Dr. Keith Witt

Let’s all become more optimistic and grateful. Last week we talked about how brains both consciously and unconsciously accumulate habits by scanning constantly, choosing what to focus on, and creating …

Brains are wired to scan for threats, needs, wants, what’s familiar, and what’s novel. Brains monitor the environment like the National Security Agency monitors the airwaves. Scanning for needs and …

Last week’s blog began with Mr. Natural (of Zap Comics fame) responding to Flakey Foont’s, “Mr. Natural! Mr. Natural! What does it all mean?” with his kosmic, “It don’t mean …

If you grew up in the sixties and seventies, you probably are familiar with Zap Comics, the counterculture’s irreverent, risqué, and hip extension of Mad Magazine (junior and senior high …

I first read The Hobbit in the late fifties when I was nine or ten. It completely blew my mind and instantly became a bible of sorts. Along with the …

This past New Year’s weekend I had the privilege of presenting a talk called We are all Integral Psychotherapists at the Integral What’s Next conference near Boulder, Co. It was …

Each time we create a brain state, it’s more likely to come back. If we create it enough, we automatically go there in certain situations–it becomes an attractor state.

The first step in lightening up is accepting and managing our darkness. A big part of the price of feeling better turns out to be acknowledging and helping depressed, angry, and anxious self-parts. For instance, you could confidently tell yourself, “Yes, I’m seeing the world through gloomy glasses, but I know it’s a brighter place.”

In Part 1 I detailed David Kennedy’s amazing success reducing street gang shootings all across America (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Shoot-Fellowship-Violence-Inner-City/dp/1608194140). The conclusion he offered was: Study the problem. Find promising approaches. Try them …

The fifty-something wife (Joyce) glares angrily at her husband, who first looks defiantly back, but then turns away in obvious discomfort. She is in the middle of a tirade. “John’s …