I spoke with Dan Grossman about how to take the somatic side of psychedelics and therapy seriously. Along the way, we explore the relationship between compelling narratives, meaningful experiences, and good science.

Dan is a clinical psychology PhD candidate studying the bodily dimensions of psychedelic experiences, including shaking, movement, and vocalization, which many describe as central to their healing work.

People can find these experiences deeply meaningful and healing, and it’s interesting that they seem to show up across different substances. But that doesn’t necessarily confirm the explanations we attach to them. Does the body literally store and release trauma? What evidence supports the idea that animals “shake off” traumatic experiences? And how should we approach frameworks like polyvagal theory when people find them useful, but their scientific claims remain contested?

We also discuss parts work, the role of symbols and imagery in healing, and the relationship between meditation and therapy. Dan describes meditation as a form of “epistemic hygiene”: a way to engage with powerful experiences without taking every interpretation at face value. Throughout, we ask how the worlds of vibes and science might learn from each other.

You can get in contact with Dan via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-grossman-906873119

This podcast is sponsored by Attention Copilot (attncopilot.com). You can spend all day working and still avoid the things that would make the biggest difference. Our somatic productivity coaches help you identify, prioritize, and face them. During an 80-minute to three-hour call, you settle in, share your screen, and do your actual work. Your coach helps you work through stress, make decisions, and stay clear-headed. Over time, you can feel more satisfied with your weeks, more confident taking on bigger things, and more at ease in your work.

Scott Britton and I explore how ambition and spiritual practice can become one path. We talk about using resistance at work as data, widening the choices we can see, and building a culture where inner development supports meaningful action. Learn more through Scott’s website, his book Conscious Accomplishment, his recruiting firm Conscious Talent, and the EvolutionFM podcast.

0:00 Integrating ambition and spiritual practice
4:22 The limits of “succeed first, wake up later”
8:05 How business coaches make spiritual ideas usable
13:45 The outside-in paradigm behind achievement
19:04 Resistance is data, not proof of misalignment
22:24 How stress hides better options
25:24 Better thinking inside the box versus expanding the box
28:20 Awareness as a practical source of capacity
31:50 Holding truth lightly in disagreement
35:31 Hiring people who already value development
40:24 Self-leadership makes flatter organizations possible
41:52 AI raises the value of small, mature teams
46:53 Pausing work can be the higher-leverage move
48:54 Who Conscious Accomplishment is designed to help
52:46 The inverse journey: from spirituality back to action

Michael Taft is a meditation teacher, creator of the podcast Deconstructing Yourself, and co-founder of the Berkeley Alembic meditation center. 

This podcast serves as an introduction to his teaching and how to engage with his hundreds of guided, nondual meditations on youtube.

Resources:
Michael's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelTaft108
Deconstructing Yourself: https://deconstructingyourself.com
Michael's Courses: https://deconstructingyourself.org
- Hacking the Stack starts January 26, 2026

Timestamps:
0:45 Why students come to Michael after other resources (apps like Waking Up, retreats like Goenka and Jhourney, and books like The Mind Illuminated)
2:40 Where Michael fits in the meditation ecosystem
5:34 Respecting traditions while being meta-systematic
7:51 Where can practice actually go? The real goals
9:23 A student with severe chronic pain (morphine pump story)
14:38 Emotional pain uses the same brain circuitry
15:02 The Stack model, and understanding "progress" in meditation
16:47 Level 1: Conceptual (thinking about experience)
17:06 Level 2: Phenomenological (qualia, direct sensation)
21:36 Level 3: Flux (everything is changing)
24:45 Level 4: Openness and emptiness
28:14 Vast Sky Mind and applying the stack to all sense gates
30:00 Why Michael uses mantra, chanting, and visualization
31:45 The arc of Michael's guided meditations on YouTube
33:02 How to engage with Michael's work
35:00 The power of sangha and community

Anne-Laure is the author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World. She also founded Ness Labs, a learning community for ambitious knowledge workers. You can learn more about her work at https://nesslabs.com

01:30 – Anne-Laure’s shift from Silicon Valley’s default success script
03:30 – Critique of the “follow your passion” fallacy
06:00 – Pranab’s personal experiment in meaningful work
11:20 – Cynicism as emotional self-protection
16:30 – Audience unpredictability and the paradox of online writing
18:30 – Pact method and intentional habit formation
24:00 – Four mindsets model: Cynicism, Escapism, Perfectionism, Experimentalism
45:30 – ADHD, hyper-curiosity, and evolutionary perspectives
53:10 – Mindful productivity and managing emotions in knowledge work
56:00 – Emotional coping strategies, interstitial journaling, and metacognition

Dr. Tucker Peck is a meditation teacher, therapist, and author of "Sanity and Sainthood: Integrating Meditation and Psychotherapy". Check out his website (https://meditatewithtucker.com/) and Twitter (https://x.com/tucker_peck) where you can learn about his upcoming retreats, teachings (eg. Motivational Interviewing course which I highly recommend), and more.

We talk about:
- "content and process" in meditation and therapy, and how to tell when you're imbalanced on either side (hazy vs crazy)
- compassion, warmth, and parts work re: The Mind Illuminated
- where distinctions break down at the deep end of practice (eg. 8th jhana, Awakening vs. Liberation referencing @shamilch's work)

00:41 - Content vs Process: The core distinction between therapy and meditation
03:15 - Common traps: Going too hard in either direction
06:23 - Parts work failure modes: When IFS becomes reactive and narcissistic
09:03 - The role of warmth, compassion, and meta in practice
12:15 - Self-hatred as the "common cold" of globalized mental health
15:17 - View and intention: How dharma can become self-abuse
18:17 - The Mind Illuminated: Control vs acceptance based on individual needs
20:27 - Michael Taft's advice: "Cultivate more dullness"
23:54 - Do-nothing practice: From literal non-action to ego recognition
25:44 - When content and process blend together in advanced states
28:50 - The uncertainty principle: You can't observe both simultaneously
31:33 - Content exists at a "medium lens of analysis"
34:26 - Journey meditation and jhana "junkies"
37:03 - The unfabricated/deathless in Theravada tradition
41:40 - Awakening vs Liberation: Shamil Chandaria's model
45:26 - Going big vs going small: Different paths to awakening
48:12 - Tucker's experience: Big path leading to small path work
51:35 - Skillful refabrication: Buddhism vs New Age worldviews
53:48 - Raw data vs conceptual overlay: The breath example
55:47 - Staying grounded while gaining interpretive flexibility

Peter McEwen is a meditation teacher in Boulder, Colorado. Visit his site (https://thefield.us) or https://x.com/techgnostic to learn more about his work.

00:00:00 Introduction and Upcoming Course on Tummo
00:04:56 Fruitional View and Dzogchen Practice
00:09:15 Self-Improvement vs. Self-Acceptance
00:10:12 Role of Emotions in Teaching
00:10:24 Emotional Healing in Practice
00:13:10 Understanding Tummo Practice
00:14:00 Explanation of Tummo Practice
00:15:11 Trapping Air in Central Channel
00:21:22 Healing Trauma with Tummo
00:24:52 Influences and Trainings
00:29:23 Secrecy in Lineages
00:34:24 Value of Tibetan Lineages
00:34:39 Monastic Safety and Structure
00:41:28 Reflections on Trungpa’s Legacy
00:45:39 Bruce Tift as a Teacher
00:51:58 Unconditional Kindness vs. Relative Behavior
00:56:12 Tolerance for Well-being
00:59:21 Untangling Self-sabotage Patterns
01:06:16 Upcoming Course Details

In this podcast, I talk to Christine about about the twitter community where we became friends, her experience with journalling, and our journeys with IFS (internal family systems therapy) as a lens on life.

0:00 Climbing & community
6:20 How did Christine get into Twitter?
11:30 Experiential difference between CBT & IFS (cognitive behavioral therapy & internal family systems)
16:00 Impro, act before you think
18:10 IFS & Journalling, relationship to journalling
25:00 Documentation & 2nd Brain stuff
28:00 Life Timeline, atheist to agnostic
31:45 What are your values?
34:30 On imaginal thinking & somatic vs. visual IFS
41:00 Recurring IFS characters, parts constellations (“garlic cloves”)
46:20 Journaling, IFS, & Existential Kink. Understanding shadow work & existential kink
54:50 Being held by your Self, Self Love
57:00 IFS as a helpful ontology & framework
58:20 Should parts always exist or occupy a new role?
1:00:30 Oneness with division, enjoying the journey. Feeling like an orchestra.
1:06:20 IFS multiplicity of mind vs. Dissociative Identity Disorder

Further links:
Christine's twitter: twitter.com/christineist
Christine's mega Google doc: bit.ly/3IpZDtl
- Includes links to her "Intro to Twitter/TPOT" guide, IFS threads, "Life Timeline" doc, and more
She's also building a cozy, project-focused alternative to twitter called 3'rd space. Check it out: 3rdspace.app

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Check out my Twitter (most active): twitter.com/nopranablem
Read the newsletter (in progress): pranab.substack.com