Behind Greatness by Inspire North

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. We chat today with Jonathan, from his home in the country in Nova Scotia (Atlantic Canada). Jonathan is an accomplished comedic actor, writer, director and producer – having started in the entertainment business while still in highschool. By the time he starting developing his popular character J-Roc on the Trailer Park Boys in the early 2000s, Jonathan had long been diligently building his “Swiss army knife” cache of skills in the business. And it’s from this well that we draw oodles of wisdom, wit and introspection from Jonathan with this conversation. We learn the grounding effects of starting your day with shovelling poop, owning the things you don’t know and taking criticism as teaching moments. We discuss the universal magic of silly and its victimless crimes, the power of “chameleon” as a verb and the tight link between joy and pain. We have a good time discussing funny and where his particular sweet spot of funny is – and why. We also hear about the literal (and metaphorical) choice he made while in Los Angeles between a casino commercial and a dentist visit that brought him back to understanding what he was actually made of … a man living in the quiet, creating, and visiting the noise.   Jonathan: a “thank you”. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Jonathan, Production Company: https://www.canadiancontentstudios.com/ Website: www.FilmPrints.ca Podcast - Taggart & Torrens: https://www.taggartntorrens.ca/ Book – Canadianity: https://www.amazon.ca/Canadianity-Tales-North-Strong-Freezing/dp/B07BQG5BBT/ Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0868474/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. Today we sit with Alain Menard, who co-founded The Green Beaver Company with his wife Karen Clark, a chemist. The Green Beaver Company is a pioneer in North America in naturally-based personal care products. The company breathes the country air for its creative inspiration, the same air that Alain grew up with in rural Ontario, Canada, close to the Quebec border. Their business was ignited by the desire to start a family and providing the best kind of natural environment for their future child. So Alain and his wife applied their scientific chops to create a new life for themselves. We talk 3-way balance, self-sustained living, the state of creation and where that brings him. We discuss tricking the mind with doing something at the opposite of what your thoughts are bringing you. We learn about Alain’s philosophy about fun and connection, about building a cabin when you are suffering from cabin fever - and carving spoons, just because.   This chat was like a long walk in nature. Breathe in, and create. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Alain, Website: https://greenbeaver.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alain-menard-38a8b311/ Fromagerie: https://www.fromageriedestroisrapides.com/

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. Today we sit down with famed Physician and Best Selling Author, Gabor Maté at his home in Vancouver – on Valentine’s Day no less. Gabor is a globally renowned speaker and writer on trauma, addiction and childhood development. He just released his latest book: The Myth of Normal. We delve right into it with a discussion on love and trauma. We hear about his thoughts on the medical profession and the disconnect in modern medicine’s view on mind and body, its lack of education on trauma and the absence of follow-through on the patient’s emotional life. We learn about Gabor’s early life in Hungary in the 1940s and 50s – a nation first over-run by fascism and then by the ideology of communism – and how that informed him throughout his life. We discuss “Big T” trauma and “Small T” trauma , trauma as the “puppet master” and how connection figures in as an antidote. We learn about his experience as a palliative care doctor and the “holy work” of being with people who are close to death. We weave through an intensely interesting discussion about diseases and their relationship to beliefs and about the sacred pain of being disillusioned. And we end with a beautiful chat about his thoughts on creativity, authenticity and “waking up” … and Vaslav Nijinsky. A big thank you to a former guest, Dr. Jeffrey Rediger (ep 132) – and a shout-out to another lovely former guest, Dr. Thomas Verny (ep 121) … two Psychiatrists whose work was also featured in Gabor’s latest book. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Gabor, Book: The Myth of Normal - https://drgabormate.com/book/ Website: https://drgabormate.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/drgabormate IG: @gabormatemd YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsRF06lSFA8zV9L8_x9jzIA

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. Today we speak with Diana Pasulka, author of American Cosmic: Religion, UFOs and Technology, from her home in North Carolina. Diana’s academic reputation was rooted in the research of miraculous events within Catholic history to new religious movements. In 2012, her world was rocked. At that time, she was researching for entirely different kind of book and started to see patterns in the historical records re aerial phenomena dating back 800-900 years. This piqued her curiosity and kickstarted a whole new adventure. Her thirst for truth brought her into a world of intrigue and of secrets – both open and closed. Her curiosities led her through a 6-year journey as a modern day Indiana Jones - an academic, a researcher of the mystical and mysterious and a danger-defying explorer. We cover together what she spent years facing: the incredibly webbed story of the Pentagon’s long classified study of UFOs, the Invisible College, hunting for objects in New Mexico, researching within secret Vatican archives and personally being surveilled by government agencies. We discuss her work under the cloak of danger – while living through a reality that was getting “weirder and weirder”. As her understanding of the new reality was being readjusted during her exploration, her beliefs too were adjusting alongside. We discuss the importance of art and of changing your conceptions, the suppression of knowledge as power, what Indigenous tribes all over the world already knew, the power of media message, the militarization of the narrative, the attraction of activities centred around the Bay area and the SRI Institute (remember Russell Targ?), the real mystical experience of Astronaut Edgar Mitchell and what he was up to on the moon … (oh, we’re not done yet) … creativity and external agents, human beings as sensors, off planet intelligence, Emergence, UFO Fight Club and technology as a new religion. “Questioning builds a way”. BAM. Listeners to this episode should DEFINITELY check out our episodes with Leslie Kean (112), Avi Loeb (105), Jeffrey Krypal (118), Dean Radin (122), Courtney Brown (131) and Br Guy Consolmagno (133). To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Diana, Book – American Cosmic: Religion, UFOs and Technology: https://www.amazon.com/American-Cosmic-D-W-Pasulka-audiobook/dp/B07N31G98W/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=american+cosmic+by+diana+pasulka&qid=1676429189&sprefix=american+cosmi%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1 Upcoming Book - Encounters: https://www.amazon.com/Encounters-Explorations-Extraterrestrial-Non-Human-Intelligence/dp/1250879566/ref=sr_1_6?crid=S1HKFMRQDLAE&keywords=diana+pasulka&qid=1676429234&sprefix=diana+pasulka%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-6  

Ryan joins us from his home in New Hampshire. Growing up as an avid reader and athlete, Ryan developed a passion for wanting to fly jets for the Navy. And that is precisely the world he created for himself. For several years he trained on the US East Cost and served overseas - operating from US aircraft carriers. For several years, he and his pilot colleagues were seeing unidentified objects in the air and on their radars. In this conversation, he also describes to us the shapes of these flying objects and their trajectories and maneuvers through the sky. After wondering why no action was being taken to formally address these phenomenon by his ultimate superiors, Ryan went public. He became the first active duty Navy pilot to speak out on these experiences. Today, he also serves as the first Chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Integration and Outreach Committee (UAPIOC), representing more than 30,000 members of the aerospace industry. The goal of UAPIOC is to serve as a neutral, scientifically-focused group enabling safer commercial and military air and space operations. Through his podcast Merged, his mission is to create a platform for other pilots to share their experiences and to explore what may be the truth behind what is sharing the skies with our planes. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Ryan, Website: https://www.mergedpoint.com/ Podcast: “Merged” – Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHN8Do9rEyOTVNjL2I38yiA AIAA: https://www.aiaa.org/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whygraves/  

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. We are joined by Father Nathan Castle at his residence in Arizona. He is a Friar of Saint Dominic’s Order of Preachers for the Western Dominican Province. Father Nathan has a gift that he has been employing for 27 years – he helps stuck souls adjust to the afterlife. Father Nathan is often approached by souls who experienced a traumatic physical death to help them “get out the door” across the veil. We discuss his extraordinary communication with souls through his dreams and in his sessions: his gift of prophesy. We hear about his cosmic “mic tests” and the matching of waves of consciousness. We learn also about the mystics in his family, his green river of consciousness, the divine importance of creativity and disarming your brother vs vanquishing a foe. Even though he originally became a priest in spite of himself, he is a man of deep faith with an open heart and a no-nonsense sensibility you can only grow in Texas.    “It’s gonna hurt when you pop”   Check out our past episodes with Jill Bolte Taylor (ep 101) and Bruce Greyson (ep 69), as per our chat with Father Nathan. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.    Father Nathan, Podcast – “The Joyful Friar”: https://nathan-castle.com/podcast/ Website: https://nathan-castle.com/ Books, including Afterlife, Interrupted: https://nathan-castle.com/product-category/books/ YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu-9HBILDS_badzxrdk17Eg IG: @father_nathan_castle

Jennifer joins us from Alberta, Canada. She grew up on the edge of the ocean in Victoria, British Columbia. Since 1985, she has been a faculty member of the Department of Psychology at the University of Lethbridge. And among many things, Jennifer is also one of the world’s leading specialists in cephalopods – including the enigmatic octopus. She was recently a scientific advisor to Netflix’s Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher in 2020. Jennifer brings us through her background as a little girl interested in sea animals to a journey of “un-meeking” herself as a young scientist pursuing a life of scientific exploration. We discuss curiosity and exploration and the brutal reality of the squashing of both as we leave childhood. We hear about exploring with consequences in academia, the importance of finding knowledge, the blimp, torpedo and the plastic bag, and the importance of always asking new questions. We learn from the Octopus that it’s never happy not knowing … and from Jennifer that the more you know, the more you know that you don't know. Kindred spirits, they are. To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Jennifer, Bio: https://directory.uleth.ca/users/mather Consider the Octopus: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-octopus-eating-meat-ethics/

Allan is a native of present day Zimbabwe and joins us from his home in the US. Allan has lived a life of varied and profound experiences – as a farmer, a soldier, a game ranger, a politician, an exiled politician, a biologist and a pioneering independent scientist. Without realizing what he was recognizing as a 20 year old game ranger, Allan began a life of understanding what lay at the core of humanity’s problem: management. Starting from the 1960s he saw how our modern civilization could confront desertification and reverse climate change. We discuss the destruction of past civilizations, the wicked problem of institutions, the feudalism of knowledge and how important our two tools (technology and fire) have been for us. His work promoting large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands through holistic management has spread over 29 countries, with more universities eventually coming on board with his decades of scientific investigation and practical implementation of his methods.   Allan’s message: It’s not too late. But we’re running out of time. See his Institute for more on how to make an impact: https://savory.global To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors. Allan, TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI - How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7pI7IYaJLI – Running Out Of Time Savory Institute: https://savory.global

Jim joins us from his home in Guelph, a city just west of Toronto. Jim is currently the owner and CEO of Danby Appliances, a leader in their industry in North America with 2 million small large appliances produced each year. Prior to this Jim founded and ran a $2 billion technology company and retired early at age 53 - only to come back to run and then purchase Danby 7 years ago. We learn from Jim about painting houses in order to make ends meet while he worked on his tech start-up, studying engineering while his heart wasn’t in it and having parents who feared for his inclination to run his own business. But, we also learn about his thoughts on the philosophy of failure, employing manners (from his mother) as a comparative advantage, being an active agent through the power of “while”, gratitude journaling – and shovelling driveways while running a billion dollar company. We discuss his lived experience on leveraging a lack of focus, his profound need to help his fellow human beings and the anonymous gift that he wishes to keep giving. Hear also what creativity means to him and what he imagines as his dying words when his time comes. Salt of the earth. And if this talk floats your boat, have a listen as well to Doug Putman (ep 119), Carol Stewart (ep 86) and Mike Fata (ep 77). To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Jim, LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimestill/?originalSubdomain=ca TEDx Talk : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMdTyRms5no TW: @jimestill FB: https://www.facebook.com/jimestill/ Blog: http://www.jimestill.com/ Danby: https://www.danby.com/

Welcome back to Behind Greatness. We are joined today by Jeremy Taggart. Jeremy was the original drummer for Our Lady Peace - a famed Rock band from Toronto. Jeremy grew up as the baby in the family in challenging and turbulent family circumstances. His one constant was baseball, and the dream of a successful pro baseball career – until it changed after he picked up a pair of used sticks as a teenager. He became a legitimate rockstar at the age of 17 in the early 1990s after he beat out 100 other would-be auditioning drummers for the part in the band. Soon after, he was touring the globe with his bandmates as the band tore up the scene and made a mark for themselves album after album. We learn about his dad’s advice, drive, discipline, the magic of live performance and being in union with the crowd. We talk about his experience in being “given gifts” when plugged into the ether – and his curiosity about sound in another dimension. To round it off, Jeremy shares a mind-altering story of time travelling through an OBE (out of body experience) when he was jamming with his band and how that opened up a portal of more of the same. M.i.nd. A.l.t.e.r.i.n.g. A fun, honest and open chat with an explorer.   See similar discussions with two other musician explorers Raine Maida (ep. 65) and Wynton Marsalis (ep 126). To DONATE to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors.  Jeremy, Podcast: http://www.taggartntorrens.ca/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Canadianity-Tales-North-Strong-Freezing/dp/1443449296/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MWJBV0X6G68I&keywords=jeremy+taggart&qid=1672087118&sprefix=jeremy+taggart%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1 Stomp the Stigma: https://stompthestigma.org/about-us/