Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen

By: Elise Loehnen and Audacy
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  • Summary

  • 45-minute conversations and investigations with today's leading thinkers, authors, experts, doctors, healers, scientists about life's biggest questions: Why do we do what we do? How can we come to know and love ourselves better? How can we come together to heal and build a better world?
    © Elise Loehnen. All Rights Reserved.
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Social Sciences Personal Success
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Episodes
  • The Brain as a Creative Tool (James Doty, M.D.)

    The Brain as a Creative Tool (James Doty, M.D.)
    Sep 26 2024
    “And what saved me was walking into this magic shop one time and meeting this woman, Ruth, who was there, who was this radiant individual, and after we spoke for a period of time, she said to me, I like you very much. I'm here for another six weeks, and if you show up every day, I think I could teach you something that could help you. Now, I was 12 years old, and frankly, I had no self awareness or insight whatsoever. But what I did have was this sense that she cared. And as I said, she created this environment of psychological safety where I felt comfortable. I felt I could trust her. And as a result, and this was before the concept of mindfulness or mind training. Was used at all, or the concept of neuroplasticity she taught me a technique of mindfulness. Now, the interesting thing is, and I think many people don't appreciate, is that when you grow up in these traumatic environments, in the sense that it's chaotic, it's unpredictable. You never know what's going to happen. This activates your sympathetic nervous system, this flight, fight, or fear response. And in many ways, it's as similar to what a veteran experiences in war. You never know what's going to happen. So your muscles are always tense, you're always looking around, you can't stay focused. And this was my situation.” So says Dr. Jim Doty, neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, and the director of Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Jim is also a bestselling author—his first book, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart, tells his improbable life story: Jim had a tough start in life. He wandered into a magic shop where he met the shop owner’s mother, Ruth, who offered to spend six weeks teaching him mindfulness and meditation—these weren’t really things at the time—and ultimately how to manifest. After a rollercoaster of a life, including manifesting the list of things he wanted as a tween, he found himself back at the bottom again, and began to attend to making real meaning with his life. This ushered in his last chapter, where he has become much more than a neurosurgeon: He is one of the leading figures in the globe drawing connections between the brain, compassion and care, and how love shows up in the world. We caught up when Jim was in Ryad, in the middle of the night for him—thank you Jim!—launching a new AI-enabled mental health app called Happi.ai, which isn’t therapy but is a friend in your pocket. Our conversation begins there before we dive into his newest book, Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How it Changes Everythin. If you think of Manifestation as woo-woo, Jim explains why it’s actually not—and the underlying brain mechanisms that are activated when you focus attention and intention. MORE FROM JAMES DOTY, M.D.: Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How it Changes Everything Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart Jim’s App: Happi.ai Jim’s Website To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • Creating from (False) Fundamentals (Sarah Lewis, PhD)

    Creating from (False) Fundamentals (Sarah Lewis, PhD)
    Sep 19 2024
    Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis has one of the most illustrious resumés of all the guests on Pulling the Thread—and I think we’re the same age. Lewis is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University where she serves on the Standing Committee on American Studies and Standing Committee on Women, Gender, and Sexuality. It was at Harvard that Lewis pioneered the course Vision and Justice: The Art of Race and American Citizenship, which she continues to teach and is now part of the University’s core curriculum—as it were, Lewis is the founder of Vision & Justice, which means that she is the organizer of the landmark Vision & Justice Convening, and co-editor of the Vision & Justice Book Series, launched in partnership with Aperture. Before joining the faculty at Harvard, she held curatorial positions at The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Tate Modern, London. She also served as a Critic at Yale University School of Art. I’m not done—in fact, I could go on and on. She’s the author of The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery, a book on Carrie Mae Weems, and innumerable important academic papers. Today, we talk about The Rise and how it dovetails in interesting ways with her brand-new book, The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America, which is about the insidious idea that white people are from the Caucasus, a.k.a. Caucasian—an idea that took root in the culture and helped determine the way we see race today. MORE FROM SARAH ELIZABETH LEWIS, PhD: The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery Carrie Mae Weems Sarah Lewis’s Website Vision & Justice Follow Sarah on Instagram To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • On Finding Our Soul's Vocation (James Hollis, PhD)

    On Finding Our Soul's Vocation (James Hollis, PhD)
    Sep 12 2024
    “You said the important word there and that is the word grown up. To be grown up is what? To recognize, yes, I am accountable for what spills into the world through me. And if I don't want to be, then I'm just irresponsible and immature. And if I want to be accountable, then I have to start inquiring about from whence are these places, these things coming from in me. Because if I don't do that, they'll just keep happening. And secondly, to, to know that I'm accountable for those consequences. And thirdly, that I have to find some source. of guidance when I'm not depending on simply the dictates of the culture outside me. You can put it this way, we all need to find what supports us when nothing supports us. That's a paradox, you see, but essential. Supports you when the outer structures and, you know, marching orders that you got from family and culture, when they don't work anymore.” So says James Hollis, a PhD and Jungian analyst who is still in private practice in Washington D.C. Hollis started his career as a professor of humanities before a midlife crisis brought him to his knees—and to the Jung Institute in Zurich. The author of 19 books, Hollis is one of the best interpreters of Carl Jung’s work, making it accessible for all of us who want to understand how complexes, archetypes, synchronicities, and the shadow drive our lives. Hollis’s books are very meaningful to me—you’ll find a long list in the show notes—and the chance to interview him did not disappoint. In fact, at one point, where he describes what we do to boys as we turn them into men, I actually started to cry. Meanwhile, James Hollis still lectures—you can go to his site to find a way to see him live. The fact that he’s 84 and does not seem inclined to retire—in fact, he told me he has another book coming out next year—is a testament to how a vocation doesn’t feel like work. This is one of my favorite interviews to date. I hope you love it as much as I do. MORE FROM JAMES HOLLIS, PhD: Why Good People Do Bad Things: Understanding Our Darker Selves Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up A Life of Meaning: Relocating Your Center of Spiritual Gravity The Broken Mirror: Refracted Visions of Ourselves James Hollis’s Website RELATED EPISODES: Connie Zweig, “Embracing the Shadow” Satya Doyle Byock, “Navigating Quarterlife” Terry Real, “Healing Male Depression” Niobe Way, PhD, “The Critical Need for Deep Connection” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins

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