The Living Conversation

This podcast episode features a profound discourse on the significance of mindfulness in shaping our realities and the intricate relationship between our thoughts and well-being. Reverend Steve Golden elucidates the concept that our thoughts are potent forces that can either uplift or diminish our existence. He emphasizes the critical need for individuals, particularly the youth, to cultivate awar...

The salient focus of this conversation centers on the profound assertion that we are inherently spiritual beings navigating a human experience, a theme eloquently articulated by our guest, Reverend Stephen Golden. Throughout our dialogue, we delve into the intricate interplay between consciousness and reality, emphasizing the notion that one's thoughts possess the power to shape one's life experie...

In our dialogue, we engage with Veronique Ory, who elucidates the significance of establishing sacred boundaries within our daily routines. Central to this discourse is the notion of cultivating a "beginner's mind," which emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and balance amid the chaos of modern life. Ory advocates for a deliberate detachment from digital distractions, particularly in the fo...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , Adam Dietz and Anthony Wright speak with yoga teacher Veronique Ory about yoga as a practice of body, mind, and spirit. Veronique shares how yoga goes far beyond physical poses, opening into meditation, beginner’s mind, self-inquiry, flexibility, stress, emotional release, and the practice of meeting life with more grace and compassion. The conversation...

This podcast episode delves into the profound theme of healing through mindfulness and meditation, as articulated by our esteemed guest, Lee Carlson. Lee elucidates his journey of recovery following a traumatic brain injury, highlighting the pivotal role that Zen practice played in his rehabilitation. We explore the notion of suffering as depicted in the Four Noble Truths and how embracing mindful...

This podcast episode features an enlightening discussion with Lee Carlson, a distinguished Zen practitioner, author, and sea captain. We delve into the profound implications of mindfulness in tumultuous times, particularly in the context of contemporary sociopolitical challenges. Carlson elucidates the necessity of embracing compassion, even towards contentious figures, as a means to cultivate inn...

The focal point of this discussion revolves around the profound evolution of human dietary habits and their repercussions on health, as articulated by our esteemed guest, Bob Martin. He elucidates the transition from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a sedentary agricultural society, highlighting the excesses of fat, salt, and sugar that pervade contemporary diets. This discussion further delves in...

The primary focus of this podcast episode is the profound intersection of mindfulness, Taoism, and the I Ching, as articulated by our guest, Bob Martin, who is both an attorney and a meditation teacher. Through an enlightening dialogue, Bob recounts his transformative journey from a high-pressure legal profession to a more reflective and balanced existence, heavily influenced by his studies under...

In this enlightening discourse, we delve into the profound and intricate process of self-discovery, as elucidated by our esteemed guest, Kristen Crabtree, a divorce coach and former hypnotherapist. Central to our discussion is the notion that understanding one’s authentic self necessitates a metaphorical excavation, akin to an archaeological dig, wherein layers of adaptation and societal condition...

The discussion centers on the transformative journey individuals undergo in the aftermath of divorce, as articulated by our esteemed guest, Kristen Crabtree, a divorce coach and former hypnotherapist. She elucidates the essential process of self-discovery, emphasizing the profound question of identity that arises post-divorce. Crabtree advocates for the importance of peeling away societal masks an...

The salient point of this podcast episode is the exploration of the profound connection between humans and the natural world, as articulated by our guest, Tigrilla Gardenia, a plant advocate and ambassador currently residing in Italy. Throughout our dialogue, we delve into the significance of tuning into our natural cycles and the liberation that arises from disengaging from conventional corporate...

What if the fastest way to calm your nervous system… is to remember you’re part of nature ? In this episode of The Living Conversation , Adam Dietz and co-host Anthony Wright speak with Tigrella Gardenia —plant advocate, coach, and biomimicry practitioner joining us from Italy, where she lives in the spiritual community of Damanhur . We explore plant–fungi collaboration, biomimicry as “learning fr...

The conversation embarks on a profound exploration of the art and significance of journaling, led by our insightful guest, Kristen Swan. Kristen unveils her innovative journal, 'Spaghetti on the Wall,' a tool designed to facilitate self-reflection and emotional clarity. She recounts her own transformative journey with journaling, which commenced during a particularly challenging phase in her life....

In this episode of The Living Conversation , we sit down with Kristan Swan —business coach, small-group facilitator, and creator of the “spiritual autobiography” experience—to talk about how storytelling can become a practical spiritual path. Kristan describes her approach as non-denominational : an exploration of what’s bigger than us, whether that shows up through religion, nature, or the cosmos...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , we continue our conversation with Banya Lim —a spiritual acupuncturist and energy coach —about how emotions become energetic blockages in the body, and how healing starts with awareness rather than self-judgment. Banya explains how repeated thoughts can “feed” sensations in the body past the famous 90-second window , why blockages aren’t enemies (they’r...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , we’re joined by Banya Lim —a spiritual acupuncturist and energy coach based in Sedona—who bridges Traditional Chinese Medicine with a more holistic view of healing: body, mind, and soul . We explore why symptoms often return when the deeper pattern underneath them hasn’t changed, and how the Five Element theory maps emotions to organs (like fear and the...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , we’re joined by Dean Graves , who shares a framework drawn from his ongoing contact with a non-incarnate teacher described as a social memory complex . We explore the Law of One (“all is one”), the idea that consciousness is “creativeness intoxicated with free will,” and how the spiritual path is a gradual sobering back into unity. We also move into pra...

We recorded this rapid-response conversation on January 15, 2026 , in the immediate aftermath of the police shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis and new threats to invoke the Insurrection Act . Psychotherapist and author Phyllis Levitt ( America in Therapy: A New Approach to Hope and Healing for a Nation in Crisis ) joins hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz on The Living Conversation to ask a har...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz sit down with Dean Graves —author, podcaster, keynote speaker, mental health counselor, and meditation/mindfulness guide—to explore his map of awakening and the evolution of consciousness. Dean begins with what he calls an awakening experience : that moment when we realize that conventional success isn’t making us hap...

Dancer-turned-healer Fran Bailey joins hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz to explore how the Enneagram , the chakra system, and energetic grounding can help us stop apologizing for where we are in life and come back into our bodies. She talks about working with head, heart, and body types, guiding clients to ground their energy, and why “encouragement without apology” is at the core of real heali...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz sit down with Fran Bailey, a lifelong dancer who became an energy healer, to explore how movement, intuition, and subtle awareness can become pathways to healing. Fran shares how dance was her first language: a way to “speak through the body” without words, growing up in a musical and metaphysical Christian Science ho...

In this episode of The Living Conversation , hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz sit down with Colette, Andrew, and Peter from the Sonoma State University Philosophy Club for a grounded, student-first conversation about the technologies shaping modern life. We start with Frederick Brown’s 1950s sci-fi micro-story “Answer” — where a galaxy-wide computer is asked, “Is there a God?” and replies, “Now...

Grit vs. Good Fortune: College, Careers, and Who We Become In this episode of the SSU Philosophy Club series, Sonoma State philosophy students join hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz to talk honestly about work, school, and the stories we tell ourselves about “making it.” Colette, Andrew, and Peter share real experiences from jobs and internships, some great, some pretty rough, and explore how th...

In this crossover episode of The Living Conversation and The Way Between Podcast , co-hosts Anthony Wright and Adam Dietz continue their conversation with Dr. Nick Egan, exploring what AI means from Buddhist and philosophical perspectives. Starting from the very contemporary anxiety around “AI as threat or opportunity,” they return to a classic theme: how human beings have always had to integrate...

In this special crossover episode , we launch The Way Between Podcast from within The Living Conversation . Adam introduces The Way Between as a more flexible, long-form space to explore East–West philosophy in a story-driven way: how thinkers like Socrates, Confucius, Laozi, and Hui Neng emerged, how their ideas shaped cultures, and how their influence still reaches our lives today. From there, A...