Projects
![]()
No projects found
Investors
New
DAO Treasuries
DATs
Lend / Borrow APRs
Chains
Categories
Spaces
Wellness in WEB3 with @lem__ny
Recorded: Dec. 20, 2023 Duration: 1:13:48Space Recording
Full Transcription
Hi, everyone.
Can you hear me?
Some hearts?
Yes.
Okay, just waiting for Jessica to come up.
So welcome, everybody, GM.
Thank you for joining us today.
Thanks to our friends and our guest, Dr. Lemney.
We are going to be talking about Wellness and Web 3 pre-holiday edition and a bit of a 2023 wrap-up.
I'm going to play a track a little bit longer while we warm up the room.
So please tweet out the room, DM your friends.
Let's get in the mood for our Wellness and Web 3 chat with Dr. Lemney.
I think it's going to be a really good talk today.
This is the last space of 2023.
So invite everybody in and we'll have a really good chat today.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Thank you, everyone, for being here.
Very excited.
This is our last space of the year.
We're excited about the space.
We have some friends joining.
We have Dr. Lemney.
Thank you to Nifty Kit for hosting.
So today we are chatting with my dear Web 3 and IRL friend, Dr. Lemney, who we met at Clubhouse.
We stayed in touch.
We are still here.
Dr. Lemney is always bringing value and insight into the space, definitely into my life.
And I appreciate you joining us today to talk about Wellness and Web 3.
And I can't wait to get into it.
But before we chat, just a little bit, just a little bit of housekeeping.
Firstly, there is info on Nifty Kits updates up top.
You can check out ERC20 app, new payment options, as well as create generative collections.
You can check out Soulbound Tokens.
We invite you to explore Nifty Kit.
There's gas-free minting.
No crypto wallets are needed.
You can create 3D drops and additions.
And also pinned up top is the pay-what-you-want minting.
And we have also joined forces with Cross Mint a while back to make selling NFTs and digital art easier for users like you.
So those are pinned up top.
And after this space, there will also be another space, an hour from when this space ends, if that makes sense,
in collaboration with WalletGuard to talk about safety during these times in light of the recent concerns in the space to stay protected.
So that is also pinned up top.
Please come to that space.
If you are curious, concerned, have questions, I think that that's going to be really great.
That's with WalletGuard.
And lastly, as always, please visit Nifty Kit's Discover page for new collections.
And always visit niftykit.com to learn how you can use our tools to become a creator.
You can hit me up if you have any questions.
So this space goes for about an hour.
So get ready to hear all about wellness and Web 3, I guess, asterisk.
So with that, we're talking with Dr. Lemney.
We're going to be having an open chat about wellness, mental health, self-care, pre-holiday woes, 2023 coming to a close.
Oh, that rhymes.
But before we dive in, if you could all just quickly take a moment, you can check out the pinned tweets above.
You can follow along as we talk today.
And, Dr. Lemney, please feel free to pin or add anything additional as well.
And I do want to provide a disclaimer and offer a trigger warning that we may be discussing some ideas around mental health in Web 3 that may make you feel uncomfortable.
So please take care of yourself.
I am not an expert.
I am not a doctor.
This is a conversation.
And all opinions and comments are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Nifty Kit or our guests.
So grab some water.
Grab a snack.
Let's get into it.
Welcome, Dr. Lemney.
Thank you for being here today.
How are you?
Hi, Jessica.
I'd be remiss if I didn't, you know, ring those bells.
Thank you so much for having me.
How are you today?
I'm good.
I was really looking forward to the space.
I had so much work to do this morning, which is like one of the topics that I have is managing stress and burnout.
So very, very excited to be here and grateful for you taking the time.
So I'm feeling good now.
I'm feeling good now.
So thank you for asking.
Absolutely.
Let's get into it.
Yeah.
So just a quick introduction.
Introduce yourself.
Tell us about you for those of us that don't know who you are.
Thank you so much.
And welcome, everyone.
And it's really nice to see so many friends and to meet new ones.
I'm Lemney Perez.
I'm an artist and a trained psychologist based in New York City.
I came to the blockchain in 2021.
And it's been really lovely to integrate my work as an artist and also to be here as a clinician, right?
Just heads up, right?
I think that every country, every state, and this is a different space, right, where, you know, regulations and different things are, they vary from location to location.
So, you know, total transparency, right?
Trained psychologists with 30 years of boots on the ground experience, not licensed, okay?
So I just always want to let folks know that just in case that matters to you and if that's of importance, now you know.
But, yeah, I came into the space, you know, as a creative, really interested in how to kind of leverage the technology myself as an artist and really kind of trying to figure out how to kind of, I guess, tap into the opportunities that were made possible by crypto, you know?
And trying to figure out, you know, how I could bring my communities into the space.
And that happened through friendships and relationships.
So I'm really glad that we can talk about this today.
The stress that we all kind of like cohabitate and co-experience as a collective, you know, as developers, as creators, as artists, as, you know, all of the above, administrators, business people, you know,
folks who are into Web3.
So I was working a little bit in the very beginning as a curator and I really supported a whole bunch of artists through Searchlight to, you know,
one of the first things that I participated was in NFT NYC 2021 and curating that with 144 artists.
That was really fun and did maybe 20 or something shows curated after that.
In addition, I was part of a DAO, one of the founding members for a nonprofit carbon neutral DAO here called the Dream Conduit, which is no longer in existence.
And when that was up and running, I was part of the coaching conduit.
So we would have lots of spaces and this is back in Clubhouse before, you know, before Twitter spaces become became what it is now.
And we did lots of rooms about mental wellness, meditation, stress management and how to navigate this space, you know, while maintaining your health.
So thank you so much again, Jessica and Nifty Kit for having me and having this conversation.
I love I love I love everything you just said and I love you.
And I think that, you know, it's interesting to think about how much self care we needed and how much talking we needed to do during the times of Clubhouse.
And I know that a lot of those spaces were, you know, not moderated by, you know, people like yourself that have experience in the field.
And but just how important those discussions were.
And I feel like now as we're sort of the past year or so have been gearing up and getting back to work and, you know, still being, you know, in tech, let's say, in Web3 on our screens, like that has provided a new challenge, let's say, like around mental health issues and and burnout.
And I don't also want to label everything as mental health issue.
It's just like this idea of wellness, like keeping up with like what we need to look out for for ourselves.
So, you know, as always, wellness is relevant and we like to check in and it feels like quarterly now with you.
And, you know, I just want to keep returning to this discussion because I think mental health is important, especially in the context of Web3 just generally.
So these are some of the topics that I chatted with you about around these, you know, the subject.
And they include adapting to change in the Web3 space, balancing work and well-being, building resilience in a high-pressure environment, community and connection and managing stress and burnout.
So we'll see what we get to.
We have an hour.
So starting with, let's see, adapting to change in the Web3 space.
So I'm curious, and I'm just going to pose this as a question, and I'm sure I might have some thoughts of my own if they are helpful, I hope.
You know, how can individuals in Web3 navigate and cope with all of these changes or how have you seen people adapting and coping?
There's a lot of uncertainty that's inherently tied into this industry, particularly as we transition from one year to the next.
So what are some thoughts around navigating this sort of shifting landscape?
Thank you so much for that question, because, you know, obviously it's something that we're all living through together.
So I think one of the things that's super important with that word together is that you're not the only one, you know.
So, like, normalizing the fact that this experience is not just happening to you, you know, sometimes we can feel really isolated.
And the fact and the knowledge that it's an experience that's being had globally throughout this space, potentially, obviously, perhaps not in the same way, you know, but generally, right?
And so the fact that, you know, you're not the only one and that people also are seeing things is some kind of a comfort, you know, and the comfort in a way that then you can say, hey, okay, let me reach out to my friends and get out of my head, right?
Is reaching out to folks.
And that way it feels less isolated, you know, when we have, you know, groups or communities or people that we feel comfortable with being vulnerable, being open, feeling safe with.
I think that's definitely one of the ways that we can really kind of, like, cope and normalize with, like, the very changing nature of the field that we're in, Jessica.
Yeah, I would agree with that.
I mean, of course, I'm going to agree with you on that.
But I think that I've seen even more so recently because things change so quickly.
That's something, I guess, in therapy that I've explored is this idea of feeling destabilized, right?
And this is something that's so prevalent in Web3, so prevalent in NFT, so prevalent in crypto, so prevalent in just tech and technology.
So thinking about, you know, finding ways to talk to other people that are in the same place, like a lot of these group chats we're in or alpha groups or, you know, discord support groups, even chats like this or, you know, our late night rooms where we just go in and hang.
And I think being honest about where you're at, if you feel comfortable sharing, does make, at least for me, like, I feel a lot less isolated.
I feel like I'm not going through it alone.
So I really like you pointing that out about that we're not alone because I think I forget that a lot.
Like, I think, oh, you know, I'm struggling with this or this or that.
Or, you know, maybe people don't realize that things going on in my personal life.
But everybody's going through something personally.
And when we get into these rooms together, I know we're talking a lot about art.
We're talking about the market.
But we're all human and we're going through our own life experiences.
So I think, like, that's something to acknowledge.
And that acknowledgement helps us, I guess, cope better in the space, if you will.
So I really love that.
And I want to talk a little bit about the balancing piece.
So I said balancing work and well-being.
And I don't know, like, what.
So first of all, I think balance is this buzzword that always is.
And I just don't know how honest it is.
For me, yeah, like, I think balance is, it's the measurement of how you feel and not, like,
comparing it to other people around you.
And sometimes I think I'm going to have more, I'm going to be focused more on one part of
my life than another.
And that could be an hour-to-hour thing.
That could be a day-to-day thing.
That could be a month-to-month thing.
So I try not to focus on that.
But I'm curious, like, given the demanding nature of this, let's call it, Web3 industry,
how can, in your opinion, we strike a healthy balance between our work commitments and then
our personal well-being?
And are there any specific strategies and practices that you recommend?
Thank you so much for that question.
And, you know, one, and before I answer that, you know, one of the things that occurred to
me was, you know, when you were talking about how fast this changes and how do we kind of,
like, adapt, right?
One of the things that I was thinking about when you were saying that is acceptance, like,
radical acceptance of the fact that it does change.
I think that sometimes we get used to something and we want to keep it.
And that kind of, like, noting that the nature of life is that nothing stays, having that wisdom
and holding on to that and being radically accepting of that is a challenge, right?
Because sometimes, you know, we're like, oh, things are going really well.
I kind of wanted to stay this way, you know?
And then it switches.
Like, you know, I think that for people who have seen different cycles in this space,
folks who came in maybe in 2021 is like, oh, my goodness, the glory of that and the fact
that that will never come back, the grief and the loss, you know, of something that's gone.
I think that there's a mourning that we don't even have the opportunity to have, you know,
because then it's kind of like on to the next thing, you know, and having to adapt and come
up to speed, you know?
So having that acceptance of the change and getting that, all right, now we're doing this
and giving yourself some grace inside, you know, to take the time that you need to pivot
as accordingly as you need, and everybody's going to do that in different ways, I think
is super duper important to the destabilization that occurs in the space.
I don't know if that makes any sense, Jessica.
Oh, my God.
You saying that we're mourning this loss of a past is so deep.
Like, I don't know how the rest of you feel if that landed in the same way that it's landing
for me, and I think that the radical acceptance piece is so integral if we are going to be nimble
and move forward because I think a lot of us, including myself, have been fixated on the
past and what was happening in the past.
And, like, you know, when we say, oh, are we back, you know, things like that, it's
like, I think throughout my life, I have looked at things like a forward progression, like
evolving, like we're improving, we're improving.
But when I got into the space, it was almost like a regression, like, you know, there was
really high highs and low lows.
And then when it started to get into a bear market, I think that people's yearning for the
past instead of just mourning it and moving on to new horizons became an issue.
It certainly did for me.
But I like what you're saying about the radical acceptance piece.
And there's also this podcast I listened to called the Mel Robbins podcast.
And she said something really cool.
And I wrote it down and I keep it on a sticky note right by my bed.
And it says, what if it all works out?
Because I think that we're always thinking, well, what if this happens?
What if ETH goes down?
What if ETH goes up?
What if I, you know, price my project like this?
What if I do this many numbers?
What if I, you know what I mean?
And there's so many what ifs, but they're usually like scary what ifs, like what if something
happens and it doesn't go with the trends and you like, excuse my French, but you fuck
up, right?
So I wrote that down because I felt that very helpful in my life just in general, because
I am a worrier.
And I think as artists too, like we want to be in integrity and we worry about how we're
going to do that when we're facing so many changes that are happening daily.
So I just say, what if, what if it all works out?
I think things are working out regardless whether it's the way you want it to work out or not.
But I'm like, what if it all works out?
So if I just, you know, offering that to anybody that might find that helpful, but I love that
little nugget.
And I like to wake up to that too, because it kind of like quells that worry.
It's like flipping it on its head.
Like not what if, what if, you know, it's what if it all works out?
Like that's a possibility that things are just going to work out.
Totally.
It can, you know, and this is hard, Jessica.
Like, I think one of the things that we don't normalize is like how difficult this is.
Like, you know, it's kind of like swimming upstream.
It's like every time you got to pick yourself back up again after something doesn't work,
you know?
So like the resilience, it's taxing, you know?
And so you were talking about like, how do we balance like my personal life?
You know, am I online?
How much screen time?
You know, how much am I working on my project?
How much attention is my family getting?
Am I going outside?
You know, what's the balance between, you know, my real life and, you know, everyone's
in a different place in the world.
You know, everyone has access to different resources.
You know, what's already out there for you that you haven't acquainted yourself in a
really long time with?
You know, like what are those things that brought you joy, you know, that you haven't practiced
And also, Jessica, like I think that like a lot of us know what we need, but it's really
a matter of like reminding and having the focus and the attention to engage in it, right?
Because it's like so often, like, oh, I'm preaching to the choirs, like, oh, them, I
know how to do that.
I was like, yeah, but like, are you systematizing it and like putting it into practice?
Like, there's a lot of things that I want to do, you know, that like ideationally, ideally,
you know, like I want to do them, but they're not happening.
So like, how do I build this balance?
You know, how do I seek this support?
And how do I reframe, you know, what's happening for me without beating myself up, you know,
without being super critical, you know, because that that's also another heavy weight, you
know, our own inner critic.
And for a lot of us in the space who tend to be like super overachievers, you know, people
who really love to do things, you know, how do we kind of perfectionist, et cetera, how
how do we externalize, you know, what's happening in the space and not necessarily always make
it about my own culpability, you know, how many collections am I putting out?
And it's just kind of like, oh, everyone likes it.
No one's buying it.
You know, it's a, it's a bear market.
What's happening?
So, you know, how do I kind of like adapt and engage with my productivity in a way that
is, again, radically accepting?
Like, you know, um, I think it was like, um, you know, in order to like, for some level
of contentment, you know, how, how do I accept, um, you know, the, the trials and tribulations
of the day.
And I'm thankful that I had some, you know, because again, going back to kind of like this,
this, um, this perspective building, you know, um, I'm still alive.
I know that that's kind of like a little, it's a big thing, you know?
And, and it's kind of like, we, we really, like some people didn't wake up, you know?
And so like the fact that like, this is still here, um, in and of itself.
Um, and that when I opened up my eyes this morning, like for better, for worse, this world
was here, you know, and, and that I can walk into it.
Um, that's, that's a, that's a sincere gift.
So, uh, gratitude for, for the things that we do have.
Um, we're all often myself included, you know, thinking about all the stuff that I don't
have and where I want to be, um, and not taking into account, you know, um, particularly when
going into kind of like new experiences, like the wealth, um, and breadth of, of all the
knowledge and wisdom and, and experience, um, and achievements and accomplishments that
I've already had, you know?
And so kind of like thinking of yourself, you know, um, comprehensively, you know, the
good, the bad, you know, and, and really kind of like, um, leaning into, um, you know,
the, the, the leaning, leaning into the light, you know, when, when we're having dark moments,
you know, and, and when we're, we're having a lot of light, having a little bit of perspective
of the dark so that we're, you know, grounded.
Um, I, I don't know, those, those are some thoughts that are, that are coming up for me,
Jess, what, what, what are you, what are you thinking?
Well, I love that too.
I mean, we often talk about this idea of leaning in, right?
So like, I would say if you're going to opt for leaning in, like, why not lean into something
that feels, um, better, you know, instead of leaning into the worry piece.
And I like what you were saying, cause we're talking about balance, right?
Um, or the, the myth of balance, if you will.
And I like what you touched on with the grace piece, because also what you were speaking
about is like, you know, you've got a lot of things going on.
How do you manage all of these things going on?
How do you take care of yourself in the midst of all this?
And I was thinking about, I think grace is another word that if you really drop into that
word, or maybe like, look it up, Google it, um, and, and look at the definition of it.
Um, what it, like, if we, what would it look like if we required grace of ourselves as a
daily practice?
Like we would do things so differently.
And there was something that I started practicing some years ago and it was, you know, we do our
little boards or we do a list, like people do things differently, or maybe you just build
it in your head, like, Hey, this year or this month or this week or whatever, these are the
goals that I want to achieve.
And you write them all down.
And then it starts to become this like invisible to do monster that we are measuring ourselves
against and saying like, well, we're not successful or we're not succeeding because we didn't put
these five projects out this year, or we didn't get these things done.
And, and then you start to look at like the list on the personal side.
Like I'm not spending enough time with my family and I haven't finished these projects,
all these things.
So to kind of get some like clarity and also granting grace for myself, what I started to
do, and I don't know if this is, you know, helpful to anybody is that I will lay out all
of these, I'll make like a vision board, you know, and then I'll bring it down to paper
and I'll put all the different goals on sticky notes and then I'll literally map out the
entire year, the entire two years maybe, but usually it's like a year and I'll look and
say, you know, practically what is realistic to be able to achieve this year?
Like given the bandwidth of my person and given the workload that each different task is going
to take, what is really realistic here?
And then you start to knock off things that are less important.
And then I think the things that are really important become really evident.
And taking into consideration when you're looking at these things, well, where are the places
where I'm taking care of myself?
Where's my self care?
Where's my family time?
Where's my downtime?
Where's my errands?
Where's my cleaning my home time?
Like if you're a caretaker, you know, where's that time going?
So I think that if anything, I like to take a minimalist approach and literally just like
cross through things and be like, that's a 2025, that's a 2026.
And then maybe when you get, yeah, and then maybe when you get to those places, because
I've seen this so many times on different vision boards and lists that when you get to
that, you realize that things have self resolved.
And then that goal is no longer a goal because something else eclipsed it in a beautiful way.
And you're like, oh, I'm so glad that I checked that, you know, or crossed that off the list
as not being as necessary as these other things that I really want to put my time into.
So I kind of like feel, you know, encouraged by the minimalist movement of less is more,
because then if you just boil it down to just a few things, just a few things you want to
do in the year, just a few things you want to get done, or maybe a trip you want to take
or a thing you want to complete, or something with your family that is really, really important
to you, then you make space for the unscheduled and for magic to happen in other opportunities.
But if we're fixed to this like 100 goal year, then I feel like we're not leaving, or I'm
going to speak for myself, I feel like I'm not leaving myself open for other opportunities
to arise.
And also, you know, when you have like too many goals, too, it's like, well, where are
you in all this?
Do you get to relax?
Are you just hopping from thing to thing?
Like, and it doesn't mean we're not motivated or highly, highly prolific.
It's just like, what makes the most sense?
So yeah, like, I want to kind of move the conversation into building resilience.
But what say you about all of this?
I'll be above for sure.
You know, where do you make time for your fun?
And where does the fun happen?
Where does the fun occur?
You know, like, it's kind of like this balance of restoration and resourcing, right?
So and when I say resourcing is what are the things that are actually retraining and rewiring
your brain, right?
Because we have all this neuroplasticity, our brain has infinite potential of really kind
of like creating a lot of stress or like a lot of like levity, you know, and so like,
using your imagination, you know, being playful, scheduling things that is just completely like
not work, like I'm and carving out the time, right?
What you were saying is like, I have this to do list.
How many how many, you know, how many things do I have to do that that involve joy, you
know, and really kind of like taking like a cost analysis, like this stuff is work and
this stuff is not and just do the pros and cons, you know, of all these things and like
really kind of like, see how many of the things on your to do this or the things that you're
holding bring you pressure and see how much of the things that that you are engaged in
already are giving you balance, or giving you, you know, like a different type of experience.
So by a different type of experience, what do I mean by resourcing?
I'm talking about, you know, things that are easeful, that allow you to fall into flow,
you know, are you dancing if you're a dancer?
You know, are you singing if you love to sing for joy?
You know, are you doing like these kind of like playful things that are just kind of like
really mindless and don't really require too much of like executive functioning, you
know, like your front brain is like constantly trying to organize and do this and that.
How much, how often are you kind of like going into your primitive brain, right?
And just allowing yourself to be.
Are we sitting down and meditating and just zoning out, you know, and not really thinking about
anything?
Do we have that practice?
What's it like when you wake up in the morning?
You know, do you have any rituals that you engage in or do you like, you know, grab the
phone immediately and bring all those people into the bed with you?
You know, talk about it.
Well, you know, I stopped doing that part, but I will pick up the phone in the morning
and do things that I know that.
How do I explain this?
Looking at the weather.
How about that?
But I'm not getting into emails while I'm still in the bed because I think that that's
really, really unhealthy.
And I got to get up.
I got to walk downstairs.
I got to open the computer up and be in that space before I open up emails or work or Slack
or anything on my phone and my computer because I feel like that is unfair to me and it's unfair
to any people that I'm going to be communicating with because I used to do the email in the bed
thing and then I would literally go on about my day and forget the emails I read in bed at
like 630 in the morning, which is really bad, like really, really bad for people that don't
have systems like I didn't and weren't, you know, just they were like in an art flighty
artist mode.
So I was also thinking about something that you were saying about creating systems or finding
ways to find joy and things like that.
And I think that it is hard because a lot of people that I know that are artists or that
are working and building and web three really love what they do.
They really, really love what they're building.
They love what they're working on.
We don't want to leave our screens.
It's like trying to like leave our screen.
It's like, no.
So what I've learned throughout the years and especially even more so recently, this literally
happened to me the other day.
I was forcing myself to take a break just in the middle of the day, like around what they
call it, tea time, like 4, 4 p.m. right before the sun sets between 3 and 4.30 essentially.
And when you have problems or some kind of creative, I don't like calling things creative
blocks, but any kind of like thought or something that you're trying to work out or like you're
up against the wall with something and you're like, ah, like there's got to be like a creative
solution for this or an idea.
And so I took this afternoon walk and it just solved itself.
Like it literally just solved itself.
So like if anything, I think what I've learned about being so entrenched in web three is that
state changes, just getting away from our computer, even if it's for 20 minutes can provide
such a wonderful benefit of a state change that can reinvigorate when you get back to
the computer, an idea you're working on or a relationship or an idea for a client, like
so many benefits from doing the state change.
And those can be, and you know this, like, and many of you know this, it could be having
a meal, taking a walk, taking a shower, um, hugging, hugging someone, hugging yourself.
I think people don't realize that you can literally hug yourself.
Like you were saying, dancing, those types of things to stimulate different parts of your
brain.
And also like, you know, that, that joy piece, because then when we come back into that, we're
more productive and then we're not this slumped over like version of ourselves, not sitting
up straight.
So like nothing is firing properly.
And then it's like, how can you expect yourself to be like excited, motivated, ready to go on
your next zoom call and have creative ideas for the person you're talking to because you've
not been really tending to your own joy.
So I like when you talk about this idea of where are you getting joy in your day to day
life?
Because yes, we love our work.
Yes, we need to work asterisk, but I think that if we don't tend to the other things,
like you're pointing out, like for me, at least it's to the detriment of the productivity.
Like there's no productivity if I don't do like my, one of my things, like my little yoga,
my little walk or whatever.
And like, you see, I'm all hyped up and excited today because I'm going on my walk
after this.
But prior to this, I just, I got on my little trampoline for like two minutes and just moved
my body because I knew I was getting into this space and I didn't want to come into this
space with low energy.
So like finding little way, or like maybe you have a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, like
things like that.
So I, you're, you're speaking to my heart when you talk about injecting joy into the
day.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, like it's almost like, it's almost like treating yourself like your own child, you know,
for, for those who are parents or, or just even like, you know, how you treat your kids,
like all the utmost care and love, you know, how do you treat yourself like you, your own
baby, you know, and how, how, how would you, how, you know, I talked to myself, I'm like,
Lemony, it's going to be okay.
You know, how do I kind of like have access to those other parts of me?
Because within us, you know, there's, there's a child, there's a teenager, there's, there's,
you know, there's a provider, there's, you know, the, the adult, you know, and, and all
those parts of us can step up, you know, and we can kind of like reach in, you know,
to, to all those sides that live within us and have access within our own resources to
be like, Lemony, you're going to be okay.
Yeah.
I got to talk to myself like a two year old, you know, when, when I'm super emotional and
I'm losing it, you know, because I, these are, it's, it's important, you know, and, and,
and so often, you know, talking about, you know, those, those conversations that we have
sometimes, you know, we, we have like this negative self-talk and we're so punitive, you
know, that we don't talk to our friends like that, you know, like the friends that we love,
like we, we, we give them like the, the best advice and we want the best for them.
So how, how do we have like, again, that grace that you were like mentioning earlier, um,
being present, you know, and, and, and the here and the now they, you know, where are you
right now?
Like in, in the world, in the space, or like, are you sitting on top of a bed?
Are you walking down the street, like, you know, grounding yourself in, in this present
moment, you know, is, is super important to, to kind of like reinvigorate that, that state
of awareness and presence, um, rather than thinking about all the stuff that I have to
do, you know, later or all the things that I forgot to do yesterday, you know, um, giving
ourselves that opportunity and that pause for like at least two minutes to just like really
feel, you know, what's going on in my feet right now, you know, how's, how's my back
doing, you know, what's going on through my arms, you know, how's, how's my throat, you
know, how's my heart, you know, um, having these types of like body scans, you know, and
this awareness with, with, um, you know, you were talking about yoga, right?
Um, this, this awareness of, of our bodies, um, so often that we're here in the space,
like so much of it is, is we're dissociated, you know, because we're, um, either, you know,
looking at the screen or having conversations, um, that are, um, so abstract, you know, and,
and how we had to kind of like learn to engage that part of our presence and our being to show
up, but then it's almost like we leave the bodies behind. Right. Um, so how, how can we kind of
like, um, get grounded, um, and, and, and, and allow ourselves, you know, to, to be 100%
integrated, you know, um, like right now, like I'm kind of like stretching a little bit,
you know, um, and, and just, you know, sitting in my room, my bed, you know, I work from home.
So like, I, again, let, you know, I have to kind of like in the middle of the day decide,
I don't care how cold it is. Like I really need to go outside. And that changes my whole
entire state change because your face will freeze. And that's also another type of therapy that we
won't get into in this room, but I love that. And you just saying, we leave our bodies behind.
My mind is blown by that. It's so true. Like I often find times where like, you know, when we say
we get in our zones and we're working and maybe like, you know, if it's in silence for
you or you're listening to your little, your playlist or your podcast while you're on your
computer, just zoning in and zoning out. And it feels so good to be in that mode. But sometimes
when I check in with my body, I'm like, why do I, why am I grimacing? Okay. Like, why am I tense?
Why is my back tight? Because what I'm doing, I feel excited and happy, but it's like the
clenching and the holding onto, it's like, I have lost touch with my body. I'm just like
all brain, you know, I'm all brain and like getting those two things to connect while I'm
working, I think has been like challenging. And I know we're going to talk a little bit
about, you know, the stress management and the burnout piece, because I think that's
actually what leads a lot for people that are working from home too, where it's like,
oh, how could you have burnout working from home? It's like, well, we're like sitting,
clenching our jaws, like a large part of the day. And it's not because we don't love what
we're doing. It's because we're so invested in what we're doing that every part of our body
is just like shutting down and our, cause our brains are turned on. So I'm curious, like
what, what you experience, like you yourself as a person working from home and any tips,
you know, beyond the ones we were saying about movement and stuff that, that you could offer.
Absolutely. Thank you so much for that question. Um, you know, just something, gosh,
you know, and I'm taking a breath, right? Because I think a lot of us are holding our breaths.
A lot of us are not breathing, you know, um, we're, we're, our kind of like nervous system is so
excited, um, that we're not taking the time to, um, engage our, our, you know, there's two sides of
our nervous system, right? There's like the sympathetic and there's the parasympathetic and
the sympathetic is the one that activates, you know, our flight or flight, you know, and the
parasympathetic is the one that's like, you know, allows us to chill out. And it's the one that's
active when we're sleeping, you know, it's the one that's active when we're healing at night,
you know? So if we're not sleeping, you know, your, your body's not taking the opportunity to go
into that little, you know, cell in the pinky, you know, where you got that paper cut, you know,
to clean that up. So, and we're often in, in that excitatory mode, you know, of like anxiety and
pressure, you know, and, and that causes a wear and tear on, on the cellular level, you know? So,
how, how, how do I provide space for my parasympathetic nervous system to have more
life, you know? And that happens with rest. That happens when you're with people that you love
and love you. That happens when we're having sex, right? You know, these are consensual,
you know, when, when, when we're, we're kind of like in, in our element, the parasympathetic nervous
system is, is active again, um, when we're calm, you know, when, when we're taking deep breaths,
you know, um, the sympathetic one is like when you're, you know, like right now, let's just do
an experiment right now. You ask for like skills. Um, if, if, if you can, um, go ahead and put your
fingers underneath like your nose, you know, um, the right side of your, and, and this is, um, this is,
um, this, this, a lot of this is, um, yoga therapy, right? I did a course in India and we learned a lot
of things about how to kind of like know where you're at. So the right side of your body is your
sympathetic nervous system. That's the sun. That's the one that wakes you up. That's kind of like the
male side of your body. Right. And then your left is your, your, um, parasympathetic. That's the moon.
That's the one that's active when you're asleep. So these circadian rhythms and these breaths are
floating, um, through our bodies. Um, and if you put your fingers underneath your nose,
which you'll notice is, is that sometimes you're either breathing more through your left
or through your, um, right. So like I'd mentioned earlier, the right is a sympathetic, the activation
one, you know, and the left is the one for you to go to sleep. That's the moon. So usually when you
wake up in the morning, you're breathing a little bit more heavily through the left side. I don't know
if you notice that sometimes your nostrils close a certain part of the day. And that's what this
is going, right. Our own body has this wisdom, um, this intelligence within, you know, that it's
kind of like regulating itself. So go ahead and put your fingers underneath your nose and see if
you're breathing in more through your left nostril, your right nostril or both. And then you'll notice,
you'll notice, um, where you're at. If you're breathing a little bit more through your right,
your, your sympathetic nervous system is a little bit more activated if it's through you. And so you're
awake, right. If it's happening more through your left, you're kind of maybe groggy. And then
sometimes it's just even, you know, and, and, you know, sometimes there's no rhyme or reason, right.
Um, everything's going to be different. Not everything is always going to be, you know, as,
as we think it is. So one of the strategies that you can do when you're having a hard time going to
bed at night and you can't sleep is to close the right side, right? That's the sun. And then you're
going to breathe through the left nostril 21 times, not hard, just normal, regular breath.
You know, um, you don't want to hurt yourself. And once you breathe 21 times, this kind of like
helps you, um, to one, get connected again with your breath. Um, start kind of like breathing,
you know, and that breath again is what actually calms us down because the faster that we breathe,
the more that we're, um, engaging all of our organs, right? So the breath controls the lungs,
right? The lungs controls the heartbeat and the heartbeat, how fast or slow that goes,
that's going to control your nervous system. Okay. So that's kind of like, and then your nervous
system controls your thoughts and how quickly all that stuff's going, you know? So that we're really
kind of like one system. So since we can't really stop how fast our thoughts are going, one of the
things that we can do is practice, um, the breathing, um, and with the slowing down of the
breath and focusing on the breath, then, um, we can calm down. So vice versa, if you're having a hard
time waking up and you're groggy and you need a little bit more energy, you're going to close the
moon, the left. And if you can hear me, you know, I'm kind of like just closing, um, the left side of
my nostril and I'm breathing in through my right nostril 21 times, gently, slowly in and out. Um,
so that I can activate my sympathetic nervous system and wake up. What do you think about that,
Jessica? Well, I love this and my right nostril is totally clogged. So if that gives you any indication
of where I'm at right now, I have no clue, but I've never heard of this and I love this and I'm going
to use it. And also, I wanted to ask you a question about this because I read this article recently
about, um, it's called, uh, sleep pressure. And I don't mean about our pressure to want to go to
sleep or pressuring ourselves to sleep, uh, or, you know, issues with sleeping necessarily. But I
noticed that in the evening, like, you know, we have, I think it's safe to say a lot of us in this
room probably have a lot of screen time on our phones, on our computers, on our tablets. And then,
um, if you're like me, I'm a cinephile. I love television and, um, I don't watch it during the
day, but I put it on at night. Like that's my treat to myself. And I find that, you know, because
of all of the constant stimulation that we have all day, it is hard. It's harder to wind down. If I
were to just come upstairs and get in my bed, like my physical bed and just be like time for bed,
bless people who can just like get into bed and go to sleep. But I was reading this article that
was saying that like a lot of people have anxiety around and stress around getting into the bed and
getting to sleep because then you start the clock, you know, and you're like, I got to get up in six
hours. I got to get up in five hours. Or if you have children, you don't know when the next time
you're going to get up needs to be. So there's all of this pressure of like, Oh gosh, uh, how am I
going to get to sleep? Am I going to fall asleep? But for some reason there, and studies show this,
but this is me personally, I will sit on the couch. So I'll take my shower in the evening. I'll do my
wind down. I'll put on my PJs. I'll have like a little snack and I'll get on the couch. I will fall
asleep instantly. And then when I try to get up, come upstairs and go to bed, first of all,
biggest grouch ever. Like I'm in such a bad mood. If I've had like 10 or 15 minutes of sleep on the
couch to up to 30 biggest grouch, get upstairs, can't sleep, cannot sleep, can't fall asleep. Now
I'm up in the bed, cannot fall asleep. And I was reading this article that was saying that it's
something called sleep pressure. So when we wake up in the morning, basically we're building up
until we go to sleep again at night. So if you have a nap during the day, or if you fall asleep
towards, you know, before your bedtime, you've relieved yourself of the pressure that you'll need
to sleep all the way. So I don't know what everybody's habits are, but with, you know, having to do
with being on the screens and things like that, I feel like that adds into it because your eyes get
very tired too. But there's something about, we don't have any, um, worry when we're sitting on
the couch, right? Because we don't have that unhealthy sort of, uh, paranoia associated with
falling asleep on the couch. We're in our most comfortable state, right? When we're, whatever that,
whatever your couch is, maybe it's a lazy boy, maybe it's like a little nook in your house
somewhere or whatever, but we don't have that kind of, uh, pressure on us. But then when we get
into the bed, we have that pressure. So bringing it back to what we were talking about with burnout,
what are some routines before you like, so say you're logging off for the day or maybe like
minimizing your screen time, what are ways that we can be productive during the way and then dismount
at night so that we're not just like falling asleep on the couch and then, you know, grump town
until we get back up to our beds. And then, and then if you get back up to your bed, you might pick
up your phone and answer a work email. I'm not me, but you know what I'm talking about. So any,
any ways like as a practitioner that you see the, like, let's just call it like the digital dismount
in the evening, if it can be done. I know some people will do work nights. So whatever your
digital dismount is, whenever time. Let's go for that. Okay. I love all that. I love all that. I
gotta give it some bows. Um, okay. Let's think about how we put babies to bed. Okay. A nice hot shower.
Right. Um, right. Something warm to drink, um, turning off, uh, sleep, uh, sleep hygiene,
right. Turning, getting off the screen an hour before you go to bed. Right. Just like I'm not,
I'm not doing that anymore. Um, I don't know about you, but when I pick up a book I'm reading
and I'm falling asleep. Okay. So how many of us are reading books on paper, not the screen,
um, you know, like real books. Um, that's one way that really, um, starts to kind of like, um,
wind you down meditating at night for me, Jessica, like I, I go right in, you know, um, that really
knocks me down. Um, because again, I'm engaging in breathing, um, and breathing, um, again, like I'd
said, uh, uh, engages the, the parasympathetic nervous system and it slows you down and it gets you
tired. Um, so these are some strategies, um, to have, uh, you know, whatever it is that, you know,
putting your stuff, you know, if, if you have to get dressed in the morning and, and things like
that, so you don't have to like wake up rushing towards the day, um, try to have as much prep,
you know, um, the night before, you know, so that you can also wake up. So I'm, I think I'm
covering both the dismount and, and the on-ramp. Um, so, so apologies if, you know, with, with,
with, uh, you know, with, with, with, you know, getting in, oh gosh, I was going to say
something that I probably shouldn't say. So I won't, but, um, I have something to add
onto that too with the laying out of the clothes too. I think that, um, we can do that digitally.
So like, you know, bringing it back to, you know, this space and a lot of the tasks and stuff we have
to do. I know that there's a lot of creatives in this space right now, whether or not you're,
you know, an artist or a builder or both a tech entrepreneur, whatever, Deb, whatever. We have
different pockets of like immense productivity throughout the day. And I think like, as we age
too, that can change. Like I feel a little bit more like a morning person, but I still get that
second wind at night. So what I've been doing sometimes pre and post shower, let me, I know you
might not like this, but I will go back to the computer and I'll draft a bunch of emails. I'll
draft a bunch of business things that I then set to go automatically out in the morning. So I'm not
emailing people late at night, but I'll do that. So like, along with the laying out of my clothes,
I will do things like that. I'll like lay out emails, schedule them to send. Um, I was trying
to think of another example of, of a way that you can do that too. Oh, just like in my notes app or
my docs draft, um, a bunch of things that I need to text people in the morning or DM people
in the space, because also these aren't your run of the mill things in web three, right? There's no
like clocking in at nine, clocking out at five. Like it's all day long kind of thing, but I just
don't ever want to send someone an email at one o'clock in the morning or a DM. I don't mind getting
them by the way, because I, another tip, put my phone on, do not disturb, like pretty much
all day long because I check things manually that has decreased on my screen stress immensely.
I love that. I love that. Yeah. That's definitely one of my favorite. Like, uh, definitely like I
have like my do not disturb at 10 o'clock, you know, um, I, it doesn't matter who calls or anything.
Like, it's, it's kind of like, I really need to, um, prioritize myself. Like, like when,
when do you make, when do you put yourself first? You know, I think that, you know, different people
have different practices and a lot of us, you know, are constantly, you know, in, in, in we're
serving our goals and we're serving our ambition, but when are you kind of like serving your sanity?
You know? So like, one of the things that I do at night, and I remember this when I used to,
I used to, um, have roommates and stuff. Um, I would always put on like, um, standup comedy
because humor is a thousand percent of a fantastic medicine. Yes. You know? Let's go.
It's all for that one. Cause humor is, um, it releases endorphins. Um, it helps you relax.
You know, uh, my roommates would always be like, what are you watching? I was like, stand up.
Like, I really need to have some joy to balance out kind of like those stress hormones. And another
thing too, that I think that some people we don't talk about too much because everyone has a different
faith, a different practice is praying. You know, how do you connect with source, whatever that is
for you? You know, how do you go back home, you know, to, to kind of like the inception of, of us
and, and how we kind of like arrived here. How do you connect to the others, the other worlds,
the other, you know, whatever that might be. Um, how, how do you kind of like, um, you know,
have a relationship with that for yourself? Um, and, and how can that allow you to have some peace,
you know, um, before going to sleep and having gratitude and like, thank you so much. I don't
know if I'm going to wake up in the morning, but this one was dope. All right. No, I'm kidding.
Let's go. I mean, you know, I'm facetious, but like, you know, life is a life. Yeah. I know what
you're saying. And I know we have to wrap up here in a few, but I just want to point out that
I love having these rooms with you because they're always well attended. And that tells me
that people in our position and also in web three artists, they are interested in wellness
around these topics. And it is niche, right? Because not everybody is in this position. Um,
but I was going to say something else to the effect of, um, what you were talking about,
you know, about going, going to sleep and wait, you know, you might not wake up or, you know,
happy to wake up. Um, I work with a hypnotherapist and he told me something really interesting once
he said, um, and this was specific to people that are creative. Cause I don't know if he's
telling like, you know, Mr. Joe, the accountant, this, but he said, before you go to bed at night,
give yourself like, just kind of put it out to your, like give this to your brain. In other words,
um, if there's a problem to solve, ask that it be resolved while you sleep. And it doesn't
necessarily have to be a specific problem. It could be like, solve something, you know, resolve something
while I'm sleeping. And yeah, sometimes it can be a concrete thing, like putting it out there,
like, Hey, you know, and that could be like form of prayer too, but like, it's more of like, Hey,
I have this thing, you know, I'm just going to put, put it out out there and, and go to bed with a
clear conscience that, um, things are going to take care of themselves as I do, as I said, at the
beginning of this room is what if it all works out. And I think that, um, if we kind of adopt these
sort of, uh, thought practices, if you will, and then a lot of the really practical grounding
things that you shared today, I think that that helps us show up in the space and less likely to
burn out because if we are taking care of ourselves, we're going to be excited to get on our calls,
excited to get in our rooms, excited to do our projects and talk about them really enthusiastically,
but, you know, authentically, right. Not this way that I feel like, um, generally, you know,
has been, um, happening. You know, I I've seen it happen to myself. I've seen it happen in a lot
of friends and peers in the space. And I think that, you know, we have the time now and the foresight
because we saw, you know, how the, everything was really, you know, booming for a while. And then
a lot of people were suffering for a while. We have the tools now and we have the, the, the systems
and the, um, community here to really, what's the word, uh, rely on, I guess, or, you know,
like you were saying at the beginning of the room too, like people, you're not alone. Like a lot of
people are in these, um, same situations. So if you ever need to take a breather and like, uh, you know,
do a lot of these things that we were talking about today, I just think that that will make us
all show up fully and, you know, with joy and having taken care of whatever it is we need to
take care of for ourself first. So, um, I wanted to give you a chance to speak to that before we close
out and any other words of wisdom you want to share before we close our last space of the year.
Yay! Gosh, um, thank you so much, Jessica and everyone and Nifty Kid and everyone who showed
up today, all the friends, all the new friends. Um, thank you so much. Um, we're, we're, we're again
talking about community and, and leaning into one another and, and not being isolated and
understanding that we have something super dope in common, you know, is that we're able to kind
of like pursue, you know, our aspirations collectively here together. Um, and what does that bring up
for us? You know, a lot of that sometimes, because we have so much in common that at times like we,
we, we compare our experiences to others, you know, and it was like, Oh my goodness,
like what that person's doing, or, you know, like, Oh, I want to do that. Or I'm falling behind or,
you know, so, um, having again, that grace to like, you're on your timeline, you're the center of your
universe, you know? Um, and that there's no comparing, like that's, that's impossible. The other
thing that you mentioned earlier was about visualizing, um, your reality before going to
bed, you know, um, and the things that you want to see, um, and dreaming like a kid. I think that a
lot of the things that were, that's happening for us is that we kind of get stuck in rigidity,
you know, and that things have to be this way, you know, um, channel your child and remember,
you know, how you used to dream as a kid, you know, if, if, if there were things there,
like how, how freely or how closed, um, did you dream, you know, and, and visualizing that and
really putting that out, I think is, is really a wonderful thing. Um, uh, taking, um, taking a
historical account of what's happening for you. I don't know if anyone likes a journal in here,
um, but, you know, putting your thoughts on paper, um, and writing really kind of like, um, brings in
that inner voice and allows you to connect with your, your heart, you know, um, without judgment and
just putting things on, on paper, um, whether those are words or songs or lyrics, poetry, et cetera,
just journaling, you know, talking about my day, you know, I'm a writer. So like, I can see my,
my journals from when, like, I was like a kid and I'm like, Oh my goodness, like the witness is still,
you know, still here and present with me. So, you know, having that external witness,
putting that on paper and then looking at it right objectively and being able to kind of like, um,
take inventory, you know, of the things that, that are happening for us, um, from like a little bit
of distance, you know, uh, I'll leave you guys with this, um, leave you folks cause you want to
be gender neutral. All right. With, with thinking about, um, you know, when, when you're, you know,
walking, when you're walking underneath the clouds, you can't really see the sun, you know,
you have kind of like this, this, um, these, these, these clouds over you, you know, that,
that don't allow you to see the light. Um, but when you shift your perspective and you're not
walking under the clouds, but you're actually step up and get next to the sun and look down from the
sun's perspective, you can see all the clouds moving and going, you know? And so, um, that,
that is a metaphor for you. Um, how, how, what clouds are you under, you know, and also shifting
towards the sun and looking at, you know, what's, what's happening from an objective perspective,
rather than being reactive, we can be a little bit more proactive. I know that's kind of like,
you know, um, uh, cringe or geeky or whatever, but, um, it, it really does help me when, when
I'm having kind of like, I'm really focused on something and, um, you know, the, uh, the Swiss
pocket, uh, watch people, um, when I, I don't know if they still do this, but back in the day when
they, um, in their offices, um, when they were doing these, these watches by hand, they were so focused
on, you know, kind of like putting in the trinkets and stuff. They would have a window,
you know, that will look out to like a plateau or something for people to look up. So don't forget
to look up, you know, when you're really kind of like focused in the grind and when you're just
kind of feeling super dissociated and you're up in that space where you're just super floaty,
um, find something that you can focus on, you know, to give you that balance. So those would be my
last thoughts, Jessica. Thank you so much for having me again. Blessings to everyone. Happy
Wednesday. Happy end of year. I have my bowl out as well for this space. I'm so, so sorry if I've
wrecked anyone's ears with that, but it's a Tibetan singing bowl. And I, I do that at night as well,
as well as in the morning. So I hope this space was inspirational, motivational, maybe even relaxing
for everybody who listened in today. And I'm very grateful to Nifty Kit for hosting spaces like
this because, um, we do need to rest and reset. And this is going to set us up for a great and
successful and prosperous 2024. Um, just before we wrap, I just want to update you guys on some
stuff that I said at the top of the room. And that was, um, Nifty Kit's updates, a bunch of stuff
pinned up top. So we have the ERC 20 app, new payment options. You can create a generative
collection, soul bound tokens. Uh, we invite you to explore Nifty Kit. There's gas-free minting,
no crypto wallets needed. You can create 3d drops additions. And also one of the things that I'm
excited about that's pinned up top is the pay what you want minting brand new. Awesome. Please check
that out. And also we are joined for, we have joined forces with CrossMint to make selling NFTs
and digital art easier for users like you. And, um, after this space, this is in about 45 minutes,
there's going to be another space in collaboration with WalletGuard to talk about safety. So as I
mentioned earlier, you know, in light of the recent concerns, um, people want to stay protected.
That's pinned up top. Um, check out that room if you're around. And lastly, as always, please visit
Nifty Kit's discovery page for new collections. Check out niftykit.com. You can learn how to use
our tools and become a creator. Speaking of which, I recently released a project called the Object
Chronicles using the Nifty Kit generator. It's, I think the last thing pinned up there, check it out.
It's actually on the front page of OpenSea, um, this week. Very, very excited. I highly encourage
people to download the Nifty Kit generator and play around with it because it's free. We love free and
this is free. So check that out. And if you have any questions, you can always feel free to DM me,
hit me up. You can also, if you go onto Nifty Kit, there is a, uh, a pop-up and you can hit them up
in the pop-up if you have any questions. So please, please, please follow Dr. Lemney,
follow Nifty Kit. And if you're a creator, be in touch. And we are off next week for the holidays.
So please join us back the first Thursday of January. Put Nifty Kit on notifications so you
don't miss what we're up to in 2024. Have a wonderful holiday if you celebrate and have a very happy new
year. And with that, I am going to play us out. Have a great day, everyone.
Thank you. Take care, everyone. See you next time.
Bye-bye.
