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Reflections and conversations on the nature of existence. Sarah B. explores philosophical, spiritual, and religious ideas as they're presented in various books.
In late July I will start leading Time & Other Thieves: The Group: A monthly discussion, meditation, and interpersonal process group. Both cohorts of the group will meet on Zoom, one on the last Tuesday of every month from 2–3:30, and the other on the last Wednesday of every month from 6–7:30 (both P.M. and EST). Take your pick! Email me for more info: sarahbsimpson@protonmail.com.
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Send us a text In this episode I revamp an Asheville FM radio broadcast from November of 2022, in honor of Joni Mitchell's 82nd birthday (November 7th). One track at a time, I explore her 1972 album, "For the Roses," providing biographical and thematic context to illuminate each song's depth and richness. I draw from music reviews written at the time of the album's release, from filmed interviews with Joni, from David Yaffe's biography of her ("Reckless Daughter"), from the fabulous documenta...
Send us a text In this episode, I share parts of a conversation I recently had with psychotherapist and organizational consultant Dr. Jeffrey Axelbank. In July of 2025, Jeff was featured in a New York Times article by Ellen Berry titled "The Ghost in the Therapy Room," about therapists who die unexpectedly—or at least their patients don't expect it. These patients are deprived of saying goodbye and otherwise preparing themselves for a profound loss that tends to go unrecognized by societ...
Send us a text In this episode I share parts of a conversation I recently had with Jacob Winkler, founder and facilitator of the Masters of Group Therapy Club, of which I've been a member since August of 2024. I hope you enjoy this tiny sliver of the giant pie that is Jacob's knowledge and wisdom around the human psyche and how to work with it in the context of process groups. He talks about honoring what people are coming in with instead of pushing it to the side in order to stay on ta...
Send us a text In this episode, I explore some of the ideas that Carl Jung expounds upon in his 1933 book, "Modern Man in Search of a Soul." There's the notion that we cannot fully accept others unless we've fully accepted (i.e., loved) ourselves; that the parts of ourselves we deem unacceptable will be banished to the unconscious and wreak havoc in ways we can't control, while we WOULD have more control if we accepted them; that "certainties can arise only through doubt"; and that problems a...
Send us a text In this episode I share parts of a conversation I recently had with psychotherapist, process group leader, and group therapy consultant Sara Schreiber. I first met her in August of 2024 in the Masters of Group Therapy Club. Together we explore her approach to facilitating groups, what challenges her most about being a group leader and member, and how her spiritual practice informs her therapy work and everything else in her life. An observer of Orthodox Judaism, Sara answers so...
Send us a text In this promotional-type bonus episode, I describe the new group I'm starting in late July, which I hope you'll consider joining! There will be two separate cohorts of Time & Other Thieves: A Discussion, Meditation, and Interpersonal Process Group. One group will meet on the last Tuesday of the month from 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, and the other on the last Wednesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. In each Zoom meeting we'll explore a different book and its c...
Send us a text In this episode I explore some of my favorite ideas from the book "Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen," by Shunryu Suzuki (edited by Edward Espe Brown). What does it mean to be oneself? How does being oneself relate to the Buddhist notion of emptiness? What is the ultimate goal or purpose of spiritual practice? I'll address these questions and more while also reflecting (yet again) on how these ideas apply to interpersonal process groups.
Send us a text In this episode, I explore some of the ideas presented in Howard Thurman's 1949 book, "Jesus and the Disinherited." Bo Aganaba (host of the GoodBeing Podcast) first told me about Thurman and this book (a huge inspiration for MLK Jr.) when I interviewed him back in December. The Baptist minister's thoughts on fear, deception, hate, and love are just as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. I apply some of Thurman's ideas to what's happening in the political realm right...
Send us a text In this episode I explore some of the ideas in Martin Buber's "I and Thou," which presents the dialogical philosophy for which he's most well known. Given my continued passion for leading and participating in interpersonal process groups, I discuss these ideas through that lens, focusing on how group provides an opportunity to inhabit the You-world instead of the It-world, to encounter and actualize others instead of merely experience or use them. And through that encounter, we...
Send us a text In this episode, I get to explore one of my most favorite topics—group psychotherapy—with two women who are as passionate about the subject as I am: psychologist Sarah Taylor and spiritual director Vanessa Caruso. I met Sarah and Vanessa last summer in the Masters of Group Therapy Club, which continues to meet three times a week via Zoom. In this lively discussion, they talk about their 30-plus years of friendship and how they decided to start facilitating interpersonal process...
Send us a text In this first episode of the new year, I share parts of a conversation I recently had with Bo Aganaba, host of the GoodBeing Podcast and founder and principal at GoodBeing Co. He had me on his podcast a few months back, so now the tables have turned! Bo and I talk about climate change, Christianity, Alan Watts, yoga, time (is it really a thief?), and the importance of play. With musical interludes by Violet Ultraviolet.
Send us a text In this episode I explore my thoughts on the 2024 presidential election results, on humanity in general, and how I want to proceed with living my life—with a little help from Chuang Tzu, the ancient Taoist sage.
Send us a text In this episode, I share parts of a conversation I recently had with the musician MJ Lenderman, who happens to be a pal of mine. Jake talks about his nervousness around being interviewed, his desire for more solitude, and his perspective on what he calls "micro fame." He also shares some thoughts on the touring lifestyle and how it was made even more challenging when he and his Wednesday bandmate broke up several months ago. Along with fielding my questions, Jake asked me a cou...
Send us a text In this episode, I share what my experience of Tropical Storm Helene was like as a resident of Western North Carolina. I explore my thoughts and feelings around the different ways that people cope/respond when disaster strikes their community, and I ponder impermanence as a characteristic of existence. (This cloud photo was taken the morning after the storm.)
Send us a text In this episode I share a personal essay that I recently performed at the Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville, as part of an anniversary celebration for Harvest Records. I provide some background on my being included in the event—Found in Sound: Tales from the Record Store Universe—and the very gratifying process of writing (with the help of an excellent developmental editor) "Music as Divine Consolation." It's basically about how profoundly comforting music can be for ...
Send us a text In this episode I explore my fascination with interpersonal process groups and why I'm so stoked to start one of my own! Using Louis Ormont's book "The Group Therapy Experience" as my focus, I discuss what makes process groups so effective and describe some techniques used by group therapists to deepen connections between members and help them practice new behaviors.
Send us a text In this spur-of-the-moment (ish) episode, I talk about the Chinese art of placement: feng shui! It literally means "wind" and "water." Merriam-Webster defines "feng shui" as "a Chinese geomantic practice in which a structure or site is chosen or configured so as to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it." And of course it applies to home interiors, which is what I'll focus on here. It is so very fascinating and fun! And it'll drive you to the point of distraction i...
Send us a text In this episode I talk about my decision to stop making these episodes on a monthly basis. Instead, I will do them when the mood strikes! I briefly discuss Thomas Aquinas, who said just a few months before his death in 1274 that his writing labors had ended: "Such things have been revealed to me that all I have written seems as straw." I love that. I also talk a little bit about the political situation in the US and what I think we need to do if DJT gets elected. And I rant abo...
Send us a text In this episode—the shortest one yet!—I talk a little bit about my recent experience of realizing (as a writer) how important and helpful editors are. I also discuss the sewing meditation retreat I did in February. But I didn't feel like going on and on about it or anything else, so I kept things brief. Just a little check-in! Maybe in April I'll have more to say. :)
Send us a text In this episode, I talk a bit about my tendency to have multiple projects going at once, and how that probably informs a recurring dream I have about never being able to get where I need to be. But mostly I explore some of the ideas put forth in the 1961 book On Becoming a Person, by Carl Rogers. We people are change, embodied. We are always in a state of becoming, so don't go thinking you've become who you're going to be! You'll never become who you're going to be because that...
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