The Spiritual Perspective

Latest Episodes:

10: Jeff Krasno Wondered What Happens When You Combine a Music Festival, Wellness, and Yoga, and Ended Up Co-founding Wanderlust Jul 29, 2020

Show notes

Joining us on the show today is Jeff Krasno, bluegrass enthusiast and the founder of One Commune and the Wanderlust Festival!
Jeff's story is truly inspiring; from the many phases and seasons, he has lived through to the movements he has helped propel, Jeff has continued on his path with curiosity and passion at every turn.
We hear from Jeff about the central role that music has played in much of his life as well as the formative experiences he had growing up all over the world! Jeff also unpacks the unlikely road building a new type of festival with Wanderlust, bridging the gaps between yoga, wellness and music.
He takes us all the way through to his work currently and the Commune project that now takes up most of his time. Jeff is a wonderful storyteller and this lends itself to this longer form episode, jam-packed with twists and turns and the fruition of seeds planted much earlier.
Our guest's story is such a strong example of how events that can seem random, often contribute to our outlook in important ways that are only apparent in hindsight. We hear about how his mission has evolved, from craving acceptance and connection to building a shared experience and lasting impact.
For this fantastic and deep conversation, listen in with us today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Jeff's childhood fascination with Batman while moving around a lot.
Global citizenship from a young age, learning languages and pastoral life in Europe and South America.
Childhood difficulties in Brazil and Jeff's experiences of being teased and ostracized.
Jeff's sympathetic nature and how this relates to a desire to connect and belong.
The tumor that Jeff developed at the age of 13 and his experiences in Sloan Kettering.
The aftermath of losing weight and the changes Jeff experienced at a new high school.
Music in Jeff's life growing up; family roots and developing an ear for sound.
Jeff's pursuit of his future wife, Skyla, during his time at college.
Radio djing, banjo playing and organizing bluegrass shows with some big acts.
How Jeff juggled his budding career in music and his college commitments.
Jeff's work as a hip hop producer in the 1990s and producing Soulive.
Making use of the Starbucks market and helping Sonya Kitchell get discovered.
Life after 911, Skyla's new yoga studio and the beauty of community and compassion during crisis.

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9: LaRayia Gaston Fed the Homeless, and Then Stayed on Skid Row to Learn About the Power of Giving Jul 22, 2020

Show notes

Our most meaningful acts often involve giving something away, especially when you’re helping those that most need it. Today’s guest is LaRayia Gaston, someone who has devoted herself to improving the lives of the homeless.
As the founder of Lunch on Me, an L.A nonprofit that feeds the homeless of Skid Row, LaRayia shows that you can give without reason. Before diving into her work, we chat about her childhood and LaRayia talks about how influential art has been in her life. She discusses her wonderfully mixed heritage and how her church background showed her the importance of tithing as a form of giving back to the community.
We talk about LaRayia’s career as a dancer and model and her aversion to drugs and alcohol. She opens up about the people in her life who have been through hardship and how she learned the importance of showing love in helping people overcome their struggles.
LaRayia then shares her experiences of moving to Los Angeles and discovering Skid Row; an area with a long-established homeless population. After volunteering for nonprofits and becoming disillusioned with their inefficiencies, LaRayia details how she set up Lunch on Me.
As a part of her goal to humanize the homeless, her organization only serves healthy food and not the table scraps that are often given to the homeless. We ask LaRayia about the lessons that she learned from spending 43 days living in Skid Row and she shares a heartwarming story about receiving help when she needed it the most.
LaRayia’s journey is as inspiring as it is empowering. Tune in to learn more about LaRayia and hear why she thinks there’s no excuse for not giving back to your community.

Key Points From This Episode:

How LaRayia’s love of drawing and books helped her escape a sense of confinement in her youth.
The lessons that LaRayia learned from reading about exceptional artists that looked like her.
Hear about LaRayia’s childhood and how she was exposed to many different cultures.
Despite having a wonderfully varied heritage, how LaRayia came to identify as black.
The number one thing that LaRayia got from church; we have to give to one another.
How LaRayia’s grandmother often filled the role of being her mother.
Questions that LaRayia asked about church and the bible; “Are we praying to the same God?”
LaRayia tells the story of how she made her life-long best friend as a kid.
Not liking to ask for money, 12-year-old LaRayia got a job working in her uncle’s restaurant.
LaRayia’s first encounter with an angel when giving a homeless person food.
Wanting to create and LaRayia’s strong connection with art.
How LaRayia took the idea of tithing to the streets and began feeding the homeless.
LaRayia’s work as a dancer and her transition into modeling for music videos.

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8: Jesse Israel Went From Managing Bands to Starting a Mass Meditation Movement Called The Big Quiet Jul 15, 2020

Show notes

Today we speak about meditation, facing fear, and reaching your dreams with Jesse Israel, the creator of The Big Quiet, a collective that hosts mass meditations at the most iconic places in the world!
Jesse shares his growth story with us today, taking us right from his early childhood through moments of darkness and the role meditation played in all the amazing projects he built leading up to The Big Quiet.
We hear about his early love for storytelling and his gift for leadership that got quelled by a disciplining event when he was still in school, leading to his first experiences of anxiety and self-doubt.
He takes us through to being a student at New York University, starting a record label and managing a fledgling MGMT, and the massive strain he underwent around this time. This was the point in his life where he found meditation and he talks about how it led him to rediscover his gifts for leadership that were buried inside him for so long.
Jesse sketches out the projects he started to create, all driven by his need for community – a mass bike club called The Cyclone and thereafter Med Club, a guided meditation event.
We hear from Jesse how around this point he quit his record label business and the role that meditation played in helping him take the plunge and start afresh.
This is an inspirational episode about the way meditation helps say yes in the face of doubt and fears so make sure not to miss it!

Key Points From This Episode:

Jesse’s childhood, relationship with his parents, and love for making animations.
The beginning of Jesse’s struggle with mental health after getting in trouble at school.
Therapy and Jesse’s transformation at school from a troublemaker to a prefect.
How Jesse got into music, radio show hosting, and started a record label after going to NYU.
The story of Jesse and his friends meeting MGMT and managing their early career.
Mental health and body stress issues Jesse experienced at 23 due to life challenges.
Jesse’s first panic attack and recourse he took at a time this was not spoken about.
How Jesse began experimenting with meditation after learning about Buddhism from his dad.
The meditation Jesse learned from Shambhala and how he later discovered Vedic meditation from Light.
How Jesse began to face old fears and own his leadership after practicing Vedic meditation.
All the students Light got through Jesse spreading the word about how meditation was helping him.
Transitioning from tech and music into leadership, a side of Jesse he suppressed for long.

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7: Ajay Relan’s Therapist Gave Him Two Options: Medicate or Volunteer? He Chose the Latter and Started #HashtagLunchbag in the Process Jul 08, 2020

Show notes

When Ajay Relan battled with mental health, his therapist gave him two options: medicate, or volunteer. He chose to volunteer, and after a few mishaps, he found himself making sandwiches and love notes for hungry people one Christmas morning in Los Angeles. And thus, #hashtaglunchbag was formed.
In this interview, Ajay reflects on his younger years as a 6-year-old entrepreneur, his rocky relationship with his mother, and what it meant to grow up with a single parent who was often busy and stressed out.
Ajay also takes us through his college years, the small businesses he started, and the difficult emotional state in which he found himself at the end of his 20s. We also discuss meeting his father for the first time, feelings of loss, and bouts of depression — it was only through giving that Ajay was able to really address some of these issues and manage his life in a more positive manner.
For an amazing story with a person with lots of stories about not quitting, please be sure to listen to this episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

The kinds of activities that Ajay gravitated towards at a young age.
Lessons in hard work from Ajay's mother and her entrepreneurial endeavors.
The evolution of Ajay's mother's business and his role in helping her run it.
Ajay's family history and the part that his Indian heritage has played in his life.
Hustling during college; how Ajay sold Nike Air Jordans our of his boot!
Mixed feelings after college and the emotional state that Ajay found himself in during his 20s.
The wall that Ajay hit towards the end of his 20s and the decision he made in response.
Generational trauma and the legacy of depression; Ajay's mother's struggles and medication.
The steps that Ajay took to confront his own struggles and looking to volunteering.
How Ajay connected with his father and the three questions he wanted to be answered.
The lasting impacts of this meeting in the context of other difficult life events.
Ajay's first experience of volunteering in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving.
The inspiration came from an old friend and led to making packed lunches to hand out.
Growing a small, experimental practice into something bigger that spread all over the world.
How Ajay's entrepreneurial experience contributed to the success of HanhtagLunchbag.
Exercising the generosity and gratitude muscles — the journey that Ajay is still on!
The components of HashtagLunchbag and the experience of working with them.
Ajay's advice for those hoping to create similarly impactful projects.
The motivation behind Hilltop Cafe, Ajay's coffee shop in LA.

Click here for full transcript and show notes.

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6: When April Dinwoodie Searched For Her Birth Mom, She Didn’t Know it Would Lead to Her Starting a Foster Care Mentoring Program Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

Adoption and the emotional journey of parents and children can be a complex one. This dynamic can be enlarged when combined with the added dimension of race.
Our guest today, April Dinwoodie, is the brains and heart behind the non-profit, AdoptMent, and she is here to share her story as a black person adopted by white parents and how this fact influenced her work and personal path in the world.
During our conversation, we cover the lessons she learned in these areas and about the individual nature of these learnings.
Click here for the full transcript and show notes.

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5: Robert Egger is the First to Acknowledge His White Privilege, and How it Helped Him Start a Cooking School for the Homeless Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

Today on At the End of the Tunnel we are joined by an especially inspiring guest! Robert Eggers has lived a life full of helping others and following his dreams at the same time. From an early age, Robert was entranced by the idea of moving and getting around, his first memories of riding bikes and skating through the neighborhood have a magical quality, something that would stick with him for the rest of his life. A California native, who relocated to Washington DC as a young teenager, Robert developed a strong desire to own a nightclub to bring people together through the power of music. It was while he was working towards that dream, bartending around the city that he started to volunteer for an organization that fed local homeless people. This kickstarted his desire to help feed more people and he came up with a plan to provide work, food, and opportunities for the down and out, using his passion, network, and determination!
Click here for full transcript and show notes.

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4: How Tiffany Persons Started a School in West Africa When She Could Barely Pay Her Own Rent in Los Angeles Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

Show Notes:

Life's unexpected twists and turns can take us to places we might never have imagined and our guest today, Tiffany Persons is such a wonderful example of riding this wave to a true calling. Her story exemplifies the idea of making a change in the world that starts with the self and this episode is all about her amazing journey to her current place as a powerful woman and change-maker. She talks to us about the nature of liberation and how it all starts on an individual level; the freedom we want for others ultimately is tied to our own! Tiffany was born in Detroit and has since spread her wings, moving to Los Angeles and subsequently working in Sierra Leone! She has traversed different industries but found her passion in helping those less fortunate than herself, building schools and investing in local businesses in her newly adopted home!

Click here for full transcript and show notes.

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3: Ben Nemtin’s Battle with Depression Led to a Broken-Down Van, a Camera, and a Bucket List of 100 Impossible Things Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

Impact can occur in mysterious ways and we never really know the full, far-reaching nature of actions. Ben Nemtin, one of the creators of the wonderfully inspiring MTV show The Buried Life, has lived a life that shows just how much we can affect change through following our own passions and purpose. He joins us on the show today to share his journey, with all the ups, downs, and surprises along the way. We start out in his early years, his athletic aspirations, and the subsequent struggles he had with depression and anxiety. The way out of these low points came through lucky encounters and open-heartedness, something that Ben sees clearly now in retrospect.
Click here for full transcript and show notes.

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2: Emma Mainoo’s Darkest Moments Lead Her to Help Others Cope With Anxiety and Suicidal Thoughts Using Her Platform, Surviving Sundays Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

Surviving Sundays is a platform for storytelling, self-love, hope, and survival. The stories aim to normalize the conversation around mental health and to add solace to the lives of those living through difficult times, through community and support. Our guest on today's show is the founder of Surviving Sundays, Emma Mainoo. We hear from Emma about her personal journey, struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, and the things that lifted her out of the darkness and continue to help her in her life today.

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1: Leon Logothetis Wondered What Would Happen if He Traveled Around the Globe on the Kindness of Strangers, and Created The Kindness Diaries Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

Going out into the unknown and meeting people can seem daunting to many of us and it was something quite foreign to Leon Logothetis too, that is until he decided to quit his job and undertake a whole new phase of his life relying on the kindness of strangers. Leon is the man behind The Kindness Diaries and the author of a number of books, detailing his unusual travels around the world and how magical the world can be when we go out and interact with it. His story shows us just how important it is to see the people in your life, those close to you as well as the strangers who cross your path. In our conversation, we also get to hear about some vulnerable parts of a person's inner life, parts that are not often given attention.
Click here for full transcript and show notes.

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