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Waking Up in Prison

Fleet Maull is an acharya—or senior mindfulness meditation teacher—in the Shambhala International Meditation Community. In 1989, Fleet founded the Prison Dharma Network—now called The Prison Mindfulness Institute—while serving a federal prison sentence. He is the author of the book Dharma in Hell: The Prison Writings of Fleet Maull and has founded several prisoner advocacy organizations. In this fascinating edition of Insights at the Edge, Fleet and Tami Simon discuss practices for dealing with regret and what it means to truly devote ourselves to the service of others. They also speak on Buddhist views of basic human goodness and how they helped Fleet to come to terms with his prison experience. Finally, Fleet talks about his vision for the reform of the American criminal justice system and the slow growth toward a more enlightened society. (72 minutes)

Diane Musho Hamilton: The Evolutionary Power of Mindfu...

Diane Musho Hamilton is a spiritual teacher, mediator, and group facilitator who has been studying mindfulness for more than 30 years. She is a featured presenter for A Year of Mindfulness, Sounds True’s yearlong online meditation program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Diane discuss how her experience with mindfulness has helped her to become an effective group mediator. Diane speaks on how mindfulness skills transfer to interpersonal communication and skillful relationship—especially when it comes to being able to take on someone else’s perspective. Finally, Tami and Diane talk about the importance of relating to others with different views than us and how we can foster a better, more open engagement with the entirety of the world. (69 minutes)

Elena Brower: I Lean on the Universe with My Honesty

Elena Brower is a New York-based yoga instructor, designer, artist, and author. With Sounds True, she has released the audio programs Grounded and Free and The Return Home. She also coauthored Art of Attention—a bestselling yoga workbook—with Erica Jago. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Elena speak on concepts of self-inquiry, spiritual discipline, and facing up to hard truths about the course of one’s life. Elena tells the story of how she faced her addictions to marijuana and tobacco, and the benefits that arose when she quit both. Drawing on prompts from Elena’s upcoming book Practice You, she and Tami also discuss how one needs to be completely present for the experience of learning. Finally, Elena leads listeners in a guided meditation for embracing our love and releasing it into the world. (62 minutes)

Miles Neale: Entering a Tibetan Buddhist Flight Simula...

Miles Neale is a prominent member of the current generation of Buddhist teachers, championing the emerging field of contemplative psychotherapy. With Sounds True, Miles has published Gradual Awakening: The Tibetan Buddhist Path of Becoming Fully Human. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Miles about Lam Rim, the Tibetan Buddhist framework for moving into enlightened awakening step by measured step. They discuss the difference between gradually awakening and coming to enlightenment in a sudden burst, as well as the potential interplay between the two. Miles also leads Tami and the audience in a seven-step mentor bonding visualization that takes advantage of the mind’s capacity to create a “flight simulator” for felt experience. Finally, Miles and Tami talk about the need to re-embrace religion and ritual in order to transcend the “cinderblock civilization” of materialism and nihilism. (69 minutes)

Tami’s Takeaway
When Miles led us through a brief version of the mentor-bonding process that he teaches, I was surprised by who showed up in my mind’s eye. It was not a spiritual mentor, business mentor, or a psychological guide, but someone who has recently begun helping me become physically fit. This underscored for me how many different dimensions there are to mentorship, as well as how important it is to be utterly open to receiving help from a surprising source.

Ep 4 Bonus: Breathing Through

This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 4: There is No Future if We Go Numb deeper into your life. 

This bonus is a recording of Joanna leading a meditation called Breathing Through, recorded at a retreat in 2006. In it, she’ll guide you to create space to acknowledge and honor the pain for the world that you carry without numbing or getting overwhelmed. All you’ll need for this bonus exercise is a place where you can close your eyes and relax.  

We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.

 

Stefani Goerlich: Understanding Kink and Advocating fo...

You’re kinky but your partner is vanilla. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Perhaps you’ve always known; perhaps you just found out. So how do you talk about it? And what happens next? 

In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with “edge expert,” certified sex therapist, and master social worker Dr. Stefani Goerlich about her new book, With Sprinkles on Top: Everything Vanilla People and Their Kinky Partners Need to Know to Communicate, Explore, and Connect. Give a listen to this much-needed discussion about destigmatizing kink and expanding our definition of a healthy relationship, as Tami and Stefani discuss: reassessing our sexual attitudes; how kinky became taboo; bringing kink into the “cultural redemption arc”; the misconceptions about trauma and kink; the concept of authority exchange; surrender and relaxation; kink as a relational, not a sexual, behavior; moving from secrecy to shared knowledge; decorating and enhancing one’s “core vanilla-ness”; discovering your fantasies; the nature of fetishes; understanding your erotic map; 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

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