The Circle with Brian Piergrossi & Friends

UP OR DOWN? THE NEW DIVIDE IN POLITICS AND CIVILIZATION The traditional political division between right and left has lost much of its explanatory power. In its place, a new and more vertical question is emerging: should we reach toward the sky or remain firmly rooted to the ground? This is no longer merely a question of economic policy, but of the direction of human civilization as a whole. https://www.geopolitika.ru/en/article/or-down-new-divide-politics-and-civilization

One Has Space Opened for My 5-Day Silent Digital Detox Retreat Nov. 16–20 When I first announced that I was leading this retreat, the demand was so strong that all the available spaces filled within the first 24 hours. Due to a cancellation, one space has just become available for November 16–20, at a private monastery in Berryville, Virginia. Let me give you a little backstory on why I think this retreat is so important and how it came into being. ————— The Backstory: Just over a year ago, I experienced what was probably the most transformational five days of my entire life. I committed to a five-day, personal, completely screen-free, fully silent retreat at a monastery in a remote part of America. So many epiphanies and insights arose during those five days that I’ve continued integrating ever since. I went into the retreat mentally and spiritually preparing myself for what I expected would be a very difficult experience. I knew I would be completely cut off from my family, friends, music, podcasts, news, and all my usual daily routines and habits. To my great surprise, instead of being difficult, it became one of the most blissful periods of my entire life. After months of reflection and prayer, I’ve become convinced that this experience is one of the greatest gifts I could ever offer you. When all the external stimulation is cut off, truth is revealed. A joy of BEing is discovered that is acausal and ever-present. An immense, unconditioned love at the source of all creation is touched—free from distraction. Deeper than any passing thoughts, feelings, or experiences. Deeper than anything we can imagine. Anything we could ever hope to gain or fear to lose. There were times during the retreat, deep in that pristine stillness, that I never wanted to return to “the world” again. And yet, as I continued to move through the inner process, I found myself inspired to serve humanity more than ever, aspiring to become a beacon of God’s eternal, healing love. I also came away appreciating my family and friends more deeply than ever before. It is my prayer that I may show others the way home as well. The retreat is November 16–20, at a remote and private monastery in Berryville, Virginia. If something within you is saying “yes,” message me ASAP for the additional information… Or pass this along to someone who you feel may benefit from the reset. -Brian Piergrossi @brianpiergrossi http://brianpiergrossi.com

🧐 https://x.com/sayerjigmi/status/2107711256572330040?s=46

There are moments in every life where we have to risk losing it all in order to follow the divine spark of truth within us. In 1965, Bob Dylan had become one of the biggest and most influential musicians in the world. His career skyrocketed to fame and wealth as a folk singer with multiple top 20 hits. Just him, his acoustic guitar, and a harmonica. His growing fan base was very passionate and devoted to him as a folk artist. And yet, in 1965, Bob Dylan’s heart was calling him to something different that was about to shock the music world and infuriate his fanbase. On July 25, 1965, Bob Dylan stepped onto the stage at the Newport Folk Festival to perform for the very first time a brand new song he had just written. The song was called “Like a Rolling Stone.” Defying the conventions of the folk genre, he played for the very first time with an electric guitar and a fully electric band. He was booed off the stage and accosted with insults by the infuriated crowd. You can hear it in the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/MtHwRcn8J2c The outrage and resentment from fans about this artistic shift from acoustic folk to rock continued. In 1966, Bob Dylan was playing a show in Manchester, England. As he comes onto the stage with his now fully electric band to perform “Like a Rolling Stone,” someone in the audience shouts out, “Judas!” indicating he has betrayed his own fan base. The crowd laughs with approval. Bob then turns to his band, and you can hear him shout to them, “Play it fucking loud!” What happens next becomes one of the most iconic and unusual musical performances in rock history. A defiant Dylan seems to go almost into a trance-like state. He looks almost possessed. He’s not singing the lyrics; he’s almost shouting them with an otherworldly intensity. The band behind him is overpowering. They sound loud, raw and angry. It’s almost like a punk-rock rendition of the song as he stands in confrontation with his own fans. I’m mesmerized every time I watch it. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/oXUTsWy4XSo And yet the question remains: Why didn’t Dylan just give in and give his fans what they wanted to hear? He seemed to know something. He had a deep artistic vision and had the courage to follow it, facing the real risk of losing his fan base, his fame, his wealth, and adoration in the process. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine, whose very name was inspired in part by the power of the song itself, named “Like a Rolling Stone” the greatest rock song of all time. What happens to you when the deepest truth within you calls you in a direction that you know will face resistance and threaten the identity, success, approval, and security you’ve already built? It’s a difficult moment. Do you have the courage to say yes, or do you cower away in fear and continue living a life that’s inauthentic? Maybe it means leaving a long-term relationship, a secure, well-paying job, a hometown. There are always people who will want you to be who you were in the past. And yet you must become who your soul is calling you to be in the future. Yet, to live a truly great life, we must get quiet, listen to who we’re called to become, and have the courage to follow that truth wherever it leads us. In Dylan’s case, it meant recording what many now consider the greatest rock song of all time. What does it mean in your life? —Brian Piergrossi Subscribe: http://brianpiergrossi.com

Wonderful to reconvene with such good friends yesterday. Many meaningful adventures cocreated, and many more to come.

My wife Annie & I picked up some applesauce from a local farmer at our community farmers’ market. There was one ingredient on the label: Apples. It was the best applesauce we ever tasted. Sadly, it’s increasingly difficult to find applesauce that contains only apples. This sparked a very deep conversation between us that began with this question: Why do human beings always seem to have the need to add something more to things that are already perfect and therefore make them worse? Applesauce is so perfectly amazing and sweet exactly as it is! It’s quite literally a gift from God that grows straight from the earth. So why then, according to my research, do over 95% of applesauce companies add other ingredients besides apples? Here’s just a partial list of all the extra ingredients added across the major applesauce companies: • Sugar • High-fructose corn syrup • Corn syrup • Juice concentrates • Various purée concentrates • Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) • Erythorbic acid • Citric acid • Salt • “Natural flavors” • Artificial flavors • Artificial colors • Stevia • Sucralose • Acesulfame potassium • Erythritol That’s not even a full list, but you get the idea. And yet this problem goes way beyond applesauce. It runs so deep in the human condition, it corrupts everything it touches. It ruins marriages, families, friendships, businesses, churches, governments, forests, rivers, oceans, hearts, minds, and bodies. This world is so beautiful, amazing, wonderful, and it tastes so incredibly good exactly as it is! Why do we consistently ruin it by trying to alter it? What I discovered is that we’re trying to find a shortcut to replace these three things: Patience Care Attention Let me explain. Everything has natural stages of growth and development before it reaches its fulfillment, whether it’s dating someone, starting a business, raising a child, training a horse, growing a flower, or growing an apple tree. To have great applesauce, you must understand the developmental stages of an apple tree. You must provide patience, attention, and care as it moves through these stages to pick the apple only when it’s fully ripe, without waiting so long that it becomes rotten. Universe means one verse, or one song. If you think of the universe as God’s musical creation, we must learn to dance in perfect timing with its rhythm to receive all its wondrous beauty. This timing requires attention, care, and patience to notice the subtle evolutionary changes in development and move in harmony with life instead of trying to force the process to unfold according to our own egoic desires. You can’t make a flower bloom by trying to tear its petals open. To fully receive the wonder and beauty that life has to offer, we must be deeply present with the moment. Patience, care, and attention are the three essential qualities of love. Patience gives something the time it needs. Attention allows us to notice what those needs are. Care moves us to respond to those needs. Love is the synergy of all three elements. We are called to bring this patience, care, and attention to every aspect of our life: our health regimen, our spiritual practice, our personal relationships, our stewardship of the Earth. This small farmer brought patience, care, and attention to his apple orchard, and that’s what made his applesauce so spectacular. God did the rest. Want to have some applesauce? The secret ingredient is always love, not sugar. - Brian Piergrossi http://brianpiergrossi.com

👍

I took my two year old son to the playground yesterday morning and I saw a new friend from my church there with his daughter. Brett has a masters degree in Theology and he’s someone I enjoy having the opportunity explore deep theological questions with whenever I see him. However, yesterday was the deepest we’ve ever gone together. We came upon many powerful Insights like if you’re doing good deeds just to get to heaven then you’re still lost in the ego and living a self-centered life. Lots of stuff like that! However, the most interesting part of the whole conversation came at the very end. I told him I feel like there’s a point we get to on the spiritual path where thinking, theology, and even excessive reading is counterproductive to deepening in communion with our Creator. Brett said he agreed and has been lately seeking to unwind his mind from the many thoughts and ideas he acquired in Theology classes in order to be quietly open & available to Gods direct presence. There’s a related story of St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the great theologians in human history who wrote thousands of pages on the nature of God, After a profound mystical experience with God in 1273, he shockingly stopped writing. When urged to continue his renowned book Summa Theologiae by his secretary, he is reported to have replied. “I can write no more. All that I have written seems like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me.” This is not to say that theological study doesn’t have value. It’s just that there’s a difference between spending your life reading a book about a forest and actually closing the book and actually walking into that forest. As the great Indiana Jones once said: “If you wanna be a good archaeologist, you gotta get out of the library!” The intention of my work for over twenty years, has always been to be a clear mirror for people to enter into a living and direct relationship with the eternal presence of our Creator, not merely to read about it in a book. For the Truth is so big, vast, infinite, and unknowable, that the only way to truly know our Creator more intimately is to humbly allow our lives to be miraculously transformed in God’s presence. To allow God’s heartbeat to be the blood that pulses through our veins. That with each breath, every thought, word, and action, we become the hands for God‘s love to express itself more fully in this world. -Brian Piergrossi http://brianpiergrossi.com

Last call for joining my Men’s Mastermind group. I’m very enthused about the dedicated group of guys already committed and the camaraderie they share. It’s become an extraordinarily safe and vulnerable space for tremendous leaps in positive transformation. If you’re interested in more info about joining, let me know by Wednesday. We begin this Thursday, Sept. 24th, 2026, @ 6 p.m. EST on Zoom. - Brian @brianpiergrossi

You’re seeing more people return to making human relationships a priority, embracing family values, and reconnecting to the land. I think the very unnecessary and harmful, multi-hundred-year war between science and religion will begin to mend as they find their symbiosis together. I think you’re going to see an integration of the best of science, psychology, and religion working in partnership toward learning what truly brings a human being joy, fulfillment, and well-being. For what is true science but the observation and study of God’s laws of creation, reflected in every star, tree, and ocean? What is true psychology but the observation and study of our minds that have been humbly made in God’s image? And what is true religion but the genuine quest to know who we truly are, why we’re truly here, and how to truly live our lives in divine purpose and fulfillment while journeying in shared fellowship? This is a movement I’m personally passionate about being at the forefront of. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having more choices. The more choices we have, the more possibilities we have as to what we can create together. Yet continually increasing the amount of options alone will most certainly never provide the happiness or fulfillment we seek. Perhaps we’ve been given the clear opportunity now to discover what the great sages and saints have always known: The greatest freedom, and deepest love, is not in having more options It’s in having no choice at all. The only option a saint wants is to fully and joyfully surrender to God’s eternal surprises — Brian Piergrossi Http://brianpiergrossi.com ======= Where do you think we are right now culturally? Where do you see society going from here? How is your own life currently being challenged, or benefitting, from modern technology ? Where do you see your own individual life going from here? What intentions are you committed to?

The Great Optionality: The most pivotal moment in human history has arrived. In the age of instant access, where do we go from here? ==== This is the most pivotal time in human history. I know every generation always thinks that. However, I do think in this case it might actually be true, and here’s why. For the first time ever, what so much of humanity has long been striving toward technologically is coming to fruition. The mission has largely been accomplished. We now have instant access to choose what we want when we want it. This has been the utopian goal of the technological progress we’ve been moving toward as long as I’ve been alive. I call it: The Great Optionality. We’re now living in a time in human history where the average person right now can: The era of instant access has not brought the utopian peace, joy, and contentment that was dreamed of. We’re now living in a time in human history where the average person right now can: • Get any question that’s ever existed answered instantly • Watch any movie or TV show that’s ever been made • Listen to any song that’s ever been recorded • Talk to, or text, anyone who desires to communicate with you, anywhere, anytime • Read any book or article that’s ever been published • Watch any online video that’s ever been made • Watch any live or recorded sporting event • Play any video game that’s ever existed • Watch any kind of pornography that’s ever existed • Listen to any podcast that’s ever been recorded • Have whatever food you want delivered directly to your home • Have any physical object in the world delivered to your house within two days And yet, while this is now all available to anyone with Wi-Fi or cell access, something surprising has happened. As the era of great optionality has dawned upon us, it has actually not increased happiness, fulfillment, or well-being as promised. In fact, study after study shows people are concurrently now: • More depressed • More anxious and worried • More confused • More lost • More suicidal • More mentally ill • More divided Than before. That’s not even to mention the skyrocketing levels of: • Obesity • Disease • And collapse in physical well-being The era of instant access has not brought the utopian peace, joy, and contentment that was dreamed of. But why? Amazingly, I’ve noticed most of the most joyful moments in my life have not come from wanting to choose something different. They’ve come from being fully present with what is. They’ve come through learning to love and embrace this simple moment. I’ve also observed this truth in the coaching clients I’ve worked with and surrounding friends and family. The core question in regard to well-being is not: What else could we choose to be experiencing right now besides this? It is: How do we more fully receive the full wonder, appreciation, and gratitude for what’s already here and freely available to us? Perhaps technological progress had to give us what we thought we wanted so we could then discover something deeper. Well-being comes not through other options, but actually through an internal transformation in how we relate to what IS here and now. What’s next? Maybe The Great Optionality becomes a major stepping stone in the evolutionary journey of humanity. A lesson learned. I’m not naive enough anymore to think all of humanity is about to suddenly awaken to unitive consciousness together. I think much of humanity will continue heading down a very dark road of desolation and despair, searching for more and more options to escape themselves. However, I do think people are going to be astonished by what’s about to happen. In fact, it’s already begun happening over the last few years. Have you noticed? You’re seeing huge masses of people (often the ones you least expect) rediscovering the wisdom and truths in the structures of traditional religion, reconnecting to spiritual practices, and seeking to more deeply know our Creator and our divine purpose.

I love everything I write simply because I put a lot of time and care into my writings, and I don’t put anything out that I don’t love. However, I will say I kind of extra-love this new essay. It’s about where we’re at right now collectively and where we can potentially go. It’s a bit long for this format, so I’m sharing the Substack link instead, which is where all my writings live. I encourage you to engage in the comment section there and subscribe to have my writings and newsletter sent straight to your email. I’ve been writing one essay a week. Check it out! 👇 https://open.substack.com/pub/brianpiergrossi/p/the-great-optionality-the-most-pivotal

The Epidemic of Isolation: New Opportunity to Join my Men’s Mastermind As I finished the last meeting of the 22nd season of my Men’s Mastermind, I was humbled and honored to hear the gratitude expressed from the group. Over six years ago I felt a need that was not being met and founded this group. Like any brand new project, I wasn’t sure how it would go. For over six years now, it’s been beyond inspiring to observe the way these guys care about each other and support each other in living accountable, each day, to their highest intentions as men. There have been positive changes again this season: • Guys moving to the town of their dreams • Committing to the woman they love • Hitting new financial records in business • Deepening their spiritual practice • Locking consistent healthy lifestyle habits into their week • Forging resonant new friendships and deepening existing ones A 2021 study by the Survey Center on American Life found that only 27% of American men could name six or more close friends. This is tragic. Unfortunately, for most men today, this kind of support is increasingly difficult to find. To live a life of meaning, purpose, and inspiration, it’s essential to have a consistent group of men to turn to in order to maintain exceptional focus, wisdom and accountability. We begin the 23rd season on Thursday, Sept. 24th, 6pm EST on Zoom. There are three new spots available. Let me know if you’d like more info. @brianpiergrossi

Amen 🙏

Slow and Human. Why I Don’t ‘Scale’ I had personal sessions today with long-time clients in Italy, New York, Texas, North Carolina and Virginia. I continue to be very moved by the transformation I’ve seen in them over the years. In a world that’s increasingly mechanized for efficiency, scale and speed, I’m happy to say my work remains slow, authentic, personalized, and human. A machine is programmed to move through the exact same process as fast as possible, producing the exact same result every time. However, human beings are not machines. Far from it. Human beings are amazingly and wonderfully unique, unpredictable and full of surprises. Thus, real healing and transformation require someone who is deeply present, drawing from lived wisdom that fosters a natural empathy. While there are certainly moments of rapid breakthrough, I’ve seen, working with clients for over twenty years now, that genuine, sustainable, integrated transformation happens—not over a period of several minutes, but often over a period of several years. The quick fix is usually just a quick and temporary avoidance. As mega-corporations increasingly apply machine logic to human domains to scale and maximize profits, it’s clear to me that the most essential elements in the field of healing and transformation do not scale. They are presence, authenticity, deep listening, vulnerability, trust, and genuine relationship with someone who’s been there before. ———— If you’re interested in my coaching or breathwork sessions, I currently have space available for new clients. Reach out and let’s schedule a time to talk. @brianpiergrossi

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. -Romans 12:2. An invitation to join over one hundred members in my free online Telegram community, The Upper Room, as we explore how to renew one’s mind & body in accordance with the essence of who we really are: https://t.me/+i1mJ14A4F-gxZDI5