Doug Cartwright - Holy Sh!t Were Alive: Now What?

This is my storythe psychedelically sparked spiritual journey of an ex - Mormon millionaire. If that already sounds kind of crazy, you have no idea how wild its about to get. I definitely didnt when I first started down this p ath.

If you picked this up thinking it was just another boring enlightening self - help book, youre in the wrong place. Ive read so many of them and have nothing earth - shattering or groundbreaking to add to the genre. At this point, I end up putting those books back on the shelf after two paragraphs anyway because they all sound the s ame.

Its also not really a memoir, even though it follows my travels around both the globe and the woo - woo world, trying anything and everything to calm the angst and depression I felt on the inside despite seemingly having it all on the outside. I did astrology. Biofeedback. Biohacking. Burning Man. Cryotherapy. Crystals. Ecstatic dancing. EMDR. Energy work. Flotation tanks. Flow camp. Holotropic breathwork. Intermittent fasting. Meditation. Healing psychedelic plant medicine ceremonies with 5- MeO - DMT , ayahuasca, MDMA, and psilocybin. Psychics. Reiki. Shamans. Silent retreats. Sound Baths. Spiritual coaching. Sweat lodges. Wim Hoff Method. Yoga (so much yoga!), at home and in Bali. These provided some major, life - altering realizationsalthough the biggest ones were actually jumpstarted by the more mundane and universal experience of heartbreakthat helped lead me to the authentic, happy, fulfilled place Im in now, but no single thing was a magic bul let.

See, for way too long, I was wrapped up in my fat kid self - image that hadnt been true for years. My dad died when I was in my early twenties, and I shoved all that grief down and didnt deal with it until it came back and slapped me in the face. I tried to be perfect at the religion I was raised in, nearly drowned in the shame of not being perfect, and finally left the church knowing imperfection is what being human is all about. I made a ton of money (and spent a ton of money) at a job where they called me The King, but that didnt stop me from having suicidal thoughts and wanting a Corvette speeding by to kill me, so I wouldnt have to do it myself. I basically had to lose everything I ever thought defined me before I could redefine myself and my life on my own terms. It was hard, and it was painful, but nothing has ever been more worth it.

Whatever your story is, Im guessing you wouldnt be reading this book unless you were carrying around a similar seed of unhappiness that doesnt seem to go away no matter what you do. Maybe youve even dabbled in meditation, mindfulness seminars, and millionaire masterminds trying to get rid of it. If you feel like any of that is helping, by all means, keep doing it. But after everything I tried, I know one thing for sure: if you still dont feel healed, alive, and excited about your existence, its time to give something new a s hot.

As author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once said, Its easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself. So, Im definitely not here to tell you what to think. Instead, I want to offer you some tools that can help you think for yourself and let go of the same old ideas that got you here in the first place. Hopefully, my story will inspire you to make changes of your own and spark a new zest for loving, enjoying, and fully participating in your l ife.

I dont claim to be an industry know - it - all . Im a certified meditation teacher, but Im not a therapist with a bunch of fancy degrees hanging on my wall (TBH, I was a finance major). So, what makes me qualified to teach you how to live more deeply and enjoy life more fully? Because I have been in the c ave.

Ive squandered the money, dealt with the body shame, felt the guilt, lost the person closest to me, suffered the sexual abuse, went through the religious existential crisis, had my heart broken, contemplated suicide, and been on the verge of a public freak - out . If you find yourself in your own caveno matter what the reasonthis book provides a flashlight and map out of there. It will help you emerge from the darkness, ditch those anxious thoughts, and foster a calm mindset for a cha nge.