What if museums were more than places to look, but places to feel, question, and heal?

In this episode, I sit down with Siddhartha Shah, John Wieland 1958 Director of the Mead Art Museum, for a rich and illuminating conversation about the evolving role of museums in our society.

Before coming to Amherst, Siddhartha served as Curator of South Asian Art and Director of Education and Civic Engagement at the Peabody Essex Museum, where he led groundbreaking initiatives, making PEM the first sensory-inclusive art museum in the region, and developing bilingual and accessibility programs that significantly expanded who felt welcome in museum spaces. His work there redefined what it means for cultural institutions to serve their communities with empathy, care, and inclusion.

At the Mead Art Museum on the campus of Amherst College, Siddhartha continues to lead with vision and heart, transforming the museum into a dynamic, living classroom, one where art becomes a catalyst for cross-cultural understanding, emotional resonance, and meaningful dialogue. With advanced degrees in art history, psychology, and archaeology, and years spent curating contemporary Hindu and Buddhist art, his approach reflects a rare integration of intellect, spirit, and soul-centered leadership.

Together, we explore art as a form of communion, the importance of critical visual thinking in an image-saturated world, and how museums can hold complex histories while fostering compassion, curiosity, and connection across difference.

Follow me on Instagram @tohumishuman @sonorous.light555 @thisisdbc

Website: www.sonorouslight.com

What if aging isn’t a decline, but an awakening?

In this luminous conversation, I sit down with Sophy Burnham, author of 17 books and a trailblazer in spiritual and creative inquiry. From A Book of Angels—the cultural phenomenon that reshaped how we talk about the unseen—to her recent work, The Wonder and Happiness of Being Old, Sophy invites us to rethink intuition, creativity, love, and what it truly means to live fully.

We explore how intuition guides us toward our passionate purpose, why creativity is a radical act of self-expression, and how the invisible world is just as real and instructive as the physical one. Sophy shares her deep reflections on aging as a portal to joy, meaning, and love that matures and deepens with time. We talk about trusting your inner voice, writing letters to your future self, and remembering that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

This episode is an invitation to listen more closely, create more bravely, and welcome the wisdom that comes with every season of life.

Follow me on Instagram @tohumishuman @sonorous.light555 @thisisdbc

Website: www.sonorouslight.com

What does it look like to take action in a way that’s embodied, intuitive, and true?

In this episode, I’m joined by Matt Shamey—Director of Strategic Planning at Strive, yoga teacher, runner, and community-focused leader—for a grounded conversation about movement as a pathway to confidence, resilience, and connection. Raised in western Massachusetts, where he now lives, Matt teaches power vinyasa yoga and spends his time running through woods and country roads with friends and teammates, using movement as a practice of presence and listening.

A Grinnell College graduate, Matt ran cross-country, studied political science and Spanish, and deepened his global perspective through study abroad in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. His work leading immersive programs throughout Latin America and East Africa shaped his leadership philosophy—one rooted in community, emotional literacy, and awakening people to their own strength and capability.

We explore how movement builds self-trust, why recovery matters as much as effort, and how taking action from the heart can transform the way we live and lead.

Follow me on Instagram @tohumishuman @sonorous.light555 @thisisdbc

Website: www.sonorouslight.com