Speaking

One of the most joyful experiences of my life has been getting to speak with folks about transformative topics. It has been an honor to speak and dialogue with people at organizations both secular and religious about topics such as:

Flourishing in the Midst of Adversity

Meditation and Spiritual Development

Learning About World Religions

Teaching About World Religions

The Craft of Teaching and Designing Courses

Here are some brief descriptions of specific talks. Please get in touch for more detail (see below). I am happy to tailor a talk or workshop to your needs!

Confessions of a Meditation Junkie: Meditation is not what you think. What is meditation? What isn’t it? How should I meditate? How shouldn’t I meditate? How can meditation improve my life? What does science have to say about it? How is meditation related to our prior and future evolution? What if I don’t like to meditate–is there anything else I can do to gain the benefits of meditation?

The Gift of [Insert Disorienting Dilemma Here]: We flourish not only in spite of, but because of, our adversities. How much of our happiness is determined by our biology? How much by choice? How can we change? What roles can medications, therapy, meditation, relationships, and disorienting dilemmas play in our growth? This is something of a motivational speech as well, incorporating elements of my own journey to which audiences can relate.

Seeing (Problems and Solutions) in Nine Dimensions: Why do so many of our individual and societal problems seem so intractable? Often it is because both sides think they are right. If we look closely, most competing claims each have plausibility. Once we become aware of ourselves as nine-dimensional beings (biological, psychological, social, systemic, cultural, environmental, metaphysical, freedom, and awareness), we can see how up to nine different claims can all be “right” at the same time, at least to some extent. Once we learn to see in nine dimensions, we can start to make progress and construct real, sustainable solutions.

Soul Explorations: How can we use relational journaling to learn about religions while examining and furthering our own spiritual development? What techniques can we borrow from each religion? How can we borrow them in such a way that we remain true to our own worldview and avoid appropriating from another culture? How can we employ these techniques in a way that promotes genuine engagement with oneself and others, leading to spiritual growth and relationship? This talk can be geared toward general audiences, or it can be tailored to teachers who want to use this method in their teaching.

Starting Points for Learning about World Religions: How can we possibly learn all we need to know about the many religions of the world? The short answer is: we can’t! But what we can do is to cultivate 5 (+1) Habits of Mind that ensure we are always thinking well about whatever religion we encounter.

In this presentation, we will examine these 5+1 Habits of Mind, plus some skills (contemplative dialogue and phenomenology) that will help us to examine and test our assumptions, so that we can appreciate other religions on their own terms.

These skills and habits of mind will help us increase our understanding of our own and others’ worldviews, deepen our relationship with others, and cultivate more advanced self-awareness.

This module can be extended to include basic information (and the most common misunderstandings) of any number of specific religions you choose.

Starting Points for Teaching World Religions: When we teach about religions, what content should we teach? What is our curriculum, hidden curriculum, and null curriculum? Why is it important to be transparent about all three? What about skills? Relational journaling, phenomenology, fieldwork, and contemplative dialogue are the four most important skills we can impart. This is not only because they are central to religious studies (and are unlikely to encounter them anywhere else), but because they are crucial to our being in the world today. Finally, what are the habits of mind we should impart to people, to equip them for thinking about religions and worldviews for the rest of their lives?

Mission Impossible: How to Design Courses When You Have Too Much Content and Not Enough Time: Many of us find ourselves in the condition of having too much important content and expertise we want our students to cultivate in one semester. How can we design a course that adequately prepares and advances students when we know we can’t teach it all? This lecture and/or workshop helps educators 1.) to think about what is most important about their time with students, 2.) to discern which content, skills, and habits of mind are best suited to accomplishing those goals (CSH), and 3.) how to do it all with increased understanding, relationship, and self-awareness (URSA).

Roots of Diversity: (Workshop): What are the roots of our many different kinds of diversity? What diversity does nature provide, and what layers of meaning do we add on top of that? Through a hands-on group activity, participants engage in the interplay between natural and human ordering, experientially grasping the relationship between these two different layers of diversity. Participants emerge better equipped to understand and dialogue about social issues.

Secular Spirituality Coming Soon!

Lucifer and Aristotle: Social Psychological Studies as Proof of Aristotle’s Structure of Virtue as the Mean between Two Vices. Coming Soon!

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If you would like me to come and speak to your organization or team about any or all of these topics, please use the form below to get in touch.