"What's the F***ing Point?" — ep 27 —Timothy Gordon on weaving a life of meaning
/Hot damn, y'all. Words do not suffice to describe my interview with The Zen Social Worker, Timothy Gordon. This was probably my favorite conversation yet.
Grab your notebook, your tissues, and get ready for your brain to explode onto the ceiling as mine did during our call. (I am happy to report that I am now back in one piece.💁♀️🧠)
I can already say Tim will be a repeat guest — and on this episode, here's what we dig into:
How the universe kicked him out of the “safe” path and into entrepreneurship
Mindsets of collaboration versus scarcity
The impact that his adoption and trying to connect with his birth family has had on his self worth
The value of befriending our difficult/painful thoughts and feelings, and recognizing when that it can also be adaptive to distract or avoid
The importance of unhooking from our unhelpful stories and beliefs to chase the life that you want
Why we need to acknowledge cultural appropriation within yoga and how we can become part of the solution rather than the problem
The issue with viewing yoga as primarily an athletic, physical practice
The basics of Tantra yoga philosophy
How we can create a false hierarchy and patriarchy if we misinterpret yoga (or anything else for that matter)
Universal versus individual consciousness
The epistemology of yoga - why do we do what we do?
Ontological versus a-ontological philosophy - how do we structure our beliefs about reality?
I strongly encourage you to check out Tim's YouTube Channel, and his book (co-authored with Jessica Borushok) The ACT Approach, which won the 2018 Benjamin Franklin Award for editorial and design excellence in the Psychology category.
To listen to the episode, stream from the player below, or subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your fave podcast app.
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About Tim Gordon
Timothy Gordon, MSW, is a social worker in Canada and internationally recognized peer-reviewed ACT trainer. He specializes in treating attachment and trauma related disorders. Tim is also a yoga teacher who integrates movement and yoga practices into his work. Tim's research has included yoga as a mental health intervention, ACT for chronic pain, and ACT with neonatal intensive care units. Tim is passionate about empowering people in various settings to use ACT, he has worked with Canada's Parliament and is involved in bringing ACT to subsaharan African countries with his colleagues at Commit and Act.
Additional Resources + Stuff Mentioned on This Episode:
The Zen Social Worker YouTube Channel, Twitter, and Instagram
The ACT Approach by Timothy Gordon and Jessica Borushok
MYACT - Mindful Yoga-Based Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Matthew Remski - Heart-Centered Skepticism
About Tantra yoga
Honor Don’t Appropriate Yoga - Susanna Barkataki
As always, if I forgot anything from this list and you can’t find the link you want, just comment here, shoot me an email, or DM on Instagram!