The Kitchen Table purpose is to share with you an engaging dialogue that we hope will reveal the dynamic world of cognitive science and it’s role it plays in performance. For over four decade your co-host Ron Medved and Gregg Cochlan have work with hundreds of organizations to apply cognitive psychology, science and practices to ignite human and organizational performance.
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July 6, 202615 min
# 124 Charmed Information: Opening the Door to Mystical Synchronicity
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentIn our previous episode, Podcast 123, we explored how information becomes knowledge and how knowledge contributes to wisdom. What began with Ron sharing the story of Calli consulting both a traditional counsellor and a nontraditional psychic quickly became something none of us expected.As often happens around our Kitchen Table, the conversation moved below the surface. In reflecting on Ron's story, Dave and Ron discovered that Ron's late mother and Dave's late father shared the exact same birthday—same day, same month, and same year. What started as ordinary information unexpectedly became charmed information—information that opened the door to deeper meaning, insight, and ultimately action, as Ron and Dave decided to celebrate what would have been their parents' 100th birthdays.Whether you see it as meaningful coincidence, intuition, or what Carl Jung called synchronicity, the experience reminded us that some information does more than inform us—it invites us to see the world differently. Sometimes, charmed information opens the door to wisdom in ways we never anticipated.
June 19, 202641 min
#123 Synchronicity: Weird, Wonderful, and Wisdom Worth Exploring-
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentSynchronicity is a term coined by Carl Jung to describe a meaningful coincidence—an event where two or more things seem connected in a way that feels significant, even though there is no obvious cause-and-effect relationship between them. Non- Traditional Sources informing Knowledge in the service of WisdomIn our previous episode, Podcast 122, we continued building on the Wisdom Formula and the various models and constructs we've developed over the past several years. In particular, we introduced what we've come to call the Knowledge Construct—a framework that explores how knowledge is shaped by both the quality of information we receive and the sources from which it comes. The construct is built around a simple matrix: reliable and unreliable information on one axis, and traditional and non-traditional sources of knowledge on the other.Our friend Ron Medved was away while much of this work was unfolding, so part of today's conversation is spent bringing him up to speed. In the process, Ron generously shares a personal story that touches on many of the concepts we've been exploring. What emerged was a fascinating discussion about synchronicity, unexpected connections between Ron and Dave's families, and questions that led us into conversations about collective consciousness and the noosphere. We know this territory may feel a little unconventional—or even a bit weird—but it provided a rich opportunity to explore the role that non-traditional sources of knowledge can play in our understanding of wisdom.We hope you enjoy the conversation and that it helps you discover new ways to apply the learnings of The Wisdom Project in your own life.
April 6, 202658 min
#122 Knowledge in the Service of Wisdom
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentOne of the key insights emerging from the Wisdom Project is that wisdom is not the same as accumulating information. When people think of a wise person, they often imagine someone who knows a great deal, and knowledge is certainly part of wisdom. But our exploration suggests that knowledge is only one component, and it is always incomplete.We are rarely, if ever, able to know with total certainty what is really going on. Because of that, wisdom is not about having perfect knowledge. It is about doing our best to gather, assess, and apply information in a way that leads to a response that creates benefit.In the Wisdom Project, knowledge is best understood as being in the service of a wise response. We gather information from diverse sources, weigh it carefully, interpret it through our own experience, and filter it through the maturity construct. The goal is not simply to know more, but to respond more wisely.Two Broad Categories of InformationOur discussion suggests that information generally comes from two broad kinds of sources: traditional and non-traditional.Traditional sources include science, research, education, journalism, and other forms of observable or repeatable evidence.Non-traditional sources include intuition, spiritual insight, collective consciousness, and felt knowing.Both can influence how people come to understand the world, but both require discernment.Information Quality Also MattersNot all information is equally trustworthy. Some information is reliable — evidence-based, consistent, verifiable, and coherent. Other information is unreliable — biased, incomplete, emotionally distorted, or shaped by misinformation and disinformation.This means wisdom is not just about finding information. It is about evaluating the source, judging the quality, and using that knowledge in ways that are thoughtful, grounded, and beneficial This means the challenge is not just to collect information, but to discern the kind of information we are receiving, evaluate its quality, and determine how it should be used.
March 16, 202659 min
#121 -Lesson Learned Through Suffering
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentToday’s conversation is a tender one.Ron is going to generously share his experience of losing his 94-year-old mother-in-law. Loss like that carries real grief. Real weight. Real suffering.What stands out in this story isn’t an attempt to avoid the pain — it’s the way Ron gently creates space inside it. A pause between the shock of loss and the way he chooses to respond. Not denying the grief. Not rushing past it. But walking through it thoughtfully — and helping Kelly do the same.We’ve talked before about how suffering can be triggered in many ways — uncertainty, fear, change. But sometimes the stimulus is simply love and loss. And in those moments, the question becomes: how do we respond?Today we explore that space — the quiet pause where suffering is real, but wisdom can still guide the response
March 3, 202626 min
#120 “Uncertainty in Mexico: Choosing Response Over Reaction
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentOn February 22, while we were in Mexico at our place in La Penita my son-in-law Josh and I were having breakfast at a local restaurant when social media began reporting violence in our region following the killing of a major cartel leader in Jalisco. In a matter of minutes, uncertainty entered the room. The headlines were dramatic. The proximity felt real. And like any powerful stimulus, it had the potential to escalate quickly inside us.What became clear in that moment was this: the Wisdom Project isn’t theoretical — it’s practical. We created a pause between stimulus and response. We noticed the movement along the Experience Slider — from cognitive fact-finding to emotional reaction. And we located ourselves on the Concern Continuum, aware of how easily healthy concern can drift toward worry or anxiety when uncertainty goes unmanaged.This episode isn’t about cartel politics. It’s about what happens inside us when uncertainty feels close to home — and how having the tools of pause, awareness, and calibration allows us to regulate our response, minimize anxiety, and reduce unnecessary suffering in real time.
March 3, 202627 min
#119 Sliding Toward Wisdom
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentIn today’s episode, we introduce what we’re calling the experience slider. Every experience is a stimulus. From there, our response tends to slide in one of two directions — toward cognitive reaction (thinking, analyzing, interpreting) or toward emotional reaction (feeling, sensing, reacting from the heart or gut). Neither side is wrong, but where we land shapes what happens next.Layered onto that is what we call the concern continuum — a mental-state progression that helps us understand how our internal reaction can escalate.Concern is the healthy starting point. It’s awareness with proportion. Something matters, and we’re attentive, but we remain steady and capable of thoughtful response.Worry emerges when concern loops. The mind revisits the issue repeatedly, often imagining outcomes. Worry narrows our focus and can begin to crowd out perspective.Anxiety is worry amplified. The body joins the mind. There is tension, urgency, a felt sense of threat or loss of control. The emotional slider has moved further to the right.Panic is the far end of the continuum — when regulation drops significantly and the nervous system overrides reflection. Thinking becomes difficult, and reaction dominates.In this conversation, we explore how the experience slider and the concern continuum interact — and how the intentional pause between stimulus and response allows us to notice where we are, regain balance, and slide back toward wisdom
January 21, 202652 min
#118 Suffering Through the Wisdom Loop
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentIn this episode, we’re taking a pause—a moment to check in, reflect, and go a little deeper into the questions that have surfaced during our exploration of uncertainty, anxiety, and suffering in Wisdom Study 2.0.But this time, the spotlight gently shifts to the circular nature of wisdom itself. Dave brings forward a few powerful questions about how wisdom doesn’t just move us forward—it often invites us back, full circle, to reflect on how we’ve changed and what we now see with clearer eyes.At the heart of this episode is Ron Medved—our friend, guide, and longtime companion in this work—whose personal practice of consciously engaging with the Creator or Source has shaped how he navigates the afternoon of life. Now in his 80s, Ron shares how his responses to life’s challenges have evolved from the striving of his 40s into something calmer, deeper, and—dare we say—wiser.His story is not just inspiring—it’s instructive. It shows what it means to live the wisdom formula, not just talk about it.So whether you’re new to this conversation or have been with us since the beginning, we invite you to listen in, reflect, and consider how your own relationship with uncertainty, anxiety, and wisdom has shifted over time.
January 2, 20261 hr 3 min
#117 Suffering a Pathway to Wisdom
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentAs we head into our 10th season, we’re continually humbled by how far this conversation has traveled. We’ve had listeners tuning in from more than 120 countries around the world, and that global community means a great deal to us. From time to time, we’ve invited feedback, comments, questions, and curiosities—and we want you to know that invitation is always open. If you’re willing, we’d love for you to click on the comments and share a thought or a wonder. We’ll keep everything private, and we promise we won’t respond directly. Your reflections simply help shape the ongoing conversationIn this podcast, we continue our ongoing exploration of the relationship between uncertainty, anxiety, and suffering, turning our attention more deliberately toward suffering itself—how it arises, how we interpret it, and how it can become a catalyst for wisdom rather than a source of ongoing distress.We begin by revisiting the anxiety continuum, moving from concern to worry, anxiety, and ultimately panic. Using several real-life stories, we examine how suffering shows up differently at each point along this continuum—not only as an emotional experience, but as a story we tell ourselves about what is happening and what it means.In this episode, suffering becomes the central focus. Rather than treating suffering as something to eliminate or avoid, we explore how different wisdom traditions understand suffering as an inevitable part of the human condition—and, when approached wisely, a profound teacher.To ground this exploration, we draw insight from five influential wisdom voices and traditions, including the Buddha, the Stoics, and depth psychologist Carl Jung. Each offers a unique perspective on how humans relate to pain, uncertainty, and meaning.A key part of the conversation centers on Jung’s description of the stages of life—particularly his distinction between the morning, noon, and afternoon of life. We explore how much of our early life is driven by achievement, control, and certainty, and how the “noon” of life often brings heightened anxiety when those strategies stop working. Jung’s afternoon of life, however, invites a different posture: one marked by integration, acceptance, and a deeper capacity to hold suffering without being defined by itEpisode 117 invites listeners not to bypass suffering, but to slow down, examine the stories they are telling, and consider how suffering—held with awareness and compassion—may be shaping them toward greater wisdom.
December 18, 202525 min
#116 An Anxiety “Work out” in the Dojo”
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentIn this podcast Gregg, Ron, and Dave continue their exploration of the relationship between uncertainty, anxiety, and suffering — but this time through the lens of practice. Drawing on the idea of a wisdom dojo, they look at how anxiety isn’t just something to understand, but something to train with. Just like a martial artist builds strength and skill through repeated drills, we can build a stronger pause — that space between stimulus and response — by doing small, deliberate “workouts” that help us recognize uncertainty, soften anxiety, and reduce suffering before it hijacks our judgment. This episode invites listeners into the dojo with us: to reflect, to practice, and to develop the inner strength required for wiser decisions in everyday life
December 6, 202522 min
Podcast #115 Ok, Now it Gets Challenging
We’d love to hear from you please leave a commentOver the last several podcasts, we’ve been deepening our work on what we’re calling Wisdom Study 2.0, an extension of our Wisdom Project. The driving question behind this phase of our study has been simple, but profound: how can we apply wisdom in ways that actually mitigate the psychological and emotional impacts of uncertainty—especially the anxiety that so often leads to personal and collective suffering?In our last episode, we shared a couple of stories—from illness to travel to politics—that illustrated just how disorienting uncertainty can be, and how easily it can pull us into anxiety or reactive judgment.Today, we want to build on that. We’re going to explore the significant challenge uncertainty presents in our daily lives—how it shapes our decisions, how it influences our well-being, and how it affects the people we care about. And, as always, we’ll be asking the practical question: What can we do about it?
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