Think Act Be Podcast

My guest this week is psychologist Dr. Jonah Paquette. We focused on his new book, Awestruck: How Embracing Wonder Can Make You Happier, Healthier, and More Connected. Jonah and I explored what awe is and what causes it, and how we can cultivate more experiences of awe in our everyday lives, even in situations that seem anything but awe-inspiring. These experiences have everything to do with attention, and with waking up to what it means to have what we call an “ordinary life.”

My guest this week is none other than the creator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (or ACT), Dr. Steve Hayes. I was excited for the opportunity to talk with Steve, and he certainly did not disappoint.

We got into some really fascinating territory together, starting with the crucial importance of psychological flexibility. From there we ranged into comparisons of ACT and traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, and some of the potential pitfalls of a cognitive approach.

Many of the ideas we talked about are described in his most recent book, A Liberated Mind, which is excellent. Toward the end of our discussion we explored Steve’s take on religion and spirituality, and how ACT fits with these deeply human areas. The beauty of ACT principles, as Steve says so clearly, is how widely they apply, really to all areas of human activity.

So whether you’re dealing with overwhelming anxiety or panic, or your mind is constantly feeding you self-hating thoughts, or you want to live a fuller and richer life with less strain, I think there’s a lot you’ll find useful in this conversation.

My guest this week is clinical health psychologist Dr. Mark Weisberg. We talked about his specialty in clinical hypnosis, and how it can make treatment more effective. I’m sure you’ve heard of hypnosis, but the way Mark uses it might be different from the images that come to mind when we hear the word. We talked about using it to help treat stress, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and other conditions.

My guests this week are Devon Hase and Craig Hase, authors of the new book, How Not to Be a Hot Mess. These two have a way of making the principles of mindfulness and Buddhism relevant and easy to understand. As you’ll hear, we discussed many points of intersection in how they and I think about mindfulness, and the need for additional practices besides simply being present and open.

We talked a lot about “waking up from the dream” to more fully inhabit our lives, what Buddhism has to say about our sex lives, and the importance of bringing ritual into our lives. I think you’ll find a lot here that’s useful.

I’ve got a very special guest for you this week. Professor Peter Enns, author of books that include The Sin of Certainty and How the Bible Actually Works (affiliate links), joins me for a discussion about the Bible, Christianity, love, trust, and the evolving nature of faith.

I grew up with a very fundamentalist understanding of the Bible, and can relate to so many of the things that Pete writes and talks about, including the fear of getting our facts wrong and offending God. As Pete points out, that’s a pretty limiting view of God—that God can’t tolerate our honest efforts to interpret the Bible as best we can in light of our experience.

Our discussion focuses on Christianity, but I think many of the issues apply across different religious traditions. I look forward to hearing your reactions.