In this episode, Hampus Blomberg shares his journey from corporate burnout to a life of inner alignment, guided by music, meditation, breath, and love. Through shadow work, spiritual partnership, and deep presence, he invites us into a new way of living—one rooted in purpose and spaciousness.
What if the very things that weighed you down—burnout, pressure to perform, internal dissonance—were the doorway to your purpose?
In this deeply honest and heart-opening conversation, Hampus Blomberg shares his journey from striving and burnout in the corporate world to living a life rooted in breath, creativity, presence, and love.
We explore his early spiritual awakenings through music, the powerful unraveling that occurred at a 10-day Vipassana retreat, and how shadow work and conscious relationship became portals to deeper healing and embodiment. This episode is a map for those feeling the pull to slow down, go inward, and live in alignment with their soul’s calling.
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Explore more of Hampus’ work:
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⏰ Timestamps
The Deep Coach Podcast
Episode 11: Hampus Blomberg - Creativity and Spirituality: Healing, Love, and Stepping into Your Purpose
[00:00:00] And another level of development for me is committing to an intentional or a conscious relationship where of course we have all our humanness and she's a woman and I am a man.
And then, all of the practical aspects. But we also commit to allowing every moment, including every shadow, every argument, to be an imitation for us individually, to let go of our past so that we can come into one. and that's both, a fierce journey. 'cause there's nothing left on the table.
Like there's no hiding anymore, like all the shadowy parts. Here you are, you know, but it's also, yeah, something I start to feel right away that she loves. The parts of me that I couldn't love myself.
Welcome to the Deep Coach, the podcast where we explore the transformational journeys that shape us and that propel us to change the world. I'm your host, [00:01:00] Jonathan Hermida, and in each episode we sit down with those who have journeyed into the depths of spiritual transformation and who are now reshaping the world through their presence and their work.
In listening to these incredible human beings, you'll find insight, inspiration, and practical tools. To support your journey as a coach and as a human being. Today's guest is Hamus Blomberg. Hamus is one of our incredible learning leaders at the center, and a true light in this world. He really does brighten every room he goes into, and I think you'll get a sense of some of that light in our conversation today.
So in today's episode, we talk about a few key moments of awakening that changed his relationship to work and to life. A moment where he hit rock bottom, that really changed the trajectory of his life. And then we talk about spiritual partnerships, shadow work, and the power of breath, and so much more.
this is a really beautiful conversation around life healing and spirituality. I hope you enjoy.
You are such a bright light. you have a radiance to you, and, and interactions and how you show [00:02:00] up. and I imagine you, we were talking about your daughter, we can talk a little more about, talk about your daughter later on.
she just came into this world not too long ago. And I'm thinking about you coming into this world, and I imagine you coming into this world like this bright light, but that's not always the case, you know? And so where I want us to start is how would you describe who Hamus Blomberg was prior to any inklings of awakening or transformation?
Well maybe part of that has always been there, the kind of joyful openness like our, our daughters that I came out like this, you know? Um. So that kind of spark of, um, of creativity and, and wanting to connect, I think has, has always been there. Um, more than anything. I think more achievement based and more busy, uh, maybe feeling good enough and, and proving something, [00:03:00] which also has led to, um, you know, a path of, of seeking many different things and learning a lot on the way. Um, I think that's why maybe I, I learned to play the guitar in the beginning, you know, just, oh, this is something that can, I mean, it both feels fantastic to play, but it's also a way of kind of gaining recognition to, to some degree. Um, yeah. Yeah. But the, the call for, for creating just. art, whatever that means, bringing people together.
I, I think, would, would be the, the core factors that has always been there and gradually maybe less and less shadows and less weights of my, my, my own shoulders in a sense. And allowing those kind of core traits to be free and natural, freer and more natural gradually.
Hmm. So you've, you've always been this creative spirit in a sense. You know, I guess we [00:04:00] all are when we're little, but we're, you know, we're not, we don't have that self-consciousness attached to it. What would you say were the, were the shadows or the, what was sort of the nature of the heaviness that you experienced as a young person?
Well, I, I can recall from, from even younger years seeing, uh, and experiencing this kind of dissonance in the world on one level, seeing what, what myself included, where we all are kind of showing off on the surface and then this underlying aspect that we just expressing something else, but that was usually pushed away, right? So we walk around and, and live with, with our roles or, or our masks. Um, so I, I remember feeling from a young age, uh, of the desire, but also kind of a guilt about not being able to, to meet people, uh, heart to heart and also, um, having [00:05:00] this weight of the world on my shoulders. Um. Expressing itself in always wanting to be good, do good, which ironically often leads, leads to the, to the opposite, right? Um, so I think that living with that, I now know is, is what we can embrace as a paradox and, and experience it and hold it. That was more experienced as a, as a dilemma when I was, when I was younger. Like, either I'm doing good, whatever that means, depending on how old I was or I'm not, I am not good. And, and with that comes a, comes a judgment towards everyone else as well. Um, yeah. And, uh, at times there was probably more noticeable, like really when I, I've been chasing may not be achievement or spirituality, same underlying kind of driver. Um. Yeah, I think that, and we, [00:06:00] we've talked a little bit about this before, but that was probably the, the key, key moment in, in my journey of, of letting go at a meditation retreat, of, of coming into the, the felt experience so that the emotion of that, that the imprint, the stuckness, and actually connecting with that for the first time, recognizing, oh, this has been with me as long, for as long as I can remember. No wonder why I am chasing things or feeling heavy or, you know, anxiety, depression either way. Um, but also having a, um, a passion and inspiration to, to want to evolve and, and want to connect. Um, yeah, maybe we'll come back to that later. But it's beautiful how, I mean, we see that now in, in coaching, in deep coaching, how we have these limiting beliefs that, that are with us since. Since early childhood or maybe maybe before that too, more or less shaped our whole, our whole life.
Yeah. You know, and these [00:07:00] limiting beliefs, it, it's really survival for that little being that's learning. You know, what, what gets us love, what gets us attention, what gets us validation, you know, and, and learning from our environment, the things that do, the things that don't. So I can see how sort of being the good boy being, you know, the best boy, being, you know, that, that being a driver, because those were the things that you, as your little, you associated with receiving, the things that are vital for a young person to receive as they're growing, as they're developing.
And I can see how that then becomes a weight.
Yeah. Yeah,
Yeah.
yeah, yeah. Both. It's, it's simultaneously, I mean, it's easy to say afterwards, right? Once we have kind of reconciled or digested, um, that, that part of us, and, uh, we can see that it, it was both, both a gift all the way through. It drove us to explore things or maybe rub rebel against things, but, but learn and, [00:08:00] and venture through life. There's always this element of, of, of ease afterwards. And, and being able to let that may that be creativity or whatever we kind of, um, choose to, to, uh, use, to express that, but to allow it to, to unfold by its own volition without needing a, a destination. It, it's more something we can live moment by moment.
So in a sense, living as purpose, on purpose instead of for an external purpose.
Yeah, it, it sounds like you stumbled into that realization early on. You, you mentioned, and you shared with me about this moment when you were playing guitar. Where can you describe that moment when you were playing guitar and what happened and how that became sort of the first awakening or seed for awakening?
So that was a little later. I think I was maybe 17 or 18. Um, and yeah, I played guitar for maybe a year or two and [00:09:00] I, I was completely fascinated and, and played for hours and hours. And as I began playing scales, these kind of patterns, repetitive patterns, and again, for hours, um, I, for the first time began to, to reflect not about the, the kind of my fingers or the sound that was coming out, but more about how I was relating to it. So moment by moment, kind of moving in between either projecting a reality when I was a cool player on, on stage, you know, receiving recognition and kind of feeling up in a sense. I'm getting something from this, and then next moment coming back to maybe noticing just the fingers. But then gradually beginning to notice more of, of space and the space in which the sound comes into, right?
But not only sound, also the emotions that relate to, to the music that is moving and, and the thoughts about the [00:10:00] sound. So kind of just gradually, um, opening wider and wider and allowing. Everything that is inexperience, everything that is moving uh, to be witnessed. So I, I had no idea what that meant then, but that kind of led me into meditation LA later on.
Just that fascination of seems to be this, not this just horizontal or kind of directional experience of life, but an inner vertical experience that, that just shifts everything. Like who, how, how am I relating and, and who am I relating from? And ask all of those questions. I think that was the, the first, um, yeah, kind of the, the spark of a new dimension opening up.
And then adding to that, just the, the experience of being with tension and, and release, which is so clear in, in any, in any song or in any, any movie or play. all know that [00:11:00] intuitively that. With, without any tension, there is no release. So, so there's no emotion and there's no interest. Right. There's no life.
Yeah.
Um, but with, with being with music, it's such a, uh, or it could be any, any art form or anything for, for that matter. But, but from my point of view, music just allowed sense of experiencing tension and release or, or letting go and letting come in a sense, as we talk about in deep coaching and then seeing how well, this is how life moves.
It's not just music, it's everything. So rather than relating to, to me and others as personalities or titles or relationships or, you know, whatever kind of labels we, we put onto each other, we can begin to experience life as. Moment by moment, is there tension or release? What is life asking for? To, to let go, let come. there's such simplicity in that. 'cause you can just ask any [00:12:00] moment. It's like, is this a letting go or income moments?
Yeah.
asking me to go in and kind of more passion right now? Or maybe even, uh, you know, push against something with loving resistance, if you will. Or is it just time to witness, listen, relax, don't no effort at all.
Yeah.
is, is we don't do that too often. Maybe in our modern society.
We really don't. We really don't. So these insights eventually came to you as a result of going in and, following the thread of that insight that you first had from, playing the guitar in that way. What do you remember your relationship to that moment being shortly after?
So in the, because it sounds like you picked up meditation a little bit later, and so did you, did you have, were you seeking that moment through music after that?
Yeah, I think in the beginning it was most just pure fascination and, and also [00:13:00] recognition that it was hard to talk about it and, and especially allowing that, the kind of concept of tension and release, for example, to, to be applied to relationships. And, uh, you know, I think I was, I mean, I was, I was in school back then, but also working, like applying it to day-to day life, that, that felt important, uh, that, that felt important, but also very challenging. So that became almost, um, uh, like I started to, uh, close up a bit and in a way, maybe making my, it, it, I didn't call it spiritual then, but that aspect of this. Here, here is magic and mystery, but out there it seems to be more rational and, and logical. And if we can prove it scientifically, then it's, then it's real kind of. So I think I, it took a few years to reconcile instead of making that a of a, again, a dilemma. Um, so's a really a, a sheltering almost, and I think it took maybe four [00:14:00] years until I meditating. And, and that became more of a, yeah, like a, a, a daily practice. And I started to open more into that deeper aspect of reality to me, being in, as soon as we experience, presence is like everything within presence is also included, right? We open wider and wider, include more into experience. So from that position, we, we also see. It's, it's like it's more wisdom without excluding anything because it just allows more perspective to be, it's always a yes and depending on perspective. It's all relative.
It's so true. It's so true. What was it that happened four years in that drew you to meditation and in particular.
Hmm. There's a couple of things. I, I still had this achievement based, uh, yearning that, that was driving me. [00:15:00] I think that that made me pick up a, I always had a draw to, to kind of philosophy and, and mysticism. So that was already a seed planted, if you will. Um, but. Then I, I tried meditation and then made a, like a commitment.
I'm gonna do thou a thousand days every day, I'm gonna meditate. Um, so that became just kind of this, this ritual. And then after a while I started to let go of the, of the goal and recognizing the kind of the fruits of the, of the practice. Um, and then I also started to travel to India in, uh, I was working with, uh, project management, so more, more in a kind of corporate role. just those travels back and forth to expose me more to, uh, well, to, to different ways of viewing life day to day, also more of, uh, Indian or eastern traditions and practices as well. So that's kind of slowly how everything came together and,
Yeah.
a sudden, I guess I just that, that [00:16:00] meditation is, is a natural thing now, but that also probably took 2, 2, 3 years.
Yeah. To develop. what was it about the, because you had mentioned to me the facilitation in particular, you were doing some change management and in that process there was a thinning of the veil. As you were coming into awareness, I guess, of yourself and can you describe exactly what was happening there and why you associate that as being a pivotal moment?
Yeah. So fa facilitation in the sense of, of being, um, a non-attached participant whose primary role is to, to be aware of space and then all the energy that is moving within it. So all the, the people, the, the opinions, the needs, the beliefs, et cetera. That's, that's also kinda if you zoom out a little bit, just a natural spiritual practice if we allow it to be right. that was basically what I was doing workwise for, for a few years. A lot of workshop [00:17:00] facilitation and, and kind of learning facilitation Working with so many different people from different cultures working in this kind of global corporate setting, which is a, a blessing in and of itself. Um, but recognizing how, um, what we naturally. Kind of at the surface level missed one another. Or it could be two organizations, or two teams, or two, two cultures that, that seemed to have a common goal, but it was just very hard to reach that. Right. But being allowed to be in the role of not attaching to that goal, and just like from hearts caring about the, the people, your colleagues and friends, and just how can we bring each other together to, to, in a sense, emerge. I think that I connected that to music, uh, as well. Like, here's, here's one note or one group of people. Here's another note. we don't play, [00:18:00] it's no li like no life, no fun, right? But if, if we have, uh, just this agreement to come together for, for whatever purpose, but we, we agree to come together for a shared purpose, right? That allows to seemingly separate. Entities, people notes to come together and emerge into something new and all of a sudden we have a song
Yeah.
we have, you know, it, it could be a, a, a new product or a, strategy or whatever the, output is in, in the corporate setting. But the same foundational aspects of, of space and energy and then relatedness or being, becoming belonging and working together.
Yeah, I'm curious, were you explicitly speaking in this way to your clients or was this just an inner happening and a way of being that you were showing up as and sort of playing the orchestrator of, the music.
Uh, I [00:19:00] think this, this evolved and I, I. Had my, I I was still in my own bubble, if you will, my, my spiritual journey, so to say. and I would say my, my language was more connecting to, uh, to, to the corporate language and maybe bringing in, you know, team metaphors or sports and, and stuff like that. A lot of music too.
Uh, actually, um, it was probably the last two years before I, before I decided to quit, uh, my, my den job, that that kind of, I, I started to feel a yearning to bring what I was experiencing through a little bit more. Um, so, so I think the language evolved and also
Yeah.
help but kind of invite, Hey, do you wanna meditate with me?
Let's take 15 minutes before, and, you know, opening sessions with, maybe we
Yeah.
be quiet for a, a little bit. So, like, very gradually. Um, but, but it was also challenging 'cause I did [00:20:00] feel, um. Yeah, like, like two different people in a sense. And also very much holding back this new, this new aspect of me that, that was wanting to come out. Um,
Yeah,
I also more of a kind of belief that it's not really okay to talk about this or to be this in, in a corporate setting. So I had some part of that in my belief structure, which yeah, maybe took another two years to, to allow that. it's, uh, uh, it hasn't been a date, you know,
no,
for
no.
slowly, gradually.
you may have had resistance, but it sounds like you were still making efforts to, integrate as much as you could and find pockets and moments and opportunities and make invitations. How, where were you geographically in this moment? Where were you running these?
Based, based in Sweden and then traveling Italy, uk, Germany,
Okay.
[00:21:00] Sweden was still based where I'm born and born and raised.
Okay. were there any difference culturally in terms of who you noticed were more responsive to some of these, invitations versus in terms of culture versus others?
Uh, Yes. And in, in different ways, I guess. But I experienced that when we came into this shared belief system of we are here more as our titles than as beings. Then everyone more or less played the same game. Then when we stepped out and, you know, had dinners afterwards or kind of spent time outside that container. I would definitely, um, yeah, the clearest. Contrast, I guess to me was that of west and east? very, like, oversimplified, of course. But the meetings, I had just a few conversations with my, my colleagues in India who made, you know, made a comment like, you guys over there are so, [00:22:00] so stressed. Like it's, it's just this lifetime.
What are you, what's the rush? Like? Okay. Yeah. That's, that's true. I have, I've never seen it like that. I've always seen it as, you know, I gotta make it, you know, achieve and then I retire when I'm 65 ish. has always been this, this underlying assumed reality. So just having conversations with some more like with Yeah, yeah,
Yeah, they're playing a, an infinite game over there. You know, this is just one lifetime of many. So like, why are you, why are you overly stressed?
yeah, yeah.
We have more opportunities to get it right.
What's the rush?
What's the rush? What's the rush? you alluded to, a pivotal moment in meditation where the old structure, you got to confront some of those old structures, belief systems.
Bring us into that moment and what the, that sort of crumbling away and unfolding what took place and, what your relationship to it was.
[00:23:00] Yeah, so by then I hadn't meditated for, for a couple of years, but mostly by myself, you know, exploring various, some courses and, and books and a few retreats. But I'd never committed to sitting for more than maybe six hours straight. And now this was a, a vipasana. retreats in, in the Goenka lineage. If, if anyone is familiar with that, which is basically 10 days with more or less silence all the time, and you, you commit to communicate, meaning no, no eye contact.
You just, you commit to be with yourself and also to commit to truth. as we begin speaking, that is, know, naturally challenging to be completely truthful with language. So we, we about to be quiet. Um, and after a few, few days of that, and it's, it's a beautiful kind of unfolding that happens as the, the active kind of day-to-day [00:24:00] mind that is more busy following thoughts as that begins to settle. And, and the other, the thoughts are more allowed to kind of and flow. Then naturally we begin to experience what, what is happening on the inside. Um, so coming into subtle sensations or begin to notice this underlying movements, again, back to what I felt in music, in, in flow states, but here, being able to actually relate to it and, and kind of refine that connection. But what also happens as we, we know in deep coaching, when when we bring awareness to something, then we also give space to it. And, and we allow something that has been frozen or stuck, whatever we, whatever words we wanna use for it, we allow that to begin to, to move and unravel. So I had one specific point in my, my solar plexus just in between the, the middle part of my lower ribcage that I, [00:25:00] I'd always recognized was very tense.
And I could feel, yeah, let's call it an anxiety coming and going. But now all of a sudden when I. Came closer to this, in this kind of present state that really began to make itself hurt and then eventually becoming so powerful that I was fully convinced that it was going to implode within. And it stayed for day and a half or so, and and the whole practice is to let go of any story, right?
But of course, I went through all the stories. So this coming from? Ooh, is this connected to something my childhood? Uh, do I need to call a doctor? You know, all of this. But just releasing, releasing, emptying, emptying, and then bringing love and awareness. And then eventually in the moment when I, I was convinced that I'm, I'm, I'm dying now, there was also a, a deeper. Uh, a deeper place in me that, that trusted the, the [00:26:00] flow. Uh, so instead of imploding, it just or dissolved or, yeah, like butterflies, I guess. So that was my first, um, this, the first time I, I witnessed like fully, there was no getting away of the magic that was there. Um, and that's I guess when I started to believe in transformation or what I had experienced earlier when I was 17, 18.
But that was the first like moment of permission in a sense. And, and one metaphor that came and just connected in that moment was, alright, when, if I have an accident or anyone, let's say I have a knife cut in my hand, so there's an open wound now and I just clean it out and then I do nothing, it heals by its own volition. It's the most natural thing, but we cannot take that for granted. Okay. But the it means that we all [00:27:00] know through direct experience that there is this healing experience of life that just wants to move through and bring together into wholeness. Okay. So we know that when it comes to kind of our skin or our, yeah, a broken leg maybe. But when it comes to our inner reality, emotions, sensations, imprints, samskara, personal gravity, again, whatever language we use, the same. Like yeah, it's the same volition that just wants to heal
Yeah.
if we allow it to.
Yeah. and the challenge there is getting through the amygdala, right? the part of our mind that is trying to protect that core wound. Because for that part of our mind, typically these core wounds happen early on in life. And that is the self-preservation. It is survival.
It is, if I don't protect this, if I don't keep it safe by my energetic contractions and stories that I create around it, then I might die. [00:28:00] Then I might, not be okay. And so that we have to, and that's what's beautiful about these moments of awakening, is that we end up in environments that either, whether through our own desire or not, bypass all of that and allow us to access those core wounds again.
But now through a more, spacious, presence.
Yeah.
Allowing presence.
Yeah. That's such a beautiful thing with coming together as, as partners in, in a deep coaching setting or, or elsewhere.
Hmm.
But in a sense, providing that, that that anchor and that presence
Yeah,
allow ourselves to, to connect when it's seemingly impossible to connect ourselves because we get in again, we begin resisting or, or rejecting.
yeah. Man, if I were to hear as NGO's voice, I immediately go back to just like that meditation. It just [00:29:00] immediately calibrates me back to sitting in those cushions is, his voice is so deeply ingrained in my being at this. You're just sitting there hours on end with that chant, especially in the beginning and the, at the end of the meditations.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. It's powerful. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. You mentioned that you had. Then a further, you can say dark night of the soul of sorts, or just like a, a moment, uh, a couple years after where, just everything Or maybe, yeah, just a couple years after that where things just felt like you were falling apart.
I think you mentioned rock bottom. what was it about what happened and what was it about what happened that felt like a rock bottom for you?
well, after that we pass in a moment. Life kind of continued on as it seems to do, but with this little kind of golden nugget of insight and of, of deep deepened trust in, in life and mystery and the magic. Um, a few months, I, I did [00:30:00] also feel that the rest of the day-to-day pace kind of found its way in.
And also, um, yeah, maybe we could say that, that the part of. Me that was still acting from a limiting belief was creating more of that kind of achievement based drive. And also, uh, well in a sense achieving, but more pressure. So I had one path in life that was just driving more, traveling more, more intense workshops, higher stakes, all of that. Um, but I also had this other path that was opening to like more meditation and, and exploring different traditions. And, um, practically I have found. Myself in a, in a yoga teacher training in Stockholm. So I was doing the weekends, uh, in Stockholm and then the weekdays I was traveling. And, and that was a beautiful contrast of like high pace, you know, efficiency, strategy, all of that. And then coming here and it's like just being and [00:31:00] life. And going back and forth kind of gradually started to make me feel like I was pulled in, in two different directions. And, and yeah, that kind of dark night of the soul was, um, in a bathtub in, in uk. like we'd done workshops for a couple of days and that last night just feeling completely exhausted. So I, I lay down, take a bath, and in a moment I just felt like, I don't know what's upside down. I have one part of me that says Nothing matters all is well. It's, it's just presence. And then I have this other burning part of me that's just running for something or maybe running from something or both. And, and I couldn't, I couldn't bear it anymore. That, that dilemma. Um. So that, again, felt akin to the experience uh, in Vipasana, but this time was more around the heart. Um, so another, another moment of, I can't take this, I can't do [00:32:00] this anymore. And so the decision came like, okay, so then I don't, then I, then I let go. Um, and similarly, a, a shift from kind of complete like a, just a stone sinking deeper and deeper in that past stuff to beginning to kind of, ah, find lightness again. And it took a couple of weeks and, and then. I had, one, one beautiful conversation with, with my friend Hendrick, who, who's has a trans transformational coaching background. he just mirrored me very simply. And I was, I was probably complaining about I wasn't working. And he said, I hear, I hear you talking about what you don't want. So what does your heart wants? that simple thing. And, and that allow me to kind of, the first time, maybe connect fully to, well, what wants to happen from here without any
Hmm.
ifs and buts or shoulds?
Um. And in that [00:33:00] moment, I guess I, I made the decision to, I'm, I'm just gonna follow heart, whatever that means, whether it's, whether it makes sense or not. I'm just gonna follow heart and trust this journey. And then, yeah, quit my job. I gently ended a, uh, a relationship I was in for about seven years and, and began traveling. So that kind marked a, a symbolic shift, away from, from that previous chapter also.
A significant shift. Yeah. it's fascinating how each human being has a different level of, just willingness to bear discomfort or a certain thing, because that rock bottom could be anybody else's, just. You know, Hey, I'm just, I'm off, but I need to, I do, I still need to work. I still need to make a living, so I'll grind it out.
I'll figure it out. I'll just keep going. and it takes many more activating events and many more things in one's life to reach what's considered rock bottom. So each of our rock bottoms are quite different. There, [00:34:00] there was something in your spirit and your being that was just ready to be unshackled to be free.
and hence that situation just became unbearable, like you said. And you're like, I gotta go my own way.
Yeah. And it's such a, such a beautiful reminder how we're, we're all on our unique journey.
Yeah.
like you can either play on the level of, of competing with, with one another or, or coming into a sense of collaboration and just allowing whatever you experienced to be the most joyful, inspiring thing, but also the, the most challenging thing that's uniquely yours.
And if I try to see you through my worldview, I will, I will. I'm just repeating my, my past in a sense.
Yeah.
allowing that. What seems. Super heavy to, to, you might seem right to me and, and vice versa.
And vice versa.
kind of both the understanding, the empathy and, and also respect for that.
Yeah, and [00:35:00] respect for the divine curriculum that we each have that is very unique to each one of us. We have to go through a set of experiences, for whatever reason, in whatever way to lead us exactly where we need to be, for life, for others, for our, destiny, whatever, however way you wanna look at it.
But you're precisely here because of the divine curriculum that you've had and that you've allowed to unfold for you in your life. And that's, it's incredible when we sit back to the mystery and magic of that journey, you know?
Yeah. And that's, that's a such a beautiful thing that comes with the transformational coaching collective and the deep coaching intensive of inviting that the, the togetherness to sh to begin sharing that, that journey and to allow our kind of, when I'm in my low, and maybe I'm doubting everything, and yesterday I sounded so wise, but now, now we can talk and you're in a place of [00:36:00] just deep trust right now, but not, not trust that that is pointing me in any direction, but just the essence of your trust is allowing me to co-regulate, co vibrate with, with that. And it's such a beautiful Experience to, to be allowed to do that together. And I know, 'cause I, I did it for a couple of years in, in my experience, I had many beautiful friends, but this part of me
Hmm.
was kind of sh. Or sheltered in a sense, and now coming into this, we're all on the same path. Walking each other home.
It's extraordinary.
Yeah.
So you did a lot of travel in through work and now you are doing travel, but now in a different way, you were sort of free to be in the world and to follow your spirit, follow your heart. What was your relationship now to the movements that you were making and the decisions that you were making from that [00:37:00] moment?
Well, every now and then, uh, a moment of that, the right thing to do or regrets or, you know, up. I also know by, by now, that, well, that's, that's the imta imitation, that's the, the food to, to digest and kinda move from perceived suffering to, to grace. And, and the way I see it is it that, that's the fun part, again, coming back to art and music, it's, if there is no tension, there's no intention and release there, there is no life.
Right. So I I, there's both a gratitude for having experienced all of the, know, the challenges, the, the mistakes, the burdens that, and how I say it with lightness now, but in the moment, it, it is as heavy as it gets when it is
Yeah.
But it's also what allows us [00:38:00] to, to deeply empathize with, with others, and also to experience the, the light on the other side, like really yearning for something.
And then we recognize we come to a place where, ah, there's no yearning at all needed. It's, it was already here, but, but yeah, it allow, allowed us to have, and it allows us to have the, the human experience and then to share it together.
Yeah.
Yeah. So it's just, yeah. And I don't have any answers for, for why, or, you know, how it, it all happened this way something I'm, I'm committed to coming back to releasing.
As soon as I begin to feel like I, I understand I got it now.
Yeah,
Like
yeah.
back to the mystery and magic of it and just really allowing ourselves to kinda keep being surprised.
Hmm. And really that decision led you to everything that you're experiencing in life right now with. Your partner, you eventually found the [00:39:00] DCI, your daughter, everything led, as a result of that decision that you made came from that. It's incredible, right? we can't possibly design these things.
Life has so much more in store for us than we can possibly imagine. It's incredible. Tell me what it was like meeting Samantha and beginning that partnership.
That, that was something else my friend, I thought, I thought, I thought I was getting a little wise, you know, a little smart ass maybe. And then we met and I just, wow. I know. Nothing. Um, no, but it really felt like we, you know, it's good to see you again. A recognition of, of a familiar being, a familiar soul. Um, and we, we met in this kind of beautiful but but also wonky container of, again, a yoga teacher training.
This is 30 day kind of intensive with 30 other people. And of course [00:40:00] everyone's coming there with kind of open heart, but also, uh, there's a lot of energy moving. Um, so after those 30 days together, we, we already knew each other quite well and, and then kept on, kept on traveling together and, and made a decision like after, after six weeks that, oh yeah, we, we are together now. And that's, that's what it's, um, yeah. And, and following that also, what has been such a beautiful, it just. Yeah. And another level of, of development for, for me is committing to, to an intentional or a conscious relationship where of course we have all our humanness and, and she's a woman and I am a man.
And then, you know, all of the practical aspects. But we also commit to allowing every moment, including every shadow, [00:41:00] every argument, to be an imitation for us individually, to let go of our past so that we can come into one. And, and that's both, both, uh, a fierce journey. 'cause there's nothing left on the, on the table.
Like there's no hiding anymore, like all the shadowy parts. Here you are, you know, but it's also, um, yeah, something I start to feel right away that she loves. The parts of me that I couldn't love myself. And, and just recognizing that,
Hmm.
doesn't matter what, what I do or what I have done or haven't done, she still loves me underneath the, the actions. And, and likewise. And that just allows for this lighter, lighter, lighter, um, [00:42:00] and, and sometimes challenging. We had a couple of months where we committed to let's cocoon isolate and do shadow work, nothing else. That's, that's what we do. and that was intense,
Tell me more. I need to know more.
that's probably easier before having a child, I guess. Now this is about 2, 2, 2 and a half years ago, uh, this when we moved to to Charleston here in South Carolina. Maybe recognize that where we met in life, we, we were kinda moving from feeling entangled into freedom. And, and after kind of just being on the road together for more or less a year, still feeling that like, we can go wherever life takes us.
And then feeling this call to settle in or settle down and, and decided to move here to Charleston. it was like the, the day-to-day entanglement of, of our past just came from nowhere [00:43:00] again. Um, and we, we live with that for a couple of weeks and just started to recognize like, oh, that's the self-sabotaging pattern I thought I had conquered. You know, here's that bad habit again. and yeah, just committing to like, let's, let's do this for real. Let's, let's bring through everything that that wants to be. Brought through without trying to get anywhere. There's no end destination. There's, there's no, um, yeah, all is welcome. Nothing is needed.
Strong intentions, no expectations, that kind of relationship to it. But practically, um, yeah, reading up like concrete shadow work and just having a practical aspect of it. Um, inviting, uh, some, some plant medicine journeys to, to have more of those, transcendental experiences as well. But then just spending a lot of time together [00:44:00] and, and finding a way to recognize, as soon as I am pointing a finger at you, it, it, it means that I'm actually projecting something.
And if you get triggered by my finger pointing, it means that you're also triggered. So there's no escape as soon as someone is projecting or assisting, or. Judging it means that this is a shared drama now, how can we, know, find ways to, to allow that in the, in the thick of it when it's, when you know when it's, ah, I just need to say something, or I just need to be heard or seen. You just need to understand my point of view in those moments when, when we feel the, yeah, all, all of the kind of heavy energy just stop and say no more, but also don't go anywhere and just hang out in that in between space. And then the first person who feels the [00:45:00] release like, oh, shoulder's not away from the earth. I'm actually not busy expressing my needs anymore. Okay. Something
Yeah. Yeah.
As soon as that happens in me, it happens in her too. there's always this recognition of. might not see it at the kind of human consciousness level, if you will, our, our day-to-day but we're so attuned to one another, so just really begin to dance with that as well. And it's still ongoing it might be forever, I don't know. But it's a beautiful, beautiful process. Um, that we, we always come back as soon as we invite stillness, slow, slowing it down and sit, could come back to the same realization [00:46:00] that we are all connected in heart. And if I feel any kind of judgment towards myself or someone else, that's an invitation to actually release something. Right?
Hmm.
compassion is the way, so it's like heart is what's connecting, and heart is some somehow the gateway as well. Um, and then also, rather than from my point of point of view, seeking like a, a practice or a, or, or a specific, uh, tradition or a teacher as the kind of one way to serve my own inner journey. Allowing every moment to be the invitation instead. And, and that allowed me to, to, um, know, reconcile some of those early dilemmas of, it's either, either I'm spiritual or, or I'm kind of practical
Right, right.
allowing every moment to, to, uh, well, in a sense. [00:47:00] Hey, hey, I, I allowed live to decide what wants to happen.
So welcome. And then my job is how am I choosing to respond to it?
Yeah.
when I can't do anything else but react well, then it will come a moment later when I can, can respond.
Yeah.
feel like that is what we are to, to live by. And again, sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don't.
Right.
Gradually a little lighter and a little more
Yeah,
just moving.
Moving with the flow.
yeah. once you're. Tapped into a certain level of awareness. When core wounds come up, it's really a matter of just getting out of its way. Not trying to do anything. You don't even have to try to do anything with it. You don't have to even go too far into it because like you were saying, the example of cutting your hand and just giving it time, it will heal.
So if we're spacious enough inside of ourselves, if we're allowing enough inside of ourselves, then whatever has arisen in that moment through [00:48:00] the gift of our presence and love can slowly dissipate and dissolve and reintegrate, back into ourselves. So that is the journey. It's just engaging with life, allowing life to then poke those, those triggers inside of us, allow them to arise and then let 'em go.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's a beautiful journey.
Not always easy, not always easy,
always
especially in partnership, and yet there is, there's something about partnership that it is such an accelerant. because someone, so many of our core wounds happen in relationship to others and when we're really truly in a spiritual partnership, then we have an opportunity to heal those core wounds.
I, I really don't think that we can heal core wounds that happened in relationship in isolation. it's just, it, we just don't have those opportunities to confront and see where we're still holding and where we're still resisting and where we're still protecting and preserving and, all those things.
It's only in [00:49:00] relationship where those things become apparent and where we would then, as a result, have the opportunity to go in and. Further heal, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I know for sure it's easier to sit in my, my room and play guitar being out engaging with people in terms of,
Yeah.
not, not being triggered, but as, as soon as, as we engage, as soon as we relate, like, uh. Yeah. It's like this, this, I see it as a kind of a ping pong. We, I mean, it's our, our nervous system.
Again, the amygdala,
it.
on perspective, this ping pong of I, am I, okay? That's one aspect, but there's also a deeper version saying, I want to be seen. I want to connect. Right. The light of self wanting to come out,
Yeah.
so just allowing that ping pong to happen.
The whole play. Allowing the whole play to, to take place and not needing to do anything about it,
Yeah.
know? I find that to be [00:50:00] quite liberating in and of itself.
Yeah.
Yeah. How did you run into the DCI? The deep coaching intensive
Yeah, that was, that was somewhere along the lines before that, do we call it? The bathtub experience. Uh,
experience?
I was, I was already doing some, some coaching and, and started to kind of entry into these more spiritual spaces and just felt like the, there ought to be some people who have kind of thought about bringing these together.
'cause there's something about, uh, the partnership and the, the space of coaching is, is so beautiful and also so practical and supported, supporting a forward momentum. I also experienced that the more I learned about coaching, then the more I started to get in my own way, I, I I started to add on more powerful questions and
Yeah.
and, and needed to understand more about. Everything instead of trusting [00:51:00] my, my presence and intuition, and this others in this other space. It was the complete opposite, just kind of facilitating a yoga class without any preparations and just trusting the flow. And it was beautiful. Um, so it was kind of along that, uh, exploration, but also frustration that I, I started to do some search and, and Leon's book appeared from nowhere. And just opening that, I felt a direct resonance with, you know, both the, the way he speaks about the transformational journey and then. Allows it to be both, um, a way of, of service, of holding space for others, but primarily it's through our own VA journey. And, and that really resonated. It's like, oh, it's about how do I allow myself to become an environment for transformation by allowing my own transformation to, to unfold rather than how do I learn more, more techniques, right? And then the techniques and the processes, they, they come too, but it's within [00:52:00] that wider, within that wider field. So yeah, I read the book and then gut feeling signed up for the DCI right away.
Yeah. And what insights did you get and what, in what ways did it deepen your journey being a part of the, the DCI.
Yeah, I guess on, on all levels. You know, just allowing a gradual trust. In myself in life, in transformation, uh, bringing together, again, the sense of community. It's, there's something about, or has been on my journey at least this thing about permission, allowing myself to believe in what I experience and, and coming together and, and practicing working with others, being with others, being vulnerable with others. we are still doing it for that sh, you know, shared intention again. Um, I think that that has been a [00:53:00] key,
Hmm.
part. then also just getting a deeper understanding, like a cognitive understanding for this mysterious, beautiful, natural process that is inner transformation
Yeah.
and kind of bridging. I, I jumped to the east in a sense, into to, um, uh, ante and, and yoga and Buddhism and, and then kind of tried to bring it together with some modern science and psychology. But, but to have something that allowed everything to be,
Hmm
be included and explained in, in a rather simplistic way, that really helped me to kind of exhale and allow the need to sense, make much more, just okay, I, I, I see this now and I, I, I, trust in it. And that I think has allowed a gradual, um, kind of allowing the transformative [00:54:00] process to, to unfold
Hmm.
than trying to understand it.
Yeah. as you're speaking and understanding the journey that you've been on, it's you, it seems like the spaces you facilitate fall under one of three categories and obviously they're, they merge and they're all one in essence. But you can kind of we're, if we're being precise and distinguishing, there's presence, there's movement, and there's breath.
Is that a fair sort of assessment of your work?
I would say presence and movement. And, and the third part would be belonging or relating connection
Yeah.
breath is kind of one way of uniting all of them.
yeah. Yeah. That's a great way to, it's like the, the core element within it all, you know? In, in a, in a regard, but I guess present is too, but what was it about breath in particular that brought you in and that you felt [00:55:00] so, passionate about in a sense and excited to go deeper into?
Yeah, that's sim similar to, to the experience with music, that that was also just an element that is reflected everywhere. And it began with me wanting to, you know, be able to sing a little better and maybe
I.
able to perform a little better physically. Like, oh, learning about breath. And then through those India travels, uh, I got exposed to pranayama or breath partnership or breath control, um, and started to have you daily, daily practice. And. About recognizing that kind of the level of my, my mind or the level of ex experience my state of being is, is directly connected to, to breath and directly connected to posture and directly connected to emotion. So, okay. That means that there's, there's this kind of link or a gateway, right? So just recognizing that [00:56:00] was one thing, but then also recognizing that it's, it's also a gauge of where I am or we are, if breath is relaxed and, and is allowed to move freely with whatever's. Is happening, then we are also relaxed and able to, to move with the moments. But as soon as I get angry, then there is to fill up. You know, there's kind of a resistance to exhaling and just more in inhale. And if there's, um, yeah, let's say, um, this, the moment of of detaching, of spiritually bypassing, that's almost like vacuuming up a sock.
Like,
Yeah.
and then we, we freeze, right? So that's the freeze response. Yeah. So just a bunch of those kind of recognitions of, of breath. then again, just like with, with music, re recognizing that there's this
Yeah.
journey, the experience of breathing [00:57:00] physically or breathing air, but then coming into the subtle dimensions and breathing, breathing energy where we kind of move into, the experience of. Of less and less effort, less and less trying, but more, um, vast more subtle experience, which seems so counterintuitive for the, for the intellect that seems impossible. Um, yeah. And then there's a lot of healing aspects too. Uh, that's just beautiful. Just,
Yeah,
And I, we can open more buckets, but
there's so many buckets.
to it.
Yeah.
There's no end to it. the main thing that I think is important is that the mind has become so it, it's, It's a tool that we have as human beings that have helped us to evolve and to survive, right? So we have this, it's perfectly created for our survival in a sense.
And so, like we were saying, some of these aspects that we've, um, [00:58:00] wounds that we've had, traumas that we've had, it, our body has contorted in a certain way. Our breath has evolved in a certain way to keep those at bay so that we don't have to confront and feel those things. And so you can see it in someone's posture.
they can experience it in their breath. And so what makes movement, what makes the breath, what makes some of these practices so powerful is that it, it bypasses the conscious mind. And allows you to access those patterns and those grooves and those places where there's still stuck energy That's that, that mechanism to preserve and stay safe, and it just floods it with attention and awareness and breath, and there's a, there's an opportunity there for release, an opportunity.
Not always. And sometimes when we get there, for some people they are like, no, I can't. and like a further contraction. But for others, if you're open enough and ready enough, it's just incredible. [00:59:00] Some of these breath work sessions, are just so cathartic. The releases that happen are incredible as a result of being able to access those places that we otherwise wouldn't know how to access consciously, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. And without coming through breath, it, it seems easy to, to perpetuate the resisting whatever is there even recognizing it. We, we, we don't feel that emotional landscape when we are actively here.
Yeah.
that projected reality, but then we're just one, one breath from actually opening inside
Yeah.
being one thought away from, from the moment all the time. I mean, isn't that fascinating too? It's always right there.
Always. Always. Yeah. We're always one We're, we're always one breath and one thought away from that, which we're always seeking, which is just freedom on some level. Freedom, peace, joy, connection, oneness, [01:00:00] all those things.
Yeah.
As we start to wrap up our conversation here, for listeners that are on their own journey, what is one invitation?
, One thing that you can leave listeners with? Something that they can practice on their own, transformational journeys. I.
Sit. I think it's what it's coming up. We, I mean, we, depending on level of consciousness, we can recognize that this, this, this is happening for us and, and as us, but as long as we live in a, in, in a fast pace, the experience is it's happening either by us or to us. So just slowing down enough to allow ourselves to simply open the inside instead of going outside instead of following. Thoughts or, or reactions to what is [01:01:00] happening. that be for one minute, five minutes, 10 minutes, just exploring that
Yeah,
is, uh, well, I, I still do it when I forget to slow down, just sit and then I remember, oh, that's, that's, thats how simple it But, um, yeah, I guess there's an irony in that because since it's so simple, the way life works through polarity, it's also the most difficult thing.
Right. And, and also the thing we would doubt, like just sitting, could that be enough? But the, yeah, there are no external, external answers to, to, to questions.
so beautifully said. Is there anything that you haven't shared that you'd love to share with anybody listening? something that would be worth, bringing up.
Yeah, I'm grateful to be, to be here, grateful to be part of the center, uh, and to share this journey with everyone in the, in the community. [01:02:00] So if you're part of the community, sending you a big hug. And if you're outside the community currently, I'm sending you a big hug and, and welcome you in to, uh, to join us in some way. And, uh, yeah, just extending gratitude. Thank you. And thank you to conversation.
Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. I just wanna share how grateful I am to have you in my life to have you as a part of the center. Like I said at the beginning, you are a light and your, your presence, your love. Who you are just emanates and touches everyone that you come into contact with. And so it's such a gift to have sat here with you and to have your story shared with others so that they get to know who you are and get to feel your light as well.
And thank you my friend. I appreciate you.
Thank you. Thank you, Armando.
Thank you so much for being with us today. To learn more about [01:03:00] today's guest visit our podcast landing page at www.podcast.centerfortransformationalcoaching.com. You'll find links to their website, social media, and anything else they might wanna share there. And if you're curious to explore more about our work, our trainings, or the deep coaching approach.
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