Al Gore was really the second environmentally-attuned presidential candidate we’d ever had (preceded only by California governor Jerry Brown), but despite the fact that Gore was talking about ecology and the human spirit in the mid 1980s, he wasn’t viewed until recently as an earthy guy.

But some twenty years ago, Gore was a keynote speaker in Washington D.C. at a remarkable “Common Boundary” conference not far from my old apartment, the kind of conference Joseph Campbell fans, Jungian therapists, and medical intuitives attended in large numbers, my favorite crowd then and now. I missed Gore’s actual speech, but I vividly recall a friend of mine greeting me, waving her arms, jumping up and down, saying, “Oh, my God! Al Gore got a standing ovation for a speech you wouldn’t have believed. I’ve never heard him this way. He’s so passionate. He talked about the environment.”

The side of Gore that energetically connected to progressive spiritual people, and openly worried about the state of the earth, went into hiding when he ran for president seven years ago, didn’t it? But now, after the success of his movie, and with nothing left to lose, Al Gore is fully “out” and scheduled to speak at the Omega Institute’s upcoming “Being Fearless” conference April 13-15 at New York City’s Sheraton New York Hotel.

The Omega New York City “Fearless” conference (which has drawn as many as 2000 people) started as a ritual in 2004 following those fearful years post 9-11. Jane Goodall, Bobby McFerrin, Sharon Salzberg, Arianna Huffington, Carolyn Myss, and others will also teach this year. Some all-day pre-conference workshops are also offered. Click here to learn more.