Groundless Ground Podcast

Happy New Year! I am very excited to launch GG Season Two by dialoging with Alaine Duncan, Doctor of Chinese Medicine. Alaine has invented a truly unique approach to trauma-informed acupuncture which integrates the neurobiology of traumatic stress, Somatic Experiencing skills and Daoist Five Element theory. Her new book, The Tao of Trauma, co-authored with Kathy Kain, views trauma through this ancient-modern integrative lens and lays out practical strategies for treating common co-morbidities of traumatic stress such as; chronic pain, autoimmune illness, insomnia, metabolic problems, and mental health disorders.

For over 10 years Alaine Duncan served as a clinician and researcher on the complementary medicine team at the Washington, DC VA Medical Center, treating war veterans suffering with combat PTSD and complex PTSD. Our shared clinical history of treating active military and war veterans makes this dialogue both practical and visionary. Alaine uses clinical examples to describe Daoist Five Element theory and its correlation with somatic psychotherapy techniques. The Tao of Trauma is a boon for TCM and acupuncture professionals, somatic psychotherapists and body-centered healers who treat traumatic stress and PTSD.

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

This last episode of the Groundless Ground Season One features two consecutive dharma talks recently given by Lisa Dale Miller on the five aggregates—the main agent of mental and emotional suffering in the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths.

Lisa's first talk deconstructs the illusory ‘heap’ nature of the five aggregates and explicates their pivotal role in both creating and/or liberating us from suffering. The second talk dives deeply into the relationship of the five aggregates to Theravāda teachings on what the Buddha called, deathless or deathlessness, and then tracks this term’s evolution into profound Mahāyāna and Vajrayana teachings on emptiness and buddhanature.

Best wishes for a joyful holiday season and may all beings enjoy a peaceful, healthy, happy New Year!

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

This dialogue with Jeremy Lent is chockfull of insights and guidance on how individuals can make lasting, positive impacts and change the collective current disastrous course humanity appears to be on. Jeremy is a modern-day renaissance man. Educated at Cambridge University and University of Chicago, he founded and IPOed an early internet company, and then due to distressful life circumstances, left the business world to engage in deep inquiry into the confluences of meaning and truth pervading modern science and ancient wisdom traditions. Jeremy is an award-winning novelist and the author of The Patterning Instinct, a non-fiction work which investigates the patterns of thought that have led our civilization to its current crisis of sustainability. He is the founder of the Liology Institute, a non-profit dedicated to fostering a scientifically rigorous and intrinsically meaningful integrated worldview; one that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on the earth. 

https://www.jeremylent.com/

https://liology.org

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

Paula Scatoloni, a somatic psychotherapist and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, explicates the insufficiency of standardized cognitive and behavioral eating disorder treatment, and introduces Embodied Recovery, a cutting-edge somatically-oriented, trauma-informed approach, which considers the body and embodiment the missing link for effective treatment of disordered eating. Paula provides an overview of the Embodied Recovery training program she co-created with Rachel Lewis-Marlow, and discusses its guiding principles for attending to and helping patients heal the trauma and attachment-related injuries, which often lie at the root of eating disordered behaviors. Join us as we investigate the exciting paradigm shift currently emerging in the field of eating disorder treatment.

Paula practices in Chapel Hill, NC. She also currently serves as a faculty member at the NC Center for Resiliency.

Embodied Recovery website

Paula's website

Trauma Informed Approaches for Eating Disorders Textbook

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

This episode is an educational and fun dialogue with Ken Wilgus, PhD, the author of Feeding The Mouth That Bites You, a practical guide for parents of adolescents targeted at helping them facilitate their teenager’s autonomy, responsibility, self-efficacy and independence. We touch on many tough subjects: behavior issues, academic performance, helicopter parenting, failure to launch, device culture, teen sexuality, faith and morality, substance and porn use. 

Dr. Ken Wilgus is a sought-after speaker and regularly teaches on a wide range of topics relating to parenting, marriage, family and faith.  He conducts training workshops for educators and has been a consultant with several area school districts as well as private schools. He is also co-founder of RingLeaders, a men’s ministry focused on strengthening the role of husbands in Christian marriage.

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

David Vago, PhD offers a neuroscience of mindfulness update providing clarity on what mindfulness is, is not, can and cannot do, and what is known about effective prescribing and dosing of meditation. He is research director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, director of the Contemplative Neuroscience and Integrative Medicine Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and an associate professor in the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and department of Psychiatry. Dave’s research focuses on the healing effects of meditative practices for a variety of mental health and physical pain disorders. Three years ago, Dave and I recorded in-depth dialogues on awakening, which are still available on my Youtube channel.

Dave's Vanderbilt research page

Osher Center website

Lisa and Dave's Awakening Dialogues

Mindfulness Research Collaborative website

Dave's TED talk

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

Evan Thompson discusses Embodied Cognition, 4E Cognition, and the problems with studying the mechanisms of mindfulness from a brain-only perspective. Evan is a writer and professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He works on the nature of the mind, the self, and human experience by combining cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially Asian philosophical traditions. Evan holds a thoughtful, critical view in these times of turbulence regarding mindfulness research and methods of delivery, "Mindfulness is not in the head. Being mindful is an embodied, social practice not a private mental state or special pattern of bring activity. Mindfulness is embodied understanding.”

The best place to find out more about Evan's work is his website.  His books include, Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy (Columbia University Press, 2015); Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind (Harvard University Press, 2007); and Colour Vision: A Study in Cognitive Science and the Philosophy of Perception (Routledge Press, 1995). He is the co-author, with Francisco J. Varela and Eleanor Rosch, of The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (MIT Press, 1991, revised edition 2016). Evan is an Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

Phillip Moffitt, author, yogi, and Theravada Buddhist meditation teacher discusses his most recent book, Awakening Through the Nine Bodies, an explication of extraordinary teachings on yoga and the subtle body, transmitted to Phillip by Himalayan master Swami Sri Premvarni Balyogi. Now eighty-six years old, Balyogi is one of a disappearing group of elder master yoga teachers in India initiated into the Himalayan yoga forest tradition. This episode is a must-listen for all seasoned meditation practitioners interested in advanced energetic mind-body training.

A specialist in shepherding others through life transitions, Phillip recently stepped down from a ten-year tenure as guiding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He has authored two popular books on Buddhist practice: Emotional Chaos to Clarity and Dancing with Life. Learn more about Phillip's work at http://dharmawisdom.org/  and http://lifebalance.org

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

This episode features an in-depth dialogue with Kathy L. Kain, on how to work somatically and psychotherapeutically with patients suffering the effects of developmental trauma and complex trauma. Kathy has recently co-authored a groundbreaking book on this topic titled, Nurturing Resilience. Kathy generously explicates the mechanisms of developmental traumatic experiences and their manifestation in adulthood as complex trauma syndromes, somatic shame, and personality disorders. She also shares psychological and affective neuroscience research on trauma, and outlines a roadmap for integrating somatic skills with traditional psychotherapy.

Kathy L. Kain is an expert in integrating touch into the practice of psychotherapy and trauma recovery, with 37 years of clinical experience. She is a senior instructor of Somatic Experiencing Therapy, and spends most of her time training psychotherapists in the physiology of traumatic stress through her popular program, Touch Skills Training for Trauma Therapists. 

Find out more about her work at: http://somaticpractice.net

Buy the book: Nurturing Resilience

More information on Somatic Experiencing Therapy can be found at: https://traumahealing.org/ 

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.

Cortland Dahl, PhD exemplifies a rare mix of contemplative and scientific talent. He is a longtime Buddhist practitioner, scholar, translator of Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā Tibetan Buddhist texts, and meditation teacher. Cort has served for many years as the main translator for Mingyur Rinpoche and is the co-founder of Tergar International. He tells us the unusual story of how they met. Over the last 7 years, Cort completed a PhD at the University of Wisconsin Center for Healthy Minds, focused on the psychological and neural mechanisms of different families of meditation practices. In addition to his continuing work at Tergar, Cort currently serves as Chief Contemplative Officer of Healthy Minds Innovations and is the creator of Healthy Minds programs, a well-being research and training program that integrates insights from science with a comprehensive path of contemplative training. A list of his published works can be found on the Groundless Ground blog. 

Disclaimer: The information in this episode or on groundlessground.com is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and does not claim to be or constitute therapeutic advice or mental health treatment.