Deep Transformation

Deep Transformation Podcast
Deep Transformation

Deep Transformation offers dialogues with cutting-edge thinkers, artists, contemplatives, and activists who combine big-picture, integrative perspectives with profound, contemplative depths. With these remarkable people, we explore the great questions of our time, such as how best to live, and how best to heal, learn, create, and contribute in our era of unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Visit our website at https://deeptransformation.io/ to learn more.

  1. Mark Walsh & Kristina Obluchynska (Part 1) - Trauma Treatment in Ukraine: Facing and Healing the Horrendous Wounds of War

    2 DAYS AGO

    Mark Walsh & Kristina Obluchynska (Part 1) - Trauma Treatment in Ukraine: Facing and Healing the Horrendous Wounds of War

    Ep. 170 (Part 1 of 2) | An emotionally powerful and deeply inspiring conversation with renowned embodiment and trauma educator Mark Walsh from the U.K. and Ukrainian psychologist and trauma trainer Kristina Obluchynska, where we learn about effective ways of treating trauma in the middle of an ongoing war, what trauma therapists are left holding, and how beautiful is the human spirit when it embraces right action. When Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Mark went to Ukraine, located willing psychology students, educated them in body-oriented trauma therapy and training, and with Kristina and several other trainees co-founded Sane Ukraine, with the urgent mission of preventing an epidemic of trauma disorders in Ukraine. Beginning with applying trauma first aid and teaching resilience skills in places like the local railroad station where people were coming in from the front lines, and in bomb shelters, Kristina and several other psychologists have now educated thousands of people about trauma—active duty soldiers, veterans, survivors, wives of combatants, and first-line responders such as doctors, teachers, and social workers—and trained hundreds of them to become trauma trainers themselves.  It is an honor to bear witness to Mark’s courageous actions and the humble heroism of Kristina and her team in the face of the devastation being leveled on Ukraine and Ukrainians. “We don’t grieve,” Kristina tells us, “because grief comes after safety. We don’t even use the word safe anymore,” she continues, “only relatively safe.” Mark points out that modern warfare is not just running around with guns—drones hunt civilians and if you move, they kill you. “Do we all have PTSD?” the soldiers ask. With Sane Ukraine, there is someone to answer their questions and teach them what they can do to help themselves and each other. Resilience comes from relationship—from connection to self, others, nature, and spirit. Does the concept of post traumatic growth even apply considering the intensity of this war? co-host Roger wonders. At the end of this extraordinary, heartfelt conversation, when asked what we could do to help, Kristina advises, “Help the army. We are talking here about healing, but what we really need is to survive.” Recorded January 9, 2025. “There is nothing that can prepare human psychology for modern warfare.” Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Mark Walsh, trauma trainer, author, founder & CEO of Embodiment Unlimited, and Kristina Obluchynska, clinical psychologist & trauma therapist, who together co-founded Sane Ukraine to provide training in trauma therapy and resilience skills to professionals, soldiers, combatants’ families and more (01:03)What compelled Mark to get involved in Ukraine and found Sane Ukraine? (02:33)How did Kristina get involved with Mark’s trauma training? (06:29)It requires 3 hours a day of body/mind practice to keep trainees in a state where they can learn something in between running to the bomb shelters (08:30)Trauma training started happening in person all over the place: Lviv is now the world’s most trauma-informed city (11:11)When Kristina and her team were invited to do combat resilience training, they were told, “We have 2,000 soldiers, please do something for them!” (13:11)Training psychologists, social workers, veterans, and wives of combatants (14:01)Elements of the 3-day training: tactic, tactic medicine, psychological resilience (15:42)Combatants ask, “Do we all have PTSD?” (17:44)What are...

    42 min
  2. Keith Witt (Part 2) – Relationship’s Farther Reaches: Exploring the Potentials of Loving, Learning, and Growing Together

    FEB 13

    Keith Witt (Part 2) – Relationship’s Farther Reaches: Exploring the Potentials of Loving, Learning, and Growing Together

    Ep. 169 (Part 2 of 2) | Integral psychologist Keith Witt can’t get enough of the magic and beauty that happens in relationships as people begin to develop what he calls “a post-issue consciousness.” He explains that when our executive self, our wise self or witness, kicks in and forges a caring connection with the places where we hold our hurt and our traumas, then integration and healing start to happen, eventually with almost no conscious energy expenditure. “My job is to help people develop the witness,” Keith says, so they can observe their defensive or destructive states and reach for compassionate understanding, for themselves, for their partner, and for others. Keith tells us the three foundations of the modern marriage are friendship, a love affair, and an ability to resolve issues that come up, and says the shift to a post-issue relationship happens when all three facets become intentional. “Post-issue couples don’t let things get in the way of their love,” he says. Throughout the conversation, Keith shares a goldmine of therapeutic wisdom on the subject of relationships, including the client/therapist relationship, and in true Integral fashion, he includes perspectives from all sorts of interesting angles, such as our evolutionary development, neural development, and moral and spiritual development. This discussion is warm, friendly, cheerful, lively, and chock full of useful information and insights. Keith’s excitement about the evolutionary directionality of human relationships is contagious and inspiring. Recorded August 16, 2024. “We have a responsibility to be our best self, our wise self, all the time… this is a good place to grow towards as an individual—and a necessary way to grow as a psychotherapist.” Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Having an agreed-on, go-to technique for when problems arise (01:27)The defensive state wants to attack or flee, and the stories you tell yourself to justify attacking or fleeing (03:18)Distinguishing between constructive guidance and destructive shadow (04:32)Flexibility in couples therapy: going on instinct (07:52)Discourse and dialectic is a 21st century metapsychology (10:19)The developmental process of becoming more sensitive to when you’re “off” and also to when your relationship is “off” (12:36)A flourishing relationship is a liberation (15:05)Being a transpersonal therapist means you don’t take things personally (16:47)Therapist/client relationship is a major determinant of outcome (18:56)Growing toward being our best self all of the time is a good directionality (21:46) The importance of telling the truth skillfully and compassionate understanding (23:29)The 6 foundational moral states we are born with get corrupted by defensive states (26:39)Radical acceptance: there is nothing I cannot share with my partner (29:44)Is forceful intervention ever necessary? Recovery from addiction comes before working on a relationship (32:52)Post-issue moments are our human birthright (42:31) Looking for deeper truths about the human experience in conversations like this is enacting a 21st century metapsychology (43:04)  Resources & References – Part 2Dr. Keith Witt’s website: https://drkeithwitt.com/Keith Witt, a...

    48 min
  3. Keith Witt (Part 1) – Relationship’s Farther Reaches: Exploring the Potentials of Loving, Learning, and Growing Together

    FEB 6

    Keith Witt (Part 1) – Relationship’s Farther Reaches: Exploring the Potentials of Loving, Learning, and Growing Together

    Ep. 168 (Part 1 of 2) | Integral psychologist Keith Witt can’t get enough of the magic and beauty that happens in relationships as people begin to develop what he calls “a post-issue consciousness.” He explains that when our executive self, our wise self or witness, kicks in and forges a caring connection with the places where we hold our hurt and our traumas, then integration and healing start to happen, eventually with almost no conscious energy expenditure. “My job is to help people develop the witness,” Keith says, so they can observe their defensive or destructive states and reach for compassionate understanding, for themselves, for their partner, and for others. Keith tells us the three foundations of the modern marriage are friendship, a love affair, and an ability to resolve issues that come up, and says the shift to a post-issue relationship happens when all three facets become intentional. “Post-issue couples don’t let things get in the way of their love,” he says. Throughout the conversation, Keith shares a goldmine of therapeutic wisdom on the subject of relationships, including the client/therapist relationship, and in true Integral fashion, he includes perspectives from all sorts of interesting angles, such as our evolutionary development, neural development, and moral and spiritual development. This discussion is warm, friendly, cheerful, lively, and chock full of useful information and insights. Keith’s excitement about the evolutionary directionality of human relationships is contagious and inspiring. Recorded August 16, 2024. “Evolution in humans is characterized by deeper consciousness and more compassion . . . evolution has a directionality—and it’s toward unity.” Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Integral psychologist and prolific author Dr. Keith Witt (01:00)What is a post-issue relationship? (03:11)What happens when couples develop emotional intelligence and are able to love each other more? (05:48)Example of an argument in a post-issue relationship (07:35)How complexity and therapeutic parts work figures into it (08:47)How do people grow internally? How do we integrate? (10:01)A healing cosmology came to Keith after he learned about Integral Theory and all the systems came together (11:59)It helps if couples have a sense of evolutionary development (14:24)Egalitarian relationships that came online in the last 50-70 years brought along new potentials for love and problem solving (18:33) What happens when we go into defensive states? (19:21)Evolution has a directionality toward deeper consciousness, compassion, unity (22:56)Liberating ourselves by not cooperating with the argument (24:20)How does the long time it takes to raise a human child affect our social learning? (25:38)Humans are ultra social: 90% chimpanzee/10% bee (28:01)Resilience and trauma programming are actually memory systems (30:57)How do people move towards a post-issue relationship? (32:44)The key is making it an intentional relationship (35:38)Self awareness: we’re often crippled based on a history of trauma (38:42)Leading couples therapist John Gottman teaches what works for happy couples to unhappy couples (39:58)Physiological arousal—once people are escalated to a certain point, they can’t think (41:58)What...

    49 min
  4. A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 7, Part 2) - The Alchemy of Transformation: Exploring the Essence of Presence

    JAN 30

    A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 7, Part 2) - The Alchemy of Transformation: Exploring the Essence of Presence

    Ep. 167 (Part 2 of 2) | In the 7th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us as to the nature of presence. Our path begins with the recognition that spirit is presence, he explains, an insight which all spiritual traditions share; this is where most of their focus lies. But this is not the end of the story, Hameed tells us—discovering spirit is only half the work. The other half is actualizing presence by clarifying and purifying our souls. Presence works as an agent of transformation in this process; appearing in our souls as curiosity and a love of truth, it leads us home. The discussion turns to virtues, the fruition of realization, and how it is that realized teachers can behave in entirely unethical ways: “realization is no guarantee of ethical behavior.” This conversation is packed with insights regarding many related topics: how ethics most importantly concern our relations with others, that kindness becomes spontaneous for the true master, the distinction between universal grace and specific grace, how inner spaciousness or emptiness is the other side of the coin from presence or fullness, and the question arises, “Why is it that some people are interested in going deeper and others not?” Hameed also speaks of his own experience of unilocal realization, where all time and space are found in the center of the heart and accessing information from the future is possible. It is not so much I am this or that, he says, it’s simply I am. This warm, illuminating discussion has a fascinating flow and sparks many instances of quiet laughter on all sides. Recorded December 12, 2024. “True nature is a real magician; to know yourself as that magician is true realization.” Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Living ethically is conducive to realization (00:50)True mastery means your kindness is spontaneous (02:15)Ethics apply more at an ego level; spirit has its own principles (04:28)Feeling the pain of being constricted is one way the spiritual impulse arises (05:59)Why do some people want to go deeper than others? (06:40)The love of truth leads us home: the dynamic of realization (09:14)Unilocal realization: experiencing all time and space in the heart (11:10)Hameed can learn from his future self and from people who have died (12:26)Trusting ourselves, and the distinction between universal grace and specific grace (16:28)Practice helps make us grace-prone; most people need a teacher or guide (19:24)Presence is the fullness and inner spaciousness the emptiness side of things (21:50)True nature is a real magician; to know yourself as that magician is true realization (26:52) Space/time emanates from our true nature (29:02)Ethics are relative to our time and culture; but essential ethics are timeless (31:24)Selflessness and concern for the well-being of all has grown over time (33:35) Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of a...

    39 min
  5. A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 7, Part 1) – The Alchemy of Transformation: Exploring the Essence of Presence

    JAN 23

    A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 7, Part 1) – The Alchemy of Transformation: Exploring the Essence of Presence

    Ep. 166 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 7th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us as to the nature of presence. Our path begins with the recognition that spirit is presence, he explains, an insight which all spiritual traditions share; this is where most of their focus lies. But this is not the end of the story, Hameed tells us—discovering spirit is only half the work. The other half is actualizing presence by clarifying and purifying our souls. Presence works as an agent of transformation in this process; appearing in our souls as curiosity and a love of truth, it leads us home. The discussion turns to virtues, the fruition of realization, and how it is that realized teachers can behave in entirely unethical ways: “realization is no guarantee of ethical behavior.” This conversation is packed with insights regarding many related topics: how ethics most importantly concern our relations with others, that kindness becomes spontaneous for the true master, the distinction between universal grace and specific grace, how inner spaciousness or emptiness is the other side of the coin from presence or fullness, and the question arises, “Why is it that some people are interested in going deeper and others not?” Hameed also speaks of his own experience of unilocal realization, where all time and space are found in the center of the heart and accessing information from the future is possible. It is not so much I am this or that, he says, it’s simply I am. This warm, illuminating discussion has a fascinating flow and sparks many instances of quiet laughter on all sides. Recorded December 12, 2024. “Presence is both the inner nature and the elixir of transformation.” Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 7th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (01:01)The basic spiritual insight common to all schools is the recognition of what spirit is: a palpable presence, a substrate of all reality (01:37)The path begins with recognizing presence and then goes on (03:49)Presence is being, the way we experience our true nature (05:55)Exploring the essential qualities of the soul is an important tool to expose and dissolve components of the ego (07:55)Recognizing true nature doesn’t mean we express it in our life (09:09)Discovering spirit is only half the work, the other half is purifying the soul (10:50)Great traditions don’t get into actualization; psychology is what allowed us to develop practices like inquiry that help to release ego structures (13:02)How realized teachers can be angry, or sadistic (17:18)Animal soul, human soul, angelic soul: most of us operate from the animal soul (19:40)Working on character (21:43)Realization and teaching skill are quite different (23:36)There’s no guarantee a realized person will behave ethically (27:01)Virtues are the impact of spiritual presence on the soul (28:17)An important part of ethical behavior is in relationship (28:59)“Objective conscience” supports us in living a life of truth (29:22)Liberation is different from realization; with liberation there are no imprints of time left in you (32:38)The inner child is an imprint of the past, the structure doesn’t last (33:45)Getting beyond victimhood (34:44)Guilt versus true sorrow (36:12) Resources & References – Part 1a...

    39 min
  6. Tami Simon (Part 2) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True

    JAN 16

    Tami Simon (Part 2) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True

    Ep. 165 (Part 2 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people. What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami’s clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody’s wake, the ripples of their life, how they’ve impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024. “What I feel I owe people is the truth.” (For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.) Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2What are some of the people and ideas that really stand out to Tami? (01:14)Every podcast guest has given a gift (02:01)Learning somatic practices from Reggie Ray (03:30)Meeting Adyashanti, the ‘goodest’ human Tami ever met (04:31)A. H. Almaas’ Diamond Approach: the possibilities for expanding knowledge in the spiritual universe (06:10)Coming into the notion of original voice with Clarissa Pinkola Estes; Caroline Myss’ illumination of shadow work (06:45)Discovering that spiritual teachers can be luminous and also have parts that are harmful and need healing (09:52)How spiritual vision & psychological health seamlessly come together in the Diamond Approach (13:38)Psychotherapist Bruce Tift’s idea that we alternate between spiritual vision and the developmental work of psychology (16:00)The litmus test is what lives in the wake of a person (17:13)Tami’s practice: asking what is needed now, moment by moment (19:26)Paying attention to what is being said to us by others and our environment (23:58)The Integral movement: we benefit from having it in our consciousness (25:43)The Internal Family Systems (IFS) movement: the notion of being self-led in any given moment: compassionate, courageous, curious, calm (27:14)Conscious business: the movement for business to be a crucible for personal growth (29:05) What were the darkest times for Sounds True?...

    41 min
  7. Tami Simon (Part 1) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True

    JAN 9

    Tami Simon (Part 1) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True

    Ep. 164 (Part 1 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people. What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami’s clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody’s wake, the ripples of their life, how they’ve impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024. “If our spiritual vision doesn’t translate into treating ourselves and other people, and the environment and the world well, and building a just society, I’m not interested in it.” (For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.) Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing founder of the multimedia publishing company Sounds True, author, entrepreneur & popular podcast host, Tami Simon (00:53)What is the spirit or ideal animating Tami’s venture? Broadcast awakening! (02:20)Tami was given 3 words right at the start: disseminate spiritual wisdom (03:47)The origin of Sounds True: synchronicities, altered state experience, and the concept of transformational economy (05:30)How Vipassana retreats changed Tami (10:10)Tami wanted to understand Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory in her body, in her bones (12:24)Meditation felt like a homecoming, a sense of belonging as never before: this is how it feels to feel okay (15:03)Sounds True has been Tami’s “ground of growth,” an incredible crucible—because it’s so stressful (18:12)Heart opening experiences keep on going (20:20)Entrepreneurial endeavors as an expression of love (23:05)Service is inherent in the energy of the human heart (26:30)Integrity is critical: a grace field rooted in the central part of the body (30:29)Responding to the many problems of contemporary media and our media-ted lives (36:43)What is the most strategic and economic way I can serve? (41:20)Technological change and Tami’s willingness to adapt (42:33) Resources &...

    47 min
  8. A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 6, Part 2) – Awakening to Our True Nature: Releasing Limiting Ego Structures and Freeing the Soul

    JAN 2

    A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 6, Part 2) – Awakening to Our True Nature: Releasing Limiting Ego Structures and Freeing the Soul

    Ep. 163 (Part 2 of 2) | In the sixth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali tells us that whereas pure consciousness is already perfect and does not change or grow, individual consciousness is an impressionable organism—alive, changing, moving, developing. Hameed explains that because the soul is impressionable, the impacts of experience are imprinted upon it, shaping our very consciousness. Ego structures form from repeated impressions, and although they are necessary for survival and to function in a relational world, these structures make it difficult to experience the living presence of our true nature. We experience the ego self instead, mistaking our self-image for what we truly are. When we loosen our conditioning, with help from practices like inquiry and bodywork, our soul becomes free of its imprint and our true potential arises naturally, along with greater compassion and other qualities of the soul.  Simply and clearly, Hameed brings us to a deeper understanding of our soul, elucidating what holds us to our limited self-identity and describing what we have to look forward to as the myriad imprints hammered into us by experience become diaphanous, and new impressions no longer make indelible imprints. Hameed also delves into the different ways various traditions talk about the soul, the difference between ordinary knowledge and “knowing,” or gnosis, and tells us that sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment are an artificial dichotomy, sharing a story of a sudden enlightenment experience of his own. Once again, Hameed transmits an extraordinary amount of wisdom in a relatively short time, and we emerge brighter, hopeful, and inspired as to our boundless spiritual potential. Recorded November 14, 2024. “When the soul becomes free of its original imprint, it becomes open to its inner potential – and inner potential is mostly spiritual potential.” (For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.) Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Relaxing the tension in the soul and body is important: working with body armor (00:49)Mature impressionability: when the soul is more free, impacts don’t leave lasting imprints (03:16)When the soul becomes free of its original imprint, it opens to its inner potential (08:34)The enlightenment drive and our spiritual potential (11:41)Psychology and spirituality are not separate in our consciousness (13:51)The different ways different traditions and psychology talk about the soul (15:43)Unique particularity becomes very important in Zen: a flower is a flower (20:43)Gnosis: I know myself without reflection, without memory; I know what I am (23:13)Nonconceptual and transconceptual knowing (25:24)Sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation are an artificial dichotomy (28:21)What does gradual enlightenment mean? (30:51)Hameed relates an experience of “sudden enlightenment” (31:21)How the evolution of the universe relates to awakened consciousness (33:40)Roger’s acknowledgment of this conversation as uniquely impactful (36:48) Resources & ReferencesA. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder...

    40 min
4.9
out of 5
69 Ratings

About

Deep Transformation offers dialogues with cutting-edge thinkers, artists, contemplatives, and activists who combine big-picture, integrative perspectives with profound, contemplative depths. With these remarkable people, we explore the great questions of our time, such as how best to live, and how best to heal, learn, create, and contribute in our era of unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Visit our website at https://deeptransformation.io/ to learn more.

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