A Strong Heart with Compassion with Michael J. Shea Michael J. Shea, PhD, holds a doctorate in somatic psychology from the Union Institute and a master’s degree in Buddhist Psychology from Naropa University. He has taught at the Upledger Institute, the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, and the International University for Professional Studies. He is a craniosacral therapist, licensed massage therapist, and educator with the Shea Educational Group that is a center for the study of the human heart. He is author of Somatic Psychology and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy – Volumes 1 through 5; Myofasical Release Therapy: A Visual Guide to Clinical Application; Myofascial Release Therapy and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy: The Heart of the Practice; The Biodynamics of the Immune System: Balancing the Energies of the Body with the Cosmos; and The Biodynamic Heart: Somatic Compassion Practices for a Clear and Vital Heart. His website is sheaheart.com. Michael details how being in a terrorist bombing resulted in a near-death experience and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that shaped his understanding of the heart’s role in emotional and physical health. He describes how the heart develops from embryonic tissue and is the center of the universe with an infinite capacity to expand in compassion. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:08 Journey to compassion 00:13:03 Removing a gun from the heart 00:18:46 Metabolism and the heart 00:28:12 Craniosacral therapy and the still point 00:34:21 Somatic psychology and spirituality 00:50:52 Infinite capacity to expand 00:57:03 Compassion and Tonglen meditation 01:09:52 Heart as center of the universe 01:15:51 Conclusion New Thinking Allowed CoHost, Emmy Vadnais, OTR/L, is a licensed occupational therapist, intuitive healer and coach, and spiritual guide based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Emmy is the founder of the Intuitive Connections and Holistic OT communities. She is the author of Intuitive Development: How to Trust Your Inner Knowing for Guidance With Relationships, Health, and Spirituality. Her website is https://emmyvadnais.com (Recorded on December 5, 2025) For a short video on How to Get the Most From New Thinking Allowed, go to https://youtu.be/aVbfPFGxv9o Check out our new website for the New Thinking Allowed Foundation at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database as well as our new, FREE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE. Also, opportunities to shop and to support our video productions. There, you can also subscribe to our FREE, WEEKLY NEWSLETTER! For a complete, updated list with links to all of our videos, see https://newthinkingallowed.com/Listings.html. Check out New Thinking Allowed’s AI chatbot. You can create a free account at https://ai.servicespace.org When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews. It’s almost like having a conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove. To buy a high-quality, printed version of the New Thinking Allowed Magazine, go to nta-magazine.magcloud.com. To join the NTA Psi Experience Community on Facebook, see https://www.facebook.com/groups/1953031791426543/. To download and listen to audio versions of the New Thinking Allowed videos, visit our podcast at https://itunes.appl