Breaking the Chains of Suffering: Exploring the Vital Link Between Freedom and Healing

On This Walk

Are you afraid of suffering? What if we told you that suffering is not a curse, but a true gift?

This week on On This Walk, my walking partner is Boaz Feldman. We dive deep into the theme of suffering and the freedom that comes from its alleviation. We explore the power of group work and social interaction in facilitating healing and growth, as well as the importance of somatic expression and co-regulation. We also discuss the societal and cultural factors that impact individual experiences of suffering and the role of group processes in addressing these patterns.

Get ready for an enlightening conversation filled with insights and much more!

In This Episode

• (08:16) - Boaz’s motivation to alleviate suffering and promote liberation
• (12:53) - The healing power of social engagement and interaction
• (18:07) - The Social Baseline Theory
• (31:29) - How connecting to a wider system can lead to healing
• (34:02) -The impact of community and tribal leaders on mental health and wellbeing.
• (36:50) - The effectiveness of groups in facilitating healing and recovery from trauma.
• (45:12) -The principle of encouraging embodied action in group therapy
• (57:28) -The importance of relationships for happiness, well-being, and longevity
• (01:00:01) -The lazy person's way to happiness
• (01:00:18) -Why shame and social exclusion are like a physiological death.

Notable Quotes

• “Gratitude is a pretty cool and enjoyable feeling. And so when there are these enjoyable feelings that are particularly sort of low arousal like gratitude, because you can also have joy and ecstasy and excitement and all that, that's a bit more difficult to go into the body then. But when you have low arousal and positive energy, a really interesting question could be, oh, you feel gratitude now Luke, how does that gratitude manifest in the body? What's the felt sense of that in your experience right now? And maybe they don't even describe a physical sensation because maybe they're not ready to go into the body, or maybe that's not what's most present. But at least there's the invitation, and again, it's like a ritual quality of the deepest way in which we can land things in the present moment is through our somatic experience.” – Boaz (49:45)
• “The more that we cannot only deepen the way in which we use our presence, things like deep listening and things like that with others, that's certainly true in the way that it changes. But when we get that present, we become more present to what our experience is in relation to others. And that usually is going to surface things of helping people recognize some of maybe what they're struggling with or what are some of the things that come up for them when they're out and about in their other relationships the rest of their life. But if that can begin to come up as part of these interactions inside of a container that's been crafted, we can talk about those things, we can surface those things, we can explore those things and people feel safe and accepted and not judged while they're doing that because of the container that's been created.” – Luke (13:49)

Our Guest

Boaz Feldman is a practical visionary, experienced psychologist, keynote speaker, and trainer for worldwide positive change. He is a Somatic Experience Practitioner, Organic Intelligence core faculty, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy graduate. Boaz founded NeuroSystemics, a somatically-centered approach for meditation training, therapy, and group therapy.

Resources & Links

On This Walk

• https://www.facebook.com/dlukeiorio
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeiorio/
• https://instagram.com/dlukeiorio
• https://instagram.com/onthiswalkshow

Boaz Feldman

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/boazbfeldman/