Harry Pickens’ life mission is to bring joy, lovingkindness, compassion and wisdom wherever he goes.
His most meaningful accomplishment thus far is caring for his aging mother by himself, in his home, as dementia slowly ravaged her mind and body.
Through this eight-and-a-half-year ‘boot camp for the soul’, Harry learned how to persevere, let go of vocation, future, expectations, and old priorities, remember what really matters, give his everything — mind, body, heart, soul — with no hope of personal gain, fully embrace the miracle of the present moment, and navigate heartbreak, grief, gratitude and grace — all at the same time. Since her passing in November 2019, Harry has been rising like the archetypal Phoenix into a new life at the ripe young age of 60.
Currently, Harry integrates multiple careers of musical performance, teaching, and coaching with his lifelong passions of reading, writing, practical psychology, applied neuroscience, and spiritual activism to help ordinary people live extraordinary lives — lives that are radiant with purpose, clarity, compassion, and contribution.
Other things Harry has done include…
Presented workshops nationwide focusing on practical applications of neuroscience research for reducing stress, optimizing performance, accelerating learning, awakening creativity, and creating greater life fulfillment
Collaborated with hundreds of world-class jazz artists, including Milt Jackson, Freddie Hubbard, James Moody and Johnny Griffin
Mentored over 4,000 young creative and performing artists through the Kentucky Governor’s School For The Arts
Trained over 200 coaches, counselors and therapists in drug-free modalities for healing the emotional pain of past traumatic experiences
Helped thousands of his clients, students and mentees release the pain of the past, embrace the miracle of the present moment, and take action to create the futures they most deeply desire and deserve
Personally transformed debilitating stage-fright to unshakable confidence, decades-long chronic illness into vibrant wellbeing, and a family legacy of anxiety, depression and trauma into ever-expanding equanimity, inner harmony, and authentic joy.
These days, Harry is particularly interested in how cutting-edge research in neuroscience and psychology can inform positive social change.
How may we use what we know about how our brains perceive, process and encode experience in service of co-creating a world that works for everyone? How may we use what we know about healing trauma, resolving conflict, and creating interpersonal harmony to help communities — and nations — heal? How may we apply emerging modalities that safely and rapidly help individuals ‘rewire’ their brains for less stress, more joy, greater resilience, and optimized creativity to help mobilize constructive action in service of a more just, peaceful, sustainable world for all?