Judson Brewer

Jud Brewer, MD, PhD (“Dr. Jud”) is a New York Times bestselling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” having combined over 25 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry at the Schools of Public Health & Medicine at Brown University. He is the author of “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked, and How We Can Break Bad Habits,” “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind,” and the forthcoming book “The Hunger Habit: Why We Eat When We’re Not Hungry and How to Stop.”

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Judson Brewer: Ending Worry Addiction and Unwinding An...

Do you have a habit you just can’t break no matter how hard you try or how badly you want to? Renowned addiction psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and bestselling author Judson Brewer—or Dr. Jud, as he’s widely known—has helped millions of people find freedom from excessive worry, overeating, cigarette smoking, and many other challenging behaviors. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Jud about his life-changing books—The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety, and most recently, The Hunger Habit—and his compassionate and respectful approach to habit change. 

Enjoy this empowering and “aha!-inducing” conversation about breaking the cycle of anxiety; the process of negative reinforcement; fear of the future vs planning for the future; the three elements of a habit loop: trigger, behavior, reward; the pros and cons of distraction; distress tolerance—a survival skill for our times; changing the reward value of a behavior; karma and reinforcement learning; exploring gratification to its end; the brain as a smoke detector; recalibrating the nervous system after trauma; the concept of dependent origination; the superpower of interest curiosity; hedonic hunger vs homeostatic hunger; paying attention to your “pleasure plateau” when it comes to food; awareness as the key ingredient for behavior change; the mantra “What’s this?”; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

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Acharya Shunya: The Five Phases of the Vedic Afterlife...

Acharya Shunya joins Tami Simon to explore Vedic perspectives on reincarnation, the journey of the soul, and the deeper meaning behind life, death, and rebirth.

Are you curious about what happens after we die? This week’s episode continues our series of talks on reincarnation. Here, Tami Simon joins Acharya Shunya, a trailblazing Vedic teacher and author, to explore ancient wisdom about the soul’s journey beyond this life, as well as her own direct insights gained in service of her own lineage’s evolution.

Acharya Shunya shares her step-by-step guide to what happens after death, revealing a compassionate, non-judgmental process focused on growth and remembrance—not punishment for the misconceived concept of “bad karma.” 

Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Chelsia Potts, EdD: Unmask Your Glory

Receiving a diagnosis of ADHD or autism, especially for someone in their adult years, can lead to a serious existential crisis. On one hand, it’s a relief to have a new understanding of the way your brain works. On the other hand, coming to grips with one’s neurodiversity often leaves us asking: OK, so who am I as a person? This was the case for Dr. Chelsia Potts, the writer, educator, and founder of the online platform Divergenthood. 

In this episode of Being Open, Tami Simon speaks with Chelsia about her empowering “unmasking” process for recognizing and offering the gifts of neurodiversity. Tami and Chelsia discuss the existential whirlwind that can come with a diagnosis of neurodiversity; the overall utility of diagnosis and labeling; being “gifted and talented”—and also on the spectrum; empathy, intuition, deep listening, and other “blessings” of neurodiversity; showing up fully versus self-suppression; letting go of shame and unmasking neurodiversity; resisting the system; self-reflection and taking your power back; why there are no shortcuts to the lifelong process of becoming who you really are; finding the tools to flourish after an official diagnosis; managing the boundless energy of ADHD; pattern recognition and the autistic mind; owning our personal limitations; the big question: How do I use this gift so that how we live together can be better?; the “unconventional intellectual” and the importance of bringing the heart into any learning process; finding equal value in thinking and feeling; ancestral spirituality; “autistic glory”; and more.

 

Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. 

Guy Shahar and Melinda Edwards, MD: “Sensitivity...

In part one of this two-part conversation in our Being Open podcast series, Tami Simon speaks with Guy Shahar, the author of Transforming Autism, for his unique perspective on how we can best connect with and support our family and community members in the neurodivergent population. Most of us have a general sense of how difficult it can be to raise an autistic child. In Guy Shahar’s case, this already challenging path took a new turn when he discovered, at age 46, that he is also on the spectrum. 

Give a listen as Tami and Guy discuss: educating the parents and caregivers of autistic children, three keys to connecting with autistic children, flexibility and play, the intuitive capacity of autistic children to tune in to our energy and intentions, altruistic and idealistic values, the shift from anxiety to faith, how people on the spectrum can serve as spiritual and evolutionary guides for humanity, self-worth and self-acceptance, depathologizing neurodiversity, how autistic and non-autistic people can learn from each other, helping someone recover from overwhelm, the spiritual gifts of individuals on the spectrum, and more.

 

In the second part of this special episode on Being Open, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Edwards about the overlooked gifts of autism and the unique capacity for people on the spectrum to experience—and point neurotypical people toward—the interconnection at the core of our lives. Autism is often described as a lack of connection. As a psychiatrist and the mother of an autistic daughter, Dr. Melinda Edwards holds a contrary position. “My daughter wasn’t disconnected,” reflects Dr. Edwards. “Her symptoms were often a reflection of a deep connection.. 

Discover: the limitations of the term “neurodiversity”; the “exquisitely sensitive, exquisitely porous” nature of autistic people; bringing your sensitivity into the world; vulnerability, openness, and the trajectory of human evolution; the paradox of boundaries for people on the spectrum; compassionate support; three ways of experiencing the world: physically, psychologically, and from a place of interconnection; pronoun problems; getting past the stereotypes we have about autistic people; the connection between trauma and truth-seeking; the spiritual path of parenting an autistic child; and more.

 

Note: These interviews originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. 

 

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