The Unplug Podcast: Activated Living for Truth Seekers and Critical Thinkers in a Collapsing World

I write this post a few days prior to the shortest day of the year – the winter solstice. A time of silence and darkness – a still point poised between two states. When darkness gives birth to new light. Solstice ceremonies have evolved across cultures for many millennia. Many Christmas traditions originated from winter solstice celebrations. For many people in today’s world however, the solstice is overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations. As joyful as this can be, the holiday season also presents ample opportunity for excesses such as over-consumption, overindulgence, over-stimulation and over-spending. This can lead to extra stress and feelings of depletion at a time of year that naturally calls us to slow down, turn inward and renew and replenish ourselves. I mention this as an invitation for you to set aside some time to honor the solstice in a meaningful way that will connect you to nature, feed your spirit and nourish your body, while at the same time, remind you of the part you play in the larger order of the always changing, always renewing biosphere and cosmos. This could be as simple as lighting a candle, silently watching the sun rise or set, a walk in your favorite natural setting, sharing a compassionate meal of seasonal goodies with loved ones, or taking winter naps. Whatever you do, be sure to honor this special time of year by remembering the importance of this beautiful planet and the role you play in making it better. Connect to your natural self, slow down, be still and leave the unnatural consumptive patterns of our hectic, disconnected culture behind. Try it – even for a few hours and observe how your soul responds. The simplest path to living an authentic and meaningful life is always found in the love that exists in the quiet moments. Speaking of living an authentic and meaningful life, this week, I have the pleasure of sharing an inspiring conversation with Julie “SriMati” Piatt about pain, purpose, service, spirituality, high-vibrational foods, and the often messy path towards authentic expression. Julie is the beautiful woman who complements the life of plant-based, ultra-endurance athlete and author of “Finding Ultra”, Rich Roll (interviewed in Episode #18). She’s a frequent co-host on the Rich Roll Podcast where she willingly shares her plethora of spiritual wisdom with those who dare to explore more of who they are. Julie is a multi-passionate woman with a true creative spirit which she expresses through her music, art, and food. Her mission is to serve her higher purpose in the most meaningful way that has the greatest impact on this planet. This mission is love. Julie is a yogini who has embraced the essence of the Baghavad Gita in a way that has led her to an ever expansive sense of purpose that inspires others to embrace the core of who they are. Needless to say, I am absolutely thrilled to be connected to such a committed and compassionate kindred spirit. Julie and I dig into many deep topics that reveal the tumultuous consistency of the human experience. She shares her journey towards the plant-powered way that she and Rich are so well known for as well as her deep devotion to her spirituality and how this helps her remain centered in the eye of the storm that we know as life. In this week’s show, we discuss: * Claiming your voice and honoring the creative self. * How pain is what leads us towards expansion and transformation. * The truth about gluten-free. * The importance of mastering emotions (emotional maturity), perspective, and where we put our energy, thoughts, and attention to direct the life of our choosing. * How the moments that bring us to our knees are often the most sacred. * The greatest service we can offer in today’s disconnected world is to connect to our au...

If you’re familiar with this show, you know that I don’t hide the fact that my heart and soul are connected with all life on this planet. As a result, despite the fact that I’m not a fan of labels, I have chosen to identify myself primarily with the vegan label should I ever be asked by someone who doesn’t understand otherwise. It’s just easier that way. Vegan means respect, unity, and interconnection with all life. To me it is the most loving choice that we human beings can make in a world that is filled with gratuitous violence, suffering and inexcusable cruelty. For me, vegan is the essence of ahimsa – the Sanskrit word for non violence in thoughts, behaviours, and actions. I’m vegan for one reason only. Love. I love animals. I love the natural world. I love this planet. I love myself. And despite all our flaws, I love humanity because I know the potential that we all hold in our hearts to be so much better. This one choice – vegan – covers it all. It expresses love for all. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t without its imperfections. As long as we wear a human costume we’re not exempt from causing harm to others. But I believe that vegan is the choice that causes the least amount of harm in so many areas including what I’ve previously mentioned. Vegan is based on the essence of compassion and kindness. Vegan embraces love for all life. This week’s podcast is a powerful conversation which embraces the essence of vegan/ahimsa – with a focus on our collective relationship to the ghosts in our machine. I’m referencing our relationship to animals as they exist within the confines of the destructive machine that we have normalized as a culture entranced by fear, indifference, and sameness. Why do I bring these really important conversations to the forefront of our consciousness in this podcast? Because a lot of these conversations are conveniently ignored in today’s world in order to preserve the status quo and maintain a dysfunctional illusion of comfort. But here’s the deal. I believe in critical thought and critical thought is what exposes truth. I am a voracious truth seeker and I’m presupposing that because you’re reading this post or listening to this podcast that you are a truth seeker as well. When we seek truth, we’re also yearning to become better, more authentic, and more whole versions of ourselves as we expand into more of who we’ve always been meant to be. I believe in the good of humanity – the light let’s call it. I believe that we can all strive to be so much better than what we’ve been conditioned to become in this ludicrous paradigm of separation. That’s why I bring these conversations to the forefront of our consciousness. I bring these conversations into the world to remind all those who are courageous enough to listen, that we are all better. There is always room for expansion and growth. That’s the beauty of our humanity. When we courageously approach our lives with this mindset – to become the greatest version of who we’ve always been meant to be in this short incarnation – we then live our calling. We live our purpose. We embody it. And our ultimate purpose is just that – to remember who we truly are and to shine that person into the world in a unique way that leaves it a better place. That is the purpose that we all share. I believe that there are more and more conversations these days like the ones I bring to light as the collective consciousness appears to be waking up. There are more discussions about our treatment towards those we share the planet with. There have been so many great movies that have come out in the past few years that have contributed to this more expansive consciousness. I’m speaking about movies such as Blackfish, The Cove, and

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while you will have heard me mention (more than a few times) the book that I’m currently writing. Well, here’s the real deal, I’m actually writing 3 books and a manifesto – with 5 more at the ready. Let’s just say that I’ve been a very busy lass creating meaningful work in my cozy little home in beautiful B.C. Having said that, I’m now going to confess to a little secret I’ve not wanted to face for the past little while. Up until recently, I’ve been dragging my feet on said writing projects for reasons unknown. If you know me, you’ll know that this is really out of character. After all, I’m an Ironman triathlete. I’m disciplined, dedicated, and never, ever bail on anything that I commit my heart to. Yes, I can be prone to procrastination (please tell me I’m not alone), but this was different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the inner resistance that was holding me back until a post-interview conversation that I had with Chef AJ from podcast #49. After our recorded chat, we spoke candidly about many things such as writing, podcasting, and self publishing. The conversation opened my mind in ways that excited me beyond belief. In that one hour, my writing mojo was more was back – I was on fire! You see, last year I attended a fantastic writing retreat in California that was instrumental in leading me on the path that I’m on today. There was one thing that didn’t resonate with me however, and that was the constant talk of book deals, mainstream publishing, literary agents, platforms…yadda, yadda, yadda. I felt exhausted. Defeated. Drained. My body was clearly indicating to me that this was not my path, but my soul was telling me that I had to write. So what’s the deal? It wasn’t until my conversation with Chef AJ that I clearly saw the writing on the wall. I will write as directed by my soul and I will self publish as directed by my need to crush status quo. I will change the world, I will empower others, and I will be empowered myself. The end. Ta da! To be perfectly honest, the thought of building a platform, spending countless hours writing the book followed by countless more hours writing a proposal, then grovelling for an agent to pimp me out to a judgmental publisher so I can be rejected umpteen times before finally being accepted only to be told that I have to wait another year to be published so that I can earn a pittance for every book sold as the world goes to hell in a hand-basket…was not very motivating. But I didn’t know much else other than the sad stories I’d heard about unknown authors printing hordes of books with nowhere to store them only to place them in the trunks of their cars as they desperately tried to peddle them to bookstores that weren’t interested. It all sounded so crappy. But Chef AJ – my savior – inspired me to explore the world of self publishing. This led to hours of online searching for legitimate resources to point me in the right direction…heck, why not just blurt it out – to hold my hand. Yes, I definitely needed hand holding in this unknown domain. And this is where this week’s podcast guest enters the story. When I “stumbled on” (ha, there are no accidents)Joanna Penn’s website, I began to vibrate with excitement. I was immediately impressed. Blog post after blog post filled with exactly the hand-holding guidance that I was hungry for. A woman whose desire to serve shone like a beacon in a sea of sales pitches and false promises. I knew I had to have her on this podcast to spread her plethora of wisdom even further. Not only is Joanna incredibly generous with her knowledge, she’s a true status quo crusher. She left a high paying, soul sucking corporate career to unleash the author within. Joanna has two writing persona’s – the non-fiction author who helps people like myself to navigate the exciting and ever expanding world...

Love is what motivated me to connect with this week’s Unplug podcast guest. Sharon Gannon is love embodied. Along with David Life, she is the co-founder of the Jivamukti Yoga Method which distinguishes itself as a path to enlightenment by promoting compassion for all beings, challenging the modern belief that enslaving and exploiting animals and the natural world is our right as the dominant species. Jivamukti Yoga is taught worldwide and includes high profile students such as Sting, Trudie Styler, Russell Simmons, Joan Jett, Willem Dafoe, Madonna, and Michael Franti to name but a few of the well known people who’ve dared to go deeper into their essential nature. Sharon is a passionate animal rights advocate and conveys her message of compassion through the ancient wisdom of yoga. She’s quoted as saying that “the fork can be a powerful weapon of mass destruction or a tool to create peace on earth.” I certainly won’t argue with that. Sharon is also quoted as saying: “How you treat others will determine how others treat you. How others treat you will determine how you see yourself. How you see yourself will determine who you are.” Sharon is the author of the newly released book “Simple Recipes for Joy” which is a stunningly beautiful cookbook that just arrived in my household. She’s also the author of “Yoga and Vegetarianism” which is a book that I read a few years back when I was just getting into yoga and learning how powerful this ancient wisdom is for reminding us of our purest nature of compassion. There are more books, more accomplishments, and much more wisdom to share but I’ll save that for our conversation. I thank my dear friend Jenny Brown from the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary for connecting Sharon and I. We had an amazing Skype conversation and instantly bonded – kindred spirits in compassion. When I found out that she would be passing through the Vancouver area on her book tour, I set up a date to meet her in person and it was beautiful. She’s passionate, compassionate, funny, warm, and wise. There’s nothing like solidifying a relationship with an in-person connection over a cup of almond chai and delicious hot soup on a cold and rainy west coast day. I’m grateful that we had a few hours to hang out together when we were both in Vancouver last week. Sharon gave a lovely talk and book signing at a local bookstore after our culinary experience and before I share this week’s interview, I want to share a response to a question that came up during the Q and A portion of the talk. There was a question towards the end of the talk about the northern indigenous traditions of giving thanks to animals that were hunted ceremoniously that Sharon answered so beautifully. Personally, I don’t really understand why a question like that came up during a talk about a recently published cookbook but people can be quite bizarre when they’re looking for ways to hang onto old belief systems. Including their romanticized spiritual notions of a long gone era. Romanticizing a cultural mindset that no longer exists in the consumptive world of today only continues the perpetuation of the illusion of separation and my belief is that we’re so much better than this and if we only remembered that, the world would be a completely different place. But let me tell you what Sharon had to say. Sharon’s response to the ancient indigenous hunting question went like this: “As a species we used to do alot of things that we really don’t need to do now. So what we did in the past, we can’t change that. It’s done. We did it. But we can move forward and evolve. In the past it was perfectly natural for men to rape women, to own women, to view women and children as property. There are alot of awful things that we did and when we grew up as a species, we began to see then in a different light.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m deeply grateful for the people I have the honor of connecting with on the Unplug journey of awakening. Meaningful conversations that inspire expansion are what guide us all towards wholeness. This week’s Unplug podcast guest is a woman who inspires a depth of thought like no other. Naomi Irons is a beautiful soul committed to expanding into the greatest version of who she knows herself to be. She’s a woman who is profoundly committed to her true self. She’s passionate about discovering the depths of her own evolution as well as engaging with others who hunger to know themselves well beyond the surface of who and what they have been taught to believe themselves to be. Naomi is a registered massage therapist, doula, yoga instructor and certified CODE model coach with the Wel- Systems® Institute. She’s also a woman with a plethora of inner wisdom to share. This week’s conversation is powerful, inspiring, and deeper than deep. There’s a profoundly organic flow to this conversation that takes us all to new depths. We dig into topics such as: • Having the courage to really ask yourself “Who am I?”. • The awakening of intuition inside the body. • Do we make choices in alignment with who we’ve always been conditioned to be or do we allow ourselves to trust the choices that align us with who we have the potential to become? • It’s a profound act of courage to tell ourselves the truth. • It’s an act of transformation when we allow ourselves to be witnessed in the truth of our experience. • The only perfection is imperfection. • The journey of awakening is all about discovering our inner Self. • The intellect is designed to make a “yes” or “no” choice. It is not designed to create our lives. • The journey of trust. • How ten seconds of authenticity can undo decades of conditioning. • Our birthright is to be deeply connected to who we are. • When we trust, we don’t resist. • We can become who we’ve always been meant to be if we trust our Selves. • What is matriarchal consciousness? • We’re either catalysts for change or we’re status quo. The quality of our lives is often determined by how expansive our conversations are. As we expand into more of who we are truly meant to be, we think more critically, live more authentically, and ask bigger questions. This is how we transform our lives, and by default, transform the world. Enjoy this unique conversation and be prepared to dramatically alter your previous perception of reality.

Someone recently asked me why I do this podcast. Why I care so deeply when so few in today’s world do. Why I invest so much of my time, money, heart and soul into something that gives me so little in return. My reply – I do this because I love life – all life. I love this planet and all of her inhabitants so deeply that I can’t not do it. I feel compelled to do everything I can to guide as many people as possible towards the love and compassion that is our collective birthright. We are all bearing witness to the destruction of old beliefs and cultural systems created in a paradigm of destructive separation that is fading into oblivion at an accelerated rate – but not without gut wrenching suffering. Because I’m so deeply connected to something greater within myself, I feel with visceral clarity the birth of something new emerging as an entirely different way of being. I feel that this something is more in line with the core essence of humanity. It’s something that will awaken a tipping point of souls from the trance of cultural conditioning that has separated the collective from everything that matters. It takes unplugging from this culture and plugging into the higher consciousness of the heart to live with the faith that whatever the final outcome, it will all be ok. That said, it’s my highest responsibility to do everything in my power to bring this new paradigm into fruition so that the outcome is a great one. Meditating on a mountaintop for world peace just ain’t enough. Actions speak louder than all else. I do this podcast because I want others to have what I so desperately wished I had so many years ago – a place where I didn’t feel alone. A place where I felt understood. A place that challenged me to not only expand my worldview but also a place to expand into greater wholeness. I do all of this work every week with no compensation except for the deep inner satisfaction that I’m honoring the purpose in my soul to wake others up to life, love, compassion, co-creation, simplicity, and authentic expression. I do this to serve something so much greater than myself because it’s when you give, you live. I know that the truth in my heart resonates with many others and it’s my purpose to connect us so that we no longer feel isolated. This is how I answered the question about why I do this podcast every week. I do this for you – because I know that despite the times when there’s utter silence, I’m not alone in my passion to co-create the more beautiful world we know in our hearts is possible. It takes courage to live authentically with purpose in the inauthentic world of mass conformity. But as the saying goes, courage is not the absence of fear, its the willingness to act in spite of it. Courage is one of our deepest essential characteristics and its a beautiful thing when channeled from a higher calling. Now that I’ve expressed all of this, I’m announcing that I’ll be slowing things down and following my own advice to unplug in order to contemplate what’s next. I’ve been feeling the need to focus on my writing and to share my voice in the written word in a broader way. So with that, I’ll be dropping the podcast to bi-weekly to free more time, resources, and energy for my writing. From there, who knows. That’s the beauty of purpose. It continually morphs and expands as we allow ourselves to do the same. Episode #50 is symbolic in many ways – not only with the personal transformation that I’m currently experiencing, but also because I’m very eager to share an inspiring interview with a beautiful man who has been a powerful status quo crusher for many years. John Robbins is the bestselling author of Voices of the Food Revolution, No Happy Cows, Diet for a New America, and many other landmark works. He is founder of EarthSave International and the co-founder and co-host of ...

I find it increasingly fascinating how most of the game-changers in today’s world have experienced a pivotal moment in their lives to shake them out of mediocrity. The threshold moment is often a personal health crisis, dramatic accident, loss of a significant relationship, or the death of a loved one. The common theme is loss. Being faced with our own mortality or that of someone we love can have a dramatic impact that shakes our model of the world in ways that opens us up to so much more of who we’ve always been meant to be. Why does it take trauma to shake so many people awake? I guess that’s the million dollar question? And why is it that some people are forever transformed while others fall into a deeper coma? I guess that would provide the million dollar answer. The choice is whether we choose to take charge of our lives and allow the past to shape us or whether we choose to become a victim to the past and let it define who we are. There’s a huge difference – one is empowering, the other is disempowering. In the status quo world, the majority of people choose to be defined by their past, that is, the victim mentality where they live in fear, scarcity, and self-imposed limitation. That just sucks all around – for everyone. We are not meant to be victims to the circumstances in our lives. We are meant to be empowered by the eventual outcome and use these learning to help shape who we have always been meant to be. And here’s something that is really important to note, it’s often in our pain that we discover our purpose. This week’s Unplug podcast guest did just that – she turned her pain into purpose. Chef AJ experienced a life-jarring health scare that woke her up to the transformative power of whole plant-based food. Although she had been vegan for many years prior to the fateful moment that altered the course of her life, she was a self-confessed junk food vegan. And really, it makes no difference if you’re a junk food corpse eater, vegetarian, or vegan, the net end result is not pretty. The human body was never designed to be swimming in a toxic soup of man-made chemicals under the guise of food. This week we dive into a great discussion about real food – the food that we were meant to eat to thrive and be fully alive. We tackle topics such as: • The importance of being your own health advocate. • How what we eat has a profound effect on how we look and feel, what diseases we get and what diseases we reverse. • How 7-9/10 visits to the doctor are all from preventable diseases caused by poor nutrition, smoking, overeating, lack of sleep and exercise, and stress. • The scoop on poop! • The addictive nature of sugar, fat, and salt, and how destructive they are for global health. • How vegan processed food is for transitioning only. • How pervasive processed food is in Western culture. • How sugar, fat, and salt stimulate overeating. • The difference between acidic and alkaline foods. • The difference between food addiction and emotional eating. Chef AJ is a passionate fireball with energy to burn. She’s a Los Angeles based vegan chef, culinary instructor, author, speaker, and comedian. And she’s pretty darned funny. We did alot of laughing in this week’s interview. Be prepared to be energized and entertained by the awesome Chef AJ. THIS WEEK’S INSPIRED QUESTION: How can you shift your diet so that you eat unprocessed? SHOW NOTES: • Chef AJ’s website. • Unprocessed book on Amazon. • True North Health Center

If you received a cancer diagnosis, what do you think you would do? What would be the first action item on your “let’s crush this” list? If you’re anything like today’s Unplug podcast guest, you’d sign up for an Ironman triathlon of course! Dr. Ruth Heidrich is a six-time Ironman Triathlon finisher who has won more than 900 medals in races around the world, including more than 60 marathons. She’s also the recipient of 8 gold medals in the U.S. Senior Olympics and was named one of the 10 fittest women in North America. Now in her late seventies, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer in her forties which inspired a massive life shift that ignited her passion for change. What is most inspiring about Ruth is that much of what she accomplished came later in life. After surviving breast cancer without any conventional treatments from the allopathic medical model, she charted a new course for her life. Ruth chose to heal herself entirely with diet – along with the powerful belief that she would reverse the cancer. By moving away from a status quo animal-based diet and throwing herself completely into a status quo crushing vegan diet, she healed herself. As she healed, her health soared and she dove head first into inspiring physical challenges to prove that what we put into our body not only fuels us, it becomes us. Ruth has since been featured in the game-changing movie “Forks Over Knives” and has authored four books including her latest book Lifelong Running: How to Overcome the 11 Myths of Running and Live a Healthier Life. Fueling with live food unleashes the powerful life force that connects us to our core being – that expansive place within that is capable of anything. Ruth is a shining example of someone who lives her life guided by that powerful life force and as a result, she’s accomplished incredible physical feats as she inspires the masses to open their hearts and minds to a higher level of wellness. In this week’s conversation we chat about: • The misinformation of today’s mainstream medical profession. • How passion ignites the fire within our hearts. • The normalization of obesity. • How diet is the solution to all of our problems. • The transformative healing power of raw food. • How a vegan lifestyle can be the gateway for awakening. • The loving power of compassionate detachment. • How waking up to a wider circle of compassion is often triggered by a personal crisis. • The difference between positive, negative, and variable reinforcement. To quote T.Colin Campbell’s words, “Ruth Heidrich is an inspiration to so many people. Her persistence, her commitment to fitness, her use of the healthiest food, and her consciousness of what could be a bright future for all of us make this interview a must listen”. I’m honored to share my conversation with this passionate and inspiring woman with you today. Ruth Heidrich Beat Cancer by Changing Diet, Interview SHOW NOTES: • Ruth Heidrich’s website. • Ruth Heidrich on Facebook. • Vegetarian Society of Hawaii website. • Lifelong Running: Overcome the 11 Myths About Running and Live a Healthier Life book

Fourteen years ago I wrote an article titled You Think You Can Be a Meat Eating Environmentalist? which was published in the Peace and Environment News in Ottawa, Canada. There were many obvious signs that the world was heading in a dangerous direction due to our culinary choices. Since then, the global situation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Climate change is no longer a possibility, it’s a reality. Droughts, mega-storms, tsunami’s, floods, and extreme weather patterns are now commonplace (which wasn’t the case when I wrote the article all those years ago). The planet is currently experiencing the largest mass extinction of life as species disappear at unprecedented rates. The world population has exploded with an increasing number of minds corrupted by the paradigm of separation – a situation that bodes well for no living being on this planet. We’ve crossed the tipping point and what the future holds is anyone’s guess. …and does anyone really care? It seems the masses would rather their “Five Steps to 6-pack abs”, “Four-minute workouts”, and “How to Become Enlightened in less than 30 days” life hacks than take action that creates meaningful change. As a collective, we prefer to judge the celebrity-de-jour (read: Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and others of their ilk) without ever looking at how wrong we’ve been in our own lives. Most people would rather numb out than feel. Our conversations have become as useful as an overflowing toilet. And we’ve forgotten our interconnection with the most precious gift of all – life. Indeed, the situation has worsened since writing that article. Yet at the same time, there’s a palpable shift as many wake up to Truth. As the old paradigm of separation accelerates towards its own demise, there’s a growing number of citizens rubbing the sleep from their eyes as they shake off the trance that has caused so much harm. Many people are fed up, as complacence is replaced with passion, purpose, and a deep inner drive to create solutions that are far removed from the box that created the problems in the first place. With the way of the world today, the more connected we are to Truth, the better off we will be in the uncertain times emerging. Community, collaboration, compassion, and co-creation are the foundational components of the “4-C quadrant” required for the birth of a new paradigm. Those who embrace the new way today are the solutionaries responsible for the accelerated birth of an entirely new world. By transforming Truth into action, we turn our back on the old and breathe life into the new. It takes a certain kind of person to care about more than just themselves in today’s world. And even that’s questionable with the way most people neglect the most basic need of all – their own health. But those who still care are those who have not lost contact with the essential nature of who they’ve always been – the Universal connection to something greater that lives within every one of us. Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn are the caring and passionate co-creators of the game-changing movie Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, a movie that exposes the most inconvenient of truths – the devastating consequences of our dietary choices on the fragile life support system we call home. A truth that is denied us at birth from cultural programming gone wrong. The movie begins with a simple question: Why are the world’s leading environmental organizations too fearful to speak out about the most destructive industry facing the planet today? As we follow the investigative journey of Kip Andersen and his persistent attempts to uncover truth, we’re also witness to the evolution of personal transformation. This movie shows the evolution of awakening and the purpose-driven...

In this week’s Unplug podcast, I’m excited to introduce an inspirational friend who has accomplished incredible physical feats of athletic prowess that defy the realm of “normal”. Here’s the kicker – she has multiple sclerosis. Susan Simmons is an ultra-distance swimmer who crosses lakes, channels, and oceans with little fanfare save for a burning desire to finish – because she can. Her mission is to inspire others to believe in themselves as they move towards wholeness. Susan and I met in 2006 when we both trained with the North Shore Masters swim club in Vancouver. I felt an instant connection. She’s warm, kind, funny, articulate, open-minded, and open-hearted. She’s also made for incredible endurance. When we first met, Susan had recently returned to swimming after a 25 year hiatus. The MS diagnosis threw her into an emotional tailspin that caused her to believe that a bleak future was all there was. Fortunately she snapped out of the dark funk and reclaimed her life – through swimming. She empowered herself with exercise, clean food, and lofty goals. With each step towards authenticity came great expansion – which brings us to the recent completion of a 70 km swimming marathon that proved that there are no limits. We all have a life story. The question is, do we allow it to shape us or do we let it define us. There’s a big difference. In Susan’s case, she allowed the story to shape who she is today. This has empowered her to complete epic physical accomplishments that most people without a health disability would never consider. This week we chat about: • Moving from victim to powerhouse. • How it’s when you don’t succeed that you learn the most. • How your thoughts create your world. The power of belief. • Letting the story shape you rather than define you. • How the shift to a vegan lifestyle transformed her life – physically, mentally, and spiritually. • You are what you eat. • The power of service. Helping others is how we help ourselves. Susan Simmons proves that you are only a victim to your beliefs, thoughts, and body if that’s the route you choose. If she can accomplish what she has with MS, imagine what you can accomplish without it. It all starts with faith, trust, and belief – in yourself. I’m thrilled to share this inspiring conversation with my dear friend Susan Simmons with you today. Enjoy. THIS WEEK’S INSPIRED QUESTION: What personal goal can you move towards that expands your comfort zone and brings you closer to who you’ve always been meant to be? In other words, what have you always dreamed of but have always denied because of the excuses in your head? SHOW NOTES: • MS Athlete website. • Susan on Facebook. • Susan on Twitter. • Swimmers conquer 70 km Cowichan Lake double Goldstream Gazette. Are you inspired by this podcast? If so, here’s how you can fan the flame for the message: 1. Support the show! Support the paradigm-altering Unplug movement on Patreon. Every little bit makes a difference! 2. Subscribe & Review the Show on iTunes: Here’s a simple 5-step process to quickly rate, review and subscribe to the show. You can also now subscribe to the show on Stitcher where the show wil...

Heart disease is the number one killer in the Western world. With all of the war and violence in today’s world, one would expect the number one killer to be linked to this stark reality. Instead, it’s directly related to the war we wage on ourselves through the beliefs we accept as true combined with the violence we inflict on others through the “foods” we choose for our plates. I find it ironic that the heart – the place of spiritual unity, interconnection and love – is what fails us when we feed our bodies from the culturally conditioned mindset of separation. The heart is the spiritual center of unity. When we’re aligned with our deepest core values of compassion, we remember our connection with all life on planet Earth. We honor the place within ourselves that wishes no harm on anyone or anything. We are congruent with the truth of who we are as spiritual beings having a human experience. When we support “the Matrix” with our choices and beliefs, we support the paradigm of separation. We short-circuit our core spiritual connection to everyone – including ourselves. We make choices that cause harm. We choose hand-me-down beliefs. We willfully ignore. We shut down our hearts. We forget who we truly are and believe that we are bodies meant to eat bodies. Is it any wonder that heart disease is rampant in the paradigm of separation? From a purely physical perspective, cholesterol is the well known culprit. Found only in animal-based foods, it’s blatantly obvious that we aren’t bodies meant to eat bodies, instead, we’ve been taught to eat bodies to our own detriment – and to the detriment of the entire planet. The voracious consumption of animal body parts and secretions is directly responsible for exorbitant animal suffering, climate change, world hunger, and total preventable maladies such as obesity, type-2 diabetes, cancers, strokes, and…heart disease. Indeed, burgers are far more deadly than bullets. This weeks Unplug podcast guest knows a thing or two about burgers and bullets. Deb Gleason is a former homicide detective turned vegan lifestyle coach with a mission to heal the world by empowering the masses to wake up to their inherent compassion for themselves and for all. She does this through delicious and nourishing food – from plants – the most powerful source of life. Deb also happens to be my wonderful life partner and I’m thrilled to share her meandering path towards purpose with everyone listening this week. This week we discuss: • How the truth sets you free – even when it hurts • The vegan shift to authenticity. • Putting passion into action for paradigm shifting transformation. • When we align with our deepest core values, we become more whole. • The transformative power of purpose. • You’re vegan – the “where do you get your protein” myth. • How critical thinking stops fear in its tracks. • The world needs leaders with their lights turned on. • Gluten-free – the latest cultural phobia. • Eating from love, not fear. • Every dollar is a vote. We continually vote for the kind of world we wish to see. • How the fork can be the greatest weapon of mass destruction or a beautiful instrument of peace. Deb Gleason is not only a paradigm shifting world changer with the work she does through her coaching, she’s also the compassionate heart behind the uber successful “Esther’s Kitchen” Facebook page – an offshoot of the wildly popular viral Facebook sensation known as Esther the Wonderpig. Deb Gleason is passionate, compassionate, and driven with a deep desire to make the world a better...

Habitual patterns are a fact of life. Sometimes they serve us, sometimes, they don’t. In his book “The Power of Habit”, Charles Duhigg writes that every habit begins with a three-part psychological process called a “habit loop”. This loop commences with a trigger that switches the automatic button on the brain so that a specific behavior is unleashed. Following the trigger is the routine, (also knows as the behavior itself). After the routine comes the reward – a little something that delights the brain so it anchors itself to the habit loop. Neuroscientists have discovered that habitual behaviors reside in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia is a key player in the development of emotions, patterns, and memories. In contrast, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for our decision making abilities. As habitual patterns embed themselves, the prefrontal cortex takes a hike. “In fact, the brain starts working less and less,” says Duhigg. “The brain can almost completely shut down”. This works in our favor when we don’t have to consciously think about driving our car, riding our bike, or brushing our teeth. Not so good when we’re hooked on sugar, drinking too much, or prone to procrastination. Habits have the potential to bind us to behaviors that really suck. Habits keep us stuck. So how do we bust loose? Consciousness my friend…consciousness. When we reach the Threshold of Change, we wake up. Threshold begins with the awareness that something has to change. It’s followed by the acceptance that the “something” is reflected in your bathroom mirror (read: YOU!). And it’s ignited by the deep inner knowing that it must begin now. We cannot force threshold. Forced threshold amounts to an empty promise with the finite umph of willpower. When willpower fizzles, so does commitment and alas, the return of the same old, same old- only this time with the added burden of guilt. Most of us identify with the rigidity of the intellect. But the intellect is limited and fearful of change which makes for inflexible thoughts, emotions, opinions, skepticism, and beliefs. We often feel a crippling sense of paralysis when our hearts yearn for expansion. The heart – the infinite reservoir of possibility – has a consciousness of its own that is well beyond cognitive comprehension. When we deny our heart, we deny ourselves. How many times have you spoken to someone who is aware of the need for change and knows it’s their responsibility…but nothing ever happens. You see, the Threshold of Change is a complete three-part process – “something must change, it must be me, and it must be now”. “Now” is the key to our hearts. When “now” is missing, “change” becomes nothing more than lip service. No heart, no change. Threshold is visceral. Threshold is powerful. We know it’s arrived when we’re either sick of ourselves or hungry for expansion. Threshold plus heart expands consciousness and opens our minds to transformative strategies – such as 30-day challenges to break free from old programming. And that my friends, is what this week’s Unplug Podcast is all about. This week I speak with two unique people on parallel paths of transformation. Laurie McConnell is a solo entrepreneur from Sechelt, BC. Her struggles with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low HDL, difficulty sleeping, mid-day fatigue, excess weight, and sugar addiction brought her to the point of threshold where she was sick of herself and eager for change. Len Goldsmith is a small business owner and regular Unplug podcast listener from the Gold Coast of Australia. Len is devoted to growth and hungry for expansion. Threshold is a frequent occurrence in this Aussie’s life. The beauty of threshold is that there is no good or bad,

If you were to think of one powerful method to release old hurts, emotional baggage, future worries and outdated memories that keep you trapped in feelings of lack, limitation, and low self worth, what would it be? For many people, the go-to answer is therapy or counseling – a typical response from the status quo bag of conditioned tricks. Traditional therapy evokes images of an ambient office, a cozy chair, and endless appointments with a kind stranger who profits from your pain. A stereotypical generalization but as “they” say, stereotypes exist for a reason. I’m sure that therapy has its place, but I’ve always been someone who looks outside of the box for solid solutions far removed from the cultural norm. Therapy keeps us trapped within the limited realm of the mind which is why it is painfully slow and often offers few tangible benefits. If there are any traditional therapists seething from my words, please hear me out – I’m not completely knocking what you do. What I am saying is that there are better methods, faster methods and more effective methods to expedite the healing journey in ways that completely bypass the cumbersome analysis of the intellect. When we get out of our heads, connect with our bodies, breathe and move, magic happens. So what if I told you that there was a more effective way to turbo charge your healing journey and it has nothing to do with talking, nothing to do with thinking, and nothing to do with resurrecting old wounds into your conscious awareness. What if I told you that by losing your mind, getting your groove on, and fully connecting with your body, you can heal yourself in lightning speed revealing a more powerful, authentic, and loving you in the process. **spoiler alert…dance. Read on…** Here’s an interesting nugget of information; the body processes information at an unfathomable 3 trillion cellular interactions per second whereas the mind can only process 7 +/- 2 bits of information at any given time. That’s not even per second. This is why we need to make lists. For most people, lucky number seven of anything is all we can manage before the intellect craps out. The intellect makes a terrific servant but a lousy leader. Imagine if we had to think about every heartbeat and every breath; if we had to think about digesting our food, blinking our eyes, or growing our hair. The body is the magnificent gift that helps us move through the world without thought. It’s also a powerful energy processor (read emotions) when we mentally get out of the way and allow it to work its magic. The body is an amazing creation that is constantly processing the information and physical processes that bring us to life. If we had to intellectually manage everything that the body does intuitively, we wouldn’t be long in this world. The intellect is often a serious deterrent to our personal growth with its sloth-like processing speed. This is why traditional talk therapy can drag on for years. It’s about remaining within the confines of the mind while talking circles around lifelong issues and long suppressed emotions which were never properly expressed. Talk-based therapy models are all about what happened, how it happened, and why it happened – never really allowing what once was to just move through. When we lose the need to know and simply accept that sh*t happens, we expand our consciousness. With this expansion comes an openness for new possibilities to emerge. When we have specific thoughts, an emotional circuit is triggered and numerous chemicals are released throughout our body in response. Here’s the deal, the body takes a mere 90 seconds to flush these chemicals until the emotional feeling passes. This is called the 90-second rule. So why then is it that some emotions continue to plague us? Well, at this point it’s no longer the original emotion, rather, it’s an emotional response triggered by a thought.

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with the amazing Sierra Bender! To outline our chat from last week, Sierra is the Global Tribal Leader of Female Empowerment. She’s the best selling author of ‘Goddess to the Core’ and a devoted advocate for women and girls empowerment. Sierra is a true force of nature. Her voice and mission spans around the globe from the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Costa Rica to South America; featured in media including Oprah Radio, CBS, Univision, USA Today, Marie Claire, Shape, Whole Living, Yoga Journal, Fit Yoga, Yoga International, and Natural Awakenings. Sierra has been a leading pioneer in the women’s empowerment and leadership movement for more than 25 years. Her versatile teachings have been found in spiritual retreat centers and executive boardrooms. Sierra’s extensive clientele includes Olympic athletes, the Vanderbilt Cancer Center, and Country Music Television (CMT) to name but a few. If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1 of our intensely passionate chat, check that out first before diving into this week’s interview. This week we delve into the depths of topics such as: • How purpose connects us to our higher self. • The importance of feeling safe for personal transformation. • How the body is the last frontier for transformational healing. • What would it be like to think with your heart and feel with your mind? • How every disease and illness has an emotional profile. • Taking back the Goddess (and what exactly is the Goddess?). • Opening your heart and trusting your intuition. • Self love, self love, self love! On the topic of self love, I feel moved to share a few words about the untimely death of a man loved by all – Robin Williams. I’ll admit that I find myself deeply affected by this tragic loss and its prompted the contemplation of my last two discussions with Sierra. In particular, I’m referencing the extensive discussions on love – specifically, self love. Robin Williams was someone who suffered from the all too common affliction partnership of depression and addiction. Although he didn’t speak much of it, in a 2010 interview with the Guardian, he stated that he had anxiety and fear about everything. This alone is a profoundly disturbing statement. Many of us knew Robin as a zany, manic, genius-level comic. But who was he really? Because he was always “on”, even friends acquainted with him for 35 years say they didn’t truly know him. The work of Robin Williams touched millions of people around the globe – myself included. He was known for his generosity and kindness. His love, expressed freely made the world delight in pure joy. There was one caveat however. Robin was remiss with love for the one who mattered most – himself. This is an acutely piteous example of how fame, success, money, and love sourced from the external world are meaningless without a sense of love, connection, and self worth within oneself. Lack of self love provokes a profound sense of inner isolation. An isolation so vast that despite an immensely loving outer world, the mind is incapable of moving beyond its own perpetual darkness – a darkness we label depression. Depression is a blanket term for unresolved emotions. It’s a complex composite of pain turned inwards in the desperate attempt for concealment. We live in the quick fix culture of perceptual distraction, where emotional energy leaks are numbed out by drugs, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and a plethora of limitless addictions to remove us from what we need to do most – feel. When we don’t feel, we don’t heal. When we don’t heal, we are never real. And when we are never real, we are empty inside. This is what creates the immense sense of isolation referenced in the previous paragraph. It’s tragic to think of anyone feeling so utterly helple...

Have you ever pondered the question, “what is love”? We live in a world of heart-wrenching love songs and romantic Hollywood dreams. But is this really love or is this just cause for further discontent in a fantasy world of rainbows and kittens? Love. A word so freely used and so greatly misunderstood. The “love” that drives our cultural paradigm is fluffy, sweet, passive…romantic. Hollywood love – fickle love – the emotion of love. But Hollywood love is romantic love is ego love. Ego love separates who and what is worthy – and when they are worthy. Ego love judges. Ego love falls in. Ego love falls out. Ego love bypasses those it perceives as “other”. Ego love conforms to a false definition created by a fantasy-driven culture. The foundation of ego love is separation. This is the illusory love of a spiritually vacant paradigm. Jane Goodall once said that we only protect what we love. Collectively, we’ve fallen short in this area. With rampant obesity, addiction, anxiety, isolation, depression and a heavy reliance on pharmaceutical numbing agents, it’s blatantly obvious that the precarious state of today’s world is a direct reflection of the inner self-loathing projected by the masses. No self love = no love for what truly matters. Ultimately, we can only transcend conflict in the world by healing it first within ourselves. We can only create peace and compassion in the world by embracing it first within ourselves. Ego love exists within the realm of the mind, for it is the mind that separates, judges, fears, and categorizes. Spiritual love exists within the heart, for it is the heart that knows no boundaries. The heart cannot be broken for it is omnipotent. The ego can be broken for it is an illusion. Love lives in the heart. Love is who we are. Love is a powerful, expansive, all-encompassing force that transcends the limiting realm of the mind. True essential love comes from deep within. It is not an emotion. It is all emotion. It’s who we are at our core. Love is interconnection. Love is unity. Love is life. Love is higher consciousness. Love is action. Love is purpose. Love is selfless. Love is invincible. Love is passionate. Love is fierce. Love is tender. Love is forgiveness. Love is peace. Love is infinite. Love is compassionate. Love is fire. Love is grief. Love is joy. Love is courage. Love is a powerful feeling that transcends the culture of separation and connects us to life – all life. Love. The most powerful force on earth grounded in action and responsibility. The wise words of Sierra Bender – this week’s Unplug podcast guest. Sierra is a fiercely passionate activist in the women’s empowerment movement with a dedicated mission to lower the statistics of violence against woman and girls and to reconnect them to their core inner power – the goddess within. In a recent email newsletter she very accurately wrote: Our health, children, and relationships are suffering; how can we, as the wealthiest country in the world, have such a high percentage of sexual abuse and addiction issues? A recent study shows that the number of Americans using antidepressants doubled in only a decade. Doctors are now medicating unhappiness. Too many people take drugs when they really need to be making changes in their lives. According to this government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. Depression is anger turned inwards. We have the right to be angry and sad because of the abuse of the feminine. There is relief if we choose to stand in our core female essence and fight from the place of self-love and self-worth. The true definition of female empowerment is what I call Fierce Love. “I will no longer allow my environment to dictate my future.” This week we discuss fierce love in great depth. The powerful force that connects us to the truth of who we a...