Projekt 180: Psychological Alchemy

“If you’re a man listening to this, I want you to know one thing before we go any further. You don’t have to have had a good example of manhood in order to become a good man. Not the example of a healthy father to become a healthy father, or to have grown up knowing what a good partner looks like in order to become one. You can learn, you can practice, you can change, and you can become.” This is...

“Today, we’re talking about one of the most foundational teachings in Buddhism, the three poisons. In Tibetan Buddhism, they’re often represented at the center of the Wheel of Life as three animals chasing one another in a circle: a rooster, a snake, and a pig. These animals symbolize attachment, aversion, and delusion.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscr...

“Today, we’re talking about something simple on the surface, but deeply disruptive underneath. The idea that awakening is not separate from your life, not separate from your relationships or your work, or from the tension you feel when you’re trying to be a better partner, a more present parent, a more honest human being in the middle of everything that keeps moving.” This is a public episode. If...

“Healing is not about erasing the past. It’s about reconnecting what became disconnected, mind and body, memory and meaning, self and relationship. This is why healing is rarely a purely intellectual exercise. It’s experiential, relational, embodied.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projekt180.substack.com

“I want to invite you to imagine a river. Not just any river, but a river that represents your mind, your nervous system, and your relationships. This image comes from Dr. Dan Siegel, who describes mental health as a river flowing between two banks: On one side is chaos, on the other is rigidity, and somewhere in the middle is what he calls integration, the ability to remain flexible, adaptive, co...

“Because one of the greatest misconceptions in our culture is that we exist as isolated individuals. We imagine that our thoughts are separate from our bodies, that our emotions belong only to us, that relationships are simply something we have. But the Triangle of Wellbeing suggests something very different It tells us that our minds, our brains, and our relationships are constantly shaping one a...

“Across modern trauma therapy and ancient contemplative traditions, a similar insight keeps appearing in different language. Healing is not the elimination of parts of ourselves. It’s the transformation of how we relate to them or their integration.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projekt180.substack.com

“The goal of healing is not to eliminate every trigger. It’s not to become perfectly regulated. It’s not to transcend your humanity. The goal is to strengthen your capacity to remain present when old parts become activated, to recognize, “My wounded child is hurting. My adaptive child wants to protect me. My nervous system feels threatened, and yet I can choose how I respond.” This is a public epi...

“The framework we’re exploring today comes from relationship expert and therapist Terry Real. It’s called The Wounded Child, The Adaptive Child, and The Wise Adult. What I appreciate about this model is that it helps us understand a fundamental truth. Not every part of us lives in the present. Some parts of us are still carrying old injuries. Some parts of us are still running survival strategies,...

“You can deeply desire change and still have no embodied roadmap for how to create it, and honestly, that realization can feel overwhelming, because people often assume that awareness should automatically create transformation. But insight is not the same thing as integration. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

“Most people encounter attachment theory through social media, a short video or reel, an attachment styles quiz or a meme. Someone declares they’re anxious, avoidant, or disorganized, and suddenly, attachment style becomes yet another identity to wear.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projekt180.substack.com

“Beneath every reaction, beneath every emotional state, beneath every defensive strategy, the nervous system is constantly assessing safety and danger, and most of this happens outside awareness. Before thought, reasoning, before conscious decision-making, your body responds first, and your mind explains later.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

"So what exactly is the window of tolerance? Imagine a zone where you can remain present, you can think clearly, feel emotions, stay connected, learn, reflect, and respond instead of react. That’s your window of tolerance." This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projekt180.substack.com

“While bringing a child into the world is often portrayed as one of life’s greatest joys, it’s also a time of transition and can be disruptive to routines, predictability, and normalcy. That’s not indicative that something’s wrong, but rather something profound is happening. A new human is entering the family system, and systems change when new members arrive.” Zach Pennington. This is a public ep...

“In my experience, relationships don't dissolve from a lack of desire, and most relationship challenges are not caused by a lack of love. Relationship challenges are caused by disconnection, misunderstanding, unspoken expectations, old wounds, protective strategy, and nervous systems that no longer feel safe with one another.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

Join Projekt 180: Psychological Alchemy for the first offering in the Foundational Practices Series- Meditation: Becoming the Observer.  “While it's true a meditation practice can absolutely support regulation and healing, I think we've lost something important. Meditation is not fundamentally about escaping discomfort. It's about changing our relationship to the experience itself. It's about how...

  Introduction Welcome back to Project 180, Psychological Alchemy. I'm Zach Pennington, and today we're talking about the nervous system. Neuroception More specifically, something called neuroception , which is essentially the body's unconscious process of constantly asking, "Am I safe?" Long before thought, before logic, before conscious awareness, the body is already responding. Tightening, guar...

 Welcome to Psychological Alchemy, the Projekt 180 podcast. Introduction This podcast is about transformation, not the polished kind, not the performative kind, the real kind. The kind that happens when life breaks open the stories we've been living inside of. We're going to talk about trauma, meditation, nervous systems, psychology, Buddhism, contemplative practice, attachment, suffering, healing...