Psychjourney Podcast

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Richard Smoley, author of The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the Universe  published by New World Library.

Richard Smoley is one of the world’s leading authorities on mystical philosophy. A graduate of Harvard and Oxford, Richard served for eight years as editor of Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions. Currently he is executive editor of The Quest, the members’ journal for the Theosophical Society in America.

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Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Steve Ryals, author of Drunk With Wonder: Awakening to the God Within published by Rock Creek Press.

Steve Ryals has published over 1,200 music reviews in the past 12 years in magazines such as New Age Retailer and Sedona Journal. He has been a student of philosophy, religion, spirituality, science, and human behavior for 30 years. Visit his website.

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Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. William Whitecloud, author of The Magician's Way: What It Really Takes To Find Your Treasure published by New World Library.

William Whitecloud founded and teaches the Living from Greatness program, through which he coaches clients to realize their dreams by connecting with their authentic, creative spirit. He lives in Byron Bay, Australia.  Visit his website.

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Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Steven D. Farmer, author of Power Animals: How To Connect with Your Animal Spirit Guide published by Hay House.

Dr. Steven D. Farmer is a shamanic practitioner, minister, and licensed psychotherapist with over thirty years experience as a professional healer and teacher. In addition to Power Animals, he is the author of Sacred Ceremony: How to Create Ceremonies for Healing, Transitions, and Celebrations, as well as several other books and articles. Visit his website.

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Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews John Lerma, MD, author of Learning from the Light: Pre-Death Experiences, Prophecies, and Angelic Messages of Hope published by New Page Books.

John Lerma, MD, author of Into The Light is widely known for his compassionate and loving care of hundreds of terminally-ill patients as well as his tenure as the inpatient medical director for the internationally renowned Medical Center Hospice of Houston, Texas. He currently serves as a consultant for several hospices and palliative units in Houston and San Antonio, Texas.

Since the inpatient unit is located in the heart of the largest medical center in the world, he worked closely with MD Anderson hospital, the leading cancer institute in the world in research and teaching.  After obtaining a degree in pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin, he entered medical school at the University of Texas San Antonio and years later finished his training in Internal Medicine. Over the last ten years he has focused his career in the field of hospice and palliative medicine.Board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Dr. Lerma is widely recognized for his compassionate care of terminally-ill patients and research in the field of end of life care.

While working at the Medical Center in Houston, he was involved with teaching hospice and palliative medicine to medical students, residents, geriatric, oncology and palliative fellows from several institutions including but not limited to, Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Medical School, and MD Anderson Cancer Institute.Among the topics he teaches include: The doctor, spirituality, and death, Pain management in the terminally ill, Palliative nursing, and Pharmacology and deathbed hallucinations versus visions.

As an international speaker, Dr. Lerma is recognized for his signature lecture, Pre-death Experiences: A hospice physician’s perspective on spirituality and the terminally ill.He is a frequent guest on local, national, and international media.  Dr. Lerma is creating a non-profit company titled Hearts without Borders, which will take the hospice concept to underserved areas in South America. His organization's current project is to organize a hospice team and travel to several Mexican and South American cities, and aid governments and physicians in giving birth to the wonderful gift of hospice. Visit his website.

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Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Stephen Schettini, author of The Novice: Why I Became A Buddhist Monk, Why I Quit and What I Learned published by Greenleaf Book Group Press.

Stephen Schettini was ordained as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan Gelug tradition and became a founding member of Tharpa Chöeling Centre d hautes études Tibétaines in Mont Pèlerin, Switzerland. For eight years he trained there and in Asia as a translator and instructor of Buddhism, and began teaching in 1980. After leaving the Tibetans, he established a Montreal communications firm specializing in health science and stress management. Later, he founded Quiet Mind Seminars, where he teaches mindful reflection to the health community, businesses and the general public. Visit his website.

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Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot podcasts, interviews Mr. Robert Moss, author of The Three "Only" Things: Tapping the Power of Dreams, Coincidence and Imagination published by New World Library.

Robert Moss, the pioneer of Active Dreaming, is the author of many books, including Conscious Dreaming, The Secret History of Dreaming, and the novel The Firekeeper. He offers workshops and lectures all over the world, hosts the Way of the Dreamer radio show, and leads a lively online dream school. He lives in upstate New York. Visit his website.

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Bernie has been at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues of our day. He and his wife (and occasional coauthor), Bobbie, live in a suburb in Connecticut. They have five children and eight grandchildren.  Visit his website

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of the Sweet Spot podcast, interviews  Larry Dossey, M.D., author of The Power of Premonitions: How Knowing The Future Can Shape Our Lives published by Dutton Adult.

This distinguished Texas physician, deeply rooted in the scientific world, has become an internationally influential advocate of the role of the mind in health and the role of spirituality in healthcare. Bringing the experience of a practicing internist and the soul of a poet to the discourse, Dr. Larry Dossey offers panoramic insight into the nature and the future of medicine.

Upon graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Dossey worked as a pharmacist while earning his M.D. degree from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, 1967. Before completing his residency in internal medicine, he served as a battalion surgeon in Vietnam, where he was decorated for valor. Dr. Dossey helped establish the Dallas Diagnostic Association, the largest group of internal medicine practitioners in that city, and was Chief of Staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital in 1982.

An education steeped in traditional Western medicine did not prepare Dr. Dossey for patients who were blessed with "miracle cures," remissions that clinical medicine could not explain. "Almost all physicians possess a lavish list of strange happenings unexplainable by normal science," says Dr. Dossey. "A tally of these events would demonstrate, I am convinced, that medical science not only has not had the last word, it has hardly had the first word on how the world works, especially when the mind is involved."

The author of nine books and numerous articles, Dr. Dossey is the former Executive Editor of the peer-reviewed journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine the most widely subscribed-to journal in its field. The primary quality of all of Dr. Dossey's work is scientific legitimacy, with an insistent focus on "what the data show." As a result, his colleagues in medical schools and hospitals all over the country trust him, honor his message, and continually invite him to share his insights with them. He has lectured all over the world, including major medical schools and hospitals in the United States --Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, the Universities of Pennsylvania, California, Washington, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, and the Mayo Clinic.

The impact of Dr. Dossey's work has been remarkable. Before his book Healing Words was published in 1993, only three U.S. medical schools had courses devoted to exploring the role of religious practice and prayer in health; currently, nearly 80 medical schools have instituted such courses, many of which utilize Dr. Dossey's works as textbooks. In his 1989 book Recovering the Soul he introduced the concept of "nonlocal mind" -- mind unconfined to the brain and body, mind spread infinitely throughout space and time. Since then, "nonlocal mind" has been adopted by many leading scientists as an emerging image of consciousness. Dr. Dossey's ever-deepening explication of nonlocal mind provides a legitimate foundation for the merging of spirit and medicine. The ramifications of such a union are radical and call for no less than the reinvention of medicine. Visit his website.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot podcast, interviews Mr. Russill Paul, author of Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway Between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality published by New World Library.

Russill Paul is a world-renowned musician as well as a teacher of Eastern spirituality. He trained simultaneously as a monk and Yogi under the direction of the renowned sage and mystic Bede Griffiths in South India for close to five years and has taught in graduate and postgraduate spirituality programs for the past seventeen years. Born and raised in India, Russill lives in Austin, Texas, and runs a Yogic Mystery School. He performs and conducts workshops, retreats, and pilgrimages throughout the world. Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Duane Elgin, MBA, MA, author of The Living Universe: Where Are We? Who Are We? Where Are We Going? published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Duane Elgin is an internationally recognized speaker, author, and social visionary who looks beneath the surface turbulence of our times to explore the deeper trends that are transforming our world.  In 2005, Duane received the Japanese “Goi International Peace Award” in recognition of his contribution to a global “vision, consciousness, and lifestyle” that fosters a “more sustainable and spiritual culture.”

His books include: THE LIVING UNIVERSE: Where Are We?  Who Are We? Where Are We Going? (2009); PROMISE AHEAD: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity’s Future (2000), VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich (1993 and 1981), and AWAKENING EARTH: Exploring the Evolution of Human Culture and Consciousness (1993).  With Joseph Campbell and other scholars he co-authored the book CHANGING IMAGES OF MAN (1982).  In addition, Duane has contributed chapters to sixteen books, and has published more than seventy articles.

In the early 1970s, Duane worked as a senior staff member of a joint Presidential-Congressional Commission on the American Future.  He then worked as a senior social scientist with the think-tank SRI International where he coauthored numerous long-range, futures studies, such as: Anticipating Future National and Global Problems (for the President’s Science Advisor), Alternative Futures for Environmental Policy (for the Environmental Protection Agency), The Future of the Automobile (for the Ford Motor Co.), and Limits to the Management of Large, Complex Systems (for the President’s Science Advisor). 

Over the past twenty twenty-five years, Duane has co-founded three non-profit organizations concerned with media accountability and citizen empowerment; see: www.ourmediavoice.org.

As a speaker, Duane has given more than 250 keynotes and workshops with audiences ranging from business executives and civic groups to churches and college students.

He has an MBA from the Wharton Business School, an MA in economic history from the University of Pennsylvania, and an honorary Doctor of Philosophy for work in “ecological and spiritual transformation” from the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA.  Visit his website.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot podcast, interviews Fr. Paul Coutinho, S.J., author of Just As You Are: Opening Your Life To the Infinite Love of God published by Loyola Press.

Fr. Paul Coutinho, S.J. is an internationally recognized Ignatian scholar, author, and speaker who brings an Eastern flavor to Western spirituality. A native of India and a Jesuit from the Bombay province, he frequently leads retreats, gives spiritual direction, and trains people to lead the Spiritual Exercises. He holds master’s degrees in both clinical psychology and religious studies, and he has a doctorate in historical theology from Saint Louis University, where he specialized in Ignatian spirituality and is now a visiting theology professor and on the Advisory Board of the Review for Religious and the Faculty Advisor for the Theology Club.

Dr. Kevin Keough, host of the North Star Guardians podcast, interviews Sister Marilyn Lacey, R.S.M., author of This Flowing Toward Me: A Story of God Arriving in Strangers published by Ave Maria Press.

Marilyn Lacey, R.S.M., has worked with refugees for the past 25 years, both in displaced persons camps in Africa and Asia, and as Director of Refugee Services with Catholic Charities in San Jose, California. In 2001 she was honored by the Dalai Lama as an "Unsung Hero of Compassion" and has long been an advocate for refugees and migrants. She holds an M.S.W. from U.C. Berkeley and in 2008 she founded the nonprofit Mercy Beyond Borders, whose mission is to partner with displaced women and children overseas in ways that help them move up from extreme poverty.  Visit her website Mercy Beyond Borders  and blog.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Ms. Susan Isaacs, author of Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir published by FaithWords.

Susan Isaacs is an actor, writer and comedienne with many credits in TV, film, stage and radio. She is an alumnus of the Groundlings Sunday Company and has an MFA in screenwriting from the University of Southern California.

Susan has read her essays on radio’s Weekend America and wrote DirecTV’s “Songs of Praise” specials, hosted by NASCAR champ Darrell Waltrip. She is a contributor to Donald Miller’s Burnside Writers Collective and has performed at the Comedy Central Stage, the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater, Melt In Your Mouth, Standup New York, PSNBC and HERE in New York City.

Susan teaches screenwriting for the Act One Program and consults on independent script projects. She is married and lives in Los Angeles, California. Visit her website or blog.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Jonathan Goldman, M.A., author of The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing: Includes a FREE Sound Healing CD! published by Hay House.

Jonathan Goldman is a writer, musician and teacher. He is an authority on sound healing and a pioneer in the field of harmonics. Jonathan is the author of HEALING SOUNDS: THE POWER OF HARMONICS (Inner Traditions), SHIFTING FREQUENCIES (Light Technology) THE LOST CHORD (Spirit Music) and TANTRA OF SOUND (Hampton Road), co-authored with his wife Andi. He has studied with masters of sound from both the scientific and spiritual traditions, including the Dalai Lama's Chanting Gyuto and Gyume Monks and has been empowered by the Chant Master of the Drepung Loseling Monastery to teach Tibetan Overtone Chanting. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Film Making from Boston University and a Master's Degree in the Independent Study on Sound Healing from Lesley College. He is a lecturing member of the International Society for Music and Medicine.

An internationally acknowledge Master Teacher, Jonathan facilitates Healing Sounds Seminars at universities, hospitals, holistic health centers and expos throughout the United States and Europe. He has appeared on national television and radio, including Art Bell’s "Coast to Coast AM" and has been featured in national periodicals including "USA Today" and "The New York Times". His annual Healing Sounds Intensive attracts participants from throughout the world. Visit his website.

Weyler married Glenn Jonathans in Nijmegen, Netherlands in 1971 and immigrated to Canada in 1972. He worked at the North Shore News in North Vancouver and with Greenpeace. Between 1974 and 1982, he served as a director of Greenpeace, editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles magazine, and was a co-founder of Greenpeace International. He sailed on the first Greenpeace whale campaign, and his photographs and news accounts of Greenpeace appeared worldwide.

Weyler’s photography and essays have been published in the New York Times, Oceans, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, New Age Journal, Conscious Choice, New Times, Shared Vision, National Geographic, and other publications. Weyler received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for his Native American history, Blood of the Land, and he co-authored the self-help classic Chop Wood, Carry Water. He co-founded Hollyhock Educational Centre on Cortes Island in British Columbia – dedicated to environmental, personal, and professional studies – and which remains Canada’s leading educational retreat centre. He co-developed the Justonic tuning software used by innovative musicians around the world and wrote The Story of Harmony about the history of musical tuning theory. His account of the first decade of Greenpeace is available in September 2004 from Raincoast Books in the Canada and Rodale Press in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Weyler was married for the second time in 1990, to Lisa Gibbons. He remains active in environmental work. He writes for magazines and newspapers, is widely reprinted on the Internet, and appears weekly on Canada’s Omni-10 News show, The Standard. He lives in Vancouver, BC, and has three sons: Jack, Jonah, and Liam.

Weyler and his wife, Lisa Gibbons, are foster parents for displaced teens. Weyler serves on several company and non-profit boards, including Greenpeace International Marine Services. He speaks regularly to schools and public audiences. For correspondence and bookings: Contacts.  Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Mark Robert Waldman, co-author of How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings From A Leading Neuroscientist  written by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman and published by Ballantine Books.

Mark Robert Waldman is an associate fellow at the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a therapist, the author or co-author of ten books, including Born to Believe (with Andrew Newberg), and was the founding editor of Transpersonal Review. He lectures throughout the country on neuroscience, religion, and spirituality and conducts research with numerous religious and secular groups. His work has been featured in dozens of newspapers and magazines and on syndicated radio programs. Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Ms. Heather King, author of Redeemed: Stumbling Toward God, Sanity, and the Peace That Passes All Understanding published by Penguin.

Heather King is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire (1977) and Suffolk Law School (1984). Born and raised on the New Hampshire seacoast, she did a 10-year stint in Boston and moved to L.A. in 1990. Following a disastrous 4-year run as a Beverly Hills civil litigation attorney, King quit her job, converted to Catholicism, and began writing. Today King is a commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered" and a personal essayist whose work has appeared, among other places, in  The Utne Reader, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, and The Sun. Heather's first book was titled Parched: A Memoir. Heather is a communicant at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Koreatown, L.A.   Visit her website

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Marc Lesser, MBA, author of Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less published by New World Library.

Marc Lesser is the founder and CEO of ZBA Associates, a management consulting, coaching, and training company. A Zen teacher with an MBA, Marc speaks and leads workshops throughout North America. Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of 365 Prescriptions for the Soul: Daily Messages of Inspiration, Hope and Love published by New World Library.

Dr. Bernie Siegel is a well-known proponent of alternative approaches to healing that involve not just the body, but the mind and soul as well. As the author of several books, including Love, Medicine & Miracles and Peace, Love & Healing.

Bernie has been at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues of our day. He and his wife (and occasional coauthor), Bobbie, live in a suburb in Connecticut. They have five children and eight grandchildren.  Visit his website.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of the Sweet Spot podcast, interviews Mr. Steve Ryals, author of  Drunk with Wonder: Awakening to the God Within published by Rock Creek Press.

Steve Ryals has published over 1,200 music reviews in the past 12 years in magazines such as New Age Retailer and Sedona Journal. He has been a student of philosophy, religion, spirituality, science, and human behavior for 30 years.  Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Brad Warner, author of Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma published by New World Library.

Brad Warner is the author of Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth about Reality and Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye. 

 A Zen priest, filmmaker, and blogger, he lives in Los Angeles. He teaches Zen in Santa Monica and writes a monthly column for Suicidegirls.comVisit his blog.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot podcast, interviews Ms. Echo Bodine, author of Look for the Good and You'll Find God: The Spiritual Journey of a Psychic and Healer published by New World Library.

Echo Bodine is a renowned psychic, spiritual healer, and teacher—as well as radio host and bestselling author of The Gift, The Key,  Hands that Heal, and most recently Look for the Good & You'll Find God. She actively lectures nationwide on life after death, living by intuition, and developing psychic abilities. Her warm and encouraging style helps students open their minds and take the risk of delving into their psychic development. Echo Bodine lives in Minneapolis. Visit her website.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of the the Sweet Spot podcast, interviews Dr. Gloria J. Burgess, author of Dare To Wear Your Soul on the Outside: Live Your Legacy Now published by Jossey-Bass.

Gloria J. Burgess, PhD, founder and Managing Consultant of Jazz, Inc., is an innovative program developer, consultant, performance coach, educator, and speaker. As a program developer, Gloria and her colleagues at Jazz design comprehensive, customized on-site education and training programs for leadership, management, and cross-cultural (diversity) development. Jazz has designed customized programs for many clients, including The Boeing Company, Adobe Systems, Bastyr University, The Casey Family Program, The Urban Health Initiative, the University of Washington, and Valley Medical Center.

Gloria and her colleagues also consult with organizations, groups, and individuals to help them master the art of leadership and teamwork, change, creative problem solving, cross-cultural competence (diversity), and learning about learning*. For clients who prefer a personal touch, Gloria works one-on-one with executives and other leaders to fine tune their skills and performance.  Visit her website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Margaret Benefiel, author of The Soul of a Leader: Finding Your Path to Success and Fulfillment published by The Crossroad Publishing Company.

Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., is an internationally known expert in the field of spirituality and leadership. CEO of ExecutiveSoul.com, she serves as Chair of the Academy of Management's Management, Spirituality, and Religion Group. Author of numerous articles and co-editor of a previous book, Dr. Benefiel teaches at Andover Newton Theological School in Boston and the Milltown Institute in Dublin, Ireland. Visit her website

Jamie Mason, co-host of North Star Guardians, interviews Mr. Jason Wright, author of Recovering Charles published by Shadow Mountain.

Articles by Jason have appeared in over 50 newspapers and magazines across the United States including Glenn Beck's Fusion Magazine, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. He is the author of four books, The James Miracle (2004); Christmas Jars (2005); The Wednesday Letters (2007); and Recovering Charles (2008).

Jason is also a popular speaker who speaks on writing, service, and various political and social issues. He has been seen on CNN, FoxNews, C-SPAN, and on local television affiliates around the country.

Jason is from Charlottesville, Virginia, but has also lived in Germany, Illinois, Brazil, Oregon and Utah. In 2007, while researching Virginia’s lush Shenandoah Valley for his novel The Wednesday Letters, Jason fell so in love with the area that he moved his family westward from northern Virginia into the heart of the Valley.

Jason is married to Kodi Erekson Wright. They have two girls, two boys, and sit anxiously on a waiting list for a Goldendoodle. Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Mark Matousek author of When You’re Falling, Dive: Lessons in the Art of Living published by Bloomsbury.

Mark Matousek is the author of two memoirs, The Boy He Left Behind and Sex Death Enlightenment. He is a contributing editor for O and Tricycle and writes the “Big Idea” column for AARP. He has served as senior editor of Interview magazine and has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times magazine, Details, Harper’s Bazaar, the Utne Reader, Out, Yoga Journal, and others. He lives in New York City.  Visit his website.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot podcast, interviews Dr. Bernie S. Siegel, author of Buddy's Candle published by Trafford Publishing.

Dr. Siegel, who prefers to be called Bernie, was born in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Colgate University and Cornell University Medical College where he graduated with honors. His surgical training took place at Yale New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veteran's Hospital, and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He is a former president of the American Holistic Medicine Association.

In 1989 he retired from the practice of general and pediatric surgery to travel around the world, speaking to patients and their caregivers.  His book, Buddy's Candle is available now. Faith, Hope, and Joy -- The Unexpected Side Effects of Cancer will be released early in 2009. Visit his website.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot Podcast, interviews Dr. Zhi Gang Sha, author of Soul Wisdom: Practical Soul Treasure To Transform Your Life

Dr. Zhi Gang Sha, founder of the Power Healing system and Soul Mind Body Medicine, received his MD and traditional Chinese medicine certifications in China. He has also received certificates in acupuncture and is a pioneer in the field of self-healing. He has achieved mastery in a variety of Eastern disciplines, including Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Kung Fu, and was named Qi Gong Master of the Year at the 5th World Congress on Qi Gong. Dr. Sha is the author of Power Healing and has delivered inspirational speeches to thousands of people worldwide. He lives in San Francisco and Toronto, though he returns to China frequently for spiritual retreats. Visit his website.

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Dr. Lara Honos Webb, host of The Sweet Spot Podcast interviews Dr. Dawna Markova, author of Spot of Grace: Remarkable Stories of How You DO Make a Difference published by New World Library

Dr. Dawna Markova is a former Senior Affiliate of the Organizational Learning Center at MIT and is now a consultant member of the Society for Organizational Learning. She is also a board member of the Visions of a Better World Foundation. She has established learning communities across the country, founded the Institute of Human Ecology and served as a faculty member at the Union Institute, and Lesley and Antioch graduate schools.

She is the author of The Smart Parenting Revolution, I Will Not Die An Unlived Life, No Enemies Within, How Your Child IS Smart, Learning Unlimited, has co-edited Random Acts of Kindness, and has been a frequent guest on National Public Radio. Visit her website.

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Ms. Janette Merrill, host of Birthing Soul Podcast, interviews Dr. Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, author of Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life published by Noetic Book / New Harbinger Publications.

Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, Ph.D. is a clinical research scientist, medical anthropologist, writer, speaker, thought leader, and change consultant. Her work over the past three decades explores the interface of consciousness, science, and healing. She  grew up in Detroit Michigan and received  a Bachelor of Philosophy Degree from Montieth College, Wayne State University. She went on to gain a Master's Degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas, San Antonio and she received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Texas, Austin. She also earned two post doctoral fellowships: one from the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory at Science Applications International Corporation and one in Psychology at Stanford University.

 She is currently Vice President for Research and Education at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Senior Scientist at the Research Institute at California Pacific Medical Center, and co-founder and Chief Learning Officer for the Integral Learning Corporation.

She has published hundreds of articles on consciousness studies in both scholarly and popular journals and has lectured widely on a number of topics, including talks at the United Nations, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Explorers Club. She has taught at Trinity University, Stanford University, and Harvard Medical Centers, as well as lecturing to community groups and book stores across the United States.

She is an engaging speaker with a rare ability to translate complex ideas into a common sense language that excites the imaginations of her audiences worldwide. Her books include: Consciousness and Healing. Integral Approaches to Mind Body Medicine (Churchill Livingston/Elsevier, 2005) and Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life (New Harbinger/Noetic, 2008). Visit her website.

Dr. Kevin Keough, creator of the Warrior Traditions Project and host of North Star Guardians interviews Dr. Allan Hamilton, M.D., author of The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope published by Tarcher.

After beginning his working life as a janitor, Allan J. Hamilton, M.D., FACS, went on to attend Harvard Medical School and become the chief of neurosurgery and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. He is a script consultant in neurosurgery for Grey’s Anatomy, and lives outside of Tucson, Arizona. Visit his website  and Rancho Bosque website.

Ms. Janette Merrill, host of Birthing Soul, interviews Dr. Joellyn St. Pierre about the art of death midwifery.

Dr. Joellyn St. Pierre is an ordained interfaith minister with a doctorate in divinity focused on Death as a Transition. Previously and for 25 years, she enjoyed a professional career in theatre with 7 Broadway shows under her belt, including “A Chorus Line,�? and “Pippin.�?  Visit her website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Mr. Eliezer Sobel, author of The 99th Monkey: A Spiritual Journalist’s Misadventures with Gurus, Messiahs, Sex, Psychedelics, and other Consciousness-Raising Experiments  published by Santa Monica Press.

Eliezer Sobel has led intensive creative workshops and retreats at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, the Open Center in New York City, and the Lama Foundation in New Mexico, and similar venues around the United States. He was also the editor in chief of the New Sun magazine in the late 1970’s, the publisher of Wild Heart Journal, and his articles, short stories, and poetry have appeared in the Village Voice, Yoga Journal, Tikkun, Quest, New Age Journal, and many others. Sobel was awarded the prestigious Peter Taylor Award for his novel Minyan: Ten Jewish Men in a World That is Heartbroken. Visit his website www.eliezersobel.com  

Ms. Janette Merrill, host of Birthing Soul, interviews Bill Plotkin, Ph.D, author of Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World published by New World Library.

Bill Plotkin, Ph.D., is the author of Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World and Soulcraft: Crossing the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche. In his work at the Animas Valley Institute  - and around the world  - Bill draws on dreams, the natural world, poetry, depth psychology and many cross-cultural soul-encounter practices such as vision-fasting, council, trance-rhythms and conversations across species boundaries. Visit him online at http://www.animas.org.

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Ms. Janette Merrill, host of Birthing Soul, interviews Mr. Wayne Gray Huxhold, author of From Roots to Branches: a Journey through the Tree of Life  published by Infinity Publishing.

Wayne Gray Huxhold has a rich and varied inkpot of history in which to dip his quill. He was reared in the small factory town of New Castle, Indiana, was educated as a maritime navigator who briefly traveled the world, yet settled back into the perceived safety of familiar and mundane routines of his former home. After struggling for seventeen years with failed marriages, financial woes and an unfulfilling career, he knew it was time to change. Wayne, as the poet David Whyte relates, "arranged to become good and tired of himself." At this point, he began his journey of writing From Roots to Branches, an act that transformed him. Now as an author, poet and artist, he shares studio and living space with his lovely wife, the ceramic sculptor Diana Huxold.

From Roots to Branches: a Journey through the Tree of Life is the account of Wayne's psychological, spiritual and mythic journey of radical transformation. As Wayne began to explore the ever-growing depths of his roots, he began to uncover truths and wisdoms that he could neither deny nor ignore. Truths and wisdoms that conflicted with the self-manufactured reality of all he believed was true. His very identity was challenged and eventually collapsed, freeing up space for a new life to emerge.

From Roots to Branches is a modern mythology, a universal story of finding and living ones authentic self. Throughout the book the author identifies, confronts and breaks lifelong patterns of living for the approval of others. He encounters and overcomes the fright associated with living beyond the familiar aspects of his known world. To the reader, the book becomes a mirror as they begin to recognize aspects of themselves within it, yet finds hope as they see how the author's authentic self begins to emerge.  Visit Wayne Gray Huxhold's blog.

Visit Janette's blog and podcast.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, host of The Sweet Spot Podcast, interviews Fr. Paul Coutinho, SJ, author of How Big Is Your God?: The Freedom to Experience the Divine published by Loyola Press.

Fr. Paul Coutinho, SJ is an internationally recognized Ignatian scholar and speaker who brings an Eastern influence to Western spirituality. A Jesuit from the Bombay province of India, he frequently leads retreats, gives spiritual direction, and trains people to lead the Spiritual Exercises. Fr. Coutinho holds masters degrees in both clinical psychology and religious studies, and he has a doctorate in historical theology from Saint Louis University. He currently divides his time between India and the United States. For more information, please visit www.loyolabooks.org

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb host of The Sweet Spot, interviews Dr. Sage Bennet author of Wisdom Walk: Nine Practices for Creating Peace and Balance from the World's Spiritual Traditions published by New World Library.

Dr. Sage Bennett is an ordained minister at Agape International Spiritual Center and the author of Wisdom Walk. She offers seminars, retreats, counseling, and coaching to those exploring the deeper mysteries on their spiritual journeys. A teacher at a number of universities, she lives in Marina Del Rey, CA. Visit her  website. 

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Richard Moss, author of The Mandala of Being: Discovering the Power of Awareness published by New World Library.

Richard Moss, MD, is an internationally respected teacher, visionary thinker, and author of five seminal books on transformation, self-healing, and from the importance of living consciously. For thirty years he has guided people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines in the use of the power of awareness to realize their intrinsic wholeness and reclaim the wisdom of their true selves.  He teaches a practical philosophy of consciousness that models how to integrate spiritual practice and psychological self-inquiry into a concrete and fundamental transformation of people's lives. Richard lives in Ojai, California, with his wife, Ariel.  Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Ms. Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion- The Spiritual Memoir of a twenty-first century Christian published by Ballentine.

Sara Miles is the author of How to Hack a Party Line: The Democrats and Silicon Valley and co-editor of Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan and the anthology Opposite Sex. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Out, The Progressive, La Jornada, and Salon, among others.  She has written extensively on military affairs, politics, and culture. The Founder of St. Gregory's Food Pantry, she lives in San Francisco, California with her family. Visit her website.

An Interview with Dr.  Margaret Benefiel, Author of Soul At Work: Spiritual Leadership In Organizations 

Share your comments about the book and interview on the Psychjourney Audio Book Club blog.

Visit the Psychjourney website  www.psychjourney.com