We’re living in a time when personal and social relationships are fraying and fracturing.
The Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy, recently sounded an alarm about an epidemic of loneliness erupting throughout the United States. Young people, especially, feel a growing sense of loneliness, isolation and powerlessness, even as online social media use expands in their lives.
It’s a world we are all now struggling to manifest – a world beyond the old distinctions of race, ethnicity, nationality, and even religion – the world of the common heart of humanity.
I’ve given talks and discussions online and in-person with many different groups, large and small. If you would like to discuss setting up a talk, please contact me directly at jameshilgendorf1 (at) gmail.com.
These are some of the comments from people:
From SOMOS – Society of the Muse of the Southwest, Taos, New Mexico:
“I was deeply moved by your talk. It resonated on many levels.”
“It was inspiring and challenging. The author is a combination of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bernie Sanders, Karl Marx, the Buddha, Ralph Nader, and Walt Whitman.”
From the Napa Valley Arts Association, Napa, California:
“Thank you. I especially love your writing! Very, very strong. Huge WOW. Thank you for your dedication and talent. Loved your reading from the America book. Poignant.”
From the 4th Street Fine Art Gallery, Berkeley, California:
“What a wonderful event. The poems took on a beautiful life in reading. I was struck how they, along with each comment from the audience, struck beautiful chords that resonated deep. Thank you.”
“What a refreshing change to hear the measures of a song of hope and open questions, rather than a scowling critique which has become so common yet offers so little.”
From the Santa Barbara Chapter of IANDS – the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Barbara Bartolome, Founder/Director:
“James Hilgendorf presented a one-hour talk tonight, titled “Waking Up To Who You Really Are”, to an audience of about 100 of our attendees. During the talk, he presented ideas from his own Buddhist background, as well as ideas and commentary from a wide array of famous people, including Arnold Toynbee, Joseph Campbell, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Leo Tolstoy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson, Kenneth Ring, Daisaku Ikeda, John Wheeler and others, in an attempt to stimulate reflection upon the nature of our lives and our relationship to the universe around us, and to provide insights into the nature of happiness and of life and death itself. After the talk, there were many interesting questions from the audience. I felt his talk gifted us all with deep insights, guidance, and light. Very simple. Very beautiful.”
If you would like to make a one-time or continuing donation to help us continue our journey, we would deeply appreciate it.