Former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, has done a lot since retiring from boxing back in 2005. Tyson launched a podcast named Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson in 2019 where he sits down with guest celebrities to smoke and the about life. The podcast has featured a wide range of guests from Wiz Khalifa to Jimmy Kimmel. Recently, the famed boxer sat down with Saquon Barkley, the running back for the New York Giants.

Amidst their conversations focusing on football and careers in sports, the athletes landed on the topic of enlightenment. While Tyson appears to be pretty tough on the outside, he reveals that he is somewhat in touch with his spiritual side, he states “I pretty much die when I meditate. I’m a borderline shaman, I use plant and animal medicine. I won’t say I’ve been enlightened but I’ve had divine feelings.”

 

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Life lessons with Mike

All athletes have a different approach to getting mentally prepared to train and play. Saquon Barkley explains that while he hasn’t practiced meditation in the traditional sense, he knows of teammates that do it and would be open to trying it. He explains, “I’m always trying to find any way to gain an advantage on opponents”. Meditation certainly seems to be an unexpected but effective way for overworked athletes to completely rid their minds of daily stresses. Mike’s cohost, Jeremy Piven chimes in explaining that meditation doesn’t have to be a hard-to-approach topic of discussion. Piven says, “It’s just taking 15 minutes every morning and quieting your thought and focusing on your breath. And you can do all those things, because the discipline you’ve had to have to get to the point where you’re at, just to sit and be present with yourself, and then you’re working on a higher vibration.” This approach to meditation definitely makes the practice seem more approachable.

Tyson, who has seen a lot throughout his boxing career also offers Barkley some advice on forgiveness that has been circulating the internet. “You think you’re great now? Watch how great you’re gonna be when you learn compassion and empathy. When I was you, I wanted to be a savage, I was a savage, no doubt about it.  I wanted everyone to be afraid of me, now I want everybody to love me… there’s nothing in the world someone can do to you that you can’t forgive.”

The peaceful chat went on for about an hour, offering a lot of insight into Tyson’s laidback approach to life. If you want to learn more about the professional boxer and his long roster of enticing podcast guests, you can stream or listen to his podcast on YouTube and Spotify.