The Mystical Positivist

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Bob Noha, co-editor of and contributor to Aikido – The Art of Transformation: The Life & Teachings of Robert Nadeau, published recently by Park Street Press, a division of Inner Traditions. A widely influential figure in the development of Aikido in America, Robert Nadeau is known as one of the few American direct disciples of Aikido's founder Morihei Ueshiba O-sensei. Now an 8th dan Aikido master teacher, Nadeau has taught generations of students, and several have become prominent teachers in their own right. However, he has never written about his life or philosophy, always reserving his most pointed lessons for those who practice with him in person. This book tells the story of Robert Nadeau's life journey and his distinctive approach to teaching Aikido as a way to access the inner energetic aspects of the art, a transformational approach with universal applications in daily life, even for non-Aikidoists. The authors explore Nadeau's early interest in martial arts and all things spiritual as a teenager in California in the 1950s, his seminal training under Morihei Ueshiba at Aikido Hombu Dojo in Tokyo in the 1960s, and the following six decades of training, experimenting, refining, and teaching as he worked to introduce Aikido to the wider world, even beyond the traditional dojo. They lay out Nadeau's core concepts, describe his simple-but-effective practices for personal development, and convey his time-tested approach to the inner training at the heart of Aikido in a very accessible way. They also include first-person accounts from Nadeau's students, including Dan Millman, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Peter Ralston, and Renée Gregorio, who recall their personal experiences of training with him, retell conversations with him, and describe insights and lessons learned, sharing how he affected their lives, sometimes quite profoundly. Bob Noha, 6th Dan, began practicing Aikido in 1966 in Mountain View and shortly thereafter began training with Robert Nadeau Sensei, which started a lifelong friendship. Bob opened the first Aikido school in the Washington, DC, area in 1970 and taught arrest/restraint tactics to US Military Police at Andrews Air Force Base in 1974. Then, in 1975, he established the first Aikido school in Buffalo, New York. He founded Aikido of Petaluma in 1983 and continues to serve as its chief instructor. Bob traveled to Japan to further deepen his Aikido training in 1998, 1999, and 2006. In addition, he is also a devoted student and teacher of t'ai chi and has a background in several other martial arts. More information about Robert Nadeau and Bob Noha's work can be found at:   Robert Nadeau on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org,   Aikido of Petaluma website: www.aikidopetaluma.com,   Aikido – The Art of Transformation website: www.nadeaushihan.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Lama Lhanang Rinpoche and Mordy Levine, authors of The Beginner's Guide to Karma – How to Live with Less Negativity & More Peace, published recently by New World Library. Twenty-six centuries ago, the Buddha fleshed out the universal law of the spiritual realm: karma. The law of karma holds that our actions, our words, and even our thoughts inevitably produce effects that return to us in some form — in this lifetime or a future one. Today, most Westerners have a passing familiarity with the concept of karma, which amounts to “what goes around comes around.” This is true as far as it goes, but it merely scratches the surface of a complex and fascinating topic. In The Beginner's Guide to Karma, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche and Mordy Levine encourage readers to forget what they've heard about karma and look at the subject afresh. Delving into Buddhist scripture and tradition, the authors give a comprehensive outline of karma that incorporates psychology, ethics, and metaphysics. Using everyday language and real-life examples, they clear away myths, illustrate how karma works in daily life, and offer daily practices to build positive karma. The Beginner's Guide to Karma neatly sums up the Buddhist worldview and makes a compelling case for Buddhism as a way of life that nurtures compassion, joy, and inner peace in an uncertain world. Born in the Amdo region of historic Tibet, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche received a traditional monastic education and later studied under several respected Tibetan lamas. Today, he teaches Vajrayana Buddhism at the Jigme Lingpa Center in San Diego, California, where he lives with his wife and child. Mordy Levine is an entrepreneur, a meditation teacher, and the president of the Jigme Lingpa Center. He also created the Meditation Pro Series, a meditation program designed to alleviate chronic health issues. He lives in Rancho Santa Fe, California, with his wife, Elizabeth. More information about Lama Lhanang Rinpoche and Mordy Levine's work can be found at:   Jigme Lingpa Center website: www.buddhistsandiego.com,   Institute for Balance and Movement website: www.mordylevine.com,   The Beginners Guide to Karma at New World Library: newworldlibrary.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Roger Jackson, author of Saraha – Poet of Blissful Awareness, published this year by Shambhala as part of its Lives of the Masters series. Saraha, “the Archer,” was a mysterious but influential tenth-century Indian Buddhist tantric adept who expressed his spiritual realization in mystic songs (dohas) that are enlightening, shocking, and confounding by turns. Saraha's poetic verses served as a basis for the exposition, in Tibet, of mahamudra, the great-seal meditation on the nature of mind that permeates every tradition of Buddhism on the Tibetan plateau. This is the first book to attempt a thorough treatment of the context, life, works, poetics, and teachings of Saraha. Roger Jackson is Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and Religion at Carleton College. He has nearly 50 years of experience with the study and practice of Buddhism, particularly in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. His special interests include Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and ritual; Buddhist religious poetry; religion and society in Sri Lanka; the study of mysticism; and contemporary Buddhist thought. Roger is a highly respected and beloved scholar, Dharma teacher, and writer. He has authored many scholarly books and articles, and is a frequent contributor to Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma, and Tricycle magazines. More information about Roger Jackson's work can be found at:   Saraha at Shambhala Publications: www.shambhala.com,   Roger Jackson at Lion's Roar: www.lionsroar.com,   Roger Jackson at Tricycle: tricycle.org,   Roger Jackson at Carleton College: apps.carleton.edu,   Roger Jackson on The Mystical Positivist #398: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com,   Roger Jackson on The Mystical Positivist #348: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on The Mystical Positivist, hosts Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt feature two episodes from the Western Baul Podcast Series recorded earlier this year. In the first hour we present the talk, Cultivating Transparency: Realizing the Emptiness of the Stories You Tell Yourself, and in the second hour we present the talk, Languaging Nonduality. The podcast descriptions are as follows: Cultivating Transparency: Realizing the Emptiness of the Stories You Tell Yourself We could say that all we know about ourselves cognitively are stories we tell ourselves. These are not necessarily obvious to us because they play so constantly. We respond to the universe through the stories that filter our experience. How do we work with this since we can't think ourselves out of this box? Transparency hints at a different way of relating to stories. Many stories we identify with are cultural views. Stories in and of themselves are not a problem; they are a feature of what it is to be human. It's when we hold onto stories that they capture our energy and attention so we don't come back to the present and to the next event gifted to us by the universe. Transparency involves listening, seeing, generosity of spirit to others and ourselves, without reactivity to a story. This is not trivial work and a tool we have is self-observation, which is an energetic and not an analytical act. One feature of mature practice is relaxation of the tense form of attention we compulsively hold. This can allow for humor and for different kinds of spaces or chambers to be created. Belief is an emotional relationship with a lie. When a story turns into a belief, we can't put it down. Resistance manifests differently in the three centers that are discussed in the Gurdjieff work. It is a rich vein to mine to reclaim energy of attention we've invested in story. Conscious suffering is the willingness to be present with resistance. Practice can be seen as an offering rather than as a story with an agenda to wake up. Creativity is an end in itself, the universe doing what it most wants to do. When not bound by our stories, we can accept the universe's invitations to engage in higher work.is a Western spiritual tradition founded by George Gurdjieff, a mystic of Greek and Armenian origin who taught in Russia, Europe, and America and died in 1949. The system he developed out of his own spiritual search, which is shrouded in mystery, is completely unique and geared toward working with a modern mindset of “waking sleep” in the West. The Fourth Way Tradition has been considered by some to be humorless and dogmatically committed to a rigid system of practices and ideas, but this ignores Gurdjieff's own flexibility ranging from playfulness to penetrating compassion. Today's speakers are dharma heirs of Tayu Meditation Center's founder Robert Daniel Ennis, whose teachings were anchored in the Fourth Way but ranged widely beyond that source material.  Languaging Nonduality Grounded practice gives us direct experience of the pervasiveness of the mechanical, identified mind. Before we have direct experience of something, linguistic representations are ineffective at transmitting what it is. There is a distinction between results and practice. A teaching can be the result of practice, such as loving our neighbor, but we may consider it as a practice that we are unable to embody without having cultivated the necessary quality of being. Seeing the world as non-dual is a result, not a practice. When nonduality is taken as an intellectual proposition, mind pastes over experience and co-opts the spiritual process, which is not realization. There are poets like Ursula Le Guin who use language to “point at the moon” or the sacred. There has to be some work with mind for the intuition and depth of nonduality to take root and inform all aspects of our lives. We may not be in a new paradigm of spiritual practice, but we are in a new paradigm of access to information and teachings. Nonduality is one way among others to talk about reality. Different spiritual approaches work for different people. For many, something has to be dislodged from its static position around the heart. There's truth to being non-dual and to being dual, which is paradoxical and indicative of a greater mystery. We can be grateful for language that brings our attention to something bigger than the small self. It's not words but the carrier wave, where someone is coming from, that transmits what words point to. It's helpful to hang out with people who share spiritual intention. Everyone doesn't need to be involved in formal spiritual practice; lives are equally valid. The Western Baul Podcast Series features talks by practitioners of the Western Baul path. Topics are intended to offer something of educational, inspirational, and practical value to anyone drawn to the spiritual path. For Western Bauls, practice is not a matter of philosophy but is expressed in everyday affairs, service to others, and music and song. There is the recognition that all spiritual traditions have examples of those who have realized that there is no separate self to substantiate—though one will always exist in form—and that “There is only God” or oneness with creation. Western Bauls, as named by Lee Lozowick (1943-2010), an American spiritual Master who taught in the US, Europe, and India and who was known for his radical dharma, humor, and integrity, are kin to the Bauls of Bengal, India, with whom he shared an essential resonance and friendship. Lee's spiritual lineage includes Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Swami Papa Ramdas. Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick are the spiritual directors of Tayu Meditation Center. Rob has made contributions to the practice of anthropological archaeology and currently runs Tayu's spiritual bookstore in Sebastopol, California, Many Rivers Books & Tea. Stuart is an engineer in a Fortune 500 company and plays the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) as a spiritual practice. More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at: Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com, Western Baul Podcast Website: westernbaul.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a prerecorded conversation with OM C. Parkin on the challenges and paradoxes around languaging Non-Duality and how to tune into the silence between the words when engaging with a sacred text. OM C. Parkin is a renowned European wisdom teacher and the founder of the mystery school, Enneallionce, and Gut Saunstorf, a modern monastery. His books also include Intelligence of Awakening - Navigating the Wisdom Path, The Birth of the Lion, and The Digital Age - A Critical View from a Wisdom Perspective. OM embodies in his work the link between Eastern non-duality and Christian mysticism, of depth psychology and philosophy, beyond the limits of religions and confessions. He often references the tradition of Advaita Vedanta, which has been revived in the 20th century by Shri Ramana Maharshi, Shri H.W.L. Poonja, the American Gangaji, and others. OM acts in the tradition of these teachers and by being rooted in early Christian teaching. His work in the tradition of silence can be described by three functions: teacher (of wisdom), healer (of the soul), seer (of the heart). He has been supporting people to find their true nature for more than 30 years and founded the modern Satsang movement in Europe. More information about OM C. Parkin's work can be found at: OM C. Parkin website: www.om-c-parkin.com, Gut Saunstorf website: www.kloster-saunstorf.de, OM C. Parkin at Gateways Books & Tapes: www.gatewaysbooksandtapes.com, OM C. Parkin previously on The Mystical Positivist on 27JAN24: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com, OM C. Parkin previously on The Mystical Positivist on 24SEP22: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author the recently released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In today's conversation, we discuss Ken's recent English translation of The Diamond Sutra from the Tibetan and his development of a new commentary. The Diamond Sutra is one of the most influential early Mahayana sutras that has been central to a number of Buddhist traditions such as Chan and Zen. It describes a way of being and acting that is not mediated by the conceptual mind. Ken's approach to his translation and his upcoming commentary is less about understanding the meaning of The Diamond Sutra and more about how to engage with the text so that its magic can infuse and inform the Being of the practitioner. One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches. In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life. Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Moss Campion aka Peter Cohen, author the newly released book, Blindspot: Through the Wormhole of Science and Religion. Blindspot exposes the unseen distinctions that exist among the ways that people seek the Big Answers to the questions posed by life, the universe, and everything. When most people speak about God or Truth or the Divine, Campion asserts, they aren't actually talking about anything divine or godly at all – whether they are believers, unbelievers or undecided. Whatever their posture toward these matters, they betray an almost universal “unseeingness” about what the entire spiritual enterprise is actually about – its rules, codes, even its final aim. They are blind to what the great sages of the world's religious and philosophical traditions have pointed to forever – which also happen to converge with the discoveries of contemporary science as it grapples with the nature of consciousness. At its core, this book is about the blind spot that prevents us from knowing who we are. In revealing this obliviousness, the author dives into the perspective that is commonly known as “nonduality,” the principle that lies at the core of all world Wisdom traditions, including the scientific ones. The reasons for what Campion has dubbed “Blindspot” may be understandable, yet as he shows in brilliant, and often humorous detail, its costs to the individual, to humanity in general, to the planet as a whole, are high, indeed. In a word, confusion. In another word, suffering. Moss Campion is a qualified commentator, having immersed himself in the mystery of consciousness all his life, both in the context of his personal circumstances and also in his work with patients in the hospital setting. Along the way he studied with many esteemed teachers and guides, in both the animal and plant kingdoms. While growing up on the mist-shrouded coast of Maine, Moss Campion would eagerly await the arrival of Halloween all year long, already demonstrating a strong interest in the mystical side of life. Even as he later worked in fields as varied as music, skiing, nursing, and journalism, he continued his involvement with spiritual teachings, studying with a number of esteemed teachers and mentors. He holds a masters degree in journalism and has collected numerous credits in specialized magazines. His biography of the Bavarian sage Lothar Weichert was published in Germany. Along the way he received awards and fellowships from University of Michigan, University of Colorado, and the Ucross Foundation. More information about Moss Campion's work can be found at:  Moss Campion's website: mosscampion.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In today's conversation, we unpack a compelling quote from Ian McGilchrist's book, The Matter with Things: If you had set out to destroy the happiness and stability of a people, it would have been hard to improve on our current formula: remove yourself as far as possible from the natural world; repudiate the continuity of your culture; believe you are wise enough to do whatever you happen to want and not only get away with it, but have a right to it—and a right to silence those who disagree; minimise the role played by a common body of belief; actively attack and dismantle every social structure as a potential source of oppression; reject the idea of a transcendent set of values. One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches. In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life. Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Sessei Meg Levie, head priest of Stone Creek Zen Center in Graton, CA. She assumed this role in April 2022, succeeding Dojin Emerson and Korin Pokorny, who had served in the role since 2014. Sessei serves with Founding Teacher Jisho Warner to offer the Dharma through talks, classes, individual practice discussion and other programs. Among the topics we address are what draws people to Zen practice, the role of ritual in practice, the importance of nature practices in the current situation, and the impact of emerging AI technology and Buddhist practice. Sessei Meg Levie, Head Priest, lived and trained at the San Francisco Zen Center and also has had a career teaching mindfulness and emotional intelligence in Silicon Valley and beyond. She received ordination as a Zen priest in 2003 from Tenshin Reb Anderson and held the position of shuso (head student) in 2007. She has studied Buddhism in Thailand and Japan, and for several years served as the teacher for the Bolinas branch of the Mountain Source Sangha. Since 2008 Meg has taught mindfulness and emotional intelligence in business, primarily through the Search Inside Yourself program created at Google. She holds an AB in English Literature from Stanford University and an MA from the University of Texas at Austin. More information about Sessei Meg Levie's work can be found at: Stone Creek Zen Center Website: stonecreekzencenter.org, Sessei Meg Levie at the SF Zen Center: www.youtube.com.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with John Friedlander, author of Recentering SETH: Teachings from a Multidimensional Entity on Living Gracefully and Skillfully in a World You Create But Do Not Control. The Seth books, channeled by the late Jane Roberts in the 1970s, galvanized a whole generation of spiritual explorers. The entity known as Seth turned familiar mystical concepts into a radically new framework and introduced a unique understanding of how we create our own reality with our conscious beliefs. After nearly five decades exploring Seth's ideas, John Friedlander has reframed the groundbreaking Seth teachings, recentering them in the awareness that all consciousness expands in all directions. He synthesizes Sethian teachings with an eclectic variety of concepts and influences, from aura reading, healing, and interpersonal engagement to Buddhism and reincarnation to conscious dying and nondual awareness. He reveals how you do create your own reality, but that no one controls reality, which is spontaneous and surprisingly creative. John Friedlander holds degrees from Duke University and Harvard Law School. He began a formal meditation practice in 1970 and was introduced to Seth's books in 1972. A Member of Jane Robert's original Seth classes in Elmira in 1974, he also studied psychic meditation and aura reading with Lewis Bostwick beginning in 1973. The coauthor of 3 other books, The Practical Psychic, Psychic Development, and Psychic Psychology, he lives in Saline, Michigan. More information about John Friedlander's work can be found at: John Friedlander's Website: psychicpsychology.org.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Rawn Clark, author of A Bardon Companion: A Practical Companion for the Student of Franz Bardon's System of Hermetic Initiation. The Franz Bardon series of books on Magical Arts, Initiation into Hermetics (IIH), The Practice of Magical Evocation (PME), and The Key to the True Qabalah (KTQ), are considered by many as the most lucid and actionable written material on Hermetic practice. Initiation into Hermetics consists of a short introduction on theory and ten detailed lessons on practice covering work on the Mental, Astral, and Physical bodies. These lessons progress from very basic mental concentration and thought control practices through to advanced exploration of elemental and planetary realms and the merging with Unity. In A Bardon Companion, Rawn Clark combines two versions of his commentaries for each of the ten steps in IIH, additional commentaries on PME and KTQ, as well as years of correspondence with students of the Bardon system. It is an essential guide for anyone interested in exploring the Bardon system of Hermetics. Rawn Clark is a writer and video producer who dedicates his work to magical practice in general and providing support material for practitioners of the Bardon system. He began pursuing Bardon's system of Hermetic Initiation in the early 1980s at the age of 25. Years later he became involved in online blogging and discussion groups surrounding the Bardon work. He has emerged as one of the leading mentors for this system. His writings are clear, practical, and leavened with a gentle touch and humor. His work dispels many of the misconceptions associated with esoteric practice and makes the Bardon system available to anyone willing to put in the necessary consistent effort. More information about Rawn Clark's work can be found at: Rawn Clark's YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com, A Bardon Companion on Amazon: www.amazon.com, Franz Bardon on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Terje Tonne, author of the newly published book, Rodney Collin: a man who wished to do something with his life, from Karnak Press. Rodney Collin, a key figure in the history of esoteric thought and the Fourth Way tradition, is best known for his seminal works, The Theory of Celestial Influence, and The Theory of Eternal Life. This ground-breaking biography provides a wealth of information including Collin's close relationship to Peter Ouspensky and a detailed account of the events leading up to Ouspensky's death. The book goes on to describe the years that followed for Collin, his group activities in Mexico, his search for historical traces of The Work, and his mysterious death in Cusco, Peru, at the young age of 47. Terje Tonne came into contact with Gurdjieff's ideas in the early 1970s. Together with his wife, he has led a group in Oslo for 35 years. He has had a long and close relationship with professor Merideth Thring, George Cornelius, and Joyce Collin-Smith. He is the author of The Gurdjieff Puzzle Now (2001 - Gateways Books) and Werr sich verliert, derfindet sich (Random House, GmbH). Tonne is a retired conservator with expertise in fire damaged paintings. More information about Terje Tonne's work can be found at: Terje Tonne in The Gurdjieff International Review: www.gurdjieff.org, Terje Tonne at Karnak Press: tofathomthegist.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a recording of a live video stream with OM C. Parkin kicking off his new online series, Meeting with Teachers – Navigating the Wisdom Path. In this first installment, the Mystical Positivist hosts converse with OM about his book, The Birth of the Lion, as well as many profound aspects of his teachings on inner stillness. OM C. Parkin is a renowned European wisdom teacher and the founder of the mystery school, Enneallionce, and Gut Saunstorf, a modern monastery. His books also include Intelligence of Awakening - Navigating the Wisdom Path, The Birth of the Lion, and The Digital Age - A Critical View from a Wisdom Perspective. OM embodies in his work the link between Eastern non-duality and Christian mysticism, of depth psychology and philosophy, beyond the limits of religions and confessions. He often references the tradition of Advaita Vedanta, which has been revived in the 20th century by Shri Ramana Maharshi, Shri H.W.L. Poonja, the American Gangaji, and others. OM acts in the tradition of these teachers and by being rooted in early Christian teaching. His work in the tradition of silence can be described by three functions: teacher (of wisdom), healer (of the soul), seer (of the heart). He has been supporting people to find their true nature for more than 30 years and founded the modern Satsang movement in Europe. More information about OM C. Parkin's work can be found at: Meeting with Teachers YouTube Feed: www.youtube.com, OM C. Parkin website: www.om-c-parkin.com, OM C. Parkin at Gateways Books & Tapes: www.gatewaysbooksandtapes.com, OM C. Parkin previously on The Mystical Positivist: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Theresa Dintino, co-author of the newly published ebook, The Oscan Oracle: from the Ancient Janarra of the Moon. In this wide ranging and remarkable conversation, we discuss her latest book, the nature of lineage, Dagara Stick Divination as a way to connect people to their true lineages, cultural appropriation and ways to hold and practice an indigenous tradition, and the ethics of divination and interaction with non-corporeal beings. Theresa Dintino is the author of nine books and serves as a guide and spiritual mentor to many. While attempting to reclaim and restore her ancestral medicine lineage, the Italian Strega tradition, Dintino was surprised to be “claimed” by the West African Dagara tradition of stick divination. Honored by this invitation, Dintino pursued it, and in 2011 was initiated into this potent form of divination. Besides her family and daughter, this turned out to be the greatest gift of her life. Stick divination helped Dintino find her way back to her own lineage and enables her to help others find and restore theirs. This beautiful practice of Dagara stick divination continues to offer countless gifts. In multiple divination sessions, Dintino was taught about the spiritual membranes that protect, nurture, and inform lifesystems. More information about Theresa Dintino's work can be found at: Strega Tree Divination website: stregatree.com, The Ritual Goddess website: ritualgoddess.com, Nasty Women Writers website: www.nastywomenwriters.com.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Robin Bloor about his latest book, Gurdjieff & Kundabuffer – Food for the Moon. Bloor writes: “The idea that mankind is ‘food for the moon' seems, when you first encounter the idea, to be ridiculous. Nevertheless, it may well be so… To understand this theory, one needs on the one hand, to examine it from a scientific perspective, and on the other, to study Beelzebub's Tales deeply to uncover what Gurdjieff says about it and also what he relates about the implanting of the organ Kundabuffer in Man – and the subsequent consequences of its remarkable properties.” Robin was born in 1951 in Liverpool, UK. He obtained a BSc in Mathematics at Nottingham University and took up a career in the computer industry, initially writing software. From 1989 onwards, he became a technology analyst and consultant. He has thus been a writer of a kind ever since. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Computer Science by Wolverhampton University in the UK. He currently resides in and works from Austin, Texas in the USA. In 1988, Bloor met and became a pupil of Rina Hands. Rina was a one-time associate of J. G. Bennett, a student of Peter Ouspensky's, and later, a pupil of George Gurdjieff. Following Gurdjieff's death, she remained part of J. G. Bennett's group for a while. Subsequently, she formed groups both in London, where she lived, and in Bradford in the North of England - initially in conjunction with Madame Nott. She was an accomplished movements teacher and an inspirational group leader. She died in 1994 and is buried next to Jane Heap in a cemetery in North London. Robin leads a regular group, The Austin Gurdjieff Society, in Austin, Texas. He produces a monthly newsletter, The Lost Herald, and runs the website, ToFathomTheGist.com. He also organizes multiple on-line study groups to Gurdjieff's writings and Gurdjieff's Objective Science. Robin has written or edited nine books about the Work including the To Fathom the Gist series and Gurdjieff's Hydrogens – Volume 1: The Ray of Creation. More information about Robin Bloor's work can be found at: Austin Gurdjieff Society Website: austingurdjieffsociety.weebly.com, To Fathom the Gist Website: www.tofathomthegist.com, Robin Bloor on YouTube: YouTube.com, The Lost Herald Website: The Lost Herald, Robin Bloor's email address: robin.bloor @ gmail.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In today's conversation, we explore four ways of working in spiritual practice sometimes characterized by the archetypal forms of the King, the Warrior, the Magician, and the Lover. We discuss how these ways, Compassion, Will, Insight, and Ecstasy, can be brought into balance for a richer and more complete spiritual engagement with life. One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches. In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life. Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. The Magic of Vajrayana weaves original translations of instructions, insightful commentary and context about key practices, and authentic personal experiences into a powerful transmission of this vibrant tradition of mystical practice. One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches. In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life. Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines. After the main podcast conversation, we include a recording of a book event that Ken McLeod gave at Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, CA, on March 23rd, 2023. The event includes an extended moderated question and answer segment with a live audience. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Jason Shulman, author of the 6-book series, Practical Guides to Enlightenment, Awakening, and Healing. Jason is an American spiritual teacher whose original work springs from his Judaic and Buddhist background. He is the founder of A Society of Souls: The School for Nondual Healing and Awakening, based in the United States and the Netherlands. There he teaches the distinctive body of nondual work he has developed to awaken the human spirit: Nondual Healing, Impersonal Movement, and the Work of Return. Jason's main concern has been to develop paths of healing the mind, body, and spirit based on his own understanding of the difficulties inherent in the human condition. Through his studies and practice, Jason has developed a unique perspective on human consciousness and the nature of existence. His work seeks to translate this perspective into a replicable and clearly-delineated path for other seekers of truth to follow. He has been especially interested in applying personal spiritual work to methods of transforming society at large. To that end, he has created the MAGI Process, a nondual method of working with conflicts between people, institutions and governments. He is the author of numerous monographs and books, and several albums of his work as a singer and songwriter. More information about Jason Schilman's work can be found at: A Society of Souls website: www.societyofsouls.com, The Foundation for Nonduality website: www.nonduality.us.com, Nondual Healers Association website: nondualhealersassociation.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Bernardo Kastrup, philosopher and author of many books and essays including, The Idea of the World: A Multidisciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality and More Than Allegory: On Religious Myth, Truth, and Belief. Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association and Big Think, among others. More information about Bernardo Kastrup's work can be found at: Bernardo Kastrup's website: www.bernardokastrup.com, Essentia Foundation website: www.essentiafoundation.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Carol Squire, Sufi Dervish, Fourth Way teacher, Transactional Analysis (TA) facilitator, Sound healer, Reiki Master, Leader, Woman, Mother and a student just like all of us. Carol Squire is also the co-founder of the International Akhaldans 4th Way School begun with Akash Dharmaraj in India. Together, they have co-created a unique style of transmission of the Fourth Way work using the movements as a vehicle for Awakening and Transformation. Carol is a loving, compassionate human who cares deeply about the Work and does this work of transmission only because she loves it. Carol has been leading groups all over the world for the past 35 years, integrating Sufi practices and Transactional Analysis into her work with high profile corporate leaders, non-profit organizations, personal groups, individuals, and whoever asks to learn. She has taught the Gurdjieff Sacred Dances in India (including in the Osho Commune in Pune), Israel, Portugal, Ethiopia, Israel and in North America where she is now based. From Whidbey Akhaldans, her center on a beautiful island in Puget Sound, WA, she conducts on-going classes, workshops, weekend retreats, and offers residential opportunities for those who wish a longer exposure to the Akhaldans Way. More information about Carol Squire's work can be found at: Akhaldans website: akhaldans.org, Caroil Squire on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with William D. Glenn about his latest book, I Came Here Seeking a Person: A Vital Story of Grace; One Gay Man's Spiritual Journey, published by Paulist Press. William D. Glenn, a psychotherapist and spiritual director, is a longtime leader in the LGBTQ+ community. Influenced by Thomas Merton, Carl Jung, the Society of Jesus and Queer Culture, Bill elucidates moments in his life from his childhood in an Irish Catholic family mid-20th century through his nearly decade as a Jesuit, to his subsequent life as a sober, out, married gay man. Former president of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, executive director of Continuum HIV Services, Bill is currently the chair of the board of trustees of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, an inter-religious graduate university. A co-founder of the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies at the Pacific School of Religion, he has focused on the intersection of queer and soul for the past four decades. I Came Here Seeking a Person: One Gay Man's Spiritual Journey is Bill's interior-focused memoir: this volume details his complex journey of faith—in practice—over the span of his lifetime. Shaped by loving and courageous individuals and scores of writers—spiritual, intellectual, cultural, psychological, imaginative—whose words have formed, instructed, confronted and healed. His book is invitational, accessible and a true story of grace. After the main podcast conversation, we include a recording of a book reading event that Bill Glenn gave at Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, CA, on January 19th, 2023. The segment includes a riveting reading from a chapter of his book as well as an extended question and answer session. More information about William D. Glenn's work can be found at: Bill Glenn's website: www.williamdglenn.com, Bill Glenn at the GTU: www.gtu.edu.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Henry Schoenfield, ordained minister, spiritual director, and ICF certified professional coach, about the arc of his spiritual journey, the tension between an inner calling and the outer form that calling may take, and the challenges of inspiring modern American Christian congregations in the possibilities of deep contemplative Work on Self. Henry Schoenfield is a life-long spiritual seeker and mystic. He was born into a family of mixed religious and cultural backgrounds — his father's family of English and German-Jewish descent and his mother's family of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent. Raised in the Episcopal Church, he was formed and ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. He left the priesthood seeking greater integrity in his life and work as a gay man. This search led him to the United Church of Christ — the liberal Protestant denomination in which he currently serves. All the while, the grounding spiritual relationship in his life has been the experience of the Divine in prayer, meditation, and liturgy. He has worked in parishes and congregations; in hospital and hospice spiritual counseling; and clinical education of spiritual care providers at major trauma centers and teaching hospitals in Seattle and New York City. Currently, he serves in interim congregational ministry in Lowell, Massachusetts, while also working with individuals in spiritual direction and coaching as well as leading workshops and retreats. His joy is to companion others as a teacher and guide through times of disruption and transformation. He is a certified professional coach through the International Coaching Federation and a student of The Fourth Way and Christian Contemplative path in the lineage of the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault. More information about Henry Schoenfield's work can be found at: Henry Schoenfield's website: www.henryschoenfield.com, Henry Schoenfield on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Mary Angelon Young about her recent book, The Art of Contemplation, published in 2021 by HOHM Press. In this compassionate and resourceful book, Angelon gently guides the reader into a larger awareness, reminding us of simple ways to stay grounded in the present moment and connect with what is real in an increasingly unreal human world. With personal narrative, meditative reflections and invitations to creative expression, she draws us into the garden of her inner world. Here we witness how it is possible to transform the suffering we experience in ourselves and others into a nourishment that feeds our essential being. With a background in Jungian studies and counselling, and decades of life within a contemplative community, Mary Angelon Young draws from a wide range of faith traditions as well as from transpersonal, psychosomatic and archetypal psychologies. She fearlessly engages both the soul and the shadow elements of our human nature, inviting us to confidently welcome the potential for self-understanding contained without our dark moods, doubts and even our despair. More information about Mary Angelon Young's work can be found at: Mary Angelon Young's website: www.maryangelonyoung.com, The Art of Contemplation at HOHM Press: www.hohmpress.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Bruce Miller about his latest book, Uplift: How to Harness the Hidden Engine of Continuous Renewal, published this year by Miller eMedia. After studying filmmaking and screenwriting at UCLA, Bruce Miller has spent his career as a brand strategist, media producer, writer, and marketing partner in an Atlanta brand development agency. Beginning the 1970s, Bruce's spiritual search led him to English author, performer, and teacher, Reshad Feild, as well as to his subsequent long-term relationship with Dr. Bhagwan Awatramani. This journey, as well a number of personal life challenges along the way, are told in UPLIFT in the context of the principle of the Octave. Bruce and Reshad, with others, started The Institute for Conscious Life, the Mevlana Foundation, and later, Chalice Guild. In these schools, Bruce helped bring the work of Jalaluddin Rumi to America, now considered “the best-selling poet in the US.” This story is recounted in Bruce's second book, Rumi Comes to America. Bruce also collaborated and edited Steps to Freedom, Discourses on the Essential Knowledge of the Heart based on talks given by Reshad Feild. Bruce has led residential seminars on Sapelo Island in Georgia and Mendocino, CA on the knowledge of the Octave and Enneagram, ideas brought forth by P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff, and the Law of Hazard, an understanding of risk and uncertainty from the work of J.G. Bennett. Bruce's first book, FORTUNE, Our Deep Dive into the Mysteries of Love, Healing, and Success, explored the karmic mystery of why stuff happens. Bruce has also written business books. Brand Story™ – How to Position Your Shoestring Start-Up Like a National Brand, draws on his decades-long professional career. He also co-authored Seven Superpowers, a parenting guide by Dr. Maria Gilmour. Bruce is an avid sailor, yoga enthusiast, and has taught the turn of the Whirling Dervishes. His wife Karen is an ordained minister and chaplain educator. More information about Bruce Miller's work can be found at: Bruce Miller's I-Thou website: ithou.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Neil Douglas-Klotz about his latest book, Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus – The Hidden Teachings on Life and Death, published by Hampton Roads. Neil Douglas-Klotz, Ph.D. is a renowned writer in the fields of Middle Eastern spirituality and the translation and interpretation of the ancient Semitic languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. He was for many years co-chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion. He currently lives in Scotland. A frequent speaker and workshop leader, he is the author of several books. His books on the Aramaic spirituality of Jesus include Prayers of the Cosmos, The Hidden Gospel, Original Meditation: The Aramaic Jesus and the Spirituality of Creation, and Blessings of the Cosmos. His books on a comparative view of ‘native' Middle Eastern spirituality include Desert Wisdom: A Nomad's Guide to Life's Big Questions and The Tent of Abraham (with Rabbi Arthur Waskow and Sr. Joan Chittister). His books on Sufi spirituality include The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish and A Little Book of Sufi Stories. His biographical collections of the works of his Sufi teachers include Sufi Vision and Initiation (Samuel L. Lewis) and Illuminating the Shadow (Moineddin Jablonski). He has also written a mystery novel set in the first century C.E. Holy Land entitled A Murder at Armageddon. He also recently edited five “Little Books” published by Hampton Roads, four devoted to a new selection of the work of Lebanese American writer, poet, and painter Kahlil Gibran, and one dedicated to Wild Wisdom, a collection of early ecological writers and mystics. More information about Neil Douglas-Klotz's work can be found at: The Abwoon Network website: abwoon.org, Dances of Universal Peace website: dancesofuniversalpeace.org, Neil Douglas-Klotz on Facebook: www.facebook.com, Neil Douglas-Klots on The Mystical Positivist: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with OM C. Parkin about his upcoming October West Coast US visit and his recent book, Intelligence of Awakening - Navigating the Wisdom Path, published by Gateways Books & Tapes. OM C. Parkin is a renowned European wisdom teacher and the founder of the mystery school, Enneallionce, and Gut Saunstorf, a modern monastery. His books also include The Birth of the Lion and The Digital Age - A Critical View from a Wisdom Perspective. OM embodies in his work the link between Eastern non-duality and Christian mysticism, of depth psychology and philosophy, beyond the limits of religions and confessions. He often references the tradition of Advaita Vedanta, which has been revived in the 20th century by Shri Ramana Maharshi, Shri H.W.L. Poonja, the American Gangaji, and others. OM acts in the tradition of these teachers and by being rooted in early Christian teaching. His work in the tradition of silence can be described by three functions: teacher (of wisdom), healer (of the soul), seer (of the heart). He has been supporting people to find their true nature for more than 30 years and founded the modern Satsang movement in Europe. OM will be touring the West Coast of the US in October. Public and semi-public events include a book reading at Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, CA, on October 8th, 2022, at 7pm, a private darshan at Tayu Meditation Center in Sebastopol, CA, on October 9th at 3pm, a gathering at the Ojai Retreat Center on October 13th, and a visit to Triveni Ashram in Paulden, Arizona. More information about OM C. Parkin's work can be found at: OM C. Parkin website: www.om-c-parkin.com, OM C. Parkin upcoming US visit: OM C. Parkin West Coast US Tour, OM C. Parkin at Gateways Books & Tapes: www.gatewaysbooksandtapes.com, OM C. Parkin previously on The Mystical Positivist: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with returning guest Ken McLeod. Among the topics explored in this conversation are the engagement in spiritual practice with beings and deities, how to negotiate when entering into the ontology of a spiritual system, how to pray, the valuation implicit in focused attention, and the release of control in the deepening of a spiritual practice. This episode is another installment in an extended conversation that we have been having with Ken over the last couple of years. After learning Tibetan, Ken McLeod translated for his principal teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, and helped to develop Rinpoche's centers in North America and Europe. In 1985, Kalu Rinpoche authorized Ken to teach and placed him in charge of his Los Angeles center. Faced with the challenges of teaching in a major metropolis, he began exploring different methods and formats for working with students. He moved away from both the teacher-center model and the minister-church model and developed a consultant-client model. Ken is the founder and director of UnfetteredMind.org. He is the author of Wake Up to Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention, The Great Path of Awakening, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and his most recent book, A Trackless Path. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on The Mystical Positivist, hosts Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt feature a podcast they recorded on July 9th, 2022, for the Western Baul Podcast Series entitled Fourth Way Magic: How Hermetic and Indigenous Traditions Interface with the Gurdjieff Work. The podcast description is as follows: The Fourth Way is a Western spiritual tradition founded by George Gurdjieff, a mystic of Greek and Armenian origin who taught in Russia, Europe, and America and died in 1949. The system he developed out of his own spiritual search, which is shrouded in mystery, is completely unique and geared toward working with a modern mindset of “waking sleep” in the West. The Fourth Way Tradition has been considered by some to be humorless and dogmatically committed to a rigid system of practices and ideas, but this ignores Gurdjieff's own flexibility ranging from playfulness to penetrating compassion. Today's speakers are dharma heirs of Tayu Meditation Center's founder Robert Daniel Ennis, whose teachings were anchored in the Fourth Way but ranged widely beyond that source material. In recent years, Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick have explored and adopted practices from the western hermetic magical traditions and indigenous traditions including African and native Californian. In this talk they will discuss how the work from these traditions can enrich and expand the indispensable foundation they honor from the Fourth Way. Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick are the spiritual directors of Tayu Meditation Center. Rob has made contributions to the practice of anthropological archaeology and currently runs Tayu's spiritual bookstore in Sebastopol, California, Many Rivers Books & Tea. Stuart is an executive in a Fortune 500 company and plays the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) as a spiritual practice. More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at: Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com, Western Baul Podcast Website: westernbaul.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with returning guest, Zen teacher, Brad Warner, about his latest book, THE OTHER SIDE OF NOTHING: The Zen Ethics of Time, Space, and Being, published this year by New World Library. In the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality — the realization that everything in the universe forms a single, integrated whole — is especially difficult to grasp. In THE OTHER SIDE OF NOTHING, Brad untangles the mystery and explains nonduality in plain English. To Brad, this is not just a philosophical problem: nonduality forms the bedrock of Zen ethics, and once we comprehend it, many of the perplexing aspects of Zen suddenly make sense. Drawing on decades of Zen practice, he traces the interlocking relationship between Zen metaphysics and ethics, showing how a true understanding of reality — and the ultimate unity of all things — instills in us a sense of responsibility for the welfare of all beings. When we realize that our feeling of separateness from others is illusory, we have no desire to harm any creature. Warner ultimately presents an expansive overview of the Zen ethos that will give beginners and experts alike a deeper understanding of one of the world's enduring spiritual traditions. Brad Warner is the also the author of numerous other titles including Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen, Don't Be a Jerk, and Hardcore Zen. A Soto Zen teacher, he is also a punk bassist, filmmaker, and popular blogger who leads workshops and retreats around the world. In addition to his books, his writing appears in Lion's Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and Alternative Press. He also hosts The Hardcore Zen Podcast and talks about Zen almost every day on his YouTube channel. More information about Brad Warner's work can be found at:     Hardcore Zen website: hardcorezen.info,   Brad Warner on YouTube: www.youtube.com,   THE OTHER SIDE OF NOTHING at New World Library: www.newworldlibrary.com,   Brad Warner on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org,   Brad Warner on Twitter: twitter.com,   Brad Warner on Facebook: www.facebook.com,   Hardcore Zen on Facebook: www.facebook.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Dean Sluyter, author of The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature, published this year by New World Library. Some of us were lucky enough to have one passionate, funny, inspiring English teacher who helped us fall in love with books. Add a lifetime of teaching Dharma — authentic, traditional approaches to meditation and awakening — and you get award-winning author Dean Sluyter. With droll humor and irreverent wisdom, he unpacks the Dharma of more than twenty major writers, from William Blake to Dr. Seuss, inspiring readers to deepen their own spiritual life and see literature in a fresh, new way: as a path of awakening. Dean Sluyter (pronounced “slighter”) has led meditation workshops and retreats throughout the US since 1970, at venues ranging from Ivy League colleges to maximum-security prisons. For thirty-three years he taught English and Literature of Enlightenment at the Pingry School. He lives in Santa Monica, California, where he sings with the Threshold Choir, plays old songs on the ukulele, and happily zips about on his Vespa. More information about Dean Sluyter's work can be found at:   Dean Sluyter's website: deansluyter.com,   The Dharma Bum's Guide at New World Library: www.newworldlibrary.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Roger Jackson, author of Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World, published this year by Shambhala. This first-ever guide to ideas and practices surrounding rebirth in Buddhism covers the historical context for the Buddha's teachings on the topic, explains what Buddhists believe is actually reborn and where, surveys rebirth-related practices in multiple Buddhist cultures, and considers whether all Buddhist traditions agree about what happens after death. The book also addresses interpretations of rebirth in modern Buddhist contexts and recent scientific attempts to document reincarnation in conversation with Buddhist beliefs. It is, in short, the first truly comprehensive overview of rebirth across the major Buddhist traditions, written by a leading scholar and teacher of Buddhism. Roger Jackson is Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and Religion at Carleton College. He has nearly 50 years of experience with the study and practice of Buddhism, particularly in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. His special interests include Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and ritual; Buddhist religious poetry; religion and society in Sri Lanka; the study of mysticism; and contemporary Buddhist thought. Roger is a highly respected and beloved scholar, Dharma teacher, and writer. He has authored many scholarly books and articles, and is a frequent contributor to Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma, and Tricycle magazines. More information about Roger Jackson's work can be found at:   Rebirth at Shambhala Publications: www.shambhala.com,   Roger Jackson at Lion's Roar: www.lionsroar.com,   Roger Jackson at Tricycle: tricycle.org,   Roger Jackson at Carleton College: apps.carleton.edu,   Roger Jackson on The Mystical Positivist: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Dr. Asa Hershoff about his development of what he calls the 5-Element Energy Healing and Elemental Psychology system. This system posits a three-self model of the human being (Spirit, Essence, and Persona) in which the Essence has five modes of being corresponding to the five traditional elements (Ruler, Creator, Lover, Warrior, and Guru). These modes are in turn reflected in the Persona as expressions of Empowerment, Loss, and Shadow. One therapeutic aim of this system is to support practitioners in moving from a Persona-centered life to an Essence-centered life. Asa Hershoff has practiced Mindbody medicine and Vajrayana concurrently for 40 years. Completing the traditional Tibetan 3-year meditation retreat under the auspices of Kalu Rinpoche, he was later ordained as a lay Lama. A pioneer in the Canadian holistic health movement, he is founder of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (1978) and currently author of 3 books on holistic health. Asa has developed Elemental Psychology as an integration of Vajrayana, humanistic psychology, bioenergy medicine, and a pan global perspective on the 5 elements. This transformative methodology of self-healing, therapy, and spiritual growth is represented in his many current book projects, You: True & False and The 5 Ways of Wisdom. More information about Asa Hershoff's work can be found at:   Asa Hershoff's website: www.asahershoff.com,   The 5 Wisdoms website: www.the5wisdoms.com,   5 Element Energy Healing website: www.5elementenergyhealing.com,   Asa Hershoff's Healing Practice website: www.drasahershoff.com,   Asa Hershoff on Facebook: www.facebook.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with returning guest Ken McLeod in which we continue our ongoing discussion about the degree to which a transactional mode of being permeates our lives, relationships, and spiritual practice. We explore goals in relationship, the transactional as the currency of the Horizontal Realm, what a non-transaction way of living might be, and the unconditioned nature of the Vertical Realm. After learning Tibetan, Ken McLeod translated for his principal teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, and helped to develop Rinpoche's centers in North America and Europe. In 1985, Kalu Rinpoche authorized Ken to teach and placed him in charge of his Los Angeles center. Faced with the challenges of teaching in a major metropolis, he began exploring different methods and formats for working with students. He moved away from both the teacher-center model and the minister-church model and developed a consultant-client model. Ken is the founder and director of UnfetteredMind.org. He is the author of Wake Up to Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention, The Great Path of Awakening, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and his most recent book, A Trackless Path. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on The Mystical Positivist, we feature a pre-recorded conversation with returning guest Stephen Aronson about his new book, The Search for Meaning and the Mystery of Consciousness – A Psychologist's Journey Through Gurdjieff and Jung, published by Karnak Press in 2022. This book explores the existential questions of reality, one's purpose for existing, attention, consciousness, and the nature of the Universe all from a scientific and psychological perspective grounded in over 40 years of practice in the Gurdjieff work. Stephen Aronson is a psychotherapist with an eclectic training background ranging from cognitive behavioral therapy to the alchemical approach of Carl Jung. His spiritual life has been a search for verification of a deeper reality underlying the ordinary world of our senses. His personal aim has been to find a reconciliation between science and spirituality which would allow reconciling the concepts of Universal Intelligence with rationality. The arcane language of specialized methods, although necessary for advanced training, is often a barrier for those seeking an initial understanding. After dozens of years in Jungian analysis and four decades of study and practice in the system of transformational psychology introduced to the West by G. I. Gurdjieff, he has sought to find an approach to illustrate these deep and complex ideas and methods in common language and universally shared experiences. Steve lives in rural Maine where he retired in 2013 from forty-three years in the private practice of psychotherapy, education, and training. He has published on the work for G. I. Gurdjieff in Proceedings of the Annual All and Everything International Humanities Conference as well as in Parabola, a magazine dedicated to myth, tradition, and search for meaning. More information about Stephen Aronson's work can be found at: The Seekers Café website: seekerscafe.org, Stephen Aronson at The Gurdjieff Club: Preparation for the Third Line of Work, Stephen Aronson on The Mystical Positivist: Show 350 - 08FEB20, and Show 332 - 20JUL19.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with returning guest Ken McLeod in which we delve more deeply into the nature of the Vertical and Horizontal dimensions of life, what this means in the context of spiritual practice, the nature of transaction as the currency of the Horizontal realm, how we might relate to a spiritual practice in non-transactional terms, and what it means to say that a spiritual path is a “way of living”. This episode is another installment in an extended conversation that we have been having with Ken over the last couple of years. After learning Tibetan, Ken McLeod translated for his principal teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, and helped to develop Rinpoche's centers in North America and Europe. In 1985, Kalu Rinpoche authorized Ken to teach and placed him in charge of his Los Angeles center. Faced with the challenges of teaching in a major metropolis, he began exploring different methods and formats for working with students. He moved away from both the teacher-center model and the minister-church model and developed a consultant-client model. Ken is the founder and director of UnfetteredMind.org. He is the author of Wake Up to Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention, The Great Path of Awakening, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and his most recent book, A Trackless Path. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Michael Allswang, author of Symbolism: Modern Thought and Ancient Egypt. After much study, reflection, and also visits to many ancient Egyptian monuments, Michael has come to the conclusion that the development of consciousness was the essential project of the priests of ancient Egypt, and that one of the means they used to achieve this end was the expression of spiritual truths by means of symbolism. Modern thought and ancient Egypt are both based on symbolism. Michael Allswang, after obtaining degrees from UCLA and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, made his career as manager of Documentation Services for software companies in the U.S. and France. At the same time, he was, and still is, an independent writer, translator, and researcher in the fields of ancient civilizations, Egyptology, psychology, and spirituality. He has published various articles on these themes in European periodicals. He is also the translator of Pierre Gordon's The Original Revelation. He now makes his home in both Paris and Provence in France. More information about Michael Allswang's work can be found at:  Michael Allswang on BookBaby: store.bookbaby.com, Michael Allswang on Facebook.com: www.facebook.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Elliot Cohen, author of The Psychologisation of Eastern Spiritual Traditions: Colonisation, Translation and Commodification. This essential book critically examines the various ways in which Eastern spiritual traditions have been typically stripped of their spiritual roots, content, and context, to be more readily assimilated into secular Western frames of Psychology. Dr. Elliot Cohen is a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Social and Interdisciplinary Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK. He worked as a Psychotherapist for several years and then worked in Psychiatric units and therapeutic communities in and around Manchester; specializing in Psychodrama, Dramatherapy, Music Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Therapies. He is the current Secretary of the British Psychological Society's Transpersonal Section and an active member of the Discourse Unit, which promotes more critical/radical approaches to Psychology. Elliott has traveled extensively around the Far East where he studied Daoist, Buddhist, and Hindu philosophy. He is an authorized teacher of Buddhist meditation and Mindfulness-Based Approaches from the Dhamma Nikethanaya Buddhist Academy. More information about Elliot Cohen's work can be found at:  Elliot Cohen at Leeds: www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk, Elliot Cohen on Academia.edu: leedsbeckett.academia.edu, Elliot Cohen on Facebook.com: www.facebook.com, The Psychologisation of Eastern Spiritual Traditions at Routledge: www.routledge.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Steve Taylor, author of Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation. In this book Steve shares dozens of amazing stories of individuals who “woke up” to profound transformation following bereavement, deep depression, suicide attempts, addiction, military combat, imprisonment, or other intense encounters with mortality. Along with the amazing stories of shifters he shares throughout the book, Taylor uncovers the psychological processes that help explain these miraculous awakenings. Steve Taylor is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University, and the author of several best-selling books on psychology and spirituality. He is a past chair of the Transpersonal Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. His other books include The Clear Light, Out of the Darkness, Back to Sanity, The Calm Center, The Leap, and Spiritual Science. He also writes blog articles for Scientific American and Psychology Today. More information about Steve Taylor's work can be found at:  Steve Taylor's Website: www.stevenmtaylor.com, Steve Taylor on Facebook: www.facebook.com, Extraordinary Awakenings at New World Library: www.newworldlibrary.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Richard Payne, editor and contributor to the 2021 Shambhala publication, Secularizing Buddhism: New Perspectives on a Dynamic Tradition. This collection of essays explores how secular values impact Buddhism in the modern world, what versions of Buddhism are actually being transmitted to the West, whether it is possible to know if a given interpretation of the Buddha's words is correct, and whether "Secular Buddhism" is purely a Western invention. Contributors to this volume include Bhikkhu Bodhi, Kate Crosby, Gil Fronsdal, Kathleen Gregory, Funie Hsu, Roger R. Jackson, Charles B. Jones, David L. McMahan, Richard K. Payne, Ron Purser, Sarah Shaw, Philippe Turenne, and Pamela D. Winfield. Richard K. Payne is the Yehan Numata Professor of Japanese Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. During his dissertation research into tantric fire ritual (Homa) on Mt. Koya in Japan, he also completed training as a Shingon priest (ajari). Clustering around his core research program on tantric ritual are broader theoretical concerns about the conduct of such research. This includes the study of ritual across cultural boundaries and over long durations, and the use of language in tantric Buddhist ritual. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the institute's annual journal, Pacific World, and is the chair of the Editorial Committee of the Pure Land Buddhist Studies Series. His other publications include, Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts: An Anthology, co-edited with Georgios Halkias (2019); Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan: Indic Roots of Mantra (2018); and Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual across the Longue Durée, co-edited with Michael Witzel (2016). More information about Richard Payne's work can be found at:  Richard Payne at the Institute of Buddhist Studies: www.shin-ibs.edu, Richard Payne's Blog: criticalreflectionsonbuddhistthought.org, Secularizing Buddhism at Shambhala: www.shambhala.com, Mystical Positivist episodes with contributors to Secularizing Buddhism and related guests:  Gil Fronsdal, Stephen Batchelor, Roger R. Jackson, Kate Crosby.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with returning guest Ken McLeod in which we discuss the role of Imagination in spiritual practice, the distinction between the Vertical and Horizontal dimensions of life and the modern struggle to imagine the Vertical dimension, how we might imagine a non-transactional embodiment of spiritual practice, and much more. After learning Tibetan, Ken McLeod translated for his principal teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, and helped to develop Rinpoche's centers in North America and Europe. In 1985, Kalu Rinpoche authorized Ken to teach and placed him in charge of his Los Angeles center. Faced with the challenges of teaching in a major metropolis, he began exploring different methods and formats for working with students. He moved away from both the teacher-center model and the minister-church model and developed a consultant-client model. Ken is the founder and director of UnfetteredMind.org. He is the author of Wake Up to Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention, The Great Path of Awakening, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and his most recent book, A Trackless Path. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with author, Peter Russell, about his latest book, Letting Go of Nothing: Relax Your Mind and Discover the Wonder of Your True Nature (An Eckhart Tolle Edition). Peter Russell is an author, speaker, and leading thinker on consciousness and contemporary spirituality. He believes the critical challenge today is freeing human thinking from the limited beliefs and attitudes that lie behind many of our problems — personal, social, and global. His mission is to distill the essential wisdom on human consciousness found in the world's various spiritual traditions and to disseminate it in contemporary and compelling ways. Russell earned a first-class honors degree in theoretical physics and psychology — as well as a master's degree in computer science — at the University of Cambridge, England. He also studied meditation and Eastern philosophy in India. He coined the term global brain with his 1980s bestseller by the same name in which he predicted the internet and the impact it would have on humanity. He is the author of twelve books including Waking Up in Time and From Science to God. More information about Peter Russell's work can be found at: Peter Russell's Website: www.peterrussell.com, Letting Go of Nothing page: Letting Go of Nothing, Online course on Meditation: How to Meditate - Without Even Trying.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with author, Pamela Logan, about her latest book, Compassion Mandala – The Odyssey of an American Charity in Contemporary Tibet. Pamela Logan can usually be found with her head in the clouds, moving uphill. At the age of 19 she took up karate while pursuing an engineering degree at Caltech. She later got an aerospace PhD from Stanford; but then left her career as a scientist to investigate the warrior tribes of the eastern Tibetan plateau, in a region known as Kham. Not long after that, she worked for the China Exploration & Research Society restoring Tibetan temples and probing Silk Road ruins. In 1996, Dr. Logan was named Woman Explorer of the Year. The following year she started Kham Aid Foundation, a nonprofit that operated for 14 years assisting people in eastern Tibet with their needs for education, health care, cultural preservation, and economic opportunity. In 2007, Logan started a third career when she took a job with the US federal government as a cleaner-upper of radioactive contamination at the Hanford site in Washington State. Later she moved to a different agency where she her job is to stop federal contractors from gouging American taxpayers. In her spare time, she still teaches karate and continues to advance the cause of assistance to Tibet through publication of books and articles that raise awareness of the needs of Tibetans. She now holds the rank of fifth degree black belt and teaches at Boulder Shotokan Karate. In 2020, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Logan began producing a series of training videos called “Karate at Home, Alone.” Logan is also the author Among Warriors and Tibetan Rescue. She is an accomplished public speaker, having delivered invited lectures at Columbia University, Wellesley College, Royal Geographical Society of Hong Kong, Asia Society, Explorers Club, Foreign Correspondents Clubs in Hong Kong and Beijing, and others. More information about Pamela Logan's work can be found at: Pamela Logan's Website: www.pamela-logan.com.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Zimbabwan healer, Mandaza Augustine Kandemwa. Mandaza is a spirit medium and medicine man from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In Shona, his native tongue, he is known as a Mhondora, Svikiro, and Gombwa. He was initiated through the tradition of the njuzu, the water spirits. Mandaza carries with him in his heart the Central African spiritual tradition of healing and peacemaking. He is known internationally for his loving presence and for his preservation of the old ways. He stands for Truth, Love, Justice, and Peace in this world. Mandaza was raised in a Christian home, trained as an educator, school administrator, and police officer in Apartheid Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. During this time, he became actively involved in the liberation struggle. Currently, Mandaza travels internationally offering teachings and healing counsel in churches, schools, prisons, and hospitals. He co-authored, with Michael Ortiz-Hill, Twins From Another Tribe, one of the few books that discuss Shona cosmology and traditional practices. More information about Mandaza Kandemwa's work can be found at: Mandaza's Website: www.mandaza.com, Mandaza on Dharmagiri: www.dharmagiri.org, Mandaza online seminar series: www.pathwayteaching.com.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Fiona Denzey, a long-time practitioner and teacher of the Gurdjieff Movements. Born into the Work, Ms. Denzey's parents were founding members of the Gurdjieff Foundation of Toronto. At an early age, she was introduced to the Gurdjieff movements and received direct training from Mr. Gurdjieff's designated Movements teachers, Alfred Etievan and Jessmin Howarth. Ms. Denzey's mother, Elsa, was an accomplished pianist who worked with many musicians from all over the world in a series of seminars exploring how to accompany sacred dance. Fiona Denzey, herself, has over 50 years of experience in the direct communication of Mr. Gurdjieff's Movements. Of the Gurdjieff Movements, the Foundation of Toronto writes: In the early years of his search, Gurdjieff spent time in various hidden monasteries and temples in Central Asia, where he experienced ritual dances and ceremonies. In studying their essential structure, he came to the understanding that these dances were being used as a language to express knowledge of a cosmic order. This language is a very exact one. Everything in it is measured, every movement has its right place, duration and weight. Combinations and sequences are mathematically calculated. Positions are arranged to produce definite, predetermined emotions or states. In the creation of such movements, every small element matters. Each detail has meaning, nothing is left to chance. Nothing is the result of mere imagination. There is only one possible gesture, attitude and rhythm to represent a given human or cosmic situation. Another gesture, another movement would strike a false note, would not produce the impression of truth. Should there be the slightest miscalculation in the composition, the truth is altered, the dance desecrated, and fantasy has taken the place of knowledge. In a lifetime devoted to study and questioning, Gurdjieff mastered the principles of this art and was able in his turn to use the movements as a vehicle for the transmission of his understanding. (Note: the audio quality of the podcast is limited at times due to some connectivity issues) More information about Fiona Denzey's work can be found at: Gurdjieff Foundation of Toronto: Society for Arts and Ideas Website: www.gurdjiefftoronto.com.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Robin Bloor about his latest book, Gurdjieff's Hydrogens – Volume 1: The Ray of Creation. About the book, he writes, “Gurdjieff clearly wanted his pupils to try to understand Objective Science. He left two accounts of it. One adorns the pages of In Search of the Miraculous; the other merges itself into the text of Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson. He described its study as a necessity - one of five obligolnian strivings. And yet, most books about The Work steer clear of the topic. This book moves in the opposite direction.” Robin was born in 1951 in Liverpool, UK. He obtained a BSc in Mathematics at Nottingham University and took up a career in the computer industry, initially writing software. From 1989 onwards, he became a technology analyst and consultant. He has thus been a writer of a kind ever since. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Computer Science by Wolverhampton University in the UK. He currently resides in and works from Austin, Texas in the USA. In 1988, after drifting through several work groups, Bloor met and became a pupil of Rina Hands. Rina was a one-time associate of J. G. Bennett, a student of Peter Ouspensky's, and later, a pupil of George Gurdjieff. Following Gurdjieff's death, she remained part of J. G. Bennett's group for a while. Subsequently, she formed groups both in London, where she lived, and in Bradford in the North of England-initially in conjunction with Madame Nott. She was an accomplished movements teacher and an inspirational group leader. She died in 1994 and is buried next to Jane Heap in a cemetery in North London. Robin leads a group, The Austin Gurdjieff Society, in Austin, Texas. Robin is the author of To Fathom The Gist Volumes I – III which demonstrate methods of reading and comprehending the contents of G. I. Gurdjieff's master work, ALL and Everything: "An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man" or, BEELZEBUB's TALES TO HIS GRANDSON. More information about Robin Bloor's work can be found at: Austin Gurdjieff Society Website: austingurdjieffsociety.weebly.com, To Fathom the Gist Website: www.tofathomthegist.com, Gurdjieff's Hydrogens Seminar Series: Seminar Series, The Seekers' Cafe Website: seekerscafe.org, Robin Bloor's email address: robin.bloor @ gmail.com.

Podcast: This week on The Mystical Positivist, we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Professor Kate Crosby, author of Esoteric Theravada: The Story of the Forgotten Meditation Tradition of Southeast Asia. Theravada Buddhism, often understood as the school that most carefully preserved the practices taught by the Buddha, has undergone tremendous change over time. Prior to Western colonialism in Asia—which brought Western and modernist intellectual concerns, such as the separation of science and religion, to bear on Buddhism—there existed a tradition of embodied, esoteric, and culturally regional Theravada meditation practices. This once-dominant traditional meditation system, known as boran kammatthana, is related to—yet remarkably distinct from—Vipassana and other Buddhist and secular mindfulness practices that would become the hallmark of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. Drawing on a quarter century of research, scholar Kate Crosby offers the first holistic discussion of boran kammatthana, illuminating the historical events and cultural processes by which the practice has been marginalized in the modern era. Kate Crosby is professor of Buddhist Studies at King's College London. Her work focuses on Sanskrit, Pali, and Pali-vernacular literature and on Theravada practice in the pre-modern and modern periods. Her other publications include Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, Identity and The Bodhicaryavatara. More information about Kate Crosby's work can be found at: Esoteric Theravada at the Shambhala: www.shambhala.com, Interview with Kate Crosby at Tricycle: tricycle.org, Kate Crosby at King's College London: www.kcl.ac.uk.

Podcast: This week on The Mystical Positivist, we feature a pre-recorded discussion with returning guests Anne Sweet and Amir Freimann about spiritual transformation through conversation. As Anne and Amir have found in multiple conversations with a number of spiritual exemplars that the interviewer/interviewee dynamic can somehow dissolve and give rise to a truly intimate and profound shared experience. It is this shared, intimate, profound spiritual friendship that Amir and Anne are discovering is the most compelling aspect of their respective spiritual endeavors and at the very heart and soul of their work. We cover such topics as risk taking and vulnerability, the giving up of control, spiritual practice as the Art of Living a Life, and conversation as creating an invocational space. Anne Sweet has been involved in spiritual life for over four decades. During that time, she lived for many years in ashrams and committed spiritual communities in India, the U.K and America. She has studied with both Western and Eastern teachers and completed thousands of hours of spiritual practice and enquiry. Anne writes, “I was no closer to finding what I was looking for, however, until 2004, when utterly disillusioned with spiritual life I struck out on my own and in the midst of an ongoing crisis and the intense period of self-enquiry that ensued, finally discovered the truth of my own Self beyond the personal identity.” Anne lives and works in Sydney, Australia with her partner Dr Jesse Shore. Together we have created Sweet+Shore, an art/science collaboration. She is also an exhibiting solo artist under the name of Anne Penman Sweet and is represented by Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London. Most recently, Anne has been creating a website called The End of Seeking: demystifying the spiritual path - a straightforward, no frills, no cost, guru-free guide to Self- knowledge, which aims to assist the (often weary!) seeker, not from a teaching position in the usual sense, but as a fellow traveler and spiritual friend. Amir Freimann was born in 1958 and grew up in a village in Israel. After studying Tai Chi, medicine, and the Philosophy of Science, he lived for two years in a Zen monastery in Japan and for more than two decades in a small community with a spiritual/philosophical orientation in the United States called EnlightenNext. These days Amir lives with his wife, Ruti, and Corgi (their dog) in the village where he grew up, earns a living by translating pharmaceutical papers from Japanese to English, serves as executive director of an NGO called The Education Spirit Movement and writes books. He has published two books on the connection between formal education and philosophical/spiritual inquiry, Education: Essence and Spirit and Education: The Human Questions, as well as his recent, Spiritual Transmission: Paradoxes and Dilemmas on the Spiritual Path. In 2018, he began studying for a Ph.D. at the University of Haifa and writing a Doctoral dissertation (and a book) on the subject: Enlightened Life - a Phenomenological Study of Spiritual Masters.Note: a Video version of this conversation is available here: www.YouTube.com More information about Anne Sweet's work can be found at: The End of Seeking website: www.theendofseeking.org, Anne Sweet's website: www.annepenmansweet.com, Sweet + Shore Collaboration website: www.sweetandshore.com, Amir Freimann's website: The Freedom to Question, Amir Freimann on Facebook: www.facebook.com, Spiritual Transmission at Monkfish Book Publishing Company: www.monkfishpublishing.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Trevor Stewart, practitioner and writer in the Fourth Way tradition. Trevor Stewart has experience in both the Zen Buddhist monastic and Gurdjieff Work buy-a-farm-and-try-to-fix-it-up traditions. A longtime Beelzebub's Tales practitioner, he leads private online study groups. He presents regularly at the annual international All and Everything Conference, has written for Parabola Magazine, and is a returning guest on The Mystical Positivist podcast. In daily life, he runs a design and build firm in Portland, Oregon. In our conversation today we discuss two of Trevor's recent papers for the All and Everything Conference, A Universal Language: Gurdjieff's Exact Language and New Tools for Insight into Beelzebub's Tales and Unity and Multiplicity: Observation, Remembering, and Objective Consciousness in Beelzebub's Tales. We cover how Gurdjieff's writings demonstrate and reflect the operation of our minds while at the same time training us to stand beyond this operation, how Dual and Non-Dual perspectives show up in the Tales, and points of tangency between Buddhist and Fourth Way understandings of Awakening. More information about Trevor Stewart's work can be found at: All and Everything Conference website: aandeconference.org, PDF: A Universal Language: Gurdjieff's Exact Language and New Tools for Insight into Beelzebub's Tales, PDF: Unity and Multiplicity: Observation, Remembering, and Objective Consciousness in Beelzebub's Tales, Lucid Cubed blog: lucidcubed.wordpress.com, JNT Design & Build website: www.jntdesignandbuild.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ji Hyang Padma, author of Field of Blessings: Ritual & Consciousness in the Work of Buddhist Healers. Ji Hyang believes that we are hungry for a direct experience of the sacred in this culture. We try to fill the void with technology, and its “quick fix” of images and information. This leaves us hungry for true connectivity. We don't need more information. We need more appreciation. Gratitude opens the heart, and gives our life meaning; it becomes a form of spiritual experience that gives us strength. Field of Blessings explores how meaning-making can be approached by deep examination of the stories of our lives, which bridge the gap between the inner world and the outer world, giving shape to our experience. How can these narratives be spoken, written, or embodied? Ritual is the story brought-to-life, and a powerful vehicle for spiritual transformation, for reconnecting people with an embodied wholeness. Ji Hyang Padma shows that Chöd, Medicine Buddha practices, and other Tibetan rituals are used by healers to evoke sacred energies, radical empathy, and to contact deep archetypal realms of the psyche. Ji Hyang Padma is currently a CPE Chaplain Resident at the University of San Francisco Medical Center, and combines an academic and professional career with her role as a Zen teacher. Ji Hyang has done intensive Zen training and teaching in Asia and North America for 20 years, 15 of these as an ordained nun. She has completed several 90-day intensive retreats in Korea and North America. She also teaches Zen workshops annually at Omega Institute and Esalen Institute. While her practice has been situated within the Korean Zen tradition, she has had the benefit of studying with teachers across a wide spectrum of Buddhist lineages. Ji Hyang has also served as Director of Spirituality and Education Programs at Wellesley College, and Director and Abbot of Cambridge Zen Center, one of the largest Zen Centers in the country. Additionally, she has served as a meditation teacher at Wellesley College, Harvard University and Boston University. She is gifted at finding an entry-point into practice for people who are just beginning their journey. She is also the author of Living the Season: Zen Practice for Transformative Times. More information about Ji Hyang Padma's work can be found at: Mountain Path website: www.mountainpath.org, Ji Hyang Padma on The Mystical Positivist: On Buddhist Healing, Ji Hyang Padma on The Mystical Positivist: Living the Season.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Christopher Pinard, author of Celtic Mythology for Kids: Tales of Selkies, Giants, and the Sea. Chris' interest in folklore and mythology began at a very young age when his mother first read the stories of the Mabinogion, Eddas, the Irish Mythological Cycle, and various collections of folk tales. Over the years, his passion for the subject matter deepened, which resulted in his authorship of articles online and in magazines. His deep interest in folkways is buttressed with an educational background in psychology and history. In our conversation, we cover Chris' early awakening to the world of mythology, his personal synthesis of a pagan practice based on the Norse and Celtic traditions and deities, and the transformative power of the allegories found in traditional tales. More information about Chris Pinard's work can be found at: Chris Pinard on Owlcation website: owlcation.com, Celtic Mythology for Kids on Amazon.com: www.amazon.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature feature a pre-recorded conversation in which Ken McLeod and Jim Wilson return to continue our discussion from several weeks ago. In this installment we go deep on the question allegorical thinking and the modern mind's difficulty with allegory. Only here will you find the subjects of Star Wars, the Borg from Star Trek, Game of Thrones, the function of feeling in allegorical mentation, abiding peace as a consequence of deep practice, and the challenge of describing Tibetan Deity Practice to a Western Mind weaved together in an engaging conversational quartet. After learning Tibetan, Ken McLeod translated for his principal teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, and helped to develop Rinpoche's centers in North America and Europe. In 1985, Kalu Rinpoche authorized Ken to teach and placed him in charge of his Los Angeles center. Faced with the challenges of teaching in a major metropolis, he began exploring different methods and formats for working with students. He moved away from both the teacher-center model and the minister-church model and developed a consultant-client model. Ken is the founder and director of UnfetteredMind.org. He is the author of Wake Up to Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention, The Great Path of Awakening, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and his most recent book, A Trackless Path. Jim Wilson was a monk and abbot under the direction of his teacher Seung Sahn, a Korean Chogye sect Zen master. He served as a Buddhist Prison Chaplain, studied western philosophy, co-founded Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, conducts a website devoted to syllabic form Haiku, and has penned and published many books of poetry. In recent years his spiritual practice has centered on the Quaker Christian tradition. In addition to his many poetry volumes, he has published several books on spiritual matters, including On Trusting the Heart, a commentary on a famous poem by the third Zen patriarch, and An Annotated Edition of a Guide to True Peace. More information about Ken McLeod and Jim Wilson's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org,  On Trusting the Heart - A Commentary on the Xin Xin Ming: On Trusting the Heart,  An Annotated Edition of a Guide to True Peace (2nd Edition): Guide to True Peace,  Shaping Words Poetry Website: shapingwords.blogspot.com.