SSP 050: Josh Collins - The Purpose of Evolution

Well, well, well, we have made it. This is the half century of the Stage Shifters podcast. And if you're joining me for this very special episode, thank you. It's been quite the journey. We're just over three years in, really. This started back in 2017. I left my corporate job and decided to fly out to Canada. Toronto, Ontario, to be exact. And on my way over there, I stopped in Sydney. Stopped by Sydney because that was where my connecting flight was to get out to Canada. And I spent five days in Sydney hanging out with one of my best friends, Josh Collins, who we traveled all through Canada and North America together after our semester abroad on exchange. And, you know, we were chatting about some of the deeper spiritual truths that we. We always do when we hang out. And I told him, I was like, mate, Josh, we got to. We got to start a podcast, mate. We got to get this thing up and going. People would get value from our conversations. And, you know, a little after, about a month after I arrived in Toronto, I called him up and I said, man, let's. Let's record our first chat. Let's do our first podcast. And I remember, you know, just having my ipod headphones in and just jumping on a call with Josh and us just having a conversation like we normally would. One episode turns into 10, and then all of a sudden, I started to just flow with connecting and bringing different guests on, with all the people I was meeting along my journey and to reflect on how far I've come in that time in the three and a half years since I started this. It's. It's really amazing to be able to come back and create something special and share my insights on my journey through a medium such as podcasting. And I've learned so much from this and met some amazing people from this. So if you're listening to this, thank you. It means so much to know that you're getting insight from my content. And in this episode, I've reconnected with Josh. You know, he was in Sydney. I'm in Perth right now. And we did what we normally do when we started this. Just talk about the things that really matter, the truths, our feelings and life. And I know you're gonna get a ton of value out of this, because I got a ton of value out of this. So, guys, if there's anything in the episode that resonates with you, please reach out. Would love to hear from you. And if you want to learn more about what I'm up to, check us out on Instagram date shifters. And I'll Leave you to it. This was a special occasion for me and Josh, and I'm glad you get to share in this with us. So, without Further ado, the 50th episode of the State Shifters Podcast.

Welcome to the State Shifters Podcast, a.

Show dedicated to helping you discover your.

True potential through connecting the mind, body and soul.

Josh Collins, Mate, this is a very special occasion. This is a big time. This is 50 episodes of the State Shifters podcast, man. And it's, it's, it's a real honor to have you back on here because we kicked things off back in. It was probably October of 2018, I believe we had our first episode. 2017, actually.

I think it was.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And for those who've been around since day one, the old State Shifters podcast, it was me and you for probably the first 10 episodes. Yeah, I think so. And this idea of starting this podcast, like the inception of State Shifters Podcast, came about when I was. Just left my corporate job and I was on my way over to Canada. I stopped by to visit you in Sydney and I said, mate, we, we should record our conversations. We're having some deep, insightful conversations here. I don't know if you remember.

Of course, yeah.

And I was like, dude, we've got to get this good to get this podcast up and going. And then the minute I got to Canada was the first thing on my list to do. And here we are 50 episodes later, man, and it's been quite the journey. So I just want to thank you so much for being on here for the half century. How are things in your world, mate?

Good, mate. Well, I'll tell you what, it was humble beginnings. And to see the types of people you've had on since me, it makes me feel like a bit of a small fry, I think, in the grand scheme of things. But I'm very. It was an honor to be part of where it all started. I've been, I've been good, mate. I mean, good. I've been in lockdown like everyone else, but I'd say thriving. I've been thriving in lockdown.

Oh, I'm excited to explore into that, mate. I'm very excited to hear what's been thriving. And I will say, even though we've had had some pretty amazing guests on here, bro, there's been a couple of our episodes were some of the most listened to episodes out of all of them. One of them in particular was. Was spiritual growth and romantic relationships. That episode stuck out. I think that's, that's one of the second most listened to episodes. So for those who want to go back and listen to that one, I think that's probably back around 20, 21 after. Check that.

It's nice to hear. I've gone back and listened to a few of them over the years and it's, it's funny. It's funny in this. I think I was talking to someone the other day thinking about this type of medium because obviously podcasts are so popular now. There's, it's like, I know you edit them, but it's fairly unedited. You know, we come in unprepared, we just have a conversation and you go back and listen. You go. I wonder like, what I was thinking on that day impacted how, you know, how I presented the message and what I was thinking at that time. It's interesting to go back and like look at even the progression over the last three years, dude, 100%.

And even just our lives in general. Like, I remember the first few episodes, most of the first few episodes. I didn't even have a job at the time. I just arrived in Canada. Yeah, I just left a corporate job in a full transition. I remember at times going to sit in that forest behind my girlfriend's place in Mississauga in Ontario. And I remember meeting, just meeting random people and I would inspire ideas and we would chat about it on the call. And now to reflect on how much life can shift in three years. Bro. Like, you know, they say we overestimate what we can achieve in one year, but underestimate what we can achieve in three years. And I do do believe that like the three, the three year vision, like, if you can think big, it's totally doable. I mean like, where have you come in three years? Like, what's shifted in you?

Hey, like, yeah, it's great. Well, look at, yeah. Your proof of that. I look at it. Look how much, how much change you've had. You're. I'm the same. I've still had like, it may not look at, I don't think for when I, if I look at it in a short, like short view, but if I look at it bit more zoomed out. I've changed heaps not just in person but in work as well. The amount I've learned from people that I've been working with or that are working for me. And like, I get to see, I get to see a different side of life. I'm not like, not in the same aspects as you and not on the same path, but I get to look at, I don't know people's growth from a different perspective, which is. It's cool.

Yeah, dude. And since, you know, since this whole coronavirus thing has kind of unfolded, that people have been forced into growing in new ways, in unexpected ways. And at the time of this recording, we're still kind of in the midst of the lockdown, and Sydney probably is a little bit more harsher on the restrictions than we are out here in Perth. But nonetheless, it's been pretty intense, probably four to eight weeks for most people around the world going through lots of. Lots of inner growth. And some people may be still in the storm of their own emotional turmoil that this is brought up for a lot of people. And I'll be honest, it's brought up some stuff for me as well, having to shift and adapt the way go about living my life. You know, things such as like going to the gym and all these other areas now affected. But for a lot of people, work has been the main thing that's been affected. Fortunately, you still have a job and you're still working, but, like, what have you noticed has been some of the effects on your end in terms of working from home and how people have responded to that?

Yeah, I think I'm still talking about.

It from a position of privilege because.

Obviously I've still got a job, I've.

Still got a place to live. Like, I'm still comfortable. No one that I know of or as close to as, you know, fallen sick.

So from that perspective, I suppose my.

Challenges are relatively small. But still, I think challenges, I'm still the majority. And I think a lot of those.

Small challenges people still struggle with, like. Like what you're saying, small things, like out of routine, I can't go to.

The gym, can't go outside as easily.

Working from home. Like all these small things that we take for granted in the, like every day.

I think people. People do tend to struggle with.

I think let's do what you always talking about.

It's connection, man. People struggle without connection.

I think people underestimate how much like.

How important it is in their lives that they can just.

They can just talk, like go up and talk to people or like get.

To have conversations with people. Yeah. See family members on it, like whenever they want.

It's funny when you, like, you get.

To times like this and people, it's like you don't know what you've got till it's gone.

But I feel like in particular, I.

Was reflecting on this the other day and I say, I'm say I'm thriving because I feel like all of the internal, like inner work that I've put in across like the last seven, eight years has culminated in the ability to deal with trauma more effectively. Like trauma and you know, like depressions like this in society doesn't seem to have as much of an effect because I've done so much inner work over the last like seven, eight years. And I can just kind of. I just take it as another. It's just another thing that happens. Like it's not good or bad, it's just, it's just an event and it's the person that labels it as a bad situation. And as I said, I'm still in a privileged position where it hasn't impacted me greatly. So maybe I'll change my tune then. But from where I'm sitting right now, I still see that I have the power to impart my impression on the situation. Not the situation impression, like impressioning me. So I've been, I've been accepting everything that comes, man. I'm enjoying the work from home.

I get the dog, the dog sits.

Next to me all day. You take your, dial it back to the simple things. Like I just see my life right now very simple and I'm happy, I'm happy with that. I might lose my luxuries of being able to go outside whenever I want. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

You've always been a simple man in.

The best sense of the word.

Well, dude, even when we grew up in Perth together, man, you know, it's. We didn't do anything too extravagant to have fun. I remember I was down at the park the other day and I've been taking back to simplicity as well. The things that I used to do for fun as a kid, which was go down the park and kick the football around.

And I've seen your videos at Winthrop Park.

Yeah.

Surrounded by the pine trees.

Was down there this morning with another good friend of ours, Alex Castiello. He's a semi pro footballer down there. Back down there this morning with him, training and thinking, wow, this is back to what I grew up doing as a kid before all the distractions and all the pressures of you got to make a living, you got to thrive in the world. Before that, before all that as a kid, what do we do? We just went, have fun, play. And I'm finding myself going back to that and I'm getting a lot of peace from, from doing that. And I reflected on all our years growing up like down at the cricket nets just, just for Hours down there, playing in, in the afternoons. And if anything, that's been my main lesson from this man is like after coming back from Toronto last couple of years and really going all in on like starting, trying to start a business and grow and involve. You can't forget to just have fun. And fun is sometimes in the, in the simple things that we don't need to go out to restaurants and bars and clubs and spend lots of money doing lots of things. It's found in the simple things. Maybe staying at home, playing some games with your family, whatever that is. Tell me more about some of the simple activities you've been doing that you found pleasure in.

On a work related one, I've actually found even my work life has been more, I don't know, not simple but less pressurized. Like I've actually felt it. I think that most of it comes from internal pressure you get, you put on yourself in order to meet expectations of boss or whoever it might be. But I think the home aspect has actually made my client relationships really nice because you get to see everyone in a home setting and you get to realize that behind the facade of like the work relationship, everyone's just a person and you're just dealing.

Like you get to see people at.

Home in a T shirt and like a beanie when you know, you'd usually see them in a suit or whatever.

Yeah.

And you're like, wow, they're just people at the end of the day. Like, even if, even if in a pressured situation they come across to you as slightly hostile or you know, trying to blame or whatever it is, you can see it as, it's just kind of a sheet on top of their actual personality and it's not really, it's not really them. And you see them sitting at their, at their desk at home, you're like, well then like I wonder what they do on the weekends. Like what, what are they, who are they behind this person at work?

So I've actually, I've actually, it's benefited my work a lot because I've been.

Able to get a bit more, have more personal contact with my, the people I work with, like internal and external to the company, which has been, it's been fun. I've actually enjoyed that aspect of it. But what else have I been doing, man?

Simple stuff. I get to take the dog for a walk every day. I take it down the dog park. That's one of my, one of my few trips outside of the house.

Yeah, I mean they just. Dogs are a great example of not Taking anything personally. It's just, you know, she's happy as long as she's running. Running an empty field. And then I sit down at my coffee. Man, that's. Honestly, it's like. It's been very humbling, like, to get back to basics. Yeah.

What about you, dude?

I've been. I've been trying to balance this, this. This. This interesting dynamic between. Because, like, right now, I still take a lot of calls at home.

Right.

You're doing a lot of coaching and that kind of stuff. And I'm noticing if I don't take the time out to manage and be with my emotions, I notice it can start to drain my energy. So I've split up my day into prioritizing three core practices, rituals or routines around emotional management, meaning, like, letting go of emotions, emotional clearing, energetic clearing, whatever you want to call it. Physical, you know, physiology, moving the body, doing some sort of movement practice, and then mental. Whether it's more of a mindfulness practice, whether that's going out for a walk, sitting out in nature, reading a book, or even just like, starting to become more present and aware of the thoughts that I'm having and finding this, like, nice balance between doing, going deep into a deep meditation or something that allows me to connect back with my emotional body and let go of whatever emotions are maybe hanging on to throughout the day and then combining that with, you know, some movement to get my energy up and then slowing down and going for walks. I've got a lot of value out of that and going back to the park, either. Just bringing an Eckhart Tolle book and just going back to the old parks I used to go to and just sit and read and slow, Slow things down. My. Dude, my natural tendency is one of, like, driving forward. Like, what can I do next? I need to do more. I've got to speed things up. How can we get this done quicker? And that. That is, like, I'm prone to anxiety if I don't prioritize these practices.

Yeah.

You know.

I saw a lot from.

Like, when you were in Bali, a lot of your content shifted, I think, towards being more present with, like. Yeah, not so much future. Like, you seem like a lot of your internal thinking was around, like, how can I be more present? Like, stop focusing on gain.

I found that.

I found that. I found that nice. I was like, it was nice to see that you had that kind of small realization again while you were there. Sometimes you just need those reminders.

Yeah, because. Because you know where it came from, man. It was like When I got to Bali. So for those who don't know, I was in Bali for just. Just under a month, just before I got home, just before this whole lockdown thing happened. And living in Bali and working in Bali, it was like a dream that I'd put down on my goal is probably my corporate job. Like, I. That was what I dreamed about, to be able to live the nomadic life out in Canggu, just like on the scooter, like you whipping out the laptop and just sipping on coconuts all day. And I did it, and I was like, yeah, this is fucking awesome. But what I realized was I still had shit days. I still was dealing with the same emotions, the same block, the same blocks that were getting in my way of really feeling peace and joy and love for this moment. If anything, I had I'd probably harder days out there because my routine was so out of whack. I had my girlfriend with me. We were jumping around from different accommodations and Airbnb trying to find places to get good wi Fi and was like, some days it was, like, really stressful. And I realized that, dude, this isn't what we want. People think it's what we want. We think it's the travel. We think it's like, oh, once we get the online job and we can travel the world and live in Bali, then life set, we got it. But it's not. And if you chase that, thinking that it's going to give you the end goal, which is actually to feel what to feel elevated emotions such as peace, love, joy, passion, freedom. We're actually chasing the emotions. It was a really, really great reminder for me that. That what. What we want, we actually already have on the inside. And the primary focus or the priority in life is to cultivate it from the inside before expecting anything outside to give it to you. And, yeah, it kind of. It kind of pulled me back inward, like, again, reversed me inward to slow things down. Because why are we in a rush? Where are we in a rush to get. Why am I in a rush? Where we're trying to get to. And the minute I slow down, whenever I slow down, that's when everything seems to just happen. Things evolve. Things, the business picks up, you know, things. Things start happening more effortlessly. So that's. It's all. That's always my lesson, man. And it's always my lesson to pencil time just to slow down. And I get the sense for someone like yourself, it's always, you know, you operate a little bit differently. Like, your mind works a little bit differently. Probably because you've been brought up differently where, like, you're never. You never seem to be in a rush. And some people like that. And, you know, that's where we get to learn from. From you people. Maybe people who are like me can learn from people like yourself. And ultimately, like, there's no right or wrong way to live life. Like, we all get to choose how we want to live life, but life is only happening in one place. And it's this.

I find, that I think you should count yourself very fortunate that you managed to learn that lesson at 25 and not 65, because some people spend their whole life chasing for what they think they want, and then they get there at 65 and realize they've taken their whole life to get somewhere that doesn't actually give them anything. The fact that you've Learned that at 25 means that you've got now 60, 70. And I was 150 years left in your.

Mate, mate, wait till I'm an old pensioner, 90 years old, sitting with my joint, just taking. Taking in life, thinking with, mate, this is it.

That's it.

You've got to live bloody 70 years of freedom, not. Not having to chase, you know, the carrot at the end of the segment.

Brother, I will.

I will add something to that. I will slow down and add something to that, because when I got back from Bali, life gave me a big lesson again. I was slapped with two big lessons in a short space of time. And I just said, oh, yeah, when I get to a pension age, then I could. Then I'll be real slow.

But, dude, we didn't.

I don't even. We didn't know if we're gonna make it tomorrow.

Yeah, it's true.

And that. That lesson was given to me through, you know, a really close friend of mine who I was gonna be spending a lot of time with, who was gonna be a part of this journey with me of getting old together. You know, we've been my mate for a long. A long time who was taken. Taken from me in a motorbike crash. It's a similar path as us, you know, like, was it. Was it into all the same stuff? Like, I was doing breath work with him at the beach, and to lose someone so it's like, so abruptly, like, that was like the ultimate reminder that, like, we don't know what's going on, man. Like, there's something far greater than us at play here behind the scenes, and we think we're in control of. I'm gonna fucking quit my job. And travel the world. I'm. When I retire, I'm going to do this. Like, yeah, we don't know.

Yeah, that's true.

Life's got it. Life's got its own way of evolving and flowing. And I feel like the minute we can become. Make peace with that, we actually don't know what's really going on.

I feel like that's a good something that I think a lot of people will struggle with. You losing a close to close friend. Time like we're in now where potentially hundreds of thousands of people are going to die that dealing with that trauma and that we've spoken about it before, but people that are associated with these people that have died and feel these emotions, what's the. Like. What's the like, why me? And how do you get rid of that? How do you get rid of that personal attachment to the situation? You know, I mean, obviously you need to mourn and you need to take that time. But then how do you move past that and understand that it's not personal? It's not. It's not the universe having a go and taking someone from you. How do you move. How do you. How do you move past that or how have you dealt with it?

I did a post the other day. Um, it was called there's purpose in your pain. And no matter how painful the loss is or how painful whatever this experience is bringing up for us, you know, for other people, Coronavirus, losing jobs and whatnot, bringing up a lot of pain. But there's always a reason for it. And maybe we don't know. Like, we don't. Why did Nathan die? I don't know. Why did. Why did he have to. Why did this happen? He was. He was on good path. All these questions, right? The mind creates. But we don't know. Trying to figure out what the purpose is. In the midst of the pain, sometimes there's no point trying to think, figure that out. We just got to have faith and trust there is a greater purpose. And whatever we're learning through that pain is going to serve us down the line in maybe helping someone else through some pain. Or it's going to equip us with the exact lessons we needed for our soul to evolve. Because I truly believe that's what we're here for, man. To spiritually evolve through learning the lessons that life's trying to give us. And when we, you know, I do believe in reincarnation. And I believe when we do reincarnate, we'll be put into another physical form based on the Next set of lessons we need to learn. And if we don't learn the lessons in this lifetime, then guess what we relive. We relive another lifetime where we have to learn the same lessons. And right now, a lot of people have been woken up to learn some big lessons in pain. Like, you know, I mean, the larger the pain, the greater the lesson.

If you're willing to. If you're willing to learn. Yeah, yeah, that reminds me of that. As I was saying about the. I told you before, the man in the woods where his friend gets shot with an arrow.

Great one, yeah. Remind us of this one, mate.

Two blokes walking through the woods.

One gets shot with an arrow. And the first question the guy asks is, where did the arrow come from? Who shot the arrow? His mate's lying on the floor in agony. He's been shot in the shoulder. You know, who shot the arrow? Why are they shooting him? Why'd they shoot my friend? When the guy on the floor is just thinking, just get the arrow out of me. Like, doesn't matter who shot it. Doesn't matter where it's come from. Like, I'm in pain. Let's focus on getting rid of the pain. I feel like that's. Like, I went through that a heap of times, and I don't know why. I don't know why. But in particular, that analogy really helped me to think about. Like, it's not actually helpful in dealing with the pain to question why. Like, the why doesn't matter a lot of the time. And you might. Like, you can. There might be people now who. They've lost their job and their colleague kept theirs. And they'll say, why did I lose my job? Why didn't they lose theirs? Am I not good enough? The company needed me more. Like, I feel like there's two different ways to look at it. You can either embed yourself in that pain and keep questioning why, generating a feeling of unfairness, or the universe trying to get at you, or the life trying to get at you. Or you can go down your path where you choose to justify it in a fashion that aids in your growth and helps you move forward. Like, at the end of the day, I see it a little bit differently. I see the universe. Universe's actions as inherently neutral, like everything else in life, even to the level of death. It's not picking death. You can look at it as random. It's then up to you how you justify it. Some people choose to justify a job loss by saying, the boss didn't like Me, they had a vendetta, that person had a closer relationship. Or you can justify in a different manner and say this is the thing that needed to happen. You might not have a clear future reason, but it's a nicer way to justify it.

In my opinion.

It's a much more peaceful way to justify it.

Well said, man, well said. So if someone's in the midst of their pain right now, whatever it is, maybe, maybe this, this. And we're all going through it. Like I will admit, like there's some days I'm like I'm feeling as well. I'm feeling, I'm just feeling off for no reason, like feeling down, you know, like, and I say some days I do all the practices, I do all the meditation and exercise and I'm still just feeling off and accepting, like you said, the neutrality of the universe, that yeah, maybe some days we're gonna feel shit and we don't know why. Yeah, and that's okay. There's a lot, there's a lot of peace that comes from that.

That's right. I feel like, I feel like it's a lot of it has to do with the difference between the universe versus people's expectations of the universe. Term universe is in just life, like what's happening external to me. And I think people are very logical and they see the world in sequential order. Like even like when you're looking at the future. If I do this, I achieve this. Like one plus one equals two. That's not how the universe operates. It's random, sporadic, it's non sequential, non linear. Things happen all over the place for no apparent reason. And I think you have to understand that the universe isn't going to fit into your logical bubble that you live on a day to day. I think like that's where I think the separation starts, is, can you be okay with the feeling of not knowing or not having control? And that's where I think all these spiritual ideas spawn from, is it's a faith in a higher purpose of some kind. Can you relinquish control of your personal situation to then help justify painful situations in your life? And I truly believe that if you look at people who follow a spiritual journey or a spiritual or religious path, you'll find on average they are more peaceful because they just have reasons of justification that don't exist in the realm of the world. So there's not, there's, there's no clinging, there's no, there's no resisting anything in the world because it doesn't matter. It's like there's a higher purpose or a plan or whatever you want to, however what you want to term it. Forgot I was talking about, but that was my point.

Thanks for sharing that. It made a lot of sense. And yeah, again, I keep getting pulled back to faith and trust, man. That's, that's really the key. Like if you are living a spiritual life, which chances are people listening to this are, whatever your spirituality is, whatever you believe in it, it's faith, having faith that. Yeah, I don't know the reason why this is happening, but I know there is a reason that I don't need to understand. Because our limited minds can't understand the, the vastness of what's going on. Yeah, but that's where faith comes in.

Yeah, I feel like it's not even, to be honest, I feel like it's not even the faith that like that helps. Like the faith is a gateway in order for your actions to guide you towards a more fulfilled life or a more positive life. Because without, without the faith, you're blocked on the level of the world. You're blocked in the day to day. You're looking at bad and good. If you say none of that has anything to do with me. I'm not, I'm not the decision maker in what's a good day and what's a bad day. I'm going to leave that up to someone or something much of a higher purpose than me. I'm just going to focus on high level stuff, how to be a good person, what do I want to achieve with my life, how am I going to help people. And I'm not going to focus on the whys or the day to day organizational like it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how I get there. Let's just keep the focus on who do I want to be as a person. And then your actions through the faith will guide you in that direction naturally. Which I'd say you're, you're fairly strong proof of that.

I feel the actions that come through the faith or the shift in the way you go about life once you have faith in the grandness, in the divineness of all things in which we have no idea what's happening, the action or the shift in that is seeing everything as an opportunity. Everything like I've had, I've been saying this a lot on some of the calls I've been having with people recently. It's like if someone says to me, oh, I'm really struggling with anxiety or I'm just Like, I just feel like I've got a lot of fear coming up right now. Awesome. Great. What a wonderful opportunity to connect.

I'd love to see that. I'd love to see you on the.

Call with it, with a deeper part of, you know, I mean, if fear and anxiety is coming up, there's a part of you in there that thinks I'm disconnected from the whole. There's a part of you in there that's afraid and it just wants love. And the way it asks for love is through anxiety, doubt, worry, insecurities, survival patterns. That's the way these. These wounded parts of us ask for love. So when an opportunity comes up and you feel like you're feeling the fear, we get a chance to heal. We get a chance to go deeper into connecting with the unconditional love in which we are. That's the purpose of spiritual growth. That's the purpose of evolution, to evolve into love, evolve back to love.

Yeah, man, that's cool. I put it.

And, and I caught up with your mum the other day, bro.

Yeah, she said, yeah.

And. And for those, for those who don't know, for those who know me closely know, you've had a big impact on my life and so has your mum. And, like, growing up around you and your family and your dad, of course, but, like, your whole family had, like, a really big impact on me because I was around your house all the time, essentially. We traveled so much together. And I was chatting to your mom about. About this, about how you went through not a lot of trauma growing up because your mum was, Was. Was on this part, has been on this path for a long time, like. And she's been through a lot and she was the one that passed down all the Wayne Dyer books and allowed me to, you know, supported. Supported my growth when I was starting out in this journey, and so did you. But it's an indication that we each have, like, a different. A different spiritual purpose here. Like, we're each here to learn very specific lessons that are unique to our soul. Some people maybe have to go through some intense, dark trauma, and within that lies some really big lessons and keys that unlock the next level of their soul's evolution into the next lifetime, whatever that may be. And for you, maybe your lessons are here, it's just disguised in different ways. And your purpose, everyone's purpose is unique. But, yeah, I just think for the people who have gone through a lot of trauma and are, like, feeling the pain in that right now, then I just see it as such great opportunities. To grow and evolve. That's what this time is asking of us, right?

Yeah, I think it's about can you take some personal responsibility for your life situation as well? I think it's hard. I think it's hard for people that go through trauma, that don't have any prior belief system or like belief in a higher power, because then it. Then it is just, this is my life, this trauma is happening to me, and then that's it. That's the end of the. That's the end of the progress there. And it often stays stuck there. I think if you're on this, on some form of spiritual path, have some form of belief or faith in a religion, that's the key to then using that, using that experience, like you said, as how can I take some responsibility for the situation I'm in and how I'm going to react to it? It's extremely important to do a lot of the stuff you've done and go within, experience the trauma. Don't just avoid it and run away, but truly feel it, acknowledge it, then try to move past it. And then once in that, in that process of moving past, how can you take responsibility for your actions, moving forward from there and not hold on to that in your future actions? I mean, how do you, how do you move past that? I don't know if you've got any advice around that. What do you do in your actions to make sure that they're not impacted by past trauma or past behaviors or things that have affected you? Because I see that a lot with, like, especially with historic relationships, like you've been harmed or hurt by someone in the past, maybe a family member, like, how do you, how do you make sure that your future interactions with them aren't impacted by that?

Yeah, it's funny, I've found a lot of the work that I, that I do now with, with people on an individual level has evolved into. Into this work, like into dealing with things on an emotional level. Because a lot of the personal development stuff that we're trying to get through, a lot of it sometimes is stuck. We think it's mind, think positive, read lots of books, you know, learn lots of things, do lots of things. But if you're still carrying around patterns of thinking that are rooted in emotional trauma, because that's where it comes from. We experience something that results in us feeling a certain way that, that, that was really intense for us at a young age. And then our mind will create these stories or meanings to try and protect us from having to feel that Again. And they're like avoidance patterns. Like, anytime anything might trigger us, we avoid it or we stay away from it. And these stories that the mind creates is essentially trying to distract us from having to feel the underlying trauma. And you see it in relationships all the time. You keep getting the same experience until you learn the lesson that's underneath, which is there's a part of. There's a part of us that needs love and attention. There's a wounded part of us in there. So until we can get in there, it's really about noticing and slowing down and noticing, okay, you know, what is this pattern that I've been replaying that's keeping me stuck, spiritually Stuck, spiritually dead? Essentially, you're playing this repetitive pattern. Maybe you're. You keep procrastinating on taking action that you know you should take. Maybe every time you go into a relationship, you close off because you don't open up and get vulnerable, because the last time that happened, you got hurt. Maybe it's. You have some perfectionism. You don't want to share anything with the world because you're afraid you're going to get judged. Underneath all this stuff is a fearful emotion that's coming from the past that we're too afraid to go in there again. It's our mind saying how dang, last time we did this, we got hurt, and we don't want to feel that again. So a lot of the times it's. The work that I do is just creating a really safe space for someone to feel seen and heard and allow the trauma to be heard.

Something I've taken for granted in my life, the ability and access I have to people that will wholeheartedly hear me without judgment. I think you're bang on there. I think I've taken that for granted. But I'm sure there's so many people out there that don't have that outlet or don't have that person they can rely on to talk candidly to and open up, especially. I'm gonna say, especially like men. I know you've touched on that, but to have. For me to have you and my whole other group of friends that, like, I can talk to them about anything emotional. That's. That's so important, man. That's some wise words. A lot of. A lot of wisdom in what you're saying there.

Thanks, brother. Yeah, but you're right around. That's all we want most of the time, man, is to feel understood. And one of the things I've noticed this come up as well. One of the things that I often notice of what friends will sometimes do, friends who aren't perhaps at a deep enough level to understand the mechanics of trauma will say, no, Josh, you shouldn't be feeling that, mate. Come on, mate, don't let her make you feel like that. You're stronger than this. Don't let it bother you.

Try to brush past it. Yeah, but.

But if it is. If we are in pain and we are hurting, we need someone to feel like, say, dude, it's okay. It's okay to be feeling this. I'm here for you. You know, we can. You can feel it as long as you need to.

That's the. I think that's. That those two was there. It's okay, like, to know that you're not feeling something like that your. That your pain is justified, you know, I mean, that you're. You're like, it's okay to feel that way. You don't have to be embarrassed or like, you don't have to. You don't have to be. I try and hide it. It's like, it's alright. That's. That's so important.

Yeah. 100%.

I'll put the. I'll put the word out there. If there is anyone that listens to this, I can guarantee myself and Jordi are more than happy to listen to anyone who doesn't have anyone to talk to.

100%.

Yeah, that's. That's one of the things I. I think I'd say that's one of my passions in life is that I don't want anyone to feel. I don't want anyone to feel like that. I know I've felt like that at certain points in my life. Even though I've been very lucky to have the people around me that I have. And for the few occasions that it's happened, it's been horrible. I can't imagine if there's someone that has that on a, you know, semi permanent basis.

Yeah. Well, if you think about it, a lot of. A lot of it sometimes comes from our childhood upbringing. When I say our meaning, the people who have experienced trauma, who didn't have parents that were emotionally aware enough to know that the child was going through trauma and they could be there emotionally to support that soothing process. And most parents are doing the best job they can, but if the parent isn't fully whole and integrated and they haven't done this in a process, then what's going to happen is they're projecting a lot of their emotional blocks onto the child.

Eckhart Tolles the pain body.

Pain body, yeah.

So that's one of the, I think that's my favorite Brene Brown quote as well. It's the pain that's not transformed, is transmitted. It's passed down through generations. And if you don't, if you don't, if you don't do any work or if you don't, if you, if you avoid that, that childlike pain or your trauma that your entire life you pass it down to your children and you pass it down in day to day, in day to day engaging and relating to other people. Like someone says something that strikes a nerve and you lash out at them or you get defensive and all of a sudden that pain has been transmitted to that person. Like even in a brief encounter, that pain that has not been dealt with has just been passed to that person. And it might only be, might only be a five minute encounter. You might be rude to someone that you're ordering coffee from because you got hurt, you got hurt that morning, your partner said something bad to you and you're in a bad mood. Even on the level like that it's, you can see how rife it is in society. Yeah.

But having, having a safe space is really, is really big. Having a safe space to be seen and heard and you know, if you, again, again, I'll echo what you said. If we, if people listening don't have a friend group or someone who they can reach out to and talk about what it is that they're feeling and going through, then there's people out there like me and you more than happy to hold space for people and it's awesome to see more people opening up online. I kind of in a bit of an echo chamber on social media. I only follow people who are on the similar path or personal development journey. But I'm always amazed to see like when I post some content or and someone random will just reach out and be like, oh, you know, man, that really resonated. And I've noticed since I've been back in Perth, man, more guys from, from Australia And I've noticed this interesting comparison now between being in Canada for a couple of years and noticing the types of trauma that people are overcoming out there and now seeing it here in Australia. The men out here go about it a bit of in a different way. I actually think it's harder for them to open up.

Don't know what's, you don't know what's going into like the cultural background or what the blocks are there.

Yeah.

Or the Expectations. They feel it's interesting stuff that you work on. So it's. It's. It's amazing.

Thanks, man. I guess that's. That's an assumption. I probably shouldn't make that assumption. It's hot. It's harder to open up, because I'm sure it fucking is hard enough for a lot of men all over the world, regardless of where you grow up. It's just here in Australia that alcohol was a big problem. And I've seen it. I've not seen it anywhere worse than what we have here in terms of coping mechanisms. And I just think alcohol is a real fucking. It's a nasty drug, man. It's a nasty fucking drug. And I've been on some men's circles now online here in Australia, and I'm on there. I feel. So. I feel like I won the lottery in terms of the way I've been brought up in my life. And then that, like you said, like, the network and the people I've had around me to support me and to hear about what some guys have gone through on their personal development journey, I'm like, dude, respect. Like, fucking. The fact that you're. You've come this far and you've. You've got through all that. So that's where I feel like that's where my purpose lies. I've been blessed to be born in Australia and be given the. The upbringing I've had then. I feel that's my role, to, like, pass it down and, like you said, help others who didn't have to go through this pain, you know?

Spot on, man. All right, I had a question for you. Now to episode 50.

50 episodes.

It's been so years since you started.

Yeah.

A little maybe finishing question. What do you think? Like, what are the three biggest things you've learned on your journey from starting in 2017?

Oh, that's huge, bro.

I'm sorry to hear you in such a big question.

Damn. The first one would definitely be things Always Work out.

Yeah, that's a good one.

Things always work out. There were so many times when I was like, fuck, have I made the right decision? Or, like, how am I gonna come up the money to pay my rent? Like, what's gonna happen? Am I gonna be able to get through this? Should I. Should I make this investment in myself? And it always worked out.

Yeah. I think important to add to that is it works out no matter how much worry you put into it or not. Like, you can either. It'll either work out with no worry or it'll work out with you worrying every day. And one of them is a lot easier than the other.

Yeah, yeah. So true. So that was. That was a big one. Definitely. Ping. When I moved downtown Toronto, that was a big lesson that I. That I took on. And the other one, man, I guess this is another big lesson, is I can't do it on my own.

Yeah, that's a good one as well.

And I thought, yeah, I was trying to do this shit on my own. You know, I can figure it out. I don't need to hire a coach. I don't need to, like, get mentors. I don't need to ask for help. I got this. Nah. Everything changed when I said, hey, I'm fucking struggling with this. Hey, can you. Yeah, can you help me out? Or, like, reaching out to someone or a coach who was further down the line than me, and I was like, how do they figure that shit out?

I feel like. I feel like everyone that goes down a spiritual path encounters that. Like, once you get there, you then transition your personal identity to a spiritual identity.

Yeah.

And then that's when the pride gets in there because you're like, I'm now spiritual. I don't need to learn. You know, I mean. And you realize how much there is to learn at every phase of your life, like, and constant detaching from the identity, regardless of at what point in your life you're in. Yeah, I've been there.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. That spiritual ego that sometimes forms.

Yeah.

And I guess the last one I would say is using. Using fear, man. Using fear as the navigator. I was doing that for since I left, and I was always. And I'm reflecting right now, like, what is the next thing that I'm afraid? Like, what's that next big leap? Because behind the fear is always the next level. Like, what's your greatest fear? Like, what's that one thing you've been putting off? That one action you've been scared of taking because of an excuse or a pattern of thinking that's trying to protect you. Yeah. And my biggest. My biggest one that I went through last year was the public speaking. Like, so afraid. I'm so afraid of speaking and being.

Great speech as well.

Thanks, man. Yeah. And I was. It was such a damn. Just to get to commit to it and be like, you know, I'm gonna overcome this. I'm gonna face it. Because I know on the other side is a greater level of my expansion, the next step in my journey. So I guess, yeah, whatever. Whoever's listening, if there's There are fears that you've got that you. Things you've always wanted to do, but you're afraid to do it. Whether it's share content on social media or, you know, travel the world or like, let go, like just do something adventurous, whatever it is. That's, that's the, that's the path. That's the path to follow. What about yourself, man?

I don't know if I had a.

Top those great advice.

Nah, dude, you've got, you've got some, you've got some deeper truths in there as well.

I like your first one. I think I'll share your first one. Because when I first moved to Sydney, that was a big risk for me, but I kind of already had a sense of belief in the, in the, in the process. And like, before that I'd experienced a lot already of like, like you say things just work out. And I'd, I'd already taken on a lot of lessons of not having to worry about the future, just worrying about the present. Making sure that you're like being true to your values and the future will work itself out. And I tried to maintain that. When I moved here in very difficult circumstances, it just worked out, man. And I realized, I look back at it now and I go, it worked out with very minimal worry. And I could have very easily worried a lot and I would have had the same outcome. And I'm so thankful that I already had that lesson when I did it because it just made a very typically high stress process. Not that stressful, dude.

I actually had a flashback while you were talking to a conversation that we had, you know, after I just moved out to Toronto and I hadn't, didn't have a job yet. And I was starting to like, worry, fuck, you know, how am I gonna, how is this gonna go? What am I gonna do, you know? And I called you because you'd already done the leap and done the move out to Sydney and everything did work out. And we had a very similar conversation. It was just like, there's no need to worry.

Yeah. I always remember what I was. Remember what my dad said. And this might be a, this might.

Be a privileged quote to relay, but.

He said, no matter where you're at, no matter where you go in the world, you're only 24 hours from home.

Hmm.

I found that.

Wow.

At the, at the time when he said that, I was 21 and obviously in a privileged position where if I went to South America and got myself in a troublesome situation, they'd pay for Me to come home. Obviously, not everyone has that, but, yeah, that allowed me a lot of freedom to go. Well, yeah, he's right. If I don't like it, I feel like a lot of people face that way. I could have gone to Sydney, hated the job, didn't have any friends, didn't like the city. And just him saying that was just like, well, it doesn't matter if any of that happens, I can come home tomorrow.

Exactly.

Yeah. You're not locked into a decision like I was. That was. That was a really. Yeah, I really. I really helped me.

Two more. Two more.

I actually. I put this on my intentions for the year, but I actually think every time I remind myself of it, I realize how important it is. And I put on there that I want to smile at strangers more. And I got to say, such a small change has such a monumental impact to your outlook on the world, because especially when you're in a busy city like Sydney, working in the cbd, and you're walking past thousands of people a day and without any form of interaction. I always found that really strange. When I used to go to the train station and people are very habitual. I'd go to the train station same time every day. I'd stand in the same place on the platform every day, and everyone else would have their own little spot in the platform. I was like, I literally stand next to this woman every day, and I know nothing about it. And I found it really strange and just a small change of just smiling at strangers, just reminding myself of it. You realize how little you do it, and when you get a smile back, it's literally like. It melts you, man. I was like, wow, People like these, people like, there's people around me that I'm so unconscious of half the time. That's. I don't know.

I really.

It's such a simple one, but I really, really liked it. And the third, it would have to be something to do with, I don't know, acceptance of the moment, which is a big one to bundle up into one thing. But it's. I suppose it ties into, like, belief or just acceptance of. The acceptance of what's happening right now is part of a bigger picture. And it ties into the first one as well. It's like the not worrying. But I don't know, man. That's. That's like. That has allowed me to live a more peaceful life than I could ever have have thought possible. Like, I live. If I remind myself that in the morning I have a peaceful day, that things are happening for a reason and that reason is always okay. It's my choice whether I look at upon it good or bad. Yeah, that's helped me a lot, man.

Thanks, man. Yeah, I can you certainly embody that. So I can certainly, I can certainly add testament to the fact that you live by that. So I appreciate you sharing these. These truths, man. I think there's been some valuable wisdom shared in this episode, 50th episode of the Station. What a. What a time, brother.

Wow, you've almost gone completely dark there. I've gone dark, Yeah, I can barely see.

It. Gets dark out here pretty early now starting. I know, mate, rainy and cold. But we're in Perth for the next little while. Hopefully we're going to cross paths soon.

My sister's having a fourth baby, mate, so I've got to. That's due in the two months so hopefully the restrictions ease so I can come back over to Perth.

Yeah, the fam.

And see you guys and looking forward to that, man.

Looking forward to that. Well, mate, I'm gonna let you. I'm gonna let you get going because it's dinner time out in Sydney and this has been an amazing episode and then for people who want to continue, perhaps continue this conversation with either of us or get in contact with you, Josh, you know, Instagram, Facebook, main platforms. Your Facebook is Josh Collins. And on Instagram, your J. Cole 11. J. Cole 11.

That's me.

And, and yeah, man, this I'm sure we're gonna have. I'm excited to see what the next 50 episodes is gonna be like and I'm sure we'll be have you back on here many more times and we'll make it the hundredth an extra special one as well.

It's always lovely to chat to you.

Amazing brother. Thanks for joining us.

Nice, bro.

Thank you guys.

Have a good night.

Hey, there we have it, guys. Thanks so much for listening to this episode. And yeah, look, if you made it this far, cool. Here's my voice again in your ear and I'm gonna make one more request for you is go ahead and subscribe and leave a comment on the podcast page because I'm really putting a lot of focus and attention on getting this podcast out to more people because I know what I'm putting in here can serve and bring value to people and it would mean a lot if you got value from this to leave some feedback and subscribe. So you stay up to date with what's coming up and as always, follow me on Instagram and love hearing from you. It's at Stateshifters until the next episode. Guys, thank you so much, and I appreciate you.