Dr. Habib Sadeghi: Trusting Deeper
6 years ago by
I can’t remember how I found Within, the first book that got me to Dr. Sadeghi, but I know that the other day I was starting a list of the books that changed my life, and his made the list.
What first touched me with Dr. Sadeghi is the gentleness of his approach. Within was about weight loss, but it brought me so much more that I feel like I should re-read it regularly, going deeper each time. I feel like the impact of his new book, goes even deeper.
The Clarity Cleanse just came out and it’s already on every best seller list. Sure, Dr. Sadeghi’s celebrity patient lists doesn’t hurt. I won’t name drop, but trust me on that one. But I think what he touches is deeper than that. It’s a way of questioning self-care, healing, and ultimately, happiness.
[podcast_episode episode=”263786″ ]
On being diagnosed with cancer…
During my 2nd year of medical school, I got testicular cancer. They were pushing me to have a surgical procedure that would cut my gut open from my pubic bone to my breast bone. It’s a 16 hour surgery. Take out my entire gut, lymph nodes, radiation and at least four cycles of chemotherapy. I was given a 30% chance of survival.
On his approach to dealing with his cancer…
I had a minimal operation and my brother was my physician and then we decided to do nothing. I started traveling, backpacked through Mexico, India, went to Europe. I started learning about different modalities I’d never heard of. It’s part of my story. I started on this journey and I became a Marco Polo.
On dedicating The Clarity Cleanse to his brother…
The Clarity Cleanse is really a dedication to the transitioning of my brother. And honoring him and his line of energy his legacy. My brother was struggling with some medical challenges. He was the most brilliant human being I’ve ever met. He was in his 30s when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and I really felt like I could have helped more or saved him. He was in a lot of pain and chose to consciously take his own life.
On being a jack of all trades….
I started my path to be a neuro-ophthalmologist. Most of my publications, the bulk of it, was in ophthalmology, eyes, the study of the nerves of the eyes. There came a point, though, that I really wanted to contribute and become a family doctor where I am the jack-of-all-trades, master of none!
On being grateful…
If you ask someone to sit down and write down what they’re grateful for, doing that shifts the metabolism and the blood flow to one of the deepest places of the brain. You don’t need a pill, you’re not at the mercy of anybody, you don’t need to stand on your head and do kundalini exercises.
On who The Clarity Cleanse is for…
This is a manual for being a human being. We don’t need to wait until disease comes. We don’t need to wait for disease to show up. It’s cleaning the guest house. This book, it’s not an easy read, it really triggers people.
On the books that have changed his life…
Rumi. Any book by Rumi. Evolution of Consciousness: The Origins of the Way We Think by Orenstein. The third one, is the tough one. Love: What Life is All About by Buscaglia. These are the top three.
On masculinity and femininity…
Our society has forgotten the sacredness of the feminine. We have turned into a society of doing. For me, masculinity has nothing to do with a phenotypic genital expression. Masculinity is about doing. Femininity is about being open, letting go, and allowing.
On pre-determinism…
I really believe in pre-determinism. I really believe that we have an entelechy. Aristotle came up with this and I talk about it in the book. Entelechy is the journey of the acorn becoming the oak tree. The acorn doesn’t need to do yoga or eat a certain way. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with yoga or eating a certain way; I’m an advocate. But I’m saying there’s an inherent wisdom we all have, just like an acorn. We are becoming.
The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
“The Guest House” by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
Sufism
“For Grief” by John O’Donohue
Special thanks to Dr. Habib Sadeghi and his team for letting us record at his facility, Be Hive of Healing, in Agoura Hills, CA. Be sure to check out his latest book, The Clarity Cleanse and his charity, The Love Button, which he founded with his wife.
Editor’s note: Dr. Sadeghi inaccurately remarks that Scott Hamilton is deceased. Scott Hamilton is still alive, having beaten testicular cancer and multiple benign brain tumors.
“Our society has forgotten the sacredness of the feminine. We have turned into a society of doing. For me, masculinity has nothing to do with a phenotypic genital expression. Masculinity is about doing. Femininity is about being open, letting go, and allowing.” So… same old patriarchal crap wrapped up in kinder, gentler new-age terms? Think I’ll pass on this one.
He doesn’t say that men have to be masculine and women feminine. Everyone is a bit of both. He is actually quite precise in the words he uses.
This is tumbling through my mind as I sit here stunned, with bouche bée. Thank you for such a meaningful interview. I must get his book.
Please do Esther Perel one day!
Hi Taste of France!
We recorded an episode with Esther in 2016! You can find it here: http://www.atelierdore.com/photos/mating-in-captivity-ester-perel/
x Emily
Merci Garance de nous faire connaitre cette personne extraordinaire!
Votre conversation avec lui était riche, dense et émouvante. La qualité des personnes qu’on peut trouver aux Etats Unis me surprends toujours. Quel plaisir d’entendre un médecin parler ainsi. J’imagine pas du tout un médecin généraliste de ce style avec un cabinet en France où j’ai le sentiment que notre bien être n’intéresse aucunement le corps médicale. Ceci étant dit, c’est déjà super d’avoir la couverture universelle pour nous soigner, reste à nous même pour s’occuper du reste.
I am currently reading Clarity Cleanse, and I am very calmed by Dr. Sadeghi’s approach and what I am learning. However, listening to this podcast, I am put off by the fact that he says Olympic skater Scott Hamilton died from his testicular cancer. In fact, Scott Hamilton has been fighting cancer for years, but is still living.
I wonder how Dr. Sadeghi could get this important fact wrong.
Thank you, Anne, for bringing this to our attention and I have included an editor’s note to hopefully clarify!
This is a gorgeous interview and balm for my grieving heart. Thank you for introducing me to him and his work.
Moon is a satellite and sun is a star. And masculine and feminine are not about doing vs being. Those things aside this is a really good feel good interview. Loved his recitation of Rumi. I think the fact that we nitpick and criticize itself says how unhappy we can be for others and ourselves. This is one of those interviews that makes you think, and ponder on your life if you will listen. Bravo!
un mix d’enfer: des chaussures de fashionnistas, so great, et a storia of cancer: what a wonderful world miss garance. well done
The books that have changed my life is because at the time I was open to change .Masculine and feminine expressed in such a simplistic way does not speak to my twin spirit of masculinity and femininity.
Jandrew
Dress The Part
http://www.jandrewspeaks.com
I’m sorry to post a critical comment – I really appreciate your site and the care your take in editorial and interviews but in this piece, you discuss his brother’s death and then you immediately/following feature and sell the shoes you are wearing…. It feels and reads wrong – I might suggest you revisit the content breaks and the editorial comment on this story.
It’s really a strange choice indeed to post a photo of fashion shoes immediately after the paragraph when he speaks about his brother death, really unapropriate, but still it does not seem to bother Atelier Doré’s team. I’m sorry Garance but i have to agree that this kind of strange mix marks well the turn-off of this site, where i do find less and less the freshness and good writing of the begining. Of course this is only my personal opinion and many still like this new fashion-“spiritual” content wich seems to reflect your new self. I can only wish you good luck, but be mindful , and don’t forget tact and etics.
Brilliant !!!
Thank you Garance and Dr. Sadeghi, this is definitly the beginning of my remedy. Love
Some of your interviews have had the most inspiring effects on me, but this one felt truly profound. It might be the best one yet. Thank you for this introduction.
Just wanted to let you know that figure skater Scott Hamilton did not die from cancer. He is still living. Dr. Sadeghi mentions that Hamilton died.
Thank you very much for the inspiration.
I cannot help but notice that in a conversation about spirituality, death, illness and rebirth a photo of a pair of shoes is…. Well, it felt out of place somehow.
I was listening to this podcast on the bus, then walked up a long hill through the woods to work with tears in my eyes. This interview touched me deeply. Thanks to you for making it happen!
Much love & bises xxoo
Scott Hamilton didn’t die from cancer- he’s a multi-time survivor!
Yes, you are correct. Dr. Sadeghi misspoke, we have made an editor’s note at the bottom of this post.
Mais je suis mdr, j’ai l’impression de me retrouver sur GOOP… c’est les meme articles, vous parlez des memes choses etc… bref…
Well, well, well…
I definitely don’t want to hurt your/anybody feelings, but for once I have to say something.
I’ve never heard of him before and after reading, listening and searching a bit on him I know why: it is a gentle approach, but a complete non-sense/non-science/total whatever…
I have to agree, you are GOOPing, Garance: good for you if you are happy, but you have a certain influence on your readers, and “promoting” such things can be a dangerous move.
Not to mention the mix between fashion pictures, cancer and advertisements.
I feel I’ve lost a longtime friend, but that’s my problem.
“Masculinity is about doing. Femininity is about being open, letting go, and allowing” REALLY guys ?! This is a shocking quote.
I thought that four decades of academic research had proven gender to be a social construct… my bad.
Totally agree!
Quelle magnifique entrevue et superbe découverte pour moi! J’avais déjà “Within” dans ma pile de livres à lire mais je viens de commander son dernier car le sujet semble vfaike. Discussion fascinante, émouvante, personnelle et universelle. Merci, you just made my day. xx
Quelle magnifique entrevue et superbe découverte pour moi! J’avais déjà “Within” dans ma pile de livres à lire mais je viens de commander son dernier car le sujet semble vraiment intéressant. Discussion fascinante, émouvante, personnelle et universelle. Merci, you just made my day. xx
I’ve been a loyal reader for many years, but I’m afraid I’m finding the in-your-face advertising a major turn off.
When the discussion at hand is, “gentleness, openness, self-care and healing,” do we really need to be prompted to “shop the story?” A little less “buy me now!” messaging will go a long way in preserving your credibility as a storyteller, thoughtful thinker, and friend.
Hi Brigid — thank you for bringing this to our attention. Going forward we are going to be more mindful of this. I completely understand your perspective and appreciate you sharing it with us.
That’s so good, thank you! I agree 100% with the notion that we are becoming, that we do not have to try so hard, that by trying so hard we screw things up most of the times… and I love the definition of masculine and feminine which of course are present in every human being, we all have both sides, and the problem is that we do not have a clue on how to deal with the feminine side, which is letting go, letting things go their way… we are all (me the first) freak controllers, and that ruins the party! Thanks Garance!
I’m confused on what he was saying about auto immune diseases…. what was he saying exactly? I have 2 different types of auto immune so my ears perked up but I have no idea what the message was.
I am not sure I understand this whole being vs.being thing..
Even though your guest is clearly credentialed on his website as a D.O. (Osteopath), he repeatedly refers to his background in the podcast as though his is an M.D. – i.e. “When I was in medical school” , …”in my second year of medical school…”. Medical school instead of Osteopath school. Mix this with his slippery response to Garance’s incisive question about when he realized he was remission from testicular cancer and his blatant ‘mirroring’ and manipulation of Garance’s personal infertility story was cringeworthy. There are many, many health professionals in integrative medicine around the world today that are not tricksters. Hopefully you can interview someone else in this arena soon as a point of comparison.
Garance,
I love you and your podcast. But I found this man to be dangerously ignorant and downright offensive. First of all, to repeatedly refer to the death of Scott Hamilton as the support for his alternative cancer treatments is not only patently false (as this elite athlete is still very much alive) but also dangerous propaganda for those who may be suffering from illness. However I kept listening until he mentioned femininity as “being “ and masculinity as “doing “. What an absolutely disgusting male perspective. I am offended and saddened by hearing this nonsense on such a wonderful podcast. Please do better.
I started to read “Within” a few weeks ago and I was really positively surprised to open my podcast last Monday morning to find this interview, exactly what I was hoping for. As much as I appreciate Dr. Sadeghi`s wisdom and I like the message of the book, the whole list of celebrity “praise list” at the beginning of the book as well as constant mentioning it in the podcast is a slight turn off for me. I don’t mind few celebrity mentions but you can’t find even one “regular” person on that opening list in “Within”. There are so many more inspiring role models… being well known doesn’t always mean being “enlighten”. For me, the subject of the book and the title “within” seems very contradictory with praising and promoting the celebrity culture.
FYI, Scott Hamilton is still alive. He’d likely be very interested to hear that this Dr. is walking around telling people that he died from testicular cancer. I’m not sure that misinformation lends itself to this “Doctor’s” credibility.
What an absolutely powerful and beautiful interview! Dr. Sadeghi radiates so much love and kindness that it literally moved me to tears while listening to the podcast. Thank you for sharing!
I’m a sidebar/circle around the main thought kind of person, because I become interested in offshoots of the conversation. I am guilty of not keeping my train of thought focused. There was a lot of information here. Dr. Sadeghi is clearly bright and learned, and spoke cerebrally in this interview. Maybe nervousness kept him from talking from a more natural, feelings place. It was hard for me to connect with the interview.
Un peu effrayant tout de même… il pourrait être le gourou d une secte, ayant directement reçu son pouvoir de guérir par Dieu lui même qd il s est recueilli à l endroit même où Jesus était…. l intention est bonne et les résultats sur les gens sûrement positifs. Il contraste effectivement avec la médecine traditionnelle américaine où contrairement à la france on n’osculte pas, on n écoute et on regarde tout juste les patients. Je lisais plus haut un commentaire d une française qui disait ne pas avoir ce genre de medecin en France…. si seulement elle pouvait se rendre compte par elle même à quel point elle est privilégiée! Merci tout de même Garance pour cette découverte! Je pense que la lecture du livre sera plus soft que le live ?
Love the podcast! I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Sadeghi’s story. So inspirational and I loved his
approach of 3I+PACT that I’m planning to follow it, starting today!
The poem… OMG.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to learn about Dr. Sadeghi.
Love the podcast and keep up the good work!
Hi Garance-
Great interview and subject! Just wanted to point out that Scott Hamilton is alive and well, and still doing figure skating commentary. Just saw him on TV last night!
Regards,
Natalie
alright i am a month late to give a comment but i ordered the book and read it. it is a nice book about decluttering your brain. i really enjoyed it but I couldn’t get myself to eat so much sardines until i starting eating them that way: in a bowl mix one or two cans of trader joe skinless boneless sardines in oil, 1 good teaspoon of capers, mustard (dijon and ancient grains) and pepper. sometimes i add olives or lemon juice. Its so nice and you will loose weight naturally and get clear mind!
Just listened: beautiful! Sorry, haven’t examined previous comments, but if the mystery of what the wonderful and generously gifted Buddha is made of still exists, maybe share a photo because I know geologists girlfriends who love their rocks! Or if you found out, please share? This was so lovely, and the doctor is correct: Garance, thank you for creating the space! (And the atelier team: you’re the coolest)
Thank you Garance for sharing this inspiring podcast! It helps me a lot and brings me to rethink my approach with my chronic disease.
I’m not one to comment, but I love this podcast and the people interviewed for it. I had to turn off immediately when he inaccurately cited Scott Hamilton’s death. That’s a huge oversight for a doctor and author, and I really doubt his credibility after that.