Being Different Together

What if wisdom isn’t invented or owned, but discovered—ladled up from a shared “primordial soup” of stories, experiences, and ancestral knowing?  Kelly and Nyssa riff on a listener’s question, tracing the roots of Uncle Murray’s intentionality sayings through 12‑step recovery rooms, counseling traditions at USF, spiritual practice, and the collective unconscious.  Along the way, they weave in Jung...

What if the secret to reaching your goals is not grinding harder, but holding them more gently? Kelly and Nyssa explore the final two intentionality slogans from Uncle Murray—“Keep your eyes on the prize” and “Easy does it”—and how together they create a powerful roadmap for pursuing meaningful goals without burning out. Through stories of massage clients, canceled flights, blackout Airbnbs, nouri...

Want your life to actually feel different—not just look the same with new intentions on top?  Kelly and Nyssa unpack two of Uncle Murray’s most quietly radical intentionality sayings, “You can’t be different by acting the same” and “Find a pleasant path,” exploring how tiny, sustainable shifts in behavior can transform habits, money choices, health, and even how you move through pain and aging.  T...

What if the people you spend time with — and the courage to ask for what you really want — are quietly shaping who you become? Kelly and Nyssa dive into two of Uncle Murray’s core intentionality slogans, “Aim yourself at being with people who facilitate you being the person you want to be” and “The more I ask for what I want, the more likely I am to get it,” to explore how relationships, community...

What if your feelings weren’t the boss of you after all?  Kelly and Nyssa continue their Uncle Murray intentionality series with two deceptively simple slogans: “Whatever it is you feel, remember you don’t have to” and “An opportunity missed is an opportunity missed.”  They explore emotional regulation, tantrums (child and adult), grief, anxiety spirals, and perfectionism, sharing practices like 9...

Life is a joke … and a precious gift. Kelly and Nyssa explore how both can be true through two of Uncle Murray’s most powerful intentionality slogans: “When in doubt, choose the belief that is most useful to you” and “Life is a joke, either you get it or you don’t.” They unpack how consciously choosing your beliefs shapes your emotions, relationships, spirituality, and even how you cope with grief...

In this episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and Nyssa continue their intentionality mini-series by unpacking two classic Murray Landsman sayings: "You're already ready" and "Trying is not doing it."  They explore how these deceptively simple phrases cut through resistance, perfectionism, and the “I don’t feel like it” mindset, especially around creative work, medita...

In this episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and Nyssa continue their intentionality mini-series by unpacking another Murray Landsman saying: “Take the hard things easy.”  They explore how unconscious beliefs about suffering shape our identity—through stories like an anesthesiologist-turned-donut-shop-worker, navigating home renovations, and walking through grief in ways that don’t match oth...

In this episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and Nyssa continue their intentionality mini-series with two Murray Landsman sayings: “Doing it does it” and “There’s more than two ways to skin a cat.”  They unpack how taking imperfect action creates clarity, how to move through overthinking and perfectionism, and why there’s never just one “right” way to build a life, business, or relationship....

In this episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and Nyssa continue their intentionality mini-series by unpacking another Murray Landsman saying: “It is useful to view the past in a friendly way.” They explore what it really means to make peace with your past, including how to work with regret, grief, and painful memories without spiritually bypassing or pretending everything was “meant to be.”...

In this episode of Being Different Together , Kelly and Nyssa continue their intentionality mini-series by unpacking two powerful Murray Landsman sayings: “Be nice to yourself” and “Your reality is as good as anybody else’s.”  They explore how negative self-talk, shame, and “autoimmune emotions” can impact your mental and physical health, and what it really means to be kinder to yourself without s...

In this third episode of our Intentionality series, Nyssa and Kelly return to Murry Landsman’s handwritten bathroom poster to explore one deceptively simple slogan: “If you think you can do something about the world, you have a better chance.”   They unpack how this idea sits between toxic positivity and nihilism , framing it as “ agency under constraint ”—taking real responsibility for your parti...

In this second episode of our Intentionality series, Nyssa and Kelly return to the handwritten bathroom poster of Uncle Murry Landsman’s teachings to explore three more life-shaping slogans: “Everything works. Nothing works.” “Feeling good needs no excuse.” and “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”  They unpack how these paradoxical ideas speak to perfectionism, decision fatigue, and the pr...

In this first episode of our Intentionality series, Nyssa and Kelly pull back the curtain on a wild synchronicity in their shared lineage: a 1970s psychologist named Murry Landsman, the human potential movement, and a handwritten bathroom poster of life-changing intentionality slogans.  We explore the first two: “Everything you’ve done in life prepared you for this moment” and “It is frequently ea...

In this episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and Nyssa unpack why conflict doesn’t have to mean something is wrong —in fact, it can be the very path to deeper connection. Drawing on the work of Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath and the Center for Real Dialog, they explore how “healthy conflict” in relationships can reduce emotional threat, calm our inner “baby,” and transform repetitive fights into...

In this episode, Nyssa and Dr. Kelly answer a listener question about one simple but powerful object: the meditation bell.  What is the purpose of a bell in your meditation space? They explore how a meditation bell (or singing bowl, chime, or timer bell) can mark transitions, create a ritual for mindfulness, and help you “come home” to yourself. From Thich Nhat Hanh’s bell of mindfulness to Insigh...

In this episode of Being Different Together , Nyssa and Kelly welcome the spring equinox by exploring what this turning point in the seasons can teach us about personal growth, relationships, and real dialogue.  Using the story of their unassuming little peach tree—hidden, pruned back hard, and now bursting with blossoms—they unpack the difference between cultivation and control, and why pruning (...

Nyssa and Kelly explore how moon phases and lunar cycles can become a practical, soulful framework for goal setting, time management, and personal growth.  Nyssa shares how working with new moon intentions and full moon reflections helped her call in a conscious relationship, complete projects, and deepen her spiritual practice—plus the now-classic “have you seen this moon?” story.  If you’re curi...

In this episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and Nyssa break down one of Buddhism’s most practical (and misunderstood) teachings: emptiness—using the now-famous story of the pen . Is it a pen or a chew toy? It depends who’s looking.  Drawing from the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and modern life at the kitchen table (complete with dog Poppy chewing pens), they explore how reality doesn’t c...

If you’ve ever wondered how to start a creative project with your partner—or why it can feel so hard—you’ll feel right at home in this episode.  Kelly and Nyssa share the honest story behind launching their podcast: from the initial “we should record this” spark to choosing equipment, taking a podcast course, and dealing with all the resistance that shows up when you actually hit record and publis...

Feeling overwhelmed by the news? In this episode, Kelly and Nyssa unpack how to cope with bad news, negativity bias, and constant stress without totally checking out.  They explore why our brains are wired to focus on threats, how the modern news cycle exploits that, and what happens when our stress cycles never fully complete—hello burnout, anxiety, and numbness. With a mix of psychology, mindful...

In this episode, Wes Bozeman joins us at the kitchen table for a wide-ranging conversation about yoga, touch, teaching, and community. We talk about Ghosh yoga, Thai massage, authenticity in practice, and what it means to hold tension without trying to resolve it too quickly. The conversation moves between philosophy, lived experience, and the quiet moments where healing actually happens. Main Top...

Touch is both essential and complicated. In this episode, Kelly and Nyssa explore touch as a human need—how it can be both deeply healing and highly charged.  The discussion moves through consent, subjectivity, non-sexual touch, and how cultural conditioning has shaped the way bodies relate to one another.  Drawing from bodywork, psychotherapy, Thai massage, and lived experience, the episode names...

Kelly and Nyssa dive into the topic of retreat, exploring why stepping back from everyday life—especially through silence and meditation—can be so transformative.  Kelly shares stories from her early Zen retreats, including a hilarious (and humanizing) fart-at-the-final-ceremony moment that shattered her assumptions about belonging, and she explains how intensive practice, noble silence, and commu...

In this companion episode, Kelly uses the skills of Real Dialog to interview Nyssa about her unconventional path into healing work.  Nyssa traces her journey from teen poetry nights and open mics, to aromatizing Manhattan after 9/11 with her mom’s aromatherapy team, to studying religious experience and Sanskrit, and ultimately building a career as a massage therapist, aromatherapist, and coach.  A...