Creative Stress reveals with precision how we can and must transmute negative stress so that we can evolve individually and collectively. It offers the reader a steady climb to the higher reaches of human creativity and fulfillment, and is packed with compelling stories from O'Dea's exceptionally rich experience.
James O'Dea is Extended Faculty of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and served as President from 2003-2008. The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1973 by astronaut Edgar Mitchell which explores the frontiers of consciousness and global paradigm change.
James also spent ten years as the Director of the Washington Office of Amnesty International, where he testified before Congress, met with U.S. presidents and numerous foreign heads of state and government leaders, and represented Amnesty International to the State Department, the White House, and the World Conference on Human Rights.
Subsequently, he spent five years as Executive Director of the Seva Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to international health & development issues in Latin America, Asia, and on American Indian reservations. Seva is a Sanskrit word meaning service. Prior to that James lived and worked in Turkey and Lebanon, and witnessed civil conflict, war and massacre, which influenced him deeply.
James founded and co-led with Dr. Judith Thompson an international series of "Compassion and Social Healing" dialogues funded by The Fetzer Institute. The dialogues, spanning a seven year period, brought together leaders and activists in a variety of fields related to human rights, peace, and social reconciliation initiatives. James and Dr. Thompson also recently completed a major report on International aspects of social healing, a major initiative to expand the theory and practices surrounding this fast-emerging field funded by the Kalliopeia Foundation. Their report, "The International Social Healing Project" is available for download at www.jamesodea.com.
Since 2008, James has been a member of the Evolutionary Leaders, a group convened by Deepak Chopra and Diane Williams to unify efforts in support of evolutionary changes in political, economic, ecological, scientific and health and healing arenas. He is also a member of the Global Systems Initiatives, an organization bringing a whole-systems approach to complex global issues, founded by Louise Diamond. He regularly participates in the Language of Spirit Dialogues which are convened by the SEED Graduate Institute for Native Americans, Physicists, and thought leaders.
James has an International student body of over 600 Peacebuilders from 25 countries who have participated in his ongoing Peace Ambassador Trainings hosted by The Shift Network. He also offers unique and intimate Intensives for small groups in Leadership and Peacebuilding.
James' new book, Cultivating Peace, has gained worldwide acclaim as not just a book but a leading manual for Peacebuilding. Jean Houston says, "if you read just one book this year, Cultivating Peace is it". He is an Advisory Council Member to The Peace Alliance and to several other international organizations.
He is a blogger at The Huffington Post and his most recent article, "New Entry Qualifications for Political Life" has seen global trending. He also is featured as a guest blogger at Ervin Laszlo's blog on a regular basis.
He lectures all over the world, and has essays published in numerous magazines and books including currently the Mystery of 2012 (Sounds True); Consciousness and Healing: An Integral Approach to Mind Body Medicine (Elsevier); Beyond Forgiveness: Reflections on Atonement (Essay:"Creative Atonement in a Time of Peril"; Jossey-Bass); Birth 2012: "Birth of the Peace Child" (Shift Books); The New Science and Spirituality Reader (Essay: "Finding the Holy of Holies: Sticky Particles and the Ground of All Being" Pub: Inner Traditions); and Earthrise: The Dawning of a New Civilization in the 21st Century (Goi).
Visit his official website at www.jamesodea.com and the book's site at www.cultivatingpeace.net
