Host John Passadino welcomes guest Promise, a former Buddhist monk turned meditation and wellness coach. The conversation explores Promise’s unique journey from monastic life to modern mindfulness practice, highlighting how his spiritual background informs his current work in mental health and personal growth.

Driving force:

Promise’s mental health challenges, experience as a Buddhist monk and how it shaped his worldview.

Cultural contrasts:

John reflects on growing up in a Christian environment and how encountering Promise’s story offers a fresh perspective.

Mental health insights:

The discussion emphasizes the importance of mindfulness, emotional awareness, and holistic wellness in today’s fast-paced world.

Practical advice:

Promise shares accessible techniques for managing stress and cultivating inner peace, especially for those unfamiliar with meditation.

Here are some compelling quotes from the show:

Promise:

“Monastic life taught me that silence isn’t empty—it’s full of answers.”

“Meditation isn’t about escaping reality. It’s about meeting yourself in it.”

“Mental health isn’t just about fixing what’s broken—it’s about nurturing what’s whole.”

Conclusion: My enlightening discussion with Promise yielded a view I never saw before in mental health. He dealt with his issues holistically and grew a fresh and practical perspective. Also, he carefully documented his system with the goal of sharing it to help others.

What’s so refreshing about him is his willingness to share much of his Mental Health Revolution material for free.

You can find Promise’s Mental Health Revolution material here.

The audio version of the interview can be heard in its entirity via the John Passadino show here on Substack or on the following platforms:

Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Audible.

The video version is located on YouTube

All content is copyright and all rights reserved by Passadino Publishing LLC

Cleo says we all have angels and we all can connect to them which can help us to heal and build our faith. Her spiritual transformation came twenty years ago during a bout with chronic fatigue syndrome, during which her meditations established her spiritual transformation.

Her journey through that condition and other health conditions opened her up to what I call the divine. Today she’s able to tap into the spirit world, and angels speak to her and through her. Her YouTube videos show angels, such as the angel Santi, speaking through Cleo’s body.

I found Cleo to be a fascinating person. Her knowledge of spiritual issues is all self-taught. She didn’t earn a PhD in psychology. Instead, she earned a PhD from the school of hard knocks, life experience and self-healing.

I can’t say specifically how Cleo helped others because she protected the confidentiality of her clients, but the angel channeler zeroed in on my issues and experiences and immediately jumped into an intuitive analysis and positive affirmations. Her goal is to help people find confidence, joy and deep wisdom by guiding them to find it themselves. I immediately felt uplifted.

Cleo offers classes to help people find answers and unlock their abilities by channeling with their own spirit guides in their own way and on their own time.

I understand some may be skeptical. We live in a world of charlatans who often prey on the grief of others to make money. However, I felt Cleo possessed a high level of conviction and integrity. I can tell by her words, and her bright energy glow, she lives and practices what she preaches.

In this often-frightening world in which people continually harm each other emotionally and physically, it was a pleasure to meet someone who specializes in the opposite, and that is healing them.

I hope you will find this podcast interview as fascinating as I found it. You can find Cleo Dunsmore Buchanan on Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium, and YouTube.

My macro level view of the world leaves me with the impression it's on fire most days. Political turmoil in the US, and wars dot the globe. I look at the media, including social media, and see searing division.

My faith in humanity wanes often, and I wonder if our cultural and political differences are beyond repair. Friends and family routinely bicker then ghost each other over policies they have little control over.

I wondered if I could bridge the gap between myself and someone whose life and situation are very different from mine. Would I regret starting a conversation? Would we spiral into emotional unrest? I needed an answer.

For my show, I chose a writer whose articles I read previously. Her writing style, although passionate, appeared non-confrontational. However, I’m a Christian older adult living in the United States, and the writer, a female young Muslim adult from Eastern Europe.

Although we had snippets of interaction before the show, an hour-long conversation might result in tensions.

In this episode, recorded on the 13th of June 2025, we discussed questions about politics, life, and the human experience using Zəhra’s articles as our guide. I wondered how our faiths and cultures would influence our views of the world. Would those influences cause us to agree or disagree on many topics?

Spoiler alert:

We realized despite our differences; we landed on the same overarching page and that is empathy and concern for humanity.

We didn’t aim to score points to win a debate or convince one another of our righteousness, a pattern we’ve seen so often in so many.

Instead, we approached each topic with open minds, although we based our views on the study of issues, not just subjective opinion. You’ll hear analysis from both of our lives with a common thread of respect.

I’m hoping this podcast will provide an example of how to engage in a conversation with someone whose outlook may appear to be drastically different from yours. At a time when division is easy and even encouraged by social media, our dialogue stands as a small but meaningful example of how understanding can be achieved.

So, please give my show with guest Zəhra Üzeyirli a listen. I know you will see how our shared humanity can shine through the many differences that make us unique.

Zəhra means "brilliance, light, and radiance.” Her articles exude those traits, as does her persona. It was my privilege to speak with her. Please check out her articles in her newsletter on Substack.

In this episode, I conduct an interview with a courageous woman who confronts her illness through creativity, her families support, and her faith in God.

Amy Nicole Tangel is a journalist, author, playwright, and founder of The Human Interest Story. In 2017, she published the children’s book, Buster Backpack Adventure and in 2020, she released the memoir, Hello Sunshine A Caregiver’s Unexpected Journey of Love and Loss. Most recently Amy authored a new children’s book, An Apple a Day.

In this episode, John discusses with Amy her journey as a caregiver and the profound discoveries encountered along the way. She reflects on overcoming spirit-numbing grief and discovering light amidst the darkness.

One of Amy’s many charitable events is coming up on June 28th, 2025 in the NY area. Take a look to support this event and orgranization.