Why do some people who experience the worst that life has to offer respond not by breaking down but by shifting up, into a higher-functioning, awakened state? And perhaps more importantly, how can we emulate their transformations? Over many years of observing and studying the phenomenon of life-changing awakening through extreme suffering, psychologist and researcher Steve Taylor provides some insight with his book ExtraOrdinary Awakenings and joins Travis in this show to talk about it. He calls individuals whose struggles lead to a dramatic shift into a new, expansive identity “shifters” and in ExtraOrdinary Awakenings he shares dozens of amazing stories of individuals who “woke up” to profound transformation following trauma in many forms, such as bereavement, war, suicide attempts, imprisonment, or other intense encounters with mortality. Along with the amazing stories of shifters he shares throughout the book, Taylor uncovers the psychological processes that help explain these miraculous awakenings and highlights a number of lessons and guidelines from the experiences of shifters and offers readers hope and guidance to call on during their own struggles.