Genius: Sciencing Our Human Potential

A conversation for writers, women, men, and anyone going through a career/life transition. Dove Wilson interviews Dr. Djenane Nakhle on the writing and journey of her debut book called "Finding Home: From Cairo to New York." An inspiring story of Dr. Nakhle's life on four continents with struggles, resilence and achievement. Djenane Nakhle is an Egyptian-born, Lebanese-American psychologist. Due to a political and economic upheaval in her birth country, she lived in Switzerland, Lebanon, and France before immigrating to the United States, making Manhattan her home and professional address. A licensed psychologist in New York and Connecticut with nearly thirty years of experience, Dr. Nakhle has, in addition to her private practice, served as the Director of Therapeutics at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center (CPMC) for five years and taught a Graduate seminar, “Trauma: Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives,” at New York University. ​Dr. Nakhle’s clinical focus includes anxiety, interpersonal relationships, and learning differences. She strives to use her clinical expertise and broad experience in a supportive and collaborative approach to help others achieve their goals.

One of our most popular podcast episodes in the last year was with the beloved Dr. Sayed Tabatabai -- known as @TheRealDoctorT. Through story, he helps us notice, wrap words around and digest the array of feelings that come with being in this global pandemic -- love, loss, confusion, and more. He’s a critical care physician who lives in a world where a year ago he and his colleagues were called heroes. Now they are often distrusted, villainized, and concerned for their own safety. His writing is addictive in that he subtly beckons us to see life in more depth, to become more alive ourselves, and to hope for what's better in all of us. Listen to how Dr. T strives to create balance under stress, how taking breaks figures in, what he's learned in the last year that he wants listeners to know, his love for Apple's hit show Ted Lasso and more.   With Dr. Mark Shapiro, another upcoming Genius Podcast return, Dr. T co-hosts a fun and funny podcast series called #MedLasso which explores how the show relates to health care today. Biography: Dr. Sayed Tabatabai, MD is a nephrologist in San Antonio, TX, and has over 16 years of experience in the medical field. Dr. Tabatabai has been working with COVID-19 patients, during the pandemic and shares his experiences in a unique way, through social media. He enjoys a huge and beloved social media presence, especially on Twitter where he has over 65,000 faithful followers. He has written over 100 fictionalized and sometimes sci-fi patient stories that have been shared on Twitter which are being incorporated into an upcoming book. His writing speaks to the human experience of medicine and life on many levels and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, San Antonio Express-News, Medium.com, Physician’s Weekly, & podcast series including The Journal of Clinical Pathways and National Public Radio. He was honored this year as one of San Antonio Top Doctors 2020, by San Antonio Magazine. Follow Dr. Tabatabai on Twitter: @TheRealDoctorT

It started with wanting to help the world during a crazy time, with being obsessed with people hearing the stories and insights of others, and with finding courage and connection. Reflections on the last year of starting the Genius Podcast, our guests, who is returning, and what else is ahead. Stay tuned for our fall episodes as we work away at them. Feel free to enjoy our previous episodes. Thanks for listening. 

Thanks, Cisco Cotto and Nancy Harty of WBBM am 780 -- the largest news radio station in Chicago. Appreciate you sharing this potent moment on my journey and the messages Brain Dance offers on brain health. Aired during the Chicago morning commute this week, so grateful to be able to touch listeners this way. A book can change a life. I believe that.  Thank you.  

To our waiting list and everyone else, we are excited to share a sample of the new audiobook of Brain Dance: My Journey with Invisible Illness, Second Chances, and the Wonders of Applied Neuroscience. The audiobook is now sold on Audible through Amazon but will soon be available to listeners around the globe through 50 retail channels, library platforms, and music streaming services.  Brain Dance is a medical memoir, an Amazon number one bestseller, and winner of multiple awards including "No. 1 Best Nonfiction Book of the Year" and "No. 1 Best True Drama." Since publication in May 2021, it's available in both print and Ebook formats.  People describe Brain Dance as a book on "neuroscience that reads like a novel — one that’s hard to put down." It's for anyone who loves learning about the brain, has had even a bump on the head, or has felt totally lost in life, for any reason, and needs to start over.  #brainfog #longCOVID  Narrated by the author, Diane Wilson shares her journey through random and sometimes humorous events of having an invisible illness, how her brain kept this injury even from herself, the loss of focus and sense of self, an obsession with day trading retirement funds, and the alternative therapies that helped heal her brain. These include a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh, acupuncture, learning to sing, and, most centrally, neurofeedback. Brain Dance is candid, intimate, and always a gentle teacher. You will laugh, cry, and learn your way through Diane's often-stumbling journey from moderate concussion to now working at the forefront of applied neuroscience. She will challenge everything you know about the brain, what it can mean to be injured and how to help yourself become all you were meant to be. Drawing from deep threads of wisdom from her family of origin, Buddhism, music, and science, she advocates on behalf of brain health awareness for making the world a better place. For more review comments see BrainDanceBook.com Cover Credit, art from Duy Huynh of Lark & Key. 

You may recognize his voice. This is an informative, light, and sometimes humorous conversation between two people who just finished a big project together. Join me, host Diane Wilson, for this edition of the "Genius Podcast" with Kevin Theis. Kevin's a Chicago actor, and teacher who's narrated more than 300 audiobooks and helped dozens of authors record their own books.   It will give Brain Dance readers, authors, audiobook listeners, and those new to audiobooks insights on:   What goes into making an audiobook?  How did audiobooks become so popular?  Should authors narrate their own books?  What makes a great listening experience?   What was it like for Kevin to help "give Brain Dance" her voice? On June 9, 2022, the Brain Dance audiobook (BDA) becomes available to listeners around the globe thru over 50 retail channels, library platforms, and music streaming services. We are so proud and excited and hope you will listen, learn, laugh, and love it. Here is a sample.  To purchase BDA, check your favorite bookseller. Here are links to Audible, Audiobooks, and Storytel.  Background: Brain Dance, is a medical memoir on my journey of recovering from the invisible illness of a moderate concussion, finding second chances, and the wonders of applied neuroscience. Upon release, it became an Amazon bestseller and has since won several awards including "No. 1 Non-Fiction Book of the Year and No. 1 Best True Story/Drama," (IAN),  Gold Medal Awards in the Science books category for two separate competitions -- "IPPY" Book Awards and Readers View Literary Awards Program. In the Nautilus Books Awards ("better books for a better world), it earned a Silver Award in the Memoir category. The cover design has also received more than one award. It features the art of popular North Carolina artist Duy Huynh of Lark & Key  This podcast was edited by Dan Schiffmacher. Kevin Theis is available at https://www.fortraphael.com/   Phone: 312.479.2378  Got to Brain Dance Book's website to learn more about this book and why it's imp ortant. Music is "Ballet Mind" developed by composer and singer Abby Lyons for the project. Abby is on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=abby+lyons and Instagram @helloabbylyons

October 27, 2020, Week Before Election Day Sometimes I record short meditations for my clients to listen to after our sessions. They have them on their phones and tune in to become more calm and focused, to stop anxious busy brain, and obsessive thinking.  Today, session after session, my clients were all very anxious. One by one I heard similar things, each person feeling alone in their anxious thoughts. Between my sessions, texting with friends, it was the same -- anxiety. So, I created a mindfulness exercise/meditation I could share with everyone.  This exercise is just under five minutes in length.  Let's stay present. Be safe and well.  Thanks for listening,  Diane Grimard Wilson,  LCPC, BCN Coach, psychotherapist, and applied neuroscientist Thanks, Dan Schiffmacher for the production of this video. email: dmachr2@gmail.com Music by Draganov "World of Magic" from Premium Beat, used with permission.  Watch for my new book to be released in spring 2021 called "Brain Dance." It's on a vexing journey of recovering undiagnosed traumatic brain injury to eventually becoming an applied neuroscientist, myself.  It should be fascinating to anyone interested in the brain, in applied neuroscience, or who has felt totally lost and needed to rebuild their life.  www.GeniusPodcast.Us  Instagram and Twitter: @Braincoach333 ph. (312) 925-5176 email: diane.g.wilson@gmail.com

Episode 7: Gentle, unassuming, and direct, Dr. Linda Girgis was a delight to interview for the latest of our Genius podcasts.  Dr. Girgis, Editor-in-Chief for Physician's Weekly and a media influencer, provided her take on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected healthcare and her own patients, especially as her practice is in the greater New York City area. Topics include: What’s changed over time, what we’re learning, kids and school decisions, and how to use social media for coping, staying informed, and developing life-changing relationships. While she knows how to speak truth to power, Dr. Linda is also a person who acts in terms of principles of kindness and inclusivity.  With over 104K followers on Twitter, @DrLindaMD, she is still looking out for those who need help and guidance, whether it’s medical students, the homeless, and even an aspiring author/podcast host.  She's concise with a great heart and the episode has lots of her good advice. And, you'll probably want Dr. Linda to be your family physician.  :)

Episodes 6: Arghavan Salles is a surgeon and researcher at Stanford who has the rare distinction of being a part of the direct treatment teams in two COVID epicenters – New York City and then Arizona. You may have seen her on national news including The Today Show as she documented and shared some of her journey. Diane Wilson wanted to hear and share more of the personal story and what has happened since: What is Dr. Salles' life like now and what was it like being a part of these teams? What do we know about COVID now that we didn’t know before, how likely is it we’ll have a vaccine soon? As a dedicated yogi, how has yoga figured in her life during this? Dr. Salles had just returned from Arizona when they spoke. What does she do to stay healthy in these hazardous situations? And now? What does COVID mean for her own employment? We see doctors as indispensable but so many organizations are affected by changes since COVID. Dr. Salles is a national leader in diversity, inclusion, and equity, having earned a PhD studying these topics at Stanford University. Dr. Salles is also a surgeon and has extensive lived experience as a woman of color working in a male-dominated environment. Dr. Salles completed medical school and residency in general surgery at Stanford prior to completing a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. After staying on faculty in St. Louis for a few years, Dr. Salles moved back to Stanford in 2019 to work with the medical school on issues related to diversity and inclusion. Her research focuses broadly on gender equity, implicit bias, diversity, inclusion, and physician well-being. She is a sought-after speaker and has given over 50 national and international invited talks related to gender equity and sexual harassment in medicine. Dr. Salles is a prolific researcher and writer, having had her work published in prominent medical journals such as JAMA Network Open and JAMA Surgery. She also writes for broad audiences through outlets such as USA Today, TIME Magazine, and Scientific American. She is passionate about helping women and under-represented minorities achieve their full potential at work.

Episode 5: An accomplished musical artist, 55 years old with finally the dream job of her musical career a member of the prestigious core chorus of the Lyric Opera Chicago. After months of preparation, in the last stages of embarking on one the most demanding operatic challenges, Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, the pandemic closed the Lyric’s season as well as the city of Chicago.    It was running a marathon that suddenly stopped without having a chance to view the finish line: How does an artist, mother of a feisty tweener, and wife cope with the disappointment, full-time togetherness, homeschooling, and recrafting her career especially since singing, her life, is one of the most potent activities for spreading the virus?    Related questions: What will art and music like in a Zoom world? How can music save us? How will this inspiring, often entertaining, and funny woman, go forward with her vision to create a new way of making and sharing music during a global pandemic? Michelle's biography and contact information on https://www.geniuspodcast.us/post/michelle-wrighte

Episode 4: Dr. Syed T. Hoda is Director of Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology at New York University (NYU) and Director of Surgical Pathology at the NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital. Since the pandemic began, he has played a role in implementing a program called Family Connect to ease the burden of ICU care during the heart of New York City’s epicenter, leading a team of pathologists and medical students. This role was an entirely novel role for Pathologists and served as a building block for larger changes he would like to see in his own profession.    Dr. Hoda's recurrent mantra for other physicians (or any professionals) is "Person 1st, Physician 2nd, Specialist 3rd" as a reminder that the common denominator for any professional is being a person 1st.    On October 5, 2020, he will be featured on the People of Pathology Podcast. He was recently named to his 2nd straight Pathology Power List award for 2020 as well as featured on SiriusXM Doctor Radio as part of their episode on COVID Heroes.  

Episode 3: Ann Latinovich, an internationally-recognized portrait artist, wife, and boymom to three teenagers, opened the studio of her dreams on Chicago’s Northshore in the fall of 2019. It was a special event with harps playing, delicious appetizers, a room filled with friends, clients, and beautiful art. Just a few months later, it became all too clear that any meetings in-person and even keeping her new studio were no longer possibilities.  Having lived with Lupus most of her life, Latinovich knew the potential for getting COVID was too risky.  The pandemic plays no favorites with dreams. Questions during our podcast: How did she find meaning in the devastation of her career goals, craft, and how she makes a living? How does anyone create a new life after such a loss?  Ann is an inspiring human, filled with grace and optimism as she has taken on this challenge.  She discusses finding a way to ride the emotional roller coaster, lessons she's learning, habits she's developing to rewire her brain, new rituals now serving her and her family, and why she hates the term "career pivot." 

Episode 2: Dr. Sayed Tabatabai is a nephrologist in San Antonio with the soul of a writer who finds purpose in sharing stories that mirror his experiences. In our podcast, he explores the rollercoaster of emotions including grief, wonder, and connection, and the sacred space of being a physician with his patients.  The “@TheRealDoctorT” as he is known on Twitter, helps us find the beauty and calling of this strange moment in time through sharing his stories on Twitter.  His notoriety and following have increased geometrically as he helps us see and feel more deeply the love in these most challenging moments. He is a physician who blossomed as an artist and writer during these darkest times. He helps people heal and feel less afraid not just in the hospital but also on social media and an increasingly wide platform including the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.  This episode is part of the Fall series called "Voices in a Pandemic." It's from Genius Podcast Us sponsored by Grimard Wilson Consulting, Inc. a neuroscience-oriented peak performance coaching and consulting firm -- Diane Wilson, LCPC, BCN. www.grimardwilson.com  Find more information at www.GeniUsPodcast.Us Fall series which is being released every Thursday ending October 22, 2020.  Thank you for sharing this special project! Thanks to our guests: Dr. Dacre Knight, Dr. Sayed Tabatabai, Ann Latinovich, Dr. Syed Hoda, Michelle Wrighte, and Dr. Arghavan Salles and Host, Diane Wilson.  Video production, editing, and web design: Dan Schiffmacher. Project organization and development: Cameron Wyant and Gary Wilson Also thanks for this input: Toby Dorr (strategy), Lisa Files (visual), Sherry Frey (concept), and Katherine Foran (public relations).

Episode 1: Meeting Dr. Dacre Knight on social media was a catalyst for the podcast series "Voices in a Pandemic." My hope was if more people could meet him and people like him and hear the human stories, we would all be more connected during this extraordinary time.   COVID doctor, scientist, and father of three kids under seven, what's his life like? Some other questions for him:  -Will he send his own kids to school in Florida where they live?  - What can we learn from the pandemic so far? -What sustains him? How does he cope with the stress?  -Why would doctors now have to be concerned about pay cuts and losing their jobs?  This episode has been published and can be heard everywhere your podcast is available. I believe there are real heroic people with values, integrity, and brilliance who live among us. They are not just in the movies. They see bigger pictures of life than many of us. Dr. Knight feels like one of them. 

The best of science, neuroscience, health, learning and human stories. Diane Wilson, LCPC, BCN, applied neuroscientist and coach shares her intense curiosity by interviewing some of her favorite people from all walks in life. Each episode will have conversations that will help you feel connected, embrace your fears, be present, and help cultivate and share your own genius within. Join us!

Writing to Find Ourselves & Each Other She helped with my first book and then we lost touch. She thought we were no longer friends since when she did see me, I seemed distant and disengaged. Years later, she read a draft of my new manuscript and realized what happened. Such began a journey of writing that revealed both secrets and truths and birthed a book called Brain Dance. So often we can make assumptions about what people are feeling or thinking but our assumptions may be wrong. This is especially true when that person has gone through a life-altering experience like brain trauma, an invisible injury. This is an episode about friendship, invisible injury, assumptions, art, creating, co-creating, and meeting life on life's terms. This conversation is the first in a two-part interview for the Genius Podcast series.  This one focuses on: What does it take to be truly helpful to another’s creative process? How do we help another dig into her own story and find the courage, structure, and words to tell it? Who gets to do this work of being a book editor or even midwife? And, who decides? What does it mean to help another writer when your own life is consumed by the unthinkable? How do we accept the gift of a brilliant friend's expertise given freely? Katherine Foran, aka Kay, is a rather extraordinary person. She was a key midwife of Brain Dance, especially in its early stages. During that same time, she was also involved in advocating for treatment and caring for her soulmate and husband for many years. He suffered from a rare form of cancer and died just at the start of the pandemic in February 2020. Kay is currently an editor at the University of Missouri.  A former journalist who worked in Tulsa, Kansas City, and New York City newsrooms, she moved to the more predictable schedule of the “other side” when her children were young. Since then, she has served in public relations and communication roles for public organizations and nonprofits in the Chicago area and Detroit before moving to Missouri in 2015. She and her spouse Mark Hinojosa were married for 32 years; he lived seven and a half years fighting multiple myeloma. A beloved professor in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, he taught until just days before his death. They have three grown children whom they raised in Oak Park, Illinois. That’s where Kay first encountered me, her across-the-street neighbor and what she has called "the gifts of our warm friendship — and always actionable and inspiring writing." I am so grateful for our friendship and all her gifts. I am excited about the next steps in her own life. Be sure to also tune in for the second of this two-part series, it will focus on life grieving during the pandemic. Find her on LinkedIn.

Join us for a return of the "Genius Podcast: Sciencing Your Human Potential" with a special interview between host Dove (Diane) Wilson and forensic pathologist, professor and leader Nicole Jackson, MD. This conversation will uniquely benefit a wide range of people -- developing leaders, minorities, people suffering career surprises, those struggling with sleep, social media users, medical students, residents, and adults in general. Learn about the life of a determined, talented young woman who had lost a parent as child, developed some fascinating sleep patterns -- some she is still making sense of -- and has pivoted to make contributions that truly matter.

It can happen to anyone. We can plan our lives so carefully some times and then the unthinkable happens. A teaser from an upcoming episode of "The Genius Podcast: Sciencing Our Human Potential." Join us! Dr. Jackson will be a featured guest in Episode 17 Called "Death, Life, Sleep and Dreams" to be released on Tuesday, May 14 on Youtube.com Spotify and all major podcast platforms. Interviewed by coach Dove Wilson of Great Sleep and Other Superpowers at www.Grimardwilson.com and www.greatsleep.life

First, his friend asked him how relaxed he was.  “Very relaxed.” Famous words, now, in retrospect.    A classmate in graduate school asked Richard Soutar if he’d like to try out some new equipment he came across that could read his brain waves. Up for trying new things, Richard let him put the sensors on his scalp. The data revealed he was anything but relaxed. Well, he did have 3 young kids and a wife on a graduate student’s budget and was trying to finish his dissertation.  Okay, this made sense.  After a session to train his brain waves to reduce his overall anxiety, he experienced a life-changing shift. Thus began the career passion of applied neuroscientist, Dr. Richard Soutar. He is now considered a pioneer in the field of neurofeedback and inventor/producer of some of the leading software and hardware. Join us to learn about Dr. Soutar’s life and work and why giving up his clinical work in the last few years is helping him fulfill his passion even more. Biography: A pioneer in the field of neurofeedback, Dr. Richard Soutar has published Five books on the topic of neurofeedback as well as a number of invited chapters and research papers and conducted workshops at conferences and clinics in the U.S and Europe. As a former professor of psychology and sociology, he has taught at both the undergraduate and the graduate level as well as being a clinician, director, and business administrator of various clinics around the country. He developed the first internet training course for neurofeedback certified by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) and has been a BCIA mentor for over 15 years.  He has served as Secretary and President of the Neurofeedback Division of the Association of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). He is Director of Research and Development for New Mind Technologies where he is developing equipment, brain mapping databases, and assessment instruments and software programs for neurofeedback clinicians. New Mind Database System www.newmindmaps.com New Mind Academy www.newmindacademy.com New Mind Youtube https://youtu.be/QN0Fqhz-1Jg

This is from an article for tomorrow on Valentines' Day. Many people struggle with it and I've got some ideas to help. This is also an audio clip from my production manager and me to see if I am the right person to narrate "Brain Dance." Would you like to listen to this person read a book to you? Please let us know. <3