The Skeptic Metaphysicians | A Pragmatic Guide to Spiritual Awakening, Metaphysics & Enlightenment

If you’ve been telling yourself you’re stuck...stuck in your career, your relationships, your spiritual growth, or your sense of purpose...this New Year’s Eve episode challenges that assumption head-on. In this powerful solo reflection, Will explores a truth many people encounter during spiritual awakening but rarely talk about: that feeling of being stuck often isn’t confusion or lack of clarity, it’s fear of becoming the next version of yourself. This episode dives into the quieter, more uncomfortable side of modern spirituality... the part that doesn’t promise instant manifestation, constant alignment, or easy answers. Instead, it looks at how awakening expands consciousness before it brings peace, why insight without action creates anxiety, and how real transformation begins with release rather than effort. You’ll hear a grounded, honest exploration of:Why awareness doesn’t automatically lead to changeHow identity shifts affect intuition development and decision-makingThe hidden emotional cost of staying “almost ready”Why growth often feels destabilizing before it feels freeingHow to recognize when a chapter is truly completeRather than offering resolutions or surface-level inspiration, this episode invites deep self-inquiry, the kind that supports genuine spiritual growth, clearer intuition, and alignment with your evolving soul purpose. If you’re navigating awakening, questioning old beliefs, or sensing that something in your life has quietly run its course, this conversation is designed to meet you exactly where you are...without bypassing, platitudes, or pressure to pretend. Listen with honesty. Sit with what surfaces. And allow space for what’s ready to begin.KEY THEMES & TAKEAWAYSSpiritual awakening doesn’t always feel peaceful, it often feels unsettlingWhy fear is a signal of expansion, not failureThe difference between insight and integrationHow intuition strengthens when you stop betraying what you already knowWhy release is often the missing piece in manifestationLetting go of outdated roles, identities, and expectationsReframing “stuck” as a threshold of consciousnessSubscribe, Rate & Review! If you found this episode enlightening, mind-expanding, or even just thought-provoking (see what we did there?), please take a moment to rate and review us. Your feedback helps us bring more transformative guests and topics your way! Subscribe to The Skeptic Metaphysicians on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for more deep dives into spiritual awakening, consciousness, spirituality, metaphysical science, and mind-body evolution.Connect with Us: 🌎 Website – SkepticMetaphysician.com 📱 Follow Us on Social Media – https://www.facebook.com/SkepticMetaphysician | https://www.instagram.com/skepticmetaphysician

This is a standalone crystal bowl sound healing designed to help you slow down, regulate your nervous system, and return to a more balanced internal state. Recorded live during our conversation with sound healer Ryan Stanley, this session uses the resonant tones of crystal alchemy bowls to support deep relaxation, mental clarity, and emotional release,  without effort, belief, or prior experience required. Use this audio when you’re feeling overstimulated, anxious, scattered, or simply need a reset. Listen with headphones or speakers, get comfortable, and allow the sound to do the work. Many listeners return to this session repeatedly as a grounding practice, meditation aid, or stress-calming ritual. No talking. No analysis. Just sound, vibration, and space to recalibrate.Enjoy!Subscribe, Rate & Review! If you found this episode enlightening, mind-expanding, or even just thought-provoking (see what we did there?), please take a moment to rate and review us. Your feedback helps us bring more transformative guests and topics your way! Subscribe to The Skeptic Metaphysicians on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for more deep dives into spiritual awakening, consciousness, spirituality, metaphysical science, and mind-body evolution.Connect with Us: 🌎 Website – SkepticMetaphysician.com 📱 Follow Us on Social Media – https://www.facebook.com/SkepticMetaphysician | https://www.instagram.com/skepticmetaphysician

What if the key to silencing your overactive mind exists at a specific frequency? In this episode of The Skeptic Metaphysicians, hosts Will and Karen dive deep with Ryan Stanley, owner of Sacred Sound of the Soul, to uncover how sound healing moves beyond relaxation fluff into genuine neurobiological transformation.Ryan, a former corporate executive who pivoted to exploring consciousness expansion through sound, reveals the science-backed mechanisms behind why crystal bowls induce immediate calm, from vagus nerve stimulation to frequency-based entrainment. But here's what makes this conversation different: he refuses to oversell the "woo," instead grounding energy healing in practical, observable results that listeners can replicate at home.In this episode, you'll discover why stress has become our baseline operating system and how 15 minutes with a crystal bowl can reset your nervous system. You'll learn the neurobiological mechanics of how sound vibrations impact your vagus nerve and central nervous system. Ryan shares how to choose your "bowl mate"; the one that matches YOUR unique energy signature, and demystifies the myth about crystal bowls and chakras. The hosts experience a live sound healing demo and Will even leaves his body, proving online sound healing genuinely works. You'll hear Ryan's personal spiritual awakening story with the "super grade" crystal bowl that triggered samadhi at 3 AM, and discover practical daily-use strategies whether you have 3 minutes or 60+ minutes to dedicate to vibrational medicine.This is modern spirituality for skeptics, practical tools for spiritual growth, and everything you need to understand why your body responds to vibration even when your mind says BS.Coupon: Listeners of Skeptic Metaphysicians can use the code SKEPTIC to receive $100 off their first alchemy crystal singing bowl from Sacred Sound of the SoulKey Topics & KeywordsSound Healing & Vibrational Medicine: Frequency-based healing, crystal bowls, Tibetan bowls, sonic frequency therapy, vagus nerve stimulationConsciousness & Spiritual Development: Spiritual awakening, consciousness, consciousness expansion, spiritual growth, frequency entrainment, somatic experiencingEnergy & Metaphysics: Energy healing, energy signature matching, subtle body work, frequency alignment, vibration entrainment, modern spiritualityIntuition & Soul Connection: Intuition development, soul-level resonance, intuitive bowl selection, soul purpose, inner knowing, somatic listeningPersonal Transformation: Stress relief, anxiety management, nervous system regulation, emotional reset, rest & digest response, awakeningSpiritual Guidance: Spiritual teacher perspective, consciousness hacking, accessible spiritual practice, practical metaphysicsTimestamps & Deep Dive[00:00] – Intro: "Stress as our baseline operating system" & the one tool that shuts your brain up faster than a dead iPhone battery[00:04] – The neurobiology of sound: How your eardrum, neural pathways, and brain interpret vibration into healing[00:06] – Three theories of how sound healing works: energy entrainment, somatic holding space, and the science we don't fully understand yet[00:08] – Real talk about tinnitus, frequency sensitivity, and whether sound healing can trigger trauma (and why that might be progress)[00:10] – Why your nervous system responds to bass differently than Karen's (psychological vs. physical frequency reception)[00:12] – The yoga studio revelation: How thousands of fidgeting students instantly got still the moment a bowl was played[00:14] – Skin benefits, deep rest, and how sound healing indirectly supports skin health through restorative biology[00:15] – From five-dimensional consciousness to actual morning playlists: How your "vibe match" determines your entire day[00:17] – Crystal bowl mechanics: Why width, height, and wall thickness create different frequencies[00:19] – Can you change a crystal bowl's frequency with water? (Wine glass effect explained)[00:20] – The frequency spectrometer myth-buster: Every bowl contains infinite frequencies—your intention determines which one you "hear"[00:22] – Ryan's personal awakening: The 16-inch super-grade crystal bowl that triggered samadhi and a 3 AM kundalini pull[00:24] – Why the magic isn't just in expensive bowls—accessibility matters[00:25] – How to play crystal bowls (2-3 minute learning curve)[00:26] – Session duration breakdown: 3-5 minutes for clarity, 1+ hours for deep meditation, 15 minutes for optimal balance[00:28] – One bowl or an orchestra? The receptivity-and-strength dance of extended single-bowl sessions[00:30] – Harmonic bowl families: Why assembling sets means you "never hit the wrong note"[00:32] – Live sound healing experience—15 minutes of pure crystal bowl frequency (best with headphones)[00:47] – After the sound bath: Reports of tingling, sinus opening, top-of-head burning, and profound nervous system release[00:48] – Does online sound healing really work? The science of how vibration travels through digital mediums and directly impacts your body[00:52] – Crystal vs. Tibetan bowl differences and why one requires effort while the other flows[00:53] – The "Bowl Mate" concept: Finding your soulmate bowl through visual intuition and energy signature matching[00:54] – How to buy a crystal bowl: In-person consultations or online sound recordings for remote buyers[00:56] – Contact info and Ryan's approach to helping people find their perfect bowlGuest BioRyan Stanley is the founder and owner of Sacred Sound of the Soul, a crystal bowl healing studio in Encinitas, California. A former corporate executive who transitioned from "crunching numbers" to facilitating consciousness expansion through sound healing, Ryan has spent years mastering the subtle art of crystal bowl selection and vibrational medicine. He's witnessed thousands of people experience immediate nervous system shifts, emotional breakthroughs, and spiritual awakening through his work, and he approaches it all with refreshing skepticism and genuine humility about what he does and doesn't understand.Resources & LinksSacred Sound of the Soul: www.sacredsoundofthesoul.comEmail: [email protected]: Encinitas, California (consultations available online and in-person by appointment)Bowl Selection: Browse 500+ unique crystal bowls with audio recordings available onlineListener TakeawayYou don't need to understand why sound healing works to benefit from it. What matters is that your body responds. This episode strips away spiritual jargon and gives you practical tools to use crystal bowls for immediate stress relief, deeper meditation, and the kind of spiritual growth that happens when your nervous system finally stops fighting to survive. Whether you're seeking tools for anxiety relief, meditation enhancement, or genuine spiritual awakening, sound healing deserves a place in your consciousness toolkit.Perfect for: Skeptics curious about alternative healing, meditation practitioners, anxiety sufferers, yoga instructors, conscious creators, energy workers, and anyone exploring modern spirituality without sacrificing critical thinking.The Skeptic Metaphysicians: Where we question everything, ditch the fluff, and dive straight into tools that actually shift your consciousness.Subscribe, Rate & Review! If you found this episode enlightening, mind-expanding, or even just thought-provoking (see what we did there?), please take a moment to rate and review us. Your feedback helps us bring more transformative guests and topics your way! Subscribe to The Skeptic Metaphysicians on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for more deep dives into spiritual awakening, consciousness, spirituality, metaphysical science, and mind-body evolution.Connect with Us: 🌎 Website – SkepticMetaphysician.com 📱 Follow Us on Social Media – https://www.facebook.com/SkepticMetaphysician | https://www.instagram.com/skepticmetaphysician

Welcome to Classic Skeptic Metaphysicians! We're re-releasing some of our back catalog so that these gems can be re-discovered!This week: Travelers: A Spiritual Quest for Proof of the Metaphysical WorldWhat if the line between mental health, spiritual awakening, and non-ordinary reality is far thinner than we think? In this episode, we sit down with Donald Altman—psychotherapist, former Buddhist monk, internationally known mindfulness teacher, and award-winning author of Travelers: A Spiritual Quest for Healing.Altman has spent decades at the intersection of consciousness, mindfulness, and the mysteries that modern psychiatry can’t explain. His new novel isn’t just a story—it’s a guided initiation into the deeper layers of the self: grief, fear, synchronicity, healing, and the unseen forces shaping our lives. Altman doesn’t come to this conversation with vague spirituality or soft-focus platitudes. He brings lived experience, clinical insight, and firsthand encounters with the “impossible” — including a real-life synchronicity mirroring the events in his novel down to the injuries he described months before they happened. This is the kind of conversation that forces you to reevaluate what’s real, what’s possible, and what the human mind is truly capable of. In This Episode, We Explore: ✔ The real difference between mindfulness and meditation Why one trains focus, while the other trains perception — and why confusing them sabotages your inner work. ✔ Emotional eating, distraction culture, and why most of us are terrified of presence Altman’s brutally honest account of using food to numb emotions… and the monastery moment that changed everything. ✔ A psychotherapist’s take on spiritual awakenings vs. schizophrenia Where the line really is, what most people get wrong, and why some awakenings mimic mental illness. ✔ Quantum consciousness, astral experiences, and non-local events Including the stunning moment Altman lived out a scene from his own book — in a place he had never visited before writing it. ✔ How fear blocks intuition, spiritual growth, and authentic manifestation And why stepping into the unknown is the true doorway to transformation. ✔ The healing power of story, symbolism, and myth Travelers isn’t entertainment — it’s a mirror, a catalyst, and an invitation to confront the parts of yourself you’ve avoided. ✔ Mental health through a spiritual lens Mindfulness techniques, energetic awareness, and presence-based practices that help reduce anxiety, depression, and emotional overwhelm. Why This Episode Matters Because your awakening doesn’t happen in meditation apps. It happens in the moments you’d rather avoid: fear, grief, confusion, uncertainty, longing. Altman shows how spiritual growth and psychological healing aren’t separate journeys — they’re the same road. And Travelers might just be the companion guide you didn’t know you needed. Who This Episode Is ForAnyone navigating a spiritual awakeningSeekers exploring modern spirituality without bypassing realityListeners curious about manifestation, consciousness, or intuition developmentThose healing grief, loss, or emotional traumaAnyone fascinated by the edges of science and mysticism — quantum consciousness, synchronicity, and non-ordinary experienceReaders who loved The Celestine Prophecy, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, or The AlchemistLinks & ResourcesDonald Altman’s books & blog: MindfulPractices.comHis Psychology Today column: Practical MindfulnessMeditation community: Facebook.com/mindfulpracticesSubscribe, Rate & Review! If you found this episode enlightening, mind-expanding, or even just thought-provoking (see what we did there?), please take a moment to rate and review us. Your feedback helps us bring more transformative guests and topics your way! Subscribe to The Skeptic Metaphysicians on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for more deep dives into spiritual awakening, consciousness, spirituality, metaphysical science, and mind-body evolution.Connect with Us: 🌎 Website – SkepticMetaphysician.com 📱 Follow Us on Social Media – https://www.facebook.com/SkepticMetaphysician | https://www.instagram.com/skepticmetaphysician

What if the most powerful tool for emotional healing, trauma release, and spiritual awakening has been inside you since birth? This week on The Skeptic Metaphysicians, we sit down with Kurtis Lee Thomas, global corporate mindfulness trainer, founder of Breathwork Detox, #1 bestselling author, and the man NASA, Nike, and The Today Show call when their people are breaking down. Kurtis doesn’t preach modern spirituality fluff. He delivers physiological, neurological, and emotional transformation through a deceptively simple modality: breathing. But not the casual inhale-exhale you do every day… We’re talking about a deep diaphragmatic technique capable of:Releasing stored trauma and emotional blockagesTriggering profound energy healingOpening intuitive channelsRewiring the nervous systemSupporting spiritual growth and consciousness expansionCreating the clarity needed to step into your soul purposeIf that sounds impossible, wait until you hear the stories:✔ A five-year chronic illness completely resolved in one session✔ Instant clarity and breakthroughs in people who’ve felt stuck for decades✔ Engineers, veterans, and skeptics experiencing Kundalini-like activations✔ A mind-bending account of spontaneous physical healing that you’ll need to hear to believe Breathwork Detox isn’t just breathwork, it’s a full-body energetic purge designed to clear the emotional “weight” you’ve been carrying your entire life. Whether you’re navigating your own awakening, seeking deeper consciousness, exploring intuition development, or simply trying to stop your stress from running your life, this conversation will reset your understanding of what healing can look like.IN THIS EPISODE: • Why most people breathe incorrectly, and how it blocks emotional & energetic flow • How unprocessed experiences lodge in the body and manifest as anxiety, illness, and stuckness • The exact 3-part breathing sequence used in Breathwork Detox • The science behind clarity, flow state, and shutting down the overactive mind • How breathwork triggers profound spiritual awakening experiences, even in total skeptics • Why clarity (not bliss) is the real engine of manifestation • The four types of people who benefit the MOST from this practice • Why energy healing works even for people who don’t “believe” in it • How breathwork can support emotional transitions, hormonal shifts, and the stress of modern lifeWHY THIS EPISODE MATTERS If you feel overwhelmed… foggy… disconnected… stuck in old patterns… or blocked from the spiritual growth you know is possible, then you’re likely carrying far more emotional residue than you realize. You don’t need a guru. You don’t need a plant medicine ceremony. You don’t need a near-death experience to wake up. You need to clear what’s standing between you and the truth already inside you. And this modality gives you the key.ABOUT OUR GUEST — KURTIS LEE THOMASFounder of Breathwork DetoxCorporate mindfulness trainer for Nike, NASA, and Fortune 500 companies#1 international bestselling authorBoard Chair of the Just Breathe FoundationGlobal teacher helping thousands detox emotional blockages, trauma, and mental overwhelmCONNECT WITH KURTIS Website: BreathworkDetox.comFree masterclass, virtual sessions, facilitator training & more inside.Subscribe, Rate & Review! If you found this episode enlightening, mind-expanding, or even just thought-provoking (see what we did there?), please take a moment to rate and review us. Your feedback helps us bring more transformative guests and topics your way! Subscribe to The Skeptic Metaphysicians on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for more deep dives into spiritual awakening, consciousness, spirituality, metaphysical science, and mind-body evolution.Connect with Us: 🌎 Website – SkepticMetaphysician.com 📱 Follow Us on Social Media – https://www.facebook.com/SkepticMetaphysician | https://www.instagram.com/skepticmetaphysician