Co-Creating A Dream Of A Modern Day Oz with Jean Houston, Ph.D

Hosted by: Justine Willis Toms

Here Houston takes us on a whirlwind tour of the authentic American myth of the Wizard of Oz. She answers the question of what it means to have a brain, a heart, and act with courage. Using the characters of the scarecrow, tin man, lion, and Dorothy, Houston inspires us to follow our deep yearning in order to develop and contribute to a better world with our full human capacities She tells us, “We are in the most critical time of history.  The time in which we decide whether we grow or die, whether we evolve or perish.  Each of us comes in with a kind of added response-ability and we have to prepare ourselves and deepen ourselves and constantly educate ourselves to be the stewards of this time.”  (hosted by Justine Willis Toms).

BIO

Jean Houston is a visionary thinker, teacher, and philosopher who pioneered the Human Potential Movementand established the Social Artistry leadership model that she used in her work with the United Nations Development Programme. She is the author of nearly thirty books including A Mythic Life (HarperSanFrancisco 1996), A Passion for the Possible (HarperSanFrancisco 1997), and The Wizard of Us: Transformational Lessons From Oz (Beyond Words 2012). To learn more about the work of Jean Houston go towww.jeanhouston.com.

Topics explored in this dialogue include:

  • How myth is encoded into our DNA and human intelligence
  • How do myths help us to find our “yellow brick road of spiritual pollen”
  • Who was L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and why he used a girl as his protagonist
  • What are the gifts we must recognize in ourselves to live our fully potential
  • Why including “the arts” in school curriculum is important in developing our highest human capacities
  • What is social artistry and how can we expand our usefulness in society
  • Why the rise of women is the single most important happening in the last 5000 years
  • What are the “field of poppies” that crop up in our lives
  • How is this time reminiscent of the time of great creativity of the Renaissance

Program Number: 3459


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