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Turning Towards What’s Difficult

Lama Tsultrim Allione is an author, former Tibetan nun, internationally known Buddhist teacher, and founder of the Tara Mandala retreat center. Lama Tsultrim has created several audio programs with Sounds True, including The Mandala of the Enlightened Feminine and Cutting through Fear, which helps us meet and release the demons of fear—as well as other unhelpful emotions and obsessions. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami and Lama Tsultrim speak about the sacred feminine within Buddhism and how to understand it without creating duality. They also discuss the eleventh-century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön and Lama Tsultrim’s journey through grief over the sudden loss of her husband. (68 minutes)

Awake at Work

Anakha Coman uses her expertise in organizational leadership and mindfulness techniques to speak, teach, and consult with leaders and businesses worldwide—including Intel, Nike, and Save the Children. The founder of the Awakened Leadership Institute, Anakha has recently partnered with Sounds True to offer the online learning program Awake at Work. In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Anakha about workplace mindfulness programs and the benefits thereof. They also talk about the qualities of mindful leadership and the three core principles underlying the Awake at Work curriculum. Finally, Tami and Anakha discuss the false (and often destructive) motivation of shame, as well as how one might begin a grassroots mindfulness program in one’s own organization. (57 minutes)

Empathy, resonance, and the mysterious dance of lover ...

On my flight from Denver to Oahu yesterday, I sat next to a lovely couple who must have been in their early to mid 70s. I was struck by how attuned they were to one another – the slightest cue from one was met by the other and responded to. I could literally feel in my body that they each felt fully contacted by the other, while from time to time they would go silent, return to their own individual activities, infusing the environment between them with a warm, tender space. They remained connected, but separate simultaneously – and would meet each other’s glance from time to time as if to assure the other that all was well in the world. No words needed. It was as if I could feel their mirror neurons coming online together, empathically in resonance with one another, tuned into just what was needed in a given moment.

For some reason their dance, their play, their love… it really touched me, so much so that I actually found myself crying. I didn’t want to make a scene or make them uncomfortable so kept to myself as much as I could (I know, those that know me, it’s not like me to ‘not make a scene’ or refrain from ‘making others uncomfortable,’ especially when it comes to tears, love, vulnerability, and falling apart. I really was trying to behave; it was only 45 minutes into a long flight after all).

It was then that they pulled out their video player and were going to watch a movie together. I was curious how they would be able to remain connected and do this as there was only one headphone jack on their iPad. Would they alternate? Knowing them (as I had for about 20 minutes now), I was sure one would just sacrifice the sound for the other, and they’d switch periodically. Before I realized exactly what was going on, the gentleman pulled out a Y-shaped thingy which allowed them to both plug their headphones in at once. I lost it. It was so perfect – and so them. Just more attunement and connection, this time taking shape as some weird looking modern electronic device. The tears flowed even more in reveling at their sweet connection.

They finally glanced over at me, my intention to not create a scene lost to the crushing power of love that flows between two people. They both just smiled at me and the man patted me on the shoulder, his eyes near bursting into tears himself. We all just shared a moment together, outside all time and space, with me so grateful that they allowed me into their sacred world for just a moment, and into the mystery of lover and beloved as it unfolds here, into eternity.

Postscript: I just shared this post with them (couldn’t help myself). Now the three of us are just sort of silently weeping together, holding hands… as we descend into Waikiki… three new friends, held by the beloved and her mysterious ways, and the sweetness of a Hawaiian sunset. I feel quite confident I could die now. To know even one sliver of this love… I’ve been given so much more than enough.

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Emptying Out

k.d. lang is not only a multi-Grammy®-winning singer, songwriter, and producer—she’s also an active proponent for LGBTQ issues, animal rights, and international recognition of the Tibetan diaspora. Recorded live at 2014’s Wake Up Festival in Estes Park, Colorado, this special edition of Insights at the Edge is a frank and inspiring conversation between k.d. and Tami Simon. They speak on the origin of k.d.’s current spiritual journey and how her motivation is to “make an offering to the benefit of all beings.” Tami and k.d. also discuss the difference between the discipline of spiritual practice and the discipline needed for her art. Finally, they talk about the voice as a living, breathing entity, as well as what it means to k.d. to have faith. (35 minutes)

This Life Is Joy

Dr. Roger Teel is Senior Minister to the storied Mile Hi Church and serves as the spiritual guide and teacher to more than 30,000 congregants. He is a gifted community builder, tireless advocate of interfaith dialogue, and the author of the critically acclaimed book This Life Is Joy: Discovering the Spiritual Laws to Live More Powerfully, Lovingly, and Happily. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Roger sit down face-to-face in the Sounds True studio to discuss the journey towards opening the heart and how our greatest strength lies in our vulnerability. They also talk about how hardships such as disease and judgment can be unlikely portals to spiritual transformation. Finally, they speak about Roger’s innate knowing of the joy that undergirds the universe and the continuity beyond death. (68 minutes)

Photo Credit Tommy Collier

An Evening with Pema Chödrön and k.d. lang

Bestselling author and beloved meditation teacher Pema Chödrön has touched the lives of millions with her down-to-earth guidance for becoming happier, “saner” people in an ever-changing and challenging world. Grammy®-winning recording artist and Buddhist practitioner k.d. lang has likewise been a source of inspiration worldwide through her music, songwriting, and soaring vocals.

Learn more and purchase tickets here!

An Evening with Pema Chödrön and k.d. lang is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join these two extraordinary women who are both uniquely gifted “instruments of the dharma,” helping us to soften and open our hearts. Moderated by Sounds True publisher and founder Tami Simon, this night of discovery and insight will support both The Pema Chödrön Foundation and Tools for Peace.

Our evening will begin with a dialogue with Pema Chödrön, who will share her insights into life’s “big questions”—including how we can begin to face uncertainty and engage the unknown—along with practical guidance in becoming more vulnerable, authentic, and present with ourselves and with each other. Then k.d. lang will join the conversation, speaking about her personal approach to creativity and the roles that trust, devotion, and surrender play in that process, the surprising parallels between the journeys of the artist and the meditator, and more.

Our evening concludes with a special musical performance by k.d. lang, who will offer a selection of songs with a piano accompaniment, buoyed by the incredible acoustics of Royce Hall.

Learn more and purchase tickets here!

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