SERIES 18: Episode 5 - Twinings Tea, Kerminator, Zapp, Martin Audio, Zak's Kombucha

0:00Summer's supposed to be the easy season. So why are so many people quietly googling a therapist between summer Fridays? Because more daylight doesn't fix the hard stuff. Sometimes it just turns the volume up. Grow does therapy differently. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. The therapist you want takes your insurance on Grow. Grow accepts over 125 insurance plans.

0:37Sessions average$21 with insurance and some pay as little as$0 depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com slash ACAST today to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by estate and insurance plan.

1:05Michael Douglas: It's quite funny, I've got my iPad open on photos and you know what it does like, reminds you of things. Yes. And there was a picture of us back from like 2020. Wow. It's just like, oh my God. It's so mad isn't it? It's so funny. Yes, I like the fact that it sometimes presents you with a memory or something, you know. sometimes I look in the mirror and I think bloody hell look how old I am you know so old and then pitch comes up from five years ago and you think oh no I looked old then you don't look old I'm feeling it at the moment I think we're just tired we are tired we're working hard and yeah it's like a lot but in a nice way it is nice isn't it I mean we're lucky to be busy I guess I remember analysing this idea of a work life balance and all the rest of it I think what we've done is just integrated everything into one life.

1:58Michael Douglas: Yes. There isn't a work-life balance. No, it's work and life. Our life is our work. Yeah, a little bit, yeah, but it's really enjoyable. It's not like it's a job we don't like. It's a job we love. Yeah. And all the people in it are our social life in a way. You know, so you go for a drink or lunch or a dinner with them or you talk about things outside of work and work. It's all just one big thing really, isn't it? One big kind of melting pot of creativity and ideas and thoughts. I had a really good day today. Tell me. With regards to, well, I'm putting together a pitch deck at the moment. I'm raising money from investors at the moment.

2:29Michael Douglas: It's really good. It's a bit like trying to write an album or something if you're a musician, you know. So you have a core theme, you know, to what is it you're trying to achieve, you know. Yes. And then you build a kind of story around it and each page is like a song, you know. So each page has to have a lot of information on it, but also be novel to look at and read and make it interesting and all that. In the same way, a song has to have a catch of hook. Yes, catch somebody, yeah. Because otherwise people are just looking at a screen going, oh, that's information, that's information. Can I just tell you how much I've enjoyed listening to your pitch develop?

3:05Michael Douglas: Come to life, yeah. It's good, isn't it? And every time I listen to it, I mean, don't worry, guys. It doesn't do it to me non-stop. Yeah, every so often I listen to it. Every so and often, I'll say to you, pitch it to me, I want to hear it. And I love hearing the tweaks that you do. And there are some times when you say it to me, I'm like, yes, like, oh, my God, that's so good. Use that line. Make sure you write it down and then you get it into the presentation in some way. So you refine it. I had this thought this week about, I think about all the times I've been rejected, you know, turned down by investors or turned down by commissioners or turned down by retailers or whatever it is you're trying to do.

3:43Michael Douglas: You know, you're always trying to pitch to somebody who could give you the thing you want. And I decided to reframe rejection as refinement. Exactly. And it was such a nice thing to do. I actually felt the release inside me. Because once you get rejected, you get angry and annoyed. And then you've got to live with the anger and annoyance. But I actually reframed it as refinement. Somebody said to me, no to your idea. Which doesn't mean no. It means I'm unconvinced of your idea. So you go away and refine it. Yes, that hasn't happened. Yeah, it's a yes that hasn't happened. And I thought, oh, yeah, this is really good.

4:24Michael Douglas: Every time I get a knockback, it's an opportunity to refine. I was just going to say it's an opportunity. Yeah. And also, not only for investors, but for you. Yeah, for everything. You know, that you go over it again. You go, actually, do you know what? I'm even more excited about it because now I know it's this as well. So I've had one of those days today where I've been stomping around the studio. And you know on the Wolf of Wall Street, do you remember Wolf of Wall Street with Leonardo DiCaprio? Yeah, of course. And he's got that trading floor. But at one end of the office, he's got a stage with a microphone on it.

5:01Michael Douglas: Yes. In my studio, I've got that. I've basically got a microphone. I've got a piano and a guitar and a thing. And I walk around the studio speaking into the microphone. And I've got this AI application called Otter AI, and it dictates everything I'm saying. And then it can summarize it for you. And then you could say to Otter AI, take what I've said, summarize it into a presentation, and then it turns it into a presentation. And then you can then go into that presentation and then start to say, okay, get rid of that, tweet that bit. But it comes from kind of rambling into a microphone. Yeah, great.

5:34Michael Douglas: If you're wondering at the studio today with your microphone, just like talking and pretending and presenting and all the rest of it, just in like a flow state. Great. Just getting all the information out. Yeah, such a nice way to work, you know. Well, it's perfect for you. Yeah. You know, I think it's an amazing, you need to walk and think. I have to move my body to think, you know. And I think about poor kiddies at school, you know, stuck in a chair. Yes, told to sit down. Yeah. Yeah, kids just want to get up and express, you know, whether they're in history or maths or whatever. They can't actually do it.

6:07Michael Douglas: But there's something about the education system that's in conflict with the developing mind of young children that are coming through now, you know. And they're picking up diagnosis for all sorts of things. But actually, there is no diagnosis. The system's a problem, not the child, you know. Me today with Caitlin Moran was quite funny. Oh, you've interviewed Caitlin Moran today. Caitlin? Caitlin. Caitlin, okay. She's very funny about that because she decided to change her name from Catherine. Okay. And she thought that Caitlin sounded better, but she spelt it. She'd got it from a Jilly Cooper novel or something, C-A-I-T.

6:41But when she read the Jilly Cooper novel, she pronounced it in her head, Catelyn.

6:47Michael Douglas: Okay. So even though it is actually Catelyn, she says Catelyn. Okay. and she's like it's actually been really difficult for you know 30 years i've been telling people i've had to tell people caitlin that it's caitlin not caitlin it's quite funny that isn't it she's so brilliant we know someone called catalina the dj and catalina's great name yes it's great she's a great woman right a dj called alma linda find her on soundcloud yeah follow her but uh we were at a festival recently she was playing and it was such a banging set oh god it was amazing wasn't it she's in berlin i think she must be spanish with a name like catalina but yeah she's based in berlin she plays all the kit kat club and the bergain and all that stuff but um check her out on soundcloud she's my second favorite dg gallivanta's my favorite obviously and i'll bang on about him and she's a lovely person ah she's brilliant great soul so um yeah if you're looking for something at the list, do go and check her out.

7:49Michael Douglas: Okay, do you want to roll? Yes, I do. Okay. What am I going to choose first? Okay, the first thing I think I'm going to talk about is Twining's tea. Okay, yeah, we got some gifted stuff. So we got sent a box. Now, I've got to be transparent. Twining's are going to sponsor Begin Again. Okay, nice. They didn't send me the box to talk about it on Making the Cut, but they sent the box to me to show me what they're doing because I'm going to talk about it on begin again about what they're doing and I won't have a sponsor on begin again that I don't endorse or use or like yeah yeah you know anyway we got sent this bag of goodies if you know somebody that loves tea go to the twinings website which is twinings.co.uk and I went into gifting and teaware and tea accessories.

8:47Okay, so there's a twining stainless steel tea strainer.

8:51Michael Douglas: It looks nice, yeah. There's a twining tea tidy to put your bags on. There's a loose tea scoop. There is a Pip Studio Birdhouse tea infuser. There is a matcha bamboo whisk. There's a matcha bowl. there's a matcha bamboo spoon and a twinings over ice tea shaker I mean this it just goes off this small ribbed glass jar to put your bags in to store your bags large ribbed glass jar aren't they pretty ribbed and then on the actual site you've got all of their offerings which they are I mean they make relentless different types of tea um i've got to say that my favorite was the feel good collection the senses this yes so the herbal yeah the herbal is so nice you've got metabolism glow cleanse balance and immune support and they are delicious but they've also got a wind down selection which has got sleep um a couple of sleeps are calm they look really nice the boxes are really nice they taste delish but also I just think for gifting it's not expensive but if someone loves a tea yeah this is such a good present so I'm going to recommend twinings.co.uk I also feel like tea is a love language for me like I drink a lot of tea you do the concept that any good friend of mine wouldn't know how I have my tea would be so alien like you knew you know how I take my tea I've done from the sort of like third day I've known you and even down to on a job like I have a colour that my tea has to be yes like wet sand but tenby not the Maldives Yeah.

10:56So tea is important. And I feel like it is a love language. And for somebody to understand how much you love tea is very important.

11:04Michael Douglas: Twinings for me have really like cornered the market of tea. I know you like Yorkshire tea and all of that stuff. Well, for builders, I like that. But twinings in terms of, you know, the strawberry-raspberry combo tea. We've been drinking for years. And that's a twinings. And I love... Their Earl Grey is by far and away the Earl Grey. Is it? But they do something called Lady Grey. Oh, yes, I've seen that as well. And Lady Grey is just a bit more gentle, really. I don't know if it's more oranges than lemons or more lemons and less oranges or whatever it is, but Lady Grey is even slightly weaker than Earl Grey.

11:39Michael Douglas: You know me, I like a weak tea. I mean, it's funny, isn't it, that you're a northerner and you like a weak tea? Yeah, no, I've never been a tea drinker, really. It gives me a bit of a funny stomach. it like does something to me insides and makes me feel a bit queasy milky tea yes very weak yes tea with a tiny spot first I'm a milking first person but I don't think you are all you like dark with the scale on the top and then Bosch them yeah very good so we were lounging around in the garden the other day and a guy came round um who you know to to try and decide where some wasps nests were we had some wasps like infiltrating the house and all that tell why that was a problem um because they were affecting affecting our bees we've got four beehives and we love our bees so much but the bees can cause problems big problems uh the wasps can cause big problems for the bees yeah so you know if you're you know the type of person who doesn't want to kill anything um wasps or insects or anything like that then you might not like this bit but um obviously wasps can build nests under tiles under roofs in covings on the side of houses and all sorts of things and then cause you a lot of problems.

13:02Michael Douglas: So we had this guy come round, but he actually showed us this device that he'd invented himself and you can buy this. And it's called the Kerminator, because I think his name is something Kerm. Let me find him on the internet, because this was his invention. I was actually blown away by how good it was about us. So it's pest control stuff. Yeah, and he's called James Kerman. That's right. He's the creator of the Kerminator. Anyway, show does this device. And it's like a big, long pole. And at the end of the pole, you have what looks like a bike pump. And you pump it, and it charges, if you like, fills a cavity, a vacuum, up with compressed air.

13:45Michael Douglas: And then inside that cavity is a little tube of powder. And then it's got a rod of about one and a half metres with a little bendable tube on the end. And what you do is you feed that under the tile where you know the wasp is. You click a button and it goes, and it shoots the dust. Directly. Directly into where the wasps are, but at a very safe distance for you. So you don't need to worry about it. You just go, you press it once and it's done. And then you can charge the thing again and go and see if you've got another one. But it's 150 odd pounds, this thing. If you go to the website, you can buy it from there.

14:21Michael Douglas: And I think the starter kit is 169.95. But once you've got it, you've got it. and then you know if once a summer or something if you've got a wasp's nest to come around charging somebody to come out and remove the wasp's nest is very expensive and then it's problematic and all sorts of stuff but this thing does it so i was amazed so if you're struggling with wasps so you've got a wasp nest and you don't know what to do about it go and check this out you can actually get it on amazon for 155 pounds it's called the curminator but to be honest if you go to his website i mean i know i'm selling products and tools and stuff like that on a website Amazon take quite a lot of money off you and there's a whole process when you buy from Amazon.

14:59Michael Douglas: So if you're going to buy it, just spend the extra£10 and buy it from his website because then he'll get a lot more money because he's having difficulty getting distribution for the business because growing a business is hard. But it's a really brilliant little tool. It's a brilliant business. And also that localising it so specifically is much better for the environment and for humans and for other animals, unfortunately. And there are, he was saying, there are hundreds of millions of wasp nests in nature all over the place. So we're not advocating getting rid of wasps. We're just advocating if you've got one in your home and it's causing you a problem around your family or children or pets or whatever, the Curminator is the thing.

15:36Michael Douglas: So anyway, it was great when he came round and he said, can I show you how it works? I was like, show me, show me, show me. I absolutely love devices and tools and stuff like that. But I was blown away by it. So thecurminator.com is the website or you can go on to Amazon and just put Curminator in there. But if you've got a wasp problem, no more. um i want to talk about an app that you turned me on to and it was quite funny because i was a bit reticent about it i thought oh how good can it be it's so good what was the app oh zap just zap.com so there is a zap app um and basically you can order food and all sorts of different foods they've got every single category known to man they've got new in bestsellers summer hosting seasonal clearances fruit and veg eggs and dairy water pantry essentials the gift shop the gift shop is so useful if you're going out for dinner or something and you haven't been able to get out to go and get anything sweet treats ice cream pharmacy is amazing wine cellar fresh fish spirits mixers they've got everything they've got a dalesford section skin and beauty k beauty quick bites of meals soft drinks beer cider crisp snacks cleaning laundry everything wow and if if they haven't got something on there that you want to zap you can suggest that they put it on there and they'll add it for you they sell things like ice which is really really useful love ice and they say that um they will get your delivery within 20 minutes oh it's even less yeah often it's even less right believe it so and sometimes it's like two different bike riders yeah yeah Yeah, two different orders of weather.

17:12But it's incredible.

17:14Michael Douglas: So we live in a flat during the week in West London, and it used to have Amazon Fresh nearby, but it closed for some strange reason. We literally have no corner shop. There's no little shop you can pop to to get milk or bread or whatever. And then I'd bought an ice machine, because we love ice here. We just love water bottles with ice, and drinks with ice, and all that stuff. Bought an ice machine, but it was a pain in the arse. It made a lot of noise. It didn't produce that much ice. and then I was it we're in a whatsapp group with other people in the flat and somebody had said oh just use zap if you if amazon fresh is shut and I was like why zap and I looked and I was like bloody hell anyway I ordered some ice some eggs milk and bread and all that within 15 minutes someone knocked at me door and sounded me the bags I was just like it's unbelievable now I know people might use deliveroo and all that stuff so I know there's alternatives to all this out there But I quite like being loyal to a particular brand, especially if it's done a good job for me, then bingo, I'll go back again and again and again.

18:11Michael Douglas: Yes. But I agree. I thought Zap has been superb. And I love it when you say, when I ring you on my way home from work, you'll say, I've done a Zap order. We'll have some salmon and stir fry tonight or something. I'm like, yeah. If you don't live near somewhere and places are just closing down so quickly, this is a brilliant alternative. But also I think if you said to me, oh I've been to Waitrose and I've got stuff for tea I would feel oh you've had to walk all the way to Waitrose about half a mile away and then shopping bags and all that kind of stuff I'll just say one thing it's never a problem yeah I know I would do it with joy in my heart I know but I would feel like I wish you didn't have to do that oh my god yeah and when you say I've ordered a zap it's like a relief for me you know because you've had to go and do something and I don't have to feel like Like, you know, there's a little conflict inside me.

19:03Michael Douglas: So yeah, Zap is brilliant. Yeah. Good stuff. Well, thanks for introducing me to it. Yeah, it's a pleasure.

19:11Summer's supposed to be the easy season. So why are so many people quietly Googling a therapist between summer Fridays? Because more daylight doesn't fix the hard stuff. Sometimes it just turns the volume up. Grow does therapy differently. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. The therapist you want takes your insurance on Grow. Grow accepts over 125 insurance plans.

19:48Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com slash ACAST today to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash ACAST. growtherapy.com slash ACAST. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. There's never been a better time to get outside and experience the benefits of nature. Discover nearby trails and explore the outdoors with all trails. Download the free app today and find your outside.

20:29Michael Douglas: As you know, I like to theme my years with different things. And this year I themed my life with sound. I was interested in sound, how the ear works. How do you hear great sounds? Why is it sometimes sounds don't feel as good as others? And then obviously we both absolutely adore music. So I was really interested in how do you create the best sound experience if you're playing someone a song or you're hosting a party or whatever. Anyway, we had a party recently and Galavanta came and DJed for us and insisted that I ordered a sound system for him. And I was a bit like, oh, great. Because when I've heard Galavanta play when it's a private party and he is in control of the sound, I cannot believe what I'm hearing.

21:17Michael Douglas: Yes. It is so pure. Clear and crisp. Loud. Yes. Zero distortion. Yeah, it is amazing. And just unbelievable. I agree. The sound is in you and around you. And I was just like, wow. So when he said, oh, yeah, order me this, and he sent me this list of stuff he wanted. There was a range called D &B, and it was some 7YP speakers, stands, and some 6B stubs and an 80 amp or something. God, look at you. I know. Well, I've made a note of it all. God, amazing. I might not hire it. I might just buy it all. Right. So I priced it all up, and it was 48 grand. I was like, what? No wonder it sounds bloody good, you know.

21:57Michael Douglas: So anyway, we had this party and he played and I was like, wow, the sound's good in here, you know. So when we set up the basement downstairs, we had an audio person come in and provide us with some speakers. And he installed these things called Martin Audio XP15 active speakers. So they've got built-in amps in the speakers. Most speakers are passive, so the amp is in the stereo or whatever. So anyway, I've really enjoyed these speakers, these Martin Audio speakers. So this is what I'm recommending, is to have a little look around. Have a check out the Martin Audio website and have a look.

22:34Michael Douglas: But Gallivant have put these subs in, these bass subs. Now, Sonny, my son has been telling me for ages to say, you've got to get subs in the basement. And I was a bit like, we don't need subs in the basement. We've got a great sound system down there. It's fine. Anyway, after Gallivant's play, I was like, fuck it, let's get some subs. So anyway, I'd taken a credit card out about 15 years ago to pay for some designs for a business I was trying to get off the ground in. It didn't work, but I ended up with 12 grand debt. So I had this credit card with 12 grand debt on. So I just set up a standing order to pay off the debt.

23:09Michael Douglas: Anyway, I looked last week and I'd paid off the debt like a year ago and I was now three and a half grand in credit on a credit card. Oh, wow. I had no idea. What a gift. All of a sudden I was like, what, three and a half grand? Oh my God, that is so funny. So I decided to go on to Martin Audio and I bought XP18 subs, two of them, and then stands. So now I've got these two big subs coming for the basement and then the speakers will go on the stands above them. So we'll have this full sound. So I think I've probably overdone it a bit. So I'm going to find out. And it may well be that I need to sell the two Martin Audio speakers and get some slightly smaller speakers and then the sub will fill the sound.

23:49Michael Douglas: But anyway, I'm basically saying to people, this has been a really enjoyable hobby for the last, what was it, we're into eight months? Yes. The eighth month. And I have learned so much about sound and how it works. And as you know, we both like singing. So we've got a PA system down there and we can sing and all the rest of it. And how to get a sound where you feel like, okay, that's my voice. I like the resonance of it and the sound of it. And now I can sing. Actually, the effects that you have on a voice are really important. Oh, yes. Like, you like reverb, I like no reverb. I actually like delay, so you get a little echo once you sing, and it resonates a little bit longer.

24:31Michael Douglas: You can hide behind the delay a little bit. If you're slightly out of tune here and there, you can wing it a bit. But anyway, go and check out Martin Audio Speakers. And if you really like sound, it is really worth the investment because it is such an enjoyable thing I do where you find a song and you think, I really want to go and listen to it, immerse myself in the depth of this song. Yeah, yeah. In the middle of the room. Yeah. Well, these subs are coming this week. I'm so excited this weekend. So this weekend, Sunday, let's get five songs each together and go downstairs and really like blast it out and see what it's like, yeah?

25:08I'm so excited.

25:09Michael Douglas: So Martin Audio is a website, but they don't sell direct from the website. You'll need to go to various audio output places. But the collection of Martin audio speakers are brilliant, utterly brilliant. So fill your boots and enjoy yourself. I've loved watching you. Love sound. Yeah, okay, great. It's very nice watching somebody learn something about something but also fill a hole in their heart. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's like there was something missing and sound has filled it. And I love the fact that it's art and science together. You know, you've got the technical aspect of the speakers and then you need the art to put through the speakers.

25:51Michael Douglas: Speakers are useless without the art, you know. So it's like a canvas or something for the work, you know. And look at all the ways that sound is helping in medicine. That's incredible. So healing. That's it mind-blowing. Okay. So I want to talk, I don't think I've talked about this before, but I'm not entirely sure, but I want to talk about Zach's Kombucha. So we found out about Zach through Hearth to Bakery, which is in, we've got to big them up. Yeah, it's in Tampbridge Wells. We've talked about them before and they're amazing sourdough, but Zach's Kombucha we found there. And on the website, which is zackscombucha.com, Z-A-K-S and then kombucha.com, he's got on the front page a drawing of a man holding, which is slightly Raoul Dahl-esque.

26:40Yes, it is.

26:41Michael Douglas: Yeah, yeah, the drawing. But when we met him the other day, because he actually delivered our kombucha, that is exactly what he looks like. That is actually what he looks like, which made me laugh so much. Anyway, I love the fact that on the first page, it says, buy some booch. Oh, great. He's our guy. Yeah, yeah. Buy some booch. That's what I call it. Now, I don't drink alcohol. I need something that I can drink that isn't bad for me well that isn't like a child's drink as well isn't it because it's like booze for adults soft drinks for children and it's like yeah and I love I love Coke Zero right but I know it's not good for me and I shouldn't you know I could easily have three or four Coke Zeros in a night if somebody's hitting the wine you know if they want to have like half a bottle of wine I'll have three or four that's not good all of that fake sugar is terrible but zach's kombucha it's fermented it is good for my gut excuse me and what i really like about it is that um he's got two different bottle sizes but we always go for a case you know case of the big yeah the other day we bought three cases of the big we've nearly finished it um but it's always seasonal which i love so he does a core range of sparkling oolong ginger and turmeric citrus hops and lavender all of them are delicious and then there's seasonal flavors so he also tops up with some seasonal flavours so nettle elderflower and strawberry strawberry blew my mind it was so delicious but he's got five stars across the board um oh we have talked about it that is really funny zach's kombucha is off the charts amazing it's unbelievably good so zach you You are very lucky because you've just had another recommendation from us.

28:36So I'm just saying, he is great, the kombucha is great, get some.

28:41Michael Douglas: Yeah, good work. I came up with an idea for a t-shirt this weekend. As you know, I've got one at the moment that says insecurity. You can see it on the camera, isn't it? So I had quite a good one that just says, it's all true. Yes. Just says that. And someone might say, what is? And I would say, all of it. I love it. You like that? Yes. Because you know the idea of a lie, you say, is it true that you told a lie? Like, yes, that's true. You know, like, everything's truth in a way. I thought it was quite good, that. I also had this other one that I thought was quite good, which is like you find somebody who doesn't believe in God and you say to them do you believe in God and they say no and they say I want you to close your eyes think for a minute just empty your mind and I want you to say God are you real?

29:44Michael Douglas: and then I would say did he say yes or no?

29:50oh my god wait hang on a minute is this a thing we're going to try?

29:54Michael Douglas: I thought that was really funny You know, like, you know, like this idea that I've got a voice in my head talks to me and I talk back to it. I'm always like, is that me or is it God? You know, like, what is it? Who is it? You know. Like your subconscious. Yeah. Like. So is it like the universe or God or whatever you want to call it? Whatever you want to call it. Yeah, yeah. I did see a brilliant post. You showed it to me the other day where just to say you are not pushing religion. No, no. This is just a thought. No. And an idea. Yeah, yeah. But we're open to everything, which we don't know. Yeah, nobody does.

30:31Michael Douglas: Nobody knows. But you showed me very, very, because I talk about the universe all the time. The universe provides. Yeah, yeah. The universe will show me what to do. I ask the universe and the universe answers. But somebody was saying on Instagram about how they'd swapped the word universe for God. Yeah. And it was like God provides, God tells you what to do. It's like, oh. Oh, yeah, like everything that I was saying could be replaced with the word God. And what was interesting in Narcotics Anonymous was that it was a spiritual program. Yeah. And you did need to believe in something bigger than you.

31:06And it didn't matter what it was, but it had to be a higher power, something that was more important than you, because your ego is going to get in the way of your recovery. And so you need to be humbled in some way.

31:21Michael Douglas: So what is it? The God of? your understanding, the God of your understanding, which is a great way to do it. It's a great way of looking at it, isn't it? I'm not a Christian or a Catholic or Jew or anything like that. I'm not really interested in organised religion at all. But I am open and curious to the idea that something created everything and that something could be defined as God. And then also, like you say, the idea is that we've actually just changed the language to make it more acceptable for us. So we talk about the new consciousness and consciousness. I think we're all feeling it. Are we all feeling it?

31:52Michael Douglas: We're all feeling it. We're all feeling it. Some people are a bit scared to say. And then the universe. But then also we've all started talking about manifestation. Yes. I mean, like it's a completely normal thing, but it's interesting. Yes. Yeah. I mean, that's what it is. Manifesting is praying. I want this to happen. You know, could you help me, universe? You know, it's just like, oh, hang on a second. Sorry. You've just absolutely blown my freaking mind. Yeah. So what is. So when we're talking about manifesting, it's actually the same thing as praying. It's exactly the same thing as praying, yeah.

32:24Michael Douglas: But what's happening is, for some strange reason, culture, whatever it is, is repackaging religion back to us in an acceptable form. And we are sucking it up like nobody's business. We're all going to festivals and we are worshipping. We are singing hymns. They're modern hymns. and we were all congregating in a congregation. I'm free to do what I want to do. Well, what God will let you do. Anyway, I just thought it was so bad that this stuff is kind of emerging and we're all like, oh, hang on a second. Praying is hilarious. Yeah, isn't it just? Anyway, I just thought that was very funny. And just to be clear, I'm not interested in organised religion at all, but I am interested in my experience of being alive and what it means, you know, and how you're supposed to come to terms with it.

33:17Michael Douglas: Yeah, well, you've blown my mind with that, so thank you. Oh, my God, it's a total pleasure. Let's do a couple of shout-outs and then we'll go out for dinner. We are going out for dinner tonight, ladies and gentlemen, with Dr. Becky Spellman. Yeah, so good. Yeah, she's a great friend of ours. So brilliant. You can go follow her. She's a clinical psychologist. She does lots on YouTube. She's got an amazing business, helping people. It's some kind of clinical practice of psychologists. But we're going out for dinner with her and her boyfriend tonight, So we're looking forward to that. Right. Let me read out a couple of bits and pieces here in general.

33:52Michael Douglas: So we've got Hannah Benworth. And she says, hello. I hope you're both well. It's lovely to have you back in my ears again. I'd like to make another recommendation. It's called the Fairytale Wardrobe. Fairytalewardrobe.co.uk. A family-run business making beautiful, uniquely designed, high-quality children's fancy dress outfits. Oh, my God, this is such a good idea. Wait, tell me what it's called again. Thefairytalewardrobe.co.uk They are incredible and very much worth the price. Such good quality, durable, washable and all CE approved. And super safe too. Oh, my God. We've blown our minds. No, but wait.

34:30Can the Fairytale Wardrobe start making this stuff for adults?

34:34Michael Douglas: Yeah, exactly. Oh, my God. Little princess outfits. No, look. Oh, you've got it on your... I've got it on my computer. Oh, God. Please, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. Yeah, loads of five-star customer reviews. Oh, my God. Loads of brilliant stuff in there. Yeah,£70 is pretty good for them. The Fairy Godmother Cape. Let's get one. Oh, okay. The Fairy Tale Wardrobe, amazing.co.uk. It's got lovely fairy tale books. What a brilliant idea. Thank you so much for that, Hannah. Hannah Benwitha, thanks so much. Louise Sims said, I love listening to the podcast and I've been listening for the past couple of years, especially love when a recommendation leads you to some deep, meaningful chat.

35:23Michael Douglas: I'd love to recommend this book by a self-published nutritionist about gut health. As a woman in midlife, I found Wendy brilliant at sharing advice in a way that's accessible based on real life. Nourish to flourish is packed full of valuable information and gut friendly recipes. So that's available on Amazon and it's called Nourish to Flourish and it's by someone called Wendy. Let me see if I can get her name. Wendy Hill. And it's got loads of five star reviews. So well done. And it's self-published as well. So good work. Oh, good. Well done, Wendy. That's such a nice thing to do to self-publish, I think.

36:00Michael Douglas: It says transform your health and vitality in just 28 days. I cannot tell you the difference tweaking your diet makes. Yeah, you've really noticed that recently, haven't you? Yeah. I remember at school, you know, you'd have to program computers when I was at school. You know, you had these IBM BBC type computers, you know, and you'd put them in and then you'd get error. and the teacher would say, yeah, yeah, it's because you've input the wrong information so you get a bad outcome. And then it clicked in my brain that your body is that. You put in bad information, you get a bad outcome. And the bad information is food with bad stuff in it and then you get a bad outcome, you know.

36:40Michael Douglas: And I remember working that out when I was like 11, you know. And it still stays with me, that concept, that metaphor, you know, garbage in, garbage out, that kind of thing, you know. Kelly McClory I only listened to your podcast yesterday and bringing the film once back to my mind that I loved so much when I first saw it to hear Glenn Hanson died today was heartbreaking he was an incredible musician and my husband and I often watched him either on YouTube or RT what a tragedy and a terrible loss in his family and friends makes that film the more poignant now yeah let's definitely try and watch once this week can we watch that later or something yeah yeah maybe try it tonight There is a film in Once and it's called, sorry, there's a song in Once and I think it's called Tell It To Me Now.

37:26Michael Douglas: And it's where he sings lovely gentle song and then he explodes and his voice is big, like big and booming, beautifully in tune. And in the film, it's the opening of the film, he's busking in Grafton Street and he sings it and you're like, wow, who can sing like that at that level? And it's brilliant. So tell it to me now, I think, or give it to me now. It's in the one soundtrack, but that's a fantastic song just to finish off with. Okay, that was good, wasn't it? Should we get ready and go out? Let's get ready and go out. Okay, I love you, doll. I love you too. And everybody else listening, love, love, love.

38:01All the way.

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