Welcome to Whole Again with your host, Michael O'Brien, where we explore the beauty of resilience and connection and how we can apply the principles of kintsugi to our lives, making us stronger and more beautiful for having been broken.

In this episode:

• Michael shares his journey of recovery from a near-fatal cycling accident and how it led to the creation of The Kintsugi Podcast.
• Discover how a total knee replacement and the challenges of the pandemic led Michael to take a pause and reassess his priorities.
• Learn about Michael and his wife's epic cross-country adventure to celebrate the 21st anniversary of his life-changing accident.
• Michael reflects on the vast beauty of America, its diverse communities, and the shared feelings of worry and hope that bind us all.
• We dive into the concept of like-heartedness and how finding common emotional ground can be more important than like-mindedness.
• The podcast discusses the power of mindfulness and gratitude and the launch of the Pause, Breathe, Reflect app that aims to bring peace and healing to the world.
• Michael invites listeners to integrate mindfulness into their daily lives to promote a more thoughtful and peaceful existence.
• The episode concludes with inspiring tales from Michael's bike journey across New York State and the resurgence of The Kintsugi Podcast to bring uplifting stories to the forefront.

If this episode sparked something within you, please download it and share it with a friend. 

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver, or lacquer, highlighting the cracks rather than hiding them. It embodies the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfection and teaches that breakage and repair are part of an object’s history, making it more valuable rather than less. Metaphorically, Kintsugi reminds us that our challenges, scars, and setbacks are not something to be ashamed of but can be embraced as a source of strength and transformation.

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Thanks for being here! I appreciate you! 

Let's celebrate our scars as golden symbols of resilience and strength. 

My name is Michael. I'm a husband, father, son, and friend. I'm also an executive coach, speaker, and meditation teacher, and I help people prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day and help them heal, grow, and develop more resilience. 

I'm not a doctor or therapist. But I have been through the “ringer,” as they say. I was involved in a cycling accident, and my trauma team doesn’t know how I survived. Along the way, I’ve tried it all to heal and in my podcast, I share what I’ve learned in hopes that something might help you. Plus, I want to create a connection with you so you’re not alone in your journey. You’ve got this!

If you feel you need more mental health support, please contact NAMI. This is a good place to start. If you have a question or comment, please reach out to [email protected]. 

With Whole Again: A Fresh Approach to Healing, Growth & Resilience after Physical Trauma through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on stress management, mindfulness practices, and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools like breathwork, grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress relief. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embraces healing as a process of transformation, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and being overwhelmed to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and holistic approaches to self-care, this podcast empowers listeners to cultivate emotional resilience and live with greater balance and intention.