Developing Meaning

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Can you imagine learning at 35 that you were adopted? In this episode Ridghaus, my friend and Level I IFS Program Assistant, shares how this discovery transformed his sense of identity and led him to advocate for adoptee rights and communities.

We also explore the profound loss of his 18-year-old son and how he has grieved. Through our conversation, Ridghaus reflects on the "golden threads" that have guided him—moments of insight, connection, and healing. We discuss how Internal Family Systems (IFS) has played a role in his process, helping him hold space for his parts and for others in their own healing journeys.

This episode is part of a series on my Level I IFS training experience, in which I introduce the IFS model (#16), introduce my Lead Trainer Jory Agate (#17). Upcoming episodes will introduce another trainer Margaret Conley (#19), who is an expert in complex trauma and legacy burdens, and then an audiodiary (#20) will follow. My intention in this series is to share this exciting new model of healing with classically trained therapists and anyone else curious about mental health and meaning.

• Timestamps:
• 00:00:00 - Introduction to Developing Meaning and Ridgehouse
• 00:05:42 - Early Life: A Misfit in Kansas
• 00:17:28 - Discovering Adoption at Age 35
• 00:30:49 - Facing Unimaginable Loss and Grief
• 00:43:02 - First Encounter with Internal Family Systems
• 01:00:34 - Becoming a Healer: IFS and Identity Work
• 01:11:27 - Plateaus and Valleys of Meaning
• 01:15:33 - Final Reflections on Intention and Starting Over

Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS, and is NOT MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE.

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz.

This episode was produced by Dirk Winter, Fariha Fawziah and Caroline Hinton and is brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.

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For thousands of years breathing has been used to heal trauma, optimize health, and build connection. Dr. Richard Brown has spent his life mastering these techniques, and is also an expert in integrative psychiatry, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia. He has co-authored over 100 scientific articles, chapters, and award winning books on applying these techniques to heal anxiety, trauma, and optimize health. Together with his wife, Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, he has co-created the Breath-Body-Mind organization, which trains health care providers in using breathing techniques to heal health workers and trauma survivors all over the world, including places like Ukraine, Rawanda, Sudan, and Turkey. In this episode you will learn how childhood bullying led him to pursue martial arts, and learn techniques that we all can use to heal, optimize health, and find joy.
For more information visit:
www.Breath-Body-Mind.com and
www.breathbodymindfoundation.org.
Timestamps
00:00:18 - Breath Techniques With Dr. Brown
00:14:06 - Martial Arts Journey Through Life
00:27:06 - Breathing Techniques in Spiritual Practices
00:41:18 - Global Healing Through Breath Practices
00:55:14 - Optimizing Breathing Techniques for Wellness
01:08:58 - Global Impact of Breath Practices
01:15:53 - Transformative Power of Breathing Practices
01:21:09 - Healing Trauma Through Breathing Techniques
01:27:49 - Exploring Breath Practices and Global Impact
Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff
Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz

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This episode invites listeners to engage in a meaningful past year review, turning away from traditional resolutions toward a more insightful approach to personal growth. By exploring the themes of beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and the importance of consilience, Dr. Dirk Winter provides a framework for navigating mental health and self-discovery in 2025.
• Dissecting the concept of a past year review
• Sharing personal peaks and lows from 2024
• Introducing guiding themes for 2025: beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and consilience
• Exploring the significance of various healing modalities
• Challenging traditional mental health assumptions
• Encouraging listeners to conduct their own past year review and set meaningful intentions
Go ahead, do your past year review, get yourself maybe into some beginner's mind question patterns, look for areas of consilience, or come up with your own ideas or mantras for the coming year.
Them Music by The Thrashing Skumz
Produced by Dirk Winter

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"The more efficient a force is, the more silent and the more subtle it is. Love is the subtlest force in the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
(quote lifted from Bruce's bio page)
How can you know what type of therapy is most likely to be helpful when the number of psychotherapies is vast and growing ?

One way is to learn from Bruce Hersey, who has 30 + years of clinical experience and a wide range of expertise, including Ericksonian Hypnosis, Psychodrama, EMDR, IFS, and Coherence Therapy.
In this episode Bruce describes his evolution as a therapist, and how he found convergent principles between 3 treatment modalities: EMDR, IFS, and Coherence Therapy. Bruce describes his integrated approach for healing trauma, and how he created the Syzygy Institute, which teaches these methods to therapists.
You will also hear about Bruce’s take on Meaning, and how music and the song Titanium helped him during a challenging time.
Timestamps:
00:00:23 - Intro
00:05:00 - Concilience and EO Wilson
00:15:00 - Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP
00:17:19 - Psychodrama
00:28:00 - EMDR, bringing adaptive and dysfunctional memory networks together
00:34:12 - Power and Challenges of EMDR
00:40:17 - Ego States and IFS in EMDR
00:44:00 - Understanding IFS and EMDR Connection
00:50:52 - Comparing Dual Attention in EMDR and IFS
01:02:00 - Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories
01:14:20 - Caution and Meaning in Healing Therapies
01:19:00 - The Meaning of Life According to Bruce
Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff
Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz

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Are you curious about psychedelic retreats? Join us for an insider’s perspective with Justin Townsend, CEO of MycoMeditations, the oldest and largest psilocybin mushroom therapeutic retreat center in Jamaica. We discuss the process of safety screening, and the potential of using psychedelics to overcome trauma, ease depression, and reconnect with our authentic selves.
Justin shares his personal journey, from tech startups, to the European psychedelic underground, to learning and teaching breathwork and meditation, and then joining MycoMeditations in Jamaica. Having facilitated thousands of healing journeys, he shares how these retreats can provide unique insights into our individual and collective human condition. We probe the metaphysics of consciousness and healing and examine how psychedelics can influence belief and faith, which can alter our physiology and bring greater understanding and meaning to our lives.
As we conclude our conversation, we reflect on Carl Jung’s concept of Individuation and Integration, and the transformative stories of guests at MycoMeditations. We discuss life and work in Jamaica, and highlight the importance of surrender and authenticity. We invite you to immerse yourself in this captivating world of psychedelic therapy – a world that promises to challenge, inspire, and transform.

Caution: DON'T CONSUME PSYCHELICS WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR PERSONAL TRUSTED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.
Timestamps
0:17 Exploring Psychedelics

13:32 Psilocybin Retreats and Group Therapy

25:49 Background and Path to Psychedelics

40:59 Psychedelics, Mystical Experiences, and Therapeutic Potential

42:15 Roland Griffith's 3 Mediators of Psychedelic Experience

49:55 Bad Trips vs Healing Journeys

53:35 Therapeutic Healing and Transcending Rationality

1:02:16 Approaches to Trauma and Memory

1:05:26 Parental Fantasy Bond Trauma

1:13:49 Exploring Consciousness and Metaphysical Perspectives

1:21:55 Meaning of Life Questions

1:29:59 Carl Jung's Individuation and Integrating Your Shadow

1:32:33 Life In Jamaica

1:39:40 Legacy and Authenticity in Psychedelic Healing

1:45:19 The Concept of Letting Go

1:49:04 Next Episode: Psychoanalysis, Short Story Writing, and Meaning with Dr. David Merrill