Untangle

A wonderful encore episode. 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's encore guest is Gretchen Rubin, one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness, habits and human nature. She’s a highly acclaimed writer, known for her ability to distill and convey complex ideas—with levity and clarity. She’s the author of many bestselling books, including The Happiness Project, Better Than Before, and The Four Tendencies, which have sold millions of copies in more than thirty languages. Her most recent book is Life in Five Senses. 

She’s also host of the popular podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and founder of the award-winning Happier app. We invited Gretchen to talk with us about how we can inject more happiness into our lives and how we can cultivate new habits with greater ease. she reminds us, there is no one size fits all for happiness…but there are many great ideas here. 

Resource: Gretchenrubin.com

As always 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. 

Thanks, as always, to a few of our sponsors Rula, Quince, Born Shoes.

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Happy New Year! Enjoy this meditation to inspire a fresh start to 2025.

(no ads. no intro. just a lovely meditation)

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A Favorite Encore. Today’s guest is one of my favorites of all time. When I first interviewed Parker Palmer, the writer, teacher, poet and all around wise and soulful human — it was near a birthday that was giving me some pause as I was feeling the weight of time passing. I felt such a rush of pure humanity from listening to his words. It was the best birthday gift. The book we discussed is called On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old. It’s one of 10 amazing books that he’s authored. He says we must accept all of who we are…our wholeness and our brokenness. Wholeness involves integrating your imperfections along with whatever degree of perfection you may have achieved. It means embracing brokenness as an important part of our lives. It all belongs. I loved when he said that our hearts stay supple when we learn to embrace the little heartbreaks of everyday life. Eventually, he says, we can say...Yes, I am my strengths and my weaknesses. I am my successes and my failures. I am a source of light and I can be dark. It's all there. Welcome it all as a part of being human. 

Parker has reached millions worldwide through his books, including the best-selling Healing the Heart of Democracy, Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, and A Hidden Wholeness.

He also holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley and 13 honorary doctorates. He has won numerous awards, which are listed in our show notes. Encore Episode. 

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Enjoy this short meditation with the theme Holiday Expectations. Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season!

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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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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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