What is a ghost??
The concept is based on the ancient belief that there is a spirit or essence that continues to exist without the body after death and can in some cases interact or haunt the "living."
This actually led to the development of funerals and rituals to help protect against this and encourage the soul's onward journey.
This episode explores how despite the different spiritual beliefs that permeate the end of life ceremonies, the final disposition of the corpse happens initially with the help of one of the 5 elements: earth, water, fire, air or space.
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(Intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “The Absence of Definition” by Kowalski Room; episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Dr. Mark Hatala is a cognitive scientist and professor at Truman State University since 1994. He is a member of the Midwestern Psychological Association, the Artificial Intelligence Foundation, and the American Association of University Professors.
He received a bachelor's in psychology and history from Miami University of Ohio, and earned both his master’s and doctorate in experimental psychology from Ohio University. Dr. Hatala's current research interests include mental time travel (MTT) and cross-cultural differences in attitudes about romantic relationships. He is also the author of “Psychology and Retrocausality.”
Live Free or Dialogue is a video conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast (listen on Apple, Spotify and other platforms) and based on the etymology of the word dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
You can support the Kind Mind podcast and access bonus content at https://patreon.com/kindmind
You can support this podcast at https://patreon.com/kindmind to connect with Todd and access bonus content.
Intuition is defined as the ability to know something immediately or to know something without proof.
In the digital age, intuition may have taken a backseat to satellite GPS and Google searches. However, its philosophical significance for our personal life and psychological growth has not been diminished but rather overlooked.
There is a good scientific reason to call it a "gut feeling." According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, we have as many as 500 million neurons lining our gastrointestinal tract forming what scientists call the enteric nervous system (ENS) or second brain.
This can partly explain why antidepressants may be prescribed for irritable bowel syndrome, which often includes emotional distress. The medication can soothe symptoms by acting on nerve cells in the gut.
But is intuition still a good guide? Is it outdated now that we have seemingly more rational tools at our instant disposal?
This episode explores the science and spirituality of intuition along with its theological origins in Sanskrit and Latin languages which emphasized "inner" and "tutor" as its core meaning, respectively.
(intro music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew and “Bathed in a Golden Light” by Ethereal Ephemera with episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
You can support this podcast on Patreon and access bonus content: https://patreon.com/kindmind
There is a baseline of magic in life.
But it can get covered up by routines and the illusion of control.
Moments of uncertainty open up the space for it to manifest and new ways of being are possible.
If we rush to resolve ourselves too soon, we may miss the opportunity for genuine psychological growth.
Unfamiliar circumstances prompt the brain to dedicate more resources to the hippocampus for learning and memory.
I have started trying to tolerate cold water. It is pretty uncomfortable at first, then a mental equilibrium dawns and finally the body emerges with more vitality.
There is a similar tripartite when we wade into our feelings and wait for clarity...for the right idea to arise by itself.
Music “New Apartment” by Coldbrew (intro) and “Dark Sky Explorations” by Ethereal Ephemera. Kind Mind logo design by Jon Marro and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest.
Vitaliy Katsenelson was born in Murmansk, Russia, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1991. After joining Denver-based value investment firm IMA in 1997, Vitaliy became Chief Investment Officer in 2007, and CEO in 2012. Vitaliy is also an award-winning writer. Known for his uncommon common sense, Forbes Magazine called him "The New Benjamin Graham." He's written for publications including Financial Times, Barron's, Institutional Investor and Foreign Policy. Soul in the Game is his third book, and first non-investing book.
https://contrarianedge.com
https://soulinthegame.net
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the etymology of the word dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
https://www.michaeltoddfink.com
You can support this podcast and access bonus content here: https://patreon.com/kindmind
Please consider supporting this podcast and accessing bonus content the Kind Mind Gatherings via https://patreon.com/kindmind
Send feedback and mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
This episode was recorded over 3 consecutive weeks 1 year ago in June 2021 at Speakeasy Spiritual Community. It’s called The Seahorse Series because of the uniqueness of the male seahorse and subtitled mending masculinity.
This series is about the energy and quality of masculinity as distinct from manhood but then its also about men and perspectives on life and wisdom for males.
This is an invitation to hear from all people to better understand our place in the world and history, how we impact one another and recognize and regard our interdependence and our unique opportunities for correction, redemption and progress for all.
(Music by The Lovely Moon called “Music for Dreams” and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
support this show: https://patreon.com/kindmind
An attitude is a lot like a musical score, a kind of outline or map for the potential expression or organization of sounds and rhythms.
Similarly, an attitude, in the psychological sense is a set of thoughts, feelings and most importantly behavioral tendencies towards someone or something. So, both are mental constructs with the potential to manifest certain actions in the environment.
When parts of the music do not fit as intended, it is called dissonance. And when one of the components of attitude is discovered to be out of alignment, it creates cognitive dissonance, the catalyst for its transformation, which points to a fundamental urge towards harmony.
Just as there is no universal agreement on good and bad music, there is also a lack of consensus on good and bad attitudes.
This episode explores the formation of attitude and how it can be changed, while inquiring about how real or important are our attitudes in the context of personal growth and self-discovery.
(music “Dream” and “Innocence” by Bing Satellites and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Kute Blackson is a transformational teacher, speaker, visionary, guide and national best-selling author of You.Are.The.One. and The Magic of Surrender.
https://www.kuteblackson.com
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
https://www.michaeltoddfink.com
Support this podcast and access bonus content here: https://patreon.com/kindmind
You can support this podcast and access live virtual events and bonus content via Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
Send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Compared with other organisms, humans are born significantly underdeveloped physically and highly vulnerable for a considerable period of time.
Therefore, trust and mistrust can be profoundly wired into our design as it is uniquely relevant in our survival.
People may say they don't trust others much, but that might apply more to one's attitude toward specific kinds of relationships. Meanwhile, most of us do trust others in daily life more than we may realize.
Trust can be altered by levels of oxytocin, a pro-social hormone in the body. We also have an evolutionary propsensity to trust faces that look similar to our own, perhaps because our brains recognize a higher probability of being related and thus protected.
Inside of the word trust you have “us” and this episode aims to expand and serve the sense of “us-ness.”
(Music is “The Stone of Rejuvenation” by The Lovely Moon and episode artwork is by Emily Dawn Duforest)
You can support this work and access live virtual events and bonus content via Patreon: https://patreon.com/kindmind
mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Why do we build and rebuild?
It could be because of breakdown or breakthrough and the interpretation may be up to us. Sometimes there are setbacks where things fall apart and need repair. Other times, we learn, grow and envision a better way to add on or redo.
We definitely encounter this on the individual level as in the arc of the hero's journey coded in folklore and mythology, where the aspirant seeks, finds, falls, despairs and rises again towards illumination.
In some sense, this path also applies now to the collective experience.
This episode explores what we and society are building - materially, digitally, spiritually - and the etymology of the word "build" with it's roots in Latin and Sanskrit connecting us to the Earth.
Additional analysis is given to the building metaphor and the symbolism of foundations, structures and roofs in life along with the tools to design beyond our breakdowns or breakthroughs.
(music “The Physical World” by The Lovely Moon and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Todd talks with Sandy Gibson.
Sandy Gibson is the Founder of Better Place Forests, America's first conservation memorial forest. Instead of graves, Better Places offers a sustainable alternative to cemeteries for families who choose cremation.
Launching in 2017, the 130+ acre woodland based in San Francisco has raised more than $75M in venture capital! Better Place Forests has also been featured in the New York Times, and on the Today Show.
https://www.betterplaceforests.com
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
Join the Patreon community and access bonus content and live events: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Sleep is really weird when you think about it. You get 16-24 hours of life out of a human and then they need 8 hours to fully charge.
There are so many interpretations of dreams from psychology and spirituality. They include descriptions of our subconscious resolving conflicts and playing out fantasies to intuition and prophecies.
fMRI studies of the brains of mice show activity similar to when they were trying to find cheese in a maze, suggesting that dreams have a lot to do with learning and integration.
Not only does life influence dreams but dreams sometimes alter the course of history.
(Music by Ethereal Ephemera “Reflections of Sunlight Drifting” and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Todd talks with Jose Hernandez.
In 2004 Jose began creating art as a meditative tool. His art has now exhibited in galleries across the US and hangs in private and corporate collections worldwide. Jose founded Inner Immersion, LLC and Immersive Arts, LLP. He is a member of the Association of Transformational Leaders. Jose is featured in the Netflix docu-series, Surviving Death, and the Dr Oz show. He regularly speaks on his near-death experience, and on Art as a Conduit for Healing.
More at https://www.innerimmersion.org
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a conversation series within Michael Todd Fink's "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
Join the Kind Mind patreon community and access bonus content and live events: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
You can send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
We tend to take for granted when our bodies are healthy and strong. We also tend to assume the worst when there is pain and worry that it will never go away.
In my understanding, health is not a permanent state. Consider all the factors involved with health or disease: physical, psychological, genetic, social, environmental and more. And til now, death is still inevitable.
Each side of life is an opportunity to go beyond our limiting notions of self. In so-called good health, we can expand our awareness past the boundaries of our skin to feel the dis-ease in the wider field of our existence. Then, we can be an agent for positive change and healing.
Dis-ease is a signal to come back to our innermost being. To observe pain in the body with compassion and curiosity, again helps us feel less identified with the corporeal and find equanimity in the pure consciousness.
(Music by Ethereal Ephemera - “Slow Movement in the Light” and episode artwork on website by Emily Dawn Duforest)
Artwork by Emily Dawn
You can support this podcast and access bonus content, mindfulness resources and Kind Mind Gatherings via Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
Send mail to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
Relgions have long been the purveyors of rituals or sets of actions deemed sacred or worshipful. Despite the growing disaffiliation with religious institutions, spirituality remains important to most people and rituals have been studied and found to be anxiolytic.
Therefore, we may need to establish secular rituals that are contempltive and modern in nature and serve to relieve and protect against the stresses associated with technology.
The word SPIRITUAL contains the word RITUAL. Todd explains that those three extra letters (S, P, I) can stand for three mindful qualites to remember when designing your own personal ritual for psychological well-being.
Music “A Whole World in Your Eyes” by Bing Satellites and artwork on website by Emily Dawn.
Image by Chung Chow
Todd talks with Jeff Booth on 12/6/21. You can also watch this conversation on the Michael Todd Fink Youtube Channel.
Jeff Booth is a visionary leader who has lived at the forefront of technology change for 20 years. He led BuildDirect, a technology company that aimed to simplify the building industry, for nearly two decades through the dot-com meltdown, the 2008 financial crisis, and many waves of technological disruption. He has been featured in Forbes, Bloomber, TIME and The Wall Street Journal.
Jeff is also the author of the extraordinary book The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future. Follow Jeff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffBooth
"Live Free or Dialogue" is a video conversation series within the "Kind Mind" podcast platform and based on the qualities of dialogue: two individuals (di) communicating with openness, respect and mutual search for meaning (logos).
Happy Thanksgiving!
You can support this work, access bonus content and submit your own questions about anything for future segments of the show via https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
Feedback, mail and booking inquiries may be sent to: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com
(episode artwork by Emily Dawn)
Enjoy this October full moon Halloween spooktacular episode about ghosts and other paranormal experiences and the possible scientific explanations such as psychological bias, hallucination, sensory limitations and mental illness.
Music by Bing Satellites “Mysterious Ways Part 1-3” and episode artwork by Emily Dawn.
You can support this podcast and access bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind
You cannot have opposites without some opposition. Right, left, masculine, feminine, hot, cold, day, night, and other seeming anitpodes dance or wrestle endlessly.
Another meaning of polarity has to do with terrestrial magnetism around the north and south pole, resulting from the dynamo effect of flowing liquid metal in the outer core generating electric currents.
In the body, there is also biomagnetism but metaphorically the spine is the axis and north is upward and the base is downward. Below, we have the currents of attraction for food, possessions and sex. Above, the search for knowledge, truth and love has its own pull.
Harmonizing these forces within leads to fulfillment in life and understanding our place in the universe. Raising one's consciousness to the north pole, all sense of direction ends. There is no further north and you get the best view of the inner northern lights. Then, one can engage in and enjoy everything below as it arises naturally but without the old attachment and selfishness.
Music “The Vastness of Night” by Ethereal Ephemera and episode artwork by Emily Dawn and the Kind Mind podcast design by Jon Marro.
This is the introduction only. The full episode is available via Patreon membership: https://www.patreon.com/kindmind Thank you for your support!
Free will is the ability to choose between possible courses of action. Many people feel themselves to be the authors of their thoughts, the agents of action and believe this to be true with respect to their decisions.
There is a sense that one could have behaved differently in the past, even though to rewind the tape of life would also remove the present insight. Or as one pop punk band sang it better: the past is only the future with the lights on.
However, most could readily agree that, at the very least, there is not always free will.
For example, a person with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia that severely impairs the ability to perform actions or utilize memory may not have the freedom to choose to behave politely or recognize their loved one. In addiction, it is widely understood that disruptions in the decision-making faculties of the brain lead to similar limitations of choice. Revelations in the neurobiology of drug use disorders continues to shape the moral implications and shift the legal interventions from punitive to rehabilitative.
To take this further, researchers have recently created choice experiments while observing the brain with magnetic resonance imaging and have been able to predict with statistical significance what subjects will choose up to 11 seconds before they are conscious of their choice!
Some argue that even if free will is an illusion, it is an illusion worth preserving. This episode explores different philosophical perspectives and considers what is worth paying attention to including the overlooked mental health benefits of reframing our understanding of free will.
(Music "Breathe" by Bing Sattelites and episode artwork on the podcast website by Emily Dawn)