Creating Consciousness

Jesse Singh
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Spirituality
  • Weekly

What's up, beautiful people. I'm Jesse Singh — comedian, 12-year youth worker, and your host of Creating Consciousness. This is the show where me and my co-host Danté Williams push back on the easy answers the wellness industry sells us, dig into what mental health and creativity actually look like for working artists, and bring on comedians, musicians, and creators across the city to talk about the real journey — the bombing, the breakthroughs, the breakdowns, and what's saved us. New episodes weekly. Peace and love, y'all.

  1. 5d ago

    When You Know The Spiritual Lessons But Still Feel Apathy| EP.17

    We got into the thing I've been dealing with lately. That gap between knowing all the spiritual lessons and still feeling apathetic about how to actually move forward. Back in the dolo chair this week with my co-host Danté, first solo episode in a minute. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Tim Hortons Discontinued The Donut Flavors 3:00 Consistency Beats Intensity Every Time 7:00 Meeting Kevin Hart And Russell Peters 13:00 The Central Park Monolith Theory 15:00 When Awareness Becomes Apathy 19:00 Chop Wood, Carry Water: The Sweat Lodge 25:00 The Show I Didn't Give A F*ck About 27:00 Three Years Of Redlining Myself 38:00 Short-Term And Long-Term Flow States 44:00 My First Job: Urban Community Gardens 51:00 Fortress Of Solitude With No Furniture 56:00 Growing My Locks Was A Rebellion 1:05:00 What We're Each Working On Now Connect: Danté: @ChezDante Jesse: @PunjabiTimbit Show: @CreatingConsciousness905 #creatingconsiousness #startwithwhy #spirituality

  2. Oct 19

    9 Hours Lost On Psychedelics In A National Park | Habib Siam | Ep. 16

    This week on Creating Consciousness I sat down with Habib Siam — Lebanese-Canadian comedian, PhD, and one of the most thoughtful voices in Toronto's scene — for a conversation that stretched almost two hours and still felt too short. We got into why he left the club circuit to rent his own rooms and do 90-minute cold opens, the moment the Beirut port blast of August 2020 made it impossible for him to keep comedy and real life separate, We talked about getting lost in the woods on psychedelics and encountering a school group, and the magic that happens in the third week of being off-grid. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Gil Scott-Heron Changed Everything 6:30 Two Of My Idols Blew Me Away, One Didn't 10:00 The Check Spot And Learning To Use Silence 13:00 Why Comedy Clubs Are The McDonald's Of Comedy 15:00 The Beirut Blast That Rewrote My Comedy 18:00 I Don't Want To Be The Jerk-Off Joke Guy 23:00 Writing From Ideas Instead Of Jokes 29:00 The Sneaker Podcast That Came Before Stand-Up 36:00 My First Set, 1 Year After The Breakup 45:00 Survivor's Remorse, Truthfully, And Now 50:00 Lost In The Woods, Tripping, With A School Group 58:00 Beirut, Pandemic, Losing My Dream Job 1:03:00 The Magic Happens In The Third Week 1:19:00 Why I Got A PhD On The Wire 1:33:00 Levels To Me With Habib #creatingconsiousness #Habibsiam #nature

  3. Oct 17

    7 Months Stuck In Taiwan Jail For SOME CRUMBS | Big Norm Alconcel | Ep. 15

    Authorities told him he was looking at up to 10 years... for some crumbs Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week's guest is Big Norm Alconcel — Filipino-Canadian comedian, Chef and the man behind Rude Pinoy, the empanada pop-up that went viral this year — and this episode runs over 90 minutes because every story he tells cracks open five more. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Rick & Morty, Nephews, And Being Half Filipino Half Vincy 00:03:49 Christmas In The Philippines Starts In September 00:07:30 The Y'locos Empanada Origin Story 00:13:14 Vigan City Longanisa — The Garlicky Spanish-Filipino One 00:15:00 Two Weeks, Three Empanadas A Day, Back Volcanoes 00:20:00 Hard Times, Last Dollar, Another Man's Treasure 00:25:00 Rude Pinoy Montreal Pop-Up And Jamaican Beef Empanadas 00:29:00 The Edmonton Musical Where I Played A Meth Dealer 00:32:00 Day One, Robbed By someone Who Asked Me For A Pump 00:36:00 Edmonton Police Told Me To Go Vigilante 00:42:00 The Somali Friend Who Replaced My MacBook At West Ed 00:46:00 Accept The Circumstance, Stack The Dubs 00:50:00 Seven Months In Taiwan Jail For Crumbs 01:03:00 How I Paid My Way Out And Taught English On The Side 01:07:30 Fifteen Years In Comedy And Still No Album 01:14:30 Multiple Choice Game Segment 01:22:30 The Grabba Story That Named Me Ranga Danga In Jamaica

  4. Oct 5

    Deep Dive into Psychotherapy | Julie Marquis | Marquis Counseling | Ep. 14

    98% of her clients are men. Julie Marquis is a licensed psychotherapist, has been in practice for almost fifteen years, trains other therapists in EMDR, and runs Marquis Counseling and Consulting here in Toronto Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week's guest is doing some of the most interesting mental health work in the city, and we spend the episode on the frameworks she actually uses — EMDR and what the eye movement part is really doing in your brain, somatic experiencing and why standing on a balance board can shut down your racing thoughts in a way talk therapy can't, the identity crisis that destroys first responders and military members when they retire and lose their tribe. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Why Julie Works Almost Exclusively With Men 00:05:23 If Men Can Heal The World Can Heal 00:07:40 EMDR — How It Actually Works 00:11:49 The Filing Cabinet In Your Brain 00:16:56 Why Movement Is The Most Underutilized Therapy Tool 00:21:00 Walk And Talk, Paddle Boarding, Going To The Gym 00:23:00 First Responders, Military, Veterans, And CEOs 00:26:19 The Identity Crisis Of Leaving The Uniform 00:29:21 Why Boys And Girls Need Different Parenting 00:31:09 Just Because You Have A Diagnosis Doesn't Mean You Get To Be An A*****e 00:34:44 Denial Land Is Like Candyland 00:38:14 Has The Younger Generation Gotten Soft 00:45:00 Enabling Vs Empowering Your People 00:46:48 Being Nice Vs Being Kind 00:52:04 When Should You Actually Go To Therapy 00:57:51 Multiple Choice Game Segment Connect: Jesse: @PunjabiTimbit (canonical spelling confirmed — Timbit) Show: @CreatingConsciousness905 New episodes every week Production by Person1 Productions #therapy #men #creatingconsiousnesspod

  5. Sep 28

    Hitting Rock Bottom At The Royal York Hotel | Recovering Outloud | Creating Consciousness Ep.13

    What happens when your only friend is your dealer? Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week's guest is Anthony, host of the Recovering Outloud podcast, and this is easily the most vulnerable conversation I've had on the show. This week's guest is Anthony, host of the Recovering Outloud podcast, and this is easily the most vulnerable conversation I've had on the show. Anthony walks me through the whole arc — what an addict's brain actually feels like, why the same wiring that made him spiral gets channeled into podcasting today, the difference between physical sobriety and emotional sobriety, why steroids and body dysmorphia were the gateway back into his relapse after almost a decade of recovery, why harm reduction saved his life even though he's ultimately an abstinence guy, and what actually happened in that Royal York lobby that got him to call his wife and say "I'm ready." TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 The Podcast Origin — Counselor Vince And Pink Cloud Sobriety 00:06:15 6 Garbage Cans And 5 Lids — The Addict Brain 00:07:51 Cross-Addictions — Golf, Jordans, Shopping, Gambling 00:12:56 The Lengths I Would Go To Get Cocaine 00:16:22 Harm Reduction Vs Abstinence — When Each One Works 00:21:12 Food Addiction, Body Dysmorphia, And Male Vanity 00:24:01 The Steroids That Led Me Back Into Relapse 00:28:15 What Rock Bottom Actually Means 00:29:53 The Royal York Hotel Story — January 2025 00:34:35 Cocaine Psychosis And The Only Friend I Had 00:37:52 The Security Guard Who Let Me Clean My Room 00:44:35 I Called My Wife And Said I'm Ready 00:45:16 What To Do When Someone You Love Is Using 00:49:14 The Photos My Wife Kept Sending Me 00:53:27 Spirituality, Higher Power, And A Shift In Perception 01:00:05 Multiple Choice Game Segment If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or substance use, please know that help is available and recovery is possible. Anthony's podcast Recovering Outloud is one place to start. Additional resources: ConnexOntario — 1-866-531-2600 — free 24/7 mental health, addictions, and problem gambling information and referrals in Ontario Al-Anon — meeting information at al-anon.org — for loved ones of people struggling with addiction Talk Suicide Canada — 1-833-456-4566 — 24/7 support if you or someone you know is in crisis Kids Help Phone — 1-800-668-6868 — for young people needing support If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. #creatingconsiousness #addictionrecovery #podcast

  6. Sep 21

    How I Turned A $1000 Grant Into 500 Pairs of Shoes For Kids | Delux | Creating Consciousness Ep.12

    Delux turned a $1000 microgrant into 500 pairs of free Air Force 1s given out to kids in Jane and Finch, Rexdale, Malvern, Regent Park, and MaltonWelcome back to Creating Consciousness. Delux is a Jane and Finch–raised community leader, student psychotherapist studying Gestalt, founder of the Finding Your Heart initiative, and now runs his own production company after starting from an iPhone and borrowed cameras. We spend the whole episode on how someone with no roadmap actually builds something from the ground up: how he stumbled into community work through a court case that required volunteer hours. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Non-Profit Is Still A Business Model 00:00:56 The $1000 Grant That Started Everything 00:05:35 What Finding Your Heart Actually Is 00:09:23 The Halal Pizza Mistake That Taught Me Everything 00:12:19 The Court Case That Got Me Into Community Work 00:14:52 The Airwalks My Mom Got Me From Alibaba's At Yorkgate 00:17:14 Batman, Bruce Wayne, And How Heroes Process Pain 00:21:57 The Shoe As A Blank Canvas 00:23:55 Two Full-Time Jobs And One Hour Of Sleep For 7 Months 00:26:01 Don't Sell Your Ideas For Peanuts 00:29:37 Finding Your Heart Was My Get Out Of Jail Free Card 00:31:22 More Grants In Ottawa Than I Ever Got In Jane And Finch 00:34:12 Why Hyper-Independence Is A Symptom, Not A Strength 00:41:58 Why I Started A Production Company Without Being A Filmmaker 00:44:04 What The Older Generation Owes The Youth 00:51:35 Multiple Choice Game Segment #creatingconsiousness #nonprofit #podcast

  7. Sep 14

    From Rexdale To Living With Russell Peters In Malibu | Nitish Sakuja | Creating Consciousness Ep.11

    Russell Peters offered him a room in his Malibu mansion for a month. That month turned into three months. Three months turned into a month long tour of India together. Nitish is one of my OGs from the Toronto scene, a comic I came up watching, and he flew back to town for two weeks so we got him in the studio the moment we could. We spend the whole episode on the arc: the sixteen years of stand-up, the dropped-out year at Waterloo where he realized his Rexdale math couldn't compete with the Chinese kids spinning their pens, the Russell Peters story that everyone knows the highlights of but nobody knows the actual sequence of events. Nitish also opens up about his fitness journey, about the philosophy of the middle path, about what it took to add real detail to his material after Russell's brother Clayton pulled him aside in India and told him to imagine the audience knows nothing about him, and about what sixteen years of stand-up has actually taught him about himself.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Welcome Back And Why LA Over New York00:03:00 Are Americans And Canadians The Same Amount Of Assholes00:06:34 Manifesting Success Means Manifesting The Hardship Too00:09:32 Stop Crying On Instagram — The Full Rant00:11:04 The Middle Path And Krishna's Answer To Arjuna00:13:41 7 Grams Of Mushrooms At 17 Broke My Whole Universe00:19:04 Anger, Pushing Buttons, And The Temple Laughing Fit00:24:29 How Just For Laughs Gags Turned Me Into A Comedian00:28:11 Dropping Out Of Waterloo And Rexdale Math00:30:38 The Visa Deal That Got Me To LA In 3 Months00:33:32 The Russell Peters Story — From Getting Punched To Malibu00:42:36 3.5 Weeks Touring India And Bombing Hard00:47:11 LA Stage Time Vs The Toronto Grind00:57:11 What 16 Years Of Stand-Up Actually Taught Me About Myself01:00:37 Multiple Choice Game Segment#creatingconsiousness #russellpeters #podcast

  8. Sep 7

    My Mom Hid My Stand-Up Career From My Dad For 5 Months | Rasha Elfeky | Creating Consciousness Ep.10

    Rasha Elfeky's mom kept her stand-up career a secret from her dad for five months. When he finally found out, he gave her mom the silent treatment for two weeks — and her mom told her it was the best two weeks of her life.Welcome to episode ten of Creating Consciousness, This week I had on Rasha Elfeky — Toronto comedian, actress, flight attendant, content creator, and a comic who's toured with Jerry D, opened for Zainab Johnson twice, been personally recommended for Just For Laughs New Faces, and built her whole career on being able to work any room clean or dirty. Rasha and I get into the whole arc: how her mom told her to drop out of her University of Toronto criminology degree and become a flight attendant, how Air Canada rejected her because of her blood and Air Transit hired her the next morning, the three years she spent traveling the world before she ever took a comedy stage. And she opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD at twenty-nine — two years after she'd already become a comedian and what comedy taught her about herself that no diagnosis ever could. I got emotional on-mic during this one. I'm leaving that in. Peace and love, y'all.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Reputation Matters and Sterling's Bomb Is Coming Ego Check00:06:00 Why Versatility Beats Being Locked Into One Voice00:11:00 My First US Show at Soho House Los Angeles00:15:00 Feeling Outcasted By My Own Arab Community00:18:00 Post-COVID Comedy and Why Bad Shows Hurt Everyone00:22:00 Perform Like There Are 5000 People In The Room00:25:00 Sterling Scott Put His Ass On The Line To Get Me Booked00:28:00 Watching Headliners Is The Unwritten Rule00:32:00 Why Actors Are More Politically Correct Than Comedians00:37:00 My Mom Told Me To Drop Out And Become A Flight Attendant00:42:00 West Africa Named Me Gazelle. My Real Name Means Baby Gazelle.00:45:00 When Is An Accent Racism And When Is It Storytelling?00:47:00 My Mom Hid My Comedy Career From My Dad For 5 Months00:57:00 My Mom Working At KFC And Suing Them Now01:00:00 My Dad's Lore — Shotokan Sensei At 75 Years Old01:10:00 Diagnosed With ADHD At 29 After I'd Already Started Comedy01:13:00 Levels To Me Game Segment#creatingconsiousness #versatility #podcast

See All (17)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

What's up, beautiful people. I'm Jesse Singh — comedian, 12-year youth worker, and your host of Creating Consciousness. This is the show where me and my co-host Danté Williams push back on the easy answers the wellness industry sells us, dig into what mental health and creativity actually look like for working artists, and bring on comedians, musicians, and creators across the city to talk about the real journey — the bombing, the breakthroughs, the breakdowns, and what's saved us. New episodes weekly. Peace and love, y'all.

Information

  • Creator
    Jesse Singh
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jesse Singh
  • Show Website
    Creating Consciousness