Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Tami Simon speaks with Margot Anand, an internationally acclaimed authority on tantra and the cultivation of ecstatic states. A much-beloved teacher on the integration of spirituality and sexuality, Margot is the founder of SkyDancing Tantra and author of The Art of Sexual Ecstasy. Her programs with Sounds True include the 6-session audio course The Art of Sexual Magic: Cultivating Sexual Energy to Transform Your Life. In this episode, Tami speaks with Margot about techniques for harnessing orgasmic energy, how cultural dynamics affect multiple orgasms in men and women, the role of the heart in tantra, and how to use ecstasy as an energy for manifestation—what Margot calls “sexual magic.” (57 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with A.H. Almaas. A.H. Almaas is the pen name for Hameed Ali, best known as the originator of the wisdom path known as the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 14 books, including The Unfolding Now, and his works with Sounds True include the audio learning course The Diamond Approach and Realization Unfolds, a dialogue with Adyashanti. In this episode, Tami speaks with Hameed about some of the distinct characteristics of the Diamond Approach as an approach to investigating both reality and oneself as a path to liberation, why he makes no distinction between a psychological and spiritual approach to inquiry, and how the love of truth drives the process of realization. (73 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Martin L. Rossman, a physician, acupuncturist, and co-founder of the Academy for Guided Imagery. Dr. Rossman is the author of the award-winning book Guided Imagery for Self-Healing, and with Sounds True he has created several guided imagery programs including Anxiety Relief, Stress Relief, Pain Relief, and Self-Healing with Guided Imagery with Dr. Andrew Weil. In this episode, Tami speaks with Martin about the reasons guided imagery is not more present in mainstream use in spite of its clinically proven effectiveness, what the placebo effect tells us about the mind-body connection, and how you can enhance the power of guided imagery by using personal imagery. (65 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with David Frenette, a leader and senior teacher in the Centering Prayer movement, and a friend and advisor of Father Thomas Keating for 30 years. He is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Naropa University. With Sounds True, he has published the book The Path of Centering Prayer: Deepening Your Experience of God. In this episode, Tami speaks with David about his apprenticeship with Father Keating in the practice of Centering Prayer, the role of a spiritual father or mother in one’s contemplative life, what he means when he talks about God and the Trinitarian mystery, and the most important contemplative attitude to support a practice of Centering Prayer. (66 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Lawrence Edwards, president of the Kundalini Research Network and founder of kundalinisupport.org, a Kundalini support website. A meditation teacher, board-certified neurotherapist, and licensed psychotherapist, Lawrence has created with Sounds True an audio training program titled Awakening Kundalini: The Path to Radical Freedom. In this episode, Tami speaks with Lawrence about how to avoid common pitfalls in the Kundalini awakening process, what the role of our ego mind is in a Kundalini awakening, and the nature of a Kundalini energy transmission from a teacher. He also shares an empowered mantra to work with as part of the Kundalini awakening process. (70 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Lynne McTaggart, an award-winning journalist known for her exhaustive research on the intersection between cutting-edge science and the worlds of spirituality, health, and culture. She is the author of The Field, The Intention Experiment, and The Bond, and her Sounds True audio programs include Living the Field and Living with Intention. In this episode, Tami speaks with Lynne about discoveries from her ongoing work with intention experiments that reveal how our thoughts affect reality. She also discusses new findings that we are biologically wired for cooperation instead of competition, and what we can do to shift our lives and culture towards interconnectedness. (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Joan Borysenko, a cancer cell biologist, licensed psychologist, yoga and meditation instructor, and pioneer in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. Joan is the author of the New York Times bestseller Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, and has created several audio programs with Sounds True, including A Woman’s Spiritual Retreat and Menopause: Initiation into Power. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Borysenko about the five most important qualities that build resiliency, the power of genuineness to open the heart, and the personal lessons about grieving, renewal, and appreciation that Joan learned in the wake of a recent devastating fire in Boulder Canyon. (66 minutes)

Author and teacher Laura Alden Kamm has been described as a “walking MRI” for the remarkable accuracy of her medical intuition. She has worked as a medium and remote viewer, and trains corporate leaders in innovative problem solving through her Inner Edge program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Laura about her near-death experience and how it informs her current abilities. In addition, Tami and Laura discuss how we can begin to cultivate our own intuitive skills—and learn to trust the guidance we receive from our intuition. Finally, Laura shares a guided practice for working intuitively with an event in the future. (66 minutes)

Nobody else possesses your unprecedented blend of gifts, experiences, and perspectives. So why have you been given this singular treasure, and what will you do with it? This is the focus of Michael Bernard Beckwith's new book Life Visioning: A Transformative Process for Activating Your Unique Gifts and Highest Potential. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Beckwith about the four evolutionary stages of the development of consciousness and how the Life Visioning Process works in each stage. Tami and Michael also discuss some of the biggest obstacles people experience with Life Visioning, and the importance of unconditional love as the atmosphere for the Life Visioning Process. (63 minutes)

In this week's episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Medical College, and adjunct assistant professor in the department of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Tami asks Dr. Newberg about some of the new findings in the emerging field of neurotheology, which studies the links between faith, neurobiology, and the mysteries of the psyche. What changes take place in the brain of people who meditate or pray? What happens when we die? How does faith influence both our brain chemistry and the overall quality of our lives? Join Tami Simon and Dr. Andrew Newberg for a fascinating discussion of these questions and more. (63 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Donna Eden, a renowned energy medicine expert who has taught throughout the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and South America. Along with her partner David Feinstein, Donna is author of the books Energy Medicine and Energy Medicine for Women, and with Sounds True she has produced the multimedia program The Energy Medicine Kit. In this episode, Tami speaks with Donna about her experiences as someone who both sees energy and has healed herself from serious medical challenges. Donna also shares two energy practices: a technique to evolve our fight-flight-or-freeze response, and another for opening with total trust to the energy of the heavens. (63 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, whose trailblazing research has helped bring mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine. Jon is the author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, and with Sounds True he has written a new book with an accompanying CD of guided practices, Mindfulness for Beginners. In this episode, Tami speaks with Jon about the role of science in validating mindfulness practice, the 180-degree shift that lets us rest in awareness instead of identifying with our thoughts, and the potential renaissance in the world that may arise from a "mindfulness revolution." (73 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Bronwen Stiene, who teaches the system of Reiki in Asia, North America, and Europe, and cofounded Australia's International House of Reiki with her husband, Frans. Bronwen is the author of four books, including The Reiki Sourcebook and The Japanese Art of Reiki, and with Sounds True has created the audio program Reiki Meditations for Self-Healing. In this episode, Tami speaks with Bronwen about some of the central myths surrounding the practice of Reiki, the importance of grounding, how Reiki works when used with animals, and what Reiki has to teach us about opening right now to whatever is needed most in our lives. (62 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Henry Grayson, a leading psychologist who has spent decades exploring the connections between psychology, physics, and the spiritual traditions of the world. Dr. Grayson founded and served as chairman emeritus at the National Institute for Psychotherapies in New York. With Sounds True, he has created the nine-hour audio training course The New Physics of Love: The Power of Mind and Spirit in Relationships. In this episode, Tami speaks with Dr. Grayson about the role of thoughts in our relationships, how the non-local nature of the universe impacts our consciousness, and the possibility of "deleting undesirable and obsolete core beliefs in the twinkling of an eye." (60 minutes)

Tami Simon speaks with Coleman Barks, a leading scholar and translator of the 13th century Persian mystic, Jelaluddin Rumi. Coleman's work was the subject of an hour-long segment in Bill Moyers'Language of Life series with PBS. He has published numerous Rumi translations, including with Sounds True the audio programs I Want Burning, Rumi: The Voice of Longing, and his new three-CD collaboration with cellist David Darling called Just Being Here: Rumi and Human Friendship. In this episode, Tami speaks with Coleman about the extraordinary friendship between Rumi and his teacher Shams Tabriz, and how translating Rumi requires entering a trance state. Coleman offers insights on grace as he and Tami listen to selections from Just Being Here. (62 minutes)