Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Author: Jules Schroeder

EP: 177 Could Taking This “Super Pill” Actually Level-Up Your Quality of Life? With James Schmactenberger of Neurohacker Collective
We’ve all heard of the fabled “super pill.” Who could forget that fateful scene in The Matrix when Morpheus offers Neo a choice between the blue pill and the red pill—to remain blind to the truth, or to awaken to the deeper underpinnings of reality that few will ever know?

While pills like this have been the theme of countless Hollywood movies, it’s uncertain as to whether or not they could actually exist in real life.

In a world where the $935 Billion pharmaceutical industry insists there’s a pill for every ill, it’s only natural to be skeptical.

When I got the opportunity to interview the CEO and co-founder of a pill that’s setting out to upgrade the quality of life for every human by inducing greater states of empathy, my curiosity got the best of me.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, I caught up with James Schmactenberger of Neurohacker Collective, a company that has reached hundreds of thousands of people with its pills that do everything from enhancing cognition and creativity to lengthening life expectancy.

In this week’s podcast episode, I dive into the vision behind Neurohacker Collective with James. Plus…

Why buying into society’s values around success won’t make you happy

How a shift in mindset from “I” to “We” can help you live a more purposeful life

The #1 thing most people overlook on the path to personal development

James founded Neurohacker Collective after he came face-to-face with the fallibility of his own health. At the time, he was running a company called Body Mind—or perhaps more accurately, it was running him.

Overworked, stressed, and depleted of energy, James was diagnosed with stage 3 adrenal exhaustion in his twenties. It led him to seek a specialized form of intravenous treatment.

His experience with the treatment was nothing short of miraculous.

“All of the depression had gone away,” James says. “My brain function not only came back to where it was, it became meaningfully better than it had ever been before.”

But one unintended side effect emerged too…

“My sense of empathy increased dramatically. Everything that I had studied throughout my life from spiritual traditions about how we’re all interconnected all of a sudden became palpable and I could start to see and feel the interconnectedness of life in a way I never could before.”

When James sought out to create a pill that could recreate that experience for others, the vision for Neurohacker Collective was born.

Below are some of the highlights James shares about what he’s learned along the way to founding and scaling Neurohacker Collective into the company it is today.

Shift From “I” to “We”

Have you ever been worried about your finances? Virtually all of us have. Financial strain is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling, and unfortunately, it’s a big driver for our economic and life decisions. The problem is, many of us are so worried about being able to meet our personal needs that we are blind to the needs of those around us.

“When people start a business, they focus on, ‘What are my personal needs?’ That’s not a big enough lens to look through,” James insists. “Instead ask yourself, ‘How do I contribute to society in the most profound way? What is it that’s mine to uniquely contribute?’”

When we expand our awareness to the needs of the collective, we not only consider our own needs but the needs of others. Our vision becomes larger, and by extension more compelling. By shifting from “I” to “We,” we enroll others into our vision, and the necessary resources to materialize that vision assemble more effortlessly as a cohesive effort.

Focus on Happiness

One of the greatest pitfalls of our society, James says, is that it values the accumulation of “stuff” over the pursuit of happiness. Voices all around us, implicit and explicit, send us the message that our value as a person lies in the amount of material wealth we have accumulated. Though it’s difficult to go against the grain, in a society devoid of wisdom, it’s actually the right thing to do.

“Most of us are willing to give up the things that bring us real joy to try to get ahead. We’re willing to trade in our happiness and ethics for more ‘stuff,’” James says.

Be willing to reevaluate your priorities. Are your current priorities making you happy? Consider that if you rank experiencing joy above owning more possessions or seeing the number in your bank account increase, you may become significantly more fulfilled and at ease
July 1, 2019
EP:176 Engineering Human Connection: How “Being in the Now” Addresses the Loneliness Epidemic with Seth Bunting
Your morning train ride is packed wall-to-wall with a sea of people swaying to and fro, the white glow of phone screens illuminate faces as they madly swipe, click and text. The train is silent.

In a fast-paced world of constantly packed schedules and instant communication, authentic and meaningful human connection is hard to come by.

Enter Seth Bunting. Seth has made a life of creating outside-the-box, immersive atmospheres, and events that are conducive to connection. Using human loneliness as a roadmap, experiential designer and scalable live experience curator, Seth Bunting, walks us through the realities he creates where carefully designed physical spaces and experiences draw event participants out of their phones and into the present moment.

“People are seeking to come back into connection with each other and they don’t know how. We believe it’s possible to begin redesigning social spaces, physical and digital environments, the places we are interfacing with every day…how do we redesign all of that so that we have more connection with each other?”

We are living amidst the largest loneliness epidemic mankind has ever seen. Our current society values hyper-individualization and rewards self-reliance. From pop culture action figure icons touting the “I’ve got this”, solo warrior mentality capable of saving the world on their own to the self-help movement, guiding people towards the notion that all answers lie within themselves, a world where people need each other is not the story of the hour. The result– a lonely generation glued to their phones for a sense of belonging and connection.

A nationwide survey of 20, 000 adults found that 54% of respondents said they feel “no one actually knows them well”, while 40% stated that their “relationships aren’t meaningful” and they feel “isolated from others”

Through his projects Presence and Equilibrium, Seth Bunting makes actionable change towards addressing what he sees as the two core concerns that inhibit meaningful human connection.

Human Connection

Presence

“Everything that we are creating for is just to drive people to states of being. The states that we hope to achieve are just to bring connection to each other.”

Seth creates alternate worlds for his experience attendees. The goal: to invite authenticity, play, vulnerability and an essence of magic into the mix. Using a technique called the deictic shift (the phenomena that occurs when you become consumed by the emotional journey of your beloved Grey’s Anatomy characters) he designs experiences where people become the lead character of their own story, interact with the world around them and connect with one another.

How to cultivate presence daily

Designate a time in your day to be tech-free

Set that timer for one hour, maybe even two or three and give yourself a well-deserved reprieve from the constant stimulation of your phone. If you walk and text, which most of us do, it’s near impossible to be present with your surroundings, the people walking past you and the stunning bloom of spring around you. Unplug, unwind and look up!

Improvisational theatre (I know it can be scary…I dare you!)

Improv is the embodiment of the moment, off the cuff and unscripted exploration created completely spontaneously. We spend so much of our lives in our logical, thinking mind and activities like improv get you out of your head and into your body.

Eat a meal with no distractions! No book. No Music. No Phone.

Take this time in your day, the time you’ve set aside to nourish your body as a time to connect with yourself, your food and take a well-deserved break. Building a positive connection with your food means also being present with it while you’re eating it. Ever heard the phrase you are what you eat? The mindstate you are in when you eat influences how your body interacts with your food! You are far less likely to overeat and far more likely to enjoy your meal when you give it your undivided attention.

Meditation

Introducing a regular meditation practice into your life offers a multitude of benefits from reductions in stress and anxiety to a more focused mind, less prone to distraction. If you’re a beginner and need some direction, consider signing up for a class at your local yoga studio.

Movement/Exercise in nature

Sweating and increasing your heart rate daily is the key to overall health and vitality. The combination of movement and being outdoors adds an extra level of nourishment to your practice.

Connect with your senses

Removing your shoes and getting your toes in the sand, grass or mud (oh I went there!) connects you with our beautiful earth. Close your eyes. Now: what does the ground below your feet feel like? Can you feel wind or moisture in the air? What does the air smell like? Turn your focus to your 5 senses and ask yourself to identify something you are detecting using with each – eyes closed!

Weekly Giveaway! One free ticket to the Equilibrium Event!

The Palace of Fine Arts, Sept 13-15th in San Fransisco

*Really interested? Send us an email and let us know why!

Written by Olenka Toroshenko
May 27, 2019
EP:175 Three Ways To Cope With Grief To Live Courageously, With Kirsten Schowalter

In today’s world, you might feel that you are constantly fed with ways to level up and be brave.

This advancement is engrained in our society and living up to this level of advancement could feel like you are carrying around the weight of expectations.

What if I told you that the key to reaching these higher, more advanced levels was actually to revisit all the situations where you felt pain? Only when we take the time to be with our pain and properly grieve can we rise up to something greater.

This week on the unconventional Life show is Kirsten Schowalter. Kirsten is the Author of “In My Own Skin” and founder of Ageing Courageously, a community that inspires people to make dreams come true at every age and The Flip Side of Life, support and resources for a new way to grieve. Kirsten fills us with insight and knowledge about a topic that is so misunderstood and often so silent.

“If you want to see a rainbow you have to learn to see the rain.”

― Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Embrace Your Growth Cycles

We all go through change, we lose a job, have a shift in identity, we feel dissatisfied, our weight fluctuates, we have money struggles or we find a new romantic partner.

If you observe nature and the cycle of a tree, you see that in each season it grows, blossoms, shed its leaves and hibernates. When the leaves drop they decompose to provide nutrients that support the continued growth of the tree.

You are hardwired to mimic nature.

You too have cycles where you go into hibernation, shed layers and usually, need a period of rest and reflection before you are ready for your next big move. You probably don’t view the tree as dying just because it sheds a few leaves but just a natural process of growing.

Once you are able to get acquainted with these cycles in all aspects of life, the more resilient you become. By not getting knocked down by figurative death you learn to release what is no longer present and for you and this can be an awakening experience to a fuller life.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Your Feelings

Are you ever hard on yourself for slowing down? Or try to hide sadness because you think you should be happy? Often it’s not how you feel but how you think about how you feel that shapes your experience.

For example, If you are feeling sad but say to yourself “I shouldn’t be sad, be positive, put on a smile” this won’t be an authentic expression and will actually require more effort to pretend.

When I feel in a funk I ask myself, “What is the most nourishing thing I can do for myself? It could be watching Netflix for 4 hours, having a bath or letting myself cry. The most important part is to not feel guilty or label emotions as negative experiences. By doing this practice I have found that I have become stronger and much better at navigating any painful experiences in my life.

The number #1 question that Kirsten receives from her clients is “how do I talk about my grief or sadness? , what do I say?” Kirsten says, “That peole are afraid to talk about their fears because they think that their sadness or grief could be contagious. In reality, the pain from grief is the footprint of your love.”

Shortcut The Lows And Accelerate The Highs

Let’s face it, life is a rollercoaster ride, there are high- highs and low- lows. So how do we find balance and ease throughout this process?

Kirsten shares that once we get in the habit of navigating our emotions and giving ourselves exactly what we need in each moment we are able to find inner confidence and rise up to something greater.

Kirsten says that “courage comes from a lot of vulnerability and we can build the strength and skills to live with and dance with vulnerability to become more courageous in our next step”

Giveaway! “How To Cope With Grief Masterclass” – A 9-week program Learn how your grief can lead to your passion and purpose.

Check out Kirsten’s website and Book

Access the Free webinar “How to Talk about Grief”

+ A recording of the talk Jules references from the National Life Insurance Conference.

By: Lisa- Renee Delwo

May 20, 2019
EP:174 Forest Bathing: How to Increase Vitality & Spark Creativity Through Nature, With founder of the Forest Bathing Club, Julia Plevin
Science has proven what you have intuitively known all along.

That there is a medicinal element to being out in nature.

This type of medicine can’t be replicated in a laboratory or made into pill form no matter how hard one tries.

You breathe in, You breathe out, an exchange as ancient as time.

You feel connected once your senses come alive and you remember who you are.

This week on the Unconventional Life show is Julia Plevin. She is an eco-spiritual guide, founder of the Forest Bathing Club and author of the book “The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing: Finding Calm, Creativity, and Connection in the Natural World”. Julia has a decade of guiding people into the forest to reconnect with their spirit and physically heal themselves. Julia shares what exactly forest bathing is and gives guidelines on how you can start your own forest bathing practice.

Shinrin-yoku aka Forest Bathing

Shinrin- Yoku is a Japanese phrase that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.” This term was coined in the ’80s when researchers discovered the plethora of positive effects from being out in nature.

The idea of forest bathing is simply being in nature and connecting with nature through your senses. Hearing the waves crash on the shore, the sweet scent of a flower, the prickly grass on your feet and the breeze through your hair. Shinrin-yoku is like a bridge. By opening our senses, it bridges the gap between us and the natural world.

As media use reaches new levels of intensity, this gap between us and the natural world is larger than ever. According to A Decade of Digital Dependency, it’s estimated that people check their phones on average every 12 minutes and spend 87% of their life indoors!

It’s clear that we stare at screens more than sunsets and drastically need to flip this equation!

Forest Bathing 101

Go outside, Let your intuition guide you to a quiet place outdoors. This might be under a tree, in a forest, in the direct sunlight or in a shady grove. Traditionally the forest is the preferred method but anywhere in nature is beneficial.

Give an offering. Humans take from the earth on a daily basis but how often does one give back? Some traditional methods are offering tobacco, corn kernels or flowers as an act of gratitude or appreciation. Or more actionable like offering your time during a beach or river clean up.

Ground down. Living in this digital age, we are exposed to very high levels of positive ions from the use of electronic devices. When these positive ions interact with our bodies they cause negative health effects. This is one time we don’t want positivity in our lives 😉

The term “Grounding” is used when you connect your feet or skin to the earth. Research indicates that “grounding the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.” So take off those shoes and walk on the earth to get your daily dose of negative ions in your body.

Release heavy emotions. “While in nature, pick up a leaf or stick and think of something that is causing you anxiety or stress, put those emotions into that object and then give it back to the earth.” Do you find yourself ever holding onto unnecessary emotions, keeping them bottled up inside which cause more stress in the long term? This practice allows the earth to compost what we no longer need to hold onto. When you connect with nature in this way “you are reminded that you are apart of something larger.”

Take deep breaths. The trees and plants release a natural essential oil called Phytoncides. When we breathe these essential oils in we increase our level of white blood cells which fight off tumors growth and other infected cells. Take time to breathe in the natural healing apothecary of the forest.

Appreciate the silence. One of the downsides of urban living is the constant noise. Silence is restorative and forests can have many healing sounds – the rustling of leaves, water running down a creek, the song of birds. Being in silence allows all the senses to come alive, this redirection of focus turns off the logical left brain and gives the creative right brain an opportunity land and flourish.

“These are all practices of being in right relations with the earth. So much of our anxiety and physical health issues comes from a disconnection from nature. This is a practice of healing ourselves by learning to connect to nature.”

“You didn’t come into this world.

You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean.

You are not a stranger here”

Alan Watts

Follow Julia on Instagram at@forestbathingclub or @juliaplevin

Head over to Forest Bathing Club to sign up for the newsletter and upcoming events
May 13, 2019
EP: 173 Preserving Psychedelic Wisdom with East Forest and Ram Dass

I remember the first time I saw a copy of Ram Dass’ book, “Be Here Now”. It was behind the sales counter at a vintage store waiting to be restocked on the shelf. Immidetly, I was drawn to the purple geometric cover with the word “remember” written in each of the four directions. I asked the teller if I could look at the book, it was as if I instinctively knew that the pages held valuable information and powerful impact.

Ram Dass is deeply spiritual but not religious, an ex-teacher at Harvard and an iconic figure in the psychedelic movement.

As I opened the book and started to flip through the pages I was transported into another universe. I felt this spark ignite and was deeply curious to further explore the unconventional wisdom on those pages. I knew that it was more than just a book, it was a manual for becoming a conscious being. I was grateful it landed in my hands because, being from a small town, nobody was teaching these types of topics.

This week on the Unconventional Life podcast is the musician Trevor Oswalt aka East Forest. His latest project has been collaborating with the legendary teacher Ram Dass to create a full-length album that highlights his new teachings while taking the listener into a deep, transformational experience.

Preservation of Knowledge

Ram Dass is 88 years old and has lived through significant historical events and change. It seems as if he has led two vastly different lives. He shapeshifted from Richard Alpert, a Psychologist teaching at Harvard to Ram Dass, meditating in India.

How did he transition from wearing a suit and tie to a long white robe? He took loads of Psychedelics.

Ram Dass attributes the use of psychedelics to have kick-started his spiritual quest and landed him at the feet of eastern mysticism. They allowed him to knock on the doors of consciousness and get a look inside and transmute this wisdom with the world.

Ram Dass, like many elders, have collected a treasure trove of knowledge and wisdom from their lifetimes that can guide us today and in the future. That is, if we do not let time slip away. It’s really important to create opportunities for the elderly to share their life stories with younger generations. Many times these stores are spoken from generation to generation but only rarely are they wrote down, recorded and shared with people outside of their immediate family.

So, In June of 2018, East Forest flew to Maui to interview and record Ram Dass. The recording could take 15-30 min for Ram Dass to fully answer one question, due to a recent stroke affecting his ability to produce speech. After capturing these words of wisdom he returned to his studio to compose the soundtrack. What he noticed was when he edited out the long pauses between thoughts, there was this beautiful poetic transmission of information and insight that Ram Dass shared.

With the use of technology and his musical ability, East Forest has created this bridge to “allow Ram Dass’s words to come alive again” despite the limitations from his stroke, his teachings can continue to be passed down in song form and preserved for future generations.

East Forest is redefining the way to share intergenerational knowledge with the world. He is enriching the lives of younger generations by opening up the door to spirituality without forcing Religion and giving Ram Dass a precious opportunity to relive his wild experiments and the vivid tapestry of his experiences.

The album will be slow released in 4 chapters throughout 2019. To listen to the released collaborative tracks or see upcoming live events and ceremonies hosted by East Forest go here.

To receive more insights from Ram Dass check out his website.

May 6, 2019