Arash's World Podcast

Welcome to my new podcast series of Ramblings and Takeaways where I discuss relevant matters of Mental Health, health, wellness & wellbeing, happiness as well as philosophical and existential issues. I share my point of view and my thoughts, ideas, and personal experiences but also offer at least three actionable takeaways in each session.

In today's show, I talk about growing up without the benefits and drawbacks of technology, how I learned to welcome and embrace it in my personal and professional life and how to ensure to make the most out of it and not become controlled by technology.

I also talk about the many benefits and potential drawbacks of remote working, which has been and continues, for better and for worse, to be the reality of many of us today, courtesy of the pandemic.

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to talk with Dr. Keren Tsuk, Speaker, Consultant, Thought Leader, and Author of Mindfully Wise Leadership: The Secret of Today’s Leaders.

Keren explains that mindfulness is a crucial element that we need to embrace as leaders and individuals and that this could help leaders in leading financially successful organizations while also motivating the employees for meaningfulness and intrinsic motivation.

We also discuss how to respond mindfully to stressful and uncertain moments and situations, the importance of finding the right work-life balance and creating a safe and comfortable workplace and environment for everyone. Communication, especially in this day and age, is of great importance and can help nourish trust and respect across the board and create a sense of community.

Finally, leaders need to foster, promote and encourage autonomy/self-management over control and micromanagement and implement what Keren calls "dialogue space" in order to listen to different and diverse voices and to allow for creativity, which would then lead to relationships based on trust and partnership built around a growth mindset.

In this episode, I have the pleasure to speak with Michael Phillips, Pastor, Education Advocate, Social Entrepreneur, founder of LifePrep, and Author of “Wrong Lanes Have Right Turns: A Pardoned Man’s Escape from the School-to-Prison Pipeline and What We Can Do to Dismantle it”.

We discuss equal access and the basic right to quality education as an important tool for self-discovery and empowerment as well as a solution to many societal problems. Moreover, we consider the psychological and emotional impact and harm that deficit language, stereotypes, and prejudices cause within children and young adults.

In addition, ingrained and implicit cultural drives like perfectionism and the pressure to perform should give way to fostering strengths, building confidence, empathy, and wisdom, and bringing forth and developing the unique gifts and blessings, the innate genius that’s within each of us, regardless of race, ethnicity, or social class.

In this episode, I have the absolute pleasure and honor to talk with Dr. Dilip Jeste, a Geriatric Psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Center of Healthy Aging at the University of California San Diego, and author of the book Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion and What Makes Us Good.

Dr. Jeste explains the importance of neuroplasticity and how we can increase the personality trait of wisdom, how psychiatry needs to focus more on promoting and boosting Mental Health instead of treating and dealing with mental illness only, and the negative effects of ageism on the elderly and the rest of society.

He also explains what we can do to get wiser and more resilient with healthy and successful aging, how it is necessary to learn from experience and mistakes and to accept uncertainty and diversity of perspectives, and how Intermittent Fasting alongside healthy and active lifestyles can help with better health and promote longevity. We also touch upon the fact that practically anyone can have access to wisdom, can grow with empathy and compassion, and hence, attain better Mental Health provided they are open and willing to change.

In this episode, I have the pleasure to talk with the licensed psychotherapist, author, and podcaster Michaela Renee Johnson about adopting a growth mindset to reach a happier and more fulfilling life in all the different areas of our lives. To do so, we often need to step out of our comfort zone and push through our fears and negative emotions while also taking chances with calculated risks toward a more engaging and stimulating life. We use our own analogies of hiking and taking the rollercoaster to illustrate these points.

Michaela also underscores the importance of tapping into our inner truth and self as well as spirituality, to understand the what and why in our lives and to remind ourselves that criticism and compliments are on the same spectrum and they have the ability to take our power away. Finally, she explains that she enjoys therapy for helping others, podcasting for learning and expanding minds, and that she uses writing as her own form of therapy by processing and sharing her insights with the world.

En este episodio de mi podcast, tengo el honor de platicar con el psicolanalista y ganador del Premio de Sigourney Dr. Jorge Ulnik sobre el poder del psicoanálisis y la importancia del cine en nuestras vidas. Abordamos temas relevantes y actuales como el sexo, el género, la femininad y la maternidad en conexión con las películas « Hable con ella », « Volver », « La Piel que Habito » del cineasta Pedro Almodóvar y también el mito de la belleza de superestrellas como Marilyn Monroe. Y al final, Dr. Ulnik da una análisis fascinante de la película argentina « El Secreto de sus Ojos » de Juan José Campanella. 

In this episode, I have the pleasure to talk with the inspirational and upbeat Tia Graham, Certified Chief Happiness Officer, Founder of the Company "Arrive at Happy" and Author of "Be a Happy Leader: Stop Feeling Overwhelmed, Thrive Personally, and Achieve Killer Business Results!"

In our interview, she explains her fascinating 8-step methodology that would not only improve overall leadership and lead to more productivity but would also ensure happiness for everyone involved, employers and employees, alike. Tia builds on her extensive knowledge, research, and personal experiences by applying and harnessing the science of happiness alongside modern findings in neuroscience.

In this episode, I have the pleasure to talk to Author and Health & Wellness Speaker Rena Greenberg about the use, benefits, and effects of CBD as well as how to ensure that it is of high quality. We also discuss how stress and inflammation are the culprits of many ailments and diseases and how CBD can boost your inherent bliss molecule.

In this episode, I have the pleasure and opportunity to talk with developmental neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Dr. Ed Tronick and pediatrician of Early Childhood Mental Health Dr. Claudia Gold about their book "The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust".

The authors discuss how discord in terms of mismatch and repair can be beneficial for parenting as well as for adult relationships. We talk about individual and cultural differences in terms of parenting styles in addition to the insights provided to us via influential studies like the Still Face Experiment. Moreover, we discuss how unmanifested anxieties can drive relationships and the importance of recognizing them in order to foster and develop healthy connections between oneself and others.

In this episode, I had the opportunity to talk with Radhia Gleis, Buddhafield cult survivor and author of the acclaimed and award-winning book The Followers on dynamics and thought processes that drive and maintain cults, including the Colonia Dignidad sect in Chile as well as the importance of protecting oneself from groupthink and cognitive dissonance in one's own life.