Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #100 - 29DEC12

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:
  • This is our one hundredth episode of The Mystical Positivist and for this show we play excerpts from two of the most frequently downloaded podcasts from our two year run. In the first hour we play an excerpt from an interview with did with Dr. Peter Russell, author of From Science to God: A Physicist’s Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness, which was first aired on May 12, 2012. In our second hour, we play an excerpt from an interview with did with Dr. Dean Radin, author of Entangled Minds, which first aired on March 28, 2011.

The full interviews with Peter Russell and Dean Radin,as well as details on their work, can be found at:

Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #99 - 22DEC12

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 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.

    Topics in this lively conversation include discernment in encounters with spiritual beings, the transcendent energy of Jesus, spiritual discipline, modes of spiritual teaching, and poetry as spiritual practice.

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

Saturday, December 15, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #98- 15DEC12

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:
  • Hour 1: A conversation with David Richo, Ph.D., M.F.T. David Richo (davericho.com) 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.

  • Hour 2: A conversation with hosts Stuart Goodnick and Robert Schmidt. Stuart and Rob continue the conversation on the themes of the child and the adult in spiritual practice, the source of Mystery in spiritual practice, and the distinctions and similarities between spiritual practice and psychological work.
More information about David Richo's work can be found at:

Saturday, December 8, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #97 - 08DEC12

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 Kenneth S. Cohen. Ken Cohen (Gao Han) is the Executive Director and founder of The Qigong Research & Practice Center. He is a world renowned health educator, China scholar, and Qigong Master with more than forty years experience. A former collaborator with Alan Watts, he is the author of the internationally acclaimed book The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing (Ballantine), best-selling self-healing audio and video courses from publisher Sounds True, and more than 200 journal articles. In 2003 Ken Cohen won the leading international award in energy medicine, The Alyce and Elmer Green Award for Innovation and Lifetime Achievement. In addition to his work with Chinese medicine, Ken has also written an award-winning book on Native American healing practices titled Honoring the Medicine.
More information about Ken Cohen's work can be found at:

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #96 - 01DEC12

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 Daniel Terragno, Roshi. Daniel Terragno founded and runs Rocks and Clouds Zendo in downtown Sebastopol. A native of Chile, Daniel Terragno 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. He received authorization to teach Zen in 1995, and in 2001 received dharma transmission from Tarrant Roshi. In addition to running Rocks and Clouds Zendo in Sebastopol, Daniel also teaches and leads sesshin in Ohio with Yellow Springs Dharma Center and Zen on High in Columbus, Ohio, and with Grupo Zen Viento del Sur (Southern Wind) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and also in Santiago, Chile. We are joined by guest host Nick Egan for this discussion.
More information about Daniel Terrangno Roshi's work and interests can be found at:
More information about Nick Egan's work can be found at:

Saturday, November 24, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #95 - 24NOV12

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 Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D.. Richard Strozzi-Heckler is founder of the Strozzi work and President of Strozzi Institute. A nationally known speaker, coach and consultant on leadership and mastery, he has spent four decades researching, developing, and teaching the practical application of Somatics (the unity of language, action, emotions, and meaning) to business leaders, executive managers and teams from Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, technology start-ups, non-profits, the U.S. government and military.

    Richard is the author of seven books, including The Leadership Dojo, In Search of the Warrior Spirit, The Anatomy of Change, Holding the Center, Being Human at Work, The Mind/Body Interface, and Aikido and the New Warrior. His articles have appeared in Esquire, East West Journal, The Whole Earth Review, and numerous other publications. In October 2000, a Wall Street Journal cover story featured the groundbreaking leadership program developed by Richard for the United States Marine Corps. He was named one of the Top 50 Executive Coaches in The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2004) and Profiles in Coaching (Linkage Publications, 2003). He is also the Honorary President of the Peruvian Coaching Association. He is the co-founder of the Mideast Aikido Project (MAP), which brings together Palestinians and Israelis through the practice of Aikido. From 2002 to 2007 he was an advisor to NATO and the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe (SACEUR) General Jim Jones, who is now the National Security Advisor.

    Richard has a Ph.D. in Psychology and is a sixth degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido. He also holds ranks in Judo, Jujitsu, and Capoeira. Richard has taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, Sonoma State University, Esalen Institute, Lone Mountain College, Naropa Institute, and the University of Munich. Richard was the 2009 William Dickson Leader-in-Residence for the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach.
More information about Richard Strozzi-Heckler's work can be found at:

Saturday, November 17, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #94 - 17NOV12

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:
  • Hosts Stuart Goodnick and Dr. Robert Schmidt join Jim Wilson, poet and Many Rivers co-founder, in reflections on the 10th anniversary of Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, CA. 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. We discuss about how the store came to be, about how it has changed over the years, and its place in the spiritual community landscape of Sonoma County. We also consider how the store may continue to change to remain relevant to our customers in the twenty-first century.

  • In addition we talk with Barry Vesser of Stone Creek Zendo in Graton about Zen Fest, the upcoming annual fundraising event for Stone Creek that will be held in the Sebastopol Masonic Hall on Sunday Dec. 2.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:
More information about Jim Wilson's work and interests can be found at:
More information about Stone Creek Zen Center can be found at:

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #93 - 10NOV12

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:
  • Hosts Stuart Goodnick and Dr. Robert Schmidt discuss Communication from the perspective of Tayu Meditation practice and Landmark Education during the first half of the show. In the second half of the show Stuart and Rob play and discuss excerpts from the CD set Glen Gould: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981): A State of Wonder. The discussion centers around a quote by Glen Gould: The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline, but rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Saturday, November 3, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #92 - 03NOV12

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 guest host Nick Egan and Jacob Newell (Gu Shen Yu Daoshi), founder of Old Oak Taiji School, a small a school of Taijiquan in Sonoma County, California. Jacob's practice philosophy is rooted in the Daojia - internal cultivation traditions dating to pre-Han China based largely on the teachings of Laozi, Zhuangzi, and the Neiye. He considers Ruyu-style Taijiquan to be a superb embodiment of Laozi's philosophy of wuwei, and as such his instruction emphasizes both familiarity with Laozi's text, the Dao De Jing, and Taijiquan fundamentals, form, and parter-practice. His primary instructors in Taijiquan have been Frank Broadhead and Sam Edwards.

    Jacob has been practicing Taijiquan and related meditation and qi-cultivation arts since the early 1990's. He is certified in Ruyu-style Taijiquan, as well as Qigong and Acupressure, and is an ordained Daoist priest. Old Oak is a recognized outpost of Redwood Coast Internal Arts and Ruyu Taiji School of Taiwan, and his Daoist ordination connects Old Oak to the Dragon Gate tradition based at White Cloud Temple in Beijing.
More information about Jacob Newell's work can be found at:
More information about Nick Egan's work can be found at:

Saturday, October 27, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #91 - 27OCT12

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 Kevin Turner, M.A., Director for Asia, a teaching faculty member, and a field research associate for The Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS). After years of study with yogis, monks and lamas in India, Nepal, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Japan, Kevin met Michael Harner in 1997 and began his shamanic path. Kevin has worked with shamans in Peru, Nepal and Mexico. In 2007, in a bit of a turn around, he was invited to train a group of Mayan Elders in psychopomp work. Kevin has worked for Save the Children in a Cambodia at civil war, airlines in Taiwan, IBM in Japan, and has lectured at a dozen universities. He is also a facilitator at The Monroe Institute and a remote viewer. Though born in Arizona, USA, Kevin has lived in Asia for over 20 years and currently has a healing practice in Kyoto, Japan.
More information about Kevin Turners's work can be found at:

Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #90 - 20OCT12

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:
  • Part 1: A conversation with Mark Nepo. Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for over thirty-five years. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, he has published thirteen books and recorded eight audio projects. Recent works include his latest book of spiritual inquiry, Seven Thousand Ways to Listen; a new book of teaching stories, As Far As the Heart Can See; Finding Inner Courage; audio books of The Book of Awakening and Finding Inner Courage, and Staying Awake and Holding Nothing Back. His most recent book of poetry is Surviving Has Made Me Crazy. As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. Mark has appeared with Oprah Winfrey on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV, and has been interviewed twice by Oprah as part of her SIRIUS XM Radio show, Soul Series. He has also been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America about his New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening.

  • Part 2: Hosts Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt discuss the latest blog from Neuroscientist, Philosopher, and author, Sam Harris. His October 12th essay, entitled This Must Be Heaven, is a response to a recent Newsweek cover-story by the same title detailing the Out-of-Body experience reported by neurosurgeon Eben Alexander after he fell into a coma having contracted a bad case of bacterial meningitis.
More information about Mark Nepo's work can be found at:
Links to the articles discussed in the second half of the show can be found at:

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #89 - 13OCT12

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 Luis Minero, author of the recently published book Demystifying the Out-of-Body Experience: A Practical Manual for Exploration and Personal Evolution. Demystifying the Out-of-Body Experience attempts to complement previous research on the topics of OBE's, Bioenergies, and the related field of Conscientiology in an accessible guidebook. The book offers ways to master the skills of leaving the body using logic and reason, and to improve self-understanding and achieve personal growth with over a dozen exit techniques. With well-ordered, rational explanations, Demystifying the Out-of-Body Experience describes how and why out-of-body experiences (OBEs) work. It is a groundbreaking guide for using OBEs to understand our place in the reality that exists beyond our physical life and dreams.

    Luis Minero graduated with honors in Chemistry from Florida International University, and taught courses on Out-of-Body Experiences, paranormal phenomena, and spiritual growth at Miami Dade College from 1997-2002. Mr. Minero serves as Executive Director of the California branch of the International Academy of Consciousness, and as Education Director of IAC globally. Headquartered in Portugal, the International Academy of Consciousness is dedicated to research and education toward the understanding of consciousness and the multi-dimensional fabric of our reality.
More information about Luis Minero's work can be found at:

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #87 - 29SEP12

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 Dale & Barbara Ver Kuilen, founders of the Midwest Soto Zen Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

    Renshin Barbara Ver Kuilen was a student of Buddhism for thirty years prior to her ordination in 1997. She has practiced under the guidance of three Soto Zen priests: Matsuoka Soyu Roshi, Katagiri Dainin Roshi and Rev. Shoken Winecoff. Her experience includes various forms of Buddhist study, including both lay and monastic training. She has blended this continuous practice with careers in education and psychotherapy, and the many responsibilities of a householder - wife and mother. She holds a BA in Education and a MS in Counseling and Guidance. Barbara and her husband Dale, also a Zen priest, co-founded the Midwest Soto Zen Community in 2001, based in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the Tale of Bho Li, she is also the author of Dokusan with Dogen: Timeless Lessons in Negotiating the Way. With her husband Dale, she co-authored Tending the Fire: An Introspective Guide to Zen Awakening.

    Taizen Dale Ver Kuilen has been studying Buddhism since 1967. After practicing a year each at the Chicago and San Francisco Zen Centers he lived at the Long Beach Zen Center and studied with Matsuoka Roshi. He was ordained in 1970 and practiced as a priest assisting and leading introductory workshops on the Method of Zen, as well as performing all the administrative and religious duties associated with running a non-residential urban Zen center. After ten years he pursued a career in business continuing his study as a lay practitioner with Katagiri Roshi. He was re-ordained in 2000. He holds an Associate degree in Electronics and a BS in Management Science.
More information about Dale and Barbara Ver Kuilen's work can be found at:

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #86 - 22SEP12

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 Robert McDowell. Robert McDowell is the author of five books of poetry and the Amazon.com bestselling book Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions (Free Press/Simon & Schuster 2008). Robert is also the co-author of two volumes of literary theory, co-translator of a collection of stories by Ota Pavel that has just been reprinted in the eastern European Penguin Classics Series, and the editor of three anthologies. His poems, stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in hundreds of anthologies and periodicals here and abroad, including Best American Poetry, Poetry, London Magazine, The New Criterion, Sewanee Review, and The Hudson Review. A Woolrich Fellow at Columbia University, a Walter E. Dakin Fellow at the Sewanee Writers Conference, and a finalist for the Oregon Book Award, Robert has led retreats and taught at Esalen, Kripalu, and Pine Manor, and in Bennington College’s low-residency M.F.A. Program, the University of Southern Indiana, UC Santa Cruz, Taos Writers Conference, Sewanee Writers Conference, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Killybegs Festival in Ireland, West Chester Conference on Form and Narrative, and many other venues.

    Robert leads workshops and retreats for beginners and experienced practitioners who want to discover their own hero’s journey through poetry and journaling. He also offers one-on-one editing and mentoring services and enjoys speaking to businesses and groups interested in improving performance and morale by deepening spiritual awareness, listening, communication, writing, and presentation skills.
More information about Robert McDowell's work can be found at:

Saturday, September 15, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #85 - 15SEP12

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:
  • Host Stuart Goodnick offers readings and reflections on his 9/11/01 essay The Practice of Patriotism, material from Fourth Way writer Terje Tonne, and excerpts from E.J. Gold’s Psyche and Essence - Their Nature and Construction.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #84 - 08SEP12

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 hosts Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt on Poetry as a Spiritual Practice featuring readings from Robert McDowell's Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions and Thomas Merton's The Way of Chuang Tzu. The second half of the show features a discussion of a special sonic form of meditation called "Alea Meditation" as well a sample recording of an Alea session.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #83 - 01SEP12

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 Andy Ferguson, hosted by Nicholas Egan. Andy Ferguson graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Chinese studies from the University of Oregon in 1973. The same year he moved to Kyoto, and subsequently to Taipei, where he studied Japanese and Chinese respectively. He first entered and traveled in mainland China in 1978, before the economic reforms, and subsequently lived in Singapore and Hong Kong where he worked as the Manager for East Asia for a USA company. At that time he began locating and studying a wide variety of Chinese historic cultural sites, especially temples related to the Chinese Chan tradition.

    He is the author of Tracking Bodhidharma: A Journey to the Heart of Chinese Culture, which offers a previously unheard perspective on the life of Zen’s most important religious leader, while simultaneously showing how that history is relevant to the rapidly developing super-power that is present-day China. He is also the author of Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and their Teachings, a book in which he translated the teachings of more than 150 ancient Chinese Zen masters. This book is widely used as a reference book in academic and religious culture circles. He has also produced a two hour video DVD about Chinese history and culture, designed for people who didn’t take two semesters of Chinese history in college but want to know about China in depth before they go there. He lectures frequently on Chinese culture to community groups in North America and is one of a few Americans who gives lectures in China to groups on topics of historical interest.

    More recently Andy organized a company called “South Mountain China Tours” that offers unique itineraries and perspectives on East Asian Culture. The tours focus on art, history, flower culture, religious history, and other educational and cultural topics. Some of the tours visit and stay at famous Chinese religious monasteries and other places where participants learn about all aspects of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in situ. With his long-time friend and renowned translator Red Pine, Andy has photographed sites for virtually all the early Zen masters of the Chinese Chan tradition, from Bodhidharma down through many generations of teachers. He recently was the first American to attend the annual ceremony honoring Bodhidharma at his burial temple, Empty Form, in North China.
More information about Andy Ferguson's work can be found at:

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #82 - 25AUG12

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 Aviva Snyder. Aviva Snyder has tasted from many cups in life. Born in Boston, she became a successful business owner in Marin County, living the Marin lifestyle, practicing martial arts and living in a classic Marin house. After a divorce, she worked in the corporate world, gave that up to live in exotic Ajijic, Mexico for one year, and later dealt Black Jack at Indian casinos in California. Throughout it all, her psychic sensitivities remained a constant in her life. For years she struggled to come to terms with her psychic gifts. With help from training at the Berkeley Psychic Institute, and other help, she came to be able to use her sensitivities to assist others, by giving psychic readings, healings, and other interventions.
More information about the Psychic Schools mention in the program can be found at:

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #81 - 18AUG12

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:
  • In the first hour of the program, hosts Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt, discuss action in the world, the role of contemplation, whether one can simultaneously hold a space for both action and contemplation, and the role of silence in spiritual awakening. In the second hour of the program we listen to an audio version of a best-selling Russian book on transformation called Reality Transurfing: Vol. 1: The Space of Variations, by Vadim Zeland. In this book, the author presents a series of techniques of a mental and metaphysical nature. Zeland supports these techniques by presenting a model of the universe that combines the elements of quantum physics with the idea of parallel worlds.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:
More information about Reality Transurfing: Vol. 1: The Space of Variations can be found at:

Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #80 - 11AUG12

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 Iven Lourie. Iven Lourie is editor of Gateway Books and Tapes and adjunct professor in English at Sierra College in Rocklin, California. Originally from Harrisburg, PA, Iven attended the University of Chicago for his undergraduate work, and the MFA program in English and Creative Writing at the University of Arizona. Iven is a short story writer and poet, and a practitioner of the work of spiritual polymath E.J. Gold.
More information about Iven Lourie's work can be found at:

Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #79 - 04AUG12

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 Carol E. Goodnick, RN, Nurse Clinician, University of Missouri Palliative Care Program. In her 30+ years in the nursing and medical field Carol has worked in a variety of areas including neuro-trauma and intensive care. Throughout her career she has developed an uncommon ability to hold a space for patients facing end of life choices and especially for their families. Now as part of the Palliative Care Program at MU, Carol's work is explicitly focused on providing relief and end of life care for patients and providing clarity to families about the choices available in such situations. In addition to her long career in nursing, Carol has been a long time contributor to public radio station KOPN in Columbia, MO, with a Celtic music show called Strike the Gay Harp and a Jazz show called Hepcat's Holiday. In this wide ranging conversation we discuss, among other things, the holding of a larger context for patients and family in end of life care.
More information about Carol Goodnick's work can be found at:

Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #78 - 28JUL12

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 various topics including the latest update on the upcoming Festival of Conscious Parenting and related topics about the raising of children in an awakened context. Readings include excerpts from Lee Lozowick's classic book, Conscious Parenting.

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Saturday, July 21, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #77 - 21JUL12

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 John Amodeo, Ph.D., MFT. John is the author of The Authentic Heart, and Love & Betrayal. He was a contributing editor for Yoga Journal for 10 years and has been a psychotherapist for over thirty years. He is an adjunct faculty member of Meridian University and has given lectures and conducted workshops internationally, including Argentina, Chile, China, Spain, and Thailand. He co-authored a chapter with Susan Johnson on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Buddhism in The Emotionally Focused Casebook. He has appeared as a featured media guest on programs that included CNN, Donahue, and New Dimensions Radio. John has also been interviewed or written for publications that include The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The San Jose Mercury News, The Rocky Mountain News and The Toronto Sun. He has led workshops at centers such as Esalen Institute, The Omega Institute, and The New York Open Center, and is an adjunct faculty member of Meridian University. He has trained in Somatic Experiencing, developed by Dr. Peter Levine for dealing with trauma and is a Certified Focusing Trainer. He lives in Graton.
More information about Dr. John Amodeo's work can be found at:

Saturday, July 14, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #76 - 14JUL12

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 B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., is a dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, who continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind. Dr. Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970, has taught Buddhist theory and meditation worldwide since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. With his unique background, Alan brings deep experience and applied skills to the challenge of integrating traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with the modern world.

    Alan Wallace is the author of at least 17 volumes, plus many essays and articles. His books include The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward a New Science of Consciousness (Oxford University Press 2000) Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground (Columbia University Press 2003), The Attention Revolution, Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge (Columbia 2007) , Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity (Columbia 2007), and his three most recent books all published in 2011, Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic, Stilling the Mind, and Minding Closely: the Four Applications of Mindfulness. He is also the Founder and President of The Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies.
More information about Dr. B. Alan Wallace's work can be found at:

Saturday, July 7, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #75 - 07JUL12

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 Dr. Marilyn Mandala Schlitz. Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, PhD, is currently Ambassador for Global Affairs and Creative Projects, and Senior Scientist at The Institute of Noetic Sciences in Petaluma, CA, and was formerly President and CEO. As a scientist and anthropologist, she has pioneered clinical, laboratory, and field-based research in the areas of consciousness, human transformation and healing. A researcher, speaker, change consultant, and writer, Marilyn's books include: Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life (co-authored with Cassandra Vieten and Tina Amorok) and Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind Body Medicine (co-authored with Tina Amorok and Mark Micozzi). She has published hundreds of articles on consciousness studies, lectured widely on a number of topics, including talks at the United Nations and the Smithsonian Institution, and taught at Trinity, Stanford, and Harvard Medical Centers. Currently, Dr. Schlitz is collaborating with Deepak Chopra on the creation of a film called, Death Makes Life Possible.
More information about Dr. Marilyn Mandala Schlitz's work can be found at:

Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #74 - 30JUN12

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 Dr. Gene Nathan MD and Oksana Yufa. Dr. Gene Nathan founded and practices at Gene Nathan M.D.Consults. He trained at the University of Rochester and UCSD, and practiced general pediatrics in Chula Vista and with Scripps Clinic for nearly 30 years. He helped to establish two level II intensive care nurseries in Chula Vista, and was President of the local chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for four years. He served as medical director for the Center for Healthier Communities at Rady Children’s Hospital until 2002, and helped establish the Healthy Developmental Services program for First Five San Diego. In addition to traditional Western medical approaches, Dr. Nathan has studied herbs, nutrition, cranio-sacral therapy and body work, and various complementary medical healing traditions.

    Oksana Yufa was born in Moscow, Russia into a family of physicians and healers. Oksana came to the healing professions from her personal journey and work with Toltec master healers and shamans, both here in America and in Mexico. Specifically, she has studied with don Miguel Ruiz (author of the Four Agreements) in the four year curriculum of Toltec Dreaming, and is active in the Cirlce of Teachers in this Toltec lineage. Oksana also trained with Mother Sarita, a curandera (faith healer), where she was prepared as a seer and a medicine woman.
More information about Dr. Gene Nathan and Oksana Yufa's work can be found at:

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #73 - 23JUN12

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 talk given by Robert Tindall at Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, CA, on May 10, 2012. Robert Tindall is a writer, classical guitarist, and inveterate traveler who has lived in England, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico. With his wife, Susana Bustos, he leads groups into the Amazon rain forest to encounter the indigenous healing traditions there. He and Susana have recently left Northern California for an extended stay in Peru. His book, The Jaguar the Roams the Mind - An Amazonian Plant Spirit Odyssey, is a journey into the vanishing world of Amazonian shamanism - an adventure of initiation and return - that explores the unique reality at the heart of the Amazonian healing system.
More information about Robert Tindall's work can be found at:

Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #72 - 09JUN12

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 Adam Dietz, Ph.D. with Mystical Positivist co-host, Nick Egan, Ph.D. Adam Dietz completed his PhD in Asian and Comparative studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies after living and teaching in Hunan, China. Adam's focus is in Chinese Philosophy; Confucianism, Taoism and Ch'an (aka Zen Buddhism), as well as Chinese Language and the philosophy and practice of Tai Chi Chuan. Adam recently published An Introduction to Confucianism: the Self-Cultivation and Personality of the Superior Person. He currently lives in Petaluma with his wife and four year old son.
More information about Dr. Dietz's work can be found at:

Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #71 - 26MAY12

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. Robert E. Svoboda. Dr. Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda (in 1980), and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training, his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda, tutored him in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore. After moving to India in 1973, he lived there for over a decade. Since 1985 he has travelled the world, lecturing, consulting, teaching and writing. Robert Svoboda is the author of more than a dozen books and audio works, including The Hidden Secret of Ayurveda, Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution, Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India, Ayurveda: Light, Health and Longevity, Light on Relationships co-authored with Hart De Fouw, Tao and Dharma: Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda co-authored with Arnie Lade, and the three-volume Aghora series, consisting of Aghora: At the Left Hand of God, Aghora II: Kundalini, and Aghora III: The Law of Karma.
More information about Dr. Robert E. Svoboda's work can be found at:

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #70 - 12MAY12

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 Peter Russell. Peter Russell went from being a convinced atheist to realizing a profound personal synthesis of the mystical and the scientific. He is a fellow of The Institute of Noetic Sciences, of The World Business Academy and of The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest.

    At Cambridge University (UK), he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Then, as he became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the human mind he changed to experimental psychology. Pursuing this interest, he traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation.

    He also has a post-graduate degree in computer science, and conducted there some of the early work on 3-dimensional displays, presaging by some twenty years the advent of virtual reality.

    In the mid-seventies Peter Russell joined forces with Tony Buzan and helped teach "Mind Maps" and learning methods to a variety of international organizations and educational institutions.

    He is the author of many books, including From Science to God: A Physicist’s Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness, The TM Technique, The Upanishads, The Brain Book, The Global Brain Awakens, The Creative Manager, The Consciousness Revolution, and Waking Up in Time.
More information about Peter Russell's work can be found at:

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #69 - 05MAY12

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 invokes the Divine Feminine on this occasion of the Super Full Moon 2012 (closest and brightest full moon of 2012) with readings from author and friend of The Mystical Positivist, Regina Sara Ryan's book, The Woman Awake - Feminine Wisdom for Spiritual Life. This show was recorded while co-host Rob Schmidt hosted a workshop at Tayu Meditation Center led by Regina Sara Ryan called, The Woman Awake.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #67 - 21APR12

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 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.

    In this interview we discuss her upcoming workshop in Sonoma County called Meetings with Remarkable Women and the nature and invocation of the Divine Feminine.

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

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #66 - 14APR12

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 John Welwood, psychotherapist, author, and one of the leaders in the movement over the last generation to integrate and mutually inform Western Psychology and Buddhism. In the 1980s John Welwood emerged as a major figure in the leading-edge fields of transpersonal psychology and East/West psychology. The former Director of the East/West psychology program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, he is currently Associate Editor of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. He trains psychotherapists in "psychotherapy in a spiritual framework" and "the healing power of unconditional presence" and leads workshops on psychospiritual work and conscious relationship throughout the world.

    John Welwood has published more than fifty articles on relationship, psychotherapy, consciousness, and personal change, as well as eight books including Journey of the Heart, Love and Awakening, Toward a Psychology of Awakening and Ordinary Magic. His best-selling title Journey of the Heart was the first book to lay out the path of conscious relationship, is widely regarded as the most profound book on intimate relationship available, and remains a classic in the field to this day. Toward a Psychology of Awakening brings together John's thirty years of work in East/West psychology, and has been widely praised as a fresh, original, and eminently practical integration of the wisdom of East and West.

    John's most recent book, Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships: Healing the Wound of the Heart, is the winner of the prestigious Books for a Better Life Award, which since its inception has honored over 300 titles and their authors, including Jimmy Carter, Deepak Chopra, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Stephen Levine, and Thomas Moore. John clearly keeps prestigious company, not least of whom would be his wife, Jennifer. They live together in Marin county, California, and offer teachings and workshops together.
More information about John Welwood's work can be found at: