1 Giant Mind Podcast with Jonni Pollard

In the first episode of season 3 podcast producer Daniel asks Jonni to bring us up to speed on the history of 1 Giant Mind. Jonni reflects on his encounter with the Dalai Lama that shifted the trajectory of 1GM from a science based endeavor gathering data on mass meditations, back into the heart.

In our final episode of season 2 our guest Sarah asks about the importance of community and the role it plays in our pursuit for self knowledge, belonging and having impact in the world. Jonni shares his view of how community forms the basis for all of it.

In this ep our guest Shaunn asks Jonni's perspective on using substances for accessing higher states of consciousness. Jonni shares a view of the pro's and con's the need to be honest about why we would trade them. Then Shaunn asks a bonus question for Jonni's take on meditation reaching a critical mass in the mainstream. Both answers may not be what you would expect.

Our guest Rachael asks for Jonni's perspective on the lack of racial diversity in the wellness industry. Jonni welcomes the highlighting of the issue and encourages everyone to have the difficult conversations around creating equality in the world and then asks Racheal what she sees as a solution.

Our guest Harriet asks how do we break the habit of getting caught up in the doing so that we can come back to Being. Jonni explains that going against the mainstream requires being uncomfortable and requires diligence to resist the powerful pull of that current. He then shares about the power of action that is driven from a state of Being and the effect it has.

Our Guest Nat Brooks describes the challenge of being more conscious and aware in her workplace environment and questions if staying in her role in TV industry will slow down or stop her personal growth. Jonni points out that she is uniquely positioned to be a champion for change. Remaining in the place of need can actually accelerate and assist that personal growth but reinforces the need for her to be patient in her approach.

In this episode our guest Cimarra asks for some advice on maintaining a meditation practice while being confronted with the emotional turbulence that can come with working through past trauma. Jonni encourages Cimarra to remember the reason why we are meditating and points out that the first phase of healing and recovery can be the purging of emotion, stress and agitation. A key take away was the importance of being surrounded by community to support us in our experiences.

Our guest Lindon has been using the 1 giant mind app for a few months with great effect and asks Jonni what to expect from deepening his understanding and experience of meditation by learning with a teacher and how to bring the family along. Jonni offers insight into the intelligence that is structured within our awareness. How meditation enlivens our capabilities and the knowledge of how to fulfill our desires.

Our show producer Dan explains his familiarity with the way our thinking can seemingly create fear in the body more easily than love chemistry and asks, why are we afraid of love? Jonni highlights that it isn't necessarily thinking that creates the body sensations that we refer to as fear, nor absolutely body sensations that create fear based thinking. He suggests the solution is the resolution which comes through acceptance of the thoughts and feelings whilst connecting to our deeper experience of Being within us.

Our host Skye Tipler asks "Why do I avoid my second meditation". Jonni asks her to explain the reason she thinks she avoids it which reveals an underlying fear that becoming all that is possible might render her irrelevant in her role in life. Jonni unpacks the reasons why we self sabotage and place an upper limit on our potential such as fear of rejection or failure before explaining the exponential benefits we gain from the second meditation of the day.

Our guest Sam asks if we need to cultivate a level of non-attachment in response to the amount of suffering in the world. Jonni speaks about the need for us to stay connected and practice compassion in place of detachment, understanding that the individuals acting in ignorance are part of a larger problem and not the source of it. He also points out that contributing to the solution will set our frustration at ease knowing that we are acting to bring positive benefit to the world. Growth happens by transmuting our frustration and anger into positive action.

Rachael asks if her ability to witness her experience and quickly move through emotional difficulty with a knowingness that everything is going to be ok is preventing her from feeling on a deeper level. Jonni offers the perspective that if we are "doing the work" any suppression of emotion will be short lived and that if the intelligence of the body is suppressing emotion that it is for good reason. Rachael then asks a follow up question about the body struggling with stress while the mind is clear which leads to an explanation of evolutionary biology and our need to belong.

Our guest Emily asks for a clear definition of Enlightenment. Jonni describes Enlightenment as a knowingness of oneness and reveals the importance of this an experience directly and not just an idea to be contemplated on the level of thinking. He presents the concept of human awareness as being infinite in its nature and describes how we're all working out how to be infinite while existing within finite boundaries. Racheal poses a very interesting connecting question, do we still feel emotions in an enlightened state?

Welcome back! Our guest Allie Oishi asks "If we are all at our essence, love. Why must we go through struggles, pain and suffering to find our way back to our nature of love? Jonni shares a perspective that this life is one of many on a journey to reveal the truth of who we are. Moving from a sense of separation into connection and unity of life. Jonni suggests that our personal suffering is an extension of the suffering that we inflict on the planet and it's inhabitants. But zooming out further what we find is that it's all a beautiful chapter of awakening on a global scale.

"What do you make of the generational shift?" asks Leslie Hoffman, President of the New York City Open Center. From Boomers to Gen Z, the range of students, teachers, and wellness practitioners has never been so diverse as today. But in the modern, stressed out world, holistic life has become a survival mechanism, rather than a way of enlightenment.