Conversation 4 Exploration. Laura Lee Show, Cuyamungue Institute

"The Biblical accounts are full of trance states," says this Georgetown University scholar. When I ask him why our society trusts accounts of ASC from 2,000 years ago, but less so now, he agrees that mystical states are just as available to us now as then.

"Nobody has done more than John Pilch to popularize the use of an ASC model for understanding the visions, sky journeys and other ecstatic experiences reported in biblical texts. He is to be credited for pointing out the ethnocentrism in traditional biblical research that do not take visions, soul journeys and the like seriously as culturally plausible human phenomena. He introduced the notion of alternate states of consciousness (ASCs), a well-known category in anthropological research, to biblical interpretation in an attempt to avoid the ethnocentrism that considers such reports as either nonhistorical or fictional."   Pieter F. Craffert

John Pilch (1937 - 2016) Prof of Religious Studies Georgetown University.  He was known for his breakthrough work in biblical anthropology.  John was a personal friend of Dr. Goodman, the founder of the Cuyamungue Institute.

From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on May 7, 2003 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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"You are born to fly, and in dreams you remember the soul has wings," says Robert Moss, who  weaves tribal and shamanic wisdom with practical tips to better access your dreaming self and all it offers. The dream state can wake us up to guidance, healing and creativity beyond the reach of our everyday state of mind, as Moss illustrates with examples, and parlay with callers. In studio  interview for the Seattle leg of his book tour for the debut of "Conscious Dreaming".

From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on May 25, 1996 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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The author of "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" cites universal spiritual laws as simple yet powerful truths for living wisely and well — in alignment with the universal laws that govern our lives, including balance, choice, process, expectation, presence, integrity, compassion, surrender, and unity -- a roadmap for living our best life. Dan Millman is a former world champion gymnast, college professor, and martial arts instructor.
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on October 21, 1995 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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Andrew Newberg, a pioneer in "neurotheology" -- the neurology of religious and spiritual experiences --  cites a "God Gene" as an inherent part of our physiology tuned to a sense of the Divine, and several direct and indirect neuro-mechanisms tying mystical experiences,  spirituality, compassion, and love with improved mental and physical health and longevity.  His research includes functional brain imaging of Buddhists meditating and Franciscan nuns in prayer. His ten books include "Why God Won't Go Away."
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on April 10 2001 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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"You cannot mistake the similarities between the high of athletic performance with that of religious experience" says Michael Murphy, who draws parallels between mystical moments reported by athletes and those of mystics and yogis, and cites the religious heritage of both East and West as a basis for understanding spiritual experiences arrived at through physical activity. Murphy gathered such experiences from the entire spectrum of sports and physical adventure -- moments of illumination, ecstasy, out-of-body experiences, altered perceptions of time and space, and exceptional feats of strength and endurance.  All the better to appreciate the gifts and capacities of the vehicle we are given to navigate our world, both physical and subtle. We also talk with Murphy about the mystical aspects of golf, which he describes as "the mystery school for Republicans."
     Michael Murphy, the co-founder of the Esalen Institute and Esalen's Center for Theory and Research, is the author "Golf in the Kingdom" and "The Future of the Body: Explorations into the Further Evolution of Human Nature".
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on July 12, 1995 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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"The rainforests hold answers to questions we have yet to ask," says ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin, "and with each medicine man that dies, it's as if a library burned down." He has spent much of the past four decades studying the shamans and healing plants of tropical America from Mexico to Argentina, mostly focused on the Amazon.  He notes there is no mental illness among these tribes, as they know how to deal with it. He's served as president of the Amazon Conservation Team,  which partnered with 55 tribes to map and improve management and protection of 80 million acres of ancestral rain forests. Mark Plotkin's book is Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice.
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on April 8, 1995 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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Thomas Moore says "Soul is not a thing, but a quality or dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart and personal substance.” Defining  soul as the seat of emotions and hub of our lives, he connects loss of soul with the restlessness, addiction, insecurity, and frustration of our times, and the yearning for something to nourish us on this deep level.  If the soul's capacity for creativity is not honored, it will wreak havoc instead. We can survive and learn from our personal troubles, tragedies, and follies. And here's the challenge to care for our souls, and a call to our true vocation -- to care for the world's soul and celebrate the sacred arts of life.
    Author of "Care of the Soul" and 15 books, More has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist, and now  lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and the arts.
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded March 30th, 2000 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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The idea that life is a cosmic, rather than a purely terrestrial phenomenon, has gained ground over the last few decades. Cometary Panspermia is astronomers Chandra Wickramasinghe and Fred Hoyle's theory that the codes of life are transferred among planets and galaxies by microbes that survive within comets and meteors. Gaining support with new discoveries in astronomy,  biology, microbial fossils found in meteorites and micrometeorites, and the search for exoplanets which finds over 100 billion habitable planets, some suggest Panspermia might be "an inevitable fact".  Wickramasinghe is a leading expert on interstellar material and the origins of life. Here we discuss the exciting implications that we share the same codes of life with a well-populated universe. 
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on April 21, 2000 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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What common elements might the rituals of the diverse cultures around the world have in common? Denny Sargent is joined by his wife Rebecca, recounting their travels around the world noting common themes and archetypal symbols of higher ritual, and how archetypes play out in our own lives. Denny visited 30 countries, spent four years in Japan,  been active in a number of esoteric traditions and orders, including the I Ching, Jungian Mandalas, Kwakuitl Dance, Gnostics, Hermetic Magick, Taoism, Animism, Shinto and more.
  “Through rituals that we actually work with the 'levels' and 'switches' that control our experience of and relationship to the world," he says. And In his book "Global Ritualism: Myth & Magic Around the World" Denny cites a prophecy that when all the world's rituals are made accessible, no one will care! He concludes, "We are in the tumultuous throes of birthing the first global culture this planet has ever seen. If it lacks creative and effective myths, dreams, and rituals fit for the citizens of the "worldbeat culture" then it will have no soul, no self, or center. We are all different, we are all the same; its up to us."
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded September 1st, 1994 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

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 Olga Kharitidi was faced with integrating her work as a psychiatrist in a hospital with her induction as an apprentice to Umai, a Siberian shamaness who saw her healing potential. This  chance encounter during a trip to the remote Altai mountains of her birth prompted her to apply these newly gained insights and methods to her practice, with stunning results. She  traveled throughout Siberia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to learn more of the indigenous wisdom and practice, which she contrasts with descriptions of life in her home country. Her book is "Entering the Circle: Ancient Secrets of Siberian Wisdom Discovered by a Russian Psychiatrist"  
From the Archives: This live interview was recorded on September 26, 1996 on the nationally syndicated radio program The Laura Lee Show. See more at www.lauralee.com

Also available in Spotify  for download

• Laura Lee, Laura Lee Show, Conversation4Exploration. Conversation 4 Exploration, CUYA - Cuyamungue Institute, Paul Robear