42: Ep. 42 - An Akashic Records Reading with Heather Pleune

He drowned in his own pool, woke up on the bottom under a full moon, and came back with an equation for happiness. For years, Thayne Martin looked like a man who had it all figured out: six-time President's Club, top 10% nationwide, a career built on breaking sales records. Underneath it he was carrying a secret from childhood, abuse that began when he was a boy in Phoenix, and a stack of diagnoses that included dissociative identity disorder, bipolar I and complex PTSD. He tells us how he hid it, how it surfaced in a board meeting, and the woman who never gave up on him. Then, on August 13, 2023, alone in the pool late at night, he had a seizure and drowned. It was his second near-death experience. He woke up at the bottom of the pool, calm, an atheist with no idea how to get out, until a voice said: move your head. What came back with him became ELAH, the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division applied to your emotional life, plus "net neutral," the "gratitude cocktail," and why he says fear is a direction, not a stop sign. And stay for the Playlist Round: ZZ Top, Propaganda, Above & Beyond, Donna Summer with the Phoenix Symphony, and the song that carried a little boy over the rainbow. This conversation includes Thayne's account of childhood sexual abuse, addiction and suicide attempts. If it brings something up for you, in the US you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Thayne shares his own experience; nothing here is medical advice. KEY TOPICS Hiding childhood trauma behind a high-performing career · Dissociative identity disorder, without the Hollywood myth · Two near-death experiences by drowning · Leaving the victim story behind · ELAH: the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness · Net positive, net negative and net neutral · Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail" · The principle of abundance · Music as vibration SOUND BITES "I'm not a victim. I was never a victim. None of us are." "I woke up at the bottom of the pool. That's where I woke up." "Happiness in life comes when we're authentic, a hundred percent who we are without filters." "Fear is a sign and a direction. Fear just says I can learn something here." "There's only one thing on the other side. It's love." CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:36 Phoenix, age five, and the secret he carried 03:42 "I'm not a victim. I was never a victim." 05:24 Every diagnosis was a coping mechanism 05:55 Seven pillboxes a day, and then zero 06:17 August 13, 2023: alone in the pool at night 07:02 Waking up at the bottom of the pool under a full moon 08:09 An atheist comes back with a "download" 10:02 "Move your head": the breath that got him out 12:28 Six-time President's Club: what the man on stage believed 14:40 The gap between the facade and the true self 17:05 A life of success, and a secret underneath it 18:19 The best liar in the world 20:40 Gratitude and unconditional love as neuroscience 21:56 Every sunrise since September 2024 22:26 Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail" 25:18 Which diagnosis explained the most 28:11 The board meeting that ended his career 28:45 A love story: the woman who never gave up 29:54 What he wishes someone had said 31:38 Net positive, net negative, and living in net neutral 34:37 Two near-death experiences: what the first one showed him 37:55 The first thing he did when he came back 39:18 Love as the power that operates everything 40:48 Why we remember what we feel 41:59 What happened to the men responsible 43:24 A lawsuit, scholarships, and a donation-based program 44:24 ELAH: why math is the language of the universe 45:44 Add and subtract: balancing to neutral 46:49 Multiply and divide: the principle of abundance 48:59 From growing up scarce to giving it away 50:09 Letting go of ego, and a love that never punishes 51:34 Fifty years at the piano: everything is vibration 54:21 What he still gets wrong about his own equation 55:12 Vasopressin, oxytocin and

What if you reach the top of your mountain and it turns out to be the wrong one? In 2000, Matt Ludmer and his partner were named the No. 1 producing team at DLJ. He walked up to collect the award, and his very next thought was, "Where do I go from here?" Earlier that year he had wandered into a matinee of a play called Wrong Mountain, and its question never left him. Matt grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a man who sold staples and nails up and down the Turnpike. He talked his way into the University of Chicago by sitting outside the dean's office, talked his way into Morgan Stanley by walking into a recruiting lunch uninvited, and spent decades building wealth for other people while quietly studying meditation, Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism on the side. For years, none of those worlds knew about the others. At his 50th birthday, none of his best friends knew each other. We talk about the thirteen years between knowing and leaving, why a risk manager decided the risk of staying was worse, the day he wrote ARTICULATION on his daughter's wall and saw her light dim, a week alone in a Vermont cabin where he started laughing on day three, and what his father knew about contentment that took Matt forty years on Wall Street to learn. His new book, The Right Mountain, comes out October 20. And stay for the Playlist Round: Led Zeppelin, Queen, Al Green, a tenor aria, and the Knicks. KEY TOPICS Reaching the top and asking "where do I go from here?" · Living two lives: Wall Street and the meditation cushion · The four dimensions of true wealth · Intelligent risk and the decision to leave · Money as achievement, not fulfillment · Being spiritual in business · Parenting and the achiever mindset · A solo retreat and laughing at your own story · Must do, fun to do, and what your heart wants · What a father's contentment teaches SOUND BITES "Did it ever occur to you that you may be on the wrong mountain?" "I'm a wealth manager and I didn't feel wealthy." "My job is not managing money. My job is managing risk." "Money is achievement, but it's not fulfillment." "Wisdom has many, many lifetimes." CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:06 Matt's thumbnail: Teaneck, a staples salesman's son, and the road to Wall Street 02:14 Tibetan teachers at 18, and camping outside the dean's office 03:35 Two lives: meditation in the dorm, Morgan Stanley by day 04:35 Unintentional Fridays and a play called Wrong Mountain 05:29 The lightning moment, and the No. 1 producer award 07:04 Uncle Marvin the headhunter, and where the nerve came from 08:36 A motivation box on the wall and reading Emerson 10:07 Walking uninvited into Morgan Stanley's recruiting lunch 11:58 The downside of the achiever mindset 12:28 His daughter Grace and the word ARTICULATION 14:48 Scottsdale, 2000: "Where do I go from here?" 15:37 Thirteen more years, and a wealth manager who didn't feel wealthy 16:15 Ken Wilber and a map for a fragmented life 18:10 A 50th birthday where none of his best friends knew each other 19:58 The four dimensions of true wealth 21:28 Fear, money, and a family to support 22:57 "My job is managing risk" 23:57 Losing his light, and the decision to leave 25:14 Stay with the question: advice for anyone at a crossroads 27:05 What he yearns for now, and the purposes of money 29:31 Money is achievement, not fulfillment 30:30 You don't have to renounce the world to be spiritual 31:58 Can you be spiritual and still sell? 34:21 "Your dad's a really good guy" 35:49 The secret life: who he hid from the longest 38:26 Imams, priests and rabbis: the result that matters 39:47 "I want to be wise" 41:10 The kinds of wealth AI won't change 43:31 2008, a cabin in Vermont, and a laugh on day three 47:24 Labels, identity, and laughing at yourself 48:59 Must do, fun to do, and what your heart wants 51:06 Having a view: a map made of other people's wisdom 54:07 Being lit up about your life 55:08 The Old Croton Aqueduct and the sound of a basketball 56:16 What his father knew that took 40 years o

What happens when a guy runs for mayor of Los Angeles on a platform of love? Helix Wolfson did exactly that. He legally changed his name to Paul E. Amori, put on a three-piece red suit, and ran for mayor on one question: what would love do? He came in last. He also walked off a debate stage with a dozen people telling him he'd earned their vote, and he says it felt like winning. That's one chapter. Helix grew up in the theater, made films, built stages at Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle, and when COVID cancelled Burning Man he helped build the Infinite Playa, a virtual version of it. That project grew into Infinite Reality, a metaverse company that reached a $12 billion valuation. Then he walked away. We talk about what survives when you move a sensory experience like Burning Man into a virtual world, the difference between the cutting edge and the bleeding edge, and why the people who start a company usually aren't the ones who end up running it. Then we get into AI, and his answer surprised me: he thinks we're not scared enough. We go back and forth about jobs, fulfillment, and what's happening in the workforce I see every day in my recruiting work, and we land on the one thing he believes technology can't replace: being in a room with other humans. And stay for the Playlist Round: Helix shares some big personal news for the first time, right here on the show. KEY TOPICS Running for mayor as Paul E. Amori · Leading with love instead of fear · Career politics and liquid democracy · Building a virtual Burning Man · Amori's Casino and Burlesque · From startup to $12 billion, and walking away · Cutting edge vs. bleeding edge · Founders vs. operators · AI fear, AGI and superintelligence · Jobs, fulfillment and the changing workforce · What technology can't give us SOUND BITES "What would love do was my mantra." "To become authentic while assuming a role is quite a feat." "The bleeding edge… is as painful as it sounds." "I'm not sure you'll like this answer, but I actually think we're not scared enough." "Those are the places where we will always want to be in human connection." CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:12 Helix's thumbnail: theater kid, filmmaker, Burning Man builder 03:34 COVID, a cancelled Burning Man, and a $12 billion detour 05:35 Paul E. Amori and the Love Party 05:57 The alter ego came first: mayor of Lightning in a Bottle 08:05 Legally changing his name to run for mayor of LA 09:47 Trump wins, a dark night of the soul, and "what would love do?" 12:06 What a festival taught him about fear and love 13:44 3,300 votes: love came in last 15:06 Getting Candid with the Candidates over coffee 16:30 The debate nobody else would hold 20:23 Authentic in a wig: the night he earned their votes 21:26 What losing taught him about career politics 26:03 Liquid democracy and the most loving solution 27:59 Burning Man goes virtual: what survived the crossing 33:52 Amori's Casino and Burlesque 39:04 From a startup to $12 billion, and walking away 41:00 The cutting edge vs. the bleeding edge 43:22 Why founders leave what they built 44:52 Three new companies in a few months 47:05 AI and fear: "I actually think we're not scared enough" 50:29 AGI, superintelligence, and the robots 53:54 Jim's view from hiring: who shows up for work 56:22 Fulfillment: human work vs. machine work 59:14 Eighteen job changes in one career 1:02:06 What employers can do about it 1:03:40 What technology can't give us 1:07:14 Playlist Round: Bennie and the Jets 1:08:08 Reggae road trips, Toots, and a rubber chicken 1:10:24 Hip-hop, jazz, and anything with brass 1:11:53 Pump-up songs and a guilty pleasure 1:13:46 Sleeping at Last's "Saturn" 1:15:01 Tears for Fears in the desert 1:16:15 Big news: Helix is about to become a dad 1:17:56 Where to find Helix, and we drop the needle RESOURCES MENTIONED Meow Wolf (immersive art experiences) Lightning in a Bottle (music festival) Burning Man and its Ten Principles The Midnight Mission, Skid Row, Los Angeles Sleeping at Last,

How much of what you're carrying is actually yours? Connie Smock, Connie Warrior of Light, is back for her third visit, and this time we get practical. Her book, Shift Your Energy, Change Your Life!, is built around one word: fear. After 35 years of readings and energy healings, she says fear is what blocks most people, and a lot of what feeds it is energy they picked up somewhere else and never put down. We talk about why the people who challenge us most are our biggest teachers, what sales school taught her about celebrating the no's, and why staying in a relationship that's over can hurt the other person more than leaving. Then we get into energy clearing in plain English: what it is, how to tell what's yours from what isn't, the quick clearing she says anyone can do today, and why sage and holy water never touched what was in her own house. Then I put myself in the chair, and Connie reads me live, on the air. KEY TOPICS Fear as the root of most blocks · The people who challenge us as teachers · Celebrating the no's · Why staying can hurt the other person more · Energy clearing in plain English · Body testing: what's yours and what isn't · Discarnate souls and "hitchhikers" · Interdimensionals and why sage wasn't enough · A quick daily clearing · The seven sacred flames · Developing clairsentience · A live tarot reading SOUND BITES "The people who challenge us the most… those are your biggest teachers." "Celebrate the no's… because you're that much closer to your yes." "You're hurting that other person more… that other person could be with someone who actually looks forward to seeing them every day." "If you never washed your physical body ever… how many layers of filth and dirt would you have? … It's the same thing with spiritual clearing." CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:41 Connie Smock, back for a third visit 01:52 The Listening Field retreat, and why she does qigong every day 05:32 Why fear? The spine of her book 10:01 Sales school: celebrate the no's 11:47 35 years of readings. What finally made her write it 14:25 "Yeah, for you": the gap between knowing and doing 17:56 The skier, the toddler, and getting back up 19:59 The waterfall breath 21:59 Jumping timelines 23:10 Who the book is for, and why staying can hurt them more 27:40 What she'd change, the workbook, and Jim narrating the audiobook 29:54 Energy 101: not all of it is good for you 31:13 High and low vibrations, and the headless figure on the stairs 33:12 The fastest clearing: Michael, Raphael and the violet flame 34:44 Energy clearing in plain English: a hundred coats 36:58 What's yours and what isn't: body testing 41:18 If you never clear: hitchhikers and souls that don't cross 45:18 What a clearing feels like: "night and day" 47:37 People vs. houses, and the interdimensionals 53:11 When to call a pro, and why sage isn't enough 56:34 A clearing you can do today, plus the seven sacred flames 1:00:33 Do you walk the house? Intention over the tool belt 1:04:30 Start developing your gifts: the clairsentient truth test 1:08:59 Connie reads Jim live 1:15:50 Her six-day psychic mediumship course 1:19:13 Where to find Connie, and we drop the needle RESOURCES MENTIONED Shift Your Energy, Change Your Life! by Connie Smock Spiritual Clearings by Diana Burney CONNECT WITH CONNIE SMOCK Website and newsletter: https://conniewarrioroflight.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conniewarrioroflight Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conniewarrioroflight TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@conniewarrioroflight Guided Psychic Mediumship Program, live on Zoom, October 19–24, 2026 Live Open Forum Mediumship at Red Lotus Yoga, Rochester Hills, MI, Sunday, November 8, 2026 TODAY'S PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4TMGhQDIlE36PUeX3LBfN4 FROM YOUR HOST Mentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper? 📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH 🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com 🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.co

What does a child who never spoke a word leave behind? Mike Gomoll's son Joey died at five. With Butch Vig, he built Joey's Song: $2 million raised for epilepsy research, zero paid staff. Dravet syndrome, Freezing Man, 35 artists playing free. Joey couldn't speak. When the music came on, he'd find whoever was in the room, grab a finger, and make sure they were dancing. Fifteen years later his dad runs Joey's Song and Freezing Man, two nights at a 2,500-seat room in Madison with members of Guns N' Roses, Cheap Trick, Tears for Fears, The Bangles and the Goo Goo Dolls, all of them playing for nothing. Mike on the misdiagnosis years, the brain's "blue screen of death," the night Butch Vig asked what he could do to help, and why one in 26 people have epilepsy and hardly anyone says so out loud. ✨ In this episode: ✅ Joey, Dravet syndrome, and two years of misdiagnosis ✅ Why music got through when words couldn't ✅ Epilepsy as the brain's blue screen of death ✅ Zone defense: protecting Julia and Sam ✅ Grace for the people who say the wrong thing ✅ How a CD release party became Joey's Song ✅ The night Butch Vig asked how he could help ✅ Freezing Man: 35 artists, two nights, nobody paid ✅ One in 26: why epilepsy stays in the shadows ✅ Making the ask for Joey's Song Sound bites "Then we lost Joe, and it was time to help the next family." "You saw the sun in his face." "My five-year-old son died. I need your help." Chapters 00:00 The kid who made sure you were dancing 01:46 Welcome, Mike 02:10 Headliners, IBM, and the road back to Wisconsin 04:50 Three kids from Guatemala, and Joey's first seizure 05:20 "Then we lost Joe, and it was time to help the next family" 06:42 Why music got through when words couldn't 07:37 Epilepsy as the brain's blue screen of death 10:00 What you saw in Joey's face 11:35 Two years of misdiagnosis 12:11 The small breakthroughs that carried them 17:50 Zone defense: protecting Julia and Sam 18:55 Grace for the people who say the wrong thing 20:05 Joey's Song begins as a CD release party 22:23 Butch Vig makes the fatal mistake of asking how he can help 24:17 "You never know who's going to show up" 27:52 Rock camp for musicians 32:44 Boyfriends vs. Girlfriends: the battle of the bands 35:41 Why epilepsy stays in the shadows 39:58 One in 26: every seventh house on your block 41:37 "My five-year-old son died. I need your help." 43:21 What Joey would make of all this 45:03 The playlist round 46:56 Three songs that always filled the dance floor 48:56 Carry On Wayward Son 51:52 Start Me Up 52:49 Guilty pleasure: Call Me Maybe and Harry Styles 54:15 The song the world needs right now: Everybody Hurts 56:13 "Name," and the breakup that still stings 1:01:34 How to help Joey's Song Today's Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1o15TNcLS2oNtfEHU50tWs 💬 QUESTION FOR YOU Who taught you something important without ever saying a word? Share your story in the comments. 👍 Like, Subscribe, and Share to help others discover meaningful conversations about music, loss, and what we do with it. 🔗 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Joey's Song and the Freezing Man concerts, The Sylvee, Madison, WI Butch Vig Dravet syndrome and epilepsy research 🌐 CONNECT WITH MIKE GOMOLL AND JOEY'S SONG Website: https://www.joeyssong.org Instagram: @joeyssong Facebook: @joeyssong Follow the Joey's Song podcast. The Freezing Man shows stream free on the Joey's Song YouTube channel the night of the show. 🎙️ CONNECT WITH JIM ALSTOTT 📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH 🌐 https://www.jimalstott.com 🎙️ https://www.dtnpodcast.com #DropTheNeedle #JoeysSong #FreezingMan #Epilepsy #DravetSyndrome #ButchVig #MusicAndGrief #EpilepsyAwareness