George Walden (LITE) - Retired FDA & Pfizer Staff Member

In this LITE episode, host Abigail Wright talks with retired FDA & Pfizer staff member George Walden about the importance of friends, family, and activities, his views on the world today, and appreciating the differences in humanity. For more, visit http://patreon.com/peaceofpersistence to hear about his experiences with the FDA & Pfizer, the value in a single life, George's key to happiness and much more.

Bio/Intro:
George Walden was born in Washington DC and was raised in Upper Marlboro, MD. He and his two brothers and two sisters still get together for family gatherings a couple of times during the year.

George completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Morgan State University in Baltimore in 1972. Following he graduation, he was hired by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Newark, NJ and worked for the FDA for 25 1/2 years as a Consumer Safety Officer. He was fortunate to take an early retirement with the FDA in 1997 and begin a career with Warner Lambert (later known as Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) as a Corporate Quality Auditor.  George worked for Warner Lambert/Pfizer, Inc. for 17 years and traveled to nearly 40 countries around the world. He retired from Pfizer in April 2015.

Now he spends his time practicing Aikido, Yoga, playing golf, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Show summary:
I don't think we've ever talked about this, but I got my master's degree at the University of MD in College Park, so I'm very familiar with DC and Prince George's county. What was it like for you, growing up in that area?
He remembers a fun upbringing with what he needed as the second of five children. Both his parents worked until George was born, when his mother agreed to stay home and take care it and them. Communal family dinners played an important role in keeping his family together. Although the community was quiet, without much to do, the children all found ways to keep themselves busy with sports, sledding, go karts, and other activities with friends.

It seems like growing up, in your jobs, and in the sports that you do, community is very important to you. How has that enhanced your life?
It's helped him see people differently, and as valuable. George tells us about experiences where he'd speak with people on the phone as part of his job helping other companies comply before meeting them in person. He might have a conversation where the person would complain about minorities or women or the government, and then meet the man in person. As the man met him and got to know him, he treated him incredibly kindly. "There's a lot of hatred and fear and animosity in the world, but people are people... Once we learn a little bit about each other and get to know each other, we find out, we're all the same." He believes his community upbringing contributed to his perspective on that.

What's your perspective on what's happening today in our culture? Between the current political climate, the extreme polarization of different viewpoints, and the recent resurgence of overt racism... is any of this new?
We discuss how it's not really new, but that now with the statements made by current leadership, people feel that they can express their extreme viewpoints.

How have you reacted to it, and what do you think we can do better as individuals to help improve society in general?
Let people have their space. George goes back to his story about the people he met in the FDA. If you give people space to get to know each other beyond biases and appearances, there's really no reason for people to hate each other.

What does happiness mean to you, in your life?
Happiness, for George means being able to do the things he wants to do, especially Aikido, golf, and being social and around people. His father's life consisted of work, the family, and the house. On forced vacations, he'd work on the house or visit family, or fish. When he retired, after a year or two, he had to go back to work. George believes you have to have something to keep you going.

Have you always been a pretty content person, or have you had to work at it?
George has been pretty content most of his life because he's always done things that keep him interested.

If there were one thing you'd like the world to see differently, what would it be?
More respect and more acceptance of each other. Everyone doesn't have to be the same, and that makes the world interesting.

Thanks for listening! For more, visit http://patreon.com/peaceofpersistence to hear about his experiences with the FDA & Pfizer, the value in a single life, George's key to happiness and much more.

G. Brian Benson (LITE) - Author, Filmmaker, & Actor

Highlights:
In this LITE episode of The Peace of Persistence, host Abigail Wright talks with author, filmmaker, and actor G. Brian Benson about the value of intuition, trusting the process, failure, balance, and more. For more on Brian's outlook on self-awareness, authenticity, the importance of being yourself with family and others, and more, check out our full version at http://www.patreon.com/peaceofpersistence, or just to support the show.
 

About Brian:
G. Brian Benson’s mission is to wake up the world with conscious, thought-provoking media that inspires.  As founder of Reawaken Media, Brian an award-winning author, filmmaker, actor and TEDx speaker, knows the value of trusting intuition and wants to share his own personal journey of self-growth, discovery and accomplishment to help others re-connect with their own personal truths to live an authentic and fulfilling life. As a 4x Ironman triathlete, Brian knows the value of hard work and never giving up on his dreams, a message he shares with audiences through each of his creative talents. Brian lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Show notes, links, etc:
Brian's List - 26 1/2 easy to use ideas on how to live a fun, balanced, healthy life!
http://www.gbrianbenson.com/books/brians-list-26-%C2%BD-easy-to-use-ideas-on-how-to-live-a-fun-balanced-healthy-life/
Toastmasters - https://www.toastmasters.org/
"A Minute of Failure" poem - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PevVjb9Jyk8
"Searching for Happiness" short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc78etwqkx0

Show summary:
What brought you to where you are now in life?
After running his family's golf center for about 8 or 9 years, Brian started to feel burned out. He felt like there was something else he needed to do, but he didn't know what yet. He had a supportive conversation with his father, and a year later, they had sold the business. During the last part of time while he was there, he found himself out of balance. As someone who likes to work on himself to be the best version of himself, he wrote down a list of 5 things he thought would help him and followed them.
From that list, within about 30 days, he expanded it into his first book, Brian's List - 26 1/2 easy to use ideas on how to live a fun, balanced, healthy life! The book also helped him by putting him on a path that forced him to do things he was uncomfortable with at first.

Uncomfortable with public speaking but knowing that he needed to promote his book, Brian signed up for public speaking classes and Toastmasters. To make himself more comfortable, he tried things that were outside of his comfort zone, creating a workshop and co-hosting an internet radio show. He even setup a book signing and workshop tour. Although he feels the tour wasn't wholly successful, he believes it was necessary.

Let's chat about your work as a writer. You've written nonfiction, children's books, and some poetry. What brought you into writing?
He really followed his intuition. As a young child, he told his mom he was put here to inspire people. Life got in the way for a time, but he finds that he's a decent writer who's able to channel what comes through him in a way that makes sense. With the self-help books and non-fiction, he taps into his own experiences and follows his intuition. With the children's books and poetry, he enjoys writing in rhyme and sees the creative process (which he loves) as more of a jigsaw puzzle.

You focus a lot on trusting your intuition, so I imagine it serves you very well in most cases. How do you push past doubts to allow yourself to once again trust your intuition after a fall?
Although it's not always easy, Brian has a positive, optimistic outlook. During the dips in the roller coaster of life, he still feels like it's going to be ok. He's had times where he felt frustrated, like he was working so hard, stuck in quicksand, and accomplishing nothing. Looking back, he realizes now that during those times, he tried to push, rather than take a break when he needed to. Now, realizing that the work can come through him quickly when he needs it to, he trusts his instincts to rest and gives himself the chance to fill his cup before returning to the process. That frustration he used to feel, before he trusted the process, coupled with his expectations about the future and some successes, set him up for some falls.

When his first children's book, Steve the Alien, first launched, he went through a period of depression. Although the launch went well, and he hit #1 in his category on Amazon, he came to a breaking point where he thought, "What's next?" He thought, if he worked so hard to put something he wanted so much out into the world and felt so miserable anyway, he didn't want to do it anymore. Because of that, he's since been very observant, intent on enjoying the ride and taking breaks when he needs to and celebrating his wins.

Speaking of falling, you wrote a poem called, “A Minute of Failure.” What value do you place on allowing yourself to fail, should we, and how can we make a habit of it?
There's a part of us that's ingrained in us to believe that it's not ok to fail, but if you look at successful people in any field, they have had tons of failures. Brian feels that's the only way for anyone to hone his/her craft and learn. He talks about the musician Steve Miller's perseverance, when he didn't have a hit until his seventh record. Overnight successes don't just happen. Brian's own 8-9 year journey, working on himself the whole way, has spilled into his own work, allowing him to more authentically share his insights with people. He likes to share what he has in common with others, not prescriptively but authentically. If he can stick it out, you can too, and as he's realized that he's enough, he wants you to realize that you are too.

Can I put you on the spot a little - would you read us the poem?
Brian reads his poem, "A Minute of Failure." Check out the link to his YouTube reading above, in the show notes.

You've competed in 4 Ironman triathlons, and clearly you work on your mental, emotional, and spiritual health as much as your physical health. Do you have any advice for keeping it all in balance?
Brian thinks it's a matter of paying attention, as Wayne Dyer says, being in the observer role of your own self. Specifically to notice and decipher the difference between when you're being physically or emotionally tired and going the other way to give yourself the kind of rest you need. He describes balance as a moving target. He recommends self-awareness first and believes that love for yourself is the foundation for everything.

You have this great short film called "Searching for Happiness." I'd love for you to talk about the film and what inspired you to write it.
A few years before he turned it into a film, Brian wrote it as he was searching for his own happiness, as so many of us do outside of ourselves sometimes. Nye Green directed, his brother Rhys Green edited, and Toby Sherriff did the soundtrack on this film with no dialogue. He believes that when we do service for others, it makes us feel good. By using B&W and colorized effects, Brian tries to share that simple, yet powerful message.

If there were one thing you'd like the world to see differently, what would it be?
That happiness comes from within, and that you're enough. Brian believes if you just quiet yourself and slow down enough to listen to your intuition, you can find happiness. "When we're in balance, we can hear our intuition come through stronger," he says, and he believes that if everyone believed they were enough, it would clear up a lot of problems in life.

Do you have any other advice for us?
Have more fun, and realize that you're enough. Writing his self-help books, Brian put a lot of pressure on himself, feeling like he had to be perfect. Now, coming back to his more fun side, he's finding it easier to be authentic. His advice is to be fun and be yourself.
 

Wendy Yellen (LITE) - Transformation Acceleration Expert

Lite version - for full, un-cut, ad-free access, visit http://patreon.com/peaceofpersistence.

In this lite version, host Abigail Wright talks with transformation acceleration expert Wendy Yellen about the powerful work of eidetics, Wendy guides us through an experience of it, and she tells us how she wishes everyone would consider the impact of their thoughts and actions.

Wendy Yellen lives outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico near the top of a 7,200 foot high mesa, with her husband and partner of 39 years, Michael. Together they share a love of exotic birding adventures in beautiful natural places around the world. Wendy graduated from Brandeis University and received her Master’s in Social Work from Smith College. She then went on to study neo-Reichian body work and other traditional and non-traditional forms of healing from masters around the world. But she let all of this go once she discovered the power of the work you’ll experience today. Wendy has been working as a transformation acceleration expert for almost 40 years and is honored to be named one of the International Top THREE Transformational Experts in her field.

Show notes!
We talk about eidetics, which Wendy says is more easily understood through the experience of it. She explains it as a way of working with the mind, body, and spirit to, instead of helping you see what's wrong, removes the crust of your history to operate as who you were before you were shaped by your history. 

Wendy guides us in an experience of eidetics!

Wendy explains how eidetics works and that, even though it sometimes uses images from the past, it's all about your current state of being. She discusses how our history can cover over our potential.

Wendy addresses common reactions and concerns with the experience through which she led us. She recommends reviewing your experience with the image and the problem you chose at the beginning of the exercise, to examine how they're related and guides us to remember that this is not a mental exercise but that the results of sitting with the images creates gradual, often subconscious change. She tells the story of an award-winning creative client who went through a traumatic experience with her mother as a child, leading to feelings of never being enough and believing she wasn't worth being paid as an adult. Working through images with Wendy, she was able to move past that feeling and begin to book jobs that paid.

If you're interested in continuing with eidetics, Wendy offers a free confidential meeting by going to www.measiwanttobe.com. During the conversation, you'll discuss your experience with the experience she brought us through earlier, along with where the work could take you if you want to shift that piece in your life.

Wendy can't imagine she'll continue to work in this line of work when she's much older, 85 or 90, but she's not waiting to retire or do something else. She loves this work and feels cradled by it - as though the spiritual experience of the exploration loves her back.

What would you like the world to see differently?
She wishes we would take a second to reflect before saying or doing something, to really see the impact we have on others with our mood, our words, and our assumptions. Not only do we harm each other, but we miss opportunities to make a difference.

Shannon Algeo (LITE) - Mindfulness Teacher, Speaker, and Coach

Lite version - for full, un-cut, ad-free access, visit http://patreon.com/peaceofpersistence.

Host Abigail Wright introduces Shannon Algeo, a speaker, coach, and mindfulness teacher. Shannon is the co-founder of SoulFeed Podcast, and the creator of Awaken.Yoga, which provides affordable online yoga and meditation classes. As a coach, he also speaks and leads corporate mindfulness programs.

Show notes:
Mindfulness primer:
Mindfulness can be meditating for any period of time, or sensing the body from the inside out. Shannon discusses the idea from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now of sensing your body, your hand, your pinky finger. "Mindfulness is sensing and coming to know your location in yourself and in the world." He calls it a radical practice, compared to the rest of life, which can be so focused on stuff and identifying with stories that our thoughts tell us. He discusses the breath and experiencing boredom as a way to retrain the brain, seeing it as a counter-culture practice that helps us to connect to who we are beneath the surface.

Use attention and intention to have a "more nuanced, more felt experience." Referencing Brene Brown, Shannon also talks about how when we numb our negative feelings and thoughts, we also numb joy and connection - that we can't be selective about what we numb in life.

The people we draw into our inner circle are reflections of ourselves. When we're activated by someone else's energy, negatively or positively, it's a chance to evaluate opportunities for our own healing and growth - what it is we want to desire or create. When we do the work within ourselves to understand when we have more toxic relationships, it can help us to create boundaries to show others what we need. It comes back to mindfulness and responsibility in our own relationships.

What would you like the world to see differently?
"Who you are anywhere is who you are everywhere." You are enough, you are a leader, and people need you. "It's time to show up."

Any other advice for us?
If we're gentle (peaceful) with ourselves while being persistent and committed, "then we're going to be so powerful."

For more about Shannon's upbringing, how to learn to love yourself, lessons learned from producing the SoulFeed podcast, and so much more, go to www.patreon.com/peaceofpersistence.

Extras: 5 Ways to Wellbeing #4 - Keep Learning

TPOP Host Abigail Wright talks about the Centre for Wellbeing's 4th way to wellbeing, keep learning, and tips to doing it regularly, even during busy times.

Extras: 5 Ways to Wellbeing #3 - Take Notice

Extras: Challenges

Host Abigail Wright discusses challenges, and how creating them for oneself can add to one's well-being in life.