Peter Santenello | Exploring The Illusion of Separation: Lessons Learned From 200 Million Views, Travel, Compassion + Seeing The World Through Other's Eyes

Oct 4, 2022

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We're told in the USA that we're so divided... yet if you go to any sort of normal event in the country, everyone's not really having a problem at all with each other. This work has taken me to a lot of different places including inner-city America and that has been different. I never would have done that otherwise and it has been a big eye-opener. It has really helped me to understand those environments and where people are coming from a lot better. - Peter Santenello

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Wellness + Wisdom Episode 477

American videomaker, traveler, and entrepreneur, Peter Santenello, reveals the truth about division in the USA, what he has learned creating his video series about life both abroad + at home in the USA, the mass media's agenda + what they're not sharing, why structure creates flow for life and how to find your spark.

Is the grass really greener on the other side? True, authentic journalism - is it dead?

These are just some of the many questions Peter helps us answer on this week's Wellness + Wisdom Podcast episode.

By the end of this episode, you will have a clear understanding of what and why major news networks aren't sharing, why seeing both sides of a current event is so important, and how to live life by the middle way.

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Listen To Episode 477 As Peter Santenello Uncovers: [1:30] Making Human Connections Across Borders

Peter Santenello on YouTube
Official Website of Peter Santenello
How we interrelate to one another in the USA compared to in other countries, especially in relationships and marriage.
The Map of Consciousness Explained: A Proven Energy Scale to Actualize Your Ultimate Potential by David R. Hawkins
Peter's experience traveling the world and which cultures have been the hardest for him to understand.
Why India is the most confusing, sensory overload place in the world to live according to Peter.
The bad air quality in Kiev, Ukraine and how that affected Peter's health while living there compared to now in South Florida.
How to build compassion for others by trying to understand life through their eyes.
His rebellious side as a child and being the opposite of what other people expected.
The close connection both Peter and Josh have to their Italian heritage.
Peter's heart in helping people feel so comfortable when he speaks to them to learn about their life and culture in another country.
His favorite places that he visited and why people in the USA found them so surprising based on our conditioning.

[14:35] The Truth About Division in the USA

Why we have lost the art of listening in our modern world.
What Peter's work has taught him about life and how he has become so much less judgemental because of it.
Why his Ukrainian wife loves Americana things so much from cowboy hats and pickup trucks to Monster Jam.
Their Monster Jam experience and why it surprised him so much to see people of all different backgrounds attending the event.
Peter's experience not seeing people divided at all in the USA despite the mass media narrative.
His experience visiting inner cities in the USA and speaking to people who live there.
How Peter emotionally regulates himself when he experiences different mindsets and cultures, especially with how they treat women or have a caste system.

[17:00] The Grass Isn't Always Greener Outside the USA

How to know the right moment to speak up and take action for injustice compared to realizing that it's not our place, especially in different countries and cultures.
What Josh and Peter are grateful for having in the USA plus taking a deeper look at what we all can be appreciative for in our lives here.
Peter's "the grass is always greener" mindset when comparing his life living in other countries to that in the USA and why he doesn't think like that anymore.
Why Peter is focusing so much on giving back to the USA making films here and highlighting the culture we have including his current production project about ranches.
What Peter is learning about regenerative ranching with his new series.
458 Taylor Collins + Robby Sansom | Omnivorous Truth: Bill Gates, Synthetic Meat, Vegan Lies + Healing with Regenerative Ranching

[23:00] Mass Media’s Agenda + What They’re Not Sharing

The 3-5 topics that the mass media hammers on and what they're not sharing, what's actually beneficial, that they should be.
Peter's passion for sharing the stories that the mass media doesn't.
Why the mass media only focuses on topics that are triggering and that will bring in more money.
His choice not to tune into the US news at all during the 4 years that he wasn't in the country during the Trump years.
Peter's work struggles over the years trying to figure out how to get his business off of the ground and what he would do with his life.
The app idea that he had to connect different people with common interests while traveling.
His and his wife's decision to move to the USA rather than Italy from Ukraine and why that decision has been such a good one for them.
Why so much of the news that the mass media platforms put out there are just 1-sided and why that's not a good thing.
How the concern about the US-Mexico border has gone away because news outlets simply are not reporting on it anymore.

[28:20] Is True, Authentic Journalism Dead?

The call for better, more investigative journalism which takes money, resources, and a big institution because no solo content creator or small team can do it on their own.
Why Peter always shares multiple angles of an issue to present all sides of the story even if it's something that he doesn't agree with.
How he presents his view of things to someone so that they can see and understand where he is coming from.
Stories of his time living and filming abroad where he felt in danger or something bad happened to them.
Why he thinks his audience are so attracted to his content compared to other news media outlets.

[35:00] How to Find Your Spark

Documentary - Finding Joe
Why it took Peter a while to find his spark or purpose and what helped lead him to it.
His dream to travel and know the world since he didn't do a lot of that growing up.
Why right now he's enjoining slowing down and taking in what's around him while also focusing on telling stories from people in different areas and situations in the US.
How one of his classmates went on to live his childhood dreams as an adult by being able to do something that truly brought him joy growing up.
What Peter says or does to give compassion to those who leave negative comments on his YouTube channel or in person.
His surprise that someone like Jordan Peterson still gets triggered by negative comments when Peter himself doesn't care anymore.
Exploring the current political gaslighting that we are seeing in the USA today.
Why it's a plus for Americans that our country is so young yet compared to other countries like in Europe for Peter's example.
How Peter's love for San Francisco has shifted after living in Ukraine for years.

[50:00] The Laws of Nature + How Structure Creates Flow for Life

Peter's experience with Ayahuasca and how that helped him stop drinking alcohol seven years ago plus help him understand his identity, personality type, and purpose better.
462 Ben Greenfield: Should You STOP Using Plant Medicines? Wisdom on Microdosing, The Muscle of Faith + How to Grow Your Spiritual Strength
Alan Watts - The Principle Of Not Forcing
The importance of coming back home to self and be grounded again.
How even just going to the supermarket in San Francisco was so heavy for Peter compared to his experience in Florida now.
What inspires Peter to share his work with a middle point of view rather than just one side over the other.
Examples of how his investigative journalism has shifted his point of view on certain topics that he was biased about before talking to people.
Why his YouTube channel isn't a political one but one that looks closer at human condition issues.
Sam Harris
The fact that 90% of truth is actually subjective.
Scientists shed light on ‘seeing’ through others’ eyes
How Peter would define a life well lived.
The importance of staying with your 'rascality' as Alan Watts would say but within a healthy balance to help you stay in the middle way.

Power Quotes From The Show What Story Are You Being Fed?

"There are some great journalists out there but as far as mainstream media, you know exactly what you're going to get in any topic. If it's the border, if you watch FOX or CNN, you know the story they're going to tell you with either one. With any current issue, you know exactly what's going to be delivered." - Peter Santenello

On a Mission for Truth

"Right now with the space that we're in with politics with our two parties, Republican and Democrat, there are usually about five main issues and if you fall out of line with one them, you're going to get ostracized quickly. If I go film at the Mexican border right now, I'll be called a Trumper -people will say, 'Oh! You're going to the border, you must be a Trump supporter.' But then if I go do a docu-series about Muslims in America, all of a sudden I'm like a 'woke' guy. I'm just interested in the story and the truth; I don't really fit into either of the categories." - Peter Santenello

How to Make a Difference in the World

"I think putting forth your best effort and, personally for me, exploring the human condition as much as I can and adding to the world in a positive way is the way to live life. My mission is to put out content that after watching it makes a person go, 'Oh cool, I see this issue a different way now,' or 'This has left me in a better mood.' We're all gravitated toward certain news clips we come across on YouTube or social media and we want to watch them but afterward, they leave us off in a worse place energetically than before watching them. My goal is to be the opposite of that for people." - Peter Santenello

Links From Today's Show

About Peter Santenello

Peter Santenello is an American videomaker, traveler and entrepreneur who produces videos about travel and human stories.

At the age of 25, Santenello traveled around the world for 2 years. He has traveled to 85 countries and lived in 5. Santenello makes content that focuses on human stories on his Youtube and Facebook channels highlighting locations like Ukraine, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Santenello's first video series took place in the countryside of Ukraine with a family displaced from war. He also does videos about misunderstood or not so widely known cultures like the Hasidic Jews and the Amish people and topics like the US border and inner-city America.