About the 2.0 Course - Guest Presenters (2017)

In addition to James' presentation of the course themes, each session will feature an inspiring guest speaker representing timeless wisdom and cutting edge scientific insights about awakening joy in one's life.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER	DATE	THEME
Anam Thubten Rinpoche Author of No Self, No Problem Anam Thubten is the author of The Magic of Awareness and No Self, No Problem. He is also the author of books in the Tibetan language. Through the essential wisdom of Buddhism and his personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings and invites everyone to participate. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and abroad. Read More	Feb. 2	#1 Awakening Joy Principles / Course Overview
Christine Carter, Ph. D. Happiness Expert, Sociologist, Author A sociologist and senior fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Christine Carter, Ph.D., is the author of The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work and Raising Happiness. Combining scientific research and practical application, Dr. Carter offers not just a way to cope with modern pressures, but a way to truly thrive. Read More	Feb. 16	#2 Loving Ourselves Part I: Who You Really Are
Debra Chamberlin-Taylor Psychotherapist working with awareness and love in relationships Debra Chamberlin-Taylor is a Spirit Rock teacher and licensed psychotherapist. She leads mindfulness retreats and workshops on embodiment of awareness, the Way of the Sacred Feminine, and Relationship as Spiritual Practice. Read More	Mar. 1	#3 Loving Ourselves Part II: Forgiveness & Self- Compassion
Vinny Ferraro Co-Founder of Dharma Punx Vinny Ferraro has practiced meditation for almost 20 years. His path has taken him to many different countries to study with many teachers. He was the Training Director for Challenge Day for 7 years, as well as the Training Director for the Mind Body Awareness Project, an Oakland, California, non-profit that teaches meditation to the incarcerated. He is Co-Founder of Dharma Punx, and he now works for Mindful Schools, teaching Educators how to bring mindfulness to their populations. He has taught in a half of dozen countries, and leads a Friday night meditation group in San Francisco, and he doesn't like talking about himself in the 3rd person. Read More	Mar. 15	#4 Loving Ourselves Part III: Loving The Whole Package
Frank Ostaseski Founder of the Metta Institute and Zen Hospice Project Frank Ostaseski is the Founder of the Metta Institute and co-founder of Zen Hospice Project. He is one of America's leading voices in contemplative care of the dying. His groundbreaking work has been widely featured by Bill Moyers, The Oprah Winfrey Show, PBS television and in numerous print publications. In 2001, he was honored by H.H. Dalai Lama for his years of compassionate service to the dying and their families. Read More	Mar. 29	#5 Connections with Others Part I: Forgiveness and Healing Relationships
Anat Baniel Author & Founder of the Anat Baniel Method® Anat Baniel, author of Move Into Life: The Nine Essentials for Lifelong Vitality and Kids Beyond Limits, is the founder of the Anat Baniel Method®, and NeuroMovement® - a powerful practice that takes advantage of the brain’s ability to change itself to heal body and mind. She was trained as a clinical psychologist and as a dancer, and she was a close professional associate of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. Anat’s work is at the forefront of the emerging brain plasticity field. Her interest is in waking up the brain to its greater potency for learning and change throughout life. Through movement, the Nine Essentials she defined, and by shifting from “fixing to connecting,” the work offers powerful tools for people of all ages to"come home to themselves," to find greater comfort and ease in their bodies, and to experience increased creativity, sensuality, vitality and joy. Anat is also known for her work with children with special needs. Currently Anat and her team are collaborating with Dr Michael Merzenich and other neuroscientists on forming a neuroscience, neuroplasticity based rehab approach. Read More	April 12	#6 Connections with Others Part II: Love Finding Itself
Charles Garfield, Ph. D. Author, Psychology Professor and Founder of Shanti Dr. Charles Garfield serves as Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California School of Medicine at San Francisco (UCSF). He is also a Research Scholar at Starr King School, Graduate Theological Union and an Instructor at the San Francisco Jung Institute. He has been recognized internationally as the founder of Shanti, which has been at the forefront of a growing national movement to enhance the quality of life for persons living with life-threatening or chronic illnesses by providing volunteer-based emotional and practical support. His ten books include Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb: Love and Caregiving in a Time of AIDS and Stress and Survival: The Emotional Realities of Life Threatening Illness. Read More	April 26	#7 Connections with Others Part III: The Rippling Effect of Love
Norman Fischer Poet & Zen Budddhist Priest Zoketsu Norman Fischer is a poet and Zen Buddhist priest. For many years he has taught at the San Francisco Zen Center, the oldest and largest of the new Buddhist organizations in the West, where he served as Co-abbot from 1995-2000. He is presently a Senior Dharma Teacher there as well as the founder and spiritual director of the Everyday Zen Foundation, an organization dedicated to adapting Zen Buddhist teachings to Western culture. Read More	May 10	#8 Compassion Part I: The Sublime State of Compassion
Cassandra Vieten, Ph. D. CEO of Institute of Noetic Sciences & Scientist Mind-Body Medicine Research Group Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is President and CEO of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a scientist at the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. Dr. Vieten, a licensed clinical psychologist, has been with IONS since 2001, previously serving as its Executive Director of Research. She is co-author of Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life and author of Mindful Motherhood: Practical Tools for Staying Sane During Pregnancy and Your Child's First Year. Read More	May 24	#9 Compassion Part II: Holding Hands Together
Nipun Mehta Founder of ServiceSpace Nipun Mehta is the founder of ServiceSpace (formerly CharityFocus), an incubator of projects that work at the intersection of volunteerism, technology and gift-economy. ServiceSpace has grown to a global ecosystem of over 350,000 members that has delivered millions of dollars in service for free. He shares his message of "giftivism" to wide ranging audiences, from inner city youth in Memphis to academics in London to international dignitaries at the United Nations; his speech at the University of Pennsylvania commencement in May 2012 was read by millions. Read More	June 7	#10 Compassion Part III: Joyful Responsibility
Ange Stephens, MA, MFT Co-Director of The Metta Institute End-of-Life Care Practitioner Program Ange Stephens, MA, MFT, is an integral psychotherapist specializing in working with people with life threatening illness, traumatic loss and grief, as well as with professional and personal caregivers. She is Co-Director of the Metta Institute End-of-Life Care Practitioner Program and former Clinical Director for the Cancer Support Community. She co-leads, with James and others, Spirit Rock’s training program called "Heavenly Messengers: Awakening Through Illness, Aging and Death." Read More	June 21	#11 Closing Class Making It Part of Daily Life