Sounds True: Insights At The Edge

Jamie Catto is the creative catalyst behind the popular philosophy/music/film project 1 Giant Leap and the author of the Sounds True music program Internal (with Alex Forster). In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami and Jamie discuss how to tune into our woundedness as a gateway to creativity, how our shadow material can become our life’s “rocket fuel,” the meaning of Jamie’s “Creativity Manifesto,” and much more. Plus you’ll hear samples of three new tracks from Internal. (63 minutes)

How do we create organizations that work for everyone? What’s the true role of the person called “the boss”? How is the concept of business stewardship different from our traditional notions of leadership? Where can we find true freedom in the workplace? Peter Block is a bestselling author and business consultant who teaches about chosen accountability and the reconciliation of community. Tami Simon speaks with Peter about these questions and more in a business conversation unlike any you’ve heard. (73 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Rabbi Rami Shapiro, the co-director of the One River Wisdom School. Rabbi Rami writes the column “Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler” for Spirituality & Health magazine, and hosts the How to Be a Holy Rascal show on Unity Online Radio. With Sounds True, he has created The Forgiveness Challenge, a three-week online intensive course on radical acceptance. In this episode, Tami speaks with Rabbi Rami about dealing with situations where we find it challenging to forgive, the importance of asking others to forgive us, and how looking deeply into the areas of life that require forgiveness can illuminate meaning in our lives. (71 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Danielle LaPorte, an entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, social media sensation, and bestselling author of The Fire Starter Sessions. With Sounds True, Danielle has created the book The Desire Map, as well as the audio programs The Desire Map Daily and The Desire Map Experience. In this episode, Tami speaks with Danielle about what the Desire Map is, how to create “goals with soul,” what we can learn from both our successes and the places we fell short of our goals when we do our year-end review, and how to navigate a relationship when our desires compete with another person. (63 minutes)

What is it that is here no matter what’s going on around us? Why does the experience of pure awareness seem so hard to hold on to? Tami Simon speaks with Sounds True authors Peter Fenner and Jeff Foster about the nature of awareness and how we can begin to offer the gifts of our realization to those around us. (75 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Geneen Roth, author of the bestseller Feeding the Hungry Heart and the Sounds True audio learning course When Food Is Food & Love Is Love. They discuss the spiritual lessons which resulted from Geneen’s financial losses with disgraced investment advisor Bernie Madoff, and how this experience caused her to re-examine many of her long-held beliefs about money, loss, and the preciousness of this moment. (69 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Shiva Rea, a world-renowned teacher of vinyasa flow yoga and the founder of Samudra Global School for Living Yoga. Shiva has created many video, audio, and music programs with Sounds True, and most recently released her much-anticipated first book, Tending the Heart Fire: Living in Flow with the Pulse of Life. In this episode, Tami speaks with Shiva about what it means to be a “fire-keeper;” the power of attuning ourselves to the natural cycles of the sun, moon, and seasons; how we can reconnect to the pulse of life even in our modern world; and an on-the-spot practice we can do to tend to the fire of our own heart. (66 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Gary Kraftsow, a pioneer in the transmission of yoga for health, healing, and personal transformation for more than 30 years. Gary is a teacher of the viniyoga methodology and founder of the Maui School of Yoga Therapy. He is the author of the book Yoga for Wellness, and with Sounds True has released four training DVDs, including Viniyoga Therapy for Anxiety and Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck and Shoulders. In this interview, Tami speaks with Gary about his work in research on yoga’s health benefits, his understanding of the true purpose of yoga, and how that purpose might become a focus for the practice of yoga in the modern world. (53 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Karla McLaren, an award-winning author, social science and empathy researcher, and educator. With Sounds True, Karla has created the book and audio series The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You, as well as the new book and audio series The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill. In the second half of this two-part interview, Tami speaks with Karla about two unusual skills she teaches called “conscious complaining” and “ethical empathic gossip”; the concept that there is no such thing as a positive or negative emotion; and how a feeling of hatred can be an important key to working with the shadow part of our psyche. (66 minutes)

What does it truly mean to have empathy? Can some of us be “hyper-empathic”? If empathy is something we feel we’re lacking, then how do we cultivate it? In this week’s episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami speaks with author and social science researcher Karla McLaren about the subject of her new book and audio learning program The Art of Empathy, including the six aspects of empathy that we can all learn to develop within ourselves in order to transform our relationships. (63 minutes)

In this special edition of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Marie Manuchehri and Sandra Ingerman about their experiences with spirit guides and how we might meet these helpful forces ourselves at any moment in our lives. Sandra and Marie share their perspectives on how to access information that we can trust, communication through metaphor, and how they work with spirit guides for healing in their professional practices. Sandra and Marie also share advice and recommendations for those curious about connecting with their own spirit guides. (61 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist and the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He is the author of the books Buddha’s Brain and Hardwiring Happiness, and with Sounds True has created several audio programs, including The Enlightened Brain and the new learning course Self-Directed Brain Change. In the second half of a two-part interview, Tami speaks with Dr. Hanson about how we can move from a “red” reactive state to a “green” state of calm, how this progression aligns with the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, and his vision for how healthy brains can change the state of our world. (63 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist and the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He is the author of the books Buddha’s Brain and Hardwiring Happiness, and with Sounds True has created several audio programs, including The Enlightened Brain and the new learning course Self-Directed Brain Change. In the first half of a two-part interview, Tami speaks with Dr. Hanson about the ways we can “install” positive brain states as lasting traits; how we can respond in situations when we feel our basic needs are threatened; and the three ways of working with unpleasant experiences—letting be, letting go, and letting in. (66 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Rameshwar Das, a writer, photographer, and long-time friend of the spiritual teacher Ram Dass. Rameshwar met his guru Neem Karoli Baba in India in 1970, and most recently was coauthor with Ram Dass on the new book from Sounds True, Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart. In this episode, Tami speaks with Rameshwar about suffering as a doorway of grace, what it might mean to follow the path of devotion even through hard times and tragedy, the relationship between faith and the recognition of love, and what is meant by “polishing the mirror”—using daily practice to see into the vast and luminous landscape of our true nature. (49 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Oriah Mountain Dreamer, who was given her name by the elders with whom she studied shamanism. Oriah is a teacher, mentor, group facilitator, and the author of the internationally bestselling books The Invitation, The Dance, and The Call. With Sounds True, she has created an audio program called Your Heart’s Prayer. In this episode, Tami speaks with Oriah about her experience with vision quests, the role of the ancestral guides in her life, what it might mean to have faith in our longing, and the power of asking the question, “Did I love well?” (56 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Jay Earley, a transformational psychologist and psychotherapist specializing in a method called Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, an approach that recognizes our many sub-personalities and their roles in the overall health of our psyche. With Sounds True, Dr. Earley has created an audio learning course called Self-Therapy, as well as a new book with co-author Bonnie Weiss called Freedom from Your Inner Critic. In this episode, Tami speaks with Jay about how we can work with and heal the inner Exiles in ourselves, the function of the sub-personalities known as Protectors, and how awakening to our true Self is the key to successful self-therapy. (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Andrew Holecek, an author, humanitarian, and spiritual teacher from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition who is adept at blending ancient wisdom with modern knowledge from the West. Andrew is author of the books The Power and the Pain and Preparing to Die, and with Sounds True he has created the audio course Dream Yoga: The Tibetan Path of Awakening Through Lucid Dreaming. In this episode, Tami speaks with Andrew about the stages of dream yoga practice; how it is complemented by a daytime practice called “illusory form practice;” what it teaches us about ourselves, fear, and the nature of form; and how to begin by having a lucid dream tonight. (65 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Florence Meleo-Meyer, a senior teacher at the acclaimed Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she also directs Oasis Institute, a school for mindfulness-based professional education and innovation. Florence is a leading teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and with Sounds True and Saki Santorelli she has developed the upcoming MBSR Online Training Course. In this episode, Tami speaks with Florence about the practice of interpersonal mindfulness and how mindfulness helps us heal from trauma. She offers a brief mindfulness practice for when we feel the need to return to ourselves. (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Saki Santorelli, the director of the internationally acclaimed Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts and the executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Saki is one of the premier teachers of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and has worked with Sounds True and Florence Meleo-Meyer on the upcoming MBSR Online Training Course. In this episode, Tami speaks with Saki about the medical evidence for the benefits of MBSR, how mindfulness helps us interrupt and change our habitual reaction to stress, and if there is a correct “dosage” of mindfulness practice and training. (68 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Ashok Gangadean, who has been a professor of philosophy at Haverford College for more than 45 years. Ashok investigates the primal internal logic of human reason and the deep dynamics of communication between diverse worldviews. He is the author of Meditative Reason and Between Worlds, and with Sounds True has created the six-session audio course Awakening the Global Mind. In this episode, Tami speaks with Ashok about breaking out of limiting patterns of “ego-mental thinking” by deepening our dialogue with ourselves and others, and what it might mean to find the “missing grammar” of supreme universal consciousness he calls “Logos.” (57 minutes)