The New Dimensions Café

Paul Levy is a pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence and is also a certified art teacher teaching both painting and drawing for a handful of years to people of all ages. He considers himself a wounded healer and is in private practice, assisting others who are also awakening to the dreamlike nature of reality. He has been a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner for more than 35 years and is the founder of the “Awakening in the Dream” Community; in Portland, Oregon. Along with these activities he is deeply steeped in the work of C. G. Jung. He is the author of several books including Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil (North Atlantic Books 2013), The Quantum Revelation: A Radical Synthesis of Science and Spirituality (Select Books 2018) and Wetiko: Healing the Mind-Virus That Plagues Our World (Inner Traditions 2021)Interview Date: 12/15/2021     Tags: Paul Levy, Wetiko, C.G. Jung, shadow, psycho-spiritual disease, totalitarian psychosis, totalitarian psychosis, thirst for power, underworld, Hades, Kabbalah, Michael Mead, art of seeing, awakening, Corona virus, collective psychosis, collective madness, counterfeiting spirit, Paper and Glue documentary, creative spirit, Social Change/Politics, Philosophy, Health & Healing, Indigenous Wisdom, Intuition/Psychic, Mythology

Cerridwen Fallingstar refers to herself as a Shamanic Witch and has taught classes in magic and ritual for over 40 years. She gives lectures tying together psychology, spirituality, history, contemporary issues, and politics. She is the author of three historical novels based on her past lives. Her books include White As Bone, Red As Blood: The Fox Sorceress (Cauldron Publications 2009), White As Bone, Red As Blood: The Storm God (Cauldron Publications 2011), The Heart of The Fire (Cauldron Publications 2021) and Broth from the Cauldron: A Wisdom Journey Through Everyday Magic (She Writes Press 2021)Interview Date: 12/7/2021      Tags: Cerridwen Fallingstar, Wicca, Zsuzsanna Budapest, Wiccan, witchcraft, magic, teachers, witch, evil, powerlessness, Spirituality, Ecology/Nature/Environmental

Peter Coyote is an award-winning actor, author, director, screenwriter, and narrator who has worked with some of the world’s most distinguished filmmakers. He’s won several Emmys for his narrations and was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest in 2011. In 2015 he received “transmission” from his teacher, making him an independent Zen teacher. He’s conceived mask training experiments and workshops as tools to give us a reprieve from the repetitive weight of our normal attachments and habits. His books include The Rainman’s Third Cure: An Irregular Education (Counterpoint 1998/2015), Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle (Counterpoint 2015), Tongue of a Crow: A Book of Poetry (Four Way Books 2021) and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha: Masks, Meditation & Improvised Play to Induce Liberated States (Inner Traditions 2021)Interview Date: 12/30/2021   Tags: Peter Coyote, intention, compassion, mask, enlightenment, waves in ocean, emptiness, dependent origination, Buddha, Zen, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, engaged Buddhism, Buddhism, Meditation

Steve McIntosh, J.D. is a leader in the integral philosophy movement. He’s president and co-founder of the nonprofit, social policy and think tank organization: The Institute for Cultural Evolution. He founded the consumer products company Now & Zen and practiced law and held an executive position with Celestial Seasonings Tea Company. He is an honors graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and the University of Southern California Business School. Besides these accomplishments, he enjoys Olympic-class bicycle racing. He is the author of Integral Consciousness: The Future of Evolution (Paragon House 2011), Evolution's Purpose: An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Story of Our Origins (Select Books 2012), and The Presence of the Infinite: The Spiritual Experience of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness (Quest 2015)Interview Date: 10/22/2015    Tags: Steve McIntosh, Integral Philosophy, evolution, cosmology, three big bangs, Big Bang, multi-universe theory, consciousness, evolutionary spirituality, Alfred North Whitehead, pluralistic community, Philosophy, Spirituality

Phil Cousineau is a freelance writer, filmmaker, photographer, art and literary tour leader, teacher of creativity, mythographer, storyteller, and an all-around Renaissance man. He's published over 40 books and has over 25 documentary film writing credits. He is also host and co-writer of "Global Spirit," a nationally broadcast television series. His books include Wordcatcher (Viva Editions, Cleis Press 2010), Beyond Forgiveness: Reflections On Atonement (Jossey-Bass 2011), Stoking The Creative Fires (Red (Wheel/Wiser 2008), Burning the Midnight Oil: Illuminating Words For the Long Night's Journey Into Day (Viva Editions 2014), The Book of Roads: Travel Stories from Michigan to Marrakech (Viva Editions 2015), The Art of Pilgrimage revised (Conari Press 2021), The Lost Notes of Sisyphus (Sisyphus Press 2021)Interview Date: 11/17/2021        Tags: Phil Cousineau, Joseph Campbell, Albert Camus, Greek mythology, Sisyphean task, struggle, metaphor, boredom, despair, rise of authoritarianism, The Great Gatsby, Rollo May, shame, Persephone, pandemic, Merope, Prometheus, Zeus, Mythology, Philosophy

Margaret Barkley is a teacher, poet, and curious observer of humans and nature. Her poetry has been published in the Redwood Writers poetry anthologies Beyond Distance, And Yet, and Crow, in which she was an Award of Merit poet. She holds an MA in Psychology with a focus on group facilitation and emotional intelligence and has taught for over twenty years, including at Sonoma State University and University of San Francisco. Her latest love is leading women’s retreats in the Tetons. She is the author of a book of poetry, Ribs (Finishing Line Press 2021)Interview Date: 11/4/2021  Tags: Margaret Barkley, poetry, poems, listening, Art & Creativity, Writing

Susan Campbell, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and the author of close to a dozen books on relationships and conflict resolution. She leads seminars internationally, is a couple’s therapist, relationship coach, trainer of professional coaches, and works with private clients through her relationship coaching practice. Her books include Getting Real: Ten Truth Skills You Need to Live an Authentic Life (H.J. Kramer 2001), Saying What’s Real : 7 Keys to Authentic Communication and Relationship Success (H.J. Kramer 2005), Five-Minute Relationship Repair: Quickly Heal Upsets, Deepen Intimacy, and Use Differences to Strengthen Love (John Gray) (H. J. Kramer 2015) and From Triggered to Tranquil: How Self-Compassion and Mindful Presence Can Transform Relationship Conflicts and Heal Childhood Wounds (New World Library 2021)Interview Date: 11/24/2021  Tags: Susan Campbell, brain, prefrontal cortex, primitive brain, triggered response, reactive brain, amygdala, signs of triggers, pause agreement, core fears, repairing triggered response, Relationship, Psychology, Health & Healing

Tim Zentetsu Burkett, Ph.D. is Guiding Teacher of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also a licensed psychologist and a former director of People Incorporated, a large mental health agency in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has been a student of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and later Katagiri Roshi, in whose linage he is a dharma heir. Suzuki Roshi’s book of talks, Zen Mind, Beginner Mind (Shambhala 2011), is a classic for all spiritual seekers. Tim Burkett is the author of Nothing Holy About It: The Zen of Being Just Who You Are (Shambhala 2015)Interview Date: 9/24/2015

Dean Sluyter has spent a lifetime learning authentic methods of natural meditation from eastern and western sages and making them accessible to thousands, including prisoners, tech innovators, filmmakers, high school students, and entrepreneurs. He has completed numerous retreats and pilgrimages in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Europe, and for decades has led workshops throughout the United States. He is the author of 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)Interview Date: 4/23/2015  Tags: Dean Sluyter, Beingness, The Musk Deer Story, thoughts, Nature of Mind, enlightenment, Sri Mooji, Mickey Mouse, blank mind, Meditation, Buddhism

Richard Miller, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and host of the syndicated talk radio show Mind, Body, Health & Politics. He’s founder of Cokenders Alcohol and Drug Program and has been a faculty member at the University of Michigan and Stanford University. He also served as advisor on the President’s Commission on Mental Health and a founding board member of the Gestalt Institute of San Francisco as well as a member of the national board of directors for the Marijuana Policy Project. He also restored and reopened the Wilbur Hot Spring Retreat facility in Northern California. He is the Editor and author of the book Psychedelic Medicine: The Healing Powers of LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin, and Ayahuasca. (Park Street press 2021)   Interview Date: 9/30/2021    Tags: Richard Miller, Psychedelics, LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin, Ayahuasca, PTSD, R. Buckminster Fuller, Bucky Fuller, Watson and Crick, DNA researchers, Carl Sagan, alcohol prohibition, Rick Doblin, psychedelics clinics, Ketamine therapy, politics of psychedelics, Health & Healing, Psychology, Social Change/Politics