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COMMUNICATING THE WISDOM THAT'S CHANGING THE WORLD
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Have you noticed the power and magical quality we give to worry? For many people, not worrying is equated being uncaring or naïve. Michael, my partner, has told me on many occasions, "Don't worry; it will all work out." I would always reply, "Yes, but how?" He would say, "I don't know, but I know it will." Worry has been the bane of my existence. During a spiritual practice that I recently engaged in with two friends, I realized that worry disconnects me from the happiness and serenity that are in my heart. Our practice consisted of ten life-affirming statements. Starting with one statement each day, we repeated the process four times, thus doing forty rounds in ten days. Each day we wrote out one statement and then meditated on it, journaled about it, and shared with one another what came up. We wrote about what we understood about the statement, what we didn't understand, what we accepted, and what we were struggling with. There were days when I felt quite resistant to the statements, but over time I noticed my heart opening to the practice of being more relaxed and in the flow of a loving, divine presence. Through this practice I found two powerful antidotes to fear and worry. The heart of happiness is curiosity and optimism. Curiosity is an antidote to fear. When I truly want to know more about something I feel alive, looking into the future with a question on my mind. I'm occupied by a state of wonder rather than worry. It is like taking a deep breath of fresh air. Curiosity has lightness to it; it lets in the light. The deep breath of curiosity oxygenates my blood which brings oxygen to my brain and helps me think more creatively and be more imaginative. Curiosity helps me be a pilgrim of possibility. When I start to catch myself spiraling down into fear and contraction, I say to myself, "Pull, up, pull up, be curious, not afraid." I remind myself not to waste time or energy wallowing in the paralyzing force of fear. Moving into a state of curiosity is where I can more effectively deal with the daily challenges that pop up. Optimism is a perfect partner to curiosity and is an antidote to worry. If the in-breath brings oxygen into my body, optimism is like the blood that carries the oxygen. If I am worried, I become tense. In fact, worry has a negative physiological affect on my body as well as my mind and spirit. Through time this can be quite debilitating. Optimism, on the other hand, is the life-blood of my soul. These two keys, curiosity and optimism, keep me healthy and happy. Being in a state of fear and worry is like contracting pneumonia. It stops my breath, which, in turn slows my blood flow, deprives my brain of oxygen, and my blood becomes stagnant. Experiment with taking a deep breath of curiosity and optimism. |
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June 2009 Broadcast Schedule
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| The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, June 3-9, 2009
What would lead a person to choose to live alone on a small, remote island on the coast of southern Chile? How would one even go about planning the enormous logistics of such a stay? What is it like to truly notice how, as humans, we are constantly shifting from a sense of isolation into the experience of freedom and belonging? What was most challenging about basically disappearing into the wilderness, and living in solitude for a full year. Kull shares with total candor the pains and joys of such an adventure. Besides facing the elements, he had to face his inner demons. He says, "I'd love to be a heroic figure, man against nature kind of thing. But that is not my story. My story is going out, and try to move beyond that, and become part of the non-human world and part of myself. But I can't pull it off, because my wilderness journal is just full of whining. It would be wonderful and joyful, and I'd be giving thanks for being there, and then the pain would come crashing in. And, instead of having any equanimity, I'd just be moaning and whining. That was the thing that I was facing about myself that I didn't like. There was not much of a sense of nobility, much of the time around it." Robert Kull, Ph.D. has spent years wandering North and South America working as a scuba instructor, wilderness guide, construction worker, dishwasher, truck driver, bartender, painter, fire fighter, and professor. He began undergraduate studies at age 40 and now holds a doctorate from the University of British Columbia. In 2001-2002 he lived in wilderness solitude on a small, remote island on the coast of southern Chile. He's the author of Solitude: Seeking Wisdom In Extremes: A Year Alone in the Patagonia Wilderness (New World Library 2008). To learn more about the work of Robert Kull go to www.bobkull.org Topics Explored in this Dialogue:
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The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, June 10-16, 2009
Terry Tempest Williams has long been a beloved scribe for the timeless beauty of the world we live in, and the tribulations of the humans who too often fail to value it. In this deeply moving interview she speaks out for some of the most disavowed individuals on the planet—prairie dogs threatened with extinction and Rwandan refugees. What could the two possibly have in common? She explains, "The plight of the prairie dog, the extermination of a species, and the extermination of a people are predicated on the same impulse: prejudice, cruelty, ignorance and arrogance, circling around issues of power and justice. Until we can begin to see the world whole, even holy, we are destined to this fractured, fragmented, disconnected world that literally creates the seabed of war." Ms. Tempest Williams deftly draws meaning out of the darkest moments of fear and devastation with inspiring stories of rodents who pray at sunrise and sunset, and a mother who, after losing her child to the ravages of war, creates a mosaic sunflower out of the rubble. Terry Tempest Williams is a naturalist, environmentalist, and writer. She is a recipient of the Lannan Literary Fellowship in creative nonfiction and the 1997 Guggenheim Fellowship, and served as naturalist-in-residence at the Utah Museum of Natural History. She is currently the Annie Clark Tanner Scholar in Environmental Humanites at the University of Utah. Her books include Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place (Pantheon 1991), Red: Patience and Passion in the Desert (Vintage Books 2002), and Finding Beauty in a Broken World (Pantheon 2008). To learn more about the work of Terry Tempest Williams go to www.coyoteclan.com Topics Explored in this Dialogue:
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| The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, June 17-23, 2009
For decades women have been coming together to empower one another. Men have been gathering to find ways to move beyond violence and embrace spirituality. And yet domestic violence occurs in at least one-third of households in the U.S., two-thirds globally. Clearly, something is not working. Will Keepin and Cynthia Brix have developed a new approach to healing the wounds of gender violence by bringing women and men together. Using techniques that go far beyond traditional talk therapy they enable husbands, wives, co-workers, priests, nuns, adults, and adolescents to begin to see one another as gods and goddesses, expressions of the divine. Will Keepin describes the transformation that is possible this way: "At first when we come together and face the magnitude of the injustice, the wounds, the rape, the pornography, and all of the shadow around gender and sexuality, it's very challenging. But then through staying with the process, staying with the tears, and staying with the emotions, the whole community begins to move. The spirit moves the community, and there is a grace that comes forward, and there's a powerful healing experience." (Hosted by Michael Toms and Justine Willis Toms) Will Keepin, Ph.D., is co-founder, president, and executive director of Satyana Institute, a fellow of the Findhorn Foundation, and has taught at California Institute of Integral Studies. Cynthia Brix, M.Div., M.A., is program director of Satyana Institute and co-founder of the Women's Spiritual Mastery Project. Both are adjunct faculty at Holy Names University, and have led Power of Reconciliation Project retreats throughout the world. They are co-authors of Women Healing Women: A Model of Hope for Oppressed Women Everywhere (Hohm Press 2009) and co-authors with Molly Dwyer of Divine Duality: The Power of Reconciliation between Women and Men (Holm Press 2007). To learn more about the work of Will Keepin and Cynthia Brix go to www.satyana.org
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The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, June 24-30, 2009
Charlie Hess has made a profession of thinking outside the box. Instead of relying only on evidence directly related to the issue at hand, he gathers data from a network of resources in seemingly unrelated fields. He mixes all the information together with a healthy dose of discipline and a measure of intuition, and helps decision-makers in all walks of life anticipate shifting tides in business, politics, technology, and social change. His approach has enabled him to predict seminal events well in advance. His team recognized the potential for a terrorist attack one year before the attacks of September 11, and predicted the economic crisis of 2008-2009 in the middle of 2005. Why is Mr. Hess able to see things others cannot? Because, he says, when we're too close to an issue we lose our ability to see what's really there. "As we get more and more invested in an idea, a person, an outcome, we in fact become more blinded because we have a lot riding on that situation being what we think it should be, or will be. So getting the right diagnosis and understanding of the world we're living in, and getting to it early so that you can deal with it effectively, really starts with the very simple skill of seeing the clues in front of you." Charlie Hess developed the technique of inference reading as a way to create connections and piece together a more realistic perspective of world events. In 1980 he co-founded Inferential Focus, an intelligence gathering organization for leaders in business and politics, and has since served as its managing partner. He is also one of the principals in the website, www.stayinspiredteam.blogspot.com that seeks to pursue ways to nurture and connect people so that their lives may inspire others to awaken their fire for spirit and enrich lives.
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Michael and I love to watch movies. It is a magical art-form. They inform, inspire, and touch the heart and soul in so many ways.
Did you know that many visionary, soulful movies are made every year but never get into the theaters? Independent, spiritual filmmakers are creating movies with heart and soul, movies that really matter. Until now, though, hardly anybody got to see them.
Spiritual Cinema Circle® is a DVD club that sends out 4 features and short films in the mail each month on DVD. You keep the DVDs. The movies you get are full-length features, both dramas and comedies, short films, and documentaries on mind-opening subjects. They are about many different subjects, but they all share common elements: All our movies are carefully-chosen to provide genuine nourishment for the heart and soul, a much-needed nutrient at a time when more and more Hollywood movies are violent, profane and devoid of meaning. These movies inspire wonder, insight, deep feeling and transcendence. Above all, they make you feel better about being a human being.
Consider joining Spiritual Cinema Circle by using the link below. You can start with a free trial.
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Small Pleasures : Finding Grace in a Chaotic World by Justine Willis Toms Justine Willis Toms' new book Small Pleasures : Finding Grace in a Chaotic World. To get your copy click here. It makes a perfect gift. |
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Join with others from around the world for the monthly |
| Let us know where you are from, we are mapping all the places around the world where people are participating. | |
 Parties with a Purpose; Celebrating what's working in our communities, for people, for business and for the environment www.greenfestivals.com |
 Expand Your Consciousness in Optimal Learning Environments www.conferenceworks.com |
 Books for the Evolving Human Spirit www.hamptonroadspub.com |
 Transform the Way You Live and Lead with Purpose, Passion, Energy, and Joy www.getclarity.com |
 Books and Audio to awaken consciousness and global social potential. www.newworldlibrary.com |
 To Help Individuals Realize Their True Relationship with Life Through Higher Self-Studies Guy Finley, Director www.guyfinley.org |
