Category: Self-Compassion

Jeff Foster: The Deepest Acceptance

Tami Simon speaks with Jeff Foster, voted in 2012 by The Watkins Review as one of the world’s 100 most spiritually influential people living today. With Sounds True, Jeff has released a new book, The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening in Ordinary Life, and an accompanying audio program inviting us to discover the ocean of who we are: an awareness that has already allowed every wave of emotion and experience to arrive. In this episode, Jeff explains that we are acceptance, how to work with practical concerns such as financial fears, and the power of being with someone who is suffering—with an absolutely open embrace. Jeff also talks about his own path of awakening, including deep depression and some of his most important discoveries. (90 minutes)

Descent and Renewal

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Joan Borysenko, a cancer cell biologist, licensed psychologist, yoga and meditation instructor, and pioneer in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. Joan is the author of the New York Times bestseller Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, and has created several audio programs with Sounds True, including A Woman’s Spiritual Retreat and Menopause: Initiation into Power. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Borysenko about the five most important qualities that build resiliency, the power of genuineness to open the heart, and the personal lessons about grieving, renewal, and appreciation that Joan learned in the wake of a recent devastating fire in Boulder Canyon. (66 minutes)

Mirabai Starr: Naked with the Beloved

Tami Simon speaks with Mirabai Starr, author of God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and the inspiring translation of Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross. With Sounds True, she has created a series of books highlighting many famous mystical figures including Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint John of the Cross, and Saint Teresa of Avila. In this episode, Tami speaks with Mirabai about interspirituality (practicing within many faith traditions simultaneously), the connection between grief and longing, the dark night of the soul in the modern world, and the experience of “being naked with the beloved, unknowing.” (61 minutes)

The Neuroscience of Change

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist, award-winning lecturer at Stanford University, and leading expert on the mind-body relationship. Dr. McGonigal is the author of The Willpower Instinct and Yoga for Pain Relief, and with Sounds True she has created an audio learning program called The Neuroscience of Change. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. McGonigal about how we can consciously change the “default settings” of our brain, what we can do to tune into ourselves at a physiological level during difficult emotional situations, and how self-criticism can hinder our attempts to change our behavior. Dr. McGonigal also shares a practice of cultivating self-compassion. (57 minutes)

Invoking Spirit and the Power of Ritual

Tami Simon speaks with Sobonfu Somé, a teacher, author, and leading authority on African women’s spirituality in the West. Originally born into the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso in West Africa, Sobonfu is the founder of Ancestors Wisdom Spring. She has written the books The Spirit of Intimacy, Welcoming Spirit Home, and Falling Out of Grace, and with Sounds True she has published the six-session audio learning program Women’s Wisdom from the Heart of Africa. In this episode, Tami talks with Sobonfu about the use of rituals for our health and happiness, how we can see our wounds as potential gifts, and what we can do to invoke help from the spirit world and connect directly with our ancestors. (67 minutes)

On the Creative Life

Tami Simon speaks with Julia Cameron, an award-winning writer and director. In addition to her many films, television episodes, plays, and articles in publications such as Rolling Stone, Vogue, and the New York Times, Julia is the author of the bestselling book The Artist’s Way. With Sounds True, she has recorded the audio teaching program Reflections on the Artist’s Way and, along with Natalie Goldberg, The Writing Life. In this episode, Tami speaks with Julia about how to break through creative blocks, how to deal with the internal censor that we all have when we write, and why creativity requires that we take risks. (50 minutes)

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