PLEASE NOTE: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where you can enjoy early, ad-free access to episodes of Insights at the Edge. Sounds True One is our premium membership platform built around live classes, online events, award-winning specials, intimate learning experiences and Q&A sessions with the world's leading wisdom teachers. Get your first month FREE at join.soundstrue.com Get your first month FREE at https://bit.ly/4ctecMn What if not doing the thing is the riskier choice? In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Rob Bell—New York Times bestselling author of 14 books and plays, host of The RobCast, artist, and a former pastor—about what he calls his civilian phase. Rob left the role years ago. What surprised him was how long the role stayed with him afterward: "We leave an external form, and then over the years, the form begins to leave us." This is an unusually candid conversation. Tami goes first, admitting she didn't feel free to fully reveal herself until she had economic security—and Rob meets her there without a tidy answer. Together, they explore: ·Why Rob doesn't believe in risk versus no risk—only in risk management, and which risk is actually smaller ·The "answer man" conditioning of a job that expected crisp soundbites about the deepest human questions ·Hiding in plain sight: how public visibility can be its own kind of concealment ·The abyss, the void, the fallow field—learning to stop fighting the empty seasons ·"And then I kept going": the phrase that came out of pandemic sessions, and why people can't see their own resilience ·What shifted when an experience dropped his head into his heart ·Toxic positivity, a lineage that didn't know what to do with pain, and the son who taught him it's okay to be sad ·Emergent holism, a new humanity, and whether the universe really only moves forward His father's dementia, temporariness, and the strange way mortality heightens aliveness Rob Bell will be leading an immersive workshop, The Ongoing Creation of Your Life: The Mysterious Work of Becoming More You, at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, August 30–September 4, 2026. Learn more at eomega.org and use the code TRUE for a special listener discount. Omega Institute is a sponsor of Insights at the Edge. Subscribe to Sounds True's YouTube Channel ► https://bit.ly/SubscribeSTYT Sounds True is a mission-driven learning and media company, and a recognized leader in wellbeing, personal growth, and spiritual transformation. Partnering with the world’s foremost wisdom teachers and best-selling authors, the company reaches millions worldwide with its unique programs, digital learning experiences, and worldwide events. The company also features a variety of original series, weekly shows, and live online experiences on Sounds True One, its global platform and community with members across more than 125 countries. Sounds True is a Public Benefit Corporation and also the home of the Sounds True Foundation. Connect with us: ▪️Facebook: http://bit.ly/2XFIIeE ▪️Instagram: http://bit.ly/2UlEoiH ▪️Website: http://bit.ly/2tOl02d