uncomplication: Recent Episodes
uncomplication
The Uncomplication Podcast is a no-holds barred exploration of life's joys, sorrows, adventures and mysteries. More at http://uncomplication.com
Taylor Gallegos is an accomplished professional painter who's style of living is inspiring. Not only does he produce a ton of art - he pays the bills with it - and still manages to create amazing opportunities and experiences with the people he cares about. What's the secret to his style of Art & Life?In this episode, (which is a re-sharing of the 100th episode of his Art & Life Podcast on Spotify) - I am your guest host, interviewing Taylor to understand how he has found such a remarkable balance and is out in the world kicking ass while putting beautiful art in public places all over the world.You can follow Taylor Gallegos on instagram @taylorgallegosart and listing to the full episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2nhbrJcC1P0VGz2xXdzr9N?si=08c1ce5f07ff4848You can follow MY artwork on instagram @thinayr
We all die, but most of us rarely think about it. After all, isn't life about living? Why would we want to dwell on the depressing details of dying? Sadly, this denial leads many of us to go our whole lives without appreciating the gifts of our life. After all, if we think we'll live forever, what is the value of a day?
My guest today is Lydia Dugdale, a Columbia University physician who has attended the deaths of hundreds of humans. She regularly witnesses people dying ghastly, over-medicalized deaths in hospitals connected to life support and often subjected to "heroic measures" like painful experimental treatments and repeat-resuscitation... graphic examples of our modern inability to accept death and die well.
Against this backdrop, Lydia found a body of forgotten knowledge, the Ars Morendi, the Art of Dying Well, that for centuries empowered normal people to prepare for their deaths - and live better lives in the process.
This is not an episode about death, it is a conversation about the beauty of life that comes into clearer focus when we recover our sense of finitude, empower ourselves to step off the modern medical conveyor-belt, and invest our time and attention in the relationships that make our lives vibrant and full.
Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think!
We survived covid! Here for your enjoyment are the lingering fever dreams of a week spent crammed inside a cluttered house organizing a sick, cluttered mind. Talking points include: – Stories can save the world – From sadness to joy – What is the story worth living? – Crypto, Community Funded, Value Exchange & STORY – Overcoming Resistance – Holding On vs. Letting Go – Listening for the luminaries Become a Patron at patreon.com/uncomplication
The average U.S. citizen spends 5.4 hours on their mobile phones daily. That's over ONE THIRD of a person's waking hours staring down at a screen. Meanwhile, tech companies are funneling BILLIONS of R&D and investment dollars into the "problem" of making phones and apps STICKER... they want more time spent on devices to drive ad and data harvesting revenue... so where does that lead? In the face of this "crisis of humanity" the founders of Light Phone have taken a completely different approach: They are flexing their design process to bring about phones that are intended to be used LESS... so you can get your time back, and actually live it.
I'm not affiliated with nor paid to endorse their project... I reached out to them after a friend showed me this very interesting device and the conversation it sparked was something I wanted to share.
Sit back, relax... and consider that your smartphone may not be the friend you thought it was, but a global addiction hiding in plain sight.
Enjoy!
Become a patron of uncomplication: http://patreon.com/uncomplication
Shortly after getting married, Pete took a vacation to Ecuador with his partner Maija. He saw the beach. He saw the forest. Then He saw a surf shack for sale and put a down payment on it without telling Maija...
14 years later, they are still living in Canoa, Ecuador. They escaped the grasp of an "American Dream" that wasn't for them... to the slower pace and differing values of a developing country.
In this episode, we share the adventure of leaving the comforts of home to dive head first into the surf of a developing country. Enjoy!
Support Uncomplication: http://patreon.com/uncomplication Join the Crypto Garden: http:thecryptogarden.io
"Not good or bad, just different"
You have an 800 pound german shepherd living in your brain. It responds instinctually and in force to the stimulus around you, so that while you may THINK your are DECIDING, you are most often ACTING from a "primal mind" that is older than civilization, older than language, and way stronger than you.
If it can't be restrained, can it at least be trained? Today we are talking to Derrick Kuhn, a deep-thinking digital marketing maverick who spends his time speaking directly to the primal mind on behalf of clients selling products, while at the same time trying to grapple with and tame his own beast within.
You won't look at your decisions or the world the same way again! Good luck with your own 800 LB Brain Puppy.
"Fuck yeah!"
Shootings. Earthquakes. Fires. Floods. Disease. Death. Life is full of F.U.S. (Fuked up Sht) And yet, life keeps on going.
In this episode we go down the rabbit hole unwinding the grim realities that life can embody... and the possibility that tragedy and sadness flow from the same source as our greatest loves and joy. In fact, it seems that you can't have a single good moment without the mountain of good and bad it rests on.
This episode is a recording from 2016, and is dedicated to anyone who is grieving or in the midst of pain. May it bring you some small comfort.
Travel to the top of a snow covered mountain while we recall the waypoints that lead to the uncomplication podcast. This episode is super personal – full of secrets and admissions about life, insanity, drugs, shortcomings and dreams – sharing my perspectives and how they were formed so we can take the next steps in uncomplication together. Thanks for listening, enjoy!
Let's talk about sex! Today we strip off cultural taboos and expose the modern hangups, kinks and quirks of couples growing together.
James and Angela Mitchell are entrepreneurs who's small business "Love Intentionally" helps good couples stay great through workshops and facilitated "Love Camps" – so in this episode we dig into a wide range of topics from young crushes through the bumps of adolescence into the potential pitfalls of mature relationships with kids and households and compounding complexity.
So listen to this one with someone you love... It's business time!
Note: Intro and Outro music is a clip from Flight of the Conchords "Business Time" ©2008 Sub Pop Records - Available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play and more.
This is Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Rob Colbert, a practicing therapist and participant in the MAPS MDMA-assisted therapy study. In this episode we go even further down the rabbit hole addressing the roots of drug prohibition and its failure to reduce the social harms of substance abuse... and maybe it was never meant to...
If you enjoyed part 1, or were maybe even challenged by it, be sure to listen in as we dive into some of the questions and critiques listeners raised after our first conversation. Do we really want to be more open about drug use as a culture? Does creating access to taboo substances only propel more people to experiment with substances like heroin? And what percentage of drug users actually fit the stereotype of burned out junkies stealing money for their next fix?
...The answers may surprise you. Enjoy!
What if we could talk openly about our use of drugs and mind altering substances? Could we create safe cultures of use around drugs like LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA and others, so that kids... and adults... wouldn't need to sneak off and experiment behind closed doors, without the information that could keep them safe?
My guest this week is Dr. Rob Colbert, a practicing psychotherapist and a co-investigator in the MAPS MDMA-assisted therapy study through the FDA. He is also a member of The Nowak Society, a Colorado community building empowered relationships through the use of psychedelics.
In Rob's view, there aren't "Good Drugs and Bad Drugs"... there are just drugs... and we should have the right to safely integrate these substances into our communities through open conversation and education. Not just for the treatment of illness, but for the betterment of well people everywhere.
Enjoy the show.
Welcome to season 2! Today we journey up Sheep Mountain with Tomas Herera, a natural born storyteller, filmmaker and big thinker. Together we go down the rabbit hole of broken-by-design economics designed to ensnare people where they are, regardless of their class. We then pit capitalism vs. communism, workers vs. automation and hedge funders vs. reddit before a left turn into the "most beautiful equation in mathematics" takes us on a wild ride through the nature of reality, fractal dimensions, self identity and a lively debate on whether or not "everything is OK." Enjoy!
We tend to identify with our jobs and build a big part of our self image around "what we do". I know my image of self was totally twisted up in the company I founded 10 years ago... Well, I just got fired from my company by its new owners. Now I'm on a road trip quest to shed my old self and embrace the opportunity and anxiety of the blank canvas of life.
Wildfires burn through forests and dry hills. COVID burns the foolishness of the human happening. I just wanted to ride my bike. Today, a short self-therapy session digging into the underlying OK-ness even in the midst of so much sorrow and sacrifice.
COVID-19 surges across the globe like a tidal wave... soon to crash upon your beach. Enjoy but forgive this late night musing that spins dread into faith in the mystery behind everything happening at all.
A letter to an 8 year old a few days befor the Conronavirus & COVID-19 altered our lives. This is a letter with a secret. This secret won't stop bad things from happening, but it may change you, and you change the world. March forth.
A post-yoga deep dive into the wonders, torments and mindsets that set our reality. "It's like this now." Enjoy : )
Have you ever climbed to the top of life's ladder only to realize it was against the wrong wall? In this rabbit hole we clear the mental hurdles of getting over who we aren't and embrace who we are.
Swinging nunchucks at thousands of falling leaves like a spastic 8 year old is just as fun as it sounds... it's the perfect way to get into a mindset that makes you re-evaluate your entire existence.
Re-popping the cherry flavored brain flow of uncomplication. Do you remember a time when you better liked your self identity? Are you looking to the future to finally become the best you? What if the key to the feeling we remember or want is only found here and now?
A quick rabbit hole exploring our fascination with new year's resolutions, planning and intentions.
Look up at the stars... What are you thinking? Can you ever really explain it? A late night rabbit hole for you: through the bullshit to complete uncomplication. Image by Knate Myers.
Have you also been waiting patiently for life to sort itself out and offer the opportunity to do the things you want to do? You'd think this day to day life would be easier by now. This episode is about finding acceptance of a world that is moving too fast.
What do spiral galaxies, pinecones, and your body have in common? They all display a "golden ratio" of fundamental universal harmony. The only problem is: they don't. Visit http://uncomplication.com for the links mentioned. Thanks for listening : )
Happy Election Day! If I had a dime each time someone said "I can't wait for this shit to be over" I could afford to run for office. In this rabbit hole I attempt to uncomplicate the thoughts, feelings and fears that grip us as we fill in these little black bubbles that seem to determine the fate of the free world...
We often live on auto pilot, conditioned for the roles and situations we're used to. But there come moments that just feel bigger... turning points in the story of our lives. These moments carry a strange gravity, and the feeling that even the smallest actions can change the course of history. What then is the balance between manifesting our intentions and embracing what is?
"Mama" and "Dada" are among the first wordlike noises babies make. But is there more to these simple sounds than meets the ear? In this rabbit hole, we take a short trip down to the roots of our first feminine and masculine monikers. Is your baby saying "dada"? Don't flatter yourself...
Why would anyone want to step out of their comfort zone when they have something good going on? In this little rabbit hole we peer down from atop our life-long stack of concepts and wonder what it's all sitting on. Maybe the danger we fear in "breaking down" is only an opportunity to realize how fluidly creative our lives really are.
A solitary moment leads to musings about how our individuality and its infinite potential is always sacrificed when we enter a relationship. But who is the sacrifice to? Could we redefine the recipient of our sacrifice to redefine the problems we encounter in love, marriage, and enjoying the company of others?
An evening walk/meditation on helping others turns into an ironic cosmic entanglement with a young fox... Where is the line between helping and harming when it comes to the many issues facing friends and family? What consequences do our actions have when we get involved in other people's business? What does the fox say?
"Time" is the most commonly used noun in the english language, but if you start looking into the "reality" of time you’ll find a galaxy of speculation, theory and rejection of this most basic of common sense experiences. This "rabbit hole" muses through three of my favorite ideas about time: relativity, orientation and the creative power we have to alter past, present and future.
This uncomplication "rabbit hole" was recorded the morning after the late-night conversation with Tori Reynolds and Ben Rivet that ultimately became the "Go W/ The Flow - A Traveling Yogi Podcast." https://soundcloud.com/uncomplication/go-wthe-flow-a-traveling-yogi-podcast
Are we swimming in the river of life or are we actually in a boat with the other people who make up our lives? What happens when we quit worrying about the destination and instead focus on the construction of a craft that can provide a stable voyage (including some protection from the inevitable rocks that we all hit along the way).
Enjoy : )
What does it mean to "go with the flow?"
Many a free-spirit has adopted this mantra in open affirmation of life's inherent rightness. To let go and flow with the river of our lives can free us from the weight of thoughts and expectations that distract us from the present moment and weigh us down.
But as many who "go with the flow" know, giving in to the river entirely can sometimes take you over a waterfall. Is there a way to "go with the flow" that doesn't involve passively bobbing along like a cork? What if the best way to go with the flow is to have a sturdy vehicle to carry you further than you ever thought possible?
In this episode of the Uncomplication Podcast, I'm joined by Tori Reynolds and Ben Rivet, a duo of traveling yogis who have created a vehicle that is simply spectacular: an experience of yoga that's as unique as the towns and people they visit. Unlike a traditional yoga class, Ben & Tori's traveling yoga project: "GO W/ THE FLOW"– is a living, breathing, laughing river of un-rehersed, unscripted, unexpected vinyasa set to a continuously evolving live music performance.
But perhaps the pair's most exciting creation is actually spectacularly simple: a business that's serves as a sturdy vehicle to carry them further than they ever thought possible - spreading their discovery to people all over the world.
You can Learn more about this incredible couple's project at http://gowtheflow.com
A curious idea hit me on my walk to work. With a busy day ahead and a lot of challenges to solve, I began to wonder if I was actually at the forefront of my own experience, or existing in the past, as seen from my children later on?
In this episode of the uncomplication podcast we are joined by British author Seymour Jacklin – a master storyteller whose beautifully crafted, dreamlike narratives carry listeners from all over the world to the borders of sleep – where imagination and reality are braided together.
Seymour’s podcast, “Stories From the Borders of Sleep,” is a striking example of a talented creator pursuing his passion and in this interview, Seymour not only shares a behind the scenes look at his inspiration and creative process, he also shines light on the challenges that face anyone who leaves their safe zone to venture out in pursuit of a dream.
So sit back, relax, and journey with us to the borders of sleep and beyond...
Music by Sigur Rós; Photography by Martina K. http://www.magnoliaeyes.blogspot.com
More great stuff at http://uncomplication.com
Can pregnancy be uncomplicated? In a culture that places intense pressure on expecting mothers, what can be done to cultivate the time and space needed for a new human to grow – and more importantly – welcome a child into a world they will actually enjoy living in? In this episode, Kayla & Ryan Stover dig to the roots of our culture's inherently complicated customs for child rearing and explore ways soon-to-be-mothers can pause, breathe, and savor the miraculous mystery they are part of.
Enjoy ^_^
One Saturday afternoon I jumped out of an airplane from 19,000 ft. Now, I find myself reflecting on how we anticipate, experience and assimilate the events of our lives… glorifying some, overlooking others, and forever grasping at “the meaning” of it all.
These are the rough notes recored in the creation of the essay "Anticipation, Experience and Meaning" on uncomplication.com. Author Ryan Stover digs into a recent skydiving experience, reflecting on how we anticipate, experience and assimilate the events of our lives… glorifying some, overlooking others, and forever grasping at “the meaning” of it all.
It's one thing to talk about "finding balance in life"...it's another thing to experience that balance while standing on one leg. Even if you will never set foot on a yoga mat, you'll find uncomplication in these ten life-lessons I've learned from a decade of practicing yoga.
Cover photograph is of Libby Lyons of ElanYoga.com
This is a "Rabbit Hole"... a rough recording of notes that lead to a finished work on Uncomplication.com. Down this hole are ideas relating to life lessons learned from yoga. Recorded 2/20/15, immediately following a very difficult yoga class. Good stuff. Enjoy.
A "daily uncomplication" meditation on the tranquility and violence of the gardner's weed-pulling pastime.
Recorded on the side of a mountain, in the trees in waist deep powder, this short "Daily Uncomplication" is a musing on digging down to the moment to find simplicity and space in our otherwise hectic lives.
Human’s are story tellers. We have been sending imagined characters on epic journeys since the dawn of time, using well-worn patterns of events to overcome adversity, turning zeros into heroes and providing the template for living a life of meaning.
However, in the almost-unimaginable world of today, where our thoughts and symbols are dominated by corporate interests and the consumer is the base unit of culture, we witness new spins on the ancient “hero’s journey.”
Presented here is a roughly-edited conversation between myself and Tomas Hererra (a born-story teller and film maker), as we reflect upon our week at the world’s largest music festival, SxSW, a pilgrimage for thousands of talented young artists and musicians hoping to further their own heroic journey. Enjoy.
It was my pleasure to spend an afternoon with the brilliant and provocative Stephen Hatch, a "worldly monk" who has spent his life in the purist of truth and the sharing of life's wonders through photography, philosophy and community. In this uncomplication.com podcast Stephen and I explore a wide field of topics ranging from his upbringing amidst the diverse spiritual traditions of Southeastern Pennsylvania, to the beauty and wisdom of the natural world, to the practice of observing silence in our daily lives to bring about life-transforming potentialities.
As with everything on Uncomplication.com, this conversation is shared in the same spirit one shares music: purely for your listening pleasure. So sit back, relax and enjoy!
Cover-photo: Lambert Locoweed, Badlands National Park, SD, May 17, 2014 credit: ©2015 Stephen Hatch
This is a reading of Droping the Ball – The Art of Juggling by Ryan Stover on Uncomplication.com.
We often think we’re juggling life’s responsibilities when we are actually carrying more things than we can count, contorting into bizarre positions for fear of something touching the ground.
How can we bring the playful spirit of juggling back into the performance of our daily lives?
Beautiful Hypocrisy is an essay by Ryan Stover exploring the quote, "Those who know, do not speak. Those who speak, do not know." What is true authority? This is the AudioPost version, for those too lazy to read : )
This is a reading of "Unwrapping the Present", an essay by Ryan Stover on Uncomplication.com. In this post, Ryan explores his motivation and the mystery that has brought him to share uncomplication with the world.
Music is by Maxwell Hughes, one of the most talented guitarists on the planet. Find more of his music at http://maxwellhughesmusic.com
Join hosts Kyle Henderson and Ryan Stover as they continue exploring what uncomplication is, what it means, and why they are so excited to be bringing it to the world. Pop in those headphones, get yourself somewhere lovely and take a load off. The time for uncomplication is now.
In this two-part episode of the uncomplication.com podcast we jump rump-over-teakettle into the uncharted waters of uncomplication to introduce ourselves and the core ideas driving us to share uncomplication with the world. Sit back, (unless you’re standing), relax (unless you’re caffeinated) and enjoy (or else) the chatter!