New Dimensions

As a man born of a Nigerian father and a white mother, Jawando is our guide for the essential gift of mentorship and how staggeringly transformative it can be for an entire community. It’s a reminder of how even a brief encounter of positive mentoring can make all the difference for all our children, most especially those at risk. Will Jawando is an attorney, an activist, a community leader, and a councilmember in Montgomery County Maryland, a diverse community of more than 1 million residents. Called “the progressive leader we need” by the late Congressman John Lewis, Jawando has worked with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Pres. Barack Obama. HE is the author of My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist’s Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2022).Interview Date: 7/8/2022    Tags: Will Jawando, Kalfani, Joseph Jacob, Deen Sanwoola, Nigeria, grandmothers, Dean Hoge, NAACP, Barack Obama, affordable housing, low-income housing, mentors, mentoring, mentorship, Social change/politics, Personal Transformation, Men’s studies, Community

Inner and outer storms can be transformational agents. Nepo advises us that we must not skip over pain, breakage, and loss. He goes on to say, “And, we must not drown in it or make a permanent residence of it. We have to find the corridor of aliveness that allows us to process our experience and land in the opening the storm has made in us and around us.” Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher and a most eloquent spiritual teacher. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation and in 2016 was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. He is the author of many audio learning projects and over 20 books including Reduced To Joy (Cleis Press 2013), Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close To What Is Sacred (Free Press 2012), he One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom That Waits in Your heart (Atria Books 2016), Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression (Sounds True 2019), The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters (St. Martin’s Essentials 2020) and Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity (St. Martin's Essentials 2022)Interview Date: 7/20/2022    Tags: Mark Nepo, Japanese Haiku poet, Masahide, geological storms, lightning strikes, Tempestarii, ethnic diversity, brokenness, spiritual diversity, dissociation, mass shootings, Roman Colosseum gladiatorial shows, Facebook algorithms, fear, denial, Tang Dynasty Tu Fu poet, love, victimhood, betrayal, empathy, George Floyd, Sheena Malhotra, 9-1/2 minutes of collective silence, soul, Personal Transformation, Social Change/Politics

Despite our being connected 24/7 with others, post-modern life is replete with loneliness. Loneliness is not the same as aloneness. Loneliness is when you lack the feeling of being connected with another. Explore how to build fulfilling and deep connections with others and make closeness flourish. Kira Asatryan is a certified relationship coach who provides individual life coaching, relationship coaching, conflict mediation, and couples coaching. Before becoming a relationship coach, she was director of performance marketing for prominent Silicon Valley technology start-ups and cofounded an online marketing consultancy. She lives in San Francisco. Kira Asatryan is the author of Stop Being Lonely: Three Simple Steps to Developing Close Friendships and Deep Relationships (New World Library 2016)Interview Date: 4/3/2016     Tags: Kira Asatryan, introverted, closeness, caring, intimacy, families, caretaking, loneliness, empathy, inflammation, efficiency, effectiveness, social media, incidental contact, open-ended questions, Arthur Aron, efficiency, effectiveness, Relationships, Psychology, Personal Transformation, Self Help, Health & Healing, Technology

We are in a constant deluge of noise and information and chat whether it is from our email and social media, or the 24-hour news cycles with its constant announcements of breaking news. Even our households can be filled with noise. Here we explore how to lessen both the exterior and interior noise to hear our own intuition and tune in to our creative gifts. Justin Zorn has served as a senior advisor for Policy and Strategy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He has also served as a meditation teacher in the U.S. Congress and is a Harvard-and-Oxford-trained specialist in the economics and psychology of wellbeing. Leigh Marz is a collaboration consultant and leadership coach for major universities, nonprofit coalitions, and federal agencies. Marz and Zorn are the cofounders of Astrea Strategies whose purpose is to help businesses, nonprofits, and leaders find creative and enduring solutions in living beyond the noise. They are the co-authors of Golden: The Power of Silence in A World of Noise. (Harper Wave 2022)Interview Date: 6/30/2022     Tags: Leigh Marz, Justin Zorn, noise, intuition, thinking and talking, Johann Hari, attention, flow, Arlin Bronzaft, Andrew Yang, John Maynard Keynes, market forces, Sheena Malhortra, George Floyd, Joyce DiDonato, Jarvis Masters, San Quentin, Cyrus Habib, Social Change/Politics, Personal Transformation

Approaching and facing some essential life questions and leaving them in a written “ethical will” will benefit our loved ones after we have passed and might be more important than any material things we pass on at our death. It will also be helpful in shedding light on our own deepest beliefs and dreams. Steve Leder is senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. After receiving his degree in writing and graduating cum laude from Northwestern University, studying at Trinity College, Oxford University, Leder received a master’s degree in Hebrew letters in 1986 and rabbinical ordination in 1987 from Hebrew Union College. He is the author of many books including The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things (Behrman House 1999), More Money Than God: Living A Rich Life Without Losing Your Soul (Volt Press 2003), More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us (Hay House 2017), The Beauty of What Remains (Avery 2021) and For You When I Am Gone: Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story Interview Date: 6/20/2022    Tags: Steve Leder, ethical will, living legacy, estate planning, grief, abracadabra, regret, Schopenhauer, Max Planck, compassion, Seventh generation, good and evil, Writing, Personal Transformation, Philosophy

Meade advises us that we must break the spell of normalcy itself and we must accept the presence of uncertainty. However, the good news is that with every ending there is a new beginning. This deep dialogue explores the collective rite of passage we are experiencing and how using the wisdom of myths gives us a roadmap to the renewal of life itself. Michael Meade is a renowned storyteller, author, scholar of mythology, and student of ritual in traditional cultures. He has scoured the world to bring to us meaningful folk tales that tap into ancestral sources of wisdom and acts as a guide to connect them to the stories we are living today. Meade is the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation. He also offers regular Living Myths Podcasts and workshops. He’s the author of many books including Why the World Doesn't End: Tales of Renewal in Times of Loss (GreenfirePress 2012), Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of the Soul (GreenFire Press 2012), The Genius Myth (GreenfirePress 2016), Awakening the Soul: A Deep Response to a Troubled World (GreenFire Press 2018) andThe Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul (GreenFire Press 2019) Interview Date: 6/17/2022   Tags: Michael Meade, Rumi, duality, centering, descent to darkness, myths, creating myths, polarity, darkness and light, love, re-creation of the world, opposites, Sky Woman myth, Mythology, Psychology, Personal Transformation

How are the successes and failures of the fledgling South African democracy relevant to all democratic nations? Why a nation cannot truly thrive without full socio-economic equity. Why true freedom must also include freedom from an imprisoned mind. What is the importance of teaching a full, robust history of a nation? Mamphela Ramphele, M.D., Ph.D. is an activist, medical doctor, academic, businesswoman, and global servant. Besides her medical degree, she holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology. She was the managing director of the World Bank, and is a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, as well as chairwoman of the Bishop Desmond Tutu Trust. She also serves as co-president of the Club of Rome, which was founded in 1968 as a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is to identify holistic solutions to complex global issues, and to promote policy initiatives and actions to enable humanity to emerge from multiple planetary emergencies. She is the author of A Passion for Freedom (I.B. Tauris 2014), Conversations with My Sons and Daughters (Penguin 2013) and Dreams, Betrayal and Hope (Penguin Books 2017)Interview Date: 5/20/2022    Tags: Mamphela Ramphele, South Africa, apartheid, colonial conquest, Steve Biko, oppression, South African political settlement, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, competition, interconnectedness, collaboration, conversation, ubuntu, apartheid cities, Alexei Navalny, History, Social Change/Politics, Education, Philosophy

Debra Silverman suggests that each of us has basic personality traits that can be seen in the context of the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire. Each element has strengths and shadows. Understanding which element is most prevalent in your personality and which ones are weak will help you see what is missing in order to be a more balanced human being. Debra Silverman holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and has specialized in helping thousands of individuals achieve emotional health and wisdom based on their unique personality and the four elements of water, air, earth, and fire. She combines this work with her expertise in Soul-Centered Astrology. She is a host of an on-line radio program “Tell me a Story.” She works on an individual basis as well as with groups, and is the author of The Missing Element: Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition (Findhorn Press 2016).She is the author of The Missing Element: Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition (Findhorn Press 2016)Interview Date: 3/3/2016      Tags: Debra Silverman, personality, shadow, tears, empathic, sadness, spiritual bypassing, water people, air people, fire people, earth people, four elements, fire element, air element, water element, earth element, missing element, astrology, soul-centered astrology, zodiac, compassion, shaming, planetary evolution, birthing, cosmic birth, web, Hopi prophecy, Aquarian Age, Psychology, Self Help, Spirituality, Relationship/Partnership/Sexuality

Andrew Harvey, an internationally acclaimed poet and founder of the Institute of Sacred Activism, discusses the rigorous discipline required for artistic mastery. He emphasizes the importance of solitude for personal growth and the cultivation of sacred friendships, like his bond with pianist Seymour Bernstein. Harvey introduces the concept of 'networks of grace' as a means for humanity’s salvation and urgency for sacred activism in today's world. Their conversation intertwines personal transformation with a call for collective action, underscoring the healing power of art and community.

Lupa is a strong advocate for connecting with animal or plant totems as allies to enhance our spiritual life and help us reconnect with nature. They can provide a “bridge” between us and the rest of the natural world. She cautions us to understand that totems, whether they be animal, plants, or fungi, are not simple one-dimensional helpers limited to stereotyped meanings from dictionaries. They are vibrant, intelligent, dynamic beings sharing the world with us as much as anyone else, and while we may have forgotten what it is to be in nature’s community, they have not. Lupa is a neo-shaman, artist and sustainability geek. She has been working with animal magic for more than 20 years and has developed a self-created and spirit-directed neoshamanic path. She possesses a master’s degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis on eco-psychology. Her books include New Paths to Animal Totems: Three Alternative Approaches to Creating Your Own Totemism (Llewellyn 2012), Plant and Fungus Totems: Connect with Spirits of Field, Forest, and Garden (Llewellyn 2014) and Nature Spirituality from the Ground Up: Connect with Totems in Your Ecosystem (Llewellyn 2016) Interview Date: 2/16/2016    Tags: Lupa, ecosystems, watershed, bioregion, totem, totems, hard fascination, soft fascination, totemism, water, rivers, grey wolf, Yellowstone Park, Never Cry Wolf, fungi, plant blindness, The Private Life of Plants, David Attenborough, Bill Mollison, trees, practice of place, practice of action, practice of celebration. Grounding, power spots, sleep, mammals, hugging, gravity, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Spirituality, Philosophy, Science, Spirit Guides/Angels/Spirit, Personal Transformation