Do you want to read this interview in Dutch? Klick HERE.

I’ve been following Sean on Facebook for over a year and I’m always really impressed by his positive outlook on life and his strong and loving energy.
I am fascinated by people who don’t fit in any boxes and create their own life. So I really had to meet Sean, who calls himself That Guy who Loves the Universe. It’s by far the best ‘job-title’ I have ever heard!
When I saw he was in Amsterdam for a couple of days I jumped at the change to meet him in person and sent him a message. He was also happy to meet me and so we set down for a Q&A somewhere in Amsterdam on July the 18th 2014.

Sean describes himself as a modern day spiritual seeker with a fresh take on spirituality. He is a broadcaster and journalist who believes that we do not have to choose between our spiritual side and our human side.

Me: So how did you became That Guy who Loves the Universe? When did that idea came to you?

Sean: I think going way back. I actually was very opposite to who I am now.
I think I lived a lot of insecurities, a lot of unhappiness, a lot of fear. It got to a stage where I was living in this completely anxious state, that wasn’t sustainable. I couldn’t keep living that way.
So I did something really dramatic: I moved away.
I’m from England and I moved to Hong Kong for half a year.
I really explored meditation. I explored freedom. I explored myself, spirituality, Buddhism and Hinduism; everything. I really immersed myself in it.
And then I returned home and I thought: I really want to dedicate my life to this work.
What was fantastic; the title: That Guy who Loves the Universe not came from that period.
I was about to go to New York for a conference and I was getting business cards made.
I didn’t know what to put down as a job title
Life coach? No. Writer? No. Nothing really summed it up.
I thought: what one line would sum up who I am? And I just heard in my head: “Sean Patrick, That Guy who Loves the Universe.”
I was like: that’s it! And I kept it from there on.

Me: Yeah, it’s working really well. People can easily paint a mental picture with that one line.

Sean: Thank you. Well that’s really great to know because I feel like with the publishing world, that kind of world, they like you to make your name based on your own name.
But I was always really insisting: I want to be: That Guy who Loves the Universe.
It’s more accessible to everyone. It can be anonymous. It can be me. And anyone can be a guy or a girl who loves the universe.

Me: Yeah, and I’m really interested, almost obsessed by people who create their life and their work around who they are and I think you’re one of those people who does that really well.
Can you tell me something about how you create that life for yourself and what your thoughts on that topic are?

Sean: So, I think in regards to my own happiness, for someone like me, that can be a constant, I don’t want to say work. It’s constant awareness.
If I left, just on default, without meditation and without awareness of spirituality, I would slip into anxiety, fear, craziness, insecure thoughts. I would just slip into all of that.
So everyday, every hour I’m reminding myself: I deserve to have a beautiful life.
I deserve to be happy. I am willing to participate in my own joy. And it won’t always be comfortable but my main priority is joy. So it might not always looks like doing the comfortable thing, it definitely not looks like doing the default thing.
My priority is joy. Even if that means being uncomfortable and if that means stepping out of what’s familiar. Joy is my priority. Joy is my bottom line.
I have the joy of putting that all on facebook and have the support of so many other people.

“Joy is my priority. Joy is my bottom line.”

Me: Yeah, and a lot of people get joy from you doing that.

Sean: That’s all I can hope for. That’s incredible.

Me: I just wrote a blog about doing what you love. I read Screw it, lets do it. A book by Richard Branson and he says: “Do what is fun and the money will come.”

Sean: O, my Gosh, exactly. I used to hate high school. I think I made a vow to myself when I left high school that I never again spend my life dredging and not enjoying every day.
So it’s always been really important to me to do what I love to do and the money does come.

Me: And how does that work for you in the practical sense? Where does your income come from?

Sean: I work in Marketing and events at a University back in England. That’s my main source of income. I also work with private coaching clients and I do a lot of freelance social media for people. So there’s different income streams and it works.

Me: And is this something you are happy with now or do you see a transformation for yourself?

Sean: I definitely see a transformation. I hope that soon my income can come from my writing, my books and my private coaching clients.

Me: I saw that you were writing the book and I saw you posted a picture on Facebook of the ending of the book. When I read that, i thought: “O, that is so true” Those words made such huge impact. I felt instant relief when I read those words.
(I try to remember the words, but couldn’t. Sean helps me out.)

Sean: When you finally done al that you can do. You felt al the pain you can feel. You have cried all that you can cry, you turn inwards and what you where looking for was there all along.

So many of us, including myself, turn to the spiritual life as a last resort.
We’ll do everything first: we will cry, we feel pain, we manipulate situations, we strive, we get more qualifications, we will do this and that. That was always my experience.
And the thing that I was looking for wasn’t in a new pair of sunglasses. It wasn’t in a having a flash new apartment or anything like that. It was about being comfortable in my skin everyday and I finally gave up everything else. That’s when I found out what I needed. And I wouldn’t go back for anything. I couldn’t go back.

Me: No, the answer is just not outside of ourselves. It’s only inside.

Sean: And how could it be out there when it’s so fickle. Everything is changing all the time. Then this person likes you and this person doesn’t like you. And that person likes you today and doesn’t like you tomorrow. That’s why there are so many people with anxiety in the world. Because we are so attached to what’s going on around here and that’s forever changing. You can’t keep up with that. You would literally drive yourself insane.
So many of us are going insane because we just want someone to like us. Insane.

Me: Yeah, that is insane. We have to really love ourselves and then it doesn’t really matter what the world thinks. Because it’s ok.

Sean: So many people would say: “Love yourself and they are gonna love you back.”
But I say: love yourself and whatever.
Not: I love myself so other people will love me.
I love myself so I love myself.
It’s not their job to love me. I couldn’t ask that of anybody.
So it’s my job to love myself and what’s their job is none of my business.

Me: No, it’s not even your business if they love their selves.

Sean: And that’s what I find interesting about what you where saying about people creating their work around who they are. Because I don’t feel it’s my job to heal anybody.
I feel it’s my job to be an example and that’s all I ever want to do.
It’s my job to be an example so people feel permission to heal when they see me live my life and that’s what’s really important to me.
And that’s why I like to be so authentic.
Because there are a lot of spiritual people out there, wonderful spiritual teachers, that live a very set kind of life. You know: vegetarian, no coffee, do yoga every day and that’s not my story.
I love to drink coffee.

Me: Yeah me too! (We both have a thing for Starbucks)

Sean: I love to go out dancing and I love rap music. I really want to fuse my life with spirituality, not abandon my life for spirituality
I think a lot of people are looking for that permission because a lot of us feel really guilty when we turn to spirituality and keep doing al those things. They feel like they are being a bad spiritual person.
I don’t do yoga everyday, I don’t meditate everyday, I still eat meat. It has nothing to do with that.
Infuse your life with spirituality. Don’t abandon your life.

Me: I totally get that! One of my messages is also that you really have to do what feels good to you and not feel guilty for the things you do.
I think one of your most powerful messages is that everything is OK, just the way it is. You are OK, the way you are, perfectly OK!

Sean: Yeah, perfectly OK, who you are, as you are. You are OK, just the way you are.
And find some peace.
I don’t know another way to be happy.
You know: this is who I am, these are the choices I made: good choices, bad choices, good decisions, bad decisions. Good things have happened, bad things have happened. That’s who I am. And that’s great and fantastic. I am the accumulation of all that. And I get to walk around the world as that, what an honour. (both laughing)

Me: and how do you handle criticism about being too positive?

If people say: “you are too positive.” I say: “O, thank you for noticing.” You know, I practice, I meditate, I read books. This takes effort.
It’s great that they notice. If people say: you can’t be that happy all the time. I say: “Well, i’m not this happy all the time, I also get sad. But I’m happier than I’m use to be and that’s important to me. That’s enough. That’s good with me”

Me: What are your plans and goals for now and for the future?

Sean: I love all things spiritual and psychology, how we feel better and how people live happy lives and what that takes. My first glimpse into all of that was the half year I lived in Hong Kong.
I want to travel more and live and immerse myself in other cultures to look at how people all over the world are getting happy.
I would love to move out here to Amsterdam for maybe a couple of months because everyone is very chill. And then write a book about how to be chill.
I love to go live in India for a couple of months and write a book about meditation.
I want to completely immerse myself, explore and research spirituality. Fore-ever.

Me: Yeah, just follow your bliss.

Sean: Yeah. I would love to write more books. I would love to do a series. There is so much going on with me about how people find joy. Because I need to know.
It’s not in me to say: I meditate, I’m a spiritual teacher, I figured it out, come listen to me, I’m a guru. No, no, no, no.
It’s like: I’m someone who is so desperate to understand how we feel joy that I would go to the end of the earth to find out and that’s what i’m doing.
I want to learn everything I can about joy and happiness.

Me: And I think you already have come very far.

Sean: Thank you so much.

I ask Sean for his age and he tells me he just turned 26 and spend his birthday in Amsterdam with friends and did a bunch of fun stuff.
I asked him how old he was went he went to Hong Kong, the place where his spiritual journey began. He answers that he was 22 and that he started That Guy who Loves the Universe when he was 23.
I tell him that is great to see because it has only been a couple of years when his journey started and he already came this far. Imagine all the possibilities that are still waiting for him.
I tell Sean that I totally get his outlook on life. I just quit my day job last month so I can truly follow my bliss. I am so exited to see what happens when you cut yourself louse from restrains and fully surrender to the Universe.
Sean is totally supportive of this message.

I ask Sean if his message has evolved over the years.

Sean: It has definitely evolved over time. I first set out to master away at living so to speak and package that as a way to happiness. Like: this is ‘The Guy who Loves the Universe – Method’ so come along.
Over time it so evolved from that. All I can do is share my story. All I can do is share my examples, my mistakes and my fall-outs. I use to want to present this image of myself as living this amazing, happy life. But now I just want to present my life as: life
And that’s definitely a huge evolvement from where I come from. And it’s so interesting cause I just finished my book and when I look back at my earlier chapters that I started 3 years ago it was very ‘how to.’ Like here are 3 meditations to do, here is how to surrender: step 1,2,3.
Where now it is: here is my story, here is what I learned, here are my thoughts, here is where I got it wrong… give it a try.
In the beginning of my book is a disclaimer: I am not a guru, I am just a guy who loves all things spiritual. Throughout this book, you will find a lot of lessons, I trust you use them as you see fit.
That’s where I am at right now and where I want to stay.
Because I never want to offer anybody a set way of living. How could I? That feels like a lot of pressure.

Me: That is also really not possible because you take a little bit from this, you take a little bit from that and you make it your own.

Sean: Yeah. I just continue to share my journey: mistakes and great things. And I am so happy to do so.

And so far I love following Sean’s journey! I would advice every Universe-lover out there to follow Sean on Facebook. His posts are uplifting and authentic. I feel that we are going to hear a lot more from him.
Sean’s book is finding its way to a publisher as we speak and I can not wait to read it. If it is as good as the ending I am going to love this book!
I thank Sean for making the time to see me and for sharing some wonderful insights with us!

Do you want to learn more about That Guy who Loves the Universe?
Visit Sean’s site HERE.
Or follow him on Facebook HERE.