Soulful Mentoring & Coaching With Susan Grace Beekman

The Well

Draw it up. Water from the well.These words to an African American spiritual rang in my mind when I decided to name my practice Oasis. Here are some of the deep wells that continue to inspire and renew me in my journey.

Heart and Wholeness

When Things Fall Apart, book cover

I have probably read this book more times than any other. Deeply compassionate and healing.

When the Heart Waits, book cover
When the Heart Waits
Sue Monk Kidd

Written by Sue Monk Kidd, who later became known for her hit The Secret Life of Bees. it reminds me of the importance of not knowing, of staying and waiting.

“When we enter the crucible of darkness and bring the painful tensions of our lives together to simmer creatively, a “knowing, a strength, a synthesis takes place.”

Tiny Beautiful Things cover
Tiny Beautiful Things
Cheryl Strayed

Advice on love and life from Dear Sugar. The best guide I know on radical compassion.

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage cover

Really not about marriage, it’s a wonderful book of essays by Ann Patchett.

This is Not the Story You Think It Is cover

“Laura Munson takes the spiritual stuff and the personal stuff and the love stuff and the pain stuff, and she brews them all together in a very fun and touching memoir.” – Marianne Williamson

The Power of Now, book cover

An encyclopedic look at the power of awareness of the moment, quoting and connecting sacred texts and figures from Jesus to Buddha.

Essential Enneagram cover
The Essential Enneagram
David Daniels, M.D., and Virginia Price, Ph.D.

The definitive personality test and self-discovery guide.

The Book of Awakening, book cover

A daily friend and reminder of what’s within. Complete with daily practice suggestions.

Taking the Leap, book cover

What we’re up to as we find our own deepest truth and live it is about so much more than our own personal evolution.

Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle, book cover
Stillness Speaks
Eckhart Tolle

Enough said. I pick it up to remind myself.

Radical Acceptance, book cover

Traces a deepening path for connecting to true and radical self-love.

Passionate Presence, book cover
Passionate Presence
Catherine Ingram

A rich exploration of the intelligence of the heart. As a long-time seeker and teacher of spiritual truth, Ingram knows intimately the power of the search and the peace of returning to the “passionate present.” There’s an inspiring gem on every page.

Help Thanks Wow cover

Lamott says “There’s something to be said about keeping prayer simple.”

A Thousand Names for Joy, book cover

Stephen Mitchell, translator of the Tao Te Ching, combines the text with commentary by Byron Katie, bringing a fresh point of view to the ancient text.

A New Earth, book cover

A powerful and radical vision of change, beginning with your own mind.

Investigating The Mind

Pieces of Light cover
Pieces of Light
Charles Fernyhough

How the new science of memory illuminates the stories we tell about our pasts.

Stroke of Insight, book cover

Harvard neuroanatomist’s experience of a stroke and what her right hemisphere taught her. Bolte’s deep and hard-earned wisdom is a gift to all of us seeking to understand our own minds.

Mindsight, book cover

A highly readable yet scientifically solid exploration of the power of mind to change your life, no matter how strong the loops that keep us stuck. An alchemy of spiritual wisdom and neuroscience. Transformational. Motivational.

Loving What Is, book cover

A classic introduction to the most powerful and life-changing form of inquiry that I know.

I Need Your Love, Is That True?, book cover

“If I prayed for one thing, it would be, “Lord, deliver me from the need for love, approval, and appreciation.”

Here’s the guide.

Hardwiring Happiness cover

The offspring of neuroscience and positive psychology. It’s a practical application of research. My favorite!

Buddha's Brain, book cover

A fascinating, concrete and essentially useful guide to “sculpting” the brain by combining 20th Century Neuroscience with time-honored practices. Specific and practical, with or without the clear (and detailed) neuroanatomy lessons.

Poetry

The Way It Is, book cover
The Way It Is
William Stafford

“My dreams feel right. They get away but leave a sense of ‘Yes. That’s the way it is.’ “

Poetry is a powerful force in my life, and it’s often the centering practice I offer clients who come to Oasis. William Stafford’s words ring with truth and have become favored touchstones.
From one of the poems I love, The Way It Is:
“There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change…
It is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost…”

The Gift, book cover
The Gift
Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky

A daily friend and reminder of what’s within. Complete with daily practice suggestions.

This book is a classic and requires no introduction. If it’s not on your bookshelf, get it. It will earn its space there over time.

Saved by a Poem

An authentic and rich testimony to the power of “learning poems by heart.” Kim’s love of the cadence, music and meaning of poetry vibrates throughout. Inspiration for a beautiful and centering spiritual practice. Includes a CD and 10 favorite poems for learning by heart.

Audio

The Moth stories told

Stories of heartbreak, transformation, inspiration. Real. Life.

The Edge of Divine

My daughter Johanna has taught me to let go, again and again. I’ve been watching her and learning from her relationship with creativity ever since. That girl can let go like nothing I’ve ever seen when she opens that mysterious channel through music.

See what you think.

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Tami Simon interviews major transformational practitioners from a wide range of modalities, from energy medicine to meditation to writing. An impressive list. Mind-opening, curiosity piquing, and expansive.

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Research with an eye for what matters and an ear for auditory entertainment. An ongoing source of surprise and delight, with surprising relevancy to everyday human concerns.

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This podcast began as Speaking of Faith, offering deep and powerful explorations of faith traditions. I look forward to each edition because the range of subjects is surprising. From an interview with “The Happiest Man in the World”, to sharing memories and tapes of Father John O-Donahue, to an incisive exploration of autism, Krista’s curiosity and respectfulness never fail.

Johanna Beekman, If I Could Fly cover

Okay. I’m a little prejudiced about this CD. Johanna is, after all, my daughter. You can hear the power and range of her voice and the catchiness and production values of the songs. But what you can’t know was behind the scenes, the process by which these songs arrived simply blew me away. They hold inspiration that comes through clear and true.

“Can you take a moment just to breathe…you are free to decide…what is your reality. Free to decide…that you are free.”

Weekly dharma talks with Tara Brach of the Insight Meditation of Washington, DC. Real talk about applying meditative principles to everyday life. Brach is a therapist and author of Radical Acceptance.

Tara Brach RSS Feed

Arlie Hochschild

“One of the voices many have been turning to in recent years is Arlie Hochschild. She helped create the field of the sociology of emotion — our stories as “felt” rather than merely factual.”