Untangle

Today’s guest, is Marisa Handler. Marisa was on Untangle a year ago, and she's back because so many of us loved her ideas on Creativity (with a big C) and how it can emerge in our lives in so many different ways. She is a writer, singer, songwriter and she teaches creativity, meditation, and transformation at Stanford University, Spirit Rock Meditation Center and California Institute of Integral Studies. She’s also a Facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie.Today we talk about what it means to be creative — how life itself is an unfolding of the creative process and there’s always creative potential; how doing our best creative work helps us to find our voice AND how our obstacles can be a gift as we uncover their meaning. She shares how we can stay open to new ways of seeing things, engage creatively with our limits and edges by staying curious. You’ll also hear some of her thoughts on our shadows, dreams and visions. Marisa’s 9 month creative coaching program starts January 18, so get in touch with her if you’re working on a creative endeavor and want to bring it to life this year. Find out more at marisahandler.com. There's a gift for Untangle listeners on Marisa's website: https://marisahandler.com/programs/firing-up-the-engines/Unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio.Transform your brain's potential with 15% of Muse. Use code UNTANGLE15 at checkout or visit choosemuse.com/UNTANGLE15.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness, habits and human nature. She’s a highly acclaimed writer, known for her ability to distill and convey complex ideas—with levity and clarity. She’s the author of many bestselling books, including her breakout memoir, The Happiness Project, Better Than Before, and The Four Tendencies, which have sold millions of copies in more than thirty languages. Her most recent book is Life in Five Senses. She’s also host of the popular podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and founder of award-winning Happier app, which helps people track their happiness-boosting habits.TO kick off 2024 we invited Gretchen to talk with us about how we can inject more happiness into our lives and how we can cultivate new habits with greater ease. She challenges us to make our ’24 for 2024’ list to identify our aims for the year. There’s no one right way to make your list—you might create different categories, follow a theme, choose all fun items—just think about what you want the year to hold.And remember, there is no one size fits all for happiness.Here’s Her Habits Manifesto. What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while. Make it easy to do right and hard to go wrong. Focus on actions, not outcomes. By giving something up, we may gain. Things often get harder before they get easier. When we give more to ourselves, we can ask more from ourselves. We’re not very different from other people, but those differences are very important. It’s easier to change our surroundings than ourselves. We can’t make people change, but when we change, others may change.  We should make sure the things we do to feel better don’t make us feel worse.  We manage what we monitor.  Once we’re ready to begin, begin now. Resources: Gretchenrubin.comCheck out choosemuse.com/meditationstudio for hundreds of free meditations.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris Winter is a neurologist, sleep specialist, and author of the book, "The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It." He explains why we’re a culture of poor sleepers and how we got that way, and includes five things we can do to improve our sleep right now. Spoiler alert: an attitude change might be the best tactic of all.• Understand how sleep works and the ways in which food, light, and other activities act to help or hurt the process• Learn why sleeping pills are so often misunderstood and used incorrectly—and how you can achieve your best sleep without them• Incorporate sleep and napping into your life—whether you are a shift worker, student, or overcommitted parent• Think outside the box to better understand ways to treat a multitude ofconditions—from insomnia to sleep apnea to restless leg syndrome and circadian sleep disorders• Wade through the ever-changing sea of sleep technology and understand its value as it relates to your own sleep struggles Encore.Resource: The Sleep Solution is available at all major book sellers.wchriswinter.comCheck out Muse and Meditation Studio app. Get hundreds of free meditations at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New! This interview is for anyone…all of us…who’ve ever felt the sting of loss.Our guest is Gina Moffa, Clinical Social Worker and Author of the new book, “Moving on Doesn’t Mean Letting go. A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss.” Gina is wise, compassionate, and passionate about this very complicated topic. We discuss how difficult loss can be — especially in a culture where we’re encouraged to stay strong and keep our feelings to ourselves.  But, she says, “we don’t have to choose between falling apart or staying strong while grieving our losses. The art ofliving lies in the fine mingling of letting go and holding on."Grief hurts whether it’s the death of someone you love, the end of a friendship, a breakup, or an ambiguous loss. We all experience it. And even though it's one of the most universal human journeys, grieving isn't something most of us know how to do. It can be isolating, confusing, and profoundly painful. Gina gives us a toolkit, if you will, to wade through these difficult feelings. We are ALL grieving something at one time or another, so this book is one I'd want to share with everyone I know. Resources: Ginamoffa.com Check out MUSE at choosemuse.com to explore the Muse Brain Sensing Headband. Free meditations at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's guest is Oren Jay Sofer.Oren teaches Mindfulness, Meditation and Nonviolent Communication in secular and Buddhist contexts.He holds a degree in comparative religions from Columbia University and is deeply engaged as a certified trainer in Marshall Rosenbergs' work in Nonviolent Communication.His first book, Say What You Mean, offers valuable approaches and practical tools for communicating, and for handling the most difficult conversations. His new book, Your heart Was Made For This, combines his decades of training in Nonviolent Communication, Buddhism and Contemplative Practice and applies this wisdom to many of the pressing issues we face today…climate chase, oppression, anxiety, burnout…more. He offers us clarity and strength to meet life’s immense challenges with courage and balance. His book offers ways for us to strengthen our hearts and nourish the qualities that can help to transform the world. Resources: Orenjaysofer.comChoosemuse.com/meditationstudio: Free meditations! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's guest is Dr. Emeran Mayer, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Physiology, and Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist with 35 years of experience in the study of clinical and neurobiological aspects of how the digestive system and the nervous system interact in health and disease.We discuss his bestselling book, The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. The book combines neuroscience with the latest discoveries on the human microbiome with lots of insights on the biological link between the mind and the digestive system. He shares the science behind the mind-gut communication pipeline…and discusses how we can harness the power of this connection to take charge of our health and listen to the innate wisdom of our bodies.Our favorite quote: “The time has come for us to empower ourselves to be the engineers of our own internal ecosystem and our bodies and minds.”Resources: emeranmayer.comUnlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio.Transform your brain's potential with 15% of Muse. Use code UNTANGLE15 at checkout or visit choosemuse.com/UNTANGLE15.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s guest is Dr. David Spiegel. He is Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Center on Stress and Health, and Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine all at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Spiegel has more than 40 years of clinical and research experience studying stress and health, pain control, sleep, hypnosis, and more. He’s published thirteen books on these and other topics. In this interview, we talk about Hypnosis. Why are some people are more susceptible than others? What’s the difference between hypnosis and self hypnosis? How can we use hypnosis for sleep, stress, anxiety, depression, stress, phobias, pain or trauma?When I asked him for a simple definition of hypnosis he said "hypnosis is simply a state of highly focused attention. It's like looking through the telephoto lens of a camera, what you see, you see with great detail, but you're less aware of the context."I found his insights and the tools he offered extremely interesting…in fact I tried some of them for sleep and pain on his Reveri app. He’s an incredibly skilled and interesting guy.  Resources: Reveri App.TRYI IT: 30% off Discount:  Enter the code ‘UNTANGLE’ at checkout at buy.reveri.com for 30% off of Reveri’s yearly subscription *valid through 1/1/2024 An questions contact support@reveri.com Unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio.Transform your brain's potential with 15% of Muse. Use code UNTANGLE15 at checkout or visit choosemuse.com/UNTANGLE15.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest Interviewer: Ariel Garten. Encore episode. Could “energy healing” be real? Do phenomena like manifestation really work? If it does, could we possibly understand how?Dr. Shamini Jain, scientist, and clinician at UCSD, shares her amazing studies of the biofield, and the evidence she and other colleagues have that demonstrates that this might be more real than we thought.Check out hundreds of free meditations on Meditation Studio App. Go to Choosemuse.com/meditationstudio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Todays guest is Hersch Wilson, an Interesting guy with many passions, but none more important than being with and learning from the dogs in his life. His new book, Dog Lessons: Learning The Important Stuff From Our Best Friends shares his insights on the powerful presence of dogs in our lives and the transformative lessons they can teach us about love, loyalty, grief, and more. Along the way, he was also a volunteer firefighter and wrote an award winning book called "Firefighter Zen, A Field Guide for Thriving in Tough Times." He considers Dog Lessons a meditation on the truths dogs can teach us. From universal values like loyalty and curiosity to practical lessons on napping, playing, and avoiding a serious fight. It’s all pretty darn good advice.One of his big messages is that dogs help us remember that life is short and we must celebrate it wherever we can. They often help us find refuge, quiet and peace in this very complicated world. This is a bit different from our usual untangle interviews, but I couldn’t resist since I’m a dog person myself…and living with the love and challenges that come with my little pup.Resources: Herschwilson.comCheck out all the free meditations at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s encore episode is with Martha Beck, a PhD, Harvard-trained sociologist, world-renowned coach and New York Times bestselling author. She has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles.She’s also known as Oprah’s Life Coach . Her most recent book, The Way of Integrity, Finding Your Path to Your Your True Self, is an Oprah book club selection and a NY Times best seller. In The Way of Integrity, Beck presents a process that anyone can use to find a sense of purpose, emotional healing, and a way to be free of mental suffering. Much of what plagues us— negative habits and patterns, too much people pleasing, staying in stale relationships or careers— happen because we are out of touch with our true nature. This signals a split from integrity — which very often is unconscious and fueled by cultural norms and traditions that lead us in directions that aren’t, in fact, right for us. Getting back in sync with what is true for us brings us into alignment and this is where we become our best selves. Meditation has been a huge part of her own process in bringing her life into integrity. Resource: marthabeck.comUnlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio.Transform your brain's potential with 15% of Muse. Use code UNTANGLE15 at checkout or visit choosemuse.com/UNTANGLE15.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.