Episodes

  • Endings—and beginnings. The many connotations of “Where are you from?” Model minority. Inside an outsider. Myth, liberation, and mental illness. Childhood vigilance -> lucid dreaming. “Intimate relationship with my inner life.” The tension between self-protection and connection. Collective creative work. Stargazing as a moral and spiritual compass. Integration + intention = good endings. Learning what you’re taught. Rites of passage. Sobriety. Rest -> renew.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Nirmala: https://nirmalanataraj.com

    Foreign Bodies: https://foreignbodies.net

    Marion Woodman, “Leaving My Father’s House”: https://www.shambhala.com/leaving-my-father-s-house.html

    George Smoot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Smoot

  • Jeremy offers a guided meditation called "Time." As discussed in Episode 11: Deep Time.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

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  • Relax to Sleep Guided Hypnosis by Dr. Leanne Lawrence, with vocal talent Laura Lockwood. ****DO NOT LISTEN where a driver or a person operating machinery might hear it.****

    Leanne Lawrence “Mind Manual Meditation & Hypnosis” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxd6unhqrMA8GHfpP96UrQ

  • Introduction to Relax to Sleep guided hypnosis by Dr. Leanne Lawrence, with vocal talent Laura Lockwood.

    Leanne Lawrence “Mind Manual Meditation & Hypnosis” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxd6unhqrMA8GHfpP96UrQ

  • “A leaflet blew into my hand.” Stress and snoring—solved! Hypnosis patient to practitioner. Hypnosis for PTSD, high blood pressure, and kidney failure. Positive relaxation. Hypnosis = guided meditation. The seasick surfer. “I like to think of it as going into the settings on your phone.” Performance + deep recovery. Hypnosis in politics and advertising. Hypnothoughts in Vegas. 97% of daily actions are not choices. Paving neural highways. How to try hypnosis.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Leanne Lawrence “Mind Manual Meditation & Hypnosis” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxd6unhqrMA8GHfpP96UrQ

    “Psychology Today” on Hypnosis: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/hypnosis

    Hypnothoughts Conference: https://htlive.net

    John Moyer YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCplENmIrdL3QtCb7cO-Qp7w

    Michael Sealey YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelSealey

  • How to go (back) to sleep. The blame game -> acceptance. Avoiding the second arrow. Jack Kornfield: “Why is it that you feel you need my attention right now?” Skepticism. Jeremy’s blanket rule. The muse does not call 911. Mindfulness and the ball trick. Did you see the gorilla? Self-compassion and connection with other people. The upside of getting up. Sleep hygiene, hypnosis, and practice. Acceptance—and gratitude—all over again.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Tara Brach, “Radical Acceptance”: https://bookshop.org/books/radical-acceptance-embracing-your-life-with-the-heart-of-a-buddha/9780553380996

    Jack Kornfield: https://jackkornfield.com

    Jeremy’s blanket rule: “I don’t believe anything I think between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.”

    The ball trick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cups_and_balls

    The invisible gorilla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

    “Healthy Sleep Habits”: http://sleepeducation.org/essentials-in-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits

    Michael Sealey hypnosis tracks: https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelSealey

  • The grumpy father of positive psychology. Positive emotions. Expand the neutral space. Re-thinking “How are you?” Triple-level engagement. Relationships and asking questions. Connective silence. Finding meaning and meaning finding you. Wall of wins. Get in the dirt.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    PERMA: Positive emotions • Engagement • Relationships • Meaning • Accomplishments

    Dr. Martin Seligman: https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/people/martin-ep-seligman

    PERMA: https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/

    Jeremy’s book on community farms and gardens: https://bookshop.org/books/the-urban-garden-how-one-community-turned-idle-land-into-a-garden-city-and-how-you-can-too/9781629143996

  • The energy body. Ignorant, skeptical, and interested. Reiki. Chakras. Hands. Playing the air accordion. Feeling your body from the inside out. Qigong. Cleaning the energy. Sensory check-in. Force, flow, and fire. Interoception. Verbal -> visceral. Half hour of yoga nidra = 4 hours of deep sleep. “How good can I let myself feel?” Go low—what’s really happening? Fluid + motion = flow. The energy it takes to hold down energy. New Orleans marching band.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    “What is Energy Work?”: https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-energy-work.htm

    Damon’s brother-in-law on reiki: http://danielsteven.org/reiki-in-san-francisco/

    Chakra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra

    “Qigong Full 20-Minute Daily Routine”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlvTcWR3Gs

    Yoga Nidra guided meditation exercise: https://youtu.be/KJyES0Wi-fc

    “NEW ORLEANS: KINFOLK BRASS BAND - Street Parade”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqKgFBWdLLQ

  • Damon’s teen tennis stardom. Breakdown: “This wave of sheer terror went through my body.” Embarrassment and shame -> empathy. The yips. Breaking your nose walking across a room. Negative self-talk -> welcoming the shadow self -> finding beauty in the weeds. Fear of failure—and fear of success. Pains of change. Point the camera outward & “hide self view” happiness hack. Teammates. Behavior > thought. “My strength is my weakness.” Yeah!

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    The yips: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yips

    Post-traumatic growth: https://www.scienceofpeople.com/post-traumatic-growth/

    “Tired of Seeing Your Own Face on Zoom? Hide It.”: https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/how-to-hide-face-zoom.html

    Damon: “If I could go back to my 17-year-old self and give them any piece of advice during the horror of all that, it would have been, ‘Become obsessed with helping all of your teammates out. Get out of your own self and turn out and help somebody else.’”

    Ryan Holiday, “The Obstacle is the Way”: https://bookshop.org/books/the-obstacle-is-the-way-the-timeless-art-of-turning-trials-into-triumph/9781591846352

    “Weakness!” (Jeremy and his daughter discuss why weakness can be a strength): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-must-know-everything/id1506798319?i=1000491311610 & https://open.spotify.com/episode/2QZS80EZ2iahO5xHq0VXmp

    The Flaming Lips, “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjrUOlK2714 & https://open.spotify.com/track/2mlIzqDE7RaMaMx1UPdsXL

  • Building “base values” from scratch. “I treat everybody as they are as a soul and not categorized into something.” Two equations for solo travel: 1. Good will + good conscience > language barrier; 2. Adaptation = authentic learning - judgment. Traveler spirit in daily life. Happiness = being grateful for the simple things + having theories and running experiments. Finding excitement and creativity during COVID. Everyone has a choice, no matter what. “Hidden”/“hinting” coaching & “coaching from behind.” The more beautiful choice.Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.comDamon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.comJeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com"Takako Hoshi On Coaching One of the Best Teams in the World," Gymclimber.com: https://www.gymclimber.com/takako-hoshi-on-coaching-one-of-the-best-teams-in-the-world/Why Japanese Climbers are so Incredible:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g8lKx2DfYYMihaly Csikszentmihalyi: The Pursuit of Happiness (https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/): “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times.… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”Takako: “If you choose to look at how lucky we are, we’ll be centered. And if you are centered, and if you value yourself without judgement, without fear, then you can create and provide for the greater good. And if you're appreciative, if you feel grateful, and give this to the world, the world will give back to you. And if we loop like that, I think it’s enough and we are enough.”

  • “The game.” What is the environment I’ve been transported into? Scenarios and scoring: toothbrushing, homework help, a walk in the park. “The mind is always rambling on about experiences, but it cannot deliver an experience.” The interpreter vs. embodied awareness. Intuition -> intention. “How can I maximize my physical comfort?” Conversation dropdown list. Passivity vs. presence: play or be played. “When you die in the game, you die in real life.” You can do things—but you can only do one thing at a time. Awareness > outcome. Handicaps. Letting in experience also means letting in consequences and emotions. Game on.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Simulation theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis

    Role-playing game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game

    “The VR headset that could take virtual reality mainstream”: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-10-14-the-vr-headset-that-could-take-virtual-reality-mainstream/

    Quote attributed to Viktor Frankl: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” (Details: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/02/18/response/)

  • Being wrong—including about yourself. Saboteurs. The ouch underneath the ouch. “It’s not that people don’t tell each other the truth. They don’t tell *enough* of the truth.” Algorithms vs. And-ing. Reconciliation vs. coexistence. Exposure therapy. I->You->A Person. Media fast. Scope of action. "How can I be nice to myself in this moment?"

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Kathryn Schultz, “Being Wrong”: https://bookshop.org/books/being-wrong-adventures-in-the-margin-of-error/9780061176050 & “On Being Wrong” TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong

    Saboteurs assessment: https://www.positiveintelligence.com/assessments/

    Pareto Principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

    Person Weekly: https://twitter.com/personweekly

  • Job stress vs. combat stress. Experiencing thoughts. PTSD brain. Trauma -> Enlightenment. Coping mechanisms as self-attack. “Stress creates amnesia.” Ice cream sandwich in the sauna. Love everyone practice. Flipping the mirror. “What is the one thing I could do…that I would actually do?” Doing your emotional laundry. Abiding and non-abiding enlightenment.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Matt Gangloff: [email protected]

    Eckhart Tolle quote, from “The Power of Now”: “‘I cannot live with myself any longer.’ This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. ‘Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that ‘I’ cannot live with.’ ‘Maybe,’ I thought, ‘only one of them is real.’”

    "Love everybody and tell the truth": https://jivamuktiyoga.com/fotm/love-everybody-and-tell-truth/

    Ram Dass: https://www.ramdass.org

  • Two dimensions of existence: thinking (mind/past and future) and sensory (body/present). Punishing fantasies and paradisiacal reality. The jackhammer test. A maze vs. amaze. Jeremy’s float tank experience. The third dimension: being (flame/timeless). Activation.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    “Wandering Mind is Not a Happy Mind” (Harvard study): https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/

    “Everything You Need to Know about Sensory Deprivation Tank Therapy”: https://www.healthline.com/health/sensory-deprivation-tank

    “My Stroke of Insight” by Jill Bolte Taylor: https://bookshop.org/books/my-stroke-of-insight-a-brain-scientist-s-personal-journey/9780452295544

  • Jeremy’s “Mad Men” grandmother. The age you’re stuck in forever. Self-aware > high-flying. Wounded child at the wheel. “I thought you said he was never going to live with us.” Recreating the trauma as skill. A shocking suicide. Going to the clipboard. Talking to your inner 10-year-old. Listening to your inner 90-year-old. The next generation. “You have inherent value and worth because you are a human being and alive.” Becoming integrated. Cut-outs. Inner archeology.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Jeremy’s grandmother: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/nyregion/09schur.html

    FIRO theory (fundamental interpersonal relations orientation): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_interpersonal_relations_orientation & https://www.thehumanelement.com/firo-theory/

    “Finding and Getting to Know Your Inner Child”: https://www.healthline.com/health/inner-child

  • Shawn's (85% accurate) bio: police sketch artist, Industrial Light and Magic creature designer, professional pumpkin carver; Harvard classical music education, metal bands, deep listening. Day job: fake body parts. Synesthesia. Sound healing. Deep listening. Sympathetic resonance. Sound meditation. Sound bath. “Thin Places.” Open aperture vs. the leaf blower. Harmonic series. Hum buzz > coffee, chocolate, Twitter, or Facebook. Zygomatic bone.Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.comJeremy: http://jeremynsmith.comShawn Feeney: http://shawnfeeney.com & https://www.instagram.com/shawn_feeney/Shawn’s BFF project: http://www.shawnfeeney.com/projects/bff/Shawn’s fruit and vegetable art: https://modernfarmer.com/2014/10/next-level-fruit-veggie-sculptures/Pauline Oliveros TedX talk, “The difference between hearing and listening”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QHfOuRrJB8Balinese keckack performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViKT5gPoZW8Music teacher’s quote (via classical Indian musician Gita Sarabhai): “The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.”John Cage's 4'33": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4Shawn Feeney, “Thin Places”: https://shawnfeeney.bandcamp.com/album/thin-places

  • What’s a mantra? “Your will be done, Spirit, not mine. In me and through me, show me what I need to do this day.” There is no tree that is doing it wrong. “Nothing really matters. There is only now. That’s a thought.” Worry = 95% as bad as disaster…for years. Intro to gathas: breathing in, breathing out. Power > speed. Nervous system like a metronome. You can be nervous and perform great at the same time. Splitting the screen. The witness. Tweak your training. Flow triggers. Focus (as muscle) -> curiosity -> enjoyment. Find your own mantra.

    Stimulus & Response: https://stimulus-response.com

    Verses (Gathas) for Mindfulness Practices:
    http://mindfulnessacademy.org/en/mindfulness-essentials/79-teachings/52-verses-gathas-for-mindfulness-practices

    Default Mode Network:
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/default-mode-network

    Dr. Andrew Huberman:
    https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab/

    Positive Psychology: 11 Activities and Exercises to Induce a Flow State
    https://positivepsychology.com/flow-activities/

    “The Science Behind Finding Your Mantra and How to Practice It Daily”: https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/mantras-101-the-science-behind-finding-your-mantra-and-how-to-practice-it

  • Pandemic storytelling. Macro and micro storylines. Metamotivations. Three questions. Break-up and rebirth. Hero’s journey. How to assess reality. Daydreaming the new story. Self-compassion. The asshole in my head. Damon’s doppelgänger. Safety nets and stoicism. Happiness = reality - expectations. Self-unemployed. The new story, the open-ended story, the story of adventure. Pick your moral first. The most important part of any story. Improv.

    Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.com

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Matt Mullins/Black Rooster Productions: https://vimeo.com/mattmullins

    Scott Barry Kaufman, “Transcend,” on the hierarchy of needs: https://scottbarrykaufman.com/books/transcend/

    Metamotivations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamotivation

    Three questions: 1. What is the story I’m telling? 2. Is it true? 3. If so, is there another story I could be telling that’s also true?

    Hero’s journey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey

    William Upski Wimsatt quotes: “The hardest lesson I keep having to learn: there is no substitute for loving myself, respecting myself, and being true to myself. There are no shortcuts. You can’t use anything external to substitute for inner-love.” & “You are where you are for reasons, many outside your control. Your job is not to judge yourself. Your job is to be honest with yourself about where you are (wherever that is), to be gentle with yourself, and to daydream possible paths to get where you want to be.”

    William Upski Wimsatt, “Please Don't Bomb the Suburbs”: https://bookshop.org/books/please-don-t-bomb-the-suburbs-a-midterm-report-on-my-generation-and-the-future-of-our-super-movement/9781936070596

    Dr. Kristin Neff on self-compassion: https://self-compassion.org & https://bookshop.org/books/self-compassion-the-proven-power-of-being-kind-to-yourself/9780061733529

    Dan Harris, “10% Happier”: https://bookshop.org/books/10-happier-revised-edition-how-i-tamed-the-voice-in-my-head-reduced-stress-without-losing-my-edge-and-found-self-help-that-actually-works-a-tr/9780062917607

    Stoicism: Marcus Aurelius: https://dailystoic.com/meditations-marcus-aurelius/
    & Ryan Holiday: https://dailystoic.com/obstacle-is-the-way-summary

  • The writing prescription: 15 minutes a day, 4 days in a row. The erosion punch. MAPSIT (Make A Plan, See It Through). Writing groups. Give feedback -> learn to edit yourself. Routines to keep going despite self-judgment. Pomodoro technique & nervous system reset. Dopamine = on the right track. Researching, reporting, and journaling. “Submarining” vs. full-aperture. Silent meditation retreat experience. Catching the train to the present moment. Writing tips: 1. Want something; 2. Say it to your mom; 3. Do a really bad job & make it better.Damon: https://www.sidestreetcoaching.comJeremy: http://jeremynsmith.comMatt Mullins/Black Rooster Productions: https://vimeo.com/mattmullinsWriting Therapy: https://positivepsychology.com/writing-therapy/Pomodoro Technique: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique & https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique & https://pomofocus.io“How Dopamine Helps You Keep Going When Things Get Tough”: https://youtu.be/eJFfoSQcC0A“Measuring the impact of high quality instant feedback on learning”: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/2506/1/Nutbrown_MeasuringTheImpactOfHighQuality.pdf“9 Tips to Create a Truly Effective Peer Feedback Loop”: https://360learning.com/blog/tips-effective-peer-feedback-loop/

  • Philosophy. “Last week I was a Hindu, but this week I’m a Buddhist.” China, India, and Greece. Sutras and Shakespeare. Encountering the Dalai Lama. Life’s task: discover our true nature. Building the temple. Locking the world out. The shortest commute in the world. Three years, 150 yards apart. Our inherent luminous nature. Understanding->experience->engagement. Marlboro ad. A liberation movement for our minds. The moon and the stars. The etymology of obsession.

    Jeremy: http://jeremynsmith.com

    Lama David Curtis: http://www.tibetanlanguage.org/About_Us/davidcurtis.html

    Matt Mullins/Black Rooster Productions: https://vimeo.com/mattmullins

    Henry Bugbee: http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~jdhatley/BugbeeLife.htm

    D. T. Suzuki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._T._Suzuki

    Kagyu Ling Monastic College in France: https://www.karmapa.org/centers/france/dhagpo-kagyu-ling/

    David’s cloistered three-year retreat: http://www.tibetanlanguage.org/PDF/ThreeYear.pdf

    “Why do Buddhist monks sleep upright?”: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8112619.stm

    Tibetan Language Institute & Big Sky Mind: http://www.tibetanlanguage.org & http://www.bigskymindmontana.org