SHAWN STEVENSON: Welcome to the Model Health Show. This is fitness and nutrition expert Shawn Stevenson, and I'm so grateful for you tuning in with me today. What's said is that what you think you become the mind is everything, all of our thoughts, all of our decisions, and all of our correlating actions are really rooted in what's going on with our mind and what we term as our mind set. And, so for this episode, I want to do something very special for you. As of this recording, it's the holiday season, no matter when you're listening to this. It's gonna be a wonderful present. But right here in the present, I put this together to help us to usher in more empowerment as we go into this new year. And also to remember how powerful we are to cultivate a spirit of gratitude and also to, again, retrain and reorganize and to get focused on having a mindset that is helping us to create the results that we want to see in our lives.

And so what I decided to do was to take four of my favorite episodes from this past year, which was so hard. It was incredibly difficult. But I base this on number one, the audience, the downloads, the views. What did the people think? All right, so I based it on that. I based it on the vibes here for me in the studio. All these individuals are vibe, VAF, and also based this on the empowerment that was delivered. And so to kick things off for you, in this very special episode dedicated to some of the most powerful mindset messages we have the one and only Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith. He's a multinational bestselling author.

He's been featured all over major media from The Today Show to Ellen, to Oprah, you name it. He's also the founder of Agape Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, and he's impacted the lives of millions upon millions of people all over the world. And in this segment, he's gonna be sharing with you why uplifting and helping others is good for your health, why negativity is addictive in how to break out of it. He's also gonna share the transformative power of asking the right questions. Again, this is all about mindset. Enjoy this first segment. With the incredible Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: When people are doing an altruistic act, generosity, helping, and people see it, it builds, it boosts their immune system. It makes coherence of the brain. Just seeing somebody do good, or hearing about somebody doing good, affects our life for the better. We're all connected. And so I try to keep people out of the, the pollution of othering and blaming. Not to say there aren't nefarious people out here doing nasty things. But it's not going to help.

Only thing that's going to help is how can I serve? How can I help? Even if it's minuscule. And then if someone hears about it or sees it, it's going to affect them. It's going to make them more expanded to want to assist. And if, why not create that kind of contagion? The contagion of good works, the contagion of prayer, contagion of holding each other high. Why not have that kind of contagion on the planet and use social media for that kind of contagion, rather than for creating division and separation and hate? 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Sounds good, ref. But it's so easy. It's so easy to get tied up in the negativity. It's so easy to blame. It's so easy to get, start pointing fingers and to, to be angry and upset.

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Yes. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Why not do that? I mean, it's just it's, it's right there. It's so tangible and visceral. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: With the ego gets juice from being angry and blaming and it gets being and being right. That's the ego. And so what happens, you know, tonic chemicals start to flow through the body. When you, when the ego is juiced up, those chemicals flow and people become addicted to those chemicals. So they feel alive when there's drama. They feel alive if they're right. They feel alive if they're blaming or putting somebody down. And so, as one grows spiritually, your aliveness feels more like joy and bliss and ecstasy. It's not that hard tonic chemicals of, I'm right. Let's go get them. Oh, let's go kill them. You know, it's a different, different feeling. It's lighter. It's more blissful. But eventually, people begin to realize that adds to your longevity. It adds to your creativity. It adds to your coherence of the brain. 

You start to think more properly. But as you say, it's very difficult because the ego clutches on people, feeds them with this juice of chemicals that individuals become addicted to. There are people on the planet, as you know, that they're addicted to being mad. 

You know, they're addicted to being angry. They're addicted to being right. And eventually there's a toll, you know, disease or symptoms or something to that effect. And so running a spiritual community, I'm always trying to help people come out of that addictive behavior and come into a higher space. And, and eventually people don't recognize themselves as to how they used to be. You know, they, instead of being a reactionary, they become responsive to a higher, higher frequency. Yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. So we've got fields of psychoneuroendocrinology, psychoneuroimmunology. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Yes. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: And just understanding, again, when you mentioned witnessing an act of kindness, an act of service, and how that affects your immune system. Truly, it's our perception. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Yes. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right? So our psychology. And it happens on the other side as well, if we're witnessing or focused on negativity and the blame and all the things going wrong,

that's going to suppress the immune system. It's just, it is what it is. This could be temporary, can happen to all of us. But if you habituate that, this is why we see higher rates of, you know, all manner of chronic diseases, in particular heart disease and things like that. We're chronically angry and stressed and all these different things. We know how today, again, our thoughts create chemistry in our bodies. And somewhere along the way, we outsourced our ability to think. Would you agree with that? 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Oh, absolutely. Most people don't think. They call what I call mentate. That is, they keep repeating the same thoughts that are of negative nature every single day. It's not called thinking. Thinking, there's a word in the Japanese language. That word is Kangae. And that's the word for thinking, but the actual translation is returning to the realm of God. 

That real thinking is inspiration. Real thinking is returning to this, this space of inspiration and wisdom and transformational knowledge. That's thinking. Mentation is a masquerade of thinking. So people, so what happens is people have their opinions, which are often times emerging from their egoic perception or some brainwashing that they've had.

You know, they have these opinions that they hold very strongly to and they'll fight for this opinion. But it's not thinking, you see. And so, so they become, if somebody doesn't agree with that opinion, then they're mad, and then they're reacting. So it goes back to what you're saying. So they're producing all of these chemicals based on an opinion. And listen, do you have the same opinions you had when you were 13? 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Oh man. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Or 15. Or 20. So, you know, in the Zen technology there's a statement that says, above all, cherish no opinions. Realize you're not. If you're really about growing and unfolding, your opinions are gonna change. You know, you don't have the same opinions you had about stuff when you were in your 20s, when you were in your 30s, if you're maturing, that it keeps changing. And so as individuals become more responsive, use the word habituate. You know, I, I often say that everyone is the same. The only thing that makes us different are our habits. You know. And so, if you have a habit, And develop a habit of being open minded, open hearted. You have a habit of meditation. You have a habit of introspection.

You have a habit of having a real intention, backed by spiritual practice, to become a better version of yourself. You're going to be different six months from now. A year from now, six years from now, you're going to be a different being because of your habits and if someone maintains their habit of limitation, arguing for their limitations, arguing for their opinions, they're going to pretty much be the same. Six years from now, you'll run into him. He said, Oh wow, this guy hasn't changed. He's spouting the same nonsense. He was spouting six years ago, you know, and so we want to habituate the inner fire and desire to be a better version of ourselves. And what is that? It's not having power over people. It's tapping into that inner power.

And so that intelligence flows through you and wisdom and kindness and generosity. The strongest people on the planet are people who can carry the frequency of compassion and love. It sounds wimpy to people who are in their ego. But love is the most powerful force on the planet. You see, compassion, kindness, that's where real people hang out at. You know, the people that we admire on the planet, you look at, you know, Nelson Mandela or Dalai Lama or Kuan Yin or, or King or, you know, they emulated the desire to hold those frequencies. No one's perfect, but that's what they sought to do. So we, we look at those people, we say, wow, they're, you know, Bishop Tutu, he was a cool dude, you know. But our society, they'll go out and build statues to military might. They're not building statues to teachers who helped you read or become a better person. So the whole society is kind of bizarre to keep people in that, that hyper masculine fight or flight state rather than honoring people that are holding a higher frequency. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Our bodies are always reacting to things our body is a great thermometer in a way. You know, reader of things in the environment is giving us feedback, but a lot of it is based on our perception, our stress level, our association with the thing. You know, a lot of work's being done now around our perception of stress. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Right. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so a stressful event might happen. But if our belief is like, this is killing me, this is breaking me down. I can't take more of this, and we're again, we're associating producing chemistry that might affect our skin, It might affect our you know, cardiovascular system our immune system, whatever the case might be. So there's so many layers our body is so intelligent. So our thoughts are such a powerful driver. 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Yeah, we can have a stressful situation and train ourself to feel that it's gonna make us stronger. There's tough times, but there's something in us that's bigger than the times, you know, and so you can use a negative situation and say, this is going to kill me. Or you could use a negative situation that says, I can't wait to see the blessing that comes out of this. It's, it's, whew, I can't wait. There's going to be something so deep. With that mindset, you become available to insight and wisdom that you won't get if you're in blame, shame. This is going to kill me. You know, it's not going to happen. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: This is exactly what I was going to ask you about was when the situation happens personally, you know, like there's a tragedy in my life. It can be obviously difficult to just grab my mind and to put it on the blessing potential in a situation. So what about when the tragedy strikes us personally?

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: How can we get through that? 

DR. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH: Well, first of all, I've answered in two ways. One, if someone already has a practice. And I'm not talking religion here. I'm just talking about a mindful, meditative prayer. It sounds religious, but it's really not. It's really very scientific. Then when something does happen, you have a go to. If a person doesn't have that, it's a little bit more difficult because their mind hasn't been trained yet. Their mind is still controlled by the news media or opinions or the points of view your father had or something like that. You haven't learned to think for yourself. So when something strikes you very hard, you know, it is good to find someone that can assist you back into an awareness that, you know, this, this is a negative thing that happened.

However, there's something about you that this didn't touch. Let's see if we can find that. So there are spiritual practitioners and there are spiritually inclined therapists that can help an individual find their way back to the place within us. And everyone has it that's not touched by time or experience. And again, it comes back to the universe. I teach that the universal presence, again, not a man in the sky, answers every question through law. Answers every question that you ask. So most people, when they are unconscious, ask, what's wrong? Who's to blame? Or why me? That's where they live. Who can I blame for this? You know, why, why is this happening to me? You know, or what's wrong? And you know what? By law, those questions could be answered. 

Well, this person is to blame, this is what's wrong, the reason it's happening to you is because, you know, it's in your ancestral code or whatever. But if you get, if you get used to asking a different question, you know, what good is here that I presently cannot see? You know, what if there's a blessing in all of this? You know, you start to ask a different question, your mind will start to shape shift, new chemicals will flow through you, you start, your perception will change, answers will come. I'm not saying that that's easy, particularly if you've never practiced it before, it may sound like woo woo. But as we've just talked about, there's science now backing the shifts that take place within you if you change your perception.

And so if you ask, I tell people to ask all the time, what good is here that I presently can't see? I can't see it right now, but what good is here, you know. Or here's another question. How can it get better than this? So you're in the midst of some negative stuff and you ask, how can it get better than this? Answers will start to come. And if something's going on, that's really good. Instead of superstitiously thinking, Oh, this is going so good. I know something bad's about to happen. But instead you say, this is, this is really cool. How can it get better than this? Since the universe is infinite. It can get better.

So I think that people need to develop different habits with their mind. You know, my podcast is called Take Back Your Mind. So I want to help people develop different ways that they can take back their mind so it's just not running amok. Just not doing what it wants to do. You're not your mind. Your mind is a tool. But it's been trained by society. It's been trained by religions. It's been trained by miseducation. It's been trained by the superstitions of your family. You've got to take it back. It's like your body temple. You've got to train it. You've got to train your mind with different questions. And when those questions become embedded, unconsciously you start to ask, how can it get better than this?

What good is coming out of this? Now, you're available to answers that sometimes come like a thief in the night. You start to get insights in your dreams, when you're not even daydreaming, suddenly you have a great idea. Where does that come from? It's coming from the universal mind, but you're receptive to it.

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And now moving on in this powerful compilation of mindset messages. We have one of my favorite interviews from this past year with bestselling author and Nike's first mindset coach. All right. Mindset trainer, Maya Raichoora, specifically Maya is focused on mental fitness. So she's a mental fitness trainer, and in this segment she's gonna be sharing with you the five components of mental fitness. She's also gonna share why your mind is like fresh snow each day. And it's a great analogy because with that fresh snow being laid down, we can decide to build a snowman.

All right? We could have a snowball fight, we can make snow angels, all kinds of beautiful things or you've probably heard the sentiment to never eat yellow snow. Now, why would you not eat yellow snow? Because somebody pissed in it. All right? So unconsciously you might be pissing in the snow or having somebody piss in our snow and then eating it, nevermind it gets crazy. But we have a lot of power each and every day, each and every moment to decide what we're going to do with the conditions that we are being presented with in our lives. She's gonna share the power of choosing your primary mental diet, the truth about consistency when it comes to reprogramming your brain and your life. Enjoy this next segment with the incredible Maya Raichoora.

MAYA RAICHOORA: So when it comes to mental fitness, you've got cardio. Cardio is, are you using your brain? So whether that's debates, whether it's questions, whether it's you are learning something like a new language. Are you using the brain? You've got to use it, otherwise you lose it. Then we have reps. Reps are really important because ultimately it's consistency. You know, it is the same as you don't get abs overnight in the same way. A lot of people want like a quick fix to their mind, or they just wanna get rid of all of the anxiety or negative thoughts. But it really is about the little things you do every day that build that consistency. Then you have rest. So just like again, with the body, you may, you sleep or massages, things like that. The brain also needs rest. And the brain is interesting because when you go to sleep, it's still pretty active. It's dreaming, right? It's thinking. And so we really need a form of active rest. And that can be, again, it can be meditation, it can be sleep, it can be any form of just letting your mind switch off just for a moment.

Then we have strength training. And this is really my niche and strength training. Just like the body, you essentially rip the muscle to make it bigger, better, stronger. And you can only do that with the weight training. And so for the brain, that's basically neuroplasticity. That's you being able to rewire the roads and the patterns in your brain. And that's where visualization is such a powerful tool to build a stronger brain so you can think, feel, and perform better than you ever have. And then we lastly have diet. And this isn't food, this is really the thing we consume the most in the world, which is content. It's the things we read, it's the things we watch, it's what we are listening to.

And to have a good mental diet, you need to be feeding yourself with stuff that actually serves you. Whereas most people we will watch, I don't know, reality TV or you know, we, we gossip, we compare ourselves, we're on social media. All of that is feeding like the bad wolf in the brain. And so just thinking about what am I inputting into my brain? So those are the five components and it's not to say, okay, you've gotta do all of these immediately. Just start with one, one of them and do one little thing to help that area, and then you can build over time. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. I would imagine that great mental fitness is a lot like great physical fitness. Like you can do so much and so much of life becomes easier and accessible to you. And so my advocation for everybody's like, this is something. I'm hoping that you really want to have, you really wanna have good mental fitness and there are very practical things we could do to get there. I want to stay with diet first because I wanna dig in on all these so everybody could feel like I know what to do. Gimme some practical things. You mentioned, and this just with diet, there's so many great analogies here, but I remember even when I was in college, you are what you eat.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: You are what you eat. It's, it's so superficial in the way that it sounds, but there is a lot of practicality to it because what you eat does become a part of you and used to run processes, but it's shortsighted because it's not just you are what you eat as far as like making your tissues. It's you are what you drink, you are what you breathe. It's also, you are what you consume mentally as well. Because, and this is the big takeaway, what you, when you're scrolling through your, your social media, what you're picking up is becoming, and especially if you're habitually watching certain things, it becomes a physical part of your brain. It becomes a physical part of your body, and your brain isn't just in your brain, by the way, like your cells are picking up this data and what are you habituating? What is your, what is your mental diet? And so with that being said, pretty much everybody's scrolling today. So what do you recommend as far as like that mental diet? Because we're going to be consuming stuff? 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah. So two very, very simple things you can do to improve your mental diet. Number one, I would honestly look through whether it's the people you follow, it's the content you are watching and just unfollow or curate your algorithm so it's actually helping you. So rather than, let's say, watching people that when you see them, you're like, oh, I wish I could be like that, or their life is so much better. You're constantly then telling yourself you're not good enough, or you are really behind. Do you think you're gonna feel good? No. So just unfollow it. Even if they are your friends, it doesn't matter.

Be selfish. If it does not serve you, get rid of it. The second thing, and this is very practical, is as soon as you wake up in the morning, your brain is a bit like, it's like fresh snow. And just think, what is the first footstep I want to make in that fresh snow? Now, for most of us, it's, let me look at my emails, let me get really stressed, or let me put the news on and just feel like, oh my God, the world is a really scary place. But instead, if you can be intentional with, okay, I'm gonna say, show me how good it gets today. Or I'm gonna just take one moment to think of something I'm grateful for, or I'm going to close my eyes and just take a few deep breaths. That one moment of intentionality paves the way for that first bit of the fresh snow, which then can help you carry on your day with just a better chance of feeling more positive or more calm or more confident.

And I'll just tell you a little story about a client I had where. You know, she's such a high performer, brilliant at work, everything. And then she was like, Maya, my relationship is just falling apart. I was like, what's going on? She was like, I just keep lashing out. I just lash out for no reason and I create arguments for, again, no reason. I was like, okay. Instead of even going into the depths of what was going on, I just asked her, I was like, what are you watching at the moment? And do you know what was really fascinating? Because she gets home and she's really stressed and tired. She just puts on those reality TV shows that, you know, you see all these couples arguing or it's selling, it's just for tv.

But what she didn't realize is that she's learning that behavior. Her neurons in her brain are telling her to act like that, and. So naturally with her own partner, without her knowing it, she's gonna start mimicking what she's watching. So I just said to her, why don't you decide to either watch something that's more relaxing, calming, or useful? Well, you know what? Don't watch tv, listen to some music, read a book or something. And genuinely within a week, she was just like, I just feel so much calmer and I don't react like that. But it also works in the other way, right? Like there's this great sports coach who works with a baseball team and they had never been to the worlds before.

And so what he did is in their changing room, he would put this TV on of a team. It just a random team playing at the worlds. And naturally, as the players were going into the changing room, they'd just be watching this. But very slowly, it's priming their brain to show them. This could be me or this is me. And so you can see that whether it's adverts, whether it's tv, whether it's what you say to yourself in the morning, it matters. But you have the power to just take that one step and then it gives you the right foot to start. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Oh, that's so good. So you mentioned, and by the way, you talk a lot about this in the book as well, in setting the framework for how powerful this is with our mirror neurons, right? When we are witnessing something, there's a part of us this, these cells that are simulating us doing what we're witnessing. It's a big part of how we learn. And one of the things that's kind of built into us as human beings. And so this is why we feel what we felt when you just mentioned the baseball game, for example. That feeling, being a fan. Like you feel like you're in the game.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right. It's because of these mirror neurons. There's a part of you that's simulating you being in it. And with this being said, this is very powerful. So are you chronically watching The Walking Dead or are you constantly watching it? You just mentioned these dating shows and reality tv. And just to be clear, I it's out here. All right. And this doesn't mean that you can't have a little, we'll call a little junk food sometimes.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah, exactly. Cheat day! have your cheat meals. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know?

MAYA RAICHOORA: For sure.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But if that becomes the, the predominant part of your diet, the bulk of your diet is junk food, no disrespect, but junk food. What do you think that's gonna do to your brain? And your mental fitness. Right?

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So keep that in mind. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: And, and I think really at the foundation of all of this, it's awareness.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Like, don't get me wrong, I have days where I just wanna lay in bed and watch Netflix the whole day, but because I'm aware I'm doing it and I'm like, you know what, today I'm choosing to do that, it's so different. 'cause I'm not just blindly, you know, watching all these things and not realizing what is what it's doing to me. This allows me to then like reset if I've just watched a really like dramatic movie or show, okay, I'm aware that that is what it's gonna do to me. So I'll just take a moment and then go back to life again. So it really is about awareness. That's what's key about the diet. 

And look, it's addictive, right? The shows that do really well are the ones that have most problems or the dramas, and that's just because humans are addicted to that stuff. Partly 'cause we relate to it, and partly just because we're so used to it that of course we're gonna watch it. It's like you have it in your day-to-day life and then you're like, no, let me watch more of it so I can just, you know, feel even worse. But I think as well, you are right. Like I remember, you know, watching some stuff now for example. But because I'm in a very different mindset, I notice different things. I learn different things.

And I think that also just says it right? So again, the awareness, just know, okay, how am I feeling and why am I watching it? 'cause sometimes if I'm sad. I love watching a sad movie. Or I love listening to sad music. It's actually a way to help me just feel it even more. So it's all good, but again, awareness.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

MAYA RAICHOORA: You know, I'm aware that I'm choosing to feel even sadder for a reason. Um, so yeah, just start really small though. Just think how can I start to curate what I'm actually inputting into my brain? And that includes self-talk as well, not just the things you watch. It's also the things you say to yourself.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Because that's actually everyone's worst mental diet. You know, it's the little snacks that they have. Like, that's the bad bit because most of us are, whether we're putting ourselves down or we are judging ourselves, telling ourselves we can't do it. And so if you can just start to give yourself and feed yourself words and sentences and ideas that are just a bit more healthier for you, then you'll start to also see those differences.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes. Yes. Love it. Okay. So we've got diet. Covered pretty well. So let's be intentional about what we are consuming mentally. And I want to ask you a little bit more about cardio. Because that was one that, again, just using this fitness comparison, cardiovascular health isn't just about the cardiovascular system.  This is about overall brain and body function. We can just do more and feel better. So can you give us some more examples, like what are some things that we could do to build up a good mental fitness level of cardio? 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah, so cardio for mental fitness I think is really easy. One of the simplest ways is to ask better questions. So for example, if I asked you a question like what is a part of your personality that you are working on at the moment? 

SHAWN STEVENSON: So you're asking me. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Go for it. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Let's see. Part of my personality working on? For me right now, I would say I'm working on not thinking. So let's see. How do I, how do I say that? 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Okay, so, but this Okay. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Okay. Oh, go ahead. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: This is cardio. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Because you are having to think. It's not just a question like, oh, like what did you eat for breakfast?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

MAYA RAICHOORA: And most conversations are like that. Yeah. Now you've actually spent a few minutes being like, you know what? Yeah. Actually I haven't thought about that before. So now Yeah, go ahead and answer. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Yeah. I've been thinking about my thinking a lot. I've been thinking about. What do I want to focus on, right? I've got all these options and opportunities and different places where I can make a difference in the world. And I know that I'm in a powerful position and that my life is gonna be directed a certain, once I make a decision, it's gonna go in a certain direction. And so I've been really just taking time to process, consider things like I've never done before. And so that's, that's what I've been doing. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: And I love that. And I think so not only yes, do I feel more connected to you, and I understand it's made me think as well. And so just a power of a question never underestimated, but a lot of us, when we meet others or even just our own reflections for ourselves, we limit to, okay, what went well today? What are we grateful for? All good, but just see, can I make my question a little bit harder? Or a little bit more introspective. So just something like that made your brain have to think a bit differently. Really useful. But another really simple thing with cardio is learn something new. Or whether it's practicing a language, debating, I think debating is a really easy way to do it.

'Cause at school, cardio's really high at school. You are constantly, you know, discussing new things. You are writing, you're doing a lot with the brain. As we get a little bit older, we tend to do the same things. So we are losing a little bit of the how do we continue to just exercise it in that way. So that's really cardio. Just think you've gotta use it so you don't lose it. And that's important as well because if you look at our lifestyles, a lot of it is sedentary and you know, we're just at a computer. So just think, is there any way I can even moving the body is useful for it, but just how do I use the brain? So that it's doing what it's good at, you know?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes. And if you want a easy way to like build and debate into your life, have a teenage son. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Ha. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Alright. 

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Have a teenage son who's a contrarian, you know, just like him and I are constantly going back and forth. But there's a lot of love, don't get me wrong. Yeah. But also, again, it's, it's a challenging situation.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah. And, I'll even go as simple as like crosswords, Sudokus. You know, as you get older, the, the people who are engaging in those brain training games, their brains are sharper, stronger. So don't underestimate, don't underestimate those things as well. Like, feel free to do some brain training or card games, board games. It's all really good for the cardio. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes, yes. Awesome. Awesome. Let's go to consistency. Because with fitness, it's not something you do occasionally. It's the things that you are doing on a consistent basis. So with consistency, what are some of the tips and kind of takeaways? Because I think that we tend to try to get some consistency going when things are really messed up, for example, versus like just a wellness consistency practice.

MAYA RAICHOORA: Yeah. So, the regular reps for the brain is just so crucial because the brain doesn't, so the brain gets good at what you repeat, not what's true. That's really important. So me telling you to, let's say do five minutes of meditation once, it really isn't gonna do much. You might feel a bit better after, but it will honestly have no impact. The key with the mind is to go super small, but regular, become the type of person that can just do one thing for their mind every day. That's all I ask. And so that's why sometimes I'll tell people, just do two minutes a day. Just two minutes. I'm not asking you to do hours and hours, just do two minutes.

And I think often when we think about training the mind, we often have this image of you've gotta be on a mountain somewhere, meditating for hours. But really your mental fitness can be integrated so easily into your day currently, but you've gotta care about it.  So before even asking you to get consistent, I would actually say, do you care about your mind? There's no point you trying to be consistent if you don't even realize the value it has. And sometimes I say to people, I'm like, imagine if you had to pay for your brain, you would take care of it very differently. You know, you would train it a bit more often, you would update the software a bit more often.

And so in the same way, go really, really small and I don't mind what activity you do, but just go so small and stay with it. So many people will be like, oh my, I tried meditation or I tried visualization. It just didn't really work for me. But that's like saying walking doesn't work for you. You're not gonna see the result tomorrow, but it's only through the consistent repetition, that's when you see the result. So it's not to say that we get scared of it or we should feel overwhelmed by it, but I think if you really want to rewire the brain, repetition is absolutely required. You cannot do it without it, active training. Because the other way to rewire the brain is what you have the most intense experience, let's say you get, you get bitten by a dog.

Now, from that moment, you are scared of a dog, right? It's such an intense experience. But we don't have that all the time. So we've got to be proactive in how we're gonna retrain ourselves. And I think, think of it like this as well. So let's say for the last 20 years you are someone who has been telling yourself that, oh, like I'm just an imposter in all these situations. Or, I'm not a Reagan mother, right? You have told yourself that so many times. So technically you are a master at consistency. You've done it very well. Now to change that it requires a similar level of repetition and consistency. 'Cause otherwise the brain is most familiar with whatever you have been repeating beforehand. And that's why, if you can see it that way, you realize that the consistency is not just a part of the mental fitness. It is an absolute requirement. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Alright, up next, in this powerful compilation of mindset messages, we are diving in on one of the most vibey episodes and experiences here on the Model Health Show ever. We've got multi-platinum recording artist Big Sean, who's the author of the national bestselling book, Go Higher. And he's gonna be sharing some incredible insights with you on why having clarity about what you want is a powerful key to manifesting your goals, the truth about luck, why a mindset of being prepared for your opportunity is important. He's gonna share why strategy is a master key to following through and creating your success. Enjoy this next segment from the one and only Big Sean. 

BIG SEAN: For me, I realize, you know, you think you have all these goals and I've done vision boards. I have vision boards. I do all of these things and sometimes I manifest things on them. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes they'll come around years later and I'll be like, Oh yeah, that was on there. Like, you know, but, yeah, that's it. It all happens on God's time, one. And two, you have to realize and pat yourself on the back for all the manifestations and all the things you are doing, you know, even if it's on a small level. We kind of discount ourselves of the small wins every day that we accomplish, you know, whether it's like, Hey man, today I need to, you know, Do my laundry, do this, fold my clothes, I need to brush my teeth, I need to take a shower, I need to do these things that become routine. And, but they really are an example of you setting a goal and accomplishing it. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: It's a muscle. 

BIG SEAN: It is a muscle. And once you recognize that, It just, it's like you feed it, you know what I mean? And you feed the energy of, okay, that's what, that's the type of person I am. I'm going to, I'm an accomplished person. I'm a manifester. It's like, you know, when you're in a relationship sometimes and you do all these sweet things for each other, and then sometimes they can start to become regular. You know, these acts of love starts to just become routine. You don't really recognize them or give them the energy anymore. Not only do they not mean as much, sometimes they start, stop happening. Sometimes they fall off. It's like, whatever you give your energy to and appreciation to, and gratitude for you breathe more of it. You know, it's the simple recipe of success, and one of the key parts of manifestation that I learned is to be thankful for all your wins and to celebrate them in your own way. 

So that is real, real important for everyone to recognize that if you want to create more things in your life. Celebrate the things you're creating right now, even if they don't mean that much to you consciously. Your subconscious can't tell the difference between you being disciplined and with your gratitude, your consciousness can't tell, your subconscious can't tell, it's just going to be watering those seeds and growing more and more that garden that you just are lusting for, you know, and desiring.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, for sure. So, can you talk a little bit about, because again, it was like a we can't even put a number on it. One in a trillion chance, one in a billion chance of you running into Kanye. 

BIG SEAN: Right. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right. And you were doing a certain thing. Can you talk about your intention in that? Because it wasn't just you getting a record deal. You already had an intention on who you want to connect with. 

BIG SEAN: Yeah, period. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: So talk about that. 

BIG SEAN: Yeah, I already, like, when I, one of, one of the key things in manifesting is like clarity. Finding clarity on whatever it is. And when I was in high school, in like 10th grade, and I heard College Dropout from Kanye, I immediately knew it aligned with my type of person that I am, you know? And so when I sat and thought like, who would I want to be signed to? Who would, who would I want to get a record deal from? It was like the first choice at the time. I was like, yeah, whatever. I found out he had a label and I was like, oh, good music. I'm trying to be on good music. Then it was Rockefeller.

Then it was Shady Records. Then it was like, um, T. I. 's Grand Hustle. Then it was Interscope. Def Jam, all, you know, all the, I had like a whole long list. I hope I could find it somewhere cause it's really, it's really incredible. But, yeah, it's just, you know, God hears you, you know, the universe, whatever it is you call that source, it hears you. And it's paying attention to you. That's why I still speak things out. And a lot of things don't go the way I intend for them to go sometimes, you know, it doesn't go the way I want it to. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Talk about that. interaction at the radio station? 

BIG SEAN: Yeah, so You know After I made this list and good music at the top of it I kind of just let it go into the I just kind of let it go, you know I wrote it and I let it be and then one of my friends calls me and is like, Yo, you know Kanye's down at the radio station. And by the way, I was doing a radio show at this radio station every week called the Friday Night Cipher, which is like where you battle rap. And then whoever wins the battle raps gets to rap on air, like over an instrumental, you know, of your choice. And like, I was doing that every week for like over a year. And I was doing that to be able to just be heard on the radio cause one of my dreams was to hear myself on the radio. So every week I would have people be like, Oh, I heard you on the radio rapping. And it was like, that was a real example of manifestation right there. I also did it to get the relationships at the radio station. So when I get the call that Kanye's down at the radio station on a Saturday morning, I was cashing my check, I was a telemarketer at the time and I left the bank, ended up getting down to the station through a crazy series of events. And lied and said I left my phone back there, you know, cause I was there the night before rapping and they let me in cause they knew me.

I've been going there for like over a year and they like, Oh, you know, Kanye's back there, man. I'm like, Oh, oh, word. Like, Oh, like, okay. I have been selling CDs around school. I had my press kit. I was like already prepared. You know what I'm saying? Because not, I didn't realize it, but that was just what it led to. Anyway, I got a chance to rap for him as he was walking out the station. He told me I had 16 bars and I ended up rapping for like 10 minutes. Cause I had, I was writing a rap every single week for the radio station to be on the radio. So I had a hundred raps that I could just pull from and I'm just one after another. I'm just like, you know, rapping like my life depended on it. He heard me out, him and his whole team. Don C, Ivan Jasper, they all heard me out and that was the initial contact and he was like, you got any music? And I had my CD that I've been selling around high school and had my press kit. And it took years and years after that, you know, it's a crazy story, but that was the initial meeting. And he first told me he wasn't looking for any new artists, you know what I'm saying? And I didn't really let that discourage me though. I was just kind of like, you don't think you looking for new artists, but I already know. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: You haven't met me yet. 

BIG SEAN: I just felt it, you know what I mean? So anyway, it's a long, long story, but that is, that is one of the, I feel like a fairytale rap story. And it ended up working out through a crazy series of ups and downs and events. It's something that I'm just like looking forward to passing that energy on because life is You know, it was one of the biggest lessons I learned is that when you do things out of a passion you never know what is leading you to. You know I didn't print up the CDs to have it ready for that moment to rap for. I printed up the CDs because I wanted people to hear the music around my school, in my hood, you know what I mean? I didn't have a press kit ready because I was going to give it to him. I had it ready because I was passing them out saying, I was trying to get my name out there. I wasn't, I wasn't rapping at the station. I didn't know rapping at the station every week would build my confidence up enough to rap for, you know, One of my idols at the time and.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Under pressure.

BIG SEAN: Under pressure and not mess up . But that's how it goes when you do it. You can't even see the full picture You just realize that the picture you thought it was is just a piece to a puzzle.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. 

BIG SEAN: You know, yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, man, that's the preparation. You know that saying preparation meets opportunity. That's what luck is. 

BIG SEAN: Yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: But lucky me, you were, you were putting. Right, you were putting those reps in at the radio station.

BIG SEAN: Mm-hmm . 

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know, for a year, like you said. 

BIG SEAN: Yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: And also having the press kit. Having the CDs. You had all, everything. The preparation met the opportunity. 

BIG SEAN: Yeah. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know. 

BIG SEAN: And you gonna get that whenever you want to pursuit of something. Whenever you really taking it serious and you put them that 10, 000 hours in. And by the way, I know I'm not contradicting myself either that 10, 000 hours of you could call it work, but it come, it could be passion. That's why I say like hard work doesn't dictate success always. I'm sure there are people who worked harder than Michael Jordan who weren't as successful as Michael Jordan. And by the way, just another statistic is that the people who are the highest scorers are also missed the most shots. So don't get trippin, don't trip off of things when they don't go exactly how you want them to, or aren't as like, big as you want them to be or small, or you know, whatever it is it's just like. We realize when you step back just how special it is to be here and to be taking these shots at life. It's a remarkable, dog.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, this leads to another one and you know, we talked about manifest and by the way again, you dig in super deep on all of these five practices: accept, strategize, try, trust, manifest. And again, I love how you embedded it into your story. You didn't just like here's what I mean by try, and you make those words jump out. It's like little Easter eggs, you know, like kind of watching, you know, like a Marvel movie or something. 

BIG SEAN: Right. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: It's really dope. 

BIG SEAN: Thank you, man. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: But, this ties into strategize very, very well because, especially when things might seemingly be going wrong. Strategize really speaks to, for me, the power of questions, right? And asking empowering questions. So talk a little bit about that. 

BIG SEAN: Yeah, strategizing is just one of the key elements to having a life of happiness to me. And I do believe in having a very spontaneous life as well. But when things are project based, which is a lot of our goals we're after in every, any field . Whether it's legal, whether it's medical, whether it's showbiz, whether it's music, whatever it is, right? Whether it's podcasts, whether, you know, strategies are the blueprint of whatever it is you're building. And the strategy is something that is just, it's so. It's so fulfilling to just strategize on something that you're passionate about. I can't stress that enough. Like having strategy is like the key to it's the key. You know, it's the missing key to opening so many doors that a lot of people kind of fall through on.

Because if you're not passionate about something and you're doing it for the wrong reasons, you may fall off on strategy. You make a try and you may, you know, I don't know about trusting, but when it comes to strategy. You're gonna be like, I just, nah. You know, you'll fall off of it. You know, you have to be passionate about what you're strategizing about. And realize that I love strategizing because my life depends on it. When I work out in the gym, I'm strategizing. Like, okay, when I'm in making music, I'm strategizing on like, what do I need to put this team together to bring this song to life, to be able to lift people up, or whatever it is I'm trying to get done.

Strategy is one of the most important things in the world to apply to any situation you're dealing with to me, the main ingredient in manifesting. And what it takes to strategize is just, I talk about it in the book, it's really important to have someone that you consider a mentor. Whether it's a family member, whether it's a friend, whether it's a somebody you have admired, even from afar, even, you know, we got social media now and you can tune into people's interviews. You could tune into people and really just, it really just takes an element of them for you to strategize on what it is you admire about them and how do I apply that to my story. And that having mentors or people you look up to, or people you consider, you know, even just peers or anything that are inspiring you in any way, if you could really drop the ego of it all and just realize that you're a student and you're here to be of service, that strategizing will take you anywhere you need to go. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Alright, I hope that you enjoyed that segment with the one and only Big Sean. We've got one more incredible expert for you here in this powerful compilation dedicated to mindset messages. My top four of this past year is very, very difficult. Again, it's based on the vibes, based on the listener downloads, the views, all that stuff I put together to come up with this algorithmic choice, because it was very, very difficult. But we're gonna end this one with a bang. Now, really quickly, having big Sean here, it was one of those scenarios where you get to see all of the management behind the scenes, right? He's got the hairstylist, he's got the, he got the person doing the face. He's got the per the stylists, all the things.

All right. We had to have an impromptu green room here. Alright? So a lot of people in the music industry, but just entertainment period. But also the public at large is now. Tuning towards, especially somebody with Big Sean temperament, is tuning towards things that are natural and supportive of overall health and wellbeing and beauty. Now, obviously such a big part of that is our nutrition, is our sleep quality. Make sure that we're getting in plenty of activity, but looking at things that are on the cutting edge of science and technology. Things that are minimally or non-invasive, and again, really backed in the data to be effective for supporting what we deem to be qualities of beauty.

Look no further than. This incredible double-blind, randomized placebo controlled trial that took 76 patients with notable wrinkles and treated half of their face with red light therapy near infrared therapy, or both, while other patients received a fake light treatment that was used as a placebo, the participants received two light therapy treatments each week for four weeks. And here's what happened. With just four weeks of treatment, participants had up to a 36% reduction in wrinkles and up to a 20% increase in skin elasticity by utilizing red light therapy. So yes, red light therapy checks the box of beauty in really remarkable ways. But one of the ways it's being utilized to the greatest degree right now is in the treatment for pain is in the treatment of recovery from whether it's exercise or injuries.

There's something special about red light therapy. A meta-analysis published in the BMJ sought to see if red light therapy could reduce pain in people with osteoarthritis versus a placebo. The study included 1063 people and found that red light therapy significantly reduced knee pain in study participants. Not only that, the results appeared to have semi lasting effects with benefits seen up to three months after treatment. That's incredible. The researcher stated, "the positive effect from red light therapy seems to last longer than those of a widely recommended pain killer drugs." Powerful.

Incredibly powerful. But here's the icing on the cake of that study. Red light therapy was also found to not only reduce pain, but to improve the function of the participant's knees. So it's not just masking a symptom, it's helping to restore the quality of the tissues. Now, with this being said, I mentioned a study using Sham Red Light therapy. All right? Just because it looks red doesn't mean that it has the right luminance to provide these results. And this is why I'm such a huge fan of the Lume Box. Each bulb with the Lume box, this is a handheld. Portable red light therapy device and near infrared therapy device as well. I travel with this.

It's always sitting on the arm of my couch as well. Each bulb emits both red and near infrared light. The wavelengths and a radiance have been verified in third party labs. Its FDA, registered and meets key IEC. Safety standards for electrical and EMF safety. Incredibly special. And right now you can get $260 off of your Lume box or another Lume box or a gift for a friend. I have two Lume boxes myself and I also get Lume boxes as gifts very frequently for the people that I care about. And again, right now you get $260 off when you go to thelumebox.com/model. That's T-H-E-L-U-M-E-B-O x.com/model for $260 off and have your very own science backed red light therapy device right there in your own home for use whenever you want.

Again, go to thelumebox.com/model to take advantage right now. And without further ado, let's get to our final expert in this mindset Compilation and running the anchor leg is one of the most remarkable teachers and minds that I've ever had the opportunity to connect with. He's a dear friend now as well. He's a leading psychiatrist, multi-time bestselling author. He's conducted several studies on mindset and mental health, and he's just incredibly swaggy as well. I gotta say it, I'm talking about none other than Dr. Srini Pillay. All right, he comes from the bottom right. He grew up in poverty, and just to see how he's developed his consciousness, his authority, and also his style is just super cool and it's awesome to be around.

Incredibly insightful. And in this segment, he's gonna be sharing the surprising power of unfocusing. He's gonna share why it's critical for your mind, for you to be able to tinker, dabble, doodle, and try things. Enjoy this final segment. From the one and only, Dr. Srini Pillay. 

DR. SRINI PILLAY: A lot of people think that focus is the way to get through the day, right? Everyone talks about focus, it's like focus, focus, focus, fatigue, and then you're out for the count. But the problem with that is that, is that the brain there are two circuits which are often competing with each other.

There's the focus circuit, which is in the prefrontal cortex where, which we use to go through lists, you know, figure out when to come here, how to write a book. But at the same time, there's the Unfocus circuit. And the unfocus circuit is, we used to, we, it's called the default mode network. That which we used to think was a do mostly nothing network, the DMN. But now we realize that that network is super important. It's the network in the brain that allows you to juggle multiple things at the same time. It allows you to think abstractly. It's also called the crystal ball of the human brain. And so if you start focusing, you turn that, that part of your intelligence off, which is sort of, most people think intelligence is just focusing and absorbing information, but intelligence is also associating things.

Intelligence is also knowing that you have enough brain energy and focus can take that energy away. Also, you know, when you overly focus or this, you know what a lot of people don't realize is that, is that when you're focused on one thing, you're not paying attention to what's around you, right? You might be focused on your work, you might lose a girlfriend because you just didn't pay attention. You might focus on one invention like Anne Wang did, and when Anne Wang focused on, on making the word processor, version two, the PC was happening, but he wasn't looking around him and so he became bankrupt. Also, if you focus with your nose to the grindstone and you're like, no, things are gonna stay the same, I'm just focused on what I'm doing.

You're not paying attention to upcoming trends. So you're, you're not gonna know, you know what AI to be aware of. You're not gonna know, you know, what, what to pay attention to. That's, that's coming in the future. And what people, a lot of people don't realize is that in the brain, the part of your brain that makes up the story about who you are, the autobiographical self is actually the unfocused network. So, you know, nobody is their LinkedIn profile. You go to a LinkedIn profile, you're like, what is that? Like, sometimes people will, will introduce me, like my LinkedIn profile and it'll be like. Yeah, that's like what I did, but it's not necessarily who I am. What we know is that the focus network will not allow you to collect the important elements of your life story to make up a narrative about who you are, but the unfocused network does.

So what? The unfocused network and also when, when you're focused, you're focused on one thing. But as you know, you know, I think a lot of your books have been this way. When you are unfocused, you make associations other people would never have thought to make. And it's when you are unfocusing that this creativity comes out. So what I wanted to tell people was that unfocusing is a way of refueling your brain for more energy. It's a way of becoming more creative. It's a way of paying attention to what's around you so you don't miss out. It's a way of paying attention to future trends, and it's also a way of connecting more deeply with who you are. And I think one of the greatest tragedies that I've seen is that people will just focus, focus, focus, and then pass out. But they don't take advantage of this unfocused brain that can take them through the vehicle of imagination into parts of themselves that they might never have known. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, yeah. You know, in our culture today, more than ever, we are obsessed with trying to focus, you know, trying to find a way to get stuff done, to focus. And it's, it's very, it, it's very rewarded in our culture. But as you mentioned, we have this whole other capacity that actually in many ways, and you detail this in the book, it makes focusing on the things that we wanna focus on even more fulfilling and rewarding. You. You great. Gave a great analogy of focus being like a flashlight. Right, and, but that's just looking at one specific domain. There's all this happening in the periphery that we can miss out on. 

DR. SRINI PILLAY: Yeah, absolutely. And I think what, what a lot of people, I think in the age of AI, being able to unfocus is particularly important because AI is, you know, think about chat, GPT, you, you basically can ask it pretty much anything you want to ask and it will do it. So there's real estate that's not getting used in your brain, and if you think of use it or lose it, then you have to ask yourself, if I'm, if I'm not thinking about the stuff anymore, what's happening with that part of my brain? If I'm not remembering then what's happening to my memory center? And then all of a sudden people are saying, well, there are alarming rates of dementia, or there are increasing rates of suicide amongst the young.

Well, if you don't have a meaning making in your brain, which is created largely through the unfocused network, then you're not gonna feel like life is anything. So I think it's, it's super important to not just have that focus flashlight, but to recognize that you can explore the depths of your own being through the techniques that I outlined in the book. You know, when, when I wrote the book I was, I was sort of like, I argued with my agent for a while 'cause I was like, no one's gonna know what this tinker, dabble doodle tries. And she said, no. But I like the, I like the ring of it because I think people are, are actually yearning to play. But a lot of us when we grow up, we're like, I dunno, plays when you're younger, when you grow up, maybe you can play with your kids.

But playfulness is something that we lose. And I think it's a tragedy when you lose the capacity to play. And, and people don't even realize that, that the capacity to play involves fantasy and fantasy is what happens when you're like, ah, let me imagine. Like, what if I were something? And what's interesting, and we can get to this at a, at some at some point, is that that kind of fantasy actually protects the body. It it, it actually helps you become more physically. Well the, the, there's a para psychosomatic institute that studies the connection between the mind and the body. And one of the things they said was that people who engage in fantasy more are actually physically better off as well. So I think the unfocus network in the brain is one of the. Key networks that doesn't just improve your psychology, it has the potential to improve your biology as well. 

SHAWN STEVENSON: If we can be aware of the situation that we're in, where we have immense freedom, so many different things to choose from, some of us can get overwhelmed, some of us can be paralyzed. But this can bring about more of a reason for us to kind of, again, take back control of our minds and use our focus with intention, but also use our unfocus with intention.

And so I want to talk a little bit more about this and just to share really quickly some quick hitters on the default mode network. You talk about this in the book. So this really important, valuable aspect of the human brain, it acts as a distraction filter. You shared that it builds mental flexibility. It integrates the past, present, and future. It helps you express your creativity. It helps you to dredge up intangible memories and connect cool things. So there's a lot that this default mode network does, but we are not accessing that if we're hyper-focused and depleting our focus. And so what I wanna talk about now is how do we utilize unfocus with intention and you give some strategies to Unfocus. So I want to go through these right now and give everybody these insights on how to get there, right? And it's gonna be different for different people, but these are some pretty practical science back ways to get there. One of them is a reverie. Let's talk about that.

DR. SRINI PILLAY: Yeah. So reverie is essentially similar to what I described in positive constructive daydreaming, where you are in a state of wishful imagining and you give yourself permission to just keep going with the pleasure. So, you know, let's say you say, well, I'm lying in a field, and then you're thinking, oh, this is kind of amazing. Somebody I truly love kiss me gently on the fort. And then we ran through a field together, holding hands and then saw a pool and when we saw the pool, we decided to dive in and we were laughing. And as we were laughing, we saw a bird gently fly down on, onto a plant and a butterfly, and we looked up at the sky and didn't realize that out of the blue, these clouds were coming over and it started to rain.

And we got trenched, but we were ecstatic in being. So I just, I'm just building the story of I could go on and how often do we let our minds build their own stories? You know? 'cause you, if you could go on with that story, and it could become quite profound. You could say, I was lying next to this person and didn't understand why I both loved and hated them at the same time. And then, and you could be like, oh man, that's the, my reverie took me there. And, and you're like, yeah. And then I realized that. That whatever the physical was, was an illusion. And that actually the reason I was here on earth was to allow that ecstasy that I experienced on earth to open the door to the possibility of something more.

And so reverie is the doorway to possibility. And what a lot of people do is they live in a highly probable world where they, the reality determines their commitments. Now, if reality determines your commitments, life's just gonna suck. And you're just gonna say, there's nothing I can do. But if your commitments determine your reality, now you're training that commitment with reverie, because you're saying actually, life can be pretty, life can be amazing. Now, when I say that to people, people say, oh, that's not realistic. And what I say is, you have to take the responsibility to be the architect who draws the blueprint for your life. If you take your blueprint from life, it's not gonna get you very far. But if you have the courage to actually draw up your own blueprint, and if you say, this is the blueprint I have, this is the ideal self that I want.

Studies by Richard Boyatzis at Case Western have shown that people get much further on in life, not if they're putting out fires, but if they take the time to formulate an ideal self. And if you formulate an ideal self, it becomes the blueprint for your brain to say, oh, this is not part of the plan. This is part of the plan. This is not part of the plan. So when reverie opens up the door to possibility, you know, and, and people will say, well, that's not highly probable. Well, think about it. If you want an exceptional life, it's an exception. And so no exceptional life is highly probable. It's if your life is highly probable, you are not on an exceptional track.

You, you really wanna live a life of low probability. And the way to breathe in a life of low probability is to breathe through the lens of possibility of saying to yourself, okay, let me ask myself like, what is possible? You know, what in, in what world can I pursue this? And, you know, I often will tell people the story of two career moves in my life, which I feel really exemplify possibility for me. One was, I was in South Africa at a conference and I went to this great talk and I was sort of nerding out about water intoxication in schizophrenia or something, standing next to the speaker waiting for a car to pick me up. And I just looked at him and I said, you know, I really enjoyed your talk.

And he said, oh, thanks very much. And I said, I'm just getting a major vibe here. I feel like you could change my life. And he looked at me and he said, well, what in what way? And I said, I dunno, I'm just, I'm telling you what I feel. And he said, well, what, what are you interested in? And I said, well, I'm really interested in the brain. I'm really interested in human emotions and trying to understand how I can bring physiology and emotion together. He said, well, I'm at the University of Stellenbosch. It was during apartheid in South Africa at the time. He said the, there's a fellowship, the scholarship that's due tomorrow, we've never given it to a person of color before and we've never given it to anyone in the field of psychiatry.

The chances of you're getting it are very low, but if you do get it, it will change your life. And I said, well, can I send an application? He said, yeah, sure, but I just know it's not highly likely. And so I sent the application to him. He walked it over a few hours later, gave me a call and said, congratulations and welcome to Stellenbosch. And I was like, what? Like how? How did that happen? And then I went to Stellenbosch for a year. I was in this tiny dorm room and I had my own little sort of electric frying pan and a small refrigerator. And then I remembered my examiner, it was two years before that my final examiner in South Africa happened to be from NYU.

And so they would invite external examiners and I had done particularly well. And he said, you know, honestly, you should be at Harvard. And I was like, we have to like take another exam in America. I was thinking of maybe going to England and then I didn't even really know what it was, but on one particular day in a state of reverie, I was like, I dunno what it would be like to be at Harvard. And so I called up Harvard and I said, I wanna speak to the head of Harvard. And the person was like, head of Harvard what? And I was like, well, if you wanna get in, speak to the person at the top. And so they, they were like, um, okay. Head of Harvard. I said, how about medical school? So I get through the medical school, they were like, you know, there are lots of departments here.

Like head of what I said, how about psychiatry? And the head of department of psychiatry happened to be walking past his secretary's desk. He happened to go to the bathroom. He almost never picked up his phone. He picked up his phone and I said, hi, my name is Srini Pillay. I'm just sitting here in a small dorm room in South Africa thinking, boy, wouldn't it be great to be at Harvard? And he said, he told me later, I thought you were crazy, but I thought that, you know, what, can I stop? It had to be decent. So he said, well, why don't you send me a CV and a note and I'll pass it around. We'll see what happens. And then a couple weeks later, I get a call saying, Dr. Jonathan Cole, who's the father of psychopharmacology, wants to interview you.

I get a phone interview and then a couple weeks later I get a FedEx saying, congratulations and welcome to Harvard. Now, there are a lot of people who would, who've done well, and I did do well. So it opened the door for me. But there, but most people who did well would not embrace that possibility. And it's an extreme example. But imagine if in your life that equivalent is waiting for you and you just didn't dare to ask for it. You know what, what, why not ask for the greatest possibility? And you might say, well, you know, I can't get there 'cause I'm in reality. Well, that's where reverie comes in. Save some reverie time. Let your mind flow.

Let your body join you in what feels real for you. And as you said, the most intuitive things can, can light up for us. I mean that in those instances, they were allowing my intuition to take over. Now have I used my intuition and being wrong a million times? You know, probably a billion times, but it's those few times when you get it right that actually make a difference in massive movements in your life. And so I think when reverie opens the door to possibility, it not only activates the default mode network, but it allows that network to communicate, gathering all these little bits of information to put together a plan about how to get where you want to get to. And it's not all conscious, much of it is outside of conscious control.

So I encourage reverie as a habit. I encourage possibility thinking, which is another way of activating this default mode network. I, you know, you can, if you wanna start simply five to 15 minutes of napping, gives you one to three hours of clarity. So why wouldn't you when you're dragging in the middle of the afternoon, give yourself that, that gift, a positive, constructive dreaming, which I mentioned earlier, is another way of activating that unfocused network. And, another technique that I cover, and there are, you know, many more than that in the book, but is a technique called psychological Halloweenism, which is a term that I coined to describe a phenomenon where they gave two, they gave the same person a creative problem to solve. They said, now I want you to be a rigid librarian and take on whatever you think the stereotype is.

So they were like rigid librarian standing there, and they were statistically significantly less likely to solve the problem if they were a rigid librarian than if they were an eccentric poet. So if you put on a cloak and you walk around like a, like a poet, all of a sudden your brain has the permission to be creative. So when we cannot solve problems in life, it's not because we don't have the horsepower to do this, it's because we are stuck in a frozen self. And the default mode network codes for that self and tapping into that unfocused network can allow you to change these different and rearrange these different components of yourself to be able to get to that next level.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Alright, I hope that you enjoyed this powerful compilation dedicated to mindset messages to usher us into the new year, or whenever you're listening to this, apply these insights starting now. Start writing the story of your life that you truly. Deserve and desire. If you enjoy this, please share it out with somebody that you care about. Help this momentum, this motivation, this inspiration to go viral as Dr. Michael Beckwith shared in his segment. This, when we're talking about positivity and empowerment and service, that can be contagious as well. And so it's up to us. 

We've got some incredible, incredible world leading guests and powerful masterclass coming your way very, very soon. So make sure to stay tuned. Take care, have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon.