Discomfortable

All feelings are temporary.

Rupture can strengthen a relationship.

Shame is contagious.

The healthy side of shame.

How authentic can a podcast really be?

Seeing our reactions without being our reactions.

Shame is the feeling of not wanting to feel what you are feeling.

What does shelter look like outside of monocultures?

When a feeling disguises itself as a belief.

I interview an ex-inmate about the shame and redemption of going to prison.

The power of aloneness.

I'm judging you.

Going From Triggered to Tranquil.

I was reborn with the help of Trauma Mapping.

Raiding the philosophical closet at The Stoa.

Taking the training wheels off talk.

Have you seen your shadow?

Singing is a form of healing.

Making a good home in your own brain.

"The Left" and "The Right" don't actually exist.

Feel good for no reason.

We shame people with our own shame.

Shame feels like inferiority.

My name is A.J. and I am racist.

Trauma is the perfect teacher. A little too perfect.

The most demanding boss you've ever had is shame.

Life in the Uncanny Valley.

Death is the perfect antidote to life.

Everything works out in the end, even when it doesn't.

The best way not to act on the panic is to feel the panic.

My name is A.J. and I'm a narcissist.

Shame: don't have sex without it!

Keep your friends close, and your acquaintances even closer.

I learned how to sob and it was glorious!

If you don't know what boundaries are, you probably don't have them.

I interview one of my favourite shame thinkers.

What is the basic unit of shame?

Getting publicly shamed at a conference about shame.

I interview a married couple about overcoming the shame of being non-monogamous.

Macro-solutions to micro-stressors.

Ambiguity is catnip for our negativity bias.

Shame is the real bitch.

This film is rated S for Slut-Shaming.

Shame is the root of all evil... I mean comedy.

What you don't know will hurt you.

Shame and shaming are two different things.

Belonging is the ultimate human drug, but you can't get a hit without honesty.

Weirdos make the sitcom of your life worth watching.

Privilege ≠ wellbeing.

We're all annoying to someone.

I painted my nails to thwart my inner bro.

Sometimes the best way to help someone else is to help yourself.

I wrote a sitcom as a joke and it turned out to be the most satisfying artistic creation of my life.

Are you living for "aliveness" or are you "nice, but dead"?

Authentic Relating turned me straight.

I only feel lonely when I'm not alone.

I don't believe that everything happens for a reason, but I do believe there's a reason for everything that happens.

I've been shaming you this whole time.

Why we think there's not enough enoughness to go around.

Shame made me racist.

We probably live in a simulation, but that doesn't mean we can't escape!

My ego is constantly stroking itself.

I traveled the world for a year with 50 strangers.

When I was 9 years old, the doctor said there was something wrong with my penis.

On the final day of my silent meditation retreat, I discovered the source of all life.

On my second day of silent meditation, I discovered that God is just an orgasm in your heart.

On the first day of a silent meditation retreat, I discovered a mystery inside my own body.

After signing up for a week of volunteering in Mexico, I had the pleasure of being scared af.

Tradition is dead, long live tradition!

Dance like no one is watching you have sex.

The best way to appreciate existence is to try not existing at all.

Your "purpose" is not a plan for the future, it's what you're doing right here and now.

I found a Christmas album I recorded at age 8.

I interview an alcoholic on her 19th anniversary of being sober.

My theory on how you become a flat earther.

How to secretly dance with closeted men.

How do you know what you think you know?

We need to start parenting ourselves.

Confronting the cult leader who brainwashed me.

Kids dream the darnedest things.

Acting "crazy" might be the healthiest thing you've ever done.

Casual sex is fun, but it's not as meaningful as our culture or our instincts want us to think it is.

A magic scarf turned me gay.

Is Discomfortable a cult? You decide...

You can't be envious of yourself.

When I was 7 years old, I discovered that I didn't know my own name.

Instead of getting upset when something goes wrong, I see the direct connection between these disasters and being me.

Karma isn't "what goes around, comes around" – it's instantaneous – and explains why I am pledging to be non-reactive to shame.

What would happen if I just sat down in front of the microphone and started speaking? By popular demand, my first episode that isn't scripted! A spontaneous exploration of secular spirituality, micro-ideologies, and murder.

Shame breakthroughs are both incredibly liberating and scary af. The seventh and final installment in my shame series explores the dangers of "foreclosure".

What is the opposite of shame? The sixth installment in my 7-part shame series explores the "fatal flaw" at the heart of shame and its theoretical opposite: unconditional love.

Tame Your Shame: A How-To Guide. The fifth installment in my 7-part shame series explores shame resilience techniques, like guilt, pride, gratitude, and mindfulness. It's all about cultivating an "internal locus of control" over an external one.

Shame vs Connection. "What would it be like if you had no shame at all?" The fourth installment of my 7-part shame series tackles the endless tug-of-war between shame and connection.

Shame vs Equality. No matter how "successful" you are, shame will try to convince you that the world is a hierarchy and you are at the bottom.

What Shame Isn't: "Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing that you "should" be ashamed of." This is the second installment of a 7-part series on the much feared and misunderstood S-word. The “master emotion” with ideological and evolutionary roots that go so much deeper than the dictionary definition.

What Is Shame? "The greatest trick shame ever pulled was convincing the world it doesn’t have a problem with shame." This is the first installment of a 7-part series on the much feared and misunderstood S-word. The “master emotion” with ideological and evolutionary roots that go so much deeper than the dictionary definition. A few years ago I had a "shame breakthrough" that improved my life dramatically. I want to share my experience and some of the insights I learned along the way from the pioneering work of Brené Brown, Carol Dweck, James Gilligan, Alan Downs, and others.

A psychedelic trip through my own stomach taught me to embrace my biggest fears, and myself.

Podcast Music Credits:
Discomfortable themes by Chris von Szombathy
WFMU - Pan Flute Ensemble
Tomoko Sauvage & Gilles Aubry - Halftone Dots
Filmy Ghost - Smog Cemetery
Astra Autisma - The Sky No More Shines
Rest You Sleeping Giant - Old Tape Loops
The Pangolins - Beneath Dark Clouds
elconEstharoe - Planetary Echoes p3
Said and Done by Zach Fanta (aka Pat Placzek)

Science gave us evolution, but evolution gave us faith.

You’ve been brainwashed to believe that what you believe is actually true.