The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 030: How Our Beliefs Inform Our “Truths”

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In this episode Mel interviews yoga therapist Jennie Lee, author of Spark Change: 108 Questions for Spiritual Evolution.

They explore the nature of the personal change process, including why some people embrace change while others resist it.

Many provocative questions and issues arise around the question, “How do we know what we know?” Mel and Jennie examine how our beliefs inform our “truth,” and how we can re-envision reality, enabling us to get unstuck as we join in the universal flow.

Investigating the question of how we know what we know has profound benefits as it frees us from limiting beliefs.

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Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

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The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 029: Bonus Episode — How Do You Want to Experience Your Life?

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In this bonus episode, Dr. Elizabeth Cronin of the New Books Network podcast New Books in Psychology interviews Mel on the principles and concepts of his book The Possibility Principle.

In the discussion, Mel and Elizabeth conjure radical new ways  of thinking and communicating that enable us to prosper in our relationship with others and with ourselves. They engage in a riveting and provocative discussion about how we can rethink reality and how we choose to experience our lives.

Over the course of an hour, Mel shares insights and techniques culled from over a quarter century practicing psychotherapy and marriage counseling.

If you enjoy far out of the box thinking, this show is for you!

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

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The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 028: The Damage Done by What Goes Unspoken

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Many of us typically consider the consequences of our words and actions. But we may pay no attention at all to the consequences of what goes unsaid. Silence can stifle our relationships as we each default to what we “know” to be true and play out self-confirming narratives to our own self.

Problematic or troubled feelings won’t likely be resolved through silence. In this episode Mel highlights the damage done by what remains unspoken between people and how that constructs a barrier to healthy relating. The pathway toward emotional intimacy comes from sharing more, not less.

Links and Topics Mentioned in the Episode

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Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 027: How To Change People’s Minds

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Trying to change people’s minds remains a frustrating and failure-ridden experience. When we argue facts and truths, our words tend to fall on deaf ears. No one wants to be wrong, and so a rigidity of mind sets in.

The way to open another person to rethinking their position is to talk about beliefs, rather than facts.

What facts we choose to look at are the result of our beliefs and biases. Our beliefs come from our family of origin, our experiences, and our close affiliations. Beliefs are amenable to reconsideration.

In this episode, Mel shares how you can have a generative discussion and open others to new thinking by avoiding facts and talking beliefs.

Show Notes

In the context of the episode, Mel mentions a former white supremacist whose mind was changed after his experiences in college. The man’s name is Derek Black. Eli Saslow wrote a book about Black’s transformation, Rising Out of Hatred.

Mel also mentioned his 5% Rule. Here is the article on the subject, and here is the podcast episode.

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 026: We All Just Want to be Loved

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We all just want to be loved…but we struggle as we get in our own way. In this episode, Mel navigates the nuances and complexities of relationships as he highlights the pitfalls that block us from loving intimacy.

Our tendency to personalize each other’s struggles subverts our ability to recognize that we all bring insecurities, doubts and wounds into our relationships. These challenges impact us, but may not be about us, or due to us.

Recognizing this enables us to act more kindly and more compassionately, which could, in turn, ignite more loving behavior.

Thank You, Listeners!

The Possibility Podcast recently passed 10,000 listener downloads. We literally owe it all to you!

Mel would like to thank you with your choice of one of two free gifts:

  • An e-book copy of his book The Art of Intimacy, The Pleasure of Passion
  • A download of his digital video The Power of Mind, the predecessor of The Possibility Principle

Simply send an email to mel@melschwartz.com and let him know if you’d like the e-book, or the digital video download.

And if you haven’t already subscribed to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, RadioPublic, Spreaker, or however you listen to podcasts… please do!

Upcoming Zoom Conference

Join Mel for a Zoom conference on emotional and psychological resilience through the pandemic. Visit https://pandemic.melschwartz.com/optin to be notified when the talk goes live, or simply email Mel at mel@melschwartz.com and you’ll be added to the notification list.

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 025: Relationship Resilience During Coronavirus Confinement

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Even in the best of times, recurring relationship conflicts and frustrating communications can feel daunting. During the coronavirus pandemic confinement, these challenges can feel even more overwhelming. But as always, crisis creates – and often opens – the door to new opportunities.

The habitual default in the battle of right vs. wrong decimates relationships and destroys compassion, empathy and love. There is a way through this impasse, however. Mel shares a breakthrough that came to him in the midst of a couple’s session he was conducting that led him to what he calls The 5% Rule.

This technique allows us to slow down, listen and validate each other. In turn, we focus not on facts or argumentation but on feelings and perspectives. The 5% Rule enables the energy of conflict to subside and the opportunity for meaningful dialogue to ensue.

Be sure to read the companion article to this episode, and please join Mel for ongoing support during the coronavirus pandemic at this special site.

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 024: Staying Psychologically and Emotionally Resilient Through the Pandemic

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In this special episode, Paul Samuel Dolman, host of the What Matters Most podcast and the author of several memoirs and other works, joins Mel as they share approaches for staying healthy on all levels as the novel coronavirus (covid-19) crisis impacts all of humanity.

Mel shares his techniques for sustaining a vigilance of mind, through which we don’t succumb to fear. The coronavirus ushers in frightening new realities, yet underneath this crisis new opportunities emerge for our growth. Remember that opportunity is always the flip side of crisis.  Trying to ward off uncertainty only induces greater fear. Learning to remain present in the moment is within our power.

The challenges we face through isolation and sheltering in place no longer allow us the distractions to which we’ve  become acclimated. However, the challenges of this pandemic provide us the opportunity to develop deeper levels of connectedness with those we shelter with– and others, from a distance.

Thankfully, the internet allows us this connectivity. We seem now to really be all as one; separation appears truly a myth. The homeless person may ultimately impact the health of the billionaire. We must utilize this connectivity to deepen our sense of humanity, with compassion and empathy.

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 023: Bonus Episode ~ Mel on the Sounds True Podcast

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In this bonus episode, Tami Simon of the Sounds True podcast Insights at the Edge interviews Mel on a wide variety of topics related to and inspired by his book The Possibility Principle.

Mel particularly enjoyed the challenging, in-depth, probing questions posed to him by host (and Sounds True publisher) Tami Simon. You will, too!

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 022: Why You Shouldn’t Put Your Best Foot Forward

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In dating and early stage romantic relationships, there’s a belief that we should put our best foot forward.

If we really look at this tendency, it makes little sense and can be ruinous. Hiding what the other might find displeasing in order to secure the relationship is self sabotaging on two levels:

 

  1. Over time both people may claim, “You’re not who I thought you were.” That would be predictable. This ultimately leads to conflict if not failure.
  2. On another level, we disinvest in our authentic self-worth when we hide what we feel insecure about, thereby doing harm to ourselves and, ultimately, to the relationship.

Before you make a commitment in a relationship, you both owe it to yourselves to invest in genuine emotional intimacy to best assure your relationship success.

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.

The Possibility Podcast With Mel Schwartz Episode 021: Do You Care How I Feel?

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It’s all to common to get lost in the facts and details of arguments as we debate over right vs. wrong. This type of argument assures no resolution and contributes to the malaise of a relationship. It’s easy to say, “I love you,” but challenging to act lovingly.

To act with compassion and empathy requires caring how we both feel. The question to ask that can break the impasse of conflict is simply, “Do you care how I feel?”

In this episode Mel explains the dynamic that frees us from mindless back and forth arguments and enables us to come into caring and loving relationships.

Talk With Mel!

Help others when Mel helps you: Contact Mel and find out how you can be a caller on the show and ask Mel a question. He’ll put the Possibility Principle to work for you, and your conversation will be recorded for use in a future episode of the podcast so other listeners can benefit.

Please Rate and Review

If you enjoy The Possibility Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review the show in iTunes / Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. It only takes a few minutes, and adding your review is as easy as clicking this link.

Your rating and review helps raise the visibility of The Possibility Podcast, especially on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, which is one of the biggest podcasting platforms today. More visibility for the show means more listeners… and that growth means the show reaches — and helps — more people like you.

Thank you!

Subscribe To the Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz

Never miss an episode! Subscribe for free in iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Spreaker. Or, search for the show in your favorite podcast app… or add the show manually by copying and pasting this link into the podcast app of your choice.