The New Dimensions Café

William Keepin, Ph.D. is a mathematical physicist, environmental scientist, and has been a practitioner on the contemplative path of divine love for over 35 years. He cofounded the Satyana Institute, as well as the Gender Reconciliation International project with his wife, Rev. Cynthia Brix. The Satyana Institute is a nonprofit service and training organization based near Seattle Washington. Together with his wife, Rev. Brix, he conducts trainings, retreats, and workshops nationally and internationally, encouraging individuals, communities and organizations to combine their inner work of the heart with outer service in the world. He is the co-author with his wife, Rev. Cynthia Brix of: Divine Duality: Women Healing Women (Hohm Press 2015). He is the author of: Belonging to God: Spirituality, Science, and a Universal Path of Divine Love (SkyLightPaths Publishing 2016)Tags: Will Keepin, God, Divine Love, suffering, universal love, spiritual practice, keeping the heart open, mantra, name of God practice, Christ, Krishna, Jesus, Allah, Bishop Tutu, infinite source, religious orthodoxy, guides on spiritual path

Hank Wesselman, Ph.D. (1941-2021) is a respected paleoanthropologist who has worked with noted anthropologists around the world including in Ethiopia investigating the mystery of human origins in the Great Rift Valley. Besides his training and scientific work, he is a shamanic student, practitioner, and teacher, now in the 30th year of his apprenticeship. He lived with his wife Jill in Hawaii. In addition to his scientific publications, his seven books on shamanism include: The Spiritwalker trilogy (Bantam 1996), Awakening to the Spirit World (co-authored with Sandra Ingerman) (Sounds True 2010), he Bowl of Light: Ancestral Wisdom from a Hawaiian Shaman (Sounds True 2011) and The Re-Enchantment: A Shamanic Path to a Life of Wonder (Sounds True 2016).Interview Date: 10/1/2016 Tags: Hank Wesselman, angels, spirits, evil, master of deception, Hale Makuna, e'epa, psychic vampires, achons, wetiko, goodness, truth, beauty, holodeck, Star Trek, age of the healer, compassion, positive polarity, Religion, Shamanism, Spirituality, Indigenous Wisdom

Karen Casey Ph.D. received her doctorate in philosophy with an emphasis on Native American studies. She’s an accomplished author with over two dozen books and is the 2007 winner of the Johnson Institute American Honors Recovery Award for her contribution to the field of recovery. Karen’s focus as a writer and spiritual teacher is to strengthen our connection to a Higher Power, which is the invisible source of inspiration, guidance, strength, and wisdom available to each of us. Her books include Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women (40th anniversary edition).(Hazeldon 2022), 52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles: Cultivate a Simpler, Slower, More Loved-Filled Life. (Conari Press 2016) and Let Go Now: Embraced Detachment As a Path to Freedom (Conari Press 2022)Interview Date: 5/19/2023   Tags: Karen Casey, Higher Power, AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, recovery, presence of God, Course in Miracles, spirituality, creativity, Personal Transformation, Spirituality, Writing

Rupert Spira is a pre-eminent non-dual teacher. At an early age he was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At 17 he learned to meditate and began a 20-year period of study and practice in the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P.O. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, and others until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. There he was introduced to what is known as the Direct Path. Spira lives in the United Kingdom and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and the United States. He is the author of many books and audio programs including: Presence, Volume I: The Art of Peace and Happiness and Presence (Sahaja Publications 2016) , Presence, Volume II: The Intimacy of All Experience (Sahaja Publications 2016), The Transparency of Things: Contemplating the Nature of Experience (Sahaja Publications 2016)Tags: Rupert Spira, nondualism, non-dualism, awareness, perception, non-duality, fear, shame, regret, presence, presence of awareness, essential being, essential self, open awareness, beliefs, feelings, sense of separation, sense of separateness, activism, activist, Spirituality, Philosophy, Transformation, Science

Dan Drasin is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and has been a photographer and media producer for more than six decades. He’s also the Operations Manager of New Dimensions and the announcer whose voice you hear on each program. His short 1961 documentary film titled Sunday was widely acknowledged as the first social-protest film of the 1960s and is part of the permanent film collection at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Since the early 1990s, Drasin has been actively investigating the field of afterlife communication through traditional mental and physical mediumship, as well as modern electronics as featured in his documentary film, Calling Earth. He is the author of A New Science of the Afterlife: Space, Time, and the Consciousness Code (Park Street Press 2023)Interview Date: 5/5/2023    Tags: Dan Drasin, Materialism, clocklike view of reality, wireless communication, electromagnetic waves, beyond physical reality, NDE, near-death experiences, International Association for Near Death Studies, IANDS, hypnotherapist Michael Newton, between lifetimes, Instrumental Trans-Communication, Suzanne Giesemann, Pim van Lommel M.D., death, consciousness, the problem of language, Parapsychology/Paranormal, Science, Philosophy, Intuition/Psychic

Wes “Scoop” Nisker is a Buddhist meditation teacher, journalist, and author. He is founder and co-editor of the Theravada Buddhist journal, Inquiring Mind, and an affiliate teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. His delightful humor accompanies his philosophy and experience of Buddhist insight meditation. Prior to being a meditation teacher, he was a well-known radio announcer in the San Francisco Bay area who went by the name of "Scoop." Where he was known to say, “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own.” He is the author of Buddha's Nature: A Practical Guide to Discovering Your Place in the Cosmos (Bantam 2000), Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again! Handbook for a Spiritual Revolution (Stone Bridge Press 2008), The Essential Crazy Wisdom (Ten Speed Press 2012), The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom: The Spiritual Experiments of My Generation (Iro Books 2013) and Being Nature: A Down-to-Earth Guide to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Inner Traditions 2022)Interview Date: 10/24/2008  Tags: Wes Nisker, Scoop Nisker, Wes “Scoop” Nisker, Crazy Wisdom, Gods, Revolution, Radio, Aging, Baby Boomer, Humor, Storytelling, evolution, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics, Media, Art & Creativity, Buddhism, Community, Education, Personal Transformation, Peace/Non-Violence

Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Andrus is the eighth Bishop of the Episcopal diocese of California, elected in 2006. Raised among the hills and lakes of East Tennessee, Bishop Marc developed an early love for the beauty of the earth and a call to protect it. His activism, grounded in contemplative prayer, has focused on key issues related to peace and justice, including immigration reform, civil rights for LBGTQ+ persons, health care, and climate change. Mark has led the Episcopal delegation to the annual UN Climate Conference. In service for Presiding Bishop Michael Bruce Curry, Bishop Marc serves as representative to the Anglican Communion Environmental Network. He is the author of Stations of the Cosmic Christ (Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox) (Unity 2018) and Brothers in the Beloved Community: The Friendship of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King Jr.(Parallax Press 2021)Interview Date: 4/20/2023   Tags: Marc Andrus, John Lewis, The Beloved Community, world citizen, Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize, bodhisattva, Earth as living entity, James Lovelock, Gaia theory, Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry, gravity, desire, Beloved Community Circles, Four Nobel Truths, life is suffering, universal moral code, History, Buddhism, Social Change/Politics, Peace/Nonviolence

Rajiv Parti, M.D. is a world-renowned specialist in pain management with over thirty years as a cardiac anesthesiologist. In addition to being Chief of Anesthesiology at Bakersfield Heart Hospital for more than a decade, Dr. Parti is founder of the Pain Management Institute of California. His study in complementary and alternative medicine has led him to formulate an integrative approach to total wellness, especially pain management, stress, and depression. He is the author of Dying to Wake Up: A Doctor’s Voyage into the Afterlife and the Wisdom He Brought Back (contributor Paul Perry)(Atria books 2016)Tags: Rajiv Parti, NDE, Near Death Experience, SDE, Shared Death Experience, forgiveness, ascended masters, spirit guides, Medicine Buddha, archetypes, Raymond Moody, Health & Healing, Parapsychology, Paranormal, Intuition, Psychic, Death & Dying, Spirit Guides, Angels , Spirit, Spirituality, Parenting

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, senior fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and a summa cum laude graduate of UCLA. He’s founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. Also, the founder and president of the Global Compassion Coalition. He is the author of Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (New Harbinger 2009), Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (New Harbinger 2011), Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (Harmony Books 2013), Meditations to Change Your Brain - CD Set (Sounds True 2009), Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness (Harmony Books 2018), NeuroDharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness (Harmony Books 2020), Making Great Relationships: Simple Practices for Solving Conflicts, Building Connections, and Fostering Love (Harmony Books 2023) and Meditations to Change Your Brain - CD Set (Sounds True 2009)Interview Date: 4/10/2023  Tags: Rick Hanson, listening, dialogue, disagreement, conflict, values, lying, Living Room Conversations, Joan Blades, arguing, no-win dialogues, progressives, compassion, kindness, bridging differences, gun violence, self-righteousness, argumentative, persuading, persuade, vote, voting, Global Compassion, Coalition, Stone Age conditions of humanity, Relationships, Psychology, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics

Deborah Zucker, ND is a naturopathic physician and transformational health coach who helps people find transform their fundamental relationship to health. She’s the founder of Vital Medicine and offers many virtual and retreat-based programs. She holds a docorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University where she has also served as adjunct faculty. She is the author of The Vitality Map: A Guide to Deep Health, Joyful Self-Care, and Resilient Well-Being (LomaSerena Press 2016) Tags: Deborah Zucker, vitality, chronic fatigue, self care, resilience, stress response cascade, stress, breath, biofeedback, posture, habits, Health, Healing