Dr. Tererai Trent is an activist, adjunct professor at Drexel University's School of Public Health, and the author of The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams. Oprah Winfrey has referred to Dr. Trent as one of her favorite guests. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Trent about the path that took her from a childhood in rural Zimbabwe to becoming an internationally renowned advocate for women's empowerment. They talk about the responsibility of honoring one's ancestors—especially those women who were silenced and unable to achieve their dreams. Finally, Dr. Trent explains how she is a "midwife for women's awakening" and details the social progress that she wants to see women make across the world. (67 minutes)

Dr. Tererai Trent: Staying Loyal to Who You Are and Your Dreams

Tami Simon, Founder and Publisher of Sounds True interviews spiritual teachers, visionary writers, and living luminaries about their newest work and current challenges—the growing edge of their inner inquiry and outer contribution to the world.

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What is the treasure that we all seek? What is it that we are looking for above all else? Contemporary spiritual teacher and author Rupert Spira believes that it's the feeling of sufficiency, of ease, of peace—or the realization of our innermost nature as being. In this podcast that is at once expansive and experiential, Tami Simon speaks with Rupert about his book You Are the Happiness You Seek and the insights he has gleaned through a lifetime of spiritual exploration and practice. 

Tune in for a liberating conversation covering the practice of pausing or "going back to being"; letting go of resistance and turning toward our unhappiness; bringing a complete "yes" to your current experience; the inquiry, who is the one that's experiencing?; the pure "I Am"; the original ADD: Awareness Deficit Disorder; the problem with the word "enlightenment"; recognizing the gaps between our thoughts and feelings; why what happens to the body doesn't happen to our being; the absolute level and the relative level; the practical implications of deepening our recognition of being; love: the felt sense of our shared being; freedom from "the tyranny of ego"; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As; with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Rupert Spira: The Quiet Joy of Being

A healthy relationship—whether that's between two people or two nations—is not one in which everyone agrees; it's one where it's safe for differences, and we have the skills to honor all of our needs. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with renowned mediator and bestselling author, William Ury, about his new book, Possible and the insights he has gleaned through more than four decades of conflict-resolution across the globe. 

If you only listen to one podcast this year, may it be this one! Tami and William discuss: Meeting animosity with curiosity; shifting perspective and the metaphor of the balcony; self-observation; how more silence leads to more cooperation; the 3A trap: avoid, accommodate, or attack; the link between creativity and conflict; why negotiation is more about listening than speaking; reaching "second order agreement"; creating a "golden bridge" across our divides; universal needs and the question, what do you really want?; humble audacity; the notion of bringing in the third side; the importance of reconciliation; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As; with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

William Ury: Being a Possibilist

The climate crisis is something we can no longer ignore. Yet in this time of global upheaval, how can we face our collective challenges with our hearts and integrity intact? We Are the Great Turning is a new 10-part series exploring the spiritual roots of the climate crisis and how to turn toward our heartbreak, honor it, be informed by it, and, in the process, transform our grief and anger into agency and action.

In our first episode, renowned activists Joanna Macy and Jess Serrante invite you into “a climate conversation that welcomes all of you,” discussing “standing afresh with what it’s like to live on Earth at this moment”; loving a world engulfed in crisis and separation; the Work That Reconnects—Joanna’s term for her multifaceted approach to global activism; why cheering each other up doesn’t help in the long run; embracing all of our feelings; the loneliness of “the unheard witness”; overcoming the “cultural amnesia of a hyper-individualist society”; and more.

NEW PODCAST: We Are the Great Turning

After 50 years of helping thousands of clients in trauma recovery and now in his 80s, Peter A. Levine, PhD, continues the work of healing—both others and himself. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with the beloved Sounds True author and groundbreaking creator of the Somatic Experiencing® method about his personal journey and ongoing mission. 

Give a listen to this inspiring conversation about the importance of community, the power of compassion, and the profound wisdom of the body, as Tami and Dr. Levine discuss: personal writing as a tool for working with trauma; self-compassion and kindness; conception trauma and procedural memories; the archetype of the wounded healer; the body as healer; how both trauma and wisdom are passed from generation to generation; conversations with Einstein; getting to the root of where you’re stuck; the promises and pitfalls of psychedelics; lessening our fear of dying; on-the-spot techniques for feeling safe in your nervous system; the ongoing nature of healing; the journey from trauma to awakening and flow; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As; with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Peter A. Levine: From Trauma to Awakening and Flow

When we think about those special traits or abilities we consider to be "superpowers," empathy isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, empathy is often seen as a weakness, not a strength. Through her bestselling books and her work training new psychiatrists, Dr. Judith Orloff is helping to change the narrative around empathy. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Orloff about her new book, The Genius of Empathy, and how we can each begin to cultivate an empathic style that supports a thriving life. 

Tune in now for their conversation on how empathy opens the heart and fosters healing, the beauty of self-empathy and how it differs from self-compassion, empathy overwhelm, the four styles of empathy and how to identify your own, boundary-setting tools for empaths, the empathy spectrum, empathy deficiency disorders, trauma and empathy, letting go of resentment and helping it let go of you, empathic attunement, the practice of shielding, transmitting empathic love to people and places in need, observing without absorbing, and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As; with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Dr. Tererai Trent: Staying Loyal to Who You Are and Your Dreams

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