The Power of the Unconscious Mind
In partnership with our friends at The Outnet
Published on:
We tend to obsess over how much and how well we focus, but psychiatrist Srini Pillay makes the case that the time we spend unfocused is more important. Pillay is a brain researcher, an assistant professor at Harvard, and the author of Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind. He helps people understand how to manage risk, harness creativity, and access the unconscious. He talks to us about brain function (the majority is outside of conscious awareness), strategic ways to unfocus (most of us daydream ineffectively), and the key to possibility thinking (which allows for self-esteem optimization). Pillay thinks that we should all become scientists in our relationships and lives: Intuition, he says, is a hypothesis that needs to explored rather than rejected.
Emily Hickey
Emily Hickey and Gwyneth explore esoteric systems like astrology, tarot, and Human Design—and share how they've used them for personal growth.
Trae Stephens
Gwyneth sits down with Trae Stephens, the co-founder of the AI defense company Anduril, for a wide ranging conversation about how Trae reconciles his Christian faith with an industry built around weapons and warfare.
Abbie Schiller
Author and goal coach Abbie Schiller guest-hosts this episode to talk about one of the lesser-known forms of grieving: identity grief. Whether you are a mother whose child just went off to college or someone switching careers, if you have ever felt unmoored after a major life change, this episode is for you. Schiller explains how identity grief shows up across an entire lifetime, not just midlife, why it hits some of us harder than others, and gives a framework for moving through it, not just around it.
Kara Swisher
Gwyneth sits down with longtime tech journalist Kara Swisher to talk about the past and present state of Silicon Valley.
Judith Enck
How dangerous are microplastics for us really? And how can we avoid them in our own lives while also working to remove them from our community? Gwyneth sits down with environmental advocate and president of Beyond Plastics Dr. Judith Enck to talk about the ways we have been misinformed about microplastics and their true effect on our bodies and the environment.