Katy Butler is a journalist and speaker on doctor-patient communication and the choices families face near the end of life. She is the author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Scribner 2014) and The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life (Scribner 2019)Tags: Katy Butler, community, quality of life, advance medicine, Western medicine, passivity in our health care, end of life, mortality, palliative care, knowing the trajectory of your illness, chemotherapy, caregivers, palliative care doctors, length of life, honest hope, practice of presence, denial, Kaiser RESPECT checklist, Death & Dying, Health & Healing, Spirituality

Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. received her Masters of Theological Studies and Doctorate in History and Critical Theory of Religion from Vanderbilt University with post-graduate work in Spiritual Counseling at the New Seminary in Manhattan. She, specialized in adult development and ritual studies. She has served on the faculties of Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, and Georgetown Universities. She is the author of Older, Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection (self-published 2019), The Making of an Old Soul: Aging as the Fulfillment of Life's Promise (White River Press 2021) and Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life (Park Street Press 2024)Interview Date: 1/10/2025     Tags: Carol Orsborn, aging, elder, old, acceptance, freedom, fear of aging, outliving our fantasies, self-protection, fear, choice, faith, failure, grassroots community of spiritual aging, Sag-ing International, loneliness, isolation, serenity process, Serenity Prayer, regrets, making amends, life review, Personal Transformation, Spirituality

Marianne Williamson, a celebrated author and spiritual leader, dives deep into the teachings of Jesus as both a historical figure and a spiritual guide. She reinterprets the crucifixion and resurrection as powerful lessons in overcoming fear with love. The conversation touches on the divine feminine, particularly through Mary, and the importance of compassion in fostering social change. Williamson also shares insights from her own spiritual journey, inviting listeners to awaken to a consciousness rooted in love and justice.

Christopher Brown is an accomplished lawyer and has worked on two Supreme Court confirmation hearings. He has also been general counsel for several technology companies. His varied experiences span from restoring prairies to reporting from Central American war zones. He’s author of three award-nominated science fiction novels. His current nonfiction book explores the natural world in urban settings. He is the author of Failed State: A Novel (Eos 2020), Rule of Capture: A Novel (Eos 2019), The Tropic of Kansas: A Novel (Harper Voyager 2017), The Natural History of Empty  and Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places (Timber Press 2024).Interview Date: 12/2/2024     Tags: Christopher Brown, eco bunker, urban wildlife, industrial wasteland, green roof, wild chili peppers, paying attention to small life, Animals, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Social Change/Politics

Christina Rasmussen is an internationally recognized grief educator and founder of Life Reentry Institute and Seconds First. She has helped countless people break out of what she coined as the “waiting room” of grief to rebuild their lives through her Life Reentry Model. She is author of Second Firsts: Live, Laugh, and Love Again (Hay House 2013) and Where Did You Go? A Life-Changing Journey to Connect with Those We’ve Lost. (HarperOne 2018).Tags: Christina Rasmussen, Temple Journeys, Temple World, invisible world, third-dimensional world, entanglement, ghosts, multi-universes, imagination, holographic universe, Death & Dying, Science, Parapsychology/Paranormal, Personal Transformation

Linda Graham, MFT is a licensed psychotherapist and meditation teacher in full-time practice in the San Francisco Bay area. She integrates her passion for neuroscience, mindfulness, and relational psychology through trainings, workshops, and conferences. She publishes a monthly e-newsletter entitled Healing and Awakening Into Aliveness and Wholeness, and weekly e-quotes on resources for recovering resilience, archived on her website. She is the author of Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain For Maximum Resilience And Well-Being (New World Library 2013)Interview Date: 3/20/2015    Tags: Linda Graham, resilience, neuroplasticity, brain, neural pathways, rewire brain, rewiring our brains, survival responses, Barbara Fredrickson, prefrontal cortex, tunnel vision, Darwin, most adaptive survives, mindfulness, compassion, self-compassion, window of tolerance, Psychology, Personal Transformation, Science, Health & Healing, Self Help

Willis Barnstone is a poet, translator, biblical scholar, memoirist, anthologist, teacher, and painter. He is a former O’Connor Professor of Greek at Colgate University, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University, a Guggenheim Fellow, and winner of numerous literary awards, including the Emily Dickinson, Lannon, and W. H. Auden awards. In 2015 he was recipient of the Fred Cody Lifetime Achievement Award. He is translator of the Greek Lyric Poets, a literary historical version of the New Testament, and poets as diverse as Sappho, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jorge Luis Borges, Antonio Machado, Wang Wei, and St. John of the Cross. Barnstone’s life’s work includes over 75 books including With Borges on an Ordinary Evening in Buenos Aires (University of Illinois Press 1999), The Poems of Jesus Christ (W.W. Norton & Company 2012), The Poetics of Ecstasy: Varieties of Ekstasis from Sappho to Borges (Holmes & Meier Pub 1983), The Poetics of Translation: History, Theory, Practice (Yale University Press 1995), Sappho and the Greek Lyric Poets (Pantheon 1988), The Other Bible (HarperOne 2005), The Apocalypse (editor, translator) (New Directions 2000), The Gnostic Bible (Shambhala 2009), The Restored New Testament: A New Translation with Commentary, Including the Gnostic Gospels Thomas, Mary, and Judas (W.W. Norton and Company 2009) and A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now (editor with Aiki Barnstone) (Schocken1992) Interview Date: 3/9/2015   Tags: Willis Barnstone, cafes, conversation, poetic word, poetry, The Good Beasts, prose, Jesus as poet, Arts & Creativity

Eric Maisel, Ph.D. is a licensed family therapist, a creativity coach, and author of more than 40 books. He also conducts writing workshops and trains creativity coaches. His books include Life Purpose Boot Camp: The 8 Week Breakthrough Plan for Creating a Meaningful Life (New World Library 2014), Secrets of a Creativity Coach (Motivational Press 2014), Why Smart People Hurt (Conari Press 2013, Fearless Creating (Tarcher 1995), Van Gogh's Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression (New World Library 2007), Mastering Creative Anxiety (New World Library 2011), Making Your Creative Mark (New World Library 2013), Natural Psychology: The New Psychology of Meaning (Natural Psychology Press 2012), Rethinking Depression (New World Library 2012), Brainstorm: Harnessing The Power of Productive Obsessions (New World Library 2010), Creativity For Life (New World Library 2007) and Coaching the Artist Within (New World Library 2005)Interview Date: 1/15/2015   Tags: Eric Maisel, writing, creativity, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, DSM5, mental health reform, morning writing, meaning boost

Margaret Wheatley is an internationally acclaimed writer, speaker, and teacher. She began caring about the world's peoples in 1966 as a Peace Corps volunteer in postwar Korea. She is cofounder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute, a charitable foundation that works with people around the world to strengthen their communities using the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions, and environment. She is a guide in leading people back to understanding who we are as humans, being able to create the conditions for our basic qualities of generosity, contribution, community, and love. She is a grand contributor in creating an Island of Sanity in the midst of wildly disruptive seas. Her books include Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (Berrett-Koehler 1992), Perseverance (Berrett-Kohler 2010), Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope in the Future (Berrett-Koehler 2009), So Far from Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World (Berrett-Koehler 2012) and Who Do We Choose To Be: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity (Berrett-Koehler 2017). Interview Date: 8/19/2010 

Douglas Grunther is the creator and host of the “Woodstock Roundtable” an award winning radio talk show covering philosophy, depth psychology, and spiritual insight. He is also a dreamwork facilitator. He is the author of The Quantum & The Dream: Visionary Consciousness, AI, and The New Renaissance (Epigraph Books 2024)Interview Date: 11/15/2024      Tags: Douglas Grunther, scientific materialism, climate change, dream appreciation, intuition, collective intelligence, swarming bee intelligence, collaboration, Black Plague, empathy, wisdom, dream appreciation, Jeremy Taylor, Elias Howe, sewing machine invention, creative visualization, daydreaming, intuitive flashes, perception, Marshall McLuhan, Buckminster ”Bucky” Fuller, Science, Personal Transformation, Dream, History, Social Change/Politics