Recently I was privileged to be interviewed by several podcasts hosts, talking about my new book, “Magenta Nation,” and engaging in uplifting conversations about how we can heal our world. Here’s some highlights if you are looking for inspiration:

• We can heal ourselves and our world, if we get clear on our values and our processes for collaboration. Otherwise, we end up like the Tower of Babel – we just can’t communicate.
• If 10 percent of the people in a culture change, that culture will change.
• Getting clear on what we want and visualizing the outcome actually affects physical reality. The more people who engage in this visualization, the more powerful is the force for healing. Getting in touch with this vision on a daily basis is very important and should be part of our daily spiritual practices.
• Yes, it starts with the individuals, and spreads to the community. Self-realization and service have equal weight in our spiritual quest.

The hardest thing to do in moving toward healing is to suspend judgment of others. We all want to be right, and it is hard to muster compassion for people we may perceive as dangerous or cruel. Yes, that is our challenge. It is what we are called to do in the second greatest commandment, “Love your neighbor.” No exceptions! Reaching this point of good will take considerable inner work. We are all here in Earth School for a reason, and the most important reason is to evolve into kind, loving, helpful individuals.

How we talk to others who think differently than we do is very important for having positive dialogues. Instead of using emotionally or politically charged language that might provoke a reaction, find neutral terms – like family, kindness, fairness, safety. A glossary of these terms is found in my book, “Magenta Nation.”

In approaching these dialogues, we need to be aware that our biology makes us different. Some people’s brains develop so that they are more fearful than others. These folks need to feel safe. Others are more tolerant of ambiguity and risk, and may see things from a group versus an individual perspective.

Many of us have experienced losses during the last several years that were unexpected and very painful. There is no easy “cure” for grief; it is a necessary process of letting go when we really don’t want to. However, the best ways to honor our loved ones who have passed on is by how we live our lives now, conducting them with honor, integrity, and generosity, and by giving back to the world in their memory.

In practical terms, maybe it’s time to revisit the concept of free speech. Hate speech is illegal, but it is rarely enforced. Inciting people to violence with speech is illegal, but again, it’s not applied often enough to stem the tirade of hatred for minorities, women, political parties, or the LGBTQ+ community. Verbal abuse has driven many young people to take their own lives, making them victims of cyber-bullying. Like all liberties, when people exercise it to harm others, we have to look at the rights of those harmed as well as the rights of the abuser.

Although we believe everyone is equal in America, not everyone starts from the same place. We have a legacy of genocide against Native Americans and Black Americans, the effects of which science shows us last for generations. White privilege is real. Facing these realities in American life today is essential if we want to be the country we aspire to be.

If you’d like to hear the podcasts, they are here:

• Not Over, Just Different, with Natalie Lidwell
• Beyond Well, with Sheila Hamilton
• Seeing Your Soul, with Tisha Michelle
• The Hidden Why, with Leigh Martinuzzi
• Healing and Spirituality in World Cultures, with Robert Vetter
• The Jay Campbell Podcast
• Science of Superpowers, with Tonya Dawn