GENUINE, the podcast

Dr. Carlton E. Green and Sarah Lipton welcome you to this latest episode of GENUINE, the podcast! If you are anything like them, you could be feeling a little drained and fatigued right now. Not only from surviving the pandemic but also from living day-to-day with everything that’s been going on in the news recently.

Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd last week. Sixteen-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant got shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio. And the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccines got put on hold due to the possibility of deadly side effects. Not to mention an increase in suicide mortality rates, mental health diagnoses related to Covid-19, and the mass shootings in the United States in the last month.

With all of that going on, Carlton and Sarah decided to check in with you, the listeners, today. In this episode, they offer their thoughts on how to be present amid the turmoil of the times. They reflect on how they are doing and share how they are trying to be.

Sarah and Carlton hope you will enjoy hearing their conversation today. They urge you to pause, take a breath, and be present in this moment. And remember that now more than ever is the time to listen, spark, and ignite.

Show highlights:

• Allow yourself to tune into your body breathing. Still your mind, and let your heart stay open.
• We need to give ourselves permission to check in with ourselves and with each other.
• Carlton helps people to connect in community and carry the burdens that communities carry. All of that feels quite oppressive for him right now.
• Sarah sees the opportunity for learning, understanding, and growth in all that has been going on recently.
• Growth can feel tiring.
• Sarah talks about living beyond hope.
• Carlton defines hope.
• Learning to reside and cope in this place, with all the burdens and pain. And learning to stay with all your experiences, regardless of how painful they are.
• Sarah and Carlton talk about pain. And letting go.
• Carlton shares a powerful quote from the book, Against Racism by Valerie Kaur.
• Stress can be exhausting! Focusing on your breath can help you relax. 

Links and resources:

Thank you for joining us for the latest episode of GENUINE, the podcast! This episode is all about being on the good green earth. Today, Sarah Lipton joins up with Dr. Carlton E. Green once again to share some interesting snippets with you, the listeners. We will be traveling to Israel to talk with Sarah’s cousin, Shira Danin, who works at a zoo. And we will also be visiting the Good Heart Farmstead in Worcester, Vermont, where we will be talking to farmers, Kate Spring, and Edge Fuentes.

Today, Sarah and Carlton offer you an opportunity to connect to the earth, tune in, and be present. You will hear Sarah’s interview with her cousin, Shira, where she shares the story of how she came out of a life-changing struggle into something unexpected, interesting, unique, and fun! After that, you will hear Sarah’s conversation with Kate and Edge, the two local Vermont farmers she visited at their gorgeous mountainside organic farm.

Wherever you are in the world, and whatever you are doing right now, Sarah and Carlton urge you to take some time out to sit back, relax, and enjoy taking in what they have to share with you on the podcast today.

Show highlights:

• Shira talks about her journey.
• Shira discusses the physical problem that started while she was hiking in Kathmandu.
• Shira eventually got diagnosed with fibromyalgia a year after she was in the hospital.
• Shira loves animals. She talks about a random encounter that resulted in her getting a part-time job working with animals.
• From not being able to move, Shira went to working full-time. She talks about what she does in her job.
• The fibromyalgia ended up getting Shira to where she needed to go in her life.
• Learning to see the good in doing what you want to do.
• Kate and Edge talk about what they focus on at the Good Heart Farmstead.
• Kate shares the core mission of the Good Heart Farmstead.
• Kate explains why they named their farm the Good Heart Farmstead and discusses their approach to farming.
• Kate explains how she and Edge reinforce their direct connection with the soil.
• Kate explains from where their inspiration for creating the Good Heart Farmstead came.
• Kate and Edge talk about how their subsidies work.
• How becoming more sustainable helps Kate and Edge to be more effective in serving others.
• Edge talks about finding the beauty in farming.
• Kate talks about where her spark comes from.

Welcome to the latest episode of GENUINE, the podcast! Today, Dr. Carlton E. Green and Sarah Lipton are happy to have the author and teacher, Dr. Ron Siegel, as our guest. Dr. Siegel is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Board of Directors Faculty Member at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.

Dr. Siegel has a warm, humorous, down-to-earth approach to thinking about how we navigate relationships, which is why we invited him to be a guest on the podcast. His many years of work, study, teaching and writing in the field of psychology and meditation has led him to a clear understanding of how we, as humans, tend to get caught up in cycles of dominance and delusion, and what it takes for us to engage in a life that has wellness, balance, and truth.

In this episode, you will hear Dr. Siegel shares his thoughts on what the journey of being genuine entails and how to approach a relationship. We also offer a guided meditation for you to engage in empathy and to rouse compassion. Enjoy the exquisite cello piece composed and performed specially for the podcast by Paul and Melissa Perley. Stay to the end to hear the fabulous genuine definition by Crys Goure, who did the beautiful cover design for Sarah's book "The Harmony of Dissonance.”

Carlton and Sarah spent many hours working on this episode and encourage you to take time to soak it up and listen.

Show highlights:

• Dr. Siegel shares from the perspective of his training what the journey of being who we are looks like.
• The more we can embrace our messiness, the more compassionate we can become toward ourselves. And the more compassionate we are toward ourselves, the more compassionate we can become toward others.
• There are benefits to rousing the necessary courage to lean into being gentle and vulnerable in our relationships.
• Dr. Siegel discusses our social dilemma.
• Dr. Siegel talks about meditating when we are feeling vulnerable or experiencing painful emotions.
• Leaning into the balance between our vulnerability and executive function when we are in a position of helping someone else.
• Dr. Siegel explains the fundamental ground of empathy. And empathic resonance.
• We discuss engaging with compassion versus engaging with empathy.
• Dr. Siegel talks about what the word 'genuine' means to him.
• Dr. Siegel discusses our human preoccupation with social dominance.
• There is value in risking being genuine.

Links and resources:

Welcome to another episode of GENUINE, the podcast!

Spring is finally taking wing here in Vermont, and because of the frantic pace of everything, we want to offer you this episode, to give you a chance to calm down and just be for a little bit. Today's episode is called "Living Truth" because when when we slow down to be present with our experience, we are, in fact, living truth.

We’re talking about being present and mindfulness today. My interview with John Bailes, an old friend and teacher of mine, gives us an introduction to mindfulness. John lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, (which he claims is the hipster capital of the world!) and John is a long-time practitioner of meditation. I have worked closely with him on my own journey, with meditation, mindfulness, awareness, presence, and the deeper elements of how to be human.

Now, we invite you to give yourself some time to sit back, relax, listen and just be.

Show highlights:

• John talks about what he does in the world and what he teaches people to do.
• John explains what it means to be a Zen priest.
• A large part of John’s work entails helping people open to the vulnerability of being exactly where they are in the present moment.
• John explains where the dedication of his community lies and what they practice.
• John talks about the Zen vow to opening and explains how it affects people.
• John describes what happens in a seven-day intensive session.
• Empowering people to let go.
• When we are fully who we are, it allows others to be fully who they are.
• Most people allow fear to run their lives. And they don’t trust.
• John explains what he means by saying that we are trapped by the grammar and syntax of our constructed world.
• John defines the word ‘genuine’.
• John urges you to follow your own path as it opens before you. It will not be a straight line, nor what you imagined it to be.
• Being present is being fully alive.
• Presence has become a buzz-word in the world of psychology today.
• I lead you through a simple way to be mindful and explain what that will bring to you.
• It is vital that you feel worthy as a leader.

Links and resources:

This one is dedicated to you, the Mamas out there!

Thank you for joining me for the tenth episode of GENUINE, the podcast. It has been a whole year since we were immobilized by the lockdown and stricken by the panic and fear of the pandemic. A full year has passed since our collective world altered irrevocably, and I hold in my heart all the pandemics of racism that have unfurled amongst so much angst, pain, and grief.

It has been a torturous year for all of us. So I will bare my heart and share some of my story with you today. I always wanted kids, and I am super glad that I waited a long time to have them. But I am a writer, a creator, a dreamer, and a visionary. I am constantly burning with the desire and the need to create. So, I never wanted to be with them full-time. Although I am always burning with the awareness of what’s possible, it wasn’t until the enforced presencing with my young family last year that I allowed myself to settle fully into my bones as a mother. And it has been challenging!

I have recently been unpacking some of the places I have been stuck, that I didn’t even know about. And I have also tentatively started to trust myself. The only thing that has kept me alive, and allowed me a semblance of sanity over the past year, is the ability to be present.

So I invite you to settle down for a moment and travel back in time with me as I open my heart and share the story of how I created the foundation of the work I have devoted my life to do.

Show highlights:

• I never even knew I had fear until I had children. And I never really understood the word anxiety until we hit the pandemic. It is shocking how much it hurts!
• Worldwide, we have hit more than two-and-a-half million deaths from Covid-19.
• I can’t shake off the awareness of the racial pandemic our country continues to face.
• I have been unpacking some of the places I have been stuck and learning to trust myself.
• I share the story about how my friend and I birthed a potent practice to guide us through the creative process. It created the foundation of the work I would devote the rest of my life to doing, called The Presence Point. It is six steps to expressing from genuine presence.
• I have always believed in omens and signs from life that point you where you need to go.
• I wrote a whole draft of a book but did not publish it because I realized that I had an important choice to make first.
• The six steps of The Presence Point became the foundation of the work that I did with hundreds of leaders, through my first business.
• Six years ago, I wanted to create a podcast to showcase the power of someone who genuinely sparks in the world. And I also co-wrote a book with my cousin, called The Harmony of Dissonance.
• In 2018, I decided to focus on the work that was burning within me.
• When the pandemic hit a year ago, it felt like everything shattered.
• I finally realized that it was time to stop holding back.
• I am now at the center of myself and ready to share my core work with you.
• Step one is to be present with your experience, no matter what.

Links:

Welcome to the 9th episode of Genuine, the podcast! I am thrilled to be able to introduce you to the incomparable Krishna Das! Krishna, or KD as his fans call him, is an award winning vocalist with a particular gift for blending kirtan chanting with modern instrumentation.

I’ve been following Krishna since the early 2000’s, and it was amazing to finally be able to sit down and have a conversation with KD. If you’ve never heard of KD before, you’re in for a treat. We get him to do some chanting for us today on the show, and you’ll get to hear some of his best work.

Today, you’ll hear KD’s struggle with success and betrayal, as well as being able to witness his chanting and explore some of his music. So, I encourage you to take a moment to retreat into this episode and explore the lessons of betrayal with us!

Show Highlights:

• I share what is most important to me as far as being genuine in the world, in my conversation with Carlton.
  
• Carlton shares how he processes his emotions through writing.
  
• The transformative power of writing has impacted Carlton in a healing and restorative way.
  
• By being willing to ask the questions and lean into those questions, it paves the way for reparations.
  
• The story of the shiny bowl and the lesson for how we see ourselves.
  
• Lessons learned from Octavia Butler’s writing
  
• How Krishna Das defines Genuine
  
• KD shares the difficulties we encounter in just being ourselves
  
• We all need someone to turn the light on for us at some point in our lives.
  
• What KD learned from his experience in a cult.
  
• Learning trust through betrayal
  
• The principle of our enlightenment being up to us.
  
• The wounds we carry from the expectations of others.
  
• The spark KD’s Guru left with him.
  
• KD shares his chanting practice with us.
  
• The importance of understanding why it is important to trust yourself.
  

Resources Mentioned:

Welcome to the 8th episode of GENUINE, the podcast! Today we travel back in time and space to two interviews from four years ago when there was no pandemic and it was possible to wander around a city playing hacky-sack with somebody.

On today's archival episode, Sarah and Carlton talk about two interviews Sarah conducted, both focused on sparks of inspiration, in two very different arenas.

Eugene Coneglan is a fascinating guy from New Zealand who left his government career to teach people around the world how to hacky sack. Jim Infantino is a deeply genuine, creative musician, author and web developer from Boston, Massachusetts.

As Sarah says, "Leaning into where we are sparked is super powerful," so regardless of where you are right now and how you might be doing, give yourself the gift of a pause to settle in, listen, and enjoy the journey as it unfolds.

Show highlights:

• Carlton and I talk about what inspires us.
• Eugene talks about the life he is pursuing.
• Eugene shares how he developed his passion for Hacky Sack.
• The impact that Hacky Sack has made in Eugene’s life.
• What Eugene learned from Austin, his friend, and mentor.
• Eugene shares what he did to pursue his calling.
• What you will gain from playing Hacky Sack.
• Jim talks about his experience of the creative process.
• Jim discusses from where the idea for the book he is writing came.
• Jim explains what fulfills him when it comes to web design and songwriting.
• How Jean-Paul Satre and Simone de Beauvoir influenced Jim’s understanding of communication.
• Jim describes the communications he likes to create and talks about what fulfills him the most, creatively.
• Jim talks about his napkin poetry shows.
• The trap with creativity.
• Jim talks about inspiration.
• Why you should take a risk and something every day that pushes your boundaries.

Links:

Just in time for Valentines weekend, we are pleased to offer you the 6th episode of GENUINE, the podcast. While it is a traditional time of celebrating love, I, your podcast host – Sarah Lipton – investigate two less-obvious aspects of love: self-compassion and decency towards others.

If you were looking for a romantic, sappy podcast, this is not it. If, however, you are looking for a soft, internal antidote for all of life’s troubles, then you have come to the right place. Tune in and listen, wherever you get your podcasts!

When we tune in to the sensation of true, deep, genuine love, we tap into the innate truth that we are *made* of love. If we awaken our compassion for ourselves first, it allows us to extend loving kindness towards others.

In this episode, I offer you 10 minutes of loving-kindness meditation, AND we round out the episode with a recent conversation I had with my friend, Tejumo Ogouma, investigating the theme of decency. I warmly invite you to give yourself some loving-kindness by joining us today.

Show highlights:

• We go deeply into loving kindness with our contemplative practice.
• Tejumo re-introduces himself.
• Tejumo shares a word that came up for him.
• What the word “decency” means to Tejumo.
• The qualities of decency.
• Looking at decency from the individual level.
• The need for decency on a political level.
• Leadership and decency.
• Why decency is so important.
• Decency touches everything.
• It is our responsibility to be decent.

Links to share:

Welcome to the fifth episode of Genuine, The Podcast. It is now a month since January 6th, a day in America that will go down in history for many reasons. That was also a day when I had a profoundly sweet conversation with Sharon Salzberg, the renowned meditation teacher. As the creator of this podcast, I love all my episode babies, but I am particularly happy with this one, so please stay tuned!

Sharon Salzberg is a prominently regarded western meditation teacher and a New York Times bestselling author. She is also the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, one of the premier meditation communities in the western world. Sharon hosts a podcast called the Metta Hour, and she has written many books, including Real Love, the Art of Mindful Connection, and Real Change, Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World. In today’s conversation, she shares a series of helpful insights and spends some time guiding us in meditation. I have been drawn to Sharon’s teachings for many years, and it was a deep honor and delight to share the space of an interview with her. I warmly invite you to join us today to hear our wonderfully enlightening conversation.

Show highlights:

• There is a lot of brokenness currently in people’s perspectives around the issue of “whiteness”. We invite you to reflect on how whiteness or other aspects of identity play out in your sphere of influence.
• I woke up to the awareness that I had always been hiding under a rug of shame.
• Sharon shares about what the journey of becoming who we are looks like.
• Sharon discusses what happens to us when we get stuck with our deeply held patterns, like shame.
• Shifting and opening to vulnerability in the way we navigate our relationships.
• Sharon shares something profound that she learned from Ram Das about vulnerability a few years ago.
• Sharon explains how we can settle into ourselves to embrace the process of change.
• Sharon guides us through a meditation practice.
• Sharon discusses what the word “genuine” means to her.
• We discuss you need to keep going when you’re going through a difficult time.

Links and resources:

Welcome to another episode of Genuine, The Podcast. Today, we are going on a journey to Bamako in Mali, West Africa, to visit my good friend, Tejumo Ogouma.

Although the conversation with Tejumo got recorded four years ago, the potency of the power of listening remains true. That’s why I wanted to share this episode with you right now. So, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, take some time to slow down and listen.

Tejumo lived in Mali and worked for the Canadian government. He was in charge of a food security program in Mali that focused on rural development, irrigation, and farmer training. Most of the farmers in the program were women in cooperatives. Tejumo helped them to move the value chain from production and storage to exporting the goods they produced.

It seems that the way Tejumo did his work was through listening. In our conversation, he shared the moments when he truly listened and spoke about the times when he demonstrated that he could listen and make space for the people with whom he was working. Be sure to stay tuned today to hear how Tejumo could show up and be present for others.

Show highlights:

• Tejumo talks about where he grew up.
• The journey that brought him to where he is now.
• He shares the things that opened his eyes to a different dimension of life.
• Tejumo talks about the promise he made to himself.
• He shares how he learned to remain present without judging, to listen carefully, and to respect the differences brought to the table.
• His life has been about living from one culture to another and adapting.
• Tejumo describes what it feels like for him in a moment where he meets someone with whom he has no idea how to connect.
• We cannot fix the suffering of others. Tejumo talks about what we can do instead, to help suffering people.
• Tejumo talks about his daily life in Afghanistan.
• Tejumo discusses what he hopes to achieve during his time in Mali.

Links and resources:

Welcome to Genuine, the Podcast. We are doing something a little different today. We decided to step away from the conventional route, offer you a little guided meditation, and share some gorgeous meditative music by Chris Collins. We wanted to allow you to take a moment to pause and just be because that is the most important thing we can do to support ourselves as humans. So stay tuned, relax, and enjoy the tranquillity.

We all need to learn how to stay present with ourselves and our experience. Learning to lean into who we are means we can show up, be genuine in the world, and stay present with ourselves through any situation, no matter how challenging it might be. Find a quiet place and settle down for the next few minutes. We know you are going to love today’s meditation!

Remember to listen to the end of the show to hear the special guest appearance by Krishna Das, where he defines what the word “genuine” means to him.

Show highlights:

• Why we need to learn how to feel whatever we feel whenever we feel it.
• You will benefit from learning to stay with yourself through moments of discomfort.
• Sarah shares a story to inspire you to stay present.
• Although it takes guts to stay present and be true to yourself, it’s certainly worth the effort!
• This moment is just for you!
• Krishna Das shares his thoughts about the word “genuine”.

Links and resources:

Welcome to Genuine, the Podcast. I’m Sarah Lipton, and my co-host is Carlton Green. Today, we are thrilled to introduce you to our guest, Kute Blackson. I first interviewed Kute for The Best Year Of Your Life Summit.

Kute Blackson was born in Ghana, West Africa. His multicultural upbringing as the child of a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father gives him a unique lineage that lays the foundation for his approach to breaking down barriers and unlocking an individual’s true gifts. He is a charismatic speaker, known for his visionary and transformational teachings, and the author of the nationally bestselling book, You Are the One. Kute’s work focuses on offering a fresh and bold look at spiritual awareness. Stay tuned for more!

Today, we will share my interview with Kute and feature some of his inspirational music. You will also hear an exciting snippet of a new song by Justin Michael Williams. In this episode, we unpack what genuine means to Kute, and he talks to us about what inspires him. Be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end of the show, when you will hear my cousin, Regina Krummell, who co-authored my new book, The Harmony of Dissonance, and her husband, William, define the word genuine.

Show highlights:

• Kute explains what being genuine means to him.
• Being genuine is an embodied experience.
• What is required for us to be genuine.
• Why being genuine can be scary for some people.
• Kute talks about what sparks and inspires him as a human.
• Kute has always felt a deep impulse to be of service to humanity. He discusses his evolution in terms of that.
• Kute explains how he turns his internal work to the benefit of humanity.
• Kute talks about making life happen versus stepping back and allowing himself to be guided and led by life.
• It requires trust to live in harmony with nature and still be creative.
• Why we need to surrender and let go.

Links and resources: