The New Dimensions Café

Dean Sluyter lived in New Jersey for 33 years where he developed the Literature of Enlightenment Program at the Pingry School and worked with inmates at Northern State Prison and Mountain View Youth Correctional Facility. He now lives in Santa Monica, California and teaches natural methods of meditation and awakening throughout the United States and beyond. He's known for his funny, down to earth style and for making life transforming teachings accessible and easy. He is the author of many books including The Zen Commandments (Tarcher/Putnam 2001). Why the Chicken Crossed the Road and Other Hidden Enlightenment Teachings (Tarcher/Putnam 1998), Cinema Nirvana: Enlightenment Lessons from the Movies (Three Rivers Press 2005), Natural Meditation: A Guide to Effortless Meditative Practice (Tarcher/Penguin 2015), Fear Less: Living Beyond Fear, Anxiety, Anger, and Addiction (TarcherPerigee 2018) and The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature (New World Library 2022) Interview Date: 4/1/2022   Tags: Dean Sluyter, J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye, Fanny and Zooey, Glass family, Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, Arjuna, yoga, Venus of Willendorf, Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn, Mark Twain, cat in the hat, Dr. Seuss, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Oklahoma, poetry, chanting mantras in Sanskrit, Coleridge, Kubla Khan,Meditation, Education, Writing, Art & Creativity, Buddhism

Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D. is the only person who has been awarded a doctoral diploma in Parapsychology by an accredited American University - the University of California at Berkeley. For the past 50 years he's been a pioneer in the research of parapsychology. He is the founder and host of the radio and TV program series Thinking Allowed, and most recently, New Thinking Allowed. Both are available on YouTube. Dr. Mishlove is the recipient of the prestigious Bigelow Institute Award of $500,000 for his essay on parapsychology entitled Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death. Jeffrey Mishlove’s books include Roots Of Consciousness: The Classic Encyclopedia of Consciousness Studies Revised and Expanded (Da Capo Press; Revised 1997) and PK Man: A True Story of Mind Over Matter ( Hampton Roads 2000)Interview Date: 2/25/2022  Tags: Jeffrey Mishlove, white crows, William James, afterlife communications, hyperspace, afterlife, Ted Owens, UFO sightings, reincarnation, near death experiences, NDEs, covid pandemic, Parapsychology/Paranormal, Life After Death, dreams

Loch Kelly, M.Div, LCSW is founder of the nonprofit Open-Heart Awareness Institute. He is an educator, licensed psychotherapist, and recognized leader in the field of meditation, who was asked to teach Sutra Mahamudra by Mingyur Rinpoche and to teach nondual realization by Adyashanti. He collaborates with neuroscientists in the study of meditation to discover ways to improve compassion and well-being. He’s an emerging voice in modernizing meditation and social engagement. He is the author of Shift Into Freedom: The Science and Practices of Open-Hearted Awareness (Sounds True 2015) and a CD set of Meditations: Shift Into Freedom: A Training in the Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness (Sounds True 2015Interview Date: 1/13/2016   Tags: Loch Kelly, meditation, mindfulness, calm abiding, stress, suffering, effortless mindfulness, awareness, spacious awareness, waking up, bliss, spiritual bypass, emptiness, spirituality

Connie Zweig is a psychotherapist and has been initiated into elderhood as a certified Sage-ing leader. She is known as an expert in Shadow Work and uncovering our inner shadow. Although she is retired from clinical practice, she leads online workshops listed on her website which is also populated with many activities, blogs, videos, and audio references. She is the author of several books including: Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature (Tarcher/Perigee 1991 reprint iUniverse 2017), with (Steve Wolf, PhD.) Romancing the Shadow: A Guide to Soul Work for a Vital Authentic Life (Wellspring/Ballantine; Reprint edition 1999), A Moth to the Flame: The Life of the Sufi Poet Rumi (a novel) (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2006) and The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul. (Park Street Press 2021)Interview Date: 2/14/2022   Tags: Connie Zweig, aging, longevity, senior, elder, letting go of control, impermanence, unconscious shadow, need to be right, deep listening, perfectionism, not being enough, having an impact, study circles on aging, Wisdom Circles, Sage-ing, Aging, Personal Transformation, Spirituality

Dan Millman is a lifelong student and longtime teacher of practical wisdom devoting his life to mastery, first in sports and then in everyday life. He is a former World trampoline champion, Stanford gymnastics coach, and Oberlin College professor. He teaches The Peaceful Warrior’s Way and is the author of 18 books published in 29 languages. He and his wife Joy live in Brooklyn, New York. His books include Way Of the Peaceful Warrior (adapted to a 2006 feature film.) (HJ Kramer Revised Edition 2006), The Laws of Spirit: A Tale of Transformation (HJ Kramer book, published jointly, New World Library 1995), The Life You Were Born to Live: A Guide to Finding Your Purpose (HJ Kramer, Anniversary Edition 2018) and Peaceful Heart, Warrior Spirit: The True Story of My Spiritual Quest. (New World Library 2022)Interview Date: 2/4/2022    Tags: Dan Millman, Socrates, perennial philosophy, practical wisdom, Oscar Ichazo, Arica, Franklin Jones, Bubba Free John, Adi Da, mentors, gymnastics, synchronicity, finding teachers, stress, paying attention, humor, beginner’s mind, Philosophy, Personal Transformation, Spirituality

Brooke Williams is an advocate for the preservation of wilderness. He writes about evolution, consciousness, and his own adventures exploring both the inner and outer wilderness. He lives in Utah with his wife and partner, the writer and former New Dimensions guest, Terry Tempest Williams. He is the author of several books including: Half-Lives: Reconciling Work and Wildness (Johnson Books 1999), Escalante: The Best Kind of Nothing (photos by Chris Noble) (University of Arizona Press 2006), Open Midnight: Where Ancestors and Wilderness Meet (Trinity University Press 2017 and Mary Jane Wild: Two Walks & A Rant (Homebound Publications 2021).Interview Date: 1/14/2022    Tags: Brooke Williams, wandering, hunters and gatherers, human species, dawn of agriculture, segregation, desegregation, either or thinking, Bill Kittredge, silos of belief, Paul Shepard, awe, wild places, Dacher Keltner, pro-social behavior, beauty, vast vistas, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Social Change/Politics

Dawna Markova, Ph.D. is the CEO emeritus of Professional Thinking Partners. She’s known Internationally for her research in the fields of learning and perception. She’s a former senior affiliate of the Society for Organizational Learning, originated at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Angie McArthur is the CEO of Professional Thinking Partners and co-founder of SmartWired and the Smart Parenting Revolution. As an expert in communication and learning styles, she has developed strategies for authors, corporations, CEOs, and the ongoing Executive Champions’ Workshop.Tags: Dawna Markova, Angie McArthur, collaboration, CQ, collaboration intelligence, intelligence, mindset, market share mindset, mind share mindset, Ubur, Air B&B, diversity, thinking, intellectual passport, Smart Spark, teaching children, cooperation, compromise, competition, brain, confusion, Business, Personal Transformation, Work, Livelihood, Social Change, Politics, Education, Parenting

Marie-Rose Phan-Lê was born in Vietnam, emigrated to France, and later came to the United States. She is the founder and president of Healing Planet Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of healing and spiritual traditions through media. She is an award-winning writer, director, and producer of a documentary film and companion book. Tags: Marie-Rose Phan-Lê, authentic self, indigenous healers, Papa K, Kahuna, Lomi Lomi, Aunty Mary Fargas, ho’oponopono, Ayahuasca ritual, divine feminine, Shamanism, Indigenous wisdom, Travel, Spiritualty, Global Culture

Matthew Fox, Ph.D. is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is a scholar in residence with the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as founder and president of Friends of Creation Spirituality.Tags:  Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality, Bible, Wisdom Tradition, feminist, mysticism , The fall and redemption, spirituality, Jesus, Stations of the Cosmic Cross, crucifixion, ritual, Burning Man, Meister Eckhart, Buck Ghost Horse, funeral ritual, grief, Wallace Black Elk, Indigenous Wisdom, Religion, Philosophy, Buddhism

Ralph White is cofounder of the New York Open Center, America’s leading urban center of holistic learning. He was the former editor of the award-winning Lapis magazine. Born in Wales, he now resides in New York City. His current activities include the Esoteric Quest series of conferences in Europe that focus on the lost spiritual history of the West. He also presents the Art of Dying conferences. He is the author of the memoir The Jeweled Highway: On the Quest for a Life of Meaning (Divine Arts 2015)Interview Date: 9/22/2015    Tags: MP3, Ralph White, Vision Quest, Peru, holistic retreat centers, Open Center, Esoteric Quest, Tibet, South America, Travel, History, Global Culture, Social Change/Politics