Wow…I loved talking to today’s guest, Kieran Setiya, an Author and Professor of philosophy at MIT. I’ve always loved philosophy, but I was especially taken with the way Kieran applies it to our most challenging events, as well as to our day to day lives. In his book Life Is Hard, How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way — he offers us a roadmap for navigating rough terrain, from personal trauma to loneliness to grief to failure and the myth of the ideal life to injustice and even the absurdity of the world. It’s hard to summarize this discussion because there’s so much here, but his wisdom is rich with guidance on how we can face suffering and life’s inevitable hardships. He’s so eloquent in how he shares his insights on life >> from his rich archive of philosophy to his own personal journey. Life is a collection of small successes and small failures. And A good life, he says, is a way of living every day, DESPITE the hard stuff. He inspired me to reflect on quite a bit here. How do I live well, what makes a life meaningful, how do I face regret, aging, uncertainty…even what should I hope for given where I am in my own life. 

He was originally inspired to philosophy by his own sense of wonder and undertow of worry at 7 yrs old. I love that…a blend of worry and wonder, anxiety and awe. How perfectly true!!

Kieran is also the author of Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The New York Times,the Boston Review,the London Review of Books, The Atlantic, and The Yale Review.

As always, we’re Untangle, the podcast from Muse, the brain sensing headband dedicated to unlocking your brains potential. Check out choosemuse.com and use code untangle15 for your discount. 

Resource: ksetiya.net

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Today we chat with Author of the book, Relationship Bootcamp, and Relationship Coach Roy Biancalana to explore his personal journey from chaos to conscious connection in his own relationship. And what a journey it’s been! He calls his early relationship life a train wreck — decades of painful patterns, a 19–year marriage that turned into co-parenting roommates, a devastating broken engagement, and a string of chaotic rebound relationships—that finally forced him to look at HIMSELF in the mirror. Roy shares his transformative insights on how our past shapes our present, the importance of emotional intelligence, and the power of rewriting our love stories AND how this all impacts how we approach our own relationships. Whether you're single, in a relationship, or somewhere in between, this conversation will inspire you to look within and embrace your own path to authentic love. We’ll also get a glimpse of the 7 key muscles we need to strengthen if we want relationship fitness. 

Resource: https://www.coachingwithroy.com 

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As always, we’re untangle, the podcast from Muse the brain sensing headband that helps to transform your brain. Use promo code untangle 15 at choosemuse.com for your discount. 

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This was such a fun interview — our encore guest today is Dr. Robert Waldinger, a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a practicing Psychiatrist, Zen Master and author of the book The Good Life, Lessons from the Worlds Longest Scientific Study on Happiness. This study, which began in 1938, reveals what it takes to build a good life. What does that exactly mean, I wondered…fulfilling, satisfying, meaningful, happy? All of it. There's no one size fits all. BUT…the one thing that was consistent? Relationships. All kinds of relationships. The quality of the social connections that we make throughout our lives means everything. He says…Human connection is our superpower. Good relationships help us get through life’s inevitable challenges, and they keep us happier and healthier. and the research shows that they actually help us to live longer. Robert reminds us that we should pay attention to the things that we really care about…the things and people that energize us. AND pay attention to the things and people that deplete us. He shares the keystones of healthy relationships — things like safety security, emotional closeness, fun and relaxation, learning and growth…and there’s more. 

Resources: The Good Life is available at all major booksellers.

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Our guest today is Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald, Trauma researcher and Author of the book, "The Joy Reset: Six Ways Trauma Steals Happiness and How to Get It Back.” Her book isn’t just about finding joy; it’s about rewiring our brains and rediscovering our power to cultivate joy EVEN in the darkest moments of life. 

She describes the barriers that keep us from accessing joy—hypervigilance, emotional numbing, fear of loss, conditioning, guilt, and shame—and then defines ways to tap into positive emotions that can become the very foundation of psychological resilience.

 In our interview she shares some exercises that make joy, hope and gratitude both bite-sized and accessible and how they can show up even in our toughest moments.

I love how she weaves neuroscience into her exploration of trauma and joy, explaining how our brains are biologically wired to both adapt to trauma and heal from it. And…good news…we ARE always biologically capable of joy. 

Quote from her website: "Joy does not exist only in the moments that are free of pain. In fact, the brightest, tiniest, most important pieces can only be found in the dark. I want to teach you how to harness and amplify the power of that glinting magic–because this sustainable, endless light source will do more than help you get through your darkest, scariest, loneliest times."

As always, we’re untangle, the podcast from Muse the brain sensing headband that helps to transform your brain. Use promo code untangle 15 at choosemuse.com for your discount. 

Resource: https://www.drmcmcdonald.com/

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Today’s encore episode is with the always popular Dr. Rick Hanson — a Psychologist and NY Times Best Selling author of several books, including the book we discuss in this interview “Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence." He shares how we can hardwire our brains for happiness using practices that help us cultivate and experience the good in our lives while reducing our natural negativity biases. He shares why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings, negative feelings rather than to bask in the warmth of being appreciated or positive feelings. The negative stuff is like velcro…it sticks to us. But it doesn’t have to. He says we can build our inner strengths and capacity to override the brains habit of defaulting to pessimism. He suggests a simple method that uses the hidden power of everyday experiences to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace. 

As always, we’re Untangle, the podcast from Muse, the brain sensing headband dedicated to unlocking your brains potential AND Meditation Studio the five star app. Unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio. 

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Today our guest is Stephen Dinan, founder of the Shift Network, and author of the book Sacred America, Sacred World, Fulfilling our mission in service to all. He founded the Shift Network in 2010, and today it delivers virtual summits, courses, training in areas related to spirituality, peace, holistic health, psychology, sustainability and more. One of my favorite courses was with Penelope Smith in Animal Communication. 

Stephen is a graduate of Stanford University where he studied human biology, but in this conversation he shares his transformative journey from a scientifically inclined atheist to a seeker of higher consciousness, exploring diverse spiritual traditions and the potential of, what he refers to as, wise AI. We discuss the evolution of consciousness, the role of AI in our spiritual journey, and how we can collectively move towards a more unified and awakened humanity. It’s an interesting dialogue that invites us to explore what is unknown.

As always, we’re Untangle, the podcast from Muse, the brain sensing headband that transforms your brain. Use code Untangle15 for your discount at choosemuse.com. 

Resource: Theshiftnetwork.com

Stephendinan.com

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Welcome to a weekly special edition of Untangle, Meditation Mondays. We’re taking this time to share meditations from our sister app, Meditation Studio. We know that life gets messy and, when it does, Meditation is here to help us find a sense of calm and inner peace. Whether you’re facing daily work or relationship stress, unexpected challenges, or just want to improve focus, we hope meditation Monday’s will be your go to for a weekly guided meditation treat. And if you’re craving more…which I always do…the Meditation Studio app offers over 800 expert-guided meditations from over 70 of the world’s top meditation experts.

And best of all, you can now unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio.

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Today's guest is author of the book, Your Body is Speaking and creator of the framework “The Power of Gesture.” Her Ted Talk is called Your Body’s Hidden Intelligence: from Mindset to Bodyset. She shares her personal background which included her struggles with traditional learning methods and her discovery of alternative methods of learning — which led her to focus on the importance of movement and gesture in learning and self expression. 

 She discusses the Power of Gesture framework which includes the Three E's—embody, empower, and elevate—and how it relates to personal growth and emotional clarity. Jen highlights the significance of trusting one's intuition and the power of self-compassion in navigating life's challenges. She also touches on the role of unexpected teachers in our lives and the importance of recognizing and honoring our body's wisdom.

Thanks for being with us today. For more on Jen and her work, check out jenaks.com. Her book is called Your Body is Speaking. 

And check out choosemuse.com when you have a minute for more info on the revolutionary brain sensing headband that can help to transform your brain. Use code Untangle 15 to get your discount. 

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Encoring one of my personal favorite meditations.

Welcome to a special weekly edition of Untangle, Meditation Monday. We’re taking this time to share meditations from our sister app, Meditation Studio. We know that life gets messy and, when it does, Meditation is here to help us find a sense of calm and inner peace. Whether you’re facing daily work or relationships stress, unexpected challenges, or just want to improve focus, we hope meditation Mondays will be your go to for a weekly guided meditation treat. And if you’re craving more…which I always do…the Meditation Studio app offers over 800 expert-guided meditations from over 70 of the world’s top meditation experts.

And best of all, you can now unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio

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