Tami Simon speaks with Andrew Harvey a poet, teacher, writer, mystic, and sacred activist. His work is deeply involved with the transformative nature of the spiritual path and the call in our time for mystics to become what Andrew calls, sacred activists—sacred activists in a world that needs us. He has created several powerful audio programs with Sounds True including Radiant Heart, Song of the Sun, and The Direct Path. Andrew discusses the birth of universal mysticism, the dark night of the soul, and the transfiguration of the body that occurs as we progress on the spiritual path.
Andrew Harvey is a poet, writer, teacher, and mystic. He is a former fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and has taught at Cornell University, Hobart College, and the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is the author and editor of many books, including Hidden Journey; The Return of the Mother; A Journey in Ladakh; The Essential Mystics; The Son of Man and his latest book, The Direct Path.
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Founded Sounds True in 1985 as a multimedia publishing house with a mission to disseminate spiritual wisdom. She hosts a popular weekly podcast called Insights at the Edge, where she has interviewed many of today's leading teachers. Tami lives with her wife, Julie M. Kramer, and their two spoodles, Rasberry and Bula, in Boulder, Colorado.
Andrew Harvey is a prolific scholar, poet, and teacher whose work spans television appearances, audio teachings, and more than 28 books. Working with Sounds True and Caroline Myss, Andrew has created the upcoming online course The Shadow Course: An Eight-Week Journey to Know Yourself and Bring Light to the World. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Andrew examine the concept of the Shadow and why it is so important that we learn to work with the greed, fear, and lack of conscience that it contains. They speak on how the Shadow can affect our sense of physicality, as well as how we can work with our Shadow self to truly embrace every aspect of our bodies and sexuality. Andrew comments on “the golden shadow”—innate inner strengths that we displace or deny—and its affects on our social interactions. Finally, Andrew and Tami talk about collective Shadows that exist on the societal level—especially the Shadow of human extinction and the imperative lessons it holds. (65 minutes)
Tami Simon speaks with Andrew Harvey, a poet, writer, teacher, and mystic. Andrew is the founder of the Institute for Sacred Activism, and is the author and editor of many books, including The Direct Path and Son of Man. He has created several audio programs with Sounds True, including the 13-part audio series with Caroline Myss called Divine Rebels: Saints, Mystics, Holy Change Agents—and You. In this episode, Tami speaks with Andrew about why we need both the fire of devotional practices as well as the coolness of contemplation, how there are actually two dark nights of the soul on the spiritual journey, the importance of shadow work, and what is “the whole mystical truth.” (72 minutes)
Tami Simon speaks with Andrew Harvey a poet, teacher, writer, mystic, and sacred activist. His work is deeply involved with the transformative nature of the spiritual path and the call in our time for mystics to become what Andrew calls, sacred activists—sacred activists in a world that needs us. He has created several powerful audio programs with Sounds True including Radiant Heart, Song of the Sun, and The Direct Path. Andrew discusses the birth of universal mysticism, the dark night of the soul, and the transfiguration of the body that occurs as we progress on the spiritual path.
What does it mean to truly see another person—not just their surface, but their soul, their yearning, their infinite dignity?
This week, Tami speaks with David Brooks—acclaimed New York Times columnist, author, and PBS NewsHour commentator—about his remarkable journey from emotional guardedness to what he calls “heart vision.” In this profound interview on Insights at the Edge, David shares the mystical experiences that transformed his understanding of human connection, including a pivotal moment in a New York subway when he suddenly perceived everyone around him as souls in motion.
Join Tami and David to explore:
David’s emotional awakening and the journey from cerebral detachment to human vulnerability
The distinction between diminishers and illuminators—and how we see others
Why attention is the ultimate form of generosity and morality
The difference between heart intelligence and mental intelligence
How perception itself is an act of creation, not passive observation
Practical skills for seeing others deeply: the on/off switch of attention, being a loud listener, and avoiding the topper trap
Why he identifies as a religious rather than a spiritual person
The moral order of the universe and how our yearnings reflect something woven into reality itself
How rupture and repair shape us—and why staying in pain can be necessary for growth
David’s wisdom reminds us that in a world increasingly dominated by data and algorithms, the art of truly seeing another human being remains our most sacred—and most practical—capacity.
Listen now to discover how cultivating the illuminator’s gaze can transform every relationship in your life.
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.
What truly matters when we face the end of life? After decades of sitting at the bedside of hundreds of dying people, Frank Ostaseski has distilled the deepest human concerns into two essential questions: Am I loved? Have I loved well?
This week on Insights at the Edge, Tami welcomes Frank Ostaseski—co-founder of America’s first Buddhist hospice, the Zen Hospice Project, founder of the Metta Institute, and author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. Frank brings extraordinary wisdom from his pioneering work in compassionate end-of-life care, along with profound personal insights from his own encounters with heart surgery, strokes, and the transformative vulnerability of being “on the other side of the sheets.”
Join Tami and Frank to explore:
The two essential questions that arise when facing death—and what they reveal about living fully now
Why emotional flexibility is the true condition for healing and transformation
How to meet our own fear and pain without abandoning ourselves or others
The practice of “allowing” as a path to both wisdom and compassion
What happens in the dying process: surrender, reconstitution, and coming home
Why Frank is allergic to the notion of a “good death”
The indestructible love that emerges when we keep our hearts open through pain
How to practice dying by paying attention to everyday endings
This conversation is for anyone grappling with loss, change, or the fundamental questions of existence—offering not prescriptive answers, but the profound medicine of honest presence and the recognition that our vulnerability itself is one of our most beautiful human qualities.
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.
What if awakening isn’t a single destination but an endless unfolding of reality’s many faces? This week on Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon facilitates a groundbreaking conversation between two of the most profound spiritual teachers of our time: A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of the Diamond Approach, and Zen teacher Henry Shukman.
In this rare dialogue, these teachers—meeting for the first time—explore how different wisdom traditions point to distinct dimensions of awakened experience. Rather than claiming all paths lead to the same mountaintop, they celebrate the unique territory each tradition reveals: from the “blazing forth” of creative emptiness to experiences where consciousness itself dissolves, from the recognition that each point contains the entire universe to the discovery that everything is made of love.
Join Tami, Hameed, and Henry to discover:
Why awakening is an endless process rather than a final arrival
The profound difference between thinking and heart-knowing
How to navigate the fear that arises at the threshold of ego dissolution
The role of trust, compassion, and basic trust in profound transformation
What happens when individual consciousness completely ceases
Why nothingness and being are inseparable faces of reality
How grief and catastrophic loss can become doorways to awakening
The Zen teaching of uni-locality—experiencing that one point is everything
Why love may be the most fundamental nature of reality itself
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.
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