Category: Mindfulness

The Practice of Gratitude

Tami Simon speaks with Angeles Arrien, a teacher, author, and cultural anthropologist. Her teachings, which connect the disciplines of anthropology, psychology, and comparative religion, focus on humanity’s shared beliefs and values, along with ways to incorporate this wisdom into our modern lives. With Sounds True, she has created the programs The Second Half of Life, and Gathering Medicine; and most recently Gratitude. Angeles speaks about the importance of having a gratitude practice, and the exciting adventure of what Angeles describes as the “third act of our lives.” (51 minutes)

Reginald A. Ray: Dark Retreat

Tami Simon speaks with Reggie Ray, a teacher and scholar in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition with four decades of experience with the practice of meditation. He’s the founder and spiritual director of Dharma Ocean and an author whose writings include Touching Enlightenment, Indestructible Truth, and Secret of the Vajra World, as well as several audio programs including Your Breathing Body and Meditating with the Body. Reggie is also a teacher with whom Tami has studied closely for the past eight years. Reggie discusses his recent experiences in dark retreat as well as the true goal of meditation and Reggie’s view of the meaning of spiritual practice. (51 minutes)

Writing as Spiritual Practice

Tami Simon speaks with Natalie Goldberg, a writer and teacher and a painter. She has studied Zen Buddhism for nearly four decades, and is ordained in the Order of Interbeing with Thich Nhat Hanh. Her audio programs include Old Friend from Far Away, Long Quiet Highway, Thunder and Lightning, The Great Failure, and Writing Down the Bones. She’s also created an audio program with Julia Cameron, available through Sounds True, called The Writing Life. Natalie discusses writing as a spiritual practice, what it means to meet your mind in writing practice, and her recent experience of beginning to stand in the role of being a Zen teacher. (51 minutes)

Pith Instructions

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)

The Spiritual Transformation of Capitalism

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)

Great Doubt, Great Confidence, Great Courage

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)

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