The Rich Roll Podcast - How To Get Good At Gratitude — Plus: What It’s Like To Be Profiled In The New York Times

Episode Date: October 1, 2015

Admittedly, the tweet was inspired by a little low grade frustration at utterly failing to generate any mainstream national press interest whatsoever in our book The Plantpower Way, which had recently come out. A self-reminder that you can't push buttons and expect a pat on the back. Fast forward three months to today's publication of Vegans Go Glam in The New York Times (The New York Times!) — a very large profile on our family and the growing vegan scene in Los Angeles and New York deftly penned by Jeff Gordinier. It's a big article (like, really big) in perhaps the most respected mainstream publication on the planet (do I even need to say that?). It's also an article that has kicked up some dust, generating lively discussion around the global water cooler. So much discussion in fact, Vegans Go Glam is the #1 most e-mailed story on the entire New York Times website today. C'mon! Now, that is just insane. So what does it all mean? That's for you to decide, not me. But today Julie and I do our best to talk it all through — including practices for cultivating gratitude — on this latest installment of Ask Me Anything. A conversation that explores: * what it's like to have a huge story about you & your family in the New York Times * cultivating tolerance beyond veganism * restricting judgment of others & focusing on self; and * how to get good at gratitude The show concludes with Held So Sweetly, written and performed by Julie — aka SriMati – accompanied by our sons Tyler & Trapper Piatt. Special thanks to “Jo” for today’s question, as well as everyone who submitted inquiries — keep ‘em coming! I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation. Peace + Plants, Rich

Hey peoples, welcome to the podcast. My name is Rich Roll. I am your host of the podcast that bears my name, the podcast where generally, most of the time, I sit down with the outliers, the big forward thinkers across all categories of positive paradigm breaking, culture change. And the aim is simple, to help all of us unlock and unleash our best, most authentic selves. This is another installment of Ask Me Anything with my erstwhile co-host, Julie Pyatt, and wife.

All the time. Sometimes wife. All the time wife. Sometimes lover. How's it going? It's going good, Rich Roll. Thanks for having me on. Thank you for joining me.

And thanks to everybody out there for tuning in, for subscribing to the show on iTunes, for checking out the weekly newsletter, for giving us a review on iTunes, and always using the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. That really helps us out a lot. So thank you. We got a great show for you guys today.

It's been a couple of weeks since we've done the Ask Me Anything, right? It has. And there's been some interesting things that have occurred. Life is happening. We're going to get into in a second. But before we do that, let's take care of a little business shall we how are you doing julie i'm doing good you did a good job on this yeah i think i'm gonna i think i'm gonna become a trainer and i think i'm gonna order some golf

well there's no risk i mean you know they'll give you your money i can have my money back if i do that, I would not get a job. Probably. It would definitely not be hireable as a trainer. So they would just be refunding you. You think we could test the refund policy. I don't know.

Somebody might hire you as a personal trainer. I don't know about that. What would your advice be? Don't do any sit ups. Try to do less reps and don't do it when you don't feel like it. Relax a little bit. Relax a lot yeah do less less is more sleep in no not sleep but maybe meditate or breathe possibly eat a plant

eat a plant how about that well on the subject of eating plants it's been a uh it's kind of been a pretty crazy uh last 24 hours for us. It has been. What's happening? What's happening? It looks like it appears that we have appeared in the New York Times. Yeah, so just today, today's Wednesday, September 30th. We're going to put this episode up the same day that we're recording it. So it's kind of contemporaneous with what's going on. And what's going on is that the New York Times today in the newspaper, there's a big profile on our family and kind of a canvassing of the vegan movement in Los Angeles.

It's a big article that's the lead article in the food section of the New York Times called Vegans Go Glam. And there's a giant picture of our entire family sitting around our fire pit. And then there's a lot of real estate for this article. It goes on and on and on. And then like the back page, there's another whole picture of our family. There's pictures of your food and your recipes.

There's your recipe for the Mexican cacao brownies is right in the article. I mean, it's crazy. It's crazy. It is. It's pretty beautiful. It's kind of surreal. I'm, it's crazy. It's crazy. It is. It's pretty beautiful. It's kind of surreal. I'm very, yeah, very, very touched

and extremely grateful. And, you know, we're kind of pinching ourselves a little bit. You know, we released The Plant Power Way. We really haven't had any national press at all. When did it come out? In April. No, April 28th. Right. So here we are at the end of, we're almost in October. Exactly. So it was very unexpected. And, and really,

you know, pretty amazing and, and spiritually aligned and planetarily timed perfectly, just post eclipse. Yeah, it's, you know, as Julie said, we really didn't get any we got zero national press around the plant power way. Like we you know, we did what we could on the internet, like sort of pushing the levers and, you know, trying to foment as much interest as we could online. But it's not like, you know, the Today Show called or anything. Dr. Oz didn't call us. And, you know, what the book speaks to is it's kind of, you know, it's just crazy. It's so crazy. And it came together pretty, you know, organically and informally.

You know, Jeff Gordinier, who wrote the article, he did a beautiful job on the piece. Amazing writer. You know, he just contacted us out of the blue and said, you know, I have your book and I'm, you know, I'm loving it and I'm hearing good things. And I'd love to come out and just like hang out with you guys. So he came out. I cooked a little. Julie cooked a whole bunch of stuff for him. A little bit. He hung out like most of the day.

He did. He ended up staying like seven hours. You played music for him. Yeah. And he used to be a music writer for, I think. Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly, right? And so, you know, he has a foothold in music as well.

That's crazy. Anyway, that's what we do at our house when we have guests over. They come, we eat, we hang out. There's generally some kind of impromptu concert that happens. And there's dessert. So he just kind of got the full treatment. The ritual Julie Pied family treatment. And we're like, okay, well, that was cool.

And who knows what will happen with that. And then here we are, I don't know, three weeks later or something like that with this beautiful. Well, we knew that it wasn't only going to be on us because we knew that he was coming to L.A. and that he was interviewing other people. So, you know, as far as we knew, it could have been one line in the story. You know, you just didn't know. And the article is about, you know, it's about Tal Ronan and his restaurant Crossroads. know, you just didn't know. And the article is about, you know, it's about Tal Ronan and his restaurant Crossroads. And it's about some other, you know, cookbook authors, and just kind of like how, you know, the plant based movement is, is really capturing the attention and the interest

and the passion of kind of a new demographic of people. So it is an article about a bunch of different people. And it very easily we could have been, you know, a small marginal aspect of that article. But, you know, this photograph of our family takes up like the entire page, you know, like I did not expect that. It was very cool. Very cool. It was really, really such a blessing.

We're deeply honored. And it was fun. It was fun and also interesting because Jeff came in. First of all, he arrived kind of early and I was freaking out a little bit because I had about 15 dishes planned, and I wasn't quite ready for him. So he did come a little bit early. Rich wasn't there. And he came in, and we started talking, but he was writing like Columbo, like with the pad and just asking me questions and just scratching scribble on the pad. And he did that the entire seven hours.

And it was, you know, just surreal and amazing. And I was very happy that he seemed to enjoy all of my food a lot and went back for a lot of seconds. I made this new recipe. Actually, it's not in the Plant Power way. It's raw beet ravioli with aged cashew truffle cheese. It's a recipe that I'm working on for my new nut cheese book that's going to be coming out. It's an e-book that I'm working on. And then I did Tower of Nachos, of course, our family favorite,

which was like about three feet high in the center of the table. And then I did the veggie burgers. We scaled them down and we did veggie sliders, which worked great. So if anybody out there wants to try that, it's a super great appetizer. And then we did the amazingly popular Caesar salad, really a favorite of many. And then, you know, the Mexican brownies. Oh, we did mini tamales with almond chipotle cheddar, also another recipe from the new nut cheese ebook that's coming out. So anyway, it was a beautiful, beautiful day, beautiful experience. And we gave him all of our love and all of our heart and all of our honesty and then crossed our fingers.

You don't know. Like I said to Julia, I was like, you know, he was really cool and friendly and all that kind of stuff. But you got to remember. We think he's our friend. Yeah, like he's our friend. I was like, yeah, but he's a reporter. For the New York Times. Be careful what you say.

Right. You know, but no, he was great. Because, you know, he's not a vegan. For the New York Times. Be careful what you say. Right. You know, but no, he was great. Because, you know, he's not a vegan. That's right. It's not like he was, this is like a new terrain for him in some regards. I mean, he's written about the plant-based movement before. He's written about veganism. And he's the guy who wrote the profile of Dan Buettner, the Blue Zones guy, who Dan, of course, has been on the podcast.

Blue Zones guy who Dan, of course, has been on the podcast. That was the it was the lead article in the Sunday style section of The New York Times, maybe six or eight weeks ago. Yeah. And that was a huge kind of went crazy viral and was an amazing thing. And and this article, which, you know, just came out today. But but Jeff emailed us and he's like, hey, check it out. It's the it was the number one most emailed story on all of New York Times. That's crazy. Which is crazy, right? Like think of how many, I don't know how many articles go up on NewYorkTimes.com every day, but a lot.

And certainly, you know, the most prominent newspaper, most well-respected newspaper, like arguably on the planet. most well-respected newspaper, like arguably on the planet. And then for this article that basically features our family and the sort of plant-based movement in Los Angeles to be the number one most emailed article on the entire website is crazy. That's amazing. And last night there was a really funny moment because the New York Times, like, kind of, they scroll and circulate, like, the articles that they feature on the home homepage and the image that they feature. And there was a moment for, like, I don't know, a couple hours last night where this article was the lead article featured on the homepage of the New York Times. And the image that corresponded to it, which was, like, front and center right under the masthead that said New York Times, was a picture of our daughter, Jaya.

Like, our eight-year-old daughter, like, on the homepage of the New York Times. Like, it was the most surreal thing. Like, I'm like, this is what it's like when you take, like, psychedelic drugs. Like, that's just, I can't even, like, compute. Like, that's so weird, you know? But what an amazing thing. And, you know, yesterday, the way this works is these articles go live, you know, 12 hours or so before the printed version. So even though today's the day that the article is in print, I don't know what time it posted yesterday, like around 5 o'clock or something like that. Jeff emailed and said, hey, it's up. like around five o'clock or something like that, Jeff emailed and said, Hey, it's, it's up. Um,

and I, I clicked on it and I was reading it on my computer and I just got so emotional. You know, I like literally teared up because it's kind of such a surreal thing to be, you know, sort of recognized in that way. Like, um, you know, I tweeted a while ago, this tweet that was something I can't remember exactly what I said, but it was something like, if you're breaking paradigms, then you can't be pissed off when the mainstream doesn't get you. You know, it's like, you can't, you know, and, and we're trying to kind of shift perspectives and, and, and, you know, change the way that people, you know, what their relationship around food in certain ways, and, you know, change the way that people, you know, what their relationship around food in certain ways, and that pushes buttons, it's an emotional issue. And so we, we sort of acclimated to like, yeah, well, you know, Dr. Oz isn't going to call and the Today

Show isn't going to call because what we're doing is kind of, you know, out of the box, far field or whatever. But then to be kind of like in the New York Times, like, I wouldn't have predicted that something like that was possible or could happen. And I just got emotional because it brought into perspective, like everything that we have endured and gone through to like, get to this point, you know, like, we, you know, sacrificed a lot, like, it has not been an easy journey. Like, we basically risked everything, we put everything on the line. And there were plenty of moments. And we've talked about this, you know, many, many times on the podcast before,

so there's no need to retread it. But, but, you know, I feel like, finally, yeah, or like, we earned it. And in a part of that's like ego you know it's like i'm more interested in the impact and the conversations that are going to occur around the movement and you know the idea of being plant-based because it's not really about us but on a symbolic level you know i think it's okay to pause and go that's really fucking cool absolutely i can't believe that that happened. You know, reflecting back on where we were three years ago, four years ago to what's happening now. It's crazy.

It's been a beautiful, miraculous, amazing arc. And I'm very, very grateful to be in this place and to be an ambassador of this message. Yeah. Yeah. And we don't, you know, we are so extremely grateful and we, you know, we don't take it for granted. Not one single minute do we take for granted. And, you know, yeah, I mean, the whole journey informs the experience. And so, you know, those tough years were necessary for us to be able to serve at the level that we are. And, and it's kind of, you know, I think it's human, I think, I think it's, it's something that we desire as human

beings to connect with other individuals. And when you are breaking a paradigm, or you are sort of treading a new path, it can be very lonely, and it can be very isolating. And so it is nice, and it's beautiful. And what it is, is it's a recognition of the support that we have for this movement and for the energy of this new way of being on the planet, you know, by forces that are outside of ourselves, because, you know, this is just sort of happening due to the vibration that we're living and being and existing in and all of the energy that's been cultivated from the podcast and from all of you guys and everybody who is connecting with us and joining in the movement and having their own experiences around plant-based eating and

sustainability and living from your heart. And so all of us combined together are creating momentum in the movement, and there is great spiritual energy here that is supporting us in this endeavor. And so this is a very physical, visceral, 3D proof that's in a newspaper that's very reputable and very, you know, it's a very wide, wide circulation, and it's a very, very impactful. And so we should all all of us who have taken the time and the care to shift our lives in every moment, more in the direction of caring for our planet and caring for the animals and caring for ourselves by choosing plant-based foods on your plate should feel a little a little bit assured that it is all adding up to something we don't maybe don't really know what it is yet but

it is adding up to something right uh and i think think in honoring this sort of auspicious moment of this article getting published today, and kind of turning to listener questions, there was one that popped up that I think is relevant to the New York Times piece and will allow us to kind of get into it a little bit deeper. So let's just get into it a little bit deeper. So let's just get into it. You ready for this? Let's do it. Okay, so this email question comes in from somebody named Joe. I'll just leave her last name off. It's a woman. It's a long email, so I'm going to kind of synopsize it. But it begins with, something has been bothering me. It started during your book launch when you talked about not being able to receive national media coverage, which is something we just talked about. Hey, Joe, look what happened. I know. It grew deeper after I joined a vegan chat group on Facebook and felt alienated by the extremist approach to the world.

And it became solidified when I walked into an event called Vegan Drinks, forgetting that I was carrying a leather handbag, thus making me a vegan pariah. What's bothering me is that people hate vegans because vegans have a zero tolerance policy, blah, blah, blah. I get it. Any tolerance condones the slaughter of animals, but doesn't meatless Mondays at least lessen the slaughter, lessen the impact on the environment. And so really, this is a plea for inclusiveness, or perhaps, you know, a kind of questioning of, of the best approach to kind of carry this message, like she's saying, where's the inclusive plant based community, you know, basically, only 2% of Americans identify as vegan, which means 98% of Americans find this lifestyle extreme and alienating. And so that can create like divisiveness.

So if you want to like move the ball forward and create, you know, more people interested in this environment, like what is the best way to do that essentially, right? So, and I think it dovetails into kind of something that's come out of this article because you know the article in the new york times is called vegans go glam right so it's all about like glamour and fashion and there's a there's a picture of the the uh custom garage behind crossroads uh restaurant in los angeles tell ronan's place where they have like a special enclosed place where celebrities can park their car. So it's all about like, how veganism has now become

like this fashionista sort of thing. Right? There's an angle to that. You know, and I think if I was writing the article, I perhaps might have focused more on how the culture is changing to embrace this as a more mainstream approach, you know, because people are more interested in sustainability and health, et cetera, and, you know, the ethics surrounding this movement. And I understand why the article is written the way that it is written, but I think that, you know, kind of our perspective has always been, and kind of the angle with the Plant Power Way was to show people a different side of what it means to be plant-based or vegan and kind of take it out of that, that, um, stereotypical, you know, kind of

hippie context of like, oh, well, vegans are spindly weakling, you know, people wearing Birkenstocks. There's a visual image that, that goes along with that and say, no, this could be modern and cool and current. And, you know, this is how we're doing it. And kind of how we live our life is in alignment with that. And the way that we wrote the book is is in alignment with that. But then it gets then it gets sort of pitched as, oh, well, you're just like, you're glamorous, you know what I mean? And that becomes another way to like, create divisiveness, or you're privileged, you're privileged. So you know, you're the few with the chosen genetics or the like a silver spoon in your mouth because you can afford it's a it's that whole argument

about how you know uh you know pure food is so expensive you know which is in my opinion i would do that if i had if i had the money or if i had your life or right you know you guys are living this perfect life and it's like we don't live a perfect life. Like we worked really hard to get to this place of where we can, where we can, you know, kind of carry this message. Right. And it's, it's not, we're not doing it perfectly. Yeah. I mean, it's very, you know, it's very hard in one article and, you know, as we, as we were just being introduced to sort of a new population or a new, a new, you know, a new group of, of, of humans, you know, that don't know about us. So my hope is, is, of course, the article is, you know, is sort of on a surface level of that, like vegan is glamorous or whatever, but hopefully, the vibration and seeing

our family together to the ones that are ready to the ones that are ready. And they're really and they must be ready because it's the number one emailed story on The New York Times. And even though there are many, many, many negative comments, even though those are there, it's not going to which we're not. Rich is not reading them, but I'm and I'm not reading them either. But the thing is, is that, you know, you you touch a button and so you're going to get that response. But for the people that are ready, we're just, they've opened the door. They're opening the door to these people. And hopefully these people will come and they'll listen to the podcast and they'll read Finding Ultra. And they'll get to know us the way that our listeners know us. And they'll see that things aren't exactly what they seem. that our listeners know us and they'll see that things aren't exactly what they seem. And I've, you know, I'm, I'm, I have a, I don't want to say, I don't choose to associate myself with any marketing campaigns that call being vegan sexy. I'm not judging it for other people, but that's not a vibration that I want to cultivate. I want to cultivate something much deeper than that. There has to be a deeper reason for living

a human life. Can you be sexy at the same time though? You absolutely can be. And I would even say that you would be more sexy at the end of it if you, in fact, connected with your authentic self. But I think this whole sexy campaign is it's it's a little bit disingenuous and it's a little bit it's just a little meek. it's just a little meek. It's not very deep. Let's put it that way. It's not very deep. And I'm all for sexy and I'm all for all of that. But, you know, really, like, do we have to present every single argument that it will make you sexy or be associated with sex?

Like, sex is the best thing. I'm not saying sex is the best thing. I'm saying true, deep heart spiritual connection is the best thing. I'm not saying sex is the best thing. I'm saying true deep heart spiritual connection is the best thing. And when you have that, sexual creativity and sexual health is part of that. And it's beautiful. But I'm not, you know, I'm not really into the, you know, sexy, as Trapper says, sexy, easy, vegan series. Right, right. Well, I mean, I mean i think that that you know part of the article i think there's actually a quote in the article something that like uh you know if you

want to if you want to like get people interested in this movement you know use use honey not vinegar like you know attract people to something that is alluring as opposed to presenting it as, you know, perhaps altruistic, but kind of deprivation oriented. You know what I mean? So, so sexiness kind of comes with that landscape, I suppose. And that gets thrown in there because that sells, you know, TV shows and newspapers and page views and the like. So I understand why there there's, you know, people would try to craft, you know, messaging around that term. But, you know, I agree with you. You know, this is about something far beyond that.

But I think that there is wisdom in trying to present it as, you know, attractive and aspirational as opposed to kind of burdensome. No, absolutely. Attractive and aspirational by all means. and aspirational by all means, but when you're promoting sexiness in a certain stereotype, you're instantly eliminating a whole bunch of people, you know? So when you're talking about just connecting with your authentic heart and finding out who you are and how God created you so that you can live that, that is inclusive of everyone. So, you know, I think the sexy thing really sort of sells us short. Right. That's, you know, but of course, we wrote The Plant Power Way.

You know, The Plant Power Way is not a cookbook for vegans. It is a lifestyle guide and cookbook for every single variation of eating that you could, you know, you could be experiencing in your life. It's offered with open arms. It's not just for white people in Calabasas. That's right. Exactly. So, you know, it's just, I think all of our messaging has been that. And it's, you know, it's just a great place to start to start adding more plant based meals into your life into your body and introducing these new healing herbs and plants into your body.

And I always say, you don't even have to give anything else up. Just simply add these foods in and then see what happens along your journey. Yeah, that's why it's so hilarious to me. I mean, that's been our intention all along. And I feel like we accomplished that in the book. So it's kind of hilarious when people then look at it and go and then they project onto that like they can no longer make the argument like oh well this is about you know like i don't want to be vegan because i don't want to be a

spindly hippie now we're presenting a different light so they have to come up with a different argument because if people are afraid or intimidated by it then what are they going to say they're going to say then they have to say oh well you know what's it going to say? They're going to say, then they have to say, oh, well, you know, what's it going to be? Like, I don't, you know, I don't live in a modern house in Calabasas, so I'm not going to do that, or I can't do that. Yeah. And that just means that that person is not, you know, either it's not their, their soul journey, or they're not interested, or they're not ready yet. And that's fine. All of that is fine, and to be respected and honored, and there's no problem with that. So what we, who we are trying to activate or reach or hold a handout to are the people who are ready, who,

who find something within our message that is speaking to them, to, who find something in the way that we are living their lives that they would like to emulate, or they would like to experience more of in their life. And, you know, the article is true. It's authentic. You know, like I said, I mean, we truly opened our arms, welcomed Jeff into our home, and we gave him the pure Plant Power Way experience, just like we do everybody else who comes to our house. And I feel like he represented that very honorably, with a lot of care and a lot of intelligence. And I'm very grateful for his celebration of our family in the New York Times.

Yeah, absolutely. No question about it. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. And to kind of speak to Joe's, you know, issue and concern here about inclusiveness, I get it. I'm on her page. Basically, our whole approach is always to kind of present a welcome mat for people that are interested. And I'm not here to judge anyone else or take their inventory or lecture people about the ills of whatever. Like if people want to talk about those issues, I'm happy to talk to them about it, but I'm not going to sit or stand in judgment of somebody else's behavior pattern. Basically, we just try to focus on what we're doing, like control your own actions, take ownership of that and, and, and domain over that. And, you know, be like,

as Josh Lajani said in one of the podcasts, like be the lighthouse, you know, be the lighthouse, like, as you say, like, be the Jedi Knight who doesn't get rattled by everything else that's going on around them stand in your strength. that there's a lot of wisdom in that as opposed to um you know shaming somebody because they're not doing it the way that you think that they should do it like this is not an effective strategy to get people to change their behavior patterns but it's an interesting thing because like when we were at summerfest i heard this uh lecture by gary francione who's a professor of law at ruckers and he takes a very incredibly hardcore stance on like animal rights like from an abolitionist perspective like he's against meatless mondays because he thinks that that makes people feel better about eating meat on the six other days of the week and he's against whole foods because they have marketing images of of animals and happy farmers that makes you feel better

about purchasing an animal product, which is actually moving you away from the goal of eliminating those products and sort of, you know, preserving the lives of these animals. You get that point, right? So he wants to stand way out on a limb and take that really hardcore stance. But I think that in terms of trying to, that in terms of trying to, you know, get people interested in this lifestyle, I think that that is, that can be, is generally repelling to the average human being, right? So by giving somebody permission to experiment and be imperfect, and allow them to ask questions and not feel like they're going to be judged, and all of that is a much more, you know, compassionate way of carrying the message.

It may not, you know, it may take, you know, everybody, like Gary would say in his, Gary said in his speech, like, everybody wants to talk about their journey. They're on their journey. And he's like, I don't care about your journey. He's like, we're running out of time. Like, we're destroying the planet. All these animals are dying every single day. Like don't care about your journey. He's like, we're running out of time. Like, we're destroying the planet. All these animals are dying every single day. Like, who cares about your journey?

But, you know, everybody is on their journey. You know what I mean? And you can't, like, expedite that person's journey. You can be available to them to help them, you know, perhaps make better decisions or be kind of the lighthouse for them in certain regards on certain issues that they're interested in. But you're not going to be able to sort of compel somebody to change who isn't ready to change. I think that this is an interesting subject, and I think that we all can benefit from focusing on our own journey, cleaning our own house, taking care of our own imbalance issues. And I hear from people often who write in or they'll tell me, well, you know, I want to do great service work, or I want to take care of the homeless, or I want to start a hospice, or I want to help all these people. But the reality is, unless you are in a place of wholeness, and unless you have truly gone deep within,

and you are healed, and you are whole, you're in no place to hold space for other people. And I think sometimes in the vegan, in any movement, actually, there's this kind of, you know, how when you're, it's very human nature, you'll hear somebody talk about a certain subject, like, it'll be like some sort of behavior that's out that's in balance, and immediately your mind will go to someone you know who has that quality, who could really use this advice, right? But the truth is, is that all the advice you're using should be for yourself. Like take the advice, apply it to your own life so that you can balance your own being and then you can be a radiant example. and you can then watch people in their illusion,

watch people in their, uh, unawareness with compassion and just know that by you holding that space, they're going to transform in their own time. And, you know, there's an aspect of me. I,

I agree with the speaker, you know, there, I can also get sort of like okay enough of the journey stuff like we we are on the planet and we are running out of water and the glaciers are melting and animals are being slaughtered and so there's a and you but you're on your journey but i am on my journey but the other thing is is is uh i you know i know from experience you can't make another person change. And the best way to cultivate expansion and evolution is to be a living example. That is the greatest thing you can do is to be a knower of yourself,

a knower of God, a knower of creativity, so that you can be a way shower of those beautiful divine qualities until you know that within yourself. And I mean, I don't mean you read it in a book. I mean, you've owned it. You've digested the information and that has become a part of you. Then you can't, when you've done that, then you can stand as a living example. And you will, it's funny, because I know for myself in the earlier stages of this process, there were a lot of times where I was misunderstood, I was my process that I was undertaking with you with my kids and in my little human moments sometimes I mean my ego would think they're gonna see someday that I'm right like my ego was like I'm gonna get this satisfaction and then on further reflection in meditation I would laugh at my ego because I knew that by the time I had the recognition, my ego would no longer need that validation. So then what is your experience like picking up this newspaper today and seeing that?

Do you have any like little ting, tinge of like, I wonder if so-and-so saw this? No. Whoever any of those people are that like. No, I wonder if so-and-so saw this. No. Whoever any of those people are that like. No, I really don't. I have to say completely, I have nothing. I have only, I have the sense that we are instruments of this message. I have a sense of extreme gratitude for consciousness, for God, for you,

for our beautiful children, for our beautiful partner, Greg, who has been such an amazing part of our journey. I have this overwhelming gratitude of knowing that I am in this space only by the grace of God. And I'm grateful and I'm enjoying the comments and I'm enjoying people. I appreciate it, but I'm not attached to it. So it feels, you know, it feels right. And it feels like it has its own trajectory and it is going to develop in its own timing as is divinely mandated. And our job is to continue to continually balance ourselves, clear ourselves, commit to the work again and again and again and again, and to cultivate compassion and gratitude and remember every moment we're only here only by the grace of God. Right. I think it's important to really connect with a sense of humility and an understanding that like, you know, it's cool to see ourselves in

the New York Times, but it isn't about us. You know, it's like, for some reason, the universe has chosen us to be a cipher for this message. But we don't own the message. And it's not about our ego. We're just like a vessel for carrying a certain vibration that hopefully can be helpful and transformative to other people. And, you know, what you were saying kind of reminded me of that and something that came up in the podcast that i did with jeff casteles that i'm putting up on sunday that's the next one and he's talking about all the amazing musicians that that he's worked with and we're talking about like what what the elements of of a successful band that's able to stay together for long periods of time and like

what the kind of alchemy of that is and he said the people that can really make it happen are the ones that that a uh you know have the humility to understand that uh that uh that it isn't theirs like that that that creative spirit that creates this music they don't own it they're a vessel for it but it doesn't come from them and the people that really understand that on a deep profound level are the ones that are grounded enough to kind of weather the ups and downs and the storms that come with being in a successful band and the second thing is is being able to have a life outside of it right so you So you're not defined by, you know, whether or not you are, you know, having, you're on the billboard list or you have an article about yourself in the New York Times because

you're clear on what your message is. And these are just sort of extraneous. They're cool things. They're like shiny little things that dangle in front of you, you know, that are sparkly and definitely attractive to the ego. But if your relationship to them is, is out of balance, then I think that that can lead you astray. So for me, it's about trying to maintain that groundedness and that sense of humility and that understanding that it isn't about me. It is about something bigger than me that I have to be on my knees in service of

and connect with gratitude. So another thing that happened this week was I was listening to an interview with Brian Grazier, the film producer. It was the Nerdist podcast, I think. And I love Brian Grazier. He's a character. He's made amazing movies. But he just seems like such a cool dude.

And he lives in Malibu. Like, I see him. I don't know him. But I've seen him walking around Malibu. He's a big surfer and stuff like that. And I'm always like, he just looks like a cool dude that I would like to talk to. And he said something really interesting in this interview that stuck with me, which was, I can't remember what the question presented to him was. It was something

like, uh, it was something like, you know, how, you know, how do you account for being successful for so many years or something like that? And he said, uh, he said, I'm really, I'm really good at gratitude. Like I'm really good at gratitude. And I was like, wow, that's such a cool answer. and I was like wow that's such a cool answer it's like I wish I was good at gratitude you know like like I get that and I I'm not good at gratitude like I try and I fail and I try and I fail and I understand intellectually the importance of being in gratitude but it's not my default state it's something that I have to like cultivate and work towards and i was like i'd really like to be good at gratitude and i was like i was riding my bike when i was listening to this podcast it was yesterday i was like i wonder what would happen if i just focused on that one thing like

i'm gonna get good at gratitude like i'm gonna get really good at gratitude that's awesome like how would that change my experience in my life like Like if that was like my main thing, like I'm going to get good at gratitude. It would change it. Quantumly. Right. But now like, like that's cool. Like I'd like to be good at gratitude.

I'd also like to be good at like being irritable sometimes. No, let's not. You got to let that go. It's sort of like, I want to have all those things, but it's like, okay,

cool. Like that being good at gratitude sounds awesome. Okay, good. So how do I, so should we start? Can we start can we start now but like how am i going to do like tell me how that happens okay so let's start so first

of all this is actually beautiful divine timing here so thank you for bringing that we're not done with joe's question we're gonna get back okay joe you're awesome though you you you're divinely timed um okay so we're traveling tomorrow which is generally a time in your life where you could benefit from cultivating gratitude. Well, I can always benefit. No, but specifically when you're flying. Specifically when you're flying. I get grouchy. Yeah, so I'm just going to get you.

Can I give you a task? Do you want that kind? Is that okay with you? Yes. Okay. Give me the list okay so so your homework is to wake up in the morning in gratitude and if you're not in gratitude you have to wake up ahead of time so that you can write a journal that will shift you to gratitude like write a page right and then from the time we leave the house to the time we touch down in Washington, D.C., your homework is to cultivate gratitude in every moment.

With every person you see, I want you to hear internally, thank you. I want you to look at them as if they were a child of God, every single being you meet. You have to stop with that awareness. And when they hand you something, you have to look in their eyes and say, thank you. So that's my task for you to do that from the time you leave to the time that we touch down and then whatever you do from there you're you're on your own all right well we'll see how that goes do you think you can do that how do you feel about that yeah i mean i need the brass tacks like assignment actually it's it's sort of like well just be grateful you know what i mean like that sounds awesome like but like

what is it you're like well make sure you wake up in gratitude i'm like all right well what if i don't wait you know then i just said wake up in the process of shifting so wake up in gratitude. I'm like, all right, well, what if I don't wake up? Then I just said wake up. I'm interested in the process of shifting. So wake up and then see, just intend that you're going to wake up grateful. Okay, just intend that. Let's start there. If you wake up and you're not grateful, then write a gratitude journal. That's a practice that you do, I think.

So you know how to do that. Okay, and then just the simple the simple um homework is everyone you interact with in the airport in the coffee shop on the plane in the baggage every single person your children me when you're interacting with them i want you to be thinking inside yourself i'm so grateful for you. Thank you. Those two mantras, that's it. That's like an act as if thing.

Exactly. There you go. Act as if. Because it doesn't necessarily mean that I feel that way. Just keep. But I have to like say that to myself. Say that to yourself and say it. You'll find the more that you say it, the more that you'll feel it

because thoughts are things and words have vibrations. All right, I'll give it a shot. Give that a shot. Report back to everybody. Report back. We'll let you guys know how it went. All right, well, I kind of feel like we didn't fully answer Joe's question about kind of dealing with the zero tolerance policy world of veganism.

And I don't really have an answer to that. I think that, look, you know, if there's a group of people that are in that world that have that, that are carrying that kind of vibration and that bothers you, you're not going to get them to change. You can change your environment. You don't have to hang out with them. The only thing that you can change is how, you know, your level of compassion, how you're interacting with other people in the same way. Like, yeah, I'm going to try to shift my energy and be more in gratitude with the people that I interact with. Perhaps you can do the same thing in terms of your sort of, you know, acceptance and compassion for other people who are interested in learning a little bit about this journey, but maybe aren't as far along the path as you are, right? I mean,

Yeah, I mean, I think also that as human beings becoming divine beings, we have to remember that we have to integrate our entire experience, right? I mean, we're where we are right now in this moment because of all of our experiences. So for instance, in the article, Jeff talks about my dad dragging home wild game. And the article ends with, you know, me saying that I ate bear once. And, you know, I don't feel any shame about that part of my life. It's like, those were the conditions that I was raised in. And I don't feel a big separation from my father, because that was the family I incarnated into. I just, it's just who I was, it's where I came from, you know, and,

who I was. It's where I came from, you know, and, and also, you know, with the leather handbag, Joe, you know, again, we, we all come into this awareness at different states of our journey. And, you know, we have some leather goods. How dare you with all this journey talk? I know. But we all have certain things, you know, it's kind of a progression so you know i have some leather items that are still in my closet i will tell you that i um i will almost not wear them at all i mean except for some vintage shoes um i now have a cloth handbag but i still have my old leather one wrapped up in the back of the closet you know know, and I probably can't carry it anymore. Like, I just can't, not because of the New York Times article, but just because, no, I mean, I just

think the thing is, is it's like, I think you should have compassion for yourself and respect and honor for yourself. Your progression is your progression. And you don't have to be on somebody else's timeline. You know, know it's like you will get there in your own awareness when the time is right for you and what where is there anyway you know where are we trying to get anyway so i think it's by having compassion for ourselves and sort of you know including all of our experience you know i go out with my dad you, and he wears an NRA cap on his head. And, you know, he's 92. And, you know, at that twilight of his life. And it's like, that's who he is. Like, what am I going to do? What am I going to apologize about him? You know, when I go into Cafe Gratitude? No, I'm not.

You know, it's just it's kind of caught the whole thing's kind of comical. Well, and also, I feel like kind of interlineated, you know, between the lines and the paragraphs of this email from Joe is kind of a frustration and an innate desire for these other groups, you know, of plant-based people out there to change. Like she's suffering because she wishes that these other groups would perceive this issue in the same way that she does. But they don't. Right. So you have to let that go. Everybody has their own way of carrying whatever message that they're carrying. And the world is a big place and there's room for all of these things. So if you believe that a better way to carry the message is the way that you're doing it, then that's what you should do, right? And stop like focusing on

what other people are doing or not doing. Yeah, don't worry about it. I mean, and some of that also is, you know, it's age related too. You know, if you're in your 20s, you know, it's gonna be more of a political movement, you know, or if you've been doing it a long time, you're probably really exhausted,

like you've been waiting for everybody else to wake up, and you're probably a little weary. So I understand that, you know. Sometimes you get angry. Of course, I understand. You know, I'm compassionate. It's like, I'm compassionate to everybody. But for, you know, for me, I trust my own life. So I would say trust your life, trust yourself. You know, there's no mistakes. You're right where you're supposed to be now. So continue to do that. Continue to explore deep within yourself. Continue to find these buttons. When these buttons get pushed, become the witness, watch them, take it like a game, lighten up. game, lighten up. And, you know, and I would say, choose plants on your plate and make a big difference. But do it with love and compassion and a little humor and, and just some acceptance and, and, and compassion for, for everyone. How about some sexiness?

Definitely. And definitely make it very sexy. And very glam. definitely and definitely make it very sexy and very glamorous yes cool all right well i think that's a good place to shut it down okay wrap it up awesome so thank you julie thanks ritual thanks joe for the great question yeah and thanks jeff gordinier for writing an amazing article jeff thank you so much it was really beautiful to spend the afternoon with you. Yes. And an article that opened up our life and our world to so many people. And hopefully that will create a lot of new interest in this plant-based movement. And that's really all that I care about. That's right. And what else? If you live in LA or your travels take you through this part of the world, come on by Joy Cafe. That's our awesome organic plant-based, gluten-free eatery in Westlake Village.

I was just there before I came here. Had some amazing superfood pancakes and my Julie's Divine smoothie. I saw Joy. She's amazing. Saw Nick. They're always so happy. The energy is fantastic. And the food is all organic, local, vegan, amazing.

Yeah, cool cool i went there yesterday on my ride i finished my ride at joy cafe and just picked up takeout and there was a family eating there um that was i think they were they were australian i think they were going back to australia i don't know where they were coming from and they specifically uh um uh configured their itinerary and their flight to have this really long layover at lax so that they could rent a car and go to joy cafe so there's like six of them like this family and their little kids and then this the guy's dad like the dad like the grandpa was there it was incredible it's super nice i was so glad that i happened to be there because they're podcast fans they went so cool well today i ran into a young couple from boston who said hi who also It was incredible. It was super nice. I was so glad that I happened to be there because they're podcast fans. So cool.

Well, today I ran into a young couple from Boston who said hi, who also, they're in town for a nutrition event. And they scheduled their trip so they could come by Joy Cafe. So Joy Cafe is becoming an international hub of ritual podcast fans. The hilarious thing is that for people that don't live in L.A., like if you knew knew how far LAX, the airport is from Joy Cafe, like it's not close, right? So that's a commitment. It's cool. No, they were happy. They enjoyed it. It was amazing. Cool. And we're also partners with the Karma Baker, which is a vegan and gluten-free bakery that's also in Westlake Village. They make incredibly delicious desserts. That's right. And the creator, Celine, is truly an artist.

She just has amazing, amazing baked goods. And please do check them out. Yeah, cool. You won't be disappointed. They're working on like a direct-to-consumer delivery. Is it up yet or no? I don't think so. It will be soon, though.

They're in most of the grocery store chains in our area. And this is a new startup, so it's be soon though they they're in most of the grocery store chains in our area and it's you know this is a new startup so it's slowly rolling out but i can tell you like their desserts are insane insanely good so you know it's cool with the podcast that we kind of serve the global community uh through the internet and the airwaves but through karma baker and the enjoy cafe there's something different about being able to kind of serve the local community, right? Yeah, it's really good. Like getting involved in your local community and trying to, you know, change the vibration, you know, in your immediate surroundings with the people that you share your living space with, right? So it's very cool.

We have two courses at mindbodygreen.com, The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition and The Art of Living with Purpose. Just go to mindbodygreen.com and click on Video Courses for information about that. Keep sending in your questions for future Q&A podcasts to info at richroll.com. If you're digging on Julie, she's at Srimati on Instagram and Twitter. Her Instagram's on fire lately with amazing recipe photos.

So check that out for sure and are we going to end this with a song? yes what song is that? Held So Sweetly Held So Sweetly yeah have you done that one on the podcast yet?

if we did it it was a long time ago okay I'm running out of songs no I'm kidding you could start writing more I'm recording more and I just want to say a happy birthday to our nephew Harrison, who turns 24 today. And he's been living with us for a few years and makes our life extremely beautiful and meaningful.

And I'm happy to call him my spiritual son. So I'm so happy that we get to celebrate his birthday with him today. Yeah. We're going out to dinner tonight for his birthday, right? Yeah. Cool. All right. Thanks, everybody, for supporting the show.

We love you guys. Thanks so much. This has been an incredible, extraordinary, amazing journey. Thank you for taking it with us. And we have some amazing shows coming up for you guys soon. Sunday's episode is Jeff Castellez, president of Electra Records, who has an amazing life story.

I'm really proud of that interview. I'm going to post that on Sunday night. So there's that to look forward to and many, many more. So until then. Awesome. And if you haven't gotten a copy of The Plant Power Way, pick it up. Pick it up.

Pick it up. It's super glam. All right, you guys. Peace. Plants. Namaste. I've been waiting, waiting. I've been waiting for you. Searching in the sunlight on the trees

The bubbling stream Inside my head Am I insane? I insane And though Words could never Show Still I wanted you To know

That your presence Is really something in my life And time and time again Path is leading me within Still your smile It's like a light Along the way Time like crystals

Melting on the sand It's no matter I knew you'd come I never listened to any of them And when you walked through that door I just don't listen to any of them. And when you walk through that door, just like I've seen so many times before, I just die.

I just died. I just died. And though words could never show, still I wanted you to know that your presence is really something in my life. And time and time again, that is leading me there still your smile

it's like a light along the way your laughter filled the air You spoke of mountains and secrets kept And in that moment I really felt Like I was wrapped up in hell so sweetly. Thank you.