Inner and outer storms can be transformational agents. Nepo advises us that we must not skip over pain, breakage, and loss. He goes on to say, “And, we must not drown in it or make a permanent residence of it. We have to find the corridor of aliveness that allows us to process our experience and land in the opening the storm has made in us and around us.” Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher and a most eloquent spiritual teacher. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation and in 2016 was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. He is the author of many audio learning projects and over 20 books including Reduced To Joy (Cleis Press 2013), Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close To What Is Sacred (Free Press 2012), he One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom That Waits in Your heart (Atria Books 2016), Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression (Sounds True 2019), The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters (St. Martin’s Essentials 2020) and Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity (St. Martin's Essentials 2022)

Interview Date: 7/20/2022    Tags: Mark Nepo, Japanese Haiku poet, Masahide, geological storms, lightning strikes, Tempestarii, ethnic diversity, brokenness, spiritual diversity, dissociation, mass shootings, Roman Colosseum gladiatorial shows, Facebook algorithms, fear, denial, Tang Dynasty Tu Fu poet, love, victimhood, betrayal, empathy, George Floyd, Sheena Malhotra, 9-1/2 minutes of collective silence, soul, Personal Transformation, Social Change/Politics