This is a podcast for people who are curious about the world and themselves featuring talks and conversations presented by the Public Programs department of California Institute of Integral Studies, a non-profit university in San Francisco. Listen here or on your favorite podcast app to a diverse array of visionaries, artists, and scholars sharing compelling experiences, offering new perspectives, and expanding creative horizons.
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What is creative leadership? It could mean leadership that’s distributed and collaborative, rather than top-down and authoritarian. It could mean leadership that’s flexible enough to continually reinvent its structures and approaches to meet emerging circumstances. It could mean leadership that views diversity and difference as opportunities for learning, growth, and creative synergy rather than…
Bön is among the oldest indigenous spiritual traditions in the world. It originated in Central Asia thousands of years ago in what is now Tibet and is still being practiced globally today. Rooted in ancient cosmology, visionary practices, and ritual technologies, the tradition of Tibetan Bön offers a distinctive and sophisticated understanding of mind, embodiment, and awareness that speaks…
For centuries, Filipino lifeways were presented to outsiders through the distorted lens of colonization—and the oppression, exploitation, and denigration suffered by Filipino ancestors are well-documented. In his work, psychologist and author Carl Lorenz Cervantes draws from Filipino folklore, language, and culture to reorient toward an Indigenous worldview: one that rejects being seen as a…
Around the world, practitioners are rediscovering what artists, cultural workers, and community healers have long understood: that creativity and human connection are powerful forces for wellbeing. * In this episode CIIS faculty Dr. Christine Brooks and Dr. Elizabeth Markle discuss how arts-based practices, dynamic community experiences, and connection-centered programming are reshaping the…
Why do we love who we love? Why do we stay in unfulfilling relationships, and stray from rewarding ones? Is it ever a good idea to open a relationship? And why do some long-time couples crash and burn while others stay madly in love? Evolutionary biologist, author, and Executive Director of the world-renowned Kinsey Institute, Dr. Justin Garcia examines these questions and more in this…
With rejection and intense commitment being such integral parts of any artist’s life, many struggle to stay with the creative process. Author and CIIS Faculty in the Interdisciplinary Arts program, Cindy Shearer has spent decades helping artists stay with their craft. In her book, Stay with Writing, Cindy encourages writers to understand themselves as artists, and for artists across all mediums to…
Many of us feel disconnected from our family stories and traditions, which can create a sense of loss of home and belonging. Pacha philosopher and ecopsychologist Lorena Saavedra Smith believes reconciling with our ancestors’ traditions and weaving ourselves back into our history is a therapeutic endeavor that deserves to be embarked upon with respect and authenticity. * In this episode, Lorena is…
In her book Who We Are Becoming Matters, Zen teacher and Indigenous Hawaiian leader Norma Kawelokū Wong asks “Who do we need to become to move forward in togetherness and mutual responsibility?” Norma invites us to reckon with 4 essential inner capacities—courage, compassion, aloha, and strategic wisdom. We must cultivate and embody these capacities, not just to survive, but to shepherd ourselves…
The 20th century’s discovery of LSD and subsequent use of various psychedelics in both therapeutic practice and popular culture has been a deeply transformational event in modern civilization. It has carried the power of a collective initiatory rite of passage, yet often without an adequately containing ritual structure, indigenous wisdom tradition, or clinical knowledge to mediate that…
In his latest book, How I Know White People Are Crazy and Other Stories, psychologist Jonathan Lassiter pulls back the curtain on the mental health system and reveals the hurdles that Black psychologists and students are forced to endure in the field. * In this episode, Dr. Lassiter is joined by CIIS Expressive Arts Therapy core faculty Chevon Stewart, for a thought-provoking conversation…
Seedkeeper, author, mentor, and founder of Sierra Seeds, Rowen White is a passionate activist for Indigenous seed and food sovereignty. With the increasing industrialization of our food and the erosion of biodiversity within cultural contexts, Rowen works to guide and mentor mindful eaters and food/seed sovereignty leaders in their capacity to lead, vision, and nourish a deep-rooted…
