Contemplate This!

Matthew Mumber, M.D., practices medicine as a board-certified radiation oncologist with the Harbin Clinic in Rome. After entering private practice, Matt attended and graduated from Dr. Andrew Weil’s fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona, where he met Rachel Remen and attended trainings on facilitation of physician-patient retreat groups through Commonweal.

Subsequently, Matt attended and graduated from a 2-year program on spirituality at the Living School for Action and Contemplation through the Rohr Institute, where he studied with Jim Finley. An author of academic and lay press texts on the subject of healing, Matt has edited an academic textbook entitled Integrative Oncology: Principles and Practice and also co-wrote a lay-press health and wellness book, Sustainable Wellness with Heather Reed. He has served as the president of the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology. His first book of poetry, In the Awakening Season, was published in fall 2020.

Matt’s poetry, which draws on his personal, professional, cultural and natural-world experiences, stems from his Lectio Divina meditation and spiritual practice. Matt has facilitated groups and retreats focused on transformation and healing for over twenty years.

He lives in Georgia with his wife and three sons.

Toni Stogdill is a Realtor and the Director of Communications for the Master Investor's Tribe (St. Louis, MO). She recently participated in our "Centering for Wisdom" group coaching program and shares her journey of contemplative transformation.

Toni is a real-life busy, overwhelmed, stressed out professional like many of you who has integrated a daily centering practice into her life (she knew absolutely nothing about contemplative prayer before we met). That has helped her to get crystal clear about the core purpose and intention God has give her to live, and she's experienced improved her relationships with her two teenage daughters. Today she is living in alignment and congruence between her professional goals with her divinely inspired purpose and intention.

I'll be peppering in some of these client journey episodes into Contemplate This!

Some of you might want to explore taking that in-depth life, contemplative, life-transforming plunge for yourself so you can quickly get out of feeling constantly overwhelmed and recentered in your purpose just like Toni. If that's the case, then you can go straight to[ thomasjbushlack.com/apply](https://thomasjbushlack.com/apply) to schedule your free Breakthrough Session. This is totally free and no-pressure call where I'll work with you to craft a step-by-step game plan to get you out of feeling constantly overwhelmed...AND how you can stay centered and aligned with your vocation for the rest of your life.

The cost? Absolutely FREE!

Julius B. Anthony is Founder and President of St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature and The Believe Project. He has enjoyed more than 20 years as an early childhood and elementary education professional and has served as a classroom teacher, principal, director of curriculum and insruction, and adjunct professor. Throughout his career, Julius has enjoyed writing motivational poems and short stories for his students and serving as a fierce advocate of literacy-based PK-12 education. In October of 2014, he published his first children’s book entitled “Me! Ten Poetic Affirmations” which debuted at the National Black Child Development Institute’s annual conference in Detroit, Michigan. He is also the Founding Principal of City Academy, a successful independent day school located in north St. Louis City.

One achievement Julius is particularly proud of is his current upstart “The Believe Project” which seeks to ensure all children are confident and competent readers by the end of third grade. On July 3, 2020, The Believe Project premiered as a literacy-based children’s show in response to the regional demands for K-3 remote learning.

Ben Gioia (“joya”) is a two-time best-selling author, speaker, and creator of the Influence With A Heart® Method. If you have a BIG IDEA, Ben will teach you how to write your #1 best selling book — in 5 weeks — and position yourself for a media explosion (and more) in 3 months.

Ben helped a Fortune 100 company shift culture, trained leaders at Stanford, launched the world's biggest magazine, and created video game with MIT to transform employee resilience and customer experience.

Ben’s signature talk, The Buddha Smile, shows people how to quit suffering. His teachings are used by 30,000+ people around the world.

The foundation of Ben’s work, in his own words, is “mindfulness and loving-kindness” and bringing that into the business space openly and publicly. In our interview Ben talks publicly for the first time about an experience he had with his meditation teacher that allowed him to let go of ALL the doubt and that inner critical voice that holds so many of us back. I am very inspired by the way Ben integrates his contemplative practice into his professional life as a coach, speaker, and author.

Dr. Waldinger has one of the most viewed Ted Talks of all time, with over 100 million views – it’s called “What Makes for a Good Life?” Just to give you a teaser, he gives us the answer to what makes for happiness in just two words, within the first five minutes of the show! Bob Waldinger is also a clinical psychiatrist at Harvard and the current Director of the Harvard Study on Adult Development. The study began in 1938, it’s now in its 83rd year, it is the longest running research study ever conducted. To top it all off, Bob is also a Zen Buddhist priest! I had the good fortune of being on a Zoom call with Bob recently, and I immediately emailed him to invite him to be a guest. Amid a very busy and stressful time, he graciously said yes, and now we all get to share in the benefits. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did conducting the interview!

For this episode I am your co-host, along with Nick Zolfo, the host of the podcast “Catching ZZ’s: A Millennial’s Guide to Mindfulness.” Nick and I were introduced by a mutual colleague, and we realized that we have a very similar purpose behind our podcasts – which is to highlight the wisdom of others’ spiritual practices and share it with as many people as possible. Since we are so aligned, we decided to make this a co-interview, just taking turns interviewing each other about meditation practices, podcasts, and how we apply our practice to daily life and sharing our passion with others.

Nick Zolfo is a podcast host, meditation teacher, and community builder. He brings experience with 4.5 years of his own meditation practice, coursework in mindfulness, including SIYLI 2 day training, and 3 years of hosting the Catching Z's podcast. He seeks to help others explore their minds and develop their own practice.

Catching Z's does this by sharing stories of people with diverse backgrounds about how they've developed a spiritual practice and how everyone has their own unique journey to discover theirs.

Keith Kristich lives in Buffalo, NY with his partner and wife, Colleen. He’s a self-described lover of nature, good conversation, and am often found with a book, banjo, or guitar in hand. In his own words, he says “My ultimate aim is to help people slow down and reconnect with their deepest and truest self.”

Two things stand out about this interview. First, Keith discovered meditation “by accident.” Of course, nothing happens by accident, but he started his journey just by being naturally drawn into silence after listening to music. Once he realized what he was doing, he started to explore Buddhist teachings, and only later did he realize this was a part of the Christian tradition and then found his way into a more formal practice like Centering Prayer.

Second, he’s a Millenial who is taking up the mantle of contemplative practice, and is sharing it with others through his website, retreats, in-person and online meditation groups, Enneagram coaching, and other creative pursuits.

I think you’ll find some good stuff in this episode slowing down and connecting.

In this special episode I want to reflect on our global connection to each other, and to invite each of you to open your heart as you engage the fears and anxieties that we’re feeling right now during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ven. Kusala Bikshu is an American-born monk ordained in the Zen Tradition of Vietnam and head monk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center in the Korea town section of Los Angeles. Kusala is a member of the Buddhist-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Los Angeles and MID – Monastic Inter-religious Dialogue, a national organization of Buddhists and Catholics. I was introduced to Kusula through Fr. William Skudlarek, who is a Benedictine monk at St. John’s Abbey and has been active in inter-monastic dialogue.