This is an incredible story. In fact, it is a story of despair, desperation and ultimate triumph. It is a story of how one man utilized a life destroying existence, changed its meaning and turned it into 'golden possibility'. Peter Cook by his own admission scarcely believes he is alive to play out his life story in the groundbreaking theatre phenomena called BREAKING THE CASTLE. It is the enactment of Peter's life on stage played by one man ... Peter Cook.

In truth, ICE addiction that defined Peter's life just 8 years ago should have won the battle. It had its chance and had it not been for the love of a best mate, who privately paid for Peter's rehab in Thailand, Peter's life would have been a sad waste.

Instead, Peter faced his demons, climbed his way out of a bottomless pit and now gives hope to those who also need a reason to re-engineer their life.

Peter's 90-minute one-man show moves from a struggling home life to alcohol filled evenings at just 14 years of age, through addiction to a Thailand Rehabilitation Centre with Peter playing 17 different characters and voices. It is a masterful performance first receiving strong recognition in London and now attracting full audiences around Australia. Word is that a movie is also in the offering.

In this interview, Peter tells all. It is sometimes dark, occasionally hopeful but in the end, it is glorious.

As Peter says, "To see the light it is almost necessary to have lived in the depths of chaos".
You will find this episode riveting. More importantly, for those live in the East Coast of Australia seeing BREAKING THE CASTLE is compulsory, and if you do, don't forget to see Peter after the show and let him know you first heard him on A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE.

Breaking the Castleis now touring. It will be performed at Frankston Arts Centre (11-12 July 2025), Theatre Works St Kilda (15-19 July) and Sydney Opera House (23-26 July).

Welcome to the first episode of A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE in 2025.
Yes, they were weekly in the past 2 years, all 100 of them. So why the 2025 delay until April?

Quite simply, if you have been one of our 12,000 listeners, then you will know the scope of learning, awareness, and expansion of though and spirit that this journey offers. It has been remarkable. So much so, that I felt compelled to stop and capture it all in the form of a book, the objective of which is to give all of its readers a roadmap to becoming a more loving and joyful human being. It's a pathway given to us from guests, who you may have met on the front page of your National Newspaper, to those who found some prison time, to sports persons one of which ran around the entire planet, to people who suffered unspeakable traumas and others whose names are foreign to Google. This guidebook will outline actions, strategies, routines ... an entire manual to living love constantly.

Have no concerns that the podcast is winding down ... not at all!! Temporarily, it might slow down the regularity, but that is all. The podcast coupled with the book is as dedicated to the mission as ever. Both are valuable contributions to our purpose. So too is this podcast. In fact, this Episode 101, may go down as one of our best in our second hundred episodes!

Cast your mind back to Episode #8, when we first met Joel Staite, a young man who was given months to live thanks to an incurable kidney cancer. Remarkably, Joel through his belief, devotion to wellbeing practices and high-level awareness lives another 6 years. What would you learn about life if you lived everyday with the prospect of death tapping you on the shoulder?
What Joel learnt and shared with us opened eyes and moved souls, so much so we replayed it in Episode # 98.

Then in Episode # 28, just 5 months after the loss of his Son, Joel's father, Keith gave us a remarkable and intimate insight into who Joel had become. Our take was that while values like gratitude, love and kindness might also be the way for many others, very few became those values to such a high degree as did Joel. In his last years, Joel was the living embodiment of all that can be beautiful as a human. The story of Joel shuffling down the aisle to marry his beloved, Kieran, just 4 days before his passing is beautiful told by Keith at the 23.25 mark of this Episode # 101. You will need a tissue.

This episode is Keith's story approaching 3 years after Joel's death. It is the journey of a grieving Father, adopting his son's legacy and living so many experiences to honor him. It is the story of the cost of living someone else's life even if it be that of your son. It is the story of recovery, the story of returning home to the power of practices that shift your energies from darkness to life. You will be intrigued by Keith's commentary as to when he feels Joel's presence and how it impacts him. It's as if Joel has returned to remind dad that living gratitude, love and kindness the Keith Staite way is now his mission. This episode is raw. It is authentic and it is powerful. Chip and I are so proud to offer you this remarkable insight into the profound relationship between love and grief. Open up your hearts and absorb every minute of it.

Bernie Kelly ... +61 412 982 444 ... bernie@journeywithbernie.co ... Your feedback and follow-ship is so valuable.
Chip ... +61 410 603 336 ... info@journeywithbernie.co
Keith Staite ... +61 411 348 220

When I first started A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE just over two years ago, I thought the podcast objectives would be realized in 10 episodes. Afterall, how many strategies, actions, disciplines, ways of seeing the world can there be that could inspire constant inner joy and greater love for self, life and people?

Well, here we are 100 episodes and 2 plus years later and still the exploration and the thirst for wisdom is alive!

The scope of this journey turned out to be expansive and I began to see that in the very first episode with Emeritus Prof Ken Pakenham. Displaying my amateurish interviewing skills, I asked him … ‘So, what do you see as the Meaning of Life?’

His answer became a reference point over the next 99 episodes. Ken simply suggested, ‘That the meaning of life is found by first identifying and then clarifying one’s values. This becomes your core reference point for all of your behavior and authentic activity. Of course, Ken then rightfully pointed out that the next step is to KNOW your values … to know what they look like as behaviors and finally, the great challenge is to BE the behavioral manifestation of your values’.

Little did I know that this 'piece of gold' given to us in the very first episode would become a core discussion over the next two years.

Therefore, it is only appropriate that the guest for our century of interviews be the wisdom of Prof Ken Pakenham, and what an incredible episode it is. The additional insights into our possibilities is coming from a very aware soul. It is a soul that has experienced the traumas, the vagrancies and the tribulations of life. It is a soul who has found a way to manage his challenges and arrive at a place of self-respect and personal harmony.

Apart from this exhilarating discussion you can understand so much more of the journey of Prof Ken Pakenham in his outstanding memoir called “THE TRAUMA BANQUET”. It is a must read.

Finally, I thank you, the 12000 listeners from 52 countries who continue to FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE to our weekly episodes. You are the ones that give A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE the reason to embrace the years to come.
Blessings to you all. Bernie K ... +61 412 982 444