Author, nutritionist and punk rock legend John Joseph shares a conversation with Chris about transforming our lives by changing our mental attitude.
Coming from a hard life on the streets, John Joseph now inspires and empowers others to make positive changes in their lives through his music, as frontman of the Cro-Mags, and work as a vegan nutritionist. Learn more at purepma.com.
Links from this episode: The PMA Effect | John on Instagram | John on Twitter
Show Notes
From Hell (Opening) – John talks about the traumatic experiences that he, his siblings and mother endured at the hands of his father and later in the foster care system. He shares some of the difficulties he had to overcome to find happiness, as well as his philosophy of paying forward the wisdom and opportunities that have been given to him over the years.
“They molested me and my brothers and put us in fear continuously – it was just hell. We couldn’t say anything to our mother. They were just animals, for a lack of a better word, to do that to kids.” – John Joseph
Attitude is Everything (15:15) – How did John go from hustling the streets and surviving jail to taking the main stage as a punk rocker? Chris speaks with John about finding direction in life by changing our mindset. They talk about the transformation that happens when we adopt a positive mental attitude, a process outlined in John’s new book The PMA Effect, and how easy it can be to fall back into our old habits.
“I knew that I wasn’t cut out to be a monk. It was great to have two years of getting up at two o’clock every morning, in bed by eight, being regulated. I was practicing martial arts, distributing books and chanting in the street. That’s the crazy thing, there I was making fun of the ‘Hare Krishnas’ in 1980 and two years later I was one of the same dudes on the street doing the same thing. I had no anxiety because I was on this spiritual path.” – John Joseph
Nature of the Mind (57:15) – Do you consider your mind to be your best friend or your worst enemy? John reflects on the power that our state of mind holds over our lives and looks at how we can transform our state of mind with a foundation of spiritual practice.
“It says in the Bhagavad Gita that the mind can be the best friend or the worst enemy. When we find that we have led a destructive path really that is because we gave into the enemy mind which can drag you to the worst places in life. Just as the seeds of spirituality can progress, the seeds of negativity can progress.” – John Joseph
Listen to Chris’s conversation with punk rocker Raghunath Cappo about changing your life by finding a daily practice on Ep. 57 of the Indie Spiritualist Podcast
