Conversations with Joan

Robert Thurman is a scholar and interpreter of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. In his new book, Wisdom is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life ,  he offers an exploration into the nature of reality through Buddha's threefold curriculum of super-education. Robert invites us to travel the same road as the Buddha. Robert became a Tibetan monk at age 24. He was the first American to b...

Shannon Dingle has experienced staggering tragedy and trauma in her life, including surviving sexual abuse and trafficking as a child and the loss of her husband. But through the grief, she learned to find hope. In her first book,  Living Brave: Lessons from Hurt, Lighting the Way to Hope , she gives women permission to wrestle with painful topics, to use their voice, to take a stand for justice,...

Mental health is essential to our overall well-being. When we feel mentally well, we can work productively, enjoy our free time, and contribute to our communities. Many believe that mental health occurs in the brain, but it is actually the result of everything going on in the body. What we eat, how we move, our chemistry, all factor in to mental well-being. Victor Brick talks about wellness tools...

Most athletes dream about standing on the Olympic podium receiving their gold medal. But few ever have the opportunity to actually do so. Ashleigh Johnson knows what it feels like to earn gold. Ashleigh is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and goalie of Team USA Water Polo. She was named the Top Goaltender of the Olympic Games, having stopped an astounding 80 of 124 shots. Ashleigh is a Princeton g...

September 11 marks the 2Oth anniversary of the World Trade Center Attacks. Lisa Luckett lost her husband on that day, leaving her a single mother of three. Lisa survived the unimaginable and learned to face any experience head on, choosing to see the silver lining in all situations. Lisa is a life coach, speaker, and CEO of Cozmeena Enlightened Living, a brand of kindness. She is the author of the...

When faced with a health challenge, people often spend their time waiting for a miracle to happen. According to Dr. Mark Mincolla, we have the power to create that miracle. Dr. Mincolla contends that developing our superconscious mind and recognizing the divine source that exists within each of us, can generate miracles. Dr. Mincolla has been a practicing holistic physician for more than three dec...

After decades fighting to free themselves from male-dominated social and economic structures such as glass ceilings and pay equality, women still struggle. Using the events of a very painful year in her own personal and professional life, Allison Carmen explores the forces in women’s personal and professional lives that hold them back. She teaches how women can become fully realized so that every...

Tired, cranky, got headaches, belly aches or belly fat? How about diabetes, high blood pressure, or coronary artery disease? Got an autoimmune condition, an allergy, an immune deficiency, or an inflammatory condition like arthritis? Depressed, anxious addicted, or having trouble sleeping? Overweight, obese, or just plain bloated? How about dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or cancer? According to Dr....

You are not hardwired to be a certain way the rest of your life. Contrary to what you may think, the brain is the organ of change. By understanding how your mind works you can learn how to change negative habits and emotions and rewire your brain with new thoughts and beliefs that will transform your mind and body. Dr. Joe Dispenza combines the fields of quantum physics, neuroscience, brain chemis...

It is so easy to get caught up in the drama and distractions of daily life that most people miss out on living happy, fulfilling lives. Tracy Webster teaches people how to experience life and love despite any challenge, obstacle, or roadblock. According to Tracy, “It takes a daring, courageous person to break out of their comfort zone and the gifts of doing so are priceless.” Tracy is a best-selli...

Michelle Phillips believes that beauty is not a size, it’s not a specific look or a certain age. Beauty is an attitude! Michelle inspires women to look and feel their best. She is a women's empowerment coach and best-selling author of The Beauty Blueprint. As a leading authority in the beauty industry and one of the most influential makeup artists in the entertainment industry, she has worked with...

What propels some individuals to reach extraordinary creative heights in the earliest years of life while others achieve greatness decades later? New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed journalist, Claudia Kalb, investigated the origins of genius. In her new book, Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers , she unravels the relationship between brains, talent, passio...

Many of us go through our lives hampered by painful memories. Seated deep within our minds, they can seem impossible to dislodge and they can trigger tremendous pain and prevent us from thriving in our lives. According to Dr. Carla Manly, the more conscious of these fears we are, the more we can break free of their hold. She offers simple steps to safely face our fearful memories, learn from them,...

New discoveries in biology and neuroscience reveal how the words we think and speak can change the way the neurons in our brains and hearts connect. According to Gregg Braden, our ancestors understood this connection and they created specific word patterns to provide comfort, healing, strength, and inner power in difficult times. Gregg talks about how these powerful words, that were encoded into p...

A new human consciousness is replacing the old human consciousness - authentic power is replacing external power. According to Gary Zukav, the potential of a new era of humanity based on love instead of fear is upon us, but only we can bring it into being. Gary talks about how we can transform everyday experiences of hopelessness, emptiness, and pain into fulfillment, meaning, and joy. Gary has in...

As no one can live without inhaling and exhaling, no one can live without feeling and expressing. According to Mark Nepo, we are constantly being shaped by life into finer instruments of care and expression. The deeper we go, the more attuned we become and the more we join with everything around us. Mark talks about how we can discover and inhabit our own voice so we can move through obstacles and...

Today’s business is demanding a new set of skills. More than ever, people are looking to engage deeply with their work and align with companies that support their values. Sibyl Chavis believes that in order to succeed in this new environment we must focus on inner skills, such as presence, mindfulness, and empathy. She talks about the importance of being authentic and bringing our unique expressio...

Every day we get hooked by the energy of people, news, and global events. Those energies can alter our mental and emotional health, leading many who are empaths to recoil from the world. According Michelle Welch, rather than cutting energetic cords, we can transmute negative energies in ways that support our mental and emotional health. Michelle is the author of the book, The Magic of Connection:...

Guy Finley believes that we can use the wisdom of the world’s great spiritual masters to not only weather the difficulties we experience, but to actually come out stronger on the other side. According to Guy, hidden within each of us lives a greatness with the power to not just transform us into more awake, kind, and compassionate people, but to do the same for all humanity...making our world a he...

We all lose people and experiences we hold dear; nothing we love lasts forever. Grieving is part of being human. Grief can hit us quickly like a bolt of lightning or it can silently creep up on us before we even know we're in its grip. Many of us try to deny what we’re feeling in an attempt to stay positive or stop the pain. According to Claire B. Willis, to heal from loss we cannot dissociate or...

Most of us live every day overwhelmed and exhausted. We are always on the go trying to balance work, family, friends, and everything in between. Often it feels like our usual methods of coping no longer work. David Kundtz says that it’s time for something new – stopping. According to David, stopping is a gift to yourself. Knowing when to breathe and regain a clearer vision helps give you a fresh p...

At the beginning of last year, the world was faced with a public health crisis, the scope of which had not been seen in a century. As COVID-19 rapidly reached every corner of the globe, chaos and fear ran rampant. Yet, as the pandemic worsened, billions of people decided to respond with love, care, and compassion. Even though we were separated physically, people were connecting and reaching out—to...

When you’ve been told those three words, you have cancer, your life is turned upside down. There are life-altering decisions to make and it’s difficult to know the right thing to do. Liana Werner Gray heard those words after she found a lump bulging out the side of her neck. Hitting a point in her life that she describes as her “rock bottom”, Liana felt toxic and decided that it was time to change...

Many in society today constantly criticize girls, leaving many to grow up feeling inadequate, silenced and like they are not enough. Sadie Radinsky is a major voice in a new generation of people redefining wellness. Sadie is an 18-year-old blogger and recipe creator who has touched the lives of girls and women worldwide with her award-winning website, wholegirl.com. Sadie offers ideas, advice, and...

What if you could learn how to be “in love” all the time? What if you knew how to break down your old emotional walls and heal the past? Most of us spend our lives longing for love waiting for something to happen to give us an experience of love. According to Barbara De Angelis, love isn’t something we can actually “get” from anyone else; it comes from the inside out. This understanding means that...