Is it possible to live life in a state of play, grow spiritually, and build the life of your dreams all at once?

This is a question I have spent many years pondering. 

Our guest today, Victoria Song would answer this question with an emphatic YES! For a long time, I thought there was a polarity between these things, but this is something I no longer believe. 

This has to be one of my favorite conversations since starting the show. It was just one of those conversations where there was a strong vibe, and I left feeling electric.

Victoria is someone I met back in the tech industry when she was working in Venture Capital. From here, she went on to become a leadership advisor and coach working with everyone from billionaires and high flying CEOs to creatives at the top of their field. She is also the author of the book Bending Reality which shares many of her most effective tactics she’s field tested with her clients.

For complete show notes and links to all resources mentioned visit: https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast

“I think we’re going to see a lot of people who are half professional, half shaman in the coming years.”

This was a soundbite from the recording of this week’s episode with my guest Jake Housdon. As the expansion of consciousness becomes more popular, I agree with the idea that people are going to live a more integrated experience.  

Jake and I are kindred spirits in some ways in that we both spent a decade+ working in startups and are now seeking ways to blend consciousness evolution with being a modern professional. 

Jake has an inspiring and courageous story. He was a sales leader in the startup world for the past decade and left that life to buy a retreat center in Peru, embark on becoming a shaman, and create an ecosystem dedicated to serving the conscious professional.

In this episode, we talk about his mystical story of how he ended up where he is today and the windy path it took to get there. We went deep on many of the polarities that one can encounter while trying to be an earnest seeker, yet also someone who accomplishes in the working world. As someone who has oscillated on both sides of the pendulum quite a bit, I appreciated his wise perspective.

For complete show notes and links to all resources mentioned visit: https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast

What’s Unique About The Mental Health of Entrepreneurs?

Starting and running a company can be HARD.

And when you look at the odds of success, you realize you gotta be a little crazy to do it. Many times during my own experience, I’ve reflected on how if I knew how hard it was, I’m not sure I would have done it. I’m finding the same thing can be said about embarking on the path of spiritual evolution btw! Apparently, I like hard shit.

So what is it about entrepreneurs that make them do the things they do?

Are they fundamentally different from the average bear? And what implications does this have for their mental health and well-being?

This is the nature of my conversation with today’s guest Dr. Michael Freeman. Dr. Freeman serves as a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and as a Mentor in the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF. With support from the Kauffman Foundation, Dr. Freeman has conducted extensive research into the mental health of entrepreneurs. Freeman studies issues related to entrepreneur mental health in collaboration with colleagues from U.C. Berkeley, the Gallup Organization, and other universities. Additionally, he was the founding Chief Medical Officer at U.S. Behavioral Health and the Founder of Econa, the global center of excellence for entrepreneur mental wellness.

For complete show notes and links to all resources mentioned visit: https://blog.scottbritton.me/s/evolutionfm-podcast

I love synchronicity.

Not just because it’s fun when it happens but because it serves as a clue to the fact that there is something more going on here than the story we’ve been told about reality.

The answer to what causes synchronicity will vary depending on who you ask.

I have my own ideas, but I wanted to see who out there has done extensive research on the topic.

This is how I came across today’s guest, Dr. Bernard Beitman. After studying at Yale and Stanford, Dr. Beitman went on to become the chair of the psychology and neuroscience program at The University of Missouri. He has also published multiple books, including Meaningful Coincidences, and started a non-profit called the Coincidence Project which seeks to better understand and educate the world on why and how coincidences occur.

For full show notes, visit: https://scottbritton.substack.com/s/evolutionfm-podcast

Altered states of consciousness are going mainstream. This episode is a deep dive on the startup ecosystem with my friend Greg Kubin who an investor a Psymed Ventures. We recorded this conversation as a followup to a longer post covering the startup ecosystem related to expanding human consciousness.

Startups will play a key role in enabling and expanding access to altered states of consciousness. The types of companies come in many flavors – hardware, software, and community. Technology could even result in accessing completely new states of consciousness.

But first… how do we define consciousness?

Most humans live in a state of normal waking consciousness – i.e. being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and physical surroundings. For most people, this is seemingly all there is to reality, maybe  except for dreams. In contrast, altered (or “alternative”) states of consciousness enable us to experience additional levels of awareness, perceptions, memories, thinking, emotions, sense of time, place, and self-control (source). In the process, they expand our understanding of the potentials of reality and the human experience. There are a variety of reasons people seek altered states: improved mental health, physical healing, creative breakthroughs, and spiritual connectedness. There are also risks – without proper support, altered states can be destabilizing.

“Our normal waking consciousness . . . is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the flimsiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different. We may go through life without suspecting their existence; but apply the requisite stimulus and at a touch they are all there in all their completeness” - William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience

For full show notes, visit: https://scottbritton.substack.com/s/evolutionfm-podcast