DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 57 From Opera to Awakening: Jim Alstott's Journey of Spiritual Discovery

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It's just one scoop in my morning drink and then that's it. I'm done. And no weird taste. No, no, it's completely neutral. Sold already. And it's not just about skin and hair. Collagen supports exercise recovery, energy and joints, which makes it a priority for me. It's clinically backed, which I always look for. And what sets Ancient and Brave apart isn't just their award-winning products. It's their commitment to sustainability. They're a B-Corp and proud members of 1% for the planet, meaning that 1% of all their sales goes directly to environmental causes that protect our planet. So every purchase gives back to. That's a big tick. To get 20% off your first three subscription orders, a free Ritual Scoop and an additional £5 off your first order, go to ancientandbrave.earth.planet and use our code DIGIT5 at checkouts. That's ancientandbrave.earth.planet and code DIGIT5. Welcome to the Drop the Needle podcast, your backstage pass to the mystical realm. I'm your host, Jim Allstot, and here, Gifted Souls step up to the mic sharing their spiritual journey. We're hitting the high notes and the low notes of their awakening, creating a symphony of enlightenment. This isn't just another interview show. This is where divine insights are channeled and universal truths are revealed. So crank up your stereo and sit back, because who knows, this just might help you compose the next transformative chapter of your soul's purpose. Are you ready? Let's go. Hi everyone and welcome back. This is the Drop the Needle podcast, and I'm Jim Allstot, your host. Well, guess what? Today is going to be a little bit different than the norm. I'm not going to be your host today. Even though I just said that, I'm not going to be your host today. We have a special guest that will be our host today, and it is Mr. Nate Scripture. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to give the controls over to Nate right now. So welcome, Nate. Hi, Jim. How are you doing? I'm doing great. I'm excited for today because I feel like you've told, helped other people tell their stories. And finally, we get to kind of flip the script and now you're in the crosshairs, you're in the chair. Great. And I get to... Hey, back's a bitch. I get to poke you and find out what's going on in your life and today's topic being about spiritual awakenings and your new book coming out about spiritual awakenings. And so there's a lot to talk about. I'm really excited about this topic, but maybe before we begin and dive in, maybe you can just... I think your audience probably knows you fairly well, but I don't know if you've ever really told your story about how you grew up, where you grew up, what you do to earn a living, those types of... A living. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. Well, I was born a poor, but honest dirt farmer. No, starting off with the jerk reference there. Yeah, right, I know it. I was a poor, but honest dirt farmer. No, I grew up in a little town called Plainfield, Plainfield, Illinois, and when I grew up there, if anybody's around this area, they'll know Plainfield as it is today, which is a pretty sizable southwest suburb of Chicago. But when I grew up, there was about 2,000 people, plus or minus in that town. And actually in the downtown area, there was about 1,100, 1,200 people, so very small. And it was a farming community. And I would say, I say was because a lot of the farmland has been sold off to developers and everything over the years. And Plainfield, for those old enough, would know that it was hit by a devastating tornado in 1991. It was the only F5 tornado recorded at that time that went through Plainfield and just utterly destroyed us. So I grew up there, small town, where everybody knew everyone. This was back in the day when you didn't have to worry about locking your doors or anything like that. Times have changed, you know? But I was an only child, and the house that I grew up in was actually built by my dad and my grandfather and my dad's brothers and lived there until it was time to go off to school, which I went to Illinois State University and then transferred to DePaul University, where I studied music, I studied vocal performance, specifically opera. I sang opera for a while. Wow, that's incredible. So you actually have a great voice for podcasts. Thank you. Have a face for radio, I would say. Face for radio, you do have that. Yeah. No, but you know what? 22 is also, just before we dive forward in that, I was thinking about how crazy is it that our ancestors, even our parents and grandparents used to build their own homes. My grandfather did as well. That was what we used to do. My family grew up on a tree farm, and they built their own home there. So it's kind of funny that you have that sort of history. Similar roots. Yeah, yeah. But the opera thing is really amazing. Where did that go? Where did that lead you? Well, so interestingly enough, when I was at Illinois State University, my voice teacher said, well, first of all, it started by him asking me if I'd ever considered singing opera. And I said, no, I would be happy just singing at a bar singing Billy Joel music. And he said, but I wanted you to be a favor. Why don't you sing this song? I was like, okay. And he goes, well, that was really quite good. And I was like, well, okay, sure. So it progressed. And he said to me one after one of my lessons, he just said, you know, I really think you need to transfer out of here and go to Chicago. And I said, why is that? And he said, you have a voice, you have a presence, and I think you can do something with it, and you won't do anything with it here. You need to go. At first I thought he was kidding. And then he was, I found out rather quickly, he was serious. So he actually helped me do some research. And I went to DePaul University auditioned. And from there, I was, you know, you always hear people say right place, right time. And I think that I was certainly a product of that, where we had a fledgling opera program, even though the opera program had been in existence for some time. It wasn't until a gentleman by the name of Harry Silverstein came in and really revamped the entire program. And we came in and we did full scale opera. So the first opera I ever did was the marriage of Figaro and where I was the count. And that's where it started. And we performed the marriage of Figaro at the Blackstone Theater, which is now the Merle Ruskin Theater, but right on Balbo in downtown Chicago. Nice, beautiful, classic theater. And it took off from there. I started to audition, saying in Chautauqua, New York, Boulder, boy, where else in Florida, Gulf Coast Opera, and Greater Miami, and so on, so on, so on. So yeah. And it was, it started to, here's the thing. Here's the thing about a blossoming career in opera. You don't make any money. You just, you just don't make any money. And you do it for the love of what you're doing. And that, that was a lesson for me because it was hard to be called a professional because when you consider the word professional, there's an assumption that you get paid for things. And there was a lot of grotesque work in that for quite a while until I started to get paid. And even then it wasn't great, but it was a wonderful experience. I met so many fantastic people that I'm still friends with today. And yeah. We can come back to this because I know how influential music has been in your life, obviously as an opera singer, but also beyond. And, and of course, I know your show incorporates music into it. And also your book, I think, can we circle back to the book? Actually, is that? Yeah. Yeah. Can you show us the book? Because I understand it. The title is, Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening? Or was it Company 98? It's a little bit out of focus there, but it looks, it looks cool. Maybe pull it back a little bit. They were getting a little clearer shot. So did I just have a spiritual awakening, awakening, or was it something I ate? Yes. I love that photo. That's a photo of you on there. Yes. Yeah. And how did that come to fruition? Well, so the title itself, did I just have a spiritual awakening or was it something I ate? It could have easily been was it something I ate or was it something I drank? Right? I don't know about you, but if you've ever been so sick before that you're, you start praying, please God, I'll never do this again. I'll clean up my, you know, change my ways. One of those things. And it was, it was kind of like that. And that's where I kind of equated the, the whole spiritual awakening piece too. Because when you have an unraveling, whether it be intestinal or gastrointestinal or otherwise, there's a year, you're reaching for some lifelines at times. And that's really what sparked this. And, you know, humor's, I would say that humor is a coping mechanism for me for sure. But it's been a friend for a long time. I just, I love to laugh. So I figure, you know, here's the other thing. That theme runs through your book, by the way, like, you know, I, when I run, wow, but the humor is so, it's great, but it's kind of a dark humor, but I enjoy it, you know. Thank you. And it's a natural part of who you are. It really is. And that's the thing about it as far as the humor's concerned. Okay. So what I was going to say in Nate, you're much more educated, especially in this area than I am. So I can, what I've seen is that a lot of people that write books and I have published books and things of that nature in the spiritual community have this very stoic, very serious, lofty, you know, type of vocabulary. That you have to Google that shit after you're reading something. You go, well, what the hell does that mean? What the hell does that mean? And I'd like to say, one of our mutual friends, Gail Alexander, I said, well, you know what, I guess I could have called it spiritual awakening for dummies. And she goes, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don't dilute that. That is, that is not the truth. And she said, you're not dumb. And yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm happy with her on that. I'm glad you didn't go with that title. I like the one you picked. Yeah, yeah. You know, I think humor is also levity and humility. It's a couple of different things, you know what I mean? And, you know, in spiritual circles, you know, we get so serious and caught up with every nuance detail. And sometimes you just have to laugh at it, right? You're just like, no. Yeah. Yeah. Not to mention the frequency itself, you know, joy, laughter is a much higher vibrational frequency. To resonate at. So you, you came up with this title and, you know, what, what compelled you to write the book? Was it something you felt was divine to you? What was calling you towards it? So that's, that's a great question. And it's one that my wife had asked me repeatedly. And I, I'll be honest with you. I still don't have the answer to that question. All I can, can say is, and what I told her obviously too, was that I just felt compelled to do this almost led and pushed to the point where it was just like, wouldn't stop rolling or rattling around in my head until I started. And then when I started, it was just like, okay, there, go and just go. That was really it. And then as I went along, it became very therapeutic for me too. Because the one thing I can say about this book, which makes me a little nervous and I won't lie about it is that I'm pretty vulnerable in this. I don't hold back anything. I'm fully exposed in a lot of different facets of life that are pretty uncomfortable at times, I guess. I thought it was brave. And I like that you did that. I think you were authentic about that. And, you know, what are you going to do? I think, I think that's a wonderful thing. I think that's why that book is great. And, you know, we call it a book, but I, the way, the way I read it, and, you know, I've had some involvement in it with you. The way I've seen it, it's more like a guide or a manual instruction manual for a wait. I think we should talk about that. But before we maybe dive into that side of it, maybe just on a very basic level for your audience. And I'm sure most of them are fairly tapped in. But how do you, how do you define an awakening? Because I think, you know, that is a relevant component, right? What are we really talking about? Now, here's the thing I can say that each person's awakening is unique and specific to them, right? It happens in different times. It shows up in different ways. And those incidences that occur happen that are unique to them. However, most people start at the awakening stage, which is really when it just, you're at a point where it can't get any worse than this type of thing, you know, when just when you think the worst thing happened to you, there's another thing right behind it. But here's the thing. But does it always have to be bad because I think, you know, it doesn't know. And that's what makes it unique. It could be something that is, oh gosh, it could. Well, let's, well, do you call it near death experience bad? I would probably not feel that yet. It's got to be a component. Yeah. Well, yeah, if you go the other way, yeah, it's definitely bad. No, but I hear what you're saying about it doesn't always have to be bad. And I don't think, I don't think that it does, but there is something that is life changing in that moment, whether that be like this epiphany that something is, there's more to this than I have come to realize up until now is really, and for me, it was really, I'm sure it wasn't unique in a lot of respects. Maybe the location was because, as you know, my awakening didn't happen on a mountaintop in Nepal or, you know, in the Himalayas or anything like that. Mine happened on the beach in Marco Island, Florida, and it was at a very low point in my life as far as, you know, emotionally, spiritually, you got, if you've got all of the major boxes in your life, mine were all checked in the, in shambles type of stage. And for me, and this, this is a very serious thing, but this is where I was contemplating suicide as my way out. Right. And, and I'm going to tell you right now, anybody out there, do you know, I don't take it lightly. And if anybody knows anybody like that, do not take it lightly. It's serious business and treated as such. And mine was and yeah, it was, that that is the nature of the awakening. It's turbulent, right? It's shaking. It kicks you, you know, you're off kilter, you're not really sure what is happening. You're trying to, to me, in my perspective, you know, you're starting to see the, the veil or whatever world you've been in is not really that world in a way, you know, I know it can be different things for different people. It's almost like you can, you can pierce through into a different reality in a way and start to see things around you, people around you, right? All of that. And differently that comes out really beautifully in your book. Well, thank you. And yeah, so I'm, I'm grateful that you wrote that book. I think it's going to be very helpful for a lot of people, even people who've been on the path for a long time or just people coming in. I think, I think you're really going to be able to help guide them. I hope so. I hope so. And, and I even mentioned in the book at some point, I think it was very early on that I wish there was something like this when I started, right? You know, because I think also one of the things that at least I experienced was I felt very alone in what I was dealing with, you know, is like, what the hell is going on and why is this happening to me and why is it happening now? Right, right, right, right. So many questions. And that's one of the other things that came out of this and it's still there, by the way. I don't know that anybody, here's the thing. Even though you can go through in Dolores Cannon, God rest her soul was one person that came up with 12 stages and that happened to be what I used for the outline of the book. Was her 12 stages of awakening. Now, which I thought was great, by the way, that you, Oh, thank you. you use that format to write your book to kind of follow. I mean, it's not like we're following every step, right? Because as you know, admit they don't necessarily happen in order for everybody in the same way, right? They really, they really don't. At least, at least that's what I have researched and found out and what I've experienced. But the whole thing is you could go through all 12 of those stages and go back again to number four, number five, number seven, number, you know, whatever. It's whatever you're needing a little bit more of that you start to gravitate toward or you get pulled to. So it's really interesting that there's not like, aha, I've reached the mountaintop. It's all done. It's not all done. Yeah, no, doesn't seem that way. You know, it's not like Nirvana and then it's like, we're done. It's like, okay, wow, I really need to integrate this better. I learned a new thing, you know, it's kind of going back and like tweaking experience. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. And how did you know that you were actually having an awakening, right? Because, you know, like you said, you're very alone and you're really alone. And, you know, are you having a midlife crisis or is it a crisis of consciousness? What is happening? How did you know? Truth be told, I didn't for a long time. All I kept doing was holding on, you know, I just kept holding on and holding on to whatever this new reality was, you know, the new reality. It wasn't like I was transported someplace, but what I was doing, I was able to look at things a little differently than the status quo or which, you know, we've always done it that way type of thing. And I started to question, but the answer to your question is I didn't know probably until maybe two or three years ago that that's exactly what had happened. Right. Because I, well, let's put it this way. My circle, my social circle consisted of business professionals, families that I was involved with from a coaching perspective, you know, that that sort of thing in my friends that were, you know, from college or neighbors or what have you. And one of them were outwardly saying, Hey, I had a spiritual awakening. Right. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't like that. So I didn't, I didn't know until one day it was, I was listening to books on tape, which is one of my favorite things to do, especially as I'm cutting grass. I heard a book written by Jennifer Weigel and, you know, long and short of it is I saw Jen out, got in touch with her, became friends and joined her spiritual social club. And that's really when I found out I was just like, Oh, when somebody said, Oh, yeah, you had that you had your awakening. And it was like, what? What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Right. And I was just like, in my book, I refer to it as GTS Google that shit. So I Google that shit. What is, what does that mean? And I was like, Holy shit, it's got a name, you know. And that's really when I found out. Yeah. Yeah, that is amazing too. I don't know if I knew either when I, when I had mine. I think I knew within six months, but I was Googling. You're much smarter than I am. I was Googling stuff. I'm like, is my mind broken? What has happened to me? Oh, yeah. But I did, you know, one of the things for me, you know, I happened to be developing TV shows around mediums and psychics and stuff like that. Yeah. I had some people already like in my kind of arena that I could like talk to about this stuff. So that helped me along. And I think, I think this is something valuable in your book now. And maybe we should say gear because you talk about the importance of having, you know, kind of spiritual guides, people who can, you know, all the different things that are that keep you from killing yourself. You know what I mean? Those people who are there to anchor you and give you a little clue into what's going on. And I know you, you mentioned a lot of really great people in your book. How vital were those people ultimately for you? And oh my goodness. Well, I can say without a doubt, I think that's what I'm talking about. Without hesitation that Kelly Shweigel was a huge part in all of this for me. She was my first spiritual mentor. She was the person who introduced, well, she wasn't the person who introduced meditation to me. My friend Barb introduced meditation to me, but they were Kelly's meditations. So I got introduced to Kelly. We had some conversations and everything just took off. And it was, here's the other thing too. This was at the time of the pandemic, right around that time, because my spiritual awakening took place on December 3, 2019. So I do know from a lot of the conversations I've had with people in the interviews and in the different circles and things of that nature, that that was, that 2019, 2020 timeframe was a real serious time for a lot of people in having awakening. So I wasn't alone. Can I share something real quick with you? Well, please. Please. On 2019, sorry, the last day of the year, 2019, I painted this same day that you said you had your awakening. Oh my goodness. I literally painted this phoenix rising from the flames because I had asked spirit. I said, what does this here have in store for me? Well, little tonight. Oh, and you know, this is my painting for my, you know, sort of a version of my awakening. But the funny thing that you're talking about it and I'm going, wow, that really, that's really a thing. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's very cool. Yeah. Well, I think you showed me that before, which I thought I liked that. I hadn't seen it in a while though. I liked that. I think you mentioned that date and I go, that, that, that just boom, because literally on New Year's Eve, I painted it and I was like, all right. But I think you're right. Like a lot of people came online and we were all like, you know, a lot of people. What's going on? What's happening? What the hell is this? And more people now, right? More and more. Yeah. And so it's interesting. I had a guest on and actually she's, I recorded the show with her. Her name's Michelle Blood. And she is of the mind that it's not really much different than it's always been. What is different than it's always been is our access to information. So when people are, let's say that they're in 2017, 2015, 2009, we're having these awakenings. You didn't have this instant access or people that were, what do you call those influencers? And Instagram, whoa, so-and-so had an awakening. Let's, let's check in, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't that you didn't have a TikTok channel for awakening. That's a really good point. I forget about that, but there wasn't that, you know. Yeah. Yeah. She was a great guest too, by the way. So everybody's going to be really excited to see her. Michelle. Yeah, Michelle Blood. Michelle Blood. Yeah. She was great. That being said, I think what I've been seeing more and more is at least an openness. I'm not going to say acceptance to it, but at least having the ability to open your mind enough to consider something like this is going on. I mean, for crying out loud, how many shows are there on different networks about spirits, about, you know, how many? There's dozens, right? Oh, yeah. So there's something about that where there's smoke, there's fire type of thing, you know. And I think that this year, I really truly believe is a pivotal year for so many people. And I think it's going to be a pivotal year as it relates to that understanding and acceptance and openness to something different. Not that everything else has been broken up until now, but if we're always in that continuous improvement model or mode, well, this is a continuous improvement process or method for sure. Right. And how to treat people, how to act around people, how to be open and mindful and be present in all of those wonderful, wonderful things that just increase the happiness and joy in people's lives. So, I hope. Yeah. Yeah. It feels like we're going through that collectively. You know what I mean? You know, when the pandemic hit, we, you know, we all had a pause for a minute, right? And take stock of everything that happened, right? And maybe now with the wars that are happening, these are all sort of like to me when I see this stuff out here in this wider collective, I'm thinking, I hate to call them opportunities, but there are chances for people to really have more deeper self-reflection about, you know, the world at large. And I think it is causing people to have awakenings now in a different way than maybe when we were having ours, you know. Well, and I would say that opportunity is a wonderful way to phrase it because it is an opportunity for people to take, because you can either take advantage of that or not. I mean, the choice is really up to everyone else as it relates to, OK, should I just go along with societal convention or. Am I OK? Maybe questioning some things and maybe going on my own path for a little while and finding things out and the choices ultimately yours to make. Right. And you know, and you detail that really well in your book, which I'd actually like to bounce back to because one of the passages you wrote about was as a child. You already had some spiritual gifts growing up. Maybe you weren't aware of what that was, but maybe you can walk us through. Sure. You know what I'm talking about. Yeah, my great grandpa. Yeah. Yeah, my great grandpa. So my great grandfather. So I guess I can bring this back. I was about four years old. It was in April of 1970 that, you know, four years old, your regular bedtime is eight, eight, 30, maybe, you know, if you're a night owl. And. Regular routine. You know that my my mom and my dad and my grandmother and grandfather were at our house and it was time for bed. So upstairs and, you know, prayers, story, you know, hug, kiss, good night and out. And I was asleep and. All of a sudden. I got this. I don't know. There was a voice. It wasn't an external voice. It was a voice that was calling my name to the point it was over and over, very gentle voice. So I woke up. And so you met in this four year old me. Wearing the onesie pajamas that you zip up in the front with a little vinyl feet and everything. Right. It was really cool back then. Very comfortable. Your feet don't sweat and stink and those things. Yeah, right. Awful. But I was just drawn to my closet. Like, like there was something there and I could see a glow. In there and it was a. Like a yellowish green. It was. It was a soft glow. Almost like one of the if you're outside, you know, the yellowish bug light type of things out in the backyard type of deal or on the corner of a of a storage shed. So I. I see this light. I don't think anything of it. And I start creeping and creeping like little steps and. I pushed the slide the door because of the wooden doors that slide and I slide the door. And there set my great grandfather on my clothes hamper. And he had this greenish yellow glow about him. Dress like he normally did. He had his glasses on and he always wore a little sport coat and it could have been a short sleeve shirt underneath there and his trousers and he was just sitting there and he just gave me the little the little kid wave where you're you hold your palm still and you just wave your four fingers up and down. And so he gave me that and then he did that. My grandfather's my great grandfather's thing that he would do to always make me smile and it was our greeting. He pop his lips like. Like that. So he did that. There was no sound with that when he did that. And then he waved goodbye. Shortly after that. And then there was no talking. There was no anything other than that gesture. Wow. And so it didn't. For you. Frighten me out. Yeah. Four years old. It didn't. It wasn't scared. It was just like my grandfather. My great grandfather. Right. And so I closed the the the door. The the the closet door. Go hauling ass downstairs to talk to my mom. Say hey guess who was in my closet. Great grandpa was in there. And it was like stop that. You know the first response. Stop talking like that. And I got the stink guy probably from my dad and my grandfather and grandmother and up the stairs I went and. My mom gave me the old sign of the cross four kisses on the forehead and good night. Put me back and went back to sleep. And it's you know the funny thing about it. We never talked about it again. Ever. Which is so weird. Right. Like. Yeah. Ghost or I saw something. Yeah. But she thought I was making it up or I heard them talking. Right. Right. That was what she really thought. Right. Is that. I was like hanging out on the stairs and I heard them talking about my great grandfather who. By the way had gone into the hospital. Because he had some bladder or kidney issue and. Ended up passing away. My guess I think he had like bladder cancer or something like that. And he passed away that night actually before. I went downstairs. Oh so he had passed away and that night. Yeah that night. Wow. So you literally saw his spirit like. Right after. That's probably what freaked them out. You know what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. Well you know. Is is open as I am to all that stuff. You know I'd like to think that I wouldn't respond that way and I probably wouldn't now. But. But in a different era a different time to. Oh God yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That let me tell you something that was not tolerated that kind of crazy talk or. Fancy full you know. Stuff just didn't fly. Right. Yeah. At all. It's amazing that you. That you had that and. And. You know it's funny because when I was little I would see spirits in my room too. And they would be up in the corners of the ceiling I didn't really like them. I didn't know what they were but I knew they were they were not. You know they were not. There was something else I would. Pull my blanket over my head and kind of. Wait for them to go away and hopefully wake up the next morning and. You know that was enough for me and then I ended up at college at Gettysburg college where there were a lot of ghosts. And I started seeing more of that and I was like no no no and you know I was like I shut off the pipe I was like I do not. Do you do it so for you maybe. Do that do we do that naturally I think we do it naturally is I think fear a protective measure. Yes. Yeah. Especially if you don't have an adult or parental or you know familial group or support system that is familiar with that or open to that and can discuss that. But you know right you're going to cram it down there and not talk about it is what you're what you're going to do right. You have no but now all these kids coming online more and more and I think the parents are now way more open to to the. You know some medicaid their children but you know a lot of their kids are gifted and they just don't know how to interact with them. That's right. But thank God like now things are evolving a little bit where we don't have to shove it all down and make it unnatural. You know. Well that was the thing that was you know timely as far as our our friend and certainly you had the benefit of being mentored by her much longer than I did. But Pat Longo in her book and talking about those things specifically as it relates to anxieties and oftentimes children teens being misdiagnosed as being bipolar or schizophrenic when really they were just hypersensitive human beings. Yeah. That were picking up on these things and medicaid it you know good thing that their lobotomies weren't aren't going around these days. You can have a lobotomy and you can have a lobotomy. Yeah. That's right. To think. I know. Imagine being in those. Electroshark. Yeah. They did all that didn't they. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So screwy. But you know what. Okay. So back to the book. I'm just remembering. So your mother interesting that your mother takes you tux you back in the bed. Right. And kisses you goodnight. And hi it's Zoe and Joe from Digit. And right now our show is brought to you by ancient and brave. Zoe can I ask you are you somebody who sticks to a routine. Oh I try Joe. I really do. It's got to be easy. It's got to be kind of first thing in the morning or I just won't stick to it. 100% I'm exactly the same which is why I love ancient and braves while collagen. It's just one scoop in my morning drink and then that's it. I'm done. And no weird taste. No. No it's completely neutral. Sold already. And it's not just about skin and hair. Collagen supports exercise recovery, energy and joints which makes it a priority for me. It's clinically backed which I always look for and what sets ancient and brave apart isn't just their award winning products. It's their commitment to sustainability. There are B Corp and proud members of 1% for the planet meaning that 1% of all their sales goes directly to environmental causes that protect our planet. So every purchase gives back to that's a big tick to get 20% of your first three subscription orders, a free ritual scoop and an additional £5 off your first order. Go to ancientandbrave.earth slash planet and use our code digit5 at checkout. That's ancientandbrave.earth slash planet and code digit5. Indeed presents. Hires you can't afford to get wrong. Like a warehouse operations manager. Where are the forklifts? I sold them. They were too expensive. I got a great deal on these scooters though. You expect us to move a two-ton pallet on a scooter. It'll be fun. Just think of the core strength you'll build. This is a job for sponsored jobs. This is what happens when you don't sponsor your job on Indeed. So the next time you need someone to get the job done right, get matched with quality candidates with an Indeed sponsored job. Visit indeed.com slash next hire and sponsor your job today. Moves on and you never talk about it again. During the creation of your book, during writing your book, we sort of had some collective, or well you and I had some epiphanies about your mom. Certainly you did. And actually how this whole time she played a bigger role in your spiritual growth. And maybe you were even aware of it. Oh my God. Yeah. So I can set the stage a little bit for you on this that Nate helped me out with. Nate helped me out with the developmental edit of the book. And I have to say that, well, given Nate kind of glossed over his experience working for History Discovery Channel and all of the, being an executive producer in these, these markets really lend themselves very well to bookwriting. To his experience is like hand and glove. I appreciate that. I'm not a book writer. You're the book writer. Yeah, no, but you are extremely talented and you, you understand flow. And so what had happened is Nate was asking me, he's like, you know, generally speaking, this is supposed to be something that is hereditary or somebody in the family has some of these gifts. And are you sure nobody in your family is like, no, no, nobody in your mom? Nothing. No, no, no. And he's just like, wow, that's weird. And he just kept poking at that with my mom. And I was like, really, there's nothing at all. And he goes, you mean to tell me that you never had any, you played any games or anything like that that were. I said like a Ouija board. No, not a Ouija board, like some sort of games. I was like, yeah, we played some game where you pick a number between one and 10. And he goes, tell me about that. Right. And then it was, it was a nothing. So I was growing up, I had severe allergies. I mean, like severe, severe that I had to get allergy shots like three to four times a week for a period of time, like a couple of years. And then it slowly weans down. But and that went on from, I don't know, like six or seven years old to the time I was in eighth grade. It was like my birthday. So it would have been in February of 1980 that this this happened. So years of allergy shots. Well, what had happened is we used to play all the standard games, right? The tic-tac-toe, the hangman, you know, see how many ceiling tiles had water stains on them, different stuff like that and count them. And then one day my mom says, I've got a new game. I'm thinking of a number between one and 10. What's that number? And I guess and she said, that's right. And see, it wasn't me just guessing and my mom being kind. My mom would go with her. My mom, my mom was a nurse. So she always had a pen and paper with her, one of those little note pads. So she would take out her pen and she say, I'm thinking of a number between one and 10. What's that number? She'd write it down. She'd think about it for a couple of seconds, close her eyes and repeat the number in her mind. Seven and she go, did she hold up the note pad? Yep, seven. Okay, I'm thinking of a number between one and 10. Three. Three. And sometimes, you know, full disclosure, I wasn't right all the time. But I'm going to tell you right now, I was right a lot more than I was wrong. So she started to expand it to, you know, between one and 20, one and 50, one and 100, one and a thousand. I don't even know if one of the thousands, true or not, but I'm just teasing. But it was a lot, right? And then what she did, we started doing words. I'm thinking of a color. I'm thinking of a clothing article. I'm thinking of a, and then it went to sentences. Like short sentences. Wow. Thinking of an ostrich wearing a ski hat, you know, something like that. And so we did that. And thanks to Nate, it was, so he's like, Hey, that's telepathy. And I was like, son of a bitch. He was right. And I think I even put in the book, it wasn't until recently that I realized that my mom and I shared these things. And I said, embarrassingly so, because it wasn't until we were doing the edit. That that came out and it was just like, Holy cow. So my mom, yeah, my mom was, was gifted in that way. She was already doing psychic development with her child, which is awesome. What an amazing thing. And she was quiet about it. She never really said much about that, but there was more layers to that because we started to peel that onion and we got to your, your mom would, would go to mediums, right? And, and. Yes. Yeah, she did. She, she had gone to a few of them and the one of the sections in the book, the chain smoking, coffee psychic. Yeah. Yeah. She, that was, and that was a legit story that was not made up. That was, that was not BS that my, my buddy Nune and I went to see this chain smoking psychic in Morris, Illinois. And he, and Nate thought that I was teasing because he had asked me, he's like, you know, it would be really great if we could get Nune's commentary on this. And I forgot what he said, but I quoted it in the, in the book and essentially he said, tell your editor to f off and shut up. Leave me alone. Exactly. I'm not going to talk about it. Yeah. Yeah. Something like that. Cause I forwarded the, the text messages to Nate and it was just like, oh, this is what he said. So probably because it was pretty accurate. He doesn't want to be. The medium was legit. Yeah. Yeah. She, she really was. So that was a, that's another thing that one of the blessings that I've had in all of this and, you know, doing the podcast and, and everything else has really been the people that I get to meet. And some I become friends with like yourself and some I, I maintain contact with them. We're friendly, you know, and, and it's really been nice from the standpoint that in not seeing anything, nothing against the, the three AM mediums that you see on the, the commercials on TV. I'm sure some of them are probably okay. But what I've been blessed by and with is seeing what somebody that is truly in their, working in their gifts to help people, what that looks like, right? And what that feels like. And it doesn't feel bad. It doesn't feel negative. It isn't like, because you can tell when somebody's fishing for information to take advantage of a situation. And again, the people that I've been fortunate enough to, to become friends with and get to be introduced to are just incredible, incredible, incredible people and so talented that I feel blessed really. It is amazing. And it's amazing to think that you come out of an awakening experience and, and potentially you end up being a practitioner or somebody who can actually help people because of your newfound spiritual knowledge and your gifts. So it's great to, you know, there are silver linings and everything, but coming out of that and then being able to, to help others is really a huge part. You mentioned it in the book, which, which I love. It's that stage of the awakening where you finally go, aha. You know, I want to help people, you know, I want to help people get to the next level. And I know you've taken courses that you mentioned. You told me you're a certified Reiki master as well. Yes. Reiki and Chios was a recent as well, which is an auric energy healing. And I will say this full disclosure that even though I have a master certification in Reiki and am able to teach people, I don't, I don't. That wasn't really why I decided I would take the courses. I had a natural curiosity about it. I wanted to find out what this Reiki thing was because Reiki was a new word to me, not to mention healing practice. And there were really only two people who benefited. I shouldn't even say two people. There was one person and a dog that benefited from my perforate education and training and practice. And it was, it was really neat to see that, especially with my middle son, when I did that the first time he had a shoulder injury, he actually tore his labrum. And it was when he was a junior in high schools, first, first football game towards labrum played the entire season, tough as nails, tough as nails. But when he was doing stretches and things like that, we were out in the garage. I have a gym in my, my garage. It's really not a garage. It's a man cave, as I'm told. But as he was sitting on the bench, he was saying, gosh, dad, my, my, my shoulder's really hurting today. And I took that opportunity. I said, okay, do me a, do me a favor, go ahead and lay down on the bench and just relax. And so he did. And I started to, to work with the, with Reiki and the energy around his shoulder. And he goes, that's hot. What did you put on me? And I said, nothing. And he goes, dad, that's hot. Wow. And I said, Hey, bud, I'm not, I'm not touching you. Just relax. He goes, okay, okay. He goes, okay, that's better now. That's better. Thanks for taking it off. Right. That's what, that's crazy, right? When you're like, I can't explain that. No. And I swear, I, I, I didn't even touch him. Right. And he was like, that's hot. My dog. Holy shit. She freaked out the very first time because she was expecting like a belly rub and she had, she had bad knees. She had two torn ACLs and it was hard for her and she was painful, you know, in pain and just getting up and walking around was painful for her. So I thought, you know what I'm going to do, I'm going to try it. So I did. And she was laying down, had the one on her left side had her right leg up and I was around her, the ACL and her right rear leg and just hands over it and just focusing in on it. And the next thing I know, she jerks her head around from laying flat on the ground and has a startled expression on her face and took off. And it was just like, I didn't even touch her. I don't know what the hell just happened. I didn't touch her. And then she came back and it wasn't that day. Mind you, it was the next day. And she came by me, leaned up against my leg, slid down my leg, rolled over and wanted it again. And see, it was really cool. And the thing that I even write about it in the book is because dogs can't fake that. You know, they're not going to be like, he's really fixing me now. You know, they can't do that. And the fact that she came back for more. And it wasn't me. I wasn't touching her. I wasn't doing any of those things. And she did that for a while. And it was, it was really cool. That's amazing. And I think that, you know, Reiki is a, it's a great tool to learn about energy, how to work with energy. And certainly I think when I went up during my earlier stages, I got into Reiki. I did a couple of classes and I had some really profound things. Like it opened up my third eye and I started to kind of see other stuff. But I noticed after that, like my hands would get really hot if I started to do any type of work, whether it was on a pet or a family member or even our dear friend Pat Longo. When I go see her, if I gave her a hug and she would go, oh my God, your hands are burning up because she knew we were going to do like healing energy work. She'd say, oh my God, your hands are like burning up. I'm like, I don't know. They just feel normal to me, I guess, but you know, to others that really did feel that. So yeah, even if you don't end up using Reiki and some sort of professional capacity, it's great to have it. I think as something you can just share with others at any given moment, even yourself because self Reiki is a good way to regulate your energy. And that's something that I don't do quite honestly. But you know what? And again, I really, truly didn't have any desire to do anything with it other than to learn about it. Right. It was just a curiosity. And maybe I'm drawn to the Asian culture and the mysticism and gifts that come from that culture. And I'm not just talking about Japanese, Asian is also Indian and so on and so forth. So it's really kind of, it's interesting to me. Yeah. And all those things have been so helpful for many centuries and then used. But yeah, in your book, you do write a lot about working with different energy healers and how you're still close with them. And I think that will be beneficial to your audience members who are going through things and they need help in certain areas. I think the people you mentioned are really wonderful people. And I'm trying to think of anything in the book that we've missed. I don't want to, I mean, I know we've got your mom, but I was thinking about the format of the book itself because the way that you have it beyond the Dolores Canon, you know, as sort of the foundation for the stages, you also have a lot of musical influence in there. Like every great, like every chapter, every section starts with a musical quotation or or lyrics, right? The lyrics. Yeah. And so what it really does is, and I understand why there's copyright rules that you have to follow that you can't list the lyrics of the songs. But what I've done is essentially given the title of the song, the synopsis of what it meant to me in a particular line, a lyrical line, as a matter of fact, it's usually that rather than the entire song, because who cares about my interpretation of what that song means to me? Yeah. And I see the thing that I say in the podcast often is I believe that music is the tie that binds us all together. And I do believe that. And the interesting thing about that, it goes a step further in that the music that ties us together is the tie that binds us together here. But I think on the other side too, there's a lot of discussions, articles, and even experiments that are drawn utilizing those frequencies in some of the meters for the, what is it, EVPs, electro voice phenomenon, they use frequency in that to pick up voices. They use music, spirit and guides and otherwise use music quite often to communicate. And it could be through electronics. It could be just a song hits you differently in a particular day. And that did it for me. And each one of the sections does have a song that accompanies with it. As a matter of fact, in the section it's called In the Air Tonight is where I chronicle the night of my awakening. And of course, naturally, I'm going to have some humor in there too, because the thing, keep in mind, for those of you who can see me, you see a different person. For those of you who can't see me, I want you to think about this. I'd like you to think about somebody who's about six, one, six, two and weighs 400 pounds. And I will say probably over 400 pounds for a while. And then picture that person trying to squat down and sit on a beach without falling over and looking like a turtle on their back. And that was me. I was that turtle flailing around and trying to get up really quick and looking around and say, who's looking at me? And nobody was looking at me because it was the middle of the night and I was by myself. But that was me. But where I'm going with this is that I'm a different person than I was then because I was about 400 pounds and I lost over 150 pounds and I've kept it off since then. I did it relatively quickly too. So I was just fortunate that you did that. I mean, that's not any small thing to accomplish. But I also know that your awakening was in degree centered around losing weight because almost God was saying to you, look, Jim, it's time to lose the weight or we're not going to have more time here on earth kind of thing, right? Wasn't that? Yeah. I think so. I think what I was hearing was open ended, which allowed it. It allowed the option for my choice in it. So I could make the choice because what I had heard was you will not see another birthday as you are. Now, you could say, boy, that's ominous. I'm going to die. That voice is telling me, get your shit together or you're dead. Or it could be saying, hey, you're not going to be like this anymore. You're going to be like you're supposed to be like who you really are. And I think I went with a ladder. I think that's the right attitude. Yeah. I didn't I didn't double down on the whole shit. I'm going to die. So may as well have some fun because there was nothing fun about that at all. But that's the music. So yeah, in the book, when people get it, they'll see in the air tonight. Right. With yes. So what what I wanted to say as I started to get lost in my own thoughts was it which is typical, by the way, sorry, is I actually wrote a song for the book under the pale moon glow, which is my song and set to music of what was happening then. So for anyone who purchases the book. And this was Nate's idea, by the way, because my idea was to try to do it much like the podcast where I had a playlist for this, my awakening in the journey. So people could come along with me and they could listen along and all these other things. And I couldn't figure out how to do it. And Nate said, well, I think you can do a QR code. I was like, huh, son of a bitch, she's right. And so we did. And for those who purchase the book, whether that be an ebook or audio book or the published hard copy, you're going to have the ability to go to my website where you're going to have the song. There'll be a link to the song. So you get to hear me singing the song on there. And I love that. That's amazing that you did that, that you sang that song, that you made it, they wrote it. Yeah. Yeah, it's incredible. It really is along with everything else you included, you know, because it's not just the songs through the QR code. I mean, I think you actually have you have a website. Yes, as well. Right. Yep. So the website for anyone. And it's a thank you, by the way. It's a thank you for spending the time with me. It's a thank you for purchasing the book that I wanted to give you something else, which at the end of each section, there's a spiritual summary. And then what we decided to do instead of stopping the flow of consciousness or thought by asking questions. I did have spiritual questions that accompanied each section. And that was it's not homework, mind you. But what it is, is it's designed to maybe spark something else to help you, the reader, the listener, get a little bit further down that that path to understand things a little more and maybe even make things a little clearer for you. So that's in there. The other thing that's there, there are some meditations. I mentioned meditation before. I never in a million years would have thought that I would have been someone who meditated. So you'll have those in there. You'll have some soundscapes from my very, very. Close and talented friend, Carrie Muller. She'll have some soundscapes in there for you as well. Can I can I cut in real quick, just because the meditation part, you know, we've we've talked a lot about, you know, Reiki and these other practices. For me, meditation is like number one during a week, because you really do have to get quiet. And, you know, I still have that practice today. I do my meditation, my energy clearing. So I think it's amazing that you've done these guided meditations, included them, which I really enjoy, by the way. But I think people really benefit from from that. And I just wanted to ask how big were was the role of meditation in your has it been in your journey? Oh, my God, I think meditation was the linchpin for me. And as a matter of fact, I will go so far as to say that meditation was the linchpin as it relates to my weight loss, believe it or not. Because most of the time we're walking around in a sympathetic state. And I don't mean sympathetic is I'm talking about your nervous system, where your nervous system is in that fight, flight or freeze state so much that it becomes the norm. And it doesn't matter what diet you're on, doesn't matter what you do. When you're in that, the cortisol level and everything else that's going on will not allow for weight loss. It just won't and stress is the number one killer. Of the people in the United States, stress is. So that's that stress hormone cortisol rolling and it's rolling. Like you're an addict and it'll kill you. It will straight up kill you. When I say that meditation was the linchpin for everything, that's it's not a flippant response. That that is really what I do. Oh, because I had changed my eating habits. I changed my approach to food. I was exercising, but it wasn't until I started meditation that the pounds started to drop. I mean, it was went from one or two pounds to five to seven to, you know, a week that they were just boom and nothing was changing. Wow. But my meditation practice amped up. It's that, you know, it cannot be understated how how vital it is. And for me, too, I did it similar to what you did. I stopped drinking. I stopped eating meat, worked out more. I need to get back a little bit more into that. But I've been doing that. And I lost a ton of weight very quickly, like you mentioned. Yes. But the meditation part was almost like I need to get my body in a state so I can just be OK with everything that's happening. And yes, maybe within a month or maybe not even of doing that, I'd be sitting next to my bedroom window. And as I'm meditating, I'd have like red tail hawk fly into my window, like bounce off it, make me, you know, come out of state, look out the window and see there's a red tail hawk on the ground. Or there'd be like three of those like giant probably woodpeckers like pecking on the windows. I would open my eyes and there'd be a deer looking into the window. It's amazing. Just all this, you know, coons, foxes, everything. I was like, what is happening? Why are they? But I think it's just you get into a state and your energy becomes a certain way and it's almost magnetic. Yeah. Maybe towards nature or something different. I think so. You know, you think so. Well, I think it's also a a frequency or an energy that doesn't have these layers on top of it that are blocking it, right? Because you don't have a lot of, you know, nature's animals going, hmm, I want do I look fat today? You know, one of those things, you know, they're just being. And when you said that, it reminded me of when and this past summer, my I go out, there was the neighbors behind us were having some work done. So it eliminated my my normal morning meditation space, which was in the backyard. So I was going up in front in the garage. And then I would open the garage door up and I just sit there. I'd like my my incense and I'd start my meditation. And I was meditating and I felt this presence. Right. It was just like, don't open your eyes. I know there's something there. Don't open your eyes. Don't open your eyes. So what do I do? I open my eyes. And there's a hummingbird. Just floating. Just up and down right by me and like right in front of me. And I went. How cool is that? And the hummingbird went away and shortly there after my neighbor came over and he goes, hey, I saw you earlier, but I didn't want to interrupt you. What were you doing? And I said, meditating. He goes, I thought so. What is that? What does it do for you? And it's like. Interesting. And so I started to talk to him about my what meditation means to me. Not necessarily what it does for me, but what it means to me. And he's like, I should I really need to start doing that. Is that something that that. I could look up online and I said, oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, easy, easy to do that. And now I'll be able to say, hey, Chuck, buy my book. And you can have three meditations right now. You have a three hummingbird comes with it. That's right. That's right. You're hunting hummingbird ornament. But yeah, it's amazing. Cool. Yeah. So whatever that is, that energy, it's fascinating, but not to go too far off of the detour. I know we're talking about the website and all the things that you offer there. And and I don't know if there's more you want to talk about that. Otherwise, I'm going to I'm going to I think we should take to the to the musical the musical questions of your show, which I agree. You know, I'm ready. I've never been asked. I know. And I love it. So, you know, forgive me because I have to reference paper here because I'm not as familiar, but I remember being tested. I remember those questions were not as easy as I thought they were. So no, here we go. The musical questions for for Jim Alstead. Can you do you recall what was the first song on the radio that you heard that you just fell in love with? Or you can remember saying, you know, I can't wait to hear that one again. There are there are a couple of them. And I would say. The first one was Stop and Smell the Roses by Mac Davis. Oh, I like it. Yeah. And then another one. From Wayne Newton, called not Don Cachain, but Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast? Oh, wow, it's been a minute since I heard that. I got to. Daddy, don't you walk so fast? Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. You're the daddy. You got to slow down. Yeah. Is that from a child's memory? Or is that? Yeah. OK. Yeah. No, no, that that that is. It was well, because we used to listen to WMAQ AM radio and WLS. So it was WMAQ was the country station in my dad's vehicle. WLS was the more contemporary pop station in my mom's. So you get the Karen Carpenters and Age of Aquarius and all that other stuff with my mom and my dad was a country guy. I love that. All right. Well, those are two two good ones. I wasn't expecting Wayne to show up, but I'm glad that that's in there. Yeah. Did you have a family song that people would sing on car trips or vacation, something that you all would get into? So when I was growing up, my grandfather was notorious. My grandpa, Reinhardt, was notorious for making up songs. And he would like me, they would become. Well, what a weird Al. What was what were those songs that he makes parodies, right? So my grandfather would make those. But I'm going to go with one that wasn't as a child, but one that was when I was in college. My fraternity brothers and I I'll give you their their nicknames. Nooni, Noid and Stutz drove down to Florida and we were listening to Dellumetri. Dellumetri, Dellumetri. And there was a song called Stone Cold Sober that we listened to and we were screaming that or anything from the cure when Tata was driving. But when I was driving, it was Dellumetri. Love Dellumetri. Love that. I love that stone. But were you guys sober? I hope you were sober. Yes. Yes. Yes. Stone Cold Sober. Yes. Great song. OK, well, then on next, what was your favorite song? Hi, it's Zoe and Joe from Dig It. And right now our show is brought to you by Ancient and Brave. Zoe, can I ask you, are you somebody who sticks to a routine? Oh, I try, Joe. I really do. It's got to be easy. It's got to be kind of first thing in the morning or I just won't stick to it. 100 percent. I'm exactly the same, which is why I love Ancient and Braves while college and it's just one scoop in my morning drink. And then that's it. I'm done. And no weird taste. No, no, it's completely neutral. Sold already. And it's not just about skin and hair. College and supports exercise, recovery, energy and joints, which makes it a priority for me. It's clinically backed, which I always look for. And what sets Ancient and Brave apart isn't just their award winning products. It's their commitment to sustainability. They're a B Corp and proud members of one percent for the planet, meaning that one percent of all their sales goes directly to environmental causes that protect our planet. So every purchase gives back to that's a big tick to get 20 percent off your first three subscription orders, a free ritual scoop and an additional five pounds off your first order. Go to ancient and brave dot earth slash planet and use our code, Digit five at checkouts. That's ancient and brave dot earth slash planet and code. Digit five. Indeed presents. Hires you can't afford to get wrong like a warehouse operations manager. Where are the forklifts? I sold them. They were too expensive. I got a great deal on these scooters, though. You expect us to move a two tonne pallet on a scooter. It'll be fun. Just think of the core strength you'll build. This is a job for sponsored jobs. This is what happens when you don't sponsor your job on Indeed. So the next time you need someone to get the job done right, get matched with quality candidates with an Indeed sponsored job. Visit indeed.com slash Next hire and sponsor your job today. On you and your friends would belt out in high school. Is that one? Holy shit. Yeah. So thank you. In 1980s, 1984 graduated. So of course you had 1984 jump, you know, Van Halen, right? You had also at that time, Judas Priest, another thing common that was off of British Steel, but it would be pain and pleasure. Was the one that was when I was a senior. And then of course, oh, shout at the devil. So that was with all my jock friends. Right. Or actually, so if it were just me and a couple of my my buddies from band and I mean band like marching bands or jazz band. We would listen to some Duke Ellington, listen to Elgero, Spain. We would listen to that. But I'm a big Sammy Hager guy. Oh, yeah. And it was three lock box was was my go to then. I love that. OK. I mean, I was thinking that that might show up in here. Do you think your your musical taste have evolved since you were in high school or even college? Oh, God, yeah. So from from high school to college is when I got introduced to like in excess R.E.M. U2, the Smiths, House Martens, Depeche Mode. I had when I lived in the fraternity house, I got. Introduced to cure introduced to all those fantastic alternative bands that were out there and it wasn't just metal. You're right. I love that era. That era was so I mean, you know, I go in the bunny man. Lips like sugar. Yeah. My God, Depeche Mode. Oh, my God, banger after banger. They they had there were so many good things you could just keep going. Right. There's just no shortage. So none. I like that you picked those. I like I wasn't expecting Depeche Mode from them. I'm glad that you threw them there. Can I I'll tell you something really quickly when so I auditioned for the radio station at Illinois State University. And they said in my my big brother and my fraternity was one of the managers there and he's like, oh, you should come and he's great. It'd be great for you. And I said, oh, OK, so I go there and he goes, do me a favor, whatever you do, don't come in there all wasted or anything. I said, I never do that. So what do I do? I come in there all wasted and they give you a script to read. And it says, OK, we want you to do this lead in. It's I N X S. I touch the roses. Or I touch the roses by I N X S. So I get this. Hi, this is Jim Allsdott and that was I touch the roses by inks. And he goes in excess and I went to just started laughing. I touch the roses by inks. And you don't need to name your band, but they were great. Yes, they were great. So what what are the songs that really get your juices flowing that make you want to go crush your day? Oh, my gosh. Walking on sunshine by Katrina and the Waves is always a go to. I love that freaking song. It's ridiculous, but I love it. I love it, too. That's great. I like that one. What what is the name of song that's your guilty pleasure song right now? Maybe something you don't want other people to to know about. But you have to tell me the shape of my heart by Backstreet Boys. No, yes. I love it. OK, so the Backstreet Boys arrive. I didn't think they would ever end up on your podcast, but here they are. Yeah, they are. It's true. God. And do you have another one? Would you say shake it off? You said shake it off. Oh, shake it off. I yeah, Taylor Swift. So my well, she's going to be my daughter-in-law. My my son is now engaged to a lovely, lovely girl, Alexis Abelov. And I just absolutely love her to death. And she's a Swifty. OK, and she is a Swifty, Swifty. She knows them all. So you're in the club, you're going to end up hanging out with her more. Yeah. So what is the song you believe that could change the way people feel about the world around them positively? If they just listen to the song's lyrics. There are a couple of Sam Cooke. A change is going to come. That's a that's a good one. And I am. Everybody hurts. Everybody hurts sometimes. Wow. They pulled out an old oldy, but goodie. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That is well, you know, everybody does the wonderful world, which is by by the way, I love that song, Wonderful World. Yeah. You know, it's. But here's the thing, and you and I talked about it beforehand, that changes for me. It could be I could have said I go. I go, I go all day, you know, because there are some songs that just hit me and it's like, holy shit, I love it. Love it, love it. And I think that's the beauty of music, too. It's like, you know, depending on where we are in our life and at any given moment where we how we feel about something is. That song can change for you, you know what I mean? Like the mean the meaning of that song can really be different. It's funny. I have a bird trying to peck on my window. Yeah, that's awesome. Like wrap up the song. No, I'm just kidding. But something's going on here. What do you. OK, sometimes there are songs you hear that ring so true that they kind of stop you in your tracks. The lyrics of the song sound like they were written specifically for you or by you. What's that song and why does it hit home? OK, so there are two and one is a country song. It's. Save the roses by Lee Bryce. And he talks about when he dies, you know, don't waste your time because I'm not in that box. I got a much better view than any of you because I'm hanging out with my grandpa and everybody that left before me. Go remember me doing something that we did together. Yeah, that we loved together. Bring me there with you. I love that. I love that. That's beautiful. Yeah, that's really amazing. You kind of shocked me on this list, especially with that last one, too. But. I got one more of that, though. I got one more that. And this is really important because this is a song that meant a lot for my son, Jonathan, and I growing up. It was called Go the Distance. And the Go the Distance is from the animated movie from Disney Hercules. All right. OK. I know every mile will be worth my while. I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong. I love that. That's a cool one. Yeah, I like that that relates back to your son, too. I think that's amazing. You know what I mean? Yeah. Big four. Oh, big four. Oh, which you'll find out in Jim's new book. So when will the book be available? What's going on right now? We're going to push it out because of the audio book, because what we're doing is we're going to have the ebook and the printed version and the audio book all going being released at the same time. Oh, perfect. If we didn't, it would have. We were originally going to do 411, which is a very significant day in my life because it happened to be the day that my mom passed away. And that was very significant. But what we're doing is we're going to push it to May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, and the immediate would be I've got a sombrero on in the poncho on in the book cover. Yeah, yes. But it was also the day that my grandmother passed and my grandmother was very important to me. My grandma Reinhardt. Yeah, because when my mom died, I didn't get to say goodbye because she died in a car accident. Right. My my grandmother gave me the opportunity to say goodbye to her, right, because I was there when she passed. So yeah, it was it was. I love that. It's kind of cool. Yeah. So OK, so May 5th Cinco de Mayo. May 5th. People, where are we going to be able to find the book? It'll be like on Amazon. Oh my gosh, it'll be on Amazon. It'll be on Barnes and Noble. You can go to my website, which is Jim Allsdott.com. You can go to pennandpublish.com. It's going to be in about 10, 10 or 12 other places. And the pre orders going up this week. So along with the website. So we'll have all the details. I think there's 11 or 12 different locations you can buy. But certainly from Amazon is one. And what we're going to do is we're going to have an opportunity for people to, if they want a signed copy of the book, they can order it from the website. And I'll sign it. I can personalize it, whatever somebody wants. Happy to do that. And I'm just so excited and thankful and grateful for the opportunity to do this and to share it with everybody. I just think I'm very, very lucky. It's a great book and thank you for letting me play a very small role in it. But it was it was great. Oh my goodness. Thank you. Watch you bring it to life. And I know all the different things that happened behind the scenes to make it that way. So anyway, congratulations on your. Thank you. Your book. Thank you. Thank you. And I appreciate you and everything you've done for me. My pleasure. And I just can't wait to see what happens for this year. I think 26 is just going to be an amazing year for all of us. Yeah, good. Good. And I hope I get a free taco when I order my book from your website. Because I feel like. I'll say, hey, you just drag your ass to Illinois. And because here where I live, just down the street, we have authentic Mexican restaurants that are so kick ass. I mean, they're so good. Oh, so good. Maybe you need a launch party at one. Wouldn't that be something I think I'm going to. So stay tuned for that, because I have a he's now a friend that owns McCarty Mills, which is in downtown Aurora. It's a tap house. But I think we may do something like that there. Good. Yeah. That'd be good for your local local listeners. We probably loved each other. Absolutely. Absolutely. This is where we say adieu from the highs to the lows to the end of the show. This is the end of the show. This is Jim Allsdott and Nate Scripture, thanking you for being the best part of us. Catch you next time. Hi, it's Zoe and Joe from Digit. And right now our show is brought to you by Ancient and Brave. Zoe, can I ask you are you somebody who sticks to a routine? Oh, I try, Joe. I really do. It's got to be easy. It's got to be kind of first thing in the morning or I just won't stick to it. 100 percent. I'm exactly the same, which is why I love Ancient and Brave's Wild Collagen. It's just one scoop in my morning drink and then that's it. I'm done. And no weird taste. No, no, it's completely neutral. Sold already. And it's not just about skin and hair. Collagen supports exercise, recovery, energy and joints, which makes it a priority for me. It's clinically backed, which I always look for. And what sets Ancient and Brave apart isn't just their award-winning products. It's their commitment to sustainability. 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