The Mind Whisperer

Author David N. Meyer on Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll: Creativity and the Liminal Edge of Madness

A far-ranging interview with David N. Meyer, cinema studies professor,  screenwriter and author of Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and his Cosmic American Music; The Bee Gees: The Biography; and A Girl and A Gun; the Complete Guide to Film Noir. Our conversation spans the neurobiology of addiction, the so-called '27 club' (Hendrix, Joplin, Cobain), addiction as creative hijack, and covering figures from Beethoven to Miles Davis, to painter Georgia O'Keefe, filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974).

 

What the &*$% is Going On? Cognitive Dissonance, Comfirmation Bias and the Age of Information Distortion

A short episode covering topics for my upcoming book: the erosion of civil discourse, 'slow motion disaster' and the collective trauma responses it induces, and a brief overview of how the psychological traits of cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias have corroded our public spaces.

The 'Gift' of Life Vitality Through Creativity

An in depth conversation with Simon Fraser University professor Dr. Mark Fettes about Lewis Hyde's powerful book The Gift: How Creativity Transforms The World. Dr. Fettes is Associative Director of SFU's Imaginative Education Research Group.

Show Notes:

• The buddhist psychotherapist mentioned is Jack Engler. You can find his updated commentary on his infamous statement "You have to be somebody to become nobody" in the book Psychotherapy and Buddhism (https://www.amazon.ca/Psychoanalysis-Buddhism-Unfolding-Jeremy-Safran/dp/0861713427"
• The painter referenced as doing the portrait of Winston Churchill is Graham Sutherland.

 

What Is The One Thing No One Can Give Us, But The First Thing We Give Away?

We all want to feel self-love, self-acceptance. And yet we also crave approval, connection, belonging. Today we reveal a critical element to getting the balance right!

What Is Happiness?

Emerging multidisciplinary research is giving us a lot clearer a picture of what defines truly happy individuals. The results may surprise you. It is certainly within all our reach.

Why Relationships Fail! Pt 1

With Valentine's Day approaching, it's timely to look at why so many relationships end up in breakup! How do we end up dating the same kind of person in a different package, and how do we change the pattern?!

Resolution....FAIL! Why Willpower Alone Doesn't Work

It seems so straightforward: we make a resolution, plan and schedule it, and soon enough we fall back into old patterns. What drives this annoying, undermining phenomenon, and how to really make lasting change?

Addiction Is Not Rebellion. It's Self-Destruction

Rage, untethered and unfocused often points itself inwards, yet it masquerades as vengeful action. Truthfully, addiction is self-destructive; while seeming to mask the hurt, and buffer us from those that have hurt us, it really just turns us against ourselves.

Shutdown! Is Conservatism A Form Of Psychopathy?

As the US congress faces a full government shutdown over the budget, the extremism of the conservative agenda seems to invite this empirically-researched question. Find out how studies going back 60 years still stand up to suggest this hypothesis holds true.

The Secret Key To Happiness

So much of life is difficult and overwhelming, and despite spending much of our time chasing pleasure, we still feel unhappy. How can we change that in an instant?