Artfully Mindful

The Trouble With Truth

This is a REPLAY of a podcast from July 2024, and it seems to me to be pretty darn relevant today in the midst of the current conflict with Iran.  What if everything you believed to be true was merely an illusion? Inspired by the iconic line, "You can't handle the truth," from "A Few Good Men," we embark on a journey to unravel the complexities of truth. We explore the human craving for certainty and how it leads to conflict and war. Through the lens of Buddhism and mindfulness, we discuss the concept of truth as an understanding of delusion and balance, rather than something tangible or ultimate. By sharing personal stories and teachings, we highlight how minor grievances can spiral into significant conflicts and reveal how recognizing these delusions can foster harmony and justice. In the second part of our exploration, we shift our focus to the enigmatic realms of death and the afterlife. We delve into various perspectives—scientific, spiritual, and religious—to ponder the continuity of consciousness and the ripple effects of our lives. We navigate the murky waters of absolute versus relative truth, considering how different frameworks and theories can coexist. We also touch on the dangers of dogmatic beliefs and the potential for other dimensions with different physical laws. Join us as we advocate for a more open-minded approach to understanding our world and the mysteries that lie beyond. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110901/support] * Website: www.nextpixprods.com [http://www.nextpixprods.com/] * PLEASE READ - Terms of Use: https://www.nextpixprods.com/terms-of-use.html Note that Don Thompson is now available as a coach or mentor on an individual basis. To find out more, please go to his website www.nextpixprods.com, and use the 'contact' form to request additional information.

What is an Artist?

What if art’s real job is to translate life into something we can carry? Don Thompson takes us into a clear, honest exploration of what an artist is, why beauty matters, and how creative work helps us make sense of a noisy world. We follow the thread from paint to prose to film, seeing how each medium turns private perception into public form—and why that matters for anyone trying to understand their own experience. We tackle the friction that fuels art history: realism giving way to impressionism, expressionism pushing back, cubism and abstraction insisting on new ways to see. Along the way, Don lays out a candid distinction between efficiency and art, showing how market pressures can narrow vision while true craft often asks for risk, slowness, and integrity. Film becomes a case study in the pull between commercial viability and a personal aesthetic, and we talk about the artists who choose one path, the artists who choose the other, and the audiences who sometimes catch up years later. At the heart of the conversation is vocation. Where does the creative calling come from—genetics, upbringing, temperament? Maybe all of the above. What matters is the familiar urge that rises and demands expression. Don argues that anyone can find an artistic voice and that the act of making is a way to stay whole. We press on the big question of meaning—whether we discover it or create it—and explore how tragedy can be transformed through story and symbol into something coherent and even beautiful. By the end, truth, beauty, and love feel less like separate ideals and more like a single current artists try to reveal. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs permission to make, and leave a review to help more curious minds find us. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110901/support] * Website: www.nextpixprods.com [http://www.nextpixprods.com/] * PLEASE READ - Terms of Use: https://www.nextpixprods.com/terms-of-use.html Note that Don Thompson is now available as a coach or mentor on an individual basis. To find out more, please go to his website www.nextpixprods.com, and use the 'contact' form to request additional information.

Year-End Reflections On Teaching And Turbulence

A quiet return turns into a brisk tour through a semester of teaching, a new research chapter, and a philosophical lens for a turbulent public square. We start with the energy of the classroom in Washington, where corporate social responsibility moved from buzzword to practice: people, planet, and profit in real institutions with real constraints. That momentum carries into a fresh ABD milestone and a quantitative study on climate attitudes in the United States, designed to map how identity, trust, and media shape what people believe—and why scientific consensus so often misfires on impact. From there, we open a door to Paul Franco’s framing of Rousseau and Nietzsche, two voices that keep echoing through American life. Rousseau’s social contract and commitment to equality under law collide with Nietzsche’s will to power and the creation of personal values in a secular age. Seen together, they sketch a live fault line in our politics: egalitarian rules versus exceptional self-authorization. We explore how this tension shows up in wealth concentration, leader worship, and the health of democratic norms, and we ask what it takes to steer passion back toward constitutional ground without losing vitality or courage. The conversation widens to AI’s disruptive role in universities, the rise of social angst and violence, and the practical work of cultivating inner steadiness. Mindfulness isn’t a partisan answer, but it helps us pause, notice, and choose better. Teaching continues next term with storytelling, research advances, and the long arc of civic life remains open to the work we do together. If these themes resonate—CSR, climate communication, Rousseau versus Nietzsche, the rule of law, and the search for peace—tune in, subscribe, and share your take. Leave a review and tell us: where do you see equality and power colliding in your world? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110901/support] * Website: www.nextpixprods.com [http://www.nextpixprods.com/] * PLEASE READ - Terms of Use: https://www.nextpixprods.com/terms-of-use.html Note that Don Thompson is now available as a coach or mentor on an individual basis. To find out more, please go to his website www.nextpixprods.com, and use the 'contact' form to request additional information.

Truth, Tolerance, and the Threat to Intellectual Life in America

What happens when political power directly challenges academic freedom? Fresh from a six-month sabbatical from podcasting, I'm witnessing concerning parallels between McCarthyism and the current political climate's impact on American universities. The Trump administration's approach to higher education—slashing research funding and criticizing intellectual exploration—threatens to fundamentally alter the academic landscape. Working within this system, I see firsthand how political pressure creates a chilling effect on the free exchange of ideas. When politicians dictate what professors can teach and researchers can study, we lose something essential to our society's ability to grow and adapt. America has always maintained a complex relationship with intellectual life. Our nation's founding by religious reformers embedded certain anti-intellectual tendencies that persist today, helping explain why critiques of "wokeness" resonate with many Americans. The current tensions reflect a deeper conflict between worldviews—one that sees truth as discovered through dialogue and critical examination versus approaches that insist on singular, unquestioned truths. The university should remain a space where diverse perspectives can interact productively—where Christian, Islamic, Jewish, scientific, and humanistic viewpoints can be explored with mutual respect. This tolerance for intellectual diversity doesn't threaten society; it strengthens it. Rather than imposing ideological constraints through funding cuts, we should be fostering environments where Socratic questioning thrives. Our intellectual richness as a nation depends on our willingness to protect these spaces of open inquiry. What kind of society do we want to become? One that fears challenging questions, or one that embraces them as the path to greater understanding? The choice we make now will shape American intellectual life for generations to come. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110901/support] * Website: www.nextpixprods.com [http://www.nextpixprods.com/] * PLEASE READ - Terms of Use: https://www.nextpixprods.com/terms-of-use.html Note that Don Thompson is now available as a coach or mentor on an individual basis. To find out more, please go to his website www.nextpixprods.com, and use the 'contact' form to request additional information.

Embracing Change: A Sabbatical Journey

Kicking off 2025 with a whirlwind of changes, I, Don Thompson, bring you a podcast episode filled with personal insights and professional shifts. As we usher in a new presidency, the potential impacts on our administrative state—especially for those of us with family ties to government—are unknown and intriguing. This episode takes on a special significance as I announce my sabbatical from the podcast world to embrace a passion for teaching media and film courses in Washington DC and Maryland. It's a time of transition, reflection, and new adventures, and I'm deeply thankful for your unwavering support throughout this journey. Curious about the growing trend of sabbaticals? Get ready to uncover insights from the Harvard Business Review as we explore this fascinating topic with the help of authors Kira Schabram, Matt Bloom, and DJ DiDonna. From the rising popularity of employer-offered sabbaticals to the independent options chosen by professionals, this discussion unveils the three types of sabbaticals and their benefits. Whether you're contemplating your own career break or just interested in the evolving workplace dynamics, this conversation promises to shed light on the purposeful pauses that can redefine careers and lives alike. You can read the Harvard Business Review article referenced in the podcast here. [https://hbr.org/2023/02/research-the-transformative-power-of-sabbaticals] Music: Ty Simon - 'Lifted Spirits' Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110901/support] * Website: www.nextpixprods.com [http://www.nextpixprods.com/] * PLEASE READ - Terms of Use: https://www.nextpixprods.com/terms-of-use.html Note that Don Thompson is now available as a coach or mentor on an individual basis. To find out more, please go to his website www.nextpixprods.com, and use the 'contact' form to request additional information.