Saturday, March 29, 2014

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #149 - 29MAR14

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream
This week's podcast features:
  • A conversation with Shinzen Young. Shinzen Young became fascinated with Asian culture while a teenager in Los Angeles. Later he enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin.

    Eventually, he went to Asia and did extensive training in each of the three major Buddhist traditions: Vajrayana, Zen and Vipassana. Upon returning to the United States, his academic interests shifted to the burgeoning dialogue between Eastern meditation and Western science.

    Shinzen is known for his innovative “interactive, algorithmic approach” to mindfulness, a system specifically designed for use in pain management, recovery support, and as an adjunct to psychotherapy. He is the founder of Vipassana Support International, a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to aid all those who desire to further and deepen their meditation practice. He leads meditation retreats throughout North America and has helped establish numerous mindfulness centers and programs. He also consults widely on meditation-related research, in both the clinical and the basic science domains.

    He often says: “My life’s passion lies in exploring what may arise from the cross-fertilization of the best of the East with the best of the West.”
More information about Shinzen Young's work and interests can be found at:

Saturday, March 22, 2014

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #148 - 22MAR14

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream
This week's podcast features:
  • Part 1: A conversation with Cassandra Vieten. Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is President/CEO of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Previously she served as Executive Director of Research. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, co-director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, and co-president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology.

    Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the State of California, and several private donors and foundations, her research has focused on spirituality and health; development and pilot testing of mindfulness-based approaches to cultivating emotional balance (primarily in the areas of addiction and pregnancy/postpartum well-being); and factors, experiences, and practices involved in psycho-spiritual transformation to a more meaningful, compassionate, and service-oriented way of life. Her primary interest lies in how psychology, biology, and spirituality interact to affect experience and behavior.

    She completed her pre- and post-doctoral research training at The University of California, San Francisco, working primarily on the biological and psychological underpinnings of addiction and alcoholism.

    She received her PhD in clinical psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where her clinical training focused on the integration of Eastern philosophy and spirituality into psychotherapy. She has conducted workshops, groups, and individual psychotherapy with victims of trauma, adolescent, adult and pregnant drug addicts, violent offenders, transgendered and HIV+ individuals, and adults seeking personal growth.

    She has authored books, chapters, and academic articles, as well as presenting at numerous international scientific conferences, trainings for colleagues and students, and workshops and events for the lay public. She is co-author of Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life and author of Mindful Motherhood: Practical Tools for Staying Sane During Pregnancy and Your Child's First Year.
  • Part 2: Co-hosts Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt continue a discussion of the themes raised in the first hour of the program.
More information about Cassandra Vieten's work and interests can be found at:

Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #147 - 08MAR14

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream
This week's podcast features:
  • A conversation with Purna Steinitz. From a young age, Purna Steinitz stood up for children who were being picked on. He has always been a champion of the downtrodden, and a stand for the truth being told.

    In 1975, Purna was found by his spiritual Master Lee Lozowick. Over the next 23 years, with the perseverance and patience of his teacher, he trained in what it means to live a spiritual life. Along the way, he participated in the early 1990s in a workshop called The Game, lead by transactional analyst Ken Windes, who had been in prison for 16 years and was now leading a transformational workshop. At the conclusion of the workshop, Ken invited Purna to train to offer the workshop himself. This lead to twenty years spent leading personal development programs with individuals and organizations. He is the founder of The Event training and the CAMP program, which have touched the lives of thousands of people. Moved by the horror and need of individuals who live in prison in the United States, Purna also founded the CHANGES program which is dedicated to sowing seeds of dignity and self-respect in this environment.

    In 1998, Purna was empowered as a teacher in the line of Lee Lozowick spiritual Master Yogi Ramsuratkumar. He started the Trimurti community which is devoted to the transmission of a traditional spiritual path as taught by the Bauls of Bengal, India. As a guide for members of Trimurti, he authored the book Upasritan: Nuts and Bolts. Purna strongly believes in community, not in the sense that people have to live with one another, but rather are working closely together for the sake of transformation. This, he has said, is the true healing force available to us on the path in this time of great turmoil on the planet.
More information about Purna Steinitz's work and interests can be found at: