If there is a single element of human experience that is both most feared and most longed for, it is change. And on both sides, our relationship with it tends to be defined more by struggle than any other experience. Does it have to be this way?

I’m Dr. Dodge Rea. I’m an Integrative Clinical Psychologist, a practitioner of Medical Qigong, and the co-founder of a prominent holistic health center in Nashville. All of this is to say, I’ve helped people work with change on physical, psychological, and spiritual levels for more than 25 years. Here’s the thing, after you’ve been doing this a bit and watching closely, you start to realize something: deep change — every change that really matters — has surprising elements we’re all inclined to overlook.

Welcome to the Change Paradox. This is a podcast devoted to helping all of us unpack the mystery of how change really works.

Whereas innumerable writers and speakers have taught us the values of superior goals and effort, that’s not our focus here. We’re more interested in why willpower alone so often falls short. What are we missing? Why is it that lasting change so often succeeds when it involves the realm of paradox — the “union of opposites”, as Carl Jung put it? And how can we use this wisdom to bring healthy change to our lives?

In illuminating, often personal conversations, we’re going to talk with Change Agents from a broad range of fields as well as laypeople who’ve experienced huge transformation in their own lives. Guests will also bring with them experiential exercises for you to engage with directly, and we’ll have a playful “Afterthoughts” series for subscribers where my producer and lifelong friend, Pete Wright, and I unpack and integrate what we’re learning as we go.

We’re convinced that if we can uncover some deeper principles to the transformation process, we can all get better at it as a planet. Join us! You can subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts. For more, visit https://trustory.fm/thechangeparadox. Thank you!