The Wisdom Matrix

The Wisdom Matrix

Life, growth, and what it all means. We explore it on The Wisdom Matrix. Real conversations on mindset, spirituality, and navigating a changing world, blending experience, insight, and practical takeaways to help you think deeper and live with more clarity. Connect with us: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  1. Sep 23

    Elliot Hulse: Why Trying Harder Is Making Your Life Worse

    YouTube pioneer, strength coach, bioenergetics teacher, and spiritual guide Elliott Hulse joins The Wisdom Matrix to explore surrender, faith, trauma, the body, masculinity, and the limits of trying to control life. Elliott shares how returning to Catholicism eventually became what he calls a “holy hustle,” and how pushing harder in both work and spirituality led to a major collapse in 2024. That experience forced him to stop, let go, and reconsider what surrender to God really means. The conversation also explores prayer, meditation, trauma stored in the body, bioenergetics, Christian mysticism, and the masculine archetypes of King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover. Key Takeaways 0:46 Introducing Elliot Hulse and the Journey Ahead 2:40 Elliot Joins the Conversation 3:29 What Josh Saw in Elliot’s Presence and Leadership 4:17 From Fitness Pioneer to Spiritual Teacher 5:47 Why Elliott No Longer Defines Who He Is 7:57 How Christianity Became a “Holy Hustle” 10:29 The Collapse That Changed Elliott’s Life 11:13 Laying Down His Ego, Work, Hopes, Fears, and Dreams 12:49 Realizing His Greatest Accomplishments Were Gifts 16:04 How Our Own Will Can Become a False God 18:23 What Surrender to Divine Providence Looks Like in Daily Life 22:43 Why Prayer Is About Getting Yourself Out of the Way 24:06 Why Sometimes the First Thing to Do Is Nothing 25:26 Why Meditation Is the Answer 27:30 Why Doing What Is Easy Can Be the Right Path 33:25 Why Structure Without Flow Becomes a Prison 40:58 Elliott’s View on Being Spiritual but Not Religious 50:38 How Trauma Can Become Trapped in the Body 56:04 Why “If the Vessel Is Disturbed, the Spirit Can’t Be Heard” 1:00:03 Why Exhausting the Body Can Make Stillness Easier 1:04:54 How Psychological Defenses Become Structured in the Body 1:19:34 Why the King Archetype Is About Being, Not Doing 1:23:24 Why the Warrior, Magician, and Lover Must Serve the King 1:25:25 Where the King Is, There Is Order 1:26:22 Why Surrender Is at the Center of Elliot’s Faith 1:28:09 Where to Follow and Learn More From Elliot 1:29:00 Closing Thoughts and Elliot’s Upcoming Austin Retreat Resources Mentioned 📚 Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean Pierre de Caussadehttps://www.amazon.com/Abandonment-Divine-Providence-Jean-Pierre-Caussade/dp/0895552264 📚 The Body Bears the Burden by Robert Scaerhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Bears-Burden-Dissociation-Disease/dp/0415641527 🌐 Elliott Hulse | Wisdom on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLrI-dOLyDbRnPyUeWadsOg 🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  2. Sep 16

    Your Brain Was Never Built for This Much

    Former monk, author, and Kriya Yoga teacher Forrest Knutson joins The Wisdom Matrix to explore the science and spirituality behind deep meditation. Forrest shares his journey from becoming a monk as a teenager to discovering a more practical understanding of meditation through the breath, nervous system, and body. He explains why meditation can feel hit or miss, how Kriya Yoga helps create deeper states more consistently, and why facing fear, emotions, and the subconscious is an essential part of spiritual growth. The conversation explores nervous system regulation, emotional healing, information overload, relationships, projection, freedom, and why true meditation is less about controlling the mind and more about working with the body and nervous system. Forrest also shares practical ways to begin meditating, how Kriya can become a practice that continues throughout the day, and the deeper goal of Kriya Yoga: freedom of consciousness. Key Takeaways 0:46 Meet Forrest Knutson: Former Monk, Author, and Kriya Yoga Teacher 2:31 The Unusual Beginning of Forrest’s Spiritual Journey 4:07 When Spirituality Went From Casual to Essential 5:07 Searching for a Scientific Meditation Technique 6:39 Discovering Kriya Yoga 8:57 What Forrest Learned About God’s Will and Choosing a Path 9:50 Why Your Spiritual Path Is Ultimately Something You Choose 11:37 The Advice From Forrest’s Mentor That He Never Forgot 13:21 The Discovery That Changed Forrest’s Meditation 17:20 The Spiritual Experience That Told Forrest to Move Forward 19:49 Why Major Life Transitions Are Supposed to Be Messy 20:44 The Fear You Face Loses Its Power 25:31 What Kriya Yoga Actually Is 27:43 How Slowing the Breath Changes Your Nervous System 38:36 Sitting Still, the Nervous System, and the Freeze Response 45:42 Why You Have to Go Down Before You Can Go Up 47:17 Why Om Japa Is Essential to Kriya Yoga 53:25 Why Holding Onto Anger Hurts You 56:01 Why Consistency Depends on What You Truly Value 1:02:48 Why Modern Information Overload Is Overwhelming Us 1:12:36 Why Meditation Is Not About Forcing Your Mind to Be Still 1:15:17 Why Fighting Your Own Mind Does Not Work 1:17:40 Kriya Yoga, Masculine and Feminine Energy, and Relationships 1:19:31 How Projection Shapes the Way We See Other People 1:23:21 How to Communicate Without Turning Everything Into a Fight 1:26:19 What Happens When Couples Practice Kriya Yoga Together 1:30:41 Moksha and the Deeper Meaning of Freedom 1:35:58 How to Start Meditating if You Have No Practice Today 1:38:44 The Physical Signs That Your Body Is Entering the Parasympathetic State 1:40:20 Why the Real Kriya Is the Kriya You Practice All Day 1:41:58 Using Om Japa to Work Through Negative Emotional States 1:45:29 Forrest’s New Book, Unlocking the Mahabharata 1:47:16 Where to Begin if You Want to Learn From Forrest 1:49:04 Forrest’s Patreon, Satsangs, and How to Connect With Him Resources Mentioned 📚 Autobiography of a Yogi 📚 Mastering Meditation by Forrest Knutson 📚 Unlocking the Mahabharata by Forrest Knutson 🎥 Forrest Knutson’s YouTube Channel 🌱 Forrest Knutson’s Patreon Community 🌐 Meditative Mellows 🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  3. Sep 9

    Why High-Performing Men Ignore Their Own Warning Signs

    Energy healer, coach, Human Design educator, artist, and former professional dancer Michelle Boule joins The Wisdom Matrix for a wide ranging conversation about trusting the body, following desire, navigating money, embracing pain, and learning to move through life with greater awareness. Michelle shares how a life of professional dance and traveling through more than 50 places and 11 countries helped shape her relationship with movement, non attachment, intuition, and personal growth. She explains how injuries led her beyond the physical body into emotional healing and eventually quantum energy work, and why listening to the body has become central to both her life and her work. The conversation explores Human Design as a tool for understanding how we make decisions, relate to others, and work with our natural strengths instead of constantly overriding them. Michelle also opens up about transforming her relationship with money, following desires that did not always seem logical, and how one seemingly unnecessary trip to Greece ultimately created unexpected relationships, opportunities, and income. Michelle, Josh, and Marty also explore pain as an entry point for healing, the importance of nervous system and embodiment practices, learning to receive support, and why growth sometimes requires stepping into uncertainty and being willing to get things wrong. Ultimately, the conversation is an invitation to stop numbing and distracting ourselves, listen more closely to what life and the body are asking for, and trust the wisdom that emerges. Key Takeaways 5:17 Michelle's Nomadic Life Across 11 Countries 7:32 What Traveling Teaches You About Non Attachment 12:27 Finding Home Within Yourself While Constantly Moving 15:02 Why Growth and Expansion Shape Where Michelle Lives 18:23 How to Travel Without Numbing or Distracting Yourself 24:12 How Travel Creates Simplicity, Perspective, and Connection 28:03 How Dance Became a Path to Emotional Expression 30:22 Injuries, Emotional Healing, and Discovering the Body's Wisdom 31:40 Michelle's Introduction to Quantum Energy Healing 32:33 How Money Became Part of Her Spiritual Growth 37:03 Transforming Your Relationship With Money 39:35 Conditioned Desire vs. What You Truly Want 40:50 Following the Impulse to Go to Greece 42:04 How an "Unnecessary" Trip Led to $60,000 in Income 43:40 Understanding Money as Energy 50:30 What Is Human Design? 51:49 Using Human Design to Make Better Decisions 54:02 Why Not Everyone Is Designed to "Just Do the Thing" 55:47 What Happens When You Ignore Your Natural Energy 58:38 What an Aligned Yes or No Feels Like in the Body 1:01:41 Why Some People Need to Talk to Find Clarity 1:19:01 Using Pain as a Catalyst for Growth and Healing 1:20:41 What's Really Driving Your Ambition? 1:21:33 Learning What It Feels Like to Be Truly Supported 1:22:29 Letting Go of Old Patterns to Find Deeper Strength 1:24:21 Finding Power Through Rest, Support, and Embodiment 1:39:28 Listening to How the Body Wants to Move 1:40:14 Creating Space Away From Constant Stimulation 1:43:40 Learning to Listen to What the Moment Is Asking For 1:44:30 Why Making Mistakes Can Be Part of Your Design Resources Mentioned 📚 Men's Work by Connor Beaton 🌱 Michelle's The Insight Field 🌐 Michelle's website 🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  4. Aug 19

    Allana Pratt’s Son Cut Her Off for 6 Years Until She Finally Said This

    Allana Pratt’s son stopped speaking to her for six and a half years. When they finally sat down together, one question changed everything: Do you want love, or do you want to be right? In this deeply personal conversation, emotional intimacy expert Allana Pratt reveals what it took to reconnect with her son and begin rebuilding a relationship she feared might be gone forever. Allana opens up about grief, divorce, a 13-year custody battle, buried trauma, plant medicine and the years of personal growth that shaped her work. She explains why emotional healing begins in the body, how unhealed wounds can overpower intuition and why taking ownership without self-judgment can repair even the deepest ruptures. She also reveals why ayahuasca alone didn’t change her destructive patterns, what happens during Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Psychotherapy and why healing requires more than insight. The conversation explores healthy and toxic masculine and feminine energy, why men withhold the truth, what young men desperately need and a powerful 40-minute practice that helps couples feel heard. Key Takeaways 00:00 Why Good Intentions Don’t Erase the Hurt 00:37 Introducing Allana Pratt 03:59 Vulnerability, Heartbreak and Reconnection 06:03 How Allana Learned to Feel Instead of Perform 08:18 Moving Through Adversity Without Abandoning Yourself 09:02 Why Your Body Is Your Best Friend 12:04 What Happens When You Fully Feel an Emotion 14:18 How Intuition Speaks Through the Body 16:36 Eastern Wisdom, Sexuality and Self-Discovery 20:09 Allana’s First Ayahuasca Experience 23:17 Learning to Trust and Surrender 24:07 How Surrender Changed Her Life 28:55 Six and a Half Years Estranged From Her Son 31:42 The First Phone Call After Years of Silence 33:32 When Reconnection Turned Into Confrontation 35:29 Choosing Love Over Being Right 38:53 Why Emotional Intimacy Starts Within 42:13 Healthy vs. Toxic Masculine and Feminine Energy 45:15 The Inner Relationship Between Masculine and Feminine 53:59 How Inner Intimacy Changes Relationships 56:16 The 40-Minute Practice That Helps Couples Connect 01:00:17 Radical Listening and Relationship Repair 01:04:58 Why Men Withhold the Truth 01:06:20 Why Men Struggle to Ask for Help 01:08:26 Why Couples Should Schedule Intimacy 01:13:51 What Young Men Need Most Today 01:17:20 Taking Ownership Without Self-Judgment 01:23:10 Building Self-Worth That Survives Failure 01:24:30 Plant Medicine and Trauma Integration 01:29:15 What Happens During Psychedelic Somatic Therapy 01:32:10 Reparenting, Wholeness and Zero Point 01:34:24 Why This Work Changed Allana’s Coaching 01:36:58 Allana’s How to Feel Docu-Series 01:39:10 Gratitude and Closing 01:40:51 How to Connect With Allana Resources Mentioned 🎙️ Intimate Conversations podcast with Allana Pratt 📚 Finding the One Is B******t, Becoming the One Is Brilliant & Beautiful by Allana Pratt 📺 Allana Pratt's YouTube channel 📱 Allana Pratt on Instagram 🌐 Allana Pratt's Patreon community  🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  5. Aug 12

    Why Being a Nice Guy Is Slowly Destroying Your Career, Your Marriage, and You

    Dr. Robert Glover joins Josh, Marti, and Travis to explore the hidden beliefs behind the “Nice Guy” pattern and why trying to earn approval often creates dishonesty, resentment, and disconnection. Robert explains how many men internalize the belief that they are not acceptable as they are, then build their lives around becoming what other people want while hiding anything that might cause rejection. He shares how this pattern affected his own relationships, why half-truths and withheld information are still lies, and how telling difficult truths can make a man more trustworthy. The conversation also explores why men cannot heal in isolation, the importance of men’s groups and masculine initiation, and what traditional rites of passage taught boys about fear, discomfort, and responsibility. Robert explains why initiation is not a single weekend experience, but part of a lifelong process supported by honest relationships, community, and integration. They also discuss how early experiences shape the nervous system, why personal growth does not eliminate every trigger, and how surrender can create peace when life refuses to follow the plan. Robert shares the story of facing a life-threatening tumor, accepting what he could not control, and learning to trust how life unfolds. The episode closes with a look at how Nice Guy patterns appear in business through conflict avoidance, codependency, procrastination, and deceptive productivity. Robert also previews his work on positive emotional tension and shares why he remains hopeful about the growing number of conscious, openhearted, and mature men supporting one another. Key Takeaways 0:00 Why Changing the World Requires Good Men 0:23 Introducing Dr. Robert Glover and No More Mr. Nice Guy 4:21 Why the Book Was So Triggering and Transformative 5:16 The Toxic Shame Behind the Nice Guy Pattern 7:56 Discovering the Dishonesty Beneath Being “Nice” 11:05 Why Lying Keeps Men Powerless 14:53 Why Men Cannot Heal in Isolation 15:14 Women Can Handle Difficult Truths Better Than Lies 21:33 Why Half-Truths and Withholding Are Still Lies 28:58 The Freedom of Having Nothing to Hide 32:52 Why Men Learn to Seek Women’s Approval 35:08 Lost Rites of Passage and the Need for Initiated Men 41:33 What Masculine Initiation Is Supposed to Teach 48:38 Finding the Courage to Share Your Creative Gifts 50:37 Why Integration Matters After an Initiation 53:15 The Lifelong Need for Masculine Support and Community 55:13 Without Integration, an Experience Is Just Another Story 56:28 Why Personal Growth Does Not Eliminate Every Trigger 1:00:27 The Illusion of Emotional Safety and Control 1:05:39 The Masculine Error of Thinking the Struggle Will End 1:09:07 The Serenity Plan and Learning to Surrender 1:10:19 Facing a Life-Threatening Tumor and Finding Peace 1:16:29 How Nice Guy Patterns Show Up in Business 1:25:14 Positive Emotional Tension and Mature Masculine Leadership 1:31:22 Dr. Glover’s Hope and Prayer for Men Resources Mentioned 📚 No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert Glover 📚 The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida 📚 The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer 📚 Loving What Is by Byron Katie 📚 Hating Women by Shawn Hotchkiss 🧭 Mankind Project - New Warrior Training Adventure 📝 Positive Emotional Tension, Dr. Glover’s work in progress 🎙️ John Wineland’s men’s work and programs 🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  6. Aug 5

    Can You Heal Without Blowing Up Your Life?

    Smoke Wallin joins Matti, Josh, and Travis to explore how childhood trauma, plant medicine, meditation, and shadow work reshaped both his personal life and the way he leads in business. He reflects on the moment his spiritual journey began, how buried trauma influenced his relationships and business patterns, and why healing often requires turning toward the parts of ourselves we would rather avoid. Smoke also shares practical ways to observe your thoughts, respond without reacting, and bring greater awareness, integrity, and love into everyday leadership. The conversation also explores forgiveness, embodiment, psychedelic integration, and the challenge of awakening without walking away from the material world. Key Takeaways 0:00 The Hidden Trauma Beneath Success 2:39 Sedona and a Life-Changing Journey 17:57 The Prayer That Started His Awakening 21:45 Plant Medicine and the Importance of Safe Facilitation 24:20 Childhood Trauma and Unseen Blind Spots 27:00 How Trauma Shaped His Business Patterns 34:27 Forgiveness and Healing Through Sharing 53:10 Bringing Spirituality Into Business 1:03:22 Observing Thoughts and Responding Without Reaction 1:32:01 Integration and Building a Spiritual Talent Stack Resources Mentioned: 🎙️ The Smoke Trail podcast 📚 A Smoke Trail to the Fire Within by Smoke Wallin 📚 The Revelation Method of Integration 📚 Truth vs. Falsehood by David R. Hawkins 🪟 The Johari Window 📚 The Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads 📚 The teachings of Brother Lawrence 🧘 Meditation, breathwork, sound baths, and embodiment practices 🌿 Plant medicine and psychedelic integration 🧠 Shadow work and subconscious patterning 🌐 Satya Commons consciousness-testing community 🎵 Anitra KRS and “Love’s Magic Night”  🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  7. Jul 29

    How to Break Generational Trauma and Stop Repeating Family Patterns

    Dr. Christian Le is a physician, consciousness explorer, ceremonial musician, and founder of Lotus Mind Retreats. In this conversation, Christian joins Matti, Josh, and Travis to explore how childhood trauma, migration, medicine, meditation, and plant-based practices shaped his understanding of healing and consciousness. Christian shares his early life as a child born during the Vietnam War, where he learned to listen for falling bombs at night. He reflects on how those experiences affected his nervous system, his family relationships, and the way he approached life as a doctor. The conversation follows his journey from intellectual survival toward emotional awareness. Christian describes moments of stillness that changed how he understood reality, including looking at the stars as a child, surfing alone during a storm, and experiencing a powerful realization about the generational trauma shared between himself, his father, and the men who came before them. He also explores the relationship between cannabis, psychedelics, meditation, and consciousness. Rather than presenting these substances simply as recreational drugs, Christian discusses their potential role as tools for introspection, healing, and spiritual inquiry when approached with intention and care. The episode closes with an important conversation about surrender, heart intelligence, personal sovereignty, and the responsibility involved in choosing a plant medicine ceremony or guide. Key Takeaways 0:00 Childhood Trauma and the Nervous System 2:50 Awakening Through Suffering 19:37 A Childhood Spiritual Awakening 26:17 Finding Stillness in the Ocean 32:22 Breaking Generational Trauma 35:35 Forgiving His Father 46:58 Cannabis as Healer and Seductress 53:25 What Consciousness Really Is 1:00:34 The Little Mind and Big Mind 1:06:23 Plant Medicine and Consciousness 1:16:12 How Suffering Opens the Heart 1:19:20 Surrendering the Need for Control 1:24:54 The Meaning Behind Lotus Mind 1:29:42 Choosing a Safe Ceremony Resources Mentioned: 🌿 Lotus Mind Retreats 📚 Higher Wisdom: Eminent Elders Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics 📚 DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman 📚 The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley 🧠 Ken Wilber and consciousness mapping 🌱 Cannabis and cannabinoid science 🍃 Ayahuasca and plant medicine traditions 🧘 Meditation, prayer, and ceremonial music 🔬 Psychedelic therapy and consciousness research 🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

  8. Jul 22

    The Hidden Cost of Being High Functioning

    Zoey Sky is a somatic experiencing practitioner, mother, homesteader, and woman living with cystic fibrosis. In this conversation, Zoey joins Matti, Josh, and Travis to explore how trauma, grief, illness, and high-functioning survival patterns can disconnect us from the body. She shares why presence is an act of surrender, how somatic healing helps us relate differently to emotion, and why safety, connection, creativity, and play are essential parts of being fully human. The episode also explores the female nervous system, relationships, chronic illness, self-advocacy, motherhood, homesteading, and Zoey’s work through The Somatic Way. It closes with a live somatic session that helps Josh move from tension and grief back into connection with his body. Key Takeaways 0:09 Welcoming Zoey Sky 1:19 Living Fully With Cystic Fibrosis 3:30 When High Functioning Becomes Survival 5:49 Surrender as an Active Process 6:13 Grief, Illness, and Losing Identity 9:17 When Wellness Becomes Spiritual Bypassing 10:04 Returning to the Feeling Body 12:45 Helping Young Women Keep Their Inner Compass 16:13 What Somatic Healing Really Means 24:09 Why Humans Are Wired for Connection 25:24 Understanding the Female Nervous System 28:30 Somatic Fluency in Relationships 30:05 Presence Without Force or Effort 33:17 A Simple Nervous System Practice 43:43 Protection Versus Connection 52:46 Why Play Is Medicine 1:01:30 Zoey’s Late Cystic Fibrosis Diagnosis 1:03:36 Learning to Advocate for Her Health 1:10:35 The Somatic Way 1:17:35 Homesteading, Motherhood, and Goats 1:25:56 Live Somatic Session With Josh 1:36:09 Allowing Grief to Move 1:39:48 Releasing Healthy Fight Energy 1:44:39 Returning From the Mind to the Body Resources Mentioned: 🌿 The Somatic Way 🧠 Somatic Experiencing 🧘 Yoga Nidra 📚 The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton 🥕 Gerson Therapy 🫁 Cystic fibrosis care and self-advocacy Connect with Charlie Engle: 🌐 Website: https://www.zoeysky.ca/ 🌿 The Somatic Way: https://www.zoeysky.ca/the-somatic-way 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_zoey_sky/ 🌐 Connect with The Wisdom Matrix: www.thewisdommatrix.co

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Life, growth, and what it all means. We explore it on The Wisdom Matrix. Real conversations on mindset, spirituality, and navigating a changing world, blending experience, insight, and practical takeaways to help you think deeper and live with more clarity. Connect with us: www.thewisdommatrix.co

Information

  • Creator
    The Wisdom Matrix
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Wisdom Matrix
  • Show Website
    The Wisdom Matrix