Ven. Thukten was born in a small village in Bhutan called Gelephu. She is 32 years old and 15 out of those she dedicated to the monastic life. Currently, she resides at Jangchub Choeling Nunnery in Southern India. Thukten is studying at Emory University as a Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholar. She thoroughly enjoys observing nature. Thukten was AMAZING to talk to.  She walks us through so many topics: 

• How her past lives influenced her becoming a nun

Explanation of Twelve links of dependent origination

Ora Nadrich is founder and president of the Institute for Transformational Thinking and author of Live True: A Mindfulness Guide to Authenticity. A certified life coach and mindfulness teacher, she specializes in transformational thinking, self-discovery, and mentoring new coaches as they develop their careers.   

I had a great time speaking to Ora about what true transformation looks like and how to achieve it yourself.  We also talked about: 

• Starting off her meditation journey with TM and switching to mindfulness

Ora's website

• How he was interested at looking for alternative lifestyles and ways of living and led him to being a monk

Alan Stein, Jr. teaches proven strategies to improve organizational performance, create effective leadership, increase team cohesion and collaboration, and develop winning mindsets, rituals, and routines. A successful business owner and veteran basketball performance coach, he spent 15 years working with the highest-performing athletes on the planet (including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Kobe Bryant). 

In addition, he's been a huge advocate for meditation for as long as he's been practicing.  Alan is the real deal and I loved chatting with him for his combination of motivation and practical advice for life.  Great perspective from Alan as we talk about: 

• Finally getting into meditation after avoiding it for so long

This was another EPIC conversation, this time with Nun Tenzin Choyang.  Choyang was born in Tibet and came to India to study Buddhist philosophy. She has been studying Buddhist philosophy at a nunnery for over 17 years.  In between that time, she went to Emory University in the United State to learn science and scientific techniques.  Currently she is continuing her Buddhist study in Mundgod near Drepung Loselling Monastery in India.

We talked with her about SO MUCH! Including: 

• Feminism in Tibetan Buddhism

Carley Hauck is a learning architect, leadership development consultant, author,  speaker, and serves as adjunct faculty at Stanford University and UC Berkeley Haas  School of Business. For the last decade, she has served hundreds of leaders and  companies in Fortune 100 companies and high growth start-ups such as: LinkedIn,  Genentech, Pixar, Clif Bar, Intuit, and Bank of the West.  She helps them cultivate their recipes for resilience and create thriving workplaces and mission driven businesses. In her upcoming book, Shine- Ignite your inner game to lead consciously at work and the world, Carley guides readers on a transformational inner to  outer journey to inspire a new workplace and world that works for everyone and  prioritizes people and planet first. Carley’s writing and work has been featured in Mindful  Magazine, Conscious Company Media, 15 Five, and Emerging Women. Additionally,  Carley is the host of the inspiring Shine podcast. 

Carley and I had a wonderful inspiring chat as we talked about: 

•  How her Yoga practice got her into meditation 

Shine Book

Carley's newsletter and podcast

Ven. Geshe Tenzin Damchoe was born in Dharamsala India and attended Tibetan Childrens Village (TCV) school until the 10th grade.  After that he attended TCV Bylakuppe where he received a Bachelors of Commerce from St. Philomena’s college of Mysore University.

After graduating with his commerce degree, Geshe-la joined the Institute of Buddhist Dialectic school, where he spent over a decade studying Buddhist philosophy and earning the prestigious Geshe degree (which is equivalent to a PhD) from Drepung Loseling Monastery in south India. He later became a professor: teaching Buddhist Philosophy and Practices at Earlham College and then at Oxford University in England as a visiting scholar. Geshe-la now works at Sarah College for higher Tibetan studies as a program coordinator and renowned lecturer for Buddhist Philosophy studies. 

Given his expertise, Marshall and I discussed with Ven Geshe-la:

• How he became a monk

Thomas J. Bushlack (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame) is currently the Regional Director of Mission Integration with SSM Health in St. Louis, MO. He brings over 20 years of experience in higher education, public speaking, leading retreats, leadership coaching, and consulting in organizational development in mission integration. Tom’s expertise is in integrating Contemplative Practices with Ethics & Wise Decision-Making. He enjoys helping leaders to harness their innate capacity for wisdom for success in professional and personal life. As the creator of the Centering for Wisdom™ Assessment tool, and the founder of Kalon Enterprises, LLC, Tom knows the struggles of being a good leader and growing a successful business aligned with personal and corporate values – all in service to the common good. Based in Metro St. Louis, Tom lives with his wife, Anna, and their three young children.

https://thomasjbushlack.com/

https://centeringforwisdom.com/

Thomas' YouTube Channel

I reflect on the year that was 2020.  The highs and lows and all the wonderful lessons that I learned because of having to go through it all.  I talk about: 

• Where the podcast is headed in 2021

Reach out at [email protected] !

Alex Stokes blog: How to Relax

Be Here Now

Becoming Nobody

Marshall and I met earlier this year and formed a very close bond immediately through being facilitators of the satsang we created, Unity Community.  His depth of experiential knowledge and wisdom from all of the text he's read always make for a fascinating conversation.  He talks about deep stuff while also making it digestible to any audience.  There's something for everyone in this episode! 

We chat about: 

• Starting Meditation in College

Source Wellness

Marshall's LinkedIn