New Dimensions

Little compares to the powerful spiritual force of joining voices to harmonize in songs of freedom. It's a transformative occasion when done with the fullness of our being that creates a sense of communal solidarity. We become part of something larger than ourselves. It plants the seeds of hope and compassion in the face of face of oppression and injustice. Benjamin Mertz is a bi-racial man who is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI). He serves on the board of directors of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity and is the founder and director of the Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers. He’s a composer, performer, and song leader who specializes in the music of the Black Spiritual tradition and is a human rights and racial justice activist. When not performing music he writes and speaks on issues of racial justice, economic justice and Black History, and he works on creating interfaith and interracial alliances. He can often be found leading songs at benefit concerts, vigils, protest actions, sacred services, and workshops. His albums include: Climbing Up the Mountain (Benjamin Mertz 2019) and I Dream: Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers (Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers 2020)Interview Date: 5/13/2024.   Tags: Benjamin Mertz, Michael Cochran, Sir Roland Hanna, The Drinking Gourd, Ysaye Barnwell, AME Church in Charleston, Ilana Simmons, Dr. Cornel West, Confederate monuments, Michele Norris, Africa, Kumbaya, Music, Social Change/Politics

Here we explore one of the most important aspects of being human—the power of friendship. Friendship is an island of safety and intimacy as we share our joys, sorrows, challenges, and authenticity. They give us the courage to be our full self, flaws and all, and love us even when we don't love ourselves.  Mark Nepo is a poet, 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), The One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom That Waits in Your heart (Atria Books 2016), More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community in Our Lives and in the World (Atria Books 2018), Falling Down and Getting Up: Discovering Your Inner Resilience and Strength (St. Martin’s Essentials 2023), You Don't Have To Do It Alone: The Power Of Friendship (St. Martin’s Essentials 2024)Interview Date: 4/19/2024   Tags: Mark Nepo, honor, friendship, compassion, Organ master Lonnie Smith, Endora Welty, E.M. Forster, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Relationship

Buddha was a revolutionary and he left us with a map of how to effectively live our lives with skillful means. He gave us wise words for effective living through the Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, and the Thirteen Precepts. Here Coyote expands on the concept of "life is suffering" to mean life's afflictions cannot be avoided. Stuff happens. Peter Coyote is a master of many crafts, including being an award-winning actor, improv teacher, author, director, screenwriter, and narrator who has worked with some of the world's most distinguished filmmakers, including Ken Burns. He's won several Emmys for his narration and was ordained as a Zen priest in 2011. In 2015, he received transmission from his teacher making him an independent Zen teacher. His books includeThe 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), The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha: Masks, Meditation & Improvised Play to Induce Liberated States (Inner Traditions 2021), Zen in the Vernacular: Things As It Is (Inner Traditions 2024)Interview Date: 5/3/2024     Tags: Peter Coyote, Gary Snyder, San Francisco Zen Center, David Brazier, David Harris, eight-fold path, 8-fold path, Zen Mates Fuketsu, James Carse, injustice, slavery , Buddhism, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Social Change/Politics

Hanson encourages us toward the upper reaches of our human potential as he reveals, in detail, the 7 practices: steadiness, lovingness, fullness, wholeness, nowness, allness, and timelessness and helps us to be clear, strong, centered, and stable no matter what’s swirling around us (like a ninja warrior) with these practices. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist with a deep interest in neuroscience and mindfulness. He is a senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley and creator of the year-long course The Foundations of Well-Being. He is the author of many books including Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (New Harbinger 2009); Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (New Harbinger 2011), Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (Harmony Books 2013), Meditations to Change Your Brain - CD Set (Sounds True 2009), Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness (Harmony Books 2018) and NeuroDharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness (Harmony Books 2020)Interview Date: 2/24/2020    Tags: Rick Hanson, nervous system, four noble truths, suffering, spiritual bypassing, brain science, negative bias, cortisol, conscious evolution, common truth, common welfare, common justice, Steadiness, lovingness, fullness, wholeness, nowness, allness, timelessness, eddy in a river, Śūnyatā, emptiness, illusion, Yosemite, El Capitan, ever-unfolding edge of universe, helpless outrage, emergent edge, Dalai Lama, bodyguard, Buddhism, Meditation,Personal Transformation, science

Hanson encourages us toward the upper reaches of our human potential as he reveals, in detail, the 7 practices: steadiness, lovingness, fullness, wholeness, nowness, allness, and timelessness and helps us to be clear, strong, centered, and stable no matter what’s swirling around us (like a ninja warrior) with these practices. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist with a deep interest in neuroscience and mindfulness. He is a senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley and creator of the year-long course The Foundations of Well-Being. He is the author of many books including Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (New Harbinger 2009); Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (New Harbinger 2011), Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (Harmony Books 2013), Meditations to Change Your Brain - CD Set (Sounds True 2009), Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness (Harmony Books 2018) and NeuroDharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness (Harmony Books 2020)Interview Date: 2/24/2020   Tags: Rick Hanson, nervous system, four noble truths, suffering, spiritual bypassing, brain science, negative bias, cortisol, conscious evolution, common truth, common welfare, common justice, Steadiness, lovingness, fullness, wholeness, nowness, allness, timelessness, eddy in a river, Śūnyatā, emptiness, illusion, Yosemite, El Capitan, ever-unfolding edge of universe, helpless outrage, emergent edge, Dalai Lama, bodyguard, Buddhism, Meditation,Personal Transformation, science

Acclaimed singer-songwriter shares insights from her journey of psychological and spiritual exploration through the lens of her song lyrics. Here she delves into themes of community, vulnerability, parenting, and living a life of service and curious inquiry. Morissette offers a powerful invitation to embrace our interconnectivity and keep the light in our eyes ablaze. Alanis Morissette is a multiple Juno and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter. Her albums have sold over 75 million copies worldwide. Morissette's music explores themes of the feminine movement, leadership, spirituality, and self-empowerment. Her albums include Jagged Little Pill, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, Flavors of Entanglement, Such Pretty Forks in the Road and The Storm Before the CalmInterview Date: 4/09/2024  Tags: Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter, vulnerability, songwriting, wholeness, interconnectivity, empath, HSP, curiosity, trauma, attachment theory, Harville Hendrix, support, connection, agape, Peter Levine, Enneagram, The Hurried Child, Arianna Huffington, friendship, boundaries, silence, corrective experience, vulnerability, Elaine Aron, introversion, Internal Family Systems, parts work, Arts & Creativity, Personal Transformation, Spirituality, Women's Studies, Psychology, Parenting, Meditation

Scientist Radin separates magic into three categories: divination, force of will, and theurgy (evoking spirits - God force - through ceremony). Toms and Radin share some fascinating “magical” stories from their own lives. Radin posits that ”The secret power of the universe is not made out of matter and energy and physical stuff but is probably made out of consciousness.”Tags: MP3, Dean Radin, divination, intention, force of will, optimism, pessimism, positive thinking, affirmations, synchronicity, confidence, coincidence, attachment, letting go of outcome, Quantum Zeno effect, I Ching, precognition, second law of thermodynamics, Max Planck, Health & Healing

Hudson guides us in the transformative power of the Enneagram and how it can foster self-awareness, empathy, and personal growth. From his decades of studying this significant framework he shares how it assists us in assessing a spectrum of possible personality types that, when applied to oneself, offers a unique pathway to living a more authentic and fulfilling life. Russ Hudson is a world-renowned teacher, author, and scholar who has dedicated over 30 years to studying and sharing the gifts of the Enneagram. He is the author of The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth For The And Nine Personality Types (coauthor with Don Richard Riso) (Bantam Books 1999) and The Enneagram: Nine Gateways to Presence (Sounds True 2021)Interview Date: 3/22/2024     Tags: Russ Hudson, Enneagram, personality types, self-awareness, empathy, personal growth, transformation, presence, Fourth Way, George Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo, Don Richard Riso, A. H. Almaas, Hameed Ali, David Byrne, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Prince, Philip Glass, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, David Bowie, self-discovery, mindfulness, integration, relationships, work, spirituality, ancient wisdom, symbolism, ego, essence, inner work, guidance, awakening, Personal Transformation, Psychology, Spirituality, Philosophy

Keeping chickens in an urban setting has become increasingly popular in recent years. They not only produce eggs, they give us the delightful pleasure of their company. When feeling stressed and anxious just take a moment or two to pull up a chair outside a chicken coop and let these feathered friends entertain you, erase your anxiety, and connect you to nature. Tedra Hamel (known as Teddi) is a critical care nurse in Washington state and a backyard chicken enthusiast. Through the inspiration of her feathered friends she has become an artist, and her hens have established some fame on Instagram. She is the author and artist illustrator of Therapy Chickens: Let the Wisdom of the Flock Bring You Joy (Quarto Publishing Group 2024)Interview Date: 3/20/2024  Tags: Tedra Hamel, pecking order, chicken coops, roosting, chicken poop as fertilizer, egg laying, Hen Power, community chicken coops, Animals, Community, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Personal Transformation

Coleman suggests that we take our meditation practice outside. This can move us from an interior-focused self-referential world to one of connecting with the living web that is our ecosystem. He often asks the question of his students: As you are a part of the Earth, what is an effective way to live your life that's an expression of care for the Earth, which is also yourself? Mark Coleman is a mindfulness meditation teacher who has been teaching Insight meditation and nature retreats worldwide since 1997. He regularly leads wilderness retreats through his organization, Awake in the Wild, where he introduces others to nature-based meditation practices. These retreats include a wide variety of contemplative activities like hiking, backpacking, forest bathing, kayaking, river rafting, cross-country skiing, rowing, canoeing, and more. Mark is also the co-founder of the Mindfulness Training Institute, where he co-leads yearlong mindfulness-teacher trainings in Europe and the U.S. He is also a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. His books include Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery (New World Library 2006), Make Peace with Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic (New World Library 2016), From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness (New World Library 2019) and A Field Guide to Nature Meditation: 52 Mindfulness Practices for Joy, Wisdom and Wonder (Awake in the Wild 2022) Interview Date: 3/6/2024 Tags: Mark Coleman, mindfulness meditation, meandering, John O’Donohue, inner presence, nature, the natural world, Redwoods, silence, eco crisis, attention economy, Buddhism, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Ecology/Nature/Environment