March 3, 2025

Jumping off the Treadmill: Unshaming with Zelph on the Shelf!

Join host Megan Connor in a profound conversation with ex-Mormon content creators, Samantha and Tanner from Zelf on the Shelf, as they explore the transformative journey of midlife. This episode dives deep into their experiences of leaving the Mormon Church, confronting societal norms, and redefining personal meaning. They discuss pivotal "treadmill moments" that led to their personal revolutions, the therapeutic use of psychedelics, and the critical role of grief and community in healing. From battling cultural shame to embracing self-expression and growth, this dialogue is an enlightening look at how one can navigate life's halfway point with authenticity, courage, and a spirit of rebellion against outdated constructs. Tune in for insights on un-shaming personal desires, the importance of collective healing, and how to find joy and purpose in life's later chapters. Check out Zelph on the Shelf Patreon.


Transcript

WEBVTT



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Hello, beautiful humans,



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and welcome to the Midlife Revolution.



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I'm your host, Megan Conner,



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and today I am joined by



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two incredibly wonderful



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human beings and



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revolutionaries in their own right,



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Samantha and Tanner.



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Welcome, Zelf on the Shelf.



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Yay!



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Hi.



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Hi.



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Would you say we're your



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favorite midlifers?



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You definitely are.



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Definitely my favorite.



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Revolutionizing the very



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concept of midlife.



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That's a big part of it.



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In fact, I always tell people that,



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you know,



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people think about midlife as a



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certain age,



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but I think of it as a stage



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in your life where you just



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sort of stop what you're



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doing and look around and say,



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wait a second, I've been on autopilot.



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Is this what I really want?



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Yeah,



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so good to have your midlife crisis



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as early as possible.



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So you can reevaluate sooner.



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I love that.



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Exactly, exactly.



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So that's why I wanted to



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have you guys on because I



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love your stories and your



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revolutions that you're creating.



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And I just want you guys to



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talk about yourselves for a little bit.



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Who wants to go first?



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I'd love to go first.



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Tanya, you go first.



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All right.



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We are two ex-Mormon content creators.



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We met in college at Brigham



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Young University, Idaho.



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We've been doing YouTube for



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about the better part of a decade,



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eight years,



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and talking a lot about religion,



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philosophy, ethics, culture,



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and whatever.



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Mindfulness, healing.



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Random things come into our mind.



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That's a very...



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um level-headed description



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of what we do sometimes



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it's a bit chaotic



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sometimes it's just



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claymation yep and it



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doesn't make sense yeah a



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little comedy sprinkled in



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there too um claymation is



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some of my favorite by the



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way i love it real one have



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we got a podcast for you



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We've had you on our show before,



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a great episode.



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I was just talking to my



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partner today about that



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episode and just how wise



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you are and not on the



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superficial level that



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sometimes these



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conversations take place at



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where it's like, oh yeah,



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saying the right therapy terms,



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but a deeply embodied wisdom.



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You can tell that this is



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something that you care deeply about and



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are both well-studied and



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well-experienced and just



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such a big heart.



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And so we're very happy to be on the show.



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Thank you so much.



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I will pay you later for that endorsement.



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That was wonderful.



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You know our rate.



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I always tell people I am



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not any kind of licensed



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professional of any kind.



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I don't know.



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I haven't studied mental health,



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but I am an expert in my own trauma.



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And so I hopefully can help that,



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use that to help other



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people to heal from their trauma,



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their experiences as well.



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And we talked a lot about



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body shame when I was on your show.



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mm-hmm



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i remember body



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shaming when you came on



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our youtube channel that



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was one of the



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conversations i wish we



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could have dug in a bit



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deeper but obviously



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there's so much to talk



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about in one episode



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Yeah.



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There always seems to be so



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much to talk about and so little time.



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And the two of you are so



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intelligent and well-spoken



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and I really appreciate our



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conversations together.



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And so who knows how long, you know,



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this will go on.



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At some point we're going to



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need to eat and sleep and everything,



00:03:26.041 --> 00:03:29.503


but we can talk for a really long time.



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Yay.



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Yay.



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So in your,



00:03:33.265 --> 00:03:34.606


what would you say would be



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sort of your turning point



00:03:36.046 --> 00:03:38.587


for each of you when we talk about,



00:03:38.727 --> 00:03:40.148


you know, on the midlife revolution,



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we talk about just sort of a time when,



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when you sort of wake up



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from the treadmill life and



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you start to sort of



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question whether or not the



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things in your life are



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what you really want for the longterm.



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And so maybe each of you



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could say what that moment was for you,



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or at least one of the moments.



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Well,



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I love that you called it the



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treadmill life because my



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treadmill moment was



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literally as I was working



00:04:04.268 --> 00:04:05.508


for a treadmill company



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selling treadmills.



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So true.



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And it just felt like such a



00:04:09.551 --> 00:04:10.932


perfect metaphor.



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That's amazing.



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Just being on this track to



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nowhere constantly and, you know, yeah,



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and no,



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nothing against the people I



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worked with or, you know.



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Or treadmills.



00:04:22.299 --> 00:04:23.459


Or treadmills, you know,



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home fitness is great.



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Yeah.



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But for me, I mean,



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this was all like the



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church stuff had all just



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happened prior where I



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realized through after a long,



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prolonged investigation



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into the truth claims of my



00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:40.410


religion after having



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graduated the church



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university and gone on a



00:04:42.632 --> 00:04:44.833


mission and the works and



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having had all that crumble,



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I found myself, you know,



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working in this office,



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looking up at the mountains



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and every day from, you know, the



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from the light of day to the dark,



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just being stuck in this building going,



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what am I doing here?



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And got to the point where I



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was actually like kind of being like,



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Hmm,



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I don't know that I want to



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be here at all.



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Like it, this just doesn't seem worth it.



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And you know,



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I've realized that a lot of



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people have jobs that they



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don't necessarily love and



00:05:14.297 --> 00:05:14.978


they have to work in an



00:05:15.058 --> 00:05:16.758


office all day and it's, you know,



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not the worst thing in the



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world for everybody.



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But for me,



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I just knew that there was something,



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well, I didn't know actually,



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I think I was just really,



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really scared and being like,



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I don't want to do this.



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And it was through,



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lots of conversations with lots of people,



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but I remember specifically with, um,



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a friend and kind of a



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mentor who I called just in



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a moment of deep panic.



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And, uh, he said to me, like,



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you're a maker.



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You need to be making things.



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You need to be self-expressing.



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You need to be around people



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who are creating things like do it,



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take the plunge.



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Like this is your escape out



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of the rat race and you



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just have to like do it.



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And that was definitely a



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turning point for me.



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Yeah, that's so excellent.



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And I think that when we're



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raised in the Mormon church,



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we're raised to search for



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meaning and purpose in our lives.



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And so when the church



00:06:08.179 --> 00:06:09.199


aspect or the religious



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aspect of it goes away,



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I think a lot of us are



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left wondering what is the



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meaning of life now?



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What is my purpose now?



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Who am I now?



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And we all have to ask



00:06:18.202 --> 00:06:19.403


ourselves those questions.



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yeah and and you know when



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for me like a lot of people



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you know they do mormonism



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and they do other things



00:06:24.871 --> 00:06:25.972


for me mormonism was like



00:06:26.073 --> 00:06:27.635


the only thing i had other



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interests technically but



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only in as much as they



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were useful to the church



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and all my creativity and



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self-expression was all



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you know, church oriented.



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So when that went away,



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I literally had nothing.



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And, you know,



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maybe I could go do a normal,



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I couldn't do a normal job today, but,



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you know,



00:06:46.270 --> 00:06:47.570


maybe if I had had a better



00:06:47.730 --> 00:06:48.550


established sense of



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purpose or was pursuing



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something more aligned with



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my creative interests,



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but I just didn't even care



00:06:54.292 --> 00:06:55.053


up until that point.



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And then I found myself like, oh,



00:06:56.233 --> 00:06:57.173


I built this whole life for



00:06:57.213 --> 00:06:58.894


myself that I don't like or



00:06:58.954 --> 00:07:00.234


enjoy or care about at all,



00:07:00.654 --> 00:07:01.435


simply because there was



00:07:01.475 --> 00:07:03.215


just this one thing that I was serving.



00:07:03.235 --> 00:07:05.076


And when that went away, I had nothing.



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Yeah, I feel like, I mean,



00:07:07.039 --> 00:07:08.220


despite its impact on our



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financial stability,



00:07:09.260 --> 00:07:10.380


like we did get lucky in



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the sense that our getting



00:07:11.821 --> 00:07:12.861


off the treadmill moment



00:07:12.921 --> 00:07:14.442


was while we were interns



00:07:14.482 --> 00:07:16.042


right after graduating college.



00:07:16.062 --> 00:07:18.043


So I feel like that sort of helped,



00:07:18.363 --> 00:07:18.863


you know what I mean?



00:07:18.983 --> 00:07:20.263


Well, I guess your next job,



00:07:20.323 --> 00:07:21.644


the treadmill job was right after that,



00:07:21.684 --> 00:07:23.604


but it does feel kind of



00:07:23.644 --> 00:07:25.925


like a blessing in some



00:07:25.945 --> 00:07:26.645


ways to have your whole



00:07:26.685 --> 00:07:27.785


worldview fall apart in



00:07:27.805 --> 00:07:28.626


your early twenties.



00:07:28.666 --> 00:07:30.066


Cause that's the time when like,



00:07:30.686 --> 00:07:32.207


you don't we didn't have



00:07:32.227 --> 00:07:33.407


responsibilities so we were



00:07:33.427 --> 00:07:34.748


like able to embrace a



00:07:34.788 --> 00:07:37.529


level of flexibility and uh



00:07:37.549 --> 00:07:38.610


at times poverty that you



00:07:38.630 --> 00:07:39.590


wouldn't be able to do if



00:07:39.610 --> 00:07:40.831


you like had a family or



00:07:41.011 --> 00:07:42.771


definitely yeah so that was



00:07:42.872 --> 00:07:43.512


kind of a gift



00:07:44.280 --> 00:07:44.540


Yeah.



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So you were still kind of



00:07:45.601 --> 00:07:47.902


establishing yourself as



00:07:47.982 --> 00:07:49.163


human beings anyway,



00:07:49.323 --> 00:07:50.123


and still kind of



00:07:50.183 --> 00:07:51.464


establishing your life and



00:07:51.484 --> 00:07:52.624


your goals and everything.



00:07:52.725 --> 00:07:54.786


So maybe it was a little bit



00:07:54.826 --> 00:07:55.966


of a blessing that it came



00:07:56.006 --> 00:07:58.067


so early because first of all,



00:07:58.107 --> 00:07:59.768


you had so much more time



00:07:59.968 --> 00:08:01.369


in the future to look forward to,



00:08:01.389 --> 00:08:03.610


but also you hadn't really



00:08:03.887 --> 00:08:05.192


put down roots that needed



00:08:05.212 --> 00:08:06.872


to be pulled up when you



00:08:06.932 --> 00:08:07.793


left the religion.



00:08:08.855 --> 00:08:10.377


Yeah, we both had, I mean,



00:08:10.838 --> 00:08:11.559


like well-paying



00:08:11.599 --> 00:08:12.921


copywriting jobs that we



00:08:12.961 --> 00:08:14.163


were quickly realizing we



00:08:14.183 --> 00:08:15.185


weren't going to be able to



00:08:15.345 --> 00:08:16.707


survive in for very long.



00:08:17.027 --> 00:08:18.356


That's kind of a, yeah,



00:08:18.396 --> 00:08:19.197


just an interesting note



00:08:19.217 --> 00:08:20.119


that we had the same job



00:08:20.159 --> 00:08:22.082


and we were both just dying in our jobs.



00:08:22.611 --> 00:08:23.792


Yeah, so Samantha,



00:08:23.812 --> 00:08:24.873


can you talk a little bit



00:08:24.993 --> 00:08:27.495


about your treadmill moment?



00:08:28.275 --> 00:08:28.555


Yeah.



00:08:28.575 --> 00:08:29.396


Although I'm sure it's not



00:08:29.416 --> 00:08:32.498


going to be as literal as Tanner's.



00:08:32.918 --> 00:08:33.739


I also worked for a



00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:35.040


treadmill company competing.



00:08:37.041 --> 00:08:39.103


Yeah, so I wasn't raised in Mormonism.



00:08:39.203 --> 00:08:41.024


I converted at sixteen.



00:08:42.205 --> 00:08:44.427


But all through growing up



00:08:44.467 --> 00:08:46.368


and then I suppose at BYU-Idaho,



00:08:46.448 --> 00:08:47.829


I was very committed to



00:08:47.969 --> 00:08:49.550


academic success as sort of



00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:51.112


like an anchor, you know, and a...



00:08:51.832 --> 00:08:53.073


Especially growing up in England,



00:08:53.113 --> 00:08:54.514


it was sort of like my



00:08:54.574 --> 00:08:55.634


whole sense of self and



00:08:55.674 --> 00:08:58.516


safety was found in academic success.



00:08:58.717 --> 00:08:59.838


And then, yeah,



00:08:59.898 --> 00:09:02.499


leaving the church and having your whole,



00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:04.460


our whole worldview pulled



00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:05.401


out from under us.



00:09:05.801 --> 00:09:06.001


I mean,



00:09:06.021 --> 00:09:07.923


it really did just make me evaluate



00:09:07.983 --> 00:09:08.963


everything and also



00:09:09.063 --> 00:09:10.164


starting to get a sense of



00:09:10.204 --> 00:09:11.305


like the world of work.



00:09:12.065 --> 00:09:14.527


And realizing, like, for whatever reason,



00:09:14.587 --> 00:09:14.827


like,



00:09:14.867 --> 00:09:17.509


the commitment I had to academic success,



00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:17.649


like,



00:09:17.669 --> 00:09:19.410


didn't transfer to the world of work



00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:20.390


where it just felt like so



00:09:20.430 --> 00:09:21.551


much of what I was doing



00:09:21.591 --> 00:09:24.693


was just kind of meaningless or busy work,



00:09:24.713 --> 00:09:25.374


which I know is something



00:09:25.394 --> 00:09:26.995


so many people struggle with, you know,



00:09:27.035 --> 00:09:28.856


just feeling like the work



00:09:28.896 --> 00:09:30.057


you're doing is a bit...



00:09:30.415 --> 00:09:30.715


I don't know,



00:09:30.735 --> 00:09:32.136


sort of abstract or you don't



00:09:32.196 --> 00:09:32.756


feel like you're



00:09:32.776 --> 00:09:34.176


meaningfully contributing



00:09:34.277 --> 00:09:35.357


to the world and that



00:09:35.397 --> 00:09:36.677


really can eat away at you.



00:09:36.916 --> 00:09:37.718


I feel like when you



00:09:37.778 --> 00:09:39.959


still have Mormonism in your life,



00:09:39.999 --> 00:09:40.459


you're like, well,



00:09:40.499 --> 00:09:42.700


this is just a job and my



00:09:42.780 --> 00:09:43.621


ultimate purpose is to



00:09:43.661 --> 00:09:45.581


serve God and to lift up



00:09:45.621 --> 00:09:47.022


the kingdom and all those things.



00:09:47.062 --> 00:09:49.343


But then when that was



00:09:49.403 --> 00:09:51.304


pulled out from under me, I was like,



00:09:51.404 --> 00:09:53.865


well, the work I choose to do is...



00:09:54.265 --> 00:09:55.305


kind of everything you know



00:09:55.325 --> 00:09:56.726


like the contribution I



00:09:56.786 --> 00:09:58.747


make to the world matters



00:09:58.787 --> 00:09:59.907


now or it matters way more



00:09:59.927 --> 00:10:01.628


than it did before um also



00:10:01.688 --> 00:10:02.929


I feel like my treadmill



00:10:02.949 --> 00:10:04.069


moment really if I'm being



00:10:04.109 --> 00:10:05.850


honest just came by virtue



00:10:05.870 --> 00:10:06.570


of the fact that I just



00:10:06.610 --> 00:10:08.111


like have never been able



00:10:08.131 --> 00:10:09.471


to thrive in like a



00:10:10.071 --> 00:10:11.232


structured working for



00:10:11.272 --> 00:10:12.472


someone else situation like



00:10:12.492 --> 00:10:13.473


I've had a million jobs



00:10:13.493 --> 00:10:14.593


throughout my life and have



00:10:14.753 --> 00:10:15.854


just struggled in all of



00:10:15.874 --> 00:10:16.954


them however much I like



00:10:17.494 --> 00:10:19.315


wanted to do well in them or was like



00:10:19.735 --> 00:10:20.676


technically good at the



00:10:20.756 --> 00:10:22.779


actual work I just found



00:10:22.839 --> 00:10:25.022


like the environments uh



00:10:25.022 --> 00:10:26.063


I'm just like having to



00:10:26.103 --> 00:10:27.144


like sit in a certain spot



00:10:27.164 --> 00:10:28.065


for eight hours a day and



00:10:28.125 --> 00:10:29.747


like I just found all of that like



00:10:30.290 --> 00:10:32.011


honestly impossible and I'm



00:10:32.051 --> 00:10:33.633


like I'm hearing myself and



00:10:33.653 --> 00:10:34.494


I'm imagining a lot of



00:10:34.534 --> 00:10:35.514


people being like okay you



00:10:35.534 --> 00:10:37.856


know lazy millennial thinks



00:10:38.076 --> 00:10:40.398


they have ADHD I am



00:10:40.418 --> 00:10:41.318


diagnosed with ADHD if



00:10:41.959 --> 00:10:43.900


that's worth anything but



00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:46.882


yeah I just I think again



00:10:47.102 --> 00:10:48.583


when I was younger with



00:10:49.123 --> 00:10:51.005


academics you know doing well in school



00:10:51.756 --> 00:10:52.697


I was still young enough to



00:10:52.717 --> 00:10:53.877


where my ego was so wrapped



00:10:53.917 --> 00:10:55.458


up in it that it had like this,



00:10:56.438 --> 00:10:58.399


it all felt naturally worth it to me.



00:10:58.420 --> 00:11:00.961


But then I just didn't get like the,



00:11:01.201 --> 00:11:02.942


the egoic boost out of a



00:11:02.982 --> 00:11:04.263


job that I got when I was



00:11:04.303 --> 00:11:06.004


younger and like trying to



00:11:06.024 --> 00:11:07.344


be the top of the class or whatever.



00:11:07.444 --> 00:11:09.265


So it just suddenly, yeah,



00:11:09.785 --> 00:11:11.106


I feel like I'm waffling a lot,



00:11:11.146 --> 00:11:12.647


but basically I've always



00:11:12.667 --> 00:11:14.188


been bad at jobs and I have



00:11:14.228 --> 00:11:16.169


to unshame that because I've tried,



00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:17.289


I always had jobs.



00:11:17.349 --> 00:11:17.690


I wasn't,



00:11:18.210 --> 00:11:19.851


someone who like you know



00:11:19.911 --> 00:11:20.791


always got a free ride or



00:11:20.811 --> 00:11:21.745


anything like that but



00:11:21.745 --> 00:11:22.896


just i also feel like it's



00:11:22.936 --> 00:11:24.636


really hard to go from like



00:11:24.656 --> 00:11:26.317


you were saying when you're



00:11:26.437 --> 00:11:27.997


in the church and you feel



00:11:28.017 --> 00:11:29.358


like your higher purpose is



00:11:29.398 --> 00:11:31.038


like preparing for the next



00:11:31.118 --> 00:11:32.799


life and you know you're



00:11:32.979 --> 00:11:34.399


you're literally getting



00:11:34.439 --> 00:11:35.820


ready to have your own planet



00:11:37.380 --> 00:11:38.781


It's kind of hard to go from



00:11:38.861 --> 00:11:40.761


that level of meaning to



00:11:40.781 --> 00:11:42.101


just working in a cubicle



00:11:42.141 --> 00:11:44.322


every day and possibly



00:11:44.362 --> 00:11:46.142


doing paperwork and things like that.



00:11:46.282 --> 00:11:48.123


And I totally identify with



00:11:48.163 --> 00:11:49.803


the ADHD aspect of it



00:11:49.843 --> 00:11:51.624


because if you're not



00:11:52.564 --> 00:11:54.184


motivated to do something,



00:11:54.325 --> 00:11:56.045


if it's not interesting to you,



00:11:56.605 --> 00:11:58.651


that's when the procrastination comes in.



00:11:59.311 --> 00:12:01.051


And then you just don't, you don't do it.



00:12:01.051 --> 00:12:01.541


you don't want to



00:12:01.694 --> 00:12:02.655


accomplish it.



00:12:02.775 --> 00:12:04.376


And I think honestly,



00:12:04.877 --> 00:12:06.959


it's really not the millennial thing.



00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:08.560


I think that millennials get



00:12:08.660 --> 00:12:10.362


such a bad rap for being



00:12:10.402 --> 00:12:11.723


quote unquote lazy or not



00:12:11.763 --> 00:12:13.565


wanting to do quote unquote real work,



00:12:13.605 --> 00:12:13.683


but



00:12:13.683 --> 00:12:13.725


for a



00:12:13.805 --> 00:12:14.840


lot of the time,



00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:16.393


if you're going into a corporate job,



00:12:16.633 --> 00:12:17.734


you're asking somebody to



00:12:17.774 --> 00:12:19.676


kind of push paper around and,



00:12:20.161 --> 00:12:21.462


report to someone else on



00:12:21.522 --> 00:12:23.223


kind of menial tasks,



00:12:23.763 --> 00:12:24.903


and you don't really feel



00:12:24.963 --> 00:12:25.944


like you're a part of



00:12:25.984 --> 00:12:27.024


something important.



00:12:27.685 --> 00:12:30.486


And there used to be this sort of notion,



00:12:30.526 --> 00:12:32.507


like back in my grandparents' day,



00:12:32.987 --> 00:12:35.088


where if you went to



00:12:35.128 --> 00:12:36.069


college and you got a



00:12:36.109 --> 00:12:37.850


degree and then you got a good job,



00:12:37.890 --> 00:12:38.710


you were with the same



00:12:38.750 --> 00:12:40.251


company for your whole career.



00:12:40.771 --> 00:12:41.752


And you felt like you were a part of it.



00:12:41.772 --> 00:12:42.492


And you could actually buy a



00:12:42.532 --> 00:12:43.166


house and...



00:12:43.251 --> 00:12:45.032


no yeah our generation is



00:12:45.072 --> 00:12:46.033


like the first generation



00:12:46.073 --> 00:12:47.014


just saying something about



00:12:47.034 --> 00:12:47.494


it because we're not



00:12:47.574 --> 00:12:48.415


getting the same



00:12:48.935 --> 00:12:50.436


consequences like we don't



00:12:50.936 --> 00:12:51.897


yeah we don't get to be



00:12:51.957 --> 00:12:53.198


homeowners we don't we can



00:12:53.518 --> 00:12:54.799


have great paying jobs and



00:12:54.839 --> 00:12:56.060


it's still like it's not



00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:57.260


yielding the fruits it used



00:12:57.280 --> 00:12:58.101


to for our parents or



00:12:58.121 --> 00:12:59.682


grandparents which



00:12:59.822 --> 00:13:00.463


definitely makes the



00:13:00.503 --> 00:13:01.763


difference also we'd both



00:13:01.803 --> 00:13:03.865


be like at our like you



00:13:03.885 --> 00:13:05.006


know professional writing



00:13:05.046 --> 00:13:06.987


jobs like secretly writing



00:13:07.007 --> 00:13:07.908


about the church on the



00:13:07.948 --> 00:13:09.489


side because it was like I



00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:10.269


suppose in that sense we



00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:11.150


weren't lazy we just



00:13:11.490 --> 00:13:12.591


weren't passionate about



00:13:12.932 --> 00:13:13.773


Corporate writing?



00:13:14.693 --> 00:13:15.274


Exactly.



00:13:15.434 --> 00:13:17.476


And when you're a writer and



00:13:17.516 --> 00:13:18.296


you're a creator,



00:13:18.336 --> 00:13:19.357


you want to write about



00:13:19.397 --> 00:13:20.658


things that interest you



00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:22.460


and that you're passionate about.



00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:24.542


And so writing from an



00:13:25.062 --> 00:13:26.083


assignment someone else is



00:13:26.663 --> 00:13:27.644


giving you that doesn't



00:13:27.684 --> 00:13:28.885


have a lot of meaning for you,



00:13:29.005 --> 00:13:30.327


I can imagine must have



00:13:30.347 --> 00:13:31.948


been pretty mind numbing as well.



00:13:32.249 --> 00:13:32.374


Well,



00:13:32.414 --> 00:13:34.316


when you've just felt that loss of



00:13:34.856 --> 00:13:37.158


your whole worldview and your faith,



00:13:37.238 --> 00:13:38.119


it's like suddenly the



00:13:38.199 --> 00:13:40.381


stakes of life just feel so high.



00:13:40.441 --> 00:13:41.202


And when you're trying to



00:13:41.903 --> 00:13:44.045


figure out like your reason



00:13:44.085 --> 00:13:45.186


for being or whether there



00:13:45.246 --> 00:13:47.248


even is a reason to continue being,



00:13:47.428 --> 00:13:48.929


which is something we both struggled with,



00:13:48.989 --> 00:13:51.131


it's very hard to put on the sort of



00:13:51.432 --> 00:13:52.673


corporate face they want you



00:13:53.134 --> 00:13:54.575


to put on and pretend like



00:13:54.655 --> 00:13:55.756


writing about treadmills is



00:13:55.796 --> 00:13:56.637


the thing you were put on



00:13:56.677 --> 00:13:57.638


God's earth to do.



00:13:57.698 --> 00:13:59.399


And it's your dream to be in



00:13:59.439 --> 00:14:00.961


this conference room at this moment.



00:14:01.061 --> 00:14:03.123


Hey, I could never take that seriously.



00:14:03.143 --> 00:14:03.803


You know, they're like,



00:14:04.104 --> 00:14:05.365


are we so excited for this



00:14:05.425 --> 00:14:06.145


upcoming thing?



00:14:06.165 --> 00:14:07.867


And I'm like, no, to be honest,



00:14:07.907 --> 00:14:08.708


not really.



00:14:08.728 --> 00:14:13.172


You guys pay me money.



00:14:13.192 --> 00:14:14.233


It's not like this is my



00:14:14.473 --> 00:14:16.895


heart's desire since I was a child.



00:14:18.156 --> 00:14:18.457


Tanner,



00:14:18.497 --> 00:14:19.978


we are so excited because we've



00:14:20.038 --> 00:14:21.059


totally rearranged the



00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:22.061


buttons on the treadmill



00:14:22.081 --> 00:14:23.542


and we want you to write all about it.



00:14:23.943 --> 00:14:24.844


That's literally it.



00:14:24.864 --> 00:14:25.404


That was it.



00:14:25.464 --> 00:14:27.627


That was the job.



00:14:29.709 --> 00:14:29.929


Yeah.



00:14:30.029 --> 00:14:31.010


One of the other things that



00:14:31.050 --> 00:14:32.172


I've been thinking about



00:14:32.252 --> 00:14:33.573


and talking a lot about



00:14:34.014 --> 00:14:37.497


also is that when you leave the church,



00:14:38.058 --> 00:14:39.659


and you sort of let go of



00:14:39.719 --> 00:14:43.040


this idea of preparing for the afterlife,



00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:44.961


suddenly this life becomes



00:14:45.001 --> 00:14:46.081


a lot more meaningful.



00:14:46.562 --> 00:14:47.622


And I think a lot of us in



00:14:47.662 --> 00:14:49.063


the church sort of give



00:14:49.103 --> 00:14:50.283


less importance and meaning



00:14:50.323 --> 00:14:51.083


to the life that we're



00:14:51.123 --> 00:14:52.404


having right now because



00:14:52.424 --> 00:14:54.125


we're looking so forward to



00:14:54.145 --> 00:14:55.765


things being better in the afterlife.



00:14:56.165 --> 00:14:57.446


So I don't know if you felt this,



00:14:57.486 --> 00:14:58.807


but when I left the church



00:14:58.887 --> 00:14:59.867


and there was no longer



00:14:59.907 --> 00:15:02.228


this belief in an afterlife, for me,



00:15:02.848 --> 00:15:04.409


it changed my entire



00:15:04.449 --> 00:15:05.469


perspective on what I'm



00:15:05.509 --> 00:15:07.010


doing in this life right now.



00:15:07.464 --> 00:15:08.800


it made me want to do



00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:10.061


things that were even more



00:15:10.081 --> 00:15:12.482


meaningful in this life, like my career,



00:15:12.883 --> 00:15:13.183


you know,



00:15:13.343 --> 00:15:14.303


doing something that was



00:15:14.343 --> 00:15:15.504


important or meaningful.



00:15:15.604 --> 00:15:15.951


Yeah,



00:15:16.449 --> 00:15:17.850


I sometimes get the hunch



00:15:17.870 --> 00:15:18.911


that the afterlife was



00:15:18.971 --> 00:15:20.713


invented for that purpose,



00:15:20.873 --> 00:15:23.135


to detach people from this life,



00:15:23.155 --> 00:15:24.536


to put less emphasis on it,



00:15:24.576 --> 00:15:25.697


to convince people to do



00:15:25.717 --> 00:15:26.558


things that they wouldn't



00:15:26.658 --> 00:15:28.620


otherwise do if they felt



00:15:28.660 --> 00:15:30.282


that this life was it.



00:15:30.802 --> 00:15:32.544


Yeah, I agree with you on that.



00:15:33.225 --> 00:15:35.527


And also to sort of diminish the pain,



00:15:36.048 --> 00:15:36.368


you know,



00:15:36.428 --> 00:15:37.909


it's sort of like that opiate of



00:15:37.950 --> 00:15:40.232


the masses idea where if



00:15:40.272 --> 00:15:41.493


what we're going through in



00:15:41.533 --> 00:15:43.575


this life is unpleasant or difficult,



00:15:43.615 --> 00:15:45.517


we can just dismiss it away



00:15:45.938 --> 00:15:48.240


by taking the drug of, well,



00:15:48.300 --> 00:15:49.722


things will be better in the next world.



00:15:50.606 --> 00:15:50.906


Yeah,



00:15:51.587 --> 00:15:55.049


which I do understand the appeal of



00:15:55.069 --> 00:15:57.291


that because this world is



00:15:57.371 --> 00:15:58.712


so full of suffering and



00:15:58.772 --> 00:16:00.854


just dealing with mortality



00:16:01.074 --> 00:16:02.015


is really hard.



00:16:02.635 --> 00:16:05.477


And so I understand the



00:16:05.517 --> 00:16:06.618


impulse to want to believe



00:16:06.658 --> 00:16:07.339


that there's more,



00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:08.199


that there's some kind of



00:16:08.599 --> 00:16:10.741


divine justice that will play out.



00:16:11.522 --> 00:16:14.324


But I think what that ends up doing is...



00:16:15.195 --> 00:16:15.355


You know,



00:16:15.415 --> 00:16:17.817


procrastinating the day of our living,



00:16:17.957 --> 00:16:19.098


as it were, like, you know,



00:16:19.178 --> 00:16:22.760


we rather than fully grieving, you know,



00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:24.901


the pain and the suffering and the loss,



00:16:25.202 --> 00:16:26.242


we just put it off and then



00:16:26.262 --> 00:16:27.883


we never actually confront life.



00:16:27.903 --> 00:16:28.604


And because we're not



00:16:28.644 --> 00:16:29.825


confronted with our own grief,



00:16:30.105 --> 00:16:32.326


we also miss out on the joy.



00:16:32.366 --> 00:16:33.527


That's the flip side of that,



00:16:33.547 --> 00:16:34.468


because if you live.



00:16:35.088 --> 00:16:37.168


in the awareness of grief of



00:16:37.228 --> 00:16:39.369


mortality of loss then all



00:16:39.389 --> 00:16:41.089


your joy is like through



00:16:41.109 --> 00:16:41.889


the roof every minute



00:16:41.909 --> 00:16:42.990


you're well you know not



00:16:43.050 --> 00:16:45.170


all the time but it's uh



00:16:45.190 --> 00:16:45.910


you know it's it sucks a



00:16:45.950 --> 00:16:48.031


lot of it but also you are



00:16:48.251 --> 00:16:49.491


it informs that so you know



00:16:49.511 --> 00:16:50.731


when i'm spending time with



00:16:50.751 --> 00:16:52.652


a loved one i'm really



00:16:52.692 --> 00:16:53.912


trying to spend time with a



00:16:53.952 --> 00:16:55.832


loved one because i know



00:16:56.212 --> 00:16:58.393


how precious that moment really is



00:16:59.073 --> 00:17:00.716


And knowing that I'll have



00:17:00.736 --> 00:17:02.998


to grieve the death of my friends,



00:17:03.038 --> 00:17:03.899


of my family,



00:17:04.801 --> 00:17:06.283


informs the way that I



00:17:06.323 --> 00:17:06.963


interact with them.



00:17:07.004 --> 00:17:08.245


Rather than being like, oh, well, you know,



00:17:08.265 --> 00:17:09.206


I'll see him when I see him.



00:17:09.286 --> 00:17:11.008


We'll have eternity to hang out.



00:17:11.028 --> 00:17:11.808


Or like,



00:17:11.849 --> 00:17:12.950


how can I earn spiritual brownie



00:17:12.970 --> 00:17:14.211


points from this interaction?



00:17:14.271 --> 00:17:15.572


How can this secure me up a



00:17:15.592 --> 00:17:16.633


bigger mansion in heaven?



00:17:17.154 --> 00:17:17.534


Right.



00:17:18.531 --> 00:17:19.412


Yeah, exactly.



00:17:19.452 --> 00:17:20.773


I think it does help me to



00:17:20.893 --> 00:17:22.215


savor the relationships



00:17:22.235 --> 00:17:24.077


that I have and prioritize



00:17:24.137 --> 00:17:27.401


time with quality people and to not,



00:17:27.461 --> 00:17:27.701


you know,



00:17:27.761 --> 00:17:30.143


not put things off for later and say, oh,



00:17:30.343 --> 00:17:31.585


yeah, we'll connect later.



00:17:31.845 --> 00:17:33.687


I have forever to deal with that.



00:17:34.207 --> 00:17:36.109


So it does change your perspective.



00:17:36.315 --> 00:17:37.596


Can you each talk a little



00:17:37.616 --> 00:17:39.559


bit about some of the small



00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.181


changes that you began to



00:17:41.221 --> 00:17:44.365


make after your transition out of faith?



00:17:44.645 --> 00:17:46.547


And what were some of the



00:17:46.848 --> 00:17:48.369


small changes that you made



00:17:48.430 --> 00:17:50.892


that ended up being really important?



00:17:51.313 --> 00:17:53.876


I have a treadmill related story.



00:17:53.956 --> 00:17:56.378


Way to keep us on track.



00:17:58.961 --> 00:18:00.642


So we, I mean,



00:18:01.183 --> 00:18:02.164


we both went through like a



00:18:02.224 --> 00:18:03.725


very depressed,



00:18:03.865 --> 00:18:05.026


nihilistic phase after



00:18:05.046 --> 00:18:05.807


leaving the church.



00:18:05.847 --> 00:18:07.589


And I can't remember how



00:18:07.649 --> 00:18:09.170


long I'd been in that phase for,



00:18:09.210 --> 00:18:10.472


maybe about a year of just



00:18:10.552 --> 00:18:12.493


feeling like life had no meaning.



00:18:12.754 --> 00:18:15.217


And yeah, I just couldn't find...



00:18:15.916 --> 00:18:17.757


any joy in life,



00:18:17.817 --> 00:18:19.138


except for I did get a cat



00:18:19.178 --> 00:18:20.499


called Clickbait and he



00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:21.600


kind of brought me back to life,



00:18:21.620 --> 00:18:23.461


having another living thing to care for.



00:18:24.181 --> 00:18:25.502


That started a snowball



00:18:25.542 --> 00:18:27.504


effect of imbuing my life



00:18:27.524 --> 00:18:28.145


with meaning again.



00:18:28.245 --> 00:18:32.327


But I remember about a year to two years,



00:18:32.447 --> 00:18:33.128


probably a year and a half



00:18:33.968 --> 00:18:35.770


after the complete collapse of our faith,



00:18:35.970 --> 00:18:37.531


I started listening to this



00:18:37.571 --> 00:18:39.272


podcast called My Dad Wrote a Porno,



00:18:39.332 --> 00:18:40.012


which is just like this



00:18:40.032 --> 00:18:41.673


comedy podcast in the UK.



00:18:42.874 --> 00:18:45.437


And the podcast was so good



00:18:45.477 --> 00:18:47.099


and so funny that I just



00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:48.160


remember thinking in my mind,



00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:49.261


I'm going to want to binge



00:18:49.281 --> 00:18:50.002


this constantly.



00:18:50.042 --> 00:18:51.964


So I might as well like move



00:18:52.024 --> 00:18:53.005


my body while I do it



00:18:53.065 --> 00:18:54.566


because I can't sit still anyway.



00:18:54.586 --> 00:18:55.207


So I was like,



00:18:55.227 --> 00:18:55.908


I'm going to listen to an



00:18:55.948 --> 00:18:58.210


episode a day and go to my



00:18:58.250 --> 00:18:59.231


apartment gym and walk on



00:18:59.271 --> 00:19:00.072


the treadmill for the



00:19:00.112 --> 00:19:00.913


length of that episode,



00:19:00.933 --> 00:19:01.734


like thirty minutes.



00:19:02.234 --> 00:19:03.956


And prior to this, for like a year,



00:19:04.036 --> 00:19:05.657


I just like, I hadn't been moving.



00:19:05.737 --> 00:19:08.240


I hadn't been like treating my body right.



00:19:08.280 --> 00:19:10.482


I just wasn't motivated to



00:19:10.502 --> 00:19:13.484


like live a healthy life



00:19:13.504 --> 00:19:15.026


physically or spiritually



00:19:15.046 --> 00:19:17.208


or emotionally or anything.



00:19:17.748 --> 00:19:20.230


And just starting to do this



00:19:20.571 --> 00:19:21.592


one half an hour thing



00:19:21.632 --> 00:19:23.473


every single day was like



00:19:23.954 --> 00:19:26.436


my entry point back into



00:19:26.876 --> 00:19:27.977


life again as physically,



00:19:28.818 --> 00:19:30.158


silly or not silly as it



00:19:30.198 --> 00:19:32.019


might sound at number one



00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:33.660


obviously like the benefits



00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:34.940


of moving for half an hour



00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:36.140


a day can't be overstated



00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:38.041


but it was like I had this



00:19:38.181 --> 00:19:39.141


anchor you know I had this



00:19:39.281 --> 00:19:40.262


promise I would keep to



00:19:40.302 --> 00:19:42.282


myself every single day and



00:19:42.302 --> 00:19:43.222


I didn't just immediately



00:19:43.242 --> 00:19:44.463


make you know everything



00:19:44.543 --> 00:19:46.884


wonderful but it it's like



00:19:46.924 --> 00:19:48.084


if you can just start with



00:19:48.184 --> 00:19:49.424


one thing then you you



00:19:49.564 --> 00:19:51.165


naturally usually do build



00:19:51.205 --> 00:19:52.065


on top of that because you



00:19:52.105 --> 00:19:52.905


start like believing



00:19:53.145 --> 00:19:54.406


yourself to be capable and



00:19:55.186 --> 00:19:55.366


you know,



00:19:55.406 --> 00:19:56.527


even just getting some good



00:19:56.607 --> 00:19:57.607


endorphins every day,



00:19:57.647 --> 00:19:59.728


I'm sure was lending itself



00:19:59.768 --> 00:20:00.748


to me then having other



00:20:00.828 --> 00:20:02.489


ideas about how I can



00:20:02.689 --> 00:20:04.050


enhance my the quality of



00:20:04.090 --> 00:20:04.930


my day to day life.



00:20:05.390 --> 00:20:06.531


And I was lucky enough to be



00:20:06.731 --> 00:20:08.011


freelance writing at this



00:20:08.051 --> 00:20:10.592


time I was doing SEO blogging,



00:20:10.632 --> 00:20:11.873


which was also soul destroying,



00:20:11.893 --> 00:20:12.573


but in a different way



00:20:12.593 --> 00:20:13.894


where I could keep my own schedule.



00:20:13.994 --> 00:20:15.834


So I was kind of able to



00:20:15.874 --> 00:20:17.395


like build my life brick by



00:20:17.415 --> 00:20:18.255


brick at that time,



00:20:18.315 --> 00:20:19.476


which I feel grateful for.



00:20:20.040 --> 00:20:20.200


Yeah,



00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:22.182


I'm definitely a fan of the just



00:20:22.222 --> 00:20:24.345


change one thing instead of



00:20:24.385 --> 00:20:25.546


trying to get overwhelmed



00:20:25.566 --> 00:20:26.727


with a list of things that



00:20:26.747 --> 00:20:28.189


you want to be different in your life.



00:20:28.229 --> 00:20:30.051


So I love that you just did



00:20:30.091 --> 00:20:32.294


that thing and that led to other things.



00:20:32.914 --> 00:20:35.437


And also, I liked your comment about,



00:20:35.677 --> 00:20:35.938


you know,



00:20:35.978 --> 00:20:38.180


the the SEO being freelance



00:20:38.561 --> 00:20:40.042


while the work itself maybe



00:20:40.062 --> 00:20:40.963


was a little numbing.



00:20:41.744 --> 00:20:43.505


at least you had some time freedom.



00:20:44.085 --> 00:20:45.825


And I think that not enough



00:20:45.885 --> 00:20:47.386


people appreciate how much



00:20:47.446 --> 00:20:49.306


time freedom has a huge



00:20:49.386 --> 00:20:51.327


impact on your life because



00:20:51.347 --> 00:20:52.607


then you have the ability



00:20:53.187 --> 00:20:54.448


to sort of work on other



00:20:54.488 --> 00:20:56.428


projects or to at least



00:20:56.488 --> 00:20:57.849


have some differentiation



00:20:57.909 --> 00:20:59.749


in your day so that you're



00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:01.110


not constantly on the same



00:21:01.170 --> 00:21:02.430


exact schedule every day.



00:21:02.850 --> 00:21:04.751


So if you have a job that you hate,



00:21:04.771 --> 00:21:06.391


but at least you have time freedom,



00:21:06.892 --> 00:21:07.952


that's a lot better than



00:21:08.272 --> 00:21:09.672


just a job that you hate at



00:21:09.712 --> 00:21:10.873


a location that you hate.



00:21:11.673 --> 00:21:13.195


Yeah, so true.



00:21:13.235 --> 00:21:14.557


Time freedom is everything.



00:21:14.637 --> 00:21:16.539


And it is stressful and



00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:18.681


frustrating the way our



00:21:18.721 --> 00:21:20.924


current systems are keeping people just,



00:21:21.505 --> 00:21:21.765


I mean,



00:21:21.825 --> 00:21:23.847


they're giving all of their life



00:21:23.887 --> 00:21:25.189


force to companies,



00:21:25.529 --> 00:21:27.011


their precious life energy,



00:21:27.051 --> 00:21:28.212


and then people are so



00:21:28.293 --> 00:21:30.355


drained after that.



00:21:30.895 --> 00:21:32.336


I did end up like going back



00:21:32.396 --> 00:21:34.037


to an in-office job for



00:21:34.057 --> 00:21:34.657


like four more years.



00:21:34.697 --> 00:21:37.018


But that feeling of like



00:21:37.038 --> 00:21:39.319


you've technically done a four days work,



00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:40.179


but really you've kind of



00:21:40.239 --> 00:21:41.400


just like mindlessly sat in



00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:42.300


an office for eight hours,



00:21:42.360 --> 00:21:43.361


even if you've done some



00:21:43.401 --> 00:21:44.001


work in that time.



00:21:44.401 --> 00:21:45.002


And then you just have



00:21:45.162 --> 00:21:46.322


nothing left to give at the



00:21:46.362 --> 00:21:46.882


end of the day.



00:21:46.922 --> 00:21:48.683


So you don't have the



00:21:48.723 --> 00:21:50.804


ability to like turn things around.



00:21:50.844 --> 00:21:51.845


It feels like a lot of times



00:21:51.885 --> 00:21:52.985


because it's you're



00:21:53.085 --> 00:21:54.946


understandably just completely sapped.



00:21:55.326 --> 00:21:56.427


That's a hard situation to be in.



00:21:57.150 --> 00:21:57.450


Yeah.



00:21:57.770 --> 00:22:00.031


And I think that the remote situation,



00:22:00.091 --> 00:22:01.252


if you're lucky enough to



00:22:01.292 --> 00:22:02.392


have a job that's remote,



00:22:02.493 --> 00:22:04.593


even a couple of days a week,



00:22:05.134 --> 00:22:06.614


it gives you the ability to like,



00:22:06.875 --> 00:22:08.015


I can be at home and



00:22:08.075 --> 00:22:10.156


tidying while I'm listening



00:22:10.196 --> 00:22:11.136


to a conference call.



00:22:11.216 --> 00:22:12.577


I don't have to be just in



00:22:12.617 --> 00:22:14.578


my cubicle focused on something.



00:22:15.178 --> 00:22:16.799


And I've had a couple of



00:22:16.859 --> 00:22:18.840


jobs where there wasn't



00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:19.820


enough work to do.



00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:20.581


And that's one of the



00:22:20.601 --> 00:22:22.202


situations that I'm in right now.



00:22:22.422 --> 00:22:22.882


And that



00:22:23.402 --> 00:22:25.503


in itself also is equally



00:22:25.704 --> 00:22:27.685


terrible and mind numbing.



00:22:28.285 --> 00:22:29.646


But at least I can work



00:22:29.706 --> 00:22:31.107


remote a lot of the time.



00:22:31.307 --> 00:22:32.648


And then I can be working on



00:22:32.708 --> 00:22:33.789


other projects like this,



00:22:34.249 --> 00:22:35.770


instead of sitting at a



00:22:35.810 --> 00:22:37.131


desk waiting for something



00:22:37.171 --> 00:22:38.132


to happen so that I can



00:22:38.172 --> 00:22:38.952


have something to do.



00:22:38.972 --> 00:22:42.915


So I appreciate your standpoint on that.



00:22:42.935 --> 00:22:43.856


What about you, Tanner?



00:22:43.916 --> 00:22:45.417


What was something that was



00:22:45.437 --> 00:22:46.518


a small change you made



00:22:46.558 --> 00:22:48.099


that maybe later led to



00:22:48.159 --> 00:22:50.120


other things that were super important?



00:22:50.555 --> 00:22:50.877


Um,



00:22:51.017 --> 00:22:53.118


I probably similar to Samantha's I'd



00:22:53.178 --> 00:22:53.658


say the,



00:22:53.698 --> 00:22:55.619


like one of the biggest shifts of



00:22:55.879 --> 00:22:58.161


coming out of Mormonism and



00:22:59.181 --> 00:23:00.082


into the direction that my



00:23:00.122 --> 00:23:01.863


life has taken now is just



00:23:01.903 --> 00:23:03.664


becoming more in touch with my body.



00:23:04.344 --> 00:23:06.566


And like in Mormonism,



00:23:06.887 --> 00:23:10.008


my body was always my enemy at worst,



00:23:10.268 --> 00:23:11.149


or just like



00:23:11.655 --> 00:23:12.035


I don't know,



00:23:12.155 --> 00:23:15.418


sort of an inconvenience at best.



00:23:15.778 --> 00:23:16.838


It was like this thing I had



00:23:16.879 --> 00:23:18.760


to deal with until I get back to heaven.



00:23:18.800 --> 00:23:20.221


And in the meantime,



00:23:20.281 --> 00:23:22.663


just try to punch in the



00:23:22.703 --> 00:23:24.044


clock and do the things and



00:23:24.084 --> 00:23:25.025


make God happy.



00:23:25.625 --> 00:23:28.508


But realizing that my body,



00:23:28.528 --> 00:23:32.991


my experience in this flesh vessel is it.



00:23:33.291 --> 00:23:35.412


For me, it's always going to be this.



00:23:36.053 --> 00:23:37.994


And the way that I feel about it,



00:23:38.054 --> 00:23:39.155


the way that I treat it,



00:23:39.915 --> 00:23:41.356


is going to affect me for



00:23:41.376 --> 00:23:42.297


the rest of my life.



00:23:42.337 --> 00:23:43.938


So it's an ongoing journey



00:23:44.578 --> 00:23:46.760


of like really learning to



00:23:46.800 --> 00:23:49.601


love and listen to myself



00:23:49.661 --> 00:23:51.763


to like understand my



00:23:52.223 --> 00:23:54.825


internal feelings and sensations.



00:23:55.405 --> 00:23:57.006


and to honor my needs and



00:23:57.046 --> 00:24:00.447


desires and to create space



00:24:00.767 --> 00:24:03.908


to express those and to



00:24:04.088 --> 00:24:05.849


seek out the things that are good for me,



00:24:05.889 --> 00:24:07.570


whether that's exercise,



00:24:07.870 --> 00:24:09.330


whether that's making sure



00:24:09.390 --> 00:24:11.171


I'm spending quality time in nature,



00:24:11.551 --> 00:24:13.592


whether that's eating properly, which,



00:24:14.072 --> 00:24:15.813


you know, still an ongoing thing,



00:24:15.853 --> 00:24:17.313


but better than it's been.



00:24:18.053 --> 00:24:19.974


And so, yeah,



00:24:20.074 --> 00:24:22.275


I'd say like embodiment is



00:24:22.375 --> 00:24:24.696


the word of the day for me on that one.



00:24:25.544 --> 00:24:25.704


Yeah,



00:24:25.764 --> 00:24:27.606


I feel like we get taught so much in



00:24:27.646 --> 00:24:29.568


Mormonism to dissociate



00:24:29.588 --> 00:24:31.709


from our bodies and to be



00:24:31.769 --> 00:24:33.071


ashamed of our bodies



00:24:33.131 --> 00:24:33.971


because they're just



00:24:34.031 --> 00:24:35.593


basically a sin factory.



00:24:36.574 --> 00:24:37.314


Whether, you know,



00:24:37.354 --> 00:24:38.756


whether showing my corn



00:24:38.776 --> 00:24:40.997


shoulder over here or, you know,



00:24:41.218 --> 00:24:42.459


or whether trying to deny



00:24:42.499 --> 00:24:43.480


ourselves of basic,



00:24:43.580 --> 00:24:45.822


normal human developmental needs.



00:24:46.203 --> 00:24:47.784


And then also we get taught



00:24:47.824 --> 00:24:49.766


to dissociate from our own feelings.



00:24:50.561 --> 00:24:52.884


And to basically reassign



00:24:53.044 --> 00:24:54.626


our feelings to be some



00:24:54.666 --> 00:24:56.008


kind of a spiritual meaning



00:24:56.068 --> 00:24:57.670


or a connection to the Holy Ghost.



00:24:58.451 --> 00:24:59.673


And I don't know if you guys



00:24:59.693 --> 00:25:00.494


have read this,



00:25:00.594 --> 00:25:01.956


but I just finished reading



00:25:01.996 --> 00:25:03.738


Jeanette McCurdy's I'm Glad



00:25:03.798 --> 00:25:05.561


My Mom's Dead book.



00:25:06.121 --> 00:25:07.022


So amazing.



00:25:07.222 --> 00:25:08.663


And she talks about that,



00:25:08.743 --> 00:25:11.825


how like she was as an eight year old,



00:25:12.045 --> 00:25:13.246


so looking forward to



00:25:13.306 --> 00:25:14.207


hearing the voice of the



00:25:14.247 --> 00:25:16.968


Holy Ghost and praying for it actively.



00:25:17.048 --> 00:25:18.670


And I want to hear it and I



00:25:18.710 --> 00:25:19.630


can't wait to hear it.



00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:21.131


And then when she did hear it,



00:25:21.692 --> 00:25:23.313


what she was attributing to



00:25:23.373 --> 00:25:26.094


be the Holy Ghost was actually OCD.



00:25:26.735 --> 00:25:29.237


And it was it turned into these behaviors,



00:25:29.277 --> 00:25:30.738


these obsessive behaviors.



00:25:30.798 --> 00:25:32.719


But she was glad for them



00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:33.760


because she thought that



00:25:33.780 --> 00:25:34.780


was the Holy Ghost telling



00:25:34.820 --> 00:25:35.381


her what to do.



00:25:36.221 --> 00:25:38.244


And so in Mormonism,



00:25:38.384 --> 00:25:40.106


we get taught that there's



00:25:40.146 --> 00:25:41.448


so much importance on this



00:25:41.588 --> 00:25:44.011


other voice that's coming from God.



00:25:44.172 --> 00:25:45.613


And we stop listening to our



00:25:45.774 --> 00:25:47.336


own instincts and following



00:25:47.396 --> 00:25:49.719


our own instincts about what we need.



00:25:50.239 --> 00:25:51.962


And it sounds like you guys



00:25:52.002 --> 00:25:53.684


can identify with that at least a little.



00:25:55.314 --> 00:25:57.015


Yeah, it definitely has been, I mean,



00:25:57.495 --> 00:25:59.737


a decade long process to



00:25:59.777 --> 00:26:01.858


get more in touch with my



00:26:01.898 --> 00:26:02.919


body and feelings.



00:26:02.979 --> 00:26:05.441


And because I feel like one



00:26:05.461 --> 00:26:06.041


thing we've been talking



00:26:06.061 --> 00:26:06.922


about a lot lately on our



00:26:06.962 --> 00:26:08.443


channel is unshaming work.



00:26:08.523 --> 00:26:11.565


And I feel like you can't deeply,



00:26:11.905 --> 00:26:12.665


you can't connect with



00:26:12.685 --> 00:26:13.546


yourself at the deepest



00:26:13.586 --> 00:26:16.008


level if you won't like



00:26:16.288 --> 00:26:17.669


allow yourself to remove



00:26:18.069 --> 00:26:20.170


the shame that covers a lot



00:26:20.210 --> 00:26:21.872


of the feelings and desires



00:26:21.912 --> 00:26:23.613


and thoughts and stuff that you have.



00:26:23.913 --> 00:26:24.854


Cause you can't bring like



00:26:24.934 --> 00:26:26.575


the level of curiosity you



00:26:26.615 --> 00:26:27.835


need to understand yourself



00:26:27.895 --> 00:26:29.292


if shame is in the way.



00:26:29.457 --> 00:26:29.857


Yeah.



00:26:30.017 --> 00:26:31.297


I think it's such a big part



00:26:31.337 --> 00:26:33.158


of the gospel of, you know,



00:26:33.198 --> 00:26:34.559


the LDS gospel is,



00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:36.480


is like being ashamed of



00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:39.162


who you are because we,



00:26:39.442 --> 00:26:42.083


even though the LDS church talks about,



00:26:42.283 --> 00:26:42.524


you know,



00:26:42.544 --> 00:26:44.585


you're pure until you're eight years old,



00:26:45.085 --> 00:26:45.145


um,



00:26:45.625 --> 00:26:46.927


I feel like there's still a



00:26:46.967 --> 00:26:48.650


lot of shame attached to



00:26:48.690 --> 00:26:51.033


behaviors before you even get baptized.



00:26:51.754 --> 00:26:53.757


And it's like you have to be



00:26:53.797 --> 00:26:55.700


clean in order to get baptized.



00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:57.002


You have to pass that interview.



00:26:57.042 --> 00:26:57.763


So you have to tell the



00:26:57.803 --> 00:26:59.286


bishop that you're already, you know,



00:26:59.306 --> 00:27:00.587


that you're doing everything right.



00:27:01.368 --> 00:27:02.069


And if you're not,



00:27:02.489 --> 00:27:04.690


there is just basically that shame.



00:27:05.050 --> 00:27:07.152


The whole thing is shame based, you know,



00:27:07.252 --> 00:27:09.113


so we have to go repent



00:27:09.153 --> 00:27:10.694


because we're inherently



00:27:10.734 --> 00:27:12.795


bad and we're never going



00:27:12.815 --> 00:27:13.996


to be as clean as we were



00:27:14.036 --> 00:27:15.397


on the day we were baptized.



00:27:15.497 --> 00:27:16.838


And so then we get to be



00:27:16.918 --> 00:27:18.939


ashamed of ourselves and



00:27:18.979 --> 00:27:20.160


our actions and our bodies



00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:21.881


and everything for the rest of eternity.



00:27:22.521 --> 00:27:24.663


and have this constant need to repent.



00:27:25.183 --> 00:27:28.146


So I don't know what your experience was,



00:27:28.246 --> 00:27:31.208


but when I finally signed



00:27:31.268 --> 00:27:33.350


the paper to resign from



00:27:33.390 --> 00:27:35.832


the church and sent it off,



00:27:36.252 --> 00:27:37.853


I literally did feel shame



00:27:37.913 --> 00:27:38.814


leaving my body.



00:27:39.575 --> 00:27:41.436


I felt like this huge relief



00:27:41.856 --> 00:27:44.619


and release also of all of



00:27:44.739 --> 00:27:46.660


the parts of myself that I



00:27:46.760 --> 00:27:50.723


had repressed or been ashamed of,



00:27:51.724 --> 00:27:53.387


that now I could finally



00:27:53.527 --> 00:27:55.510


allow an equal seat at the table.



00:27:55.751 --> 00:27:56.893


I could finally welcome



00:27:56.913 --> 00:27:58.816


those parts of myself and



00:27:58.876 --> 00:28:00.759


not feel ashamed of them anymore.



00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:02.182


I don't know if you had



00:28:02.242 --> 00:28:03.905


something similar like that.



00:28:04.409 --> 00:28:05.509


I got chills when you said



00:28:05.529 --> 00:28:07.510


that just because it was so relatable.



00:28:07.710 --> 00:28:08.870


I always say that I felt



00:28:08.910 --> 00:28:10.550


like there was this tight



00:28:10.771 --> 00:28:12.851


rope just knotted in my



00:28:12.891 --> 00:28:14.811


stomach for years that I



00:28:14.851 --> 00:28:16.472


had just gotten to the



00:28:16.512 --> 00:28:17.512


point where I didn't even notice.



00:28:17.552 --> 00:28:21.193


It was just a regular aspect of me.



00:28:21.933 --> 00:28:24.474


And then when I left the church,



00:28:24.614 --> 00:28:26.894


I felt it just release and



00:28:26.954 --> 00:28:29.555


I felt relaxed for the first time ever.



00:28:30.116 --> 00:28:31.377


in as long as i could



00:28:31.437 --> 00:28:33.559


remember it was a huge



00:28:33.619 --> 00:28:34.860


weight that was lifted and



00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:35.701


not just because like oh



00:28:35.741 --> 00:28:37.002


now i can do any bad thing



00:28:37.062 --> 00:28:38.704


i want it was just like i'm



00:28:38.884 --> 00:28:40.746


okay like they've been



00:28:40.786 --> 00:28:42.128


telling me i've been sick



00:28:42.168 --> 00:28:43.149


and they've been you know



00:28:43.189 --> 00:28:44.510


you're horrible you're sick



00:28:44.530 --> 00:28:45.491


you got it you need us so



00:28:45.511 --> 00:28:46.412


that you can be worthy



00:28:46.452 --> 00:28:47.173


again so that you can be



00:28:47.213 --> 00:28:49.695


pure and that was all just malarkey



00:28:52.578 --> 00:28:52.838


Yeah,



00:28:52.858 --> 00:28:55.319


it's like they say that people leave



00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:57.020


the church because they want to sin.



00:28:57.701 --> 00:29:00.182


And if I had to like reframe that,



00:29:00.222 --> 00:29:01.363


it would be like, no,



00:29:01.663 --> 00:29:02.844


I left the church so that I



00:29:02.864 --> 00:29:04.185


could love myself.



00:29:04.205 --> 00:29:04.466


Yep.



00:29:06.378 --> 00:29:08.280


Yeah, I truly love myself, others.



00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:09.120


It was like, oh,



00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:11.122


I don't have to shame myself.



00:29:11.162 --> 00:29:12.463


I don't have to shame other people.



00:29:12.583 --> 00:29:13.944


I don't have to force people



00:29:13.984 --> 00:29:15.085


to try to live the



00:29:15.105 --> 00:29:16.326


standards that I'm trying to force.



00:29:16.366 --> 00:29:17.787


We don't have to do any of this.



00:29:18.688 --> 00:29:19.028


Right.



00:29:19.266 --> 00:29:19.662


benefiting a few



00:29:19.722 --> 00:29:21.643


guys over in Salt Lake, but not me.



00:29:21.684 --> 00:29:23.565


This isn't making me a happier, healthier,



00:29:23.625 --> 00:29:24.486


more loving person.



00:29:24.875 --> 00:29:25.155


Right.



00:29:25.375 --> 00:29:25.936


Exactly.



00:29:26.536 --> 00:29:27.437


And for me, too,



00:29:28.017 --> 00:29:29.198


it was an opportunity to



00:29:29.278 --> 00:29:30.999


finally listen to the ideas



00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:32.180


and experiences of other



00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:33.820


people authentically and



00:29:33.820 --> 00:29:34.758


give their ideas



00:29:34.778 --> 00:29:36.839


and experiences validity



00:29:36.999 --> 00:29:38.160


and meaning rather than



00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:39.821


dismissing it and saying, well,



00:29:40.161 --> 00:29:40.882


aren't you cute?



00:29:40.902 --> 00:29:42.383


You just don't know the whole truth.



00:29:42.603 --> 00:29:44.524


You know, so condescending.



00:29:46.125 --> 00:29:47.326


Such a treat to be able to



00:29:47.386 --> 00:29:48.487


listen to the experiences



00:29:48.547 --> 00:29:50.288


of others for the first time.



00:29:50.298 --> 00:29:51.130


to accept



00:29:51.230 --> 00:29:53.352


other philosophical ideals



00:29:53.412 --> 00:29:55.033


and other religious ideas



00:29:55.213 --> 00:29:57.094


and other tools from other



00:29:57.155 --> 00:30:00.097


spiritual modalities to be



00:30:00.137 --> 00:30:01.317


able to look at them and say, oh,



00:30:01.357 --> 00:30:02.398


there's some value in that.



00:30:02.438 --> 00:30:03.739


There's something important there.



00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:04.760


I like that idea.



00:30:04.860 --> 00:30:06.041


I think, you know,



00:30:06.101 --> 00:30:08.362


that's valid rather than to



00:30:08.402 --> 00:30:09.343


just dismiss it because



00:30:09.383 --> 00:30:12.005


it's not the ideal that we got taught.



00:30:12.025 --> 00:30:12.105


Yeah.



00:30:13.194 --> 00:30:13.634


Mm-hmm.



00:30:13.674 --> 00:30:17.037


Didn't come from Salt Lake City, Utah,



00:30:17.077 --> 00:30:19.378


so therefore can't possibly be true.



00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:19.999


Yeah,



00:30:20.019 --> 00:30:21.460


if an old white dude didn't say it



00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.422


from the pulpit, then it's not valid.



00:30:24.442 --> 00:30:24.863


Doesn't count.



00:30:24.883 --> 00:30:26.324


Doesn't count.



00:30:27.205 --> 00:30:29.246


I had this one really powerful moment,



00:30:29.406 --> 00:30:29.947


actually,



00:30:30.707 --> 00:30:33.229


when I was sort of reviewing



00:30:33.309 --> 00:30:34.951


some of my shelf items,



00:30:35.291 --> 00:30:36.492


kind of going back and thinking,



00:30:36.852 --> 00:30:38.253


what were some of the things that...



00:30:38.594 --> 00:30:40.435


Made me start questioning my faith.



00:30:40.695 --> 00:30:42.056


And I think the biggest one



00:30:42.116 --> 00:30:44.037


for me or the first big one



00:30:44.077 --> 00:30:46.058


for me was the November,



00:30:46.098 --> 00:30:49.219


twenty fifteen policy when that came out.



00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:51.280


And I remember having this



00:30:51.340 --> 00:30:52.881


really emotional experience



00:30:53.441 --> 00:30:55.722


when the policy was read from the pulpit.



00:30:56.511 --> 00:30:57.612


Because at the time I was a



00:30:57.652 --> 00:30:58.914


choir teacher and I had



00:30:58.934 --> 00:31:00.175


been bringing my students



00:31:00.275 --> 00:31:01.696


to church to sing on



00:31:01.737 --> 00:31:02.738


Christmas and Easter.



00:31:03.458 --> 00:31:06.241


And I taught a lot of LGBTQ students.



00:31:06.522 --> 00:31:09.104


And I was thinking to myself, you know,



00:31:09.204 --> 00:31:11.046


how can I now invite them



00:31:11.347 --> 00:31:14.109


into the church knowing how harmful,



00:31:14.190 --> 00:31:15.671


how openly harmful the



00:31:15.711 --> 00:31:18.434


church is towards the LGBTQ population?



00:31:19.095 --> 00:31:21.717


And I just kept thinking to myself, like,



00:31:21.837 --> 00:31:23.398


if I identify myself with



00:31:23.438 --> 00:31:24.538


this organization,



00:31:24.918 --> 00:31:26.119


my students are not dumb.



00:31:26.139 --> 00:31:26.799


They're going to look at



00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:28.921


that and they're going to say, okay, well,



00:31:28.961 --> 00:31:30.101


she's a part of this church



00:31:30.121 --> 00:31:31.322


that doesn't like us.



00:31:31.762 --> 00:31:33.123


So maybe she doesn't like us



00:31:33.163 --> 00:31:34.504


and we can't trust her either.



00:31:35.184 --> 00:31:37.145


That was one of my really big things.



00:31:37.305 --> 00:31:38.306


And when I was going back



00:31:38.346 --> 00:31:39.468


through it in therapy,



00:31:39.862 --> 00:31:42.384


sorry to be self-referential right now,



00:31:42.404 --> 00:31:45.566


but I'm just like having this mind block.



00:31:45.626 --> 00:31:46.586


I need to talk about it.



00:31:47.427 --> 00:31:47.787


When I,



00:31:48.007 --> 00:31:50.349


when I was going through processing



00:31:50.389 --> 00:31:51.249


that in therapy,



00:31:51.289 --> 00:31:52.350


why I was feeling so



00:31:52.390 --> 00:31:53.891


terrible about that policy,



00:31:54.691 --> 00:31:56.532


it was because I had this,



00:31:57.033 --> 00:31:58.714


this vision when I was processing it,



00:31:58.774 --> 00:32:00.095


I had this vision of all my



00:32:00.155 --> 00:32:01.015


parts at the table.



00:32:01.055 --> 00:32:01.856


This is kind of how I



00:32:01.896 --> 00:32:03.877


envisioned myself is like this,



00:32:04.137 --> 00:32:06.339


We all have a seat at this oval table.



00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.440


And when the twenty fifteen



00:32:08.461 --> 00:32:09.561


policy was announced,



00:32:09.802 --> 00:32:11.503


it was like the bisexual



00:32:11.523 --> 00:32:12.564


part of me stood up.



00:32:13.145 --> 00:32:14.526


And wanted to say something,



00:32:14.886 --> 00:32:16.107


but even at that time,



00:32:16.287 --> 00:32:17.448


I still could not admit



00:32:17.488 --> 00:32:19.551


that I was bisexual and she



00:32:19.591 --> 00:32:20.892


still didn't get to have a voice.



00:32:21.452 --> 00:32:22.453


She was just standing there



00:32:22.493 --> 00:32:24.114


waiting for me to acknowledge her.



00:32:24.775 --> 00:32:25.676


And I still couldn't.



00:32:26.456 --> 00:32:27.837


And so when I finally did



00:32:27.877 --> 00:32:30.699


leave the church and that shame left,



00:32:31.580 --> 00:32:32.840


it was like she was finally



00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:34.601


allowed to speak and she



00:32:34.641 --> 00:32:35.481


had a lot to say.



00:32:36.461 --> 00:32:38.902


And she was finally able to



00:32:38.922 --> 00:32:39.802


like release all the



00:32:39.842 --> 00:32:41.182


emotions that she'd been



00:32:41.632 --> 00:32:42.783


repressing that whole time.



00:32:42.803 --> 00:32:43.803


And she finally felt like



00:32:43.823 --> 00:32:44.643


she had a voice and an



00:32:44.763 --> 00:32:45.764


equal seat at the table.



00:32:45.904 --> 00:32:46.824


And so for me,



00:32:46.904 --> 00:32:48.464


definitely leaving the



00:32:48.504 --> 00:32:49.665


church was about loving and



00:32:49.705 --> 00:32:50.725


accepting all those parts



00:32:50.765 --> 00:32:52.906


of myself and being able to



00:32:52.946 --> 00:32:54.126


let go of the shame that



00:32:54.206 --> 00:32:56.226


was placed upon me because



00:32:56.266 --> 00:32:57.907


I didn't fit into that Mormon box.



00:32:58.437 --> 00:33:00.438


Did you ever,



00:33:00.458 --> 00:33:01.939


did you have that shame



00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:04.161


return at any later point?



00:33:04.481 --> 00:33:06.142


Like, it sounds like once you resigned,



00:33:06.162 --> 00:33:07.963


there was a shedding, but did you,



00:33:08.164 --> 00:33:09.424


have you had to like battle



00:33:09.504 --> 00:33:11.546


it popping back up and like



00:33:11.906 --> 00:33:13.547


driving the car again at times?



00:33:15.148 --> 00:33:15.768


Not really,



00:33:16.588 --> 00:33:19.289


because along with releasing



00:33:19.329 --> 00:33:21.850


the shame that I felt for



00:33:22.730 --> 00:33:23.630


all the parts of me that



00:33:23.650 --> 00:33:25.391


were not acceptable in Mormonism,



00:33:25.571 --> 00:33:27.811


I also released the



00:33:28.072 --> 00:33:29.712


importance of anyone else's



00:33:29.772 --> 00:33:31.192


opinion about who I am.



00:33:31.933 --> 00:33:33.353


No longer having to report



00:33:33.373 --> 00:33:35.474


to a bishop to be declared



00:33:35.514 --> 00:33:37.874


worthy to go to the temple



00:33:38.194 --> 00:33:40.055


and no longer having to



00:33:40.730 --> 00:33:42.431


talk about my experiences in



00:33:42.471 --> 00:33:44.393


an edited way in church.



00:33:45.313 --> 00:33:46.434


Now I can talk about my



00:33:46.474 --> 00:33:47.795


experiences in a completely



00:33:47.896 --> 00:33:49.717


unedited way with a brand



00:33:49.777 --> 00:33:51.939


new lens of there was never



00:33:51.979 --> 00:33:52.860


anything wrong with me.



00:33:54.580 --> 00:33:54.860


You know,



00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:56.521


what was wrong was the culture



00:33:56.541 --> 00:33:57.241


that I was in.



00:33:57.321 --> 00:33:59.422


So the shame that I felt in



00:33:59.442 --> 00:34:01.523


the past came a lot from, you know,



00:34:01.584 --> 00:34:03.244


me shaming myself for not fitting in,



00:34:03.284 --> 00:34:04.265


but it also came from



00:34:04.385 --> 00:34:05.465


having to report to other



00:34:05.485 --> 00:34:06.386


authority figures,



00:34:06.946 --> 00:34:08.047


knowing that I would be



00:34:08.107 --> 00:34:10.128


unacceptable to them and to



00:34:10.168 --> 00:34:11.348


certain family members and



00:34:11.388 --> 00:34:12.009


things like that.



00:34:12.089 --> 00:34:15.170


So I wonder that for you guys too,



00:34:15.230 --> 00:34:17.312


about not having to feel



00:34:17.372 --> 00:34:20.153


like you had to ask someone



00:34:20.233 --> 00:34:21.414


else for your worthiness



00:34:22.154 --> 00:34:23.374


Did you feel a level of



00:34:23.454 --> 00:34:25.715


personal worthiness return



00:34:25.735 --> 00:34:27.586


when you finally left?



00:34:27.606 --> 00:34:28.466


I feel like that had to have



00:34:28.486 --> 00:34:29.906


been more of an intense



00:34:29.926 --> 00:34:30.666


phenomenon for you because



00:34:30.706 --> 00:34:31.486


you were raised in it.



00:34:32.387 --> 00:34:32.707


Yeah.



00:34:33.347 --> 00:34:36.047


And, you know, I, in the church,



00:34:36.207 --> 00:34:38.148


had strived really hard to



00:34:38.188 --> 00:34:40.828


be worthy in all aspects.



00:34:40.848 --> 00:34:42.508


Like, I always had a temple recommend,



00:34:42.588 --> 00:34:43.749


always took the sacrament.



00:34:44.182 --> 00:34:45.443


But even so,



00:34:45.583 --> 00:34:48.265


it was to stay out of trouble



00:34:48.325 --> 00:34:49.766


and I was always hyper



00:34:49.806 --> 00:34:51.127


vigilant about everything I



00:34:51.147 --> 00:34:52.087


was doing and everything



00:34:52.127 --> 00:34:53.808


that I was watching and



00:34:53.969 --> 00:34:55.250


everything happening in my



00:34:55.290 --> 00:34:56.610


body because at any moment



00:34:56.671 --> 00:34:57.531


I could be betrayed by



00:34:57.571 --> 00:34:59.953


myself and be on the devil's path.



00:35:00.694 --> 00:35:01.134


Like I said,



00:35:01.174 --> 00:35:02.215


letting go of all of that was



00:35:02.235 --> 00:35:03.976


just this great release.



00:35:05.058 --> 00:35:07.300


easing back into just being



00:35:07.881 --> 00:35:08.762


and I love that you brought



00:35:08.802 --> 00:35:11.024


up the November policy that



00:35:11.064 --> 00:35:13.106


was the reason we had like



00:35:13.867 --> 00:35:15.128


left the church stopped



00:35:15.168 --> 00:35:16.149


attending the church and



00:35:16.169 --> 00:35:17.110


we're speaking out about it



00:35:17.130 --> 00:35:18.571


but it wasn't until that



00:35:18.611 --> 00:35:19.692


policy that I was like I



00:35:19.712 --> 00:35:21.214


don't even want my name



00:35:21.374 --> 00:35:23.396


associated with this organization



00:35:24.296 --> 00:35:26.016


And a lot of the commentary



00:35:26.577 --> 00:35:30.257


that we see now against LGBTQ plus people,



00:35:30.437 --> 00:35:31.778


against trans people, you know,



00:35:32.398 --> 00:35:34.118


they frame it as like the



00:35:34.198 --> 00:35:36.479


gender ideology movement



00:35:36.539 --> 00:35:37.379


that's taking in.



00:35:37.399 --> 00:35:38.879


And it's not really about gender.



00:35:38.899 --> 00:35:40.786


It's not really about orientation.



00:35:41.086 --> 00:35:42.586


It really is about shame,



00:35:42.946 --> 00:35:44.607


about you are supposed to



00:35:44.627 --> 00:35:46.527


be this specific ideal



00:35:46.547 --> 00:35:48.767


thing that most people aren't, right?



00:35:48.807 --> 00:35:50.788


Like most men aren't the...



00:35:51.348 --> 00:35:55.071


six-foot-five, fully jacked, and, you know,



00:35:55.531 --> 00:35:58.273


like, massive chin and delts, like,



00:35:58.293 --> 00:35:58.594


you know.



00:35:58.654 --> 00:35:59.614


Mewing every moment.



00:35:59.634 --> 00:36:00.315


Mewing, yeah, exactly.



00:36:01.276 --> 00:36:02.617


It's like most people just aren't that.



00:36:02.897 --> 00:36:04.078


But there's this idea that



00:36:04.098 --> 00:36:04.738


that's what you are



00:36:04.798 --> 00:36:05.699


supposed to be and that



00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:06.580


you're supposed to go off



00:36:06.600 --> 00:36:08.141


to war and fight the



00:36:08.201 --> 00:36:10.223


terrorists and work in the



00:36:10.263 --> 00:36:11.383


factory and do all these



00:36:11.444 --> 00:36:12.484


old-timey things that help



00:36:12.584 --> 00:36:14.086


the shame economy function.



00:36:14.146 --> 00:36:14.186


Mm.



00:36:14.866 --> 00:36:16.167


And everybody for



00:36:16.227 --> 00:36:18.388


generations has carried the



00:36:18.408 --> 00:36:19.688


shame that they're not



00:36:19.748 --> 00:36:20.549


living up to that thing,



00:36:20.569 --> 00:36:21.549


that they're supposed to be



00:36:21.589 --> 00:36:21.989


something else,



00:36:22.009 --> 00:36:22.790


that they're supposed to



00:36:22.830 --> 00:36:25.211


fall in line with these traditional,



00:36:25.491 --> 00:36:27.112


that is to say, like, uh,



00:36:27.132 --> 00:36:27.972


they're not traditional at



00:36:28.032 --> 00:36:29.033


all is what I'm saying,



00:36:29.113 --> 00:36:31.014


but these relatively recent



00:36:31.254 --> 00:36:34.135


and Western American white



00:36:34.335 --> 00:36:35.475


Anglo-Saxon Protestant



00:36:35.596 --> 00:36:38.357


ideas about gender and orientation and,



00:36:38.657 --> 00:36:38.917


uh,



00:36:39.157 --> 00:36:40.298


self presentation and



00:36:40.359 --> 00:36:41.440


expression and all that.



00:36:42.020 --> 00:36:43.081


And it's just this thing



00:36:43.102 --> 00:36:44.023


that gets passed on from



00:36:44.083 --> 00:36:45.144


generation to generation



00:36:45.164 --> 00:36:46.065


that you're supposed to be



00:36:46.105 --> 00:36:47.006


this thing and you're not.



00:36:47.346 --> 00:36:48.788


And you just have to live with the weight,



00:36:48.928 --> 00:36:51.391


the crushing weight of that at all times.



00:36:51.531 --> 00:36:53.152


And I personally think that



00:36:53.172 --> 00:36:54.754


that just has horrible,



00:36:54.794 --> 00:36:56.056


horrible ramifications,



00:36:56.156 --> 00:36:56.977


even in our bodies,



00:36:57.017 --> 00:36:59.159


like on a cellular level, it is not good.



00:36:59.219 --> 00:37:01.182


good for us to experience



00:37:01.202 --> 00:37:02.224


that and to carry that.



00:37:02.584 --> 00:37:05.208


And when we say, hey, I'm bisexual.



00:37:05.288 --> 00:37:06.310


Hey, I'm trans.



00:37:06.630 --> 00:37:08.273


Hey, I'm going to wear a dress.



00:37:08.333 --> 00:37:08.573


Hey,



00:37:08.633 --> 00:37:10.977


I'm going to wear makeup or whatever



00:37:11.017 --> 00:37:11.398


it is.



00:37:11.959 --> 00:37:12.940


It's not about this



00:37:13.596 --> 00:37:15.078


ideology that seeped into



00:37:15.098 --> 00:37:16.039


the mind of the generation.



00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:16.881


It's really just saying,



00:37:17.081 --> 00:37:19.224


I refuse to be ashamed of



00:37:19.264 --> 00:37:21.166


who I am and what I'm doing



00:37:21.447 --> 00:37:23.069


based on some arbitrary



00:37:23.109 --> 00:37:26.213


measure that you inherited.



00:37:26.394 --> 00:37:27.555


I release myself from the



00:37:27.575 --> 00:37:29.177


shame that you are putting onto me.



00:37:29.658 --> 00:37:30.999


I love how Alok,



00:37:31.019 --> 00:37:32.960


who's a trans poet and



00:37:33.060 --> 00:37:36.023


artist and commentator, talks about this,



00:37:36.063 --> 00:37:38.444


that it's this wound that



00:37:38.504 --> 00:37:39.945


people aren't even allowed



00:37:39.965 --> 00:37:41.406


to express when someone



00:37:41.446 --> 00:37:44.709


sees an AMAB person walking



00:37:44.749 --> 00:37:46.070


in a dress and they feel like, oh,



00:37:46.090 --> 00:37:47.571


I'm just so rage.



00:37:47.611 --> 00:37:49.012


Well, they're not mad at the dress.



00:37:49.032 --> 00:37:49.973


They're not mad at that person.



00:37:50.353 --> 00:37:51.974


They're mad because at some



00:37:52.014 --> 00:37:53.235


point in their life,



00:37:53.575 --> 00:37:55.015


Somebody else cut them off



00:37:55.056 --> 00:37:56.436


from their joy and their



00:37:56.476 --> 00:37:58.136


ability to express outside



00:37:58.156 --> 00:37:59.417


of this very rigid,



00:37:59.477 --> 00:38:02.258


fabricated boundary of what's acceptable.



00:38:02.778 --> 00:38:04.018


And they're not even allowed



00:38:04.059 --> 00:38:04.819


to talk about it.



00:38:04.859 --> 00:38:06.019


It's this grief that can't



00:38:06.139 --> 00:38:07.440


even be expressed.



00:38:07.940 --> 00:38:10.000


And so this work that we're all doing,



00:38:10.040 --> 00:38:12.041


I think, is expressing that.



00:38:13.342 --> 00:38:13.462


that.



00:38:13.482 --> 00:38:13.562


Yeah,



00:38:13.582 --> 00:38:14.924


nothing triggers people more than



00:38:14.944 --> 00:38:16.645


when you defy the rules,



00:38:16.845 --> 00:38:18.087


the made up arbitrary rules



00:38:18.107 --> 00:38:20.829


that they think are fixed reality.



00:38:21.370 --> 00:38:22.491


So triggering for people.



00:38:23.027 --> 00:38:23.287


Yeah.



00:38:23.387 --> 00:38:24.028


So excellent.



00:38:24.048 --> 00:38:24.228


Thank you.



00:38:24.248 --> 00:38:25.949


Thank you.



00:38:26.269 --> 00:38:28.951


And even people that do embody, you know,



00:38:28.991 --> 00:38:30.452


for example, the gender ideals,



00:38:30.532 --> 00:38:31.613


even people that present in



00:38:31.633 --> 00:38:32.533


a way that is like they're



00:38:32.573 --> 00:38:33.594


living up to the ideals,



00:38:33.994 --> 00:38:35.896


they can still feel on some



00:38:35.936 --> 00:38:36.636


subconscious level.



00:38:36.696 --> 00:38:37.577


I think a lot of the time



00:38:37.617 --> 00:38:38.657


how like fundamentally



00:38:38.698 --> 00:38:40.038


fragile that is as a thing



00:38:40.078 --> 00:38:41.259


to sort of like rest your



00:38:41.319 --> 00:38:42.680


worth and identity on.



00:38:42.700 --> 00:38:43.341


Yeah.



00:38:43.361 --> 00:38:44.762


Because you could one day be



00:38:44.822 --> 00:38:47.563


the six foot five masculine man.



00:38:47.663 --> 00:38:49.164


And the next day you could



00:38:49.185 --> 00:38:50.966


become paraplegic in a car accident.



00:38:51.006 --> 00:38:52.487


Like everything is like, so,



00:38:53.327 --> 00:38:54.748


temporary in this world and



00:38:54.788 --> 00:38:56.749


so to to teach people that



00:38:56.769 --> 00:38:57.810


like adhering to these



00:38:57.850 --> 00:38:59.411


gender ideals is what's



00:38:59.451 --> 00:39:01.712


gonna like anchor them it's



00:39:01.752 --> 00:39:03.793


just like a stupidly flawed



00:39:03.873 --> 00:39:04.974


premise and like people can



00:39:05.014 --> 00:39:05.754


sense that so then they



00:39:05.794 --> 00:39:06.815


constantly have to like go



00:39:06.855 --> 00:39:08.596


to bat for it it's weird



00:39:09.886 --> 00:39:11.947


It disconnects people from their power.



00:39:12.007 --> 00:39:13.689


It's supposed to do that so



00:39:13.869 --> 00:39:16.992


that when we feel ashamed, we feel weak,



00:39:17.032 --> 00:39:17.832


we feel helpless,



00:39:17.872 --> 00:39:19.414


we feel like we have to



00:39:19.894 --> 00:39:20.955


turn to someone who's



00:39:21.015 --> 00:39:23.277


stronger and more powerful



00:39:23.297 --> 00:39:25.439


who can just tell us what to do.



00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:27.661


I think that's why shame was invented,



00:39:27.721 --> 00:39:28.722


just like the afterlife.



00:39:28.782 --> 00:39:31.044


Yeah, to silence us.



00:39:31.535 --> 00:39:33.576


Yeah, to disconnect us from ourselves,



00:39:33.596 --> 00:39:35.256


to make us an enemy to ourselves.



00:39:35.276 --> 00:39:36.677


So we're more easily controllable.



00:39:37.037 --> 00:39:37.497


Yeah.



00:39:37.557 --> 00:39:38.557


And then we're genuinely



00:39:38.617 --> 00:39:39.877


scared of freedom because



00:39:39.917 --> 00:39:42.658


like arbitrary rules give us an illusion.



00:39:43.719 --> 00:39:45.339


Yeah, like the illusion of safety.



00:39:45.419 --> 00:39:47.580


And like we love having a



00:39:47.620 --> 00:39:48.820


blueprint and it's scary to



00:39:48.860 --> 00:39:50.481


imagine that other people



00:39:50.501 --> 00:39:51.661


are defying the blueprint



00:39:51.681 --> 00:39:53.141


that you think is the blueprint.



00:39:53.161 --> 00:39:53.801


Because then you're like, well,



00:39:53.821 --> 00:39:54.882


then I have no blueprint.



00:39:54.922 --> 00:39:56.042


So I have to attack them



00:39:56.502 --> 00:39:58.103


because I can't be without my blueprint.



00:39:58.383 --> 00:39:58.663


Right.



00:39:59.203 --> 00:39:59.423


Yeah,



00:39:59.483 --> 00:40:02.045


it's that definitely existential fear



00:40:02.185 --> 00:40:03.926


of freedom that we all have,



00:40:04.046 --> 00:40:05.828


where we would much rather be given,



00:40:05.868 --> 00:40:06.348


like you say,



00:40:06.368 --> 00:40:07.809


a blueprint because it



00:40:07.909 --> 00:40:08.709


answers all of those



00:40:08.750 --> 00:40:09.910


questions and we don't have



00:40:09.950 --> 00:40:11.051


to think for ourselves.



00:40:11.111 --> 00:40:12.152


It's so much easier.



00:40:13.012 --> 00:40:13.493


But Tanner,



00:40:13.513 --> 00:40:15.434


you touched on something that I



00:40:15.494 --> 00:40:17.515


have been thinking a lot about lately too,



00:40:17.535 --> 00:40:18.676


which is this connection



00:40:18.716 --> 00:40:20.297


between shame and anger,



00:40:20.978 --> 00:40:24.060


where when people who have



00:40:24.120 --> 00:40:25.361


been in this repressed



00:40:25.421 --> 00:40:26.982


system that was handed to them



00:40:27.877 --> 00:40:30.039


don't feel safe to express themselves.



00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:31.480


When they see other people



00:40:31.540 --> 00:40:33.142


expressing themselves freely,



00:40:33.902 --> 00:40:35.163


it's like a mirror gets



00:40:35.203 --> 00:40:37.225


held up to them and they



00:40:37.265 --> 00:40:38.086


see those parts of



00:40:38.106 --> 00:40:40.228


themselves that they're ashamed of.



00:40:40.788 --> 00:40:42.289


And that shame creates this



00:40:42.489 --> 00:40:43.630


anger and they have to



00:40:43.670 --> 00:40:44.851


direct the anger towards



00:40:44.872 --> 00:40:46.113


the person who's expressing



00:40:46.153 --> 00:40:47.053


themselves freely.



00:40:47.994 --> 00:40:49.075


And I feel like that's what



00:40:49.115 --> 00:40:52.036


happens to Mormons and ex-Mormons.



00:40:52.176 --> 00:40:52.977


I feel like that's what



00:40:53.017 --> 00:40:55.177


happens to people who



00:40:55.237 --> 00:40:56.177


haven't expressed their



00:40:56.237 --> 00:40:57.718


sexuality but have sort of



00:40:57.778 --> 00:40:59.259


put it into a box because



00:40:59.299 --> 00:41:00.980


it's more socially acceptable.



00:41:01.740 --> 00:41:02.841


I feel like that's happened



00:41:02.881 --> 00:41:05.022


to so many groups of people.



00:41:05.602 --> 00:41:06.542


And I was reading a really



00:41:06.622 --> 00:41:07.963


interesting story, actually,



00:41:08.103 --> 00:41:10.304


about a man who is in the



00:41:10.324 --> 00:41:11.245


boomer generation.



00:41:12.105 --> 00:41:14.626


And he had these desires to



00:41:14.726 --> 00:41:16.107


just express himself with



00:41:16.127 --> 00:41:17.208


the way that he dressed.



00:41:17.988 --> 00:41:19.989


And he was curious about



00:41:20.049 --> 00:41:20.910


dressing in women's



00:41:20.930 --> 00:41:22.310


clothing and things like that.



00:41:22.790 --> 00:41:24.151


But it was definitely not



00:41:24.191 --> 00:41:25.872


acceptable in his family.



00:41:25.972 --> 00:41:27.733


It wasn't acceptable in his religion.



00:41:28.233 --> 00:41:29.454


And so he sort of repressed



00:41:29.514 --> 00:41:30.514


all of those feelings.



00:41:30.614 --> 00:41:31.815


And then he talked about



00:41:32.435 --> 00:41:34.256


being an angry father and



00:41:34.316 --> 00:41:37.078


how he was just angry all the time.



00:41:38.058 --> 00:41:40.659


and never really had a



00:41:40.699 --> 00:41:42.819


realization when his kids



00:41:42.839 --> 00:41:44.440


were younger that the anger



00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:46.040


was coming from that shame



00:41:46.780 --> 00:41:48.221


and how many regrets he had



00:41:48.261 --> 00:41:49.341


about those kinds of things.



00:41:49.361 --> 00:41:51.002


And that really resonated with me.



00:41:51.042 --> 00:41:52.442


It's kind of close to home for me,



00:41:52.522 --> 00:41:55.183


admittedly, but I wonder how many people



00:41:56.083 --> 00:41:58.385


are vehemently opposed to



00:41:58.905 --> 00:42:00.687


the openness of LGBTQ



00:42:00.707 --> 00:42:01.788


people expressing



00:42:01.828 --> 00:42:03.329


themselves and Pride Month



00:42:03.369 --> 00:42:04.190


and all those kinds of



00:42:04.230 --> 00:42:05.691


things because they



00:42:05.731 --> 00:42:07.232


themselves didn't ever have



00:42:07.252 --> 00:42:09.494


the opportunity to be that



00:42:09.994 --> 00:42:11.696


open about their expressions.



00:42:12.575 --> 00:42:13.977


Oh, I mean, look right now,



00:42:14.017 --> 00:42:16.259


here's a little microcosm



00:42:16.820 --> 00:42:18.261


of the fact that, you know,



00:42:18.501 --> 00:42:22.105


a part of the Republican platform,



00:42:22.606 --> 00:42:24.768


whether officially or unofficially,



00:42:25.349 --> 00:42:27.811


is to end gay marriage and



00:42:27.931 --> 00:42:30.955


to strip away the one



00:42:30.995 --> 00:42:33.197


rights of the LGBTQ plus community.



00:42:34.418 --> 00:42:36.239


And then you look at how



00:42:37.060 --> 00:42:39.081


Grindr is crashing in



00:42:39.141 --> 00:42:45.566


Milwaukee due to the huge surge of people,



00:42:45.726 --> 00:42:46.146


men,



00:42:46.826 --> 00:42:49.608


Republicans in Milwaukee for the RNC



00:42:49.648 --> 00:42:50.369


convention,



00:42:50.789 --> 00:42:51.670


that there's so many that it's



00:42:51.710 --> 00:42:53.051


crashing the platform.



00:42:53.071 --> 00:42:53.771


So you're like,



00:42:53.791 --> 00:42:55.152


what is it that you have



00:42:55.172 --> 00:42:56.133


this big group of people



00:42:56.173 --> 00:42:57.374


who's focused on



00:42:57.414 --> 00:42:58.514


eliminating rights for this



00:42:58.554 --> 00:42:59.875


community while they are



00:43:00.035 --> 00:43:02.217


secretly and ashamedly



00:43:02.617 --> 00:43:04.718


trying to live out those experiences.



00:43:05.479 --> 00:43:07.140


So are you saying that the



00:43:07.180 --> 00:43:08.620


platform is crashing in



00:43:08.660 --> 00:43:10.782


Milwaukee just because the



00:43:10.802 --> 00:43:12.182


convention is in Milwaukee?



00:43:12.242 --> 00:43:13.283


That's so crazy.



00:43:13.383 --> 00:43:16.685


Yeah, there were so many gay Republicans.



00:43:16.745 --> 00:43:17.165


But of course,



00:43:17.185 --> 00:43:18.466


it's because Antifa was



00:43:18.526 --> 00:43:20.087


sneaking into Milwaukee and



00:43:20.287 --> 00:43:21.487


starting up Grindr accounts



00:43:21.507 --> 00:43:22.808


to make it look like Republicans.



00:43:22.828 --> 00:43:25.790


I haven't heard about Antifa in a while.



00:43:26.430 --> 00:43:27.591


I have to say, too,



00:43:28.231 --> 00:43:30.693


it's always stunning and shocking to me,



00:43:30.733 --> 00:43:31.533


and it shouldn't be because



00:43:31.573 --> 00:43:32.514


it happens all the time.



00:43:32.954 --> 00:43:34.835


But it seems like the politicians,



00:43:34.895 --> 00:43:37.056


whether they're Democratic or Republican,



00:43:37.096 --> 00:43:38.177


who are so vehemently



00:43:38.237 --> 00:43:41.959


opposed to LGBTQ rights or



00:43:41.999 --> 00:43:42.640


whatever it is,



00:43:43.925 --> 00:43:45.006


that it then comes out that



00:43:45.026 --> 00:43:46.706


they're actually gay, you know,



00:43:46.846 --> 00:43:48.027


or they get caught doing



00:43:48.107 --> 00:43:49.968


something inappropriate or



00:43:50.008 --> 00:43:50.969


whatever the case is.



00:43:51.489 --> 00:43:52.930


In democratic circles,



00:43:52.990 --> 00:43:54.390


I think it's more often the



00:43:54.450 --> 00:43:55.671


affairs that come out and



00:43:55.711 --> 00:43:56.351


things like that.



00:43:56.391 --> 00:43:57.892


But they're just so



00:43:58.372 --> 00:43:59.913


vehemently for like



00:43:59.973 --> 00:44:01.654


traditional family values.



00:44:01.754 --> 00:44:03.235


And then it comes out that they're just,



00:44:03.915 --> 00:44:04.135


you know,



00:44:04.355 --> 00:44:05.796


they're just like the rest of us,



00:44:05.856 --> 00:44:06.456


you know,



00:44:06.596 --> 00:44:08.437


they're not to be held up on a pedestal.



00:44:08.935 --> 00:44:09.916


I'm always surprised that



00:44:09.956 --> 00:44:12.258


I'm shocked by it because



00:44:12.278 --> 00:44:13.139


it keeps happening over and



00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:14.921


over and over.



00:44:15.001 --> 00:44:15.942


I also really like the



00:44:16.002 --> 00:44:17.984


example you just gave of



00:44:18.264 --> 00:44:19.305


the story of the dad who



00:44:19.445 --> 00:44:20.786


wanted to wear women's



00:44:20.806 --> 00:44:21.887


clothes because I feel like



00:44:21.907 --> 00:44:22.988


that's an example of how



00:44:23.969 --> 00:44:25.470


like it's a relatively small thing,



00:44:26.231 --> 00:44:27.252


him wearing women's clothes.



00:44:27.272 --> 00:44:28.153


Like the clothes we wear,



00:44:28.273 --> 00:44:29.214


relatively unimportant,



00:44:29.254 --> 00:44:30.335


though they do carry social



00:44:30.375 --> 00:44:31.056


weight and stuff.



00:44:31.516 --> 00:44:34.579


But just because he wasn't able to allow,



00:44:34.659 --> 00:44:35.660


give himself permission to



00:44:35.700 --> 00:44:37.221


do that small thing,



00:44:37.642 --> 00:44:38.823


it like turns into this



00:44:39.003 --> 00:44:40.204


massive festering wound



00:44:40.224 --> 00:44:40.865


that has all these



00:44:40.945 --> 00:44:42.906


unintended consequences



00:44:44.426 --> 00:44:44.987


You know what I mean?



00:44:45.007 --> 00:44:46.528


Like it's something that could,



00:44:47.268 --> 00:44:48.569


if we just unshame everything,



00:44:48.609 --> 00:44:49.450


something that could just



00:44:49.470 --> 00:44:51.932


be so relatively small



00:44:52.632 --> 00:44:54.594


turns into a way bigger beast.



00:44:54.654 --> 00:44:56.775


But we think that by shaming ourselves,



00:44:56.795 --> 00:44:58.136


we're like containing the beast,



00:44:58.176 --> 00:44:59.177


but really we're just like



00:44:59.197 --> 00:45:01.279


giving it more life and



00:45:01.359 --> 00:45:03.540


more power over our lives



00:45:03.600 --> 00:45:04.181


and other people.



00:45:04.771 --> 00:45:05.752


Yeah, exactly.



00:45:05.832 --> 00:45:07.154


The message that I took away



00:45:07.174 --> 00:45:08.836


from that is how



00:45:08.896 --> 00:45:10.698


dysfunctional we can become



00:45:11.158 --> 00:45:12.460


when we don't address



00:45:12.780 --> 00:45:14.542


whatever it is that we're struggling with,



00:45:14.682 --> 00:45:16.044


when we repress it or when



00:45:16.084 --> 00:45:17.165


we try to push it away or



00:45:17.185 --> 00:45:18.306


dissociate from it.



00:45:18.807 --> 00:45:20.449


And it's exactly as you say,



00:45:20.529 --> 00:45:22.091


we're not we're not taming the beast,



00:45:22.131 --> 00:45:22.792


we're feeding it.



00:45:23.252 --> 00:45:24.833


And we're also locking it in a cage.



00:45:24.873 --> 00:45:26.154


So that whole time it's



00:45:26.194 --> 00:45:27.174


getting bigger and bigger



00:45:27.695 --> 00:45:29.195


and fiercer and fiercer.



00:45:29.556 --> 00:45:31.036


And eventually it takes over



00:45:31.557 --> 00:45:32.597


our entire psyche.



00:45:32.637 --> 00:45:33.478


It's sort of like that



00:45:33.538 --> 00:45:35.779


Jungian concept of the fact



00:45:35.799 --> 00:45:37.840


that if we don't look at the shadow,



00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:39.461


if we don't address the shadow,



00:45:39.501 --> 00:45:41.142


if we don't accept the shadow,



00:45:41.522 --> 00:45:43.644


then the shadow becomes our psyche.



00:45:44.184 --> 00:45:45.225


It becomes who we are.



00:45:46.165 --> 00:45:47.086


It's like you always hear



00:45:47.226 --> 00:45:50.027


Mormons talk about how, you know,



00:45:50.047 --> 00:45:52.349


if they didn't have the



00:45:52.409 --> 00:45:53.910


rules of Mormonism containing them,



00:45:53.930 --> 00:45:55.070


let's say the law of chastity,



00:45:55.110 --> 00:45:56.631


they would just be crazy.



00:45:56.751 --> 00:45:58.332


I don't know where I'd be without this.



00:45:58.352 --> 00:45:58.632


Yeah,



00:45:58.793 --> 00:46:00.434


they just think they'd be... Because



00:46:01.494 --> 00:46:02.495


it's kind of like the same



00:46:02.535 --> 00:46:03.836


principle as intuitive eating,



00:46:03.856 --> 00:46:04.536


where it's like if you're



00:46:04.936 --> 00:46:06.837


restricting your food for



00:46:06.897 --> 00:46:07.758


long periods of time,



00:46:07.798 --> 00:46:09.079


then you feel like if you



00:46:09.159 --> 00:46:10.700


ever let yourself just like...



00:46:11.640 --> 00:46:13.022


eat whatever you wanted you



00:46:13.042 --> 00:46:14.444


would just binge forever



00:46:14.484 --> 00:46:15.346


and ever and ever and like



00:46:15.386 --> 00:46:16.287


in most cases that's not



00:46:16.327 --> 00:46:17.108


true you would just like



00:46:17.148 --> 00:46:19.211


restore balance within



00:46:19.251 --> 00:46:20.213


yourself and learn to



00:46:20.253 --> 00:46:21.454


listen to yourself better



00:46:21.615 --> 00:46:23.137


and like things would be



00:46:23.678 --> 00:46:24.278


healthier and you'd



00:46:24.319 --> 00:46:26.061


actually think about that thing less like



00:46:27.142 --> 00:46:29.143


Nobody thinks more about sex



00:46:29.183 --> 00:46:31.184


than people in purity culture, you know,



00:46:31.884 --> 00:46:33.485


but their false concept



00:46:33.505 --> 00:46:35.106


while they're in it is just



00:46:35.126 --> 00:46:36.706


like it's this damn waiting to burst.



00:46:36.726 --> 00:46:37.327


And if it bursts,



00:46:37.367 --> 00:46:38.327


it's just going to get so



00:46:38.387 --> 00:46:39.428


nuts when actually if you



00:46:39.448 --> 00:46:40.048


just give yourself



00:46:40.088 --> 00:46:41.729


permission to do things



00:46:41.769 --> 00:46:43.409


that are not harmful and



00:46:43.429 --> 00:46:44.130


perfectly healthy.



00:46:45.403 --> 00:46:45.823


That's it.



00:46:45.843 --> 00:46:46.724


And then you have more



00:46:46.764 --> 00:46:47.845


bandwidth for other things



00:46:47.885 --> 00:46:50.526


like your work or whatever that may be.



00:46:50.686 --> 00:46:51.227


Exactly.



00:46:51.847 --> 00:46:53.788


And that makes me think of



00:46:54.289 --> 00:46:55.889


these word of wisdom issues



00:46:55.950 --> 00:46:56.810


and how physically



00:46:56.890 --> 00:46:58.171


unhealthy a large



00:46:58.211 --> 00:46:59.832


population of Mormonism is.



00:47:00.077 --> 00:47:01.233


I always used to joke



00:47:01.653 --> 00:47:03.174


that sugar is the alcohol



00:47:03.214 --> 00:47:04.114


of the Mormon world,



00:47:04.574 --> 00:47:05.835


because whenever I come to



00:47:05.955 --> 00:47:08.096


Utah and there's like a



00:47:08.136 --> 00:47:09.597


bakery on every corner and



00:47:09.697 --> 00:47:11.558


soda shops popping up everywhere.



00:47:11.758 --> 00:47:14.099


And when you even go into a restaurant,



00:47:14.139 --> 00:47:15.860


they have a huge bakery counter,



00:47:15.900 --> 00:47:17.481


a dessert counter or whatever it is.



00:47:18.081 --> 00:47:19.642


And it just feels like this



00:47:19.722 --> 00:47:21.924


substitution of like, oh,



00:47:21.944 --> 00:47:22.904


we're not allowed to do all



00:47:22.924 --> 00:47:23.845


these other vices,



00:47:23.905 --> 00:47:25.526


but we can have as much sugar as we want.



00:47:25.566 --> 00:47:26.967


We can become addicted to it



00:47:27.127 --> 00:47:28.648


and we can be overweight



00:47:28.728 --> 00:47:29.869


and that's just fine.



00:47:30.510 --> 00:47:31.991


I always found that to be so



00:47:32.051 --> 00:47:34.032


troubling because if you



00:47:34.092 --> 00:47:35.353


really did follow the word



00:47:35.373 --> 00:47:37.274


of wisdom with eating meat



00:47:37.314 --> 00:47:39.636


sparingly and fruits only in their season,



00:47:39.656 --> 00:47:40.977


but nobody talks about that.



00:47:41.457 --> 00:47:42.578


I can't imagine somebody



00:47:42.638 --> 00:47:43.679


going into a bishop's



00:47:43.719 --> 00:47:44.639


interview for a temple



00:47:44.679 --> 00:47:45.420


recommend and saying,



00:47:45.860 --> 00:47:46.581


you know what Bishop I've



00:47:46.601 --> 00:47:48.342


been doing really well but



00:47:48.682 --> 00:47:49.383


the other day I was in the



00:47:49.423 --> 00:47:51.564


grocery store and those



00:47:51.604 --> 00:47:53.506


tangerines were so good I



00:47:53.546 --> 00:47:54.807


just couldn't and they're



00:47:54.847 --> 00:47:59.010


not in season I love how



00:47:59.030 --> 00:48:00.191


Mormons now will be like no



00:48:00.251 --> 00:48:01.432


God just like didn't mean



00:48:01.472 --> 00:48:02.473


that about the meat thing



00:48:02.493 --> 00:48:03.733


that just wasn't real and



00:48:03.774 --> 00:48:04.754


it's like that's like a



00:48:05.074 --> 00:48:06.275


part of the word of wisdom



00:48:06.315 --> 00:48:09.258


that now there's good scientific health



00:48:09.958 --> 00:48:11.518


uh like animal sentience



00:48:11.538 --> 00:48:12.979


data to support that that's



00:48:13.019 --> 00:48:14.219


actually a really smart



00:48:14.839 --> 00:48:15.939


guideline like eat meat



00:48:15.959 --> 00:48:17.100


sparingly only when you



00:48:17.160 --> 00:48:18.699


absolutely must but that



00:48:18.739 --> 00:48:19.820


just doesn't get any air



00:48:19.860 --> 00:48:20.840


time because like they just



00:48:20.860 --> 00:48:21.920


don't like doing it that



00:48:21.940 --> 00:48:23.220


one's too hard they're like



00:48:23.340 --> 00:48:24.421


how could he have known



00:48:24.441 --> 00:48:26.001


about the harmful causes of



00:48:26.081 --> 00:48:27.101


cigarettes it's like well



00:48:27.121 --> 00:48:28.221


cigarettes have always made



00:48:28.241 --> 00:48:29.302


people cough and have lung



00:48:29.322 --> 00:48:29.882


issues like it's not like



00:48:30.882 --> 00:48:31.742


people suddenly started



00:48:31.782 --> 00:48:32.743


doing that and a lot like



00:48:32.863 --> 00:48:33.923


yeah people have always been like



00:48:34.843 --> 00:48:36.084


Doesn't seem to be helping



00:48:36.544 --> 00:48:37.985


the respiratory process.



00:48:38.085 --> 00:48:38.826


Tea and coffee,



00:48:38.886 --> 00:48:39.867


objectively great for



00:48:39.887 --> 00:48:41.548


lowering your all-cause mortality rate.



00:48:41.568 --> 00:48:44.370


Didn't know about that one.



00:48:44.390 --> 00:48:45.410


And not even to mention all



00:48:45.450 --> 00:48:47.232


the temperance movement and



00:48:47.292 --> 00:48:48.412


anti-smoking movements that



00:48:48.432 --> 00:48:49.393


were popular at the time,



00:48:49.513 --> 00:48:51.775


and also vegetarian movements.



00:48:52.335 --> 00:48:53.056


and others like none of



00:48:53.096 --> 00:48:54.077


these were original



00:48:54.117 --> 00:48:55.740


thoughts and yet as you



00:48:55.760 --> 00:48:56.741


said there's such a



00:48:56.761 --> 00:48:57.882


disparity between what



00:48:58.102 --> 00:48:59.745


mormons choose to enforce



00:49:00.285 --> 00:49:01.327


and what they choose to



00:49:01.367 --> 00:49:02.628


turn a blind eye toward



00:49:03.029 --> 00:49:04.250


while still maintaining



00:49:04.370 --> 00:49:05.432


absolute religious



00:49:05.612 --> 00:49:07.054


supremacy in their minds



00:49:07.696 --> 00:49:07.936


Yeah,



00:49:08.016 --> 00:49:09.677


it's just another testament to me



00:49:09.717 --> 00:49:11.458


that a lot of Mormonism is



00:49:11.538 --> 00:49:13.459


cultural and not literal,



00:49:13.519 --> 00:49:16.381


because if we did take the



00:49:16.401 --> 00:49:17.861


Mormon scriptures literally,



00:49:18.077 --> 00:49:18.737


life would be a lot



00:49:18.797 --> 00:49:19.858


different for Mormons.



00:49:19.858 --> 00:49:20.742


always shocked me, too,



00:49:20.782 --> 00:49:21.963


as a gospel doctrine teacher,



00:49:22.003 --> 00:49:22.923


whenever we would talk



00:49:22.943 --> 00:49:23.984


about the Word of Wisdom.



00:49:24.764 --> 00:49:26.266


And people would bring up caffeine.



00:49:26.426 --> 00:49:27.547


And I'm like, no,



00:49:27.987 --> 00:49:29.268


it's perfectly okay for you



00:49:29.288 --> 00:49:30.830


to consume caffeine.



00:49:31.310 --> 00:49:32.832


But they assume that because



00:49:33.192 --> 00:49:34.393


tea and coffee are



00:49:34.433 --> 00:49:35.694


mentioned in the Word of Wisdom,



00:49:35.775 --> 00:49:37.857


that we shouldn't be consuming caffeine.



00:49:38.337 --> 00:49:38.657


And really,



00:49:38.697 --> 00:49:40.159


the spirit of the law is not to



00:49:40.199 --> 00:49:42.401


consume anything in unhealthy amounts.



00:49:42.441 --> 00:49:43.202


And that's when I always



00:49:43.242 --> 00:49:44.082


talked about sugar.



00:49:44.563 --> 00:49:45.344


And I was like...



00:49:46.344 --> 00:49:47.624


We just cherry pick the



00:49:47.664 --> 00:49:49.585


things that are convenient



00:49:49.605 --> 00:49:51.185


for us or more convenient



00:49:51.205 --> 00:49:52.866


for us or culturally acceptable.



00:49:53.426 --> 00:49:54.566


Whether we're in Mormonism



00:49:54.626 --> 00:49:55.786


or any other system,



00:49:56.286 --> 00:49:57.667


it's like if you have a set



00:49:57.707 --> 00:49:59.247


of rules that you're going to live by,



00:49:59.307 --> 00:50:00.867


the integrity is in



00:50:01.287 --> 00:50:02.528


adhering to those rules.



00:50:02.948 --> 00:50:03.928


And if you're not going to



00:50:03.988 --> 00:50:05.628


adhere to all of the rules,



00:50:05.708 --> 00:50:07.229


then don't pretend that



00:50:07.269 --> 00:50:08.609


you're better than someone else.



00:50:09.229 --> 00:50:10.810


because you have rules and



00:50:11.130 --> 00:50:12.931


the other community doesn't have rules.



00:50:13.311 --> 00:50:14.252


And I think that goes back



00:50:14.272 --> 00:50:15.652


to what you were saying, Samantha,



00:50:15.672 --> 00:50:17.673


where so many people say, oh,



00:50:17.733 --> 00:50:19.954


if I didn't have Mormonism, I would just,



00:50:20.195 --> 00:50:21.335


I don't know where I would be.



00:50:21.435 --> 00:50:22.516


And it's this crazy



00:50:22.576 --> 00:50:24.137


implication that you need



00:50:24.857 --> 00:50:26.057


laws or rules or



00:50:26.097 --> 00:50:27.498


commandments to tell you



00:50:28.159 --> 00:50:29.099


not to harm people



00:50:29.139 --> 00:50:30.520


physically or not to



00:50:30.580 --> 00:50:32.141


assault people or not to



00:50:32.181 --> 00:50:34.502


have affairs or whatever the case is.



00:50:35.242 --> 00:50:36.222


Like if that morality



00:50:36.263 --> 00:50:37.903


doesn't already exist within you,



00:50:38.463 --> 00:50:39.404


Mormonism is not going to



00:50:39.424 --> 00:50:41.185


help you either.



00:50:41.225 --> 00:50:42.205


I also feel like someone in



00:50:42.225 --> 00:50:42.925


the comments is going to



00:50:42.985 --> 00:50:44.086


point out me drinking this



00:50:44.186 --> 00:50:45.527


aspartame lace fruit punch



00:50:45.607 --> 00:50:46.047


as we have this



00:50:46.067 --> 00:50:47.187


conversation about the Buddhism,



00:50:47.247 --> 00:50:48.788


but unshamed drinking



00:50:48.868 --> 00:50:50.529


aspartame lace fruit punch sometimes.



00:50:50.978 --> 00:50:51.418


You know what?



00:50:51.558 --> 00:50:53.079


Unshame just doing whatever



00:50:53.119 --> 00:50:54.380


it is that you need to do



00:50:54.580 --> 00:50:56.061


to get yourself out of bed



00:50:56.101 --> 00:50:57.162


every day and be a



00:50:57.242 --> 00:50:58.282


productive member of the



00:50:58.322 --> 00:51:00.364


human family and just



00:51:00.664 --> 00:51:03.045


unshame everything that we



00:51:03.085 --> 00:51:05.026


do that we have to do in



00:51:05.086 --> 00:51:06.107


order to be who we are,



00:51:06.127 --> 00:51:07.528


because life is difficult.



00:51:08.448 --> 00:51:10.869


And all of us have things



00:51:10.909 --> 00:51:12.669


that we are working on and



00:51:12.709 --> 00:51:14.289


hopefully all of us are



00:51:14.329 --> 00:51:15.370


trying to progress to a



00:51:15.410 --> 00:51:16.790


better version of ourselves.



00:51:17.270 --> 00:51:18.770


Although I do have to say my



00:51:18.810 --> 00:51:19.831


comment section is one of



00:51:19.851 --> 00:51:21.371


the kindest places on the internet.



00:51:21.411 --> 00:51:22.591


So probably nobody's going



00:51:22.611 --> 00:51:23.131


to shame me for that.



00:51:23.151 --> 00:51:25.572


It's a good merging then



00:51:25.612 --> 00:51:27.152


because I feel like ours is



00:51:27.172 --> 00:51:28.973


really nice as



00:51:28.973 --> 00:51:30.561


based on the comment you just said,



00:51:31.702 --> 00:51:32.663


I think another good thing



00:51:32.683 --> 00:51:33.924


is just unshaming.



00:51:35.245 --> 00:51:37.808


The fact that perfection is



00:51:38.008 --> 00:51:39.229


not real and is not



00:51:39.489 --> 00:51:41.631


something we should be aspiring to.



00:51:41.691 --> 00:51:42.412


I think it's good to have a



00:51:42.472 --> 00:51:43.953


growth mindset in life and to



00:51:44.954 --> 00:51:47.155


have goals and to you know



00:51:47.215 --> 00:51:48.856


want to be healthy and



00:51:48.896 --> 00:51:49.897


successful and all those



00:51:49.937 --> 00:51:51.978


things but not not if we're



00:51:51.998 --> 00:51:53.038


just seeing ourselves as



00:51:53.058 --> 00:51:54.479


this like continuous



00:51:55.219 --> 00:51:56.660


project that needs to be



00:51:56.780 --> 00:51:58.721


fixed and fine-tuned like I



00:51:58.781 --> 00:52:01.202


feel like pursuing growth



00:52:01.242 --> 00:52:02.443


and change like should come



00:52:02.463 --> 00:52:03.743


from this place of like I



00:52:03.824 --> 00:52:05.965


am like deeply enough as I am



00:52:06.885 --> 00:52:08.366


And like the goal isn't to



00:52:08.406 --> 00:52:10.366


just like reach this moral



00:52:10.426 --> 00:52:11.907


purity or any kind of like



00:52:11.967 --> 00:52:13.468


perceived purity.



00:52:14.128 --> 00:52:14.808


It's really,



00:52:14.908 --> 00:52:15.849


I feel like that's like comes



00:52:15.889 --> 00:52:17.129


back to embodiment, you know,



00:52:17.189 --> 00:52:19.590


and just like to,



00:52:19.650 --> 00:52:21.191


to like pursue perfection



00:52:21.271 --> 00:52:23.371


is like denying the reality



00:52:23.391 --> 00:52:24.292


of the human condition.



00:52:24.312 --> 00:52:25.332


And the fact that we all



00:52:25.792 --> 00:52:26.833


speaking of parts work



00:52:26.873 --> 00:52:28.393


contain contradictory parts.



00:52:28.453 --> 00:52:29.314


And, you know,



00:52:29.354 --> 00:52:30.854


we always hear this idea that like, well,



00:52:30.894 --> 00:52:32.095


integrity is like,



00:52:32.695 --> 00:52:34.636


your actions and thoughts



00:52:34.696 --> 00:52:36.116


and being in alignment with



00:52:36.136 --> 00:52:37.176


your beliefs and it's like



00:52:37.236 --> 00:52:39.037


it's just not like that



00:52:39.077 --> 00:52:40.317


realistic to think that we



00:52:40.357 --> 00:52:41.317


can have like that perfect



00:52:41.337 --> 00:52:42.378


alignment because we don't



00:52:42.958 --> 00:52:43.938


we all contain



00:52:44.158 --> 00:52:45.539


contradictory parts at any



00:52:45.579 --> 00:52:47.259


given moment and i feel



00:52:47.279 --> 00:52:49.680


like through unshaming we



00:52:49.700 --> 00:52:50.720


can look at all those parts



00:52:50.740 --> 00:52:51.820


and then decide which ones



00:52:51.860 --> 00:52:53.281


we want to like lead the meeting



00:52:54.061 --> 00:52:55.683


versus like sometimes we're



00:52:55.703 --> 00:52:57.045


like giving voice to some



00:52:57.105 --> 00:52:58.227


random niche part of us



00:52:58.267 --> 00:52:59.168


that probably shouldn't be



00:52:59.208 --> 00:53:00.149


like leading the meeting or



00:53:00.189 --> 00:53:01.511


driving the car because



00:53:01.531 --> 00:53:02.312


we're like that's the thing



00:53:02.332 --> 00:53:03.193


that needs to be fixed but



00:53:03.213 --> 00:53:04.335


then in like zeroing on



00:53:04.355 --> 00:53:05.877


that too much we're like



00:53:05.937 --> 00:53:07.298


sacrificing these other



00:53:07.399 --> 00:53:08.961


like more important parts



00:53:09.001 --> 00:53:11.864


of us potentially yeah i guess my rant



00:53:12.605 --> 00:53:13.746


No, I agree with you.



00:53:13.846 --> 00:53:15.087


And I struggled a lot with



00:53:15.127 --> 00:53:16.488


perfectionism coming out of



00:53:16.508 --> 00:53:18.809


the church throughout my entire life.



00:53:19.010 --> 00:53:21.952


And so I love the idea of



00:53:22.032 --> 00:53:23.833


having your work and your



00:53:23.873 --> 00:53:25.694


growth come from a place of



00:53:25.754 --> 00:53:26.935


just wanting to be better,



00:53:26.975 --> 00:53:28.876


but not trying to be



00:53:28.936 --> 00:53:30.177


perfect because



00:53:30.217 --> 00:53:31.878


perfectionism doesn't exist.



00:53:32.459 --> 00:53:35.261


And when we're working on



00:53:35.301 --> 00:53:37.803


ourselves like we're a constant project,



00:53:38.743 --> 00:53:41.346


That is almost a shaming mindset as well.



00:53:41.626 --> 00:53:42.868


It's like, I'm not good enough yet.



00:53:42.888 --> 00:53:43.729


I'm not good enough yet.



00:53:43.789 --> 00:53:44.790


I have to keep working



00:53:44.850 --> 00:53:46.051


rather than just to say,



00:53:46.692 --> 00:53:49.355


I love myself exactly how I am right now.



00:53:49.995 --> 00:53:51.597


I love myself exactly where



00:53:51.717 --> 00:53:52.618


I am right now.



00:53:53.279 --> 00:53:56.022


And all of the behaviors that I have are,



00:53:56.356 --> 00:53:57.696


make up who I am.



00:53:58.336 --> 00:54:00.117


And they're all positive



00:54:00.577 --> 00:54:01.837


because they're helping me



00:54:01.877 --> 00:54:03.377


to exist and persist in



00:54:03.397 --> 00:54:04.718


this space that I'm at.



00:54:05.258 --> 00:54:06.698


And we all have parts of



00:54:06.738 --> 00:54:09.619


ourselves that maybe are, like you say,



00:54:09.979 --> 00:54:11.019


they're in contradiction



00:54:11.039 --> 00:54:12.539


because we're so complicated,



00:54:13.720 --> 00:54:15.800


not only socially, but psychologically.



00:54:16.320 --> 00:54:17.800


And being able to just



00:54:18.060 --> 00:54:20.821


accept those parts and



00:54:21.324 --> 00:54:24.787


is so freeing and it's okay



00:54:24.827 --> 00:54:26.409


to say you know it's not my



00:54:26.449 --> 00:54:27.630


favorite part i don't like



00:54:27.670 --> 00:54:28.611


it the best sometimes it



00:54:28.651 --> 00:54:29.912


comes out at the wrong time



00:54:30.773 --> 00:54:33.035


but it still is acceptable



00:54:33.055 --> 00:54:34.337


to me it's still part of me



00:54:34.457 --> 00:54:35.638


i still love that part



00:54:36.098 --> 00:54:36.939


we're going to figure out



00:54:37.019 --> 00:54:37.920


how to make that part



00:54:37.960 --> 00:54:38.821


healthier and happier



00:54:39.633 --> 00:54:40.834


yeah because that's the



00:54:40.874 --> 00:54:41.614


thing i feel like you have



00:54:41.694 --> 00:54:44.475


more ability to like make



00:54:44.575 --> 00:54:45.395


certain potentially



00:54:45.435 --> 00:54:46.696


dysfunctional parts of you



00:54:46.736 --> 00:54:48.157


or like you know parts for



00:54:48.177 --> 00:54:48.637


you that have more



00:54:48.677 --> 00:54:49.477


maladaptive behavior



00:54:49.517 --> 00:54:51.558


mechanisms healthy if you



00:54:51.578 --> 00:54:52.959


can love them which is kind



00:54:52.979 --> 00:54:54.259


of like like we've been



00:54:54.279 --> 00:54:55.060


talking about this a lot



00:54:55.100 --> 00:54:56.160


lately like people think



00:54:56.200 --> 00:54:57.140


that shame is the thing



00:54:57.180 --> 00:54:58.201


holding everything together



00:54:58.661 --> 00:55:00.322


and maybe it is in some



00:55:00.622 --> 00:55:02.603


like messed up way but it's



00:55:02.623 --> 00:55:03.663


like shame shouldn't be the



00:55:03.703 --> 00:55:05.624


thing holding you together



00:55:06.332 --> 00:55:06.452


Yeah,



00:55:06.492 --> 00:55:08.074


I feel like that goes along with that



00:55:08.114 --> 00:55:09.476


comment of, you know,



00:55:09.516 --> 00:55:11.117


if I didn't have rules and commandments,



00:55:11.177 --> 00:55:12.118


I would act out in these



00:55:12.138 --> 00:55:13.180


dysfunctional ways.



00:55:13.680 --> 00:55:15.022


That's because you're ashamed.



00:55:15.462 --> 00:55:15.762


You know,



00:55:15.963 --> 00:55:19.286


if you could be accepting instead,



00:55:19.807 --> 00:55:21.128


then it would be easier for



00:55:21.168 --> 00:55:22.710


you to manage.



00:55:22.790 --> 00:55:24.292


I don't know, manage those parts.



00:55:25.133 --> 00:55:26.274


I had something better to say,



00:55:26.314 --> 00:55:26.934


but I forgot it.



00:55:27.815 --> 00:55:28.995


That was really good, too.



00:55:29.015 --> 00:55:30.657


It's funny to hear that



00:55:30.737 --> 00:55:32.458


expressed when people are like,



00:55:32.538 --> 00:55:33.178


I don't know where I'd be



00:55:33.198 --> 00:55:33.959


without the gospel.



00:55:33.999 --> 00:55:35.059


I would just be dead in a



00:55:35.079 --> 00:55:37.440


ditch or running around crazy.



00:55:37.460 --> 00:55:39.802


And it's like, you're telling us.



00:55:41.022 --> 00:55:42.483


When you hear that,



00:55:42.523 --> 00:55:45.225


it's such a sad representation,



00:55:45.265 --> 00:55:46.285


a script that somebody's



00:55:46.325 --> 00:55:48.146


been handed about themselves.



00:55:48.467 --> 00:55:48.547


Yeah.



00:55:48.567 --> 00:55:48.807


Yeah.



00:55:49.229 --> 00:55:49.670


It's like, oh,



00:55:49.690 --> 00:55:51.151


do you really think that



00:55:51.212 --> 00:55:52.073


little of yourself?



00:55:52.093 --> 00:55:52.813


Do you really think?



00:55:52.834 --> 00:55:53.775


That natural man is an enemy to God.



00:55:53.835 --> 00:55:54.315


Yeah, and it's like,



00:55:54.335 --> 00:55:55.617


do you look around the world?



00:55:55.677 --> 00:55:56.598


Is that what you see?



00:55:56.618 --> 00:55:57.720


Is it you just see like



00:55:57.740 --> 00:55:58.681


people outside the church



00:55:58.721 --> 00:56:01.084


just killing everyone and, you know,



00:56:01.184 --> 00:56:02.285


running rampant in the street?



00:56:02.305 --> 00:56:02.746


It's like, no,



00:56:02.786 --> 00:56:03.987


that's not what's happening.



00:56:04.808 --> 00:56:05.830


Why would you assume that



00:56:05.850 --> 00:56:06.550


would be you too?



00:56:07.543 --> 00:56:08.424


Because you have a two



00:56:08.464 --> 00:56:09.265


hundred billion dollar



00:56:09.305 --> 00:56:10.566


corporation whispering it



00:56:10.606 --> 00:56:12.187


in your ear at all times of the day,



00:56:12.247 --> 00:56:13.808


every day since childhood.



00:56:13.989 --> 00:56:14.889


For a lot of us.



00:56:14.909 --> 00:56:16.431


It's way easier to find



00:56:16.491 --> 00:56:17.331


someone helping their



00:56:17.371 --> 00:56:18.352


neighbor than it is to find



00:56:18.392 --> 00:56:19.854


someone who goes out and kills people.



00:56:19.874 --> 00:56:21.915


That's so true.



00:56:22.436 --> 00:56:22.996


They exist.



00:56:23.196 --> 00:56:24.237


Tens of thousands of



00:56:24.277 --> 00:56:26.359


friendly neighbors for every one murder.



00:56:26.379 --> 00:56:27.480


I don't know what the ratio is.



00:56:27.680 --> 00:56:28.121


Yeah.



00:56:28.321 --> 00:56:28.461


Yeah.



00:56:29.113 --> 00:56:29.333


Yeah,



00:56:29.453 --> 00:56:31.135


I also feel like the church is the



00:56:31.215 --> 00:56:32.237


one that told us that we



00:56:32.277 --> 00:56:34.339


were sick and broken and shameful.



00:56:34.799 --> 00:56:35.800


And then they're also the



00:56:35.901 --> 00:56:37.142


ones who provide the cure



00:56:37.162 --> 00:56:38.043


for that as well.



00:56:38.123 --> 00:56:38.363


Right.



00:56:38.423 --> 00:56:40.406


And so it keeps us stuck in



00:56:40.446 --> 00:56:41.987


this perpetual cycle of not



00:56:42.027 --> 00:56:42.728


being good enough,



00:56:43.068 --> 00:56:44.890


but needing the church to be good enough,



00:56:45.051 --> 00:56:46.933


needing a bishop to tell us



00:56:46.973 --> 00:56:48.054


that we're worthy enough.



00:56:48.274 --> 00:56:51.136


in order to accept who we are.



00:56:51.616 --> 00:56:52.697


And so I feel like it's this



00:56:52.757 --> 00:56:55.059


very paradoxical thing that



00:56:55.279 --> 00:56:56.099


if the church wasn't



00:56:56.139 --> 00:56:58.001


telling us we were bad in the first place,



00:56:58.501 --> 00:56:59.782


then we wouldn't really



00:57:00.162 --> 00:57:01.683


have that shame and we



00:57:01.703 --> 00:57:03.164


wouldn't need the church to



00:57:03.204 --> 00:57:04.225


validate us and tell us



00:57:04.265 --> 00:57:04.965


that we're worthy.



00:57:05.446 --> 00:57:07.487


And that goes for any church



00:57:07.527 --> 00:57:09.128


because I feel like every religion,



00:57:09.768 --> 00:57:11.009


at least the Christian ones,



00:57:11.610 --> 00:57:12.590


are the ones that tell you



00:57:12.650 --> 00:57:13.851


how sick you are and then



00:57:13.891 --> 00:57:16.233


tell you that you need Jesus to heal you.



00:57:16.893 --> 00:57:18.075


Yeah.



00:57:18.095 --> 00:57:19.176


Today I was listening to an



00:57:19.317 --> 00:57:21.780


interesting TikTok from Gabor Maté,



00:57:22.080 --> 00:57:23.442


who does a lot of trauma



00:57:23.462 --> 00:57:25.365


work and that kind of stuff.



00:57:25.926 --> 00:57:27.388


And he was talking about how



00:57:28.068 --> 00:57:31.153


human nature is often the



00:57:31.673 --> 00:57:32.675


dialogue is around



00:57:33.456 --> 00:57:34.617


human beings and our nature,



00:57:34.657 --> 00:57:37.040


we're greedy and we're violent.



00:57:37.281 --> 00:57:38.402


And that's why we have to



00:57:38.442 --> 00:57:41.206


have systems that allow for



00:57:41.246 --> 00:57:42.488


greed and violence and why



00:57:42.508 --> 00:57:43.869


we can't just take care of



00:57:43.889 --> 00:57:46.112


each other because this is human nature.



00:57:46.773 --> 00:57:47.374


And he was like,



00:57:47.414 --> 00:57:48.796


I don't believe in human nature.



00:57:48.836 --> 00:57:50.198


I believe in human potential.



00:57:50.598 --> 00:57:52.239


that when people have their



00:57:52.319 --> 00:57:54.100


needs met and can be just



00:57:54.160 --> 00:57:57.462


seen in love by loving



00:57:57.522 --> 00:57:58.803


witness that can help them



00:57:58.843 --> 00:57:59.663


meet their needs,



00:58:00.044 --> 00:58:01.044


then their potential is



00:58:01.104 --> 00:58:02.525


actually really high to do good.



00:58:02.885 --> 00:58:04.226


But when you have these very



00:58:04.286 --> 00:58:06.167


powerful social structures



00:58:06.527 --> 00:58:07.968


that are always telling you



00:58:08.328 --> 00:58:10.590


that what your nature is is



00:58:10.690 --> 00:58:12.211


fundamentally flawed,



00:58:12.751 --> 00:58:13.753


then of course it's going to



00:58:13.793 --> 00:58:15.896


lead to fundamentally flawed actions.



00:58:16.617 --> 00:58:17.518


But it's not at all



00:58:17.738 --> 00:58:20.242


representational of a



00:58:20.282 --> 00:58:21.203


person's actual nature,



00:58:21.383 --> 00:58:22.926


only their potential being



00:58:22.986 --> 00:58:27.552


deprived of genuine love and safety,



00:58:27.672 --> 00:58:28.734


belonging, and all that.



00:58:29.014 --> 00:58:29.715


Yeah.



00:58:29.775 --> 00:58:31.496


I saw a TikTok yesterday that said,



00:58:32.496 --> 00:58:33.237


if you want to know if



00:58:33.277 --> 00:58:34.598


someone's evil or like a



00:58:34.678 --> 00:58:36.479


good test of evil is like



00:58:36.619 --> 00:58:38.601


whether people see evil everywhere.



00:58:38.941 --> 00:58:39.581


And I don't mean that in



00:58:39.601 --> 00:58:40.282


terms of like obviously



00:58:40.322 --> 00:58:41.522


recognizing injustice is



00:58:41.542 --> 00:58:42.883


like an important part, I think,



00:58:42.943 --> 00:58:44.925


of being like a conscious good human.



00:58:44.985 --> 00:58:47.546


But it is sad how the church



00:58:47.567 --> 00:58:50.849


has trained people.



00:58:50.969 --> 00:58:52.750


It's the church and then it's the world.



00:58:52.770 --> 00:58:55.392


And as we just watched in a



00:58:55.412 --> 00:58:56.452


lot of those Mormon TikToks



00:58:56.512 --> 00:58:58.053


we watched on our channel last week,



00:59:00.819 --> 00:59:01.601


they're like lumping the



00:59:01.621 --> 00:59:02.724


world as this like one,



00:59:02.885 --> 00:59:03.867


there's just one way people



00:59:03.908 --> 00:59:04.409


are in the world.



00:59:04.429 --> 00:59:05.311


And then there's the Mormon way,



00:59:05.351 --> 00:59:06.174


which is superior.



00:59:06.735 --> 00:59:07.377


But it's like,



00:59:08.251 --> 00:59:09.192


But really all that's



00:59:09.232 --> 00:59:10.833


happening is like those



00:59:10.853 --> 00:59:11.253


people have been



00:59:11.273 --> 00:59:12.254


conditioned to look at



00:59:12.274 --> 00:59:14.315


things through a lens of



00:59:14.355 --> 00:59:15.416


everyone else being bad and



00:59:15.456 --> 00:59:15.976


then being good,



00:59:15.996 --> 00:59:17.057


which is blinding them to



00:59:17.317 --> 00:59:18.898


their own badness or, you know,



00:59:18.938 --> 00:59:19.558


to like their own



00:59:19.758 --> 00:59:20.739


dysfunctions and way that



00:59:20.779 --> 00:59:21.640


they're harming others.



00:59:22.360 --> 00:59:23.301


And then it's also just like



00:59:23.321 --> 00:59:24.742


binding them to the beauty



00:59:24.782 --> 00:59:25.902


of people and to life.



00:59:25.962 --> 00:59:26.963


And obviously, right,



00:59:26.983 --> 00:59:27.503


because like the



00:59:27.543 --> 00:59:28.584


corporation has to be the



00:59:28.684 --> 00:59:30.025


one in charge of beauty and



00:59:30.485 --> 00:59:31.206


doling it out.



00:59:32.318 --> 00:59:33.439


But it's sad because there are,



00:59:34.220 --> 00:59:35.422


I feel like we do need like



00:59:35.482 --> 00:59:36.403


more voices in the world



00:59:36.443 --> 00:59:37.464


right now talking about how



00:59:37.484 --> 00:59:38.726


many people are doing good things,



00:59:38.746 --> 00:59:39.627


how many people are in the



00:59:39.667 --> 00:59:40.588


arena and making a



00:59:40.628 --> 00:59:42.450


difference rather than just



00:59:42.770 --> 00:59:45.614


the focus on like everyone sucks,



00:59:45.794 --> 00:59:46.254


you know?



00:59:46.435 --> 00:59:47.115


Yeah.



00:59:47.216 --> 00:59:48.757


Another contemporary example,



00:59:48.817 --> 00:59:50.119


sorry to get political again,



00:59:50.199 --> 00:59:52.342


but it's the world we live in today.



00:59:53.582 --> 00:59:55.923


watching the RNC convention again,



00:59:56.604 --> 00:59:58.725


vice presidential nominee J.D.



00:59:58.745 --> 01:00:02.767


Vance talking about his



01:00:02.887 --> 01:00:04.527


mother's drug addiction,



01:00:04.968 --> 01:00:06.388


which she was a nurse who



01:00:06.408 --> 01:00:09.009


was stealing drugs from her patients,



01:00:09.570 --> 01:00:11.010


using that to say,



01:00:11.090 --> 01:00:12.271


this is why we need to get



01:00:12.451 --> 01:00:13.752


immigrants out of here



01:00:13.792 --> 01:00:14.712


because they're bringing in



01:00:14.732 --> 01:00:15.673


the types of drugs that was



01:00:15.693 --> 01:00:16.133


hurting my mom.



01:00:16.153 --> 01:00:16.493


And it's like,



01:00:16.893 --> 01:00:18.494


They didn't do anything to your mom.



01:00:18.774 --> 01:00:20.275


Your mom made her own decisions.



01:00:20.675 --> 01:00:21.616


And then he's also praising



01:00:21.656 --> 01:00:22.436


her for talking about how



01:00:22.476 --> 01:00:24.277


she would literally hit with her car,



01:00:24.658 --> 01:00:25.598


a kid he was hanging out



01:00:25.618 --> 01:00:26.719


with because he did drugs.



01:00:27.379 --> 01:00:28.660


And then how she lived her



01:00:28.700 --> 01:00:30.561


life with like dozens of



01:00:30.621 --> 01:00:33.182


loaded handguns all around her house.



01:00:33.583 --> 01:00:33.943


And I'm like,



01:00:34.952 --> 01:00:38.335


What kind of vision is this for human life,



01:00:38.795 --> 01:00:40.257


for modern society,



01:00:40.637 --> 01:00:42.659


that we have to shift the



01:00:42.699 --> 01:00:45.121


blame for our troubles?



01:00:45.141 --> 01:00:45.982


And I'm not saying that



01:00:46.042 --> 01:00:49.124


she's like a perfect agitator that,



01:00:49.284 --> 01:00:49.525


you know,



01:00:49.825 --> 01:00:51.266


drug addiction is entirely her fault.



01:00:51.326 --> 01:00:51.706


Obviously,



01:00:51.747 --> 01:00:53.648


this is a systemic issue that's



01:00:53.708 --> 01:00:54.829


affecting a lot of people.



01:00:55.149 --> 01:00:56.391


But then to instantly...



01:00:57.071 --> 01:00:58.192


Recognize that shadow and



01:00:58.212 --> 01:00:59.372


project it outward to this



01:00:59.412 --> 01:01:01.313


is the fault of immigrants is like,



01:01:02.574 --> 01:01:05.536


you don't pass the Carl Jung's evil test.



01:01:05.556 --> 01:01:07.537


I feel like that's a stretch.



01:01:07.717 --> 01:01:09.038


I really feel that's that's



01:01:09.198 --> 01:01:11.639


grasping to try and go from



01:01:11.699 --> 01:01:12.900


drug addiction to immigrants.



01:01:13.440 --> 01:01:13.660


Right.



01:01:13.720 --> 01:01:14.541


And then to be like,



01:01:14.901 --> 01:01:15.761


and then she lived the



01:01:15.802 --> 01:01:17.062


American spirit by being



01:01:17.262 --> 01:01:18.983


absolutely so paranoid



01:01:19.023 --> 01:01:20.484


about the outside world



01:01:20.524 --> 01:01:21.325


that she kept loaded



01:01:21.365 --> 01:01:24.086


handguns around her house at all times.



01:01:24.146 --> 01:01:24.426


I'm like,



01:01:24.646 --> 01:01:26.507


that's not an inspiring view of a



01:01:26.588 --> 01:01:26.928


country.



01:01:26.968 --> 01:01:28.449


That's not like the world I



01:01:28.469 --> 01:01:29.789


want to live in that I'm so



01:01:29.929 --> 01:01:31.090


scared of my neighbor that



01:01:31.130 --> 01:01:32.411


I have to have guns hidden



01:01:32.491 --> 01:01:34.272


all around my house just in



01:01:34.332 --> 01:01:35.452


case somebody could come



01:01:35.472 --> 01:01:36.233


knocking on my door.



01:01:36.513 --> 01:01:37.514


And he's just airing out



01:01:37.554 --> 01:01:39.195


this unhealed mother wound



01:01:39.235 --> 01:01:43.538


of his as if it's some inspiring story.



01:01:43.978 --> 01:01:47.660


It's basically telling us



01:01:47.741 --> 01:01:49.262


that he has some unhealed



01:01:49.302 --> 01:01:51.363


emotional trauma due to his



01:01:51.663 --> 01:01:52.964


upbringing from a drug



01:01:53.004 --> 01:01:55.085


addicted mother who was also paranoid.



01:01:55.746 --> 01:01:56.947


And I feel like he's telling



01:01:57.007 --> 01:01:58.608


us that he hasn't worked on it at all.



01:01:59.168 --> 01:01:59.408


I know,



01:01:59.488 --> 01:02:01.510


very comforting to hear that from a



01:02:01.570 --> 01:02:02.911


vice presidential candidate.



01:02:02.991 --> 01:02:04.332


I'm completely unconscious



01:02:04.352 --> 01:02:05.552


about my own trauma and how



01:02:05.592 --> 01:02:06.673


it's driving my entire



01:02:06.713 --> 01:02:07.554


worldview and everything



01:02:07.574 --> 01:02:08.614


I'm going to do for this country.



01:02:09.115 --> 01:02:09.295


Yeah,



01:02:09.335 --> 01:02:11.156


the thing that I find scary in the



01:02:11.216 --> 01:02:13.097


political world today, and this again,



01:02:13.378 --> 01:02:14.759


it's a nonpartisan issue.



01:02:15.119 --> 01:02:17.601


It's both parties, all parties,



01:02:17.741 --> 01:02:19.202


all political ideologies.



01:02:19.782 --> 01:02:20.823


I feel like the people who



01:02:20.883 --> 01:02:23.184


want to be in power will



01:02:23.464 --> 01:02:24.345


make you afraid of



01:02:24.405 --> 01:02:26.086


something and then tell you



01:02:26.106 --> 01:02:27.127


who's to blame for it.



01:02:27.647 --> 01:02:30.908


And when they do that, it others, you know,



01:02:31.428 --> 01:02:34.289


everyone into this group



01:02:34.409 --> 01:02:35.150


where we can get



01:02:35.190 --> 01:02:36.790


tribalistic and we can say, oh,



01:02:36.850 --> 01:02:38.891


if I align with this side,



01:02:39.271 --> 01:02:40.411


then this fear that they



01:02:40.451 --> 01:02:42.072


created in me is going to



01:02:42.092 --> 01:02:44.012


be allayed because I'm not



01:02:44.052 --> 01:02:44.873


on the other side.



01:02:45.373 --> 01:02:46.373


And I feel like it's this



01:02:46.433 --> 01:02:48.554


very disingenuous sort of



01:02:49.114 --> 01:02:51.916


worldview where we need to



01:02:51.936 --> 01:02:53.377


be afraid of something in



01:02:53.457 --> 01:02:54.998


order to have an agenda.



01:02:55.439 --> 01:02:55.759


And it's like,



01:02:55.779 --> 01:02:56.920


we've got enough problems



01:02:56.960 --> 01:02:58.101


already that are actual



01:02:58.141 --> 01:02:59.702


problems that we need to



01:02:59.742 --> 01:03:01.283


look at through a healthy



01:03:01.343 --> 01:03:02.684


lens rather than trying to



01:03:02.724 --> 01:03:03.684


blame someone for it.



01:03:03.725 --> 01:03:04.665


How about we just come up



01:03:04.685 --> 01:03:05.706


with some ideas of how to



01:03:05.766 --> 01:03:07.067


solve it or how to make it better?



01:03:07.589 --> 01:03:07.769


Yeah,



01:03:07.849 --> 01:03:10.492


I feel like even though holding certain,



01:03:10.552 --> 01:03:11.693


especially powerful people



01:03:11.733 --> 01:03:13.816


and systems accountable is important.



01:03:13.876 --> 01:03:15.798


I feel like blame generally



01:03:15.838 --> 01:03:17.219


as a thing in life is like



01:03:17.339 --> 01:03:20.322


never the core truth of any issue.



01:03:21.043 --> 01:03:22.725


Cause it's always like that



01:03:22.765 --> 01:03:23.826


blame is kind of like shame



01:03:23.846 --> 01:03:24.267


where it's just like



01:03:24.327 --> 01:03:26.589


blocking curiosity at a certain point.



01:03:26.609 --> 01:03:27.790


Cause it's like, even if someone is,



01:03:28.511 --> 01:03:29.752


perpetuating a harm like



01:03:29.772 --> 01:03:31.454


let's let's ask why like



01:03:31.514 --> 01:03:32.915


why why do why are they



01:03:32.975 --> 01:03:33.936


acting out like that like



01:03:33.956 --> 01:03:35.277


what's the root is always



01:03:35.317 --> 01:03:36.378


deeper than blame if that



01:03:36.398 --> 01:03:37.639


makes sense like everyone's



01:03:37.659 --> 01:03:38.560


just acting out their own



01:03:38.600 --> 01:03:40.382


conditioning blaming other



01:03:40.422 --> 01:03:43.505


people sort of absolves us



01:03:43.545 --> 01:03:44.105


of having to be



01:03:44.185 --> 01:03:45.387


introspective about our own



01:03:45.427 --> 01:03:46.968


responsibility taking



01:03:47.028 --> 01:03:48.229


responsibility for our own



01:03:48.309 --> 01:03:49.751


actions and I think that



01:03:51.091 --> 01:03:52.912


I have to say maybe even the



01:03:52.972 --> 01:03:54.213


number one problem of



01:03:54.333 --> 01:03:55.634


almost everything right now



01:03:55.794 --> 01:03:57.435


is people blaming other



01:03:57.475 --> 01:03:58.455


people rather than looking



01:03:58.495 --> 01:04:00.837


at themselves and healing



01:04:00.857 --> 01:04:02.578


their own wounds in an



01:04:02.678 --> 01:04:04.118


effort to just be a better



01:04:04.158 --> 01:04:05.419


human being rather than



01:04:05.459 --> 01:04:06.720


just going around saying



01:04:07.000 --> 01:04:09.061


it's someone else's fault, it's not mine.



01:04:10.372 --> 01:04:11.693


yeah and there is you know



01:04:12.373 --> 01:04:13.514


there's i hear it a lot



01:04:13.554 --> 01:04:14.916


from sorry to be so



01:04:14.956 --> 01:04:16.037


political i'm not saying



01:04:16.057 --> 01:04:17.738


that like the democrats are



01:04:17.778 --> 01:04:19.340


the ideal party or anything



01:04:19.360 --> 01:04:20.681


it's just as a former



01:04:20.761 --> 01:04:22.102


diehard conservative



01:04:22.642 --> 01:04:23.483


activist for young



01:04:23.523 --> 01:04:24.604


americans for liberty and



01:04:24.624 --> 01:04:25.705


the college republicans and



01:04:26.025 --> 01:04:26.806


you know going through all



01:04:26.826 --> 01:04:27.727


that and becoming very



01:04:27.767 --> 01:04:28.848


disillusioned with it now



01:04:28.868 --> 01:04:30.790


watching the scene unfold



01:04:30.950 --> 01:04:33.512


as it has it's just very uh



01:04:33.672 --> 01:04:35.254


present in my mind but you



01:04:35.274 --> 01:04:36.355


know i hear a lot of people



01:04:36.375 --> 01:04:36.895


who are like are you



01:04:37.075 --> 01:04:38.417


just acting like a victim.



01:04:38.457 --> 01:04:40.118


You need to get out of the victim complex.



01:04:40.138 --> 01:04:41.620


And it's not really that at all.



01:04:42.261 --> 01:04:43.782


Um, it is a matter of,



01:04:44.683 --> 01:04:47.253


of holistically unshaming, both,



01:04:47.466 --> 01:04:48.627


unshaming what has been



01:04:48.667 --> 01:04:50.409


handed me and also refusing



01:04:50.449 --> 01:04:51.270


to shame others that



01:04:51.310 --> 01:04:53.072


realizing that people act



01:04:53.152 --> 01:04:54.854


the way that they do for reasons,



01:04:55.214 --> 01:04:56.535


even bad people, or, you



01:04:59.158 --> 01:05:01.520


didn't do that in a vacuum.



01:05:03.021 --> 01:05:03.962


Everything that's happened



01:05:04.002 --> 01:05:04.843


in their life has



01:05:04.883 --> 01:05:06.364


contributed to them being



01:05:06.404 --> 01:05:07.144


the way they are.



01:05:07.585 --> 01:05:09.807


And me removing the shame



01:05:09.927 --> 01:05:12.168


from that allows me to see



01:05:12.309 --> 01:05:14.190


that natural functioning.



01:05:14.310 --> 01:05:15.651


And then exactly as you said,



01:05:16.052 --> 01:05:18.253


decide what I can do for



01:05:18.333 --> 01:05:19.314


myself to move through it.



01:05:19.334 --> 01:05:19.955


It's not being like,



01:05:21.195 --> 01:05:22.456


you know, it's all my fault.



01:05:22.636 --> 01:05:24.516


I asked for these bad things



01:05:24.536 --> 01:05:24.956


to happen to me.



01:05:24.976 --> 01:05:25.576


It's not that at all.



01:05:25.596 --> 01:05:26.797


It's just being like, well,



01:05:26.897 --> 01:05:29.157


if I am going to heal and



01:05:29.257 --> 01:05:31.398


become like grow past this,



01:05:31.898 --> 01:05:33.018


what do I need to do?



01:05:33.599 --> 01:05:35.219


And in all like unshaming,



01:05:35.279 --> 01:05:36.479


I think that's what it allows us to do.



01:05:36.519 --> 01:05:37.760


It just allows us to take



01:05:37.840 --> 01:05:39.980


honest inventory of what's



01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:41.201


going on in our life and



01:05:41.241 --> 01:05:43.041


create plans for dealing



01:05:43.081 --> 01:05:44.582


with it rather than just



01:05:44.862 --> 01:05:46.042


being in an endless cycle



01:05:46.102 --> 01:05:47.382


of pointing fingers and



01:05:47.422 --> 01:05:48.643


spreading the shame around.



01:05:49.070 --> 01:05:50.351


Yeah, I feel like that's so true.



01:05:50.391 --> 01:05:52.493


And I feel like we make so



01:05:52.533 --> 01:05:54.815


little progress when all



01:05:54.855 --> 01:05:56.376


we're trying to do is



01:05:56.516 --> 01:05:57.978


absolve our guilty feelings



01:05:58.018 --> 01:05:59.419


by blaming someone else.



01:06:00.159 --> 01:06:02.701


And I really resonated with



01:06:02.742 --> 01:06:04.463


what you said about people



01:06:04.483 --> 01:06:05.844


who do bad things don't do



01:06:05.884 --> 01:06:07.566


it in a vacuum.



01:06:08.046 --> 01:06:09.167


They are part of a system.



01:06:09.187 --> 01:06:10.368


They're part of a society.



01:06:10.768 --> 01:06:11.689


They're part of a group.



01:06:11.789 --> 01:06:13.330


They're also part of a family.



01:06:14.051 --> 01:06:15.893


All of these different things contribute



01:06:16.533 --> 01:06:18.336


to the wrongdoing.



01:06:19.097 --> 01:06:20.499


And I feel like it's that



01:06:20.599 --> 01:06:22.502


lack of introspection that



01:06:22.682 --> 01:06:23.904


leads people to act out in



01:06:23.964 --> 01:06:24.945


dysfunctional ways.



01:06:25.286 --> 01:06:27.429


If we don't take care of the



01:06:27.469 --> 01:06:29.532


things that are on our side of the street,



01:06:29.572 --> 01:06:30.613


if we don't accept



01:06:30.673 --> 01:06:32.857


responsibility for our actions,



01:06:33.237 --> 01:06:35.339


then we end up acting out in



01:06:35.359 --> 01:06:37.000


dysfunctionality because



01:06:37.520 --> 01:06:38.660


we're trying to heal a wound.



01:06:38.681 --> 01:06:40.121


We're trying to heal a wound



01:06:40.301 --> 01:06:41.462


in a dysfunctional way



01:06:41.582 --> 01:06:43.203


rather than trying to get



01:06:43.223 --> 01:06:45.364


our needs met holistically



01:06:45.784 --> 01:06:46.545


and authentically.



01:06:47.389 --> 01:06:48.510


I also feel like it's so



01:06:48.550 --> 01:06:50.572


hard because it's so



01:06:50.672 --> 01:06:52.013


obvious to many of us that



01:06:52.173 --> 01:06:55.015


healing needs to happen on a mass scale.



01:06:55.055 --> 01:06:57.937


But I have a lot of empathy for,



01:06:58.458 --> 01:06:59.238


for example,



01:06:59.619 --> 01:07:01.420


older people who just didn't



01:07:01.440 --> 01:07:02.801


have access to any mental



01:07:02.841 --> 01:07:03.682


health resources,



01:07:04.102 --> 01:07:08.425


have no faith in any healing modality,



01:07:08.485 --> 01:07:10.307


maybe outside of religion in some cases.



01:07:11.147 --> 01:07:11.888


A lot of people don't know



01:07:11.908 --> 01:07:13.029


where to turn for healing



01:07:13.129 --> 01:07:14.390


or a lot of people haven't even been



01:07:15.470 --> 01:07:17.312


like convinced that healing



01:07:17.372 --> 01:07:18.253


is possible for them.



01:07:18.293 --> 01:07:19.254


Like they're not even turned



01:07:19.354 --> 01:07:20.455


on to the idea enough.



01:07:20.555 --> 01:07:20.715


Yeah.



01:07:20.816 --> 01:07:21.716


It's not even like, Oh,



01:07:21.777 --> 01:07:23.698


I'm carrying this wound and



01:07:23.819 --> 01:07:24.900


I can either do something



01:07:25.020 --> 01:07:26.261


about it or I could take it



01:07:26.321 --> 01:07:27.042


out on my neighbor.



01:07:27.062 --> 01:07:27.342


Yeah.



01:07:27.643 --> 01:07:28.724


Like never that conscious.



01:07:28.744 --> 01:07:29.024


Right.



01:07:29.044 --> 01:07:30.245


Like for a lot of people,



01:07:30.726 --> 01:07:31.887


it understandably,



01:07:31.907 --> 01:07:33.028


they just feel like if I



01:07:33.088 --> 01:07:34.209


turn towards that really



01:07:34.229 --> 01:07:36.492


scary part or parts of myself, um,



01:07:37.012 --> 01:07:38.153


everything will unravel and



01:07:38.213 --> 01:07:38.933


I'll fall apart.



01:07:39.013 --> 01:07:40.894


And like, that's not necessarily untrue.



01:07:40.934 --> 01:07:41.094


I mean,



01:07:41.114 --> 01:07:42.395


there is like a falling apart that



01:07:42.415 --> 01:07:44.076


has to happen to like effectively heal.



01:07:44.116 --> 01:07:45.397


And that is scary for people.



01:07:45.877 --> 01:07:46.617


So it's a tough one.



01:07:46.657 --> 01:07:46.957


Cause we,



01:07:47.077 --> 01:07:48.178


I feel like you see a lot of



01:07:48.198 --> 01:07:50.639


people these days being like, you know,



01:07:50.759 --> 01:07:51.700


we refer to certain people



01:07:51.740 --> 01:07:52.821


as toxic and we're like,



01:07:52.861 --> 01:07:53.781


they refuse to do their



01:07:53.821 --> 01:07:56.182


healing work or to look at themselves.



01:07:56.202 --> 01:07:56.523


And it's like,



01:07:56.603 --> 01:07:58.043


people genuinely like aren't



01:07:58.123 --> 01:07:59.564


educated on how to be



01:08:00.044 --> 01:08:01.225


effectively introspective.



01:08:01.265 --> 01:08:02.306


Like studies show that we



01:08:02.346 --> 01:08:04.167


all like think we're really



01:08:04.207 --> 01:08:05.227


self-aware and like



01:08:05.327 --> 01:08:06.428


overwhelmingly we're not.



01:08:07.611 --> 01:08:09.273


it's just like a whole like new



01:08:09.333 --> 01:08:10.215


language I feel like we



01:08:10.235 --> 01:08:10.936


will have to learn as a



01:08:11.016 --> 01:08:12.177


society and we're just like



01:08:12.297 --> 01:08:13.559


starting to learn it.



01:08:14.664 --> 01:08:16.025


So it makes it tough because



01:08:16.065 --> 01:08:19.548


it's like you can't impose



01:08:19.588 --> 01:08:20.849


any shoulds on anyone else



01:08:20.869 --> 01:08:21.509


because it's like if



01:08:21.549 --> 01:08:22.910


someone literally doesn't



01:08:23.711 --> 01:08:25.272


even believe that healing



01:08:25.492 --> 01:08:26.954


is a thing that's possible



01:08:26.974 --> 01:08:29.616


for them and can enhance their life,



01:08:29.636 --> 01:08:30.736


how can we blame them for that?



01:08:30.837 --> 01:08:31.777


I feel like I just sort of



01:08:31.797 --> 01:08:33.499


like stumbled my way into



01:08:33.539 --> 01:08:35.160


healing through taking drugs,



01:08:35.200 --> 01:08:35.981


which like lucky,



01:08:36.041 --> 01:08:38.983


but everyone's not going to get that.



01:08:39.303 --> 01:08:40.024


They never talk about the



01:08:40.044 --> 01:08:41.145


people who got into drugs



01:08:41.165 --> 01:08:42.026


and got their life together.



01:08:42.066 --> 01:08:43.167


I know, seriously.



01:08:44.208 --> 01:08:44.749


That's right.



01:08:44.789 --> 01:08:45.770


We only talk about the



01:08:45.830 --> 01:08:47.632


people whose lives ended or



01:08:47.672 --> 01:08:49.974


were horribly damaged by drugs.



01:08:50.014 --> 01:08:50.835


We don't talk about the



01:08:50.875 --> 01:08:52.478


people whose lives changed



01:08:52.518 --> 01:08:53.539


for the better for decades.



01:08:53.579 --> 01:08:54.780


Created entire claymation



01:08:54.820 --> 01:08:56.101


podcasts because of them.



01:08:56.642 --> 01:08:57.263


Really important to



01:08:57.303 --> 01:08:58.464


distinguish which drugs



01:08:58.484 --> 01:08:59.825


we're talking about, I suppose.



01:09:00.386 --> 01:09:01.226


I suppose that's true.



01:09:02.167 --> 01:09:03.389


I do like what you said, though,



01:09:03.429 --> 01:09:06.371


because I do think that your generation,



01:09:06.492 --> 01:09:07.893


and the only reason that I



01:09:07.993 --> 01:09:09.034


refer to you as a different



01:09:09.074 --> 01:09:10.516


generation than mine is because I have a



01:09:17.422 --> 01:09:19.285


I feel like my children's



01:09:19.325 --> 01:09:20.947


generation and you guys are



01:09:20.967 --> 01:09:22.328


the first ones who really



01:09:22.389 --> 01:09:23.610


have healing as part of



01:09:23.650 --> 01:09:26.274


your vocabulary organically.



01:09:26.995 --> 01:09:28.857


I feel like even my generation,



01:09:29.899 --> 01:09:31.140


my parents' generation,



01:09:32.458 --> 01:09:33.679


were maybe some of the first



01:09:33.719 --> 01:09:35.120


people that started to



01:09:35.160 --> 01:09:37.121


break cycles of generational trauma,



01:09:37.201 --> 01:09:38.983


because up until this point,



01:09:39.003 --> 01:09:41.364


we didn't have really good,



01:09:41.564 --> 01:09:44.327


safe mental health modalities.



01:09:44.367 --> 01:09:46.148


We didn't have effective



01:09:46.188 --> 01:09:47.109


drugs that could help



01:09:47.149 --> 01:09:48.830


people with depression and anxiety.



01:09:49.290 --> 01:09:51.292


It wasn't a conversation to be had.



01:09:51.792 --> 01:09:52.112


In fact,



01:09:52.132 --> 01:09:53.273


a lot of the treatments in my



01:09:53.433 --> 01:09:54.734


grandparents' generation



01:09:54.814 --> 01:09:58.496


were harmful and set mental health back,



01:09:58.956 --> 01:10:00.958


you know, probably decades.



01:10:01.498 --> 01:10:02.959


And so I get to therapy.



01:10:02.979 --> 01:10:05.320


Yeah,



01:10:05.340 --> 01:10:07.662


there was this huge stigma about therapy.



01:10:07.682 --> 01:10:08.982


And I remember as a teenager



01:10:09.142 --> 01:10:09.943


asking my parents,



01:10:09.963 --> 01:10:11.264


can I please go to therapy?



01:10:12.104 --> 01:10:14.385


And they didn't want me to be, you know,



01:10:14.425 --> 01:10:15.766


a lot of it was societal



01:10:16.006 --> 01:10:17.647


systemic and their lack of



01:10:17.707 --> 01:10:19.388


understanding about what that meant.



01:10:19.568 --> 01:10:22.429


And, you know, so I agree with you.



01:10:22.469 --> 01:10:23.750


We can't really blame the



01:10:23.790 --> 01:10:25.231


past generations for not



01:10:25.391 --> 01:10:26.851


having healed or not being



01:10:26.911 --> 01:10:28.212


able to be introspective



01:10:28.252 --> 01:10:29.173


because they didn't have



01:10:29.193 --> 01:10:31.054


the kind of tools that we have now.



01:10:31.714 --> 01:10:33.215


My hope is that.



01:10:34.075 --> 01:10:35.677


people in my generation and



01:10:35.717 --> 01:10:37.438


generations prior don't



01:10:37.538 --> 01:10:38.619


look at their lives and say,



01:10:38.679 --> 01:10:39.880


I'm too old to start that



01:10:39.920 --> 01:10:40.901


process right now,



01:10:41.001 --> 01:10:41.962


or I don't know how to



01:10:41.982 --> 01:10:43.023


start that process.



01:10:43.644 --> 01:10:45.225


I talk a lot on my channel



01:10:45.325 --> 01:10:46.366


about how to heal.



01:10:46.526 --> 01:10:48.148


I talk a lot about how to



01:10:48.208 --> 01:10:49.169


start the process,



01:10:49.229 --> 01:10:51.010


how to hire a competent therapist.



01:10:52.011 --> 01:10:53.052


All of those kinds of things.



01:10:53.112 --> 01:10:55.453


And I feel like it's not a



01:10:55.493 --> 01:10:57.173


conversation that's unique



01:10:57.233 --> 01:10:58.334


to older people.



01:10:58.434 --> 01:11:00.075


I feel like younger people, too,



01:11:00.695 --> 01:11:03.456


have a fear of telling their deepest,



01:11:03.496 --> 01:11:06.277


darkest secrets to a stranger, you know,



01:11:06.417 --> 01:11:07.498


and trying to connect with



01:11:07.518 --> 01:11:09.299


someone and be that



01:11:09.359 --> 01:11:10.559


vulnerable in front of



01:11:10.599 --> 01:11:11.700


somebody that they don't know.



01:11:12.960 --> 01:11:14.622


How can you guys talk about



01:11:15.183 --> 01:11:16.825


how you started the process



01:11:16.865 --> 01:11:18.146


of healing for yourselves



01:11:18.206 --> 01:11:19.287


and what that looked like?



01:11:19.328 --> 01:11:21.150


Because there's more than one way to do it,



01:11:21.190 --> 01:11:22.486


obviously.



01:11:22.546 --> 01:11:26.230


I think psychedelics was the gate to that.



01:11:26.310 --> 01:11:28.392


And then I feel like through psychedelics,



01:11:28.833 --> 01:11:31.136


we sort of naturally gravitated towards



01:11:32.014 --> 01:11:34.497


more toward like spiritual



01:11:34.537 --> 01:11:37.480


teachers or I suppose just



01:11:37.600 --> 01:11:38.721


mindfulness teachers that



01:11:38.961 --> 01:11:40.082


advocate for stuff like



01:11:40.122 --> 01:11:42.465


meditation and healthy movement,



01:11:42.505 --> 01:11:43.366


healthy nutrition.



01:11:43.446 --> 01:11:46.469


It all kind of came together in a nice way,



01:11:46.609 --> 01:11:47.890


like finding good



01:11:48.871 --> 01:11:50.392


media that you can consume



01:11:50.432 --> 01:11:52.213


with with experts is so



01:11:52.253 --> 01:11:53.154


helpful i love the ten



01:11:53.174 --> 01:11:54.514


percent happier podcast he



01:11:54.535 --> 01:11:55.275


brings on a lot of



01:11:55.975 --> 01:11:57.036


spiritual and just like



01:11:57.076 --> 01:11:59.317


wellness experts of all



01:11:59.457 --> 01:12:00.438


disciplines



01:12:00.785 --> 01:12:01.305


Yeah.



01:12:01.325 --> 01:12:02.686


I feel like psychedelics are



01:12:02.746 --> 01:12:04.967


stigmatized by older



01:12:05.007 --> 01:12:06.348


generations a little bit



01:12:06.528 --> 01:12:07.268


because of what



01:12:07.328 --> 01:12:08.489


psychedelics were like when



01:12:08.549 --> 01:12:09.369


they were younger.



01:12:09.990 --> 01:12:11.991


And so maybe you can talk a



01:12:12.031 --> 01:12:13.812


little bit about the



01:12:13.872 --> 01:12:16.233


process of coming to that.



01:12:16.373 --> 01:12:16.954


And I,



01:12:17.074 --> 01:12:18.695


what I think it's important to know



01:12:18.835 --> 01:12:20.055


is that a lot of people say



01:12:20.095 --> 01:12:22.036


that the psychedelics that



01:12:22.056 --> 01:12:23.949


are available to us now



01:12:24.601 --> 01:12:26.062


there's a possibility to do



01:12:26.122 --> 01:12:27.762


it in a healthy way where



01:12:27.862 --> 01:12:29.363


it can be as effective or



01:12:29.403 --> 01:12:32.753


more effective as years of therapy.



01:12:32.773 --> 01:12:34.294


That was definitely true for me.



01:12:34.774 --> 01:12:36.154


Yeah.



01:12:36.214 --> 01:12:36.675


Oh, same.



01:12:36.995 --> 01:12:39.196


And a lot of people I know



01:12:39.416 --> 01:12:40.936


who have spent years in



01:12:40.976 --> 01:12:45.018


therapy after one session on LSD or, uh,



01:12:45.058 --> 01:12:47.219


with psilocybin were like, well,



01:12:47.259 --> 01:12:48.339


that was better than ten



01:12:48.379 --> 01:12:49.892


years of therapy because,



01:12:50.273 --> 01:12:51.274


You need to be given like



01:12:51.334 --> 01:12:54.338


a... It's like even with therapy,



01:12:54.378 --> 01:12:57.061


it's just so hard to step



01:12:57.121 --> 01:12:59.283


outside of your normal way of thinking.



01:12:59.323 --> 01:13:00.164


You can kind of have new



01:13:00.244 --> 01:13:02.066


ideas introduced to you and



01:13:02.827 --> 01:13:04.589


you can tweak your lenses



01:13:04.629 --> 01:13:05.671


you look through over time.



01:13:05.711 --> 01:13:07.252


But I feel like with psychedelics,



01:13:07.292 --> 01:13:08.954


you have the opportunity to just...



01:13:09.715 --> 01:13:10.875


be in a completely different



01:13:10.915 --> 01:13:11.655


headspace that is



01:13:11.695 --> 01:13:12.456


potentially a bit more



01:13:12.496 --> 01:13:13.916


depersonalized so you can



01:13:13.956 --> 01:13:15.116


look at things with less of



01:13:15.136 --> 01:13:16.256


your ego stories coming



01:13:16.296 --> 01:13:17.257


into play or your like



01:13:17.297 --> 01:13:18.797


wounds or your trauma or



01:13:18.837 --> 01:13:19.977


you can like recognize how



01:13:20.317 --> 01:13:21.858


big your wounds and trauma



01:13:21.898 --> 01:13:22.758


are and how they're like



01:13:22.838 --> 01:13:25.118


coming into play it's just



01:13:25.619 --> 01:13:26.919


it's it's not like it



01:13:26.939 --> 01:13:27.679


doesn't have to be either



01:13:27.759 --> 01:13:28.639


or like psychedelics or



01:13:28.659 --> 01:13:29.319


therapy I think they're



01:13:29.339 --> 01:13:30.700


both fantastic tools and



01:13:30.740 --> 01:13:31.880


can be used in tandem but



01:13:32.048 --> 01:13:32.361


it



01:13:32.381 --> 01:13:33.102


can be so much more



01:13:33.122 --> 01:13:34.122


effective than therapy



01:13:34.163 --> 01:13:35.784


because when else do we



01:13:35.884 --> 01:13:37.305


really get the opportunity



01:13:37.946 --> 01:13:39.287


to almost have like a



01:13:39.347 --> 01:13:42.069


period of respite from like



01:13:42.129 --> 01:13:43.310


inhabiting our own minds,



01:13:43.350 --> 01:13:44.171


even though you are still



01:13:44.791 --> 01:13:45.452


in your own mind.



01:13:45.932 --> 01:13:46.132


Yeah.



01:13:46.193 --> 01:13:48.936


And I think there are



01:13:49.196 --> 01:13:51.619


systems informed therapies



01:13:51.799 --> 01:13:53.741


more and more so all the time,



01:13:53.801 --> 01:13:54.482


which is great.



01:13:54.923 --> 01:13:57.105


But I feel like sometimes



01:13:57.546 --> 01:13:59.027


the therapy process can



01:13:59.068 --> 01:14:00.749


feel so individual.



01:14:01.410 --> 01:14:03.151


and it's like my trauma my



01:14:03.231 --> 01:14:05.251


issues the things i'm doing



01:14:05.411 --> 01:14:06.412


and how i'm functioning in



01:14:06.472 --> 01:14:08.512


this world without any



01:14:08.993 --> 01:14:10.933


insight into is the world



01:14:11.033 --> 01:14:13.454


i'm in helping me at all is



01:14:13.554 --> 01:14:15.715


it creating any of my issues how are



01:14:16.086 --> 01:14:16.636


You know,



01:14:16.656 --> 01:14:17.496


I didn't just fall out of the



01:14:17.516 --> 01:14:18.356


coconut tree.



01:14:18.496 --> 01:14:19.757


I exist in the context of



01:14:19.817 --> 01:14:21.218


everything that's come before.



01:14:21.918 --> 01:14:23.299


And I think psychedelics



01:14:23.319 --> 01:14:25.020


were really big in that, realizing like,



01:14:25.120 --> 01:14:25.180


oh,



01:14:25.200 --> 01:14:27.381


I'm not just this island existing in a



01:14:27.421 --> 01:14:27.981


vacuum,



01:14:28.441 --> 01:14:31.563


that I am like a sequence of DNA



01:14:31.583 --> 01:14:33.404


that's existed for millions



01:14:33.444 --> 01:14:34.464


and millions and millions



01:14:34.504 --> 01:14:35.825


of years and traces back to



01:14:35.845 --> 01:14:37.766


the original protozoa that



01:14:37.786 --> 01:14:39.126


climbed out of the sludge, you know?



01:14:39.646 --> 01:14:42.208


And each experience of each



01:14:42.288 --> 01:14:44.649


being in that genetic chain



01:14:45.209 --> 01:14:46.989


has implications for the way



01:14:47.029 --> 01:14:49.250


that i am the society that



01:14:49.390 --> 01:14:50.710


i've grown up in that's



01:14:50.750 --> 01:14:52.531


given me my language that's



01:14:52.551 --> 01:14:54.131


given me my constructs for



01:14:54.171 --> 01:14:56.011


the world informs what's



01:14:56.031 --> 01:14:57.872


happening in my body and in



01:14:57.932 --> 01:14:58.892


my brain in the way that



01:14:58.932 --> 01:15:00.186


i'm acting um you know it



01:15:00.206 --> 01:15:01.567


goes on and on the end to



01:15:01.587 --> 01:15:02.587


the things that i'm eating



01:15:02.627 --> 01:15:04.167


the things that i'm the way



01:15:04.187 --> 01:15:05.107


that i'm moving in the



01:15:05.127 --> 01:15:07.228


world the jobs that i am working you know



01:15:08.148 --> 01:15:09.789


All of these things,



01:15:10.249 --> 01:15:12.770


I'm connected to everything.



01:15:13.591 --> 01:15:15.852


So I can't change everything in the world.



01:15:15.892 --> 01:15:18.054


I can't go back and edit my DNA.



01:15:18.114 --> 01:15:20.495


I can't change the systems



01:15:20.515 --> 01:15:22.095


of Western empire for the



01:15:22.135 --> 01:15:24.537


last thousands of years or whatever.



01:15:25.317 --> 01:15:26.998


But understanding all of



01:15:27.018 --> 01:15:28.239


that has given me more



01:15:28.279 --> 01:15:29.880


grace for myself and more



01:15:29.920 --> 01:15:32.782


appreciation for the things



01:15:32.843 --> 01:15:34.364


that this genetic chain has



01:15:34.404 --> 01:15:36.966


been through and honoring



01:15:37.626 --> 01:15:38.987


the incarnation that I



01:15:39.528 --> 01:15:41.069


currently find myself in.



01:15:41.089 --> 01:15:42.230


Not that I believe in



01:15:42.431 --> 01:15:43.731


reincarnation in maybe the



01:15:44.052 --> 01:15:45.713


normal colloquial sense, but.



01:15:46.172 --> 01:15:46.432


Yeah.



01:15:46.933 --> 01:15:48.742


So it sounds like you're



01:15:48.762 --> 01:15:49.663


saying that it helped you



01:15:49.703 --> 01:15:51.164


have a better perspective.



01:15:51.344 --> 01:15:52.344


And for you, Samantha,



01:15:52.384 --> 01:15:55.967


saying that it helps you to



01:15:56.087 --> 01:15:57.448


have thoughts without



01:15:57.488 --> 01:15:58.808


judging them or analyzing



01:15:58.828 --> 01:16:00.890


them from your current state of mind.



01:16:01.750 --> 01:16:04.451


And the way that I had it described to me,



01:16:05.212 --> 01:16:07.032


taking psychedelics in a



01:16:07.072 --> 01:16:08.643


healthy way is that kind of



01:16:08.663 --> 01:16:09.524


you've got if you've got



01:16:09.564 --> 01:16:10.644


this ski mountain and



01:16:10.664 --> 01:16:11.584


you've been kind of skiing



01:16:11.624 --> 01:16:12.725


down the slopes the same



01:16:12.765 --> 01:16:13.645


way and you're carving



01:16:13.685 --> 01:16:14.706


these paths and you've got



01:16:14.826 --> 01:16:16.727


moguls and then taking



01:16:16.767 --> 01:16:19.208


psychedelics is like having it snow.



01:16:20.228 --> 01:16:21.229


And being able to find a



01:16:21.269 --> 01:16:22.649


different path down the mountain.



01:16:23.450 --> 01:16:24.871


So like you're still you,



01:16:25.451 --> 01:16:26.411


but you just think about



01:16:26.451 --> 01:16:27.672


things in a different way.



01:16:28.172 --> 01:16:29.653


And it gives you the ability



01:16:29.693 --> 01:16:31.034


to get out of those ruts



01:16:31.074 --> 01:16:32.255


that you've kind of been in.



01:16:32.652 --> 01:16:33.093


Yeah.



01:16:33.333 --> 01:16:35.034


And also teaches you the



01:16:35.074 --> 01:16:37.355


importance of being able to surrender.



01:16:37.435 --> 01:16:39.136


Like we kind of move through



01:16:39.176 --> 01:16:40.517


life convinced that we can



01:16:40.537 --> 01:16:41.597


sort of control everything.



01:16:41.617 --> 01:16:43.718


And especially in Mormonism,



01:16:43.778 --> 01:16:44.759


you're trying to almost



01:16:44.779 --> 01:16:46.269


like control your



01:16:46.301 --> 01:16:47.242


what's going to happen to you for



01:16:47.302 --> 01:16:48.583


eternity and every single



01:16:48.623 --> 01:16:49.864


decision you ever make it,



01:16:49.884 --> 01:16:50.745


there is just like that



01:16:50.785 --> 01:16:52.447


obsessive focus on control



01:16:52.487 --> 01:16:52.988


and obviously like



01:16:53.028 --> 01:16:54.189


controlling your body and



01:16:54.569 --> 01:16:55.310


your appetites and your



01:16:55.330 --> 01:16:56.371


thoughts and your beliefs and all that.



01:16:56.391 --> 01:16:57.552


Other people's behaviors.



01:16:57.752 --> 01:16:58.233


Yeah.



01:16:58.293 --> 01:16:59.774


And with psychedelics,



01:16:59.895 --> 01:17:00.836


it's like a chance to just



01:17:00.856 --> 01:17:02.337


like get outside of all of



01:17:02.878 --> 01:17:04.559


your own stuff and,



01:17:04.740 --> 01:17:06.145


and just realize that,



01:17:06.625 --> 01:17:08.086


how many perspectives can



01:17:08.146 --> 01:17:10.548


exist and like how



01:17:10.608 --> 01:17:12.689


connected we all are to everybody else.



01:17:12.850 --> 01:17:14.651


And I feel like coming out of Mormonism,



01:17:14.711 --> 01:17:15.231


a lot of people



01:17:15.331 --> 01:17:16.212


understandably are like



01:17:16.272 --> 01:17:18.954


quite risk averse or still have that like,



01:17:19.139 --> 01:17:19.848


know,



01:17:19.948 --> 01:17:21.249


they want to be able to control



01:17:21.309 --> 01:17:23.030


everything really tightly to feel safe,



01:17:23.350 --> 01:17:24.231


which I totally get.



01:17:24.331 --> 01:17:25.492


And like psychedelics can



01:17:26.172 --> 01:17:27.333


maybe feel scary because



01:17:27.733 --> 01:17:29.975


they're not necessarily like predictable.



01:17:30.015 --> 01:17:30.155


I mean,



01:17:30.175 --> 01:17:31.796


there are things you can obviously...



01:17:32.914 --> 01:17:34.036


like learn about with them



01:17:34.096 --> 01:17:35.437


but but they are like an



01:17:35.498 --> 01:17:36.819


experience in learning to



01:17:36.879 --> 01:17:38.081


surrender a lot of the time



01:17:38.121 --> 01:17:38.702


which I think is their



01:17:38.762 --> 01:17:40.584


utility but then it's like



01:17:40.604 --> 01:17:42.607


forcing you to be willing



01:17:42.647 --> 01:17:44.209


to put aside the masks



01:17:44.229 --> 01:17:45.391


you've worn for safety your



01:17:45.431 --> 01:17:47.493


whole life or like the rules you've



01:17:48.294 --> 01:17:49.375


arbitrary rules potentially



01:17:49.395 --> 01:17:50.977


that you've like upheld to



01:17:51.017 --> 01:17:52.859


try and feel safe and like



01:17:52.899 --> 01:17:54.500


all those sort of like



01:17:55.141 --> 01:17:56.402


false ways that you've



01:17:56.442 --> 01:17:57.823


tried to keep yourself safe



01:17:57.863 --> 01:17:59.885


can kind of fall away and I



01:17:59.905 --> 01:18:00.826


think like just having an



01:18:00.886 --> 01:18:01.647


experience where you can



01:18:01.807 --> 01:18:03.569


see that which is like very



01:18:03.609 --> 01:18:05.410


hard to do I feel like outside of



01:18:06.111 --> 01:18:07.292


having a substance literally



01:18:07.412 --> 01:18:09.112


alter your perspective.



01:18:09.132 --> 01:18:10.193


Neurochemistry, yeah.



01:18:10.293 --> 01:18:12.914


Yeah, that can be so valuable.



01:18:13.314 --> 01:18:14.095


I love the ski route



01:18:14.135 --> 01:18:15.255


metaphor because you



01:18:15.295 --> 01:18:16.636


literally are creating new



01:18:16.676 --> 01:18:20.158


neural pathways in a way that just,



01:18:20.578 --> 01:18:21.118


like you said,



01:18:21.218 --> 01:18:23.259


seems very difficult to do



01:18:23.599 --> 01:18:24.100


outside of that.



01:18:24.140 --> 01:18:25.020


It's like literally a



01:18:25.080 --> 01:18:26.721


chemical intervention to



01:18:26.761 --> 01:18:28.962


create better neural pathways.



01:18:29.482 --> 01:18:31.324


And, you know, there's other ways to,



01:18:31.704 --> 01:18:33.894


you know, rewire things like EMDR,



01:18:34.175 --> 01:18:35.756


where you're going back to



01:18:35.976 --> 01:18:36.857


the initial traumas.



01:18:36.997 --> 01:18:38.779


And I think psychedelics is



01:18:38.799 --> 01:18:40.741


a version of that where you realize like,



01:18:41.401 --> 01:18:41.481


oh,



01:18:41.621 --> 01:18:45.425


I've adopted these like pillars of my



01:18:45.545 --> 01:18:47.987


identity based on little



01:18:48.028 --> 01:18:49.189


interactions that I had as



01:18:49.229 --> 01:18:50.850


a kid that maybe didn't



01:18:50.990 --> 01:18:52.171


even like maybe the person



01:18:52.191 --> 01:18:53.413


who said a comment to me



01:18:53.933 --> 01:18:55.474


they didn't even mean it in



01:18:55.494 --> 01:18:57.015


the way that I took it.



01:18:57.715 --> 01:18:59.016


They never would have said like,



01:18:59.036 --> 01:19:00.117


you need to be this way.



01:19:00.157 --> 01:19:01.218


But because of the way they



01:19:01.238 --> 01:19:02.098


said and the way that I was



01:19:02.118 --> 01:19:04.180


just a kid interpreting that was like, oh,



01:19:04.440 --> 01:19:05.620


I'm bad.



01:19:05.660 --> 01:19:06.301


Yeah, exactly.



01:19:06.581 --> 01:19:07.462


I'm bad at this.



01:19:07.482 --> 01:19:09.423


Therefore, I won't do bad at that.



01:19:09.463 --> 01:19:09.563


Oh,



01:19:09.623 --> 01:19:11.904


I got positive reinforcement for this



01:19:11.964 --> 01:19:12.145


thing.



01:19:12.165 --> 01:19:13.305


So I'm going to keep doing this.



01:19:13.585 --> 01:19:14.366


And then it becomes these



01:19:14.426 --> 01:19:16.247


like pillars of our



01:19:16.307 --> 01:19:18.008


identity and character that



01:19:18.048 --> 01:19:21.731


we end up like defending to our own death



01:19:22.551 --> 01:19:23.992


And to our own detriment,



01:19:24.513 --> 01:19:26.655


when they didn't need to be there at all.



01:19:26.755 --> 01:19:27.716


And it's really,



01:19:27.756 --> 01:19:29.137


really hard to step out of it.



01:19:29.157 --> 01:19:31.059


It's almost impossible to see it because,



01:19:31.079 --> 01:19:31.279


you know,



01:19:31.299 --> 01:19:33.161


your mind is like a flashlight



01:19:33.241 --> 01:19:34.622


and you can point and see it,



01:19:34.662 --> 01:19:36.103


but you can like never



01:19:36.163 --> 01:19:37.344


point it back at yourself



01:19:37.465 --> 01:19:38.726


and see the flashlight



01:19:38.786 --> 01:19:39.687


itself through the light of



01:19:39.707 --> 01:19:40.327


the flashlight.



01:19:40.728 --> 01:19:42.669


Unless you have some kind of



01:19:42.729 --> 01:19:44.571


method like psychedelics or EMDR.



01:19:44.651 --> 01:19:46.653


I keep adding an extra M in there, but...



01:19:48.394 --> 01:19:51.515


Yeah, I'm definitely a fan.



01:19:51.575 --> 01:19:52.035


Obviously,



01:19:52.535 --> 01:19:54.536


exercise caution and do your homework.



01:19:54.756 --> 01:19:55.916


And if possible,



01:19:56.296 --> 01:19:57.776


do it in a clinical setting



01:19:57.816 --> 01:19:58.997


where someone who's trained



01:19:59.037 --> 01:20:00.577


in it can be there to assist.



01:20:01.357 --> 01:20:02.597


But I mean, like, you know,



01:20:02.617 --> 01:20:03.697


we talked about the older



01:20:03.717 --> 01:20:04.938


generation and maybe some



01:20:04.958 --> 01:20:06.918


of the stigma that came out



01:20:06.958 --> 01:20:08.558


about psychedelics back in the day.



01:20:09.139 --> 01:20:10.899


I've been reflecting on that because,



01:20:11.159 --> 01:20:11.419


you know,



01:20:11.439 --> 01:20:13.080


it was weird politics and all



01:20:13.100 --> 01:20:14.120


that and shame.



01:20:15.480 --> 01:20:16.562


I had a conversation with my



01:20:16.622 --> 01:20:17.762


partner's dad recently,



01:20:17.802 --> 01:20:19.323


and he mentioned that his



01:20:19.363 --> 01:20:20.723


generation was the first



01:20:21.223 --> 01:20:22.464


that didn't get drafted.



01:20:23.284 --> 01:20:25.045


And I guess it really hit me



01:20:25.305 --> 01:20:26.465


how recent that was,



01:20:27.005 --> 01:20:28.426


that people were like, okay,



01:20:28.886 --> 01:20:29.946


you're twenty years old,



01:20:30.206 --> 01:20:31.166


you gotta go across the



01:20:31.186 --> 01:20:33.047


world and kill people on



01:20:33.067 --> 01:20:33.867


the other side of the world



01:20:33.907 --> 01:20:35.268


for the interests of these



01:20:35.528 --> 01:20:36.648


megacorporations.



01:20:37.248 --> 01:20:38.369


And then you've got to come



01:20:38.409 --> 01:20:39.489


home with trauma,



01:20:39.810 --> 01:20:41.291


having seen your friends killed,



01:20:41.331 --> 01:20:42.011


having killed people,



01:20:42.031 --> 01:20:43.612


having committed atrocities.



01:20:44.032 --> 01:20:44.853


And you're just going to be



01:20:44.913 --> 01:20:46.293


left alone to deal with that,



01:20:46.694 --> 01:20:47.554


which is why we see so many



01:20:47.594 --> 01:20:49.956


veterans struggling with homelessness,



01:20:49.976 --> 01:20:51.496


struggling with mental health issues.



01:20:52.197 --> 01:20:54.820


And psychedelics were definitely



01:20:55.246 --> 01:20:58.068


a huge part of uh the public



01:20:58.149 --> 01:20:59.489


opposition to vietnam which



01:20:59.529 --> 01:21:00.910


was the first public



01:21:00.970 --> 01:21:02.671


opposition of a war in the



01:21:02.711 --> 01:21:03.792


united states history on



01:21:03.872 --> 01:21:05.453


such a massive scale women



01:21:05.493 --> 01:21:07.635


have been protesting wars



01:21:08.055 --> 01:21:10.857


all along but um but on the



01:21:10.937 --> 01:21:12.798


scale that the vietnam war



01:21:12.818 --> 01:21:14.059


was protested was the first



01:21:14.079 --> 01:21:15.500


time and largely due



01:21:16.120 --> 01:21:18.562


to psychedelics and people realizing like,



01:21:19.243 --> 01:21:21.505


oh, I'm not an American,



01:21:22.125 --> 01:21:23.246


I'm a human being.



01:21:23.406 --> 01:21:24.507


Like first and foremost,



01:21:24.547 --> 01:21:26.329


the idea of America is



01:21:26.369 --> 01:21:27.330


something that's been given



01:21:27.370 --> 01:21:29.131


me and what I should do



01:21:29.271 --> 01:21:30.713


about my Americanness is a



01:21:30.733 --> 01:21:32.114


whole different conversation



01:21:32.754 --> 01:21:33.134


even.



01:21:33.495 --> 01:21:34.575


But at my core,



01:21:34.976 --> 01:21:36.016


I'm a human being



01:21:36.256 --> 01:21:37.577


interacting in a natural



01:21:37.597 --> 01:21:39.178


world from whence I came



01:21:39.498 --> 01:21:40.819


with other human beings who



01:21:40.859 --> 01:21:42.700


are just as apart and just



01:21:42.780 --> 01:21:44.662


as belonging to this world



01:21:44.682 --> 01:21:46.563


and network of beings as I am.



01:21:46.863 --> 01:21:47.704


And it doesn't make sense



01:21:47.744 --> 01:21:48.684


for me to go across the



01:21:48.724 --> 01:21:50.125


world to commit violence



01:21:50.145 --> 01:21:50.926


against those people.



01:21:51.212 --> 01:21:52.923


we do have to be very



01:21:52.963 --> 01:21:55.505


appreciative of how far



01:21:55.525 --> 01:21:57.046


we've come in such a short time.



01:21:57.206 --> 01:21:58.627


The role that psychedelics have played,



01:21:59.294 --> 01:22:00.474


I go back and forth on how



01:22:00.514 --> 01:22:01.835


appropriate the backlash



01:22:01.855 --> 01:22:02.713


has been



01:22:02.958 --> 01:22:04.719


a strong faction trying to



01:22:04.759 --> 01:22:05.699


squash out seeing



01:22:05.779 --> 01:22:07.880


psychedelics as a healing



01:22:08.200 --> 01:22:09.440


modality and being like oh



01:22:09.480 --> 01:22:10.761


we can't have this this is



01:22:10.801 --> 01:22:11.781


not good for our



01:22:11.841 --> 01:22:12.901


investments and our



01:22:13.341 --> 01:22:14.802


interests and our ideology



01:22:15.004 --> 01:22:16.642


but also realizing that



01:22:16.702 --> 01:22:20.003


there was um maybe too much



01:22:20.043 --> 01:22:21.143


of a libertine approach i



01:22:21.163 --> 01:22:23.344


don't i don't know um but



01:22:23.444 --> 01:22:24.984


now it was i mean they were



01:22:25.024 --> 01:22:26.165


peddling misinformation



01:22:26.185 --> 01:22:27.185


about psychedelics and



01:22:28.986 --> 01:22:29.286


Yeah,



01:22:29.366 --> 01:22:31.126


and safety was definitely not a



01:22:31.186 --> 01:22:32.467


primary concern.



01:22:33.369 --> 01:22:35.210


But now I think we're very



01:22:35.250 --> 01:22:36.731


fortunate to be in an age



01:22:36.811 --> 01:22:38.371


where there's a lot more



01:22:38.731 --> 01:22:43.113


scientific data to back up the usage,



01:22:43.133 --> 01:22:43.793


that there's more



01:22:43.873 --> 01:22:46.694


opportunities for clinical settings,



01:22:46.974 --> 01:22:48.134


for people to receive



01:22:48.154 --> 01:22:49.315


psychedelic treatment.



01:22:50.155 --> 01:22:50.876


I'm really,



01:22:50.916 --> 01:22:52.317


really optimistic about the



01:22:52.357 --> 01:22:53.818


role that psychedelics will



01:22:53.858 --> 01:22:55.140


continue playing in



01:22:56.341 --> 01:22:57.602


personal and collective healing.



01:22:58.262 --> 01:23:00.725


Did we start talking about grief?



01:23:00.765 --> 01:23:03.287


We started talking about



01:23:03.367 --> 01:23:05.349


shame and grief and anger



01:23:05.449 --> 01:23:06.850


and all of those things, yeah.



01:23:07.393 --> 01:23:09.874


Well, I'd say with psychedelics, you know,



01:23:11.334 --> 01:23:12.375


for the uninitiated,



01:23:12.415 --> 01:23:14.035


they kind of have this idea of like, oh,



01:23:14.075 --> 01:23:15.056


it's this escapist thing



01:23:15.076 --> 01:23:16.356


where you go and you ha ha



01:23:16.396 --> 01:23:17.176


ha at all the pink



01:23:17.236 --> 01:23:18.757


elephants dancing around in the room.



01:23:19.477 --> 01:23:20.017


And, you know,



01:23:20.037 --> 01:23:22.658


there is like a funness to them,



01:23:22.698 --> 01:23:23.378


like there's something



01:23:23.718 --> 01:23:25.479


delightful and joyful of like,



01:23:25.859 --> 01:23:27.240


that new fallen snow where



01:23:27.260 --> 01:23:28.461


you're seeing the world



01:23:28.501 --> 01:23:29.602


kind of like as a child



01:23:29.622 --> 01:23:30.643


would see it with fresh



01:23:30.823 --> 01:23:32.044


eyes where it's brand new



01:23:32.124 --> 01:23:33.324


i've come out of trips like



01:23:33.585 --> 01:23:35.846


having to relearn who i am



01:23:35.966 --> 01:23:37.287


what it means like what



01:23:37.527 --> 01:23:38.488


having a body as being a



01:23:38.528 --> 01:23:39.989


human being an amap person



01:23:40.009 --> 01:23:41.210


having a name having



01:23:41.290 --> 01:23:42.351


roommates and being like



01:23:42.511 --> 01:23:43.952


all of it being like brand



01:23:44.012 --> 01:23:47.014


new for the first time and it is like



01:23:47.900 --> 01:23:49.402


That is just a perspective



01:23:49.422 --> 01:23:50.263


that you don't get every



01:23:50.304 --> 01:23:51.826


day and it does radically



01:23:51.846 --> 01:23:54.890


shift the way that I saw the world,



01:23:54.910 --> 01:23:56.292


the way that I interact with the world.



01:23:56.895 --> 01:23:58.156


But on the other side,



01:23:58.568 --> 01:24:00.029


psychedelics helped me



01:24:00.129 --> 01:24:01.809


identify these deeply,



01:24:01.909 --> 01:24:04.871


deeply embedded wounds.



01:24:06.625 --> 01:24:07.825


They felt like shrapnel



01:24:07.865 --> 01:24:08.646


pieces that were just



01:24:08.786 --> 01:24:10.466


buried in me since childhood,



01:24:10.566 --> 01:24:11.507


since teenagehood,



01:24:11.527 --> 01:24:12.947


since young adulthood that



01:24:12.967 --> 01:24:15.208


I didn't even know were like festering.



01:24:15.809 --> 01:24:18.330


And psychedelics helped me



01:24:18.710 --> 01:24:21.031


identify and remove those things



01:24:21.911 --> 01:24:23.913


And with that came a lot of



01:24:23.973 --> 01:24:26.556


grief and a lot of tears,



01:24:26.596 --> 01:24:28.177


a lot of screaming and



01:24:28.257 --> 01:24:30.079


moaning and crying and



01:24:30.159 --> 01:24:32.161


weeping because I was



01:24:32.661 --> 01:24:33.923


addressing something that I



01:24:33.963 --> 01:24:36.305


had never even known existed in me.



01:24:37.666 --> 01:24:39.868


Stuff from my own life, cultural grief,



01:24:40.008 --> 01:24:40.529


mourning grief.



01:24:41.189 --> 01:24:42.430


Again, realizing like, oh,



01:24:42.590 --> 01:24:43.611


I'm not just a person



01:24:43.651 --> 01:24:44.591


existing in a vacuum.



01:24:44.911 --> 01:24:46.932


I am an animal living in an



01:24:47.012 --> 01:24:48.633


environment that sustains me.



01:24:49.013 --> 01:24:50.594


And that environment is



01:24:50.634 --> 01:24:52.816


being destroyed at rates



01:24:53.616 --> 01:24:54.837


never before seen in the



01:24:54.857 --> 01:24:56.077


history of humankind.



01:24:56.478 --> 01:24:57.998


So there is a deep mourning



01:24:59.079 --> 01:25:00.840


that I have to experience.



01:25:01.503 --> 01:25:04.845


as part of this waking up process.



01:25:05.646 --> 01:25:07.686


And so it isn't all just



01:25:07.866 --> 01:25:10.648


love and light and ha, ha, ha.



01:25:10.908 --> 01:25:15.511


It opened the valve for me to really,



01:25:15.591 --> 01:25:16.831


really grieve and to



01:25:16.932 --> 01:25:20.114


integrate grieving as a regular part



01:25:20.954 --> 01:25:22.714


of my human existence.



01:25:23.115 --> 01:25:24.095


Because I think a lot of our



01:25:24.135 --> 01:25:25.535


culture is set up to



01:25:25.575 --> 01:25:26.775


disconnect us from our grief,



01:25:26.815 --> 01:25:28.296


to numb us to our pain,



01:25:28.316 --> 01:25:29.296


to help us avoid pain,



01:25:29.576 --> 01:25:30.876


to avoid our mortality,



01:25:31.197 --> 01:25:34.077


to avoid the sense of loss,



01:25:34.117 --> 01:25:36.038


to give us this flimsy



01:25:36.078 --> 01:25:37.918


sense of control over the world,



01:25:38.378 --> 01:25:40.059


when in fact we have to



01:25:40.099 --> 01:25:42.139


become more acquainted with



01:25:42.179 --> 01:25:43.720


grief if we want to be



01:25:43.880 --> 01:25:45.280


mature adults in this world



01:25:45.600 --> 01:25:47.720


who are maturely addressing



01:25:48.021 --> 01:25:49.781


the issues that are causing grief.



01:25:50.301 --> 01:25:52.106


Thank you so much.



01:25:52.606 --> 01:25:56.648


I think we could just cut it off there.



01:25:56.688 --> 01:25:57.368


Make that a short.



01:25:57.388 --> 01:26:00.189


Yes, absolutely.



01:26:01.169 --> 01:26:03.370


I think that we do have a



01:26:03.410 --> 01:26:06.071


failure to recognize the role of grief.



01:26:07.071 --> 01:26:08.392


in our lives and how



01:26:08.452 --> 01:26:10.013


necessary it is for us to



01:26:10.073 --> 01:26:11.594


grieve authentically to



01:26:11.634 --> 01:26:13.075


allow ourselves to scream



01:26:13.095 --> 01:26:15.236


and cry and to allow



01:26:15.296 --> 01:26:16.917


ourselves to feel all of



01:26:16.957 --> 01:26:19.018


the pain that comes with



01:26:19.138 --> 01:26:20.259


healing these wounds



01:26:20.939 --> 01:26:22.380


because all of the wounds



01:26:22.420 --> 01:26:23.861


that we have are



01:26:23.901 --> 01:26:25.322


accompanied by grief in



01:26:25.382 --> 01:26:27.343


some form it's either a



01:26:27.383 --> 01:26:29.104


loss of time or a loss of



01:26:29.144 --> 01:26:30.645


childhood or a loss of



01:26:30.765 --> 01:26:32.186


actual relationships or



01:26:32.206 --> 01:26:33.507


things like that and i think



01:26:34.167 --> 01:26:37.388


we fail to recognize what an



01:26:37.428 --> 01:26:39.689


important role grief plays



01:26:39.989 --> 01:26:41.230


in our everyday



01:26:41.390 --> 01:26:44.391


interactions and our desire



01:26:44.431 --> 01:26:45.571


to make life easy and



01:26:45.631 --> 01:26:47.272


smooth and to numb from



01:26:47.312 --> 01:26:48.533


things prevents us from



01:26:48.673 --> 01:26:51.014


actually grieving and even



01:26:51.074 --> 01:26:52.294


if even if we get right



01:26:52.334 --> 01:26:54.595


down to it our funeral ceremonies



01:26:55.333 --> 01:26:57.014


postpone grieving because we



01:26:57.455 --> 01:26:58.575


focus so much on the



01:26:58.675 --> 01:27:00.757


afterlife and seeing that person again.



01:27:01.197 --> 01:27:03.139


We fail to ask ourselves the question,



01:27:03.179 --> 01:27:04.419


what if we don't ever see



01:27:04.439 --> 01:27:05.360


that person again?



01:27:05.740 --> 01:27:06.601


How would we grieve



01:27:06.641 --> 01:27:08.262


differently if that were the case?



01:27:08.703 --> 01:27:09.543


And I think it's such an



01:27:09.563 --> 01:27:11.044


important thing to address.



01:27:11.064 --> 01:27:12.445


So I'm really grateful that



01:27:12.485 --> 01:27:13.666


you brought that into this



01:27:13.706 --> 01:27:15.507


conversation because we



01:27:15.527 --> 01:27:16.568


don't talk about grief



01:27:16.608 --> 01:27:17.909


enough and I think it's



01:27:18.109 --> 01:27:20.511


just so crucial to address it.



01:27:21.209 --> 01:27:21.890


Oh, for sure.



01:27:22.030 --> 01:27:25.012


And I think a huge part of



01:27:25.332 --> 01:27:28.214


the revolution going on,



01:27:28.374 --> 01:27:29.655


which is just a total



01:27:30.256 --> 01:27:32.137


reassessment of our



01:27:32.217 --> 01:27:33.758


individual and collective



01:27:34.199 --> 01:27:37.501


goals and purpose and functioning,



01:27:38.282 --> 01:27:41.024


is developing networks and



01:27:41.084 --> 01:27:43.566


relationships of people who



01:27:43.766 --> 01:27:45.127


are acquainted with grief,



01:27:45.347 --> 01:27:47.448


who can witness us in grief



01:27:47.809 --> 01:27:48.910


and share the grief together.



01:27:49.750 --> 01:27:51.352


Even grieving itself,



01:27:51.653 --> 01:27:53.535


we inherit so much shame about that.



01:27:53.555 --> 01:27:54.597


You should just be tough and



01:27:54.737 --> 01:27:56.739


swallow it and, you know, be a man.



01:27:56.779 --> 01:27:57.560


Don't cry.



01:27:57.861 --> 01:27:59.203


Don't show them, you know,



01:27:59.263 --> 01:28:01.025


what you're feeling, you know, be tough.



01:28:01.405 --> 01:28:02.767


All of that is so toxic.



01:28:03.288 --> 01:28:05.471


And so many of us aren't



01:28:05.511 --> 01:28:07.153


even allowed to express that.



01:28:07.553 --> 01:28:09.054


let alone, you know,



01:28:09.134 --> 01:28:10.235


express that to ourselves,



01:28:10.535 --> 01:28:12.116


let alone to another person.



01:28:12.676 --> 01:28:13.977


And so I think a huge part



01:28:14.097 --> 01:28:15.838


is going to be learning to



01:28:15.898 --> 01:28:17.259


grieve together.



01:28:17.919 --> 01:28:20.000


And that's something I've been able to,



01:28:20.020 --> 01:28:21.121


both of us have been able



01:28:21.141 --> 01:28:22.662


to experience in different



01:28:22.682 --> 01:28:25.304


ways since leaving the church,



01:28:25.444 --> 01:28:25.984


which was such a



01:28:26.144 --> 01:28:29.706


superficial sense of community and grief,



01:28:29.746 --> 01:28:30.867


the surface level.



01:28:31.347 --> 01:28:32.608


Oh, we all belong to the same club.



01:28:32.628 --> 01:28:33.709


We wear the same uniform.



01:28:33.749 --> 01:28:34.409


Therefore we're,



01:28:34.529 --> 01:28:35.570


We're all together and maybe



01:28:35.590 --> 01:28:36.731


we can cry a little bit on



01:28:36.771 --> 01:28:37.672


Fast and Testimony meeting.



01:28:37.972 --> 01:28:38.753


Not about our personal



01:28:38.793 --> 01:28:39.694


issues because we can only



01:28:40.014 --> 01:28:40.795


speak the script and say



01:28:40.835 --> 01:28:41.696


the things you know are true.



01:28:42.036 --> 01:28:43.137


But we get little,



01:28:43.177 --> 01:28:45.079


little releases of that grief valve.



01:28:45.639 --> 01:28:47.261


But actually stepping into a



01:28:47.341 --> 01:28:49.182


conscious space where we're



01:28:49.222 --> 01:28:50.484


holding our grief together



01:28:50.584 --> 01:28:51.765


and witnessing each other



01:28:51.805 --> 01:28:56.189


in our grief and expressing grief fully.



01:28:56.725 --> 01:28:57.625


is so healing.



01:28:57.705 --> 01:28:59.846


It's hard to grieve alone.



01:29:00.327 --> 01:29:04.909


It's not just easier, but empowering.



01:29:07.054 --> 01:29:08.875


I struggle to find the words



01:29:08.915 --> 01:29:09.736


to say what it is.



01:29:09.776 --> 01:29:11.336


It's almost like there is a



01:29:11.396 --> 01:29:12.337


dimension of human



01:29:12.397 --> 01:29:14.598


existence that we access,



01:29:14.938 --> 01:29:16.619


almost like a psychic level



01:29:16.739 --> 01:29:19.260


of power that we access in sharing grief



01:29:20.190 --> 01:29:21.511


were totally cut off of in



01:29:21.551 --> 01:29:23.172


our normal you know white



01:29:23.212 --> 01:29:25.654


bread american life and so



01:29:25.714 --> 01:29:26.855


learning how to grieve



01:29:26.875 --> 01:29:28.095


together to intentionally



01:29:28.155 --> 01:29:29.917


create spaces where we can



01:29:29.977 --> 01:29:32.098


hold our grief and then act



01:29:32.218 --> 01:29:33.879


from that empowered grief



01:29:34.259 --> 01:29:36.061


and embodied grief uh is



01:29:36.121 --> 01:29:39.044


going to be genuinely revolutionary



01:29:40.115 --> 01:29:41.837


Yeah, I agree so much with that.



01:29:42.317 --> 01:29:43.398


And that's one of the things



01:29:43.438 --> 01:29:44.559


I'm trying to do with this



01:29:44.599 --> 01:29:47.381


community on YouTube is to



01:29:47.421 --> 01:29:49.143


create a place where we can



01:29:49.243 --> 01:29:51.045


share our struggles together,



01:29:51.085 --> 01:29:52.446


where we can grieve together,



01:29:52.466 --> 01:29:53.547


where we can support each



01:29:53.607 --> 01:29:56.149


other in these revolutions



01:29:56.209 --> 01:29:58.331


that are exciting but also



01:29:58.391 --> 01:30:00.913


painful and making these



01:30:00.953 --> 01:30:02.995


changes that are scary and



01:30:03.315 --> 01:30:04.375


And, you know,



01:30:04.455 --> 01:30:06.276


confronting the things that



01:30:06.696 --> 01:30:08.730


we feel that are scary and,



01:30:08.757 --> 01:30:09.617


confronting the



01:30:09.677 --> 01:30:11.297


dysfunctional relationships



01:30:11.317 --> 01:30:13.658


that we have and having the



01:30:13.698 --> 01:30:15.038


courage to step into a



01:30:15.098 --> 01:30:17.199


space of being alone rather



01:30:17.219 --> 01:30:18.719


than accepting bad



01:30:18.759 --> 01:30:19.920


treatment from other people,



01:30:20.060 --> 01:30:20.900


all of these things.



01:30:21.520 --> 01:30:22.781


We need to do them together.



01:30:22.881 --> 01:30:23.921


And thank you so much for



01:30:23.941 --> 01:30:25.282


saying that because we don't,



01:30:26.243 --> 01:30:27.303


I think sometimes we



01:30:27.343 --> 01:30:28.784


believe that our mental



01:30:28.824 --> 01:30:30.185


health is only our



01:30:30.245 --> 01:30:31.566


responsibility and that we



01:30:31.586 --> 01:30:32.486


should fix all of our



01:30:32.586 --> 01:30:33.787


issues before we talk to



01:30:33.827 --> 01:30:36.809


other people or interact in spaces.



01:30:36.869 --> 01:30:38.610


But you're so spot on when



01:30:38.630 --> 01:30:39.550


you say that we need to do



01:30:39.610 --> 01:30:40.391


it collectively.



01:30:40.691 --> 01:30:42.193


I agree with that so much.



01:30:42.213 --> 01:30:42.673


Samantha,



01:30:42.853 --> 01:30:44.234


I'm going to give you the last word.



01:30:44.820 --> 01:30:46.401


Oh God, what am I going to use it on?



01:30:47.943 --> 01:30:48.883


Give me a word.



01:30:49.544 --> 01:30:51.045


Please plug all the things



01:30:51.605 --> 01:30:52.686


that you guys are doing and



01:30:52.726 --> 01:30:53.347


let us know what's



01:30:53.387 --> 01:30:54.708


happening on your channel right now.



01:30:55.660 --> 01:30:56.160


Yeah.



01:30:56.180 --> 01:30:56.801


So, I mean,



01:30:56.821 --> 01:30:58.141


if you're interested in psychedelics,



01:30:58.181 --> 01:30:59.582


we just tried gas station



01:30:59.622 --> 01:31:01.143


mushrooms and that's one of



01:31:01.203 --> 01:31:02.904


our new videos on our channel.



01:31:02.944 --> 01:31:04.084


You can find us everywhere



01:31:04.324 --> 01:31:05.565


at Zelf on the Shelf.



01:31:06.525 --> 01:31:07.726


We're also on Patreon.



01:31:07.786 --> 01:31:08.666


We're about to go read an



01:31:08.706 --> 01:31:09.567


episode of Tennis Shoes



01:31:09.607 --> 01:31:10.407


Among the Nephites.



01:31:10.427 --> 01:31:11.948


That's something we do on our Patreon.



01:31:12.949 --> 01:31:13.989


Anything else we need to



01:31:14.029 --> 01:31:16.231


mention in terms of orders of business?



01:31:16.251 --> 01:31:17.491


I think that's it.



01:31:17.511 --> 01:31:18.352


We've got our personal



01:31:18.432 --> 01:31:20.113


Instagrams you can follow us on.



01:31:21.079 --> 01:31:21.960


I had to delete all my



01:31:22.020 --> 01:31:23.581


socials yesterday just to



01:31:23.601 --> 01:31:25.102


get out of the fray for a minute,



01:31:25.342 --> 01:31:27.384


but will be back eventually, I'm sure,



01:31:27.444 --> 01:31:28.624


like a dog to its vomit.



01:31:30.766 --> 01:31:31.646


I feel that too.



01:31:32.207 --> 01:31:32.367


Well,



01:31:32.407 --> 01:31:34.448


I feel like we never have enough time



01:31:34.468 --> 01:31:35.649


to discuss all the things,



01:31:35.709 --> 01:31:37.770


so we will have to get together again.



01:31:39.400 --> 01:31:39.500


Yeah.



01:31:39.540 --> 01:31:39.800


Yes, please.



01:31:39.820 --> 01:31:40.700


We love talking to you



01:31:40.760 --> 01:31:41.881


anytime you want to come.



01:31:41.901 --> 01:31:42.401


Oh, I will.



01:31:42.481 --> 01:31:42.584


Yeah.



01:31:42.805 --> 01:31:43.145


Yeah.



01:31:43.165 --> 01:31:45.266


Like the level at which you



01:31:45.306 --> 01:31:46.667


talk about healing is like



01:31:46.747 --> 01:31:49.849


so soothing to my soul personally.



01:31:49.869 --> 01:31:51.390


Thanks.



01:31:51.870 --> 01:31:53.090


Well, thanks so much for being here,



01:31:53.110 --> 01:31:53.551


you guys.



01:31:53.591 --> 01:31:54.712


This is going to be wonderful.



01:31:55.193 --> 01:31:56.656


Can't wait to talk to you again.



01:31:56.676 --> 01:31:57.498


Thank you.



01:31:57.719 --> 01:31:58.600


I love what you're doing



01:31:58.640 --> 01:31:59.382


with this channel.



01:31:59.663 --> 01:32:00.364


It's exciting.



01:32:00.765 --> 01:32:01.106


Yeah.



01:32:01.146 --> 01:32:02.468


Love to everyone watching.



01:32:02.789 --> 01:32:03.871


Happy healing.



01:32:03.951 --> 01:32:05.114


Thanks for being here, everyone.