Agapi Stassinopoulos

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Agapi Stassinopoulos was born and raised in Athens, Greece. At age 18, she entered the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and afterward became a member of the Young Vic. She moved to the United States to do film and television, and later attended the University of Santa Monica, where she completed her master’s degree in psychology.

While her sister, Arianna Huffington, was doing research for her book about Greek mythology, Agapi’s love for the gods and goddesses was ignited and led to two books of her own—Conversations with the Goddesses and Gods and Goddesses in Love—as well as a one-woman show and a PBS special. She also coproduced and cohosted a documentary called “Quest for the Gods,” shot on location in Greece. She has been featured on Oprah.com, HuffPost Live, CBS’s The Talk, and The Martha Stewart Show, among others. She has spoken at conferences for the American Heart Association, The Spirit of Women, the Whole Foods Leadership Academy, Time Inc., the Girl Scouts of America, TEDx, Wisdom 2.0 Conference, Nike, Starbucks, Kaiser Permanente, and many more.

She is developing a curriculum on Heartfelt Leadership for the Wharton Business School to provide the tools to bring conscious leadership into today’s workplace, based on the principles of generosity and empathy, assisting others to live a more fulfilling life. She is currently collaborating with her sister, Arianna, on conducting workshops on the principles of Thrive, The Third Metric, bringing them to the corporate world. She lives between New York and Los Angeles. For more, visit unbindingtheheart.com.

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Unbinding the Heart

Agapi Stassinopoulos is an author, blogger, and motivational speaker who conducts seminars worldwide on embracing one’s natural gifts. With Sounds True, she has released the audio version of her book Unbinding the Heart: A Dose of Greek Wisdom, Generosity, and Unconditional Love, enhanced with new guided meditations. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Agapi and Tami Simon speak on how disappointment can be an important teacher and how each of us needs to define success for ourselves. They also talk about lessons Agapi learned from her mother—including potent slogans she shared with her daughters. Finally, Tami and Agapi address the expectations of young women just starting their careers and how contributing to the lives of others may be the true path to freeing our hearts. (63 minutes)

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A Message of Gratitude

Dear Sounds True friend,

At this time of thanks-giving, I want to thank you, a beloved member of our extended Sounds True community of listeners, readers, authors, and learners worldwide.

Thank you for your interest and willingness to be an explorer of your inner world.

Thank you for your perseverance, your willingness to be here, with all of life’s great joys and terrible griefs and sorrows. Thank you for being ”on the journey,” with all of the ways life breaks open our hearts and asks us to expand and hold a larger space of love.

Thank you for your courage to be you, beloved and singular, the you that carries a unique gift, some special look, a cry and a laugh never heard before, a contribution we need. Thank you for being yourself and extending yourself to others, even in small ways, which often turn out to be huge.

My own prayer this Thanksgiving is to remain steadfast and true. Please know that here at Sounds True we remain so—and we love doing so in connection with you. We are here because you are here. This thanks-giving, I bow to the strength and goodness of our human hearts.

With you on the journey,

Tami

P.S. Here is a thanks-giving offering, a classic poem from Mary Oliver:

Praying

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be 
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few 
small stones; just 
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t 
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence, in which 
another voice may speak.

Mary Oliver, Thirst

Tami Simon

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