New Dimensions

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

Jones gives practical advice as to how we can engage in deep inner work through focused journaling. She shares exercises that can act as powerful tools in reframing the pieces of our past and our life stories so that suffering becomes meaningful and can boost our healing, empowerment, growth, and transformation. Catherine Ann Jones is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and a Fulbright Scholar to India, studying shamanism. She holds a graduate degree and teaches depth psychology and archetypal mythology. As a screenwriter, Jones has contributed to such television series as “Touched by an Angel,” and wrote the teleplay “The Christmas Wife.” She teaches writing workshops. She is the author of: Heal Your Self With Writing (Divine Arts 2013) and The Way of Story: The Craft & Soul of Writing (Michael Weise Productions 2007).Interview Date: 2/28/2014   Tags: Catherine Ann Jones, memory, traumatic events, body dialogues, inner voice, intuitive voice, authentic self, allies, shamanism, Pre-Hindu Dravidian people in India, artist, synchronicity, personal metaphors, archetypes, deep listening, active listening, Writing, Personal Transformation, Self Help, Shamanism, Mythology, Arts & Creativity 

Here scholar, theologian, and teacher Father Matthew Fox explores the writings and wisdom of this electrifying saint and speaks of Aquinas’ timeless wisdom to a postmodern world. Fox encourages all spiritual warriors and activists to grow our vision and our courage. He speaks of some of the positive things that the coronavirus has brought to us as we shelter in place. Father Matthew Fox is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. For speaking out on women’s rights, gay rights, and Native American rights, he was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican Order under the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as the “Cosmic Mass” that incorporates dance, DJ, VJ, rap, and other postmodern art forms. He is the co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Earth and, since Mother’s day 2019, has offered free daily meditations. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is founder of the University of Creation Spirituality. He is the author of more than thirty-five books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), Occupy Spirituality (co-author Adam Bucko) (North Atlantic Press 2013) and The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020)Interview Date: 4/30/2020 Tags: Matthew Fox, Plato, Platonism, dualism, nondualism, non-dualism, Platonists, theology, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Dominic, Dominican order, misogyny, feminism, joy, original sin, creation centered, coronavirus pandemic, Heartmath, Pagan, Paganism, interfaith, magnanimity, Rabbi Heschel, anger, Julian of Norwich, History, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics

Shaw helps us get acquainted with the kinds of folktales and myths that can be helpful in navigating these turbulent times. He says, “They are always trying to dig into the mud of the encounter with the notion that possibly there's a little bit of gold in there. There's some information that, over time, could turn into wisdom.”  Martin Shaw, Ph.D. is a scholar of myth and an acclaimed storyteller. He's a wilderness rites-of-passage guide and is internationally regarded as one of the most exciting proponents of the mythic imagination. He tells "prophetic stories" that speak deeply to the challenges we face today, in the world and in our personal lives. He has devised and led the Oral Tradition course at Stanford University, is a visiting fellow at Shumacher College, and the Director of the Westcountry School of Myth, a learning community in Dartmoor in the far west of the United Kingdom. His books include A Branch from the Lightning Tree: Ecstatic Myth and the Grace in Wildness (White Cloud Press 2011), Snowy Tower: Parzival and the Wet, Black Branch of Language (White Cloud Press 2014), Scatterlings: Getting Claimed in the Age of Amnesia (White Cloud 2016), The Night Wages: Bidden or Unbidden Initiations Come (Cista Mystica Press 2019) and Courting the Wild Twin (Chelsea Green Publishing 2020) Interview Date: 4/23/2020       Tags: Martin Shaw, The Odyssey, transcending, underworld, depression, despair, Percival, Grail King, The Lindworm story, alchemy, Gioia Timpanelli, Robert Bly, educated heart, James Hillman, Gaston Bachelard, Hermes, Arts & Creativity, Personal Transformation, Mythology, Philosophy