Combat veteran Manny Rodriguez survived an IED explosion in Iraq—but the battle that nearly cost him his life didn’t happen overseas.

After back surgery and deployment, Manny was prescribed powerful combinations of opioids, sedatives, and stimulants that slowly pulled his body and mind out of balance. When he returned home, the prescriptions kept coming—until his health reached a breaking point and he realized the treatment meant to help him was making things worse.

In this episode of Better Beliefs, Manny shares how he made the courageous decision to step away from the medical path he’d been told to follow, endured the brutal process of getting off medication, and discovered healing through breath work and nervous system regulation.

This episode explores:

• The hidden risk of opioid dependence after surgery
• What combat actually feels like vs. how medication changed Manny’s experience
• How mixed medications affect the brain and nervous system
• Why breath work plays a powerful role in recovery and regulation
• And the courage it takes to question beliefs about authority, healing, and personal agency

This isn’t a story about rejecting medicine.
It’s about learning to listen to your body—and finding the courage to change course when something no longer serves you.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the path you’re on is truly helping you heal, this conversation may change the way you think about recovery.

Learn tactical breathing with Manny at www.tacticalcalm.com

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Music Credits

"Out of Flux" by Shutdown

"Lost" by Lars Bork Andersen

"Merciful" by Gruber

"The Uprising" by Gruber

"A Town Called Dismal" by Josh McCausland

"Above the Clouds" by Theater of Delays

"Pearl" by EVOE

"Moving Forward" by The Tennessee Pistols

When life blindsides us, we don’t just remember what happened — we remember how it felt.
In this episode, Brent sits down with Nick, a father whose children survived the Nashville school shooting, to explore not just the event itself, but the quiet, complicated, deeply human process of healing that followed.

This isn’t a story about giving advice.
It’s a story about how humans process the moments we never saw coming — the big shocks and the smaller emotional bruises we collect along the way.

Nick shares:

• What happened the morning of the shooting
• What his body felt before his mind could make sense of it
• The blur that followed in the days and months afterward
• The internal reset that saved his marriage
• The unexpected ways his children showed strength
• How returning to the school became part of their healing
• And why some memories stay alive until we decide to release them

Alongside Nick’s story, we explore the neuroscience of trauma, how the brain stores painful events, why time feels strange after something life-altering, and what it really means to “let go” of memories that no longer serve who we’re becoming.

This episode is for anyone carrying something heavy — even if it’s not “big enough” to call trauma — and wondering why it still lives inside them.

Healing isn’t just about moving on.
It’s about learning which memories to keep … and which ones to finally set down.

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Music Credits

"Land" by ANBR

"Espionage" by Solis

"Corals Under The Sun" by Yehezekel Raz

"Apollo" by Rotem Cinamon

"Hallow" by Steven Keech

"Ea" by Hans Johnson

"Contemplative Question" by The Tennessee Pistols

What if the things you spend your life building were never meant to last?

In this episode of Better Beliefs, Brent Kocal sits with Tibetan monks creating a sand mandala—a sacred artwork that takes days to build and seconds to destroy. Their teaching? Everything in life is impermanent, and that truth is what makes it beautiful.

You’ll hear how these monks view life, effort, and the purpose of creation—not as something to cling to, but as something to experience fully and release with grace. Brent explores why Western culture struggles with impermanence, our deep attachment to results and outcomes, and how we can find lasting joy in the act of creation itself.

If you’ve ever felt like your achievements fade too fast, or your happiness depends on what you accomplish next—this conversation will shift your perspective.

Listen now to discover:

• Why Tibetan monks spend days building mandalas they’ll immediately destroy
• What impermanence can teach us about freedom and fulfillment
• How to find joy without attachment to results
• Why letting go might be the most powerful creative act of all

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Music Credits

"Breath Deep" by Master Minded

"Ea" by Hans Johnson

"Hallow" by Stephen Keech

"Flicker of Thought" by Eleven Tales

"Like a Bird" by Letra

"Moving Forward" by The Tennessee Pistols