The Mind Mate Podcast

Stefanos has been immersed in deep men’s empowerment work and the exploration of intimate and sacred relationships. Merging the best of eastern and western methodologies and philosophies to promote balance, union and power in life and love. Using integrative techniques and methods, such as neural-empowerment, Shamanic Praxis, holotropic and biodynamic breath work, trauma release and integration, western psychology, Eastern Mysticism and more, Stefanos has created programs, models and systems to enhance the quality of your life, your intimate relationships and in essence bring you closer to your potential. By restructuring and reframing his own masculinity and movement through the world as a man relating to himself, his environment, women and his purpose, He has discovered and created methodologies and innovative models for navigating the often-difficult path of contemporary manhood and intimate relationships. Stefanos places his focus and energy towards evolving the nature relationships in contemporary times. An advocate and proponent of “sacred union”, Stefanos believes cultivating healthy relationships to self, ideas, others, our lovers and the Earth will liberate humanity towards a new empowered expression of itself. Through a deeper connection to God, Earth and self, Stefanos realised the power of the human spirit. We often avoid challenge, fear and pain, however for the modern man (now more than ever), they are tools for transformation that help us heal universally.

David Tacey is an Australian public intellectual, writer and interdisciplinary scholar. He is Emeritus Professor of Literature at La Trobe University in Melbourne and Research Professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Canberra. Tacey was born in Melbourne but his young adult life was spent in Alice Springs, central Australia. Growing up alongside Aboriginal cultures influenced him greatly and he has maintained a lifelong interest in Aboriginal religions, indigenous health and wellbeing. His secondary education was conducted at Alice Springs High School. After completing secondary school in 1970, he worked as a labourer for a year to fund his future university education. He studied literature, philosophy and art history at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, where he obtained his BA (Honours) in 1975. He transferred to the University of Adelaide and completed his PhD in literature and analytical psychology in 1981.

Jane holds masters degrees in both counseling psychology and art, from Hunter College and Regis University. Her own personal healing path, however, encompassed years of  Alchemical Lightwork, which she now blends with shamanic and psychological practices. She is committed to helping individuals activate their Soul Seed and live their Soul’s destiny. Her background spans areas of transpersonal and humanistic psychology, expressive arts and somatic trauma therapies. Jane’s greatest love is to help individuals prepare the human vehicle for their Soul’s authentic courageous expression. From her website:  “I was a serious, sensitive, deep and troubled person. I didn’t know how to live in alignment with my highly sensitive, intuitive and creative nature.  A spiritual awakening in my early twenties led me to a path of healing which has resulted in over thirty years of successful freedom from food struggle, depression and dysfunction. After an array of miraculous spiritual experiences and many years of working on my own healing process, I became a psychotherapist, developed programs and books that helped countless people with trauma, food and body-image issues feel more hopeful and turn their lives around. After that initial awakening I had many “soul encounters” along the way that guided me deeper into my path as an Intuitive and Creative Soul Guide. Today, I work somatically as well as spiritually to support the unfolding of your greatest calling. Utilizing energetic and trauma release techniques as well as dreamwork, active imagination, parts and shadow work, archetypal, nature and the expressive arts , I will help you see beyond and underneath the patterns that are holding you back. As you awaken into your greater capacities, I can help the hurting parts within heal so that you can feel in-control and in-charge of your life again.”

The ego can be thought of as many things. Some refer to it as “arrogance made manifest” but it is deeper than that. Some say it is the thoughts in your head and it is, but it is more malleable than that—and we know this because our thoughts change all the time (at least the seemingly less significant ones). When we identify ourselves by our egos—and, unfortunately, this is not always a conscious decision—we derive our sense of self from something that isn’t us. The ego ultimately seeks some kind of superiority; it compares itself to others, and that when we identify as our egos, we never meet other individuals at all; only the constructs of our minds. What does this mean? It means that we have become who we think we need to be—complete with moral superiority and social acceptance—to not only be included, but be loved, whole, welcomed and desired. Thoughts are projections. They are ideas about ways to access or grab ‘what is’—as Eckhart Tolle would say—outside our selves. The ego always needs some kind of antagonist because it defines itself by the other. Identity is something that humans desperately seek because to not be someone means to be no one, and being no one is scary! Enjoy this episode of the show guys!

Matt Noffs is the co-founder of the Street Universities and CEO of the Noffs Foundation, Australia’s largest drug and alcohol treatment service provider for young people under 25. The Noffs Foundation works with young people for up to 5 years after leaving treatment. Young people’s drug use dropped by over 50% – that’s for all drugs – after finishing residential treatment, while criminal activity also dropped by a half. Where 1 in 2 young people were experiencing suicidal ideation on entering the program, only 1 in 10 still felt suicidal on leaving. The Street Universities focus on issues related to drugs, mental health, employment, education and crime, and over 10,000 young people frequent one of their 7 locations across Australia each year. In 2011, the Federal Government wrote to the Noffs Foundation stating that the Liverpool Street University had significantly contributed to crime reduction in the Liverpool/Fairfield areas. Matt is the author of the bestselling ‘Breaking The Ice’. His latest book ‘Addicted?’, which he co-authored with Kieran Palmer is published by HarperCollins and is in store now. Matt, both in his role at Noffs Foundation and HRA was recently one of the driving forces behind Australia’s first pill-testing trial. Matt can be found at: twitter.com/mattnoffs noffs.org.au/blog

Siobhan Lou is a Breathwork Meditation Healer, all the way from the Scottish Highlands! After involving herself in a few Breathwork classes in Bali—whilst working as a head trainer/coach at a functional training facility—she was deeply moved and is now inspired to help others gain a greater sense of self-awareness, practice being mindful and reconcile with past traumas and “stuck energy”, having completed her Healing training in New Mexico, USA. Siobhan works hard to provide people with the tools to heal themselves, leading to greater fulfilment, authenticity and clarity. In doing so, Siobhan is excited to help people holistically, through movement and mindfulness, cultivating lives with purpose. Siobhan also loves her two incredibly cute Beagles, ‘Archie’ and ‘Abbey’, as well as drinking coffee with her partner. You can out more about breathwork and Siobhan on Instagram: @siobhanloubreathwork

On this weeks episode of the podcast I talk about the ways you can stop procrastinating. I believe there are two ways to stop procrastinating: one of them is to reduce the chaos of your To Do list or schedule. What I mean by this is that often times we like to get all of our tasks done in one day and that inevitably leads to disappointment because our expectations have not been met. So to set more realistic expectations it can be a great way to simply reduce the amount of tasks needing completion per day so that you actually can move the needle and progress. Often times also our specific tasks are far too ambiguous and this leads to too many decisions that need to be made which also leads to procrastination because the more decisions we have to make the more energy we use. If our tasks are far more specific, we will be much more likely to get them done because we won't have to make so many decisions. In a sense, we will be able to flow into task completion. So have some foresight when you are preparing for your To Do list. I recommend organising your To Do list or scheduled the night before so that you know exactly what we have to do the following day and can simply get stuck into doing it. Accountability can also be a great way to keep you on the path. Be honest, and let a friend or someone you trust know that you would like to have these things done and if you don't have them done, come up with some dire consequences for your procrastination. Have some fun with it though! After all, this is about you becoming a better version of yourself and what could be more enriching than that!

Dr. Nicole LePera is a Holistic Psychologist who believes that mental wellness is for everyone. She evolved her more traditional training from Cornell University and The New School to one that acknowledges the connection between the mind and body. Dr. LePera views mental and physical struggles from a whole person perspective and works to identify the underlying physical and emotional causes. She understands that balance is an integral part of wellness and empowers individuals to heal themselves, supporting them on their wellness journeys. Dr. LePera founded the Mindful Healing Center in Center City Philadelphia.  She recently expanded her work online creating a platform for teaching these often overlooked components of mental wellness to individuals and practitioners around the world.

This episode is a breakdown of some of the topics discussed in my third book, "Yes I'm Fine, Just Thinking". A pertinent snippet reads: "We must cultivate self-awareness but if we do not integrate what we learn, we will remain depressed, anxious, unsure, existentially confused and ruminant. We must apply what we learn about ourselves and the world we inhabit swiftly and forthrightly—stumbling and failing inevitably—so that personal growth may ensue. Many of us recognise the importance of knowledge, both within and without, but rarely are we taught how to integrate it, thereby consolidating intelligence into wisdom. As Jim Kwik so eloquently states: “Knowledge is not power—it has the potential to be power, but only becomes power when you apply and use it. Remember: unless you apply what you’re learning, your reading will be shelf-help over self-help. Nothing works unless you work, everything changes when you act.” It is, as Kwik alludes to, all well and good to read a book, engage in debate, meditate, entertain periods of isolation and solitude, journal, speak with a therapist, digest psychoactive chemicals and dispense with hobbies and routines but if we do not apply what we learn, we will not change. By definition, action precedes change. Thinking, alone, will get us nowhere, despite the fact that thinking is by all means a necessary re-navigation tool, both evolutionarily and psychologically speaking. But we must remember that thoughts do not determine identity. Actions determine identity because to act means to value one thought—or many—over another at any given time."

Osher Günsberg (born Andrew Günsberg), widely recognised by his former stage name Andrew G, is a British-born Australian television and radio presenter and journalist who is best known as the host of the reality TV series The Bachelor Australia, The Bachelorette Australia and Bachelor in Paradise Australia. He is also the narrator of the factual TV series Bondi Rescue as well as the host of the music talent show The Masked Singer Australia.