My MB Alex breakdown is supported by Helix sleep. Bring is in the air and so are all of the allergens that come with it. Spring allergens means you need more sleep, but there are a ton of factors that can prevent us from getting a good night's rest. Night sweats, back pain, feeling the person next to you when they roll over a million times. We were so excited to hear that Helix wanted to partner with us. I've had my Helix mattress for about five years now and I have been sleeping so much better. Jonathan and also our kids love their Helix mattresses and all of those issues, night sweats, back pain, motion transfer, those things are significantly better with a Helix mattress. Helix delivers your mattress right to your door, which is so much fun with free shipping in the US. They have a 120 night sleep trial and limited lifetime warranty plus they're happy with Helix guarantee. Rest easy with seamless returns and exchanges. The happy with Helix guarantee offers a risk-free customer first experience designed to ensure that you're completely satisfied with your new mattress. Go to helixleap.com slash break down for 27% off site wide. That's helixleap.com slash break breakdown for 27% off site wide. helixleap.com slash breakdown. Hi, I'm Mayan Bialik. And I'm Jonathan Cohen. And welcome to our breakdown. Today, we're going to share an exclusive episode that we did a while back that had previously only been available to our special sub-stack community members, but now we're just opening it all up. We want to give you a peek behind the curtain. This episode starts with one of my favorite stories about how Mayem and I almost stop speaking. Seriously, it's years of friendship, collaboration, and love nearly ended over a surprisingly simple and hilarious problem that I share for the very first time in this episode that's you're about to hear. And also we should clarify, this isn't an episode like, oh, we had a guest and it was only available. This was me and Jonathan talking. So it's a special, my, and Jonathan episode. Also this conversation about misunderstandings is how I like to look at the, uh, when we almost stop speaking. It got us talking about other challenges in life. Emotional challenges, sometimes spiritual challenges, and sometimes purely practical ones. The payoff, really, of this surprising moment was that it tied so perfectly into the idea that often when we have really complicated problems The first step is ruling out some of things that are just obvious and you'll hear later on it will all make sense this episode also we explore Mediums and channelers. It's a follow-up our very popular Lee Harris episode. Lee is the guest who channels the Zs. He had an experience and awakening where his, On the subway, his intuitive diffs opened up and he suddenly became a medium channeling information that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, listen to every month. And so in this episode, Jonathan and I kind of dissect that a little bit more. We talk about the difference between mediums and channelers, because there is a little bit of a difference. So if you haven't checked out the Lee Harris episode, it's a good background for what we're gonna talk about. But the other thing that comes up in this episode is the tension between skepticism and being open-minded. And also talking about how we know that there is science behind meditation, altered states of consciousness. So how is perceiving more reality rather than less something that skeptics can still deny when we know that there is science to being open-minded in the first place. Also we talk about very practical ways that people can use their intuition. Lee actually gives us an example of being trapped in a fire. There was a wildfire that he was escaping from and he got intuitive guidance to go against the grain against what everyone else was doing. So it's not just theoretical. We're always looking for how can we take this information and make it really a part of our daily lives in a practical way. In addition, in case you've ever wondered about the role of creativity or traumatic experience in those who are able to access altered states, we're going to talk about that and how spiritual practices can calm the body and allow you to shift perspective to have access to more. So if you've ever wondered how metaphysics meets real life or maybe you need a change of perspective before just assuming that the universe is against you and everything's random, we think that you are really, really going to enjoy this conversation between me and Jonathan. If you want more of this type of conversation, I do. Check out our sub-stack, mine, Bialyx, breakdown on sub-stack, mine and I do lives every week and we sometimes have guests and have amazing conversations there. And those conversations are usually exclusive to the breaker community, but we are so excited to share this one with you. We hope you enjoy. And we will see you over on Substack. Break it down. Let's tell the story of the one time you couldn't hear me while we were video chatting. And you saw, you got so upset. I mean, that you almost never spoke to me again. So I was having problems with my internet at the, I was living in a rental house and it was, the internet was paid for by the rental house. It was like an all-inclusive type of thing and the internet was really spotty and it couldn't figure out why it was spotty. It turned out that it needed new like equipment because it had been a really long time and so the internet was spotty. And so every now and again, when I was walking, when I would walk around the house and talk to mine,

it would break out and she couldn't hear me and she would get super annoyed because it's obviously very annoying because like you can only hear every other word. And at one point, we're having a conversation and she's like, I can't hear you. And I like go to the place where I know in the house that the internet is strong.

She's like, I can't hear you.

And so I'm like, but I'm not moving.

Like normally when I'm pacing it. And I like go to the place where I know in the house that it the internet is strong

She's like I can't hear you and so I'm like, but I'm not moving like normally when I'm pacing

It's the worst. I'm like she's like I just I can't hear you

I can't she's getting more and more frustrated and I'm like at my with end

I really don't know what I'm doing

I'm not doing all the things that I know will make the internet bad and she like, have you tried turning your volume up? And she's like, oh, yeah, I did it. And that saved our relationship. Here we are. Sometimes our problems are metaphysical. Sometimes our problems are emotional. And sometimes our problems are very, very practical. So now whenever I can't hear him, he's always like, is your volume up? Check the easiest thing first. But I think that is actually true with life is like, before you go to, is there a ghost in the house? You're like, is the window open and it's drafty? That's true. My cat is really, she's very upset. Whenever I sit here, she always comes up on the bed, but she had to have a vet appointment, which she has very, very rarely, and they trimmed her nails, because that's a nice thing that she thinks that she's not allowed on the bed, because she normally uses her nails to claw her way up on the bed. It's so sad. Like I'm trying to explain to her, you can come up here. It's okay. I'm going to sit here. I'm right here. Then we put a little like step stool kind of thing so that in case you can get up here, Susan on having any of it, she thinks that means really don't come up here because now there's a little piece of furniture there. She's very upset. We have a lot to talk about today. That seems like you have bad news. No, I have a great news. We didn't episode that did great. It's so great that people love it. People are loving the episode. What's awesome is that it started in one of our most fun ways where the guest sits down and he asks, so why am I here? No, what he actually said was like he's a little trepidacious. His team even questioned producer Valerie and was like, is this for real? Is this a joke? He was like, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. I say that every time I get on the internet with you. We're talking about Lee Harris. We've had people on who are mediums. We haven't had an official channel or if I look back, Susan Geesman was a medium, Long Island medium is a medium. Susan would say that she's a channeler. She doesn't lead with that. Right. I think also this is one of the most unusual stories we've heard. This was a person who says that literally out of the blue, he started, I don't want to say hearing voices because as he described, it's different than hearing voices as people do if they're having auditory hallucinations. He had an experience where he started, as he described it, receiving information that even he was not certain what was happening. What's the difference between medium and channel? I was under the impression that mediums speak to people who have passed. I would say channeling is a more umbrella term. I think maybe all mediums are channelers, not all channelers are mediums, but I could be wrong. That's a good one. I understood it as a medium connects with people who have passed, but also can connect, I think

depending on the medium to spirit guides, et cetera, who may be people who have passed, but maybe other entities. A channeler usually has a specific channel and a frequency that they contact. So Lee, for example, with his communication with disease, those are his guides. usually it's a specific set of guides that he is focused on. So that's how I understand the difference. I don't know if Lee, and we didn't get to talk to him about this, if he's just like, hey, let me go talk to other people in that realm, or if he just hangs out with his dudes or do deaths. As Lee talks about it, the these, you know, there's different and some of them are male, some are female, but I don't know. It's, it's, it's arbitrary. But also he says that they appear to us like that because we understand that going back to the timeline here, Lee says, okay, why am I here? And what we say is, and actually this is an interesting part of the episode. It was like right at the beginning of the episode. You say we started off democratizing mental health. We wanted to share information about what makes people well. And then I go into a great little diatribe where I explain that we've spoken to all sorts of people from across the spectrum of well-being, from medical doctors to psychologists, researchers, and what the overlapping message has been is that you connect with something greater than ourselves, has been shown to have physiological and psychological benefit, even helping people prevent against depression, anxiety, loneliness, it has biological effects where you can see that the immune system is healthier and Dr. Lisa Miller, who was one of our favorites, doctors, she describes and she studies the structure of the brain, believing that we have a spiritual component that our brain is made up to seek out and thrive on spiritual experiences and that it has enormous effects and that it can be as effective or more effective than SSRIs, and that people who have a religious practice, which is really leaving something greater than themselves, doesn't really actually matter what the religion is, are neuroprotective in all sorts of ways that she describes. So then we said to Lee, well, you come into that by having a connection and having connected to something greater than yourself and talk about what that experience is and share that information for people. And so there are so many different ways to feel connected to something greater than ourselves. We talk about nature, we talk about singing and community and volunteering and also different ways to have a spiritual practice. practice. In my experience in talking to him, Lee's channeling is another way of spiritual connection and practice. And what I think is so striking, at least for me about Lee, when you hear someone who has this experience on paper, I was like, what's this guy's personality going to be like, is he going to be like, I know everything and like come by my books. And he's just so down to earth. Right. Well, like very down to earth. He's very humble. He's very wowed by the whole thing as well. And that helps me kind of understand why we had him. You know, like I wanted to find out more about his personality and his worldview, you know, that he's formed from having this kind of unbelievable experience. I think it's a really good point. And that his normality is that like I've seen people who live in this world and the self-help and I'm in front of crowds and they can be very performative in many ways. Yeah. And that's off-putting, right? That performativeness. He came in and like, if you didn't know what he did, you would have no clue. I'd want to like order a coffee from him at a coffee store and be like, hey, you're a nice guy. I'd be like, what books are you reading? Like, let's hang out. Like, and that's what I really appreciate because I've been around this world exploring all these different types of modalities just as my own personal seeker. And it's really nice to see people who are grounded and doing this work, are grounded in the real world. And like Lee is very much that. Like yes, you could see Lee at the Tim Hortons line in Canada getting his donut and coffee donut in coffee. My ambiox break down is supported by, by optimizers. You know, I struggled to get good quality sleep and I just assumed it was stress. But as I learned during paramanopause and menopause, your hormones shift in a way that affect your magnesium levels. And low magnesium, it makes everything harder, not just sleep, focus, mood, your tolerance for stress. That's why I have added magnesium breakthrough by by optimizers to my nightly routine. It's a blend of seven different forms of magnesium designed to support relaxation and overall sleep quality. Try it, see if you wake up more rest and refreshed, you've got nothing to lose and a lot to gain. By optimizers offers a 365 day, no questions asked money back guarantee. A magnesium breakthrough is a huge breakthrough to improve hormonal balance, to help with focus, decrease brain fog, improve sleep hygiene overall, by optimizers makes it very easy. Jonathan, what do they get when they go to bioptimizers.com slash breaker and use the code breaker? You get 15% off your entire order and a free bottle of massimes. By optimizer's best selling digestive enzyme, that'll be added to your order automatically when you use our exclusive code. That's a $20 product free on top of your discount already. This is a limited time offer and while supplies last, you can't get it on Amazon, you can't get it in stores, this offer exists in one place. Our link, our code, that's it. So maybe you were already thinking about it.

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Make 2026 the year, you finally start sleeping again.

This episode is sponsored by Wondering Jews

and Open Door Media Brand.

If you've ever found yourself feeling

like you have more questions than answers, you're in good company.

The Jewish people have been like that for thousands of years. Wondering Jews with Michal and Noam is a podcast where two of today's most dynamic Jewish voices, Michal Beton and Noam Weissmann, dig into the biggest questions about life through a Jewish lens. It's the kind of conversation where you'll laugh, learn something new, and probably shout and disagree with at least once. Michal and Noam tackled the tough topics, like anti-Semitism in America, what happens

after we die, and the future of religion with guests like Brett Stevens, Michael Rappeport, and Sarah Herwitz. And this past month, in honor of Jewish-American Heritage Month, they've been celebrating some of the Jewish lives and institutions that have shaped American life, from food, to music, and comedy, thoughtful, joyful, and always honest. that's wondering Jews with Michal and Noam a production of Unpacked. Find it on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube and make sure to hit subscribe. Check out wondering Jews with Michal and Noam podcasts and subscribe at unpacked.bio-nmx. But this is actually very important to me is that like spirituality can be like, I'm going to go off and experience the metaphysical sensation of being one with everything in the cosmos. And yes, that is true. You can have that. But how do we use spirituality? And we talked about this with Betty as well. How do we use spirituality to be better human beings in the moment, to be calmer, to have a larger

perspective, to not see our lives as limited as they are sometimes when we're facing hardship? How do we use it to be more connected to the people around us to know ourselves better, to have a wider aperture of what's possible for both ourselves and other people have more patience? So So when he described his initial interaction with disease where he's on the subway and he hears that voice, he was actually rattling around in his own mind about a problem he was having. It was really a limit and a struggle that he was having. And what he said was when he heard that voice, both his mind relaxed, but he had a somatic relaxation where the tension that he was holding softened. That's what he knew to be channeled energy. I love that because it aligns with this idea of how do you take something that can sound esoteric and out there and what practical benefit does it have? Well, it makes me have a different perspective. It made him have a different perspective. It calmed his body so that he could relax in the present. And I love that application, that it is so tangible, that just changing your perspective has an immediate benefit on you. This was not his path that he was going down. Like, he didn't know that he was going to spend his life sharing information with other people. It's so no one could have imagined that for him. One of the other things that people talk about especially psychologists that we have on and more of the medical side of experts is like, are you living a life that's in alignment with your optimal health? for, you know, for so many people, it's a struggle, right? Like paying rent and health insurance and all these things. And just in the last month, I know several people who have moved out of Los Angeles because it wasn't serving them. It's not serving them. It's not serving them financially. It's not serving them emotionally. And even though it's painful to move or to have to relocate, just the notion that like what Lee teaches people is like there's a wisdom about what's healthiest for you. And there may be lots of obstacles in the way. But especially with his emphasis on music and creativity, like yes, more people need to be in touch with their creative side. More people need to like pick up coloring pencils. Like whatever that is, like we're being told by so many different people, Martha Beck talked about this. And I think COVID did this for a lot of people. Like, why am I sitting in a car for hours a day, you know, to wear this suit and like sit in a cubicle. Like, you know, I think there's been, I mean, a lot of people say like an expansion of our sort of consciousness of like, what do I want my life to look like? And I really love how much he sort of like seized on this. And I find it really inspiring, you know, and I hope that other people do as well. Like the change when you leave Los Angeles or you leave a city and you have a realization that this isn't working. It could be anything, right?

...