Customer Favorites

Andrea Gibson: Facing Mortality and Being Adored and C...

Great poets expand our view—of ourselves, of each other, and of the entire universe. Andrea Gibson was named Colorado’s 2023–25 Poet Laureate for their celebrated verses on love, LGBTQ issues, spirituality, mental health, social justice, and more. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Andrea about their approach to work and how their journey through cancer radically changed that approach. 

Listen now to this poignant conversation featuring Andrea’s reading of their poem, “Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps” and exploring spiritual surrender, finding joy in every instant, facing challenges, moving through grief, the life force of the universe within us, self-love and loving the whole world, trying softer (not harder), the power of relaxation, identifying the keys that open your heart, staying with our fear, activism and loosening our attachment to desired outcomes, being yourself fully, the gift of mortality, giving the present moment the cold shoulder, why authenticity is the most important thing when it comes to writing, the pull of creativity, 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.

Paul Hawken: A Love Letter to the Flow of Life

The realities of human-driven climate change are only just starting to hit home for many of us. Meanwhile, activists like Paul Hawken—along with the people who have endured the devastating impacts of environmental degradation in the places they call home—continue to raise the alarm for a planet in peril. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with the renowned environmentalist and entrepreneur about his latest work, Carbon: The Book of Life, an awe-inspiring read that Tami dubs “a love letter to the flow of life.”

Give a listen to their conversation on: why the climate is never really in crisis (and who is); the narratives of disconnection that perpetuate a sense of separation from life; why “the only way forward is regeneration”; how humanity’s “othering” in order to get ahead just puts us all behind; the concept of flow in the natural world; the extraordinary complexity of life and the trillions of creatures communicating with each other every day; tapping into the power of curiosity and wonder; overcoming the overwhelming inertia of the existing capitalist system; why our grief is a measure of our love; embodying the timeless qualities of compassion, cooperation, and respect; the connection between the loss of Indigenous languages and species loss; apocalypse—the revelation of that which is hidden; how the discovery of fire impacted human evolution; mystical experiences in nature; leadership—listening to all the voices; 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.

Wim Hof: The Cold as a Noble Force

Wim Hof is an athlete and extremophile daredevil nicknamed “The Iceman” for his feats of withstanding extreme weather conditions. The holder of more than 20 Guinness World Records, Wim attributes his endurance to specific meditation and breathing techniques. In this intriguing episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Wim about “The Wim Hof Method” of exercises, mindfulness techniques, and cold exposure, and how this regimen can shift our mental perspective as well as physical resilience. Wim describes the ways his practice dovetails with ancient Tibetan Buddhist inner fire meditation and how it alters body chemistry. Finally, Wim describes coldness as a noble force, asserting that by testing our physical limits we also gain a better understanding of the boundless capacities of the human spirit. (72 minutes)

For more information about the Wim Hof Method, please visit wimhofmethod.com.

What We Long For

Becca Piastrelli is a writer, speaker, ancestral folk medicine keeper, and women’s group facilitator. She is a leader in women’s empowerment and earth wisdom, teaching women how to cultivate a greater sense of belonging. With Sounds True, she has authored the book Root and Ritual. In this podcast, Becca joins Tami Simon to discuss the lifelong journey of reclaiming our sense of belonging, with a particular focus on four areas: land, lineage, community, and self. Becca and Tami also explore the concept of loneliness as both a personal and a systemic challenge, humbling ourselves to the natural world, confronting the pain and grief of colonization, listening to the soul of your home, healing the “great severing” of our root systems, the Indigenous concept of the “ever happening” and receiving the support of our ancestors, the somatic experience of ritual, the importance of being witnessed in our journey of transformation, and much more.

Mario Martinez: The Mind-Body Code

Tami Simon speaks with Mario Martinez, a licensed clinical neuropsychologist specializing in the emerging fields of contemplative psychology and psycho-neuroimmunology. He is the author of The Man from Autumn as well as the Sounds True audio learning program The Mind-Body Code. In this interview, Mario discusses his theory of biocognition and how we can use the power of mind to affect our wellness and fulfillment. (36 minutes)

Ruth King: Mindful of Race

Ruth King is an Insight Meditation teacher, life coach, diversity consultant, and the author of Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible. She is publishing her new book, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out, in collaboration with Sounds True. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Ruth about the personal experiences that led to writing Mindful of Race and why the heart can be “a mass weapon of healing.” They talk about the different ways we can interpret current racial narratives and why it takes honest self-examination to discover how one has benefited from a racist system. Ruth explains how mindfulness can open us up to having difficult conversations around racism, colonialism, and other forms of systemic oppression. Finally, Tami and Ruth discuss how “life is not personal, permanent, or perfect” and the necessity of cultivating compassion in all walks of life. (74 minutes)

>
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap