The Downward Facing Spiritual Spiral

Ok. It's Friday night. You're all dressed up for a wild night out and you wind up at some hip party in Hollywood. You've had a few cocktails, start your mingling but you begin to notice everyone there is only talking about themselves. Or, MAYBE someone takes a respite from blabbing to ask you a quick question like, "How are you?" But after you respond, of course, they quickly go back to talking al...

Text messages are destroying mental health in our culture. I'm not trying to be hyperbolic but I think as a culture, we must do better than text messages. Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I wanted to talk about all the lazy text messages we send and why I believe they could be one of the reasons for the cratering of mental health in our society. I know it may take up more time to make an actual phon...

It's easy to forget how challenging the creative process can be. Whether it's the frenetic pace in which information moves, the expectations from society or the expectations we place on ourselves, we can often be unkind to our own creative process. On today's episode of the Spiritual Spiral, a quick reminder that we all have our own unique creative process. Sure, the world may make us feel like cr...

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone and as we reach the end of another year, I felt inspired to record one final episode for 2022. On today's episode, I talk about some of the personal health issues I've dealt with over the last year and why I believe it's paramount to have a physician who has a positive outlook on your health. See, the other day I was riding on my Peloton and taking a clas...

Oh Kyrie. Sure your tweet was offensive, but if you would have simply apologized, you wouldn't be on probation and the world probably would have moved on and forgotten all about your silly tweet. But in a world of megalomaniacs who refuse to apologize, the drama ensues. Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I examine the Kyrie Irving story from this past week and how his behavior is emblematic of some of...

Being sick is scary AF and sometimes, the easiest thing for us to do is call the doctor, pop a pill and cross our fingers that we feel better. But does the healthcare system in America truly want us to feel well if they simply keep prescribing us toxic medications? Sure, there's been a lot of chatter lately about all the measures that turned out to be wrong in terms of the pandemic. But instead of...

This week on the Spiritual Spiral, I am SUPER excited to welcome my friend, astrologer and author, David Bensimon to the show. I met David close to ten years ago at the infamous Yoga Works on Main Street. Since that time, David has gone on to become an astrologer as well as an author writing the children's book, The Little Crab Finds a Friend. If you're curious about astrology and the meaning behi...

Well you're in for an amazing chat as today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm thrilled to welcome back to the show for her second visit, entrepreneur, public speaker and writer Emily Goodson . With so much going on in the world surrounding health, wellness and alternative medicine, I felt it was an appropriate time to have Emily back on the show to discuss some of these complex topics. Emily is the CEO...

After a little hiatus, I'm excited to be back for this week's episode of the Spiritual Spiral as I welcome back actress, writer and my friend, Polly Humphreys, to the show. First off, you have a little bit of homework after you listen to today's episode. You must check out the powerful new documentary on Showtime called We Need to Talk About Cosby, which inspires the beginning of my chat with Poll...

Today's episode of the Spiritual Spiral is a dive into the world of music and songwriting  as LA based guitarist and producer, Brett Farkas joins me on the podcast. Brett is a multi-genre solo artist and session musician who has worked with some of my favorite artists including Aimee Mann, Rihanna and Lord Huron. I met Brett many years ago at a music supervisor showcase and was immediately impress...

What is an algorithm brain? Glad you asked and let me explain. Imagine never having to make a decision for yourself ever again? Sounds fun, right? Scrolling and sitting on your booty all day as Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, IG and Tiktok algorithmically spoon-feed ads and rabbit holes that take you on a hypnotic runaway train. That's the intoxicating and manipulating world of tech in full force as it...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm excited to welcome Evan Beigel back to the show. This is Evan's second visit and much like our first conversation, we try and tackle some very complicated topics. We talk about the violence in the latest season of Stranger Things and wonder if parents think it's an appropriate show for young children. We discuss parenting and how it may be more difficult than eve...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm excited to welcome back singer/songwriter and producer, Lee Hester , to the show. A few weeks ago, after an hourlong discussion with Lee, I realized we didn't touch on a few topics so I felt compelled to bring him back on the show. Today's episode is Part 2 of my chat with Lee and like the previous episode, all the music features Lee and his band entitled Too Far...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I felt inspired to talk about this potentially confusing and derelict society as we are bombarded with an onslaught of reactions. Quick, let's all react! Opinions everywhere. Comments. Finger pointing galore. Yay! And whether it's the news media or the millions of people scrolling away on Twitter, we live in a galvanizing world filled with myopic opinions and over th...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm excited to welcome singer/songwriter and producer, Lee Hester , to the show. A few weeks ago, Lee posted a powerful message on Facebook about the complex duality of our culture and he also shared a beautiful new song entitled, Love Can. I truly resonated with Lee's message surrounding our tech-centric society and I also loved his new song so I felt compelled to h...

Life is breathtakingly beautiful but too often unpredictable, unfair and tragic. Meanwhile, moving at a frenetic pace, the news media often doesn't give civilization a chance to catch its collective breath. The worst part? There's likely nothing we can do to stop this frenzied runaway train of life so where does that leave us? Are you going to try to stop the train or are you going to get off at t...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm thrilled to welcome Marriage & Family Therapist, Gaea Woods , to the show.  Gaea is also a talented artist and freelance photographer and I actually met Gaea over 10 years ago when I was in the studio recording a new record. About seven years ago, she transitioned into the world of therapy where she practices full-time as a licensed therapist. Gaea and I begin by...

After a little hiatus to celebrate my birthday in Kauai, I'm excited to be back on this week's episode of the Spiritual Spiral Podcast. Lately, I've found myself thinking about the word "inspiration." I spent much of the airplane rides listening to the new Ryan Adams and War on Drugs records. They're both fantastic and they even inspired me to start playing my acoustic guitar. It's been over 5 yea...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm thrilled to welcome entrepeneur and writer Emily Goodson to the podcast. Truly a wonderful and thought provoking chat as Emily and I touch on a multitude of interesting topics. Emily is the CEO of CultureSmart, a consultancy that helps startups build a more positive and inclusive workplace culture. Emily is also a fantastic writer who's published numerous article...

This past week, Netflix suffered it's first subscriber loss in more than a decade. Elon Musk blames "woke programming" but I think Netflix's demise is because services like Hulu and Apple TV are simply offering better content. To my eyes, shows on Netflix often feel watered down and predictable so maybe people are tired of the drivel and craving more impactful and unique storylines found in shows...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm excited to welcome the uber talented musician, DJ and producer, Ireesh Lal , to the podcast. Ireesh is a multi-instrumentalist and programmer where he combines original electronic music with east Indian elements. He also just released a new record called Journey Through the Chakras and he is the founding member of the LA based musical trio, Lal Meri. Ireesh and I...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral podcast, I found myself thinking about the apparent evaporation of boundaries in our culture. Thanks to tech and social media, it feels like we live in a world where people share or crave 24-7 access to every minute detail of people's lives. It also appears like we live in an ever growing me-first society where people do whatever they want, with no regard to other peo...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral podcast, I'm excited to welcome musician, producer and composer, Kurt Goebel, to the show. Kurt has studied piano since the age of 6, he majored in piano in college and after being on the road for several years, he moved to Nashville where he's now a full time composer and producer. We begin by talking about Kurt's work flow in the studio, how he prepares for each art...

Can you tell when someone isn't listening? I was on a Zoom call this last week, and right away it became clear that the person I was speaking to wasn't listening. Instead of trying to listen and engage in a meaningful conversation, they opted to check email and look at another device. Is that what happens in a me-first, tech obsessed society with non-stop distractions?  Today on the Spiritual Spir...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm thrilled to welcome the uber-talented singer/songwriter and producer, Michelle Featherstone , to the show. It's crazy to think I met Michelle close to twenty years ago while we were busy making records and playing gigs around the LA club circuit. She and I begin by talking about the craft of songwriting and why, thanks to tech and social media, we may be seeing a...