The late Dan "Moonhawk" Alford participated in the first dialogue between western scientists and indigenous elders in 1992. He was responsible for helping to bring the dialogues -- later called The Language of Spirituality conference -- to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1999. Moonhawk noted that "I hang out at the lonely intersection of linguistics, Native America, quantum physics and consciousness." A Ph.D, professor of linguistics at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and originator of "Quantum Linguistics," Moonhawk was also a staunch defender of the linguist Benjamin Whorf, who posited that language and worldview influence each other, a concept Whorf arrived at from his study of the Hopi language, and that was reinforced by the work of renowned theoretical physicist David Bohm. Moonhawk's invitation to attend a dialogue in Banff, Alberta, Canada, inspired my film.
Leroy Little Bear
Leroy LIttle Bear initiated the first dialogue between western scientists and indigenous elders in 1992 in Kalamazoo, MI. After SEED Graduate Institute brought the dialogues to Albuquerque, NM, he served as moderator of the dialogues from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Blood Tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Little Bear is the former Director of the American Indian Program at Harvard University and professor emeritus of Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge, where he was department chair for 25 years. He has written several articles and co-edited three books including Pathways to Self-Determination: Canadian Indians and the Canadian State (1984), Quest for Justice: Aboriginal Peoples and Aboriginal Rights (1985), and Governments in Conflict and Indian Nations in Canada (1988).
F. David Peat
F. David Peat was born in Liverpool and earned a PhD at Liverpool University before moving to Canada. For many years he carried out research in theoretical physics, but his unwavering desire to find “the question that lies behind the question” led to an encounter with the physicist and philosopher David Bohm, whom Einstein had described as his “spiritual son." The two men stayed friends and were working together on a second book at the time of Bohm's death. In 1979 Peat decided to focus on writing and is now author of more than 20 books on such topics as Jungian synchronicity, creativity, chaos theory, quantum theory and the Native American universe. In 2007, his scientific autobiography Pathways of Chance was published by Pari Publishing. Peat has also organized meetings of artists and scientists, and scientists and Native American elders.
Fred Alan Wolf
Fred Alan Wolf is a physicist, writer, and lecturer who earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at UCLA in 1963. He continues to write, lecture throughout the world, and conduct research on the relationship of quantum physics to consciousness. He is the National Book Award Winning author of Taking the Quantum Leap. In 1963, he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UCLA and began researching the field of high atmospheric particle behavior following a nuclear explosion. Wolf's inquiring mind has delved into the relationship between human consciousness, psychology, physiology, the mystical, and the spiritual. His investigations have taken him from intimate discussions with physicist David Bohm to the magical and mysterious jungles of Peru, from master classes with Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman to the high deserts of Mexico, from a significant meeting with Werner Heisenberg to the hot coals of a firewalk.
Stephen Gamboa-Eastman
Physicist Stephen Gamboa-Eastman posits that one of the deepest cultural myths of Western civilization since the time of Aristotle has been that the nature of science is logical and therefore has a special claim to our respect and acceptance. Heraklietos was both shamanic and logical. Aristotle initiates the science that claims to originate in logic as well as present itself in a final logical form. This myth is simply untrue. Theoretical science in the 19th and 20th centuries has been driven by discoveries made in shamanic states of consciousness trance, special dreams, ecstasy, fever, and ritual contexts. These are the stories of the discovery of the periodic table of elements, the special theory of relativity, modular functions, undecidability in logic, the equation for the electron, and others of equal or near-equal moment.
Matthew Bronson
Matthew Bronson is an educational linguist and works as associate professor in the Social & Cultural Anthropology program (where he has taught since 1983) and the Director of Academic Assessment at California Institute of Integral Studies. His research and writing explores the intersections of consciousness studies, linguistics and education in the service of a world in crisis. He has conducted field research on the spiritual traditions of Brazil, co-founded a psychosocial intervention program for people living with HIV, participated in dialogues between Native Americans and scientists to heal the wounds of colonialism and conducted workshops in five countries on topics ranging from accelerated learning to critical media literacy. He recently edited four special issues of ReVision Journal on "the Language of Spirituality" and "Revisioning Higher Education."