June 25, 2014

Free Spiritual Growth Talks on Audio

If you are seeking spiritual nourishment, we invite you to listen to this list of free spiritual growth talks on audio & video. In this selection, we hear from Deepak Chopra on how to develop spiritual solutions to everyday problems, listen to Thomas Moore on the proper care of the soul, and learn timeless wisdom from the documentary The Secret. Whether you are looking for ways to find deeper communion with your inner self, or need tips on how to solve problems from a more spirit-centered place, this list offers insightful avenues for growth:

1. Oprah.com’s Spiritual Channel Podcast

In 2008 Oprah Winfrey launched a series of podcasts. Her first and most popular podcast featured Eckhart Tolle teaching a 10-part course on his book A New Earth. That podcast has since become Oprah.com’s Spiritual Channel Podcast and she continues to update it with interviews she conducted on her Soul Series on Oprah Radio and other spiritual audio programs from Oprah.com. Now on the podcast you’ll find hour-long Oprah interviews with spiritual teachers such as Wayne Dyer, Elizabeth Lesser, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Larry Dossey, Byron Katie, and many other teachers and bestselling authors in the field of spiritual growth. And of course the Eckhart Tolle 10-part course is still on the podcast. These podcasts are available on MPEG-4 audio & video and can be played through Quicktime or iTunes.

2. The Secret

You can now watch the 2006 film The Secret for free on Hulu.com. Produced by Rhonda Byrne, this self-help film focuses on the “Law of Attraction” and how it can be applied in one’s life. It features many popular self-help authors including Michael Beckwith, Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale, Lisa Nichols, and many more. Championed by Oprah Winfrey, beloved by many, criticized by some, see what may be the most successful self-help film of all time. 7 years later and it is the most popular documentary on Hulu.com. Note: It seems that only U.S. viewers can watch this for free. Sorry to our international audience. Also this movie has limited commercial interruption from Hulu.com.

3. Sounds True: Insights at the Edge Podcast

Listen to the best podcast yet from the publisher Sounds True! In this podcast Tami Simon, Founder of Sounds True, interviews spiritual teachers, visionary writers, and living luminaries about their newest work and current challenges of their inner inquiry and outer contribution to the world. In the podcast she interviews Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Tami asks him questions about his life as a peace activist. Other authors she interviews include Jack Kornfield, Geneen Roth, Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Peter Levine, Bruce H. Lipton, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Caroline Myss, Gary Renard, Ken Wilber, Bodhipaksa, Daniel J. Siegel, Judith Orloff, Michael Bernard Beckwith, and more. Subscribe to this great podcast today!

4. A Spiritually Inspired Future: Chopra, Cohen & Huffington

This talk from the Urban Zen Foundation, features author Deepak Chopra, EnlightenNext magazine founder Andrew Cohen, and political activist Arianna Huffington discussing the role of spirituality in our current global situation. Chopra & Cohen describe how to bring together spiritual practice with active participation in working to create the change in the world that one envisions. Huffington adds her practical and political insights into how spirituality can be applied towards bringing about positive change. They also discuss the role of technology and its potential to connect people throughout the globe in uniting for common causes. This talk is available on streaming video from FORA.tv.

5. Ram Dass Here And Now Podcast

Listen to classic recordings of author and spiritual teacher Ram Dass (also known as Dr. Richard Alpert) on his “Ram Dass Here And Now Podcast”. Each 30 minute podcast is introduced by Raghvindra Das (Raghu Markus) of the Love Serve Remember Foundation who has long been a follower of Ram Dass. After the intro we hear one of Ram Dass’ unique talks about his discoveries as a psychologist at Harvard, his psychedelic research with Timothy Leary, and his travels to India where he met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba. The podcasts are delivered in the form of a narrative of Ram Dass’ life, so start out with the first podcast (located at the bottom of the podcast feed) in which Ram Dass discusses his frustrations with being an “empire builder” during his professorship at Harvard, and the psychedelic trip which changed his state of consciousness.

6. Dr. Martha Beck on The Four Technologies of Magic

Dr. Martha Beck is a sociologist, life coach, and best-selling author of books like the The Four-Day Win and Steering by Starlight. In this TEDx talk from San Diego, Dr. Beck discusses some of the human technologies that connect us with the natural world and how our rational minds have tuned out some of the “magic” that they used to perform. She tells some interesting stories of individuals she encountered in her travels to traditional cultures all over the world. The abilities of these people were like magic in the same way that our technologies like smart phones and the internet seems like magic to those who don’t understand their inner workings. This “magic” that Dr. Beck discovered were skills developed over many years and they required four steps that these people of traditional cultures practiced: Wordlessness, Oneness, Imagination, and Forming. Listen to these four steps and think about how you can tap into the natural technologies that much of modern society has left behind. This 18-minute talk is available on streaming video from YouTube.

7. Thomas Moore on Care of the Soul

Thomas Moore is the author of numerous books on the soul, most notably Care of the Soul. In this talk that he delivered at Marlboro College, Moore argues for the consideration of the soul in everyday life including education, medicine, and many other areas. He talks about the importance of a liberal arts education where students are free to reflect on the big questions of life. Moore discusses the limitations of the modern worldview which often ignores spirituality and the mystery of human life. He also reads some of his favorite soul-nuturing passages. This talk is available on streaming video on YouTube. Note: The audio isn’t great on this on, but it’s understandable and the content is worth a close listen!

8. Dr. Deepak Chopra on Spiritual Solutions

Author Deepak Chopra recently stopped by at Google and gave this talk on his latest book Spiritual Solutions. The thesis of his book is that no problem can be solved at the level of awareness in which it was created. In this hour-long talk he discusses some of the ways we can overcome contracted awareness and enter the realm of spiritual solutions. The last half of the talk he answers questions about being overwhelmed with global problems, remote viewing, and near-death experiences.

9. Spiritual Classics Podcast

We have a podcast at LearnOutLoud.com entitled Spiritual Classics. It feature passages of classics texts from a variety of spiritual traditions. We’ve started the podcast off with an excerpt from William James’ classic work The Varieties of Religious Experience in which he lectures on mystical experience. You’ll also find selections from The Bhagavad Gita, The Talmud, The Koran, The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and much more.

10. 18 Self-Healing Exercises from Sounds True

Listen to 18 Self-Healing Exercises from Sounds True with their Guide to Energy Healing. In these exercises you’ll hear teachers such as Andrew Weil, Cyndi Dale, Caroline Myss, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and many more. Listen to Andrew Weil teaches his most powerful breathing technique for relaxation or to Shiva Rea as she leads a 20-minute yoga relaxation exercise covering the entire body.

11. OSHO International Podcast

OSHO International features a podcast that has the teachings of the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Osho. They only have one talk on the podcast feed currently but it is definitely worth listening to. The talk is entitled “The Attachment to Misery” and in the talk Osho expresses that people are attached to misery because it encourages other people to care for them and allows them to cling to their egos. He relates this to saints and ascetics who pursue suffering as a means of gaining respect. Osho thinks happiness and bliss are often unknown territory and that they often can lead to others being jealous of a happy person. Osho feels that creativity is happiness and in creativity a person breaks free from conformity of society. It’s a radical and amusing talk from this unique spiritual teacher.