Thought says no end of things. But what does thought do?

Thought does things like conclude, restate, and provide frames and contexts.

What thought does is often more subtle and easy to miss than what thought says, but it’s far more valuable to see.

***

I will be leading two Silent Retreats in 2026. 

The primary retreat (hosted and facilitated by me) will be in Taos, New Mexico, February 22-27. The second retreat (facilitated by me) will be in Hendersonville, North Carolina, February 1-6.

Both retreats will provide a supportive space for you to steep in your essential being. You’ll immerse in what’s always here, unchanging, beyond the pull of thoughts, feelings and identities, in the absence of everyday distractions and conditioning.

The retreats will be small, so space is limited. You can check out all the details at https://dramyjohnson.com/silent-retreats-2026/

The post EP373: What thought is saying vs. what it’s doing appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

When someone says they are distracted, they are expressing an agenda or expectation for where attention should be.

They are essentially saying “I’d like attention to be on this project or on my breath or on the person in front of me, but it’s somewhere else”.

What would it be like to simply watch attention shift without those expectations? In that way, it’s not “distraction” which implies a problem. It’s a simple shift in attention. 

In this way, everything gets to be exactly what it is with no problem.

***

I will be leading two Silent Retreats in 2026.

The primary retreat (hosted and facilitated by me) will be in Taos, New Mexico, February 22-27. The second retreat (facilitated by me) will be in Hendersonville, North Carolina, February 1-6. 

Both retreats will provide a supportive space for you to steep in your essential being. You’ll immerse in what’s always here, unchanging, beyond the pull of thoughts, feelings and identities, in the absence of everyday distractions and conditioning.

The retreats will be small, so space is limited. You can check out all the details at dramyjohnson.com/silentretreats2026

The post EP372: Distraction appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Mary is struggling with guilt over something that happened in her relationship a few years ago. 

Listen in as we explore our responsibility for feelings, societal ideas of right and wrong, honesty, and much more.

The post EP371: How can I let go of guilt? A question from a listener  appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode I explore how one might coach someone with chronic pain.

Is chronic pain really treated the same way as anxiety, habits and depression? Can it be helped solely through the lens of what’s shared in here?

I’ll discuss the impact of the word “chronic” in all suffering and how we can have impact by looking there, but that we never need to rely on any particular lens. 

The post EP370: Coaching around – and finding peace in – chronic pain appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Is the quality and nature of present moment experience solely a function of attention?

Attention is always contracting and expanding. Sometimes it’s so absorbed in me-and-my-life that all we seem to experience is a stream of me-centered ups and downs.

Other times, attention seems to release or expand and experience is very different. The me-and-my-life components might just be a tiny proportion of what’s noticed. 

We tend to equate one with suffering and the other with peace. Looking at this as a simple function of attention opens up a new way of seeing what’s happening.

The post EP369: Attention appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode I share an exchange between myself and a member of our community around her experience of anxiety. 

I am pointing to What Is before summary thoughts like “I keep feeling anxiety” or “I am afraid something is wrong”. 

Those summary thoughts are fine – they are powerless – but they are getting all the attention and are being confused with reality. There is a reality here, now, before thought. When we look in that direction, we sense it. This is an instant way “out of anxiety”. 

The post EP368: Feeling your way through anxiety appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Some thoughts, like “no matter what”, “ too late now”, “this always happens”, “I knew it”, somehow feel more true than others, don’t they?

Thoughts like these have a scent of finality and certainty. They seem unquestionable. They don’t appear as thought most of the time. They appear as a description of the-way-it-is. 

But they are the same as any thought. Fundamentally untrue because they are a representation, an after-the-fact label, a reflection. 

They are dead and powerless because they are thoughts. 

The post EP367:  “No matter what” is a powerless thought  appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Lisa Natoli and I talk about identity. She shares her experience coming to identify with the simple aliveness that’s always here. We discuss the role of being in what is and exploring that in helping her see through identity with the Lisa character. 

If you’d like to see more about Lisa and her healing work, check her out here: www.lisanatoli.com

The post EP366: Identity with Lisa Natoli appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

When one is experiencing health anxiety, for example, and they are often sure that “this time is different”. 

They are sure they are unwell, running to doctors, trying to solve health problems that don’t actually exist. It’s very simple and extremely helpful to assume the issue is anxiety first. After all, when the thinking and feeling settle, they see that this is the case over again. It was always anxiety, not a heart attack, fainting spell, etc. 

I’ll discuss how we can use the “anxiety first” rule with any recurring pattern. When we look to our recurring issue first, what we see is simple and direct. It avoids needless and useless problem solving. 

***

If you benefit from this podcast, I would be so grateful if you’d leave a quick review on itunes.  Listener reviews go a very long way in attracting brand new listeners to this way of seeing things. 

Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed it already. 

And if you’d like to be part of a supportive, loving community of like-minded people exploring the big questions in life; a place you can turn for personal support on anything you’re struggling with at any time, please consider joining The Community.

Go to dramyjohnson.com/thecommunity  to see more

The post EP365: Anxiety First appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Beliefs, including spiritual beliefs, are helpful to a point.

Then they become decidedly unhelpful.

What happens at that point? You look beyond belief.

We’ll look at what it means to go beyond belief and how that’s very different from continually clinging to “better” beliefs.

***

The (now) annual Summer Book Club is back! 

Beginning in late July, I’ll be leading a group of people through the book What’s Wrong with Right Now?: If you don’t think about it by Sailor Bob Adamson.

This book is a collection of teachings and dialogues that are uncompromising and direct pointings to the fact of our own being. 

We’ll have weekly calls, a forum for support and sharing insights, and Bob’s wife and co-teacher Kat Adamson will join us for a call at the end of the course. 

I would love for you to join me! Go to dramyjohnson.com/bookclub to register.

The post EP364: Beyond belief appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.