Stephen joins us from his home in the Los Angeles area. Stephen is the founder of The Identity Development Institute and an acclaimed Hollywood Director, and a published poet.

He is a father of 3 children, two of whom are Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who are artists in their own right. He grew up with parents (and grandparents) who suffered trauma and addiction. His father, as a young American soldier during World War II, lived the reality of opening and freeing concentration camps in Germany. He also grew up in a Christian cult-like community in Pennsylvania and when he reached college age he saw doors and pathways open ahead of him that he otherwise wouldn’t have seen. And one of those paths was film directing. And he never looked back. Kind of. He also went back to school to do a Masters in Therapy. And boy do we discuss some themes that are important to Stephen.

We talk about being “sane” in an insane world, the “engine in me”, lack of connection, the love of art, the curiosity in death – and being drawn to skid row. “Art is there to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfort”. Bam!