Show Notes
Elaine Aron is a clinical and research psychologist who received her advanced training at Pacific Graduate Institute and the Jung Institute in San Francisco. Her research on sensory processing sensitivity and, along with her husband, Arthur Aron, the study of close relationships, is widely published in academic journals. She is best known as the world’s leading expert on the “Highly Sensitive Person” or HSP, a term she ascribed to a significant minority of people she discovered had the innate trait of high sensitivity. Her book , The Highly Sensitive Person, became an international bestseller, translated into 32 languages, and has been in print for nearly thirty years. She followed that up with other books based on her research on the subject: The Highly Sensitive Parent, The Highly Sensitive Person Workbook, The Highly Sensitive Person in Love, The Highly Sensitive Child, and Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person. She maintains a newsletter and other resources at her website. Her latest book, which we discuss (among other things) in this interview, is Spirituality Through a Highly Sensitive Lens: An Objective Look at Meditation Methods and Enlightenment. The conversation ranges widely; you don't have to be a Highly Sensitive Person to benefit from hearing it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Spirit Matters
The prolific and provocative priest, Matthew Fox, returns to Spirit Matters to speak about two totally different but strangely relate new books. Fr. Fox earned a doctorate in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and was a priest in the Dominican order for more than 30 years before running into trouble with the Vatican. He subsequently became an Episcopal priest, renowned as an innovative theologian, author, and outspoken activist for social justice.
Dana Sawyer is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and World Religions at the Maine College of Art & Design and the author of biographies of both Aldous Huxley and Huston Smith. His primary expertise is in Hinduism and Buddhism but his work has focused on comparative mysticism, theories of the “perennial philosophy,” and the value of psychedelic experience in the study of mysticism. His most recent book is The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded, which we discussed on this show when it was released two years ago. We spoke about all the above and a lot more about life on the spiritual path. NOTE: If you’re going to be anywhere near Portland Maine on October 31, come to the workshop Dana and Phil are leading together. Details and registration here.
This episode's guest is Michael Schauch . Michael is an alpinist—meaning he climbs high mountains—and an award-winning author who, in his words, “lives to explore the depths of nature and the human spirit and share the beauty of connection he discovers along the way.”A resident of Canada—specifically the mountains of British Columbia—he is a world-traveler and explorer and a Buddhist practitioner who has, for fifteen years, served as a mentor and supporter of Tibetan Buddhist youth in Kathmandu, Nepal, and to young members of his local community in Canada. He also holds an MBA from Queens University and is a member of the Explorers Club—probably a combination you don’t find very often.He has been published in numerous magazines and his books have been praised by reviewers and well-known spiritual leaders. Those books include A Story of Karma: Finding Love and Truth in the Lost valley of the Himalaya and his new release, Anatta: Heart of Wisdom, which is mainly what we spoke about in this conversation. We touched on a range of topics, including the spiritual value of time in nature, why he says "The way to resolve conflicts with others is to first resolve conflicts within ourselves," and why he quotes his friend, who said, "Those moving about in crazy ways only appear to be crazy until you can hear the music." You'll find much to draw upon moving forward. Learn more about Michael here: www.michaelschauch.com. NOTE: We recorded this episode before the devastating floods that destroyed parts of Nepal and the lives of many Nepalese and pilgrims. I wish we could have discussed the tragedy.
Mirabai Starr returns for her third visit to Spirit Matters. Mirabai is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught philosophy and world religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog.
Cynthia Abulafia is an author, an academic, and a devotee of the Goddess. She is, in her words, committed to giving language to the divine feminine and restoring the experience of embodiment as the heart of spiritual practice. A longtime student and teacher of non-duality, she guides people through kundalini awakenings and spiritual emergence with grounded tools rooted in embodiment, breath, and the context of sacred texts and traditions. Her debut book, Embodying the Goddess: How to Awaken Curiosity and Reverence on the Spiritual Path, which was released in January 2026, was "inspired by 20 years of kundalini awakening, 20 years of study in non-duality traditions, and the work of the great philosopher Utpaladeva (900s CE)." In it, Cynthia challenges the “transcendence bias” of patriarchal spirituality and offers a path of radical integration. If you're curious about the divine feminine, the phenomenon of kundalini awakening, and about grounding nonduality in the apparent dualism of embodiment, this is the conversation for you.