We all have "versions" of ourselves built for survival. But what happens when those protectors—the walls we built to stay safe—start keeping us from growing? In this episode, Cory J Riggs discusses the internal ecosystem, the ego's "warm blanket" of familiar pain, and why there are no shortcuts on the path to healing.

​Resources:

Explore more at the Blog: https://www.coryjriggs.com/blog

Official Podcast Page: https://www.coryjriggs.com/podcast

​#WellnessJourney #InnerWork #MindsetShift #ConsciousLiving #MentalHealthMatters

Stop fighting yourself. In this episode, Cory J Riggs breaks down why the concept of "killing the ego" is a myth that keeps us stuck in a cycle of internal war. Cory shares the raw details of his morning ritual where he stopped trying to "exhale" the ego and instead started a dialogue with the protectors he created as a child and a teenager. Learn how to identify your own internal protectors, ask the right questions, and move toward a life of Conscious Wisdom and unity.
​Get more insight at: https://www.coryjriggs.com/blog
​Follow me @CoryJRiggs on all socials
Search "This Tree and Me" on your favorite podcast platform
​#JayShetty #Ego #Mindset #Healing #ConsciousWisdom #SelfImprovement

In the season two premiere of "The Tree and Me," Cory J Riggs explores the "Industrial Arc"—the historical cycle of progress that often prioritizes the machine over the man. Cory shares a provocative perspective on why he is thankful for the stillness the pandemic forced upon us and how it stripped away our "armor" to reveal our shared humanity. ​This episode is a guide for anyone feeling outpaced by the modern world, offering a roadmap to move from the "backstory" into the "Becoming." We dive into the "two sides of the coin"—how technology was expedited to cover our loneliness, and how we are now finding the strength to return to real, human connection. ​Key Topics: ​The Industrial Arc: From Steel Mills to AI. ​The Digital Trap: When screens became companions. ​Mental Health Realism: Running the same human race. ​Why Humanity is the only key that fits 2026. ​Connect with Cory: Website: coryjriggs.com Social Media: @coryjriggs ​#MentalHealth #Humanity #Mindset #Growth #Spirituality #Leadership #Psychology #Unity #ConsciousWisdom #Wellness #Perspective

The bill always comes due.
​We tell ourselves that staying in that relationship is "safe." We tell ourselves that shrinking down to make others comfortable is just being "polite." But the cost isn't just your peace—it is your heart.
​In the Season 1 Finale of The Tree and Me, Cory J Riggs takes a hard look at the "ledger" of our lives. We discuss the "Hollow Man" syndrome, the exhausting price of toxic positivity, and the raw accountability required to stop waging war against yourself.
​Key Takeaways:
​The Invisible Debt: What are you buying with your silence?
​The Empty Cup: You cannot feed others when you haven't eaten in years.
​The Harvest: The quiet, steady strength of finally standing in your own truth.
​Looking Ahead: Stick around until the very end for a special announcement regarding the "Industrial Arc" coming in Season 2 (2026).
​You can watch or listen to this wherever you get your podcasts.
🔗 Website: https://coryjriggs.com

There’s a moment in growth where movement feels like momentum—where improvement feels like transformation—yet something inside knows we’re still capable of more.

This episode explores that tension:
• the comfort of “better”
• the plateau disguised as progress
• the voice that says “good enough”
• and the quiet intuition that says “not yet”

This is not a message of shame.
It’s a message of potential.

Recognizing the illusion of progress isn’t failure.
It’s the first step toward deeper, truer, more intentional growth.

Website: https://CoryJRiggs.com
This Tree and Me is available wherever you watch or listen to your podcasts.

Listen and Follow is not about listening to someone else.
And it’s not about following an external path.

It’s about learning how to listen inward —
and having the courage to follow what’s already been trying to guide you.

In this episode, I share a deeply personal reflection on what happens when life feels misaligned.
Not broken.
Not chaotic.
Just… off.

I talk about the difference between performing the work and living it.
About how pushing, managing, and forcing clarity can disconnect us from ourselves.
And how listening — real listening — becomes an active, embodied practice.

This episode explores:
• Why effort stops working when alignment is missing
• How listening is awareness, not passivity
• Why following doesn’t mean giving up agency — it means choosing truth
• What happens when we stop leading with force and start responding with attention

This isn’t advice.
It’s an invitation.

An invitation to slow down long enough to hear what’s already been speaking.
And to trust yourself enough to follow it.

I’m Cory J. Riggs — wellness coach, storyteller, and host of This Tree and Me.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening.

In this episode of *This Tree AND Me*, Cory J Riggs opens the door to one of the most profound and vulnerable stories of his life — the long, winding path of addiction, and all of the faces it wore before he ever touched a substance.

Addiction is never just drugs or alcohol.

Sometimes it looks like food.
Sometimes anger.
Sometimes approval.
Sometimes escaping into work or relationships.
Sometimes it’s running toward pleasure.
Sometimes it’s running from pain.
And sometimes… it’s the silence we hide inside when we don’t know where else to put our hurt.

In this episode, Cory traces addiction through every stage of his life, beginning long before anyone recognized it — and long before he understood what was happening internally.

He revisits childhood moments that shaped him, the emotional fractures that formed in silence, and the ways those early patterns grew into the behaviors that eventually brought him to treatment at nineteen. With honesty and compassion, Cory walks through the complicated years of adolescence, the rupture with his father, the fear of not belonging, and the pain that had no language yet.

But the journey didn’t end in treatment.

Cory also shares the lesser-talked-about truth: addiction can change form even after substances are gone. Through adulthood, parenting, marriage, divorce, work, chasing success, self-abandonment, and trying to find worth in external things — addiction continued to mirror the places inside him that had not yet healed.

And then, the turning.

Through grief, spiritual awakening, discipline, writing, the Tree, and the quiet inner work of the past few years, Cory discovered the deeper truth:

Addiction is not a disease.
It is a mental-health struggle rooted in trauma, fear, unmet emotional needs, and the parts of our story we were never taught to tend to.

You don’t “catch” addiction.
It forms when a part of you goes unanswered for too long.

This episode is not about shame.
It is not about judgment.
It is about honesty — and the courage to look inward with compassion.

Cory offers this story so that listeners might understand their own journey more clearly. Whether addiction has touched your life through substances or through patterns of avoidance, soothing, escaping, or over-functioning, this episode meets you exactly where you are.

And if you are struggling with anything that feels bigger than you:
Please reach out.
Ask for help.
You are not meant to carry all of this alone.

Thank you for listening to a story that took a lifetime to understand.
This is *This Tree AND Me.*

In this episode of *This Tree & Me*, we explore the power of intentions —
not as vague hopes, but as real tools for alignment, clarity, and purpose.

Your intentions shape your decisions.
Your core values shape your path.
And everything in your life should align with the foundation you set from within.

I share my own intentions — love, grace, and compassion —
and how living through them has already changed my life.
I also talk about evaluating your choices, relationships, goals, and opportunities
through the lens of your core intentions… and re-centering when things drift.

When you strengthen your intentions, your life strengthens with them.
May this episode help you find clarity, alignment, and a sense of direction in your own journey.

Wellness Coach • Storyteller
This Tree & Me