Dudley Evenson on Meditating & Breathing with Nature

In this podcast Dudley Evenson discusses how to best meditate and breathe with nature. Why meditate in nature? There are many benefits of meditation in nature. It has been widely proven that meditating outdoors can have significant benefits on your physical as well as mental health. It’s a place where wisdom and perception come alive.

Meditating outdoors activates our senses, making our practice more alert and wakeful. At the same time, the usual distractions seem far away and somehow less important. Many meditators find it easier to let go of their worries and their electronic devices when they’ve got such a satisfying alternative: mindfully communing with nature. We hope you enjoy this episode.

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Dean & Dudley Evenson Discuss New Album Seeds of Peace

We are happy to release our 66th episode of our Soundings Mindful Media Podcast. In this episode, Dean & Dudley Evenson are interviewed by Kyle Norris from NPR. They discuss their new album Seeds of Peace and how it came to be. It’s a remarkable story that starts back in 1987, when Dean Evenson and Volodymyr Solianyk first met and started performing music together during a Citizen Diplomacy tour in the former Soviet Union. We hope you enjoy this fun and insightful interview.

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6 Steps to Your Miracle Morning on Soundings Mindful Media Podcast

Do you start your day with a dose of news and then find it’s hard to get all that negativity out of your head? Or maybe you feel overwhelmed by a massive ‘to do’ list and can’t seem to complete all the tasks you have set up for yourself. I recently read a great book called The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8 am and I have been implementing the practices that the author, Hal Elrod, has suggested. In this podcast, I will walk you through these practices and explain how you can use them to improve your life.

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Making sense of Dalai Lama’s Teaching on Overcoming Addictions & Aversions Using the Blade Wheel of Transformation

At a teaching by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, he brought ancient Buddhist wisdom into 21st century practical application when he described the Sharp Weapon Blade Wheel of Transformation. He explained that by taking our addictions (desires, wants, cravings, indulgences, etc.) and our aversions (fears, anger, enemies, frustrations, suffering, etc.) we can use their antidotes to overcome them. From his perspective, the antidote to addiction is meditation and emptiness. The antidote to aversion is compassion and love. He pointed out that the best place to begin is with transformation of the heart. This can also be accomplished by putting “others before self.” With so much fear and divisiveness in the world, these ideas are extremely relevant to us today.  

Watch our video Dalai Lama Answers Difficult Question: https://youtu.be/TfaBevPyKNE

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Dean Evenson & Phil Heaven Discuss Inspiration Behind New Album EARTH WITHIN

Join Dean Evenson in this heartfelt conversation with Phil Heaven, his longtime friend, collaborator, and co-producer as they reminisce on their creative journey together and their new release Earth Within. The underlying story and choice of instruments aligned to bring this album to life in a unique way. Phil and Dean have made many award-winning albums together and this new LP introduces Douglas Johnson who brings his unique stylings on double bass to their viola and flute. “The idea of bringing the Earth Within ourselves through these low frequencies seemed like a great idea for an album project” says Phil Heaven. “Douglas’ double bass instrument brings the grounding earthy feeling along with the viola, bringing deep resonant tones. You feel the low frequencies in all your body.”Dean Evenson explains why the concept and natural sounds are so important on this album. “We need to honor the earth and understand it as a living being. And when we do that, it opens the whole world through a way of thinking that supports the earth and brings about the harmony as the instruments do on this album, playing the different aspects of life and nature.”

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Snake River to Salish Sea Spirit of the Waters Totem Pole Journey on Soundings Mindful Media Podcast

Snake River to Salish Sea Spirit of the Waters Totem Pole Journey across Washington and Oregon supports the indigenous-led movement to remove the Snake River dams and restore salmon runs to health. Orca or Southern Resident Killer Whales (SkaliChelh in Lummi language) depend on the salmon to survive. At the heart of any Totem Pole Journey is Jewell James, master carver of the House of Tears Carvers from the Lummi Nation. Much of his professional life he has been in judicial courts or the halls of Congress advocating for treaty rights to be upheld and Tribal sovereignty respected. He continues the good fight, but often with a large totem pole in tow. 

This totem pole journey is the latest of a dozen journeys made over the past 20 years to educate and advocate. This journey builds upon, strengthens and reaffirms the growing indigenous-led environmental movement across the Pacific Northwest. The journey includes public eventsin metropolitan areas and tribal communities. At each stop, art and culture sparks understanding of our natural heritage. In-person events include ceremonial moments steeped in ancestral knowledge presenting the challenges the region faces—and avenues for cross-cultural collaboration and engagement on solutions. 


For more information: https://www.spiritofthewaters.org

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Dr. Deanna Minich Discusses Rainbow Diet and Color Can Heal Your Life on Soundings Mindful Media Podcast

Dr. Deanna Minich is an internationally recognized teacher, author, scientist, speaker, and artist. She invites us to consider food and its relationship to health in more creative ways. Her passion is teaching a whole-self approach to nourishment and bridging the gaps between science, spirituality, and art in medicine. In this interview she discusses food through the aspects of color, creativity, and diversity with a focus on developing personalized approaches to food that relate to each person’s individual needs. She has more than 20 years experience in the fields of nutrition and functional medicine, including clinical practice, research, product formulation, writing, and education.

Her doctoral (Ph.D.) research focused on essential fatty acid absorption and metabolism, and her Master of Science degree (M.S.) allowed her to explore the health benefits of the colorful, plant-based carotenoids. She has authored six books on health and wellness and over forty scientific publications. She has developed an online certification program for health professionals so that they can apply the color-coded 7 Systems of Full-Spectrum Health in their practice. Currently, she is Vice President of Scientific Affairs for Organic India USA, on the Board of Directors for the American Nutrition Association, and faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine and the University of Western States. Learn more at www.deannaminich.com

Watch her Interview on Soundings Mindful Media https://youtu.be/jVP0k6ZUUws

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Interview with Paul Horn on Soundings Mindful Media Podcast

We first heard Paul Horn’s album ‘Inside the Taj Mahal’ in 1970 and it blew us away. Then in 1977, Dean Evenson was invited to interview Paul Horn on video at the Boulder Colorado public library. This was quite an honor for Dean who had been playing flute since he was 11 years old; it was another two years before we founded Soundings of the Planet. In this interview, Dean asks Paul about his musical influences and what genre his music fits in. Paul speaks of the improvisational aspects of jazz and the unique kind of music he creates. He discusses his meditation practice and goes into depth about studying at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in India. He was doing a retreat there when the Beatles arrived! Paul also discovered that he (more than his flute) is the main instrument. He discusses how the music he creates can be helpful in the healing process although he doesn’t call it ‘healing’. When we came across this interview in our video archive, we knew we also wanted to share it as a podcast. Be sure to listen to Dean’s final question which he asks with his silver flute. You can also watch the video on our Soundings Mindful Media YouTube channel.

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Racism in America with Clyde W. Ford author of Think Black and Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth

In this in-depth conversation, Dudley Evenson interviews award-winning author Clyde W. Ford about his recent book Think Black: A Memoir. Initially, he thought he was writing a feel-good story about his father being hired in 1946 as the first black software engineer at IBM but in researching for the book, Clyde uncovered the shocking story of tech giant IBM and its early involvement with racially biased eugenics work and specifically of its support of Nazi Germany’s atrocities against Jews during World War II. He also discusses his upcoming book Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth which follows personal stories of individual black men and women and the role they played in creating American institutions of power and wealth beginning with the first enslaved people brought from Africa to the Jamestown, Virginia Colony in 1619. He also clarifies the concept of Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a legal term relating to systemic racism being deeply and intentionally engrained in the legal, business, and social structures of this country. He addresses the book banning that some states are engaged with and calls on us to look honestly at our history for without truth, there can be no reconciliation.

Think Black: A Memoir

Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth 

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Dean & Dudley Evenson Talk Loving Partnership on Soundings Mindful Media

In this podcast, Dean and Dudley Evenson talk about their long-lasting marriage and how they have managed to maintain a loving relationship while raising a family and running a successful business together. In this intimate conversation, the Evensons contemplate some of the principles that have contributed to their having such a fun and meaningful life starting with their auspicious meeting in 1968 in New York’s East Village. They reminisce about coming from very different backgrounds yet still being able to blend their creative lives and be productive together. They speak of their musical path and the recently launched the Peace Through Music Foundation.

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