Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Tami Simon speaks with Neil Douglas-Klotz, a world-renowned scholar in religious studies, spirituality, and psychology. Neil directs the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning in Scotland, and is the author of The Hidden Gospel and The Sufi Book of Life. With Sounds True, he has published the book Blessings of the Cosmos and three audio learning courses, including I Am: The Secret Teachings of the Aramaic Jesus. In this episode, Tami speaks with Neil about how to appreciate multiple interpretations of scriptural text, and what the “I Am” sayings of Jesus were meant to communicate to his disciples. He also offers a body prayer meant to give us a somatic experience of the teachings of Jesus. (57 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Chloë Goodchild. Chloë is a teacher, composer, performer, and the founder of the Naked Voice foundation, a charitable trust devoted to healing suffering and resolving conflict through sound. With Sound True, she has created the three-CD program Your Naked Voice, and the audio learning course Awakening Through Sound: The Naked Voice Program to Access Your Deepest Wisdom. In this episode, Tami speaks with Chloë about what she calls “the sound before sound” and what the sound of the ether might be like. Chloë also leads us through a Naked Voice exercise for tuning into the sound of your own voice called One Breath, One Voice. (61 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. James S. Gordon, the founder and director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and a clinical professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Gordon is the author of Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression, and with Sounds True he has created the six-session audio program Freedom from Depression: A Practical Guide to the Journey. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Gordon about the actual research on antidepressants and their effectiveness, the importance of breaking the taboo around talking about our suicidal thoughts, and which mind-body practices are most powerful for helping people overcome severe depression. (56 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Marie Manuchehri, a nationally known energy intuitive and Reiki master who first discovered her gifts for energetic healing while working as a registered oncology nurse. Marie is an author, workshop leader, and hosts a radio program in Seattle. With Sounds True, she has written the book Intuitive Self-Healing and created the audio learning course How to Communicate with Your Spirit Guides. In this episode, Marie directly answers Tami's personal skepticism about the reality of spirit guides. She also offers a unique perspective on the concept of free will, and shares a guided exercise for opening a channel of communication to your own spirit guides. (73 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Mark Nepo. Mark is a poet, philosopher, and spiritual teacher who is the author of numerous books and audio projects, including the New York Times #1 bestseller The Book of Awakening, which made the list of Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things. With Sounds True, Mark has created an eight-session audio learning course called Staying Awake: The Ordinary Art. In this episode, Tami has an intimate conversation with Mark about the two most important lessons he has learned from his journey with cancer, the role of effort and grace in our lives, what it means to take "the exquisite risk," and how we can shift our perspective to see with the eyes of the heart. (73 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, one of the foremost researchers studying sound and its effect on the brain and body. Based on his discoveries of how specific frequency patterns can create health benefits, Dr. Thompson has created dozens of popular brainwave entrainment audio programs, including Brainwave Suite, Alpha Relaxation System, and Delta Sleep System. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Thompson about the science behind brainwave entrainment and how it can affect our physiology, the discovery of the gamma brainwave state that occurs during periods of deep meditation, and the power of what Dr. Thompson calls primordial sounds. (75 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Jan Phillips, an award-winning writer, artist, photographer, and workshop leader. Jan is a cofounder of Syracuse Cultural Workers, and is the author of the books God Is at Eye Level and Marry Your Muse. With Sounds True, she has produced the 12-session audio learning program, The Marry Your Muse Workshop: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity. In this episode, Tami speaks with Jan about the Artist's Creed, a manifesto she wrote to support aspiring writers when they confront their blocks and fears. She also speaks about the connection between creativity and leadership, and why Jan believes creativity is the ultimate act of faith. (49 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Rabbi David Cooper, one of today's leading teachers of Jewish meditation. Rabbi Cooper is author of many books, including God Is a Verb and The Heart of Stillness. His programs with Sounds True include Invoking Angels, The Beginner's Guide to Kabbalah, and two six-CD audio learning courses, Mystical Kabbalah and Seeing Through the Eyes of God. In this episode, Tami speaks with David about the ability of the Sabbath to restore our soul, the power of using Hebrew mantras in our meditation, what angels are and how we can relate to them, and a guided meditation for calling on help and support at any time in our lives. (67 minutes)

Author and teacher Laura Alden Kamm has been described as a “walking MRI” for the remarkable accuracy of her medical intuition. She has worked as a medium and remote viewer, and trains corporate leaders in innovative problem solving through her Inner Edge program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Laura about her near-death experience and how it informs her current abilities. In addition, Tami and Laura discuss how we can begin to cultivate our own intuitive skills—and learn to trust the guidance we receive from our intuition. Finally, Laura shares a guided practice for working intuitively with an event in the future. (66 minutes)

Nobody else possesses your unprecedented blend of gifts, experiences, and perspectives. So why have you been given this singular treasure, and what will you do with it? This is the focus of Michael Bernard Beckwith's new book Life Visioning: A Transformative Process for Activating Your Unique Gifts and Highest Potential. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Beckwith about the four evolutionary stages of the development of consciousness and how the Life Visioning Process works in each stage. Tami and Michael also discuss some of the biggest obstacles people experience with Life Visioning, and the importance of unconditional love as the atmosphere for the Life Visioning Process. (63 minutes)

In this week's episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Medical College, and adjunct assistant professor in the department of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Tami asks Dr. Newberg about some of the new findings in the emerging field of neurotheology, which studies the links between faith, neurobiology, and the mysteries of the psyche. What changes take place in the brain of people who meditate or pray? What happens when we die? How does faith influence both our brain chemistry and the overall quality of our lives? Join Tami Simon and Dr. Andrew Newberg for a fascinating discussion of these questions and more. (63 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Donna Eden, a renowned energy medicine expert who has taught throughout the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and South America. Along with her partner David Feinstein, Donna is author of the books Energy Medicine and Energy Medicine for Women, and with Sounds True she has produced the multimedia program The Energy Medicine Kit. In this episode, Tami speaks with Donna about her experiences as someone who both sees energy and has healed herself from serious medical challenges. Donna also shares two energy practices: a technique to evolve our fight-flight-or-freeze response, and another for opening with total trust to the energy of the heavens. (63 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, whose trailblazing research has helped bring mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine. Jon is the author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, and with Sounds True he has written a new book with an accompanying CD of guided practices, Mindfulness for Beginners. In this episode, Tami speaks with Jon about the role of science in validating mindfulness practice, the 180-degree shift that lets us rest in awareness instead of identifying with our thoughts, and the potential renaissance in the world that may arise from a "mindfulness revolution." (73 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Bronwen Stiene, who teaches the system of Reiki in Asia, North America, and Europe, and cofounded Australia's International House of Reiki with her husband, Frans. Bronwen is the author of four books, including The Reiki Sourcebook and The Japanese Art of Reiki, and with Sounds True has created the audio program Reiki Meditations for Self-Healing. In this episode, Tami speaks with Bronwen about some of the central myths surrounding the practice of Reiki, the importance of grounding, how Reiki works when used with animals, and what Reiki has to teach us about opening right now to whatever is needed most in our lives. (62 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Henry Grayson, a leading psychologist who has spent decades exploring the connections between psychology, physics, and the spiritual traditions of the world. Dr. Grayson founded and served as chairman emeritus at the National Institute for Psychotherapies in New York. With Sounds True, he has created the nine-hour audio training course The New Physics of Love: The Power of Mind and Spirit in Relationships. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Grayson about the role of thoughts in our relationships, how the non-local nature of the universe impacts our consciousness, and the possibility of "deleting undesirable and obsolete core beliefs in the twinkling of an eye." (60 minutes)