The Space Between

Bevan Pfeiffer

In this episode, Bevan Pfeiffer sits down with Johnson Chong. Shamanic practitioner, author, and transformational guide, for a profound exploration of what it really means to wake up. Together, they navigate the terrain where ancient wisdom meets modern psychology, asking what it takes to live, heal, and grow in a time of deep collective change. Johnson opens up about his journey from a traditional upbringing to becoming a bridge between worlds, weaving together shamanic traditions, yogic insight, and therapeutic practice. The conversation touches the heart of consciousness itself: how we create meaning, the role of ritual in integrating experience, and the transformative potential of altered states, whether reached through ceremony, breath, or daily devotion. This dialogue is less about answers and more about remembering, the body as teacher, ancestry as guide, and presence as medicine. Listeners will find practical wisdom for navigating their own path of self-inquiry, from the challenges of letting go to the courage of coming home to who we truly are. If you’re drawn to the intersections of science, spirituality, and self-discovery, this episode offers both grounded insight and luminous perspective. For more on Bevan’s therapeutic work, visit www.theembodiedmind.com.au. To learn about Johnson’s retreats and teachings, visit www.johnsonchong.com.

  1. 5월 6일

    Psychotherapist & Philosopher: Dr Julien Ward - The Self Is a Story: Trauma, Buddhism & Why Your Ego Isn't Who You Are

    In this episode, Bevan sits down with Dr. Julien Ward — philosopher, psychotherapist, and professor of counselling — to explore one of the most profound questions at the intersection of trauma, identity, and Eastern philosophy: what are we, beneath the story we tell about ourselves? Dr. Ward draws on Buddhist psychology, psychodynamic theory, Jungian individuation, and relational therapy to map the terrain between who we think we are and what actually remains when that construction begins to fall apart. They explore: Why the West lost contact with its own contemplative technologies — and why we keep reaching East to fill the void How consumerism became the most seductive form of modern enslavement The difference between Buddhist no-self and the person who still has to show up to their life Why trauma doesn't just hurt — it det-temporises you, trapping you in a loop that forecloses a different future The dangers of spiritual bypassing — and why meditation alone can't touch certain wounds Group therapy, witnessing circles, and why healing was never meant to be a solo project Psychedelics, vision quests, and the co-option of sacred technologies into consumer experiences Why awe might be the closest thing we have to a universal therapeutic This is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt like the self they're performing doesn't quite match the one underneath — and who suspects the gap between those two might be where the real work begins.   Bevan's offering: www.theemboidedmind.com.au

    1시간 29분
  2. 5월 6일

    Sex Educator: Taylor Neal - Who Is Sex Actually For? The Truth About Pleasure, Performance & Reclaiming Your Own Experience

    Most of us were never taught to enjoy sex — we were taught to perform it. Taylor Neil is a somatic sexologist and sex educator whose work sits at the intersection of body-based healing, movement, and human sexuality. In this episode, we get into why so many people show up to sex thinking about everyone else's experience but their own, what it actually means to build a self-pleasure practice (and why it goes way beyond genital touch), and how your nervous system is secretly running the show in every intimate moment. We cover: The question Taylor carried for years: who is this for? Why performance anxiety affects 85% of people seeking sex therapy How your masturbation routine is probably built for efficiency, not pleasure What orgasmic yoga is — and why it might change how you think about your body The concept of "building a context" for pleasure and why it matters Why setting a container is the key to actually dropping in Self-aftercare, curiosity, and what lives on the other side of orgasm This is one of the more honest and practical conversations I've had about a topic most people are too uncomfortable to talk about openly. Taylor brings a rare combination of clinical training and lived experience that makes this genuinely useful — not just interesting. Expect to think differently about your body by the end of this one.   Bevans Website:   www.theembodiedmind.com.au   Taylor's website:    www.taylorneal.ca

    1시간 27분
  3. 4월 15일

    Neuro Somatic Breathwork Facilitator: Jason Evergreen  - Nervous System Rewiring, Shadow Work & the New Masculine

    What if the way you breathe is the most honest thing about you? Jason Evergreen is a neuro-somatic breathwork facilitator who went from drug-induced psychosis and autoimmune disease to building a practice that helps people rewire their nervous systems from the inside out. This conversation goes deep. We explore why modern society is a culture of chronic inhalers — consuming, accumulating, and refusing to let go. We talk about the exhale as a metaphor for surrender, and why so many people are physiologically incapable of it. Jason shares the raw story of eight months in psychosis, what Eckhart Tolle gave him that medication couldn't, and how psilocybin therapy forced him to confront the shadow he'd been hauling since childhood. We also get into masculinity — what it actually means to be a man right now, why vulnerability and resilience are the yin and yang of healthy masculinity, and why Australian men are starving themselves of the emotional contact they desperately need. Plus: fatherhood as spiritual initiation, the divine masculine, and how your breath in this moment is telling you exactly where you're at. Expect: Internal Family Systems, Taoism, quantum physics, psychedelic integration, the neuroscience of heart coherence, and two therapists being radically honest about their own unfinished business. Topics covered: Why shallow chest breathing is a symptom of a society that can't let go Drug-induced psychosis, and the book that pulled Jason out of it How to enter the body through the heart first Neuro-somatic breathwork vs. other modalities Shadow work, psilocybin, and the critical integration window Redefining masculinity beyond sacrifice and suppression Fatherhood as the ultimate spiritual portal Why giving solutions to an emotional partner is actually about your discomfort

    1시간 26분
  4. 2월 23일

    Holistic Counsellor: Jonathan Symonds- Healing Beyond Logic, Masculine Vulnerability & The Non-Linear Path

    Jonathan Symonds is a holistic counsellor specialising in somatic healing, emotional integration, and helping men reconnect with their bodies after years of living in their heads. What We Discuss: • Why traditional talk therapy kept Jonathan stuck in a "healing loop" for 8 years—and what finally broke the pattern • The moment everything he knew about healing stopped working, and how regression became his greatest teacher • Why men are conditioned to disconnect from their bodies, and the specific practices that helped Jonathan rebuild that connection • How judgment of others reveals what we're afraid to feel in ourselves • The difference between spiritual bypassing and grounded spiritual growth—and why psychedelic insights mean nothing without integration • Why healing isn't linear, and how to navigate the inevitable "backwards" moments without losing trust in the process • The role of meaning-making in trauma: how the stories we tell ourselves keep pain locked in the body • Why men struggle with loneliness later in life, and what emotional literacy actually looks like in practice • How to know when you're avoiding versus when you're genuinely choosing to do nothing • The 1% rule: the smallest embodied action you can take today to reclaim agency in your life • Why transformation requires letting a part of you die—and how to surrender to the unknown without a safety net Follow Jonathan: Instagram: @jonathansymonds Website: www.jonathansymonds.net   Follow Bevan: instagram: @bevanpfeiffer   Website: www.theembodiedmind.com.au

    1시간 26분
  5. 2월 2일

    Group Therapist: Sara Schreiber - The Mirror Effect, How Groups Heal What Individual Therapy Can't

    What happens when we stop performing for each other and start being real? In this episode, I sit down with Sara, a group therapist who creates spaces where vulnerability becomes contagious in the best possible way—where the very thing that terrifies us, being exposed in front of others, becomes the doorway to profound transformation. We explore what group therapy does that individual therapy cannot, why shame loses its power when spoken aloud to witnesses, and how conflict—when held well becomes connection. Sara shares the unique magic of interpersonal process groups, where there's no curriculum, no theme, just the raw practice of staying present to what's happening inside you as it happens. In this conversation, we discuss: Why healing happens differently when witnessed by many instead of one The neuroscience of being seen by multiple people simultaneously How group therapy acts as a mirror for your interpersonal patterns The agreements that create safety for radical honesty Why the person who activates you most teaches you the most about yourself How social media and technology are reshaping our ability to connect The role of culture, projection, and shame in group dynamics Why conflict is essential for growth (and how to navigate it) The most powerful transformations Sara has witnessed in groups If you've ever wondered what it would be like to drop your mask in a room with strangers and speak the unspeakable, or if you're curious about how we learn to be human together in an age that's forgotten how to connect—this conversation is for you.   Bevan's therapeutic website:  https://www.theembodiedmind.com.au/   Sara's Links:  Instagram: @groups_in_private_practice Website: www.groupsinprivatepractice.com

    1시간 11분

소개

In this episode, Bevan Pfeiffer sits down with Johnson Chong. Shamanic practitioner, author, and transformational guide, for a profound exploration of what it really means to wake up. Together, they navigate the terrain where ancient wisdom meets modern psychology, asking what it takes to live, heal, and grow in a time of deep collective change. Johnson opens up about his journey from a traditional upbringing to becoming a bridge between worlds, weaving together shamanic traditions, yogic insight, and therapeutic practice. The conversation touches the heart of consciousness itself: how we create meaning, the role of ritual in integrating experience, and the transformative potential of altered states, whether reached through ceremony, breath, or daily devotion. This dialogue is less about answers and more about remembering, the body as teacher, ancestry as guide, and presence as medicine. Listeners will find practical wisdom for navigating their own path of self-inquiry, from the challenges of letting go to the courage of coming home to who we truly are. If you’re drawn to the intersections of science, spirituality, and self-discovery, this episode offers both grounded insight and luminous perspective. For more on Bevan’s therapeutic work, visit www.theembodiedmind.com.au. To learn about Johnson’s retreats and teachings, visit www.johnsonchong.com.