The Energy Studies Book Club Podcast offers a slow, honest journey through the books shaping the frontier of energetic theory, read in real time by someone still figuring it out. Host Samm Smeltzer, who has a doctorate in Medical Qigong and founded the HRart Center burnout recovery center in York, Pennsylvania, brings over a decade of HR and Organizational Development experience to one bold question: what if energy is the missing piece in how we understand people, work, and wellbeing? Each month, Samm reads, reflects, and shares, connecting Classical Oriental Medicine with workplace culture in ways that are still unfolding. No expert performance. Just cultivation in progress.
60 Pages in 60 Days: What Between Heaven and Earth Is Teaching Me
After a 60-day hiatus, Samm Smeltzer returns to share an honest, unfiltered recap of her slow but meaningful journey through Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine by Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold. In this episode, Samm reflects on why pacing matters more than progress, and walks through the passages that stopped her in her tracks — from the Taoist concept of the Tao as an unbroken wholeness, to the gardener vs. mechanic metaphor, to the five phases and what they reveal about personality, disease, and balance. She also draws powerful connections between Chinese medical theory and her work in HR, organizational development, and energetic healing at the HRart Center. A candid, rich conversation about learning, grace, and tending your own inner garden.
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Join the conversation in our Energy Studies Book Club Portal — you'll find the highlighted passages from this episode waiting for you there. Share your thoughts, connect with fellow readers, and dive deeper into what we're exploring together.
👉 Join the Book Club Portal (https://www.hrartinstitute.com/spaces/22049791?utm_source=manual)
18 Mar 2026
The Reading List is Here: Come Cultivate With Me
It's here. The first official episode of the Energy Studies Book Club podcast and we're starting where every good book club starts: the reading list.
In this episode, I'm walking you through the seven books I'll be reading this year, why I chose them, and the structured reading methodology I've built to actually make it through them.
Primary Book List:
Between Heaven and Earth
The Way of the Five Seasons
The Five Spirits
The 7 Emotions: Psychology and Health in Ancient China
Secondary Book List:
Learning the Tarot
Co-Active Coaching (Fourth Edition)
Playful Rebellion
I also share my daily reading methodology (yes, there is a page count goal). My philosophy on re-reading, and why most of these books don't have quality audiobook versions (and why that matters to an auditory learner like me).
Next episode I'll be back with my first debrief on Between Heaven and Earth and Learning the Tarot. Come hold me accountable.
Join the free Reader Hub (https://www.hrartinstitute.com/spaces/22049791?utm_source=manual) inside the HRart Collective to read and explore alongside the community.
Come read. And let the energy hold you.
Access all the book details by clicking here (https://bookshop.org/lists/energy-studies-book-club-2026-reading-list).
12 Mar 2026
Trailer: Why I'm Reading Energy Theory Out Loud
Welcome to the Energy Studies Book Club Podcast — I'm so glad you're here.
This trailer is me being fully transparent about what this podcast is, what it's becoming, and why I believe energetic theory is the conversation that HR, culture, and workplace wellbeing have been missing.
A little about me: I'm Samm Smeltzer, founder of the HRart Center burnout recovery center in York, PA, and I hold a Doctorate in Medical Qigong. I've spent over a decade in HR and organizational development — and this podcast is where all of that comes together, one book at a time.
Each month, I'll be reading, reflecting, and sharing in real time — connecting Classical Oriental Medicine with workplace culture, processing dense energetic theory in bite-sized chunks, and growing alongside you.
What to expect:
Monthly book reflections and real-time takeaways
Honest processing — not expert performance
Connections between energy theory, burnout, and organizational life
Occasional guest friends and authors along the way
Ready to go deeper? Join us in the free interactive Reader Hub inside the HRart Collective, where we'll read and explore together as a community. Click Here to Join (https://www.hrartinstitute.com/spaces/22049791?utm_source=manual).
Subscribe, leave a review if something resonates, and I'll see you in the first episode.
Come read. And let the energy hold you.
16 Jan 2023
Book Club Final Episode
Welcome back to the very last episode of this season of the HRart Worker Book Club podcast. If you've been following along, you know we've been expanding upon our insights and discussing the overlap that exists between three very different books, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Think Again by Adam Grant and Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh. Grab your books, join us and let's jump in to chat about the power that books have to change our work and lives. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (//www.hrartcenter.com).
12 Dec 2022
Book Club Episode Five
Books have the ability to change our lives. They broaden our worldview, they influence our thoughts, they show us how to be better people, and they help us to connect to others. The HRart Worker Book Club has just finished reading The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Think Again by Adam Grant and Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh. Now we gather to talk about the real impact these very different books have had on our lives. Tune in and join us for part one of the finale of this season! Find the show notes at (https://www.hrartcenter.com/)www.hrartcenter.com (http://www.hrartcenter.com/).
14 Nov 2022
Book Club Episode Four
Let’s chat about that element that runs through both our personal lives and work lives… that subject that can be both polarizing and yet essential – spirituality. We continue to read three very different books and discuss the amazing themes that run throughout them all in this episode of the HRart Worker Book Club Podcast. Grab your copy of The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Think Again by Adam Grant and Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh and join us! Find the show notes at (https://www.hrartcenter.com/)www.hrartcenter.com (http://www.hrartcenter.com/).
10 Oct 2022
Book Club Episode Three
The HRart Worker Book Club Podcast is back again with another episode as we read three very different books and discuss the amazing themes that run throughout them all. Karen, Liza, Ben and Samm jump back and forth between talking about mindfulness, suffering, the power of focus, and the practice of reading itself. Grab your copy of The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Think Again by Adam Grant and Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh and join us! Find the show notes at (https://www.hrartcenter.com/)www.hrartcenter.com (http://www.hrartcenter.com/).
12 Sept 2022
Book Club Episode Two
The 2022 Book Club is a month into this new reading experiment where we're reading three very different books simultaneously in order to unpack common themes between them. Karen, Ben, Liza and Samm all tease out themes of openness and curiosity as each book uses them to show us how these qualities can lead to success. They also discuss the incredible way these texts are connecting on a personal level as well as at a global scale. Grab your copy of The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Think Again by Adam Grant and Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh and join us! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (https://www.hrartcenter.com/).
8 Aug 2022
Book Club Begins
Welcome to our first Book Club episode of the 2022 season of the HRart Worker Book Club Podcast! We are so excited to introduce you to our 3 Book Club members who will walk us through their experience as they read 3 incredible books -- 10 pages a day, 70 pages a week.
The magic happens as the insight of these individuals with vastly different backgrounds and perspectives is woven together to create a new understanding of these texts. So grab your copy of The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, Think Again by Adam Grant and Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh and join us! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (//www.hrartcenter.com).
25 Jul 2022
The Happiness Recipe
“Do more of what matters most to you and let go of the rest.” Today's guest on the HRart Worker Book Club Podcast gives this life decluttering advice in her book The Happiness Recipe. On this episode of the podcast, Samm interviews author Rebecca Morrison about her writing process, what the research and data says about happiness, as well as some practical next steps to help you discover your own happiness recipe.
Rebecca explains the path to finding happiness requires us to slow down first to see our lives with clarity. By deeply understanding what we want and letting go of the rest, we create the space to experience fulfilling happiness. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (//www.hrartcenter.com).
18 Jul 2022
What Am I Reading? (fiction)
We read because we understand the power books have to transform our personal and professional lives. Sometimes this quest for growth traps us into reading non-fiction exclusively, but Samm has a few great reasons you may want to reevaluate that idea. In this episode, Samm describes the impact reading fiction has had on her own growth and why a healthy stack of fiction books are now an essential part of her reading habit. She even walks us through her current reading list and recommendations so you can start adding to your collection! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (//www.hrartcenter.com).
13 Jun 2022
What Am I Reading? (non-fiction)
We all know that reading can transform our personal and professional lives, but how do we incorporate a reading practice into our busy lives? In this episode of the HRart Worker Book Club podcast, Samm breaks down her reading process and runs through the stack of her current non-fiction reads. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (//www.hrartcenter.com).
11 Apr 2022
Workplace Healers
As an HR intuitive and healer, Samm brings healing into workplaces. In celebration of the upcoming release of her new book Workplace Healers, Samm shares a special chapter with us and expands upon her vision of what the world might look like if we brought the wisdom of the Dao into the heart of our workplaces. What happens when our organizations focus on people? And as people-centered leaders, what is our role in this revolution?
Samm is also giving away 10 early release copies of the book, so listen to this episode of the HRart Worker Book Club podcast to learn how to get your hands on one! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com (//www.hrartcenter.com).
15 Mar 2022
An Altar Boy Goes East
On this episode of the HRart Worker Book Club Podcast, Samm interviews Medical Qigong Therapist, Acupuncturist and lead instructor at the East Coast Institute of Medical Qigong, Ted O’Brien, about his book An Altar Boy Goes East.
Growing up a devout Catholic and typical workaholic American whose stress-heavy lifestyle was making him sick, Ted found the answers to his healing journey when he traveled East. Learn about what Ted discovered, his insights into the tension that exists between Christianity and Eastern philosophies, and why An Altar Boy Goes East is the book that confirmed for Samm that Qigong would be the next step on her own healing journey. You won’t want to miss this next episode of the HRart Worker Book Club!
14 Feb 2022
The HR Intuitive
Welcome to the very first episode of The HRart Worker Book Club Podcast, where we kick this podcast off by sharing Samm’s personal writing journey for her last book The HR Intuitive. Together, we’ll chat about the writing process, the inspiration and purpose behind the book, as well as tackle the question she gets all the time: is this book only for HR people? Then, we’ll sit back and enjoy a special book reading of one of Samm’s favorite lessons. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com
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