Episode 37 :: Dr. Pam Gay :: Cosmologist Over Cocktails

By Ted Meissner | November 5, 2010

Dr. Pam Gay

Pam Gay speaks with us about comics, science fiction conventions, new discoveries with the Hubble telescope — and practicing acceptance with others’ spiritual views.

Hi everyone, and welcome back to The Secular Buddhist. I’d like to take a moment before we get started with today’s wonderful guest to thank you for listening. We’ve had some very insightful commentary on the FaceBook fan page, people have been making good suggestions about guests they’d like to hear interviewed, and have taken the time to share their stories with me by clicking on Contact on the web site. I’ve said it before and here it is again — this is for you, about you, and your experience. It’s not dhamma talks from an authority figure, it’s about people’s direct experience and involvement in this teaching.

And, some of you have written in to say how you’ve gotten something positive out of the podcast. For that, I’m very, very happy. If you are finding the podcast to be of value, I’d ask you take a few minutes — go ahead, you can do it now, I’ll still be here when you’re done — and rate the podcast on iTunes, make a comment about it. It will help raise the awareness of the podcast, and let others know that they’re not alone in wanting to pursue a spiritual practice that’s best suited to them. Also, recommend the FaceBook fan page for The Secular Buddhist podcast to others who may find it helpful, we’re always glad to see more faces.

As we talk about this growing of our secular community, we often encounter questioning, resistance, and sometimes antagonism from others, even other Buddhists. How do we deal with those interactions? We’ve seen in recent politics that reaching a hand across the aisle isn’t always effective, and as we heard in our interview with Doug McGill on right speech a few episodes ago, sometimes our best intentions may not come out right when put into words.

The good news is that we’re not alone in this striving to be understood and accepted. There are devoutly spiritual people of other faiths who are just as skeptical as we are, and are just as eager to open and honest, rational communication. Today we’re truly fortunate to have as our guest someone I’m delighted to call friend, Dr. Pam Gay. Pam is an astronomer, writer, and podcaster focused on using new media to engage people in science and technology. She works to communicate astronomy to the public through her blog, frequent public talks, and through popular articles. Her writing has appeared in Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines.

So sit back, relax, and have a nice Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Yes, it’s a drink, look it up.