Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Twenty-six years ago, a chiropractor sitting in her first meditation class was transported into a field of light ten times brighter than the desert sun. Dr. Sue Morter, bestselling author of The Energy Codes, joins Tami Simon to map the energetic architecture behind that kind of awakening, and how the rest of us can build the inner circuitry to access it on purpose instead of by accident.Dr. Sue earned her doctorate in chiropractic more than 40 years ago and has spent decades developing a body of work in bioenergetics—the study of how energy flows through, builds, and heals the body. She's the founder of the Body Awake School of Yoga and the Morter Institute, an internationally recognized speaker, and the author of the new book The Anatomy of Awakening: The 5 Hidden Codes to Activate Self-Healing, Unlock Your Higher Consciousness, and Live Your Divine Destiny, which maps five additional energy centers beyond the familiar seven chakras.In this conversation, Tami and Dr. Sue explore:The spiritual experience that reoriented Dr. Sue's entire career and, over time, helped resolve her lifelong scoliosis and migrainesWhy "seeking enlightenment" misses the point, and why embodiment, not transcendence, is the real workThe five additional chakras beyond the traditional seven (eight through twelve), and what each one governs in our energetic architectureHow to build "energetic circuitry" at the site of a trigger instead of getting lost in its storySpherical breathing and Mula Bandha as practical tools for grounding and stabilizing the nervous systemWhat it actually means to regulate your nervous system, and why trying too hard to do it can backfireThis episode is for anyone navigating a season of nervous system dysregulation, energy practitioners and bodyworkers, and listeners drawn to the chakra system who want a more embodied, practical approach to awakening.Listen in for a guided practice you can use the next time you feel triggered, overwhelmed, or ungrounded.Dr. Sue uses a number of visual aids throughout this conversation, so if you'd rather watch than just listen, you can find the video version on YouTube @SoundsTrueManyVoices or on our premium membership platform at soundstrueone.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Giving love comes easy, but can you actually receive it? Lama Rod Owens says most of us flinch at being cared for, even by something as simple as the chair we're sitting in. In this practice from his book The New Saints, he walks us through what it takes to actually let love in.Lama Rod Owens, a Black Buddhist Southern Queen, authorized lama in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors, guides Tami Simon (and all of us listening) through a short meditation on receiving care, drawn straight from the pages of his new book.In this conversation, Tami and Lama Rod explore:Feeling supported by the seat or ground beneath youRecalling a time someone, or something, really loved youLetting that love move through the body, including the grief it can stir up along the wayImagining the whole universe wanting you safe, happy, and freeGently returning to the body and closing the practiceThis one's for anyone who finds it easier to give love than to receive it, which, let's be honest, is most of us.Taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Lama Rod Owens. Find the complete interview in this feed or at https://bit.ly/new-saint See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Terri Cole calls it an invisible wound: the imprint left when a daughter never receives protection, presence, or emotional attunement from her father. This week, Tami Simon talks with Terri Cole—Sounds True's own Boundary Boss—about her new book, Father Wound, and why even women with loving fathers can carry this wound without ever naming it.Terri Cole, MSW, LCSW, is a licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert, and best-selling author who has spent nearly three decades helping people break dysfunctional patterns and build healthier relationships with themselves and others. With Sounds True, she is the author of the trilogy that began with Boundary Boss and continued with Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency. Her newest book, Father Wound: Break Unhealthy Patterns to Reclaim Your Worth and Power, examines what happens when a father or father figure is absent, abusive, immature, or simply not emotionally attuned—and why daughters of patriarchy carry a version of this wound no matter what kind of father they had.In this conversation, Tami and Terri explore:- How to recognize a father wound even when "my father wasn't that bad"- Why Terri defines the father wound as, at its root, a worthiness wound- The difference between self-parenting and re-parenting, and what healing your inner child looks like in daily decisions- The "father wound trance": how old patterns resurface in adult relationships, and how to work with transference instead of being run by it- Mourning the Dream, Terri's exercise for grieving the father you wished you'd had- Why healing this wound personally is tied to healing patriarchy at a collective, societal levelWho this episode is for: anyone doing inner child work, anyone who keeps finding themselves in the same relationship pattern and wondering why, and anyone ready to ask whether their sense of worth was shaped long before they had any say in it.Listen now, and start reclaiming your worth. →This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where you can enjoy early, ad-free access to episodes of Insights at the Edge: https://join.soundstrue.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, a roadside run-in with the law, and conversations with Eckhart Tolle, Caroline Myss, Rob Bell, and Liz Gilbert have in common? In this month's Point of Insight, Tami Simon follows a single image — the river — through her own life and through the teachers she's spent twenty years interviewing, and asks what it means to finally stop resisting the current and enter it.In this Point of Insight, Tami explores:How Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha first introduced her as a young person to the river as a symbol of timelessness and impermanenceA humbling roadside encounter with a police officer that became an unplanned teaching on the dangers of "self-congratulatory" thinkingEckhart Tolle's answer to a question he's asked often at retreats: how do you know if you're making progress on the spiritual path?A practice from Caroline Myss's new Spiritual Homebase community, viewing a current challenge first through the lens of fear, then through the lens of faithAuthor and former megachurch pastor Rob Bell on reframing risk, and why the risk of not taking a risk is often the greater oneElizabeth Gilbert's new memoir, All the Way to the River, her relationship with Rayya Elias, and the "two doors" conversation that changed the course of her lifeThe Buddhist teaching of the "stream-enterer," one of the earliest stages of awakening to an impermanent, flowing natureFor anyone standing at the edge of a change, a risk, or an uncertainty they haven't yet stepped into — press play and enter the river.And if you’re intrigued by any of the guests mentioned in this episode, be sure to visit soundstrue.com/podcast to find their full episodes of Insights at the Edge. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the parts of you that feel the most "broken" in relationships are actually superpowers in disguise? Tami Simon speaks with psychologist and attachment expert Dr. Diane Poole Heller about her new book, The Attachment Workbook, and why insecure attachment patterns aren't flaws to fix, but adaptive responses to understand—and heal.Dr. Diane Poole Heller is an internationally recognized expert, author, and speaker specializing in adult attachment theory and trauma resolution. A former senior faculty member for Somatic Experiencing International, she studied for decades alongside trauma pioneer Dr. Peter Levine before developing DARE (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning Experience), a somatic framework for healing insecure attachment. She is the author of The Power of Attachment and, most recently, The Attachment Workbook: Practical Exercises to Understand Your Patterns, Strengthen Connection, and Build Secure Relationships, part of Sounds True's Inner Workbook series.In this conversation, Tami and Diane explore:Why secure attachment is biological—something we're all wired for, not something only some people getThe hidden "superpowers" of avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized attachment stylesHow attachment wounds get physically trapped in the nervous system, and how the body completes what it couldn't finishThe near-death experience that redirected Diane's life's work toward love and connectionWhy healing attachment doesn't require a partner, and how your relationship with yourself can be the starting pointThe research-backed power of repair in relationships, and why learning to apologize well may matter more than never rupturing at allPractical visualization exercises from The Attachment Workbook, including inviting in an imagined protector and healing the "attachment gaze"This episode is for anyone who has wondered why connection feels so hard—whether you're a therapist, a partner, a parent, or simply someone ready to understand your own relational patterns with more compassion.Listen now to discover why secure attachment isn't a fixed trait—it's a skill, and it's never too late to learn it.This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where you can enjoy early, ad-free access to episodes of Insights at the Edge: https://join.soundstrue.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ever notice how a tiny criticism can send you into a full-blown spiral, and then you spend the rest of the day furious at yourself for spiraling? Dr. Jeffrey Rutstein has a theory about why that happens, and it starts before you ever had a say in the matter: with the nervous system you were born with.Rutstein, a clinical psychologist, Hakomi-certified somatic psychotherapist, and host of Sounds True's Healing Trauma Program, talks with Tami Simon about inheriting his own mother's fight-or-flight wiring, and how a childhood encounter with Indra Devi's Yoga for Americans sent him down a decades-long path through pranayama, Hatha yoga, and Zen practice.In this conversation, Tami and Jeffrey explore:Why your baseline nervous system state is more inheritance than character flawHow naming that inheritance can interrupt years of self-blame and shameThe difference between a fixed nervous system and one you can learn to shiftThis one's for anyone who's ever hated themselves for "overreacting.” So…pretty much everyone.Taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Jeffrey Rutstein titled “Not Being a Prisoner To Your Nervous System.” Find the complete interview: https://bit.ly/iate-jeffrey-rutstein See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the type you've been typing yourself as isn't the whole story? Tami Simon sits down with Enneagram pioneer Beatrice Chestnut to mark the re-release of her classic guide, The Complete Enneagram, and to ask why facing our shadow, not avoiding it, is the real path to waking up.Beatrice Chestnut, PhD, is a global expert, researcher, and educator on the Enneagram. She holds a PhD in communication studies and a master's degree in clinical psychology, and is a licensed psychotherapist, coach, and business consultant based in San Francisco. She is the author of several acclaimed books on the Enneagram, including the newly re-released edition of The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge, widely considered a classic in Enneagram literature.In this conversation, Tami and Beatrice explore:The difference between personality (the protective "false self" formed in childhood) and our essential, true natureWhy each of the nine Enneagram types has its own distinct shadow challenge to confront and integrateThe 27 subtypes, and why Beatrice believes they matter far more than Enneagram "wings"How the connecting lines, or arrows, reveal each type's specific growth pathway — and why the order mattersWhat each type looks like at its highest, most evolved expressionWhy more people may be ready to "wake up" to who they really are now than ever beforeThis episode is for anyone who's taken an Enneagram test and wondered what to do next, as well as therapists, coaches, and longtime students of the system looking to go deeper with the subtypes.Listen now to discover your own path to greater self-knowledge. →This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do some of the most hardened people—lifers on death row, people who've killed—turn out to be, underneath it all, remarkably sensitive? Physician and trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté has spent decades working with addicts and prisoners, and he's found a pattern that upends how we usually think about cruelty and compassion.Dr. Gabor Maté is a physician and bestselling author whose work on trauma and addiction has shaped how millions understand pain, illness, and healing. He's the author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, When the Body Says No, Scattered Minds, and, with his son Daniel, The Myth of Normal.In this conversation, Tami and Gabor explore:Why compassion is wired into us from birth — and what shuts it downThe neuroscience of care, drawing on affective neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp's research on emotional systemsWhat Gabor has witnessed firsthand working with lifers and people on death rowThe difference between "orchid" and "dandelion" temperaments, and why high sensitivity can become either a liability or a giftWhy genes linked to addiction may really be genes for sensitivityThis one's for anyone trying to understand the roots of cruelty, or working through their own compassion fatigue—toward others, or toward themselves.Taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Gabor Maté titled “Gabor Maté: Healing Principles to Embody in a Traumatized World”: https://bit.ly/insights-gabor-mate See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with author, mystic, and racial equity educator Michelle Cassandra Johnson about her new book, You Are Protected. Together they explore malevolent energies, calling on ancestors and archetypes for spiritual support, the practice of spiritual hygiene, and how spells work, sigils, and simple rituals like salt can help us stay grounded, protected, and connected to our own energy amid a turbulent time.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Physician Lissa Rankin says trauma doesn't just live in the mind, it can trigger measurable physical disease, from autoimmune conditions to chronic illness that conventional medicine can't explain. But her most provocative claim is the reverse: that healing the nervous system may be the missing piece in reversing illnesses that have resisted every other treatment.Dr. Rankin, a physician and author of Sacred Medicine and the New York Times bestseller Mind Over Medicine, has spent years studying the link between the nervous system and self-healing, including polyvagal theory and the ventral vagal branch of the vagus nerve. In this conversation with Tami Simon, she widens the definition of trauma well beyond childhood wounds to include systemic racism, environmental toxins, and the everyday stress of simply living in the world today.In this conversation, Tami and Lissa explore:Why Dr. Rankin believes trauma and chronic illness are intrinsically connectedHow polyvagal theory and the vagus nerve point to a physical mechanism for healingWhy "developmental trauma" can affect even people who had privileged childhoodsHow collective traumas — like systemic racism and white-body supremacy — show up in the bodyWhy treating trauma isn't a guarantee of cure, but can still open the door to real healingThis episode is for anyone who has tried everything to heal a chronic or life-threatening illness and wants to understand what role the nervous system might play.Taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Lissa Rankin, "Is There a Holy Grail of Healing?" https://bit.ly/lissa-rankin See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Psychologist Laurel Parnell, a pioneer of EMDR and the creator of resource tapping, speaks with Tami Simon about her boldest evolution yet: multidimensional integrative healing. Forged in the wake of profound personal loss, this new approach draws on spirit release work, ancestral healing, and cross-cultural wisdom to ask what happens when trauma therapy meets the mystery of what isn't fully ours to carry.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is a spiritual awakening only real if it completely rearranges your life? That's the question Tami Simon puts to Adyashanti in this episode of Just One Question, and his answer digs into something a lot of seekers wrestle with: the gap between a powerful glimpse of clarity and the ongoing work of actually living from it. Adya also shares his own journey of awakening in a fascinating look at what awakening can look—and feel—like.And there’s so much more. Listen to the entire conversation from this Insights At the Edge episode “Waking Up: What Does It Really Mean?” at https://bit.ly/adyashanti-waking-up See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if aging isn't the end of your erotic life, but its deepening? Tami Simon speaks with somatic sex educator Kimberly Ann Johnson, author of Erotic Seasons, about erotic sovereignty, why the female body is its own spiritual path, and how the thresholds of menstruation, birth, and menopause carry built-in rites of passage most of us were never taught to honor.Please note: this episode includes candid discussion of sexual abuse and sexual wounding, including Kimberly Ann Johnson's own experience.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An archetypal astrologer once named Tami Simon's deepest wound in the first thirty seconds of a live interview. In this month's Point of Insight, Tami traces how that moment—layered onto decades of "drops" from therapy, friendship, and interviews with teachers like Seane Corn and Joanna Macy—revealed a single truth: our karma becomes our dharma, and our medicine lives inside the wound.Find the original Insights at the Edge episode, "Seane Corn: Your Pain Is Your Purpose," here: https://bit.ly/seane-corn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We are devoted to our phones, but not to much that is real. Tami Simon speaks with yoga nidra teacher Tracee Stanley—author of the new book Living Ritual—about ritual as an antidote to distraction and loneliness, the practice of asking what within us is dying and what is waiting to be born, and how devotion becomes the one thing we can count on.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Let’s hop in our time machine and head back to the very first episode of Insights at the Edge, with Tami Simon interviewing Geneen Roth in 2009. Geneen, who’s also been on Insights as recently as this year, was fresh off losing decades of savings in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Tami asked her how to work with the voice that says “you idiot!” Geneen's answer separates honest grief from self-cruelty, and gives you something to actually do about it. Seventeen years later, it still lands.(86 words)Listen to the full episode, “No Situation is Unworkable” → https://bit.ly/geneen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You've read the books, said the affirmations, made the plan—so why hasn't anything actually changed? Tami Simon speaks with Michelle Masters, a coach's coach and author of Wired for Money, about the survival wiring that locks in before we turn six, the family loyalties we inherit without knowing it, and what money looks like once you strip away everything we've projected onto it.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Journalist Matt Gutman hid his panic attacks for twenty years—until one hit him live on air. Tami asks him which of the psychedelics he tried actually changed things. His answer takes us to a mat in Peru's Sacred Valley, through something like ego death, and into a scream he didn't know he'd been holding. Find the complete interview, "Conquering a Lifetime of Panic Attacks," here: https://bit.ly/matt-gutman See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if what ails us isn't a problem to be solved, but a dimension we've forgotten? Tami Simon speaks with Thomas Moore—bestselling author of Care of the Soul and, at 85, still writing—about his new book, The Cure at Walden Pond. Moore makes the case that Thoreau was never really a naturalist, and that what he found at Walden is the cure our culture is starving for.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and it originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pānquetzani's ancestors survived colonization. Her response is to make her life an altar to them—slowing down, dancing, feeling pleasure, doing the healing they never got the chance to do. The traditional healer tells Tami what it means to raise children with a freedom her grandparents didn't have, and how a fifteen-year-old's metalwork revealed a family legacy nobody had mentioned. Listen to the full episode, Pānquetzani: "Tune in to the Womb: Thriving Postpartum": https://bit.ly/panquetzani See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At 36, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche walked out of his monastery in the middle of the night with a few thousand rupees and no plan. Weeks later, he was dying of food poisoning on a street in India—and chose not to call for help. In this encore episode, Tami Simon speaks with the beloved Tibetan Buddhist teacher about what he found on the other side of that night.Rinpoche is now partnering with Sounds True on a brand-new course, Wild World, Steady Mind: 21 Days to Embrace Modern Reality with Clarity and Calm, filmed on location at his monastery in Nepal. Visit soundstrue.com to learn more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if you're only half human? In this Point of Insight, Tami Simon traces a thread from decades of her own practice and the discovery of the central channel to a startling moment mid-interview with Lee Harris—when she suddenly felt wings. A reflection on angelic support, the mystery each of us carries, and what it takes to finally fall back and trust.Find the original Insights at the Edge episodes here:Lee Harris, “Be a Future Human and Find the New”: https://bit.ly/harris-leeRichard Freeman, “Living Yoga”: https://bit.ly/richard-freemanRobert Peng, “The Master Key: Awakening the Four Golden Wheels”: https://bit.ly/robert-peng See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Heart attacks spike 20% on Monday mornings. That might just be a business problem, according to Raj Sisodia. Tami Simon speaks with the conscious capitalism pioneer and author of Healing Leaders about why a leader's unhealed trauma becomes everyone's burden, what it takes to run a company on love instead of fear, and why doing your own inner work isn't self-indulgence—it's a sacred obligation.Raj Sisodia is guest faculty for Sounds True's Inner MBA®, a six-month immersion program created in collaboration with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Learn more at innermba.soundstrue.com. →This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most of us hear placebo and assume we're being fooled. Tami thought so too. Then Shamini Jain — clinical psychologist, biofield scientist, and author of Healing Ourselves — told her the placebo effect is actually our own healing response at work. You don't have to be tricked to get better.Mallory and Chris have spent the past year and a half working on a podcast about energy healing and Sounds True is offering—right now—an immersion course on energy healing featuring Shamini Jain as well as Robert Peng and Laurie Nealon…so, now felt like the perfect time to bring this conversation back. And maybe rename that elephant for good.Taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Shamini Jain. Listen here: https://bit.ly/shamini-jainPhenomena: The Science and Stories of Energy Healing: https://bit.ly/phenomena-pod The Subtle Energy Healing Immersion Program: https://bit.ly/subtle-energy-healing See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We usually frame it as risk versus safety. Rob Bell doesn't buy it—in his experience, it's risk both ways. Tami Simon speaks with the New York Times bestselling author, artist, and former pastor about leaving a role that stayed lodged between his ears, the years he spent hiding behind a microphone, and what it costs to keep saying no to the thing pulling at you.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

James Hollis was in the hospital, unsure whether he'd live, and what he felt wasn't despair — it was curiosity. In this episode the Jungian analyst flips the format on us and asks Tami Simon his own question instead: why am I here? His answer takes in Heidegger, the abyss, spinal surgery, and the strange freedom on the far side of certainty about death. Full episode at “Find What You Love and Let It Kill You.” Listen here: https://bit.ly/james-hollis See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A client arrived with a brain tumor and thirty days to live. Fifteen years later, she's still here. Tami Simon speaks with intuitive energy healer, medium, and educator Laurie Nealon about what actually happens in the room during a healing—the presences she perceives, the blocks she clears, and the "spiritual support group" she says is working alongside every one of us.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reverend angel Kyodo williams says that if you go all the way into your suffering, right to the center of it, that's where you'll find your joy. Tami's response: really? What follows is a case for radical dharma, and for why the pain we package away and shelve is the exact thing standing between us and a joy that's already available. Full episode: Reverend angel Kyodo williams: Warrior Spirit. Listen here: https://bit.ly/kyodo-williams See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How badly do you want to be free? Tami Simon speaks with Reverend Dr. Michelle Wadleigh, minister, retreat facilitator, and author of Dance Like Nobody's Watching, about the uncomfortable precondition for forgiveness: wanting freedom more than you want to be right. A conversation on shadow work, the courage to take up space, and the bold affirmation at the heart of her new book: I demand to be me without excuses.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the first episode of The Point of Insight, a new monthly reflection from Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon shares the transmission she received while preparing to interview ethnobotanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass. Tami explores reciprocity, what it means to truly receive the natural world's generosity, and the deep, natural desire to give back in return. Find the original Insights at the Edge episode, "Robin Wall Kimmerer: What Does the Earth Ask of You Today?" and listen here: https://bit.ly/robin-wall-kimmerer See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A century ago, a Jesuit priest predicted that humanity would evolve into something he called the "ultra-human." Tami Simon speaks with religious studies scholar D.W. Pasulka—author of The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny—about why that prediction looks eerily prescient today, the startling pattern match between angel encounters and UFO reports, and what it means to relate to AI as a tool, not a companion.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What is the "energy" in energy healing? Healers channel it. Patients reach for it. Ancient healing traditions built entire systems around it, and modern researchers are working to study it. But what is energy—biologically, physically, measurably…but also spiritually, and how does it move through the body to influence health and healing?In this special feed takeover, we’re bringing you the season finale of Phenomena: The Science and Stories of Energy Healing, in which host Ivy Ross brings together three renowned scientists whose visions, taken together, begin to answer that question:Martin Picard, PhD, of Columbia University, has spent his career studying mitochondria, the body's cellular power sources, and has found them far more connected to our inner experience and consciousness than biomedicine ever assumed, and likely far more central to how we heal.Richard Hammerschlag, PhD, co-authored the paper that helped define the modern science of the biofield: the organizing fields of energy and information that operate within the body and extend outward from it, echoing the nested qi fields of older healing traditions.Neil Theise, MD, of NYU, helped identify the interstitium, a major recent discovery of a fluid-filled network running throughout the body that may explain how signals fundamental to health and healing actually travel.Together, these three voices offer a compelling, deeply human vision of the body and mind not as a machine, but as a dynamic energetic ecosystem.To close out the season, Ivy and researcher Meredith Sprengel also welcome special guest Jonathan Cohen, co-creator and executive producer of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, to help land these big ideas about energy, healing, and life.This episode marks the finale of Phenomena's first season. To continue the journey, and explore the full docuseries, visit phenomenahealing.com. → See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Zen priest and author of Opening to Darkness, shares the night she nearly died from anaphylactic shock, and survived not by fighting for the light, but by staying with the dark itself. A powerful reframe on fear, surrender, and what it really means to accept the absence of light.This clip is taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel: “Open to Darkness.” Listen here: https://bit.ly/earthlyn-manuel See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Few teachers have shaped modern spirituality like Michael A. Singer, author of the beloved classic The Untethered Soul. In this rare, intimate conversation, Tami Simon sits down with Michael to explore his newest book, Wisdom Untethered: The Time for Questions, and the teaching he says explains it all: "It's the pain that ends all pain." A must-listen conversation with a true elder of the field.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. Get a FREE month of membership at https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You know that the object of your addiction is bad for you, but how do you stop? According to Dr. Connie Zweig, retired Jungian therapist and author of Romancing the Shadow, you do just that—you romance your shadow, which is a method for turning compulsive behavior into self-knowledge. So this week’s question from Tami is what does that actually look like? From the full episode: "Meeting One of the World's Leading Experts on the Shadow." Listen here: https://bit.ly/connie-zweig See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode, Tami Simon shares an excerpt from medical intuitive and New York Times bestselling author Caroline Myss's opening presentation for Spiritual Home Base, the new online community where Caroline serves as spiritual director. Caroline explores why fear feels so pervasive right now, how our understanding of God and personal power is shifting, and closes with a live Q&A on grief, faith, and staying spiritually grounded amid rapid change. Learn more and join at myss.com/spiritual-homebase. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ever feel like you're built for the wild, but terrified the moment you actually step into it? Filmmaker and My Octopus Teacher naturalist Craig Foster joins Tami Simon to unpack that strange paradox: why our bodies crave wildness even as we recoil from it. His answer might be the gentlest permission slip you'll get to start reconnecting with your own wild side, one backyard animal at a time.Taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with "Craig Foster: Belonging to the Wild." Listen here: https://bit.ly/craig-foster See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it take to keep hoping when hope keeps breaking your heart? Tami Simon speaks with Marisa Renée Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Grief Is Love and Waiting for Dawn: Living with Uncertainty, about what she calls a "ruthless, stubborn commitment to hope": the conviction that something better is coming, and the willingness to do whatever is necessary to make it so, even in the darkest seasons.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One.Get a FREE month of membership: https://bit.ly/STOne-Free-Month See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We've all been there, wide awake at three in the morning, brain running the instant we wake up and no chance of getting back to sleep. This week we hear from Martha Beck and her answer when Tami asks the question: "What Do I Do At Three In the Morning?" Martha shares her expertise on anxiety, calming our nervous systems, and why beds are just the best. Excerpted from Insights at the Edge, "Martha Beck, PhD: Beyond Anxiety." Listen here: https://bit.ly/martha-beck See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the God you've been taught to believe in is the very thing that’s keeping you from finding God? Tami Simon speaks with Sister Ilia Delio—Franciscan theologian, scientist, and author of The Not Yet God—about the evolutionary vision of Teilhard de Chardin, why monotheism is giving way to a new religious consciousness, and how AI, far from threatening our humanity, might be the unexpected catalyst for a God revolution.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this clip from Insights at the Edge, Tami asks Rainn Wilson, Emmy-nominated actor, author of Soul Boom, and devoted Bahá'í, why he never became an atheist. His answer moves from humor to philosophy to genuine vulnerability, landing on an idea that surprised even him: that "the Great Mystery" might be enough. A rare, honest conversation about faith from someone who had every reason to stay quiet about it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it mean to keep your heart open when the world feels most dangerous? Tami Simon speaks with beloved meditation teacher Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Trusting the Gold, about her new inner workbook The Courageous Heart: Choosing to Love in Perilous Times. Tami and Tara discuss how to stay engaged without being overwhelmed, why grief is often the doorway to love, and what it takes to widen the circles of belonging in perilous times.This conversation offers genuine transmission, not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together, and originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this clip from Insights at the Edge, Tami asks Thích Nhất Hạnh—revered Zen master, founder of Plum Village, and father of modern mindfulness—what lies beneath all of the world's suffering. His answer is both radical and surprisingly intimate: the root of social change is inner awakening, and it begins with you, right now. Recorded more than two decades ago; somehow more urgent today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you hold true to your convictions to be good in a world that’s on fire? Tami Simon speaks with Buddhist meditation teacher and author Lodro Rinzler about his new book, You Are Good. You Are Enough, exploring the practice of basic goodness: how to free ourselves from the trap of doubt, extend that recognition to others, and find wholeness even inside a fractured society.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when a man runs out of purpose—and doesn't collapse? Tami Simon speaks with wisdom teacher and bestselling author David Deida about his new book, The Man of Zero: A Guide to Primal Power, Boundless Sex, and the Freedom Beyond Ambition—exploring the phase beyond drive, ambition, and meaning-making, and what becomes possible when a man learns to live from the depths of pure presence.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the greatest preparation for the changes ahead isn't physical, but spiritual? Tami Simon speaks with Jasper Young Bear, wisdom keeper and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, about the Indigenous prophecies pointing to this moment in time, the sacred knowledge held within oral traditions, and how returning to the Creator—and to each other—is the only path through.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the most transformative practice available to us requires nothing but complete darkness? Tami Simon speaks with interdisciplinary scholar and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner Andrew Holecek—author of Total Eclipse of the Mind—about the ancient practice of dark retreat: what happens to the mind when all light is removed, why it's been called "meditation times a thousand," and how to bring its power into everyday life.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.This episode is sponsored by Omega Institute, a global gathering hub for lifelong learning and spiritual exploration. Located in upstate New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley, Omega offers weekend workshops, special events, rest and rejuvenation retreats, professional trainings, online learning, and more. Discover what calls to you at eomega.org/true. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does a lasting spiritual partnership actually look like—behind closed doors? Tami Simon speaks with nico and devon hase—married Buddhist teachers and co-authors of the new Sounds True book This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership—about why real intimacy requires the willingness to be a little volcanic, a lot forgiving, and always, beautifully finding your balance rather than holding it.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.This episode is sponsored by Omega Institute, a global gathering hub for lifelong learning and spiritual exploration. Located in upstate New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley, Omega offers weekend workshops, special events, rest and rejuvenation retreats, professional trainings, online learning, and more. Discover what calls to you at eomega.org/true. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when a cancer research institution invites energy healers into the laboratory? In this special feed takeover, Insights at the Edge presents the debut episode of Phenomena: The Science and Stories of Energy Healing—a new six-part Sounds True podcast hosted by Ivy Ross. In this episode, you’ll learn about astonishing research from MD Anderson Cancer Center and the story of one patient whose surgeon saw something they had never seen before. More info at phenomenahealing.com.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After decades of therapy, retreats, and every healing modality available, Geneen Roth discovered that her fraught relationship with her 97-year-old mother wasn't actually about her mother. Tami Simon speaks with the bestselling author of Women, Food, and God about her new book Love Finally—and the six-step process that transformed her most painful wound into her most unexpected liberation.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Your body has been sending the signals. You've just been too busy to listen. Tami Simon speaks with Zabie Yamasaki—founder of Transcending Trauma through Yoga and author of Protect Your Energy—about nervous system regulation, somatic boundaries, and why the most powerful act of resistance in troubled times isn't pushing harder. It's learning, finally, how to rest.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the answer to every question life throws at you comes down to a single practice? Tami Simon speaks with Michael Singer—beloved author of The Untethered Soul—alongside Tony and Sage Robbins to celebrate the release of Wisdom Untethered: The Time for Questions. Together they explore letting go, the nature of intuition, the highest form of prayer, and how to honor the irreplaceable miracle of this moment.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if flourishing isn't something you have to achieve, but something you were born to do? Tami Simon speaks with neuroscientist Richard Davidson and contemplative scientist Cortland Dahl, authors of Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving, about four trainable skills—awareness, connection, insight, and purpose—that can transform your wellbeing in as little as five minutes a day.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the pain you've carried your whole life didn't begin with you? Tami Simon speaks with Richard Schwartz—founder of Internal Family Systems—and psychotherapist and IFS lead trainer Tamala Floyd, author of Listening: When Parts Speak, about the intersection of IFS and ancestral wisdom, and how healing legacy burdens can liberate not only ourselves, but the generations that come after us.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it mean to be fully here and fully surrendered at the same time? Tami Simon speaks with Banafsheh Sayyad—master Iranian sacred dancer, choreographer, transformational teacher, and founder of Dance of Oneness—about whirling as a spiritual practice, the marriage of discipline and surrender, embodied healing through movement, and how presence itself can become a form of devotion and resistance.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are the patterns you formed surviving a chaotic childhood still running your life today? Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Tian Dayton—trauma expert, psychodramatist, and author of Growing Up with Addiction—about how addiction doesn't just happen to one person, it happens to the whole family, and why healing the wounds it leaves behind requires more than insight. It requires discipline.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The world is accelerating faster than the human mind was built to handle. So what do we do with that? Tami Simon speaks with Peter Russell—physicist, consciousness pioneer, and author of How to Meditate Without Even Trying, featuring a foreword by Eckhart Tolle. Together, they discuss navigating exponential change, the stresses of an AI-driven world, the possibility of our species' extinction, and why effortless stillness may be the most essential skill of our time.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens to your creativity when your attention is fractured—and what becomes possible when you reclaim it? Tami Simon speaks with writer, artist, and movement practitioner Cody Cook-Parrott about their new Sounds True book, The Practice of Attention: Cultivating Presence in a Distracted World—exploring social media addiction, the art of the attention audit, soft structures for creative practice, and why attention itself is a form of prayer.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the natural world isn’t a warehouse of resources—but a landscape of gifts? Tami Simon speaks with Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, about living in reciprocal relationship with the earth, overcoming brain chauvinism, and why the most radical act in a time of climate crisis may be remembering who we truly are.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the secret to better writing isn’t more technique—but more truth? Tami Simon speaks with beloved author Anne Lamott and her husband Neal Allen—writer, spiritual coach, and author of Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences—about the craft of finding your voice, writing toward compassion and truth, and why the most powerful sentences come not from the polished mind but from the really real.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it take to truly master yourself—not just your body, but your mind, your roles, and your relationship to suffering? Tami Simon speaks with Shi Heng Yi, a 35th generation Shaolin master and author of Shaolin Spirit, about the ancient warrior path to inner freedom. Together they explore self-mastery, the illusion of identity, elevation beyond suffering, and the surprising yin within one of the world’s most demanding traditions. (Don’t miss the video for Master Shi Heng Yi’s movement demonstration!)This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An encore presentation in honor of Coleman Barks, who passed away on February 23, 2026. Tami Simon speaks with Coleman, a leading scholar and translator of the 13th-century Persian mystic, Jelaluddin Rumi. Coleman’s work was the subject of an hour-long segment in Bill Moyers’ Language of Life series with PBS. He has published numerous Rumi translations, including with Sounds True the audio programs I Want Burning, Rumi: The Voice of Longing, and his new three-CD collaboration with cellist David Darling called Just Being Here: Rumi and Human Friendship. In this episode, Tami speaks with Coleman about the extraordinary friendship between Rumi and his teacher, Shams Tabriz, and how translating Rumi requires entering a trance state. Coleman offers insights on grace as he and Tami listen to selections from Just Being Here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Let people love you.” Death doula Darnell Lamont Walker finds himself saying this phrase again and again at bedsides —to those afraid of being “seen” in their final days, to those who’ve built walls around receiving care. In this moving conversation with Tami Simon, the Emmy-nominated writer shares what decades of accompanying the dying have taught him about love, grief, and letting ourselves be held.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if every moment of self-compassion is actually a moment of waking up? In this very special episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami sits down with pioneering self-compassion researcher Kristin Neff and meditation teacher Caverly Morgan—two friends and compelling authors whose collaboration reveals how treating ourselves with kindness can become a lifeboat for our deepest nature.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with poet-philosopher Mark Nepo about his latest book that explores aging as a transformative passage. They delve into the flexible heart, entering time rather than moving through it, breaking through to joy amid loss, and the idea that—like meteors burning brighter as they fall—maybe we too can become more luminous as our outer casing falls away.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with renowned literary channeler Paul Selig about his extraordinary journey from skeptical atheist to one of the foremost contributors to channeled literature. They explore the “upper room”—a state of consciousness beyond fear and separation—and how we can access divine union while still in human form, even amidst the challenges of our time.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami speaks with the creator of the viral hit podcast The Telepathy Tapes—Ky Dickens—about her journey from skeptical documentary filmmaker to consciousness researcher. They explore telepathic communication in nonspeaking individuals, the groundbreaking phenomenon of “mindsight,” and what emerging science reveals about energy healing, consciousness as fundamental, and human capacities we’re only beginning to understand.Listen now to discover what becomes possible when we approach the unknown with curiosity rather than dismissal. And to see where Ky and her team are heading with Season 2 of The Telepathy Tapes…and beyond.You can listen to both seasons of The Telepathy Tapes here. This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with renowned energy intuitive and channeler Lee Harris about connecting with higher guidance, cultivating heart intelligence, and preparing for humanity’s next evolutionary leap. Lee shares practical wisdom on accessing intuition, understanding interdimensional communication, and why love—not fear—is the frequency that will shape our collective future.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon revisits her powerful conversation with Sister Joan Chittister at Mount St. Benedict’s Monastery—exploring enlightenment in Christian tradition, the sacrament of the present moment, and what it means to see the world through God’s eyes.This is a conversation about what a lifetime of monastic practice reveals, the electricity of divine presence, and how struggle itself becomes the crucible for transformation.Want to go deeper? Listen to the complete seven-hour conversation in the audio series Catching Fire at soundstrue.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with bestselling author Michael Singer about his transformative book Living Untethered. They explore the seat of awareness, the three-ring circus of consciousness, and how blocked energy patterns (samskaras) keep us trapped in suffering. Michael offers practical guidance on witnessing consciousness, transmuting emotions, and piercing through to the spiritual heart—where unconditional love flows freely. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with Richard Rudd—mystic, poet, and founder of the Gene Keys—about his profound awakening at 29, the transformative system he developed, and the evolutionary shift humanity is experiencing. They explore shadow patterns, the art of contemplation, gentle transformation, and why the next few years may mark a critical turning point in human consciousness.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with celebrated New York Times columnist David Brooks about his transformative journey from cerebral detachment to emotional awakening. They explore how a mystical subway experience forever altered his vision, the difference between diminishers and illuminators, and why perceiving souls—not just molecules—is essential to truly knowing another person.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two questions live in our hearts as we face death: Am I loved? And have I loved well? Frank Ostaseski—a pioneer in compassionate end-of-life care and author of The Five Invitations—shares his insights and experiences with Tami in this episode, informed by decades at the bedside of dying people, exploring emotional flexibility, the practice of allowing, and discovering indestructible love through vulnerability and presence.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One. For more with Frank Ostaseski:Year to Live Course (Spirit Rock Meditation Center)Spirit of Service (Upaya Zen Center)Awareness in Action: The Role of Love (Upaya Zen Center, Frank Ostaseski & Sharon Salzberg) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode, Tami Simon brings together two visionary teachers for a rare conversation exploring awakening’s multiple dimensions. Join Tami and her guests A.H. Almaas—founder of the Diamond Approach—and Zen teacher Henry Shukman for an extraordinary exploration of awakening’s multiple dimensions. Discover why spiritual realization isn’t one destination but an ongoing revelation of reality’s many faces, from blazing emptiness to infinite love.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with life coach and author Andrea Owen about her audio immersion workshop with Sounds True, Live Like You Give a Damn. Together, they explore what it means to trust yourself deeply, rush the net even when you’re afraid, and show up with “big prize energy.” Andrea shares hard-won wisdom about self-abandonment, resilience, and learning to parent yourself when life hands you a “sh*t sandwich.”Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at http://www.join.soundstrue.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you stay committed to staying sober when life brings its inevitable challenges? Tami Simon speaks with Steven Washington—a former professional Broadway dancer and author of Recovering You: Soul Care and Mindful Movement for Overcoming Addiction—about transforming addiction through embodied practice, moving through shame with self-compassion, and discovering that sensitivity can be a superpower rather than a burden.Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at http://www.join.soundstrue.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tami Simon speaks with Leah Lamb, founder of the School for Sacred Storytelling, about how storytelling serves as guidance through crisis and transformation. They explore the original role of storytellers as healers and guides, the power of language to shape reality, and how stories can help us navigate grief, heartbreak, and collective challenges with courage and hope.Learn Sacred Storytelling with Leah Lamb. Step into this ancient art and learn how to share stories that open hearts, heal the world, and ignite change with master storyteller. In Leah’s 5+ hour audio course Sacred Storytelling, you’ll unlock your creativity, find your unique voice, and unearth the wisdom within your own life experiences. Learn more at https://www.soundstrue.com/products/sacred-storytellingNote: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at http://www.join.soundstrue.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

**SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION IN SUPPORT OF WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY THIS OCTOBER** Dr. James Hollis is a Jungian analyst, a former director of the Jung Society of Washington, DC, and a professor of Jungian Studies for Saybrook University of San Francisco/Houston. He is the author of The Middle Passage, Living an Examined Life, Through the Dark Wood, and Living Between Worlds, among many others. With Sounds True, he’s released the expansive audio program A Life of Meaning: Exploring Our Deepest Questions and Motivations. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with James about the journey for personal fulfillment—how it starts, what it demands, and how it changes your life. James explains what it really means to take responsibility for your life’s path, as well as how you can rediscover and reclaim your innate authority. Tami and James discuss how childhood experiences shape our present behavior and what it takes to live fearlessly. Finally, they talk about overcoming lethargy and the joy of becoming comfortable with mysteries. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Listeners of Insights At The Edge get 10% off their first month at www.betterhelp.com/soundstrue. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special reflection episode of Insights at the Edge host Tami Simon looks back on her seven-part series exploring reincarnation and the gap between lives. Drawing from personal experience and deep spiritual inquiry, Tami shares the motivations behind the series, the key questions that guided her journey, and the profound insights that emerged. Listeners are invited to consider new perspectives on identity, the continuity of consciousness, and the intersection of science and spirituality, while reflecting on their own most meaningful questions about life, death, and what may lie beyond.  Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Explore the mysteries of reincarnation, life between lives, and the evolution of the soul with author and philosopher Christopher Bache. What if your life is just one chapter in a much greater story—one that spans lifetimes, centuries, and the very fabric of the cosmos? In this new episode of our special series on reincarnation, host Tami Simon welcomes philosopher and author Christopher Bache for a mind-expanding conversation on reincarnation, deep time, and what he calls "the diamond soul." Bache shares his personal journey through psychedelic exploration and academic research, revealing how these experiences have shaped his understanding of the soul’s evolution. Together, they discuss how embracing the possibility of reincarnation can transform our relationship to suffering, purpose, and each other. Highlights: The scientific and spiritual evidence for reincarnation The concept of “deep time” and multidimensional existence Soul companions that transmigrate together across lifetimes Why does the Universe need our life experiences (and suffering)? The birth of the diamond soul, and much more Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Explore the scientific evidence for reincarnation with renowned University of Virginia researcher Dr. Jim B. Tucker and host Tami Simon, as they reflect on the thousands of cases of children’s past-life memories. Is the survival of a self beyond physical death just a wishful notion? For decades, psychiatrist and researcher Jim B. Tucker has continued the legendary work of Dr. Ian Stevenson to build a compelling case for the past-life experiences of more than 2,500 children—many of them supported by astonishing and verified evidence. In this new Insights At The Edge episode, Dr. Tucker shares how this research raises profound implications about why we are here, and the very nature of consciousness and this reality. Highlights: The abundance of evidence for past lives and reincarnation How these findings challenge the materialist worldview "Consciousness is fundamental, and physical matter is derived from it." What these findings suggest about our purpose, here and now Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the second half of Acharya Shunya's talk, she shares her personal journey from tradition to transformation, offering practical tools and Vedic insights to help us embrace our greater purpose here. Through her personal experiences, practical guidance, and teachings from her lineage, Acharya Shunya offers us a roadmap to awakening and living a more meaningful, empowered life. Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Acharya Shunya joins Tami Simon to explore Vedic perspectives on reincarnation, the journey of the soul, and the deeper meaning behind life, death, and rebirth. Are you curious about what happens after we die? This week’s episode continues our series of talks on reincarnation. Here, Tami Simon joins Acharya Shunya, a trailblazing Vedic teacher and author, to explore ancient wisdom about the soul’s journey beyond this life, as well as her own direct insights gained in service of her own lineage's evolution. Acharya Shunya shares her step-by-step guide to what happens after death, revealing a compassionate, non-judgmental process focused on growth and remembrance—not punishment for the misconceived concept of "bad karma."  Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join Tami Simon and Andrew Holecek for the second half of their exploration of reincarnation. Here, they delve deeper into Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on death, rebirth, and the power of "dark retreat" practice, revealing practical guidance for navigating everyday life. What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process? In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the "gap between lives." Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.  Join them to explore:  How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live The nature of awareness and the influence of habits How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives, and more Note: These interviews originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process? In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the "gap between lives." Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.  Join them to explore:  How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live The nature of awareness and the influence of habits How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives Whether you're curious about what happens after we die or seeking wisdom to live more fully, this episode offers insights for inner explorers of all beliefs and backgrounds. Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this thought-provoking episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon sits down with Maggie Jackson, acclaimed journalist and author of "Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure." Together, they delve into the emerging science of uncertainty, discussing how our discomfort with not knowing can actually be a source of growth, creativity, and resilience. Maggie shares practical strategies for cultivating a healthy tolerance for uncertainty, explains the difference between fear and uncertainty, and highlights the power of curiosity, mindfulness, and adaptive expertise in navigating today’s unpredictable world. Whether you struggle with anxiety about the unknown or want to harness uncertainty as a tool for personal and professional development, this conversation offers wisdom and actionable insights for embracing life’s many mysteries. Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Receiving a diagnosis of ADHD or autism, especially for someone in their adult years, can lead to a serious existential crisis. On one hand, it's a relief to have a new understanding of the way your brain works. On the other hand, coming to grips with one's neurodiversity often leaves us asking: OK, so who am I as a person? This was the case for Dr. Chelsia Potts, the writer, educator, and founder of the online platform Divergenthood.  In this episode of Being Open, Tami Simon speaks with Chelsia about her empowering "unmasking" process for recognizing and offering the gifts of neurodiversity. Tami and Chelsia discuss the existential whirlwind that can come with a diagnosis of neurodiversity; the overall utility of diagnosis and labeling; being "gifted and talented"—and also on the spectrum; empathy, intuition, deep listening, and other "blessings" of neurodiversity; showing up fully versus self-suppression; letting go of shame and unmasking neurodiversity; resisting the system; self-reflection and taking your power back; why there are no shortcuts to the lifelong process of becoming who you really are; finding the tools to flourish after an official diagnosis; managing the boundless energy of ADHD; pattern recognition and the autistic mind; owning our personal limitations; the big question: How do I use this gift so that how we live together can be better?; the "unconventional intellectual" and the importance of bringing the heart into any learning process; finding equal value in thinking and feeling; ancestral spirituality; "autistic glory"; and more.   Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In part one of this two-part conversation in our Being Open podcast series, Tami Simon speaks with Guy Shahar, the author of Transforming Autism, for his unique perspective on how we can best connect with and support our family and community members in the neurodivergent population. Most of us have a general sense of how difficult it can be to raise an autistic child. In Guy Shahar's case, this already challenging path took a new turn when he discovered, at age 46, that he is also on the spectrum.  Give a listen as Tami and Guy discuss: educating the parents and caregivers of autistic children, three keys to connecting with autistic children, flexibility and play, the intuitive capacity of autistic children to tune in to our energy and intentions, altruistic and idealistic values, the shift from anxiety to faith, how people on the spectrum can serve as spiritual and evolutionary guides for humanity, self-worth and self-acceptance, depathologizing neurodiversity, how autistic and non-autistic people can learn from each other, helping someone recover from overwhelm, the spiritual gifts of individuals on the spectrum, and more.   In the second part of this special episode on Being Open, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Edwards about the overlooked gifts of autism and the unique capacity for people on the spectrum to experience—and point neurotypical people toward—the interconnection at the core of our lives. Autism is often described as a lack of connection. As a psychiatrist and the mother of an autistic daughter, Dr. Melinda Edwards holds a contrary position. "My daughter wasn't disconnected," reflects Dr. Edwards. "Her symptoms were often a reflection of a deep connection..  Discover: the limitations of the term "neurodiversity"; the "exquisitely sensitive, exquisitely porous" nature of autistic people; bringing your sensitivity into the world; vulnerability, openness, and the trajectory of human evolution; the paradox of boundaries for people on the spectrum; compassionate support; three ways of experiencing the world: physically, psychologically, and from a place of interconnection; pronoun problems; getting past the stereotypes we have about autistic people; the connection between trauma and truth-seeking; the spiritual path of parenting an autistic child; and more.   Note: These interviews originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andrea Gibson, a beloved poet and artist, recently passed away. We are honored to share this special encore episode of their conversation with Tami Simon that originally aired in 2023. Great poets expand our view—of ourselves, of each other, and of the entire universe. Andrea Gibson was named Colorado’s 2023–25 Poet Laureate for their celebrated verses on love, LGBTQ issues, spirituality, mental health, social justice, and more. Tami Simon speaks with Andrea about their approach to work and how their journey through cancer radically changed that approach. This poignant conversation featuring Andrea’s reading of their poem, “Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps” and exploring spiritual surrender, finding joy in every instant, facing challenges, moving through grief, the life force of the universe within us, self-love and loving the whole world, trying softer (not harder), the power of relaxation, identifying the keys that open your heart, staying with our fear, activism and loosening our attachment to desired outcomes, being yourself fully, the gift of mortality, giving the present moment the cold shoulder, why authenticity is the most important thing when it comes to writing, the pull of creativity, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it possible that what we call "autism" is actually the expression of a disconnect between the body, mind, and soul? Are we all functioning in a field of oneness that we've forgotten about? Does the neurodivergent population have a special role to play in human evolution? These are the intriguing questions explored in this episode of "Being Open: Spirituality and the Neurodivergent Mind."  Tune in for an expansive conversation with Tami Simon and integration specialist Suzy Miller to learn about: telepathic communication, clairsentience, and other psychic abilities shared by many autistic children; the emerging occupation of the integration specialist; the light body and the physical body; overcoming our inherited patterns of mental and emotional conditioning; the Presence Process created by Michael Brown and the practice of harmonizing the unintegrated information within yourself; recognizing your triggers as opportunities for self-compassion and healing; embracing the messenger and loving the past; parenting your inner child; the "awesomeness" of autism; why nervous system self-regulation is so important in families of divergent children; the link between stuck patterning and physical discomfort; including the whole family in the work of integration; keeping the right brain open and in tandem with the left brain; kundalini awakenings and other experiences that "rewire" the nervous system; tapping into the collective consciousness of the neurodivergent population; and more.   Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are certain individuals more inclined to awaken spiritually? Do some of us have a natural proclivity to experience spiritual states of oneness? Welcome to the first episode in our new podcast series, Being Open: Spirituality and the Neurodivergent Mind. In this illuminating conversation, Tami Simon speaks with intuitive energy healer and awakening trail guide Sarah Taylor about the empowering revelations and approaches she has discovered throughout the course of her life—including the late-in-life realization that she has both autism and ADHD.  Give a listen to this compelling and informative dialogue on: waking up to our interconnection; the shift from “head awakening” to “heart awakening”; Dzogchen and “the one taste”; the receptivity and porousness of neurodivergent people; the healing power of integration and embodiment; the critical importance of downtime and self-care; experiencing equanimity; unraveling the adaption strategies that no longer serve you; living with a high level of “raw sensitivity”; owning your truths—instead of masking your wants, needs, and authenticity; the misunderstood habit of “stimming” (or self-stimulation); the concept of samskaras (or energetic blockages in your subtle anatomy); reckoning with grief; the futility and harm of self-labeling; reframing limitations as gifts; managing your energy and seeking support when you need it; the connection between our increased understanding of the neurodivergent brain and the collective evolution of humanity; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How are you doing these days? Exhausted? Heartbroken? Outraged? All of the above? In this era of uncertainty and instability, you may feel like your only choice is to forge ahead and just get through the week. If so, this podcast with two beloved Sounds True authors was created just for YOU. Here, Tami Simon speaks with Seane Corn and Lama Rod Owens to hear their personal insights for navigating our rapidly-changing world from a place of deep connection to our most important values, to the people who give us strength, and to those with whom we may feel hopelessly divided. Take a deep listen as they share about: Grounding yourself and returning to inner stability; the ongoing integration that's needed in the post-Pandemic world; trauma, control, surrender, and liberation; honoring the natural cycles of life; dismantling systems of oppression and ushering in the selves we want to become; the power of raw truth; the skillful navigation of our grief, heartbreak, and outrage; becoming a New Saint; holding oneself accountable and continuing to do both your inner and outer work; reclaiming hope; reconnecting to your community of beloveds; the bodhisattva tradition; activism today; showing up instead of giving up; self-elevation and self-validation; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the surface, it appears as though the lives we live proceed forward moment by moment in a strictly linear way. Could it be we've got it all wrong? Renowned energy healer and teacher Cyndi Dale offers a wildly different perspective on our human journey—a paradigm-shattering cosmology where our current, past, parallel, and future selves coexist in realms beyond the grasp of the rational mind. In her book Transforming the Legacy, Cyndi helps readers create a partnership with these energetic aspects of ourselves to identify and heal soul-based and lineage-ancestry issues.  In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Cyndi about Transforming the Legacy and a broad swath of fascinating topics including: past lives and reincarnation; quantum physics and how our past, present, and future lives coexist; our two neurological systems: the (linear) digital and the (timeless) analog; the phenomenon of loop quantum gravity and how our parallel lives unfold in connection and concurrently; healing the past for empowerment here and now; the 12-chakra model; the ancestral energies we receive pre-conception; soul-level agreements we choose prior to incarnating; changing the "program" to change the person; finding your "God spot," or your connection to divine intelligence within; combining intuition with somatic practice on the path of healing and growth; applying subtle energy work to resolve money issues; the "wild tornadoes" metaphor for the chakras; spiritual light; overcoming our psychological discomfort around making difficult changes; addressing illness and disease on both the physical and subtle levels; the practice of becoming your own good ancestor; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Few luminaries in modern times have opened the doors to the spiritual dimensions of who we are, why we are here, and how we heal and evolve more profoundly than Caroline Myss. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with the longtime Sounds True author and renowned medical intuitive about her new online program, The Way of Guardians and Grace, where Caroline shares for the first time an intimate account of her relationship with unseen allies and the energetic realms they opened to her.  Listen now as the inimitable Caroline Myss tells us how these turning-point events in her life can inform your own greater path and calling. She and Tami discuss and illuminate: accessing our latent mystical intelligence; forging a partnership with the Divine; how your biography becomes your biology; life—a sacred spiritual adventure; wisdom, faith, love, and light; shifting from the love of power to the power of love; humanity’s collective shadow at this time; cultivating a high-voltage moral conscience; making grace-filled choices; what to pray for (and what not to); turning on your light in service of the world—and keeping it on; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As a new generation joins the search for understanding and meaning in our ambiguous and uncertain world, there's a growing resurgence of interest in the Shadow—Carl Jung's famous term for the aspects of ourselves that hide in our unconscious yet often drive behaviors we'd rather not repeat. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with acclaimed Jungian therapist and author Dr. Connie Zweig about her life's mission to help us grow in self-awareness and move toward personal and collective healing by learning how to work with the Shadow.  This aha-moment-filled conversation explores: meeting the Shadow on the spiritual path; ego formation during childhood; the concept of repression and the problem with the closet metaphor; why the Shadow hides—and when it erupts; "romancing the Shadow"; three cues to explore with respect to compulsive behaviors; "Shadow characters" and the practice of personifying aspects of the Shadow; the intergenerational aspect; engaging Shadow work at midlife; the superego; projection in relationships; sharing our secrets; money, sex, and power; shifting from a persona marriage to a Shadow marriage; the Vedanta tradition and the teaching on leshavidya, "the remains of ignorance"; the moral development missing in many spiritually advanced practitioners; illusions, idealizations, and archetypal projections; why the first reaction to meeting the Shadow is denial; Shadow projection in the politics of our times; step one: self-examination; bridging inner work and outer work wisely; how to practice "holding the tension of opposites"; cultivating nonduality in your own psychology; the "third thing" and the transcendent function; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More and more people are waking up to the very real dangers that humanity is facing as a result of a declining honeybee population. Yet as we join the refrain, "Save the bees!" Michelle Cassandra Johnson and Amy Burtaine pose a profound and extraordinary question: What if it's the bees who are trying to save us?  In this eye-opening conversation with the coauthors of the new book The Wisdom of the Hive, Tami Simon speaks with Michelle and Amy about bees as psychopomps who come to us with guidance; the spiritual lineage of bee priestesses; sustainability and respect in bee tending; hive consciousness and the concept of the superorganism; bees as an indicator species and the consequences of colony collapse for humanity; tending bees in a way that aligns with how they want to live; experiencing the power of the hum; the healing properties of the hive; how opening a jar of honey can turn into a shamanic journey; the waggle dance; the adaptability of bees and the various roles they play over their lifespan; the queen and her brilliance; becoming less fearful of bees (and what to do when one lands on you!); bees as a model of faith and trust; the question bees have for each one of us: What is the medicine I can offer?; how bees demonstrate gratitude, contentment, and equanimity; the swarm; meaning, connection, creativity, and contribution; the polarity of the dark and the light; the gift of "a box of sweetness"; why "the more you give away, the more you have." Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With so many valid concerns stoking fear in today’s world, it’s no wonder that more and more of us are living in a state of chronic anxiety that seems irreversible. If you’re feeling at a loss about how to reclaim your peace of mind, body, and spirit, Sheryl Lisa Finn has a life-changing suggestion: Don’t underestimate the power of connection. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with the author of The Healing Anxiety Workbook to share actionable insights and approaches for dissolving anxiety on the spot and experiencing inner safety and serenity (without “bypassing” the realities of our times).  Enjoy this conversation on: anxiety in a nutshell—sensing a lack of safety; reverse engineering anxiety; working with trauma at the root; when anxiety seeps back in; finding a source of goodness bigger than yourself; grief; building a foundation of connectivity that we can source into in challenging times; creativity and working with our hands; receiving support from the “wise self” within; Jungian psychology, archetypes, and dreamwork; fighting the spiritual fight in the face of systemic problems; anxiety’s hidden agenda—to serve our evolution; a practice to release the anxiety-producing stories we tell ourselves; the power of ritual and the importance of getting out of our rational minds; the practice of asking your ancestors to take your worry from you; anxiety in relationships, and how connection becomes a remedy; panic attacks; anxiety as a friend in disguise; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

He's the son of Timothy Leary and one of today's leading voices in the psychedelic renaissance of the 21st century. But Zach Leary's journey hardly unfolded in the way you might expect. In this deeply informative and myth-busting podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Zach about his new book with Sounds True, Your Extraordinary Mind.  With a "friend to friend" approach to discussing the amazing potential for the safe use of psychedelics, Tami and Zach converse about: carrying forward the legacy of the front-runners of psychedelic exploration, including icons like Terence McKenna, Humphry Osmond, Dr. John C. Lilly, and of course, Zach's father Timothy and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass); acknowledging the mistakes of the past and dispelling the myths and misconceptions about psychedelics; bringing legitimacy to the use of psychedelics for healing and insight; a review of the major compounds and their sources (natural and manmade), such as MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, LSD, and ketamine; the importance of the 3 S's: set, setting, and sustainability; turning insights into action; challenging experiences (instead of "bad trips"); Carl Jung and shadow work; using psychedelics to overcome our fear of death; Zach's personal battle with addiction and how psychedelics supported his recovery; the nature of consciousness; psychedelics as humanity's evolutionary partner; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In every social interaction, we convey signals of trust and accessibility to those around us. In other words, whatever's happening within your nervous system is seen and felt by others. Dr. Stephen Porges's groundbreaking Polyvagal Theory has led to a revolution in mental health, showing us that when you bring conscious awareness to your own inner state, you can choose to self-regulate (and ultimately to co-regulate), stop the cycle of fight-flight-freeze, and become a source of empathic connection and mutual safety for yourself and the people in your life.  Join Tami Simon in conversation with Dr. Porges and Karen Onderko, coauthors of the new book Safe and Sound to learn about: the origins of Polyvagal Theory; the minimization of bodily feelings and emotions in mental health care; the evolutionary hierarchy of our brainstem's survival mechanisms; the concept of co-regulation; the neurobiology of trust; neuroception and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP); why the intonation qualities of vocalization are more powerful than the words we say; the amazing vagus nerve; applying the SSP for trauma healing; self-compassion and honoring the body's wisdom; the transformative potential of a felt moment of safety; how to remain open and accessible without becoming overwhelmed by vulnerability; breathwork, qigong, and other neural exercises that facilitate the social engagement system; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.