Living from the Soul with Sam Torode Sam Torode

Today I’m happy to be speaking with Pooja Mottl. She’s had a unique career path—going from finance & banking, to cooking & nutrition, to mental & spiritual wellbeing.

Pooja graduated from the University of Michigan and began a career in finance in the late 1990s, working for investment banks including Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. She left to earn a master's degree in International Relations at the London School of Economics, and then—in a twist—enrolled in the Natural Gourmet Institute’s Chef’s Training Program.

In 2014 she published her first book, The 3-Day Reset: Restore Your Cravings For Healthy Foods in Three Easy, Empowering Days, which was endorsed by Whole Foods founder John Mackey, among many others.

Next, Pooja pursued advanced training in yoga, meditation, and psychology. She now writes and speaks about mental and spiritual health. She created the Calm & Free Podcast, has a blog on LinkedIn, is an affiliate of Stanford University’s psychology department, and is currently preparing a new book and podcast series about what makes for a truly successful life.

In this conversation. Pooja shares her insights on the difference between religion and spirituality; the mind-body connection; finding balance between striving and satisfaction; passing on a spiritual legacy to children; and more.

Visit Pooja’s website & sign up for her newsletter: www.poojamottl.com
Listen to the Calm & Free Podcast: www.calmandfreepodcast.com
Subscribe to her YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@poojamottl8951
Follow her on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Pooja-Mottl/e/B00HOFYD6G
Instagram: www.instagram.com/poojamottl
Twitter: www.twitter.com/PoojaMottl

This ad-free podcast is supported by Sam’s Torode’s books, including “Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” available at www.samtorode.com.

Today I’m excited to be speaking with P.M.H. Atwater, one of the world’s leading experts on Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). After having three near-death experiences of her own in 1977, when there was very little public knowledge about them, P.M.H. began researching other peoples’ NDEs using investigative techniques she learned from her adoptive father, a police officer.

She has now analyzed over 4,000 NDEs and written eighteen books about them. She’s been featured in Newsweek magazine and interviewed by television hosts including Regis and Kathie Lee, Larry King, and Sally Jessy Raphael.

In this conversation, P.M.H. tells the story of her NDEs and shares what she’s learned from over forty years of research, including the four types of NDEs, their common after-effects, the impact of NDEs in childhood, how having an NDE changes one’s views on religion and spirituality, what we can learn from “hellish” NDEs, and what NDEs reveal about the purpose of life.

Visit P.M.H. Atwater's website.
Sign up for her newsletter.
Check out her books. 

This ad-free podcast is supported by Sam’s Torode’s books, including “Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” available at www.samtorode.com.

“All we are is peace, love, and wisdom, and the power to create the illusion that we’re not.” —Jack Pransky

This summer I stumbled across a book about the Three Principles (Mind, Consciousness, and Thought) as elucidated by Sydney Banks beginning in the 1970s. Intrigued, I read more books on the subject and decided to interview Dr. Jack Pransky, a leading teacher of the Three Principles.

Jack has worked in the mental health field since 1968, learned about the Three Principles in the early ’90s, and is now director of the Center for Inside-Out Understanding. He’s the author of many books, including Somebody Should Have Told Us, Parenting from the Heart, and Seduced by Consciousness. His book Modello won the Martin Luther King Storyteller’s Award for exemplifying Dr. King’s vision of “the beloved community.”

Visit Dr. Pransky’s website.
Follow him on Facebook.
Get his books on Amazon.

This ad-free podcast is supported by Sam’s Torode’s books, including “Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” available at www.samtorode.com.

This is a video created in celebration of Ralph Waldo Emerson's birthday, May 25th, for the online magazine IMAGINE. 

My aim is to show why Emerson's philosophy is as relevant as ever, and inspire people to take a deeper look into his works. I emphasize Emerson's social and political views because they address issues of race and gender that still reverberate today. 

Interspersed with my words are Emerson quotes paraphrased in contemporary language from my books "Everyday Emerson," "Living from the Soul," and "Secrets of the Mind" (available at samtorode.com). 

If your podcast app is audio-only, the video can be watched on IMAGINE or YouTube.

Today I’m speaking with Emilia Ann, artist and champion of creativity. She uses many different media—including poetry, painting, photography, music, and dance—with the aim of being an open channel to whatever the universe wants to express through her.

I started following Emilia on Facebook in 2018, and soon after that she embarked on “100 Days of Creativity,” a personal challenge to work on something creative for one hundred straight days. She didn’t stop there, and now she’s exceeded a thousand days of creative expression.

I wanted to talk with Emilia because I struggle with procrastination and perfectionism when it comes to my own creative projects. If you can identify with that, I’m sure you’ll enjoy our conversation, because she shares some very helpful advice.

At the end of the episode, Emilia recites her beautiful poem, “Unexpressed.”

Go to Emilia’s website and sign up her newsletter and check out her offerings, which include classes and meditations.

Website: www.divineandhuman.com

Follow her on Instagram: @divineandhuman
and Facebook: @emilia.rauckis

This ad-free podcast is supported by Sam’s Torode’s books, including “Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” available at www.samtorode.com.

Today I’m speaking with two people who’ve recently published memoirs about their lives in and out of fundamentalist/evangelical Christianity.

Alice Greczyn, author of “Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare and Sexual Purity,” is a former devout evangelical who went from homeschool to Hollywood. She’s an actress and model with extensive credits in television, film, and print media. As a thinker and writer, she’s the founder of “Dare to Doubt,” a website offering resources for those seeking to escape or recover from harmful belief systems.

Dave Warnock, author of “Childish Things,” joined the Jesus movement in the ’70s, became a pastor for many years, and then left the church altogether. Diagnosed with ALS in 2019, he’s a frequent public speaker and podcast guest on the theme of “Dying Out Loud.” He’s also the co-host of his own popular live call-in show on YouTube, “That GD Show.”

I read their books last week, then found out Alice happened to be visiting Dave at his rented beach-house this week, so I jumped on the opportunity to interview them both together.

“Childish Things”: www.amazon.com/dp/B09RMBWZX1
“Wayward”: amazon.com/dp/1632993546

Dave’s website: daveoutloud.org
YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/DaveWarnockDyingOutLoud
Facebook: facebook.com/DaveWarnock.DyingOutLoud
Instagram: instagram.com/warnockpa/

Alice’s website: alicegreczyn.com
Dare to Doubt: daretodoubt.org
Instagram: instagram.com/alicegreczyn/
Twitter: twitter.com/alicefood

This ad-free podcast is supported by Sam’s Torode’s books, including “Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” available at samtorode.com.