The Living Experiment: Rethink Your Choices. Reclaim Your Life.

This week on The Living Experiment we're talking about Love — the romance, the heartbreak, the profound sense of connection that most of us are after. Both our desire for love and our struggles to navigate it are some of the biggest opportunities we have for growth, and for stress, both of which can have huge impacts on our health and happiness. So in this episode, we talk about how our childhood experiences help form our adult romantic patterns, about the dramas of first love, and about what both of us have learned as we've moved through the ups and downs of romantic attachments. As always, we leave you with some experiments to help you explore how you'd like to show up for love, and love more skillfully, in your own life.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/love/

This week on The Living Experiment Pilar interviews a very special guest, clinical therapist and author Resmaa Menakem. We're talking about trauma, the effect it has on us as individuals, and also the impact it has on us in groups and as members of society. Resmaa's most recent book, My Grandmother's Hands, explores themes of ancestral and racialized trauma, topics informed by his personal and familial experiences, as well as his professional clinical expertise. Resmaa's insights are also informed by a broad array of cross-cultural explorations, including two tours in Afghanistan as a military contractor. Resmaa's teachings are relevant to anyone who has experienced trauma, which, as he points out, is all of us. So here, we talk about the lasting impacts trauma leaves on our bodies, hearts and minds, as well as our families, communities and societies. We talk about what it takes to heal trauma's current wounds, as well as its legacies of pain and depression, and we leave you with some experiments to help you better recognize and resolve the sources of trauma in your own life.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/trauma-1/

Last week, after nearly a year away working on our books, Dallas and Pilar returned with a brand new "We're Back" episode of The Living Experiment. Soon, we'll be back again with a second new episode of the season. But in the meantime, by popular demand, we wanted to bring you a replay of our "Autumn" episode. This is the final installment in a series of episodes we've built around Dallas's Seasonal Model of Health, which is also the topic of his forthcoming book, The 4 Season Solution. If you've listened to the other episodes in this series, you know they all include explorations of the physical, mental, emotional and social aspects of the season, and this episode is no exception. Here we consider Autumn's contracting energy. We look at how it encourages our bodies and minds to wind down the high energy of summer and, as Dallas puts it, "start coming home" for the winter to come, which is also a great time to begin dreaming up what comes next. From fall-focused nutrition, fitness, and sleep recommendations to self-care and decluttering wisdom based in Chinese Five Element Theory, we share suggestions rooted in science and personal experience. And of course we offer you some autumnal experiments to help you make the most of this beautiful season in your own way.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/autumn/

This week on The Living Experiment, we return from a nearly one-year recording hiatus with a report from the outer limits of book writing and creative life. Dallas unpacks the contents of his forthcoming title, The 4 Season Solution. And Pilar reflects, with unexpected emotion, on both the final push to turn in her book, The Healthy Deviant AND one of her most intense years on record. We both share some of the insights and appreciations that have come to us while we've been away, and of course, we offer you some experiments designed to help you take stock of your own comings and goings.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/were-back/

Happy Spring, everybody! It's that time of year when our bodies come out of hiding, and when it seems like everybody has a plan for improving them. Bikini body workouts, beach-ready diets, perfect tan tips, the whole bit. So we thought that this might be a good time to roll out our "Healthy vs. Hot" episode. If you're at all inclined to feel like your body is not living up to external expectations, even when you feel healthy overall, we think you might find this one thought-provoking and helpful. Check it out, let us know what you think, and if you enjoy it please share it with friends.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/healthyhot/

This week on The Living Experiment, in celebration of Valentine's Day, we bring you a replay of the third in a series of four special guest episodes featuring teachers from Lafayette Morehouse. For more background on this series, check out the introduction to the first Lafayette Morehouse episode, "Resistance to Pleasure".

In this episode, Pilar talks to teaching trio Judy St. John, Colin Selig and Janet Ribaldi about Intimacy and Connection - our human longing for it, the fears and social programming that get in the way, and the steps we can take to create the deeper sense of authentic connection that most of us desire.

A lot of the Morehouse teachings focus on the value of relationships, and the opportunity we have to amplify our enjoyment of life by relating to others with more attention, awareness and authenticity. Morehouse teachings also focus on sensuality as an important aspect of a gratifying life, so we touch on that, too.

A quick reminder that the episodes in this series were recorded live on location at the Lafayette Morehouse campus, Lafayette, California.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/intimacyconnection/

Every season has its gifts, but we live in a culture that prefers to celebrate the bright, "go-go" energy of summer.

Without the haven of a winter recovery cycle to replenish us, though, we get depleted, overstimulated, and overwhelmed.

So in this week's episode of The Living Experiment, we talk about the important and under-appreciated aspects of the winter season. We explain how you can observe its traditions by strategically adjusting your mindset, sleep schedule, food, fitness activity, and more.

Drawing on ancient wisdom and modern-day science, we suggest some experiments to help you make the most of winter in your own world.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/winter/

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about the concept of the New Year — from meaningless consumer hype to contemplative pursuits that really can make a difference.

We explore the potential pros and cons of leveraging the New Year as an opportunity for self-improvement, and we share the approaches we like best for pursuing change in our own lives.

From expert theories of change to the awkward realities of working on a goal that eludes you, we take a thoughtful look at New Year's conventions, and we offer some experiments to help you establish a better, more self-compassionate plan for your year ahead.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/new-year/

There's so much merriment, so much anticipation, and yet … the holidays can also feel like a lot of pressure to perform, to conform, to consume.

Here, we share our thoughts on navigating this season with your sanity and sense of inner peace intact.

From challenging the shop-and-spend cycle, to speaking your truth without inciting unnecessary conflict, we advocate for creating a satisfying holiday experience — your way.

And of course, we offer you some experiments to get you started in that direction, even as the holiday madness kicks into full swing.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/holidays/

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about taking a Break — the value of choosing to pause a project or commitment, and the factors you might consider in doing so.

We share the reasons, after 100 episodes, close to a million downloads, and 10 full seasons of live-and-in-person collaboration, we're choosing to take a breather from our established recording schedule.

We reflect on both the demands and rewards that have come along with co-producing this weekly podcast over the past three years.

We also share a preview of the projects and priorities we're both working on now, and what we'll be producing over the next few weeks and months.

Finally, we share some experiments to help you reflect on your current use of time, energy, and resources — and why you might want to considering taking some well-deserved breaks in your own life.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/break/