I like sitting with men around a square table, drinking beer and talking about football. And I also like sitting in circles with women on yoga mats, breathing deeply and talking about chakras. Anything wrong with that? Beyond the Noise – a search for modern happiness. Maybe the answer is somewhere on that bridge between worlds. Listen here or read below: 5 findings in 5 minutes after 5 conversations – and a U-turn. Photo: Illustrations of chakras and of tifo fra FC Copenhagens fan section.
I thought my project was about crossing a bridge. From my old life to a new one. From Western science to Eastern wisdom. Saying goodbye to a lot of things and welcoming a lot of new things.
But after five podcast conversations with medical doctors, psychotherapists, yoga teachers and business leaders, something became clear: Maybe I don’t want to cross any bridge. Maybe I want to stay on that bridge. I no longer believe in leaving one island for another.
Here are my five findings — and the fifth one made me take a U-turn:
- We live far too much in our heads. Modern life keeps us thinking, reacting, scrolling and producing. Many of us have lost contact with silence, presence and the body itself.
- We treat mental health too late. We accept fitness, performance and ambition as normal. But practices connected to calmness, embodiment and emotional awareness are still often seen as “alternative.”
- People are searching for more than success. Again and again, I hear people speak about something deeper: connection, meaning, calmness and community. Not about escaping from life — but about feeling more alive inside.
- The body knows before the mind. Stress and imbalance are not only thoughts. The body reacts first. Maybe that is why yoga, breathwork and psychotherapy are becoming relevant to more and more people.
- Maybe we need both worlds. We don’t need to reject science, reason or modern life. We can connect worlds. Science and wisdom. Performance and presence. Thinking and embodiment. And maybe the answer is right there. On that bridge.
On the personal level …
On one island, I do not want to sit in spiritual circles pretending I have “awakened” from my old life, that my past was so wrong and that modern society is entirely wrong. I was never asleep, and there are so many good things in our society.
Honestly, I like sitting with men around a square table, drinking beer and talking about football.
On the other island, I do not want to sit in modern environments mocking people who are searching for something deeper. I believe we have lost something along the way. Why not be open-minded? Modern life offers us so many ways to explore what actually works for us.
And honestly? I also like sitting in a circle with women on yoga mats, doing breathing exercises and talking about chakras.
Maybe modern life has become too obsessed with choosing sides.
I believe in …
I honour my old life. All of it. I have already lived a beautiful life. I have been so lucky.
- I believe in East.
- I believe in West.
- I believe in science.
- I believe in wisdom.
- I believe in tomorrow.
- I even believe in mysteries.
- And – I do believe in yesterday.
I have a dream …
There is so much we will never fully understand. Honestly — isn’t there?
So this is my U-turn. I need to take a break.
I really want to stay on that bridge. The view from here is so beautiful. Maybe there is an island hidden beneath the bridge itself. Maybe that is only a dream. But I like that dream.
When the time is right, I will return. I will continue my search. I will continue the podcast. And I will write my next book.
Quietly, against the pace of our time
If this resonates with you, let’s connect. I would love to connect with people trying to find new ways to navigate modern life.