Podcast 347: Apocalypse Not with John Michael Greer

John Michael GreerI recently interviewed author John Michael Greer about his new book entitled ” Apocalypse Not“.

John is a very fascinating and intriguing author and has a perspective about the apocalypse which will put every one at ease.

John states that a thousand years ago, the astronomers and mathematicians of another accent people worked out this same date in their own calendar, and set in motion a chain of events that made their calculations a topic of fear and fascination across most of the world today. They were the Mayans, and to them the date in questions was 4 Ahau 3 Kankin 13.0.0.0.0—the end fo the world.

John, claims that on 12/21/21 nothing is going to happen, no end of the world, no rapture– things will carry on as usual.

As for their “disappearance”, the great Mayan city-states of the southern lowlands when through a period of severe decline in the tenth century CE, involving warfare, famine, and the abandonment of most of the large urban centers, but the villagers of the countryside remained, and their descendants sill live in the same area today.  Elsewhere in the Mayan world, city-states on the classic model continued to flourish until the Spanish conquest of the Yucatan and Central America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and their are sill plenty of people descended from the accent Mayans, and who speak Mayan languages, throughout that part of the world. John points out that in times of severe social stress people start to focus on the possibility of an apocalypse, and that we have gone through these cycles before in history.

The first secular forms of the apocalypse meme actually began to take shape well back in the Middle Ages, with the earliest stirrings of what radicals of a later age would call “class consciousness”.  John states that throughout history we have been enamored with and apocalypse and the anti-christ, and during recorded history we have never experienced the apocalypse.

If you are interested in learning more about the history and our fascination with an apocalypse then I recommend that you read ” Apocalypse Not“.  Author John Michael Greer throughly documents why he believes that we are not going to experience the coming of the anti-christ or an apocalypse.  He states that on 12/22/12 those who are believers in the dooms day prophecy will wake up the next day and wonder why it did not occur.

 

If you would like more information about John Michael Greer please click here to be directed to his website.  I hope you enjoy my interview with John Michael Greer.

Podcast 343: Living Fully with Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche

Shyalpa Tenzin RinpocheWhat an amazing interview with Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche about his new book entitled “Living Fully“.  The essence of the Rinpoche’s book is the importance of each breath and the life force and joy in each breath.

Now I am aware that at the pace we move in the Western world, understanding the importance of our breath is so essential; but really how many of us pay attention to our breath or are aware of the gift of each breath.  When you distill the message of this book into these terms and the simplicity of what we all take for granted you begin to see the beauty and transformational power within the message of “Living Fully”.

As Rinpoche state in “Living Fully” “Whether we realize it or not, our deepest aspiration is to experience the richness and fullness of our being in every moment. Each of us has the capacity to live fully, but how do we recognize our potential? ”  In my interview with Rinpoche we discuss the many desires and attachment we have to the physical world and how these desires and attachments really are not bringing us happiness and joy and distract us from “Living Fully“.

Happiness and joy are fulfilled when we look deep inside and content with who we are regardless of all of our worldly possessions.  As Rinpoche mentions in “Living Fully” instant pleasure is not the true way to enjoy our freedom.  When we know how to surrender, we can truly appreciate our freedom. This ability to surrender comes from a disciplined approach to life.  Surrender is not submitting to a higher authority, like an army recruit saluting a drill sergeant.  Rather, we surrender when we give up trying to satisfy all of our hopes and expectations.

If we abandon our efforts to fabricate a “perfect” world, we all experience genuine freedom that is not corrupted by endless craving or something better.  Understanding the philosophy and practice of the Buddhist way is quite simple.  Finding our essence of our precious human nature is learning how to live in the moment, enjoying each and every breath and the joy that it brings.

While this might sound like utopia, because we are all aware the plethora of distractions our material world brings, it  would certainly be nice to not just capture these moments but to become one with them permanently without programming our brains to remember how to remember what it feels like.

So if you are so inclined and want to learn from a master then I would recommend that you read and emerse yourself in the teaching of Rinpoche.  His new book is delightful, and something all of us in the Western world need to become more aware of how important the aspect of something as automatic as our breath teaches us about the joys of life.

 

If you would like to learn more about the book click here to be directed to the Rinpoche’s website or listen to a YouTube interview with the publisher Marc Allen at New World Library by clicking. here. Enjoy this great and inspirational interview with a wonderfully compassionate man.

Podcast 340: Patience: The Art of Peaceful Living with Allan Lokos

Allan LokosIn a recent interview with author Allan Lokos we discussed his new book entitled ” Patience: The Art of Peaceful Living“.

Allan’s book was born one summer evening when a dear friend made a comment “Just about every mistake I have every made and every unkind word I have ever spoken might have been avoided if I had been more patient.”  Allan thought that this was a stunning statement revealing remarkable insight, and it was the birth of this book.

The development of genuine, open-minded patience may very well lead one to also examine one’s experience of anger and its root causes.  Although impatience and anger are not the same, they live in the same neighborhood states Allan.  In fact, it is as if they live in the same house with barely a flimsy curtain between them, anger ready to join in when impatience shows the slightest interest in emerging from its thin-shelled cocoon.  Not coincidentally, the journey that develops patience is traveled along a path similar to that which undermines the deceiving appeal of anger and what at times can appear to be anger’s uncontrollable nature.

The development of patience requires an understanding of the  root causes of our stress, anxiety, and frustration.  Then we must be willing to relinquish the type of thinking that leads to the loss of patience.  Although anger and patience are not opposites, they can be thought of as two side of the same coin.  When one side is visible the other is hard to see.  When one side is active the other is unlikely to emerge.

Allan is a teacher of Buddhist practices and his approach is not to get attached to the emotions that anger and frustration stur up within one.  To become more mindful from moment to moment which includes being nonjudgmental.  Because of anger’s enormous potential for danger, it would be an exaggeration to say we call on patience to come to the rescue, to save the day, perhaps even to save a life.  The courageous act of starting to address one’s anger and develop greater patience is, to me , a sacred act.  The simple act of pausing invites the mind and body to stop, to allow fiery thoughts to cool and subside before giving them expression.

 

If you want to cultivate more patience and reduce the dangers of anger and frustration, then you ought to read and take in the very important message of “Patience: The Art of Peaceful Living“.  This is a book worth the read, and especially in the complex world we are living in today that frequently tests our patience.

If you would like more information about Allan Lokos and his new book please click here to be directed to his YouTube video.

Podcast 324: The Golden Motorcycle Gang with Jack Canfield

Jack CanfieldI recently interviewed Jack Canfield about his new book that he co-authored with William Gladstone entitled ” The Golden Motorcycle Gang“.  While part of this book is about Jack’s facilitating personal story, the main point of the book is asking the reader to awaken to their ” souls transformation”.  By embracing  2012 as a year of enlightenment, and to join in with Jack and the rest of a very impressive “gang” of people on this enlightening journey.

The ‘gangs” intention is to have fun, but to also make a significant contribution to the well-being of humanity.  The mystery and adventure inherent in this book reveals that there is now an opportunity for choosing the actual course of our evolution.  Along the way we are ment to experience the joy that comes from recognizing who we really are.

As the authors state ” the world is facing multiple crises.  We are calling upon you our readers, to become Agents for Conscious Evolution.  What that means in terms of expression will be different for each and every one of you.  What you need to know is that each of you is essential to ensure that life on this planet evolves in a positive direction.  We invite you to focus on what is going well in your immediate world and to overcome the fear and inertia that grips all of us from time to time.

If you want to learn more about how to become part of the “Golden Motorcycle Gang” movement and to explore the concept of Conscious Evolution I encourage you to click here to be directed to the Golden Motorcycle Gang website.  I have also listed several other websites that will enlighten you about becoming part of this movement.–Barbara Marx Hubbard—Shift Movement—Birth 2012.

 

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Jack Canfield the author of the “Golden Motorcycle Gang“.  You can click here to be directed to an overview video at YouTube.

Podcast 316: Soulspace: Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life — Creating a Home That Is Free of Clutter, Full of Beauty, and Inspired by You with Xorin Balbes

Xorin BalbesThe timing for this podcast was was very fortuitous.  Author Xorin Balbes is a coach and interior architect of our living spaces.  His new book entitled ” Soul Space-Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life is a wonderful book about not just how to re-organize and design your living space but truly looking at the energy of every object that is in your space.

I know for me I have been wanting to re-organize, cleanse and create a new living space in my home office.  In my interview with Xorin we explored the eight stages of the Soul Space process which are assess, release, cleanse, dream, discover, create, elevate and celebrate.

What is so revealing about this process is that we not only examine the physical space, but our personal interior space.  Our emotional connecting to the objects that we have collected and decorated our living spaces with.  Xorin points out that the way our homes are organized all too often supports unresolved issues and relationships that we need to confront–get rid of for good.  By clearing out and redesigning our living space, by actively reconnecting and realigning with our surroundings, we are able to grow and evolve instead of remaining stuck and stagnating.

Soul Space is about getting in touch with the beliefs, thoughts and feelings behind all the things that you surround yourself with.  The aesthetic come from your soul’s expression and supports you in becoming more authentically you.  The design is truly about your interior as it emerges from you understanding that the external world impacts your inner self and vice versa.

If you are anything like me, I am very sensitive to my living space.  I like things neat, and orderly but lately I have let the office space that I am working in become cluttered and messier that I would like.  It really consumes lot of my energy, for I think about how I want to clean it up and re-organize it but when the time comes to do it I don’t seem to have the energy.

If you want to explore the underlying causes and attachment to all of your stuff then, this podcast will be a real eye opener.  I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Xorin and his ideas and suggestion were enlightening about what I need to do, and my emotional connection to the stuff.

I highly recommend that you read Xorin’s book Soul Space if you are wanting to re-design, recreate and open up new possibilities in your life.  This book is more than just a book about re-designing your physical living space, it is all about you inner space and your connection emotionally to your possessions and collections.  It truly is a book about your soul’s calling to manifest harmony and peace in your life.

If you want more information about Soul Space and Xorin Balbes please click here to be directed to his website. Our click here to go to his Facebook page.

Podcast 309: Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar with Jeffrey Armstrong

 

Jeffrey ArmstrongHow many of you have seen the movie “Avatar”?  I bet that many of my listeners have, and this interview with author Jeffrey Armstrong about his book “Spiritual Teaching of the Avatar” will provide profound insight and wisdom about an “Avatar”.

The authors knowledge about the deepest meanings of the word avatar revolve around his forty years of study.  According to the author Avatar, a Sanskrit word, combines Ava, meaning “to descend” and Tara, ” To heal and restore.”.  The idea is that a divine being or Supreme Being purposely descends to Earth, takes on a body, and then fulfills some kind of mission according to the needs of the moment.  This is different from reincarnating, which is not a conscious intentional birth but a result of karma. The Avatars come according to their own will.

When the Avatar comes, the primary purpose is to rescue and heal the Earth at a time when the balance in Nature or Mother Earth is being destroyed.  The secondary purpose is to remind us that we are also beings from the Transcendental and that transcendental is our true nature.  The Avatars usually leave us a set of teaching that are essential tools for living a life of integrity for the good of all.  The Avatars exemplify this message and teach us to do the same.  Thirdly, the Avatars also come to develop personal and loving relationships with humans, in a number of different flavors: as servant, child, friend, spouse, or lover. In the process, humans get to interact with the avatar–in simple terms, God or the Supreme Being–who has lovingly come to us disguised in what appears to be a human form.

In my interview with Jeffery you will be treated to the teaching of the Avatars collected form Vedic Spiritual traditions of India that can be traced back more than 15,000 years.  The author illuminates how contemporary cultural references to Avatars reveal their deep and enlightening historical roots.  At the heart of these teachings is a respect for all life, and the concept that we are each part of the same Ultimate Being, and that everyone is able to make the journey back home to the Divine.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with a very spiritual and knowledgeable teacher.  Jeffery’s book is definitely a must read for the spiritual aspirant wanting to learn more about this ancient tradition.  You can also learn more from Jeffery’s website by clicking here.

Podcast 298: Thrive Foods: 200 Plant Based Recipes for Peak Health with Brendan Brazier

Brendan BrazierThis is my second interview with author Brendan Brazier.  Every time I interview Brendan I continue to learn more about nutrition and the important role is plays not only in our health, but in how the foods we eat impact our environment.

In Brendan’s new book “Thrive Foods: 200 Plant Based Recipes for Peak Health” Brendan lays out the importance of a plant based diet, and gives the reader great recipes that are nutrient-dense and which have a very low impact on our overall environment.  In my interview with Brendan we speak about what he calls “Nutrient-to-Resource Ratio”.  Brendan refers to this ratio as a proactive form of health insurance and environmental preservation rolled into one.  This ratio reveals the extensive amount of arable land, water, and fossil fuel consumed to produce food, as well as taking into consideration carbon emissions created.

Brendan states that the average American could have a greater impact on the on the environment by switching to the eating suggestions in the book.  That is one person swapped out a Standard American breakfast for a plant-based, nutrient-dense whole food smoothie for one year, it would conserve the same amount of C02 emissions as created by driving a mid-size car from Vancouver to Tijuana, Mexico.  If everyone stopped eating factory farmed beef for one year, it would conserve the equivalent of c02 emissions as over 2 trillion miles being driven in a mid-size car.

Needless to say if we as consumers would think about our choices in food consumption we could have a significant impact on the worlds environment.  A diet based in nutrient-dense, plant based foods not only improves our health but it has a positive impact on our environment.
Brendan’s book is loaded with great recipes that are good and easy to make.  So if you want to improve your diet, loose weight, and help the environment then I highly recommend that you get a copy of Brendan’s new book.  If you would like to learn more about Brendan Brazier please click here to be directed to his website.  He also has a company called Vega that produces plant based products, you can learn more about Vega by clicking here.

Enjoy this great interview with truly a man on a mission to save our environment, as well as increase the life span of millions of people.

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