The Sacred Speaks

The discussion begins with a question about duality in the structure of human consciousness (up/down, sacred/profane, subject/object, yin/yang, psyche/soma). Gary maintains a longstanding interest in explorations of matter and psyche. His book borrows from the conversations and ideas exchanged between Carl Jung and Wolfgang Pauli, one of the men responsible for the discovery of quantum physics. For Jung the opposites are primary therefore the conversation expands on this idea throughout the exchange. Further, Gary defines spiritual and synchronicity, noting how often “science” or the material and spiritual are not interpreted in the way that may be of more service to us all. He provides examples of synchronicity and helps the listener understand the concept of synchronicity. Jung and Pauli converse because of the strange behavior of the electron in the atom and how causality breaks down when we try to understand the individual – less about causality than about a teleological structure of the individual’s life. Technology is questioned and viewed as a phenomenon that has drastically changed the relationship that we have with ourselves and created us into distracted individuals who struggle to sit with ourselves. Gary discusses his understanding of the religious task and defines this process as “learning whom we are born to be and making it real in time and space.” We finish on the subject of numbers and the archetypal background of numbers as qualities and not only quantities. Bio: J. Gary Sparks, B.Sc., M.Div., M.A., is a graduate of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA; the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA; and the C.G. Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland. He is a former Peace Corps Korea Volunteer during the early 1970s and co-editor of Edward F. Edinger’s Science of the Soul (2002) and Ego and Self: The Old Testament Prophets (2000). He is widely known in North America for his lectures and seminars on the significance and application of Jungian psychology. Completing eight years of training in 1982, Gary graduated from the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich and presently makes his living as a Jungian analyst. The Jungian approach observes that the personality spontaneously produces images which symbolically communicate the means of resolving a given impasse and—more generally—the unique life course for each individual in pursuit of meaning and satisfaction to follow. In practical terms the Jungian focus studies dreams as a way of getting at this deeper source of knowledge. Such has been Gary’s enduring fascination: to learn the nature of our symbolic language, to understand its value in the therapeutic setting and to discover its relevance to solving human problems in general. Website: http://www.jgsparks.net Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Band of the week: BADBADNOTGOOD http://badbadnotgood.com Music page: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/badbadnotgood/505464105 Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks

19: Tibetan meditation and spiritual practice. A conversation with Alejandro Chaoul In this episode, Alejandro’s knowledge provides a guide rail down into the parts of meditation that are not just about feeling calm and blissful, but the meditation that brings the “gunk” to the surface so that one can be more present with it, work with it and transform it. He discusses how valuable it is that a meditation practice helps increase feelings of relaxation and calm, although he also recognizes that we often need to bring our “shit to the cushion,” and ask difficult questions about where that pain is coming from and how we keep falling for the same patterns. We talk about religion as containing helpful tools, whose value can often be overtaken by people misusing the potential of each tradition. Dr. Chaoul defines enlightenment (if such a thing can be defined) and carefully articulates his words to help the listener begin to understand what it means to be present. Further, he defines spirit and discusses different ways to enhance one’s “spiritual connection,” with one’s life. How we find ways to support our connection with self, world, and the meaning of life. Bio: Dr. Alejandro Chaoul is a Senior Teacher of The 3 Doors, an international organization founded by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche with the goal of transforming lives through meditation. Alejandro has studied in the Tibetan tradition since 1989, and for over 20 years with Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, completing the 7-year training at Ligmincha Institute in 2000. He also holds a Ph.D. in Tibetan religions from Rice University. Since 1995, he has been teaching meditation classes, and Tibetan Yoga (Tsa Lung & Trul Khor) workshops nationally and internationally under the auspices of Ligmincha Institute and is on the Board of the Ligmincha Texas Institute for the Tibetan meditative and healing arts. In 1999 he began teaching these techniques at the Integrative Medicine Program of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, where he holds a faculty position and for the last fifteen years conducts research on the effect of these practices in people with cancer. He is also an associate faculty member at The University of Texas’ McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, where he teaches medical students in the areas of spirituality, complementary and integrative medicine, and end of life care. Alejandro is also the author of Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition (Snow Lion, 2009). Website: http://alechaoul.com https://junghouston.org/about-the-center/mind-body-spirit-institute/ Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: Bleeding https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bleeding/20833875?i=20833857 Flickerstick’s music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/flickerstick/473740 Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks

Rabbi Sholklapper may speak and read enough languages to make anyone jealous. This multi-lingual blessing allows him the unique gift of investigating ancient religious texts to deconstruct them and explore meaning lost over the passing of time and that has often been injected with interpretations based in ulterior motives. This fact makes him an exceptionally fun person with whom to share a coffee and conversation. One of the most influential and life-changing moments in Ariel’s life involved his experience of arriving on the scene as a first responder following a bomb exploding on a bus in Israel. This trauma sent him into enough of a blunted state of numbness that he began exploring meditation and mindfulness. He is now a teacher of both. Through this conversation, Ariel answers the question, “What is Judaism?” His answer: that each of us has a divine spark and our lives are about getting closer to that spark. The consequences of this understanding from his perspective is one of the goals of the work: becoming kinder to others, more compassionate, and also more settled, and in life. A necessary and honorable goal indeed. Bio: Rabbi Ariel Sholklapper is a mindfulness practitioner who got his start under the guidance of Rabbis Jeff Roth, James Jacobson Maisels, and Joanna Katz in 2011. Since then he has attended, managed, and facilitated retreats and mindfulness meditation groups all over the world. He was recently appointed Director of the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Houston at Congregation Beth Yeshurun, the largest Conservative Jewish congregation in the United States. He earned a degree in philosophy and Jewish studies at UCLA, was ordained at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, and holds an MBA in nonprofit management. Learn more about this project at: www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Theme music provided by: www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: Fireproof on Mingo Fishtrap’s album “On Time” lyrics and music by Treson Scipio and Roger Blevins Jr. www.mingofishtrap.com

This conversation explores some of the basic foundations for depth psychology; in particular, how paying attention to the body provides a ground for any individual to come to know their intuitive center point. Dr. Nanine Ewing surveys the body and the unconscious and the various pressures on how one should view each of these concepts in today’s culture. Nanine explains “the psychology of beauty” through both her academic study of attractiveness and the body, and also her experience as a woman in a culture that both subtly, and not, so subtlety emphasizes looks, pressuring women to change, alter, and value her looks and presentation. She discusses death and aging with a grace that is contagious. An underlying theme of this conversation is that if we but have these conversations more and more, may we all come to learn the gifts that life, death, aging, and impermanence conceal beneath our initial fears of coming to term with these inevitabilities. Bio: Nanine Ewing, Ph.D., F.A.G.P.A., GGP, L.M.F.T, BC-DMT is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Houston, Texas for the past 33 years. She is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and a Certified Group Psychotherapist and a Dance Movement therapist. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the subjects of nonverbal communication, Jungian theory, Group process, Group dynamics, Psyche and Soma, Countertransference, the Anti-group, and many other topics. She teaches in an alternate training route for dance movement therapists in Embodied Neurobiology for advanced clinical training at Experiential Therapies in Austin, Texas. She has a private practice in Houston, Texas and runs 3 groups a week for clinicians and private clients. She does in depth individual work with a Jungian orientation focusing on dream work and symbolic work in the body and psyche. Her clientele includes a large percentage of her fellow clinicians. She has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and a Masters in counseling psychology and is a certified Adlerian and has studied hypnotherapy to the consultant level. She believes deeply in the work of the therapist's inner life and has been committed to her own therapy and analysis for the entire spectrum of her clinical work and dedicates herself to encouraging other clinicians to do the same. www.nanineewing.com Learn more about this project at: www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Theme music provided by: www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: Bitta Honey (live) by Mingo Fishtrap www.mingofishtrap.com

This episode of the podcast begins with Dr. Cross discussing how his history influences the work that he has been doing with families and children “from hard places” for almost 40 years. This conversation explores David’s philosophical orientation as informed by the work of philosopher Benedict De Spinoza. David cites that Spinoza served as close to a philosophical “North Star” as anyone could get. David sees Spinoza as an ascetic, and one aspect of his life is the “honest work” that grounds us. Doing the real work of trying to make a difference. This conversation touches upon human growth and development, trauma and trauma-informed care, Eastern and Western philosophy, attachment, culture, and politics. Our conversation deconstructs the essence of the trust-based connection that Dr. Cross and his partner in the creation of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, Dr. Karyn Purvis, have worked to help bring to families and kids of the world. Bio: Dr. David Cross is the Rees-Jones Director of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development and a Professor in the TCU Department of Psychology. Dr. Cross leads the Institute in its triple mission of research, education and outreach to improve the lives of children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and/or trauma. He has authored many peer-reviewed publications about issues regarding at-risk children. Dr. Cross earned his B.S. from California State University Fresno with a major in Psychology, and then attended The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for graduate study, beginning in 1980. He earned an M.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Statistics. He later earned a Ph.D. in Education and Psychology. In 1985, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor in TCU’s Department of Psychology. Dr. Cross, with his former colleague Dr. Karyn Purvis, co-authored “The Connected Child: Bringing Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family” to help adoptive parents understand the needs of children from hard places. “The Connected Child” continues to be a best-seller among adoption books. Together, Drs. Purvis and Cross created Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®), a holistic, attachment based, trauma-informed, and evidence-based intervention for children who have experienced relational trauma. Dr. Cross and his staff at the Institute regularly train professionals from around the world in TBRI®. The Institute is actively engaged in research that not only demonstrates the efficacy of TBRI® as an evidence-based intervention, but also in research about how to grow trauma-informed organizations and communities. In addition to his responsibilities at the Institute, Dr. Cross teaches many TCU courses including Case Studies in Child Development, Generalized Linear Models, and Graduate Developmental Psychology. Dr. Cross’s wife, Trudy, is a retired Kindergarten teacher and a practicing Grandmother. His daughter, Jennifer, graduated from TCU in 2003, and is an environmental project manager for CB&I. His son, Nathan, is a former USMC Captain, and is now studying history at UTA. https://child.tcu.edu Learn more about this project at: www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Theme music provided by: www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: My 66 by Shadows of Jets https://www.facebook.com/ShadowsOfJets/

Harvey is a psychotherapist and a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, who received the title of Lama, Vajra Master from his teacher in 2010 and in a teaching context is known as Lama Namgyal Dorje. Dr. Aronson’s academic and spiritual path places him in an informed position to speak about the intersection of the both Buddhism and psychology; so much so that his book, Buddhist Practice On Western Ground, does just that. His treatment of culture, in general, and the differences between Tibetan and “Western” culture is an enlightening endeavor for any reader of his work, as it calls the reader to interrogate the patterns of their culture. Any participant of therapy will often hear their therapist urge them to “feel their feelings” with the implication that they have been “cut off” from their ability to be informed and signaled by one means the psyche communicates – through the body and with the feelings. He states that much of what the psychotherapist is working to do is to invite the individual to feel and experience what they were denied the validity of experiencing through their development. Harvey roots his exploration of the differences between Buddhism and Western psychology within a transformation that occurred in his life while teaching as a professor of Buddhist studies. As a young professor, Dr. Aronson learned that he would not get tenure and then began to experience a series of panic attacks, which sent him seeking a therapist. This process brought to the foreground the differences between the two and also sent him down the path of psychotherapeutic practice. Another core aspect of Harvey’s work is developmental theory as it relates to the Western practices of child-rearing and the implications that the cultural approach to parenting may appears to contribute and inform both how Westerners begin to understand themselves and also express their feelings and also how therapy treats the potential injuries that occur as a consequence – noting that, no matter the culture in which we develop, there will usually be some kind of wound as a result. Harvey states that many of the wounds that we endure through life are relational in nature and therefore the relational aspect of psychotherapy may meet the wound on the ground of its origin. Bio: Harvey B. Aronson, holds a BA in Chemistry from Brooklyn College, an MSW from Boston University, and a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin. He has studied extensively with prominent teachers in the Geluk, Dzogchen and Theravada traditions in India, Nepal and the United States. Harvey is the author of Buddhist Practice on Western Ground and Love and Sympathy in Theravada Buddhism, and a recognized scholar of the intersections between traditional Buddhist practice and Western therapeutic modalities. Harvey, and his wife Anne C. Klein, both hold PhDs in Buddhist Studies with a long, shared history of learning from the highest lamas of Tibetan traditions, and they founded Dawn Mountain in 1996. As practitioners, scholars, translators and gifted teachers, they serve Western seekers of all stripes and have fostered a strong community of advanced students that reaches from Houston to Portland, Oregon; Berkeley, California; Bloomington, Indiana; Ithaca, New York; Copenhagen, Denmark and beyond Harvey and Anne have been practicing and studying together in Asia and the west since 1970. They received the title of Lama, Vajra Master from their teacher in 2010 and in teaching context are known respectively as Lama Rigzin Drolma and Lama Namgyal Dorje. www.dawnmountain.org Learn more about this project at: www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Theme music provided by: www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: New Age, by Cut Throat Finches www.cutthroatfinches.com

We begin our conversation with Bob joking that, as a young boy growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, he knew he was a Democrat before he knew he was Jewish. Bob was deeply influenced by Robert “Bobby” Kennedy’s position as an agent of change so much so that he began working with the Kennedy campaign early in his life; and considering that Bobby Kennedy was a hero figure for Bob, Kennedy’s death greatly impacted him so much so that he continued the work of activism for collective change. When he was a young man, Bob embarked on a path into education, and as a self-professed skeptic, he hesitantly began a meditation practice at 18 years old although that was soon overwhelmed by the profound experience that transcendental meditation brought into his life. With the seeds of desire to educate children, Bob began teaching and educating inner-city youth and inmates about the benefits of meditation. He has continued along this path ever since. Bob and David Lynch began the nonprofit The David Lynch Foundation and have since offered scholarships to seek to teach over one million children the transformative value of meditation. The results of these interventions are astounding. To cite one example, within a year or two, following learning meditation some of the most underperforming schools in the bay area elevated the ranks to become among some of the higher performing schools in the area. Bob discusses three forms of meditation and provides a little background on each, and expands on the practice of Transcendental Meditation. Bob draws from ancient practice to modern neuroscience to back up his claims of how revolutionary a meditation practice can be for your life – and, as he frames it, it is more accessible than you may think. Bio: Bob Roth is one of the most experienced and sought-after meditation leaders in America. Over the past 45 years, Bob has taught Transcendental Meditation to many thousands of people and is the author of the forthcoming authoritative book on the subject, entitled "Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation", which will be published internationally by Simon & Schuster in February 2018. Bob Currently serves as the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity which has brought meditation to over 500,000 inner-city youth in underserved schools in 35 countries, to veterans and their families who suffer from post-traumatic stress, and women and children who are survivors of domestic violence. Bob also directs the Center for Leadership Performance, another nonprofit, which is bringing meditation to Fortune 100 companies, government organizations, and nonprofit charities. Bob is the host of the SiriusXM radio show, "Success Without Stress" and has spoken about meditation to industry leaders at such gatherings as Google Zeitgeist, Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen Brain Conference, Wisdom2.0, and Summit. https://www.davidlynchfoundation.org Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: Jeff Price https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mississippi-lights/1393868655

Robert speaks with eloquence as he grounds his research (me-search) in his personal story, a story that has a sobering way of articulating both the academic and the particular dynamic between, hope and despair, his subject of study. Robert has emerged from the depth and is now able to support others as they make a similar journey into their own experiences of the ups of life and also the downs. About the time when many of us were working on how to write and understand basic math, Robert was becoming more and more immersed in the world of alcohol and drugs. Many people struggle to separate themselves from the pull of these addictions, but for Robert, this aspect of his early life has served to provide him with the experiential knowledge that often only within the depths of personal darkness may we come to know the light of hope. After researching these phenomena, Robert does not believe hope to be intellectual, but relational – we “do” hope - meaning that no matter how hopeless we may feel at any time, we can cultivate a deeper relationship to hope and imagine ourselves to brighter and broader life experience. Biography: Robert Hilliker, LCSW, LCDC received his Master’s degree from the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work. Following graduation Robert pursued additional training working as a Post-Graduate Social Work Fellow at The Menninger Clinic. He then completed a two-year fellowship at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies. Currently, Robert is a doctoral student at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, IL. He worked for three years at The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston where he served as the Manager of Executive and Treatment Services. As a therapist in the adult intensive outpatient program he provided clinical treatment services to individuals, couples, families, and groups. Robert worked at The Daring Way LLC with Dr. Brené Brown where he served as the Chief Clinical Officer for over three years. He has facilitated this methodology across diverse settings including Baylor Psychiatry Clinic, The Menninger Clinic, and The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston. In April 2014, Robert co-founded and became the Managing Partner for The Lovett Center LLC with his business partner, Will Davis. The Lovett Center is a community of helping professionals that offers traditional lease space, part-time office space, as well as opportunities for collaboration and continued learning for therapists. Robert works with patients in private practice at The Lovett Center and serves as the Clinical Director for the Pathos Program at The Lovett Center. Pathos offers intensive outpatient, supportive outpatient, and aftercare programming for people struggling with addiction and co-occurring mental health issues. Robert’s private practice focuses on work with professionals, addictive disorders, shame resiliency, and behavioral health issues. He provides individual, couples, family, and group psychotherapy. https://thelovettcenter.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Song of the week: Holy Moly http://www.holymolytexas.com Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks

Dr. Shefali Tsabary discusses expanding consciousness through parenting, challenging cultural lies, and embracing vulnerability. She emphasizes the importance of addressing pain for personal growth, redefining success and happiness in parenting, and breaking away from societal norms for authentic relationships.

The discussion begins with Rodney’s musical biography starting at the age of 9, this early interest in music then transforms into a life calling by the age of 11. Currently, he is in training as a Jungian analyst, and therefore he speaks eloquently about the integration of music and depth psychology. Rodney’s life has provided him the ground to understand how music can give an individual an invitation to consciously and unconsciously explore their creativity, sexuality, and their worldview. Rodney considers his early sexual development through his childhood growing up in West Texas and emphasizes how music provided him a container to hold onto the “life-force” that needed a location for expression. Music eventually could not contain the life-force any longer, and he began searching and expanding his sexuality and his identity. One academic and personal arena of study for Rodney is sexuality, and in particular male sexuality, therefore we consider the modes through which men feel they can and cannot talk about with each other and find means by which to connect. Rodney’s interests are each located around the central theme of intimacy and self-expression – including music, relationship, sexuality, tattoos, depth psychology, and the beard. Rodney Waters is the Scholarship Director for Music Doing Good, a nonprofit based in Houston, Texas that transforms children’s lives through innovative, music-based programming. As a pianist he has performed extensively in Japan and Europe, and in Houston with the Houston Symphony, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Da Camera, Musiqa, and St. Cecilia Chamber Music Society. In April 2016, his recording with Curt Thompson of the complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano by American composer Charles Ives was named one of the top 10 recordings of Ives’ music by Gramophone Magazine. Rodney earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from the Mannes College of Music in New York, where he studied with Richard Goode. A long-time advocate for the use of art in service of social causes, Rodney has created projects to support local resettlement of refugees through Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston and HIV prevention programs through AIDS Foundation Houston. In 2016 Rodney composed and recorded music for Jungians Speaking, a DVD series released by Chiron Publications. He is currently in training to be a Jungian Analyst at the International School of Analytical Psychology in Zurich. Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/