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

This week on The Living Experiment we're talking about Suicide — the fact that it has become tragically more common in recent years, and some reasons we think that might be.

We also talk about how we personally view suicide, and what we've learned about it in our own lives.

We share expert insights about the signs that someone near you might be having suicidal thoughts, and what you can do if you have been experiencing those feelings yourself.

We unpack some different viewpoints, and some suggestions for how to process the thoughts and feelings you might be having about this complex topic.

Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you expand your understanding about suicide, and to show up for others in ways that help you build compassionate, life-nourishing connections in your own world.

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

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about Orthorexia — an eating disorder in which a person becomes so obsessed with what they think of as "healthy" eating that they over-limit their diet and become unhealthy as a result. Dedicated healthy eaters sometimes write off orthorexia as nonsense, seeing the diagnosis as just another way of marginalizing the sensible choices made by many not to consume certain types of foods they are sensitive to, or simply don't want to eat. But as we share here, orthorexia is a real thing — definitely not your garden-variety picky eating — and for some, it can become life threatening. So we talk about what orthorexia is, the rigid thoughts and beliefs that can predispose people to suffering from it, and how you can steer clear of its grip. We share some of our personal experiences and professional insights about this condition, and as always, we offer you some experiments to help you reconsider the attitudes you hold about food, and the healthy-eating decisions you choose to make in your own life.

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

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about Fats — the role they play in healthy eating, and the fact that a lot of what we've been told about them is all wrong.

From the healthy fats your body probably needs more of, to the inflammatory fats it most definitely does not, we share what we know about America's most misunderstood macronutrient.

We explain why low-fat diets are generally not helpful for weight loss, and why saturated fats are not the dietary evil you've been led to believe.

We look at the fascinating role fats play in metabolism, health, mood, mental function and more. And we help you pick better fats as often as you can. Finally, we offer you some experiments so you can reconsider the role that fat-rich foods play in your own life.

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

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about Supplements — why you can't rely on pills and powders for all your nourishment, and why you still might want to take some anyway.

We cover the value that both multis and targeted nutrients can have in filling dietary gaps, and why what works for your friend or partner might not work for you.

We both share the supplements we take (or don't), and we offer you some recommendations on the supplements that most of the smart doctors and nutrition pros we know suggest as basics.

Finally, we offer some counsel on picking high quality products, and some recommendations for adjusting your own supplementation strategy in ways that work for you.

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

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about Imposter Syndrome — that disconcerting sense you may not be entirely worthy or qualified to be doing whatever it is you are doing, and that accompanying sense of dread that it's just a matter of time before everybody else figures that out.

Imposter syndrome is a well-recognized phenomenon that affects almost all of us at one time or another, and it can be a significant source of chronic stress.

So here, we talk about our own personal experiences with imposter syndrome. We also share what we've learned through our professional explorations of it, and some expert strategies for not letting it get the best of you.

From investigating your negative self-talk to overcoming your unconscious upper limits, we suggest ways of identifying and navigating through imposter syndrome. And of course, we offer you some experiments to help you evaluate the impact it may be having in your world.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/imposter-syndrome/

This week we're talking about How We See the World.

This episode started out as an answer to a listener question — and then morphed, evolving into a big rambling conversation about hope and doubt, energy and attention, agency and activism, and more.

It became one of those conversations where you discover what you think and feel as you are saying it, and you have no idea what is going to come out of your own or the other person's mouth until it does.

It's worth noting that within weeks of recording this episode, Dallas had what he described as a "mind-melting experience" that caused him to question virtually everything he thinks, so by the time this podcast goes live, he may or may not be willing to stand by all of his statements here.

The point is, conversations about how we see the world are worth having, and having, again, and again, and again. So, here, we invite you into ours, and we leave you with experiments to help you start some conversations and explorations of your own.

For full show notes and resources, go to http://livingexperiment.com/how-we-see-the-world/

This week on The Living Experiment, by listener request, we're doing a special guest episode follow-up on the topic of Conscious Language, a subject we originally addressed way back in episode #66. Joining Pilar this week is Cat Thompson. She's the teacher and friend who originally introduced Pilar to the study of Conscious Language. Conscious Language is about noticing and choosing your words with awareness. It's also about recognizing that everything you say both reflects and influences your daily reality — your perspectives, beliefs, attitudes, energy, and intention. Here, Cat shares her expert insights about how Conscious Language works, and about why it might be worth incorporating into your life.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/conscious-language-2/

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about Libido — the nature of our drive for sensual and sexual contact, and the variables that can affect it, for better or for worse.

We start from the assumption that a healthy libido means different things to different people, and that there is no "right" way to feel it, or do it.

We explore some of the factors that influence libido, and the concerns that many people share about their own, from a lack or surplus of sexual desire to uncertainties about sexual performance.

We talk about challenges of living in a society where sexuality is distorted by media and blunted by stress, anxiety, over-scheduling, shame, religious dogma, and more.

We also talk about the physiological, biochemical role that healthy sensuality plays in supporting human health and happiness.

Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you get more comfortable with your sense of libido, and wherever it fits into your own life.

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

This week on The Living Experiment, we're talking about Functional Medicine — a systems-based approach to addressing the fundamental causes of disease and distress.

Both of us have been immersed in the functional medicine movement for years — Dallas as a practitioner and Pilar as a health journalist — and we both see it as a science whose time has come.

Here, we talk about what functional medicine is, and why this science- and lifestyle-based approach represents such an exciting evolution in healthcare.

We touch on the tools, methods, and philosophy that make functional medicine so different. We explore functional medicine's practical but revolutionary strategy for addressing chronic diseases of all kinds, from digestive disorders and depression to autoimmunity and Alzheimer's.

Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you assess whether functional medicine might hold promise for you and those you love.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/functional-medicine/

This week on The Living Experiment, we bring you Part 2 of Pilar's conversation with New York Times best selling author and teacher, Geneen Roth.

Geneen has been teaching and writing about conscious eating and living for the past 30 years. Her most recent book is This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide. Through keen observation, reflection, and some very funny asides, her work guides us to see our compulsions and self-sabotaging habits through more curious and self-compassionate eyes. It also helps us see the bigger picture of what we are doing here in the first place, and what we want to do with, as she says, "the breaths we have left."

In Part 1, Geneen and Pilar covered all sorts of ground. Here, in Part 2, they pick up where they left off, talking about appetites, aging, beauty, creativity, mortality, and more. Geneen also shares a few of what she calls her "touchstones" — simple strategies for getting grounded, for warding off anxiety, and for evolving your own viewpoints.

Finally, they offer some experiments to help you explore and enjoy your own Messy Magnificent Life in ways that work for you.

Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/messy-magnificent-2/