Description

Michael Ostrolenk has been exploring the relationship between post-conventional living, transformational leadership, optimising health and regenerative paradigms his whole life.

His interest in human growth and personal development began when he was 9 years old and worked with psychotherapist Pat Lawson learning biofeedback, meditation and guided imagery.

The fact that Michael started his journey so young really intrigued me!

So, while we will have him on again as a guest to explore the myriad of ways his expertise can help his clients, today's focus is on the adversity and disability Michael experienced as a child.

"Our mess is so often our message" in that it can break us or make us -– and it can be the catalyst for a lifetime of learning and helping others as in Michael's case.

Here is a summary of Michael's extensive bio:

Master's degree in Transpersonal Counselling Psychology, from John F. Kennedy University
Post-graduate training in somatic psychology from the California Institute for Integral Studies
Certified massage therapist from the McKinnon Institute
Marriage and Family Therapist, he has served patients dealing with mental illness, neurological impairments (Center for Adaptive Learning), chronic & life-threatening diseases and relationship problems. This included working with the Cancer Support Community in San Francisco
Served on the Board of Directors for the Health Medicine Forum, as well as the Project Director for their Health Panel Program – a group of health-care practitioners from all disciplines who were dedicated to the collaborative exploration, practice and advancement of patient-centered integrated medicine
Michael has helped with research exploring the use of various body/mind practices and traditional medicine approaches to cancer, energy medicine for ALS, neurofeedback
Founding member of the Integral Institute
Certified in Spiral Dynamics
A Transpartisan Social entrepreneur, who is a leading expert in the field of transpartisan public policy. He has successfully convened policy initiatives in the areas of transparency, privacy, defence, foreign policy and national security from 2001-2020 including;
Co-founded and served as National Director of the Liberty Coalition, a transpartisan coalition of groups working to protect civil liberties, privacy and transparency 2005-2020
Created and led the transpartisan Medical Privacy Coalition
Served as Senior Political Analyst for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons 2001-2011 and Citizens for Health 2001-2016
In response to unConstitutional wars, Ostrolenk co-founded the American Conservative Defense Alliance in 2008, which promoted a traditionally conservative foreign and defence policy. He was also a fellow at ICIT: Center for Cyber-Influence Operations Studies (CCIOS) in 2018. From 2016-2020 he served as Coalition Coordinator for the National Election Defense Coalition.
Serving as Co-Director and President of Reuniting America, he organised and ran transpartisan leadership retreats from 2006-2008. He was also on the steering Committee for Open the Government 2015-2019.
Has also consulted for Edwatch , Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics , International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Pentagon Budget Campaign and the Arlington Institute
Graduate of SEALFIT's three-week academy and SEALFIT Kokoro camp, and is now a Master Coach and Head Instructor with SEALFIT's Unbeatable Mind Academy.
Master Coach for Spartan 7 Round Table Phalanx Executive Experiential and Leadership Course
The Director of Human Resilience at Apeiron Zoh where he works with medical and psychological staff in creating online and in-person programs seeking to transcend the limits of human performance and health
He has also studied various martial arts including Tae Kwon Do, Japanese Jujitsu, Krav Maga, and Shaolin Kempo. Michael is also certified in MovNat.
Some of his other training in somatic and transpersonal psychology includes:
- Body-Mind Practices – East and West;
- Healing and Heuristic Potential of Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness;
- Sensory Awareness;
- Family Systems: Somatic Movement Approaches I;
- Family Systems: Somatic Movement Approaches II;
- The Body: Experiences and Conceptualized Towards a Practical Phenomenology;
- Altered States of Consciousness;
- Intelligence and Insight Ways of Knowing;
- Body Oriented Psychotherapy- Panic & Depression;
- Body Oriented Psychotherapy- Inner Critic.

… Not bad for someone who struggled with a learning disability!

Talking points:

How his learning disability then led to other mental and emotional challenges like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
The importance of self-advocacy, even as a child
The importance of parental support and listening to the child
How "unconventional" solutions like biofeedback, meditation, and martial arts saved him
The danger of labelling children with diagnoses rather than seeing them as whole people with needs due to underlying concerns
The danger of treating all learning disabilities with a one-size-fits-all approach
How he was originally "diagnosed" with being lazy since he really was brilliant in many areas even though his academic performance was low in others
How there may be underlying issues like an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury (TBI) that are misdiagnosed if recognized at all
That someone diagnosed with a learning disability may actually be neurodivergent and a genius, where they simply think differently.