#1 – Diana Chapman on the “Full Body Yes”
This is all about strengthening the connection with your gut instinct and learning how to harness it to make important life decisions.
The exercise Diana outlines in this interview helps you to develop an internal map of three different bodily responses:
1.) A full body yes
2.) A strong no
3.) A subtle no
As you gradually train yourself to become more familiar with how each feels in the body through practice, your conscious mind becomes increasingly connected to the wisdom of your body and intuition.
This means that when the time comes to make important decisions, you can call upon guidance from your whole system—not just the thinking mind.
You can see written guidelines for the exercise here or if you prefer to listen, check out the original audio version here (8 mins 43 seconds).
#2 – Richard Schwartz and Martha Beck on Becoming a “Channel” for Creative Intelligence
As part of our upcoming Aligned Creator Summit, I recently facilitated a conversation between Richard Schwartz (founder of IFS) and Martha Beck (Oprah’s life coach) on the topic of “guides”.
Early on, I asked them what percentage of their major contributions and discoveries have come from spiritual guidance vs their own will and thinking.
Both responded with a “resounding one hundred percent”.
Richard even shared that one time he got a direct message from his guides, saying:
“We gave this to you, don’t f#@k it up.”
By “this”, he’s referring to the IFS model, something which has now positively impacted millions of lives around the world.
I’ve had several interactions with both Dick and Martha and walked the Camino with them last year.
And, despite larger than life fame, both are incredibly humble and kind — with very little ego.
Their answer to the question above hints why this may be the case.
It indicates that they don’t get caught up in their own hype or allow themselves to take credit for their work because they know their best insights are coming from a deeper source.
They see themselves more as “conduits” and their task is mainly to stay connected to this source, so that it can work through them to bring new creations into this world.
Iain McGilchrist shared a similar view with me in this interview (see 1 hour 2 mins) and Bernardo Kastrup had a lot to say on this topic in this conversation.
What about you?
When you think about your own biggest breakthroughs, was there a sense they came from elsewhere?
If so, hit reply on this email — I’d be curious to hear your experiences with this.
#3 – Bela Gandhi on the #1 Thing to Look for in a Romantic Partner
Having recently become single again, this caught my attention when it appeared in my podcast feed.
The big takeaway was the “elevator exercise” (see 26 mins, 30 seconds).
When trying to figure out what you’re looking for in a romantic partner, don’t list out the usual attributes.
E.g. Height, looks, personality, etc.
Instead, make a list of all of the “elevator” people in your life.
These are the people who lift you up and who you feel energised when you spend time in their company.
Then, look through your list and identify if there is a common thread which unites all of them.
This is the primary thing that is most lifegiving to you in relationship with others.
Which means it’s also the number one thing to take into consideration when choosing a romantic partner.
#4 – The Reverse Mental Movie
You’ve probably heard the Victor Frankl quote:
“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now.”
Although powerful, I’ve also found it challenging to convert this wisdom into action.
So, something I’ve been experimenting with in recent months that’s been helpful for this is the “reverse mental movie” exercise, which was suggested by Diana Eidelman in a group work session on our recent Camino Fellowship.
Here’s how it works…
Before you drift off to sleep at night, play a “reverse mental movie” of the day in your mind.
Starting from the evening, you go through the actions and interactions of your day, seeing them again for the second time.
I’m not sure if this was part of the original exercise…
But as I do this, if I discover an action I’m not proud of, I imagine how I would have acted differently if the same situation arose again.
For example, in my coworking space in Dublin, I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in a few weeks.
However, at the time, I was right in the middle of some deep work and creative flow that I didn’t want to get distracted from.
So, instead of stopping for a couple of minutes to catch up—as would have been the human thing to do—I rushed back to my work.
Funnily enough, I bumped into this person again the next day, right in the middle of another deep work session.
Thankfully, this time, because of the previous night’s “mental movie”, there was no way I was going to make the same mistake twice.
So, I slowed down, gave this person my full attention, and took a few minutes to catch up properly.
Although simple, this exercise is a great way to make micro improvements to daily life and gradually live in greater harmony with our values.
Highly recommend giving it a try.
#5 – Tami Simon on Making Money a Powerful Friend and Ally in Your Life
As the Founder of Sounds True, Tami Simon realised that if she wanted to lead a healthy organisation, she needed to develop a healthier relationship with money.
To help with this, she worked with Judy Wilkins-Smith, an executive coach who believes we inherit a kind of “emotional DNA” from our family of origin.
Part of this inheritance is the story we carry about money.
Tami discovered that her money story was rooted in fear.
Although she had the ability to generate it, she also noticed a tendency to hold onto it too tightly.
Over time, she’s tried to replace this with a more flow-based relationship—one built on the idea of healthy inflow and outflow. Rather than seeing money as something to cling to, she now thinks of it as a powerful friend and ally that helps her to create value in the world.
A few shifts in perspective have supported this…
First, Tami deeply enjoys supporting other people.
She wants to create opportunities for them and pay them well for their work.
And she can only do this if money is flowing abundantly through her own life.
Second, integrity comes first.
She only wants to make money when she’s creating genuine value for others. If someone doesn’t feel they’ve received that value, she’s happy to refund them.
Third, money gives her freedom to buy beautiful things that she genuinely appreciates.
The form this takes is different for everyone, but in her case, one of these things, as she explains in the video, are well-made Italian shirts.
Finally, she rejects the idea that making money and being spiritual are somehow at odds with one another.
For Tami, spirituality is a form of generosity.
The more resources she has, the more she can contribute to others—a principle she has embodied through the work Sounds True has been doing for decades.
What about you?
What story did you inherit about money?
And to what extent is it helping—or hindering—the life you’re trying to build?
#6 – Rumi’s Guesthouse and Parker Palmer on the Necessity of Shadow Work
While preparing for a recent interview with Parker Palmer, I discovered this gem of a poem from the 13th-century Sufi Mystic Rumi:
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
When I asked Parker what the poem meant to him, he said it was about the importance of engaging with the shadow proactively.
If we ignore the darker aspects of our nature, a kind of “compounding interest” accrues.
Parker explains why this is so dangerous using the burglar metaphor in this short video (4 mins 41 seconds).
The takeaway is simple…
If we keep ignoring the parts of ourselves asking for attention, they eventually find more painful ways to make themselves heard.
#7 – Johnathan Bi on the 4 Books You Need to AI Proof Your Career
This isn’t a video about prompt engineering or staying up to date with the latest AI tools.
It’s about developing a philosophical operating system which will help you to survive and thrive amidst the major changes heading our way.
Here are the four books Johnathan recommends:
1.) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism — Max Weber
For disentangling from the Protestant work ethic which has made productivity the predominant value in our culture and central source of meaning in many peoples’ lives. (Dangerous in a world where the majority of tasks can be done by AI.)
2.) The Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
For realising—on a deep level—that meaning from leisure-based activities (creative expression, self directed learning, meaningful conversation, etc) trump meaning derived from productivity.
3.) Deceit, Desire, and the Novel — Rene Girard
For being able to discern what is still going to remain economically valuable after the AI revolution, and therefore how best to orient yourself in your career. Girard’s work matters now more than ever because as AI solves the problem of physical scarcity, building social capital becomes paramount.
4.) Secret Body — Jeffrey Kripal
There are countless examples of inventors, writers, scientists, musicians, and artists who claim that the insights which led to their best work didn’t come from them—but from a kind of “creative intelligence” outside of them. Sometimes in the form of a dream, a eureka moment, or in an altered state. This is important because it implies that it’s possible for humans to be in connection with this intelligence.
And also highly unlikely that AI will ever be able to.
Which means a key way to thrive in the years to come is to learn how to tap into insights from this other realm.
