Visionary artist Alex Grey

A remarkable group of thinkers and leaders from the realms of religion, spirituality, science, art, and music are coming together at Bard College. "Seeds of Transformation: Toward a Spiritual Renaissance in a Time of Fundamental Change," is a public symposium, which will be held from June 3 to 5. The event is cosponsored by Bard College's Institute of Advanced Theology and a nonprofit, pluralistic educational movement known as Humanity's Team, founded by Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversations with God books.

Gerry Harrington, the event's developer and worldwide communications coordinator of Humanity's Team (and Kingston resident), explains that many people today are deeply examining the belief systems they were taught. "People increasingly are looking at what they believe about God, the universe, life, and how it all fits together. They are recognizing that beliefs they've held onto are not necessarily leading to the kind of life they want or that their belief systems promised."

In response to that, many people are examining their faiths, courageously exploring new understandings about God and life and, if those new understandings align with their personal inner truth and knowing, enlarging their belief systems to include them.

With the help of inspired thinkers and practitioners from many faiths, a renewed spiritual aliveness with more relevance in the world today is emerging. Shedding some of the religious dogma that divides humanity is allowing for greater acceptance of spiritual diversity.

Jana Reiss, author of What Would Buffy Do? The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide

"In some ways," says Harrington, "it's a counter-trend to exclusivist thinking, to the growing wish of some people to reassert the fundamental doctrines of religions. Much more quietly, there has been a movement growing toward a belief in the benefits in the diversity of faiths. One of the things that I think is beautiful about the emerging New Spirituality is that it's a rejuvenation of the faiths that already exist. It updates them, refreshes them, renders their sacred teachings even more relevant to our present day and time, and allows for diversity. It is not itself a new religion. If I am of a particular faith, I can still hold that, but it might be renewed and restored for me because it is more relevant to my life."

The "Seeds of Transformation" symposium is a landmark event that will acknowledge and nurture that trend. It includes these world-renowned authors, theologians, scientists, professors, artists, and spiritual leaders of Eastern, Western, and indigenous faiths:

· Feisal Abdul Rauf, chief executive of the American Sufi Muslim Association and author of What's Right with Islam

· Shulamit Elson, spiritual teacher from High Falls, will offer a workshop to assist in spiritual growth and physical and emotional well-being based on universal "sacred sounds," inspired by Kabbalistic mysticism

· Lawrence Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College

· Bruce Chilton, professor of religion at Bard and author of Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography and Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography

· William Commanda, traditional Algonquin Elder from the Kitigan Zibi Reserve in Maniwaki, Quebec

· Phil Cousineau, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker, will speak with Elder Commanda and introduce an award-winning documentary, A Seat at the Table, about aboriginal spirituality, culture, and life

· Armando Favazza, professor of psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Columbia Medical School and author of PsychoBible: Behavior, Religion and the Holy Book

· Robert Forman, director of the Forge Institute and author of Grassroots Spirituality

· Andrew Frankel, storyteller, will share multicultural stories from many of the world's sacred traditions

· Alex Grey, visionary artist, will give an illustrated talk about art as an expression of spirit, consciousness, love, and transformation

· Andrew Harvey, poet, writer, religious scholar, and teacher, will speak about "mystical activism"

· Kala Iyengar, coordinator of the Peace Village Learning and Retreat Center, whose members will present a puppet show, "The Little Soul and the Sun"

· Stephen Larsen, biographer of Joseph Campbell and author of The Mything Side of the Mind, will discuss distinctions between "discerning spiritual authority" and "hearing voices"

· Jane Marie Law, regional secretary of the American Academy of Religion and professor of world religions at Cornell University

· Carol Ochs, director of graduate studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and author of Reaching Godward: Landmarks on the Spiritual Way

· Jana Riess, religion book editor of Publishers Weekly and author of What Would Buffy Do? The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide, will speak about the changing portrayal of faith and spirituality on television

· Betsy Stang, interfaith minister and co-founder of the United Religions Initiative

· Neale Donald Walsch, founder of Humanity's Team and author of What God Wants and the Conversations with God book series

· Arthur Zajonc, professor of physics at Amherst College and author of Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind, will speak about the growing convergence of science and spirituality.

The Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater

In addition to lectures and panel discussions, concurrent activities celebrating spiritually will include: musical performances by Emmy Award-winning singer-songwriter Faith Rivera, the British spiritual pop-music group Bliss, and Grammy Award-winning duo Jay Ungar and Molly Mason of Saugerties; a theatrical performance of the new play "Hypatia of Alexandria," a critically acclaimed historical drama by Kathleen Miller of Westbrook University about religious tolerance and intolerance during the great Christian doctrinal controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries; film screenings of the inspiring documentaries Paper Clips, directed by Elliot Berlin and Joe Fab, and A Seat at the Table, directed by Gary Rhine; bronze and acrylic sculptures by Rhinebeck's nationally acclaimed sculptor Ann Froman; and artwork by members of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization's Peace Village Learning and Retreat Center in Haines Falls depicting universal spiritual knowledge.

In addition to all that, cocreated activities are being planned for participants, like teambuilding games and creation of a mural. Children are welcome, too, with a "not just daycare" program offering age-appropriate educational and spiritual activities, created by CosmiKids.

The conference will also be the site of a special meeting of the Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations, which will discuss the UN's evolving spiritual role. In addition, it will be Humanity's Team's 2005 Worldwide Gathering. Dubbed a "civil rights movement for the soul," Humanity's Team, composed of some 10,000 people from 94 countries on six continents, seeks to "free people from oppressive beliefs about God, life, and each other, so that humanity can truly experience unity and oneness."

"Religions have been an inspiration in so many ways," says Harrington, "adding richness to our art, legal system, culture, and much more. But they also have been the source of strife that has been persistent in human history for millennia. What we are trying to point to are the cultural jewels that religion offers. We want to show that differences don't need to mean divisions."