Being Human

#207 Finding Zen – with Henry Shukman

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This week I speak with Henry Shukman, author and current Spiritual Director of The Mountain Cloud Zen Center. He teaches mindfulness and awakening practices to a wide range of students from all traditions and walks of life.Henry is a man who seems to have led several lives: author, singer and now Zen adept. His battles with severe eczema at an early age, coupled with the break-up on his parents' marriage, led him on a life-long quest to find relief from his suffering. After a spontaneous spiritual awakening at the age of 19, followed by a difficult few years, he embarked on a long journey of healing and awakening. His Zen quest ultimately led to the international abbot of Sanbo Zen appointing him a teacher in 2010.
We talk:- The Zen atheist- Trauma release and spirituality- Childrearing for awakening- The arduous path
Links:Mountain Cloud Zen CenterHenry's Books

#206 The Chief Wellbeing Officer – with Dr. Steven MacGregor

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This week I speak with Dr. Steven MacGregor, the founder of The Leadership Academy of Barcelona, Honorary Professor of Health and Wellbeing at the Glasgow School of Art, and External Advisor for McKinsey & Company.
After completing his first degree, Steven continued his education, and athletic pursuits whilst his friends took corporate jobs. He watched his own wellbeing sore as his friends' nosedived. Seeing these companies squashing the vitality of his colleagues set him on a mission to change things.  
Steven is also a former international-level duathlete currently racing for FC Barcelona and has trained with Olympic athletes, Tour de France cyclists and Ironman champions.
 
We talk:- wellbeing as a function of habit- nutrition and movement- stealth exercise
 
Links:Dr. MacGregor's booksThe Daily Reset

#205 Somatic Archaeology – with Dr. Ruby Gibson

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This week I speak with an extraordinary woman, Dr. Ruby Gibson, the developer or the technique called Somatic Archaeology, a transgenerational approach to wellness and reclaiming memory.
For the past 35 years, Dr. Gibson has been dedicated to the craft and science of Historical Trauma recovery internationally and among Native Peoples. As a mixed­-blood woman, Dr. Gibson's life experience and ceremonial life guided her to develop these healing techniques. She has learned how to simplify the complexity of trauma recovery through the inspiration of her spiritual grandmothers and the four worlds of creation. 
We talk:
- The 5 archaeological steps- Learning from the natural world- 7 generations in each direction- Healing her family history of alcoholism and abandonment- The power of the indigenous medicine wheel
Links:
Freedom LodgeMy Body My Breath
 

#204 Ice Wisdom – with ‘Uncle’ Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq

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My extraordinary guest this week has dedicated his life to connecting to nature, out there as well as inside. ‘Uncle’ Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq is a shaman, traditional healer, storyteller and carrier of the Qilaut (winddrum), whose family belongs to the traditional healers of the Far North from Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland. 
We talk the importance of smelling each other (yes), melting the ice, meeting Mandela, and the simple acts of connection that can restore our humanity. 
Links:Ice Wisdom

#203 The Power Of Deep Work – with Dr. Tom Cotton

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Our guest this week is psychotherapist and executive coach Dr. Tom Cotton.He's a man who stands for the power of deep work. So much so that he invites people to spend three days with him in an abandoned village in the Haut-Languedoc mountains to get beneath their surface thinking.  We talk about exploring deep work for connection, creativity, and shared mission. Tom also shares the principles of his approach to deep work for those unable to join his fantastic retreats.
Links:Sue Prideaux - I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche

#202 Hold on to Your Kids – with Dr. Gordon Neufeld

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For any parents out there, our guest this week is Dr. Gordon Neufeld, author of Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers.He speaks about the perils of peer attachment in our children and what we can do to win them back. I'm joined by a colleague in my co-working space, Suzanne, who is facing this right now, and Gordon provides Suzanne with some real-time advice, including sharing how he rescued his relationship with his own daughter.We talk about effective strategies for preserving our child-parent relationships in the context of today's ubiquitous social media presence.
 
Links:Hold on to Your Kids -  The BookThe Neufeld Institute

#201 What Is Wisdom? – with Kayvan Kian

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I'm delighted to say that we're back this week with one of the most thoughtful guys I know, Kayvan Kian. He has a new book, What Is Wisdom?: A Collection of Practical Thoughts for Better Decisions in Life, in which he invites us to channel different philosophers to help us think through life's challenges and opportunities more carefully. 
The main takeaway from my conversation with Kayvan was the importance of slowing down. Also, the need to make time to think whilst reflecting on how we're thinking. It's this that can help us to dramatically improve our decision making.
Links:What Is Wisdom - The BookKayvan's Website 

#200 Wounds into Wisdom – with Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, PhD

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This week's guest is author and Jungian psychotherapist Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, PhD.
The lasting effects of individual trauma are now widely recognized. But what of the consequences of trauma two, three or four generations down the line?
Tirzah's book Wounds Into Wisdom makes a compelling case that trauma legacies can be transformed and healed.
We talk:
Facing your loss 
Trauma passing down generations 
Weaponising our trauma 
Embracing, then releasing victimhood 
Seven principles of recovery
Links:Tirzah's Website

#199 Unlearn Your Pain – with Howard Schubiner, MD

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This week's guest is Dr. Howard Schubiner, director of the Mind Body Medicine Center at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan and Clinical Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
According to Dr. Schubiner, our chronic pain is often a learned response or association, meaning that we have conditioned ourselves to associate a trigger with a reaction.
Dr. Schubiner suggests that we can "re-wire" our neural circuits to undo this conditioning using his Mind-Body approach. 
If you're suffering from chronic pain or have friends and family that do, Dr Schubiner is well worth a listen. 
We talk:
Howard's conversion to mind-body thinking
Medicine's blind spot
Job satisfaction and back pain 
How forgiveness can heal you physically
How pain protects us
Links:The Unlearn Your Pain WebsiteUnlearn Your Pain - The Book    Resources recommended by Dr. Hubiner: 
The TMS Wiki - for those suffering from Tension Myositis Syndrome
The Psychophysiologic Disorders Association - dedicated to ending chronic pain
SIRPA (UK) - providing a cutting edge approach to chronic pain

#198 From the Ashes – with Jesse Thistle

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This week's guest is Jesse Thistle, author of the inspiring debut memoir, From the Ashes.
Abandoned by his parents before becoming a high school dropout, Jesse is now a rising Indigenous scholar. His book charts the story of his life on the streets and how Jesse overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is.
  We talk:
Hiding from the police as a toddler
Attempting to get killed by his dealer
Finding redemption in prison
From undergrad to professor in 7 years
How recovery happens in loving communities
Jesse's truly is an incredible story.    Links:From The Ashes - The BookJesse's Website