Stream of Subconsciousness

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com "I'd rather be dead than sing 'Satisfaction' when I'm 45." — Mick Jagger . Still singing satisfaction at age 81. I am stubborn and patient. The curse of stubborn and patient people is to die unsatisfied. I don’t want to... I look to role models to help guide my life, but most stubborn and patient role mo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “ There is an old-fashioned word for the body of skills that emotional intelligence represents: character.” ― Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman defines the four dimensions of emotional intelligence as, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. To be a self, social, or re...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “Your subconscious mind is trying to help you all the time.”— Jim Harrison, poet and novelist Discussions about the unconscious have grown from Freud and Jung’s work of 100 years ago. It’s been reinterpreted by therapists but it’s disregarded in social conversation. We rarely talk about it and it hasn’t...

I talk with Natasha Williams on her podcast Spiritual Warrior Journey . I explore the way our brains work in a combination of scientific and metaphysical discussion, sharing insights on plant medicine, native tribes, dreams, and insanity. Natasha says, “A truly interesting take on life, that deviates from the norm.” Lincoln is a clinical counselor, hypnotherapist, with experience in physics, softw...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com Looking for hidden messages, especially those to be revealed by experts, makes dreamwork less rewarding and casts it as a kind of work. This is why few people do it and, perhaps, why few people remember their dreams. Freud, the father of dream interpretation, famously disrespected your point of view, and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time.”— Marcel Proust Thinking Differently Dreams involve a different way of thinking. We don’t get far by applying conscious thinking, which is linear, causal, and rational, to the holistic pres...

We all have personal vulnerabilities, and this is normal. We all experience trauma and deal with depression. We complain about the bad things but not the good things. Are these good things real, or are they excursions into unsustainable positive emotion? While there is nothing wrong with needing to breath, there is something wrong when you’re desperate for breath. What you need should be a regular...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com I met Stefan Deutsch online and sent him my Operating Manual for Enlightenment. He sent me his Love Decoded: Getting the Love You Deserve . Here are his “Nine Laws for Fulfilling Relationships,” taken from the introduction, along with my comments. 1. Love that has to be earned isn’t love... 2. Become awa...

In a wide ranging discussion, Daniel and I talk about the intersections of life and growth, health and sanity, parenting and education, creativity and architecture. Daniel Thomas , a British transplant living in Germany by way of Australia, is a versatile storyteller, writer, actor, and filmmaker. He has been featured in commercials, TV & Film & has written & directed his own shorts. He also hosts...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com Gratitude is a combination of things, primarily two: a thought and an emotion. Selfish gratitude is needy. You are grateful for what you’re getting. It’s contingent and dependent. Gratitude offered with appreciation asks for no reward. And while gratitude so offered feels nourishing it can also feel empt...

Lincoln Stoller is a former mountaineer who now specializes in psycho-, hypno-, and neurofeedback therapy, in tandem with numerous other counseling and coaching services. Lincoln lives well outside of the bounds of normalcy. He says we should “just keep doing out-of-the-box stuff. And if people aren’t calling you a little crazy or a little nutty, then you probably aren’t exploring enough of the bo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com I’m in the minds business; I’m also in the programming business. I sometimes think of therapy as a programming problem. That’s not a bad idea, but you can’t take it literally. Taken literally, “to program” creates a series of steps that always choose between right and wrong. Programming requires such ste...

“ Life is the balance between holding on and letting go.” — Rumi I felt it important to respond to a journalist who asked what people might expect at their first therapy session. Many come to me who are ambivalent about beginning therapy, and I’ve been to a few therapists myself. I’ve not felt good about these first sessions with other therapists. A good therapist is wise but ignorant, and makes n...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”— Albert Einstein Is Intelligence a Real Thing? The history of intelligence is odd. It’s variously defined and plays different roles. Even within one culture, different standards are applied to different genders, ages, and people of different inclina...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “ The term neural synchrony… refers to how the brains of people carrying out an activity together will start to behave in the same way .” — Morten Pedersen , technologist MysteriesThe Keys in PsychotherapyPsychotherapy’s MysteryEmpathySynchronyBecoming Synchronized

Sociogeny is the development of social phenomena, such as common behavior and social patterns. In non-humans, we identify these as instinctive behaviors because we cannot identify them as reasoned thoughts. In humans, we take an entirely different approach because we believe our thoughts are free and our patterns chosen. This is a mistake. People act according to what they feel, not according to w...

“ The questions you ask determine what you think.” — Lincoln Stoller A one hour interview about all the exploits that led me into the counseling profession. Chris offered some casual humor about mental health and addiction, and I took the opportunity to bait the hooks he offered. The dynamic of him being lighthearted and me being serious persisted throughout our conversation. This is a public epis...

In this episode of "Conversations with Rich Bennett," Rich sits down with Dr. Lincoln Stoller, a neurofeedback trainer, clinical counselor, and hypnotherapist. They explore the transformative power of brain training, how anxiety can become a self-fulfilling habit, and the impact of neurological patterns on personal growth. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscrib...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “ Being slightly paranoid is like being slightly pregnant–it tends to get worse.” — Molly Ivins Balance is the first thing we lose when our mental health begins to fail. Balance is a combination of appropriate awareness and response. Appropriate refers to things that are effective in bringing one back in...

There is perpetual strife, poverty, inequity, and avoidable misfortune in the world. Things may have improved over the centuries, but have individuals changed? Few people seem concerned with the quality of themselves. Virtue is hard to measure and its benefits unclear. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindstrength...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “Absolution forgives the guilt associated with the penitent's sins, and removes the eternal punishment (of Hell) associated with mortal sins. … Theologians say the absolution of a penitent more than twenty paces away would be questionably valid. Phone absolutions are considered invalid.”— Wikipedia (2024...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “ The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.” — Alfred Adler , psychiatrist Are You Normal? What is normal? This question is trite, but serious. As a therapist who works with people in all situations, I see some people who grow and others who don’t. Anyone who doesn’t grow is bound to...

“ I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?” — Zhuangzi (4th century BCE) To understand dreams, understand that your rational mind is not in control of your thoughts. Yes, you use words, but you don’t know what you’re saying until your words are spoken. Words are lik...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com “ I miss what I already have, and I surround myself with things that are missing.” — Jonathan Safran Foer , novelist How might you see a color you can’t see, or describe to another person a color they can’t see? This question comes up from time to time when we talk about things we cannot find the words f...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindstrengthbalance.substack.com The All United party seemed to appear from nowhere, but immediately gained attention because their candidate was the first A.I. to run for office. There had been artificial candidates in local elections, to everyone’s amusement, but now, with a half billion dollar war chest, the artificial candidate, Ian...