Épisodes

  • Spirituality and High Sensitivity with Elaine Aron

    Spirituality and High Sensitivity with Elaine Aron
    Mar 16 2026
    Elaine Aron is a clinical and research psychologist who received her advanced training at Pacific Graduate Institute and the Jung Institute in San Francisco. Her research on sensory processing sensitivity and, along with her husband, Arthur Aron, the study of close relationships, is widely published in academic journals. She is best known as the world’s leading expert on the “Highly Sensitive Person” or HSP, a term she ascribed to a significant minority of people she discovered had the innate trait of high sensitivity. Her book , The Highly Sensitive Person, became an international bestseller, translated into 32 languages, and has been in print for nearly thirty years. She followed that up with other books based on her research on the subject: The Highly Sensitive Parent, The Highly Sensitive Person Workbook, The Highly Sensitive Person in Love, The Highly Sensitive Child, and Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person. She maintains a newsletter and other resources at her website. Her latest book, which we discuss (among other things) in this interview, is Spirituality Through a Highly Sensitive Lens: An Objective Look at Meditation Methods and Enlightenment. The conversation ranges widely; you don't have to be a Highly Sensitive Person to benefit from hearing it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 10 min
  • The Science of Magic with Dean Radin

    The Science of Magic with Dean Radin
    Mar 2 2026
    Dean Radin is chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), an associated distinguished professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the cofounder and chairman of the biotech company, Cognigenics. His advanced degrees include an MS in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Illinois, and an honorary doctorate from the Swami Vivekananda University in Bangalore, India. He is the co-inventor on 12 patents, he’s given hundreds of presentations at prestigious institutions, and he is the author or coauthor of some 350 scientific and popular articles, four dozen book chapters, and nine books. His books include The Conscious Universe; Entangled Minds; and Real Magic. His latest is The Science of Magic: How the Mind Weaves the Fabric of Reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 11 min
  • Practicing Safe Zen with Julie Nelson

    Practicing Safe Zen with Julie Nelson
    Feb 16 2026
    Julie Nelson has been practicing Zen Buddhism for more than 20 years. Along the way, she was deemed accomplished enough and dedicated enough to become a teacher in the Soto tradition. Hence her other name, Seido Sensei. She has contributed articles to Tricycle magazine, writes on her own blog, and she’s the author of a book titled Practicing Safe Zen: Navigating the Pitfalls on the Road to Liberation. She is also an emeritus professor of economics from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, has two kids and two grandkids, and lives in New Hampshire. In Julie's own words: “her spiritual home is the Greater Boston Zen Community, a group that experienced three waves of teacher abuses of power. She is deeply saddened when people, either in addition to or instead of realizing benefits from their work with a spiritual teacher, suffer great harm.” The central focus of this conversation is the vital importance ethical behavior among spiritual teachers, institutional accountability, and the protection of vulnerable students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 7 min
  • Messages from Ram Dass on Harmony and Wholeness, with Parvati Markus

    Messages from Ram Dass on Harmony and Wholeness, with Parvati Markus
    Feb 2 2026
    Parvati Markus is a developmental editor who has been midwifing spiritually oriented non-fiction books and memoirs going back to her early friendship with the late spiritual leader Ram Dass and working with him on his iconic Be Here Now. Later books she either authored, coauthored, or edited include Dying to Know, Whisper in the Heart, Love Everyone, and the children's book, Isabella Castaspella. She has also worked in various capacities with spiritual organizations such as the Neem Karoli Baba ashram and temple in Taos, New Mexico, the Global Peace Initiative of Women, and the Love Serve Remember Foundation. The focus of our conversation is her new book, There is no Other: The Way to Harmony and Wholeness, which names Parvati as editor and Ram Dass as author. It's a collection of Ram Dass writings, assembled, organized, and introduced by Parvati, and it's billed as The Final Teachings from Beloved Spiritual Leader Ram Dass on Unity and Love. https://www.parvatimarkus.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 4 min
  • Exploring the Holy Trinity with Robert Jonas

    Exploring the Holy Trinity with Robert Jonas
    Jan 19 2026
    Robert A. Jonas is a a multifaceted spiritual practitioner and teacher: psychotherapist, a Christian mystic, a leader in Buddhist-Christian dialogue, an environmental activist, a retreat leader, and the director and host of The Empty Bell, a contemplative sanctuary in Northampton, MA. , as well as a husband, father, and grandfather. He’s also a master of the Shakuhachi (a Japanese bamboo flute) and an author whose books include Rebecca: A Father’s Journey from Grief to Gratitude; two biographies of Father Henri Nouwen; and his most recent work, the award-winning, My Dear Far-Nearness, which explores Christianity’s Holy Trinity as three dimensions of consciousness. We spoke about the mysticism, the grace of grief, his friend Henri Nouwen, and his provocative interpretation of the Trinity. He also gifted us with a meditative performance of a traditional song on Shakuhachi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 10 min
  • Igniting Your Juicy Life With Stephanie James

    Igniting Your Juicy Life With Stephanie James
    Jan 5 2026
    Stephanie James is a psychotherapist, a transformation coach, an international speaker, a filmmaker, an author, and the host of the podcast “Igniting the Spark,” on mindbodyspirit.fm, where you will find interviews, (including one with me). Her new book, which we talk about here, is Your Big Fat Juicy Life (And Everything After). The book, according to the press material, “illuminates how we perceive life, death, and the magnificent spectrum of human experience. It is also a jubilant invitation to us all to wake up, breathe deeply, and dance with the mysteries of existence.” Much of our conversation was about how a serious consideration of death and reincarnation can enrich our lives here and now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 4 min
  • The Hero's Journey of St. Francis with Craig Bullock

    The Hero's Journey of St. Francis with Craig Bullock
    Dec 22 2025
    Craig Bullock (aka Isha Das) is the Spiritual Director of the Assisi Institute in Rochester, New York, where he integrates mystical Christianity and teachings from the Kriya Yoga tradition. He has an advanced degree in religious studies from the University of Notre Dame and another in clinical psychology from Duquesne University. He is also an authorized Kriya Yoga teacher, having been trained by Roy Eugene Davis, who was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda. In addition to his transformational work with students at the Assisi Institute, Craig is a retired psychotherapist, a public speaker, and an author. His books include Open Wider the Door: The Integration of Kriya Yoga and Mystical Christianity, and his latest, Merchant to Mystic: The Hero’s Journey of St. Francis of Assisi. We talked about his work integrating east and west and, mainly, the spiritual journey of St. Francis and lessons we can all learn from his story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 7 min
  • The Fifth Season with Mark Nepo

    The Fifth Season with Mark Nepo
    Dec 8 2025
    Mark Nepo returns to Spirit Matters for a conversation about spirituality in the second half of life. Mark is a poet, a spiritual teacher, and a bestselling author of some 26 books, including You Don't Have to Do it Alone: The Power of Friendship; Falling Down and Getting Up; Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity; and best-known of all, The Book of Awakening, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide over the last 20 years. Mark has won numerous awards, has appeared on several national television shows, including Oprah's, and has made personal appearances throughout the world - all devoted to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. His latest book, the one we talk about here, is The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life, which, he says, celebrates "living from the inside of the one life we’re given." Learn more about Mark here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h et 8 min