LIVE Q&A: Giovanni Bartolomeo | Elemental Awakening

Okay, cool. This is round two with the Geo. Geo, thanks for coming on, man.

My pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Great to connect here on the Facebook.

That's right. We had technical difficulties on round number one. So if you can hear us, give us a thumbs up, let us know.

Let me just make sure if you.

Can hear me, if you can hear Gio. Because last time Gio got spaced out. Geo, thinking about all the things that are going on in our world right now. You just got back from traveling, you've been traveling the world, man. You've been doing the ultimate dad exploration.

Yeah, I guess you can say that.

What's been going on with that? What led you out there to Ibiza in the first place?

Following the flow, just going with it. It actually started at a men's weekend up just north of Toronto in early March. It was freezing snow outside and a couple of guys got together to actually, we invited some speakers from LA to teach about this speaking method that they have. And it was an amazing weekend. And they were like, we should do one in la. Alright, let's do it. Went to la, same thing, Just went with the flow. Like within a month and a half, we planned it, everything, tried to conspire to like shift it and move, the location moved and it happened perfectly. The right people showed up and from there they're like, let's do one of these in Ibiza. And I'm like, all right, but this time I gotta bring my kids. Cause it's my 10th year anniversary and if I'm there for my 10th anniversary without my wife and kids, it's not gonna be good for me. And it happened, it flowed, it was amazing. I had a great experience with my kids. The retreat was amazing. People really enjoyed the energy, having the kids around too. And it just shows me what's possible with this more conscious movement of just growing and sharing and being. Yeah, I'm stoked. Some people say the world is really messed up right now, and it is. But at the same time, there's a lot of amazing things going on that are pushing for that change and raising that vibration. So I'm an optimist in that regard. And I think the more people we can, we can get to sort of be more aware of the impact that they do have on the world, the faster it's going to shift into love, light, happiness, peace, prosperity, abundance. All the good things. All the good things.

All the good stuff, man. You know, it's fascinating to me because we got to know each other actually through the plants you know, the plants brought us together and we always explore in wellness force this concept of intelligence. Right. And by the way, intelligence is not how smart you are, right.

At all.

Intelligence is the gathering, the application. And then lastly, man, the most important one, the embodiment, the actual embodiment of the lessons. And you have this concept which I love. It's elemental awakening. Like what is this all about? This elemental awakening?

Yeah. So elemental, like defined is just, it's, it's like a force of nature, like the elements, but it's also something that it's most basic, like the root of, of everything. It's elemental, it's simple. And when I started really researching about just the human body and wellness and optimization, I realized that the most important things you can do for yourself are really the simplest things. So it's not about taking the most complex nootropics or supplements or doing these crazy workout routines. It's about mastering your breath, getting amazing sleep, you know, using hot and cold therapy to like, you know, like those eustress type things that make your body stronger, increase your white blood cell count, grounding yourself, connecting with the earth, eating whole foods, connecting in community. All these simple things that don't cost money. Once you sort of figure out, you know, how to utilize them and you start feeling amazing, you start connecting with people, you start thinking differently, just everything starts to change. So it was awaking to the elements and that's what it is. And I found through my own process that, you know, like when some people think the word awakening means like, like enlightened or you know, like special, it's.

Kind of an abused word. Like I had an awakening. It's like, what does that actually even mean?

But it's just being more aware, being conscious of something you weren't previously conscious to. And for me, I'm still, I still know nothing about the universe, what we're doing here, how we got here, what my role is. But as I go further on this journey, have more understanding.

Yeah.

And I think there's, excuse me, I don't think there's like a point to get to. I don't think there's like this end goal that we can actually reach, but it's just about gaining more and more awareness of who we are and, you know, how to navigate this world. And a lot of the times it's about doing less than doing more. It's about quieting your mind to understand.

That is a challenging concept for the modern day industrialized world, my friend. Like think about how many people talk about the concept of being versus doing. It's funny. We actually had a guy on the podcast recently, Mike Cannings, and he had cancer. And all of us have a wake up at some point, though. Like, maybe it's like a death in the family or a massive injury, or you wake up on the floor and there's cockroaches next to you. Whatever it is. Like, most people have a come to Jesus moment, a come to spirit moment. Have you had one of those in your life?

Many. More than one.

Okay.

And it's funny because every time I sort of get over that Humphrey, or it's more like rather than getting over the hump, it's getting out of that ditch is probably a better way to say it. You know, I started realizing, like, oh, that had to happen. That had to happen because I had to learn something that I wasn't aware of. You know, the universe or whatever life, my spirit, my higher self had to teach me something about myself that I didn't have awareness of. And, you know, I usually, after getting through something like that, I usually am on such a high because I've gotten out of that low and I have more awareness and. And then I know in my mind that this is going to happen again sometime in the future where there's a better or greater learning that I have to experience. And I look forward to it in a way where it's like, you know, like, I'll welcome that in the future because I know it's going to be for me. But every time it happens, it's like, why me again? Like, what did I do to deserve this?

Yes.

And it gets, I would like to say, more real every time, because you learn through challenges. You know, love and light and being in that bliss state is great. It's amazing to be there. But the greatest learnings and the greatest, I guess shifts in my life have come from challenges. Have come from most of these challenges of my own mind. So, like, one of the first times I can remember is where I thought I was sick. Oh, I apologize. Let me shut this phone off here.

That's okay. This is what happens in live video. What's up?

Yeah. Where I thought I was sick and I convinced myself I was sick and I started manifesting these symptoms and for like six months, I went down this dark path. This is like my early 20s. And it got me into this whole conspiracy world about health and healing and really opened me up to, like, oh, wait a minute. Maybe, like, everything isn't exactly as I thought it was. And it showed me this Whole other side of the world and business and reality. That eventually, when I realized I was fine and that my mind was powerful enough to manifest symptoms, that that was one trigger that said, well, I can use this for good and for bad. I can use it as my worst enemy or my best friend. And I really need to look at the world in a different way now. You know what I mean? How I position myself, how businesses are trying to. Some of them are good. Some of them are just trying to make money and take advantage. And, you know, like, one thing I realized, too, is once you're in that conspiracy mindset, you start believing every conspiracy theory, you know, you really become a conspiracy theorist.

Yeah. This is why there's so many podcasts out there about, like, the Illuminati and all these different things. And there are some truths, right? I mean, there are some of these things that are true.

There are. And it's hard to. To understand what is truth and what is not. And that's where it led me into this path inward instead of going outward, seeking for answers. I had to say, okay, what. What's my truth? You know, what do I believe to be true in myself and in my heart and led me on a spiritual journey. And I find that a lot of people that go down the conspiracy route, they either stay there or they, you know, turn and go on more of like a spiritual path. Yeah, right. It's. It's interesting. And there's still some conspiracy theorists in me, and even till today, there's things that were considered conspiracy that are now coming true. That I'm like, yes, that's another victory for the conspiracy theorist. But you have to understand that not all of it is true. And that's a dark hole you can go down. If you look at everything that way and the extremities of some of it.

We gotta talk about your film, man. Psyched Out. I mean, this is why, in partnership with Rhythmia, I had found about your work. And then I thought, okay, he's owning a float center and a wellness center. He's a filmmaker. He's doing all this media. What is it that actually allows you to do all this? Like, where does this come from, man? We're going to play a clip from Psyched out in a second. But tell us, like, what. What's the fire behind that?

I don't know, man. I get passionate about things, and I really believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, but most of the time, it leads me to interesting experiences. But this one here, like the movie. I never made anything like this in my life.

Like.

Like, making a movie was new to me, but it was after my first ayahuasca experience. It was so profound that I felt I had to share it. And the first thing, like, you know, after you have your first ayahuasca experience, you start telling it to everyone, and everyone thinks you're crazy.

It's like CrossFit, vegan. CrossFit, vegan and plant medicine. Like, you guys, I have to share.

With you everything on steroids. Yeah. And what I found was I was telling the same things to people over and over again. Like, about stories I'd heard and why it shouldn't be illegal and all this stuff. And then it was like one day, meditation was like, dude, just make a movie. You know so much about this. You've done so much research, so just do it. And it took me two years, but I finally did it. So.

Yeah. Let's play this clip. You guys. We're gonna give this a quick. This is 1 minute and 11 seconds. And this is the psyched out trailer.

The higher you go, the smaller it all becomes. As you begin to see the essence of others and of yourself, to experience the interconnectedness of all life. As you contemplate your reality through your eye, the window of your perception.

Your.

World gathers its elemental senses to mirror your awareness.

That one there was college students that helped with the project.

Most of us think that we behave for reasons that we have.

That one.

Yeah.

Yeah. That one I did do.

Behavior is actually governed by unconscious forces. Now. The psychedelic plants can manifest what's in the unconscious mind.

That was another one.

What you will bring out of you will save you.

Sweet.

Okay, cool. We're back. Gio, this trailer was incredible, man. I don't know how long that took to make, but the. The music and the way that really psyched out was portrayed. It's not about drugs. I think people get confused with the word, you know, psych or anything. Plant medicine, like, for you, this was something way different. What was this for you?

Well, it was basically, I wanted to share my whole experience with people like my mother, with people like people at work that already had this very negative view or perception towards psychedelics and plant medicines.

Yeah.

And when. The more people I. The more people. Oh, I gotta pause this here. Hold on a sec. There we go.

Live video.

Yeah. The more people that I would share, the more people I talk to about their own experiences. Like, we're talking, like, life transformation, like, people claiming that they had Healed their cancer spontaneously with a huge mushroom dose. People that have got out of like 18 year heroin addiction or anxiety and insomnia. And it went on and on and on. And you know, it was something that I really wanted to share and I would tell people and it just inspired me to share it more. And that's how it happened. And it took a couple years to put it together. And there's an interesting story I want to share about how this sort of came together. So there was one guy in the documentary, his name's Dave, he's a shaman, he travels around and I'd done a ceremony with him and I went out to do the ceremony and I filmed this amazing interview and I knew exactly the points I needed from it. And as we went into editing, somehow the files got corrupted and I was like, geez, did you have like a.

Mini heart attack or what?

I was like, oh my God.

Oh my God.

And so I was out in B.C. and I was interviewing Gabor Mate for the documentary and he had told me about some people I should connect with. And he told me I self funded this thing so we had no budget. But luckily, like everyone I reached out to was open to meet with me. I just flew out and interviewed them and did some of the filming myself or brought someone along that knew what they were doing. So he also told me about a woman in Boston and I didn't have the money to go to Boston. This crazy story of this lady who was in a wheelchair, had scleroderma and basically healed through ayahuasca. So I go back to Toronto and I find I know the, the, the, the video is corrupted. And I reach out to Dave, I'm like, dave, listen, I gotta redo this. And he's like, no problem. I'm gonna be here in a few months, I'll be in town and we can do it then. So, okay, fine. Thank God this worked out. So I end up going there, but I had to go by myself. It's the first time I'm gonna be videoing totally alone, setting up the audio video. I'm a little bit nervous about that. But when I get there, where I was going, there was like a whole crew of people who were in their whole life was like the videography business. So it's like I had a professional crew. I do the interview and after the interview I'm in the kitchen of this place and I'm just like chatting with someone and this Asian lady comes up. We start having a conversation and I start talking and basically I look at her hands. And her hands were all, like, a little bit deformed. And as she's talking, she mentions that she's from Boston. And I'm like, she's telling me her story, and I'm like, oh, are you so and so? And she's like, yeah. I'm like, oh, my God. Gabor, mate told me about you in Boston. I wanted to come and interview you, but I thought it would be impossible to meet you.

Did you get chills in that moment?

Oh, my God. And so I ended up doing this interview. It was the most amazing interview. And she ended up being one of the most riveting parts of documentary that so many people reach out to me because of her. And when I think back, it was like all these things had to happen. Like, the audio, the video had to be corrupted. I had to reschedule at that exact time that she was in a Toronto area, that Dave came back and was there with the videographer. I had to redo it to get her in it. And it's like, what are the chances of that happening? It was only 100% because it had to happen. And it was many stories like this helped this documentary come together in the way that it did. And when you watch it, she's the one at the end that we tell her story.

All right, we're gonna leave the link for this in the comments right here. We had some people commenting. What's up, Goose? Hello, Lynn. Marie. What's up, Cash? So my brother James, he said my wake up call moment was having my kids. How did that work, man? You have a family, you're traveling, you're a father, and you're making a film. Like, how did you balance all that? What is that?

Just going with the flow, man. My wife's awesome. She's supportive. Having kids was a life changing moment for sure. The love you feel for your child is unlike anything you've ever experienced. We actually had a home birth, which was an interesting experience for sure.

Did you put down a tarp?

Oh, yeah. It was wild. Both of them, we did home birth and it was amazing. But, yeah, kids are life changing. And bringing them with me to Europe for the first time and being part of a weekend retreat was amazing. And having that energy around the kids, energy, they can be challenging at times. But I think, you know, like, anything you want to do in life, if you really passionately want to do it, you'll find out ways to make it happen. You know, some people use their kids as excuses. Some people use anything as an excuse. There's some people who are excuse makers, and there's some people who are doers that will find any way to make things happen. Some people find any way to make an excuse why something doesn't happen or why they can't do something.

Mike. Mic drop. If you were holding a mic, that'd be an ultimate mic drop. Because there's so many people that want to create, but yet the logical mind puts all these barriers up that honestly just aren't true. I mean, this is really a stoke on reality. Like, you've done multiple ceremonies. You actually were in Rhythmia, I think, July, right? You did a breathing, a wim Hof experience there. You've done a lot of things in Altered States. What have you found, man, in working with people and in understanding all these men and women that either come to your wellness center or that come to your workshops or that just come to you? What is, like, the connecting threads? What are the things that typically hold them back? From a thought process perspective.

It varies. Like, it's mainly mental. Like, everything is the way you perceive your reality. Okay? And the longer you're in a certain way of thinking, the harder it is to sort of break out of it because your brain starts forming these neural pathways that will reinforce the way you think, you know? But the main thing I find with most people is most people do want to feel happy. And a lot of people have been in pain and victim mode so long that they feel comfort there. So sometimes things like ayahuasca is like, one thing that can help them get out of it, but also at the root of it is what most people are lacking in yearning for is community. And you get that in a center like we have. You get that in an ayahuasca ceremony, and that's that feeling afterwards. You feel part of something. You feel connected. And I think that's an amazing starting point for transformations is being part of a community and growing and learning. But just everyone should know that it's all up to you. You have everything within you to succeed and be the best you can be. But also at the same time, you have everything in you to hold yourself back and put yourself where you are or where you've been at your low point.

This is a cool moment for me because I had a playlist on Spotify this morning. You know what I named it? I have all that I've ever needed within me. I named that the Playlist this morning. And somebody who's a creator man, like, you create a lot. You're constantly. It seems like in process of creation, what can you share with people that are creators at the beginning of the journey? You know, maybe somebody's like 22 years old right now watching this on a replay, and they're thinking, wow, I want to do what GEO does. Like, I want to express myself. You know, the opposite of depression is expression. So if somebody's feeling depressed and they're at their journey and they know there's something in them that's like, yeah, I know, I could do that too, because it's the same hero inside of them. What advice could you give to them?

Okay, so analysis. Paralysis is something that I learned is like, learn as you're going. Do your research. Like, set yourself up to do well, meaning decide on. Okay, so first it starts with setting an intention. So make a decision that you want to do something and set the intention of how you want to do it. Okay, so an intention is just the energy you want to bring forth in doing it. So I want to. I want to share because I want to help people. My intention is to reach as many people, or my intention is to make money. Whatever your intention is, it's good to have an intention from the heart because the other ones will usually bring other consequences along with them.

Been there.

Sometimes those experiences are important because you got to learn along the way. And then it's just really get clear on what it is you really want to do and why. Having a clear end goal in sight and then just doing it. Don't worry too much about the how you're going to get there because that will. Will unfold as you do it. But it's important to do and learn along the way. Psycho Cybernetics is a great book that talks about a lot of these things about just how people learn, how babies learn. The first time they pick up a pen, their arm is wobbling all over the place trying to grab it. As soon as they start getting that muscle memory, you don't have to think about, move my shoulder, move my elbow, get to the pen. So once you start focusing on how you're getting there, your experience is going to adjust to get there if you keep focused on that goal that you want to get to. So creating a documentary, this is really big.

I got to pause you right there because you said something profound that everybody can connect to no matter where they are. And that is don't focus on the how. Oh, man. This is the number one thing that I think slows all creators down. And we need, by the way, we need creators, like the reason that people are Getting something from this and they're feeling something from this is because that creative spark, that divine spark is inside of them. And I would say to piggyback on what you said, the how is none of your business. Most of the time, you know, curiosity is one thing and figuring out how to get there is another. But have you gotten caught in the how before? Like, have you gotten stuck in the middle?

Oh, so many times. So many times. Analysis, paralysis. Trying so hard to like make the right decision that I'm paralyzed and I make no decision. And it just sets you back, it gets you in a funk. You know, usually your intuition is right when it comes to making decisions. It's up here that really confuses things. Thinking too much. And as long as it's not like a life or death decision. And even so, if you read the book Flow by the guy, I can never pronounce his name. Helichink Mahali Csikszentmihalyi. Yeah, there you go.

Right? I think that's it. Yeah.

You know, he talks about people like free base climbing, like mountains, that they have to make 2000 life or death decisions in a row, but when they stop getting out of their mind against this flow state, it automatically allows them to make the right decision, you know, and the same thing applies to business. Trust your intuition, trust that gut feeling or that feeling in the heart, because that's going to lead you in the right direction. And if it leads you somewhere that doesn't seem right. And here's a big one, one thing I learned was stop trying to determine or control the outcome of the situation because sometimes things that might not look the best in the beginning is actually really the best option for you. And a great book that really drives that home is A Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer. If you haven't read it, read it. That book there changed my life about just letting go to the flow of life and surrendering to the process and not trying to control the outcomes of any situation, just accepting it as something that is part of your journey and allowing it to enhance whatever's going on in your life.

This is the undercurrent of this elemental wisdom. It's funny, I was looking on your page. The definition of elemental is simple. It's uncomplicated. It's something that doesn't have to be forced, like it doesn't have to be white knuckled to be completed. So if you guys have any questions for Geo, we're about to jump off. What's up, Brody? If you have any questions for Geo, let Us know on the replay as parting Guidance, man, you know, this. This elemental awakening. What can we learn in our own lives from the tools? You know, the breath, the plants, the flow states, all these different things. I mean, you're into a lot. All of them are essentially taking people to the truth quick. You just get people to the truth pretty fast. That's kind of what I feel from you. What is the beginning steps for people if they're feeling like they want to take some action, some inspired action.

Yeah, any type of breathwork is going to be huge in your development. Get onto nature. Nature is the best teacher. You are the best teacher. So things that are simple, like going out to nature, listening, quieting your mind, listening to what comes up, and just following your intuition. And so the best thing for intuition, one of my guides or guidelines, is anything that was said in this podcast that sparked your interest or your curiosity, that's your intuition saying, look more into that deeper. Whether it's the title of a book, whether it's something Josh said, a word, something that pops up a couple times that you see, like the word ayahuasca, or you see the word keto or whatever it is, that's your intuition, your guidance systems, like, getting your attention, like, hey, there's something here for you. And it might be something that could totally change your life. So listen to that. Don't downplay it. Don't think it's a coincidence. I hate the word coincidence. There's no such thing as coincidence. In my. In my opinion, everything happens for a reason. Follow your intuition. Look for the signs. That's awareness. The awakening is seeing the signs because they're there all the time. It's just your ability to see them or not.

And also my peeps don't complicate it. Like, if we feel something, I'll never forget this, man. I was on a show with Paul. Check. It's one of my. He's pretty much my spirit guide, medicine man. And he said, josh, if you feel something, this is exactly what you said. If you feel something and it makes your heart flutter, go explore that. Like, that's actually the guide from Spirit. So, Geo, thank you for coming on, man. We're gonna link all your information in there, but how can people connect with you? We're here on the Book of Faces. So do you want them to talk to you through the messenger or do you want them to hit you on Instagram? What do you want?

You can hit me up on Instagram. Elemental awakening. Hit me up on Facebook, whatever you prefer. We Got a Facebook or YouTube channel now. Elemental Awakening. Yeah, we're just trying to get information out there. Free stuff, trying to share, trying to connect with people, Live events, weekend experiences. Just connect with me. Any way you can drop me a message.

Cool.

Thank you. Thank you, brother.

Yeah, thank you, thank you for being a force of wellness in the world. And I'm going to hit the end button here, but tell people, man, at this stage in your life, you know, you're a dad, you're a filmmaker, you're a podcaster, you're a conscious media creator, you're a breath worker. What does, what does wellness mean to you? Like, how do you define living life? Well, what is wellness to Geo?

Waking up every day excited to start another day, waking up excited for that day that you know that anything is possible. And it took me a while to get to that, but every morning when I wake up I'm like, okay, what are we doing today? And that's wellness. That for me is like mental, physical, excited for life, feeling alive.

Alright, guys, you heard it here. It doesn't have to be complicated. Geo, thank you for coming on the show.

Thank you so much, brother.