November 2nd, 2008

Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny

Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny is the President of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Tim Penny represented Southeastern Minnesota's First Congressional District from 1982 through 1994. He served on the U.S. House agriculture and veterans affairs committees and the Select Committee on Hunger, heading the foreign agriculture and hunger subcommittee. While in Congress, Penny founded and co-chaired the Democratic Budget Group and drafted deficit-cutting initiatives. He continues to work in the areas of federal budgeting, agricultural policy, trade issues, and rural development. He is a board member and policy chair of a budget watchdog group, the Concord Coalition, and is an advisory board member for a clean-campaign project, the Minnesota Compact. Co-author of two books, Common Cents and Payment Due, he is a regular public speaker, radio commentator, and editorial writer. Penny has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Winona State University.

Email: timp@smifoundation.org

also....

Dr. John Gray

John Gray, Ph.D., is the author of 16 best-selling books, including Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, the number one best-selling book of the last decade and the number one relationship book of all time. In the past 15 years, over 40 million Mars and Venus books have been sold in over 45 languages throughout the world.

An expert in the field of communication, Dr. Gray’s focus is to help men and women understand, respect, and appreciate their differences in both personal and professional relationships. In his many books, CDs, DVDs, tapes, workshops, and seminars he provides practical tools and insights to effectively manage stress and improve relationships at all stages and ages by creating the brain chemistry of health, happiness, and lasting romance. His latest book, Why Mars and Venus Collide, reveals how men and women can improve relationships by understanding how they cope differently with stress.

Dr. Gray has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The View, Politically Incorrect, Larry King, and others. He has been profiled in Newsweek, Time, Forbes, USA Today, TV Guide, People, and New Age Journal, among others.

In addition to being a Certified Family Therapist, Dr. Gray is a consulting editor of The Family Journal, and a member of the Distinguished Advisory Board of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. In 2001, he received the Smart Marriages Impact Award.

Dr. Gray lives with his wife and three children in Northern California.

For a more detailed biography of John Gray, click here.

November 1st, 2008

Author and Columnist Barry Cassleman

Barry Casselman holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Iowa. He founded and published his first newspaper in Minnesota at age 29. Covering Minnesota and national politics since 1972, Casselman is now a nationally syndicated columnist who contributes regularly to many of the leading public affairs and political analysis publications. He is currently the CEO of the Preludium News Service and resides in Minneapolis.

North Star Rising traces the impact Minnesota's politicians have had on national politics, from its first territorial governor, Alexander Ramsey, to Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Filled with colorful, little-known anecdotes and unusual historical connections, North Star Rising is a highly readable, often humorous, frequently surprising account of how the nation came to take notice of this northern Midwestern state. The book concludes with a look at recent Minnesota political figures as well as a peek at some of the rising stars of the DFL, Republican, and Independence parties. It depicts Minnesota's political involvement on the national stage from the state's infancy to its hosting of the Republican National Convention in 2008.

Click on the following link to learn more about and order Barry's books: North Star Rising also Republican National Convention 2008.

Ocotober 26th, 2008

Healing the Rift - Can Science and Spirituality Co-Exist?

In a world of uncertainty, especially in these tough times, people look to many sources for answers. Whether it is spiritual guidance or the use of logic and reason through science, the solutions to problems are endless. Ultimately, there are still so many unanswered questions.

Science attempts to explain our world without a creator, spirit, or design, and constantly seeks new information from which to revise its theories. Spirituality accepts that the most important aspects of our world are hidden and beyond human comprehension, and it identifies this realm as composed of the spirit, the soul, and God. Are we simply a collection of cells in a human body that eventually becomes ill and perishes when it fails? Many scientists support this theory, while spiritual beliefs contradict it.

We all want to believe there is a plan for all of us and in the book, Healing The Rift: Bridging The Gap Between Science & Spirituality (Cambridge House, October 2008), author and biotechnology scientist, Dr. Leo Kim explains that spirituality and science can coincide, that it does not have to be one or the other.

As a scientist developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer, Dr. Leo Kim felt powerless as he watched patients die, leading him on a decade-long journey to understand human existence. He reveals how recent scientific breakthroughs led him to the belief that the world is a blending of mind and spirit, explaining the science behind his discovery in entertaining, approachable terms that help readers make sense of their own search for answers.

Dr. Leo Kim has studied with Deepak Chopra and Bernie Siegel and has hopes to resolve the conflicts of science and spirituality. He would like to invite you on a journey where the rift of science and spirituality can be healed.

also...

A Visit with Joe Who!

October 25th, 2008

An Update on the Road to Election 2008! - Dr. David Schultz of Hamline University - dschultz@hamline.edu

also...

Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny

Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny is the President of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Tim Penny represented Southeastern Minnesota's First Congressional District from 1982 through 1994. He served on the U.S. House agriculture and veterans affairs committees and the Select Committee on Hunger, heading the foreign agriculture and hunger subcommittee. While in Congress, Penny founded and co-chaired the Democratic Budget Group and drafted deficit-cutting initiatives. He continues to work in the areas of federal budgeting, agricultural policy, trade issues, and rural development. He is a board member and policy chair of a budget watchdog group, the Concord Coalition, and is an advisory board member for a clean-campaign project, the Minnesota Compact. Co-author of two books, Common Cents and Payment Due, he is a regular public speaker, radio commentator, and editorial writer. Penny has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Winona State University.

Email: timp@smifoundation.org

October 19th, 2008

The Hidden Spirituality of Men

It is no secret that men are in trouble today. From war to ecological collapse, most of the world’s critical problems stem from a distorted masculinity out of control. Yet our culture rewards the very dysfunctions responsible for those problems.

To Matthew Fox, our crucial task is to open our minds to a deeper understanding of the healthy masculine than we receive from our media, culture, and religions. Popular religion forces the punitive imagery of fundamentalism on us, pushing most men away from their natural yearning for spirituality and toward intolerance and domination. Meanwhile, many men, particularly young men, are looking for images of healthy masculinity to emulate and finding nothing.

To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Grandfatherly Heart to the Spiritual Warrior. He explores archetypes of sacred marriage, showing how partnership becomes the ultimate expression of healthy masculinity. By stirring our natural yearning for healthy spirituality, Fox argues, these timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to reinvent the world.

October 18th, 2008

Author and Columnist Barry Cassleman

Barry Casselman holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Iowa. He founded and published his first newspaper in Minnesota at age 29. Covering Minnesota and national politics since 1972, Casselman is now a nationally syndicated columnist who contributes regularly to many of the leading public affairs and political analysis publications. He is currently the CEO of the Preludium News Service and resides in Minneapolis.

North Star Rising traces the impact Minnesota's politicians have had on national politics, from its first territorial governor, Alexander Ramsey, to Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Filled with colorful, little-known anecdotes and unusual historical connections, North Star Rising is a highly readable, often humorous, frequently surprising account of how the nation came to take notice of this northern Midwestern state. The book concludes with a look at recent Minnesota political figures as well as a peek at some of the rising stars of the DFL, Republican, and Independence parties. It depicts Minnesota's political involvement on the national stage from the state's infancy to its hosting of the Republican National Convention in 2008.

Click on the following link to learn more about and order Barry's books: North Star Rising also Republican National Convention 2008.

October 12th, 2008

An Update on the Road to Election 2008! - Dr. David Schultz of Hamline University - dschultz@hamline.edu

also...

Transformers: Shamans of the 21st Century

Dr. John Jay Harper is a clinical hypnotherapist, futurist, research scientist and writer with the American Delphi Academy and Reality Press. He is a former clinical mental health counselor and a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving also as an electronics and computer specialist in avionics, missilery, and nuclear submarines over a two-decade career with the U.S. Department of Defense in the USA and Europe. John lives in Spokane, Washington.

October 11th, 2008

Inner Wisdom Revealed

Empowerment Coach Kim Antonson is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She offers a variety of healing modalities for the mind, body and spirit.

Interested in expanding mind, body and spirit, Kim has applied everything she offers to herself first, to have first-hand knowledge of the effectiveness and wonder of each modality. With a focus on self responsibility for her own well being in every area of her life, she practices what she preaches with conviction and consistency and brings a gift of compassion and a true caring instinct to every person she works with.

Currently training to become an ibreathelife Breath Facilitator, she looks forward to sharing this revolutionary breathwork technique, which was founded by Genie O'Malley, with people everywhere who can benefit from experiencing unconditional love, and the joy of self-acceptance, forgiveness, silence, compassion, celebration, inner knowing, and oneness within their lives. As a Chronic Pain Relief Coach, Kim works with you from the point of empowerment, providing education, support and resources as you journey away from your pain and into confidence and freedom within your life. She leaves you with the tools and awareness you need to manage any and all types of future pain issues as they may arise.

A Reiki Practitioner since 2004, Kim has completed Reiki Level I and II. She truly enjoys helping others through the exciting energy healing power of Reiki. She provides both hands-on and long-distance Reiki and has had some fantastic results with both modalities. (Please see the Testimonials page for more information).

October 5th, 2008

Minnesota's Third Congressional District

A conversation with Democratic Congressional Candidate Ashwin Madia.

also...

When Prayers Aren't Answered

John Welshons, M.A. is the founder and president of Open Heart Seminars, an organization born in 1981 dedicated to enhancing spiritual education and awareness in our society. Since the early 1970's, John has spent much time working with such notable spiritual educators as Ram Dass, Stephen Levine, Pat Rodegast, Judith Stanton, Dale Borglum, and others setting up meaningful lectures, workshops and retreats, many of which have been focused on people who were terminally ill as well as those in grief. He says his life was "dramatically changed" by his first meeting with Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1976. Over the years, one of the main areas of investigation for John has been the grieving process. Through his workshops and one-on-one counseling, he has helped many people who are working with a terminal illness as well as the loved ones who are suffering about a death that has happened, or is imminent.

He is a frequent lecturer to businesses, churches, hospitals, hospices, synagogues, colleges, and universities throughout the United States. He is the author of the new book, Awakening from Grief. An abridged version of one of his stories from the book is featured in A 6th Bowl of Chicken Soup for the Soul. He is also the co-author of Healing the Grief (...of the Loss of a Loved One)-- an audio tape about grief, loss, and healing-- developed in conjunction with his good friend, Mark Victor Hansen, the co-author of the phenomenally successful Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. In addition, John's life experience includes a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida, and an M.A. in History of Religions from Florida State University, where he taught courses that included "Death and Dying" and "Religion in America." He has also taught at Ramapo College in New Jersey.

He has traveled extensively in India and has nearly thirty years of experience in daily meditation practice. He also has twenty-five years of business experience, fifteen years of which he spent as president and C.E.O of a mid-size corporation in New Jersey. John is available for lectures or workshops that will inspire the members of your church, company, or organization.

John's Email: jwelshon@ix.netcom.com

Book Order Link: When Prayers Aren't Answered

October 4th, 2008

A conversation with Professor James McCanney about Steve Fossett, the recent story about prime numbers, the credit crunch and the economy and in the last segment spoke about the snow event on Mars and the current unusual aspects of the current solar cycle.

also.. a visit with

Voice Natural Direct Joe Who!