Groundless Ground Podcast

This episode features a rich, in-depth dialogue with Buddhist teacher and author Shaila Catherine on her new book, Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind. Using a Theravada Buddhist approach for cultivating focus, clarity, and wise action, Shaila offers an effective five-step method for changing distorted, habitual thoughts: 1) replace unwanted thoughts; 2) examine the dangers of distracting thoughts; 3) avert distraction; 4) investigate the causes of distraction; and 5) exert dedicated resolve. This informative and enlightening conversation will be of great benefit to anyone seeking a focused, clear mind and also mental health professionals who favor top-down interventions. It was a great honor to spend time with Shaila, a Buddhist teacher and consummate practitioner, whom I respect and admire. 

Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW, and I discuss exciting new research on the effectiveness of Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE)—his unique mindfulness intervention—for alleviating the cognitive-affective distress associated with chronic pain and co-occurring opioid misuse. We also focus on the value of meditation, expanding consciousness, and experiencing bliss in decreasing reliance on opioids and increasing capacity for ordinary pleasures. Lots of neuroscience and we cover research on the role of psychedelics as adjunctive treatment for chronic pain and opioid misuse.

Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW, is a rare combination of rigorous researcher and compassionate clinician. His unique integration of CBT and mindfulness led him to create Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), an integrative group intervention for treating chronic pain, stress, and opioid misuse. His attention to detail and methodology has made him a trusted researcher. In 2019 he was appointed to the NIH HEAL Multi-Disciplinary Working Group to help guide the HEAL initiative on pain and addiction. Our dialogue was exciting for both of us. We share a sense that helping patients attend to savoring and insight is key to moving beyond the murky grasp of addiction.

It’s been a very disturbing few weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine. Coincident with the initiation of war, clinician, author and dharma teacher Lisa Dale Miller taught two weeks in a row at Marin Sangha. These two dharma talks explore, from a Buddhist point of view, what it means to be wise, compassionate, and even awakened in the midst of difficult circumstances. The second talk, which starts at 27:00, dives deeper into what the Buddha called, the rod of violence, as well as its causes and alleviation. May these talks benefit all beings everywhere and contribute to the end of all war and violence.

Consciousness remains a scientific puzzle: what it is, what creates it, and though all known conscious systems are alive, not all living systems are conscious. These days cortical-based theories of consciousness are all the rage. However, renown neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst Mark Solms has put forth, in his book “The Hidden Spring”, a radically convincing theory for the subcortical, homeostatic origins of consciousness rooted primarily in feeling or what is known as affect. Dr. Solms explains why a particular area of the brainstem is his choice for where the lights of consciousness get switched on and off and deftly explains the difference between mind and consciousness, and why humans have evolved a mind to mediate between the needs of the visceral body, the self, and the objects in the world that satisfy those needs.Dr. Solms’ research on consciousness has recently pivoted toward bridging affect into artificially intelligent systems and yes we do talk about the ethics of that frightening possibility. This episode is fascinating and mind-blowing and I am so grateful to have had time with such a compassionate and brilliant researcher, clinician. 

Mark Solms is a renown South African psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist best known for discovering forebrain mechanisms of dreaming, and neuropsychoanalysis, his unique integration of psychoanalytic theory with neuroscientific methodology. He holds the Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital (Departments of Psychology and Neurology) and is the President of the South African Psychoanalytical Association. He is also Research Chair of the International Psychoanalytical Association (since 2013). Solms founded the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society in 2000 and he was a Founding Editor (with Ed Nersessian) of the journal Neuropsychoanalysis. He is Director of the Arnold Pfeffer Center for Neuropsychoanalysis at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute.

This is a very special episode with Beverley Kane, MD, discussing her book Equine-imity: Stress Reduction and Emotional Self-Regulation in the Company of Horses, which introduces us to somatic horsemanship—a therapeutic practice for exploring the physical relationship between humans and horses, on the ground and on the horse, to promote body-mind-spirit well-being in both species. Dr. Kane portrays horses as consummate teachers of healthy embodiment and emotional resilience and describes interventions like medical qigong that help patients learn how to regulate and heal nervous system and psychological dysfunction.  She tells us about somato-intuitive skills horses naturally use like presentiment and going back to grazing which we can model and implement to enrich our daily lives. This is an informative and enchanting dialogue to kick off 2022 with a heartfelt wish for total health.

Beverley Kane, MD, is Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and an integrative medicine physician in the Stanford Division of Primary Care and Population Health, Palo Alto, California. She is the founder and Lead Mare of Horsensei Equine-Assisted Learning and Therapy (HEALTH). 

Stuart Shanker, MD and I address the loss of virtue as a fundamental part of societal and individual conduct and how to reinvigorate it. He notes with sadness the quaint overtones and ironic sarcasm that has infected discussion of virtuous conduct; particularly in politics, journalism, academia, and psychology. We name the war between reason and emotion, rationality and irrationality, and discuss its role in widespread sense of unsafety, outright lying and ‘truthiness’ in media, and the continuing horror of school shootings in America. We discuss solutions for restoring ethical human values so critical for well-being and wholesome relationship. Happy and healthy New Year to every listener and all beings residing on our planet.

Dr. Stuart G. Shanker, is a research professor emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology at York University[1] and the Founder/CEO of The MEHRIT Centre(TMC) 2012. He is also the founder and Science Director of the Self-Regulation Institute (SRI), and an acclaimed author and international speaker.[2] He is best known as Canada's leading expert in the psychophysiological theory of self-regulation. His latest book is REFRAMED: Self-Reg for a just society.

Psychologist Jim Hopper and I discuss the neurobiology of trauma, MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, the critical role embodied treatment modalities play in trauma healing, and use of Buddhist psychology and Internal Family Systems (IFS) for trauma resolution. He fully explicates the process used in the FDA-approved and MAPS-sponsored MDMA phase 3 trials, discusses the results, and clarifies for whom MDMA, Ketamine or psilocybin sessions could be adjunctive trauma treatment. We also discuss a habit model of understanding trauma response as well as an updated ethical view of addiction. Jim is a consummate communicator. That, coupled with his depth and breadth of knowledge about trauma therapy, make this episode a critical listen for every clinician working in the trauma field. 

JIm's website

Jim's publications

Jim Hopper, PhD is most often sought for his expertise on the neurobiology of trauma and sexual assault, and on the unique experiences and needs of males who have experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault. He trains others in contemplative practices that transform the brain to bring healing and genuine happiness, and is co-editor of Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices. He is a sub-investigator at the Boston site of the FDA-approved and MAPS-sponsored phase 3 trial of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD. Jim is a Teaching Associate in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of Harvard Medical School, and a consultant to the Outpatient Addictions Service of the Cambridge Health Alliance.

Two recent dharma talks given by Lisa Dale Miller at Marin Sangha explicate what kindness is from Buddhist psychological perspective and how it radically differs from niceness. To lay the groundwork of what kindness is, the first talk employs a very challenging sutta, “The Simile of the Saw”, where the Buddha proscribes wholesome conduct in all manner of difficult relational engagements.  The second talk investigates kindness and niceness and clarifies their differences. Niceness though pleasing or agreeable, is only intended to avoid discomfort and is deceptive and disingenuous. Kindness is genuine benevolence enacted through skillful application of presence and discerning wisdom. Due to its engaged and other-centered nature, kindness isn’t always easy and navigating the discomfort it can bring is the common ground of both talks. May these talks lead to the awakening of all beings everywhere. 

Stuart Shanker, PhD is a world-renown author, researcher and scholar on self-regulation science and creator of the groundbreaking Self-Reg method for cultivating mental and physical well-being. His life’s work has focused on the beneficial role that positive stress plays in children’s development and learning, and the harmful effects of excessive negative stress on parents, educators, and children. His new book, REFRAMED: Self-Reg for a just society, explores self-regulation in wider, social terms and unpacks the unique science and conceptual practices that are the very lifeblood of the Self-Reg. I have been a big proponent of the Self-Reg methodology and recommend the Self-Reg books and website resources to patients struggling with poor parenting skills and child behavioral problems. Dialoging with Stuart Shanker was simultaneously humbling and affirming. He felt like both a kindred spirit and a wise elder. This episode presents a doable path for healing societal distress and discord by bravely, collectively solving the existential crises of our time.

Self-Reg website https://self-reg.ca/

Stuart Shanker is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology at York University. An internationally celebrated speaker, thinker, and writer, Dr.  Shanker is one of the world’s leading authorities on self-regulation. Stuart trained intensively in child psychotherapy under Stanley Greenspan; he was the Director of the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative at York University; President of the Canadian Council of Early Child development; Director of the council of Human Development; and has served for many years as an advisor to government and education organizations across Canada and internationally. Since 2012 he has been Founder/CEO of The MEHRIT Centre.

Get ready for a microbiome geek-fest with Cornell Professor Emeritus, health scientist, and author Rodney Dietert, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of his pioneering book, The Human Super-organism. Rodney shares the fascinating history of microbiome research and recounts his own life-changing, career-shifting revelations about microbiome-first medicine in reversing the modern epidemic of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) and immune system disorders. We discuss the difference between viruses and bacteria, and because our dialogue took place in June 2021 (pre-Delta-variant spread in the US) he offered surprising views about COVID19, vaccines, and mask-wearing. We also cover the latest research on microbiome testing, probiotics, prebiotics, rebiosis, and fecal transplant interventions for physical and mental health disorders. 

Rodney Dietert, PhD has turned his wide-ranging expertise toward reducing the environmental health risks of children and protecting against chronic diseases by focusing on the microbiome and the immune system. As a full professor at Cornell University in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and a faculty member in the Cornell Institute for Comparative and Environment Toxicology, Dr. Dietert has published peer-reviewed papers in more than 70 different scientific journals ranging from environmental health and pediatric medicine publications to nutrition, metabolism, immune, neurological and reproductive journals. He has been President of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology and previously led Cornell's programs in immunology, toxicology and risk reduction of breast cancer.  In 2012 Dr. Dietert introduced a new course at Cornell applying contemplative tools for creative problem solving.  This has blossomed into a variety of new educational programs and workshops.