The Essential Shifts Series

In this interview, host James O'Dea engages Nina Rothschild Utne, Editor at Large of Utne and a prominent social activist, in a heart-felt discussion that touches upon the devastation of divorce as a metaphor for how we navigate our troubled times.

Join Dr. Judith Orloff, psychiatrist, intuitive and author as she offers her diagnosis for our planetary challenges as well as potential cures that begin with small shifts in our daily lives. Just as she has found that integrating intuition has deepened her psychiatric practice, so she also recommends the same for our personal transformation.

James Twyman and James O'Dea explore the psychology of enemies, the power of music to transform, the importance of embodiment, and the unique sensitivities and skills of the emerging “indigo” generation.

In his words and presence in this interview, Brother David demonstrates how gratefulness can help us untangle the knots of fear and help put the most essential shifts into action.

Join social justice activist Van Jones and Belvie Rooks for a heartfelt exploration of the most pressing challenges of our day and how we can meet them with compassionate presence and inspired action. Van shares intimately about his formative years and his journey into becoming a social activist, as well as the story of Ella Baker, the "secret godmother" of the civil rights movement and mentor to Dr. King.

In this dialogue with Belvie Rooks on the Essential Shifts of our time, Julia reveals her sense that the most important thing we can do is to hold an image of our world as whole, connected, and complete.

Renowned futurist Hazel Henderson offers her insights on the most essential shifts of today in this dialogue with Matthew Gilbert. She believes that the "root shift" is a global mind change – a tipping point of greater awareness - which manifests in everything from how we invest our money to how we transport ourselves.

In this interview with Matthew Gilbert, Duane paints an optimistic picture of how humanity is rising to meet the crises of our day with creativity, dynamism, and a new global paradigm.

In this interview, Thom explores a wide range of subjects, from the vital importance of small acts of compassion to stopping the corruptive influence of corporate personhood.

The founder of Commonweal, Dr. Michael Lerner, illuminates the relationship between the frontiers of psychic research, health, and social justice in this dialogue with Belvie Rooks about the essential shifts of our time.

Gordon Davidson, co-author of Spiritual Politics and co-founder of the Center for Visionary Leadership, offers his profoundly optimistic view of our current time, a time in which he sees us completing a long era of matter-dominated consciousness and opening to a recognition that we are all spiritual beings learning and awakening together here on Earth.

Join philosopher and Internet entrepreneur Brian Johnson for a high-energy exploration of how we can leverage technology, spiritual practice, and conscious capitalism to help change the world.

Dennis speaks of the power of our hearts to heal and the ability of our consciousness to elevate us beyond a world of violence. The practice of peace begins with what we teach our children, continues with how we deal with family conflict, and ultimately ends in how we treat other nations.

In this interview, he turns the spotlight on the root assumptions of scarcity and fear that underpin war, sustainability, and other collective crises. The key to transforming them is spiritual practice that unravels the "lies that have become laws" in our deeper psyche.

We need, Edgar believes, to integrate transcendent experience into science, truly value consciousness, explore quantum holography, and revise our view of biology to include quantum effects. Even more important, though, is moving beyond our problems of ego and greed since we are running out of time to make a shift to a sustainable planet.

In Deepak Chopra’s view, to address the environmental, economic and social justice issues of today, we need to turn our love towards positive action. It’s particularly important to deal with death, for a fearful relationship with death leads people to fear the unknown, which in turn leads them to act in less healthy ways.

Dr. Marilyn Schlitz explores an expanded vision of health, for ourselves and our society, as the balance of the systems rather than merely the absence of disease.

In this inspiring interview, she looks at the potential of a Department of Peace to begin to complement the Department of Defense and expand our repertoire of solutions to domestic and international problems.

In this interview, scholar and mystic Andrew Harvey blazes a path straight into the sacred heart, shying away from none of the horror of the world’s situation while calling us into our most naked and vulnerable core.

What if our propensity to war and aggression had deep roots in the trauma of birth? That’s one of the provocative theories of Dr. Stanislav Grof, drawing from fifty years at the frontiers of consciousness research.

In this interview, the leading practitioner of Spiral Dynamics Integral, Don Beck, shares his insights about how we can more effectively meet different cultures with solutions appropriate to their "memetic codes".

This insightful and entertaining interview focuses on the shift from a mechanistic model of science to one based on quantum interconnection, drawing upon the latest research on the effects of minds on other minds, as well as the environment.

Angeles Arrien’s most recent work focuses on the second half of life – the wisdom years. In this interview on our current social challenges, she sees the need to reweave the intergenerational fabric, bringing the creativity of youth back together with the wisdom of elders so that our culture is whole and therefore sustainable.

In this dialogue, the former President of IONS and Jean Houston engage in a passionate inquiry into the peril and promise of these times on the "Godschool" called Earth. They feed mind, heart, and soul with discussions of archetypes and essence, myth and ritual, meaning and healing. Luncheon Series on May 22.

In this interview, professor, dancer, and midwife Arisika Razak shares her unique angle on the essential shifts our world now requires. A truly sustainable world, she says, is one in which the threads of caring and community have been rewoven so that all members of a society feel treasured and honored.

For the author of The Translucent Revolution, the question of how we create a new world boils down to one shift: wake up! At the root of all the societal ills and dangers we experience lies a fundamental feeling of separation that fuels hatred, greed, overconsumption, destruction, and war.

Join comedian and political commentator Steve Bhaerman (aka Swami Beyondananda) for a humorous and insightful look at the "upwising" now underway. You’ll hear about Mad Cowboy Disease, the potential for bloodless evolution, and how to quiet a barking dogma.

In Dr. Lipton’s view, there’s far more than random evolutionary processes going on – we are intelligent co-creators of our bodies, environments and world. He believes it is possible that we have a planetary equivalent of a spontaneous remission – a whole-system shift that restores health and alignment with the natural world.

Anodea Judith’s expertise on the chakras and their relationship to psychology has given her a unique angle on the current challenges for our planet, which she characterizes as humanity’s rite of passage from the love of power to the power of love.

Lynne Twist is a global activist, fundraiser, and author who has been at the forefront of work on sustainability, spirituality, and social change. In this interview, she illuminates just how large a crisis we are facing on our planet AND how powerful the movement that is arising to address it.

Laurie Monroe carried on the legacy of her father, Robert Monroe, as the President of The Monroe Institute, a pioneer in out-of-body-experiences and consciousness technology. In this interview on the essential shifts of our time, she discusses how the personal work of evolving consciousness is pivotal to solving planetary crises.

Ralph Metzner integrates alchemy, shamanism, and philosophy in this wide-ranging discussion of the most important shifts of our time, covering terrain from the task of integrating East, West, North, and South, to creating a single world democratic system with decentralized power.

Join spiritual teachers Saniel Bonder and Linda Groves-Bonder for an illuminating discussion of how the work of awakening and integration is essential for healing our relationship with the planet. They call for us to become 21st Century Renaissance humans who are simultaneously open to our infinite Spirit and our finite human nature.

Elisabet sees abundant evidence for us transitioning from a primarily competitive and egocentric era, which is typical of young populations of any species, into an era in which we learn to cooperate and communicate as one global family.