600 Podcasts and Counting...
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Just One Question | Thích Nhất Hạnh: What Is the ...
What if the root cause of every social problem — starvation, ecological destruction, violence — wasn’t a broken system or a corrupt institution, but a collective state of unawareness? And what if the most powerful act of social change available to you today happened in your own mind?
That’s the territory Tami Simon explores in this remarkable exchange with Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master who founded Plum Village, pioneered engaged Buddhism, and became one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. Recorded more than two decades ago beneath a willow tree, this conversation feels astonishingly present.
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s answer to Tami’s question doesn’t point outward to policy or protest — it points inward, then ripples out. Individual awakening, he says, is collective awakening. Your practice is social action. Your light is contagious.
What you’ll hear in this exchange:
- Why individual mindfulness practice is inseparable from social transformation
- How collective enlightenment spreads — and how it already has, in ways we don’t always recognize
- The role artists, teachers, economists, and politicians all play in the work of awakening
- How to stay rooted in hope — and action — without being swallowed by despair
This is a short clip, but it carries the full weight of a lifetime of practice and teaching. It may change how you think about what you’re doing every time you sit down to meditate.
This clip is taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Thích Nhất Hạnh. Find the complete interview in this feed or at soundstrue.com.
This episode is sponsored by Omega Institute, a global gathering hub for lifelong learning and spiritual exploration. Omega offers weekend workshops, special events, rest and rejuvenation retreats, professional training, online learning, and more. Discover what calls to you at eomega.org/true.
E191: Living Inside—The Spiritual Science of Learnin...
We live as the inner experiencer of both sensory reality and internally created thoughts and emotions. Inner suffering comes not from the world itself but from our resistance to experiences. By clinging to what we like and resisting what we dislike, we create desires and fears that shape the ego and distort how we perceive reality. Spiritual growth comes through learning to relax through difficult experiences, letting emotional energy pass instead of suppressing it, and gradually becoming capable of handling life without dependence on external conditions. Only then can we be free enough to act from love rather than self-interest and raise the energy around us.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2026 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Lodro Rinzler: Basic Goodness in a World on Fire
How do you hold true to your convictions to be good in a world that’s on fire?
This week, Tami Simon speaks with Lodro Rinzler—Buddhist meditation teacher, founder of the Basic Goodness Collective, and author of seven books including the international bestseller The Buddha Walks into a Bar—about his new book, You Are Good. You Are Enough: Free Yourself from the Trap of Doubt and Return to Basic Goodness. Together, they move through the book’s three arcs: seeing the goodness in ourselves, in others, and in society itself.
Join Tami and Lodro to explore:
- The concept of basic goodness—what it actually means, where it comes from in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and why you don’t have to be a Buddhist to recognize it in yourself
- How capitalism profits from the lie of not-enoughness—and what it would mean to collectively stop believing it
- The “trap of doubt”: that insidious inner voice that keeps us striving, comparing, and withholding self-acceptance
- How to extend compassion toward people who drive us crazy—including world-threatening politicians—without excusing harm or collapsing into Pollyanna thinking
- The parrot and the forest fire: a jataka tale about what it means to name what’s broken and show up anyway
- Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s teaching that seeing the phenomenal world as sacred is “the first and last practice of all”
- A closing guided meditation to help listeners touch basic goodness in their own direct experience
Whether you’ve been carrying shame for decades or are simply exhausted by a world that feels on fire, Lodro offers something rare: not a pep talk, but a genuine shift in view.
Listen now and find your way back to what was always there. →
This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.
Customer Favorites
James Hollis: The Goal of Life Is Meaning, Not Happine...
Dr. James Hollis is a Jungian analyst, a former executive director of the Jung Society of Washington, DC, and a professor of Jungian studies for Saybrook University of San Francisco/Houston. He is the author of 16 books including Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life, Living an Examined Life, and, most recently, Living Between Worlds. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Hollis about his latest work and the increasing sense of importance for many people around living more meaningful lives. They also discuss how to find resilience during difficult times, how our souls let us know when we’re not on the right path, the difference between “meaning” and “purpose,” and more.
Deb Dana: Befriending Your Nervous System
How well do you know your nervous system? Deb Dana is a clinician and consultant specializing in complex trauma, and is the coordinator of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. Her work at the Kinsey Institute is focused on using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma, and create approaches that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. With Sounds True, Deb has created a new audio program called Befriending Your Nervous System: Looking Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory. In this podcast, Deb offers an introduction to the human nervous system, how Polyvagal Theory informs our understanding of the nervous system, how to manage the state known as “dysregulation,” and more.
Sarah Blondin: Kneeling at the Doorway of Your Heart
Sarah Blondin is an author and spiritual teacher whose guided meditations have been enjoyed by thousands of people around the globe. She is also the founder, writer, videographer, and creator of the podcast Live Awake. In this week’s podcast, Tami Simon and Sarah discuss her new book, Heart Minded: How to Hold Yourself and Others in Love. Their conversation explores the profound shift from living “above the neck” to fully inhabiting our hearts, how we can transmute suffering and discomfort with the energy of our hearts, connecting to our inherent wisdom and compassion, and much more.
Timeless Classics
Lance Allred: The New Alpha Male
Lance Allred is a former NBA player (who was the first legally deaf player in the league), public speaker, and author. With Sounds True, he has published The New Alpha Male: How to Win the Game When the Rules Are Changing. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Lance about the experiences he had in professional sports that led him to reevaluate what it means to be a man in contemporary society. Lance explains how his upbringing in a rural, polygamous commune informed his original ideas about masculinity, highlighting the subconscious assumptions about money and power that affect American men’s self-worth. Tami and Lance also discuss the roles of emotional vulnerability and surrender in the lives of modern men. Finally, they talk about the principle of perseverance and the increasingly urgent need for all cultures to reexamine their assumptions and core values.(63 minutes)
Micah Mortali: Rewilding
Micah Mortali is the director of the Kripalu School, a certified yoga teacher, and a longtime wilderness guide. With Sounds True, he has published Rewilding: Meditations, Practices, and Skills for Awakening in Nature. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Micah about humanity’s growing disconnection from the earth and how “rewilding” can help slow that trend. They talk about rewilding both as individuals and as part of whole ecosystems. Micah also shares the story of an intense, revelatory trail encounter with a bear and comments on the “species loneliness” of urban environments. Mulling the sense of grief they have for humankind’s effects on the environment, Tami and Micah consider how modern people can grapple with being in exile from the natural world. Finally, they discuss the barriers many have to reentering nature, as well as ways to initiate your own rewilding experience no matter where you are.(64 minutes)
Christian Conte: Healing Conflict: Listen, Validate, a...
Christian Conte, PhD, is a mental health specialist and leading authority on anger management. With Sounds True, Christian has published Walking Through Anger: A New Design for Confronting Conflict in an Emotionally Charged World. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks with Christian about his Yield Theory of emotional management, focusing on the process of “listen, validate, explore options.” Christian explains the events that led to his interest in anger management, as well as the origins of Yield Theory. He emphasizes the importance of meeting others where they are, giving them the opportunity to drain anger’s charge from their limbic system. Christian and Tami discuss why it’s necessary to cultivate humility and how Yield Theory might be applied to our currently divisive culture. Finally, they speak on “the cartoon world” that angry responses often create, as well as the importance of watching what we add to our minds.(63 minutes)
