Quantum Spirituality with Sara Troy and her guest Dr Kumar Murty, on air from October 16th
The Science of Human Possibilities with Dr. Kumar Murty presents a convincing narrative where evolution and spirituality are complementary, not competing forces...
Dr. Murty explores themes such as the art of learning, navigating uncertainty, fostering discipline, shaping identity, honoring tradition, and embracing enlightenment. Through Murty’s reflections as a Mathematics Professor intertwined with profound Vedanta teachings, he makes the case for the infinite potential inherent in the human experience, empowering individuals from all walks of life to evolve and flourish.
— Ray Sharma, Founder and CEO of Extreme Venture Partners Kumar Murty, a distinguished mathematician and scholar deeply rooted in the Indian teachings of Vedanta, brings over four decades of expertise in mathematics as a revered professor at the University of Toronto and Director of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. Surrounded by brilliant minds in the realms of math and science, Murty has witnessed the untapped talents within each student who crossed his classroom threshold. Embark on a quest to unlock the boundless capabilities of the mind with insights that seamlessly blend scientific rigor with spiritual wisdom. Drawing from his dual expertise in science and philosophy, Murty illuminates the interconnectedness of mental acuity and spiritual enlightenment. The Science of Human Possibilities is a beacon of inspiration tailored for anyone yearning to unearth their latent gifts.
Vijaya Kumar Murty, FRSC, is an Indo-Canadian mathematician renowned for his work in number theory. He serves as a professor at the University of Toronto and is Director of the Fields Institute. Dr. Murty has made pioneering contributions to areas such as analytic number theory, algebraic number theory, information security, and arithmetic algebraic geometry. His academic journey includes a PhD in mathematics from Harvard University in 1982 under the guidance of John Tate. Dr. Murty has been recognized with numerous accolades, including being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Fields Institute. His dedication to the field has also been acknowledged through his election as a Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India). Dr. Murty’s impact extends beyond academia, as evidenced by his pivotal role in informing policy decisions during the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada and his visionary projects, such as the Fields Multiplier initiative.
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“For the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest George Whitty & Ellis Hall on air from October 15th
When music legends George Whitty and Ellis Hall decided to turn their long time mutual admiration society into an official partnership, they committed full throttle to recording their explosive contemporary twist on classic R&B and came up with a clever branding idea.
Rather than simply calling themselves Whitty Hall, Hall added “Artistic Team” to create WHAT. Add in a handful of exclamation points and WHAT!!!! was born. As the full CD shaped up, with its probing commentary on the ups and downs of living today, the title In the World suggested itself as the accompaniment to the band’s name.
When long time fans of these two keyboard powerhouses and newcomers to the Whitty-Hall experience check out these eclectic ten tracks, their initial responses will truly be a rousing, “WHAT!!!! In the World?”
Whitty says, “At first glance, there’s a little inside joke in there, but it also speaks to Ellis’ and my observations of the world we live in, pooling and sharing our various life experiences together.” Their pitch-perfect creative mission statement is “WHAT!!!! puts the fun in funk!”
Once the multi-Grammy winning Whitty and long beloved “Ambassador of Soul” and former Tower of Power vocalist Hall had their name and title down, next up was picking the perfect lead single. The goal was an invitation to immerse in the freshness of the grooves, the dynamics of their array of keys (including Whitty’s Moog bass and drum programming and Hall’s Hammond B-3 organ) and the surreal magic of Hall’s multi-octave vocals. The obvious choice was “Die Living,” a simmering soul anthem whose thought-provoking title came spontaneously to Whitty one day and inspired a grooving,gospel-blues fired track spiked by what Whitty calls “a front porch kind of thing.”
In addition to organ, Hall adds various flavors of guitar on the track. Partly inspired by a casual but witty response Willie Nelson once gave to an interviewer who asked if he would ever think of retiring, “Die Living” is a song about wringing every last drop of life we can out of our time here, and seeking wisdom from others on how to do that. It’s a plea encouraging us to literally die while living as fully as possible and feeling as optimistic in old age as we did in our youth.
As Hall sings in the first chorus, “Cause I want to die living/Help me sail into the sun/And I want to die believing/Life has just begun!” The engaging, insightful verses are essentially conversations with a “brother” who has wisdom to impart, an “old man” who can help us “steer clear from the fruit of the poisonous tree” and, as Whitty’s two boys taught him, “how much we loved to laugh and play.”
As Hall sings in his inimitably powerful way in the bridge, the hope is to “play it loud and long/Finish clear and strong/Just the way I did when I was young…!” “The son is basically asking different people for advice on how to live our best lives,” says Whitty. “In the second verse, Ellis added some interesting lyrics to what I had written, which was a shout out to joyful little kids who can also teach older folks a thing or two about living. He is a great lyricist with a good feel for the right words that just sort of tumble out of him to meet the occasion perfectly.”
WHAT!!!! and the In the World album have their roots in another of the album’s instant classics, “Hug Me,” an epic, six-minute power ballad/anthem Whitty and Hall recorded in 2023 as a tribute to the strength and resolve of the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s bloody invasion – a way for artists to help in any way they can. Featuring the ethereal vocals of the great Ukrainian singer Maryana Golovko, the track is a powerful re-imagining of Slava Varkachuk’s Ukranian hit “Obiymy (Embrace).” The compelling video for the song intercuts clips of the two playing their parts (and Hall singing) in different studios with footage of Golovko singing in an outdoor setting and stark color and black and white images of the war’s youngest victims, the children. The recording went live on the fundraising platform United 24 within minutes of submission and currently has thousands of views on YouTube.
Whitty had been a fan of Hall’s since he “kicked my ass so hard” when he headlined as Tower of Power’s lead singer at a mid-80s performance at NYC’s The Bottom Line. Hall’s longtime project manager (and longtime “watcher”) Alec Berfield had been bugging the singer about meeting Whitty for years, and when Whitty, with Berfield’s prompting, sent him his initial tracks for “Hug Me,” he knew it was divine timing. “Listening to what George had put together, I heard an opportunity to add some nice vocal harmonies to the track,” says Hall. Whitty adds, “I wanted it to start out simple and stripped down and build into a powerhouse symphony kind of vibe. Once I had a bass line going, it opened up into a big, epic Peter Gabriel type of sound. Ellis took it from there and wrote great English lyrics to it which deal with the human emotion side of the conflict, not the politics.”
With three of the 10 songs recorded live in January 2024 at Inner Sanctum Studios in Coos Bay, Oregon, In The World – executive produced by Berfield and David Ford – also includes the up-tempo blues/soul/funk barnburner “Own Up,” the emotional, mid-tempo pop/soul ballad “Miami” and “Why Should I Care,” a heartfelt, poignant ballad about human indifference that Hall wrote years ago when he simultaneously heard about the Jonestown, Guyana tragedy and a previous Palestinian-Israel conflict. Prior to this dynamic re-imagining, Hall had sung it at African American summits in South Africa and Zimbabwe and it was one of Nelson Mandela’s favorite songs.
The new collection also features the beautiful, moody introspection “Some Days Were Meant for Rain,” which Hall originally recorded on TOP’s 1987 album Power (the only album the singer recorded with the band during his tenure from 1984-88). WHAT!!!! also recorded a fiery live-in-studio version of the Sam & Dave classic “I Thank You.” The band includes guitarist David Ford, bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco (famous for his tours with Paul Simon) and drummer Aaron Haggerty (Al McKay, Kool & The Gang, Gary Clark Jr., UB40).
A little background: For the past three decades, George Whitty has been playing live with everyone from the Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock and the late David Sanborn to Chaka Khan, Richard Bona, Sadao Watanabe and many others. As a producer and session keyboardist, his credits include Santana’s blockbuster Supernatural (with Dave Matthews), Celine Dion’s Falling Into You and These Are Special Times, Hancock’s The Imagine Project and hundreds of others. He has won four Grammys for his work on Chaka Khan’s The Woman I Am, Randy Brecker’s 34th and Lex, Michael Brecker’s Tales Fromthe Hudson and the Brecker Bros.’ Out of the Loop.
In addition to his years with Tower of Power, Ellis Hall – who has been sightless since age 18 – fronted the Ellis Hall Group in the 70s, has written over 4000 soul, gospel, blues and pop songs, performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Maurice White and recorded with John Klemmer, George Duke and Kenny G, among countless others. He has also written and performed on many film soundtracks including The Lion King 2, Shrek 2, Invincible and Bruce Almighty. He also sang a Louis Armstrong tune in the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can.
Speaking of his musical chemistry with Whitty, Hall says, “We are true brothers from another mother! I keep telling George to get outta my head sucka!” Whitty adds, “We just clicked right away and made each other laugh. From the get-go, I knew it would be easy to work with him and a lot of fun as well. Every time I get tracks from Ellis, it feels like Christmas Day. I guess I was on the good list. I was on a plane coming home to LA from New York recently and received some tracks from him in flight. They were so great that I was sitting there in my seat at 2 a.m. just smiling and kind of exclaiming; I wonder what the other passengers thought I was doing.” Hall adds, “It’s just a joyous thing and my word for joyous is ‘chakalaka’!” “Die Living” will proudly be released in October in association with Mike Dion and ITI Records, followed in January 2025 by the album In the World.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Angel and Sara have done a few shows together going back over a decade, speaking to the issues that need to be spoken about. You will find all her shows here.
ANGEL HAMILTON emerged from the video aisles at Blockbuster where she worked as a clerk (obtaining valuable research) and dove right into assisting to remount Global Visions Documentary Festival in Edmonton. A graduate of Anthropology at Trent University, she worked as a producer’s assistant at Red Storm Productions and Purple Productions in British Columbia and then went on to obtain a certificate in documentary production at Capilano University Bosa Centre for Film & Animation. Her passion for food justice was sparked by working with the Britannia Community Centre to help mount the Stone Soup Food Film Festival. She directed personal films and produced a number of student productions before moving back to her hometown of Peterborough in 2012 where she co-founded Media Arts Peterborough to produce a web series called WHAT IS ART? about local artists. A three-time honoree of Trent Film Society’s Snowdance Film Festival, she maintains a passion for transformation through creative response and she works invisibly in the background facilitating art and expression in all forms. Most recently, she worked as co-producer on Lester Alfonso’s creative nonfiction project BIRTHMARK. She is also the associate and impact producer for the documentary project CIRCUS BOY that premiered at ReFrame Film Festival 2020 These days, she’s exploring new ways to tell stories through video projection art. She is currently involved as a volunteer with the crowdfunding campaign for the documentary “Standing with the Ancients”. She worked as production coordinator for One Day in December directed by LA Alfonso and is currently working at Paradigm Pictures with Rob Viscardis.
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Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Angela Hamilton, on air from October
I worked on Kickstarter campaign as a volunteer fundraiser for the “fairy creek” documentary directed by Jen Murantez because I care.
I chose to volunteer as a documentary filmmaker fundraiser on this project because fairy creek is in close proximity to where my family live on the west coast and I am friends with the director. I had many friends at the fairy creek blockade and the only way I could help was on the campaign on my laptop from my home in Peterborough, Ontario I have always cared about nature and doing what I can to help various campaigns over the years.
The world premiere is at Planet in Focus Film Fest in Toronto, Ontario
ANGEL HAMILTON emerged from the video aisles at Blockbuster where she worked as a clerk (obtaining valuable research) and dove right into assisting to remount Global Visions Documentary Festival in Edmonton. A graduate of Anthropology at Trent University, she worked as a producer’s assistant at Red Storm Productions and Purple Productions in British Columbia and then went on to obtain a certificate in documentary production at Capilano University Bosa Centre for Film & Animation. Her passion for food justice was sparked by working with the Britannia Community Centre to help mount the Stone Soup Food Film Festival. She directed personal films and produced a number of student productions before moving back to her hometown of Peterborough in 2012 where she co-founded Media Arts Peterborough to produce a web series called WHAT IS ART? about local artists. A three-time honoree of Trent Film Society’s Snowdance Film Festival, she maintains a passion for transformation through creative response and she works invisibly in the background facilitating art and expression in all forms. Most recently, she worked as co-producer on Lester Alfonso’s creative nonfiction project BIRTHMARK. She is also the associate and impact producer for the documentary project CIRCUS BOY that premiered at ReFrame Film Festival 2020 These days, she’s exploring new ways to tell stories through video projection art. She is currently involved as a volunteer with the crowdfunding campaign for the documentary “Standing with the Ancients”. She worked as production coordinator for One Day in December directed by LA Alfonso and is currently working at Paradigm Pictures with Rob Viscardis.
DONATE HERE TO HAVE THIS DOCUMENTARY SEEN BY EVERYONE PLEASE.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
Choose Positive Livingwith Sara Troy and her guest Sandra Wasko-Flood, on air from October 8th
Meet the woman who made people walk in a labyrinth on the Eastern lawn of the U.S capitol. Sandra Wasko-Flood is an artist, poet and teacher. She is the founder and spirit behind non-profit organization Living Labyrinths for Peace. Her book The Labyrinth Path to Light and Peace gives a view into her visions of peace and health through labyrinth walking.
In the Great Kiva at Chaco Culture Park, New Mexico, Sandra had a vision of ceremonial dancers from all races, cultures and beliefs, peacefully ascending an underground spiral to do a labyrinth dance. She became the founding member of the International Labyrinth Society. She went on to create an interactive labyrinth art/technology installation, “Dance of the Labyrinth,” symbolizing a peaceful dance of opposites for our times. The first project was a walking the labyrinth for inner peace ceremony on the U.S capitol Eastern lawn. The Washington Performing Arts Center asked her to give her “Labyrinths for Creativity and Peace” workshops in the schools. She gave these workshops in the local DC schools and changed the school system relating the labyrinth to every subject.
Sandra means that walking the Labyrinths can help with diagnoses such as autism, dyslexia and Parkinson. Psychologically they can help alleviate anxiety and PTSD. Since 2005, the Living Labyrinths for Peace has installed labyrinths in over 40 schools in the DC area, and many in New Mexico.
Feet of Peace Labyrinth-Garrison Elementary School, Washington D.C.
Presently she has transferred the Living Labyrinths for Peace to New Mexico. Her main center is her octagon glass house, hi-tech teepee, in the pine forest wilderness of Angel Fire. She has done many programs in the Taos, New Mexico schools and the local communities and continues to do these programs nationally and internationally.
Her goal is to create a Luminous Labyrinth Center for Peace where people can choose what labyrinth design to project on the floor, what light box images on which they wish to walk for the occasion of their choice: birthdays, marriages, conflict resolutions.
Sandra Wasko-Flood is artist, poet and teacher. She is the founder and spirit behind non-profit organization Living Labyrinths for Peace, Inc. She got a BA in English and a Secondary teaching credential from the California State College in Los Angeles. Her book: The Labyrinth Path to Light and Peace includes poems and art having to do with Peace among People, Animals, Nature and the Universe. Sandra Wasko-Flood lives in Angel Fire, New Mexico with husband Michael T. Flood.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
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