The Middle Way with Dr. Matthew Goodman

"Your symptoms make sense." This is what Dr. Omid Naim tells his patients, many of whom have struggled with chronic mental or physical health issues for years. He also tells them that he thinks they can "get fully better." Dr. Naim's approach to psychiatry turns the medical model inside out by viewing illness through the lens of ecology and empowerment. He takes into consideration the contextual f...

There is often so much happening for us in our lives that things get pushed into the background of our awareness. These experiences live in the cells of our body. "Focusing" is a technique that helps us get in touch with "what is going on" for us on a somatic level. Accessing this bodily intelligence contains so much wisdom about our "problems" and is the first step to dealing with them skillfully...

This episode is a bit different. Here, I explore the nature of being "addicted to ego" from my own personal experience. When working on the "Addiction to Separation" episode about addiction to separateness in the world, I started thinking more about how this manifests in the individual ego.  Through this exploration, I open up about my experience of having OCD. I use this is a prism for exami...

Monday Mini: Metta (Loving-Kindness)  1. Think about someone close to you (who you have a positive relationship with). Bring the image of that person to mind as clearly as possible.  2. Extend wishes of loving-kindness and goodwill towards that person. For example (use your own authentic words/phrases): "May you be happy" "May you be healthy" "May you live with ease and joy" "May you be...

B. Lorraine Smith is a writer, speaker, consultant, and coach whose vision is an economy that works in service of life. Through her decades of experience as a corporate sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) consultant across multiple industries worldwide, Lorraine began realizing that superficial changes would not fundamentally repair our ailing world; despite working with...

1. Squeeze all the muscles in your face (really tight!). Hold for 2-4 seconds. Release.  2. Notice what it feels like to have relaxed muscles in the face. 3. Repeat for every part of the body: neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, back, stomach, groin, upper legs, lower legs, feet.  Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd Book: Simple Stress-Reduction: Easy and Effective Practic...

Jessica Baum, LMHC is a Psychotherapist, Author, Thought Leader, Relationship Coach, and Founder of the Self-full® Method. Her book, Anxiously Attached: Becoming More Secure in Life and Love is a practical guide to understanding core patterns in relationships, namely anxious and avoidant attachment styles. In this episode, Jessica decodes how these deeply rooted patterns manifest in our relationsh...

Monday Mini: Warming Up Awareness. By bringing a hand or two to the heart, we can "warm up" awareness before or during meditation (or in everyday life). This helps us bring a gentle and compassionate element that can sometimes be missing. Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd Book: Simple Stress-Reduction: Easy and Effective Practices for Kids, Teens, and Adults ( Amazon) The Middle Wa...

The story of separation—between human beings, and between humans and the planet—is growing stale. Is there another story waiting for us? Perhaps one of connection and unity?  If we are indeed being called into a new story, the invitation is coming through the symptoms of the world. The sense of separation and division is being amplified and mirrored back to us. Why?  This episode looks a...

Monday Mini: How to Open Your Heart (a poem by Jeff Foster).  Jeff Foster, "The Way of Rest: Finding the Courage to Hold Everything in Love." Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd Book: Simple Stress-Reduction: Easy and Effective Practices for Kids, Teens, and Adults ( Amazon) The Middle Way Consulting: the-middle-way.com Improv for Anxiety Class: https://www.the-middle-way.com/cl...

Dr. Corey Wilks is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Executive Coach, writer, and entrepreneur with over 15 years of psychological experience. After seeing so many people—patients, friends, and family—struggle to build their life around doing meaningful, purpose-driven work that fulfilled them, he started writing online to help people get more out of life through understanding and applying practic...

Monday Mini: Change comes in cycles. Preceding any sort of change is typically crisis. When we put ourself back together, we can re-integrate with the nuggets of wisdom we discovered while we were dis-integrated. This cycle is true both individually and collectively.  🙏🏻 Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd Book: Simple Stress-Reduction: Easy and Effective Practices for Kids, T...

The world is exhausted. This fatigue has manifested in different ways, individually and collectively: burnout at work, anxiety, hopelessness, and the ailments of our political, economic, and ecological systems. COVID brought on many of these changes; our collective fatigue is a symptom of the pandemic. But what if the world was already exhausted prior to the pandemic? What if, instead, the pandemi...

"Recording and Listening is, hands down, the most powerful tool for ending suffering I’ve found." - Cheri Huber, Zen Teacher  Recording and Listening practice:* 1. Grab a recorder (usually, your phone will have a recording app). 2. Think about something that is bothering you. Hold your recorder in one hand. Record your problem. Take your time and explain it however you'd like. 3. Now, using t...

Once a self-described hard-nosed neuroscientist, Dr. Mona Sobhani aggressively defended the dogma of scientific beliefs--until a series of life-altering events caused her to reconsider spirituality and psi concepts and launched her into a two-year investigation into the ineffable mysteries of our world. This eventually led to her recently published book, " Proof of Spiritual Phenomena: A Neuroscie...

Monday Mini: Five Finger Mindfulness. 1. Open one of your hands wide. 2. Take the pointer finger of your other hand and trace the outside of your open hand (like you were outlining a Thanksgiving turkey).  3. Notice the sensations. 4. Inhale as you trace up, exhale as you trace down.  Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd The Middle Way Consulting and Classes: the-middle-way....

Judy Wilkins-Smith is a highly regarded, international organizational, individual and family patterns expert. A systemic executive coach, trainer, facilitator, thought partner, and leadership conference and motivational speaker, Judy has 18 years of expertise in assisting high-performance individuals, Fortune 500 executives, and legacy families to end limiting cycles and reframe challenges into la...

How do we cultivate a sense of resilience and grit in the midst of challenges? What if we are going through a "dark night," where we can't quite see the light on the other side of the challenging situation? Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd The Middle Way Consulting and Classes: the-middle-way.com Upcoming Improv + Mindfulness for Anxiety Course!: https://www.the-middle-way.com/cla...

In this episode, I have the privilege of hosting a conversation between Mark Beckwith and Paul Norris on the topic of gun policy.  Mark Beckwith is a graduate of Amherst College and Yale Divinity School. He is the retired Bishop of Newark (of the Episcopal Church) and currently does coaching, spiritual direction and works part time in the diocese of Western Mass. Mark is a co-founder of Bisho...

Monday Mini: Breath Counting. This is a great way to anchor our attention in the present moment when the mind is especially busy.  -Find a comfortable posture. Close the eyes if it feels safe.  -Notice your breathing. Maybe find a spot where you can feel the breath most vividly (e.g., tips of nostrils, belly).  -On each exhale, count "1," then "2," and so on. Count to 10 exhales, th...

Conspiracy theories have been on the rise over the past several years. This has been particularly true in the context of COVID. Why is this happening? What function do they serve? What happens when we ignore or suppress them? What role do they play in initiating us into a new worldview and reality?  In this episode, I explore the nature of conspiracies as projections of the collective psyche;...

Monday Mini: Body Scan Practice. Body scans help strengthen the mind-body connection and enhance our capacity to "just sit with" emotions and sensations (positive, negative, or neutral). We can practice bringing nonjudgmental, kind awareness to whatever we notice.  1. Get comfortable. 2. Bring awareness into your feet. What do you notice... Warmth or coolness? Tingling? Pressure? The texture...

Nature has produced some magnificent designs... including the beautiful and brilliant YOU! Are there lessons we can learn from nature when designing higher performing and more sustainable products, companies, communities, and other systems? In this episode I speak with Lex Amore of the Biomimicry Institute about nature-inspired design.  Lex is Communication Director at the Biomimicry Institut...

Monday Mini: Square Breathing. Instructions:  1) Breathe in for a count of 4 (through the nose, if possible) 2) Hold for a count of 4 3) Breathe out for a count of 4 (through the nose or mouth) 4) Hold for a count of 4 Go through a few rounds : )  Follow Dr. Goodman: Instagram: @matthewgoodmanphd The Middle Way Consulting and Classes: the-middle-way.com Upcoming Improv + Mindfulness for...

Louis Weinstock is a psychotherapist who works with children and the child inside us all. He helps people find a light in the darkness – in the things that are unseen, unheard and unspoken. For over 20 years, Louis has guided children and grown-ups through some of the toughest challenges life can throw at us – loss, trauma, divorce, burnout and breakdowns. He is also co-founder of Apart of Me , a...