From Trauma To Triumph with Wade Robson and James Safechuck

This episode features Vedic Meditation teacher Thom Knoles, also known as Maharishi Vyasanand Saraswati.

Thom learned meditation in the 1960s from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a great Indian guru who brought meditation to the West in the 1950s. Thom spent the next 26 years with Maharishi, and was the first westerner to be inducted as a master. He then went on to teach in Australia, where he researched neuroscience and consciousness. 

He received an honorary doctorate in 1978 and quickly became a sought-after public speaker and educator, consulting to more than 40 top corporations and federal and state governments. He then went on to help set up meditation schools in Sydney, Nepal, and the Philippines. 

Today, Thom continues to teach Vedic Meditation worldwide. He’s taught over 40,000 people to meditate including Fortune 500 corporate leaders, heads of state, and Nobel Peace prize laureates.

In this conversion, Thom gives us many unique and powerful perspectives on subjects such as trauma, depression, identity, karma, and forgiveness. We think itʻs a truly enlightening conversation. We hope you enjoy.

Thom’s links:

Website

This episode's guest is Kimberly Shannon Murphy. She is a leading Hollywood stunt woman who has served as a double for numerous A-list actresses, performing in 133 feature films and television shows, including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Captain America, The Hunger Games, and Westworld. She has been recognized with numerous awards, and since 2018, has also worked as a stunt coordinator. 

Kimberly has written a new memoir entitled GLIMMER: A story of survival, hope, and healing. In her book she details her painful story of being sexually abused by her Grandfather as a small child, the aftermath of intergenerational familial abuse and her healing journey.

Other topics include her struggles with eating disorders, self-harm, intimate relationships, self-love, and the incredible impact of becoming a parent to a beautiful little girl.

Buy on Amazon: Glimmer - A story of survival, hope and healing

Our guest on this episode is author, speaker and trauma survivor, Mary Firestone. As a child and teenager, Mary survived sexual abuse by several perpetrators. In 2018 she lived through the Montecito, CA mudslide that dropped 200 million gallons of rainfall in 15 minutes, washing away her home, trapping her alone in her bathroom while pregnant, not sure if her husband and four-year-old son were still alive.

Mary has written a new book entitled Trusting the Dawn, which draws from both her own real-life experiences and her background in clinical psychology, to offer a powerful handbook for not only healing from trauma, but awakening to the possibility of even more joy and meaning because of your experiences. Stories of triumphant survival and interviews with experts bring to life an extensive resource guide and a holistic toolkit filled with a wide variety of pathways to healing.

We hope you guys are as inspired by this conversation as we are.

Trusting The Dawn Book

In this episode we discuss the Somatic Experiencing therapeutic technique with two incredible guests Dr. Abi Blakeslee and Dave Berger.

Somatic Experiencing, SE for short, is a body-oriented therapeutic technique for healing trauma and other stress disorders. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter A. Levine, and has been clinically applied for more than four decades.

Guests

Dr. Abi Blakeslee, integrates Somatic Experiencing with clinical research, the psychobiological principles of attachment, psychodynamic therapy, and somatic bodywork in her practice and teaching.

Dr. Blakeslee holds a Masters of Arts in Counseling and Depth Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Clinical and Somatic Psychology.

She works with individuals, couples, children, and families and treats a broad base of issues.

Dave Berger has over 40 years experience as a physical therapist, somatic psychotherapist and bodyworker. He uses a diverse array of traditional and complementary healing practices to help clients with physical pain and movement problems, trauma histories, back and neck problems, PTSD, and anxiety disorder. Dave is a certified Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, consultant and senior teacher of long-term training.

Dr. Abi Blakeslee Links

In this conversation, Dr. Neff offers insightful, research based, practical advice as to how we can start practicing self-compassion in our lives, today.

Dr. Neff received her doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, and is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. During Kristin’s last year of graduate school she became interested in Buddhism and has been practicing meditation ever since.  While doing her postdoctoral work she decided to conduct research on self-compassion - a central construct in Buddhist psychology and one that had not yet been examined empirically.

Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, creating a scale to measure the construct almost 20 years ago. She has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential research psychologists. In addition to writing numerous academic articles and book chapters on the topic, she is author of the book Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, and her latest book, Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive.

Dr Kristin Neff Links

In this episode we discuss various ways trauma is stored in and expressed through the body. We also explore different body based therapies like EMDR and Somatic Experiencing as a way to heal trauma. Dr. Shaw gives us a compassionate and insightful perspective into the nuances of how the body and mind can work together to heal trauma.

Dr. Larry Shaw has been a licensed psychotherapist for over 40 years. He’s lectured and taught at many universities in the United States and trained therapists all over the world. He was the director of the Hollywood Counseling Center where he taught the newest cutting edge therapies. He’s also volunteered worldwide to help survivors deal with the traumatic after effects of war and natural disasters.

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Throughout his career, Dr. Shaw has found the use of body based therapies such as EMDR and Somatic Experiencing, used in conjunction with imagery and waking dream work, can accelerate the healing process of long buried traumas, experienced in childhood or later as adults.

Dr. Larry Shaw Website

In this conversation we discuss what Lili and Caroline refer to as the survivor's siblinghood, Lili’s surviving Bill Cosby’s sexual assault, healing from trauma, activism, society's objectification of women and much more.

Lili Bernard is a Cuban born visual artist, actor, writer and activist. She has exhibited her artwork in numerous galleries and institutions. Her work examines the issues of sexism and racism, past and present. Her acting credits include guest starring roles on Seinfeld, Steven King’s mini-series Golden Years, along with many others. Lili is also a Bill Cosby sexual assault survivor, whom she met while guest starring on The Cosby Show. Lili has been and continues to be a powerful advocate and pioneer for survivors of sexual assault.

Dr. Caroline Heldman is the Executive Director of The Representation Project and Chair of the Critical Theory and Social Justice department at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Her research specializes in media, the presidency, and systems of power. Dr. Heldman has been published in the top journals in her field and has published six books including co-authoring “Rethinking Madame President: Are We Ready for a Woman in the White House?” Caroline is also a survivor of sexual assault.

Lili Bernard

http://lilibernard.com/

In this conversation Dr. Shefali discusses conscious parenting as well as particular challenges and opportunities for healing that survivors of abuse can encounter while raising children.

Dr. Shefali Tsabary received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University. Specializing in the integration of Western psychology and Eastern philosophy, she brings together the best of both worlds for her clients. She is an expert in family dynamics and personal development, teaching courses around the globe.

Oprah has endorsed Dr. Shefali’s groundbreaking work in conscious parenting as revolutionary. Dr. Shefali has written four books, three of which are NYT best-sellers, including her two landmark books, The Conscious Parent and The Awakened Family.

As an international speaker, Dr. Shefali spreads her message of conscious parenting and mindful living. She has a conscious coaching institute and a private practice where she helps families, couples and individuals. Dr. Shefali is also a survivor of childhood sexual molestation.

Website:

WARNING: It is paramount to understand that this episode is an exploration of the MAPS-sponsored, FDA-approved, MDMA assisted therapy trials, which is utilizing professional licensed psychotherapists who are rigorously trained in how to conduct safe MDMA assisted psychotherapy. This episode does not advocate unlawful use of MDMA or other psychedelic drugs as therapeutic treatment without proper professional supervision.

In this episode we speak with Dr. Jim Hopper about his groundbreaking research and experimental trials with MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD. We learn about the details of MDMA assisted therapy and discuss its use as a means to heal from trauma.

Dr. Jim Hopper is an independent consultant and Teaching Associate in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and consultant to the Outpatient Addictions Service of the Cambridge Health Alliance.  For over 25 years Dr. Hopper’s research, clinical and consulting work has focused on the psychological and biological effects of child abuse, sexual assault, and other traumatic experiences.

As a clinician Dr. Hopper works with traumatized adults and is a therapist in the Boston site of the MAPS-sponsored, FDA-approved phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.  He also provides ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in private practice. Dr. Hopper consults and teaches nationally and internationally to clinicians as well as investigators, prosecutors, judges, and other professionals. A long-time meditator, Dr. Hopper co-edited the book, Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices.

Jim Hopper Website, Articles, and publications

Valorie Kondos Field or as she is more affectionately known, Miss Val, was the head coach of the UCLA women’s gymnastics team during the heart wrenching Larry Nassar sexual abuse revelations. She gives us her account of the brave women who overcame adversity and trauma to achieve at the highest level.

Miss Val speaks with us about her insightful and illuminating views on what success is and how we can better understand it. How winning doesn’t always equal success and how we can better view failure or rather should we even use the word failure in our vernacular?

Miss Val has no background in gymnastics. She never tumbled, flipped, or played any type of organized sport. And yet she became a legendary, hall of fame coach, through curiosity, creativity, attention to detail, and unwavering care for the overall well-being of her athletes.

Head coach of the seven-time NCAA Champion, 22-time Regional and 18-time Pac-12 Champion UCLA Women’s Gymnastics team, Miss Val was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. The four-time “National Coach of the Year”, “West Region Coach” of the Year, Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and “Coach of the Century” for her solid track record as a preeminent coach.

Check out her wonderful book:

Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance: Advice and Inspiration from the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame Coach of 7 NCAA Championship Teams

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Short-Dont-Wait-Dance/dp/154607712X/

Miss Val Official Website

https://officialmissval.com/

Spotify

Laura Davis is the author of The Burning Light of Two Stars, The Courage to Heal, and four other groundbreaking books. In addition to writing books that inspire, the work of Laura’s heart is to teach. For more than twenty years, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft.

In this intimate and insightful interview, Laura talks about her road to reconciliation with her mother after many years of conflict and instability stemming from the sexual abuse Laura suffered as a child at the hands of her grandfather. Survivors of abuse who’ve had loved ones who did not believe them will connect with many of the challenges Laura faced in her life. This inspiring and heartfelt conversation delves into other topics such as forgiveness, intimacy, and dissociation. We hope you enjoy.

Episode 1-2 description:

Martin Moran is a successful author, actor and speaker who’s well known for his autobiographical book, The Tricky Part, which was also turned into an award winning one man Off-Broadway show. We speak candidly with Martin about the years he spent struggling from his childhood sexual abuse at the hands of his camp counselor. Martin talks about his struggles with religion, sexuality, love, suicide and ultimately a reconciliation with his abuse and himself.

Martin Moran: Amazon

Martin Moran is a successful author, actor and speaker who’s well known for his autobiographical book, The Tricky Part, which was also turned into an award winning one man Off-Broadway show. We speak candidly with Martin about the years he spent struggling from his childhood sexual abuse at the hands of his camp counselor. Martin talks about his struggles with religion, sexuality, love, suicide and ultimately a reconciliation with his abuse and himself.

Martin Moran: Amazon