New Books in Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness

New Books Network
  • 4.0 (4)
  • SPIRITUALITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

  1. 1D AGO

    Robert J. Coplan, "The Joy of Solitude: How to Reconnect with Yourself in an Overconnected World" (Simon and Schuster, 2025)

    Solitude is part of the human experience. But just like other relationships, your relationship with solitude can be satisfying, intimate, and enhance your well-being, or it can leave you wanting, stuck in a cycle of sadness, anxiety, or anger. Regardless of whether you're starved for “me time” or struggling with loneliness, most of us have never thought carefully about how to get the most out of the time we spend by ourselves. As a result, we’re missing out on what could be a deeply enriching aspect of our lives. But how can we unlock the positive power of solitude?  In The Joy of Solitude: How to Reconnect with Yourself in an Overconnected World (Simon and Schuster, 2025) Robert Coplan draws from diverse fields including psychology, neuroscience, literature, and sociology to guide readers through solitude’s many dimensions and its profound effects on mental health and well-being. In this enlightening book, you will discover:  The many different types of solitude, ranging from enjoyable to challenging, each influencing personal experiences in unique ways. Why choosing to spend even fifteen minutes alone each day can help stabilize your mood, recharge your battery, and spark creativity. A deeper understanding of extraverts and introverts and their (often misunderstood) relationship to solitude. -What alone time looks like in a world where social connection is always a click away.  Groundbreaking scientific insights into the effects of both loneliness and “aloneliness.” The surprising ways that time alone can enhance relationships with others. Practical strategies for harmonizing moments of social engagement and solitude, crucial for achieving optimal life satisfaction.  The Joy of Solitude is a vital resource for those who wish to understand the complexities of solitude and its potential to enhance mental health, creativity, and self-discovery. Whether you seek affirmation for your love of solitude or strive to find balance within it, Coplan’s insights are indispensable tools for enriching your relationship with yourself and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    31 min

  2. 4D AGO

    John Oakes, "The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without" (Avid Reader, 2024)

    With fasting at an all-time high in popularity, here is an enlightening exploration into the history, science, and philosophy behind the practice—essential to many religions and wellness routines. Whether for philosophical, political, or health-related reasons, fasting marks a departure from daily routine. Based on extensive historical, scientific, and cultural research and reporting, John Oakes The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and the Promise of Doing Without (Avid Reader Press, 2024) illuminates the numerous facets of this act of self-deprivation. John interviews doctors, spiritual leaders, activists, and others who guide him through this practice—and embarks on fasts of his own—to deliver a book that supplies anyone curious about fasting with profound new understanding, appreciation, and inspiration. In recent years, fasting has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons—from weight loss to detoxing, to the faithful who fast in prayer, to seekers pursuing mindfulness, to activists using hunger strikes as protest. Notable fasters include Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Gandhi, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Cesar Chavez, and a long list of others who have drawn on its power over the ages and across borders and cultures. The Fast looks at the complex science behind the jaw-dropping biological changes that occur inside the body when we fast. Metabolic switching can prompt repair and renewal down to the molecular level, providing benefits for those suffering from obesity and diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and more. Longer fasts can both reinvigorate the immune system and protect it against damage. Beyond the physical experience, fasting can be a great collective unifier, and it has been adopted by religions and political movements all over the world for millennia. Fasting is central to holy seasons and days such as Lent (Christianity), Ramadan (Islam), Yom Kippur (Judaism), Uposatha (Buddhism), and Ekadashi (Hinduism). On an individual level, devout ascetics who master self-deprivation to an extreme are believed to be closer to the divine, ascending to enlightenment or even sainthood. Fasting reminds us of the virtues of holding back, of not consuming all that we can. “Broad in scope and rich in insight” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), this book shows us that fasting is about much more than food: it is about taking control of your life in new and empowering ways and reconsidering your place in the world. John Oakes is the publisher of The Evergreen Review and the editor at large of OR Books. The Fast is his first book. Saman Nasser holds an M.A. in World History from James Madison University, where he currently works as an administrative staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    55 min

  3. MAR 9

    The 4th Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana Conference

    The 4th International Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana Conference convenes 27–29 May 2026 at EHESS Paris, organized by CESAH. Theme: Authenticity, Authority and Adaptation—examining how yoga traditions establish legitimacy, transmit knowledge, and negotiate transformation across time and place. Bridges philological and ethnographic approaches. Link here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    37 min

  4. MAR 8

    Tibetan Medicine for Meditators, with Tawni Tidwell

    Today I sit down with Dr. Tawni Tidwell, a biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medicine doctor at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Together we discuss how Tibetan medicine approaches the challenges that arise in the course of meditation. Along the way, we talk about reconnecting with indigenous knowledge, establishing a more intimate relationship with the body and the land, and the importance of social context in supporting spiritual practice. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources related to this conversation: Tawni Tidwell, “Life in Suspension with Death: Biocultural Ontologies, Perceptual Cues, and Biomarkers for Tibetan Tukdam Postmortem Meditative State” (2024) Tawni Tidwell et al, “Effect of Tibetan Herbal Formulas on Symptom Duration Among Ambulatory Patients with Native SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study” (2024) Tawni Tidwell, “Tibetan Medical Paradigms for the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Understanding COVID-19, Microbiome Links, and Its Sowa Rigpa Nosology” (2021) New open access book! Crafting Potency: Sowa Rigpa Artisanship Across the Himalayas Tawni’s research profile at the Center for Healthy Minds Please note that Tawni is not taking new patients at this time, but she recommends the American Tibetan Medical Association Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading scholarly articles by Dr Tidwell Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. See www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    1h 3m

  5. MAR 2

    Amy Landry, "The Ocean of Yoga: A Complete Guide to Living the Teachings, Tradition, and Practice" (Shambhala, 2026)

    The Ocean of Yoga: A Complete Guide to Living the Teachings, Tradition, and Practice (Shambhala, 2026) is definitive guidebook to the core principles and practice of yoga—from its traditional roots to the latest contemporary developments. Immerse yourself in the timeless practice of yoga with this essential and accessible guide. With a commitment to honoring rather than modifying the tradition of yoga, experienced teacher Amy Landry unveils the vast ocean of yoga—from its rich history, texts, and traditions to the core principles and practice. Explore: · A captivating overview of the history and evolution of yoga · Key facets of subtle yogic anatomy, including prana, koshas, nadis, kundalini, chakras, vayu, and a map of the mind · A practical framework inward that expands beyond the popularized eight-limbed approach · Teachings on the tangible techniques, such as traditional joint movements, purification practices, mudra, meditation, mantra, and approaching yoga through an Ayurvedic lens · Diverse paths, including Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Raja, Hatha, Laya, and Tantra · Guidance on living (and teaching) yoga through stewardship and lineage, while using the four aims and stages of life as anchors · Foundational yoga texts, featuring the revered Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, alongside some lesser-known treasures · The sanctity of Sanskrit, sound, and so much more With a clear and inspiring voice, Landry offers pivotal insight to any student or teacher seeking a genuine connection to the depths of yoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    44 min

  6. FEB 6

    Black Beryl: The Modern Remaking of Kundalini, with Marleen Thaler

    Today host Pierce Salguero sits down with Marleen Thaler, a researcher at the University of Vienna and University of Graz. Together, we investigate the history of the transformation of Kundalini from a Hindu goddess resting at the base of the spine to her modern manifestation as a psychiatric syndrome. Along the way, we discuss the central importance of the Theosophical society, the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1970s, spiritual emergencies, and kundalini as a meeting point for religion and medicine. Resources mentioned in this episode: Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga Gopi Krishna, Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man Lee Sennella, The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence Spiritual Emergence Network (USA | International) Marleen’s publications: Academia.edu Become a paid subscriber on Black Beryl Substack to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. See www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    1h 3m

  7. FEB 5

    Joseph Scalia III and Lynne S. Scalia, "Critical Consciousness: Beyond Impasses in Environmentalism, Psychoanalysis, and Education" (Routledge, 2025)

    Critical Consciousness: Beyond Impasses in Environmentalism, Psychoanalysis, and Education (Routledge, 2025) provides insight into the antagonism and disputative dialogue present in contemporary discourse. Taking a broad, pluralistic psychoanalytic perspective, the authors shed light on how and why ideology and conflict have infiltrated education, environmentalism, and psychoanalysis. This book unpacks forms of indoctrination and rejection of new ideas in environmentalism, considers the desubjectification of the human in mental health "services," and assesses how the educational world needs leaders who can articulate unspoken educational aims that perpetuate inequalities, hidden oppression, and their pathogenic effects on disenfranchised groups. This book takes account of the competing schools of psychoanalysis, their members' dismissiveness and enmity toward each other, and their rationalized resistances to discussion across the aisles. From that viewscape, a challenging path forward is proposed. Critical Consciousness is of great interest to psychoanalysts in practice and in training, and to readers interested in the psychological aspects of dehumanization, competition, and opposing group identity. Ben Greenberg, PsyD is a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and founding director of the Center for Dynamic Practice in Santa Fe, NM. After a wonderful recent conversation with Tracy Morgan about Psychoanalysis, she suggested I become a host to do interviews about a few books I mentioned I'm excited about. I love to hear interviews about new books. I have published several scientific papers among other written media, and am working on a few book manuscripts as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    1h 5m

  8. 12/27/2025

    David Newheiser et al., "Art-Making as Spiritual Practice: Rituals of Embodied Understanding" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

    Art-Making as Spiritual Practice: Rituals of Embodied Understanding (Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2025), edited by Professor David Newheiser, is a new collection asks if it’s possible to consider art-making as a spiritual practice independent of explicit religious belief or content. Where earlier research has focused on the religious significance of secular artworks, this innovative volume turns its attention to the role of the artist, and to specific examples of art practices, putting them into conversation with ritual practices. By creating a web of connections that emerge across multiple disciplines and practices, a team of scholars and artists shed new light on the way art-making and ritual embody non-discursive forms of understanding. Drawing on the work of scholars who argue that ritual practice is central to religious identities, they use close analysis of specific examples to address philosophical issues about the nature of knowledge and spirituality and the relationship between them. Art-Making as Spiritual Practice is a rich and in-depth examination of the possibility that art has spiritual meanings that are endemic to the practice of art-making itself, establishing a new paradigm that changes the conversation surrounding the spiritual, if not religious, significance of art. Professor David Newheiser is a returning champion on New Books in Secularism—he joined us in 2020 to talk about his book Hope in a Secular Age: Deconstruction, Negative Theology, and the Future of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and in 2023 he told us about his edited collection, The Varieties of Atheism (University of Chicago Press, 2022). He is Associate Professor of Religion at Florida State University, with research that explores the role of religious traditions in debates over ethics, politics, and culture. He received a PhD in Religion from the University of Chicago and an MPhil in early Christian thought from Oxford. He is also co-editor of the Journal for the Academic Study of Religion. Art-Making as Spiritual Practice: Rituals of Embodied Understanding is an open source publication, available free from Bloomsbury Academic Press, here. … Carrie Lynn Evans is a PhD candidate at Université Laval in Quebec City. carrie-lynn.evans@lit.ulaval.ca @carrielynnland.bsky.social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

    1h 29m
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About

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

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