Towards Wholeness

Stripping away the known and seeing reality for what it is, rather than for what our thoughts represent it to be, provides the theme for this compelling conversation. The late theoretical physicist David Bohm addresses the nature of thought and thinking, and how our conditioned minds become subordinate to the way we think.

This internationally known physicist has developed a theory of quantum physics which addresses the totality of existence, including matter and consciousness, as an unbroken whole. The late Bohm's concept of "implicate order" provides a basis for bridging science to the realm of spirit. For two decades he explored this possibility with J. Krishnamurti, the famed religious teacher.

One of the foremost theoretical physicists in the world, the late David Bohm, tells why science has become specialized and fragmented at the cost of its soul. He describes his theory of the implicate order and goes on to explore its implications for human consciousness.

What is truth, and what is reality? 18 May 1975. Duration: 70 minutes. What is truth, and what is reality? Anything that thought thinks about or reacts upon or projects - that is reality. And that reality has nothing to do with truth. The art of seeing is to place reality where it is and not move that in order to get truth. You can't get truth. How am I to empty that consciousness and yet retain knowledge - otherwise I couldn't function - and reach a state which will comprehend reality?

Acknowledged as one of the greatest religious teachers of this or any other age, the late J. Krishnamurti was a visionary whose ideas are still ahead of his time. New Dimensions host Michael Toms was fortunate to capture this philosopher's penetrating wisdom in 1983, just a few years before his death at the age of 90.

The roots of psychological conflict. 1 April 1980. Duration: 82 minutes. Has humanity taken a wrong turn? What is the root of this tremendous inward conflict of humanity? When I am trying to become something, it is a constant battle. Can the brain itself see that it is caught in time and as long as it is moving in that direction conflict is eternal, endless? Can the mind realise, resolve a psychological problem immediately?

"As a man is, so he sees." These words of mystical poet and artist William Blake are just as relevant now as they were when they were written in 1802 - perhaps more so. Throughout his life, Blake undertook a voyage beyond rationality and materialism to an interior, visionary realm where "all things appear as they are - infinite." Yet all human beings, he believed, are capable of opening their eyes to a fuller experience of life.

A Christian monk who lived in India for over 30 years, the late Father Griffiths shares some remarkable insights about the contemplative life. He builds a bridge linking the Gnostic tradition of early Christianity and the mystical tradition streaming down through the centuries with the ancient philosophies of Vedanta and Buddhism. The results are fascinating and profound.

There is a contagious psychospiritual disease of the soul, a parasite of the mind, that is currently being acted out en masse on the world stage via a collective psychosis of titanic proportions. This mind-virus - which Native Americans have called "wetiko" - covertly operates through the unconscious blind spots in the human psyche, rendering people oblivious to their own madness and compelling them to act against their own best interests.

How does a body of poetry written in a remote part of the world find its way to best seller lists in the U.S. over 700 years later? What is the compelling quality inherent in great literature that resonates throughout the ages? Coleman Barks, poet and translator of Jelalludin Rumi's poetry, explores the genius, mystery and rapture of Rumi's work; why he has become the most-read poet in America, and what his poetry has in common with the immortal writings of Dickinson, Emerson and Thoreau.

Leaving naivete behind may open up the wilder regions of maleness, where men can wrestle with their demons and, in time, reach maturity and balance, according to Bly, poet and men's workshop facilitator. This is a fascinating dialogue which explores the mystery of maleness and includes Bly's storytelling mastery and poetry.

This discussion with a remarkable Benedictine monk who founded an ashram in South India is a beautiful, stirring exploration of human spirituality. In a rare synthesis of Christian, Hindu, and modern scientific thought, the late Father Bede discusses the infusing of gross matter and daily life with spirit, the finding of God "in the divine darkness beyond word and thought," technology and simple living, Black Madonnas, mysticism, and monastic life.

Drunk with the Divine, Rumi wrote 20,000 poems of mystical, ineffable love of God. "There is a ferocity in his longing that maybe we don't understand," says Barks. Listen in and understand a little better. A wondrous, exhilarating look at the exultant poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi, the 13th century Sufi poet, with Coleman Barks.

In this interview, Richard Moss says that there are two basic mistakes we make in this stage of the evolution of consciousness: we identify with our thoughts, and we flee from our feelings. He describes the four ways your thinking can affect you, how the body is literally the center of the experience of being in the now, and how the negative stories we tell ourselves are a form of physical poison and self abuse.

Beneath all our bustling thoughts and the distracting dramas of the world, an ever-present stillness beckons us to our true home. "Meditation is a tool for returning to our essential nature," says Adyashanti. With Guided Meditations, this groundbreaking spiritual teacher offers four immersive audio sessions of meditations created to enrich your practice and help you become a more open, loving, and benevolent presence in the world.