Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael Zimmerman

History isn't always written in the halls of government or on the battlefields of revolution. Sometimes, it's tucked into the rugged edges of Pennsylvania’s landscapes — like the Welsh Mountains of Lancaster County, where the Buzzard Gang built their legend. On a recent episode of The Spark, I sat down with historian and criminal justice expert Michael Zimmerman to explore the dark and fascinating legacy of this infamous local family of outlaws. Zimmerman, who grew up on the edge of the Welsh Mountains himself, has spent decades researching the Buzzards — a group of six brothers and their extended gang who terrorized southeastern Pennsylvania from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠It's YOUR time to #EdUpIn this episode, President Series #350,  (Powered By ⁠⁠⁠Ellucian⁠⁠⁠), & brought to YOU by Ellucian LIVE 2025 & HigherEd PodConYOUR guest is Michael Zimmerman, President, CampusYOUR host is Dr. Laurie Shanderson⁠⁠⁠, Host, ⁠⁠⁠EdUp Accreditation InsightsHow does a family legacy evolve into a national online innovator?Why is faculty quality crucial for student success?How are institutions integrating traditional & digital education?What role does measured transformation play in institutional change?Why must community relationships remain strong during rebranding?Topics include:Transforming a 60-year family institutionPartnering with tech innovationBuilding quality online programsMaintaining employer relationshipsFuture of personalized educationListen in to #EdUpDo YOU want to accelerate YOUR professional development?Do YOU want to get exclusive early access to ad-free episodes, extended episodes, bonus episodes, original content, invites to special events, & more?Then ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BECOME A SUBSCRIBER TODAY⁠⁠ - $19.99/month or $199.99/year (Save 17%)!Want to get YOUR organization to pay for YOUR subscription? Email ⁠⁠⁠EdUp@edupexperience.comThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Elvin Freytes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Joe Sallustio⁠⁠⁠⁠● Join YOUR EdUp community at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The EdUp Experience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!We make education YOUR business!

This month we have another Best of Cork Talk episode, featuring Michael Zimmerman of Junius Lindsay Vineyard in Welcome, NC! In this episode, we pay tribute to Michael who passed away on September 12, 2024. Over the years, we grew to appreciate our friendship with Michael as each visit brought something new. Junius Lindsay isContinue reading →

Hi everyone and welcome back to the last episode live from the Velocity invitational at Sonoma Raceway. In part 3, we chat with the head of strategy and rally driver Josie Rimmer of Dirtfish, Sotheby's Motorsport sales specialist Michael Zimmermann and videographer and friend to the pod Derek Jones. It is truly a fantastic way to wrap up the weekend in Sonoma, which was full of excitement, passion and enthusiasm. I speak for every guest of the last 3 parts when I say this is one of the premiere automotive events in the world. It will return for its 6th edition in June 2025 once more at Sonoma and I highly recommend to everyone to attend. Massive thank you to Josie, Michael and Derek as well as every guest from the first two parts for participating and special thanks again to Kahn Media for allowing me to be boots on the ground. Enthusiasts never die!

Jacob and Special Guest David Zahl (who's filling in for Aaron) take a look at the readings for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, which are Proverbs 31:10-31, James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a, and Mark 9:30-37. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Michael Zimmerman.

Jay Seegert is the founder - managing director for The Starting Point Project. He holds degrees in both Physics and Engineering Technology. Jay is an international speaker and author.--This coming Monday, February 12th, is the birthday of Charles Darwin who was born in 1809. This is the same day as Lincoln's birthday, but unlike the former president, Darwin was a promoter of evolution and his teachings have been promoted throughout society, especially in educational settings and museums. Sadly, this theory has also been adopted by many churches and religious organizations.--Back in 2004, a man named Michael Zimmerman was engaged in a battle against a school district in Wisconsin because he didn't like creation being taught. He brought approximately 200 clergy together to sign a letter to the school board. As a result, they retracted their policies regarding the teaching of creation.--Zimmerman was encouraged by this and others encouraged him to take this nationwide, so he started the Clergy Letter Project. The goal was to get churches to celebrate evolution on the Sunday closest to Darwin's birthday. So from 2006 to 2007 they celebrated what was called, -Evolution Sunday.- That was expanded to -Evolution Weekend- from 2008-2022. Then last year it was changed to -Religion and Science Weekend.- --This program covers who Charles Darwin was and what he believed, evolution's undeniable racist thread, the biblical problems with evolution, and the unfortunate attempt at syncretism that's causing some churches to fall prey to this errant teaching.

Jay Seegert is the founder - managing director for The Starting Point Project. He holds degrees in both Physics and Engineering Technology. Jay is an international speaker and author.--This coming Monday, February 12th, is the birthday of Charles Darwin who was born in 1809. This is the same day as Lincoln's birthday, but unlike the former president, Darwin was a promoter of evolution and his teachings have been promoted throughout society, especially in educational settings and museums. Sadly, this theory has also been adopted by many churches and religious organizations.--Back in 2004, a man named Michael Zimmerman was engaged in a battle against a school district in Wisconsin because he didn't like creation being taught. He brought approximately 200 clergy together to sign a letter to the school board. As a result, they retracted their policies regarding the teaching of creation.--Zimmerman was encouraged by this and others encouraged him to take this nationwide, so he started the Clergy Letter Project. The goal was to get churches to celebrate evolution on the Sunday closest to Darwin's birthday. So from 2006 to 2007 they celebrated what was called, -Evolution Sunday.- That was expanded to -Evolution Weekend- from 2008-2022. Then last year it was changed to -Religion and Science Weekend.- --This program covers who Charles Darwin was and what he believed, evolution's undeniable racist thread, the biblical problems with evolution, and the unfortunate attempt at syncretism that's causing some churches to fall prey to this errant teaching.

Michael Zimmerman chronicles the painful story of two families built on one lie, forever linked through betrayal, infidelity and bigamy. Then, after hitting rock bottom, Mike becomes a father of his own, and soon discovers something more powerful than the lies; a story of resilience, recovery and hope. In Michael's Words... “Looking back now, there were always red flags – signs that my father was not the man we thought he was…his absence on holidays, his secrecy, and the constant excuses that took him out of town. It's human nature to trust the people we love. But that's what makes my father's betrayal so heinous. He took advantage of the trust that the people who loved him had invested in him. It wasn't simply infidelity. No, my father's deceit was truly sociopathic. He built and designed our entire identity as a family – our lives – to facilitate his deceit. The truth, when we finally learned it, not only fundamentally changed our family moving forward, it tainted every memory we had together.”

Published: November 15, 2021 In celebration of Vocation Awareness Week, Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend invited Fr. Michael Zimmerman, who currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and as an adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. With the heart of a teacher, Fr. Michael was inspired to create a systematic discernment program for young men drawing from the wisdom that he received as part of his own formation. During the pandemic lockdown in May 2020, Fr. Michael scripted 27 episodes which are now part of a video series called Scivias. Filmed in a way that captures many of Fr. Michael's own interests, such as rock climbing, track and field, art, drawing, and of course, the city of Boston. Fr. Michael hopes others can identify with his journey and recognize how pursuing God's plan for their lives will fulfill their greatest desires.Scivias Know the Ways of the Lord is a one-of-a-kind video series that serves as a vocational discernment guide for men considering the priesthood. The series is written and narrated by Fr. Michael Zimmerman, Assistant Director of the Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Boston. Designed to help young men recognize how pursuing God's plan for their lives will fulfill their greatest desires, the 27-episode series was released in April 2021. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT SCIVIAS “Thank you Father, this series has really helped me discern.” “These videos are great. Thank you, and keep up the good work.” “I am now exactly 10 years into my priesthood, praise be to God. I loved your video and will be looking forward to more. Subscribed!” “I am a teen who's leaving high school next year, and I hope this series will help with my discernment. Thank you!” Watch the video presentation of this discussion https://youtu.be/BZc72N72v94 Recorded: November 5, 2021 Don't miss Changing Our World's FORGING FORWARDDon't miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you nonprofit experts from around the country who are leading through the COVID-19 crisis. Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin's Crosses” Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin's Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today's Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin's Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Suburban Bigamy is the name of Michael Zimmerman's memoir about finding out at age 42 that his father had another wife and family just a few suburbs away. A great book, which I think would make an incredibly meaningful movie! Here is my interview with Michael. Learn more: https://suburban-bigamy.com/

The 33rd Annual State of Logistics Report noted that business inventories dropped to near historic lows. Michael Zimmerman examines supply chains and global logistics. He discusses how the global supply chain has changed due to the pandemic, as well as the best positioned parts of the global supply chain. He also talks about how a recession would impact logistics highlighting transport stocks ODFL, UPS, FDX, JBHT, and CHRW. Tune in to find out more.

Apr 19, 2022 - Fr. Michael Zimmerman, who currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and as an adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. He is the creator of the video series: “Scivias”, which is designed to help young men recognize how pursuing God's plan for their lives will fulfill their greatest desires. Scivias: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGjC2Of_y01dtHvkEYnd6zQ  Listen live or get the podcast on the Veritas app: https://www.veritascatholic.com/listen 

Fr. Michael Zimmerman is a Catholic priest, artist, athlete, and writer who is assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. He is the creator of the Scivias video series, a vocational discernment guide. Follow Fr. Michael and the Scivias Video Series: • https://vocationsboston.org/ • Scivias Video Series: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGjC2Of_y01dtHvkEYnd6zQ Support this podcast! https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E356519&id=2

Our guest for this episode of Follow to Lead is Fr. Michael Zimmerman, who currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. When the world went into lockdown with the pandemic in the Spring of 2020, Fr. Michael used that time to write 27 scripts for a series of vocation videos called Scivias. This video series serves as a guide for men discerning the priesthood. These videos make great resources for schools in their work of inviting young men to discern whether God may be calling them to Holy Orders.

If you wait for certainty before acting, you will rarely ever act. More often, it is action that leads to certainty. We might expect to find a saying like that on an inspirational poster or as the takeaway from a motivational talk. But we might be surprised, challenged, and invigorated to consider such wisdom when approaching discernment, especially discernment of the priesthood. Rather than waiting for certainty to take the first step, start taking steps and build toward certainty. This, in a way, is the approach of a new guide to discernment produced by the Archdiocese of Boston, in the form of a series of short videos under the title “Sciavias: Know the Way of the Lord.” The creator of the series is Fr. Michael Zimmerman, assistant vocations director in the archdiocese, who joins me today to discuss discernment, the sanctification of time and place, and discovering true intimacy in the Christian life.

Father Michael Zimmerman joins us to discuss the Scivias video series, which is helping men discern their vocations all across the globe. We also discuss why vocations are essential to the mission of the church. For more on Scivias, visit https://vocationsboston.org/ or their YouTube channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCGjC2Of_y01dtHvkEYnd6zQFr. Michael Zimmerman was ordained to the priesthood in 2017 and currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. With the heart of a teacher, Fr. Michael was inspired to create a systematic discernment program for young men drawing from the wisdom that he received as part of his own formation. During the pandemic lockdown in May 2020, Fr. Michael scripted 27 episodes which are now part of a video series called Scivias. Filmed in a way that captures many of Fr. Michael's own interests such as rock climbing, track and field, art, drawing, and of course the city of Boston, Fr. Michael hopes others can identify with his journey and recognize how pursuing God's plan for their lives will fulfill their greatest desires.

In celebration of Vocation Awareness Week, Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend invited Fr. Michael Zimmerman, who currently serves as assistant The post 109. Fr. Michael Zimmerman – Scivias appeared first on Advancing Our Church .

Father Michael Zimmerman is the assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston, and the creator of the new Scivias film series. His goal is to help every Catholic do a better job of discerning the will of God - whether to a particular vocation of the priesthood, or in general in life. In this episode, we discuss what we can do as practicing Catholics to really get back into touch with God's will. Whether you're a young man trying to discern a vocation, a married man trying to raise children, or an older gentleman trying to figure out what is next, Father Michael has advice for you! You can check out Father Michael at the Vocations Boston facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/VocationsBoston/ You can watch the Scivias video series at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGjC2Of_y01dtHvkEYnd6zQ

Happy National Vocations Awareness Week! To help raise awareness, I am so very pleased to share this week's Say Yes to Holiness 1 on 1 Conversation podcast episode that I had with Father Michael Zimmerman, Assistant Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. Our conversation revolved around responding to God's invitation to holiness, discerning one's vocation, discussion of Fr Michael's innovative use of YouTube to help provide accompaniment to those discerning, some simple things parents can do to make the home a place where discernment naturally occurs, and also some things NOT to say to someone discerning a religious vocation! Fr. Michael Zimmerman was ordained to the priesthood in 2017 and currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. With the heart of a teacher, Fr. Michael was inspired to create a systematic discernment program for young men drawing from the wisdom that he received as part of his own formation. During the pandemic lockdown in May 2020, Fr. Michael scripted 27 episodes which are now part of a video series called Scivias. Filmed in a way that captures many of Fr. Michael's own interests such as rock climbing, track and field, art, drawing, and of course the city of Boston (!), Fr. Michael hopes others can identify with his journey and recognize how pursuing God's plan for their lives will fulfill their greatest desires. Throughout our conversation, Fr Michael shared his own story of discernment and the reality that every vocation has to begin with a relationship with Christ, which of course, led into a discussion of growing in holiness! I can't tell you how much I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Fr. Michael, and I pray you receive much hope, inspiration and encouragement as I did so you may continue doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to continue to deepen your relationship with Christ so you can embrace the fullness of your vocation. You can also check out the podcast interview here on the Say Yes to Holiness YouTube channel For access to all the videos for Scivias and download the accompanying guide, visit: https://vocationsboston.org/parish-vocation-resources#sciviasForm To read Fr Michael's article, you can go here: "7 Things Not To Say To Someone Discerning A Religious Vocation" To contact Fr Michael, email: mzimmerman@rcab.org For more information: http://www.sayyestoholiness.com On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sayyestoholiness/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sayyestoholiness On Twitter: semcsem On Clubhouse: csemmens www.christinasemmens.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sayyestoholiness/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sayyestoholiness/support

On this edition of the Iowa Business Report: Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend discusses proposed changes to help move people from "un-employment" to "re-employment".The economic outlook for Iowa and other Midwest states is strong, but business confidence remains low.And in this week's "Business Profile", we meet Michael Zimmerman of Rip Roar Events in Des Moines. For more, go to totallyiowa.com and click on the "radio programs" link.    Presented by Advance Iowa, on line at advanceiowa.com. Search for "Advance Iowa" on LinkedIn and Facebook, as well.

Fr. Michael Zimmerman was ordained to the priesthood in 2017 and currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary. With the heart of a teacher, Fr. Michael was inspired to create a systematic discernment program for young men drawing from the wisdom that he received as part of his own formation. During the pandemic lockdown in May 2020, Fr. Michael scripted 27 episodes which are now part of a video series called Scivias. Filmed in a way that captures many of Fr. Michael's own interests such as rock climbing, track and field, art, drawing, and of course the city of Boston, Fr. Michael hopes others can identify with his journey and recognize how pursuing God's plan for their lives will fulfill their greatest desires.

Anne DeSantis talks with Fr. Michael Zimmerman on this episode of Sewing Hope

How does a mass-gathering business that specializes in youth triathlons, running events and other activities you can't do in a pandemic stay engaged with its athletes and community? If you're Michael Zimmerman of RipRoar Events in Des Moines, Iowa, you create and sell “dumpster fire” medals to honor people just for making it through the year 2020. Michael joins the EB & Flow podcast, along with Eide Bailly Partner Blake Crow, to talk about: • How he turned his passion into a business • Strategies he's utilized to make it through last year • How he's navigating being a small business on the cusp of deciding how to scale it Contact us if you have any questions about the topic of this episode or to inquire about any business challenges you are experiencing. https://www.eidebailly.com/ebflow

Fr. Michael Zimmerman, a diocesan priest of the Boston Archdiocese, sits down with the show producer to discuss his vocation story, and most recent project, Scivias. Fr. Zimmerman helped launch a vocational video series on discernment for the archdiocese, and larger Catholic world. Catch a glimpse into this new series, and hear Fr. Zimmerman's hopes for its fruits in those discerning religious life. Learn more about Scivias: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN5SiolYscw Follow us on Instagram: @speaklordpodcast Use the hashtag #speaklordpodcast​ Stay Blessed!

Fr. Michael Zimmerman, assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John's Seminary tells us about a new vocational video series called Scivias. Forgotten Dreams - Scivias Trailer Shepherd of Souls - Scivias Teaser Scivias: Episode 1

This week's guest is Michael Zimmerman, founder of RipRoar Events, Iowa's largest endurance event production company. Obsessed with endurance sports since the age of five, Michael has built an enterprise around his love for challenging communities to go further, or faster, or find the entertainment in suffering.But it wasn't always that way - Michael worked tirelessly for years (sometimes for free) to gain experience and a deeper understanding of the endurance events industry. After years of hard work and making notes of what he would do differently if given the chance, he finally took the leap and started his own company; RipRoar Events.“When you're starting a business, a big component is: could you do it better? Is the X factor something you can contribute to? Is the X factor you?”Over the last six years, Michael and his team at RipRoar Events have continued to prove themselves as the X factor and as experts in what they do. They own and operate three of Des Moines largest race events and are able to bring the community together for incredible experiences in unique ways. When 2020 hit and halted the live event industry, Michael and his team knew they had two choices: hide and wait, or innovate and do something different.Tune in for topics like:The importance of knowing your WHYHow a business plan Michael made in college came in handy down the lineWhy it's important to identify the X factor in any situationWhy saying yes to everything isn't always the best strategyA behind-the-scenes look at the details that go into planning a running experienceLinks from the episode: Check out each of the RipRoar Events:Des Moines Women's Half MarathonEMC Dam to DSMDes Moines Turkey TrotFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!Thank you for listening, friend. See you in the next episode!

On episode #35 of the Green Root Podcast, host and Ken Wilber stunt double, Josh Schlossberg, goes deep inside human consciousness with Michael E. Zimmerman, Ph.D., co-author (with Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Ph.D.) of Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World, to explore Integral theory, biocentric lines of adult human development, and “The 8 Eco-Selves.”

Diane was the first Director of the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the Utah Judiciary, where she established mediation programs throughout the court system. She has mediated a broad range of disputes and transactions including divorces, probate, employment, contracts, and multi-party negotiations. She works with consummate ease in a variety of settings including private industry, governmental agencies and non-profit and of course individuals. She is well known as an innovator in dialogues, especially conversations about culture, religion, race and gender relations. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards for her work in this area, including the Peter W. Billings Award from the Utah State Bar, the Utah Council on Conflict Resolution Peacekeeper Award, the Judicial Administration Award and Friend of the Court, and most recently, the 2016 Peacemaker Award from the BYU Center for Conflict Resolution. Diane has been a practitioner of meditation for over 35 years. Diane began her studies at Naropa University in 1983 with Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche, and became a Zen student in 1997. In 2003, she received ordination as a Zen monk with her husband Michael Zimmerman, and received dharma transmission from Genpo Roshi in 2006. For her, Zen practice is a fundamental commitment to experiencing reality as it is — beautiful, ungraspable and seamless. Diane facilitates Big Mind Big Heart, a process developed to help elicit the insights of Zen in Western audiences. Diane is considered a pioneer in articulating and applying the insights of an Integral Life Practice based on work of Ken Wilber. Since 2004, she has worked with Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute in Denver, Colorado. In 2008, Diane co-founded Two Arrows Zen, a center for Zen study and practice in Salt Lake City and Torrey, Utah with her husband Michael Mugaku Zimmerman. She is the Executive Director of Two Arrows Zen and co-founder of the Integral Facilitator, a training program oriented to personal development and advanced facilitator skills. Diane is the author of Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution, (2013, Shambhala Publications) and The Zen of You and Me: A Guide to Getting Along with Just About Anyone (March 2017, Shambhala Publications). Her next book, co-authored with Gabriel Wilson and Kimberly Loh is Compassionate Conversations: How to Speak and Listen from the Heart, in-press with Shambhala Publications and scheduled for release in May, 2020.

Episode 24 features 2004 Newcath grad, Michael Zimmerman, who was a basketball great for the Thoroughbreds before going on to play at Park University in Missouri. After his playing days, Michael went to the UC College of Law and is currently an Assistant Commonwealth Prosecuting Attorney in Campbell County. Michael is a fighter for the people in his community, the same as he was in his playing days. An awesome and impressive young man. Enjoy!

“I want to broaden my awareness of the world because it's a richer place in every moment. And the more I reach, the more I sensitize myself to what's going on around me.” In this interview, explore building habits to:• Stay open and sensitive to who you are at the moment, as opposed to what the culture you're immersed in says you should be doing. Ask yourself, “Is there something that feels more harmonious?”• Have curiosity about how structures work. Pay attention to what's happening in the moment -- Is it a physical sensation? An emotional sensation? Plus:• Discover that the habit of watching your habits is an excellent habit itself. • Learn to ask: What drives you? What do you believe in and are here to support? How do you change your response to your environment – your habits – in order to be in harmony with what drives you?• Explore the difference between hoping and intending: Hoping is a wish that doesn't galvanize you as a person or bring your will into play; intending is a choice and directs your action. And:• On the heart side, create a sense of loving connection with everything, for that's when you're truly in the present moment. “Meditation has become a habit. It’s been great aid to being able to find a comfortable place to rest, no matter what's going on around me. Not detached, but just able to stay present.” Until soon! Be curious, be inspired, simplify the way… Michel Mugaku Zimmerman Roshiwww.twoarrowszen.org

In this episode, guest Michael Zimmerman discusses what the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ annual “State of Logistics Report” reveals how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the logistics industry. Zimmerman, a partner at Kearney, was the lead author of the report and heads up the consulting company’s Analytics Practice for the Americas Region.Many of America's ports ended their fiscal years on June 30 and released reports on their volumes and productivity. How did the pandemic affect them?And Auburn University announces plans to build a research center for autonomous vehicles next to its existing test track. Will this spur further development of these technologies?Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:CSCMP's State of Logistics report highlights effects of the pandemicCSCMP websiteCargo volumes down at East and West coast portsPort of Virginia marks challenging fiscal yearAuburn University to build autonomous vehicle research centerDC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverageVisit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@dcvelocity.com.Podcast sponsored by FortnaOther linksAbout DC VELOCITYSubscribe to DC VELOCITYSign up for our FREE newslettersAdvertise with DC VELOCITYTop 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, CSCMP President and CEO, Rick Blasgen along with Michael Zimmerman and Balika Sonthalia of Kearney discuss how the 31st Annual State of Logistics Report® revealed an industry transformed by the pandemic and recession. Lead authors and Kearney partners Michael Zimmerman and Balika Sonthalia will cover the impacts of these stressors on logistics and the sectors that rely heavily on supply chain for their day-to-day operations.

This episode features Michael Zimmerman of Junius Lindsay Vineyards!  We talk with Michael about why he’s growing grapes and how he first conceived of the idea.  As he tells it, he has a love for old world wines which came from his time in the Foreign Service.  He was fortunate enough to make several visitsContinue reading → The post Following in the Footsteps of the Rhone appeared first on NC Wine Guys.

When you look at a map of Wisconsin, it’s covered in names that remind us of this country’s original inhabitants. Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Waukesha, Kinnickinnic — all words derived from Native American languages. Another is Oconomowoc, about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. This week’s Bubbler Talk questioner, Jeff Dittel, moved there about two and a half years ago. “[It’s] lake country,” he says. “There’s a couple dozen lakes. And some of them have English names like Pine Lake, Beaver Lake and whatnot. But some of them have really unique Native American names.” Jeff says he has wondered for a while what those lake names — Oconomowoc, Nagawicka and Okauchee — mean. For the answers, WUWM's Emily Files turns to Margaret Noodin and Michael Zimmerman. Margaret is a descendent of the Lake Superior Chippewa and the director of the Electa Quinney Institute at UW-Milwaukee. Michael is a member of the Pokagon band of Potawatomi and a teacher at the Indian Community School in Franklin. They both speak

Episode 18 Dr Michael Zimmerman sits down with us to discuss some of the work he has been doing around religion and evolution for the past several decades as we look at some of the cases being decided today. how do we reclaim the authority of experts? Can/should we teach some form of intelligent design in public schools? What is at stake in this discussion? Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/   produced by Zack Jacksonmusic by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis   Show Notes                  Clergy letter project, founded by Michael Zimmerman https://www.theclergyletterproject.org/    Court Cases / Board of Education rules 1981 Arkansas: McLean vs. Board of Education https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4726786  http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mclean-v-arkansas.html  2004 Wisconsin, Grantsburg https://ncse.ngo/grantsburgs-third-try  2005 Pennsylvania, Dover vs Kitzmiller  [teaching intelligent design as alternative]  https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/education/judge-rejects-teaching-intelligent-design.html  1987 Louisiana; Edwards v. Aguillard [do not have to teach creationism in parallel to evolution] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edwards-v-Aguilard  2008 Louisiana; “Science education act”  http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=503483&n=SB733%20Act%20473  2019 Ohio Science bill https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/11/ohio-lawmakers-clear-bill-allowing-students-to-turn-in-inaccurate-work-in-name-of-religion-second-anti-science-bill-in-a-week.html  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ohio-school-religion-answers/  Various states/years https://www.pewforum.org/2009/02/04/fighting-over-darwin-state-by-state/    Definitions/People Stephen Jay Gould https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/21/us/stephen-jay-gould-60-is-dead-enlivened-evolutionary-theory.html  Intelligent Design https://intelligentdesign.org/whatisid/  [pro] https://web.archive.org/web/20021113213410/http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2002/1106id2.shtml [against]  Irreducible Complexity https://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/origins/ic-cr.htm [pro] http://www.talkreason.org/articles/Suboptimal.cfm [against] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/05/30/devolution-2 [against] http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/design2/article.html [invoking the flagellum] God of the gaps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_the_gaps  Ship of Theseus  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus 

Featured on this edition of Pop-Up Submissions... "A Continuum of Love" - romance from Martin Hallgarth; "Me and my Murderers" - thriller from Darren Burgess; "Where Wild Flowers Grow" - supernatural, thriller from Karen Smith; "The Hairy Hominid - The Throne of Hall’e-Loamba" - teenage/young adult fiction from Steff McAndrews; "Home Again" - general fiction from Michael Zimmerman. Katie-Ellen's book recommendation is "The Keeper of Lost Things" by Ruth Hogan. Daisy Waugh's book recommendation is "Everything You Ever Wanted" by Luize Sauma. Make a Pop-Up Submission here, and please subscribe to Litopia's channel on YouTube. The winner of each show is immortalised here: https://litopia.com/winners. Pop-Ups on YouTube

Featured on this edition of Pop-Up Submissions... "A Continuum of Love" - romance from Martin Hallgarth; "Me and my Murderers" - thriller from Darren Burgess; "Where Wild Flowers Grow" - supernatural, thriller from Karen Smith; "The Hairy Hominid - The Throne of Hall’e-Loamba" - teenage/young adult fiction from Steff McAndrews; "Home Again" - general fiction from Michael Zimmerman. Katie-Ellen's book recommendation is "The Keeper of Lost Things" by Ruth Hogan. Daisy Waugh's book recommendation is "Everything You Ever Wanted" by Luize Sauma. Make a Pop-Up Submission here, and please subscribe to Litopia's channel on YouTube. The winner of each show is immortalised here: https://litopia.com/winners. Pop-Ups on YouTube

In this episode I take us back to 2012 for a re-broadcast of interviews with Michael Zimmerman and Barbara Kingsolver. In the first part of today’s show, you will hear an interview that first aired in February 2012 with Michael Zimmerman, the founder of the Clergy Letter Project and Evolution Weekend.   Over 13 thousand Christian, Jewish, and Unitarian Universalist clergy have signed a letter in support of teaching evolution in public schools.   On the Sunday closest to Darwin’s Birthday faith communities all over the United States celebrate Evolution Weekend by honoring science and religion.  Author Barbara Kingsolver lives in southwest Virginia.  She is the author of 14 books including the The  Poisonwood Bible, The Lacuna, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  She visited with me at the WEHC studio at Emory and Henry College to discuss her latest novel, Flight Behavior, a novel set in Southern Appalachia.   In part it is about denial and the beliefs that get assigned to us.  

In this episode, I am excited to have Rhonda Magee on to talk about utilizing mindfulness to help combat biases. Rhonda Magee is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco. She teaches Mindfulness-Based Interventions, and is a student of awareness and compassion practices from a range of traditions. She is a facilitator of mindful and compassionate communication, and a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute. Rhonda's teachings and writings support compassionate problem-solving and presence-based leadership in a diverse world, and humanizing approaches to education. She sees awareness practices as keys to personal, interpersonal and collective transformation in the face of challenge and opportunity. The author of numerous articles on mindfulness in legal education, Rhonda is a thought and practice leader in the emerging fields of contemplative legal and higher education.   Topics Covered Rhonda kicks the episode off by diving into her past as a mindful lawyer and why having a mindfulness practice is a must working in such a high-conflict field as law, especially in terms of constant and consistent self-growth. How utilizing mindfulness practices help develop and condition our faculties around social justice, social bias, and working with identity-based biases. She talks on practical ways that we can combat the apathy we see and can respond with, such as the STOP practice. Tips and tools for maintaining a consistent mindfulness practice and mindfulness in Legal Education and Professional Development Concrete examples of using mindfulness to work on our own implicit biases. As socially embodied beings, we are both signaling and sending signals that people are reading and perceiving differently. It is our responsibility to be mindful of this, and reflect on how we can better engage our own identities.     Questions? Comments? Email Jeena! hello@jeenacho.com. You can also connect with Jeena on Twitter: @Jeena_Cho For more information, visit: jeenacho.com Order The Anxious Lawyer book — Available in hardcover, Kindle and Audible Find Your Ease: Retreat for Lawyers I'm creating a retreat that will provide a perfect gift of relaxation and rejuvenation with an intimate group of lawyers. Interested? Please complete this form: https://jeena3.typeform.com/to/VXfIXq MINDFUL PAUSE: Bite-Sized Practices for Cultivating More Joy and Focus 31-day program. Spend just 6 minutes every day to practice mindfulness and meditation. Decrease stress/anxiety, increase focus and concentration. Interested? http://jeenacho.com/mindful-pause/ Transcript Rhonda Magee: [00:00:03] Just simply engaging in mindfulness on a regular basis can broaden our capacity to be with these changes with more grace, with more intentionality, with more skillfulness over time. Intro: [00:00:18] Welcome to The Resilient Lawyer podcast. In this podcast, we have meaningful, in-depth conversations with lawyers, entrepreneurs, and change agents. We offer tools and strategies for creating a more joyful and satisfying life. And now your host, Jeena Cho. Jeena Cho: [00:00:41] Hello my friends, thanks for joining me for another episode of The Resilient Lawyer podcast. In this episode, I am so happy to have Rhonda McGee. She is a professor of law at the University of San Francisco. She teaches mindfulness-based interventions. As a student of awareness and compassion practices from a range of traditions, Rhonda's teaching and writing support compassion problem solving and presence-based leadership in a diverse world, and humanizing approaches to education. She sees awareness practices as keys to personal, interpersonal and collective transformation in the face of challenge and opportunity. [00:01:21] Before we get into the interview, if you haven't listened to the last bonus episode go back and check it out. I shared a very short six-minute guided meditation practice to help you let go of stress and anxiety as a preview for my new course Mindful Pause. You can check it out over at my website JeenaCho.com, or check it out in the show notes. And with that, here's Rhonda. Rhonda, welcome to The Resilient Lawyer podcast. Rhonda Magee: [00:01:49] Thank you so much, Jeena. It's beautiful to talk with you and to hear a little bit more about the other work that you're engaged in again. Jeena Cho: [00:01:58] Yeah. Rhonda, it'd be great to start with just a 30-second introduction to who you are and what you do. Rhonda Magee: [00:02:05] Sure. So primarily my main job is I'm a law professor, so I teach law at the University of San Francisco. I have been for 20 years, and I love the opportunity that that work gives me to engage with new entrants into our profession, and to be constantly a part of the process by which we have real conversations about what it means to be a lawyer, about particular aspects of law, and its impact in the world today. So that's my main job, but in addition to that I teach mindfulness. [00:02:48] My mindfulness teaching grew out of my mindfulness practice, which for me started many, many years ago. I guess kind of more or less formally in the way that I practice it now, I could date the start to around 1993. Which is a year that I graduated law school, came out to San Francisco, and just realized I needed a little bit more than the cognitive and skills-focused set of tools to really get myself grounded in the way that I felt I wanted to be, to begin practicing law. So I started practicing mindfulness then, and the work that I've done to integrate that into my work teaching law and then teaching other populations the tools of mindfulness has grown from there. Jeena Cho: [00:03:44] Why is it important for lawyers to be mindful or to practice mindfulness? Rhonda Magee: [00:03:52] Well I know this is what your audience reflects on all the time. So just to take it from my own personal perspective, I went to law school at the University of Virginia and practiced law here in San Francisco at a firm that like many firms, had a number of attorneys working on a range of different types of practice areas, in a range of areas. It was a civil litigation practice. I actually did a fair amount of insurance coverage while I was there, but dabbled in other things and I practiced for about four and a half years. And based on that experience, which of course is somewhat dated now, but based on that experience as well as my interactions with people in the practice today, not the least of which is my relationship with my partner (who is a law partner at a law firm today, and we've been together for many years), so I'm aware based on my own experience and my own engagement with lawyers in the practice right now, in a variety of settings. That brings me an awareness of the ways that, first of all law practice is as we all know holistically challenging. It is a beautiful profession for many reasons, not the least of which is that it calls upon us to really be as effective as we can in the midst of engaging with people who, in many cases, are at their most distressed and vulnerable, in some ways weakened by circumstances in their own lives or the intersection of their own lives with the legal system in some way. [00:05:49] So because we are so often called in or called upon to really bring our knowledge, skills, and values from our law practice, our legal education, and our experience in the world as lawyers, to bear on these high-conflict, high-intensity situations. And in such scenarios, having a range of different skills at our capacity is essential to number one: effective lawyering, right? Really accessing well that which we can do to support people. So thinking well about the application of law and policy to a particular problem, but also recognizing that there are values and ethical considerations that might be brought to bear, and sensing into the ways that our own human biases or orientations or limitations might also be getting in the way. Having the ability to do all of those things at once is really highly sophisticated work, and really does call upon us. I think as we all know who've done any practice, to really have commitments that involve self-development at progressively more profound levels over the course of our careers. And I myself have not found any more effective set of practices to support that kind of 360 ongoing commitment to personal development than the practices of mindfulness. And in that I know I echo people like Michael Zimmerman, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the state of Utah, who is a colleague of mine in this work. Who has often said as well from his perspective as a lawyer, an appellate court lawyer, a judge, a deep practitioner of mindfulness, the kind of skills and the way of being with reality if you will, that is supported by mindfulness practice are really THE skills; the greatest support we have seen for the development of these kinds of skills for lawyering. Jeena Cho: [00:08:37] Yeah, I find it really difficult to try to explain to someone that doesn't have a mindfulness practice, to explain what all the benefits are. They think a lot of us sort of find our way into mindfulness and meditation because we're really stressed or there is some discontent. But then what it ends up opening up is this whole new way of engaging with the world, and it's not really easy to explain what that is. Like when you start a yoga practice and you notice all of these ripple benefits that you weren't anticipating. Rhonda Magee: [00:09:21] Yeah I agree, and so I do think we can talk about some of the benefits that we have experienced and that research has shown. And of course, at the end of the day I think that when people (as you suggested) take that yoga class or engage in any kind of suggested practice, via exercising or taking time for themselves, engaging in mindfulness and the allied disciplines of mindfulness, we learn from that experience in ways that maybe supplements what we've learned through external reports and testimonials. But for me, just starting with the simple practice of developing more comfort with being with the body and whatever state it's in in any given moment. For many of us, it's hard to be actually present to what we are feeling and what we're experiencing. [00:10:29] And so for that reason, number one mindfulness can seem more difficult and counterproductive, especially if we've spent a lot of our lives as many of us have, kind of running away from or finding ways to distract ourselves from those things, and even positive ways to distract ourselves by working hard, by focusing on trying to do good. But at the end of the day, if we each pause and take a look, for many of us we can see that we've spent some time in our lives going away from what it feels like to be here now, to being present to what we're feeling, what we are sensing. We don't quite maybe have words for sensations in the body that we might not want to give time to, and we're all differently oriented and conditioned around the capacity to be with what is arising. So for me for example, I grew up in a home where I really didn't feel a lot of support for just allowing feelings to exist. Even sickness, I grew up in a home where everybody was working and there was a felt sense that we didn't have a lot of time to even get well when you needed to. So even I realized at a certain point I'd internalized from just that, a way of being critical with myself, even when I wasn't feeling well. Pushing, pushing myself so hard. Hard, harsh language, internal language for myself, just at the moment when I might need most to just allow myself the time that the body needs to heal. [00:12:19] So I find that that's not an uncommon kind of way of having a relationship with ourself, that those of us who are productive in the world and making things happen; we can have these ways of relating with our own self and our own experience which make it hard for us to adjust. First of all, to give ourselves time and to kind of turn away from our habits of pushing away what we're feeling and move and pushing through it, when mindfulness invites you to engage with those realities and those feelings and sensations differently; to actually allow them in, create some space around them. And so, given the ways many of us are conditioned not to be present, to not give myself time when I needed it, to see that maybe as a little bit of a weakness, this work is kind of counterintuitive or certainly countercultural. If we look at the particular cultures we've been raised in or we've helped create to be successful for ourselves, so it doesn't surprise me that many people in law find it difficult to actually practice the kind of opening invitations of mindfulness, like creating space to just sit in silence for a few minutes each day. Jeena Cho: [00:13:48] Right, and also we as a legal culture really looked down upon that. I remember being a very young attorney and being told things like, leave your emotions at the door; there is actually no room for your feelings in this room. And it wasn't until much later, once I started really getting into my law practice, it's like no actually the majority of what brings clients into the office is because they're experiencing emotional pain. And we're so driven by emotions, you know that's what propels the action. So if we can really understand our client's emotions we're better able to help and serve them, but we can't do that if we're not emotionally intuned with ourselves. Rhonda Magee: [00:14:38] Exactly, exactly. And I agree with you entirely and have seen that in my own practice life and also in the work that I've done in academia. So I've been socialized into two different quite formidable professions, law on the one hand and academia on the other. And that is, I know you have experienced as well. You know, in academia there's a similar set of norms. So I just find that all over our society, wherever we are, when you get into relatively high-status environments and professions, it's not uncommon for there to be a corresponding set of norms that minimize the importance of being present to emotion, allowing space for emotion. [00:15:29] Your story reminded me of a story I received as a young law professor, which was very similar in that one of the mid-level professors who had just successfully obtained tenure was giving me some advice and counsel about how to conduct myself in the classroom. And one of the things he said to me was, "I have a practice of not smiling at the students for the first six weeks of class" And he had a whole story for how this was a way of instilling a certain sense of faux intimidation; an environment that he thought was somehow conducive to the kind of order he wanted to be in the class. Then after the six weeks or so you can loosen up and allow a smile. But a smile is an indication as a sort of a signal of a certain kind of emotional experience that most of us experience on a regular basis, if we're just allowing life to hit us. Humor happens, joy happens, connection happens, and smiles normally will happen. But to have that be a norm that's being passed on from law professor to law professor in some setting.. And thank goodness I think it's less so today than it used to be, but certainly 20 years ago when I started it was certainly not considered at all odd for this junior mid-level professor to tell me that this was one of the tactics he had adopted to successfully get him where he was. So yeah, just to sit with that. That is a deep indication of the kind of culture that you're talking about. Jeena Cho: [00:17:29] Yeah and speaking of culture, I know you've written and done a lot of work around social justice and our implicit bias, and how mindfulness can help us to be more aware and to start to shift, and really use mindfulness as a tool for uncovering our own bias. Tell us about that. Rhonda Magee: [00:17:57] Well yeah, thank you for asking because I do think all of us can see (if we're paying attention at all) how we're struggling as individuals, as institutions, organizations, workplaces, the larger community and society, to just deal more effectively with the challenges of living in diverse and changing times. So living with the changes of our demographics, different populations coming together with different cultures, and a time of other rising anxieties right. Everything from climate change to what seems like endless war. So we as humans are just being challenged on many levels, and our history tells us that one of the ways we are tempted to respond to such challenges has to do with a kind of a reversion to the dynamics of tribalism. We know from neurobiology that our bodies are formed to respond to perceived threats in one of a few deeply ingrained ways; to flee right, the flight response. And we do that as much as we can, we do those things in explicit and implicit, obvious and subtle ways. We flee situations where we're feeling some sense of threat, so fleeing can look like just sitting in the space but not contributing anymore. Or everything from that to literally leaving and never coming back. So flight is one way we respond to these kinds of threats. Fighting, right? Just figuring out an “us versus them” kind of, who's on my team, who isn't on my team. [00:20:03] Polarizing is another common response. So the flight or fight syndrome much written about by social biologists and other neurobiologists, neuroscientists, really to help us understand what's happening to us cognitively and holistically when we perceive threats in our environments. And others have helped us understand that there are other options available to us, like tending and befriending. But to choose to tend and befriend, to not flee, to know that there are other options often involves a more sophisticated engagement with our capabilities. So moving from what many people call the early human aspects of the developed brain, the reptilian kind of brain and cortex and into the neocortex; the later evolved part of our brain that assists us in making these more sophisticated decisions, responses to these stimuli in our world. Including the kinds of threats, we perceive when we're looking at say, demographic change in the midst of all kinds of conflicts that are being presented to us and coming at us at what seems like warp speed in our culture today. And mindfulness can help really, by assisting us in regulating the emotional reactivity that can come with a sense of concern or anxiety. It may or may not be consciously perceived as a sense of threat, but the body might be sensing some anxiety. As we know, research has shown for example that when analysts, demographers report on the changing demographics in our time, the "browning" if you will of America, the fact that we are becoming more comprised of minority or minority populations here in America. The percentage of Americans who are for example identified as and identify themselves as white over time has been lessening, and is predicted to lessen in the next generation or so in a way that will be apparent to us and may call on us to meet each other around difference in different ways, and I think it's already doing so. Research has shown that just to hear about those changes can create a sense of anxiety for people. And so right then and there then, if the body is physiologically reacting, even if we don't think cognitively that we feel that to be a bad thing or that we are necessarily biased against these changes or any one individual who might be seen as a reflection of such changes in our environment, our bodies often are signaling something different. So mindfulness is just one of the ways that we can develop greater emotional intelligence, a greater capacity to notice different ways that our bodies might be signaling anxiety or discomfort. And again, through mindfulness and the allied disciplines of mindfulness, the reflections on our values, reflections on the insights that arise from mindfulness, that we are actually profoundly interconnected. So to the degree that we see ourselves as these isolated beings, us against the world. One of the things that mindfulness can do is help us to sense our way into our inherent interconnectedness. The breath alone by itself, for example, reminds us we don't create the air that we breathe. [00:24:29] We depend on each other profoundly for that air to be of a quality that we can all survive and thrive in. And those kinds of subtle insights are part of the way the modality, the methodology for how simply engaging in mindfulness on a regular basis can broaden our capacity to be with these changes with more grace, with more intentionality, with more skillfulness overtime. Jeena Cho: [00:25:07] Yeah, and you and I were chatting before the show started about how mindfulness helps us to.. Especially now, the amount of information and data and news, we're so inundated yet there is a sense of a lack of intimacy with one another, that sense connection. It's like we talk at each other in sound bites. On a very practical level, thoughts about how to stay connected and engaged and aware of what's happening out in the world, but also not so sucked into it where it becomes harmful or toxic? Rhonda Magee: [00:25:58] Mmm, yeah. There are many practical tools we can use that I've discovered through mindfulness. One is I'm sure your listeners are probably quite familiar with, this practice called the S.T.O.P. practice, with the acronym "S-T-O-P." But it is really aimed at encapsulating how it is that through our mindfulness practice, deepen our commitment to be more proactive about how we move through the world, and to giving ourselves the support we need as we need it. This particular practice is an example of just what I mean by that, so it's a S.T.O.P. practice, it is again the acronym "S-T-O-P." [00:26:54] And with the "S", it is a suggestion that when we are feeling the first signs that we notice that we are feeling any kind of overwhelm, we literally take the invitation to stop. The "S" in "S-T-O-P" really just means stop. By that we mean pause, and this dovetails well with your current new project around the pause, but really just to pause in the middle of what it is that we're doing. Even if ever so briefly, right? This can all take place within seconds, if not less. But we just take a moment, if we are scrolling through our email, noticing some level of reactivity and about to respond or react. Send that email off in the state of the reactivity, send that tweet off in the state of the reactivity. We have so many technological ways that can make manifest the way in which in real time we struggle. But mindfulness is about giving us a bit of an assist. But it does require orienting ourselves to say, we will take the time to give ourselves the assist. So it is saying, bring mindfulness to the first signs that we are about to be in a state of some kind of overwhelm, and in that moment to stop; to pause, to then move to the "T". And I'm doing it instinctively right now. Take a deep breath, take a cautious breath. Within which we can, just by doing that we invite the sort of neurobiological support that comes with the conscious engagement with a simple, intentional breath. [00:28:56] We know that if we allow ourselves to engage in deep breathing, we naturally engage in deep breathing as a means of calming ourselves. And again, neurobiologists can tell us that we are formed, our parasympathetic and our sympathetic nervous systems, that part of us is profoundly conformed to assist us in calming ourselves when we are distressed. So a deep breath in the face of whatever it is that is causing us anxiety, is a natural and nature-approved way of assisting us and calming down. So take that conscious, intentional breath, that's the "T". And then "O". "O" is simply to observe what's happening as you breathe. You open up to sensing into the state of the body and the mind, this sort of embodied being that we are in that moment. So you observe the quality of the breath that you just sort of interrupted a bit while taking a deeper breath. Where we're breathing very high in the chest, shallow breathing we know is associated with a stress response. So just noticing, observing, what's the quality of my being in this moment? Perhaps starting with the breath, which is where we are already kind of landed as we engage in the "T", so "T-O", we are observing what's the quality of that breath? What's the quality of the rest of my being at this moment? Am I feeling the ground beneath me? [00:30:40] So really, you observe from the breath the whole body, perhaps dropping down to the feet. Feeling the support of the ground that is beneath you that we might not have been in touch within the moments prior to engaging in just this brief "S-T-O-P" practice. But the ground is there, we are supported. So allowing an observation of, alright where my feet right now, how is my own being in this moment? Kind of allowing myself in my embodiment to support myself in this moment. So we can sometimes notice if we are hunched over, if we are leaning forward or racing forward in a way that really doesn't provide necessarily the most grounded way of handling a distressing situation. So to allow an observation of what's the state of the body; what's my posture right now? What's happening my mind, what thoughts are coming to me? So thoughts, what emotions, what other related sensations? So that "O" is a point of allowing a space for observing what it is right, that is characteristic of this moment of distress for us. And from there, really inviting a shift, knowing as we do if we practice mindfulness a little bit, if we study mindfulness a little bit, at what I call the allied disciplines of studying about mindfulness: reading about it, engaging in practice with others, looking at your ethical commitments for doing mindfulness or practicing mindfully. Once we pause enough to observe what's going on, and then if we have been engaging in mindfulness in this more wholesome way, ideally then some of the benefits of that can arise as we pause, as we observe what's going on, and are there to support us in consciously shifting into a more skillful way of moving forward. [00:32:47] So then with the "P", it's "S-T-O-P", we reflect on how it is that we might want to respond rather than react. So if we're just racing in a way that maybe we can walk with purpose and support ourselves with each step, if we are about to send off that email maybe we can think a little bit about the sender or senders.. If we're about to send off that tweet, just pause to think about the different audiences that might receive that, and just how they might receive it. We may decide to send it anyway, but we've done it then though from a place of deeper ground, of having reflected on it from a variety of sides in a way that can prepare us for whatever might be to come. So the "P" then is about a bit of processing and then proceeding with intentionality, based on having allowed ourselves the support of mindfulness as we go. Jeena Cho: [00:33:48] Yeah, that's such a simple and beautiful practice that we can all incorporate into our entire life. So I know you've been meditating for a long time, how do you keep your meditation practice going? This is something that I hear a lot of (I guess it also applies to nonlawyers too) us struggle with, is just you keeping a consistent formal practice of meditation going. So tips and tools on maintaining the practice? Rhonda Magee: [00:34:25] Well it's a great question, it's never not timely. For me, it really is about making daily if not moment to moment commitments about staying mindful; writing in and supporting myself to be mindful. So that is about, again asking myself really specifically, what do I want to do to support myself in being mindful and being able to draw on mindfulness as a support throughout my day. How do I make that happen? I make that happen by making time to commit to mindfulness before I need it, in a certain sense. The idea that we can just listen to people talk about mindfulness or read about mindfulness, but not actually practice mindfulness and then have it as a resource for us that is part of our being, is a little bit of a false way of really understanding what mindfulness is about. We really do need to practice. And even though I've been at it for years, I know I need daily practice. [00:35:49] So it starts with again a commitment. One of my teachers says, a way that he counsels students who are struggling with the commitment to practice is to ask at the end of each day. Because we can look at our day and say, wow I could have used a little bit more mindfulness today, I'm feeling depleted. Where was the practice when I needed it today? That recognition that we needed can then be a support for saying, alright what will I do tomorrow to give myself time to deepen my mindfulness practice. Can I commit to getting up tomorrow? Again, each of us may have different ways of doing the practice. For me, starting the day with mindfulness is important. Sometimes that means a long sit. [00:36:43] And I don't mean hours, but for me long given the way my work and day often moves, a long sit is 20, 25, 30 minutes. And some nights I begin with a commitment that tomorrow I'm going to do a long sit. One of my teachers says, "It's not enough to just ask am I going to do it? It's to really say, am I really going to do it? What time am I going to get up to do it?" Ideally, we may have already identified a space, a place where we engage in our practice. And so this is about, again I talk a lot in the work that I do about this thing, that executive functioning of the brain; the decision maker. The part of the brain that can actually help us with our good intentions. The neocortex, we enlist that when we ask ourselves am I really going to do it, what's my plan for doing it? We know that when we take those kinds of extra steps, we're just that much more likely to follow through the next day. [00:37:47] So that's one way to sort of allow the sense that we're maybe not quite making time for it to prompt us, to deepen our commitments. And that may look differently for each of us, it might look different for each of us. But it might look like saying, I've said I want to do a regular daily practice that begins with a morning sit. I will do it tomorrow. I will do it for.. If 20 or 30 minutes is too much for you on the day that you have given the state that you're in; you're totally exhausted, you're not sure you can do 20 minutes or 30 or more. But you might be able to really easily say, yes I can do ten minutes. I can do ten minutes, and tomorrow I will do ten minutes. So those kinds of agreements to be mindful, and to kind of plan and mindfulness. It's the discipline of saying, I have a commitment, I'm going to fulfill it. And knowing that there's some Momentive benefit; there's a momentum that can be established if you do that one day and you see some benefit, and then you do it again the next day. And I caution this in these conversations about staying with the practice, that some days it won't feel like yes I see a benefit. And those are the days when we have to say, but we're going to stick with it because we made a promise to ourselves; I made a promise to myself. I can stick with it, I can do this regularly. For some of us just starting out, we might say I can do this regularly for a week; I can do it regularly for 28 days, 30 days. And even if I'm feeling like I'm not sure, I can keep at it. [00:39:36] But at the same time, recognizing that there are ways that we must be our own best friend and counsel as we do this. And it is true that mindfulness is not necessarily for every person, or for all aspects of our distress that we're feeling. And there are times when actually we know that by just sitting, we know that we're spiraling into a little bit more distress than we can handle at that moment. And so, of course everything I say, and I'm sure Jeena it's true for you as well. We're always reminding everyone who listens, everyone who would engage in the practice to be your own best supporter and guide and counsel. If you need to take a break, if you need to get some other kind of support or a counselor or other, that is what you need at that moment. Do it and then come back perhaps to mindfulness when you're ready. Jeena Cho: [00:40:43] Yeah, yeah. And I think that's a really important point to highlight, that there may be situations and circumstances where mindfulness may not be like the cure-all. I think sometimes it's sold in that way, but definitely get the help you need for sure. Rhonda Magee: [00:41:10] And at the same time, there are degrees of struggle. So if your struggle is I'm just feeling bored with this, that's one where you might say well just notice it and investigate it a little bit. But don't give up on the promise that you made that you're going to stick with it long enough to see what might be the benefits, if you can get through the period of almost predictable resistance to it. It is, you're doing something that's completely different from what you normally do. Know that there's going to be a period or periods that may recur of just reaction to the mindfulness, I don't want to be mindful, I don't want to sit. But just to let that be; maybe allow a little bit of levity, a little bit of, "Here I am in my reactivity against mindfulness, but I'm going to sit. I'm going to do it." Just letting yourself go through what we all go through as we develop our relationship with our practice. Jeena Cho: [00:42:14] It's so funny that you mention boredom, because that was literally the thing that I sat with for the first two years of my practice. And I remember my teacher being like, well what does boredom actually feel like? And I was like, I don't know, it's really unpleasant. I don't know what it feels like. And he was like, well why don't you go and explore it. Like actually just sit and explore what boredom feels like. And I was like, ugh fine damn it. I was a resistant student, like most lawyers are. But it was fascinating, because there are lots of interesting things about boredom. And what I found even more interesting was that sensation of boredom would reoccur everywhere in my life, but I never noticed it. So it was really interesting to go, here I am standing in the grocery line and there is boredom, and how do I be with boredom? I reach for my phone. We all walk around with this pacifier now, and it really shifted my relationship with how I relate to digital technology. It's like, what do I do entertain myself? And do I always need to entertain myself when I'm bored, or can I just be with boredom. All of these interesting things that you'll learn, especially when you're resisting against something in your practice. Rhonda Magee: [00:43:32] That's true, right? It's an ongoing revelation, right? That's what I do when I'm bored, and I do it all the time it seems like, it's coming up everywhere. Jeena Cho: [00:43:46] So Rhonda, before we wrap things up I do want to have a more concrete discussion about how do we use mindfulness to work when our implicit bias? And for the folks that are listening to you, they may not know that you're black. And for the folks that are listening, they may not know that I'm Asian. Sometimes being a woman of color, we have very different experiences going through the world. So I'm wondering if you can give some of the tools on mindfulness, as a way that we can work on ourselves. For the listeners out there that are either people of color or women or in some group of minority in some way. Or if they're the white guy and they're wanting to take part in this conversation but aren't sure how to. And I think that can also be a really uncomfortable place to be as well. And I realize that's a huge question, so I'll let you take it any direction that feels good to you. Rhonda Magee: [00:45:01] Well it is a great, huge, meaty question. And of course, like all great, huge, meaty questions, I will really only be able to invite some reflection that is really just pointing toward what I hope will be ongoing ruminations, thoughts, reflections, ways of continuing the conversation that we do collectively and individually from here. So I would say that mindfulness for me is a way of deepening my experience with reality. And what reality is is always changing, and my reality (as you alluded to in your question Jeena) may be different from yours in a given moment because of the way that our reality, the sense that we have of what is real is based on perceptions that we have as we move through the world. So we are constantly encountering stimuli from the environment, we're meeting people, we're seeing people. People are engaging us, we're reading about incidents in the headlines, comments are being made in a meeting that suddenly trigger some sense that perhaps you've experienced or witnessed a micro aggression. One of these sudden, stunning statements that may leave me or some other person feeling disrespected, or rendered an outsider in some space. [00:46:44] So these are the kinds of things that are the stimuli that we're experiencing as we move through the world. And each of us experiences these things differently, and partly as a function of the ways that we are differently embodied in different time and space. So, depending on the context that we're in; if it's a context in which we all look very much the same, we've all been raised to think very similarly, that's going to be a different kind of space than if we are in a space where it's that but then now someone's entered who physically looks different. Maybe of a different race, maybe a different gender, the intersection of those two is very profound. Maybe have a different class background. In other words, as socially embodied beings we are both signaling and sending signals that people are reading about who we are and what we know, what we think. People are perceiving and making assumptions and all of that. We do it, and it's been done to us all the time. And that comes with being a human being in a social environment. And so bringing mindfulness to the way we engage with our own identities and the way that our perceptions about others in the world may be shaped by the particularities of our own embodied experience, which are very different perhaps than the lived experience of others in that space. Just bringing mindfulness to the fact that our experience is just our experience; it's just one part of a big, complicated, beautiful story about who we are in this moment together. That we might tell and retell with ever increasing complexity and capacity to hold complexity, if we are given the time and opportunity. [00:48:55] Generally we're not given much time and opportunity. So a lot of what can happen at the intersection of identity and some kind of suffering happens in the space of what we do when we don't have a lot of time, but we're operating on a little bit of automatic pilot. We meet someone; we prise them before we even consciously do it. Cognitive scientists tell us that we make perceptions about one another that key into race and intersect race with gender, and perceptions we have of class based on the way perhaps someone is dressed or the way they speak. What kinds of accents people have or don't have. We evaluate these things at a subconscious level before thought even arises around it. So part of what we're learning, if we look at the cognitive sciences, helps us understand how mindfulness practice can assist us in these areas. We are often operating from the place of that automatic reactivity; that automatic way. I see this person, I put this person in this category, and I respond to this person in that way based on that. Mindfulness can help disrupt that automatic processing. I've written, and others have written, about research studies that give us reason to be hopeful; actual, real reason to be hopeful that mindfulness can assist us in just that part of the problem. The problem of automatic application of the preconceptions we have about each other, based on notions of identity, stories about whose identities matter and what types of spaces and places; we all carry these. We can't not have them, having grown up in a world where narratives about who matters and what groups matter where and why are constantly being consumed and presented to us. So, of course, we have imbibed these biases. We imbibe the culture's preferences for different types of bodies and people and cultures and different spaces. So that's always a part of what we ourselves bring to a space. [00:51:09] I know for myself, growing up in the south in a part of the country which had whites and blacks and African-Americans and Caucasians. And those are terms that we created to label people, and yet we know what they mean when we use them. Because we've all been trained to use them. So mindfulness is about deepening our capacity to understand all the different ways we all are brought into a world in which identities are constantly being constructed and reconstructed, and we are acting on each other and with ourselves in ways that reflect these notions. And the problem comes when (well there are many problems that can come from that) what the social psychologists called schema, these ways we have of categorizing the world and moving through the world based on those categories. They're really effective in enhancing efficiency and moving through quickly. The example I often use is we have a cognitive schema for a chair, such that when we see something that looks like it's got a flat bottom or a seated area and four legs, we know that if we're tired we can sit on it and not have to worry about whether or not it'll support us in that activity. We don't want to have to every time we encounter a chair be like, wait what is that? Let me do a test on that. So we get that, we can work with a schema for a chair and move through the world in a way that is supported by that. The problem is when we use similarly reductionist schema for people. I mean, to have a schema for an Asian-American woman and then to say every time I meet.. And often we have these and we've not consciously interrogated them. We've just received them because of stereotypes and film and media, stories we've heard from people who went overseas and came back with stories. [00:53:08] I mean there are all kinds of different ways that we imbibe these stereotypes. We may or may not have made them conscious, interrogated them. And so when we meet a person who we think embodies those characteristics, those stereotypes are operating already; before we have a chance to really be mindful about whether or not they should, or if we would want them to if we have choice. And so mindfulness can get us regularly engaged. Regularly is the key. This is something that for me, I see this as a profound aspect of what it means to be mindful. Because so much of our everyday suffering is mediated through the particular embodiments that we live in. So really, not to see mindfulness and identity and social justice as a side topic, but really to see oh we're just talking about bringing mindfulness to everyday life and lived experience. And not failing to name that we all have lived experience that's characterized by race, characterized by gender, people's notions, our notions of class. These are all already in the mix. So bringing mindfulness more intentionally to bear on those aspects of our own experience, how we began. If you grew up in the south like I did, you may not have met very many Asian, identified Asian, diasporic people before. You might not have heard a lot of language from different Asian countries before, in your everyday life. And you move to a place like California as I did, and suddenly hearing different languages is new. And we all know that again, the human body being what it is, we often don't react so well to every new environment, every new experience. [00:55:01] We often are sort of challenged when we meet the new. So mindfulness can help us notice, I am (in a way that I didn't predict) reacting to having these languages around me; I'm not comfortable. I need to pause and notice what's happening. I am meeting something new; I am having a kind of reaction to it that would suggest I might need to work on this. This might be an area of work for me. So that's really just one of the micro ways that mindfulness can help. I talk about the allied disciplines right, which have to do with committing to being mindful in community. I don't think we would be talking about mindfulness together today if many people before us hadn't realized the importance of practicing with others. So really, you develop by being engaged in practice with others. So it's great to have these podcasts and support for individual practice, but it really is also important to try to find ways of practicing in community when we can. Because it's there that we really do learn on a day-to-day level. How it is that here I am judging this person, because they had this way of responding to this comment that I have now evaluated. And now I've maybe made some other assumptions about this person that are impacting my interaction with this person, all of these sorts of ways that we are human and in community. [00:56:35] I think if we have a commitment to mindfulness that includes practicing with others, we are always being supported then in deepening our ability to make room to include the so-called other; to learn from others, and to constantly work on ourselves as part of our practice of mindfulness Jeena Cho: [00:56:58] Right. Yeah, and I often think as a society we made it very convenient not to have to interact with others, whatever that other might like. Even just being a lawyer, it means a good bulk of the people that I interact with are lawyers, or they're at least educated (most of them are highly educated). And they all sort of in this social economic group. So even though I may have friends and people in my life that are different culturally and on other spectrums, but we still have this commonality of being in the legal profession. I think it takes intention to interact with people that are very different from you and come from different life experiences. And also (kind of looping back to what you were saying earlier) there can be this feeling like, well I've never had that happen to me, therefore it couldn't have happened to you. I remember telling someone I like that I walk into a courtroom and the judge looked at me and he just said, "Oh you're the Asian language interpreter." Which by the way, the wording of that is so bizarre. But I and shared that with someone, and he was like, "No, I don't believe it. That didn't happen to you.” [00:58:25] And I was like, what do you mean it didn't happen to me? But because he could never imagine that ever happening to him. Because he's different than me. And I think it can be this feeling of, well that's not part of my life experience, therefore, it couldn't have happened to you. Or, it couldn't have happened with the frequency in which it's happening to you. Rhonda Magee: [00:58:47] Right. Or it couldn't have done the harm. Because if somebody says something like that to me, again not knowing the frequency, the cumulative effect, the way it links up with other incidents in our lives, that history. Another person can hear that and say, oh well is that really a big deal? You could easily brush that off. So yeah, mindfulness helps us, and can help us. I do think we need to (as you said) be intentional about this. I don't think this is necessarily an offshoot of mindfulness, because of the ways we're getting trained not to turn toward this aspect in so many other realms of our lives. So we almost have to actually invite an intentional embrace of looking at how it is that we hold the sense of what the real world looks like and is. And how it is necessarily constrained by our own position, experience, limited by that. It's one of the reasons why for me, I kind of see being with others and practicing with others and working with others around these issues as just this great gift that we can have and experience. [01:00:02] Because we need each other; I need to hear your experiences for me to have a better understanding of the full range of experiences that are causing suffering in the world. And I invite and then hope that there will be others who will be open to hearing mine. So developing the desire, not just the capacity (like I can tolerate it) but knowing that you want that, to really work with being a more mindful human being in the world, is something that I think can come with our practice. But it often needs to be invited intentionally in. Jeena Cho: [01:00:45] I think that's the perfect note to end on. Rhonda, thank you so much for sharing your time and your wisdom. Thank you for all the good that you do in the world. Rhonda Magee: [01:00:57] Thank you, and I reflect that 100% back to you Jeena. It's good to be in conversation with you, and I thank you so much for what you're doing and for this chance to be a part of your work today. Closing: [01:01:14] Thanks for joining us on The Resilient Lawyer podcast. If you've enjoyed the show, please tell a friend. It's really the best way to grow the show. To leave us a review on iTunes, search for The Resilient Lawyer and give us your honest feedback. It goes a long way to help with our visibility when you do that, so we really appreciate it. As always, we'd love to hear from you. E-mail us at smile@theanxiouslawyer.com. Thanks and look forward to seeing you next week.

Our guests this week are Louis Robert Spaeth and Michael Zimmerman, co-founders of TradeAutoX, an online platform for buying and selling wholesale vehicles on demand. Spaeth and Zimmerman, who work together as desk managers at an Atlanta dealership, talk to Joe about how the premise of their young company and its mission in the online wholesale space.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is one of the sharpest and most insightful people I know, and an globally-recognized expert and pioneer in the emerging meta-discipline of integral theory and practice. The former chair of John F. Kennedy University’s Integral Studies department, co-author (with Michael Zimmerman) of Integral Ecology, co-founder (with Mark Forman) of the international Integral Theory Conference, and now in his post-academic life, head of MetaIntegral a training and consulting company specializing in the design of wisdom economies. “Expand your story! Expand your position! Expand your sense of self identity as to what you’re doing and why. Because you’re already doing it.”Become conscious of the value and benefits you’re already providing the world – and then amplify that – by digging this great conversation…http://metacapital.net/iceland-seminar/ https://integrallife.com/integral-ecology-uniting-multiple-perspectives-natural-world/ https://www.amazon.com/Integral-Ecology-Uniting-Multiple-Perspectives/dp/1590307674Subscribe to this show: Apple Podcasts • Stitcher • Spotify Join our Facebook Discussion Group(Cover painting by David Titterington.) We Discuss:• Sean’s early interest in the scientific study of animal consciousness: philosophy, biology, AND psychology• The intersection of human consciousness, worldviews, and values systems – and how nature appears differently to everyone• Discovering Ken Wilber’s integral philosophy and its critiques of the retro-romantic “Back to the Garden” ideology of deep ecology and eco-feminism• How many different approaches to the natural world are there?• The problem of academia’s failure to properly accommodate trans-disciplinary, meta-disciplinary, synthetic, integral thought• Economy as a sub-category of Ecology• The Complexity Gap: the gap between our level of consciousness and our ability to manage complexity on one hand, and the amount of complexity we find ourselves in, on the other• Simplicity on the other side of complexity: moving ecological and integrative thinking into business and organizational development• What is Meta-Capitalism?• Beyond the reductionism of triple bottom line thinking: purpose• Integrating the sentience of other organisms into our understanding and practice of ecology• Bringing the inner worlds of the first-person and second-person back into science and organizational development: experience, emotion, mutual understanding, and purpose• Taking multiple perspectives on wealth, value, and the many forms of capital: not just the external metrics but the feelings and experiences of wealth, poverty, and power inequality• How to teach organizations to see the value they’re already generating – and unaware of – so that they can serve a larger population with a clearer identity and more coherent actions• The emergence of value-accounting software that can help us track impact across the myriad domains of capital• Organizational coaching as collective shadow work and a kind of psychedelic therapy at the level of the group• Making subject object: making perspectives an object of awareness and moving from experience to insight in meditation, coaching, and any area of personal or collective transformation• Anchoring integration in the heart and gut – not just the brain, but really letting understanding sink and ripen in our feelings and our flesh and blood• How learning to play the violin and sing at the same time can be a profound somatic practice of meta-level integration• Dance and martial arts practices as a complement to being super heady…differentiating and integrating the body and developing an “eco-somatics” for moving consciously in the world Select Quotes:“It’s really only at the limits of the postmodern orientation that you begin to see the importance of integration. So as a culture and as a global society, we’re just now really entering into an integrative mode where the overwhelm of the information is forcing us to adapt strategies of integration.”“More and more of our challenges and issues require some mode of integrative thinking and action.”“There are lots of different kinds of value, and if you leave out one kind, you’re really doing a disservice to reality. It’s actually a violence against the cosmos.”“Environmental rah-rah really serves a purpose, but until we really wrestle with capitalism, it’s almost like, ‘What’s the point?’”“It’s more a clash of worldviews than it is a clash of facts. And how different worldviews relate to those facts.”“How would our science of ecology change if we actually recognize the sentience of the organisms that are part of that ecology?”“The resistance is good because it shows that you’re in the right ballpark. You want there to be resistance. I don’t really waste my time trying to convince anyone of anything. I try and work with people where there’s at least a basic level of interest, and then work with the resistance they have.”“Things are going to get more fragmented, and things are going to get more integrated. And those two things paradoxically exist side by side.”“Fragmentation usually has a negative connection because we think of it as dissociation. But if we think of fragmentation as differentiation, and we think of differentiation and integration, those two things go hand in hand developmentally.”“Working with the meta-impact framework is, in a sense, doing shadow work for an organization.”“I really want my life to be the transmission of integrated head, heart, and hara.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The hopes and fears surrounding the advent of artificial intelligence are fantastical, from Ray Kurzweil's promise of spiritual machines to Elon Musk's warnings of killer robots. And yes, some version of that future is barreling toward us at an ever-increasing speed, says philosopher of technology professor Michael Zimmerman, who is Jeff's guest today. In this episode Michael and Jeff make important distinctions between artificial intelligence and consciousness itself. Machines have become proficient at handling information (e.g. the phone in your pocket), they are learning how to self-observe and learn, and they may soon be able to “present” as human. But will they ever hope and dream – or plot and scheme? Jeff argues that a system of material components, however complex, will never create a shred of interiority. Michael is not so sure, and offers a couple scenarios that give Jeff a scare!

Michael Zimmerman talks about the effect of iodine supplementation in pregnant women on child development.

Here is a special report for Progressive Spirit on the 222nd General Assembly that met July 18-25 in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center. The Assembly meets once every two years. It previously met in Portland in 1967 and before that in 1893. I speak with former moderator, Rick Ufford-Chase, newly elected stated clerk of the PCUSA, J. Herbert Nelson, Palestinian Christian, Nahida Gordon, Jeffrey DeYoe of the Israel-Palestine Mission Network, Ned Rosch of Jewish Voice for Peace, Ray Bagnuolo of That All May Freely Serve, and Michael Zimmerman of the Clergy Letter Project on topics of LGBTQ justice, fossil fuel divestment, Israel-Palestine, evolution, and the church's future.

Bio Diane Hamilton has been a practitioner of meditation for almost 30 years. She began her studies at Naropa University in 1983 with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and became a Zen student of Genpo Roshi’s in 1997. In 2003, she received ordination as a Zen monk with her husband Michael Zimmerman, and received dharma transmission from Roshi in 2006. Diane facilitates Big Mind Big Heart, a process developed by Genpo Roshi to help elicit the insights of Zen in Western audiences. She has worked with Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute since 2004.   Episode Outline: Tragedy/Spirituality – Diane discusses her early years on the spiritual path, losing seven of her friends to a series of accidents at the age of seventeen, which became a very significant catalyst in her spiritual life, studying with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and more.   Conflict Is Good News – In her book, Everything Is Workable, Diane writes, “To learn to transform conflict, we must let go of the notion that something or someone is wrong or bad,” which she elaborates on.   Scary, Yet Exciting – Diane talks about relating to fear directly rather than trying to get rid of it. She explores what becoming aware of it looks like, tastes like, and feels like in our mind and body, and developing fearlessness in the process.   Three Perspectives, Three Truths – It has been said that there are three sides to every story; yours, mine, and the truth. Diane discusses individual participation with the three perspectives that are constantly happening, which includes the first person “I,” second person “you,” and third person “it.”   Everything and Nothing – Diane discusses what in Zen is often referred to as Big Mind. Others have given it different names including Eckhart Tolle who calls it Presence, Ken Wilber who calls it Ever-Present Awareness and Byron Katie who simply calls it Reality. Call it what you will, Diane talks about the importance of cultivating our experience of Big Mind and elaborates on what that actually is.   Integral Life – Diane talks about meeting Ken Wilber in 2004 and how his work and that of Integral Life has influenced her own life and work.      

Dr. Michael Zimmerman, a biologist, is the founder of the Clergy Letter Project and Evolution Weekend. Over 13 thousand Christian, Jewish, and Unitarian Universalist clergy have signed a letter in support of teaching evolution in public schools. On the Sunday closest to Darwin’s Birthday (February 12th) faith communities all over the United States celebrate Evolution Weekend by honoring science and religion. Dr. Zimmerman speaks candidly about the state of science education and the need for scientific literacy. He writes on the topic of science and religion at the Huffington Post.

When it comes to a Christian understanding of Creation, can faith and science coexist? Despite protests by fundamentalists over the Bible being read in light of modern science, the vast majority of the Christian tradition has answered this question with an overwhelming, "Yes!" The biblical worldview itself saw the realms of head and heart as seamlessly integrated. One significant recent attempt to reclaim this affirmative Christian understanding in the public square is the Clergy Letter Project, headed by Michael Zimmerman - a biology professor and Dean of Students at Butler University in Indianpolis (www.clergyletterproject.org). A couple years ago in response to a local controversy in a public school in Wisconsin, Prof. Zimmerman sent out a letter for clergy to sign who affirmed that faith and evolution are compatible. This letter took on a life of its own and, to date, has been signed by over 10,500 clergy. In this interview, CrossWalk America's Dr. Eric Elnes and Prof. Michael Zimmerman discusses faith, evolution, "intelligent design," and the Clergy Letter Project's effort to reclaim Christianity's heart AND mind.