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Brooks Baron, a leadership coach, discusses the importance of wholeness and surrender in human growth. He defines wholeness as being completely authentic and accessing the full spectrum of human possibilities. Brooks emphasizes the significance of surrendering to the flow of life and exploring vulnerability as a pathway to inner wisdom. He shares his personal journey of shifting from victim consciousness to taking full responsibility for his life.
In this podcast, Brooks delves into the dynamics of being nice versus being kind. He highlights the difference between the two and the importance of embracing kindness over niceness. Brooks shares personal insights about how being kind requires genuine authenticity and a willingness to engage with the full spectrum of human emotions. He underscores the value of vulnerability and how it fosters deeper connections and contributes to personal growth.
Brooks explores the benefits of nature-based initiations and connecting with the more than human world. He describes animism as a way of perceiving the world where all life forms are seen as sentient and conscious beings. Brooks encourages opening ourselves to conversations with nature, trees, rocks, and other elements as a means to access deep wisdom and insights. He distinguishes this approach from new age spirituality, emphasizing the importance of humility, curiosity, and rigorous self-exploration when engaging in spiritual practices.
Initiations, such as vision quests, involve intentionally shedding old identities and surrendering to something greater than ourselves. While therapy focuses on personal growth and incremental improvements, initiatory experiences aim to bring about intentional death of the old self, opening up the possibility of reaching our full potential. This transformative process can be unsettling and create dysfunction within societal norms, but in a healthier nature-based culture, there would be guidance and support for initiates returning to the community. Embracing radical transformation can be challenging for others since it challenges their own sense of self and potential. However, embracing the journey of soul initiation and ego disintegration can lead individuals to psychological adulthood and a connection with a deeper part of themselves, connected to the divine and holding the blueprint for their greatest potential.
The concept of the sacred wound suggests that our personal wounds hold a greater purpose. Just like an oyster creates a pearl around a grain of sand, our wounds can motivate us to go through healing journeys that open us up to deeper levels of consciousness and expansion. Society tends to undervalue or deny the significance of wounds, often dismissing them if they do not fit into traditional notions of trauma. However, wounds are not limited to specific experiences, and everyone carries some form of wounding. By honoring and embracing our wounds as sacred, we are called to tend to ourselves, embark on transformative journeys, and seek the medicine we need to heal. Through this healing process, we discover unique gifts and become empowered to offer them to the world, enriching not only our own lives but also creating a more compassionate and beautiful future.
Brooks Barron is an experienced leadership coach specializing in nature-based initiations and rites of passage — to help the leaders he works with explore their vulnerability, find their inner wisdom, and surrender to the flow of what wants to come through them.
In this conversation, you can expect to learn:
- Brooks' definition of wholeness as a human being
- The difference between the desire to make an impact in the world from above the line vs. below the line.
- How he shifted out of victim consciousness and took 100% responsibility for his life.
- The dynamics of being nice versus being kind
- The importance of vulnerability and healing
- The benefits he sees in going through a vision quest or wilderness-based rite of passage
- How this enables us to transition into psychological adulthood.
Timestamps
[00:04:07] Positive impact, burning out, seeking purpose, profound change
[00:09:22] Embrace all aspects, shift from fear to love.
[00:14:04] Curious about the good versus bad dynamic.
[00:22:06] Struggling with climate change; personal healing journey.
[00:23:57] Driven by impact, trust, acceptance, and growth.
[00:30:34] Vision quest: therapy vs. transformation, death and rebirth, shift into trust.
[00:37:51] Unfamiliarity pushes people to embrace change and growth.
[00:42:42] Sacred wound: discomfort that creates beauty.
[00:51:45] Struggling to balance passion, responsibility, and self-care.
[00:54:01] Ego keeps me from acknowledging my needs.
[01:01:09] Importance of fitting in while embracing uniqueness.
[01:04:44] "Awakening experiences lead to divine connection, but require rigor."
Official Links
💬 Follow Brooks on LinkedIn
📝 Read Brooks' latest Substack writing
✨ Apply for the Power Awakening Leadership Program
🙋♂️ Learn more about Brooks's upcoming leadership training + coaching
Connect + Follow Jonny:
🐦 Follow on Twitter @jonnym1ller
💌 Subscribe to the Curious Humans Newsletter
🫁 Learn more about Nervous System Mastery
🙋♂️ Join Five to Thrive — a zero-cost educational email series.
Episode Sponsors
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🥶 The Cold Plunge — I reached out to the founder of the plunge, Ryan after hearing his powerful story on the Danny Miranda podcast. I've shared how getting in icy cold water every day helped me to move through intense grief, and taught me what it meant to surrender. These days I use their plunge every, single, day. It's like a high-stakes meditation—a mirror into my own internal state. The Plunge team have done a phenomenal job architecting what I consider as the world's best cold plunge (it doesn't get grimy like the converted chest freezers that I used to use). For optimal health benefits, I recommend deliberate cold exposure for 11 minutes per week total. Save $150 with the code CURIOUS. Learn more.
🫁 Nervous System Mastery — this is my flagship 5-week boot camp designed to equip you with evidence-backed protocols to cultivate calm and emotional regulation. Our fifth cohort will be running in April 2024 ~ and applications are currently open. My sense is that if this conversation resonates with you, then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort. This curriculum represents my attempt to distill everything that I've learned in recent years about how to create the conditions for our nervous system's flourishing. It's run in an intensive cohort-based way since this is, in my experience, the most efficient way to embody and practice the protocols. Previous students have shared how partaking not only improved their sleep and quality of relationships but also tapped into deeper states of joy, clarity, and confidence in their lives. We've had over 750 students have completed this training, and many have said that it has been the most impactful thing they've ever done for their personal growth — so if you're intrigued at all, you can find more details and apply to join this year's cohort over at nsmastery.com
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Further Ways to Support the Podcast:
🎙️ I use Riverside to record all of my podcast conversations (it's so much better than zoom for podcasting!)
🎧 I also use Transistor to host this podcast, it's fricking awesome, and I would highly recommend.
😎 RaOptics make the world's best Blue Blockers – I wear these anytime I'm out of the house after dark, and it makes a huge difference!
🤖 I use AI wizardry from Castmagic to help with each episode show-notes + timestamps
📹 Want to create a Hollywood-quality home studio? Get in touch with Kevin Shen here & save $500 with code JONNYSENT500OFF
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Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode