BROADCASTS.com

Barry Michels and Phil Stutz are two of the most sought-after psychotherapists in Los Angeles, particularly by creative professionals. They are also the authors of The Tools, a book that teaches you the techniques they use in their practice to help unlock creativity, decrease anxiety and to correct the negative patterns that interfere with your life.
\n
\n 
\nIn this podcast, we discuss the relationship between the Shadow (Carl Jung’s term for a subconscious part of your mind that contains your inner shame and other unconscious material) and creativity, plus the three immutable rules of dealing with a perpetually changing world. We also talk about their next book, dealing with Part X, or the inner enemy that tries to sabotage your growth and development.
\nListen on iTunes
\nShow Notes and Links
\nTheir website, where you can join their mailing list and learn more about the Tools.
\nTheir Twitter @TheToolsBook
\nPick up a copy of The Tools from Amazon
\nRead the New Yorker profile about them
\n 
\nOutline
\n
\n[0.01.17] Example of a Tool: Inner Authority. The Shadow and creativity. Embracing your Shadow. Flow is your ability to tolerate imperfection. \u201cKeep Writing Shit, Stupid.\u201d
\n
\n
\n\xa0Viktor Frankl, Man\u2019sSearch for Meaning.
\n
\n
\n\xa0[0.07.10] Part X, the destructive part of everybody. It prevents flow states. Outer Authority. Definition of a Tool. Giving your Shadow a positive message so it shows up for your next session. Sending a message to Part X. Changing habits requires inner and outer actions in the midst of the habit.
\n
\n
\n\xa0[0.14.50] Triggering the Tools. Using Cues. Training someone to function emotionally and psychologically in the present. \u201cIt\u2019s easier than living the way you\u2019re living now, because when you get used to intervening quickly in your own process, your free yourself.\u201d Symptoms and vision of the world change.
\n
\n
\n[0.19.49] What do Barry and Phil use the Tools for? Reversal of Desire. Moving toward and through pain. Everything in life involves pain, but we desire to avoid pain. Alchemy as self-transmutation of soul forces. Socrates. Everyday problems become the Cue, but also fuel the alchemy. \u201cProblems exist in your life to stir up these lower forces, but ultimately they exist in your life so you can transmute those forces into something higher and discover potentials you never knew you had.\u201d
\n
\n
\n[0.25.00] Tantric Buddhism. Psychotherapy is not a uniform training program. Behind the problem is a wisdom. The right Tools for each individual.
\n
\n
\n[0.28.15] Cyclical quality of work. There is no Exoneration (illusion of an endpoint). \u201cIt\u2019s not about cure, so much as continued work.\u201d The Realm of Illusion. The Three Rules of Life: 1. Pain never goes away. 2. Uncertainty never goes away. 3. The need for constant effort never goes away.
\n
\n
\n[0.34.13] The Realm of Illusion vs. the Chain of Pearls. Part X tells you there\u2019s an easier way. Procrastination. Scott\u2019s problems with writing. Anything that means anything to you, that is the deepest expression of your soul, will be hard to write. Take dictation from your Shadow.
\n