Spirit Matters Talk

Bob Roth Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Dr. G. William Barnard, is a Professor of Religious Studies and a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at Southern Methodist University. His primary teaching and research interests are the comparative philosophy of mysticism, religion and the social sciences; contemporary spirituality, religion and healing; and consciousness studies. He is currently researching the Santo Daime tradition, a syncretistic, entheogenically-based new religious movement in Brazil. He is the author of Living Consciousness: The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson, Exploring Unseen Worlds: William James and the Philosophy of Mysticism, and the co-editor of Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism. He has one several awards for teaching excellence. We spoke about his personal spiritual path, which began with Swami Muktananda in the 1970s, his research on entheogens and Santo Daime and what it is like to teach religion at SMU. Learn more about William Barnard here: http://www.smu.edu/Dedman/Academics/Depart

William Barnard Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Dr. Jeffery D. Long is Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, where he has taught since earning his doctorate from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2000. He is the author of A Vision for Hinduism;  Jainism: An Introduction; the Historical Dictionary of Hinduism; and the forthcoming Indian Philosophy: An Introduction. He has also published numerous articles and has served as chair of the Dharma Academy of North America and co-chair of the North American Hinduism unit at the American Academy of Religion. He is also a contributing editor for the Sutra Journal. We spoke about his personal spiritual path to self-identified Hinduism, his research interest in Indic traditions and much more. Learn more about Jeffery Long here: http://www.etown.edu/depts/religious-studies/faculty.aspx  

Jeffrey Long Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Dr. Joseph Prabhu is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) and occasional Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. An interfaith and peace activist, he is editor or author of numerous scholarly books, most recently Raimon Panikkar as a Modern Spiritual Master and the forthcoming Liberating Gandhi: Community, Empire and a Culture of Peace. A renowned scholar, Dr. Prabhu has lectured and taught at more than seventy universities; was Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Center for the Study of World Religions and the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago; President of the international Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy and Program Chair for the Melbourne Parliament of the World’s Religions. He currently serves on a panel of experts advising the UN High Commission for Human Rights and the International Security Forum. We spoke about a wide range of topics, from Raimon Panikkar to the current interfaith movement. Learn more about Joseph Prabhu

Joseph Prabhu Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Glen Fullmer is the director of the Office of Communications at the Bahá'í National Center.  Prior to his current position, he served Bahá'í institutions in the communications arena since 1999, at the Bahá'í World Centre, the Bahá'í World News Service and the Bahá'í Office of External Affairs. Born in Costa Rica, he holds a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. We spoke about the origins and core tenets of Bahá'í, one of the world’s newest and least understood religious traditions. Learn more about Bahá'í here: http://www.bahai.org/

Glenn Fullmer Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Anthony P. Bossis, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, where he and colleagues are conducting government approved clinical research with the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin. He is director of palliative care research, co-principal investigator, and a session guide for a study of the effects of a psilocybin-facilitated mystical experience on cancer patients.  He is also Project Director and session guide for the Religious Leader Psilocybin Study, which evaluates the effects of a psilocybin-facilitated mystical experience on religious leaders.  We spoke about his groundbreaking experiments and his interest in comparative religion, consciousness research, and the interface of psychology and spirituality. Learn more about Dr. Anthony Bossis here: https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2013/01/30/the-potential-of-psilocybin-to-alleviate-psychological-and-spiritual-distress-in-cancer-patients-is-revealed.html

Anthony P. Bossis, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, where he and colleagues are conducting government approved clinical research with the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin. He is director of palliative care research, co-principal investigator, and a session guide for a study of the effects of a psilocybin-facilitated mystical experience on cancer patients.  He is also Project Director and session guide for the Religious Leader Psilocybin Study, which evaluates the effects of a psilocybin-facilitated mystical experience on religious leaders.  We spoke about his groundbreaking experiments and his interest in comparative religion, consciousness research, and the interface of psychology and spirituality. Learn more about Dr. Anthony Bossis here: https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2013/01/30/the-potential-of-psilocybin-to-alleviate-psychological-and-spiritual-distress-in-cancer-patients-is-revealed.html

His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda is a traditional Vedic monk of the Giri monastic order. He hails from Himalayan lineages known for their combination of sagely scholarship and Nath yogic practices. A yogi, mystic and a scholar, he was chosen as the Head of Mission in the West on behalf of his Monastic Council and was awarded the degree of Mahā-maho-pādhyāy (Great Ordained Teacher) by the university system in India for his scholarly and meditative interpretation of Sanskrit literature. As the founding monk of the Hansavedas Sangha and the US-based Self Enquiry Life Fellowship, he seamlessly integrates Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga, and he initiates sincere seekers into Himalayan meditation techniques. We spoke about his lineage and the work in India and the West to which he has dedicated his life. Learn more about Swami Vidyadhishananda and his work here: www.hansavedas.org

Swami Vidyadhishananda Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Carin Gorrell has been Editor in Chief of Yoga Journal since December, 2013. Prior to that she was the features director of Self magazine, the health editor at Redbook and a senior editor at First for Women and Psychology Today. She has directed a cover-to-cover redesign of Yoga Journal, creating new departments and columns to cover the yoga world in all its depth and breadth and addressing controversial topics trending in the yoga community. The new design earned the magazine a Maggie Award for Best Health & Fitness Consumer Magazine and a Nichee Award for Best Niche Consumer Magazine in 2015. We spoke of her ideas and plans for American yoga’s signature publication. Learn more about Carin Gorrell and Yoga Journal here: http://www.yogajournal.com/about_us/g

Carin Gorrell Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Adam Bucko is a spiritual activist and co-author of Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation and The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living. He grew up in Poland during the totalitarian regime and emigrated to America at age 17.  His search for a meaningful life led him to monasteries in the US and India, where he had a life-defining experience that led directly to his current work as spiritual director to homeless youth in New York City at his Reciprocity Foundation, an award-winning nonprofit organization. Adam also established HAB, a fellowship for young people that offers formation in radical spirituality and sacred activism. We spoke about the remarkable path to his service-driven life, his inspiring work with homeless youth and his vision of a “new monasticism.” Learn more about Adam Bucko here: http://adambucko.com/about.html

Adam Bucko Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Nahid Angha, Ph. D., is the co-director and co-founder of the International Association of Sufism (IAS), founder of the International Sufi Women Organization and the executive editor of Sufism: An Inquiry. An internationally published scholar with over fifteen books, she has lectured at the UN, the Smithsonian Institution, the Compassion Conference, UNESCO and many other organizations. She was among the distinguished Muslim leaders and scholars invited to the first annual Shakir World Encounters in Marrakech, Morocco, and is the first Muslim woman inducted to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.  Huffington Post named her one of the 50 Powerful Women Religious Leaders To Celebrate On International Women's Day, 2014. We spoke about the history of Sufism, its basic tenets and practices and its relationship to the rest of Islam. Learn more about Nahid Angha here: http://ias.org/about/founders/.  

Nahid Angha Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati was raised in Hollywood, California, graduated from Stanford University, and was completing her PhD in 1996 when she went to live permanently at Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India. She was ordained into the order of Sanyas (monastic renunciation) in 2000 by His Holiness Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji. As President of the Divine Shakti Foundation and Secretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, she is engaged in service projects around the world. A renowned speaker, Sadhvi gives keynote addresses on a variety of topics ranging from conscious business to science and spirituality to sustainable development to the keys to happiness and peace. She has a PhD in Psychology and was the Managing Editor for the 11-volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism. We spoke about her remarkable life as an American in India and her work as a spiritual leader and activist. Learn more about Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati here: www.Sadhviji.org.