For reasons that are equal parts uninteresting (because you are busy paying attention to what you are doing or not doing) and somewhat private, to say that this summer has been complicated would be a bit of an understatement. That said, I’ve used some of the waning moments of my summer break looking for a dose of spirituality. What I’ve found has the potential to be very helpful as I attempt to re-charge as well as re-claim a sense of self in the aftermath of what has been an emotionally and at times physically exhausting 4 week span of time.

While listening to a recent episode of the Cal Newport podcast Cal mentioned the Rich Roll podcast. I had just caught up with my podcast queue and thought it might be interesting to explore what Rich Roll was up to. As I looked for a “point of entry” in his list of episodes, I noticed that one of his recent guests was Tim Ferriss. I’m always up for listening to what is on Tim’s mind so I decided to start here. Their discussion about mental health immediately hooked me as well as Rich’s interview style. His podcasts are very conversational; it almost feels like you are sitting at the table with him and his guest. Upon completion of that episode, I started looking for others that may interest me. Here’s where is gets spiritual.

Light Watkins and Guru Singh

I found one where he interviewed someone by the name of Light Watkins. Light is a spiritual teacher, the author of several books, and, oh by the way, has a podcast. Before the end of Rich’s interview with Light was finished I had already ordered Light’s latest book; Traveling Light and subscribed to his podcast. Again I went back to Rich’s back catalogue eager to find more inspiration. It didn’t take long before I settled on an episode where Rich spoke with someone by the name of Guru Singh.

As pragmatic as Light Watkins’ take on spirituality is Guru Singh’s is incredibly esoteric. He has a way with language that, simply put, is mystifying. Before the end of Rich’s conversation with Guru Singh was finished, I had subscribed to both his podcast and YouTube channel, bookmarked his website in my Favorites, and found some interesting audio he’s created over the years that I downloaded from Apple Music.

What’s Resonating With Me?

Why have I gone all in with these 3 men? When I say I have gone all in what I actually mean is I’m opening myself up to what Rich, Light and Guru, through their varying platforms, has to offer me. Call it making myself vulnerable to learning new things about myself through contemplation of the content they have created whether it be a podcast, book, article, video, guided meditation, or song.

My hope is that through continued consumption and contemplation I will be able to cultivate a bit more of mental silence in my days.