Unconditional Healing with Jeff Rubin
Can a person embrace immense adversity in their life to not only cope, but to thrive and discover their most authentic self?
As a teacher of Buddhist meditation and psychology for four decades, and someone "blessed" with a chronic illness for two of those decades, Jeff Rubin has been obsessed with answering this question. This obsession led him to develop a program called Unconditional Healing, a new model of health that has helped countless people transform their relationship to pain, adversity, and illness, and unlock their own storehouse of confidence and resilience.
In this podcast, Jeff explores the principles of Unconditional Healing with talks, healing practices, and interviews with those who have discovered how to thrive in the face of adversity. He also features guests who are experts or thought leaders in a particular aspect of health and well-being. If you are dealing with an acute or chronic illness, the loss of a loved one or your livelihood, the dissolution of a relationship, or any other adverse circumstance that has you feeling anxious and confused, then this podcast is definitely for you. Especially if you’re looking for a more nuanced, more spiritual way to work with life's inevitable difficulties.
Please note the podcast is currently on hiatus, but all episodes remain available on all the major podcast platforms.
Unconditional Healing with Jeff Rubin
Interview with Madeline Bruser - On the Art (and Science) of Making Music From the Heart
Playing a complicated classical piece on the piano can be amongst the most complex and difficult feats of human hand-eye coordination and cognitive processing. In attempting to master their art with painstaking diligent practice, 75% of professional musicians suffer injuries, compounded by trying to play through the pain. Enter Madeline Bruser. Raised as an exceptionally talented pianist, Madeline performed as a soloist with the Denver and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras at a young age.
Confronting a crisis of confidence at a major audition, Madeline sought a means to overcome performance anxiety under pressure, and in so doing, launched a new career helping other musicians. She discovered that mindfulness meditation, with its focus on direct experience of the sense perceptions and attention to one’s body and energy, could have a major impact on one’s confidence and ability to relax. In addition, she discovered that when it comes to practice, less is often more, as long as it’s the right kind of practice.
In our conversation, Madeline discusses many of the concepts and exercises outlined in her acclaimed book, The Art of Practicing, Making Music From the Heart. Many of these techniques, such as using active listening to improve rhythm and coordination, learning the effects of biomechanical principles on “right effort”, and methods to move beyond fear can be applied effectively for non-musicians as well.
Madeline’s work is such a fit for Unconditional Healing with her emphasis on mindfulness, tuning into the body’s wisdom, connecting to one's heart, and making a healing journey on multiple levels. Her work has broad application for anyone that needs to perform under pressure.
And after you listen, learn about, and register for our next Healing Circle here. It’s virtual, there is no charge, and you’ll find like-minded folks with whom to practice meditation, and share the journey toward unconditional health and well-being.
You are always invited to join our Unconditional Healing Facebook group here.