REVOLUTIONARY SPIRITUALITY

December 21, 2012 is rapidly approaching. Does it mark the end of the world as some have claimed? Or has the Mayan calendar been misinterpreted? My guest was Charles Lightwalker and we discussed the 2012 predictions. Charles recently participated in a panel about the Mayan Calendar as a part of the Body, Mind Spirit Expo that was sponsored last month by the Spokane Holistic Chamber of Commerce. This program originally aired on 12/10/12.

Charles Lightwalker currently serves as Executive Director at The Family of Light Healing Centre located in Spokane, WA. Before joining The Family of Light Healing Centre, Charles served as Chief Executive Officer at New Age Resources, a Business Consulting and Marketing Firm, and prior to that he served as Executive Director at Community Services of the North Coast.

Charles serves on the boards of Washington State Holistic Chamber of Commerce, the Metis Medicine Society, the International Association of Medical Intuitives, the Vibrational Yoga Alliance, the Metaphysical Research Society and is on the Advisory Council for the USA Holistic Chamber of Commerce movement. He earned a PhD in Religous Studies from Newport University in 1980. He also studied and was Certified in Spiritual Healing in 1990 attended through Spiritual Healers and Earth Stewardsand was also ordained as a Minister in through them 1990. Charles also has certification in Sound Healing using Tuning forks, is a Reiki Master in 25 different methods, is a certified Vibrational Yoga Instructor, and Initiation as a Metis Shaman.

Contact Information: www.thefamilyoflight.com

Whew... the election is finally over, but what does it all mean? Is God happy? Disappointed? Angry? Indifferent? And how did religion play a role in the 2012 elections, if any? I had a post election wrap up with my guest, Tracy Simmons, the Editor and Community Manager of Spokane FAVS (Spokane Faith and Values), an online source for religion news in the Spokane area. Tracy holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism, a master’s degrees in communication and has reported on religion for about a decade, writing for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas and Connecticut. Join us for this fascinating conversation. This program originally aired on 11/26/12.

Contact Information: 509-240-1830 or [email protected] or visit http://www.spokaneFAVS.com or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpokaneFAVS

Is it possible to be an atheist and serve your country in the military? Some would say no. My guest was Jason Torpy the President of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF), a national non-profit building community for atheists and humanists in the military. Mr. Torpy also holds seats on the board of the Secular Coalition for America, the premier lobbying organization for secular issues, and the American Humanist Association, which fosters Humanist community and ethics.

Since joining the military in 1994, Mr. Torpy has been active with the nontheist community, addressing issues of separation of church and state and equal opportunity for nontheistic service members in Army basic training, Army parachutist training, military academy programs, and in combat situations. His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management from West Point and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Ohio State University. After earning top graduate honors from two intelligence training programs, Mr. Torpy was offered direct admission to the U.S. Military Academy and upon graduation was commissioned as an officer, serving for five years in Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq with the Army’s 1st Armored Division. He left the service in 2005 at the rank of Captain to pursue an MBA. Jason Torpy currently lives in Washington, DC.

We discussed religion in the military and what is't like to be nontheist service member, as well as the history and the role of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. This program originally aired on 11/12/12.

Contact Information: Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF) - http://militaryatheists.org

Pat Dougherty is a chiropractor in Spokane, and the former vice-president of the Spokane Holistic Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Dougherty has been organizing fairs for the Holistic Chamber for the past 5 years, and in fact, KYRS radio sponsored the first 2 fairs in the Community Building located in downtown Spokane. Dr. Dougherty is also a member of the International Association of Medical Intuitives and has organized fairs for them as well. Dr. Dougherty's latest project is a Body, Mind, Spirit Fair which will be taking place on November 10, 2012 from 10am-4:30pm at Unity Church on Spokane's South Hill (2900 South Bernard Street). The fair, with over 40 exhibits, will be followed by a panel discussion entitled "2012 and Beyond", featuring several best-selling authors and other luminaries, including Eldon Taylor, Mona Delfino, Dr. Meg Blackburn, Charles Lightwalker and Jon Waldrup. This program originally aired on 10/29/12.

For additional information visit the website for the Holistic Chamber of Commerce or contact Dr. Pat Dougherty at Spokane Chiropractic.

We experienced technical difficulties with sound both during this program and also at the end when we lost the last few minutes of this interview. I apologize in advance.

Reverend Percy Happy Watkins was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 4, 1942. He graduated from Bronx Vocational High School in June of 1961 and entered the United States Air Force in August of that year. After basic training, he was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, arriving in Spokane on October 7, 1961. He served active duty at Fairchild Air Force Base and also in Okinawa, from August 1961 until he was discharged on July 25, 1965, and then served two additional years in the reserves. He married his wife Etta in 1963 and raised his four sons in Spokane where he became the pastor of New Hope Baptist in February of 1990, where he still proudly serves.

Happy is also widely known for his powerful rendition of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, which he delivers annually at Spokane's King Day Parade, as well as at other venues throughout the region. He has also recently come into public view and has stirred up controvery as an African American Baptist minister who has come out in support of Washington State's Referendum 74, supporting the freedom for gay and lesbian individuals to marry, as well as the Marijauna Initiative, both on the Nov. ballot.

We discussed Pastor Watkins' spiritual journey and there were two young adults, Renika Williams and Dyondre Hicks who joined in on the conversation to talk about their views on religion and spirituality. This program originally aired on 10/22/12.

Contat: www.newhopespokane.com

My guest Brian McLaren is a bestselling author, activist, and public theologian. He has been called a “spiritual genius” by his fans, and a “heretic” by his critics, and he proposes an "end to the cosmic death match between religions". We will be discussing his latest book, "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? - Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World", which tackles an issue that he feels is of particular importance in the world today, how Christians should treat members of other religions. This program originally aired on 10/8/12. Contact informaton: www.brianmclaren.net

My guest Rickard Packham says he is descended from a long line of faithful Mormons. All of his ancestors in every branch of his family, for four, five and six generations, were Mormons, and his family, almost all of them, including brothers and sisters, older children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews are still faithful Mormons. Yet Richard left the Mormon church in 1958, when he was 25 years old, and then in 2001 he founded the Ex Mormon Foundation, serving two terms as its president. We discussed Richard's journery from Mormonism to Atheism, why he left the Mormon church and where his life journey has taken him since his departure. This program originally aired on 9/10/12.

Contact information: http://packham.n4m.org, http://exmormonfoundation.org, http://www.postmormon.org

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, the Assistant Pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore, MD, has been in the church all of his life, starting in the United Methodist Church, and serving in Baptist, Church of God In Christ (COGIC), AME, and Non-Denominational Churches. This year marks 39 years of service in Music Ministry. Dr. Washington is also the Founder of the Washington Consulting Group and the Social Justice Training Institute, which has trained over 1000 Social Justice Educators and Change Agents from across the country. 

A native Philadelphian, Dr. Washington earned his B.S. degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Music from Slippery Rock State College, and a double Masters' of Science degree from Indiana University/Bloomington in Higher Education Administration and Counseling, with a concentration in Human Sexuality. He holds a Ph.D. in College Student Development, with a concentration in Multicultural Education, from the University of Maryland College Park, and completed his Masters of Divinity program at Howard University School of Divinity with a concentration on Pastoral Care and Christian Social Ethics.

We will be discussed reconciliarion and healing for the LGBTQ community and traditional bible Believing Christians, the debate over same sex marriage, and the intersections between Race, Religion and Sexuality. This program originally aired on 8/27/12.

Contact information: http://washingtonconsultinggroup.net or http://www.ufcb.org/

Throughout the year of 2011 Andrew Bowen practiced a different religion each month—Hindu in January, Baha’i in February, Zoroastrian in March, and so on. Andrew's year-long immersion into 12 belief systems from around the world is called "Project Conversion." We discussed Project Conversion, Andrew's reason for starting the project, his experiences, how the project changed his life, and his current work with religious pluralism. This program originally aired on 6/11/12. Contact information: www.projectconversion.com, http://www.andrewbowen.info.

My guest was Kevin Decker, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University. We discussed atheism, Richard Rorty, and whether or not compassion is possible without a belief in God? This program originally aired on 5/28/12. Contact Information: http://www.ewu.edu/CALE/Programs/Philosophy.xml