Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Re-claiming Your Attention & Relieving Reality of Its Seriousness
PLUS: Returning to Bali, Exploring Archetypes & Blood-Sucking Gnats
Hello Curious One š
As I tap on this keyboard, there are gigantic tropical raindrops plopping on the wooden roof, the stormy beats are punctuated by a droning daredevil mosquito as he circles aboveāwaiting for the perfect moment to dive-bomb my fleshy arm.
Strangely I feel a modicum of respect for his uncompromising blitzkrieg and wonder if I might be able to learn a thing or two about relentless consistency and pursuit of my mission from this airborne blood-sucking gnat š¦
š“ Returning to Bali // after more than a year of bouncing around the Americas it feels restorative to have something akin to a home base againāespecially one with such a vibrant community. I can already feel stiff creativity muscles aching to be stretched.
šļø Podcast News // the recent conversation with neuro-anthropologist + flow genius Jamie Wheal seems to have really resonated (listen here) plus there two juicy new episodes that just dropped (more below).
š« Nervous System Mastery // Iāve been quietly tinkering away on a curriculum that builds on my resilience research & breathwork protocolsādesigned to share a comprehensive, evidence-backed and highly practical program that I believe has the potential to be genuinely transformative for both leaders & coaches.
š Exploring Myth + Archetypes // Iāve become somewhat (very) obsessed with the rambunctious mythic writing of Martin Shaw, learning about the sacred and the profane as well as diving into the menās mythopoetic movement initially founded by Robert Bly. These thoughts havenāt yet coalesced into coherence but I can feel a deep dive essay brewing in the coming weeks.
Alright, thatās all for now folksāif you feel drawn to reply with a sentence or two, please do so and either way, I hope that you are thriving and living from a place of aliveness.
Stay Curious Out There!
~Ā JM
šø Sunrise over Mt. Agung, Bali, Indonesia š
šļø Ep #28 // Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Re-Claiming Your Attention with Award-Winning Poet Max Stossel (link)
Max Stossel is an award-winning poet (whose short films have been seen overĀ 40 million times) advisor to Tech for Humanity, successful filmmaker and all-around wise human who I'm grateful to call a brother.
In this poetic + lyrical conversation we explore:
šļøĀ The journey that led him from designing notification systems at a social media company to exploring the art and science of attention.
š± The dangers of smartphone addiction + practical questions as users that we can be asking ourselves.
š How he describes his work as a blend of poetry, standup comedy and storytelling.
š How he's found the courage to lean into painful experiences and get curious about heartbreak.
š¦
How his writing workshop on avoidance and imposter syndrome led to my publishing a short poetryĀ book.
šāāļø His experience and insights from leading men's groups and how this work has changed his life for the better.
šļø Ep #29 Effing the Ineffable, Re-Imagining Love & Relieving Reality of Its Seriousness with Alice Frank (link)
In one of the longest and most wide-ranging episodes to date, this conversation is with filmmaker, poet, relationship coach and utterly unique human being Alice Frankāwho is here as she says to proudly "eff the ineffable".
Her book 'My Real Name Is You' has been loved by Eckhart Tolle said 'My favourite poem I ever heard'Ā and Jason Mraz who shared:Ā 'Her words are alive the same way notation can fly off a page and become sweet music.'
I'm slightly at a loss for words attempting to describe the ground that we covered but I will add that she is one of the most present people I've ever met and has a truly astounding capacity to articulate the great mysteries of life.
Here's a sampling of where our conversation led:
āØĀ Her spiritual awakening that lasted for a decadeĀ and what her experience was of being no-oneĀ (and the challenges of living so deeply in the present)...Ā followed by what she described as her 'breakup with god'.
š Why we lose touch with our sense of play and why we should strive to 'relieve reality of its seriousness'. I loved that one of her favourite mantras is 'Can you imagine if it mattered? Can you imagine if it mattered?'
ā¤ļø Her journey from the depths of polyamory to more recently getting married, reframingĀ un-conditional love to 'all-conditional' loveĀ & how she now coaches couples to remember what this even means.
š“ Her current meditation practice and why she created a 'silent retreat in a box' ā a beautiful series of mantra cards to create your own home meditation retreatĀ (definitely check this out!)
š Et Cetera
ā How to ask useful questions
š How to think beyond ourselves
š§ Antarctica now has a ātrue southā flag
š In praise of looking closely via Craig Mod
šļø Superb podcast exploring Mythic Masculinity
ā¤ļø Love in a time between worlds (journal paper)
š” Tips for how to prioritise project ideas (deep dive)
š¹ The wisdom of trauma (must-watch documentary)
š§ Scientists dig into the brainās curiosity mechanism
šØāš Why cohort-based courses are the future for online learning
š Parting Poem
ē©ć®åć, ćć®ć®ććÆć (the pathos of things)
What if I were to love the wild,
The way that I adore my lover
When liberated from perspectives
That anaesthetise a capacity
To live in that fierce heat
Of inevitable disappearance.
//
What if I could love the humpbacks,
the hawks and the brown bears?
As if they too were drenched
In a fertile impermanence,
That is both a blessing
And a heartfelt reckoning.
Would tears of grief erupt from the skies?
Would an infinite ribbon of colour flood the horizon?
Dear Substack members,
I am inviting you to visit my page where I reviewing different topics regarding music, books. Recently I have started a serie of reviewing a certain type of books. Thank you everyone! https://jaroslavnovosyolov.substack.com/p/serie-books-from-anton-la-veys-shelf?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2
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