World Religion Collection
CEM offers a wide mix of knowledgeable, engaging scholars, religious and spiritual teachers, pilgrims and practitioners. Each program here offers new insights on “discovering unity in diversity” through the Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sufi and shamanic perspective. Here are gems of personal wisdom for absolute beginners and advanced adepts.
Inside Sacred Texts
This program explores the origins, translations and interpretations of sacred texts and sheds light on the mystical experience these texts often originate from. Engaging scholars, translators, and practitioners from three faiths explore how these texts have influenced entire civilizations.
The Power of Community
This program visits two contemporary communities to witness their most important practices, and to access their potential to transform consciousness and catalyze positive societal change.
The Pilgrimage Experience
For thousands of years, people of every tradition have embarked on long and difficult journeys to sacred places in search of various benefits. This program sheds light on various dimensions of this timeless ritual.
Rumi & The Sufi Path of Love
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” – Rumi
How did a 13th-century Sufi mystic from Central Asia become the most widely read poet in the U.S.? This program explores the depths of Rumi’s poetry and teachings.
How did a 13th-century Sufi mystic from Central Asia become the most widely read poet in the U.S.? This program explores the depths of Rumi’s poetry and teachings.
The Mystical Experience
In this Global Spirit program, host Phil Cousineau joins Brother David Steindl-Rast, Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man and Maata Lynn Barron to shed light on some of the common attributes of those who yearn for and reach, however momentarily, what they describe as a direct experience of God or the Divine.
Sacred Ecology
With global warming on the rise and the number of animal species now declining at alarming rates, this program asks if we, humans, are trapped in a never-ending destructive cycle fed by our ever-increasing desires.
The Art of Living & Dying
Our most basic understanding of life is in many ways determined by our understanding of death. While to some, death is an end in itself, to others it is the final test of faith in the existence of a God or an afterlife.
Exploring Consciousness: East & West
In this Global Spirit program, host Phil Cousineau brings together both spiritual and the scientific traditions of east and west, and creates a unique conversation, shedding considerable light on the great, ongoing human quest for understanding “Consciousness.”
The Shaman, the Spirit Healer and the Earth
Flordemayo, a Mayan spirit healer, and Angaangaq, an Eskimo-Kalaalit Shaman from Greenland share their ancient wisdom and knowledge about man’s relationship to nature, as well as the profoundly sacred nature of all life — including sacred healing practices from the world of spirits, animals and plants.
The Spiritual Quest
In this episode of Global Spirit, writer and lecturer Phil Cousineau hosts comparative religion scholar Karen Armstrong and Professor of Buddhist studies Dr. Robert Thurman for a discussion of The Spiritual Quest as both a personal and religious phenomenon.
The Monk and the Rabbi
Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast and Rabbi Larry Kushner explore the depths of religious fundamentalism, mystical experience and the power of gratitude and forgiveness.
Compassion in Action
Dr. Robert Thurman, Professor of Indo-Buddhist studies at Columbia University, inspiring teacher, lecturer and author of twelve books, discusses the fruition of spiritual practice – our work in the world, with Dr. Larry Brilliant , the epidemiologist who founded the SEVA Foundation. This program will discuss the practice of Compassion in our personal and worldly lives.
The Heart of Islam
Islam is arguably the most misunderstood and feared religion in the world today. From the ecstatic bliss of the whirling dervishes to the multi-layered mystical poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, sufism has recently become more well- known in the west, as a practice which promotes tolerance and acceptance among all peoples and faiths.
The Taoist & the Activist
In this program, Taoist professor and psychologist Dr. Benjamin Tong meets environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill, the world’s most famous “tree-sitter”. Julia became an international symbol of environmental activism by living for over two years high atop an old-growth redwood tree in northern California, a tree she named “Luna”, which she ultimately saved from destruction.
Peace Through Dialogue
Professor Abdul Aziz Said is the Director of the Center for Global Peace at American University, who meets here for the first time, Episcopal Bishop William E. Swing, Director of United Religions Initiative, an international inter-faith peace program, to discuss the possibilities for inter-faith dialogue and peace.