Bob Frissell’s story is one of tenacity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to healing against all odds. As the founder of the Breath Alchemy Technique and a celebrated author, Bob’s teachings were not born from mere curiosity, but from the depths of a personal struggle with a chronic back injury that left him incapacitated and desperate for relief. For years, he battled against worsening pain, anxiety, and depression, feeling trapped in a body that seemed determined to betray him. Despite affirming his desire to heal and visualizing a life of boundless health and vitality, the solutions remained elusive. It wasn’t until a pivotal experience in 1980, involving a small act of compassion towards a helpless orange tabby named Freddie, that a hidden path to his recovery began to unfold. This seemingly small event opened the door to a profound realization: the source of his suffering was not merely physical, but rooted in unresolved emotional trauma and stress. Freddie’s companionship became more than just a source of comfort; it became the catalyst for Bob’s transformation. In this candid Mystic Mag‘s interview, Bob Frissell reveals how he unraveled the layers of pain, fear, and emotional blockages that kept him in a perpetual cycle of suffering, ultimately giving rise to his Breath Alchemy Technique.
With over three decades of teaching, how has your understanding of personal transformation evolved, and what new insights have you gained about the human experience since you first began your journey?
That’s a great question because it really reminds me of where I started. I started from square one—or maybe even a negative square one, if such a thing exists. I was about as asleep and unconscious as one could be. Initially, my motivation came from being a professional bowler. I wanted to improve my bowling game so I could earn more money, and more importantly, improve my ability to handle pressure in competitive situations. I felt that was the major gap between me and the top bowlers.
I spoke with a friend about it back in 1972, and he recommended a book by Alan Watts. I still don’t know why he suggested that particular book, but I got it. The title was The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. In so many ways, the title spoke volumes. For me, even though the book resonated deeply, it took me a long time to truly understand it. I carried it around with me for about a year, trying to figure out what Alan Watts was saying. He was telling me that I wasn’t my mind, and there was much more to me than just my thoughts. That blew my mind, but I couldn’t fully grasp it at the time. It took years—many years—to integrate what I had learned.
I came across a definition of transformation that I liked and still use today. It says transformation is about changing your ability to experience life in a way that allows situations you’ve been trying to change—or just putting up with—to clear up naturally as part of the life process. It’s an interesting concept, but what does it really mean? What does that look like in life?
If you think about it, what are the areas in your life that you’re stuck in or trying to change? Where do you feel like you’re hitting a wall? What’s holding you back? Imagine fast-forwarding a few months into the future. You’ve identified what you’ve been stuck on, what you’ve been trying to change or resigned to putting up with, and it’s now cleared up—not just on the surface, but at the root. What would your life look like then? How would things improve?
That brings us to another question: what’s standing between you and that future where your problems are solved? What’s been holding you back? When you ask people these questions, the common denominator is always the same—we’re stuck in our minds. We live in a culture dominated by the mind, and as a result, we’ve become slaves to our reactive minds.
Let me take a moment to explain what I mean by the reactive mind. I like to define the mind as a multisensory linear arrangement of recordings of successive moments of now. In other words, the mind is like a highly sophisticated recording machine. Its purpose is survival—the survival of whatever the being perceives itself to be. But from birth, we become trapped under the influence of this reactive mind, which is designed for survival. Our thoughts, beliefs, and conclusions all become part of a continuous loop of survival mechanisms.
When something in life threatens the mind’s sense of survival, it triggers one of those survival tapes, figuring that if it worked before, it’ll work again. But the mind operates solely on stimulus-response, and we mistakenly think that’s life. That’s what Alan Watts was trying to tell me back in 1972—that I wasn’t my mind. But I was trying to figure it all out with my mind, which didn’t work too well.
Over time, I came to understand that real transformation happens when you recognize that you’re not your mind. You start to live on an experiential level, not just conceptually. You begin to understand that you’re connected to everything—there’s no separation between you and the universe. But the reactive mind blocks that connection. The mind is a useful tool when used properly, but it was never meant to be our master. When you restore the mind to its rightful place as a servant of your consciousness, you open up the possibility of truly living in the present moment.
Unlike the reactive mind, which is always in judgment—liking and disliking things—the present moment is where your true self, your connection to your higher self, shines through. Judgment locks energy in place and keeps us stuck, resisting what we don’t want. But what you resist persists. The key is to find a better way of relating to these issues rather than resisting them.
Ultimately, transformation is about mastering our ability to transmute stuck energy into life-enhancing energy. By doing this, we can live fully in the present moment and move forward in life. Personal transformation is important, but it also leads to global transformation. We’re all connected, and as we raise our vibratory rate, we have a ripple effect on the entire planet. As Nikola Tesla said, “If you want to understand the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” When we live in fear and limitation, we vibrate at a dense, low level. But when we live in the present moment, connected to our higher selves, we vibrate at a high level, filled with joy, creativity, and love.
By raising your own vibration, you not only improve your own life, but you contribute to the collective transformation of the planet. And that, I believe, is the ultimate goal. Thank you for asking the question—I love talking about this topic.
Your books have been described as “underground spiritual classics.” What do you think sets your work apart from other spiritual and metaphysical teachings, and why do you believe it resonates so deeply with readers around the world?
For me, and for many others, there’s a strong interest in the same topics I’m passionate about. We’re currently preparing to launch the 30th anniversary edition of Nothing in This Book Is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are. It will be released on November 5th, and you can already pre-order it. Just go to Amazon and reserve your copy. Thirty years is a long time for a book to maintain such popularity—not many achieve this kind of longevity. It all started in the early 1990s when I began to realize that in my quest to truly understand what’s going on in the world and see through the lies and deceptions, I was missing a lot of crucial information. I needed to uncover the truth, and from that realization, everything else flowed.
This led to an unexpected turn of events. One day, a publisher approached me to write a book—a decision that, ironically, I had made years earlier not to pursue unless a publisher specifically asked. This stemmed from an incident four years prior when a client suggested we co-author a book on the breathwork sessions we were conducting together. I was terrified because I didn’t believe I had anything valuable to share. So, I declined and told myself I’d only write a book if a publisher came to me directly. I thought I was safe—until exactly that happened. Four years later, a new client, who happened to own a publishing company, came to me for sessions for 30 consecutive weeks. We got to know each other well, exchanged a lot of ideas, and eventually, he asked me to write the book.
At that point, I realized I couldn’t refuse. I did my best, but I honestly didn’t expect anyone to buy it. I was the most surprised of all when the book became an instant sensation.
To address your question more directly: I believe the book resonates on a deep level because it reflects a shared curiosity and desire for understanding among like-minded people. I talk to so many individuals who are drawn to the same subjects. You tend to attract those who share your interests, and when people want to discuss these topics, they naturally reach out to me because they sense a common ground.
Another reason for its success is that the book covers a wide range of topics. It tackles everything—it’s all there. And even though it might seem impossible to weave such diverse subjects into a cohesive whole, somehow, I managed to do it. I say this not based on my own opinion but from the feedback I’ve received over the years, the various languages it’s been translated into, and the countless copies sold.
Back in the day, before Amazon, the book was released in 1994. I would receive an average of 50 handwritten notes in the mail every week, each one expressing how much the book meant to the reader. It blew my mind. I remember thinking, “Did I really create something that people not only love, but are rushing to the bookstore to buy in droves?”
There’s a unique connection in this book—somehow, it brings together seemingly unrelated issues to form a complete picture. Another thing that makes it stand out is the humor and lightheartedness I infused into it. The topics are quite intense, but the overall message is positive. I present serious information in a lighthearted manner because I believe in having fun with it. That doesn’t mean the message isn’t important—it just means that my personality comes through, which I think has contributed to its success.
What type of services do you offer?
I practice what I preach, and what makes this very real for me is that I offer online sessions in what I call Breath Alchemy and Breathwork. People usually connect with me first through a 30-minute free consultation. During this session, we get straight to the heart of the matter. We address questions like: What’s going on? What’s holding you back? Where would you like to be? And why aren’t you getting there? If I can show someone how to get from where they are to where they want to be, I ask if they would be interested in learning more. I approach this with complete confidence because I know I can help—how can I be so sure? Because I’ve been through it myself. I’ve navigated the challenges of life with nothing more than determination, and while I once had to forge my way through, now there’s a clear path available.
The results people achieve in just 12 short weeks are truly remarkable to me because it’s a profound transformation. It’s the shift from living conceptually, stuck in the mind, to living life as a genuine, moment-by-moment experience, fully connected to the source of life. This transformation is only possible when you learn to master your innate ability to transmute stuck energy—energy that’s tied up in limiting fears and beliefs—into something life-enhancing.
This process allows you to discover presence, to live from your true self, and to uncover what life is truly about. Life reveals itself only in the present moment—it’s the only place it shows up. To be able to make the distinction between living life conceptually and living it with genuine presence is, in my view, the greatest gift I can offer. This is what transformation looks like, based on my own journey and the experiences I had to go through to reach this understanding.
So, the main service I offer is one-on-one sessions via Skype. I have clients from all over the world—Australia, China, New Zealand, Europe, and North America—which makes my work even more exciting. I also have some online courses available on my website, but my primary focus is these personalized, one-on-one sessions.
I love my work, and I’m passionate about helping people discover their true potential and live life as a real, present experience.
You mention that your work is about helping individuals “catch the ride” into higher consciousness. For those just starting their spiritual awakening, what foundational practices would you recommend to get aligned with this energetic shift?
I recommend beginning to consider the possibility of what I mentioned earlier—that you and I are not our minds. To start, what I suggest is to learn how to become an impartial observer of your mind. Simply watch the thoughts as they flow through your consciousness. However, I caution you: this must be done impartially.
The issue is that when we are completely unaware—meaning we don’t know that we are not our minds and are unconsciously living within them—the reactive mind takes over. This happens 100% of the time. I say this from experience. I know exactly what it feels like to be taken over by the reactive mind and to get stuck in some form of emotional upset that could last a day, a week, a month, or even years.
Becoming an impartial observer of the reactive mind, instead of buying into it, disempowers it. By simply observing, you are not giving it the power it seeks. Instead, you begin to realize that you are just watching the mind and noticing how repetitive it is—like an endless looped recording. You might even find yourself thinking, Oh, I’ve heard this one before. It’s the same old story. This realization allows you to turn what could have been a major setback into a present-moment experience. It can transform into an aha moment, and sometimes even a haha moment, where you laugh at the childish antics of your reactive mind as it tries its best to take over.
Just becoming an impartial observer of your mind is a powerful practice that I absolutely recommend. It holds the possibility of true transformation.
In addition to this, I suggest enhancing your awareness of the sensations in your inner body. You don’t need to understand what they are or what they mean. You don’t have to label them. Just learn to become the one who feels the sensations within your inner body. Combining these two practices—observing your thoughts and feeling the sensations in your body—will provide a strong foundation for personal growth.
If you want to add a third component, visit my YouTube channel, where I have a short video (about five minutes long) called 20 Circular Breaths. This video introduces a powerful breathing rhythm known as circular breathing. This technique helps to move stuck energy and provides greater access to your inner sensations. Developing your ability to feel more deeply enables you to transmute the stuck energy into life-enhancing energy.
This process starts by shifting your relationship with these sensations. Instead of making them wrong or resisting them, give them the space to exist. Fully feel them—thoroughly, accurately, and honestly. By doing this, you can discover your innate ability to transform that stuck energy into something positive and life-affirming.
“Nothing In This Book Is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are” is a powerful statement. What message or paradox were you hoping to convey with this title, and how does it set the tone for exploring deeper truths within the book?
Let’s go back to the day when I was asked by the publisher to write a book. Initially, I considered the task to be virtually impossible. But over time, I realized I needed to find a more useful way to approach it. So, I began to accept it and move forward from there. Despite my doubts, the result was a surprisingly good book.
One day, the publisher brought his 19-year-old daughter to meet me. She just wanted to ask me some straightforward questions about the book and what was going on with it. I answered her honestly, without sugarcoating anything. On their way back to the car, her father asked her what she thought. She replied, “Well, nothing he said is true, but it’s exactly how things are.”
When the publisher shared that with me, we both realized that it would make the perfect title for the book. For me, the title doesn’t necessarily hold any deeper meaning beyond being catchy, but it did something important—it freed me up to write the book without feeling the need to explain or prove every single thing in the way that some left-brain thinkers might require. Instead of trying to offer hard proof for everything I said, I wanted to appeal more to the reader’s inner resonance. My aim was personal and global transformation, not proving every detail as factual.
A few readers got stuck on this point, saying they didn’t like the book because it didn’t back up all the claims with evidence. But that wasn’t my intention. So, if the title did anything for me, it allowed me the freedom to write in that way.
Oh, and by the way, because it’s such a catchy title, the book sold a lot of copies, which is fine with me.
