The One You Feed | Personal Growth, Emotional Resilience & Purpose

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Elissa Epel on Telomeres and How our Choices Affect Them and our Health Jan 10, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Elissa Epel knows a lot about the science of stress. As a health psychologist, she specializes in research surrounding the role Telomeres and their length play in our body's response to stress. In this episode, she explains how the choices we make emotionally, about our thought patterns, our lifestyle etc directly affects our biology in a very clear and measurable way. It turns out, our thoughts and our behavior have a measurable impact on our biology at a cellular level and there are things that we can do to make that impact a positive one. When it comes to telomeres, in most cases, the longer the better and you can do things to impact that variable of length starting today. She is the coauthor with Nobel winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn of the book The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier and Longer

This episode is sponsored by Health IQ. Get lower rates on life insurance if you are health conscious. Get free quote here

In This Interview, Elissa Epel and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
Her book, The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier and Longer
That genes load the gun and environment pulls the trigger
How at least 50% of the variance of whether we die early, get sick etc is our behavior, which is shaped by our psychological experience
What a telomere is and their role in aging
Keeping them long, and sturdy and stable throughout our lives
That in mid-life, shorter telomeres predict getting diseases of aging, earlier (cancer is an exception)
That telomere length can be epigenetic
The role of inflammation in our health
Inflamm-aging
An anti-inflammatory diet
Depression and telomere length
The challenge response
That not ruminating on a stressor can lead to a quicker psychological recovery which leads to a quicker physiological recovery
Linguistic Self Distancing = improved stress resilience
It's not about avoiding stress, it's about coping with stress in a way that doesn't amplify the stress in our mind in a prolonged way
Time distancing

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Steve Hagen on Perception, Conception, and Enlightenment Jan 03, 2018

Show notes

Steve Hagen is the founder and teacher of the Dharma Field Zen Center in Minneapolis, MN and the author of several books on Buddhism, including Buddhism Plain and Simple which is one of the top five best selling books on Buddhism in the United States. In this episode, Steve teaches us about several Buddhist concepts that are often misunderstood: Wholeness vs Unwholesomeness, Perception vs Conception and Belief vs Knowledge. Knowing the true meaning of these ideas will give you great freedom as you seek the enlightenment that is your true nature.

This episode is sponsored by Health IQ and Casper

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In This Interview, Steve Hagen and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
His book, Buddhism Plain and Simple
The Horse and the Farmer parable
Wholeness vs Unwholesome
Consider the welfare of other beings in all you do
Awareness
Perception (the immediate, direct experience) vs Conception (our construct of things)
Belief vs Knowledge
That we can't arrive at truth through conception
That enlightenment is with us all of the time, we're just not aware of it
That enlightenment is our natural state
The idea of "stream" as self, the Buddha said
That the way things appear to be is more of a construct than a reality
How picking and choosing is the mind's worst disease
Noticing how the mind leans a certain way
That a Buddha is a person who is awake
The power of simply observing something about ourselves rather than trying to put a stop to it or judging it
The Story about the 84 Problems

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Johann Berlin on Living a Fulfilling Life Dec 27, 2017

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Johann Berlin has worked with some of the world's greatest leaders, Fortune 500 companies, has spoken at a Ted conference and is in the process of writing a book about what it means to live a fulfilling life. Have you ever found yourself hating your day job? Wishing you could do the thing you truly love? Not sure what would make you happy at work but you know what you're doing now isn't helping? In this episode, Johann shares really helpful and practical approaches that you can start applying today in order to bring more meaning and fulfillment into your daily life - both at work and otherwise.

Johann Berlin is the CEO of TLEX U.S. Johann has grown TLEX nationwide and into leading institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining TLEX, Johann scaled boutique triple bottom line and social sector companies from concept to high-impact with a special focus on innovative and disruptive wellness, leadership, innovation initiatives with the project being mentioned in Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and Wharton Journal.

Johann has participated as a speaker/facilitator at TEDx London, Stanford Center for Compassion, Harvard Executive MBA Alumni Summit, Wharton School of Business, UC Berkeley’s Leadership Symposium, Yale School of Management, Impact Investor Sustainatopia Conference, GE HealthCare’s Health Ahead Summit Paris, and Dartmouth on Purpose.

In This Interview, Johann Berlin and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
That what you put your attention on grows
What love means in a corporate environment
The difference between a question and a wonder
Moving from desire to finding things that bring you contentment
It's not always what you do but that you have meaningful relationships at work
"Do service", doing things with honor, treating things as special
How if you hate your job, you don't have the energy to do the things you love
What you resist, persists
Suppressing your thoughts
How hating your job causes you to suffer
His troubled youth
The role that the kindness of other people has played in his life
His three reflections on kindness:
We choose who we are kind to
No act is too small
The starfish story
Don't lose hope
Choosing to show up in the moment
If you honor the moment, you can choose to show up for it
Living wisely with the changing, advancing age

Johann Berlin Links

Homepage

Twitter

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Andrea Lieberstein on Mindful Eating to Nourish our Whole Selves Dec 20, 2017

Show notes

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Andrea Lieberstein can teach you how to nourish your whole self so that you can have a healthier relationship with food. What does that mean? Well, often, we turn to food to nourish parts of our lives that it is not equipped to nourish. Have you ever turned to food to soothe anxiety or stress? This is a really common way that we ask food to do something that it's not meant to do. In this episode, Andrea teaches specific strategies for how to bring mindfulness into the act of eating. These practical, multi-pronged approaches are ones that you can bring to your very next encounter with food.

Andrea Lieberstein is a mindfulness-based registered dietitian nutritionist, mindful eating (MB-EAT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) instructor and coach, trainer, and registered yoga instructor has specialized in helping people transform their lives for over 25 years. She leads mindfulness meditation and mindful eating trainings and retreats at retreat centers across the country and internationally. Her individual coaching sessions are accessible to anyone through phone or a virtual video office. She utilizes Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT), MBSR, MSC (Mindful Self-Compassion) and other mindfulness-based and mindful eating practices in her private practice working with individuals on a wide range of disordered eating, healthy weight management, body image and stress-related issues and health concerns.

Her latest book is called: Well Nourished: Mindful Practices to Heal Your Relationship with Food Feed Your Whole Self, and End Overeating

In This Interview, Andrea Lieberstein and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
Her book, Well Nourished: Mindful Practices to Heal Your Relationship with Food Feed Your Whole Self, and End Overeating
The importance of what we pay attention to
The 8 bodies that we can nourish
Being "fully resourced"
Identifying your intention to have a better relationship with food
Bringing mindful awareness to our eating triggers and our own bodies
Learning to tune into hunger, fullness, cravings
Making conscious, informed choices when it comes to food
Honoring ourselves and appreciating others at holiday mealtimes
Savoring our food so that we're really present and not on autopilot
A mindful check-in: Pause, Deep Breaths, Ask "What is Present?"/"What's Going on Here?", Ask, "What do I really need right now?", Take a moment to reflect on your food
Highly processed food
The myth of needing to wait 20 minutes to know whether or not we're full
Satisfaction at mealtime
Making one meal or snack a day a silent one
The 8 Bodies we need to Nourish: Physical, Emotional, Psychological, Social, Intellectual, Creative, Spiritual, and Worldly Nourishment
How to deal with emotions in other ways than turning to food
"Surfing the urge"
Loving-kindness and cravings

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Bonus: The Why Try Effect with Dr. Jon Mills Dec 18, 2017

Show notes

Dr. Jon Mills is back and in this episode we discuss a paper that talks about self stigmatization and the "why try" effect.

Self-stigma and the “why try” effect: impact on life goals and evidence-based practices

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2694098/

Many individuals with mental illnesses are troubled by self-stigma and the subsequent processes that accompany this stigma: low self-esteem and self-efficacy. “Why try” is the overarching phenomenon of interest here, encompassing self-stigma, mediating processes, and their effect on goal-related behavior. In this paper, the literature that explains “why try” is reviewed, with special focus on social psychological models. Self-stigma comprises three steps: awareness of the stereotype, agreement with it, and applying it to one’s self. As a result of these processes, people suffer reduced self-esteem and self-efficacy. People are dissuaded from pursuing the kind of opportunities that are fundamental to achieving life goals because of diminished self-esteem and self-efficacy. People may also avoid accessing and using evidence-based practices that help achieve these goals. The effects of self-stigma and the “why try” effect can be diminished by services that promote consumer empowerment.

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Peter Block: Freeing Yourself from Consumer Culture Dec 13, 2017

Show notes

Peter Block pursues the big questions in his life. What does that mean? Well, after listening to this episode, you'll know and I'll bet you'll do it, too. Peter has such a way with words that when he chooses them and puts them together, deep, profound wisdom is conveyed. It may be 4 words he speaks, but the truth behind them humans have experienced since the beginning of time. In this episode, he introduces you to perspectives on the free market consumer ideology that will set you free. Does it sound like I'm overpromising? You be the judge. (Hint: I'm not).

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Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community.

Peter is the author of several best selling books. The most widely known being Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used. In addition, he has published Community: The Structure of Belonging, The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, and The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters

The books are about ways to create workplaces and communities that work for all. They offer an alternative to the patriarchal beliefs that dominate our culture. His work is to bring change into the world through consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force.

He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops designed by Peter to build the skills outlined in his books. He received a Masters Degree in Industrial Administration from Yale University in 1963; he performed his undergraduate work at the University of Kansas.

Peter serves on the Boards of Directors of Cincinnati Classical Public Radio; Elementz, a Hip Hop center for urban youth; and LivePerson, a provider of online engagement solutions. He is on the Advisory Board for the Festival in the Workplace Institute, Bahamas. He is the first Distinguished Consultant-in-Residence at Xavier University. With other volunteers in Cincinnati, Peter began A Small Group, whose work is to create a new community narrative and to bring his work on civic engagement into being.

His latest book is called: An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture

In This Interview, Peter Block and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
His book, An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture
"I shop, therefore I am"
The 4 pillars of the free market consumer ideology under which we live: Scarcity, Certainty, Perfection, and Privatisation
If we believe in scarcity, then it's "I win, You loose" or "You win, I lose"
The scarcity mindset is a lie
We are drawn to leaders who give us the feeling of certainty
"A high control civilization"
The longing for perfection, or "Is something wrong with me?"
Privatisation, or the implementation of Scarcity, Certainty, and Perfection
Privatisation says that you cannot trust the collective
In order to live the first 3 pillars, it's me vs the government
Perhaps, rather than happiness, freedom, and meaning are the point
The importance of having a purpose
Have we rendered our youth and the elderly purposeless?
The problem with consumerism is that no matter how much you have, it's never enough
The creation of modernism
Neighborliness and Covenant
His book, The Answer to How is Yes
That questions bring us together and answers alienate us
That sadness isn't a problem to be solved, rather, part of being human
If someone can convince you that something is wrong with you, they have control over you

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Shozan Jack Haubner: Living with Leonard Cohen and a Zen Sex Scandal Dec 05, 2017

Show notes

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Shozan Jack is a fascinating guy. He grew up in a Catholic home, studied philosophy, has been a stand-up comedian and has authored two books and many essays. He's got the gift of striking your funny bone in one sentence and then in the very next sentence, striking the center of your heart and mind in a profound way. In this episode, which is part 2 of a two-part interview, you'll hear him talk about his experience living as a monk inside of a Buddhist monastery, being a monk alongside Leonard Cohen, dealing with a sex scandal at his monastery, and what it has been like to transition into living his life back in the world and the many teachings with great wisdom along the way.

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Shozan Jack Haubner is the pen name of a Zen monk whose essays have appeared in The Sun, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and the New York Times, as well as in the Best Buddhist Writing series. The winner of a 2012 Pushcart Prize, he is also the author of Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk.

His latest book is called: Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order)

In This Interview, Shozan Jack Haubner and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
His new book, Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order)
How Leonard Cohen spent his time as a Buddhist monk in the monastery
The union of contrary things
His take on Leonard Cohen's last album
The opposite of despair for Leonard Cohen isn't happiness, it's clarity
The sex scandal involving his teacher
His experience leaving the monastery
What's next for him in his life
His conversation with a Christian priest about fighting demons
Suffering = pain + resistance
Letting feelings come and go
He calls himself the "middle manager of the middle way"
The middle way involves dissolving the distance between self and other, in complete giving, in either receiving or initiating.
Also, the middle way is not picking one thing OR another
The importance of walking your path when it comes to learning
His experience taking Ayahuasca

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Shozan Jack Haubner- No Self, an Opium High and a Death Sentence Nov 29, 2017

Show notes

Shozan Jack is a fascinating guy. He grew up in a Catholic home, studied philosophy, has been a stand-up comedian, has authored two books and many essays, was a screenwriter and poet and currently lives as a Zen monk and priest. He's got the gift of striking your funny bone in one sentence and then in the very next sentence, striking the center of your heart and mind in a profound way. In this episode, which is part one of a two-part interview, you'll hear him explain the Buddhist concept of "no-self" in such a way that it finally makes sense, hear how even Zen monks chase success and yes - his experience with an opium high and being given a death sentence (spoiler alert: he's still alive).

His latest book is called: Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order)

In This Interview, Shozan Jack Haubner and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
His new book, Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order)
How it's not about good and evil but rather, where do each come from?
The idea of no self
Who am I vs. Where am I?
That the self is not fixed and it's not solid
The self is porous, co-dependent arising through relationships with our surroundings
That the worship of success thwarts true fulfillment
"No attachment to an outcome"
An opium high and a death sentence

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Tasha Eurich on Gauging and Growing our Self-Awareness Nov 22, 2017

Show notes

Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist who is passionate about researching self-awareness and translating that research into practical, actionable information to aid in our discovery and improvement of our own self-awareness. In this interview, you'll be introduced to fascinating scientific research about self-awareness and you'll end up being equipped with some very helpful tools to gauge and grow your own. Since research shows that 95% of people think that they're very self-aware but in reality, only 10% actually are, statistically speaking, you're probably going to want to listen to this episode.

Tasha Eurich is a workplace psychologist, speaker, author, and principal of The Eurich Group. She helps organizations succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders and teams. She works with executives in Fortune 500 organizations and serves on the faculty of the Center for Creative Leadership. Her articles have appeared in several magazines and journals including Chief Learning Officer Magazine, The Journal of Business Psychology, and The Work Style Magazine. Her first book, Bankable Leadership: Happy People, Bottom-Line Results, and the Power to Deliver Both, was published in 2013.

Her latest book is called: Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life

In This Interview, Tasha Eurich and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
Her book, Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life
How self-awareness is the single most important but least examined determinate of success and failure
The meta-skill of the 21st century
That it took a year to review 800 studies and subsequently define self-awareness
How self-awareness is made up of 2 types of knowledge of ourselves: internal self-awareness (how we see ourselves) and external self-awareness (how others see us)
That 95% of people think that they're very self-aware but the research shows that we're not as self-aware as we think we are - about 10% actually are
The 7 pillars of self-awareness:
They understand their values
They understand their passions
They understand their aspirations
They understand their "fit"
They understand their patterns
They understand their reactions (momentary reactions to the world, our strengths, and our weaknesses)
They understand the impact they have on other people
How to do an audit on the 7 pillars to determine your levels of self-awareness
That a lot of us actually don't want to know the truth
Braver but wiser
3 blind spots: Knowledge blindness, Emotion blindness, and Behavior blindness
The cult of self
Self-absorption vs self-awareness
How it's easier to feel great about ourselves rather than taking the steps to actually become great
Pairing self-awareness with self-acceptance
The role of rumination
Asking what instead of why
The role of our past in self-awareness
A daily check-in