The Reality Check Podcast

This episode begins with a reading of the poem ‘a broken mirror’s gaze’.From there we discus how the body keeps the score; life will cause us to suffer. If we do not process these trauma’s (because we don’t know how or it isn’t possible) we hold onto it. We hold onto it in the form of chronic pain, illness, injury, and distorted thinking patterns.There is a way to release. Writing therapy. Intuitive Guidance. Talk Therapies. Along with countless more processors.In this episode I share a bit of what I am processing, and offer you some guidance on how to release and reintegrate.The three steps mentioned: Awareness. Acceptance. Action.Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

In this episode I share the first session of the 30 Day course ‘Cultivate A Daily Meditation Practice’.It introduces the basic practice of mindfulness meditation as well as highlights the importance of continuing your practice ongoing; it is okay to miss a day of practice, provided you get back on board and continue the next day. In this way you will guarantee yourself success.You can access the entire course for free inside the Art Of Self-Connection community.Bonus!For the month of March (2026) we are offering daily live meditation sessions, 7am AEST.See you there.Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

Want to establish a daily meditation practice and learn how to build and maintain a positive habit? Join the 30-day challenge :)Join the free Art Of Self-Connection community and click Cultivate a Daily Meditation Practice. There you’ll find 30 sessions ready to go, one for each day.This course has been taken by 1,000+ students on Insight Timer and is rated 4.88/5. A lot of people credit it as the thing that finally helped them practice daily.It focuses on mindfulness, so if you’d rather join the challenge and do your own daily practice (whatever that may be), that’s welcome too.Our goal is consistency with community. Supporting each other to keep showing up, not doing it perfectly.I’ve seen it in my own life, in my work with clients, and research confirms that: daily meditation is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. Together, we can turn it into a practice that could last a lifetime.Click here for the full details.We officially begin March 1 (but you can start whenever you like).I would love to see you there!Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

This is an informational talk on how to reduce the severity, duration, and impact of panic attacks, triggers, and dysregulation.We start with the core reminder: you are not in danger, this will pass, and you can support your system back toward steadiness. From there, the talk focuses on combining acceptance with action through practical reframes and body-based strategies, including breathwork, present-moment orientation, progressive muscle relaxation, and movement as a way to discharge stress and restore regulation.Want a guided session for panic, anxiety, triggers, and overwhelm? Click here to download or stream for free!Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

You don’t have to choose between the journey and the destination.Most self-improvement and inner peace approaches lean hard in one direction, acceptance without growth, or growth without self-love. But real, sustainable, purpose-aligned change needs both. Inspired by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), this short talk offers a simple framework for holding acceptance and improvement at the same time. What if you were able to love yourself whilst fixing yourself?Read the how to love yourself whilst fixing yourself blog post.Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.You are invited to join The Art Of Self-Connection Community.Grab a copy of one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, and resources freely available. Donate here.

'I closed my eyes to the beauty of the sea, shielding the fragile part of my soul that still believed in an untainted moment. As I walked away I couldn't help but feel...'In this episode share a story of healing and self-acceptance through poetry. Using the symbolism of water, nature, and floating, I’ll guide you inward, into the parts that learned to brace, shut down, and survive. You will leave hopeful for your own process of returning back to the self.Poems shared:EndlessCan’t Quite ExpressI FloatDear Little Part Of MeBeauty Of The SeaQuick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.You are invited to join The Art Of Self-Connection Community.Grab a copy of one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, and resources freely available. Donate here.

I recently returned from a men’s work retreat through the Island of Men: a transformative program designed to help men connect and heal.I left with two main takeaways.1: There is a tremendous male loneliness and meaning epidemic. Men feel alone and unsure of what they are doing, why they are doing it, and feel like they have no one to talk it through with.2: There is vulnerability within positivity and success.I was asked about my purpose and realized that I was already living it (a journey over destination kind of thing), and I chose to do an improve comedy workshop over the deep introspective darkness exploration and healing that I would usually explore.Why? Because doing so felt more expansive (scary) than not. I realized I am more than fine to share my pain and shadow, but not my light.This was revolutionary. I now realise that I need to explore and express all aspects of myself.Reminder: You are invited to join the December Self-Care challenge in the Art of Self-Connection community. Lets stay sane this festive season!

Usually around this time of year I talk about the pain that this time of year can bring: extra commitments, financial burden, overwhelm, and forced socialization.This year I am looking to actually make something positive come from the festive season, so I am inviting you to join in with a self care challenge.For the month of December, pick one small act of self-care you can do every day to stay grounded and regulated. Something that feels nourishing, simple, and doable.eg:- Music- Reading- Take a bath- Meditation- Nature walk- Exercise- Cup of tea- JournalingOr choose something you’ll cut back on this month to ease the pressure.When you’ve chosen your practice, join The Art Of Self-Connection Community (it’s free) and share what you will be working on and why.Lets stay sane this festive season!

Language is flawed, and it keeps us from touching the divine.Every time we try to communicate, we start with a felt sense (thoughts, emotions, sensations) and we’re forced to translate that into code. Words. Sounds. Symbols. Then we hope the signal survives the noise. That nothing gets lost through misunderstanding, projection, or the limits of whatever medium we’re using.And on the other side, the listener has to decode it all back into their own thoughts, emotions, and sensations.Which means we never really say exactly what we mean. We only ever say what someone else is able to hear.All knowledge, scientific, religious, spiritual, personal, is filtered through this imperfect system. Our minds shape it, distort it, give it meaning it never had. Even the texts we call sacred are interpreted through an imperfect interpreter.So the only real move is to step back from the words and feel what’s underneath. The raw experience. The connection between things. The truth before we try to pin it down.Every theory is just a model. A map. Never the thing itself. And the human condition is the same across traditions: infinite desire, finite resources, suffering, loss, growth, and everything we do to navigate the in-between.The moment we set a theory in stone, it stops being alive. It becomes dogma. And the second we read it, we filter it through our own biases anyway.Which means the real truth isn’t in the language.It’s in the experience the language is pointing toward.Links Mentioned:Join The Art Of Self-Connection community!

There’s a barrier between us.A barrier built from platforms and algorithms, each one acting as a simulacrum that promises connection and depth, but really only offers shallow engagement.Even this podcast is limited.It’s me talking, you listening. One-way, with little space to truly respond or connect.And that’s not enough for me anymore.I want to be able to add more value, more often, and do it better. I want to facilitate deeper experiences, and help connect you not just to yourself, but to one another… and to me.That’s why I’ve built The Art of Self-Connection community. A space for real conversations and genuine connection, both inward and outward, with people walking the same path.Because connection needs presence and that’s exactly what we’re building together.It’s free to join, and you’ll get instant access to courses, discussions, and a growing circle of people doing this work together.See you inside. 🌿Links Mentioned:Join The Art Of Self-Connection community!

The four principles of how to live in harmony to: move slowly, breathe deeply, and focus broadly, with compassion for all.In this short talk, I introduce these principles as a gentle form of guidance towards inner peace. When combined and embodied we they help us to begin to connect, both to our true self and to the world and all in it.I am using these principles as a kind of internal mantra, something I say to myself on repeat as a way to both pay attention to my present state (In this moment am I moving slowly, breathing deeply, and focusing broadly, with compassion?)In this way I am constantly checking myself and helping learn how to live in harmony.Links Mentioned:Explore 1:1  counseling, coaching & Intuitive Guidance sessions

When faced with extreme and overwhelming situations we do whatever we can to survive. Typically this involves one of four responses: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. If this approach to stress works, we survive. Good in the moment, but often that survival comes at a cost. Unless we are able to appropriately process the event, both mentally, spiritually, physically, and socially, we may begin to generalize our fight, flight, freeze, and fawn response into a way to approach all aspects of life.This is not ideal because these survival mechanisms are not always appropriate for what is arising in the moment. But because it worked in the past, because it kept us alive, we default into using them again and again and again, even when they are now clearly maladaptive and causing more harm than good.This is where the Intuitive Guidance process comes in, it offers you an opportunity to identify how you are responding, heal old wounds, and reconnect with your true self.Links Mentioned:Intuitive Guidance For Self Healing (5 part audio course)Intuitive Guidance For Deep Healing (46 minute guided meditation)Book a 1:1 Intuitive Guidance session

It’s all too easy to let fear stop us from acting when it matters most. Not just in the big, cinematic moments of bravery, but in the small, everyday chances for connection and emotional release. There is a saying that goes, ‘fear is temporary, regret is forever,’ and it rings painfully true.In this short talk, I share four moments from my past that I regret, offered in the hope that they inspire you to take the actions you need, so you don’t carry unnecessary regrets of your own.Links Mentioned:Explore 1:1 counseling & coaching with me

Truth is beyond words alone. At best, language is a flawed code, an attempt to translate physical sensations, mental states, and spiritual experiences into something shareable. Yet in doing so, it often distorts what it tries to reveal. Whether through science, religion, or spirituality, we keep circling the same human experience, but each system claims its version as the only truth. All that we can hope to do is infuse our words with an energetic transfer to convey the meaning beyond the code.Words can guide us, but they can also trap us, locking us into categories that make us miss what’s really there. And so the question remains, how can a mere human ever hope to understand the words of God?Links Mentioned:Intuitive Guidance For Self Healing (5 part audio course)Explore 1:1 Counseling & Coaching with me

Intuitive Guidance is the process I am using to help 100’s of people each week to release trauma from the body. It holds to the premise that the body keeps the score. Simply put, what we don't or can't process (trauma) manifests over time as illness, injury, psychological blocks, and stress. The good news is that by turning our attention to the body, connecting to it, and allowing it to express, it will begin to release trauma from the body.In this episode I break down the Intuitive Guidance process and share some of the profound insights and releases that you can expect during a session:‘I saw my fear as a blinding sun, too bright to face, too vast to fully comprehend. At first, I was a single planet orbiting it, caught in its pull, repeating the cycle. Then I took a breath, and the vision expanded. I was no longer just that planet, but an entire universe. Countless stars, countless worlds, countless inner stories, each with their own cycles and connections. I left knowing I must honor the fear within me, without getting lost in the belief that it is all I am.’Links Mentioned:What is Intuitive Guidance (blog)Intuitive Guidance For Self Healing (5 part audio course)Intuitive Guidance For Deep Healing (46 minute guided meditation)Check out my Insight Timer Profile (for live events)Book a 1:1 Intuitive Guidance session

The art of manifestation gets a bad wrap, tied in the minds of most to questionable woo-woo ideas that seem fanciful at best. But manifestation is real, and the methods it works on are simple and obvious once explained and embraced.Simply put, we manifest what we focus on because we are primed to find and act on them.In this episode I share two tracks, the first is a talk titled ‘how manifestation really works’ and the second is a guided meditation called ‘powerful manifestation visualization’. These tracks, and 100’s more are available in the Ultimate Audio Collection. This can be accessed, along with video courses, and exclusive content as part of the members area. Check it out!

There comes a time when we know we need to act, but nonetheless find ourselves blocked by fear, or inertia, or confusion, or some other unnamable emotion. It is then when we must take a leap of faith - despite the possibility that we may fail. In this episode I discuss how I have taken a leap of faith and offer guidance on how you can do the same. If you are struggling to do what you know you must, this one is for you!Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

In today’s session I share with you a guided meditation that weaves together mindfulness, breathwork, healing visualization, and mantra, inviting you to soften, slow down, and reconnect to the self and the moment. You can follow each cue or simply sit and listen. This space is here for you. Let the words, breath, and stillness meet you as you are.*Don’t Play While Driving!This track is taken from The Ultimate Audio Collection, an ever-growing library of guided meditations, wisdom talks, and audio courses designed to help you unlock calm, clarity, and confidence. You’ll get access to this and much more inside the members area.You can check out more of my free meditations & talks here.Curious to go deeper?Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counseling sessions.

Why is it so hard for some people to stand up for themselves?In this episode I discuss three primary reasons why as well as some solutions that you could implement to overcome them.1: Low self-worth - if you don’t believe you deserve to be treated well/get what you need from life, then you will fail to act.2: Unclear goal or direction in life - if you don’t know where you are heading/what you value, you won’t know what to push for and what to avoid.3: Unable to hold space for their response - standing up for yourself will put people out, if you cannot sit with the negative feelings, moods, emotions, or responses that arise you will continue to give ground in every interaction until you discover that your life is not at all the way you want or need it to be.I offer guidance for each issue as well as way to practice meditation that combines the felt sense of self with positive visualization, inner work, and mindfulness that will help you stand up for yourself.Links mentioned:- Shadow Work Journal PDF (free)- How To Get Your Shit Together - Book (free)- Internal Family Systems Books- My websiteIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Who are you beyond the consequences of your past? Trauma and self identity are inextricably interconnected - you became what you needed to become to survive.These defense mechanisms saved you, but now you are left wondering who you are outside of them. Your interests, beliefs, desires, and goals are shaped by how you managed the past. Thus you may begin to wonder who you are.This lack of knowing can be crippling and it is the topic of this episode.Links mentioned:- Internal Family Systems Books- Dear Little Part Of Me - PoemIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Here is what to do when someone is being triggered and opening up about their trauma - or at least what works for me:1: Make Sure They Are Safe - out of danger to and from themself and to and from others/the environment.2: Make Sure You Are Safe - physically, emotionally and spiritually available, capable and able to helping the person without being overwhelmed or triggered, or at least only to an acceptable level.3: Ground Them In The Present Moment - this will help stop them from being triggered, get them to focus on what they can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. Help them to slow down the breathing and heart rate and get them what they need: food, water, clothing, comfort items, medication, shelter etc.4: Practice Unconditional Positive Regard - Hold space for their truth, even if it doesn’t makes sense to you, or seems objectively ‘incorrect’, in that moment, it is their truth. Be a loving and accepting mirror. Their feelings are their feelings in that moment. And realise that if they’re triggered, they are quite literally biochemically structurally back in that past trauma.5: Listen & Offer- Hear them out and if appropriate and only if you are willing, offer what you can do to help.6: End With A Promise- have them promise that they will reach out to you (or someone specific) if they are at risk or if the triggers and flashbacks return.7: Follow Up- Tell them that you are going to follow up and do so. This shows you care and are extending the care into the future, reinforcing their promise.8: Self Care- Practice self care and ensure your own ongoing physical, psychological, and spiritual safety and wellbeing.- Blackness - Chapter from Under The Influence- Guard Your Mental State At All Costs - Blog- Create A Crisis Plan - It May Save Your Life- Poetry From A Dark Night Of The Soul - BookIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

It’s time once again for my annual Fuck Christmas podcast.For some, the festive season is the opposite of fun - full of triggers and trauma and overwhelm and the forced obligation to spend time with the people and in places that caused you the most pain.It is a time when substance abuse, self harm and suicide significantly rise.It is a time we’re loneliness amplified and that all two familiar mask must be put back on in order to save face, and ultimately to save yourself.In this episode, I talk about the importance of saying no when you need to, and yes when you want to.I share a depth of the impact of my own trauma, and aspects that come with healing - particularly around Christmas. I share a story of attempting to explain my past and my pain - only to have it thrown back at myself as I was victim blamed, and thus no longer feeling safe around that person - which is brought up once again at this time of year.This is not an easy episode, and I want to give a massive trigger warning.But if you’ve read this far, and if you follow me, the episode will probably bring some solace or at least will help you to not feel so alone with the darkness this seems to get amplified by Santa’s sleigh.- Blackness - Chapter from Under The Influence- Guard Your Mental State At All Costs - Blog- Poetry From A Dark Night Of The Soul - BookIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Tendrils of the past manifest in the present and will continue to impact you into the future unless you take action.In this episode I discus the process of to identify and overcoming poverty mindset and other limiting beliefs.Sharing the story of moving out of home at 16, surviving of charity and government handouts, to thriving both personally and financially, whilst being able to ask for and offer products and services at rates that back then I could never have imagined possible.- Free Shadow Work Journal PDF- How To Get Your Sh!t Together- Coaching, Mentoring, & Intuitive Guidance- Immersion IntensiveIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Anger is a useful inner tool to keep us safe and living a life of purpose - only if it is embraced as an ally not a danger.Unfortunately, for some, our childhoods cause us to fear our own anger - rather than using to utilize it appropriately, we instead repress it and turn it inwards, with catastrophic consequences.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Are we doomed to repeat our past? To inflict upon our children what was inflicted upon us? If we are a product of our genetics intersecting with our environment, how can we break the cycle once and for all?In this episode I story of my past and why that has led me to give away all 17 of my books for free.Want all of my books for free? Just sign up to my email list!If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

No talking. No writing. No touching. Just 10+ hours a day meditating for 10 days straight…In this episode I share my experiences on a 10 day silent retreat at Dhamma Aloka, under the instruction of S.N. Goenka where I learnt the technique of Vipassana meditation. Here I share the lessons learnt, the insights acquired, and give my analysis of the experience.Simply put, it was one of the most profound (and painful) experiences of my life.Want all of my books for free? Just sign up to my email list!If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

What do you do when you are genetically predisposed to have negative reactions to antidepressants, have lost your job, have had little success with talking therapies, and have not yet processed the trauma of the past?Answer: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)This episode is a collaboration with Dr Jenelle Tupek, director and founder of Balanced Membranes Heath Education, and the host of the Rewriting The Script podcast.Jenelle interviews me, discussing my experiences with how TMS saved my life and my mental health journey in general - we talk about the nature of mental health treatments and the different options available.Want all of my books for free? Just sign up to my email list!If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

What is scarier: sitting in silence or the fact that you are afraid to sit in silence?In this episode I discuss how technology has granted us the ability to endlessly occupy the space that was once filled with silence. The benefits of which are obvious: education, entertainment, content and connection - but at what cost? What do we lose by blocking off access to such a fundamental aspect of the human condition? What is the value of silence?Want all of my books for free? Just sign up to my email list!If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

It feels like every tradition has a prescription on how you should sit; where to hold your hands, what to do with your eyes, and how you should handle sleepiness and pain are all prescribed.For advanced practitioners, these suggestions should be heeded, but for beginners, they can be a hindrance - one that can be so off prescriptive and off putting that it may cause said beginner to stop practicing.Simply put, the perfect posture is the one that keeps you meditating.In this episode, I share with you a talk that I have released on Insight Timer - the #1 meditation app for sleep, anxiety, & stress.Connect:Web: zachary-phillips.comSocial: @zacpphillipsCurrent offerings:- Hunt Your Own Shadow: free 12 week email course- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Part product of the past, part vision for the future, part desire to live a meaningful life, part belief that I can make a difference …In this episode I break down the reasons why I feel compelled to share my soul online, discussing the journey I took to get here and where I am hoping to go.If you are wanting an in depth look at ‘my why’, this is for you.Links mentioned:Under The Influence, Reclaiming My ChildhoodHow To Get Your Sh!t TogetherPoetry, From A Dark Night Of The SoulConnect:Web: zachary-phillips.comSocial: @zacpphillipsCurrent offerings:- Hunt Your Own Shadow: free 12 week email course- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

How much of our reality do we create? Not from a ‘woo woo’ sense, but as a function of the result of the interaction between our past and our particular genetic predispositions?If we have faced significant life challenges, and have a fearful disposition, there is a chance that we will view the world and our future pessimistically.Alternatively, if we have had success, and have a positive disposition, then more than likely we will approach the world with hope.In this Reality Check Podcast episode I begin with my poem ‘Reflections Of The Self’, using it as a starting point for discussion and contemplationConnect:Web: zachary-phillips.comSocial: @zacpphillipsCurrent offerings:- Hunt Your Own Shadow: free 12 week email course- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Buy more. Do more. Be more. Consume more. Watch more… This seems to be the mantra of modern society and it is kill us.We are losing our communities, forgetting our art, and wasting our lives, all in pursuit of an ever diminishing in value dollar and ever rising expectations to keep up with the proverbial Joneses.In this episode I read the poem ‘capitalistic desire’ from my book Wage Slave: The Unpaid Overtime Edition, and discuss the hypocrisy I feel as an artist living within a capitalistic society.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

The difference between expectation and reality is often the source of significant discontent.Life trains us to search for ideals: the perfect partner, job, life, outcome. Unfortunately this almost never arises and even if it did, it would be fleeting.Thus there is a real potential for ongoing and almost contentious self inflicted suffering. Thankfully, happiness is closer than you think. By embracing mindfulness we can begin to see and address the impact of our expectations.In this episode, I share with you a talk that I have released on Insight Timer - the #1 meditation app for sleep, anxiety, & stress.Connect:Web: zachary-phillips.comSocial: @zacpphillipsCurrent offerings:- Hunt Your Own Shadow: free 12 week email course- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

What greater gift can you give someone than the gift of presence? When you are fully present, mindful, and in the moment, you are able to give all those around you access to the best version of you, and thus the moment they are in with you.In this episode, I share with you a guided meditation that I have released on Insight Timer. It is based on the intersection between the following two quotes:‘See how you are literally free of the future, for the simple reason that it hasn’t and will never arise. There can be no other moment. Feel how that is so. How it is impossible to get ourselves into some other moment, for there is no other moment, and no other reality but, than what is presently here, this instant...’ - John Astin‘If there is peace in your mind you will find peace with everybody. If your mind is agitated, you will find agitation everywhere. So first find peace within and you will see this inner peace reflected everywhere else. You are this peace.’  – From H. W. L. Poonja a.k.a. PapajiThis track was inspired by my course on Insight Timer, ‘Daily Contemplations For Living An Examined Life’Current offerings:- Hunt Your Own Shadow: free 12 week email course- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

‘Stuck Inside My Mind’Freestyle improv poetry. Watch the video on Instagram, and read the full poem here.Current offerings:- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

The more you know about yourself the better choices you will make and thus the better life you will lead.In this episode I share some recent instances of deep personal insight where I discover things about myself that are both good, bad, and ugly.I share the importance of such discoveries as well as the ways in which I (and you can) foster further insights into your own nature.Resources mentioned:Discover Your Divine Purpose - Insight Timer Course1 on 1 Coaching & MentoringCurrent offerings:- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Yesterday, a friend asked me how to meditate, that talk inspired this episode. Here is my guidance for absolute beginners:1: sit comfortably (no pain or sleepiness)2: set a timer for 5 minutes3: pick a meditation object (breath, vision, sound)4: when you notice a wandering kind, bring it back to focus. A successful session is one that you complete, ideally every day!For further instruction on how to meditate, check out my book ‘Mindfulness, A Guidebook To The Present Moment’.Current offerings:- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

When you dedicate yourself to one thing, the lessons learnt begin to help you with everything.In this episode I discuss the quote by Miyamoto Musashi 'If you know the way broadly you will see it in all things' - applying the lessons I have learnt in martial arts, poetry, meditation, chess and life to one another, discussing the intersection between them all, as well as some of the implications and takeaways of 'knowing the way'.I also discuss how there is a silver lining to be found in setback, injury, and illness - if we know how to look for it.Current offerings:- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Two weeks ago I began transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat my depression, anxiety and PTSD.10 sessions in and I am starting to see significant progress.In this episode I share my experiences of the process and my hopes for the future.Current offerings:- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

The moment we label something, it is limited. The label isn’t the truth, it is a representation of, it’s a finger pointing to the moon, it is a suggestion of possibility that always falls short of reality.In this episode I share the following poem and muse about its implications, leaving you with the spiritual practice of looking beyond the label, to see what it is pointing to, pulling it all the way back to the core, to consciousness.all labelsare an abstractionof formbaring one;consciousnessCurrent offerings:- Insight Timer: guided audio courses & free meditations- Skillshare: video courses on personal development- How To Get Your Sh!t Together: the last self-help book you will ever read- Bound To The Wings of a Butterfly: best selling poetry collection- How To Write Evocative Poetry: a guidebook for unlocking creativityIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

In this session I share the audio from my presentation in the Breaking Boxes ‘Power Of Connection Summit’, where I joined seven other presenters over two days to talk on all things connection.My talk was titled ‘Connection From Within The Darkness’ - I talk about the disconnect we often feel to ourselves and the world following trauma and how we can being healing from it.This session begins with a brief introduction of myself and my work, followed by a long form guided meditation/introspection, were we look inwards and begin to heal, reconnect and integrate with parts of ourselves that may have been impacted by trauma.Warning: this session may be challenging to some listeners, so please sure your supports and self-care is in place prior to listening.You can check out Breaking Boxes here.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Life will shoot us with the first arrow - these are real injuries, setbacks, losses and pain.But the greater cause of our suffering comes form ‘the second arrow’ - the fear, anxieties, ruminations, and other internal mechanisations that we dwell upon.In this episode I discuss the concept of the second arrow, as well as how we can use it to eliminate significant amounts of excess (and useless) suffering.Check out my Insight Timer Profile & the book ‘Reflections of the Self’If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

In this episode I share a guided meditation that I shared on the Insight Timer app.What if you were to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that were going to happen? - And what if you used that question to reframe your gratitude practice into the future?In this session we contemplate this concept and suggest how it could be adapted to reduce anxiety and increase positivity and presence, both now and into the future.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

In this session I share a guided meditation that I shared on the Insight Timer app.This track is an invitation to explore the beauty of the present moment.To stop the rush and to settle into the now. It begins with a discussion of the benefits of finding opportunities to meditate through out the day and then goes into a mindful story.Join me on a journey towards the peace of the present moment and embrace the beauty that is all around us.Follow me on Insight TimerIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

This is the story of a dark night of the soul, of traversing the depths of despair, and of rebirth.It is the story of transformation from a shadow version of myself into my embodied fullness.It is the story of reintegration with my body after years of trauma, and of letting go of old wounds and identities that no longer serve me.It is a story of reframing my inner world, from victim hood into strength.It is a story of how I am now hunting my own shadow.Who I worked with: Miroslav Petrovic, Victoria RedbardIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Will mindfulness meditation lead to enlightenment? In this talk I respond to an email from follower on Insight Timer who has found some contradictory advice relating to their meditation practice and the goal of enlightenment.I go deep on the different interpretations of awakening presented by different practices/instructors, and offer some guidance for everyone moving forward.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Every Christmas season I talk on this topic, because every Christmas season I am reminded of just how overwhelming, panic inducing and confusing it all can be.Thankfully I am learning from the past and have realised the need for intervention, prevention, and pre-emptive attention to self-care and preparation to stay sane over the next few months.So with that said I want to share with you the following podcast and blog post. If you, or someone you know is neurodivergent, you will get a lot from this one.Read the blog: https://www.zachary-phillips.com/podcast/asd-overwhelmLinks mentioned:I teach on Insight Timer, Skillshare, and Udemy.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Last night I woke enraged. At the world. At my family. At my job. At myself. I was lying in bed in a state of utter tension; with a headache, racing heart, and complete emotional overwhelm.Then, a moment of detachment. A breath. A reminder of my mindfulness practice and the realisation of two fundamental truths of my current predicament.1: All of my pain was coming from inside of me. In that moment there was no external forces that was ‘causing’ my pain.2: I know from experience that thoughts come and go, and that mindful observation facilitates this process.Holding those two truths in mind, I decided to mindfully observe my mind and almost immediately the thought dissipated…How to practice mindfulness resources:Blog PostMindfulness: A Guidebook To The Present Moment - Book Audio Courses & Guided meditations: Insight TimerVideo courses: Skillshare and Udemy.If this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Perhaps like me, you are struggling with a collection of symptoms and functionality issues. Some days are amazing, but other days you just fall apart.The people around you have suggested that perhaps you may have ADHD or ASD or some other kind of neurodivergence, but you are unsure if you should seek a diagnosis.The stigma, shame, and self blame block you form acting, yet you know that if you do nothing, nothing will change.So the question is, should you seek a formal diagnosis for your mental health condition?On the one hand it may provide validation, clarity, and community; giving you deeper insights into yourself and a guide out of suffering towards functionality, but on the other, it may be limiting and become a self fulfilling prophesy, causing you to be labelled by yourself or society at large.In this episode of the Reality Check Podcast, I share my thoughts and experiences of diagnosis.Growing Into Autism - Sandra Thom-JonesInsight Timer - Meditation AppIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.

Dissociation is a feeling of unreality; a fog over consciousness that makes everything, even the self, feel ethereal. A barrier to connection that blocks most everything, leaving your goals, dreams and hopes to merely bleed through the window of mind offering little more than an opaque view of life. Until of course, that window cracks, letting in the cold winds of anxiety, depression and the harshness of a reality that was all but ignored.In this episode I share my current mental state, as well as the poem ‘For As Long As I Have Eyes’ from the book A Requiem For What Could Have Been: Poetry For The BrokenIf this episode has resonated with you, I would love your support.Click here to find out more about my 1:1 coaching & counselling sessions.