080 We live in the most prosperous and technologically advanced society in human history, yet for so many people happiness feels as elusive as a daytime star. The many comforts and conveniences we take for granted in the West often come at a hidden cost to our connection to the human family and the greater web of life. From the loneliness epidemic to the opioid crisis to endless foreign wars, many of the urgent issues of the day flow from a fundamental breakdown of once sacred relationships.

In this conversation I speak with Adam Guzman-Poole, a relationship coach, logotherapist, and author of Lessons in Love, about the stark contrast between Occidental ways of knowing and being in relationship and the heart-based worldview of Indigenous and Eastern spiritual traditions. As a resident of Bali, Adam also shares his experience of the Balinese secret to a love filled life, known as Tri Hita Karana, or the three causes of happiness.

Music by Pixy323 from Pixabay

Illustration by WILLIAN REIS on Unsplash

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079 The roots of inequality and exploitation run far deeper than the machinations of privileged elites and would be dictators. Behind the insatiable quest for power and control hides an unexamined primal fear that defies a political solution. Death is the great equalizer. History is defined by world leaders and political activists consumed by the struggle to defy the truth of impermanence by any means, including engaging in horrendous acts of violence. When the world is literally on fire spending time on the meditation cushion facing our existential issues can seem indulgent. However, without cultural rituals and ways of relating to death we risk becoming a version of the oppressor or tyrant we claim to be fighting.

In this conversation with Dr James Rowe, author of Radical Mindfulness: Why transforming the fear of death is politically vital, we discuss the enduring will to supremacy and why the fear of death is the ultimate upstream cause of so many personal and political conflicts. We also discuss how mind/body practices like meditation can help us metabolize existential fear, making us more effective and compassionate change makers.

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Music used in this episode by atlasaudio on Pixabay

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078 The birth of artificial super intelligence has been compared to the invention of fire and it is fundamentally reshaping our work, relationships and ontological reality. This technological revolution is also happening at a potent time at the intersection of the climate crisis, historic wealth inequality and shifting global politics. The dawn of AI is forcing us to confront profound questions around what it means to be human and who or what is in control of our collective destiny?

In this episode of Awake In Relationship I speak with John J Wisdom, a technologist turned speculative fiction writer and author of G.A.I.A: The World on the Brink in the Age of AI about the power of stories and the known unknowns of a future shaped by a technology that few of us fully understand. In this chat we also explore some of the the moral and philosophical grey zones that AI presents and the possible emergence of a ‘conscious’ and benevolent super intelligence that can help humanity navigate the complexity and peril of this evolutionary bottleneck.

Photo by Galina Nelyubova on Unsplash

Music used in this episode by mfcc-space on Pixabay

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