?? How Did I Hold My Breath For 1 Hour 18 Minutes?

OK, I’ll admit it, that headline was total clickbait…

But seriously, since starting my journey into the Wim-Hof Method (WHM) just two weeks ago, it’s hard to believe that I’ve spent more than an hour not breathing!

When I signed up for this Classic 10-week Course, it was with the intention of adding a structured breathwork component to my morning meditation routine. ??

I didn’t know much about the WHM, but I knew it was popular and being studied scientifically, so I jumped in without much forethought.

What I was unprepared for is the depth and breadth of health benefits that stem from this simple…method.

'Method' is actually a good term for it because the WHM is more than just breath retention–it also focuses on progressive cold exposure and mental focus.

The cardiovascular benefits of the WHM are incredible and there’s a host of YouTube videos that explore the science in more detail. There are also immune benefits that I look forward to as the temps drop and we head into winter. ??

But perhaps even more exciting than the health benefits is the impact these exercises provide if you do them on a daily basis.?

For much of my life (and especially as a parent), I’ve found it difficult to punch through the wall of superficial interactions and experiences and touch something deeper and more primal that reminds me that life is so much more than daily tasks and responsibilities and illuminated pixels. ??

Whether it’s the breathing exercises and progressive cold water showers, the WHM strips bare whatever thoughts have been banging around in my head and returns me to a viscerally real physical experience in the present moment.

It’s not easy or comfortable, but it is illuminating (in the fullest sense of that word) and I’ll continue to report out on my experience as it unfolds.

The Blue Zones

Around 2010, I heard Dave Buettner speak about the Blue Zones in Asheville, NC.

It was an interesting talk, but it didn’t move me.

Some years later, I purchased the Blue Zones Cookbook and began experimenting with some of the more approachable recipes.

I found perhaps two that were interesting (and delicious) enough to each again, but the majority of them were ‘boring’ and ‘bland’.?

Again, I wasn’t moved.

Then, earlier this year a dear friend of mine mentioned the Netflix series ‘Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones’ and I watched it with my wife–it moved both of us immensely.

We often reflect on how our children are growing up:

• How incredibly in touch with their emotions they are
• How quickly they’re learning in school
• How kind and compassionate they are
• And how utterly intolerant they are of minor discomforts and how the comfort of a nice couch and their Amazon tablet seems to be the pinnacle of their young lived experience. ??

We try to be intentional but our kids eat a lot of junk, they spend a lot of time indoors, they don’t face a lot of hardship...and this concerns us.

Last week at a coaching workshop, Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand Jr. said his goal with homeschooling his kids was...

"to raise happy adults—and if they happen to be happy children, then that’s a bonus.”

?? That really resonated with my wife and I.

Cowtailing to the preferences and comforts of our children deprives them of the experiences they need to grow up into healthy, happy, mature adults.

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones gave voice to much of what we feel is missing from modern American culture, especially in terms of food, community, physical activity, and purpose.

If you too have some consternation about the direction that ‘default living’ is moving you, I highly encourage you to set aside a couple hours to watch these 4 episodes and embark on a journey through the world’s Blue Zones to explore the personal and cultural values that support greater health and wellbeing.

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover

My men’s book club is starting up again after a long hiatus, and our first book is ‘King, Warrior, Magician, Lover’ by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette.

I’ve read this book before and it fundamentally altered my understanding of a man’s life.

For the first time ever, I was able to comprehend what mature masculinity looked like in its idealized form, as described by C.G. Jung using the four archetypes of King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover.?

This understanding helped me out in a number of ways:

• When reading the daily news, rather than feeling the world was going down in flames, I could see the impact of boy psychology running amok playing out on a world stage and it energized me to engage my brothers in efforts to cultivate healthy, mature masculinity within ourselves.
• It enhanced my understanding of patriarchy, not only as it relates to aggression towards women and feminine energy, but also the aggression it demonstrates towards healthy, mature masculine energy.
• I learned that a man’s life moves through four distinct chapters (in the order of Warrior, Magician, Lover, and King), and that each transition comes with a difficult adjustment period. This journey provides incredible context for understanding? the dreaded ‘mid-life crisis’, which is little more than the transition from Magician to Lover energy.
• I was forced to accept that life is a dynamic process that will continue to serve up difficult transitions, and that the wise course of action is not to try and avoid these (inevitable) transitions, but to understand them so as to pass through them with more grace and compassion.

This book is an easy read and is guaranteed to leave a lasting impact on your understanding of masculinity and what’s gone wrong with so many of the political and business leaders in the world today.

That's a wrap for this week!

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please take a moment to leave me a comment or share it with someone else who might benefit from it. ??

And if you know a guy who's going through a rough spot right now and could use a little support with getting clear on what he wants or how to go about getting it, feel free to send him my way.

All the best,

James

The Journey Inward is a newsletter for men who are ready to begin an exploration of their inner landscape. Rather than discuss what’s going on in the world-at-large, we’ll be focusing on what’s going on in your world–the world of emotions, feelings, needs, values, goals, and desires.

As you’ll soon discover, your experience of the people and the world around you is a reflection of what’s going on inside of you.

My goal with this newsletter is simply to bring forward new concepts and ideas that will help you to explore, understand, and cultivate a more peaceful and authentic inner state, and support you in becoming the great man you want to be.

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