Tessa Bielecki Archives

Tessa Bielecki

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Tessa Bielecki is Mother Abbess of the Spiritual Life Institute, a Carmelite community with hermitages in Colorado, Nova Scotia, and Ireland. She studied for a career in international relations at Trinity College in Washington, D.C., before entering a monastery in 1967. Mother Tessa is actively involved in Buddhist-Christian dialogs and international initiatives exploring world peace and planetary survival. She is the author of Teresa of Avila: Ecstasy and Common Sense; Holy Daring; and Teresa of Avila: Mystical Writings and publisher of Forefront, a quarterly magazine of contemporary spirituality.

Listen to Tami Simon's interview with Tessa Bielecki: Vitality, Courage, Daring

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Vitality, Courage, Daring

Tessa Bielecki — September 13, 2011

Tami Simon speaks with Tessa Bielecki, former Mother Abbess of the Spiritual Life Institute, and founder of the Desert Foundation, an organization dedicated to fostering interfaith peace and understanding. She is author of Teresa of Avila: Ecstasy and Common Sense, and with Sounds True, the six-session audio learning program, Wild at Heart: Radical Teachings of the Christian Mystics. In this episode, Tami and Tessa have a heartfelt and honest conversation about how we can bring the vitality of monastic living into our everyday life, why the work of balancing polarities is so important to the Christian Mystic, and the transformative power of courageous acts. (62 minutes)

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Andrew Holecek: What Reincarnates? | Part 2

Andrew Holecek — August 26, 2025

Join Tami Simon and Andrew Holecek for the second half of their exploration of reincarnation. Here, they delve deeper into Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on death, rebirth, and the power of “dark retreat” practice, revealing practical guidance for navigating everyday life.

What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process? In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the “gap between lives.” Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.

Join them to explore:

How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live
The nature of awareness and the influence of habits
How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives, and more

Note: These interviews 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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Andrew Holecek: What Reincarnates? | Part 1

Andrew Holecek — August 19, 2025

What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process?

In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the “gap between lives.” Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.

Join them to explore:

How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live
The nature of awareness and the influence of habits
How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives

Whether you’re curious about what happens after we die or seeking wisdom to live more fully, this episode offers insights for inner explorers of all beliefs and backgrounds.

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.

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Suzy Miller: Becoming an Integrated, Multidimensional ...

Suzy Miller — July 22, 2025

Is it possible that what we call “autism” is actually the expression of a disconnect between the body, mind, and soul? Are we all functioning in a field of oneness that we’ve forgotten about? Does the neurodivergent population have a special role to play in human evolution? These are the intriguing questions explored in this episode of “Being Open: Spirituality and the Neurodivergent Mind.”

Tune in for an expansive conversation with Tami Simon and integration specialist Suzy Miller to learn about: telepathic communication, clairsentience, and other psychic abilities shared by many autistic children; the emerging occupation of the integration specialist; the light body and the physical body; overcoming our inherited patterns of mental and emotional conditioning; the Presence Process created by Michael Brown and the practice of harmonizing the unintegrated information within yourself; recognizing your triggers as opportunities for self-compassion and healing; embracing the messenger and loving the past; parenting your inner child; the “awesomeness” of autism; why nervous system self-regulation is so important in families of divergent children; the link between stuck patterning and physical discomfort; including the whole family in the work of integration; keeping the right brain open and in tandem with the left brain; kundalini awakenings and other experiences that “rewire” the nervous system; tapping into the collective consciousness of the neurodivergent population; 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.

Tessa Bielecki

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Vitality, Courage, Daring

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Andrew Holecek: What Reincarnates? | Part 2

Andrew Holecek: What Reincarnates? | Part 1

Suzy Miller: Becoming an Integrated, Multidimensional ...

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