Provocative Enlightenment Radio

Richard L. Haight is the founder of the Total Embodiment Method (TEM), which is an awareness training system designed to integrate meditation into one’s daily life. Richard is the author of five bestselling titles, most notably The Warrior’s Meditation, Unshakable Awareness, and The Unbound Soul, and he is a master-level instructor of martial, meditation and healing arts.Richard began formal martial arts training at age 12 and moved to Japan at the age of 24 to advance his training with master’s of the sword, staff, and aiki-jujutsu. During his 15 years in Japan, Richard was awarded masters licenses in four samurai arts as well as a traditional healing art called sotai-ho. Richard is one of the world’s foremost experts in the traditional Japanese martial arts.Through his books, his meditation, and martial arts seminars, Richard Haight is helping to ignite a worldwide movement for personal transformation that is free of all constraints and open to anyone of any level. He now lives and teaches in southern Orego

Whenever we worry about what to eat, how to love, or simply how to be happy, we are worrying about how to lead a good life. No goal is more elusive. In How to Be a Stoic, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers Stoicism, the ancient philosophy that inspired the great emperor Marcus Aurelius, as the best way to attain it. Stoicism is a pragmatic philosophy that focuses our attention on what is possible and gives us perspective on what is unimportant. By understanding Stoicism, we can learn to answer crucial questions: Should we get married or divorced? How should we handle our money in a world nearly destroyed by a financial crisis? How can we survive great personal tragedy? Whoever we are, Stoicism has something for us–and How to Be a Stoic is the essential guide.Prof. Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He currently is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests

Berit Brogaard, PhD, and Kristian Marlow, MA, study people with astonishing talents—memory champions, human echolocators, musical virtuosos, math geniuses, and synesthetes who taste colors and hear faces. But as amazing as these abilities are, they are not mysterious. Our brains constantly process a huge amount of information below our awareness, and what these gifted individuals have in common is that through practice, injury, an innate brain disorder, or even more unusual circumstances, they have managed to gain a degree of conscious access to this potent processing power. The Superhuman Mind takes us inside the lives and brains of geniuses, savants, virtuosos, and a wide variety of ordinary people who have acquired truly extraordinary talents, one way or another. Delving into the neurological underpinnings of these abilities, the authors even reveal how we can acquire some of them ourselves—from perfect pitch and lightning fast math skills to supercharged creativity. The Superhuman Mind is a book

A smart, research-driven case for why optimism, kindness, and strong social networks will help us live to 100.From the day her daughter was born, science journalist Marta Zaraska fretted about what she and her family were eating. She fasted, considered adopting the keto diet, and ran a half-marathon. She bought goji berries and chia seeds and ate organic food. But then her research brought her to read countless scientific papers and to interview dozens of experts in various fields of study, including molecular biochemistry, epidemiology and neuroscience. What Marta discovered shattered her long-held beliefs about aging and longevity. A strong support network of family and friends, she learned, lowers mortality risk by about 45 percent, while exercise only lowers it by about 23 percent. Volunteering your free time lowers it by 22 percent or so, while certain health fads like turmeric haven’t been shown to help at all. These revelations led Marta Zaraska to a simple conclusion: In addition to healthy nutri

From a leading philosopher of the mind comes this lucid, provocative argument that offers a radically new picture of human consciousness—panpsychism.Understanding how brains produce consciousness is one of the great scientific challenges of our age. Some philosophers argue that consciousness is something “extra,” beyond the physical workings of the brain. Others think that if we persist in our standard scientific methods, our questions about consciousness will eventually be answered. And some even suggest that the mystery is so deep, it will never be solved. Decades have been spent trying to explain consciousness from within our current scientific paradigm, but little progress has been made.Now, Philip Goff offers an exciting alternative that could pave the way forward. Rooted in an analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of modern science and based on the early twentieth-century work of Arthur Eddington and Bertrand Russell, Goff makes the case for panpsychism, a theory which posits that consciousness is

Why was the mission to the Moon named after the God of the Sun, and not after a Moon Goddess or God? In this unconventional work, Philippe Sibaud explores the symbolism behind the 1969 landing on the Moon. More than fifty years after this seminal event, and whilst the Moon is attracting renewed interest, the author offers a bold new interpretation of the iconic Apollo mission. Was the Apollo landing the ultimate triumph of solar consciousness over the ancient lunar ways, a concrete enactment of the god Apollo mythically slaying the mother dragon at Delphi, or can the whole venture be seen as the sacred union of Sun and Moon, birthing a new vision at a time of great need? By weaving his own personal story with a greater cultural and symbolic narrative, Philippe Sibaud invites us to reflect on the importance of myths and the power of the Imagination to unlock the deeper meaning of our individual and collective experiences. You will never look at the Moon with the same eyes again.Philippe is a Trustee and a writ

Did a tiny bird in Texas really communicate with a horse and convince him it was okay to load on a trailer he’d never been on? Did a horse, after a three-year absence, know that its previous owner was present by hearing a harmonica being played? Did a horse, who had never acted up, hurt its owner on purpose so she would go to the doctor, where she discovered cancer had returned? Richard D. Rowland seeks the answer to fascinating questions as he explores the connection between humans and animals. As someone who was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer and given three years to live (more than twelve years ago), the human-animal bond is a subject he knows well. Animals caused him to rethink life and showed him things he never thought possible-and they led him to write his previous book, Unspoken Messages: Spiritual Lessons I learned from Horses and Other Earthbound Souls. Based on his interviews with people throughout the world, this book expands on how animals are misunderstood-and how they’re much smarter than m

The gap between the state of fusion energy research and public understanding is vast. In an entertaining and engaging narrative, this popular science book gives readers the basic tools to understand how fusion works, its potential, and contemporary research problems. Written by two young researchers in the field, The Future of Fusion Energy explains how physical laws and the Earth’s energy resources motivate the current fusion program — a program that is approaching a critical point. The world’s largest science project and biggest ever fusion reactor, ITER, is nearing completion. Its success could trigger a worldwide race to build a power plant, but failure could delay fusion by decades. To these ends, this book details how ITER’s results could be used to design an economically competitive power plant as well as some of the many alternative fusion concepts. Jason Parisi is a theoretical physicist studying turbulence in fusion plasmas at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, a fusion laboratory in the UK.

We are bombarded every day by reports of bad behavior, from sexual harassment to political corruption and bullying belligerence. It’s tempting to blame evil acts on evil people, but that leaves the rest us off the hook. Silence, after all, can perpetuate cruelty. Why We Act draws on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience to tackle an urgent question: Why do so many of us fail to intervene when we’re needed―and what would it take to make us step up?A renowned psychologist who has done pioneering research on social norms, Catherine Sanderson was inspired to write this book when a freshman in her son’s dorm died twenty hours after a bad fall while drinking. There were many points along the way when a decision to seek help could have saved his life. Why did no one act sooner?Cutting-edge neuroscience offers part of the answer, showing how deviating from the group activates the same receptors in the brain that are triggered by pain. But Sanderson also points to many ways in which our faulty assumpt

You care about the greater good, but you want to define it for yourself. What if you disagree with the politically correct view? You fear ridicule, shunning and attack, so you tell yourself it’s not worth it and find a way to conform. Until one day you can’t.I was politically correct until the day I heard myself lie about a simple fact because the truth didn’t sound progressive. I froze– in the middle of a lecture to 150 students. Enough! I decided to take back my brain. I gave myself permission to see what I see and know what I know instead of living in fear. It cost me, but the benefits outweighed the costs. Here is the story of my transition. You can do it too.To learn more about Loretta Breuning, PhD and her work, go to www.innermammalinstitute.orgTo get your copy of How I Escaped Political Correctness And You Can Too, please visit our Amazon affiliate link.To learn more about Provocative Enlightenment Radio, go to http://www.provocativeenlightenment.com

What does President George Washington have in common with the Buddha, Sakyamuni? Author and teacher, Robert Sachs, brings together the lessons and teachings of these two great men; one an exemplary political figure, the other, the founder of one of the world’s great wisdom traditions. The result is a guidebook to study, carry with you, and apply to cultivate healthy, intelligent, and communication and action inspired by and rooted in civility.Robert Sachs received his B.A. in comparative religion and sociology at the University of Lancaster and then moved to London, where he studied Macrobiotics with Michio Kushi and Rex Lassalle at the Kushi Institute and hatha yoga under the guidance of Jonathan O’Dell and Johanna Auld whilst also being trained as a mental health counselor with the Richmond Fellowship. Of particular interest to Robert since the late seventies has been the practical preventive health care aspects of Tibetan medicine, which he studied under the guidance of Dr. Lobsang Rapgay. Robert also foc

Plenty of research has been done on why companies go terribly wrong, but what makes companies go spectacularly right? That’s the question that Kim Cameron asked over a decade ago. Since then, Cameron and his colleagues have uncovered the principles and practices that set extraordinarily effective organizations apart from the merely successful. In his previous book, Positive Leadership, Cameron identified four strategies that enable these organizations, and the individuals within them, to flourish: creating a positive climate, positive relationships, positive communication, and positive meaning. Here he lays out specific tactics for implementing them. These are not feel-good nostrums—study after study (some cited in this book) have proven positive leadership delivers breakthrough bottom-line results. Thanks to Cameron’s concise how-to guide, now any organization can be “positively deviant,” achieving outcomes that far surpass the norm.To learn more about Kim Cameron and his work, visit michiganross.umich.

How much is a human life worth? Individuals, families, companies, and governments routinely place a price on human life. The calculations that underlie these price tags are often buried in technical language, yet they influence our economy, laws, behaviors, policies, health, and safety. These price tags are often unfair, infused as they are with gender, racial, national, and cultural biases that often result in valuing the lives of the young more than the old, the rich more than the poor, whites more than blacks, Americans more than foreigners, and relatives more than strangers. This is critical since undervalued lives are left less-protected and more exposed to risk.Howard Steven Friedman explains in simple terms how economists and data scientists at corporations, regulatory agencies, and insurance companies develop and use these price tags and points a spotlight at their logical flaws and limitations. He then forcefully argues against the rampant unfairness in the system. Readers will be enlightened, s

It is an axiom of American life that advantage should be earned through ability and effort. Even as the country divides itself at every turn, the meritocratic ideal – that social and economic rewards should follow achievement rather than breeding – reigns supreme. Both Democrats and Republicans insistently repeat meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we are. It sustains the American dream.But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy, and the embattled middle classes are now more likely to sink into the working poor than to rise into the professional elite. At the same time, meritocracy now ensnares even those who manage to claw their way to the top, requiring rich adults to work with crushing intensity, exploiting their expensive educations in order to

Burnout is on the rise. This is a problem we cannot afford to ignore. The rising costs of burnout are staggering. Health care professionals sacrifice their health, happiness, and relationships. Fortunately, there is a solution. Dr. Greg Hammer created GAIN Without Pain so that health care professionals can prevent burnout and reclaim happiness.This proven path toward personal resilience can be implemented by anyone, anywhere, in just a few minutes a day. Increased resilience could save your practice, your patients, your marriage – or even your life. GAIN Without Pain is a four-step process toward happiness. GAIN is an acronym for Gratitude, Acceptance, Intention, and Nonjudgment.Greg Hammer, MD, is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. As a pediatric anesthesiologist and an intensive care physician he cares for children and their families during very stressful times.To learn more about Dr. Greg Hammer and his work, go to www.GregHammerMD.com To get your copy of GAIN Without Pain, please

To go beyond is to move into a higher state of consciousness, to a place of bliss, greater understanding, love, and deep connectedness, a realm where we finally find life’s meaning.Scientist and spiritual explorer Rupert Sheldrake looks at seven spiritual practices that are personally transformative and have scientifically measurable effects. He combines the latest scientific research with his extensive knowledge of mystical traditions to show how we may tune into more-than-human realms of consciousness through psychedelics such as ayahuasca, and how everyday activities can have mystical dimensions, including sports and learning from animals. He discusses traditional religious practices such as fasting, prayer, and the celebration of festivals and holy days.Why do these practices work? Are their effects solely inside our brains and essentially illusory? Or can we really make contact with forms of consciousness greater than our own?Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and the author of more than ninety technica

Mark Anthony the Psychic Lawyer®/Psychic Explorer® is the author of the award winning, critically acclaimed best-sellers Never Letting Go and Evidence of Eternity. He is a world-renowned fourth generation psychic medium who communicates with spirits. Mark is an Oxford educated attorney licensed to practice law in Florida, Washington D.C. and before the United States Supreme Court. Mark is featured regularly on Television, major talk radio shows and in print media.Mark Anthony is also known as the Psychic Explorer. The media has referred to him as the “Psychic Indiana Jones” due to his extensive background in science, quantum physics, survival of consciousness and near-death experiences, history, archaeology, philosophy and theology. One day Mark may be lecturing at an Ivy League University about Quantum Physics and the next off to mystical locations in remote corners of the world to explore Ancient Ruins and Supernatural Phenomena.Today’s show is all about live readings!To learn more about Mark Anthony and h

First proposed more than 200 years ago, Schopenhauer’s extraordinarily prescient metaphysics – if understood along the lines thoroughly elucidated and substantiated in this volume – offers powerful answers not only to the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, but also to modern philosophical dilemmas such as the hard problem of consciousness – which plagues mainstream physicalism, and the subject combination problem – which plagues constitutive panpsychism.This invaluable treasure of the Western philosophical canon has eluded us so far because Schopenhauer’s argument has been consistently misunderstood and misrepresented, even at the hands of presumed experts.Hoping to change this situation, Decoding Schopenhauer’s Metaphysics, offers a conceptual framework, a decoding key for unlocking the sense of Schopenhauer’s metaphysical contentions in a way that renders them mutually consistent. With this key in mind, even those who earlier dismissed Schopenhauer’s metaphysics should be able to return to it with fresh eyes a

Across thousands of years, people have described one of the most astonishing of all human phenomena: the near-death experience (NDE), the subjective experience of an Afterlife, a place where we apparently survive death. The more powerful the NDE, the more profound the after effects. The ambitious reset their priorities. Atheists change their values. Doctors rethink their beliefs. But what if the after effects of an NDE were undeniable? What if someone suddenly developed the ability to produce high quality paintings of their NDE, a new-found skill that went far beyond the artistic ability they had before? And what if that same person then suddenly acquired the ability to compose classical symphonies after their NDE? And their symphonies were then premiered at sell out orchestral concerts, even though, to this day, they are unable to read or write a single note of musical notation. Wouldn’t this be proof that even a cynic would have a hard time explaining? After his NDE, this is exactly what happened to David.

The relentless search for high self-esteem has become a virtual religion; and a tyrannical one at that. Our competitive culture tells us we need to be special and above average to feel good about ourselves, but we can’t all be above average at the same time. Fortunately, there is an alternative to self-esteem that many psychologists believe is a better and more effective path to happiness: self-compassion. The research of Dr. Kristin Neff and others strongly suggests that people who are more self-compassionate lead healthier, more productive lives than those who are self-critical. Using solid empirical research, personal stories, humor, and dozens of practical exercises, Dr. Neff—the world’s leading experts on self-compassion—shows readers how to heal the wounds of the past so that they can be healthier, happier and more effective.To learn more about Dr. Kristin Neff and her work, go to www.self-compassion.orgVisit our Amazon affiliate links to get your copy of Self-Compassion and The Mindful Self-Compas