Explore every episode of the podcast The Action Field

What is the true nature of the shadow? And how can we make it an asset rather than our adversary?

"You either love 'em or hate 'em!" So it goes with Collingwood. Tune-in and find out why

Allure: Tempt, Entice; Fascinate or Charm...

Let's dive into the magic of Mary Oliver and her poem, I Wake Close to Morning

"...apply defensive pressure with full effort and the footy Gods will reward you with the ball in your hands"

A ten minute hit on the possibilities that present themselves, often at the hardest of times

Carl Jung said of his Red Book period, it was the most important time of his life. Take a listen as I discuss the inner images which burst forth from his unconscious and threatened to break him but ultimately made him the Carl Jung we know of today.

A ten minute insight to how I coach footballers on decision-making and how the rest of us can potentially apply this method to counteract the fear & timidity that weakens our resolve when faced with making a decision.

Yep, it's been a while. And here at BEST MIND we are stoked to be back with an all new edition of The Action Field.

In todays episode we bid farewell to our weekly wisdom newsletter, The 1%er Series.

We racked up 100 (plus three) editions of our newsletter in just under two years and today we revisit a few of my favourites from over the journey.

We aim to keep The Action Field short and sweet henceforth so saddle up for 25 minutes of poetry, wisdom and a few short stories of my own as we say goodbye to The 1%er Series.

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Welcome to Season 2 of The Action Field. Let's set it right off and bring a little bit of love into what will hopefully soon be a post-pandemic 2022.

We hear first from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and expand on the following: "The fortunate one uses the instrument of deep meditation, and probes deep into his heart. Then the waves of love gain the depth of the ocean, and the ocean of love fills the heart and thrills every particle of being."

The great Carl Jung is the focus of segment two: "In my medical experience as well as in my own life I have again and again been faced with the mystery of love and have never been able to explain what it is." Tune in and hear how damn fine a job he does of explaining the range of such a mystery.

We wrap it up with Joseph Campbell and his insight to the birth of romantic love in the West circa twelfth century Provence, France: "The troubadours were very much interested in the psychology of love. And they're the first ones in the West who really thought of love the way we do now - as a person-to-person relationship."

Donnie Darko also makes a cameo with a quick scene exploring the inadequacy of 'love' when it come to explaining righteous motivation for action. A couple of tunes from Melbourne-based producer Super Cool set the mood as we go deep into love for an hour of goodness.

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We’re squeezing in one more episode to season one of The Action Field. And boy, it’s a good one! When Carl Jung was approached in regards to an autobiography he initially said, “That sort of thing lies entirely outside my range.” The publishers, however, were smart enough to persist and to team him up with Aniela Jaffe (co-writer) who sat with Jung for one afternoon per week from 1957 to 1959. At this point Jung was past his 80th year and though it placed great strain on him to write, he began to sense an important connection between his earliest memories and the ideas in the works he’d written in old age. “A book of mine is always a matter of fate”, said Jung. As such, he only began to commit to his ‘autobiography’ once he felt it to be “a task imposed on him from within.” His Memories, Dreams, Reflections follow in the same fashion; a recollection of “inner” experiences. “Only what is interior has proved to have substance…” said Jung. “Outer experiences were never so essential anyhow, or were so only in that they coincided with phases of my inner-development.” Hope you enjoy our one hour trip into the psyche of Carl Jung. His Memories, Dreams, Reflections is undoubtedly one of the greatest works I’ve read (even though Jung himself refused to allow this book to be included in his collected works!).

Best Mind

We made it to ten episodes. Stoked! And we’ve got 55mins of pure heat in todays edition of The Action Field. In the first segment we take a look at the world according to devoted artist/poet Joshua Yeldham via his beautiful book ‘Surrender - A journal for my daughter’. In segment two we focus on Paul Roos - AFL premiership coach and champion footballer of a measly 356 games. Yep, dude’s got cred! - and his ultra-insightful piece ‘Here It Is’. And we round it out with a look into my own history with meditation (both Roos and Yeldham appear to be dedicated meditators themselves) and why it is that I choose to do this thing called BEST MIND; an insight to my own inspiration if you will. Well, this whole podcast is an insight to what inspires BEST MIND, but today we zoom in a little closer. As is the way, there’s a sonic interlude or two; space to digest the big ideas, or a time to simply bliss out on sound. So grab your iPod (yes, I still use an iPod… and a cassette walkman too in fact) and take a slightly longer walk than usual as we go deep in celebration of reaching episode 10 of The Action Field.

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The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell & Bill Moyers has been a game changer here at Best Mind. In this week’s episode we look at a few of the big ideas from The Power of Myth and relate them to this very today, to this very moment. We also hear the words of master poet Mary Oliver, and the timeless wisdom of Anaïs Nin. There’s music as usual, there to set the mood and to give you a little thinking time. And in a first for The Action Field we hear words set to a sonic palette in the way of Chief Seattle and a letter he’d composed to the United States government in response to a request made to buy tribal lands in the mid-nineteenth century. Perhaps our favourite episode thus far so be sure to check it.

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I’m a huge fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s timeless essay ‘Self-Reliance’. In this week’s episode we look at some of it’s key idea’s and relate one idea in particular to the famous one-word lecture of Guru Dev, teacher of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (famed for introducing Transcendental Meditation to the West). We also look at the practice of daily rituals and the sense of agency they imbue us with. The Meditation and High Performance Mind Coaching offers at BEST MIND also get a brief mention as does virtue, of course, as it wouldn’t be The Action Field without it! Musically, Easy Dada sets the mood with two pieces from 2020’s album I Sell Them Dream. Enjoy

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This week we look at what it takes to hit the sweet spot between deficiency and excess: Virtue. We'll hear from Aristotle and his Virtuous Mean, plus further advice on which side it is better to err towards: excess or deficiency? Pope Francis makes a brief appearance with some timeless wisdom on the importance of humility (when it comes to holding a position of power). We'll also cop some insight on leadership courtesy of Neil Craig, former Adelaide Crows coach and current advisor to Eddie Jones, coach of England's Rugby Union team. It's powerful and concise, coming in at a mere 31mins. So grab your headphones, take a walk and enjoy x

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In today's episode we take a look at 'How to be an artist' according to Henri Matisse, Lesson 2 of which is 'Make up your own rules'. We also hear from Ralph Waldo Emerson and his timeless essay 'Self Reliance'. And we round it out with a quick story on how Malcolm Blight came to realise his number one principle as an AFL coach: "It's my way or no way." Arthur Russell sets the mood musically with a couple of beautiful pieces from his 1985 wonder 'World of Echo'. And all in a mere 33 minutes. With love, BEST MIND x

Robert Greene's '48 Laws of Power' has been touted as everything from amoral to contradictory and is - according to Wikipedia - popular among celebrities, athletes and prison inmates alike. In this episode we take a close look at Law 34 'Be Royal In Your Own Fashion' and the awareness it can bring us relative to power games or at the very least, it's ability to entertain us. Yep, Greene tells a damn fine historical tale! We'll also hear from Shakespeare, Aurelius and The Buddha along with a fitting tune from Serge Gainsbourg and the divine harmonies of D'Angelo. Hope you enjoy x

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In the Grand Final edition of The Action Field we take a deep dive into the coaching heritage of Simon Goodwin, head of the Melbourne Football Club. We'll go all the way back to the early 20th century and uncover the original nickname of Melbourne F.C. and how they came to be known as the Demons courtesy of the legendary - but oft forgotten - Checker Hughes. We also hear from the Cocteau Twins with the beautiful melancholia of Heaven or Las Vegas. Loads of goodness in this edition so tune in, kick back and enjoy. For more head to bestmind.com.au x

This week we hit the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix with Ayrton Senna. We'll take a few sound bites from the incredible Senna documentary and hear straight from the man himself. My Bloody Valentine make an appearance with their devastatingly good LP 'Loveless'. We'll also hear sounds from Senna's native Brazil, the likes of Lula Cortes & Ze Ramalho as well as Flaviola. The wisdom of The Bhagavad Gita will return and the Eastern mythology of Hazrat Inayat Khan will also make a brief appearance. A feature-packed edition for sure! Head to BEST MIND website for further insight to our High Performance Coaching and Meditation offers. Enjoy x

We hit the big guns straight up and dive right in with Marcus Aurelius. We take a look at books 1 & 3 from Meditations and how his powerful wisdom can be applied to this very day.

We also hear from Joseph Campbell and his thoughts on the unavoidable nature of suffering and how we must say YES to it all in order flourish in this one precious life.

French producer DK sets the mood with a couple of beautiful tracks from his 'Live at the Edge' EP which you can find on vinyl here.

And all this in less than 36mins

Hope you enjoy x

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