The New Dimensions Café

Edwin Rutsch is a computer expert, a filmmaker, and the founding director of The Center for Building a Culture of Empathy. This center serves as one of the leading organizations of the global empathy movement and focuses on bridging social and political divides by designing a free online empathy training course and holding face to face and virtual empathy cafés.Tags: Edwin Rutsch, empathy, cultural divide, deep listening, self-empathy, empathic, empathetic, empathy circles, political divide, Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives, Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow, Fox News, MSNBC, the 60s, personal freedom, Social Change/Politics, Peace/Non-Violence

James Fadiman, Ph.D. is former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and Professor of Psychology. He has been professionally involved with psychedelics for more than 60 years and has been exploring the practice of microdosing psychedelics in depth, drawing on new research and extensive personal accounts from individuals worldwide. He is the author of many books including The Psychedelic Explorers Guide (Park Street Press 2011), Be All That You Are (Westlake Press 1986), Unlimit Your Life (Celestial Arts 1989), Essential Sufism (Robert Frager) (HarperOne 1999)Jordan Gruber was awarded a Juris Doctor degree and has forged and sculpted authoritative volumes in forensic law. He has written, ghostwritten, and edited more than a dozen books in a wide variety of fields, including psychology, spirituality, finance, and personal development. He is the author of The Bounce: The Complete SuperBound® Guidebook to 21st-Century Rebound Exercise (coauthor Joy Daniels) (SuperBound 2020).James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber are the co-authors of Your Symphony of Selves: Discover and Understand More of Who We Are (coauthor James Fadiman, Ph.D.) (Park Street Press 2020) and Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance (St. Martin’s Essentials 2025)Interview Date: 2/21/2025      Tags: James Fadiman, Jordan Gruber, microdosing, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, neuroplasticity, anti-inflammatory, self-healing, participatiory science, citizen’s science, whole system healing, less is enough, depression, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, protocols, Legality, grow kits, psychedelic churches, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation, Psychology

Shiv Singh advises Fortune 500 companies and startups on strategy, marketing and how to succeed in the digital era as the Founder of Savvy Matters. Prior to starting his consultancy, Shiv was a senior executive driving marketing, innovation and digital strategies at Visa Inc. and PepsiCo. He has previously advised Ford Motor Company, Chanel, Genentech, Citibank, and Verizonand is a member of the Board of Directors at United Rentals Inc., a Fortune 500 company. In 2016, Shiv was inducted into the American Advertising Hall of Achievement and has also been recognized by Adweek as a Top 50 marketer. His books include Social Media Marketing for Dummies (co-author Stephanie Diamond) (For Dummies 2014) and Savvy: Navigating Fake Companies, Fake Leaders and Fake News in the Post-Trust Era (co-author Rohini Luthra, Ph.D.)(Ideapress Publishing 2019).Tags: Shiv Singh, personal biases, naive realism, personal biases, opposing point of view, diversity of opinions, fake news, news bias chart, media bias chart, owlfactor.com, factcheck.org, snopes.com, media literacy, social media, bots, headlines, media silos, Media, Social Change/Politics, Technology, Personal Transformation

Brooke Williams is a naturalist and environmental writer who covers subjects such as evolution, consciousness, and his own ventures exploring both the inner and outer wilderness. He advocates for the preservation of wilderness. His writings also take us with him on his many treks into the deserts of Utah, where he lives with his wife and partner, the writer and New Dimensions guest Terry Tempest Williams. She 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, Mary Jane Wild: Two Walks & A Rant (Homebound Publications 2021) and Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on the Practice of Re-Enchantment (Uphill Books 2025)Interview Date: 1/17/2054      Tags: Brooke Williams, enchantment, living spirits, trees, ancestors, dragonfly, dreams, attention, curiosity, dogs, magic, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Personal Transformation, Psychology

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