In this special in-person conversation recorded at the Garrison Institute, Cynthia Bourgeault and David Frenette explore the transformative practice of Centering Prayer, nondual consciousness, and the spiritual legacy of Father Thomas Keating. Drawing from decades of teaching, retreat leadership, and personal friendship with Keating, Bourgeault and Frenette reflect on prayer not as escape, but as a path toward compassion and deeper participation in reality. Intimate and searching, yet grounded, this conversation offers a rare opportunity to hear two influential contemplative teachers thinking together in real time about what it means to awaken, let go, and fully inhabit the world.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

Cultural ecologist David Abram explores the “more-than-human world,” challenging the human-centered mindset of the Anthropocene and calling for a return to ecological humility. In this rich conversation, Abram weaves philosophy, indigenous wisdom, and lived experience to reveal our deep reciprocity with Earth—from the air we breathe to the bodies we inhabit. He unpacks concepts like consanguinity, mutuality, and the ethics of interdependence, offering a powerful critique of modern disconnection. Drawing on his journey as a sleight-of-hand magician and encounters with traditional healers, Abram highlights the lost role of mediators between human and nonhuman realms.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

In this conversation recorded not long before her death in 2025, activist and systems thinker Joanna Macy joins Jonathan at a Garrison Institute Pathways to Planetary Health forum to discuss how we can stay present and purposeful in a time of ecological and social crisis. Drawing on Buddhism, systems theory, and decades of activism, she shares insights on interdependence, non-linear thinking, and what she calls “the Great Turning”—the shift from a destructive industrial growth society to a life-sustaining world. Macy speaks candidly about despair, climate grief, gratitude, and the courage to feel deeply without becoming paralyzed.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

In this eight-minute guided meditation, Sharon invites us to explore a walking meditation or gentle movement, with our eyes open, bringing a light awareness to our bodies and the world around us.

You can find more meditations and contemplative resources like this at ⁠GarrisonInstitute.org⁠, along with information about our Contemplative-Based Resilience initiative and other programs supporting those who serve our communities.

Follow the podcast at ⁠https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/podcasts/⁠

Sign up for the newsletter to receive upcoming show previews and special resources heard on the podcast ⁠here.⁠

In this episode, Judy Lief—a longtime student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and a leading voice in bringing Tibetan Buddhist teachings to the West—reflects on a life shaped by curiosity, unexpected turns, and deep contemplative practice. She shares her early search for meaning, her transformative path into Buddhism, and decades of work editing and preserving Trungpa Rinpoche's teachings. Judy explores how practice shows up in real life—from ordinary moments to end-of-life care—helping us stay present, face uncertainty, and connect with others more genuinely.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

What would it take to redesign society so all life can thrive? In this episode, systems thinker Jeremy Lent explores the vision of an ecological civilization—one rooted in interconnectedness, justice, and the commons. He traces how today’s extractive, growth-driven economy emerged, why it behaves like a self-perpetuating “Wendigo” system, and how even promising technologies get captured by its logic. Jeremy introduces the “Three Horizons” framework for navigating transformation, and outlines principles for a regenerative future: decentralization, equity, cooperation, and distributed ownership. From Daoist philosophy to modern complexity science, this conversation bridges ancient wisdom and cutting-edge systems thinking.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

What would it mean to redesign capitalism so it works like a living system? In this powerful conversation, John Fullerton—former Wall Street executive and founder of the Capital Institute—shares his journey from high finance to becoming a leading voice in regenerative economics. Drawing on ecological science, systems thinking, and ancient wisdom traditions, he explains why today’s economic model—rooted in mechanistic, reductionist thinking—is driving climate breakdown, inequality, and social fragmentation. Fullerton outlines the core principles of regenerative economics, including holistic wealth, empowered participation, resilient systems, and the vital role of the commons.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

What would it mean to transform education—and capitalism—with love? In this conversation, economist Rebecca Henderson (author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire) and leading policy advisor Jamie Bristow explore how mindfulness and inner development can reshape business, politics, and leadership. Drawing on their experience at Harvard Business School, the UK Parliament, and the global inner development movement, they examine why changing systems requires changing hearts—and why love and power must work together. From shareholder value to human flourishing, from individual awareness to institutional reform, this episode maps the emerging field connecting contemplative practice with economic transformation.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

In this seven-minute guided meditation, Sharon invites you to turn a kind and gentle attention toward any suffering you may be experiencing—meeting pain with compassion, connecting to our shared human experience, and returning to bodily presence and phrases of self-compassion with kindness and acceptance.

This meditation was originally recorded for The Garrison Institute's Contemplative-Based Resilience initiative. We will be bringing you smaller practices in your feed each month.

You can find more meditations and contemplative resources like this at ⁠GarrisonInstitute.org⁠, along with information about our Contemplative-Based Resilience initiative and other programs supporting those who serve our communities.

Follow the podcast at ⁠https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/podcasts/⁠

Sign up for the newsletter to receive upcoming show previews and special resources heard on the podcast ⁠here.⁠

Architect, systems innovator, and Dark Matter Labs co-founder Indy Johar joins Jonathan F.P. Rose for a far-reaching conversation on how we might redesign the invisible operating systems of society for a more just, regenerative, and compassionate world. Together they explore relational citizenship, radical civic economies, bioregional organizing, and why care, presence, and partial knowing are essential foundations for the future. They also examine what it means to be human in an age of AI, and how human, ecological, and machine intelligences might co-evolve without separation. 

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.