Curiosity, Perspective, Connection, and Fulfillment From The Way Of The Bonfire With Nate Riggle

EP 90 Keeping it Real

We are desperately in need of a reality check. Fake is not your friend. Everything has reached a critical point of saturation with fake. The real vs fake balance is at a catastrophic level. There have always been imitations and substitutions. Things we created or relied on or allowed in to bring the cost down for the masses, or as a way to get by without the real, authentic, natural, and original. Fillers, chemicals, drugs, social media, smart phones, processed copies, of the real thing, digital versions of everything. We got pretty good at looking through a distorted lens called a screen or an ad and knowing what things are not real. It was never transparently presented or moderated or healthy, even it was seemingly cheap or free or convenient or accessible or exciting. But we are replacing the real with the fake at too fast of a rate now. Its like we refuse to admit that we are drowning because it doesn’t hurt enough yet. Our inability to value the real over the fake hasn’t been pretty. But to this point we kind of assumed the risks and found out the hard way, and adapted as best we could through the grief and struggle of unanticipated or selectively ignored potential consequences and side effects. But from a sane non-conspiratorial person who has always been close to the action, and never cries wolf, this round is so terribly different! And we can’t just let it wash over us this time. The forgeries have gotten to expert level and quietly been invited into every aspect of our lives. They may have great potential, but assuming no downside or underestimating the danger and downstream effects at the scale before this one has taken countless casualties in the form of accidents, addictions, and illness, and disease, and disconnection to be able shed light too late on the cost of fake. Our reality and BS sensor has gotten dusty and out of calibration. But its not broken. We think we need to simply collect all evidence and know more, but that is the trap. We need to get better without tools and technology at knowing and sensing the difference before we jump back into this water. We need to notice more. We need more real in our lives and relationships and interactions to be able to stay afloat in this ocean. It seemed like it would always be easy to know what we were feeding our bodies or minds or what we were consuming or interacting with and to assume the risks and know the consequences. Sadly, that time is over. Science and predictive engines can’t save us on this one. The flood of fake is at a critical flow, and its building into an unmanageable un-natural disaster. You can’t stop the raw power that is building it, but you can get better at detecting and perceiving the differences between real and true and the elaborate imitations. The cost of not knowing for yourself how to stay buoyant and navigate the saturation of false is too great. Its not just the food or the drugs that are fooling us and sedating us anymore. This is an animal no one has ever seen or understands. Its fascinating. But its scary and it does not have a leash or a cage. And the only way to survive this is to anchor back in reality like we have never had to consciously choose to do. But people ARE doing it, and its changing the tide. Join the quietly real revolution. We need you on this one. If you have thoughts or ideas or things you are doing to recalibrate and get back into reality lets compare notes. Send me a hand typed email to nate@wayfirelabs.com. (I will respond if you are a human unaided by AI or scrapers or a workflow automation. )

EP 89 The Abundance of One

Most of us are chasing a mirage of many. Don’t miss this one. (wink wink) Please email me your thoughts at the address below if this episode resonated in some way: nate@wayfirelabs.com I read and respond to every single email typed by a real person one word at a time.

EP 88 Master the ‘What If’ Game: Transforming Paranoia Into Power and Peace

Ignorance is bliss until it really isn’t. But the “if” or the “what if” can drive you crazy, make you fearful, or take you off course, chasing endless possibilities. Curiosity and imagination are two of the most powerful forces anyone can use to get out of a rut and uncover amazing things. But they can also be a trap, a fear tactic, or just plain overwhelming and distracting. This episode includes 5 tactics for moving forward without ignoring good and bad possibilities, but not needing all the answers either. Risk is your friend if you don’t allow it to be the enemy. —— I’d like to connect with you if you have questions or feedback or any of this resonated with you. Please reach out at nate@wayfirelabs.com (I try to read and respond to every email individually typed and manually sent by a human.) —– Or just connect with me on instagram @instanater [https://www.instagram.com/instanater3/] or @wayofthebonfire [https://www.instagram.com/wayofthebonfire/]

Ep 87 Choose Discomfort Before it is Chosen For You

Life is going to be hard even if you make great decisions and have impeccable judgment, great support and relationships and discipline. Even if you have great privilege, and manage all of your risks, its going to be more difficult than you can imagine at some points. Hiding from difficulty and discomfort or believing it is somehow something you can transcend beyond on some magical day with some special strategy, is what leads to the deepest regrets and longest ruts of inaction, dissappointment, and discouragement. The secret? Get better at enjoying and at suffering. Make more intentional choices to seek out and embrace difficulty. If and when it is not chosen or forced upon you, greet it properly, and remember that you still have choices on how you will respond to it. This way of growth is not just about tiptoeing outside of your comfort zone every once in a when it feels safe. Its insisting on leaving it on a daily basis, that leads to growth, enjoyment, connection, trust, understanding, and fulfillment. It also makes for the best stories and multiplies the life in your years, and the impact and influence you can have. I would love to hear your story, thoughts, perspective, and ideas. Send me an email at nate@wayfirelabs.com and I will respond.

Ep 86 What Is Your Soundtrack?

We wouldn’t let anyone change the soundtrack in our favorite movies, but we are not near as vigilant with the soundtracks we allow to play in our lives. Five questions to ask to stay in charge of what gets to play. 1. What are you listening to? 2. Why? 3. Where is it coming from? 4. Is it making the movie better or worse? 5. What are you going to do about the answers to questions 1-4? Would love to hear from you. Yes you. Send me an email at nate@wayfirelabs.com Also just click follow on your podcast player already!