Untangle

Dr. Marisa Franco is a New York Times bestselling Author, Professor, Psychologist, and self-proclaimed friendship expert. Marisa discusses the science of connection — and the importance of platonic friendships. Her new book is called Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make--and Keep--Friends. She believes friendship is the single best action a person can take to live a longer life, take the edge off depression, flourish and even revitalize a marriage. She challenges the notion that friendships should be at the bottom of the relationship totem poll.Her mantra is — Never stop cultivating friendships and connections. She gives us many reasons to prioritize platonic love and bring more friends into our life, nurture the ones we already have and keep building community. If we do these things, we’ll always be surrounded by love —whether or not we choose a romantic relationship.Check out choosemuse.com/meditationstudio for hundreds of free meditations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anese Cavanaugh, Award-winning Speaker, Author, Teacher, Strategic Advisor and CEO of Active Choices, shares her approach to leadership called Intentional Energetic Presence. She discusses the importance of self-awareness, reflection, and intentionality in creating impactful opportunities. The podcast also explores blind spots, holding energy and intention, finding purpose in being present, and reflections for a 10-year-old self.

Encore from 2020. Still (very) Relevant!Guest Host is Ariel Garten.Learn how to create any habit you want! By celebrating even the smallest changes as victories, you can rewire your brain to tackle your year's challenges successfully.Dr. BJ Fogg is an American Social Scientist and Author who is a research associate and adjunct professor at Stanford University.He founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University, where he directs research and innovation. In addition, he teaches industry innovators how to use his models and methods in Behavior Design. The purpose of his research and teaching is to help millions of people improve their lives. At Stanford, BJ was an appointed Lecturer and Consulting Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, where he taught classes from 1997 - 2014. He has also been a Lecturer and Social Science Research Scholar at the Graduate School of education from 2001 to the present.Learn more about BJ Fogg at www.bjfogg.com and read his book, "Tiny Habits".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/adchoices

Today’s episode is one that I hope will make you smile. Our guest is Jennifer King Lindley, a wonderful writer and researcher. Jennifer’s book, Find your Joy, is a perfect way to kick-start the year. It’s a beautiful guided journal with some simple, but important practices to inspire more joy in our lives. She’s integrated some research based interventions with prompts and practical tools. Today, she discusses a few of her favorite practices from the book with themes like cultivating more self compassion, awe and savoring daily pleasures, practicing forgiveness, reigniting play and expressing gratitude in some new ways. I really like the way she made all of this very accessible. This is like having a self care first aid kit for boosting joy.Resource: Find Your Joy (self care journal) at all major booksellers.Jenniferkinglindley.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/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices

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/adchoices

Dr. Emeran Mayer, world-renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist, discusses the mind-gut connection in health and disease. He explores the influence of the gut microbiome on brain function and the power of intuitive decision-making. The chapter also emphasizes the importance of empowering ourselves in healthcare and making health advice accessible to all.