Happiness Hacks Podcast

October 22, 2026 Happiness is a Trip: Plant Medicine and the Path to Joy – Doug Red Hail Pineda Quiet the MindFind AcceptanceTrust LifeLive in the Present YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Listen to the Audio Version Show Notes What if happiness is the buoy you see on the surface, and joy is the anchor holding it in place? In this episode Jim sits down with Doug Red Hail Pineda, the founder of the Church of Psychedelics. Doug is a Lakota-trained ceremonial leader, and one of the people who helped bring natural medicine legislation to Colorado. They talk about why it’s okay not to be happy all the time as long as you can find your way back. How psilocybin helps remove the filters that keep us from seeing what’s already there. And why healing comes from within rather than from the mushroom itself. Doug also shares the Lakota idea of thinking seven generations ahead, the power of assuming positive intent, and why love and forgiveness sit at the root of every major religion. Whether or not psychedelics are part of your path, you’ll come away with practical wisdom for staying grounded and remaining anchored in your happiness. In This Episode The buoy and the anchor: why happiness comes and goes, but joy keeps you grounded Why it’s okay not to be happy all the time, as long as you can find your way back Doug’s journey from industrial hemp to founding the Church of Psychedelics The meaning behind the name Red Hail and the vision quest that changed his path Set and setting, and why you need to do the work before a deep psychedelic journey Are you afraid of the dark, or the absence of light? A lesson in perception The seven generations teaching and the power of assuming positive intent Love and forgiveness as the shared roots of every major religion Resources & Links The Happiness Collection on Amazon The Church of Psychedelics Featured Guest Doug Red Hail Pineda Doug Red Hail Pineda is the founder of The Church of Psychedelics, a Denver-based psilocybin church, and a spiritual leader, entrepreneur, and environmental advocate. He is of Apache and Mexican heritage, and was raised in Lakota spiritual teachings. Doug spent decades working alongside Native American tribes, veterans living with PTSD, and people experiencing homelessness. Before founding the church, he helped legalize industrial hemp in Colorado, building processing plants, laboratories, and supply chains for the industry, and later lent his hands to the passage of Colorado’s natural medicine legislation. Following a vision quest, he created Ayüna, a spiritual path built on the belief that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Rolling Stone has called Doug a purveyor of spiritual knowledge. Ready to Raise Your Baseline of Happiness? Take the free quiz to discover where you are today and get a personalized plan for where to go next. Take the FREE Happiness Quiz

October 13, 2026 Laughing Your Way to Happiness – Cathy Nesbitt Find AcceptancePractice GratitudeTrust Life YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Listen to the Audio Version Show Notes Can you really laugh your way to happiness? Cathy Nesbitt says yes, and she should know. Every morning her laughter buddy calls, and instead of saying hello, they just start laughing. She’s done it every day for over four years. Jim sat down to chat with Cathy, the Laughing Bean Queen, a certified Laughter Yoga teacher, worm composting pioneer, and someone who hasn’t gone a single day without sprouts since 2002. In this episode of the Happiness Hacks Podcast they talk about all things laughter and joy, from why your body can’t tell a fake laugh from a real one, to how one laughter session helped a woman sleep through the night for the first time in eight weeks. They even discuss why the heavier the world feels, the more we need to laugh. As Cathy states, joy isn’t something you save for weekends and vacations. It’s your birthright. Time to let it in. In This Episode How Cathy turned a garbage crisis into a 24-year worm composting mission What Laughter Yoga really is (hint: no yoga mat required) Why your brain releases your daily D.O.S.E. of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins when you laugh Remarkable stories of laughter helping people sleep, heal and reconnect Why managing stress is the key to clear thinking and a happier, more vibrant life Growing sprouts: nature’s original fast food Cathy’s free weekly online laughter club, the Global Giggle Gang Resources & Links The Happiness Collection on Amazon Cathy’s Crawly Composters Cathy’s Chuckle Club Featured Guest Cathy Nesbitt Guest Cathy Nesbitt, known to many as the “Laughing Bean Queen,” is a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, speaker, and health and wellness advocate based just north of Toronto, Canada. A self-described philomath and lifelong learner, Cathy earned her degree in psychology after 15 years of night school, and her fascination with why people do what they do runs through everything she shares. Her mission is simple: help people feel good, because when we feel good, we do good. Cathy discovered Laughter Yoga in 2012, trained as a leader in 2015, and became a teacher in 2016. Today she trains new laughter leaders and brings the practice to seniors, people with special needs, adult day programs, and cancer support communities. Since June 2020, she has hosted the Global Giggle Gang, a free online laughter club every Tuesday morning, which she now co-leads with her husband, Rick. She also starts every day with a laughter buddy, a practice she’s kept up since December 2021. Laughter isn’t Cathy’s only passion. In 2002, after watching her region begin shipping its garbage across the border, she founded Cathy’s Crawly Composters to help families turn food waste into rich soil with red wiggler worms. That same year, she began eating sprouts every day, and she now teaches others to grow their own as “nature’s original fast food.” With a goal of living vibrantly to 111, Cathy is living proof that joy, curiosity, and a good belly laugh are some of the best medicine there is. Ready to Raise Your Baseline of Happiness? Take the free quiz to discover where you are today and get a personalized plan for where to go next. Take the FREE Happiness Quiz

October 7, 2026 The Happiness of Acceptance – Kristen Renee Appleby Find AcceptancePractice GratitudeTrust LifeLive in the Present YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Listen to the Audio Version Show Notes What happens when the life you’ve built starts working against you? Kristen Renee Appleby spent years caught in the hustle, trying to keep everything together while living for other people’s expectations. Then an autoimmune diagnosis, panic attacks, and years of physical symptoms forced her to look more deeply at the connection between her body, emotions, mindset, and the way she was living. Kristen shares how she eventually decided to blow up her life, leave her career, move to a new place, slow down, and begin rebuilding from the inside out. We cover everything from childhood patterns, people-pleasing, self-acceptance, emotional trauma, therapy, meditation, gratitude, authenticity, purpose, and the beliefs we carry around money. Kristen also explains why she believes healing requires looking at the whole picture, from your mindset and environment to your daily habits, relationships, your body, and what you’re putting into it. And we talk about why you don’t have to quit your job and move into the wilderness to start making meaningful changes. At the heart of the conversation is a simple message: wherever you are right now is okay, and change is possible. Because sometimes finding your way forward starts with accepting exactly where you are. In This Episode Kristen’s journey from the corporate rat race to rebuilding her life from the ground up How an autoimmune diagnosis and panic attacks changed the way she saw her life The connection between our mind, body, emotions, and environment Why self-acceptance is an important part of creating Happiness How meditation, presence, and gratitude can shift the way we experience life Kristen’s journey with money, purpose, and finding a healthier, happier way to live Why she believes that no matter where you are, you can rebuild Resources & Links The Happiness Collection on Amazon Kristen Renee Appleby Website Featured Guest Kristen Renee Appleby Guest Kristen Renee Appleby is a transformation coach, speaker, and wellness author whose work helps people rebuild what she calls a “Healthy Foundation” across body, finances, and career. Drawing on a long corporate career and her own healing journeys through chronic inflammation, mystery symptoms, panic attacks, and burnout, she teaches that our symptoms aren’t separate problems but signals from a body that is guiding us toward balance. Her approach blends the spiritual with the practical, helping clients release limiting beliefs, shift their energy, and step into a more confident, connected, and authentic life without sacrificing health for success. She is the author of Healing the Money Wound, The Elements of Healing, and The Purpose Workbook. She also writes The Rebuild Collective on Substack, sharing insights on rebuilding foundations for your body, business, and bank account. Ready to Raise Your Baseline of Happiness? Take the free quiz to discover where you are today and get a personalized plan for where to go next. Take the FREE Happiness Quiz

September 25, 2026 The Happiness of Play – Zander Phelps Explore CreativityMove the Body YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Listen to the Audio Version Show Notes Play isn’t a break from a happy life, rather, it’s one of the best ways to build one. In this episode of the Podcast, Jim talks with Zander Phelps, the zPlayCoach, about footbags, juggling, origami, and why play is one of the simplest ways to raise your Baseline of Happiness. Zander shares how burning out at a 100-hour-a-week job led him to sell everything and travel the world with a backpack and a footbag in his pocket. A three-hour game in an airport terminal became the start of a lifelong mission to spread play around the world, one hand-sewn HackiDo at a time. Throughout the conversation, Zander explains why he calls juggling the ultimate brain exercise, how play lowers stress and shifts the brain into what he calls the Play Flow State, and how simple tools like the HackiDo and Craniogami can keep the mind and body active at any age. He and Jim also talk about the four play archetypes (the Warrior, the Wizard, the Bard, and the Druid) and why putting down the phone to connect with the people around us matters now more than ever. You don’t have to be a juggler or a footbag player to benefit from Zander’s wisdom. Happiness can come from just remembering that we were born to play. In This Episode Zander defines Happiness as a state of being and a higher vibration The HackiDo: why he hand-sews them from hemp and gives them away Why juggling is the ultimate brain exercise and a fast way to de-stress Craniogami: folding your brain into shape with dollar bill origami Phones, disconnection, and why play is fundamentally human Why play fuels productivity and creativity at work Resources & Links The Happiness Collection on Amazon zPlayCoach Featured Guest Zander Phelps Guest Alexander “Zander” Phelps, known as the zPlayCoach, is a PlayFlowState coach and the founder of HACKiDO and the Path of Play. For more than 30 years he has traveled the world sharing juggling, footbag, and creative movement as tools for joy, connection, and a healthier brain. Based in Ventura, California, Zander blends evidence-based behavior change with playful movement to help people overcome burnout, reconnect with their inner child, and rediscover the power of play. His new book is The Path of Play. Ready to Raise Your Baseline of Happiness? Take the free quiz to discover where you are today and get a personalized plan for where to go next. Take the FREE Happiness Quiz

September 12, 2026 The Happiness of Creating – Jordan Truster & Jillian Reece Explore Creativity YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Listen to the Audio Version Show Notes What happens when we stop consuming and start creating? In this episode of the Happiness Hacks Podcast, Jim talks with twin sisters Jordan Truster and Jillian Reece, the founders of Loveleigh Loops, about calligraphy, creativity, and the surprising ways making something with your hands can bring more Happiness into your life. Jordan and Jillian share how a childhood interest in calligraphy eventually led them to leave their careers in engineering and business analytics and build a business teaching calligraphy to more than 65,000 students around the world. Throughout the conversation they explore the connection between creativity and being in the ‘flow’. The sisters discuss why slowing down can be so rewarding, and why the process of creating can matter more than the finished product. They also talk about teaching as a way to deepen your own learning, the value of creative hobbies, and the growing challenge of spending our free time scrolling and consuming rather than making something ourselves. You don’t have to be an artist or learn calligraphy to benefit from the wisdom of these talented sisters. Sometimes Happiness comes from simply putting down the phone, picking up a pen, and just creating. In This Episode How a childhood interest in calligraphy became a full-time business Leaving careers in engineering and business analytics to teach calligraphy Building Loveleigh Loops and teaching more than 65,000 students worldwide The connection between creativity and being in a state of flow Why slowing down can be so rewarding Why the process of creating can matter more than the finished product Teaching as a way to deepen your own learning The value of creative hobbies in everyday life The growing challenge of scrolling and consuming instead of making Why you don’t have to be an artist to benefit from creating something with your hands Resources & Links The Happiness Collection on Amazon Calligraphy Together Calligraphy Together on Skool Featured Guests Jordan Truster & Jillian Reece Guests Jordan Truster and Jillian Reece are twin sisters, calligraphy artists, and the founders of Loveleigh Loops. What began as a childhood interest in calligraphy eventually became a creative business that has taught tens of thousands of students around the world. Today, they share their passion for calligraphy through online courses, workshops, and a growing creative community, helping people discover the joy of making beautiful things by hand. Ready to Raise Your Baseline of Happiness? Take the free quiz to discover where you are today and get a personalized plan for where to go next. Take the FREE Happiness Quiz