Hi everybody. What it do baby Boo? How are you? Chilling. How you doing? Sweating. It is hot as a booty. Booty outside. A booty. Booty? Yeah. You know, like rainy rain
Erinas we were on a walk yesterday and ran into a neighbor and it was raining as we were walking. And Josh says, I love a rainy
Joshrain. And I meant to say rainy walk, but my brain had a fart. And so I said, rainy rain. And everyone just acted like they knew what I was talking about. I didn't actually
Erinhear you, but I'm sure the neighbor is just So, here we are.
JoshNice. So here we, so now it's rainy rain, just like booty, booty, booty booty, booty, booty. It's booty, booty hot outside. Not even just booty hot. Anyways, how awesome is briny? Ugh. The best
Erinshe, she's incredible. I know. She's like one of those souls that. I instantly connected with That does not happen very often for me. I'm kind of like a closed off fact. Like you think you know me, but you don't really know me, but like Bryoni knows me,
JoshBryoni does. I met Bryoni at Wisdom 2.0 thanks to somebody that was sitting next to her. That didn't talk to her. I met Brinny. Yeah. There was like
Erina little pairing off of like, do this, uh oh. Were you there? Well, no, I'm just, I'm describing Oh, so you're telling my story? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ok, go for it. So, sounded like you were about to move on and I feel like we need that information. No, I was about
Joshto say it. So we had to, we wouldn't even, wasn't even like break off. It was like, Hey, just talk and say the top three things that you've loved so far about the conference to the person. Next to you Pops, aka ba Delio was on my right and this lady was on my left. So I naturally, I turned to the lady on my left and we started talking. Bryoni was sitting on the other side of the lady that I was talking to, and Brinny turned to her left to talk to another lady, and that lady didn't wanna talk to her. So then Bryoni turned and was like, Hey, can I be in your guys' convo? And
Erinwe were like, yeah, I wonder if that felt hard for her or if she was not awkward. Cause for me, I don't, it wasn't
Joshlike the lady was dizzying her, the lady just also turned left to talk to the person next to her. So it wasn't like awkward or anything. But
Erinstill I would be like, um, excuse me. Um, could I join your club? Like, I'd be
Joshawkward. It was so welcoming at that conference. Yeah. So you weren't gonna fail. True. Anyways, we got talking. She was great. Awesome. And then we went on about the conference, didn't see her. Then I was at Blue Bottle the next morning and she was at Blue Bottle and I was like 50% sure that that was her. I went up to her and I was so terrified because What if this chick wasn't briny
Erinand like you just had a brief conversation with her
Joshone time? Literally. Yeah, a brief convo we kind of just hit it off. then through like social media and stuff like that, we started just connecting and I was like, this girl is all. The right similarities with Erin.
ErinYeah. He kept texting me from San Francisco being like, I think I met this girl that would be really good friends with you. Yeah, and in my head I'm like, humor similar. Why are you meeting girls in San Francisco? Splash?
JoshHey, I go to Wizz on 2.0 to pick up Cheeks.
ErinMindful Chicks.
JoshChicks. That's gonna be a T-shirt of ours. Wait, yes. Mindful Chicks. Okay, great. Love that. If anybody freaking steals that, I'm coming for you anyways. Briny. Is incredible. She was in the corporate world. She was an accountant then she kind of quit went into the mindfulness space and we talk all about it.
Erinevery time I see her post her like, schedule for the week, cuz she'll post, doing yoga at x, y, Z studio and then Sound Bath on
Joshthis day
Erinis mapping on this day I just message her and be like, you. Have made great life choices. Yeah. Like I can't believe that this is how you fill up your week. Like what a joy.
JoshWhere do we live? She went from working at Lyft to lifting people up,
Erinlike epitome of bad jokes. Yikes. Here we are. Here we are here. It's really good though. Oh, damn it. You did it. I did it. You just did
Joshit.
ErinWe're done. Here's Brian. Enjoy. Bye.
JoshOh, we're not done.
BryoniSome songs I'll know sometimes you've been off on the podcast and I have just been like I have never heard that song before.
ErinHe quoted some line about lasagna the other day. I was like, move
JoshG's. Move in silence. Like lasagna people stay on borderline crazy sorta of kinda, okay,
Erinbut how, what does lasagna have to do with moving in silence? That's what I don't understand. Like What is that metaphor? It's little,
Joshit's a little Wayne. Okay. It's six foot, seven foot.
ErinEight foot.
BryoniYeah. When I eat lasagna, I definitely do not move in silence.
JoshI love it. we've just been straight laughing pretty much for 25 minutes. I know. Trying to start this podcast and it's been the easiest thing. I almost forgot that we had to start the podcast. Yes. Cause we got click record. Yep. It was awesome. But anyways, Bryoni, y'all Bryoni is another earth angel. Yeah. That you, that's
Erinactually the only people that we have on the podcast
Joshare Earth Angel Angels. Earth Angels are the only ones that ever exist on our
Erinpodcast. Pre prerequisite to
Joshbe on pick a lane. I met Bryoni at Wisdom 2.0 and we sat together like, what was it, the first day, second day, whenever it was. we then reconnected at a coffee shop. Where you were just there, and I was so scared to go up to you because I was 50% sure you were Bryoni. So I knew I was either gonna be looking like the best person in the world, being like, oh my gosh, you remembered to the biggest dumbass in the world of who the fuck are you trying to hit on me?
ErinI swear. I just was trying to be nice.
JoshAnyways, thankfully it was Bryoni and I remembered your name. then we got to just talking at the coffee shop. Then walked to Wisdom 2.0, then sat next to each other for pretty much the entire day, and then we became best friends, and then you and Erin became best friends, and then you did Rudy, and then now we're all best friends and it's great. It's awesome. It's great. We're so thankful to have you on.
Bryoniyeah. I'm so thankful to be here and just wanted to say that I don't know if you saw it, but I was having severe allergies
JoshI noticed you were, your eyes were tearing and I just didn't say anything. Oh,
BryoniYeah. So I was thinking, I was like, Josh probably thinks I'm like crying about something. This is so embarrassing. Like when you said hi, I was literally bent over the trash can, like trying to stop it and then you're like, Bryoni. And I was like, fuck, I forgot his name. And you're like, Josh. And I was like, oh yeah. And then you were with Erin's
JoshYep. Me and Bob.
BryoniI've said this, but I thought you were pitching to him. I thought he was like a venture capitalist, like
ErinHe would be so honored by that.
BryoniAnd then I was like, how do you guys know each other? And Bob was like, he married my daughter.
JoshThat's straight up how he introed me. Cute. Okay. Time out though. I am so glad that you're acknowledging the tears because I walked up to you, I was even thinking about saying something on the podcast, but then I didn't wanna like step over boundaries or offend you because I walked up to you. You look up and your eyes are watering. And I was like, fuck. What did I just walk into regret? Yeah. Back up Josh. Back up Josh. And then the whole time we were walking. Your eyes were tearing while we were walking and none of us said anything. We just accepted it. Nobody knows what's going on, but Bri's eyes are just
Erintearing. Bri's actually having a dark night of the soul as you're walking to Wisdom
Josh2.0. Honestly, you never know if that's what's happening. It wasn't 2.0 cuz there was like people doing some crazy shit. True off to the side. You just, somebody was having a spiritual experience, you were just accepting it. So I didn't know what Bryoni was going through at the time and I was just like, I'm just gonna keep talking normally. And she would say something if she needed to
Bryonithe coffee just really hit that morning. It just really slapped and I was like, oh God, this is awesome.
Joshoh man. Oh, that blue bottle just hits different.
BryoniIt really does.
Joshthat's
Erinawesome. Was this your first year going to Wisdom 2.0?
Bryoniit was, and actually I didn't have any knowledge of it before, probably like a month prior. And the company I work for, which is, it's a like corporate fitness management company I direct their mindfulness program, which is like a really recent pillar they've added on because most people wanna go into these like corporate fitness centers. It just worked out. They were like, Hey, we'll sponsor you to go to this conference so you can pick up information and bring it back to the team. So that was like huge because I thought it was gonna be, as Josh explained that he's explained before on the podcast, like just any other conference where everyone else was sponsored, you're going cuz you have to, and no one really wants to be there. then throughout the whole experience, I just discovered that it's not like that at all. It's like our like, burning Man or like, it's like, it's like
ErinSo true.
Bryonifor mindfulness nerds.
Erinso true. I
BryoniYeah.
ErinI can't wait to go next year. I was very jealous
Joshthe whole time. I know you missed out. Brandy and I are just one year more enlightened than you. Rude. Yep. Start your comparison.
Bryoniso
ErinDidn't I have a podcast about this one? Oh yeah.
JoshAnyways, we're so stoked. Erin and I have been talking about this podcast episode since we asked, when I asked you to be on the podcast, we didn't really know each other fully yet. it was like this could go really bad. Like she could be so weird and like
BryoniI am.
JoshYeah. Sorry. Newsflash. Like when you're at a conference though, regardless of which one it is, you could be whoever you wanna be. then when you leave a conference, you're like, ha, suckers fooled them all. And so I didn't know. I didn't know it's, but you turned out to be incredible.
ErinYes. But the universe has just confirmed this friendship, this blossoming friendship because now you have a random conference that you're, you've been asked to go to in Ohio, which is hilarious. And we're like, great. See you here. Granny lives in San Francisco. Or I think, just, I guess we should ask you that. Who are you, where are you? And we'll get into the details, but.
BryoniYeah. So I live just south of San Francisco in a town called San Carlos. It's like a little suburbian town in the peninsula. I moved here during the pandemic. Because I met my boyfriend in the city at a bar and he lived down here and just thought I would be coming over for a week. And then I was like, actually,
ErinI'm moving
Bryonipandemic thing seems real. So yeah. that happened. I think it's crazy that I was invited to this conference. It's like the International Coalition of Girls Schools in Cleveland, in Ohio. Because I actually wasn't supposed to be invited. It was like one of their full-time employees for this company called Half the Story that I Like Contract teach for. They teach digital wellbeing in high schools. And so it's just like pure happenstance and that it's in Ohio. Like so many things had to happen for that to occur and for me to like meet Josh at Wisdom 2.0 and even continue that friendship, through Instagram,
JoshYeah. Yeah. Very unlike me.
ErinYeah. He was like, I think you're gonna really like this girl. I feel like you guys have a lot in common. You should reach. Reach out. And Erin was like,
Joshwhat
Eringirl? Yeah. Who are You went to San Francisco and met a girl? No, but I was like, reach out.
Bryonithat's a real thing, honestly, like even in me meeting Josh and him saying Oh, I think like you would get along with my wife Erin. I was like, oh, I don't know. Like There's always this a why is that
ErinWho knows?
Bryonithing. We have this like guard up. the hilarious thing is that like I got on that Rudy console call with you after my scan I didn't tell you this, but I was hella nervous to meet you face to face. I was just like, God, she's so
ErinOh my gosh,
Bryoniposts online
Eringirl, you don't know me well enough yet.
Bryonilike, your knowledge is profound. Like, it's really impressive. And I just wanna say this cuz I was listening like, I think it was episode 12 or something. I'm like die hard.
ErinI love it.
Bryonipickling listener, but.
Joshever made? Yes.
BryoniYeah, you finally explained what Rudy meant, but before that, literally like 10 minutes before you explain, I'm sitting there Googling Rudy and it's like a word in Hebrew that means friend or companion.
ErinYeah,
BryoniSo I just was like, whoa, how fitting, like that's how I feel about them. these like companions from like far away it was like a really cool experience to see that meaning of the word. I know that's not like what you guys meant,
Erinit's not, but it is a great coan. Yeah, because I feel like I don't know, a foundational principle for us, for Rudy is that we want people to always feel supported and like we're holding their hand in some way. Cuz we didn't really have that, we felt very isolated and alone when Josh was healing. So yeah, I mean it's really important to us for people to feel like they have community and companionship through healing, but also just in
Joshlife. We literally set up the business. I thought of Rudy inside the sauna. We were trying to think of a name. We had a couple cuz I'm in ux so I'm like, I need this to be a four letter word. I want it to end in something soft, but have something like medium to start. I need something like a hard consonant in the middle. And I was like, we're just trying to get to the root cause, like what the heck? And then I was like, holy shit, let's call it Rudy. And I texted them like while I was in the sauna. And so immediately we were all like, yes, this is great. We filed for the L L C, like we grabbed the url, we started everything. Like we literally paid an attorney thousand, thousands of dollars to get everything ready. And then we were like, what does Rudy mean? Like What if it means something terrible? Like we had never considered,
ErinLaura found another funny meaning for it. I can't remember what it was
Joshnow, but yeah, there's another funny one, but the Hebrew one's nice. Yeah. So we were like, oh,
Erinphew.
BryoniThank God. Yeah.
JoshI want everyone to hear all about you cuz we know bits and pieces of your journey of who you are just as a beautiful human being, but kind of how you. Introed yourself at Wisdom was like, oh yeah, I was an accountant. Then I quit corporate, went to mindfulness and I was like whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. There's a lot more to that. Let's back up. Uh, We never actually got there, but I wanna hear all about it. I want to hear how spirituality and mindfulness impacted you and what caused you to pump the brakes. Or even literally just hop out of a moving car of corporate world and move into something new.
Bryoniyeah. I love the car analogy because I worked for Lyft, so that's just like,
Erinthat's awesome.
BryoniI was, wasn't the type of person who grew up thinking like I'd be an accountant. there were like several things I wanted to be, and we've talked about this before, but like when you're asked what you wanna be when you grow up as a kid, at least when I was a kid, it felt like there were only like 10 options. So at first I was like, I wanna be a teacher. And then I was like, I wanna be a doctor. I wanna help people in some way. And went through my life in college, was studying Spanish just as like a continuation from high school cuz I really loved the language and was like, this is something I can keep moving with. But towards the end of college, was hit by this realization that I'd have to find a way to pay back my student loans. And was always told Oh, these are like the top five careers that you can do to earn the most money. And I started taking general ed classes, took economics, which I found really interesting and most of the people in the class didn't. So I was like, okay, I'm set aside. But I think the thing that I found interesting was just that like you could look at the world and us as humans and find different patterns in the way that we respond to different things. And I wasn't as interested in like the numbers, but I took an accounting class and I found it really easy. my mind just works like that. I like to categorize things like I'm very methodical and like love organization, so it was a big fear-based decision that I made. And like anyone going through college right now, I would just say to like, Try to put fear aside even if you know you've got loans or whatever you're thinking is coming up in the future. Because it really set me up for like years of this internal struggle of I'm doing something that it just doesn't feel right for some reason. And so I went from college to working in as an auditor in public accounting, which is like
ErinIt sounds gross. I don't know what it is, but it sounds terrible.
Bryonias a 21 year old. You go into companies and you tell people who've been working their jobs for like decades, what they've gotten wrong and they have to answer to you. Yeah. Auditors are like all different ages, but that was my experience. I did that for three years and was like, not for me, but let me try, working as an accountant internally at a company. So I went to Lyft. Great company, like great values. I think they're really trying to shift the world to look very differently than it does now. But still, like I felt that tug and so I had been practicing yoga since college really? And was just like, I need more of, it was in a class with a friend who was like, Hey, they just announced they're doing yoga teacher training. I think you should do it. Cause like you come here every week, this is something that you really love. So it was just like a hobby. I went through the teacher training, not thinking that I was gonna end up being a teacher full-time. I thought if anything, this is just like a way to deepen my own understanding of the practice and what I'm doing in the classes. And it just slowly snowballed from there. I would like, once I finished the training, teach classes on weekends or after work. Then the pandemic happened, which like really opened up my time cuz I didn't have to worry about the commute. So I slowly added more classes and like started taking more trainings. the biggest thing in yoga teacher training that stuck with me was that yoga was initially developed for young boys to practice only.
JoshI didn't know that.
Bryoniso that they could sit and meditate, like all of the physical postures are meant to prepare the body for meditation. And there's a set of eight different practices within yoga called the eight limbs. And they all kind of work towards this idea of enlightenment. And before that, comes meditation and the physical postures are just like one of the eight. So when we go into like classes in the west, lots of times we're like, it's just about making shapes of our bodies, but it's so much more than that. So with knowing that, I was like, why don't I know how to teach meditation if this is like the end game? And now I know it's not actually the end game. There's so much more after meditation, but I just decided to take a meditation teacher training program, which at the time was rare that places offered. There was really like two studios that offered for virtual meditation teacher trainings. so I went through that and that was like, I would say more life changing for me than my yoga teacher training. the realization landed for me in that experience that there's no thing that we. Consciously experience in our lives that isn't filtered by our mind. And so why not emphasize and work with our minds they're truly our most powerful asset. So from there I was like, okay, it's all about meditation. And then I had a realization that no, it's actually not about sitting on your cushion. Like we don't just sit for the sake of sitting, you sit for the sake of being a, an easier person to be around for the people in your life to bring these practices into everyday things. And that's where my teaching and mindfulness came in. So I teach now in like corporate settings mainly. I do some contract work in high schools, like I said, for half the story. I love like teaching different, styles of yoga, different classes around the bay. I bop around the different studios. So I'm not like a teacher who has. Like a schedule that's she teaches five classes a week at this one studio. I just, I love meeting different communities and, I'm the mindfulness director for Kma Fitness, which is like this corporate fitness management company that, that's also part-time. So it's been such a balance, like from transitioning from corporate life to where I'm at now, and I still feel every month I'm reassessing like, okay, is this the schedule that I want? Is this serving me? And the whole jump from like having benefits, working a full-time job to like contracting doing it on your own is like a whole mind fuck. Yeah.
ErinYeah, it really is. Yeah. Which you already have a slight advantage because your background's in accounting, so at least you like, know how to manage money. Question mark. Maybe, you know,
BryoniYou would think.
JoshHow is teaching mindfulness in the corporate realm changed since Covid? Have you noticed any kind of shifts in open-mindedness or how the corporate landscape receives mindfulness since you started?
BryoniYeah. I think during the pandemic, like I was just talking about this with someone the other day, layoffs are like in the open now. Like the public is well aware that companies are making these decisions to lay people off. there, even with millennials, like we started the shift away from. Feeling this strong sense of duty or loyalty to one company that we work for. But like with that, people's anxieties went through the roof about what's going to happen in the future. so I think people are like much more open to better understanding how to work with that and just be okay with the unknowing or not knowing what's coming next. So during the pandemic it was a lot of like virtual workshop sessions. Sometimes depending on the culture of the company, a lot of people would show up. Sometimes no one showed up. And for those companies, like it still sometimes happens and I think it's like people don't see sitting and considering these things in your mind or even like reviewing certain steps in a meditation. As productive, like they see responding to emails or getting stuff off of their plate to-do list as more productive than taking the time to step back, slow down and just reset. And it's a whole mindset thing. you could be way more productive on the other side of that meditation than you were before. But, like I never try to convince people of that. It's something that like, you have to realize on your own. And, yeah, I don't like to force people into it also. A lot of people are just like, meditation doesn't work for me.
ErinWhat do you say to somebody like that? Because that was me slash some days, still is me. Not
Bryoniyeah. The first thing is that there are so many different ways that you can practice mindfulness, so I never claim that meditation is the end all, be all. And I don't think that if you can't meditate, that means that you're not studying yourself or like you're not a self-aware person. It's some people, like my partner plays baseball. He doesn't meditate at all, but like he truly uses that practice as a meditation for him.
Joshcould have pegged him as a baseball player. Really? Just by the sunglasses. Oh, funny. I played, he played for a long time. I played for a long time. So
BryoniOakleys.
Joshjust his demeanor. I was like, oh, that dude plays ball for sure. That's so funny.
BryoniYeah. He got a fat ass too. So that's
ErinThat baseball booty
Joshlooks good in those pants. Lets
Erinlove.
BryoniYeah, exactly.
JoshThat's hysterical though. You said that and I was like, yep. He sure is a baseball player.
ErinThat's awesome.
BryoniThe other thing is I wanna say this too, like anything I say is through the lens of Tibetan Buddhism as far as meditation goes, because that's where my training comes from. So anybody listening to this, there's other forms of Buddhism, there's other forms of meditation, and there's like tons of different practices within that scope. So like, if you are struggling with practicing meditation, maybe it's just because, you haven't tried, like the type of meditation that works for you or lands for you
JoshCan you talk a little bit about how you got there and was it just because of the opportunities of who was training you or did you intentionally make a decision to go that direction?
BryoniI made an intentional decision. I was choosing between like Zen, which is really big in San Francisco. There's like a San Francisco Zen Center. And so that would be the logical choice for me cuz I'm here, but like, no. Yeah. So, uh, So I chose the Tibetan Buddhist route because, I just saw like a very clear, not that zen doesn't have a clear path, but like they emphasize lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, which I think is important because, we've said before like you have different teachers because you identify with that person and the way the teachings like come out of their mouth. Not necessarily because I don't know, they're saying anything different really. It's just how they say it. So I just found a teacher who I really resonated with and I have a yoga teacher and I've got a meditation teacher. And I actually met my meditation teacher through my yoga teacher's name is Rose Erin Vaughn. She created Science of Self and she is also a, an acupuncturist. So she combines both systems, which are ancient. She teaches yin yoga and she makes you hold postures for like really fucking long and to the point where it gets uncomfortable. But she's just like, sit with your mind, think about like devotion and then you realize that it's easier. It's like the ice bath. It's easier to sit in these
JoshNot to fight it. Yeah.
BryoniYeah, so in her program, a lot of them like have guest teachers. She invited Hector Marcel, who's my meditation teacher in hers, Hector's the president of a studio called Three Jewels in New York City. And the lineage goes back to this guy named Michael Roach, who's like the first American to win the GCE title, not win Earn. and Michael Roach was trained by this guy named Jason Kapa. And Jason Kapa was trained by the Buddha. So like,
ErinWhat,
Bryonia,
Erinso you're basically related to the Buddha is what you're saying?
Bryoniit's like seven degrees.
ErinI mean, I mean, I can't say that, so same. That's awesome. That's really cool. as far as Tibetan Buddhism and meditation goes I know the tip of the iceberg. If that relating to meditation in different forms of it. Like I know that there's like transcendental and, more like mindful meditation, which where you're like just focused on the breath and like the sensation of the breath and the sound of the whatever. what's the main focus of what you do?
BryoniI do practice through this lens, and in Tibetan Buddhism they talk about three different types of meditation. The first one is single pointed focus. So an example of that is like on the breath. And when we talk about meditation, like there's always an object you're asked to focus on. Like the person guiding you will be like, focus on the breath, usually. Usually they choose the breath because it's like the least controversial object to use. People are like, I have a breath. I can't forget it at home,
ErinI'm alive.
Bryoniyeah, you don't have to work yourself up to, if I said bring your mind to focus on loving kindness, a lot of people would be like,
JoshTotally.
ErinThere's a few steps
Bryonihard for me to
ErinYeah. Yeah. That's fair.
BryoniYeah. But you can choose. With that said, you can choose any object. And so this like practice of meditating is like bringing your awareness into this like object, this finding, single pointed focus. And then what happens is, as the mind is focused on the object, sometimes it gets distracted cuz the mind likes to think just like the stomach likes to digest like it's supposed to. And then the act of meditating is like pulling it back to the object. That's like the rep. It's like you going into the gym and doing a curl. That's how you strengthen your muscle of focus or concentration, and you get distracted by two types of distractions. There's subtle distractions, so you can be pulled off of the breath or whatever your object is by you getting like a scratch or an itch on your arm that you need to scratch, but you can still keep your attention on the breath even as you go to scratch your arm. So that's a subtle distraction. And then there's gross distractions that completely pull you away, like you falling asleep or like someone slamming a door next to you and you're just like, eyes open outta your meditation. So that's the first thing that like, especially when people are like, I suck at it. And you're actually supposed to fall off at first of the object so that you can come back and there's this image, people listening can Google it of nine different stages of meditation. So it's. It almost looks like a video game, but it's like this path winding up this mountain of this monk chasing an elephant and a monkey that has a rope in one hand and a hook in the other. And it's supposed to represent the different levels of meditating. So at first it's just like finding the breath, even if it's for five seconds, and then noticing that you're like being pulled away and slowly as you reach the ninth stage, patching those moments together so that you can sustain your concentration on the object. I think a lot of it for me, like that improved my practice was just this understanding of what am I actually trying to do and that I do need to be intentional about what I'm bringing my mind towards. I didn't name the last two. Types are analytical meditations where you're literally having a debate with yourself in your head.
ErinOoh.
BryoniAnd it sounds crazy, but monks in Tibet actually debate in real life, like this is a part of their practice. And it's a huge part of learning. My teacher's always debate me,
ErinCool.
Bryoniask me the questions. Yeah. Which I love cuz there's never this like feeling of I know everything, you're listening to me, I'm the teacher. And then the last type is a review meditation, which is reviewing a list of things in your head and memorizing it. And, the reason why that's one of the types in this lineage is because Tibetan Buddhist like love lists. There's lists within lists and it's
Joshplays perfectly to your accounting.
ErinYeah, there you go. That's where the accountant comes in.
BryoniYeah. it's so true. Like That is also why I think I veered more in that direction. I've talked to like there's a spiritual advisor cause I worked for Northeastern for a while and there's a bit of spiritual advisor there and I was asking her about okay, what's the difference, which one should I do? And she was just like, people who go towards Zen usually are more about like the undoing of their mind and sitting with less guidance, not memorizing lists. So she was like, they're a little bit more like creative types and not to, I think she was kinda like, yeah, you're like me,
ErinMe.
BryoniBut then Tibetan Buddhist are like very methodical want to understand logic and reasoning and so that's very
JoshYeah. When I went down that path of meditation and really got into it, when I truly understood the impact of it, it was very obvious that I needed to go zen. And I think even just in the past couple months, maybe since. October or November of last year when I fully committed to that style and sunk myself into it, that's when I saw my meditations blossom because I felt like I was almost competing with all types of meditation, trying to test out, okay, what is my vibe? And then I would always fall back into Zen. But it was only because of the creative side of my mind. That was the friction between Tibetan Buddhism
ErinJosh goes places like I, I don't wanna say I wish because I know we're all unique and have different giftings and culls and such, but like you go places when you meditate and I'm always like, man, I just, I don't, my brain just, I go places, but that's not productive. Yeah, I get stuck in the squirrel brains. I think
Joshthe encouragement though inside of meditation period is just like everything else. This is a muscle that you have to learn to build and you're not just gonna jump into meditation and be like, wow, this is life changing. Yeah. I mean you're, you could see examples of that with people around you and you can have those experiences throughout your kind of beginning of your journey, but just like everything else you have to stick with and. Lead with curiosity because there are so many types, just like in yoga, just like in healing period. Mm-hmm. There's so many different ways to do that. We're so bio-individual with not only how we are characteristically or like what our human design is, or just like what our freaking past is. And what traumas we have sitting up in our brains and things like that. All of those matter because when I started to work through some of my traumas that I didn't work through in EMDR, and they were more like self trauma in a way, that's when I started to recognize where I needed to go with my meditations and like the genre of meditating. I needed to, what would you call that? What type of meditation, I guess? Yeah.
BryoniIt's so true. I actually dabbled for a while between the two. And even that process, like you said, can become really distracting. And I was told by a teacher to just fucking pick. Cause he was like, you dude, you only have so much time. And a big teaching in Buddhism is in permanence. And that's like a big part of my practice is, it's called Memento Maori, but like remembering death in as many moments as you can. So that. You can do as much with your life while you're here as you can.
ErinOne thing that really helped, because I initially was one of those people that was like, I just can't meditate. Like I sit here and my mind wanders and nothing is productive about that 10 minutes that I just wasted sitting here. But I feel like once I read Untethered Soul, and also I'm dabbling in like Eckhart, when I figured out like what you were saying, the mind likes to think just like the stomach likes to digest. Like it's an organ with a function. And once I stopped, Identifying so much. Not perfectly, of course, but it's like I don't identify with my stomach digesting. why do I identify with the thoughts that my mind is producing? Like I understand that it's a little bit different, but the fact that we basically think that we are our thoughts, that's why meditation wasn't working for me because I was so deeply identifying with what was happening up here. But really this is just it's like a byproduct. Like the thoughts are at least. So that really helps, making a little bit of a separation there. Like I'm not my thoughts, I'm actually just the one observing my thoughts. That was quite helpful. And I had one other thought and it just disappeared. I can't wait to hear it. It's because I don't identify with them.
Bryoniexactly. That's
ErinI, it'll come to me later, but.
Bryonithat's like totally related to one of the main two teachings of this practice and it's called Emptiness. And it's basically says that when we look around our world and our environment, we think that things are like projecting some sort of nature at us, but it's actually the other way around. And the way like my lineage teaches it is with a pen. And the teacher will hold up a pen and be like, what is this? And everyone's like, it's a pen, duh. then they ask, I'll do it with you guys. If you put the pen in the middle of a room and a dog walks in and you exit, then what does it become?
ErinOh, an object or, yeah, a pen. To the dog, though
JoshI identified it as a pen, and then I left.
BryoniYeah. You left, but now what does the dog see if the pen's just sitting there?
JoshThat same object, but may not identify it as a pen.
BryoniYeah. Some people say like a chew toy or a stick or
ErinYeah,
BryoniAnd then the next question is if the dog leaves and this object is sitting in the middle of the room with no one in it, then what does it become?
JoshAn object in a room.
ErinYeah.
Bryoniyeah, exactly. Your brain, like my teacher says, your brain farts. But like, it's like, it becomes some people will say anything limitless potential, but actually the answer is that it depends on the perceiver. And so that's obvious, right? No one ever, I don't feel like people really claim that the Buddha taught things that weren't obvious. Like he didn't make this stuff up. It's just the truth that he passed on. But he basically said that okay, it depends on the perceiver with the pen. It's really easy to understand. But then if you like, go and apply that to anything in your life, It becomes really difficult. you know, You try to apply it to like, I don't know, Donald Trump is a very controversial person for a lot of people to apply that pen thing is difficult because what we're saying is that our minds are projecting meaning onto our world instead of the other way around. So that must mean that we're responsible for the nature of our reality, and that's a really difficult pill to swallow.
ErinIt all fascinating. Just, it all just is that's what I'm learning. I don't know what, this, Parable comes from, but the who's to say what is good and what is bad remember? Where there's like a guy and his, I think he was a farmer and his son gets sick, and yet that's this like long saga. Yeah. And it keeps you, think that something good happens, but then it was actually something bad. And then you think it was something bad happens, but it was actually something good. And then you realize we are ascribing meaning to our life. Everything just is for some. I think that, and then I think no, there are objectively bad things happening. You know, like, So I don't really know how to play that out fully, but it does help understand the power that you have in your own life to, okay, I can ascribe meaning to this however I want in most circumstances. I can choose to make this good or I can choose to make this miserable. Yeah. We're trying to teach our four year old that it's not landing quite yet. Nope.
BryoniIt is really difficult practice, to be born in this human experience people say life is suffering. That sounds like very dramatic, but. It's just like the mind and the way the mind works, it pulls and swings between these, like us basically wanting to like stuff our senses filled with just like things to make us happy. And then we realized that didn't make us happy. So we tried the next thing and then next thing. And that's like the biggest thing that I've gotten out of this is just that if you keep searching for the next boyfriend or the next job or the next boss, like eventually you're just, you're going to figure out that there's really one contributing factor the entire time and it's your mind. that's when I come back to this practice. The other thing I wanted to say, like when the question came up about, what do people do who say they're not good at meditating or it's not for them, there's like this list of things they're called the six preliminaries that the Dalai Lama and all of the nuns and monks that study with him do. And it's this list of things to do to prepare you for your meditation practice. Part of it actually is a meditation practice itself. But you're supposed to go through this extensive list of things and then do whatever you're gonna do. So like, Josh, you've talked about your practice on here, I know that you're, like you've talked just now about like the zen practice and like you doing that, but also your, the way you practice it sounds really methodical. Like you have a lot of different steps and things that you bring into your practice. maybe it's not, moving your mind through different steps, but it's like you're creating this space that's conducive for you to practice, which is the first step. The first step is to create a conducive space or clean your space is actually like how it's said because most people like, won't be able to have a successful meditation practice if they've got like a bunch of shit everywhere.
ErinThat makes sense. Cluttered space, cluttered mind, right?
Bryoniyeah. And that can be hard for some people because when I first learned this, I was living with my partner in his parents' house who like have some hoarding tendencies and I was like, that means I'll never be able to meditate. Fuck. But it really just means do something that's gonna like slightly alter your mind state from whatever you were doing before. So if you're like at work on your computer, shut your laptop or switch something on your desk so that it doesn't look like the way your mind knows it.
JoshFor me, when I begin meditation, I have found that I need to switch spots. So like we wake up in the morning, we have our coffee, we sit on the, out on the front porch. When it's nice out, it's really difficult for me to then just go into meditation on the front porch. I actually have to like come inside, sit on one of our chairs and create a completely separate environment, because I've already experienced so much in the environment that I was just in, that going into the meditation can cause distraction, if that makes sense.
BryoniTotally. Yeah, it's a big part of it. we prepare for anything, like you go to the gym, you put the right clothes
ErinMm-hmm.
Bryoniyou, I don't know, take freaking pre-workout or whatever, creatine.
JoshAllen pre-work. He
Erinused to be a trainer and he would slam that shit. Yep. And he'd get so hyper. I'd be like, go to the gym, get outta here.
JoshFor anybody listening, if y'all are looking for a super clean pre-workout, screw all that other shit with all that sugar and it just takes some beta alanine. And you gonna be singing,
ErinI've heard colostrum is the new pre-workout uhhuh. I'm still,
JoshI dunno, beta alanine for life. Okay,
Erinsorry. That was a tangent.
BryoniIs Beta Allen in the blue step, the stuff that turns your blue, your tongue blue, or
JoshThere may be beta alanine in that, but I literally was taking raw beta alanine so it looked like crystals. it didn't taste like anything. I would just like toss it in water. it maybe had like a little tangy, like bitter taste to it, but what would happen is if you didn't get moving within 20 minutes, Of taking beta alanine? Yes. Whatever body parts were moving the most would start to tingle uncomfortably. And most of the time if you're not moving, you're talking. So it would always be the lips. And also you'd be like, why is, if my lips ruined so weird,
Erinwe should probably, I need to fact check bad Allen before we publish this podcast. Cause what if it's like I, I don't know anything about it. Cancer causing, yeah. This is not medical advice. Never is it on
Joshhere. But yeah. Educational purpose is only enter pre-workout at your own risk, y'all. Yeah. But Allen did it for me
BryoniI went to U C S B, which is I don't know, known for being a huge party school. And I, my senior year I lived in a house with 14 other girls. It was basically
Joshlike a sorority, basically
Erina problem. That kind of sorority.
Bryoniyeah. But I just never bothered to clean the house cuz it was always a mess. But the girls who did, thank God for them, they would take pre-workout and then just get amped and clean the whole house.
ErinPre-cleaning. That's incredible. That's great. I totally could do that with you. It's like the modern day housewife. Hey,
JoshLet's take some pre-work. Workouts are clean. I'm the clean one of the relationship, so That's true. Anything to get Erin going, I'm gonna use it. Yeah.
ErinCleaner than I used to be. He used to clean my room for me when I was in college cuz it was Yikes. Yep. Fun. There wasn't fun. There was no meditation happening there.
JoshFun fact, I, one of my gifts of love would be Erin would be at school and I would sneak in and I'd clean her entire room. I fell madly in love then. The rest is history, baby.
BryoniWait, how did you meet? I actually don't know the story
ErinWe met, we actually went to the same little Christian high school, and he was older and cooler,
Joshso I didn't know Erin in high school. Yeah.
ErinBut his sister was in my grade, so I knew her and I knew of Josh because he was cool. He was DJ Blach back then, and so everyone knew DJ Blach. But anyway, I went to school in Nashville. then I heard that DJ Blach was moving to Nashville, and so I was like, oh, I think I still have a Twitter account. I should DM him.
JoshI was DJing and with like DJing clubs all around. And so it wasn't uncommon for somebody to slide into my dms and just offer up essentially like, Hey, if if you ever need Rex, you want me to take you around the city, let me know. We exchanged numbers and then we didn't talk for a year minimum.
ErinYeah. but then, But then I went to New York City with my family for Thanksgiving break and we got to the airport and I realized I didn't have a ride home This was before Ubers? I really didn't wanna take a cab cuz it was really expensive in Nashville and I'm. A cheap motherfucker still. Still. And I was scrolling through my phone like, who could pick me up? Who could pick me up? And I was like, dad, I was in a car with my dad. I was like, dad, do you think it's okay if I text this guy? He, I think he went to C V C A. I feel like he probably wouldn't murder me. And my dad was like, yeah, I think
Joshthat's all right. We have never met. Yeah.
ErinSo I texted him, I was like, Hey, I don't know if you remember me. I think we DMed on Twitter once. Would you mind picking me up at the airport? And he said, no. Nope. I said, hell
Joshno. What is this chick trying to, I don't even know who this chick is trying to cop a ride off me.
ErinSo I did take a cab, so you still owe me $40 for that sucker.
JoshAnd, but I did say, wanna grab coffee?
ErinConsolation prize was coffee with DJ Blotch. And actually it was great Sorry, that was a very long story. But that is how we met.
BryoniI loved it. I love hearing how people meet and it's crazy that you, I feel like so often you hear this common story of like you're in orbit,
JoshUhhuh? Yeah. Oh
Bryonieach other's lives and then come back together,
ErinYeah, that is true though. How, and I feel like, honestly, I feel like that's how the universe works. And it's not just in romantic relationships. I feel like it's friendships too. It's like you get these, like, why the fuck are you coming to Cleveland? Let's be honest. It's cuz the universe wants us to
Joshbe friends. The quantum entanglement is so real. Yes, there is divinity.
ErinDivinity.
JoshDivine presence. Divine presence that exists when things need to happen.
ErinOh yeah, for sure. Universe gets stuff
Joshdone. The mic drops are real easy when you are aligned and in the same frequency as what the universe intends you to be in
Erinand or as others. It's like you, like attracts like,
JoshYeah. But as long as you are constantly working on healing yourself, becoming your healthiest self and truly understanding yourself. Really identifying with the inner, knowing your intuition. The frequencies that exist when that happens are inevitably going to attract other similar frequencies. that was the funnest part of Wisdom 2.0. Yeah. It was like, regardless of which way I turned, it felt like I was connecting with people. It was stupid
BryoniYeah.
Joshit just felt like we were all on the same trajectory, completely different timelines and in different spaces of our journeys, but there was so much respect for it, and anybody that chooses to dive into the inner knowing and really start to understand self detach from ego entirely, and then constantly work on that life's journey, it's not easy. It's a rough, rocky journey. In so many ways. Another thing that I've noticed inside of that is the majority, if not all, who choose to take that path of inner knowing and detaching from the ego. Things have had to have happened in your life in order to get to the point of choosing to do that. you're not like on the table at a college party upside down on a keg and then being like, I need inner knowing. life has to happen. Yeah. And the
Erinmaybe that is life happening though. True. I don't know. Yep.
JoshBut that's what it felt like at Wisdom 2.0 is we all had our own journeys. We all had our own stories, we all had our own traumas or whatever, and none of us were identifying with them. it was freeing as fuck. Because you walk around in the rest of the world, and this has nothing to do with who's better or who's worse, but there's so many competing factors of life so much negative energy. And Bryoni, I think even you and I may have spoken about one, or maybe it wasn't you, maybe it was one of the conversations at Wisdom, with AI got really intense, and I fortunately wasn't there for that. But it shifted people in huge ways, the negativity and the intensity, and it was abrupt people were slightly alarmed the entire conversation of the weekend shifted. it was just a glimpse of an example that an ounce of negativity, even from somebody that's highly regarded and respected, can shift the masses. regardless of how
BryoniSends ripples. Yeah.
JoshYep. but when we're all working, and that's what was happening at Wisdom, there was a collective knowing that we were all working towards the same inner knowing, it felt like the combating of that negativity happened immediately.
ErinIt felt like heaven on earth. That's probably what Heaven on Earth is, honestly. Like when all the people collective, were not identifying with their pain bodies. We're not like, yeah. When the collective is aligned, that's, I don't know, I just feel like that has to be heaven on earth.
JoshBryoni, I don't know if first of all, I don't know your human design period, but I don't know how you absorb different types of energies. But when certain things like that happen, my insides will squirm, I can feel it's not good. I felt that at the conference for a moment. And then it felt like it was overpowered and it was just another gigantic glimpse into how much good overpowers bad. And when there's that collective energy of positivity, frequency wise, bad, ain't got nothing on it, it's impossible for that negative frequency, while it will cause ripples. felt like at the conference, everybody was aware of it, everyone acknowledged it, and then everyone did their own work to take care of it, and then it was gone. So Cool. Yeah,
BryoniYeah, we were in like such a special container then, and I wish that could be like, why can't we just turn to anyone on the street and feel like we're on drugs? Cuz that's how I felt the whole weekend. I was like, yeah. There's all these qualities that are kind of a. Boundless and abundant. And I think that compassion is one of them. I think that joy is one of them. Loving kindness is one of them. And we think that we can like ration them or like that they're not abundant, but if we are rationing them, then we're not actually like loving or we're not actually practicing compassion. There are these qualities that just that's why we were able to overcome that moment of like discomfort because we just surpassed this. We surpassed that with that abundant energy of compassion and trying to understand where he was coming from. That was a really like definitely a turning point in the weekend. Like I went to one of those birds of the feather dinners after and We had varied age groups in this dinner. You would come together at the end of, I think it was the second night of the conference and you had different topics you would speak to. So for my dinner, I chose the one on AI and mindfulness. I think there were like so many on that topic, but we the thing that I noticed is like the older people in the group definitely felt that fear and, the younger people in the group, while there was some rational level of concern, it was more like excitement for what's to come and how can we actually leverage this to like further the human race like I think about going to school and how I had to memorize times tables. And my teachers being like, you'll never have a calculator in your pocket. And I'm like, what the fuck? You lied. First of all, second of all, I spent years there were competitions. This kid named Kyle was like, the fastest one
ErinDamn
Joshit. Kyle, you still remember Kyle? He hurt
BryoniYeah. I was like, seconds behind him. And yeah, I just think like we're spending our time in like majority of like education, like public school system on things that will just be not needed by the time those people enter the workforce. Yeah,
Joshman. That's something Erin and I talk about almost on a daily basis.
ErinZoe's a parent. It's really challenging cuz it's like, we have big things in our life right now that It just requires time and dedication. And so the reality is like either she's in childcare or, in school or I just don't, I don't have the capacity to homeschool at this moment. But yeah, it's like I also don't want my child to be like brainwashed into a, a good employee, a robot. Gross. A robot, yeah. I don't know, that's something we'll continue to think about and probably make changes in, but yeah, I don't know. I don't have a good answer there. Yeah, it's crazy.
Bryonican I tell you one funny story about Wisdom 2.0 Weekend that involves you, but you weren't there?
ErinI can't wait.
Bryoniso I think like the first time I met you, we sat, we didn't sit next to each other. There was a woman in between us.
JoshI screenshot it and I didn't know you well enough, but there's a picture of us that wisdom posted, that reel of pictures. And it was us meeting for the first time. Oh,
Erinyour friendship
Joshmeeting. Yeah. I have a screenshot of it. I didn't wanna send it to you. Cause that was hella creepy at the time. Like, Oh, our
Erinfriendship.
BryoniJosh is this would feel like Erin asking me for a ride from the airport without even
ErinYes. Too. Too soon. Too soon.
JoshAccurate. Accurate. Yeah. Okay. So yes. So the, all the answer is yes. I remember. Okay.
BryoniI don't remember her name, but she was a little bit older, like an artist and just like very like open, spiritual soul. So I went to the bathroom. You guys got talking about Rudy and
JoshOh, this was the second time we met girl.
Bryonioh yeah, this was the second time. Nevermind. The first time was the coffee enthusiast.
Joshcoffee enthusiast. Yep. Oh, funny. Who lived in Dogpatch? Yeah.
BryoniOkay. I'm confusing myself. She sat on my right. So like we do our thing, we watch all the talks and then we go our separate ways. We go to lunch, I think, like I come back from lunch and I'm walking through this other building where they had this sort of the place to sit in front of the guy selling books or whatever. So she's sitting there and I walk past, I'm like, oh, hey you. And she's you. And then I sit down and we start having this conversation it's her birthday. So actually someone who had just met her brings her like this gift, which was really
ErinYeah.
BryoniBut as we're talking, like I, I felt this energy of her not really wanting to engage with me and she just kept being like, that guy back there was so fucking cool. What was his name? Josh? And I just was like, yeah, Josh is really really fucking cool.
ErinYeah,
BryoniCool.
ErinOh,
Bryoniand it's just like all the self talk like
JoshI'm
Erinso
Bryonimy brain. I was like, damn, she has nothing. She cares. Like she doesn't
Joshas cool if not cooler
ErinBryoni, you just actually described my entire existence when, I'm just kidding. This, a husband of mine who is so charming and just magnetic. I know
Joshhow to work an older lady. That's true.
ErinOkay. Okay.
BryoniOh God. She is very excited about Rudy and all you had to offer.
Erinshe? Yeah. Oh, great. I can't wait to look her up.
JoshYeah, I know where she lives.
Erinwait, speaking of Rudy, I was curious to hear your experience as a person because you have now. Done a scan and then you, I think, have some remedies that you're gonna start soon. But as a person who is not like chronically ill, like you don't have debilitating symptoms per se. Curious to hear your take. Do you feel like it is still helpful for a person like you who just has a thing or two?
JoshYeah. You could be honest and say no too.
ErinAbsolutely. Yeah. Give us the real
Joshtake. It doesn't hurt our feelings. No,
BryoniI just wanted to be like, no, it wasn't
Erinno. Not helpful. You should've just said that, but, and
Joshthen not said anything else, like just said no and waited for us to respond.
Bryoniyeah. No, like I, I also, I think it depends a lot on the person. Like I believe that our self exploration is never ending and we're like deeper than the ocean, than space. There's always, and we're changing constantly. So there's always new things to learn about yourself. And for me it was that, it was like, okay, what different lens can I see myself through? And I've always also wanted to do one of those like allergy panels. So it was very helpful to hear that was a part of it already and included in like the cost. That was awesome. But also the level of knowledge that you have, Erin, and that you brought to that consultation is just mind blowing. I told you I wish I had recorded it because you gave me more than I could remember and like even take notes on,
Erinit's a lot of information. Yeah, it's
Joshit's something we're working on actually to record those sessions because you're not the first person to say that. Yeah. That could be helpful. Sure. It's a lot of information to digest. When I was going through and I was working with somebody that was consulting on. My scans, I would voice memo the conversation. the goal is to have those recordings sitting in your account so that you can refer back to them attached to your, results. Because there's a lot of information. We get emails all the time being like, Hey, we talked about this thing. I forget, can you tell me how to do it again? Yeah. But you can go back and we're trying to create like markers inside of those of where Erin's giving you information that may be something you're gonna need to refer back on. So hopefully that works out. There's all sorts of
Erinplans we have.
JoshYeah.
Bryonibesides the remedies, like you also gave a lot of really helpful like life tips and information with nutrition and cooking and it's not just helping me, like I live with my partner, we cook for our families lots of times when we like have family gatherings. So it's like those things will just like we were talking about with. In the opposite way, negative energy ripples, so does this type of stuff. So like it's really, you're really like changing all these other people's lives without like maybe even recognizing it. So it's huge what you guys are doing and um, I value that. It is so low cost. I wish that, I don't know if you guys are working on this, but I wish that like insurance would cover
ErinI know,
Joshyeah, we're working on it.
ErinAt least the HSA would be helpful. I don't know how far we are in that process, but yeah, we're working on it. The, we did just get approved to be on, not that everybody has this, but the Nest card. The Nest card. So now people can purchase it with their Nest. It's like a credit card that's focused on wellness type things. So that's helpful.
JoshBut not all the rewards and the points are based on you purchasing things in the wellness space. So from you know how the Southwest card is, like when you buy flights or hotels, you get points. This is if you buy healthy food or buy yoga or buy equipment or, it's pretty cool. Actually. I kinda wanna get it. They reached out to us. It was crazy. But one of the cool things that we found out, we had no idea about this, Rudy's not considered diagnostic. Which is really huge because in some states, New York being one of them, you're not allowed to sell diagnostic body tests, health tests, in those states. Yep.
Erinso like
JoshEverly well, 23, I mean, you can't purchase those in states, in certain states around the country. It's really annoying. Yep. But Rudy, you can,
Erinsince we're not using it to diagnose, like we're not claiming, for instance, you were saying the food sensitivities, like you wanted to send in like an Everly Well, or something. those are, it's testing a different way That's like a sort of a chemical testing, whereas we're testing from an energetic perspective, so we never claim to diagnose, clinical anything with it. The
Joshinformation, I know it's been right every
Erintime. Yeah, we do see it correlating and I trust the information, but we do, it does require some, interpretation and just that, but, It allows us to use it in New York and New Jersey without having any like legal
Joshissue. It's easy. Yeah. Yeah. So Ness is a really big fan of this community pushing us hardcore, but it has caused slight hurdles in the insurance side because we're technically not considered diagnostic.
ErinYeah. So the HSA thing is tricky, but we're working on it. We're hoping,
JoshI wanted to ask you real quick before we have to finish, what was your thoughts about Rudy when I had first told you about it?
BryoniI didn't know what bioenergetics was like. I just had zero understanding. But what I thought was so cool was that you like used your own suffering to create something that would help other people. I was like, oh, that's what the Buddha did. Like he was a prince and he escaped the palace, or not escaped. He chose to leave and the first things he saw were like an elderly person, someone who was sick, and someone who was, he saw a corpse he realized from that that life was suffering. We all go through these like cycles. So his, he dedicated his life to escaping that suffering teaching other people. And to me that's like what you both do, like through Rudy, like you've dedicated your lives to. Taking your suffering cuz it wasn't just yours, Josh. Like I've heard Erin's story on, and I'm sure not all of it, but like you've taken both of your suffering and been able to package that into something that could possibly help other people. Which to me, like anytime someone does that, I'm like, this person is amazing. This company is amazing.
Erinmean, that's you too girl. that's what you're
JoshI was about to say buckle up kid. Cuz you about to be on this train.
ErinWe're excited. For all the things that are to come, but also I'm just excited to keep getting to know you more. I like already have a million other questions
JoshI'm asked. You're awesome. I was just about to say this needed to be like a three hour podcast.
ErinWe're coming back. We'll have a round two.
Bryoniyeah. I have so much to talk to you both about and I'm really excited for future episodes cuz you just bring on excellent guests. Even listening to Adams, I was like, he's an accountant. I have nothing to learn from him, but he just, he is amazing and yeah, you both are too. You keep it rolling and you pull out like such amazing lessons from it all.
ErinAw, thank you friends.
JoshThanks. You're the best. Cool. I know I literally have said this to everyone that's been on the podcast. I know, but you're freaking beautiful inside and out. You are. We're very thankful to you. You're an incredible human being. I'm thankful that the divine and just plopped us next to each other. I wasn't going to Wisdom 2.0 a month before. Yeah. It was a last minute decision. Yeah. It was like a stretch in so many different ways for me to get out there. And then you and I are not even sitting directly next to each other. You kinda like plopped into a conversation that I was having with some random person next to me, and the rest
BryoniYeah. The woman next to me didn't wanna talk to me, so I was like, let me go this way.
Joshher loss, but that was divine too. Yep. There you go. If that lady wanted to talk to you, we wouldn't be on the podcast right now together.
ErinShoot. That's crazy.
JoshI'm glad she didn't wanna talk to you. Yep. It was good. All is good. This has been fantastic. Yes, thank you. I literally want three more podcasts with you because Same, same, same, same. I have 500,000 questions just based on the tidbit that you gave us, so I'm sure everyone else will too. Yeah. Before we finish, we ask everyone the exact same question, and I know you know what we're gonna ask you, but please tell us what freedom looks like to you.
BryoniI got super lucky that Kimberly and Adam came before me because I actually had some time to prepare for this one. But, it's like kind of what I mentioned before, it's like this untethering of being tied to thinking that something else or the next thing is always gonna make us happy. So not like waiting for the promotion to feel set or ready or not feeling once you get the house, that your life is gonna be completely cool. And that, that's hard to practice. It's especially hard in relationships. I feel like you guys could do a whole episode on that, The, your partner is like your biggest spiritual teacher cuz we're so emotionally pulled. This way and that way by them. So it's like not waiting for them to start doing the dishes for you to be happy. It's like, how can I like see this as my spiritual practice and it's like very simple, but it's hard to remember. And when I have those moments of surpassing that pull to think oh, I'll be happy once I have more money. Or I get the Tesla those are the moments where I feel freedom. Like when I'm overcoming that like natural pull of the mind to, to think that my happiness relies on something other than. Just the way that my mind is like interacting with all of these triggers.
ErinYeah, that is freedom for
Joshsure. Oh, that is so good. I resonate so much with that.
ErinAlso, I literally just this morning was reading a chapter from the Power of Now that is called, what's it called? enlightened Relationships or something. But it's talking about how your relationship can and should be a spiritual practice. And it's just blowing my mind. I'm like, yes. It like brings up everything. It puts it right at the forefront of your face. You can't ignore it anymore. Like you gotta deal with that. So yeah, that's marriage, that's relationship. That's beautiful. Bryoni. Yeah.
JoshThank you for sharing that.
BryoniOf course. Thanks for having me.
JoshY'all. You're coming back was a blast. I know. This is part one of 65 buckle. Yeah, I
Erinthink we said that with a
Joshbuckle. But buckle up y'all.
BryoniOkay.
JoshThank you so much. Seriously. You are wonderful. Yes. Well Y'all. hope you enjoyed. Bye bye.