Category: Mindfulness

Iyanla Vanzant: Truth is Light

Iyanla Vanzant is an author and expert on personal empowerment whose work includes five New York Times bestsellers and many appearances onstage, over the radio, and on television as the host of Iyanla: Fix My Life. With Sounds True, Iyanla has created several audio programs, including Giving Thanks and Living from Your Center. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Iyanla speak about cultivating intimacy with God and holding onto faith during trying times. They mull on values that are seemingly fading from modern society—including integrity, accountability, and even trust itself. Finally, Iyanla and Tami discuss the unique calling that every person has, and how that calling gives birth to one’s true and most authentic self.
(58 minutes)

Jack Kornfield: Difficult Times & Liberation

Jack Kornfield is a world-renowned teacher and one of the key figures to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He is the author of many books and audio programs, including The Wise Heart and After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Jack and Tami Simon discuss Buddhist views of how best to navigate periods of difficulty and heartache. Jack reflects on four decades of personal meditation practice and how this has informed how he works with students. Jack and Tami also explore insights into the nature of suffering, whether or not it is possible to be liberated even in spite of our neuroses, and what is meant by ”the crystal of liberation.”
(49 minutes)

Michael Carroll: Mindful Leadership

Michael Carroll is the COO of Global Coaching Alliance, a former executive, and a certified meditation teacher of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. A globally recognized expert on mindfulness in the workplace, Michael has written many books including The Mindful Leader and Fearless at Work. With Sounds True, he has created the audio series The Mindful Leadership Training. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Michael and Tami Simon speak on using mindfulness to foster a better workplace environment—one that values openness, generosity, and fearlessness. They discuss the challenges inherent in this transformation both from the perspective of business leaders and the entirety of an organization. Finally, Michael describes an example of a mindful leader and the qualities of confidence and vulnerability this person embodies.
(64 minutes)

Lama Tsomo: Finding the Ocean of Joy: Tibetan Buddhist...

Lama Tsomo—born Linda Pritzker—is an author, teacher, and ordained holder of the Namchak Buddhist lineage of Tibet. She’s the cofounder of the Namchak Foundation and the author of two books: The Princess Who Wept Pearls: The Feminine Journey in Fairytales and Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling?: A Westerner’s Introduction and Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Practice. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Lama Tsomo and Tami Simon speak about her teacher Gochen Tulku Sangak Rinpoche and what he has to say about karma, taking responsibility for our lives, and transforming resentment. They also discuss the science of visualization practice and how recent discoveries in quantum physics support key aspects of Buddhist philosophy. Finally, Tami and Lama Tsomo talk about motivation on the spiritual path and how clarifying that motivation can lead to lasting happiness.
(67 minutes)

Bruce Tift: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy

Bruce Tift has been a psychotherapist since 1979, a practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism for more than 35 years, and has taught at Naropa University for 25 years. He is the author of the Sounds True audio learning course Already Free: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path of Liberation. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Bruce about his perspectives on therapy as informed by Buddhist insights—examining how our “neurotic organization” exists to insulate us from legitimate suffering, why much of our growth comes from acting in ways that are counter-instinctual, and what it might mean to practice psychotherapy with the view that there is no problem we actually need to solve. (66 minutes)

Solala Towler: Practicing the Tao Te Ching

Solala Towler is a widely respected author and teacher who has been spreading the word of Taoism and qigong for more than 20 years. Solala is the editor of the Taoist journal The Empty Vessel and has written several books, including The Tao of Intimacy and Ecstasy and Practicing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps on the Way—both released in partnership with Sounds True. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Solala and Tami Simon speak about the eternal appeal and usefulness of the Tao Te Ching, as well as how it can be a source for potent spiritual practices. They also discuss Lao Tzu’s original composition of the Tao Te Ching and his assertion that a true sage is one who can return others to their childlike essence. Finally, Solala leads listeners in two practices drawn from the Tao—“Filling the Jade Pond” and “The Small Heavenly Orbit.” (63 minutes)

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