Coming Alive

Barry and Phil dive deep into some of your questions in this episode of Ask the Shrinks! They cover: The Field and the 4 laws necessary to access its power What multiple personalities can teach us about the Shadow How to use the Dissolving Thoughts tool to manage anxiety and runaway thinking

In this episode of Ask the Shrinks!:  Is being in the flow or tapping the life force the same as the zone one gets into when doing something like playing a video game? What to do about nightmares? Is it bad to sometimes want a self-esteem boost from others? How can I get my wife to use The Tools? I have a relative with schizophrenia. Will The Tools help? What's the difference between the Reversal of Desire and the Tower? How can I use the Reversal of Desire to find the courage to talk to beautiful women? Is there anything to the Law of Attraction? I worry about my family all the time. What can I do?

Barry and Phil get together again to answer your questions in this episode of Coming Alive. They cover some interesting territory this time, and you might be surprised by some of their answers.  Want to submit a question for a future episode? You can do that here. In this episode of Ask the Shrinks!:  I’m not good at visualizing, can the Tools work for me? (Spoiler: Yes!) What Tools are helpful if you have a narcissistic parent? (Hint: work with your Shadow and Cosmic Rage) Is there a benefit to downtime, rest, and boredom? Why do I feel really down after I’ve had success at using the Tools? (Phil calls this the bi-phasic fantasy. You can read more about it here in a conversation he had with actor John Cusack.) Can the shadow be older or is it always young? What is the Sick Shadow? (This is a new concept. We hope to have more on this on the website soon.) Is evil something outside of us or inside of us? Why use the language of war and battle to describe our fight with our inner enemy? Isn’t that language divisive? Do you occasionally see sparkling or twinkling lights like Phil? Hear what he thinks is going on.

The always entertaining and often poetic Tommy Swerdlow is an actor and writer known for films like Cool Runnings, Little Giants, and Snow Dogs. Most recently he directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the film A Thousand Junkies. Barry and Tommy have known each other for more than two decades. Their conversation covers a lot of territory, some of it pretty deep, including addiction and the dramatic event that abruptly ended his using, the challenges of being a writer, and how he's come to think of everything as an energetic exchange.

How does a Tools coach use the Tools for themselves? Find out in this discussion between Barry and Tools coach Allison White. They explore: Allison’s experience of Shadow work, including a discussion on the evil shadow Allison’s challenges with debilitating hypochondria and how she uses Reversal of Desire to fight it How to change the emotional valence around your history by revisiting your past with an attitude of love and compassion. Barry’s mystical experience of reparenting his 10-year-old self Why forces are sometimes more useful than words or intellectual solutions What is unique about Allison’s marriage to a recovering addict, including how being required to be present and sober all the time lets you see when you don’t want to be Learning how to stop trying to fix others and instead offer loving detachment How she uses the Tools with her empathic 11-year-old son How being a parent is full of lessons to help you reparent yourself The most common challenges she sees in her coaching practice: procrastination, fear of failure, lack of self-acceptance. Allison’s favorite Tools How to embrace failure as part of the creative process Using Cosmic Rage to fight Part X Learn more about Allison at Allison White Coaching        

In this first installment of our periodic Ask the Shrinks! episode, Barry and Phil get together to discuss some of your questions. They cover a lot of territory, including:  How Phil discovered and named Part X The value of uncertainty and flow and how to use the turnaround to get there The importance of mental hygiene What to do when the higher states and Part X are fighting over your state of mind Peace of mind as an active state The part of Grateful Flow that people often skip How the Law of Aggression can help you know if your anger is constructive or not The role of the Evil Shadow (more to come on this in the future) The secret to using the Tools with children Why it’s important to your family to do your own work Why images of the Shadow are associated with adolescence How to deal with people in your life who are stuck in a victim state Want to submit your question to Barry and Phil for future episodes? Contact us.

Joe Newman is author of Raising Lions: The Art of Compassionate Discipline. He trains parents and teachers to transform difficult behaviors into respectful ones and gives us a clear map out of chaos and into happy, harmonious homes and classrooms. Barry Michels talks with Joe about his favorite tools for parents, what to do about your own and your child's Part X, and how you can create a structure to help your kids learn to make smart choices.

Benji Madden is a guitarist, songwriter, and producer. With his twin brother Joel, he is cofounder of Good Charlotte and The Madden Brothers. He also runs the successful management company MDDN. We talk about Benji's Part X, how his life changed after discovering the Tools, his early musical influences, how he distinguishes fame from success, and his evolving relationships with his brother and his wife, Cameron Diaz.

If you're at all into the guitar (or were a Guns N' Roses fan), then chances are you know who Buckethead is. And if you've never heard of him, prepare to meet one of the most talented, generous, and soulful human beings around. In this episode of Coming Alive, Barry talks to Buckethead (whose real name is Brian Carroll), about his Part X, his recent struggles with back pain, how he's comping with the death of both his parents, and his life's dream to build an amusement park. They also talk about the creative process and the genesis of Brian's Buckethead persona. 

What is a tool? When do you use it? How do you know if you're using it right? What if you're not good at visualizing? How can these simple tools change my life? Barry Michels answers some of the most frequent questions they get about the tools in this bonus episode of Coming Alive.

David N. White is a writer best known for the film Henry's Crime. In this episode of Coming Alive, we look at the role Part X played in David's struggle with drugs and alcohol from an early age. We learn how David and his wife Allison, who have co-written a hilarious book on modern marriage, have learned to fight in a way that works for them. We also tackle the classic problems all creative types confront, including procrastination and the numerous ways we distract ourselves from what we should be doing. 

Barry Michels introduces you to your inner enemy: Part X. He describes how his coauthor, Phil Stutz, discovered and named Part X and how learning about X changed his life. He also offers a guided exercise to help you discover your own Part X so you can begin to move forward in your life and become the person you're meant to be.