Third Eye on the Prize

Debra Sansone

Welcome to Third Eye on the Prize  A portal for presence in a world addicted to appearances. Short honest talks on the perplexing, splendid mess of being a human right now.  Increasing numbers of us are having awakening experiences, getting glimpses into the truth that spiritual masters have been telling us about for centuries: that we’re not really separate from one another or the rest of Creation; the separateness is an illusion.  This is not easy to digest but it’s a central paradox of life: we have one reality in this body that exists in time and is dissolving and another one beyond it, beyond body, personality, and personal story. How do we navigate this duality in a practical way? By walking what’s called the Middle Path or the Middle Way, a central idea in the Buddhist tradition. But we don’t have to be Buddhists to apply this wisdom in daily life. We do, however, have to practice, as best we can, being present, not getting lost in memories from the past or thoughts about the future, not getting stuck grasping at things or pushing them away.  I’m Debra Sansone, poet, artist, and teacher, and host of Third Eye on the Prize.  I'd be honored to have you join me on this exploration.  Available anywhere you listen to podcasts. Give a listen and, if you like it, subscribe and tell everyone you know! In the meantime, keep your third eye on the prize, and remember, truth is beyond belief.

Episodes

  1. 5D AGO

    Nourishment in the Human Voice

    Memory, Impermanence, and What Can’t Be Preserved This episode begins with a piece I wrote years ago about rediscovered family audiotapes recorded between 1958 and 1969—then pivots into a reflection on nostalgia, impermanence, and listening. Hearing those recordings again felt like stepping into a time machine guided only by the sound of voices. But this episode also reckons with absence. The recordings themselves have since gone missing, underscoring a deeper truth: our essence isn’t something physical that can be preserved. It’s electric, ethereal, fleeting—and timeless. This is a reflection on memory, grief, intimacy, and the nourishment we receive by hearing one another, especially in an age shaped so profoundly by technology and AI. An invitation to listen more closely—to voices, to silence, and to the mystery at the heart of being human. This episode is best listened to from beginning to end, without skipping. 🌿 Stay Connected 💌 Share your reflections: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com 🌐 Explore more at: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/joinme 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-eye-on-the-prize/id1839927637 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3sE2FureJVUfsYuchJ3zgg 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@truthninja9 💌 If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend, leave a review, or send me a note—I’d love to hear how these conversations land in your life.

    7 min
  2. DEC 8

    Don't Leave Us, Mozart of Math: The Loss of Brilliance in America

    Why America’s Brightest May Have to Leave This episode is about the erosion of America’s ability to support innovation. “The rest of the world is not patiently waiting for America to get its act together.” What happens when scientists, researchers, and innovators who once saw the United States as a beacon of possibility start packing their bags? In this episode, I address the growing exodus of brilliant minds — and the not-so-quiet undermining of discovery, creativity, and progress. From funding cuts to visa restrictions to outright hostility, the message being sent is unmistakable: you’re not welcome here anymore. But talent goes where it can breathe. And when people who cure diseases, explore the cosmos, and build new technologies begin to leave, the loss is not abstract — it’s deeply human and profoundly dangerous to each and every one of us. If you’ve been feeling the tension between America's promise and what it’s becoming, this episode offers clarity, context, and a reminder that the flame hasn’t gone out yet — but right now it’s dimming. To book a Return to Presence session with Debra: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/return-to-presence  PBS News story on Terrence Tao: https://www.pbs.org/video/brain-drain-1761775707/ #NewPodcastEpisode #PodcastRecommendations #Immigration #STEM #SciencePolicy #BrainDrain #HigherEd #Research #Innovation #Society #FutureOfScience #ThirdEyeOnThePrize #CreativeMinds 🌿 Stay Connected 💌 Share your reflections: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com 🌐 Explore more at: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/joinme 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-eye-on-the-prize/id1839927637 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3sE2FureJVUfsYuchJ3zgg 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@truthninja9 💌 If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend, leave a review, or send me a note—I’d love to hear how these conversations land in your life.

    6 min
  3. NOV 22

    AI and Us: Strange Bedfellows

    How do you feel about AI right now? Love it or hate it? In this episode, I explore our oddly intimate relationship with technology—how AI can feel like both a brilliant helper and a tone-deaf impersonator.  From misleading “solutions” to uncanny insights, from our students’ dependence on Google to the dizzying speed of innovation, we’re being asked to stay more grounded and awake than ever. What does it mean to keep our humanity intact as the collective mind accelerates? And how do we remember the vastness within us when the world is overflowing with digital excess? “Living in a body and knowing we’re going to die is a counterweight to the mind’s power to fly off and go wherever it wants.” Take a breath, tune in, and keep your third eye on the prize. "True innovation and creativity happen when humans channel the unlimited source of divine greatness." #AIandHumanity #ConsciousnessPodcast #SpiritualityAndTech #MindfulnessInTheModernWorld #ThirdEyeOnThePrize #DigitalAgeWisdom #InnerAwareness #TechAndSpirit 🌿 Stay Connected 💌 Share your reflections: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com 🌐 Explore more at: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/joinme 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-eye-on-the-prize/id1839927637 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3sE2FureJVUfsYuchJ3zgg 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@truthninja9 💌 If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend, leave a review, or send me a note—I’d love to hear how these conversations land in your life.

    9 min
  4. OCT 13

    Intelligence of the Membrane: Connecting and Disconnecting

    There’s a lot of turbulent energy in the world right now — and most of us feel it, whether we want to or not. But how do we stay open without getting overwhelmed? In this episode of Third Eye on the Prize, Debra explores what she calls “the intelligence of the membrane” — the innate ability to know what to let in and what to release. Through personal story, spiritual insight, and deep honesty, she invites us to practice the art of feeling emotions fully without feeding their destructive energy. Drawing on wisdom from Eckhart Tolle and Pema Chödrön — and a powerful story about inherited anger and compassion — Debra reveals how awareness can interrupt generational patterns and transform pain into presence. This is spiritual warrior work: learning to feel without fueling, staying open yet protected, and trusting that with each act of awareness, the poison dilutes and the light grows stronger. "If I feel more and feed less, even a tiny bit, I'm going in the right direction." 🌿 Stay Connected 💌 Share your reflections: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com 🌐 Explore more at: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/joinme 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-eye-on-the-prize/id1839927637 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3sE2FureJVUfsYuchJ3zgg 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@truthninja9 💌 If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend, leave a review, or send me a note—I’d love to hear how these conversations land in your life.

    11 min
  5. SEP 22

    Two Rivers: Music as a Great Unifier

    Debra shares the story of her parents' artistry and activism, and how those two rivers shaped her own path as both an artist and teacher. I grew up between two powerful rivers - my mother's artistry and my father's teaching. Both shaped me, both challenged me, and both live on in my own path as an artist and educator.  In this episode, I share how conflict and struggle can be catalysts for change. In this deeply personal episode of Third Eye on the Prize, I explore my roots and the two powerful influences that shaped me:      - My mother, a gifted jazz singer who recorded an album at Columbia Records in 1967, produced by the legendary John Hammond and featuring a young George Benson.      - My father, a passionate teacher and political activist who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and inspired generations of students. Growing up, I felt like I was marooned between their two rivers - creativity on one side, knowledge on the other. Their lives were fascinating, but also turbulent, marked by trauma, conflict, and moments of chaos (like the time my father burned all the school papers my mother had carefully archived). Yet through it all, one current never stopped flowing: music. It filled the air in our house, lived beneath the tension, and became part of my blood. In this episode, I share how those two rivers - artistry and teaching - eventually converged in me, shaping my path as a poet, educator, and artist. Resources & Links: - Explore my poetry, artwork, and tutoring services: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com - Contact me, Debra Sansone: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com - Listen to my mother's album: Extraordinary by Roberta Peck Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/extraordinary/1292902398 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2NWr182Ma2dVB8IRiPcenz Upcoming Episodes: - Intuition: Our Hidden Superpower - Alignment and Timing in Life - Embodied Artistry - Which Ancestors Do We Want to Emulate: Chimps or Bonobos? 🌿 Stay Connected 💌 Share your reflections: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com 🌐 Explore more at: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/joinme 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-eye-on-the-prize/id1839927637 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3sE2FureJVUfsYuchJ3zgg 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@truthninja9 💌 If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend, leave a review, or send me a note—I’d love to hear how these conversations land in your life.

    6 min
  6. Third Eye on the Prize Trailer

    SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 TRAILER

    Third Eye on the Prize Trailer

    Welcome to Third Eye on the Prize  A poetic space for consciousness seekers. A portal for presence in a world addicted to appearances. Increasing numbers of us are having awakening experiences, getting glimpses into the truth that spiritual masters have been telling us about for centuries: that we’re not really separate from one another or the rest of Creation; the separateness is an illusion.  This is not easy to digest but it’s a central paradox of life: we have one reality in this body that exists in time and is dissolving and another one beyond it, beyond body, personality, and personal story. How do we navigate this duality in a practical way? By walking what’s called the Middle Path or the Middle Way, a central idea in the Buddhist tradition. But we don’t have to be Buddhists to apply this wisdom in daily life. We do, however, have to practice, as best we can, being present, not getting lost in memories from the past or thoughts about the future, not getting stuck grasping at things or pushing them away.  I’m Debra Sansone, poet, artist, and teacher, and host of Third Eye on the Prize.  I'd be honored to have you join me on this exploration. Look for the first 3 episodes on September 15, available anywhere you listen to podcasts. The first episode is called "Discomfort is Our Teacher." Give a listen and, if you like it, subscribe and tell everyone you know! In the meantime, keep your third eye on the prize, and remember, truth is beyond belief. 🌿 Stay Connected 💌 Share your reflections: info@thirdeyeontheprize.com 🌐 Explore more at: https://www.thirdeyeontheprize.com/joinme 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-eye-on-the-prize/id1839927637 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3sE2FureJVUfsYuchJ3zgg 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@truthninja9 💌 If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend, leave a review, or send me a note—I’d love to hear how these conversations land in your life.

    2 min

Trailer

About

Welcome to Third Eye on the Prize  A portal for presence in a world addicted to appearances. Short honest talks on the perplexing, splendid mess of being a human right now.  Increasing numbers of us are having awakening experiences, getting glimpses into the truth that spiritual masters have been telling us about for centuries: that we’re not really separate from one another or the rest of Creation; the separateness is an illusion.  This is not easy to digest but it’s a central paradox of life: we have one reality in this body that exists in time and is dissolving and another one beyond it, beyond body, personality, and personal story. How do we navigate this duality in a practical way? By walking what’s called the Middle Path or the Middle Way, a central idea in the Buddhist tradition. But we don’t have to be Buddhists to apply this wisdom in daily life. We do, however, have to practice, as best we can, being present, not getting lost in memories from the past or thoughts about the future, not getting stuck grasping at things or pushing them away.  I’m Debra Sansone, poet, artist, and teacher, and host of Third Eye on the Prize.  I'd be honored to have you join me on this exploration.  Available anywhere you listen to podcasts. Give a listen and, if you like it, subscribe and tell everyone you know! In the meantime, keep your third eye on the prize, and remember, truth is beyond belief.