Conversations With Chris Bernard

Do Something That Gives You That Moment

2011-11-29T03:32:00.000-08:00

Marx in Soho by Howard Zinn

2011-11-08T04:32:00.000-08:00

Richard Feynman's View of Infinite Possibility

2011-07-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Bill Moyer on the Collective Dream

2011-06-14T04:13:00.000-07:00

Our Second Chance to Play, Parenthood

2011-05-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

"By helping this child to grow into a beautiful human being, into a buddha, you will be becoming the mother of a buddha. You will not be obliging the child: you will be simply enjoying your own life; your own life will become a fragrance through the child.This is an opportunity, a God-given opportunity. And these are the two pitfalls: either you neglect the child, you are tired

Howard Zinn on the Stupidity of War, Good God Ya'll

2011-04-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

Dr. Bruce Lipton: The Internal Environment of Our Consciousness Forms Us

2011-02-08T04:01:00.000-08:00

Participating in Possibility Brings Freedom

2011-02-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

The embrace of third alternative does not blot out any part of reality, or substitute it with a new shiny version - it

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ...

2008-06-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

Knock, knock. Who's there? What is humor? What is funny? Why do we want to laugh? Many researchers believe that the purpose of humor is related to making and strengthening human connections. "Laughter occurs when people are comfortable with one another, when they feel open and free. And the more laughter [there is], the more bonding [occurs] within the group," says cultural anthropologist

I Die Daily

2008-06-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

There is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist saying: "When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. When you die, you rejoice, and the world cries". What is death, exactly, and what does it mean to us as we are living? Throughout the world, death and the rituals that surround it are steeped in taboos. Death is celebrated, embraced and feared. Around death and the dead, cultures put in place

Our Global Village as a Single Consciousness

2008-06-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

The first person to popularize the concept of a global village and to consider its social effects, was Marshall McLuhan. His insights were revolutionary at the time, and fundamentally changed how everyone has thought about media, technology, and communications ever since. McLuhan chose the insightful phrase "global village" to highlight his observation that an electronic nervous system (the media

Let It Be

2008-06-08T13:31:00.001-07:00

To be or not to be, that is the question. What does that mean - being? It is something most of us take for granted. We don't have to know or even question the nature of our being to be. Popeye's famous saying, "I am what I am and that's all that I am," may be the quintessential statement on being. What more is needed? Contemporary philosophers tell us that the term "I am" has no meaning by

More Courage With Each Breath

2008-06-02T07:58:00.001-07:00

I have discovered, over the past year or so of blogging, that it takes me great courage to post some of my comments in these dialogues. There is something about putting yourself out there, your ideas and beliefs, that sometimes takes an act of courage. This begs the question, what is courage? Why do we need it? How do we find it? Sean Hannah and colleagues (Hannah, Sweeney & Lester, 2007)

The Truth of the Matter IS

2008-05-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

What is truth? How do we find truth? If we find it, can we communicate it? According to Plato: When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack

Trust Lost, Earned and Achieved

2008-05-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

What is trust, and why is it important to us? We all know people who can't trust, who often expect things to go bad, ignore what they know, leap quickly into action without accessing the risk, and push others away. What can we do to develop trust? "Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner

Drive Your Intuition Like a Muscle Car

2008-05-14T11:20:00.001-07:00

Have you ever known who was calling before you picked up the phone, or known what you needed to do even though it defied logical explanation? Have you ever had a dream about an event before it occurred? Or dreamt the answer to a problem you could not solve while awake? What is intuition? Why is it important to us? According to Diana Whitmore, in her book, Psychosynthesis in Education

Developing Generosity of Spirit

2008-05-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been a victim of circumstance? Or do you get what's coming to you every single time? "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," Galatians VI. It is said that this means that your thoughts and deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind. What you give, you get back. The thoughts and feelings that occupy your mind, will attract circumstances to your life of the same

The Torch of Our Passions

2008-04-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

Much has been said about passion by many of the world's finest thinkers: "The will to overcome a passion is in the end merely the will of another or several other passions." - Friedrich Nietzsche "Our passions are the true phoenixes; when the old one is burnt out, a new one rises from its ashes." - Goethe "Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafairing

Success is Always Best When Shared

2008-04-23T02:25:00.001-07:00

The future is bright. Because the future is created by positive people. Those who are negative make a lot of noise about how bad things are. Those who are positive quietly and steadily make a lot of real improvements and contributions to life. There are always problems and there are always challenges. And there are always people willing to transform those challenges into great opportunities.

Understanding Acceptance and Resistance

2008-04-21T04:23:00.000-07:00

In a world filled with war, crime, violence and anger, how do we act when confronted with it? It is easy enough to aspire to peace, but how can we actually live peacefully when the world presents otherwise? Is a peaceful action always the best response? If not, are war and violence in perfect order? In words of the Hindu sage Vivekananda, two ways are left open to us--the way of the

Finding Peace in the Midst of Change

2008-04-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Both for individuals and for organizations, the skills that we most need to learn in order to survive and thrive are the skills of dealing with change. When we look at the trends underlying the rate of change - trends within society, demographic forces, technological shifts - nothing suggests that this is going to get easier. In fact, as we look forward into the new century, every indication is

The Artist, The Art and YOU

2008-04-07T09:49:00.001-07:00

What is the role of the artist in 2008? Is there one beyond personal expression? Is there a social role for an artist to play, and if he does, does it even matter to anyone other than to those to whom the artwork speaks? Or is art holographic in nature, bringing us to a different state of being each time we enter, and the artist's only role: creator? The writer (Lolita) Vladimir Nabokov

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

2008-04-04T06:32:00.001-07:00

Do you find yourself speechless because the communication around you is edgy or hostile? Do you often think of things that could have been said afterward? How do you talk to others whose only concern is their own agenda? Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg is founder and director of educational services for The Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international, non-profit organization, and has been

Sharing a Laugh and a Smile

2008-03-27T08:34:00.001-07:00

Some say laughter is the quickest way to change our mood or thinking. How often do you laugh? Can you laugh at yourself? Do you intentionally seek laughter to change your mood? Is laughter of value in your life, or just a natural reaction to stimuli? Marshall Brain has studied laughter and tells us that the average adult laughs 17 times a day. When we laugh heartily, changes occur in many

The Marriage of Shiva and Neville's Imagination

2008-03-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

When our world seems to fall apart and things start going wrong, what do we do? Do we blame ourselves or someone else? Do we start searching for causes and solutions? Do we hold on to our faith in Divine Will and believe that it will all work out? The notion of the old dying and giving way for something new is as old as the ancient Hindu traditions, where Shiva is the destroyer of the

Follow Your Bliss Like Joseph Campbell

2008-03-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion." But just what is it that he suggests we scatter around? What role does joy play in our lives and what

Making the World a Better Place

2008-03-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Social responsibility is on the minds of many of us. How can we make the world a better place? Is this our duty, as Jean Paul Sarte and the existentialists believed? How can we fit our contribution to the greater community into our busy lives as we struggle with survival and self expression, daily? Clare W. Graves, Ph.D, was a visionary thinker who began laying the groundwork for the theory

Illness and Healing, What Do We Know?

2008-03-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hippocrates , the father of modern medicine, tells us that, "healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity." We all know that when we are not feeling well, we want to heal, and there are myriad resources available to us for help. But what is healing? How do we choose the best resource from the overwhelming amount of information available? Harvard Medical

Energy Healing and Western Medicine

2008-03-03T12:36:00.001-08:00

The "life force," often called "energy" in Western culture, is the substance that permeates and bonds all. It is sometimes referred to as the "vital force." In China, it is called Qi; in India it is called prana. It is believed the "life force" extends throughout the universe and that the individual is part of an indivisible whole. The belief is that because the "life force" permeates everything

Time and the Transformation of Consciousness

2008-02-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

Some people believe time is speeding up. For instance, time seems to be flying by faster than ever, or what used to take several years to accomplish now seems to be taking place in just a couple. You may have changed more in the past two years than you did in the five years before that. When more personal growth is crammed into a shorter amount of time, it appears that things have picked up pace

Loving Our Pets and Other Creatures

2008-02-26T09:33:00.001-08:00

Knowing who we are and our place in the world can involve more than understanding our relationships with other people. Animals, birds, fish and other creatures have always been known to bring peace and love into our lives. How do pets and other creatures give us an insight into our spiritual dynamic as we develop our relationships with them? What value do they bring into our lives?

Service to Your Race

2008-02-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Race is one of the inescapable aspects of who we are. We are born into a race and it influences who we are always. Even if we manage to mature beyond an ethnocentric world view, we will eventually see it in our societal relationships. There are those who believe that some races are superior to others. Can we live without "racism" in our lives? Our background and circumstances may have

A Time for Soul Searching

2008-02-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

What, exactly, is our soul? What does it do, and how does it effect our daily lives? Christians think of the soul as that eternal part of ourselves that exists before we are born and lives on after we die. Eastern traditions see the soul as a vessel for karma, our identity, which forms each lifetime as we reincarnate. The Hermetic teachings maintain that through forgiveness, our karmic debt (

Awaken to Multidimensionality

2008-02-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

There is much discussion about the notion of human multidimensionality. What, exactly, does it mean? We know that physically, our world consists of three dimensions. The first dimension begins with a point in space, the second, a line between this and another point, the third, allowing depth - length, height, depth. The fourth dimension is said to be time, and if we add time to the first three

The Relationship Between Judgment and Conflict

2008-02-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

Judge not, lest ye be judged, as has been taught so many times. Just what is the relationship between judgment and conflict? Do we bring conflict into our lives when we judge others and our experience? When you judge another you are drawn into the vibration of conflict. If you judge someone, they will see you, they will judge you because you bring yourself into the vibration of that which

Fearful or Fearless?

2008-01-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

You need only watch the evening news to see how fear driven humanity has become. So much of what the media presents displays and exacerbates our fears that we have to wonder, how much of our daily individual experience includes fear? Do we need fear? Can we live without it?Many of the world's finest minds have chimed in about fear. Heidegger brought these fears to the center of his existential

Reaching The Source of All Creation

2008-01-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Most of us feel that there is a source or creator or God or ultimate order to life. Connecting to this for some of us, is fleeting, takes effort and may even be something we think very little about. How do YOU connect with the spirit within you? How often do you connect? How does this connection effect your life?A Vietnamese spiritual leader, Ching Hai, touches on this by answering the following:

Together We Create a Planetary Smile

2008-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

Since 1998, Princeton researchers have been collecting data on internet activity and its relation to global events in an effort to demonstrate that across the world, humanity is connected and evolving together. Complete information of the project can be seen at http://noosphere.princeton.edu/The Global Consciousness Project, also called the EGG Project, is an international, multidisciplinary

When This Life Ends and the Next Begins

2008-01-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

What are your thoughts on life after death? What happens to "us" after we die? I think it is safe to say that we have all wondered about what happens to us after we die at sometime in our lives. Much of what we believe is gleaned from our religion or culture and there is a wide variety of scenarios to choose from.The Bon religion of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism both maintain that crucial moments of

Can We Love Unconditionally?

2007-12-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

I have listened to many discussions over the years, about whether there can be true unconditional love. Is it something that can exist in relationship? Can people love each other unconditionally, and if so, what about the harm we do each other? Can love exist between people that has no conditions or boundaries at all?Harold W. Becker, in his article Unconditional Love - An Unlimited Way of Being,

Does Evil Exist?

2007-12-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

There is a wide variety of opinion on the existence of evil. Some see any opposing force as evil, while some think that to be termed evil requires an act resulting in an injury to life of some kind. What are your thoughts? How does your belief about evil effect your life?The 19th century Christian mystic Thomas Troward defined evil this way: "This is the old original sin of Eve. It is the belief

Forgive and Live

2007-12-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

There seem to be many faces to the process of "forgiveness" being worn these days. Many books, lectures and workshops are available to help us contemplate and adopt forgiving behaviors. We are all taught as children that forgiveness of friends and family is an important part of social life. What are YOUR thoughts on forgiveness? How do you make it work for YOU?William Blake tells us: "In heaven,

Celebrate Thanksgiving with Gratitude

2007-11-22T06:54:00.000-08:00

". . . the pang of affection & gratitude is the Gift of God for good. I am thankful that I feel it; it draws the soul towards Eternal life & conjunction with Spirits of just men made perfect by love & gratitude, the two angels who stand at heaven's gate ever open, ever inviting guests to the marriage. O foolish Philosophy! Gratitude is Heaven itself; there could be no heaven without Gratitude. I

Global Consciousness

2007-11-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

Most of us can feel the interconnectedness of life to some degree. To be sure, we all possess varying degrees of awareness of the "soul of humanity." How do you feel this connection and how does it effect your life? I believe that each of our souls evolves, and every group that we participate in forms an evolving soul that together, comprise the soul of humanity. As we are involved and

The Oneness and the Separation

2007-11-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

We all feel that we are unique individuals, and at the same time can feel that thread of connection that allows us to feel the oneness of life. How is this duality important in your life? I think that if we can embrace the oneness (or the god within us) and the sacredness of all others, we can see others as a reflection of ourselves unfolding. This can give us clues, like signposts to our own

Know Yourself Through Compassion

2007-10-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

What role does compassion play in your daily life and why is it important? The practice of compassion increases our capacity to care. It reinforces charity, empathy, and sympathy. It is very good exercise for your heart muscle. But when you move toward others with compassion, you are likely to bump into some common attitudes, just waiting to close your heart again. The usual suspects are judgment

Love and Self Discovery

2007-10-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Does love lead to self discovery? How?Both light and shadow are the dance of Love.Love has no cause;It is the astrolabe of God's secrets.Lover and Loving areinseparable and timeless.Although I may try to describe LoveWhen I experience it I am speechless.Although I may try to write about LoveI am rendered helpless;My pen breaks and the paper slips awayAt the ineffable place whereLover, Loving and

The Law of Attraction

2007-10-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

There is alot of discussion about the Law of Attraction since the release of the DVD, The Secret. Do you use this law in your life? If not, why not? If so, how?The law of attraction states that you get what you think about; your thoughts determine your experience. A person's thoughts (conscious and unconscious), emotions, beliefs and actions are said to attract corresponding positive and negative

Consciousness and Healing

2007-10-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

For those who consider themselves healers, what is your process? For those who have healed, what is your process? Is the process of remote healing different? Many believe that humanity is moving toward a model of healing in which personal relationships, emotions, meaning, and belief systems are viewed as fundamental points of connection between body, mind, spirit, society, and nature. Integral