I
Speaker:said, I will.
Speaker:And for 30 years,
Speaker:not until two
Speaker:years ago, my
Speaker:mother
Speaker:passed away.
Speaker:I realized I
Speaker:lived that, Rob.
Speaker:I lived it right
Speaker:in all my
Speaker:decisions,
Speaker:although me and
Speaker:my siblings might
Speaker:have fell out a
Speaker:little bit.
Speaker:Me and my mother,
Speaker:a little bit at
Speaker:different times.
Speaker:I put them first
Speaker:over everything,
Speaker:over my
Speaker:relationships,
Speaker:over my career.
Speaker:Whatever was
Speaker:needed
Speaker:financially,
Speaker:emotionally, I'd
Speaker:done my best to
Speaker:show up at all
Speaker:times to fulfill
Speaker:this promise.
Speaker:And when I was
Speaker:speaking,
Speaker:I kind of
Speaker:realized I'd
Speaker:never really
Speaker:managed to put
Speaker:all the pieces
Speaker:together.
Speaker:I'd always say to
Speaker:people, maybe
Speaker:come from a more
Speaker:egoic standpoint.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I've like, oh,
Speaker:yeah, I did this.
Speaker:I did that.
Speaker:And then I'd look
Speaker:at my
Speaker:relationship, my
Speaker:marriage, I had
Speaker:broke down once
Speaker:or twice.
Speaker:And I looked at
Speaker:previous
Speaker:relationships
Speaker:and, you know, I
Speaker:looked at
Speaker:sacrifices
Speaker:that I made.
Speaker:But all in all,
Speaker:it was all about
Speaker:I made a promise
Speaker:to my dad and I'm
Speaker:going to keep it.
Speaker:And it was only
Speaker:when my mother
Speaker:passed away,
Speaker:things
Speaker:started to change.
Speaker:I started to feel a
Speaker:different light.
Speaker:I didn't feel as
Speaker:drawn to make
Speaker:sure that
Speaker:everybody else
Speaker:was OK
Speaker:over myself.
Speaker:And I was almost
Speaker:prepared to let
Speaker:go of things a
Speaker:bit more.
Speaker:And in a wake,
Speaker:that was probably
Speaker:my breakthrough.
Speaker:I really managed
Speaker:to crystallize
Speaker:that into an
Speaker:understanding
Speaker:that my father
Speaker:never meant it
Speaker:the way I
Speaker:took it.
Speaker:And as human
Speaker:beings, we take
Speaker:things sometimes
Speaker:how we believe
Speaker:they're said, not
Speaker:as they said.
Speaker:And that then
Speaker:affects us into
Speaker:making judgment
Speaker:and decisions
Speaker:that are
Speaker:not right.
Speaker:And there's no
Speaker:way my father,
Speaker:maybe in 13,
Speaker:expected me to
Speaker:spend 30 years
Speaker:doing that.
Speaker:He meant it
Speaker:probably in just
Speaker:to me a favor,
Speaker:kids, look after
Speaker:your mother and
Speaker:your brother
Speaker:and sister.
Speaker:Yeah, it's it's
Speaker:definitely
Speaker:interesting.
Speaker:And I suppose
Speaker:just looking at
Speaker:it, that that's
Speaker:how your 13 year
Speaker:old self would
Speaker:maybe
Speaker:understand that.
Speaker:I mean, you don't
Speaker:understand that
Speaker:sort of nuance as
Speaker:you do as an
Speaker:adult, do you?
Speaker:You don't
Speaker:understand that
Speaker:speaking as an
Speaker:adult, that isn't
Speaker:as much pressure
Speaker:when you don't
Speaker:have that sort of
Speaker:relative
Speaker:understanding of
Speaker:the world.
Speaker:And you always
Speaker:will bubble as
Speaker:your family.
Speaker:And and and and
Speaker:that's it.
Speaker:Then I suppose as
Speaker:a child, it's
Speaker:very easy to just
Speaker:look at something
Speaker:like that, look
Speaker:at your father's
Speaker:instructions and
Speaker:just sort of
Speaker:take it on.
Speaker:As as gospel and
Speaker:then sort of
Speaker:carry that
Speaker:through.
Speaker:And I think,
Speaker:yeah, looking
Speaker:back at my own
Speaker:childhood, sort
Speaker:of
Speaker:retrospectively,
Speaker:I mean, there
Speaker:were definitely
Speaker:sort of
Speaker:similar issues.
Speaker:I will not
Speaker:issues, but
Speaker:occurrences in my
Speaker:own childhood and
Speaker:just
Speaker:retrospectively
Speaker:looking
Speaker:back at them.
Speaker:I just sort of
Speaker:think, wow, I
Speaker:just cook that
Speaker:completely the
Speaker:wrong way, not in
Speaker:a negative sense,
Speaker:but it just from
Speaker:the perspective
Speaker:of that's
Speaker:all I knew.
Speaker:If you're
Speaker:following, if I'm
Speaker:making any sense.
Speaker:And then you sort
Speaker:of you get to
Speaker:this sort of,
Speaker:well, I wouldn't
Speaker:call
Speaker:myself an adult.
Speaker:I think I've
Speaker:grown a bit more
Speaker:since then, but
Speaker:not much.
Speaker:But you sort of
Speaker:come to this
Speaker:realization that
Speaker:actually, no,
Speaker:that's not what
Speaker:my childhood was
Speaker:supposed to be.
Speaker:Or maybe that's
Speaker:not what that
Speaker:parent meant.
Speaker:And it's just
Speaker:that just I think
Speaker:is something that
Speaker:generally comes
Speaker:with at least
Speaker:some level
Speaker:of, yeah,
Speaker:growing up is the
Speaker:wrong term.
Speaker:But, yeah, sort
Speaker:of evolving as a
Speaker:human being.
Speaker:And but, yeah, I
Speaker:mean, if you if
Speaker:you're able to
Speaker:take that away
Speaker:from, oh, wait,
Speaker:that's
Speaker:incredible.
Speaker:I think it's
Speaker:that's magic.
Speaker:It is, I think a
Speaker:lot of people
Speaker:have
Speaker:breakthroughs
Speaker:there.
Speaker:But more so,
Speaker:it was the
Speaker:education piece.
Speaker:It's almost like
Speaker:you don't know
Speaker:what you don't
Speaker:know, right?
Speaker:And, you know,
Speaker:as Andrew says it
Speaker:really well,
Speaker:actually, I think
Speaker:it was last two.
Speaker:Sue was said it
Speaker:as not knowing is
Speaker:knowing, you
Speaker:know, there's
Speaker:like so many ways
Speaker:to look at
Speaker:the world.
Speaker:But when you find
Speaker:that deeper
Speaker:understanding of
Speaker:self and try to
Speaker:really connect
Speaker:with you, you
Speaker:actually find it
Speaker:easier to let go
Speaker:and come to terms
Speaker:with things.
Speaker:So, yeah, I would
Speaker:say for anybody,
Speaker:whether it was a
Speaker:wake or another
Speaker:similar, it's
Speaker:definitely
Speaker:something that is
Speaker:transformative
Speaker:and will
Speaker:sit with you.
Speaker:When you talk
Speaker:about community,
Speaker:those of us that
Speaker:went, we will
Speaker:have a connection
Speaker:now for the rest
Speaker:of our lives,
Speaker:because it was
Speaker:such a tight,
Speaker:conscious moment
Speaker:over those days
Speaker:that we couldn't
Speaker:we couldn't not
Speaker:not be
Speaker:connected now.
Speaker:You know, it was
Speaker:it was special,
Speaker:you know, when
Speaker:there's all about
Speaker:the diamonds
Speaker:inside of us,
Speaker:it's all about
Speaker:our wisdom and
Speaker:our intuition and
Speaker:who we
Speaker:really are.
Speaker:That gets clouded
Speaker:over by the
Speaker:psychology and
Speaker:the belief system
Speaker:that we are bred
Speaker:into, that we
Speaker:build up
Speaker:ourselves.
Speaker:And then we think
Speaker:with our
Speaker:thoughts, but
Speaker:we're not our
Speaker:thoughts.
Speaker:You know, we
Speaker:never really use
Speaker:feeling anymore
Speaker:because it's all
Speaker:in thinking.
Speaker:And when you
Speaker:strip all that
Speaker:back and all that
Speaker:psychology back
Speaker:and you just go
Speaker:back to you, you
Speaker:know, I suppose
Speaker:my my moment of
Speaker:that happened
Speaker:when I went to
Speaker:Switzerland and I
Speaker:discovered that.
Speaker:But this was a
Speaker:different level
Speaker:of discovery.
Speaker:I kind of knew
Speaker:what it felt like
Speaker:to find myself.
Speaker:But I still now
Speaker:and again,
Speaker:especially when I
Speaker:think back with
Speaker:my parents and my
Speaker:mother and stuff,
Speaker:I was still being
Speaker:somebody else
Speaker:that I thought
Speaker:someone wanted me
Speaker:to be as opposed
Speaker:to just being me.
Speaker:Yeah, it sounds
Speaker:like a
Speaker:particularly
Speaker:effective magic
Speaker:mushroom ceremony
Speaker:without the magic
Speaker:mushrooms.
Speaker:I think we tried
Speaker:to order some in,
Speaker:but it wasn't any
Speaker:available.
Speaker:Okay,
Speaker:I should hold me.
Speaker:I have sources,
Speaker:don't you worry.
Speaker:Yeah, no.
Speaker:Yeah, obviously
Speaker:we just and
Speaker:psychedelics
Speaker:should only be
Speaker:used sort of in
Speaker:controlled
Speaker:situations.
Speaker:But yeah, it
Speaker:sounds like an
Speaker:amazing event.
Speaker:I'm sorry, I
Speaker:couldn't make it
Speaker:this time around.
Speaker:I know there will
Speaker:be I know you'll
Speaker:be hosting it
Speaker:annually, though,
Speaker:and there will be
Speaker:daily
Speaker:events as well.
Speaker:So twice a year.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we have every
Speaker:April and I think
Speaker:it's November the
Speaker:first to the
Speaker:fifth this year.
Speaker:So we'll have
Speaker:twice a year.
Speaker:We'll be having
Speaker:the event plus
Speaker:we'll be doing
Speaker:day events in
Speaker:between to give
Speaker:people tasters of
Speaker:what it's like to
Speaker:experience it.
Speaker:But, you know,
Speaker:that is just
Speaker:going to
Speaker:be a taste.
Speaker:It won't be the
Speaker:same as being,
Speaker:you know, away,
Speaker:you know, with a
Speaker:group of people
Speaker:having the
Speaker:constant
Speaker:conscious
Speaker:connection.
Speaker:Of course not.
Speaker:You can't expect
Speaker:that sort of
Speaker:immersion in one
Speaker:day, although, to
Speaker:be honest, it's
Speaker:sort of
Speaker:sunny oils.
Speaker:It's probably a
Speaker:bad
Speaker:experience either.
Speaker:So what we'll do
Speaker:for those listing
Speaker:if anyone is
Speaker:interested in a
Speaker:way, we'll just
Speaker:we'll link to it
Speaker:in the show notes
Speaker:and yeah, just
Speaker:get all the URLs
Speaker:in there for
Speaker:anyone who would
Speaker:like to
Speaker:follow up.
Speaker:OK,
Speaker:I'm coming.
Speaker:I think I better
Speaker:get us back on
Speaker:track of this.
Speaker:We'll be
Speaker:here all day.
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:I'm like a bag
Speaker:pie to see
Speaker:something shiny
Speaker:and I'm off on a
Speaker:tangent.
Speaker:So yeah, make of
Speaker:that what
Speaker:you will.
Speaker:OK, I think that
Speaker:was kind of a
Speaker:really nice segue
Speaker:to what I'd like
Speaker:to start talking
Speaker:about next, which
Speaker:which is this
Speaker:concept of stress
Speaker:and which will
Speaker:also be great for
Speaker:the rest of
Speaker:conversation.
Speaker:Now, everyone's
Speaker:heard a stress,
Speaker:of course, and
Speaker:it's essentially
Speaker:and essentially
Speaker:what it is and
Speaker:that is sort of
Speaker:an issue in high
Speaker:amounts and that
Speaker:it can sort of
Speaker:damage
Speaker:our bodies.
Speaker:But I think what
Speaker:most people sort
Speaker:of fail to
Speaker:realize is that
Speaker:we do require a
Speaker:certain amount of
Speaker:stress to
Speaker:function.
Speaker:Can you break
Speaker:down obviously
Speaker:sort of with your
Speaker:understanding of
Speaker:stress having
Speaker:worked or working
Speaker:with a
Speaker:sound time?
Speaker:What stresses and
Speaker:why we need it to
Speaker:to some extent
Speaker:optimally
Speaker:function, but
Speaker:then also why too
Speaker:much of it can be
Speaker:an issue?
Speaker:Yeah, I
Speaker:definitely can.
Speaker:I think like from
Speaker:myself, you know,
Speaker:I'll have my own
Speaker:view on it.
Speaker:I'm not a medical
Speaker:practitioner.
Speaker:So for me, it's
Speaker:just the way I've
Speaker:come to learn it
Speaker:through my own my
Speaker:own ways of
Speaker:dealing
Speaker:with stress.
Speaker:You know, I've
Speaker:had a lot of dark
Speaker:times myself.
Speaker:You know, I've
Speaker:been rock bottom
Speaker:a few times
Speaker:in my life.
Speaker:And yeah, I've
Speaker:had some really
Speaker:dark times, dark
Speaker:thoughts.
Speaker:So for me, stress
Speaker:is really is
Speaker:pressure, right?
Speaker:It's pressure on
Speaker:our mental,
Speaker:physical being.
Speaker:And essentially
Speaker:we release
Speaker:chemicals like
Speaker:adrenaline and
Speaker:cortisol.
Speaker:And these these
Speaker:generally happen
Speaker:when we're in a
Speaker:flight or fight
Speaker:response.
Speaker:Now,
Speaker:stress is
Speaker:positive, right?
Speaker:Because like when
Speaker:you become
Speaker:motivated, when
Speaker:you become
Speaker:focused, when you
Speaker:want to grow
Speaker:through personal
Speaker:growth, having
Speaker:stress is good
Speaker:because you're
Speaker:putting yourself
Speaker:under pressure to
Speaker:complete
Speaker:something, to
Speaker:achieve
Speaker:something, to go
Speaker:somewhere.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So that is not a
Speaker:bad thing
Speaker:to have that.
Speaker:The problem kind
Speaker:of really comes
Speaker:where we remain
Speaker:in flight or
Speaker:fight for long
Speaker:periods of time.
Speaker:And we go into
Speaker:chronic, chronic
Speaker:stress, really.
Speaker:And that is for
Speaker:prolonged periods
Speaker:of time, that's
Speaker:hard then.
Speaker:Because when
Speaker:you're in that
Speaker:state, it kind of
Speaker:can trigger also
Speaker:like health
Speaker:conditions that
Speaker:you've got.
Speaker:You know, if
Speaker:you've got
Speaker:underlying health
Speaker:conditions, you
Speaker:know, with your
Speaker:heart, with your
Speaker:blood pressure,
Speaker:you know, it
Speaker:could be a
Speaker:digestive system,
Speaker:many different
Speaker:things, really.
Speaker:That that's when
Speaker:it really
Speaker:affects us.
Speaker:And what some of
Speaker:us tend to do
Speaker:then is we we
Speaker:turn to bad
Speaker:habits because we
Speaker:turn to things to
Speaker:relieve
Speaker:our stress.
Speaker:So it could be
Speaker:drink, it could
Speaker:be drugs, it
Speaker:could be
Speaker:overeating, it
Speaker:could be over
Speaker:consuming TV
Speaker:programs and sit
Speaker:in, it could be
Speaker:doom scrolling.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So we naturally
Speaker:look for
Speaker:something to give
Speaker:us a dopamine hit
Speaker:to keep us going.
Speaker:And then when it
Speaker:falls off, we
Speaker:kind of sit
Speaker:ourselves in this
Speaker:state there
Speaker:really where we
Speaker:we become stuck.
Speaker:And that's really
Speaker:how I would say I
Speaker:would explain how
Speaker:stress is.
Speaker:So it is a
Speaker:good thing.
Speaker:But when you
Speaker:allow it to
Speaker:take over,
Speaker:you know, when
Speaker:you're in your
Speaker:body really, when
Speaker:you start
Speaker:releasing
Speaker:adrenaline at
Speaker:first, it's not a
Speaker:bad thing.
Speaker:Even when you
Speaker:produce cortisol
Speaker:at first is not a
Speaker:bad thing.
Speaker:But too much of
Speaker:it can out
Speaker:balance your
Speaker:system and then
Speaker:it affects your
Speaker:serotonin levels,
Speaker:which puts you
Speaker:out of balance.
Speaker:And with that,
Speaker:I think people
Speaker:almost feel lost.
Speaker:They feel like
Speaker:they're not able
Speaker:to to do anything
Speaker:because they're
Speaker:in this position
Speaker:where they're all
Speaker:out of balance
Speaker:and they're like,
Speaker:right, I don't
Speaker:feel
Speaker:confident now.
Speaker:I don't feel
Speaker:focused now.
Speaker:I don't feel I
Speaker:can do something.
Speaker:I think that's
Speaker:that's why stress
Speaker:is such a major
Speaker:player in
Speaker:people's
Speaker:lives today.
Speaker:Hi, I know it
Speaker:definitely is.
Speaker:I'd love to sort
Speaker:of help wrap that
Speaker:up for the
Speaker:audience
Speaker:in a second.
Speaker:But do you think
Speaker:whether any
Speaker:stresses, I mean,
Speaker:you chatted about
Speaker:your arterial
Speaker:fibrillation
Speaker:earlier and your
Speaker:heart condition.
Speaker:Did that was
Speaker:acting genital
Speaker:under that sort
Speaker:of first appear
Speaker:when you you said
Speaker:28 was when you
Speaker:first started
Speaker:experiencing
Speaker:symptoms?
Speaker:Is that correct?
Speaker:Well, I started
Speaker:experiencing.
Speaker:It made it must
Speaker:have been
Speaker:late 20s.
Speaker:Yeah, well,
Speaker:yeah, 2728.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:I used to work
Speaker:out a lot.
Speaker:And I used to
Speaker:work hard.
Speaker:So I used to a
Speaker:lot of hours in the
Speaker:corporate world.
Speaker:I used to go to
Speaker:the gym five, six
Speaker:days a week,
Speaker:working hard and
Speaker:I wasn't really
Speaker:ever a big
Speaker:drinker.
Speaker:But we had a
Speaker:newborn, I must
Speaker:be 26 when
Speaker:Brandon was born.
Speaker:So it was like,
Speaker:you know, I was a
Speaker:newish
Speaker:relationship at a
Speaker:bought a new
Speaker:house, a
Speaker:new baby.
Speaker:And I was
Speaker:definitely a lot
Speaker:of things going
Speaker:on in my life.
Speaker:But the heart
Speaker:condition is
Speaker:something that
Speaker:people have when
Speaker:they're not
Speaker:stressed.
Speaker:So I'm not sure
Speaker:it was
Speaker:caused by that.
Speaker:But what
Speaker:it did do,
Speaker:of course, yeah,
Speaker:did just
Speaker:exacerbated.
Speaker:I'm sure it was
Speaker:hugely a
Speaker:congenital issue.
Speaker:But yeah, yeah,
Speaker:hugely
Speaker:exasperated it.
Speaker:I remember being
Speaker:in periods where
Speaker:obviously until
Speaker:I, till I really
Speaker:understood what
Speaker:was happening.
Speaker:All I know is
Speaker:that I
Speaker:would be there.
Speaker:I'd feel dizzy.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I would be
Speaker:like kind of
Speaker:burping a lot
Speaker:because there'd
Speaker:be a lot going on
Speaker:in in my chest.
Speaker:And it was trying
Speaker:to operate still
Speaker:because I didn't
Speaker:know what it was.
Speaker:So I'd be trying
Speaker:to operate
Speaker:as I would.
Speaker:And I remember
Speaker:times, you
Speaker:know, where,
Speaker:well, two times
Speaker:when I remember
Speaker:when Brandon was
Speaker:playing me up,
Speaker:I'd say to him,
Speaker:look, you've made
Speaker:my heart go now.
Speaker:Because the
Speaker:anxiety of
Speaker:thinking it was
Speaker:going to happen.
Speaker:And then it
Speaker:happened.
Speaker:And I got to the
Speaker:point Rob where
Speaker:if I stood up too
Speaker:fast, my heart
Speaker:would race.
Speaker:Now, at this
Speaker:time, I didn't
Speaker:realise he was
Speaker:racing
Speaker:200, 200, 250.
Speaker:All I know is I'd
Speaker:stand up and I'd
Speaker:be like, and then
Speaker:like, Brandon
Speaker:would ask me to
Speaker:play with him
Speaker:every night.
Speaker:Obviously, this
Speaker:went on
Speaker:for years.
Speaker:So this is where
Speaker:I had my probably
Speaker:one of my darkest
Speaker:depressions
Speaker:because I got to
Speaker:a point in my
Speaker:life where I got
Speaker:to 17 stolen
Speaker:weights.
Speaker:And I could not
Speaker:run four or five
Speaker:meters at my
Speaker:heart going.
Speaker:I was on
Speaker:medication, I had
Speaker:an operation.
Speaker:But it was still
Speaker:not right.
Speaker:So I literally
Speaker:used to get
Speaker:anxious about
Speaker:doing something.
Speaker:And then I would
Speaker:have this problem
Speaker:with my
Speaker:heart racing.
Speaker:So yeah, it's
Speaker:definitely
Speaker:exasperated.
Speaker:Everything went
Speaker:on in life was
Speaker:definitely
Speaker:exasperated
Speaker:because that
Speaker:moment of stress
Speaker:would get
Speaker:it to go.
Speaker:And then I'd be
Speaker:living in this
Speaker:this period of
Speaker:time down where
Speaker:it was really,
Speaker:really
Speaker:hard, you know.
Speaker:I'm sorry, this
Speaker:is where I sort
Speaker:of started
Speaker:a bit nerdy.
Speaker:Did you by ever
Speaker:sort of
Speaker:experienced any
Speaker:sort of what's
Speaker:called
Speaker:orthostatic
Speaker:hypertension sort
Speaker:of get up and
Speaker:sort of sit down?
Speaker:Did you get
Speaker:disease spells
Speaker:lightheaded or
Speaker:anything
Speaker:like that?
Speaker:All the time.
Speaker:Does it
Speaker:still happen?
Speaker:It doesn't now.
Speaker:No, it doesn't.
Speaker:They've managed
Speaker:to get my
Speaker:medication right.
Speaker:So I've been back
Speaker:in the gym for
Speaker:almost two
Speaker:years now.
Speaker:But, you know,
Speaker:that's from so
Speaker:I've gone back in
Speaker:the gym at the
Speaker:age of 44.
Speaker:But I hadn't been
Speaker:in the gym since
Speaker:the age of 27.
Speaker:So it was a
Speaker:long time.
Speaker:And in that
Speaker:period of time, I
Speaker:always
Speaker:experienced it.
Speaker:I remember being
Speaker:in the showroom
Speaker:when I was
Speaker:selling vehicles
Speaker:to in Land Rover.
Speaker:Many years ago,
Speaker:and people would
Speaker:be talking to me
Speaker:and I'd be
Speaker:talking to them
Speaker:knowing I'm about
Speaker:to faint.
Speaker:I just I
Speaker:don't know.
Speaker:I've always had
Speaker:this resilience
Speaker:where I know some
Speaker:people cleverly
Speaker:would probably
Speaker:go, sorry, I'm
Speaker:not
Speaker:feeling too good.
Speaker:I want to
Speaker:go home.
Speaker:Where I would
Speaker:just stay there.
Speaker:I would just
Speaker:breathe through
Speaker:it and try and
Speaker:get through it
Speaker:all the time.
Speaker:And one thing I
Speaker:could do really
Speaker:was take long
Speaker:deep breaths in
Speaker:through the nose
Speaker:and then slow the
Speaker:breath out
Speaker:through the mouth
Speaker:to try and slow
Speaker:it down.
Speaker:So, yeah, I
Speaker:experienced
Speaker:that a lot.
Speaker:Yeah, it's called
Speaker:vagus syncope,
Speaker:that feeling of
Speaker:wanting to faint.
Speaker:And there's
Speaker:definitely some
Speaker:literature there
Speaker:that suggests
Speaker:that thiamine
Speaker:might affect the
Speaker:vagus nerve, the
Speaker:connection to the
Speaker:heart and that
Speaker:those what's
Speaker:called, again,
Speaker:that authors that have tension.
Speaker:So when you stand
Speaker:up, you sit down,
Speaker:you feel like
Speaker:you're
Speaker:going to faint.
Speaker:So we'll have to
Speaker:send you some and
Speaker:see if it helps.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:anyway, again,
Speaker:sorry, off topic
Speaker:completely.
Speaker:I think if I was
Speaker:to just summarize
Speaker:that for the
Speaker:audience and your
Speaker:answer was
Speaker:perfect,
Speaker:by the way,
Speaker:the way I
Speaker:understand it is
Speaker:that when an
Speaker:individual sort
Speaker:of experiences
Speaker:chronic stress,
Speaker:they get, as you
Speaker:alluded to an
Speaker:increase in these
Speaker:certain various
Speaker:hormones, things
Speaker:like cortisol,
Speaker:glucagon, all of
Speaker:which, as well as
Speaker:catecholamines,
Speaker:again, these sort
Speaker:of paracene
Speaker:derived
Speaker:neurotransmitters
Speaker:that you were
Speaker:talking about
Speaker:things like
Speaker:adrenaline and
Speaker:nordrin and
Speaker:epinephrine for
Speaker:anyone listening
Speaker:for America.
Speaker:And in the short
Speaker:term, those those
Speaker:are required.
Speaker:Those are
Speaker:hormones and
Speaker:neurochemicals
Speaker:that help the
Speaker:body to sort of
Speaker:survive in acute
Speaker:sort of settings
Speaker:and circumstances
Speaker:if you're well,
Speaker:we're not running
Speaker:away from targets
Speaker:anymore.
Speaker:But if you have
Speaker:that desperate
Speaker:need to sort of
Speaker:get away from
Speaker:something,
Speaker:whatever it is,
Speaker:it provides that
Speaker:instant surge of
Speaker:energy and
Speaker:release of
Speaker:glucose,
Speaker:release of
Speaker:dopamine to act
Speaker:quickly.
Speaker:But as you
Speaker:alluded to,
Speaker:when it becomes
Speaker:chronic, these
Speaker:stress hormones,
Speaker:they start to
Speaker:drive, they start
Speaker:to negatively
Speaker:interfere with
Speaker:the immune system
Speaker:and you cause an
Speaker:increase in
Speaker:inflammation.
Speaker:So I'd like to
Speaker:say going to
Speaker:talking about
Speaker:meditation and
Speaker:how it can be
Speaker:used to help
Speaker:start mitigating
Speaker:stress and how it
Speaker:can be a really
Speaker:effective tool in
Speaker:helping to
Speaker:improve the
Speaker:symptoms that
Speaker:someone is likely
Speaker:struggling with
Speaker:when they're
Speaker:under a high load of stress.
Speaker:But first, would
Speaker:you mind sort of
Speaker:breaking down
Speaker:what
Speaker:meditation is?
Speaker:Because I think a
Speaker:lot of people
Speaker:still sort of
Speaker:just purely
Speaker:associate
Speaker:meditation with
Speaker:sort of sitting
Speaker:cross-legged in
Speaker:the sort of the
Speaker:lotus position
Speaker:with your fingers
Speaker:pursed together
Speaker:like this and
Speaker:coming or box
Speaker:breathing.
Speaker:And there's
Speaker:obviously a lot
Speaker:more to it
Speaker:than that.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:so I suppose you
Speaker:got mindfulness
Speaker:and meditation.
Speaker:You know, people
Speaker:ask, you know,
Speaker:are they the
Speaker:same thing?
Speaker:Meditation is the
Speaker:practice.
Speaker:Yeah, really.
Speaker:Meditation is the
Speaker:practice that we
Speaker:take in being
Speaker:mindful.
Speaker:So it's
Speaker:practicing being
Speaker:present and it
Speaker:doesn't have to
Speaker:be done.
Speaker:Sat on a cushion
Speaker:in the corner.
Speaker:It can be
Speaker:integrated into
Speaker:everyday life.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:just by,
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:you know, you
Speaker:could be in work,
Speaker:you could be sat
Speaker:there, you could
Speaker:be focusing on
Speaker:something
Speaker:on your desk.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You could set
Speaker:yourself in your
Speaker:chair wherever
Speaker:you are, feel the
Speaker:ground under your
Speaker:feet, feel the
Speaker:chair on your
Speaker:back and you
Speaker:could just focus
Speaker:on an object and
Speaker:really start
Speaker:focusing on
Speaker:your breath.
Speaker:Feel the breath
Speaker:come in and out
Speaker:of your nose and
Speaker:out of your mouth
Speaker:and you could
Speaker:take yourself to
Speaker:a present
Speaker:moment there.
Speaker:It could be done
Speaker:even when you're
Speaker:walking.
Speaker:You know, I do a
Speaker:lot of my
Speaker:meditation
Speaker:practices through
Speaker:the day as well
Speaker:as it is might be
Speaker:in the morning or
Speaker:evening because
Speaker:I'm in a position
Speaker:where I know I
Speaker:can meditate,
Speaker:which my practice
Speaker:and in my
Speaker:practice I become
Speaker:mindful and in my
Speaker:mindfulness I
Speaker:become aware.
Speaker:And that
Speaker:awareness then
Speaker:allows me to see
Speaker:my thoughts and
Speaker:try and
Speaker:understand my
Speaker:body and where
Speaker:they're going,
Speaker:where it's
Speaker:leading me to be
Speaker:able to frame
Speaker:certain things
Speaker:that are
Speaker:happening in my
Speaker:life to stop
Speaker:myself getting
Speaker:into a stressful
Speaker:situation and
Speaker:using that
Speaker:awareness.
Speaker:So for me,
Speaker:meditation really
Speaker:is the practice
Speaker:that we do in,
Speaker:you know, taking
Speaker:ourselves to the
Speaker:present moment.
Speaker:And that's sort
Speaker:of where
Speaker:mindfulness comes
Speaker:into the picture.
Speaker:Is that correct?
Speaker:Obviously
Speaker:mindfulness is a
Speaker:form of
Speaker:meditation.
Speaker:How does it sort
Speaker:of maybe differ
Speaker:from other types
Speaker:of meditation
Speaker:specifically?
Speaker:The way I see it,
Speaker:it's about trying
Speaker:to keep your mind
Speaker:centered on
Speaker:the moment.
Speaker:And like you
Speaker:alluded to
Speaker:earlier, you can
Speaker:sort of really
Speaker:meditate
Speaker:anywhere.
Speaker:And I personally
Speaker:find that for me,
Speaker:unless it's
Speaker:guided, walking
Speaker:meditations are
Speaker:effective.
Speaker:Could you sort of
Speaker:speak to
Speaker:mindfulness maybe
Speaker:a little more
Speaker:specifically?
Speaker:I could.
Speaker:So when you put
Speaker:yourself into a
Speaker:position of
Speaker:mindfulness, so
Speaker:when you become,
Speaker:when you practice
Speaker:it and become
Speaker:more aware,
Speaker:then it actually
Speaker:produces better
Speaker:brain chemistry
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:And the parts of
Speaker:the brain that it
Speaker:improves are
Speaker:happiness,
Speaker:peace.
Speaker:And in
Speaker:that, it's,
Speaker:so the amygdala
Speaker:in the brain
Speaker:becomes very
Speaker:reactive and
Speaker:stressful
Speaker:situation.
Speaker:And what it does
Speaker:with mindfulness
Speaker:and becoming
Speaker:aware, it tends
Speaker:to stop that from
Speaker:becoming
Speaker:overreactive.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Which allows you
Speaker:to stay in a more
Speaker:peaceful state
Speaker:more regularly.
Speaker:It's a bit of a
Speaker:check, yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So when we're in,
Speaker:you mentioned
Speaker:earlier,
Speaker:obviously we're
Speaker:not going to
Speaker:chase by tigers
Speaker:anymore.
Speaker:Well, some people
Speaker:are still, I
Speaker:think, but, you
Speaker:know, not
Speaker:many of us.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And when we allow
Speaker:our thoughts to
Speaker:overtake reality,
Speaker:when we're
Speaker:worried about
Speaker:what happened
Speaker:yesterday, or
Speaker:we're worried
Speaker:about what's
Speaker:going to happen
Speaker:tomorrow, but
Speaker:those two things
Speaker:really don't
Speaker:exist anymore.
Speaker:The only thing that
Speaker:exists is now.
Speaker:And right now,
Speaker:you know, you
Speaker:could be in a
Speaker:really
Speaker:great state.
Speaker:When you have
Speaker:that awareness
Speaker:that you come
Speaker:through
Speaker:mindfulness to
Speaker:understand that
Speaker:actually I'm not
Speaker:in danger
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:There is
Speaker:no danger.
Speaker:There's nothing
Speaker:attacking me that
Speaker:I am peaceful.
Speaker:I am happy.
Speaker:I am in a great
Speaker:place right now.
Speaker:That's where we
Speaker:can then build the habit.
Speaker:And when we build
Speaker:a habit of
Speaker:understanding
Speaker:that, it gets
Speaker:stronger and
Speaker:stronger.
Speaker:And then we
Speaker:integrate it into
Speaker:our daily life.
Speaker:And it's almost
Speaker:like the unseen
Speaker:helper, because
Speaker:all of a sudden
Speaker:you're getting
Speaker:better at
Speaker:something that
Speaker:you don't
Speaker:actually notice
Speaker:you're getting better at.
Speaker:Because it's
Speaker:really hard to
Speaker:measure how many
Speaker:times I've been
Speaker:stressed today.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:But mindfulness
Speaker:is the key
Speaker:really, to
Speaker:unlocking the
Speaker:door to happiness
Speaker:and peace, and
Speaker:coming away from
Speaker:the unreal
Speaker:thoughts, the
Speaker:negative
Speaker:thoughts, and
Speaker:living in the
Speaker:present moment.
Speaker:Okay, so if I
Speaker:understand this
Speaker:properly, and
Speaker:please correct me
Speaker:if I get it
Speaker:wrong, so probably well.
Speaker:What mindfulness
Speaker:is doing is it's
Speaker:sort of helping
Speaker:to get you
Speaker:momentarily into
Speaker:a more sort of
Speaker:parasympathetic
Speaker:or rest or digest
Speaker:state that then
Speaker:allows your mind,
Speaker:your body to sort
Speaker:of upregulate the
Speaker:sort of state in
Speaker:neuroplasticity
Speaker:to sort of
Speaker:increase your,
Speaker:not maybe not
Speaker:awareness, but
Speaker:your ability to
Speaker:learn, to take
Speaker:and to reinforce,
Speaker:to develop new
Speaker:habits that you
Speaker:can then
Speaker:utilize on a sort
Speaker:of a more sort of
Speaker:unconscious basis
Speaker:going throughout
Speaker:the day.
Speaker:Is that sort of
Speaker:ish a decent
Speaker:overview?
Speaker:Yeah, 100%.
Speaker:I think it's,
Speaker:there's so many
Speaker:areas of our, we
Speaker:talked about
Speaker:earlier, there's
Speaker:so many areas of
Speaker:our chemicals, so
Speaker:many chemicals
Speaker:that are affected
Speaker:by our thoughts,
Speaker:by our state of
Speaker:mind to
Speaker:where we are.
Speaker:If you can
Speaker:mention, if you
Speaker:can keep yourself
Speaker:in a
Speaker:parasympathetic
Speaker:state more often,
Speaker:or even bring
Speaker:yourself back
Speaker:there quicker,
Speaker:you know, then
Speaker:you become
Speaker:stronger, you
Speaker:grow more grey
Speaker:matter in your
Speaker:brain, and you
Speaker:strengthen that
Speaker:part of you,
Speaker:scientifically
Speaker:proven that, you
Speaker:know, there's
Speaker:been many,
Speaker:many tests,
Speaker:done a lot of MRI
Speaker:tests and scans
Speaker:to show that the
Speaker:grey matter in
Speaker:your brain can
Speaker:grow and
Speaker:increase, and
Speaker:then you can
Speaker:build that habit.
Speaker:And then it's
Speaker:almost like, you
Speaker:know, becoming
Speaker:stronger
Speaker:at the gym.
Speaker:And then when you
Speaker:go in and lift
Speaker:something in your
Speaker:house, or you're
Speaker:carrying the bags
Speaker:in or doing
Speaker:something, all of
Speaker:a sudden things
Speaker:just become
Speaker:easier and they
Speaker:become more
Speaker:natural.
Speaker:And that's really
Speaker:what mindfulness
Speaker:is, is just about
Speaker:awareness of
Speaker:where you're going.
Speaker:Where your mind
Speaker:wants to go, but
Speaker:where you
Speaker:actually are, and
Speaker:bringing yourself
Speaker:back to that
Speaker:present moment,
Speaker:reducing the
Speaker:stress from your
Speaker:body, which then
Speaker:has all the
Speaker:positive effects,
Speaker:opposite to the
Speaker:negative effects
Speaker:of stress,
Speaker:you know.
Speaker:Yeah, no,
Speaker:definitely.
Speaker:And it's, it's
Speaker:just interesting
Speaker:that you sort of
Speaker:brought
Speaker:all that up.
Speaker:There's a
Speaker:relatively new
Speaker:field of what you
Speaker:might call, and I
Speaker:suppose being
Speaker:spearheaded by a
Speaker:guy called Dr Leo
Speaker:Prembok, who is a
Speaker:medical
Speaker:biochemist, and
Speaker:it focuses very
Speaker:much on this link
Speaker:between
Speaker:psychology,
Speaker:immunology, and
Speaker:the nervous
Speaker:system, and how
Speaker:when the mind
Speaker:essentially is
Speaker:out of sync, and
Speaker:you're in this
Speaker:sympathetic or
Speaker:fight and flight
Speaker:mode, that you
Speaker:then really start
Speaker:to drive this
Speaker:immune system
Speaker:dysregulation,
Speaker:like we'll talk
Speaker:about earlier,
Speaker:which then drives
Speaker:the development
Speaker:of disease.
Speaker:And it just
Speaker:speaks to how
Speaker:powerful tools
Speaker:like mindfulness
Speaker:are and helping
Speaker:to get you back
Speaker:into this
Speaker:parasympathetic
Speaker:state like you
Speaker:alluded to
Speaker:earlier, and
Speaker:allowing the body
Speaker:to then refine
Speaker:that homeostasis.
Speaker:I suppose, Simon,
Speaker:this is probably
Speaker:a great time to
Speaker:start talking
Speaker:about Samton.
Speaker:As I mentioned
Speaker:earlier, I played
Speaker:around with the
Speaker:free trial
Speaker:offline.
Speaker:And yeah, it's
Speaker:amazing.
Speaker:I do like it.
Speaker:It's simple.
Speaker:It's clean.
Speaker:The only other
Speaker:app that I've
Speaker:sort of, that's
Speaker:come close to it
Speaker:for me anyway
Speaker:was, is it Sam or
Speaker:Dan Harris, one
Speaker:of them, and his
Speaker:waking up app
Speaker:that was that was
Speaker:also fixed, but
Speaker:four times
Speaker:the price.
Speaker:So, I mean, the
Speaker:fact that yours
Speaker:is a bonus.
Speaker:Can you sort of
Speaker:talk us through
Speaker:your sort of
Speaker:involvement in
Speaker:the company and
Speaker:then, yeah, what
Speaker:sort of sets it
Speaker:apart, I know
Speaker:that you have
Speaker:Geelong,
Speaker:Tibooten, Tipton,
Speaker:I'm going to
Speaker:butcher that
Speaker:involved.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:how Sam, Sam Tan,
Speaker:excuse me,
Speaker:different.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:Sam Tan was born
Speaker:many years ago,
Speaker:actually, it's
Speaker:still pretty much
Speaker:in the startup
Speaker:stage, I guess,
Speaker:because of
Speaker:different
Speaker:reasons.
Speaker:But he was born
Speaker:many years ago.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:one of the
Speaker:co-founders,
Speaker:Jamie Watkins, he
Speaker:broke his back
Speaker:running a
Speaker:marathon.
Speaker:He's still
Speaker:completely
Speaker:marathon.
Speaker:How do you
Speaker:manage that?
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:And then after
Speaker:that, he then
Speaker:took up yoga and
Speaker:he took up, you
Speaker:know, a lot of
Speaker:mindfulness
Speaker:practices really
Speaker:to get him
Speaker:through a tough
Speaker:moment, in which
Speaker:case he found
Speaker:himself in a
Speaker:monastery.
Speaker:At this
Speaker:monastery, he
Speaker:found
Speaker:Geelong Tipton.
Speaker:And Jamie had
Speaker:been in the tech
Speaker:space for a
Speaker:long time.
Speaker:And he said to
Speaker:Tipton, I'll
Speaker:build it, you'll
Speaker:be the teacher.
Speaker:And they
Speaker:said, yes.
Speaker:So, hence,
Speaker:that was it.
Speaker:They built
Speaker:something that
Speaker:was referred to
Speaker:as a bike with no
Speaker:handlebars, I
Speaker:suppose, where
Speaker:the idea
Speaker:was there,
Speaker:but it couldn't
Speaker:get it to work.
Speaker:So, I then came
Speaker:along, I invested
Speaker:in the company.
Speaker:And at first, I
Speaker:didn't know if
Speaker:I'd have any
Speaker:involvement in
Speaker:the company.
Speaker:I did invest to
Speaker:be a part of it.
Speaker:I invested to
Speaker:invest because I
Speaker:really loved what
Speaker:it stood for.
Speaker:And I was kind
Speaker:of, I was on my
Speaker:own journey of
Speaker:looking at myself
Speaker:really and
Speaker:growing.
Speaker:And then once I
Speaker:had done that, I
Speaker:couldn't help
Speaker:want to be
Speaker:involved.
Speaker:One, because it
Speaker:was such a great
Speaker:project and two,
Speaker:that Jamie
Speaker:Watkins was kind
Speaker:of, the best way
Speaker:to put it
Speaker:really, he's,
Speaker:you just want to
Speaker:be around him,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:So, yeah,
Speaker:that was it.
Speaker:I got involved
Speaker:and then somehow
Speaker:it just kind of
Speaker:snowballed into a
Speaker:point where I
Speaker:helped lead quite
Speaker:a few of the
Speaker:areas we were
Speaker:pushing on and
Speaker:then
Speaker:become the CEO.
Speaker:And now I lead
Speaker:the company.
Speaker:And over the last
Speaker:few years,
Speaker:something's never
Speaker:really had the
Speaker:full focus.
Speaker:We released it.
Speaker:We've had like,
Speaker:you know, I think
Speaker:we've had tens of
Speaker:thousands of
Speaker:sessions
Speaker:completed by
Speaker:users all over
Speaker:the world.
Speaker:But there's
Speaker:something about
Speaker:it, which pushed
Speaker:on to your
Speaker:question really
Speaker:of why it's
Speaker:different, is I
Speaker:was running a
Speaker:festival company,
Speaker:Jamie was doing
Speaker:other stuff and I
Speaker:left that
Speaker:festival company
Speaker:a year ago where
Speaker:you could focus
Speaker:on something.
Speaker:And in that we
Speaker:restrategized.
Speaker:And the USP, for
Speaker:me, of what we
Speaker:are, is we got
Speaker:the educational
Speaker:platform.
Speaker:So we got a
Speaker:30-day foundation
Speaker:journey.
Speaker:Which really
Speaker:helps teach guide
Speaker:people to learn
Speaker:the art of what
Speaker:meditation and
Speaker:mindfulness is,
Speaker:but also how you
Speaker:integrate it into
Speaker:daily life.
Speaker:And in our 30-day
Speaker:program, we take
Speaker:you through step
Speaker:by step and
Speaker:they're all
Speaker:guided by
Speaker:Tuktung,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:They're all
Speaker:separate guided
Speaker:meditations.
Speaker:And really, the
Speaker:aim is to help
Speaker:build a habit.
Speaker:So we offer it
Speaker:not just to
Speaker:consumer, but
Speaker:also to employees
Speaker:and companies.
Speaker:So they can help
Speaker:their employees
Speaker:become more
Speaker:compassionate to
Speaker:themselves, to
Speaker:others, more
Speaker:productive, more
Speaker:efficient and
Speaker:kinder, which
Speaker:help them with
Speaker:less stress in
Speaker:the workplace and
Speaker:more recruitment,
Speaker:sustainability
Speaker:for the
Speaker:companies really.
Speaker:So in that,
Speaker:there's like
Speaker:another 150
Speaker:sessions.
Speaker:For instance,
Speaker:there's one of
Speaker:them which is on
Speaker:motivation.
Speaker:And in there,
Speaker:Tuktung will,
Speaker:it's almost like
Speaker:a life coach at
Speaker:the beginning.
Speaker:He talks about
Speaker:motivation and
Speaker:the opposite to
Speaker:that, which is
Speaker:procrastination.
Speaker:And then through
Speaker:procrastination,
Speaker:the negative side
Speaker:of that,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:And the fact that
Speaker:we haven't got a
Speaker:lot of time and
Speaker:we need to get on
Speaker:with stuff and we
Speaker:want to achieve
Speaker:things, you know?
Speaker:And help you then
Speaker:find your
Speaker:motivation, then
Speaker:you move into a
Speaker:meditation with
Speaker:him, you know?
Speaker:And you find your
Speaker:breath and you
Speaker:get into the
Speaker:present moment.
Speaker:And I think
Speaker:that's why I
Speaker:think we're
Speaker:different.
Speaker:Like, what I kind
Speaker:of say to people
Speaker:is Netflix, you
Speaker:turn it on at
Speaker:nine o'clock, you
Speaker:don't choose your
Speaker:film for
Speaker:Outlast 9.
Speaker:Outlast 10, you
Speaker:pause it and you
Speaker:watch the rest
Speaker:tomorrow.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:There's some
Speaker:companies out
Speaker:there, like one
Speaker:company is a
Speaker:billion dollar
Speaker:wellness tech
Speaker:company, the
Speaker:first one.
Speaker:And their app is
Speaker:amazing visually
Speaker:what they've got
Speaker:content.
Speaker:It's brilliant.
Speaker:But it's not the
Speaker:direction we want
Speaker:to be in.
Speaker:Our direction is
Speaker:we want to be all
Speaker:more simple,
Speaker:stupid, if you
Speaker:want to
Speaker:call it that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We just do what
Speaker:we say on
Speaker:the tin.
Speaker:Like,
Speaker:I think what we
Speaker:try and remember
Speaker:is people come to
Speaker:us to practice
Speaker:and also to help
Speaker:with overwhelm.
Speaker:What we don't
Speaker:want to do is
Speaker:increase the
Speaker:overwhelm.
Speaker:We don't want to
Speaker:give people a
Speaker:million options
Speaker:that they all of
Speaker:a sudden, their
Speaker:eyes are open.
Speaker:They're like,
Speaker:"Oh, I don't know
Speaker:what I
Speaker:want to do.
Speaker:This looks great.
Speaker:This looks great.
Speaker:That
Speaker:sounds great.
Speaker:Oh, I love that.
Speaker:There's a
Speaker:celebrity.
Speaker:There's an
Speaker:artist."
Speaker:That's not what
Speaker:we want to be.
Speaker:We just want to
Speaker:be very simple.
Speaker:You come in, you
Speaker:do your practice,
Speaker:you feel a
Speaker:certain way, you
Speaker:go in, you find
Speaker:it, you do it,
Speaker:you get out.
Speaker:And you just get
Speaker:on with your day
Speaker:and integrate it
Speaker:into your daily
Speaker:life as opposed
Speaker:to a platform
Speaker:where you're just
Speaker:scrolling through
Speaker:looking for cool
Speaker:things to
Speaker:practice.
Speaker:And that's why
Speaker:we're different.
Speaker:And for some
Speaker:people, it'll be
Speaker:exactly
Speaker:what they want.
Speaker:And for others,
Speaker:it'll be a
Speaker:million miles
Speaker:away from what
Speaker:they want.
Speaker:But there's a
Speaker:billion people in
Speaker:the world.
Speaker:So there's plenty
Speaker:of people for all
Speaker:of us to help.
Speaker:And if we all do
Speaker:a little bit
Speaker:each, then
Speaker:collectively we
Speaker:achieve our goal.
Speaker:Yeah, I think it
Speaker:definitely is an
Speaker:amazing platform.
Speaker:And what I really
Speaker:like about it for
Speaker:someone who
Speaker:really struggles
Speaker:to meditate,
Speaker:because me trying
Speaker:to keep my mind
Speaker:on anything is a
Speaker:mission, is the
Speaker:fact that the
Speaker:first couple of
Speaker:sessions, you
Speaker:just
Speaker:incrementally
Speaker:build up it from
Speaker:a time
Speaker:perspective.
Speaker:I think the first
Speaker:one is five
Speaker:minutes and then
Speaker:it's seven
Speaker:minutes, etc.
Speaker:So it really
Speaker:helps you to sort
Speaker:of ease into it,
Speaker:opposed to just
Speaker:sort of what I've
Speaker:found, I've tried
Speaker:a few apps, and a
Speaker:lot of them just
Speaker:sort of throw you
Speaker:into the
Speaker:deep end.
Speaker:And you've got to
Speaker:sit there for 20
Speaker:minutes trying to
Speaker:sort of really
Speaker:kind of, yeah,
Speaker:just concentrate
Speaker:on what you're
Speaker:supposed
Speaker:to be doing.
Speaker:And as you've
Speaker:alluded to, a lot
Speaker:of them have
Speaker:influences in
Speaker:the, you've got
Speaker:your Russell
Speaker:brands, etc.
Speaker:And then you end
Speaker:up just sort of
Speaker:getting
Speaker:distracted and
Speaker:doom scrolling
Speaker:through the
Speaker:various programs
Speaker:trying to find
Speaker:something that
Speaker:actually you
Speaker:resonate with.
Speaker:And by the time
Speaker:you've done that,
Speaker:you might as well
Speaker:have given up
Speaker:because your time
Speaker:to meditates long
Speaker:gone, and you
Speaker:just sort of got
Speaker:confused by the
Speaker:various options.
Speaker:So, yeah, I think
Speaker:it's not just
Speaker:Plunk Smoke, if
Speaker:you're also promised.
Speaker:I think it's an
Speaker:amazing platform
Speaker:and it's
Speaker:definitely worth
Speaker:people's time and
Speaker:their interest.
Speaker:I think I've
Speaker:noticed a few
Speaker:times in the app
Speaker:that Tipton has
Speaker:sort of pointed
Speaker:to the fact that
Speaker:it's non
Speaker:religious.
Speaker:Now, I'm someone
Speaker:who's slowly
Speaker:starting to
Speaker:explore my faith,
Speaker:my spirituality,
Speaker:and it's never
Speaker:really crossed my
Speaker:mind that
Speaker:meditation
Speaker:is in any way
Speaker:anti religious,
Speaker:although it
Speaker:appears that it
Speaker:probably is and
Speaker:that there's at
Speaker:least some
Speaker:fraction aspect
Speaker:of the community
Speaker:who does have an
Speaker:interest in maybe
Speaker:I'm just naive,
Speaker:but could you
Speaker:maybe explain
Speaker:why, what are
Speaker:your views on why
Speaker:people's
Speaker:particularly
Speaker:strong religious
Speaker:backgrounds,
Speaker:maybe have an
Speaker:issue with
Speaker:meditation and
Speaker:see it as
Speaker:something to be a
Speaker:way from.
Speaker:I haven't come
Speaker:across a lot of
Speaker:pushback really
Speaker:in my
Speaker:conversations
Speaker:with anybody, but
Speaker:some people see
Speaker:Buddhism as a
Speaker:form of religion
Speaker:that kind of is
Speaker:synonymous with
Speaker:meditation and
Speaker:there's a balance
Speaker:with that that,
Speaker:you know, it may
Speaker:go against their
Speaker:beliefs and for
Speaker:them that's not
Speaker:it doesn't
Speaker:suit them.
Speaker:I just try and
Speaker:break it
Speaker:down simply.
Speaker:It's just it's a
Speaker:technique
Speaker:about breath.
Speaker:First thing we do
Speaker:when we come into
Speaker:the world and
Speaker:last thing we do
Speaker:before we go out
Speaker:is breathe and
Speaker:when we breathe
Speaker:and how we
Speaker:breathe has such
Speaker:an impact on us
Speaker:as human beings,
Speaker:you know, that
Speaker:it's the one
Speaker:thing that if we
Speaker:could become
Speaker:better at
Speaker:breathing,
Speaker:although we do it
Speaker:naturally without
Speaker:thinking, we
Speaker:could become
Speaker:better at
Speaker:understanding our
Speaker:breath, then it
Speaker:would make us
Speaker:feel better and
Speaker:if we can make it
Speaker:if we can feel
Speaker:better, we can
Speaker:make others feel
Speaker:better and then
Speaker:we can
Speaker:help, you know,
Speaker:be enjoy life bit
Speaker:more, be a bit
Speaker:happier, be a bit
Speaker:more at peace.
Speaker:So the religious
Speaker:side of it, I
Speaker:don't really pay
Speaker:that much
Speaker:attention to.
Speaker:I just think it's
Speaker:breath and yeah,
Speaker:that's kind of my
Speaker:answer really
Speaker:might be a bit
Speaker:long winded for
Speaker:you there, Rob,
Speaker:but it's that's
Speaker:how I see it.
Speaker:That's perfect
Speaker:and I just sort
Speaker:of I suppose
Speaker:everyone's going
Speaker:to have their own
Speaker:take at the end
Speaker:of the day, but I
Speaker:don't see why
Speaker:there should be
Speaker:an issue with it.
Speaker:As you've alluded
Speaker:to, it's just
Speaker:it's just a
Speaker:practice that is
Speaker:being developed
Speaker:or over eons to
Speaker:help individuals
Speaker:find their center
Speaker:and find the sort
Speaker:of this
Speaker:parasympathetic
Speaker:state and I
Speaker:suppose maybe
Speaker:that's the fault
Speaker:of the media to a
Speaker:large extent.
Speaker:The fact that
Speaker:it's been
Speaker:portrayed is
Speaker:something that is
Speaker:I suppose anti
Speaker:Christian for the
Speaker:most part and it
Speaker:shouldn't be,
Speaker:which is
Speaker:definitely
Speaker:something I think
Speaker:people and maybe
Speaker:this sounds a bit
Speaker:harsh, but sort
Speaker:of just need to
Speaker:realize that it's
Speaker:not about
Speaker:Yeah, it's not
Speaker:about choosing
Speaker:sides or losing
Speaker:focus on your
Speaker:God,
Speaker:whoever that is.
Speaker:It's just about
Speaker:finding balance
Speaker:within yourself.
Speaker:Some of these
Speaker:people see Rob
Speaker:would they'd find
Speaker:peace in their
Speaker:way, right?
Speaker:They could be
Speaker:reading say a
Speaker:Bible or a Quran
Speaker:or they could be
Speaker:reading that and
Speaker:if they're
Speaker:peaceful at that
Speaker:time, if they're
Speaker:in a
Speaker:parasympathetic
Speaker:state and they're
Speaker:trusting that
Speaker:situation,
Speaker:they're maybe
Speaker:achieving exactly
Speaker:the same
Speaker:state of peace.
Speaker:It really is as
Speaker:we say the breath
Speaker:work can achieve.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:there's no right
Speaker:or wrong.
Speaker:I think it's each
Speaker:to their each to
Speaker:their own really
Speaker:to find a way of
Speaker:getting their
Speaker:mind into
Speaker:that state.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:Simon, you've
Speaker:been a star, but
Speaker:before I let you
Speaker:go, I'd just love
Speaker:to run you
Speaker:through a few
Speaker:rapid fire
Speaker:questions if
Speaker:that's okay.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah,
Speaker:of course.
Speaker:Perfect.
Speaker:Okay, so morning
Speaker:or evening
Speaker:meditation, which
Speaker:you prefer?
Speaker:I prefer morning,
Speaker:but I do also do
Speaker:quite a bit
Speaker:through the day.
Speaker:If you could
Speaker:recommend one
Speaker:book on
Speaker:mindfulness, if
Speaker:you've got any
Speaker:favorites, what
Speaker:would it be?
Speaker:So the two books
Speaker:really, I don't
Speaker:know if it's seen
Speaker:as being
Speaker:mindfulness, but
Speaker:Eckhart Tolle,
Speaker:The Power of Now
Speaker:is a huge,
Speaker:I've done it
Speaker:twice now and so
Speaker:twelve hours long
Speaker:and audible
Speaker:because I can't
Speaker:sit and read.
Speaker:I'm interested that that's a
Speaker:profound
Speaker:human being.
Speaker:They're still
Speaker:giving us all so
Speaker:much stuff today.
Speaker:And then Galang
Speaker:Tupdens Amongst
Speaker:Guide to
Speaker:Happiness,
Speaker:you know, like
Speaker:Tupden is 30
Speaker:years as a
Speaker:practicing monk,
Speaker:you know, sat six
Speaker:years in
Speaker:retreats, taught
Speaker:all over the
Speaker:world to all the
Speaker:largest companies
Speaker:to
Speaker:thousands of people.
Speaker:He again is a
Speaker:profound human
Speaker:being that I
Speaker:would recommend
Speaker:anybody to read
Speaker:his book.
Speaker:Perfect.
Speaker:If someone is
Speaker:skeptical about
Speaker:meditation,
Speaker:what's the first
Speaker:thing they
Speaker:should try?
Speaker:Meditation.
Speaker:Fair enough.
Speaker:That's all you
Speaker:could do really
Speaker:is just
Speaker:practice it.
Speaker:You're already
Speaker:breathing.
Speaker:You're just
Speaker:paying attention
Speaker:to breath as
Speaker:opposed to just
Speaker:breathing
Speaker:normally without
Speaker:paying attention.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:OK.
Speaker:And last one,
Speaker:what is the
Speaker:biggest mistake
Speaker:people make with
Speaker:meditation when
Speaker:they first start?
Speaker:So this one, I
Speaker:think people
Speaker:expect their
Speaker:thoughts to stop.
Speaker:And because they
Speaker:haven't stopped,
Speaker:they think
Speaker:they're
Speaker:doing it wrong.
Speaker:Now,
Speaker:it's like going.
Speaker:I use this train
Speaker:to the plane
Speaker:analogy for lots
Speaker:of things really
Speaker:in life.
Speaker:When we're in the
Speaker:train is
Speaker:everything's like
Speaker:fast, right?
Speaker:Everything was
Speaker:super fast.
Speaker:You look at the
Speaker:window of a
Speaker:train, you'll see
Speaker:something for a
Speaker:split second.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Go on.
Speaker:Go on.
Speaker:When you're in a
Speaker:plane, we
Speaker:go faster.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:We have a better
Speaker:view and
Speaker:everything
Speaker:looks slower.
Speaker:So how can we go
Speaker:faster in
Speaker:something but
Speaker:everything
Speaker:looks slower?
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And it's because
Speaker:of where we are.
Speaker:So even though we
Speaker:still have
Speaker:thoughts when
Speaker:we're meditating.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:We just ignore
Speaker:them and we've
Speaker:got a breath and
Speaker:they come and
Speaker:they go.
Speaker:They come and
Speaker:they go.
Speaker:And we just got
Speaker:to ignore them.
Speaker:It doesn't mean
Speaker:we're
Speaker:doing it wrong.
Speaker:It just means
Speaker:that we're
Speaker:just human.
Speaker:And that's
Speaker:how it works.
Speaker:And allowing
Speaker:yourself the time
Speaker:really to have
Speaker:your intuition.
Speaker:Take place
Speaker:because sometimes
Speaker:you'll think of
Speaker:things that
Speaker:you've been going
Speaker:so fast.
Speaker:You didn't even
Speaker:have time to
Speaker:think of.
Speaker:You think of
Speaker:something.
Speaker:You might not
Speaker:have your best
Speaker:idea you've ever
Speaker:had that has been
Speaker:traveling around
Speaker:in 80,000
Speaker:thoughts every
Speaker:single day and
Speaker:then moving so
Speaker:fast you can't
Speaker:grab it.
Speaker:And then all of a
Speaker:sudden you slow
Speaker:them down and
Speaker:there it is.
Speaker:Actually, I'll
Speaker:hold on to that
Speaker:thought.
Speaker:So I think that's
Speaker:the one
Speaker:thing for me.
Speaker:People think that
Speaker:the world is
Speaker:going to stop and
Speaker:it doesn't.
Speaker:It's just you
Speaker:going into a
Speaker:present moment.
Speaker:That is the
Speaker:perfect place to
Speaker:end, I think.
Speaker:Simon, where can
Speaker:people find you
Speaker:in Sampton if
Speaker:they want to
Speaker:explore the app
Speaker:further?
Speaker:So you can find
Speaker:us on the App
Speaker:Store and
Speaker:Google Store.
Speaker:Just look for
Speaker:Sampton.
Speaker:Sampton.
Speaker:I think they'll
Speaker:download us.
Speaker:We have a new
Speaker:version
Speaker:of the app.
Speaker:Come in as well
Speaker:shortly.
Speaker:And then you can
Speaker:find us at my
Speaker:Sampton.com,
Speaker:which is our
Speaker:website, which
Speaker:will tell you
Speaker:more about how we
Speaker:work with
Speaker:education sector,
Speaker:how we work with
Speaker:the corporate
Speaker:business world
Speaker:and people.
Speaker:And you'll also
Speaker:find us on
Speaker:Instagram where
Speaker:you'll find us on
Speaker:there under my
Speaker:Sampton as well.
Speaker:So yeah, feel
Speaker:free to join our
Speaker:community.
Speaker:You can sign up.
Speaker:We produce
Speaker:newsletters, etc.
Speaker:And for myself,
Speaker:you can find me
Speaker:as Simon Dalv on
Speaker:LinkedIn, where I
Speaker:probably put a
Speaker:lot of content
Speaker:out and I'm happy
Speaker:to speak to
Speaker:anybody who might
Speaker:want some more
Speaker:information.
Speaker:Perfect.
Speaker:We'll be sure to
Speaker:link all of those
Speaker:links in the
Speaker:show notes.
Speaker:Simon, thank you
Speaker:so much for
Speaker:coming on today.
Speaker:It was an
Speaker:insightful
Speaker:conversation and
Speaker:I look forward to
Speaker:having another
Speaker:one soon.
Speaker:Lovely.
Speaker:Thank you, Rob.
Speaker:Appreciate it.
Speaker:Appreciate
Speaker:the invite.
