Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Tami Simon speaks with Snatam Kaur, one of the most recognized voices in the world of devotional chant. Snatam is an American artist who was raised in the kundalini yoga tradition and schooled in kirtan meditation and Gurmukhi, the Sanskrit-based language of Sikh scriptures in northern India. She is the lead singer for the Celebrate Peace tours and has released eight records. In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Snatam about her bottom line in terms of daily meditation practice, what has been her go-to mantra in life, and how motherhood keeps her ego in check. She also shares three excerpts from The Essential Snatam Kaur, her Sounds True compilation of her favorite sacred chants for healing. (76 minutes) See Snatam Kaur live in August 2013. Visit WakeUpFestival.com for more information.

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. David Grand, a pioneering psychotherapist, lecturer, and performance coach. Dr. Grand is best known for his discovering of the internationally-acclaimed therapy called Brainspotting. He’s the author of the book Emotional Healing at Warp Speed, and his new book called Brainspotting: A Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change will be released with Sounds True in the spring. In this episode, Tami speaks with David about what Brainspotting is and why it represents a new evolution in brain-based therapy. Dr. Grand reveals the central insight of Brainspotting—that where you look affects how you feel—and offers a simple practice that you can try right now. (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Sally Kempton, a teacher who has practiced, studied, and written about meditation and spiritual philosophy for more than 40 years. With Sounds True, Sally has authored Meditation for the Love of It and the recently released book Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga. In this episode, Tami speaks with Sally about how we can seek guidance and blessing from a goddess, the role of imagination in invoking goddess energy, the light and shadow sides of each goddess, and the relationship between goddess energy and the awakening of Kundalini in the human experience. (69 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Jeff Foster, who was voted one of the world’s 100 most spiritually influential living people by the Watkins Review in 2012. Jeff teaches from his own awakened experience, belonging to no tradition or lineage, and makes his teaching accessible to all. With Sounds True, he has created a new book, The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening in Ordinary Life, and an accompanying audio program. In this second half of a two-part interview, Jeff speaks with Tami about addiction, physical pain, and the core challenge of being with discomfort. He also talks about illusions about spiritual awakening as a permanent state of bliss and what “real spirituality” might mean. (74 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson, who incorporates integrative family medicine with energy healing. Dr. Chiasson is Canadian board-certified in family practice and has a private integrative and energy medicine practice in Tucson, AZ. With Sounds True, she has created several audio programs, a home study course, an online training program, and her new book, Energy Healing: The Essentials for Self-Care. In this interview, Dr. Chiasson speaks about allowing energy to flow into the body through assemblage points. She also talks about sacred touch, leads us in a heart center meditation, and explains what it means to access a unified field of energy through all three dan tians. (70 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Stephen Cope, a psychotherapist who studies the relationship between Western psychology and Eastern contemplative traditions. Stephen is the founder and director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living, the largest yoga research institute in the West. With Sounds True, he has created the audio program Yoga for Emotional Flow: Free Your Emotions through Yoga Breathing, Body Awareness, and Energetic Release. In this interview, Stephen speaks with Tami about deeper dimensions of yoga, including how yoga helps us undo core patterns of aggression and craving in the body. Stephen also discusses “riding the wave,” a process for leaning in and fully experiencing emotion. (61 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Marion Woodman, a renowned international teacher, workshop leader, and Jungian therapist. A widely read author on analytical and feminine psychology with over half a million books in print, Marion has created several Sounds True audio courses, including The Crown of Age and Sitting by the Well. In the first half of this newly released, two-part interview, recorded in the year 2000, Tami speaks with Marion about the cancer diagnosis Marion received and how it has changed her perspective on life. Marion also speaks eloquently of the courage to face our mortality, how life can be seen as a series of birth canals, and the gifts of humor and faith that come to us with age. (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Stephen Aizenstat, the founding president of Pacifica Graduate Institute and a pioneer in the study of dreams. Dr. Aizenstat has explored the power of dreams using depth psychology and his own research for 35 years. With Sounds True, he has created the audio program DreamTending: Techniques for Uncovering the Hidden Intelligence of Your Dreams. In this episode, Tami and Stephen speak about why he believes dreams are not just conceived in our personal subconscious but are living expressions of the mind of the universe itself, how we can have a relationship with the images that we encounter in dreams, and what it might mean to say that the body is always dreaming. (69 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Starhawk, one of the most respected voices in modern Goddess religion and earth-based spirituality. Starhawk travels internationally teaching magic, the tools of ritual, and the skills of political activism. She is the author or co-author of 12 books including Spiral Dance and The Earth Path, and her audio programs with Sounds True include Earth Magic and The Beginner’s Guide to Wicca. In this episode, Tami speaks with Starhawk about how we communicate with the natural world and the important tenets of Wiccan religion, including a full moon ritual we can try. She also spoke about her view of the most important leverage points for making effective change in the world. (64 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Carl Honoré, an award-winning journalist, author, and pioneer of the “slow revolution.” He is the author of Under Pressure and the international bestseller In Praise of Slowness, and with Sounds True he has created the audio program The Power of Slow: Finding Balance and Fulfillment Beyond the Cult of Speed. In this episode, Tami speaks with Carl about our cultural addiction to speed and the myth that it actually helps us be productive. He talks about the steps we can take to change our relationship with technology, the virtues of slow thinking at home and at work, and how we can incorporate slow rituals into our lives such as yoga, meditation, and even slow-cooking. (55 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Gary Small, the director of the UCLA memory and aging research center. For his work in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and brain aging, Scientific American magazine named him one of the world’s top 50 innovators in science and technology. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Dr. Small explains which factors are in our control when it comes to preventing memory loss and even the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. He also talks about the importance of weight loss, good sleep, and diet for brain health as well as some of the latest research related to the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. (42 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Wayne Muller, author of the national bestseller Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood as well as How, Then, Shall We Live? and A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough. In this episode, Wayne speaks about how the experience of being enough is born in relationship and through the power of reaching out to people who feel isolated. He also talks about how we can see painful childhood events as opportunities to develop unique and special capacities. Wayne and Tami also discuss making time in our lives to relax into “enoughness” and the importance of not letting ourselves be swept away by the busyness of the culture. (56 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Silvia Nakkach, an award-winning composer, author, and musician. She is the founding director of the Vox Mundi school, an international project devoted to teaching and preserving indigenous musical traditions. With Sounds True, Silvia has published the book Free Your Voice: Awaken Your Life Through Singing and her latest music album, Medicine Melodies. In this episode, Tami speaks with Silvia about the spiritual dimension from which music emerges, the difference between finding your voice and freeing your voice, and simple ways we can begin to free our own natural voice. Silvia also shares three different tracks from Medicine Melodies. (69 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. John Welwood, a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and practicing student of Buddhism and Eastern contemplative psychology. Dr. Welwood is an author whose books include Journey of the Heart and Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships, and with Sounds True he has created the audio learning program Conscious Relationships. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Welwood about his understanding of the relationship between psychological work and the spiritual journey, as well as his view of the phenomenon of “spiritual bypassing.” He also spoke about committed relationships and the most common issue that couples present in couples therapy. (61 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Reverend Deborah Johnson, the founder and president of Inner Light Ministries, an omnifaith spiritual community of more than 1,500 people in northern California. Rev. Deborah is a tireless voice for compassion, equality, coalition building, and forward-thinking public policy. With Sounds True, she has authored two volumes of the Letters from the Infinite series, titled The Sacred Yes and Your Deepest Intent. In this episode, Tami speaks with Deborah about the extraordinary “divine download” that resulted in her two books, how we can purify our intent, the importance of sincerity in spiritual unfolding, and how we might each receive our own letters from the infinite. (60 minutes)