In today’s episode, I welcome back a previous guest, Winston Yeung to talk about his experiences in a sensory deprivation tank and how it led him to connect with the consciousness of other beings, including that of a dog and someone drifting in space. Tune in to hear his theories about this experience and the lessons it taught him. 

About Our Guest Winston Yeung

Winston Yeung founded the VoiceStory Foundation, a non-profit organization that is creating social connections, facilitates personal healing, and promotes community building. This is done through the speaking platform – VoiceStory Live, educational workshops, mastermind, mentorship, and coaching to develop an individual’s ability to embrace and share their unique stories.

How to connect with Winston Yeung:

email: winston@voicestory.ca 

website: www.voicestory.ca

book a call to connect: https://calendly.com/winstonyeung/15

See video recordings of the past speakers at VoiceStory, visit and Subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/voicestory

Join the VoiceStory community and be part of the conversation at https://www.facebook.com/groups/voicestory

Welcome to the joyful journey podcast. If

you're uncertain about what you really want or unsure how to be

a force for good, you know this world craves, then this is the

show for you. I'm Anita Adams, your host and guide to finding

clarity and creating a life you love. Let's tap into our inner

wisdom, access our highest self and unleash joy. As we raise our

vibration, we heightened the collective consciousness and

that my friends, is the joyful journey. Let's dive in. Hey,

joyful journey errs I need to Adams here your host of the

joyful journey podcast and today I'm excited to welcome back

previous guests to the show Winston Young. Winston is the

founder of voice story that was designed to tackle the issue of

social isolation that is prevalent in society today.

Winston is passionate about connecting broken adults with

their inner child, taking a deep dive into your own spiritual

beingness is a part of who Winston is. And today, he's

going to share with us his experience of tapping into a

higher consciousness by using a sensory deprivation tank.

Welcome back, Winston. And thanks for being open to sharing

your your stories and your experiences with us today.

Thanks for having me back.

Yeah, I'm always excited to talk to you, Winston,

you always inspire me and you have such interesting, unique

story. So I'm really excited about about getting into it. But

to start just in case, there's anybody listening who doesn't

really know what a sensory deprivation tank is and how one

uses it. Can you just explain a little bit more about what that

is? Sure. There's

two types of sensory deprivation tanks one,

the more classic version, it's called a pod. It's a it's it's

like it's like a big orb. And inside is a layer of water about

eight to 10 inches high. saturated with about four to 500

pounds of Epsom salts, and it's heated to skin temperatures. So

when you're, you're brilliant in it. And that removes the

sensation of gravity. And then when you close the door to the

pod, it blocks out any sound and light. So you are free of any

outside stimulus. You're deprived of sensations. The

newer version is called a like sensory deprivation tank cabins,

which is about the size of your bathroom. And then the floor is

a layer of water. Same thing, eight to 10 inches tall, you're

in there. But because there's a tall ceiling, it also removes

the sensation of humidity because in a pod, it's very,

it's warm, like and some people prefer that for me. Because I'm

in the tank for three hours at a time. I don't want to have the

humidity distract me. So I preferred be able to have the

bigger space. You're in there. I call it turning Airplane Mode on

for your mind or for your body because you're in there and

that's it. There's there's no signals,

right? No, no like no sound. I guess you're

probably naked so you don't feel the distraction of any clothes

irritating you.

I go in I go in naked. Some people can wear swim

trunks or swimsuit, it it doesn't really affect the

experience at all. It's just your own comfort level. But I

when I first started, I was told that it's like walking back into

the womb. And it really is it's it's warm, and it's it's

enclosed. And for some people if you have claustrophobia might

feel very disorienting. And if you've never done it before, you

become very aware of how much chatter there is going on inside

your head. And how hard it is to relax because we're just

stimulated all the time. So turn all that off. And you're alone

with your thoughts. It can be an interesting place.

Yeah, yeah, interesting. I read that some of

the SPAS or places that you can go for this that there'll be 10

minutes of music like when you first step in for and then that

shuts off and then at the end towards the end five minutes and

music again to bring you back back to your present. I wonder

if that says has that what you've experienced, they the

places that you've gone to they use music just kind of ease you

into it.

Yes, when you first start off the give you the

option. I typically go cold pill jumping. Caught was to jump

right in right away, right? No, I went in with no music. I had

no idea what was going on. So I, and I was curious about what's

going on inside my head. It took about three or four times. And

then when it really clicked, I remember I had my arms above me,

like stretched out. And I was trying to find a way so I could

feel the tension in my shoulders. As I'm moving my

hands around. The next thing I hear the wakeup music turned on

I go. Okay, that's, that's really weird. That's not

possible. There's no way it could have been trying to find a

comfortable position for 90 minutes. Then Then I realized I

blinked out, like, wow, I turned off. And then the music brought

me back. And the deep thought I had is okay, if so I turned off,

did everything outside their pauses to like, did that. Since

the minutes is over? I wasn't around. The consciousness wasn't

active. Was the world still running? Or not on pause to?

That's a whole other conversation. I started chasing

after that. That feeling it was it's like turning yourself off.

Well, wait a minute, but so chasing after

what feeling because you it was nothingness. Like

that. After the that feeling of being turned,

like turning the switch off? Right. Like, in your mind now.

And if that's the analogy people would understand is turning your

phone off. Yeah, and then turning it back on. So you kind

of like reboot yourself. In that sense. That feeling when I came

back, I was so relaxed and vigor, like my whole body was

kind of like reset. And I was chasing after that feeling. No,

spoiler alert for a bunch of people. I realized that chasing

after that feeling just prevented me from getting that

feeling.

Isn't that interesting? So you had this, it

happened the first time because you had almost like no

expectations. You just were there and you were experiencing.

So and Have you have you been able to get that again? Or

because you've let go? Or you're? You're so much in your

head about trying to create that. That's not happening.

I've gotten back there once. Okay. And so it was

like once in how long? I've been floating for 14 years.

14 years. Yeah. Okay.

So I've got I've attained, turn off, we'll call

it turn turn off mode, twice, only in 14 years. And the first

time was completely unintentional. I had no idea and

it just happened. And then the other time, it was similar where

I just gave in. And it happened most of the other work that I as

I'm doing work in there. I'm conscious, I'm actively

conscious or, or, like, the awareness is left on kind of

like yeah, like if I'm not completely drifting off. Like

I'm still scanning. So you can't turn off if Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, that's, that's a conscious choice that I'm making.

Yeah, I did a little bit of research about the

the sensory deprivation tanks before this interview. So I just

wanted to understand it a little bit better. I understand that it

was created in the 1950s was created by a physicist, no. So

what was he he was a neuroscientist and a physician.

And he was wanting to experiment on or just study the

consciousness by cutting off all external stimuli. And then in

the 60s, he got a little controversial with it and he

started to introduce LSD with his subjects to to to sedate

them and to create a trance like state. Is it too personal to ask

if if you use any kind of substance to help bring on an

experience for yourself or have you have you tried both going in

without any kind of enhancements or and have you done it with any

kind of I'll do rug alteration.

I have done it, we call it going clean. Oh, you

clean? Yeah, well I like actually clean truly means that

like No, no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, like you're

kind of you eat in the morning. And then if you're doing like a

late afternoon when you're you don't, you actually don't ingest

anything other than water for five hours. So you go in as

clean as you can. And then I tried it with like, THC and CBD

gummies. And I find that I actually recommend that for

people that can't relax, because it just helps you relax, and

then you're you're in there. And that's for more of body resets,

and you go in there and you relax, and then you let the

tension leave your body. And then I have also done work

trying to tap trying to do deep work within myself and I have

introduced psilocybin, okay, which is the chemical that's

found in magic mushrooms. But then what I don't actually take

the mushroom, I have found a company that extracts it and

puts it, so it's just pure, and it's in chocolate form. So I've

combined that. And I am going to put out a severe warning that if

it is not recommended at all, if you haven't done the work

outside of the tech to deal with your stuff. Okay, we're going

in, because the way that I describe it is the mushroom will

open doors that you have closed.

The thing it might not be ready to open the doors,

if you haven't,

which door it's going to open. And then when

you're in there, because you are devoid of any grounding. Like if

you do it outside or you look at your cat, you look outside the

window, you kind of grounded in the space in there. It's just

darkness. So and you're and there's no gravity, there's no

nothing. So if you have a freakout moment, right? And you

open your eyes, you see nothing. So whatever you are seeing, you

are completely immersed in it. And I have had, like when I

first started doing it, some extremely, extremely intense

experiences. And if it wasn't for the work I've done

previously, I probably would have ended in a mental word.

It's

really triggered some stuff. It's it's virtual.

It's like VR in imagine doing VR, but you

actually tap your nervous system into it. So it's Oh, wow. It's

absolutely real. Right? When you as I said, you don't get to pick

and

just to be clear, you you wouldn't necessarily

have that kind of experience. If you you went in completely

clean.

Oh, you go and clean it. You don't have access

to that stuff. Okay. Yeah. Like you, like you can do you can

access levels of it. Similar to meditation, you open certain

access certain spaces, but there is in my experience for the past

decade, there are some spaces you cannot access. And no matter

how hard you want to get there, you just can't access it. And I

have I personally have found that. It's like the locksmith

can alter door for you. But you'd be prepared to face

whatever good or bad comes out of that. That door and want to

put that caveat out.

I appreciate that. Thank you. I'm so curious. I

would love to. I would love to try a sensory deprivation tank.

I've never tried mushrooms. I think I'll start with just doing

a sensory deprivation tank.

I recommend the tank for everyone because we are

so distracted and stimulated by the noise in the world. Yes,

that when you give your body soul and mind an opportunity to

just relax from it. Like some, like people that go to a

retreat. They're taking themselves out of the city. They

go into a quiet space in nature, they're drinking tea, they're

feeding the cells, healthy foods, and you're giving your

body a opportunity to reset a little bit. The sensory

deprivation tank is exactly that. It's a tool that allows

you to reset and then as you get used to it. more used to it. You

build your experience. I call it drifting And you're able to go

in and then drift off faster and faster and faster. So how you

explained 15 minutes of music I could drift off in about a

minute. You go there, relaxing beer,

right? Kind of training yourself in a way to be

able to take that dive in deep pretty quick. So you said you've

been doing it for 14 years?

I started 14 years ago. Okay.

You mentioned in a previous conversation we had

over the phone that you had recently had a profound if had a

couple, I think profound experiences, do you want to tell

us a little bit more about that? I remember one involve the dog.

So it started when I was doing a lot of trauma

work with clients. And then by doing so I also understand if

I'm doing the work with the client, I'm also doing work with

myself simultaneously, at a different level than they are.

So the my curiosity was, what happens if I start using

psilocybin in the tank? And what would happen? So I started with

a very, very small, low dose. And when I went in there, I've

had the life had experiences using the mushroom to take me to

state like, traumatic spaces, so I could heal it. And I thought,

holy cow, this is nuts, like mind bendingly crazy, how

painful that was, well, using a quarter to a sixth of the same

dosage in the tank when we're talking like a gram, which is

not much. Because it is, you're so hyper focused in there,

there's no distraction, there's no music, no nothing. I drifted

off to the same trauma space. And it was extremely intense.

And then when it came out, the first time I'm going, what I'm

looking at, like, what just happened in there. But it made

me curious as to how far to the edge of this space, I can go.

And I kept going back and going back and going back, and then

I'm navigating this spectrum of dark, the dark end of the

spectrum was like pain and suffering and just a lot of

ugliness over there. And then I shared my experiences with my

coach. Am I coach my guide Andra? And she said, you

continue to go back there, because that's what you're

familiar with. That's where where you're vibing. And if

that's where you're vibing, that's where you're going to get

pulled over to. So why don't you try? Navigate navigating that

space. But never never thought of that. So yeah, if you if

your, your default is the vibe in the dark, dark space, you're

just going to go there all the time. So, so if you're just like

snowboarding's, like if I, if I only know how to turn to my

left, then I'm always going to turn to my left. So what happens

if I bank over to the right and then start going back and forth

over the spectrum? What happens? So I started doing that,

being a little bit more in control of the

experience? Is that what you're you were guided to do to

I don't like the word control, like choose to use

word navigate, okay? Like I have some, some influence, okay. And

then, so let's do like surfing or snowboarding or skiing here

the water. Then I started moving over, I started feeling the more

positive end of the spectrum. And then one day, I drifted over

to the positive side and the story is I connected to the

consciousness of a dog.

And now to the consciousness of the dog.

Yeah, so it is in my belief that we that, like a

radio, there's just infinite number of consciousnesses out

there and there, it's just just wait, there's wavelengths there.

It's just energy. And like a radio, we are attuned to a

certain we are tuned to a certain one and that's who we

are. So you have your own energetic signature that makes

you an ADA and I have one that makes me Winston. So my thought

is, what happens if we have the ability to kind of like, tune up

and down a little bit, just a little bit. You have on radio

dial, the old school radio and you move it up and down. What,

what else is out there? And that's where I've been playing

like an AI, not choosing the dog. Like I just kind of tuned

up and all of a sudden, I tuned into this frequency and I

thought, okay, that's just, I'm making this up. But the

experience was so profound, because it wasn't that I

imagined that I was a dog. My facial features like I could

feel my eyes, my cheeks were sore, because I was smiling late

on my mouth, hold back, I can't even mimic it. Like it pulled

back. My tone was hanging out. I had a thought of, you know, I

had a thought or the neighbor then like, felt like but wiggle.

My hands were like this it like all the mannerisms. And I go,

this is surreal.

was Winston part of that consciousness? Where you

also Winston and tuning into the consciousness of a dog?

Yes. So it's kind of like there's me. And then

there's this one that kind of like the messenger that Yeah. So

that was the very first experience and that was at a

certain dosage. And then I went back in a month later, and I

increased the dosage. And then And then

let me ask you, did you go in with a specific

intention? That next time? No,

well, I just wanted, the intention was I

wanted to feel the other end of the spectrum. That's not pain

and suffering and trauma. Okay. Well, I realized, I drifted over

to the beloved space of love and the dog represent represented

unconditional love. Yeah, absolutely. And my coach said to

me, it's manifesting as the dog, because that's what you're

familiar with, because that's what my dog Kismet represents.

So you're, it's something that you can relate to. But she also

said to me, but don't be fixated on that. Like if the universe

gives you a snake or a bird or whatever it is what it is. So,

so just focus on what the, the space that you want to navigate

in. So I, I went back in a month later, and I became the dog

again. And this time, there was less of me. And more of the dog.

Interesting. Do you know if it's the same

dog? It was the same dog? I could, I could pick

out it was familiar. Was it your dog? Wasn't my dog? There were

some, some conscious of some dog. The second time I knew it

was the smaller dog. Okay. Very happy like it. I think it was.

Well, I was in that space for probably half an hour or two to

an hour. And I kind of played with it. And then I share that

experience with a friend My friend Ronnie roll was

interfaith minister. And she invited me suppose next time you

go in, asked noggins Oh, sorry, this time. She said next time

you go in, has what it's like to dream like a dog.

Are you asking is that just putting that idea out

to your attention?

The intention is the intention is to dream like a

dog. I'm like, okay, so I went back in. That's right. And the

second time, I became more familiar with it. And then I

actually did kind of fall asleep. I can't say that I dream

like a dog. But I've never felt so. At peace, if that makes

sense. It's like I slept and I've never slept so calmly and

wonderfully. I shared that experience with her. And then

the third song she said next time you go in ask, What message

are you supposed to be learning from the dog? What message is

the dog bringing me? That was the intention? And this is where

I'm gonna say it's profound. Because, again, I'm not choosing

to be going in I'm not choosing to be a dog what I'm just asking

what the message is. I became a dog again. And this time it was

95% that consciousness 5% Me and it was a level of love that I

never felt before like I was being unfolding that remind me I

could feel the tactile sensation of me being held at five was, if

I was a puppy, you know, if you have a puppy and then you're

holding it, cradling it in your arms, I could feel the pressure

on my back, I could feel like, as if my hand was like, rubbing

the back of my head, even though I'm in the tank. And then again,

I fell asleep. But now I'm being held. And then I thought of I

had a thought of this being that's holding me and I could

feel this, it was most intense pulse of love. Energy is warm.

Ball just exploded my heart. I really never felt anything like

that before. And so I thought I would think about it that again,

it happened again. And it was I describe it a level of love,

belonging, acceptance, acknowledgement, all those all

those things I've been seeking to fill this table my entire

life to feel this from someone external. And all that just came

from within, and then I fell asleep. And it was the most

unbelievable experience. And then when I shared that with my

friend, Ronnie, she said, I told her Yeah, it's like, it's as if

it was a small dog. She said, Well, how do you? How do you

know that? You're not the dog. Okay, well, that's the more than

I must have shrunk down. And she goes, Well, let's just say the

Divine is really big. Guys, and the Divine is really big. And

then we started going down that tracks so she goes, if so if you

are the dog, and you are being cradled by the device, by God,

as she put it, how did that feel? And I know it was, I

didn't have words to describe it, like the love the amount of

the amount of like, I thought I felt love before this was so so

beyond that, she goes, Yeah, that's we are part of the

Divine, she said, and that's what it's like when we go back.

That's that unconditional love and acceptance. And you got to

experience

it. When we go back. What do you think she

means by that when we go back?

She, she shared with me that we all come from

the Divine. And we are. And I get to when she said those

visions and those experiences of being abandoned and separated.

When we come to this life, that's literally what happens we

are like, torn away from source put in his body to have this

experience. So when we return all those feelings of

abandonment and rejection is then dismissal which we made up

or let go when you go back and I go, Okay, I'm not saying I

believe it. But it makes sense. And I'm very open to the

interpretations. It was. This particular one was, to me it was

life changing, because a few things that want to share the

experience with people there, they're giving me pieces of the

puzzle or the riddle to make me understand it. One was, you can

only understand that feeling. If only if it already exists within

you. Otherwise, you wouldn't know what that felt feels like.

So therefore, the only way you understand that feeling

uncomfortable being held and love and all that wonder that

wonderful moment is if you've already happened before, right?

Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to articulate and recognize it

would recognize it. Yeah. And to me, that was profound. And we

can go to have another conversation about it another

time. But then I realized when I did a lot of reflection at this

top five months later, as I'm pondering this was I was

speaking at an event about childhood. And then I realized

that now I understand where that came from. It's when I was being

held for my grandparents and the parents. So when I was when

you're born, you're held like that, like I also as a baby,

where'd it all and you're just being, then everyone just

radiating love on you, no one meet. And then I go, okay, that

that would make sense of where I've worked right? I've felt

that before.

What I was hearing with Ronnie was at Ronnie

Ronnie. Yeah. My interpretation of what I was hearing is that we

were, we would, we've experienced that in soul form

from the Divine, and that we are remembering that experience in

connection to the divine.

Yes, which is another way she put it is

imagine if we're a drop of water, that drop of water is

what's inside of us. And that water kind of pulls the drop of

water out, and he put it inside his body and the body does what

it wants. Eventually, the body is formed will disintegrate, and

that drop of water will turn back to the pool that it came

from. and be one with with everything.

Yeah, beautiful. There's a I'm struggling to

remember is a beautiful Rumi quote. That's something along

that that you are not you're you are not just the drop of water,

you are the entire ocean of that. That drop of water, he

obviously isn't much better. I'll dig out that quote. But

it's a it's a beautiful one.

But what drew me to want to share this with your

listeners wasn't. It wasn't this particular part of the

experience. It was what happened two months ago when I went in.

And again, I went in with intention. And this time I

asked, I want to experience more connection, even to become the

dog again, because I had I after the third experience, I've had

different ones. So I kind of missed the dogs. So I went in

and I kind of lifted it out. And I felt the dog presence and then

it faded away. And then I felt something else it faded away.

And then I fell asleep in the tank. And then when I woke up,

it was what I connected with. Now bear with me as I described

this, when I open my eyes in the darkness. I'm seeing I'm seeing

inside that tank. So I'm whatever I'm seeing is through

is whatever that consciousness is you like it was this thought

that okay, everyone that I've every one that I met all the

experiences that I've had, good bad, the ugly, all of it

actually never happened. In fact, it's all of a grand

delusion. And I'm waking up from this dream. But there's no one

else here. It's just me, like you're the only living thing in

the space. And no matter how much the distraction The reality

is, you're completely alone. And me trying to even process that

at that moment, I could feel my mind just be like torn apart

like I will This is mental. And then I was provided to other

versions of I call it disconnection. The second one

was being floating through space and their little spaceship, they

can regenerate. They have the they have the technology to

regenerate themselves. So I think technically live forever.

They don't they can choose not to but they are lost in the void

of space seeking. Seeking anything that's alive. There get

fooled through the void Lost in Space completely alone.

So hold on to that was you imagining yourself being

lost in space?

No, I was locked into I was locked into some

another three different consciousnesses three different

experiences.

Okay, not at the same time different different

times that you've gone into the tank this these are different

things that you've experienced

one after the other two months ago, okay. Same

session

in the same session. Okay, that's okay.

Okay. And was it What's your interpretation of that? Were you

being shown different realities?

It's a It's the way I would describe it as your

sister would would use you as as an example. So there's that need

to consciousness and then I was able to tune into it and then

latch on to it. And then now I am experiencing a moment of you.

I'm experiencing your life as if I was used. I'm looking through

your eyeballs I am. My nervous system is attached to your

nervous system. I feel I'm feeling what you're feeling.

Even though I'm so it's just overlapping, right? So all of

this stuff that I'm experiencing, they're not my

memories.

Right? Up to you. You are latching on to three

different consciousness. Yes. Okay, interesting.

And then what I'm experiencing. And this is

another note to your listeners, be careful what you wish for.

From the universe, especially when it's vague, like, oh, I

want to experience more connection. It was the idea of,

okay, if want experience more connection, how about I give me

some contrast. You probably won't appreciate what connection

is until I show you what pure disconnection is. Yeah, which is

isolation.

Now, as I

what I got out of the tank, I was standing in the

shower, and all I could say, for about 2030 minutes was holy

hands him I was like, holy, wow. was by far the most intense

experience I've ever had. But the idea of being utterly alone.

Like, even here,

sorry to interrupt you. Um, so is that that's what

that feeling in space was that you're utterly alone in space?

Am I following that thread? Okay.

Yeah, got it. So the three was one was, you're

waking up, you're awake? Yeah, people are watching the matrix,

you know, you wake up in your pod. You know, in the movie,

there's billions of other people in pods. But imagine waking up

in your pod, you look around, and there's actually nothing

there. And it's just technology that's distracting you from the

reality that you're alone. Episode Two, with wood was, was

this being floating around Lost in Space, just in the void,

completely lost. I don't know how long they were out there.

And the third version was your fear the only living thing on

this wooden being on this planet. Oh, and you and you're

looking, looking out into space wishing that you can go home.

But there's no way off. And this desire and this longing to go

home, that was something that I felt before this longing to go

home that I don't, I'm not from here, I want to go home. And

Ronnie explains that longing is to get going you want to go back

to source? Yeah. And on all three of these experiences was

to dish just show me the other other extreme right? You get

that? And my point earlier was even if we feel that we're

believe that we're alone here in the back of our minds, we

understand that there's a billion people on this planet

what happens if they're if you're completely isolated? And

that was something an experience that I never could comprehend

until I was given it and it was psychologically painful

so so what do you take away from all of that

ah, first thing I took away was an men then I'm

going to give myself a little bit of credit for for

understanding this

this either happened or is happening right

now. We don't know what we don't know there's there's some being

floating completely lost in space alone out there somewhere.

It's happening right now. Hmm, that's dark thought. It is. But

it's not an impossibility, but the compassion that I hold for

that being be like, I'm going mad. It's like Yeah, it sucks to

be you. But I, I understand. And then the other takeaway was

looking at the experience It's for and I was thankful for it as

traumatic as psychologically traumatic as it was for me. It

really shifted my perception of connection and how universal of

a need it is. And we that's what makes us what we are. We are

we're just we're born to be for connection. And when we're

disconnected

I can't find the words for it. Yeah. Yeah, that the soul the

soul is in pain if you can't connect with them to another to

another soul.

And there's right now in the world, there's,

there's lots of disconnection, it's not at the level you

experienced. So maybe that's there's a little a little hope

there in the sense that when you really when you really no

disconnection, which sounds like you experienced that in a very,

very profound way. Does it give you hope to create more

connection and and the realization that it's in your

power to create more connection here today? Now in this space we

are in?

Yes, yes. When I shared my thoughts with Ronnie,

she believes you have an idea of what someone has to experience

an order to commit suicide. I didn't understand she goes well,

in order to actually go through with the act. She says you have

to get that disconnect from everything that you know,

everything that everyone that you know, like, spiritually,

emotionally detach from all of that to be so utterly alone in

order to, to feel that the only way to be free of this is to be

completely disconnected. And when I had the process that was

words, it made me she asked me and I'll share with your

listeners. Have you ever had thoughts of suicide? I have she

asked why didn't you go through it? But I couldn't find the

words to explain. That's when she shared you it's because you

weren't able to disconnect from everything that you are. But now

you understand the level of madness the level of pain of not

being connected anything and then when I replayed my

experience that I go Yeah, I I can see I can understand when

you're that level of isolation how painful it is and in a

really lit me up to continue doing the work for me to help

people

Yeah, that's standing up for me too. I feel

like it's a you were given this experience. So, you can go

deeper with your work in helping helping others you know, like

with your your voice store story initiative. As we said at the

beginning, it was designed to tackle the the issues of social

isolation that is prevalent in in society today. And now you

you understand that isolation at a much deeper level thanks to

the the the tank experience isolation tank or sensory

deprivation tank. You can work with people at a at a deeper

understanding.

Yes, so I will never say that I truly

understand what they're going through. But I am familiar with

the space that they are in and When I work with people, and I

can say that energetically they understand that it is true,

because as I say, Yeah, I understand the space that you're

in. They could feel it. Because she's been there. No, I'm not. I

will never say I understand your pain. You don't? Yeah. But I

understand the space and then they go, okay. And then when

that trust is there, I go here, hold my hand. We, we can go

anywhere where you want, you're not alone anymore. Oh, I'll be

here to help guide you. And then once a step is taken in any

direction, we can move on from the space. And that's part of

it. Universe, were giving you that experience. Yeah. But it

was. And I was called to share this. I don't, I can. Don't

remember why. But it was just people that you're listening and

you're working with might find value benefit insight from it.

And then today, talk dog mean the same? Yeah, it's like it.

When people say, Well, here's connection, you never wanted a

dog. I was. I was in a lot of pain a few years ago, and then

dog manifests itself in my life. And she chose. I flat out admit,

I didn't pick the dog. I see that. So people understand. She

picked me and there's a photo was a photograph I have that

I'll share with you that my sister captured and all the

other dogs are like looking around and then Kismet just

looking at me. She chose me.

That's neat. I've heard that before from other

people that have gotten pets chosen by their their animal.

And from that there was through the dog

experience, like I shared with Ronnie and she goes you probably

have a totally different relationship with your dog bale.

I'm like, yeah. We have that dopey look on her face. I

actually have a really good idea of what she's thinking or when

she feels like going nuts. I

go. My butt like that, too. Yeah, I know

what that feels like. So when I meet with her

didn't gauge that we have is totally different level. I know

I kind of know what it's like to be bouncing around just totally

bonkers and excited. And when she's like running around and

zooming around, it's like, I get I get it. Or when she wants to

play ball or whatever. It's like I do I have a much different

relationship with her now that I've had that dog experience

because I've been gifted a dog's perspective on life.

That's really neat. I want to have that experience.

Winston, I think that sounds just sounds absolutely

delightful in the pure innocence of that so interesting. You had

quite very, very vastly different experiences in the

tank, you know from the that dog pure love. Unconditional Love

experience to that full on isolation

would be pure connection to pure

disconnection. Yeah, I learned your listeners won't know this.

But I in my life, I have learned through contrast, the lessons

that are provided to me, you know, you have your lessons The

universe provides you I have my mind. I've always been in

contrast, in extremes, and then I find my way to the middle,

where you can't

really appreciate the light until you experience

the dark to write.

Yes, and this time, I've always experienced

the dark. And then the light. This was the other way around

where I was given the dog experience first and then the

other side. And I thought that was I prefer that.

Yeah, for sure. And that and I would say that was

divinely intentional.

Yeah. Yeah, there is a I truly believe that. What

I've experienced is anyone can also attain there's nothing

special about about me I was just open and curious to see

What could happen?

I think we just want to presence opening,

curious, I think that those are really key words. And those are

words we should embrace through everything in life, you know,

being curious, is, is so important with, you know, our,

our pain, why was like going deep and asking why is, am I

experiencing this? And being curious about all the good

things that are happening in our life to like, just get really

curious with, with your experiences and trying to

understand who you are and who you're choosing to be?

I would reframe that just a little bit. Okay.

And when I hear understand, it always brings up visions of

thinking, headspace. So curiosity. For me, I teach

curiosity comes from heart space. So to experience life,

through the lens of curiosity, and even even though it sucks

and people like why did this happen to me? Instead of

processing that through your mind? To say, why or why did

this happen? Then you process through your heart, and then

instead of being judgmental in yourself, or critical say, what

happened? Knocking on my dog you don't get without, you can't get

mad the dog, the dog, the dog, dog being a dog, the molecule

right there. But it already happened. And to go look at

these experiences through empathy and compassion, and

through your heart and through curiosity, when you you fire

through those frames, everything looks completely different. as

ugly as it is, you can you go through your heart, you

understand it through your heart, and then fire that

understanding of your mind is like, okay, I get it. But going

the other way around. There's the I find the the dissemination

is different when you go from brain to heart versus from

heartbreak.

Absolutely. I agree with you, Winston, that's yeah,

so

going through experiences and, you know, when

you when you've learned and changing the awareness to just

be just to be aware of little tiny nudges where you're walking

down to smell. When it comes to media, you walk, you walk by and

you smell fresh croissants or fresh bread being paid. And you

crack a smile. Take a breath and say, You know what? I'm gonna

go, I'm gonna go get one versus just brushing it off. Like, is

it? Is it going to ruin your day for not getting one? But would

it enhance your day? And your experience? If you did get one

you don't have to eat doesn't have one. But if you got one

here, I can see my senior or anyone just sitting there

smiling. You're You're brave. But those little nudges, the

little faint whispers Yeah. And you follow that? And then as you

do as I did the work, those nudges became they actually

become loud and clear.

Yeah. When you start listening to them, they

get louder. Yeah. And they almost become

suggestions before that even happens, where

you get to the point. So you know, you should really go.

Well, for me, the words are saying we should we should go do

this. I'm like, Yeah, we should go do that. Yeah, that was

freakin amazing. So instead of being it's been, it's if you

have the visual one. So the croissant one is you walk by the

bakery. And then you have the smell. So imagine being able to

do enough work that you rewind it to a point where you make the

decision to go get it, then you smell it, then you get it. So

it's like you're, you're now as you would put it in control that

you chose to do this versus just

reacting to it. Yeah. Making choices. Are you

going to continue with your exploration in the sensory

deprivation tanks?

Yeah. Can't help it. Yeah, you're addicted. I'm

addicted to understanding. Okay, this is my experience I have I

have ventured off to certain limits. I want to find out

what's beyond that limit. Like, yeah, this is what I see is the

limit though. There's, there's more more out there. What else?

What else is out there on the spectrum of emotion that we that

we have? Is there something on the farther and even farther end

of of the positive spectrum that I don't even I haven't unlocked

yet. Is there something and I'm also open to even feeling

something on the extreme negative end? Because my

understanding is if I unlock one end, the other end automatically

gets unlocked. Yeah. And it's, I've experienced some pretty

cool things.

Yeah. And once you start that journey, you can't

really stop, can you because you realize, Wow, there's so much

more to learn and experience and my, my understanding of the

world has been here and you know, this little bubble and now

my understanding is bigger. And if you continue to explore how

big can it continue to expand? And I think it's, it can expand

infinitely. I share

that I share my dog experiences some people need

Are you sure you didn't hallucinate that? I'm sure.

Maybe oh, maybe. But it goes if I did. Weird, it all that detail

come from? Hmm. Because it's not like I could, okay, there's, I

could, I can imagine dreaming as a dog about the neighbor. Okay,

I can imagine that. But the emotional sensations of all that

I go, I can't make up. I can't make that up. It's, and these

aren't my, I'm not gonna say these aren't my memories. There.

But there's, they're out there. And I asked writing, it's like,

yeah, I can't figure out if these these experiences are

coming down into me, or coming up from me, like past life type

thing. She goes, Why can't they be both happening at the same

time?

Have that answer? It's not one or the other. It's

not one or the other. It's and

purchases made around this. So you're just

floating. You're just you're just, you're just gliding up and

down. Right? Deal?

Yeah. Interesting. Have you have you spoken to many

other people who've done have had experiences in the tank? And

have they been vastly different? Are there some common threads?

Many people that I understand most people aren't

doing it for what I'm doing. They're doing it for for

relaxation, and to call for calming purposes. I'm doing it

for the dive. Real real deep into consciousness. Yeah. The

people that do go often for you have to do like bodywork. Yep,

the there's huge benefits and it changes your it calms you down,

it changes your brainwave activity makes you more

creative. It does unlock other parts of you, because now you're

not distracted by stuff. And you know how meditation calms you

down? Well, this, this would be meditation, if you meditate.

Yeah, it's a it's a whole new level.

Yeah, yeah, some of the research I did I guess in

the 70s they started to really take this seriously and study

the benefits and the benefits of these tanks are numerous, you

know, from improved cardio, cardiovascular, circulatory

issues, and you're better sleep and better. muscle movement

athletes are using this for improved performance. It's just

like they have the list of reasons to get into a tank are

quite endless. So it's kind of cool. And when I'm with you, I

would want to experience it from a spiritual perspective and see

how deep I can go at the conscious level and and tap into

something you know a little.

So it's not like I haven't experienced

profoundness going and clean. That's how I started. When and

at first it was to go, just relax. And I've had I've had

muscle groups because I'm so relaxed muscle groups fire and

then when you come back out, like all that tension that was

in my neck, or my leg was gone. And then I started doing nice, I

described like almost like meditative work to see how

introspective I can get how deep I can go and start accessing

spaces that I couldn't have otherwise and started doing

healing work that way, which eventually has led me to where

it is now. But once you once I got the taste of it of the power

of what it can do it it's hard to ignore it because it almost

accelerates it. My some people I've introduced it to for trauma

work on these are experienced practitioners and Coaches and

healers themselves, they go bad slake for themselves. I've

accessed and done some healing that I would say, outside of

this will take years. And there it took me like weeks.

And she's saying, Wow, really cool. And I read

that the prices can range between 50 to $100. For an hour,

does that sound about right with your experience? Or is it might

have been an old thing

that depends on where you're at? I'll give a

shout out to the float house that is in Vancouver. That's

where I go to. And I have a membership there. And it's $40

for 75 minutes. Oh, okay. Not so I don't I double up on it. So I

do like a two sessions back to back. So I get the time in the

middle. So the hours were he ad dollars for three hours.

So Wow. Okay. And is that like, because you have a

membership? And it's more affordable? If you have a

membership? Or is that? Yeah,

it's offered, it's not, you can go in and sign

up for for membership, then Same. Same rates,

I think I'm gonna have to give this a try. It's

I'm really intrigued, I'm really, really intrigued and,

and I'll go clean.

Everyone, everyone started, go in. And

then when you understand how to relax, the steps would be go in.

And first you have to understand how to relax as I know how to

relax as that sounds. And then when you're there, the next

stage is learning how to start slowing down your thoughts. And

then the next stage after that is learning how just I called

drifting, where I don't I don't know. But you I hear this light

rain all the time. So when I'm in there, I just focus on the

ringing and I just let all thoughts drift away. And I drift

that you just it's like going, it's like going to sleep but

you're not asleep. You can call it lucid dreaming, you call it

whatever you want. But yeah, I drift off. And then the music

comes back and a break and it brings me back. So those are the

those are the levels. And when you can get to the point of

consistently drifting. That's when you pretty cool things can

be experienced. Very neat.

And my sense is that that may not happen for the

first couple times, especially if you're having a hard time

relaxing.

Yeah. So it's not going to happen. It's not like

you're gonna go in, you hear what I said, you're gonna go in

there even feel magic. It's gonna be very disorienting,

because you're going from a world of noise into a world

where there's

no noise. Yeah.

And some people don't like it. I've had friends,

that experience that they go into the last 20 minutes. They

couldn't, couldn't deal with it. It's a practice like anything

else.

Yeah, really interesting. I want to wrap the

show up. I kind of made this is a leading question. We talked

about connection, the importance of connection. And so this show

the joyful journey. podcast is all about learning how to access

your your highest self, and the ultimate goal is to heighten the

collective consciousness to move us to a kinder, more

compassionate world. Is there one thing you think we can do as

individuals to harmonize humanity?

Yes, yes. What came to mind right away is I'm

going to express it backwards. Next time, you are in discussion

or debate with someone and you don't agree with what he or she

said, Instead of judging them for it. Look at the situation

and say, I would really like I don't understand. I would really

like to hear from you and understand where you're coming

from so I can understand your position. Because and then take

your take, like if I'm asking I take my position, put it aside

because okay, if I say it's right and you say it's wrong,

then I go, Oh, no, you're wrong. You have that discussion. That's

disconnection because you're not fighting each other versus

saying, I, I might not understand where you're coming

from. Because I don't have your life experience. Something might

have caused you to believe me or to hold this position. I'm

curious and I would love for you to engage in conversation so I

can understand. And once I have that understanding, it's like

Oh, that makes total sense. And I'll use I love tea coffee

drinkers suck and coffee is great. Tea sucks. Well, that's

because the first time I'd had coffee, it was completely black

and over brewed that's why I don't like it and you try tea

and it was bitter and didn't taste like anything. Now it

makes sense versus just saying I am right or wrong. It's to open

open the channel to have the conversation for better

understanding. The the, the end result of that is if you look at

every interaction through the lens of compassion, empathy,

curiosity, and wanting to understand the other person then

any any of that negativity just gets shelved, right. It's really

hard to get mad at and upset at someone if you're trying to

understand and be curious about them. Those two things don't

work. So the more if more people could experience the world like

a dog does. The world would be a better place because the dog

always wants to make friends smells, smells of flowers

everywhere they go. Everything's everything was a good time.

World was great. And yeah, they just love everything. It's like

if every everyone can expect can live their life. We a dog does.

A much better place. Oh, I

love it connecting to your inner dog. That's

awesome. Thank you so much Winston for spending some time

with me investing time with me today. I really enjoy. I always

enjoy our conversations. You've had some interesting,

fascinating experiences. And I love your your sense of wonder

and curiosity and openness to experience what the universe

presents to you. And I'm grateful that you're open to

sharing that with me and to our listeners on the joyful journey

podcast. So again, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

And Joe for journeyers I hope you enjoyed our show today.

We'll leave Winston's contact details in the show notes. And

yeah, I know Winston welcomes conversations and engagement.

Please reach out to him if you if you want to connect. And with

that, have an awesome day. We'll catch you next time. Thank you

for joining us today on the joyful journey podcast. If

anything resonated with you, please visit our website at

joyful inspired living.com Sign up to receive a free download of

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