PODCAST
Short talks on meaning, mental health, and what it actually takes to live a more examined life. Listen below or via: iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, & YouTube.
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Discovering Your Calling | Ep 281
What is your calling?
This episode explores what it means to discover your calling and why living in alignment with your deepest values can transform your mental health and sense of purpose.
Drawing on my own journey from teaching to psychotherapy, I reflect on trauma, uncertainty, and the search for meaningful work, sharing practical frameworks like Ikigai and my ‘3A process of healing’ Awareness, Acceptance, and Action.
We explore the fears and inner blocks that keep us stuck, the courage required to leave the comfortable rut, and how deep introspection can reveal the direction you were always meant to follow.
It is imperative that you find your calling, because if you don’t you are withholding your full value from the world.
The Importance Of Agency | Ep 280
Agency is your belief in your ability to influence your life.
Effort + Time = Results.
I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately, as I’m in the midst of some major life changes. I recently received my Graduate Diploma of Counselling and I am updating my website, books, and offerings to reflect this next chapter. I’m also continuing to show up each day, facilitating daily guided meditations on Insight Timer and working to expand my reach and impact.
On the personal front, I’m training Jiu Jitsu more than ever, confronting the excuses that once held me back from competing, and proving to myself that growth comes from action, not intention.
Positive change rarely happens overnight. It takes, consistent actions repeated daily. The key is believing that your actions matter and then acting accordingly.
I encourage you to believe in your ability to create positive change in your own life, and then to ACT!
In this session, I also introduce 'The Flame & The Void' meditation from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. You can listen to a guided version here, with separate recordings available for both adults and children.
The Vulnerability Of Positivity | Ep 273
I recently returned from a men’s work retreat through the Island of Men: a transformative program designed to help men connect and heal.
I left with two main takeaways.
1: There is a tremendous male loneliness and meaning epidemic. Men feel alone and unsure of what they are doing, why they are doing it, and feel like they have no one to talk it through with.
2: There is vulnerability within positivity and success.
I was asked about my purpose and realized that I was already living it (a journey over destination kind of thing), and I chose to do an improve comedy workshop over the deep introspective darkness exploration and healing that I would usually explore.
Why? Because doing so felt more expansive (scary) than not. I realized I am more than fine to share my pain and shadow, but not my light.
This was revolutionary. I now realise that I need to explore and express all aspects of myself.
Reminder: You are invited to join the December Self-Care challenge in the Art of Self-Connection community. Lets stay sane this festive season!
How Language Is Keeping Us From The Divine | Ep 271
Language is flawed, and it keeps us from touching the divine.
Every time we try to communicate, we start with a felt sense (thoughts, emotions, sensations) and we’re forced to translate that into code. Words. Sounds. Symbols. Then we hope the signal survives the noise. That nothing gets lost through misunderstanding, projection, or the limits of whatever medium we’re using…
The Art Of Manifestation | Ep 264
The art of manifestation gets a bad wrap, tied in the minds of most to questionable woo-woo ideas that seem fanciful at best. But manifestation is real, and the methods it works on are simple and obvious once explained and embraced.
Simply put, we manifest what we focus on because we are primed to find and act on them.
In this episode I share two tracks, the first is a talk titled ‘how manifestation really works’ and the second is a guided meditation called ‘powerful manifestation visualization’.
A Gentle Return To Self - Guided Meditation
In today’s session I share with you a guided meditation that weaves together mindfulness, breathwork, healing visualization, and mantra, inviting you to soften, slow down, and reconnect to the self and the moment.
You can follow each cue or simply sit and listen. This space is here for you. Let the words, breath, and stillness meet you as you are.
Life Sucks When Your Expectations Are Not Met | Ep 248
The difference between expectation and reality is often the source of significant discontent.
Life trains us to search for ideals: the perfect partner, job, life, outcome. Unfortunately this almost never arises and even if it did, it would be fleeting…
Why You Should Never Stop Learning About Yourself | Ep 245
The more you know about yourself the better choices you will make and thus the better life you will lead.
In this episode I share some recent instances of deep personal insight where I discover things about myself that are both good, bad, and ugly.
I share the importance of such discoveries as well as the ways in which I (and you can) foster further insights into your own nature.
How To Mindfully Meditate For Absolute Beginners | Ep 244
Yesterday, a friend asked me how to meditate, that talk inspired this episode. Here is my guidance for absolute beginners:
1: sit comfortably (no pain or sleepiness)
2: set a timer for 5 minutes
3: pick a meditation object (breath, vision, sound)
4: when you notice a wandering kind, bring it back to focus. A successful session is one that you complete, ideally every day!
Escape The Labels That Define You | Ep 241
The moment we label something, it is limited. The label isn’t the truth, it is a representation of, it’s a finger pointing to the moon, it is a suggestion of possibility that always falls short of reality.
Hunting My Own Shadow - A Story Of Transformation | Ep 236
This is the story of a dark night of the soul, of traversing the depths of despair, and of rebirth.
It is the story of transformation from a shadow version of myself into my embodied fullness.
It is the story of reintegration with my body after years of trauma, and of letting go of old wounds and identities that no longer serve me.
It is a story of reframing my inner world, from victim hood into strength.
It is a story of how I am now hunting my own shadow.
Is Enlightenment Possible? | Ep 235
Every Christmas season I talk on this topic, because every Christmas season I am reminded of just how overwhelming, panic inducing and confusing it all can be.
Thankfully I am learning from the past and have realised the need for intervention, prevention, and pre-emptive attention to self-care and preparation to stay sane over the next few months.
So with that said I want to share with you the following podcast and blog post. If you, or someone you know is neurodivergent, you will get a lot from this one….
Finding Peace In The Present Moment - Talk & Guided Meditation | Ep 206
Embrace the present moment with this guided mindfulness meditation.
Our goal isn’t to ‘empty our mind’ or ‘attain bliss’. Our goal isn’t to do anything, other than returning our focus back to the breath.
With a focused mind we can then explore the wonder of the universe, both inner and outer.
Guided Meditation Session - Escape From A Busy World, De-stress & Recharge | Ep 196
Escape from the stress of the world with this amazing guided meditation. Using a combination of mindfulness, breath work, body scanning, and visualisations, this session will serve as a mini day spa for the mind. Use it whenever you are feeling overwhelmed, or in need of a recharge. Enjoy.
#179: Don't Delay Your Happiness
We have a tendency to believe that happiness will come ‘when we make it’ or ‘when we accomplish the goal’. In this way we delay our happiness to some future state.
The problem is that we live the majority of life in the pursuit, and when we finally do arrive, our happiness is short lived.
Thus we risk living a life where we are delaying our happiness, and never actually enjoying it, or the present moment.
But the good news is that once we recognise this process, we can start mindfully appreciating the present moment and enjoying the journey as well as the destination.
178: Change Is The Only Constant
There is nothing in life that doesn’t change.
Consider your body, your goals, your life. It is always changing and will always change.
In this talk, I break down how mindfulness helps us to accept change and embrace it by living in the moment.
By seeing reality as it is, for what it is, we can find peace.
177: Positive Habit Acquisition
Positive daily habits are the key to personal development and growth.
Start slow and let life open up to accommodate the new habit. One minute a day is infinitely better than none - and the change will not come as a shock.
Your mind, body, and life will accommodate to your new habit and it will stick.
176: Why You Should Be Meditating Daily
Live morning mindfulness sessions, 6:40am AEST on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zacpphillips/
Program:
06:40 - Welcome + short talk
06:50 - 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation
06:55 - QnA + Closing gratitude
I would love to see you there!
166: Your Mindfulness Toolbox For Daily Living
Introducing my 10 meditation course on insight timer ‘Your Mindfulness Toolbox For Daily Living’.
In this course you will learn a collection of traditional and novel practices, techniques, concepts and strategies to attain mindfulness, and take the benefits of clarity, calm and control off the meditation mat and into every day life.