Continuing our mini-series in which our Advisory Council hosts the podcast, Melissa Keller, Advisory Council member, and lead therapist at University of Arizona Campus Health CAPS, is in heartfelt conversation with Jacoby Ballard, yoga and meditation teacher, and social justice educator about his path to teach queer and trans yoga, transforming pain and grief into compassionate action, and creating spaces of belonging for all. Melissa and Jacoby also talk about his recent book, A Queer...

In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, UArizona student Belle Johns talks with clinical psychologist and author Eduardo Duran, PhD about his journey, writings and wisdom gained from his spiritual teacher and how that informed the development of his groundbreaking works, 'Healing the Soul Wound: Trauma-Informed Counseling for Indigenous Communities' and 'Buddha in Redface'. In this conversation, Belle and Ed move deeply into sharing personal experiences and perspectives together,...

A psychiatrist, an astronomer and a former Tibetan Buddhist monk turned western psychologist walk into a....podcast studio? In this fascinating conversation from our archives, world renowned experts Dr. Charles Raison, Dr. Lobsang Rapgay, and Prof. Chris Impey explore the connections between modern science and ancient Tibetan Buddhist wisdom in the cultivation of compassion, bringing humor, storytelling and critical inquiry to the conversation. Charles Raison, MD, is the Mary Sue and Mike...

In this conversation, Charlie Cutler, founder and Executive Director of BYTE (Border Youth Tennis Exchange) shares the power of tennis to strengthen resiliency, community and cultural exchange at the US - Mexico border, and in other unexpected areas where borders exist to open conversation, understanding and create connection while combatting divisive stereotypes and making a positive difference. Charlie Cutler began sharing the tennis program that would later become BYTE with youth at...

Artist and creator of the ECO Tarot Adriene Jenik shares the inspiration for the ECO Tarot, an adaptation of the traditional tarot deck to reflect and embrace ecological symbols, concerns and guidance for how we can find our roles in shaping our planet's future. In this conversation, we delve deep into Adriene's process of developing the ECO Tarot, grounded in spiritual tradition and the latest climate science, and she gives Leslie a brief 2-card spread reading to help illustrate how this...

What do we see when we look at our society through the lens of cultural institutions? How can we widen the lens to be more inclusive and reflective of the lived experiences of all in our communities? Chelsea Farrar and Russ Toomey join us for this conversation about 'Mapping Q', a community/university collaboration between LGBTQ youth, community organizations, and the University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) to create safe and welcoming spaces for LGBTQ youth through artmaking while...

Climate + Compassion co-facilitators Leslie Langbert and Al Kaszniak talk about the relational framing for the series, and what participants can expect in joining us for this 6-week series beginning September 27, 2022. Learn more and register at compassioncenter.arizona.edu/events/climate-compassion-online

The reweaving of our relationships with each other and the earth depends in large part on our capacities to engage our imagination, call on inspiration, and create new ways forward. Mike Martin, co-founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization RAWTools joins us for this conversation that includes healing from gun violence by transforming guns to garden tools, the necessity of learning how to resolve conflict without violence, and how community gardens are powerful spaces of...

How do we cultivate the skills to find inner peace and grounding amid ongoing conflict around us? Maha El-Sheikh join us to share the vision and journey of creation of Palestine's first entirely volunteer-led community non-profit yoga center, Farashe. Farashe, meaning 'butterfly' in Arabic, holds daily yoga and meditation classes, workshops and space for the community to come together in the West Bank to breathe, heal, play, and connect. Farashe Yoga Centre Instagram:...

Our founding Director, Charles Raison, MD, is back to share his latest research on pyschedelics - specifically psilocybin, this once-controversial psychoactive fungi's emerging potential as a treatment for major depression and other mental health issues. Also explored in this conversation, psilocybin's potential role in expanding compassion and a rare and special meeting with Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass). Charles Raison, MD is a psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at the University of...

This brief grounding, centering practice can be used anytime to slow down, be present, and reset. Shared as an offering for our Meditation Mondays community, and all others who may find it beneficial!

Musician EastForest shares the inspiration, process and magic of working with Ram Dass in the last year of his life to set his inimitable teaching style, full of humor, wisdom and grace, to music; a modern way to share Ram Dass' wisdom with a new generation. The result being the EastForest X RamDass project. Samples from this beautiful collaboration are woven through this conversation, courtesy of EastForest.

Trauma therapist and author of 'My Grandmother's Hands' talks honestly and directly about the historical and current traumatic impacts of racism in the U.S., and the necessity for us all to recognize this trauma, metabolize it, work through it, and grow up out of it. Only in this way will we at last heal our bodies, our families, and the social body of our nation. The process differs for African-American, European American, and police bodies. But all of us need to heal our racialized...

In this conversation, we are talking about LOVE. Love in its many forms, and in particular, through the lens of the beauty of Islamic Mysticism, and the words of Rumi, Hafez, and the Q'uran. Omid Safi is Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University specializing in contemporary Islamic thought and spirituality. He is a leading Muslim public intellectual who is committed to the intersection of spirituality and social justice. He has been invited by the family of Dr. King to speak at...

What happens when 3 college students develop a meditation and yoga practice, and inspired by their teacher, use it to change the world after graduation? The answer is the Holistic Life Foundation in Baltimore, MD. In this conversation, co-founder Andy Gonzalez shares his inspiration, the key elements of bringing mindfulness in schools effectively, and how he, Atman Smith and Ali Smith decided in 2001 to dedicate their lives to healing their community and the larger world in service to their...

Tiffany Cruikshank is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher, author, acupuncturist, and founder of YogaMedicine, an advanced training program in yoga therapy and anatomy for yoga teachers. She's also a former student of the U. of Arizona. In this conversation, we talk about her early yoga and meditation practice in college, her early career training with Frank Lipman, MD, her time at Nike HQ as the company's yoga instructor and acupuncturist, and her latest endeavor, YogaMedicine....

Lama Rod Owens is known for his deep wisdom and willingness to have conversations about things that we're scared to talk about: race, gender, sexuality, identity, and his ability to hold these conversations with love. In this conversation, we get clear about the difference between diversity and inclusivity, what it means to create inclusive spaces of practice, the responsibility we have now as 'ancestors-in-training', and much more. Lama Rod is co-author of the book 'Radical Dharma: Talking...

Many of us are seeking community, places to be accepted for who we are, and safe places to explore and express what we're experiencing and feeling in these times, in a fully conscious way. In this conversation, we explore the practice of mindful dance/movement and its power to uncover feelings of deep joy, release feelings of stuck suffering, and fully experience the beauty of human embodiment.

How do we leverage the contemplative community into justice and liberation for all, not just the pursuit of liberation for ourselves individually? In this conversation, we explore issues around uncomfortable topics - race, systems of white dominance and our collective embedded-ness in these systems. We also explore how contemplative practices must look at the suffering created by these systems in order to change them, and how Courage of Care Coalition is engaged in leading workshops,...

In this conversation, we talk about the beginnings of meditation research in the United States, Al’s courage and pioneering role in leading meditation research in the southwest at the University of Arizona long before it was mainstream, and what we’ve learned about meditation through research so far. We also explore Al’s path of practice in the Zen Buddhist tradition, the role of technology and apps to make meditation accessible, and his ‘second post-academic career’ as a meditation teacher...

The Positive Communication movement centralizes the role of everyday talk in facilitating health and wellbeing across the lifespan. We engage compassion for self and other through acts of positive communication. Dr. Pitts introduces the principles of positive communication that allow us to elevate and enhance our daily lived experiences, focusing specifically on savoring communication. Communication savoring brings awareness to the meanings and relationships embedded in talk allowing...

Mary-Frances O'Connor, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona Caregivers include family members, doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and chaplains. Fatigue and burnout can hit anyone in a caregiver role who takes on this very important task in the lives of loved ones and patients. Dr. O'Connor describes the difficulties faced by caregivers, but more importantly discusses compassion as the overarching motivation for this difficult work. We...

Interview with Sharon Salzberg by Chuck Raison, MD, Founding Director of UA Center for Compassion Studies

Dave Sbarra, Ph.D Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona Life often does not work out in the way we expected it would unfold. The human experience is fraught with challenges and pain, and a key question for living a happier existence is 'how to prevent suffering in the face of life's inevitable pain?' Cultivating self-compassion can shape how we respond to life's inherent difficulties and make the most of challenging...