Hillary Webb's guest appearances

Hillary Webb

Transformations with Tara

The Farkas Files on Empower Radio

What's the value?

David Elliott

Craig Wright

Christy Whitman

Steve G. Jones

Mark Allen

Robert Lee

Patti Negri

Steven Farmer

Darin Olien

Patrick Smith

Patti Stanger

Vironika Tugaleva

Mark Henick

Jamie Turndorf

Lissa Rankin

OwlTail

Hillary is a cultural anthropologist, author, teacher and mixed-media storyteller with a focus on theater anthropology and cross-cultural perspectives on human consciousness. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism, an MA in philosophy of mind, and a PhD in existential psychology. That background is a jackpot if you are interested in having a conversation about human nature and values. Hillary describes her work as exploring how we human beings make meaning of this wonderful, terrible, ecstatic, startling, and often absurd world in which we live. Game on. Hillary started with a really interesting and important value, "pulling back the blinders." The reason for that value is that she wants to understand and engage with the world in the purest possible way. So to do that she needs to expand her perspective to try to see the world for what it really is, not just the limited view we have as an individual. It is funny, in conversations like this I almost have to be careful because we have such similar perspectives/values. I want to make sure we don't group think into believing we have all the answers or this is the only way to view life. Luckily, Hillary had a really good perspective and was super humble/open minded--no surprise given her value. There was so much I enjoyed about this discussion, but two little nuggets that stood out were: 1. the idea of tying to view the world from a different "window." We all have baggage, biases, and perspectives that constructs the window we see the world from. Hillary wants to find opportunities where ever she can to try to peak out of different people's windows to get a more complete view of the world. And 2. when I asked Hillary how she made sense of the universe she said she views it like jazz music. By that she meant it is free flowing and not controlled in any rigid way, but at the same time there is a unifying rhythm that keeps it all connected. Really great discussion and really thought provoking all around.

Hillary is a cultural anthropologist, author, teacher and mixed-media storyteller with a focus on theater anthropology and cross-cultural perspectives on human consciousness. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism, an MA in philosophy of mind, and a PhD in existential psychology. That background is a jackpot if you are interested in having a conversation about human nature and values. Hillary describes her work as exploring how we human beings make meaning of this wonderful, terrible, ecstatic, startling, and often absurd world in which we live. Game on. Hillary started with a really interesting and important value, "pulling back the blinders." The reason for that value is that she wants to understand and engage with the world in the purest possible way. So to do that she needs to expand her perspective to try to see the world for what it really is, not just the limited view we have as an individual. It is funny, in conversations like this I almost have to be careful because we have such similar perspectives/values. I want to make sure we don't group think into believing we have all the answers or this is the only way to view life. Luckily, Hillary had a really good perspective and was super humble/open minded--no surprise given her value. There was so much I enjoyed about this discussion, but two little nuggets that stood out were: 1. the idea of tying to view the world from a different "window." We all have baggage, biases, and perspectives that constructs the window we see the world from. Hillary wants to find opportunities where ever she can to try to peak out of different people's windows to get a more complete view of the world. And 2. when I asked Hillary how she made sense of the universe she said she views it like jazz music. By that she meant it is free flowing and not controlled in any rigid way, but at the same time there is a unifying rhythm that keeps it all connected. Really great discussion and really thought provoking all around.

"Pulling back the blinders" - Hillary Webb

Tara will interview Hillary S. Webb, PhD., is an anthropologist, author, and former managing editor of Anthropology of Consciousness, the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness. Having received her undergraduate degree in Journalism from New York University, Dr. Webb went on to earn an MA in Consciousness Studies from Goddard College and a PhD in Psychology from Saybrook University. She is the author of Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World: Complementary Dualism in Modern Peru (University of New Mexico Press, 2012), Traveling between the Worlds: Conversations with Contemporary Shamans (Hampton Roads, 2004), and Exploring Shamanism (New Page Books, 2003).

Hillary Webb - Author & Anthropologist 01/18/13