Resonance – Episode 14
Verbatim Transcript
Speaker: Viktoria Levenberg
Guest Speaker: Zack Bodenweber
Zack Bodenweber: This stuff doesn’t come up in conversation, never mentioned on a
podcast. I want to help people experience an extraordinary quality of life, and we realise just
how, how much of so many of the things that are stressing us out exist in the activity of the
mind.
Zack Bodenweber: Vik, there’s someone behind you.
Viktoria Levenberg: I know I can do this, I don’t want to. What’s so special about it is how
simple it is.
Viktoria Levenberg: In today’s episode, you’re going to hear me chat with a dear friend, Zack
Bodenweber. He is a coach, an incredible writer, he is an artist, and honestly he’s just a
magical human. Like I feel so grateful to have a Zack in my life. I really think everyone needs a
Zack in their life.
And he shares the wisdom that he has gained through his lived experience of how he’s
actually managed to step away from this fear-based living that keeps us stuck and reconnect
with the truth of who we really are as a way to guide him forward.
I mean, there is no way to summarise everything he’s got to share because it’s almost like
this channelled transmission that you just need to receive for yourself. So get cosy, enjoy the
episode, I’ll see you inside.
Viktoria Levenberg: Welcome to Resonance, a podcast for ambitious, heart-led humans
craving more balance, depth, and aliveness in their lives. I’m your host Vik, health coach, yoga
teacher, facilitator and fellow high achiever, learning to live in tune with my nervous system,
not against it.
This space is here to remind you that you can have it all: the career, the success, the
fulfilment—all aligned with your truth. Through honest conversations, expert insights, and
practical tools, we’ll explore how to work with your body, mind, emotions, and spirit, not
against them. And the best part, you don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode to get there.
Because true well-being is not about being perfect, it’s about being in resonance. Let’s dive
in.
Viktoria Levenberg: Okay, so a quick intro to Zack. I actually first ever heard of Zack when I
joined the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. He was their kind of head coach, you know, he
was on all the videos. I was like, oh well, he seems like a nice person. But also he taught me
basically a lot of what I know about coaching today.
And somehow synchronicities came into play, and we connected over shared values, shared
curiosities, and the open mind to be a lifelong learner and explore this vast, complex nature
of our existence that’s actually quite simple—we just tend to make it complex.
So um yeah, today is really going to be quite powerful for especially those of you who feel
quite stuck and like you don’t know where to get started.
Zack is, um, both of course a coach, a writer, a, um, an artist, incredible human. And he also
has experience as a licensed social worker, having worked in kind of the medical field more
so. And so he’s got this really unique, powerful perspective of where to begin to start to shift
your reality.
And when things feel like a little bit too much, he’s got the solution for you. And you’ll be
amazed at actually how simple it is.
And so with that in mind, enjoy. I am so excited to bring this to the world. Oh and by the way,
before we dive into the episode, um, you’ll notice that Zack and I just start off bantering and
chit-chatting at the start. Please listen in because honestly like this is actually the really real,
like the truth of who we are and our dynamic actually. There isn’t much more in life that can
top that meaningful, authentic connection.
So yeah, really, I hope you dive in, enjoy, soak up all the goodness, and I look forward to
hearing your thoughts.
Viktoria Levenberg: Find a sneaky way to weave it in at some point.
Zack Bodenweber: I was, I was, I actually do enjoy meditating with, with um, and, and doing
that. I was doing that in the steam room earlier today and uh, and I’m, you know, oh.
Oh and it’s reverberating off all the walls, cause it’s the steam room and uh, another
gentleman comes in and I go, I go, I go, I’m, you know, I’m sorry about that. He goes no,
please continue. He goes, that’s great. He goes, he goes that’s why I came in here. I was like
alright, let’s do it. It was cool. It was cool, yup.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow, I love that. Oh my gosh yes. Let’s do it together. Have you tried it in
an ice bath? Cause like—
Zack Bodenweber: No.
Viktoria Levenberg: You’re freezing and then you get like the water—
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, I haven’t done an ice bath, like an intentional ice bath. I’ve gone in
like really cold water before, but I haven’t done like the cold plunging thing. But I really, yeah,
I enjoy it.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, I love that.
Zack Bodenweber: I enjoy Om.
Viktoria Levenberg: I actually have it hanging just above me.
Zack Bodenweber: Do you?
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, it’s a little, little Om. Probably can’t quite see it, but Om.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, yeah there’s something really special about it. I mean, it’s just like
the universal sound that nothing else—
Viktoria Levenberg: No big deal, you know.
Zack Bodenweber: No big deal, casual.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh my goodness I love this. I’m just a universal sound, whatever. My
mortal existence.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh my gosh, humble flex. Just like other sounds like oh, that’s cute, your
sound too. Okay.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh my gosh, I missed you so much. Ah, I just, I wish I could give you a
little cuddle and like just say hello, yeah properly, you know? But this is like so special
because this is the first time for me that—I think we need to rename this podcast to Pillow
Talk. Like that someone’s dialling in, there you go, with their pillows, pjs from bed, like that is
so good.
Zack Bodenweber: It’s a, it’s a fun, that’s a fun like theme right? Like, like that’s just, that’s
what we do here. We chat in our pyjamas, make sure there’s pillows involved and uh, that’s
it. That’s the only prerequisite for this podcast.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, well there is actually a podcast in New Zealand called Pillow Talk,
but it’s uh, very much about Pillow Talk by a, I think she’s a somatic sex coach. So bit, bit of
different Pillow Talk than like what we’re gonna be talking about today. But hey, who knows.
Zack Bodenweber: Little bit, little bit Vik. Your plants are thriving.
Viktoria Levenberg: Look at those.
Zack Bodenweber: Thank you. I just cannot take my eyes off of how happy they look, and
how like, just full of life they look.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh thank you. That’s really, that means a lot to from you because like—
Zack Bodenweber: Look at them, that they have like a, they are yeah. He is standing at
attention. He is like I am here for whatever.
Viktoria Levenberg: We’re growing a new one as well in there, and I’ve got another one, it’s
like yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: It’s the best when my, when my Fiddle leaf fig who is right over there—
Viktoria Levenberg: Hi Fiddle.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, that’s Fred.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh Fred, sorry. I apologise to Fred. Sorry, I just had a no.
Zack Bodenweber: She didn’t mean it.
He’s, he was picked on when he was younger. He was called Fiddle a lot.
That’s alright, no, she knows your, she knows your name is Fred, okay. Um yeah, so that’s
Fred. And I get so hyped for him when he is growing a new leaf. I’m like you go dude. And
he’s been growing them a lot recently. It must be the time of the year.
There’s like a growing season, I learned. And I’m just like dude, yes, come on. You got this
buddy. I went away for a few days, came back, like two new leaves. I’m like let’s go.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh my goodness, like talk about thriving right there, right? Like Fred.
Look, you, you can tell him that Kiwis tend to make up nicknames for people. So you know,
just blame it, blame it on me. It’s not him, it’s me. Okay.
Um, and it’s funny that you say that my plants are thriving, because literally as I was kind of
like setting everything up this morning I was like oh, you know right here now it’s winter, so
the heater’s blasting and they’re like we’re drying out, please stop. It’s so hot. Yeah, um.
So if they’re thriving like in my eye I’m like oh, I can’t wait for the weather to stabilize so they
can, you know, be happy again.
And just imagine what it’s like then.
Zack Bodenweber: I can’t, I can’t imagine.
We’re gonna have to do another podcast just so I could see them.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh, twist my arm, yeah yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Do you miss them, do you miss them?
Viktoria Levenberg: The plants?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Like actually I do when I go away, because I don’t trust people with my
plants.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh yeah, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Like I had a, I have a really bad experience with one of our friends who
was, he was, you know, looking after Piper so he kept her alive, that was good.
Zack Bodenweber: Ha ha ha, great.
It’s a great start in the, in the order of priorities, like dog.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yep.
Zack Bodenweber: Plants, they’re there, but you know. Yeah, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: But like I kid you not, we left him with like a whole Magna Carta of like all,
like Piper’s commands and you know all, all the things.
And then there was a couple pages in the appendix about plant care.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh no.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh, they were so sad, Zack.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh no, they—
Viktoria Levenberg: I came back and they were like, they were inches from withering away.
And I had a little veggie garden out the back.
Zack Bodenweber: Mm hmm.
Viktoria Levenberg: No, you forgot about it.
Zack Bodenweber: You forgot the veggie garden? Oh no.
Viktoria Levenberg: In peak summer. That’s it. No more veggie garden. I gave up, there was
no point.
Zack Bodenweber: That was it.
Yep, yep. You’re like I’m going to the farmers market, that’s it.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh man. Well you know, I’m not, listen I’m not casting any blame or judgment, but why were
the plants in the appendix?
Viktoria Levenberg: Look, as you say, priority order, yeah. Piper—it was, it was Piper’s Magna
Carta. It wasn’t Vic’s Plant Magna Carta.
Zack Bodenweber: So, so okay, so this whole thing was about Piper, yeah?
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh okay, I thought like Piper and then a whole bunch of other things and
the plants were kind of thrown in somewhere.
It was Piper. That was Piper’s document, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Her face was on the front page.
Zack Bodenweber: Uh huh, yup, yup. This is, this is Piper.
Viktoria Levenberg: And, and I have to tell you this. We had to update it as well because um,
we had someone else looking after Piper a few months later and she knows her toys by
name. So I had to pull together like this little graph with every toy and the name label.
And I had to update it because she had so many new toys. Oh my goodness, yeah. So there’s
Greg, there’s Rainy, uh, there’s Donald—
Zack Bodenweber: That is so funny. That is so funny.
Viktoria Levenberg: What if—I’ll send you a photo later.
Zack Bodenweber: Smart baby.
Viktoria Levenberg: She is. Guess what, it, it’s her birthday today. Today.
Today’s her birthday.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh my goodness, Piper! Happy birthday!
Viktoria Levenberg: Ah, she’s gonna have the best day.
She has a little ritual and she gets steak, like human high-quality steak and chips, and she has
a little candlelit dinner with like, off an actual plate.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh, she’s, she’s got it coming. That’s great, that is awesome. That makes
me so happy. Well, oh, and a steak dinner. Can’t imagine anything better than that, especially
for a dog, you know. They’re like, you can keep your cake and keep—you know those places
now that make, you know, cake for dogs and stuff? It’s like give your dog a wagyu steak. You
know, give your dog, give your dog a filet mignon, you know?
Oh yeah, yeah. So good stuff, yeah.
So good.
Viktoria Levenberg: So I’ll make sure to tell her you say hi and thank you, sprinkle a bit of—
and, and Fred, I can’t not forget about Fred.
Zack Bodenweber: Yep, yep.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, he’s still not, he’s still not saying much, but he’ll get over it.
Viktoria Levenberg: He’s a shy guy.
It’s past his bedtime. He’s like, dad, why are the lights on? Why are you on a podcast at like
ten PM? So you know.
Zack Bodenweber: That is true,
Viktoria Levenberg: I don’t blame him. I don’t blame him.
Zack Bodenweber: Yup, that is true. Um, so oh my gosh, I’m so happy to be on your podcast.
Let’s go.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh my gosh, I am so grateful that you are here, like seriously, it’s—oh,
dream come true, you know. It’s like we’ve come full circle.
Zack Bodenweber: I’m so proud of you for bringing this into the world. This is so you. How’s it
been going so far?
Viktoria Levenberg: Well I haven’t launched yet. So we are weeks away from launching, and
it’s been so exciting. Just like, I mean, figuring out the tech, you know, cause like I had to
message you when I couldn’t get my microphone to work.
Remember that?
Zack Bodenweber: Oh yes, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: So you know, we ironed out the kinks. Um, but honestly like you
actually—it’s so special having you on here because you kind of helped co-create this in a
way, you know? Like you evoked it out of me in our work together, and when I was part of
Ascendance. So yeah, it’s just—and here we are. Who would have thought, you know, a few
months later, it’s happening.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, it’s happening.
I do. It’s happening. And I remember the moment that I knew it was happening, and it was
when you came to the table with such clarity that this is a phenomenal way to share your
voice with the world, you know, and share your work with the world, and share you with the
world, you know—who you are. Which is such a big part of what we do. So um, yeah, I’m just,
you know, good on you for bringing this to fruition and being here. And it’s a complete
honour, and thank you for, thank you for the kind words, because I’m just really excited for
you.
Viktoria Levenberg: Thank you, and the feeling’s so mutual. I thought the synchronicity
actually of like our podcast together airing just days before we’re recording this too. I was
like, oh Zackary, I see what you did there.
Zack Bodenweber: I know, I’m gonna have to update the description once Resonance is alive
so that people can go right to it. Cause I, I had a moment when I was writing that little
description of our podcast and I was like, wait a second, I don’t think she launched yet.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh, you would have heard from me if I—
Zack Bodenweber: I know, I know.
I was like, we got a special thing coming for you, stay tuned.
Viktoria Levenberg: Watch this space, yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Watch this space. Keep coming back to this description of this episode, it’ll
be up.
Viktoria Levenberg: Just, just listen every day.
It’s like you’ll hear something new every time.
It’s like, you know, relistening to a training or something.
Zack Bodenweber: Exactly, yeah.
Now I’m excited though, and I will, I’ll share it on, you know, my Substack and, you know,
what, everything because I’m excited. So what are we getting into today, Vik?
Viktoria Levenberg: Well look, we are getting into anywhere where this talk takes us, because
yeah, we’re—you’re in bed so yes, it’s, we’re, we’re, we’re going deep. Like we can, we’re
going deeply into the subconscious mind here.
Zack Bodenweber: Gotcha, gotcha. No no no, I’m kidding. I thought you meant that in the
way of like, you’re in bed so like, like we’re just throwing everything out the window, like you
know, this is—but yeah, now deep into the subconscious.
Viktoria Levenberg: No, look, I think we’ll just kind of go with the flow, see where things take
us. I mean, as you helped me figure out and you now know, I really help high achievers, aka
what I am, who are struggling with stress, burnout, to just finally have a breather. And this is
what came out of our work together.
It’s that, you know, I think I remember telling you about that conversation with the CEO,
where he had that judgment of, well sure, you can look after yourself and be healthy and be
well, but then that means you don’t have a career. It’s like no. Yeah, like you can have both.
Zack Bodenweber: Gosh, what a, what a limited way of thinking.
Mm hmm, like that’s a—it’s like sad when I hear that, like cause for him that really felt true,
you know. Like oh my goodness, what a, what a, what a way to be. What a, what a limitation
to have conditioned into you to believe that it has to be one or the other.
So you’re showing people that it can absolutely be both?
Viktoria Levenberg: They can be both. And also to show them like the real raw, honest path,
you know? Like yeah. I actually, I am so excited to hear more about your story, because in our
conversations together there’s been a lot of kind of me talking to you. But I know that you
also have a bit of history, and you weren’t always where you’re at today.
And these stories, as I’ve been interviewing guests—whether they’re professionals or just
normal people in corporate jobs—are so inspiring. Because you see the really real of the day-
to-day struggle, and then the moment when things click and shift.
Yeah, as we dive in, I think I would be really grateful if you could just give us kind of the
headlines of who you are, what you do, where you’ve come from. I mean, I have you so
deeply and nearly to my heart, you know, you’re like one of my very close people. But yeah,
others listening might be like, who is this guy and what’s going on with this energy, because
they’re on fire.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah. So, so yeah, oh my goodness, it’s so funny, it’s been a while since
I’ve answered that question or been asked to like just describe who I am, which is interesting.
And it’s one of those things where I actually—not in this context at all, by the way—but like if
I’m at like meeting somebody, making small talk, or like at a, you know, a little party or
gathering, and I get that “what do you do” question, I’m just like oh man, where do I start.
So what do I do?
Viktoria Levenberg: Here’s my bio.
Zack Bodenweber: What do I do. Um, you know, so—and then, and as I told you in, in
Ascendance and everything like that, like, you know, if it’s a coaching context, I, I usually will
have a pretty concise way of explaining it, um, in terms of where I am at that time. Because
my coaching is always evolving alongside me.
So, so I am a coach professionally. I’m a licensed social worker, and I transitioned out of the
healthcare industry and the, the medical paradigm, the medical model, to go into the
coaching space. Which is vastly different. Much more, much more rooted in possibility. Much
more rooted in strengths. Much more rooted in growth than rooted in pathology.
And that’s not to say that all therapy is necessarily about that, but if your therapy—especially
within the healthcare model, the medical model—it’s all predicated on there being a
diagnosis. And a diagnosis, by definition, is an impairment in functioning. And so the goal of
therapy is a form of treatment to overcome the symptoms of that pathology and restore
functioning.
That is something that these days does not excite me. Like that—even when I just said that—
does not excite me. I want to help people experience an extraordinary quality of life. I want
to help people discover the truth of who they are. I want to, I want to help people realise
what their wildest dreams actually are, and then make them come true.
I wanna help people tap into the frequency of everything they’ve ever wanted and realise it’s
available to them right now. That’s what I wanna do. I’m not interested in helping, you know,
somebody like improve their score on the PHQ9—that’s like a depression screening—that’ll
happen, right? And by the way, that doesn’t mean I don’t still work with people who are
depressed or anxious.
But my, my goal with them is not to treat them, because I don’t actually believe there’s
anything to be treated, right? My, my goal is to help them step into their full potential and
realize just how expansive this reality is, and just how much well-being is available to them.
So that’s what, that’s what I do, you know.
I, I really help people—I’ve been saying rediscover themselves—because I do believe at our,
at our core, uh, we, I do believe it’s, it’s a, it’s something we’ve forgotten. And that’s why the
first pillar of my book is, is remember. It’s about remembering who you are.
Viktoria Levenberg: Because I, I got it right here.
Zack Bodenweber: Awesome.
Awesome, yes. Oh my goodness, you have a mirror behind you and I didn’t realise that from
my vantage point.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: It looks like it’s a doorway, so when you just moved your head and I saw
you like, “Vik, there’s someone behind you.”
Hahaha, not to freak you out, but somebody is, somebody is right there, and they’re copying
you. Haha.
Yeah. So, so my—that’s my book, Notes on Awakening. And the first pillar is remember who
you are, because you know, I believe who we are is, is source consciousness. And who we are
is, is intimately connected with every single thing that exists, and on some level is everything
that exists. So I believe that when we begin from that place of remembrance and we live
from that place, um, a whole vast world of possibilities, of abundance, of love, of bliss, of
freedom becomes available to us.
And uh, and when you’re living in that way, things like depression, anxiety, disappear pretty
quickly. Um, so that’s, that’s kind of, that’s my thing. I do that in a private practice.
Um, because of my—I have, as you know, but for your listeners, I have a bit of a reputation in
the coaching space since I came into that industry. I developed the curriculum, the coaching
curriculum for the IIN’s Health Coach Training program alongside a, you know, phenomenal
team who, who did, who helped me, and also did other parts of the curriculum. And um, and
because of that, and because of the visibility in that space, and some of the webinars and
trainings and podcasts I’ve done, I do also have coaches reach out to me quite a bit looking
for support.
And I was very hesitant for a long time to do that. I did, as you know, I didn’t want to be a
coach coaching coaches.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Zack Bodenweber: Because there’s—
Viktoria Levenberg: “Make 20K now!”
Zack Bodenweber: You know exactly. Hahaha.
Yeah, are you ready for your seven-figure practice?
Zack Bodenweber: You know, I saw something—what was the other thing you, you shared
the other day? It was like, oh what, what are your goals with this podcast?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, what are you—
What are your, what are your goals over the next three months for—
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: And I’m like dude, just relax. You’re, you’re, you’re talking to the wrong
guy, you know. Um, yeah. But uh, and uh—oh my gosh, I saw one the other day. I want, I
meant to screenshot it and send it to you, but it disappeared. But it was like, “I like, see how I
enrol 80 clients a month into my coaching practice.”
And I’m like, what? What are you doing? I was like, you’re—okay. So that right there tells me
you’re not coaching. That doesn’t even make any sense at all, how you would even work with
that many people if you were actually coaching, you know. So like, it’s just, it’s so, uh—it’s
just funny. So um, so yeah. So I was resistant to it, but I was asked enough times that the
signs from the universe really became clear that this was something I can do. But I knew I
wanted to do it in my own way.
Um, so I do that as well, individually and in small groups. And I do that, I also write. I write,
um, I have that—the book you mentioned. I write on Substack. I have another book, two
books I’m working on. I don’t know when they’ll be out, but they’re, they’re coming through.
Viktoria Levenberg: I’m so excited.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, me too, me too. And I paint. I painted—
Viktoria Levenberg: It’s your original painting right behind you?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, that’s one of mine.
Viktoria Levenberg: You didn’t like until you hung it above your bed.
Zack Bodenweber: That is precisely the one I didn’t like until I hung it above my bed. And I’m
like, wait, I really like this, you know. It just needed to be in the, in the right location to be
valued.
Uh, so that’s cool.
You know, you just said you’re excited about the book, I said me too. Because writing, very
much like painting for me, it—I do it in a way where I don’t really know what it’s gonna
become.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Zack Bodenweber: I start a painting, I have no idea what it’s gonna become. I don’t, I’m not
trying to paint anything in particular. It’s abstract, so it’s, it’s me moving energy and um, and
you know, and, and trying things out and playing and experimenting. And all of a sudden I’m
like, wow, this is awesome. Like, I love this, depending on how I’m feeling at the time and
what’s going on for me. Writing is very similar.
Like writing, even like—I’m writing a novel right now, which has really been a fun process.
And that book, Notes on Awakening, totally just came through me. It wrote itself. The novel,
of course, on here I am thinking, okay, well the novel I need, I need the plot and I need the
plot and the scene, and this is exactly
Viktoria Levenberg: The hero’s journey
Zack Bodenweber: Exactly. And I need, you know, to have these chapters mapped out and
this outline.
And I really found that it doesn’t need to be that way at all actually. As I’m writing this novel, I
have an idea where it’s going, and it’s starting to go some different directions. And I’m
allowing it to, because I am. But what I’ve done with the novel is, I’ve made the characters
into people that I know very well. They’re all of course parts of me, you know. So I’ve made
them into characters who I know very, very well, and I’m almost letting them live the story.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh, oh my God. I wanna like read the manuscript already.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, hahaha, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: That sounds—just as you said that, wow.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, so, so that’s, that’s, you know, that’s a lot of what I do. I got, I’m
very multi-passionate, I have a ton of other hobbies and interests as well, but really those are
the core things in my life in terms of my life’s work. You know, it’s coaching, it’s writing, and
it’s art.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that, and for kind of going down that route
where, you know, people like you and I generally tend to get quite turned off by that
question.
Zack Bodenweber: Mhm.
Viktoria Levenberg: For various reasons, because like well, I’m not defined by my title, and
there’s so much more to me than what I do, you know. Hahaha. And at the same time, as you
were sharing, you know, your passion for coaching, it was like wow. The energy, just the way
you articulated that, it’s—it is so evident. Like, that is your dharma. Like that is—it’s
incredible. And how you’re weaving that in with your artistic expression as well, as I’ve been
watching and celebrating, you know, from little New Zealand. And it’s just so inspiring to see
you continue on this path.
Zack Bodenweber: Thank you. I really appreciate that reflection. And yeah, it’s, it’s a—I
don’t—when I have the space to answer that question, like I do here, that you’ve created for
me, then I actually quite enjoy it. Because I do get to notice what you just noticed. Um, it’s,
it’s—you know, it’s, it’s when I’m, it’s when I’m in a setting—that’s why I love deep
conversations. That’s why I like this podcast.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: You know, because it’s in a setting where you’re just sort of—the small
talk, which I can play that game, but I can’t, I can’t say everything I just said, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: There’s something—I’m so bad at that game.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: I just opted out. Oh my gosh.
But so many times that like, at the office, someone will come up and start talking about
something. I’m like, I casually exit. Hahahaha.
Oh, you’re gonna love this actually. I thought of you when this happened. Um, you know how
like people ask you like, “Oh, how are you?”
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: “Good, thanks. How are you?”
Zack Bodenweber: Yup.
Viktoria Levenberg: So I had this interaction with someone, and then their response to my
“Good, thanks. How are you?” was, “Good, thanks. How are you?” I was like, you literally just
asked me that.
You’re kidding me.
Right?
Zack Bodenweber: That’s hilarious. You should have just sent it right back. Hahaha.
Two hours later.
Viktoria Levenberg: We’re just gonna play ping pong.
Zack Bodenweber: Two hours later. “Good, thanks. How are you?”
“Good, thanks. How are you?” Hahaha.
Next thing you know, the sun sets, it’s dark, you know. Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: You still good?
Yeah, you?
I’m good.
Yeah. Hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh wow.
Viktoria Levenberg: So Zack, tell me, you know, you’ve shared so much about yourself, and
yourself as a multifaceted human being, you know, incredible person. What’s one thing that
doesn’t show up on your official bio that you’d be comfortable sharing?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, what doesn’t show up on my official bio is—I have a business with a
friend of mine. We’re actually in the process of selling it. And we created a game that’s a
party game, and it’s a, it’s a twist on pong. It’s a twist on beer pong. It’s like a strategic
version of pong. And, and you can play it that doesn’t involve, like—none of the rules or the
gameplay involves drinking. So you can play with or without alcohol, but it’s totally like a fun,
like party game for getting people together. And um, and it’s called the Golden Island, Pong
with a Twist.
Viktoria Levenberg: Okay.
Zack Bodenweber: And, and so that is totally something—and again, we’re in the process of
selling it right now because we tested multiple phases of this launch, and it’s in a place where
we can totally get it in the hands of someone who can take it to the next level. And the
reason we’re selling it is also because like, if we were to continue to grow it, we would really
need to be putting all of our time and energy into it. And for both of us, like, that—we did
this as a fun little side project. Like a fun, creative, like—we’ve always made, we’ve always
made up games together. Like we’re friends since high school, so we would hang out.
And we could go—we rented an Airbnb one time, and they had in the shed, they had like a
soccer ball, like three hula hoops and a frisbee. And we made an entire game, you know, that
we played for like the whole day. So that’s kind of like our—
Viktoria Levenberg: So good.
Zack Bodenweber: —how we vibe, you know. So, and we’ve always enjoyed that. So for us it
was just a fun little project that uh, is, is really—neither of us are interested in making that
like our life’s work, or dedicated, you know. So, so that’s—it doesn’t show up, I hardly ever
mention it, uh, you know, it’s not, it’s like one of those things that feels very incongruent.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Um, yeah, again, for the people who really know me, they know that, well
it’s really not. Because I absolutely love to play games and have a good time, and like all that
stuff, so it’s really not. But it doesn’t show up in a lot of these types of conversations.
Certainly not something I put on my, my bio, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: “Sign up here and get your free copy of Golden Island Pong.”
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, exactly.
So uh, yeah, yeah. So that’s, you know, that would be, that would probably be one thing. Um,
I similarly, you know, I’ve had these like kind of little fun creative projects before. I had a, I
had a T-shirt company for a while that was like, that was inspired by—do you remember, um,
do you remember the Dos Equis, most interesting man in the world commercials?
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh, look, I grew up in a third world country, so my commercials were all
in Polish. Hahahahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: Even better. That’s very on-brand, actually. So these commercials were a
lot of—I’m sure a lot of your listeners will know. These commercials were like this guy, this
like older, interesting-looking guy, who’s like, “I don’t, I don’t always drink beer, but when I
do, I prefer Dos Equis.” And the commercials are ridiculous. Like they’re like, you know, “His
mom has a tattoo that reads son.” You know, and like these types of things, you know. “His
blood smells like cologne.” You know, like these—so it was inspired by those.
Because I thought it would be so funny to have T-shirts that are from—you know when
people go to like an event, a concert, a fair, whatever, like they can get, you know,
merchandise or T-shirts. That would be so fun to have T-shirts that are just so ridiculous, that
are from events that never happened, and things that never occurred.
So, and to this day I still have a couple of the shirts, and I absolutely love them. And they’re
exactly what I wanted. Like they’re these amazing conversation starters.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: You know, um, not that I’m always in the mood for that, but like they’re—
that’s exactly, I wanted them to be.
Viktoria Levenberg: But like, come on. If you’re putting it on, you know what you’re up for.
Zack Bodenweber: Right, exactly, exactly. I wanted them to be something people look at and
they’re like, “What?” Like, so I have one that’s like um, you know, “Annual 4th of July Alpaca
Shearing Champion.”
Viktoria Levenberg: Hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: And it’s just—
Viktoria Levenberg: Hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: I have, I have another one that says uh, “Mallorca Men’s Swimsuit
Competition, 6th Place.” Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow. Oh my God. Haha.
Zack Bodenweber: So that was, that was so, that was so fun. That was so fun. And you know,
things that don’t make sense like, “Mojave Desert Scuba Diving Club.” You know, and like
things that just make no sense. Uh, so it’s just—I had so much fun with that. And I designed
them, you know, just like they were proper, proper T-shirts. Um, but, and you know, had a
good time.
But again, one of those things where like I—it’s just been a little fun side thing that doesn’t
exist anymore. I don’t have it anymore. But um, it’s just been a fun little thing, way to, way to
like channel the part of me that is creative, um, in like a humorous way, you know, or like a
playful way. Like a way for me to really channel that. And uh, so that was, that was a good
time. I enjoyed that.
Viktoria Levenberg: That’s so good.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
I wanted to take it to a place—as I’m talking about it, I’m like who knows, maybe one day—I
wanted to take it to actually where the shirts themselves became like really scarce. Like, like
they weren’t just all available online. Like there were only a certain amount, so that people,
you know, like—and then maybe, maybe charge like more than a T-shirt should cost. But—so
the idea was like, only a few people could have a version of each one. And, you know, I
wanted to send them out with like a handwritten letter.
The guy’s name was—the guy’s name behind the shirts was, cause Rebewnedob. Which is
my, which is my, Rebewnedob, which is my last name, my, my whole name backwards. Cause
Rebewnedob. And so the idea was that he was like this guy who was out having these
adventures, and you know, getting, getting—and these are like shirts from his closet or from
his experiences. So I wanted to send them out with like a handwritten thing about how this
happened, you know, and these ridiculous stories.
Uh, so, but again, just, just fun stuff. This stuff doesn’t come up in conversation. Never
mentioned on a podcast. But they’re things that I’ve, I’ve created and dabbled in that have
like really, really been enjoyable.
Viktoria Levenberg: I’ve got a follow-up question to that.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Does—cause I’m gonna butcher this—Rebewnedob show up in your
novel?
Zack Bodenweber: No.
Viktoria Levenberg: I don’t know, it just feels like this alter ego of yours. Like this dual reality
personality, you know, almost, that you’re like channelling. But I love this. Like it sounds so
fun, and thank you for sharing this, because I’d pay premium for the Mallorca Men’s
Championship Sixth Place T-shirt.
Zack Bodenweber: The sixth place absolutely kills me. Has a picture of a Speedo on the front.
Has a picture—it’s, it’s the—it’s a map of, of, or it’s a, you know, outline, like what you would
see on a map of Mallorca with a Speedo on top of it. And then it just says 6th Place. And
gosh, that one kills me. That one is so funny. That one is—it’s a tank top I wear to the gym
sometimes.
Viktoria Levenberg: That’s good. That’s good.
Wow, I mean, I just—I’m so grateful that you are opening up this kind of door to you that I
don’t often get to see.
Probably not many people get to see.
You know.
Zack Bodenweber: No. They don’t.
Viktoria Levenberg: If you’re enjoying this episode and wanna stay connected beyond the
podcast, I would love to invite you to join my newsletter. It is a soft little pause in your inbox,
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insights to really help you slow down and come back to yourself.
You’ll also be the first one to hear about new offerings, events, upcoming episodes of
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are in my bio. It is free, it is gentle, and always created with care.
Now back to the episode.
Viktoria Levenberg: And um, I was wondering actually when you started uh—
Golden Island.
Zack Bodenweber: Uh huh. Pong with a Twist, did I get that right?
Viktoria Levenberg: With a Twist, yeah.
Was that like in the Margarita Meditate—no, Manhattan Meditation days, or no?
Zack Bodenweber: Nope, that was a, that was a bit, that was a bit later. Yeah, that was a bit
later. Um, yeah. No, cause again, like it’s a game. Like it’s actually even a game that came out
of like how little I drink, right? Or I no longer do. Like, I still enjoy at a party, like, playing a
game of pong. A lot of people do. It’s very nostalgic, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. It’s really fun, to be honest.
Zack Bodenweber: It’s fun and it’s nostalgic and it’s like, yeah, you know, we were just like,
what if we, what if we brought this back in like a new way that’s a little more like—involves
some strategy and involves like some point, like different things. And it’s kind of fun and it’s
different. And that’s one of our—that’s one of our, like, part of our marketing was like, it’s
nostalgic and new at the same time.
And again, drinking is not a part of it. And just like anything, people can, people can turn Uno
into a drinking game, you know what I mean. Like people, like anything, right. So like, you
don’t, you don’t have to drink. Of course, some people do enjoy that when they play, but um,
but no, that was a, that was a different—that was a little bit later.
Viktoria Levenberg: I’ll, I’ll keep an eye out. I, I might try and see if I can, uh, you know, get
myself an OG, OG version before they’re like ten times the price. And yeah, I don’t know, like
Hasbro takes over and who knows what’s gonna happen.
Zack Bodenweber: That would be cool. Yeah, we’re, we’re looking at something big like that.
We’ve had, we’ve had conversations, preliminary conversations with like some, some big
retailers. I guess I’m realising I probably shouldn’t say their, their names. I was like, just a, just
a couple like really early conversations where again, we saw like there was potential in that
space. But we’re like, we’re not really the ones to get it there.
Once you actually get into that world, and you get to the—you get to the logistic part of it, of
the manufacturing, the shipping, the distribution, the warehousing, the pipeline, oh my
goodness. All like—that was a whole thing where I was like, okay, again, I know I can learn
this, I know I can do this. I don’t want to.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: I’m not interested in that. Yeah. I mean, I like to create. I like to create, we
created it, cool. Somebody else can take it who’s well-versed in that world, and they can run
with it, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
But this isn’t for me.
Exactly.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: And this isn’t the first time that this has happened for you, right? I think
many times in life—I know one of just recently—where there’s been a time where you’re
kind of in that situation where, ooh, maybe what I’m doing right now, this was, was right at
one point, and you’ve kind of graduated.
I was actually thinking of you as I was walking Piper earlier today. You know how like trees
lose their bark, and then they come with this like really slick, gliding kind of new inner layer,
and the old one has to fall away? I was thinking of like our conversations. I’m like, wow, like
that feels like what’s happening here.
Zack Bodenweber: Yes.
Viktoria Levenberg: As well.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, very much so. Yeah. It’s a continual process. It’s a continual process.
Um, you know, I have to say I really—there’s certain things where like, you know, what did I
just—I was saying before, like coaching, writing, and art are like the big kind of pillars of my
work. And I don’t see them going anywhere. Like they are so core to who I am. I don’t see
those going anywhere.
And then there’s other things that are more like, almost side projects. Um, even though the
job was not a side project, it was taking up a lot of my time and energy. But of course it was
tied to coaching, right. So I’m just, I’m still doing that, just in my own way.
So the—I guess what I’m saying is, I know there will be a lot of things in my life that continue
to come and go. Um, I can say right now that coaching, writing, and art feels like they’re
going to be always a part of my life. But if I—I mean, I also have to be open to the possibility
that maybe they’re not, and maybe thing—maybe things grow in another direction. Uh,
because my life has showed me that. Um, so we’ll see. But I like it.
And the one thing I don’t try to do anymore is hold on, um, to, to those things, to anything.
And I no longer really cling to too many aspects of my identity. I don’t even cling to my
identity itself, right. Again, like anybody knows me, I’m like, I’m like, oh, Zack. Like, oh, that’s
funny, just a series of like letters and a sound that I respond to. Like, I’m, I’m not Zack. And I
don’t even really consider myself to ultimately be this human form.
So I’m not—if I’m not really that attached to my identity as a whole, I’m certainly not going to
be attached to aspects of it. And all these things are aspects of it. And they’re gonna come
and go and change, just like everything else in nature does. You know, like you said, just like
those trees do.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Just like the snake sheds its skin. Right.
And I mean, you have such a strong self-awareness, which I’ve shared with you before. But
also, I know you have like a really strong spiritual practice. You’re very, dare I say, evolved in
this space, right. And, and that was an evolution throughout your journey.
But even now, as the ego tends to take over, because as much as we know we’re kind of
separate from this physical body and, and the mind, sometimes there are times when the ego
kind of runs its course and, and gets us into the thinking and all, but this is so important and
all, what if I sell this business, blah blah blah blah.
Tell me how you come back to coherence and alignment with what’s right for you. Because—
and I think I shared this with you when you spoke to me about your recent kind of transition,
you know—I was like, I was in such admiration. Because I know how hard it can be to look at
it honestly and to make that decision. And so I would just love to hear from you, like how,
how do you make those choices? And how do you tap into what’s true for you?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah. I—so one is that I have very little fear of any particular outcome.
And the only reason I can say that is because I have a profound level of trust. Of trust in the
universe, in trust in life itself, and trust in myself.
So I see those almost as different levels. Like, I think trust in ourselves is, is, you know, more
like confidence, right. Like I’m confident in my ability to navigate my life and make decisions
and find a path forward, and whatever it is. Um, and I’m—but that larger trust, I call it
spiritual trust, that trust in everything, that trust in this very experience that I’m living and
that’s unfolding. Like, I have so much trust in that.
And trust is the antidote to fear. So I have very little fear. And when there is very little fear,
the ego can relax a little bit. Cause the ego always wants to protect us, right. So if it has
nothing to protect us from, it can wind down a little bit.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: And when it winds down a little bit, and it calms down a little bit, it, it
doesn’t overshadow as much of our intuition, you know. It doesn’t overshadow what we’re
feeling. So many of us are so caught up—the ego is so loud, and the thoughts in our head are
so loud, uh, and a lot of it is coming from a place of fear, scarcity, lack, that, that it—it’s so
noisy that it’s hard to pay attention to what’s underneath all of that noise.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Which is the realm of our, you know, our felt intuition, our heart, our gut.
And so it’s because my ego is a bit relaxed, I’ll say, uh, that I feel like I have much more direct
access to how I feel about a particular situation, and what I feel is right for me. You know, I
call that like Know with a capital K, right. So I, I feel like that, that taps—that brings me into
that knowing, which is a feeling, it’s not a thought.
And so I trust that feeling, and I listen to that feeling without—increasingly, cause it’s, of
course I don’t do it perfectly—but increasingly without the need to rationalize it, justify it,
weigh all the options, talk myself into or out of something. Like, more and more I just live
from that place. And I don’t feel the need to add a whole bunch of cognitive narratives on top
of it.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, I just feel it’s right, or I feel it’s not right. And I listen to that, and I
trust the rest. You know, that’s why like, my, one of my like, life mottos is: follow your heart
and find out.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Zack Bodenweber: I just find out. Yeah. And so far, I mean, shit, the more I do this, the more I
really like finding out. Because it’s usually, it’s usually even more epic than my, my little ego
could have drummed up, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Right. Like that’s the thing. It’s like, we are limiting ourselves with this
potentiality that we only conjure up in our imagination. And yet, when we, as you say, follow
the heart and find out, it’s um—you know, I always say like, may this or something even
better manifest. It’s like, because you don’t know what the universe has got in store for you.
You’ve got no idea how good it can get. Just the better it gets, the better it gets.
Zack Bodenweber: Totally, totally. That’s like the abundance vortex. And then you enter into
that, and then you’re like, oh cool, I act, I act on what’s right for me. Things work out.
Awesome, things worked out. That makes me more likely to act on what’s right for me. I act
on—things work out. And boom, boom, boom, boom. Right.
And then all of a sudden, you can even just up level that, where not just “things work out,”
things work out better than I ever could have imagined, you know. And you start to then
experience a reality that’s akin to that. And you know, your, your eyes become open to all of
the ways that life is really conspiring in your favour. And you can start to see it all around you.
And um, you know, any sort of external abundance, uh, to me is like—how do I put this. You
have, you have a lot of people who, one, when they talk about abundance, they mean
finances, right. And they, and they believe that a certain amount of—a certain financial
situation will make them feel abundant.
Meanwhile, so, so one, they’re separate from abundance, because they’re feeling like it’s
missing, and they need something in order to experience it. And because of that, they are
missing all of the ways in which life is inherently abundant. Their life is inherently abundant.
They are supported, right.
The amount of factors that come together to support their existence is something we can’t
even comprehend. Right. And the fact that everything had to happen exactly the way it
happened for 13.8 billion years for you to be right here, right now. Like, and you’re telling me
that a certain amount of money is gonna make you feel abundant? Like, give me a break, you
know. Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, yes.
Zack Bodenweber: So we tap into that frequency now. And then paradoxically, you’re more
likely to then manifest that external abundance in whatever way, shape, or form it wants to
come. And it may be different than exactly what your ego thought, you know. That is—to me,
that’s epic.
And so much of this, um, so much of this path really is like a paradox, a catch-22. I don’t really
know the right term for it. But it’s like, it comes when you no longer need it to. And you no
longer need it to when you feel it right now. You have access to it right now. So everything
else becomes secondary. Everything else becomes bonus.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Tends to show up, and even if it doesn’t, you’re good. So it really doesn’t
matter, you know. And that’s a great way to get out of that ego’s trap of like, oh, I have to
feel abundant now because then I’ll actually get what I want. Like no, that’s just transactional,
right. You know, you really have to feel it now to the extent where it doesn’t even matter if
you have whatever it is or not, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. And what’s your secret? How do you get into that state of
abundance now? I mean, you know, I’m just thinking, someone who doesn’t practice this on
a daily, this might seem so abstract. So like, tell me, how do you tap into that, um, infinite
abundance that is available to you at every moment?
Zack Bodenweber: Well, for me, I’ve started to do this so much that it—that, that um, and
recognise it all around me, and tap into it so much, that it’s becoming more and more of my
set point.
Because you know, we talk about neuroplasticity. Um, but that also includes our emotional
experience. We can change our emotional set point, and we can condition ourselves into new
ways of feeling, not just thinking, but new ways of feeling. And uh, so I’ve largely done that
over the course of, of a long time. Um.
But I would say, I do this with sometimes a lot of new clients is just—it’s not, it’s not
groundbreaking, but when you actually understand what’s going on, it kind of is. Of whatever
it is that they believe is going to make them feel the way they wanna feel—
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Zack Bodenweber: Go into a visualisation practice, right. Close your eyes. Feel yourself having
it right now.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: What would it be like?
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: What would you feel like? What would you breathe like, right? What is
your reality like? And you’re starting to tap into that frequency, and you’re doing it through
the power of imagination.
I believe that our imagination is a God-given creative power. I don’t know—I’m not in the
inside of the brain of any other animal. I don’t think any other animal has an imagination
like—
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, I don’t think so.
Zack Bodenweber: I don’t think so, right? I don’t even think they have much of a past and
future, right. We have this amazingly developed brain that, you know, can think abstractly
about life, rather than like, rather than what’s just here—for better or worse.
So I’m like, I’m like, alright, let’s use that feature, like rather than a bug, let’s use that as a
superpower, to imagine whatever it is you want is here right now. And then you can directly
access that feeling right now. And then you can start to, you know, through that creative
power that you have, and then you can become familiar with it. And the more you do that,
you—the more you start to condition your body and your mind to be in that state.
And then the less you need to like, really consciously try, you know. Um, but that’s it. So that
could be—it’s could be as easy as that. And um, I think that’s amazing. To me that’s like
tuning a radio station, you know, into, into the channel you want. To me, that’s kind of what
it’s like. Your antenna is your imagination. And you’re like, what, how do I feel right now?
Cool, okay. What would make me feel that way? Oh, that. Let me just imagine that’s
happening, and boom, I feel that way right now.
Then people come out of that, I’m just like, what? Like what just, what just happened? What
just happened? Did you just realise that you actually have access to that, that very feeling you
want right now? Which also means you have access to everything you want right now,
because everything we want is a state of being. It’s a feeling. The mind just has different ways
we believe it’ll get there, right?
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Which is, by the way, based on past experiences. Based on the way we’ve
been—that we’ve been told that’ll make us feel right. Um, or the way we’ve seen or
observed. Meanwhile, we all have access to this. I know we talked about this in our episode
on the Self-Explorers Club, like, you know, we all have access to this right now. And we can
do—we can experience that directly through the power of our imagination.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, yes. Because we have that unique ability, as you say, to create our
reality, to envision a different possibility. Yes. And some teachings that I’ve heard as well—
again, to your point, can’t validate it, because I’ve, at least in this lifetime, haven’t been a
dog. Um, or any other animal. But apparently, human beings are also the only creatures who,
um, are able to shift their frequency on demand. So their emotional state, which is again that
radio tuning fork that you’ve been speaking about. How awesome.
And to experience the full spectrum of emotion.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: As well, right? Like, like how cool is that?
Zack Bodenweber: Yes.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: We do. We have such a rich, diverse emotional landscape.
That’s fun.
And when you learn to enjoy, enjoy all colours of that palette, you know, and just really
experience the raw sensation of it, and welcome all of it—
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Life, life takes—life takes on a totally different direction.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. So if I were to take kind of your experience, and your innate ability
to create your reality, right. And let’s say like I’m a brand new client, and I am—
Zack Bodenweber: Mhm.
Viktoria Levenberg: I know it’s bedtime, don’t worry. I’ll let you go beddy-bye soon.
It’s like—it’s alright, I’m watching the clock.
Do you want me to tuck you in?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, that’d be great, thanks.
Viktoria Levenberg: I got a little wheat bag I can warm up for you if you’re cold.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, yeah. No, I’m, I’m, I’m—I’m locked in. Don’t let my lawn—my lawn
dear goodness. Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: What was that?
Zack Bodenweber: Don’t let my yawn fool you. I’m locked in.
Zack Bodenweber: Okay.
So if you were a new client of mine—
Viktoria Levenberg: So if I was a new client and I was coming to you lost, unsure,
overwhelmed, effing stressed out. Like I didn’t even know where to begin. You, you know
those people, like, they wake up, and they probably snooze the alarm 30 times. And then
they’re like rolling out of bed, they’re already late, coffee spilling on the white shirt. Like, it’s
like everything’s falling apart, right?
Zack Bodenweber: Using that imagination, right here?
Viktoria Levenberg: I am, using that imagination.
Cause also, I’ve been there. I like mentally travelled back.
Zack Bodenweber: You like, you know, memory. Maybe that’s memory, actually.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hashtag mems.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mems.
Zack Bodenweber: That’s a mem right there.
Viktoria Levenberg: That’s a mem.
Zack Bodenweber: So that person comes from—
Comes to me that you just describe—the white sheets have coffee all over them.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: Where do they start?
Viktoria Levenberg: Where do they start? They’re like, “Zack, I need help but I don’t know
where to start.”
Zack Bodenweber: We start 100% with the present moment. And we realise—and we, we
enter into it and we realise just how, how much peace and stillness is available to us right
now.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Right? And how much of so many of the things that are stressing us out
exist in the activity of the mind.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: Right. And they exist in time. So we enter into the present moment, and
we free ourselves of those things. It doesn’t mean we don’t have to come back to them, it
doesn’t mean we’re not going to address them, but we give ourselves respite.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Because that’s what’s most needed in that moment of chaos and
overwhelm, is to slow down. And that’s why a lot of my coaching sessions begin with
presence, because I know people’s lives, and I know that a lot of times they are going from
one thing to the next. And sometimes that next thing is a meet—a session with me. So we,
we absolutely have to take that time to immerse ourselves in the present moment, to make
the most of our time together. You know. Um, so yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: And universally—I mean, I have a client right now who I work with in a
little bit of a unique way. She really doesn’t, “I want coaching,” she really doesn’t hire me for
coaching. We meet together every other week for a half hour.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: And we just do a guided meditation.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: And we just drop in together. And for her that is so—and it’s all centred
around present moment. And for her that is such a—that is such like a, a relief.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: And that is such a, such a value. She’s a really high-performing executive,
probably right up your alley in terms of, you know, somebody you love to work with. Um, and
uh, and that is something she values so much. That having that time, having that on her
calendar is something, is, is what she wants. And yeah.
And every time she’s like, “Oh, that’s nice. Oh, oh, this is really nice. Like, oh yeah, I forgot. I
forgot that this is available to me right now. Yeah, thank you for reminding me. Thank you for
showing me. Thank you for taking me back into that.”
Cause I always tell people, I’m like, you don’t need me to do that, right. I can, I can help, but
you know, I can facilitate, but you know, you did that.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, but, but yes and no, right. Because it—where she is at right now,
right, we always talk about meeting people where they are. She does need you. Because you
provide the accountability. Like, if that was just a reminder on the calendar, that’s easily
deleted. Versus, here is someone showing up for me, who is holding this space for me.
And also, you know, you have a very distinct energy about you, that I’m like, oh yeah, I would
jump onto a grounded meditation with you every fortnight anytime. You know, so yes, it is
available to her at all times, and the additional value and permission slip that you are
providing is huge.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, yeah. You’re right, you’re right about that. You know, I think I, I think
I mean “need” in more of like a, more of like a macro way. Like, almost like, you know, like
presence is available to you. It’s not only through me. And I think you’re spot on. This
particular time, and this context, like, like that is a need I’m meeting, for sure. You know, like I
hear you there.
This is—it’s really special. It’s really special, because it’s—to me, what’s so special about it is
how simple it is. And just like, you know, just like I know, just like our clients know, simple is
not easy.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Simple is—I should say, simple is not always easy.
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Zack Bodenweber: Sometimes I—even when it comes to this, sometimes I even gently
challenge that. Because she’ll come out—I know, I was the one to say it. But I, I mean, I want
to acknowledge that people can hear this and say, “It’s easier said than done.”
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: And, and kind of feel like that. And whenever I come out of those
meditations with that client of mine, it’s like, oh, that actually was easy. That was, that was,
that was, that was easy. It was actually the letting go—like, your work is so much about that
too, right? It was actually the letting go of the effort, and the striving, and the willingness,
and the, you know, all of that stuff. Letting go of that was actually the easiest thing ever, you
know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: It was, it was ease itself. That’s what we did together, you know. But it—
but you’re right. It’s all the stuff that surrounds it. It’s, you know, the accountability, it’s
remembering those things, it’s making time for those things in your day, making them a
regular part of your life, making them a consistent practice. Just like any behavioural change,
that’s—that is challenging, for sure.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
It is challenging. And I think especially for people like your client that you’ve described, you
know. If you’re constantly going from meeting to meeting, and um, you know, I always think
of like Newton’s law of physics. That object in motion stays in motion.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, right. And so you need something to stop it.
Zack Bodenweber: Yes.
Viktoria Levenberg: Like, just stop.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh, that’s so good.
That’s what it is.
Viktoria Levenberg: Right.
Zack Bodenweber: That’s what it is.
I’m the equal opposite force.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly, exactly.
Zack Bodenweber: That’s—I love that you just said that in like describing again a lot of the
people you work with, right. It’s like go, go, go. You’re helping them slow down, find that
balance, right. Take care of themselves. Um, when I was working with people with depression
a lot, I also used that: an object at rest will stay at rest. You know, like that to me was like—
they were an object at rest, you know.
And in terms of just a lack of motivation, a lack of momentum in their lives. And then to your
point, we can also be on the other end of the spectrum. Way too much, we’re not—we
haven’t slowed down in weeks, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Well, it comes back to the nervous system, right. It’s like that hypo and
hyper-arousal. And at the end of the day, just bringing—like this is what Resonance is about.
This is why I named the podcast Resonance. It’s like bringing your nervous system into
resonance and alignment. I love—everything falls out and into place from there.
And if you’re not too sleepy, I do have one more question that I would love to hear your lens
on before we kind of tie things up. Is that alright? Yeah? You good, or you kind of like— “It’s
like, Dad”.
Zack Bodenweber: I’m good., I’m, I’m real—I’m, I’m like, I’m real good. Trust me.
Viktoria Levenberg: Okay, good. Um, so you mentioned earlier presence, and I agree with
you, it is so important. And I really wanna hear your side of this, being, you know, someone
who’s also worked in the medical—kind of, you’re, you’re a licensed social worker, you’ve
been very much in, in that space. Yeah.
What if presence feels dangerous to someone? Like what if it’s too scary to be with what is?
Because I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely felt that, where it was like—I, I started my
meditations with like a one minute, and that was already a lot. Because when you’re going
about your life for decades suppressing and pushing everything away, and all of a sudden you
stop, you start to open some floodgates that perhaps need a little bit more help and
guidance. And yeah, titration.
Zack Bodenweber: My raw and honest take on that is that—and you know, coming from the
field that I’ve come from, there was always so much, um, you know, talk about like
retraumatizing somebody, right, or like, you know, going to a place that they, you know, they
can’t handle, and, and, and this and that.
I have, you know—in our field we talk about unconditional positive regard. And I have an
incredible, not only unconditional positive regard for the people I work with, but
unconditional positive belief in what they’re capable of.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: And I believe that we are capable of feeling whatever it is that’s here to be
felt. I also believe in the incredible intelligence of the body and of the beings that we’re in, to
not give us more than we can handle.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: At a given time. So I truly believe that that is something—and of course,
working with someone who can help you, can support with this process. But I do believe that
if we stay connected with our breath and connected to the felt, the felt sensation, without
going into resistance in the mind, fear in the mind, um, any sort of stories that make it worse
than it actually is—
Viktoria Levenberg: Uh huh.
Zack Bodenweber: And we just stick with the felt sensation—
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: It’s going—it, it may be uncomfortable, absolutely. But I, I do not think it is
more than we can handle. And that’s been my experience.
I, you know, again, like, I am not saying—I’m not naive enough to say that maybe in some
cases that doesn’t feel true, you know. Um. But that’s, that’s been my experience both with
myself and with other people. And I do believe the body does not give us more than we can
handle. And I believe that about life too, by the way.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah. Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: And if it does, it’s trying to show us something, you know.
Viktoria Levenberg: Then, then it’s showing you that maybe you can handle more than you
thought. Hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, yeah.
But, you know, if I look at somebody and I regard them as God in human form—and I know
some people might, might regard that as a controversial statement—but if I see them as
source consciousness, right, as a manifestation of universal intelligence, then I have to
believe they’re capable of feeling what’s here to be seen, felt, and heard.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, you know, yeah. Yeah, to explore that full spectrum of emotions.
I’m beaming right now because like, I just know that we’re seeing each other as that as well,
and I’m just like, wow. Like talk about, you know, imagine the wildlife of your wildest dreams
and it manifesting into reality right here, right now. Like, here, here it is.
And thank you for naming that—the fact that your body won’t give you more than you can
handle. Because I—that is also my experience. And um, if we’re staying in our intuition and
that felt sensation of what is right, and we don’t get into the thinking mind of like, trying to
push and, and go harder—
Zack Bodenweber: Yes.
Viktoria Levenberg: Then you likely will just let in what needs to come.
Zack Bodenweber: Yes.
Let in, let it move, right? And then, you know, everybody who’s experienced these things,
including like grief that, you know, comes in waves. It comes in waves. And there—and, and
you can handle each wave, you know. You can be with each wave. It won’t be forever. And
actually doing that allows it to move, move quicker.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. Yes.
Zack Bodenweber: You know, yeah. Um, so again, another one of those things that’s like, it’s
like a, a paradox, right? It’s like, oh actually, you know, when we don’t wanna feel it, we
perpetuate it, right? But when we do feel it, we actually allow it to, allow it to move, you
know. Yeah. Um, when we want it to be gone, it stays.
And when we welcome it, it goes.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. Hahaha.
It’s like that energy—well, what is emotion? It’s just energy in motion. It just wants to move
through you.
Zack Bodenweber: Exactly.
Viktoria Levenberg: And then off it goes into something else.
Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, who knows. But it goes into, into—
Into the field.
Viktoria Levenberg: Into the field. And energy never dies, just transforms. So who knows.
Zack Bodenweber: Exactly. Yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: Wow. Hmm. My goodness, I mean, I could keep going for hours, but like,
I just feel so, so unconscious of it. I don’t know what—like, what’s your bedtime?
Zack Bodenweber: Me?
Viktoria Levenberg: Just random question.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh gosh. Like, like 2:00 a.m.
Viktoria Levenberg: Really? Are you a night owl?
Zack Bodenweber: Absolutely. Yeah, 100%. I’ll, I’ll, I’ll make that earlier when I have to be up
early, you know, because I do value my sleep. Um, but left to my own devices, 2:00 a.m.
Viktoria Levenberg: That’s so—do you know your um, dosha type?
Zack Bodenweber: Pitta.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, I see that. Interesting. Thank you for sharing that. I’m, I’m a Vata
and I’m like in bed by 9:00, that’s already—hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: Hahaha.
I’m a—hahaha. I am, um, I have on my podcast Doctor Sheila Patel from uh, Chopra, uh, on
Thursday. So I’ll be talking to her about all things Ayurveda, and I’m looking forward to it. And
certainly, I’m sure doshas will come up.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, look forward to hearing that one.
Thank you. Everything that’s coming in your life, yeah, I mean your art, you know, everything.
And as I guess as we wrap, um, I have a signature question because I was like, that’s pretty
cool. I want a signature question to close off an episode, you know, cause yeah, high
achiever, hello.
Zack Bodenweber: Hahaha.
You got a signature question. Signature question for Q3.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hahaha.
Make sure it’s aligned with the cycle of the moon and the sea. No.
Zack Bodenweber: Hahaha.
Viktoria Levenberg: Um, out of our chat today and, you know, taking yourself into the shoes
of most likely the listeners here, just being in that overwhelmed, stressed out, burnt out
state—if there was just one thing that they could take away from our conversation today,
what do you wish that would be?
Zack Bodenweber: It’s, it’s a—it would be to, it would be to connect with the truth of who
they are. Because so much of that activity of, you know, whether it be rushing, overworking,
constant striving—so much of that is rooted in scarcity, lack, and inadequacy. And those
three things are completely opposite to who you really are.
And when you take the time to connect with that and live from that place, those things—they
often address themselves. They often address themselves, because they’re not needed.
You’re no longer living as this isolated, fragmented ego that’s separate from the whole, that
needs to prove itself, that needs to, you know, constantly achieve, that needs to strive, to
adopt somebody else’s model and somebody else’s version of success.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm.
Zack Bodenweber: Who has to rush everywhere—
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Who has to ignore themselves and their own well-being in order to
perform. No longer need to play any of those games. And if you do choose to play some of
those games, it won’t be at the expense of your well-being and your peace and your
harmony. So that’s really it to me. That’s—it’s really taking time to connect with what is
beyond you, and still, still really in essence.
Viktoria Levenberg: Exactly. That’s so powerful, you said, Zack. A writer. And I think you could
also very much just be—I don’t know, is there like verbal poets? Like out loud people who
write with their words in real time? Hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: You, you, you cut out again. Is there verbal what? I missed that part.
Viktoria Levenberg: No. Hahaha. Um, it’s okay. My brain was like rebooting as well. My brain
cut out too. Yeah. Hahaha.
You know, like you’re a writer, but also like you are so eloquent with your words.
Speaker.
That’s it. I was like, is there like—hahaha. Oh my God, well done. I was like, is there like a
word for writer but with your words? I’m not doing right now. Hahaha.
Okay, maybe my bedtime too. Um, my goodness, Zack, where can people find you if they
want to, you know, listen to your podcast, get your book, work with you. Please share.
Zack Bodenweber: I mean, right on, yeah. So, so everything will be, you know, accessible
through Zackbodenweber.com. Um, that’ll kind of point you in any direction that you’re
interested in when it comes to exploring my work. Uh, on Instagram it’s Zack.bodenweber.
And um, also Substack is where I write and also have the podcast. So it is on Apple, it is on
Spotify, but I publish it right to Substack, and that’s also where my writing lives. So that is, uh,
substack.com, um, I believe slash Zackbodenweber, something like that. But you’ll find me
there too. And if you go to my—
Viktoria Levenberg: We’ll link it all up, exactly. I’ll put it all in the show notes. And don’t forget
about Zack Paul Studio as well.
Zack Bodenweber: Excuse me, Zack Paul Studio. Come on. How can you—
That’s where my—all is so interesting.
Like, specifically looking at my artistic stuff, my, my painting and all of that. You can do that
too—Zack Paul Studio. And that’s also Zackpaul.com. Z-A-C-K Paul dot com.
Viktoria Levenberg: And Paul’s your middle name?
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, Paul’s my middle name. Yep.
Viktoria Levenberg: And where’s Bodenweber from?
Zack Bodenweber: Germany.
Viktoria Levenberg: Oh, no way.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, yeah.
Viktoria Levenberg: How far back?
Zack Bodenweber: I don’t know the details, unfortunately.
Viktoria Levenberg: Hmm, yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: I am curious though.
Viktoria Levenberg: But I don’t know if you know this, but I grew up in Germany. I’ve got a
German passport.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, yeah. I was, I was wondering where you’re from.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yeah, like yeah, Germany ancestrally. Yeah.
Zack Bodenweber: Bodenweber.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mhm, there you go.
Zack Bodenweber: Yeah, so.
Viktoria Levenberg: Mystery to be solved.
Zack Bodenweber: I think so.
Viktoria Levenberg: Thank you so much.
Zack Bodenweber: Thank you, Vik. It was such a pleasure being on Resonance.
Viktoria Levenberg: It is always such an honour and a privilege to share space with you. Like,
my cup is so full, my eyes are tearing up again, as they do for some weird reason most times
when I speak to you.
You just have that effect on people.
You just make me cry. Um, haha, happy tears.
Zack Bodenweber: Thank you.
Viktoria Levenberg: And for igniting the first Pillow Talk episode on Resonance. This might
become a thing. Who knows.
Zack Bodenweber: There we go. I’m happy to run it back anytime. That’s how the time zones
are working, so we—I’m happy to do it anytime.
Viktoria Levenberg: I love it. Alright. I love it.
Amazing. Well, have a good sleep. Don’t stay up too late. Hahaha.
Zack Bodenweber: No promises. And you have a great day yourself.
Viktoria Levenberg: Yes, I will. Sending so much love to you.
Zack Bodenweber: Oh, thank you.
Viktoria Levenberg: Thank you. Talk to you soon, my friend. Bye.
Zack Bodenweber: Bye.
Viktoria Levenberg: And that is a wrap, my friends. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I feel
so inspired and so lit up after this conversation. And Zack’s—one of his life mottos is “Follow
your heart and find out.” Hmm. It just resonates so strongly because like, when has your
heart ever been wrong, right? Like, when has anyone told you—like, you know, the
acceptance speeches at the Grammys or the Olympic gold medallists being like, “Oh, I just
listened to what was in my head.” Like, no. No. No, no.
It’s like, follow, follow your heart. And I think that’s so, so powerful. Um, alongside the
invitation to connect with the truth of who you are. Because all of a sudden, everything
becomes so much clearer as you allow that to come through.
So, as you let this episode kind of sink in and integrate, the action step that I would have for
you is to get curious and perhaps tap into your heart and ask it what it would want. Um, I will
link up a little download just below this video if you would like me to guide you through a
brief, um, little mindfulness moment that’ll help you connect to your heart and help you find
out what it might have to say.
So that’s a really nice and easyful, accessible, connected way for you to start to explore this
work. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you. I will see you soon. Bye for
now. Lots of love.
Viktoria Levenberg: Okay, quick pause. Let’s just take a brief moment to take a deep breath.
In through the nose—
And out through the mouth—
Hmm. How yummy is that?
Hey, if mindfulness has ever felt confusing or too hard to start, I created a free online course
called Live in Presence: 8 Days of Mindfulness to help you come back to yourself gently. You
can sign up for free using the link in the show notes below at lvnhealth.co or through the link
in my bio at @lvnhealth.
Viktoria Levenberg: The views and opinions expressed by guests on Resonance are their own,
and do not necessarily reflect the views of me, Viktoria Levenberg, LVNHealth, or anyone
working within the LVNHealth brand. This space welcomes a diversity of ideas, experiences,
and stories. Part of Resonance is learning to take what aligns, and gently leaving the rest.
Also, while I am a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and deeply passionate
about well-being, this podcast is intended for educational and inspirational purposes only.
Resonance does not substitute personalised medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice.
Always seek guidance from qualified professionals for any physical, emotional, or mental
health concerns.
