Listen Now

Chances are most people have not seriously thought about taking a Vow of Silence.. let alone not speaking for a year! Today we talk with Andrew about his interesting life experiences, inspiration behind a 40 day vow of silence, and how that relates to his next journey inward of not speaking with a Vow of Silence for a year. As he came to the door you wouldn’t think that this very unassuming guy with a decent size beard sporting a simple Superman shirt would have such interesting life stories to share. The old adage rings true.. you can’t judge a book by its cover. Have you ever had strep throat or something that made it very difficult to speak for a while? Ok now imaging going for an entire year not speaking or verbally communicating with what most of us never give much thought to.. speech. Today we are talking with Andrew just days before his personal journey he was taking with a vow of silence for a year. Ironically I ran across an ad on craigslist he had posted looking for a documentary film maker to follow his experiences just days before he was set to voluntarily stop talking. For most of us speech is more than likely taken for granted most of our lives. Walking through life we are presented with many options to have various experiences in life and most of them are a direct result of the choices we make. While on his first journey inward with a 40 day Vow of Silence Andrew learned a lot about himself and others he interacted with on a daily basis.Listen now to Andrew as he shares his unique story ups and downs in his life leading up to a 40 day vow of silence. It takes a very strong person to share some of his deep personal and heartfelt emotional struggles publicly with the Listen Now Podcast listeners. From the podcast: “Its a big deal. You know most people view talking as kind of an indispensable thing.. and so when you come along and just through it in the garbage can there is a reaction there. The brain has to ask a lot of questions”. They say 90% of communication is non verbal but that can be difficult to fully appreciate if we put so much of our energy and expression into verbal form. When asked what forms of communication he was excluding for his Vow of Silence Andrew said mostly everything except for laughing (he loves to laugh)! Non verbal communication such as a shrug or nodding a simple yes or no and also provisions for compassion (like letting loved ones know he was ok if he was running very late – as an example were allowed. Not speaking also creates many challenges when you think about it so in order to help Andrew is thinking ahead this time by having business cards made up to help explain why he was not talking to a cashier at a checkout buying groceries for example. I asked if he was doing this to raise awareness for an organization or cause. He said that much of his life was about taking and he wanted this next year to focus on working with various charitable organizations such as animal rescues and for the homeless. He said a big part of not speaking would be to kind of take himself out of the equation so to speak to give back. Andrew’s vow of silence for 12 months started Sunday a little over a week ago on his 33 birthday. In talking with him while strolling on the beach it made you kind of reflect on life in many ways. The relaxing backdrop of the gentle ocean waves with the fresh salt air reminded you that nature always has a way to purify things. Hopefully Andrew will have the best of luck and much new insight into himself and others as he seeks to understand. Rock on man and safe travels on your internal 12 month journey!     “Free from clutching at themselves the hands can handle. Free from looking after themselves the eyes can see. Free from trying to understand itself thought can think”. ~ ?       Show notes from today’s Podcast.. A pic will be added in the next week (the site was recently updated not allowing to add now) The show notes from today’s podcast when Andrew has his blog up – the link will be here. This was a cool article about taking a Vow of Silence that I found surfing the web. http://arganesh3.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/vow-of-silence-practice-and-benefits/ Learn more About the Listen Now Podcast. Reach out with questions, comments, and suggestions for the Podcast by getting in Contact with me.

What comes to mind when you think of the Divine or if someone asks you about God? Today the Listen Now Podcast talks with Dr. Nick and his insight into union with the Divine. No matter what you believe in or what kind of spiritual path you follow in your life hopefully you will find a grain of knowledge in today’s episode. Nick speaks on the many aspects and human struggles we all experience traveling a spiritual path to know the Divine. Emotions like love, faith, hope, generosity, anger, hatred, fear, worry, courage and personal goals while striving to becoming free of attachment are mental exercises and tests we all are challenged with on a daily basis. From the podcast – Dr. Nick says “the trick is to begin daily to less and less and less judge criticize condemn others and just to love them”. He also explains why love is the most powerful force. Learning about the Divine / God and becoming better than who we are now is a daily challenge. These high level concepts may be hard to comprehend at first but at the very least simply being exposed to new insightful concepts spur growth in a fertile mind.  Even if something seems stressful at the time try to learn from every experience in life. I met Nick a couple of years ago when I was finally convinced to consider a chiropractor for a back issue. At the time my view of chiropractic was that the stereo type was black and white they work on your neck or back and that was it. Man was I wrong!! It turns out Dr. Nick was much further along in his spiritual journey than most “average” people. As a person Nick looks like your avg Joe but as is with most things in life the more you learn about something / someone the more you realize really interesting, intelligent, and spiritually knowledgeable people are actually right in front of you every day. He incorporates Zone healing into traditional chiropractic. Any time you have a conversation with someone on a semi regular basis you learn more about who they  really are and in doing so you begin to appreciate them for who they are. Nick or Dr. Nick is one of those people that most of us truly  can learn a lot from. Today’s episode of Listen Now truly was an honer and a privilege! I was happy to be able to share Nick’s conversation and enlightened insight with you the listener! “To believe in something and not to love it is dishonest.” ~ Gandhi   Show notes from today’s Podcast.. If your in Hampton Roads Va. and want to learn more about Dr. Nick or need a Chiropractor with a higher understanding check out his web site. Wikipedia has a good article / page on Divinity and the Divine. Learn more About the Listen Now Podcast. Reach out with questions, comments, and suggestions for the Podcast by getting in Contact with me.

What is the Listen Now Podcast and exactly what is the show about? It is an ongoing documentary style podcast about interesting people, unique perspectives, philosophy, personal struggles, great accomplishments, valuable lessons learned, and our life here on this planet. The Listen Now Podcast is presented in the form of recorded audio for you the listener and shared as only a truly great story or absolute point blank advise could be told as only each person can.. in their own words. Listeners can tune in to hear the ongoing documentary of peoples lives spoken and shared with no fluff or bull. Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of “crackpot” than the stigma of conformity and on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost. – Thomas J. Watson Each of us walk a path in life. As a thinker I often find the gears of thought still in downshifted ponder mode after a conversation with someone. By speaking with and listening to the people in our everyday lives opportunities present themselves. When two or more people meet human interaction takes place while crossing paths at that moment. The voice of opportunity to learn from one another calls for those who listen. The Listen Now Podcast will give a voice to some of the most intriguing people I find on my journey.. path in life. Its true we all have a story to tell or something to share and the Listen Now Podcast hits the record button on the microphone when I meet someone that has something to say and is willing to share with the world. I wonder if we were to meet would you have something to say for Listen Now? If you have any comments, questions, something to share, or would like to be a part of Listen Now the please contact me! Listening to the Listen Now Podcast you might find yourself wandering down the rabbit hole of multifaceted personalities as we speak to people from all walks of life but if you pay attention an episode or two just might speak to you. The topics will vary and subjects will change but each individual person’s perspectives and thoughts will always be new. Some may be out of the norm of society’s white picket fence stereotype but diversity truly is the spice of life so just appreciate it all. Listen Now comes with only one guarantee. At times the podcast will be thought provoking and may even stir up a wide range of emotions. listen now podcast logo long To listen or not is a choice I leave to you. If your not close minded and brave enough to listen then you might just find a grain of knowledge on Listen Now Podcast to aid in your path in life. Philosophically this could go in a million directions but as we listen to outwardly ordinary looking people sharing their extraordinary times in life, life changing moments, and valuable lessons learned along the way. I may not be much of a writer but one of my gifts is the ability to not just hear but to really “listen” and listening goes hand in hand with recording “sound”, creating music as an artist, and now producing this podcast. Everyday I wake up.. just like you. Along with keys one of the first things I do is gab my microphone and recorder before heading out the door. We are all here for a reason and everyone has something to offer for those with the willingness to learn. To Listen Now or not the choice is yours.   Show notes from today’s Podcast.. Learn more and check out the About page for Listen Now. Reach out with questions, comments, and suggestions for the Podcast by getting in Contact with me.