Keith Kurlander is a psychotherapist, co-founder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, and host of The Higher Practice podcast. The discussion covers psychedelics, trauma, nervous system regulation, and mental health. 

Topics include the therapeutic and disruptive effects of psychedelics, trauma as a physiological state, the importance of listening to one’s inner purpose or "North Star,"  rising mental health challenges, and the impact of technology and AI on psychological well-being. 

Connect & Learn More
🎙️ Podcast: The Higher Practice for Optimal Mental Health

🌐 Website: psychiatryinstitute.com

📘 Book (coming March 2026): Psychedelic Therapy

Resources
👥 People: Amrit Desai, John Demartini, Ken Wilber, Stanislav Grof, Will Van Derveer

William Person is a former Olympic bobsledder for Team USA. He talks about what it was like flying 90 mph down the ice, taking up to 80 Gs, and what happened after the cheering stopped: brain fog, headaches, memory and focus loss, sensitivity to sound and light, disorientation, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

We talk about the hidden suffering in sports, how CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) might relate to ADHD and other mental health struggles, why so many athletes and veterans go untreated, and the deadly consequences that follow. William shares his lowest moments, his fight to stay alive, and how hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) helped him when nothing else could.

Connect & Learn More
🍭TikTok: @hyperbarichealing

📘 Facebook: One Man With a Chamber | William Person

💼 LinkedIn: William Person

📸 Instagram: @willp1234567

▶️ YouTube: @braininjurysurvival

💰 GoFundMe: CTE Recovery for Athletes and Military

Resources
🎢 Six Flags Magic Mountain — Goliath

 📰 Sledding Athletes Are Taking Their Lives. Did Brain Injuries Play a Role? – The New York Times

⚖️The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)

 👥People: Cuba Gooding Jr., Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, Joe Namath, Kanye West, Lance Armstrong, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Jackson, Russell Crowe

 🎬 Films: A Beautiful Mind, In Whose Name?, Jerry Maguire, One Battle After Another

💥Incidents: 2025 Anaconda Shooting, 2025 Grand Blanc Township church attack, 2025 Midtown Manhattan Shooting, Washington Navy Yard shooting

Ewelina Kurtys is a neuroscientist and Strategic Advisor at FinalSpark, a Swiss company building computers from living brain cells. We talk about how neurons differ from silicon chips, why they’re more energy-efficient, how they’re grown and programmed in the lab, and how biocomputing could shape the future of AI. 

Connect and Learn More:

🌐Website: finalspark.com

💼LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ewelinakurtys

Resources:

🏢Companies: AlpVision, Amazon, Cortical Labs, Ekai.io, Google, Microsoft, Neuralink

👤People: Elon Musk, Fred Jordan, Martin Kutter

Mary Petto is a Rapid Turmoil Resolution specialist and the author of The Family Guide to the Law of Attraction. We talk about trauma, how it gets stuck in your subconscious, hijacks your nervous system, and keeps you in mental loops. She explains why talking or reliving it doesn’t work, how metaphors and stories communicate with your inner mind, and how Rapid Turmoil Resolution can help you get calm, neutral, and open to new possibilities. 

Connect and Learn More

🌐Website: portablevisions.com

📖Book: The Family Guide to the Law of Attraction

🎁The Loop Locator: portablevisions.com/gift

📸Instagram: @Livinginthevortex

💼LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marypetto

🍭TikTok: @marypetto

In this episode, I talk with Jeff Sorensen, founder of breathARMY. He shares how the breath became the central tool in his recovery from trauma, addiction, and mental illness. We explore how his years of substance use, time in a Mexican prison, near-death experiences, and struggles with identity led him to discover how breathing habits influence and reflect the nervous system, emotions, and perception of reality.

Jeff explains the power of returning to a natural, effortless breath and how awareness of the breath can help release fear, old patterns, and habitual ways of being. We also discuss how meditation, plant medicine, yoga, pets, and time in nature supported his journey, and how he learned to channel his energy and emotion into practices that foster healing, presence, freedom, and personal growth.

Connect and Learn More:

Website: breatharmy.com

Facebook: @breathARMY

Instagram: @breatharmy

Resources:

Books

• A World Made New by Paul Selig
• The Quantum Revelation by Paul Levy
• Wetiko by Paul Levy

People

• Paul Levy
• Paul Selig

In this episode, I talk with Steven Puri, co-founder of the focus app Sukha and former Hollywood executive, about focus and flow — what it feels like, why it matters, and how to increase it. We cover a range of tools and techniques, including: sound, physical space, to-do lists, community, solitude, time of day, and simple items like a pencil, paper, and a timer, along with lessons from Hollywood on creating great work and fulfilling your dreams.

Connect and Learn More: 

Website: thesukha.co

Email: Shared in the episode

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/steven-puri

Resources Mentioned:

Apps: Brain.fm, Endel, Forest, Todoist

Books: Deep Work by Cal Newport, Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Indistractable by Nir Eyal, The Net and the Butterfly by Olivia Fox Cabane & Judah Pollack

Companies: Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Disney, Dreamworks Animation, Fox Corporation, Hilton, LucasFilm, Marvel, Meta, M. Fredric, News Corp, Nike, Oura Health, Pixar, Spiegel, TikTok, Twitter, Universal Studios, Vine, YouTube

Movies: A Good Day to Die Hard, Alien vs. Predator, Ant-Man, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Independence Day: Resurgence, Live Free or Die Hard, Mission: Impossible III, My Best Friend's Wedding, Rain Man, Stargate, Star Trek, The Island, The Mask of Zorro, The Wolverine, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

People: Alex Kurtzman, Bob Iger, Bob Orci, Chase Carey, Dean Devlin, Elon Musk, Evan Spiegel, Francesco Cirillo, George Lucas, Hephaestus (character), Jake Paul, James Clear, James Dean, John Diemer, Judah Pollack, Logan Paul, Mark Zuckerberg, Marie Curie, Michael Jordan, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Nir Eyal, Olivia Fox Cabane, Pablo Picasso, Prometheus (character), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Ronald Bass, Ronald Emmerich, Rupert Murdoch, Spike Jonze, Steve Jobs, Tony Mauro

Places: Austin, Bali, Chiang Mai, Cyprus, Kathmandu, Puerta Vallarta, San Francisco, Vienna

Podcasts: Deep Questions with Cal Newport

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Paul Taylor, author, neuroscientist, exercise physiologist, and host of The Paul Taylor Podcast. He is an expert in hardiness, the science of turning stress into strength. 

Modern life is quietly weakening us through the way we eat, move, sleep, socialize, and use technology. By introducing stress, challenge, and discomfort in safe and deliberate ways through exercise, nutrition, temperature, sunlight, and other natural experiences, we can regain our strength and hardiness. This idea is rooted in hormesis, the concept that exposure to manageable stress or challenge can strengthen the body and mind. 

We also discuss Paul’s lessons from his upbringing in Ireland, his time in the military, and his experiences as a parent, in sport, and through personal challenges. He shares practical ways to build hardiness in daily life: move regularly, play outside, eat mostly minimally processed foods, limit screen time, set simple rules and routines, gradually increase effort, and reflect on how you spend your time. Seeing life as a challenge and viewing stress as a chance to grow helps us step out of our comfort zone, so we can strengthen ourselves physically and mentally and be better prepared for whatever life throws our way.

Connect and Learn More:

Website: paultaylor.biz

Instagram: @paultaylor.biz

Podcast: The Paul Taylor Podcast

Books: Death by Comfort, and the upcoming The Hardiness Effect

Resources Mentioned:

Books: Antifragile, Elite Minds, Enchiridion, The Black Swan, 

People: Arrian, Bengt Saltin, Bente Klarlund Pedersen, Epictetus, Frank Booth, Friedrich Nietzsche, Grant Schofield, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Seneca, Stan Beecham, Walter Mischel

In this episode, I talk with Qi Gong practitioner and holistic life coach Tamas Konya. We discuss the philosophy and practice, Qi Gong, its benefits, how it has helped Tamas, and how it can help you too. 

Connect and Learn More:

• Website: tamascoach.com
• LinkedIn: Tamas Konya
• Facebook: Tamas Konya
• Instagram: @tamascoach
• YouTube: @tamascoach

Resources Mentioned:

• Weightless by Marconi Union
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Fight Club (film)
• Avatar (film)
• Stephen Covey

What do you do when you have three interviews scheduled and no one shows up? You make a SOLOOOOO episode. Mikey’s back, in his classic state - all alone. This is a musing on what to do when you’ve planned, prepared, and done everything you could, but reality has other ideas. What do you do? Keep going, keep trying, re-channel that energy into something even more amazing, and love and embrace yourself that much more. This lone wolf is waking up from his long winter slumber, howling, roaring, and ready to roam. 

In this episode, Lori Tsugawa, author of Let the Samurai Be Your Guide, shares her journey of overcoming traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) by drawing on her Japanese heritage and values. We explore Japanese concepts like bushido (the way of the warrior), ikigai, and ganbaru (never giving up), and discuss how you can apply these principles to your own life.

She also talks about her experiences working in a women’s prison, shares Japanese folk tales, and highlights her favorite places in Japan. Listen in, and let your inner samurai and otaku lead the way toward healing, resilience, and growth.

Connect and Learn More

• Website: loriwhaley.com
• Book: Let the Samurai Be Your Guide
• Podcast: The Samurai Way
• LinkedIn: Lori Tsugawa

Resources Mentioned:

• Attractions: Adachi Museum of Art, Dogo Onsen, Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Kenrokuen, Nagoro Doll Village, Noguchi Museum, Pine Wind Japanese Garden, Ritsurin Garden, Shikoku Mura, SL Yamaguchi, Torrance Art Museum
• Books: Man's Search for Meaning
• Films: Fight Club
• Japanese folktales: Momotarō, The Mouse's Marriage, The Singing Turtle
• Organizations: Albert Camus, Amen Clinics, Ikigai Lab, Kinokuniya, The Ritz Carlton, Toastmasters International, Tuttle Publishing
• People: Ayano Tsukimi, Chiune Sugihara, Daniel Amen, Daniel Inouye, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Isamu Noguchi, Sam Ushio, Victor Frankl, Yayoi Kusama
• Places: Hokkaido, Iya Valley, Kochi, Matsue, Matsuyama, Naoshima, Naruto, Portland, Shikoku, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Torrance, Tsuwano