The Human Experience · Episode

Episode 60 – Norman Rosenthal M.D. – Super Mind

A conversation with Norman Rosenthal M.D.

Norman E. Rosenthal is a world-renowned psychiatrist, public speaker, and best-selling author who is known for his innovative and ground breaking research. He is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at…

Published
June 5, 2016
Runtime
39:47
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Norman E. Rosenthal is a world-renowned psychiatrist, public speaker, and best-selling author who is known for his innovative and ground breaking research. He is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine and is listed as one of the Best Doctors in America. Dr. Rosenthal has practiced psychiatry for over three decades, treating people with all manner of psychiatric and emotional health issues. He is also a motivational speaker and a personal and professional coach, working with people from all walks of life including CEOs, top athletes, and performing artists.

Norm-thumbRosenthal was born and raised in South Africa and did his medical training at theUniversity of Witwatersrand, where he graduated with high honors. He immigrated to the US and did his psychiatric residency at Columbia in NYC before going to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he began his research career in earnest. His first major research contribution was to describe and nameSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and to develop light therapy as a treatment for this novel condition. SAD – and its milder variant, the Winter Blues – are now known to affect millions of people worldwide, many of whom have benefited from the light therapy that Dr. Rosenthal pioneered.

Dr. Rosenthal is a highly cited researcher who has written over 200 scholarly articles, and authored or co-authored eight popular books. These include Winter Blues, the New York Times bestseller Transcendence, and the Los Angeles Times bestseller The Gift of Adversity. Rosenthal has conducted numerous clinical trials of medications and alternative treatments, such as Transcendental Meditation for psychiatric disorders, and the treatment of depression with Botox. He and his work have been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR and other national media.

super mind

click here to purchase the book

In this episode we spoke to Dr. Rosenthal about Transcendental Meditation and its wide ranging benefits.

Editorial Reviews on “Super Mind”:

“Super Mind is a wonderfully practical exploration of the benefits of Transcendental Meditation that reveals how the technique is not a belief or faith but a simple tool that, in my experience, can improve your life in ways you never thought possible.”  —Hugh Jackman

“In Super Mind, Norman E. Rosenthal has written a vibrant, practical, and persuasive guide to all the ways in which mediation can profoundly affect every aspect of our lives – from our emotional and spiritual well-being to our intellectual and creative abilities.” —Arianna Huffington

“Super Mind opens new doors to thinking about consciousness, and new possibilities about how consciousness can grow and change a person’s life forever. Transcendental Meditation has been found to improve physical and psychological health in hundreds of published studies and Norman E. Rosenthal weaves this evidence together with powerful stories of transformation — a must-read for anyone wanting to develop a Super Mind. —Maria Shriver

“Dr. Rosenthal’s Super Mind is a thoroughly engaging, scientifically sound testament to the immediate and long-term benefits of Transcendental Meditation—a technique I have been practicing for nearly two years. TM has made me more mentally and physically energetic, sharper, less stressed and more positive. If I could write a prescription for TM to all my patients, I would.” —Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News Chief Women’s Health Correspondent, Ob-Gyn

“Norman E. Rosenthal, renowned scientist and researcher, reveals the powerful, life-enhancing effects of Transcendental Meditation in this acutely observed and poetic book.  In Transcendence, Rosenthal gave us the science behind TM; in Super Mind he does that and more, showing us the broad applications and transformative stories of real people using this simple technique.” —Richard A. Friedman, M.D., contributing Op-Ed writer for The New York Times and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College

Find Norm and his work here: www.normanrosenthal.com

FIND TRANSCRIPT HERE

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My most humble regards to Dr. Rosenthal for being on the show   

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Transcript

A full transcript has been published for this conversation.

Click here for transcript

Ideas worth returning to

Quotes

Five substantial excerpts from the published transcript, lightly edited for clarity without changing their meaning.

  1. “With sustained Transcendental Meditation practice, people often report becoming more creative, effective, attentive, and able to understand others. I used the phrase ‘super mind’ for the gradual flowering of those capacities—not a supernatural mind, but the ordinary mind functioning with greater integration, range, and joy.”
    From the conversation
  2. “Cultures are increasingly exchanging practices and ideas. The West is recognizing wisdom developed elsewhere over thousands of years, while other societies make use of Western discoveries. Breaking down barriers allows traditions to learn from one another without requiring either side to surrender everything distinctive about its history.”
    From the conversation
  3. “The mind resists an instruction to become empty. Tell yourself not to think of red and red becomes unavoidable; command the mind to clear itself and it fills with the effort of clearing. A mantra works differently because it gives attention a simple object that can carry the mind toward a quieter state without demanding blankness.”
    From the conversation
  4. “Love and work are central purposes of life: learning to build relationships and engage meaningfully in what we do. But maturity also requires knowing when a relationship or job no longer serves life. Engagement is not endless attachment; sometimes withdrawal, separation, or redirection is the responsible form of care.”
    From the conversation
  5. “Mindfulness takes courage because it asks us to see the world as it is and face what we actually fear rather than becoming lost in the heat of reaction. Transcendental Meditation is a different practice with a different intended outcome. Both may be useful, but clarity requires not treating distinct methods as though they do the same thing.”
    From the conversation

About the guest

Norman Rosenthal M.D.

Norman E. Rosenthal is a world-renowned psychiatrist, public speaker, and best-selling author who is known for his innovative and ground breaking research. He is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine and is listed as one of the Best Doctors in America. Dr. Rosenthal has practiced psychiatry for over three decades, treating people with all manner of psychiatric and emotional health issues. He is also a motivational speaker and a personal and professional coach, working with people from all walks of life including CEOs, top athletes, and performing artists.

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