The William Arthur Show
The William Arthur Show
EP 30: Slingshot Wellness | Snap Your Self Into The Deeper Layers Of Wellness !
Slingshot Wellness is a community based, integrated wellness movement rooted in Milwaukee, WI. Monthly workshops are held with the intention of supporting others in exploring mindfulness, and ancient holistic healing modalities in safe space with community. Through this, participants heal and connect on deeper levels. Join us for this conversational exploration into all things Slingshot Wellness!
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Hello? Hello. Hello? Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hi. Hey. We are here today with the Slingshot Crew. Um, it's been a long time coming. for being here today, my friends. Thank you. How we feeling? Let's do, let's do a little check-in. How we feeling in the body? Beth, kick us off. Like I was saying earlier, I consumed a lot of coffee today, so I'm feeling jittery and otherwise Good Rob.
Rob:the day guys is brought
Bill and Beth:my love is. Just a reminder, find You center. That's a Trevor Hall song. I came to mind when you said that anytime I hear someone talking about finding their center or coming to center, I'm like, that song slaps when we were talking about it yesterday, I wanna learn more of the lyrics just cause it's such a beautiful song. Um, do you remember? Do you remember? It's a great song if, if you're listening and you like multi-dimensionally. Incredible music. Trevor Hall. Trevor Hall to charge up the spirit. Full spectrum. Full spectrum. Shouts out Trevor Hall. Daddy, speak for yourself. Um, so I'm, I'm, I'm good man. Yeah, last couple days definitely challenging just with, you know, my main pattern and, you know, main aspect of what I'm working through currently is just relationship to things I consume over consumption with food and, and caffeine and me working through some digestive issues and my best to adhere to a strict elimination diet. So I had like a little yo-yo bounce back and I consumed a bunch of bullshit before I went to sleep one night. And it like, I was fucked. The next day I woke up and I was like, I can't even think straight. I was super inflamed and I went, first thing I did was went right to the lake to get cold and, and that was helpful. But that whole day was an uphill climb for sure. Today I'm feeling good though. I, I woke up feeling really refreshed and, and rested cause I didn't do that. And, um, got to participate in some hot yoga this morning and that was phenomenal. After that came here to get into some creative work and send out some emails to some clients and some meetings that I have and yeah, got to get into connect with my best friends. So, and my collaborators, my partners in crime. And, and more than, you know, one way, a ho a ho. What did you just call me? A ho. A ho. Um, so, We work on a project together and we have been working on a project together. Rob and I had, you know, birthed this baby. When was it a, after the ice and iron retreat last year. Was it? It was before. It was before, yeah. Of course it was before memory's better than my Yep. an attendee. Beth has been to every single one and at a certain point we're like, we need someone else. We didn't need someone else, but we saw the potentiality of your gifts, um, intertwining with the slingshot vision and yeah, it's been incredibly powerful to have you on board. Thanks for having me. Yeah. is there something wrong? The mic was just a little up. So yeah, so we've been, we've been working on this collaboration for. Over a year at this point. And it's allowed us to expand into and cultivate a lot of different parts of who we are in terms of what we like to do, what we're passionate about, and what we want to offer creatively to the world, how we want to serve, how we want to share our light with others, um, specifically in the realm of holistic wellness and mindset and. You know, just to be more specific about the holistic wellness aspect and mindset is incorporated into that integrated approach. We do movement. We explore different exercises that promote radical self-expression, uh, and that promote connection inner and outer. Then allow you to see where you may be blocked in terms of your expression, allowing you to get curious and move through those blockages. Because we are channels for energy to flow and a lot of the times we're more blocked up than we think. So I think that's a big, that is a big aspect of what we do. We do breath work. Uh, we're doing cold immersion coming up on the 21st if you're listening to this. And yeah, this, I, I will commit to putting this episode out before the 21st. So if you're listening, we're doing a community hike, uh, at seven Bridges on the 21st from one to 4:00 PM. With breath, work with steeping ourselves in nature with cold water immersion and also exploring language games, which we are all certified level one en lifted coaches and Beth is a level two certified en lifted coach. What up? And it's also my birthday on the 23rd. It's also Beth's birthday. Okay. So yeah, so we're celebrating that as well. There's lots to celebrate that we're coming together for. And um, yeah, what I would like to open up the floor to hear. You know what you guys have learned, or do you think there's anything more in terms of like setting the stage for explaining what Slingshot is? I know I very vaguely covered some of the things we do. I don't think we have to get into the very nitty gritty specifics of it, but if somebody wants to take the floor and like through your lens, explain what it is we're doing with others in collaboration by bringing community together and exploring these different facets of self-expression, health wellness, with the goal of creating connection and sustainable energy, basic practices and more advanced techniques as well. If you guys have anything, you guys got this, like what, what do you see that we're doing? What would you say that that, like what is it that we provide to people results wise? Like what? Through your own, within your own words. There's a missing link in society right now. Um, especially in Milwaukee. We live in a culture that celebrates drinking and nightlife and partying, and I feel like that missing link, that third space is one that, uh, includes all the things we're exploring in the realm of community and, personal expansion and exploration. for me, uh, Slingshot as I was an attending to now being a part of it, it's always been super healing for me. Every time I attend or a workshop, I'm getting to connect with other like-minded individuals and, um, explore our most internal spaces in a way that fun and playful. So slingshot creates like this really approachable space to be vulnerable and to be without judgment. um, I think that, you know, that's a huge thing that's lacking.
Rob:uh, in
Bill and Beth:society is spaces
Rob:where you can ex
Bill and Beth:that free to be received within it. Um, yeah. That's Well said. Rob, you got anything to add to that
Rob:Yeah, it's, it's, it's more than coming together as a group to work on these practices, which is breath work and cold immersion and games. It helps give the permission to our attendees this is out there and you're not the only one doing this. And for me, that was the biggest thing. When I came to you about it was, okay, together, but there's more people we have our gyms, we have yoga we have cycling classes. There's these MMA gyms as well. There's nothing wrong with all of those, but there's not really, what I could find was a place to come together and do multiple things at once hour of breath work, where it's not just an hour of and movement. So this allows us to come together and practice all of our personal practices together and dive into new, to new, uh, to new avenues that we been aware of. And, you know, between doing this
Bill and Beth:and I'm sure dude. Yeah, I, I like what you hit on with, you know, that's something I've reflected on and something that is unique to us that we offer is, it's more than just, you know, yoga movement, breath presence, balance. It's very multifaceted. At the same time when I go to yoga, I'm not having conversations with, I'm not interacting with people one-on-one that much. Sometimes a conversation will come up after the practice or before the practice, whatever it may be. Um, I feel where we shine most bright is our ability to incorporate the full spectrum of what it means to be human. And all these things that play into like fully filling our cup and creating that union and that harmony within ourselves through the different vulnerable connection exercises we do. And then through the breath and how we shift the physiology and the brainwave states through that, through exploring intentional play. Um, and that's a really cool aspect of what we do. And when we harmonize ourselves on the inside through this multifaceted approach, we harmonize with our environment automatically cuz our environment is just a reflection of what's happening internally. Um, so that was really, that I really liked what you said about that, Rob, in terms of, you know, thinking about all that's available to us in terms of coming together with community and focusing on our health, whatever it may be. Like pick up soccer, pick up hockey, yoga, um, you know, going to a CrossFit gym or going to a breathwork workshop where it's just breath or maybe there's some sharing. I know there's workshops that happen that incorporate more than one modality. We always make sure to hit various points of self-exploration, which is really cool, and we're always changing it up. So it always has that element of novelty and. I don't know anyone else that's doing that. I know. And like I said, people host workshops here and there. We do them regularly on a monthly basis, and they're almost always different. They have a general, we have a general structure involved and, and a general approach of like the vibe we bring to the table and like the goal we have in terms of what we want people to receive from the experience. Um, but yeah, we really create a space where we can do these practices, open up our hearts through the synergy of the practices, and then, and then we actually have conversations after for more movement of energy. And that's what's beautiful because there's this opening process that slowly happens through the, or maybe it happens fastest different for everyone, but most of the time, by the end of the experience and we go into our sharing portion, it's like, that is my favorite app. That's the pinnacle for me. All of it's amazing. Um, at the end though, it's like, What needs to be said and let go of it. It just comes through. I feel like that's the power of like hitting all these different points of wellness, health, all the different practices and techniques, bringing them together, experimenting, pressing different buttons, working together, getting out of our comfort zone intentionally expanding our capacities and, and developing our faculties. And then on the other end, you have just like this beautiful confidence that comes through in like homeostasis in the body where it's very easy to express what it is that, you know, maybe you didn't even know you needed, wanted to express or needed to express and, and get off your chest. And not that it always goes there, but I can reflect on a multitude of times where, yeah, we were on the last year and I was like, holy shit, this is why we do this shit. Um, so yeah, I feel like that, that very, that covers a lot of ground in terms of, you know, what we offer in our container and, and this is.
Rob:is
Bill and Beth:This is so important, this work, especially in Milwaukee, creating a container that's specifically dedicated for this purpose. Because we've all been looking for this without us really knowing until we were like, let's fucking see what happens. Let's try this thing. And, and Beth showed up early on as a part. She, Beth was at our first one, well, she was dating Jason, um, name drop. Um, that was our first experimentation, like you were our Guinea pigs. That was my first time staring somebody in the eyes for three minutes. We did some, uh, some eye gazing. Yeah, it was intense. Yeah. And Yeah. We were I was lit up. Remember how clunky it felt, dude? It was those beginning stages of like, we, we were like, holy shit. Like two. It was like, I mean, it's just as of recent for me where I'm like, I feel stable and showing up to these things and stepping into that role. Um, but just like reflecting on where I was back then. I'm sure. I mean, we had conversations about it. It was like, stress, stress. Your body's like, what the fuck are we doing? We don't do this. This is not something we do. And. That's actually what Slingshot entails as well. I feel that's what it provides the participants is like stepping out of that comfort zone and like achieving the reward on the other side. I like the, the permission slip thing. Like, uh, you know, we, we are the commissionaries the ones get like holding the space so people can begin to give themselves an experience, permission to, to step into things that may be scary or, um, even on the adverse side. So many of our practices are like really playful and, and rather silly. And I feel that that's also another missing component in the general adult life is like, how often are you playing? How often are you being silly? You know, cuz that's, that's healing, that's magic. Why is that important? To me or in general? Just, yeah, I mean to you for sure. Um, it's, I mean, I think it's, it's part of our, our nature to be silly and to express in a way that we may perceive to be some, in a way that could generate judgment. Um, know, I know a lot of people who are very expressed in their, their silly energy and their, their playful energy. But there's also a lot of people and adults specifically, who if you ask, you know, how often do you play, they'll, they either won't have an answer or say, never. I don't have time for that. I don't have time for that. Or like, I, I've got kids in a job and fucking shit to do. I have to, I have to be serious. I have to take everything seriously. And what does that cause? Inflammation. It's a blockage. It's really a blockage. And you're robbing yourself of joy, I would say. So like coming home to the inner child and being like, what the fuck did I just do for no point? That made me feel good. And, and in the end, like there is a point, but you approach it with the. I mean, essentially overarching intention that it's, it's kind of like freeform and it's just a thing that makes us feel good engaging with each other in a certain way, or making a silly face or, you know, many of the various theater games that we do that promotes, you know, exploring the imagination and creativity. Yeah. And it, it, like, uh, something I like to personally bring into my life is like, how can I make every instance more playful? Like every conversation, how can I make work more playful or my journey there, how can I bring more wonder and joy into the things that I've deemed mundane so I can create freshness and novelty in my own life, rather than about it. Yeah. I feel, yeah, what we mainly do is, Help people feel alive in their bodies because it's so easy to be like overly rigid and routine oriented. And when we keep ourselves in that box, it's like counterintuitive to evolutionary biology where like, as we were evolving, we were encountering like new shit on a daily basis. Like crazy shit was happening perpetually. So I feel like it's hardwired into us to seek that out. So our nervous system, uh, is stimulated in a way where it grows and that we evolve. Cause I feel one of our main purposes here is to evolve and the nervous system recognizes that as one of our main purposes. At least that's my perspective, that's my opinion on those things. And yeah. What, what would you guys, well there's a lot of different, do you have anything to share in regards to, I'd love to hear Rob
Rob:speak a little bit on the
Bill and Beth:inspiration for this. it. Yeah. That's a, let's, that's a good place to go. Thank you both.
Rob:uh, well shout out to the, shout to the Ice and Iron Boys, uh,
Bill and Beth:Rob Carney. Eddie Madden. Jordan Chartier.
Rob:Yeah. They, uh, you know, through connecting with them through the internet, them on a retreat that another friend of ours, Ryan Sprague hosted. And I started following them and I started working Rob Carney through Whole Health Community Connect, uh, online connection that he created. And through seeing what they stuff, that that was an inspiration. It was, you know, I kind of, I touched on it earlier a little bit about how I haven't, I hadn't seen that and I really wanted, I wanted to go out, out there and go do it with them, but I'm not gonna fly out there for one weekend. I wanna make a lunch trip out of it. And so I wanted to bring something here, and it was just an idea that sparked and who else better than my best friend to, So, yeah, I just, I, I remember exactly, I text bill, I said, Hey, I have an idea, and set up a time and talk about it. And we, we met jewelry studio and I told him about it. There was no questions asked of how It was, we're, we're. We're gonna do it, we're gonna make it happen. Uh,
Bill and Beth:committed.
Rob:and from there we just brainstormed, what And, over, almost a year and a half ago, trying to think what we actually brought to the table was, but we wanted intimate connection through, you know, through the one-on-one connection, gazing. It's very important, like you time you've ever stared somebody dead in the eyes for three minutes. And you, you get to see the joy that gets brought up and you get to really decipher the person. Because normally you're gonna be sitting there
Bill and Beth:the inspiration People coming
Rob:how I
Bill and Beth:yep. How, where have you guys experienced like the most resistant, especially Wait, wait. I want to, I want to add on to what Rob said. Hold that thought though. Pin. So like we pin, put a pin in it. Drop the pin. Um, I feel a critical imperative point in time was both Rob and I seeking out mentorship mm-hmm. And entertaining a new possibility and, and, and without letting the mind totally stop us from doing it, showing up to the thing. Specifically with Ryan Sprague, one-on-one, mentorship, coaching, doing story work, and, you know, utilizing the tools that he had accrued up to that point to develop his lifestyle into the way that he did. Cuz he emits a very, very particular frequency. If he, if you know Ryan Sprague and, and Quick Plug, check out Ryan Sprague on many of the amazing podcasts he's been on Paul Checks, um, Josh Trent, um, the enlisted podcast. He, uh, he's just, he's a pot of gold, a hundred percent and just a ray of light in so many different ways. And I feel like that was a, and, and then us like you being open enough to do that and that opened up so many doors and, and new potentialities. It was like a portal and then you had an idea and we're like, let's fucking materialize this bitch. Like, I was thinking the same shit. I'm seeing what they're doing. I'm like, why? Like, that was something that crossed my mind too. It's, and. Ultimately, yeah, it was fucking terrifying. Like, I mean, doing, doing podcasts was terrifying. It still is something that activates me to a certain degree. I still go into the workshops with some pre jitteryness, but through this process of like having an idea, committing to it, and then taking action in reality to bring it forth with you, Rob, and then now you Beth. Um, I've completely transformed as a person, like a thousand. I'm completely different than when this shit started. Like this has taught me so much about myself working with people in this way and essentially working with myself in this way. And yeah, I just wanted to add that to what Rob said in terms of the origin story of how things had begun. And it was, it was all, it really was, was something that we started and kept going as a wise man once said. So really beautiful. Yeah, what's your question? I'm curious to know, like, uh, you know, since the beginning to now, where have you experienced the most resistance with doing this stepping the space and the facilitator role with a, with a focus on the beginning? Like what challenges did you have to face right out the internally, and how did you navigate those challenges? Yeah, for me, and I'm sure Rob can relate to this, I'm sure this is a direction Rob will go and I'm sure there's more routes as well, but it's like, it's for sure just the inner critic, like imposter phenomena, voice beginner syndrome type stuff. And it, uh, for me particularly, it was really challenging because I have, uh, you know, multiple experiences where I got up in front of groups of people and my nervous system was so, Dysregulated in that experience and the stories that would follow, uh, preceding that experience. Um, that, like what I knew, the experience of getting in front of people and speaking or doing anything and having eyes on me was a survival threat essentially. And that's still within my consciousness a bit. But that was the hardest thing cuz it was just like, I have to be able to communicate in a certain way to guide and facilitate these practices and experiences. So, you know, my nervous system, like my heart rate would elevate and, and maybe I would get a little flush in the face and, and just like classic symptoms of feeling upregulated in my body and. Like slowly but surely as I was able to like relax into the experience and just through repetition, I was able to let go of a lot of that. And obviously the practices helped continuing to, you know, take deep, full breaths and things along these lines. But essentially what allowed me to move through that was just continued exposure. And, um, outside of that, I mean that's, that's the main thing that comes to mind, like, I think there was for me, or there was resistance for me in, in terms of collaborate, collaborating, like opening up and like, what if I get rejected from my idea? You know, what if, which like that's gonna happen, right? Like we're gonna disagree on how to approach things. And then ultimately you learn to put your ego to the side and, and you recognize the safety within the container that we've created. And there's really no room for like, cuz there isn't gonna be any judgment from you. So this, this, the container's safe. I bring awareness to that. I'm like, oh, like if I bring an idea and for some reason it doesn't resonate, that's fine because we work as a team and it's our vision. It's not my vision and I can put it to the side now. So that was another thing I like had faced resistance with and that's changed a lot for me going through that process, working with both you on a weekly basis for at least an hour. And Rob and I have been going deep as fuck on our other men's immersion project as well. So that's, that was another point of.
Rob:of
Bill and Beth:Resistance those tho that those are the two main things that come to mind
Rob:The, the imposter syndromes definitely that probably got wiped three, three ago. was a point of
Bill and Beth:how uncomfortable my nervous
Rob:system actually got
Bill and Beth:while
Rob:Guiding people either through breath work or through movement. And there's still points where I fear good enough, that I'm not doing it correctly. But that's the thing with this is, you we're open and we allow everyone else to be open and be free. So yeah, we might be facilitating this, but it doesn't mean we're masters at it. Right? I would never consider myself a master because I didn't create this, I didn't start these movements and we just preaching what we practice because it makes us feel good and that's good too. And you know, something might not land for somebody and that's okay, but that's the whole idea is to explore it and see what that feels like. Uh, another one definitely was a where I'm super excited about it for about three weeks. And then that week comes up and then there's six days, four days, don't want to do
Bill and Beth:Maybe we should cancel.
Rob:sit there and I get in why are we doing this? No one's gonna prepared? Right. You know, the, uh, Billy voice? Yeah. The, uh,
Bill and Beth:Billy voice that's sassy. Little voice
Rob:just in there ripping you apart. But then you push through that, you you, see all the joy it brings people. You see the confidence that gets built into people going through it. Because you can start off, you can tell people are a little, little stiff. They don't really wanna loud and dance in front of people. container, everyone's laughing, they're giggling, they're hugging Uh, you know, there's tears of bang Ben let out.
Bill and Beth:and it's all cause you
Rob:watch a group of people who.
Bill and Beth:really don't know
Rob:each other. get to know each other within this timeframe. And it's like they've known each other this whole entire So those, those are definitely the two. thing that's a lot of resistance for me, and I have it, is putting it on the schedule and making the time to learn more about what we're bringing to the table. To actually like, go in depth with it. To go in depth with breath work, to go in depth with movement and you know, the and the how this all works. So that's been a big thing. It's still, it's, it still is, but that's all part of the is you're, you know, end, we're continuously navigate being facilitators
Bill and Beth:I can
Rob:On my behalf that I never wanted to do now it's great. I love getting up there. And yeah, there's days where it I had it the other day where I, I work, came in from W C T C where I went to school and I like, how long have you been here? Start talking. And I whole body got hot, but I
Bill and Beth:I remember
Rob:low and slow. Just breathe low and slow. And I was able to articulate and talk and right away. So that is uh, public speaking realm takes me or where I take myself Um, In the future here. And this has, this has been a big help. And obviously collaborating with you guys is just, it's great. It's beautiful. There's, that can come through it and, you know, it easy as it is with two other partners. But I, I know I wouldn't have stuck with it. I would've like, oh, okay. Well I tried it once. know, it's one of those things, you try it once, it didn't work out, you know, you keep going, like you said earlier. Keep going, keep going.
Bill and Beth:the bumps. Messy action baby. Yeah. Um, Rob, or do you have anything else to say or, I was gonna propose a question to you. I really have to pee. Go pee. You don't have to say that. You can just go, you can't expect to do something nice.
Rob:get young age,
Bill and Beth:really until I
Rob:have to learn. And That's
Bill and Beth:what facilitators, and get all
Rob:the ground to stand on. But once you actually get up there and you start to do it and you're in it, that's when you learn it. Cause it's all a learning experience. You're gonna learn as you go.
Bill and Beth:It's not failure, it's
Rob:failing forward.
Bill and Beth:Exactly. And, uh, I would like to propose this question, um, the fact that you have navigated all of this, what does this mean
Rob:about you?
Bill and Beth:That's a great question. What does this mean about us? Or you could start with you if you, you don't have to speak on our behalf, but I feel like when you speak, well, when you speak for yourself, you will be speaking for us to a large degree. I'll just let you
Rob:navigating
Bill and Beth:just moving through it all and continuing to move forward and take the steps
Rob:to
Bill and Beth:create this thing
Rob:it means I have the power create the life that I want love, expressing myself fully doing the things that I love. And that's, that's a really
Bill and Beth:that's lot's of opportunity there. Yeah, exactly. what we need I want it. Yep. You know, Well, I'll just say this. I like bringing this analogy up and I did with the men's We started a fire and all we fucking had to start with was wet logs. Now the fire's gone and we're just tossing huge pieces of lumber on it and we're just gonna keep doing that. That's it. Until we die. Pretty much. Pretty much. And that fire is available to all of you listeners because we, if you're in Milwaukee or if you're in the general area whatsoever, we're here to support you in stoking your inner fire through what we do and, and. What we've explored within ourselves and what we've cultivated and, and we bring our fires together to continue to amplify the level of heat and brightness that that fire emits. Let's hear from you, Beth. Let's, so I don't remember the exact date of when we fully incorporated you into the project. Um, you know, you've been a longtime supporter personally and just as a participant of the workshops, and literally everyone did not miss, she's, she's consistent. What has been the biggest point of resistance for you and, and what has this experience, uh, unfolded like for you internally up to this point? Uh, whatever's there to express, we'd love to hear. Yeah. Um, I used to be wildly afraid of being seen and with like the nature of being human, you know, some days, uh, I am feeling less on top of it as others. So there were times when I was in attendance that were challenging for me to, to come to because of where I was at internally. And um, what's really beautiful about that is, you know, I can show up believing that, you know, I'm in a negative or shit mood or place and be received with just as much love and excitement by everybody around me as as ever. And, um, as a facilitator, um, when you guys talk about the beginners and imposter syndrome, I definitely resonate with that. Like, getting up in front of people and, and you know, um, sharing anything can be really scary. It's like, who the fuck am I to be doing this? So, um, There was an overcoming of that, but uh, it's been really expansive in general to work on a team. Um, I've had ideas in the past but was never quite sure how I would like bring them into fruition. And being able to work with you guys, um, with how receptive you are to new ideas and how receptive you are to new avenues, feel really within this container, and that's something that being just an attendee brought to me and being a co-facilitator has brought me as ex, ex increasingly expanded sense of freedom to express. And I can't think more healing and regenerative than that.
Rob:hell yeah.
Bill and Beth:Gang, gang. She shines so bright in so many different areas. The meditations have been hidden lately. Yeah. I didn't even know I could do that. It's crazy. Just like, yeah. Mm-hmm. Straight from the heart. Just like It's energy. watching you guys expand into your roles, uh, as well has been incredibly beautiful to see how you've, uh, gained more confidence and, and, um, in the, the breathwork journey specifically, uh, the way that you guys lead that has just gotten better and better and bigger and, and more impactful. And it's cool to see that resonate throughout the group by the end of the session and see people, you know, having a, an emotional release or, um, finding the courage to share something really challenging. I think that comes directly from, um, us being able to hold this container and, and share the breathwork and the meditation to open people to be able fully be there with whatever they are in the moment. Yep. Hell yeah. I'm grateful to, Painting this picture with y'all. Hell yeah. It's a ton of fun. Yeah. Like I said, it's just been this amazing unfolding, emerging experience of parts of myself that I didn't know could be. So that's really cool. And it's, it's solely a matter. It was only, it was solely a matter of me putting myself out there and continuing to do so despite, you know, the chatter from the mind and, and all the different stories that are the roadblocks to move through to step into a new identity. like me being a creator as, as we all are, um, more specifically with jewelry arts and carving my path with that, it was like interesting cuz these are two completely different things. Um, and yeah, I lost exactly what I, what I was gonna bring that to, but, Just the internal process of the whole experience that's, that really sticks out to me, uh, the individual process that comes with developing something where it's so intimate in terms of how we work together and how we work with other people and how we work with ourselves in that process. It's, yeah, I would say out of all the things in my life, it's one of the things that's helped me grow the most relationships being first the people I connect with and, and continuing to elaborate on how the depths I can reach with that. And they've synergistically supported each other too, like the slingshot workshops and my, uh, my position in it has, and like the experience I've gained from has, has applied to every single aspect. Of my life and it just allowed for more stable and sustainable enjoyment across the board and me being able to navigate challenges and move through the adversity with grace. And That's cool cuz that's the goal. That's, that's the goal of what we're doing you know, ourselves and others. Do you guys have like any personal methods of like getting into the, the flow state, the flow zone upon arriving to the container that anchors you into the role of the facilitator?
Rob:Well, I love hanging out with you guys like three hours before, into each other and like, we already and that, that energy bounces through us. believe, and I see it come through, Because then we show show up. And once we get started, it's basically all Sunday
Bill and Beth:the whole day. The whole day. That whole day is the whole day. It's a celebration hell hit it, dog. Yeah. Yeah. now? Oh yeah, for sure. That's, I mean, if there's anything that sticks out the most in terms of bringing me to that recognition, um, because there was a long process of denial. Me not fully looking at the fact that my jewelry work and my journey with that no longer creates the spark it once did. I still love it. I enjoy it. I've become world class at a craft and it's the same thing as slingshot. I've learned an immense amount of things about myself through the process and yeah, just being able to like do the thing and witness myself do the thing and continue to do the thing and, and fully realize and recognize how good it feels and how great it feels, how much energy it provides me for sure. It, that, that created a lot of clarity for me in terms of understanding that this is what I want to do with my creative energy. This is where I want to pour. Most of it, you know, um, whatever that looks like, which I'm unsure. I know slingshot's a part of it. Most definitely. And there's other projects in the works and we're exploring, I'm exploring and we are exploring other methods of, you know, creating in this way within health and wellness and within that space and within that industry. So, yeah, the answer is slingshot for sure, has created a lot of clarity in where I stand with all that, that, and. Great support from friends and other mentors and, um, mushrooms and mm-hmm. You know, because I Basic mushrooms are a mentor. Yeah, yeah. More specifically, like after I had a five gram experience, uh, with Beth by my side, and it wasn't like this crazy journey that I thought it was gonna be, but the next day I was like, pretty emotionally fragile, just cause I didn't, you know, I didn't get the amount of sleep I normally get. And, you know, having gone through that experience, I was like, oh, this is like my next step is like fully coming to. Recogni fully reckoning with the fact that jewelry doesn't do what it once did for me, and that's fucking okay. And that's a good thing. Um, it doesn't negate from the level of intensity of like, whoa, a new mountain to climb. Which that's, that's the most challenging part. Cause it's like I have this one aspect of me and my creativity, which is a well-oiled machine and where I'm comfortable, and then this other one that ultimately provides me that, you know, more purpose and, and, and more love and where I feel most provided for in terms of my energy as a whole. So that's, that's been an interesting experience. And yeah, I'm, it's, I'm just, I'm grateful for myself, you know, taking the steps forward to stay consistent with it, you know, despite the doubts and the fears and all the shit that comes with it. Because I don't know how common it is in our society to. Go through major transitions like that. As far as I know, it's not very common from my direct experience. I don't see people making career shifts after 10 years into new businesses that often. I know it happens, of course, but I do meet a lot of people who want to but think that they can't. Yeah. It's like a, it's a big death and rebirth thing and, and all our individual experiences are so different with what that looks like and what needs to be done. I'm very fortunate with my circumstance as a whole to be able to like, have the resources to do so and like explore in a way where my, you know, uh, baseline hierarchy of needs isn't, um, you know, um, doesn't get shaky. I'm, I'm able to, Just with, yeah, my, the set of the, the hand of cards I was dealt, this process has been easier for me than it would be for most. At the same time, I've done a lot of work to come to the recognition and to cultivate this within my life. Right. Not a lot of people can say either that they've ran a successful business for 10 years at age That is weird. Not weird, but it's strange. Um, so yeah, Slingshot's been a huge tenant in helping me with all. I don't, I mean, the process would've likely happened regardless. It's just was, uh, exponentially faster with it because Yeah. Holy shit. I mean, it's, it's a multitude of things. Um, multitude of things I did that were very uncomfortable for me and that created, um, a faster.
Rob:faster
Bill and Beth:Coming to, to this realization. Um, yeah. So that's, that's, I feel That's great. Discomfort being the, the catalyst of great change. Yeah. I mean, yeah. We all have a lot of experience Yeah. And it's, it's beautiful. Do it. It's important. That's one of, that's a part of what we do with Slingshot and Yeah. Like we are, uh, we exemplify what we bring to the table that's important. Like Rob said, we, we preach what we practice, which is cool, and we practice what we preach. So, Rob, what's it like being a lobster, lobster, lobster in the house?
Rob:it gets you very close to the floor. Is it crusted? You really get your claws and all the crevices that you need to, and got the, uh,
Bill and Beth:He's snappy. Got that grip.
Rob:really, you really, uh, Grab people in with the claws.
Bill and Beth:his energetic signature. People can't resist. Look at the energetic
Rob:yeah. You know, and red, just red The color red is looked at as crazy and chaotic and angry and hot and, no,
Bill and Beth:it's actually the color of the root. Rob's heart on the foundation. Rob's hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He's, he's got abs of steel, but he is a fucking ooey, gooey, soft girl. Not what, what was, what's the, the, uh, the terminology from Alex Morningstar. A yummy girl. A yummy girl. He's a yummy girl on the inside.
Rob:Well, I love that the nickname was Lobster. Lobster. And, part of the crustacean family because my, my zodiac sign is a
Bill and Beth:Oh shit. That's right.
Rob:So, you know, being,
Bill and Beth:perfect
Rob:beat hard on the outside Yeah. Over so well, and um, oh, it's funny you bring it up cuz I, I had a thought about this earlier. I was talking with a about a new guy that just started working by us. I work second shift I was told that
Bill and Beth:assertive
Rob:Assertive or, um, not
Bill and Beth:It's, if that's the note you wrote, then that's his, if he's interpreting that way, then you have to show him your yummy girl. But I mean, there may be other variables. I don't know how you interact with this man, but No, it's soft on Dude. Rob used to be hard all the way through. It's true. You were, uh, you were there. Was I, you just had a, a, a tough upbringing I feel. So that's was a result of that. And you've like, Like, I will say it a thousand times over. Your transformation is incredible to me. What I've been able to like watch and process and, and uh, at the pace you did it, it is just so cool because yeah. Robed two years ago,
Rob:ago,
Bill and Beth:Rob. Different Rob and like, yeah, it's not anything in negative connotation, it's just that's my lens. Uh, and it's, it's amazing cuz you transformed yourself and I feel slingshot has been a big part of that. And then just the work you've done outside of it, obviously, to work and study and seek mentorship and connect with the right people and continue to put yourself out there. And you called that in, you know, you, you continue to take the steps forward to, cultivate, you know, the person you want to be and it's fucking raps for lobster, it's fucking magic. Yeah. dude, it's good to be hard on the outside, I feel. We have, we have fragile bodies, so like, yourself, keep, keep the lean muscle packed on y'all, you know, it'll, it'll dwindle as you age if you don't maintain it. Um,
Rob:Yeah, I'm, you know, to speak on that. It's, it's not, thing, you know, you're not just gonna come to one workshop and everything's gonna change. in a sense they can, but, you know, it comes down to you putting in the work as well. You know, you just showing up to the workshop be the first step. And that's, that's a big first step that to do. Uh, you know, when I first sought out a coach,
Bill and Beth:how,
Rob:uh, luckily he knew Bill, and he was able to get Bill, and I set an alarm to get up and do the session.
Bill and Beth:Wait, back up a little bit. You, you scheduled it just to like more contextualize the story. You scheduled a session with Ryan Sprague, your first ever, you know, mentorship with a personal development coach. You had it on the schedule. All right. And then take off from there. Yeah.
Rob:no, I'm just going back to bed. I'm going back to bed. And letting myself down and I didn't got a text message Hey, it's Ryan. I'll
Bill and Beth:messy action is better than no Take the leap of faith and spread the wings of
Rob:means of courage.
Bill and Beth:That was the quote I heard from, so you believe in yourself. Sorry. True. Yeah. All great ways of putting it. We gotta, we gotta make the rounds now i's gonna bring it up too. What's it like being a worm? What's it like being a worm? Yeah. Cozy. You, you're stupid. It feels need to a worm. Yeah. Um, I'm a dirt worm. This isn't dirt shit. No. Some of it's partially shit. Some of it. Excuse my naivety around what soil is. I mean, let's, let's think about how nourishing the dirt is. I'm happy to exist down below the ground, be a soil dweller and, um, so the name
Rob:has
Bill and Beth:evolved over time. My first job ever was at a meat market. I was a sophomore in high school, and all of the senior boys, they found out on the track team, everybody called me penis. Nice. And I hated it. And it, it evolved, you know, into. To, I was called Bathtub for a while. That's not related, but that's what my friends called me. This Beef Summer Sausage Beth. Beef Penis. And then I mentioned it to you and I believe Adrian and Butcher Banks, and all of a sudden it became Beef Worm and uh, that's who I am now, and I share it with people. Um, so now people at work call me that as well. They'll be like, Hey, beef worm. And it's, it's just hilarious to me because it's like a kind of grotesque, but I, I love it. Yeah. That's why it's funny isn't, well, I'm happy, I'm happy to be a beef worm, to embody the name such as I her that. Like, yeah, it's, yeah, that's
Rob:her name now.
Bill and Beth:When I did my, uh, when I did level two, we, we made a a 10 minute origin story video. And, um, I was having a really hard time with it. I think I, I literally did like The bloopers on my phone are hilarious. And, um, the intro was the hardest part for me. You know, I was like, Hey, I'm Beth. And I was like, no, this just sounds so corny. And for some reason, what anchored me and what like helped me like get into the flow was introducing myself. Like, Hey, my name's Beth and they call me B Form on the streets. That's right. And, um, that's what I sent in too, is that introduction. So now a lot of the enlisted community, at least the people involved in my class also refer to me So now it's, there's no way out. It's, it is for you? Yeah, devil. Yeah. like, not taking myself too seriously. Right. Because that, when I do that, it's, it just, uh, messes up my ability to flow from the heart and to feel good doing what I'm doing. But when I can be silly and use humor as an anchor, um, I feel like I'm able shine a little bit brighter. Bill, wild Bill, where does that come from? know, it's, it's a recent development for sure, and I, uh, I've actually been thinking, you know, what about me is a representation know, wild like, what does that even nature ecosystems the earth all that. All that, that encapsulates everything under the sun. Um, Mark England, Mark England gave me the nickname, wild Build the Jeweler. And then I started to be known as Wild Build the jeweler in the enlisted community. As I started to connect with them more, Ryan connected me with Mark. He wanted some bling maid. So we made that happen. We made the AK 47 pendant and the Abra Cadabra piece. And, um, I had already gone through a core language upgrade with Ryan. I did some group training with him, so that was really cool. Uh, Ryan didn't call me that at that time. It was, it was purely Mark that brought it to the table and brought it to reality. Um, so I like, I enjoy the name because I feel I've always been someone that's explored outside the boundaries and, and have considered myself. So I am someone who is outside of the box because I feel like that's exactly. How things, how life is best lived. And Mark Twain said it best when you find yourself on the side of the majority of it's time to pause and reflect. Because if you look at what's happening with the majority of people, it's like every so many people are swimming in dysfunction and like majority opinion doesn't usually align with like highest love and highest truth. Mm-hmm. I feel, so when I look at the word wild and how it applies to me, I've always been a skateboarder. I've always been an artist, a creator. I've always explored my mind, not always, you know, there's a certain point at which I became aware enough to do these things, but, and like I don't really have any memories from childhood. Um, so. That's the short answer to the question right there. I've, I haven't thought about it reflected on it too much, so it's a good question to pose. Um, I do like the concept of rewilding. I feel like that's definitely, uh, at the core of my wellness philosophy is connecting with nature cuz that's what we are, that's what we need to do. We emerge from nature so therefore we must commune with nature. And being a wild man is representative of that a hundred percent. Like getting the fucking bare feet on the ground, getting the sun in the eyes and on the skin first thing in the morning, going to take a dip in a nice cold dip in the lake. Uh, lift and heavy things. Um, you know, he is not domesticated. I am domesticated cuz we all are. But, um, to, in relativity to the laymans. No, absolutely not. And yeah, I'm just, I'm like, So fascinated by what nature can That's like the highest form of wisdom right there. It's this, you know, indescribably intelligent force, this energy that I don't understand at all. I just like go outside and observe, and I observe myself and I observe people around me. And I just, I approach life through a lens of curiosity and, I make what I can of that, and I do my best to implement what's useful and leave the rest. Um, so thanks Mark England. Thanks, Mark England. Thanks Marky. Mark Gar. Okay. I'll do my best while we're here. Yeah. So, Wild. Rob and I were fucking coming, you know, we were brainstorming, what are we gonna, we I like was just thinking on it for such a long time. And, and then I was watching something with Mark Bellon, I think he created this contraption called a slingshot for weightlifting. I don't know what it's called. I, at first I thought he had a gym called Slingshot. I'm like, that's really fucking cool. Like slingshots are interesting. I re, I resonate with slingshots. I think of Bart Simpson and shenanigans and like getting into trouble and, um, being a rascal and, and all these different things. And at the same time, if you think of like the physics of like the contraption of a slingshot and how it works, you're like pulling this projectile back. Energy is building up and you're letting go and you're launching forward. So I feel that's what we do with our workshop is we come together and we're stretching ourselves out via getting uncomfortable or pulling the slingshot back. And then like, After the workshop is when the, or like, uh, during the closing of the workshop, it's when the slingshot is released and you have all this energy and you're just, you know, ripping through the air and, um, you know, the possibilities a lot or possib many possibilities open to you. I think with modulating your energy in that way and,
Rob:and.
Bill and Beth:and therefore you can more effectively share your love and your gifts with the world. You find more clarity. You, you feel more supported holistically, and yeah, so that's, that's the best way I could put it. Now I know we've been, we've chipped away at a mission statement a little bit to, you
Rob:you know, more
Bill and Beth:specifically, um, iron out the words. We haven't done that. They, that's the concept though. and yeah, just I like was thinking of Rob and i's past the bullshit we got wasn't anything that was like.
Rob:was like
Bill and Beth:Actually bad. Like according to the law it was criminal, but it was more so just like partying and being super silly and like, you know, exploring the edges in that way and being pranksters and farting in each other's faces and just being silly. Gooses all around. Just normal stuff.
Rob:Yep. Yeah. And you mean ever since you're a kid too, you brought up something you said you don't specific memory of being a kid. That doesn't ring a bell of being talked about it the other day how you were throwing rocks at a
Bill and Beth:Oh yeah. And terrible idea
Rob:stung
Bill and Beth:Yep. And then flew right into my eye. I
Rob:I went, back
Bill and Beth:Me, right.
Rob:revenge and threw a rock out and got stung in the
Bill and Beth:You either fuck with my boy. And then
Rob:And then I just we went on top of your well, either teenagers preschool. Yeah. Uh, and we jumped
Bill and Beth:who isn't us went on top Just kidding. It was us.
Rob:And someone I met, uh, all three of us jumped off of it into snowbank, that's a representation too of, uh, big
Bill and Beth:Yeah. yeah, we have alternative. Yeah, I mean it's funny that it's even called that. It's just like back to like reflecting on, you know, what supports us best and that's doing what nature intended us to do this. This is exactly what we're doing. It's super basic stuff, so that's why it's inter and that it brings you back to that quote again. It's like the majority through their lens looks at these things and be like, that's fucking weird. Why would I ever lay down and hyperventilate and then hold my breath for whatever amount of time and do it to music and you know, allow myself to emote and like play these silly games that we do in relativity to. Um, you know, the self-expression practices and and so on. It's, uh, it's a fascinating thing. So yeah, for me it's uh, it's like, it's a process of, of coming home to like what actually works. And for some reason many people have decided that that's like not an option for them cuz of self-judgment. That's another thing we promote in our container is like complete openness and curiosity. And if you have judgment, just be curious about it. Don't judge the judgment. Like, why is that there? Because we all have harbor judgment and judgment comes up in different scenarios so we can peel back that bullshit and like, you know, throw it in the trash because. It's just, uh, it's just, it's a leak. It's a leak in our energetic gas can, you know, because why would, why would I want that in my mind when I could be like learning and growing instead of mean, like, this is that way because of, I believe this. And what you believe is just a summation of things that you've been taught most likely for, for most people. Rather until you learn to start thinking about your thinking and the things you've been taught up to the point you're at. Um, so yeah, some things that come to mind. I think that one thing I find really exciting and really hopeful is that, uh, the like collective mindset around all of this is shifting. Like, uh, I was just talking with a coworker yesterday about how a lot of schools now are teaching meditation and like, it's like, uh, what's it, what mandatory? Um, good. They are learning how to meditate and how to breathe in schools now. And I think that's awesome. Uh, in reflection back to like my experience in school when like funding for the arts was what was getting cut and like time to feel into your body didn't exist. So, um, where a part of the leading edge and there, there are things shifting in different direction. Mm-hmm. Um, I'm really excited about that. Hell yeah. Um, so I feel ready to wrap things up if you guys feel complete in your thoughts on that. And, you know, on the topic of meditation, Beth, uh, I'm gonna put you on the spot. Do you wanna lead us through a short one to close it out? Yeah. All right. Let's do it. All right, everybody, let's get into a comfortable position wherever you are. You know, if you're in your car driving right now, uh, don't close your eyes, but everybody else, close your eyes and place one heart on your heart, or one hand on your heart, and one hand on your stomach. And just arrive here with a deep breath into the abdomen, into the chest, all the way to the top, and then let it out with a sigh. more and sigh it out. Wherever you are right now. Whatever emotions are present with you, allow those to be. All of it is okay. is perfect. Recognize that you are always un perpetually in a state of arrival. Full each now moment is calling for your full presence and awareness. We have a tendency allow our minds to take us on a trip and our continuously arrive What does this moment have to offer What comes up is truly of the utmost pressure and importance? What is truly how much of what Can you let go breathe? Tune into where your body If it's in your head, down the and perhaps when you're on your throat, a laugh some comes to make a note to reach out to Moving down to the heart, what is asking Maybe make a note to spend some time with and continue to expand with the breath into the belly and you're holding any tension anywhere breathe and allow for feel
Rob:feel through
Bill and Beth:been carrying Meet on an exhale, fill your whole body up with air. And when you reach the top of the breath, hold there for five seconds and then side out. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for sharing this space with us and allowing us to share our hearts with you. And I hope that you bring this with you back out into the world and share that expansion with others. Thank you. Oh, what'd you just call me?