New Dimensions

This is a time for us to step away from the dogmas of the religions of our youth and set our spiritual compass according to our personal values and philosophy as we search for a religion that feeds our souls. Moore says “we need not settle for an off the rack” religion but can discover one that is rooted in our own unique experience. Thomas Moore, Ph.D. was a monk for twelve years, and a university professor. He is a musician and a psychotherapist and lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and the arts. He has a Ph.D. in religion from Syracuse University. He’s the author of Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life (HarperPerennial 1994), The Soul of Sex: Cultivating Life as an Act of Love (Harper Perennial 1999), Dark Nights of the Soul (Gotham 2005), A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World (Gotham 2014) Interview Date: 1/15/2014      Tags: MP3, Thomas Moore, Ph.D., reading tea leaves, Joseph Campbell, marriage, scrying, Thomas Merton, Paul Tillich, community, religion, fellowship, ritual, imagination, soul, dreams, darshan, James Hillman, Emily Dickinson, parenting, two monks crossing the stream story, mystic, Edgar Mitchell, natural magic, rationalism, intuition, sisters of wyrd, fate, destiny, follow your wyrd, follow your bliss, Religion, Spirituality, Arts & Creativity, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Jones gives practical advice as to how we can engage in deep inner work through focused journaling. She shares exercises that can act as powerful tools in reframing the pieces of our past and our life stories so that suffering becomes meaningful and can boost our healing, empowerment, growth, and transformation. Catherine Ann Jones is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and a Fulbright Scholar to India, studying shamanism. She holds a graduate degree and teaches depth psychology and archetypal mythology. As a screenwriter, Jones has contributed to such television series as “Touched by an Angel,” and wrote the teleplay “The Christmas Wife.” She teaches writing workshops. She is the author of: Heal Your Self With Writing (Divine Arts 2013) and The Way of Story: The Craft & Soul of Writing (Michael Weise Productions 2007).Interview Date: 2/28/2014   Tags: Catherine Ann Jones, memory, traumatic events, body dialogues, inner voice, intuitive voice, authentic self, allies, shamanism, Pre-Hindu Dravidian people in India, artist, synchronicity, personal metaphors, archetypes, deep listening, active listening, Writing, Personal Transformation, Self Help, Shamanism, Mythology, Arts & Creativity 

Here scholar, theologian, and teacher Father Matthew Fox explores the writings and wisdom of this electrifying saint and speaks of Aquinas’ timeless wisdom to a postmodern world. Fox encourages all spiritual warriors and activists to grow our vision and our courage. He speaks of some of the positive things that the coronavirus has brought to us as we shelter in place. Father Matthew Fox is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. For speaking out on women’s rights, gay rights, and Native American rights, he was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican Order under the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as the “Cosmic Mass” that incorporates dance, DJ, VJ, rap, and other postmodern art forms. He is the co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Earth and, since Mother’s day 2019, has offered free daily meditations. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is founder of the University of Creation Spirituality. He is the author of more than thirty-five books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), Occupy Spirituality (co-author Adam Bucko) (North Atlantic Press 2013) and The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020)Interview Date: 4/30/2020 Tags: Matthew Fox, Plato, Platonism, dualism, nondualism, non-dualism, Platonists, theology, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Dominic, Dominican order, misogyny, feminism, joy, original sin, creation centered, coronavirus pandemic, Heartmath, Pagan, Paganism, interfaith, magnanimity, Rabbi Heschel, anger, Julian of Norwich, History, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics

Shaw helps us get acquainted with the kinds of folktales and myths that can be helpful in navigating these turbulent times. He says, “They are always trying to dig into the mud of the encounter with the notion that possibly there's a little bit of gold in there. There's some information that, over time, could turn into wisdom.”  Martin Shaw, Ph.D. is a scholar of myth and an acclaimed storyteller. He's a wilderness rites-of-passage guide and is internationally regarded as one of the most exciting proponents of the mythic imagination. He tells "prophetic stories" that speak deeply to the challenges we face today, in the world and in our personal lives. He has devised and led the Oral Tradition course at Stanford University, is a visiting fellow at Shumacher College, and the Director of the Westcountry School of Myth, a learning community in Dartmoor in the far west of the United Kingdom. His books include A Branch from the Lightning Tree: Ecstatic Myth and the Grace in Wildness (White Cloud Press 2011), Snowy Tower: Parzival and the Wet, Black Branch of Language (White Cloud Press 2014), Scatterlings: Getting Claimed in the Age of Amnesia (White Cloud 2016), The Night Wages: Bidden or Unbidden Initiations Come (Cista Mystica Press 2019) and Courting the Wild Twin (Chelsea Green Publishing 2020) Interview Date: 4/23/2020       Tags: Martin Shaw, The Odyssey, transcending, underworld, depression, despair, Percival, Grail King, The Lindworm story, alchemy, Gioia Timpanelli, Robert Bly, educated heart, James Hillman, Gaston Bachelard, Hermes, Arts & Creativity, Personal Transformation, Mythology, Philosophy

After collapsing from exhaustion, Huffington began to question what true success really means in this age of hyperconnectivity. In her terms, success is more than the accumulation of money or power. It’s about the quality of our well-being. It’s about the wisdom and wonder that manifests in our lives as well as the contribution we make to others. Arianna Huffington is the chair, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of many books. In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2012, the site won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. Her books include Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder (Crown 2014); Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream (Broadway Books 2011) and On Becoming Fearless...in Love, Work, and Life (Little, Brown and Company 2007)Interview Date: 2/14/2014   Tags: MP3, Arianna Huffington, techno stress, hyperconnectivity, The Third Metric, well-being, wisdom, wonder, giving, volunteering, email, apnea, sleep, keystone habits, meditation, inner critic, Iain Thomas, techno stress, gratitude, social entrepreneur, mindfulness, coincidence, death, eulogies, stretching time, kindness, generosity, death and dying, burnout, Personal Transformation, Self Help, Technology, Business

She was a talker, he, the silent type. How did they bridge their differences in temperaments and skills as they thirsted through deserts, forded icy rapids, stumbled through snow, and met up with a mountain lion? Hear the amazing highs and intense lows as every part of their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual bodies were challenged.Interview Date: 10/2/2013      Tags: mp3, Gail Storey, Porter Storey, trekking, Pacific Crest Trail, nature, wilderness, Sierra, camping, bicycling, monkey mind, resupplying on the trail, trekking in snow, hiking, hike, emotions, encounter with a mountain lion, bicycling tandem, Appalachian Trail, desert, water, mountains, Ecology/Nature/Environment, relationship, Community, Personal Transformation 

We are on the cusp of a radical paradigm shift in worldviews. It is as if two tectonic plates are rubbing up against one another. One is called “Datastan” – the paradigm that quantifies, counts, measures, and commoditizes everything. The other is “The Republic of Stories” where diversity, the artist, individual stories, and every contribution matters. Arlene Goldbard is a writer, speaker, consultant, workshop leader, and cultural activist whose focus is the intersection of culture, politics, spirituality, the arts and artists. She is a fierce advocate for the power of human creative expression. Her books include Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development (New Village Press 2006), The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & the Future (Waterlight Press 2013) and The Wave (Waterlight Press 2013) Interview Date: 6/11/2013    Tags: MP3, Arlene Goldbard, datastan, Republic of Story, Corporate Nation, No Child Left Behind, prisons, unemployment, Move to Amend, hope, Story Teller Corp, Trash Dance, graffiti, billboards, customer service, storytelling, Katherine Boo, poverty, confirmation bias, art, artist, music, occupy movement, Roadside Theater, Augusto Boal, Social Change/Politics, Art & Creativity, Business, Community

Cousineau tantalizes us with his understanding of how night is a powerful companion for creativity. The quiet rhythm of the night is a holy experience of soul. He describes how language and culture arose around the fires of our ancestors talking into the night. By sharing stories and poems he takes us from the contemplative, starry night to the enlightenment of early dawn. Phil Cousineau is a freelance writer, filmmaker, photographer, art and literary tour leader, teacher of creativity, a lifelong lover of the night, and an all-around Renaissance man. He’s published over 30 books and has over 25 documentary film writing credits. He is also host and co-writer of "Global Spirit," a nationally broadcast television series. He's a guest host for New Dimensions Radio. His books include Wordcatcher (Viva Editions, Cleis Press 2010), Beyond Forgiveness: Reflections On Atonement (Jossey-Bass 2011), Stoking The Creative Fires (Red (Wheel/Wiser 2008), Burning the Midnight Oil: Illuminating Words For the Long Night’s Journey Into Day (Viva Editions 2014) and The Book of Roads: Travel Stories from Michigan to Marrakech (Viva Editions 2015).Interview Date: 12/20/2013   Tags: MP3, Phil Cousineau, Zorba the Greek, storytelling, Nikos Kazantzakis, creative fire, Detroit, Van Gogh, Miles Davis, R.B. Morris, Poem Night Train Home, Richard E. Byrd, Alexander Eliot, Edward Hopper’s painting, Nighthawks, P. J. Curtis’ The Last Prince of Thormond, noctuaries, Driving Jack at Midnight, tea, tea houses, tea court, tea bag, creativity, art & painting, poetry, Art & Creativity,mythology, philosophy

Page advises us to tend the soil of our body and says, “Your soil is made up of your belief systems, your perceptions.” She believes illness isn’t just a physiological episode and tells us to listen to the intuitive messages from our soul telling us it is time to change. When we keep ignoring these messages, our bodies will stop us in our tracks by getting sick. Christine Page, M.D. received her medical degree from the University of London in 1978. She’s an international seminar leader on healing and empowerment. In 1984, she founded one of the first integrative health centers within the British National Health Service, followed by a highly successful holistic private practice which included homeopathy, counseling and energy-related medicine. She also began a 10-year educational career, teaching doctors, nurses and other medical personnel about complementary therapies including mind/body and energy medicine. She became a well-known bridge builder and played an important role in the acceptance of alternative therapies in the British Health System. She is the author of Frontiers of Health (Rider 2010) and The Healing Power of the Sacred Woman: Health, Creativity, and Fertility for the Soul (Bear & Company 2013) Interview Date: 11/13/2013       Tags: MP3, Christine Page, breast cancer, reading energies, cancer, illness, beliefs, belief, guilt over being ill, divine feminine, menstrual cycles, moon time, princess Diana, Queen Bee metaphor, Mother Cow metaphor, Dragon Queen metaphor, Goddess, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation, Spirituality, Women’s Studies, Community, death & dying

Don Oscar tells us that ritual begets relationship, nature begets purpose, and Love begets life. This gentle shaman has captured the essence of how we can sustain our sacred earth walk by practicing the ritual of the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition. This powerful practice can serve to help us build a life-long relationship with the sacred dimensions of life and all our relations. Oscar Miro-Quesada is a respected kamasqa curandero and shamanic adept from Peru, and has been guiding cross-cultural, ethnospiritual apprenticeship expeditions to sacred sites of the world since 1986, with special emphasis on Peru and Bolivia.  He’s been a popular faculty member at numerous U.S. colleges and universities.  He originated the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of cross-cultural shamanism, and is the founder of the Heart of the Healer Foundation.  His works and programs have been featured on CNN, Univision, A&E and the Discovery Channel.  He is the author of Lessons in Courage, Peruvian Shamanic Wisdom for Everyday Life (co-author Bonnie Glass-Coffin) (Rainbow Ridge Publishing 2013) and Healing Light: An Apprenticeship in Peruvian Shamanism, A 6-CD Audio Set (Sounds True 2015)Interview Date: 8/26/2013       Tags: MP3, Oscar Miro-Quesada, sacred reciprocity, shamanism, Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, ritual, dark matter, Wednesday night link, Sixto Paz Wells, dogma, Heart of the Healer Foundation, Indigenous Wisdom,Spirituality, Personal Transformation, Shamanism