The Mystical Positivist: December 2013

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #139 - 28DEC13

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 Sr. Greta Ronningen, a professed member of the Community of Divine Love, an Episcopal monastery in the Benedictine tradition located in San Gabriel, Ca. Greta is a chaplain working with both adult men and women, and young girls incarcerated in Los Angeles County jails. Greta holds a Master’s Degree from Claremont School of Theology in Spiritual Formation. She lectures and leads retreats inspired by her Master’s thesis - Becoming Beguines: Living Love both Mystically and Apostolically.

Sr. Greta began her spiritual journey in the eastern traditions. In the 70’s she was exposed to a wide variety of paths through the Ojai Foundation, then directed by Dr. (Roshi) Joan Halifax. She traveled to Nepal and had the occasion to take refuge with His Holiness Dudgem Rinpoche. In the mid 80’s she married a second-generation yoga master from South Africa. His lineage, ISHTA yoga, combined Hatha, Tantra and Ayurvedic practices. They created Yoga Works in Santa Monica, California and later Yoga Zone in New York. Greta has been immersed in yoga for 35 years and continues to teach hatha with an emphasis on breathing practices. In 2000 she found herself seeking God in a Christian context. Drawn to the monastic life of prayer and simplicity she became an Episcopal monastic in 2010 and co-founded the Community of Divine Love in San Gabriel, Ca. She has just completed her Master in Arts in Spiritual Formation through the Claremont School of Theology. Greta is a chaplain to the incarcerated serving both adults at Twin Towers, the largest jail in the world, and young girls at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.

More information about Sr. Gretta Ronningen's work and interests can be found at:

Community of Divine Love's Website: www.communityofdivinelove.com
Sr. Gretta Ronningen on Facebook: www.facebook.com/greta.ronningen

Saturday, December 21, 2013

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #138 - 21DEC13

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 Dean Radin. Dean Radin, PhD, is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. His original career track as a concert violinist shifted into science after earning a BSEE degree in electrical engineering, magna cum laude and with honors in physics, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and then an MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. For a decade he worked on advanced telecommunications R&D at AT&T Bell Laboratories and GTE Laboratories.

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 latest book is Supernormal – Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities, published this year by Deepok Chopra Books. His most recent paper published in the Journal Explore is, Metaphysics of the Tea Ceremony: A Randomized Trial Investigating the Roles of Intention and Belief on Mood while Drinking Tea.

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

Dean Radin's Website: www.deanradin.com
Supernormal Website: www.deanradin.com/supernormal.htm
Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing Website: www.explorejournal.com
The Institute of Noetic Sciences Website: www.noetic.org

Saturday, December 14, 2013

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #137 - 14DEC13

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:

First Hour: A conversation with author and psychotherapist Dave Richo. David Richo, Ph.D., M.F.T., is a psychotherapist, teacher, workshop leader, and writer, who works in Santa Barbara and San Francisco California. He combines Jungian, poetic, and mythic perspectives in his work with the intention of integrating the psychological and the spiritual. His books and workshops include attention to Buddhist practices.

He is the best-selling author of more than a dozen volumes, including How to Be an Adult, How to Be an Adult in Relationships, How to Be an Adult in Faith and Spirituality, and The Five Things You Cannot Change and the Happiness We Find By Embracing Them. His most recent book is, How to Be an Adult in Love - Letting Love in Safely and Showing it Recklessly, published this year by Shambhala Publications.

In this conversation, we focus on one of Dave's 2007 books, Mary Within Us - A Jungian contemplation of Her Titles and Powers, and how the Jungian archetype of the feminine aspect of God as personified by Mary is shown to be built into the design of every human psyche.

Second Hour: Mystical Positivist co-hosts Stuart Goodnick and Robert Schmidt elaborate on the themes raised in the first part of the show ranging from the meaning of Mary to the nature of our multi-dimensional existence and the scales of our individuality and deeper unity.

More information about Dave Richo's work and interests can be found at:

Dave Richo's Website: davericho.com

Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #136 - 07DEC13

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 Blake D. Bauer, author of the new book, You Were Not Born To Suffer: Love Yourself Back to Inner Peace, Health, Happiness, and Fulfillment. Blake is an internationally recognized spiritual teacher and energetic healer. His pioneering work centers on cultivating conscious awareness and unconditional self-love in the present moment as the keys to healing yourself, fulfilling your life’s purpose, and realizing your greatest potential both personally and professionally.

Blake has searched for freedom from his own psychological, emotional, and physical suffering for years while at the same time supporting a large number of people internationally to do the same. His personal and professional experiences have culminated in a deep understanding of the processes of overall healing and spiritual awakening.

After studying with spiritual teachers, healers, and masters from all over the world, Blake now practices and teaches various forms of meditation, qi gong, qi gong energy medicine, and dao yin (a health and longevity yoga). Blake has also formally studied traditional Chinese medicine, five-element Chinese medicine, nutritional medicine, herbal healing, psychology (both Eastern and Western schools of thought), past life regression therapy-hypnosis, and various other forms of traditional healing and alternative medicine.

Through private consultations, writing, and teaching, Blake has devoted his life to helping others find lasting inner peace, vital health, happiness, fulfillment, and true love in their lives. Between the United States and Australia, his work and teachings have successfully guided thousands of people toward greater psychological, emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual freedom.

More information about Blake Bauer's work and interests can be found at:

Blake Bauer's Website: unconditional-selflove.com

"The Mystical Positivist" Radio Show

The Mystical Positivist is a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP FM 107.3 Occidental, CA, and on the web at KOWS-LP Live Feed, Saturdays from 4 - 6pm PST. Coming up on The Mystical Positivist:

April 20: A pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In this conversation, we plan to explore a compelling quote from Ian McGilchrist's The Matter with Things: If you had set out to destroy the happiness and stability of a people, it would have been hard to improve on our current formula: remove yourself as far as possible from the natural world; repudiate the continuity of your culture; believe you are wise enough to do whatever you happen to want and not only get away with it, but have a right to it—and a right to silence those who disagree; minimise the role played by a common body of belief; actively attack and dismantle every social structure as a potential source of oppression; reject the idea of a transcendent set of values.

One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions.

After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches.

In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life.

Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines.