Untangle

Dr. Epstein is a family physician, palliative care Dr., author, researcher, and teaches communication and mindful practice in medicine. His book, Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness, and Humanity explores how the foundations of mindfulness can help clinicians expand their capacity to provide high-quality care, and how doctors, patients, and their families can more collaboratively and mindfully approach medical decisions. He shares how the practice of mindfulness in medicine helps support a deeper understanding and connection between clinicians and patients, how we can flourish and be more resilient in the midst of uncertain situations, and how healthcare professionals can more skillfully cope with the discomfort of ambiguity. He also discusses his hope that the human aspects of medicine can become at least as important as the technical aspects of the future. Encore episode.

Todays guest is Cheryl Richardson. Cheryl has written 7 books and has dedicated her life to the practice of self care. When we begin to care for ourselves, we naturally begin to care for others…families, friends, the environment and the world. There are so many wisdom nuggets in this episode. She invites us to look at what's draining our energy so that we can let go of what no longer serves us; she shares how to make our inner lives more of a priority and discusses how to set up priorities and boundaries. I love her phrase; “stop doing things that bore you.” This can be the biggest energy drain of all. She also suggests that doing the opposite of what you normally do or even think you can do can be a great way to change stagnant habits and break some old patterns. Cheryl shares why focusing on self care is so important for all of us. She also discusses how to make soul vs. ego more of a focus as you move into your later years; how to look at what's draining your energy by making a list and eliminating each one by one. She believes those who focus on self care are good at sitting with the discomfort of letting go of the things in their lives that are no longer useful. Make your inner life more of a priority than your outer life and remember that death is a reminder of how precious and fleeting life is.

Todays guest is Ozan Varol. Ozan is a native of Turkey and moved to the US to study astrophysics when he was 17. He started out as a rocket scientist and later became a law professor. In our interview, he reflects on how there were so many moments where on paper everything looked great, but intuitively there was something deep down in his gut that felt very wrong. He couldn't rationally explain the feeling…but he knew he needed to make some changes in his life. And he did. His mission now is to help others reimagine the conventional wisdom that led them to decisions that govern their lives…but no longer need to. I like when he says “is your safety net really a straight jacket?” His book is called Awaken your Genius. Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity and Become Extraordinary. Genius, to him, means being who you were meant to be; not what others expect. Unlock your originality and unleash your unique talents to discover your true nature. I think you'll find his perspectives super interesting, and a great reminder of what it takes to be truly who we're meant to be. This episode has some great insights on how to stop conforming to what others expect, how to discover who we truly are, how to stop feeling like you're sleepwalking through life, how to get unstuck and ignite creativity.

Welcome to another meditation edition of Untangle.I'm excited to introduce you to Shawn Moore. Shawn is a meditation and yoga teacher, and loves to create spaces for stillness and self-inquiry to help leaders and all of us… align our strengths, intention, and impact. Today's meditation lives in the Optimal Brain States Collection on the Muse app. Shawn leads all of the community initiatives at Muse and is passionate about bringing people together to connect, learn and be inspired by one another. Today's meditation is about the gifts of a growth vs. fixed mindset. He invites us to leave lot's of room for reflection here. My favorite part? He asks us to ponder this question. How do you react when working outside your comfort zone? Head over to choosemuse.com to check out his meditations on the Muse app. Use Untangle15 for your discount code.

Todays guest is Rob Schwartz. You may not know him, but you've likely heard of his dad, Morrie. Bestseller, “Tuesdays with Morrie,” sold over 18 million copies after it was released in 1997. While Morrie, a beloved dad and professor at Brandeis University, was dying of ALS, Mitch Albom, one of his students, sat down to interview him every Tuesday for 12 weeks. This became a treasure trove of his philosophy as his health declined. It was very early in our understanding of ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. Several years after “Tuesdays with Morrie," and the death of his father, Rob, found an almost finished manuscript in his dad's desk drawer. He decided to edit this book as a tribute to his dad. Now, “The Wisdom of Morrie," recently released, is a new look at Morries' life wisdom and lessons. I was happy to be reminded of the spirit and light that filled his life, despite that he was dying. A reminder from Morrie: “Dying is only one thing to be upset about; living an unhappy life is something else.” Show Notes: Morrie is known for his positive attitude and growth mindset before and after he was diagnosed with ALS. He was an extremely curious, compassionate and intelligent man. He always had this intense empathy for everybody, and was open to different worldviews. He was aware of others' difficulties and their pain. Once you're open to somebody else's worldview and perspective, he said, you're going to see things in a different light. The Wisdom of Morrie is really about lessons on how to live your best life and how to live with the tension or paradox of joy and sorrow. His attitude was…”I'm gonna live the best that I can in the time that I have left. And that means I have to put bitterness, anger and disappointment aside and concentrate on what gives me joy and life and pushes me forward.” Morrie wrote a bit about ageism. He has a term called age casting, which is to make assumptions about older people just because they're old. He also includes many practical tips on how to live more creatively and joyously as you age. Very simply put, what gives your life meaning, Morrie would say, is your relationship with other people. Morrie viewed aging as completely natural; Not something to be angry or despairing about, but something to understand as a natural process of life, and that you should appreciate what is strong and good about it, as opposed to trying to pick out, oh, my body isn't as strong as it used to be. There will always be the tension of opposites in our lives. This idea of balancing out hope and despair. In this book, Morrie was attempting to remove the stumbling blocks that prevent people from being happy and fulfilled. He believed that laughter was incredibly important and wondered why elderly people often forget to incorporate more humor in their lives. Don't let it slip away, he reminds us. Rob's most important lesson from his dad? Pay attention to your relationships and continue to strengthen them always. Resources: The Wisdom of Morrie. Available at all booksellers.

Enjoy this lovely meditation, by Kate Johnson, in honor of World Meditation Week.

Guest interviewer > Ariel Garten! Do you want to wake up feeling great, and be productive through the rest of the day? Make the most of your day by optimizing your mornings. Charming British brother and sister therapists, Toby and Kate Oliver, give dozens of practical, science-backed techniques to try at the start of the day, to improve your morning and the whole day. Whether you're a morning person or a night owl, this episode will help you transform your life, one morning at a time.

Today's guest is Dr. Greg Wells a Physiologist, Scientist, Author, and renowned health and high-performance expert. He has dedicated his career to studying the science of human limits and developing practical strategies to help individuals and organizations perform at their best, even under the most challenging circumstances. He's even worked with Olympic athletes. But his most important work is with those of us who simply want to optimize health every single day. His guidance in this interview relates to protecting and optimizing our Mitochondria, which affects every aspect of our lives. It's a really interesting way to look at how we can have some agency over our mental and physical health so we can live our best lives. Note: Use discount code UNTANGLE15 at choosemuse.com to order your Muse Headband. Show notes: We get our energy from mitochondria. These are tiny structures inside our cells that break down the foods that we eat to create energy. They're in our muscles, our brains, they're all over the place. We need our mitochondria to live our best, healthiest lives. Our mitochondria are damaged by stress, but they're really responsive to lifestyle activities so there's infinite potential for them to get better. We produce 2 billion new mitochondria every single day. These enable us to think, move, be creative, play music, build relationships…almost everything that is fundamental to life. As little as three minutes of exercise a day can stimulate the production of new and better mitochondria that make us able to have more energy to navigate our lives. When we do things like meditation, our mitochondria become stronger. He is a big Muse user and loves it. Mitochondria are also a common pathway to different diseases like cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. When they aren't working properly, they can even be responsible for depression, so even our mental health depends upon healthy, high-functioning mitochondria. Also important to creating a joyful and meaningful life are social connections, people, pursuits, and purpose. A strong focus in these areas can have a profound impact on longevity. Flow plus meaning is the best predictor of “Magic Moments.” Resources: Drgregwells.com

4X NYT best-selling author, the hilarious and poignant AJ Jacobs, spent a year following every commandment in the Bible, to see what would happen. He then dove deep into gratitude by traveling around the globe to thank every person who had helped produce his morning coffee. In an incredibly interesting conversation, he shares his witty and profound insights from these experiments, and also teaches us what it takes to accomplish the things we want in our own lives, and gives us techniques we can use to motivate ourselves towards our goals.

Today's guest is all about behavior change. Dr. Allison Grupski, PhD and Clinical Health Psychologist specializing in weight management and eating behaviors is the Head of Behavior Change at Weight Watchers, referred to as WW in this interview. She shares many of the behavior change strategies she's used to drive real-life behavior change for millions of people. Change can be difficult, especially when it's tied to deeply engrained habits. And, when it comes to eating and weight management, it may be even more complicated given the many factors that influence us. Her thoughts on disrupting routine behaviors as a way to shift habits are fascinating. You won't be surprised to know that she includes meditation in many of her workshops and meetings. She also shared the top five behaviors that help people reach their healthy weight goals.

Today's guest is Dr. Tobias Esch. He is a primary care physician, pioneer in holistic general medicine, and expert in the neurobiology of happiness. He shaped mind-body medicine and integrative health in Germany and as Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School. He has published more than 300 scientific works. His background is in primary care, neurobiology, and positive psychology and his work focus has been on promoting good health, patient activation and behavior change. In this interview we dive into his Happiness Model, and what he calls the U Curve of happiness which is both surprising and fascinating. The good news is that happiness can be shaped through practice. Life satisfaction and happiness are both deep feeling states, but he defines them differently. His wisdom is cultivated through a rich blend of neuroscience, medicine, positive psychology, mindfulness, gratitude, stillness, and acceptance. He believes in listening deeply and connecting with his patients to uncover what might be beyond the obvious.

Shannon Harvey is an award-winning Australian health journalist, author, and filmmaker. In her film (and now a book, My Year of Living Mindfully), Shannon committed to meditating every day for 365 days. She enlisted a team of top scientists from around the world to track everything from her stress hormones to her immune function to her cellular aging and gene expression to her subjective wellbeing. Overwhelmed with insomnia, autoimmune disease, and a family history of mental health issues, Shannon was highly motivated to find a way to address the challenges she faced, and those we all face with the growing epidemics of stress, anxiety, depression, and addiction. The results were surprising! She hopes that the film will spark meaningful conversations and help all of us feel more grounded and calm as we face the inevitable challenges of being human.

Today's guest is Oliver Nino, Energy Healer and Author of the new book, Spiritual Activator: 5 Steps to Clearing, Unblocking, and Protecting Your Energy to Attract More Love, Joy, and Purpose. He discusses his 5-step energy detox program that helps to remove negative blocks and emotions. The detox process, he shares, can help remove feelings of being stuck, ease relationship issues, and help deal with feelings related to lack of abundance, purpose or confidence. He also shares how he's helped people with anxiety, depression, and an overall feeling of unhappiness. We're energetic beings and we get affected by all kinds of energy, more than we're ever aware. We may ‘feel' something and even find it hard to explain what it is we're feeling. Energy, like air or oxygen, is invisible. Every one of us, he says, is naturally wired to clear our energy fields. This takes us to our natural state— often where we're closest to our soul. His goal is to help people restore their energy to optimal levels and to unlock our natural healing abilities and intuition. Meditation, as you might guess, is one of many tools. And…a Reminder: check out Muse at choosemuse.com. Use Untangle15 for your 15% discount off products.

Psychedelic Assisted Therapy has the potential to help us overcome our fears and learn from the contents of our subconscious. Dr. Rick Doblin, the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), is at the forefront of this research and advocacy, and working with the FDA to bring psychedelics to legalization. He shares beautiful insights about the mind, fear, war, and how he sees that psychedelics can save us.

Today's guest is Master Somatic Leadership Coach, Trauma Psychologist, and Mindfulness Instructor Chris Johnson. In her book, The Leadership Pause, she shares how to quiet the noise of the daily hustle so you can hear the still-small voice of purposeful curiosity that lives within you. This spaciousness breeds more wisdom in both work and life. She shares how mindful awareness can lead to clarity of heart and mind plus increased resilience AND help you to be a better, more natural leader with a clearer vision and a deeper connection to yourself and others. She says…”It's all about the pause.”

Today's guest is Dr. Emeran Mayer, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Physiology, and Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist with 35 years of experience in the study of clinical and neurobiological aspects of how the digestive system and the nervous system interact in health and disease. Today, we discuss his bestselling book, The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. The book combines neuroscience with the latest discoveries on the human microbiome with lots of insights on the biological link between the mind and the digestive system. He shares the science behind the mind-gut communication pipeline…and discusses how we can harness the power of this connection to take charge of our health and listen to the innate wisdom of our bodies. Our favorite quote: “The time has come for us to empower ourselves to be the engineers of our own internal ecosystem and our bodies and minds.”

Brilliant choreographer Alonzo King shares how finding stillness is key to fueling our creativity and intuition, cultivating the relationship we have with ourselves, and tapping into our natural state of joy. He finds stillness and his own inner voice through yoga and meditation, and inspires his dancers to use heart and mind in addition to the body.

Today's guest is Sharon Salzberg, one of the most prominent voices in the field of meditation, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, and author of 11 books including the NY Times Best Seller Real Happiness. Our conversation is about her newest book, Real change, Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World. It's an incredibly timely book because she shares great examples of how we can bridge the worlds of mindfulness and social action. Sharon has a way of expressing complex ideas in her signature, down-to-earth style. She invites us to rethink how we approach some of our most difficult emotions with grace and dignity.

Are you a little fed up with your partner sometimes? Or looking to be a better partner yourself? Our guests this week are a married couple, Nate and Kaley Klemp, who teach us how to be better, more mindful partners. They are mindfulness and organizational dynamic experts who get real about strategies to show up for the other person, even when the other partner might not be so mindful all the time.

Today's guest, in honor of Valentine's Day, is Loretta Breuning, PhD and author of several books including Habits of a Happy Brain and The Science of Positivity. She is the Founder of the Inner Mammal Institute where she studies the brain chemistry we share with mammals. It's fascinating how she connects our behaviors with those of mammals, especially as she dives into the neurochemicals…dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and cortisol — that drive love, relationships, and much of our lives. You'll learn a lot about the neurobiology of love, how to turn on the happy chemicals — and how you can build new neural pathways anytime. A little piece of advice she shares…Love is a neurochemical roller coaster, and managing your own chemicals works FAR better than blaming your partner for them.

Today's guest is Dr. Molly Maloof. She is the author of a new book called The Spark Factor. The Secret to Supercharging Energy, Becoming Resilient, and Feeling Better Than Ever. In this interview, she shares her research and insights on the key pillars of women's health and wellbeing. I found this to be like an encyclopedia chock full of information and data related to our brains, gut, mental and physical health. She's passionate about biohacking, lifestyle interventions, personalized medicine, and optimizing performance. It's a rich look at how we manage our own health so we don't have to rely on the healthcare system to ‘fix us' when something goes wrong.

In this episode, you can learn more about what you eat affects the health of your brain. Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Alzheimer's researcher, and nutritionist gives us a step-by-step guide to what foods to eat and what foods to avoid for the best brain health.

Matt has a Masters's in Psychology and Neuroscience and is the editor of the book Psychedelics for Everyone — A Beginners Guide to These Powerful Medicines for Anxiety, Depression, Addiction, PTSD, and Expanding Consciousness. The book is a compilation of writings from a number of different experts. In 2019 Matt had an opportunity to experience a guided psilocybin (magic mushroom) journey and, he says, it completely changed his worldview. Since then, he has gone from someone who had never taken any drugs, with the exception of a little cannabis, to a deep dive into the study of human consciousness with the help of psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, MDMA, and more. Psychedelics for Everyone is his attempt to share some of the insights he's gained. He feels these drugs can sometimes play a powerful role in healing.

This week on the Untangle Podcast, learn how to create any habit you want! By celebrating even the smallest changes as victories, you can rewire your brain to tackle your year's challenges successfully. Learn more about BJ Fogg at www.bjfogg.com and read his book, "Tiny Habits".

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is an author, speaker, and Harvard-trained neuroanatomist. You may remember her from her Ted Talk (viewed by over 27 mm people) and her NY Times best-selling book, My Stroke of Insight, A Brain Scientists Journey. In this book, she chronicles the experience of her rare stroke at the age of 37. She lost her ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her past. It took eight years for her to rebuild her brain — to recover all physical, emotional, and thinking abilities. Her second book is called Whole Brain Living, The Anatomy of Choice and the Four Characters That Drive Our Life. In this book, she blends neuroanatomy with psychology to illustrate how we can short-circuit emotional reactivity to lead a more fulfilling and peaceful life. Most of us have been led to believe that our right brain houses our emotions and the left brain our rational thinking. Jill shares that it's not that simple. Each of our hemispheres has both an emotional and a thinking brain. In this book, she presents these four distinct modules of cells in the brain as four characters that make up who we are. She presents a whole new language that we can use to understand our behaviors, feelings, and emotions. In this discussion, she introduces us to the 4 characters and offers ways we can find more peace in our daily lives and create healthier relationships. The more we become familiar with each of the characters in ourselves and others, the more power we gain over our thoughts, feelings, relationships, and our lives. Indeed, she says, we discover that we really do have the power to choose who and how we want to be in every moment.

In the perfect Zen antidote to new year's resolutions and planning and striving, Zen priest Rev Angel Kyodo Williams shows us the simplicity of returning to the self. To our enoughness. To the present moment. To our multiple and ever-changing purposes. To the joy that unfolds from just being, not doing, planning, or striving, and to the timelessness of the value of life- whatever year it is. This podcast offers a collective exhale to just be and take life as it is.

At the end of each year, I love to look back at some of the gems that have come from Untangle. It's such a joy to be reminded of all the insights and inspiration that our guests invite us to explore. This year there are some wonderful themes: Accepting all of who we are…the wholeness and the brokenness; Being in alignment with our values and our true nature; Noticing the fragility of life as we behold the joys and sorrows; Allowing for the idea that ambiguity teaches us that there can be multiple interpretations and possibilities to any situation; Cultivating friendships is a key to meaning and happiness. There's more in this annual episode of Untangle. We hope you enjoy it. Happy 2023 to all!

As children, the holidays hold an undeniable sense of magic. As adults, we can lose our sense of that magic in the busyness and obligation of the season. In this special holiday episode of Untangle, we learn that we can uncover the magic and mystery that is there for us all to savor--if we can get quiet enough to listen. This beautiful episode inspires us to hear, see, and taste the magic of the season. It might just change how you think about the holidays! Our guest is Father John Markey, an LGBTQ Roman-Catholic priest, and professor of theology and spirituality at Oblate School of Theology. We've saved everyone a seat at our holiday table!

Today's guest is writer, singer, songwriter, and teacher, Marisa Handler. Marisa is the author of the memoir, Loyal to The Sky, and is a longtime spiritual practitioner and teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition. She's also a Facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie. Marisa teaches creativity, meditation, and transformation at places like Stanford University, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and California Institute of Integral Studies. Today we talk about her 9-month program called Live Your Creative Genius: Birth Your Most Brilliant Work where she integrates creativity, art, meditation, spirituality, and community. She shares how we can let go of old ways of creating, identify resistance and blocks that get in our way, open up a clear channel for our creative energy and vision all while finding and expressing our true creative voice. I especially like her ideas about confidence, trusting yourself as a creative, and knowing that what you have to say matters. You can find out more about her one-on-one coaching or her 9-month program at marisahandler.com.

Today's guest is author and dance movement therapist, Erica Hornthal. Her book is called Body Aware — Rediscover Your Mind-Body Connection, Stop Feeling Stuck, and Improve Your Mental Health with Simple Movement Practices. Erica believes that traditional talk therapy can only get you so far. Dance Movement Therapy, on the other hand, uses movement to integrate mind, body, and spirit…as well as the social, cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects of an individual. For Erica, it's about bringing nonverbal communication into the therapeutic process. There's quite a bit of mindfulness and awareness of the body and sensations in her body aware practices. Muse's Holiday Sale is On! By using the promo code HOLIDAY2022, you will receive a 20% discount on Muse at https://choosemuse.com/shop! For users in Canada, use the promo code MM-HOLIDAY2022 to receive 15% off a Muse Membership at choosemuse.ca

Shama Rahman is a successful musician, actor, and PhD neuroscientist who studies creativity and flow. Listen as she unravels what's happening in your brain when you're getting creative or experiencing flow, and hear tips on how we can all spend more time in those states.

This meditation invites us to be still and focus on gratitude for the people in our lives; our bodies; the earth and the planet. We at Muse wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and hope that you'll always invite a bit of gratitude into your life.

Jake Knapp spent 10 years at Google and Google Ventures running the design sprint process and is the co-author of the new book, "Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day." He shares his 4 step system for getting the most out of your day by making simple--but powerful--changes in your schedule, your mindset, and your technology.

Today's guest is Koshin Paley Ellison. He is A Zen teacher, Jungian Psychotherapist, and Cofounder of the NY Zen Center where he, and his partner Chodo, have numerous trainings and gatherings. His new book is called, ironically, Untangled. Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion. The book takes us through the process of creating profound change, both inside and out. Life can be so fragile and subject to ever-changing circumstances, good, messy, difficult and all of the above— and these changes have the tendency to “tangle" us up in our own web of stories. This, he says, tends to create suffering, so Koshin offers many insights and inspirations for how we can untangle the tangles, allowing for greater clarity AND acceptance. We can learn to find balance with the whole range of joy and pain. He says that we can never be free until we can be still with our pain AND…that everything we encounter in life can be a place of practice. What a great piece of wisdom.

Dr. Joe Dispenza, a New York Times bestselling author, researcher, and educator is driven by the conviction that each of us has the potential for greatness and unlimited abilities--including the ability to heal ourselves. He shares how he healed himself after a devastating bike accident and the mind-body work he's continued to do to help others.

Dr. Marisa Franco is a New York Times bestselling Author, Professor, Psychologist, and self-proclaimed friendship expert. Marisa discusses the science of connection — and the importance of platonic friendships. Her new book is called Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make--and Keep--Friends. She believes friendship is the single best action a person can take to live a longer life, take the edge off depression, flourish and even revitalize a marriage. She challenges the notion that friendships should be at the bottom of the relationship totem poll.  Her mantra is — Never stop cultivating friendships and connections.  She gives us many reasons to prioritize platonic love and bring more friends into our life, nurture the ones we already have and keep building community. If we do these things, we'll always be surrounded by love —whether or not we choose a romantic relationship.

Dr. Adrian Owen, a renowned neuroscientist, discovered that individuals in a persistent coma could still communicate- and he went one step further and listened to what they wanted to say. He's also performed the largest sleep and cognition study in the world, and demonstrated why brain training apps are bunk, and what we can do to sleep better and improve our own conscious function.

Kristin Neff is an extremely well-regarded expert and pioneer in the field of self-compassion. Her most recent book is called Fierce Self Compassion: How Women can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim their Power and Thrive. She discusses how self-compassion allows us to be tender with ourselves in difficult situations, but also that it sometimes needs to be fierce — like the mama bear energy that comes from a place of love, service, and a desire to reduce harm. We must, she says, act courageously to protect ourselves from harm and injustice — and to motivate necessary change in ourselves and society. Her message…women can be fierce and tender. Best quote from the book: "Tender Self-Compassion harnesses the energy of nurturing to alleviate suffering while fierce Self-Compassion harnesses the energy of action to alleviate suffering." We need both.

Dr. Steven Gundry MD shows us how the trillions of bacteria in our microbiome dramatically affect our levels of energy and our mood and even our weight loss. He shows us how to keep them fed and happy to keep us literally happy and functioning optimally. In this very fun and informative episode, Dr. Gundry walks us through the fascinating science of how exactly it is that the “farts” from the miniature organisms in your gut improve the function of your brain, and how and why you should care for them.

Rebel entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author with five books published so far, Chip Conley disrupted the hospitality industry at age 26. With confidence from his education at Stanford University and his entrepreneurial spirit, he founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality — transforming an inner-city motel into the second largest boutique hotel brand in America. Next, after some interesting experiences he shares, he served as Airbnb's Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy for four years.  NEXT…in his early 50's,  he went on to found the Modern Elder Academy (MEA), where he and his team have developed a new roadmap for midlife that is offered at an oceanfront campus in Mexico, and online. Transitions happen for all of us…often.  While his focus is on mid-life — there is much to be gained for those of us at any age. You can check out Chip's Modern elder academy 8-week online course with over 30 experts, covering how you can live and work with more purpose….starts October 15 — register at modernelderacademy.com.

Psychadelic Assisted Therapy has the potential to help us overcome our fears and learn from the contents of our subconscious. Dr. Rick Doblin, the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), is at the forefront of this research and advocacy, and working with the FDA to bring psychedelics to legalization. He shares beautiful insights about the mind, fear, war, and how he sees that psychedelics can save us.

Today's guest is Dr. Shauna Shapiro.  Shauna is a best-selling author, professor, clinical psychologist, and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion. She has spent two decades studying the benefits of mindfulness and compassion, publishing over 150 papers and three critically acclaimed books. Her TEDx Talk, What You Practice Grows Stronger, has been viewed over 3 million times, and this concept is key to her philosophy.  Her book, Good Morning, I love you…encompasses the full range of practices that help us to grow both our meditation and compassion practices. I think you'll find it interesting to learn how she decided to name her book.

Manifesting what you want in life is a tantalizing prospect. Danette May shares her amazing story of how her mindset, process, determination…. and some manifestation, made profound changes in her life. She shares her process of how to shift your own mind to manifest what you want. In the following episode, we explore what might be going on scientifically in the experience of manifestation.

Kyle Rand founded a company called Rendever, which uses Virtual Reality technology to deliver experiences that help reduce social isolation and loneliness in the aging population.   They have created a large library of content from travel to symphonies to meditation and so much more. The experiences are transformative and they've been able to validate the effectiveness with data that shows its positive impact.  Kyle grew up volunteering in a senior living community — which has inspired this work —  and he went on to study the cognitive decline in the aging population. His neuroscience research was largely focused on the link between functional structural changes in the brain that happen as you age. That said, we think his technology and content have the potential to help many populations. Kyle was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2019 and Rendever was recently honored on the 2022 TIME list of 100 Most Influential Companies.

Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Campbell, two Zen Buddhist practitioners in Manhattan, talk about what led them to their meditation practice, their work in end-of-life care, and their new book, "Awake at the Bedside". They share why intimacy with others is at the heart of contemplative care.

Today's guest is the amazing Parker J Palmer. At age 82, he is one of the wisest souls I've ever had the pleasure to meet. It's our luck that he's written 10 books that share so much of this wisdom with heart, vulnerability, and authenticity. When I read his work, I know that we are all connected as humans, that we all are both whole and broken at the same time. He is a writer, speaker, activist, poet, founder, and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal. He has reached millions worldwide through his books, including the best-selling Healing the Heart of Democracy, Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, and A Hidden Wholeness. His latest bestseller is On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old, which is what we discuss today. I devoured this book on my last birthday, feeling the weight of age and time passing. It was like wrapping myself up in a warm blanket. He also holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley and 13 honorary doctorates. He has won numerous awards, which are listed in our show notes.

We all crave human connection, but it can be hard to know how to make it. Shyness, introversion, and Covid protocols can get in the way of fulfilling the desire to connect. Behavioral scientist and author Jon Levy shows us simple practical strategies everyone can use to build trust and deeper connections, whether it's for business or to make and deepen personal connections.

Toni Bernhard is an author who has written 4 books on issues related to coping with physical and emotional pain and illness. The book we discussed today is called “How to Be Sick. A Buddhist Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers.” Her companion guide is an amazing resource of coping tools. Toni has been living with a viral infection for 20 years and, as such, lives with pain and fatigue every day. She was previously a Law Professor at UC Davis until her life took this unexpected turn. Her books share her personal story but are also compilations of the wisdom and tools that have helped her cope with the physical and emotional challenges she continues to face. I found her to be uplifting, graceful, honest, and wise as she shared how she has navigated and accepted her life journey…for better and for worse. You'll hear how illness can be a metaphor for life and how we can all handle the mix of joys and sorrows that we inevitably face.

Andrea Small is a design leader, strategist, educator, and former Stanford University d.school teaching fellow. We discuss her book Navigating Ambiguity. Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns. The timing is perfect for this book — as many of us personally, professionally and in the world at large are dealing with unknowns. She shares the differences between ambiguity and uncertainty…and how we can embrace the discomfort of the unknown to create new, innovative, and creative possibilities. She invites us to lean into ‘not knowing', to be more open to being surprised. The inside cover of the book says it perfectly ‘ The book shows you how to surrender control by being adaptable, curious, and unbiased as well as resourceful, tenacious, and courageous. This book has a lot to teach us beyond its original intention for design and education. These ideas and concepts can be applied to various challenges as we go through our lives.

Did you know that the way you breathe can energize or relax you? That a simple hack can help with snoring and sleep apnea? That your lung volume can relate to your longevity, and that your lung volume can be expanded with simple exercises? James Nestor takes us on a fascinating trip into the breath, explains how and why different breath techniques work and will transform each breath you take for the better.

Today's guest is one of my favorite people in the world. She's a dear friend… in addition to being a former media executive, angel investor, mentor to hundreds of young women, and now the author of two amazing books. Her first book was a best seller and is called “The Myth of the Nice Girl.” Her recent book is called "Embrace the Work, Love Your Career: A Guided Workbook for Realizing Your Career Goals with Clarity, Intention, and Confidence". This workbook is intended to help women get the most out of their careers and is chock full of advice, strategies, creative prompts, and thoughtful exercises designed to mix action with reflection as you build your plan. I love the meditations and coloring book features that are included to help pause and settle. This holistic mix of actionable tools inspires us to focus on the big things that truly matter so that we can each reach our full potential. One of her supporters says it perfectly; “This book is more than a must-read. It's a must experience for any woman who wants to clarify her purpose and create an action plan to manifest personally and professionally.“