Audiobooks by Mark Nepo

Navigating Our Way Between Fear and Safety

"In this 2023 conversation with Justine Willis Toms, poet-philosopher Mark Nepo shares how we can have a direct connection to the attending guiding spirit within. Nepo helps us understand that the heart plays a central role in how our life-force manifests, and considers it one of our greatest resources as a conduit for our intuitive mind. Nepo gives us an analogy from India regarding how to meet fear and pain, which we often inflate, and provides a practical suggestion in “right-sizing” them. He suggests that we describe one, two or three reliable truths which are our personal foundation and which we can return to as we meet the challenges of daily life. He also writes about how the 'net of relationship' distributes our suffering. Mark Nepo is the author of many audio learning projects and over 20 books including: - Reduced To Joy (Cleis Press 2013) - Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close To What Is Sacred (Free Press 2012) - The One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom That Waits in Your heart (Atria Books 2016) - More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community in Our Lives and in the World (Atria Books 2018) - Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression (Sounds True 2019) - The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters (St. Martin’s Essentials 2020) - Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity (St. Martins’ Essentials 2022) - Falling Down and Getting Up: Discovering Your Inner Resilience and Strength (St. Martins’ Essentials 2023) Interview Date: 6/30/2023 Tags: Mark Nepo, heart mind, head mind, Dante, The Divine Comedy, inner guiding spirit, honor, Indra’s net, fear, inner guide, Philosophy, Personal Transformation, Relationship"

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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In the Trusted Company of Others

"In this 2024 conversation with Justine Wills Toms, poet Mark Nepo explores one of the most important aspects of being human—the power of friendship. Both ancient and modern wisdom counsel that the path to a good life is to be full of care, to work with what is given, and to look for friends along the way. Friendship is the tether that holds us as we navigate life's many thresholds. Nothing draws us through them as powerfully as the loving care of others. Friendship is an island of safety and intimacy as we share our joys, sorrows, challenges, and authenticity. Mark Nepo is a poet, philosopher, and a most eloquent spiritual teacher. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation and in 2016 was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. He is the author of many audio learning projects and over 20 books including: - Reduced To Joy (Cleis Press 2013) - Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close To What Is Sacred (Free Press 2012) - The One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom That Waits in Your heart (Atria Books 2016) - Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity (St. Martin’s Essentials 2022) - Falling Down and Getting Up: Discovering Your Inner Resilience and Strength (St. Martin’s Essentials 2023) - You Don't Have To Do It Alone: The Power Of Friendship (St. Martin’s Essentials 2024) Interview Date: 4/19/2024 Tags: Mark Nepo, honor, friendship, compassion, Organ master Lonnie Smith, Endora Welty, E.M. Forster, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Relationship"

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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Apprenticing Life as We Grow Older

"In this 2025 interview with Justine WIllis Toms, Nepo says 'There are no shortcuts in navigating growing older.' As we pass into the second half of our lives, we will face the challenge of accepting the forces of limitation. The reality of aging is that it is an apprenticeship into life with the invitation of new ways of seeing, feeling, and being. Here we explore the challenges and gifts of growing older. Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher and a most eloquent spiritual teacher. In 2015 he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation and in 2016 was named by Watkins Mind Body Spirit as one of the Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. Mark Nepo is the author of many audio learning projects and over 20 books Keywords: Mark Nepo, aging, curiosity, limitations, Odyssey, Odysseus, Helen Luke, Tiresias, position of mastery, confidence, aging dog, Claude Monet, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Community, Death & Dyingv"

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal

"A call to advance integrative teaching and learning in higher education. From Parker Palmer, best-selling author of The Courage to Teach, and Arthur Zajonc, professor of physics at Amherst College and director of the academic program of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, comes this call to revisit the roots and reclaim the vision of higher education. The Heart of Higher Education proposes an approach to teaching and learning that honors the whole human being--mind, heart, and spirit--an essential integration if we hope to address the complex issues of our time. The book offers a rich interplay of analysis, theory, and proposals for action from two educators and writers who have contributed to developing the field of integrative education over the past few decades. Presents Parker Palmer's powerful response to critics of holistic learning and Arthur Zajonc's elucidation of the relationship between science, the humanities, and the contemplative traditions Explores ways to take steps toward making colleges and universities places that awaken the deepest potential in students, faculty, and staff Offers a practical approach to fostering renewal in higher education through collegiality and conversation The Heart of Higher Education is for all who are new to the field of holistic education, all who want to deepen their understanding of its challenges, and all who want to practice and promote this vital approach to teaching and learning on their campuses."

Arthur Zajonc, Mark Nepo, Megan Scribner, Parker J. Palmer (Author), Scott Woodside (Narrator)

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Presence: Inhabiting Our Humanness

"Many gems of wisdom unfold here such as, “Being spiritual is inhabiting our humanness so thoroughly that the part of the universe that lives in me comes out and connects with the part of the universe that lives with you.” Other topics discussed are: being present and being absent as well as considering the difference between what we stand for and what we stand on."

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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Inhabiting the Poetry of Our Lives

"Nepo’s creative works, books, poems, workshops are all about creating a sacred place where the experience of honest truth can happen. Even in our deepest moments of suffering, he encourages us to seek out slivers of light seeping through the broad slats of darkness. His genius is to discover metaphors as a way of understanding and making meaning of our lives."

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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Flames That Light the Heart: Ten Lessons for Living with Meaning, Truth, and Kindness

"Embracing the Life of Growth and Transformation “Each of us carries some wisdom waiting to be discovered at the center of our experience, and everything we meet, if faced and held, reveals a part of that wisdom,” teaches Mark Nepo. Flames That Light the Heart brings you into the company of the beloved poet and author for a rich conversation on the life of transformation and the heartwork that is required to be a spirit in the world. Teachings and Practices for Making Sense of Our Experience How do we listen to life and not to what life does to us when suffering and loss meet us at every turn? How do we make sense of our experience? “My offering here is to explore these challenges and introduce you to your own wisdom and gifts, to help you personalize the ways you can nourish the spark of life we each carry inside,” explains Mark Nepo. In 10 audio sessions, he explores the passages that open us, as well as the skills and ways of being that help us meet the difficulties that life brings us. Join him in this intimate conversation on our shared “growing pains of transformation” and the art of living “as an awakened part in an awakened whole.” Highlights: • What it means to be transformed by what we go through • Being true to your own nature • The wisdom of a broken heart • Changing our relationship with fear • The practice of loving what you do • Obstacles as teachers • The peace that abides in every moment • More than five hours of insightful teachings, moving poetry, and practical guidance "

Mark Nepo (Author), Mark Nepo (Narrator)

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Finding Our Sacred Kinship

"This deep dialogue explores the importance of community and how we can cultivate connectedness with others. Nepo speaks of two tribes: one that fears the differences in people and one that welcomes what can be learned by those differences. He gives advice as to how to keep our hearts open beyond our own opinions and how to tap into our innate nature of kindness."

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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Listening to the Light of Our Soul

"Mark Nepo suggests that life is an incredible tapestry that is never finished. It is weaving us, and we are the threads. We are taught to navigate the outer world by problem solving, but for the things that matter, the heart releases its own logic. He says that life constantly asks us “to let everything in and not choose or make logical sense of it, but to let it reverberate until it becomes that teacher, the Upaguru, the teacher that is next to you at this moment.” He has learned that life is a series of falling asleep and waking up, falling down and getting up, feeling safe and then afraid, being sensitive and then numb. It’s a journey. He reminds us that we are taught early in our lives to hold tightly to our dreams, goals, and ambitions. But, he says, “They are, in fact, not endpoints, but kindling for the fire of our aliveness. We are a mix of being and becoming.” He also reminds us it’s not by accident that kindness and kinship share the same root, saying, “One of the rewards for kindness is not just that you will think well of me or that we will develop a better relationship. The act of kindness allows us to experience oneness. The act of kindness allows us to experience the connection with all things . . . Kindness leads to kinship. We understandably come in and out of being aware because pain, worry, fear, betrayal, all the difficulties of life, short-circuit our full attention. This is why it’s important that every person develop their own practice of return.” Prepare to be deepened by Mark Nepo’s ability to be authentic as he illuminates the wisdom that is available in our own hearts. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)"

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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Inside the Miracle: Enduring Suffering, Approaching Wholeness

"Many are familiar with teacher and poet Mark Nepo's books on inner transformation, relationship, and the emergence of purpose in our lives. But less well-known is the journey that shaped his vision as a teacher that began in 1987 when he was diagnosed with cancer. The revelations during that time would inform every dimension of his work to follow. With Inside the Miracle, Mark Nepo shares what he discovered along this challenging terrain, and the insights most essential to those of us who now find ourselves there. The lessons and stories here are for all of us, ill or not, when the inevitable question arises: How do we move through an overwhelming crisis—whether from physical illness, grief, or a major life change—into the rest of our lives? This offering presents in its entirety Nepo's 1994 literary gem Acre of Light, written shortly after his recovery. Here, he expands and enriches its themes with new poems, essays, and teachings gathered in the decades since. Throughout, Mark includes compelling questions and exercises from his popular workshops, to invite us to personalize the experience. What emerges is a reading companion to be explored in many ways: as a memoir, as a “survival kit” of wisdom and verse that helped Mark during his own journey, and as a conversation to spark our own contemplation, journaling, and discovery. “To live in wonder on the other side of suffering and disappointment,” reflects Mark Nepo, “is to know how magnificent and fragile it is to be here at all.” Inside the Miracle calls us to leap into our lives with tenderness and courage, so we can fully inhabit the miraculous moments that await us."

Mark Nepo (Author), Mark Nepo (Narrator)

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Reduced to Joy: The Journey from Our Head to Our Heart

"Poetry and Inspiration for the Journey of Being Human The infinitely varied journeys of our lives share a common destiny: to be worn of all that is not essential till we are reduced to joy. On Reduced to Joy, bestselling author and poet-philosopher Mark Nepo invites you to join him in a poignant examination of 'the gifts and challenges of being a spirit here on Earth,' through six captivating sessions that address the vital task of discovering and returning to what matters. Listening to the Teachers Hidden in Every Moment Mark Nepo describes poetry as 'the unexpected utterance of the soul.' Every poem and by extension every moment can serve as a teacher, if we can attend to it with an open mind and heart. By sharing 56 original poems along with the insights of fellow writers, Mark brings us into our own living conversation with the teachers hidden in everything that we experience, in order to welcome their universal lessons. Over the course of this six-hour program, he reveals the genesis of his own poems, unpacks the stunning insights they hold, and encourages us to reflect both personally and with friends on how these empowering truths show themselves in the poetic revelations of our own lives. There is a Sioux saying that the longest journey you will ever make in your life is from your head to your heart. No one is exempt from this great adventure. With Reduced to Joy, Mark Nepo awaits as your guide to the place 'where the glow of your heart touches everything it meets so you can't help but remember how dear it is to be alive.' Highlights The Longest Journey—on doing, being, and awakening the source of genius within • To Know By Heart—on moving from depth to surface and 'loving your window' • The Art of Facing Things—on the courage to say yes to life again and again • Walking Together—on authentic relationship and expanding the heart's perception • Made from Bone—on the promise of the inner world and our lineage of spirit • The Sublime Disturbance—on that which causes us to live fully in the open"

Mark Nepo (Author), Mark Nepo (Narrator)

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Listening Is A Personal Pilgrimage

"Poet, spiritual thinker and author of Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, Nepo explores the many ways that deep listening is a matter of being changed by leaning into all we don't understand. Intuitive listening requires us to still our minds until the beauty of things older than our minds can find us. He describes this kind of listening as 'a process by which what matters moves between us.'"

Mark Nepo (Author), Justine Willis Toms (Narrator)

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Audiobooks by Mark Nepo

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