The word “psychology” hides something in plain sight. It comes from “psyche”—the Greek word for soul. But somewhere along the way, we took the soul out of psychology. We’ve handed our well-being over to the brain, the hormones, the chemistry—and this leaves out our deeper quest of who we really are. Integrative psychiatrist and UCLA neuroscientist Dr. Helen Lavretsky invites us to rediscover the soul at the heart of psychology. Raised in a family of Moscow scientists, Lavretsky redirected her studies and life work when she had a spontaneous Kundalini Yoga awakening at forty-five. She now teaches a soul listening meditation that guides people into direct conversation with their own soul. She claims that this meditation is so moving that nearly ninety-five percent of participants weep when their soul offers them a hug. In this dialogue Lavretsky, explores ego, soul, spirit, heart-brain coherence, grounding practices like walking barefoot on sand; EFT and EMDR for releasing trauma; and cultivating intuition through stillness. She also weighs AI’s promise and peril for mental health and why nature, beauty, and creative expression remain the soul’s clearest languages, offering tools to become conscious creators of our own reality.
