Jessica Maxwell, Interview #105

Name: Jessica Maxwell

Where you live: Western Oregon

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
Adventure writer, Author, Spiritual FedEx Girl lecturer!

Your two favorite books:
Peace Like a River Leif Enger


Autobiography of a Yogi Paramahsana Yogananda
Why the Dalai Lama Matters Robert Thurman

Hidden Messages in Water Dr. Masaru Emoto

West with the Night Beryl Markham

The Longest Silence Thomas McGuane

Your two favorite songs:
"The Ganesh Mantra" ("God Music" in Roll Around Heaven...I can sing it in Sanskrit!)

"Open my Eyes That I May See" Clara H. Scott

"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" Vince Gauraldi

"Mozart's Clarinet Concerto"

"How Lovely Are the Messengers" Felix Mendelssohn

"Cajun Waltz" Taj Mahal


"Balm in Gilead" Sweet Honey in the Rock


Why you are interested in spirituality?
After nearly 20 years on The Path, a journey that was not my idea!, spirituality is not an interest; it is a consuming passion.

Once you experience it yourself, and understand that everything you love is born of Spirit, then you can't help but fall in love with the source of it all. And once you really do put Spirit first, as every master in history has urged us to do, then everything changes including your very frequency. This attracts and creates like-frequency people, things and events. In my memoir, Roll Around Heaven, we have a tsunami of on-the-ground evidence that this is so, and that the fundamental glue of the universe is, in fact, love...or a force for whose magnificence we have no word full enough. Glimpses of this fundamental truth are also embedded in the inner-crystals of every geode we call a religion. Even the Dalai Lama says you don't have to become a Buddhist -- "you can reach enlightenment in any religion." If you want to radiate Light...and peace, love, happiness, then put Spirit first, choose purposeful, service-oriented work, honor your body with clean light foods and pure water, take the stairs not the elevator, purify your thoughts and send only uplifting language out of your mouth, and watch your own life begin to tilt strongly toward goodness, support, comfort, and joy...and even waffle recipes that work! Choosing to live this way even helps the everyday snafus that do arise resolve themselves in the most ingenious way. Which says volumes about our culture's current misguided worship of exploding car chase scenes, don't you think?

Your favorite quotes:

"Everyone is our neighbor, no matter what race, creed or colour" Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

"You are here to bless the world." The Holy Pig Farmer

"A church is like a finger pointing to God. After a while, people begin worshipping the finger." Thomas Merton (followed by)

"Humans often use that finger to gouge other people's eyes out" Jean Guiton (French writer)

Your favorite web sites:

http://www.karunamayi.org/

http://ncreview.com/ncrblog/

http://www.spiritualmediablog.com/

http://www.mariagefreres.com/ (I love tea)

Your heroes?

Amma Karunamayi

Yogananda

Robert Thurman

The Holy Pig Farmer

Mr. Rogers

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
The Final Understanding

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
Bhutan...and sitting on our bed in my Mornings Are Mine daily meditation

(You know: "Chop onions, carry tea water...")

http://www.rollaroundheaven.com/

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Roll-Around-Heaven/Jessica-Maxwell/9781582702360

Graeme Taylor, Interview #104

Name: Graeme Taylor

Where you live: I'm a Canadian, currently living in Brisbane, Australia with Ferie, my Persian-Aussie wife.

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
I used to be an ambulance paramedic, but in 2001 I retired to focus on my life's work, which is supporting the evolution of a just, peaceful and sustainable planetary civilization. The problem with ambulance work is that you can't keep up with spreading mental and physical illness. If we want to make a difference--if we want our children to have lives worth living--then we have to heal the world.

Your two favorite books:
Right now I'm reading two spiritual classics: The Bhagavad Gita and a book of Rumi's poems Delicious Laughter.

Your two favorite songs:
I like a lot of different styles from folk to world music. Bob Marley and Leonard Cohen are two of my favorite singer/songwriters; Amazing Grace is one of my favorite songs.

Why you are interested in spirituality?
I couldn't survive if I didn't believe that the universe was animated by a higher consiousness. My sadness comes from the cruelty I see everywhere: my happiness comes from directly experiencing the divine energy and delighting in the beauty and magic that surrounds us.

Your favorite quote:
Buckminster Fuller said: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

Your favorite web sites:
Every day I skim ten news sites plus another dozen websites dealing with everything from technology to spirituality. While there are many excellent websites, I still think that one of the best is our own BEST Futures website (http://www.bestfutures.org/) for original content. Of course, I may be a bit biased...

Your hero?
Mother Amma (Mata Amtrianadamayi). I have never met anyone else capable of such constant, selfless giving and self-sacrifice--quite apart from her utterly amazing, transformational spiritual power. She is a living expression of divine love.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
Surrender--living in the present and accepting and loving the gifts of the moment.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
I love being by the ocean, where the sky and the land and the sea all meet. However, my strongest spiritual experiences have occurred in the presence of fully enlightened masters.

I'm happy to say that my book Evolution's Edge: The Coming Collapse and Transformation of Our World, won the 2009 IPPY Gold Medal for the book "most likely to save the planet". You can read more about my book and my work on our website at http://www.bestfutures.org/

Massimo Pigliucci, Interview #102

Name: Massimo Pigliucci

Where you live: New York City, USA.

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
I am a philosopher, interested in promoting critical thinking among both my students and the general public. While I do not think that reason is the beginning and end of human wisdom, I maintain that there is far too little use of it in human affairs, so a bit more cannot but help.

Your two favorite books:
Only two? Ouch. I guess I will have to go with Bertrand Russell's autobiography, which is an incredibly human account of the personal journey of one of the most interesting people of the 20th century. The second book might be David Hume's Enquiry Into Human Understanding; though written in the 18th century, it is still one of the most compelling pieces of writing about how much of human knowledge rests on fairly shaky foundations.

Your two favorite songs:
John Lennon's Imagine, just listen to the words very carefully. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, particularly the Ode to Joy; it is one of the most transcendental pieces of music I've ever heard (Does the latter count as a "song"? Well, it does in my book.)

Why you are interested in spirituality?
I am not. I don't think the word picks a meaningful or coherent concept. People mean very different things when they use the word "spirituality," and I don't find talk of spirituality to be particularly useful to improve the human condition. I try to be a decent person, to act ethically, to take care of my loved ones and to contribute as much as I can to make all of us at least slightly better off. I am in awe of nature and of the possibilities of humanity. If you call that "spiritual," then I am spiritual, but I wouldn't use that term.

Your favorite quote:
"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." (Groucho Marx)

Your favorite web sites:
The electronic portal of the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/). It certainly isn't "all the news that's fit to print," but it's a fascinating entry into everyday human affairs.

Your hero?
I don't believe in heroes. If we are talking about role models, then the above mentioned David Hume and Bertrand Russell would fit the bill nicely. They were both decent, ethical human beings who tried their best to live a fulfilling life. They used their brains as well as their hearts, and they succeeded and failed just like most of us do - except they were paying attention.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
If you mean a lesson about life, it is that reason and emotion need to be balanced in order to achieve what the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia (loosely translated as "happiness"). But it is a much trickier task than most people think, and as Aristotle said, it really represents a life-long project.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
Whenever I go to downtown Brooklyn to look across the East River. I see the stunning Manhattan skyline, and I am immediately reminded of the great things (and the great horrors) that humanity can do.

Editor's Note: Massimo's blog: http://www.rationallyspeaking.org/
Massimo's web site  http://www.platofootnote.org/ and his new book is: Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk

Mark Greiner, Interview #101

Name: Mark Greiner

Where you live: Takoma Park, Maryland (next to Washington, DC)

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
Vocation: contemplative Christian, husband, father, and Presbyterian pastor.

Avocation: playful potter, hiking

Your two favorite books:
Only two?
“Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander” by Thomas Merton
“An Interrupted Life” by Etty Hillesum

Your two favorite songs:
“Berliner Messe” by Arvö Part
“Endless Chain” by Metamora

Why you are interested in spirituality?
Jesus' intimacy with his Abba ( in John 17, the Message version) when he prays:
“I'm saying these things in the world's hearing
So my people can experience my joy completed in them…
I'm praying not only for my disciples today
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.”

Your favorite quote:
     "Give over thine own willing; give over thine own running; give over thine own desiring to know, or to be any thing, and sink down to the seed which God sows in the heart; and let that grow in thee, and be in thee, and breathe in thee, and act in thee, and thou shalt find by sweet experience, that the Lord knows that, and loves and owns that, and will lead it to the inheritance of life, which is his portion. And as thou takest up the cross to thyself, and sufferest that to overspread and become a yoke over thee, thou shalt become renewed, and enjoy life, and everlasting inheritance in that." --Isaac Pennington (1745-1817, a Quaker)

Your favorite web sites:
Eloquence on sustainability, ecology, culture and agriculture.
Essential reading for our day:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/
http://www.landinstitute.org/


News and opinion, leaning left, voicing sanity in the maelstrom:
http://www.democracynow.org/
http://www.commondreams.org/

Biblical Commentary and liturgy: 
http://www.textweek.com/

Contemplative Church extraordinaire:
http://www.consciousharmony.org/

“He who laughs, lasts.” - Mary Pettibone Poole :
http://www.funnytimes.com/

Your hero?
Any human being who freely and fully embraces his or her own life (and community) with its limitations and possibilities.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
Suffering = Pain + Resistance

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
Within the creek, near my home, boulders invite me to sit, breathe, smell, listen, and look through the changing seasons. The creek has many moods. The creek connects with everything.

Church website: http://www.takomaparkpc.org/

"Be astonished! Be astounded! For I am doing things
among you that you would not believe if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5

Paul Rademacher, Interview #100

Name: Paul Rademacher

Where you live: Charlottesville, VA and Fernandina Beach, FL

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Writer and Executive Director of The Monroe Institute

Your two favorite books: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon and Communion by Whitley Strieber

Your two favorite songs: “Embryonic Journey” Jefferson Airplane and “Amelia” by Joni Mitchel + about a hundred others.

Why you are interested in spirituality?
     In my young adult life I had two mystical experiences that opened up new worlds for me – once when I was hitchhiking across the USA and once when I fell off of a roof and fractured my hip. After entering into these realms of wonder there is no turning back and no way to let it go. I came to The Monroe Institute and was able to touch the metaphysical world in ways that were far beyond my imagination or ability to convey through words.

Your favorite quote: I couldn’t limit it to one. These are all from Woody Allen. If only I could be so witty:

“More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”

“I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.”

“I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy next to me.”

Your favorite web sites: http://www.monroeinstitute.org/ (Come on! I’ve got to say this. We put a lot of money into it!)

Your hero(ine): Tina Fey, then Jesus

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
To be content and joyous in all circumstances. Failing that, to have wisdom enough to discern who I can blame.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" Walking on the beach, Amelia Island, FL

You can read more about Paul's work at:
http://www.monroeinstitute.org/
and

http://www.spiritualhitchhiker.com/

Christopher Smith, Interview #99

Name: Christopher Smith

Where you live: The Englewood neighborhood on the near-eastside of Indianapolis

What you do as a vocation or avocation?
Vocationally, I am a writer, editor and bookseller. Although I do some freelance writing and editing, most of my energy goes into editing a free, print/online publication called THE ENGLEWOOD REVIEW OF BOOKS ( http://englewoodreview.org/ ). We review new books along the themes of community, mission and justice for a socially-engaged Christian audience.
     In my spare time, my kids and I fancy ourselves as urban naturalists, exploring the wonders of our urban neighborhood and getting to know the abundance of plant and animal life that surrounds us. I occasionally blog about our explorations at: http://urbannaturalism.com/

Your two favorite books:
Only two?!?!? This question is an impossible one for a book review editor!
However, two of the most influential books in my life have probably been John Howard Yoder's BODY POLITICS and THE COMPLETE POEMS OF THOMAS MERTON.

Your two favorite songs:
"You Give it All Your Heart" - Bill Mallonee
"Latter Days" - Over the Rhine

Why you are interested in spirituality?
I am a part of a church community that confesses that through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God is (patiently) reconciling all creation, and as followers in this way of reconciliation, we seek to embody the peace of Christ holistically in our relations with each other, with our neighbors and with the land on which we live.

Your favorite quote:
"If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" 2 Cor 5:17 NRSV

Your favorite web sites:

http://bookforum.com/

http://ekklesiaproject.org/

Your hero?
The Early Anabaptists who were oppressed by both Church and State for their radical commitment to the love and reconciliation of Jesus.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
I have a host of lessons to learn about sabbath and learning to rest, celebrate and trust God in healthy ways.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
I am convinced that God is always present throughout all corners of Creation, if we would only slow down enough and cultivate the lost arts of paying attention. I am more interested in seeking out and connecting with God in whatever place I am than in going to certain places to do so. Spiritual connection is also very closely related for me with people and story.

Dan Guerrera, Interview #98

Name: Dan Guerrera


Where you live: Manhattan

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Cookie Baker

Your two favorite books: Ha! Any self help book that gives me a homework assignment that helps me understand my life a little more.

Your two favorite songs: I’m all over the place with music, but I can always turn to classical music to relax, and I enjoy George Winston

Why you are interested in spirituality? Spirituality helps me to connect with something bigger than me.

Your favorite quote: “You can continue doing the same things and get the same results or you can take a fresh new approach and see different results.” – Albert Einstein

Your favorite web sites: I Google everything!

Your hero? In general, I admire people who truly enjoy life, live passionately and honestly. My parents continue to teach me this and as I get older my admiration for them continues to grow.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? To forgive, and move on…

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" This can happen in many ways for me. Sometimes when I’m experiencing nature or listening to music or if  I’m with someone that I’m really connected to. It can even happen on an early morning bike ride in Amagansett with my best friend.

(Editor's Note: Check out the cookies at http://www.downtowncookieco.com/ Try the "Jane Street Jam" cookies, they're fabulous, and we know/love cookies!)