Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Category: Wellness

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: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
Ep. 171 – 4 Ways to Become Comfortable with Taking Imperfect Action, with Hilary Jastram

There have definitely been moments that I have scrolled through a social media platform and had an overwhelming emotion of not feeling good enough. Recently, I have noticed a difference in the content that is being published. This new content is leaving me feeling inspired rather than questioning my worth.

There are a few key influencers that are highlighting their imperfections rather than posting a version of themselves that is polished and perfect. Their popularity is skyrocketing and they are getting more views the ever, but why? The raw, reactive and unplanned content is desirable because it is more relatable.

It’s 2019, people are craving more. We want to see your story of how failures actually led to your success, the number of attempts and ferocity it took to arrive where you are at today. We are so over a photo showing a photoshopped body and the view from your villa. We want to be taught something new, to see your humanness and vulnerability.

I know it may not be easy to share this vulnerable part of yourself with the world, but I can guarantee that the authentic version of you has value and should be shared with the world.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast is Hilary L. Jastram. Hilary shares her journey and insight around imperfect action. She gives us 4 techniques that can be used to expand our comfort zone and ditch the certainty and perfectionism that hold us back.

Hilary is the founder of Sick Biz, “An organization dedicated to providing support, resources, hacks, and hope to entrepreneurs affected by chronic illness, pain, disability, and sickness.” She is also the founder of J. Hill Marketing & Creative Services, an agency specializing in premier copywriting and book editing for Fortune 500 brands and the “one-percent,” superstar entrepreneurs. She is an author, editor at The Good Men Project, and contributor to Influencive, The Huffington Post and The Mighty, among other large-scale publications.

1.The law of motion

According to Newton’s Law of Motion, an object in motion will stay in motion. This directly applies to taking action. Inspiration is not a prerequisite to start, but rather something that will naturally occur once you start spinning your wheels. Inspiration flourishes through action, so stop overthinking and just start sharing your ideas with the world!

You are your worst critic and Hilary says that “the only person creating labels and boxes around you is yourself.” Someone who never buys a paint set because they “aren’t a painter” will never become one. Every “master” has once been a beginner. It always takes the first bold step to set yourself in motion towards your destiny. “We all have the same gifts, it’s just a matter of who is practicing them.”

So lets get painting!

2. We are never done learning and the best way to solidify what we have learned is to teach someone else.

The world is constantly turning, and the pace of change and development is accelerating exponentially. “ Learning is a huge goal that we can never let go of because the minute we say we are done learning we become very presumptuous”

The most noticeable area of advancement in our society is undoubtedly in the realm of technology. We now carry a connection to the world and an infinite supply of information in the palm of our hands at all times of the day, so why not use it to our advantage?

From what you’ve learned, share your experience, opinion, and voice, without a filter. You don’t need to be a professional to get your message across, nor have a professional set-up. Your phone is your link to the world and making a drastic impact. Feel empowered to use it as a tool to spread your message!

For example, someone could be inspired by your advocacy for the planet and join your #noplastic challenge only because they saw you talking about it in your feed. Even if you are not a big influencer with 100k followers, there is still a massive impact and butterfly effect created from you doing you!

“ we are multifaceted diamonds, all of us, and we get to be “experts” in different things in our lives”

3. There’s no such thing as a block, only self judgment.

When Hilary encounters some type of blockage or can’t express idea she interprets this as “sign from the universe to go inward, be calm and listen” This is a great reminder that you don’t have to be hustling at every moment in order to be successful. Listening and reflection are a part of the progression that leads to success. “You may think you are stuck, but you are right where you are meant to be. When you get up and running again you are more prepared for the next step.”

We all get creatively stuck at times, navigating our way through this maze is a part of the process. Another key to finding your way out of this maze is your mindset. It is unlikely that good ideas are going to come flooding to you when you’re telling yourself that you are not good enough. How you treat yourself when you are feeling frustrated will determine the overall outcome. If you allow yourself to be freely, authentically you, the emotions will pass and naturally new waves of inspiration will come. Give it time, sometimes it takes patience.

4. Build an environment where you are allowed to mess up.

Hillary reminds us that humans are addicted to certainty and perfection. This limits us from evolving into the unknown since we are pre-programmed to want to know the outcome and to avoid mistakes. This reduces our ability to take risks, creative leaps or to try on something out of character. “Throughout your process, remember, you are allowed to mess up.” Forgiveness for your “mistakes” should become an automatic response. You know when you have done your absolute best, so get in touch with that honest part of your being that forgives” yourself for being messy and imperfectly perfect.

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April 22, 2019