I first met sujatha baliga many years ago when she led a weekend training on the council process at a Buddhist center in Sacramento, although I had heard of her and her work in restorative justice long before. We have connected many times over the subsequent years in both Buddhist and secular spaces, and share a commitment to conflict resolution and exploring how Buddhist principles can be made accessible to everyone through the development of secular programs, like sujatha’s forthcoming “Spiritual Fitness” program which we discuss in the podcast. I felt deeply honored that sujatha accepted my invitation to be part of “Voices of Love” and appreciate the wisdom and passion she brings to these topics.

Content notice: sujatha’s work involves restorative processes with situations of intimate partner violence and child sexual abuse, including her own experience, so this episode will refer at times to these experiences.

Where We All Belong

Voices of Love: Bridging Differences Through Compassionate Conversations

We are living in a time of deep fragmentation. Communities and nations are increasingly divided along lines of political affiliation and ideology, race, class, religion, immigration status, language, and more. The public conversation often suggests there are only two sides: winners and losers, us and them.

Voices of Love begins from a different premise. This series asks whether another way forward is possible—one grounded not in uniformity of belief, but in curiosity, empathy, and a willingness to truly listen to one another.

When we perceive others’ beliefs and opinions as different from our own, it can feel difficult—sometimes even unsafe—to listen openly or ask why they see the world as they do. Yet, research in conflict and peacebuilding, as well as lived experience, suggest that our collective capacity to bridge divides is essential for any sustainable future. When we slow down enough to hear each other, we begin to recognize a shared humanity beneath our labels and positions.

This podcast explores that possibility.

Throughout the series, Voices of Love brings together guests who work at the front lines of social, cultural, and interpersonal challenge. Episodes will touch on various forms of “othering,” including those related to race, class, religion, ethnicity, immigration status, access to housing, dominant language, and more. Alongside these stories, we also explore the science of compassion and emotion, investigating what helps us expand our circle of care even when common ground feels hard to find.

Our aim is not to provide easy answers. The conversations may raise as many questions as they resolve. But we believe that across the spectrum of human experience, there is at least one shared space in which we can all meet: we all have needs, we all have dreams, and those dreams can be expansive enough to include concern, curiosity, and love for others.

Voices of Love invites readers and listeners alike to:
	•	Question assumptions and stereotypes,
	•	Stay curious when it might feel easier to disengage, and
	•	Consider reaching across at least one divide in their own lives.

At the heart of this project is a simple conviction: everyone belongs. In a system organized around winners and losers, everyone ultimately loses. In a culture shaped by empathy, compassion, and love, we all have the possibility of being seen and included.

Hosted by Tenzin Choki, with Greg Morris and Mathew Divaris, Voices of Love: Bridging Differences Through Compassionate Conversations invites you into stories and insights that illuminate what it means to care across our differences—and to rediscover our shared humanity.