The HighExistence Podcast

Jules Evans appeared on the podcast last time to discuss his two previous books: Philosophy For Life And Other Dangerous Situations and The Art of Losing Control.

In that episode, we talked at length about the benefits of Stoicism, and also where reason-based philosophical frameworks might be lacking if one wishes to experience a rich, integrated human life.

We dove into topics like meditation, eastern philosophy, and psychedelics as useful additions in our psychological toolkit.

When I asked Jules what he was working on next, he explained that he was in the process of co-editing a book with psychiatry expert Tim Read all about spiritual emergencies.

Considering I am involved in the psychedelic and spirituality space, I was surprised to find that I knew very little about this important topic.

30, years ago Stanislav Grof and his wife Christina wrote a book called Spiritual Emergency where they defined this phenomenon as follows:

One of the most important implications... is the realization that many of the conditions, which are currently diagnosed as psychotic and indiscriminately treated by suppressive medication, are actually difficult stages of a radical personality transformation and of spiritual opening. If they are correctly understood and supported, these psychospiritual crises can result in emotional and psychosomatic healing, remarkable psychological transformation, and consciousness evolution.

With the resurgence of psychedelics and increased popularity of spiritual practices, information on how one might recognise and navigate their way through a spiritual emergency has never been more important.

In this episode of the HighExistence Podcast, Jules and I discuss the book he edited on this topic Breaking Open: Finding Your Way Through a Spiritual Emergency.

I have read the book, and I can't express how important I found it. If you are in any way interested in pursuing spiritual transformation, this book book is indispensable.

To learn more about Breaking Open and the topic of spiritual emergencies, my conversation here with Jules is a perfect place to begin.

WHAT WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:

• What is a spiritual emergency?
• Tips for dealing with difficult spiritual experiences
• The creative process behind the book Breaking Open
• Jules' own spiritual emergency and ayahuasca experience
• Useful guidelines for attending psychedelic retreats
• Psychosis vs. spiritual emergency
• Psychedelic intergration
• The usefulness of psychotherapy
• The dark side of spirituality
• MUCH MORE...

We're opening the doors to our accelerated learning course with Justin soon. Add yourself to the early access list here.

What does living in alignment really look like?

How do you define the goals, virtues, and morals that will guide your life? And how do you act them out in your daily life?

This is just one of the many topics we explore today on the latest HighExistence Dialogues – with learning expert Justin Noppé with us.

We explore the systems and techniques of unlocking yourself, living up to the potential you have inside of you, and explore how your culture shapes a lot of this early on and what you can do about it now.

Whether it's new skill acquisition, changing your personality and disposition, or getting a deeper understanding of how to connect with others — this conversation goes into all of that and a lot more.

Justin is already the creator of our Accelerated Learning course, so you can dive in behind-the-scenes as we riff on these topics. To learn more about the course, check out the link at the top of this description.

WHAT WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:

• Overcoming agreeableness and cultural divisions
• Navigating interpersonal dynamics with expertise
• What an 'aligned human' looks like
• Become anything and anybody you want
• Building a sturdy foundation for the rest of your life
• Hard skills vs. soft skills
• Becoming an interesting person and owning it
• Deconstructing yourself with real-world results
• MUCH MORE...

What would life be like if we could transcend the ordinary?

Now this journey isn’t for the faint of heart. This is a Hero’s Journey of cataclysmic proportions.

Undoing, overriding, and re-learning decades of distilled and conditioned socio-cultural programming is no small feat.

But on the other side awaits beauty, wonder, and experiences far beyond our present imagining.

This is why HighExistence came into being. To serve as a portal, through which the initiates pass, into a world of wisdom and wonder.

As we take an evolutionary step forward with HighExistence, we riff on what it means to transcend the ordinary and become the creators of our own reality.

Won’t you come along with us?

WHAT WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:

• What it means to transcend the ordinary
• The next evolutionary step for HighExistence
• How to modify and amplify the lenses of perception
• The mythological meaning of I.M M.Y.T.H.
• Seeking Truth as the ultimate Hero's Journey
• Courage and wonder in the face of the mundane
• What does it really mean to create your own reality?
• Myth-busting common cultural constructs
• The awe-inspiring wonder of inter-subjective existence
• MUCH MORE...

Important note:

The HighExistence dialogues are where the three creators Jon Brooks, Eric Brown, and Mike Slavin come together to discuss life, the universe, and everything in between.

But if you'd like to follow up with us individually, be sure to subscribe to our new YouTube channels. Here are some places you can find out more...

• Mike Slavin's beautiful video on how to navigate loss
• Jon Brooks's practical video on Stoic strategies for overcoming anxiety
• Eric Brown in conversation shares his masterful insights on how to be productive

When’s the last time you learned something for the first time?

It might have been a while.

For many, education stops the moment school is finished. Should it continue to be this way? How we can learn new skills so that we can stay sovereignty and adaptable to a future that is constantly in flux?

Learning is the ultimate meta-skill.

It is the foundation of acquiring any other skill. It is the foundation that resilient humans are built upon.

To this end, there are a number of techniques, mindsets, and teachers that can be instrumental in helping us move towards mastery.

In the latest instalment of the HEx Dialogues, we dive into the nuance and opportunity present in learning, bending reality, and picking up the pace of skills acquisition.

If you find yourself wanting to become more adaptable, to level up quickly and consistently, this is a blueprint to doing exactly that.

WHAT WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:

• The great teachers and allies along the path
• A massive list of recommended readings and resources
• Jon, Mike, and Eric's take on what we're learning right now
• The fundamentals of skills acquisition and learning
• Is accelerated learning real? The potential and pitfalls
• The shortcomings of the current educational matrix
• How to bend reality and the journey to being superhuman
• The long and short road to mastery
• MUCH MORE...

See the Full Show Notes and Recommendations Here

Do you feel the call to serve plant medicine?

Or to become a coach, healer, or helper of human flourishing in any way?

Navigating this path can be tricky terrain.

For myself, it brings many questions up:

• Is this coming from my ego or my soul?
• What path should I follow? And who are my teachers?
• How often should I work with medicine?
• Do I have what it takes?

I could think of no better person than Maestro Hamilton Souther to help me answer them.

Hamilton is a Master Shaman currently working out of Peru, working primarily with Ayahuasca. He founded BlueMorpho Tours, one of the most reputable Ayahuasca centres in the world, and was one of the first westerners to be initiated into an indigenous lineage in the Amazon over 20 years ago.

In This Episode:

• The incredible story of Hamilton’s calling
• How to follow your life's calling
• Navigating ego along the way
• What comes after healing on the path to become an Ayahuasquero?
• Space Holders vs Shamans
• Blue Morpho's at-home dieta experiences and what's currently exciting Hamilton most at the moment

Links:

Hamilton's Projects

• Blue Morpho Retreats
• Hamilton's Instagram

HighExistence Presents: Apotheosis - The Ultimate Spiritual-Psychedelic Retreat

• Information
• Trailer