Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Tami Simon speaks with Gregg Braden. For over 20 years, Gregg has been a leading authority on ancient prophecies, sacred sites, and lost spiritual practices. He’s the author of the books Fractal Time: The Secret of 2012 and a New World Age; Awakening to Zero Point; Walking Between the Worlds; and The Isaiah Effect. Gregg Braden will also be hosting a three-part online event series called Exploring Fractal Time: Choice Point 2012 beginning November 3, 2010. Gregg discusses the cycles of time, the energy that’s at the center of the Milky Way, and what we can learn from ancient cultures about what he calls “choosing with our hearts.” (55 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Thomas Moore, a monk, university professor, and psychotherapist. His work focuses on developing a deepening spirituality, as well as the act of cultivating the soul in everyday life. Thomas is the author of Care of the Soul, and Dark Nights of the Soul. Beginning on October 28, Thomas will begin a three-part online event series at Sounds True called Gifts of a Dark Night, where he'll discuss periods of loss or failure that we'll all endure while offering advice and guidance on how to navigate these difficult times. Thomas speaks about the danger of sentimentalizing the spiritual life, the fear of living versus the fear of death, and what it means to live with care. (56 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Peter Fenner. Peter has studied as a monk with many prominent Buddhist lamas, and is the founder of the Center for Timeless Wisdom. He’s the author of several books, including Reasoning into Reality and The Edge of Certainty. With Sounds True, he’s published a book and audio program called Radiant Mind, full of teachings and practices intended to help awaken unconditioned awareness. Peter discusses three dimensions that can be considered when we look at our capacity to rest in unconditioned awareness, and the difference between a causal path and a results-oriented path in spirituality. (56 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Shiva Rea, an internationally renowned vinyasa-flow yoga teacher, and one of the most innovative and pioneering yoga teachers today. With Sounds True, Shiva has created more than a dozen teaching programs, including the award-winning DVD Yoga Shakti, and several audio teaching programs, including Yoga Trance Dance and Yoga Chant, as well as several music compilations that are designed for yoga practice. Shiva discusses fluidity, our bodies, and how to be fluid in our life, even during difficult times. (58 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Stanislav Grof. For more than half of a century, Stan has been a pioneer in the research of non-ordinary states of consciousness. He is the author of many books including Realms of the Human Unconscious, Beyond the Brain, and most recently Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy. With Sounds True, Stan wrote the book When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Realities, and the audio learning program The Transpersonal Vision. Stan discusses the lessons that can be learned from non-ordinary states, the idea of a consciousness independent of the brain, and the uses and goals of holotropic breath work. (67 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Lama Surya Das, one of the best-known American-born lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He’s the author of the books Awakening the Buddha Within and The Mind is Mightier than the Sword. With Sounds True, he’s created seven programs, including the audio learning programs Tibetan Dream Yoga and Buddha Is As Buddha Does, as well as a book/CD package called Natural Radiance: Awakening to Your Great Perfection. Lama Surya Das discusses recognizing our buddha nature, waking up to the nature of mind, and leads us in a Tibetan dream yoga practice. (57 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Jonathan Ellerby, an emerging teacher in the areas of spiritual exploration, healing, and consciousness. He is the author of the book Return to the Sacred, as well as the Sounds True audio learning program Your Spiritual Personality: Finding the Path That’s Right for You. Jonathan discusses the idea of spiritual personality, what he calls the six-aspects of spiritual personalities, how we can grow and better understand others through these personalities and the clarity that arises from living in accord with our true self. (42 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with David Ison who has been a musician, composer, recording artist, and teacher for 30 years. Healthcare professionals throughout the world have used David’s work to bring the therapeutic qualities of sound and music to their patients. Through The Relaxation Company and Sounds True, David has created many albums including The Musical Body series and the Ison Sleep System, as well as several albums designed to address pain management. David discusses his own journey of discovery, how sound and music can be healing, breath entrainment, and about how sound can actually unbind what energetically blocks us. (74 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Patricia Aburdene, one of the world's leading social forecasters and is the author of the Sounds True audio program Megatrends 2010. Patricia discusses the rise of conscious capitalism, living your spiritual values at work, and what she calls, "the spiritual transformation of capitalism." (46 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Peter Levine, an expert on treating stress and trauma, with over 45 years of experience in the field. He is the author of several Sounds True programs including the book/CD Healing Trauma, and an audio program designed to help guide children through traumatic events called It Won’t Hurt Forever. On September 20, 2010, Peter will be presenting Healing Trauma a course designed to teach you how to release energy from traumatic episodes and restore harmony and balance in the body. Peter speaks about his body-based approach to trauma, trauma’s connection to stress, and offers some advice on how to deal with trauma. (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Craig Kohland, a visionary sacred music composer, producer, and performer. He is the director of the Shaman’s Dream World Groove Ensemble, and has created three albums with Sounds True including Kerala Dream, dance: dream: dance, and African Dream, as well as a remix with Jai Uttal entitled Dial M for Mantra. Craig speaks about music as a spiritual experience, the ritualistic aspect of music, and the role of music as a positive voice in the world while listening to three musical selections from Shaman’s Dream. (54 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Stephen Batchelor a former monk in the Tibetan and Koran Zen traditions with a humanistic, non-dogmatic approach to Buddhism. He is the author of the new book Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, and the Sounds True audio learning program Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening. Stephen speaks about the importance of doubt in spiritual practice, lessons from the historical life of the Buddha, and how he is exploring the Buddha’s teachings in a post-modern world. (61 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Meg Lundstrom a journalist and author who has extensively written on the topics of self-development, health, and the search for meaning. She discovered the art of divining over 20 years ago, and calls upon her vast knowledge in the subject for a new book with Sounds True called What to Do When You Can't Decide: Useful Tools for Finding the Answer Within. Meg discusses synchronicity and divining, the three types of divining methods discussed in her book, and the mechanisms at work behind the art of divining. (45 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Andrew Harvey a poet, teacher, writer, mystic, and sacred activist. His work is deeply involved with the transformative nature of the spiritual path and the call in our time for mystics to become what Andrew calls, sacred activists—sacred activists in a world that needs us. He has created several powerful audio programs with Sounds True including Radiant Heart, Song of the Sun, and The Direct Path. Andrew discusses the birth of universal mysticism, the dark night of the soul, and the transfiguration of the body that occurs as we progress on the spiritual path.

Tami Simon speaks with Sandra Ingerman a shamanic practitioner, psychotherapist, and educational director for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies who has taught workshops on shamanism around the world. Sandra is the author, along with Hank Wesselman, of the Sounds True book Awakening to the Spirit World and the three-part online event 21st-Century Shamanism, which begins August 5, 2010, at SoundsTrue.com. Sandra discusses our connected web of consciousness, understanding our individual spiritual aspects, and how developing our shamanistic qualities can benefit others. (60 minutes)