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Seth Godin: Taking the Leap . . . and Picking Yourself

Seth Godin — January 22, 2019

Seth Godin is a bestselling author and popular blogger who is known for his writing on marketing, the spread of ideas, and mindful business strategies. With Sounds True, he released the audio program Leap First: Creating Work That Matters. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Seth discuss the concept of resistance and how it must be sought out in any effective pursuit of art. They also talk about the contemporary “connection economy” and how there is no guarantee that one can make a living through genuine self-expression—but also how one should do so anyway. Finally, they spoke on the necessity of taking leaps and Seth’s concept of living a life of faith. (62 minutes)

Tami’s Takeaway: Seth Godin looks at a picture every day that depicts a person triumphantly jumping off of a third story building onto a street below. The caption: “Leap into the Void.” Seth leaps every day and inspires others to do the same. He teaches us not to wait to be discovered—for someone to choose us to come forward. Instead, we take the leap and “pick ourselves,” engaging in the creative act of being vulnerable, making art, and expressing ourselves. And whether 10 people notice or 10 million, we have the deep satisfaction of living courageously and pouring out our creative souls in ways that matter.

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Erin Clabough: Developing Empathy, Creativity, and Sel...

Erin Clabough — January 15, 2019

Dr. Erin Clabough is an assistant professor of biology and neuroscience at Hampden-Sydney College. With Sounds True, she has published Second Nature: How Parents Can Use Neuroscience to Help Kids Develop Empathy, Creativity, and Self-Control. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Erin about the experience of raising four children while also pursuing her PhD, and how this informed the lessons in Second Nature. Erin describes specific methods she’s used to challenge and discipline her children in ways that encourage the development of positive lifelong traits, as well as how these methods can be applied in any family. Erin and Tami discuss the tricky modern issue of screen time and the different ways to approach rules with differently aged children. Finally, they talk about the concept of emotional “scaffolding” and what it takes to really model positive behaviors in your daily life. (56 minutes)

Tami’s Takeaway: Have you ever noticed that sometimes when someone says, “I’m sorry” for some ignorant or destructive action, their apology can feel insufficient or incomplete? A mother of four and a neuroscience educator, Erin Clabough says to her children, “I don’t want your ‘sorry.’ I want you not to do it again.” Erin teaches her children what she calls “the OUT method.” O stands for “owning the action you took.” U stands for “understanding how that action affected other people.” And T stands for “telling the person you hurt how you will do it differently next time.” What a powerful way to build empathy in children and for all of us to make amends when we need to!

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Dr. Samantha Brody: Overcoming Overwhelm

Samantha Brody — January 8, 2019

Dr. Samantha Brody is a licensed naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, and the founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, Oregon. With Sounds True, she has published Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Samantha about honoring intentions for the New Year rather than making easily broken “resolutions.” They discuss how to approach overwhelm with greater equanimity by identifying your “true north”—those priorities and values that truly define how you want to live your life. Dr. Samantha considers what it means to make healthy, nourishing choices in alignment with your true north. Finally, Tami and Dr. Samantha talk about the revitalizing power of a good night’s sleep and how to deal with the emotional overwhelm of a constantly changing world. (57 minutes)

Tami’s Takeaway: As a naturopathic physician, Dr. Samantha Brody has worked with over 30,000 clients to help them “overcome overwhelm” and make lifestyle changes that support greater health and vitality. I pushed hard in this conversation to find out what Dr. Samantha feels is the chief characteristic of people who actually follow through on their intentions to live with greater health and balance (whether that involves a new diet, fitness plan, or some other approach to reducing stress). Her answer is my takeaway: The most important factor in overcoming overwhelm is a willingness to take 100 percent responsibility for our choices and the results that follow.

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A Ceremony to Greet the Cardinal Directions

Sandra Ingerman — January 3, 2019

Blog A Ceremony to Greet the Cardinal Directions Sounds True Blog

Greeting the cardinal directions is a common practice in shamanic cultures. There is no one right way shamans greet the directions. Honoring the directions was often based on weather patterns in the local area, specifically which direction the wind entered the land.

I encourage you to find your own way to greet the directions. We all know East is the direction of the rising sun and West is the direction of the setting sun. The direction away from the equator reminds us of winter and cold, while the opposite direction invokes a feeling of warmth.

Some people make medicine wheels that they stand within when doing ceremonial work. You might find objects in nature such as a feather, rock, or crystal. Or you might light a candle or put out a bowl of water to honor qualities you feel represent a given direction.

An Exercise to Call in the Directions

As you did when calling in helping spirits, take some time to reﬂect on the directions.

Stand and face East. Close your eyes and place your hands on your heart. As you focus your imagination on the East and the rising sun, what feelings emerge for you?

Turn South and let your imagination soak in the qualities that come to you associated with the South.

Face West and take a deep breath and exhale. In your mind’s eye, see and feel the sun setting. What associations does this bring to you?

Next, face North and observe how you feel in your heart. What meaning does the North hold for you?

In some cultures, the direction of Below is greeted to honor Earth.

And the direction of Above is welcomed to honor Sky.

Lastly, the direction of Within is acknowledged to honor the power of spirit and divine light that resides in each us.

Excerpted from The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life, by Sandra Ingerman.

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Sandra Ingerman, MA, is an award-winning author of 12 books, including Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, Medicine for the Earth, Walking in Light, and The Book of Ceremony. She is the presenter of several audio programs produced by Sounds True, and she is the creator of the Transmutation App. Sandra is a world-renowned teacher of shamanism and has been teaching for more than 30 years. She has taught workshops internationally on shamanic journeying, healing, and reversing environmental pollution using spiritual methods. Sandra is recognized for bridging ancient cross-cultural healing methods into our modern culture, addressing the needs of our times.

Sandra is known for gathering the global spiritual community together to perform powerful transformative ceremonies, as well as inspiring us to stand strong in unity so we do our own spiritual and social activism work while keeping a vision of hope and being a light in the world.

She is passionate about helping people to reconnect with nature. Since the 1980s, thousands of people have healed from past and present traumas through the classic cross-cultural shamanic healing method Sandra teaches called “Soul Retrieval.”

She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and professional mental health counselor. She is also a board-certified expert on traumatic stress. She was awarded the 2007 Peace Award from the Global Foundation for Integrative Medicine. Sandra was chosen as one of the Top 10 Spiritual Leaders of 2013 by Spirituality and Health magazine.

Sandra has had two new books released in 2018. The Hidden Worlds was co-written with Katherine Wood and is a novel written for young adults to help them navigate the changing world. The Book of Ceremony was written for a shamanic and general audience on how to bring the sacred into daily life by performing shamanic ceremonies designed for our times and the challenges we are facing today.

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Damien Echols: Building the Light Body

Damien Echols — January 1, 2019

Damien Echols was wrongfully convicted of murder in the infamous “West Memphis Three” case and spent more than 18 years on death row before his exoneration and release. Now he teaches Western ceremonial magick—the same practice he credits with saving his life in prison. With Sounds True, Damien has published the book High Magick and a practice-oriented audio companion, A Course in High Magick. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Damien about magick and how it is meant to “constantly ingest more of divinity.” Damien describes two of the central practices of magick—the Middle Pillar and the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram—and details why they are so foundational to the modality. Damien explains how he first discovered magick while in solitary confinement and details the concept of “will” in relationship to the Buddhist concept of dharma. Finally, Damien and Tami talk about what it means to manifest a “light body” and the overall goal of spiritual liberation through magick. (83 minutes)

Tami’s Takeaway:
Damien Echols is a “current-bearer”—someone who is able to pass to others an experience of boundless light. When I met with Damien in November of 2018 at a launch event for his new book, High Magick, I could tell that something had recently happened to him that had dramatically increased the intensity of this current. In this conversation, he describes how the practices of magick, which he calls “a Western path of enlightenment,” brought him to an experience of ego dissolution, which he describes as “experiencing myself as a small handful of sand that someone threw into a tornado.” The takeaway: an invitation to let go of any feeling of separateness, enter the abyss, and discover the interconnected light that awaits us.

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Father Thomas Keating: Inviting the Presence of the Di...

— December 25, 2018

Father Thomas Keating was a Trappist monk in the Cistercian Order who served as abbot of Saint Joseph’s Abbey Monastery in Spencer, MA, for more than 20 years. He was the author of 20 books, and was one of the architects of the contemporary Centering Prayer movement. Father Keating passed away on October 25, 2018. In celebration of his life and to honor his death, Sounds True is rebroadcasting this classic Insights at the Edge interview. Here, Tami Simon and Father Keating discuss the monastic path, prayer, doubt, and how he has dealt with both little deaths and big deaths in his own life. They also talk about the afterlife and the transformative process that occurs when one engages regularly with the practice of Centering Prayer. (72 minutes)

Tami’s Takeaway:
This conversation was originally recorded in 2008, 10 years before Father Thomas Keating died on October 25, 2018, at the age of 95. We discussed in detail many little deaths that had occurred in his life, including a fire that occurred at his monastery, his resignation from being an abbot, and other events that Father Thomas called “invitations to greater and greater diminishment.” Surrendering and accepting these little deaths anchored Father Thomas in what he describes as a “boundless confidence with nothing to stand on.” We even discussed what Father Thomas imagined his own physical death would be like. His answer: “A plunge into the immensity of love, irresistibly.” Listening to this conversation afresh reminded me of how Father Thomas Keating is a truly great teacher of death and resurrection.

Seth Godin: Taking the Leap . . . and Picking Yourself

Erin Clabough: Developing Empathy, Creativity, and Sel...

Dr. Samantha Brody: Overcoming Overwhelm

A Ceremony to Greet the Cardinal Directions

Damien Echols: Building the Light Body

Father Thomas Keating: Inviting the Presence of the Di...

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