Coleman suggests that we take our meditation practice outside. This can move us from an interior-focused self-referential world to one of connecting with the living web that is our ecosystem. He often asks the question of his students: As you are a part of the Earth, what is an effective way to live your life that's an expression of care for the Earth, which is also yourself? Mark Coleman is a mindfulness meditation teacher who has been teaching Insight meditation and nature retreats worldwide since 1997. He regularly leads wilderness retreats through his organization, Awake in the Wild, where he introduces others to nature-based meditation practices. These retreats include a wide variety of contemplative activities like hiking, backpacking, forest bathing, kayaking, river rafting, cross-country skiing, rowing, canoeing, and more. Mark is also the co-founder of the Mindfulness Training Institute, where he co-leads yearlong mindfulness-teacher trainings in Europe and the U.S. He is also a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. His books include Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery (New World Library 2006), Make Peace with Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic (New World Library 2016), From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness (New World Library 2019) and A Field Guide to Nature Meditation: 52 Mindfulness Practices for Joy, Wisdom and Wonder (Awake in the Wild 2022)

 Interview Date: 3/6/2024 Tags: Mark Coleman, mindfulness meditation, meandering, John O’Donohue, inner presence, nature, the natural world, Redwoods, silence, eco crisis, attention economy, Buddhism, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Ecology/Nature/Environment

Peterson is directing us to look beyond the companionship we enjoy with our domesticated animal friends and invites us to explore how wild animals can become our guides and fellow travelers, helping us navigate the stresses of daily life in a rapidly changing planet. Here she delights us with her many adventures with dolphins, beluga whales, orcas, and wolves.Brenda Peterson is an award-winning nature writer, memoirist, novelist, and writing teacher. She’s been featured on NPR, and in theNew York Times, Orion Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, and many other prestigious magazines and newspapers. She’s the author of more than twenty books for adults and children. Her books include BuildMe an Ark: A Life with Animals (W. W. Norton 2001), Duck and Cover (Backinprint.com 2004), I Want to Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here on Earth (Da Capo Press 2010) and Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals (Mountaineers Books 2024)

Interview Date:3/5/2024 Tags: Brenda Peterson, Noah’sArk, Orcas, beluga whales, dolphins, wolves, animal allies, StuartBrown, Jane Goodall, Animals, Ecology/Nature/ Environment

Beginning with her experience of psychic phenomena from early childhood, Currivan was led on a quest of a life-long exploration of the nature of reality. Her research has come to show that information is as real as anything we call physical reality. Here we explore the reality of informational physics and why this matters in our daily lives. Jude Currivan is the author of The Cosmic Hologram: In-formation at the Center of Creation.

Tags: Jude Currivan, informational physics, quantum physics, black holes, quantum mechanics, Max Planck. Holograms, Ludwig Boltzmann, entropy, the “Big Bang”, pixellation, Planck’s scale, Lewis Carroll, the Red Queen Dilemma, flickering, love, Science, Spirituality, Personal Transformation

The death of someone close to us can trigger questions such as: What is death? Why do people die? Why did this happen to me? Allen Klein has experienced such a loss and the deeply personal inquiry triggered by his grieving process lead him to see anew the preciousness of life and the therapeutic power of humor. Allen Klein is the former Director of Life and Death Transitions in San Francisco. He's a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. He's the author of many books including The Healing Power of Humor (Tarcher/Putnam 1989), The Courage to Laugh, Change Your Life: A Little Book of Big Ideas (Tarcher 1998), Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying: Embracing Life After Loss (Goodman Beck Publishing 2011)

 Interview Date: 12/17/2011     Tags: Allen Klein, forgiveness, grief, grieving, hospice, humor, isolation, laughter, letting go, loss, smile, smiling, Death & Dying, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Terry teaches the practice of relational mindfulness. He advises us to shift our view of relationship from a zero-sum situation where one person wins and the other loses, one is right and the other is wrong, he gives us examples of how to conduct skillful and effective communication in order to get off the treadmill of repetitive fights with our partners. Terry Real is a family therapist and author. He’s the founder of the Relational Life Institute, which offers Relational Life Therapy (RLT) courses online and in-person workshops for couples, individuals, parents, and professionals. He is the author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression (Scribner 1998), How Can I Get Through to You? Closing the Gap Between Men and Women (Simon & Schuster 2002), The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Know to Make Love Work (Ballantine Books 2008), Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship (Rodale Books 2022)

 Interview Date: 2/14/2024    Tags: Terry Real, hyper-individualism, toxic individualism, relational mindfulness, Relational Life Therapy, RLT, disharmony, repair, James Framo, marriage, patriarchy, non-binary, false binary, Thomas Hubl, wounded child, brain, interconnectedness, Relationship, Personal Transformation, Psychology

Orloff suggests that empathy is a bedrock of healing in difficult situations and needs to be a daily priority to become a habit. Beyond transforming difficult Interactions studies have shown that an act of empathy can have a positive effect on our immune response. Empathy is imperative for our happiness, our intimacy, and our connection with others and the earth. Judith Orloff, M.D. is a member of the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Staff and specializes in treating empaths and sensitive people in her private practice. She offers Empathy Training Programs to businesses and organizations and teaches empathic tools to doctors, corporate teams, leaders, managers, customer service and trainers, as well as individuals. She’s been called the “godmother of the empath movement” and has written several books about intuition, life strategies for sensitive people, and empathy. 

Interview Date: 2/19/2024  Tags: Judith Orloff, narcissist, compassion, suffering, heart meditation, caregiving, caregivers, caretaking, Kristi Nelson, gratefulness, Personal Transformation, Psychology

In these times of intense political polarization, civic despair is rampant. How does this affect our democracy and how can we counteract this apathy? Daley-Harris has been working tirelessly to provide trainings for ordinary citizens to empower effective political action and to help citizens be most effective in reshaping the issues they most care about. Sam Daley-Harris is the author of Reclaiming Our Democracy: Healing the Break Between People and Government, the 20th Anniversary Edition.

Tags: Sam Daley-Harris, grassroots activism, Francis Moore Lappe, Lawrence Lessig, Citizen’s Untied, democracy, R. Buckminster Fuller, campaign financing, Citizen’s Climate Lobby, AUMF, Pat Swindall, MicroCredit legislation, Micro Credit, Grameen Bank, Social change/Politics, Media, Self Help

Here we explore what the Internal Family Systems [IFS] model encompasses and how healing our own inner world can create ripples of compassion that extend from ourselves to our communities. Schwartz encourages people to listen to these parts with spaciousness and personal curiosity so as to ultimately live a more balanced life. Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D. is the creator of the therapeutic model known as Internal Family Systems [IFS] and founder of the IFS Institute which offers training for professionals and the general public. Formerly an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and later at Northwestern University, he is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. He is the author of many books including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma, and Restoring Wholeness with The Internal Family Systems Model (Sounds True 2021)

Interview Date: 1/26/2024   Tags: Richard C. Schwartz, Hakomi, inner critic, attachment theory, shame, Personal Transformation, Psychology

Here Williams shares that the size of the action isn’t the point. What matters is taking regular action. Small actions have a cumulative effect that is disproportionate to the individual effort they require. Together these millions of incremental steps lead to a tipping point. Indeed, over and over history has shown this to be true. Omkari L. Williams has devoted her life to change-making. She leads activism workshops and trainings and is the host of the podcast Stepping into Truth, where she interviews activists from all walks of life. She is the author of Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (without a Bullhorn): Small Actions Equal Big Results. (Storey publishing 2023)

Interview Date: 12/15/2023   Tags: Omkari L Williams, collaboration, March on Washington, William McDonough, Personal Transformation, Social Change/Politics, Community

What is of utmost importance to Fuller are the questions we bring to our life process. He says, “Once you’ve formed a question, it almost guarantees you will find the answer.” In this far-ranging conversation, he shares some provocative thoughts on the coming inevitability of robots becoming a more dominant species than homo sapiens and why we must befriend them. Robert Fuller is the author of The Theory of Everybody.

Tags: Robert Fuller, questions, Isidor Isaac Rabi, cloud of possibility, polarization, mal-recognition, recognition, the dignity movement, rankism, socialism, communism, capitalism, competition, collaboration, interconnectedness, robots, AI, artificial intelligence, quantum physics, entanglement, spooky action at a distance, mind, Elon Musk, Social change/Politics, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Education

Skillful leadership is needed in all aspects of our everyday lives even if we’re not employed full-time. These skills can be applied in our households and the many other groups in which we participate. We all need to be lifelong learners in developing strong and effective leadership and problem-solving skills as we continue to engage with others. Marguerite Callaway is the founder and CEO of the Callaway Leadership Institute, an international leadership development and strategy company whose mission is to help current and aspiring leaders reach their full potential.  She is the author of The Energetics of Business: A Practical Guide for Bringing Your Business to Life (Lincoln Park Productions 2006)

Interview Date: 12/20/2023.   Tags: Marguerite Callaway, leadership, authenticity, extraversion, introversion, extrovert, introvert, delegation, delegate, fixed mindset, growth mindset, Rick Hanson, neuroplasticity, mirror neurons, empathy, emotional intelligence, sympathy, constructive conflict, quick fixes, deep listening. Personal Transformation, Psychology, Business