Next Level Soul Podcast Episode 010
Conscious content media is storytelling made with awareness and the goal of a positive impact. Producer Kia Kiso, who helped shape the term, joins Alex Ferrari to talk about the power of intent, the hope a good story can leave behind, and a close call with a falling oak tree that taught her not to spend her one day at the park on the bench.
Key Takeaways
- Kia Kiso defines conscious media as content that creates awareness with the goal of a positive impact.
- She says entertainment works better when it offers solutions or a little hope, and that awareness alone can leave people shut down.
- She and Alex agree that intent matters for creators and viewers, and that your own reaction to media makes a big difference.
- Kia suggests treating media like a diet: notice what you are consuming, and ask whether it is junk food or something healthy for you right now.
- She describes a near-death experience when an oak tree fell around her in Malibu.
- She explains the settle bench: sitting on the sidelines of life because you feel you do not deserve to join in.
- She calls the universe her co-producer and suggests setting a timer for four minutes to visualize something you would love to experience.
- Her mission, in her words: be a filmmaker, tell stories, heal people and uplevel the world through media.
What Is Conscious Content Media?
Conscious content media is any movie, series, documentary, podcast or video made on purpose, with awareness of how it will land. What makes it conscious is not the genre. It is the intent behind it and the way it reaches the person on the other side of the screen.
Kia gives the definition she has built her career around: content that creates awareness, about whatever you want to raise awareness about, with the goal of a positive impact. Both halves matter. Awareness without a positive impact can leave people shut down, and a feel-good story with nothing real to say does not raise awareness at all.
She is open about where the term came from. When she got into this world it was not labeled that way, and she was part of a group that decided to use one shared word. They kept it broad enough that a podcast like this one fits alongside movies and television.
Alex brings his own angle. He considers the content he makes every day to be conscious media because his intent was to help and to serve, not to get in quickly and cash out. He also makes the point that conscious does not mean everything has to be cheerful. What matters is the intention behind what you put out into the world.
Conscious media sits close to what educators call media literacy, the ability to access, analyze and evaluate the messages around you. Kia points out that nobody is teaching it, and nobody is telling us that we are what we watch. That gap is a big reason this conversation matters.
Who Is Kia Kiso?
Alex asks Kia to share who she is. She tells him she is a producer who has made music videos, commercials, short-form content, corporate videos and award-winning documentaries, and that she is developing TV shows and movies through her own production company. She also partners with other people, and sometimes she is for hire.
She was not always a producer. Before that, she says, she spent 12 years working on sets in the industry, on productions she names as including The Aviator, House, Cold Case and Grey’s Anatomy. She says those shows share a through line with what she does now, and that her producing career grew out of that experience about ten years before this recording.
She has felt pulled toward this work since she was 12, when she attended a summer program for gifted and talented students. When she first moved to Los Angeles and did temp work, she was good at it, and they asked her to come work at the Easter Seals foundation. She knew right away she could not stay in a cubicle when she needed to be on set. Alex laughs that the movie business is like an illness: once you are bitten, it never leaves your system.
Today Kia describes herself as a producer with more than 90 credits across movies, documentaries, music videos and television. She founded Conscious Media Visionaries, and she hosts a podcast and newsletter called Convos About Conscious Media with Kia, which maps the conscious media landscape and helps audiences find conscious movies and shows. Her newsletter credits her as Kia Kiso-Brennan.
When Media Became a Megaphone
Kia says she was aware of media’s reach even at 12. But the idea that she was responsible for the megaphone in front of her mouth arrived while she worked on Cold Case, a show she is grateful for and worked on for a year and a half.
One dark episode stayed with her. She was positioned close to the actors, take after take, and she says she found herself mentally leaving the room, telling herself she was not there. At the same time she was taking metaphysical classes, learning about quantum physics, affirmations and the idea that your life is the laboratory of your mind. She was repeating affirmations as homework, and it dawned on her to ask: is media potentially an affirmation for society?
Her answer comes from what she believes about being human. We are born with God-given qualities such as health, love, happiness, joy, prosperity and creativity. Anything we put on ourselves or each other takes those rights away. So she asked whether media was lying to us about what life is really like, making us scared of each other. She was grateful for the job and well paid, and it was hard to step away, but she could not keep benefiting from those stories.
She is quick to add that she is not against fun. Some movies are junk food, and that is fine in moderation.
Intent, Reaction and Your Media Diet
Kia says the same content lands differently on different people. She can enjoy an over-the-top violent action comedy, yet feel triggered for weeks after a war movie like Platoon. Her takeaway from researching this since then is that your reaction to content makes all the difference.
She points to Dr. Pamela Rutledge, a media psychologist, who explains that one person may have a bad reaction to a horror movie while another enjoys it, partly because they feel they are protecting a loved one and the body releases endorphins instead of shutting down. Rutledge is the director of the Media Psychology Research Center and has written the Positively Media column for Psychology Today since 2007.
Alex adds that creator intent matters too. A movie that shows the cost of war to educate and warn is not the same as violence for its own sake, and sometimes you need to see hard things to be shaken awake. Kia agrees it is a bit of both. She feels there is an energetic transmission baked into content through the intention behind it, and then it is absorbed by an individual in their own way.
She compares it to food. Some people are allergic to certain things and others are not, and some people can eat fast food every other day and others cannot. She encourages listeners to ask: what am I consuming right now, is it junk food or healthy, am I in the mood for this, and do I need to unplug for a bit?
Alex shares that he stopped watching a very dark series because he could not keep watching a character beaten down again and again. Two years later he came back to it and now sees it as social commentary, balanced with something light. He also watched an obscene amount of news during an election year, realized it was damaging him, and now turns off alerts. If the Martians land, he jokes, someone will tell him.
Kia tells listeners to treat media like any supplement or tool in life, like exercise or education: moderate it, be aware that people will serve you whatever serves them, and choose what serves you. Alex also says that creators carry a real responsibility to the audience, especially on projects that reach hundreds of millions of people.
Junk Food vs Nourishing Media: A Simple Comparison
Using the food idea from the conversation, here is a quick way to sort what you watch, read and scroll. None of these are wrong. Choose them on purpose.
| Type of Media | What It Does for You | Example From This Episode | Question to Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure escapism | Gives you a break and a good time | Alex wanting to watch a giant lizard fight a giant monkey; Kia enjoying an over-the-top action comedy | Am I choosing this on purpose, and in moderation? |
| Social commentary | Educates, warns and can shake you awake | A dark drama or a war movie made to show the cost of violence | Do I have the energy for this today, and what will I pair it with? |
| Hope and solutions | Leaves you ready to help, not pummeled | Uplifting movies and documentaries Kia suggests when a heavy show has run for a few nights | Do I feel better inside after this? |
| Fear and constant alerts | Keeps you engaged, often at your own expense | Endless news cycles and social feeds that Alex and Kia both walked away from | Is this serving me, or only serving whoever is selling my attention? |
Hope, Solutions and the Flood of Media
Some of the most important content out there raises awareness very well and still leaves people shut down. Kia is clear that we need it. Please tell us about the environment, she says, and please tell us about refugees. But entertainment works better when it gives people something to do with what they have just felt. It does not have to be a call to action. Just showing a little hope, or that somebody solved this in some way, changes where the audience ends up.
Her image for it is simple. Do you want to leave people wanting to help, or reaching for the next pint of chocolate ice cream because they feel pummeled? She says there is an art form to the way you tell the story. Alex gives the example of a famous climate documentary that spends most of its length on doom and saves a few minutes of hope for the very end. For him that is unbalanced, and the nightly news can feel the same.
The two also look at how much media now comes at us. Alex recalls growing up with a few channels, then VHS arrived, and then everything after. Today, he says, more media is created in a single day than anyone could consume in a lifetime. Kia notes that nobody teaches media literacy or a media diet, and that if they did, the message would be simple: you are what you watch.
Social media comes up as media in its own right. Alex sees real good in it, yet he feels the business model sells your attention and the algorithms feed you only what keeps you engaged, which pushes us into tribes. Kia says she deleted the apps because they were a waste of time, then missed hearing what her cousins and classmates were up to. A small dose was nice. The rest felt like people at each other’s throats.
Conscious media has a business problem too. Kia says it is harder to fund and harder to distribute, because decision makers do not believe the audience is out there. She knows anecdotally that it is. Look at self-help, she says, or at how many yoga mats are sold. Someone who buys a yoga mat is probably interested in something more than a giant lizard fight. Her request to listeners is to say out loud that this is what they want: put something on our plate that we want to eat.
Is Horror Conscious Media? Fear, Intent and the Line Kia Will Not Cross
Alex asks the question many listeners have. If someone makes a horror movie to entertain, and viewers enjoy the scare like a roller coaster, is that conscious? He feels it can be. The difference, in his view, is a filmmaker who sets out to terrify people so they cannot sleep.
Kia brings it back to fear. She mentions how a certain shark movie kept hundreds of thousands of people out of the water, and says she still has trouble going into open water. Some filmmakers are happy to peddle fear, she says. So are some newscasters, podcasters and social media accounts. For her, that is a line she will not cross.
That does not mean her stories avoid struggle. She will absolutely show a character going through difficulty, because that is the human condition. Humans have always learned through story, she says, and they love seeing their own struggle reflected back because it tells them it can happen for me too, eventually.
So can you be conscious and still peddle fear? Kia says yes, you can be conscious of what you are doing. But then you have to ask the second half of her definition: is the impact positive? She is simply not willing to take the negative impact and make money from it. She adds that she has never seen Alex do that with any of his content.
The Tree and the Settle Bench
Alex asks about a pivotal moment that changed her path. Kia says that last September, a 40 foot oak tree in Malibu came down around her on a sunny day, as though its time was done. Had she been one centimeter to the left, right, forward or back, she says, she would not be here. She compares the scene to the old Buster Keaton movie Steamboat Bill, Jr., where the front of a house falls and he is left standing exactly where the window was. She fit perfectly into the V of a huge trunk and a branch.
Firefighters told her she was extremely lucky. She needed a staple in her head, but no bones were broken, and she felt protected. She calls it a near-death experience. Alex says it simply was not her time. If you want to read how others describe this kind of event, see our conversation about why people have near-death experiences.
You cannot walk away from something like that, she says, without asking what the message is. Two things became clear. She would have been upset if it had been her day, because she had other things to do. And she came up with an analogy.
Life is like going to Disneyland. Someone hands you a free pass and tells you to have a good day and do whatever you want. At some point they will tap you on the shoulder and you will have to leave. It might be in an hour or at closing time. You get to choose how you spend the day. You can ride the rides, eat the cotton candy and wear the mouse ears. Or you can sit on the bench and watch other people go by. She calls that the settle bench.
People end up there for different reasons. They feel they do not deserve to join in. Someone else is comfortable having them stay put. Or they hold a safe, subtle job because they are afraid to reach for something in their zone of genius. When the tap on the shoulder comes, she says, the question is whether you did Disneyland your way, not the way anyone else wanted. Maybe your version of the park is the same slow boat ride over and over, and that is fine, as long as it is yours.
Alex loves the analogy and says he will steal it. For him the post-production grind was a ride he rode because he had to, and his whole life changed when he started giving back through his podcasts and online businesses. He now feels he is finally doing Disneyland his way, and that once you get a taste of that you cannot go back.
After the tree, Kia says time felt too vague a measure. What works better for her is energy and focus. Is this hour, this conversation, this day the best use of my energy? She shows up as a better wife, daughter and coworker when she feels at peace and on point. She also says she believes in reincarnation, and that her reaction to the near miss was that she did not want to start over, middle school included. The point is to make this life as good as she can.
Universal Truths: The Universe as Co-Producer
Asked for her universal truths, Kia says the universe loves, supports and nurtures her and wants her to win. She calls it her co-producer in life, and says she can call on that co-producer at any time to create and generate something together. It is not just a belief for her. She has put it in the laboratory of her life and tested it, and when she focuses on something, writes it on a vision board or makes a list, it seems to come into her reality.
She is clear that this is not only about a car or a house. It can be peace of mind or a better relationship. The foundation, she says, is her connection with what she calls divine source, the truth of who and what she is. Does she practice it all the time? No, and that is the challenge.
Her method for co-creating is simple. She puts an idea out and adds the words “that or better,” then stays open and listens for the next intuition. Maybe it is a nudge to call someone, or to start a website. You put your car into first gear with an idea of where you want to head, she says, and then you are willing to tack along the way.
Alex says his own life shifted when he put service first and trusted he would be taken care of, and Kia agrees: chase the trappings of prosperity and you chase stuff forever, but trust the bigger picture and you follow the next step. She believes everyone has gifts. Hers are organizing, budgets, spreadsheets and bringing people together. Most people, she says, know deep inside what their Disneyland is, and small steps toward it build momentum.
Alex adds that in survival mode you cannot open up to anything else, so start by feeding what you love a little at a time. Our guides on manifestation techniques and living with purpose pair well with this.
Four Minutes of Visualization and Other Tools
Kia’s four-minute visualization is simple: set a timer and picture something you would love to experience. She says we all have tools that work for us, and she shares hers here.
She is quick to say that we all have tools that work for us, and she shares her own. Here they are in one place.
| Tool | How Kia Describes It | When It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Four-minute visualization | Set a timer, picture something you would love to experience, and notice how it looks, smells and feels | When you want to point your energy toward the future |
| EFT tapping | Tapping to settle the nervous system | When you are stuck in an emotion or scared about how things will work out |
| Meditation | Quiet time to reconnect | When your mind is racing |
| Talking with someone | Sharing what is going on with a trusted person | When you feel stuck, though she notes it can also keep you rehashing |
| A good movie | Choosing something that makes you feel fabulous inside | After heavy media |
| Gratitude list | Ten things you are grateful for, written down or shared with someone | To shift your energy quickly |
| Pattern interrupt | Snapping a rubber band on the wrist each time a negative thought appears | When a thought pattern keeps repeating |
Alex agrees that the energy of gratitude is remarkable, even when someone listening feels they are not in the same place. If you want to build the habit, start with our practices for the power of gratitude.
Kia also shares what she believes about our nature. Good, truth, health, love and light are our natural set point and our birthright, and you cannot turn darkness on in a bright room. When old patterns build up, she says, you sometimes need pattern interrupts to get out of them.
Conscious Filmmaking and Why We Are Here
Conscious media can also mean being conscious in the way you create. Alex asks whether creators should think about what they put out and how people react, and whether consumers should have an intent in how they watch. Kia says yes to both. She feeds her crews well and starts the morning with a gratitude circle where people appreciate themselves and each other, and set an intention for the day. She feels that shows up on screen.
In a rapid round of questions, Kia says we are here to create. Her soul’s mission is to be a filmmaker, to tell stories, to heal people and to uplevel the world through media.
Putting Conscious Media Into Practice
Here is a simple way to use what Kia shares this week.
- Notice how you feel afterward. Do you feel lighter, heavier or drained?
- Name it. Is this junk food or something healthy for you right now?
- Balance heavy with light. After two dark nights, make the third one something that fills you up.
- Limit the alerts. Decide how much news you actually need.
- Say what you want to watch. Support creators making work you care about.
- Take four minutes for the future. Set a timer and picture something you would love to experience.
Spiritual Takeaways
- A little hope helps a story land.
- Notice how your media makes you feel, and choose it like a diet.
- Intent matters for creators and for viewers.
- Do not settle for the sidelines of your own life.
- Visualize what you want, even for four minutes.
Please enjoy my conversation with Kia Kiso.
Guest Links: Connect With Kia Kiso
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is conscious content media?
Conscious content media is storytelling made with awareness and the goal of a positive impact. Kia Kiso defines it as content that creates awareness, about whatever you care to raise awareness about, and aims to leave people better off. She says the term is broad enough to include movies, television and podcasts.
Who is Kia Kiso?
Kia Kiso is a producer who has made music videos, commercials, corporate videos and award-winning documentaries, and she is developing TV shows and movies through her own production company. She spent 12 years working on sets before producing, and she founded Conscious Media Visionaries.
What is the settle bench?
Kia compares life to a day at Disneyland. You can go on the rides and enjoy the day, or you can sit on what she calls the settle bench and watch other people go by. She says people end up there when they feel they do not deserve to join in, or when someone else is comfortable with them staying put.
What happened to Kia in Malibu?
Kia says a 40 foot oak tree fell around her on a sunny day in Malibu, and that she fit into the V of the trunk and a branch. She says firefighters told her she was extremely lucky and that no bones were broken. She calls it a near-death experience and says it made her ask whether she was living her day her way.
Why does Kia say hope matters in storytelling?
Kia says entertainment works better when it provides solutions. It does not have to be a call to action, she says, but a little hope shows people that someone has solved the problem in some way. She asks whether a story should leave you ready to help or reaching for a pint of chocolate ice cream because you feel pummeled.
How can I be more mindful of the media I take in?
Kia suggests treating media like any other supplement or diet and moderating it. Notice how a show or a feed makes you feel, and ask whether it is junk food or something healthy for you right now. She says there is great media out there that can support your spiritual practice, though you may have to dig for it.
Does conscious media mean avoiding violence or horror?
Not according to this conversation. Kia says some movies are like junk food and that is fine, and that your own reaction to a piece of media matters as much as the content. The line she will not cross is peddling fear, although she will still show characters facing struggle, because humans have always learned through story.
What does Kia mean when she calls the universe her co-producer?
Kia says the universe loves, supports and nurtures her and wants her to win, and that she can call on her co-producer at any time to create something together. She puts out an idea with the words that or better, then stays open and listens for the next intuition.
What is the four minute visualization?
Kia suggests setting a timer for four minutes and thinking of something you would love to experience in the future. Notice what it looks like, smells like and feels like, and what you are doing. She sometimes writes it as a little scene, and says she feels a little better by the end.
What mission does Kia Kiso describe for her work?
In a rapid round of questions, Kia answers that her mission as a soul is to be a filmmaker, to tell stories, to heal people and to uplevel the world through media. She also says she starts the morning with her crew in a gratitude circle and sets an intention for the day, which she believes shows up on screen.
Keep Exploring
- Living with purpose
- Finding your soul purpose
- The power of gratitude
- Browse more free masterclasses and the Next Level Soul Podcast.
Sources and Further Reading
- Media literacy on Wikipedia: an overview of the ability to access, analyze and evaluate media.
- Media psychology on Wikipedia: how media and human behavior interact.
- Dr. Pamela Rutledge at the Media Psychology Research Center: profile of the media psychologist Kia mentions.
- Convos About Conscious Media with Kia: Kia Kiso’s podcast and newsletter on the conscious media landscape.
- Near-death experience on Wikipedia: background on the experiences Kia refers to.
Follow Along with the Transcript
Alex Ferrari 0:00
All right, okay. 321 I'd like to welcome to the show keoki. So how are you doing here? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. Thank you so much for coming on our show. And we're gonna hopefully be talking about conscious media today and putting good things out into the world and figuring out how we can hopefully raise the consciousness of humanity through very powerful tools, which is media, which is storytelling. And getting into that, so right off the bat, first of all, how did you get involved in, in conscious media in in that world? Because you've been a producer? Well, why don't you tell people first of all, who you are, what you've done, and then we can go into the to the next next part.
Kia Kiso 0:46
Right, of course. So my name is Kenya, of course, I am a producer. I've made music videos, commercials, short form content, corporate videos, documentaries, award winning documentaries, that I've actually been on your other podcast to discuss. And I'm developing TV shows and movies within my own production company, but I also partner with other people. And sometimes I'm for hire. But I haven't always been a producer. I several I'm kind of like different cat lifes, right? I have prior life. So I was a camera system for 12 years in the film industry. And we're done. Scorsese's aviator, and house and cold case and Grey's Anatomy. And then those sort of those shows have a through line with what I'm doing now. And production experience as well. And it all culminates in my producing career. And that happened about 10 years ago, but I even went to film school for this. I've been doing this since I was 12. I went to summer school for this when I was 12 is part of the gifted and talented program. So it's kind of like I get bit by it. And I did temp work when I first moved to LA and I was good at it. And they're like, come work at the Easter Seals foundation. I'm like, I can't I can't work in this cubicle. I've got to be on set, I've got to leave these different lives. So
Alex Ferrari 2:05
that's how you got started. And you get like I always consider it a disease and illness. Being in the film industry is once you're bitten, it's it's done, you're done. It can't get out of your system. It will be with you for life. It can go dormant for years, sometimes decades. But it always raises its ugly. No way to get away from it. It does not there's no I was just talking to another filmmaker the other day about this. And I was like, you know, when the pandemic started. I was talking to filmmakers. And they're like, Yeah, no, the world's coming to an end. But how can we shoot our movie? How can we get like, literally the world is coming to the end and like we need to get how can we raise financing for this next film. It's it's a sickness, it really truly is a sickness, sometimes very positive, sometimes negative depending on how far you go.
Kia Kiso 2:56
I know I know, I have in laws that are soldiers and er doctors and so forth. And I hear the stories of like, that's how you go make money. That's what you do every day. I'm like, that sounds hard. But I'm very happy to go. Like, swim with the sharks, as they say, yes. Oh.
Alex Ferrari 3:11
So now over the years, you mean, you you start off in the business? You know, like going down the path like you normally would? We're working your way up the chain and things like that. At what point did you realize the impact that media was having on society as a whole? Yeah, well,
Kia Kiso 3:31
I mean, I was kind of aware of that, even when I was 12. I was like, Oh, this is actually a job. And oh, I have something to say. And people will sit around and watch it and talk about it or relate to it in some way. But this idea of I had to be responsible for the megaphone in front of my mouth, so to speak happened when I was working on cold case, grateful for that TV show. Totally grateful for it. I worked on that for a year and a half. But as a camera system, I was awful and on set a lot right near the actors where they were acting and it was a special episode where it was not only a murder, but it was kind of like a rape, murder. But I had to hide right next to the the actress while I was sleeping. And she's she wasn't very good at it. And we had to take after take after take and I was sort of kind of spirit myself out of this situation, you know, like a lemon. I'm not here. And at that time, I was taking some metaphysical classes, and learning about quantum physics and learning about making your life, the Laboratory of your mind, what you think changes your life kind of thing and learning about affirmations. And so I just started, you know, I was thinking of the affirmations I was doing as my homework repeating and repeating them and it sort of dawned on me is media potentially an affirmation for society. Here we're doing this TV show about rape and murder where it's sort of expected that people are going to die by passions, you know, fits passions from other people or I worked on house is every week some He's gonna have a mysterious illness that this quirky doctor has to solve. And if he doesn't solve it in time, you're you're Sol, you know, and I was like, what does this say about society and it doesn't necessarily fit into what I see is the world I believe that we have. We're born with a birth. Right? Right. We're born with these God given qualities of health and love and happiness and joy and prosperity and creativity. And now those are what, like, those are Givens. Anything that we put on ourselves, or we put on each other? Take away those rights? Right? So it's like, is this media lying to us about what life is really like that we should be scared and worried and scared of each other? And I was like, I can't be part of this. I can't be part of somebody that is benefiting from stories because I feel like it's pretty in the world. Now. Granted, sometimes there's just go have a good time. Watch something fun. Like I saw two weekends in a row. Nobody. The Baba Odin. Oh, I
Alex Ferrari 5:57
heard. I'm dying to see. So good. Isn't that isn't that like, isn't that like taken? or What is it? Like? It's like, he's, it's something like that, right?
Kia Kiso 6:08
I almost don't want to go watch the trailer and just go watch it. It's such a fun ride. But it is ultraviolent. And I enjoyed it. Right? Like you can have those moments where you have they're sort of like junk food. You know, look,
Alex Ferrari 6:22
I just looked at my wife was asking me, why are you watching Godzilla versus King Kong? I'm like, because I want to see Godzilla beat the hell out of King Kong. Like it's not. It's not it's not brain surgery here is like, I'm not looking for plot. I'm not looking like I just want to see a giant lizard, beat up a giant monkey. And it's gonna look really cool. Like that is just escapism is pure escapism. So there are places that are moments for that. And I think nowadays, more than ever, we need escapism, and sometimes escapism is violence. I mean, you watch a Tarantino film, you know, you can look at it for its art, its art steak, and what he's able to do in that, but they're ultra violent films. But that I feel is a little bit different. Because it's so stylized. And so over the top, that it doesn't even really connect as real in many ways. Well,
Kia Kiso 7:10
and that's what's important to, you know, an important distinction and and in my journey since then, and me researching this, I realized that it's, it's your reaction to the content that makes all the difference in the world because your reaction to it might be very different than my reaction. Right. So I could watch something equally as violent as nobody and be feel almost traumatized by it. Because it's, it's heightened. It's comedy, I enjoyed it. But like when I watched something similar like Platoon, oh, my God, I felt triggered for weeks. And I still think about it. Right. And it's and it's still violence for violence sake. So, you know, there's even media psychologists that study this Pamela, Dr. Pamela Rutledge is really amazing from oh my gosh, where she, where she, I forget where she was from, we can tell if we will put it in the show notes. But she was saying like, some people have a really bad reaction to a horror movie, or somebody else might really enjoy it because they're protecting their, their date, right, their loved one. And they're actually like, getting off on the protection. So there's actually endorphins that come out of that versus being shut down. And, you know, so so it's ultimately
Alex Ferrari 8:17
it's in the power of the viewer. So, you know, I'd argue that a movie like Platoon, the intention that Oliver had with that was to shine a light on the travesty of war to warn to educate, it wasn't an exploitative manner. It was in a manner of education. And sometimes you have to see those kinds of things in media to shake you up. I mean, you know, you there's some documentaries that I mean, will mean if you're if you watch any of these vegan documentaries, I mean, I challenge most people who watch them, it's it's rough, it's a rough thing. So there's that kind of media as well. But I think it really is about intent. I think we you know, you nailed it hit the nail on the head with intent, what is the intent of the Creator? What is the intent of the artists putting this out there? Is it just, you know, a horror movie, like you said, someone can watch Jason and laugh their ass off, and someone else can watch, you know, Freddy, and Jason, and be terrified and traumatized for life. It's all relative of who's watching it. So what's the intent? Like? It's
Kia Kiso 9:20
a bit of both? I think it's that that intention, right, because I feel like that's baked into the content somehow, like there's this almost this energetic transmission that happens with anything that's put out there and the intention is behind it. But it's also how is it absorbed by that individual, right, like some people can be allergic to some foods and other people aren't? Or some people can eat McDonald's every other day and be thin and other people can't. Right. And so I think we have to look at media and I'm really excited to talk to people like me, that media diet lately, and especially since the shutdown, I think people are a lot more hyper aware of how things affect them. But we have to be aware like what am i consuming right now? Is this a junk food thing? Or is this a real healthy thing, am I in mood for the mood for this I had too much sort of junk food media and I need to unplug for a little bit.
Alex Ferrari 10:08
I mean, I'll give you a perfect example. I started watching The Handmaid's Tale A while ago when it first came out, and I was I think in the middle of season two, and that thing happened in the middle of season two and I just said, I'm out. I can't I can't do this anymore. I can't I can't see the character constantly be beaten up again and again and again. And then we just get two years later, we just came back to it. And we're now ending season three, we're about this NCS started the season four which just started but it's a different world. We're living in a different kind of mentality. But it is a very dark show. It is a show that is definitely not uplifting. There's very few very few chuckles in The Handmaid's Tale very few chuckles. But we watch it. And honestly, the way I take media like that in is, I mean, it is definitely making a social commentary it is is educating people about what could happen. What's what great sci fi does, I mean, 1984 and, you know, Blade Runner, and he's getting that's what great sci fi does. But then we're like right after that, we're going to go right into Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Marvel show on Disney plus, which we're waiting to watch. So and that's going to be complete escape escapism, it's going to be okay, it's fine. So it's You're right, the diet is really interesting about what you watch how you watch. I'm I remember during the, during the election, and also just last year, I mean, I was watching CNN, and NBC and Fox, watching all, it was an obscene amount of content. And I realized how much it was really damaging me. I was just like, it's about awareness. I was like, I'm like, I can't I can't do this anymore. Like, you know, so now we just like, what if it's something really important, it'll get to us. Like, if the Martians land, someone's gonna tell us, I don't need, I don't need alerts on my phone. So but that is an awareness that we need to take. And I think we, I think we have as creators, especially the artists, and the filmmakers, and writers, honestly, any kind of art in any kind of content, we have such a responsibility to the audience, what we're putting out there, and some of it is just an expression of yourself as an artist. And sometimes that's going to piss off some people, sometimes it's gonna affect people, and I get that. But the mass audience when you start dealing with huge projects, and things that are going to reach hundreds of millions of people, shows things like that. Got to figure, you got to start thinking about that. Right?
Kia Kiso 12:43
Yeah. And that's how I got into conscious media. And at the time, when I got into it, I wasn't, it wasn't labeled that in many ways, I was sort of part of the group that was like, let's call it this, let's start calling at the same, you know, we all leave use the same term, and broad enough to where, you know, podcasts, like your wonderful one fits under film, TV, and so forth. But it's, you know, and we spent a lot of time refining that definition. And this is what I focus my career on is, and this is how I define it. content that creates awareness, whatever you want to create awareness about, with a positive impact, with a goal of a positive impact. That's what I care about. There are some films out there that create awareness very well, but leave people shut down. Right there, the impact is not positive. Whereas like, it's great content. We all need to know it. Yes. Please tell us about the environment. He has. Please tell us about the refugees. Yes, please tell us about these things. But I think entertainment works better when you provide solutions. At the end, when you give people it doesn't have to be a call to action, but just show that there's a little bit of hope, or somebody solve this in some way. They're even newscasters that are making pledges to doing just that, you know, to prove that it's not just doom and gloom, or to leave people in a bad place like, you know, do you want to leave them wanting to help the refugees your audience so to speak, or do you want them to go for that next pint of chocolate ice cream because they just feel like that got pummeled? Right, so and I think that's in the strategy of how you tell that story. And there's an art form to that.
Alex Ferrari 14:22
I remember watching Inconvenient Truth and I was just like, oh, like and like give you like 90% of like, the world is going to end and then and for like the last five minutes, but there's some hope I'm like, dude, no, that's really unbalanced. The way the ice cream I'm already off the ship or any man are you kidding me? Like you can't just like it's like a newscast. Like you watch it a standard nightly newscast now and it's like 27 minutes of just negative, negative, negative, negative and negative and at the end like, inspiring America, I'm like, I don't care about that. The Girl Scout who sold a lot of boxes. That's fantastic. I'm glad that she did. But it does not overpower the last 25 minutes that you you know, so I think they do that for their own conscious, like, you know, we are doing something positive? No, you know it, I think there needs to be a little bit more balance in that world. And, you know, what's gonna ask you as well social media, like oh my god, what is that done to society? What In your opinion, like, because look, so so media is is is media. So it is it is media in one way, shape, or form. It's Yeah, might not be watching movies, or listening to music or anything, but it's a combination of everything I'll put together, there are some really positive things about social media connection, power to organize, I mean, revolutions have been fought around the organizational power of the social media companies. But the amount of negativity, the amount of impact that it's creating, the negative impact that's creating on society. It is, in my opinion, is it's unconscionable. And, and I don't want to go on a soapbox about about Facebook and Twitter. But I mean, essentially, they're just selling your attention, they have your profile, and that their business model is to harvest as much information about you as possible, and sell it to the highest bidder.
Kia Kiso 16:21
That's not going to keep you engaged over and over and over again, right, this addictive quality, I had to install all of those apps on my phone, because I'm like, what a flippin waste of time. This is Oh, but then I then I missed What are my cousin's doing or what are my classmates from high school doing or just sort of checking in on people, I was sort of missing the news of my community. But that was, again, a small dose of interesting information. And the rest of it is just like, I feel like, Oh, it's garbage at each other's throats. And nobody is on their best behavior, because they're hiding behind, you know, their keyboards, so to speak. And in the tribalism,
Alex Ferrari 16:59
and the tribalism, that's happening as well, we're just we have, all we see is the point of view that the algorithm thinks that we want to watch because they want to keep us engaged. So then, of course, it just separates us more and more as a people as a species. And now we're, I mean, in this country, I've never seen us more polarized ever. And it's not in my lifetime. You know, I'm sure they're what I mean, I'm sure right after the silver war, it was pretty polarizing. But it's remarkable. And social media has all the responsibility, a lot of the responsibility
Kia Kiso 17:35
very much. So I mean, it's very similar to my experience on cold case, right? It's like, do I want to be part of this, right, and some people are just happy to get a paycheck. And believe me, I was getting paid very, very well on that TV show. And it was very hard to decide to step away from that job in that career. But we have a really important responsibility to make sure that we're telling stories that make the world a better place that add something that add value. You know, I'm not going to go do the next Jason, that's just me. But I, you know, I'm aware that a lot of your listeners of this podcast, this isn't your filmmaking podcast, I'm aware that this is a lot of people that are maybe spiritual, that religious or just interested in seeking and what I would want to tell them is, you know, listen to what Alex is saying, when he says, I got a sense of that this news was making me feel achy after a while or I don't feel great when I'm on social media or I know I need a break from Handmaid's Tale like tune into what is best for you look at media just as you would any other supplement or a diet or any other tool that you use in your life, like exercise or education or whatever you moderate it, like be aware that people are just going to serve you whatever serves them, but what serves you take care of yourself and there's some great media out there you might have to do a little digging that's actually going to benefit your life could be part of your spiritual practice could be part of your just personal growth. Okay, so watch Handmaid's Tale two nights in a row. And on the third night, maybe go watch a great documentary or go watch blindside again, or go watch you know, last mimzy or something that's going to make you feel really fabulous inside like this. It's, you're consuming something. It's literally you're consuming it. So you know, just know that there are people out here they're trying to give you good stuff to watch. And and do your best to find it for yourself.
Alex Ferrari 19:39
Yeah, I mean, the thing was, is you know, when you and i, you and I are of similar vintage. So, you know, when we were when we were growing up, the amount of media that we had access to was extremely limited. I mean, before VHS. There was three channels, you had three shows to watch. every hour, every half hour, PBS, that's four, four, okay, you wanna throw PBS in there? Maybe your local, maybe your local syndication, maybe four or 530 minute shows or hour long show syndication, whatever that was it and then you had that maybe the radio or an album. That's, that's essentially all the media we had access to then VHS showed up. And then now that opened up doors, and then it kept growing and growing. And then all of a sudden, it wasn't just one show, or one thing, it's 1000 things. And now, we literally have more media, in a day than we can consume created in a day that we can consume in a lifetime. So there's so much media coming at us. Where before, you know, if you watched two or three shows a night, and it was on normal network television or on PBS, you didn't really have to think about consuming content, because it was really just, you know, whatever. It's not that much. But now, it's so much so many different ways. So out there sometimes, and you know, some of the stuff on YouTube, it mean, the whole q&a thing, and how that whole world just, you just destroyed people's minds. These conspiracy theories, all this that's toxic, you know, flat earthers. I mean, sorry, if anyone's listening who thinks the earth is flat? I apologize. But I'm sorry. You know, that's, it's not a thing. You know, you want to be contrarian, but that's not a thing. So you have to look inside yourself to really monitor the media that's coming in. And I don't think anyone's really been educated in that. That's not something that teachers
Kia Kiso 21:35
know, that's nothing, no, no media literacy. nobody's talking about that. nobody's talking about a media diet. nobody's saying you are what you watch, you know, when they should be, they should be. And, you know, in some ways, it's, you know, we're already talking about how it's a bit hard to be a filmmaker, and we're, you know, you get bit by it, and you can't really do anything else but it well, then consider that conscious media is even more Nish in the fact that it's, it's a bit harder to get funded. It's harder to get distributed, because the decision makers don't believe that the audience is out there, even though anecdotally I know they are. And I know by proxy markets, they are I mean, look at self help or look at, you know, look at how many yoga mats they are, those are purchased and whatever you've got to assume somebody is buying a yoga mat is also probably interested in something a little bit more than just a Godzilla and you
Alex Ferrari 22:33
ever wanted it so King Kong Vs Godzilla. kiya comma.
Kia Kiso 22:38
Okay, yeah, got it. And then, but, you know, so we want to make more content like this, I want to make more content like that. But we have some people are like, they really, they really care. And it's the listeners of your podcast that need to say, yeah, that's what we want, like, dishes, put something on our dish that we want to eat, we want to consume, we want to watch. So you know, and I want to get to the point. And it's really funny that you, you know, you're like come on the podcast. And of course, I love you and support you. You know, we support each other in so many ways. And I'm like, is that even conscious media anymore? Can we just call it media and I'll be focused on making the world a better place. And so I'm just like, it's about creating awareness.
Alex Ferrari 23:23
Right now. I wanted to also bring up a very pivotal part of your life, something happened to you, that kind of changed the trajectory of your life. Can you share with the audience what that was?
Kia Kiso 23:36
Yeah. Last September, when this is now whatever end of April, last September, I had a freak accident almost. Well, it was a near death experiment. near death experience, it was experiment, I almost died. There was a 40 foot oak tree in Malibu, California, and a very Sunday day, sunny day, it just decided it's time was done. And it felt right around me. And I'm so grateful to be here in this moment. Because had I been one centimeter to the left, or to the right or forward or backwards. I would not be here right now. I would be sending you messages from the ether I would be writing them and lipstick on your mirror like four
Alex Ferrari 24:26
which would which would be obviously very creepy. And I appreciate the message. I appreciate anybody on the other side, please don't do that. That's there's email, email work time.
Kia Kiso 24:38
So but it was it's, I don't know if anybody of your listeners have ever seen the Buster Keaton movie, steamboat bill Jr. Very old, you know, use a Charlie Chaplin, you know, sort of pier and there's this big front of this house that falls on a bit and he's standing right where the window of the house was, and he's completely under hatched. That's kind of what happened to me there was a big huge trunk and a branch that had beard off. And I fit perfectly in the why of this tree. And that's why and even the firefighters that came said that I was extremely lucky that I almost wouldn't have made it
Alex Ferrari 25:18
wasn't your time just wasn't your time.
Kia Kiso 25:21
It wasn't my time. And you know, it was really fun to drive around in Los Angeles after that, because I was a bit of a reckless driver, because I know it wasn't my time.
Alex Ferrari 25:28
Like, I'm good. Good.
Kia Kiso 25:34
But you know, what was really interesting to me, you know, there was a process that they had to put a staple in my head, and but no bones were broken, which was amazing. Like, I seriously should have had bad injuries. And I didn't, it was like, I was protected in a way. And you can't just walk away from something like that going, like, Oh, that was just something you have to go, what is the the message behind this? Why did this happen? And what a couple things came really clear to me one was, I would have been really mad, that if that would have been my day to go, I would have been really pretty pissed off. Because I felt like I had a lot of other things to do. But I have a feeling that a lot of people would feel that way. And should I tell you my analogy. Sure, like, so. My analogy was, I felt like at the moment, nothing else mattered. But of course, what was most important to me, and I suspect it's like that for everybody. And so I came up with this analogy of life is like going to Disneyland, you're outside Disneyland and somebody gives you a free pass. And they say, hey, Alex, go to Disneyland, have a good day, do whatever you want to do. But at some point, during this day, I'm going to tap you on the shoulder, you're going to have to leave, I might come in an hour, I might come at closing time who knows when I'm coming, but you'll have to leave with me. That's life, right? We're born, that means we're going into Disneyland. But ultimately, how you do your date, disneyland is up to you. You can do the rides, and you can eat the cotton candy and you can get the mouse ears and you can go and do even have Splash Mountain anymore, I heard they were getting rid of certain things. So you can go do all those things. Or you can sit on the bench and you can watch other people go by. And I've called that the settle bench. Right You can settle for life and or times of life and watch it pass you by because you don't feel like you deserve it. Or you don't have a right to it or you're not entitled to it. Or somebody else wants you to be there because they're comfortable with you being in there, they're benefiting by it. Or maybe you even have a job. That's like a subtle job because you're afraid of reaching out, you know, striving, doing something that's part of your zone of genius. I don't know if he knows the big leap. But at the end of the day, you're going to get tapped on the shoulder and you're going to have to leave and you're going to review your life. And hopefully it's not when a tree almost kills you. You'd be like, Did I do Disneyland? Right? Did I do Disneyland the way I wanted to do it not the way anybody else wanted me to do it or the way I thought I should have done it, or didn't play it safe. Like you really I think when you get tapped on the shoulder, you're not going to be like, I didn't go full out. And maybe your Disneyland isn't rides all day, maybe your Disneyland is I don't know doing whatever. It's a small world after all over and over and over again. Maybe that's your idea. But like, Did you do it your way? And so now I asked myself, like, Am I on the subtle bench? Did that person just put me on a subtle bench? It's not the rescue bench that's different. There's different you can do on the resting bench. But it's like, are you living your day? Because you're not once it's over? It's kind of over and it was up to you?
Alex Ferrari 29:01
Yeah, no, I love, love. Love that analogy. And I will steal it now I apologize ahead of time, but I will steal it. It is a great analogy. You're right, because you just sit down. And it's not even it's not even if if you want to go down the full analogy route is like sometimes you like, are you on a ride because someone else told you to get on that ride. And you're forced to ride that ride like you like my Hell is to be on small world again and again. And again. That's my L literally, I
Kia Kiso 29:29
think that's to hell for a lot of people. As beautiful as it might be. You know, again and again and again, it has to be held. But that is the hell that most of most of society most of humanity is in they're doing things that they don't want to do. They're doing things out of survival. And you can never love or you're partnered with wants to do the ride and you do it because you love them or you want to please them but ultimately, it's your day Disneyland. They're gonna come and tap you on the shoulder. Now there's my saying
Alex Ferrari 29:59
and they're in there. It is time to sacrifice and there is time to do something for someone you love and, and, you know, for your kids and your family and things like that. But in the grand scheme of things, you know, I'm talking about, like working in a cubicle, you know, you know, for me, it was post production. Like, at a certain point, I got tired of editing other people's work I got tired of dealing with the politics I got tired of, and it was it was a complete false sense of power, because of like, well, it's my company. So I could choose whatever client I want to work with. And I'm like, but the way it was, is like when something showed up, I'm like, I need the money. And, and I'll do it. And sometimes it was a little money. Sometimes it was good for good money, but it just got so exhausting. And then, and I've said this on the show before my whole life changed. The moment I started to give back to society to start give back to people, I wind up with my multiple podcasts and businesses start building online. And my entire world changed from that moment on to the point where I felt I could finally quit that and do Disneyland the way I want to. And I am now doing Disneyland. It's taken me 40 odd years. So it was probably the first four or five hours of the time at Disneyland that I had in the day, right? But I'm now riding the ride the way I do in the park the way I want to do it. And now once you get a taste of that you can't go back
Kia Kiso 31:19
like you know, you can't, you can't. And it was really obvious to me too, that it's not so much time, like where am I putting my time to me? That became sort of a nebulous idea after the tree. I was like, because I was like, how do I make sure I'm not on the federal bench? Right? So I was using time as an analogy is is a good use of my time. But that was too too nebulous. So me now focusing on my energy, and my focus was the best way for me to gauge something is this way I'm spending this moment, this hour this day, the best use of my energy and focus. And sometimes is crystal clear to me like, Oh, nope, this isn't it. Or you know, love talking to sorry, mom love talking to you. But I was kind of done with this phone call 15 minutes ago, I'll call you tomorrow. You know, it's just like getting a sense of what works for me what doesn't work for me what's important and not important to me. And I actually show up as a better wife and daughter and co worker and everything when I'm feeling more at peace with myself and that I'm on point, right? Wouldn't you rather have me show up fully because I want to be there and it feels like it's my Disneyland. It's a great direction of my energy and focus versus me feeling like I'm settled. benching.
Alex Ferrari 32:37
Yeah, I get I get you 100%. Now, do you have some universal truths? Some things that for you are, you know, the bedrock of your, of your time here?
Kia Kiso 32:51
Yeah, my universal truths are that the universe loves me, supports me and nurtures me and wants me to win. And as my co producer in life, and that I can call on my co producer at any time and say, hey, let's create this, let's generate this. And not only was a universal truth, but I've actually put this in the laboratory of my life and tested it. And it works for me. So when I focus on things, when I vision board them out, when I make lists of them, they seem to come into my reality. And this isn't just a car house, or it's just the you know, peace of mind or a better relationship with somebody. And focusing on that connection with what I call divine source is and sort of the truth of who I am and what I am. is the foundation for everything. Do I practice it all the time? No, that's the challenge.
Alex Ferrari 33:59
Yeah, we're, we're human, we can't be no one's perfect all the time. That's why we're here. You know, going through this experience right now is to learn as much as we can. Now do you do you feel that people two ways on both sides of the fence, the consumer and the Creator, there should be an intent involved with creating the media that they create. Now, it could be an intent of hurting people propaganda, it could be that kind of intent, or it could be intent of entertaining, escapism, whatever that petition, should creators. Think about what they're putting out there and how people can react to it. And as consumers, should there be an intent on how they consume media?
Kia Kiso 34:46
Yes, I think people and I mean, that's different. That's sort of a different play on the term conscious media, right? It's like, are you conscious about the way you're creating it?
Alex Ferrari 34:58
Right,
Kia Kiso 34:59
you know, even I feel like when I feed my crews, well, that shows up on screen. I feel like when I get my crews together in the morning, we do a gratitude, you know, little circle, and we appreciate ourselves and the people around us. And we set the intention for the day. I feel like that shows up on screen that's being part of being a conscious filmmaker. But it's also what is the intent with the story? How do I want it to feel or teacher just show it shine, light, shine light, you know, you always want to make sure you're not doing propaganda, but are you trying to shine light in a positive way? And then I think people that are watching media should have more consciousness around, what is their intent? What do they what is their intention for watching something? Do they? What do they want to walk away with? And, you know, just being a little bit more conscious and mindful about that? Now, do
Alex Ferrari 35:51
you believe that? The, the SEC, I lost my train of thought, because I had a senior moment. So please forgive me. Oh, that's I got it. So with my podcast and with whatever, all the content that I create on a daily basis, which is obscene amount. The morning I know, it's it's an obscene amount of stuff, with, with all of with all of the stuff I do. That's conscious media to me. That is because my intent was to help was to serve. And it wasn't about like, oh, how much money can I make? And because nobody in 2015 was starting a podcast going, this is the ticket. This is what's gonna make, this is what's gonna get me, baby, like no one thought that I started it because I wanted to help. That's why I started the whole thing. Sure, there was a business aspect. Sure, I wanted to make money with it. But it wasn't my intention. My intention wasn't like I'm just gonna get get in there quick and get the cash out. Because our audience, the filmmaking audiences, it's not known for being the the most wealthy of audiences. They're generally broke artists trying to make a living. So again, that's also another niche that wasn't a very, very lucrative niche. So it wasn't about that it was about being conscious about it. And I think that word conscious, it's not that everything that you put out has to be, you know, rah, rah, rah, feel good, you know, blindside kind of content. That's great. But what is the intention behind it? I think is it I feel, and I would love to hear you what you think, is a better definition of conscious media. Because if you're making a horror movie to entertain, and the people who are watching it are being entertained, and the endorphins are being released, and they're having a good time, because they're getting a scare, or they're, you know, it's like a roller coaster ride. That is, I feel conscious media. And but if you're making a movie, to literally terrify somebody and get into their psychology and make sure that they never sleep again, with that attention, and there might be a couple like me, the extra sister is I think it's I think it's Spielberg who's yet he's never seen it. He says it's evil. Yeah, I hear I hear I heard that man
Kia Kiso 38:06
that made jaws right. The man That's right, prevented hundreds of 1000s of people from swimming. I still have trouble just going into open water lake. That's funny. That's, you know, it's just, and I think it's about fear. And I think there are some filmmakers that are happy to peddle fear. Well, also newscasters that you know, podcasters and social media, you know? Yeah, but you bet peddle fear, that's just a line, I will not cross. Now, however, will I show a character going through difficulties and struggles and so forth? Yes, because that's the human condition. And we learn through story. From the dawn of time, humans have learned from story and they love seeing their struggle being reflected in the stories that they're watching, because then they think it'll happen for me too. Oh, ventually, when, you know, but are you peddling fear? And I've never seen you do that with any of your content. That's what I would call it conscious. Can you be conscious if you're peddling fear? Yes. But then are you having a positive impact, which is the second part of my definition, you're creating awareness and having a positive impact? I'm just not going to go with the negative impact part and make money. But
Alex Ferrari 39:22
yeah, exactly. And I heard I heard someone say this the other day, he said, You talk about money and people always chasing money, and it's all about the material things in life and like, Oh, God, yeah, I mean, so many, so much blood has been spilled over material stuff. It's honestly kind of ludicrous, because one of my other guests said, and I told him, I was gonna steal this because it was so brilliant. He's like, Did you ever see a u haul on the back of a hearse?
Kia Kiso 39:51
so brilliant. so brilliant. Have a comment, because that's how we think in life. We're thinking about grabbing more stuff, more things more grabbing things and it completely clouds what we're here to do take your Mickey Mouse ears with you, you they're gonna you're gonna have to leave everything behind at the park.
Alex Ferrari 40:10
Sorry, everything you're gonna have to come in make it the same way you left. You got to come you have to leave the same way you came in, make it alone. I you know, I hate to be a downer. But that's generally the way it works for us, you come in alone. Yeah, leave alone.
Kia Kiso 40:25
But that's also just a really good awareness. And that's what hit me when the train hit me is that my wife just got just, um, is this life is my life. At the end of the day, I'm a bit and it wasn't scary at all to be like, but I'm alone. Like, I really need to live my life the way I want to, because I'm going to answer to myself at the end of the day, and am I going to be like, good job, you did well on that one, or Oh, shoot, I didn't do it the way I wanted to. Now I have to start all over again. And I believe in reincarnation, because I grew up in a haunted house. But I was like, oh, shoot, I was just getting started. I'm gonna have to start all over again. How am I gonna find my husband? Again? How am I gonna Oh, I have to do middle school again. Like I was just like, Nah, just stick with this life, and make it as good as I can but just really focus my efforts and my energies. No, absolutely. And
Alex Ferrari 41:17
I mean, again, I've said this so many times on my other shows that, you know, the moment I changed my perspective on being a service to people is when just doors I mean, you've seen the people, I mean, you you've been listening to my show for a long time. And you've seen it grow from when I had you on which it was so wonderful and blessed to have, you know, to come on my show to talk about one of your other projects, too, in the last four months talking to some of the most legendary people ever. And being humbled by that. That is, there's I mean, there's a reason for that. And it's I it's not i'm not egocentric enough to believe it's me, it's about what I'm doing what I'm trying to do, the energy I'm putting out there is starting to come back and it actually started to come back, it was weird with with it almost instantly. The second I started putting it out there, it started to come pretty quickly. And then it's just kind of grown and grown and grown over the years, where I think that's where a lot of other podcasters other people in the space that I'm in. They don't see that they, there's jealousy, there's anger, there's other stuff that that you're trying to chase the money. And I'm not, I'm not doing
Kia Kiso 42:36
well. But it's interesting. It's like if you if you focus on sort of like what you think the trappings are of prosperity, you're going to be constantly chasing the stuff. But if you're trusting the bigger picture of you're trusting that, you know, your needs are going to be met, and you're just going to have a prosperous life, then you listen for the next intuition, right? You just listen for that next guiding force. And you're like, Well, why don't I call this person today? Maybe they'll be interested in be on the podcast, or what if I create this website to like, you just follow the steps. And that's what it is, when I say I co create with divine sources, I put an idea out there. And I make and I always say this or better, especially if it's like I want this specific thing I want that or better. And then I just opened and I listened. And some people told me that I'm clear audience I don't know just sometimes I feel like I just get an you know, an idea in my head. And I just start going down that direction, right? You got to start putting your car into at least first year with an idea of where you want to head and then you just be willing to tack along the way. But that's what you did. It sounds like you trusted you will be taken care of right? You weren't like crunching the numbers of I need this many people in order to get this much add fundraise you know, funds for in order for me to survive for six months, like you just started diving in out of service
Alex Ferrari 43:55
I started doing that and then things things started to change. And it you know, it's it's pretty remarkable and even with this show, which is you know, fairly young show, you know, I'm back at the beginning, which is hilarious because I've been working six years on my other shows which are extremely popular in their own world. But in this space, I'm I'm just starting out again. And which was so funny The moment I launched the show guests that honestly, I have no business getting shot is showing up. You connected to me with a few. I started another friend connecting me with a few I reached out to one and they just said sure I'll do that and another one like it. I'm like I have no business having that caliber of guests on the show and yourself and these kind of people that are coming on the show. You know, I'm a young brand new podcast brand new in your opinion
Kia Kiso 44:48
of service with what your gift is right? I think everybody has their own gifts, right has their own inclinations. I can't help do anything but organize things right. Put budget And spreadsheets together and bring people together and talk about post production. So that's mine, right? Everybody has their particular gifts, the people that are listening, they all have their different gifts and people, you know, most people, I think, know, when they really listen deep inside, they know what their Disneyland is, right. And I believe if you just start to focus just a little steps every day, every other day one a week towards that feeding it just a little bit. But in being open, right, but being sort of like having an open mind to it, it always helps build, it also helps for me to like, do a little vision board or list out sort of what that looks like
Alex Ferrari 45:39
visualization, absolutely. visualization or putting the intent out there. You know, it's, it's just, it's just remarkable how we, how we just walk through life, sometimes I think that if we, if you're constantly in a survival mode, if you're constantly only worried about surviving, that's what you're going to do. And trust me, I was in that mode, you know, everyone listening, I was in that mode for a long, long, long time, where I was constantly like, how am I going to pay the rent? How am I going to do this? How am I going to get to that place, and you get into survival mode, you can't open yourself up to anything else. So it's really hard to get out of that. If you're in it, if you're in the drama, oh, here are role models for getting out of that. That's the thing. So the the key is, and this is the thing is, and I know it's difficult to hear this. But I've been there, you know, as a 46 year old man, who moved to LA 13 years ago without basically any money selling DVDs to pay the rent. When I first got here, no new one other person in LA and was able to build what I've been able to build over the course of the last dozen years or so the moment I had the faith that wholeheartedly had the faith that I'm going to be taken care of things started to change. And then when and I'm not saying look, I'm not saying I'm gonna quit my job and just, you know, fight like no, there has to be a balance, but you have to start making the shift, even if it's slowly like you're saying do a little something that feeds that that part of the Disneyland ride a little bit of day on the side, and start building that up and building that up a little
Kia Kiso 47:17
bit. visualize it for four minutes, like I'm really big into just set a timer for four minutes, think of something in the future that you would love to experience. And sort of be like, this is what it looks like, smells like touch, what am I doing and even sort of write a little scene, you know, and I've had scenes where it's like, I show up to the new building of this, you know, blah, blah, blah, and I'm cutting the ribbon and there's a big party. You know, I just visualize that for four minutes. And at the end of four minutes, I feel a little better. That, you know, we all have tools that work for us. begin searching for me EFT tapping works really well, when I feel like I'm just too stuck in an emotion or something like that I get too scared about how is this going to work out. Sometimes you just need to disable your, you know, your nervous system a little bit. And so I do some tapping, visualization, some meditation, sometimes it helps to talk to somebody, you know, I watch their work for me personally, because I felt like I was just sort of rehashing and bringing it up over again. But yeah, find a good movie to just watch. Just get yourself out of gratitude lists, gratitude, like find somebody to share 10 things you're happy, you're grateful for a day or write it down. Like it really gets you out of that.
Alex Ferrari 48:31
That energy really does change things. You are grateful for stuff that the gratitude, the gratitude, energy of gratitude is so remarkable as well. And I know a lot of people listening might be like, Well, yeah, that's nice for you guys. But I'm not in the place you were I'm like, Yeah, but I was I was in your place. I was in that dark place. I'm sure you were to hear.
Kia Kiso 48:50
Yeah, let's do a whole episode on the dark places, man. It's like, there's no way you know, like no poster child for great things. It's just,
Alex Ferrari 48:57
it's Look, this whole experience this whole experience of being human and going through life and walking and enjoying the good things and the bad things and challenging yourself and there's obstacles and all of these things that happened to you in your life. This is tough. This is not easy. This is this is a a really challenging experience. But it doesn't have to be completely paralyzing.
Kia Kiso 49:25
Well, and I will tell you, I believe that good use Trudy health, love light. Those are our natural setpoint correct. our birthright. Anything that is unlike that is I say like anything I'm like that is not the knowingness of God and actually takes more energy and effort to continue up. Right? So if you can find yourself somehow in the stream of your divine birthright, your inherent good, you'll actually have more support behind you. Right, you can't turn darkness on in a bright room. It's the other way around. You know, like it, but sometimes we can have too much sort of in the way or built up or a history of pattern of thinking over time, you have to do pattern interrupts you have to figure out, what can I do to get myself out of that, you know, I've had, I've actually put rubber bands on my wrist before. And I'm like, every single time I think that negative thought, I'm going to snap it. And I'd be like, I'm thinking of a lot. And so I would visualize, there was a year I was disabled. And every single time I was in horrible pain, and I would get so stressed about it, I'd snap it. And I just remember, I would just imagine I was at a cocktail party going like, the symptoms went away. They wanted me to get neck surgery, but I just knew I'd find the right way. And the symptoms are gone. I don't know. Yeah, I could still have the same condition. And now I can tell you that that's true. I didn't have to have the neck surgery. So pattern interrupts
Alex Ferrari 50:50
now I'm going to ask you a couple questions. That kind of like rapid come on to see what the first thing that comes to your mind is, why are we here? creation to create to create theaters. Yeah. for creative expression. And why is your soul What is your souls mission?
Kia Kiso 51:10
To be a filmmaker to tell stories and you know, heal people and uplevel the world through through media?
Alex Ferrari 51:19
Yeah, it has been a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you so much for coming on. Our humble, humble little podcast. That's just starting out. So I do, you win. But thank you so much. Now, this
Kia Kiso 51:35
is great. You had told me about the podcast A while ago and I you know, what are your biggest cheerleaders. So thank you again.
Alex Ferrari 51:41
I appreciate it.
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