Old news. Bad news. Fake news. Sometimes you want to shut down and get no news at all! I aim to change that by focusing on good people doing good works. I visit with artists, educators, civic & spiritual leaders, musicians, business owners, students, volunteers, and everyday citizens who are using their creativity, resources, and talents to bring hope, happiness, and goodness to their corner of the world.
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
EP. 67 - The Disciple - Beacon Series Ft. Susan Stabile, Author of "Growing In Love And Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources For Christian Meditation"
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If you listen to this show, then you've often heard me allude to a spiritual experience that took place when I was a much younger man. While I have spared the full linear details, it's sufficient to say that the experience changed my mind and gave me a reason to follow my heart. In an attempt to understand this experience of my youth, I wandered as a pilgrim, searching and studying the religions and wisdom traditions of the world. While I found treasures in many, I have never felt more at home than I have in the teachings of Jesus, the Christ, and Sidhartha Gautama, the Buddha.
Living with one foot in each of these religions has been an enlightening journey. It has not been without its difficulties, especially in finding an organized religious tradition I could whole-heartedly call "home." Regardless of this challenge, I have adopted much from the traditions of Christianity and Buddhism. While there are defined differences between them, I have found that love, mercy, compassion, kindness, and wisdom rise clearly to the top. It is from these that I arrange the bouquet of my personal spiritual practice and most of my perspectives.
I feel very blessed to have been born at this time on earth. The last 3,000 years have been filled with discord, conflict, war, and violence. It has also given rise to powerful voices of unity, diversity, and harmony. In the last 100 years alone, humans have gained unprecedented access to information. Many extraordinary beings have used that information to learn, grow, and find common ground. They have focused on the beauty we share, while still remaining grounded firmly in the traditions and teachings of their unique cultures. In seeking voices such as these, I have been honored to read the works of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Walt Whitman, Ram Dass, J. Krishnamurti, Henry David Thoreau, Lao Tzu, Brother David Steindl-Rhast, Tenzin Gyatso-The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thich Nhat Hanh.
Today, I share these names, and this more extended reflection with you, because it is all highly relevant to the nature of Find the Good News and my special guest. You see, recently, I added a new name to the list of wise voices I've come to treasure, and that name is Susan Stabile. I discovered Susan's work while seeking podcasters that may be discussing the writings of the Trappist Monk and Author Thomas Merton. I landed on a podcast called "Creo En Dios," which translates, "I believe in God." I do believe, so I pressed play. I listened. My mind was enlivened. My heart was opened. I pressed play again, and again, and again.
What I found in Susan's lectures was a highly-Catholic voice that seemed to dance effortlessly with teachings of other wisdom traditions. She dialed beautiful practices from Buddhism into a life of Christian prayer. Susan's lectures—of which there are over a hundred—became a part of my weekly spiritual life. She presented Christian teachings and scripture in a way that felt like home for me, and in all truth, the experience was very healing. Her lectures have become a part of the journey both in-and-out of my annual spiritual retreat, framing the beginning and the end of that yearly journey. Her book, "Growing in Love and Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources for Christian Meditation," presents slightly retooled Buddhist methods for Christian's—or anyone— seeking to deepen their existing prayer life.
Discovering her work has been a treasure I did not know I was seeking. Her agreeing to visit with me on this Beacon Series episode allows that work reverberate even further, so that it may enter new hearts and minds.
It is my great pleasure to send this Good News Beacon out to you. This is my conversation with Susan Stabile.
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SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS ON PATREON >> www.Patreon.com/FindTheGoodNews
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FOR MORE INFO ON SUSAN STABILE
• BLOG >> https://susanjoan.wordpress.com/
• WEBSITE >> https://susanstabile.com/
• PODCAST >> https://susanstabile.com/podcasts/
• BOOK >> https://amzn.to/2KVVy3E
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FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com
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Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Ep. 66 - The Universe Ft. Dave Evans - Find the Good News with Oran Parker
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
EP. 66 - The Universe Ft. Dave Evans
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There are people that I've wanted to have on Find the Good News since the first days of the show's inception. For one reason or another, our orbits didn't sync up. Still, I had faith that with enough revolutions, my schedule would sync up with these good people, and we'd get to sit within the gravity of the Right Round Table. One of these people was Southwest Louisiana chef, owner of Luna Bar & Grill, and founder of Chuck Fest, Dave Evans. This year, the stars aligned, and I was able to sit with Dave on Find the Good News. Visiting with Dave was an absolute pleasure because of the sheer expanse of topics relevant to my home region that we cover. Dave Evans is the type of person that echoes and reverberates. He makes a sound, and those ripples have had positive impacts on the people living in the community he serves through his endeavors. With each pulse, Dave infuses a piece of his life. Whether you're eating dinner at Luna, enjoying the downtown area of Lake Charles, or experiencing our area at Chuck Fest, you are traveling within the concentric rings of Dave Evans universe. At zero hour, the very dawn at each of Dave's passion projects, there is a reflection of himself. I believe that this is why Dave Evans' projects shine so bright. It is because they are authentic, very personal, and created with deep love.
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SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS ON PATREON >> www.Patreon.com/FindTheGoodNews
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FOR MORE INFO ON DAVE EVANS >> https://www.facebook.com/dave.evans.music or https://www.facebook.com/lunabarandgrill/
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FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com
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BRIMSTONE MUSEUM >> www.brimstonemuseum.org or Call (337) 527-0357
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Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
EP. 65 - The Honor First - Beacon Series Ft. Jenn Budd, Former Senior Border Patrol Agent & Immigration Rights Activist
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I often say that we have to walk into the darkened recesses of the cave to find the truth. It’s important to learn what is needed, then light lanterns on our way out, illuminating the way so the next travelers can get to that truth safer, and with less suffering. I was reminded of this metaphor again when I recently spoke with former Senior Border Patrol Agent Jenn Budd as a part of the Beacon series on Find the Good News. Instead of going into the dark cave, we traveled along Jenn’s road to the United States-Mexico border, and her eventual exodus from the organization tasked with patrolling this contentious space between our two countries. I first heard Jenn Budd’s voice through the content stream of Laura Grantham Broussard—who joined me in this important conversation with Jenn—and with each of her interviews I could tell that she had a zeal for shining light on the toxic culture and corruption that has stained the U.S. Border Patrol long before the fervor of politically charged media interest in recent years. In our visit with Jenn, we learned that her dissolution with the U.S. Border Patrol, and her subsequent willingness to step into the breach as an immigration rights activist, did not come without deeply personal pain and suffering. Jenn survived her deeply traumatic ordeal in the U.S. Border Patrol, eventually surviving herself, then transmuting all of that scar tissue into a heart that burns with a passion to help others. Rhetoric regarding immigration, asylum, and the United States-Mexico border has been wielded by powerful voices as political weapons, and the image of a tumultuous border has been manipulated to turn a true humanitarian crisis into a profit source for many struggling communities and greed-driven companies. For many of us, these conversations about the border are based on speculation only, and the voices we are listening to often have little-to-no actual experience with on-the-ground border realities. This is not the case with Jenn Budd. Almost two decades ago, the current of life carried Jenn to the border to protect and patrol, but there was no one there to safeguard her from the very organization she had joined. Now, the tide of time has carried Jenn back to this line between two countries, this area that changed her life, a bitter line that is being used to disrupt the quality of life on both its sides, with cruel decisions that will affect families for many generations to come. She, and others like her, believe in a safe and healthy border that is protected by communities working together, with open hands instead of closed fists, with compassion instead of cruelty, celebrating shared cultures, and working to promote a better border vision for of us. This is our conversation with Jenn Budd.
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SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS ON PATREON >> www.Patreon.com/FindTheGoodNews
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FOR MORE INFO ON JENN BUDD >> https://www.facebook.com/jenn.budd or https://twitter.com/BuddJenn
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FOR MORE INFO ON A NEW BORDER VISION >> http://bit.ly/2WRPqhu
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FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com
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Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
Ep. 64 - The Ocean and the Shore Ft. Mary Vaughan - Find the Good News with Oran Parker
Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
EP. 64 - The Ocean and the Shore Ft. Mary Vaughan
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Breathing. Such a simple action—often taken for granted—yet such an amazing tool to bring us back to an awareness of the present moment. It’s easy to get caught in a half-life between the regrets of the past, or the fears of the future, thoughts cleaved by clinging to one or the other. In the middle lies a state of healing calm waiting with refreshment, ready to heal the sufferings of the past, and sooth the anxiously waiting future by bringing both into the pooling fold of the eternal now. In a culture driven quite mad with the incessant and aggressive longing to pull tomorrow into today ever faster, it is easy to lose awareness and mindfulness, forgetting the blessed-and-always-present breath—the gift of all living beings—that can bring us home. This is the blessing and great charity that Mary Vaughan is bringing into classrooms, to children, reminding them of the precious gift of a calmer present. This is why I asked her to visit me on Find the Good News. Mary brought a gift of incense a calming presence to the Right Round Table. I found her even manner of conversation very relaxing and it put me at ease. Her sharing reminded me again that many times the right people are placed in just-so-particular positions, equipped with life experiences, training, and developed skills that uniquely align with ailments in the world. As a father that is raising children in a world filled to burst with fear and anxiety signals, I always keep a keen eye out for the helpers that arrive, using their days as living breathing beings, to show us a better, healthier, happier way. Mary Vaughan is one of these beings. As a yoga practitioner and instructor, she has found great value in mindfulness meditation exercises, and she puts the right effort into sharing those lessons with children, the human races’ great hope. She shows them the practical application of meditation, the value it brings to their young lives, and offers them a door to the precious present that is as near as their next inhalation. Breathe in, dear friends. Breath. Out.
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SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS ON PATREON >> www.Patreon.com/FindTheGoodNews
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FOR MORE INFO ON MARY VAUGHAN >> https://www.facebook.com/premascension or https://www.facebook.com/premascension72/
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FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com
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SULPHUR TODAY >> www.facebook.com/sulphurtoday / #SulphurToday
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BRIMSTONE MUSEUM >> www.brimstonemuseum.org or Call (337) 527-0357
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