Arash's World Podcast

Choosing Good Over Evil: How We are Not at the Mercy of Evil Spirits and Real-Life Cases of Diabolical Attacks & Exorcisms by Renowned Psychiatrist Dr. Richard Gallagher

In this episode, I have the great pleasure of talking with Dr. Richard Gallagher, Psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatry, and Author of “Demonic Foes: My 25 Years as a Psychiatrist Investigating Possessions, Diabolic Attacks, and the Paranormal” who not only serves as a scientific advisor but is also the longest standing American member of the International Association of Exorcists!

We talk about how he started off as a skeptic but after witnessing, evaluating, and documenting various paranormal cases as a psychiatrist, he became convinced by the available data and information. In fact, he has seen more cases than any physician in the world and probably in history, and he is visited and consulted by leaders from various major religions. However, he explains that demonic possessions tend to be relatively rare and ought not to be confused and confounded with mental illness.

Moreover, we discuss Hollywood’s most famous and widely known example of diabolical attacks, the popular “The Exorcist” itself based on a true story. Dr. Gallagher points out that there are some discrepancies with real-life cases of exorcism but that, in fact, people can be liberated after doing important and essential soul work themselves in addition to spiritual help, guidance, and prayers.

Finally, we are not left at the whim and mercy of evil spirits but in many cases, we inadvertently and foolishly invite them into our world. At the same time, there are Satanists who worship evil and use evil spirits for nefarious and selfish purposes. Yet, as human beings, we have free will and have been given the freedom to choose between good and evil.

Together Beyond Words with Healing Touch, Radical Aliveness, and Dance Therapy: Connecting & Caring through Listening & Movement with Nitsan Joy Gordon

In this special episode (my 100^th podcast!), I have the great pleasure of speaking with the wonderful and insightful therapist and peace activist Nitsan Joy Gordon about her book “Together Beyond Words: Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East” which includes a foreword by Marianne Williamson and an afterword by Leymah R. Gbowee.

We talk about her personal experiences of growing up in a violent and war-torn kibbutz, vital and life-changing lessons on peace and wisdom from her father, her own experience of prejudice and antisemitism in the United States, and how dancing helped her express herself freely and fully.

Moreover, we touch upon her own longstanding engagement in bringing peace, healing, and empathy through nonverbal communication including healing touch and dance therapy as well as the importance of expressing oneself and listening to others without judgment and with an open and caring heart.

This quest for peace in the Middle East has been led by remarkable women like Nitsan who inspire us to look past ideologies, upbringing, conflict, and war and to view and see "the other" not with hatred but to relate to them with compassion while trying to heal ancient wounds and suffering not only regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict but all types of conflicts around the world ranging from the personal to the geopolitical.

On Psychoanalysis, Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation with Sigourney Award Recipient Psychoanalyst Dr. Jack Drescher

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to talk with one of this year’s Sigourney Award recipients Dr. Jack Drescher a psychoanalyst who has not only done significant work and research in gender identity and sexual orientation but has been personally involved in and responsible for changing the term “gender identity disorder” to “gender dysphoria.”

We talk about the underlying theme of hiding that has been the story and the personal experience of many people who have differing and non-conformist identities and sexual orientations. Although Freud, the father of psychoanalysis as well as subsequent psychoanalyst schools and theories has been relatively open, accepting, and tolerant of different sexual orientations, the main perspective and orientation have been predominantly heterosexist and cisgender.

As an opponent of conversion therapy, Dr. Drescher explains the significant harm and trauma caused by such unscientific, misguided, and futile “treatments,” which also reveal a general lack of understanding of the issues and situation. Moreover, he adds that many young people have become displaced and homeless by being rejected by or thrown out of their homes due to an overall lack of acceptance of their parents, their society, and their religious communities.

Currently, the world is in a state of turmoil filled with anxiety and insecurity while a lack of dialogue and willingness to converse and hear differing viewpoints has created an impasse becoming fertile ground and fodder for mis- and disinformation often directed at minority groups like immigrants and LGTBQ people.

Bringing the Soul & the Paranormal into Psychology and the Relationship of Leading Psychologists to Mediums & Clairvoyance with Dr. Karen Herrick

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to talk with therapist and author Dr. Karen Herrick about her fascinating book “The Psychology of the Soul and the Paranormal.” Karen explains how various major thinkers, experts, and psychologists have been interested in and even influenced by spiritual and paranormal experiences. We learn how William James, the founder of American psychology, used and believed in mediums and that Carl Gustav Jung’s mother was a psychic, and that he himself was clairvoyant.

 

Moreover, we talk about the benefits of communicating with deceased loved ones to help deal with grief and about how spirituality has become more common and accepted not only amongst the general population but also embraced and promoted by the mental health fields of psychology and psychiatry. Hopefully, these fascinating and intriguing phenomena will be studied, researched, and investigated with more openness and without bias and preconceived notions.

Fear, Horror, Life-Enhancing Anxiety and Living Life Fully with Awe and Wonder with Dr. Kirk Schneider

In this episode, I have the great pleasure of speaking to psychotherapist and author Dr. Kirk Schneider about why anxiety is skyrocketing in today’s world and culture and how to use, channel, and transform our fears and anxieties to enhance our lives, become more present and be filled with curiosity, humility, and wonder.

Kirk talks about his timely, awesome, and fascinating book “Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World” and how our anxieties are due to existential issues stemming from the birth of trauma and fear of death and the unknown.

Moreover, Kirk illustrates his views by underscoring important and essential psychoanalytic insights provided by the wonderful, profound, and soulful Otto Rank as well as Kirk’s own fascinating analysis of horror movies and literature and how this “cosmic fear” can help connect us with our true and authentic essence and being and lead us to the experience of awe and amazement.

Soul Over Matter: Master Sha on How Tao Science Brings Self-Healing to the Four Bodies and the Spirit

In this episode, I have the great pleasure and honor to talk with Dr. and Master Sha about his amazing healing and spiritual work and service as well as his wonderful Tao Calligraphy series for self-healing.

Master Sha explains how we have four bodies and how the universal law of Shen Qi Jing alongside a focus on positive information flow can lead to self-healing, happiness, and enlightenment.

Tao science like quantum mechanics probes deeper and goes further than traditional Western science in addressing the ultimate source and creation of life that relates to the soul and the spirit.

We also talk about the limits of consciousness, meditation, and mindfulness as opposed to the vast dimensions of the spiritual world and soulfulness and how language has its own limitations as the Tao cannot be expressed but only symbolized or alluded to via art, images, and poetry.

Conscious Bravery and Addiction: Giving Care, Support and Presence with Self-Care and our Whole Being with Pamela Brinker

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to talk with psychotherapist and author Pamela Brinker about her resourceful and inspirational book “Conscious Bravery: Caring for Someone with Addiction”. Pamela not only brings professional experience as a therapist but combines and integrates it with personal life experiences to inspire us all with conscious bravery, strength, and resiliency.

We talk about various aspects of care and caregiving, including self-care and providing presence, awareness, and emotional support for people, loved ones, and our sons and daughters going through difficult moments, mental health challenges, and addiction. Many find it difficult to ask for help but it is a sacred thing to give and receive help. By being authentic and mindful, connecting with others, and grounding ourselves in the present, we can reach upwards, we can welcome and embrace personal growth, fulfill our potential, and realize our many possibilities while exploring and expanding who we truly are.

Joy Fitzgerald on Unmasking and Unleashing Your Inner Potential with Your Diverse Authentic Self

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to talk with Life Coach, Author, and Corporate Leader Joy Fitzgerald about her book “Finding Authentic Rhythm: How to Win on Your Terms in Corporate America” and how diversity and authenticity are important elements and building blocks not only for society but also pay dividends for business and the corporate world.

Joy explains that we all need to start off our career journey with self-reflection and self-discovery and to show up with our true authentic selves. Being authentic is a life-long process and journey, and it takes courage to be different, but we want to win and succeed on our terms, connect in open and honest ways and manners with others, surround ourselves with a positive, honest, practical, and trustworthy team while thinking and dreaming big along the way.

PTSD and Healing of First Responders: The Journey of Heroes toward Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth with Dr. Marilyn Wooley

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to speak with Psychologist, Traumatologist, and Author Dr. Marilyn Wooley about her inspiring, inspirational, and resourceful book “How Heroes Heal: Stories of First Responders and the Journey from Posttraumatic Stress Injury to Posttraumatic Growth”!

 

Marilyn has been helping people for over 40 years and enjoys working with first responders not only to deal with trauma and cumulative toxic stress but to set and prepare these everyday heroes for a journey toward Resilience and Growth. It is important to overcome internal and external stigma and to be open about traumatic experiences by sharing stories and talking to others and reaching out for help and assistance.

 

By taking the time and putting the effort to process and incorporate their traumatic experiences, first responders can gain significant and life-changing insights that would then connect them on a much deeper, more profound, and even more spiritual level with their friends, loved ones, and families.

Seeking to Design Your Own Life: Interview with JJ DiGeronimo Toward Personal Alignment and Healing

In this episode, I have the great pleasure to talk with Author and Keynote Speaker JJ DiGeronimo about her book “Seeking” and her unique virtual “Together We Seek” community. She touches upon various energy-based healing practices combining ancient with new methods and methodologies including birth charts, mindfulness, past life regression, and human design to help us align more closely with our true being and essence and tap into our higher and bigger purpose, meaning, and calling in life.

JJ has more than two decades of experience in technology and within Silicon Valley, but nowadays, she wants to share her personal insights and spiritual journey with us so that we can seek, find, and establish our own unique pathways; in this way, we can go past the limiting and limited grasp of the ego and connect with the light and energies that are bigger than ourselves while also rediscovering and rekindling the magic and beauty that has always surrounded us and our lives but we have not seen and noticed since the world of our childhood.