Your Thursday Three Things for May 15, 2025
The Heart is Not Just a Pump - It's the Control Center You Forgot to Check in With!
Brought to you by me, Jon Macaskill, from Frogman Mindfulness, and Will Schneider—together we are Men Talking Mindfulness.
We’re used to living from the neck up. Thinking. Planning. Grinding. We navigate life through calendars, logic, emails, and adrenaline... all of it driven by the brain.
And yet…
We all have moments where logic fails. Where the map doesn’t match the terrain. Where the mind says one thing but the heart quietly whispers another.
Most of us have been trained to ignore that whisper.
Until we can’t.
A Wake-Up Call... on the Operating Table
Last week, Will and I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Fernando Lamounier, a world-class cardiac surgeon and deeply grounded practitioner of mindfulness.
This is a man who performs surgeries to literally keep people alive… and he still says the biggest transformations he sees don’t happen under the knife.
They happen before or after… when people finally get quiet enough to feel.
He shared stories of patients who came in for bypasses and walked out with completely different lives… not just because their arteries were repaired, but because they had the chance to pause, reflect, and reconnect with themselves.
Dr. Lamounier helps patients breathe. Meditate. Prepare their hearts for surgery… not just their bodies.
That’s not woo-woo. That’s wisdom.
And it made us ask…
Why do we wait until crisis to connect with what’s actually going on inside?
Why do we run from the quiet moments that might show us the truth?
Why do we treat the heart like a mechanical object… when it’s actually one of our greatest teachers?
⚡ We Don’t Need More Noise. We Need More Heart.
The heart has its own nervous system. Its own rhythms. Its own signals. Its own memory.
It holds our grief, our stress, our unspoken questions… and it also holds our capacity to love, to serve, to lead, and to come home to ourselves.
Yet in a culture of hyper-productivity and chronic stress, most of us live with a clenched chest and call it normal.
It’s not.
And when we disconnect from the heart long enough, our lives start to fracture → Relationships grow distant → Purpose starts to fade → Health deteriorates → Numbness replaces presence
But the good news?
The heart never stops trying to speak. Even in whispers, it’s always calling you back.
🎯 Your Three Things — Tools to Heal and Lead from the Heart
📚 Read: “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy This illustrated gem is pure emotional medicine. It reminds us that asking for help is a form of strength… that kindness is powerful… and that connection starts with vulnerability. If your heart has felt heavy or closed off lately, this book will gently open it back up.
💡 Try: HeartMath (heartmath.org) This isn’t just a cool name… it’s one of the most scientifically grounded organizations exploring the power of the heart-brain connection. From stress reduction to better decision-making, their research and tools (including their free “Quick Coherence” technique) are game-changers for anyone ready to live with less noise and more clarity.
🎥 Watch: “Heal” (available on Netflix) This documentary dives deep into the mind-body connection and offers real stories from individuals healing chronic illness… not just with medicine, but with mindfulness, meditation, and emotional integration. The science is there… and so is the soul.
🎧 Bonus Insight
This week’s Men Talking Mindfulness episode with Dr. Fernando Lamounier is one of our most powerful yet.
This man spends his life holding literal hearts in his hands… and still says the most important thing he can offer isn’t a scalpel. Its presence.
If you’ve ever wondered what it means to lead, live, and heal from the heart… this one’s for you.
One Final Whisper from the Heart:
💡 If your brain is telling you to power through but your body is telling you to slow down…
Trust your heart. It knows the way back home.
See you next Thursday, — Jon & Will Men Talking Mindfulness
P.S. We’ve never been about quick fixes.
From the beginning, Men Talking Mindfulness has been about doing the work… having the real conversations… building a life that’s grounded, resilient, and true to who you are.
We’ve talked openly about breathwork, meditation, mental health, masculinity, vulnerability, grief, and growth. We’ve shared the messy, beautiful, challenging parts of being human… and we’ve heard from so many of you who are walking your own path toward becoming a happier, healthier version of yourself.
That’s what we care about: giving people real tools to feel better, think clearer, and live more fully.
So when we came across Neurish, it wasn’t a business opportunity. It was a values alignment.
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No hype. No B.S. Just a thoughtful formula to support your mind and body.
We tried it. We liked it. We felt the difference. And more importantly… we trusted the mission behind it.
So we teamed up.
This isn’t about selling drinks… it’s about expanding our toolkit. Mindfulness, breath, movement, community… and now, Neurish. One more piece to support you in the work you’re already doing.
If you’re curious to try it, we have a link:
https://myneurish.com/?sca_ref=8415426.fwb7hzofWfGqD
And a discount code for 15% off your first order: MENTALKINGMINDFULNESS
No pressure. No push. Just something we believe in—and wanted to share with you.
Because this mission we’re on? It’s real.
And we’re just getting started.
 | A guest post by
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“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy is awesome!
Jon, Always look forward to Thursdays with new thoughts. As soon as I get back on the fulltime roles, I will subscribe. Thanks