What will it take for humanity to shift its consciousness in order not to destroy itself and the rest of the planet? Dr. Craig Schindler has some ideas and shares them in this interview on Talk of the Bay. Craig Schindler was my professor back in the mid-eighties in the UCSC Environmental Studies department. His classes were always packed, and they were more like personal growth seminars or revivals than university lectures, enabling students to express not only their ideas about what was happening to the planet, but their feelings about it, and their plans for action. The call to action has become only more urgent decades later, as the consquences of runaway consumption and fossil fuel use are becoming apparent. Many of Craig’s students have gone on to become leaders in their respective fields, largely from the inspiration and widsom of Dr. Schindler. In this interview, we explored the meaning of “hope” in the context of our current environmental and political crisis.
Dr. Craig F Schindler is an author, coach, consultant, and former professor at UCSC. He is co-founder and president of Project Victory, a national nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto that has trained more than 30,000 people in compassionate leadership, communication skills and conflict resolution in 25 states. He has helped to organize and facilitate national dialogues with leaders of diverse views on peace and security, the environment, interfaith and multiracial issues. He has given keynote talks and trainings for numerous organizations, professional associations and corporations. He has taught at Harvard, Stanford, Trinity College, and UC Santa Cruz. He holds a B.A. (Stanford), a J.D. (Stanford Law School) and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union & UC Berkeley in psychology and ethics.
Dr. Craig Schindler is the author of THE GREAT TURNING with Dr. Gary Lapid. They were the first to coin the term “The Great Turning” now used around the world to describe the leap of consciousness needed for humanity to survive and thrive. Called a win/win masterpiece, The Great Turning envisioned “a new era of human dignity, environmental restoration and lasting peace,” was translated into Russian and German, and used in many countries as a guide for peacemaking. Dr. Schindler has pioneered innovative methods for mediated dialogue, communication and conflict resolution. In his coaching practice in transformational psychology, he has worked with hundreds of individuals and groups. He developed and teaches THE WISDOM INTENSIVE: Leadership for A More Compassionate Self & World, a training on mindfulness, compassionate action, and transformative psychology.
Read an article about Craig Schindler’s work here:
Craig Schindler GIFT Global Dec 2018 Magazine (3)
His forthcoming book, CHOOSE HOPE, YOU MATTER: The Call To Live Your Light And Rise For The Great Turning is a guide to fulfill your higher purpose for a more compassionate self and world. It is a call to awaken from the trance of selfishness (ego) and to be a light for a love-based, worldwide rising to restore Earth and spread compassion. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed the essence of this call: “Our goal is to create a Beloved Community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls and a quantitative change in our lives.” Drawing upon humanity’s enduring wisdom and emerging neuroscience, the book is a roadmap for how each of us can make a difference through our daily practice of mindfulness and compassionate action. The book offers the Soul-Action Practice & Eight Wisdom Keys to shift from small self (ego) to big Self (soul), and to cultivate meditation, compassion, stewardship, peacemaking and joyful spirit. It addresses the need to move beyond fear and hatred, and for people of good will of all traditions to live the global ethic of respect toward self, others and the living Earth.
