Voices of Love

Bio: Ørjan Bergan just completed writing his Master’s thesis at the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at the Arctic University of Tromsø (Norway). The title of the thesis is “Letting Go and Getting Closer: A Constructive Critical Study of the Experienced Application of Buddhist Understanding and Practice of Emptiness in Peace and Conflict Transformation Work.” Ørjan  is a trained Gestalt therapist at...

Santiago was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and came to the United States in his teens with his mother and brother, first living in the Boston area and then moving to California. He became interested in Buddhism and served on the staff at Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, and then was one of the stewards for a tour of Buddhist relics throughout Latin America in México, Trinidad & Tobago,...

sujatha baliga’s work is characterized by an equal dedication to crime survivors and people who’ve caused harm. A former victim advocate and public defender, baliga was awarded a Soros Justice Fellowship in 2008 which she used to launch a now nation-wide restorative youth diversion program. For her decades of work in conflict transformation and restorative justice, she was named a 2019 MacArthur F...

It’s Time to Talk About Peace with Rabbi Paula Marcus I met Rabbi Paula Marcus, senior rabbi of Temple Beth El in Aptos, CA, not long after returning to the Santa Cruz area in 2018. I was looking for ways to connect to interfaith social justice work in the area, and in every group I joined, Rabbi Paula was there! I remember our first meeting at an event organized by Partners in Caring, a project o...

Andrew Purchin is a citizen artist whose practice is rooted in mixed media art, dance improvisation, film and psychotherapy. He graduated with a B.A in his own major, “The Arts and Social Action” from UC Santa Cruz in 1985 and a Masters Degree in Social Work from San Francisco State University in 1990.  With his Creative Listening Project, Purchin paints, listens and encourages creativity at sites...

Tenzin Chogkyi  (she/her/hers) is a teacher of workshops and programs that bridge the worlds of Buddhist thought, contemplative practice, mental and emotional cultivation, and the latest research in the field of positive psychology. Tenzin is especially interested in bringing the wisdom of Buddhism into modern culture and into alignment with modern cultural values such as racial and gender justice...

Tenzin and Eden spoke of a number of different resources in this episode which are listed below: Eden's website:  https://www.deborahedentull.com/ And the video of her home after the hurricane:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH32y0ooVYQ&ab_channel=DeborahEdenTull The GoFundMe page to help her after the disaster: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-eden-and-mark-rebuild-after-helene The Othering and...

Back by popular demand, Deborah Eden Tull joins Tenzin for a timely conversation about how to hold space and stay present in deeply challenging times. Recorded at the beginning of the renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas, this episode shares deep insight on how we can navigate polarization and difficulty with compassion and engagement with our shared humanity.

We're often led to believe that our highly-structured, thinking-oriented sides are what make us human, that "hard work" is of value above all else, and that play is simply something that young children do. However, research shows that play has incredible power is developing social bonds, fostering creativity, sparking joy and even helping to make positive changes to our epigenetics. In this episod...

No matter how mindful we are of our thoughts, speech and actions, being human means that we can sometimes act unwisely or hurt someone's feelings. Whether these mistakes are unintentional or not, they can lead to rifts in our relationships; and ultimately damage both our own contentment, as well as the cohesion of our community. In this episode, Tenzin shares the power of apologizing as a roadmap...

Nina Simons is the co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Bioneers, and leads its Everywoman’s Leadership program. Bioneers is a nonprofit that uses media, convening, and connecting to lift up visionary and practical solutions for many of our most pressing social and ecological challenges, revealing aregenerative and equitable future that’s within our reach today.  Nina is a social entrepren...

Nina Simons is the co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Bioneers, and leads its Everywoman’s Leadership program. Bioneers is a nonprofit that uses media, convening, and connecting to lift up visionary and practical solutions for many of our most pressing social and ecological challenges, revealing aregenerative and equitable future that’s within our reach today.  Nina is a social entrepren...

In this episode, Tenzin explores the many gifts that gratitude can bring to our lives, helping to offset our natural negativity bias and bring more richness to our experiences and our relationships. She then shares some simple ideas on how we can cultivate our own practice of gratitude with an experiential meditation.

Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown by Deborah Eden Tull is a resonant call to explore the darkness in life, in nature, and in consciousness—including difficult emotions like uncertainty, grief, fear, and xenophobia—through teachings, embodied meditations, and mindful inquiry that provide us with a powerful path to healing. Darkness is deeply misunderstood in t...

Sara is a contributing author to the book  The Neuroscience of Learning and Development: Enhancing Creativity, Compassion, Critical Thinking and Peace in Education , and writes for Deepak Chopra’s Center for Wellbeing website.   Sara’s new book,  A Case for Compassion: What Happens When We Prioritize People and the Planet , is available now.

Dr. Joey Weber, who was raised in a Buddhist community in northern England, noticed that the focus in popular mindfulness programs was on the attentional training, and not as much emphasis was given to the “non-judgmental” aspect of mindfulness. He was so intrigued by this that he completed a PhD program devoted to the study of equanimity, the non-judgmental stance of mindfulness. His book,  Mindf...

The Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron says, in relation to contemplative practice, “We are being encouraged to remain open to the present groundless moment, to a direct, unarmored participation with our experience… How many of us feel ready to interrupt our habitual patterns, our almost instinctual ways of getting comfortable?” Many of us find the experience of groundlessness to be profoundly uncomfor...

This is the episode that was aired on KSQD.org.  Checkout the full, 90 minute conversation in the next post. Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown  by Deborah Eden Tull is a resonant call to explore the darkness in life, in nature, and in consciousness—including difficult emotions like uncertainty, grief, fear, and xenophobia—through teachings, embodied meditatio...

Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown  by Deborah Eden Tull is a resonant call to explore the darkness in life, in nature, and in consciousness—including difficult emotions like uncertainty, grief, fear, and xenophobia—through teachings, embodied meditations, and mindful inquiry that provide us with a powerful path to healing. Darkness is deeply misunderstood in...

What is the role of joy on the spiritual path? The bodhisattva path and the path of compassion require us to have an awareness of the suffering of beings – are joy and compassion contradictory? Or can joy be used to sustain our spiritual path and practice? Join us for an exploration of the theme of joy on the spiritual path with Tenzin Chogkyi, who will draw from sources as diverse as 8th Century...

Our emotions bring us our greatest joys and our deepest sorrows. We wouldn't survive without them, and yet they can also cause us to harm others and ourselves. What is the purpose of emotions, and how can we cultivate more emotional balance? Join us for this conversation with well-known emotions researcher and educator, Dr. Eve Ekman, as we explore these questions. We will also discuss the role of...

She also talks about an upcoming event "Let's Talk About It: Finding common threads through conversation" to be held at the MAH on Saturday, July 23, 2022 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm, which will be based on these principles and provide the opportunity for members of the public to have conversations with people representing misunderstood identities. Find out more here.

In these uncertain times, our roles as individuals in the sweeping events washing over the world stage can feel deeply unclear, sometimes frightening and frequently overwhelming.  It is tempting to respond to these often painful situations by vacillating between anger and complacency. Buddhist teachings can offer insight into accepting “what is” while developing the capacity for equanimity and the...

The concept of Right Speech (or "Skillful Speech") is core to many Buddhist teachings about how to live an ethical life and avoid causing harm. In our hyperconnected world, our ability to communicate beyond face-to-face has increased exponentially, and navigating our own speech (and written words) is important because of the wide-ranging ramifications that our words can have on others, as well as...

This is borrowed from the Reflections on Buddhism show with Ven Tenzin Chogkyi that airs monthly at KSQD.org.  Find past episodes at UnlockingTrueHappiness.org.