Ep. 34: Psychotherapist, Grief Educator, Nature Photographer, and Writer, Mitch Davidowitz

In my conversation with psychotherapist and grief educator Mitch Davidowitz about his life, he shares a number of examples of fortuitous experiences that, for him, proved to be catalysts for personal transformation. They each were pivotal to his becoming the person he was to become, many aspects of which were completely unplanned.

For me, it brings up a lot of questions. Are we being nudged by life to move in a particular direction? Is who we ultimately become inevitable? How much say do we have in the matter? How much of who we become is luck vs. happenstance vs. a result of decisions freely made (aka, free will)? How much does our own openness, willingness, stubbornness, or inborn nature play a part in our unfolding?

Check out my discussion with this fascinating and beautiful human being, where we explore some of these questions while covering Mitch’s path toward becoming a therapist, avid student of meditative practices, and inspirational writer, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Mitch Davidowitz Links:
(You can find Mitch's daily postings on any of the following sites):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-davidowitz-m-s-w-m-ed-ed-s-4574983/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitch.davidowitz
Ram Dass Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ramdassgroup/

About Your Host, Eric Teplitz:
Website: http://ericteplitz.com/
Schedule a FREE coaching consultation: http://ericteplitz.com/work-with-me/
Access a FREE preview of Eric's online course "Opening to Greater Possibilities": https://ericteplitz.thinkific.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening Clip
• 1:05 The Person You Want to Be intro
• 1:45 Introducing Mitch Davidowitz
• 3:56 "Every drop matters"
• 8:57 A curious, sensitive, and playful kid
• 11:45 A profound change with a move to Florida
• 14:05 Leo Buscaglia
• 15:37 More impactful than a bachelor's degree in psychology
• 19:35 Further explorations of meditation
• 21:28 Joseph, Jack, and Sharon
• 26:18 Ram Dass
• 27:56 Fate or happenstance?
• 30:02 California
• 31:30 Grad school and grief work
• 37:18 Supervision
• 41:17 How to be with people who are grieving
• 47:54 Does life coax us toward particular paths?
• 55:30 LinkedIn
• 58:55 Tuning in to callings
• 1:01:44 Suffering as a calling
• 1:06:16 Grief responses as a function of culture
• 1:12:58 Allowing
• 1:16:24 A second master's degree
• 1:19:01 Mitch's ideal curriculum for the training of therapists
• 1:22:36 On mattering
• 1:30:47 Mitch's daily writing and posting process
• 1:35:46 The most difficult aspect of being human
• 1:45:50 Another Mitch excerpt
• 1:47:05 Last question