There is an idea just popularized--but has been around for thirty year--that congealed into a little phrase that I hear all the time. And it just sort of dawned on me--I did not use to hear that ten years ago when I was working in treatment and recovery. You will hear therapists, clinicians, and facilitators at treatment programs or in transformational programs talk about “being in your body”. Growing up, I do not remember hearing that phrase...
Read MoreRead MoreThere is a German term. It is called Zeitgeist. It means the spirit of the time. And in this time, one word that I started to hear more in the last three to five years that is pointing to an important reality is the notion of resilience and being resilient. And I think the reason why that idea has become more popular as of late, at least in modern Western Society--Los Angeles in my case--is that...
Read MoreRead MoreIn general, one of the things that happen in modern times--as people become a lot more conscious of their physicality, nutrition, exercise, and of the importance in taking care of it--is being conscious of your body in the healing process. So with that, therapeutically, one of the things that have become very popular is “somatic work”. It is the work in the body. How that works: You and I are doing a therapy session or counseling session....
Read MoreRead MoreI was speaking in a previous video about the relationship between alienation and marketing. There is actually a brilliant sociologist, psychologist--a member of the hated Frankfurt group--Erich Fromm. And I really suggest you read his books. He was quite popular in the '60s and '70s. Then postmodernism hit...
Read MoreRead MoreI often think that you can understand the trends of what's happening in the mental health and substance abuse world. Meaning, what kind of drugs are people using right now. We're probably a little past the middle of a terrible opioid epidemic. The trends of anxiety are becoming a more common psychological phenomenon that we're talking about a lot. So why is this the case now as opposed to 10 years ago? Our Culture Plays A...
Read MoreRead MoreI've had the privilege of living amongst a lot of different communities during my recovery. Now, 17 years sober, I’ve experienced the treatment community, the Jewish community (I’m an assistant Rabbi), religious community, and a lot of spiritual communities. I’ve been a part of Eastern tradition, Western tradition, and healing spiritual communities. One thing that I've learned in being a person who's walked in a lot of different types of spiritual communities--and sometimes I think about...
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