Commune with Jeff Krasno

The global pandemic conscripts a different type of soldier, wearing a different sort of uniform. Dubbed "essential workers," they fight an invisible enemy that cannot be slain, only grimly flattened. This podcast is in recognition of their service, and includes an interview with an essential worker very close to home.

India.Arie is a prolific singer-songwriter and the winner of 4 Grammy awards, but today on the show we talk about a different dimension of her life that has always been quietly present — her spirituality. What turns a simple object into a meaningful heirloom? How can we tap into the power of ritual to create transcendent art? Check out India.Arie's new music video, shot right here at Commune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWsfL2eI5ns

When you fly over a city and see all those backyard swimming pools and barbecues, do you ever wonder: What if we shared more resources? What if we had passionate conversations with people next door rather than someone on social media a thousand miles away? In this episode, Robert O'Neill, founder of Haven Coliving, shares his vision for small urban communities and a return to real human interaction.

Raised by a shaman in New York City and signed to Sony Records at 19, Biet's life has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows, clarity and addiction. Now dubbed the “Lady Gaga of Meditation,” her approach to spirituality is pragmatic and practical: You will find enlightenment within your life's circumstances, and nowhere else. It's not about changing the facts of your life, but working with and within them.

Like a reef or rainforest, what we call a human is actually a multispecies superorganism — technically a "holobiont." We evolved to exist with our microbes and the microbiomes of others. Breast milk co-evolved to feed the growing garden in an infant's gut. We exchange microbes when we hug and kiss or have a pet in the house. Today, Ara Katz, co-founder of Seed, talks about the importance of microbes and how they can impact the health of our bodies, our children, and our planet. To learn more from Ara and Seed, check out their Instagram channel at instagram.com/seed or visit seed.com.

None of us imagined motherhood under these conditions. Some of us are essential workers navigating front-line jobs, but most of us are now stay-at-home moms, our careers vying with our kids for breathing room. Schuyler Grant hosts today's Mother's Day episode where she, along with other mothers, reflect on what it means to be a mom in this moment.

Capitalism bombards us with the message, “You’re not enough, but to compensate we're going to sell you a product.” This gets particularly dangerous when the products are pills and medical devices, and in particular, hormonal birth control. Today, Allison Behringer, creator of the Bodies podcast, shares her personal story with "the pill" and discusses how the -isms (sexism, racism, and capitalism) cause problems in modern medicine.

Is your personal narrative true? Or do you manipulate and aggregate past phenomena to support your current story? Today, Nick Ortner, CEO of The Tapping Solution, talks about how the simple technique of tapping can powerfully address fear and anxiety and aid the process of healing. Plus, experience a short tapping session!

Our patterns of behavior are often rooted in our lack of self-worth. When there is something wrong on the inside, our instinct is to look for external agents to deal with those issues. However, radiance only comes from self-reflection. In today's episode, Danielle LaPorte discusses the importance of introspection, as it allows us to forgive, better understand our stories, and reach a place where we accept our enoughness.

What is the new world story that will spin out of our situation? Meditation doesn’t necessarily lead to a passive life — it can also encourage an active one. Today, author and recording artist Justin Michael Williams talks about how meditation helps us quiet the mind and rest in gratitude while becoming engaged members in our community. Together, we can be part of the solution.

If ever there was an opportunity to introduce a more local way of life, one not engineered for corporate globalism, it is now. Today’s guest is the founder and director of Local Futures, Helena Norberg-Hodge, who discusses how we can address some of the world's most salient issues, from global warming to income inequality, through localization. Yes, we CAN create sustainable local economies that don't require exploitation of anonymous workers and the desecration of the planet.

Why are so many of us sick when we value health? The American way of processing and marketing food is spreading. All over the world waistlines are expanding, hospitals are filling up, and people are getting sick with chronic illnesses. In the time of COVID-19, our health is becoming more important than ever before. Today, we talk about the relationships between immunity and a healthy diet, regenerative agriculture, localization, and how Ocean’s unique family history shaped his life’s work.

When information overloads us, we need a reset. But how do we really surrender and let go of so much thinking? Today, Tracee discusses how Yoga Nidra can help us quiet the mind, unwind and understand our stories, and ultimately reach a place of discernment and clarity. This podcast made possible by: Better Help Magic Spoon

In today’s episode, Dr. Mark Hyman shares a wide range of options for boosting your immune system — from food groups and supplements to practices and rituals. He and Jeff also delve into food policy, environmentalism, and how the pandemic may impact our approach to health moving forward.

Spending quality time with our own minds can be terrifying for our socially oriented species, and yet here we all are, home alone with thoughts for company. Fortunately, we have a technology for that (albeit an old one) — meditation. Today, meditation teacher Light Watkins shares his pragmatic approach to our modern, quarantined life.

Eventually this crisis will end, and at that point we have an opportunity to rewrite the story of humanity. Will we use this pause in business-as-usual to reassess consumerism, globalism, and how we define a well-lived life? Or will we scurry back to business as usual? That's up to us. If you have any thoughts feel free to email me at [email protected]. For now, stay centered. Follow the science. Don’t succumb to fear. And spread knowledge, not the virus.

The spread of the coronavirus reflects our inter-connectivity, starkly highlighting our intertwined destiny and common humanity. We are not just individuals living among other individuals acting in our own self-interest. We are connected by a power greater than ourselves.

In-Q is a national poetry slam champion, multi-platinum songwriter and jaw-dropping performer with an incredible talent for weaving sound, rhythm, and insight. In this episode, In-Q offers spiritual lessons with hip hop grit in turns of phrase that incite tears, laughter, and epiphany.

You might call this week’s guest an “inner designer.” Peter Crone helps professional athletes, entrepreneurs, parents, and (in this case) podcast hosts to dissolve the mind’s limiting beliefs and unleash our human potential. His techniques directly address the uncertainty, anxiety, and mental anguish that constantly bubble up from our subconscious.

As the founder of B-School, Marie Forleo has inspired over 55,000 students to step into their entrepreneurial potential. In this conversation she shares the benefits of being multi-passionate, why limiting beliefs about starting a business hold us back (and how to move past them), and key business techniques for aligning profit and passion. Plus, you’ll here the story of why “everything is figureoutable.”

The myth of the separate self underlies our entire civilization, says philosopher and author Charles Eisenstein. This dualistic view of the world pits people against each other and turns nature into something we want to control. But we can choose another story — one of interdependence and connection. By doing so we become able to solve “impossible” problems, from political polarization to global warming.

The myth of the separate self underlies our entire civilization, says philosopher and author Charles Eisenstein. This dualistic view of the world pits people against each other and turns nature into something we want to control. But we can choose another story — one of interdependence and connection. By doing so we become able to solve “impossible” problems, from political polarization to global warming.

If yoga means union, if we as practitioners aspire to see the interconnectedness of all, then how could it not be political practice? Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts’ most recent research explores the lived experiences of Black teen yoga practitioners and their use of yoga and storytelling for critical identity development. Today’s conversation doesn’t shy away from suffering, liberation, power, and privilege — and a call for a new cabinet-level position.

Would life be better without alcohol? It’s the nagging question more and more of us are finding harder to ignore, whether we have a “problem” with alcohol or not. Ruby Warrington is the author of Sober Curious and one of the leading voices of the new sobriety movement. When we question why we drink on autopilot, the answers lead us deep into what it means to live an empowered, fulfilling life.

For every hour a teacher is on camera filming a Commune course, we spend several hours with them off camera — meeting, planning, having meals together. Today, Jeff chats with Commune’s head of content Jake Laub about how our courses get made and the many lessons we learn from teachers during the moments in between.

If you have lower back pain, you are not alone: 80 percent of adults suffer low back pain at some point in their lives. Today our guide to this topic is yoga teacher Schuyler Grant. How to sit, how to stand, how to sleep, even how stress and psychology interact with chronic pain — she covers it all. Check out her new Commune course, Back to the Core, at onecommune.com/core.

Gabrielle Bernstein is the author of more than six bestselling books, including her latest, Super Attractor: Methods for Manifesting a Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. That sounds pretty ambitious, but as you will hear from Gabby — pushing, controlling, and “manic manifesting” are actually the biggest blocks to harnessing your super attractor power. In fact, it is our ability to let go and receive that allow abundance in.

So often we focus our New Year's resolutions on our deficiencies of character or habits, imagining a future with a better job, six-pack abs, or a fulfilling relationship. Today, I ask you to extend this intention practice outside yourself and ask a bigger question, “What is your vision for the world you want to live in?” What are the attributes of that society? What are its values?

Pull up a chair by our digital fireside as Jeff reads three pieces that influenced him this year — a letter from spiritual teacher Ram Dass, a speech by Robert Kennedy, and a short story from singer-songwriter Portia Nelson. We hope these words move you, too.

Our culture typically defines justice through the lens of crime and punishment. Violate the law and you will be punished. But how does justice address the victim? Are they to be healed through revenge? Today, you will hear the courageous story of Marlee Liss, who sought an alternative path for justice after being sexually assaulted — a path of compassion and transformation.

This is Part 2 of a two-part series on recovery with Russell Brand. Last week we explored how 12-step recovery can be applied to the addictions in our lives, but can the same model work with our society? Can we collectively recognize a problem, commit to change, undertake a thorough inventory, recognize patterns, and create a culture of service? Today we take the 12-steps one step further — from personal to communal. To hear more from Russell, sign up for his upcoming Recovery course on Commune (onecommune.com/recovery) or check out his Luminary podcast, Under the Skin (luminary.link/russell @hearluminary).

This is Part 1 of a two-part series on recovery with Russell Brand. Very few of us are free from some form of addiction — alcohol, sugar, sleeping pills, sex, Instagram, co-dependent relationships, the list goes on. Russell points out that all our addictions stem from a common problem: spiritual disconnection. But when we admit we have a problem, believe in real change, accept help from others, and hand over our will and control to a higher power, we can begin to find freedom from our addictions. To hear more from Russell, sign up for his upcoming Recovery course on Commune (onecommune.com/recovery) or check out his Luminary podcast, Under the Skin (luminary.link/russell @hearluminary).

We spend our entire lives having thoughts, but because no one else can hear them we can fool ourselves into thinking they don't matter unless we act on them. But the tone and word choices of our inner dialogue are incredibly important. Today's episode offers Commune course excerpts from three teachers – Lauren Zander, Danielle LaPorte, and Brendon Burchard – on how to cultivate thought patterns that uplift your life. If you like hearing from multiple teachers like this, check out the Commune Wellness Summit. Sign up for free here: onecommune.com/summit.

We recognize the importance of self-reflection, but there is also tremendous value in stepping back as a business or a family to contemplate the bigger picture, the higher purpose, the deeper “why” behind it all. As we embark on our first company off-site, here are some thoughts on the value of briefly disengaging from the “world of the 10,000 things.”

Today’s show is about what it means to be an advocate: why and how and with what intention we should speak up for the causes we care about. We’ve pulled excerpts from three Commune courses: • Finian Makepeace talks about the importance of the “second person” who makes an idea available to new, broader audiences. • Marianne Williamson shares with us the difference between “speaking up” and “tearing down.” • Suzanne Sterling offers advice for how to discover the authentic voice that lives within you. We hope this episode gives you some tools and motivation to speak up with compassion—for yourself and for others. As Marianne Williamson says, “There's no religious or spiritual tradition anywhere that gives anyone a pass on addressing the suffering of other sentient beings.” All of these courses are represented in the Commune Summit! Sign up for free at onecommune.com/summit.

What comes after the job, the money, the power? Why do we seek these things if not, in the end, for happiness? And is happiness simply a chemical symphony in the brain that we can hack into, or does true contentment lie somewhere ineffably beyond our physiology? Today, Jeff offers an orchestrated monologue of his thoughts on happiness. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Modern allopathic medicine is brilliant at treating acute trauma, but it’s a big problem when we try to treat chronic health issues with the same approach. Today on the show Jeff speaks to Kelly Noonan Gores, writer, producer and director of the documentary Heal. She explains how our medical system throws drugs at symptoms instead of understanding and treating the root cause of the disease. This is no small matter, as over half the American population is now afflicted by chronic issues such as diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and cardiovascular disease. Yet Kelly’s message is one of empowerment: We are not destined by our DNA. We have agency over our own well-being. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

How can we remember those who have died with more than just love and pain? David Kessler’s insights in this podcast are both professional and intensely personal. For decades he taught doctors, nurses, counselors, and first responders about end of life and trauma. Yet despite that knowledge, his life was upended by the sudden death of his twenty-one-year-old son. His journey through that tragic loss ultimately led him to discover and write about the sixth stage of grief—meaning. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Hardship, loss, loneliness. These aspects of the human experience can be doorways for finding meaning in life. According to Michael B. Beckwith, founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center, the key is asking yourself the right questions. Don't ask, "What is the meaning of this suffering?” Instead explore, "Based on this obstacle, how can I imbue my life with greater meaning?” Today, Jeff and Michael discuss that imaginary hole we sometimes feel in our lives, and how what that feeling is really asking for is a spiritual awakening. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Dr. Jolene Brighten is a women's health naturopathic medical doctor and author of Beyond the Pill. She believes every woman (and the men in her life) should get to know her hormones, because only by understanding how her body works can a woman make informed, healthy choices about interventions such as birth control. Hand-in-hand with education, Dr. Brighten also believes we need to flip the script in women's medicine – where everything is diagnosed is a “dysfunction” – and instead embrace that the cyclical nature of female hormones is actually a superpower. Dr. Brighten’s new course, Balance Your Hormones, will be launching on Commune in early 2020. Go to onecommune.com and sign up for our newsletter to get our latest course releases! Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

When life starts to overwhelm us, it can feel like there's nowhere to turn. Stress and anxiety comes in all shapes, sizes, and emotions. But what if we learned to turn inward and start to heal our minds from the inside out? Suze Yalof Schwartz founded Unplug Meditation to help you find the meditation that clicks with your personality and neurology. When that magic match is made, meditation meets you where you are and helps you reengage with the world around you with clarity and energy. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Byron Katie became severely depressed while in her thirties. Over a ten-year period, her depression deepened, and for the last two years, Katie was seldom able to leave her bedroom. Then one morning, in the depths of despair, she experienced a life-changing realization. Katie saw that when she believed her thoughts, she suffered; when she didn’t believe her thoughts, she didn’t suffer. What had been causing her depression was not the world around her, but what she believed about the world around her. In a flash of insight, The Work was born. In this episode, Jeff does The Work with Byron Katie, recalling and reliving a difficult moment in his childhood and turning what was a painful memory into an opportunity for growth. To learn more about Commune’s course with Byron Katie, visit https://www.onecommune.com/the-work-of-byron-katie

Is it possible to remove all suffering from our lives? What is the difference between happiness and joy? Danielle LaPorte took this on as a research project for 10 years, and the metaphor she now uses is simple: Joy is the atmosphere, and happiness is the clouds passing through. Joy is foundational. And from that foundation you can begin to unpack your suffering. You can assemble the tools to for your joy. As Danielle says, "When you're in the pit, you forget you have a shovel." Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Dr. Mary Pardee is a functional medicine and neuropathic doctor who specializes in gastroenterology. Often these days we hear the words, "gut health". But what does it actually mean? Our bodies, and especially our guts, are all built differently and it can become easy to end up going down the wrong gut health path when you're not aware of what's right for you. Learn how, in working with your doctor, you can get to the root of your own gut health and find ways to thrive both inside and out. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

We often consider the fight for global warming as simply the elimination of greenhouse gasses. We need more fuel efficient or electric cars, more solar, and more wind power... But that only slows the dive toward catastrophe. Regenerative agriculture actually sequesters carbon and restores the earth to balance. Finian Makepeace, founder of Kiss the Ground, works with farmers and businesses to show them how to replenish soil, but there's a role for us all to play — as consumers and advocates. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

What does it mean to live in "The Beautiful State?" Each of our individual lives are full of positives and negatives, of successes and failures, and of suffering. So how might we move past our suffering and enter a more beautiful state of being? Often people think we must overcome entirely our personal sufferings, but the beautiful state isn't about achieving the impossible. It is about creating and nurturing the kinds of lives we want for ourselves. Join our guest Preetha Ji as she helps us explore ways to achieve that beautiful state of being. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

It's our pod-iversary! We've been doing the Commune Podcast one whole year now, and Jeff takes a look back on some of his favorite conversations. What have we learned this past year and how can we weave these lessons into our lives and relationships? We thank you for being such an important part of Commune and hope you're just as excited as we are for the year ahead! Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Marianne Williamson is a world-renowned spiritual teacher and bestselling author (Return to Love). She’s also an activist and former congressional candidate. The thread in her career is one of spiritual transformation and political activism, but when Marianne began speaking and writing on those topics, a professional path wasn't really visible. In this episode, we hear about how Marianne carved her own career path, and talk about what happens when we look at the history of American politics through a global, spiritual lens. Listen in as we look back on an episode with Marianne from last year, especially now as she continues her political path toward one of love and understanding. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

What does childbirth look like from the doctor’s perspective? And how can women better work with their doctors – and the medical system as a whole – to improve the labor and delivery experience? This week Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz shares insights, stories, and hospital hacks with Schuyler Grant, host of Commune's 21-day program Empowered Birth. If you are pregnant (or thinking about it), head on over to onecommune.com/birth to take the program completely free from August 12-September 1. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.

Why does our birth culture treat low-risk women like high-risk patients? And how does that imact birth outcomes? Schuyler Grant, host of Commune's 21-day program, Empowered Birth, talks with midwife Elizabeth Bachner on how to navigate the pressures of the modern medical system and make even a hospital birth more homey. To learn more about the Empowered Birth course and to take the program completely free from August 12-September 1, go to onecommune.com/birth. Learn more about Commune courses and events at onecommune.com.