The Living Experiment: Rethink Your Choices. Reclaim Your Life.

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Impulse — that sudden urge to do or not do a given thing, and the ways such urges can take hold of us without our conscious permission. Whether from a hunger for excitement, or the depletion of our available willpower, our impulses can work against our healthy intentions, and against our better interests. They can also be a powerful indicator of how well we are coping with our current circumstances, and a barometer of our overall resilience. Here, we talk about the variables that influence our impulses, and our ability to manage them. We explore the differences between response and reactivity, and some useful ways to create more space between our urges and actions. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you better govern your own impulses in ways that work for you. P.S. We also happily announce our sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsletters now available to The Living Experiment 

On this week’s special guest episode of The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Decluttering. This is a follow-up on our "Clutter" episode from earlier in the season, in which Pilar promised to consult her decluttering expert and Feng Shui-certified sister, Andrea, for some of her down-and-dirty practical tips. Here, Andrea shares essential guidance on how to turbo-charge your decluttering projects, and how to avoid getting bogged down or overwhelmed in the process. Andrea has been a pro declutterer for decades. She regularly consults and teaches workshops on the topic, and she’s the featured expert in an award-winning article and video series called  “Order Out of Chaos” that's featured in Experience Life magazine. Blending Andrea's philosophy, strategy, helpful techniques, and real-life examples, we set out to help you take charge of the clutter in your own world. P.S. We also happily announce our new sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsl

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Purpose vs. Pleasure — the apparent tensions that exist between our pursuit of those aims, and the ways they can live in harmony. We offer philosophical and biological insights on the roles that both purpose and pleasure have in guiding human experience. We share how we’ve come to discern the difference between cravings and longings while honoring the real value of both. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you find the proper place for purpose and pleasure in your own life. P.S. We also happily announce our new sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsletters now available to The Living Experiment listeners.   Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/purpose-vs-pleasure/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Conscious Language — the art of refining your words to reflect your higher choices, and the value of becoming more aware of how your verbal expressions both reflect and create your reality. From the surprising power of key words and declarations, to the value of saying more of what you mean and less of what you don’t, we explore the ways language defines our experience, and how it shapes our connections with each other. We also offer you some experiments to help you become more conscious of the way your current language patterns are playing out in your own life. P.S. We also happily announce our new sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsletters now available to The Living Experiment listeners.   Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/conscious-language/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Eating Meat — the nutritional, ethical, and environmental questions that choice raises, and how we’ve come to our own answers. From the vegan-vs.-paleo propaganda to the disconcerting realities of factory farming, we consider both the pros and cons of meat consumption. We wade into some of the controversies and conundrums that polarize many well-intended eaters, and we shed light on some little-considered factors that we think deserve more attention. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you explore on the question of how meat-eating fits into your own life, or doesn’t. P.S. We also happily announce our new sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsletters now available to The Living Experiment listeners.   Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/eating-meat/  

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Clutter — the oppressive burden all that excess stuff represents, and the some strategies for dealing with it constructively. We talk about clutter’s underlying causes and its real-life impacts. We explore some of its deeper meanings. And of course, we offer you some experiments to help you deal more consciously with the clutter that’s been collecting in your life. P.S. We also happily announce our new sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsletters now available to The Living Experiment listeners.   Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/clutter/

Unwanted touches. Inappropriate jokes. Mortifying propositions. Depending on when and where they occur, they can all be forms of the abusive dynamic known as sexual harassment.. This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about the recent spate of high profile sexual harassment revelations. We’re also talking about the much lower profile cases of sexual harassment that many of us have suffered — and witnessed — for as long as we can remember. We share our personal perspectives and experiences, including my own recent "hey-that's-my-thigh!" incident. We address the increasingly charged topic of physical contact and sexually charged banter among friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. We explore the anxiety and growing sense of outrage that pervade this emerging conversation about power, politics, and our scandal-crazy culture. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you tune into your own thoughts and feelings about unwanted sexual attention — and its real-life impacts. P.S. We also happily announ

There’s so much merriment, so much anticipation, and yet … the holidays can also feel like a lot of pressure to perform, to conform, to consume. Here, we share our thoughts on navigating this season with your sanity and sense of inner peace intact. From challenging the shop-and-spend cycle, to speaking your truth without inciting unnecessary conflict, we advocate for creating a satisfying holiday experience — your way. And of course, we offer you some experiments to get you started in that direction, even as the holiday madness kicks into full swing. P.S. We also happily announce our new sponsorship by Experience Life magazine, and the special, discounted subscription offer and free e-newsletters now available to The Living Experiment listeners. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/holidays/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about the health of others — the struggles we face in trying to influence the choices of those we care about, and the opportunities we have to offer appropriate support without creating unhelpful stress and resentment for all involved. From dealing with the real impact that others’ health-depleting habits can have on our lives, to acknowledging the folly of trying to move anyone before they are ready, we explore the sometimes painful space of meeting and loving people where they are — even when we see them going downhill fast. Sharing insights from well-respected behavior-change models as well as our own real-life experiences, we offer strategies for making peace with what is, while still holding open the door to healthy evolution — if and when our loved ones seem ready to embrace it. And of course, we offer you some experiments to help you re-frame your own approach to addressing the health challenges of the ones you love. Get full show notes and resources at

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking Conscious Eating — the art of more fully enjoying your eating experiences and relating to your food in healthier ways. We explore how rushed and unconscious eating tends to stoke body’s stress response, and also how it undermines digestion. We look at how distracted eating robs you of satisfaction and numbs you to your body’s natural satiety signals. We share some practical techniques for bringing more awareness to your pacing, posture, breathing, and sensory experience. Finally, we offer you some experiments that invite you to begin developing your own approach to conscious eating — starting with your very next meal.   Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/conscious-eating/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Body Image, and exploring the challenges of maintaining a positive self-regard in our body-shaming culture. From disturbing statistics about widespread self-loathing to pop-culture and media trends that appear to be making matters worse, we explore the individual and collective costs of promoting unachievable, hyper-perfected body ideals. We also share some of our own body-image insights, including the places we struggle to shape healthy values and viewpoints in the face of dysfunctional social programming. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you develop more awareness about your own sense of body-image, and to evolve it in ways that work for you. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/body-image/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Astroturfing — the insidious and increasingly common strategy by which special interests create the illusion of grass-roots movements in order to manipulate public opinion, promote unpopular policies, and even subvert elections. From shady mis-information campaigns waged by Big Business to the rise of “fake news” and fake social-media feeds created with the express purpose of dividing a nation, we’re seeing the emergence of a new and highly effective form of public brainwashing. So here, we explore the potential this sort of dis-information has to undermine our media and democracy. We look at how astroturfing is being used to mess with our minds, influence our behavior, and to subvert our common interests. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you get wise to how astroturfing works, and where it might be showing up in your own life. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/astroturfing/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Television — the often too-dominant role it has in our lives, and the opportunities we have to right-size its presence in our reality.     We take a look at just how much time Americans are spending watching TV, and why that might be. We also look at the high cost of all that screen time, and we explore some more rewarding alternatives.     Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you evaluate your own relationship with television, and how you might like to see it evolve. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/television/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Feeding Healthy Kids — the challenges involved with doing that, and the choices that matter most. We talk about overcoming the unhealthy eating habits today’s children are culturally programmed to adopt, and how parents can successfully sway their children toward healthier preferences — even in the face of dietary mixed messages and misinformation. We explore how nutrition can influence both kids’ current health status and their future health outcomes. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you nudge your own family in healthier directions. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/feeding-healthy-kids/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Autumn. This is the final installment in a series of episodes we’ve built around Dallas’s Seasonal Model of Health, and if you’ve listened to the others, you know they all include explorations of the physical, mental, emotional and social aspects of the season. In this episode, we consider Autumn’s contracting energy. We look at how it encourages our bodies and minds to wind down the high energy of summer and, as Dallas puts it, "start coming home" for the winter to come. From seasonal nutrition, fitness, and sleep recommendations to self-care and decluttering wisdom based in Chinese Five Element Theory, we share suggestions rooted in science and personal experience. And of course we offer you some autumnal experiments to help you make the most of this beautiful season in your own way. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/autumn/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Breaking Up — the factors that shape our decisions to end a romantic relationship, and the strategies that can make that a somewhat better experience for all involved. We talk about the difficulties of knowing when to call it quits, the pains involved with that process, and also some opportunities that decision represents. We share some of our own break-up insights, and as always, we offer you some experiments to help you evaluate your own breakup experiences in ways that serve your relationships now, and in the future.  Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/breaking-up/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Asking — the art and importance of making requests based on your authentic desires, and the role that sort of enlightened asking can play in helping you create a more satisfying life. We explore the perceived risks and fears of loss we tend to encounter in asking other people for anything — whether favors, changes, or resources.  We also address the opportunities that asking gives us to create more intimacy and connection with others, even as it helps us build a more compassionate and courageous relationship with ourselves.   Finally, we suggest some tips for more successful asking experiences, and we offer you some experiments to help you explore the transformative possibilities that asking might open up in your own life.   More show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/asking/

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Intuition — the signals we get from our unconscious mind, and the powerful part they can play in directing us toward our own best choices. From the science of intuition and its intimate relationship with our intestinal tract, to the concept of “thin slicing,” in which our brain processes more data than our conscious awareness can keep up with, we explore the essentials and finer points of what many call our sixth sense. And of course, we offer you experiments to own and hone the signals your intuition is sending you. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/intuition/

This week on The Living Experiment, we bring you the fourth and final episode in our special series featuring teachers from Lafayette Morehouse. For the background on this series, check out the introduction to Lafayette Morehouse Episode 1, on “Resistance to Pleasure.” In this episode, Pilar talks to teachers Boris Shekeloff and Sugar Goens-Baranco about a concept they call “Winning Cycles” — a friendly, productive way of asking for what you want, and of creating a positive experience for the other person in the process. A lot of the Morehouse philosophy focuses on creating and sustaining satisfying, mutually pleasurable relationships with others, and particularly in intimate relationships. Here, Sugar and Boris explain how Winning Cycles work, and why they can be a valuable tool for achieving that goal. A quick reminder that all the episodes in this special series were recorded live on location at the Lafayette Morehouse campus, in Lafayette, California. You can find out more about the place, and the courses

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Therapy — the role it can play in our personal healing and evolution, and our suggestions for employing it in the service of your highest goals. We both share a little about our own positive experiences working with therapists, and what we took away from our sessions. We also talk about how therapy is different from coaching, why both can have a role in our growth and success, and how to go about finding a qualified therapist that’s right for you. Finally, we offer you some experiments to help you explore whether therapy might benefit you. Get full show notes and resources at http://livingexperiment.com/therapy/