Spirit Matters Talk

Steve Taylor is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University in the UK and the chair of the Transpersonal Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. His articles and essays have been published in over 100 academic journals, magazines, and newspapers, and he blogs for Scientific American and Psychology Today. His bestselling books include Spiritual Science: Why Science Needs Spirituality to Make Sense of the World and The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening. His most recent book is Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation. We spoke mainly about that last book and his research on what he calls “transformation through turmoil” and “shifters”—people whose struggles lead to a dramatic shift into a new, expansive identity. Learn more about Steve Taylor here: www.StevenMTaylor.com

Steve Taylor Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Michael Tobin has been a marital and family psychologist for 45 years. He is the founder of the award-winning website, www.wholefamily.com, which contains numerous articles about relationships. His series of articles, The Marital Labyrinth , which delves into marriage, marital affairs, and how to affair-proof a relationship, was featured in Psychology Today. His new book, Riding the Edge, A Love Song to Deborah, chronicles a six-month transformative journey in 1980, when he, an American Jew, and Deborah, an Arab American, bicycled across Europe, Lebanon, and Israel, where they confronted the challenges of love, war, and identity. They have been together for 47 years now, and are the parents of four and the grandparents of 14. We spoke about the spiritual implications of the adventure he describes in his book and the challenges he’s faced since Deborah was diagnosed with Alzeimer’s. Learn more about Michael Tobin here: www.drmichaeltobin.com

Michael Tobin Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Sadhguru is a mystic, philanthropist, author (his books include Inner Engineering and Death: An Inside Story), public speaker, and highly respected spiritual teacher with thousands of students around the world. His non-profit Isha Foundation, which has large centers in India and the US, offers a variety yogic teachings and conducts social and community development projects globally. This program, Sadhguru’s second appearance on Spirit Matters, is a special one: Phil was invited to interview Sadhguru on the publication of his latest book, Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny. The Isha Foundation gave us permission to post it on the podcast and YouTube channel. We spoke for more than an hour about Sadhguru’s perspective on the important and often misunderstood teachings about karma. Learn more about Sadhguru here: https://www.innerengineering.com/online/blog/sadhguru?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5JSLBhCxARIsAHgO2Se6oVa-6uTpulSD6FvDQTJavTOH4EBMmx9CzzZ7zIUreNHImr0ZmY0aAqsMEALw_wcB and Isha Foundation here: www.ishafou

Sadhguru Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Robert - Thurman - Interview by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Robert Thurman Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Swami Tyagananda joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1976 after graduating from the University of Mumbai in India. He received spiritual instruction from Swami Vireswarananda, a disciple of Sri Sarada Devi (known as Holy Mother), and his monastic vows from Swami Gambhirananda. After serving at the Mumbai monastery (1976–80), he served at Belur Math (1980–82), New Delhi (1982–83), and Chennai (1983–1997) before being sent to Boston in 1998. After Swami Sarvagatananda’s retirement in 2002, Tyagananda was appointed head of the Boston Vedanta Society. Since 1999 he has also been the Hindu chaplain at Harvard and MIT. Tyagananda was editor of the English journal Vedanta Kesari for 11 years, and has written, translated, or edited fourteen books. They include Walking the Walk: A Karma Yoga Manual, Knowing the Knower: A Jñāna Yoga Manual, and his latest, Looking Deeply: Vivekacūḍāmaṇi of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya. He has presented at numerous academic conferences and gives lectures and classes at the Vedanta Society as well as at

Swami Tyagananda Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Connie Zweig, Ph.D., is the co-author of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow, and the author of Meeting the Shadow of Spirituality and a novel, A Moth to the Flame: The Life of Sufi Poet Rumi. A retired therapist, she has extended shadow-work into late life and teaches aging as a spiritual practice. That is the focus of her latest book, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul. Connie has been doing contemplative practices for 50 years and was initiated as an Elder by Sage-ing International in 2017. In this, our second interview for Spirit Matters, we spoke about the theme of her new book, i.e., a spiritual perspective on the inevitable challenges of aging, what it means to be an Elder, and the importance of consciously shifting from role to soul. Learn more about Connie Zweig here: https://conniezweig.com

Connie Zweig Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Jacob Kyle is a meditation and yoga asana teacher, a writer, an educator, and the Founding Director of Embodied Philosophy, an online educational platform for wisdom studies and contemplative practices. He is the host of Embodied Philosophy’s podcast Chitheads and publisher of its quarterly journal Tarka, whose stated mission is “to dissolve the institutionalized boundaries between scholarly, devotional, and embodied methods.” Jacob holds an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. A devoted student and practitioner of the Śaiva-Śakta Darśana, he was initiated as an Acharya (authorized teacher) of Neelakhanta Meditation in the tradition of Blue Throat Yoga by scholar-practitioner Paul Muller-Ortega. We spoke about the origin and mission of Embodied Philosophy and about its Spiritual Citizenship initiative. Learn more about Jacob Kyle here https://www.embodiedphilosophy.com/author/jacobembodiedphilosophy-c

Jacob Kyle Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Jeremy Engels is an award-winning professor of Communication and Ethics at Penn State University as well as a yoga and meditation teacher and co-owner of Yoga Lab Studios in State College, PA. Dr. Engels considers himself an American Transcendentalist whose work is to “explore the rituals of oneness that humans have developed to affirm our interconnectedness, with each other, and with the world in which we live.” He is the author of several books, including The Ethics of Oneness, which draws on the Bhagavad Gita, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman to explore our interconnectedness and shared divinity. We spoke about the profound ethical and political implications of the awareness of Oneness with respect to today’s challenges. Learn more about Jeremy Engels here: https://jeremydavidengels.com and about The Ethics of Oneness here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo68657749.html. Note the publisher’s special offer for our audience: use the code UCPNEW and get a 20% discount.

Jeremy Engels Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Stephen G. Post is the founding director of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, and the founding director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York. A public speaker and an opinion leader in medicine, Alzheimer research, and religion, he has promoted the idea of “give and live better” across the globe. Dr. Post is the bestselling author of Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Happier, Healthier Life by the Simple Act of Giving. Dr. Post’s recent book, God and Love on Route 80, is a meditation on the meaning of life and the importance of spirituality. His latest book, Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People, is about caring for those afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease. We spoke about his own spiritual path and the intersection of spirituality and ethics, giving, and caring. Learn more about Stephen Post here: https://stephengpost.com/

Stephen Post Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford and was ordained in the order of Sanyas (monastic renunciation) in 2000, by Swami Chidanand Saraswati of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India, where she resides. She is President of Divine Shakti Foundation, which runs free schools, vocational training programs, and empowerment programs in India. The director of the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh, Sadhvi also serves on the United Nations Advisory Council on Religion and on the steering committees of the International Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) and the Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty. She also lectures, teaches meditation, and counsels individuals and families. This is her second visit to Spirit Matters, prompted by her new book, Hollywood to the Himalayas: A Journey of Healing and Transformation. We spoke about that memoir, her role as a female voice of spiritual leadership, and her decision to write candidly about her traumatic

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil