Authentic Chaos

Have you ever felt frustrated that people can’t understand you or your thoughts? Maybe some conversations with friends or family get difficult because of misunderstandings or other miscommunications.  All people want to be understood, and we all have the capacity to be understood, but what often stands in the way of being understood is how we communicate. I will share my journey with being underst...

Why does it feel so hard to be an “adult” sometimes? Our bodies start to ache, the foods we enjoyed before are now bad for us, and the relationships we had relied on can sour. Does time and age have to be this oppressive force? Join me and Tessa for a heart-felt discussion on our relationships with time management, health, the chaos of the world around us, and our own families. 

Traveling to new places and exploring new cultures can be exciting and stressful! Especially when you are aiming to visit a culture that is so different from your own. Stephen Ritchie joins us today to talk about his own adventures in India, a culture that is utterly foreign to him. Listen as he paints a beautiful and complex picture of this ancient culture. What insights can we gain from putting...

Salvador - a reference to a savior/messiah - reflects the answers we are searching for: who are we, why are we here, what is the meaning of our lives, how do we do good? These questions have many and no answers. There are many ways people can try to seek out their answers but there is no right answer. This is no more clear than when we explore new cultures and meet new people. These diverse perspe...

Do you have problems that seem to keep coming up in your life? Maybe you feel chronically stressed or perhaps you are getting into arguments now and then with people around you. Does it seem like when you address these problems you only temporarily solve them? What if you are missing the bigger picture? We live in a complex world with many patterns and cycles. Sometimes the problems we experience...

Think about the last time you were stuck in a thought pattern or a bias. How did you recognize you were stuck in the pattern? How did you go about changing? Did the change come from inside yourself or from the outside world? I found myself in one of these bias patterns that was affecting my perspective. It got to the point that I knew I had to change, so I planned a trip, which is commonly what I...

Is Hell a place where the damned go for all eternity? Is it just a prop used by religious types to confound the masses? Or is there deeper, more personal meaning to Hell. What is Hell even and why would any all powerful, all good gods create such a place? Journeys of self discovery are not unique, they are some of the oldest tales we know: The Odyssey, the trials of Hercules, The Divine Comedy. Bu...

How do we obtain happiness? How should we live a “good life”? How would we describe the last year (2023)?  These questions can seem difficult to answer precisely because they have no right answer. But even that isn’t quite right because there is an answer that is right for us, while not universally right. Finding your “right” answer is as challenging as finding your “right” path. While no one can...

Does reality have a bias toward fun or obligation? Is going on vacation or to a music festival reality or a fantasy? Is music just fun sounds to listen to or is there a deeper meaning? Music has connected people for as long as humans have existed. From prayer chants and war songs to classical music to DJs, people have found connection with their world and with each other through music. But what do...

Take a look back over the last 10 years. How have you changed? How has your view of the world change? How often do you get stuck in a certain set of biases or world view? Perspective is complex, it is a window into the world and into ourselves. But this window can be invisible. And sometimes this window can feel like a prison.  Join me and Stephen Ritchie (@powerofperspectivewithstephenritchie) as...

Why do people care about Paris? Or Rome? What about Giza or Damascus? Do we like a place because it has fancy buildings or is there something more? What can we learn from history? Is this all just a history lesson, or can we learn something about ourselves from history? I propose history contains contemporary lessons: how we see ourselves and others, the importance of shifting perspective, and the...

The more we grow, the more important it is to remind ourselves of where we came from and who we came from. This look back can be grounding and challenging at the same time. Grounding because it brings us to our roots, but also challenging because it can shake up memories and feelings which you haven’t recounted for a while.  Join me and my mother for a very special episode of Authentic Chaos! In t...

How would you describe consciousness? What about self-consciousness or even self-self-consciousness? Can we ever think ourselves out of our own minds? At what point does a rule system that references itself start to change itself? What is the point of this podcast or even this episode?  In this special anniversary episode of Authentic Chaos, join me for reflections on self-consciousness, the podca...

Humans influence technology, and technology influences us. We have access to data about ourselves that our ancestors could never have dreamt up. But does more data mean more meaning? Or is data itself meaningless without a narrative binding it? How can the same data be used to reach different (sometimes contradictory) conclusions? Join me and Yossi Katzin (IG: @trekkieyk) as we discuss the roles o...

What is important in a relationship: the love of power or the power of love? Can you love your boss? Why do some parents still see their adult children as kids? Should you try to control your spouse? When we think of relationships, we often think of specific kinds of relationships: spousal, parental, familial, friend, etc but how often do we think about the aspects of those relationships? Join me...

Is your life yours? Are you living for yourself or are you living for others? When you post on social media, is it for yourself or so others can experience your life? Are your life goals authentically yours or are they set by your family or culture? Sumit Saurabh (IG: @saurabhsumit) joins me for a heartfelt discussion about our journeys to understand our life goals, how we have learned to listen t...

We all know about debilitating addictions such as drug addictions, but there are many other addictions that society doesn’t consider addictions. Whether talking about the hold of car culture on the design of American cities, our global addiction to caffeine and sugar, and new movements such as anti-aging, there are many examples of accepted addictions. What makes addictions acceptable in society?...

Burning man has been in the news lately for reactionary reasons: tales of weather issues threatening the festival, opulence, and increased gentrification. But Burning Man is so much more than the narratives that laypeople hear, the event is an opportunity to critically examine the social contracts that bind our societies and to dream up alternative societies. Yossi Katzin is a regular attendee of...

What does it mean to “go with the flow”? What is a flow state? Have you ever felt a situation where your body and mind were singularly focused on a single task? Maybe you were doing an exercise or dancing or even doing your job. How can we take lessons we learn from these focused flow states into our lives? Can we re-imagine what “go with the flow” means for us? Join me and Stephen Ritchie (the ho...

Answering some audience questions about the motivation for the podcast! What were the origins of Authentic Chaos? How do I have similar conversations in real life? What should you do if something I say resonates with you? If you have questions, feel free to ask me on instagram at @authentic.chaos!

What is the purpose of your life? What are your values? How do you determine who you are and what the right thing for you is? Technology can make our lives more complicated, but without a life philosophy, our lives can seem devoid of purpose. Even hopeless. How can a life philosophy help frame your values and give you purpose and hope? Join me and Sharik U Zama (IG: @sharik_zama777) as we discuss...

Do you feel like there are multiple versions of yourself? Maybe there is a version of you that you show to the outside world. And maybe there is also an inner version of you that you keep hidden. Which version is the authentic you? Or are both the authentic you? What are the similarities or differences between your different versions? Join me and Serene Gao (IG: @serenedpt) as we discuss our inner...

Have you ever had a belief so strong that you held it even in the face of other evidence? Have you ever wondered why some people seem to make consistent mistakes? The power in our beliefs is that they let us make quick decisions but at the cost of working invisibly to us. If we don’t question our perceptions and beliefs then it is easy to get caught up in narratives that shape our realities. Join...

Dear Capitalism, My how you have made life so much better for all of us! Privatizing the basics for survival is really the best way to support human life! Who needs guaranteed access to food, water, and shelter when we can instead pay for it! And who could forget the many efficiencies created by having layers of middle management to capture profits from labor so someone else can get rich off of so...

Have you ever felt like you exist for a reason? Like there is some unseen purpose that you are meant to fulfill? Maybe a quest for God or knowledge fuels you? What happens if you never meet your purpose? Will you still be happy? Or is happiness even a priority in your life? In a world with access to vast amounts of knowledge and connection, there is chaos. Chaos of the natural world and chaos of o...