Category: Spirituality

John Welwood: Healing the Core Wound of the Heart

Dr. John Welwood is 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. With Sounds True, he has created the audio learning program Conscious Relationships. In this episode, Tami Simon 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 talks about committed relationships and the most common issue that couples present in joint therapy. (60 minutes)

The gift of pure rest

Please give yourself the gift of rest from trying so hard to ‘change,’ ‘heal,’ ‘transform,’ and ‘awaken.’ It can be so exhausting to chronically abandon the here and now in the name of great project of the improvement of ‘me.’ Take some time on this new day to set aside the frenetic scramble to be other than what you are.

Love yourself enough to set aside your questions and demand for understanding, even for a moment, and sink into your sacred body and senses, connect with the natural world, and with the aliveness within. Open your heart to the shimmering forms around you, blooming in front of your very own eyes and inviting you into union with natural radiant presence. Dare to consider that nothing is missing and nothing has gone wrong.

Allow today to be a day of solace from the weary journey, from finding ‘answers’ to questions, and from changing yourself from one thing into another. Whatever state of consciousness is arising now is the perfect place to start—to meet yourself, others, and the sacred world as if for the first time. You need not go anywhere else or become anyone else to know this. For love is forming as your body and your senses and your experience right here and right now.

flower_blooming

Elizabeth Lesser: I Want to Grow More Than I Want to B...

More than 30 years ago, Elizabeth Lesser helped cofound Omega Institute, now one of the world’s premiere centers for the exploration of the spiritual journey. These days, Elizabeth is known as the bestselling author of The Seeker’s Guide and Broken Open, as well as a frequent collaborator with Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey. In this episode, Elizabeth and Tami converse on the role of spiritual teachers, the power of prayer, and the inevitable price of wisdom. They also talk about fear and fearlessness, as well as the strength one can find in solitude. Finally, Tami and Elizabeth discuss psychotherapy as a modern sacred practice and how it might one day become a widely accepted form of spiritual seeking. (66 minutes)

The Spiritual Dimension of Reality, Part 1

As a nuclear physicist and former university professor, Claude Poncelet may seem an unlikely choice to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on shamanic practice. Yet, Claude has taught shamanic spirituality worldwide for more than 25 years, and has recently written the book The Shaman Within: A Physicist’s Guide to the Deeper Dimensions of Your Life, the Universe, and Everything. In this episode, Tami and Claude discuss the innate sentience of all matter, the points where science and shamanism converge, and the practical benefits of a leading a shamanic life in the modern world. They also speak on the shamanic art of shape-shifting, both as a spiritual practice and a path to physical healing. (73 minutes)

Mukti: Exploring Embodied Awakening

Mukti is an associate teacher at Open Gate Sangha in Northern California, which she cofounded in 1996 with her husband, Adyashanti. As a teacher, Mukti points us back to our natural state of undivided consciousness, supporting the journey with feminine qualities of quietude and nurturing. Mukti has recently created a six-session audio learning series with Sounds True entitled The Self in Full Bloom: Teachings and Practices for Embodied Awakening. In this episode, Mukti speaks with Tami about her personal experience of awakening and how it changes the self, guides us through a practice for embodied self-inquiry, and shares the inside story of her relationship with Adyashanti. (67 minutes)

Mindfulness in Nature

Mark Coleman speaks with Tami Simon about the power of taking our spiritual practice into the natural world. Mark is the founder of the Mindfulness Institute and a senior teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center who teaches Insight Meditation worldwide, and is author of the book Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery. In this episode, Mark recalls some of the most important wisdom he’s gained from his immersive retreats in nature, how nature can be a mirror for our own inner landscape, and how we might change on a personal and societal level if we paid more attention to our sensory experience of the natural world. (59 minutes)

See Mark Coleman live in August 2014. Visit WakeUpFestival.com for more information.

>