Jonathan Troen's mission is as single-pointed as his practice: To help people find the joy inside of themselves.  

Jonathan spent 20+ years in the music and entertainment business. He was living the life of his dreams, meeting the biggest stars in the world, except he wasn't very happy. He couldn't figure why.  

On this week's episode, Jonathan and Karuna explore how we show up in life and make decisions and the truth behind "who" you are that is making decisions. For Jonathan it is THE Good Spirit Who Radiates Love, an aspect of his future self.  There was a whole lifetime journey that has brought him here and they explore a bit of this entertaining journey.   

At the heart of the matter, Jonathan helps us to understand that most of us are living life from values that others have put on us.  He invites us to explore what it would feel like to rediscover our own values and to live accordingly.   

Jonathan's belief: We all deserve success. We all deserve to be loved. And we all deserve to be treated kindly, especially by ourselves.  

Jonathan is a Life Master Coach and his signature program is Self-Love Revolution.  He brings this program alive via an 8-week live online series on Mind Oasis starting 25 Oct 2020. 

Learn More About the Self-Love Revolution Series

On this episode, meet Lacey Melguizo a dental hygienist committed to "mental hygiene" for children and beyond.  Sometimes nerdy always heartfelt, Lacey shares her vast knowledge about the brain, the development of the main highways of the brain from age 0-10, mindfulness, and her longtime exploration with syncing up her life to the cycle of the moon.  Find out who the dragon, wise owl, and the seahorse are in relationship to a mindfulness practice.   

On Friday, 16 Oct 2020, join Lacey for a new moon meditation practice workshop that will help you to align with your intentions and practice sacred self-care. The new moon is a beautiful time and energy to plant the seeds of intentions. Intentions are a way to create the experiences you want to have and feel without being concerned with the “how” in achieving it. It is aiming in the direction of where you want to go and trusting that which we are seeking is seeking us.   

Learn More: MindOasis.org

For millennia, both astrology and spirituality have attempted to map out our place in the universe.  On this episode, Mind Oasis Community Meditation teacher and astrologer Michael McSwain takes Karuna into a star-filled sky to discuss how the search for the perfect croissant led to his spiritual path and how a "chance" meeting as a waiter would later reveal his astrology teacher.  Michael weighs in on the reflection of astrology as it plays out in the world and what astrology has to say about the current pandemic. 

Join Michael for a workshop on Mind Oasis on 15 October 2020: Astrology and the Spiritual Path

The Vanity Fair - Lutin article Michael references.

Join this mother-daughter duo as they take Karuna down a path of forgiveness and finding beauty in every one and everything.  Jann takes the power of forgiveness to a level that most of us can only imagine - hers is steeped in her spirituality and it is so inspiring.  Not to be missed! Jann and Shari Simmons are offering a workshop on resiliency and healing from trauma on 10 October 2020 on Mind Oasis.    

Jann Simmons’ story is a heart-wrenching account of an orphaned child who suffered brutality at the hands of her mother, as well as many others. As an adult, Jann’s mind was closed to the horrors of her abuse, betrayal, and abandonment until the day they all came flooding back to her conscious mind. That awareness began a 40-year transformation from a passive victim to resilient warrior.  

For 29 years, Shari has been a Therapist and has managed several mental health treatment centers and psychiatric facilities. She has spent the last 5 years consulting and training therapists, counselors and CEO’s on how to implement evidence-based practices and trauma ingrained care.  She and her mother, Jann, speak to audiences across the country about their book, Which Way?, dispelling myths about trauma and mental illness. Their powerful message educates audiences and instills hope for those who want to understand themselves better. 

They have a podcast on the Mental Health News Radio Network, called Which Way? Podcast.  

Learn More and Register for their Workshop

Purchase Which Way?

Explore their podcast

Guest philanthropist and mountaineer Brad Clement joins Karuna to explore the Himalayas, the waxing and waning allure of Everest, the Congo, and the exact spot where travel, adventure, and mountaineering intersects mindfulness and transcendence.  

Clement is the founder of the Pangje Foundation. Pangje and Mind Oasis partner up each year to take a group of folks to Nepal for a trekking retreat destination where very few Westerners ever go.  

Don't have a lot of time? Skip to 21:00 to hear Brad talk trekking in Nepal and/or minute 35:00 for a share about what it's like to walk on the trails of the Tibetan monks who fled with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the 50s. Karuna's teacher's teacher's teacher left with only a toothbrush and a mala to  his name, fleeing to India over this sometimes (often) difficult terrain!  

Learn More About the May 2021 Trek: https://mindoasis.org/classes/snow-leopards-meditation-retreat-and-trekking-in-nepal/  

Learn More about the Pangje Foundation: http://pangje.org/

In this episode of Meditation Happy Hour: Tea, Talk, and Truth with Karuna she explores the intersection of somatics and meditation with master movement therapist Joseph Schwartz. How can we use what Joseph calls "our joyful vehicles" to feel, sense, and move well in order to experience a richer life both on and off the cushion?   

Joseph teaches an ongoing series "Mindful Moving Meditation" on Mind Oasis. To learn more visit: https://mindoasis.org/classes/workshops-and-series/

Joseph is the master mind behind Dynamic Neuromuscular Assessment (DNA-Assessment.com). 

In this episode, Karuna and Spiritual Teacher and Healer Brenda Salgado discuss the intersection of traditions and Indigenous Prophecy as a lens by which to understand these turbulent times.  

As we face the unknown during this pandemic, how might mindfulness practices and Toltec teachings help us to understand this particular moment we are in as humanity?   

On July 16th, join Brenda on Mind Oasis for guided practices for overwhelm and grief, and cultivating presence in a time of ungroundedness.   

Brenda will also share about indigenous teachings about this time as a portal for deep personal and collective transformation, and the importance of inviting in a new story and ancient questions about what it means to be human.  

Free for Community Meditation members or by donation. Learn More: https://mindoasis.thinkific.com/courses/mindfulness-prophecy-toltec

In this episode of Meditation Happy Hour, Ayurvedi Jennifer Kurdyla shares LOTS of information about the science of Ayurveda (it's more than just the doshas!) and how all that we take in is affecting our lives -- even the sounds around us.  

If you've ever wondered about Ayurveda - the Science of Life, you will learn so much in this episode. 

Don't have a lot of time? Listen in at minute 22:00 about how Langhana (uplifting energy) and Brahmana (grounding energy) are at play with all that we are as a society experiencing.  

In partnership with Three Jewels NYC, Mind Oasis is bringing Jennifer's series, "Introduction to Ayurveda—A Yogic Journey Through the Five Elements" alive in July (now starting on July 25th!).   Learn More: https://mindoasis.thinkific.com/courses/ayurveda5

Jennifer Kurdyla is an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, yoga teacher, and wellness educator in Brooklyn, New York. She is also the co-author of the forthcoming cookbook, Root & Nourish: An Herbal Cookbook for Women's Wellness (Tiller Press, 2021). Find out more about her wellness offerings, recipes, and writing at benourished.me, or connect via Instagram @jenniferkurdyla.  

Learn More about Mind Oasis: MindOasis.org

On this episode of Meditation Happy Hour, Mind Oasis Teacher Allison Joy discusses how the stars and planets under which we are born inform who we are throughout our lifetime. From being a new mom, to life during the time of Covid-19, and racial and social injustice, Allison Joy and Karuna discuss the importance of grounded practices in this day and age.   

Don't have a lot of time? Skip to 38:16 to hear Allison Joy's Truth around Radical Love for All Beings. Get inspired to look through the lens of metta - lovingkindness.   

She also discusses her upcoming 8-week series -- Inner-Planetary Yoga -- that will look at one planet each week.  Through the lens of Ayurveda Astrology Yoga, this series will focus on a different planetary archetype each week. The planetary archetypes reveal our innate strengths, as well as the areas of life needing more care to develop.  Along the way,  you'll learn which planet rules each of eight vital aspects of your life and the accompanying asana sequences to maximize your potential. Learn More: https://mindoasis.thinkific.com/courses/inner-planetary-yoga

Allison Joy teaches meditation and yoga for vitality, power, and optimal performance. She practices to restore energy, revitalize the body, and rejuvenate the mind. Allison Joy offers one-on-one instruction, Ayurvedic Astrology counseling sessions, and Yantra readings both online and in-person.

Learn More: MindOasis.org

On this episode of Meditation Happy Hour, Spiritual Healer, Interfaith Minister, and Activist Leo Bierman and Karuna talk about how these times of crisis, as challenging as they are, are also sacred opportunities for change. Leo provides much insight into the process of using crisis as a catalyst to serve this aching world.   

Don't have a lot of time? At minute 12:06, Leo talks about his upcoming 4-week course "Finding Your Purpose and Path During Times of Crisis" that kicks off on 1 July on Mind Oasis.   

If you are committed to serving the world, and are looking to step definitively onto your soul’s path during this time, this course is for you.  Leo is also the co-author of Purpose to the People: A Handbook for Radical Transformation.  

Learn More: https://mindoasis.thinkific.com/courses/purpose-path