John Seed

John Seed is founder of the Rainforest Information Centre (RIC). John is an accomplished bard, songwriter, and film-maker . Since 1979 he has been involved in the direct actions to protect the Australian rainforests and received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 1995, for services to conservation.

He co-authored "Thinking Like a Mountain - Towards a Council of All Beings" with Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming and Arne Naess and has written and lectured extensively on deep ecology. He has been conducting Councils of All Beings and other re-Earthing workshops around the world for 35 years to help us strengthen our felt sense of connection with the living Earth.

John spearheaded RIC's endangered species and climate change campaigns, launched a successful campaign to protect the world's largest remaining population of Asian elephants and another that protected the Cardamom Mountains rainforests in Cambodia . His work in Ecuador recently resulted in a Supreme Court decision to eject a mining company from the Los Cedros Biological Reserve. This was the first time that the “Rights of Nature” clause in the Ecuadorean constitution was used to protect country and the precedent set has resulted in other legal victories and lands protected.

In 2023 he was one of 109 arrested in the Rising Tide kayak blockade of the world’s largest coal port, Newcastle, which exports fully 1% of the world’s greenhouse gasses.

Also By Author

John Seed: A Cosmic Walk to Discover Your Ecological I...

After almost 50 years as one of the world’s leading environmental activists, John Seed has started to see an encouraging shift: “Caring about the Earth isn’t just for hippies and pagans,” he says. “More and more people are moving from having these ideas to exploring what we can do about them.” In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with the founder of the Rainforest Information Centre and co-author of Think Like a Mountain about his ongoing commitment to serving as a tireless steward of our planet and all its inhabitants. 

Give a listen to this inspiring conversation exploring: the illusion of separation underlying the environmental crisis; experiential ecology, or “the work that reconnects”; engaged Buddhism and activism as a spiritual practice; Joanna Macy’s renowned despair and empowerment work; waking up a culture in denial; transforming numbness into energy and action; creating a container for safely witnessing what’s going on; ceremony and bringing the sacred into our activism; the Council of All Beings practice; gratitude; a guided experience of “the cosmic walk”; Thomas Berry and the call for a creation story that unites us all; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

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Explore the scientific evidence for reincarnation with renowned University of Virginia researcher Dr. Jim B. Tucker and host Tami Simon, as they reflect on the thousands of cases of children’s past-life memories.

Is the survival of a self beyond physical death just a wishful notion? For decades, psychiatrist and researcher Jim B. Tucker has continued the legendary work of Dr. Ian Stevenson to build a compelling case for the past-life experiences of more than 2,500 children—many of them supported by astonishing and verified evidence.

In this new Insights At The Edge episode, Dr. Tucker shares how this research raises profound implications about why we are here, and the very nature of consciousness and this reality.

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Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Yuria Celidwen, PhD: “Flourishing Is a Gradual U...

Dr. Yuria Celidwen is at the forefront of a historic expansion in the field of contemplative science—or the study of inner practices like meditation, prayer, and mindfulness. Until recently, researchers have primarily focused on major religious traditions such as Buddhism or Christianity. Today, Dr. Celidwen is bringing the long-overdue perspective of Indigenous cultures into the discussion. In this podcast, Sounds True founder Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Celidwen about her new book, Flourishing Kin: Indigenous Wisdom for Collective Well-Being

Tune in for this invigorating conversation exploring: Yuria’s definition of flourishing as a gradual unfolding of aesthetic arrest; cultivating an embodied sense of your interconnection with all of creation; why Indigenous perspectives are vital for solving the climate crisis; honoring spirit, the animating principle of life; a deeper understanding of health; the direct experience of “moments of truth”; sunshine as a seed of awareness; the core right of self-determination; relating to Indigeneity respectfully; the possibility of collective flourishing; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

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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