The New Dimensions Café

Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher and a most eloquent spiritual teacher. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation and in 2016 was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. He is the author of many audio learning projects and over 20 books

Interview Date: 5/22/2026    Tags: Mark Nepo, healing, compassion, reflection, conflict resolution, paradox, Ubuntu, interdependence, honor, honey bird guide, poetry, careless language, John Paul Lederach, datsu, tadasu, paradox, tsundoku, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Spirituality

JJ Flowers is a screenwriter, playwright, and a lifelong yogi who teaches pranayama and Metta meditation, also known as the Loving Kindness meditation. She identifies as an experienced metaphysician, psychic medium, and animal communicator.She is the author of numerous books including: Juan Pablo and the Butterflies (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 2017) and The Spiritual Dog: Emissary of Unconditional Love and Healing (Findhorn) 

Interview Date: 5/6/2026      Tags: JJ Flowers, Bill Phillips, evidentiary medium, Jane Roberts, Seth Speaks, Paul Selig, channeling, Melchizedek, pranayama yoga, telepathic communication with dogs, syncing energy systems with our dogs, chakra systems, getting a 16 week old puppy is ideal, dogs feel grief, euthanizing your dog, Animals, Relationship, Spirituality

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist with a deep interest in neuroscience and mindfulness. He is a senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley and creator of the year-long course The Foundations of Well-Being. He is the author of many books including Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (New Harbinger 2009), Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (New Harbinger 2011), Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (Harmony Books 2013), Meditations to Change Your Brain - CD Set (Sounds True 2009), Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness (Harmony Books 2018)

Tags: Rick Hanson, Compassion, Golden Rule, Resilient, Resilience, Self-Compassion, Loving Ourselves, Inner Critic, Internal caring Committee, Inner Victim, Inner Attacker, Inn Protector, Cravings, Psychology, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Phil Cousineau is a freelance writer, filmmaker, photographer, art and literary tour leader, teacher of creativity, mythographer, storyteller, and an all-around Renaissance man. He's published over 40 books and has over 25 documentary film writing credits. He is also host and co-writer of "Global Spirit," a nationally broadcast television series. 

Interview Date: 6/12/2026     Tags: Phil Cousineau, The Odyssey, Homer, lost soul, getting home again, Troy, understory, trauma, wounds, Eumaeus, friendship, hero, wisdom, hasten slowly, The Underworld, Circe, Tiresias, kleos, Achilles, soldiers, myth, fashion and glamour, grieving, grief, Mythology, Personal Transformation, Philosophy

Albert Flynn DeSilver is an American poet, memoirist, novelist, speaker, and leader of writing workshops. He is the author of several books of poetry including Letters to Early Street (La Alameda/University of New Mexico Press 2007) and Walking Tooth & Cloud (French Connection Press – Paris 2008). He has also published a memoir: Beamish Boy: (the Owl Press 2012) and is the author of Writing as a Path to Awakening: A Year to Becoming an Excellent Writer and Living an Awakened Life (Sounds True 2017). 

Tags: Albert Flynn DeSilver, Silence, Awakening, absence of language, poetry, photography, Ted Berrigan, Nisargadatta Maharaj, language, editing process, Bill Birkson, Writing, Self Help, Art & Creativity, Meditation, community, personal transformation

Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel is a Buddhist teacher and teaches throughout the U.S. and Europe. She’s the wife of Tibetan Buddhist master Dzigar Kongtru and has studied and practiced in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition since 1985. After many years of solitary retreat, Dzigar Rinpoche appointed Elizabeth as Retreat Master at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, retreat center in southern Colorado. Her books include It's Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path (editor) (Shambhala 2006), Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening to Our Natural Intelligence (editor) (Shambhala 2009), The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha's Path to Freedom (Shambhala 2010), The Logic of Faith: A Buddhist Approach to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt (Shambhala 2018)

Tags: Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, faith, dogma, fundamentialism, analytical meditation, doubt, certainty, interdependent phenomena, faithing, preferences, unconditional happiness, Dalai Lama, grace, Buddhism, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Personal Transformation

Ora Nadrich is a certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation teacher and founder of The Institute for Transformational Thinking. A former actress and screenwriter, Nadrich retired to devote her time to explore in depth psychology and various spiritual approaches to life including Kabbalah, Buddhism, and Siddha Yoga. She is the author of Says Who? How One Simple Question Can Change the Way You Think Forever. (Morgan James Publishing 2016).

Tags: Ora Nadrich, negative thoughts, fear based thoughts, beliefs, internal dialogue, journaling, Personal Transformation, Self Help, Psychology, Relationship

Dr. Laura Koniver is an artist, author, holistic physician, and an internationally recognized grounding advocate. She also runs on-line heath classes. She is the author of From the Ground Up (Do Life Right, Incorporated 2012), Health Flow Unleash eBook (www.intuition-physician.com) and The Earth Prescription: Discover The Healing Power Of Nature With Grounding Practices For Every Season.

Interview Date: 7/10/2020   Tags: Laura Koniver, grounding, recharging our body, Schumann frequency, heartbeat of the Earth, cement sidewalks, asphalt does not ground us, grounded fish aquariums, grounding while sleeping, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation

Merlin Sheldrake, Ph.D. is a biologist and writer and with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history of philosophy of science. He received his Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a pre-doctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He's also a musician and a keen fermenter. He is the author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures (Random House 2020).

Interview Date: 5/19/2020    Tags: Merlin Sheldrake, fungi, decomposers, Roundup, soil communities, fungicides, Paul Stamets, bee colony collapse, Steve Sheppard, antivirals, Peter McCoy, amateur mycologists, Mary Hunt, microbial crowdsourcing, fungal architectures, domesticated minerals, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Science, Indigenous wisdom

Shannon Sullivan is an interfaith spiritual teacher and teacher of meditation. She has broad experience with many spiritual traditions from around the world as well as her communion with nature. Trees in particular have a deep significance for her and she's developed a series of teachings and meditations using the metaphor of trees. One of her teachings involves healing our ancestral roots.

Interview Date: 5/12/2020   Tags: MP3, Shannon Sullivan, family wounds, ancestral wounds, forgiveness, chanting, Buddha, Mara, anger, healing ancestral trauma, anxiety, Reiki, Health & Healing, Dreams