New Dimensions

Goldberg urges us to look for spiritual practices that fit our personal needs, predilections and circumstances. He advocates bringing the best of ourselves to our life and work by combining our outer work in the world with our inner work of spiritual development. He also encourages us to develop a spiritual routine yet remain flexible. Philip Goldberg has been studying the world's spiritual traditions for more than 50 years. He's a workshop leader, spiritual counselor and meditation teacher, and an ordained interfaith minister. He also co-hosts the Spirit Matters Podcasts. He leads American Veda tours and blogs regularly on Elephant Journal and Spirituality & Health. He is the author of many books, including American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. (Harmony 2013), The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru (Hay House, 2nd Edition 2020) and Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Calm, Clarity, and Courage (Hay House 2020)Interview Date: 8/10/2020  Tags: Philip Goldberg, spiritual bypassing, spiritual activism, Thomas Merton, John Lewis, Paramahansa Yogananda, Mahatma Gandhi, mindfulness, Huston Smith, Bhagavad Gita, Jill Bolte Taylor, mantra, TM, Transcendental Meditation, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Spirituality

Here we delve deeply into the narcissistic personality: What is it and what strategies we might employ to work with the narcissists who are close to us. Campbell describes three types of narcissists: grandiose, vulnerable, and personality disorder. All narcissists have some form of thinking that they are better than other people and deserve special treatment. W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology at the University of Georgia, and is a nationally recognized expert on narcissism, society, and generational change. Both his work and lectures expose the rise of narcissism and individualism more generally, and its influence on every level of society. His books include When You Love A Man Who Loves Himself, How To Deal With A One Way Relationship (Sourcebook 2005) and The New Science Of Narcissism : Understanding One Of The Greatest Psychological Challenges Of Our Time-- and What You Can Do About It. (Sounds True 2020)Interview Date: 8/4/2020    Tags: W. Keith Campbell, Narcissus, narcissism, George S. Patton, Omar Bradley, Goldwater rule, DSM, Donald Trump, entitlement, clinical disorder, grandiose narcissism, empathy, Psychology, Health & Healing, Social Change/Politics

To keep our car running in good order, we routinely have it serviced. Our relationships deserve no less attention. Dr. Campbell offers practical advice for sustaining our love relationships. Here we learn methods for turning common relationship conflicts into opportunities to foster love, trust, and intimacy. Susan Campbell, Ph.D. trains and coaches therapists and individuals throughout the US and Europe. She works with singles, couples, and work teams to help them communicate responsibly and with respect. She is the author of 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) and Five-Minute Relationship Repair: Quickly Heal Upsets, Deepen Intimacy, and Use Differences to Strengthen Love (with John Gray) (H. J. Kramer 2015)Interview Date: 3/18/2015      Tags: Susan Campbell, healing and repairing relationships, relationship, time-out, relationship vision statement, fear response, reactive feeling, core feeling, core fear, triggers, nervous system, pause agreement, meditation, self-calming, staying on your side of the net, source of distress, repair process, blame, reaction, clearing the air, communication, empathy, Relationships, Psychology, Personal Transformation,meditation

Koniver suggests that standing barefoot outside on the ground is the most enjoyable healing modality she knows of. There is a great healing waiting for you through the practice of touching the earth directly. Koniver calls it an Earth Prescription, a formula for living as vital as food and water for our body and soul. Dr. Laura Koniver is an artist, author, holistic physician, and an internationally recognized grounding advocate. She is the author of From the Ground Up (Do Life Right, Incorporated 2012) and The Earth Prescription: Discover The Healing Power Of Nature With Grounding Practices For Every SeasonInterview Date: 7/10/2020     Tags: Laura Koniver, grounding, hospitals, Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, Schumann frequency, electro hypersensitivity, EMFs, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation

Fungi live their lives largely hidden from view and over 90% of their species remain undocumented. Sheldrake says that the fungal kingdom is more closely related to the animal kingdom. Here he takes us into his research on the ecological significance of fungi and its importance to all life on planet earth. Merlin Sheldrake, Ph.D. is a biologist and writer with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history of philosophy of science. He received his Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a pre-doctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He's also a musician and a keen fermenter. He is the author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures (Random House 2020)  Interview Date: 5/19/2020         Tags: Merlin Sheldrake, fungi, photosynthesis, mushrooms, largest terrestrial organism on the planet, Armillaria solidipes, honey fungus, mycelium, mycorrhizal fungi, endophytes, microbiome, algae, polyphonic music, LSD experiments, Albert Hofmann, wood wide web, viruses, Rovin Wall Kimmerer, Natasha Myers, Karla Hustak, Lynn Margulis, intimacy of strangers, involution vs. evolution, IKEA labyrinth, cosmic networks, Anna Tsing, Chernobyl, Ecovative Design, David Abrams, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Science, Indigenous wisdom

Here Sullivan talks about the power of trees in guiding us in understanding ourselves as well as our ancestral roots. She also shares the power of communal chanting that is a bridge of past and present that moves us deeply on a soul level as it connects us to Spirit. Shannon Sullivan is an interfaith spiritual teacher and teacher of meditation. She has broad experience with many spiritual traditions from around the world as well as her communion with nature. Trees in particular have a deep significance for her and she's developed a series of teachings and meditations using the metaphor of trees. One of her teachings involves healing our ancestral roots. Interview Date: 5/12/2020    Tags: MP3, Shannon Sullivan, Reiki therapy, energy work, chakras, family trees, forgiveness, ofrenda, chanting, Kintsugi, Health & Healing

Rebecca Solnit discusses how all of us are connected to one another as though we are threads woven into the fabric of the world. Storytelling is often our way of tracing these threads, starting with our personal stories and exploring outward. The effects of our stories can be subtle and powerful. Solnit explains how we make our stories and how our stories make us. She is the author of fifteen books about art, landscape, public and collective life, ecology, politics, hope, meandering, reverie, and memory. She is a recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, a National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Lannan Literary Award. She works with the group 350.org on climate issues and is a contributing editor to Harper’s and regular contributor to the political site Tomdispatch.com. Her books include An Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness  (Trinity University Press 2014), A Field Guide to Getting Lost (Penguin Books 2006), Men Explain Things To Me (Haymarket Books 2014) and The Faraway Nearby (Penguin 2014) (a lyrical memoir) Interview Date: 1/22/2015        Tags: Rebecca Solnit, fabric, thread, weave, fabric of the world, storytelling, storyteller, stories, books, reading, writing, domestic violence, civil rights, discrimination, guns, college rape, mattress, medical terminology, medical language, Zen Buddhism, tourist, Susan Sontag, Monks, Military, debt, giving, receiving, Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Iceland, Anne Chamberlain, paper island, red thread, Alzheimer’s, Art & Creativity, Writing, Philosophy, Personal Transformation

Linda Carroll shares her insights into the reality of maintaining a lasting, loving relationship. She describes the stages of relationships, each with distinct characteristics and accompanying lessons. There’s an evolution happening within each relationship that forces us to make important decisions about ourselves and the trajectory of our personal growth.  Linda Carroll, M.S. is a licensed therapist and has worked as a couples therapist for more than 30 years. Her work is deep and varied, based on Voice Dialogue, Holotropic Breath Work, and Angeles Arrien’s The Fourfold Way as well as The Diamond Heart Work of A. H. Almaas. She is a certified IMAGO therapist, private coach to couples and families, and leader of workshops and retreats. She works with a limited number of couples in a new style of “concierge therapy” for which she travels to their home or office for 2 to 6 days a year for private, all-day sessions. Linda lives in Corvallis Oregon. She is the author of Remember Who You Are: Seven Stages in a Woman's Spiritual Path (Conari Press 2008), Her Mother's Daughter (Doubleday 2006)  and Love Cycles: The Five Essential Stages of Lasting Love (New World Library 2014)Interview Date: 12/1/2014       Tags: Linda Carroll, long term love, couples therapy, marriage, aging, generosity, love stages, relationship stages, love cycles, betrayal, longevity, communication skills, relationship roadmap,  soulmate, commitment, my everything, rituals of good will, differentiation, wholehearted love, voice dialogue, holotropic breath work, Angeles Arrien, Fourfold Way, A. H. Almaas, Diamond Heart, Imago therapy, concierge therapy, Relationship/Partnership/Sexuality,Psychology, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Michael Gelb, Ph.D., is a leading authority on genius thinking in personal and organizational development. He discusses the power of raising our vital energy to reignite creativity, suggesting simple exercises like Qigong. Gelb contrasts fixed and growth mindsets, highlighting how adopting a childlike perspective can deepen creative processes. He explores mind mapping as a tool for idea generation and emphasizes joy in practices like Tai Chi. Listeners are encouraged to embrace their creative potential and explore innovative ideas.

This is a time for us to step away from the dogmas of the religions of our youth and set our spiritual compass according to our personal values and philosophy as we search for a religion that feeds our souls. Moore says “we need not settle for an off the rack” religion but can discover one that is rooted in our own unique experience. Thomas Moore, Ph.D. was a monk for twelve years, and a university professor. He is a musician and a psychotherapist and lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and the arts. He has a Ph.D. in religion from Syracuse University. He’s the author of Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life (HarperPerennial 1994), The Soul of Sex: Cultivating Life as an Act of Love (Harper Perennial 1999), Dark Nights of the Soul (Gotham 2005), A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World (Gotham 2014) Interview Date: 1/15/2014      Tags: MP3, Thomas Moore, Ph.D., reading tea leaves, Joseph Campbell, marriage, scrying, Thomas Merton, Paul Tillich, community, religion, fellowship, ritual, imagination, soul, dreams, darshan, James Hillman, Emily Dickinson, parenting, two monks crossing the stream story, mystic, Edgar Mitchell, natural magic, rationalism, intuition, sisters of wyrd, fate, destiny, follow your wyrd, follow your bliss, Religion, Spirituality, Arts & Creativity, Personal Transformation, Self Help