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...
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Tami Simon’s in-depth audio podcast interviews with leading spiritual teachers and luminaries. Listen in as they explore their latest challenges and breakthroughs - the leading edge of their work.
Join the New York Times bestselling author of The Untethered Soul, The Surrender Experiment, and Living Untethered for this free series of curated teaching sessions, recorded at his Temple of the Universe yoga and meditation center.
The mind is not the brain but a subtler field of vibrations that consciousness becomes distracted by and clings to. It identifies with these mental and emotional impressions and creates a false self (ego) resulting in a life of inner conflict and misperceived reality. True liberation comes from witnessing these vibrations without resistance and allowing experiences to pass through, revealing the expansiveness of pure, undistracted Consciousness.
How do we move beyond fear and separation to experience our true divine nature—especially in times of collective upheaval and uncertainty?
This week, Tami Simon welcomes Paul Selig, a channeler, author, and teacher who has brought through 13 extraordinary books from non-physical guides he describes as teaching from “the upper room.” Born an atheist and trained at Yale, Paul experienced a spontaneous kundalini awakening in 1987 that left him clairvoyant and fundamentally changed his understanding of reality. Since then, he has served as what he calls a “spoken stenographer” for teachings on consciousness, awakening, and our capacity to align with the divine.
Join Tami and Paul to explore:
Paul’s dramatic awakening experience and emergence as a channel
What it feels like to receive and transmit channeled wisdom
The “upper room”—a vibrational state beyond fear and separation
How to recognize when we’re acting from fear versus divine knowing
The clearing process that accompanies spiritual awakening
Why this particular time calls for radical transformation of old structures
The powerful attunement: “I am in God, I am of God, I am with God”
How to maintain trust and openness when part of us still holds back
Practical ways to realign with source amidst chaos and uncertainty
If you’re navigating this time of collective change and seeking a deeper connection to your divine nature, this conversation offers both inspiration and practical guidance for claiming the upper room—that aspect of consciousness where we already dwell in union with all that is.
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.
This spiritual teaching uses the metaphor of ego-consciousness as an upside-down glass submerged in the ocean. The water (consciousness) within the glass is really the same as all the water outside the glass, but it sees itself as separate because it is looking through the barrier of the glass. This causes one to identify with a small, isolated sense of self instead of the infinite ocean of being. Ultimately, you are invited to stop identifying with the contents inside the “glass” and instead realize you are, and have always been—the ocean itself.
James Hollis is a licensed Jungian analyst and the author of many books on personal development and the search for meaning. His works include What Matters Most, Why Good People Do Bad Things, and Through the Dark Wood. With Sounds True, he has published Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with James about what it means to “grow up” in a contemporary society that infantilizes its citizens. They talk about how to recognize the summons of our deep psyche and the steps we must take in order to answer it. James explains that the greatest obstacles to attaining spiritual maturity are fear and lethargy, and describes the inevitable periods of darkness that we will encounter along the way. Finally, James and Tami discuss why it’s important to our development that we choose meaning over happiness. (67 minutes)
Michael Singer is a spiritual teacher, entrepreneur, and the bestselling author of the spiritual classic The Untethered Soul. He has collaborated with Sounds True to release the online course Living from a Place of Surrender: The Untethered Soul in Action. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Michael about the core idea of his teachings: that it is only through complete surrender to the essence of the moment that we experience life’s full potential. They talk about what this sense of surrender actually means when it comes to decision-making and day-to-day activities, as well as how to recognize when we are still clinging to resistance. Michael explains how to take a “witness position” and let go of the arbitrary attachments that inhibit surrender. Finally, Tami and Michael discuss the application of these ideas to those things we truly value, including bringing the idea of surrender to social and environmental activism. (63 minutes)
Even when you’ve devoted yourself to spiritual work, it can be difficult to maintain mindful awareness. In this episode, Michael speaks on the difficulty of maintaining consciousness and equanimity when we seem hardwired to be hooked by outside stimuli.
The root of suffering lies in our stored impressions and unresolved emotional experiences from the past. These form the personal mind and are the foundation of our self-concept. Spiritual growth is about learning to relax through the discomfort of cleansing, rather than having to control life to match our preferences. Liberation happens by becoming a “letting go machine,” which, over time, allows us to align with our natural state—eternal, conscious, blissful being.
Spiritual liberation comes not from striving to attain joy or love, but from letting go of the inner anchor—your preferences, stored traumas, and self-concepts. The “fall from the garden” refers to the moment consciousness focused more on what it was conscious of than on consciousness itself. The path to awakening is learning to stop being distracted by thoughts and emotions, relax into the present moment, and experience life as it unfolds—allowing you to be fully present and free.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
Liberation comes not through meditation alone but by ceasing to be distracted by the personal mind. Distractions have their root in resisted past experiences that form the basis for your preferences and desires. They end up causing great suffering and pull consciousness away from its natural, divine seat. The key to spiritual freedom lies in allowing reality to unfold without resistance and practicing letting go on a daily basis. This practice helps dissolve the ego and reveals the true self—a permanent state of peace, love, and service to others.
What we consider the “self” is just a construct of experiences and thoughts we’ve accumulated and identified with, forming the ego or self-concept. True spiritual growth begins by detaching from this mental construct and discovering the witness consciousness within. The great yogis achieved this by going inward, letting go of distractions, and recognizing the source of consciousness itself. They discovered that pure consciousness is actually the same force that creates and sustains the universe, called “Chit Shakti” or conscious energy. By learning to release past mental impressions, one can awaken to their true divine nature, the conscious energy that is the basis of all creation and existence.
There is great spiritual depth behind the phrase “Let It Be.” It presents the wisdom that resisting reality leads to psychological suffering. By understanding how perception is filtered through the mind and influenced by past experiences, we learn that true freedom lies in allowing experiences to pass through us without clinging or pushing away. Spiritual growth involves learning to relax in the face of discomfort and reclaiming the awareness behind it all—the consciousness that is always present, whole, and free.
Modern physics has shown us that all form, including our bodies, is simply vibrations in an underlying omnipresent field, the quantum field. Through deep meditation, ancient yogis also found an underlying omnipresent field, consciousness. Could these fields end up being the same? The key to exploring this for yourself is to realize that you are not your thoughts, emotions, or experiences—you are the consciousness observing them. To remain seated in this state of awareness, you must learn not to be distracted by these objects of consciousness. Spiritual evolution is not about becoming something; it’s about ceasing to identify with what you are not.
All living beings share the same divine consciousness, but the sophistication of the human body, mind, and heart allows us to expand our consciousness into very broad frames of reference. Unfortunately, we limit that expansion by constantly being distracted by an entire barrage of personal preferences formed by our limited past experiences. True spiritual evolution comes through letting go of these psychological distractions and allowing consciousness to return to its natural state of unlimited expansion—Enlightenment.
Spirituality involves recognizing that we are the conscious awareness observing our thoughts, emotions, and experiences, not the experiences themselves. This awareness is part of an infinite, divine force that permeates all of creation. Self-realization involves learning to let go of attachments to past experiences and the ego-driven need for control, which distorts our perception of who we truly are. By embracing and handling each moment as it unfolds, we reconnect with our true, infinite nature, enabling us to live joyfully and serve others selflessly.
Seeking external solutions to make up for internal issues leads to endless struggles and suffering. But going beyond the limitations of past experiences and attachments leads to inner transformation and spiritual evolution. By releasing attachments and emotional blockages, you can experience a profound state of love, joy, and freedom. Always remember, true fulfillment is not found in external circumstances but in awakening to your higher consciousness.
Stress and suffering arise not from external events but from our internal resistance to them—based on our inner preferences, fears, and desires toward what is happening. The outer world manifests from vast cosmic forces beyond our control, while our inner reactions are shaped by past impressions we have held onto. The path to liberation lies in relaxing and letting go of resistance, allowing life to flow through us without obstruction, thus opening to inner peace, joy, and spiritual freedom.
The central spiritual teaching is that we are not the mind but the awareness behind it. The personal mind, composed of impressions from past experiences, creates a false sense of self (ego) that causes suffering and distraction. Spiritual growth begins by recognizing this addiction to the personal mind and learning to lean away from its pull rather than engaging with or resisting its thoughts. This process allows divine energy (Shakti) to emerge and guide us deeper into the source of consciousness.
Spiritual growth involves realizing that our lower self is the ego-driven construct that arises from past experiences, emotional reactions, and stored mental patterns. Most people live disconnected from their true self and are constantly entangled in their thoughts, emotions, and external perceptions. True spirituality is the realization that one’s higher self is the consciousness observing these transient experiences, not the experiences themselves. This leads to liberation from identification with the ego. The ultimate goal is to return to the seat of consciousness and achieve a state of peace, love, and unity while engaging with life as a fully conscious, nonreactive being.
Spirituality involves recognizing that we are the conscious awareness observing our thoughts, emotions, and experiences, not the experiences themselves. This awareness is part of an infinite, divine force that permeates all of creation. Self-realization involves learning to let go of attachments to past experiences and the ego-driven need for control, which distorts our perception of who we truly are. By embracing and handling each moment as it unfolds, we reconnect with our true, infinite nature, enabling us to live joyfully and serve others selflessly.
The mind is a high-vibration energy field out of which thoughts and perceptions are created. Unfortunately, people often mistakenly identify with their thoughts and past experiences, instead of the consciousness that is aware of them. Simply observing the mind without attachment helps release emotional and mental constraints and leads to spiritual awakening. True liberation involves using the mind as a tool rather than being controlled by it.
True peace comes from letting go of preferences and consciously interacting with life as it unfolds. Life’s moments, good or bad, are unique experiences to be appreciated and respected. Embracing challenges with openness can transform struggles into meaningful experiences. This shift in consciousness toward acceptance fosters an elevated, peaceful inner state. This is the foundation for deep spiritual growth.
While some physical suffering is unavoidable, most psychological suffering is self-created. We do this through resisting reality and clinging to preferences, attachments, and past experiences. By learning to let go of these stored emotional responses and fully accepting each moment without judgment, you can overcome this inner suffering. Embracing the present with openness allows for a life rich in genuine experiences filled with love and deep compassion for yourself and others.
Spiritual experiences are inspiring but very different from the permanent state of spiritual realization. Momentary highs are temporary because, afterward, our consciousness is still lost in our thoughts, emotions, and learned preferences, which continue to drive our reactions and struggles in life. Deep growth begins by realizing you are not your thoughts or emotions but the observer of them. The everyday commitment to inner work that releases past emotional blockages, fears, and preferences is how you climb the permanent stairway to heaven. The ultimate goal is transcending the ego and experiencing the eternal oneness of your existence.
The ego is a construct of learned experiences that defines your personal identity, desires, and fears. Trying to transform the ego into something it is not creates a tremendous struggle that could last a lifetime. Instead, by cultivating “witness consciousness,” you can observe the ego without attachment, leading to clarity and compassion toward yourself and others. As judgment fades, seeing others not as their egos but as the divine consciousness behind the ego leads to living in the world with respect, love, and humility while aligning with your deeper spiritual purpose.
