Explore every episode of the podcast Changeable Podcast

The post EP405: The challenge of identity: The sense of self appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP404: Dealing with Issues in Relationship — Part 2 appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP403: Dealing with Issues in Relationship — Part 1 appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP402: Re-engaging with your partner appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I share the “whale under the boat” sense we’ve had from the beginning of our relationship that there is something very powerful and intelligent behind our union. In conventional thinking about relationships, two people get together for reasons of love, connection, comfort, companionship, etc. While those features are present in our relationship too, they seem more like the “top layer” only, helping pave the way for a bigger, more mysterious purpose that we don’t yet understand but love exploring. If you feel something like this in your relationship, we would love to hear from you!

Please email me at amy@dramyjohnson.com with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.

The post EP401: The Deeper Purpose in Relationships appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP400: Believing in love versus being in love appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I explore the difference between thinking and direct perception. This distinction is crucial in the spiritual and self-investigative work we’ve done and that we’ll be discussing more in future episodes. It’s an important difference in how we relate in relationships and in all of life, actually!

Please email me at support@dramyjohnson.com with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.

The post EP399: Clarifying direct perception versus thinking appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I explore the benefits of asking meaningful questions. We discuss what meaningful questions are, the benefits of asking them, and why people don’t ask questions. We also go into depth about how we ask each other meaningful questions and the ways in which that has strengthened our connection and led to significant changes in our lives. 

Please email me at support@dramyjohnson.com with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.

The post EP398: Asking meaningful questions appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In EP397, Dan and I share how we went from being quite independent – in part as a way to prioritize our respective spiritual paths – to now being surprisingly (to us!) interdependent and closely enmeshed in many ways.

Please email me at support@dramyjohnson.com with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.

The post EP397: From Independence to union appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this conversation, Dan and I share one of the key ways our deep connection developed in the early days of our relationship; something we called “going into the portal” through sustained eye contact and feeling into the energies that were present.  We discuss how this process went for us and the benefits of it on our relationship. We even do a little “portal dive” while recording so you can get a feel for it yourself!

Please email me at support@dramyjohnson.com with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.

The post EP396: Exploring our connection through eye contact appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I look at the role of attention in a relationship. We’ll explore what attention and connection have to do with each other, how attention is an open and receptive presence (rather than monitoring, watching, or evaluating), the benefits of attention, and the obstacles to giving and receiving attention and what

The post EP395: The power of attention in relationships appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Changeable is back and I have a co-host! Dan Kelso and I explore the mystical nature of relationships and unveil our ideas for a new set of dialogues exploring the intersection of identity and relationship. Please email me at support@dramyjohnson.com with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you

The post EP394: The mystical nature of relationships appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Martha says she knows that circumstances can’t create suffering, yet she suffers when watching images of some things happening in the world. How can she reconcile this? uGfCbeGyYlpygwNQU7E8

The post EP393: Why are outside circumstances affecting me so much? A question from a listener appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

This week’s episode is a conversation with Juliet O’Rourke for her brand new podcast, Gifted with ADHD.  Gifted with ADHD brings together mental health, wellbeing, and a big-picture spiritual understanding of how the mind works, particularly an ADHD mind. In our conversation, we go deep into the role of thought and emotion, particularly experiences like boredom,

The post EP392: Breaking Habits and Ending Self-Doubt: My episode on Gifted with ADHD appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode we’ll look at where attention naturally wants to go…and where attention might be going in ways that are unwanted. The more we have in our lives and around us that demand attention, the less free attention there is for exploring direct experience. ***I will be leading a Silent Retreat in Taos, New Mexico,

The post EP391: Pruning life so attention can go where you want it to go appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

This episode explores what it means to be energetically open versus closed, why and how we open and close, and what being open (versus closed) does for our vitality, wellbeing, and relationships. ***I will be leading a Silent Retreat in Taos, New Mexico, February 22-27. The retreat will provide a supportive space for you to steep

The post EP390: Open and closed appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

I’ll explore how to look at, and ultimately change, patterns in more detail.  I discuss how and why to reflect on patterns, how and why to communicate what’s arising, and how and why to examine identity as part of this exploration. ***I will be leading a Silent Retreat in Taos, New Mexico, February 22-27. The retreat

The post EP389: More on patterns appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, I strongly encourage you to look at the beliefs you’re living by. There may be conflicting beliefs. You may believe things you swear you don’t believe. The only way to know – and for those beliefs to change – is to honestly and eagerly look and be willing to see what’s there. ***I

The post EP388: Beliefs you live by but didn’t choose appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, I speak to a question from a listener who says she chooses romantic partners who are not right for her because – in her words – they make her feel more worthy.  I talk her through some of the ways she can examine this pattern in depth, noticing the beliefs behind her

The post EP387: Choosing the wrong relationships: A question from a listener appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

There’s a progression that seems to happen. You might say it’s from gross to subtle. Where attention shifts from being absorbed in abstractions, thoughts, representations, and relationships…to attention moving to much more subtle energies like sensations, sensory input, and maybe something like intuition or perception.Identity is viewed in these different ways. From gross thought and

The post EP386: Special Rebroadcast: Unraveling Ego at the Feeling Level appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Being in silence is not about suppressing anything.  It’s also not about creating anything, such as an environment of peace or thoughtlessness or anything like that. It’s the exact opposite, actually. It’s about leaving everything alone to simply be exactly what it is.“What it is” is constantly changing. It is totally unknowable. It’s far too fluid

The post EP385: Special Rebroadcast: Noise is Silence Shouting appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

What if 95% of attention and energy went toward sensing, feeling, and intuition, and 5% went toward the use of thought? That ratio is typically reversed. I’ll explore this with regard to being with trauma, brainstorming and problem solving, and self inquiry.***I will be leading a Silent Retreat in Taos, New Mexico, February 22-27. The retreat will

The post EP384: 95/5 appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, we’ll explore how to end habitual psychological patterns such as reactivity, shutting down, becoming controlling or hypervigilant, or eating or drinking. The way to end a pattern – very oversimplified – is to become deeply familiar with the elements of the pattern and stay open, rather than react, when the pattern begins. ***I will

The post EP383: Staying open appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Emma believes that she is unacceptable if her weight goes above a particular threshold.  This belief is behind 45 years of restrictive and binge eating. Emma is onto the fact that this is a belief, but that doesn’t feel like enough. If she doesn’t have the ability to simply stop believing this thought, what can she

The post EP382: I’m not acceptable unless I’m thin. Questions from a listener with a 45 year history of disordered eating. appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

 There’s an extremely important distinction to be made when it comes to where and how attention falls. It’s the difference between attention being on something versus absorbed in it. Attention on the fact of thought is completely different from attention being absorbed in the content of thought.Attention on sensation or pain or the sense of self

The post EP381: Attention On versus Attention In  appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

“Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news” – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche Chaos seems unwanted and perhaps terrifying to a mind that’s always trying to hold things together.But in Greek mythology, Chaos is viewed as a primordial void or emptiness from which all else emerges. It’s the source of everything. Chaos, emptiness, void…source, aliveness, new life.

The post EP380: Chaos is extremely good news appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

There seems to be an innate intelligence that guides us when we deeply feel what is present. An intelligence emerges from simply being in what is without resistance. This intelligence is often less about firm conclusions and more about doing what feels most right right now. It’s less about security in a vision for the

The post EP379: The Intelligence in feeling appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

There is a lot of talk about prevention in the physical health world. It makes sense to prevent physical health problems when possible. Does this extend to emotional health?Can we prevent emotional discomfort? Does it make sense to try? Or is it safe to “wear your heart on your sleeve”, even when the world may be

The post EP378: Prevention appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

How – and why – communicate how you’re feeling with someone else? Dropping into the inner landscape and opening to what’s there…the thoughts, sensations, emotions, and beliefs that are present…and then expressing those to another person feels infinitely helpful.And it feels like something we often shy away from for any number of reasons. We’ll explore some

The post EP377: Communicating feelings in a helpful way appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode I speak to a listener’s question about how she can be less reactive and more patient with her mom. We explore how she can watch the reactive patterns that arise with a sense of objectivity, curious about what’s showing up rather than judgmental of it and trying to change it. We also explore

The post EP376: How can I stop being so reactive toward my mom? A question from a listener. appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

This week’s episode is a portion of a call with Kat Adamson.  Kat talks about how awareness is the essence of all things. Mostly, she talks about love. She shares her experience of the death of her partner and she discusses unconditional love and compatibility.I hope you are as impacted by this conversation as we

The post EP375: Awareness and Love with Kat Adamson appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

An inch deep and a mile wide typically describes a person with superficial knowledge of many things, but without deep knowledge of anything. A generalist, broad but shallow. Is experience an inch deep and a mile wide? In this episode, we use this phrase to explore the depths and dimensions of the felt sense, thought, emotion,

The post EP374: An inch deep and a mile wide appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Thought says no end of things. But what does thought do? Thought does things like conclude, restate, and provide frames and contexts.What thought does is often more subtle and easy to miss than what thought says, but it’s far more valuable to see.***I will be leading two Silent Retreats in 2026. The primary retreat (hosted and

The post EP373: What thought is saying vs. what it’s doing appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

When someone says they are distracted, they are expressing an agenda or expectation for where attention should be. They are essentially saying “I’d like attention to be on this project or on my breath or on the person in front of me, but it’s somewhere else”.What would it be like to simply watch attention shift

The post EP372: Distraction appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Mary is struggling with guilt over something that happened in her relationship a few years ago.  Listen in as we explore our responsibility for feelings, societal ideas of right and wrong, honesty, and much more.

The post EP371: How can I let go of guilt? A question from a listener  appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode I explore how one might coach someone with chronic pain. Is chronic pain really treated the same way as anxiety, habits and depression? Can it be helped solely through the lens of what’s shared in here?I’ll discuss the impact of the word “chronic” in all suffering and how we can have impact

The post EP370: Coaching around – and finding peace in – chronic pain appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Is the quality and nature of present moment experience solely a function of attention? Attention is always contracting and expanding. Sometimes it’s so absorbed in me-and-my-life that all we seem to experience is a stream of me-centered ups and downs.Other times, attention seems to release or expand and experience is very different. The me-and-my-life components

The post EP369: Attention appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode I share an exchange between myself and a member of our community around her experience of anxiety.  I am pointing to What Is before summary thoughts like “I keep feeling anxiety” or “I am afraid something is wrong”. Those summary thoughts are fine – they are powerless – but they are getting all

The post EP368: Feeling your way through anxiety appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Some thoughts, like “no matter what”, “ too late now”, “this always happens”, “I knew it”, somehow feel more true than others, don’t they? Thoughts like these have a scent of finality and certainty. They seem unquestionable. They don’t appear as thought most of the time. They appear as a description of the-way-it-is. But they are

The post EP367:  “No matter what” is a powerless thought  appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Lisa Natoli and I talk about identity. She shares her experience coming to identify with the simple aliveness that’s always here. We discuss the role of being in what is and exploring that in helping her see through identity with the Lisa character.  If you’d like to see more about Lisa and

The post EP366: Identity with Lisa Natoli appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

When one is experiencing health anxiety, for example, and they are often sure that “this time is different”.  They are sure they are unwell, running to doctors, trying to solve health problems that don’t actually exist. It’s very simple and extremely helpful to assume the issue is anxiety first. After all, when the thinking and

The post EP365: Anxiety First appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Beliefs, including spiritual beliefs, are helpful to a point. Then they become decidedly unhelpful.What happens at that point? You look beyond belief.We’ll look at what it means to go beyond belief and how that’s very different from continually clinging to “better” beliefs.***The (now) annual Summer Book Club is back! Beginning in late July, I’ll be leading

The post EP364: Beyond belief appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP363: Personal appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The title of this week’s episode is also the title of a book by Sailor Bob Adamson. This is the book we’ll be exploring in the Summer Book Club. In this episode, I share some quotes from the book that have stood out in my initial reading. As the author says, this book “is not about

The post EP362: What’s wrong with right now?: If you don’t think about it appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Let’s talk about the experience we call anticipation. It seems like we’re looking ahead to something that’s almost certain to happen. And it seems like it’s very likely to happen the way we’re imagining it. The way it’s likely to go feels like sound logic – of course it might not happen that way, but

The post EP361: Anticipation is Imagination appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Shortly after I recorded last week’s episode, The Biggest Irony, someone shared an experience on one of our forums that perfectly illustrated what I was trying to express. Today’s episode shares that illustration and expands on the idea that all of our teachings, pointers and understandings have a singular benefit – presence in and as

The post EP360: The Biggest Irony – Part 2 appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP359:  The biggest irony appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP358: Abstractions and Reality with Chris Niebauer appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP357: More abstract, more suffering appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

The post EP356: Breaking down the experience of needing to be productive appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.