Reframing Pain into Growth

In this expansive and deeply honest conversation, Darin sits down with Gregory Schwartz for a wide-ranging exploration of awakening, ecology, food systems, energy, consciousness, and what it truly means to live in right relationship with the planet and ourselves.

What begins as a conversation about athletic identity and environmental travel unfolds into a profound dialogue on political ecology, spiritual awakening, mitochondrial intelligence, community-scale solutions, and the collapse of outdated belief systems.

This episode bridges the scientific, the spiritual, and the deeply human—offering a grounded yet visionary roadmap for creating a future where health, sovereignty, and connection replace extraction, disconnection, and burnout.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• How early athletic identity, injury, and discipline shaped Greg's lifelong path

• Why travel and "ground-truthing" reality changes how we see the world

• The concept of the "Planet Doctor" and speaking on behalf of Earth

• Why data alone doesn't change behavior—and why the heart must lead

• How food systems, soil health, and gut health are inseparably linked

• The real reasons environmental solutions stall despite available money and technology

• Why community-scale action is the missing link between individual and government change

• How regenerative food systems ripple into health, ecology, and social cohesion

• The dangers of hyper-productivity and the loss of rest, recovery, and contemplation

• Why mitochondria are not just powerhouses—but listeners and conductors of energy

• What spiritual awakening actually feels like—and why it can be destabilizing

• The collapse of identity as a necessary step toward integration

• The difference between being a messenger and being the message

• How awakenings mature from chaos into discipline, embodiment, and service

• Why optimism comes from living examples, not abstract ideology

• How small, aligned actions create resonance fields that attract new realities

Timecodes

00:00 – Athletic roots, injury, and the pivot into physiology & nutrition 03:00 – Travel, environmental exposure, and seeing reality beyond data 07:00 – Political ecology, capitalism, and the illusion of separation from nature 12:30 – Food systems, soil health, and gut microbiome parallels 16:00 – Regenerative agriculture, working with farmers, and nuance over dogma 20:00 – Community-scale solutions: food, energy, microgrids, and localization 24:00 – Burnout culture, productivity addiction, and missing rest cycles 27:00 – Mitochondria, flow state, and the intelligence of the cell 30:00 – Spiritual awakening: lightning bolts, breakdowns, and integration 35:00 – Heaven, hell, and altered states as present-moment realities 39:00 – Discipline vs. chaos: maturing the awakening process 44:00 – Being the message vs. delivering the message 49:00 – Embodiment, purpose, and integrating spirituality into real life 55:00 – System collapse, courage, and rebuilding new realities 01:00:00 – Hope, optimism, and why examples matter more than arguments 01:05:00 – Creating resonance through aligned action and community

Find More From Gregory Schwartz

• Political ecology research and teaching

• Environmental systems, food sovereignty, and regenerative frameworks

• Community-scale energy and food solutions

• Writing and speaking on consciousness, awakening, and integration

Thank You to Our Sponsors

• Truniagen: Go to www.truniagen.com and use code DARIN20 at checkout for 20% off

• Fatty15: Get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription Starter Kit by going to fatty15.com/DARIN and using code DARIN at checkout.

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Find More from Gregory Schwartz

• Website: theplanetdoctor.com

• Instagram: @theplanetdoctor

• Try Greg's Free Masterclass by signing up here!

Find More from Darin Olien:

• Instagram: @darinolien

• Podcast: SuperLife Podcast

• Website: superlife.com

• Book: Fatal Conveniences

Key Takeaway

"The systems don't change because we lack solutions—they don't change because we haven't changed our relationship to ourselves, to nature, and to each other. When that shifts, everything else follows."