Time & Other Thieves

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I reproduce a three-part Zoom lecture that was inspired by a Lucy Holmes (2006) article titled, "Becoming an Analyst: Learning to Live with Madness, Aggression, and the Unknown," in which she gives therapists permission to be angry, stupid, and crazy. I apply her ideas to my own experience as a process-group leader, but one could apply them to any endeav...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode (the first of its kind that I've made in almost a year!), I explore some of the ideas presented in Marion Woodman's "Bone: Dying Into Life," which is a collection of journal entries that chronicle her experience with uterine cancer from 1993–1995. I mostly muse on a smattering of quotes that Woodman wrote in the margins of her journal, from the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I share a conversation I recently had with award-winning audiobook narrator and voice actor Brittany Pressley, who has also been a friend of mine since high school. Alongside my BFF Courtney Wait as co-interviewer, I ask Brittany all (or at least some) of the questions I've been wanting to ask her since I started listening to her books (e.g. Katharine Smyth&a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share an edited version of a radio show I did back in October of 2022, about Van Morrison's 1968 sophomore album, "Astral Weeks," released when he was just 23 years old. I provide some history on the record's creation and then focus on three songs: the title track, "Cyprus Avenue," and "Madame George." Music critic Lester B...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share an edited version of a Zoom lecture I gave in December of 2025 about applying the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius to the practice of group psychotherapy, and to interpersonal process groups in particular. I focus on the Stoic disciplines of perception, action, and will (or "divine acquiescence") and provide examples of how we can thrive—as group me...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share an edited version of a Zoom lecture I gave in the spring of 2025 called "Group as Spiritual Practice." A collection and synthesis of some of my favorite spiritual teachings, this lecture explores how interpersonal process groups are a way of "getting beyond conditioning," of learning how to be alive , of cultivating courage, of becoming...

Send us Fan Mail In this short episode I recap the past month, which has been busier and more stressful than your average December because I signed a lease on a new therapy office and have been scrambling to set up the place in every spare moment!

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I revamp an Asheville FM radio broadcast from November of 2022, in honor of Joni Mitchell's 82nd birthday (November 7th). One track at a time, I explore her 1972 album, "For the Roses," providing biographical and thematic context to illuminate each song's depth and richness. I draw from music reviews written at the time of the album's relea...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I share parts of a conversation I recently had with psychotherapist and organizational consultant  Dr. Jeffrey Axelbank . In July of 2025, Jeff was featured in a New York Times article by Ellen Berry titled "The Ghost in the Therapy Room," about therapists who die unexpectedly—or at least their patients don't expect it. These patients are deprived o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share parts of a conversation I recently had with Jacob Winkler,  founder and facilitator of the Masters of Group Therapy Club , of which I've been a member since August of 2024. I hope you enjoy this tiny sliver of the giant pie that is Jacob's knowledge and wisdom around the human psyche and how to work with it in the context of process groups. He tal...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I explore some of the ideas that Carl Jung expounds upon in his 1933 book, "Modern Man in Search of a Soul." There's the notion that we cannot fully accept others unless we've fully accepted (i.e., loved) ourselves; that the parts of ourselves we deem unacceptable will be banished to the unconscious and wreak havoc in ways we can't control...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share parts of a conversation I recently had with psychotherapist, process group leader, and group therapy consultant Sara Schreiber . I first met her in August of 2024 in the Masters of Group Therapy Club . Together we explore her approach to facilitating groups, what challenges her most about being a group leader and member, and how her spiritual practice infor...

Send us Fan Mail In this promotional-type bonus episode, I describe the new group I'm starting in late July, which I hope you'll consider joining! There will be two separate cohorts of Time & Other Thieves: A Discussion, Meditation, and Interpersonal Process Group. One group will meet on the last Tuesday of the month from 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, and the other on the la...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I explore some of my favorite ideas from the book "Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen," by Shunryu Suzuki (edited by Edward Espe Brown). What does it mean to be oneself? How does being oneself relate to the Buddhist notion of emptiness? What is the ultimate goal or purpose of spiritual practice? I'll address these questions and more whi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I explore some of the ideas presented in Howard Thurman's 1949 book, "Jesus and the Disinherited." Bo Aganaba (host of the GoodBeing Podcast ) first told me about Thurman and this book (a huge inspiration for MLK Jr.) when I interviewed him back in December. The Baptist minister's thoughts on fear, deception, hate, and love are just as relevant...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I explore some of the ideas in Martin Buber's "I and Thou," which presents the dialogical philosophy for which he's most well known. Given my continued passion for leading and participating in interpersonal process groups, I discuss these ideas through that lens, focusing on how group provides an opportunity to inhabit the You-world instead of t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I get to explore one of my most favorite topics—group psychotherapy—with two women who are as passionate about the subject as I am: psychologist Sarah Taylor and spiritual director Vanessa Caruso. I met Sarah and Vanessa last summer in the Masters of Group Therapy Club, which continues to meet three times a week via Zoom. In this lively discussion, they talk about...

Send us Fan Mail In this first episode of the new year, I share parts of a conversation I recently had with Bo Aganaba, host of the GoodBeing Podcast and founder and principal at GoodBeing Co . He had me on his podcast a few months back, so now the tables have turned! Bo and I talk about climate change, Christianity, Alan Watts, yoga, time (is it really a thief?), and the importance of play. With...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I explore my thoughts on the 2024 presidential election results, on humanity in general, and how I want to proceed with living my life—with a little help from Chuang Tzu, the ancient Taoist sage.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I share parts of a conversation I recently had with the musician MJ Lenderman, who happens to be a pal of mine. Jake talks about his nervousness around being interviewed, his desire for more solitude, and his perspective on what he calls "micro fame." He also shares some thoughts on the touring lifestyle and how it was made even more challenging when he...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I share what my experience of Tropical Storm Helene was like as a resident of Western North Carolina. I explore my thoughts and feelings around the different ways that people cope/respond when disaster strikes their community, and I ponder impermanence as a characteristic of existence. (This cloud photo was taken the morning after the storm.)

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a personal essay that I recently performed at the Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville, as part of an anniversary celebration for Harvest Records. I provide some background on my being included in the event—Found in Sound: Tales from the Record Store Universe—and the very gratifying process of writing (with the help of an excellent developmental edit...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I explore my fascination with interpersonal process groups and why I'm so stoked to start one of my own! Using Louis Ormont's book "The Group Therapy Experience" as my focus, I discuss what makes process groups so effective and describe some techniques used by group therapists to deepen connections between members and help them practice new beha...

Send us Fan Mail In this spur-of-the-moment (ish) episode, I talk about the Chinese art of placement: feng shui! It literally means "wind" and "water." Merriam-Webster defines "feng shui" as "a Chinese geomantic practice in which a structure or site is chosen or configured so as to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it." And of course it applie...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I talk about my decision to stop making these episodes on a monthly basis. Instead, I will do them when the mood strikes! I briefly discuss Thomas Aquinas, who said just a few months before his death in 1274 that his writing labors had ended: "Such things have been revealed to me that all I have written seems as straw." I love that. I also talk a little b...