Exploring Nature, Culture and Inner Life

Michael Lerner Body, Soul, and Spirit in Archetypal Psychology In this podcast, Michael Lerner continues his exploration of archetypal psychology with a talk at the Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC. Michael Lerner, PhD Michael is the president and co-founder of Commonweal and of Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, D.C. His principle work at Commonweal is with the Cancer Help Program, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and The New School at Commonweal. He is author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Therapies (MIT Press). He has spent the past months reading intensively in archetypal psychology and wants to share the exploration with New School friends. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Michael Lerner Body, Soul, and Spirit in Archetypal Psychology In this podcast, Michael Lerner continues his exploration of archetypal psychology with a talk at the Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC. Michael Lerner, PhD Michael is the president and co-founder of Commonweal and of Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, D.C. His principle work at Commonweal is with the Cancer Help Program, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and The New School at Commonweal. He is author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Therapies (MIT Press). He has spent the past months reading intensively in archetypal psychology and wants to share the exploration with New School friends. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Oren Slozberg Dialogue, Art, and Group Intelligence Wicked Problems: problems that are difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. (Wikipedia) Many of our core issues—like climate change, economic inequality, and the Middle East—are examples of “wicked problems.” How can we use group intelligence to re-wire our thinking and address these challenges? One approach is through facilitated engagements with visual art, such as the image above. Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Commonweal’s new chief strategies officer and director of the new Dialogue, Art, and Innovations program, Oren Slozberg. Oren demonstrates and explores a visual-arts based process he helped develop and popularize world-wide called Visual Thinking Strategies. VTS builds group intelligence and can be the foundation for a dialogue on complex social issues. Oren Slozberg Oren joined Commonweal in November 2013 as the chief strategies officer and the director of the Dialogue, Art, and Innovation program. Prior to Commonweal, he was the national executive director of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). He started at VTS in May 2006, bringing more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and the arts to the organization. Oren is an expert trainer in VTS, and he has trained hundreds of educators in the process, working in a variety of setting ranging from teachers in elementary schools to college faculty. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

John Gouldthorpe Imagination Is Reality ~Part of the Archetypal Psychology Series~ Join Michael Lerner in his second conversation with archetypal psychologist John Gouldthorpe. Find the transcript of the lecture by James Hillman (mentioned in the podcast) here. Find Michael’s first conversation with John Gouldthorpe here. John Gouldthorpe John has been immersed in the work of archetypal psychology for more than 20 years. In 1989, through the suggestion of James Hillman, he studied with Gordon Tappan at Sonoma State and then stayed on for several years to teach the graduate seminar in Archetypal Psychology. For many years John was a deep tissue massage therapist working with a clientele of psychologists influenced by Stanly Keleman followed by brief period as a clinical psychologist then onto working on the issue of understanding economic globalization and its structural antidote: localized economies. Living in West Marin since 1994, he worked for 8 years helping to start KWMR; for several years he was chairman of West Marin Commons, and spent two years as president of the Point Reyes Village Association. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

John Gouldthorpe Imagination Is Reality ~Part of the Archetypal Psychology Series~ Join Michael Lerner in his second conversation with archetypal psychologist John Gouldthorpe. John Gouldthorpe John has been immersed in the work of archetypal psychology for more than 20 years. In 1989, through the suggestion of James Hillman, he studied with Gordon Tappan at Sonoma State and then stayed on for several years to teach the graduate seminar in Archetypal Psychology. For many years John was a deep tissue massage therapist working with a clientele of psychologists influenced by Stanly Keleman followed by brief period as a clinical psychologist then onto working on the issue of understanding economic globalization and its structural antidote: localized economies. Living in West Marin since 1994, he worked for 8 years helping to start KWMR; for several years he was chairman of West Marin Commons, and spent two years as president of the Point Reyes Village Association. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Robert McDermott Philosophy, Spirituality, and Community—A Professor's Journey Join Michael Lerner in dialogue with California Institute of Integral Studies President Emeritus Robert McDermott as they explore his journey in wisdom philosophy, Hindu and Buddhist spiritualities, inclusive and esoteric Christianity, CIIS and higher education, and anthroposophy—including Waldorf education, biodynamic farming, ecology, arts, and karma (birth, life, old age, death, rebirth). Robert McDermott Robert is president emeritus and professor of philosophy and religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He served as president and chair of the board of many institutions, including the Rudolf Steiner Institute (1983-94) and the Sophia Project for Mothers and Children at Risk of Homelessness in West Oakland and San Rafael (1999–2014). His publications include: Radhakrishnan (1970), The Essential Aurobindo (1974; 1987), co-editor, The Spirit of Modern India (1974; 2009), Six Pillars: Introductions to the Major Works of Sri Aurobindo (1974; 2012), The Essential Steiner (1984), The Bhagavad Gita and the West (2009), The New Essential Steiner (2009), and many essays on philosophy, spirituality, and American thought. He is currently writing Unique Not Alone—Steiner and Others. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Robert McDermott Philosophy, Spirituality, and Community—A Professor's Journey Join Michael Lerner in dialogue with California Institute of Integral Studies President Emeritus Robert McDermott as they explore his journey in wisdom philosophy, Hindu and Buddhist spiritualities, inclusive and esoteric Christianity, CIIS and higher education, and anthroposophy—including Waldorf education, biodynamic farming, ecology, arts, and karma (birth, life, old age, death, rebirth). Robert McDermott Robert is president emeritus and professor of philosophy and religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He served as president and chair of the board of many institutions, including the Rudolf Steiner Institute (1983-94) and the Sophia Project for Mothers and Children at Risk of Homelessness in West Oakland and San Rafael (1999–2014). His publications include: Radhakrishnan (1970), The Essential Aurobindo (1974; 1987), co-editor, The Spirit of Modern India (1974; 2009), Six Pillars: Introductions to the Major Works of Sri Aurobindo (1974; 2012), The Essential Steiner (1984), The Bhagavad Gita and the West (2009), The New Essential Steiner (2009), and many essays on philosophy, spirituality, and American thought. He is currently writing Unique Not Alone—Steiner and Others. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Ross Chapin Design, Body Knowing, and the Inner Life On Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, the imprint of architect Ross Chapin’s vision of enchanting small homes and livable pocket neighborhoods is palpable. Ross came to Whidbey in the 1970s, drawn by the vision of the Chinook Learning Center, founded by Fritz and Vivienne Hull. Chinook later became the Whidbey Institute. Ross designed Thomas Berry Hall, the Woodland Sanctuary, and the Whidbey Island Waldorf School on the Chinook land. In addition to his professional life as an architect and planner, Ross has an inner life enlivened by a sustained engagement with body and spirit. His work has been deeply influenced by the iconoclastic British architect Christopher Alexander. Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Ross about his work, about Christopher Alexander, and about the evolution of his inner life in a wide-ranging conversation. Ross Chapin, FAIA Ross is a passionate advocate for sensibly-sized homes and pocket neighborhoods—a term he coined for small groupings of households around shared common spaces, which he sees as building blocks for vibrant and resilient communities. Ross has designed and partnered in developing six pocket neighborhoods in the Puget Sound region. He and his colleagues have designed dozens of communities for developers across the US, Canada and the UK. Many have received international media coverage and design awards. Ross is a member of the American Institute of Architecture College of Fellows and the William S. Marvin Hall of Fame for Design Excellence. Ross is author of Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small Scale Community in a Large Scale World (Taunton Press), a Nautilus Book Award Winner and listed by Planetizen as one of the Top Ten Planning and Design Books of 2012. Ross’s work has appeared in more than 35 books, including Sarah Susanka’s Not So Big House series, The Good Green Home, and Solving Sprawl. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Steve Heilig Confessions of an Accidental Activist Join TNS Host Michael Lerner for a conversation with Steve Heilig—healthcare ethicist, environmentalist, and ethnomusicologist—about HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, medical ethics, addiction medicine and drug policy, environmental health and ecology, surfing medicine, and music. Steve Heilig Steve is a healthcare ethicist, editor, epidemiologist, environmentalist, and ethnomusicologist with strong roots in Bolinas. Trained in public health, economics, and biology at five UC campuses, Heilig has worked with nonprofits, hospitals and in biotechnology. He has written more than 500 articles on a wide range of topics, with particular interest in reproductive health and rights, death and dying, environmental science and policy, and addiction medicine. Heilig is a co-editor of the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and is affiliated with the San Francisco Medical Society, California Pacific Medical Center, and Commonweal. He is also a widely published music journalist and author of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism, and a Huffington Post blogger and longtime sometimes editor of the Bolinas Hearsay News. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Peter Goldmark When Our Country Loses Its Way Join Host Michael Lerner in a conversation with Peter Goldmark, an environmentalist whose career has included leadership in major governmental, philanthropic, news media, and environmental organizations. Peter C. Goldmark, Jr. Peter is an environmentalist whose career has included leadership in major governmental, philanthropic, news media, and environmental organizations. Goldmark retired in 2010 as director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s climate and air program. He was previously the chairman and CEO of the International Herald Tribune, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the budget director for the State of New York. He is noted for being an advocate for social causes and environmental issues in many of his assignments. Goldmark is the son of Peter Carl Goldmark, who led the development of LP records and invented the first practical color television, among other innovations. He graduated from Harvard University in 1962. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.