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This week we talk to Russ Harris
Russ Harris is a medical practitioner, psychotherapist, and leading expert in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). His books include ACT with Love, ACT Made Simple, The Confidence Gap, and The Happiness Trap, which has now been translated into twenty-two languages. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, and travels internationally to train mental health professionals in the ACT approach.
In This Interview, Russ Harris and I Discuss…
- The Wolf Parable
- The principle of connection in ACT
- Practicing attention in the shower
- The exercise of “notice 5 things”
- How to notice the person you come home to in a new way
- The physical practices of yoga and tai chi
- The observing self vs the thinking self
- The scientific study of spirituality
- Living a spiritual life even if it’s not a religious life
- Values = desired qualities of action
- The difference between goals and values
- Examples of how you can live your values on your way to your goals
- Committed Action
- Examining your life to identify areas where your behavior is not reflecting your values
- The basic ACT formula of “Be Present, Open Up, Do What Matters”
Russ Harris Links
A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other.
One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear.
The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”
The grandfather quietly replies, the one you feedThe Tale of Two Wolves is often attributed to the Cherokee indians but there seems to be no real proof of this. It has also been attributed to evangelical preacher Billy Graham and Irish Playwright George Bernard Shaw. It appears no one knows for sure but this does not diminish the power of the parable.
This parable goes by many names including:
The Tale of Two Wolves
The Parable of the Two Wolves
Two Wolves
Which Wolf Do You Feed
Which Wolf are You Feeding
Which Wolf Will You Feed
It also often features different animals, mainly two dogs.
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