In early September we filmed two shows on the same day: ONE The Movie, featuring a lively discussion between Deepak Chopra and Riane Eisler, and Sound of the Soul, featuring Jewish, Muslim, and Christian guests discussing spiritual music as a vehicle for uniting people of different faiths.

The ONE The Movie discussion proved to be unlike any other show taped thus far, as the guests approached the concept of Oneness from very different angles. Deepak described the importance of consciousness, as it connects everything in the universe, and how a scientific understanding of this influences and inspires personal transfomation. Riane came from a more sociological perspective, stating that it's not the transcendent, which will forever be a mystery, but the imminent, and the change we can affect here and now, that fuels her personal spirituality. She seemed to ask, how can we even talk about Oneness, and being united, if we are not first equal?

It was a meeting that seemed, to me, challenging and exciting for both the guests and for our production team, and we look forward to presenting Deepak and Riane in a setting and conversation unlike any they've appeared in before. 

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The Sound of the Soul program centers around a documentary of the same title, which explores Morocco's annual Fez Festival of World Sacred Music. The festival brings together incredible musicians of many different faiths, as they celebrate a passion for music as a way of communicating with and connecting to the Divine.

The guests for this show include Sarah Talcott, the Youth Programs Director at United Religions Initiative, Marla Kolman Antebi, a community organizer and activist who works with Jewish and interfaith youth groups, and Kabir Helminski, a musician and Sufi sheikh who travels and teaches widely.

Also, Sound of the Soul was directed and produced by Stephen Olsson, the Producer of Global Spirit. Learn more about the film here: www.soundofsoul.org. And for more info about ONE The Movie, visit: www.onetheproject.com

Next Tuesday, best-selling authors Deepak Chopra and Riane Eisler will travel to our San Francisco studio for the taping of a new Global Spirit program.   This episode will feature a discussion of ONE The Movie, and will include around 40 minutes of the original film.

When considering guests for a discussion of "Oneness," we were working from a list of about ten people who are well versed in “Unity Consciousness” and we would likely enjoy on the program. But when thinking of how to give the discussion a unique depth, Stephen (the Director/Producer of Global Spirit) realized, "Why don't we bring in two people from the film?" This idea immediately clicked, because the nature of ONE The Movie is to jump quickly from fascinating interview to interview. This is a powerful and entertaining way for the film to raise a variety of issues and allow the audience to hear a variety of perspectives, but Stephen's idea allows for the perfect complement: offering the same guests we heard only briefly to now delve deeper into thoughtful conversation, not only with host Phil Cousineau, but finally, with each other.

This is only the first in the next round of new Global Spirit programming!

I'm excited about what the Global Spirit team is up to now--creating the next round of new programs for the series. Some of the upcoming topics will include Meditation and the Mind (including cutting-edge scientific research), Dreams, and Spiritual Ecology.

It's interesting to me that, in examining such themes, with immense breadth and depth, it becomes somewhat difficult to focus. We want to explore the richness of perspectives and experiences on any given topic, but at the same time, we hope to tighten the range of discussion and themes so that guests can really delve into conversation on a level that is not usually found on television.

In this time of brainstorming, we are looking for specific themes and potential guests for upcoming shows, and would be very interested to know your ideas. Please share your comments here and they will be passed onto the whole team of GS producers and discussed in the next meeting.