(Ai assist:) Veronique Ory – dancer, theater founder, yoga guide, and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors – shares one of the most romantic family love stories you’ll ever hear, how intergenerational trauma can become intergenerational strength, and simple daily practices that help us remember: we are already worthy, we can choose joy on purpose, and we don’t need one more thing to shine.

0:00 – Intro & Welcome Veronique Ory

0:19 – Who is Veronique? Dancer, storyteller, theater founder & yoga guide

2:04 – The ancient power of gathering around stories

3:18 – Yoga, “right view,” and becoming your own ophthalmologist

6:30 – A beautiful Holocaust-survivor love story: the motorcycle & honest intentions

9:58 – Is old-fashioned romance coming back?

14:15 – Intergenerational trauma & choosing empowerment instead of victimhood

19:20 – You don’t have to DO anything to shine – the worthiness conversation

24:11 – Aspirations vs affirmations & rejoicing in others’ joy

26:37 – Morning routine: no phone until you’re centered

30:14 – Feeling the feeling you want WITHOUT the “thing” – non-attachment practice

33:07 – The stolen sneaker story & purging one item a day

36:49 – Generosity, Lakshmi energy & giving is receiving

41:10 – Holidays, homemade gifts & cooking with what you already have

44:14 – Energy leaks, delegation & the “ice vs steam” full-body yes test

49:38 – How to work with Veronique – book, membership, retreats & Italy 2026

55:31 – Closing blessing: May all beings realize awakening

In this soul-nourishing conversation, Veronique Ory takes us from 1940s Hungary to modern-day Los Angeles, sharing the motorcycle courtship story of her Holocaust-survivor grandparents, how storytelling around the fire is the original human gathering, and why everything starts with “right view.”

We dive into:

• Healing intergenerational trauma without falling into victimhood
• Why worthiness isn’t earned – you were born with it
• Turning jealousy into vicarious joy
• The morning routine that keeps social media from hijacking your nervous system
• Feeling the feeling you want NOW (without waiting for the job/partner/thing)
• The sneaker story that cured a shopping urge and sparked daily decluttering
• Generosity as the ultimate happiness hack
• Cooking and giving from what you already have
• “Ice vs steam” – the full-body yes/no test for every decision

Veronique’s book & membership “Shine On and Off the Mat” → https://yogawithveronique.com

Instagram → https://instagram.com/veroniqueory

http://facebook.com/theveroniqueory

7-day free trial of the Shine membership (live classes + global community) → link in bio

Italy Yoga Retreat 2026 → details on website

If you’ve ever felt “not enough,” rushed, or addicted to buying the next thing – this episode is medicine.

Which moment resonated most with you? Drop it in the comments – we read every single one. 🧡

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Ai assist:) Asher Lester spent 20 years as a pediatric behavioral analyst treating thousands of kids on the autism spectrum, then became a full-time Krav Maga instructor and breath/meditation teacher. In this raw, wide-ranging conversation he reveals:

- Why autism diagnoses skyrocketed from 3–5 in 10,000 to 1 in 32 — and the uncomfortable environmental factors no one wants to talk about

- How he went from being brutally bullied (40+ punches while pinned on the ground) to teaching self-defense and inner peace

- The shocking study: AI can identify you with 96.8% accuracy just from 24 hours of your breathing patterns (you have a “breathing fingerprint”)

- Why hyperventilation/“super-ventilation” techniques (including some popular methods) are dangerous and based on bad science

- The exact way to breathe (bottom-of-rib-cage demo) that calms the nervous system instantly and improves meditation, sports performance, and daily life

- Why schools secretly maintain zero-tolerance self-defense policies that teach kids to be passive victims

- The missing link between violence capability and true peace: becoming a “balanced warrior”

If you’ve ever felt anxious, struggled with meditation, worried about raising kids in today’s world, or wondered why everyone seems so on edge — this episode is a goldmine.

0:00 🎯 Intro – Welcome Asher Lester

0:58 😔 Losing His Best Friend at 11 – What Drove Him Into Psychology

2:15 🧠 20 Years Treating Autism & Behavioral Disorders

5:40 🤼‍♂️ From Therapist to Full-Time Krav Maga Instructor

8:18 🫁 Your Unique “Breathing Fingerprint” (96.8% AI identification)

10:25 ⚠️ How Stress Makes Us Hyperventilate & Dissociate in 30 Seconds

14:20 🧬 Why Autism Diagnoses Exploded (1 in 32 kids) – His Real-World Theory

18:50 🔥 Toxins, Fire-Retardant Furniture & Epigenetics

23:20 🐵 “We’re All Nervous Apes” – Origin of the Name & Negativity Bias

30:40 📰 Reframing Terror on Live TV – A Nervous System Masterclass

41:30 💔 Brutal Bullying Stories (and Why Schools Enable It)

48:10 🏫 “Snitches Get Stitches” – 5-Year-Olds Already Know

54:30 🚨 Why Zero-Tolerance Self-Defense Policies Harm Kids

1:00:00 🧘 Proper Breathing vs. Hyperventilation Myths (Wim Hof warning)

1:09:00 ❤️ Diaphragmatic Breathing Demo – Bottom-of-Rib-Cage Technique

1:14:20 🧘‍♂️ Best Way to Start Meditation (5 perfect setup breaths)

1:18:00 🫶 Where to Find Asher – Classes, 1-on-1, Fundamentals Course

https://www.nervousapes.com

https://www.instagram.com/nervousapes

https://www.facebook.com/trea.drake

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A beautiful, intimate conversation with longtime Zen practitioner and author Lee Carlson about his 15-year student-teacher relationship with the legendary Peter Matthiessen (author of The Snow Leopard, Paris Review founder, and former CIA operative turned Sōtō Zen master).

Lee shares how Matthiessen helped him navigate profound openings — including a life-altering loving-kindness (metta) experience where the entire room dissolved into pure interconnected energy — and what it truly means to study with an awakened teacher.

From the paradoxes of Zen, the importance of sangha, the transformative power of the breath, and Matthiessen’s gentle reminder that “at the end of the day, just teach them how to breathe,” this episode is medicine for anyone walking a contemplative path or longing for authentic transmission in a teacher-student relationship.

0:00 – Welcome & technical difficulties

0:25 – Who is Lee Carlson? (25 years of Zen, journalism → authorship)

1:01 – Peter Matthiessen: The Snow Leopard, Paris Review, and the early Western Zen wave

3:52 – The CIA backstory & how people (including Matthiessen) changed

9:28 – Sōtō vs Rinzai, compassion in Zen, and stripping away the extras

14:35 – The Beat Generation, Dharma Bums, and the 1960s–70s spiritual explosion

18:18 – Zen is big on heart & love (despite the minimalist reputation)

19:49 – The irreplaceable value of a real teacher + sangha

23:29 – Wise friendship is the whole of the path (Buddha to Ānanda)

30:07 – Dokusan, eye-to-eye interviews, and life as practice

31:27 – The life-changing metta opening: the room dissolves into one bright pearl

35:21 – Peter’s response: “Oh, how wonderful” + Dōgen’s “The whole world is one bright pearl”

38:03 – Where to find Lee and his book

39:37 – Peter’s final teaching: “At the end of the day, just teach them how to breathe”

40:45 – Closing blessing

https://leecarlson.life

A Single Excellent Night: A Man, a Mentor, and a Moment in Time:

https://www.amazon.com/Single-Excellent-Night-Mentor-Moment/dp/B0FTTP6DFT/

https://www.facebook.com/LeeCarlsonAuthor

https://x.com/LCarlson_author

https://www.youtube.com/@LeeCarlsonAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/leecarlsonauthor/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/LeeCarlsonNirvana

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this heartfelt conversation, high-performance coach Rob Tracz shares his journey from an overworked strength & conditioning coach (12–15 hour days, 7 days a week for years) to becoming a “Prime Performer” coach for young entrepreneurs and side-hustlers. Rob opens up about the personal cost of hustle culture — deteriorating health, lost relationships, and missing precious time with his father during his final months with pancreatic cancer.

Through these hard lessons, Rob discovered that true success isn’t more money or hours worked — it’s living in alignment with your deepest core values, cultivating self-awareness, and building a life that still has room for relationships, joy, and reflection.

A powerful episode for anyone who’s ever felt trapped in “robot mode,” chasing the next milestone while life passes by. Learn practical ways to slow down, reflect consciously, use values as your compass, and build a thriving side hustle without burning out.

0:00 – Intro & casual weather chat

1:07 – Who is Rob Tracz and what he does today

3:25 – Childhood: “Dweeb Rob” discovers personal development through sports

6:53 – Becoming a strength & conditioning coach

7:55 – The dark side: 12–15 hour days, 200 weeks straight, “robot mode”

8:28 – Losing relationships and missing time with his dying father

9:11 – The turning point and redefining success through core values

11:33 – Tying self-worth to achievement & the need for life “brakes”

13:21 – When to intervene vs. let someone learn the hard way

15:54 – Current trends: moving away from “sleep when I’m dead” culture

17:20 – Using AI for deeper self-reflection and gratitude

20:07 – Growth without purpose is cancer — redefining success on your own terms

23:36 – Core values as the map, goals as the mountain

26:21 – Rob’s unique edge: adaptability + radical awareness

28:12 – Turning weaknesses into strengths through conscious reflection

30:20 – One core message: “Reflect more consciously”

32:12 – Wrapping up + Rob’s current work

35:25 – Conflict resolution, power dynamics, and working with pro sports teams

39:06 – Final message: Reflect more consciously

vid version: https://youtu.be/NwOqaslr16M

Main Website — https://robtracz.com

Podcast: Surviving the Side Hustle — https://robtracz.com/podcast (or https://survivingthesidehustle.com)

https://instagram.com/robtracz

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tracz-ms-cscs-55a4b3146

Older Training Site (TAPS) — https://taps-training.com (still active but secondary to his current coaching focus)

https://www.facebook.com/robert.tracz.750

https://youtube.com/@coachrobt2143

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Ai assist:) Dr. Will Tuttle — author of the bestselling The World Peace Diet, musician, and lifelong spiritual practitioner — shares his incredible life story: leaving home in 1975 with his brother to walk across America in search of cosmic consciousness, decades in Zen monasteries in Korea and the U.S., intensive meditation retreats, becoming vegan in 1975, and traveling the world for 17 years in an RV spreading the message of compassion.

At 72, Will reveals how a whole-food plant-based lifestyle, daily meditation, Tai Chi, and living close to nature have given him the biological age of 22 and his 77-year-old wife the biological age of 35. We dive deep into:

• How food choices are the root of personal health and world peace
• Why veganism aligns with Buddhist principles of non-harming
• The hidden connections between factory farming, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and societal control
• Facing family and cultural resistance with compassion (including hunting culture)
• The rising normalization of euthanasia and what it reveals about our relationship to life
• Practical ways to stay sane and awake in a manipulated world

vid version: https://youtu.be/MJ24STTpibk

https://www.willtuttle.com

https://www.worldpeacediet.com

https://www.youtube.com/@WillTuttle

https://www.facebook.com/will.tuttle1

https://x.com/WillTuttlePhD

https://www.youtube.com/@WillTuttle

Partial Chapter listing:

1:01 – Who is Dr. Will Tuttle? (author, musician, 33-year marriage)

1:34 – Growing up in Concord, transcendentalist roots & distrusting mainstream media

3:29 – 1975: Leaving home with no money to walk to CA seeking enlightenment

4:02 – Self-inquiry with Ramana Maharshi while walking across America

4:50 – Joining "The Farm" hippie commune

5:53 – Korean Zen center in Alabama

8:22 – Meeting Zen master Seo Kyung-bo (Donald Gilbert)

9:02 – Tibetan Buddhism, prostrations, then returning to Zen simplicity

10:54 – Becoming a Zen monk in Korea

11:43 – Getting PhD, meeting Madeleine, 17 years living & lecturing from an RV

12:20 – Writing The World Peace Diet (now in 19+ languages)

15:34 – Josh reflects on Will’s classic spiritual seeker journey

19:57 – Why food is our most intimate connection with the living earth

20:40 – Becoming vegan in 1980, never a pill or doctor visit in 50 years

22:50 – Biological age 22 at 72, Madeleine age 35 at 77 (the “Don’t Die” test)

24:19 – Growing your own food, loving the plants, food as medicine

28:54 – Urgency of practice as we age

32:26 – Hunting vs. factory farming – planting seeds with compassion

35:14 – The burning house parable – how to actually help people

37:06 – Monsanto, GMOs, petrochemical agriculture & profit-driven poisoning

41:10 – Rockefeller medicine, pharmaceuticals as refined petroleum

44:33 – The rise of medical assistance in dying (MAID) & commodification of life

48:56 – The absolute necessity of daily meditation & inner discernment

52:02 – Closing blessings: May all beings awaken and be free

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephanie Lee Jackson, founder of Practical Sanctuary and pioneer of sensory interior design—designs spaces that actually calm and regulate your nervous system instead of overstimulating it.

Stephanie explains why modern homes trigger fight-or-flight, how fluorescent lights and bad layouts drain sensitive people (and everyone else), and how small, evidence-based changes can dramatically lower anxiety, improve focus, and even speed healing. From Danish dining-room lighting tricks to redesigning hospitals that currently push the brake and the accelerator at the same time, this episode bridges neuroscience, architecture, and spirituality. Perfect for HSPs, neurodivergent folks, meditators, parents, caregivers—or anyone who’s ever walked into a room and instantly felt exhausted.

[Due to editing these markers aren't exactly timestamped properly anymore but they are for the video version: https://youtu.be/_pTUmEU0LJg]

0:00 – Intro: We’re Animals, Not Brains in Jars

0:37 – Meet Stephanie Jackson: Sensory Interior Design

2:16 – Highly Sensitive People & Fluorescent Light Torture

4:24 – Discovering You’re Not “Weak”—You’re Wired Differently

6:40 – Meditation Bypasses Survival Brain (It’s Biological!)

9:11 – Comfort Zones vs. Anxiety as a Comfort Zone

10:50 – Feng Shui? Biophilia? No—Practical Nervous-System Design

13:05 – How Stephanie Works: Virtual Tours, Photos & Collaboration

16:28 – The #1 Issue: Women’s Boundaries Steamrolled (Mirrored in Space)

19:04 – “Space Therapist”: Refereeing Couples & Neuroscience Facts

21:47 – Scandinavian Design & Hygge Done Right

24:06 – The Flying-Saucer Light That Doubled Family Dinner Time

26:06 – Hospitals Are Making Patients Sicker—Here’s Proof

30:14 – Cleveland Clinic, Mayo & the Coming Sensory Hospital Revolution

32:35 – Why Mid-Career Execs Block Change (and How to Reach the Decision-Makers)

35:02 – The Ego Trap in Western Mindfulness & Spirituality

38:18 – Inner Work Must Become Outer Work—No Separation

42:49 – Connect with Stephanie: PracticalSanctuary.com + Her New Book

43:50 – Final Message: “You Already Know What You Need”

https://practicalsanctuary.com

Book (via the main page of her site): The Eccentric Genius Habitat Intervention: Interior Design for Highly Sensitive People

https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=6VCt2JitglWC2lNeA99P2v4n61OpzIzWYFHkz6QaQq0

https://www.facebook.com/stephanieleejackson

https://www.instagram.com/practicalsanctuary

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieleejacksonpracticalsanctuary

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Ai assist:) In this somewhat deep-dive conversation, hypnotherapist Craig Meriwether (Arizona Integrative Hypnotherapy) explains hypnosis is an intentional shift into alpha/theta brainwave states—something we do daily while watching TV, driving, or day-dreaming. Far from stage-trickery or MK Ultra-style control, therapeutic hypnotherapy empowers the subconscious to release trauma, anxiety, and limiting patterns. We explore possible overlaps with meditation (jhana/samādhi), self-hypnosis, post-hypnotic suggestions, NLP, the “God Helmet,” and ethical red flags. Craig stresses: you can’t be forced against your morals or values, and real change requires relentless practice. A balanced, eye-opening look at a powerful healing modality—without the Hollywood hype.

[Partial chapter marks:]

3:37 – Craig’s Training: 500+ Hours at Hypnotherapy Academy

20:34 – Dissociation, Jhana, Meditation Absorption States

21:04 – MK Ultra & Project Monarch

30:49 – Detecting Manipulation: Assume Ads/Social Media Want Your Attention

37:14 – Suggestions & Post-Hypnotic Suggestions Explained

44:46 – Relentlessness: Change Isn’t One Session—It’s Daily Practice

47:36 – You Can’t Be Forced Into Hypnosis; Consent Is Key

48:19 – Memory, Amnesia, Genetics & Non-Local Consciousness

https://sacredmysteryhypnotherapy.com

https://www.facebook.com/sacredmysteryhypnotherapy

https://www.youtube.com/@Sacred_Mystery_Hypnotherapy⁩

https://www.instagram.com/sacred_mystery_hypnotherapy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-meriwether-44286718b

The Melt Episode 246- Robert Temple | Dreamwalking, The In Between, and The Grey Regions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONn32cDhQyo [hypnosis book "Open to Suggestion" banned only ever available in Britain]

Thoth presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6RDcWNUTNE (Info is beyond interesting and unique, but I'm not in total alignment with presentation style)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet

https://archive.org/details/the-illuminati-formula-used-to-create-an-undetectable-total-mind-control-slave

https://rumble.com/user/oblockheedm (very detailed processes and information about method, intent, etc)

S4E93 | Grey - GATE, Mind Files, & the Occult Foundations of the Industrialized Brainwashing Machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_IulqAzYfA (and entire podcast)

Want to be a guest on Inner Skilled? Send Josh Dippold a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/innerskilled

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.