Fungi live their lives largely hidden from view and over 90% of their species remain undocumented. Sheldrake says that the fungal kingdom is more closely related to the animal kingdom. Here he takes us into his research on the ecological significance of fungi and its importance to all life on planet earth. Merlin Sheldrake, Ph.D. is a biologist and writer with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history of philosophy of science. He received his Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a pre-doctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He's also a musician and a keen fermenter. He is the author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures (Random House 2020)

Interview Date: 5/19/2020 Tags: Merlin Sheldrake, fungi, photosynthesis, mushrooms, largest terrestrial organism on the planet, Armillaria solidipes, honey fungus, mycelium, mycorrhizal fungi, endophytes, microbiome, algae, polyphonic music, LSD experiments, Albert Hofmann, wood wide web, viruses, Rovin Wall Kimmerer, Natasha Myers, Karla Hustak, Lynn Margulis, intimacy of strangers, involution vs. evolution, IKEA labyrinth, cosmic networks, Anna Tsing, Chernobyl, Ecovative Design, David Abrams, Ecology/Nature/Environment, Science, Indigenous wisdom

Here Sullivan talks about the power of trees in guiding us in understanding ourselves as well as our ancestral roots. She also shares the power of communal chanting that is a bridge of past and present that moves us deeply on a soul level as it connects us to Spirit. Shannon Sullivan is an interfaith spiritual teacher and teacher of meditation. She has broad experience with many spiritual traditions from around the world as well as her communion with nature. Trees in particular have a deep significance for her and she's developed a series of teachings and meditations using the metaphor of trees. One of her teachings involves healing our ancestral roots.

Interview Date: 5/12/2020 Tags: MP3, Shannon Sullivan, Reiki therapy, energy work, chakras, family trees, forgiveness, ofrenda, chanting, Kintsugi, Health & Healing

Here scholar, theologian, and teacher Father Matthew Fox explores the writings and wisdom of this electrifying saint and speaks of Aquinas’ timeless wisdom to a postmodern world. Fox encourages all spiritual warriors and activists to grow our vision and our courage. He speaks of some of the positive things that the coronavirus has brought to us as we shelter in place. Father Matthew Fox is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. For speaking out on women’s rights, gay rights, and Native American rights, he was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican Order under the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as the “Cosmic Mass” that incorporates dance, DJ, VJ, rap, and other postmodern art forms. He is the co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Earth and, since Mother’s day 2019, has offered free daily meditations. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is founder of the University of Creation Spirituality. He is the author of more than thirty-five books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), Occupy Spirituality (co-author Adam Bucko) (North Atlantic Press 2013) and The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020)

Interview Date: 4/30/2020 Tags: Matthew Fox, Plato, Platonism, dualism, nondualism, non-dualism, Platonists, theology, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Dominic, Dominican order, misogyny, feminism, joy, original sin, creation centered, coronavirus pandemic, Heartmath, Pagan, Paganism, interfaith, magnanimity, Rabbi Heschel, anger, Julian of Norwich, History, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics

Shaw helps us get acquainted with the kinds of folktales and myths that can be helpful in navigating these turbulent times. He says, “They are always trying to dig into the mud of the encounter with the notion that possibly there's a little bit of gold in there. There's some information that, over time, could turn into wisdom.” Martin Shaw, Ph.D. is a scholar of myth and an acclaimed storyteller. He's a wilderness rites-of-passage guide and is internationally regarded as one of the most exciting proponents of the mythic imagination. He tells "prophetic stories" that speak deeply to the challenges we face today, in the world and in our personal lives. He has devised and led the Oral Tradition course at Stanford University, is a visiting fellow at Shumacher College, and the Director of the Westcountry School of Myth, a learning community in Dartmoor in the far west of the United Kingdom. His books include A Branch from the Lightning Tree: Ecstatic Myth and the Grace in Wildness (White Cloud Press 2011), Snowy Tower: Parzival and the Wet, Black Branch of Language (White Cloud Press 2014), Scatterlings: Getting Claimed in the Age of Amnesia (White Cloud 2016), The Night Wages: Bidden or Unbidden Initiations Come (Cista Mystica Press 2019) and Courting the Wild Twin (Chelsea Green Publishing 2020)

Interview Date: 4/23/2020 Tags: Martin Shaw, The Odyssey, transcending, underworld, depression, despair, Percival, Grail King, The Lindworm story, alchemy, Gioia Timpanelli, Robert Bly, educated heart, James Hillman, Gaston Bachelard, Hermes, Arts & Creativity, Personal Transformation, Mythology, Philosophy

Hanson encourages us toward the upper reaches of our human potential as he reveals, in detail, the 7 practices: steadiness, lovingness, fullness, wholeness, nowness, allness, and timelessness and helps us to be clear, strong, centered, and stable no matter what’s swirling around us (like a ninja warrior) with these practices. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist with a deep interest in neuroscience and mindfulness. He is a senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley and creator of the year-long course The Foundations of Well-Being. He is the author of many books including Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (New Harbinger 2009); Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (New Harbinger 2011), Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (Harmony Books 2013), Meditations to Change Your Brain - CD Set (Sounds True 2009), Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness (Harmony Books 2018) and NeuroDharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness (Harmony Books 2020)

Interview Date: 2/24/2020 Tags: Rick Hanson, nervous system, four noble truths, suffering, spiritual bypassing, brain science, negative bias, cortisol, conscious evolution, common truth, common welfare, common justice, Steadiness, lovingness, fullness, wholeness, nowness, allness, timelessness, eddy in a river, Śūnyatā, emptiness, illusion, Yosemite, El Capitan, ever-unfolding edge of universe, helpless outrage, emergent edge, Dalai Lama, bodyguard, Buddhism, Meditation,Personal Transformation, science

Anne Scott is the founder of Dream Weather Foundation and has led workshops and retreats for women from diverse communities and organizations around the country and the world. Her work centers on restoring the connection between feminine wisdom and social change, and on exploring the healing power of dreams. She has spoken to audiences across the U.S. and internationally—from Switzerland to India. In this episode Scott shares how facilitated women’s circles offer a restorative space for genuine listening and healing. Participants gather to reflect, be heard, and rediscover inner wisdom, fostering resilience, creativity, and a renewed sense of belonging, while reconnecting with the love, joy, and creativity at the heart of our shared humanity. Her books include:

Serving Fire: Food for Thought, Body, and Soul (Celestial Arts, 1994)

The Laughing Baby (Celestial Arts, 2001)

Women, Wisdom, and Dreams: The Light of the Feminine Soul (Nicasio Press, 2008)

Finding Home: Restoring the Sacred to Life – Stories of Women in Homelessness & Transition (Nicasio Press, 2016)

Listening Circles: Seeding Life – A Guide to Facilitating Women’s Circles in Community (Nicasio Press, 2024)

Interview Date: 4/3/2026 Tags: Anne Scott, Women's circles, feminine wisdom, listening circles, sacred space, silence, inner wisdom, marginalized women, women's shelter, authenticity, longing, Circles, Health & Healing, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Psychology, Social Change/Politics

Diana Badger is a counseling astrologer, writer/editor, gardener, Sufi practitioner, dream work facilitator, and photographer. In this conversation, she explores astrology as a living relationship between ecology, myth, and archetype—where heavenly wisdom is brought down to earth. She works within an ancient system that views astrology not as prediction but participation. Drawing on archetypal wisdom and depth psychology, Badger reveals how the patterns of the cosmos mirror the deep structures of our psyches, offering a map for transformation in times of upheaval. Interwoven with ecological consciousness, her work reminds us that inner renewal and the healing of the Earth are inseparable. She is the author of Dance of the Archetypes: How Astrology Informs Our Lives and Connects Us to the Earth (Elemental Books 2026)

Interview Date: 3/27/2026 Tags: Diana Badger, No Kings March, Aquarius, Grail legend, Celtic calendar of Earth seasons, Sherri Mitchell, Pam Grout, Quantum field of infinite possibilities, law of attraction, Astrology, Dreams, Personal Transformation, Psychology

This deep dialogue is dense with pertinent information about our food supply that is critical to the overall health of all people and most especially children. Honeycutt is a wealth of knowledge that has direct impact on all of us. She is a living example that together we can make a huge difference in the way people eat, their health, and the health of the planet. Zen Honeycutt is the mother of three boys and Founding Executive Director of Moms Across America, a national coalition of unstoppable moms. Their motto is “Empower Moms, Healthy Kids.” She is the author of Unstoppable: Transforming Sickness and Struggle Into Triumph, Empowerment and a Celebration of Community (Create Space 2018)

Interview Date: 9/12/2019 Tags: Zen Honeycutt, Robyn O’Brien’s TED talk, food supply, Roundup, Patriotism on a Plate, Jeffry Smith’s movie, Genetic Roulette. California Proposition 37, food labeling, GMOs, glyphosate, BT Bacillus thuringiensis, HT herbicide tolerant seeds, Caius Rommens, Pandora’s Potatoes the Worst GMOs, autoimmune disease, allergies, glyphosate as a drying agent, autism, wheat, learning disorders, behavioral disorders, bacteria in gut, fungus in gut, C Diff, clostridium difficile, bacteria overgrowth, microbiome, sauerkraut, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, Cheerios, Bayer AG, Advancing Eco Agriculture, Regenerative Agriculture, Impossible Burger, Social Change/Politics, Health & Healing, Ecology/Nature/Environment