Swapna and Ray sit down with music director and principal conductor of the OKC Philharmonic, Alexander Mickelthwate. The conversation visited Germany, Baltimore, Atlanta, Canada, and Oklahoma. Alexander shared his journey to conduct and create moments that are unique and sacred where participants and musicians enter a space that is a truly holy of mind, body, and spirit.

Find out more information about the OKC Philharmonic and Alexanders life passion here: https://www.okcphil.org/

Ray and Swapna discuss an upcoming pilgrimage to India. Swapna shares the anticipation and reason for the journey.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravana_Kumara

Swapna and Ray discuss self compassion. Swapna recently spoke at an international conference on the topic.

A leading voice of self-compassion is Dr. Kristin Neff. She has published work on Fierce Compassion and Tender Compassion. Find more of her work at self-compassion.org

Ray & Swapna sit down with Laura Blakewell and discuss new life in Oklahoma. Laura is The Journal Record Woman of the Year 2024! Laura hosts a podcast called "Cuéntamelo con Daf y Laura" (link below). Her interest in the podcast is to connect the Latin Community with resources and communication that impacts integration to life in Oklahoma.

Podcast link:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556770724746

Swapna and Ray sit down with Samay Pitale. Samay is an normal teenager growing up in Oklahoma. He likes basketball and wants to play for the NBA someday. His parents were born in India and have raised him in an Indian culture. Samay talks about being a third culture kid - fully American and fully Indian. It is a great conversation!