August 24, 2024 • 27 mins
Is blind trust in professionals undermining our own judgment? Join Jeffrey Brunk in this eye-opening episode of Everyday Shaman as we dissect the profound emotional responses of social media, ranging from smiles to scowls, and how these reactions fuel meaningful engagement. We then pivot to a critical yet necessary discussion about the medical profession, questioning if doctors are truly equipped with the essential virtues of ethics, humility, empathy, and acceptance. By drawing a thought-provoking comparison to ASE certified mechanics, we challenge the unquestioning faith we place in experts, urging the necessity of skepticism and self-trust.
Dive deeper into the mechanics of fear and the societal forces that manipulate it. We scrutinize the roles of charismatic leaders, politicians, and media personalities in shaping our fears to control and divide us. Additionally, we highlight the misuse of religious texts to instill fear, contrasting this with the overlooked messages of love and tolerance. As we navigate the pressures of conformity, our conversation emphasizes the importance of confronting inner darkness and embracing unique qualities. We conclude with a call for open dialogue and understanding, encouraging listeners to transform disagreements into mutual respect and possibly even join the podcast as guests. Tune in for a compelling discussion that champions authentic self-expression and societal well-being.
Learn more, schedule a Q&A by phone or video, or book a shamanic session at www.everydayshaman.net
Visit my Facebook page - https://m.facebook.com/jeffreybrunktheeverydayshaman?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Consider subscribing to the podcast! https://www.buzzsprout.com/2361167/supporters/new
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello again, everyone and welcome back to another
episode of the Everyday Shaman.
I'm your host, jeffrey Brunk,and it's good to be back.
I've been away a little longerthan expected and I do apologize
, but life does happen right.
So I just want to say I prettymuch only go on to social media
anymore to post the EverydayShaman podcast and reply to
(00:22):
those who message me.
For the most part, I see thethumbs up emoji on some of the
posts.
Sometimes I'll get the heartemoji, which is nice, and I
appreciate those responses to anepisode Truly do appreciate.
However, I've also received theangry face emoji and the belly
laugh or the laughing emoji inresponse to some of the episodes
(00:43):
that have been released andposted online and for the life
of me, at least for one episode,I cannot figure out what would
make someone so angry or want tolaugh, because it was not a
call it what you willmetaphysical, shamanic type
episode fully.
But in any case, you'reprobably thinking that it upsets
(01:04):
me to get an angry face or alaughing face emoji, but it
doesn't.
It doesn't not in the least.
No, it's actually quite theopposite.
When I see that someone hasleft one of those angry faces or
laughing faces.
I kind of have a sense ofsatisfaction knowing that, one,
the individual who left thatemoji listened to the podcast,
(01:27):
which is my entire reason fordoing the podcast, so I call
that a win.
And two, something that wassaid within the episode, either
by me or the guest, or both ofus, didn't sit well with that
particular individual.
That, right there, is the corereason that I do this podcast to
reach people on a deep levelthat brings about those emotions
(01:49):
they really don't like feeling.
You see, because if somethingdoesn't sit well, then there's a
collision of one's perceivedtruth, or their beliefs, and
then genuine truth, or one'sauthenticity and inner knowing,
and that collision causes sortof like the Big Bang Boom.
There's an awakening there orthere's a total shutdown, but at
(02:11):
least there's the collision andit causes thought.
For me, that's also a win.
What's funny is it speaksvolumes to me that it's so easy
to leave an emoji response.
You don't take the time tocraft a written response for why
they left the angry or laughingface emoji.
Today's day and age out ofsight, out of mind.
I guess People can do whateverthey want without consequence,
(02:33):
but that doesn't bother meeither.
You can't really bother me.
Just to tell you.
If you plan on leaving one ofthese emojis or you want to
leave a negative comment, bringit on.
I'm up for that.
I actually enjoy that becauseit's not because for the case of
argument I don't argue, butit's a case of discussion and I
gladly listen.
So in a way, it's a win-win.
(02:54):
That being said, it should bevery interesting to see what
type of emoji responses this oneelicits, because this is not my
typical episode.
I've said from the beginningit's not a typical shamanic.
Here's how you do it blah, blah, blah type podcast.
This is nuts and bolts down inthe dirt stuff that I do, so I'm
(03:15):
just going to get right into it, all right.
So I'm wondering if the godsquote unquote God, small g of
the body our doctors, as reveredas they are, when they go
through medical school, do theytake courses in ethics or
humility?
Now, humility, that's kind of astretch.
Maybe I'm not saying alldoctors lack humility, but do
they take classes focusing onempathy and acceptance?
(03:38):
Because I wonder about thisEmbrace yourself for it.
Because doctors often makevarious serious mistakes and
you'll say okay, I know thatalready, but how many of us will
go back to the same doctorafter that mistake, thinking
that he or she is a professional.
I trust my doctor.
It was just a mistake, evenwhen there's an uneasiness
(04:00):
within that has a shred ofskepticism about going back.
Now I can't say for sure, butI'd venture a guess that
accounting, money management,investment strategy courses are
part of the curriculum somewhereduring the years of medical
school, much like they are, Iguess, in any college degree
program.
But I'm very curious to know,because you know, people revere
(04:21):
their gods and their doctors.
So the more money they make,more education they have, the
more they are just blindlyfollowed and listened to.
So suppose you go to an ASEcertified mechanic and it takes
a lot of work and time and moneyto become an ASE certified
mechanic, but you go for basicservice on your car.
(04:41):
So now ASE certified mechanicsare the quote-unquote gods or
the doctors of the automotiveworld.
They make a considerable sum ofmoney, probably comparable to a
lot of medical doctors, maybeeven more.
But if the mechanic god comesto you and says you know, you
were a little low on your oil,but unfortunately we were out of
STP Quaker State, whatever itis, so we just topped you off
(05:05):
with a couple quarts extravirgin olive oil, but you don't
question it.
So who's at fault when your carbreaks down Because the olive
oil is a little too thin inviscosity to go through the
crankshaft in the system andlubricate the unseen parts
within the vehicle that keep thecar running smoothly?
Or the mechanic says you knowwhat I would recommend you put a
(05:25):
different kind of fuel in yourcar to get better fuel mileage,
like a high-octane urine.
So you piss in your tank laterthat week and for some odd
reason the vehicle rejects theurine and refuses to run.
I'd like to say that the ownerof the vehicle would think I
didn't think this would work.
I'm more prone to believe thatthe owner would the vehicle
would think I didn't think thiswould work.
I'm more prone to believe thatthe owner would question himself
(05:47):
or herself and think oh no, Imust have used a regular,
unrelated urine, not a premium.
So who's at fault for thevehicle's refusal to run?
Who's at fault when a doctorprescribes a procedure or a
medication that causes the humanvehicle to shut down, possibly
permanently?
Do you fault the doctor?
Do you fault the mechanic whenthe car breaks down in the
(06:09):
middle of the highway?
Or do you fault yourself forblindly following the directions
of the quote-unquote and you'llhear that a lot professional.
Think about it before youanswer.
In this society, doctors andmechanics and I'm just using
doctors and mechanics asexamples, I'm not hating on them
what they say is always rightin this society, of course, I'm
(06:32):
saying this while I'm rolling myeyes how dare we question their
authority?
And not all doctors are likethis.
Again, these are just examples.
But what happens when you don'tquestion them?
You shut down your own innerdialogue.
That's saying this doesn't feelright to me.
But this man in a white coatwhich, if you're at a
(06:54):
Mercedes-Benz dealership, by theway, might be a mechanic, but
this man in a white coat istelling me that it is right.
So, by God, it's right, evenwhen that disagrees with you.
It's a simple example of what'swrong with our society.
People, in any position of power, have control over our inner
knowing and they usurp our power, our knowing.
(07:17):
We rely on our cars, we rely onour bodies, we rely on society
and government.
God help us, believing theywill be honest, forthright and
have our best interest at heart.
Yet when they tell us somethingand we know isn't right, it
doesn't feel right and we knowit, we tend to go along anyway.
I mean a feeling that goesthrough your body with a
(07:40):
reverberation and for those ofyou who have felt that, when you
have a genuine knowing, youknow what I'm talking about.
It's indescribable.
Why do we choose not toquestion authority?
Why do we not question thingswe're told when those things do
not agree with what is withinour heart and our soul and our
(08:01):
gut?
Think about that, because ourbodies, our lives, our cars,
society, this world, nature,everything depends on what we
follow, that we know, not whatwe're told, not what we're
taught, not what we believe,because believing and knowing
are two entirely differentanimals.
(08:21):
So what I'm getting at goesbeyond doctors and mechanics,
again, using it only as examples.
Please, you know, stay with meand put your guns away.
I go to doctors and mechanics.
So I appreciate the time andthe effort you put into doing
the right thing, but let's notforget about organized religion,
(08:43):
shall we?
Religion in and of itself isnot a bad thing.
There are many, many, manyspiritual people within churches
.
This I'm talking aboutorganized religion.
Stand up, sit down, you know,left to right, blah, blah, blah,
blah.
The many things that are told,taught and espoused as being
unequivocal truths withinorganized religion.
Because, face it, organizedreligion has held the Control
(09:06):
capital C award for at least2,000 plus years and counting.
So how many have heard thefear-inducing instructions for
making it into heaven?
There's only one way to getthere, one thing to do, oh, and
there's a long list of thingsthat you should not do if you
want to be saved.
And what happens when you'renot saved?
(09:26):
You burn in the fires of helland are tormented for eternity.
You want to talk aboutinstilling fear.
That'll do it.
This could very well be theepitome of instilling fear.
You're really not left withmuch of a choice, are you?
Or are you, in the randomlyselected examples I've given,
who was in control of instillingthe fear?
(09:46):
God, well, maybe in the firsthalf of the Bible you know the
Old Testament the mechanic.
How about the doctor?
Or let's throw a dentist in forgood measure.
How about a dentist?
Who's in control of instillingthe fear?
Within these example settings,who ultimately makes the
decision to accept withoutquestion what is true?
It's not a difficult questionto answer you, the person
(10:10):
listening to this.
You make the decision, not adecision based upon logic or
analyzation or over-analyzation,or an internet search when it
doesn't sit right with you.
Listen to your heart, not thetalking head.
You know the one behind thepulpit or on the TV screen, or
the fancy white long coat and anengraved name tag.
(10:31):
Or especially the expert longcode and an engraved name tag.
Or especially the expertanother quote-unquote you watch
on YouTube.
Or the genius with all theanswers on Facebook or Reddit or
any other social media platform.
Of course, the prospect ofburning for eternity in the
hellfire of damnation is afrightening prospect.
I get it.
Change is frightening enough,but change that has a heaping
(10:53):
helping of added fear is a wholeother beast.
Fear is a real thing.
Don't misunderstand me.
There's two kinds of fear.
There's the type that's in themoment, say, like someone
putting a gun in your face andsaying give me your money or
I'll blow your freaking head off.
Then there's the type of fearthat we create or are allowed to
be created.
One of the two is rational andin the moment.
The other is not.
(11:14):
That, my friends, is not fear.
That is a controlled responsebrought about by someone else's
words or perceptions or opinionsor thoughts.
So do you choose to jump in lineand blindly accept the beliefs,
statements and opinions ofothers or of society as being
the gospel truth?
Pardon the pun, or do youquestion what you're told to
(11:36):
accept as truth?
So, along with the doctrinemechanic and religious leaders,
the world's greatest salespeople, politicians, those who, I
suspect, provided the spark thatignited the tender and yes, we
are the tender it ignited thehellfires within humanities and
other regions.
The divisiveness and the hatredand bigotry that we are
witnessing today has always beenthere, ever since the first
(11:59):
human walked upright and saidooga booga, dippity doo to his
neighbor, who shook his head andsaid noogies, boogies and
nickelback.
It only takes the inaction ofone in a position of leadership
or authority to not say hey, wecan ooga booga, dippity doo and
oogie boogie, you nickelback.
Think for a moment how manytimes have you heard a talking
head or media personality orpolitician peep Bible verses
(12:22):
that aren't from the OldTestament?
You know the first half of thebook that talks of the vengeful,
wrathful God, which is theTorah, by the way, or leader of
some group who quotes from theend of the book, the book of
Revelation?
No, ask, revelation, not bookof Revelations, surely the most
fear-inducing book of the Bible.
So you have sandwiched inbetween the red words, the New
(12:45):
Testament?
And how often are the red wordsthe words of acceptance,
tolerance, love, understandingand forgiveness?
Red words are the ones spokenby Jesus in the Bible, you know
the guy who supposedly calledupon to save you.
How often are those wordsreferenced by a talking head or
leader of a cult or a politicianthat doesn't want to lead
(13:07):
people in fearful ways?
How often are the red wordsmentioned by those who claim to
be righteous, yet they act inthe polar opposite way?
Is it because it's beingproclaimed by someone in a
position of authority, someonewith charm and charisma who
preys upon the one searching forsomething?
Because we're all searching forsomething at some point in our
(13:27):
lives, for the duration of ourlives, we're all searching for
something more.
There's a running theme herethat has to do with avoidance.
The things we don't want arethe things that we try to flee,
things we attempt to avoid.
And the thing that we seem tonot want the most is to know
ourselves and the traits, eventhe gifts, that we have within
(13:49):
us that can truly define who wereally are.
Unknowns that we're afraid toface.
Because, hey, change is hard.
Who wants to look different totheir friends or their families
or their employers.
Life gets all screwed up.
When that happens, right,what's the alternative?
The easy road most often takenis the one of avoidance, or the
easiest path, the one ofhypocrisy and wearing a mask,
(14:12):
not a face mask that face youput on, being the person and
doing the things that wouldappease those that are in
control, or someone that youneed to show your attention to,
to gain their approval.
You know they could beemployers, friends, family
partners, pastors, basicallyanyone.
This is the path taken by theones that smile, nod and agree
(14:34):
with everything and present animage of a life filled with
rainbows and unicorns and littleleprechauns.
There is a darkness in thisworld that emerges from the
shadows within us.
We're composed of threeelements flesh and blood as
human beings, divine lightwithin and a shadow that we each
create.
Both the shadow and thedarkness are parts of our human
(14:55):
nature, each of which we cancontrol.
But to control those darkeraspects, it's crucial that we
face those aspects, thoseaspects of ourselves.
We accept them.
So, whether it's politicians,preachers, pastors, saints,
doctors, dentists, mechanics,mom and dad, anyone with the
pulse or an opinion, not tomention the internet and social
media, by the way, there aremore opinions than there are
(15:18):
anuses in the world.
You know that saying opinionsare like anuses Everyone has one
.
Well, sometimes it's like thereare more anuses in this world
than there are people.
Thank you, facebook.
Everyone wants to be heard.
That stands to reason.
The problem is that everyonealso wants to be believed and
taken seriously, no matter howoutlandish what they may believe
(15:38):
or espouse to be true may be.
However, everyone is unique anddifferent.
So, whether it pertains totheir talents, personalities or
what they can offer to others inthe world, everyone is unique
and has something to offer, butthat is often stifled, stuffed
down inside.
It's the ones that don't agreewith them, these people that
(15:58):
have these talents and traitsthat scoff at those talents and
abilities, or thoughts and innerknowings that ostracize and
quell the emergence of another'sauthenticity.
That can cause a breakdown anddivisiveness within society and
within others individually.
And who is in control and whois at fault when we become ill,
(16:19):
be it mentally or physically,because we're not being our
authentic selves or followingour paths by not accepting
truths that we know are truths?
We know not to put olive oil ina car's engine.
Almost everyone knows that.
I'm fairly sure that there areprobably people out there that
would put olive oil in theircar's engine.
Almost everyone knows that.
I'm fairly sure that there areprobably people out there that
would put olive oil in theirengine if they saw it on YouTube
.
Thank you, youtube.
(16:40):
We can so easily be offendedpersonally, but think for a
moment and try to answer thequestion well, why?
Why do we allow that to happen?
It's a choice to be offended,isn't it?
At the very least, it's achoice in how we react if we're
offended, wouldn't you agree?
Sometimes doing or sayingnothing during these times is
far more powerful than sayinganything or reacting.
(17:02):
It's difficult, no doubt aboutthat.
It takes mindfulness to acertain degree, and a decent
relationship with oneself to notreact or speak knowing that an
argument might ensue.
Arguing with people nowadays islike spinning into a hurricane.
No one gets away without a facefull of phlegm.
Think about this very carefully.
Who's truly at fault for manyof the not-so-pleasant things
(17:25):
that happen to us?
Is it possible that theconsequences of our own thoughts
, words and actions, bothpositive and negative, are very
often self-imposed?
I don't mean to suggest that anevent such as being a victim of
an accident is always aconsequence, although it's
certainly possible.
So let's go a little deeper.
I mean this in a way that refersto things that we know about
(17:48):
ourselves certainties.
It's called intuition and gutfeelings, for good reason, and,
as you men know, women'sintuition is something you don't
trifle with.
There are signs that are givento us.
They may come to us in subtleways and they may present
themselves in ways that cause usto stop and think and smack us
across the face until we have tolisten.
(18:09):
Unfortunately, many simplybrush the signs away and
attribute them to being nothingmore than coincidences.
But there are no coincidences,my friends.
There are synchronicities,which is a topic for another
time.
The takeaway here is that whenwe choose to dismiss those signs
or we choose to not listen tothe inner knowing, we have that
(18:32):
intuition, that gut feeling.
It can be devastating to us asan individual in many ways, but
when you do listen and you'regiven a truth, you can literally
feel it.
Like I said before, you feel it, it resonates with you.
So again, who is at fault whenwe choose to not listen to or
(18:55):
reject a personal inner truth?
Do you fault the one saying ordoing the things that are
harmful or potentially harmful,or the one that chooses to do
those things.
Blindly following is easy, youknow that's the easiest way to
go.
But in doing so, a part ofone's authentic self either
slowly dies or becomes somewhatof a snowball that rolls
downhill, getting bigger andbigger and bigger until it's
nearly impossible to control.
(19:17):
Are you at fault when thishappens?
Is it an individual or asituation at fault?
Or maybe it's a bit of both?
There's only one answer, and itmay be nightmarishly difficult
to accept.
So think about it verycarefully.
To go further, everything isenergy.
Choices are energy, thoughtsare energy, actions are
(19:37):
obviously energy.
So the thought and action ofhitting that key to leave that
mad face or that laughing faceemoji is an energy that's
transmitted throughconsciousness.
And how do you choose to useyour energy?
It's worth taking a little timeto ponder that question Think,
discern, then choose, don'tchoose without doing the other
(19:59):
two steps.
In a nutshell, here's the gistof what I'm saying and for the
social media fiends out there,maybe the brevity of this will
sit better with you, because Iknow what tension spans.
These days are quite short.
You know what the easiest thingin the world happens to be, and
this goes for everyone,including myself, every single
person on this planet.
The easiest thing, and sadly,the ugly truth of today's
(20:21):
society, is to blindly follow aperson, an idea, a societal
expectation or anything thatdoesn't require an expenditure
of mental energy.
You know, or maybe you don'tthinking for yourself as soon as
someone becomes so complacentand accepts this fact, something
that's on television or theinternet, there's a disconnect.
(20:43):
Or still, when that fact, quoteunquote, is opined by a
celebrity or a news pundit newsI use loosely an opinion pundit
politician, religious leader,taylor Swift, and no, I'm not
hating on Swifties, I'm justthrowing out examples again.
Many people will just throw uptheir hands and shout Hallelujah
(21:04):
, this must be the truth.
Anyone who espouses an opinionand presents that opinion as a
fact is a liar.
No more, no less.
The same can be said for anyonewho presents a truth, a
documented fact, but twists thatfact and tries to present that
fact as being something morethan it is, something like a
conspiracy or a cover-up.
(21:25):
Yada, yada, yada, yada.
Even though there's a basis oftruth in what the individual
says, at this point theindividual is just another liar
there's no pretty word for it.
And chew on this.
The liars aren't the problem.
The problem is with the peoplewho shut down the brain, silence
their knowing and followeverything and everyone except
their selves.
They are the problem.
(21:46):
The liars are the figureheadsthat expose the misguided, often
evil, inner selves of others.
Bias, misogyny, hate,divisiveness the list goes on
and on.
In short, do not follow, lead,follow or get out of the way is
an old saying, and well, a lotof times you just got to get out
of the way, get out of your ownway, but you never follow, at
(22:08):
least not blindly.
The shadows and darkness withinthis world reside in each of us
.
There's no unicorns andrainbows world.
This world can be an ugly, mean, unforgiving place, but how we
choose to react and interactwith the shadows and darkness
within ourselves and within thisworld and within others can
create something better, abetter you, an authentic you.
(22:30):
And when one brave enough toface their own fears when it
comes to who they truly are, theworld can become a bit of a
better place and the persontaking that leap comes that much
closer to being the individualthey know themselves to truly be
.
It's about balance.
It isn't my fault if someonechooses to not accept their
truth.
Who is at fault?
(22:50):
I'm thinking about it a lot.
This is an educational program,I feel pretty certain.
I've stepped on some toes andrankled and ruffled some
feathers and, if I have good,leave me an angry face or a
laughing emoji and invest insome steel-toed boots, because I
get in the dirt and it's not apretty world.
I'm not doing this to hand outflowers and participation
(23:11):
trophies.
I do sincerely hope thatsomething said within this
episode resonates with people.
Not everything is meant toresonate in that.
Unicorns and rainbows,everything's rosy way.
Sometimes it's the things thatare said that resonate and cause
a little twinge of discomfort,possibly even anger and denial.
We all deny things aboutourselves because face it we
(23:32):
need balance.
Everyone needs balance withinthemselves, within the world and
within their everyday lives.
If we don't reclaim our own,knowing our own selves, and we
give control to others, thatbalance is lost and this world
goes to hell in a handbasket.
Even more, know that thechoices we make, no matter how
large or how small, affect notonly yourself but those around
(23:56):
you.
It's a ripple effect.
Those choices, thoughts andactions not only affect those
around you but those across theglobe, across the universe and
beyond.
It's the butterfly effect andit's freaking physics Just ask a
physicist.
So, for better or for worse,thank you for joining me.
I do hope you'll come back foranother episode.
(24:16):
This podcast is for everyone andI don't mind if anyone
disagrees with me or disagreeswith my, my guests, or disagrees
with topics.
No one can agree witheverything, but I'm here to try
to help people understandthemselves and to help this
world.
So I encourage you, contact me.
I'd be very open to having alively point-counterpoint
(24:38):
discussion, not argumentdiscussion.
Who knows, maybe you could be aguest on the podcast and by the
end of the show, that angryface emoji could be just a smirk
emoji.
I'd settle for that.
So I thank everyone forlistening and do invest in some
steel-toed boots, becausethere's being nice and there's
being honest and those are twodifferent things too, and I just
(25:01):
want the best for everyone andI'm here to help.
So
Hello again, everyone and welcome back to another
episode of the Everyday Shaman.
I'm your host, jeffrey Brunk,and it's good to be back.
I've been away a little longerthan expected and I do apologize
, but life does happen right.
So I just want to say I prettymuch only go on to social media
anymore to post the EverydayShaman podcast and reply to
(00:22):
those who message me.
For the most part, I see thethumbs up emoji on some of the
posts.
Sometimes I'll get the heartemoji, which is nice, and I
appreciate those responses to anepisode Truly do appreciate.
However, I've also received theangry face emoji and the belly
laugh or the laughing emoji inresponse to some of the episodes
(00:43):
that have been released andposted online and for the life
of me, at least for one episode,I cannot figure out what would
make someone so angry or want tolaugh, because it was not a
call it what you willmetaphysical, shamanic type
episode fully.
But in any case, you'reprobably thinking that it upsets
(01:04):
me to get an angry face or alaughing face emoji, but it
doesn't.
It doesn't not in the least.
No, it's actually quite theopposite.
When I see that someone hasleft one of those angry faces or
laughing faces.
I kind of have a sense ofsatisfaction knowing that, one,
the individual who left thatemoji listened to the podcast,
(01:27):
which is my entire reason fordoing the podcast, so I call
that a win.
And two, something that wassaid within the episode, either
by me or the guest, or both ofus, didn't sit well with that
particular individual.
That, right there, is the corereason that I do this podcast to
reach people on a deep levelthat brings about those emotions
(01:49):
they really don't like feeling.
You see, because if somethingdoesn't sit well, then there's a
collision of one's perceivedtruth, or their beliefs, and
then genuine truth, or one'sauthenticity and inner knowing,
and that collision causes sortof like the Big Bang Boom.
There's an awakening there orthere's a total shutdown, but at
(02:11):
least there's the collision andit causes thought.
For me, that's also a win.
What's funny is it speaksvolumes to me that it's so easy
to leave an emoji response.
You don't take the time tocraft a written response for why
they left the angry or laughingface emoji.
Today's day and age out ofsight, out of mind.
I guess People can do whateverthey want without consequence,
(02:33):
but that doesn't bother meeither.
You can't really bother me.
Just to tell you.
If you plan on leaving one ofthese emojis or you want to
leave a negative comment, bringit on.
I'm up for that.
I actually enjoy that becauseit's not because for the case of
argument I don't argue, butit's a case of discussion and I
gladly listen.
So in a way, it's a win-win.
(02:54):
That being said, it should bevery interesting to see what
type of emoji responses this oneelicits, because this is not my
typical episode.
I've said from the beginningit's not a typical shamanic.
Here's how you do it blah, blah, blah type podcast.
This is nuts and bolts down inthe dirt stuff that I do, so I'm
(03:15):
just going to get right into it, all right.
So I'm wondering if the godsquote unquote God, small g of
the body our doctors, as reveredas they are, when they go
through medical school, do theytake courses in ethics or
humility?
Now, humility, that's kind of astretch.
Maybe I'm not saying alldoctors lack humility, but do
they take classes focusing onempathy and acceptance?
(03:38):
Because I wonder about thisEmbrace yourself for it.
Because doctors often makevarious serious mistakes and
you'll say okay, I know thatalready, but how many of us will
go back to the same doctorafter that mistake, thinking
that he or she is a professional.
I trust my doctor.
It was just a mistake, evenwhen there's an uneasiness
(04:00):
within that has a shred ofskepticism about going back.
Now I can't say for sure, butI'd venture a guess that
accounting, money management,investment strategy courses are
part of the curriculum somewhereduring the years of medical
school, much like they are, Iguess, in any college degree
program.
But I'm very curious to know,because you know, people revere
(04:21):
their gods and their doctors.
So the more money they make,more education they have, the
more they are just blindlyfollowed and listened to.
So suppose you go to an ASEcertified mechanic and it takes
a lot of work and time and moneyto become an ASE certified
mechanic, but you go for basicservice on your car.
(04:41):
So now ASE certified mechanicsare the quote-unquote gods or
the doctors of the automotiveworld.
They make a considerable sum ofmoney, probably comparable to a
lot of medical doctors, maybeeven more.
But if the mechanic god comesto you and says you know, you
were a little low on your oil,but unfortunately we were out of
STP Quaker State, whatever itis, so we just topped you off
(05:05):
with a couple quarts extravirgin olive oil, but you don't
question it.
So who's at fault when your carbreaks down Because the olive
oil is a little too thin inviscosity to go through the
crankshaft in the system andlubricate the unseen parts
within the vehicle that keep thecar running smoothly?
Or the mechanic says you knowwhat I would recommend you put a
(05:25):
different kind of fuel in yourcar to get better fuel mileage,
like a high-octane urine.
So you piss in your tank laterthat week and for some odd
reason the vehicle rejects theurine and refuses to run.
I'd like to say that the ownerof the vehicle would think I
didn't think this would work.
I'm more prone to believe thatthe owner would the vehicle
would think I didn't think thiswould work.
I'm more prone to believe thatthe owner would question himself
(05:47):
or herself and think oh no, Imust have used a regular,
unrelated urine, not a premium.
So who's at fault for thevehicle's refusal to run?
Who's at fault when a doctorprescribes a procedure or a
medication that causes the humanvehicle to shut down, possibly
permanently?
Do you fault the doctor?
Do you fault the mechanic whenthe car breaks down in the
(06:09):
middle of the highway?
Or do you fault yourself forblindly following the directions
of the quote-unquote and you'llhear that a lot professional.
Think about it before youanswer.
In this society, doctors andmechanics and I'm just using
doctors and mechanics asexamples, I'm not hating on them
what they say is always rightin this society, of course, I'm
(06:32):
saying this while I'm rolling myeyes how dare we question their
authority?
And not all doctors are likethis.
Again, these are just examples.
But what happens when you don'tquestion them?
You shut down your own innerdialogue.
That's saying this doesn't feelright to me.
But this man in a white coatwhich, if you're at a
(06:54):
Mercedes-Benz dealership, by theway, might be a mechanic, but
this man in a white coat istelling me that it is right.
So, by God, it's right, evenwhen that disagrees with you.
It's a simple example of what'swrong with our society.
People, in any position of power, have control over our inner
knowing and they usurp our power, our knowing.
(07:17):
We rely on our cars, we rely onour bodies, we rely on society
and government.
God help us, believing theywill be honest, forthright and
have our best interest at heart.
Yet when they tell us somethingand we know isn't right, it
doesn't feel right and we knowit, we tend to go along anyway.
I mean a feeling that goesthrough your body with a
(07:40):
reverberation and for those ofyou who have felt that, when you
have a genuine knowing, youknow what I'm talking about.
It's indescribable.
Why do we choose not toquestion authority?
Why do we not question thingswe're told when those things do
not agree with what is withinour heart and our soul and our
(08:01):
gut?
Think about that, because ourbodies, our lives, our cars,
society, this world, nature,everything depends on what we
follow, that we know, not whatwe're told, not what we're
taught, not what we believe,because believing and knowing
are two entirely differentanimals.
(08:21):
So what I'm getting at goesbeyond doctors and mechanics,
again, using it only as examples.
Please, you know, stay with meand put your guns away.
I go to doctors and mechanics.
So I appreciate the time andthe effort you put into doing
the right thing, but let's notforget about organized religion,
(08:43):
shall we?
Religion in and of itself isnot a bad thing.
There are many, many, manyspiritual people within churches
.
This I'm talking aboutorganized religion.
Stand up, sit down, you know,left to right, blah, blah, blah,
blah.
The many things that are told,taught and espoused as being
unequivocal truths withinorganized religion.
Because, face it, organizedreligion has held the Control
(09:06):
capital C award for at least2,000 plus years and counting.
So how many have heard thefear-inducing instructions for
making it into heaven?
There's only one way to getthere, one thing to do, oh, and
there's a long list of thingsthat you should not do if you
want to be saved.
And what happens when you'renot saved?
(09:26):
You burn in the fires of helland are tormented for eternity.
You want to talk aboutinstilling fear.
That'll do it.
This could very well be theepitome of instilling fear.
You're really not left withmuch of a choice, are you?
Or are you, in the randomlyselected examples I've given,
who was in control of instillingthe fear?
(09:46):
God, well, maybe in the firsthalf of the Bible you know the
Old Testament the mechanic.
How about the doctor?
Or let's throw a dentist in forgood measure.
How about a dentist?
Who's in control of instillingthe fear?
Within these example settings,who ultimately makes the
decision to accept withoutquestion what is true?
It's not a difficult questionto answer you, the person
(10:10):
listening to this.
You make the decision, not adecision based upon logic or
analyzation or over-analyzation,or an internet search when it
doesn't sit right with you.
Listen to your heart, not thetalking head.
You know the one behind thepulpit or on the TV screen, or
the fancy white long coat and anengraved name tag.
(10:31):
Or especially the expert longcode and an engraved name tag.
Or especially the expertanother quote-unquote you watch
on YouTube.
Or the genius with all theanswers on Facebook or Reddit or
any other social media platform.
Of course, the prospect ofburning for eternity in the
hellfire of damnation is afrightening prospect.
I get it.
Change is frightening enough,but change that has a heaping
(10:53):
helping of added fear is a wholeother beast.
Fear is a real thing.
Don't misunderstand me.
There's two kinds of fear.
There's the type that's in themoment, say, like someone
putting a gun in your face andsaying give me your money or
I'll blow your freaking head off.
Then there's the type of fearthat we create or are allowed to
be created.
One of the two is rational andin the moment.
The other is not.
(11:14):
That, my friends, is not fear.
That is a controlled responsebrought about by someone else's
words or perceptions or opinionsor thoughts.
So do you choose to jump in lineand blindly accept the beliefs,
statements and opinions ofothers or of society as being
the gospel truth?
Pardon the pun, or do youquestion what you're told to
(11:36):
accept as truth?
So, along with the doctrinemechanic and religious leaders,
the world's greatest salespeople, politicians, those who, I
suspect, provided the spark thatignited the tender and yes, we
are the tender it ignited thehellfires within humanities and
other regions.
The divisiveness and the hatredand bigotry that we are
witnessing today has always beenthere, ever since the first
(11:59):
human walked upright and saidooga booga, dippity doo to his
neighbor, who shook his head andsaid noogies, boogies and
nickelback.
It only takes the inaction ofone in a position of leadership
or authority to not say hey, wecan ooga booga, dippity doo and
oogie boogie, you nickelback.
Think for a moment how manytimes have you heard a talking
head or media personality orpolitician peep Bible verses
(12:22):
that aren't from the OldTestament?
You know the first half of thebook that talks of the vengeful,
wrathful God, which is theTorah, by the way, or leader of
some group who quotes from theend of the book, the book of
Revelation?
No, ask, revelation, not bookof Revelations, surely the most
fear-inducing book of the Bible.
So you have sandwiched inbetween the red words, the New
(12:45):
Testament?
And how often are the red wordsthe words of acceptance,
tolerance, love, understandingand forgiveness?
Red words are the ones spokenby Jesus in the Bible, you know
the guy who supposedly calledupon to save you.
How often are those wordsreferenced by a talking head or
leader of a cult or a politicianthat doesn't want to lead
(13:07):
people in fearful ways?
How often are the red wordsmentioned by those who claim to
be righteous, yet they act inthe polar opposite way?
Is it because it's beingproclaimed by someone in a
position of authority, someonewith charm and charisma who
preys upon the one searching forsomething?
Because we're all searching forsomething at some point in our
(13:27):
lives, for the duration of ourlives, we're all searching for
something more.
There's a running theme herethat has to do with avoidance.
The things we don't want arethe things that we try to flee,
things we attempt to avoid.
And the thing that we seem tonot want the most is to know
ourselves and the traits, eventhe gifts, that we have within
(13:49):
us that can truly define who wereally are.
Unknowns that we're afraid toface.
Because, hey, change is hard.
Who wants to look different totheir friends or their families
or their employers.
Life gets all screwed up.
When that happens, right,what's the alternative?
The easy road most often takenis the one of avoidance, or the
easiest path, the one ofhypocrisy and wearing a mask,
(14:12):
not a face mask that face youput on, being the person and
doing the things that wouldappease those that are in
control, or someone that youneed to show your attention to,
to gain their approval.
You know they could beemployers, friends, family
partners, pastors, basicallyanyone.
This is the path taken by theones that smile, nod and agree
(14:34):
with everything and present animage of a life filled with
rainbows and unicorns and littleleprechauns.
There is a darkness in thisworld that emerges from the
shadows within us.
We're composed of threeelements flesh and blood as
human beings, divine lightwithin and a shadow that we each
create.
Both the shadow and thedarkness are parts of our human
(14:55):
nature, each of which we cancontrol.
But to control those darkeraspects, it's crucial that we
face those aspects, thoseaspects of ourselves.
We accept them.
So, whether it's politicians,preachers, pastors, saints,
doctors, dentists, mechanics,mom and dad, anyone with the
pulse or an opinion, not tomention the internet and social
media, by the way, there aremore opinions than there are
(15:18):
anuses in the world.
You know that saying opinionsare like anuses Everyone has one
.
Well, sometimes it's like thereare more anuses in this world
than there are people.
Thank you, facebook.
Everyone wants to be heard.
That stands to reason.
The problem is that everyonealso wants to be believed and
taken seriously, no matter howoutlandish what they may believe
(15:38):
or espouse to be true may be.
However, everyone is unique anddifferent.
So, whether it pertains totheir talents, personalities or
what they can offer to others inthe world, everyone is unique
and has something to offer, butthat is often stifled, stuffed
down inside.
It's the ones that don't agreewith them, these people that
(15:58):
have these talents and traitsthat scoff at those talents and
abilities, or thoughts and innerknowings that ostracize and
quell the emergence of another'sauthenticity.
That can cause a breakdown anddivisiveness within society and
within others individually.
And who is in control and whois at fault when we become ill,
(16:19):
be it mentally or physically,because we're not being our
authentic selves or followingour paths by not accepting
truths that we know are truths?
We know not to put olive oil ina car's engine.
Almost everyone knows that.
I'm fairly sure that there areprobably people out there that
would put olive oil in theircar's engine.
Almost everyone knows that.
I'm fairly sure that there areprobably people out there that
would put olive oil in theirengine if they saw it on YouTube
.
Thank you, youtube.
(16:40):
We can so easily be offendedpersonally, but think for a
moment and try to answer thequestion well, why?
Why do we allow that to happen?
It's a choice to be offended,isn't it?
At the very least, it's achoice in how we react if we're
offended, wouldn't you agree?
Sometimes doing or sayingnothing during these times is
far more powerful than sayinganything or reacting.
(17:02):
It's difficult, no doubt aboutthat.
It takes mindfulness to acertain degree, and a decent
relationship with oneself to notreact or speak knowing that an
argument might ensue.
Arguing with people nowadays islike spinning into a hurricane.
No one gets away without a facefull of phlegm.
Think about this very carefully.
Who's truly at fault for manyof the not-so-pleasant things
(17:25):
that happen to us?
Is it possible that theconsequences of our own thoughts
, words and actions, bothpositive and negative, are very
often self-imposed?
I don't mean to suggest that anevent such as being a victim of
an accident is always aconsequence, although it's
certainly possible.
So let's go a little deeper.
I mean this in a way that refersto things that we know about
(17:48):
ourselves certainties.
It's called intuition and gutfeelings, for good reason, and,
as you men know, women'sintuition is something you don't
trifle with.
There are signs that are givento us.
They may come to us in subtleways and they may present
themselves in ways that cause usto stop and think and smack us
across the face until we have tolisten.
(18:09):
Unfortunately, many simplybrush the signs away and
attribute them to being nothingmore than coincidences.
But there are no coincidences,my friends.
There are synchronicities,which is a topic for another
time.
The takeaway here is that whenwe choose to dismiss those signs
or we choose to not listen tothe inner knowing, we have that
(18:32):
intuition, that gut feeling.
It can be devastating to us asan individual in many ways, but
when you do listen and you'regiven a truth, you can literally
feel it.
Like I said before, you feel it, it resonates with you.
So again, who is at fault whenwe choose to not listen to or
(18:55):
reject a personal inner truth?
Do you fault the one saying ordoing the things that are
harmful or potentially harmful,or the one that chooses to do
those things.
Blindly following is easy, youknow that's the easiest way to
go.
But in doing so, a part ofone's authentic self either
slowly dies or becomes somewhatof a snowball that rolls
downhill, getting bigger andbigger and bigger until it's
nearly impossible to control.
(19:17):
Are you at fault when thishappens?
Is it an individual or asituation at fault?
Or maybe it's a bit of both?
There's only one answer, and itmay be nightmarishly difficult
to accept.
So think about it verycarefully.
To go further, everything isenergy.
Choices are energy, thoughtsare energy, actions are
(19:37):
obviously energy.
So the thought and action ofhitting that key to leave that
mad face or that laughing faceemoji is an energy that's
transmitted throughconsciousness.
And how do you choose to useyour energy?
It's worth taking a little timeto ponder that question Think,
discern, then choose, don'tchoose without doing the other
(19:59):
two steps.
In a nutshell, here's the gistof what I'm saying and for the
social media fiends out there,maybe the brevity of this will
sit better with you, because Iknow what tension spans.
These days are quite short.
You know what the easiest thingin the world happens to be, and
this goes for everyone,including myself, every single
person on this planet.
The easiest thing, and sadly,the ugly truth of today's
(20:21):
society, is to blindly follow aperson, an idea, a societal
expectation or anything thatdoesn't require an expenditure
of mental energy.
You know, or maybe you don'tthinking for yourself as soon as
someone becomes so complacentand accepts this fact, something
that's on television or theinternet, there's a disconnect.
(20:43):
Or still, when that fact, quoteunquote, is opined by a
celebrity or a news pundit newsI use loosely an opinion pundit
politician, religious leader,taylor Swift, and no, I'm not
hating on Swifties, I'm justthrowing out examples again.
Many people will just throw uptheir hands and shout Hallelujah
(21:04):
, this must be the truth.
Anyone who espouses an opinionand presents that opinion as a
fact is a liar.
No more, no less.
The same can be said for anyonewho presents a truth, a
documented fact, but twists thatfact and tries to present that
fact as being something morethan it is, something like a
conspiracy or a cover-up.
(21:25):
Yada, yada, yada, yada.
Even though there's a basis oftruth in what the individual
says, at this point theindividual is just another liar
there's no pretty word for it.
And chew on this.
The liars aren't the problem.
The problem is with the peoplewho shut down the brain, silence
their knowing and followeverything and everyone except
their selves.
They are the problem.
(21:46):
The liars are the figureheadsthat expose the misguided, often
evil, inner selves of others.
Bias, misogyny, hate,divisiveness the list goes on
and on.
In short, do not follow, lead,follow or get out of the way is
an old saying, and well, a lotof times you just got to get out
of the way, get out of your ownway, but you never follow, at
(22:08):
least not blindly.
The shadows and darkness withinthis world reside in each of us
.
There's no unicorns andrainbows world.
This world can be an ugly, mean, unforgiving place, but how we
choose to react and interactwith the shadows and darkness
within ourselves and within thisworld and within others can
create something better, abetter you, an authentic you.
(22:30):
And when one brave enough toface their own fears when it
comes to who they truly are, theworld can become a bit of a
better place and the persontaking that leap comes that much
closer to being the individualthey know themselves to truly be
.
It's about balance.
It isn't my fault if someonechooses to not accept their
truth.
Who is at fault?
(22:50):
I'm thinking about it a lot.
This is an educational program,I feel pretty certain.
I've stepped on some toes andrankled and ruffled some
feathers and, if I have good,leave me an angry face or a
laughing emoji and invest insome steel-toed boots, because I
get in the dirt and it's not apretty world.
I'm not doing this to hand outflowers and participation
(23:11):
trophies.
I do sincerely hope thatsomething said within this
episode resonates with people.
Not everything is meant toresonate in that.
Unicorns and rainbows,everything's rosy way.
Sometimes it's the things thatare said that resonate and cause
a little twinge of discomfort,possibly even anger and denial.
We all deny things aboutourselves because face it we
(23:32):
need balance.
Everyone needs balance withinthemselves, within the world and
within their everyday lives.
If we don't reclaim our own,knowing our own selves, and we
give control to others, thatbalance is lost and this world
goes to hell in a handbasket.
Even more, know that thechoices we make, no matter how
large or how small, affect notonly yourself but those around
(23:56):
you.
It's a ripple effect.
Those choices, thoughts andactions not only affect those
around you but those across theglobe, across the universe and
beyond.
It's the butterfly effect andit's freaking physics Just ask a
physicist.
So, for better or for worse,thank you for joining me.
I do hope you'll come back foranother episode.
(24:16):
This podcast is for everyone andI don't mind if anyone
disagrees with me or disagreeswith my, my guests, or disagrees
with topics.
No one can agree witheverything, but I'm here to try
to help people understandthemselves and to help this
world.
So I encourage you, contact me.
I'd be very open to having alively point-counterpoint
(24:38):
discussion, not argumentdiscussion.
Who knows, maybe you could be aguest on the podcast and by the
end of the show, that angryface emoji could be just a smirk
emoji.
I'd settle for that.
So I thank everyone forlistening and do invest in some
steel-toed boots, becausethere's being nice and there's
being honest and those are twodifferent things too, and I just
(25:01):
want the best for everyone andI'm here to help.
So
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!