Banyen Books ~ Branches of Wisdom

Jackie Morris and Nick Bantock, internationally renowned illustrators & authors, converse about art, the creative process, and their award-winning and bestselling books. Special focus is given to Jackie Morris' books The Lost Words and Song of the Golden Hare and Nick Bantock's The River Deck, The Corset & The Jellyfish and the Griffin & Sabine series.Nick Bantock, author of 30 books including 11 bestsellers, saw three of his works simultaneously reach the New York Times top ten. His iconic Griffin and Sabine series remained on bestseller lists for over two years, with more than 5 million copies sold and translations in 13 languages. Named by Weird Tales as one of the top 85 storytellers of the century, Bantock’s art—including paintings, drawings, and sculptures—has been exhibited across the UK, France, and North America. He received a lifetime BAFTA for Ceremony of Innocence, a CD-ROM collaboration with Peter Gabriel’s Real World. Over the last 20 years, he has delivered keynote and motivational talks across North America, Europe, and Australia. Educated in England with a Fine Art degree, Bantock’s background includes work as a psychotherapist-in-training and the design of a uniquely inspired home. From 2007 to 2010, he served on Canada’s postage stamp selection committee. nickbantock.com

Karla McLaren shares insights and wisdom from The Language of Emotions Workbook to help us connect with our feelings and build better boundaries.Karla McLaren, M.Ed., is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and empathy innovator. She is CEO of Emotion Dynamics Inc., developer of Dynamic Emotional Integration®, and creator of the Empathy Academy. Karla is the author of 'The Language of Emotions', 'Embracing Anxiety', 'The Art of Empathy', 'The Power of Emotions at Work', and the multimedia online course Emotional Flow. She writes for Psychology Today. She lives in Sonoma County, CA.

Ron Pevny, founder and director of the Center for Conscious Eldering, shares wisdom on living a fulfilling, purpose-driven second half of life.As today’s seniors redefine what it means to age, Conscious Living, Conscious Aging offers wisdom and practical tools for navigating this new chapter with vitality, engagement, and spiritual depth. Pevny introduces Conscious Eldering as a pathway to personal growth, service, and lifelong exploration, helping readers cultivate meaning, navigate life transitions, and embrace their elder years with intention. This conversation will explore how aging can be a time of transformation, contribution, and deep fulfillment.Ron Pevny, M.A., CSL has for forty years been dedicated to assisting people in negotiating life transitions as they create lives of purpose and passion. He is Founding Director of the Center for Conscious Eldering, based in Colorado, which for 20 years has presented workshops and retreats across North America to support people in bringing purpose, growth and commitment to service to their elder years. He is author of Conscious Living, Conscious Aging: Claiming the Gifts of Elderhood, published by Beyond Words/Atria Books in 2014, with a new, 10th Anniversary expanded and updated edition published this past July. Ron is also a Certified Sage-ing® Leader, and has served as the host/interviewer for three Transforming Aging Summits presented by The Shift Network and co-host for the Turning Points interview series presented by Sage-ing International.

Richard Rudd, founder of the Gene Keys method, shares wisdom and practices from from his newly released book Gene Keys (Special Anniversary Edition).Gene Keys offers a powerful approach to unlocking your untapped potential by awakening the sleeping genius within. Combining Western astrology, the I Ching, and genetic archetypes, these transformative teachings guide you in decoding your Gene Keys Profile and help you turn shadow patterns into creative gifts. Richard Rudd is a teacher, mystic, and award-winning poet, experienced a life-changing spiritual awakening at age 29, which led to his development of the Gene Keys teachings. His studies with renowned spiritual teachers, travels across the world, and deep inner explorations culminated in this profound body of work. In 2019, Richard was named on the Watkins list of The 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, solidifying his influence in the field of personal and spiritual growth.

Mirabai Starr and Sr Greta Ronningon discuss Mirabai Starr's new book, Ordinary Mysticism, where she reveals how to discover the sacred in everyday life. In Ordinary Mysticism, Mirabai Starr invites us to embrace mysticism not as a distant or exclusive practice, but as a direct, personal experience of the divine woven into the fabric of our daily routines. Drawing on wisdom from spiritual luminaries like Julian of Norwich and Ram Dass, along with her own journey through love, loss, and healing, Starr offers profound insights, storytelling, and practices to awaken to the magic in ordinary moments. Ordinary Mysticism has received praise from the likes of Anne Lamott, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Mark Nepo, Valarie Kaur, Pete Holmes.Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and leading teacher of interspiritual dialogue. In 2020, she was named one of Watkins’ 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from 20 years of teaching Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos, she now travels globally, sharing her insights on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformative power of grief. Her books include Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, and God of Love. Mirabai’s acclaimed translations of mystics like John of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila offer a fresh, lyrical voice. She lives in northern New Mexico and teaches through her online community, Wild Heart. More at www.mirabaistarr.com.Sister Greta Ronningen is an Episcopal monastic, spiritual teacher, and chaplain. She began her journey in the 1970s at the Ojai Foundation with Dr. (Roshi) Joan Halifax, exploring various Eastern traditions, and later traveled to Nepal, where she took refuge with His Holiness Dudjum Rinpoche. In the 1980s, she co-founded Yoga Works in Santa Monica and Yoga Zone in New York with her husband, a second-generation yoga master of the ISHTA tradition. After 35 years of yoga teaching, she felt drawn to the Christian contemplative path, co-founding the Community of Divine Love in San Gabriel, CA. Greta holds an MA in Spiritual Formation from Claremont School of Theology and serves as a chaplain at Twin Towers Correctional Facility and Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.

Internationally celebrated Qi Gong master Lee Holden shares wisdom from his latest book, Ready, Set, Slow: How to Improve Your Energy, Health, and Relationships Through the Power of Slow.In this guide, Holden explores the power of slowing down to find balance and peace amidst the chaos of modern life. Drawing from Eastern meditation, martial arts, and Western science, he will introduce The Slow Method—a collection of practical tools to help you regain time, energy, and clarity. Discover techniques for calming the mind, nurturing the body, and deepening relationships as you learn how slowing down can lead to greater productivity, vitality, and inner harmony. Rady, Set, Slow has received praise from Deepak Chopra, James Nestor, Vishen Lakhiani, Mantak Chia and more.Lee Holden is an internationally celebrated Qi Gong master recognized by the International Qi Gong Association. He is the author of 7 Minutes of Magic and a beloved television personality who has been aired in over 50 million households in the US alone. Lee is a licensed Chinese medical doctor and acupuncturist and the cofounder of the Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine and Chi Center.

Deb Dana discusses The Nervous System Workbook: Practical Exercises to Ease Anxiety, Find Safety, and Come Home to Yourself Using Polyvagal Theory.Deb Dana offers tools for understanding and befriending your unique nervous system, providing practical exercises and insights rooted in Polyvagal Theory—a groundbreaking approach that explains how our nervous systems shape our behaviors, emotions, and relationships. Dana presents a layperson-friendly overview of Polyvagal Theory, guiding you through practices and reflections to help you understand, soothe, and train your system, cultivating a sense of safety and well-being.Discover how to manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelm with effective strategies tailored to your body's unique needs. As Dana writes, “There is no right or wrong way—there is the way of your nervous system.” This event is perfect for anyone looking to enhance their mental health and live with greater resilience and connection.Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician and consultant specializing in using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honour the role of the autonomic nervous system. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute and lectures internationally. She is the author of several books, including Anchored and Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection.

Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor share authentic wisdom from their new book, Feeling Happy: The Yoga of Body, Heart, and Mind. Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor have both studied yoga for over 50 years. Together they teach workshops and training throughout the world and have authored several influential books. Their new book, Feeling Happy, draws from their decades practising and teaching yoga, meditation, and Buddhism to explore what happiness is and to offer practical steps toward cultivating happiness as a deep, embodied expression of life. Freeman and Taylor offer insights from yoga philosophy and Buddhism as well as accessible practices to help readers develop true happiness, (self)compassion, and equanimity.Richard Freeman has studied Ashtanga, Iyengar, bhakti, and traditional hatha yoga; Western and Eastern philosophy; and Sanskrit, all of which he incorporates into his Ashtanga yoga practice. Richard teaches at his studio, the Yoga Workshop, in Boulder, Colorado, as well as at studios and conferences throughout the world. He is also a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and his video series, Yoga with Richard Freeman, inspires many people to take up yoga. Mary Taylor is the cofounder, with Richard Freeman, of the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, which they started in 1988. Mary travels and teaches Ashtanga yoga throughout the world, both independently and in collaboration with Richard. In addition to teaching, Mary works closely with programs focused on bringing contemplative and yoga practices into the health care system for integrative therapies and self-care, and she is active in Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation.

Rob Wipond, author of Your Consent Is Not Required, discusses the alarming rise of psychiatric coercion—and how we can push for ethical, person-centred alternatives.Asylums may have closed, but their practices persist in troubling ways. More people than ever are being involuntarily committed and forcibly treated. In Your Consent Is Not Required, investigative journalist Rob Wipond exposes how psychiatric incarceration, forced medication, and coercive interventions extend beyond hospitals into homes, schools, prisons, and social services—impacting not only those deemed "dangerous" but also schoolchildren, the elderly, whistleblowers, and marginalized communities. While revealing these hidden injustices, the book also explores humane, consent-based alternatives for supporting people in crisis.Rob Wipond is a freelance investigative journalist who writes about the intersections of psychiatry, civil rights, policing, surveillance, and social change. His work has been nominated for seventeen magazine and journalism awards for reporting on science, medicine, law, business, and community issues.

Toko-pa Turner, award-winning author of Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, shares wisdom from her new book, The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams.In 'The Dreaming Way', Toko-pa reawakens the ancient art of dreaming as a way to reclaim the wisdom we all carry within. Blending animism, Sufism, and Jungian Psychology, she reveals that the power to interpret and understand our dreams is a natural part of being human—something as accessible as finding meaning in a story or beauty in a work of art. In this evocative and revolutionary new book, she invites us to reconnect with our inner guide and to bring the world of dreams back into everyday life.Toko-pa Turner is an award-winning writer, teacher, and dreamworker who blends the mystical tradition of Sufism with a Jungian approach to dreams. In 2001 she founded the Dream School and speaks internationally on the subject of dreams and belonging. Sometimes called a "midwife of the psyche," Toko-pa’s work focuses on restoring the feminine, reciprocity with nature, honouring grief, ritual, and beauty-making. Her book, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2017 Gold Nautilus Award, and the 2018 Readers' Favourite Gold Award. It was named Finalist in the 2018 Whistler Independent Book Awards, and Finalist for the Montaigne Medal in the 2019 Eric Hoffer Book Awards. Her new book is The Dreaming Way.