“Perhaps you’ve had the experience of being elevated by the act of reading, feeling lifted almost literally to a higher level, where the air is rarefied, and the view is vast.” writes Dean Sluyter, who, in this deep dialogue, offers a banquet of literature that we, most likely, have not tasted…

Poetry is a deep collaboration of language, music, psyche, and soul. A poet reveals to us the beauty, the sorrow, and even the humor of the world. It guides us in being ever curious and observant, helping us to notice even the smallest details of life. A ripening peach or…

Jane Hirshfield believes that poetry can play a transformative role in our lives. “What poems are doing is counterbalancing the mainstream tenor of our culture, which is to do, to be active, to be energetic and to prove one’s self… and one of the messages underlying all poems that move…

This far-ranging dialogue is full of stories that will inspire and delight. Levoy speaks about a sense of wonder as being the active ingredient in a passionate life, and how even suffering and restlessness can be explored with curiosity. He tells us that wonder can offer us the adaptive benefit…

Rebecca Solnit discusses how all of us are connected to one another as though we are threads woven into the fabric of the world. Storytelling is an important part of creating this fabric. Every story is a thread that weaves itself into the universal fabric. Solnit points out that we…

Jones gives practical advice as to how we can engage in deep inner work through focused journaling. She shares exercises that can act as powerful tools in reframing the pieces of our past and our life stories, so that suffering becomes meaningful and can boost our healing, empowerment, growth, and…

When you lose someone, well-meaning people give you books full of supposedly uplifting platitudes: “time heals all wounds;” “there is a purpose to this;” “you will find closure.” But, as non-religious baby-boomer Carla Malden says, she found them useless. She shares the highs and lows, sparing nothing in her truth-telling. You will…

Mackey writes both prose and poetry and has published many novels, including her historical fiction of Neolithic times, and many highly acclaimed books of poetry. She reveals her writing and creative process and how each kind of writing requires a different approach. She describes her process of “creative trance” that…

Mark Nepo has discovered that writing and other forms of expression can be especially effective in assisting our spiritual growth. Nepo tells of his experience, how he loosens the knot of his limiting mind when it is swirling with assumptions and conclusions. “When I am stuck in my mind, when I…

Having had had two spinal surgeries, ending up with kidney failure, ulcers and post-operative infection, David Hanscom has first-hand knowledge of chronic pain. This has left him with extreme empathy for patients who come to him. Since medical school he’s educated himself on mind/body syndromes. Discovering he had a lot…