I’m very pleased this week to have Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman back on the podcast. Scott was my guest about a year ago, and a lot has happened since then. We talked in this episode about the profound changes that Scott has experienced during that time, and the fact that a mindful awakening isn’t simply a blissful experience. Opening our eyes and being fully present can also be painful. And Scott has some good insights there. We also touched on racism and anti-racism, Scott’s forays into TikTok, and an exciting announcement that he makes toward the end of our discussion.

• My observations of Scott’s evolution over the past year or so
• The tremendous upheaval Scott experienced when COVID hit in March 2020
• Going “all in” on ourselves
• How writing a book often changes us
• The pain that a spiritual awakening can bring
• A spiritual transformation that includes expressing our real felt needs, even when uncomfortable
• Being honest about what we believe while honoring others’ humanity
• Scott’s recent podcast discussion with Sam Harris (Part 1 and Part 2)
• Racism, anti-racism, and anti-anti-racism
• Some of the limitations of anti-racism
• Universal love and appreciation of everyone’s being
• The current mental health crisis
• Oversimplifying and assuming based on skin color
• Feeling like one’s suffering matters
• The possibility of uniting around shared feelings of marginalization
• Scott’s recent forays into TikTok
• Scott’s determination to live as fully as possible and to fulfill his potential
• Our “wild and precious life,” to quote Mary Oliver (affiliate link)
• My observations of the delight Scott takes in life and people
• The mystical experience that Scott had
• The sadness and pain that come with love
• Our cultural orientation toward hate
• Meditating in front of the ocean
• Scott’s online course
• The new center that Scott just founded: The Center for Self-Actualization and Creativity

Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential.

He completed his PhD at Yale and has taught at Columbia, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.

He hosts The Psychology Podcast, the number one psychology podcast in the world

Scott has written or edited nine books, which include his excellent new one entitled Transcend, as well as Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, and, as editor, Twice Exceptional: Supporting and Educating Bright and Creative Students with Learning Difficulties and The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence. (These are affiliate links.)

In 2015 he was named one of “50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world” by Business Insider.

Find Scott online at his website and on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.