After months on the road, today was back in the office, and one of the benefits of being in the office is access to news and media.  Of course, you can get everything on a laptop and cell phone, but when you are in a comfortable chair with access to several 40" monitors and fast Internet, you can do much more.  Today, one of the stories grew from concept to word, and after several rewrites will have a couple follow-ups.  It started out talking about Eternity and moved into altered states of consciousness.  We plan to reach out to more people and expand the input as we write more on the topic.  When you come down from that trip, we return to simple, funny, and fun – a new site (to us) with ideas and style; we link you with an article about the Snooze Button.  Finally, what's up with YouTube stars and selfie sticks?  A longer read today; it's good to be back!

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Musicians were fans and listeners before they were musicians.  Writers were readers before they were writers.  Writing has become a way to release and communicate thoughts, and like music, a great writer has to consider timing, structure, and rhythm when they write.  Before I start reading the news of the day, I start by picking up several books and reading random sections out of the books.  It's a great way to wake the mind and start the machine before research and analysis start the day.  Today a section from Eckart Tolle's A Oneness With Life brings up a few questions for the day.  Tolle's two most popular books, A New Earth and The Power of Now are easy to read but difficult to comprehend.  Both of these books are easy to re-read, and that shows me the lessons resonate at a subconscious level.  Tolle quotes The Bible and references several other traditional religions in his books; in some ways, he provides an easier understanding of certain religious concepts.  For example, the passage I read today was about Eternity.  Many of us think of eternity in a religious sense, eternity is what you experience after a mortal death, and your definition of eternity depends on what you believe.  What if eternity isn’t a destination but a hidden-in-plain-sight opportunity? Here is the passage:

A simple understanding of what Tolle is talking about reminds me of Neal Brennan's discussion with Brett Goldstein on his podcast Films To Be Buried With.  Brennan was discussing the religious experiences he had when doing ayahuasca.  Brennan isn't alone in this experience; there have been several accounts of life-changing experiences after doing ayahuasca.  Brennan says after multiple experiences with ayahuasca, he believes in God and does not see physical death in the same way as he used to.  One common theme is that people come back after these experiences, which can induce an altered state of consciousness if they no longer fear death.  Brennan also talks about this with Joe Rogan and one of the things Brennan says is that he felt as though, as human beings, we seem to be busy trying to organize things, and this busy work keeps us sane; at the same time, we are organizing the wrong things.

I have experienced stress and anxiety so overwhelmingly that I felt like I was on the edge of a manic episode.  That level of stress was more common when I was younger, but it was based on, as Tolle says, being "so engrossed in what happens, so hypnotized by the world of fluctuating forms, so absorbed in the content of" – my own life that I forgot what is beyond myself.  That fear can be crippling, and for those of us who survive, there are many strategies for coping.  The whole world looks different when you let go of the fear of being content with your life.  Tolle does a great job of helping me settle my soul a little bit every day.  He is an everyday shaman, and this may contribute to why he is so popular.  Maybe one day I'll book that trip to wherever you can do an ayahuasca experience.  Until then, I'll read a little Soul Asylum Seeker. 

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The sunset on Memorial Day weekend, the (unofficial) start of summer is upon us.  Now is a good time to look at any of those resolutions, or changes you thought about at the beginning of the year.  A quick review of what changes have stuck, what changes have proven more difficult and a few that never got off the ground.  A quick review each quarter can help you optimize for the results you want.  Before the summer becomes the true halfway point in the calendar year, decide what you will continue to pursue.  With that in mind, setup systems to automate what you need to do now.  With new reflection and new organization, you will be better prepared to handle July, which is one of the least productive months on the calendar.  A big vacation month and if any of your goals for 2023 involve better health a system can help get your through the “hot zone.”

Another new website in the feed, Valet was referred to us by Christian over at 8am.com.  The article we first reviewed is about the “Snooze Button” and how to beat it.  A lot of the advice is similar to the advice we listed above.  We spent a few extra minutes on this website and they have another 31 day project all about making you a better man.  The website and style brand is focused on men, although a lot of the advice is for all people.  The article was written by Scott Woolf.

From the YouTube recommendation feed comes Azul Wells, who has a YouTube channel and talks about financial planning.  The video from our feed was a quick audio recap of several popular financial gurus and what each of them think a typical person will need to retire.  Wells does a good job of summarizing what the financial gurus suggest, although none of the gurus focus all of there content on retirement.  Dave Ramsey focuses on getting out of debt, Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) is all about investments, similar to Jim Cramer (CNBC) and Susie Orman works on personal development with personal finance.

We are starting to see an interesting trend; smart people who shoot videos about serious topics, while hiking in the mountains, or floating down a river?  Peter Zeihan who we have recommended in the past talks about Geopolitics, and his daily videos are usually filmed while he is hiking.  Wells looked like he was wading in a lake while he shot this video.  Are we late to this party?  Kevin Nealon has an entire Youtube series called Hiking With Kevin.  Sounds like a summer project for the With A Shout team!

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Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Here’s one for the road!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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