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In this episode, which originally aired on December 2nd, 2021, I share my recent conversation with hospice chaplain Laura McBane. Laura will talk about her experiences in the death and dying field, why she chose that work (actually, she didn't), and how her Fourth Way spiritual practice supports her. Though she is a chaplain and went to seminary in NYC (she's currently in the Hudson Valley area but used to live in Sylva, NC, where she owned a restaurant for many years), Laura is not religious. I believe her to be very cool!

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In this episode, which originally aired on November 18th, 2021, I explore some of the ideas presented in Marion Woodman's 1982 book, Addiction to Perfection. How do you feel toward your feminine side? People who identify as male, this question applies to you, too! We all have masculine and feminine principles working within us, but in this society the masculine is running the show. Woodman was a Jungian analyst whose work focused on reviving what she called the "conscious feminine." This revival is needed now more than ever! Masculine energy is not bad in and of itself, but it must be balanced with the feminine or things go haywire. We need more yin with our yang! More anima with our animus! And hey -- listening is an inherently feminine skill, so you can practice it by tuning in. Extra anima points for those who listen while doing nothing else! The feminine principle is not a fan of multi-tasking...

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on November 11th, 2021, I explore some of the ideas presented in Chögyam's Trungpa's 1969 book, Meditation in Action. Trungpa's approach to meditation is about as open and curiosity-driven as they come, and if it doesn't inspire you to get on the cushion, I don't know what will. But then, as the title of this book suggests, meditation isn't just about sitting...

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on October 14th, 2021, I share my conversation with Asheville-based psychiatric nurse practitioner (and my friend) Leif Johnson. Leif is fascinated by the framework of the Big Five Personality Traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. We explore all of these and how understanding them could revolutionize the way we help people with mental health issues develop more adaptive ways of thinking and behaving.

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on October 21st, 2021, I talk about some of my favorite ideas from Henry David Thoreau's Walden, a reflection on simple living in natural surroundings. I reflect on what Thoreau has to say about work/labor,   charity/altruism, monuments, newspapers, prejudice, and what it really means to be successful.

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on October 7th, 2021, I talk about Jack Kerouac's religious life, and how Catholicism and Buddhism, and his attempts to integrate the two, influenced his writing. I’ll be sharing passages from the Master’s thesis of my sister, Emily  Simpson, who tracks Kerouac's spiritual conflict as it’s revealed in the novels Visions of Gerard, The Dharma Bums and Big Sur. 

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on September 30th, 2021, I explore some of the ideas put forth in the "America" section of J. Krishnamurti's 1973 book, The Awakening of Intelligence. What does it mean to really see something, and not just the "image" of that thing? Is there such a thing as a thought that isn't old? What is Krishnamurti getting at when he says "the observer is the observed"? This one gets a bit trippy at times! M.C. Escher would approve.

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In this episode, which originally aired on March 10th, 2022, I share my conversation with Asheville-based psychotherapist Melissa Lopez. Melissa is in training to be a sex therapist, so that's what we're talking about, but in the larger context of the erotic, or Divine Eros, which Melissa broadly defines as "experiencing life through the senses." We discuss erotophobia and other ways that sex and shame get linked in our culture, along with how we humans tend to deny ourselves pleasure, and the role that nature has played in Melissa's own awakening around the erotic, among other topics.

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on September 16th, 2021, I celebrate my one-year anniversary of being social media-free! I deleted my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts on September 16th of 2020, after watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix, and I have no regrets! I'll talk about what going without the drug of social media has taught me about my own mind, and the various dangerous implicit messages that social media sends us by simply existing.

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In this episode, which originally aired in radio format on September 9th, 2021, I talk about a treatise called The Book of Divine Consolation, which was written by German Dominican theologian, philosopher and mystic, Meister Eckhart, around the year 1308. In it, Eckhart provides “some thirty topics that ought readily to console a rational man in his sorrow.” Give it a listen if you need some soothing.