Banyen Books ~ Branches of Wisdom

Banyen Books & Sound converses with Maude Barlow on her new book, Still Hopeful: Lessons From a Lifetime of Activism. Maude Barlow is the former Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. She chairs the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch, is a Councillor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council, and is the Honorary Chancellor of Brescia University. She has also served on the executive of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature.

Brad Warner converses with Banyen Books & Sound on his book, The Other Side of Nothing – a real, relatable guide to Zen Buddhist ethics for modern times. Brad Warner is the author of The Other Side of Nothing and numerous other titles including Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen, Don’t Be a Jerk, and Hardcore Zen. A Soto Zen teacher, he is also a punk bassist, filmmaker, and popular blogger who leads workshops and retreats around the world. In addition to his books, his writing appears in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and Alternative Press. He lives in Los Angeles where he is the founder and lead teacher of the Angel City Zen Center. Visit him online at https://www.hardcorezen.info.

Maria Tatar converses with Banyen Books & Sound on her book, The Heroine with 1,001 Faces. Maria Tatar is one of the world’s leading folklorists. She is the John L. Loeb Research Professor and a Senior Fellow at Harvard University. The editor of the Norton Critical Edition of The Classic Fairy Tales and The Annotated Brothers Grimm, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Michelle Good joins Banyen Books & Sound in conversation on Five Little Indians – her Governor General's Literary Award and CBC Canada Reads-winning novel. Michelle Good is a Cree writer and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. After working for Indigenous organizations for twenty-five years she obtained a law degree and advocated for residential school survivors for over fourteen years. Good earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia while still practising law and managing her own law firm. Her poems, short stories, and essays have been published in magazines and anthologies across Canada, and her poetry was included on two lists of the best Canadian poetry in 2016 and 2017. Five Little Indians won this year's winner of CBC's Canada Reads. It has received many honours and awards, including the Governor General's Award for Fiction.

Banyen Books & Sound speaks with Marianne Williamson on her life and work. Marianne Williamson is a bestselling author, political activist, and spiritual thought leader. For over three decades Marianne has been a leader in spiritual and religiously progressive circles. She is the author of 14 books, four of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. A quote from the mega-bestseller A Return to Love, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers. Some remarkable accomplishments include: - Author of 14 books, four of which have been #1 New York Times best sellers - Listed on Watkins’ annual list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People since its inception - Founder of Project Angel Food, a non-profit that has delivered more than 14 million meals to ill and dying homebound patients since 1989

Banyen Books & Sound converses with Robert Yelton of the Squamish Nation and Yogacharini Maitreyi who comes from the tantric-yoga culture of South India on Art, Earth, Spirit: Nature & Spirituality in Indigenous & Yogic Culture. Yogacharini Maitreyi is an international master teacher, practical mystic and founder of Arkaya Awareness Centre and Arkaya Foundation. For the last 25 years she has been dedicated to  sharing and teaching expansive life principles. She was born and raised in India where she was immersed in the yogic life for over four decades, through her grandfather and gurus. She studied in the Shivananda and then the Ananda ashram for many years. Through her guidance, you will experience lightness, restfulness and a deeper connection to self. She shares from her life experience and asks people to do the same - to start where they are. Since 1997 in India,  Maitreyi has been given titles: Yoga Chemmal (expert), Yoga Shiromani (gem), and Yoga Acharini (guide). In 2007 she was one of the youngest to be invited to the Advisory Board of the World Yoga Council, in Europe. She has shared the deeper dimensions of yoga, self management and sattvic tantra worldwide. This includes seeing and shifting within ourselves, deep rooted conditioning that is divisive, exploitative, colonial or disrespectful. A compassionate holistic coach, her sessions include online energy assessments to guide one into one’s own innate balance. Arkaya Coaching & Healing: https://www.arkaya.net/coaching-healingMaitreyi trains teachers in a two-year 500-hour online self-awareness program, mentoring them in the Culture of Yoga: https://www.arkaya.net/teacher-training  Robert Yelton is a Squamish Nation carver and elder statesman. He carved the first and only Squamish Nation totem in Stanley Park which is on the traditional Squamish territory. He learned to mix paints for his grandmother when he was eight years old and carve when he was eleven years old. Through the many years of trials and tribulations and feeling like an outsider in his own land, it was his carving that became a tool for his spiritual awakening and ongoing connection. He is also a retired drug and alcohol counsellor and one of the founding members of NNADAP. He has supported many youth in moving through their trauma by showing them the way of integrity, kindness, and love. He has also given them a reality check by taking them to prisons to see where they could end up if they don’t course correct at an early age. He is regularly called in as a guest speaker at various organizations, like UBC, to give talks on Indigenous culture, carving, and spirituality. He also speaks about the commonalities and the differences in culture and tradition between the variety of Indigenous nations throughout Turtle Island (North America). On Robert’s totem in Stanley Park, his mother is represented at the base of the totem. The most important person is usually represented at the base of the totem.

Dr. Dean Ornish converses with Banyen Books & Sound on his latest bestseller Undo It!: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases. Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and the author of six books, all national bestsellers. He has received numerous honors, including the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of Texas, Austin, and the National Public Health Hero Award from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Ornish was recognized as a “Time 100 Innovator”; by Life magazine as “one of the 50 most influential members of his generation”; by People as “one of the most interesting people of the year”; and by Forbes as “one of the world’s seven most powerful teachers".

David Richo, PhD, converses with Banyen Books & Sound on his new book Ready: How to Know When to Go and When to Stay. David Richo is a psychotherapist, teacher, and workshop leader whose work emphasizes the benefits of mindfulness and loving-kindness in personal growth and emotional well-being. He is the author of numerous books, including The Five Things We Cannot Change and When the Past is Present.

Dr. Maria Sagi and Dr. Ervin Laszlo converse with Bnayen Books & Sound on Dr. Sagi's book, Remote Healing: Nonlocal Information Medicine and the Akashic Field.  Mária Sági, a native of Budapest, began her career as a classical pianist and turned subsequently to the study of medicine and psychology, specializing in personality theory, deep psychology, social psychology and the psychology of music. Maria Sagi holds a Ph.D. in psychology at the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest. Following seven years of intensive research, she was awarded the C.Sc. degree (Candidate of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). Dr. Sagi developed the information-medicine protocol pioneered by Austrian scientist Erich Körbler into an encompassing method for diagnosing and treating human health problems. She is the author or co-author of eleven books and over one-hundred and fifty articles and research papers published in Hungarian and translated into English, French, German, Italian and Japanese, on topics as diverse as social and personality psychology, the psychology of music and art, in addition to information medicine, her principal field. She is a leading member of the Club of Budapest since its inception in 1993, and she currently serves as the Science Director of the Club. In 2017, Dr. Sagi, together with Ervin Laszlo and the the Club of Budapest received the prestigious Luxembourg Peace Prize. mariasagidr.com   Ervin Laszlo, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Laureate of the Luxembourg Peace Prize, the Assisi Mandir of Peace Prize, as well as of the Japan Peace Prize, the Goi Award, has been identified by an international jury convened by OOOM Magazine as the 28th among the world’s 100 most inspiring people. He is the editor of the prestigious periodical World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research, founder-president of the international think tank The Club of Budapest, founder-president of The Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research, and chairperson of The Wisdom Council of the new internet platform People Together. Laszlo is a holder of the highest degree of the Sorbonne as well as numerous Honorary PhDs. He is the author of over 100 books translated into 24 languages, including The Wisdom Principles, along with nearly 400 studies and articles. He lives in the Tuscan hills of the Mediterranean coast of Italy.

Buddhist teacher, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel joins Banyen Books & Sound in conversation about her book, The Shamanic Bones of Zen. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, PhD, is an author, poet, ordained Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Her work has been featured in Essence, Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar, On Being, CNN, CBS News, and more. She holds an MA from UCLA and a PhD in Transformative Learning from CIIS. She is the author of several books, including The Deepest Peace and Tell Me Something About Buddhism, with a forward by Thich Nhat Hanh. zenju.org.