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Robert Wright: A Meta-Cognitive Revolution

Robert Wright is a scholar, journalist, and the author of books such as Why Buddhism Is True, Nonzero, and The Evolution of God. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Robert and Tami Simon examine meditation from a slightly different perspective, discussing the practice as both a tool of discovery and a kind of rebellion against the hardwired instincts of natural selection. They speak on whether there is a secret order to the universe and what truly fuels moral action. Robert and Tami also talk about different ways to conceive of the arising of thought and of “enlightenment” itself. Finally, Robert comments on how stepping back from our mental processes comprises a “metacognitive revolution” that is key to the survival of the human race. (76 minutes)

A Living Practice: Take a Tour of the Nervous System T...

A practitioner in Tree Pose (or you can, of course, use any pose in this exploration) can experience the different layers of neural processing stacked atop each other, even if unconsciously. The structure and experience of Tree Pose itself reflect the hierarchical structure of the nervous system; the stability of the lower, sensory layers is like the trunk of a tree, whereas the higher, abstract layers are like the tree’s branches.

Whole Body

While you are positioned in Tree Pose, what information is available to you?

  • At the bottom layer are the exteroceptive senses that perceive the external world (touch, smell, sight, taste, and hearing)
  • Next are the proprioceptive senses—those that perceive the positions of neighboring body parts relative to each other
  • Also at play is the equilibrio-ceptive sense, which measures the position of the body relative to gravity

Neck

Can you sense your heartbeat and breath while in Tree Pose?

  • You cultivate the stability discovered through equilibrioception through autonomic functions controlled by the medulla and pons in the brain stem

Heart

What is your emotional experience while in Tree Pose?

Do any fears or past traumas influence your current experience, even unconsciously?

  • The limbic system—comprised of numerous brain regions above the brain stem—is associated with assigning emotional value to experience

Head

When we inhabit an asana like Tree Pose with ease and stability, we experience multisensory integration in a refined and cohesive way.

  • Mindfully paying attention to the body as we practice harnesses neuroplasticity, refining the neural pathways associated with processing signals from the body

What does it feel like to be you while in Tree Pose?

Feet

  • The self-sense is the most abstract layer of the nervous system hierarchy; it’s associated with the brain’s DMN (default mode network). It is the part of the nervous system that generates a sense of selfhood, and it is also the capacity that allows the feeling of being me to occur.

Excerpted from Yoga & Psyche: Integrating the Paths of Yoga and Psychology for Healing, Transformation, and Joy by Mariana Caplan.

Mariana Caplan, PhD, MFT, E-RTY 500, is a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and author of eight books in the fields of psychology, spirituality, and yoga. She has been teaching workshops and trainings online, in yoga studios and universities, and at major retreat centers throughout the world since 1997. She is the founder of Yoga & Psyche International, an organization created to integrate the fields of yoga and psychology globally, and lives in Fairfax, California. Learn more at realspirituality.com and yogaandpsyche.com.

Buy your copy of Yoga & Psyche at your favorite bookseller!

Sounds True | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

E68: The Illusion of Control and the Power of Acceptan...

It should be obvious that most of life unfolds beyond your control. Your heart beats, your lungs expand and contract, 35 trillion living cells provide you with your body, atoms bond into molecules, and billions of other vital things go on every moment that you do not control. In spite of all of this, you suffer by resisting reality instead of appreciating it. Your desires and struggles come from storing the past experiences you liked and didn’t like and then comparing reality to what you want it to be. Eventually, you will realize that true peace and joy arise not from controlling life but from letting go of your inner blockages and learning to appreciate and fully embrace the gift of creation.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

Finding Joy in Every Moment: A Practice with Miranda M...

Finding Joy in Every Moment: A Practice with Miranda Macpherson

Our world of late seems to be so lacking in Grace, so pervaded with egocentricity. Yet just as a single jasmine blossom can uplift the entire room with its exquisite fragrance, whenever you relax out of fear and control, and learn to be truly present and undefended with what is, your very presence radiates noble qualities deeper into our world.

I wrote The Way of Grace: The Transforming Power of Ego Relaxation to share a clearer, kinder, and more potent way to gain traction on the path of awakening. Closing the gap between what you believe spiritually and how you actually live does not have to be such a struggle. At every stage of your journey, there is Grace to help you surrender, thrive, and become a more graceful human being. I invite you into the living presence that you truly are through teaching stories, reflections, self-inquiry practices, and guided meditations, gleaned from three decades of guiding others into direct experience of the Sacred.

Below, I share a practice that is part of the overarching practice of Ego Relaxation. In this video, I guide you on how you can find joy in every moment by surrendering more deeply into your own heart. May this simple message awaken the natural joy of your essential being and help you be at peace even amidst difficult circumstances.

[WATCH VIDEO]

Given how much our world needs more graceful human beings right now, I will be bold and urge you to buy a copy of the book or audiobook for yourself, but also for someone you love. Why? Because we need friends alongside us to walk the path with substance, someone who understands what it takes to stay with our practice when we may hit resistance. Many of the practices I share in all 16 chapters are ideally done with a spiritual friend, helping one another to deepen and share your insights.

A heartfelt thank you to Sounds True for helping bring this book into manifestation. May this beautiful practice of Ego Relaxation bring Grace alive within you, bringing infinite richness and meaning to your life, and deeper peace to our troubled world.

 

From my heart,

Miranda Macpherson

thewayofgracebook.com

 

P.S. I also want to extend the invitation to the global community at The Way of Grace Book Club on Facebook. Anyone with the book is welcome and encouraged to take part, for authentic awakening is never just for us alone!

 

Miranda Macpherson is a spiritual teacher who shares an integrated, feminine approach to nondual realization. Founder of OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation in London, where she trained and ordained over 600 ministers, today she leads the Living Grace Sangha in Northern California and leads retreats internationally. The author of Boundless Love (Ebury Press, 2002) she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more, visit mirandamacpherson.com.

Buy your copy of The Way of Grace at your favorite bookseller!

Sounds True | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

 

 

 

 

Finding Joy in Every Moment: A Practice with Miranda Macpherson Pinterest

Encounters With Power

Dear friends,

We are all faced with events in life that make it seem like we have no choice in the matter. Think of a time in your life when you thought the situation you faced gave you no choice. As you reflect back on this event, do you still feel that way? Do you still believe you had no choice, or can you now see choices you could not see then? What can you change and what is not in your power to change?

From a shamanic perspective, there are always many more options than we thought we had because, like a quantum physicist, a shaman does not accept the outward appearance of anything. Our solid appearing bodies are anything but solid at the subatomic level. They are mostly empty space—and if that is so, what might we be able to do with them that we thought we could not?

Walk over hot coals? Pass through a wall? Travel great distances in the blink of an eye? Consider what you have resigned yourself to in your life? Is it just a reality to be endured or is it an essence-created test—an initiatory challenge to motivate you to move beyond it?

Examine your feelings about your fate closely. Is there grief? Is there anger and bitterness—perhaps resentment? These emotions can be clues to your fatalism about certain aspects of your life. Who are you trying to punish with your victim stance? Who are you trying to prove wrong or right in the matter?

If you wish, go back and choose a current situation where you feel you are stuck and do the process again.

This process is just one I’ve learned over the years as I’ve sought out extraordinary healers across the globe. I’ve had terrifying, enlightening, and at times hugely entertaining adventures. Power can destroy us or it can raise us up by teaching us and nourishing us. I may not be a master, but I have learned a few things that you may find helpful on your own quest. I share all of this in my new book, Encounters with Power: Adventures and Misadventures on the Shamanic Path of Healing.

 

Warm wishes to you on your path,

José Luis Stevens

The Psychology of the Awakened Heart – an online...

Friends, we’re happy to let you know of a new online video training with our dear friend Jack Kornfield, on The Psychology of the Awakened Heart: A Training in the Four Essentials of a Healthy and Joyful Life. The course will be made available starting October 1st, however you can sign up and join at anytime, working through the material at your own pace, from the comfort of your own home.

The meditation practices passed down from the Buddha are beautiful, time-tested ways to awaken a compassionate, joyful, and loving heart. Buddhist psychology and research from modern neuroscience both show enormous benefits from using these methods as a regular practice or in conjunction with conventional therapy. With The Psychology of the Awakened Heart, master teacher Jack Kornfield invites mental health professionals and meditators alike to an eight-session online video course on the Buddhist psychology of well-being. Each session, Jack will present life-changing practices, wisdom teachings, and healing stories—offering a rich mix of practical and scientific information and experiential exercises based on the timeless principles of Buddhist psychology.

Learn more about this special online training opportunity, watch a video sample, and register here.

psychologyawakening

 

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