We have the ability to live longer but ultimately death is a reality and advanced medicine is not well set up to prepare us for a peaceful death. Here is specific advice, with resources for the patient and caregivers, about dying with dignity. Butler advises us to not wait for a health crisis to consider our wishes about dying and to have conversations with friends and loved ones in advance.She is the author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Scribner 2014) and The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life (Scribner 2019)

Tags: Katy Butler, dementia, conveyor belt medicine, Western medicine, pacemaker, resilience, advance directive, medical directive, active living, active dying, Dementia Directive, pharmaceuticals, chemotherapy, palliative chemotherapy, hospice, lotsahelpinghands.org, sharethecare.org, DNR, do not resuscitate, dying in the ER, death certificates, Death & Dying, Health & Healing, spirituality

Williamson stresses the importance of love over fear and explores the concept of Jesus as an internal teacher and the transformative power of forgiveness. She uses the analogy of cancer cells and quantum physics to illustrate the interconnectedness of all things and advises maintaining respect and openness in political discourse to foster moral persuasion and unity. Marianne Williamson is the author of many books. Throughout her career she has worked on such issues as poverty, anti-hunger, and racial reconciliation. She is a leader of a spiritually progressive circle, and six of her published books have been New York Times bestsellers, including A Return to Love. She has participated in two Presidential campaigns and is the founder of Project Angel Food, a Meals-on-Wheels program that serves homebound people with AIDS in the Los Angeles area. In 2004 she co-founded The Peace Alliance and supported the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. 

Interview Date: 12/20/2024      Tags: Marianne Williamson, A Course in Miracles, ACIM, forgiveness, Jesus, true spiritual north, quantum physics, mental prison, atonement, Holy Spirit, natural intelligence, miracles, Martin Luther King Jr., Personal Transformation, Social Change/Politics, Religion, Spirituality

Brown shares his experiences of exploring the most unlikely zones of urban industrial wastelands where wild nature is eking out its existence outside the human realm. He encourages us to explore these exciting urban edgelands which are teaming with life. Christopher Brown is an accomplished lawyer who has worked on two Supreme Court confirmation hearings. He has also been general counsel for several technology companies. His varied experiences span from restoring prairies to reporting from Central American war zones. He’s author of three award-nominated science fiction novels and The Natural History of Empty.  His current nonfiction book explores the natural world in urban settings: Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places (Timber Press 2024).

Interview Date: 12/2/2024.     Tags: Christopher Brown, biodiversity, abandoned lots, industrial sites, urban creeks, brownfields, Neolithic, agriculture, Kiva, pit house, colony of Harvester ants, Edgeland home Austin, wastelands, Tesla plant in Austin, biodiversity, climate change, Animals, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Social Change/Politics

Oftentimes the death of someone we love shifts reality as we’ve known it and brings forth an opening just wide enough for us to begin seeking a deeper truth, a multi-dimensional one, and this inquiry can take us closer to a more expansive understanding of our own timeless consciousness. It is said that the next frontier is that of the exploration of consciousness and that the material world may reflect only small portions of the universe. Christina Rasmussen has a way of putting us in direct contact with that multi-dimensional universe, one in which we can meet with those who have died through what she calls Temple Journeys. She has taught thousands to have an experience these journeys and says these are not guided meditations or visualizations, “[The Temple Journeys] are a framework that allows the invisible world to be seen so we can trust enough to allow our brain to let go of this reality and for consciousness to grab us and show the expansive nature of our existence.” You’ll find this deep dialogue both exciting and enlightening. Christina Rasmussen is author of Second Firsts: Live, Laugh, and Love Again (Hay House 2013) and Where Did You Go? A Life-Changing Journey to Connect with Those We’ve Lost. (HarperOne 2018). r: 3666

Tags: Christina Rasmussen, Temple Journeys, Neuroscience, Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe, Robert Lanza, Beyond Biocentrism, three-dimensional reality, multi-dimensional universes, the material dimension, entanglement, brain science, spooky action at a distance, hologram, synchronicity, Dean Radin, The observer effect, waves and particles, double slit experiment, imagination, Death & Dying, Science, Parapsychology/Paranormal, Personal Transformation

Orsborn shares the concept of embracing old age as a transformative process. She emphasizes the importance of accepting reality, embracing mortality, and recognizing one's belovedness. She also touches on the evolutionary purpose of old age and the role of spiritual practices in navigating life's challenges, including illness and loss. Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. received her Masters of Theological Studies and Doctorate in History and Critical Theory of Religion from Vanderbilt University, with post-graduate work in Spiritual Counseling at the New Seminary in Manhattan. She specialized in adult development and ritual studies. She has served on the faculties of Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, and Georgetown Universities. She is the author of Older, Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection (self-published 2019), The Making of an Old Soul: Aging as the Fulfillment of Life's Promise (White River Press 2021)and Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life (Park Street Press 2024).

Interview Date: 1/10/2025    Tags: Carol Orsborn, Joan Chittister, fear, denial, God, grace, Tolstoy, Death of Ivan Illich, Ram Dass, hope, expectation, curiosity, Personal Transformation, Spirituality, Aging

If we are to grasp Willis Barnstone’s greatest contribution to culture over the course of his 87 years, we can focus on his role first and foremost as a poet – a lover of words, both his own and those of others, and on what he believes are sacred words from our earliest written records down to present day mystics and poets. Willis Barnstone is a poet, translator, biblical scholar, memoirist, anthologist, teacher, and painter. He is a former O’Connor Professor of Greek at Colgate University, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University, a Guggenheim Fellow, and winner of numerous literary awards, including the Emily Dickinson, Lannon, and W. H. Auden awards. In 2015 he was recipient of the Fred Cody Lifetime Achievement Award. He is translator of the Greek Lyric Poets, a literary historical version of the New Testament, and poets as diverse as Sappho, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jorge Luis Borges, Antonio Machado, Wang Wei, and St. John of the Cross.

Barnstone’s life’s work includes over 75 books including With Borges on an Ordinary Evening in Buenos Aires (University of Illinois Press 1999), The Poems of Jesus Christ (W.W. Norton & Company 2012), The Poetics of Ecstasy: Varieties of Ekstasis from Sappho to Borges (Holmes & Meier Pub 1983), The Poetics of Translation: History, Theory, Practice (Yale University Press 1995), Sappho and the Greek Lyric Poets (Pantheon 1988), The Other Bible (HarperOne 2005), The Apocalypse (editor, translator) (New Directions 2000), The Gnostic Bible (Shambhala 2009), The Restored New Testament: A New Translation with Commentary, Including the Gnostic Gospels Thomas, Mary, and Judas (W.W. Norton and Company 2009) and A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now (editor with Aiki Barnstone) (Schocken1992)

Interview Date: 3/9/2015   Tags: Willis Barnstone, poetry, prose, metaphor, literature, Antonio Machado, Robert Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Eve of the Bible, Jack Kerouac, St. John of the Cross, Jesus, translation, art of conversation, Jorge Luis Borges, Arts & Creativity

As a creativity coach, Dr. Maisel helps us to avoid getting stuck. He has learned to distinguish between every day creativity and the creative identity. When one self-identifies with an art form, it involves a new level of responsibility and commitment. He reminds us that great work takes more than mere interest, it takes love. Eric Maisel, Ph.D. is a licensed family therapist, a creativity coach, and author of more than 40 books. He also conducts writing workshops and trains creativity coaches. His books include: Life Purpose Boot Camp: The 8 Week Breakthrough Plan for Creating a Meaningful Life (New World Library 2014), Secrets of a Creativity Coach (Motivational Press 2014), Why Smart People Hurt (Conari Press 2013), Fearless Creating (Tarcher 1995), Van Gogh's Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression (New World Library 2007), Mastering Creative Anxiety (New World Library 2011), Making Your Creative Mark (New World Library 2013), Natural Psychology: The New Psychology of Meaning (Natural Psychology Press 2012), Rethinking Depression (New World Library 2012), Brainstorm: Harnessing The Power of Productive Obsessions (New World Library 2010), Creativity For Life (New World Library 2007) and Coaching the Artist Within (New World Library 2005)

Interview Date: 1/15/2015  Tags: Eric Maisel, creativity, stuck, creative process, creative identity, creativity coach, creativity consulting, manifest potential, healthy narcissism, healthy ego structure, quietness, permission, self-expression, fragmentation, creativity practice, routine, finishing, identity, detachment, creative process, lineage, messes and mistakes, innovation, problem solving, divergent thinking, creative enterprise, original work, showing up, morning practice, creative flow, ceremony, great work, Spirituality, Philosophy, Personal Transformation

What drags us under when we experience setbacks, failures, criticism while working for a cause, person, or place? Wheatley advises us to work with as much diligence as we can. She says that in the end it is about feeling that it is our work to do and doing it with vigor and enjoyment even though we don’t know what the outcome will be. Margaret Wheatley is an internationally acclaimed writer, speaker, and teacher. She is co-founder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute, a charitable foundation that works with people around the world who strengthen their communities using the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions, and environment. Her books include Leadership and the New Science (Berrett-Kohler 1998), Perseverance (Berrett-Koehler 2010), Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope in the Future (Berrett-Koehler 2009), So Far from Home: Lost and Found In Our Brave New World (Berrett-Koehler 2012) and Who Do We Choose To Be: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity (Berrett-Koehler 2017).

Interview Date: 8/19/2010     Tags: T. S. Eliot, "only don't know”, bravery, Carlos Castaneda, Chogyam Trungpa, creativity, curiosity, Don Juan, Hopi Nation, mp3, personal transformation, righteous anger, steadfastness, vision, Margaret Wheatley, Personal Transformation

Grunther states that we’re in the midst of a New Renaissance when the greatest knowledge and wisdom, both ancient and contemporary, is just a few keystrokes away through digital screens that billions around the planet can access. He shares the three key shifts in human consciousness taking place today, ranging from quantum physics to AI and left/right-brain thinking. Douglas Grunther is the creator and host of the Woodstock Roundtable an award winning radio talk show covering philosophy, depth psychology, and spiritual insight. He is also a dream work facilitator. He is the author of The Quantum & The Dream: Visionary Consciousness, AI, and The New Renaissance (Epigraph Books 2024)

Interview Date: 11/15/2024     Tags: Douglas Grunther, AI, Right hemisphere of the brain, left hemisphere of the brain, Lynn Margulis, Elisabet Sahtouris, Albert Einstein, Iain McGilchrist, Wolfgang Pauli, Carl Jung, Sigmond Freud, Max Planck, Wermer Heinsenberg, Niels Bohr, Yin-Yang, Gaia theory, Plato, Marshall McLuhan, Science, Personal Transformation, History, Social Change/Politics

Writing your memoir is a powerful process for discovering elusive elements in your psyche. It forces you to see your life from an entirely different perspective. Peterson encourages us to explore the untold story of you — and the inner hero, heroine, angel, or villain you have yet to meet. She gives a simple writing exercise to help you get started. Brenda Peterson is a novelist, nature writer, and writing teacher. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Orion Magazine, and O: The Oprah Magazine. She’s a regular commentator for Seattle NPR and the Huffington Post. Her books include Build Me 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 Your Life is a Book: How to Craft & Publish Your Memoir (co-author Sarah Jane Freymann) (Sasquatch Books 2014), Wolf Haven: Sanctuary and the Future of Wolves in North America (coauthor Annie Marie Musselman) (Sasquatch Books 2016) and Wolf Nation: The Life, Death, and Return of Wild American Wolves (De Capo 2017)

Interview Date: 2/10/2010     Tags: Brenda Peterson, family, memoir, inner critic, fundamentalists, the Rapture, humor, Writing, Religion, Family/Community, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Spirituality, Philosophy