Cross-Cultural Ways of Rekindling our Soul
Angeles Arrien, PhD

In our daily lives, we often experience soul loss, the feeling of being depressed, hopeless, depleted, and drained. When we leave parts of ourselves in old relationships, situations or life events, we experience soul loss. To regain our whole selves, we need to find, reclaim and bring those lost parts of our self home. This presentation addresses the tools and practices that are used cross-culturally for soul-retrieval work.

---

Presenter Bio: Angeles Arrien is an anthropologist, author, educator. She conducts workshops showing the bridge between cultural anthropology, psychology and comparative religions. Her work reveals how multi-cultural wisdoms are relevant to our families, professional lives, and our relationship to the Earth. She is the founder of the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education and Research and author of The Four-Fold Way , Signs of Life and The Nine Muses: A Mythological Path to Creativity.

www.angelesarrien.com

The Alphabet vs. The Goddess
Leonard Shlain, MD

This presentation proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy — the process of reading and writing — fundamentally reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth and anthropology, Leonard shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, feminine values and images. Writing, particularly alphabets, drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking. This shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in the reign of patriarchy and misogyny. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians and Muslims, he reinterprets many myths and parables in light of his theory. Leonard traces the effect of literacy on the Dark Ages, Mary, Gutenberg, the Reformation and the Witchcraze. He ends with an optimistic appraisal that the proliferation of images in film, TV, graphics and computers is once again reconfiguring the brain by encouraging right hemispheric modes of thought and bringing about the reemergence of the feminine.

This is a provocative, inspiring and visually arresting presentation filled with startling historical anecdotes and fresh compelling ideas. It is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.

---

Presenter Bio: Throughout his life, Leonard has combined a broad interest in science and medicine with an ongoing fascination for the arts and humanities. He lectures widely on the connections between art and science. He also practices general, vascular and thoracic surgery. Dr. Shlain is Professor of Surgery at UCSF medical school and is the Chief of Laparoscopic Surgery at California Pacific Medical Center. Leonard is the author of Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light, The Alphabet Vs. The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word & Image, and The Feminine Face of Physics: Chaos, Quantum & Modern Art. His most recent book is Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution.

www.sextimepower.com

The Neurophysiology of Enlightenment
John Hagelin, PhD

We are witnessing a radical transformation in our understanding of human consciousness. Profound developments in our scientific understanding of the universe, combined with remarkable new data on individual and collective consciousness, are forcing a thorough rethinking of the nature of consciousness, its true potential, and its fundamental role in the universe.

While the attainment of higher states of consciousness has historically been considered rare and difficult, new research reveals that "enlightenment" - the full development of human consciousness - is our birthright.

Ground-breaking research will be presented, showing widespread experience of higher states of consciousness beyond waking, dreaming and sleeping, together with their physiological correlates. These higher states include:

1. A fourth state of consciousness, "pure consciousness," in which the awareness momentarily transcends thought and is subjectively unbounded.
2. A fifth state of consciousness, "Enlightenment" in which pure consciousness is permanently stabilized, and unboundedness, inner invincibility and immortality are lived in the midst of dynamic activity.

This compelling research on extended "field effects" of consciousness calls us to reexamine the role of consciousness in the physical universe, and provides a powerful tool for transforming collective consciousness to create a more peaceful, prosperous and secure world.

---

Presenter Bio: John is currently Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy; Director of the doctoral program in physics at Maharishi University of Management; and founder and Director of Research at Enlightened Audio Designs Corporation. As a world renowned quantum physicist, John has conducted pioneering research at the European Center for Particle Physics and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and is responsible for the development of a highly successful grand unified field theory based on the superstring. His articles on electroweak unification, grand unification, supersymmetry and cosmology include some of the most cited references in the physical sciences. He has spent much of the past 25 years leading a scientific investigation into the foundations of human consciousness. In his book, Manual for a Perfect Government, John shows how, through educational programs that develop human consciousness, and through policies and programs that effectively harness the laws of nature, it is possible to solve acute social problems and enhance governmental effectiveness. John has traveled to 35 countries during the past five years, speaking to government and business leaders, the scientific community, and the public on the subjects of science, technology, public policy, and higher states of consciousness. John was the Natural Law Party candidate for President of the United States in the 2000 election.

www.hagelin.org