Spirit X
Step into a conversation for our global and digital age. Guided by Nikola Ristic, Spirit X explores the 69 Principles—a spiritual framework that draws wisdom from East, West, North, and South. It weaves together ancient traditions, rational thought, culture, science, and technology into a path toward greater unity, peace, freedom, love, and fulfillment.
In times of crisis, Spirit X is both a vision and a call: reminding us that genuine spirituality is no longer just a personal choice but a cultural and evolutionary necessity. Each episode invites listeners to engage with teachings that aim to nurture inner balance and collective awakening.
May Spirit X inspire the sanity, happiness, and awakening of all.
Spirit X
Episode 1: Your Journey Begins
Humanity stands at a crossroads. The global pandemic revealed a stark truth many of us suspected: those with spiritual practices navigated chaos more skillfully than those without inner resources. This inaugural episode of the Spirit X podcast introduces host Nikola Anandamali Ristic and his vision for exploring life's deepest dimensions through a psycho-spiritual lens.
What makes spirituality not merely helpful but necessary in today's world? Ananda Mali presents three compelling reasons. First, we are inherently three-dimensional beings—body, mind, and spirit. While modern society has developed sophisticated approaches to physical and mental well-being, our spiritual development often lags behind. Second, as humanity undergoes dramatic transitions marked by both progression and regression, spiritual practices offer both individual resilience and collective wisdom needed to "rise to the occasion." Finally, and perhaps most powerfully, spiritual freedom represents our fundamental birthright—the peace, fulfillment, and joy we ultimately seek beneath all our material desires.
The episode culminates in a guided meditation that introduces listeners to direct awareness of body, mind, and the witnessing consciousness that holds both. This experiential component highlights the podcast's core philosophy: "Sometimes it's better to breathe for 10 seconds than to talk about breathing for 10 seconds." Future episodes will explore the 69 principles from Ananda Mali's book "Spirit X: Spirituality for the Global and Digital Age," applying spiritual wisdom to environmental issues, sports, relationships, and other aspects of contemporary life. Subscribe now to embark on a journey that combines thoughtful discussion with transformative practice—because discussing spirituality is valuable, but experiencing it is essential.
Hello everyone, welcome to SpiritX podcast. I'm really really excited to be with you today and in the future. Since this is our first podcast, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Nikola. My spiritual name is Ananda Mali. I'm originally from Serbia, former Yugoslavia.
Speaker 1:I came to United States in 1999. I discovered this kind of spiritual stuff while I was studying philosophy in Belgrade former Yugoslavia, present-day Serbia. I noticed that there is some sort of a spiritual impact of that contemplative state of being and I noticed the impact on my being. That kind of inspired me to go further in studying philosophy. In 1999, as I said, I came to the United States, got my PhD. It was after I got my PhD that I fully discovered the potential true potential of spiritual practices. I studied Buddhism, Hinduism and stuff like that. 2016, I left my university career and started my career as a spiritual teacher, and here I am now with you. In the meantime, I became an author. I published two books. I'm also a non-profit leader. I'll talk about the non-profit in this podcast.
Speaker 1:In this podcast, I would like to explore life from a little bit deeper, psycho-spiritual perspective. So we are going to use one of my books, which is called Spirit X Spirituality for Global and Digital Age. The book did really well in certain circles and it's doing well nowadays. It has 69 principles and that's a kind of good structure for the podcast. What I would like to do? I would like to explore spirituality and life, but I would like to focus on some national, local and global topics. So we will talk about environment, we're going to talk about sports, we're going to talk about surfing. So I want to bring together spirituality and life in this podcast. We'll have some guests, we'll have some panels, and I'm really, really excited about it.
Speaker 1:Today is the first episode, and what I thought is useful to do is I would like to justify to you why this shift towards spirituality is important. Many people who work with me and I work with a lot of people actually say that spirituality is necessary Nowadays. That happened especially after corona. You know that corona, the global pandemic, hit hard people's interiors. Some of us handled it well, some of us didn't handle it well, and I noticed those people who do some psycho-spiritual routines or at least go to the gym, did much better than those ones who didn't do any personal work. So this podcast is an invitation to do a little bit of personal work. We'll do it together.
Speaker 1:Each episode is going to be a little bit of talking, a little bit discussing and, by definition, we are going to do some experiential stuff. When it comes to spirituality, experiential stuff is essential. Sometimes it's better to breathe 10 seconds than to talk about breathing for 10 seconds. So we are going to emphasize that and we are going to start today, so today's episode. So why is spirituality so important today?
Speaker 1:There are three reasons that I would like to discuss today with you. The first one is very simple. So if you look at the structure of human being, of who we are, of human condition and stuff like that, it's very simple to notice that we are composed of body, of mind and of spirit. So I have body here's the body. I engage with mind, with thinking and talking and stuff like that, and I engage with spirit via spiritual practices, via spiritual injunctions. So why is spirituality important for us today? Well, it helps us reaching the full potential and wholeness of our being, of who we are, Evolutionary.
Speaker 1:We did discover a lot of stuff about mind. Think about exercise, diet, medicine and stuff like that. Sorry about the body. About about mind. Think about exercise, diet, medicine and stuff like that. Sorry about the body, about the mind. The same Think about psychology, philosophy and stuff like that. About spirit, we are a little bit catching up.
Speaker 1:We are not evolutionary fully realized importance of spirit and that's one of the inspirations for this podcast to inspire people to come closer to the spirit. When it comes to body, mind and spirit, you can understand it also as levels of our being. So there is body as a level of our being. There is higher level, that is mind, and then there is the higher level, the highest level, that is spirit. So it's important to get in touch with all of those three levels and to put what I discovered by working on myself and thousands of individuals is that when you apply a holistic approach to your own being, you have better results and you reach more happiness, peace, etc. So holistic approach. So we're going to talk about spirituality, but we are not going to dismiss body and mind and the world and that's the winning formula. So number one reason why spirituality is important nowadays is that it's the essential part of our being and if we balance it with body and mind, we are winning in many areas in our lives. We are at peace and we are happy and we are fulfilled. Number two reason why spirituality is important and, I would say, necessary.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to give you big news and tell you that the world is going through a very, very, very dramatic transition. We all agree about that. There are progressions, there are regressions. Sometimes we get stuck. Individually and collectively, the world is going through the leap. We we haven't arrived to another stage and we are struggling. At this stage, we are actually also regressing and we really really need to raise to the occasion. And when I say to raise to the occasion, it's to raise to the occasion individually and collectively.
Speaker 1:In that regard, spirituality and other fields are extremely important and I think that spirituality nowadays is really necessary. So, individually, how to handle this crisis with spirituality, if you do some spiritual practices and you can do it here with me in the future you relax, you calm down, you reduce anxiety, you reduce depression and you function better in the sometimes challenging world. What it means on a collective level is that if we do more spirituality on a collective level and I do that with my non-profit and I'll share that with you throughout the podcast so on a collective level, as a species, as human beings together, we can actually solve some problems and create a better world. We all know that potentially, we can create a better world, but we need to go through the current crisis. I think spirituality in that regard is very, very, very important. So number two reason why spirituality is, I would say, necessary today is that it can help us big time going to this challenging and hopefully, for some people, inspiring transition. Number three reason is probably essential.
Speaker 1:I would say that spiritual freedom and spiritual peace is actually our basic, natural right. So when I say we have certain rights, you think about I don't know legal rights. If I'm on the street and somebody attacks me, I have the right to be protected and police is going to take care of it. There are educational rights Every human being should be educated and stuff like that but there's a spiritual right. You have the right to feel the peace and fulfillment and happiness and joy and bliss which is inherent to human being, if we just know how to turn our attention there. So spirituality is our right.
Speaker 1:I've been in this industry for a very, very, very long time. I really enjoy it and we are desiring machines. We always want something. I really enjoy it and we are desiring machines. We always want something. It's never enough. We get a car, we want another car. There's this relationship, there's that relationship and stuff like that. It looks like an ending cycle.
Speaker 1:What I discovered with working with myself, on myself and with thousands of other individuals and groups, is that what we ultimately want is the connection with spirit. So that's why I think ultimate fulfillment always comes when we include our spiritual side to the process and that's why I think this whole spirituality thing is important, combined with other fields. I'm not telling you do only spirituality, don't go to the gym, don't get educated, don't have a relationship. Modern day spirituality is actually engaged with the world and it's actually a holistic one. So the last reason why spirituality is important is that's who we really are. That's our ultimate right and that's who we really are. That's our ultimate right and that's what we ultimately want. Really Take some time for human being to unfold in body, mind, spirit and world and stuff like that. But once we realize that and hopefully many people realize that through this podcast when you hit that spot with spirit, there's a level of peace and fulfillment and happiness and joy and bliss that is not possible to do through other activities. I don't know studying philosophy, exercising, dancing, watching sports, playing sports and stuff like that. So adding spiritual component to what we do is really crucial individually, because we are going to be calmer and happier, but it's also crucial for us as a species, because we don't want to regress further. We all know that there is further potential for us to grow as a species and we all want to participate in that. So I hope this makes sense and inspires you to watch another episode and to stick with us here at the podcast.
Speaker 1:I just want to say one more thing about spirituality. There's lots of stuff out there. It's exciting times. There's lots of podcasts. There's lots's exciting times. There's lots of podcasts. There's lots of YouTube videos. There's lots of books and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:But the most important thing about spirituality is the experiential part. In other words, you learn about spirituality by doing spirituality. When I teach mindfulness in middle schools and high schools and universities that's what I say to young people we can talk about it. Talking spirituality is great, but experiential spirituality is the key. So the essential part of this podcast is actually going to be this experiential part. So I'll always talk about stuff or I'll have guests and I'll have panels, but by definition, we will do some experiential stuff in this podcast and experiential stuff is the key. So I have a little exercise for you ready.
Speaker 1:So I'm inviting you to for a little guided meditation, contemplation, just to give you a feel a little bit for what experiential part is and just to kind of give you a full feel what are we going to do in the future, in the future episodes. So I just need maybe three to five minutes, or even less, of your attention and I'm inviting you to whatever you are, just to sit comfortably. So we are entering now the experiential space. It's a little bit slower than talking and discussion space and I just invite you to connect briefly with your breath, eventually belly breathing, so into the belly and out, into the belly and out, and one more time into the belly and out, into the belly and out, and one more time into the belly and out. Thank you, and now I invite you to bring your full attention to the body or the body sensations. So we are bringing our full attention to the body. So we're bringing our full attention to the body. So feel comfort and discomfort. Some parts of your body may be cold, some parts of your body may be warm and stuff like that. For the quality of experience. You can even close your eyes. So let's all close our eyes and connect with the body Very good, and just observe your body, don't judge it. Notice how body is an alive phenomenon. Let's be grateful for this embodied human experience. Human experience. So we're connecting with the body.
Speaker 1:Now we're going to shift our attention to the mind, another important component of being human. So we're shifting our attention to the mind. Again, we can close our eyes. So just watch your mind. So their thoughts, their images, their judgments, their interpretations. Just watch it. Be aware of the mind without getting wrapped in the mind. That's a big step. So we are observing the mind. Human mind is very powerful, but it can also takes us to uncomfortable places and we want to master that whole process. So mind is a series of thoughts, judgments, images, impressions, etc. And for the purposes of this meditation, we are just watching it. We are getting familiar with our mind without judging our mind, thank you.
Speaker 1:And the last step is going to be we're going to connect with the spirit. For this I am going to invite you to definitely close your eyes. So we close our eyes and we just notice that behind the body and behind the mind, there is actually a silent yet alive observer, non-judgmental observer, almost like a witnessing consciousness, but very alive, very still, very present, observing and holding body and mind and the whole world. Sometimes we call it stillness. For me it's usually something very present and very alive and very all-inclusive. We just stay there for a while. We want to become familiar with this, this spacious space or placeless place, or our essence. It's's very, very, very important, even from a practical standpoint. So we are connecting with the alive presence that is spirit, that holds everything and that resides silently within us. We gently open our eyes. We gently open our eyes. So that was our short guided meditation or guiding inquiry into the holistic nature of our, of our being.
Speaker 1:And in the future we'll do more of those experiential stuff. I invite you to do experiential stuff with me and with other teachers and facilitators, because that's the key. That's the key. Talking about spirituality very important. Doing spirituality is the key. And in future episodes we are going to play like this. We are going to focus on my book and next time I'm going to talk more about this, but we're going to use the book to actually explore life from a local, national and global perspective and I'm looking forward to this process and I really, really honor you, gave me your attention and I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you very much. Bye.
