WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:14.960 Welcome to Destiny. 2 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.320 Now here's your host, Cliff Dunning. 3 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:22.280 Hey, it's that time of the year again. It's just 4 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:27.800 about spring. We're into March now and years from now 5 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:30.199 people will be listening to this going, what's the big deal, Cliff, 6 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:34.039 what's going on? Well, this year twenty twenty six, it has 7 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:38.640 been very cold, record cold, record blizzards in the East 8 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:43.079 side of the United States. We've had record rain here 9 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:48.039 on the West side in California particularly, and it's been cold, 10 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:51.240 and for some reason, maybe it's age related, it's been 11 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:55.200 uncomfortably cold. So there you go. So we're happy that 12 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:59.880 spring has finally arrived and that's a good thing. Now, Hey, 13 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.479 with spring's arrival, that means that we're looking at conferences. 14 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.439 Conferences pop up, and if you know anything about me, 15 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:08.760 I used to be a program director for a very 16 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:13.239 large conference called Whole Life Expo. Look it up under 17 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:18.319 your search engine. Based here in San Francisco. We had 18 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:28.439 Whole Life since La in Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, 19 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:33.079 where else Texas. Anyhow, at it's peak there was seven 20 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:35.359 or eight of them and it was kind of like 21 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:40.400 an experiential kind of conference where there was two hundred speakers. 22 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:45.319 There were hundreds couple hundred at most or at minimum 23 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:48.959 exhibitors with all kinds of stuff, and it was the 24 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:53.359 latest and the greatest of everything from personal growth, spirituality, 25 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:58.840 lots of wellness. And when I was the program director 26 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:01.959 here in San Francisco, many of the exhibits were of 27 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:07.000 the latest vitamin therapies, tinctures, a lot of stuff. Back then, 28 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:11.439 we're talking the late nineteen nineties, ninety nineteen ninety seven 29 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.960 to two thousand and two or three. A lot of 30 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:20.240 these vitamin therapies weren't really well tested, so you could 31 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:22.639 get in trouble if you took too much of it. 32 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.159 And that goes for vitamins and minerals today as well 33 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:31.039 as herbs. There's certain toxic levels that you can run 34 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:33.520 into if you take too much of it. But anyhow, 35 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.120 so back then there were all kinds of minerals and 36 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.319 vitamins and stuff to try. It was kind of cool 37 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:42.680 and it was in kind of the end of the 38 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:46.759 New Age movement, the Hippie period, and that's why on 39 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:50.840 average in San Francisco the attendance was twenty thousand people. 40 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.280 That is a lot of people. We did one in 41 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.120 what was it? It was in Austin, Texas and this 42 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:04.800 is like nineteen ninety seven, and that drew I think 43 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.639 close to twenty thousand people. It was just overwhelmed because 44 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:10.719 people were curious and they wanted to check things out, 45 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:13.120 and they wanted to hear about the latest vitamin therapy 46 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:16.120 and what's going on in spirituality and would you believe? 47 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:20.319 And I don't they claim to this personally, But I 48 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:28.400 also introduced the UFO stuff, UAPs, alien interactions, but it 49 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.319 got into channeling, it got it. I mean, it was fun. 50 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:33.719 I had a great deal of fun. So I should 51 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:35.879 just do a show on that sometime, just all the 52 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:39.759 stuff that was going on back then. But anyhow, Springtime 53 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:43.240 is the launch of a number event of events, and 54 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.039 we are sponsoring a new event. I should call it 55 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:50.000 a resurrected event because it changed ownership. It's the New 56 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:55.639 Living Expo twenty twenty six held in San Rafel, California. 57 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:59.159 That's in the San Francisco Bay area, and it has 58 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:04.639 over one hundred speakers and has about one hundred plus exhibits. 59 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:08.759 It's smaller than some of the old types, but very 60 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:14.520 well put together. And this is it and so we're 61 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:18.240 promoting one of the speakers and we'll have a couple 62 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:21.680 of other people later in the month. But this is 63 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:25.480 what we're all about. It's the spring. Consciousness is rising. 64 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:31.439 It's renewal, refresh, get outside, breathe the fresh air, exercise, 65 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:36.759 eat well, take your vitamins, and be a unique human being, 66 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:44.439 you know, thrive, thrive in these difficult times. So that's 67 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.040 the program to they we'll talk a little bit in 68 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:52.079 a minute about our guests, but events are challenging. When 69 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:56.759 you do a conference seminar and you invite people, it 70 00:04:56.839 --> 00:05:01.399 is extremely expensive. And i'll tell you the Cosmic Summit. 71 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:05.240 They did it two years in a row, and bless 72 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.360 his heart, George Howard pulled it out of his own 73 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:13.199 pocket to do it. And now he's looking for sponsors 74 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.000 and I don't know how he's doing. We haven't heard 75 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.920 anything from him, and so that's one of the big 76 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.600 shows that it's questionable. Now. We've also been a sponsor 77 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:25.240 of Contacting the Desert, which is held in the Palm 78 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:29.519 Desert of California, and they just announced their speaker laneup 79 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:32.120 so it looks pretty good. So I don't know if 80 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:36.079 they're doing streaming and this is the new deal is 81 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:40.560 that when you add streaming media, you give and many 82 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:42.759 of you you know you can't get to these places, 83 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.160 but when you add a streaming media component, you give 84 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:50.199 everyone a chance to be a part of these conferences. 85 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:55.160 And that's why, for the most part, we encourage streaming 86 00:05:55.560 --> 00:06:01.040 access to conferences. And it's tough, it's expensive to do so. Unfortunately, 87 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.480 because it's been recently handed off, I don't think New 88 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:10.279 Living Expo has that, but you can probably buy access 89 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:14.120 to content streaming of some kind, which is after the fact, 90 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:18.879 so and I'll mention that later once we get more information. 91 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:23.040 We have Neil Garr who is the new producer owner 92 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:25.399 on the program. I'm hoping to have him on the 93 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.160 program either next week or just before the end of 94 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:32.680 the month. The dates for this expo are Friday, Saturday 95 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:36.879 and Sunday, April seventeenth, eighteenth to nineteenth. Again. It's going 96 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.079 to be in the It's in Sarah Fell at the 97 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:44.920 Fairgrounds and go to the website Newlivingexpo dot com. Really 98 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:49.639 very very eclectic bunch of people. I'll be there doing 99 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:53.040 a talk on my pyramids. I'm also moderating a panel 100 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:57.720 on ancient civilizations specifically, what are the signatures of ancient 101 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:02.240 unknown civilizations. In the group that I'll be overseen is 102 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:06.639 Billy Carson, brad Olsen and a few other people that 103 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:08.720 I haven't heard of before, but I'm beginning to read 104 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:11.759 their material. So that should be fun and so check 105 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:13.680 it out, and I think you're gonna have a great 106 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.920 time when you attend. And if you're there on Friday 107 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:22.720 or Saturday April seventeenth or eighteenth, I'll be hanging around there. 108 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:26.360 I don't know where I'll be, but probably handing out 109 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:30.279 flyers for Earth ancients. So always fun. So again, today's 110 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.399 program is in sponsorship in support of New Living Expo Sunday, 111 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:41.160 April seventeen, eighteenth to nineteenth in Sanrafel, California. Our guest 112 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:45.839 today is Mark Cole and he is going to present 113 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:51.519 some interesting material on mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms and their use 114 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:58.199 following years of discovery and experimentation. And it's kind of 115 00:07:58.199 --> 00:07:59.879 a revealing because we get a sense of who he 116 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:07.079 is personally, what decisions he made that led to the 117 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:12.839 commercial use and yes he does sell commercially available mushrooms, 118 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:18.399 and what it's all about. So today's program is Psychedelics 119 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:22.560 and the Road to Personal Discovery, and my guest is 120 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:33.080 Mark Cole. This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. Hey, have 121 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.840 you ever had an idea for a product that you 122 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:38.759 wanted to sell? Perhaps you're an artist or a writer, 123 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.480 or you want to get a message out to a 124 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:44.480 greater number of people. Squarespace is a one stop design 125 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:49.240 website builder that is easy to use and can turn 126 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:54.360 your ideas around in a matter of hours. There's a 127 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.000 lot of so called easy to use website builders out there, 128 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.600 but squarespace is one of the best and includes cutting 129 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:07.080 edge design tools and page builders that are easily customizable, 130 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.519 and an intuitive drag or drop editing tool that makes 131 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:16.039 page creation a snap. I mean they're really really easy now. 132 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.279 One of the other things that you can get with 133 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:23.080 squarespace is SEO tools. These are search engine optimization that 134 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.759 allows your web page to be found by people looking 135 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:31.080 for your product or your service. It's simply the easiest 136 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.440 way to build a website that's professional looking and highly functional. 137 00:09:36.120 --> 00:09:40.600 Head to squarespace dot com forward slash Ancients for a 138 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:44.799 free trial, and when you're ready to launch, use Ancients 139 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:48.200 to save ten percent off your first purchase of a 140 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:53.879 website or domain again that is squarespace, dot com, forward 141 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:58.159 slash Ancients. This is the best way to build a quick, 142 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:14.519 professional looking website. 143 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:26.639 Kasamangna Sonka. 144 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:40.039 Loisamangna Yesterday is a sponsor of a number of conferences. 145 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:43.159 We have a good one coming up in April. It's 146 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:45.120 the New Living Expo. It's going to be held in 147 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.919 the San Francisco Bay area. It's in Sara pel specifically, 148 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:55.120 it is Friday, Saturday and Sunday April seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth, 149 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:56.679 and you should check it out. There's a lot of 150 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.559 good material there. It's I think there's probably about a 151 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.879 hundred speakers, if not more. And one of the better 152 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:05.480 speakers that I discovered is a guy named Mark Cole 153 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:10.639 who has an interesting story and some products to follow 154 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:14.080 up on his own journey. And we have Mark with 155 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.519 us here today to talk a little bit about not 156 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:22.840 only his personal experience but also what has come out 157 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:26.200 of it, which is some interesting products. So Mark, welcome 158 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.120 to Destiny. Great to have you on the program. 159 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:30.919 Thanks for having me talk. 160 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:34.000 About your career. You were a cinematographer for thirty years. 161 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:36.120 Of course you're living down at La talk about that. 162 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:42.200 Was that documentaries or was that more commercial? What kind 163 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:42.960 of work were you doing? 164 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.200 I mean, I did all of it. I was out 165 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:50.399 of Florida, mostly Jacksonville. I started, and then I started 166 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:53.399 to kind of really work in the Southeast, and then 167 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:57.399 I started working all over the country. The TV show 168 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:01.519 America's Most Wanted kept coming to Jacksonville, this True Story, 169 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.279 and they kept rending my equipment because they shot on 170 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.679 film and I was the only film shooter around and 171 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.240 because of the crime, you know, so they kept coming 172 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.120 and then eventually they hired me. And back in the day, 173 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.840 they were pulling mining really talented directors a lot of 174 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.639 like sun Dance and stuff when the festivals were kind 175 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:23.759 of starting in a big deal in the nineties, and 176 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:26.200 they finally just kind of looped me in with my camera. 177 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:29.519 And then I started connecting with all these different directors 178 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:31.600 all over the place and started coming to LA and 179 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:35.600 started shooting shows. And then, you know, I've done probably 180 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.200 thirty five hundred commercials. I dominated, I didn't do it, 181 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:41.840 but I was. I was a pretty pretty big force 182 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:44.039 in the Southeast for a long time. I had a 183 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:47.200 production company, Cold Pictures, and then I had a rental 184 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:51.000 house and you know, pretty much anything that came through 185 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:54.039 that area. I was involved in, you know, movies of 186 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:58.480 the week, you know, like I said, episodic stuff. I 187 00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:02.960 shot us Aaron Spelling series. Uh back in the day. Yeah, 188 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:05.720 I did some work with Coppola, lots of stuff. You know. 189 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.000 So I was used to a cinematographer. Did you go 190 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:11.960 to school to learn how to work with different lenses 191 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.919 and all the camera technologies and stuff like that. 192 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:20.559 No, No, I learned, and I learned by showing up 193 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:25.840 and uh I started. I eventually started teaching cinematography and directing. 194 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.679 I'm in the DGA and also the local six hundred 195 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:32.200 Cinematography Union, so which takes a lot of work to 196 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.240 get into those. But now I was self taught, taught 197 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:39.159 on set. That's the best. That's the best teacher. When 198 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:41.120 I when I I would hire people out of film 199 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:43.360 school and I'd have to unwind all that stuff. It's 200 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:46.679 very different. Boots on the ground is really the way 201 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.840 to learn most anything. Yeah. So but you know that 202 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:55.840 led into you know, I had I was pretty successful, 203 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:59.759 and I had, you know, under the capitalistic umbrella. I 204 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:03.919 had made it. You know, I was making money and 205 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.360 I owned all these companies, and I had a bunch 206 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:08.919 of rental properties, and I had a house on the ocean, 207 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:12.000 and I had boat, and you know, I was living 208 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:15.320 the dream, except everybody wanted a lot of people wanted 209 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:19.080 to be me, but me, and I started realizing it 210 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:22.080 was a trap. I had been, you know. But you know, 211 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:24.399 I think Jim Carrey talks a little bit about this. 212 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.720 You know, that was nowhere close to him. But the 213 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:30.080 point is when you kind of make it, or you 214 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.159 think you have, and you realize, wait, I have, you know, 215 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.480 a whole bunch of thirty year mortgages, and you know, 216 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:40.120 I'm trapped. And I thought I thought this was I 217 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:44.279 thought this was happiness, and you know it's it's a trap. 218 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:47.240 It's a lie. There is no such there's no golden egg. 219 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:50.759 You know that we spend our whole life chasing you know, 220 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:55.879 if only this and only that. So in that also, 221 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.879 you know, it was a very high stress business, very creative, 222 00:14:58.919 --> 00:15:04.120 and you know, addiction is common, but the creative mind, 223 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:08.360 you know, so I fell into alcoholism. But you know, 224 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:11.080 quite frankly, before before I was a filmmaker, I was 225 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.559 also a guitar player in a band. And I really 226 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:17.200 couldn't play my guitar in front of anybody unless I 227 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:19.840 had a couple of beers in me. So I used 228 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:23.879 I used alcohol quite I guess wisely, or it was 229 00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:27.799 to my benefit. It helped me get into at low doses, 230 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:32.639 into a meditative state, so I could release fear because 231 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:35.279 I was just you know, after years and years of work, 232 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.679 I found out I was just a scared little boy, really, 233 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:42.440 and the alcohol served its purpose. And but then it, 234 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.159 as they say in the program, it was fun. It 235 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:47.840 was fun with problems, and then it was just problems. 236 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:53.799 And so I realized I had it. Had I went 237 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:58.559 from wanting to drink to having to drink because I 238 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.120 would wake up shaky, and I was more of a 239 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:05.399 binge drinker at the end, and you know, I would 240 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:07.639 pick up a drink. I would stop drinking for a while, 241 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:10.440 but then every now and then, I you know, trying 242 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.679 to control it because everybody's telling me, you have a 243 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:16.240 drinking problem. Right, So I cut out, cut out the drinking. 244 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.240 But I did it was more than that, because when 245 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:23.159 I would stop drinking, was battling the alcohol, right, it was. 246 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:25.320 It was always thinking about it, and it was a 247 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:30.039 real chore to stop but I found myself, you know, 248 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:34.159 shakey and really irritable, and if I had one or 249 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:36.559 two drinks, I was fine immediately, Like was. 250 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:39.759 It was the job stressful? Is this why the alcohol 251 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:40.159 came in? 252 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:40.279 You? 253 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:44.080 You come under a lot of stress, so that that alcohol. 254 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:45.759 I don't know, did you drink during the middle of 255 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.039 the day or at the end of the day. 256 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.799 Well, I mean I didn't drink at all when I 257 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:54.720 worked until you know, I'd had to to stop shaking 258 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.720 because I would shake someone, you know what I mean. 259 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.639 And and also, like I said, it's wild. You know, 260 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.759 you go on a binge and you wake up next 261 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:05.960 morning with your head you know off, It's just your 262 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:08.960 head fell off and you can't even think, and you, 263 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.480 you know, drink a bloody marry and you're like normal. 264 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:16.400 So people that people like they don't understand that people 265 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.359 that continue to drink or use drugs generally or not 266 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:22.359 trying to get high anymore. They're just trying to be 267 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.480 normal because the detox from these chemicals is very severe, 268 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:28.839 very severe. And I went in and out of detox 269 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.279 many times, and I tried to detox on my own 270 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:35.759 many times, and it's it's almost impossible it's very it's 271 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:37.160 it's extremely difficult. 272 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:40.599 Well, drink of choice. Were you into the spirits or 273 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:42.480 would you have a couple of beers and that would 274 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:43.279 be enough for you? 275 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.680 No, that wasn't really a beer drinker. I mean, listen, 276 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:51.000 your liver doesn't know the difference. It doesn't go Hey, 277 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:54.400 was that vodka or was that you know? You know, 278 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:56.559 and that's a weird thing. We justify, Oh I only 279 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.359 drink you know, beer, or I only drink wine or 280 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.319 you know, delivered on now. So at the end you 281 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:06.559 go for efficiency. So I was drinking vodka, right instead 282 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.720 of all the sugar. I didn't want all the sugar, right, 283 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:12.839 so I just swig vodka, you know. And it's crazy, 284 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:16.200 but I found myself. I went in you know, I 285 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:19.000 knew I had a problem because, like I said, I 286 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:23.119 went from wanting to drink to having to drink. And 287 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:26.359 I knew I had a problem. And I'm a problem solver. 288 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:29.960 So I was trying to solve the problem. And I 289 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.000 went down all the conventional roads that everybody told me. 290 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.359 You know, everybody's like, you're an alcoholic, Yeah, you're an alcoholic. 291 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.880 You're an alcoholic, so you know, of course I go 292 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:42.839 into AA, and then I had to go into a 293 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:45.799 couple of rehabs. I went into five rehabs actually, and 294 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.720 that's really humiliating. But I just couldn't stop. 295 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:53.400 So when you say rehabs, are these like you're there 296 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:55.359 for a week or you theretl month? 297 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.720 I solid month, YEP, I did five of them. Not fun, 298 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:04.839 this is like, well, I went, yeah. I mean they're 299 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:06.960 all kind of the same, and they're all based. Most 300 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:11.799 of them are based in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, 301 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.119 so they just take forty grand out of your pocket 302 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.039 and take you to AA meetings basically, you know. But 303 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:21.240 they stopped. But it stopped the guess I couldn't stop, 304 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.000 so it would it stopped the madness for a month 305 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:27.519 so I could get some clarity, you know, And but 306 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:32.519 I had to detox. And anyway, you know, twelve years ago, 307 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.799 I went on a binge and I I couldn't I 308 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.240 couldn't stop, and I almost I started, I started dying. 309 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:41.599 I was laying in bed. 310 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:42.160 I have no. 311 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:46.119 Idea what day or night or it was. And I 312 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:48.640 went into like a paralysis where I couldn't move and 313 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:53.920 I started hallucinating and I started I couldn't I started 314 00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:56.480 hearing things and I had read that that's kind of 315 00:19:57.079 --> 00:20:01.160 like some of the last little signals of the whole thing, right, 316 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.440 And I was okay with like dying. I could feel 317 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.680 the consciousness like leaving me. And I was like because 318 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:10.039 I had I was out of money, I was out 319 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:14.200 of like energy. I was just completely beat to death. 320 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.920 I had ended up in I always had an apartment 321 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.160 in Los Angeles and I had this little, tiny, three 322 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:24.000 hundred square foot studio apartment in Venice Beach. I mean 323 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:25.839 I had a five bedroom house in the ocean, you know. 324 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:29.079 And anyway, ended up in this room by myself for 325 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:32.680 four and a half years, and it was not pretty. 326 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:38.480 And but anyway, I obviously I didn't die, and I 327 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.759 somehow found my phone. I called a friend and I said, 328 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:44.720 I couldn't even like see my phone, it was so blurry, 329 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:47.799 and I said, will you find a rehab and take me? 330 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.240 And it was the last place I wanted to go, 331 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:52.759 but I mean I was it was it was like 332 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:55.480 the water was here, you know. Yeah, I mean I 333 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:58.400 was drowning, so I had to swim or die. It 334 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:02.319 was literally a fork in the road. So she took 335 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:04.720 me in and they wouldn't take me. I was into 336 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:07.440 bad of shape, so they took me to detox and 337 00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:12.920 I spent my birthday in the hospital detoxing twelve years ago. 338 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.160 Nobody called, my kids, didn't call nothing. I was by 339 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:20.680 myself and really sad stuff. And anyway, I went in 340 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:24.039 and this time it was in Malibu. And this time 341 00:21:24.119 --> 00:21:28.240 I stayed in Los Angeles where you know, you don't 342 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:31.240 know which you don't know. And I didn't realize the 343 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:34.880 spirituality of Los Angeles was what I was really drawn to. 344 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:36.920 I thought it was the movie business, but it was 345 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:41.039 the elevated consciousness here. And this time, when I got 346 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:45.839 out of rehab, I found a really great sponsor. He 347 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.480 was really tough on me, but that's what I needed. 348 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:51.640 He did, you know, and really tough. I did all 349 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:55.160 the steps and he turned me on to Kunolini yoga. 350 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:58.079 Yeah. I was just gonna say, this is sounding, this 351 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:01.480 is when you began looking at wisdom traditions and true 352 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:06.640 talk about that. Talk about your discovery of wisdom traditions 353 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:10.519 and sound healing and some of the practices that you undertook. 354 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:15.319 Yeah. So he he he said, hey, we got to 355 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.359 check out. He went to a class that goes, we 356 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:19.279 I got to take you to this thing. It's called 357 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:22.240 Counlina yoga. He goes, it's the best whatever, and I 358 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:24.720 said okay, and I went with him. And it was 359 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:28.119 the most bizarre thing for me. I'd grown up in 360 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:32.119 Chicago as a Lutheran and everybody's wearing white and chanting 361 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:37.319 and dancing. I was like, what, no, but I remember, 362 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:42.640 but I remember. The teachings were so advanced, the like 363 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:46.960 the talks that would give were so they just resonated 364 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:52.160 with me. They were so intelligent. They based in ancient science. 365 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:54.880 And by the way, Kunulina yoga is actually six it 366 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:58.160 shouldn't even be called yoga. It's a technology. And it 367 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:01.839 goes back six thousand years too, you know, I guess Egypt. 368 00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:05.920 And I went through you know, Buddhism and seek and 369 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:08.319 and it was hidden up until nineteen sixty eight, and 370 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.079 then it was revealed by Yogi Bojon his version of 371 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:12.799 it anyway in Los Angeles. 372 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:16.359 And did you learn to meditate when. 373 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:21.319 You oh yeah, yeah, yeah, advanced meditation, advance breath work. 374 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:25.400 I eventually I started going twice a day and eventually 375 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:29.079 took my teaching, you know, instruction. I went to Tibet. 376 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:33.079 But I people are like, why do you do that 377 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:35.000 crazy stuff? And I was like, here's what I know. 378 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:37.480 I always came out feeling better than when I went in. 379 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:41.880 So anything that did that, I would do because I'm 380 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:43.680 just looking at not dying. 381 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:44.160 Right. 382 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:47.799 And I'd done I had done all the psychology things, 383 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.839 I'd done, the rehabs, I'd done, the therapy, i had done, 384 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:54.640 all the medicines, all the antidepressants. I'd spent all this 385 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:57.880 money on advanced Western stuff to stop drinking. 386 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:02.119 None of them worked. Pathic techniques didn't work for you. 387 00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:05.240 Well, yeah, we can get into that in a minute. 388 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:11.000 But and then along this path, I was just giving 389 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:14.160 back to the community. And I had one camera left, 390 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.640 and I used to own millions of dollars worth of gear, right, 391 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:19.160 I had this one little camera and I was trying 392 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:21.880 to film my day because I had nothing nothing it was, 393 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:24.359 there was no film work. I'm just sitting in this 394 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:28.839 apartment by myself, in my head, trying to not go nuts, 395 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:32.920 you know, dealing with the you know the madness you 396 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.839 know that goes on in our heads thoughts and stuff. 397 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.720 So that's why I was going to Conwini all the time. 398 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.240 And then but anyway, I was shooting a thing for 399 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:47.799 a christ somebody asked me to shoot their Christmas play. 400 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:51.640 So here I am shooting this this woman that was 401 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:55.119