Third Eye on the Prize
Third Eye on the Prize is a poetic, grounded podcast for people willing to stay present when life's waters get choppy.
Hosted by writer and artist Debra Sansone, the show explores presence not as a concept, but as a lived practice under pressure: in moments of unexpected change, parenting, relationship, grief, intuition...even collapse.
These episodes don't aim to soothe or bypass discomfort, but to stay with it long enough for something honest to emerge.
Drawing on storytelling, spiritual inquiry, and embodied attention, Third Eye on the Prize questions easy narratives and spiritual shortcuts, inviting listeners into deeper contact with themselves and the world as it is - messy, intelligent, and alive.
Taking a look at the turbulence happening in the world right now through the lens of presence.
As always: keep your third eye on the prize, and remember, truth is beyond belief.
Episodes
23 episodes
One Person Somewhere: A Prayer for Presence
"We can help each other be here."Somewhere in the world, one person pressed play.Looking at the map of listeners for this podcast—32 countries, 115 cities—I was struck by how often it comes down to just one person in a plac...
The Madness of Excess
In this episode of Third Eye on the Prize, I reflect on a powerful writing circle about maternal ancestors, the collective feminine, and the difference between nourishment energy and performance energy.From stress hormones and urgency cu...
Plastic is Oil in Disguise
Plastic is everywhere—but how often do we stop to ask where it really comes from?In this episode of Third Eye on the Prize, we explore the hidden connections among oil, plastic, consumer culture, and the climate crisis.
4 Doorways: Pain
Pain is part of being alive.Suffering is something we add.In this final episode of the 4 Doorways to Presence series, we explore the difference—and why pain, as difficult as it is, can be one of the most powerful ways we wak...
4 Doorways: Beauty
Beauty is one of the most powerful—and overlooked—doorways to presence.In this episode, we explore how great works of art can pull us out of the small self into something much larger. When we truly immerse ourselves in music, painting, o...
4 Doorways: Embodiment
In this second episode of the 4 Doorways to Presence series, we explore embodiment — the simple but profound act of coming back into the body.Many of us live mostly in our heads: thinking, planning, worrying, solving problems. Mea...
4 Doorways: Intuition
Doorways to presence are always available to us.In this new series, I explore four of them: Intuition, Embodiment, Beauty, and Pain.Today’s episode focuses on Intuition—what it actually is (and what it isn’t).Intuition is n...
Truth Has its Own Timetable
How do we stay conscious, compassionate, and psychologically steady when confronted with large, unsettling public stories?...really sitting with the unknown is so uncomfortable.In this episode, I reflect on the tension many...
Let It Be Before You Let It Go
How Presence Defuses Emotional Bombs...You can't let go of something that you're not letting be. If you've ever struggled to "just let go," this one is for you.One ordinary morning, a knock at the door ...
Challenge: a Friend in Disguise
In this episode: Karma as cause and effect, not judgment or blameWhat if the difficulties we resist most are actually doing important work on us?In this opening episode of Season Two, Debra explores challenge as a teacher—n...
Season Two Trailer
Season Two of Third Eye on the Prize continues what we began in Season One: looking honestly at all the ways becoming more aware changes us, both personally and collectively.These episodes take the form of spoken prose — reflect...
Treasure in the Voice: What Can't Be Destroyed
Memory, Impermanence, and What Can’t Be PreservedThis episode begins with a piece I wrote years ago about rediscovered family audiotapes recorded between 1958 and 1969—then pivots into a reflection on nostalgia, impermanence, and ...
Don't Leave, Mozart of Math: Loss of Brilliance in America
Why America’s Brightest May Have to LeaveThis episode is about the erosion of America’s ability to support innovation.“The rest of the world is not patiently waiting for America to get its act together.”What h...
AI and Us: Strange Bedfellows
How do you feel about AI right now? Love it or hate it?In this episode, I explore our oddly intimate relationship with technology—how AI can feel like both a brilliant helper and a tone-deaf impersonator. From...
Dying and Rebirth: We’re Living Through It!
"We don't have a life, we are life."In this moment, it feels like two worlds overlap: one collapsing under the weight of greed and control, another emerging through awareness and compassion. In t...
Awakening Can’t Be Forced: Body Knows Best
What does earwax have to do with ego? More than you’d think.A trip to the doctor becomes a mirror for how we handle ego — not by forcing or avoiding, but by finding the balance between yin and yang.In this episode of Third Eye...
Feeling, Not Feeding, Emotion
There’s a lot of turbulent energy in the world right now — and most of us feel it, whether we want to or not. But how do we stay open without getting overwhelmed?In this episode of Third Eye on the Prize, Debra explores what she...
Art as Mirror, Ego as Censor
"If, as a species, we're hopefully moving from being more asleep to being more awake, why would we want to go back to sleep?"The artist holds up a mirror to society. But what happens when those in power can'...
Two Rivers: Music as Great Unifier
Debra shares the story of her parents' artistry and activism, and how those two rivers shaped her own path as both an artist and teacher.I grew up between two powerful rivers - my mother's artistry and my father's teaching. Both s...
Duality and 7th Grade English
Beyond duality is oneness.Sometimes spiritual lessons come from unexpected places—even 7th grade English class. In this episode, I dive into the concept of duality, how it shapes our perception of reality, and how the lessons we...
A Prayer for Presence in a Wired World
Presence is the most radical form of love we can offer ourselves and others. In a world buzzing with notifications, endless scrolling, and constant digital chatter, how do we reclaim presence? In this episode, we explore, i...
