CONFERENCE > SPEAKERS SAND 2012
Oct. 24th - Oct. 28th, 2012 San Rafael, CA
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Speakers Bios
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, PH.D.
Director, Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California-San DiegoV.S. Ramachandran is a neurologist best known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and psychophysics. He is currently the Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego. He is also the author of several books including Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind (1998) and The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientists Quest for What Makes Us Human (2010). Ramachandran initially obtained an M.D. at Stanley Medical College in Madras, India, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He has since been called “The Marco Polo of neuroscience” by Richard Dawkins and "the modern Paul Broca" by Eric Kandel. Newsweek Magazine named him a member of "The Century Club," one of the "hundred most prominent people to watch" in the 21st century.
John Hagelin, PH.D.
President of the David Lynch FoundationPresident of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace
John Hagelin, Ph.D., is a world-renowned quantum physicist, educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace. Dr. Hagelin received his A.B. summa cum laude from Dartmouth College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and conducted pioneering research at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) and SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). His scientific contributions in the fields of electroweak unification, grand unification, super-symmetry and cosmology include some of the most cited references in the physical sciences. He is also responsible for the development of a highly successful Grand Unified Field Theory based on the Superstring. But Dr. Hagelin is unique among scientists in being the first to apply this most advanced knowledge for the practical benefit of humankind. He has pioneered the use of Unified Field-based technologies proven to reduce crime, violence, terrorism, and war and to promote peace throughout society—technologies derived from the ancient Vedic science of consciousness. www.hagelin.org, www.davidlynchfoundation.org
Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), ph.d.
Founder of the Diamond Approach®Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), was born in the Middle East, but at age 18 he moved to the USA to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics, where he was studying Einsteirn's theory of general relativity and nuclear physics, when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him more and more into inquiring into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature. Hameed is the founder of the Diamond Approach® - a spiritual teaching that utilizes a unique kind of inquiry into realization, where the practice is the expression of realization. Freedom is living our realization, a dynamic enlightenment where our transcendent nondual truth lives personally in the world. This inquiry opens up the infinite creativity of our Being, transforming our lives into a runaway realization, moving from realization to further realization. Almaas' books include: The Inner Journey Home, Essence , The Pearl Beyond Price , Luminous Night’s Journey , and The Unfolding Now.
Menas Kafatos
Physicist, Founding Dean, Schmid College of Science, Vice Chancellor for Special ProjectsDr. Menas Kafatos is Vice Chancellor for Special Projects and also Dean of the Schmid College of Science, Director of the Center for Excellence in Applied, Computational, and Fundamental Science, and The Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics at Chapman University. He received his B.A. in Physics from Cornell University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. After postdoctoral work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, he joined George Mason University and was University Professor of Interdisciplinary Sciences there from 1984-2008. He also served as Dean of the School of Computational Sciences and was Director of the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research. He has 34 years experience in undergraduate and graduate Earth systems science, natural hazards and climate change, remote sensing and data information systems, physics, computational and theoretical astrophysics, astronomy, and foundations in quantum theory. He has published numerous books including The Conscious Universe, the Non-local Universe (with Robert Nadeau, Springer-Verlag), Principles of Integrative Science (with Mihai Draganescu, Romanian Academy of Sciences Press), and more than 250 articles on computational science, astrophysics, Earth systems science, hazards and global change, general relativity, cosmology, foundations of quantum theory, and consciousness. http://chapman.edu/CS/pcse/faculty/kafatos.asp
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Sufi TeacherLlewellyn Vaughan-Lee is a Sufi teacher in the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi Order. In 1991 he became the successor of Irina Tweedie, author of Daughter of Fire: A Diary of a Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master. He then moved to Northern California and founded The Golden Sufi Center (www.goldensufi.org). Author of several books on Sufism, in recent years the focus of his writing and teaching has been on spiritual responsibility in our present time of transition, and an awakening global consciousness of oneness. More recently he has written about the feminine, the Anima Mundi (world soul), and spiritual ecology. www.workingwithoneness.org
Gangaji
Teacher and authorGangaji shares a simple message - This is an invitation to shift your allegiance from the activities of your mind to the eternal presence of your being. A teacher and author, she shares her direct experience of the essential message she received from Papaji and offers it to all who want to discover a true and lasting fulfillment. Through her life and words, she powerfully articulates how it is really possible to discover the truth of who you are and to be true to that discovery. www.gangaji.org
Roland Griffiths, Ph.D.
Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineProf. Griffiths' principal research focus in both clinical and preclinical laboratories has been on the behavioral and subjective effects of mood-altering drugs. His research has been largely supported by grants from the National Institute on Health and he is author of over 300 journal articles and book chapters. He has been a consultant to the National Institutes of Health, and to numerous pharmaceutical companies in the development of new psychotropic drugs.
Griffiths is also currently a member of the Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Dependence for the World Health Organization. He has an interest in meditation and the lead investigator of the psilocybin research initiative at Johns Hopkins, which includes studies of psilocybin occasioned mystical experience in healthy volunteers and cancer patients, and a pilot study of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation.
Francis Lucille
Advaita TeacherFrancis Lucille is a spiritual teacher of the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality). He became a disciple of Jean Klein, a French Advaita teacher whom he met in 1975. This was the beginning of a close association that lasted until the death of his friend and spiritual master in 1998. Jean Klein's own guru, "Panditji" Rao, whom he met in India in the nineteen-fifties, was a college professor in Bengalore who taught Sanskrit and belonged to a lineage of traditional Advaita Vedanta teachers. www.francislucille.com
Genpo Roshi
Zen TeacherGenpo Merzel Roshi is one of the preeminent Zen Masters in the Western world, and has developed the Big Mind method for awakening, a remarkable process of facilitated self-discovery.
The core of his Big Mind teaching is the unshakeable and contagious certainty that every one of us, regardless of our socio-economic, cultural or religious background, can instantly awaken to our true nature, like the great masters of old — like the historical Buddha himself, whose essential teaching was nothing less than this. This experience helps us shed anxiety and fear and learn to live more purposeful, compassionate and joyful lives. Roshi combines Zen tradition with the insights of such visionary western figures as Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, and Hal Stone, enabling virtually anyone to realize their true nature, a realization they can further deepen through meditation. Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi comes from a long line of Rebbes. Born in Brooklyn NY, he grew up in Southern California where he was a high school champion swimmer and All-American water polo player. He earned a Masters degree in education from the University of Southern California and was a teacher and lifeguard before ordaining as a Zen monk under Zen Master Taizan Maezumi in 1973. Completing formal Koan study in 1979 he became Maezumi Roshi’s second Dharma Successor in 1980, the first being Bernie Tetsugen Glassman. He received Inka (final seal of approval as Zen Master) from Roshi Glassman in 1996, thereby becoming one of a small group of Westerners recognized as lineage holders in both the Soto and Rinzai Zen traditions.
http://bigmind.org/
Alva Noë
Alva Noë is a writer and philosopher at UC Berkeley, where he is also a member of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Center for New Media. For the last decade or so his philosophical practice has concerned perception and consciousness. His current research focus is art and human nature.
Alva is the author of Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain and Other Lessons From The Biology of Consciiousness (Hill and Wang / Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2009) and Action in Perception (The MIT Press, 2004). The central idea of these books is that consciousness is not something that happens inside us -- not in our brains, or anywhere else; it is something we do.
Before coming to Berkeley in 2003, Alva taught in the department of philosophy at UC Santa Cruz. He received a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University in 1995; he has a BA from Columbia (1986) and a BPhil from Oxford Universiy (1986). He has been a fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (2007-2008). He is a research associate of the CNRS laboratory Institut Jean-Nicod in Paris. In the spring of 2003 he was a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and in the 1995-1996 academic year he was a research fellow of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~noe/
Rabbi David A. Cooper
Rabbi David A. Cooper has been called one of today's leading teachers of Jewish meditation.He is an active student of the world's great spiritual traditions and is the author of many books, including Entering the Sacred Mountain (Bell Tower), The Heart of Stillness (Bell Tower), Silence, Simplicity, and Solitude (Bell Tower), and Renewing Your Soul (HarperSanFrancisco). His most recent book, God Is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism (Riverhead/Putnam), has been highly acclaimed and was nominated for the National Jewish Book Award. Cooper and his wife, Shoshana, lead Jewish meditation retreats nationwide throughout the year. They reside at the Heart of Stillness Hermitage in the Colorado mountains near Boulder. www.rabbidavidcooper.com
David Loy
Zen teacher David Loy, PhD, was the Besl Family Chair Professor of Ethics/Religion and Society at Xavier University in Cincinnati from 2006 to 2010. His books include "Nonduality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy" (Yale University Press, 1988). He is an authorized teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, where he completed formal koan training under Zen Master Yamada Koun Roshi. For more information: www.davidloy.org
Evan Thompson
Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto Evan Thompson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, and Co-Chair of the Mind and Life Institute's Program and Research Council (www.mindandlife.org
Peter Russell
M.A., D.C.S., F.S.P.Peter Russell is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, of The World Business Academy and of The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest. At Cambridge University (UK), he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Then, as he became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the human mind he changed to experimental psychology. Pursuing this interest, he traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation. He has written several books in this area -- The TM Technique, The Upanishads, The Brain Book, The Global Brain Awakens, The Creative Manager, The Consciousness Revolution, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God. http://www.peterrussell.com
RUPERT SPIRA
Artist and Non-duality TeacherFrom an early age Rupert was deeply interested in the nature of Reality. For twenty years he studied the teachings of Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Shankaracharya, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, twelve years ago. Francis introduced Rupert to the teaching of Jean Klein, Parmenides, Wei Wu Wei and Atmananda Krishnamenon and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.
Rupert’s first book is "The Transparency of Things," subtitled "Contemplating the Nature of Experience,". His second book, "Presence Volume I The Art of Peace and Happiness and Presence Volume II The Intimacy of All Experience" has been currently released by Non-Duality Press. www.rupertspira.com
Jeff Foster
Nonduality authorJeff Foster studied Astrophysics at Cambridge University. In his mid-twenties, after a long period of depression and illness, he became addicted to the idea of ‘spiritual enlightenment’ and embarked on an intensive spiritual quest for the ultimate truth of existence. The spiritual search came crashing down with the clear recognition of the non-dual nature of everything, and the discovery of the extraordinary in the ordinary. In the clarity of this seeing, life became what it always was: intimate, open, loving and spontaneous, and Jeff was left with a deep understanding of the root illusion behind all human suffering, and a love of the present moment. He presently holds meetings, retreats and private one-to-one sessions around the world, gently but directly pointing people back to the deep acceptance inherent in the present moment. He helps people discover who they really are, beyond all thoughts and judgments about themselves, even in the midst of the stress and struggle of modern day living and intimate relationships. Jeff’s teaching style is direct and uncompromising and yet full of humanity, humor and compassion. He believes that freedom is everybody’s birthright. He belongs to no tradition or lineage, and makes his teaching accessible to all. Jeff was voted #68 on Watkins Review’s 2011 list of the world’s 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People – the youngest teacher on the list. Jeff has published four books in over six languages. His latest book The Deepest Acceptance will be published in 2012 by Sounds True. www.lifewithoutacentre.com
Peter Fenner, Ph.D.
Founder and Director of Education, Timeless Wisdom,Palo Alto, California
Peter has a Ph.D. in the philosophical psychology of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism. His teachers included Lama Thubten Yeshe, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Thubten Loden, Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and Sogyal Rinpoche. He was a celibate monk for nine years. He taught Asian philosophy and psychology for over 20 years at Australian Universities and supervised numerous postgraduate students. He subsequently founded the Center for Timeless Wisdom (wisdom.org), a Californian nonprofit organization, which offers the 9 month Radiant Mind course and 9 month Nondual Teacher Training. Peter teachers in USA, Europe, Israel and Australia. His books include "Radiant Mind—Awakening the unconditioned awareness," "Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy," "The Edge of Certainty: Paradoxes on the Buddhist Path," "Essential Wisdom Teachings," "Reasoning into Reality," and "The Ontology of the Middle Way." www.nondualtraining.com and www.radiantmind.net
Peter Baumann
Founder of the Baumann InstituteFor many years, Peter Baumann has focused on the exploration of well-being and quality of life from a philosophical, conceptual and experiential perspective. In the spring of 2009, Baumann established the Baumann Institute a nonprofit educational and research corporation. “We want to find out whether or not non-dual awareness can be instrumental in the alleviation of suffering and the experience of well-being,” Baumann states. “The results of scientific research were instrumental in exploding meditation into mainstream awareness and acceptance over the last 35 years. We’re hoping over the coming decades our work may lead to similar results with non-dual awareness.” Peter Baumann has brought to all his endeavors, a satisfying balance of natural, free-flowing intuition and rational, businesslike precision. Most recently, he’s focused this innate approach on finding the secrets to “the highest quality of life.” Baumann is a happy, fulfilled human being. “We all like to share what has made a difference in our lives,” he notes. With this in mind, he’s now intent on discovering if what he’s realized for himself can be of service to a broader humanity. www.baumanninstitute.org
Fariba Bogzaran, Ph.D.
Visionary, Professor, and Artist Fariba Bogzaran, visionary, professor and artist is the founder of the dream studies program at JFK University and co-founder of the Lucid Art Foundation. She is one of the pioneers in the field of dream studies and has received recognition of outstanding contribution to the International Association for the Study of Dreams. In the 1980's, she researched the science of lucid dreaming with Lucidity Project team at Stanford Sleep Laboratory and has written and taught the spiritual aspect of lucid dreaming, awareness methods and creativity for over twenty years. Her work with arts and consciousness connected her to the lineage of Surrealism and Dynaton group and as an artist she combines art and science to explore the mind through lucid dreaming and as a scholar she has curated numerous exhibitions since 1985. She is the author of many articles on arts, consciousness and dreams and co-author of three books: Extraordinary Dreams (SUNY, 2002); Five Keys to the Secret World of Remedios Varo (2008) and forthcoming book Integral Dreaming (SUNY). Lucid Art Foundation.In the 1980's, she researched the science of lucid dreaming with Lucidity Project team at Stanford Sleep Laboratory and has written and taught the spiritual aspect of lucid dreaming, awareness methods and creativity for overtwenty years. Dr. Bogzaran has received recognition of outstanding contribution to the International Association for the Study of Dreams and Professor of the Year from Graduate School for Holistic Studies, John F. Kennedy University. www.bogzaran.com
Sally Kempton
Sally Kempton is a powerful teacher of applied non-dual wisdom, known for her capacity to kindle meditative states in others, and help students apply non-dual experience to practical life-change. She teaches teleclasses, retreats, and workshops, appearing regularly at conference centers such as Esalen and Kripalu. Sally is the author of Meditation for the Love of It,” which Spirituality and Health magazine called “the meditation book your heart wants you to read. She writes a regular column, “Wisdom” for Yoga Journal, as well as a column called “Meditation for Life” on the Internet religious site Patheos.com
Puppetji
MasterMaster Puppetji speaks to all. His insightful and useless “Socksangs” are light-hearted reminders that help us open our eyes to a new way of SEEING. A master at squashing illusion with Wizdumb, humor and meaningless insights, Puppetji cuts through the spiritual mumbo-jumbo and gets right to The Truth: According to Puppetji. Considered to be one of our last great enlightened masters, Puppetji selflessly delivers his meaningless words of Wizdumb to anyone who will listen and even those who don’t. Puppetji’s message is simple: “You take life too seriously…Enlighten-up”. www.puppetji.com
Kenneth D. Johnson
www.ThisSacredSpace.orgwww.thelasthustle.com
For thirty-one years Kenny Johnson's most fervent desire was to hear his name "ringing in the streets" as a hustler, thief, and pimp. Beginning in his early teens, he was arrested thirty-seven times and spent the majority of those years in prison. Running parallel with that desire was a persistent seed of spiritual longing that would not leave him alone. In 1995, while still behind prison walls, Kenny experienced a spiritual awakening so profound that it transformed not only his prior conditioning as a criminal but his very field of consciousness. In the vast stillness that overwhelmed his mind and heart, he witnessed with intimate clarity the bondage the entire human experience is subject to and exactly where eternal freedom can be found. As a speaker and an author, he now shares that understanding intimately with his audiences. Kenny is currently the founder of "This Sacred Space," a non-profit organization that facilitates meditation and self-inquiry groups both in and out of prisons. Kenny is the author of the newly relsead book "The Last Hustle".
Peggy La Cerra, PhD
Director of the Center for Evolutionary Neuroscience Peggy La Cerra is the Director of the Center for Evolutionary Neuroscience, a research and educational nonprofit that examines human nature and the human condition from the perspective of an energetic (thermodynamic) evolutionary model of the neurocognitive architecture. She is also a columnist for Spirituality & Health Magazine (‘Our Evolving Selves’) and a neuroscientific consultant to The Baumann Institute
Robert Dittler, ph.d.
Once upon a time there was a guy named Robert M. Dittler. He entered this realm in San Francisco, California, USA and has since lived in many parts Earth. The universe is his home. He earned a Classical Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, making him somewhat "competent" till the 12th Century CE or so. Later, he finished a Masters of Arts program in Counseling and Guidance. Finally, he received a Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophical Psychology. He has taught in many different levels and settings: Home-Hospital, US Navy Air Craft carriers and ships at-sea, typical classrooms (high school and college), serving the Learning Handicapped as well as educating in Latin, English, and Psychology. Currently, when not visiting India or Nepal, he may be found in a seminar room facilitating a communication workshop for the general public or corporate types. He is a Yoga and Soto Zen practitioner. His main interest is belief systems: their creation, reformulation, and replacement in the service of increasing one's own integrity. Robert's wide and varied experience and his personable manner make his workshops challenging, memorable and delightful.
Bentinho Massaro
Founder of Free Awareness Bentinho Massaro started seeking for Enlightenment around the age of 16. He did so by intensely seeking for some kind of permanent state and hoped to attain that through reading a lot of books, meeting teachers, going to India and practicing all kinds of meditations. In a sense he never succeeded in his quest for 'enlightenment', and yet he discovered exactly what he was actually looking for... He noticed directly more so every single day, that every single one of his experiences never really left a mark anywhere. Nothing ever sticks in this natural space of being. Every experience was recognized to be an effortless, translucent coming and going within awareness. Even 'enlightenment' turned out to be an idea coming and going intermittently, with no actual reality to it other than being a thought arising in what is truly always present... Awareness.
The freedom that this recognition released, became more self-evident by the day, and so continuously subtle ideas and mis-perceptions started to dissolve in this clear light of awareness. The seeking-tendency relaxed as well, since it was now obvious that there had never been any other place, state or experience, than this natural presence of awareness. Nothing is ever known outside of this moment, and so there was nothing to achieve outside of this moment. The imaginary sense of separation, also dissolved. Now every experience is naturally pervaded by the loving presence of free awareness.
Website: www.free-awareness.com
Chuck Hillig
AuthorChuck Hillig is a modern spiritual teacher, author and licensed psychotherapist whose clarity of expression has earned him the admiration and praise of many notable writers and lecturers in this area. Chuck writes personally and directly about the essence of non-dual spirituality and presents its astonishing truths to the average reader in ways that are totally unique, completely accessible and absolutely life-changing. Using his studies in both eastern philosophy and western psychology, Chuck’s five unique books present a world view that shows his readers how to fully live a truly enlightened and authentic life in the 21st Century by waking up to who they really are. His books and interviews about non-dualism have been published in nine languages. Chuck appears in the new Leap 3.0 movie as well as in many recent videos on youtube. Website: www.chuckhillig.com
Rick Linchitz
www.ricklinchitz.com Rick Linchitz was a long term seeker until he lost every thing he thought he had, including the belief there was anyone looking in the first place. The Rick story seems to mostly include being a father and grandfather, a doctor, and occasional spiritual teacher. His most recent book "No you, No Me: Just the Loving Presence in Which All Appears" is due to be published by Non-Duality Press in the Fall of 2011 (I think).
Unmani
Teacher and Author Unmani points very directly to who you really are beyond all the words and concepts. If there is a readiness to hear this, then there is a possibility to investigate the reality of everything that you have ever believed in. Realizing more and more that your whole life is based on an assumption of who you think you are, there is a total freefall into not knowing. Unmani travels around the world offering spontaneous and uncompromising nondual Meetings and Retreats in 'Not-Knowing'. These Retreats have an intensely intimate flavor as Unmani invites you to wake up to the way it actually is beyond all your hopes and fears. In having a dialogue with Unmani there is no escape from the unknowable reality of life.Unmani is the author of two books ‘I am Life itself’ and ‘Die to Love’ and is now writing a third book. www.die-to-love.com
Ellen Emmet
Movement Therapist Ellen is a psychotherapist and dance movement therapist in the tradition of non-duality. She received her MA in Transpersonal psychology at JFK University in California and has studied the yoga of non-duality for many years with her teacher Francis Lucille. www.ellenemmet.com
Kurt Johnson
Dr. Kurt Johnson has worked in science and spirituality for over 40 years. As a Christian monk he founded (with Br. Wayne Teasdale) InterSpiritual Dialogue (www.isdna.org) for discussion of contemplative experience across traditions. He also works with The Contemplative Alliance (www.gpiw.org) and Integral communities (www.integral-dharma.org). In 2005 Kurt began giving “Satsang” associated with Pamela Wilson. In science Kurt’s PhD is in evolution, ecology, systematics and comparative biology. Associated with the American Museum of Natural History (30 yrs.) he published 200+ articles on evolution and ecology, the bestselling book Nabokov’s Blues (2000), and (as a co-author) the 2011 Harvard DNA sequence study vindicating Vladimir Nabokov’s views of evolution.
Drew Dellinger
Spoken word poet, professor, writer, activistDrew Dellinger (PhD candidate) is a poet, teacher, writer and speaker who has inspired minds and hearts around the world, performing poetry and keynoting on justice, ecology, cosmology and compassion. He is also a consultant, publisher, and founder of Planetize the Movement Press. www.drewdellinger.org
AYSHEGUL ASHKI
Sufi Guide, MA, HHPAshki's journey of Self-dis-covery has begun at 17 through Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Siddhi Programs, and continued on through various Sacred Traditions including Mystical Christianity, Vedanta and Zen, culminating in Universal Sufism. She has been sharing Universal Sufi teachings alongside with her beloved husband Kaan for the last two decades through the prompting of their beloved teacher late Dr. Lex Hixon/Sheikh Nur who appointed them as his successors. While her non-dual wisdom teachings and practices are rooted in Islamic Sufism, she universalizes these on the shared core principles of human mystic experience. Shaykha Ashki is now working on two books; writing her first book 'NonDual Wisdom Teachings of Rumi' which is based on Rumi's Masterpiece Masnavi, and translating her teacher Dr. Lex Hixon's 'Coming Home: Enlightenment Experience in Sacred Traditions' into Turkish. Ashki leads monthly Interfaith Sufi Peace Retreats, participates in Interfaith and Trans-traditional Councils, Teleseminars, Oneness Movements, and Community Service Groups. Ashki holds a BA in Education, an HHP in Healing Arts, and an MA in Science of Creative Intelligence from Maharishi University of Management. She is of Turkish origin, married and has three children. She currently resides and shares the Nondual Sufi Teachings in Tustin, California.
Catherine Pépin, Ph.D.
Theoretical Physicist, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Saclay, FranceCatherine is a French theoretical physicist working in the field of Quantum Emergent phenomena. Quantum Field theory, complexity and emergence are the key words of this research where quantum physics, originally designed to describe the realm of the microcosm, is found to emerge at the macroscopic scale in the form of very mysterious and spectacular phenomena. Catherine obtained her PhD from the University of Grenoble and the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France), in 1996. From 1996 to 1998 she was a post doctorate research fellow at MIT (USA), followed by two years at Brasenose College, Oxford University (UK). Since 2001, she is permanent research scientist at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Saclay, France. Author of more than 50 scientific publications in Quantum Field Theory and Condensed Matter Physics, she is a Leader Research Scientist of her institution since 2007. In 2005, she received a strong spiritual call which told with no doubt that in addition to the wonders of Scientific endeavour, there is an unmistakable Otherness, a presence impalpable to the mind. Her spiritual quest thus started in June 2006 with the meeting of late Stephen Jourdain'. During the year 2007, she went through a Shamanic initiation involving Iboga and Ayahuasca, the African and South Amazon sacred plants known to open doors of the Spirit. She met spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen in march 2008 and since then is a student of his teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment. She believes the spiritual call received in 2005, while she was still a fundamentally materialistic scientist, was not an accident . It was an experience of a universal longing in the human Soul for a deep and uncompromising re-union of Science and Spirit.
RICHARD LANG
Richard Lang spends most of his time working to make more available the Headless Way – a modern, experimental way home to who we really are. Richard discovered headlessness in 1970 when he met Douglas Harding, author of On Having No Head. They became friends. Since then he has travelled widely giving hundreds of workshops, written two books and produced a CD and videos that share the headless way experiments. He is part of a world-wide community of friends who value headlessness. Richard set up headless.org and is encouraged by the growing numbers of people who visit, do the experiments, and see who they really are.http://www.headless.org/
Philip Goldberg
Philip Goldberg has been studying India’s spiritual traditions for more than forty years, as both practitioner and author. The latest of his many books, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, was named one of the top ten religion books of the year by both Huffington Post and the American Library Association. A public speaker, Interfaith Minister and spiritual counselor, he has lectured and led workshops throughout the country and has appeared in national media. He blogs regularly on Huffington Post and Elephant Journal. His websites are http://www.AmericanVeda.com and http://www.PhilipGoldberg.com
Cynthia Bourgeault
Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault divides her time between solitude on Eagle Island, Maine, and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative path. She is the founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School. Cynthia is the author of seven books: The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, Chanting the Psalms, and Love is Stronger Than Death.. She has also authored or contributed to numerous articles and courses on the Christian spiritual life. She is a past Fellow of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural research at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN, and an oblate of New Camaldoli Monastery in Big Sur, California. www.contemplative.org
Pamela Wilson
Pamela speaks the Truth of advaita, non-duality - that the universe is one undivided whole. For the last twelve years she has traveled widely in the United States, Canada and Europe, holding satsang and giving private sessions. Week-long retreats have been held in Mexico, Costa Rica, France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA. She has endeared herself to many through her lighthearted humor and compassion, and deep understanding of what it is to be human. She lives in Napa, California. www.pamelasatsang.com
Florian Schlosser
For about 7 years Florian and his life companion Julia have travelled around the world untiringly inviting seekers to recognize in their own experience who they really are and to live as an embodiment of truth in everyday life.
www.florianschlosser.com
Scott Kiloby
Scott Kiloby is a Non-Dual speaker and author from Southern Indiana (USA). He is the author of "Love's Quiet Revolution: The End of the Spiritual Search” and "Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment." He is the creator of a new addiction recovery method called The Natural Rest Method, scheduled for release in 2011. Scott is also the author and creator of Living Realization, a text and method available at www.livingrealization.org . Living Realization includes an e-book, online meetings, and one-on-one sessions. Scott's main website is www.kiloby.com .
Mokshananda
Mokshananda, for the last 11 years, is a spiritual teacher by the request of Adyashanti. In addition, since 2008, by the request of Ken Wilber, he is a spiritual teacher at the Integral Institute’s Integral Spiritual Center. Mokshananda’s work includes 12 years with an ayahuascan shaman and 20 years with Siddha Yoga master Gurumayi Chidvalasananda. He also practices as a clinical psychotherapist and is an advisor to the Baumann Insitute.
