New Dimensions

Susan Piver knows the joy of loving, the devastating groundlessness of betrayal, and the deep crushing loss when love goes away. But she also knows how to turn that trauma into something sacred, to learn the truth of who and what is most valuable in your life. She shows us how to gain authority over our pain and release its hold.Tags: Susan Piver, Intimacy, Heartbreak, Loss, Practice of Tranquility, Practice of Loving Kindness, Betrayal, Love, Personal Transformation, Meditation, Relationship/Partnership/Sexuality, Self Help, Spirituality

Wesselman shares the spiritual knowledge he gathered from working with the late Hale Makua, a revered Hawaiian Kahuna wisdom keeper. Included are insights such as: the 3 directives of a spiritual warrior, the 7 life roles and how they are expressed in both positive and negative forms, the difference between a shaman and a medicine person, and the ancestral grand plan.Tags: Hank Wesselman, shamanism, Hale Makua, shaman, kahuna, transpersonal, medicine people, Pele, Aloha, Kapus, Ancestral Grand Plan, Metatron, Glastonbury, Spirituality, Community, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Global Culture, Indigenous Wisdom, Mythology, Personal Transformation, Psychology, Shamanism, Science, Soul/Spirit Guides/Angels/Spirit

Life is not a destination; it is a fluid movement. It takes practice to overcome the daily stresses that make us dense, concretized, and armored. Baraz gives us many steps that we can take to help life move through us as a blessing, and shares several simple but effective meditations to help each of us be more present and more joyful in our life.Tags: James Baraz, Mindfulness, Happiness, Joy,  "The Kumbaya Factor", Breathe, Intention, Compassion, Storytelling, Caring, Gladness, Gratefulness, Spirituality, Arts & Creativity, Buddhism, Education, Global Culture, Health & Healing, Meditation, Personal Transformation

In the midst of our present polarization and alienation from one another, Patten exhorts us to understand that “we are in this lifeboat together and the fiercest thing we can do is to say, I’m living in a new republic of the heart. I’m a revolutionary. You are not going to separate yourself from me. I refuse to be in separation from you.”Tags: Terry Patten, York Center Community Co-op, Church of the Brethren, Adi Da Samraj, Integral Institute, despair, climate change, overshoot, activism, neurocardiology, Candace Pert, human intelligence systems, evolutionary emergence, empathy, fear, anger, tipping point, new tribalism, interdependence, David Bohm, Bohmian dialogue, shared inquiry, imaginal cells, epistemic humility, Psychology, Peace/Nonviolence,Social Change/Politics 

This deep dialogue explores the importance of community and how we can cultivate connectedness with others. Nepo speaks of two tribes: one that fears the differences in people and one that welcomes what can be learned by those differences. He gives advice as to how to keep our hearts open beyond our own opinions and how to tap into our innate nature of kindness.Tags: Mark Nepo, Irvin Laszlo, heart cells, Chinese philosopher Mencius, kinship, Emile Durkheim, technology, Howard Zinn, Paris Commune 1871, Wright Brothers, anarchy, Elder Shafir, psychology of poverty, flicker of dignity, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, kindness, Elie Wiesel, Psychology 

Studies show that humans are becoming more and more an “indoor species.” We are living in a culture that is hooked up to digital media 24/7. This deep dialogue with L’Amoreaux addresses how to mindfully navigate this technologically saturated environment. Having family conversations about values and how to be better informed about the technology we’re using is the first step.Tags: Claudia L’Amoreaux, Siggraph, computer graphics, cell phones, Oxford Junior Dictionary, digital searches, Eli Pariser, Tristan Harris, Common Sense Media, YouTube settings, Odysseus and the Sirens, screen time, solitude, mindfulness, conversation, Sherry Turkle, Danah Boyd, Teenagers, David Whyte, curiosity, Technology, Parenting, Personal Transformation

In telling her own story of letting go of several households of furnishings, Lisa Tracy is enormously helpful to us as we grapple with the "stuff" of our lives. Letting “stuff” go is like letting go of the stories of our lives.Tags: Lisa Tracy, home, mother, grandfather, furniture, Camp Verde, Lexington Virginia, storytelling, military, Malenta Tunnel, Corrigedor, Francis Moore Lappe, moving, Self Help, Community, History, Personal Transformation, Travel, Writing

DeSilver describes how writing from the body rather than the head is a visceral experience that connects us with our intuition. He says, “Everybody is a creative person. It’s a matter of where you have been putting your attention.” This conversation is filled with encouragement that will help you on your road to being a better writer.Tags: Albert Flynn DeSilver, silent retreat, Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones, Beryl Markham, Carl Sandberg, poetry, imagination, intuition, Robert Bly, Walt Whitman, devotion, discipline, Ann Waldman, Vow to Poetry, free writing, photography, talent, courage, dictionary, Writing, Self Help, Art & Creativity, Meditation, community, personal transformation

When Irving’s father signed on as an agricultural missionary in Haiti, she was transported from a sparsely populated desert in California into the lush terrain of the densely populated island of Haiti. She describes with great insight the challenge of building a deep democracy in a culture in crisis.Tags: Apricot Irving, memoir, Haiti, Christopher Columbus, Taino people, wailing at funerals, beauty, NGOs, earthquake in Haiti, Steve James M.D., democracy, Einstein, History, Writing, Health & Healing, Parenting, community

People are living longer but this new longevity is not equivalent to an extension of old age or years added on at the end of life. Bateson describes a whole new stage of aging: Adulthood II. It is a time endowed with wisdom, health, and energy. It is a time to become the needed visionaries society is calling for. She’s the author of Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom.Tags: Mary Catherine Bateson, Aging, Adulthood II, ageism, friendship, post-reproductive women, intergenerational relationships, longevity, Social Change, Politics, Community, Family, Philosophy

An awakening is taking place planet-wide and it is a channeling of healing, peace, and higher consciousness. Stocker suggests that we are not alone in this evolution of awareness. Each one of us is divinely designed toward love. He calls this “holy electricity” and shares ways to activate this potential. Ricardo Stocker, Ph.D. grew up in Argentina, moved to Europe when he was 25 years old and now lives in California. He studied at Emerson College in England, Prescott College in Arizona, and at the Saybrook University in Oakland, CA. He’s a counselor, homesteader, musician, and professor of Psychology and Communication at Mendocino College. He is the author of Our Compassionate Kosmos: Awakening to the Presence of Celestial Love (Balboa Press 2016)Tags: Ricardo Stocker, night sky, original sin, Big Bang Theory, Rupert Sheldrake, gravity, speed of light, impermanence, vertical intelligence, horizontal intelligence, guardian angel, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jesus, father mother god, holy electricity, prana, meditatio

Buddhist teacher Namgyel points out that “everything leans.”She frames this statement with the reminder, “[W]e live in a world where ‘it all depends’ and everything is influencing everything else. We might think we know something at one moment but everything is always interrupting and influencing and so it’s always changing. Life, as we know it, is very dynamic.” Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel is a Buddhist teacher and teaches throughout the U.S. and Europe. She’s the wife of Tibetan Buddhist master Dzigar Kongtrul and has studied and practiced in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition since 1985. After many years of solitary retreat, Dzigar Rinpoche appointed Elizabeth as Retreat Master at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, retreat center in southern Colorado. Her books include It's Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path (editor) (Shambhala 2006), Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening to Our Natural Intelligence (editor) (Shambhala 2009), The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha's Path to

This dialogue with the daughters of Alan Watts takes a deep dive into the colorful and controversial life of this late philosopher and popularizer of Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies. Through his collected letters they show how he was always learning something new, how he was clear that wisdom is not a static thing and his views will always be under revision.Tags: Alan Watts, Joan Watts, Anne Watts, Joan & Anne Watts, Joan and Anne Watts, Christmas Humphreys, Toby Humphreys) Buddhist Society of London, LSD, genetic code, Mandalas, Native Americans, Buddhist term tathāgata, psychedelics, History, Philosophy, Psychology

Kaufman grew up in the Bronx, the Jewish son of a Holocaust survivor. He recounts a most poignant tale of his trek to follow the footsteps of his mother’s escape from the Nazis. His two traveling companions are inexplicably sons of Nazis. With disarming candidness, he shares his story of sinking into alcoholism and his road to sobriety and writing.Tags: Alan Kaufman, Holocaust, Israel, alcoholism, addiction, Jim Brodey, Holocaust survivor, Second Generation Writers, Jewish, Jews, poetry, 12 step program, recovery, sobriety, History, Writing, Alcoholism, Personal transformation

Ora Nadrich shares a series of fundamental and effective questions we can ask ourselves when we pay attention to our negative thoughts. Her “Says Who!” Method can transform fear-based and worried thoughts into thoughts that serve our well-being and support positive action. Tags: Ora Nadrich, Jungian analysis, fear-based thoughts, worry, negative thoughts, neural pathways, busyness, monkey mind, isolation, beliefs, mindfulness, thoughts as a cheering squad, road rage, Pollyanna, baby steps, Spirituality,Personal Transformation, Self Help, Psychology, Relationship

This dialogue is filled with practical wisdom to support us in growing calmness and well-being so we may be more effective and resilient in our lives. Hanson assures us that the core of our being is “calm strength.” It is the background of who we are; it is a fundamental quality, the “wallpaper of our mind.”Tags: MP3, Rick Hanson, resilience, resilient, neuropsychology, resistance, persistence, developmental psychology, calmness, calm, Foundations of Well-Being, desire, neuroscience, brain, motivation, liking something, wanting something, brain science, motivational brain circuit, dopamine, neurochemicals, empathy, mirror neurons, empathic, generosity, Forrest Hanson, Health & Healing, Psychology, Science, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Sometimes our activity for positive change in the world makes a visible leap and other times the impact of our work takes a seemingly long time to show any results. As Loeb points out, “You draw hope from the knowledge that whatever it is that you do, something unexpected is going to happen. And, it often happens at the periphery of your vision.”Tags: Paul Rogat Loeb, Paul Loeb, Vaclav Havel, Velvet Revolution, Keystone Pipeline, Rosa Parks, Raymond Parks, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Anti-Nuclear Proliferation, grassroots movements, Clarence Jordan, Koinonia Farm, Tiananmen Square, Tank man, Tolstoy, David Roberts, Grist Magazine, Climate Change, hope, optimism, renewable energy, Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington State, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Dan Savage, Gay Rights Movement, getting out the vote, Walter Wink, Jesus and Alinsky, Bible stories, Turn the other cheek, nonviolent resistance, minimum wage, bike lanes, Cuiritiba Brazil, Bill McKibben, Peace/Nonviolence

Shakti, the feminine lifeforce energy that marries with our well-honed masculine skills, can fuel our creative endeavors.Our inner resources are like a tree, needing to be grounded like roots, giving and receiving love from the heart like the trunk of the tree. Connecting with spirit can be akin to the branches reaching upwards.  Tags: Lisa Schrader, sacred feminine, Shakti, tree of life, soul work, inner wisdom, showing up, masculine energy, beauty, pleasure, stress, sexuality, tantra, shame, resourced, self love, bisexuality, static masculine, static feminine, dynamic feminine, powerlessness, empowerment, oxytocin, Spirituality, Women's Studies, Personal Transformation, Meditation

As we deal with the many successes and challenges of life, Sluyter guides us in understanding the benefits of natural meditation and shares that tuning into our inner luminous silence is actually what we are at our deepest core level. He says that love is a lack of otherness and reminds us that fear and love cannot occupy the same place at the same time. Tags: Dean Sluyter, dharma, silence, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, luminous silence, emptiness, fear, addiction, anxiety, anger, Miles Davis, Rupert Spira, fear and hope, fear and love, karma yoga, grief, prisons, Vajrasattva practice, Aikido, silly walks, Personal Transformation, Self Help, Meditation, Buddhism, Death and Dying 

Octopuses are highly intelligent, show their cleverness in myriad ways, and love to play. Montgomery describes befriending several of them over a number of years and shares how they can make remarkable connections with individual people. This is a most fascinating dialogue about the meeting of two very different minds, human and octopus.Tags: Sy Montgomery, devilfish, Wilson Menashi, scuba diving, the Octopus Church in Mo’orea, octopus, Animals, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Science