Ep. 61 - Alex Ecklin - Martial Arts, Jiu-Jitsu, & The Tao

YouTube version:

Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 61 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Alex Ecklin. Alex and I met about a decade ago when we were both students of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the great Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro in New York City. Alex went on to compete, medaling in world championships, teaching under Shaolin, and eventually opening his own school in Brooklyn, and now Manhattan, Masterskya. I have a lot of respect for Alex in how he carries himself, as a jiujitsu practitioner, as a teacher, and as a man. In this conversation, we talked about martial arts, jiujitsu, muay Thai, MMA, plant medicines, life, and the tao. I really enjoyed talking to Alex and I think and trust you all will also. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

YouTube: bit.ly/YouTubeUW

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"Alex Ecklin and Van Allen Flores lead the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program in Masterskya. Together, they assembled a team of like-minded, passionate instructors to work alongside them to achieve their vision and dream of providing honest, highest level training possible that is accessible to anyone. They believe that the martial arts should be available for anyone, and the focus should be to help people achieve whatever goals they have through training.

Alex and Van attained their Black Belts under BJJ + MMA legend Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, and have been training together for over a decade. They taught at the Manhattan academy together for many years, and later individually when Alex taught in Coban’s Muay Thai Camp and Van at UFC Gym in Soho.

For many years, they dreamed of working together and this is truly a dream that is coming to reality.

Alex medaled in the IBJJF World Championships, European Championships, No-Gi Pan American Championships and won the American Nationals, Chicago Open, several New York and Boston Opens as a Brown Belt. He also is a veteran of the Eddie Bravo Invitational, fighting in the first one and the seventh one, where Van was his coach and cornerman.

Van and Alex are also currently teaching group BJJ classes in the Google Headquarters in Chelsea.

Van helped Alex film a G-Roll instructional several years ago, which can be found on YouTube. In 2019, Alex teamed up with Grapplers Guide to film the G-Roll 2.0.”

For more info about Alex and his work, visit: https://masterskya.com/ and on Instagram @AlexMasterskya

This episode of the show is sponsored by the Temple of the Way of Light. To learn more or sign up for a retreat, visit: https://templeofthewayoflight.org/

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running dietas in the Sacred Valley of Peru on September 1-29 and in the Sinai desert of Egypt on October 10-27. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March of 2020 and the future is uncertain.  If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

Join this channel on YouTube to get access to perks: https://bit.ly/YTPerks

To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik 

Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

This will help me with ideas for future shows.

Thanks and until the next episode!

https://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

https://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

Ep. 60 - John Keegan - Relationships, Human Interaction, & The Now

YouTube version:

Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 60 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend John Keegan. John and I have been friends for a long time and we originally met in an acting class with the great Thomas G. Waites. John went on to take his improvisational skills to the streets to hone the art of meeting and connecting with people. He now teaches the art of connection, conversation, interaction, and relationships to people around the world. In my work, relationships are often one of the main goals people are looking to work on and also carry a lot of fear and trauma around. So it was great to have John share in his light-hearted wisdom on how we can improve this aspect of our lives. He draws heavily on his experience of flows states and being in the Now. I hope and trust you all will get a lot out of this episode. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

YouTube: bit.ly/YouTubeUW

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"Before John became a dating coach, he discovered that the playfulness and spontaneity are lacking in almost all social interactions. This epidemic transcends gender and socio-economic class. It's as common in society as it is dysfunctional, as ubiquitous among people as it is counter-productive to their core desires.

His mission as a dating coach is to break this literal pattern, embrace the unexpected, transcend the paradigm, and evolve beyond the social and spiritual mediocrity of society at large.

Beyond the expected is a world of the spontaneous, the creative, even the spiritual realm of connecting with friends and lovers we have yet to meet. It's John’s mission, to share his findings of this world of new possibilities with those who have yet to experience it.”

For more info about John and his work, visit: https://theawakenedlifestyle.com/ and on Instagram @johnkeeganlifestyle and his YouTube channel at: https://youtube.com/c/JohnKeeganlifestyle

This episode of the show is sponsored by the Temple of the Way of Light. To learn more or sign up for a retreat, visit: https://templeofthewayoflight.org/

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running dietas in the Sacred Valley of Peru on September 1-29 and in the Sinai desert of Egypt on October 10-27. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March of 2020 and the future is uncertain.  If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

Join this channel on YouTube to get access to perks: https://bit.ly/YTPerks

To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik 

Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

This will help me with ideas for future shows.

Thanks and until the next episode!

https://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

https://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

Ep. 59 - Kylea Taylor - Author, The Ethics of Caring, Psychedelics, & Holotropic Breathwork

YouTube version:

Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 59 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Kylea Taylor. Kylea and I met recently when we were both invited to speak on a panel together. I really liked what she had to say and how she spoke, and so I thought she would be a great guest on the podcast. Kylea works as a marriage and family therapist and developed and teaches InnerEthics, an inner, self-compassionate approach to ethical self-reflection and right relationship with clients. She also draws upon her experience studying yoga and having spent time working with and learning from Stanislav Grof and his holotropic breathwork as well as Jack Kornfield. I really enjoyed this conversation and Kylea has a lot of wisdom, derived from a life of experience, to share. So I hope and trust you all will get a lot out of this episode. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

YouTube: bit.ly/YouTubeUW

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"Kylea Taylor, M.S., LMFT is a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC #34901). Kylea has been thinking, writing, and teaching about ethics for almost three decades. She has developed and teaches InnerEthics™, an inner, self-compassionate approach to ethical self-reflection and right relationship with clients. In her part-time therapy practice she specializes in the integration into everyday life of profound experiences, spiritual emergence, and transpersonal phenomena. She also provides ethics consultations to professionals using the InnerEthics™ relational tools and inquiry. Kylea started studying with Stanislav Grof, M.D. in 1984, is a certified Holotropic Breathwork® practitioner, and was a senior trainer in the Grof Transpersonal Training from 1993-2000. She is the author of The Ethics of Caring: Finding Right Relationship with Clients (also in Spanish,) The Breathwork Experience (also in Spanish,) Considering Holotropic Breathwork®, and is editor of Exploring Holotropic Breathwork®. In the 1990s she assisted Stanislav Grof and Jack Kornfield in “Insight & Opening”, weeklong programs that combined Holotropic Breathwork® with Vipassana meditation. Kylea has presented her own programs in the USA, Europe, and online.”

For more info about Kylea and her work, visit: https://kyleataylor.com/ and https://innerethics.com/

This episode of the show is sponsored by the Temple of the Way of Light. To learn more or sign up for a retreat, visit: https://templeofthewayoflight.org/

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running dietas in the Sacred Valley of Peru on September 1-29 and in the Sinai desert of Egypt on October 10-27. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March of 2020 and the future is uncertain.  If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik 

Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

This will help me with ideas for future shows.

Thanks and until the next episode!

https://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

https://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

Ep. 58 - Will Pye - Author, Speaker, Non-Duality, Philosophy, & Plant Medicines

YouTube version:

Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 58 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Will Pye. Will and I met many years ago when we both came down as guests to the Amazonian plant medicine center, The Temple of the Way of Light. I found myself in many discussions with Will over meals, and I knew and saw he had a great mind with a lot to share. I was fascinated by his journey of being diagnosed with a brain tumor, and how that was shaping and opening him to see life in unfolding ways. Will has a beautiful ability to draw upon many spiritual traditions and find meaning and clarity around them. We got into a quite deep philosophical discussion about many topics around spiritual traditions including plant medicines, and just about life in general. I had no doubt this conversation would go long, and I think you all will get a lot out of this episode as Will has a truly special mind. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

**Note - this episode was censored on YouTube as they said it violated their “Medical Misinformation” policy. The episode was re-uploaded to YouTube as an edited version. To view the full, un-edited version, visit Rumble or Odysee**

YouTube: bit.ly/YT-UW

Rumble: bit.ly/Rum-UW

Odysee: bit.ly/Odys-UW

Apple  :  bit.ly/Appl-UW

Spotify:  bit.ly/Spot-UW

Google:  bit.ly/Ggl-UW

"As a young man Will’s wish to end suffering and a deep yearning to know Truth fuelled years of intensive spiritual exploration. Much Zen practice, energy healing, shamanic exploration, yoga, Qi Gong, philosophical study and scientific research led to a naturally cured depression and awakening. At 31 a brain cancer diagnosis served as initiation into living in service of healing, transformation and awakening.

Since then Will has left behind a successful business to serve as a Transformational Coach, Speaker, Author and Spiritual Entertainer. He gives talks, shares presence and facilitates insight with groups in workshops and retreats around the world.

Influenced by Zen, Christian Mysticism, Sufism, Quantum Mechanics and Neuroscience Will offers practical wisdom, emphasizing direct experience and revelation whether via meditation, gratitude, plant spirit medicine, dancing, lovemaking or listening to a tree dancing with the sun.

Working with groups Will offers and invites innocence, curiosity and play. Several paradoxes are held; teaching and learning occur yet there is no teacher nor teaching; gathering in exploration of consciousness, being, love, stillness is unspeakably sacred yet, it being what we already are, a bit of a joke; bowing to transpersonal presence yet celebrating individual uniqueness; surrendering to the group energy field’s movement yet appreciating each person’s process.

Will invites exploration of a way of being he calls Radical Gratitude. Here every breath, pain, thought, identity and contraction are recognized to be God making Love with Itself as we realize the naturally joyful love of Being.

Will can also be found handing out Love Letters to strangers as part of a global movement of love and awakening he founded – The Love & Truth Party: (www.loveandtruthparty.org) and also hosts the popular podcast The TruthLover: (www.loveandtruthparty.podbean.com)

Will is author of the critically acclaimed book, Blessed with a Brain Tumor: Realizing it’s all Gift and Learning to Receive. His second book is The Gratitude Prescription: Harnessing the Power of Thankfulness for Healing and Happiness (2019 New Harbinger)”

For more info about Will and his work, visit: https://willpye.com

This episode of the show is sponsored by the Temple of the Way of Light. To learn more or sign up for a retreat, visit: https://templeofthewayoflight.org/

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running dietas in the Sacred Valley of Peru on September 1-29 and in the Sinai desert of Egypt on October 10-27. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March of 2020 and the future is uncertain.  If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik 

Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

This will help me with ideas for future shows.

Thanks and until the next episode!

https://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

https://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast