Category

Faith

Jan 18
Love21

Matthew Brownstein

By Author, Faith, Mental Health, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Science No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

Matthew has traveled the world in pursuit of universal truths that all religions seem to point toward. Hypnotherapy, when performed in safe environments with medical supervision, can guide humans to a sense of peace that Matthew strives daily to share with the world. Take comfort in the years of research he is willing to bring to the table and offer free to anyone who takes the challenge to look deeper inside themselves and simply sit.

In this episode:

  • Matthew’s Spiritual Awakening: His Doorway to Hypnotherapy
  • Guiding Ourselves Out of Fear and Back to Love
  • Samyak Darshan: The Soul’s First Glimpse of Itself
  • Meditation: The Universal Truth of Just Sitting
  • Living in India: A Spiritual Center of Humanity
  • Medical Miracles and the Importance of Willingness
  • Matthew’s Spiritual Mission

Watch the video version here:

Quotations:

“Our childhood is a huge part of those blockages. So, if we’re not willing to look and acknowledge that we have a personal self that needs work like we need some healing to occur- If we don’t want to look at that, all we’re really doing is delaying something that I believe inevitably needs to occur, which is eventually we’re gonna let go of what we’re not, find out who we really are, let go of all that fear, and return to love. It’s really a simple model.” – Matthew Brownstein

“And the more I stay in the present moment, I realize: There’s love right here! There’s joy right here! It doesn’t require actions. It doesn’t require getting new things. It doesn’t require anything but being immensely present in the moment.” – Matthew Brownstein

 “One of the things I do is even these conversations. The centerpiece of this entire podcast is that sharing our stories unlocks the essence of being alive for all of us.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“Literally, the simplest teachings which can lead you to the most profound realizations and the most profound experiences is Sit Still. Five Minutes. Morning and Evening. Sit with a straight spine. Watch your breath. You can count your breaths from 1-10 and then start again at 1. And if all you did were that, you’d be doing what some of the most advanced Zen Monks are doing all around the world: Just sitting. So, In Zen practice, (…) one of the most refined versions of Buddhism is Zen Buddhism. And that’s not theistic in any way. It doesn’t go against Christianity because a Zen Meditator just sits down and sits. And actually, that’s just, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’” – Matthew Brownstein

“I realized the mind is the cause of human suffering. Like, we are just causing so much pain and distress unnecessarily because we have these untrained minds that don’t know how to tap into peace. So for me, instead of just focusing on the problem, I decided to focus on the solution, which, really, again, is the mind. So, as long as I know that I’m doing something to relieve suffering, then it’s nowhere near as devastating.” – Matthew Brownstein

“Miracles absolutely do occur. Yet what you’re talking about is the essence of it. We need to be in a state of miracle-mindedness and miracle-readiness. So the attitude is everything.” – Matthew Brownstein

“I’ll be on the meditation cushion, and God is like, ‘Alright, go write that book.’ I’m like, No! I just want to meditate. ‘Nope. Go write the book.’ Eventually, you just have to listen.” – Matthew Brownstein

Guest’s Bio:

  • CEO and Founder, Anahat Education Group, Inc.
  • Executive Director, Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy
  • President, International Association of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy
  • Founder, Interpersonal NLP Society
  • Co-Founder, Illuminated Mind Podcast
  • Founder, IGE Networking Groups
  • Founder, Anahat Education Group’s Life Mastery Course
  • Founder, The Anahat Meditation System, and OnlineMonastery.com 
  • Publisher, Silent Light Publishers
  • Author, The Sacred Geometry of Meditation
  • Author, Interpersonal Hypnotherapy
  • Author, The Sutras on Healing and Enlightenment
  • Author, The Anahat Meditation System
  • Author, Peace Under All Circumstances
  • Keynote Speaker
  • Former Member, The Starchild Project
  • Teacher, A Course in Miracles
  • Master NLP Practitioner and Trainer
  • Certified Clinical and Transpersonal Hypnotherapist
  • Reiki Practitioner – Levels I and II
  • Attended University of Florida – Religion and Philosophy
  • Attended Florida School of Acupuncture
  • Attended Southwest Acupuncture College
  • Over 25,000 Hours of Hypnotherapy Classroom Training and Private Practice since 1997

Matthew J. Brownstein’s journey into spirituality, health, and healing began in 1992 with a profound spiritual awakening that made him seek the truths of all the world’s great wisdom traditions.  This sudden shift into a spiritual view of life led Matthew to change his major in college to Philosophy. Yet, in time it became clear to him that Philosophy was too intellectual and did not offer the direct experiences that he sought for.  Changing his major to Religion, Matthew soon discovered Mysticism and the more esoteric branches, which led to his increased spiritual experiences.  Not knowing what to do with this knowledge, he went to his first Acupuncture College to learn more about how energy blockages keep us from health, wholeness, and spiritual realization.

Matthew also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Southwest College of Acupuncture, yet soon found Hypnotherapy and NLP and became fascinated with the mind’s ability to heal the body, clear emotional blocks, and restore one to their true self as Spirit.  This led to a journey into Hypnotherapy which became a huge foundation of Matthew’s Life’s Work.  Matthew’s primary inspiration and mentor for Hypnotherapy has been the late great Mr. Gil Boyne.

Matthew has in-depth training in Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Massage, Nutrition, Shiatsu, Reiki Levels I & II, Herbology, Homeopathy, Hypnotherapy, Breathwork, NLP, Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chih, Meditation, Past-Life Regression, Life-Between-Life Regression, Analytical Hypnotherapy, Hypnoanalysis, Gestalt, Ho’oponopono, and Radical Forgiveness.

Matthew is a monk at heart.  He has lived for over five years in spiritual settings, such as The Temple of the Universe with Michael “Mickey” A. Singer, Zen Mountain Monastery with John Daido Loori, and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.  Matthew has studied and practiced Yoga, specifically Ashtanga and Kripalu.  He has practiced Tai Chi and Chi Kung through the teachings of Cheng Man Ching with the Yang Style Short Form.  Today, however, Matthew’s primary form of meditation is The Anahat Meditation System and A Course in Miracles.

Matthew opened his first Hypnotherapy practice in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1997 and has since logged over 25,000 hours in the classroom and private practice.  He opened the Florida Institute of Hypnotherapy in 2007, with the help of Mr. Gil Boyne, and became the first licensed Hypnotherapy School in Florida.  Around 2011, the school moved to Tampa, Florida, and has now grown to become The Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy, with teachers and practitioners that now span the globe.  Matthew has taught hypnotherapy in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New York, California, Washington State, Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Costa Rica.

Worth noting about Matthew is his involvement with the late Lloyd Pye and The Starchild Project.  The Project attempted to prove or disprove the theory that a 900-year-old carbon-dated bone skull was of extraterrestrial origin.  Matthew was considered by Lloyd Pye to be the “Businessman” for the team, as Matthew formed the legal and corporate structure for the massive fundraising endeavor.  When Lloyd Pye passed, Matthew began more radio interviews, scientific experiments, lectures, and fundraising efforts.  Within two years, with the help of other team members, the Project succeeded, yet the scientific report which concluded the Project said that the skull was indeed human.  The Project was a success even though we were all hoping that the skull was otherworldly.  The skulls (Starchild and Female Companion) were returned to Mexico, where they originated from, and The Starchild Project team was dismantled.  For the final results, please visit https://thefieldreportscom.wordpress.com/2017/05/23/final-results-determining-if-the-starchild-skull-is-part-alien/.

Matthew always considered himself a monk, yet his mission kept calling him back into the world.  He, therefore, established OnlineMonastery.com to support himself and others in a monastic path that is lived in the world.  The Anahat Meditation System has become the foundation for Online Monastery, along with Matthew’s Meditations on Higher Consciousness, Peace Under All Circumstances, Out-of-Body Travel Teachings, Tantric Sexuality Teachings, and Advanced Teachings on Samadhi Meditation.

For 2022, Matthew’s projects include:

  • Basic and Master NLP Training through the Interpersonal NLP Society
  • Online Life Mastery Course Training
  • Online A Course in Miracles Training
  • Online Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Training
  • Continued growth of the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy
  • Rebranding all books and products, including new graphics for The Sacred Geometry of Meditation
  • An awesome May 2022 IAIH Online Conference called Synthesis

Matthew is available for private Hypnotherapy, Coaching, Mentoring, or Life Mastery sessions online through Zoom at $500 per hour.  Sessions usually run for two hours.  Please reach out to the Institute to inquire.

Website:

About Matthew J. Brownstein

Jan 11
Love21

Kelly Lang

By Faith, Music, Personal Growth No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

With a thriving career, an ever-increasing fan base, and a life full of hardships and faith, Kelly Lang invites listeners into her world to look into the growth of a successful career. The strength she provides for herself and those in the communities she influences daily goes beyond the surface level and delves into mindsets of gratitude, kindness, and embracing the diversity of the human experience.

In this episode:

  • Meeting One’s Heroes
  • The Legacy of Loretta Lynn and Other Icons
  • From Death Sentence to Life Sentence: Kelly’s Breast Cancer Journey
  • Developing an Attitude of Gratitude
  • TG Shephard: Singer, Songwriter, and Husband
  • What’s Kelly Working On Right Now?

Quotations:

“When you’re in the music industry, or any type of celebrity, the way people think they know you more than they do…Every single person…[when someone meets] any celebrity- they don’t say, ‘What did they have on?’ or ‘Did they sing you a song?’ They say, ‘Were they nice?’ Right? Were they nice? And you know what, no matter what somebody does for a living, if you can’t be kind and be nice, what’s the point?” – Kelly Lang

“I don’t let the music business dictate what I write. I just write what I’m experiencing at the time, and if it relates to somebody, that’s great! But it’s more like painting a picture, really. I like to paint scenes just like Loretta did or just like Dolly did; you don’t have to guess what I’m saying or guess what they were saying in their lyrics because sometimes they just get it…If you look back on their songs, they had very simple words. You didn’t have to get a dictionary out to figure out what they were trying to tell you.” – Kelly Lang

“I got on social media, and I just said,‘…Send in pictures of yourself if you’re a breast cancer survivor choosing how you will live positively today. Maybe that will help people.’ Boy, they came out in droves! They sent in these beautiful pictures, and we were able to place them within the video. And it’s very encouraging, although it’s a sad subject matter, it’s empowering.” – Kelly Lang

“I encourage people just to go take a deep breath in. Oh, you breathe! Oh my gosh! You can be thankful for that, you know? So, I would write down like 30 things a day in a gratitude journal, and the more I was finding myself grateful for things, the more I felt like I was given things to be grateful for.” – Kelly Lang

“Give your smiles away. It’s really fun, and it doesn’t cost you anything!” – Kelly Lang

Guest’s Bio:

Singer, songwriter, and producer Kelly Lang has had a stellar career in the music industry with cuts by artists such as Ricky Skaggs, Lorrie Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Crystal Gayle, George Jones, B.J. Thomas, Jimmy Fortune, T.G. Sheppard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Lee, just to name a few.

She has recorded duets with iconic artists Dame Olivia Newton-John, Paul Shaffer, and Lee Greenwood. As an artist, Lang has released several albums, including 11:11, Shades of K, Throwback, Obsession, and Iconic Duets with her husband, TG Sheppard. In the spring of 2020, Lang re-released her classic children’s album Lullaby Country, which was initially sold at Cracker Barrel.

As part of a regional campaign, her voice and writing skills can be heard on television throughout Tennessee and the surrounding areas as the official song for Ascension St. Thomas Hospital’s commercial titled “I’m Not Going Anywhere.”

In 2020 Kelly released a collection of classic songs called Old Soul. The album was so well received that a second volume, Old Soul II, is scheduled for release in late 2022.

  • Recipient of The Icon Award from The Southern Women in Film and Television
  • Author of the book I’m Not Going Anywhere
  • Three-time Star Search winner
  • Multiple appearances on the world-famous Grand Ole Opry
  • Shared the stage with Loretta Lynn, Sir Barry Gibb, George Strait, Lorrie Morgan, TG Sheppard, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Gilley, Brenda Lee, George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, and many more
  • Songs “I’m Not Going Anywhere” and “How Does It Feel” featured in the movie The Deal with Burt Reynolds
  • Member of The Oklahoma Hall of Fame, The North American Country Music Hall of Fame, and soon to be a member of The Rockabilly Hall of Fame
  • Performed “Islands In The Stream” with Sir Barry Gibb for Kenny Rogers’ induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame
  • An accomplished artist with oil paintings in the homes of Oprah Winfrey, Sir Barry Gibb, Dame Olivia Newton-John, Larry the Cable Guy, and Justin Timberlake’s parents
  • Creator of the hilarious comedic character XOXO who performed on the national television show Huckabee
  • Former national spokesperson for Cindy Crawford’s skincare line Meaningful Beauty

Website:

https://www.kellylang.net/

Dec 28
Love21

Josh Bains

By Author, Faith, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Travel No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

Ghostwriting is its own form of literary mastery. In his efforts to expand on the profession, Josh Bains invites listeners to consider the stories in their lives. Through vulnerability and open-mindedness, Josh elaborates on the various adventures of himself and others that ultimately led to priceless lessons, life-changing morals, and new growth paths.

In this episode:

  • Bagpipes and a bicycle: A journey to Scotland
  • Searching for roots in Auschwitz
  • Hong Kong & the surprise synagogue
  • India, Thailand, Israel, and California: a search for living Jews
  • Finding an international family in the Jewish Community
  • Christian and Jewish Spirituality
  • Josh Bain’s path into ghostwriting
  • Finding the Elixir in a story (River Town by Peter Hessler)
  • Using literary concepts to delve into impactful writing

Watch the video version here:

Quotations:

“I was crying at some point, and it was a moving experience so that when I left, I tended to think, ‘Well, how do I solidify this? How do I turn this into something going forward?’ And I thought, ‘I’ve met a lot of dead Jews. I’d like to meet some living ones.’ And that’s the thought that I took away, that I need to do something. I need to go out and meet somebody because up until then; I hadn’t really.” – Josh Bains

“I’m seeing all of this woodwork and this incredible architecture, the thought that struck me was, ‘Oh, this is me!’ I don’t think I would’ve had that thought if I hadn’t been surrounded by so much alien activity to me in Hong Kong. But because I was steeped in the villages and all this stuff that I really didn’t understand or necessarily have any business being in it, it gave me this- um what’s the word? (…) There’s a literary term for when there are opposites. A Foil. It was a foil to what I really am. It was able- it showed me that, like, ‘No, this is actually you.’” – Josh Bains

“As you become part of families, you make friends, and it becomes your world, and you get to revisit it every single week. So suddenly, I just had a whole group of friends in Los Angeles, and I realized, ‘Wait, any place in the world that has a Jewish Community, I’ve got a family. I can go. I’ll be at home and accepted, and I can ask for help. I can stay with people. I can get food. I can be part of something, and it’s everywhere.’ And so that just opened up the world to me in a completely different way. It transformed the way I view the world.” – Josh Bains

“I think that what Judaism comes in and says (…) is that the physical is actually spiritual. And if you want a relationship with God, then go change the diaper, get your hands dirty, because that’s it. That ‘giving’, that ’being tied to reality’ is in a certain way what it’s all about. You’re learning about something that is, let’s say, transcendental with the purpose of bringing it down into the world and working on what’s here. And through that, you are working on yourself, and you’re connecting yourself to other people.” – Josh Bains

“I think that if you take all of the events in a story, and you kind of shake them, then eventually the most important thing- it either arises out of it or drops down deep to the bottom, and you kind of pull it out. But there is a point, and the best memoirs will have some deep points that the journey was leading to. And you might not have known it at the beginning. You probably didn’t. It probably comes from that journeying. And when you go through that process, then things come out, and you learn things. (…) That’s where it can really help to have a ghostwriter.” – Josh Bains

“In other words, when you think, ‘Well, do I have a book in me?’ Yeah, you have a book in you. The question is, which book? Or which story? And somewhere, there’s this arc in your life. And you’ve got to figure out, ‘Where is it?’ What’s the story you want to tell, and what’s going to have the most meaning and the most depth? And that’s what you should tell. And it’s probably going to be something that’s the hardest thing to tell.” – Josh Bains

“After the story’s over, after the climax, now you’re going to have this ebbing away period of tying up the loose ends, and that’s just part of life too.” – Josh Bains

Guest’s Bio:

Josh Bains is a New York Times Bestselling Ghostwriter, Author Coach, and World Traveler. A SoCal native, after receiving his journalism degree from the University of Hong Kong, Josh began exploring his Jewish roots–eventually spending three years in Israel, where he reported on the Middle East conflict, as he learned in a traditional yeshiva for Jewish learning in the Old City of Jerusalem. Today, Josh helps people tell their stories and speaks about self-development.

https://joshbains.com/

Nov 16
Love19

David Taylor-Klaus

By Author, Faith, Mental Health, Personal Growth, Philosophy No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

In this intense yet uplifting conversation, David Taylor-Klaus is open and honest with Gary about his suicide attempt and what he does now to keep himself on track. This episode will make you think while also lifting you up.

In this episode:

  • Internal self-awareness
  • External self-awareness
  • Being a thought leader
  • Ticking people off
  • Whether or not it’s ok for your family to judge you
  • Attempting suicide
  • The impact Hurricane Katrina had on him
  • The problem with the term “Work/Life Balance”
  • Why you can’t separate work and life
  • Being in a relationship with what you’re doing

Quotations:

“How I got here was by being a cautionary tale. Wisdom comes from making some screaming mistakes and doing it the wrong way for a long, long. And so all of the wisdom I’ve amassed comes from beating my forehead against the wall over and over and over again for a really long time.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“When you’re not aware of your, of your wake, you can do some damage.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“When you own those F-ups, when you own the negative impact, when you own the icky, unintended impact, then you can clean it up.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“For every one person who has a bad experience, they’re 10 quietly happy people.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“To truly be a thought leader, you’re going to be a target because you’re going to tick people off because thought leaders are willing to stand in the fire and talk about what they believe, and not everybody’s going to believe the same thing. And so people are going to be ticked off.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“What we remember of someone or what we see of someone and how we judge someone is always through the lens of who we are. It almost has nothing to do with who they are.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“Not everybody actually lives their values, and part of what happens is the energy drain, and living in constant discomfort can come from living a life that’s out of sync with your values.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“Humor’s one of the ways I cope with the world, good, bad, or ugly.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“Children of parents who commit suicide are 50 times more likely to attempt suicide in their life.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“The work has to be for you. It has to be for yourself, which was the tipping point for me when the work became for me, when staying became for me, when I realized I had something to give, something to do, some impact to have, I was here for a reason.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“Clinical depression is feeling sad when things are going well, and it’s inexplicable to someone who, pleasantly for them, has never experienced it. It’s when everything looks fabulous, and you feel like you can’t move.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“There is so much to offer this world because normalizing mental health struggles is the next front.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“Words create worlds. The language we use is indicative of what’s going on inside, and it shapes our reality. And the phrase work-life balance is so awful. It’s just awful.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

“When we measure our success with the number of zeros we have in the bank, what happens when you wake up on October 30th, 1929, and you got zero in the bank? Holy crap, right? It’s not about the money you have, it’s about who you are and what you know and what you’re able to do.” ~David Taylor-Klaus

Guest’s Bio:

David’s personal and professional worlds clearly reflect a journey in pursuit of excellence, always with a great deal of humor and heart. He is known for his sharp intellect and incisive ability to see and say what others do not. He balances fierce candor with genuine compassion … aka “an iron fist in a velvet glove.”

Whether working with individuals or teams or speaking to large groups, David believes that a powerful leader exists in each of us; his goal is to empower others to unearth and unleash their own leadership mastery. From personal experience, he drives home the importance for all professionals to take an active, intentional, and dynamic role in their private and professional lives.

The mission of DTK Coaching is to reintroduce successful business people to their families and the world outside the office.

Through an informed, well-applied process and an inspired approach, David’s clients overcome the overwhelming aspects of succeeding in business and being a part of a family. DTK Coaching helps them create the kind of Life-Work Balance they only dared to imagine was possible while also achieving dramatic shifts in their performance.

David’s insight and wisdom are built on his three decades as a successful serial entrepreneur.

Prior to establishing DTK Coaching, he was CEO of Digital Positions (DP), an internet strategy and web development firm he co-founded in 1995 and sold in 2009. As a strategist, he worked with C-level executives, senior management teams, and boards of directors to broaden their perspective and see how interactive initiatives support corporate visions and values for positive growth.

It was during this time, however, that David realized that his success came from being reactive rather than proactive and that he wasn’t participating consciously as a husband, father, business partner, or entrepreneur.  As he headed toward rock bottom, David had a significant wake-up call that ultimately resulted in DTK Coaching. 

(It’s a great story… read how really bad it got)

Recent empty-nesters (a status modified due to the pandemic), David and his wife, Elaine, live in the heart of Atlanta with their dogs. A gold-medal rower in the 2004 Georgia State Games, an avid cyclist, and an enthusiastic wine collector (and drinker), David also enjoys kickboxing, really great jokes, and laughing with others … and at himself.

Guest’s Contact Info:

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