Feet Forward

A Ground-Breaking Digital Series

Do you long for people to hear your point of view? Are you frustrated by the polarized division in our country and want to understand it? Do you think we need to find common ground and heal ourselves?

Be part of the conversation on our FEET FORWARD YouNow channel. We’ll explore our differences through compassionate communication and learn to heal our family, friendships, community, and country.

Be Part of a Ground-Breaking Conversation

Visit our new Feet Forward website for details on our pilot show and how you can participate on our YouNow channel.

Listen

Understand

Connect

The Episode

Episode 1065 quietly rocked the world and forever changed it. The air date was May 9, 1969, in an era when Whites and “People-of-Color” weren’t allowed to share a swimming pool.

The Revolutionaries

The revolutionary who created and produced this ground-breaking episode was… Fred Rogers for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Actually, there were two revolutionaries that day – Fred Rogers and Francois Clemmons, an African-American actor-singer who played Officer Clemmons on the show.

The Historic Moment

It was a hot day, so Fred decided to cool his feet in a wading pool in his front yard. Officer Clemmons stopped by, and Fred invited him to cool his feet in the same pool. Their brown feet and white feet stood side by side in the same pool as the men conversed and enjoyed each other’s commonalities.

This historic episode is the springboard for Feet Forward.

What is Feet Forward?

Groundbreaking Conversations to Dissolve the Divide

FEET FORWARD is a filmed, digital series in which we’ll gather around a pool spa with our FEET IN THE WATER and hold a RESPECTFUL CONVERSATION on hot-button issues, such as race, sexual-orientation, politics, climate change, and religion.

Through the use of compassionate communication, this moderated conversation will focus on LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING WITHOUT JUDGMENT to find common ground and help us DISSOLVE DIVISIONS in our family, friendships, community and country.

There are two parts to a conversation – SPEAKING and LISTENING. The hope is that we can learn HOW TO LISTEN TO and UNDERSTAND each other, in spite of our differences.

Most people listen only to reply. We ask that you LISTEN WITHOUT JUDGMENT to UNDERSTAND what a person is saying and TRULY HEAR THEM. You’re not obligated to respond. You don’t have to agree. You DO need to RESPECT each person’s opinions. And you may be asked to REPEAT WHAT YOU HEARD someone say.

If you’d like to help us cover our costs, please donate.






There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak. ~ Simon Sinek

Jack Erdie: Moderator and Producer

JACK ERDIE is an actor best known for playing scary ne’er-do-wells. He is most recently known for his role as the real-life killer Richard Speck in the Netflix original series Mindhunter. He is also a screenwriter, essayist, songwriter, video editor and good friend.

Jack was born and raised in Fairmont, West Virginia in a family of right-wing, fundamentalist Christians, many of whom currently support President Donald Trump. Jack’s own journey led him away from Christianity, to Pittsburgh and the performing arts thirty years ago. Though he is known for playing the darker side of humanity, the yang to this yin is his desire to promote peaceful change and compassionate healing. He has often been told by the faithful that he is called to be a minister. Jack has chosen nonviolent communication and conciliation as the medium by which to challenge himself and others to be their best, most giving selves.

Jack feels that in the heart of Diana Osberg’s brain child, Feet Forward, he has found the perfect arena for building bridges and healing chasms in this time of partisan extremism and volatile emotions. He hopes that Feet Forward may be an instrument for finding common ground with level heads and open hearts.

Diana Osberg: Creator, Producer and Director

DIANA OSBERG is founder and owner of Inner Story Retreats and Mia Terra Retreats and is co-founder and partner at Mia Terra Mar – books, films, and events to promote conscious awakening. Diana is a writer, publisher, event and film producer and director, storyteller, and sound therapist. Her personal mission is to help people heal, awaken, and connect with their Higher Self.

She practices the ancient art of sound healing using Tibetan and crystal singing bowls and other sacred instruments to reduce stress, alter consciousness, and create a deep sense of peace. She is certified as a Soundbath Practitioner by the Soundbath Center in Los Angeles.

Without INNER PEACE there is no WORLD PEACE.

Connection with Self – Connection with Community – Connection with Nature – Connection with the Universe