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Dr. Paul Conti is a graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed his psychiatry training at Stanford and at Harvard. Dr. Conti has served patients and clients throughout the United States and internationally. With Sounds True, he has released a new book called Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic: How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal From It (featuring a foreword by Lady Gaga). In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Conti about healing the unresolved trauma we hold inside both individually and collectively. They also discuss how trauma operates differently in different people, overcoming “reflexive shame,” self-inquiry and the embrace of a “true life narrative,” perseverance and self-compassion, strategies for dealing with traumatic triggers, resolving our grief, how trauma affects the map of our inner landscape, inherited trauma, become a healing resource for others, and much more.

Patricia Stark is a personal coach and certified body language trainer. With Sounds True, she’s released the book Calmfidence: How to Trust Yourself, Tame Your Inner Critic, and Shine in Any Spotlight. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks with Patricia about what it takes to cultivate “calmfidence”—a combination of robust confidence and inner calm that grounds you no matter the circumstances. Patricia details her own journey from a painfully shy childhood to becoming a sought-after speaker. Tami and Patricia discuss tools and tricks for building calmfidence, including on-the-spot exercises such as the Snow Globe or the Sack of Potatoes practices. Finally, they talk about the hidden advantages of nervousness, the necessity of active listening, and why each of us has a personal truth waiting to be shared with the world.  

Paul Hawken is a world-renowned environmentalist, activist, and author. His works include Blessed Unrest, Drawdown, and Sustainable Revolution. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Paul about the call to action in his newest book, Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. Paul and Tami discuss the accelerating effects of climate change and how global society might respond. Paul comments on the lack of public engagement with the situation, emphasizing that old and entrenched human behavioral patterns won’t solve the problem. Tami and Paul talk about the nature of social change, resources for everyday climate action, and the fascinating climate-shifting possibilities of the Azolla fern. Finally, they speak on the importance of staying active and joyous even when the scale of the crisis feels overwhelming.

Dr. Shamini Jain is a clinical psychologist, researcher, public speaker, and the founder of the nonprofit Consciousness and Healing Initiative. With Sounds True, she’s released the new book Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon has a conversation with Shamini about the interconnections between human consciousness, the biological world, and our ability to heal. Shamini explains “the biofield” and how it relates to both our physical and spiritual selves. She and Tami discuss already existing healing modalities that work with the biofield (such as Reiki and qigong), as well as recent scientific discoveries that support and expand those fields. Finally, Tami and Shamini talk about the essential step of surrendering to the healing process, the mystery and potential of the placebo effect, and our fundamental connection to all of life.  

Rev. angel Kyodo williams is an author, activist, Zen priest, and founder of the organization Transformative Change, which centers on the link between inner work, wholeness, and social transformation at scale. With Sounds True, Rev. angel has created a new six-part audio series called Belonging: From Fear to Freedom on the Path to True Community. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Rev. angel about how society shapes our sense of belonging, and what it means to take back our power to belong. They discuss how embodied belonging transcends that which our entire sense of self and reality is based upon, and offers us a deep awareness of our essential truth. Tami and Rev. angel also touch on: forgiveness as a healing self-practice, the meaning of true community, and how growing comfortable in our own skin gives us the capacity to heal, enact conscious change, and belong in any environment.

Lama Tsultrim Allione is an internationally known Buddhist teacher and the founder of Tara Mandala, a mountain retreat center south of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Lama Tsultrim was the first American woman to be ordained as a Tibetan nun by His Holiness, the 16th Karmapa. After four years as a nun, she returned her monastic vows, married, and raised three children. She is the author of several books, including Women of Wisdom, Wisdom Rising, and Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict. With Sounds True, she has released a new 10-part audio series called The Empowered Feminine: Meditating with the Dakini Mandala. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, we explore the dakini principle in Tibetan Buddhism, and Lama Tsultrim takes us into a meditation that invites us to actually become wrathful dakinis—transforming anger into wisdom and compassion. Tami Simon and Lama Tsultrim also discuss the role of the feminine in the dharma, how Buddhism might be different if it had been articulated by and for women, and why the “fierce and forceful” aspect of the feminine is so urgently needed in our world right now.

Ericka Sóuter has over 20 years of journalism experience and is a nationally recognized voice in parenting news and parenting advice. A frequent contributor on Good Morning America and other national broadcast outlets, she regularly speaks on the issues, trends, and controversies that are most affecting parents and new families today. With Sounds True, Ericka has written a book called How to Have a Kid and a Life: A Survival Guide.  In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Ericka about what it means to be a parent today. They discuss why more and more parents are opening up about not just the joys but also the challenges of raising children—and how our definition of “good parenting” is changing as a result. Ericka brings realism and humor to this enlightening conversation, helping parents navigate the expectations versus the realities of parenthood as they tend to their own happiness. “Love is innate,” Ericka shares. “Parenting skills are not.”

Faith Hunter has nearly 20 years of experience as a yoga and meditation teacher. She is the founder of Embrace Yoga DC and Embrace OM, as well as the creator of Spiritually Fly, a lifestyle philosophy that celebrates our inherent vibrancy and worth. With Sounds True, Faith has written a new book called Spiritually Fly: Wisdom, Meditations, and Yoga to Elevate Your Soul. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Faith about what it means to be Spiritually Fly and how we can all live an authentic, joyful life of spiritual flyhood. They discuss the life-changing effect yoga had on Faith’s life and the courageous way she empowered herself to blend classic yoga lineages with sound, ritual, and African traditions to create a practice that is true to her. And Faith describes the “golden glitter”—the inner brilliance—that lies beneath our fear, shame, and other “demons,” waiting to be released into the world.

Karla McLaren is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and renowned expert in emotions and empathy. Her work focuses on her grand unified theory of emotions, which reconsiders how we think of “negative” emotions and opens new pathways into self-awareness, communication, and empathy. With Sounds True, Karla is the author of the landmark book The Language of Emotions, a book on The Art of Empathy, and a new book called The Power of Emotions at Work: Accessing the Vital Intelligence in Your Workplace. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Karla about why the full range of emotions is necessary for us to bring forth our best thinking. They discuss the “toxic positivity bias” that has become the norm in the contemporary workplace, how this leads to widespread suffering and dysfunction, and how we can achieve an “emotionally well-regulated” workplace that works for all of us.

Joyce Marter is a therapist, entrepreneur, speaker, and adjunct professor at Northwestern University. She’s the founder and CEO of Urban Balance, a nationwide counseling practice that provides trainings on mental health and success for Fortune 500 companies. With Sounds True, Joyce has written a new book called The Financial Mindset Fix: A Mental Fitness Program for an Abundant Life, which offers practical exercises for cultivating greater financial literacy and resilience. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Joyce about how our thoughts and emotions around money shape our financial reality. They discuss how low self-esteem holds us back financially and how we can shift into a “mindset of abundance” that shatters the limitations we’ve created for ourselves. Joyce and Tami also talk about the realities of financial trauma in our society, setting boundaries in our relationships with money, transforming toxic notions we may have of “success,” and mindfulness practices for managing financial shame or anxiety in a healthy, healing way.

Briana Saussy is a writer, teacher, and founder of the Sacred Arts Academy, a school dedicated to the restoration, remembering, and everyday practice of the sacred arts. With Sounds True, she’s written Making Magic: Weaving Together the Everyday and the Extraordinary, as well as Star Child: Joyful Parenting Through Astrology, where she invites us to recognize how the zodiac’s archetypes live within each of us, to honor these differences, and to joyfully raise our children by the stars. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Briana discuss the many practices that make up what Briana calls the “sacred arts.” They explore why many of these practices, such as ritual and astrology, have been relegated to the sidelines in modern Western culture, how myth and folklore act as the primary source material for the sacred arts, and how we can participate in the current revival of these practices. They also discuss how astrology can help us better understand our children and the full range of humanness we all embody.

Rha Goddess is an entrepreneurial soul coach and the CEO and founder of Move The Crowd, a movement galvanizing over three million entrepreneurs to reimagine work as a vehicle for creative expression, financial freedom, and societal transformation. She’s the author of the book The Calling: 3 Fundamental Shifts to Stay True, Get Paid, and Do Good, as well as a new audio program with Sounds True, Making Money, Making Change: Build Your Business, Make a Profit, and Serve the World. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Rha Goddess talk about the ways so many of us have been indoctrinated into a disempowering relationship with wealth, and how we can break free from this indoctrination by examining six unchecked beliefs almost everyone holds. Tami calls Rha “the liberator” in this conversation, a nod to Rha’s remarkable ability to help us recognize where we need to heal, do the work, and co-create a life in which we make good money doing what our souls are here to do.

Kristin Leal is a yoga teacher and a sadhaka in the ISHTA lineage, as well as a licensed massage therapist, Reiki practitioner, and author. Her popular MetaAnatomy workshops, classes, and online trainings blend serious scientific knowledge, a sense of humor, and a deep connection to the divine within us all. With Sounds True, Kristin has written MetaAnatomy: A Modern Yogi’s Practical Guide to the Physical and Energetic Anatomy of Your Amazing Body. In the book, she helps readers develop a new level of body literacy―a deep and vital relationship with the physical, emotional, and energetic aspects of your being. In this podcast, Kristin guides Tami Simon and listeners into the world of wonder that is the human body, as she unpacks elements of our anatomy on physical and poetic levels. Kristin also guides listeners through three fascinating practices, where you’ll learn to experience and regulate your subtle anatomy in profound ways.

Diana Winston is the director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, where she developed the Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) curriculum. With Sounds True, Diana is the author of a new book, The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness, and the creator of a new audio teaching series called Glimpses of Being: A Training Course in Expanding Mindful Awareness. In this experiential episode of Insights at the Edge, Diana introduces us to what she calls the “spectrum of awareness” through a series of guided practices. She talks to Tami Simon about the various ways we can access and experience awareness, from narrow and focused to effortless and spacious—states we are constantly moving between. They touch on ways to deepen and explore awareness through “glimpse practices” and discuss how we can work toward making natural awareness our default state. Finally, Diana explains why tapping into the full range of awareness can act as a good antidote for those feeling stuck or restless in their meditation practice.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz is a clinical psychologist, author, teacher, and widely sought-out voice in the healing of trauma and complex trauma. She offers workshops for therapists on EMDR and somatic therapy, and maintains a private practice in Boulder, Colorado. She has written a book called The Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook, and with Sounds True, has created a new audio teaching series called Trauma Recovery, A Mind-Body Approach to Becoming Whole. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Arielle about reframing the narrative of trauma recovery to one of growth and meaning-making, rather than an effort to regain something we’ve lost. Arielle offers a look into different types of trauma, and explores how the body shapes itself around these wounds. She shares strategies for adapting to adversity and attending to trauma in ways that help victims return to a felt sense of safety within themselves. Finally, Tami and Arielle discuss how we can embrace the hero or heroine’s journey in our own lives as we grow from trauma.

Michelle Maldonado is founder and CEO of Lucenscia, a firm dedicated to human flourishing and mindful business transformation. She is a graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University and The George Washington University Law School, as well as an internationally certified mindfulness teacher and founding faculty for Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Coaching Certification Program. With Sounds True, she’s on the faculty of our Inner MBA program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks to Michelle about how a brush with mindfulness at a very young age instilled her with a sense of presence that has guided her personal and professional path. They discuss why nurturing authentic connection and deep, intuitive care in the workplace leads to better human and organizational outcomes, and some of the challenges businesses face in making sustained change. She explains how unconscious bias seeps into our perceptions “like melted butter into nooks and crannies” and offers insights for addressing bias from a place of healing. They also discuss treating others as “human beings rather than human doings,” the journey of discovering our own power, embracing “compassion projects” as a means of public service and emotional release, and how we can best bring our care and attention to matters that affect us all.

Richard “Dick” Schwartz earned his PhD in marriage and family therapy from Purdue University. He coauthored the most widely used family therapy text in the United States, Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, and is the creator of the Internal Family Systems Model, which he developed in response to clients’ descriptions of various “parts” within themselves. With Sounds True, Dick has written a new book titled No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks to Dick about the transformation that occurs when we welcome every part of who we are. He explains that even our most destructive parts have protective intentions, put in place to shield us from unprocessed pain, and details his method for accessing and mending these inner wounds. They also discuss the myth of the “mono mind,” and why the mind is naturally multiple; how “exiled” trauma can manifest as bodily pain; connecting with our core Self and letting it lead us in our healing; and how the language of “parts” can be useful in our relationship dynamics.

Terry Real is a family therapist, author, and founder of the Relational Life Institute, which hosts workshops on family and relationships throughout the country. He has written several books, including The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Know to Make Love Work. With Sounds True, he is the creator of Fierce Intimacy, an audio training in essential communication skills for couples. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks to Terry about the inherent challenges of being in relationship and the many approaches to addressing those challenges in couples therapy. Terry discusses how men and women relate to one another in different ways, as well as the steps necessary when couples are badly out of sync. Finally, Terry and Tami speak on the Relational Life approach to therapy and the skills we need to develop in order to take our interpersonal relationships up to “full throttle.”

Ashley River Brant is a multidimensional artist and healer whose focus is on awakening the creative and intuitive power within us all. She is the creator of Soul Tattoo®, a ceremonial intuitive tattooing modality, and the host of a podcast called Weaving Your Web. She also brings forth her medicine as a filmmaker, photographer, illustrator, and writer. With Sounds True, Ashley is releasing her first book, Tending to the Sacred: Rituals to Connect with Earth, Spirit, and Self. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks with Ashley about how creativity and ritual have given her a “bridge home” to a sense of purpose and belonging from the traumas of her childhood. Ashley describes how she moves through life with a “divine team of support” composed of both earthly and cosmic beings, and she offers us a ritual for connecting with our own spirit guides. They also discuss tapping into past-life memory as a process for healing present wounds, creating space to practice “sacred listening” to nature and our ancestors, and the four pillars of ritual Ashley uses to create a life of intention.

Lisa Marchiano is a clinical social worker, a certified Jungian analyst, and a nationally certified psychoanalyst. She cohosts This Jungian Life, a podcast devoted to exploring current topics through the lens of depth psychology. With Sounds True, Lisa has written a new book titled Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself, which presents a collection of myths, fables, and fairy tales to evoke the spiritual arc of raising a child from infancy through adulthood. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks to Lisa about what drew her to Jungian psychology and how Jung’s teachings have helped guide her journey through motherhood and life. They also discuss: the Jungian notion of individuation, a perpetual process of self-discovery and psychological growth; bringing the “taboos” of motherhood into the light; the complicated relationship between motherhood and creativity; Jungian dream analysis; and why the suffering we experience as parents and as individuals grants us a special opportunity to “encounter soul.”