The Mystical Positivist

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #59 - 25FEB12

2012-02-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

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 Cynthia Bourgeault. Modern day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault divides her time between solitude at her seaside hermitage in Maine, and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative and Wisdom path. She is the founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School.

Cynthia is the author of seven books: The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, Chanting the Psalms, and Love is Stronger Than Death. She has also authored or contributed to numerous articles and courses on the Christian spiritual life. She is a past Fellow of The Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN, and an oblate of New Camaldoli Monastery in Big Sur, California.

Cynthia continues to contribute to The Contemplative Society in her role as Principal Teacher and advisor. She passionately promotes the practice of Centering Prayer, and has worked closely with Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, Richard Rohr, as well as many other contemplative teachers and leaders within the Christian tradition as well as other spiritual paths.

More information about Cynthia Bourgeault's work and interests can be found at:

The Contemplative Society website: www.contemplative.org
The Aspen Wisdom School website: Aspen Wisdom School
Books by Cynthia Bourgeault

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #58 - 18FEB12

2012-02-18T18:00:00.002-08:00

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 Cogen Bohanec. Cogen Bohanec, a teacher at Sonoma Yoga Martial Arts in Penngrove, California, is registered with the ISKF (International Shotokan Karate Federation) as a third-degree black belt (Sandan) in Shotokan karate. He has been studying Karate for the last 13 years under many highly venerated ISKF instructors, including Japanese masters who were among the first generation of Japanese Karateka to bring Karate to the U.S. and the rest of the world. Students who train under Sensei Bohanec receive insight to the highly refined technical aspects of the art as well as insights into the fundamental Zen foundation of karate, and its transformative power in daily life.

In addition to martial arts, Cogen Bohanec has been practicing Yoga for over 10 years. He began training with various teachers in Sonoma County in the hatha traditions of Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Sivananda Yoga and eventually lived and trained on an ashram at the base of the sacred Mt. Arunachala in Tiruvanamali, India. He has spent 13 years studying Eastern Philosophy (Yoga, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, etc.) becoming literate in Sanskrit, and memorizing the entire Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He is currently studying Sanskrit and Eastern Philosophy at U.C. Berkeley, becoming versed in Indian Epic Literature (Mahabharata and Ramayana), Orthodox (Astika) and Heterodox (Nastika) systems of Indic thought, as well as the mythology, history and culture of India. He has worked to bring the incredible art of Yoga to hundreds of students over the last decade.

Cogen has spent over a decade training and performing in many forms of dance. Much of his formal training is in ballet though he is also well versed and certified in Jazz and Modern dance. Cogen's deepest passion for dance is for contact/acrobatic dance, and he is an expert at weight sharing, lifting, and stunt work. He was Co-director, Choreographer, and dancer for Grassroots Movement, a local dance company, for over 6 years.

More information about Cogen Bohanec's work and interests can be found at:

Sonoma Yoga Martial Arts website: www.sonomayogamartialarts.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #57 - 11FEB12

2012-02-11T18:00:00.000-08:00

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 Mirabai Starr. Author of critically acclaimed new translations of the Spanish mystics, and reflections on the unifying teachings at the heart of all spiritual paths, Mirabai Starr uses fresh, lyrical language to help make timeless wisdom accessible to a contemporary circle of seekers.

Mirabai has been an adjunct professor of Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos since 1993. Her emphasis is on making connections between the perennial teachings found at the heart of all the world’s spiritual paths, in an effort to promote peace and justice.

Mirabai speaks and teaches nationally and internationally on the teachings of the mystics and contemplative practice. Her latest book, GOD OF LOVE: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is due to be published this Spring.

More information about Mirabai Starr's work and interests can be found at:

Mirabi Starr's website: mirabaistarr.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #56 - 04FEB12

2012-02-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt discuss a variety of topics:

The impact of modern electronic media on spiritual practice
Imagination and spiritual work

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #54 - 14JAN12

2012-01-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

An interview with Prasad Paul Duffy. An internationally known spiritual teacher, author, filmmaker, and radio-host, Prasad Paul Duffy, has devoted his life to the awakening of humanity and has facilitated hundreds of workshops, retreats and private sessions for thousands of participants from around the world. Prasad traveled to India in 1995 and met his teacher Papaji, a direct disciple of the great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi. Since then, Prasad has been inspiring people wherever he goes to remember their true nature and to live in freedom in their daily lives. He is the author of Dancing As the Infinite: The Freedom of our True Self. Prasad currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he leads group Satsangs and offers individual sessions as well as makes conscious films and promotes conscious music to help uplift humanity and elevate our world Consciousness.

More information about Paul Duffy's work and interests can be found at:

Prasad's latest eBook: Dancing As the Infinite: The Freedom of our True Self.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #53 - 07JAN12

2012-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Rob Schmidt reads an excerpt from Awakening to Ordinary Life by Lalitha Thomas about the importance of spiritual aim when engaging with ordinary human society to avoid the varieties of entities that seek to feed on our energy of attention.
An engaging discussion with Nicholas Egan, Ph.D. Nicholas Egan studies closely with several Lamas from the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and has been a practicing Buddhist for more than 15 years. He has lived in Nepal studying Buddhism and Tibetan language, and continues to lead pilgrimages throughout Asia. Nicholas has recently completed a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

More information about Nick Egan's work and interests can be found at:

Information on an upcoming tour Nick is leading in Burma: Authentic Asia Burma Tour.
Website of Nick's teacher, Anam Thubten Rinpoche: Anan Thubten Rinpoche.
Website of Nick's teacher, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #52 - 31DEC11

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

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 New Years Eve conversation with Jim Dreaver. Jim, a native of New Zealand, was on a spiritual journey for twenty years, beginning in 1975 with the teachings of J. Krishnamurti. Then he met European non-dual master Jean Klein in 1984, and under his guidance finally awakened to freedom—freedom from the “I,” the “me,” and all its stories—in the spring of 1995. His mission now is to guide others to the same realization, but in a much shorter time. He teaches at Esalen Institute, in Los Angeles, and elsewhere and also offers private sessions.

His book, end your story. Begin your life… Mastering the Practice of Freedom (Hampton Roads, paperback, $16.95) is now available. He has also published The Ultimate Cure: The Healing Energy Within You (Llewellyn, 1995), his first book on spiritual transformation, which was translated into 4 languages, and The Way of Harmony (Avon, 1999), a guide to dealing with relationships, work, and daily life in a conscious way, written just after his awakening. He has also written a novel, Falling into Light, about a young boy’s spiritual journey.

More information about Jim Dreaver's work can be found at:

Jim Dreaver's Website: www.jimdreaver.com
"Falling into Light" Website: www.fallingintolight.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #51 - 24DEC11

2011-12-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

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 new Christmas Eve conversation with Kenny Johnson, founder of This Sacred Space. Kenny spent over twenty years in prison and has been out of prison since 1997. He is a spiritual teacher and consultant to families and to those who have been out of prison and may be going to jail. He also just published his acclaimed book, The Last Hustle, chronicling his years as a criminal and how he was transformed while incarcerated. Kenny has one passion and that is sharing the message that “God’s Grace Is Here Now.” Kenny’s spiritual awareness and other spiritual teachers' insights have been published in the book, The Awakening West, by John Lumiere-Wins and Lynn Marie Lumiere.

More information about Kenny Johnson's work can be found at:

This Sacred Space Website: thissacredspace.org

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #50 - 17DEC11

2011-12-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

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 Discussion with Laura Duggan, author of An Inquiring Life: Weekly Contemplations. Laura is the founder of Nicasio Press, was the head of the Muktabodha Institute that translates sacred Indian texts into English, was a student of both Muktananda and Chidvilasananda, and now studies with Tibetan Nyingma lineage teacher, Anam Thubten, in Richmond, CA.

More information about Laura Duggan's work can be found at:

Inquiring Life website: www.inquiringlife.com
Nicasio Press website: www.nicasiopress.com
SYDA Foundation website: www.siddhayoga.org/syda-foundation
Muktaboda Institute website: www.muktabodha.org
Anam Thubten and Dharmata Foundation website: www.dharmatafoundation.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #49 - 10DEC11

2011-12-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

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 Discussion with Steve Volk, author of Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable—and Couldn’t, published by HarperOne, and available now in bookstores and online. Steve Volk is a longtime staff writer and regular contributor to Philadelphia magazine. His work has been published in Rolling Stone, Vibe, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, The New Republic, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The St. Petersburg Times. Volk has received dozens of state and local journalism awards, and he has appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He lives in Philadelphia.

More information about Steve Volk's work can be found at:

Steve Volk's Website: stevevolk.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #48 - 03DEC11

2011-12-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick reads a chapter, "Krishnamurti versus Gurdjieff," from his upcoming book.
A Discussion with Jim Wilson. Jim has a background in East Asian Buddhist studies, is a member of a local Quaker Meeting, has been a Prison Chaplain, and spends much of his free time these days writing poetry. In this segment, we discuss one of the original non-dualists of the Christian tradition, writing long before non-dualism was cool: Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, was a Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the Corpus Areopagiticum (before 532). His surviving works include Divine Names, Celestial Hierarchy, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and various epistles.

More information about Jim Wilson's work can be found at:

Jim Wilson's Poetry Website: www.shapingwords.blogspot.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #47 - 26NOV11

2011-11-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt discuss a variety of topics:

Is Landmark Education a spiritual practice, service to humanity, or something beyond?
Work of the Week: The Time Lord Exercise
Intention and Spiritual Practice
Reading from Rob's upcoming book, "Passion for the Great Vigil of Living and Dying"

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #46 - 19NOV11

2011-11-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick reads excerpts from his upcoming book and other sources:

A Parable
Why the English Cannot Awaken
Rackets
Discipleship and Vulnerability

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #45 - 12NOV11

2011-11-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt discuss the concept of Integrity as elaborated in the Landmark Education system.
A Discussion with Brindivan Callahan. Brindivan Callahan has been a devotee and disciple of the late, great spiritual teacher Lee Lozowick for twenty years. Brinda has been responsible for the operation of the Hohm Community ashram in France, Ferme de Jutreau, since 1996. She conducts seminars on conscious parenting, and other topics. Before moving with her then-husband and two children to Arizona to work with Mr. Lozowick, Brinda studied with E.J. Gold, Robert Daniel Ennis, and Mike McDonnell here in California.

More information about the work of HOHM Community can be found at:

HOHM Press Website: www.hohmpress.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #44 - 05NOV11

2011-11-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Robert Schmidt focuses on "Steadfastness and Faithfulness in Spiritual Practice" with readings from:

The Parrot Jataka Tale
Wild White Goose - the diary of female Zen Master Jiyu-Kennett Roshi on her training in Japan
Sufi Tales as recorded by Idries Shah
Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment Mariana Caplan

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #43 - 29OCT11

2011-10-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

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 discussion with Joko Dave Haselwood. Joko Dave Haselwood is a Soto Zen priest and guiding teacher of Empty Bowl Sangha in Cotati, California. A Dharma heir of Jisho Warner, Haselwood is also an Associate Teacher at Warner’s Stone Creek Zen Center. Additionally, Dave counts among his teachers Shunryu Suzuki, Philip Whalen and Jakusho Kwong. He is also a member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of North America.

More information about Joko Dave Haselwood's work can be found at:

Empty Bowl Sangha Website: emptybowlsangha.org/cms/
Stone Creek Zen Center Website: stonecreekzencenter.org

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #42 - 22OCT11

2011-10-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Robert Schmidt reads from E.J. Gold's The Creation Story Verbatim.
Robert Schmidt reads/discusses his essay, The Miracle of Conscious Co-Creation..
Stuart Goodnick reads/discusses his essay Reflections on a Shakuhachi Lesson and performs some Shakuhachi pieces written by his teacher, Masayuki Koga.
Stuart Goodnick reads/discusses "The Organic Body of Man" from E.J. Gold's The Seven Bodies of Man.

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #41 - 15OCT11

2011-10-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

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 discussion with Dr. Peter Davis, director of The California Classroom. Dr. Peter Davis has been motivating others to reach their highest achievement since his early twenties. He teaches that humans can awaken their full powers for good and evolve themselves intentionally and consciously. He is founder of the science of Energy Field Psychology. Peter Davis began his career as a group organizer, artist and teacher at the Free University Of Berkeley, in Berkeley, CA. He subsequently studied tai chi chuan and the Chinese Internal System principally with Grandmaster T.R. Chung and Master Xu Guo Ming; as well as with Wang Hao Da, Ye Xiao Long and Qian Zhao Hong, all acknowledged grandmasters. Peter was also deeply inspired by the work of several esoteric traditions including the work and dances of G.I.Gurdjieff, the Vedantic yoga masters, and Tibetan Buddhism. He traveled widely in search of and found authentic repesenations of these, and other great traditions. He has been a devoted practitioner of meditation and kindred thoughts for decades. Dr. Davis is a natural synthesizer of many sciences, philosophies, disciplines and therapeutic methods, from which he distills his own unique teachings.

More information about Dr. Peter Davis' work can be found at:

Dr. Davis' Website: www.drpeterhayesdavis.com
The California Classroom Website: www.californiaclassroom.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #40 - 08OCT11

2011-10-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick and Robert Schmidt read/discuss excerpts from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj's, I Am That.
A discussion with Kenny Johnson, founder of This Sacred Space. Kenny spent over twenty years in prison and has been out of prison since 1997. He is a spiritual teacher and consultant to families and to those who have been out of prison and may be going to jail. He also just published his acclaimed book, The Last Hustle, chronicling his years as a criminal and how he was transformed while incarcerated. Kenny has one passion and that is sharing the message that “God’s Grace Is Here Now.” Kenny’s spiritual awareness and other spiritual teachers' insights have been published in the book, The Awakening West, by John Lumiere-Wins and Lynn Marie Lumiere.

More information about Kenny Johnson's work can be found at:

This Sacred Space Website: thissacredspace.org

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #39 - 01OCT11

2011-10-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Robert Schmidt reads/discusses readings from Regina Sara Ryan's Praying Dangerously.
Robert Schmidt reads/discusses readings from The Lessons of Saint Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life by John Michael Talbot and Steve Rabey.
Robert Schmidt reads/discusses more from Praying Dangerously on G. I. Gurdjieff's perspective on prayer; Stuart Goodnick joins the conversation from his hospital bed via telephone.

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #38 - 24SEP11

2011-09-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Podcast Part 1
Due to technical issues, Part 2 was not recorded.

This week's podcast features:

Robert Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick discuss the distinction between religion and spirituality.

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #37 - 17SEP11

2011-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick reads his 1998 article, The Death of Robert Daniel Ennis. Robert Ennis was the founder of Tayu Meditation Center and the treatment of his death was inspired by the work of today's guest.
A discussion with Jerrigrace Lyons. Jerrigrace Lyons is the Director of Final Passages, a model project offering education for personal and legal rights concerning home or family-directed funerals and final disposition (burial and cremation). She has a long history in alternative health care. Jerrigrace Lyons, a Reiki Master, Certified Trager Practioner, and founder of the project, is a Minister who also directs Home Funeral Ministry. She has been interviewed and reviewed in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Mother Earth News, SF Magazine, KRON 4, CNN Headline News to name a few and now featured in a new PBS documentary “A family Undertaking” aired nationally in 2004.

More information about Jerrigrace Lyon's work can be found at:

Final Passages' Website: www.finalpassages.org

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #36 - 10SEP11

2011-09-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick reads/discusses his essay "The Practice of Patriotism" originally written after 9/11/2001.
Robert Schmidt reads/discusses an interview of Ram Dass by Mariana Caplan from her book, The Guru Question, in which they discuss the relationship with the guru.
Robert Schmidt reads/discusses Chapters 1 and 2 of E.J. Gold's The Hidden Work.

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #35 - 03SEP11

2011-09-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

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 discussion with Kevin Griffin. Kevin Griffin is the author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps and A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery. A longtime Buddhist practitioner and 12 Step participant, he is a leader in the mindful recovery movement and one of the founders of the Buddhist Recovery Network. Kevin teaches internationally in Buddhist centers, treatment centers, professional conferences, and academic settings.

More information about Kevin Griffin's work can be found at:

Kevin Griffin's Website: www.kevingriffin.net
Kevin Griffin on The Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-griffin/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #34 - 27AUG11

2011-08-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick reads E.J. Gold's "The Carousel" from Autobiography of a Sufi with musical accompaniment by Daniel Kelly (Part 2).
Robert Schmidt reads Lee Lozowick's "Non-Dualism and the Spiritual Path" from Lozowick's book Enlightened Duality.
A discussion with Robert Schmidt, Stuart Goodnick, and Daniel Kelly on "Non-Dualism and the Spiritual Path".

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #33 - 20AUG11

2011-08-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Stuart Goodnick reads E.J. Gold's "The Carousel" from Autobiography of a Sufi with musical accompaniment by Daniel Kelly (Part 1).
A Discussion with Regina Sara Ryan. Regina Sara Ryan, a professional writer and editor, is a graduate advisor in the fields of Theology and Psychology at Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona. She is the author of numerous books in the fields of spirituality and natural health, including: Igniting the Inner Life; Praying Dangerously; and The Woman Awake. As a wellness consultant, she also co-authored (with John W. Travis, M.D.) the classic Wellness Workbook, a standard of holistic health education since 1980. As a proponent of natural health, Ryan has long been an advocate of breastfeeding as the natural and the healthiest means of feeding our babies. Ryan’s work in spirituality evolves from her more than thirty-year study of contemplation and mysticism. In 1995 she met the South Indian saint, Yogi Ramsuratkumar and spent five weeks at his ashram in Tiruvannamalai, India. She lives in Paulden, Arizona.

More information about Regina Sara Ryan's work can be found at:

Regina Sara Ryan's website: www.reginasararyan.com
HOHM Press Website: www.hohmpress.com

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #32 - 13AUG11

2011-08-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Discussion with Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt
Reading and discussion of Lee Lozowick's Conscious Parenting, Chapter 2.
Reading and discussion of E.J. Gold's Practical Work on Self, Chapter 2: The Pond (cont'd)

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #31 - 06AUG11

2011-08-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Discussion with Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt
Reading and discussion of Lee Lozowick's Conscious Parenting, Chapter 2.
Reading and discussion of E.J. Gold's Practical Work on Self, Chapter 1: The Pond

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #30 - 30JUL11

2011-07-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Discussion with Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt
Reading and discussion of Lee Lozowick's Conscious Parenting, Chapter 1.
Reading and discussion of E.J. Gold's Practical Work on Self, Chapter 1: Awakening the Machine

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #29 - 23JUL11

2011-07-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Further discussion by Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick on Gurdjieff's "Doctrine of Multiple 'I's".
A discussion with Ruah Bull, Director of Contemplative Programs at the Journey Center. Ruah Bull, Ph.D. is a spiritual director who specializes in working with helping professionals, people on non-traditional spiritual paths, and those who are entering the contemplative journey. She has a private practice in Petaluma, CA, and works in a variety of medical settings. Ruah's passion is to bring people from different traditions and practices together to share and explore God's call to community, conversation and contemplation. Ruah is the co-author of two books on Subtle Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy & Subtle Energy Techniques: Compassionate Healing With Essential Oils and Aromatherapy Anointing Oils: Spiritual Blessings, Ceremonies, and Affirmations. The Journey Center is a safe, welcoming and helpful place for all who are spiritually thirsty, no matter what path they have chosen at this point in their journey. It offers resources (online and local), events, gatherings and opportunities that are both Christ-centered and respectful of all spiritual paths.

More information about Ruah Bull's work can be found at:

Journey Center Website: www.journeycenter.org

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #28 - 16JUL11

2011-07-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Discussion about Beliefs and Multiple 'I's with Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt
Reading and discussion of Rob Schmidt's "Against Belief: Beyond the Prison of Fixed Ideas"
Reading and discussion of Maurice Nicoll's essay "The Doctrine of Multiple 'I's" from the Commentaries

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #27 - 09JUL11

2011-07-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

Discussion on spiritual schools with Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt
Reading and discussion of Lee Lozowick's "Words of Fire and Faith."
Reading and discussion of Maurice Nicoll's essay "Self Love" from the Commentaries

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #26 - 02JUL11

2011-07-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

The 35th Anniversary of Tayu Meditation Center with Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt
Reading of "The Death of Robert Daniel Ennis" by Stuart Goodnick
Readings from Robert Ennis' "The Way of Tayu" done by Rob Schmidt

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #25 - 25JUN11

2011-06-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

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:

The Mystical Positivist (Stuart Goodnick) discusses some of the transformational aspects of his recent health crisis.
A discussion with Nicholas Egan, Ph.D. Nicholas Egan studies closely with several Lamas from the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and has been a practicing Buddhist for more than 15 years. He has lived in Nepal studying Buddhism and Tibetan language, and continues to lead pilgrimages throughout Asia. Nicholas has recently completed a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

More information about Nick Egan's work and interests can be found at:

Information on an upcoming tour Nick is leading in Burma: Authentic Asia Burma Tour.
Website of Nick's teacher, Anam Thubten Rinpoche: Anan Thubten Rinpoche.
Website of Nick's teacher, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #24 - 18JUN11

2011-06-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

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 discussion with Jim Wilson, poet and Many Rivers co-founder, on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. This year is the 400th Anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Considered by many to the crown jewel of English literature, it has exerted, and continues to exert a pervasive influence on the English speaking world. There are countless expressions we use every day that come from the KJB: 'the skin of our teeth', 'apple of your eye', 'woe is me', 'render unto Caesar', 'holier than thou', 'nothing new under the sun', 'scapegoat', 'a law unto themselves', 'my brother's keeper', and many others. In a sense we are all still speaking in the manner of the King James Bible. The evening will discuss how the KJB was created, how it has come to exert such a wide influence, and will celebrate its 400 year presence.
Jim Wilson is a former Buddhist monk, former prison chaplain, and continues his spiritual quest in the Quaker tradition. He spends much of his free time writing poetry.

More information about Jim Wilson's work and interests can be found at:

Jim Wilson's website: Shaping Words.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #23 - 04JUN11

2011-06-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

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 broadcast of a public talk by Stuart Goodnick called, "The Mystical Positivist," given at Many Rivers Books and Tea on March 31st, 2011. This talk offers a discussion of this new media project and the paradoxical meaning of the term Mystical Positivism. The Mystical Positivist perspective can be controversial; it presents a challenge to many of the comfortable attitudes in the New Age and contemporary spiritual scene, which often depict an overly romantic picture of spiritual transformation while ignoring the gritty substrate underlying genuine Work on Self. The thesis of Mystical Positivism is that rationality is in no way the antithesis of deep mystical experience; in fact, it is a necessary ally

More information about Many Rivers Books and Tea can be found at:

Many Rivers Homepage: www.manyriversbooks.com
Original audio of the talk: The Mystical Positivist

Free Will, Neurobiology, and Presentiment - response to a posted comment

2011-05-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

Since my recent post occasioned the first comment being posted on The Mystical Positivist blog site since its inception last December, I want to respond to the points it raises. Also, it presented me with a considerable challenge in that I needed to familiarize myself with the arguments pro and con on the use of Bayesian statistics in the analysis of Psi data.

The commenter posted a link to a paper entitled Why Psychologists Must Change the Way They Analyze Their Data: The Case of Psi. The authors, who are well known in their development of Bayesian statistical analysis, apply their techniques to a paper published in 2011 by Dr. D.J. Bem called Feeling the future: Experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive inﬂuences on cognition and aﬀect. This is a fairly controversial paper in which Bem reports on nine experiments that he conducted in "retro-causation" that show findings not unlike the paper I cited in my original post by Dr. Dean Radin. Bem used a frequentist analysis to claim that eight of his nine experiments showed strong evidence (as measured by p< 0.05) of the validity of his alternative hypothesis (i.e. the affirmation that a retro-causal effect was present and the rejection of the null hypothesis which says that there is not effect). In the paper my commenter cites, Wagenmakers et al. claim that by using a Bayesian approach which takes into account assumptions about the prior probabilities of both the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis, they can reanalyze the data and show that Bem's claims of significance are wildly overstated.

It turns out that Bem and two co-authors (who have previously authored a number of Bayesian analyses of Psi data) published a response to Wagenmakers et al. called Must Psychologists Change the Way They Analyze Their Data? A Response to Wagenmakers, Wetzels, Borsboom, & Van der Maas (2011). They argue that Wagenmakers et al. used the subjectivity inherent in the selection of the Bayesian distribution of the prior probability for the alternative hypothesis to inappropriately bias their analysis toward the null hypothesis. In very simple terms (but terms that do not really do justice to the subtlety of the argument here), they state that Wagenmakers et al. are demanding such a large effect size from the prior probability distribution of the alternative hypothesis that their resulting analysis of Bem's data drives the Bayes factors (the ratio of the marginal probability for the null hypothesis given the data to the marginal probability of the alternative hypothesis given the data) to relative insignificance (technically they use a diffuse Cauchy prior distribution). Bem et al. utilize a different probability distribution for the alternative hypothesis based on prior knowledge of similar psychological studies of priming effects on reaction time, and they demonstrate that a Bayesian analysis of Bem's original data yields strong affirmative results for the alternative hypothesis in five of the nine experiments. They go on to do a Bayesian meta-analysis of the aggregate dataset and show a Bayes factor of 13.6K (extremely strong confirmation of the alternative hypothesis).

Lest we leave it there, Wagenmakers et al. offer a response to the response here. In looking into this question, I found a useful background paper on the subject by authors with no particular philosophic axe to grind that explains the issues behind conducting a Bayesian t-test. So based on all of this material, I have drawn a number of conclusions - some of which are actually different from where I started from:

The most important lesson here is that the ordinary criterion for statistical significance (p<.05) in a frequentist analysis is way too generous and does not give sufficient weight to the null hypothesis. Stated differently, I will no longer lazily think that a p<0.05 result in a Psi test is necessarily significant. I will however continue to think that a p<0.001 is significant (such as in Radin's paper). Fortunately for my previously held opinions, there are plenty of solid studies out there that show results of this magnitude.
The critiques in Wagenmakers et al. against exploratory versus confirmatory testing of data are excellent points and important ones to watch for in the Psi debate. Effectively they say that if you use a data set to identify potential hypotheses and then run a statistical analysis testing for those hypotheses against the same data set, then you will be biasing your results away from the null hypothesis. Unfortunately, they miss the point that four or five of the nine Bem experiments in the original paper were strictly replications and not exploratory in nature. And as far as the paper I cited in my original blog post, Radin reports on an initial study and three strict replication studies that do not attempt to extract new hypothesis out of the data.
To cite Wagenmakers et al. as an indictment of all data analysis in the field of Psi research and to use that conclusion as a justification of not examining more rigorously the large body of published data on the subject smacks of confirmation bias. The appropriate application of Bayesian statistics to hypothesis testing is far from settled even outside of the field of Psi. The virtue of the Bayesian approach is that it forces one to be explicit about the subjective choices one makes in determining the prior probabilities to use in an analysis. Reasonable people can disagree on this and that disagreement can make the difference between a significant and not so significant result, but at least one's biases are out in the open. The more common frequentist approach has a built in bias against the null hypothesis that is not so obvious. In just this, Wagenmakers et al.'s larger critique of how statistical analysis is used in psychology and social sciences is a valid and strong one.

To put a bow on this particular discussion, I found a video on Dean Radin's blog of a recent debate at Harvard that featured Daryl Bem, Jonathan Schooler, and Sam Moulton. Bem is the author of the retro-causation survey discussed in Wagenmakers et al. Jonathan Schooler is the researcher featured in the articles recently in the New Yorker on the Decline Effect. Sam Mouton is a Harvard Psychologist who started out as a parapsychologist but later rejected the field when he consistently got null results in a number of studies he conducted. Bem claims to have started out as a skeptic but was led by his results over a number of studies to believe there was something there in his tests. It is a good discussion that raises some of the challenges in this kind of research. Schooler comes out in this discussion as a Psi researcher and discusses the impact of the Decline Effect on replication studies in Psi (and other fields).

Free Will, Neurobiology, and Presentiment - a Defense of the Soul

2011-05-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had an interesting discussion on the Mystical Positivist radio show with Dr. David Weisman, a neurologist and author who has written about how current findings in neurobiology falsify the idea of a unified soul governing the human organism (podcast here). Likewise I have discussed this issue in the context of Sam Harris' book, The Moral Landscape - How Science Can Determine Human Values in an early entry on this blog site (post here). The basic idea is that fMRI studies definitely show that activity in the brain's motor regions can be detected as much as 350 milliseconds to 10 seconds before the conscious decision to move has entered a test subject's field of awareness. The general conclusion that neuobiologists such as Harris or our guest, neurologist Dr. Weisman, tend to draw is that these results demonstrate that however much we think we are the authors of our own actions, physical processes below our level of awareness are determining how our physical system manifests. The inescapable conclusion is that what we subjectively experience as our "self" is in reality a fiction conjured up post hoc by the brain to maintain the illusion of an independent being having agency over the functioning of the body.

As I have written in the past, it is hard to escape this conclusion regardless of your spiritual persuasion if one is being intellectually honest. But I made a connection this morning that I had not quite registered before that provides an interesting and challenging response to this neurobiological argument against free will. It involves the fairly large and independently reproduced data sets of what consciousness researcher, Dean Radin, calls "presentiment."

Presentiment refers to measurable physiological behavior that anticipates a future stimulus regardless of a subject's conscious awareness of the physiological shift. Radin uses this term to distinguish presentiment from precognition which refers to a subject's conscious awareness of a future physical event. From 1997 through 2000, Radin conducted a rigorously designed experimental test of presentiment with three follow-on replications, all of which demonstrate to a large level of statistical significance (p=.001) that the body's nervous system can accurately anticipate a randomly generated future stimulus several seconds before the stimulus is presented in time (full PDF paper here).

The basic idea of Radin's presentiment studies is as follows. Electrodermal activity (EDA) of test subjects is measured before and after the subjects are presented with an image that depicts either a calm image (e.g. nature scenes) or an emotionally charged image (e.g. violence, accidents), and the EDA data are analyzed for differential effects between the image sets. In the experiments, test a subject sits two feet in front of a computer monitor that displays a blank screen. The subject then presses a button and 5 seconds later a random number generator selects an image to display from a repository of several hundred images classified across a spectrum of calm to highly emotionally charged. The random image is presented for 3 seconds and then the screen goes blank again for 10 seconds.

Depending on the experiment, subjects would engage in 30 to 40 replications of pressing the button to gather data for a single session. In these individual sessions, the system was designed not to show the same image twice to eliminate effects due to recognition or expectation. The EDA data measured in these specific experiments were skin conductance level (SCL). A continuous physiological record would be taken in each test extending from the point the subject presses a button, through the 5 seconds before the system randomly selects an image, through the 3 seconds during which the image is displayed, to the 10 seconds after the image has been replaced by a blank screen. These data were then analyzed to test whether a statistically significant differential response could be observed between the SCL prior to the presentation of the image for calm images versus emotionally charged images. Typical results appear as follows:

In the graph above, -5 seconds is the point at which the subject presses the button to initiate the test, and 0 seconds is the point at which a random number generator determines which image (from a set of calm or emotional images) is presented to the subject. After the image is presented for 3 seconds, we see a strongly differential change in SCL when the subject sees an emotional versus a calm image. That is expected. But the radical thing in these data is that there is a statistically significant differential effect between the calm and emotional images 5 seconds prior to the random selection of the image yet to be viewed. This bears repeating: the SCL measurements were different 5 seconds before a randomly selected image was presented only when in fact it turned out that the image was emotionally charged. The subject's body was accurately responding in advance to a future stimulus all at a level below that of the subject's conscious awareness.

If you are sufficiently startled by these results, I encourage you to read Radin's paper in full. He details how his experimental setup anticipates the possible objections to the methodology, he cites an independent review by skeptics of his protocol, and he cites independently conducted experiments that replicate his findings. I am personally convinced of the integrity of the results and the researcher here to move on to the question of what these results might say about my earlier discussion on neurobiology and the brain.

These presentiment results change the character of the argument about free will and the brain considerably. The results cited by Harris show, for instance, that 350 milliseconds prior to a conscious willing to action of a physical movement, the motor centers in the brain are activating and preparing for the movement. The results cited by Radin show that as much as 5 seconds prior to presentation of a randomly selected stimulus, a subject's autonomic activity is responding differentially according to the character of the yet to be presented stimulus. Taking these results together, it is not a far stretch to suggest that the moment of the arising in my field of awareness of my conscious intention to move my arm might function similarly to the random presentation of an image in Radin's presentiment experiments. The fact that we can measure activation of my brain's motor center seconds before my intention to move my arm registers in my field of awareness can be understood as an example of presentiment. Yes my nervous system is responding in advance of my intention to move my arm, but this does not necessarily mean that my conscious experience of intentionality is a fiction. The results of Radin's presentiment experiments support as plausible the interpretation that a "soul's" coupling to the body's nervous system models like the random presentation of emotionally charged images to a test subject. However counter-intuitive to our notions of causality, the nervous and autonomic systems of the body seem to demonstrate the ability to couple across time and anticipate as yet undetermined stimuli. Conscious intentionality can be modeled as one such future stimulus.

Lest I be accused of overreaching here, I am not claiming that Radin's presentiment results prove the existence of a unified soul. But I am claiming that Radin's data negate the argument described above that the results from neurobiology necessarily falsify the idea that we have free will of some sort. The retrocausal anticipation in our nervous systems to a yet to be determined future event (e.g. the formation in consciousness of an intention to move) can be seen as a more general and strange property of our nervous systems. It does not prove that what we construe as our conscious intention is a fiction asserted post hoc by the brain system.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #22 - 14MAY11

2011-05-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

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 discussion with David Weisman M.D. Dr. David Weisman is a neurologist in PA, and author of "Buddhism and the Brain" and "From Divided Minds, A Specious Soul" in Seed Magazine. He discusses data that demonstrate that although humans have a strong idea their minds have unity and self control, neurology and neuroscience indicate that reality is nothing like that.

More information about Dr. David Weisman's work can be found at:

Buddhism and the Brain: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/buddhism_and_the_brain/
From Divided Minds a Specious Soul: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/from_divided_minds_a_specious_soul/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #21 - 07MAY11

2011-05-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

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:

Discussion of Landmark Forum (a descendant of EST)
Work of the Week: Separating out the events of one's life from the interpretations
A discussion with Mirka Knaster, Ph.D. Mirka Knaster is the author of Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra, a book about the Bengali meditation master who was a grandfather of the vipassana/mindfulness movement in the West and who taught many of today's most prominent Western dharma teachers. She interviewed nearly 200 people around the world for their down-to-earth yet inspiring poignant and humorous remembrances of someone who embodied the qualities of awakening and who believed it was possible for all of us to cultivate them. The book also draws on discussions with Munindra before his death in 2003, early talks Munindra gave in the U.S., and includes rare photographs. Shambhala is the publisher (October 2010). Mirka collaborated with Robert Pryor on this project.

More information about Mirka Knaster's work and interests can be found at:

Mirka Knaster's website: http://www.mirkaknaster.com/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #20 - 30APR11

2011-05-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

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:

The Creation of music through the instrument of the body
Work of the Week: The Tayu New Day Exercise
A discussion with Jisho Warner Roshi. Jisho Warner Roshi, head of Stone Creek Zen Center of Sebastopol, is a Buddhist priest and Zen teacher in the Soto Zen School. Warner Roshi trained in the United States under Tozen Akiyama and Dainin Katagiri Roshis, and in Japan under Shundo Aoyama Roshi. She received authorization to teach and dharma transmission from Tozen Akiyama Roshi.

More information about Jisho Warner Roshi's work and interests can be found at:

Stone Creek Zen Center: http://www.stonecreekzencenter.org/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #19 - 23APR11

2011-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

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:

The Archaeology of the Self
Work of the Week: The statistical testing of personal mood
A discussion with Jean Millay, Ph.D. Jean Millay, Ph.D., taught parapsychology for eight years, served as president of the Parapsychology Research Group, and was an editor/contributor to Silver Threads: Twenty-five Years of Parapsychology Research. Her book, Multidimensional Mind: Remote Viewing in Hyperspace, focuses on her 30 years of research into psi phenomena, hypnosis, trance states, channeling, shamanism, and the EEG effects of entrainment with lights, sound, and chemistry. She and Dr. Tim Scully created the Brain-wave Biofeedback Light Sculpture-the impetus for her research on the effects of brainwave synchronization. Her movie, The Psychedelic Experience, won a film festival prize in 1965. Most recently she is the editor of Radiant Minds - Scientists Explore the Dimensions of Consciousness.

More information about Jean Millay's work and interests can be found at:

Foundation for Mind Being Research website: http://www.fmbr.org/
Biofeedback as a Tool for the Study of Consciousness: Jean Millay's Book on Biofeedback

The Mystical Positivist speaks at Many Rivers Books & Tea

2011-04-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

Stuart Goodnick, aka The Mystical Positivist, gave a talk at Many Rivers Books & Tea on March 31, 2011 on Mystical Positivism and related spiritual topics. The talk begins with a discussion of Gurdjieff's notion of Solioonensius and its implications for how to utilize the tensions of the current world situation for one's spiritual practice. It continues on with a lively discussion of the tenets of Mystical Positivism and how to conduct a proper spiritual experiment in the course of Work on Self.

The podcast for the show can be found at:

The Mystical Positivist at Many Rivers Books & Tea

Mystical Positivist Interviewed on Dream-Talk Radio

2011-04-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

On February 28th, 2011, Stuart Goodnick, aka The Mystical Positivist, was interviewed on Dream Talk Radio by host Anne Hill, D.Min. Dream Talk Radio is a on hour weekly show on KOWS-LP, 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA (streaming live at KOWS Live Stream). The interview discusses the purpose of The Mystical Positivist radio project and explores the meaning of Mystical Positivism as a contemporary approach to spritual exploration and development.

The podcast of the interview can be found at:

The Mystical Positivist on Dream Talk Radio - Podcast

More information on Anne Hill and Dream Talk Radio can be found at:

annehill.org/dream-talk-radio

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #18 - 16APR11

2011-04-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

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:

Non-Dual Spiritual Traditions
Work of the Week: Neti Neti
A discussion with Timothy Conway, Ph.D. Timothy Conway, Ph.D., spiritual teacher, author and educator, living with his wife in Santa Barbara, California, has for over 30 years facilitated radical spiritual awakening. He has studied and practiced the non-dual essence of our sacred traditions for nearly 40 years, meeting enlightened masters in many traditions along the way. His books include Women of Power and Grace: Nine Astonishing, Inspiring Luminaries of Our Time, the forthcoming 2-volume India's Sages on nondual devotion and wisdom, and a trilogy of books on Spirituality in the New Millennium.

More information about Timothy Conway's work and interests can be found at:

Enlightened Spirituality website: http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/index.html

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #17 - 09APR11

2011-04-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

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:

Consistency and Commitment to Spiritual Practice
Work of the Week: Centrum of Gravity Question

How, and what, can I give of myself to my practice, to my teacher, to the Teaching itself?

A discussion with Daniel Terrangno, Roshi. Daniel Terragno, a native of Chile, is a teacher in the koan tradition of the Diamond Sangha, which was founded by Robert Aitken Roshi. Daniel is the dharma heir of John Tarrant Roshi of the Pacific Zen Institute. Daniel started his spiritual practice in 1967 studying the Gurdjieff Work with W.A. Nyland before taking up Zen. Daniel received authorization to teach Zen in 1995, and in 2001 received dharma transmission from Tarrant Roshi. Daniel also teaches and leads sesshin in Ohio with Yellow Springs Dharma Center and Zen on High in Columbus, Ohio; with Grupo Zen Viento del Sur (Southern Wind) in Argentina, based in Buenos Aires, and also in Santiago, Chile.

More information about Daniel Terrangno Roshi's work and interests can be found at:

Rocks and Clouds Zendo: http://www.rocksandclouds.org/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #16 - 02APR11

2011-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

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:

Work of the Week: Self Observation
A discussion with Dr. Thynn Thynn. Dr. Thynn Thynn is a Burmese born retired physician and Dhamma teacher. She is mother of two and is the resident yogi at the Sae Taw Win II Dhamma Center in Northern California. She is the lineage holder of the Shwe Baw Gyun Burmese Buddhist tradition and teaches Classical Buddhism and Vipassana (Insight Meditation) for daily life. Another focus of her teaching is to integrate Abhidhamma Teachings (Buddhist Psychology) into Daily Life Mindfulness Practice. In 1978 she published a book in Burmese about her experiences in Buddhist meditation. Her most popular and significant work: Living Meditation, Living Insight is in English and has been translated into Dutch, German and Vietnamese.

More information about Dr. Thynn Thynn's work can be found at:

Sae Taw Win II website: http://www.saetawwin2.org/
Online talks by Dr. Thynn Thynn: http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/60/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #15 - 26MAR11

2011-03-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

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:

The illusion of self; Buddhism and the Brain; Divided Minds, Specious Souls; and Being No One.
Work of the Week: The Doctrine of Multiple 'I's
A discussion with Dean Radin. Dean Radin, PhD, is Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Sonoma State University. For over two decades he has been engaged in consciousness research. Before joining the research staff at IONS in 2001, he held appointments at Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, University of Nevada, and several Silicon Valley think-tanks, including Interval Research Corporation and SRI International, where he worked on a classified program investigating psychic phenomena for the US government.

He is author or coauthor of over 200 technical and popular articles, a dozen book chapters, and several books including the bestselling The Conscious Universe (HarperOne, 1997) and Entangled Minds (Simon & Schuster, 2006). His technical articles have appeared in journals ranging from Foundations of Physics to Psychological Bulletin, he was featured in a New York Times Magazine article, and he has appeared on television shows ranging from the BBC’s Horizon and PBS's Closer to Truth to Oprah and Larry King Live. He has presented over a hundred invited lectures at universities including Cambridge, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Virginia Tech, and University of California at Davis, at industrial facilities including Google headquarters, and for US government organizations including DARPA and the US Navy. In 2010, he spent a month lecturing in India as the National Visiting Professor of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, a program in the Indian government's Ministry of Human Resource Development.

More information about Dean Radin's work and interests can be found at:

Dean Radin's website: http://www.deanradin.com/
Dean Radin's Blog: http://deanradin.blogspot.com/
Dean Radin in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Radin
Institute of Noetic Sciences: http://www.noetic.org/

More information on the articles and books discussed in the Illusion of Self segment can be found at:

Buddhism and the Brain: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/buddhism_and_the_brain/
From Divided Minds a Specious Soul: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/from_divided_minds_a_specious_soul/
Being No One: http://www.amazon.com/Being-No-One-Self-Model-Subjectivity/dp/0262134179

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #14 - 19MAR11

2011-03-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

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:

What happens when evangelicals stop believing in hell?
Work of the Week: Bringing your Spiritual Work into the daily workplace
A discussion with Rick Lewis. Rick Lewis, Professional Misbehaver, has been performing profesionally since the age of eight. Rick has combined his comedic and theatric skills with his strong interest in personal growth to build a personal development coaching program that inspires participants to achieve greater clarity, professionalism, and satisfaction in their business and personal lives. He is the author of three books on personal growth and spiritual practice, including most recently "7 Rules You Were Born to Break."

More information about Rick Lewis' work and interests can be found at:

Break a Rule: Discover the Power of Intelligent Misbehavior - www.breakarule.com/index.html

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #13 - 12MAR11

2011-03-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

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:

Work of the Week: Imagination and the Walking Participation Form
A discussion with Gail Hayssen. Over the years, Gail Hayssen has developed unique relationships with native people and shamans from other cultures including: the Huichol of the mountains of Mexico, the Haida of Alaska, and shamans of Mongolia, where she was invited to speak at the International Shaman Symposium in Mongolia.

In the late 1990s Gail began to participate in experiments with Dean Radin, Russell Targ, Ed May and others at Interval Research and has continued work with Dean Radin at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Targ says about her, "Gail has collaborated with me in various psychic endeavors for more than a decade. She showed her remarkable abilities in formal studies of clairvoyance and precognition in our work."

More information about Gail Hayssen's work and interests can be found at:

28th International Conference on Shamanism, Healing and Transformation - The Shaman’s Gift to the Community (Marin: 3-5SEP11): www.shamanismconference.org/
“The spirits of Ancestors in the sound of the drums” Conference of International Shamanic Studies (Mongolia: 6-8JUL11): www.mongolianshaman.com/
Gail's Green Valley Ranch Events: http://www.greenvalleyranchevents.com/
Gail's Book site: http://www.smallmediumatlarge.net/
Rhine Research Institute for Parapsychology: www.rhine.org/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #12 - 05MAR11

2011-03-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

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:

Work of the Week: The Centrum of Gravity Question
A discussion with Myosho Virginia Matthews. Myosho Virginia Matthews finds her life's support in the three pillars of family; spiritual practice; and her work as a dancer/choreographer and teacher. She has been a student of Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, Roshi for 37 years taking lay ordination in 2000 at her home temple of Myoko Ni Sorin, a women's meditation and practice center.

More information about Myosho Virginia Matthews' work and the work of Sasaki Roshi can be found at:

Mount Baldy Zen Center: http://www.mbzc.org/
DanceArt: http://danceart.com/
Contact Myosho Virginia Matthews at: "danceart @ sonic.net"

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #11 - 26FEB11

2011-03-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

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:

Discussion on Death & Dying
Word of the Week: Transit
A discussion with Patricia Elizabeth, expert in the field of Death & Dying. She has worked with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and E.J. Gold, and is recognized in her own right on at least two continents for her skill in guiding voyagers who are dying, who are traumatized, who are in critical transitions.

More information about Patricia Elizabeth's work and the Work of IDHHB can be found at:

The Pattie Show on Justin.tv/Gorebaggtv: http://www.idhhb.com/patti-show.html
The American Book of the Dead: http://www.idhhb.com/abd.html
IDHHB and the Work of E.J. Gold: http://www.idhhb.org/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #10 - 19FEB11

2011-02-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

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:

Discussion about Shakuhachi Master Masayuki Koga
Word of the Week: Sleep
A discussion with Denise Barry Sensei about Aikido as a spiritual practice. Denise Barry, M.A., is a 5th Degree Blackbelt in the Non-Violent Martial Art of Aikido. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Development and is the owner and Chief Instructor of Kuma Kai Aikido in Sebastopol.

More information about Denise Barry Sensei's work can be found at:

Kuma Kai Aikido: http://www.kumakai.com/
The Californial Aikido Association: http://www.ai-ki-do.org/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #9 - 12FEB11

2011-02-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

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:

Word of the Week: Enlightened Duality
A discussion with Hal Blacker, Dharma teacher and the founder of Real Dharma, a Fairfax, CA based group for meditation and inquiry directed to discovering one’s true nature. Hal was ordained as a lineage holder and teacher by Anam Thubten a Tibetan Buddhist lama from Golok, Tibet. Anam Thubten was trained in the Nyingma sect, and is a holder of the lineage of the great realizers Longchenpa, Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche, his heart teacher Lama Tsurlo, and others.

More information about Hal Blacker's work can be found at:

Real Dharma: http://realdharma.wordpress.com/
Anam Thubten and Dharmata Foundation: http://www.dharmatafoundation.com/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #8 - 05FEB11

2011-02-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

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:

Word of the Week: Prayer Absolute
A discussion with Grace Kelly Rivera, fine artist, dancer, entrepreneur, author, and instructor at E.J. Gold’s Institute for the Harmonious Development of the Human Being (IDHHB). Kelly hosts an online TV show called Dr. Oobe in which she addresses Work questions from the audience.

More information about Kelly Rivera's work and the Work of IDHHB can be found at:

Dear OOBE on Justin.tv/Gorebaggtv: http://www.idhhb.com/ms-oobe-show.html
The Perfumerie: http://www.perfumerie.com/
Graphic Arts Work: http://www.gvgg.com/artists/rivera/
IDHHB and the Work of E.J. Gold: http://www.idhhb.org/

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #7 - 29JAN11

2011-02-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 5:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

Word of the Week: Allegory [Missing from the podcast]
An discussion with with Robert Schmidt, Ph.D., director of Tayu Meditation Center, on the meaning of Mystical Positivism.

NYT: Meditation May Change the Brain

2011-01-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

The New York Times reported recently that recent neurobiology studies have found evidence through MRI that meditation may change the structure of the brain. To wit:

M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes.

The amygdala is also the center of emotional reactivity. So it stands to reason that restructuring of gray matter in the amygdala might correlate with cultivation of equinimity or non-reactivity. The brain appears in this study to be fluid and adaptive - all we have to do is work with our Attention function in a consistent and ongoing manner.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #6 - 22JAN11

2011-01-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 5:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

Word of the Week: Self Observation
An interview with Red Hawk, author of Self Observation - The Awakening of Conscience, an Owner's Manual.

The Mystical Positivist is joined by Red Hawk, renowned poet, long term spiritual practitioner, and author of the critically acclaimed new book on Self Observation. This book is probably the most concise and lucid discussion of the foundational spiritual practice of Self Observation yet to be published.

Mystical Positivism - part 1

2011-01-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

If I google the term "Mystical Positivism" this blog pops to the top of the search list. That is no small claim. There is only one other link in which the term "Mystical Positivism" is used at all. This means that out of the entire world wide web, there are only two extant uses of this term. In a world where fame is now measured in terms of the number of hits one receives when searching on one's name, perhaps originality can be measured in terms of the lack of references available on the internet.

The other reference to "Mystical Positivism" I found takes the term in an entirely different direction than what I intend. The author uses the term to describe the sort of unintended scientific mysticism that arises when technology enthusiasts bubble about the potentialities of tools like cryogenics to preserve life or computer interfaces to ensure immortality by allow our minds to be downloaded into some core. To this author, "Mystical Positivism" is the use of technological constructs to recapitualate what religious traditons have been describing for millenia.

I have a very different take on "Mystical Positivism." My use of the term dates back to my experiences in graduate school in Physics during the mid 1980s. At that time I had completed an undergraduate degree in Physics at the California Institute of Technology but had not yet connected with the tradition that would become my spiritual path for the next 25 years. I had a long standing interest in the Occult and related mystical pursuits. But I also had a deep appreciation of the scientific method and the importance of objectivity in the pursuit of any system of knowledge. The importance of some form of verifiability or falsifiability was made very clear to me if one hoped to make any sort of coherent sense of the world in which we find ourselves. At this time of my life, which was a cusp between a phase dedicated to scientific study and a phase yet to come which would be dedicated to a path of spiritual practice, the term "Mystical Positivism" seems to capture my deepest sense of values. Perhaps the most influential philosophical work I read at this time was Whitehead's Process and Reality which demonstrated to me how one could take a rigourously logical approach to questions of being and metaphysics.

Shortly after this period, I left graduate school with a "gentleman's" Master Degree in hand and moved into a spiritual community that practiced a teaching closely related to the Fourth Way tradition of G.I. Gurdjieff. The Fourth Way tradition, as spiritual traditions go, was formulated in a language that echoed the scientific language of the early 20th century. It is a tradition for which the personal verification of any truth claim is of the utmost importance. It is a tradtion that takes the principle of objective observation of phenonmena and enshrines it as one of the foundational practices of the study of self. So the term "Mystical Positivism" has continued to resonate for me through to the present as embodying rationality in the truest sense of the word in the pursuit of Work on Self.

This blog and the associated radio show are occasions on which to try to articulate more clearly what the tenets of "Mystical Postivism" might be. A starting point for this inquiry should be what is commonly meant by "Logical Positivism" and what is commonly meant as "Mysticism". In subsequent postings, we will explore these traditional interpretations and proceed to develop a meaningful sense of what "Mystical Positivism" is all about.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #5 - 15JAN11

2011-01-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 5:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

Word of the Week: Intention

Review of modern scientific research demonstrating that intention can affect physical reality

An interview with Siddhartha Shah, scholar and purveyor of sacred art.

Siddhartha specializes in sacred art and travels around the country organizing exhibitions and lecturing on the role of sacred art in spiritual practice.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #4 - 08JAN11

2011-01-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 5:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

Guest Host: Dr. Robert A. Schmidt, Spiritual Director of Tayu Meditation Center
Word of the Week: Have Fun!
An interview with Dr. Claude Needham, author of The Just Becasue Club, and The Handbook for the Recently Decease. Dr. Needham has also been a long time spiritual collaborator with E.J. Gold.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #3 - 01JAN11

2011-01-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

Will and the formation of New Year's resolutions - a reading from EJ Gold's Practical Work on Self and commentary.
Word of the Week: Grace
An interview with Jim Wilson, manager and co-founder of Many Rivers Books & Tea, poet, scholar, and long time spiritual practitioner in Buddhism and the Quaker tradition.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #2 - 25DEC10

2010-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

Scientific evidence of the efficacy of ancestor veneration
An interview with Mirka Knaster, Ph.D., independent scholar, Vipassana practitioner, and author of Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra; discussing the subject of not following the path of our ancestors but embarking on a different spiritual journey.

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #1 - 18DEC10

2010-12-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

Objective Art
Faith and Doubt
An interview with Robert Schmidt, Ph.D., director of Tayu Meditation Center, discussing spiritual practice and the context of spiritual work.

The Suspension of Disbelief

2010-12-09T23:16:00.000-08:00

Mystical positivism is an interesting way to frame an important aspect of spiritual practice in general. I want to comment on an attitude that mystical positivists of any religious or spiritual tradition will find useful. Bear with me for a brief excursion first.

The title of this post refers to an attitude necessary for reading a fantasy or science-fiction book, or watching a fantasy or science-fiction movie. If the book or movie has goblins (or, say, vampires or galactic emperors) as characters, we have to suspend our disbelief in the existence of goblins to take the book or film seriously enough to spend a few hours investing attention upon it. If we 've never seen or had experience with goblins, there's no particular reason to believe they actually exist. Yet without a suspension of the natural disbelief in the existence of goblins, we'd never be able to enjoy or learn something from the book or film.

In contrast to the attitude of the fantasy fan, the attitude of the mystical positivist is about the suspension of belief, and the cultivation of disbelief. That's overstating the case somewhat, but let me explain. In the initial two posts on this blog, the Mystical Positivist refers to Sam Harris' book The Moral Landscape. In that book, Harris discusses what he means by the word "belief" which he calls "the disposition to accept a proposition as true (or likely to be)." Any proposition that cannot be confirmed within the context of our own direct personal experience must be accepted in order to believe it.

The suspension of belief by spiritual practitioners means that important propositions about the nature of life and the pursuit of happiness must bear systematic and rigorous examination, so that we don't have to simply accept what someone else believes or has said about such matters. Instead, we can generate evidence in our own direct experience that may either confirm or disconfirm the beliefs of ourselves and others. In that way, we can build views about how the world works upon an ever more sound foundation. Yet that prizing of evidence can be called the cultivation of disbelief, because if credible new evidence emerges that contradicts previous views, with the attitude of disbelief we simply discard the older inaccurate view(s). Thus the cultivation of disbelief is not a blanket dismissal of all views; rather, it is the attitude of "holding lightly" our beliefs or views.

In referring to a sensible attitude toward beliefs, I like the French term "bricoleur" which loosely translates as "handyman" or fix-it guy. The handyman picks up a hammer when a nail needs pounding. Yet the hammer is put aside, and the saw is chosen, when it's time to cut a piece of wood.

In the same way, the mystical positivist is ever practical, and always looking for the best tool for the job that the immediate moment demands. Cultivation of the deep experience of oneness requires that one first establish a perspective upon the nature of reality that is absolutely reliable. One must become intimately familiar with one's mind, body and heart so that one knows the truth of these phenomena from direct experience. It's not just a big toolkit that one needs for that; one must also know how to fashion a new and unique tool from found materials whenever need and opportunity conjoin. That's what the skillful bricoleur excells at.

Perhaps when Socrates said that the wise man knows that he knows nothing, he was suggesting that we suspend belief, in the sense of grasping onto unexamined belief. That, I suggest, is the attitude of the mystical positivist.

The Illusion of Free Will (cont'd)

2010-12-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

Because Harris' The Moral Landscape is dedicated to the premise that the methodologies and objectivity of scientific inquiry can be applied to the question of human morality, his articulation of the illusory nature of Free Will is particularly compelling. What does it mean to say an action is moral if each human being can be said to not be in conscious control of their actions? If my actions spring from biological and perceptual determinants operating at a scale and speed well beyond the field of awareness of my ordinary consciousness, how can any action that emerges from this flux be said to be good or bad? It would almost seem as though my sense of ethics can only be a post hoc justification of actions operating though my organism with or without the participation of my conscious awareness.

Harris addresses this dificult problem in a charateristically pragmatic way by invoking what I would call a statistical model for describing the ongoing correlation between the flux of activities that arises in our psycho-physical organisms and the ongoing stream of thoughts, feelings, and sensations that we experience in relation to this flux. In other words, there is enough of a correlation between our stream of consciousness and the actions that arise in our organisms that it is meaningful to say that in a certain sense we are responsible for our actions. Harris uses the example of himself walking into a supermarket, fully clothed, and purchasing a tin of anchovies. Though we can know from detailed fMRI studies that the actions that got Harris into that market arose from a scale of activities far outside the scope of his conscious awareness, he would have occasion to be surprised and feel like he was out of control if in fact he discovered himself naked in the market attempting to steal as many tins of anchovies as he could get his hands on. So for an ordinary person (we can leave aside the question of a sociopath, which Harris takes up in great detail in his book), there is enough of a correlation between the activites that unfold through our psycho-physical organisms and the sense of expectation and intentionality that arises in our field of consciousness for us to conclude that our conscious minds have some sense of responsibility for our actions. In other words, we can distinguish "our actions" (e.g. buying anchovies in the market) from "not our actions" (e.g. standing naked in the market trying to steal tins of anchovies) even though the mechanisms by which those actions unfold are not subject to our conscious participation.

This perspective of Harris' raises a number of interesting questions that to me touch on core spiritual questions (most succinctly summarized by who am I, what am I doing, why am I doing it?). For one thing, this picture of the relationship of the conscious mind to the functioning of the psycho-physical organism calls to mind Thomas Metzinger's Being No One - The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity. In this detailed theory of mind, driven by the findings of neurobiology, Metzinger charaterizes the self of consciousness as a sort of self-organizing model of the functioning of the organism. Biological organisms develop a working inner model of the organism as a whole which evolves to serve as a basis for predictive action and more effective interaction with the environment. In this respect, our conscious minds could be seen as attempting as closely as possible to function as accurate predictors of our organisms' inteactivity with the objective external environment.

Spiritual psychology adds to this picture with a detailed accounting of how the egoic mind distorts this process of modeling by using its rationalizing functionality to justify why a particular set of actions that emerges in one's organism is in fact exactly what one intended to do. We often find ourselves justifying our actions to ourselves or sharply criticizing our actions as though there were a direct causal relationship between our conscious state an our actions. To use a Fourth Way term introduced by Gurdjieff, our minds are filled with buffers that serve to justify after the fact particularly contradictory actions that may emerge from our organisms. Our buffers attempt through denial to hide gaping inconsitencies between who we think we are and how our psycho-physical organisms actually function. In fact, it is this dissociation of the conscious mind from the objective functioning of the psycho-physical organism as a whole that gives rise to the illusion of a self that exists independently of the organism. We can refer to this process of dissociation under the term Egoism. Though I will return to this topic in a later post, we can see by way of conclusion that one moral imperative for a human being would be to come to terms with the distortions introduced in our consciousness by Egoism as a means to bring our conscious minds into greater alignment with the activities of our organisms.

The Illusion of Free Will

2010-12-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

I recently finshed reading Sam Harris' latest book, The Moral Landscape - How Science Can Determine Human Values. Among the many interesting questions Harris raises (which I will return to later) is the question of Free Will particularly from the perspective of what modern neurobiological research is finding. Our ordinary psychological state presupposes that we are the authors of our actions. We experience a sense of deliberation and intentionality about the actions, thoughts, and feelings that arise from our field of consciousness.

And yet, if we confront the large body of scientific data about the operation of the human brain, a different reality presents itself. There are cascades of neural events that precede the phenomena of which we may be consciously aware (our thoughts, feelings, field of vision, movements). We have little or no awareness of this level of processing and it operates in timeframes and on a scale quite different from our sense of ordinary consciousness. Harris quotes a famous study by physiologist Benjamin Libet that demonstrated that activity in the brain's motor regions can be detected approximately 350 milliseconds before a person feels that he or she has decided to move. He reports another study that used fMRI data to show that in some cases activity begins as much as 10 seconds before the "conscious decision" even entered the subject's field of awareness.

Harris concludes:

The truth seems inescapable: I, as the subject of my experience, cannot know what I will think or do until a thought or intention arises; and thoughts and intentions are caused by physical events and mental stirrings of which I am not aware.

This conclusion is not so distant from the conclusions reached by certain spiritual traditions. The perspective on ordinary conscious awareness shared by traditions such as Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and Gurdjieff's Fourth Way speaks to the intrinsic emptiness or non-existence of the common conception of the self. Gurdjieff goes so far as to challenge followers of his teaching to recognize their own "nullity" as a critical step in establishing a different relationship to one's Being. That both ancient and more modern spiritual traditions could reach such conclusions without the benefit of fMRIs suggests that the intuition of the illusory nature of our sense of free will may be available to us directly through a rigorous and honest process of self inquiry.