Witness Without Judgment /// Benjamin Mathes /// E133:(Part 2)

  “Prioritize the relationship over being right.” - Benjamin Mathes    How much power do you give your ego?    Our minds are constantly at war with our ego. This war can stunt growth and the ability to reach our true potential because, with ego there is pride.    Our Guest Benjamin Mathes encourages us to unravel the layers we have built protecting our ego. Once we allow those layers to unravel, we can then find the importance of creating a “Healthy ego”. But first, we must witness our ego without passing judgment.    Today we are with Benjamin Mathes.  Benjamin has been an actor for over 20 years. On film, television, and stage he has worked with artists such as Clint Eastwood,  Alan Arkin, Sam Raimi, Bradley Cooper, Andy Garcia, Chris Rock, and Brian Grazer.   He has served as an acting coach for Warner Brothers, HBO, and currently for Netflix. Internationally, he runs acting retreats in Ireland, and his career workshops have been held around the world. He is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®, and has served as vocal and dialect coach for major motion pictures, network television, and theatres around the country.   He is the author of four books: Thought Lozenges for Artists; a daringly optimistic, “open-where-you-want” look into the creative process. “CRASH: Unstuck Yourself”, a guided journal designed to directly combat the blocks holding us from our creative potential.  “You, the Career” offers a holistic approach to life and art that allows you to have the career you want without losing the person you are.  His most recent book, “Short Paragraphs on Listening”, draws from his experience Free Listening on the streets and is an open-where-you-want book about the power of listening.   Lastly, if that's not enough, Benjamin is the founder of Urban Confessional: A Free Listening Movement. Started as a way to challenge conventional actor training, Urban Confessional is a community of artists who believe people should be heard. They stand on street corners all over the world with signs that say "Free Listening" — and you can imagine what happens next. Their work has been featured in magazines, academic publications, and blogs, and on radio and television.  And is now in over 70 countries with thousands of volunteers. ///   Topics we discuss: Shutting up Keeps the ego in check. Prioritize relationships over being right. Cooling down the need to dominate. Is there anything you have left to say? Allows you to fully hear the person. How you can close a conversation. Prioritizes well -being. Understanding your own ego He learned from religious and artistic practices. Helping people develop a healthy version of the ego. Divorce helped investigate his ego. Practical explanation of ego Ego is not the problem, our relationship with ego is the problem. We can over define ourselves. If we ignore our differences, it hurts the healthy ego. Kids vs. Adults Younger kids have a healthier ego. As you grow you create an unhealthier sense of ego. References: Bluey on Disney+ Urban Confessional Free Listening Tristan Coopersmith Episode