This is a conversation between Sharon Lebell, Peter Samis, and Simon Drew with a wide-ranging pool of topics, including being, forms, art, language, enlightenment, philosophy, and the importance of both reverence and irreverence. About Peter Samis (in his own words): My book "Creating the Visitor-centered Museum," co-authored with Mimi Michaelson, was published by Routledge in 2017. It documents innovative practices in museum interpretation through ten case study sites in the United States and Europe. I have spoken about it in China, the United States, and Italy over the past year and am happy to convey its messages to others. I am grateful to have worked at SFMOMA in a variety of capacities, paid and volunteer, for 35 years; my final position was Assoc. Curator of Interpretation. My initial studies at Columbia and in Paris were in anthropology and religion. Later, I went on to earn an M.A. in art history at U.C. Berkeley. Since then I have taught, curated, written, and been active in the development of interpretive technologies for cultural heritage. Way back in the 1990s, I served as the art historian/content expert for the first CD-ROM on modern art, "American Visions," and then spearheaded development of multimedia programs for SFMOMA's new building, which opened in 1995. Over the years, SFMOMA's Interactive Educational Technology programs received awards from sources as diverse as the American Association of Museums, the Webbys, Communication Arts, and I.D. Magazine. I taught for many years in the graduate program for Technology-Enhanced Communication for Cultural Heritage at Switzerland's University of Lugano, and served on advisory councils for many open source software initiatives. But around 2007, I realized that digital interpretation was not enough, and that visitors benefited most from a mix of analog and digital, interactive and environmental. That led to the research with Mimi Michaelson and our book. We discovered that as museums become more visitor-centered, hierarchies are dismantled and new teams emerge. We begin to listen to visitor feedback, and empathy builds. It turns out that "Nothing about us without us," that mantra of inclusive practice, counts for visitors, too! To attend our upcoming meetups in The Walled Garden, go to thewalledgarden.com/events/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a 2.5 hour conversation that I had with Professor Joseph Siracusa in Melbourne, Australia, on the 17th of March, 2022, just before the Ukrainian invasion. We discussed the Ukraine-Russia tensions, international diplomacy, history, theology, philosophy, and many other topics. Note that the audio for this episode was compromised, and so what is presented is the audio from the iPhone recording. It's not ideal, but the message will overshadow the audio quality by far. About professor Joseph Siracusa: Prof. Joseph Siracusa is a professor of Political History and International Diplomacy at Curtin University. Born and raised in Chicago and a long time resident of Australia, Joseph studied at the University of Denver and the University of Vienna and received his PhD at the University of Colorado (Boulder). He has worked at Merrill Lynch in Boston and New York; the University of Queensland; and for three years served as a senior visiting fellow in the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University. He has authored and co-authored 310 refereed publications including 75 books, monographs and chapters, 115 journal articles/entries and scholarly reviews, and 120 refereed proceedings. His publications include the following: America and the Cold War, 1941-1991: A Realist interpretation, 2 volumes (Praeger, 2010) Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction (Second edition, Oxford University Press, 2015) The Death Penalty and U.S. Diplomacy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013) A Global History of the Nuclear Arms Race, 2 volumes (Praeger, 2013) Language of Terror: How Neuroscience Influences Political Speech in the United States (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) Diplomatic History: A Very Short Introduction, to be published by Oxford University Press, in early 2021 thewalledgarden.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is a recorded version of an epistle by Simon Drew recently posted on Modern Stoicism (CLICK HERE TO READ). The epistle is preceded by Simon discussing Ukraine, walled gardens, the meaning of tragedy, and the path to wisdom. To attend any of The Walled Garden events in the coming month, go to thewalledgarden.com/events For one-on-one philosophical mentoring with Simon, Sharon, or Kai, go to thewalledgarden.com/mentors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Fisher was first introduced to Stoic tenets while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also spent twenty years working in Silicon Valley, California, as a computer hardware specialist, software engineer, sales executive, and regional manager for a large software company. In 2004, Chris moved to Florida and returned to public service as a law enforcement officer. In preparation for his retirement from law enforcement, he relied on his life-long passion for photography to create a real estate photography business in 2019. Chris began studying at the College of Stoic Philosophers in 2011, where he completed the Stoic Essential Studies in 2012 and the Marcus Aurelius School in 2013. He is currently the Scholarch of the college, but prior to this position he sat on the New Stoa board and served as Dean of Students. Chris is the author of the Traditional Stoicism blog and the Stoicism on Fire podcast. In 2016, Stoicism Today published Chris’ defence of the traditional Stoic doctrine of Providence in “Stoicism Today: Selected Writings II.” In 2019, he contributed a chapter about Stoicism in the book titled “Pandeism: An Anthology of the Creative Mind.”   Chris currently lives near Tampa, Florida, with his wife of twenty-five years and two of his five children who haven’t yet flown from the nest. Stoicism on Fire Podcast/Blog: https://traditionalstoicism.com/ The College of Stoic Philosophers: https://collegeofstoicphilosophers.org/ Traditional Stoicism Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1702622473314563 To register for this week's Walled Garden event with Kai Whiting and Jonathan Church on Stoicism and Free Speech, go here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvdeGqrjIvG9bHS8mXPjir8fJDZl1kkmcE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the podcast, we share the initial lesson given by Sharon Lebell to The Walled Garden members in a recent meetup event entitled "How This Moment Can Change Everything." About Sharon: Sharon Lebell has been an inspiring writer and speaker about philosophy, spirituality, and religion for thirty years. She is best known as the author of the international bestseller The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, a contemporary interpretation of the Stoic teachings of Epictetus. Her primary focus is how to live a life of virtue and meaning. Central to her message is how we can use our lives to improve the lives of others and the necessity of beauty and engagement with art, music, and design as keystones of a well-lived life. The full meetup can be viewed by Walled Garden members here: https://thewalledgarden.com/post/sharon-lebell-how-this-moment-can-change-everything Register for Sharon's next meetup (entitled "Stoic Tonics for Clarity, Ease, and Serenity." https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUlcOCgrDspGdzWPtznyQ-cDEwi6_m0To2K Register for this week's meetup with David Fideler: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvf-2rrjMtGtW9a8xNpNzzw8KSZCdlvZUB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About Our Guest: Brandon is most well-known for his podcast, The Strong Stoic Podcast, where he discusses philosophical ideas both solo and with guests. However, he does much more than just podcasting. He also coaches individuals to help them be their best selves, writes articles, plays music, manages projects, and several other things. Brandon is always in search of new opportunities that have the potential of making the world a better place. Website: https://brandontumblin.com/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About our guest: StoicDan is the organizer of 6 philosophy meetups, including Orlando Stoics, which is the third-largest Stoic group in North America (7 years old, with over 1700 members). He is also a public speaker on Stoicism, Minimalism, and American Transcendentalism, and he often connects these topics with civil discourse, common ground, and women in philosophy. He's presented at 5 Stoicon conferences (2017 Toronto, 2018 London, 2019 Athens, and 2020 / 2021 online) and has interviewed over a dozen Stoic scholars for the Stoic Fellowship quarterly newsletter. Website: stoicdan.com Facebook: facebook.com/stoicdan Meetup Links: meetup.com/orlando-stoics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Simon is interviewed by Sharon Lebell about his newly published book, The Poet & The Sage.  About The Poet & The Sage: The Poet & The Sage is an esoteric work of deep symbolism and archetypal metaphor. Delivered through the time-tested language of poetry and prose, The Poet & The Sage merges the worlds of philosophy, theology, mysticism, mythology, and narrative to convey deep truths about human nature, and about our common aim of being reunited with that which is most divine about us. The careful student will do well not to simply read this book, but to sit with it, and to allow the ideas therein to play gracefully within the heights and depths of their soul. You can purchase The Poet & The Sage here: https://thewalledgarden.store/products/copy-of-the-poet-the-sage  The full interview and Q&A is available in video format for Walled Garden patrons at thewalledgarden.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About Jack Stafford: Jack Stafford is a British singer-songwriter and super troubadour. He is most well-known for his thought-provoking lyrics. He is on a mission to bring spirituality to the centre stage and mysticism back into the mainstream. Jack grew up in the UK but quickly moved to Amsterdam, where he lived and worked as a copywriter, musician and fashion designer. However, this led to burnout, so Jack sold all his possessions and set off on a bicycle tour as a nomadic troubadour. He travelled through 45 countries, playing over 700 house concerts in return for a place to sleep. He recorded many of his crazy adventures in his songs, and through those—plus countless self-help books and podcasts, as well as yoga, his Ayurveda songs, and Vipassana meditation—he grew and grew to become a unique modern-day troubadour. The culmination of his life skills is the unique Podsongs podcast, where—together with other musical artists from around the world—he interviews special people in selfless service to others, and writes a song to bring greater awareness to their work. Jack lives in seclusion in the South of Italy. He is a qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner, student of metaphysics and Italian representative of The Aetherius Society - he also hosts another podcast called the Mysticast. Listen to Podsongs: https://podsongs.com/about To register for upcoming Walled Garden events, go to thewalledgarden.com/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About Our Guest: Joshua is a retired veteran, avid reader, and lifelong learner. He hosts In Search of Wisdom to engage in meaningful conversations on how to live in a complex world. He enjoys exploring the integration of timeless principles and practices with everyday life. Joshua is an ICF-trained Leadership Coach with a passion for collaborative partnerships. Joshua is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in strategic leadership and holds a Master of Science in management. He has executive certificates in the Psychology of Leadership, Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership, Brain-Based Coaching, and Leadership Coaching for Organizational Well-Being. You can find out more about Joshua's work at www.perennialleader.com. To register for this week's Walled Garden Meetups, go to thewalledgarden.com/events and register via the links available.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices