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Gaur Gopal Das: Your Greatest Power

Gaur Gopal Das is a former Hewlett-Packard engineer who joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as a monk in 1996. Since then, he has become a popular speaker and motivational coach both on YouTube and in public. In this podcast, he speaks with Sounds True founder Tami Simon about his new book, The Way of the Monk. Tami and Gaur also discuss his journey of becoming a teacher and sharing spiritual wisdom with others, the power of choosing to be positive, the practice of “feeding your faith,” and much more.

Last Rites: Wisdom from a Fourth-Generation Undertaker

Ceremonies for honoring the departed are crucial parts of our lives, but few people know where our traditional practices come from—and what they reveal about our history, culture, and beliefs about death. In today’s podcast, Tami Simon speaks with funeral director, embalmer, and certified postmortem reconstructionist and cremationist Todd Harra to talk about the roots of the Western funeral and to remove some of the fears that surround it. Their riveting conversation looks at: the myths and misconceptions about the funeral director, the sacred responsibility of handling the deceased, the rise in home funerals in our time, the origins of the practices of embalming and coffin burial, the different shades of the “green” cemetery and burial, why there is great value in permanent memorialization, making a ceremony sacred, why simply showing up is the greatest way to support those in mourning, mushroom suits and the controversy around them, the process of natural organic reduction (NOR), and much more.

E13: The Mind: Prison or Liberator?

The mind can act as either a prison or a liberator, depending on how we use it. By holding on to uncomfortable past experiences, we trap ourselves in suffering. Expanding our thoughts beyond ourselves allows us to break free of the prison of mind. Through this process, we can liberate our consciousness, experience peace, and ultimately achieve enlightenment.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

Richard Schwartz: Greater than the Sum of Our Parts

Richard Schwartz, PhD, is a therapist, author, and the founder of the Internal Family Systems modality of psychotherapy. With Sounds True, he has most recently created the audio program Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts: Discovering Your True Self Through Internal Family Systems Therapy. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Schwartz about the origins of IFS—specifically how his family therapy practice made him realize that every client had a multiplicity of internal parts that were often in conflict with one another. As he delved more deeply into the issue, Dr. Schwartz crafted a therapeutic model that directly engaged these parts, addressed their grievances, assured their safety, and eventually brought them under the leadership of a primary, centered “Self.” Dr. Schwartz and Tami discuss how parts take on emotional burdens, freezing their development in moments of high stress or trauma. They also talk about the intersection of IFS and MDMA therapy, as well as how research in that area might open new avenues for treatment of serious psychological disorders. Finally, Dr. Schwartz describes how IFS can be applied to social activism, spiritual exploration, and the ups and downs of everyday life. (70 minutes)

E15: Contemplating Truth: The Path to Inner Freedom

There are two fundamental truths that can help free you from the bondage of the ego. The first is your relationship to the vastness of the universe, and the other is how short your time is on this tiny planet. By acknowledging these truths, you can free yourself from the burden of personal preferences, opinions, and the mind’s fixation on past experiences. Embracing these deep truths leads you to a greater sense of perspective and a life of freedom that comes from releasing ego and harmonizing with Reality.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

S2 E2: The Stages of the Spiritual Path – A Cont...

How do you know when you’re actually walking the path or when you’re just strengthening your ego? Here, Michael considers the gateways to and pitfalls of spiritual work.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.