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Listen Online!
#32 The Call
What does the word "call"
really mean? We use it in dozens of contexts
we make phone calls, or purchase a calling card for
the telephone; after working hard, we call it a day;
police dispatchers says, "Calling all cars, calling
all cars
" you might answer a knock at your
door, only to find Avon calling; and Emmy-Lou is doing
the calling at tonight's square dance. There's the
call of the wild, Nature calls, and sometimes women
hear their biological clocks ticking, calling out
to them that time is running out to have children.
In Christianity, church bells peal their notes Sunday
mornings, calling the faithful to worship and in the
Muslim faith, the Imam stands on the balcony of the
mosque's tower, singing loudly across the neighborhood,
calling Mohammed's sons to prayer...
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Listen Online!
#13 The
Future The past is
done, gone and finished; we can't ever go back. The
present holds more possibilities for us, though...
we can make choices every moment of our lives in the
present. But what about the future? To what extent
can we influence it? Is it possible to go back
to the future?
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Listen Online!
#24
Beauty of the Peoples
There's a wonderful joke
that gets right to the heart of differences between
peoples. It's a description of heaven and hell, in
which heaven is described as a place where the police
are British, the mechanics are German, the cooks are
French, the lovers are Italian, and it's all organized
by the Swiss. However, in hell the police are German,
the mechanics are French, the cooks are British, the
lovers are Swiss, and it's all organized by the Italians.
Are these nationalistic descriptions mere stereotypes?
Well, yes and no...
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Listen Online!
#19 Autumn
Ancient Kabbalah says that the seasonal conditions
of the world are landmarks for the spiritual growth
we should be experiencing during that season. Specific
times of the year are predisposed to hardship, and
other times are predisposed to renewal and joy. What,
then, is the spiritual meaning of Autumn?
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Playlists
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#35 Meaning
It seems increasingly we hear people say, "That's
not what I meant!..." Why is it so hard for us
to understand each other? And is it possible to intentionally
mean one thing, but unintentionally--and simultaneously--mean
something very diffeent? What
if you get some meaning out of a book or movie that
the artist didn't intend... is the meaning you came
upon still valid? And, no pun intended, is there a
deeper meaning to all this?...
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#34 Humor
The word "humor" comes
from Latin, and it literally means "liquid."
In fact, our words "humid" and "humidity"
come from the exact same root as does "humor."
Have you ever heard the expression that someone is
in a good humor or a bad humor? Ancient physician-philosophers
believed that four liquids entered into the makeup
of our bodies, and that our temperament or mood was
determined by the proportions of these four fluids,
or humors, in our body. The word "temperament,"
by the way, actually means "mixture." You
needed all four humors in a proper balance or mixture
in order to maintain good health. But if the humors
were out of balance, problems appeared...
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#33 Truth
The document that defined a new
America back in 1776, the Declaration of Independence,
says that certain truths are self-evident; they're
justified simply by their very existence. For instance,
the fact that the sun rises every day is self-evident.
Other truths are thought of as being absolute; we
say it's the gospel truth. Sometimes we say the truth
is unvarnished, plain, naked, simple or sober. There's
stretching the truth, twisting it, rewriting it, uncovering
it, or shutting one's eyes or ears to it. We hear
phrases like she speaks the truth, and we sometimes
come to the moment of truth, when truth comes to light.
And we've heard it said that the truth is often stranger
than fiction...
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#32 The Call
What does the word "call"
really mean? We use it in dozens of contexts
we make phone calls, or purchase a calling card for
the telephone; after working hard, we call it a day;
police dispatchers says, "Calling all cars, calling
all cars
" you might answer a knock at your
door, only to find Avon calling; and Emmy-Lou is doing
the calling at tonight's square dance. There's the
call of the wild, Nature calls, and sometimes women
hear their biological clocks ticking, calling out
to them that time is running out to have children.
In Christianity, church bells peal their notes Sunday
mornings, calling the faithful to worship and in the
Muslim faith, the Imam stands on the balcony of the
mosque's tower, singing loudly across the neighborhood,
calling Mohammed's sons to prayer...
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#31 Privilege
It's been said that we have to
earn our privileges. Yet some people are born into
very privileged circumstances while others have to
struggle to make ends meet everyday. How is such privilege
earned?...
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#30 Intention
Have you ever heard the expression,
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions?"
What does it actually mean? And have you ever experienced
a "Freudian Slip"? What was it that you
really intended to say?...
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#29 Power
In the original Star Wars
film, Obi-wan Kenobi, a Jedi Knight, says: The
Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It surrounds
us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.
Think about this for
a moment
one power stream that binds everything
in the galaxy--including us--together...
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#28 Silence
Silence: it can be used as a powerful
force for social change, yet can also give us the
mental space we need to collect our thoughts and listen
to our inner souls speak. Silence has been used as
a gesture of respect, as in "a moment of silence,"
and our laws recognize silence as a natural right
for human beings: the "right to remain silent."
What's so special -- perhaps even sacred about silence?...
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#27
Death & Butterflies There
was a study done in the United States in the 1990s
which sought to determine what people's top fears
were. Snakes, spiders and heights certainly ranked
high on the list, but, ironically, death was only
the #2 fear. The number one fear of most Americans
was speaking in public! So, as comedian Jerry Seinfeld
said about this study, if you were at a funeral, more
people would prefer to be IN the casket than delivering
the eulogy! But what do butterflies have to do with
all this?....
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#26 Wonder
To me, a sense of wonder is inseparable
from childlikeness. We call childhood the "wonder
years," and we sometimes say that someone has
a "childlike sense of wonder." What do
the words "wonder" and "wonderful"
really mean?...
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#25 Movement
Have you ever had the feeling
that you, like Billy Joel, were running on ice, spinning
your wheels, so to speak, but not getting anywhere?
Imagine, if you will, one of those amazing plate spinners
from the Chinese circus
the performers that
keep many, many plates in the air spinning on top
of tall sticks. The motion keeps the plates suspended,
but the performer has to run from one stick to another
just to keep things from crashing down. But how is
movement different from motion?..
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#24
Beauty of the Peoples
There's a wonderful joke
that gets right to the heart of differences between
peoples. It's a description of heaven and hell, in
which heaven is described as a place where the police
are British, the mechanics are German, the cooks are
French, the lovers are Italian, and it's all organized
by the Swiss. However, in hell the police are German,
the mechanics are French, the cooks are British, the
lovers are Swiss, and it's all organized by the Italians.
Are these nationalistic descriptions mere stereotypes?
Well, yes and no...
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#23 Resolution
The Dali Lama once said that 'world peace is possible,"
and I wonder to what extent "resolution"
is the key
Of course, on a societal level we
need to resolve disputes between countries and people.
But I don't think that's what will lead to true peace...
What will?
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#22 Beginnings
Beginnings come in all shapes and sizes: some are
monumental
like the beginning of the universe
was. Others are simply momentous, like a new birth,
or a wedding, or buying one's first car or house.
Some beginnings have precise starting points: like
the beginning of a new year, the start of a school
semester, or the moment you decide to quit smoking
and throw out the pack of cigarettes in your shirt
pocket. And other beginnings are amorphous and difficult
to pinpoint, like the dawning of a new age or epoch
in history, or when precisely you fell in love with
your partner. But most importantly, whatever form
the beginning takes, it's an opportunity for personal
growth.
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#21 The Gift
Gifts come in all shapes and sizes... and some gifts
are intangible things. Gift giving is central to most
religions and all cultures. What is it about gifts
that tickles our sense of anticipation and excitement?
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#20 What
Makes Something A Classic?
When one thinks about classical drama or literature,
Shakespeare's name comes to mind pretty quickly. Why?
Why is some art gone tomorrow, yet other art lasts
for centuries? In fact, what determines classic French
cuisine or a classic automobile? What makes something
a classic?
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#19 Autumn
Ancient Kabbalah says that the seasonal conditions
of the world are landmarks for the spiritual growth
we should be experiencing during that season. Specific
times of the year are predisposed to hardship, and
other times are predisposed to renewal and joy. What,
then, is the spiritual meaning of Autumn?
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#18 Music
& the Psyche "Music
hath charms to soothe the savage beast" as the
old saying goes... but is it just folklore, or does
music really have the power to affect our psyches
physiolgically and spiritually? And if so, how does
this work?
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#17 Animals
Sure, many animals can run faster than us, or see
better at night... and a dog's sense of smell, or
an eagle's sharp sight puts our senses to shame. Did
you know, though, that dolphins can "see"
with sound? And did you know that in spite of over
200,000 human lives lost in the tsunami in Thailand,
India and Sri Lanka, almost no animals perished?
Why????? What do animals know that we don't?
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#16 Purity
We can find purity in nature, but can we ourselves
ever be truly pure? And even if we could, why would
we want to be?
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#15 Nature
Say the word "nature," and images of flowers,
trees and soft, furry creatures come to mind. Mother
Nature can be nourishing, but she can also be vengeful.
The ancient world viewed nature as being comprised
of the elements fire, earth, air and water, elements
which influenced all aspects of life... But what does
Nature mean to us today?
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#14 Friendship
Will Rogers once said that he "never met a fella
I didn't like"... Some people seem to have lots
and lots of friends. But how many of those relationships
are real friendships? And what really IS friendship?
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#13 The
Future The past is
done, gone and finished; we can't ever go back. The
present holds more possibilities for us, though...
we can make choices every moment of our lives in the
present. But what about the future? To what extent
can we influence it? Is it possible to go back
to the future?
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#12 Creativity
Some people say, "I'm just not a creative person."
But is that really true? And is creativity restricted
to the arts, or can economists or police officers
be creative people? Most importantly, though, what
exactly IS creativity, and from where does it come?
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#11 Water Our bodies are
70% water, as is our planet... We can live without
food for a month, but would perish in 72 hours without
this liquid elixir of life. Water is certainly necessary
for our survival... But did you know that water holds
even deeper messages for us?
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#10 Joyful Activity
Why do some people whistle while they work, and yet
others always dread Monday morning? And how can we
get more enjoyment out of seemingly mundane tasks?...
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#9 Responsibility
Of course, we're responsible for our actions... But
did you know that we're responsible for everything
we say and write, too? And why do some people have
a more highly developed sense of responsibility than
others?
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#8 Freedom The struggle
for freedom is as old as humankind. But slavery isn't
the only bondage holding us down... Freedom is as
necessary to our spirits as air is to our bodies.
Why?
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#7 Woman & Man
Why do women and men have soooooooo much trouble communicating
with each other? Sometimes, it seems as if we're on
different planets... and yet, we are drawn to each
other, and need each other. What's going on?
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#6 Fatherhood What
is really meant by the word, "Fatherhood"?
Can only a dad be a father, or is the notion of "fatherhood"
something to which any man can aspire?...
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#5 The Quest Why do we
have such a strong urge to travel to the farthest
reaches of our galaxy as well as to the very depths
of our psyche? What are we hoping to find?...
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#4 Generative Power
There's a magic moment in a young person's life
as they start to enter adulthood... and it's not physical;
it's spiritual. That's generative power kicking in...
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#3 Recognition Have
you ever had an "aha" moment? Or have you
thought that something "big" is about to
happen, but you didn't know what? Then you've entered
the world of recognition...
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#2 Marriage Ask ten
married couples to define "marriage," and
probably seven of them will first ask, "Do you
mean marriage as it is, or how it's supposed to be?"
What really IS marriage, then?
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#1
Paradise From the original
Garden of Eden to the tropical paradises of today, what
is it about "paradise" that triggers a deep-seated
longing within us? |