Justine Willis Toms

This is an edited talk that Justine Willis Toms gave in the summer of 2014. She includes the four keys to thriving in chaotic times and compares this time to that of a caterpillar inside the cocoon where it liquefies and the imaginal cells begin to coalesce, soon to emerge as a butterfly. She suggests that we are the imaginal cells of the changing of an age.

Justine Willis Toms shares principles that lead to a more useful and fulfilling life. She asks the question: is worry fruitful and will it lead to an effective outcome? She also encourages us to create circles of friends who support us in our fullness. She shares the lessons of the caterpillar and the butterfly as she exhorts us to get out into the corridors of life and contribute our gifts. As we do so, we become part of a collective of imaginal...

To actually be paid for doing what you love would be a dream come true. But how do you discover your passion? And how do you find a way to bring that spirit into the workplace? Justine and Michael Toms, co-founders of New Dimensions Radio and New Dimensions Broadcasting Network, are living proof that it can be done.

In this highly personal account of an ex-nun's transition from a cloistered, disciplined life, to a life in the world, confronting her human feelings and making her own decisions, Karen Armstrong discusses frankly and with humor her process of coping with the shifting values and lifestyles of the secular world. It is a revealing account of her discovery that the spiritual vocation can be an ever-changing journey into life. She is author of Beginning...

Lupa is a strong advocate for connecting with animal or plant totems as allies to enhance our spiritual life and help us reconnect with nature. They can provide a "bridge" between us and the rest of the natural world. She cautions us to understand that totems, whether they be animal, plants, or fungi, are not simple one-dimensional helpers limited to stereotyped meanings from dictionaries. They are vibrant, intelligent, dynamic beings sharing the...

How can fundraising be fun? Wiersma's enthusiasm for gathering together while contributing to the larger community is infectious. She's a mighty force for positive good. Tune in and discover how to come up with ideas and creative ways to raise money so that you too can be a catalyst for good and be energized to create awe-inspiring events in your community.

Brenda Peterson has discovered writing a memoir is a powerful tool for uncovering elements of your psyche that may have eluded every other attempt at self-examination. It forces you to see your life from an entirely different perspective.

What are the important strategies we can adopt when we're coping with the downside of life? Tough times have their cycles and Combs provides inspiration to help us through them.

Breaking into chant and song even as she is speaking, Rachel Bagby shows us how music can do more than we ever thought possible. She believes in, "giving the sacred back to our breath, and giving our breath back to the sacred," and describes what happens when we start listening to and expressing the music inside of us.

This teacher of non-dualism sheds light on the essential teachings of what is known as "the direct path." Almost everybody believes that whatever it is we are seeing is something that is outside ourselves. This leads to a most vexing question for science: How is consciousness derived from the brain? No neurologist or brain surgeon has ever found consciousness in the brain. Spira tells us, "The non-dual traditions, in general, suggest that consciousness...