The Courageous Life

For decades the practice of manifestation has been widely dismissed as self-involved, materialistic pseudoscience. Today, neuroscientist and founder of the Center for Compassion at Stanford, Dr. James Doty is back on the podcast for the 3rd time. This time to discuss what he calls an antithesis to this popular narrative around manifestation, which narrowly emphasizes outward success and individual...

Yesterday we released a moving Courageous Life conversation with Juliana Tafur. Juliana is a journalist, award winning documentary filmmaker, and bridge builder. She serves as the Program Director for the Greater Good Science Center’s Bridging Differences initiative .  During our time together she shared shared some of her story, and insights from her incredible work as we explored the art and sci...

How does it feel to be seen? What is it like to be listened to in a way that you feel deeply understood? How often have you listened to others in this way? And, how often have you been listened to like this? In his book, Caring Enough to Confront , David Augsberger writes: "Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable." During our t...

In yesterday’s Courageous Life episode with Dr. Todd Kashdan, the author of The Art of Insubordination, w e unpacked the recipe for what he calls, principled rebellion: A courageous practice of going against the stream, Challenging conformity and questioning conventional ideas. But doing so from a place of heart . Rebelling in ways that are generative as opposed to destructive. Along these lines,...

For ideas to evolve and societies to progress, Dr. Todd Kashdan argues it's vital to cultivate principled rebels. Those who who are willing to go against the stream, to challenge conformity and question conventional ideas, But to do so from a place of heart - to practice rebellion in ways that are generative (vs. destructive). This type of authentic insubordination is fueled by  a motivation...

When I was first learning to be a coach we had a saying before stepping into a coaching conversation: Leave your assumptions at the door and embrace curiosity. In reality we often know SO little about someone’s experience, and about their story. And when we recognize that, what seems to make the most sense is to get curious . To ask questions, And to listen deeply. In yesterday's episode with...

What do you feel when you gaze up at the Milky Way, take in a beautiful sunset, stand before a mountain that seems impossibly high, or witness an extraordinary act of courage, kindness, or love? Often, it's a profound sense of awe - the overwhelming feeling we experience when we encounter something vast that transcends our understanding. In his book Awestruck ,  clinician, researcher, and mul...

On the heels of a powerful conversation with Dr. Emma Seppala we are re-releasing this Practicing Courage episode (originally #4) as it aligns intimately with the themes Emma and I explored together. Perhaps none more important than Sovereignty, which is the topic of Emma's beautiful new book: Sovereign . She defines Sovereignty as: Our innate human capacity for being resilient regardless of...

There is an internal freedom and a relationship with yourself so profoundly life-supportive and energizing that you access your fullest potential.  This is sovereignty. Our innate human capacity for being resilient regardless of the chaos that life brings and for staying true to oneself and intentional regardless of outside influences.  In her beautiful, and empowering new book: Sovereign: Reclaim...

To fail is human. It’s built into our experience from childhood. We begin to walk and we fall. We begin a project, we work toward a goal, or we start a business and we may fail. We experience these moments - When we are engaged in learning,  When we are moving toward something we care about  And we come up short. And in these moments there is an opportunity for practice - Learning to relate to the...

Failure is an experience that is deeply embedded into our lives.  As we learn to walk we fall.  As we learn to ride a bike we (usually) fall again.  And yet even though it is so familiar, so intertwined with our journey through life, not all failure is created equal.  Which brings up important questions: How do we fail well?  What are the crucial distinctions that might help us separate good failu...

In my most recent interview with Dr. Nate Klemp,  who is author of the new book Open: Living With an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World , w e got the opportunity to talk deeply about opening more to life.  Are you familiar with this feeling of openness?  Perhaps for you it’s a sense of curiosity?  Or a feeling of expansion in the mind, or in the body?  Maybe it's being interested, receptive...

With the avalanche of information we get every day, closing down our minds and hearts seems to be the only way to survive. We close to ourselves by compulsively checking our devices. We close to each other by getting caught in echo chambers of outrage. But what if there’s another way? In this climate of distraction and division, what if there’s a path back to a way of living that is expansive, cre...

Yesterday I released a conversation with Dr. Vanessa Patrick. Vanessa is a professor of marketing and the associate dean for research at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. Among other things, Vanessa researches what she calls the empowered refusal - A way of saying no that stems from your identity.  This empowered form of saying no becomes possible when you have clarity ab...

Have you ever said yes when you really wanted to say no? Has saying no ever been a challenge for you? These are such common experiences that today’s guest, Dr. Vanessa Patrick has written a powerful new book that addresses them head on: The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No that Puts You in Charge of Your Life. Dr. Patrick researches what she calls the empowered refusal , which...

How can we meet the storms in our lives (both big and small) with greater balance, courage, wisdom, and love? It’s a huge question, I know. And the list of practices and answers is long, varied, and personal.  I certainly don’t have "the answer" for you.  What I do have are some observations and practices I’ve found to be particularly useful.  Today I will offer 3 simple practices that c...

Today’s conversation has been 5 years in the making. In 2018 I sat down with Mark Nepo, one of the great spiritual teachers, authors, and poets of our time. During our conversation he posed a question to walk with. Inviting me (and those tuning in) to live into the answers over time. When my heart begins to close, how do I open it again? For 5 years I've been exploring this question with some...

Dr. David Treleaven is a a writer, educator, and trauma professional whose work lies at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. At the heart of David’s work is the notion that mindfulness is more powerful when combined with an understanding of trauma. Part of what’s behind this is the growing realization over the years that mindfulness meditation isn’t all good. There are a number of potential...

In her new book, Seeing Others: How Recognition Works, and How it Can Heal a Divided World , author and acclaimed Harvard sociologist, Michèle Lamont, makes the case for reexamining what we value to prioritize recognition—the quest for respect and dignity—in an age that has been defined by growing inequality and the obsolescence of the American dream.     In today's conversation we'll ex...

We all want to belong. But to do so, we must first face our own need for belonging and how that need is often thwarted. In his new book Reunion, Leadership and the Longing to Belong , today's guest Jerry Colonna argues that only through radical self-inquiry can we come home to ourselves and others and, in doing so, create systemic belonging—homes—for everyone. In today’s conversation Jerry an...

When the rain is falling, it’s dark out, and the storm seems unrelenting, Above the clouds the sky is blue and the sun is shining. All things are true . Someone’s last breath is met across time and space with the sounds of an infant crying, The signal of a new arrival. All things are true. As divorce papers are approved and a marriage meets an end, A preacher announces, "you may now kiss the...

What if there is a possibility of tapping into a heightened awareness of the world around you and your place in it? A possibility of moving from an achievement orientation, where so often the questions center around what do I want and how can I  get it? To a more expansive, open and receptive way of relating to our experience as human beings? Today’s guest will is Dr. Lisa Miller. She’s a psycholo...

Is it possible to turn beneficial states like gratitude, joy, calm, courage, grit, and compassion into enduring traits? And if it is, how do we go about doing it? I remember hearing these questions many years ago when I first came across the work of Dr. Rick Hanson At the time he was making a research-backed argument that said...yes, indeed we can and then provided a road map for practice. Here&ap...

Humans are universally equipped with a capacity for spirituality and our brains become more resilient and robust as a result.  In Dr. Lisa Miller’s book The Awakened Brain she highlights groundbreaking research, including MRI studies genetics research, epidemiology, and more. All of which illuminate a surprising science of spirituality and how to engage it in our lives. This week I  will release o...

From the climate crisis, to oppression, anxiety, and burnout - How do we meet the most pressing challenges of our time from a place of courage, integrity, and love? Today’s guest is Oren Jay Sofer and this question is the centerpiece of exploration in his beautiful new book. Your Heart Was Made for This . In it Oren offers 26 different contemplative practices intended for meeting challenges and ad...