The High Achiever’s Journey Into Fulfilment with Neil Markey
Neil Markey was a quintessentially successful American - former Army Ranger, Ivy League school graduate, husband, and a corporate strategist with a hand in Private Equity. He was in all the rooms with all the right people at the right times. But Neil had a problem: an emotionally depleted marriage, chronic self-medication, and at the core of it all a struggle to find happiness widened the gap between where he was and the life of purpose he craved. He was deeply unsatisfied and was left unfulfilled despite checking all of the standard boxes for success.
Today, Neil leads meditations as well as psychedelic-assisted retreats for industry leaders and lives a blanched life, more connected to his values.
Join Monika and Neil in conversation about his transformation, how he navigated it and how he hopes to help others through consciousness, neuroscience, and individual wellness.
Host: Monika Jus | @The_Conscious_Shift [https://www.instagram.com/the_conscious_shift/]
Guest: Neil Markey
Evolutio: https://www.evolutio.org/ [https://www.evolutio.org/]
The Conscious Shift: www.theconsciousshift.org [http://www.theconsciousshift.org/]
The Conscious Shift - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCEotqmok9pnHIYnRzNkPA/featured]
SHOW NOTES
(2:02) While in undergrad at University of Maryland, the events of September 11 changed the trajectory of Neil’s life. Days after the attack he found himself having lunch with Chris Matthes from Hardball and Paul Wolfowitz, the Undersecretary of Defense for Donald Rumsfeld. After their meeting at the Pentagon, Neil enrolled in the army.
(3:42) Enlisted as an Engineer Officer, Neil was deployed to Iraq with a platoon of 35 infantry under his command. He describes the inspiration he found in the pure talent of those around him and the conviction he held for the mission.
(6:53) Disenchanted by the knowledge that there were no weapons of mass destruction, and looking for further career development, Neil left the ranger regiment for Columbia where he received an MBA. That lead to strategy consulting. While he climbed the ladder, he was still aware that this was not his purpose in life. Hear where walking this prescribed path lead.
(16:19) Neil’s corporate experience was not unlike his experience in the ranger regiment - he was in constant battle. The stress of constantly trying to fill the spaces left by insecurity and personal emptiness came to a head. He needed a new way of doing life.
(20:27) Neil had seen meditation practiced by his father and the Delta squad in Iraq, but never thought of it as a practical tool for his life. But when he could no longer handle his unhappiness, he explored Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a form of meditation developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. Hear how Neil went from seeing meditation as a silly practice to half-day solo meditations and plant medicine retreats.
(24:06) Hear how meditation and psychedelics helped Neil zoom out, see the bigger picture, and come home to his body.
(27:21) His practice has had such a profound impact on his life that he has started a wellness business at the intersections of consciousness, neuroscience, and individual wellness. Hear how he intends to make the most positive impact on the world around him.
(38:10) Neil offers advice and practical tips for those who don't think they are capable of meditating.
(42:51) How the human and animal mind perceives time, and thus stress, differently. Human thought and the scientific method both have their limitations. Hear about the tips on how we go beyond them.
