Speaker & Writer on

CULTURE

Michael’s Public Talks and Workshops focusing on CULTURE include:

• Screen Addiction: A Mindful Response

• Prioritizing Storytelling and Story Listening in Your Family

• Please Don’t Brand Me: Alternatives to the Social Media Image

• The George Bailey Effect: It’s a Wonderful World and You’re Shaping It

• CounterAct Bullying: The Power of Mindfulness

• Wonder, Presence, Nature, Stories: Free Antidotes to Alienation & Isolation

• Beneficial Seeds: Bridging the Cultural Divide through Authentic Stories of Love

For pricing, scheduling, or further details on these Public Talks, CONTACT U S.

Spirituality, Tradition, Ecology, and Lore always manifest within a particular CULTURE. Our thoughts, words, and actions are embedded within a cultural context. Our work, play, and stories exist in a culture. Our relationships with and understandings of – each other, our Earth, and the Sacred – all occur within our culture. Culture shapes Spirituality, Tradition, Ecology, and Lore. And Culture is also shaped by Spirituality, Tradition, Ecology, and Lore. Similarly, we are shaped by our cultural heritage, and, at the same time, each of us plays a role in shaping the greater culture.

MORE ABOUT MICHAEL AND CULTURE: Michael is inspired by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (aka Thay) who empowers us to see that we are all products of our CULTURE and, simultaneously, we all help to shape our CULTURE. Here, the practice of mindfulness is key. Too often, we are overwhelmed by our life circumstances. Mindfulness invites us into awareness of how we are both “shapers of” and “shaped by” our cultural context. Mindfulness is an invitation to joy and empowerment. It is an invitation to be alive in this moment.

There is much suffering in our world. We often hear of “culture wars” and we all slip into “us versus them” thinking. Instead, Thay encourages us to view the world and our CULTURE differently – to move beyond the dualisms of “us versus them” and into the true reality that we all inter-are. The deep ecology of our CULTURE is that there is neither us nor them. The spiritual practice of mindfulness encourages everyone to see and experience this. Culture is not separate from Spirit and Ecology.

Our lore and traditions help us to understand our unique identities. They can serve as gulfs that separate us from others, but when we listen to each others’ stories, taste each others’ foods, and find the points of pain and joy that unite us, our lore and traditions can be agents of connection and healing for our CULTURE. Culture is linked to Lore and Tradition.

Any understanding of modern CULTURE demands a deep consideration of technology and reflection on both the profound benefits and the unmistakable harm wrought through the changes that technology brings. Again, mindfulness and non-dualistic thinking are critical as we each play our roles of being “shaped by” and “shapers of” CULTURE.

Along with focusing on CULTURE, Michael also offers Seminars, Workshops and Public Talks that focus on:

For pricing, scheduling, or further details on any of these programs, as well as Michael’s Storytelling Programs, and One-on-One Mindfulness Coaching, CONTACT US.