Know Thyself - E8 - IN-Q: How to Master Your Creativity & Unlock Your Inner Poet

Episode Date: August 23, 2022

Award-winning Poet, IN-Q, dives deep on how truly tap into your creativity & unlock your inner poet. He explains what it means to undefine to find yourself, to not become a prisoner to your own art, and to live a life of impact. He also shares some of his spoken word poetry of Everything's Gonna Be Alright, Higher View, and Learned Fear.     ___________ Timecodes: 0:00 Intro 1:23 Undefining Yourself 6:15 Poem: Everything’s Gonna Be Alright 13:22 Reflections on Impact 18:10 You’re No Prisoner to Your Art 20:33 Poem: Higher View 24:36 Tap into your own creativity 30:19 How to Write a Poem 40:09 Poem: Learned Fear 46:44 Conclusion ___________ IN-Q:   IN-Q is an award-winning poet, multi-platinum songwriter, keynote speaker, and the best-selling author of Inquire Within.   He was named to Oprah's SuperSoul 100 list of the world's most influential thought leaders and has worked with countless brands & companies over the years to help them tell their story through collaborative content pieces and story-telling workshops.    Ultimately, IN-Q writes to entertain, inspire, and challenge his audiences to look deeper into the human experience and ask questions about themselves, their environment, and the world at large.   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inqlife/ Website: https://www.in-q.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/Inquire-Within-Q/dp/0062954709 Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1tf2Ib3105fY8aFEDH7p0e?si=YP2qSsf-SR2Ja-S99M-xMA&nd=1 ___________   Know Thyself Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/ Website: https://www.knowthyself.one Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ4wglCWTJeWQC0exBalgKg   Listen to all episodes on Audio:  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4FSiemtvZrWesGtO2MqTZ4?si=d389c8dee8fa4026 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/know-thyself/id1633725927     André Duqum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/   Meraki Media https://merakimedia.com https://www.instagram.com/merakimedia/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, everybody's a storyteller and your life is your greatest art. So change your story, change your life. My best art comes from observing life, seeing where I'm inspired and then creating out of space. Hello, beautiful beings. Welcome back to the Know Thyself podcast for every single week. We get to the opportunity to sit down with a beautiful soul, somebody that's been on a path in their own unique way that can help us live a more liberated human experience today. We have a very interesting guest, somebody that is an artist, a poet. He is a multi-platinum songwriter. He is a best-selling author of the book Inquirer Within. He is an award-winning poet. He is somebody that's worked with individuals and brands and companies and celebrities from all walks of life, helping them tap into their own innate storytelling capacity. He's been named as one of Oprah's

Super Soul 100 most influential thought leaders. He's somebody that I really admire and respect when it comes to their craft. And yeah, he is somebody that I am really looking forward to having this conversation with right now. Thank you so much. That was such a nice intro. Yeah. Adam, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. Thanks for being here, brother. Well, I'd actually like to start in the beginning of your book, Inquire Within, which I've been loving diving into just in preparation for this podcast. In the beginning, you say, defining yourself is like confining yourself. So you undefined yourself, define yourself. So I'm curious about your process of undefining yourself, define yourself. Because this show, Know Thyself, is all about

self-realization. Real growth and transformation in life, I find comes through unlearning. A lot of the things that we were programmed with through our life and through the things that we've been through. you through your beautiful art and the way that you show up in the world, I'm very curious if you just dive into a little bit about your journey of undefining yourself while still being in the world and how you find yourself now. Well, like when you were reading my bio, I just get so embarrassed slash bored. I mean, I'm proud of it too, but it's almost like, I'm like, wow, who did all that stuff? It's really impressive.

It's probably because I know like the, you know, thousand hidden heartbreaks that were behind every success. But it's also because it doesn't really matter in creating a new moment. So that's part of undefining. It's just like being here with you now and, you know, seeing what happens. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah, I mean, it's a journey, right?

It's a journey of being in the world and not of it. When you want to create things, you kind of have to create a brand so people in the external can perceive you and you can be noticed for things and you come out with books. And these are your creations, right? But you are bigger than your creations. You're bigger than something that can be defined. And so how you've been able to navigate that balance of being a creator, somebody that is very vocal in their art and their creations? Yet your practice of coming back to, you know, realizing that you're much more than what you do. I mean, not always successfully.

A much better at creation than I am at presentation. Like, I'm not really like a branding person. I've had a really hard time with that over my life. I'm more interested in how things are rather than how things look. So that's what I try to explore in my work, how things are. But when you're exploring how things are, you're exploring a momentary truth. Like, people say there's universal truths. I say there's universal truths.

but me saying there's a universal truth is just an idea. I don't know that there's any universal truths. Even the laws of the universe could be broken. I mean, we've found laws and then found out that those laws are not the laws that we thought that there's something behind that or above that or below that or inside of that. So I just explore my momentary truth, whatever that is, something that inspires me, something that moves me, something that pisses me off. and I put it into my art

and if I give it enough time and space the rest of the poem almost write itself. Like for example, the poem that we were kind of chatting about before the podcast started, I was with my buddy and we were driving and we were discussing

how everybody is saying the world is going to end and shit is super fucked up and he was like telling me all these things that people had been telling them and I said, I know one thing. Everything's going to be all right. And then he was like, that's good.

You should write that down. And so I did. This was like a month and a half ago. And I just was like, yeah, that's kind of cool. Like people know this. People know this. You know, people know this. People know this.

People know that. I know one thing. Everything's going to be all. So that was like something that resonated with me. And then because I wrote it down, yesterday I was flying back from Indianapolis. And like, I tend not to get on the Wi-Fi because it's like purposeful isolation. Yeah.

You know, there's like almost no other place in life that you can create that unless you're like intentionally creating that. And so I find that my best art comes from observing life, seeing where I'm inspired, and then creating out of space. So sometimes you have to like carve out this space. so planes are like that for me. And I just started writing it. And then the whole thing came out in like three hours.

And now I'm pretty sure it's done. Oh, amazing. Yeah. So I don't even really remember what you initially asked me, but I hope that answers. I think we're on a beautiful train right now. Would you be open to sharing a little bit of that with us? Yeah, I could share the poem, but the thing is I'm actually not sure it's done yet. Okay.

It feels right. But I might want to add to it. Okay. And I don't have the rhythms correct. But then that makes it even more fun. Makes it raw. Yeah. People know that times are hard.

The world is worse than it has been. People know that life is tough, that this might be the very end. People know that there's more darkness in the future than there's light. I know one thing. Everything's going to be all right. People know the bombs will drop. They know the crime is on the rise. People know there's poison crops

The doctors get our children high People know that what you know is wrong And what they know is right I know one thing Everything's gonna be all right People know the sky will fall The trees will burn the seas will boil People know the air will thin

The ice will crack the food will spoil People know they're gonna die So why not just give up the fight I know one thing Everything's gonna be all right people tell me they refuse to bring a baby in this world. People tell me it's not fair to them. It's too much to endure. People sell me their experience without historical hindsight. I know one thing. Everything's going to be all right. I know how hard it was at every other point to be alive. I know they used to have 10 kids because five of them would not survive. I know a fridge was once technology. Most humans died at 35 and live. Life made no apology. It wasn't always on your side, and that was the psychology. The fittest were the ones that thrived. Your lineage is quality. Your DNAs electrified. Your cells are your mythology.

Your ancestors are in your blood. We wouldn't even be here if they flirted once with giving up. We wouldn't even be here to complain that we don't have enough. We wouldn't even be here to keep buying all this useless stuff. But people seem to know they need a crutch to make it through their day. They know that they're in pain, so they won't have it any other way. They know what they can't say. That's why they lie awake at night. I know one thing. And I know that I don't know you, that my words don't carry weight.

But I try because I owe you for the years I harbored hate. Use my eyes so I can show you how most people can't relate. Because most people want to stay most people, and I can relate. It's a lot to clean your stuff. slate to have the faith to up and stop, to know that everything will be all right, especially when it's not, to know that knowing isn't knowing, it is choosing what you want, it is winning when you're losing and still loving what you've got. How can you have gratitude for tragedies that make no sense? How can you find peace and chaos? How can you take your revenge? How can you embrace your

sadness to find happiness in life? You know one thing. going to be all right. Wow. That's so powerful. You just bust that out in a few hours. Wow. Yeah, thanks. But it's also like my whole life for the few hours. Totally. Yeah. Years, decades into hours. That's, but thanks for listening to it. Oh, man. That's so powerful. Just the illicit trust in the universe saying everything's going to be all right. How have you gotten to that place within yourself where you can really say that and mean it. I mean, it's a process, not a product. Yeah. I'm not like. There. Not there. I'm here. Right. You know, but I choose to believe that. I think in general, like people tend to think the world is going to end because in every generation,

their own mortality is on the line. So they're like, we're going to end. So then how could anything exist without us. It's actually quite narcissistic. Yeah. I mean, other than the environment, pretty much everything is better than it's ever been. And even the shit that's messed up right now in terms of like all of the social issues, the systemic racism, the possibility of civil war, what's happening in Ukraine. I mean, there are things that are unimaginable that are happening all the time. But first of all, if we always focused on the worst thing that was happening in the world, no one would ever smile. I mean, there's always tragedies happening right now that are really unfathomable and that will never make any sense.

But it's my belief that life is as ugly as it's beautiful and you wouldn't have the beautiful without the ugly and both are necessary to exist in this kind of like space of dichotomy. And I think that all that other stuff that's happening right now is kind of like the pendulum swinging back and that's necessary to find balance and to find growth. So I choose to believe that we're moving forward, even if things are complicated and challenging right now. I love that. I feel like earlier on my journey, I wanted to, like I had this big mission of eradicating suffering from the planet. And that idea sounds beautiful. And the more I've like just grown in my journey, I've realized how necessary suffering is for the growth of the species of humanity. And that fear that you're kind of speaking to that most people are feeling within one another,

and it compounds, especially when it's online and people are feeding into it is scary. It's scary for a lot of people. And right now I don't think we have leadership. We don't have enough examples that are amplified on a big stage with big lights on them that can say that everything is going to be all right, mean it within themselves, and provide that assurance to people that are really looking for that, that need that. They're thirsty for it, but they're not getting it right now. And it's sad.

But thank you for being the example of that, right? because we can't want these big desires for the world and we want to change the world and then we're in it. We have to be the actual change, right? I think someone said that once. I think it was Gandhi. I'm pretty sure. I think somebody said that once.

Also, there's like the Buddhist thing on suffering, that suffering is like necessary. Like, literally it's, it's some. It's the first nubble truth. Yeah. Yeah. So it's acceptance of that. It's also interesting. People try to change the world, but you're like, okay, well, why?

Like, I'd rather people do good things for selfish reasons than not do good things at all. But I also would rather have a hard truth than a pretty lie. Same. One thousand percent. It's like people are like, I want to change the world. I want to change the world. It's like, okay, is that just because you want your legacy? You know, people look back at you and be like, they change the world.

You know, it's kind of like interesting. We all have that inside of us because we all want to have this like, immortal experience, but you can't. Yeah. And if you did, life wouldn't be so special. How have you closed the gap between who you are and how you show up in the world? One step at a time. With various degrees of success and failure. Yes.

Yeah, it's like I want people to like me, of course. Right. I want people to like my work. I want to be successful. I want to live in abundance. all of those things. But I try not to take myself so seriously, even when I'm taking myself seriously.

And that's just going to be a lifelong. Yeah. Because the stages that you've been on, the light that you've had on you, and it's still relatively early for, I feel like, the impact that you're going to have in your life. Like every time I've seen you, whether it's been at friends' events

or here and they're passing, been more acquaintance, but I love this podcast. I get the excuse to sit down with somebody that I want to and dive in deeper for an hour or whatever. Yeah. And yeah, seeing you on that journey has been, I really love people, whether it's in business or it's an art form where their art is themselves. Like it's their life's work in it, right? It's not separate. Like I think, especially in the West, we have this idea of like you have your work life, then you have your life life. And it's really beautiful to be able to combine them. Like, this is my life. And if you're able to make a living doing it, obviously that's the

big key, then it unlocks you to be able to do that at bigger scales and go down that path, which is really cool that you've been able to carve that out for yourself. I'm really grateful. And I spent so many years not really knowing how that would go. Like, it could have gone right or left very easily. So, yeah, grateful is the right word. that I get to do what I love for a living and that people listen to me and that they're moved or impacted even if they don't like it. I'm still grateful that they either took the time to listen or was stuck in an environment where they had to listen. The gig that I just came back from in Indianapolis was with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Association. And so I performed opening up for their national

conference. And I had a big brother when I was a kid. My father wasn't around and my mom when I was like eight or nine took me to Big Brothers, Big Sisters Association. I got matched up with this guy. And, you know, we didn't have like a lifelong relationship, but for like the two years that we ended up hanging out on and off, it was very meaningful to me because it was kind of like the first time that some random guy, like some sort of. stranger, you know, that was an adult took an interest in me. Because to me, I think, like, adult men for whatever reason felt foreign, like, you know, aliens or something like that. And so now, full circle, all of these years later, I get to, like, perform on stage for the people

that I'm fans of, because I'm such a fan of the work that they do in the world and try to kind of, like, move on inspire them in some way and give them encouragement to keep moving forward with the impact that they're making in the world and in so many young kids lives. That's an honor. Yeah, I don't ever take it for granted and I don't ever like let my ego, you know, think it's about me. No, it's like it's just life is a trip like that. Has there been a moment that's like especially moved you whenever you've shared your art in a certain group or setting that has maybe even, you know, been the impetus for you to start another piece of poetry or just moved you personally in your life? Has there been something where you've shared your art and it's really impacted somebody and you felt

that viscerally within yourself? I mean, yeah, there's been like really luckily like countless times that that has happened, which is really beautiful. I mean, even after this thing that I did, the response was so crazy and a lot of people just will come up to me kind of with tears after the set and say how meaningful it was for them and how it touched like a part of them. And that's really The reason that I create is first for myself, but it's supposed to be a mirror for humanity so that they can see themselves. And they can see themselves beyond the details and the circumstances to that kind of like deeper human experience. So when somebody has that, it makes them feel a little less alone, but it also makes me feel a little less alone. So beautiful. I mean, I could only imagine. I mean, I've been impacted deeply by your work and your,

art. Obviously, you've cultivated this gift. And it's also something you've kind of unraveled within yourself, right? It's like you have this tendency or maybe skill set with words, you know, based on your earlier life. And as you live life, you've cultivated it into this direction of poetry. Do you feel like a responsibility to keep sharing your gift because you see how impactful it is? No. That's awesome. It's mine. Yes. That's beautiful. Yeah. I think people become a prisoner of their own choices. Yeah. They're like, make these choices. And then they're like, who made these choices? Me, you know, all of us actually for the direction that we're all going. Yeah. So I just want to make sure that I don't do that. So like pretty much every day or every week or once a month, I like remind

myself that I don't have to do this. Yeah. I don't have to do it. I don't care what deals I have coming up. I have responsibilities, you know, with partners or things like that. But I mean, I don't have to be a poet anymore. And I'm more than a poet anyway. And that actually gives me freedom to fuck up. Like if I get on stage and it doesn't work out the way I imagined or anything like that, it's not the end of the world because I love myself. It's an ongoing relationship, but I love myself, you know, and I've worked hard to get to that place where that's more than just the statement. So I guess that freedom to fuck up and that freedom to choose something different allows me to choose it with empowerment. So then when I'm on stage, it doesn't have to live up

to my expectations. It could actually fail completely, you know, or it could surprise me and be beyond anything I could have imagined. Or I can say, okay, I do want to be a poet. I want to write this next poem. And then when I do it, it's like an empowered yes rather than a lazy yes. Because it's a conscious choice. You could create this epic life for yourself. We're traveling around the world, doing your things, what you're doing. And yet, if you're a prisoner of it, you're not going to be there to enjoy it. You're just going to be this puppet, this freaking flesh suit, jumping around, doing what people want you to do, being who people want you to be. And that's not a life. Yeah, I agree. Beautiful.

amazing. Would you do hire a view for us? Yeah, I don't know if I remember it though. I got you. I got a book, copy, Inquirer with it right here. Hey. And yeah, I love this one. Thanks. Let's see if I can remember it. Life is all about you, not at all about you. Now that's two opposing thoughts, and yet both of them are true. How can we experience everything we choose to do while observing the experience we're having, from a higher view. Awareness, but of who? You think you hurt me, but I promise I was letting you. They say we're all one, but where have we been heading to? I'd rather die free than have to live inside a petting zoo. I am the journey that I'm getting to. Gratitude is my destination.

My destiny is perfectly aligned with this location. I am the map, so my rhymes are like, road signs. I have everything I want because my imagination's mine. But mine is not enough for me, because I am not my mind. I could see it all and never get to see. I'm truly blind. I could be at all, but all identity is intertwined. The moon is only bright when it reflects the sun's shine. And I'm not entirely convinced I even write these lines because my DNA is coated by divine design, but if I manifest abundance while humanity is dying, I am equally responsible for all that I'm deny. See, you can tell the truth and still be lying. I did it for years. My perception was a funhouse mirror. And my projection was exaggerated on reality till my reflection back was nothing more

than technicality. So who am I if I'm not who I am? What if I didn't have my name or my age or my friends? If I didn't do my poetry, who would I be then? The things that I've become are not the things I truly am. And everything I think I own owns me in the end. Existence doesn't owe me anything quite the opposite. Existence will exist long after I am missed, so the art is more important than the artist is. It's not a human race. It's just the human race. There's nothing left to chase. We do not run this place. But both medicine and poison are acquired tastes, so I started taking selfies. of somebody else's face. So good.

So good, man. Beautiful. So, like, when we started, you were like, oh, you know, you could read a poem. And if you mess up, you know, we could just cut it. And I was like, fuck that. Because it's real, it's raw. It's more interesting that way.

And also, I think, in general, not that anybody would ever idolized me in any way, shape or form, nor should they. but we like have this like hero worship thing in culture and we look up to people or we look down on people and we don't look at people so like if somebody likes my work I'd like them to be inspired by it rather than discouraged by the perfection of it like oh I could never do that no you write it write your own poem see what happens like don't let perfectly the enemy a good yeah beautiful super subtle but I think it's actually really profound and impactful for people to see all the, all the work

and all of its imperfections and perfections, like, throughout the whole process. How have you been able to help others unlock that, right? Because you've got these workshops tapping in, helping people tap into their own creator voice, their storytelling capacities. Where do you begin with that? How do you help other people tap into this artist within? Well, everybody's a storyteller. And your life is your greatest art.

So change your story, change your life. That's really, you know, the crux of it. I have this program that I've kind of like developed over the years. I mean, it started. I was doing it at like libraries for kids. This place called Art Chair, which is an incredible nonprofit in downtown L.A. with a whole class for many years, for mostly kids from East L.A.

I was doing upward bound programs for kids who had kind of like the dream of going to college for the first time, you know, in graduating. Nobody in their family had. I was doing juvenile facilities. I literally like, it was mostly for like teenagers. And then eventually I started doing corporate work. And I started doing like keynotes. And almost by accident, I realized that the same kind of program was not only something that worked with adults, but was really necessary and needed.

Because, you know, kids are going through things. They need to express it. They need to get it out of their system. Adults have a bunch of shit that's just buried. And so they need it equally as much. And then I started doing it, you know, for groups of strangers publicly, just doing, like, public. shows and then getting hired by like companies and corporations to come in and do it for their team so that they could have more context to who each other is to have like some sort of like a

contained human experience be vulnerable from a place of strength and that that leads to better kind of communication and ultimately collaboration and it's been amazing man you know like people talk shit about companies and corporations and I'm one of those people but But the reality is people are just people. Like, I don't really, like, think one show that I do is more important than another show. If I get an opportunity to talk to people and say things that are true and meaningful and open up their minds and drop them into their hearts and connect them to each other, create empathy. It's amazing, man. Empathy is what the world needs most right now.

So I'll do that anywhere. Anybody gives me a shot. Oh, man, amazing. And I'm sure it's extremely therapeutic for especially adults coming back into. this like childlike play where a lot of things come up for them right you create a container or a space where things that they just haven't been able to express now have the space to be expressed and the art that comes through that I'm sure has been remarkable it's unbelievable it's unbelievable it really is it's like a magic trick that I don't know what the trick is but it works every single

time. And it really does change people's lives, not because I'm changing people's lives. They're changing their own lives. You know, like sometimes after a show, someone will come up to me and they'll be like, ah, that was so amazing. When you said, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Oh, that just is going to stay with me forever. And it's not what I said. You know? And I never correct them. I love that. You know, because why? Right. It's not about what I said.

It's about what they needed to hear. But when people are writing, there's no interpretation other than their own. So if you were to say, what's the most impactful, like your shows or your workshops, it's not even in the same area code. The workshops are so mind-blowing

because people are surprised by what they create through an art form that they would never usually use or take seriously to explore something that's moving and meaningful for them. And then to share it and to be witnessed by another person, it's really hard to describe. It's something that kind of has to be experienced. And so I'm excited because I was telling you we're about to do this retreat in Morocco. Not sure of the exact details yet, but that's something that I'm really inspired by personally because then I get to create different prompts over like a few days that lead people through kind of personal exploration ultimately to infinite possibility and empowerment and we all get to do it in a place

that is foreign to us so that we have that adventure experience too yeah and putting yourself in an environment that you're not familiar with also allows you to tap into emotions maybe that have felt unfamiliar for a while and in depth tap into that art so much of discusses loving ourselves happens in the sharing of ourselves. When you're able to come to a deeper truth or realization about yourself and then share that and get reflections from people of what they saw in you or how they felt in what you shared, that takes it to like a whole other level. Because then you can again start to redefine who you think that you are. And that's where the breakthrough comes in, I'm sure. No, that's it.

There's something about just being seen and seeing. That is like very freeing. And so yeah, it's just once again, it's just an honor to be able to facilitate those types of things. Yeah. Amazing. For our listeners and viewers right now, what's, you know, because obviously these workshops are amazing. I would love to attend one. I'm sure a lot of people that are listening would love to attend one. For people that are at home right now, how can they create space and what is a tool or tools that you would recommend to allow to start exploring this?

side. Okay. Well, what's bothering you right now or what are you inspired by in your life? You personally. Me personally. What am I inspired by? What am I inspired by? That's easier right now. I'm inspired by so much. One, this podcast, right? I'm about to launch it in a month and a half and it feels like a culmination of all my different skill sets and desires and passions into one hodgepodge of thing that is an offering to the world and can really support the planet and feels fulfilling for me. So that's, I'm super inspired by that. I love having these conversations, I would do it without ever making money and I don't care if I do. And because of that, I feel like it'll be successful and impact a lot of people in a really beautiful way.

And if it doesn't, I'm still happy. I'm happy with it. I'm really inspired by what's been created here. I'm proud of it. So that's one thing. And then what's something that is like bothering you or something that you're working on personally? I would say there's nothing right now in this moment today, but the past two months, we'll just go

with that. I just got out of a two and a half year relationship. Yeah. So that's a process. It's been a process. Now on the other side of it, there's been a lot of beautiful expansion and it's been super amicable and so much love on both sides and we become best friends again, which is kind of how we started.

So that's been, it's been really lovely, but first couple months, for sure, it was more rocky. There's a lot of things that came up. And I found a deeper acceptance of my own humanity through that. process, which I hadn't tapped into for my whole life. This is the first time I felt things in general to that depth ever. It's my first, like, real heartbreak. And I wouldn't really say heartbreak. It was more heart open. Like, it allowed me to tap into the deeper, the deeper parts of the love that I have within myself. And I kept getting the opportunity to choose, allow that to make me bitter and hard or sweet and soft. And it was a choice.

like to continue to choose love throughout that whole process. And it was a choice. And I feel proud about how I was able to navigate it and show up in love and take space when I needed it. But because it was mutual and amicable, we were able to move through a little bit faster with more grace. But that was definitely a bigger challenge. So those are two poems right there. You know, the first one's pretty clear, but you would focus on your why. Yeah.

Because you could talk about the logistics or the specifics. Right. But really it's why. Why is this so exciting to you? And I know that you know the answers to all of those things. And you'd be able to express them if I asked you to say it out loud right now. But it's interesting to do it through art. It's a different experience.

And, you know, you can make it rhyme if you want. You can not make it rhyme. You can make it long. You can make it short. It could be more of a journal entry. You just have to like intend it to be a poem. And you put 20 minutes on the clock and you just write a poem. And then when you're finished, share it with somebody in your life and open up a space for a deeper conversation.

And then for the second one, you know, I got my heart broke and I got my heart open. You know, I could have been bitter. Bitter. I got better. You know, there's so many different things that you kind of. started to talk about that are in there, but it's just about choosing love. And it's the same thing. Like, you know, you sit down, put 20 minutes on the clock and see what comes out. And I mentioned this earlier, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. You know, don't try to make something that's great.

If you make something that's true, it will be great. So when I do these workshops for people, I give them the experience in a group. And I've done, you know, probably triple my outlook. liar hours at this point. So I can facilitate. I know how to do it. I know how to hold space for people. But they don't need me to do it. I mean, you know, people have this like illusion that you have to be a professional artist to create. You don't. You should, you should create in whatever way you can. Yeah. And poetry is here for you. Amazing. I'm going to definitely do that. Yeah, definitely do it. Yeah. I want to explore that for sure. I think definitely, I mean, I've felt victim to this. I'm sure a lot of people listening have as well trying to create things and having a standard that is unrealistic comparatively to

somebody else and as somebody else's journey. And I love the way that you're speaking to. Stop trying to make good stuff. Just make honest stuff. Yeah. I would much rather hear somebody speak an honest poem than somebody like impress me with their rhythms or like an amazing line. And even sometimes like I'll write stuff myself and I'll get to a line and it'll be a dope line. Like I'm like, oh, that's dope. Like witty shit. Yeah, that's really. That's tight.

But it's not right. Yeah. It's not what the poem wants to say. I'm actually letting my ego get in the way of the message of the poem. So not to be like overly spiritual or anything like that, but the poem does want to say something. Yeah. And it's coming through you, through your lens, your perspective, your life. experience, but it still is coming into life through you. And you can bring it through or you can

get in the way. Yeah. Or you can not bring it through it all. And then it'll just float off and somebody else will catch it. Yeah. It's amazing. I mean, I'm sure for you, has it just been living life? You have your trials, your triumphs, right? Your tribulations. You have your difficulties and how you've been able to find that threat? You're like, oh, there's something deeper here. Like, is it just come up spontaneously within you as like, no, this is actually the truth of the situation. And it might come up as a word or a line. And then you just start slowly pulling it. Yeah, that's it. I just pay attention. Yeah. Everybody is pretty much inspired in some form or fashion, positively or negatively, almost all the time.

or at least relatively often. Yeah. If a kid is in the world and you watch them, they're constantly just blown away by everything. You know, keys. Just they're like, what the fuck are those? You know, like, and then as we become adults, everything becomes kind of like,

just like we think we know everything. So we just like basically stop paying attention. And then something really has to whack us, over the head in order for us to feel like inspired. But it's really a lack of the muscle of paying attention. It's not a lack of the inspiration. And so I just like really, really trained myself. Sometimes even I'm like annoyed by it. I'm like, ah, I got to write that. Like, all right, man. Like, you know, something got me. There, I'll, you know, I'll put it down. You got got got. you know but but it's always worth it yeah uh amazing i think it's fair to say that the depth of your

creation depends on the depth of your attention yeah great line that's a great poem that's cool there you go yeah amazing yeah see that resonates with me yeah that's cool that sounds true to me yeah yeah so then you then it sounds like you need to focus on how how are you paying attention what is in the way of you paying deeper attention and it's like it's also listening it's like a deeper listening to what is in the moment, right? Because you can be paying attention to things externally and it's different to like what's truly happening within yourself. So it's also a discernment of like what am I paying attention to and the way that, the intensity in which I'm paying attention to. How have you been able to strengthen the attention bandwidth that you have? Is it just like literally

a muscle? You just keep doing it. You just do it. Yeah. There's no other. Yeah. That's the thing is everybody wants like some sort of a secret. The three steps. The secret is doing it. It's like, what's the secret of being in shape? You go to the fucking gym and you don't eat the cookies. Right. You know, I'm still like, I like cookies and I don't want to go to the gym, you know. But then, okay.

Right. You get what you give. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah, there's no secret to it. You just have to do it. Amazing. I'm going to keep doing it.

I'm going to dive down this rabbit hole because I've written a couple poems in the past and it's been super fun and I also like um when it comes to deeper spiritual truths I have like countless journals and notebooks and just to sift through those and and feel what comes up in a in a way that could be impactful absolutely yeah beautiful okay would you share another poem with us sure is there one that feels like that wants to be read right now I know we want I want to do learn fear at the end um I can just do, I mean, whenever you, I don't think I'm going to do too more. So if you want me to do learn fear, I'm happy to do that.

Perfect. And then, or if you want to keep talking, we can do that. And then I can do learn fear. Let's do that. We'll keep talking after. Okay. Yeah. Learn fear can be overcome when you realize the voice inside your head is not your.

It's an imitation of the voices from before repeating on a loop inside you quiet or receiving since your youth. When your choices weren't even yours, perceiving. was the proof, but reality has many doors, so why are we still fighting other people's wars? Learned fear can be overcome when you realize. The voice inside your head is not yours. It's an imitation of the voices from before repeating, repeating, repeating on a loop inside your quiet core, and you can't tell the difference because it sounds the same. But trust me, when I tell you, most of what you think is from somebody else's brain.

They have us trained, shackled by imaginary chain. imaginary rules for imaginary games, but they don't know the reasons either, so where should we place the blame? And who is they anyway when we're all the same? Our parents had parents, and their parents had parents. Apparently it hurts to see, so I'll be trans. Parent. The world is so much bigger than your insecurity, and they don't speak on your behalf without your soul's authority. The world is so much bigger than your culture or community, and they don't speak on your behalf without your soul's authority. Because if it's all a story, then nobody else can tell it for me. Since I'm always transforming, I defy a category when you do the same thing, the same way, it's habit for me. But nothing in

this land of mortal man is mandatory. It's all just transitory. Our world's a laboratory, experimenting on today can change tomorrow morning. And since matter is mostly empty. space. We're in a sea of consciousness where the boundaries got erased. So I stared at my reflection until I couldn't see my face. Then I picked myself and put the flowers in an empty vase. If you came for validation, then you're in the wrong place. The only certain satisfaction is becoming what you've chased and there's no running from the inner voice. So it's important that you choose, but it's more important that you know you have a choice. You have choice. Have you been living someone else's life?

You have a voice. Does it haunt you in the dead of night? Would you fly if you weren't convinced to be afraid of heights? And who convinced you anyway? They had no fucking right. No one condemn your light. You shine within so bright that you could blind the sun from sight and scare it back into the night. No one can dim your light.

I said it twice because you're greater than the circumstances that surround you're perfect. You're not your. nature or your nurture, you're a prototype, and if you hone it right, eventually you'll hack your satellite. At first, it's nothing. The nothing turns into a whisper, turn the dial, and it gets crisper in your transistor, wait a while, and the whisper turns into a scream, it overwhelms your system and you won't know what it means, but pump the volume up, and it can tell you all your dreams, till pretty soon it's the only voice you'll ever need. Now all you have to do is listen when you want to lead, your fear disintegrates when you decide to stop and it's your authentic voice.

No matter where you go, it never leaves. And that's God no matter what religion you believe. That's God no matter what religion you believe. That line in particular resonates deeply because you're tapping into deeper truths here. Like these deeper truths about our true essence. and the journey and the story telling part of it of humanity of how we're playing this big game of cosmic hide-and-seek forgetting ourselves and remembering ourselves.

That's a poem. That's cool. Cosmic hide-and-seat. That's really cool. Big game of cosmic hide-and-seek. See, you have like multiple poems already. Yeah, this podcast. There we go.

You just have to bring them into the world. Yeah. Amazing. Like I said, this process of forgetting and remembering yourself. It's like you come into the, this world sometimes pre-encoded with these different things, if you believe in past lives or whatever. But regardless, up until you're 20-something, you have all this past experience, this somsauric material. And they create these scars, these scars within us that define us and create

our personality. These are the persona that we go and operate in the world. And we create this colored tinted glasses in which we view reality through. And we think that's the truth, right? and for me finding stillness, finding times where I can really take a break from the world and get quiet and realize that I'm bigger than my circumstances like you spoke to, that I'm not who I've been. This persona that I've had is useful in certain cases in the world when creating certain things for survival. But if I'm interested in realizing who I truly am, I need to learn that I'm much more than this. And so tapping into that is the journey of our life. And when I hear you speak your poem and you speak your art,

it's taking us on this journey of like, yes, I resonate so much. Like I feel there's a big yes to everything that you're saying and resonates so deeply. Thanks, man. So, dude, thank you. Thank you for who you be. Thank you for how you're showing up in the world. Thanks, man. Yeah.

Working on it. Yeah. Big cosmic game of hiding seat. Here I am. Where am I? I love that. Maybe you take that and run with it. It's pretty good.

We're in a big game of cosmic idency. Here I am. Where am I? That's pretty good. That's good. That's a great story. Call right. Oh, happily, my first poem, Corrine.

With Adam. Oh, beautiful, man. Is there anything on your heart that we've talked to today that you feel like you want to speak into or share that you've got going on? I don't think so. I mean, I'm just happy to be here on the grand adventure. Whoever's listening to this, I hope you're doing well. And I know I don't know you, but I love you. And yeah, maybe you'll come out and see a show sometime and say hello and you'll say,

oh, I heard you on the podcast. And, you know, you'll say, when you said da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. It made me feel, and I'll just nod. be like, that's not what I said. Give you a hug. Amazing. I actually watched the recording on Amazon Prime. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, the special on Amazon Prime if you'll want to check it out. Yeah, so I have the special on Amazon Prime. I have Inquirer within the book. And you can always go to my website at www. I-N-Q.com. That was some old shit to say. WWW. The World Wide Web.

Beautiful. Amazing. and all your poetry online on YouTube, on Instagram. I love these short snippets that you've been sharing on Instagram as well, the poetry. Thanks. And thank you so much for coming on the show, bro. Thanks for having me. Yeah, looking forward to hanging more in the future.

Absolutely. Thank you so much. And to everybody that's been listening, thanks for coming on this journey with me. It's just as fun for me as I hope it is for you. And if something from this podcast resonated, we share clips on social. Please subscribe with the like button. Let us know what you thought down below. And until next time, I'll see you.

You know,