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In this episode I discuss Actualization, unpacking what I mean by this, and the Power of Permission, which we need to give ourselves, to pursue our intents, to take mastery of our life and our choices, to enter courageously into a conversation with the Universe and with the reality of our lives, where it becomes okay to 'fail', so that we can learn, grow and develop. Indirectly I also discuss in some detail what the entire project of the Eyes Wide Open Life podcast is about, what my motivations and intentions are, and what my main thesis in all of my work is, which is found throughout the @rocco.jarman humanitarian art project on Instagram and the Courses and Coaching I deliver via Eyes Wide Open Life.   I also cover: feedback loopsself-measurement and reflectionradical honesty and vulnerabilitypeerlessnessthe false attraction and pursuit of wisdom vs the more authentic project of actualization and discovery of selfIf you take nothing else away from this episode, this is the part i hope truly lands: I believe, and in many ways, Iam living proof, that the pursuit and attainment and the successful negotiation of all the obstacles that stand in the way of self-mastery and self-liberation, is at bottom, psychological.   That is, our pursuit or failure to achieve connection, is as a result of the ideas we carry, ideas we have been infected with through conditioning, the ideas we have failed to challenge and correct in ourselves.   Ideas about love, acceptance, forgiveness, worthiness, power, belonging, divinity, and consciousness, are the ideas we need to get straight, and redundant impediments like shame, guilt and the confusion between Fear and Danger, between Pain and Injury, between Discomfort an unbearability, that discernment, is KEY. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

Looking with genuine care at the source and nature of conflict in Palestine. "It is entirely possible for two sides in a conflict to both be guilty of separate and irreconcilable transgressions that do not justify either nor balance each other out." This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and resist the urge to form quick opinions. With the understanding that conflict cannot be resolved through one side being right, we aim for a transcendent perspective through which everything can be held and reconciled. Our focus is not just on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, but on conflicts that manifest in various forms—be it emotional, political, or otherwise. Most of all, it is part of a mandate we each need to consider and own to be open to this necessary form of generosity and courage, in a word Leadership, whereby can live up to the claim that we care more about a path to peace, than we do about retribution and vindication. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

In this episode, my guest Rowan shares his insights on an much needed culture shift and prevailing leadership paradigm in business. His views and wisdom are visionary, pragmatic and quite overdue and we take a thoughtful and immersive dive into the nature and culture of corporate business, covering both strident critique as well as what better might look like. Rowan is a specialized consultant for CEOs. With formal education from Berkeley University and Harvard Business School, Rowan has honed a unique set of methodologies aimed specifically at enhancing CEO and Leadership performance in Business. Aside from his extensive experience and impressive professional resumé, Rowan holds an unflaggingly positive perspective on the potential of business, viewing it as an evolving masterpiece. Rowan's LinkedIn Newletter LockStep Global Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

In Conversation with Daniele Bolelli.  Danielle is the host of the incredible History on Fire Podcast. We get together from time to time and discuss the state of the world, our moment in history through the lenses of our individual and shared philosophies. Daniele is wonderful conversationalist with a discerning eye on both our complicated human history and our troubling present moment. We discuss the uniqueness of our shared moment in history,the general state of apathy that we find in company and conversation,dogmatic ideology,ideological capture,identity politics,our default psychological models of adapting to social challenge, andthe disturbing trend of mass appeal of content and opinion on streaming services and the internet in general. Daniele's links: https://linktr.ee/danielebolelli Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

In conversation with Agatha Nowicki, Hollywood actor, writer and soulful human caught at the very edge of the war for the human soul, playing out in the current battle of the writers' strike, sparked by the motions of the streaming platforms and the power brokers in Hollywood and Silicon Valley as they move to further disenfranchise artists and creatives in their ongoing quest for 'more'. We discuss the strike, Agatha's own calling to vulnerability and expression through art and what the toll the unfolding madness is having not just on her own life, but on humanity. We share our shared and private experiences from our recent walking tour in Ireland where we met as well as the rude return to 'normal' as we both struggled to integrate that powerful and transformative experience. We also discuss the Murmuration project. To Follow Agatha's work: Instagram: @agaloves, @asilentkind  Substack: A Silent Kind of Light  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2063520/ Credit for the photography goes to Bodi Hallett, pictured at the end of that pier reaching out into Lough Inagh, is Agatha, contemplating the vastness. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

The episode brings to light the hidden struggle faced by creatives, thought-leaders -anyone who is looking to share their gifts with the world, who are increasingly outpaced by the algorithmic machinery and soul-dead formula of online engagement and marketing. With my wonderful guest, Karna, we reflect on the startling reality of the tech industry's escalating race to maximize engagement at the expense of soul, in the arms race of human attention we encounter in online marketing today. My guest is a talented and powerfully aligned human being who is challenging and re-engineering everything we think about marketing, how to approach it, how to execute and how to operate from a place of unwavering integrity and alignment where real creativity can blossom, where sincere connection can flourish, where it is fun, and where everyone wins, without compromise to their soul. Karna is the champion and midwife of engagement ecosystems based on sincere connection.  This long form conversation and what Karna has to share, is well overdue in the world right now. Please follow Karna: karnalivnau.com Karna's substack: karnalivnau.substack.com Karna's Instagram: instagram.com/_alignmentmarketing_ Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

As a society, we faced and struggled with the reality of mental illness long before it dawned on us, the crucial necessity for practicing Mental Health.  In the same way, we have been living with the reality of spiritual illness long before it dawned on us as a species, the crucial and long overdue necessity to prioritise and practice Spiritual Health. The project of mental health is necessary, but comparatively small. The invitation via Spiritual Wellness is so much deeper and vaster. We are so much deeper and vaster than we imagine. We are so incredibly empowered right now. We are standing on the threshold of Tomorrow. This podcast episode is about the advocacy for the necessity and relevance of Spiritual Health and wellness, and how it is at the heart of all our Crisis of Meaning. The message is: Take care of your spiritual health and your mental health will take care of itself. Recconnect with your sense of 'Soul' and your sense of meaning, of vitality and belonging will be found. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

"Who do you think you are?" is a complex question that reveals multiple dimensions of our self-perception, societal expectation, and the interplay of power dynamics. It questions our self-identity and the perception of others, highlighting the gap that often exists between the two. It underscores our tendencies to perceive the world, including others and ourselves, through subjective lenses. This statement is reminiscent of Anais Nin’s perspective that our understanding of the world is a reflection of our own selves. Echoing Socrates' sentiments on the worth of an unexamined life, this question prompts us to self-reflect and introspect on who we believe we are. It prompts us to question the source of our power and the need for external validation. Implicit in this inquiry is the accusation of arrogance, which can stem either from one's inability to accept their mistakes or from others' reluctance to accept one's correctness. Hence, having the courage to voice your truth, ensuring your self-awareness, welcoming challenges, and discerning the value of others' opinions, are vital steps in authentically answering this query. In asking "Who do you think you are?", we are invited to confront and reconsider our own self-conceptions through honest self-exploration. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

50th Episode. The term "soul" is often misunderstood due to its broad and varied interpretations across different cultures, religions, philosophies, and even individual beliefs. It's a concept that's both deeply personal and universally applicable, making it prone to a multitude of definitions and meanings. The 'soul' is an innate, essential aspect of our existence, which has been overlooked in the face of societal and technological progression. This spiritual neglect has resulted in a sense of disconnection, isolation, and depletion within individuals and society. The 'soul' is the reservoir of spiritual health and the source of deeper meaning, symbolic understanding, and a sense of real connection to the broader universe. However, the world we live in is predominantly dictated by the more egoic (and egotistic) perspective and the logical thinking of the left brain, overshadowing and disconnecting us from our 'souls', causing a deep crisis of meaning and spiritual illness. The potential for healing and reconnection lies in reawakening our 'souls' and restoring balance in our lives. The unfolding of our 'soul' is a continual process, parallel to the constant unfolding of our lives. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

In this episode we explore the deep and troubling implication of Breaking Promises, something that we believe defines everything noble about us, but also something we learn through life's seasons, is an inevitability. Promises have seasons which we cannot sustain without cost to ourselves and to the people held in the chains of those promises. This episode continues the Ending Cycles arc of the last 4 episodes. Our promises hold us, and the other person, to a place and a season, which we cannot contain without chaining us, and them, to a static smallness.  Our Promises are absolute and binding and cannot endure in a relative and changing world, and we break ourselves and limit ourselves in trying to keep them. We look at the skilful way to release ourselves and other people from promises, with grace and the better way to define our commitments to our loved ones, to ourselves and the world; Making Agreements, and letting there be Terms. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

In our ongoing arc of shorter episodes processing necessary endings to make way for new beginnings, we look at the reality that some people are not open to growth or the level of self-honesty we need for connection and security. Sometimes reconciliation fails when the other person is not ready to have that level of conversation or that level of self-ownership. There is still a way to process this with grace and compassion, as much for yourself as it is for them. We cannot please our way to happiness, and we cannot hold space for the weakness in others forever without incurring a cost to our own projects of growth.  Sometimes we have to choose ourselves. This episode explores the way to find closure in that unfolding circumstance and how to Let Go and Walk Away. Anything that does not bring us alive, is too small for us.   Goodbye,  I cannot love you,  because you never were a friend to me. Goodbye,  I cannot keep you,  because you were unsafe to yourself. Goodbye,  I cannot care for you,  because I cannot love you  the way that you expect me to love.  I can only love the way  that is true in my heart,  and for all the light  I can wish into these eyes,  I cannot see how you are true in yours.   Goodbye, I cannot hold for you, Because you are weak in the places where I choose to be defenceless. Goodbye, I cannot trust you,  because you are so reliable,  to be the same as this,  on any day, when the wind stops blowing your way. So reliable, to raise the flags of victimhood  when we should be taking turns,  adjusting the sails,  adjusting our course, and toiling at the oars.   Goodbye. I cannot love you, because. Because you don’t care for my ’because’,  and yours has taken up all the room  in our shared harbour. Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]

This episode explores the art of this ceremonial necessity of Reconciliation - and how it is possible only if it is mutual, but that we can lead with the invitation. In a second of a 4 part series on ending cycles, and the ceremonies of closure and processing we need to observe to allow ourselves to fully move forward. Reconciliation is not about trading forgiveness, it is about Understanding. It's about acknowledging our past actions and working through the consequences they have had on our relationships. It requires courage to recognize our own failings and willingness to improve upon them. It is not an act performed in solitude, but rather, a willing dance between two, stepping in rhythm with one another. We never get taught the art of reconciliation. It is an art, and its canvas and easel are acknowledgement of the human experience of the other, and an acceptance of the necessary relationship between boundaries and healing, and of the appreciation of relative perspective. My Friend My friend.  I do not ask you for forgiveness,  nor for an apology.  In that currency,  let there be no fare between us.  I do not want for forgiveness,  for I must forgive myself. Do not ask me for forgiveness; it was our great mistake  to believe it is another’s to give.   I will tell you what it is that I want, what my heart truly desires, it is reconciliation; between me and the all,  and also between all things with each Other. And I see fit to begin here,  between you and I.   To be reconciled,  we would earn and give the blessing of being seen more fully and thereby understood.  Being that it always was  ever and only ignorance and pain that lead us to the first wounding  and the first spite.   And I would know  that you are no longer ignorant,  because I feel that I am not. I have learned firstly  that we are not always right,  and that even when we are,  we are not always kind. And secondly,  that good walls make good neighbors, but the boundary needs careful mending from both sides. And I would make a stile  between your fields and mine and with you,  share its keep.   And I would know, that you, by grace, learned how to hold the pain  you were given to carry,  or perhaps  how to let it go. Because i know that I have.   And most of all, there are treasures and keys  and secrets and rare signs and gems of humour  that of all the people on this wide earth,  I can only share with you.   © Rocco Jarman , March 2023 Sign up to my Substack: eyeswideopenlife.substack.com email [email protected]