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The Choice to Be an Artist at Work

Ari Weinzweig is the cofounder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, which includes Zingerman’s Deli and more than a dozen other food-based businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has also published a series of books detailing his unique philosophies on leadership and transformation, titled A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach. With Sounds True, Ari is a featured presenter in the Inner MBA program. In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Ari about his decision to forgo the franchise model and run his businesses from the heart—not unlike making art or writing poetry. They discuss the “visioning” process that Zingerman’s uses to grow in positive ways while staying true to their organizational roots. Ari also shares his personal recipe for transforming the beliefs that drive our behavior, both in business and in life.

Judith Orloff: How To Thrive as an Empath

Judith Orloff, MD, is a psychiatrist and the New York Times bestselling author of books such as The Power of Surrender. With Sounds True, Dr. Orloff has recently published The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Dr. Orloff explore the lives of empaths: what being an empath entails, how to approach the world as one, and how the rest of us have much to learn from these particularly sensitive people. Judith shares helpful practices for when empaths feel overwhelmed by a world that always seems to be cranked up to eleven. Finally, Tami joins Dr. Orloff in a guided heart-breathing meditation designed to open all of us to empathy’s most potent gifts. (67 minutes)

Jeff Foster: The Way of Rest

Jeff Foster is a spiritual teacher whose methods do not belong to any one lineage or style. He teaches a form of total acceptance—a dismantling of the armor of the heart so that we can live vibrantly in the here and now. With Sounds True, Jeff has published several books and audio programs, including The Way of Rest: Finding The Courage to Hold Everything in Love. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Jeff and Tami Simon speak on the obstacles that stand between us and rest, and how learning to abide in discomfort is a difficult but necessary step to achieving true rest. Reading an excerpt from his newest book, Jeff explains why it’s actually a daring act to choose to rest. Finally, Jeff and Tami talk about depression and the desire to die, and why that desire can be a gateway to a deeper, richer understanding of the self. (71 minutes)

Becoming a Trauma-Informed Spiritual Explorer

David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional working at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. He is the author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and a visiting scholar at Brown University. David is the founder of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), a community of practitioners committed to setting a standard of care through mindfulness-based practices, interventions, and programs. 

Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and other spiritual practices bring many benefits, but for those struggling with trauma, those practices can actually amplify their symptoms. That doesn’t mean they should avoid these practices. By adopting trauma-sensitive principles, those healing from trauma often have the most to gain.

In this episode, Sounds True founder Tami Simon speaks with Dr. David Treleaven, a leading voice in Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), to explore the five principles of TSM, why the breath is not always a neutral or safe object of attention, how to tell if an intense meditation experience is helping or not, when to lean in to your practice and when to change direction, techniques to re-ground and regulate, guidance for meditation teachers, the importance of supportive relationships in TSM, and much more.

The gifts of ALL emotions—including depression

Karla McLaren is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and educator whose empathic approach to emotions informs her studies of sociology, anthropology, neurology, and cognitive psychology. With Sounds True, Karla has most recently contributed to the anthology Darkness Before Dawn: Redefining the Journey Through Depression. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Karla and Tami Simon discuss depression as an essential human emotion—one that may carry important messages about what’s no longer working for you. They also talk about the questions you can ask of your emotions to determine their cause and the course of action they are asking you to take. Finally, Tami and Karla speak on the necessity of understanding and embracing the full range of human emotions—even those you deem unpleasant—in order to live a fuller, healthier life. (58 minutes)

Mirabai Starr: Wild Mercy

Mirabai Starr is a writer and modern mystic whose books include God of Love and Caravan of No Despair. Most recently, she has published Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics with Sounds True. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Mirabai about her approach to feminine mysticism and what brought her to write Wild Mercy. Mirabai explains women mystics’ emphasis on interbeing as well as the innate connection between spiritual seeking and the fate of the earth. Tami and Mirabai talk about the potential forms that spiritual communities may take in the future and how we can navigate the death throes of patriarchal religious structures. Finally, they discuss the reunion of masculine and feminine perspectives, as well as why loss opens us to immense compassion. (60 minutes)

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