Recently, the awesome folks over at the Tattooed Buddha offered me an opportunity to review a book called The Dharma of Poetry by John Brehm. The subject matter of this book is something very personal for me and so I leapt at the chance to write a review. This certainly isn't the first time I've written for the Tattooed Buddha, but it was still an …

A couple weeks ago I posted an audio version of poem I wrote called "Abide". Someone of you seemed to like it. I really enjoy spoken word poetry and listening to poetry readings, so I thought I'd try another. Hope you like it! I dig my heels deep and hard into the pulse and pace of a pulmonary valve bursting wide I was born with the restless heart …

I can be a lot. Perhaps, I crave a kind of simple living because I've subconsciously convinced myself that if I can just minimiz the things I possess then maybe I can minimize the things that possess me. Yet, I've found that no matter how bare my cupboard is made to be, internally I'm still a cluster-fuck of complexity and disarray that not even Ma…

My friend Daniel Midson Short, whom I had the great pleasure of interviewing on my podcast a year or so ago, left a comment on something I posted recently. He told me that my persistent creativity was inspiring. I don't know if it's a matter of persistence or inspiration so much as it is a matter of desperation and survival. I make things because I…

Last week I wrote and posted a poem inspired by a friend's sermon. I thought it might be fun or at least interesting to record a video of the poem being read as a spoken word piece. My initial intention was just to post the video on my social media accounts, but then I thought it couldn't hurt to make the audio available as a kind of podcast episod…

In the previous podcast episode I talked about a book I had been sent to review called Learning to Be by Juanita Campbell Rasmus. I'm still reading my way through the book, and struggling to do so honestly. But, I wanted to share a few more thoughts that have occurred to me during the process of working on it. If you'd like to read the transcript o…

I've made two previous attempts at a book review. I think I faltered in both attempts because I'm not sure that I ever offered a real "review" of either book. I shared some thoughts. I pointed out a few things I liked about each of the books, and highlighted some things that I didn't, but nothing that I feel qualifies as an explicit review. I think…

The waiting hours speak. They always speak, but they speak slowly and harder than any other because they have something to say, something to teach, something to impart. It just takes a long time to say it. And so we wait... If you'd like to read the transcript of this episode you can find it here. If you got any value out of this episode, consider …

James Victore writes that "Dragons are real". They are ever-present and always at the ready. "[E]very morning" we will find them curled "around [our] shoulders...quietly" snarling "into [our] ears". They can never be permanently slain, never completely defeated, never banished once and for all, but they can be faced, confronted, and overcome throug…

Austin Kleon explains that, for him, “Everything got better…when [he] made peace with the fact that it might not ever get easier”. Even as I type out his words I can feel myself struggling to accept their veracity. I am so not as peace with the thought of perpetual difficulty, and maybe that’s the problem. If you want to read the blog of this episo…

I certainly couldn't be classified as an optimistic person. Some days I'm not even sure I could be classed as a particularly "hopeful" person. My melancholic tendencies certainly propel me towards pessimism. There are a lot of things I don't believe in any more. There's quite a bit I've lost faith in. Years ago I let go of my belief in God. Some da…

Madeleine L' Engle says that "An artist at work is in a condition of complete and total faith" - a faith that some minute piece of the manifold mystery will become material for a moment. A faith that some small substance of the things hoped for will become manifest albeit in an ephemeral way. A faith that we will uncover the evidence of things unse…

Maybe I'm just getting to that age where conversations about the weather is a thing that happens now. Maybe the weather is as good a metaphor for life as any other. Perhaps then every conversation is about the weather is an implicit conversation about living and being alive. Perhaps what we really talk about when we talk about the weather is how we…

This episode is kind of a hodge podge of ideas and reflections. I talk about some recent art work I've done and some feedback I've got from that's given me some food for thought. And so I thought I'd offer you some of these random thoughts on art, poetry, and everything in between. I hope you like it. I reference a lot of books in this episode and …

In many ways, it feels like I've been starting my life all over again. It's a strange and conflicted experience, and its given me a lot to think about and ponder, perhaps too much in fact. One of the thin, in particular, that's been heavy on my mind is the idea of "home" and the sense of "belonging". These are things that I think I've constantly st…

In the previous episode we talked a bit about why I haven't put out any new podcast episodes, videos, blogs, etc. for the past 6 months. In other words, we talked a lot about what I haven't been doing. But, we didn't talk about what I HAVE been doing, what I have been making and creating. So, this week I wanted to discuss what my work creative work…

After an almost six month hiatus from releasing a podcast episode, I'm back. In this episode I talk a little bit about where I've been, what's been going on, and why there hasn't been any podcast episodes for the past SIX MONTHS. I share about some personal difficulties I've been having and some hardships I'm still reeling from and going through. I…

I am a person guilty of harboring a multitude of character flaws but, if there is one thing I am especially guilty of it is being an ungrateful @$$hole. I am a naturally “Glass half-empty” kind of guy but, I still have so much to be thankful for. Last month I decided to make it a point to create spaces and opportunities to be more purposefully and …

I didn't start making videos because I wanted to be a film maker. I never wanted to be a videographer or a cinematographer. As much as I love the art form, as creatively invigorating as it is to film and edit, it's not my primary aspiration. It's not my passion. And yet, I've found myself becoming increasingly obsessed with camera angles, camera se…

In this episode I interview writer, speaker, and Digital Marketing Expert Daniel Midson-Short. We talk about his journey into marketing, his trek from Australia to the Unites States, and his leap into starting his own agency. Through the process of this conversation we discuss the nuances of marketing and sales, the role of storytelling, and the ne…

This is a special episode for me because not only is Jerome Shaw a talented creator and an inspiring podcaster but, he's also one of my Patrons. His support and his encouragement means the world to me, so I'm excited to share this conversation with you! We talk about his theater arts background, his metamorphosis into a marketing Entrepeneur, and h…

Recently, I had the good fortune of interviewing Rajan Shankara. Rajan is a former Hindu monk who lived the monastic life for 12 years. Almost a year ago he left the monastery and returned to the world. He’s now a personal trainer, a meditation teacher, and a life consultant. He and I began chatting near the end of year after we had both been guest…

This week I sit down with Rev. Jerry Maynard. Rev. Jerry is a Priest, activist, and Interfaith Minister. He works within the Int’l Church of Mary Magdalene, which a ministry of the Independent & Progressive Catholic Religious Order, Order of Mary Magdalene, He is the founding pastor of The People's Church. In this conversation we talk about theolog…

I received some great feedback and some really interesting push-back from fellow podcaster, Jerome Shaw, regarding last week's episode. I thought it might fun to dive into his feedback and share what I hope will be a thoughtful and interesting reply. I hope you like ti! Let me know what you think! Be sure to check out Jerome's podcast - The Open Pa…

I'm trying something a little different in this episode, at least, different for me. I think I've been going through a bit of a creative shift and I've been doing some experimenting with my YouTube videos. I even wrote a blog about it earlier this week, you can read it here. I wanted to try to bring that same kind experimental playfulness to the po…

First off, Shout-outs to mt patrons and supports Jim Martin and Ben Bridges. I completely forgot to give you a shout out in the episode, my apologies! To make up for it I'm giving you top billing here, lol. I'm so excited to share this episode. I got the amazing opportunity to interview one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Eric G. Wilson. A few…

About two weeks ago I got to do an interview with YouTuber extraordinaire Jack Stolz. Jack is a musician, a vlogger, photographer, cinematographer, and all around awesome guy! Jack has played a big part in my process of dipping my toes into videography and YouTube. As a result, Jack has become a good friend and he continues to inspire me. Whether h…

Recently, I got to talk with Joel Tauber. Joel is an artist, a filmmaker, and an Associate professor at Wake Forest University, teaching video art and film-making. Joel's work fascinatingly combines environmentalism and mysticism with the aim creating meaningful conversation to enable a greater degree of social and cultural ethicality. Joel is also…

A while back I got the immense opportunity to do a YouTube collaboration with Stuart Carter from Simply Mindfulness. I had a great time working with Stuart and knew right away that I really wanted to work with him again, and I also really wanted to get to know him a little better. A podcast episode really did seem like the perfect way to do that! W…

Hey Friends! Recently the awesome people over at The Tattooed Buddha asked me if I would be interested in doing a book review for them. I'm pretty sure that's like asking Dracula if he'd like a warm bag O positive, lol. Of course I said yes! The book they sent me is a book called From Mindfulness to Insight. But, I had an idea...that's scary...I kn…

This episode is Unusual...unusually special, and unusually awesome that is, lol! This episode is our first ever guest interview. In this episode I sit down and talk with Jim Martin from The Unusual Buddha. He's an awesome guy, a great friend, and I think he really has a lot of insight and value to give. He offers a refreshing approach to meditation…

Hey Friends! Welcome to Episode Number 8! As always I continue to experiment, explore, and try things out. This week I do a little bit of a book review. I think I'd really like to do more of this type of thing, that is if you all dig it. I was sent a book from a website called Speak Easy. The book is called The Lotus and the Rose: A Conversation Be…

Hey Friends!! I'm excited to give you this Special Edition Bonus Episode!! April 23rd was World Book Day, and I had the privilege and the pleasure of doing a YouTube Collaboration with Stuart Carter from the Simply Mindfulness YouTube Channel. We recommended some of our favorite books that we think could boost your Mindfulness. It was so much fun a…

In this week's episode I try to take you on a little bit of a rambling and convoluted tour creativity and my creative process. In the spirit of 'leaning out loud' and 'documenting the process' I share a lot about what's going on with me and my journey, where I'm at, where my head's at, what I'm working on, what I'm struggling with, etc. but, it occ…

In the previous episode we tried to take an honest look at sadness, and a tried to speak candidly about my own experiences in dealing with depression, anxiety, and dark emotional periods. In this episode I really wanted to continue the conversation, to try and probe a little bit deeper, and to try take it in another direction. I think that there's …

In the last episode I mentioned that I've been in a bit of a funk lately and I talked about how that's effected my practice. In the spirit of honesty and authenticity, I thought it might be worth exploring that sense of sadness a bit further and sharing with you all in the hopes that maybe it might be relevant and relatable to your own experience, …

Welcome to Episode 3! As the title suggests, we're going to talk a little bit about failure. I think that the fear of failure can often be not only stifling but actually debilitating to our practice, to our pursuits, and to our personal lives. I know it has often left me paralyzed and frozen in place. The fear of failure has often left me incapable…

In this episode, we revisit the topic and subject matter of 'discipline'. In the aftermath of posting the previous episode I had a lot of really interesting conversations about 'discipline' and 'practice'. It made me realize that I didn't do a very good job of communicating as clearly as I would have liked but, I also realized that I had more to th…

Welcome to Episode #1 of the Podcast. Thanks so much for joining me! In this episode I try to talk about discipline, especially what may be the parallel relationship between discipline, practice, liberation, and awakening. In the course of the conversation I reference Jocko Willink, Hanshan, Dogen, Xuyun, and the Shawshank Redemption...if that's no…