The Reality Check Podcast

Zachary Phillips
  • 4.8 (5)
  • SPIRITUALITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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

  1. Cultivate A Daily Meditation Practice | Ep 278

    3D AGO

    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.

    7 min

  2. FEB 15

    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.

    7 min
  3. How To Respond To Anxiety, Triggers & Dysregulation | Ep 276

    JAN 27

    How To Respond To Anxiety, Triggers & Dysregulation | Ep 276

    This is an informational talk on how to reduce the severity, duration, and impact of panic attacks, triggers, and dysregulation.We start with the core reminder: you are not in danger, this will pass, and you can support your system back toward steadiness. From there, the talk focuses on combining acceptance with action through practical reframes and body-based strategies, including breathwork, present-moment orientation, progressive muscle relaxation, and movement as a way to discharge stress and restore regulation. Want a guided session for panic, anxiety, triggers, and overwhelm? Click here to download or stream for free! 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.

    12 min
  4. Can You Love Yourself Whilst Fixing Yourself? | Ep 275

    JAN 20

    Can You Love Yourself Whilst Fixing Yourself? | Ep 275

    You don’t have to choose between the journey and the destination. Most self-improvement and inner peace approaches lean hard in one direction, acceptance without growth, or growth without self-love. But real, sustainable, purpose-aligned change needs both. Inspired by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), this short talk offers a simple framework for holding acceptance and improvement at the same time. What if you were able to love yourself whilst fixing yourself? Read the how to love yourself whilst fixing yourself blog post. Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.You are invited to join The Art Of Self-Connection Community.Grab a copy of one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, and resources freely available. Donate here.

    8 min
  5. The Beauty Of The Sea | Ep 274

    JAN 1

    The Beauty Of The Sea | Ep 274

    'I closed my eyes to the beauty of the sea, shielding the fragile part of my soul that still believed in an untainted moment. As I walked away I couldn't help but feel...' In this episode share a story of healing and self-acceptance through poetry. Using the symbolism of water, nature, and floating, I’ll guide you inward, into the parts that learned to brace, shut down, and survive. You will leave hopeful for your own process of returning back to the self.Poems shared: Endless Can’t Quite Express I Float Dear Little Part Of Me Beauty Of The Sea Quick Links:Want to work with me? Book a 1:1 session.You are invited to join The Art Of Self-Connection Community.Grab a copy of one of my books.Help keep my meditations, live sessions, and resources freely available. Donate here.

    11 min
  6. The Vulnerability Of Positivity | Ep 273

    12/03/2025

    The Vulnerability Of Positivity | Ep 273

    I recently returned from a men’s work retreat through the Island of Men: a transformative program designed to help men connect and heal. I left with two main takeaways. 1: There is a tremendous male loneliness and meaning epidemic. Men feel alone and unsure of what they are doing, why they are doing it, and feel like they have no one to talk it through with. 2: There is vulnerability within positivity and success. I was asked about my purpose and realized that I was already living it (a journey over destination kind of thing), and I chose to do an improve comedy workshop over the deep introspective darkness exploration and healing that I would usually explore. Why? Because doing so felt more expansive (scary) than not. I realized I am more than fine to share my pain and shadow, but not my light. This was revolutionary. I now realise that I need to explore and express all aspects of myself. Reminder: You are invited to join the December Self-Care challenge in the Art of Self-Connection community. Lets stay sane this festive season!

    11 min
  7. NOT My Annual F**k Christmas Episode… AKA: How To Stay Sane This Festive Season! | Ep 272

    11/24/2025

    NOT My Annual F**k Christmas Episode… AKA: How To Stay Sane This Festive Season! | Ep 272

    Usually around this time of year I talk about the pain that this time of year can bring: extra commitments, financial burden, overwhelm, and forced socialization.This year I am looking to actually make something positive come from the festive season, so I am inviting you to join in with a self care challenge.For the month of December, pick one small act of self-care you can do every day to stay grounded and regulated. Something that feels nourishing, simple, and doable. eg: - Music- Reading- Take a bath- Meditation- Nature walk- Exercise- Cup of tea- Journaling Or choose something you’ll cut back on this month to ease the pressure. When you’ve chosen your practice, join The Art Of Self-Connection Community (it’s free) and share what you will be working on and why.Lets stay sane this festive season!

    9 min
  8. How Language Is Keeping Us From The Divine | Ep 271

    11/18/2025

    How Language Is Keeping Us From The Divine | Ep 271

    Language is flawed, and it keeps us from touching the divine. Every time we try to communicate, we start with a felt sense (thoughts, emotions, sensations) and we’re forced to translate that into code. Words. Sounds. Symbols. Then we hope the signal survives the noise. That nothing gets lost through misunderstanding, projection, or the limits of whatever medium we’re using. And on the other side, the listener has to decode it all back into their own thoughts, emotions, and sensations. Which means we never really say exactly what we mean. We only ever say what someone else is able to hear. All knowledge, scientific, religious, spiritual, personal, is filtered through this imperfect system. Our minds shape it, distort it, give it meaning it never had. Even the texts we call sacred are interpreted through an imperfect interpreter. So the only real move is to step back from the words and feel what’s underneath. The raw experience. The connection between things. The truth before we try to pin it down. Every theory is just a model. A map. Never the thing itself. And the human condition is the same across traditions: infinite desire, finite resources, suffering, loss, growth, and everything we do to navigate the in-between. The moment we set a theory in stone, it stops being alive. It becomes dogma. And the second we read it, we filter it through our own biases anyway. Which means the real truth isn’t in the language.It’s in the experience the language is pointing toward. Links Mentioned:Join The Art Of Self-Connection community!

    16 min
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4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

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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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