Deep Transformation

Ep. 184 (Part 2 of 2) | In the tenth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali addresses what co-host Roger Walsh calls perhaps Inner Journey Home's most profound chapter of all, the chapter on True Nature, as well as subjects he writes about in his autobiographical fragment, Luminous Night's Journey. In the second turning of the Diamond Approach teaching, we transition from exploring individual true nature to boundless true nature—the absolute, ground of all manifestation. Following the mystery of truth, you come to absolute truth, Hameed tells us, and you find a mystery that not only liberates but makes everything happen. Hameed describes the absolute as the radiant blackness before the light, its luminosity awareness, and relates how, in the absolute, the feeling of intimacy is palpable. Here, the soul recognizes “I am home.”Hameed relates how being and nonbeing are integrated, and about how time and space emerge out of true nature. Every moment is a new creation, he explains, not formed by the past or present, but new, instant to instant, from nonbeing to being. Hameed says true nature is the essence of freedom, and that in these troubled times the important thing is to recognize “I am free” and ultimately indestructible, and to be ourselves, grounded by the truth of our inner nature. Towards the end of the conversation, co-host John Dupuy asks Hameed, “What motivates you? Why aren't you simply hanging out being true nature?” Hameed laughs and responds, “I am.” Recorded April 10, 2025.“The idea is to be free. Inwardly.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Beingness is what Hameed calls presence; everything is both being and non-being (00:52)Being in the world but not of this world (04:12)The effects of studying Reichian therapy and breathwork on Hameed's experience and way of teaching (06:32)The body needs to be open and at ease to experience presence; this is why yoga is widely practiced in East Indian traditions (09:17)Is having an ego a necessary stage for waking up? (13:01)Space and time are created by true nature, even though it is timeless (14:43)True nature is the essence of freedom; it is “radically unqualifiable” (19:38)The depths of our experience set the limit on our intellectual understanding (22:53)In these troubled times, the important thing is to recognize “I am free” and be ourselves, grounded by the truth of our inner nature (25:07)Profound equanimity allows deeper compassion to emerge (28:29)The values of true nature are fundamental and eternal; how do we manifest these all the time? (29:20)After all the amazing, mind-shattering realizations, life becomes ordinary and simple (32:21)What motivates Hameed now? (35:24)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond...

Ep. 183 (Part 1 of 2) | In the tenth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali addresses what co-host Roger Walsh calls perhaps Inner Journey Home's most profound chapter of all, the chapter on True Nature, as well as subjects he writes about in his autobiographical fragment, Luminous Night's Journey. In the second turning of the Diamond Approach teaching, we transition from exploring individual true nature to boundless true nature—the absolute, ground of all manifestation. Following the mystery of truth, you come to absolute truth, Hameed tells us, and you find a mystery that not only liberates but makes everything happen. Hameed describes the absolute as the radiant blackness before the light, its luminosity awareness, and relates how, in the absolute, the feeling of intimacy is palpable. Here, the soul recognizes “I am home.”Hameed explains how being and nonbeing are integrated, and about how time and space emerge out of true nature. Every moment is a new creation, he says, not formed by the past or present, but new, instant to instant, from nonbeing to being. Hameed says the essence of freedom lies in the absolute, and that in these troubled and times, the important thing is to recognize “I am free” and ultimately indestructible, and to be ourselves, grounded by the truth of our inner nature. Towards the end of the conversation, co-host John Dupuy asks Hameed, “What motivates you? Why aren't you simply hanging out being true nature?” Hameed laughs and responds, “I am.” Recorded April 10, 2025.“In the absolute, everything dissolves; the absolute is the universal solvent.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 10th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on The Inner Journey Home‘s chapter, True Nature (00:55)What is the phenomenological experience of presence? (02:07)The soul can feel like presence—but more often it is structured by our history and appears as our ego self (05:14)Presence is the true nature of everything: perfect, complete, totally blissful (06:24)Love of truth naturally appears in the heart along the inner journey (09:04)The concern with talking about true nature is if you describe it, people look for something that isn't it (11:57)Hameed wrote Luminous Night's Journey to elucidate the experience of the soul, the absolute, and how soul and absolute are integrated (13:48)In the second turning of the teaching, we transition from individual true nature to boundless true nature: the absolute, the ground of all manifestation (18:11)The visible and invisible, manifest and unmanifest (19:58)Everything happens not from present to future, but from nonbeing to being (21:04)Everything dissolves in the absolute: it is the universal solvent (21:41)The absolute is the luminous, radiant blackness before the light (24:57)In the absolute, the soul recognizes “I am home” (26:47)Looking into the absolute, there is nothing; looking away from it, you see the manifest (28:48)The concept and experience of cessation (30:44)Hameed's distinction between consciousness and awareness (32:40)Awareness = luminosity + emptiness (34:25)Emptiness is not empty space, it's being and nonbeing unified (36:39)Resources & References – Part 1

Ep. 182 (Part 2 of 2) | Robert Lawrence Kuhn, producer of the popular PBS series Closer to Truth, which explores consciousness, the mystery of existence, and related topics with an open-minded approach, recently authored a remarkable article: “A Landscape of Consciousness,” in which he surveyed over 200 theories about what consciousness is. Robert tells how he inhabited each theory for a few days while writing it up, and discovered that unlike with other fields of knowledge, a study of consciousness produces more theories the more we know, rather than narrowing the field down. He emphasizes we need to be expansive with our universe of understanding of what consciousness is, and realize that how we engage with the Big Questions of life depends upon our particular theory of consciousness.Robert tells how the Big Questions, notably what is consciousness and why is there something rather than nothing, have called him all his life, leading him to create the Closer to Truth series, to explore these questions with the leading minds of our time. What Robert didn't know to begin with, but marvels about now, is how the passion for delving into the most fundamental, existential questions we face as humans unifies people around the world, from every demographic, providing a unique and wonderful point of integration. This is a fascinating, warm, engaging conversation that draws us ever farther into an exploration of the mysteries of life, where we glimpse what lies at the core of humanity. Recorded April 17th, 2025.“It's not that we have too many theories of consciousness, it's that we have one too few.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2The challenge of putting these theories into a digestible form (00:54)Understanding our personal theories of consciousness as extensions of our worldview (03:14)Our own theories often evolve from materialism to panpsychism to idealism (07:11)How the title Closer to Truth for the PBS/YouTube series came about (11:59)It's easier to entertain materialist or atheist theories in environments constructed by humans—exposed to the natural universe, you encounter awe, wonder, connection (14:04)The concept of awe and transcendence in art and how it reflects our nature of mind (16:16)What has exploring these theories of consciousness done to Robert? (17:59)The closer we look, the more we end up in bottomless mystery (23:36)How exploring the Big Questions unifies people—cutting across religion, race, culture (25:28) Acknowledging the limits of knowledge—epistemic humility—appreciating the mystery, and universality (29:54)The deeper your understanding goes, the richer your appreciation and awe (31:16)Resources & References – Part 2Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator, producer, and host of the PBS series, Closer To TruthRobert Lawrence Kuhn, “A Landscape of Consciousness,”article in Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology, August 2024Paul Davies, quantum physicist, director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, “The universe is about something.”

Ep. 181 (Part 1 of 2) | Robert Lawrence Kuhn, producer of the popular PBS series Closer to Truth, which explores consciousness, the mystery of existence, and related topics with an open-minded approach, recently authored a remarkable article: “A Landscape of Consciousness,” in which he surveyed over 200 theories about what consciousness is. Robert tells how he inhabited each theory for a few days while writing it up, and discovered that unlike with other fields of knowledge, a study of consciousness produces more theories the more we know, rather than narrowing the field down. He emphasizes we need to be expansive with our universe of understanding of what consciousness is, and realize that how we engage with the Big Questions of life depends upon our particular theory of consciousness.Robert tells how the Big Questions, notably what is consciousness and why is there something rather than nothing, have called him all his life, leading him to create the Closer to Truth series, to explore these questions with the leading minds of our time. What Robert didn't know to begin with, but marvels about now, is how the passion for delving into the most fundamental, existential questions we face as humans unifies people around the world, from every demographic, providing a unique and wonderful point of integration. This is a fascinating, warm, engaging conversation that draws us ever farther into an exploration of the mysteries of life, where we glimpse what lies at the core of humanity. Recorded April 17th, 2025.“Consciousness is perhaps the single most unifying question that humanity can explore.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Robert Lawrence Kuhn, author, public intellectual, producer of the PBS series Closer to Truth, which explores fundamental questions of existence (01:02)How did it feel to be writing “A Landscape of Consciousness,” a 175k-word article that surveys over 200 theories about what consciousness is (02:50)Now Robert is building a website with notated theories of consciousness that allows for theories to grow and change (11:33)Consciousness theories, unlike other fields of knowledge, grow the more we know (14:59)All the “big questions” are dependent on your theory of consciousness (18:57)Why is there something rather than nothing? What is consciousness? Two fundamental questions that have been with Robert all along (23:17)Nine levels of nothing and the deep nature of phenomenal consciousness (25:36)Why Robert didn't include his own theory in his survey, and then did—in 71 words (26:58)What does the explosion of consciousness theories say about consciousness? (30:27)The self-referential paradox of understanding consciousness (35:04)How to structure and organize the amalgam of theories (37:08)Roughly half the theories went into materialism categories (39:02)Challenge theorists conclude we can never understand consciousness (41:03)Robert's theory categories: materialism, non reductive physicalism, quantum, integrated information, panpsychism, monism, dualism, idealism, illusory, anomalies and altered states (42:18)What kind of knowledge do psychedelics and altered states offer? (49:20)Resources & References – Part 1Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator, producer, and host of the PBS series, Closer To TruthRobert Lawrence Kuhn,...

Ep. 180 (Part 2 of 2) | In this podcast, John Prendergast, spiritual teacher, depth psychotherapist (retired), and prolific author, eloquently lays out the territory we encounter on the spiritual path as we move towards opening to our deepest ground. John defines deepest ground as “ungraspable and unfathomable, something we can know intimately as a quality of awareness, unbounded and open.” “When we touch into this,” he continues, “we move from a place of love, peace and groundedness.” In working with students and clients over four decades, John says the presence or absence of ground has been the most important theme. John has a gift for communicating exactly what is most useful for a spiritual practitioner to hear: taking an integral and nondual approach different from traditional psychotherapy, he invites us to evoke presence—welcome the experience, welcome the fear of annihilation—let go of ordinary knowledge and allow a translucent, transformative space to emerge around ordinary mind. Blending archetypal wisdom and guidance with spacious emptiness, John explains that opening to unbounded awareness supports the process of individuation and actualization; he also weaves in an intriguing version of the hero's journey, where the hero emerges from the underground, not as a figure of accomplishment and victory, but as a simple, humble being, void of ego. The rich wisdom and gentle guidance offered here is invaluable, worthy of listening to many a time. Recorded November 7, 2024.“We are on the wave of life waking up to itself through humanity.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Gaining an experiential understanding of the archetypal teachings of Carl Jung to better understand multidimensional ground (01:19) Jungian archetypes are subtle ground; Ramana Maharshi's focus is no ground (05:09)Trusting the wisdom of our own psyches (09:07)Blending archetypal wisdom and guidance with spacious emptiness (12:07)The collective unconscious: linking consciousness to our ancestors (14:29)Multidimensional healing: healing ancestral lineages (15:20)Eastern transcendence and Western focus on living life: opening to unbounded awareness supports the process of individuation and actualization (16:51)The living question: What is life asking of you? (21:20)The first encounter is with darkness, stillness, emptiness; then comes a sense of pure potentiality and an upwelling current of life (22:41)What does engaged nonduality look like? Existential crisis and climate change (27:18)Frequency holders and/or frequency actors (31:56)Invitation to nondual communities: what is the natural response to this genuine existential threat? (33:02)The hesitancy people feel about bringing out the light of awareness (34:37)Opening the heart to collective suffering (35:30)Our love of truth will bring us to our deepest ground: let that be our guide (37:18)Resources & References – Part 2Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, ReflectionsCarl Jung, The Red Book: A Reader's Edition

Ep. 179 (Part 1 of 2) | In this podcast, John Prendergast, spiritual teacher, depth psychotherapist (retired), and prolific author, eloquently lays out the territory we encounter on the spiritual path as we move towards opening to our deepest ground. John defines deepest ground as “ungraspable and unfathomable, something we can know intimately as a quality of awareness, unbounded and open.” “When we touch into this,” he continues, “we move from a place of love, peace and groundedness.” In working with students and clients over four decades, John says the presence or absence of ground has been the most important theme. John has a gift for communicating exactly what is most useful for a spiritual practitioner to hear: taking an integral and nondual approach different from traditional psychotherapy, he invites us to evoke presence—welcome the experience, welcome the fear of annihilation—let go of ordinary knowledge and allow a translucent, transformative space to emerge around ordinary mind. Blending archetypal wisdom and guidance with spacious emptiness, John explains that opening to unbounded awareness supports the process of individuation and actualization; he also weaves in an intriguing version of the hero's journey, where the hero emerges from the underground, not as a figure of accomplishment and victory, but as a simple, humble being, void of ego. The rich wisdom and gentle guidance offered here is invaluable, worthy of listening to many a time. Recorded November 7, 2024.“Transcendence is a beautiful first step… but there's a very important process of embodying awareness more and more deeply, in the physical body, in the subtle body.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing John Prendergast, Ph.D., retired psychotherapist, spiritual teacher, and author, whose most recent book is Your Deepest Ground (00:57)What is our deepest ground? (01:55)What is the difference between presence and ground? (04:29)The fear of losing control, of annihilation, that comes up in the process of healing and awakening (06:47)Using the myth of the underground descent, but emerging not as a hero, but simple and humble—devoid of egoic will (09:29)A translucency of the body/mind emerges: a core illumination (13:18)Meditation, self-inquiry, and time with authentic teachers are what have brought John to luminosity (15:09)The connection to one's teacher: for John, this was Jean Klein and Adyashanti (16:25)Back to returning to the world—not as a hero, but where there's no sense of accomplishment and hierarchy disappears (17:55)The tyranny of the enlightenment drive (20:42)Willfulness gradually transforms into willingness (24:07)Individual guidance can come as the small, still voice but also in kinesthetic form (25:25)Are there specific practices that facilitate opening to our deepest ground? (27:24)Evoking presence: John leads an invitation to welcome the experience, welcome the fear of annihilation (29:14)The difference between John's work and traditional psychotherapy (31:31)Beyond welcoming, John teaches a self-inquiry practice that asks, “Do I really want to know what is true?” (36:15) Working not just on personal limiting beliefs but existential limiting beliefs—e.g., “I am a separate self” (39:19)Recognizing the limitation of rational thought, a transformative space emerges around ordinary mind...

Ep. 178 (Part 2 of 2) | In the ninth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed gives a fascinating account of how four distinctly different wisdom teachings came to him in succession, directly from true nature, embodied in the form of diamonds. “In the beginning, I didn't know…what the hell were these? Is it my imagination?” Hameed laughs. But then his colleagues and students experienced the diamondness too. Like angels of revelation, each diamond vehicle brings a different type of wisdom: the first diamond vehicle, Guidance, brings clarity and initiated the practice of inquiry; the second embodies the wisdom that pleasure is what we are, bringing an understanding of pleasure from a spiritual perspective; the third diamond vehicle holds the wisdom of how to conduct our lives from a place of truth, and the fourth the wisdom of true knowledge—knowing by being—the knowing that is needed for awakening.Not only do we hear marvelous stories of how the diamond-shaped wisdom messengers appeared to Hameed, but he also imparts a wonderfully comprehensive yet succinct rendering of the teachings they brought, and the conversation flows from embodying wisdom to embodying pleasure, the inward turn, and why bliss must be combined with emptiness for enlightenment to occur. Also, how to live a life of truth with the inner compass provided by the third diamond teaching, the pitfalls of the ego's tendency to accommodate others, how being is inseparable from knowing, and lots more. A very full, warm, rich conversation, filled also with humor, sparkle, and delight. Recorded January 30, 2025.“The Diamond Dome brings in the wisdom of true knowledge—spiritual knowledge, knowing by being—the knowing that is needed for awakening.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Emptiness has a bliss to it (00:49)The death tantra and sexual tantra paths to enlightenment (01:06)Emptiness/fullness, being/non-being, unity/particularity: two sides of reality (03:18)We lose track of the particularity when we focus on unity only (05:22)There are many different levels of particularity: ego, body, soul… Each diamond vehicle is a particularity (09:39)The Citadel, the third diamond vehicle, is the essential conscience, the wisdom of how to conduct your life from the perspective of true nature (10:05)Accommodating is part of the behavior of the ego, but in accommodating, most of the time you are selling yourself, compromising (13:20)Living a life of truth brings in the unity and the particularity (15:37)You transition when you become willing to sacrifice comforts, relationships, the supports of the ego, to align only with truth (17:56)On this path, the vehicle first appears then manifests each of its aspects—different shaped diamonds within a diamond (21:31)For Hameed, first Diamond Guidance appeared, then Markabah, then the Citadel, then the Diamond Dome (24:24)The Diamond Dome brings in the wisdom of true knowledge—spiritual knowledge, knowing by being—the knowing that is needed for awakening (25:41)This vehicle brings the knowledge of each aspect; basic concepts are clearly delineated (29:27)True nature informs the individual mind with basic concepts (34:38)Each vehicle highlights certain parts of the ego as obstacles to realization; the dome highlights self-identity, the “I-ness” of the ego (36:26)To embody the Diamond Dome the ego needs to experience cessation (37:43)Resources &...

Ep. 177 (Part 1 of 2) | In the ninth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed gives a fascinating account of how four distinctly different wisdom teachings came to him in succession, directly from true nature, embodied in the form of diamonds. “In the beginning, I didn't know…what the hell were these? Is it my imagination?” Hameed laughs. But then his colleagues and students experienced the diamondness too. Like angels of revelation, each diamond vehicle brings a different type of wisdom: the first diamond vehicle, Guidance, brings clarity and initiated the practice of inquiry; the second embodies the wisdom that pleasure is what we are, bringing an understanding of pleasure from a spiritual perspective; the third diamond vehicle holds the wisdom of how to conduct our lives from a place of truth, and the fourth the wisdom of true knowledge—knowing by being—the knowing that is needed for awakening.Not only do we hear marvelous stories of how the diamond-shaped wisdom messengers appeared to Hameed, but he also imparts a wonderfully comprehensive yet succinct rendering of the teachings they brought, and the conversation flows from embodying wisdom to embodying pleasure, the inward turn, and why bliss must be combined with emptiness for enlightenment to occur. Also, how to live a life of truth with the inner compass provided by the third diamond teaching, the pitfalls of the ego's tendency to accommodate others, how being is inseparable from knowing, and lots more. A very full, warm, rich conversation, filled also with humor, sparkle, and delight. Recorded January 30, 2025.“For enlightenment to happen, emptiness has to be combined with bliss.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 9th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series: How did the Diamond Approach teaching come to Hameed? (00:53)First came a pure, transparent presence like liquid diamond: clarity itself (04:46)The diamond also came with a sense of precision, of sharp discrimination, of objectivity (08:07)Hameed's vision of the diamond vehicles: like a fleet of ships in black space (11:05)The first diamond vehicle, guidance, brought about the practice of inquiry (12:06)Hameed's near-death experience: looking down upon his body it was a body of diamonds; two diamonds called him back: love and joy (13:23)Recounting this experience to friends later, the diamond vehicle filled the room—the sacred manifest (17:08)Manifest in this one body was the guidance for the teaching, like an angel of revelation but shaped like a spaceship made of diamonds (19:46)Each diamond vehicle brings a different kind of wisdom (20:58)Diamond wisdom can be used as guidance in the scientific field (22:36)It's not just a teaching, but a presence that embodies the teaching; embodying the presence is learning the teaching (25:11)The second diamond vehicle is the vehicle of pleasure, understanding pleasure from the spiritual perspective: the teaching of the inward turn (27:04)Pleasure turns out to be a whole realm, where all aspects appear in their pleasurable form (34:38)Inner guidance is where the truth is from instant to instant, telling you to look here, not there (35:58)Hameed differentiates pleasure from bliss, because pleasure is something ordinary human beings know (37:39)Embodying the wisdom that pleasure is what we are (40:08)All the vehicles are expressions of the essence of consciousness,...

Ep. 176 (Part 3 of 3) | Longtime spiritual practitioner, gifted teacher, Tibetan Buddhist lama, and developmental psychology specialist Kimberley Lafferty integrates contemporary psychology and wisdom tradition in this lively, luminous conversation about the process of awakening, the evolution of ethics, and the extraordinary capacities that come online as we mature into later stages of development. What do developmental perspectives have to add to our understanding of human nature and to spiritual practice? Our meaning-making shifts radically as we develop, Kimberley says, and because of that our reality itself shifts. This is why communicating with people with very different points of view can fail so miserably—one person's reality is simply not the same as the next person's reality. We need to discern, what is their meaning-making reality in this moment? What is ours?Throughout, Kimberley grounds the discussion in practical, real-life scenarios; she also shares intriguing research on later stage development that has found that as we mature, our senses evolve: our hearing evolves to deep attunement; our seeing evolves to witnessing, our capacity of touch evolves to embody presence. It's exciting and inspiring to see the road ahead, to acquire new insights and tools to improve communication across cultural (and age) divides, to have the concept of bodhicitta unpacked so deftly and common misperceptions about emptiness corrected—and to witness Kimberley's wise and zesty approach to life: “What connects us all is our luminous, aware consciousness,” she says, “and if we can lean into the messiness, I think we can find our way through.” Recorded October 3, 2024.“How can I reconstruct myself to be truth, goodness, and beauty?”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 3What are some of the capacities that come online as people mature? (01:26)At late stage development, people awaken to individual construction; this is meta-awareness or 5th person perspective (03:40)It's like waking up in a lucid dream and realizing you're dreaming (06:00)How can I reconstruct myself to be truth, goodness, and beauty? (07:24)Development is a balloon, not a ladder (10:15)How developmental theory illuminates broader perspective taking: the capacity of skillful means (13:12)Siddhis (transpersonal powers) start to come on: precognitive capacities, the capacity of empathy (16:24)What challenges come about as we develop? (17:40)What connects us is our luminous, aware consciousness—if we can lean into the messiness, we can find our way through (22:43)What are humans becoming? The possibility of becoming trans-human (25:28)In later stages, our senses evolve: our hearing evolves to deep attunement; our seeing evolves to witnessing, to see through time and space, our capacity of touch evolves to embody presence (28:49)Seeing polarities rather than opposites: polarities are the building blocks of how we construct reality (31:50)Bodhicitta taps us into our ultimate nature (35:12)Correcting misperceptions of the bodhisattva vow (40:34)The tradition of debate in the Tibetan-Buddhist tradition (42:30)You are not alone; there is spiritual support available (45:36)Resources & ReferencesKimberley Lafferty's website: The Confluence Experience (Education,...

Ep. 175 (Part 2 of 3) | Longtime spiritual practitioner, gifted teacher, Tibetan Buddhist lama, and developmental psychology specialist Kimberley Lafferty integrates contemporary psychology and wisdom tradition in this lively, luminous conversation about the process of awakening, the evolution of ethics, and the extraordinary capacities that come online as we mature into later stages of development. What do developmental perspectives have to add to our understanding of human nature and to spiritual practice? Our meaning-making shifts radically as we develop, Kimberley says, and because of that our reality itself shifts. This is why communicating with people with very different points of view can fail so miserably—one person's reality is simply not the same as the next person's reality. We need to discern, what is their meaning-making reality in this moment? What is ours?Throughout, Kimberley grounds the discussion in practical, real-life scenarios; she also shares intriguing research on later stage development that has found that as we mature, our senses evolve: our hearing evolves to deep attunement; our seeing evolves to witnessing, our capacity of touch evolves to embody presence. It's exciting and inspiring to see the road ahead, to acquire new insights and tools to improve communication across cultural (and age) divides, to have the concept of bodhicitta unpacked so deftly and common misperceptions about emptiness corrected—and to witness Kimberley's wise and zesty approach to life: “What connects us all is our luminous, aware consciousness,” she says, “and if we can lean into the messiness, I think we can find our way through.” Recorded October 3, 2024.“If we have no traditional spiritual boundaries to teach our children, we end up raising narcissists.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Ethics involve intention: looking into the mind at the moment of intention (00:53)How to explain misuse and abuse of power in a spiritual organization? (04:18)What is missing for many teachers and healers is ethical training (11:11)How do warrior ethics make sense? Spirituality at an ethnocentric developmental stage (12:58)Misunderstanding emptiness: the emptiness of ethics; there is no ethics (17:20)A spiritual tradition can be complemented by modern understanding & practices—what do we need to update? (19:21)The importance of a developmental understanding and spiritual education (20:46)We need to teach our children that what they do matters (23:09)The feeling of deep belonging that comes with a lineage, belonging to a mystical family, having them at your back (25:09)What do developmental perspectives have to add to our understanding of human nature and to contemplative practices? (28:16)The connection between spiritual experiences and later stages of development: meaning-making radically shifts throughout our life span—because of that our reality itself shifts (31:52)What stage is presenting right now? In me. In you. In others? (33:58)Leveraging the strengths of each perspective and stage (37:29)Resources & ReferencesKimberley Lafferty's website: The Confluence Experience (Education, Community, Experiences)12-month living immersion in the STAGES matrix with Terri O'Fallon...

Ep. 174 (Part 1 of 3) | Longtime spiritual practitioner, gifted teacher, Tibetan Buddhist lama, and developmental psychology specialist Kimberley Lafferty integrates contemporary psychology and wisdom tradition in this lively, luminous conversation about the process of awakening, the evolution of ethics, and the extraordinary capacities that come online as we mature into later stages of development. What do developmental perspectives have to add to our understanding of human nature and to spiritual practice? Our meaning-making shifts radically as we develop, Kimberley says, and because of that our reality itself shifts. This is why communicating with people with very different points of view can fail so miserably—one person's reality is simply not the same as the next person's reality. We need to discern, what is their meaning-making reality in this moment? What is ours?Throughout, Kimberley grounds the discussion in practical, real-life scenarios; she also shares intriguing research on later stage development that has found that as we mature, our senses evolve: our hearing evolves to deep attunement; our seeing evolves to witnessing, our capacity of touch evolves to embody presence. It's exciting and inspiring to see the road ahead, to acquire new insights and tools to improve communication across cultural (and age) divides, to have the concept of bodhicitta unpacked so deftly and common misperceptions about emptiness corrected—and to witness Kimberley's wise and zesty approach to life: “What connects us all is our luminous, aware consciousness,” she says, “and if we can lean into the messiness, I think we can find our way through.” Recorded October 3, 2024.“Applying a developmental understanding and developmental education is essential to any situation that we have.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Kimberley Lafferty, teacher-practitioner specializing in developmental psychology and Indo-Tibetan Buddhism (01:02)What drew Kimberley into Buddhism? Suffering! And an awakening experience (02:36)The Dalai Lama's path is what spoke to Kimberley's feeling of losing her compass and Integral Theory kept her grounded in modernity (07:11)The 3 interpenetrating principal paths of Tibetan Buddhism: ethics, bodhicitta (the path of the warrior heart), and wisdom itself (09:17)Unpacking the concept of bodhicitta (13:54)Metacognition: an ability we grow into in the later stages of ego development (16:52)The richness of Tibetan Buddhism begins with the understanding that everything changes (21:37)How do kindness and compassion follow from a realization of emptiness? (25:50)There is emptiness and there is Clear Light, they are not the same (27:09)If emptiness is the canvas and karma is the paint: how do I repaint for the future? (31:08)Ethics and karma: everything we think, say, and do is the material cause for the next moment of our reality (32:54)Ethical training starts with be kind, do no harm, because God (or Santa) is watching (35:00)As we evolve, our ethics become more subtle and expand to include all people and the responsibility of becoming a light in the world (36:23)Stepping into our divinity, our gifts and creativity (41:09)Vajrajana ethics invite us to think about who is doing the giving, the recipient, and the gift (43:35)Resources & ReferencesKimberley Lafferty's website:

Ep. 173 (Part 2 of 2) | In this 8th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives a clear, colorful description of the three stages we go through on the spiritual path: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, and the journey in presence. “There's much more to the journey than just being free of suffering,” he says, “in the journey with presence, there's a whole universe to discover—unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom, and liberation.” In the third journey, the journey in presence, the stage of actualization, we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself. Hameed relates how impeccability, strong and pure like stainless steel, is an important part of actualizing presence, embodying our essence in our daily lives. “The ‘I am' can function in the world as a person,” he explains, “I can be the vastness, an infinite, black, luminous night, completely formless, but still walk in the street as a person.”Hameed also talks about the “pearl beyond price”—the individuated self that brings a functional capacity to the isness, which is why it is of incomparable price—and the point of existence, point of light, or pure I-ness. He discusses the individuation of the soul and the realization that the nature of the soul is the nature of everything: this is the nondual experience. This dialogue is another treasure trove of spiritual transmission by Hameed—with humor, clarity, precision, and beautiful metaphor, his teachings, even as deeply profound and mysterious as they are, come as wonderful revelations for us to grasp onto, leading us forward on the inner journey home. Recorded January 3, 2025.“Presence is the ground of all reality.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2What is the I in ‘I am that'? A point of light, presence, existence (00:53)I-am-that are three different things (04:25)At some point, the point of light and the pearl beyond price become unified (06:56)The ego self is insecure: that's why there is selfishness (09:04)With the realization of I am that, the “that” changes (12:30)The “I am” can function in the world as a person: I can be the vastness, formless & infinite, but still walk in the street as a person (14:01)In the source dimension, all people are nothing but organs of perception for the absolute (15:05)What brought Hameed back from the absolute? (17:46)Each teaching has their ultimate, but there is more than one ultimate (19:24)There's much more to the journey than just being free of suffering (20:31)Ignorance never ends (21:26)Is there a best way to study spirituality? (22:57)The essentialization of the soul: recognizing that presence is our true nature, essence is a living consciousness (25:21)Realizing the ground of being: the nature of the soul is the nature of everything; this is the nondual experience (27:18)The issues that come up on the journey: psychodynamic, structural, existential & epistemological (33:17)Resources & ReferencesA. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School

Ep. 172 (Part 1 of 2) | In this 8th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives a clear, colorful description of the three stages we go through on the spiritual path: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, and the journey in presence. “There's much more to the journey than just being free of suffering,” he says, “in the journey with presence, there's a whole universe to discover—unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom, and liberation.” In the third journey, the journey in presence, the stage of actualization, we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself. Hameed relates how impeccability, strong and pure like stainless steel, is an important part of actualizing presence, embodying our essence in our daily lives. “The ‘I am' can function in the world as a person,” he explains, “I can be the vastness, an infinite, black, luminous night, completely formless, but still walk in the street as a person.”Hameed also talks about the “pearl beyond price”—the individuated self that brings a functional capacity to the isness, which is why it is of incomparable price—and the point of existence, point of light, or pure I-ness. He discusses the individuation of the soul and the realization that the nature of the soul is the nature of everything: this is the nondual experience. This dialogue is another treasure trove of spiritual transmission by Hameed—with humor, clarity, precision, and beautiful metaphor, his teachings, even as deeply profound and mysterious as they are, come as wonderful revelations for us to grasp onto, leading us forward on the inner journey home. Recorded January 3, 2025.“The experience of presence is the defining experience of this path.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 8th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, which focuses on the 15th chapter of The Inner Journey Home: “The Inner Journey” (00:56)Hameed outlines 3 stages of the inner journey: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, the journey in presence (03:00)First, the individual soul, structured through early life experience, begins (with practice) to recognize presence (09:50)Second is the journey with presence: working with the theory of holes before opening to spaciousness (12:22)The second stage is the fun part—when everything is completely new and somewhat miraculous (14:56)Experiencing the true potential of a human being: unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom & liberation (17:59)The third journey is actualization, when we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself: self-realization; the self is the presence (19:55)Impeccability: living in a way that is faithful to our true nature (21:12)Roger's summary of Hameed's points: presence is not static, learning about true nature is an ongoing, marvelous surprise, viewing spiritual maturation along a spectrum, and how realizing presence brings with it the deep desire that all beings experience it (23:34)In other traditions, there isn't much discussion beyond the realization itself (25:56)The world is never “fixed” (28:55)Part of the soul's maturation is individuation; personal-ness turns out to be a quality of presence (30:10)The pearl beyond price (the individuated self) is known also to the gnostics, the Sufis, the Taoists… it is protected by a fearsome monster (the ego) (33:28)The point of light,...

Ep. 171 (Part 2 of 2) | An emotionally powerful and deeply inspiring conversation with renowned embodiment and trauma educator Mark Walsh from the U.K. and Ukrainian psychologist and trauma trainer Kristina Obluchynska, where we learn about effective ways of treating trauma in the middle of an ongoing war, what trauma therapists are left holding, and how beautiful is the human spirit when it embraces right action. When Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Mark went to Ukraine, located willing psychology students, educated them in body-oriented trauma therapy and training, and with Kristina and several other trainees co-founded Sane Ukraine, with the urgent mission of preventing an epidemic of trauma disorders in Ukraine. Beginning with applying trauma first aid and teaching resilience skills in places like the local railroad station where people were coming in from the front lines, and in bomb shelters, Kristina and several other psychologists have now educated thousands of people about trauma—active duty soldiers, veterans, survivors, wives of combatants, and first-line responders such as doctors, teachers, and social workers—and trained hundreds of them to become trauma trainers themselves. It is an honor to bear witness to Mark's courageous actions and the humble heroism of Kristina and her team in the face of the devastation being leveled on Ukraine and Ukrainians. “We don't grieve,” Kristina tells us, “because grief comes after safety. We don't even use the word safe anymore,” she continues, “only relatively safe.” Mark points out that modern warfare is not just running around with guns—drones hunt civilians and if you move, they kill you. “Do we all have PTSD?” the soldiers ask. With Sane Ukraine, there is someone to answer their questions and teach them what they can do to help themselves and each other. Resilience comes from relationship—from connection to self, others, nature, and spirit. Does the concept of post traumatic growth even apply considering the intensity of this war? co-host Roger wonders. At the end of this extraordinary, heartfelt conversation, when asked what we could do to help, Kristina advises, “Help the army. We are talking here about healing, but what we really need is to survive.” Recorded January 9, 2025.“It's not reasonable for young women to be talking about mass rape and torture in dark bomb shelters . . . There's a darkness that will be there perhaps forever.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Surviving Bucha (00:57)The pros and cons of group work (03:23)Does the concept of post traumatic growth apply in the intensity of this war? (05:40)Singing traditional songs helps foster the belief that we will survive this (09:50)How does Mark help trainers to find strength? Love people unconditionally and continually (12:31)There are actually less mental health problems in Ukraine than in the UK or the US (16:35)What has been most inspiring for Mark? The girls—and the purity of the work (17:24)The hardest thing? The huge grief (18:53)What are Kristina's practices to keep sane? (20:05)What is the hardest for Kristina? The guilt is the worst (23:38)What is most inspiring for Kristina? The ability to do something for people who have been in the war (25:02)What is the difference between pre-Ukraine Mark and post-Ukraine Mark? (26:33)The pre-war Kristina and the post-war Kristina: everything is possible (28:12)How can listeners help? Sane...

Ep. 170 (Part 1 of 2) | An emotionally powerful and deeply inspiring conversation with renowned embodiment and trauma educator Mark Walsh from the U.K. and Ukrainian psychologist and trauma trainer Kristina Obluchynska, where we learn about effective ways of treating trauma in the middle of an ongoing war, what trauma therapists are left holding, and how beautiful is the human spirit when it embraces right action. When Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Mark went to Ukraine, located willing psychology students, educated them in body-oriented trauma therapy and training, and with Kristina and several other trainees co-founded Sane Ukraine, with the urgent mission of preventing an epidemic of trauma disorders in Ukraine. Beginning with applying trauma first aid and teaching resilience skills in places like the local railroad station where people were coming in from the front lines, and in bomb shelters, Kristina and several other psychologists have now educated thousands of people about trauma—active duty soldiers, veterans, survivors, wives of combatants, and first-line responders such as doctors, teachers, and social workers—and trained hundreds of them to become trauma trainers themselves. It is an honor to bear witness to Mark's courageous actions and the humble heroism of Kristina and her team in the face of the devastation being leveled on Ukraine and Ukrainians. “We don't grieve,” Kristina tells us, “because grief comes after safety. We don't even use the word safe anymore,” she continues, “only relatively safe.” Mark points out that modern warfare is not just running around with guns—drones hunt civilians and if you move, they kill you. “Do we all have PTSD?” the soldiers ask. With Sane Ukraine, there is someone to answer their questions and teach them what they can do to help themselves and each other. Resilience comes from relationship—from connection to self, others, nature, and spirit. Does the concept of post traumatic growth even apply considering the intensity of this war? co-host Roger wonders. At the end of this extraordinary, heartfelt conversation, when asked what we could do to help, Kristina advises, “Help the army. We are talking here about healing, but what we really need is to survive.” Recorded January 9, 2025.“There is nothing that can prepare human psychology for modern warfare.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Mark Walsh, trauma trainer, author, founder & CEO of Embodiment Unlimited, and Kristina Obluchynska, clinical psychologist & trauma therapist, who together co-founded Sane Ukraine to provide training in trauma therapy and resilience skills to professionals, soldiers, combatants' families and more (01:03)What compelled Mark to get involved in Ukraine and found Sane Ukraine? (02:33)How did Kristina get involved with Mark's trauma training? (06:29)It requires 3 hours a day of body/mind practice to keep trainees in a state where they can learn something in between running to the bomb shelters (08:30)Trauma training started happening in person all over the place: Lviv is now the world's most trauma-informed city (11:11)When Kristina and her team were invited to do combat resilience training, they were told, “We have 2,000 soldiers, please do something for them!” (13:11)Training psychologists, social workers, veterans, and wives of combatants (14:01)Elements of the 3-day training: tactic, tactic medicine, psychological resilience (15:42)Combatants ask, “Do we all have PTSD?” (17:44)What are...

Ep. 169 (Part 2 of 2) | Integral psychologist Keith Witt can't get enough of the magic and beauty that happens in relationships as people begin to develop what he calls “a post-issue consciousness.” He explains that when our executive self, our wise self or witness, kicks in and forges a caring connection with the places where we hold our hurt and our traumas, then integration and healing start to happen, eventually with almost no conscious energy expenditure. “My job is to help people develop the witness,” Keith says, so they can observe their defensive or destructive states and reach for compassionate understanding, for themselves, for their partner, and for others.Keith tells us the three foundations of the modern marriage are friendship, a love affair, and an ability to resolve issues that come up, and says the shift to a post-issue relationship happens when all three facets become intentional. “Post-issue couples don't let things get in the way of their love,” he says. Throughout the conversation, Keith shares a goldmine of therapeutic wisdom on the subject of relationships, including the client/therapist relationship, and in true Integral fashion, he includes perspectives from all sorts of interesting angles, such as our evolutionary development, neural development, and moral and spiritual development. This discussion is warm, friendly, cheerful, lively, and chock full of useful information and insights. Keith's excitement about the evolutionary directionality of human relationships is contagious and inspiring. Recorded August 16, 2024.“We have a responsibility to be our best self, our wise self, all the time… this is a good place to grow towards as an individual—and a necessary way to grow as a psychotherapist.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Having an agreed-on, go-to technique for when problems arise (01:27)The defensive state wants to attack or flee, and the stories you tell yourself to justify attacking or fleeing (03:18)Distinguishing between constructive guidance and destructive shadow (04:32)Flexibility in couples therapy: going on instinct (07:52)Discourse and dialectic is a 21st century metapsychology (10:19)The developmental process of becoming more sensitive to when you're “off” and also to when your relationship is “off” (12:36)A flourishing relationship is a liberation (15:05)Being a transpersonal therapist means you don't take things personally (16:47)Therapist/client relationship is a major determinant of outcome (18:56)Growing toward being our best self all of the time is a good directionality (21:46) The importance of telling the truth skillfully and compassionate understanding (23:29)The 6 foundational moral states we are born with get corrupted by defensive states (26:39)Radical acceptance: there is nothing I cannot share with my partner (29:44)Is forceful intervention ever necessary? Recovery from addiction comes before working on a relationship (32:52)Post-issue moments are our human birthright (42:31) Looking for deeper truths about the human experience in conversations like this is enacting a 21st century metapsychology (43:04) Resources & References – Part 2Dr. Keith Witt's website: https://drkeithwitt.com/Keith Witt,

Ep. 168 (Part 1 of 2) | Integral psychologist Keith Witt can't get enough of the magic and beauty that happens in relationships as people begin to develop what he calls “a post-issue consciousness.” He explains that when our executive self, our wise self or witness, kicks in and forges a caring connection with the places where we hold our hurt and our traumas, then integration and healing start to happen, eventually with almost no conscious energy expenditure. “My job is to help people develop the witness,” Keith says, so they can observe their defensive or destructive states and reach for compassionate understanding, for themselves, for their partner, and for others.Keith tells us the three foundations of the modern marriage are friendship, a love affair, and an ability to resolve issues that come up, and says the shift to a post-issue relationship happens when all three facets become intentional. “Post-issue couples don't let things get in the way of their love,” he says. Throughout the conversation, Keith shares a goldmine of therapeutic wisdom on the subject of relationships, including the client/therapist relationship, and in true Integral fashion, he includes perspectives from all sorts of interesting angles, such as our evolutionary development, neural development, and moral and spiritual development. This discussion is warm, friendly, cheerful, lively, and chock full of useful information and insights. Keith's excitement about the evolutionary directionality of human relationships is contagious and inspiring. Recorded August 16, 2024.“Evolution in humans is characterized by deeper consciousness and more compassion . . . evolution has a directionality—and it's toward unity.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Integral psychologist and prolific author Dr. Keith Witt (01:00)What is a post-issue relationship? (03:11)What happens when couples develop emotional intelligence and are able to love each other more? (05:48)Example of an argument in a post-issue relationship (07:35)How complexity and therapeutic parts work figures into it (08:47)How do people grow internally? How do we integrate? (10:01)A healing cosmology came to Keith after he learned about Integral Theory and all the systems came together (11:59)It helps if couples have a sense of evolutionary development (14:24)Egalitarian relationships that came online in the last 50-70 years brought along new potentials for love and problem solving (18:33) What happens when we go into defensive states? (19:21)Evolution has a directionality toward deeper consciousness, compassion, unity (22:56)Liberating ourselves by not cooperating with the argument (24:20)How does the long time it takes to raise a human child affect our social learning? (25:38)Humans are ultra social: 90% chimpanzee/10% bee (28:01)Resilience and trauma programming are actually memory systems (30:57)How do people move towards a post-issue relationship? (32:44)The key is making it an intentional relationship (35:38)Self awareness: we're often crippled based on a history of trauma (38:42)Leading couples therapist John Gottman teaches what works for happy couples to unhappy couples (39:58)Physiological arousal—once people are escalated to a certain point, they can't think (41:58)What...

Ep. 167 (Part 2 of 2) | In the 7th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us as to the nature of presence. Our path begins with the recognition that spirit is presence, he explains, an insight which all spiritual traditions share; this is where most of their focus lies. But this is not the end of the story, Hameed tells us—discovering spirit is only half the work. The other half is actualizing presence by clarifying and purifying our souls. Presence works as an agent of transformation in this process; appearing in our souls as curiosity and a love of truth, it leads us home. The discussion turns to virtues, the fruition of realization, and how it is that realized teachers can behave in entirely unethical ways: “realization is no guarantee of ethical behavior.”This conversation is packed with insights regarding many related topics: how ethics most importantly concern our relations with others, that kindness becomes spontaneous for the true master, the distinction between universal grace and specific grace, how inner spaciousness or emptiness is the other side of the coin from presence or fullness, and the question arises, “Why is it that some people are interested in going deeper and others not?” Hameed also speaks of his own experience of unilocal realization, where all time and space are found in the center of the heart and accessing information from the future is possible. It is not so much I am this or that, he says, it's simply I am. This warm, illuminating discussion has a fascinating flow and sparks many instances of quiet laughter on all sides. Recorded December 12, 2024.“True nature is a real magician; to know yourself as that magician is true realization.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Living ethically is conducive to realization (00:50)True mastery means your kindness is spontaneous (02:15)Ethics apply more at an ego level; spirit has its own principles (04:28)Feeling the pain of being constricted is one way the spiritual impulse arises (05:59)Why do some people want to go deeper than others? (06:40)The love of truth leads us home: the dynamic of realization (09:14)Unilocal realization: experiencing all time and space in the heart (11:10)Hameed can learn from his future self and from people who have died (12:26)Trusting ourselves, and the distinction between universal grace and specific grace (16:28)Practice helps make us grace-prone; most people need a teacher or guide (19:24)Presence is the fullness and inner spaciousness the emptiness side of things (21:50)True nature is a real magician; to know yourself as that magician is true realization (26:52) Space/time emanates from our true nature (29:02)Ethics are relative to our time and culture; but essential ethics are timeless (31:24)Selflessness and concern for the well-being of all has grown over time (33:35)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of

Ep. 166 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 7th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us as to the nature of presence. Our path begins with the recognition that spirit is presence, he explains, an insight which all spiritual traditions share; this is where most of their focus lies. But this is not the end of the story, Hameed tells us—discovering spirit is only half the work. The other half is actualizing presence by clarifying and purifying our souls. Presence works as an agent of transformation in this process; appearing in our souls as curiosity and a love of truth, it leads us home. The discussion turns to virtues, the fruition of realization, and how it is that realized teachers can behave in entirely unethical ways: “realization is no guarantee of ethical behavior.”This conversation is packed with insights regarding many related topics: how ethics most importantly concern our relations with others, that kindness becomes spontaneous for the true master, the distinction between universal grace and specific grace, how inner spaciousness or emptiness is the other side of the coin from presence or fullness, and the question arises, “Why is it that some people are interested in going deeper and others not?” Hameed also speaks of his own experience of unilocal realization, where all time and space are found in the center of the heart and accessing information from the future is possible. It is not so much I am this or that, he says, it's simply I am. This warm, illuminating discussion has a fascinating flow and sparks many instances of quiet laughter on all sides. Recorded December 12, 2024.“Presence is both the inner nature and the elixir of transformation.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 7th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (01:01)The basic spiritual insight common to all schools is the recognition of what spirit is: a palpable presence, a substrate of all reality (01:37)The path begins with recognizing presence and then goes on (03:49)Presence is being, the way we experience our true nature (05:55)Exploring the essential qualities of the soul is an important tool to expose and dissolve components of the ego (07:55)Recognizing true nature doesn't mean we express it in our life (09:09)Discovering spirit is only half the work, the other half is purifying the soul (10:50)Great traditions don't get into actualization; psychology is what allowed us to develop practices like inquiry that help to release ego structures (13:02)How realized teachers can be angry, or sadistic (17:18)Animal soul, human soul, angelic soul: most of us operate from the animal soul (19:40)Working on character (21:43)Realization and teaching skill are quite different (23:36)There's no guarantee a realized person will behave ethically (27:01)Virtues are the impact of spiritual presence on the soul (28:17)An important part of ethical behavior is in relationship (28:59)“Objective conscience” supports us in living a life of truth (29:22)Liberation is different from realization; with liberation there are no imprints of time left in you (32:38)The inner...

Ep. 165 (Part 2 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people.What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami's clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody's wake, the ripples of their life, how they've impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024.“What I feel I owe people is the truth.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2What are some of the people and ideas that really stand out to Tami? (01:14)Every podcast guest has given a gift (02:01)Learning somatic practices from Reggie Ray (03:30)Meeting Adyashanti, the ‘goodest' human Tami ever met (04:31)A. H. Almaas' Diamond Approach: the possibilities for expanding knowledge in the spiritual universe (06:10)Coming into the notion of original voice with Clarissa Pinkola Estes; Caroline Myss' illumination of shadow work (06:45)Discovering that spiritual teachers can be luminous and also have parts that are harmful and need healing (09:52)How spiritual vision & psychological health seamlessly come together in the Diamond Approach (13:38)Psychotherapist Bruce Tift's idea that we alternate between spiritual vision and the developmental work of psychology (16:00)The litmus test is what lives in the wake of a person (17:13)Tami's practice: asking what is needed now, moment by moment (19:26)Paying attention to what is being said to us by others and our environment (23:58)The Integral movement: we benefit from having it in our consciousness (25:43)The Internal Family Systems (IFS) movement: the notion of being self-led in any given moment: compassionate, courageous, curious, calm (27:14)Conscious business: the movement for business to be a crucible for personal growth...

Ep. 164 (Part 1 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people.What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami's clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody's wake, the ripples of their life, how they've impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024.“If our spiritual vision doesn't translate into treating ourselves and other people, and the environment and the world well, and building a just society, I'm not interested in it.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing founder of the multimedia publishing company Sounds True, author, entrepreneur & popular podcast host, Tami Simon (00:53)What is the spirit or ideal animating Tami's venture? Broadcast awakening! (02:20)Tami was given 3 words right at the start: disseminate spiritual wisdom (03:47)The origin of Sounds True: synchronicities, altered state experience, and the concept of transformational economy (05:30)How Vipassana retreats changed Tami (10:10)Tami wanted to understand Ken Wilber's Integral Theory in her body, in her bones (12:24)Meditation felt like a homecoming, a sense of belonging as never before: this is how it feels to feel okay (15:03)Sounds True has been Tami's “ground of growth,” an incredible crucible—because it's so stressful (18:12)Heart opening experiences keep on going (20:20)Entrepreneurial endeavors as an expression of love (23:05)Service is inherent in the energy of the human heart (26:30)Integrity is critical: a grace field rooted in the central part of the body (30:29)Responding to the many problems of contemporary media and our media-ted lives (36:43)What is the most strategic and economic way I can serve? (41:20)Technological change and Tami's willingness to adapt (42:33)Resources & References – Part 1Tami Simon, founder of multimedia publishing...

Ep. 163 (Part 2 of 2) | In the sixth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali tells us that whereas pure consciousness is already perfect and does not change or grow, individual consciousness is an impressionable organism—alive, changing, moving, developing. Hameed explains that because the soul is impressionable, the impacts of experience are imprinted upon it, shaping our very consciousness. Ego structures form from repeated impressions, and although they are necessary for survival and to function in a relational world, these structures make it difficult to experience the living presence of our true nature. We experience the ego self instead, mistaking our self-image for what we truly are. When we loosen our conditioning, with help from practices like inquiry and bodywork, our soul becomes free of its imprint and our true potential arises naturally, along with greater compassion and other qualities of the soul. Simply and clearly, Hameed brings us to a deeper understanding of our soul, elucidating what holds us to our limited self-identity and describing what we have to look forward to as the myriad imprints hammered into us by experience become diaphanous, and new impressions no longer make indelible imprints. Hameed also delves into the different ways various traditions talk about the soul, the difference between ordinary knowledge and “knowing,” or gnosis, and tells us that sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment are an artificial dichotomy, sharing a story of a sudden enlightenment experience of his own. Once again, Hameed transmits an extraordinary amount of wisdom in a relatively short time, and we emerge brighter, hopeful, and inspired as to our boundless spiritual potential. Recorded November 14, 2024.“When the soul becomes free of its original imprint, it becomes open to its inner potential – and inner potential is mostly spiritual potential.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Relaxing the tension in the soul and body is important: working with body armor (00:49)Mature impressionability: when the soul is more free, impacts don't leave lasting imprints (03:16)When the soul becomes free of its original imprint, it opens to its inner potential (08:34)The enlightenment drive and our spiritual potential (11:41)Psychology and spirituality are not separate in our consciousness (13:51)The different ways different traditions and psychology talk about the soul (15:43)Unique particularity becomes very important in Zen: a flower is a flower (20:43)Gnosis: I know myself without reflection, without memory; I know what I am (23:13)Nonconceptual and transconceptual knowing (25:24)Sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation are an artificial dichotomy (28:21)What does gradual enlightenment mean? (30:51)Hameed relates an experience of “sudden enlightenment” (31:21)How the evolution of the universe relates to awakened consciousness (33:40)Roger's acknowledgment of this conversation as uniquely impactful (36:48)Resources & ReferencesA. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder...

Ep. 162 (Part 1 of 2) | In the sixth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali tells us that whereas pure consciousness is already perfect and does not change or grow, individual consciousness is an impressionable organism—alive, changing, moving, developing. Hameed explains that because the soul is impressionable, the impacts of experience are imprinted upon it, shaping our very consciousness. Ego structures form from repeated impressions, and although they are necessary for survival and to function in a relational world, these structures make it difficult to experience the living presence of our true nature. We experience the ego self instead, mistaking our self-image for what we truly are. When we loosen our conditioning, with help from practices like inquiry and bodywork, our soul becomes free of its imprint and our true potential arises naturally, along with greater compassion and other qualities of the soul. Simply and clearly, Hameed brings us to a deeper understanding of our soul, elucidating what holds us to our limited self-identity and describing what we have to look forward to as the myriad imprints hammered into us by experience become diaphanous, and new impressions no longer make indelible imprints. Hameed also delves into the different ways various traditions talk about the soul, the difference between ordinary knowledge and “knowing,” or gnosis, and tells us that sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment are an artificial dichotomy, sharing a story of a sudden enlightenment experience of his own. Once again, Hameed transmits an extraordinary amount of wisdom in a relatively short time, and we emerge brighter, hopeful, and inspired as to our boundless spiritual potential. Recorded November 14, 2024.“Self-image is not just in the mind, it actually shapes our consciousness.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 6th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, beginning with chapter 7 of The Inner Journey Home: the impressionability of the soul (00:51)One of individual consciousness' properties is impressionability; without it, there would be no learning (02:39)It's not easy to experience the soul as a living presence because of its impressionability (05:43)The mind is just one of the faculties of the soul (08:10)Like a child, the soul retains affect, feelings, impacts; these traces make it possible for individual consciousness to be structured (10:19)Self-image, self-identity, come from more long lasting types of impressions (12:49)Without impressionability, there wouldn't be trauma (13:23)Painful, pleasurable, or neutral, some impressions become patterns of behavior (13:47)When we study the soul, we can find the ego structures: rigid, unchanging, the impressions have made an indelible imprint (14:29)Self-image affects consciousness by limiting it: the medium of presence is hidden by the accumulation of impressions (17:35)Self-image actually shapes our consciousness: the soul mistakes itself for the self (23:32)The malleability of the soul is responsible for both conditioning and learning (25:31)How open we are depends on our early experience; also, different souls come in with different capacities...

Ep. 161 (Part 2 of 2) | In this profoundly moving and inspiring conversation, GRIP Training Institute CEO, Kim Moore, and facilitator/trainer Fateen Jackson, Sr., also a GRIP graduate, educate us as to the power and magic of the GRIP prison movement, based on Jacques Verduin's model: Leaving Prison Before You Get Out. This yearlong trauma healing and accountability program is unique in the degree of radical transformation it aims for—and delivers. It is about freeing minds, and as Kim points out, goes beyond the duality of teacher/student, inmate/not inmate, victim/offender to where everyone joins in a mutual journey of healing, transformation, and liberation.The program is so transformative that ripple effects from GRIP students can be felt throughout the prison, and GRIP graduates often struggle with how little emotional intelligence and trauma healing work the rest of us have done when they get out.Kim and Fateen shine a bright light on the inestimable value of a caring, compassionate community, pointing out that deep personal transformation and taking responsibility doesn't happen in isolation. They share illuminating stories of their own experiences, and the dedication and gladness they exude in this talk is itself impactful and inspiring. There is something in this conversation, maybe because it touches our deepest brokenness and then lifts it up and redeems it, that reaches right into one's heart and infuses it with inspiration, hope, compassion, and love. Recorded November 21, 2024.“Who have you left out of your heart? How can you expand your sphere of human concern?”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Roger acknowledges the power of GRIP's processes (01:20)What are the most impactful processes that participants go through? (02:18)Transforming shame into remorse: you are not your crime (05:17)The importance of self-care for facilitators: what practices do Kim & Fateen do? (06:39)Reminding participants who they truly are: you can give love and you can receive love (10:36) Moving beyond the duality of giver/receiver, victim/offender, teacher/student (12:31) Transforming belief systems: You are not in prison because of what you did, but because you believed the thoughts that justified the actions you took (14:06) A longing to hear a genuine apology (16:40)Opening your heart to every offender, no matter what they've done (18:25)The transformational power of this work: engendering hope, compassion, redemption, wisdom (21:22)GRIP graduates struggle with how little emotional intelligence and trauma healing work the rest of us have done when they get out (24:25)Can people accept that you are a changed, transformed individual? (25:03)The diversity of this program: everyone is welcome, everyone learns from everyone else (26:29)Meditation: stopping the violence with awareness (29:40)The wisdom that is born in these groups goes way beyond prison (32:56)If you would like to be part of the GRIP family (34:12)What is the vision for GRIP's future? GRIP's scaling strategy; connecting with incoming lifers from day one...

Ep. 160 (Part 1 of 2) | In this profoundly moving and inspiring conversation, GRIP Training Institute CEO, Kim Moore, and facilitator/trainer Fateen Jackson, Sr., also a GRIP graduate, educate us as to the power and magic of the GRIP prison movement, based on Jacques Verduin's model: Leaving Prison Before You Get Out. This yearlong trauma healing and accountability program is unique in the degree of radical transformation it aims for—and delivers. It is about freeing minds, and as Kim points out, goes beyond the duality of teacher/student, inmate/not inmate, victim/offender to where everyone joins in a mutual journey of healing, transformation, and liberation.The program is so transformative that ripple effects from GRIP students can be felt throughout the prison, and GRIP graduates often struggle with how little emotional intelligence and trauma healing work the rest of us have done when they get out.Kim and Fateen shine a bright light on the inestimable value of a caring, compassionate community, pointing out that deep personal transformation and taking responsibility doesn't happen in isolation. They share illuminating stories of their own experiences, and the dedication and gladness they exude in this talk is itself impactful and inspiring. There is something in this conversation, maybe because it touches our deepest brokenness and then lifts it up and redeems it, that reaches right into one's heart and infuses it with inspiration, hope, compassion, and love. Recorded November 21, 2024.“The wisdom that is born in these groups goes way beyond prison.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing GRIP CEO Kim Moore, facilitator/trainer Fateen Jackson, and the remarkable program Guiding Rage into Power (01:15)How did Kim come to have a life purpose of facilitating transformation? (04:06)Moving out of privilege into direct relationship with the realities of criminal justice (06:25)Fateen's story and how GRIP allowed him to source the trauma that led to prison and transform it (09:19)The morning Fateen was released and the ripple effects of GRIP (16:03)4 foundations of GRIP: cultivating mindfulness, developing emotional intelligence, doing no harm, understanding victim & survivor impact (19:39)The importance of building a safe container and building trust (20:52)GRIP assignments: the unfinished business letter, apology to the victims letter, and more (22:18)The emotional/energetic arc the group goes through, ending with a deep sense of empathy for the survivors or victims (25:33)What is the power and the magic of GRIP? 1) instruction, 2) practice/tools, 3) processing (28:36)The incredible power of a healing community (30:07)Leaving prison mentally, emotionally, spiritually can happen even while still in prison, without hope of release (30:55) The healing itself is the reward—that's where the freedom comes from (32:12) How GRIP students affect the rest of the prison: flipping the culture of the yard (33:20)Becoming peacemakers: taking responsibility for your own healing doesn't happen in isolation—it happens in community (34:39)What happens when you get out of prison?

Ep. 159 (Part 2 of 2) | In the 5th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher and author Hameed Ali discusses the dynamic, ever changing, infinitely creative nature of the universe, and explains that our individual souls are in some sense a microcosm of this energy, with endless potentials and possibilities. We can experience creative dynamism, Hameed says, as “a sense of infinite energy, pulsing and throbbing, where we see the whole universe in continual emergence, every moment new.” Although the soul has boundless potential, we tend to take the limited approach that what we already know is the extent of things; the key to loosening the limits we place upon ourselves is to practice inquiry and remain open to all directions of possibilities. Each individual experiences the dynamism in a different way and expresses the potentiality of reality in a different way, says Hameed. When we are in touch with our true nature, we share in the creativity of the divine. In this conversation, Hameed also talks about death: how we can be curious about it, how it is the ultimate in finality, one more possibility of reality, and that he doesn't presume to know it, only that true nature is the source of time and does not die. Life can be experienced like a fountain rather than a flowing river, Hameed relates. And the more our ego structures are released, the more we can open to its beautiful array of endless possibilities. Another profoundly intriguing, subtly humorous, and absolutely enlightening conversation with Hameed Ali. Recorded October 10, 2024.“We are thoughts in the mind of God, but God's thoughts are not like human thoughts, they are creations.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Ordinary knowledge is a subset of basic knowledge, which is implicit in the beingness of what is manifesting; spirituality has to do with basic knowledge (00:59) What Hameed would like to add to the theory of evolution (04:47)It is possible for the soul to know itself; nothing else we achieve in life will bring total fulfillment (07:44) The logos is manifesting the potential of reality; part of this potential is for true nature to know itself through the organs of perception of the individual soul (10:06)The human being is designed to fill its purpose, but when you get into true nature, purpose doesn't apply (12:08)Beyond Maslow's motivation of self-transcendence: selfless service, transpersonal spontaneity, and the motivation to go beyond what we know (15:14)What about death? Nothing else has the finality of death (21:39)True nature doesn't die; it is the source of time, pure timelessness (24:35)Dogen drops causality: ash is ash, wood is wood; life is life, death is death (26:48)Death is another possibility of reality (29:06)Experiencing life as a fountain rather than a flowing river (31:51)The more ego structures are released, the more we open to a beautiful array of possibilities & potentials (36:29)The ego is not false, it's just limited (40:12)What the human being is free to actualize is to be open to all directions of possibilities (41:16)Resources & References – Part 2

Ep. 158 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 5th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher and author Hameed Ali discusses the dynamic, ever changing, infinitely creative nature of the universe, and explains that our individual souls are in some sense a microcosm of this energy, with endless potentials and possibilities. We can experience creative dynamism, Hameed says, as “a sense of infinite energy, pulsing and throbbing, where we see the whole universe in continual emergence, every moment new.” Although the soul has boundless potential, we tend to take the limited approach that what we already know is the extent of things; the key to loosening the limits we place upon ourselves is to practice inquiry and remain open to all directions of possibilities. Each individual experiences the dynamism in a different way and expresses the potentiality of reality in a different way, says Hameed. When we are in touch with our true nature, we share in the creativity of the divine. In this conversation, Hameed also talks about death: how we can be curious about it, how it is the ultimate in finality, one more possibility of reality, and that he doesn't presume to know it, only that true nature is the source of time and does not die. Life can be experienced like a fountain rather than a flowing river, Hameed relates. And the more our ego structures are released, the more we can open to its beautiful array of endless possibilities. Another profoundly intriguing, subtly humorous, and absolutely enlightening conversation with Hameed Ali. Recorded October 10, 2024.“The soul is a living expression of the fundamental nature of reality. There's no end to the potentiality.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the fifth A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series with Hameed Ali, focusing on the soul's infinite potential and the creative dynamism of reality (01:07)The soul has boundless potential, but we tend to take the limited approach that what we know already is the extent of things (04:07)We don't have to look for the boundless possibilities—we just need to be open (08:16)The main tool for fostering this openness is inquiry: what is presenting itself? (10:01)We all share the potential; we are all fundamentally connected (12:16)Reality, true nature, is in constant creative dynamism (13:34)The logos of the integration of spirituality and rational knowing can be applied to every field of knowledge (14:33)Imagine a community of scientists who are all realized spiritually, their inquiry powerfully infused by spiritual understanding (15:50)We are just at the beginning of understanding the physical world (18:22)Just because something is true doesn't mean it's complete (21:55)Einstein's theory of relativity and the Riemannian manifold (26:03)The nondual is never separate from the dual (28:25)Distinguishing between the fundamental nature of pure awareness and the nature of the soul (30:27)The close connection between individual potential and creativity and universal dynamism and creativity (32:24)We can experience creative dynamism: a sense of infinite energy, where we see the universe in continual emergence, every moment new...

Ep. 157 (Part 3 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. He decided to delve into a comprehensive study of nonduality and was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean's hope is that his comparative analysis of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the best and/or only correct interpretation of reality and allow nondual traditions to enrich and empower one another.Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals provocative patterns he has uncovered in nonduality's history and the distinctions he has mapped so far. It becomes clear that nondual realizations evolve in a way similar to developmental models in terms of subject/object relationship, psychology of self, and taking new perspectives, and that they will continue to evolve. As Sean puts it, “the ontological floor keeps dropping out as the endpoint of spiritual realization.” “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years!” Sean wonders. Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces and potentials of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.“I want to come back to how we can operationalize this in our own lives…and how it can inform ourselves as practitioners in our journey of realization.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 3Is there a process for stabilization of these realizations? (01:25) 4 primary polarities across traditions: the goal, path, context, and practices (04:16)2 types of practice: apophatic and cataphatic (07:06)Service is another profound approach to “not two” nonduality (09:49)Enlightened action: no self, being in the flow; reality serves itself through awakened beings (11:46)What is going on psychologically as people move into nondual experiences? (17:18)Like in developmental models, the subject/object relationship, psychology of self, and taking new perspectives all evolve in nondual awareness (20:42)Invitation to explore the richness of different nondual traditions and the potential for a deeper cross-tradition dialogue (25:47) Sean's 10-week online course Varieties of Nonduality beginning in January 2025 (26:51)Resources & References – Part 3Advaita VedantaKashmir...

Ep. 156 (Part 2 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. He decided to delve into a comprehensive study of nonduality and was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean's hope is that his comparative analysis of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the best and/or only correct interpretation of reality and allow nondual traditions to enrich and empower one another.Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals provocative patterns he has uncovered in nonduality's history and the distinctions he has mapped so far. It becomes clear that nondual realizations evolve in a way similar to developmental models in terms of subject/object relationship, psychology of self, and taking new perspectives, and that they will continue to evolve. As Sean puts it, “the ontological floor keeps dropping out as the endpoint of spiritual realization.” “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years!” Sean wonders. Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces and potentials of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.“Our nondual traditions are one of the best things people have created – ever!”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Science and the new relationship between subject and object (00:50) 6 subject-object strategies that nondual traditions embrace (02:51)Roger's acknowledgment of the enormous contribution Sean is making as the first comparative scholar to differentiate the varieties of nonduality (04:59)Provocative patterns in the history of nonduality and the mysterious flourishing of nondual traditions from around the 11th to the 14th century (09:28)Nondual texts that only emerged in the last 100 years have expanded our nondual horizons—and there's a lot more to discover (13:08)The ontological floor keeps dropping out as the endpoint of spiritual realization (16:04)What are our nondual traditions going to look like in 1,000 years? (17:32)The concept of endless realizations and awakenings liberates us from needing to find the ultimate nondual realization (18:29)Dr. Jeffery Martin's research: 32 fundamental positions on nonduality (20:29)Sequential realizations and why you might go back to a previous realization (21:43)What makes a global, comparative nondual analysis so worthwhile (26:04) You have to become someone before you become no one; and now you can become everyone (27:48)Merging consciousness with another's unique realization: all one, empty, while also distinct and unique (30:02)Resources & References – Part 2

Ep. 155 (Part 1 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. He decided to delve into a comprehensive study of nonduality and was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean's hope is that his comparative analysis of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the best and/or only correct interpretation of reality and allow nondual traditions to enrich and empower one another.Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals provocative patterns he has uncovered in nonduality's history and the distinctions he has mapped so far. It becomes clear that nondual realizations evolve in a way similar to developmental models in terms of subject/object relationship, psychology of self, and taking new perspectives, and that they will continue to evolve. As Sean puts it, “the ontological floor keeps dropping out as the endpoint of spiritual realization.” “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years!” Sean wonders. Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces and potentials of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.“How do we understand the relationship between consciousness, reality, and practice?”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, author, Dean of Integral Education & Integral Noetic Sciences Program Director at CIHS, founder of MetaIntegral (00:59)How was Sean drawn to exploring the topic of nonduality? (05:03)There are over 40 distinct nondual traditions on the planet (07:31)When you say nonduality, what do you mean? (11:02)Advaita Vedanta's “not two”; there's only Self, only divine awareness (11:43)3 major nondual ultimacies: nondual oneness, nondual tantra, nondual union (12:49)In nondual traditions, does divinizing the self lead to the same experience as annihilating the self? (17:43)The I-sphere of nonduality, the we-sphere of nonduality, and the it-sphere of nonduality (19:51)Ken Wilber's notion of emptiness + view: emptiness doesn't change but view does, so nonduality evolves (22:00)Varieties of nonduality emphasize different qualities: emptiness + omnipresence, emptiness + bliss, emptiness + luminosity, emptiness + embodiment (23:33)Nonduality is developmental in terms of states: each realization is a deeper, wider experience of nonduality (25:45)Realization is just going to keep going; there is a way in which all views are equal and a way in which some views are better than others (29:41)Resources & References – Part 1

Ep. 154 (Part 2 of 2) | In this 4th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher Hameed Ali explains that much of the beginning of the spiritual path is spent clarifying our individual consciousness from the conditioning of the past in order to wake up and discover our true nature. In the Diamond Approach, this is accomplished using the practice of inquiry, and as we inquire deeply within, qualities intrinsic to consciousness emerge in our awareness. These qualities—like truth, courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love—each have their own particular sensory expression: a certain color, texture, warmth or coolness, varying degrees of sweetness. The more these qualities emerge, Hameed says, the more powerful our practice and the more authentic our life. He calls these qualities treasures of the soul. This beautiful conversation ranges from profoundly moving, as Hameed evokes specific qualities of presence, to humorous, when he tells a funny story about Maharishi Yogi, to intensely illuminating as Hameed talks about the teaching of the first turning, the miracle of ordinary life, what it means to be spiritually mature, the nature of true sorrow, the fact that we are the universe being conscious, and how fundamental nature lies deeper than consciousness, deeper than awareness. It is a multifaceted gem, not to be missed. Recorded September 19, 2024.“The soul is the organ of knowledge of the universe.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2We have to take the dualistic world into account (00:59)Mature spirituality: just live your life; you have to start with ordinary life (02:31)The second (nondual), third & fourth turnings recognize there are other ways that reality appears (05:43)You can be pure consciousness living in a world of matter: in some sense, this is more miraculous than that everything is consciousness (07:01)Courage's presence is like red lava, fiery and ruby red (09:39)Truth is also a quality: when I experience myself as truth, I feel myself as made out of pure gold, the gold of consciousness (10:24)Roger is deeply touched when Hameed evokes the sensory characteristics of the essential qualities; Hameed agrees it is very moving (13:43)To what extent are these sensory experiences specific to Hameed? Or are they universal? (15:02)Sincerity is a quality of presence (17:55)What do all these inherent qualities tell us about the nature of reality? (19:09)Fundamental nature is deeper than consciousness, deeper than awareness: I am is completely indeterminate (20:43)The nature of rational thought, discriminating awareness (24:22)Can we integrate ordinary knowledge with true knowing? (27:15)It's important for people to know that consciousness can appear as a particular quality (29:13)These qualities are the treasures of the soul and the journey of learning about them is a beautiful adventure of discovery (31:41)The word brings out the quality and the quality brings out the word (35:21)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder...

Ep. 153 (Part 1 of 2) | In this 4th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher Hameed Ali explains that much of the beginning of the spiritual path is spent clarifying our individual consciousness from the conditioning of the past in order to wake up and discover our true nature. In the Diamond Approach, this is accomplished using the practice of inquiry, and as we inquire deeply within, qualities intrinsic to consciousness emerge in our awareness. These qualities—like truth, courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love—each have their own particular sensory expression: a certain color, texture, warmth or coolness, varying degrees of sweetness. The more these qualities emerge, Hameed says, the more powerful our practice and the more authentic our life. He calls these qualities treasures of the soul. This beautiful conversation ranges from profoundly moving, as Hameed evokes specific qualities of presence, to humorous, when he tells a funny story about Maharishi Yogi, to intensely illuminating as Hameed talks about the teaching of the first turning, the miracle of ordinary life, what it means to be spiritually mature, the nature of true sorrow, the fact that we are the universe being conscious, and how fundamental nature lies deeper than consciousness, deeper than awareness. It is a multifaceted gem, not to be missed. Recorded September 19, 2024.“Courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love are all expressions of our pure consciousness appearing as specific qualities.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 4th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the soul as “organism of consciousness” (00:59)The distinction between universal consciousness and individual consciousness (03:04)Much of the beginning of the path is spent clarifying individual consciousness from the conditioning of the past (05:50)The practice of inquiry is for the individual consciousness to wake up and discover what it is fundamentally (07:25)Courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love are all expressions of pure consciousness appearing as specific qualities (11:04)Why we need these essential qualities: the more these qualities emerge, the more powerful the practice (13:21)How can you live your life authentically, without the qualities of integrity, courage, intelligence, clarity, inner peacefulness, and true sorrow? (16:02)True sorrow is a quality of presence—sorrow for the suffering, for what's happening in the world (16:57)These qualities are the closest thing to the Platonic forms, necessary for the spiritual path and necessary for living (19:47)The incomparable or precious pearl at our center and the difference between personal essence and the individual soul (20:58)Psychological individuation is a forerunner for true individuation (23:33)Free of conditioning, we wake up to what we really are (24:59)The essential qualities are implicit in pure consciousness but they become differentiated in the soul (27:24)The teaching of the first turning is that the ordinary world is one way reality manifests—it's not the product of our ignorance; it has its own spirituality (28:37)Ordinary life is miraculous! (34:36)As Parmenides...

Ep. 152 (Part 2 of 2) | Life coach, recovery coach, and plant medicine ceremonialist Ron Interpreter has created a multidimensional, whole person healing modality that integrates Navajo spiritual teachings and traditions with Ken Wilber's Integral Model and Integral spirituality. Humanity is shifting, Ron explains, and is now looking to the teachings of the ancestors and Indigenous practices that can bring a sense of authenticity, purpose, and meaning to our lives. Native spirituality teaches us how we can relate to the elements of earth, fire, water and air in terms of remedies and medicines, and also in terms of beliefs and emotional connections. Plant medicine and other mind-altering ceremonies provide us with the means to get beyond the psychological limitations we put on ourselves, attain higher states of consciousness, and receive answers to our deepest questions.With a calm, articulate fervency, Ron shares the ancestral wisdom he teaches to people in recovery or who are suffering from trauma, including special ops forces and veterans: the Native concepts of taking responsibility, being accountable, forging a relationship with God or Spirit, and living from a profound understanding of what it means to be a human being. “We are in the creation of self—how do we practice our selves?” Ron asks. The Indigenous teachings that Ron brings forward provide a deep sense of grounding in Nature and Spirit, as we come to a better understanding of our place in the universe and the practices that can open us up to living in a sacred way, in connection with divine being. Recorded August 1, 2024.“We have to see ourselves as human beings first.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Stopping the blame game—blaming colonialism—and healing intergenerational trauma (01:28)How do we practice our selves? Get back to our ancestral ways, see ourselves as human beings first (05:06)The future of recovery depends on the expansion of the practitioner's approach and getting back to the elementals (11:00)What are the most valuable Native practices for healing and recovery? (18:10)Psychedelic medicines are tools to get beyond the psychological limitations we put on ourselves (23:52)Ceremony is vitally important to give context and reverence to a plant medicine experience (25:04)Building character in young people (26:11)In order for you to receive the medicine, you need to have a spiritual practice (28:29)At Ron's church, a long period of practicing breathwork and other modalities will often precede the use of psychedelic tools (32:15)Facilitating plant medicine ceremonies for special ops forces and veterans (34:55)Native traditions are now accessible to help people understand what it means to be human (40:02)The future of addiction, especially with addictive potentials increasing exponentially (42:49) We have to stop looking at addiction as your experience, my experience (48:49)Resources & References – Part 2Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Ep. 151 (Part 1 of 2) | Life coach, recovery coach, and plant medicine ceremonialist Ron Interpreter has created a multidimensional, whole person healing modality that integrates Navajo spiritual teachings and traditions with Ken Wilber's Integral Model and Integral spirituality. Humanity is shifting, Ron explains, and is now looking to the teachings of the ancestors and Indigenous practices that can bring a sense of authenticity, purpose, and meaning to our lives. Native spirituality teaches us how we can relate to the elements of earth, fire, water and air in terms of remedies and medicines, and also in terms of beliefs and emotional connections. Plant medicine and other mind-altering ceremonies provide us with the means to get beyond the psychological limitations we put on ourselves, attain higher states of consciousness, and receive answers to our deepest questions.With a calm, articulate fervency, Ron shares the ancestral wisdom he teaches to people in recovery or who are suffering from trauma, including special ops forces and veterans: the Native concepts of taking responsibility, being accountable, forging a relationship with God or Spirit, and living from a profound understanding of what it means to be a human being. “We are in the creation of self—how do we practice ourselves?” Ron asks. The Indigenous teachings that Ron brings forward provide a deep sense of grounding in Nature and Spirit, as we come to a better understanding of our place in the universe and the practices that can open us up to living in a sacred way, in connection with divine being. Recorded August 1, 2024.“What life am I practicing? Am I understanding who I am?”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing business consultant, integral life coach, recovery coach, and co-founder of the Sanctuary of Consciousness, Ron Interpreter of the Navajo tribe (00:59)How Ron came to work in recovery as well as teach wellness, yoga & personal development (02:59)Growing up on the Navajo Nation learning about our spiritual relationship with the universe, how to cultivate meaning & purpose, and using peyote medicine as a sacrament (08:11)On to architecture, consulting, wellness, and life coaching (10:01)Enter Integral Theory, which covered all the fundamental bases of Native traditions and philosophies (11:46)From integral coaching to recovery coaching, discovering John's book Integral Recovery & Ken Wilber's Integral Spirituality (13:38)In the ancestral teachings of the Navajo Way, the peyote way, and the Presbyterian Church, the voice of God is all the same (18:21)How humanity is starting to look to Indigenous people to understand relating to elementals, cultivating community & authenticity, and finding the meaning of life in psychedelic experiences (20:10)John's experience of Native American spirituality, the mystical spirituality of AA, awakening to Integral, and writing Integral Recovery (23:08)Everything in life is really up to you (28:23)Ancestral 4-quadrant teachings: the mystical & spiritual; the human experience; what are the practices; where is community in this? (29:31)Integral medicine—the whole person approach (31:22)Integral's

Ep. 150 (Part 2 of 2) | In the third dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali brings us to a deeper understanding of individual consciousness, our true nature, in relation to pure consciousness. Once we come to know what consciousness is, he says, our spiritual experience truly begins. The conversation flows through many illuminating teachings: how true nature manifests itself in many ways—there is no one way, no final way; reality is only what we perceive it to be—there is no hard and fast reality “out there;” and the ego is not some sort of developmental mistake—it only becomes a problem if we become fixated on it. Psychology helps us see how the soul became the ego, Hameed explains, and psychodynamics reflect how our individual consciousness becomes imprinted by experience, the effects of which can be unraveled through spiritual inquiry. When asked how he is able to write so remarkably clearly and concisely, fine-cut like a diamond, Hameed explains that the teachings articulate themselves as he writes by becoming his direct experience in the moment. He is not channeling, nor is his individual self expressing an opinion, the teaching simply expresses itself by becoming his true nature. This conversation is inspiring on many levels as consciousness becomes more graspable and because, as Roger says, Hameed's teaching is grounded in our being capable of realizing being. At the end, Hameed gives a beautifully resonant account of why we love freedom. Once again, Hameed's profound teachings come as a transmission and are a joy to receive. Recorded August 8, 2024.“Depth psychology helps us understand how our soul became our ego.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2How Hameed came to think that soul is the best word to describe a human being (00:45) The soul is pure consciousness with an aliveness added to it; the soul is always learning (04:26)Knowing what consciousness is is the true opening to spirituality (05:52)Development of the ego is necessary for physical survival, it is not a mistake unless we become fixated upon it (07:32)Arrested development: bottled up consciousness experiences pressure, a sense of pain & suffering (11:49)The ancient concept of soul was replaced by the idea of a separate self (13:14)Unity, disunity, and beyond (14:37)Psychology helps us understand how our soul became our ego (15:41)Psychodynamics show us how early experience impacts current experience, and it is inquiry that helps us unravel the ego (18:26)Our consciousness is a living organism (22:25)Grasping the nature of our soul is not easy, because it's holographic, dynamic—you can't give it a form (24:46)There is a nondual unity—united in the medium of consciousness—but it is also holographic: each point contains all other points (27:29)The difference between the holographic Huayan Buddhist perspective and the Zen perspective, where individual uniqueness becomes important (30:11)Do different teachings lead to different experiences of freedom? (33:38)Freedom is a sacred right of each individual (36:21)Resources & References – Part 2

Ep. 149 (Part 1 of 2) | In the third dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali brings us to a deeper understanding of individual consciousness, our true nature, in relation to pure consciousness. Once we come to know what consciousness is, he says, our spiritual experience truly begins. The conversation flows through many illuminating teachings: how true nature manifests itself in many ways—there is no one way, no final way; reality is only what we perceive it to be—there is no hard and fast reality “out there;” and the ego is not some sort of developmental mistake—it only becomes a problem if we become fixated on it. Psychology helps us see how the soul became the ego, Hameed explains, and psychodynamics reflect how our individual consciousness becomes imprinted by experience, the effects of which can be unraveled through spiritual inquiry. When asked how he is able to write so remarkably clearly and concisely, fine-cut like a diamond, Hameed explains that the teachings articulate themselves as he writes by becoming his direct experience in the moment. He is not channeling, nor is his individual self expressing an opinion, the teaching simply expresses itself by becoming his true nature. This conversation is inspiring on many levels as consciousness becomes more graspable and because, as Roger says, Hameed's teaching is grounded in our being capable of realizing being. At the end, Hameed gives a beautifully resonant account of why we love freedom. Once again, Hameed's profound teachings come as a transmission and are a joy to receive. Recorded August 8, 2024.“Humanity needs realized individuals, sources of light and understanding, to keep the true spirit of what a human being is alive.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the third dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focused on the introduction of The Inner Journey Home, a diagnosis of our root challenge: dissociation (01:02)On humanity's capacity to wake up from being asleep to who we really are (04:15)This path is a journey into reality, not focused specifically on relief from suffering (07:00)Reality is only what we perceive it to be (08:31)The main delusion we suffer from is believing the way we experience this world is the only way (10:48)Spiritual work doesn't try to resolve social conflicts—it is for individuals and small groups to transform (13:41)Humanity needs realized individuals, sources of light and understanding, to keep the true spirit of what a human being is alive (15:28)Hameed's experience of writing: the teaching articulates itself and becomes his experience in the moment—that's why there is a transmission (16:42)True nature is the fundamental truth of human beings, the nature of consciousness—it's not physical but at some point the distinction between physical and spiritual disappears (24:27)True nature manifests itself in many ways: there is no one way, no final way (26:00)The journey of ascent and descent: how we come to recognize ourselves as the absolute dimension and how we bring the vastness back into the realm of life (28:47)An individual is not a separate person; the complete human being is one who integrates both heaven and earth (32:45)When did Hameed start...

Cindy Wigglesworth, trailblazer in the field of spiritual intelligence, has created an assessment tool that identifies our spiritual strengths and weaknesses—qualities that fall outside the traditional IQ or emotional intelligence (EQ) parameters—in order to provide a guide for determining which skills we as individuals need to develop in order to show up in the world as love in action. Early on, Cindy recognized the profound benefits that both spiritual practice and EQ assessments had in her leadership development work, wishing only there was a map similar to what EQ offers but going one step higher, to lead people in the realm of spiritual development. So she created a multidimensional self-assessment tool to do just that, wrote the book SQ21: The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence, and founded the global leadership development network Deep Change. Cindy's dedication, brilliant intellect, integral understanding, and the effects of a lifetime of spiritual motivation and practice are abundantly evident in this warmly personal, articulate, and inspiring conversation about spirituality and how we can come to embody the values we aspire to. It's easy to love people in the abstract, Cindy points out, but how we actually behave is what's critical. What would love see? she asks, when talking about the practice of reframing. As co-host John Dupuy said, this conversation is like “an infusion of spiritual vitamins.” It's also very timely—Cindy reflects that spiritual intelligence skills and learning how to sustain faith are more important than ever in these times of polarization and crisis. Recorded July 18, 2024.(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time StampsIntroducing Cindy Wigglesworth, world authority on spirituality, creator of the SQ21 assessment that measures spiritual intelligence (01:25)How did Cindy come to focus on the field of spiritual intelligence? (04:18)Cindy's existential quest began with moving to India at the age of six (05:59)Leadership development skills benefit directly from spiritual practice (10:08)Discovering Goleman & Boyatzis' work on emotional intelligence (EQ)—where was the equivalent on spiritual intelligence? (11:58)Defining the terms spirituality and spiritual intelligence (15:21)Spiritual intelligence = love in action (18:21)State experiences are not sufficient for showing up as love in the world (20:35)Exemplars of spiritual intelligence and the quality of equanimity (21:53)The road to a pluralistic understanding of Christianity (24:49)Inheriting both strengths & weaknesses of her parents (29:40)Cindy's SQ model emulates the EQ model with 4 quadrants (31:05)How Cindy developed the 21 skills and survey for her SQ assessment (32:56)A positive age correlation for skills, which grow over time, is essential (36:00)What strikes Cindy having given this test to so many? The 3 levels of value (37:06)The SQ test can uncover weak foundations under skills people thought they had down (39:59)How has Cindy's understanding of spirituality changed during this process? (41:26) Spiral Dynamics' stages of development: we are all playing chords of a melody of colors (42:43)SQ...

Ep. 147 (Part 3 of 3) | Award-winning author, Zen priest and teacher, Kung Fu master, and professional advisor and trainer, Keith Martin-Smith, took a good look at the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement when he began to notice the damage it was causing people he knew under the guise of progress, or equity. Putting his keen mind to the task, Keith identified seven key areas where the DEI movement goes markedly astray from the values it aspires to. Coming from an integral understanding, Keith does more than simply point out where the movement has backfired. We learn that postmodern thinking is how we became aware of the “subtle soup of racism [and bias] in the cultural field itself”—beyond the concrete, obvious social injustices that activists fought in the 20th century. This more subtle field of bias is responsible for the inequalities we see in society today, which is what the DEI movement would like to tear down. But the ways in which DEI acts to make this happen, ironically, are characterized by exactly the things that DEI is against: intolerance, inequity, undiversity, tribalism, and anti-liberalism.In his wise, articulate, and gracious way, Keith makes sense of why the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement has become a political flashpoint, raising the hackles of not only rightwing conservatives but also liberal progressives. Sympathetic to the values of DEI, Keith is all about helping to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive movement. When asked how the values of DEI could be fulfilled to make it the harmonious, effective, correcting movement it aspires to be, Keith responded, “with conversations like this, for one thing,” adding, “we need to realize that everyone has a portion of truth—we just need to connect everyone's portion of truth with their heart.” Recorded June 6, 2024.“Everybody cares…they just care about different things. Consensus and change come from being willing to listen to what people care about and finding space to honor that.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 3What is liberalism? (01:18)The nature of DEI's anti-liberalism: banning free speech and more (05:08)White fragility is a non-argument and it's anti-liberal (09:30)Another dangerous idea: silence is violence (10:44)Allowing trial by public opinion (11:41)Creating a true meritocracy: results from blind auditioning symphony musicians (14:13)Forced equality of outcome: is forcing 20% of symphony goers to be black a good idea? (15:31)Going far right and far left, you find they mirror each other (18:32)The klansmen who turned in their robes after talking to a black man (21:11)What could be done to fulfill the values of DEI and make it the effective correcting movement it aspires to be? (23:39)DEI at its best: recognizing the subtle ways in which cognitive bias affects the culture (27:05)The postmodern/DEI point of view doesn't see how they are projecting their beliefs onto the culture (29:45)Microaggressions are real—but DEI proponents conflate microaggressions with macroaggressions (34:46)Critical race theory is the only explanatory theory in the DEI toolbox (39:33)Critical theory says power dynamics distort all interactions...

Ep. 146 (Part 2 of 3) | Award-winning author, Zen priest and teacher, Kung Fu master, and professional advisor and trainer, Keith Martin-Smith, took a good look at the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement when he began to notice the damage it was causing people he knew under the guise of progress, or equity. Putting his keen mind to the task, Keith identified seven key areas where the DEI movement goes markedly astray from the values it aspires to. Coming from an integral understanding, Keith does more than simply point out where the movement has backfired. We learn that postmodern thinking is how we became aware of the “subtle soup of racism [and bias] in the cultural field itself”—beyond the concrete, obvious social injustices that activists fought in the 20th century. This more subtle field of bias is responsible for the inequalities we see in society today, which is what the DEI movement would like to tear down. But the ways in which DEI acts to make this happen, ironically, are characterized by exactly the things that DEI is against: intolerance, inequity, undiversity, tribalism, and anti-liberalism.In his wise, articulate, and gracious way, Keith makes sense of why the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement has become a political flashpoint, raising the hackles of not only rightwing conservatives but also liberal progressives. Sympathetic to the values of DEI, Keith is all about helping to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive movement. When asked how the values of DEI could be fulfilled to make it the harmonious, effective, correcting movement it aspires to be, Keith responded, “with conversations like this, for one thing,” adding, “we need to realize that everyone has a portion of truth—we just need to connect everyone's portion of truth with their heart.” Recorded June 6, 2024.“All of us deserve to be treated with dignity that is innate in all of us.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2DEI's overemphasis on oppression and power: how it started (00:50)Critical race theory's metaview is that the world operates on principles of power and oppression (01:57)The single cause fallacy (02:59) Drawing the wrong conclusions: Kenyans and marathons, women and STEM fields (04:10)Male dominance in sports caused by bias rather than biology? (12:03)The wage gap between men and women and significant difference it makes to control for factors (18:51)Why men outearn women at Uber: subtle differences in the way men and women behave (27:39)IQ and how men dominate the extremes of the Bell Curve (29:34)Fairness demands that everyone is treated the best way possible (34:18)Brief review of the main DEI flaws covered so far: DEI's simplistic view of privilege; how DEI's diversity doesn't look at diverse mindsets; intolerance of other viewpoints; pushing everything through critical race theory; and how equality of outcomes can be oppressive, unfair, sexist & racist (35:31)Tribalism: DEI compartmentalizes everyone to a tribalistic identity, with the focus on race and sex (40:05)How to explain a white supremacist group run by people who are not white: multiracial whiteness (46:00)The primary goal should be to cultivate relationship rather than projecting a whole history on an individual based on...

Ep. 145 (Part 1 of 3) | Award-winning author, Zen priest and teacher, Kung Fu master, and professional advisor and trainer, Keith Martin-Smith, took a good look at the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement when he began to notice the damage it was causing people he knew under the guise of progress, or equity. Putting his keen mind to the task, Keith identified seven key areas where the DEI movement goes markedly astray from the values it aspires to. Coming from an integral understanding, Keith does more than simply point out where the movement has backfired. We learn that postmodern thinking is how we became aware of the “subtle soup of racism [and bias] in the cultural field itself”—beyond the concrete, obvious social injustices that activists fought in the 20th century. This more subtle field of bias is responsible for the inequalities we see in society today, which is what the DEI movement would like to tear down. But the ways in which DEI acts to make this happen, ironically, are characterized by exactly the things that DEI is against: intolerance, inequity, undiversity, tribalism, and anti-liberalism.In his wise, articulate, and gracious way, Keith makes sense of why the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement has become a political flashpoint, raising the hackles of not only rightwing conservatives but also liberal progressives. Sympathetic to the values of DEI, Keith is all about helping to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive movement. When asked how the values of DEI could be fulfilled to make it the harmonious, effective, correcting movement it aspires to be, Keith responded, “with conversations like this, for one thing,” adding, “we need to realize that everyone has a portion of truth—we just need to connect everyone's portion of truth with their heart.” Recorded June 6, 2024.“Everybody cares…they just care about different things. Consensus and change come from being willing to listen to what people care about and finding space to honor that.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing award-winning author, professional advisor & trainer, martial arts master, Zen priest & teacher Keith Martin-Smith (01:12) How Keith came to articulate what has gone wrong with the diversity, equity & inclusion movement (01:49)The divisiveness of DEI and the need to bring in an integral understanding (06:22)The difference between concrete, overt injustices and systemic injustice (08:27)The subtle soup of racism in the cultural field that we have become aware of in the postmodern period (11:19)All the punches at DEI are being thrown from an early rational or prerational worldview (15:26)What are the seven deadly sins of DEI? (18:15)DEI's simplistic view of privilege, considering race, sex & gender, but not class, education & family of origin (19:00)What are healthy responses to having been given privilege (as opposed to shame and guilt)? (23:37)DEI proponents lecturing us about privilege don't talk about their own privilege (26:50)The effect of neglecting class in DEI's reductionist view of privilege (29:56)The problematic (undiverse) way the DEI movement treats diversity (34:31)Concrete racism versus subtle racism/microaggressions (37:49)Because...

Ep. 144 (Part 2 of 2) | In the second A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series conversation, Hameed Ali describes how the practice of inquiry can aid us on our spiritual journey, illuminating our understanding of our personal experience and our soul. He uses the example of inquiring into a sense of worthlessness to illustrate what happens as we begin to investigate the terrain of our consciousness. There comes a point when the inquiry leads beyond where a psychologist would normally end—when it slips from psychological into spiritual inquiry. “If you stay with the wounding, something will emerge: a sense of inherent value. You recognize ‘I am presence' and this presence has value—all the way to nondual presence and beyond.” In introducing us to the Diamond Approach's inquiry technique, Hameed covers a rich array of topics: the dynamism of consciousness; the importance of scientific objectivity in our exploration of inner experience; modern psychology's revelation of how our sense of self develops; the essential qualities of curiosity and love of truth; and how understanding the ways in which the past influences the present disentangles it. Hameed is a masterful teacher—with just a few words he can illuminate vast territories of spiritual landscape for the purpose of helping his students learn to live their lives from a deeper, liberated condition. Rather than aiming to transcend our experience, Hameed assures us there is a way through, an unraveling we can do, as we discover never-ending realizations about individual consciousness and the nature of reality. Recorded July 4, 2024.“The soul is a living embodiment of the life force.” (For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Basic trust: fundamentally we are an indestructible nature, but our basic trust can get whittled away (00:50)Feeling the love inherent to reality (05:27)Marrying ancient knowledge of the soul with advancements in modern psychology (06:09) Psychology provides us with answers about how our sense of self develops but not about what gets structured—the soul (09:35)Individual consciousness is impressionable, otherwise learning would not be possible (12:31)The self is nothing but the soul structured through the ego stages of development (14:28)Psychodynamics and the self-liberating quality of the soul (15:29)We need our sense of self in order to survive—and in order to become become illuminated, we need a body (17:21)To stay with the ego self is arrested development, but we can develop further to become conscious of consciousness itself (19:53)We can understand the terrain of experience rather than simply transcend it—we can go through it, unravel it, and open up different dimensions of reality as we go (21:40)As we inquire we go deeper, bringing liberation into ordinary life (24:58)The emphasis in the East is on liberation—the emphasis in the West is on how to fulfill life (26:06)What many nondual teachings don't understand is the individual soul (27:14)The enlightenment drive: motivation beyond ego (30:38)Beyond the enlightenment drive: pure being coming through individual consciousness (34:45)Resources & References – Part 2

Ep. 143 (Part 1 of 2) | In the second A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series conversation, Hameed Ali describes how the practice of inquiry can aid us on our spiritual journey, illuminating our understanding of our personal experience and our soul. He uses the example of inquiring into a sense of worthlessness to illustrate what happens as we begin to investigate the terrain of our consciousness. There comes a point when the inquiry leads beyond where a psychologist would normally end—when it slips from psychological into spiritual inquiry. “If you stay with the wounding, something will emerge: a sense of inherent value. You recognize ‘I am presence' and this presence has value—all the way to nondual presence and beyond.” In introducing us to the Diamond Approach's inquiry technique, Hameed covers a rich array of topics: the dynamism of consciousness; the importance of scientific objectivity in our exploration of inner experience; modern psychology's revelation of how our sense of self develops; the essential qualities of curiosity and love of truth; and how understanding the ways in which the past influences the present disentangles it. Hameed is a masterful teacher—with just a few words he can illuminate vast territories of spiritual landscape for the purpose of helping his students learn to live their lives from a deeper, liberated condition. Rather than aiming to transcend our experience, Hameed assures us there is a way through, an unraveling we can do, as we discover never-ending realizations about individual consciousness and the nature of reality. Recorded July 4, 2024.“What does it mean that ‘I am spiritual in nature' and what psychological constellation prevents us from knowing this?”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), founder of the Diamond Approach, the Ridhwan School, and author of The Inner Journey Home and many more (00:59)Why inquiry is essential for transformation, beginning with an investigation of our own subjective, personal experience (04:13)Consciousness is a whole terrain of sensations, emotions, thoughts, reactions, images (09:47) First we need to become aware of what is obstructing our awareness, then inquire into why that block is there (10:54)Exploring the content of the self: start from the premise we don't know everything that is going on and be open to finding out (12:57)Two essential ingredients for inquiry: curiosity and a love of the truth for its own sake (14:26)As you get better at inquiry, you learn not to interfere with the experience, to have no end in mind (18:05)Although practiced in the present, inquiry does not deny the impact of the past—it's open to all time and space (21:35)Inquiring into the wound of worthlessness can bring up fear, then hurt—so we inquire into the fear (24:17)Everything is a question—nothing is left as ultimate truth (25:51)Deficient emptiness can turn into spaciousness (27:48)Roger's synopsis of the elements of inquiry that Hameed has discussed so far (30:18)If you stay with the wounding, something will emerge: a sense of inherent value (35:46)What does it mean that I am spiritual nature and what psychological constellation prevents us from knowing...

Ep. 142 (Part 2 of 2) | Award-winning author of The Web of Meaning and founder of the Deep Transformation Network, Jeremy Lent, relates how his discovery of systems thinking opened the door to a whole new way of making sense of the world and illumined his in depth exploration of what creates meaning. In looking into what forms concepts like God, soul, humanity, nature, and science, Jeremy came to understand the thinking that has led to the existential crisis we face now, then began to explore what it would take to break out of the worldview that has caused so much destruction on so many levels. Jeremy integrates systems thinking with concepts from evolutionary biology, neuroscience, ecology, and traditional and indigenous wisdom, forming a holistic view of science, where “maybe the distinction between science and spirituality isn't really valid.”Jeremy's heartfelt intention is to act as translator—to make it enjoyable for people to explore difficult concepts like consciousness and evolutionary biology they might otherwise steer away from—as well as be a catalyst for large-scale transformation. His vision of a potential future “ecological civilization” builds on the evolutionary success of life itself—ecosystems living in mutual symbiosis—and includes the idea of “islands of coherence” which would provide a bridge from a disintegrating society to a new and flourishing one. Systems thinking, like indigenous wisdom, recognizes the deep connectedness of all things, a realization, Jeremy points out, that leads to the knowing that nothing is inevitable and the choices we make matter. Jeremy leaves us with a sense of agency and of liberation, as well as a sense of responsibility to work together in the shaping of a life-affirming, sustainable future. Recorded June 20, 2024.“Based on a deep understanding of systems thinking, there is nothing inevitable about any of this.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Can flourishing-of-the-commons ideas be scaled beyond small, local ventures? (01:25)Polycentric self-organization: a large region in Syria has instituted a form of government called democratic confederalism (03:53)Where are the most strategic places to intervene? (08:45)Becoming a transformation catalyst—amplifying the entire system of people moving toward a life-affirming future (09:59)Neoliberalism is a great model for successfully transforming a culture's dominant ideas and creating fundamental change (13:13)Is there any hope of a rapid evolutionary leap to a more beautiful, more functional system? (17:18)Breaking through to the next level will require self-organizing and setting conditions for prosocial behavior on a global level (21:23)Understanding that the choices we make matter gives us a sense of agency, liberation, and responsibility (24:46)It's important to move away from attachment to outcome—just do the right thing to do (28:18)The necessary perspectival shifts will only occur in people at a post-conventional stage of development (30:51)Animate intelligence is an intuitive system that allows people to feel their heart (33:24)Creating a life-affirming future (37:14)Rupert Sheldrake's morphogenetic fields (39:05)From a systems perspective, these...

Ep. 141 (Part 1 of 2) | Award-winning author of The Web of Meaning and founder of the Deep Transformation Network, Jeremy Lent, relates how his discovery of systems thinking opened the door to a whole new way of making sense of the world and illumined his in depth exploration of what creates meaning. In looking into what forms concepts like God, soul, humanity, nature, and science, Jeremy came to understand the thinking that has led to the existential crisis we face now, then began to explore what it would take to break out of the worldview that has caused so much destruction on so many levels. Jeremy integrates systems thinking with concepts from evolutionary biology, neuroscience, ecology, and traditional and indigenous wisdom, forming a holistic view of science, where “maybe the distinction between science and spirituality isn't really valid.”Jeremy's heartfelt intention is to act as translator—to make it enjoyable for people to explore difficult concepts like consciousness and evolutionary biology they might otherwise steer away from—as well as be a catalyst for large-scale transformation. His vision of a potential future “ecological civilization” builds on the evolutionary success of life itself—ecosystems living in mutual symbiosis—and includes the idea of “islands of coherence” which would provide a bridge from a disintegrating society to a new and flourishing one. Systems thinking, like indigenous wisdom, recognizes the deep connectedness of all things, a realization, Jeremy points out, that leads to the knowing that nothing is inevitable and the choices we make matter. Jeremy leaves us with a sense of agency and of liberation, as well as a sense of responsibility to work together in the shaping of a life-affirming, sustainable future. Recorded June 20, 2024.“Every aspect of our world today is founded ultimately on the worldview of reductionism…If we were to design or co-create a civilization built on a sense of deep connectedness, it would look very different.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Jeremy Lent, award-winning author, integrator, founder of the Deep Transformation Network (01:15)What does meaning come from? Where do mainstream concepts like God, soul, humanity, and nature come from? (02:58)What's considered valid science turns out to be reductionism and Jeremy's subsequent discovery of systems science & complexity science (05:25)Jeremy's intention is to act as translator—make it a joy for people to explore concepts like consciousness and evolutionary biology (08:50)The concept of reductionism (09:36)Where reductionism goes wrong and why systems thinking is so important: studying the relationship between things (12:19)Richard Dawkins attributes everything to our genes, but the reality is far more complex (13:53)What the modern worldview of reductionism has done to our society (16:59) Jeremy's new book, Ecological Civilization, applies the principles of ecology that life itself evolved to every aspect of our civilization (18:43)The difference between the metacrisis and the polycrisis: is there something meta, above all the crises, that we need to be aware of? (20:44)The reductionist worldview creates a separatist world that allows for resource exploitation: capitalism is the economic...

Ep. 140 (Part 1 of 2) | Author, psychiatrist, professor, and Deep Transformation podcast co-host Roger Walsh was drawn to explore the remarkable world of shamanism—a tradition of opening to altered states, intuition, and profound insights and wisdom—when he found it was the one great world tradition he didn't understand. He was intrigued by Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade's description of the core feature of a shaman being “ecstatic flight,” and recognizing the lack of any easy to understand book on the subject, Roger was inspired to pursue this subject in depth and write the book himself! In his book and in this conversation, Roger provides us with a brilliant, big picture perspective, pointing out that at the heart of shamanism (and every great world tradition) are psychospiritual technologies—actual practices—that lead us to the doorway of the Great Mystery, and that service is the culmination of each tradition, both as a means to and an expression of one's realization.The dialogue is warm, open, and personal—Roger shares his experience of realizing the vastness of the inner world for the first time (“I felt like I'd lived my entire life on the top six inches of a wave on top of an ocean I didn't even know existed!”), his realization that “as a culture, we are sleepwalking through life, unaware of the resources, capacities and gifts we bear within us,” and his coming to terms with the Great Mystery. John, too, shares his experiences within the Native American spiritual tradition: the power of the vision quest, prayer, drumming in ceremony, death medicine, and enduring trials in service to one's people. Roger's wonderful curiosity, integrity, graciousness, and keen intellect are all in evidence as he discusses the indeterminacy of spirit, mediumship, journeying, and death, and as he marvels at the bottomless, boundless mystery that both surrounds us and is us. Recorded June 27, 2024.“Not only does the Great Mystery surround us, but we are Mystery—our own being is Mystery.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2The ethos of service at the heart of shamanism (00:55)Service is the culmination of shamanism—and every world tradition—both as a means to and an expression of one's realization (02:20)Opening to the Great Mystery: we really don't know what is going on (05:06)Castaneda's 4 challenges to becoming a person of knowledge, particularly the challenge of clarity (09:08)Transconceptual intuition and Ken Wilber's vision-logic (12:11)What about death? (16:21)Shamans were our first general practitioner, spiritual guide, tribal counselor, psychopomp, all rolled into one (18:04)How did humans discover this tradition? (20:04)What is a spirit? A construct of the psyche? An independent intelligence? (21:41)The powerful effects of mediumship throughout human history (24:07)The spiritual practice of journeying (27:55)Bottom line: shamans tap into the depths of the psyche and take us to the doorway of Mystery, leaving us there with remarkable potentials and possibilities (29:49)Resources & References – Part 2Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers, The Power of...

Ep. 139 (Part 1 of 2) | Author, psychiatrist, professor, and Deep Transformation podcast co-host Roger Walsh was drawn to explore the remarkable world of shamanism—a tradition of opening to altered states, intuition, and profound insights and wisdom—when he found it was the one great world tradition he didn't understand. He was intrigued by Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade's description of the core feature of a shaman being “ecstatic flight,” and recognizing the lack of any easy to understand book on the subject, Roger was inspired to pursue this subject in depth and write the book himself! In his book and in this conversation, Roger provides us with a brilliant, big picture perspective, pointing out that at the heart of shamanism (and every great world tradition) are psychospiritual technologies—actual practices—that lead us to the doorway of the Great Mystery, and that service is the culmination of each tradition, both as a means to and an expression of one's realization.The dialogue is warm, open, and personal—Roger shares his experience of realizing the vastness of the inner world for the first time (“I felt like I'd lived my entire life on the top six inches of a wave on top of an ocean I didn't even know existed!”), his realization that “as a culture, we are sleepwalking through life, unaware of the resources, capacities and gifts we bear within us,” and his coming to terms with the Great Mystery. John, too, shares his experiences within the Native American spiritual tradition: the power of the vision quest, prayer, drumming in ceremony, death medicine, and enduring trials in service to one's people. Roger's wonderful curiosity, integrity, graciousness, and keen intellect are all in evidence as he discusses the indeterminacy of spirit, mediumship, journeying, and death, and as he marvels at the bottomless, boundless mystery that both surrounds us and is us. Recorded June 27, 2024.“Shamans were our first general practitioner, spiritual guide, tribal counselor, psychopomp—all rolled into one.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Deep Transformation podcast co-host Roger Walsh, professor, psychiatrist, and author of The World of Shamanism and Essential Spirituality, among others (01:18)Roger's book, The World of Shamanism—on the oldest spiritual tradition we know of, found all around the world (04:09)How was Roger drawn to write about shamanism? (06:36)Realizing at the heart of the world's great religious traditions are psychospiritual technologies—actual practices—to induce the same states of consciousness the founders had discovered (09:31)Shamanism was the one tradition Roger couldn't understand—after waiting for a good book on it to come out, Roger decided to write it himself (10:46) John's experiences with Durwin White Lightning and Wallace Black Elk of the Lakota tribe, and the shamanic effects of connecting with nature (13:35)Roger's investigation of shamanism included intensive training with Michael Harner, gnostic intermediary who introduced shamanism to the western world (18:38)Through direct experience and a lot of study, including the integral framework of Ken Wilber, Roger brings a big picture perspective to shamanism (22:54)Native American spirituality, death medicine, and the transformative power of the sweat lodge (23:39)The power of...

Ep. 138 (Dialogue 1, Part 2 of 2) | In this rich and engaging conversation, the first episode of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives us a beautiful overview of the Diamond Approach, which is a brilliant integration of teachings and a path of awakening born out of his own direct experience and informed by his deep understanding of the world's great spiritual traditions and modern psychology. Here, Hameed details the many facets of the Diamond Approach that make it unique among spiritual paths, which leads down several intriguing avenues of exploration: What is the Diamond Approach's understanding of the soul? How does spiritual guidance work? What are the four turnings that give context and structure to students on this spiritual path? Hameed delves, too, into the importance of inquiry on our road to discovering our true nature, love's role in allowing us to trust reality, and the importance of realizing that the ultimate lives within each individual.Hameed also shares personal aspects of his journey: how he was guided from the precise field of physics to the field of psychology, how he came to the revelation of the human soul, and what he attributes to why he has been so receptive to spiritual openings and realizations throughout his life. The Diamond Approach is not only about discovering the nature of absolute reality—it is also about realizing ultimate consciousness in ordinary life, to experience the beauty and richness of a life lived in simple freedom and enjoyment. As Hameed says, “Know, by engaging the path, it is possible to be free.” Recorded June 13, 2024.“To get into the spiritual universe and find the richness, the beauty, and the freedom, you need to go deep – you need to go vertical not horizontal.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2What has allowed Hameed to be so unusually receptive to spiritual realizations and teachings? (00:51)How Hameed was guided from physics to psychology (03:13)How psychology got integrated into the Diamond Approach (07:36)Unique to the Diamond Approach is Hameed doesn't throw away any of what he has experienced, even as things continue to change (08:47)The four turnings are a way of organizing the teaching for students, giving context and framework (10:38)Applying knowledge of the spiritual deep to physics (11:45)Inquiry: the process of dissolving obstacles and discovering reality (15:16)The first of the four turnings: experiencing realizations as a free and timeless individual—ordinary spirituality (18:25)The second turning is nondual: one is the vastness, the ocean of awareness (20:09)The third turning: the realization of nonlocality, the whole universe is in a grain of sand and I am the grain of sand (21:26)The fourth turning includes many realizations—one of which is the realization of “nobody here” (22:30)The fifth turning begins with indeterminacy (24:01)The turnings came to Hameed as a sequence, but there is no limit to potential awakenings (25:18)This path is not for everybody and the importance of validating each spiritual path (27:18)Inquiry is a skill of consciousness (29:35)For true realization you need to...

Ep. 137 (Dialogue 1, Part 1 of 2) | In this rich and engaging conversation, the first episode of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives us a beautiful overview of the Diamond Approach, which is a brilliant integration of teachings and a path of awakening born out of his own direct experience and informed by his deep understanding of the world's great spiritual traditions and modern psychology. Here, Hameed details the many facets of the Diamond Approach that make it unique among spiritual paths, which leads down several intriguing avenues of exploration: What is the Diamond Approach's understanding of the soul? How does spiritual guidance work? What are the four turnings that give context and structure to students on this spiritual path? Hameed delves, too, into the importance of inquiry on our road to discovering our true nature, love's role in allowing us to trust reality, and the importance of realizing that the ultimate lives within each individual.Hameed also shares personal aspects of his journey: how he was guided from the precise field of physics to the field of psychology, how he came to the revelation of the human soul, and what he attributes to why he has been so receptive to spiritual openings and realizations throughout his life. The Diamond Approach is not only about discovering the nature of absolute reality—it is also about realizing ultimate consciousness in ordinary life, to experience the beauty and richness of a life lived in simple freedom and enjoyment. As Hameed says, “Know, by engaging the path, it is possible to be free.” Recorded June 13, 2024.“Regardless of how transcendent or vast, nondual or whatever, is the ultimate nature, the important thing is how it lives as an individual human being living an ordinary human life and enjoying this life the way it can be enjoyed—to the fullest of its possibilities.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, exploring the complete path of awakening developed by Hameed Ali—the Diamond Approach (01:06)John speaks to how this podcast series is based on Hameed's life's work, summarized in his transformative book The Inner Journey Home (04:46)The Inner Journey Home: a brilliant integration of teachings as well as a first person account of divine grace (07:34)What is the Diamond Approach and why is it unique? (09:34)The inner body is the lens that, as it turns, sees reality in a different way and reveals different teachings (12:13)The Diamond Approach recognizes the validity of many different spiritual traditions and that there are multiple possible realizations (15:00)After a Nyingma empowerment workshop, Hameed realized a different universe than the Dzogchen universe (16:28)How does spiritual guidance work? It guides the consciousness in how to be open to the next revelation (17:25)A universal commonality the Diamond Approach has with all spiritual teachings is that there is a true spiritual nature to all being, all life (18:44)The Diamond Approach emphasizes that this life has its own value (21:37)The individual is not an illusion—the human soul is an expression of fundamental reality manifesting as individual consciousness...

Ep. 136 (Part 2 of 2) | Criminal justice professor and constitutional law expert Mark Fischler does a brilliant job of deepening our understanding of the challenges facing our democracy, our legal system, and our public morality. How did the democratic process and the values it represents—equality and liberty for all—come to be teetering on the brink? Mark illuminates the fact that the Constitution is not a set-in-stone document, but eminently open to interpretation, and explains that its interpretation is a direct reflection of the worldviews of the Supreme Court justices. In fact, the whole process of democracy needs to be aligned with a certain level of development in order to deliver. Mark points out that democracy hasn't served all of us, and urges us to explore who and in what ways it has failed, that we may work to correct its flaws and continue to uphold and expand the values foundational to democracy to include respecting and protecting the rights of all beings.Mark contrasts the moral integrity of revered public figures such as Socrates and Dr. King, who honored the rule of law despite that it went against their own self interest, with the disregard for the law so prevalent among political figures today, and points out that democracy can be subverted not only by malicious intent, but also by misplaced idealism—when people feel that supporting a charismatic leader or ideology is more important than supporting the principles of democracy. With regard to the Trump trials, the question arises, is any human above the law? Mark also shares where he finds hope—in his own university students with their openness to a deeper ethical understanding and responsibility and willingness to undertake civic action. Mark urges all of us who care about democracy to become engaged now. His wise, integral, highly informed insights about the current state of the legal system and of democracy, here and around the world, are revelatory, alarming, and inspiring in turn. Recorded May 22, 2024.“It's time for us to take absolute responsibility for our democracy: if you have a democracy, you need to be engaged and involved.“(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Democracy only functions properly when there is a foundational rule of law, and the moral integrity of Socrates (01:08)Trumpian politics/political chicanery vs conservative or progressive politics (05:25)Roe vs. Wade and how we have lost the ability to have a sincere conversation about postnatal care (08:19)We are suffering as a people from our inability to enter into a dialectic (09:23)We are not the only democracy at risk: the rise of authoritarianism, populism & demagoguery around the world (12:28)Is there any precedent for a president to be immune from prosecution? (13:27)What is an “official act”? January 6th and interpreting if an act is official or criminal (16:41)Back to democracy at risk: what are democratic values about? (22:19)How is democracy subverted? (23:54) Misplaced idealism can undermine democracy and subvert the rule of law (27:23)Educated citizenry and moving through levels of development to where we recognize the equal dignity of everyone (29:55)With the internet, there are no consistent, shared news sources, no awareness of civic responsibility...

Ep. 135 (Part 1 of 2) | Criminal justice professor and constitutional law expert Mark Fischler does a brilliant job of deepening our understanding of the challenges facing our democracy, our legal system, and our public morality. How did the democratic process and the values it represents—equality and liberty for all—come to be teetering on the brink? Mark illuminates the fact that the Constitution is not a set-in-stone document, but eminently open to interpretation, and explains that its interpretation is a direct reflection of the worldviews of the Supreme Court justices. In fact, the whole process of democracy needs to be aligned with a certain level of development in order to deliver. Mark points out that democracy hasn't served all of us, and urges us to explore who and in what ways it has failed, that we may work to correct its flaws and continue to uphold and expand the values foundational to democracy to include respecting and protecting the rights of all beings.Mark contrasts the moral integrity of revered public figures such as Socrates and Dr. King, who honored the rule of law despite that it went against their own self interest, with the disregard for the law so prevalent among political figures today, and points out that democracy can be subverted not only by malicious intent, but also by misplaced idealism—when people feel that supporting a charismatic leader or ideology is more important than supporting the principles of democracy. With regard to the Trump trials, the question arises, is any human above the law? Mark also shares where he finds hope—in his own university students with their openness to a deeper ethical understanding and responsibility and willingness to undertake civic action. Mark urges all of us who care about democracy to become engaged now. His wise, integral, highly informed insights about the current state of the legal system and of democracy, here and around the world, are revelatory, alarming, and inspiring in turn. Recorded May 22, 2024.“Democracy really only functions properly when there is a foundational rule of law.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing criminal justice professor and integral expert on constitutional law, Mark Fischler (01:32)The hush money trial: you can't disengage the politics (03:46)Is any human being above the rule of law? (06:16)It was ethical Republicans that got Nixon to resign; now a cult-like status exists in the party (07:36)How people like Supreme Court Justice Alito's wife and Justice Thomas' wife have bought into the Stop the Steal idea, supporting the idea that the 2020 election was false (10:15)Impeachment is the most direct form of accountability in the Supreme Court (12:50)Understanding the nature of the current Supreme Court and how the Constitution gets interpreted according to the justices' worldviews (14:12)The Citizens United case where the Supreme Court ruled to give corporations the right to freedom of speech (17:31)The current Supreme Court is hostile to the Union movement, to regulation around land use, to green, pluralistic values—it's all about protecting individual rights (20:13)The Constitution is not the solid document we might think, but is very open to interpretation (23:35)The Federalist Society and the rise of originalism (24:35)The beginning of culture wars in the Supreme Court and how Supreme Court nominee Robert Borg applied originalism to abortion (29:33)Selective interpretation of the Constitution and originalist interpretations of the 2nd and 8th Amendments...

Ep. 134 (Part 2 of 2) | Author, podcaster, farmer, and poet, Brendan Graham Dempsey, brings passion, dedication, clarity, and outstanding scholarship to the fascinating and enormously important study of cultural evolution, which operates on both a personal level and a collective one. He illuminates how, when, and why we shift from one cultural worldview to the next, using his own life's journey through the cultural stages as a map and paints colorful portraits of the outstanding characteristics of each stage: traditional/premodern, modern, postmodern, and metamodern. Brendan enlightens us as to the tumultuous and often lonely and despairing time that occurs when our prior stage has been deconstructed and we find ourselves between worldviews in a liminal space where sensemaking fails. As he puts it, we live in certain worlds to help us navigate reality. But then things change, and we bump up against the limits of things. Now the time has come to update our sense of the world; we are invited to expand and grow.We come to understand why it is necessary for cultures to evolve—to accommodate ever increasing complexity—and why culture wars and confusion result from misunderstanding a worldview that infiltrates your psyche before it's ready. Brendan explains why postmodernism does not serve us now, introducing and inviting us to the new, emerging worldview of metamodernism, where there is hope in positivity, affirmation, and aspirational idealism. Hope, and the promise of coming together in a new understanding among peoples, a prerequisite for dealing with the challenges of the global crises that affect us all. Brendan brings a big heart, keen mind, and a lot of verve to these complex subjects, which come alive under his brilliant tutelage. As he points out, deconstructing the psyche can help save the world, adding, this is a lot of what the metamodern community is trying to get the word out about. Recorded May 1, 2024.“Metamodernism is a worldview of worldviews, a cultural logic of cultural logics, trying to expand beyond the frame we have been working in…to a framework where we can relate to each other in deeper ways, and find deeper modes of understanding, compassion, and empathy with one another.“(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2How do the Civil Rights movement and other awareness expanding movements fit into cultural evolution? (00:57)Postmodernism in academia (06:21)Postmodern art, films, punk, grunge—a response to how superficial the suburban world has become (07:30)To move out of the cynical and skeptical, your critique can't be all cynical too—you've got to start affirming things (08:22)Thus metamodernism: a turn to sincerity, earnestness, moving through irony (10:54)How metamodernism shows up in the arts—like with many worldviews, the artist often shows up as forerunner of the shift in stages (14:28)Metamodernism is a move towards hope, values, aspirational idealism—from negativity to positivity (16:23)Postmodern academia profoundly needs a paradigm shift because all categories of knowledge have been deconstructed (19:52)Culture wars and the confusion that results from misunderstanding a worldview that infiltrates your psyche before it's ready to assimilate it (23:32)Metamodernism offers tools to help bring clarity...