New Dimensions

In honor of broadcast journalist and commentator Bill Moyers, who passed on June 25, 2025, we present this New Dimensions Archive Edition, recorded on October 4 1996 and hosted by MIchael Toms. 

Moyers was widely respected for accessible, provocative television programs that explore a broad spectrum of contemporary topics with depth and sensitivity. In this New Dimensons Archive Edition he discusses his original approach to broadcast journalism and his series “Genesis: A Living Conversation,” consisting of ten lively discussions about stories in the first book of the Bible. In these programs, he describes why these are among the most powerful stories in Western Civilization, and the fascinating process of uncovering their deeper, often controversial meanings. Moyers says, “Stories are the way we organize our response to the world…Listening to others, and having them listen to you, is a way to grow your own faith.”

Cousineau explores how perfectionism leads to burnout, stress, and anxiety. She introduces the concept of "inner algorithms" as coping patterns formed in stressful situations. She advocates for a mind-body approach to overcoming perfectionism, highlighting the importance of self-compassion and the EVOLVE method. Tara Cousineau, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist at Harvard University’s Counseling and Mental Health Services. She’s professionally trained in mind-body medicine, energy psychology, mindfulness, self-compassion, and other psychological methods. She is the author of The Kindness Cure: How The Science Of Compassion Can Heal Your Heart And Your World (New Harbinger Publications 2018) and The Perfectionist’s Dilemma: Learn the Art of Self Compassion and Become a Happy Achiever (Alcove Press 2025)

Interview Date: 7/18/2025         Tags: Tara Cousineau, Kindfulness, kindsight, joy, social media, procrastination, mindfulness, inner algorithms, Byron Katie, talk therapy, body therapy, IFS, Internal Family Systems, Richard C Schwartz, procrastination, Scarlett O’Hara, Tara Brach, mantras, Rick Hanson, Donna Eden, EFT. Emotional Freedom Technique, “Tapping,” Personal Transformation, Psychology

Are we living in and collectively participating in a planetary nervous system? Are we all creative participants guiding Earth’s destiny? Here, we focus on the noosphere, which represents the third major evolutionary layer enveloping Earth, following the geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life).   Brian Thomas Swimme, Ph.D. is Professor of Evolutionary Cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He is the Director of the Third Story of the Universe at The Human Energy Project He is the host of the Emmy-award winning PBS special "Journey of the Universe," written with Mary Evelyn Tucker. He is also the host of the 35-part video series "Story of the Noosphere," created for the Human Energy Project.   Monica DeRaspe-Bolles is a doctoral student at the California Institute of Integral Studies in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program. Her area of research is the “Third Story of the Universe” and the potential emergence of a new structure of experience fostering cosmogenic awakening. She is a collaborator with Brian Swimme on the video series “Story of the Noosphere.” They are the co-authors of the book The Story of the Noosphere (Orbis Books 2024)

Interview Date: 7/11/2025      Tags: Brian Thomas Swimme, Monica DeRaspe-Bolles, Noosphere, geosphere, biosphere, James Webb telescope, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Vladimir Vernadsky, Jiffy time, Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, universal mind, planetary mind, Zarathustra, entelechy, diversification, conscious recall, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Science, Community

Alderman highlights the rapid expansion of information exposure over the past 50 years, leading to an "algorithmic undertow" that channels individuals into echo chambers. Here we explore how to become digitally mature and mindfully intentional in our engagement with the increasingly fragmented social landscape. Bruce Alderman, MA, is an affiliate faculty professor at John F. Kennedy University in the Consciousness and Transformative Studies and Holistic Counseling Psychology departments. He is the Associate Director of the Blue Sky Leaders Certificate Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies His essays and white papers have been published in many prestigious publications and anthologies on consciousness studies, and he is co-creator, producer, and occasional host of the YouTube series The Integral Stage.

Interview Date: 6/13/2025     Tags: Bruce Alderman, Penn Gillette, algorithmic undertow, echo chambers, information bubbles, Roy Bhaskar, demi realities, critical realism, digital realities, Bohemian dialog, David Bohm, Jainism, Anekāntavāda, non one-sidedness, non one-pointedness. critical realism, integral theory, Ken Wilber, integral theory, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Psychology, technology

This 2500 year old sacred text of India is a divine song and trusted guide for happiness, meditation, and spiritual inner growth. It unfolds as a dialogue of Master and Disciple, a friendly chat between Prince Arjuna, a warrior and a highly evolved spiritual seekerand, God incarnate Lord Krishna. It serves as a reflection of our internal “battlefield of the soul.” Isaac Bentwich M.D. is a longtime practitioner and teacher of Yoga and Meditation. Trained as a physician in Western and Ayurvedic medicine, he founded three life-science technology companies, leading revolutions in medicine, genomics, and environment conservation. He is the author of Gita: A Timeless Guide for Our Time (Harmonia Publications 2018)

Interview Date: 6/29/2019     Tags: Isaac Bentwich, Bhagavad Gita, Prince Arjuna, Lord Krishna, Vedanta, yoga, training the mind, joy, lotus blossom, Personal Transformation, Religion, Spirituality

Kaliko shares Hawaii’s history, culture, and the revitalization of its language. He talks of his experience of learning several languages and how doing so changed him into a different person. He shares the story of the revered cultural hero Aunty Nona who, after decades of restrictions, brought the sacred hula back from the repression of Western missionaries. 

Interview Date: 4/24/2019  Tags: Kaliko Beamer-Trapp, Aunty Nona Beamer, lei, Tongans, Arts & Creativity, History 

Fear can create chronic anxiety, depression, and disconnection. However, Manly shares a hidden aspect of this same fear that affords us the opportunity to live a life with fear as an ally rather than a foe. In her research and work as a psychotherapist she has discovered a way out of destructive fear and how we can turn it into transformational healing. She is the author of: Joy From Fear: Create the Life of Your Dreams by Making Fear Your Friend. (Familius 2019).

Interview Date: 7/30/2019     Tags: Carla Manly, fear, mirror neurons, jealousy, addiction, pornography, psychotherapy, empathy, Psychology, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation

Mindfulness is not about holding the busy world at bay, it’s to cultivate a more alive, responsive, effective and warm-hearted way of being within the world as it already exists and within a life you already live. This deep dialogue explores how to find composure right in the midst of the storm and ways to integrate mindfulness into our daily life.Marc Lesser’s books include Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less (New World Library 2009), Know Yourself, Forget Yourself (New World Library 2013) and Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader: Lessons From Google and a Zen Monastery Kitchen (New World Library 2019).

Interview Date: 6/7/2019    Tags: MP3, Marc Lesser, mindfulness, Norman Fischer, Tassajara Zen Center, Macmindfulness, loving kindness, sympathetic joy, listening, Michael Pollan, self-sufficient, collaboration, acceptance, simplicity, radical responsibility for yourself, Shunryu Suzuki Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, blame, showing up, compassion, Robert Gass, ground truth, Meditation, Philosophy, Personal Transformation, Buddhism, Work/Livelihood

Despite ever more sophisticated medical technology and more expensive healthcare, chronic diseases are increasing. If mainstream medicine is doing its job, why are the rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease rising instead of decreasing? This deep dialogue with Roberto Tostado explores how many of us are choosing a toxic lifestyle and what can we do to transform it into a healthy one. He is the author of WTF* (or What the Food) Is Wrong with Our Health? A Rebel Physician’s Manifesto for Reversing Disease and Increasing Smiles (Roberto Tostado, MD 2019) 

Interview Date: 5/27/2019      Tags: Roberto Tostado, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs, genetic propensity, Aldous Huxley, opioid epidemic, obesity, metabolic diseases, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, toxins, GMOs, sugar, protein, good oils and fats, liver, Optimum Health Institute, Thyroid testing, hypoglycemia, coconut oil, Alzheimer’s, salt, inflammation, anti-oxidants, farmers markets, iBody Wellness Center, regenerative medicine, Health & Healing