The Meaning Project

In this episode we go back a few years to a discussion about anxiety and trauma - something we seem to be facing more of now than ever before.

EMDR - Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - a fancy way of saying "bi-lateral stimulation", which is a fancy way of saying "making your eyes move back and forth"... I've referred MANY clients to EMDR specialists, and this almost the way I explained the process to them... Crystal, not just a practitioner, but a trainer in EMDR, teaches me all about EMDR, and discusses how helpful it can be for "Big T" Trauma, as well as "Little t" trauma - which is something we all may be struggling with in some way given the past year's events. This was a great conversation and very educational - I hope you find it as meaningful as I did! Enjoy!

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at
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And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

To contact Dr. Dan go to www.DanielAFranz.com

Well everyone, it is time for a meaningful break in podcast production. I will be taking the next few weeks, perhaps few months, off from the podcast. So, I thought it would be fun to share some of my latest, and long standing, clinical "pet peeves", and what you can do to make sure they don't impact you! I'll be back in a few weeks - in the meantime, sign up for my weekly Mental Health & Meaning Monday Morning Update at www.DanielAFranz.com. Take care!

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at
https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

“Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”
-Dr. Viktor E. Frankl (Mans Search for Meaning)

Dr. Frankl suggested be handled with responsible action - and thus goes the conversation with Rabbi B. and I as we discuss freedom in our modern times, and how maybe he tend to lapse into that "arbitrariness" from time to time. We also manage to mix in some discussion on the psychological aspects of family history, the enneagram and genogram are mixed together to form the geneagram, and of course, the MBTI makes an appearance as well. Enjoy!

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at
https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

The conclusion of Dr. Ann V. Graber's lecture about the evolution of humankind from Homo Sapien to Homo Noeticus - people of interconnectedness.

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

I've been meaning to share this with you for quite a while - probably since I started The Meaning Project Podcast.  "Homo Noeticus" is the name Dr. Ann V. Graber gives to the potential evolution of humankind in her 2005 speech at the World Congress of Logotherapy, commemorating the life of Dr. Viktor Frankl.  Dr. Graber, as you will hear in the podcast, was instrumental in my decision to study logotherapy; and she was also one of my favorite professors during my studies.

The speech is masterfully crafted, comparing the evolution of humankind to the development of a single individual, from multi-celled "morula", to fully developed adult.  I hope I do it justice in my reading of it to you.  Enjoy!

If you want to go deeper, I mention theoretical physicist Michio Kaku and a recent discussion I heard on the Joe Rogan podcast.  You can find that here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Xmj1kd7XgMVLf8WxZqfBQ (and if you don't use Spotify premium, I believe you can find pieces of it in different places.)

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

For those who follow along on social media - which I am not very good at, so don't feel compelled to follow along, but if you want to, I believe the links are on this page and on my website - for those of you who do, you know I attended The Purpose Summit 2022 at the University of Notre Dame a few weeks ago.  Now, this was not my normal CEU (continuing education unit) psychology oriented conference, but since I had been interested in doing some work with one of the companies last year, and had met a fair amount of their team, I thought it would be worth attending.

I was NOT disappointed!

This was an amazing collection of Purpose - Drive speakers sharing their ideas with 200 companies from across the country.  For me, I took away a lot of information to help individuals struggling with work, AND to help organizations & companies struggling with people. Enjoy!

This conversation with Rabbi B. started with me saying, "B., I'm getting calls to come talk about Mental Health & Meaning from places I never would've expected it - construction, manufacturing, business... People are struggling."

And so it went.

That's the funny thing about working with Rabbi B., our combined training and experience seems to connect some great ideas together. In this discussion, hopefully we have some 'great' ideas on how you can improve your mental - and overall - health in these difficult times, while also finding opportunities to discover meaning.

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

Today we celebrate Memorial Day in the US - the unofficial start to summer - more importantly, the day we remember those who sacrificed their lives in military service. My good friend, Chief (retired) Paul shares his experience in the military - what led to his decision, how he survived and thrived in adversity, and now, what retirement means to him. Enjoy!

For professionals looking to help military families, veterans, and active duty, please check out the Star Behavioral Health Program: https://www.starproviders.org/

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at
https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

Money. Little green, or other-colored, pieces of paper. Numbers and decimals on a screen. Simple, as an object. But money has so much more emotional connotation - it represents work we've done, and opportunity ahead of us. It is ripe with the potential for meaning. But it also causes serious conflict - both interpersonally, and in our own selves. Therefore, it can also have a considerable negative impact in our lives - especially when we perceive it as scarce, or when it is, factually, scarce.

In this episode, Rabbi B. and I discuss our perspectives on The Meaning of Money, and provide some helpful ideas on how to manage money, or, more importantly how to manage your attitudes and emotions around money, while accepting the responsibility to make meaningful decisions with it. Enjoy!

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some meaningful The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at
https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast

Manya Chylinski was at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013 when the bombs went off. She was fortunate to suffer minimal physical damage. But the mental/emotional trauma she suffered last far longer than she expected. Fortunately, even though she didn't know of the science of "Resilience", she knew to take steps in that direction.

I've spoken quite a bit about the opportunity to discover meaning in difficult, even traumatic times. In the past few weeks, we've address resiliency in the face of trauma - the science behind turning suffering into achievement. Manya is a living example of resiliency and discovering meaning in her suffering. Today, now that she has healed, and is continuing to heal, she speaks to corporate and public sector audiences on resiliency, trauma-sensitive leadership, and the power of words in aiding recovery and wellness.

After you hear about her story here, if you want to find out more about Manya, or to book her to speak to your group, to a look at: https://manyachylinski.com/

To support your favorite podcast on Mental Health & Meaning, pick up some sweet The Meaning Project Podcast merch in our store at
https://the-meaning-project-podcast.creator-spring.com/

And finally, if you would like to support our efforts to improve the podcast and maybe even connect with Dr. Dan in different ways, become a Patron on our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/themeaningprojectpodcast