The Reality Check Podcast

Zachary Phillips
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Spirituality
  • Updated Monthly

Short talks on meaning, mental health, and what it actually takes to live a more examined life. With Zachary Phillips

  1. 4 days ago

    Finding Awe & Wonder in Everyday Life | Ep #284

    There is a temptation to continually seek out peak experiences. To always be searching for awe and wonder, only be saddened when everyday life comes up short. But what if we made the mundane a meditation? The reality is that most of life is ordinary. But there is wonder to be found, if we stop taking things for granted and if we know how to look. This talk explores how slowing down and reframing our focus and attention can help us rediscover and appreciate the subtle wonder all around us. Links Mentioned:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session. Buy one of my books.Support the podcast by donating here.

    Finding Awe & Wonder in Everyday Life | Ep #284

  2. 22 Aug

    Discovering Your Calling | Ep 281

    Masking is a survival strategy, often used by neurodivergent people to fit in, stay safe, and meet social expectations. But maintaining the mask comes at a cost. This talk explores the difference between masking and simply showing different parts of ourselves, the exhaustion and burnout masking can cause, and how greater awareness, self-acceptance, recovery, and support can help us find a healthier balance. Links Mentioned:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session. Buy one of my books.Support the podcast by donating here.

    Discovering Your Calling | Ep 281

  3. 8 Aug

    How to Stop Losing Yourself In Others | Ep 282

    This talk is for the people pleasers. It offers insight into why we struggle to say no, set boundaries, and why we lose ourselves in others. It explores people-pleasing as a survival response, how the fear of conflict and disappointment can disconnect us from our own needs, values, and identity, and what we can do to begin changing these patterns. Through self-awareness, healthy boundaries, assertive communication, and reconnection with the parts of ourselves we once pushed aside, we can gradually learn to stand up for ourselves without shutting others out, becoming overwhelmed by them, or remaining trapped in the traumatic past they may trigger. Links Mentioned:Intuitive GuidanceDialectical Behavior Therapy Cheat SheetWhat Do You Value?Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session. Buy one of my books.Support the podcast by donating here.

    How to Stop Losing Yourself In Others | Ep 282

  4. 19 July

    Discovering Your Calling | Ep 281

    What is your calling? This episode explores what it means to discover your calling and why living in alignment with your deepest values can transform your mental health and sense of purpose. Drawing on my own journey from teaching to psychotherapy, I reflect on trauma, uncertainty, and the search for meaningful work, sharing practical frameworks like Ikigai and my ‘3A process of healing’ Awareness, Acceptance, and Action. We explore the fears and inner blocks that keep us stuck, the courage required to leave the comfortable rut, and how deep introspection can reveal the direction you were always meant to follow. It is imperative that you find your calling, because if you don’t you are withholding your full value from the world. Links Mentioned:Free CoursesClient & Practitioner ToolboxLive Daily Meditations on Insight Timer Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 Intuitive Guidance session. Buy one of my books.Support the podcast by donating here.

    Discovering Your Calling | Ep 281

  5. 21 June

    The Importance Of Agency | Ep 280

    Agency is your belief in your ability to influence your life. Effort + Time = Results. I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately, as I’m in the midst of some major life changes. I recently received my Graduate Diploma of Counselling and I am updating my website, books, and offerings to reflect this next chapter. I’m also continuing to show up each day, facilitating daily guided meditations on Insight Timer and working to expand my reach and impact. On the personal front, I’m training Jiu Jitsu more than ever, confronting the excuses that once held me back from competing, and proving to myself that growth comes from action, not intention. Positive change rarely happens overnight. It takes, consistent actions repeated daily. The key is believing that your actions matter and then acting accordingly. I encourage you to believe in your ability to create positive change in your own life, and then to ACT! In this session, I also introduce 'The Flame & The Void' meditation from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. You can listen to a guided version here, with separate recordings available for both adults and children. Resources Mentioned:The Flame & The Void guided meditationHow To Get Shit TogetherMindfulness: A Guidebook To The Present Moment Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session. Buy one of my books.Join the community.Support the podcast by donating here.

    The Importance Of Agency | Ep 280

  6. 8 Apr

    The Body Keeps The Score | Ep 279

    This episode begins with a reading of the poem ‘a broken mirror’s gaze’. From there we discus how the body keeps the score; life will cause us to suffer. If we do not process these trauma’s (because we don’t know how or it isn’t possible) we hold onto it. We hold onto it in the form of chronic pain, illness, injury, and distorted thinking patterns. There is a way to release. Writing therapy. Intuitive Guidance. Talk Therapies. Along with countless more processors. In this episode I share a bit of what I am processing, and offer you some guidance on how to release and reintegrate. The three steps mentioned: Awareness. Acceptance. Action. Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

    The Body Keeps The Score | Ep 279

  7. 26 Feb

    Cultivate A Daily Meditation Practice | Ep 278

    In this episode I share the first session of the 30 Day course ‘Cultivate A Daily Meditation Practice’. It introduces the basic practice of mindfulness meditation as well as highlights the importance of continuing your practice ongoing; it is okay to miss a day of practice, provided you get back on board and continue the next day. In this way you will guarantee yourself success. You can access the entire course for free inside the Art Of Self-Connection community. Bonus!For the month of March (2026) we are offering daily live meditation sessions, 7am AEST. See you there. Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

    Cultivate A Daily Meditation Practice | Ep 278

  8. 15 Feb

    Join the 30-Day Meditation Challenge - Starting 1st March! | Ep 277

    Want to establish a daily meditation practice and learn how to build and maintain a positive habit? Join the 30-day challenge :) Join the free Art Of Self-Connection community and click Cultivate a Daily Meditation Practice. There you’ll find 30 sessions ready to go, one for each day. This course has been taken by 1,000+ students on Insight Timer and is rated 4.88/5. A lot of people credit it as the thing that finally helped them practice daily. It focuses on mindfulness, so if you’d rather join the challenge and do your own daily practice (whatever that may be), that’s welcome too. Our goal is consistency with community. Supporting each other to keep showing up, not doing it perfectly. I’ve seen it in my own life, in my work with clients, and research confirms that: daily meditation is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. Together, we can turn it into a practice that could last a lifetime. Click here for the full details. We officially begin March 1 (but you can start whenever you like). I would love to see you there! Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.Join the Art Of Self-Connection community. Buy one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, poetry, podcast and blog freely available. Donate here.

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Short talks on meaning, mental health, and what it actually takes to live a more examined life. With Zachary Phillips

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