Spirit Matters Talk

Bruce McGraw has taught college courses in philosophy, religious studies, humanities, and mythology for over 20 years. His academic interest is finding the core essence or wisdom behind the ideas of all the great philosophers and spiritual teachers and applying that understanding to today’s problems. His goal is to put it all in an evolutionary framework that explains the history of everything from the Big Bang to now. Bruce also helped start, edit, and write for a local San Diego newspaper, winning First Place awards from the San Diego Press Club for Best Series, Best Commentary, and Best Science/Environmental Writing. His first book, The Magical Universe set the stage for his second book, The New Mythology: A New Vision for a Troubled Planet. We spoke about what he calls a New Creation Story, or New Cosmology, which would integrate traditional religious creation stories with modern science. Learn more about Bruce McGraw here: https://www.bruce-mcgraw.com/

Bruce Mcgraw Discussion by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Fred Stella has served as President of the Interfaith Dialogue Association in Michigan for the past 23 years. In this capacity he hosts the radio program, Common Threads, which airs over local NPR affiliate, WGVU-FM. He is also a weekly contributor to the Grand Rapids Press column “Ethics and Religion,” in which he and fellow clerics from various traditions answer questions on theology, morality and personal issues. A product of 16 years in the Catholic education system, including an undergraduate degree in Communications & Mass Media at the University of Detroit, Fred’s interest in Hinduism began at age 15 when studying comparative religions. By the time he was in his mid-30s he had formally embraced Hindu Dharma. Over the years he has studied and practiced in various ashrams and temples in the US and India, and in 2009 was ordained as Pracharak, or “Outreach Minister,” by the West Michigan Hindu Temple. He has also held leadership positions in his local chapter of Self-Realization Fellowship, is a weekly c

Fred Stella by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Rev. Prem Anjali, Ph.D., has been a student of Swami Satchidananda and Integral Yoga since 1974 and served as Satchidananda’s personal and traveling assistant for 24 years. An Integral Yoga interfaith minister, Rev. Prem is the editor of Integral Yoga Magazine, editorial director of Integral Yoga Publications & Media, and director of the Integral Yoga Digital Archives. She produced the documentaries, “Living Yoga,” “The Woodstock Guru,” and “The Launching of a Global Yoga Revolution.” She also produced numerous books and CDs, including Portrait of a Modern Sage, Boundless Giving, The Yoga Way, and the Sacred Mantra audio series. Her interests include the classical system of Yoga, the intersections of spirituality and psychology, and the nondual traditions. We spoke about the origins of her spiritual path, her years with Swami Satchidananda, and the current status of Integral Yoga and Yogaville. Learn more about Integral Yoga here https://integralyoga.org/ and meet Prem Anjali on Facebook, https://www.facebook

Rev. Prem Anjali by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Clyde Ford is a software engineer, a chiropractor, and a psychotherapist. A long-time yoga and Buddhist practitioner, he’s the award-winning author of more than a dozen books, including We CAN All Get Along: 50 Steps You Can Take To Help End Racism and The Long Mile, for which he received the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award. His most recent book, Think Black, is a memoir about his father, the first Black software engineer in America, and a cautionary tale about the intersection of technology and race. Clyde’s forthcoming book is Freedom Dues: How Black Lives Matter in Creating White Power and Wealth. He was a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where he discussed practical steps people can take to help end racism. Clyde is a fellow of Humanities Washington, a National Endowment for the Humanities affiliate, for whom he tours the Washington State, presenting a program entitled “Let’s Talk About Race.” We spoke about the how issues of race affect spiritual communities, the unique challenge these c

Clyde Ford by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Ananta Govinda is a musician, author, and multimedia producer. As a practitioner of Vedic sciences and bhakti-yoga for more than 25 years, his presentations blend artistic expression with human values. Ananta was born and raised in post-communist Russia and moved to the US as a young man, spending time on the East Coast before landing in Northern California. There, he quickly became a staple of the spiritual music scene as a producer of devotional events. Working with Google Talks, he helped bring Krishna Das, Karsh Kale, and others to their campus. His new multimedia project, Mirror of Desire, consists of a fantasy novel, a planned immersive show in a 360-degree projection dome, and an album with a fusion of contemporary world-beat, ambient, and electronic music with Eastern and Western instruments. Ananta composed all the songs and weaved in the talents of other artists. We spoke about his remarkable spiritual path, his multicultural background, and mostly Mirror of Desire. Learn more about Ananta Govinda h

Ananta Govinda by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Justine Willis Toms has been exploring personal, social, and spiritual transformation since 1973 as an electronic journalist, editor, and writer. She is the co-founder (with her late husband, Michael Toms), host, and creative producer of New Dimensions Radio/Media, a listener-supported service that has been conducting and disseminating leading-edge conversations for nearly half a century. With Michael Toms, she coauthored the book, True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do, and is the sole author of Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World, a collection of 49 meditative essays to help readers “turn aside from their chaotic lives for a while to experience grace and possibility in the small, critically important things in life.” Through hundreds of interviews, New Dimensions has harvested the experience and wisdom of some of the world’s most innovative, enlightened, and trustworthy thinkers and teachers, changing thousands of lives for the better in the process. We spoke about her observati

Justine Willis Toms by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Robert Thurman served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years, until 2020. A talented popularizer of the Buddha’s teachings, he is a popular speaker and the author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture. In 2020 he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award for his help in recovering India’s ancient Buddhist heritage. The New York Times called Bob the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism, and Time Magazine named him one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997, describing him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.” He is also the founder and president of two non-profit organizations: Tibet House US, which is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture; and the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, at Columbia U., dedicated to the publication of translations of importa

Robert Thurman by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Kalyan Viswanathan is currently serving as the President of Hindu University of America (HUA) and is guiding its renewal and revitalization. For more than 20 years, he was a student of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, which was established in the Advaita Vedanta lineage and has a branch in Pennsylvania. Prior to his involvement with HUA, Kalyan was a Global Practice Head for one of India’s largest IT Services Company, with a 20-plus year track record. He holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He is also enrolled in HUA’s MA/PhD Program in Hindu Studies, and serves as the President of Dharma Civilization Foundation in Los Angeles and the Sanatana Dharma Foundation in Dallas, Texas, where he resides. We spoke mainly about the history, mission, and purpose of Hindu University of America. Learn more about Kalyan Viswanathan here, https://www.hua.edu/people/mr-kalyan-viswanathan/, and about HUA here: https://www.hua.ed

Kalyan Viswanathan by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Karen Brailsford is an author, a spiritual guide, and a licensed spiritual practitioner with the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, where she now lives. An experienced journalist, she has worked on staff at Newsweek, Elle, People, In Touch and E! Entertainment, covering arts and culture, Hollywood, fashion, beauty, and human interest. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Black Enterprise, Interview, and other publications. Her paintings have been exhibited at Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station and other venues. She grew up in New York and graduated from The Brearley School and Yale University. She recently published her first book, Sacred Landscapes of the Soul: Aligning with the Divine Wherever You Are. We spoke about her path, her work as a spiritual guide, and her inspirational, beautifully illustrated book. Learn more about Karen Brailsford here: https://www.karenbrailsford.com

Karen Brailsford by Discussion by Dennis and Phil

Vikram Zutshi and Debashish Banerji return to Spirit Matters, this time together, to discuss their film “Darshan: The Living Art of India,” a documentary about India’s folk art traditions. Vikram Zutshi is a filmmaker, journalist and independent scholar who divides his time between the US, Mexico and South East Asia. After graduating from UCLA, he worked initially as development executive at various studios, then in film and TV production before transitioning into directing. His debut feature was “Max Kennedy and the American Dream” and his most recent is “Darshan.” A prolific writer on art, religion, cinema, popular culture, and politics he has been featured in numerous publications and is currently working on a nonfiction book and his first novel. Debashish Banerji is the Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of Indian Philosophies and Cultures and the Doshi Professor of Asian Art at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of Nalanda Internationa

Vikram Zutshi and and Debashish Banerji by Discussion by Dennis and Phil