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COMMUNICATING THE WISDOM THAT'S CHANGING THE WORLD
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My cousin, Amy Ancel, along with our seven siblings and three other cousins grew up spending our summers together in Alexander City, Alabama at our grandparent's house. It was a stately Victorian home on a hill surrounded by several acres of trees, flower and vegetable gardens, swings, lily pond, chicken yard, and other delights. We'd take turns with a plunger, churning fresh milk into butter, or snapping peas for dinner. Or, better still, chasing fireflies in the early evening. I write about this in my recent book, Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World. I stay in touch with these childhood friends and family. Recently, Amy shared a delightful story with me. "I have to share with you a story I thought of this morning when I was reading your book again. Every year a group of drummers puts together, Drums Around the World, a one-day event of drumming for peace that takes place worldwide. It’s a fantastic time and I often attend. It’s held outside in a big open field a stone’s throw from a beach in Norwalk, CT., and there are always lots of people, some of whom are awesome drummers and percussionists. I love drumming (used to often go to drum circles), and I always get an enormous lift from having the rhythms of the drums reverberate through my body. It takes me back to some more primordial and tribal genetic memory. In 2003, I had had a particularly gut-wrenching weekend full of loss. First, a good friend viciously lashed out at me over some stupid thing and hurt me terribly, ending our friendship. Then I got a crazy letter from my boyfriend saying he no longer wanted to be friends. And then the final blow came when a dear friend of mine, who was recovering from brain aneurysm surgery, dropped dead on her bedroom floor. Needless to say, I was a basket case, horribly depressed, crying my eyes out. I couldn’t even get out of bed. I finally dragged myself to Drums Around the World that day, hoping the music, clear blue sky, bright sunshine, and good people would transport me to a better place. I forced myself to go in memory of Sarah, so I could reflect on her life and on all the fun we used to have together. While I was lying on the grass, letting the vibrations of the drums flow through me and looking up into the sky, suddenly hundreds, maybe thousands, of dragonflies were hovering over the drum circle, in their own perfect circle. It was an awesome sight. They must have been attracted to the vibrations in the air; or maybe they were just getting their groove on too. I’ve never seen anything like it. They stayed for a very long time, and everyone just marveled at it. Once the drumming stopped, off they flew. It was nice to remember that experience this morning, as a reminder there’s magic all around us, if we show up for it and pay attention. I really just wanted you to know how much I’m enjoying my third or fourth reading of your book, and how it helps to set my mind right."
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April 2010 Broadcast Schedule
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| The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, April 7 – 13, 2010
Topics Explored in this Dialogue:
Activist and author Paul Loeb has been at the hub of social change for more than three decades. He has a rare understanding not only of the issues we face today, but also of how change happens. Most importantly, he understands that each of us can be instigators of change no matter what our background is, or what our level of involvement has been. In this conversation he shares unique insights on the paths of Rosa Parks and the Dalai Lama, as well as people much like you and me who went from college drinking parties or prison cells to become highly effective community organizers. Through their stories you’ll gain a new appreciation of the impact you can have with each small step you take in service to your cause. Mr. Loeb explains, "Whatever we're doing, it has these multiple levels of impacts. Some of them are very discernible, some of them are very critical. And yet there's these other levels that we never can quite be sure of, that can, in the long term be equally as powerful... We never know the impact of our actions." Paul Loeb is an Associate Scholar at Seattle's Center for Ethical Leadership. He has given more than one thousand TV and radio interviews, and his writing has been cited in congressional debates and covered by the Associated Press, United Press International, and in publications in the U.S. and around the globe. He is the author of five books, including Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times (St. Martin’s Griffin 2010). To learn more about the work of Paul Loeb go to www.SoulOfACitizen.org
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The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, April 14 – 20, 2010
Topics Explored in this Dialogue:
"Love is the least safe thing there is. It's fierce. You can't domesticate it. It's wild. When you find it you should rejoice. When you lose it you should grieve." So says Susan Piver, because she knows the joy of loving, the devastating groundlessness of betrayal, and the deep crushing loss when love goes away. But she also knows how to turn that trauma into something sacred, a means of learning the truth of who and what is most valuable in your life. In this rich and insightful conversation she invites you to step into your heartbreak with the courage of a warrior,and to embrace your tenderness and fragility with a calm, steady heart. She'll show you how, with a few simple techniques, you can gain authority over your pain and release its hold on you. Best of all, she points out, "Who doesn't want to be loved by someone like that, someone who can stand in their vulnerability, can stand with you in yours? This makes you a lover of the highest order." (Hosted by Justine Willis Toms) Susan Piver is a graduate of a Buddhist seminary and an authorized meditation instructor in the Shambhala lineage. She has written for Body and Soul, Self, O: The Oprah Magazine, Reader's Digest, and the Shambhala Sun, and has been featured on Oprah, CNN, and Today, and in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and other national print publications. She is the author of five books, including the bestselling How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life: Opening Your Heart to Confidence, Intimacy, and Joy (St. Martin's Griffin 2007), and The Wisdom of a Broken Heart: An Uncommon Guide to Healing, Insight, and Love (Free Press 2010). To learn more about the work of Susan Piver go to www.SusanPiver.com |
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| The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, April 21 – 27, 2010
Topics Explored in this Dialogue:
So many of us seem to be drowning in money issues. It's easy to let financial concerns begin to define our days, and become the critical factor in every choice we make. But Ernest Chu reminds us that money is just a symbol of the way energy flows into and out of our lives. Even in the worst of economic times, it can be the catalyst that brings us back to our core values and reminds us who we really are. He explains, "You are here to rediscover the importance and the power of love, and to connect to something larger in the world. It might mean that you have to go through some difficult times to understand that you are surrounded by really good flow. So when you put attention toward your finances, you're also putting attention toward what's good for you in your life. When you do that, and you're grateful for things that are happening, then all of a sudden more comes. It's about the consciousness being created through you, as a result of your being alive." Ernest Chu has been an investment banker, a writer, an entrepreneur, a minister, and a workshop leader, has a deep understanding of Eastern philosophy, and was once a million dollars in debt. He has advised some of America's best-managed companies, and directly funded nearly one hundred emerging growth companies. He is an ordained pastor at the Center for Spiritual Living in Fort Lauderdale, and has led workshops on the Metaphysics of Spiritual Abundance in more than seventy spiritual centers in twenty states. He is the author of Soul Currency: Investing Your Inner Wealth for Fulfillment and Abundance (New World Library 2008). To learn more about the work of Ernest Chu go to www.SoulCurrency.org |
The Broadcast Week Beginning Wednesday, April 28 – May 4, 2010
Topics Explored in this Dialogue:
"Awakeness is so close to us—it would take people's breath away if they knew how near they constantly were to being awake, regardless of what their lives look like." With these words, Jan Frazier takes you to the edge of that moment when you, too, can awaken to who you really are. It happened to her in an instant when her fears simply dissolved, and she was left with the pure, present awareness of an enlightened mind. From that deep place of understanding she explains how you, too, can slip beneath the veil of the illusions of your busy, noisy life, remember the "you" who is unattached to the highs and lows of yesterday and tomorrow, and become ready for that moment of your own awakening. As Ms. Frazier tells us, "Even for a person who very much wants to wake up, the real truth is they're not in control of it. We can only ready ourselves. And when the moment of blessing comes, it just seems to come." So be still, listen to the clues she has to offer, and be ready. Your moment may be just a breath away. (Hosted by Justine Willis Toms) Jan Frazier is a writer, teacher, and mother who experienced a radical transformation of consciousness in 2003. Although she has been inspired by many teachers, such as Gurumayi, J. Krishnamurti, and Eckhart Tolle, the joy she lives in belongs to no particular tradition, and is available to all. Ms. Frazier is the author of When Fear Falls Away: The Story of a Sudden Awakening (Weiser Books 2008), and her teachings and talks are available on CDs. To learn more about the work of Jan Frazier go to www.JanFrazierTeachings.com |
Thoughts from Paul Loeb dialogue with Michael Toms Program #3339
One of the lessons I think is really important for us, particularly in difficult times, is that we have to remember when we are acting, we are actually doing two things. First, we are trying to tackle a particular issue: we are trying to get health care legislation passed, or climate change action, knocking on doors for a candidate, or getting a city council resolution. The kind of resolution that needs to be made in every city in the country, such as saying that the Supreme Court decision, giving the country over to Exxon, is an illegitimate decision, and we need to reverse it. So, whatever change we are working for, the stakes are huge.
All this work is critical, but, as we are doing it, we're doing something else. We're trying to get people involved in the larger stream of activism for social justice. And, if we get somebody involved who hasn't been involved before, we have no idea where they are going to end up. Or, if we keep somebody involved, who is on the verge of dropping out, we don't know what they are going to do with their life. They may do something enormously powerful down the line.
I originally thought of this, when Vaclav Havel, the former Czechoslovakian president and leader of their democracy, in a moment under the communist dictatorship, described a petition where they were trying to free some political prisoners. They were getting mocked, and told this is not going to do any good. No one is going to listen. They were told the usual things that everyone says to anybody who works for change.
Looking back seven years later, three years before the dictatorship fell, he said, "You know, we didn't free the prisoners. Sometimes you don't win. But I don't think it was fruitless, because now there are so many people for whom that was their first point speaking up as free individuals. Now they are putting on dissident plays, speaking in the classrooms and the pulpits, and in every kind of context. They can't throw them all in jail, there are too many of them." And three years later they had what they call the Velvet Revolution. Without a shot being fired they overthrew the dictatorship. So, the lesson I got, and I actually didn't think of it until I read Havel at that point, was, whatever we are doing has these multiple levels of impacts. Some of them are very discernable, some of them are very critical. Yet, there are these other levels we never can quite be sure of, that can, in the long run, be equally as powerful.
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Small Pleasures : Finding Grace in a Chaotic World by Justine Willis Toms THE WINNER OF 2009 Award in the Spiritual Books Category Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World by Justine Toms Announced at the 13th Annual Awards Event of the Coalition of Visionary Resources |
Join Spiritual Cinema Circle and receive your first DVD for FREE, featuring Thomas and the Rainbow and Act As If plus two other short films (just pay S&H).
Until April 14th, Spiritual Cinema Circle is featuring Thomas and the Rainbow,
Join Spiritual Cinema Circle and receive your first DVD for FREE, featuring Thomas and the Rainbow and Act As If plus two other short films (just pay S&H).
Thomas and the Rainbow: Maire (Connie Nielsen) transforms an orphan boy’s world when she brings him to live in her small island village, off the coast of Ireland. Her reticent husband Alec (Aidan Quinn) can barely hide his disappointment when he meets the frail, shy eight-year-old. Undiscouraged, Maire introduces Thomas (John Bell) to the wonders of his new world, and shows him that you can find magic anywhere — if you really look.
Act As If: One woman’s secret to winning at life is to “act as if,” which transforms her from a feisty blue-collar Boston kid into Harvard’s championship basketball coach. Kathy Delaney-Smith inspires on and off the court, demonstrating the power of the mind to overcome any obstacle, including her own life-threatening illness in this engaging documentary.
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