Dr. Bruce Hoffman did not choose the Medical Arts as a vocation. Originally, he wanted to be a writer and poet. His interest in health and healing developed later in life, after a long and winding road of self-discovery, life experience, and learning. He only applied to medical school, so he could complete a residency in psychiatry and subsequently study Jungian analysis to understand the human condition and behavior. As life would have it, his destiny took him on a different journey. He never did formally pursue a psychiatry residency or Jungian Analytic Training, but his love for art, poetry, and psychology remain.
Dr. Hoffman was born and educated in South Africa and obtained his medical degree from the University of Cape Town. After two years of compulsory military training, his distaste for the local regime convinced him to emigrate to Canada in 1986 where he pursued family medical practice in rural Saskatchewan, Canada.
Once ensconced in the practice of family medicine, he quickly realized that his interests in medicine were broader than just drugs and surgery. The allopathic medical practice was limited to treating symptoms and illnesses but failed short in restoring the patient’s health entirely.
Bruce embarked on a journey to understand what constitutes the human experience, what are the triggers and mediators that perpetuate human suffering. He wanted to assist his patients not only to be free of disease but to realize their maximum potential.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Dr. Hoffman’s early interest in poetry and writing
- Exposure to alternative lifestyles
- Exploration of oneness
- Properly diagnosing patients
- The pitfalls of having a purely allopathic approach to treating patients
- The “7-levels” diagnosis
- The failures of Western medicine
- Non-duality
- Reframing negative events in life to reexamine them as positive experiences
- Unconsciously placing ourselves in a type of purgatory
- Practicing the “medical arts”
- Remaining intuitive throughout one’s entire life
- Creating a new curriculum for “healers”
- Beauty, truth, and meaning
Jesse Damiani is a writer, curator, and cultural producer living in Los Angeles, CA. He covers art, media, and technology on Forbes, and serves as . Other writing appears in Billboard, Entrepreneur, Quartz, The Verge, and WIRED. He has consulted with Google, Oculus, and the Sundance Institute, and served as a mentor in the YouTube VR Creator Lab. He is also Founder and Series Editor of Best American Experimental Writing. He was the Curator/Producer for the XR art exhibition, Spatial Reality, at sp[a]ce gallery; Co-Curator of Virtual Futures with LACMA for LA Art Show; and Co-Curator of SIM-CINEMA with FLOAT and Wevr. He is Curatorial Advisor for CURRENTS New Media and founded the AWE Arts Initiative, where he curated and produced the Immersive Arts Symposium. He also curates The Tech Zone at DesignerCon and XR For Change, the XR summit at Games For Change.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- NFTs and the blockchain
- The future of NFTs
- Artists managing the sale of their work
- VR exhibitions powered by NFTs and blockchains
- Unlocking the potential of NFTs
- The ecological impact of NFT transactions
- How an artist can use NFTs to sell their artwork
- Jesse’s entry point into emerging technologies
- Human and A.I. collaborations
- Translating high-level concepts into tangible and practical applications
- Simulation Theory
- Poetry as it relates to emerging tech
Nolwen is a first-generation Colombian-French photographer and director, working in Los Angeles. As a mixed-race queer woman, her identity plays an active role in the type of narratives she is drawn to.
Her interests lie in shifting social consciousness, breaking down gender norms, and representation. Exploring portraiture within the landscape of American culture, Nolwen’s photographs deal with vulnerability and gaze between both subject and viewer.
She has photographed a multitude of prolific figures and her client list includes The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Netflix, Dove, amongst others.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Nolwen’s career journey
- Multihyphanate artistry
- Importance of broadening your artistic toolbox
- Financial management for artists
- Cryptocurrency
- Addiction
- Nolwen’s spiritual experience before sobriety
- Breaking free from trauma
- Focusing on the present moment
- Life being a puzzle
- Feeling connected to a greater calling
- Being intentional within your fearlessness
- Keeping the process in mind rather than the outcome
- Leading with honesty
- Validation
- Sexuality
- Having a career within the arts