Find the Good News with Oran Parker

Find the Good News, Episode 108, “The Prisoners” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Venerable De Hong, Co-Founder of the Engaged Buddhist Alliance - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My father was a United States Marine that served as a combat engineer in the Vietnam war. On January 21, 1968, he was on the Marine base at Khe Sahn getting a short reprieve from the horrors of war. It was the...

Find the Good News, Episode 107, “The Hinge Moment,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Reverend Shannon Fleck, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Take a good look around you, at the people in your community, the leaders, the ministers, the people in positions of authority or power, and pay attention to what you see? Do they look l...

Ep. 106 - The Escape Pod - Ft. James Hiatt, Interim Worship Leader at University Methodist Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana ========== It wasn't hard to come up with a proper reflection for my conversation with James Hiatt. James and I met online in overlapping territory, and it was clear from the very beginning that I'd discovered a spiritual brother.   While our personal stories are very differ...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 105, “The Dark Heart,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Lisa Diane McCall, life coach and author of The Rhythm of the Soul: A Journey of Loss and Discovery - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Have you ever made a decision, with no hesitation, that you knew would change your life? A choice that was so clear, so pure, that you could almost pe...

Ep. 104—The Healthy Triggers—A Beacon Series conversation featuring Laura Zam, Sexuality Educator, Certified Trauma Professional, and author of The Pleasure Plan: One Woman's Search for Sexual Healing ========== When I read Laura Zam's book, "The Pleasure Plan," I could clearly see how her work with trauma and its effects on human sexuality would be of great value to me personally.   In her book,...

Ep. 103 - The Phoenix and the Dragon - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Christine Arylo, author of "Overwhelmed & Over It: Embrace Your Power to Stay Centered & Sustained in a Chaotic World" by New World Library ========== Welcome to the first episode of 2021. I'm not sure that I could have handpicked a much more relevant guest to kick off the new year than author, feminine leadership advisor, and fe...

Ep. 102 - The Tumbleweed Tree - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. John Wackman & Elizabeth Knight, co-authors of "Repair Revolution: How Fixers Are Transforming Our Throwaway Culture" by New World Library ========== Sometimes an episode release date aligns perfectly with a special occasion that makes the content of the conversation even more relevant. As it turns out, my conversation with John Wackman...

Ep. 101 - The Firefly Entanglement - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Kim Chestney, author of "Radical Intuition: A Revolutionary Guide to Using Your Inner Power" by New World Library ========== Have you ever had a feeling, a hunch, or an inner knowing that seemed to guide you through a series of right actions? Maybe it was a feeling about a space, a place, a person, or a particular circumstance. If...

Find the Good News has been a positive experience for me, and a project that has allowed me to use my communication, design, and production skills paired with my deep desire to reflect on the human condition, that is to mean the great questions of why we are here, who we are, what is goodness, and what inspires some to right action. Find the Good News has been an evolving project, and in episode 5...

Ep. 100 - The Power of Three - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Michael J. Gelb, author of "Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: 8 Secrets to Transform Fear and Supercharge Your Career" by New World Library ========== We made it, my friends and listeners. Welcome to the 100th numbered episode of my Find the Good News podcast.   When I think deeply on the line-up of good people doing good works that...

Ep. 99 - The Mother's Refuge - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Paria Hassouri, MD, author of "Found in Transition: A Mothers' Evolution During Her Child's Gender Change " by New World Library ========== It fascinates me how easy it can be to congratulate myself on being open-minded, all-inclusive, and accepting of others. My self-praise doesn’t end there, as I’m always ready, it seems, to easily for...

Ep. 98 - The Character Lines - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Bridgit Dengel Gaspard, author of "The Final 8th: Enlist Your Inner Selves to Accomplish Your Goals" by New World Library ========== If you’ve been listening to Find the Good News for any length of time then you’ve probably picked up on my personal interest in exploring the landscape of the human mind and heart.   As Find the Good News m...

Ep. 97 - The Step Towards Joy - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Kathy Callahan, author of "101 Rescue Puppies: One Family's Story of Fostering Dogs, Love, and Trust" by New World Library ========== I have to be honest; lately, I’ve been feeling a little burned out, and why wouldn’t I? Like you, I’ve been on this train without breaks that has 2020 painted on the side, and I suppose all the bumps and...

Ep. 96 - The Ph. D. in the Glitch - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Hersch Wilson, author of "Firefighter Zen: A Field Guide To Thriving In Tough Times" by New World Library ========== So often, the guests I’ve spoken with on Find the Good News have been relevant to what was going on in my life, or in the world at the time. This hasn’t been intentional, or by design, necessarily; I talk to the guest...

Ep. 95 - The Jewel in the Ashes - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Robin Easton, author of "Naked In Eden: My Adventure and Awakening in the Australian Rainforest." ========== Finding the right words to introduce my guest for this episode isn’t difficult. In fact, as I sat and meditated on our conversation, waiting for sweet, descriptive honey to drip from my mind to my lips, the most simple words I’...

Ep. 94 - The Guardian - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Diana Carroll, author of "Love Skills: The Keys to Unlocking Lasting, Wholehearted Love," published by New World Library ========== I think it would be fair to say that generally, life is a relationship. We’re in some type of relationship from the day that we are conceived. Our first relationship is to our mother, then those that raise us, exte...

Ep. 93 - The Truth Of Our Biases - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Professor Simran Jeet Singh—educator, writer, activist, and scholar. ========== Sometimes I feel that I may have made a mistake when I named this podcast. Having a show called “Find the Good News” sets the precedent that my guests and I must only talk about positive things. While my end goal is to always lean our conversations toward...

Ep. 92 - The Resonant Strings - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Meido Moore Roshi, abbot of Korinji, a Rinzai Zen monastery, and author of "The Rinzai Zen Way: A Guide to Practice" by Shambala Publications. ========== Zen. In the circles I’ve traveled it is a word that is often said and even more misunderstood. Truth? I am still trying to understand it myself. More truth? When I feel like I’ve built...

Ep. 91 - The Magic Feather - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Don Jose Ruiz, Toltec Shaman and author of "The Medicine Bag: Shamanic Rituals & Ceremonies for Personal Transformation" from Hierophant Publishing ========== There are events in our lives that charged with a specific energy. These moments can feel electric. Time perhaps feels bent. Sensations get prickly, and details seem enhanced. To the...

Ep. 90 - The In Zone - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Chris Niebauer, Ph. D., Author of "No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology is Catching Up to Buddhism" from Hierophant Publishing ========== I once read that the very toxic escalation of ego-driven “me” culture started its ascent with the invention of the mirror. Long before one could truly see their own reflection with clarity, the best way to...

Ep. 89 - The Gathering Fire - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Diana Rowan, Author of "The Bright Way: Five Steps To Freeing The Creative Within" from New World Library ========== 15 years ago I was asked to speak to a group of graphic design students about creativity in the field of graphic communications. As I sat down to draft my presentation I asked myself, “What is creativity, and where does it...

Ep. 88 - The Shimmering Truth - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Ellen Meredith, DA, EEMAP, Author of "The Language Your Body Speaks: Self-Healing with Energy Medicine" from New World Library ========== When is the last time you stopped and really listened to your body? What physical aches do you live with daily? How are compensating for them? Do you have chronic issues that seem to never go away? Ma...

Ep. 87 - The Slippage - Ft. Heather Regan White, Journalist with the Southwest Daily News ========== We live in strange times, made stranger and more disorienting by a steady stream of conflicting news and information signals from sunrise to sunset. Sifting through these competing signals and processing them to find relevant bits that add value to your life can be an exhausting grind with the pote...

Ep. 86 - The Divine Feminine - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Clark Strand & Perdita Finn, co-authors of The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary ========== Almost from the very moment of my initial awakening in the summer of 1995, I’ve had a hunger to learn, and reading was a critical source of nutrients for my ravenous mind. I’ve read many wonderful books...

Ep. 85 - The Growing Voice - Ft. Dominique Darbonne of The Flamethrowers ========== Since starting this Good News podcast signal, it’s been my great pleasure to meet people from my region that I may not have met otherwise. The truth is that this transmission has allowed me to do much more than simply meet them; I’ve gotten to know them in some very deep and personal ways. More often than not, when...