This site is a contribution to the work of those teachers, activists, writers, bodyworkers, artists, and scientists who are taking stands in favor of the crucial importance of our material reality: the cosmos that, after eons of turbulent growth, has finally given us birth; the earth with its precious waters, atmosphere, topsoils, forests, and living beings; and our bodies within which our dreams and ideals are nourished. My focus is on a worldwide group of educators who have developed practices for accessing and cultivating the stores of wisdom, creativity, and courage that live within our bodies.

My latest work in this area is The Meaning of Life in the 21st Century: Tensions Among Science, Religion, and Experience , a collection of writings by scientists, philosophers, and other scholars from several continents. The writings were generated by an extraordinary conference held in Japan that addressed the unique problems facing us because of radically new understandings of the nature of life: are there essential differences between different forms of life? what are the ethical implications of new understandings of genetics and evolution? are notions of human singularity hopelessly anachronistic?

I am professor of Somatics at The California Institute of Integral Studies.

•••