Lucas Johnson on the Power of Nonviolence and Spiritual Activism
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Host Angelo John Lewis and guest Lucas Johnson engage in a powerful conversation about spirituality and social justice. Lucas Johnson, an ordained minister and Executive Vice President for Social Healing for the On Being Project, shares his deep global experience in conflict resolution and community organizing. Drawing from his global experience, Johnson shares examples of nonviolent activism from around the world. From South Africa's truth and reconciliation process to the American civil rights movement, he highlights how nonviolence can effectively bring about positive social change. Key...
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Spirituality and Social Justice Symposium
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
This Spirituality and Social Justice Symposium explores the intersection of spirituality and activism. Host Angelo John Lewis engages in a dynamic discussion with guests Shariff Abdullah, Lucas Johnson, and Cat Zavis about their experiences in social activism and successful projects. The panelists highlighted the significance of inner work and personal transformation in effective activism. They emphasized the need for individuals to engage in self-reflection, challenging systems of oppression while practicing empathy and kindness. They agreed that the collective exploration of solutions and...
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The Intersection of Faith and Activism: Cat Zavis on Spirituality and Social Justice
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Cat Zavis discusses her personal journey and insights on integrating spiritualism and activism. Zavis is Executive Director of the Network of Spiritual Progressives Cat and her colleague, Rabbi Michael Lerner, have worked tirelessly to build a Religious left movement in Israel, countering the religious right movement. They recognize the trauma and PTSD experienced by both Israelis and Palestinians and understand that Israel, as the dominant power, has the responsibility to address the unjust and inhumane situation created through the occupation. Having personally witnessed the devastating...
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"Art as a Sacred Calling": An Interview with Tasleem Jamila Firdausee
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Tasleem Jamila Firdausee, the executive director of Art as a Sacred Intiative, here talks about her Baptist upbringing, her immersion into mystical Islam, and her academic scholarship into the role of women in Sufism. She shares of her spiritual journey and the teachers she's encountered along the way, and illustrates them with readings from her two books, Black Baptist Muslim Mystic: from the Cosmos and From Mississippi Clay to African Skies in Search of Sacred Presence. By chance, this interview was conducted during the birthday week of the Prophet Mohammed. "There are traditions all...
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Talismans and Lucid Dreaming
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Dream Researcher Ryan Hurd talks about lucid dreaming and the secret history of using talismans to elicit lucid dreams. He defines lucid dreaming and its benefits, explores liminality and dreaming, and how to use talismans to facilitate lucid dreaming. Ryan Hurd is a dream researcher and life-long lucid dreamer. He edits the website DreamStudies.org, lectures internationally about dreams and consciousness, and is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Ryan has a MA in Consciousness Studies and Certificate in Dream Studies from John F. Kennedy University. This...
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"What it means to be human": an interview with Bob Dunham
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
For leadership authority Robert "Bob" Dunham, there's a fundmantal difference between machines -- even complex computers that mimic logical thinking -- and humans. Before we even begin to talk about effective leadership, Dunham says, we need to get clear on this difference. The capacity of “caring,” Dunham says, is the fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. "What's fundamental to being human is we are creatures that care. And so it's not only for leaders, it's for all of us as human beings. Our care is fundamental to our life experience. It's fundamental to our action. It's...
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Sleep Medicine: the Practice of Yoga Nidra
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Restorative yoga practioner Jennifer Piercy explains the philosophy of yoga nidra, leads participants through a yoga nidra session, and answers questions about dreams, sleep and rest. This is a recording of the 11/19/22 Sacred Inclusion Network Managing Dark Spaces exploration. The yoga nidra practice starts about 16:14, goes for approximately a half-hour, and is followed by questions and answers. Piercy’s sleep meditation tracks on the Insight Time app have been played more than 21 million times. An experienced Restorative Yoga Practitioner, she’s studied with Dr. Rubin Naiman, a...
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Restoration, Dreams and Navigating Dark Spaces
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Integrative restoration and dream educator, and yoga facilitator Jennifer Piercy here talks about yoga nidra, the importance of sleep and restoration practice, and the "wake-centric" bias of contemporary culture. Rather than view sleep as a necessary evil, Piercy suggests approaching it as a kind of spiritual practice and an invitation to explore the unknown. "Part of being at home in the unknown is that we literally need to practice being at home in the dark. And sleep and rest are both literally and metaphorically inviting you into that. I think of it as a superpower that people...
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Activating Egyptian Spirituality (Excerpt)
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
Marques Redd on African spirituality, the lure of Egypt, and what to expect during the 10/15 Sacred Inclusion Network exploration. Watch the full video here:
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Activating Egyptian Spirituality
The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network
African cosmologist, independent scholar and multimedia artist Marques Redd discusses African spirituality, the legacy of Egypt, and the tradition of the gatekeepers. Redd here explains he first became interested in African spiritualty, his academic studies on the influence of ancient Egypt on Plato's philosphy and 19th century literature, and how these studies became the basis for his intellectual, artistic, and spiritual work. "The reason why I'm attracted to African spiritual systems is that within them you can still see the remnants of these early understandings of what it means to be...
info_outlineAuthor, activist and renegade economist John Perkins traces his journey from Peace Corps volunteer to co-founding the Pachamama Alliance, a non-profit devoted to establishing a world future generations will want to inherit.
Best known for his best-selling book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, Perkins describes how his life was irrevocably changed when a Shuar shaman in the Amazon jungle healed his life-threatening fever. "He healed me by helping me change my perception...and he demanded as payment for having healed me that I become his apprentice."
Having graduated from business school before joining the Peace Corps, Perkins didn't see a future in becoming a shaman. So instead, he became an economist and, eventually, chief economist of a major consulting company.
His job was to "identify countries that had resources our corporations coveted... and then convince that country that it should accept huge loans from the World Bank or other organizations" to pay for costly infrastructure projects.
It took him awhile, but eventually it dawned on him that the game was rigged.
The result of the countries taking out loans was not "increasing the prosperity of the people...(but) increasing the prosperity of the rich families in the country, as well as our corporations. But in fact, the people were suffering because money was diverted from health education and other social services to pay the interest on the loans."
In this podcast, Perkins describes the common denominator of what he learned from his first shaman teacher and his work as an economist: that perceptions shape reality. Where once a shaman helped shift his view of the conditions he found threatening as a young Peace Corps volunteer, he later was also able to use data to persuade heads of countries to borrow large sums of money to pay for infrastructure projects.
The shaman he worked with taught him about the process he calls "touching the Jaguar," the key to shifting perceptions and the title of his new book.
"'Touching the Jaguar' means that we identify the things that are holding us back: our barriers, our fears...When we touch that Jaguar, we receive energy from the Jaguar or wisdom or creativity that allows us to change our perception. And when we change our perception, we then can take new actions that change reality."
That desire to positively shift perceptions is part of the origin story of the Pachamama Alliance, which Perkins, Bill and Lynn Twist founded in 1995.
The three and a team of others had traveled to the rain forest at the invitation of the Achuar, an indigenous Amazonian community.
"They came to me and asked me, 'will you help us touch the Jaguar? Help us reach out and join forces with the people we most fear -- you and your people. Help us create a partnership and alliance with the people we most fear so that we can help you change your dream, and we can all work together to change the this terribly destructive dream of the modern world that's creating a death economy."
In this podcast, Perkins explains what he means by "the death economy." He also gives a simple five-part series of questions that anyone can ask themselves to help them more easily get in touch with and actualize their purpose.
Perkins' latest book is Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear Into Action To Change Your Life And The World.
Links:
- John Perkin's site
- Pachamama Alliance
- Pachamama Alliance Global Commons (open community site)
- Sacred Inclusion Network
- Sacred Inclusion Network's Facebook Group
- Sacred Inclusion Network's YouTube Channel
- Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!