Wild Parrots and Consciousness with Mark Bittner

While living on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, Mark discovered a flock of wild parrots living outside his apartment, and developed a remarkable relationship with the birds. He became one of San Francisco's famed neighborhood characters, known as "Parrot Man." In this episode, we speak about the heartwarming story of his friendship with the birds as told in the book The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and the award winning documentary of the same name. We explore how his unique experience gave him a new appreciation for the animal kingdom, and broadened his understanding of consciousness.

Years ago, when I saw the movie, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, I knew there was something special about Mark. His humility, sincerity, and thoughtfulness are qualities that seem rare to find these days. I hope you enjoy meeting him through this talk.

You can find Mark at markbittner.net

• The journey to Telegraph Hill
• Living on the streets of San Francisco
• Parrots and consciousness
• Suddenly famous
• ​ Meditating and your life path
• His 3 wishes
• Mark and the parrots
• Telegraph Hill
• ​ Parrot personalities
• Anthropomorphizing parrots
• Moral creatures
• ​ Parrot man
• Captivity
• Training Dogan
• ​ Leaving Telegraph Hill
• ​ Quotes from the book
• Telepathy?
• ​ De facto scientist
• Writing the book, making the movie
• Dogan, a special friend
• ​ Concerns for the flock
• ​ Dharma Bum

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