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Shauna Shapiro

Shauna Shapiro, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and an internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion. She is a widely published scholar, and her Tedx Talk on this topic has been viewed well over a million times. She is a professor at Santa Clara University. Dr. Shapiro has published over 150 journal articles and coauthored two previous books, The Art and Science of Mindfulness and Mindful Discipline. Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Wired, USA Today, Dr. Oz, the Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, and the American Psychologist. Dr. Shapiro has been an invited speaker for the King of Thailand, the Danish government, Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Summit, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, as well as for Fortune 100 Companies including Google, Cisco Systems, Proctor & Gamble, LinkedIn, and Genentech. Dr. Shapiro is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University and a fellow of the Mind & Life Institute, cofounded by the Dalai Lama. Dr. Shapiro lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and can be found online at drshaunashapiro.com.

Author photo © April Bennett

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© 2025 Sounds True. All rights reserved.

Terms and Conditions

Sounds True - Terms and Conditions

Terms of Use

Welcome to SoundsTrue.com (our “Site”), the internet marketing arm of Sounds True, Inc. (“Sounds True,” “we,” “our,” and “us”). If you use or order from our Site, you agree to our Terms of Use. The information contained in this Site, including but not limited to these Terms of Use, is subject to change without notice. Your use of the Site following any such change constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the rules as changed. Sounds True creates and controls this Site from its offices in Louisville, CO, USA, and if your orders are accepted, they will be accepted in Colorado. By using this Site, you agree that Colorado law will govern these Terms of Use and your relations with Sounds True, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of laws. If you do not agree, please do not use this Site. If you choose to access this Site from another location, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws.

Privacy

Use of information that we collect from you on this Site is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms of Use.

Age of Users

Our Site is not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Site. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on this Site or on or through any of its features, register on the Site, make any purchases through the Site, use any of the interactive or public comment features of this Site, or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use.

If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at support@soundstrue.com.

Content Errors

Prices and availability of products are subject to change without notice. Our goal is to provide only up-to-date and accurate information to our customers. But mistakes happen and occasionally product descriptions on our Site or in our catalog may contain typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions concerning product specifications, prices, or availability, and product photos may sometimes depict a different product version than the one we will ship. We reserve the right to correct and update information on our Site at any time, without notice. We also reserve the right to revoke any offer that contains an error, or for a product that is not available, at any time prior to shipment, including after you have submitted an order and whether or not the order has been confirmed and your credit card charged. In that event, we will reverse any applicable charges that have been made to your credit card, and if the product is or will be available we will attempt to contact you concerning the mistake to receive your instructions as to whether you wish to purchase on the basis of the corrected information. If you believe a product that we ship to you is not as described, you may return it to us under our Return Policy.

Account Registration

If you establish an electronic account with us, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and for restricting access to the computer(s) you have used to place orders.

Subscriptions

If you have purchased a monthly subscription product, your credit card will be charged approximately every 30 days. If you purchased an annual subscription plan, your credit card will be charged approximately every 365 days. Your recurring payment will continue until canceled. You may cancel at any time by contacting Customer Service. Email: membership@soundstrue.com; Phone: 1-800-333-9185 (US only), 303-665-3151 (international).

Should your credit card be declined, an email will be sent offering you the opportunity to remedy the payment. Failure to correct the payment could result in losing access to your subscription.

Sounds True One Member Discounts

Sounds True One members may be eligible for additional discounts, which can be applied to products purchased on our Site and outside of Sounds True One. In such cases, certain products are not eligible for the additional discount. The products not eligible for the additional discount are Continuing Education (CE) credits, gift cards, The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, Eckhart Tolle online courses, live events, and purchases that utilize a scholarship. Sounds True reserves the right to update this exclusion list in the future based on the addition of programs that also will not be eligible for the Sounds True One member discount

Installment Payment Plans

Sounds True may offer an option to make a purchase utilizing an installment payment plan for certain products. Please be advised that the sum of the installment payments may exceed the product price payable if the entire payment had been made at the time of purchase. The additional cost of the installment payment plan is intended to cover Sounds True’s cost to manage the installment payment plan.

Your credit card will be charged approximately every 30 days until the product is paid for in full. Payment is not complete until the final installment payment is received. Should your credit card be declined, an email will be sent offering you the opportunity to remedy the payment. Failure to correct the payment could result in losing access to the product.

Shopping Security

Orders that you submit are protected by SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) as described in our Privacy Policy.

Payment for Orders

We accept Visa®, MasterCard®, AmericanExpress®, and Discover® card numbers in payment of orders, as well as Sounds True gift cards, PayPal, and Shop Pay. Our shipping charges are described at Shipping and Services.

Validating or Rejecting Your Order

After you place an order using our shopping cart, we will check the information you provide to verify availability of your method of payment or shipping address. We reserve the right to reject any order you place with us, and/or to limit quantities on any order, without giving any reason. If we reject your order, we will attempt to notify you using the email address or other contact information you have given us with the order. Your credit card will normally not be charged if we reject an order, but we will process a refund if a charge has been made against your card.

Order Acceptance and Confirmation

Your orders are only accepted by shipment of the item(s). Your receipt of an electronic or other form of order confirmation does not create a contract to sell you the product. Sounds True reserves the right to accept or decline your order for any reason prior to shipment.

Canadian Orders

By placing an order destined for delivery to Canada, duties and taxes must be remitted to Canada and are the customer’s responsibility. Sounds True will return the purchase price directly to the customer only. Shipping & Service and Brokerage Fees are nonrefundable.

Electronic Communications

If you give us your email address when you order on our Site, we will send an email confirmation that we have received your order. Other ways in which we may use your email address and ways to opt out of receiving emails not related to your order are described in our Privacy Policy. When you visit our Site, place an order, or send us an email, you are communicating with us electronically. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically, whether by email or posting them on this Site, satisfy any legal requirement that such communication be in writing. These Terms of Use create a binding agreement between us, without need for signature of either side.

Your Feedback and Suggestions

Your opinions matter, and we encourage you to email us at support@soundstrue.com with suggestions for improving our products and services. Unless we have entered into a written contract signed by both sides concerning use of your ideas before you disclose them, you agree that we may use your voluntary submissions at our sole discretion and have no obligation to pay you for them.

Referrals and Affiliates

Sounds True receives referrals of customers through hyperlinks from a large number of affiliates, who may earn commissions on resulting sales. Websites operated by these affiliates are not owned by Sounds True, and we have no control over, and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the content, operation, or business practices of, such affiliates or their websites. If you arrive at our Site through a link from an affiliate, you should review that affiliate's privacy policy to learn if and how the affiliate will collect and use information about you.

Site Content and Use Restrictions

We or our suppliers own copyrights in all of the written, visual, and oral information, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, and audio clips, published on our Site (the Site's "Content"), the design and graphical user interface of our Site, and the software that operates the Site. We give you permission to display, download, and print in hard copy pages of our Site, but only for your personal and noncommercial shopping use. No other copying of our Site or its Content is permitted without our prior consent.

Trademark Information

“Sounds True”, “Insidework”, “Inner MBA”, “Many voices one journey”, and “Waking up the World” are service marks of Sounds True, Inc. Other trademarks that may appear in the descriptions or photos of products are owned by and used by Sounds True with permission of the product's manufacturer.

Risk of Loss

All purchases of physical items from us are made pursuant to a shipment contract. This means that the risk of loss and title for products pass to you upon our delivery to the carrier.

Health and Medical

Sounds True offers health information for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should consult with your physician or other health-care professional before beginning any health-related program to make sure that it is appropriate for your needs. Do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have read on our Site or learned from its products and services. The use of any information provided on this Site or by its products and services is solely at your own risk.

Warranty Disclaimers

Our Site and its products and services are provided on an "As Is" and "As Available" basis, with all faults. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Sounds True disclaims all implied warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Without limiting the foregoing, Sounds True makes no warranty, express or implied, (i) as to the operation or Content of our Site, (ii) that use of our Site will be uninterrupted or error-free, (iii) as to the accuracy, reliability, or currency of our Site's Content, (iv) that our Site, the servers that host it, or email we send you are free of viruses, or (v) that information we collect on our Site is immune from access by hackers and other unauthorized users. Applicable law may not allow exclusion of implied warranties, so some or all of the above disclaimers may not apply to you.

Sounds True is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage, injury, or health problems that may result from your use of our Site and/or its products and services, and/or any action or inaction on your part as a result of information you have obtained from our Site and/or its products and services. By way of example only, if you engage in any health-related programs that you receive or learn about through our Site and/or products and services found on our Site, you agree that you do so voluntarily, after consulting an appropriate health-care professional of your choice, and at your own risk, and you agree to release and discharge Sounds True from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of the foregoing.

Limitation of Liability

In no event, including its own negligence, shall Sounds True be liable for any damages in excess of the price paid for the products and services you have ordered, that result from your use of or inability to use or access the Site, or the products or services, even if resulting from your reliance on information in our Site's Content or from mistakes, omissions, service interruptions, the deletion, degradation, or corruption of files or email, software errors or defects, viruses, delays in operation or transmission, communication failure, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to Sounds True records and data, programs, or services. Neither Sounds True nor its suppliers shall be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of our Site or the purchase of our products or services, or from any information, Content, materials, products (including software), or other services made available to you through our Site, even if any of them have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Disputes

You agree that to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, courts located in Boulder County, Colorado, will have sole and exclusive jurisdiction for any litigation arising out of your use of this Site and products you order on this Site. You submit to personal jurisdiction of any such court and waive any claims that the forum is inconvenient or the court does not have jurisdiction. If any provision of these Terms of Use is unlawful, void, or unenforceable under applicable law, you and Sounds True submit to modification of such provision so as to make it enforceable, or if modification is not possible, to severance of the offending provision and enforcement of the remainder of these Terms of Use.

To the fullest extent permissible by law, you hereby expressly waive any and all claims you may have, now or in the future, arising out of or relating to the Site, Sounds True, any and all contracts you enter into with Sounds True, and any and all of Sounds True’s products and services.

To the extent that you attempt to assert any such claim, you hereby expressly agree to present such claim only through binding arbitration conducted under the rules of the American Arbitration Association to occur in Boulder County, Colorado. You further agree to and do hereby waive any right to class arbitration and agree, instead, to conduct an arbitration related solely to any individual claims you and/or any entity related to you asserts against us. To the fullest extent permissible by law, you further agree that you shall be responsible for all costs associated with initiating the arbitration and for the administration of the arbitration.

Termination

Sounds True may, in its sole discretion, terminate your account or your use of our Site at any time. Sounds True reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue any or all aspects of our Site or its Content at any time without prior notice.

Full Promotional Details

Please click here for our Full Promotional Details

Entire Agreement

These Terms of Use (including all hyperlinked text) state the entire agreement and understanding between you and Sounds True on its subject matter, and supersede any prior statements or understandings on that subject matter.

Effective as of March 23, 2020.

eGift Cards

eGift Cards are the simplest, speediest way to send something special. Our eGift Cards are purchased just like any other item in our store. You choose the amount, add a personalized message, and the card will be delivered right to your inbox where you can treat yourself or you can send it to someone as a gift. eGift Cards include your personalized message and a gift code in a lovely layout.

Please keep in mind:

* We offer electronic gift cards only; we do not mail out physical cards to recipients. * We recommend that you purchase gift cards directly from our Site and retain your receipt. We cannot guarantee the validity of gift cards purchased from third parties, especially from third-party online marketplaces where scams are common. Gift cards that have been stolen or fraudulently acquired are subject to cancellation by Sounds True regardless of whether you purchased the gift card from the third party without knowing it was stolen. Here are some common questions about our eGift Cards and the answers to them:

Are there any fees associated with the purchase of an eGift Card?

No. You will only be charged the face value of the eGift Card, and we will not impose any shipping, taxes, or additional fees.

Can I change the value of an eGift Card after I've paid for it?

Not at this time.

How do I cancel the purchase of an eGift Card?

Your eGift Card is not returnable after purchase (except as required by law) and cannot be canceled.

What are the minimum and maximum dollar amounts I can purchase for eGift Cards?

The minimum is $15; the maximum is $150. However, if you wish to purchase an eGift Card for more than $150, please contact Customer Service. Email: support@soundstrue.com; Phone: 1-800-333-9185 (US only), 303-665-3151 (international).

When is my credit card charged for my purchase?

Your credit card is charged at the time of purchase.

What exactly does the recipient receive when I send an eGift Card?

On the delivery date you choose, an email is sent to the recipient informing them of your gift, with the eGift Card you created, your personalized message, its value, and a code number. The email also gives simple instructions for redeeming the eGift Card.

When is the eGift Card sent to the recipient?

The eGift Card email is sent to the recipient on the date you choose. It can be sent immediately or scheduled to be sent up to one year in the future.

When does the eGift Card expire?

The eGift Card expires five years after the initial purchase date.

Where can I redeem my eGift Card?

You can use your eGift Card at SoundsTrue.com on any Sounds True product (excluding live events, monthly subscriptions, or Continuing Education credits). You can apply the gift card balance to your shopping cart at checkout and will be prompted for additional payment if your total exceeds your gift card balance.

Do gift card purchases qualify for special offers or promotions?

No, the purchase of eGift Cards does not count toward the purchase amount required to be eligible for free shipping or promotional offers.

Can I use the eGift Card to purchase Sounds True products on other websites (such as Amazon)?

No, not at this time.

Can I add value to my eGift Card?

No, not at this time.

How do I know the recipient actually received the eGift Card I purchased?

You will receive an email message confirming delivery.

If I want to return a product I bought with an eGift Card, will I receive another eGift Card?

No, the refund goes back on the original eGift Card and the expiration date remains the same. If you used an eGift Card and credit card for the order (because the total price exceeded the amount of the eGift Card), the refund goes back to the eGift Card before the credit card.

What if I lose my eGift Card?

Please contact Customer Service. Email: support@soundstrue.com; Phone: 1-800-333-9185 (US only), 303-665-3151 (international).

I’m having trouble using my eGift Card. Who should I contact?

Please contact Customer Service. Email: support@soundstrue.com; Phone: 1-800-333-9185 (US only), 303-665-3151 (international).

I purchased an eGift Card as a gift for someone, but they haven’t received it yet. What should I do?

Please contact Customer Service. Email: support@soundstrue.com; Phone: 1-800-333-9185 (US only), 303-665-3151 (international).

Do you sell physical gift cards?

No, not at this time.