Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen

Meg Josephson, psychotherapist and author of Are You Mad At Me?, maps the fawn response and five archetypes of people-pleasing. She explores why fawning feels protective, how culture reinforces it, delayed anger after placating, and practical ways to notice feelings and set boundaries. Short, relatable archetypes help listeners recognize patterns without judgment.

Satya Doyle Byock, a Jungian psychotherapist and author, explores the tension between individuation and community. She contrasts true inner formation with herd mentality. Conversations touch on communal initiation, building retreat containers, archetypal forces shaping change, and listening to your inner daemon as a creative guide.

Cas Holman, a world-renowned designer of playful learning and creator of Rigamajig, explores how play supports communities, resilience, and civic action. She discusses prototyping public play, designing environments that encourage collaboration and sharing, and ways adults can reclaim age-appropriate play through craft, tinkering, and small norm disruptions.

Terry Tempest Williams, author and conservationist celebrated for lyrical nature writing, joins to discuss The Glorians and the lessons it grew from. She recounts a pandemic dream that sparked the book. They explore grief, grace as unexpected gifts, community response to environmental decline, and the surprising people and rituals that sustain collective care.

Daniel Matt, scholar and translator of the Zohar, offers a concise mini bio as a teacher and translator of Kabbalah. He outlines Kabbalah’s three big contributions. He traces the Zohar’s origins, explores the divine feminine Shekhinah, and discusses mysticism’s risks, ethics, and historical spread. Short, provocative, and wide-ranging.

A reflective dive into what “evil” is and how we relate to it. Short readings and frameworks explore human cruelty versus supernatural ideas. Practical practices for staying lucid, protecting children, and stabilizing the field of consciousness are offered. Guidance emphasizes pausing, body awareness, and choosing responsibility over fear.

Marieta Pehlivanova, PhD, a research scientist at UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies who studies past-life memory reports and near-death experiences. She discusses investigations of children’s past-life memories, biological links like birthmarks, comparisons with alternate explanations, trauma’s possible role, and how survival research could reshape how we think about consciousness and end-of-life care.

Avi Loeb, PhD, Harvard astrophysicist known for studying interstellar objects and SETI. He discusses why searching for advanced civilizations matters. He explores odd interstellar visitors like Oumuamua and 3I/ATLAS. He argues for looking for technosignatures, the Galileo Project, and why contact could benefit humanity.

Lucy Kalanithi, MD, a Stanford primary care physician and widow of Paul Kalanithi, offers intimate reflections on sudden life-changing "lightning-bolt" moments. She talks about identity fracture, how suffering creates connection rather than meaning, practical end-of-life planning, palliative care, and holding rituals and community during transformative loss.

Jennifer B. Wallace, journalist, author, and founder of the Mattering Institute, explores what makes people feel seen and relevant. She breaks down the SED framework—significance, appreciation, investment, dependence—and discusses practical rituals, invitation and vulnerability, and ways to scaffold connection so people feel truly noticed.