The Missing Conversation

The world is divided against itself. So divided in fact, that the implications have the potential to be the tragedy of all time. Valuing the individual above all else is the result of human conditioning and not human nature. This is how it is but not how it could be. Each person taking small steps equals positive change to support survival on our planet. The idea is to be an active participant. Join us for ideas on getting motivated and inspired, not to get grandiose, but to be open and explore how the energy, money, and ideas you put into the world make all the difference.   It is important to make the connection that protecting our families makes it necessary to support the most destitute parts of the world to help themselves. To have opportunities to work makes terrorism and alienation less likely and unity more available. Skepticism is encouraged. Be deeply skeptical and then challenge yourself to use it to accept that our whole planet is endangered. Being a part of the change is utterly possible. The world is likely on the verge of dying or being born in a way that fosters connection, using our intelligence and wisdom. Every one of us is the one that is important to make these small changes. If enough of us can change our attitudes, we are so interconnected it will be a quantum leap. Listen for ideas on how to get started today, it's easier than you think.   Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website

As we move further into the 21st century, the threats to our country and the world are becoming increasingly apparent. We must take collaborative action to support world survival. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, the nuclear posturing by Putin, China's threats to Taiwan, terrorism, global warming, and the growing waves of corruption in the United States all demonstrate that the human race is facing significant risks. It is disheartening to see how our conditioning and history of endless wars have prevented us from fully embracing the gift of life. The possibility of living in a more interconnected way has the potential to be profoundly inspiring for everyone. In this context, Robert examines current events and encourages us to join forces to improve mankind's chances for survival and find grounded wisdom amidst the alienating conditioning that we have come to see as normal. It is vital that we realize we matter and that we can play a significant role in supporting peace and interconnectedness. It is time to act, both in small and large ways, without making any excuses. This is not idealism but rather a realistic approach to the trajectory of our survival on this planet, and how each of us can be active participants in creating a better, kinder, and more connected world. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Equal rights for everyone is something that our world has always failed at. However, this is the greatest opportunity in the history of mankind to wake up. We pay a deep and often unconscious price for our prejudice to continue to care only for ourselves and those familiar to us. Of course,  it's natural to care for our families, but, how much is too much? It is possible for you to move into greater balance to include more people and other beings on this planet. Even the smallest changes will make a humongous difference in our chance to survive in the world, be more whole in our hearts, and protect our children.  Robert and Dave explore how one of our most deeply rooted American ideals, that all men are created equal, is being violated with endless rationalizations, beliefs, actions, and attitudes. They discuss ways to move in a direction that will get us closer to this core belief in both small and large ways. Through Robert's psychotherapy practice for almost 50 years, it has been evident that treating others like we want to be treated is not something that is normally associated with mental health. However, this lends itself to the disconnection and increased loneliness we see in our society today. Expanding our definition of family to include more people and beings can improve our individual mental health and the world at large. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

The Missing Conversation welcomes you to the third and final installment focusing on the balanced use of medication. This is often the neglected side of the discourse surrounding  America's relationship to opioids. There are significant dangers on both ends of the spectrum being either too loose or too restrictive. Robert and Dave discuss how to optimize our best relationship with sleeping and pain medications that can change our quality of life immensely. Not only are we emotional beings but we are chemical as well. There is a lot of talk about the mind-body connection, but not so much about the psycho-chemical connection. We are much more chemistry than we realize. Finding a balanced use of medication is an act of self-love. Robert speaks to this issue in a way that few people can. After his kidney transplant 23 years ago it took him 350 experiments with his medication to reach a surprisingly peaceful equilibrium. It has become part of his lifestyle and through his experience would like to offer others hope to keep trying and advocating for themselves with the help of friends, family, and doctors. It is important to respect your own uniqueness in this process because experimentation more often than not will be necessary. Robert addresses the fear and hopelessness that often accompanies this process, and how to not let that stop you. Medication can be a part of our chemistry that can make all of our systems operate in harmony. If you or someone you love is suffering from sleep issues, anxiety, chronic pain, or trauma, this series of episodes is for you. Read the transcription and listen to this episode at The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Opioid abuse has been very well covered in the media. Here on The Missing Conversation Robert and Dave will look at the other sides of opioid and medication use. Carefully dispensed and given to a properly screened patient who requires it for better health can be a life-changing solution. The reality is, that the longer we live, the more inevitable it becomes that we will need to introduce potent medications, which may include controlled substances, in our routines. If we can learn to cautiously view these substances as a major ally, our chance of having a long-term quality of life is vastly expanded.  Robert and Dave spend the second episode on the topic of medication reform, asking you to inquire into your own patterns. What is your medication personality type? Whether you have an addictive personality type, are medication-phobic, are an obsessed researcher, or are balanced, Robert will help move away from black-and-white thinking. Find a more balanced approach to advocate for yourself and the ones you love with more confidence and perspective. Optimize what will be best to ingest with the partnership of your well-chosen and trusted medical professionals. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website

In this episode, Robert and Dave take the conversation in a new direction to discuss the crucial issue of using controlled substances for medications for those in critical need. At the same time, they will be suggesting guidelines and safeguards to prevent addiction while still providing pathways to find maximum relief and equilibrium for those with chronic pain and long-term sleep challenges. The goal is to find the optimum quality of life, which often includes the use of medications to alleviate chemical or physical maladies our bodies cannot manage on their own. This topic is more than personal to Robert as he pursued finding the right combinations of medications after a severe reaction to kidney transplant medications for nearly a decade. Through his experience, he provides tools to learn how to advocate for ourselves. It can also be invaluable to have somebody close to you that can guide the communication with doctors so we can best take care of serious life issues. The corruption of big pharma, as depicted in Dope Sick, has created an understandable wave of panic throughout the country. Robert and Dave address the effects this has had on the way controlled substances are prescribed for those with chronic pain and long-term sleep issues, and how we can navigate our way at these critical times Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

In this, “Best Of” series,” Robert asks listeners, spiritual practitioners, leaders, and mentors to reflect on ways to be more inclusive. He suggests modeling by those in positions of leadership to reveal how they integrate tendencies to idealize their own religion or spiritual teaching. Whether it be, meditation, prayer, or faith-centered, it can be helpful to their communities to show how they don't want to fall prey to using their teachings to unwittingly create an "us versus them" with other approaches. This blanketing of their challenging parts and an unwillingness to share deprives the practitioners and students of the advantage of seeing the teacher's deep wisdom in practice and how this can lead to superiority, rather than love for humanity. When we can be vulnerable and real about our humanness, doubt, and uncertainty this leads to a common identification with everyone because we realize we are all in the same boat. Nobody has immunity from life, death, or the challenges in between. Join Robert as he explores these challenges week by week and how to meet them with ever-growing awareness.  A full experience of reality includes a certain level of faith, wisdom, and belief, but it also needs to include our humanity. Humanness is not the denial of faith but the inclusion of our primal fears, confusions, any challenging emotions, and seeing the goodness and wisdom in other approaches. In Robert's view, it is very important to keep questioning, to stay curious, and to keep a certain amount of mandatory humility rather than false confidence. It is the ignoring of our exclusivity and compartmentalization that has led to war, alienation, competition, and endangering our planet. The stakes are incredibly high for our survival and our fulfillment. However, this shift is not enough if it is simply an insight, unless we also use more of our time, money, and resources toward our troubled country, the world, and unite with other approaches that are primarily focused on loving humanity and the planet. If you enjoyed this conversation please look for the full episodes in the show notes. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

As is finally common knowledge, homelessness is a massive and ongoing issue in the United States and many countries worldwide. This elusive problem has been a mission for The Global Bridge Foundation. In this “Best Of” series, we dive into the issue and explore how the Global Bridge Foundation is partnering with leading organizations and people to pave the way to make significant steps toward ending homelessness with evidence-based solutions to multifaceted challenges. You will hear from some of the most creative minds in the country who have dedicated their time and resources to ending the homelessness problem. Our current system for dealing with this crisis is not working. We can create therapeutic communities using public-private partnerships that bring ecological and cost effective solutions like regenerative agriculture, grid alternatives which teaches solar installation both in structure and solar fields, repurposed or modular housing, and job training right on site. This will allow individuals to utilize their skills to create products the world badly needs like healthy food or clean energy. The dignity this gives to the unhoused community, of not always asking for something, but also helping can be transformative. Contrary to popular belief, many of the unhoused are highly motivated to aspire toward strong financial performance and positive social change which are inherently connected. The tragedy and the blessing is that homelessness is quite solvable. Robert's dream is to create models of lower-cost communities that have job training and mental health services where they live and create a sense of belonging at the same time. Listen to uncover roadblocks and breakthroughs that can solve the problem and learn how you can get involved. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

In our second “Best Of 2022” episode, we look at what it means to “redefine success.” This set of year-end dialogues, specially curated by Robert Strock, shows how his distinguished and inspired guests have fully expressed, in their own lives, what it means to care for oneself, one's family, and the world. These are joyful excerpts that demonstrate how these unique individuals have integrated their life's work and passion in a manner that provides self-fulfillment while improving the lives of those around us and the world at large. The emphasis is intended to encourage you to look at your potential to expand in this direction no matter where you are starting from. Don't fall into the trap of comparing yourself to anyone. The key is to look at the next steps to enable moving into greater balance in your life, to accept—right where you are—and expand your capacity to care, recognizing that your focus on caring can expand day by day. The podcast encourages us to not be in denial about the challenges of universal insecurity, those of the impoverished, or our unique personal difficulties. Our country, the world, and our most wise self—for most of us—is beckoning us to include all of this in our contemplation and to motivate us to find how we can contribute, even in the smallest of ways.   This absolutely is not meant to create a guilt trip. It is tuning into the potential fulfillment of every next step and opening our hearts to see where we “get to” through the aim of love, practicality, and authenticity. This is a refined definition of success, and the key lies in our own authentic balance to take the time to guide ourselves. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Welcome to our “Best Of 2022” edition. Join us for this compilation that highlights some of our favorite moments and special guests centered around the idea of Psycho-Politics. Our world is at a tipping point where our sense of normalcy needs to catch up to the reality of our country and world. What's being proposed is to care for our families and widen our scope to reach out beyond our loved ones. It is perfectly natural to want to care for our relatives and close friends, however, continuing to only support our small circles perpetuates poverty, war, terrorism, and global warming. Receive encouragement, tools, and support from Robert and Dave on ways to increase the percentage each of us can reach out to the world to create ripples of positive change during this holiday time of giving and beyond. Although this idea may feel grandiose and external, the work starts from within. We are repeatedly creating wars outside of ourselves by not facing and resolving the war inside ourselves. If we are caught in our fears, anxieties overwhelm and helplessness, we are trapped. Learning to face our most challenging emotions can allow space to contemplate what qualities, actions, and thoughts will foster wisdom and healing. Together we can develop the capacity to be wise and caring responders to these challenging feelings. We all have the freedom to be in our traditional conditioning, to run away, to act out, or we have the freedom to ask ourselves, what is our best self and how can I help?  These questions can be an expanding catalyst for external dialogue and internal inquiry. If we can stay in this state of looking for solutions rather than reacting against the problems to find core universal needs, these billions of small changes will make a difference in the planet's momentum and our collective future. Thank you for listening. Wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy holiday. We look forward to greeting you next year with more great content and thought-provoking ideas. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

The Global Bridge Foundation wants to do its part to turn the history of mankind on its head. It is time for the wealthiest country to acknowledge the poor and give them work opportunities. We mustn't keep seeing them in inaccurate stereotypes as unmotivated, but giving them a chance to contribute and use their potential. As revealed through micro-finance in the world, the poor are very motivated to work, they just haven't been given realistic job opportunities. The wealthy simply becoming wealthier, and not reaching out to those that need it the most with job creation has created the infrastructure for pollution. By not serving the needs of the poor we have and will continue to divide societies throughout the world forever. When societies are divided, that is the perfect fertile ground for terrorism. So you see, it is much bigger than just bringing the bottom up. The work that Robert and Dave have been doing with The Global Bridge Foundation on the issue of homelessness in L.A. county has given them both great cautious optimism. Much more so than most of us realize, the homelessness crisis is solvable.  In this episode, Robert will present a variety of options to serve the needs of the homeless in a holistic and long-term way. He highlights some of the organizations that are at the forefront of this progress toward bringing realistic hope to everyone in the streets and those of us that are heartbroken seeing our society's maladies right in front of us as we walk or drive by. This may seem like a  grandiose claim, but you will see how we can economically and humanely give job opportunities, and housing and help the environment all at the same time. Robert and Dave are excited to share their passion with you and bring forward a project just about to come to fruition. If you feel inspired by this episode we encourage you to continue the conversation at The Global Bridge Foundation.org  and to reach out to the media and your local politicians. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Homelessness is truly solvable. The fact that it is a pervasive problem is a failure of creativity and practicality. Robert and Dave have been at the frontlines of this human crisis and will share with you some of the innovative and cost-effective ways this issue can be handled humanely with respect for all, including the planet, within the next 5 years. The nonprofit work that Robert and Dave have done through The Global Bridge Foundation focuses on bringing the bottom of the economic population up through the vision of creating communities with low-cost housing with job training and purpose.  This multi-faceted issue requires multifaceted solutions which Robert discusses on the podcast including, creating flexibility with agricultural zoning and land use. It is now well known that existing programs can use manufactured substantial modular housing and not just tiny homes at a fraction of the cost, and regenerative agriculture which the community will be trained on how to grow food sustainably. There are at least 10 different types of communities that can be created to optimize benefits by being able to specialize in specific needs such as vets, drug/alcohol addiction, single women, and families. If the same sector of the homeless community is housed together it creates much more affinity and support to those living there and is also more economical. This could be a permanent home for those that choose it, as long as they stay within the required structure of the given community. The tragedy and the blessing is that homelessness is quite solvable. It will require not just a change from our lawmakers but a societal understanding that like all of us, the homeless deserve a healing and safe environment with an opportunity to work. Through Robert's extensive work with homeless populations and as a psychotherapist for over 40 years he explores the formula to eradicate homelessness with dignity. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

In this episode, Robert continues to explore the lessons from select TV shows to look beyond the entertainment and use their stories to depict unconscious areas of our life worthy of examination with potential great benefit. All of the shows that Robert and Dave present can support us to break free from what we were taught growing up and encourage us to have individual contemplation with new insight. This individual contemplation is crucial. We cannot afford to be carbon copies of prior generations because we are facing a very imperiled world in the 21st century. Many of us learn much better through the arts than we do from words alone. Join us as Robert and Dave unpack the hit series, Dexter and use it as a tool for self-reflection and awakening.  At first glance, Dexter appears to be just another violent show. However,  as we are let into his inner thoughts and introduced to his alter ego, he turns out to be a very relatable and sympathetic character. We too are not perfectly innocent, and like Dexter have a dark side and an angry side. Most of us spend large amounts of energy managing how we are viewed by others. Being able to witness layers of ourselves, like Dexter observes his killer instinct, is a huge act of self-awareness. Where are you two or more people where you haven't admitted it yet? Dexter gives us the chance to witness his dark passenger without a negative attitude about it. This cultivated compassion in practice could play out when seeing a homeless person on the street and instead of being annoyed or assume they are unmotivated, perhaps a new curiosity about their story can occur. Before this show, Robert, like many of you, couldn't imagine rooting for a serial killer. It disorients us in order to push our capacity to think for ourselves beyond our conditioned ideas of morality. The series Dexter turns morality on its head and allows the possibility of falling in love with the unlovable, to relook at people in the world with greater compassion, and maybe just maybe fall in a deeper like with the unlovable parts of ourselves. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, Robert and Dave switch gears back to the series focused on a few shows that bring meaning and potential benefit in the media. Specifically, television shows that possess themes crucial to wake us up from the dangers that we are facing, prejudices we have, and ideas that support survival on the planet. Highlighted today is The Americans. We cannot help but love the Russian family that is portrayed as spies planted in the United States in this show. Not only how the main characters love each other, but how they love their kids. These relationships humanize them in such a way as to melt the barrier between them and us watching in our living rooms. The upper echelons of the power of Putin are as corrupt as it gets, representing the most disturbed leaders like Hitler, Stalin, and the worst elements of Trump. These authoritarian influences guide us into black-and-white thinking that blocks many of us from seeing how similar all of our needs and desires are as people.  The Americans takes place during The Cold War, under the leadership of Gorbachev in Robert's eyes, more than any other leader in America or Russia, he spoke to world peace. Gorbachev declared an innocence and a common responsibility to negate nuclear war. The Americans, as a TV show, revealed common elements that allowed universal humanness and collective responsibility to be seen. The key is not to see each side as equal, but to be able to see the fragility and the massive contradictions on both sides. We need to teach our kids that we too have made our mistakes and that it is important for us to be humble as a country to try and create as much unity as possible when our country and world are so threatened. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, Robert and Dave will wrap up this special political series with its 6th episode. American politics is infected where the truth no longer seems to matter. It doesn't seem to matter that Republican judges saw that elections were fair. It doesn't matter that there was an attempted coup in The Capital and police officers were killed. It doesn't seem to matter that we may be losing our right to vote unless you get involved more than you are right now. The truth matters and is the antidote. Robert and Dave speak not from the viewpoint of a party, but as democracy advocates in an effort to energize you, the listener, and maybe even shake you away from the very understandable denial many of us are in.   Robert takes great care to separate the rational Republicans from the election deniers that have gone along with clear and intentional deception. In addition to presenting the facts, using his training and experience as a psychotherapist, Robert explains the core psychology behind the current political climate. Unresolved anger is at a fever pitch. Our anger as a country derives from the frustration of our needs, most of which we're not even aware of, which has led to the move toward tyrannical power which is appealing to many. Robert identifies with this anger because our politicians have often misrepresented us.  At the core of anger is an unrealized need to create a society that is truly caring for the people. If this psychology interests you, we strongly encourage you to check out the Awareness That Heals series. If we understand the core psychology, we can wake ourselves up. Instead of being controlled by fear, we increase our capacity for courage. Instead of being taken over by our anger, we develop ways to foster peace. Instead of denial, we develop understanding. Democracy in its best form is not only individual freedom but also includes collective responsibility. There are so many reasons to be upset, frustrated, and angry because greed, power, and corruption are weakening our democracy and its ideals. We need to face the truth of what is needed in moving toward the equal opportunity to be housed, fed, and given the opportunity to fulfill our potential. This is only going to happen if Democracy survives and we are on the possible precipice of this great loss. We mustn't deny the truth of the benefits of real democracy and not be in denial of the danger we are facing. We need to revere the truth and convert our anger into a passion for justice.  Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Join Robert and Dave on the 5th installment of this special political series. Drawing from his knowledge and professional background as a psychotherapist, Robert illuminates ways in which it is both understandable and easy to be caught in denial in this crucial moment in US history. He offers a profound plea to shake free from the fear and anger that often unconsciously supports Trump and MAGA authoritarianism. We are in a new century where we must recognize that to be individuals in a free country, we need to get involved. Fast forward and see the implications if election fraud is normalized. Democracy is over for the world if we are not able to commit to this kind of fundamental truth to add up the number of votes in the country and honor the will of the majority of citizens. Fear and anger are the great distorter of history which we cannot afford to be in denial about it any longer.  Robert reminds us that our country had a significant minority of people in the 1930s that were pro-Hitler. This includes representatives of Congress. This parallel may help break our denial to recognize that not only are we going through it now but it's been with us for 90 years, if not longer. This is a long-term fight for our lives and our freedom and our ability to lead the rest of the world and not be run by a series of endless dictators. MAGA Republicans are committed to denying the truth in a vast variety of ways. To be precise this isn't identifying Republicans in general but specifically the Republicans that are responding, creating, and supporting massive lies that have been found baseless time and time again in the courts. The lies are so fundamental and blinding that it puts us in the same place that Germany was in in the 1930s. If your emotional reaction tells you this is too much, then you are enabling this to occur in our country. MAGA Republicans are not just telling white lies but black lies that could be the death of democracy and the birth of tyranny. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Welcome back to The Missing Conversation for the 4th installment of this Special Political Series. The election is just weeks away and the stakes have never been higher. If we do not attend to the deceptions, denial, and angry provocations that threaten our democracy, we very well could lose our fundamental way of life. Robert and Dave ask you to hear the call to action in their passion for passive Democrats, Republicans that are not in the MAGA group, and Independents to light a fire in your bellies and wake up from the denial of the reality of this crucial time. Violence, fear, anger, and denial have the power to condemn our world to devastation. Robert points us to the past to illustrate what is happening currently and the potential outcome if Trump and his authoritarian agenda continue to increase in power. Mussolini simply had to threaten violence and the powers of Italy acquiesced to his demands. In essence, that is what is happening now. In the episode, Robert points out the many ways in which this has played out. Trump's agenda will not support you and your family. He will support wealth, domination, control, lies, elimination of truth, science, our country's protection, and ultimately,  democracy itself. The degree of intimidation is unthinkable and unspeakable. The Secret Service had to stop Trump on his way to join the insurrection even though he would be violating every aspect of democracy. Trump has a long history of encouraging violence as a staple of his political rallies. These ongoing threats have taken the place of disagreement and discussion. What was before simply passionate disagreement is now a death threat. Robert and Dave hope to motivate you to get out to vote and inspire others to do the same. If there are enough of us, this movement can be stopped before it can cause more harm and violence. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.  

In about a month, The US will have one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime aside from perhaps the rejection of Trump in 2020. There are so many close races that every vote matters. Approximately 60% of Americans are going to have a candidate on their ballot that is an election denier, embracing the big lie of our time. The potential fall of our democracy is very real if the authoritarian MAGA party infiltrates deeper into our institutions to further weaken and centralize them. Robert and Dave want to make clear the distinction between MAGA and the more classic definition of those identifying as Republican. It will take the action of us all, Republicans, Independents, and Democrats in this crucial time. In this episode, Robert and Dave discuss this, as well as other key dangers facing our country. Robert uses his 45 years of psychotherapy experience to uncover the subtleties of the unconscious anger that is coming out in the rage and support of the Trump Republicans. Perhaps this can provide some understanding or compassion for how their anger is distorting their conscious mind but it cannot yet play out into forgiveness because we need to wake up and be the source of helping them wake up. The depth of fear to stand up against this authoritarian wave can be better understood in the context of the pressures of being a cult member. These overtly authoritarian views and tendencies that define Trumpism and the MAGA Republicans have managed to have a good part of our country beholden to them politically. A lot of the beholding to them is fear. Not only fear of not being reelected but fear of being utterly ostracized like Liz Cheney. It's so important that we understand that fear, anger, and denial are the roots of where we are and are the roots of dictatorship throughout the history of mankind. Don't let fear rule you. Let your passion and your wisdom rule you and guide you to the polls and beyond. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Robert and Dave bring their passion to the second part of this special political series to hopefully spark the light in you, the listener, to overcome any obstacles in your way to get to the polls and vote for those who truly want to be elected to serve us, our world and our country and not just themselves. Robert continues to illuminate the many ways electing Trump and his followers will lead to catastrophic consequences, the likes of which are hard to imagine and convenient to deny. Trump's open admiration of Putin, Kim Jong Un, and neo-Nazis previews the total danger our democracy is in. The lies are obvious and examples numerous, many of which are reviewed in this episode.  Are we going to be a country where one of our mainstream parties supports conspiracy theories, alienating our allies and NATO? The answer so far from the MAGA Republicans is yes. Robert and Dave are careful to differentiate the MAGA Republicans from the rest of the Republican party and see the goodwill as well as that of Independents and passive Democrats. This is a fight for Democracy and not just a fight for Democrats. Allow yourself to contemplate the implication of further expansion of Putin attacking other countries and the further dangers of China being given an incentive to do the same. Let it put a fire in your belly and then let it inspire you. Let it be part of what moves you from passivity into a passion not from anger, but sincerity. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Join Robert and Dave on this special political series to help shake ourselves out of a state of denial and electrify ourselves into action to enable sane voices to prevail in this upcoming election. Most Americans are in a state of shock because of Trump and the MAGA faction proliferating corruption and lies. Robert and Dave make a clear distinction that MAGA Republicans are seemingly caught up in their unconscious anger or are simply supporting a dominating power grab. The vast majority of Republicans and Independents are good human beings and this podcast is in support of you and asking you to see what's needed to support the quality of life for you and your children's future.  Many people have been misguided to operate from gut feelings that are frequently the source of denial. Robert too had a gut feeling early on about Trump. He wanted him to be someone that stirred up both the Democratic and Republican parties. However, he was rooting for somebody he wasn't. Looking at that gut feeling, he realized that what Trump was saying revealed a character disorder that was so severe it was Hitlerian. He was rooting for something that was a reflection of his stored frustration and anger throughout his life of wanting politics to be sane. These gut feelings misguide us in so many areas that it bears consideration to examine your own gut feelings and say, is this really true? It is so outrageous to imagine the US allying with Putin and North Korea but this is the reality we face if Trump and his supporters move into power. It is easy to want to tune out or withdraw. Alternatively, we need to get inspired, involved, vote, and donate because our very existence depends on it. This is not an election you can sit out. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, Robert and Dave explore the lessons of the TV series Homeland to illuminate one key aspect of what is challenging our world. All the shows talked about in this set of podcasts can deeply support us to break free from what we were taught when growing up in American culture and encourage us to contemplate this crucial distortion individually. We have our American perspective of being "the good country," while the Middle East is marginal at best, maybe even evil. Through its story, Homeland reveals the dangers of black-and-white thinking. Robert is advocating love for America while also pointing out how as Americans our view has been distorted in the way we have been conditioned. In Homeland, there is a Bin Laden-type character. The audience is shown how his son is killed in an unwitting attack also killing 20 children. This news was not advertised in the west and so the western world is completely unaware of his hurt and anger. This is one example, or many, of how we often do not realize a two-way street exists. There is a pure element that we Americans are not shown. Homeland reveals the decency that exists in the stories that happen to people that are in this version of the Middle East.  The show is profound because it elucidates some of the deep flaws in democracy and deep flaws in Middle Eastern religion and corrupt political enterprises, which exist on both sides. Both sides are guilty and there is also innocence. Homeland demonstrates the sane elements that exist in both societies. We are shown a very moving love affair and protection of both a dedication to country and a love of children from the Middle East side. This allows us to learn another level of the same lesson, that love exists deeply in both societies. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Robert will continue to look at the TV series 24 for its unique elements which highlight the struggle between being loyal to family and loyal and dedicated to supporting the world. In addition to that struggle, the show exemplifies the heroism of being a humanitarian and having your heart open to what is best for humanity. Beyond the glitz and the excitement of 24, we are looking to see what the deeper meanings are through the lens of psycho-politics, the 3 principles of which will be covered in the podcast. It is important to note that the themes explored isolate torture as being the one weakness of the show because torture doesn't work and is inhumane. Robert and Dave talk through the themes of 24 as it relates to taking care of our families and being more generous to the world. The show encourages you to imagine how this does and could apply to your life. If a sincere part of you wants to find a balanced way to love both your family and the world, then this episode is for you. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Today's show has a very unique focus on the TV program 24. Robert points out from the start that it is a potential danger for the public to idealize Jack Bauer and 24 for torturing terrorists. In contrast to this insight, Robert emphasizes there is a movie called The Report, which is a true story where America acknowledges that America tortured prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and that America gained zero benefits from using torture as a strategy. 24 is viewed, instead, at a completely different level of depth by Robert and Dave, revealing examples of how it could wake up a part of us that is all too frequently asleep. The storyline helps bring us in touch with the potential of mass death, nuclear war, and other world threats. It shatters a level of denial that we are safe for those that really let themselves face a level of reality that we're threatened by now. It models for us how to summon up the courage to look at and respond to what is needed for the greater good of our country and the world.  Robert highlights in this series the tear that exists inside us when we feel a depth of protection for both our families and the world simultaneously. The relationship between the character leads Jack Bauer and President Palmer spotlights a humanitarian partnership and continuous conflicts that arise between protecting the world and one's family. The depth of the characters in 24 is layered and multi-dimensional. Robert connects that like the characters, we all have multiple parts of ourselves. The conflict between these essential parts of ourselves may even inspire you to watch 24 again and look at how it might impact your life and its implications for living in the world when we open up our protective instincts toward risking parts of our lives because we care so much. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Join Robert and his special guest Erin Beasley. It is worth stretching our brains and hearts to comprehend her message and its potential positive implications. Erin is the Executive Director of the non-profit Ecosystem Restoration Camps in the USA. It is under the umbrella of psycho-politics that Robert welcomes Erin to the show because she represents it so well. Ecosystem restoration and better land management practices are one of the top tools that we have in our tool belt, anywhere around the world, to respond to climate change. These practices are relatively inexpensive and generally underfunded, but fortunately for our planet, gaining in recognition. The world needs us to take action and think about our potential to respond from a protective place toward the world. We are not going to achieve a healthy planet without asking how we can contribute in small or large ways, whichever is viable for us. Hear Erin's friendly nature and glimpse her unique perspective on taking care of nature through regenerative land management, ecosystem restoration, and good old-fashioned getting your hands dirty. Working outside in the service of nature is something that often gets to the core of who we are. It can make us feel better and more relaxed. It can make us feel empowered and motivated and a part of something larger than ourselves. Finding a way to get involved and be able to take action is part of unlocking our contribution to our community and the space we inhabit here on earth. Robert invites you to reflect on, what is my role? We have the opportunity to contribute in the smallest of ways to collectively have a huge impact. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Meet Susan Hough the woman and her work. Susan leads by example through vulnerable and courageous transparency by modeling the importance of honest communication, and awareness of self and others. You will see that she has an infectious generosity of spirit and is a very hard person not to like. She is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Wisdom Spring, a teen leadership humanitarian development program currently serving 7 high schools. Their fundraising efforts have thus far resulted in the construction of 45 water wells in Africa and India to serve marginalized communities.  Robert and Susan explore how to find greater inspiration and fulfillment. In their exchange, you can feel the depth of reverence they share for each other's work. They investigate the range in how some people are choosing not to give or even looking at their potential to support others and the planet outside of friends and family circles. On the other end of the spectrum, some suffer because they are not supporting themselves enough. Join the exploration of what your tendencies are with yourself and your community. How can you take care of yourself, be a leader, and awaken your contribution to the world?   Susan shows naturally how she loves young people and provides an atmosphere where they can drop in and see the value of working together and finding autonomy simultaneously by nurturing their individual talents and each others. She reveals a glimpse of how she sees and empowers everyone to be inspired to find what they have naturally as a gift to offer their friends and the world. This is an “expose” for teenagers, schools, and parents to see how they can be an instrument of healing for the world by finding and activating themselves to live to their highest potential. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Look forward to an inspirational conversation with the spirit of Buckminster Fuller and the practical programs and ideas of Robert and his guest Daniel Matalon. Daniel is the founder of Is There Enough, a provocative new conversation about the intersection of survival economics and social justice. Psycho-Politics, and what Buckminster Fuller called the world game, relate to very complex existential issues that Robert and Daniel make accessible. It is centered around our human responsibility to make the world work for 100% of humanity. The world is dysfunctional, but what would it mean to have the opposite of that, which is optimal functioning? The Is There Enough campaign innovated by Daniel is meant to inspire humanity and bring us to a more contemplative and practical place. If real wealth is survival and choice over time, how do we build that? Only by agreement. How do we not have to go to war and create that expansion? It is a very simple and elusive idea that both Robert and Daniel's work attest to. Mentioned in this episode Daniel Matalon Is There Enough Impact Launchpad Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website

Robert and Dave continue their spirited conversation in the final installment on gun safety. The attempt is to look at the most sincere elements of each political party. As they examine the details of what could inspire the country to unite the fringe extremes are excluded. Trump and his key supporters who are committed to the big lie, insurrection, and many illegal activities are not considered part of the solution. A vote for Trump is a vote that threatens gun ownership. The paranoia and fear that he has unleashed and the deaths and mass shootings that have been a result of the questioning of democracy and every institution are a result of his alternative fact environment. We must tone down this animosity through more programs and treatment centers to combat dangerous nationalists and the anti-democratic calls to violence on the internet and in schools. What will make democracy flourish once again is finding the balance between individual freedom and collective responsibility. The other major theme of this series makes the connection between gun safety and transforming the expression of hatred into strength.  For a more step-by-step breakdown of how to address transforming your own anger and resistant emotions please visit AwarenessThatHeals.org. When we become aware of what we need, we can learn to express strongly what it is that we are for rather than what we are against. A big part of doing this is not to demonize a large percentage of our population believing this is going to create more peace. This method helps navigate converting black and white thinking into strength to be for democracy and against anti-democracy.  Robert and Dave make an out-of-the-box proposal that is a new way of imagining people who have guns. It would require willing participants to go through approved training and psychological testing to become an additional layer of protection in the form of a militia in the way that The Second Amendment intended. There are plenty of people that want to do good. This would provide an opportunity for gun owners to become protectors. We want to create a sense of membership in the United States of America wanting to protect our democracy. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Welcome to part 5 of a 6 part series on the very important topic of gun safety. As one of the most pressing issues The United States is facing today, Robert suggests that a solid starting point comes from taking a close look and realizing that a very large percentage of gun owners purchase them to protect their families. When we can begin to see the protective nature l we can find a way to create more peace and meaningful conversations. Robert expresses the need to set strong boundaries for those individuals that are fostering violence and increasing the dangers of guns. Those that have violated laws need to be jailed. We need not get lost in hating them but rather, they need to be taken out of circulation. This means empowering people with guns to step into the responsibility of being protectors (with close coordination with police/National Guard) but also empowering our police departments so they are ready. Stay tuned as Robert will be addressing police reform in future episodes. There is also a responsibility on the part of the gun owners to recognize the unintended consequences that they don't see of the few enraged, mentally disturbed, impulsive, and untrained segments of their population. Trust is earned. Would you sit on a plane if you knew the pilot had no training or seek treatment from a doctor who did not go to medical school? These are minimum requirements. Why would we treat gun owners any differently? Robert offers the psychological perspective that until we have the best people trained to verify the credibility of gun owners there will be continued fear. These subject matters are inherently polarizing and can be overwhelming. It is easy to want to close down, however, Robert urges, we must continue to open up the best we can to face our collective fear, anxiety, and paranoia and then respond with balanced actions. Our democracy likely depends on it. The point is not to hit the guilt button but to hit the wake-up button and create a shift. It is not about taking away guns. It is about lessening the chance of death. See that if you have common sense, you will be able to keep your guns. Understand that they are valid for safety, but they are not valid in careless hands. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Robert and Dave continue to wrestle with the divisive issue of gun safety. This episode is part 4 of the series in search of the middle ground to make gun safety a viable possibility in our country. How can we avoid stereotypes to reduce the heat and the hate? As Robert focuses on creating a greater chance for peace, the extremes of both parties must be excluded. The fringe ends generally create more conflict than resolution. Former President Trump is in a completely different category. He is a danger to democracy. Nor does he have respect for the truth or voting rights. Trump fosters violence and gun danger.  Hopefully, soon, a wave of centrist Republicans will turn the tide toward a party more in line with Justice Berger and see the sanity in the original intent of The Second Amendment. Gun owners have good intentions to protect their families. This mentality could be harnessed to protect and support the police, The National Guard, and create an extra protection layer for our country. As you're listening, do you find yourself dismissing this out of hand? No one yet knows that answer but the podcast conveys that it is a worthy debate that needs to happen to imagine and create a country we can all feel safe in.  Join us for this spirited, frank, and honest conversation where Robert and Dave have a rare disagreement. How many people should be included in becoming gun-carrying protectors? Could it be 5,000 or 10,000, more, or many less that qualify for this peace corps? What is a healthy fear of creating a supportive force of trained and screened protectors versus danger and endless controversy? It is healthy to have fear and trust. It is healthy to be cautious. It is not healthy to be paranoid. It is not healthy to be hateful. The aim is the middle way. The conversation deals with both the ability to see into people's intentions and how to become safer with sensible gun control. All humans are vulnerable to seeing the extremes and we all would do well to see things in more relative terms. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Continue to break from traditional thinking with Robert in the third installment of our series on gun safety. This is a tough yet current conversation where Robert and Dave grapple with the consequences of the Democratic and Republican parties acting from the extreme ends of the political difference. Trump is an extreme and bad actor. He should be prosecuted and taken off the map completely. His vitriol and insanity are exactly the extreme views hindering the democratic evolution of gun safety in our laws and politics. The Democrats also possess the extremes as well. This podcast attempts to think outside the box and back into the center to find the humanity in each party and find a safe ground on which to work together.  The Second Amendment was intended to allow for the formation of militias as protection of the states against a rogue government or other rogue elements. Join Robert and Dave in their discourse as they imagine what the country could look like if we were able to return to this premise. The dominant instinct of gun owners is protectiveness. From this core good, join us in an innovative approach to qualify people who have that intention and harness it for greater protection. Currently, gun owners are being condemned by the majority of non-gun owners especially those that carry heavier weapons, which causes them to be in reaction. If they can begin to be seen for the protective intentions that they are following, they could be carefully screened to protect the greater good of innocent civilians that are now in danger from shootings. They may even start to become a group of people that will want to vote differently because they are being honored and seen as protectors. They may start to be the ones that want background checks and dignify safety measures if they are put in a role of responsibility. Robert explains from a psychological perspective that if you are raised in an environment where people hate you, it fills you with hate. It makes you want to be more violent. If we can see that the hatred against is causative in creating more hatred, we may be able to find a way to harness the pure intention. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.  

Continuing the conversation this week Robert and Dave focus on one of the many issues that are dividing our country today, gun safety. They look at the most sincere elements from each political party to take the best potential inspiration from both approaches to serve The United States. The extreme ends of the left and right are pretty well excluded from this discourse as they only seem to polarize. It is emphasized that President Trump and all those that helped him in the various conspiracies and violations to democracy are excluded. Robert holds a strong view that he and his accomplices need to be tried on multiple accounts and if what appears evident, they need to be put in jail. Instead, the show strives to strike a balance between individual freedom and collective responsibility to support our evolving democracy.  Thinking outside the box, Robert will be exploring an alternative narrative and a clarification of what the Second Amendment is trying to provoke. According to Justice Burger, the Second Amendment is about protecting states for the public good and the innocent. Between the years 1999 and 2020, more kids between 1 and 19 died of gun deaths than any other cause. Robert proposes that based on the assumption of the goodwill of gun owners a vast protection network should be created to be called upon in times of crisis. We cannot do what other countries have done. We cannot just buy the guns back. Instead, we can channel the goodwill of existing gun owners and harness it for protecting the whole state as envisioned by our founders. These podcasts are attempting to foster a well-regulated militia for the benefit of the people. Robert and Dave work within the framework of the state that the U.S. is in right now. It could be one of the keys that help heal the division between Republicans and Democrats. However, it is really up to you and me as citizens to start to loosen up our rigid black and white thinking to empower our leaders to take bold action. We need to transform our addiction to being against, to be for. Imagine with us, regulated, dedicated gun-owning volunteers overwhelmingly good-natured, heroic, like our soldiers, and willing to risk their lives for the benefit of the innocent in our country. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week begins a new series exploring gun safety as a polarizing issue in the United States. Robert's approach deconstructs the us vs. them mentality to assume both political parties' goodwill, innocence, and virtuous intentions. The process requires us to begin to think in shades of gray rather than black and white. This is as much the purpose of this series as gun safety, as one will naturally support the other, as well as our democracy.  What will make democracy flower is finding the balance between individual freedom and collective responsibility. In this situation, like many others, both parties are looking at extreme ends of the political difference and are ignoring the tangible, potentially reachable, sane, and safe ground. As you hear this podcast see if you are open to considering not being identified with only one party. As you do this, please eliminate former President Trump and all of the people that directly support him with corruption, flagrant lies, anti-democracy actions and attitudes. The series assumes the part of the goodwill of the Republican party that cares deeply about democracy, the whole country and the world. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Join Robert as he speaks with another extraordinary guest on this week's show, Dr. Paul Brenner. Paul has dedicated his career to counseling cancer patients. This has been the work and passion driving his life. He continued to share his unique love and wisdom with patients even as he also learned to live with cancer and profoundly accept limited mobility himself.  All the while he has maintained and cultivated a sense of wonder and innocence. For many the word cancer equals fear. His depth of acceptance of his illness is an inspiration. Dr. Brenner speaks eloquently and lovingly about the living of his heart's dream of becoming a doctor and how it has shaped who he is. The show encourages us to take a moment to review our childhood. Reflect on things that happened that made you decide what you were going to do, and see if you can remember your dreams. The conversation highlights that success orientation has so often taken over due to our conditioning but encourages reflection on that common longing beyond political parties, beyond countries that are so commonly who we really are in our earlier years if we were fortunate enough not to be exposed to trauma or negligence. This is a loving world when we can go beyond or even see beyond our defenses. We can access that potential by facing fear and opening ourselves up and helping others do the same, even with cancer. Join Robert and Paul as they explore this sense of wonder and help us apply it to our own lives. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, Robert is joined by a special guest Christian Cardoner. It is both heartfelt and moving to hear the journey of Cristian move through the dark night of his soul as he was profoundly touched when spontaneously faced with holding a baby as it died from hunger in his arms. We are in 2022 with more technology and access to information than ever before, yet this episode focuses on alternatives to the fact that there are still more than 500 million people who go to bed every single day with hunger. It can be difficult to sit with such a consuming reality. The cultivation of compassion can enable us to stay with what is uncomfortable and begin to ask ourselves questions that may move us into action. Here are two questions to start with. What do I see as the balance between giving energy and money to my family and the rest of the world that is suffering? What percentage of giving might I want to consider in this next part of my life? Christian Cardoner worked in banking and finance in his early years. He quit, feeling something inside him was intrinsically lost. At 33 he began to study philosophy, theater, and social anthropology. At the same time, he started to develop several interesting businesses including social impact investing. This type of investing makes the world the priority and profit secondary. It is difficult to put Christian in one zone. He is really a multidimensional individual who has contributed and studied in many different fields. His inclination to social anthropology took him to different places in the world. He found himself focusing on isolated communities,  and through this, found a deep knowledge of what the act of a grounded tangible compassion truly looked like. Compassion cannot be found by way of pity or not even helping, but passion with trying to live with everyone as if they matter. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, Robert is joined by a guest that exemplifies the essence of a psycho-political life with his relationship with the world. Adam Bendell is the CEO of Toniic, a global action community for impact investors. Toniic creates community, provides educational resources, and curates impact investment opportunities for its members. Adam joined Toniic from his role as chief innovation officer for FTI Consulting. He was also CEO and co-founder of Strategic Discovery, an electronic discovery innovator. Adam is an active impact investor, philanthropist, innovator, meditator, yogi, backpacker, motorcyclist, utilitarian, student of collaborative communication, and a lifelong learner. Here, Robert and Adam discuss the great work he is currently doing and share the seeds of change that led him away from the classic definitions of success. It also reveals how well this motivation dovetails into Psycho-Economics. Psycho-Politics can be broken down into three core principles. The first is to become aware of our tendency to externalize our challenging emotions on others. Instead, we can learn to relate to challenging emotions without letting them rule our responses. The effect of externalizing our emotions on others is to believe they are the source of our anger, distrust, alienation etc. This is a setup for war, divorce, competition, corruption, rationalization and much more. The first principle also reflects that It is natural to want to take care of ourselves and our family first, but given that this is what almost all of us do, we need to contemplate giving a greater percentage of our heart, time and energy to the greater world. Very few are taking care of the poor, the planet and natural resources. This leaves us at great risk of killing ourselves if we cannot see that our emotions are our responsibility. The second is similar to the first principle except it is related to those that have some extra money.  It is an encouragement to revamp our relationship to money and success as we consider how to care more for others by  increasing our percentage of sharing wealth from those that have some to give. This also highlights the realization that if those that have extra money, which is in the hundreds of trillions of dollars, don't make these new moves, then the chances for our planet's survival are deeply imperiled. The third is to ask ourselves, what is the balance for me between taking care of those I love and also the poor, the country and planet on which I live? We must continue to reflect on this for the rest of our lives. Join Robert and Adam as they traverse the many issues facing our world today with vulnerability, heart, and the opportunity to see their joy in giving. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, Robert is joined by a special guest and his step-son Brent Kassel. They meet with a sense of purpose and shared vulnerability here on The Missing Conversation. Brent is the co-founder and CEO of Abacus. Abacus is a holistic wealth management company that invests over 4 billion in companies and projects that, above all,  do not create harm in our world. A significant portion of the funds aim to help society and the environment directly while earning competitive investment returns. He is also the author of The Next Fifty Years of the Racial Wealth Gap, and What You Can Do About It, as well as, It's Not About the Money, which was named one of the top five business books of the year by Kiplinger.  Being faced with his own mortality after a surprise health event, Brent began to ponder, how much was enough? Engaging his wife and children he began a deep financial exercise to quantify this. Working with outside experts, including Robert, he began to work out ways to use the surplus to have as much impact on reducing suffering as a family could. Although Brent has dedicated himself to a life of giving, Robert and Brent candidly talk about the fears and complicated feelings around making these non-traditional financial and life decisions. As well as what's involved in contemplating and recalibrating what it means to have a good quality of life both for oneself and the greater world.  Philanthropy as well as a healthy life balance is directional. It is not about waking up tomorrow and being that perfect ideal version of yourself that you wish you were. It is not about radical change and doing it all in one month. It is about ongoing contemplation and directionally guiding yourself with this new kind of habit or muscle that you are developing. This episode encourages us to ask, “What is needed to optimize your most fulfilling quality of life?”  This includes your relationship to money and the present state of the country and world. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Jack Lampl graduated from Harvard in 1973 and has been dominantly involved in the nonprofit sector for the last thirty years. During that time, he has worked as a community mediator and president of two national nonprofits. The Threshold Foundation is a progressive philanthropic fund for wealthy donors. The AK Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems advances a methodology for studying the unconscious dynamics of groups. He now consults with various nonprofits, and psychological and religious organizations, pro bono for the most part, and is a non-ST board member of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center. Robert and Jack seamlessly weave their conversation around topics of psycho-politics, diversity, race, and inequity. These factors have effects on each of us that are both conscious and unconscious. Some unseen parts of our behavior often do not serve our best interests. This conversation is both insightful and introspective of Jack Lampl's journey on an unusual life and someone who exemplifies a psycho-political relationship with the world. The main point of this episode is to support you to get a clearer glimpse of your most sensitive self, and to expand your trust in your capacity to be of support to our troubled world.  It also can serve as an inspiration to develop your friendships to support what is most treasured inside you. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Join Robert in the final episode of the series regarding spirituality and religion. TMC continues to discuss the role of certainty in our religions and spiritual paths. Robert shares many of his own personal stories with his teachers to highlight some minor and major ways in which he experienced the dangers of certainty. How in many cases, the rigidity and demand for full compliance within the group ultimately led him to turn away from the communities themselves. While you listen, perhaps his experiences resonate with your own. You may begin to ask yourself, how much freedom do you feel you have to add your wisdom to whatever approach you are embarking on? A power dynamic is created when a leader takes on an almost superhuman quality and does not allow space for humanness and vulnerability. This can translate into anything as benign as the teacher appearing to have it all together or something much more dangerous such as sexual impropriety. You could hold the keys for your community to go to them and say, I would really like you, as a teacher, to be willing to share the human side of yourself. This image of togetherness or a persona of certainty of well-being is not beneficial to the planet because it makes us all try to seek a state of certainty rather than recognize we are all human no matter how spiritual we are. Robert envisions a new representation of teachers who would be vulnerable enough to share what their suffering is and thereby encourage us to openly and safely address our own. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week on TMC Robert focuses on the importance of seeing the dangers of certainty as it applies to religious spiritual approaches or even anti-spiritual approaches. It is like putting on a blindfold and not differentiating between faith and being 100% sure. Being open to inquiry actually expands our ability to create a deeper faith with humility and a greater more grounded sense of humanity. In addition, each of us has the potential inspiration of including our doubts as alternative views of how to love. It gives us the chance to learn how to love our extended world family and live beyond the bounds of our prior views and conditioning. It is not about criticism, but about the more inclusive vision that the doubts inspire. This kind of profound, not knowing approach is the ground that makes virtually every practice grow, stay humble and be curious. The world is so polarized that we must try to connect even to those that have opposing views. Our leaders are often so concerned about preserving their brand that they will be unwilling to expose their vulnerabilities. Robert candidly speaks about some of his experiences with his teachers and spiritual communities to highlight the frequency in which this occurs. There are real perils in certainty. Perhaps with this respect of both our faith and our doubts as a guide, you may begin to see the naturalness of no one path having all the answers and taking care of all humanity and the planet. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Robert and Dave continue the topic of spirituality and how our deepest beliefs affect not only us individually but the health of the planet as a whole. Robert believed at 18 that what he most desired was to become awakened. He believed that he could sidestep the fear and realness of death and firmly grasp the ultimate truth with such work.  He found instead a great reverence for not knowing and shares his deeper insight of cultivating faith with a healthy amount of doubt.  Doubt is what allows us to make space for everyone and a vast array of views. Humanness softens the edges of certainty to make way for empathy and inclusiveness, and this is what the world is most in need of now. To continue to remain uncritical of our traditions is dangerous by unwittingly creating a kind of exclusivity, superiority, and even callous indifference toward others that are not in our particular state of certainty. Every religion and every spiritual approach needs to be the protector of all of life. The exclusive boundaries are the only ones that are playing favorites. Here, we are looking at fostering religions,  spiritual approaches, and anti-spiritual approaches to develop character that cares about the world. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Robert encourages us this week to really do our best to listen to our most heartfelt selves. Let us bring as much realism as possible to our imagination of caring for ourselves, our nuclear families, our global family, and our precious planet earth. We have not been taught to do this or how to do this. In this episode, we are given guidance.  If we can expand our caring we can begin to embrace our global challenges. It is not required for us to be from a particular religion or spirituality. From wherever you start,  we can naturally expand our hearts and actions beyond the smaller group we normally give to. We are being encouraged, not out of guilt, but to check into our unique hearts and reach from there. To work towards being able to say, I've never met you, but because I realize the world and our country is seriously suffering,  I want to ask, how can I help?   We can then look for who we might be able to have contact with. As we are doing this, we must also look at our inner enemies. They come in the form of doubt, hatred, skepticism, or perhaps a fixed sense of despair, and withdrawal. Robert helps to coax us into examining and caring for these shadows. For these are the inner enemies that reinforce the outer enemies that we project. We are all capable of increasing our capacity for a good vibe, and that good vibe can translate into more tolerance and new actions. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Exploring the unconscious is really like mining for gold.  All the emotions that we discover that are challenging represent the potential conversion of the unconscious to what is most essential. This week, Robert and Dave discuss how to recognize and begin to work with blind spots in our own lives as well as within the spiritual institutions, political organizations, or other circles you may frequent. We cannot wait for our leaders to be the ones that will question the traditions that we as individuals are a key part of.  What we believe doesn't reveal the truth as much as all of us have thought. There is not any widely accepted teaching that educates on how to be looking out for spiritual bypass or premature spiritual transcendence. What this means is using our beliefs to cover everything, including our human experience. As Robert is a seeker himself he says, Yes! Go for your truest beliefs. Go for understanding. Go for them as totally as possible, but not at the expense of also inquiring, where might I be unconscious?  Where might my beliefs be unconscious?  When those are brought into awareness, we have a chance to develop courage, discipline, and focus identification more with others on the planet. We are all in the same human dilemma. As we are able to see this universal sameness exponential compassion and caring are made much more available. Let us explore together the parts of our lives that we may be avoiding for the benefit of those that we love and beyond. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week, like all weeks, Robert requests some introspection from his listeners. What makes this week stand out is his additional ask, not to just reflect on self, but to reflect on the institutions that act as our spiritual guides through this life. Topics include the seemingly natural interconnectedness of religion, spirituality, and humanitarian work. Robert takes us ever further down this thought path to delve into the original spiritual premise of loving your brother and sisters as yourself and the joy there is when we can share our excess and see the well-being in others. Some questions to reflect on personally are, am I living in balance as it relates to my relationship with money and giving? Does this balance between myself, my family, and the world take into consideration the dangers we currently are facing?  What does giving mean now when you compare it to other periods? Robert explains how when we are financially free “the sweet spot” fulfills and inspires us in a natural way without guilt to give and take care of ourselves and others. Join us in this thought-provoking episode of The Missing Conversation.  Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

Robert continues exploring the spectrum from exclusivity to inclusivity. He holds a mirror for us to investigate how some of the core religions, politics, our sense of self, and various other key groups we are a part of, where we find community, may be the same sources that unwittingly foster the experience of being more separate and isolated. As individuals, as we live our lives, we care primarily about ourselves, which is perfectly natural, that's one source. Another natural source of our love is caring about our families, so much so, that we limit our caring for others, those that are in poverty, for example. For many of us, how much we care and give to the planet and those most in need is quite limited and causes us unwittingly to pay a great price leaving many suffering and the world in jeopardy. This is true in multiple aspects of our society including corporations, religions, nations, and the spiritual world. Robert invites us to use this insight as an inspiration to look at our spiritual teaching, our religious teaching, and all other aspects of our life to move in a direction of inclusiveness and ask questions like, how can I move in a direction of inclusiveness and inclusivity? Let's explore together here, on The Missing Conversation. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

This week on The Missing Conversation we continue to penetrate into the dangers of exclusive teachings and the benefits of inclusiveness and unity. Gain insight with Robert and Dave as they open up about some of their early experiences with the charismatic guru archetype. They discuss the risks of blind faith in leaders who do not hold themselves to the integrity of their teachings and how seductive it can be to let yourself believe fully without any healthy doubt. If I just surrender here, all else will be taken care of for me. This podcast attempts to clarify for you the importance of looking at whatever spiritual approach you are most involved with and to notice the potential limitations of exclusivity that might leave out those of different orientations. You may also notice that you need to open yourself to apply these teachings considering others in a more universal, accepting, and inclusive way. Also recognized here are non-religious and spiritual traditions that have a greater integrity and encourage a life that is caring for all of our brothers, sisters, and humanity as a whole. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

All the messengers of the key religions have an immense value and a unique angle from which they have something priceless to offer. In this compelling episode, Robert explores the idea of being aware of our conditioning and offers an alternative narrative where we can both observe our own wisest individual responses to our lives and return to the core values of our greatest teachers. We often become indoctrinated in our religions and we are so frequently shown how to live in a way that is quite isolated from our hearts and simple wisdom at a young impressionable age. Potentially, the final expression of this separateness may be in the destruction of our precious planet. Let us, together, contemplate and re-envision steps to do what we can to be a healing influence in the world. Our survival likely depends on it.   Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

How much have you wondered about the purpose of your life? What's the reason for your existence in this world today, tomorrow and in both small and large ways? Perhaps, as Robert explores, everyone's purpose can be fulfilled if we really understand and live with a greater sense of inclusiveness. Simply put, it's a way of caring for people outside your circle of friends, your family, or your communities. It's caring for our endangered planet; it's caring for those in utter poverty and those who need our help the most. Our purpose in life can be simple, yet it requires a rewiring of what we have been taught — we must try to be more selfless, generous, and sensitive towards others.  Most of us who are religious by nature are often born into our religious choices. Our parents or communities dictated which religious teachings we'll follow, what traditions will be a part of our lives, and so on. Religion has an overtly social aspect — it fosters a connection between those in the same faith.  But this connection isn't as open towards those not within your religion or even those who don't conform to any religion. We've been brought up to view them as ‘others', people who are different from us in many ways. Unfortunately, rarely are today's teachings inclusive and encouraged towards the whole world. This isn't true to the root of many religions. The original teachings and our first teachers (Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Muhammed, etc.) all led lives of caring for others, no matter their religion.  We must strive for a greater realization and simultaneously focus on living in a way that values greater interdependence and interconnection while staying true to our original teachings and go back to the religion's roots. We need to join with others in spirit and move toward our natural urges to love, be loved, care, and be cared for. We have normalized exclusivity, unwittingly, in most of our religious traditions, and we need to actively realize, understand, and move toward a path of inclusiveness.  If you're wondering why? It's because this desire to care for others, for the planet goes beyond a moral imperative. If we are fortunate enough to see those that are living that way, it's clearly a path to be deeply joyous and grateful. Our unconscious does not care for our riches, but sharing our wealth, time, and effort to make a difference can help your unconscious feel deeply deserving. The key is balance — how much do you really need? How much can you live with, and what can you share — not spare — but share with others?  In the perils that we face today in the world, our very survival depends on this understanding, this oneness. Inclusive teaching and inclusiveness across religions, politics, and international agreements are a way for all of us to join our spirits, energies, and efforts to spread love and help our people and planet in need. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.  

On this week's bonus episode Robert speaks candidly to his long-time friend, fellow author, survivor, philanthropist, and therapist, Dr. Ken Druck. Ken lost his oldest daughter at a young age, entering him into a period of the dark night of the soul. Robert experienced his own version of hell as he battled back over a 10 year period from severe reactions to the medication from a kidney transplant. Their conversation centers on their experiences and on creating grief literacy for others facing dark moments. Learning how to embrace these moments with the most self-compassion and human authenticity as possible is their focus. And then guiding us on how to transform our suffering and growth into a benefit for our communities at large, in whatever ways are possible for us. How to sensitize ourselves in this direction is a central theme. Ken offers his “6 Honorings,” or guideposts of how to go on after enduring life's most difficult challenges.  In this conversation, Robert and Ken share their bond to each other and their commitment to being an influence in the world for good, because no matter what your pain is, you can embrace it and use it for a catalyst, to both care for it and the world. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.  

Almost every religion in the world says that its teachings are the key to helping humanity. In this episode of The Missing Conversation, Robert explores just how much of our actions match what we have to say about our religious teachings.  Pause for a moment and think about the percentage of our wealth that's going toward bettering humanity and the planet. Now, what percentage of that wealth is inclusive — how many people are genuinely struggling to get help, to be given work opportunities, housing and a chance to live in a way that can be dignified, no matter their religious and spiritual affiliations? Our society places a lot of emphasis on taking care of yourself, your family and loved ones, and then taking care of those within your specific community. Almost always in that order. But that means we don't use the resources we have to better the lives of others outside that group. So little of our time and energy is devoted to volunteering for those outside our communities — creatively giving opportunities to empower , people who need it the most but are different from us in thought, action, race, religion, political party etc.  The dangers of exclusivity in religion can have horrible consequences over time. We're already seeing how climate change is affecting our planet and how world hunger and poverty continue to rise despite the growing number of millionaires and billionaires. So when it comes to our religious beliefs, it is crucial to ask — is our belief a separatist one or a source of love towards humanity? How can we orchestrate our life's desires to align with goodness — good actions toward others.  Other than exploring dialogue with our religious leaders and encouraging them to be more inclusive in their teachings, aid, and understanding, we can also work on our individual beliefs. The key is to try to move beyond our separate sense of self, family, and religion.  Our intentions to help our fellow brothers and sisters in the world without only devoting ourselves to ourselves and our families can be rewarding in a very true sense. Your intention can be seen through your eyes, tone of voice, behavior, and actions — it's a glimpse into your quality of heart. Finding ways to treat others with caring, integrity, and love showcases your intention to move toward inclusiveness. The payoff is a sense of well-being, because when this comes from a sincere heart it is universally rewarded. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

". . . it becomes clearer and clearer that we're all in the same boat and failure to realize and respond to this will inevitably result in us all being doomed to sink."  In this episode of The Missing Conversation, Robert is joined by Mark Gerzon, founder of the Mediators Foundation. Mark is also a dedicated activist in the movement for a diverse, inclusive civil structure and transpartisan politics.  Robert and Mark explore the three elements of psycho-politics. Politics is human behavior, and it's not the best idea to separate the two as they are two distinct yet intertwined aspects of humanity.  The first essential element of psycho-politics is our individual and collective tendency to want to take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and our favoritism to those closest to us. But it's important to take a step back and see the bigger picture. If we are only taking care of ourselves, who is taking care of those in the greatest need? The planet? Our ecosystem?  Robert and Mark also touch upon our relationship and view of money and its impact on psycho-politics. We're called upon to contemplate how we really use our money — where do we spend most of it? Do we have a natural inclination to share some with those who are not close to us personally but come from difficult circumstances? If we don't have enough, what is our attitude towards money? Are we doing the best we can with what we have and how to give ourselves and our families the best possible life?  The third aspect of psych-politics that ties everything together is a contemplation of balance. How can we take care of ourselves and our planet together? How can we truly engage in the question 'What does balance mean for this year?' to care for ourselves and others while realizing the imminent dangers of economic inequality, global warming, war, etc.?  The two also cover their experiences growing up, being drafted for the war, initiating a draft resistance, and coming to an understanding of how to use their ideas to make concrete positive change. This is where we, as listeners and readers, can see how much of what we think, do, and feel comes from what we have been taught in limited ways how we can really take care of ourselves, those we love, and our planet.  Mark's varied life experiences — from his parents' heritage, religious beliefs, education, political leanings, and a growing understanding of the world — have shaped the work he has done throughout his life, does today, and the specific causes he works to support. These different aspects of his life meshing together are his connection to humanity, or as Robert calls it, a synthesis of the heart. Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.

If one were to examine and study the core tenets of every major religion or spirituality around the world, they would most likely find a shared sense of compassion, caring for others, and love. Yet, even with these profound similarities, people tend to view those not from their religion as different from them. In this episode of The Missing Conversation, Robert talks about the importance and benefits of inclusive faiths that share international values.  What does that mean? Essentially, Robert points out how most religions are united in their principle teachings. The faith that the students and followers of individual religions share common pillars and some significantly aligned values, actions, and attitudes. However, over time, these religious practices, traditions, and beliefs have taken precedence over core, humanistic values and actions.  There is value and benefit to being inclusive of other religions and treating them with respect and acceptance, and finding common ground to bond with each other. After all, as Robert says, “No one group has a monopoly on world love or compassion.” However, the dangers of exclusive religious teachings lead to blind spots that foster competition, breed mistrust and create divisions among us. We need to do our best to embody honesty, integrity, kindness, generosity, and love towards humanity — values present in almost every religion. Indeed, Robert also shares how his father, despite not being strongly affiliated with any religious or spiritual group, embodied these values by virtue of his actions, thoughts, and ideals.  Read the transcription and listen to this episode on The Global Bridge Foundation website.