S2 E18: Talking With nothing, nowhere a.k.a. Joe Mulherin About Connection

What’s up Hardcore Humans! This week on The Hardcore Humanism Podcast we are talking with Joe Mulherin, also known as nothing, nowhere. Joe recently released the album Trauma Factory, which has gotten great reviews, including a cool review from Pitchfork saying the album “glows with conviction and sometimes uncomfortable honesty.” And in October Joe hits the road with a tour of the United States, so check out shows near you.

Now there are many physical and emotional health benefits to leading a purpose-driven life. And in order to understand and embrace our purpose, we need to be connected in with ourselves. We have to listen to ourselves — what we like, what we don’t like — and how we tend to go about doing things in our life. When we can connect in with ourselves in this basic way, we then begin to understand ourselves on a deeper level and discover our purpose, and how to work towards that purpose.

During our conversation, Joe talks about is how he connects in with himself. And the first and perhaps most important step we can take in connecting in with ourselves is to not be afraid of who we are – how we feel, think and do things. This may seem like it’s easy – but it can be so difficult for so many of us. Many of us have been told that how we feel isn’t valid, that we need to disconnect from ourselves in order to function and get what we want in the world. And so, Joe’s simple resolution to connect with himself is so simple and yet so powerful.

Joe talks about the fact that he has a very active and creative mind. This can be wonderful if our goal is to be a compelling songwriter and passionate performer, but it can feel scary when we are not sure if our mind will ever stop when we want it to stop. But Dr. Mike and Joe explore how important it is to still embrace and listen to that part of ourselves in order to discover our purpose in life.

One of the most powerful messages that we can draw from the conversation with Joe is that we all have something about us that we are convinced may interfere with our happiness and having the life we want. And oftentimes we will avoid whatever that part of us is at all costs in the hopes that we can overcome it by ignoring whatever it may be. But that rarely works. Even if there is something we want to manage – mental or physical illness, something about our past or fears about our future – we need to face it head on and understand it in order to fully accept and connect with ourselves as we pursue a purpose-driven life.

Photo credit: Dan Brown