BONUS EPISODE: a guided meditation for working with cravings, and Jud Brewer on Mindshift Recovery | Flourishing After Addiction #42

A new brain-based approach to overcoming problematic behaviors and addictions

As promised, here's a quick follow-up to my conversation with

Jud Brewer MD PhD

. We got so caught up in the core science and models of self-control and anxiety that we completely forgot to talk about what he actually came on to share: his new nonprofit, Mindshift Recovery!

So we hopped back the mic on to cover the details—their courses and group models, of course, but also more about how he puts into practice his core approach to working with habitual, addictive behavior. We also dive a bit more into his model of how awareness (not willpower) creates lasting change. It's fascinating work that's worth knowing about, and perhaps trying, if you're interested in how contemplative approaches can be applied to addiction recovery.

Finally, we close with a bonus meditation: an inquiry into the nature of craving itself.

For a short episode, it's surprisingly rich. The meditation alone is worth the listen.

Check out our conversation here: (here’s the audio directly embedded in Substack…)

And as always, you can also listen to this episode on your favorite podcast player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Jud Brewer, MD, PhD (“Dr. Jud”), is a New York Times best-selling author and a leading authority on habit change and the science of self-mastery. With over 25 years of mindfulness training combined with scientific research, he serves as the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and as a professor at Brown University. Jud has developed innovative mindfulness programs—both in-person and app-based—for smoking cessation, emotional eating, and anxiety. He has trained U.S. Olympic athletes, coaches, and foreign government ministers. His work has been featured on “60 Minutes,” TED, The New York Times, and more. He also co-founded Mindshift Recovery, a nonprofit aiding those suffering from addiction, and College Journey.AI, which helps high school students navigate the stress of college applications. He is the author of The Craving Mind (Yale University Press, 2017), the New York Times bestseller Unwinding Anxiety (Avery/Penguin Random House, 2021), and The Hunger Habit (Avery/Penguin Random House, 2024). For more information, visit www.drjud.com.

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In this episode:

· Mindshift Recovery – Jud’s nonprofit offering accessible, evidence-based tools for habit change and addiction recovery (we’ll discuss this on a future bonus episode!)