Podcast appearances and mentions of lama rod

As the world feels increasingly unstable, many of us are seeking ways to stay grounded, to keep our hearts open, and to resist despair. In this timely encore episode, Buddhist teacher and author Lama Rod Owens reminds us that joy is not only possible in times of crisis—it is essential.Lama Rod shares deeply from his lived experience as a Black, queer spiritual teacher in America. We talk about how rage can be holy, how rest is sacred, and how joy can serve as a radical, defiant act in the face of oppression.This conversation is an anchor for anyone navigating stress, overwhelm, or heartbreak right now. May it nourish you deeply.In this episode:How joy functions as a tool for resistanceWhat it means to stay emotionally present without being consumedWhy creative expression is essential for survivalHow to begin cultivating inner spaciousness, even in chaosPractices to help you return to your centre

Redefining sainthood as a deep care for ourselves and others, Lama Rod Owens and Raghu discuss reclaiming our sacredness and our identity.Check out Lama Rod's book, The New Saints, to learn more about becoming a spiritual warrior.Within this episode, Raghu and Lama Rod discuss:Healing through music and other mystical experiencesLama Rod Owens' college experience and getting into activismRe-framing our relationship to religionThe freedom to be our most authentic selvesOwning our own identity and sacrednessCommunity and collective as the hero we all needThe apocalypse as an unveiling of the truthCreating a culture of care and prioritizing well-beingDisrupting habitual reactivity and transforming our responsivenessLoneliness on the spiritual pathAbout Lama Rod Owens:Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Check out Lama Rod's most recent publication, The New Saints and his podcast on the Be Here Now Network, The Spirit Underground.For current offerings and programs, click here. “I think that the most important spiritual practice is care, compassion love; I think that's the common expression across many paths. A saint is defined by the depth of their care for others.” – Lama Rod OwensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Facing the obstacles on a spiritual path, Lama Rod Owens, David Nichtern, and Michael Kammers, discuss the seven sorrows of the new saint.Grab Lama Rod's new book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual WarriorsIn this episode, David, Michael and Lama Rod chat about:Realizing that liberation is driven by uncomfortable contradictionsThe seven great sorrows of the new saintLeaving people behind on a spiritual journeyOffering space to paradoxes in order to find claritySupport on the Boddhisatva pathFocusing our energy on ourselvesPrayer as an imperative part of spiritual workBeing relevant and speaking the language of the timesTeachers who inspired and helped Lama RodBeing yourself and using your own qualities to help othersCommitment to a reduction of violenceGetting active in getting freeAbout Lama Rod Owens:Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive.For current offerings and programs, click here. “The whole project of The New Saints was to delve into the frustrations of paradox, of contradictions. One of the things that deepens our suffering is our attempt to make everything make sense. That's how we get trapped in delusion, trying to make it make sense when instead we are trying to transcend it.” – Lama Rod OwensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Spring and Lama Rod have a conversation about:Choosing liberation versus comfort and stability Getting to the root of suffering and the root of who we are Moving deeper into our current predicaments instead of bypassing The intense labor of liberation and choosing freedom in an unfree worldTransforming suffering into wisdom and clarityPain as our guide and teacher Building communities that can hold the nuances of justice and freedomFinding a teacher with experience in all paths The tension between enlightenment and humanityBridging conventional reality with the ultimate“I'm not interested in your comfort, I'm interested in your freedom. Because if you're always trying to prioritize comfort in this work then you're going to be really disappointed. You won't grow.” – Lama Rod OwensAbout Lama Rod Owens:Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive.About Spring Washam:Spring Washam is a well-known teacher, author, and visionary leader based in Oakland, California. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment and her newest book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founding teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA. She has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism since 1999. She is a member of the teacher's council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California where she was trained for over a decade.In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices since 2008. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, a one-of-a-kind organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom in South America. Her writings and dharma teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications. She currently teaches meditation retreats and leads workshops, and classes worldwide.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lama Rod Owens' (he/him) earliest memories of suffering were related to his body. He shares how through compassion and joy, we can find the space and sacredness to come into balance with our bodies and the natural world. Lama Rod's experience with queer male spaces, and his need to separate from them, led to seeking community and, ultimately, his own freedom.Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod activates the intersections of his identity to create a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Applauded for his mastery in balancing weighty topics with a sense of lightness, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. Please connect with Lama Rod through his website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTubeAlso, you can check out his new book The New Saints on Bookshop and Amazon.This episode's poem is called “Sanctuary” by Ada Limon.Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube. Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review. Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful

Am 12. und 13. April 2024 war Lama Rod Owens beim Akazienzendo zu Gast. Veranstaltungsort war das Lotos Vihara in Berlin. Unter dem Titel „Gebrochene Herzen heilen und den Bodhisattva-Weg gehen“ gab er erst einen Abendvortrag und am Folgetag einen praxis-orientierten Workshop, von dem wir Auszüge hier zur Verfügung stellen. On April 12 and 13, 2024, Lama Rod Owens was a guest at Akazienzendo. The venue was the Lotos Vihara in Berlin. Under the title "Healing Broken Hearts and Walking the Bodhisattva Path", he first gave an evening lecture and on the following day a practice-oriented workshop, excerpts of which we provide here. Upon his visit to Akazienzendo, Lama Rod Owens explored the meaning of liberatory practice. Remembrance, beauty, opulence, and love are key ingredients to the struggle for freedom that does not resolve suffering, but that gives the space to respond to it. Practice therefore is about creating and holding the space to give a shit. Lama Rod shares his personal history with Buddhist practice, the painful and revelatory initial experiences of meditation and the disruption of a three-year retreat that would bring profound transformation.

Saints, spiritual warriors, bodhisattvas, zaddikim—no matter how they are named in a given tradition, all share a profound altruistic wish to free others from suffering. Saints are not beings of stained glass or carved stone. “Each of us can be a new saint,” says Lama Rod Owens. “In our pain, our trauma, and all our complexity, we all can—and must—awaken the virtue of our compassion for the benefit of our communities, our planet, and our own souls.” Watch Lama Rod as he shares personal stories, spiritual teachings, and instructions for contemplative and somatic practices from his newest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors. This work reinforces the truth of our interdependency—allowing us to be of service to the collective well-being, and to call on the support and strength of the countless beings who share our struggles and hopes. Bio Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod activates the intersections of his identity to create a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Applauded for his mastery in balancing weighty topics with a sense of lightness, the Queen has been featured by various national and international news outlets. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is to show you how to heal and free yourself. This event took place on March 19, 2024. For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu A full transcript is forthcoming.

In this episode, Lama Rod and Chetna talk about: What liberation smells like, sounds like, feels like and looks like for Lama Rod from both an abstract and embodied experience Contentment and acceptance alongside the wrongness, suffering and crisis of the world The subtle practice of “holding the chaos and crisis, instead of the chaos and crisis holding you” Holding space for everything that's arising is still feeling the chaos and tension, feeling our hearts breaking and enraging, and also still being connected to the space that's holding us and everything Reacting to everything may create more harm, and gives little space to respond The choicefulness and consent of this practice Chetna references Dylan McGarry's art that speaks to how to hold ourselves and each other accountable requires holding Accountability is meeting the reality, showing up and telling the truth We have to confront our personal broken-heartedness as an expression of the collective disappointment Not giving in to everything being “too much”, letting things arise in the nature of one's own mind Liberation work is calling us to do what we thought was impossible Lama Rod's practice of “no choice” as a way to not bypass the work or give himself excuses Chetna's relation to this with choosing to be in recovery, and having chosen “no choice” when it comes to engaging with certain substances The necessity of “no choice” despite our human shit, to eliminate complexity and not enabling ourselves to get out of the work Boundaries as a way to maintain discipline and dedication in the face of difficulty “No choice” as conducive for empowerment, balance and liberation On the other side of some rigidity, hard choices is discomfort is space, like a crucible  and the discomfort of alchemy Seed processes and the struggle of a seed cracking open to sprout, and how it relates to our nature's propensity to emerge through discomfort Surrendering to the dark or the unclear, where our awareness isn't and where there are narratives of danger Lama Rod's relationship to the energetic of depression, and the medicine of surrendering to get close to the depression and see what it needed The darkness is asking to be tended to, and the need to offer care to the things we're afraid of Pressing down, avoiding and pressurizing the darkness before it leaves us without choice due it's need to be released Depression as a portal to liberation, love and compassion when we sit down and ask what it needs and why it's here Tending to the darkness softens our hearts and reduces the isolation The advanced practice of loving the things we're most afraid of  The distinction between love and like; wanting someone to be free and resourced even if I don't want them to be my friend If someone, or a collective of people were free and getting what they needed, what harm would that prevent? Trying to love in this way has to come after we spend time with the rage, fear, grief The coexistence of loving someone (and understanding that they deserve to be free) and being pissed off at them too  How this could allow us to take less personally our anger without it overtaking us or making it wrong in us The Love is what holds the space, the watery Love sets the boundaries for the fire of anger without repressing it or letting it overtake or spread wildly You can sometimes help someone be free by staying out the way, and whatever we do in Love is helpful The apocalypse as something that's been around for centuries, not just our lifetime or our disruption The apocalypse has been experienced by many different communities across time; this can allow us to zoom out beyond the confines of our lives This is a time of decolonization, when we are dealing with the wounds of colonialism Abolition as a way of healing to abolish the systems that perpetuate violence The pain and suffering of individualism that narrows our realities and produces isolation and separation, which is a root of colonialism Decolonization is really about community; Loving people without feeling like we need to like them and holding chaos are ways to decolonize and be in community This work is both personal and collective; us as individuals have to name the experience of our pain, and our ancestors pain, in order to abolish and heal the pain of the collective Remembering who we were before systems of oppression is hard work; the cellular structure of our hearts proves our capacity to return to who we were born as We have to grieve our way back, for our ancestors and ourselves, in order to move forward The importance of unwounding our hearts to be present in community more and in this liberation work Find more: Lama Rod online: lamarod.com Lama Rod on IG @lamarodofficial  Chetna on IG @mosaiceye and the podcast @creationforliberation  Other offerings: Upcoming Events: Reclaiming Creativity Workshop with Kripalu. Embodying BHAKTI: The Yoga of Love - a series for women and non-binary activists (mosaiceyeunfolding.com/communityevents) Work 1:1 with Chetna for high-achieving changemakers to get out of your heads and into embodied creative alchemy (chetnamehta.co/sessions)

Lama Rod navigates the complexities of healing and transformation, highlighting the role of community support in fostering resilience. His reflections underscore the intersection of creativity, spirituality, and emotional well-being.We discuss the concept of radical self-care; what it is (and what it isn't), why it is so important for us to know how to replenish our energy, set boundaries and avoid depletion, and why it plays such a crucial role in nurturing personal well-being and resilience that ultimately empowers us to serve the people we love better. We talk about the idea that our brokenheartedness serves as a gateway to discovering our innate gifts and talents. By acknowledging and tending to our inner wounds, we can uncover hidden strengths and abilities, leading to personal growth and transformation.The importance of building community emerges as a central theme, Lama Rod highlights the significance of leaning into one's community for support and guidance, especially during times of need. He emphasizes the power of collective care and mutual aid in fostering resilience and fostering a sense of belonging.One of the most powerful moments in this episode comes as Kate asks Lama Rod to share his practice of connecting with unseen beings for support and guidance. Whether through ancestral reverence, prayer, or meditation, he suggests that tapping into the wisdom of unseen realms can provide valuable insights and assistance on our journey.Lama Rod encourages listeners to embrace joy as a radical act of defiance against suffering and oppression. He explores how cultivating joy in the face of adversity can be a powerful form of resistance, fostering resilience and inspiring positive change in ourselves and others.IN THIS EPISODELama Rod's journey to recognizing the importance of tending to one's own brokenheartedness as a creative process.Exploring the concept of brokenheartedness as a source of inspiration and creative fuel.Understanding how embracing vulnerability can lead to profound personal growth and artistic expression.Delving into the practices of self-care and self-compassion as essential tools for tending to our broken hearts.Navigating the complexities of healing and transformation through creative endeavors.The role of community and support in providing space for individuals to explore and heal their brokenheartedness.Lama Rod's reflections on the intersection of creativity, spirituality, and emotional well-being.3. Key Takeaways:Tending to our own brokenheartedness is essential for nurturing creativity and personal growth.Embracing vulnerability allows us to tap into the depths of our experiences and channel them into creative expression.Self-care and self-compassion are integral practices for tending to our broken hearts and fostering resilience.Building supportive communities provides a safe space for individuals to explore and heal their emotional wounds.The creative process serves as a transformative journey towards wholeness and self-discovery.Contemplation:  As we tend to our own brokenheartedness with compassion and care, we unlock the door to the truest version of ourselves and our profound creative potential. It is inside the brokenheartedness that we find true love. Can you find a small way to lean into your own brokenheartedness today (making sure you stay open to all the support available to you). 

Joining me in this episode is Lama Rod Owens. Known as the Black Buddhist Southern Queen, he is a highly sought-after Buddhist minister, author, activist, and yoga instructor, an authorized Lama in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, and an international influencer. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, focusing on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He's an all-around amazing guy. Here, we talk about his latest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors. Lama Rod has broken down some key aspects from the Buddhist traditions he has practiced and put them into his own words so the reader can tangibly apply these wisdom teachings. This is a jam packed episode not to be missed. In this episode, we talk about: What it means to be a disruptor. How and why the struggle truly is real. Modern takes on the four yogas and the Four Immeasurables, in Buddhism that he calls the Four Sweet Liberations. We also talk about Mother Harriet Tubman as a saint, ancestor, a guide, and a guardian. We discuss unseen beings and Rod's personal relationship to spirits. Werk vs Work. Working with fire and wrathful deities. MORE ABOUT LAMA ROAD OWENS Lama Rod co-founded Bhumisparsha, a spiritual community with a mission of making tantra accessible and inclusive for North American practitioners. He's also the co-founder of Dharma Queens, a series of conversations on Instagram Live with sister sadada, to help people get freer faster. His teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. https://www.lamarod.com The Spirit Underground Podcast with Lama Rod & Spring Washam https://beherenownetwork.com/category/spirit-underground/

Welcome back to DARE TO FEEL a podcast that fearlessly explores themes of intimacy, relationships, spirituality, and healing.Having Lama Rod Owens on the podcast was such a gift. And, his latest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors speaks to the times that we're in, in such a real way.In this Episode:We got to geek out a little bit about Buddhist practice and having the courage to let the heart break open, how to be in that heartbroken, open place and give your service to the world.Lama Rod shared how early on he committed himself to learning how to create beauty and fix what he thought was broken, clean up things, and learn how to create which has led him into deep aesthetic work.We dove into what led Lama Rod towards the path of meditation and energy work, and how his early childhood experiences and memories of feeling deeply disappointed by life led him deeper into his spiritual journey.CONNECT WITH LAMA ROD:Website: https://www.lamarod.com/ IG: @lamarodofficial Twitter: @LamaRod1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamarod/Order his book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-new-saints-from-broken-hearts-to-spiritual-warriors-lama-rod-owens/19673914?ean=9781649630001CONNECT WITH ALEXANDRA:Website: https://www.alexandraroxo.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/alexandraroxo/Tools for Healing & Transformation: https://alexandra-roxo.myflodesk.com/tools-and-transformation

To be a New Saint is to move into a direct relationship with suffering—our own and that of the world—and make a commitment to disrupt that suffering in any way we can, for as long as it takes. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Lama Rod Owens about his trailblazing new book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors.  Give a listen to this inspiring conversation on how each one of us can become effective agents of social and spiritual liberation. Tami and Lama Rod discuss awakened care and bodhicitta; partnering with ancestral forces and the unseen world; brokenheartedness and our collective emotional labor; disrupting reactivity; the radical act of choosing joy; experiencing our true home; two traits of a prophet: embodying clarity and telling the truth; the New Saint as an ordinary human being; the practice of receiving love; spiritual warriorship and what it means to "fight within love"; prayers of protection; the commitment to get free from suffering; consenting to the work of being a New Saint; and more. Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Radically telling his personal truths, Lama Rod Owens talks with Spring Washam about his upcoming book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors.Click HERE to preorder your copy of Lama Rod Owens' book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual WarriorsThis week on the Spirit Underground, Spring and Lama Rod dive into:Heartbreak, fear, and the freedom of honestyLama Rod's method of opening up in his upcoming bookInspiration from James BaldwinEmbodying the path of liberation and trusting the processA contemporary understanding of sainthoodRethinking the Bodhisattva traditionHow the idea of being good may mean suppressionTuning into our own needsThe modern love of radical truthThe tough work of spiritual awakening and processing our traumasRecognizing when someone is bypassing their painLama Rod Owens' dedication to the Black, Queer, and Trans communitiesImpacting the world through personal transformation“When you choose to do the work, you will experience liberation. You will experience the space, the fluidity. You'll come to understand yourself in a really different way, in such a way that's full of potential and expansive and generative.” – Lama Rod OwensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lama Rod Owens, a renowned Buddhist teacher and author, shares his journey of self-discovery and the importance of finding the balance between struggle and growth in our lives. As he delved into the ancient wisdom of Buddhism, he realized that the love and care he cultivated for himself was the foundation for his ability to share that love with others. Lama Rod's teachings remind us that true change begins with individual work and self-awareness, which then ripples out to positively impact our relationships and communities. In this episode, you will be able to: Discover the hidden benefits of struggle and how it can enhance personal growth Find out how to balance contracting and expansive activities to ensure a well-rounded and fulfilling lifestyle Uncover the secrets to pursuing meaningful work that aligns with your passions and values Learn practical self-care strategies to prioritize your well-being and maintain balance in your daily life Explore the transformative power of struggle and how it can lead to personal growth and positive change To learn more, click here!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest procurement process is pretty standard: a social follow or professional acquaintance morphs into an invite and eventual recording session. For this episode, however, I gotta thank the gods of analog alignment. They placed me in my favorite wellness collective at a personal low point. Here, I encountered a flier announcing a special event featuring Lama Rod Owens. The topic? Tantric Buddhism. Lama Rod is a Black Buddhist Southern queen, international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist studies from Harvard Divinity School, and author. And if your only reference point for Tantric anything is based on the mid-90s sexploits of a certain English musician and his wife, this ain't that. Instead, Lama Rod is distilling liberation to its most profound, heartbreaking, and, yes, pleasurable essence. GUEST BIO Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod activates the intersections of his identity to create a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive. His new book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors is available for pre-order now! SUPPORT FOR THERAPISTS Know the Numbers/Navigate the Feelings: A Financial Literacy Workshop for Therapists Tuesday, October 17, 6-8pm CST on Zoom Does the word ‘finance' make you want to run and hide? We get it! As therapists, we didn't learn this stuff in school!  Join Aggie Chydzinski and Sarah Buino for a live, interactive online workshop designed specifically for therapist business owners. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your financial knowledge and improve your practice. 100% of ticket price donations go to Sista Afya Community Care. Reserve your spot: https://tinyurl.com/therapistfinance   Be Your Own Boss Private Practice Workshop Thursday, November 9, 2023 9:00am - 4:00pm, and Friday, November 10, 2023, from 9:00am to 4:00pm DePaul University Loop Campus - DePaul Center 1 E. Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604 So you want to be your own boss? Many therapists feel pulled by the allure of private practice but have no idea where to begin. Some hang their shingle and wait for the phone to ring only to sit twiddling their thumbs, asking, “Where are the clients?” Facilitated by Sarah Buino, you'll learn the business 101s including insurance, business structure, and basic financials. You'll also have the opportunity to create your brand and begin a marketing plan. Cost: 12 CEUs / $199 Nonmember / $159 NASW Member.  Register now: https://tinyurl.com/naswprivatepractice

Expanding their conversation on embodied sexuality, Spring Washam and Lama Rod Owens offer fresh perspectives on liberating ourselves from the bonds of shame and reclaiming pleasure.Be sure to listen to Ep. 6 of The Spirit Underground Podcast for the first part of this conversation!“We think that exploring and investigating and having these experiences with others is the goal, but really it begins with ourselves. Like I have to figure out who I am; I have to figure out what I find pleasurable. For me, pleasure is just this really awakening energy and experiencing of space.” – Lama Rod OwensLearn more about Lama Rod's newest book, The New Saints, and pre-order your copy today: The New SaintsIn part two of this liberating series on sexuality, Spring and Lama Rod talk about:- Understanding what it means to embody sexuality- The capacity to talk about sexuality in our culture- Power and the doctrine of do no harm- Self-discovery and authenticity- Collaborating to experience pleasure- Wholeness and healing in the realm of sexuality- Balance, dharma, and tantric practice- Negotiating our bodies and boundaries- Meeting needs and helping others- Monogamy and different types of relationships- Using meditation and intuitive tools to understand the self- Reclaiming the word pleasure- Removing shame and resting in liberation- Finding freedom to be open about our identities- How friendships help us move out of contraction and be ourselves- Celibacy and evaluating where we put our energy“It's heavy stuff cutting through the societal baggage with our bodies, with queerness, with identity, and then going back to that word pleasure. How can pleasure be in service of awakening?” – Spring WashamSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This time on The Spirit Underground, Spring Washam and Lama Rod Owens begin a gentle exploration of the intersection of gender identity, sexuality and spirituality.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenowIn this exploratory discussion, Spring Washam and Lama Rod Owens gently surface their thoughts on:The binary between sacred and secular sexualityWhy we repress sexuality as a cultureTending to the needs and suffering of the bodyMoving through the ways we've been conditioned to think about bodies, attraction, desire, sexuality, gender, etc.Discussing sexuality in spiritual leadershipHolding space for sexual energy on a community level“If we're talking about an enlightened society, that is also enlightened sexuality.” – Lama Rod Owens About Lama Rod Owens:Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that's very natural, engaging, and inclusive.For current offerings and programs, click here. “I want us to reach a place of liberation where we love our bodies, where we are fluid, and relating to space and energy.” – Spring Washam About Spring Washam:Spring Washam is a well-known teacher, author, and visionary leader based in Oakland, California. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment and her newest book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founding teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA. She has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism since 1999. She is a member of the teacher's council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California where she was trained for over a decade.In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices since 2008. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, a one-of-a-kind organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom in South America. Her writings and dharma teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications. She currently teaches meditation retreats and leads workshops, and classes worldwide.Spring currently teaches meditation retreats and leads workshops, and classes worldwide: springwasham.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking at ancestry and our roots, Spring Washam and Lama Rod Owens describe re-discovering what it means to be home."I think a lot of people are going through this multi-lineage, complex awakening to these streams of energy and lineage. I think that creates some guilt as well, it may bring up issues of appropriation. Do I have a right to do this?" – Lama Rod Owens This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenowIn this episode Spring and Lama Rod explore :Making sense of our place in the worldAncestral work and Indigenous practicesHome and the effects of forcible displacement Spirit elders and channeling traditionsPlant medicine and the Shipibo people of the Amazon rainforestHonoring versus appropriations"When we are talking about these conversations on liberation we are asking people to start to understand their energy and who they are in a much broader awakened state." – Spring Washam See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spelunking the depths of the Spirit Underground, Spring Washam and Lama Rod Owens join together for a conversation on liberation and ancestors.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow In this episode Spring and Lama Rod dive into:What is the Spirit Underground?The intersection of social liberation and spiritual liberationSamsara, suffering, safety, consciousness, and freedomWisdom from Spring's new book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the UndergroundGreat Beings sharing wisdom downloads from the spirit realmThe "Spiritual Industrial Complex"Ancestors, repeating history, and connecting with Divine LoveTrauma and letting goChoosing love over hate to overcome oppressive systems"What we're doing is talking about both social liberation and spiritual ultimate liberation, and we're trying to find the intersection of both of those liberations in this moment." – Lama Rod OwensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey team! Welcome to episode three of the CIHAS pod, season 2. This week, I'm joined by Dr. Emma Svanberg - clinical psychologist, speaker and campaigner with expertise in attachment and perinatal psychology - AKA Mumologist on IG. In this episode, we focus on some of the stories that we bring to parenting, and the socially constructed ideas we have about parenting. We talk about how sometimes looking for all the advice and answers actually takes us farther away from what we're looking for, and I ask Emma why she thinks we're so drawn to advice from so-called parenting experts. Finally, we talk about how we can sift through all the noise of parenting advice, and find what's best for us and for our kids and learn to leave the rest. Can I Have Another Snack? is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Find out more about Emma's here.Follow her work on Instagram here.Follow Laura on Instagram here.Sign up to the Raising Embodied Eaters workshop here.Subscribe to my newsletter here.Here's the transcript in full:Emma: If we are stuck on that idea that this is, you know, the kinda cognitive, that intellectual idea that this is what should happen, it becomes so hard to see our child's experience of what it is that we're trying to do. So again, you know, being able to base those things on the relationship. You know what, what did it feel like when I have prepared this food for my child and they have refused it, or actually they're disgusted by it? How does that make me feel? what does that touch on for me as a parent? And often there are such complex issues with that.INTROLaura: Hey, and welcome to another episode of Can I Have Another Snack podcast, where I'm asking my guests who or what they're nourishing right now, and who or what is nourishing them. I'm Laura Thomas, an anti diet registered nutritionist, and author of the Can I Have Another Snack newsletter. Today I'm talking to Dr. Emma Svanberg. You may know her better as Mumologist on Instagram. Emma is a clinical psychologist, speaker and campaigner with expertise in attachment and perinatal psychology. She's co-founder of Make Birth Better and founded the Psychology Collective in 2019, which is a team of practitioners offering psychological support and guidance for the whole family.Today we are gonna be talking about Emma's new book, Parenting for Humans, which is out next month and is available to pre-order now. Now, before you get totally freaked out, this book isn't a book that tells you how to be a better parent or to set up new standards or expectations for how you should parent. Rather, the point of the book is to understand how you were parented and all the experiences that you bring to your parenting with the hope of getting to know yourself better and therefore understand what you are bringing to your relationship with your kid. So Emma and I discuss what some of the stories are that we bring to parenting about what we've learned, about what a parent should be from our own experiences, but also what are socially constructed ideas about parenting.We talk about how sometimes looking for all the advice and answers actually takes us further away from what we're looking for. And I ask Emma why she thinks we're so drawn to advice from so-called parenting experts. Finally, we talk about how we can sift through all the noise of parenting advice and find what's best for us and our kids, and learn to just leave the rest.So we'll get to Emma in just a minute, but first I wanted to remind you that my Raising Embodied Eaters workshop is on Tuesday, the 21st of February. Don't worry, it's not going to be me giving you a bunch of useless tips and tricks, but we will explore your relationship with food and think about how you can support your kids to have a positive relationship with food and their body. I will also give you some practical tools, but my intention is to help you take the pressure off of feeding your kids and help you create a home that supports a healthy relationship to food and bodies. I've linked to the full description in the show notes, so you can check it out. It's 15 pounds. It will be, um, all on Zoom, and I'll have the recording available for a week afterwards that you can watch on catch up if you like. Plus you'll also get a copy of my Raising Embodied Eaters Guide to share with friends, family, childcare, and schools. So click the link in the show notes and you'll get the full details of what we're gonna talk about in that workshop. And lastly, before we get to Emma, just a quick reminder that Can I Have Another Snack? is a reader supported publication. I'd love to bring you more deeply researched pieces, but it requires a significant investment in my time, plus the support of an editor and behind the scenes. Admin support. So if you are in a position to become a paid subscriber, then please consider it. It's five pounds a month or 50 pounds for the year. It works out at something like 50 p an article. And if that's not accessible for you right now, you can email hello@laurathomasphd.co.uk, putting the word ‘snacks' in the subject line, and we'll hook you up with a comp subscription, no questions asked. You don't have to explain yourself. I trust that if you are able to afford a subscription right now, you will, and if not, then just get in touch. All right, team. Here's my conversation with Dr. Emma Svanberg.MAIN EPISODELaura: All right, Emma, I'd love it if you could start by letting us know who or what you are nourishing right now.Emma: Well, at the moment I am just in the process of nourishing the, I suppose, the next few weeks that are coming up for me, which are all about my new book, that is coming out in March called Parenting for Humans, which is a funny process, right? Because you sort of just dated over a long period of time. And then, uh, you know, as you know yourself, as we get closer to launch date, there are lots of different kinda angles to think about. So at the moment I'm both nourishing trying to, uh, talk about my book, trying to really kind of get to grips with understanding how it's going to resonate with people. I think that's the kinda key thing for me thinking about the ideas that I really want to kind of get out there into the world while at the same time still nourishing myself and my family as best I can.Laura: Yeah. I mean, I remember when I published my first book, I didn't have that same, I didn't have any responsibilities to anyone else except myself. and then when the second book came along, I had a six month old at that point, and it was just a completely different experience and it was such a fine balance to kind of, you know, preserve myself in amongst the chaos of book publishing. So I hope that you're managing to, to find pockets and moments to relax and decompress and, and yeah, tend to yourself because it can be a lot. I don't think people realize that writing the book, editing, fact checking, copy editing, all of the, that whole lengthy, lengthy process is like 50% publishing a book. Maybe? Like there's all of the publicity and everything surrounding that is like, is a huge piece of it.Emma: Yeah, absolutely. I think that what makes it easier is that I'm really excited about this book. I mean, I've also written a previous book that was a very niche specialist book about birth trauma and was also very excited about that one of course, but this book kind of really brings in all of the therapeutic ideas that I've worked with with clients and have done so for many years. So in some ways I think that, you know, in itself, kinda talking about the ideas of the book, um, is something that I'm really enjoying doing and kind trying to figure out, you know, which has always been something that's been really important to me, how do we turn what can feel like really inaccessible, complex psychological concepts into ideas that will make sense to people so that they can very quickly then apply them to their own lives.Laura: So, and you've kind of, you've kind of touched on it a little bit in terms of kind of the, um, maybe more how the book functions, but can you tell us a little bit more about what you are covering in the book, what is the message you're trying to get across?Emma: Um, I think that it started off, the idea came from my experience of working with parents. Um, you know I kind of qualified back in 2009, I qualified but, and the experience that I see parents having over that time has changed so much. So back when I first qualified my role was very much about helping parents, most usually mothers within the NHS and I was seeing people to, you know, kinda really value their role and think about kinda getting support in place, you know, very kinda clear difficulties around, for example, birth trauma or anxiety about bonding with a baby or postnatal depression would be a very common, um, difficulty that I'd see. What's shifted in that time is that there is a whole added layer that has been added on top of that for parents, which is around pressure to do things a certain way, to be a certain way. To parent in a particular way, and that is pressure that is felt by parents, but it's also pressure that then is experienced by children. And what we have then seen kind of come up in, particularly in the last five years or so, is so much advice, so much information about how you can tackle that. You know, try doing it like this. This is a really useful strategy that you could have. These are some really useful words that you can say to your child, but what I then see is parents who've tried that, it's not working for a reason, and then they end up feeling like there's something really wrong with me. I'm a terrible parent, or I'm not doing this well enough, or there's something wrong with my child. My child is broken. Because all of these beautiful strategies are not working. Where we-Laura: I never, sorry. Just that, just like really, that really resonated with, not resonated, but it, it kind of, it struck a nerve that I've thought a lot about how pressure, and I think about this a lot as, as a professional who kind of gives advice and, and shares some of the, the things that you talk about in the book, you know, strategies and advice.Um, I try and be really deliberate and thoughtful and intentional about that. Whether or not that lands is another is, is another thing, but, so I, I think through, you know, at being a parent, think through how that, how much pressure and how much pressure there is on parents in general, how that contributes to anxiety, to guilt, to shame, to all of these things.But I hadn't actually thought about how, what the implication is for our children as well and how they experience that as pressure themselves and how they are embodying some of these ideals and ideas and, and fantasies around, what it means a per, to show up as a parent in a, a person in the world and what that will mean for them as they, as they grow up.So, yeah. Sorry, that just , sorry to interrupt you there, but that just kind of really struck me, what you were saying.Emma: It's so often it's about the dynamic, right? We focus our attentions as professionals onto the parents rather than or onto the child. But actually, I think kinda a really core part of the message of the book is that it's about your dynamic as a family and the relationship that exists between all of the different members of the family.So, you know, you, you as a mother might go off and do loads of reading, loads of research, gather loads of information, try particular strategies, but if they don't click for your child or for your family with your partner or for the context in which you're living in, actually, you can end up feeling like I'm not applying this in the correct way, rather than, actually, maybe that strategy wasn't correct for me and my family and the situation that we're in.Laura: Mm-hmm.Emma: I think for me a lot of that work, cause I, I'm an adult psychologist, I focus on work with kinda adult mental health. You know, for me a lot of that is about us as parents understanding where we're coming from. You know what's important to us, what history we're bringing into our parenting relationship.Once we understand ourselves, it becomes so much easier to understand what will work for our child or for our family, and it also really allows us to see them as the people that they are. That's why it's called Parenting For Humans, right? Cause it's about, you know, how do we parent as the whole humans that we are, not just how we show up as mum or dad, but also then parenting our children for the whole humans that they are, which is, you know, flaws and all. Aside from those kind of idealized stories that we read about or hear about that, you know, kinda describe family life as only fitting a very particular model.Laura: Absolutely. Yeah, you, that's one of the, the main themes that you, you talk about at the beginning of the book, this idea that we hold onto stories about what being a parent means, what it looks like, how we should be as parents, what we should value, and so on, and I'm wondering if you could just say a little more about this idea of stories and the impact that holding so tightly to these fantasies can have on us, on our family life, on those dynamics that you mentioned.Emma: Yeah, absolutely. I think, uh, you know, the book is based on this idea of a map that we kinda bring stories onto a map that we don't even know necessarily, that we have. Now might be stories from our own babyhood and childhood and stories from adulthood, stories from society, but also the stories that we've kinda internalized from previous generations, from the cultures that we live in.So, so many stories that we hold unconsciously, the tricky thing for us as adults is that we often don't even know that we're holding those stories until we come up against something that proves them wrong. And there are so many of them in parenthood, right? Like there's the kinda really basic ones like, I dunno, for example, maybe I hold a story that I should be able to put a baby in a blanket, pop it in a cot and it's going to go to sleep and that's just what babies do. That is a story that is so prevalent in our society.You know, think about what you see on tv, what you see in images. You know, those kinda photos that you see of beautiful babies with, you know, angelic faces, fast asleep. And actually then when you experience an actual baby and babies are full of more emotion, that can just change at any moment, you don't always know what that is, because you have that story or maybe you hold that unconscious story that when I put that baby in a blanket and I put it in a crib, it's gonna go to sleep. We're then coming up against that obstacle straightaway when that doesn't work. Cause we internalize that almost like a should, like this is what should happen. And when it doesn't happen, it can often take us quite a while to then think, well maybe that's because that story actually doesn't apply to me, my child, our situation. We then think I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I need a different blanket, maybe I need a different crib, maybe the room temperature's wrong. Maybe my baby has a sleep problem. You know? So we go down that road rather than go that level down and think, what is the story that I've kind internalized here? Is that a story that actually fits for me and for my baby or for my family?Laura: Yeah. I like that idea of kind of peeling back the layers. Like of, okay, this is what I'm told is, you know, could be wrong. Here are all the, you know, as you were listing all those solutions there, I was like, oh my God, there's so many things that we're told that we should do, so many variables that we should, you know, be well, first of all, aware of, and secondly, be able to manipulate. Um, when actually when we strip that away, asking ourselves, does this advice, does this information that I'm sifting through actually apply to me? And, and what is that background story that I've kind of hung, you know, I'm hanging my ideas about my child on, um, and, and, you know, do they actually hold up to scrutiny when we, when we look at them more closely?Emma: Absolutely. And it's, you know, we have to bring them into consciousness before we can hold them up to scrutiny. And that's the bit that often we don't do. Cause we just have so many of these stories. We have so many of these ideas that, you know, just because they're around us all the time, we don't question them.And then as soon as you start questioning them, what often happens is that people have, you know, multiple light bulb moments, right on that journey of parenthood where you suddenly go, oh, why am I doing that actually? Cause that doesn't really work.Laura: I know exactly what you're talking about with those light bulb moments, and I, I remember having one, maybe even, I don't know, as recently as like six or or nine months ago when kind of just, we just got out of, you know, the really, really intense baby phase. It's still pretty intense. But, looking back and, and like thinking about how many of these, you know, like how many stories I suppose I had collected from, you know, parenting books or podcasts or social media accounts or whatever it was.And then having to like really have a talk with myself about like, this is not, this does not apply to me like this , I don't need any of this. This is making things more difficult, more stressful, more pressured for me. And actually, what I noticed was that it was really undermining my own instincts about how I wanted to parent and, and kind of making me second guess myself a lot.Um, and, and as soon as I kind of got to that, it like made things so much simpler. I was like, okay, but is this, does this, you know, now I can look at something and say, okay, but does this actually align with my values? Is this actually helpful to me?Emma: Absolutely. And does it fit?Laura: Does it fit my child? You know, or is it actually gonna cause us more tension or friction or, or whatever it might be.Um, so yeah, I really resonate with that idea of having, being like a sort of light bulb moment and being like, this is trash. We don't need this . Um, and what, what's actually important and valuable for me? There was a part in the book again that really resonated with me, and I think it kind of relates to, um, to what, what we're talking about here. So I have your book and I've, I've highlighted a little section here and I wondered if it'd be okay if I, if I read it back.Emma: Oh, I'd love that. I haven't heard it out loud. So yes,Laura: Have you, you haven't recorded the audio book then yet?Emma: That's coming.Laura: You have that fun to come. So you, you've written, "because when we find ourselves looking for the answers that will make it all easier we can lose sight of the child right in front of us. We have this idea that if we just find the right strategy, the right label, the right technique, the right line to say, perhaps even the right diagnosis, then everything would be okay. Then we'll have cracked it, whatever it is, sleeping, feeding, eating five portions of fruit and veg, good behavior, a healthy relationship. We keep chasing that magic solution and we never stop and look at what is going on right now in ourselves, in our children, and in our families." And yeah, this is such a fine line that I straddle as a practitioner, someone who works with parents and families, how can I be supportive without making it seem like if you just follow my five point plan or my formula , that um, you know, everything will, you know, will solve all, all your problems.I wonder if you could speak to, you know, why we are so drawn to looking to experts to help us figure out how to parent rather than looking at our own child.Emma: I think that there's, well, there's two parts to it, right. There's kinda the context in which we live. So historically we would've lived closer to our families. We would've been part of communities, you know, even when I was a child, absolutely, there was much more a sense of kinda community there, other neighbors around, or more experienced parents who you might come to a particular guidance.So a lot of that has gone, you know, people are parenting much more in isolation. Um, and also in this country, that kind early intervention, preventative care that used to be very much part of the early parenting experience where you'd have a midwife that you knew well, you'd a health visitor that you knew well.There were community nurses that were around, had school nurses, so you know, all of those professionals that you had easy access to have virtually disappeared in the last kind of 15 years. So that has made a huge difference to people's ability to access information. The research shows that people still do turn to their family and friends, first and foremost, for information above experts.I think then when you have maybe particular issues that you are struggling with, where you might want to speak to a professional like you, if you can't access that for whatever reason, then of course there is this, you know, absolute wealth of information that is now available to you on the internet. So I think that there's just a kind practical reality to how differently we live and how that has meant that lots of people have less access to professional expertise then maybe they would have done in the past.There's also, I think, because there's so much more information out there that is accessible on the internet, for example, um, people tend to feel a bit bombarded. So there can be a pressure to feel like you have to choose a particular camp, you know, I follow the expertise of experts who follow like this line of thinking, for example.And then, you know, you can absolutely go down a rabbit hole finding out so much information about this one particular thing. But if that is a, an idea or um, a set of strategies that doesn't really fit your family, it can feel really hard to then pull yourself out that and shift to different, different model, you know, these things are presented to us as different models or strategies rather than flexible ideas that we might be able to apply in flexible ways. And then I also think the kind of other side of it is, I mean, we know this in a wider sense, that we do live in a society that rises perfection. And often when we come to have children, we might have already felt great sense of achievement and success in other areas of our life.And there can be a sense for lots of parents that they're gonna take same set of principles that I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this well, and by doing it well I have to follow these particular guidelines. If I do these things, and that means that I'm a good parent, and it's almost like we apply that same sense of achievement, productivity, purpose to the act of parenting.What's difficult, of course, is that they children and ourselves change on a daily basis, you know when they're really little they change almost on an hourly basis, so, when we can feel like we're picking that box, we feel like we've got a strategy or a plan that works, if our child changes or our circumstances change, or we change, you know, and, and actually, you know, again, that kinda idea of flexibility can feel quite hard to hold onto. Think it's a combination of lots of different things and, and then of course, you know, supply and demand. The more that we look for expertise, the more experts will share their knowledge with us.Laura: Mm-hmm.Emma: You know it's so easy to be able to go and find a piece of information that we're looking for. And there can be tremendous benefits to that. And again, the research shows that there is a benefit to that. The cost is for people who have that sense of socially oriented perfectionism, where there might be a sense of shame or judgment, when they don't feel like they're meeting this particular ideal, for example, that might be held up to them by the different things that they're kinda reading or hearing.So again, I think, yeah, lots of different reasons. Some, some of them have kinda huge benefits to us in kinda what we have access to, but that also has to be held in mind with what it's costing us in terms of the pressure that we put on ourselves as parents. But also, like we said before, the pressure that then puts on us as a family, in the relationships within the family if not everybody's on board with that way of doing things. So it's important to kind of hold that in mind too. And sometimes, you know, you can take the bits that you need from experts, but essentially what it comes down to is how am I gonna apply this to my situation or our situation? That can be really hard to do.Laura: Mm-hmm. And, and I want to, to talk to you in a second, just a little bit about how we can sort of sift through the noise and, and figure out what, what is valuable and helpful for us. Because as you say, there are things that you know, might, might make a difference and, and might be really important, um, you know, might be great, helpful information for us. But  really appreciated you naming in the book and, and you've said it again here, just sort of this, what I would conceptualize probably as sort of internalized capitalism. This idea to constantly be producing, to be achieving, to be succeeding. And, and as you pointed out in the book, you know, that's how we are, um, schooled. That's, you know, if we go onto further education, that's how we approach our employment. But do we ever take a step back and, and think about why am a, applying the same tools to my parenting and, and my relationships with other human beings as I am to, you know, a, a achieving, um, you know, a certificate or a degree or whatever, whatever it might be. And I just think that, yeah, capitalism has so much to answer for here, both in terms of that and, and how we just approach our parenting. But also going back to what you were saying before about how we used to be so much more in community and around, you know, we would turn to like our parents or maybe like our older siblings or neighbors or cousins or, or whatever it was that were, you know, in proximity to us. And now it's so much easier to just look at, at, at somebody on our phone than it is to like reach out and have a meaningful conversation with someone. And that's because we're, you know, capitalism thrives right, by keeping us isolated, keeping us away from each other, um, when we are, we are so interdependent especially when it comes to, to parenting. And I think about this a lot in terms of how much easier it would be to feed kids if we were more in community. You know, if your neighbors were like taking round a lasagna cuz like you've had this reciprocal thing where like, you know, you each double batch cooked something and then swapped every week so that you ha-, you know, that you were caring for each other in that way and sharing the load and sharing the burden.And also when we're in community, we can see that, yeah. Oh, look, that toddler also doesn't eat vegetables. Cool. All right. it's a toddler thing. Whereas when we, when we look, log into social media, all we hear is like, oh, let's, you know, try and program our children to love broccoli more than they love cake or you know, whatever, whatever it is. So I'm on my high horse now, Emma, but-Emma: So go for it. Go for it. Love it.Laura: I just, I guess kind of thinking, thinking a little bit more specifically about feeding, um, and like the relationship that our children have, um, with food, which I think is so often, well it's a reflection of our own relationship with our food and we with food and our bodies and we, if we have unresolved things there, then that can, can kind of have a cascade effect.But also, you know, I see a lot of generic feeding advice that gets thrown around without nuance or caveats or, or just even the disclaimer of like, it, you don't have to do this if it doesn't work for you and your family. I think, I feel like if people said that more often, that would be really helpful.But this advice ends up adding more pressure to the feeding relationship, which can be counterproductive for feeding, and perpetuates this narrative about a correct or a best way to feed a child. And I mean, we could extrapolate this to almost any element of parenting. It's just I'm interested in feeding.Can we talk about how we can find a way to like sift through the noise and tune into what works for you and your family?Emma: Um, I obviously would say yes, And one of the things that I talk about in the book is kinda, uh, general parenting tools rather than kinda overarching strategies that there are, you know, few key things if you can hold them in mind, then you can apply different advice to your child and your family situation.And for me, one of the most important ones of them is around collaboration. And I think that, you know, what we were talking about before when you were talking about capitalism and that kinda sense of productivity and purpose, how that applies to feeding, and you know, in the home, how we bring our own histories into that too. I think so often when we're, whether we're talking about feeding, whether we're talking about anything else to do with family life, we come to it in a very intellectual way, we're talking about I'm going to apply this principle or I'm going to do it this way, and that's just going to work.What I focus on a lot in the book is that how do we go down into thinking about this as a relationship, which I know you talk about, you know, feeding is a relationship, that we bring our own relationship with food into that, but also our child will have their own experience with food. When we come at things from a cognitive way, you know, we're thinking about this is what I'm gonna apply to this situation and we're not thinking so much about how it's going to land with that other person. Or what they're bringing to that situation.Laura: Mm.Emma: So let's say you followed some beautiful advice that you've seen on social media around talking broccoli, that we're going to feed children broccoli.If we are stuck on that idea that this is, you know, the kinda cognitive, that intellectual idea that this is what should happen, it becomes so hard to see our child's experience of what it's we're trying to do. So again, you know, being able to base those things on the relationship. You know what, what did it feel like when I have prepared this food for my child and they have refused it, or actually they're disgusted by it?How does that make me feel, what does that touch on for me as a parent? And often there are such complex issues with that. Right? In the book, I kinda start off by thinking about us as, as whole human beings and what we're bringing. And then, you know, it's only when we understand ourselves that we can really think about how can we then relate to our children.So with food for example, you know, so much gets brought up for us as parents, where our children, we feel rejected. We feel like we're not doing, you know, good job, I can't even feed my child. It's one of those basic tasks like how can this be so hard? You know, that basic thing that everyone else seems to be doing ok. I must be doing something wrong. So what touches on for you, you know, those feelings of, let's say rejection or, or you know, conversely, maybe it's fury, you know how, how dare they reject this? I've worked so hard, so we're thinking about our own histories.And once we can think about what does that touch on for us, we can then think about, what do we want to shift so that our experience, our emotions aren't getting in the way of what we're trying to do with our child, which is very much a relational process.Once we understand that and we can think about what we're bringing, then we can think about what are those pieces of information advice that do fit? Where are those things actually that I feel like are still niggling, like actually this makes me so angry, so that maybe I wanna go think about that somewhere outside of this situation or circumstances. And it's only really then once we understand all of that, that we can then think about how does that child actually feel about broccoli? You know, do they actually like broccoli?If they don't, what am I gonna do about that? Am I gonna persevere? Is that worth it for me? Do I have the resources? Maybe it's okay for them not to eat broccoli for a little while, while I just get over all emotions that this broccoli has brought in. You know, it seems so simple these are the things that come up for us as parents, you know, multiple, multiple times a day when these particular situations or events can touch something that can feel so fundamental, so emotional, so raw. What we tend to then do is that we bring in more information, more kinda cognitive information so that we try a different strategy rather than than pause at that point and think, why is it that this is bringing up something that feels so powerful for me that is getting in the way of what I want to happen between me and my child?Does that make sense?Laura: Yeah. Absolutely. And, and I think like, just to maybe put it in slightly more, concrete context, at least this is something I've been thinking a lot about recently when I see a lot of advice about feeding our children. It's, you know, there's like, let's take for example, this idea that you shouldn't offer alternatives, right? If the child doesn't like, you know, doesn't eat what's on the table. By, you know, there's this, there's this school of thought by of, of like, well, if you offer alternatives, then your child is manipulating you and you know, you're getting into this battle of wills with your child and you know, setting aside what's going on with the child's psychology there, you're already setting this up as a sort of,Emma: A battle. Laura: A battle. Yeah. Uh, rather than a relationship where, you know, where you might be able to be like, okay, what, what, what's coming up for me when they refuse their broccoli? And Okay. Then once I've, once I've maybe processed that a little bit and, you know, talk myself down off the edge. What's going on for them?Oh, actually, like they have a sensor processing difference or they, you know, there's not enough safe foods on the table, so they can't actually, it doesn't feel, they don't have that sense of felt safety that allows them to come to the table and, and have a meal with the, the rest of the family if you're even eating at a table in the first place.Basically, it actually prevents us from being responsive to the child that is in front of us. And, and I, I know responsive can be kind of like a loaded term for some people, but what I mean by that is literally just being able to see the, the child and their needs and meet them where they're at rather than kind assuming that actually they're trying to manipulate you and,Emma: Totally. And I think we can often have this idea, right, that we as parents are in control and that if our children are not doing the things that we feel like they should be doing, that they're meant to be doing, that other people's children seem to be doing, then that's our failure as a parent and we just need to try harder or we need to work more, or that there's something wrong with them and so we need to work at kinda fixing them. Actually, you know, the relationship between a parent and child is so complex. You know, it's almost, we have this idea that children are like these malleable objects that, you know, if we're just molding them in the right way, then they're gonna come out, the outcome is gonna be the one that we are, you know, striving for.Rather than actually our children come into the world as these whole human beings who have their own thoughts, feelings, needs, beliefs, tastes, you know, and also then within the, the wider context in which we're living. You know, can I afford broccoli at the moment? How do I feel about broccoli? You know, what happened when I refused broccoli at the kitchen table?And how much is that impacting on how I feel now? So, you know, our history, our current circumstances, the relationships that we're in our work environments, our financial circumstances. You were talking about broccoli, but all of those things can really, um, you know, kinda, yeah. Obviously have a huge impact on these kinda very, what seem like very minor circumstances.Laura: Yeah. What does that broccoli represent?Emma: What does broccoli represent?Laura: What's it really about?Emma: I'm thinking about people listening to this and go, yeah, typical psychologist, right? We're talking about broccoli and now I'm talking about like wider society, but actually, you know, because we so often just see that kind of one idea of it's just, it's just about the broccoli and you know, if, if I tried hard enough then I'd be able to mold my child to eat that broccoli or whatever it might be.But when we can take into account everything that we're bringing, everything that they're bringing, our wider circumstances, then we can kinda, yeah, focus in on that relationship as whole people, right? Like this is who I'm showing up to this, you know, this kitchen table and this is who they're, and this is how they're showing up.And you know, all of those kinda different circumstances, how tired they are, all of those things that can get in the way, that once we let go of that idea of this is how it should be, we can start to see what actually is, you know, what actually is in front of us. And then we can, you know, think about solutions to target what is going on in those moments?Laura: I think there is something, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this as well, Emma, that feels uniquely. kind of, yeah. I think you used the word fundamental earlier or primitive or something that, you know, gets to really the core of, um, you know, survival for humans when it comes to feeding that really kind of just, it kind of, it's like a knife gets dug in in a way that it doesn't with, with some other areas of, of parenting that, yeah. It's just such a, an essential part maybe of parent, feeding your child particularly again, I'm thinking to like those early, um, early weeks and months and, and years when, you know, there is that kind of narrative of like, the first 1000 days are the most important of a child's life and you know, what you feed them now is gonna impact their, you know, cognitive development and da da da da da for the rest of their lives.And so I just wonder if, from a psychologist perspective, if you have any thoughts about just like, you know, what that's kind of touching on for us when feeding isn't going well. Emma: I think you're right. I think it's so primitive, you know, that actually so much of parenting is around these kind of really primitive survival mechanisms.Laura: Yeah.Emma: You know that actually our, our role first and foremost is to keep this child alive you know whatever, at whatever cost. And you know, feeding difficulties, can start, you know, from day one. So thinking about, you know, kinda those who have breastfeeding difficulties or feel judged for their feeding choices, for example. And then that can kinda go on so much through food being a representation of love, you know, how did we experience that when we were growing up?And then how do we wanna kinda translate that for our own family again within the context that we're in. So if we're, you know, two parents are working full-time, for example, how does, how, how do we kinda translate that into, you know, eating together or those kinda idealized family meals that we hold in our minds? So I think it can be very fraught. It can be such a fraught experience. And I think it's also an experience that is so judged, right? You know, thinking about feeding babies, thinking about what kinda food we give our toddlers, thinking about, you know, the, all of the stories that you've spoken about, diet, culture, obesity, all of that kinda, it can get really mixed. Our own relationships with our bodies, our own relationships with food, and how that comes up in our experience of feeding our children, how well supported we are in that, you know, financially. Again, kinda how that, how that can impact on what we're able to offer our children. So, I think, you know, it is the way that we express love, it's the way that we kinda show our children that we care about them. At the same time, there is so much pressure to do it a certain way so it can become so fraught so quickly.Laura: Yeah.Emma: And we also don't talk enough about how boring it can be to feed children day in and day out.Laura: It's so relentless. Three meals, three snacks. Like, oh, you don't like this anymore. Suddenly you like that.Emma: And especially, you know, when, you know, you've kind of been, if you've raised children during lockdowns and you literally, you know, it was almost like a constant rotation of food over lockdowns. So, you know, I think that we don't talk enough about that kinda ambivalence around, you know, not just parenting tasks, but parenting in general.But, you know, again, the idea is that we're have this kinda lovely, you know, food environment that, um, we're gonna share these kinda pleasant meals together where the family are coming together to talk about their day. All of this kinda, again, kinda back to stories, narratives, ideals that we hold when actually for a lot of parents, food is something that can just feel quite boring and quite relentless and, and often very stressful.And, and you know, as soon as we start talking about that side of things too, the more difficult, the more negative side of things. Often we can feel a sense of relief that actually it doesn't have to be this one ideal way that actually all of these experiences can be so complex and varied with individual.Laura: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for, for speaking to the, to that point and, and I think naming how Yeah. Tedious feeding a family can be. And we were kind of talking a little bit off mic. I have a piece coming out next week that talks about, um, feeding a child as an aesthetic. Like that's what we see so much of on, on, um, social media when actually if, if we're feeding with that per- like idealized image in our head. Again, it occludes us from seeing the child in front of us and being in relationship with that child and, and food can be, You know, again, without romanticizing it, it can be ti-, a time for connection and for checking in. It can also just be a cluster fuck, sometimes and through nobody else, you know, through no one's fault.Um, just because you, sometimes you have to just get food in their mouths to sustain them to get to the next activity or like, you know, to grandma's house or what, you know, whatever it is. So, um, yeah, I think. I really appreciate that you know, that you're having these conversations where we're looking at the messy, ugly, boring, tiring, exhausting side of it, but not in this like meme-ified way that we often see that that sort of like really trivializes how exhausting and draining and how much hard work all of this is.But yeah, I really appreciate that in your, in the book that you're kind of inviting us to check in with what, what stories and fantasies we're bringing to our parenting that actually might be causing us more suffering and, and, and harming the relationships that we're having with, with our families so that we can kind of, you know, give ourselves permission to take what we need and leave the rest ofEmma: Yeah. Yeah. And you can get really creative then, right? Like once you let go of those ideas and you think about what do I want? What do we need as a family, you can get really creative with the way that you do things.Laura: Yeah.Emma: You know, for example, feeding children in the bath, that is something that somebody that I know does, you know, occasionally when they've had a really tricky day and it's been an absolute shitshow, I'm like, you know we're gonna get in the bath, you can have some sandwiches, that means I don't need to do any cleaning up, and then I'm gonna pop you into bed and I'm going to sit on the sofa and that is not something that you'd ever see on Instagram, I don't think.But you know, just that kinda idea of what, what is gonna work for me? And what do I need right now and what does my child need right now? And maybe they don't need to have this kinda really beautiful aesthetic, aesthetically pleasing, mealtime actually. Maybe they just need to eat something quickly so that you can then move on with your day or have connection in a different way, and if you know, as you know, and you talked about, you know, the stress that can come with feeding can cause such a vicious circle so quickly that actually anything that you can do to kinda nip that in the bud and again bring in ideas around flexibility, creativity. What's gonna work so that you can feed your child but also in a way that feels the least stressful for all of you?Laura: Yeah, absolutely. I fully endorse toast for dinner. If that's like, you know what you need to do to like put something in their bellies and get them to bed. Like as long as they're having enough to eat, then yeah, we're good. Emma, thank you so much. This has been a really great conversation. Before I let you go, I want to ask you who or what is nourishing you right now?Emma: Um, well at the moment I've been really focused on kinda restoration, so I think last year I did a lot of work around kinda reflection over the pandemic experience that parents had and how burnt out so many are, given the experiences of the past few years that are continuing. But at the moment, what I'm really kinda nourishing myself with, so a particular person, Lama Rod, who is an amazing meditation teacher and started to run these Thursday meditation groups, for UK people, cause he's based in the States. So, I've been kind of really consuming a lot of his work and his presence is just incredibly helpful and healing and I really love what he has to say about this particular time that we live in. I think that you'll really like him. He has a lot to say about you know, he calls this the age of apocalypse that we are coming into, we're in dark times at the moment, but there actually is by embracing that darkness that we can start to think about what we wanna shift into the future. So very much about, you know, not being afraid of embracing the dark, messy stuff, which is something that feels, really resonates with me.Laura: I think that, um, it reminds me of Bayo Akomolafe's work. I don't know if you're familiar with their book, um, These Wilds Beyond Our Fences where they talk about that in terms of like climate crisis and, um, but also like racism and parenting. They're a parent. It's like, there's also some like nuclear physics or something in there. It's like, it's a really dense dense book. But, um, I'll, I'll link to that and I'll link to, sorry, what say the name of the, the per-, the,Emma: His name is Lama, Lama Rod Owens, and he's on Instagram, but he also has stuff on the internet and he does a number of courses. He also wrote a book, so.Laura: Okay. I'll link, definitely link to, to them in the, in the show notes. And then the final question I have for you, Emma, is, what are you snacking on right now? So at the end of every episode, my guest and I share something. It's like a recommendation that they have for the audience. It can be an actual snack. I mean, I feel like you've just given us a recommendation, but I want another one. Like what you've been into lately.Emma: I am snacking on rest, which I think, you know, the, again, we can often have this idea that we have to do these things in a perfect way. That you know, what our kind of recovery journey might look like, having a few years where I think things have been so intense, you know so many families... You know that if we talk about kinda how, you know, self healing or wellness journeys, often we're talking about, I'm up and meditate for an hour in morning. You just can't do that when you've got children, or it's hard to do that when you've got children, so I am a big fan of snacking on moments of rest, you know moments during the day to just reset yourself. So even just sitting with your eyes closed, taking a few deep breaths.Or just thinking about the ground beneath your feet or just stopping, you know, so that you're not just going and going and going all day, but when you taking a moment to check in with yourself and just see how you are.Laura: I love that microdosing on rest throughout the day.Emma: Absolutely.Laura: Love it. Okay, so my, I feel like my thing is kind of just silly, but in a, in a good way. So we are recording this in January, 2023. So we're just coming out of like the holiday blah, whatever that was. But I just came across last, at the end of last week, the 2022 Haters Guide to the Williams Sonoma catalog.So I'm not sure if you're familiar with what Williams Sonoma is, but it's this US based brand and it's like if you think about like a John Lewis or like, you know, a higher end department store, but on steroids. Um, that's Williams Sonoma. It's like all these wildly expensive, like, you know, like a countertop pizza oven.Like nobody needs that in a flat in London, you know, like who needs that? Who has the kitchen space for that? And it's like, you know, everything is, like, all the kitchen appliances are like $500 and stuff. But anyway, this guy just goes through a bunch of items in the Williams Sonoma, um, catalog takes like the copy that they've written in there and just rips it a new one, just tears into it and it's hilarious and it's very cathartic, um, and highly enjoyable. So I'll link to that, I know we're like, out of Christmas season and holiday season. But, um, I think it's still worthwhile to have a little look at and, um, you can watch out for the 2023 one if you're listening to this later in the year. All right, Emma, can you tell everyone the name of your amazing new book and where they can find out more information about you?Emma: Uh, yes. So I am Mumologist on Instagram and loads of my kinda links and everything are on there. Or my website is dremmasvanberg.com. The book is called Parenting for Humans, and it's out on March 2nd which is World Book Day, which I love.Laura: Lovely. That's so,Emma: So, you know, I'd again love it if people would pre-order it. That makes a big difference. But yeah, if people do get their hands on it, I'd love to hear what people make of it.Laura: We'll have all of the links for Emma's books and her social media and her website in the transcript and in the show notes for this episode. So check her out. Thank you so much, Emma. This was,Emma: Thank you.Laura: will be really reassuring for a lot of parents to just hear that, Okay we can let go of some of the pressure and expectations and just check in with ourselves and figure out what it is that we need and what we want from our relationships.Emma: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks so much for chatting.OUTROLaura Thomas: Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Can I Have Another Snack? If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review in your podcast player and head over to laurathomas.substack.com for the full transcript of this conversation, plus links we discussed in the episode and how you can find out more about this week's guest. While you're over there, consider signing up for either a free or paid subscription Can I Have Another Snack? newsletter, where I'm exploring topics around bodies, identity and appetite, especially as it relates to parenting. Also, it's totally cool if you're not a parent, you're welcome too. We're building a really awesome community of cool, creative and smart people who are committed to ending the tyranny of body shame and intergenerational transmission of disordered eating. Can I Have Another Snack? is hosted by me, Laura Thomas, edited by Joeli Kelly, our funky artwork is by Caitlin Preyser. And the music is by Jason Barkhouse. And lastly Fiona Bray keeps me on track and makes sure this episode gets out every week. This episode wouldn't be possible without your support. So thank you for being here and valuing my work and I'll catch you next week. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurathomas.substack.com/subscribe

Many of us are enduring a painful new awareness of the conflicts that underpin our social relationships. For Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens, this is the beginning of a revolutionary path to our liberation - a necessary upheaval that will rebalance us forever.In this profound, perspective-shifting conversation, we are urged to stop looking for short-cuts and panaceas for our suffering, and instead to engage with the deep, transformative work of change. Join the conversation! We're also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UKPre-order Katherine's new book, Enchantment, released March 2023: UK and US & CanadaLinks from the episode:Lama Rod's websiteLama Rod's booksFollow Lama Rod on Instagram and TwitterJoin Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-freeSign up to receive Katherine's newsletterFind show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.Follow Katherine on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep episode with Lama Rod Owens, we discuss the what it means to face the reality of life and do the hard work of coming to know and love ourselves. We discuss the difference between practicing for comfort verses freedom, the wise message in anger, and how becoming more expansive actually leads to better boundaries. Plus, the roles of the teacher, the student and the teachings along this path. Lama Rod Owens is an author, activist, and authorized Lama (Buddhist Teacher) in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Rod is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School where he focused on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He is the author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger, and a co-author of Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, which explores race in the context of American Buddhist communities. Lama Rod has been a teacher with the Daishin Zen Buddhist Temple, the Urban Yoga Foundation, Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme), a visiting teacher with Natural Dharma Fellowship and the Brooklyn Zen Center. He has been a faculty member for the Harvard Graduate School of Education's professional education program in mindfulness for educators and has served as a guest faculty member for the school's course Mindfulness for Educators. Lama Rod has been published and featured in several publications including Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Tricycle, The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Spirit Magazine. He has offered talks, retreats, and workshops for many organizations and universities including New York University, Yale University, Harvard University, Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, Tufts University, University of Vermont, and Boston College. Website | Instagram ----------------------------------------- Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.

In this final episode of the current season of the podcast, Bodhilila, Chair of the West London Buddhist Centre, is in conversation with Lama Rod Owens, bestselling author of ‘Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger'.  Their exchange weaves across a number key Dharma threads, beginning with a sense of how being in the body can be a way to step out of systems that stop us reaching our full potential as human beings; a way to reclaim agency and autonomy; and a place for the aspiration to grow beyond our own sufferings and limited self-views. Diversity in its fullest, most positively abundant sense, is never far away; nor is a sharp awareness of the need to turn aside from hatred towards empathy and compassion, always from a place of being well resourced. “It's a hard thing to hear,” says Lama Rod. “When you think you're normal but your normality comes at the expense of large groups of people, to the detriment of other people. But that's not the same thing as hate.” We hear how vital it remains to continue to see that everyone deserves to be happy. All this is particularly relevant to conversations about race, power and injustice, of course, but this episode keeps us clearly in the realm of Buddhist practice and the perspectives it has to offer a world both deeply familiar with suffering and simultaneously longing to escape it. Empathy is the key to humanizing people, and here two friends and respected Dharma teachers from different traditions open up the deepest possibilities of that empathy for all of us: liberation of the body, mind and heart. Show Notes Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger by Lama Rod Owens   Watch the full event on YouTube–and subscribe! West London Buddhist Centre   Lama Rod Owens also featured on 'The Gen-X 2019 Podcast' (Episode 362)   Conversations About Race - A series from The Buddhist Center Online, curated by Vimalasara Visit Lama Rod Owens' personal website Get the Buddhist Voices podcast Follow the Free Buddhist Audio podcast Follow the Dharmabytes podcast *** Visit The Buddhist Centre Live (events year-round on Buddhism, mindfulness, meditation, and culture) Come meditate with us online six days a week! Theme music by Ackport! Used with kind permission. #Buddhism #Buddhist #Buddha #Dharma #Triratna #community #sangha #meditation #Dhamma #Triratna #mindfulness #kindness #pain #stress #grief #suffering #race #racism #diversity #power #anger #rage #peace #empathy #body

Lama Rod Owens, brilliant Buddhist teacher, author, and yoga instructor, joins the DTFH! You can learn more about Lama Rod on his website, LamaRod.com. Check out his new book, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger, wherever you buy your books. Lama Rod is a teacher at Tara Mandala, check their site for more info! You can also follow him on twitter, instagram, and facebook. Original music by Aaron Michael Goldberg. This episode is brought to you by: Squarespace - Use offer code: DUNCAN to save 10% on your first site. Athletic Greens - Visit AthleticGreens.com/Duncan for a FREE 1-year supply of vitamin D and 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase! Babbel - Sign up for a 3-month subscription with promo code DUNCAN to get an extra 3 months FREE!

We're now entering year three of the pandemic, and even though we're in a very different stage of the game, there are still so many questions: Is it safe or ethical to return to “normal”? How do you deal with people who have different views on safety and vaccines? What do you do if you're just bone tired of this whole mess?Today's guest is Lama Rod Owens, who was trained in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and is the author of the book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. Lama Rod has been kind enough to come on to the show during moments of crisis. I spoke with him shortly after the murder of George Floyd and also during the 2020 elections. As you're about to hear, one of the core arguments he will make is that apocalypse (and he has a broad understanding of what that word means) can present an opportunity. This episode explores:The benefits of having an existing practice in times of heightened anxiety and uncertainty.Developing a direct, open relationship with fear.Working with regret.Why taking care of yourself is not selfish.Lama Rod's take on social media and watching TV as a way to reset. The obstacles to empathy. A more expansive definition of the word violence. A jarring New York Times article that posits that the recent rise in pedestrian deaths could be in part due to social erosion created by the pandemic.Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lama-rod-owens-427See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lama Rod Owens ist zurück! In dieser Folge spricht er mit Curse über: * Selbstliebe VS. Trauma * über inneren Frieden VS. äußere Wut * über Reaktion VS. Reaktivität * und über den endlosen inneren Raum, in dem er mit den größten Problemen der Welt tanzen gelernt hat FÜR ALLE: Lama Rod bietet im März 2022 ein Online Retreat speziell für Menschen im deutschsprachigen Raum an. Das "Berlin Retreat" ist Live Online am Samstag, 12.März 2022 von 10-16:30h! Anmeldung bei https://www.thedreamhaus.de/retreats Und darum geht's beim Retreat: We are living through a tough period as we continue through a pervasive pandemic, economic instability, political unrest, climate change, and various forms of systematic violence. As a result both the individual and collective grief and trauma seems overwhelming. This is a time for radical self-care to tend to our own brokenhearts so we can tend to the brokenheartedness of our communities. In this retreat we will explore deep and sustaining practices of self-care grounded in the wisdom of Buddhadharma. Lama Rod will guide participants through practices based on his latest book Love and Rage while focusing on practices for tending to the overwhelming struggle of moving through this period. Lama Rod's Buch "Lieben und Wut" erscheint im März endlich auf DEUTSCH! Alle Infos hier: https://wortenundmeer.net/product/lieben-und-wut/ Lama Rod Owens erstes Buch "Radikal Lieben" findest du auch auf Deutsch hier: https://wortenundmeer.net/product/radikal-lieben/ Viel Freude mit dieser neuen Folge! "199 Fragen an dich selbst" - das neue Buch von Michael CURSE Kurth! https://www.rowohlt.de/buch/michael-curse-kurth-100-fragen-an-dich-selbst-9783499002410 Das Buch und Hörbuch "Stell dir vor, du wachst auf - Die OOOO+X Methode für mehr Klarheit und Präsenz im Leben" von Michael CURSE Kurth ist ebenfalls überall erhältlich www.curse.de www.instagram.com/cursezeit www.facebook.com/curseofficial

Today's episode we're joined by Buddhist minister and social activist Lama Rod Owens, author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger. Our subject is anger, something Lama Rod once had to suppress in order to survive as “a Black queer body in America.” He writes: “My fear of death and policing has translated into a self-policing of my anger, to such an extent that if it weren't for my meditation practice, I wouldn't know how to find my anger.”How do we work with the energies of anger in this intense cultural moment? Do we need our anger to keep us motivated in the face of injustice and oppression? For Lama Rod, anger can start us off, but only love will sustain the work. This is the basis of his guided meditation – we connect to love and care as a way to hold both our anger and the “broken-heartedness” that's often found underneath. A deep practice and a very raw conversation with one of the leaders of the next generation of dharma teachers.Lama Rod's 15 minute guided practice on care and anger starts at 11:50 and ends at 27:26.Links• Lama Rod's website: https://www.lamarod.com Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/explorerspod)

This week, Sah welcomes Lama Rod Owens. Lama Rod is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers.He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation. Owens is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community.Has been published in Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Tricycle and The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and offers talks, retreats and workshops in more than seven countries. A book for these times, Love & Rage: The Path to Liberation Through Anger was published in June 2020, to critical acclaim for it's prophetic truth, timing and honesty and wisdom, in dealing with the multiplicity of challenges this generation is waking up to.Social Media: IG @lamarodowens, Twitter @LamaRod1Website: www.lamarod.comIn this episode, Sah and Lama Rod discuss...Liberation theologySolidarity with the oppressedDifferent meanings of prayer and ways to prayThe cosmic consciousness of the MotherForgiveness and letting go of the people we used to be The responsibility that comes with mystical experiencesRadical Dharma, the wisdom that disrupts violenceReclaiming the narrative of anger and how to get through a spiraland more....✨✨✨Thank you to our partner The Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Become a certified health coach to transform your relationship with food and health, live your dreams, earn while you learn, and embark on a new future.Receive $2,000 off when you pay in full (or $1,500 off payment plans) by following Sah's referral link here, or mention Sah's name when you sign up.✨✨✨Get more Sah in your life:

Lama Rod Owens is an author, activist, and authorized Lama (Buddhist Teacher) in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Rod is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. Lama Rod is visiting teacher with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme), a visiting teacher with Natural Dharma Fellowship and the Brooklyn Zen Center. Lama Rod has been a faculty member for the Harvard Graduate School of Education's professional education program in mindfulness for educators and has served as a guest faculty member for the school's course Mindfulness for Educators.He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School where he focused on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He is a co-author of Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, which explores race in the context of American Buddhist communities. Lama Rod is a founding teacher for the Awaken meditation app that offers meditations and contemplations focused on social change. He has been published and featured in several publications including Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Tricycle, The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Spirit Magazine. He has offered talks, retreats, and workshops in over 7 countries for many organizations including Gaia House Retreat Center, Goldsmiths University, London Insight, and Tibet House Barcelona. He has offered talks at several major universities including Yale University, Harvard University, Brown University, Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, New York University, Tufts University, University of Vermont, and Boston College. He has presented at several important conferences including the American Academy of Religion, Summitt, the Harvard Divinity School Black Religions Conference, the Harvard Divinity School Buddhism and Race Conference, and Netroots. Lama Rod facilitates undoing patriarchy workshops for male-identified practitioners in Brooklyn and Boston. Lama Rod's book, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger, was released in 2020, and he is currently working on his next book.In this powerful episode we discussed:BoundariesSelf-CareMartyrdomBecoming an ElderChangeGod is ChangeLoveAnger as RevolutionaryRageMovement BuildingHow we Cannot Drag People Toward Freedom Agency and FreedomHow we are Always Held AncestorsThe AfterlifeConnect with Lama Rod Owens on his website or on Instagram @lamarodofficialPodcast music by Charles Kurtz+ Read transcript

What is the ego, and what role might it play in the process of awakening? In this episode we ponder these questions with best-selling author, activist, and Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens, who shares his story of working through trauma, embracing pleasure, and both accepting and letting go of his ego. Before we dive in, Lama Rod responds to a ritual object called the flaying knife-chopper. In Tibetan Buddhist art, this weapon is typically wielded by a fierce guardian deity who uses the tool to destroy not us but our egos. Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, best-selling author, activist, yoga instructor, and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. He is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. Lama Rod holds a master of divinity degree in Buddhist studies from Harvard Divinity School and was included in the 2021 Gomes STB '68 Distinguished Alumni Honorees List. He is the author of Love and Rage: The Path to Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. He is also the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. He has published in Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Tricycle, and The Harvard Divinity Bulletin and offered talks, retreats, and workshops in more than seven countries. Lama Rod's article "Are You Woke?" is featured in the 2021 issue of the Rubin's Spiral magazine. https://rubinmuseum.org/spiral/are-you-woke About the podcast: AWAKEN is a 10-episode series from the Rubin Museum of Art hosted by acclaimed musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson that explores the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” Each episode dives into the personal stories of guests who share how they've experienced a shift in their awareness, and as a result, their perspective on life. From deep introspection to curious life-changing moments, awakening can take many forms, from the mundane to the sacred. Taking inspiration from the exhibition “Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment,” each story uses artworks as a jumping off point as we hear from authors, artists, wisdom bearers, and Buddhist teachers, because every journey is different.

Continuing "Divinity Dialogues"—a special edition podcast series from Harvard Divinity School that puts conversations on faith, purpose, and bearing witness at the center of today's most pressing issues.  Today, we hear from HDS alum Rod Owens, MDiv '17, author, activist, Buddhist Lama, and one of this year's Gomes Distinguished Alumni Honorees. Considered one of the leaders of the next generation of Dharma teachers, Lama Rod blends his formal Buddhist training with experiences from his life as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South, and heavily influenced by the church and its community. In the interview, Owens talks about practicing non-attachment, seeking spaciousness rather than rigidity, and finding freedom. Full transcript available here: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2021/06/10/divinity-dialogues-lama-rod-owens-love-rage-and-freedom

Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, along with my friend and past GLP guest, Rev. angel Kyodo williams. Lama Rod is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. Has been published in Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle and The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and offers talks, retreats and workshops in more than seven countries. He’s also someone who has spent a lifetime exploring and working with the often blurred lines between love and rage, which also happens to be the title of his latest book, Love & Rage: The Path to Liberation Through Anger (https://bookshop.org/a/22758/9781623174095). Its prophetic truth, timing and honesty and wisdom, in dealing with the multiplicity of challenges this generation is waking up to is both an invitation to a deeper set of truths and a set of practices to help navigate the experience of life in this moment in time.You can find Lama Rod Owens at:Website: https://www.lamarod.com/Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lamarodowens/Check out our offerings & partners: FitTrack: Understand your body better. Track 21+ Health Vitals Daily. Stop measuring weight and start measuring health with FitTrack! Go to GetFitTrack.com/GOODLIFE to take 50% off your order. PLUS - for a limited time - you’ll also save an additional 30% with code Build30 at checkout!Sleep Number: Adjustable Firmness, Comfort And Support On Each Side. Introducing the NEW Sleep Number 360 smart bed, designed to make a life-changing difference to your health and wellness. From $999. For a limited time, only at Sleep Number stores or sleepnumber.com/GOODLIFETalkspace: Online Counseling Via Text, Audio, Or Video Messaging. At Any Time, From Anywhere. Get $100 off of your first month with Talkspace. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com or download the app. Make sure to use the code GOODLIFE to get $100 off of your first month and show your support for the show.

Hello. Hope February has been treating you well.In the second and concluding part of Gelek's conversation with Lama Row Owens, they speak about the loss of magic and exploring Indigeneity (01:25); holding space for anger and violence in creating justice and peace (09:05); the weaponization of niceness (20:55); bodies, movement and breathing in the time of a pandemic (22:40); and more.If you missed part one of the conversation, click here.Episode notesLoss of magic and exploring Indigeneity. [01:25]Loving our anger. [03:56]What Black History Month means to Lama Rod. [06:15]Holding space for anger and violence in creating justice and peace. [09:05]Discussing police, prison abolition, political systems and institutions in dharma teachings. [15:29]Weaponization of niceness. [20:55]Bodies, movement and breathing in the time of a pandemic. [22:40]Lama Rod's current and upcoming projects. [26:30]Interview transcriptYou have a chapter towards the end of [Love and Rage] where you speak about the loss of magic. Yeah, that's part of my Indigenous work right now. This is work that I hope to present in the next couple of years—me connecting more to my African as well as Native American ancestry, and putting all of that in conversation with Tibetan Buddhism. For me, again, it's a synthesis of what's being created. I think “Love and Rage” was a good beginning step to demonstrate how I am transitioning into this space. As an American Black person, my Indigenous spiritual practice is hoodoo. Hoodoo derives from the practice of Africans coming on to the West, meeting Christianity, and developing the system of philosophy, ritual magic and so forth. It's so related to tantra and Vajrayana in Tibetan Buddhism. I wanna understand how I can synthesize that even more so that it's more authentic for me. I remember years ago, Rinpoche [Norlha] was talking about the magic of Native Americans. He was saying, “Native Americans were so strong that they survived genocide.” It really struck me when he said that. For me, that was just the way he recognized the validity of this community of people. He respected Native American gods and spirits. When Kundun [HHDL] makes his trip to North America, he always makes it a point to also have representatives or emissaries from the local First Nations or the Native communities to meet with them and speak with them. I always find it beautiful how there are these patterns of elemental rituals that's consistent across hemispheres, cultures and Indigenous communities. I am reminded of, for instance, the whole myth or idea of how Buddhism was propagated by Padmasambhava [in Tibet], and him having to clash with nagas and deities. It's very fascinating to actually look into those things, and I'm really excited for this project that you are undertaking. The title of the book itself, I was curious about that. When you placed “Love and Rage” in that order, was that intentional?Yeah absolutely. The title came first before the content.Like not “Rage and Love,” but “Love and Rage.” Was that intentional?Yes, because love holds the rage. Love leads. So, when I talk about this conversation between love and rage, it's not a fight. It's more about how love is holding the space for our rage to be there. Love is the container that holds everything. If there is no container of love then that rage actually becomes an expression of violence. “My anger is like a living being I am in partnership with.” And then a couple of pages later you say, “Loving our anger invites it into a transformative space where it emerges as the teacher.” That's so profound. I wonder if you can expand on that a little bit.That's rooted within the teachings around the manifestation of the guru. How the guru is manifesting in the phenomenal world. One of those manifestations of the guru is through emotions. Once we pay attention to the emotion, the emotion is actually trying to teach us how to be in relationship with it. For so much of our lives, we tend to be overreacting and running away from our emotional reality. But to turn our attention back to something like anger, we begin to hold space for it and to experience it, that experience begins to teach us about the nature of emotion. And of course the nature of emotion is the nature of the mind itself. Once we realize that, the guru emerges in that moment.You're saying anger can be a vessel that helps take us to the ultimate reality.Well, anything can take us to the ultimate. The nature of the whole phenomenal world is of one essence. So if we recognize the nature of that phenomena—an emotion, an object, an idea, whatever it is—it unlocks the nature of all phenomena, and that opens us right into the ultimate.Does Black History Month hold significance for you?That's a good question. It doesn't hold significance for me because I feel like I'm always celebrating my history and culture. It's not relegated to one month—the shortest month of the year, by the way. I just think that we have to establish a culture where we're celebrating all the parts of our history; all the different groups and communities that have helped shape the world. We should have knowledge and an appreciation of that. And yes, I understand that there are histories that have been so silenced that we have to create and designate these periods of time to bring attention to it. But I really want to take it to a point where we don't need to have a special time to think about these things. That it just happens naturally. That we think about Black folks, Asian American communities, queer history, Native American history… where we just know that. And we don't. There's so much history that has been erased.This is different from how some people then take that other approach where they say, “I don't see race. I'm colour blind.” You're not saying that at all. You actually have a passage—I can't find it right now—in your book where you affirm and celebrate the different histories, traditions, lineages that we embody. Yeah, I see differences. I love that. Again, it goes back to the teachings of the mind. I can hold space for everything and notice everything. And I can look at the ways in which I have fixations on certain things. I can examine that. That fixation may also mean prejudice. It may mean resistance to certain things. I can look at that and hold space for it and allow it to be this immense amount of openness. We can hold all the difference in the world but the problem is our relationship to that difference. Is that relationship one of opening and acceptance or is it one of restricting and defining and pushing away?And asserting power.And asserting power, absolutely. Because we're fixated on our sense of self and ego, right? But there has to be space for it too.Spaciousness is another theme that's quite prevalent in your book. Early on in your book, you say (in speaking of anger): “In activist communities, our relationship to anger is immature, ill-informed and overly romanticized. We manipulate anger as a false sense of energy and inspiration.” The first image that came to my mind when I read that line is the burning of the 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis police department shortly after the killing of George Floyd. For me that was such a powerful, revolutionary emanation of what activism means but also what taking back justice means. Do you think your line and that image are in contradiction?I think that one of the things—and this is a really subtle, nuanced argument—that I'm always trying to push for, particularly with activists, is knowing what you're doing, and not just reacting. If you're gonna burn a building down, know that you're burning it and know that you're doing this in order to hopefully trigger freedom, liberation. Not just cause you're pissed off. I know that's a very nuanced thing. Our holding space for anger and reacting to anger may actually look like the same action. Often I'm trying to avoid violence, but at the same time, sometimes violence has to be expressed in order to reduce greater forms of violence. And so I'm not a 100 percent non-violent person. I think violence can be used skillfully to reduce other kinds of violence and harm. So we have to know what we're doing and why we're doing it. The use of violence has to be skillful. And of course people push back, but then I use this example of like, if you have a child and someone runs up and grabs your child, are you going to stand there? Are you gonna do whatever you can to get your child back in that moment?We all have the capacity to express violence. Every being on this planet has been violent in some capacity or another. What I'm arguing for is can we skillfully use that violence to reduce other forms of violence when we need to. Dr. King said, “Riot is the language of the unheard.” I think that's important for us. And then, when something needs to be destroyed, can we critically say, OK we're going to do this? Not out of hate and anger, but out of this need to be heard; to disrupt certain systems that are increasing harm and violence for others.This is perhaps my own Tibetan neurosis surfacing where I feel like non-violence tends to get weaponized, funnily enough, in how we are meant to come to terms with our traumatization and our oppression. It also operates through respectability politics, where the idea is that if you conduct yourself civilly or in a way that's appropriate, that somehow it elevates your dissent over others. I think it's very timely or relevant that you quote Dr. King because I'm reminded of his quote where he says, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice.” That piece, again, gets easily paved over when those in power talk about non-violence or of being peaceful but miss the whole context of justice. And I think that in itself is actually a form of violence.I totally agree. I think in the west, the teachings of non-violence have been so over emphasized because it comes through a culture of dominance. You're already at the top, you actually have the privilege of being peaceful and practising non-violence because you're not fighting for basic resources. And that's what I have to struggle with in white, western Buddhist convert communities. I have to be conscious of what it means to be Black, particularly a Black man in the south right now, because my life can be at any point in danger depending on where I'm at, who I'm talking with, etc. At no point do I not know that I'm Black, and can be killed because I'm Black.You say, “My anger is the single greatest threat to my life.” I think that's a very skillful way to demonstrate that it's not about you being Black that's the greatest risk for you, but it's actually anger.Well, it's the anger and how my anger creates a mirror for dominant culture. I am angry because I've been hurt through systematic oppression. So I'm not angry just because I'm Black. That's not an aesthetic of Blackness. It comes from systematic woundedness and oppression.It's also a very convenient trope for those in power as well to then misconstrue that anger and say, oh just another typical Black person who's angry. So you're constantly having to navigate these very discombobulating experiences and then to comport in a way that makes you feel more agreeable. But that's not actually true to how you experienced whatever you experienced.Exactly. And that kind of trope is just another way that we are raised, that lived oppression. “Oh you're just complaining. You haven't pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps.” This another mythology that white, American individualism has created that further disciplines us and marginalizes us.Do you try not to bring in present-day politics into your teachings or is that something you let is come and go as it arises?It's so funny you mention that. [Norlha] Rinpoche was so political. He would talk about politics in public teachings all the time.Like American politics?Oh yeah. In my teaching, I'm much more interested in systems and institutions because I think those lie at the heart of politics in general. For me, particularly in America, it's not about the two-party system and democracy. There are deeper issues that we actually have to begin to name for ourselves. That's where I want the teachings to be. It's not about who's the president, it's why they're the president. What is the system that gives rise to certain people having power and others not? And we can use dharma to do that. Absolutely.Do you change your tack in any way when you speak about these issues in the context of a dharma teaching, depending on the audience, or do you keep it consistent?Yeah, it does depend on the audience. It depends on what country I'm in—that's a huge thing. The age of folks—when I work with teenagers it's a different energy as opposed to adults. Is it a BIPOC community? Is it mostly a white group? That all determines how I show up. But I think that mostly I show up in spaces where people are pretty much politically aligned with me. And that's the trick here. We're all excited about Trump being out of the White House, but let's go deeper now. Let's talk about what it means to be revolutionary and radical, instead of being centrist and liberal. Let's talk about how dharma is actually pushing us more towards being revolutionary rather than being conservative. It's about everyone getting free; everyone getting the resources that they need to be well and happy. It's very socialist. That's how I talk. That's the dharma that I use. Let's talk about what it means for the people that you don't even like to be free to have the resources that they need.For me, just over the past couple of years, my awareness and understanding of things like prison and police abolition has been way higher than it used to be. And I think it would be so amazing if the dharma community cohered around that. I feel that prison abolition is an incredibly complex thing that challenges all kinds of different notions about what we mean when it comes to justice, reformation, rehabilitation and forgiveness. I don't see a lot of that happening in my limited perspective of the dharma community and I'm really glad for people like yourself who are speaking on those things. Have you noticed a change in the tenor of those kinds of discourses?I think, for the most part, people are much more educated than they were in the past about mass incarceration, for defunding the police. Climate change, interestingly, is a really safe space for people to get progressive in. [laughs] That's like very neutral.Greta Thunberg and the Dalai Lama! [laughs]Oh yeah. American Buddhist communities: environmentalism, yes! But you start talking about mass incarceration…Wealth redistribution…Oh my god. That's when you run into it. Racial justice. It gets sticky because we're not linking all this together. If you're about justice for the environment then you have to be about justice for people and the most marginalized. This is why I love this kind of philosophy of liberation theology that we get from progressive Christinanity. God is on the side of the most oppressed. We have to bring some of that knowledge and language into dharma. We have to understand that oppression has to be something we disrupt for everyone.That is the calling.That's the calling. Dharma is about the liberation of people, even when we're the ones who are doing the oppressing—that dharma will actually have to deal with us. And again, we're not interested in that. We're not interested in being held accountable, hauled out, or any of that. Until that starts being a thing, it's like we're going to maintain this level of comfort.You have a piece in your book about niceness, where it's just about making people feel comfortable but not progressing any further than that.Yeah, exactly. Somehow niceness is dharmic—that's what we're supposed to do—when the fact is it's just weaponized. That's the first thing I noticed when I started going to sanghas: everyone's so nice. Then when you start talking about issues of inclusivity—cause I was the only person of colour in my early sanghas, period—people shut down. Then another kind of nice emerges where it's like, “You don't have to think about that, Rod. We're not a racist sangha.” It's like the movie “Get Out.” It's like a Jedi mind trick where I literally had people actually turn the teachings around and say, “Rod, you're too fixated on identity.”We're all Africans is another one I've heard.Right. That sounds great. This is why I've survived all of that, I went through it, and now I'm in a different space where I need to commit to creating new communities where we're not having these one-on-one, intro conversations about race. We need to start living and embodying inclusivity and radicalism in this moment, on this spot. How do we do that? It's not about having the conversation; it's about living it and doing it right now.The final piece I want to touch on is about embodiment: all the different ways that you've studied it, how you've related to your body and those of others as well, especially in the context of the pandemic that we're currently situated in. How has your relationship to your body evolved?For me it's like a deepening relationship to all the ways my body shows up. Even this past year I've noticed how when one aspect of my body is off, it impacts all my other bodies. When my subtle energy body is out of balance I'm physically and emotionally unwell. It's hard for me to connect to others. Even with my physical body, being static and so stationary for a year I feel the impact of that. I also feel the impact of all the vicarious trauma physically. I know that particularly this year so much of my work is going to have to be about getting back into the body—even my yoga practice I haven't been really doing. Moving and working energy through the body is going to be incredibly important for all of us. The body is necessary for us to process and metabolize trauma, and movement is a part of that. And also breathing, which is a key piece throughout your practice. I was thinking about how we're in a pandemic of a disease that affects the lungs and I wonder if you had any thoughts on that. About people who may have contracted COVID, or know people who did, and how that affects the act of breathing, and can be an incredibly destabilizing thing. Breath, as you've enumerated many times in the book, is one of the foundational pieces on how we first process all the different energies, right?Yeah absolutely. Even in general, I think breath is really tricky for a lot of folks. I've had to over the years had to develop ways for people to re-approach the breath. Even now, looking at a pandemic that's really affecting the lungs, one of the practices that I've been working with people is kind of like a tonglen practice—this taking and sending practice. As we're breathing, imagining that we're breathing on behalf of so many folks who can't breathe. That's gonna direct us deeper into the fear of all of this as well. We have to open our minds to the reality that people are dying because they can't breathe, not just through the pandemic but through social oppression as well. Breath has been a part of how police have attacked Black folks.I can't breathe, a slogan from a few years ago.Absolutely. All of that. Breath is important. Breath is life. We know that very intimately in the practice. Breath carries life force. So we just want to breathe and add this energy and I guess do emotional labour of acknowledging that we can breathe on behalf of so many people who are struggling to breathe. That way we stop taking our breath for granted.Thank you. Before we wrap up, can you please give us a quick rundown of the things you're working on right now and looking ahead to?I have a bunch of different events coming up through February and through March. All of that information can be found on my website. I'll be also developing some content for the Calm app over the next few weeks so I'm excited about that. I'm being introduced to the Calm network so if people subscribe to Calm, please check that content out. Are you also working on a book?I am working on a book. I am kind of in the process of figuring out what area or topic I want to go with; I have a couple of different ideas. I will say that over the summer we will be introducing a brand new course on grief and using a lot of the practices from Tibetan Buddhism and some practices from my own Indigenous practices as well. Creating something that's going to help people work through what I call the brokenheartedness of not just this past year but the grief of our lives in a way that hopefully will be really powerful and meaningful.We've lost so much ritual because of the lockdown just around grieving and mourning. I know that in many Black communities and churches, funerals are actually a social thing, with lots of spectacle and pomp. It's also true in Tibetan communities. We actually have 49 days of people gathering in homes and chanting daily. All of that has not been in play, unless you are actively contravening lockdown measures. I think that also speaks to a very special kind of isolation, especially in the moment of when you're losing someone. So thank you so much for putting that together. I think it's extremely timely.Thank you. I appreciate this.—lamarod.comInstagramTwitter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Losar Tashi Delek and Happy Lunar New Year!In this episode, a Good Refugee Podcast speaks with Buddhist teacher, activist and writer Lama Rod Owens on a wide spectrum of topics covering spirituality, silence and power (06:55); how class, race, wealth and justice intersect with Buddhism today (12:35); sexual abuse in dharma spaces (26:56); drawing boundaries between the teacher, student, sangha and social life (29:38); and mental health (40:00).This is part one of the conversation. Listen/read part two here.The full transcript of this interview is posted below, lightly edited for clarity and flow.BioLama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger.Lama Rod will be hosting a seven-week online course and practice group based on his book “Love and Rage.” It starts on February 15. Sign up here. lamarod.comInstagramTwitterEpisode notesMaking sense of these times. [02:30]How “Love and Rage” fits in this moment. [04:20]Meditations on silence and power. [06:55]The evolution of activism and dharma from when Lama Rod first began. [11:18]How class, race, wealth and justice intersect with Buddhism today. [12:35]Sexual abuse in dharma spaces. [26:56]Drawing boundaries between the teacher, student, dharma and social life. [29:38]Seeing the teacher as a mirror to your own wisdom. [32:58]Understanding mental health from Buddhist, western and Indigenous perspectives. [40:00]Interview transcriptLama Rod thank you so much for joining us. Welcome. Tashi Delek!Thank you so much.Where are you speaking from?I am speaking from Atlanta, where I just relocated to. This is traditionally, historically the land of the Muskogee people and the Cherokee people. But I am originally from Rome, Georgia, so this is like returning home.And how are you doing at this moment?I'm ok. I'm a little tired, but for the most part, mentally I'm feeling clear, open and fluid which is really wonderful.Has it felt like lately there has been a much more ramped up conversation or discourse about existing and how to make sense of these times?Yes, oh absolutely. I think last year the beginning of quarantine and the pandemic really forced people to do intense discernment about exactly what they were doing in their lives. The beginning of the quarantine reminded me of my years in my three-year retreat where everything just kind of shut down and I was just really holding space in one place for an extended period of time. That kind of holding space for me always triggers this deep kind of contemplation and discernment about what my work is. Last year, I think a lot of folks just started waking up and realizing that they had to start making different decisions and choices about how they were living their lives. And of course, on top of that, the world continues. We continue to live within systems and institutions that are creating violence for a lot of different people. So we were having to negotiate racial injustice, economic injustice, climate instability [while] at the same time negotiating a pandemic. A lot of folks started waking up to the reality of these harmful systems.When you first started [Love and Rage], you wrote that there was this moment where you were giving a talk with your co-author of Radical Dharma [Rev. angel Kyodo williams], and there was this Black gentleman who spoke about anger, and that was kind of the genesis which started your writing of Love and Rage. When was this around?2017. Before that I was really avoiding writing a book on anger. I wasn't really interested. But at that event, where this young Black man was just like, “What do I do with anger? How do I choose happiness?” I really realized that this would be an important teaching to offer. When you locate yourself back to that time in 2017 and how things just unfolded from that point on—understanding of course that so many of the injustices and violent things that we've witnessed and experienced have already been happening for many decades—and then this year has been such a collision of all those injustices. And then of course we have the pandemic. As I was reading through the book now, so many of those things were almost prophetic in some ways. Was that a realization that you had to also reckon with?I will say this: my experience as I was writing that book was an experience of feeling as if I—it's hard to articulate. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I felt like I wasn't talking about what was happening in the moment of writing the book. And this is why I didn't really think the book was that interesting. When I wrote it, I was like who's gonna actually resonate with this because I don't think it's actually talking about anything that's happening now. On top of that, the book was supposed to be out much earlier than last summer [2020]. It was supposed to be out the fall of 2019 and I couldn't meet the deadlines for getting the drafts in. I kept missing all these deadlines. Classic writer's dilemma.Exactly. Finally, my publisher was like, you have to get it in at this date or we have to push it back like a year. And so I made that deadline and when the book finally was published a year later, then it kind of landed within this current… well, apocalypse.June 2020.Yeah, I had no idea. Absolutely no idea that 2020 was gonna be the way that it was.Silence, which I know has been an important piece in your practice, is a recurring theme in the book. It also coheres with how many of us have lived in isolation throughout this pandemic. Is that something you've meditated on length and spoken to others about?Yeah absolutely. For me, quarantine was something that I knew how to do because of retreat. And quarantine was something the majority of folks didn't know anything about so I just felt like I was coming home to an old practice. For me, silence is also about stillness. A lot of folks didn't have the privilege of being in the space that felt still and quiet. Many folks were kind of bound together in family units and other roommates and other kinds of living arrangements where it felt very crowded and intense and stressful. But even in that kind of stress and crowdedness there's still this incredible way we can touch into this stillness within all that movement and constriction. So I've spent a lot of time meditating on silence itself and trying to understand what silence is. I'm really influenced by the work of Audre Lorde; she talks about silence and the transformation of language. For me what I began to understand is that silence helps me to understand language and all the different ways we communicate.If I may quote a passage from [Love and Rage], you say, “The transformation of silence into language is the migration from captivity into freedom or even the migration from invisibility into visibility. However, freedom and visibility come with the burden of confronting all those who don't want you to be free or seen.”What I read from that, and understand from you, is you also wrestling with the complexity of silence and how that can also be weaponized on those who are oppressed into being silenced. Can you please expand on that?I think about another quote from Zora Neale Hurston who, among many things, also wrote “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and she has this quote where she says, and I paraphrase, if you don't speak, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it. So that weaponization of silence is really about how silence is used to erase people and then to replace that erasure with a narrative that's much more comfortable than the true reality of things. And so, I was doing two things: I was trying to figure out how to move into language as an act of liberation. And secondly, I was trying to figure out in my practice how to use silence to communicate as well. That's where we talk about the weaponizing of silence. It's like, yeah we silence people but in my practice I wanted to be empowered in both silence and language. I wanted agency to choose the best way to be in the moment. I think silence, when we're conscious, intelligent and aware about it, can speak even louder than words or language.I think that's a very keen insight, especially when you pair silence with power and the notion of agency as well. You cite specific examples in your book of how silence can just be another form of abuse. You also make it a point to mention your root guru Norlha Rinpoche and how all that episode played out. How even in those instances silence is another one of the ways that people not only perpetuate violence but also delusion. Was that a piece that was intentional for you when you speak of silence? Yeah absolutely. I think that also silence is something that when we get to a certain agency, we choose because that silence—in a really complicated, complex situation, particularly in the case with my teacher—was the best choice to make for me personally.Have you noticed changes both in the spaces of activism and the dharma communities from when you were first starting out? Have you noticed any tangible differences, just even in terms of discourse?I think one of the shifts that I've noticed is that there are more resources that tend to expand the discourse. More of us are writing and speaking out, which is actually deepening the subject matter of what we're talking about. So I think this idea of justice and the practice of justice has expanded quite a bit for a lot of sanghas, particularly around inclusivity and sexual misconduct. I think there have been, over the past five years, such intense—I hate to use the word scandal but—real situations in sanghas that have created a lot of harm. From Shambhala to Rigpa to Against the Stream (these are the major ones), my monastery, Palpung Thubten Choling, people are aware of the potentiality of certain kinds of violence and injustices happening in their communities.I grew up in a Buddhist surrounding; both of my parents are very devout Buddhists. It's a tradition that is deeply instilled in me and I feel like it's almost part of my being. I can't quite extricate myself from it even though lately I've grown quite disillusioned with it. Disillusioned in the sense that I feel Buddhism is kind of devolving into this very individualistic pursuit of just finding a way to be a little bit more at ease with your existence and minimizing suffering—which is completely valid. But I find that people get too engaged in that and they lose the larger justice based framework of Buddha dharma, which I find to be much more compelling and also authentic. You speak on that quite often in your book. Is there an evolution in that discourse that you've witnessed?Absolutely. I think what's happening is that there are teachers like me who have decided to step outside of lineages and institutions to create the communities and sanghas that we most want to see. I'm no longer a reformist. I used to be a reformist.Can you explain what that is?I believed at one point in my teaching life, practice life, I can just change the sangha that I was in. That I could bring these issues of justice, inclusivity, ethics and so forth and try to transform the community to be based on these values. Over time I realized how difficult that was. And so I kind of transitioned into this space of being much more of a visionary and innovator. I just really started practising creating the communities that I want to see instead of super investing in communities to transform them. This is a better use of my time and energy.I had to make some really hard decisions about leaving a lot of sanghas to do this work of creating communities that are justice informed and ethically based. A lot of our communities, specifically here in the west and United States for instance... the convert, white western communities weren't really thinking about justice and ethics. They were just thinking about practising and feeling better and I think that has created a foundational sangha culture [in the west] which people are really attached to; [people] who will fight really hard to keep a foundational culture which is just really a culture of comfort and avoiding conflict. A culture that lacks transparency. And so when we bring up the idea of justice—it's not that people are opposed to justice; they're opposed to being uncomfortable. People can get with justice, people want accountability, people want to be safe, people don't want to be victims of violence. I think that's a universal desire. But when we talk about disrupting comfort in a culture people specifically created to be comfortable in, that's the issue. That's when justice becomes a problem. Whenever Buddhist teachers say stuff like in western societies, there's an excess of materialism… and I'm like, you can be more specific and say rich white people. That kind of specificity I think has been lacking, and for me, my contention is that it continues to lack. There is this invisibilizing of people, even in western spaces, who don't conform to that identity. There's obviously a breadth of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities, but also in terms of class, ability, sexuality...we're losing that granular aspect of it and I think that speaks to a great loss of how Buddha's teachings are then transmitted.The idea of a practitioner early on, particularly in the west, was of a white, educated, resourced person. That's still the stereotype of a practitioner now. Even a Buddhist is like a white person, not an Asian person, or anyone of any other racial background even though we have like the Dalai Lama, who's like an icon—everyone knows who the Dalai Lama is. Many people have never met an Asian Buddhist practitioner, quite honestly, but a lot of folks know white folks [laughs] who walk around chanting with dharma names and wearing whatever. So when I came along, it was obvious that to be a practitioner was to somehow assimilate into a culture that actually erased much of my identity: my queerness, my Blackness. Back then, my economic class was erased. Class was actually one of the harder things for me to deal with. I just didn't have endless resources to do retreats, to do teachings and to always offer money for everything. I felt super alienated and resentful to be in a path where money was always the thing that people operated from. And of course I heard all kinds of excuses and reasons why we have to charge [people] and to an extent I get that. But it's still really restrictive for many of us. So now as a teacher I've made a commitment to try to make everything as accessible as possible. Economically, ability-wise… just trying to invite as many people as possible into the work that I'm doing and then challenging myself to make it even more accessible. But basically, I make it accessible by just being visible. People look at me and say, oh you're a Buddhist. Not only are you a Buddhist, you're a lama. Which I don't even [understand]—how did I make it through this system to get this title? And knowing that there have been many lamas before me, even a couple of Black lamas, who haven't had the level of visibility that I've had. I am a majority of people's first Black lama that they've ever met. I'm the first one to have pushed through in this kind of public space and I mostly did that by stepping around lineage because quite frankly a lot of teachers are encapsulated within the lineage. The lineage can be quite competitive, it can be hierarchical, and I just never felt a part of that so I stepped out and created this whole other kind of, I don't know, path into teaching.You were being a punk.Yeah. Well, my teacher Lama Norlha Rinpoche, that was one of the things he told me to do. This older Tibetan master was like, “I'm not Black. There are people that will not listen to me but they'll listen to you. So you should go and try to do that.” That was one of the wisest things he ever told me. I have friends with Tibetan teachers who would never have heard that from their teachers. My teacher was like go out into the world and do what you feel is most skillful. I would go back to Rinpoche and tell him what I was teaching—justice, sex and all kinds of stuff—and he would be like, fine, whatever. Going back to your point about some of the different teachers who, for reasons that are sometimes beyond their control, don't quite include the concept of class in how they build their sangha—I think that partly informs some of my resentment towards rinpoches and tulkus. They'll speak grandiloquent things about how people are just too obsessed about work and earning money and that they should be less materialistic. Well that's easy for you to say because you don't have to worry about paying bills. A single mom who's working in a factory shift or is a healthcare provider… they don't have time to think about these things. So that's kind of situating Buddha dharma squarely within the confines of course of a capitalistic society. I think this also speaks to your persistent theme of earth, of grounding yourself.Right. Wealth has always been a factor in Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has been a feudal system. A lama is like a lord [laughs]. When I talk to teachers in other traditions, I have to communicate that when I say I am a lama, I have this incredible agency and autonomy. You get the title and you can do whatever you want. There is no accountability. Traditionally, if I were in a feudal system in medieval Tibet, I would be in a monastery or go off, claim territory, build a monastery, collect wealth from the local village and then maybe I'll be recognized as a tulku. Wealth just begins to accumulate life after life and it keeps getting transferred into my reincarnation so it becomes this system of wealth transfer.Isn't that so bizarre?It's so bizarre! I mean there are all kinds of sophisticated ways that have been created to make sure wealth stays within a particular line of succession. There are present rinpoches who are incredibly wealthy—millions, billions of dollars, but we don't talk about that at all. I have such animosity towards the accumulation of wealth in that way.I remember in my early days of going off to retreat, I would have to get financial aid. A week-long retreat may be $1,500. That was impossible for me to afford. That's what I made in a month. So I would always have to get these hugely reduced retreat fees and in those days, [in order to get that discount] I had to work during the retreat. So it creates this class of people who are actually beginning to serve those who are more resourced. I resented that. I resented having to clean during retreat because I didn't have the financial resources. It wasn't ever framed in a way of like, “oh this just a service that we're offering.” Only the poor people had to do this. It would have been much more intuitive if everyone had to do it.A lot of teachers now in retreat centres are structuring work in a way that everyone has to do work to help run a retreat. But back in those days, it was just the poor people, who were usually the young folks or the people of colour. Whenever I see large gatherings of Tibetan Buddhist teachings and the lama is seated high on a throne, usually very ornate and with a slate of attendants around… mostly him, it's always a him—there's not a lot of Tibetan women Buddhist teachers—and I would think it would be so revolutionary if that rinpoche who was doing the teaching made it a point to be level on the ground. To be level with the people seeking his teaching or wisdom, and to actually serve the people. I don't think I've seen anything like that.Sometimes my teacher would cook and serve. But I think also the other part of that is the communities also really intensely force this kind of…Veneration. That's true.Yeah, veneration. I know that early on—of course I experienced this on a very very small level—at the beginning of my teaching in my sanghas, I felt that pressure to be a certain way. To wear certain things and accept certain kinds of devotion, which I eventually resisted. It really, over time, influenced me to leave these intense communities altogether. I just think that people find a lot of comfort in that kind of veneration and I think there are teachers—doesn't matter their background, Tibetan or westerner—who actually don't have the capacity to hold that level of devotion that people are expressing towards them. As I often say there are a lot of teachers, and this is extremely the case for Tibetan tulkus, where they've actually never had a chance to figure out who they were outside of a monastic institution. So they get recognized, get swept up into a system where they are actually being abused—emotionally, physically and sexually. And then they mature into adulthood and they have this incredible shadow side which is all this stuff, this material, that they've never processed and developed because they bypassed all of that. One of the reasons why we have these intense scandals with all these teachers is because they're trying to get their needs fulfilled within a community where it's inappropriate for those needs to be fulfilled. And also the notions of boundaries, things like agency and where someone is coming to you with authentic needs versus projections—that's a skill, like you've said. A lot of it is the skill of discernment that you develop through the course of living and when that part of your life has been excised, swept up in this tradition of tulku and the teachings and the abuses, that all gets very distorted.Everyone's a victim in the way this system has been conceived. I would say that it's important for me in my teaching that I resist these forms of veneration because I want to live a life, and to have a teaching life and to be a teacher where I'm just really honest about my life. As a teacher, you have to know that I'm also queer and that I have these beliefs about sex positivity and relationship and dating and sex… I want that to be transparent. I don't want you to ever assume that I'm like a monk. I actually get really offended, and a little scared when people from other spiritual paths relate to me like a monk. I'm like, you can't do that. You can't do that because I don't want you to assume something that isn't true. It's important for me to be truthful about how I show up in the world as a teacher. It's also a form of fragmentation in a way, right? Which is again something that you're quite persistent in your book about it being a delusion that we need to remove and liberate ourselves from.Yeah, well it's the distinction that we make between the public life and the private life. The private life becomes the shadow life. So you have these people who have these intense, devout and sacred public lives where they're really wonderful and great. They're saints. And then in their private life they begin to engage in certain desires and appetites that are not in line with their public self. I think that that's what creates the struggle and the tension within sanghas. It's that tension where teachers aren't allowed to bring their personal and public lives together and it's not accepted by the sangha. It's also different though from how you explicate in the book about your need to differentiate your sangha and the people who look up to you versus your own community of friends and sexual partners. You make it a point to keep those groups discrete, right?Absolutely. Even when I'm on a hookup app and people recognize me [there] that becomes a really important space for me to set boundaries, to say this is who I am, this is what I believe in. Depending on how this relationship goes, it's going to be a different relationship. Are you going to see me as a teacher? If you do then this other stuff isn't going to happen. And that happens. If you're more interested in me as a teacher then I can show up as that. But it can't be this mixed thing because you have to keep those roles really separate and different.If there is any binary that you subscribe to, I guess that would be one of the few ones.Yeah, absolutely. It's just getting clear about what you want. And it's not to say that I haven't had partners who've also seen me as a teacher. But they've seen me more as a partner and a lover than as a teacher, and that's been really important for me to differentiate in that way. It's just about being clear. I think it's easy to kind of get addicted to the power that being a teacher offers you. That's really where it gets messy in romantic situations. Are you into me because I'm a teacher or are you into me because you're attracted to me?Oh that's such an incredible tension or struggle. Because I can easily imagine so many times someone coming to you for guidance and that need and that projection and love and everything gets wrapped up and then that can easily become sexual. So it's important for you to make it very clear from the outset that that's a hard line that you want to maintain.I also have a very natural, built-in safeguard—which I think is just a result of very good, virtuous karma from past lives—this intuition that I have which is that I know what people are like, why people are approaching me, or why they want to be in a relationship with me. If people just see me as a teacher or a guide, I get completely turned off, sexually. It just naturally happens. I get really resentful, actually. That's part of the safeguard that people would rather see me as a teacher than as this person that they want to get intimate with. And that's a very different feeling than someone coming to me who wants to be with me romantically or as just a friend. It's a whole different energy and I've just learned how to identify that. I've been in many spaces, casual and informal, where people recognize me and I can tell which way they're gonna go. Sometimes [someone] will go, “oh it's Lama Rod. That's cool. I'm not interested in what you do but you're cool.” On the other hand, it's like “oh you're Lama Rod. Can you teach me on the spot about something?” And I usually say no. [laughs] That's not why I'm there.You write in your book that when you first met Norlha Rinpoche, there was this very incredible energy that you sensed within you and that intuitively told you that this is your teacher, in one form or another. I wonder for someone who's perhaps seeking a teacher and who has that same kind of emanation of energy, what is your guidance on how to make sense of that energy and secondly, making sure that you then don't project it in a way that becomes unhealthy and makes you prone to being manipulated or abused.Well, it's different ways I want to answer that. Beginning with: how do we make sense of the feelings that we experience around certain teachers? For me, when a teacher opens up something inside of me, I see them as my teacher or one of my teachers. Because they have this incredible capacity to do something. To create this opening for me to do work and to understand dharma deeper. And so I take that person as a teacher. When we have those experiences I encourage people to see them as these invitations to move deeper into their own experience. I think all a teacher is doing is reflecting your wisdom back to you. They're just mirrors and they're pointing us back to these parts of ourselves that we're discovering for the first time. I think the misconception is that somehow the teacher is doing something really extraordinary and special. That somehow the magic is with the teacher. I mean yeah there are incredibly powerfully realized teachers, but really, particularly in Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism, the teacher is a mirror that points us back to our own wisdom, clarity and mind. So that's what you're experiencing, it's just your self for the first time. I've had that [experience] so many times. Of course I've had to learn what that was. At the beginning, I was like, oh this teacher is powerful and they're doing something. No, they're actually just pointing back towards me and saying, look! You're just like me, if you can just realize that. And if you trust that to take those people as a teacher in whatever way feels appropriate.Another way to think about this, from the perspective of students, is I think it's really easy to lose agency within relationships with very realized folks because we feel as if we don't know anything. It's a very [infantilizing] relationship, where we become children. At my monastery, it was like we were all the kids and Rinpoche was like the dad. No decision could ever be made without consulting Rinpoche, but that was the culture. That's Tibetan Buddhist culture because again the rinpoche, the abbot, is like the head of the manor, the king, the lord. And of course as someone who naturally distrusts authority I came into that really resentful. I was like, yeah of course I wanna ask Rinpoche about my personal practice but I don't think Rinpoche needs to be consulted about the colour of curtains you're going to put in the library. [laughs] I mean I just don't think that's necessary and I just got turned off over time by that kind of deference, that kind of, oh we can't do anything without his consent. And so I was interested in agency; I wanted to make my own decisions. Again, my relationship with Rinpoche was him always reminding me that I have agency. I think partially he did that to get me out of the way. [laughs] To get me out of the community after I was authorized, to get me into the world. It's hard and complex because I needed to be in the world. I wouldn't be here, if he didn't send me away. He dissuaded you from taking a second three-year retreat.Right. He was like, no. [laughs] He was like, “just go out into the world. Do something. If you still want to do the [retreat] after a bit, come back and do it.” Once I got into the world, I realized that this phase of my life was over, this retreat phase. But yeah, agency. I think this is a part of how we're going to cut through abuse between teachers and students. For us, as students, to remember our agency, to remember that we can make choices. If something doesn't feel comfortable, we have a right to say no. And then as a teacher—because I'm both a student and a teacher so I'm always flipping back and forth—my job is to make sure my needs are fulfilled outside of spiritual communities, and teacher student relationships. That I have other spaces that I have created in order to express different parts of who and what I am. I tell teachers all the time, you need to have friends who aren't Buddhists. [laughs] Like you need really messy friends. I'm gay, queer… so I have really messy queer friends who are really catty, and really superficial and some of them are really selfish, but all really loving. So I take refuge in those communities. I'm not Lama Rod there; I'm like one of the girls. In that space, among my friends they're like, “yeah, whatever. We see what you do. We see how you're doing it but we're here just to have fun and spend time with each other. You're not here to teach us.” And I have friends who were very clear about those boundaries, and those were very hard to hear initially because it sounds like they don't give a s**t about what I do. But instead, they're saying “we respect what you do, but you're not the teacher here. You can be the teacher somewhere else, but here you're a friend.” So we have to find those spaces and create them. That will make us a better teacher. So I can go into spiritual communities, sanghas, whatever and I'm not forcing that community to meet all of my needs, which is how traditional monastic communities are established. All the needs, even sexual needs, are being met in ways that are not articulated but are known and experienced by almost everyone within an institution.The other thing I thought about when you spoke about the need for setting boundaries, having agency and all that, is also about being true about your state of mental health. In many ways the Buddhist tradition has means of addressing those. But in other ways I also feel like there's this externalizing of it, where it feels like if you just pray on it, chant on it, meditate on it… that will hopefully find you some measure of relief. You were very deliberate in your book—you've actually outlined various different practices to deal with anger, contentment etc.—but you also state that if you need medication, therapy... you have to take that. It's about skillful means. It's about understanding the best way to reduce harm and violence. We also have to understand, as you know, within Tibetan psychology mental health is conceived of being very different. Mental health is externalized in Tibetan culture, whereas in western culture it's internalized. So we [westerners] may experience depression, traditionally Tibetans experience demons. I'm not depressed; I'm just being tormented by this demon that I can actually direct practice towards. Like the practice of chöd. What's really interesting for us right now is that we're moving through this synthesis where we're bringing together western psychology, Tibetan psychology and trying to synthesize something that I think is really quite powerful. And I'm kind of back and forth with that because for me that kind of externalization of mental health is also in a way very Indigenous. There's an indigeneity there that I'm really interested in. I think it's maybe both. I think sometimes, growing up in the west, there are energetic forces that the best way for us to name it is to name mental illness, depression, or anxiety. But maybe it's actually an energetic being that's affecting us somehow. So I'm interested in discerning those nuances as well.—Part 2 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Considered one of the leaders of a current generation of Buddhist teachers, Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, and an authorized Lama—or Buddhist teacher—in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Through his writings, teachings, and travels Lama Rod invites everyone into his life intersections as a Black, queer male who was born and raised in the South, and heavily influenced by the church and its community. In this episode, Lama Rod is joined by Executive Director of the Counter Narrative Project, Charles Stephens, for a conversation about how unmetabolized anger—and the grief, hurt, and transhistorical trauma beneath it—needs to be explored, respected, and fully embodied to heal from heartbreak and begin to walk the path of liberation. This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on January 14, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

Join Michael Ward with guest Lama Rod Owens. Lama Rod is the author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. As we close out the year, he and Michael will discuss self-care and healing. Originally broadcast on Facebook on December 23, 2020. Support CNP ✔ Donation ► https://www.thecounternarrative.org/d...✔ Merchandise ►https://www.thecounternarrative.org/shop Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram ✔ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/cnptribe✔ Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/cnptribe✔ Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/cnptribe

Anger shows up in all of our lives, to varying degrees, for varying reasons. We rage at our politicians, rage against broken hearts, rage against systems that produce inequality, racism, homophobia and misogyny. While it can drive us, show us where the hurt is, anger is a volatile tool. We're often not in charge of it, as much as we like to believe we care. So what is there to learn about it? How can we use that energy to sustain us, protect ourselves and others, rather than burn us to a crisp?Teacher, author and activist Lama Rod Owens is the guest on today's podcast. The term “lama” in this context, is an honorific title for Tibetan buddhist teacher, which Lama Rod is. An alumni of the Harvard Divinity School, Lama Rod brings all of himself to his work, his upbringing in the Church, his activism, his race, his gender, his sexuality… And for his most recent book, his anger. SHOW NOTES:Buy Love And Rage here in the UK and here in the US (support independent bookstores!)Follow Lama Rod on Twitter here and on Instagram hereSend Lisa your thoughts about the show onTwitter @lisajozi or @storytellerpod1Instagram @lisagoldenjozi or @storyteller_podOr drop her an email at storytellerpod@gmail.com for a shout on in the following week's episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Radiant Rest host Tracee Stanley speaks with author and spiritual teacher Lama Rod Owens about acknowledging heartbreak, anger, and rage through practice. Lama Rod discusses the value of mourning and how it requires us to tell the truth. This is a deep and soulful conversation about lineage, ancestors, and being unconditionally held by the Mother. www.radiantrest.com

Lama Rod Owens, African-American author and Tibetan Buddhist teacher, describes himself as, “black, queer, cisgender, and male-identified, fat, mixed class, Buddhist teacher and minister, yoga teacher, and shit-talking Southerner.” When I contacted Lama Rod more than a year ago to have him on the show, his assistant told me he was deep into writing his newly published book, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger, and to check back in the Spring of 2020. Well, America has been through so much since then, and I am so happy Lama Rod and I got to have this dialogue now, in the midst of a pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and America’s ever-intensifying political turmoil. Love and Rage is a must-read for anyone seeking to grapple with identity: how to know it and the suffering it causes, and use that pain and understanding to walk the path of liberation from human suffering. This is a radical GG dialogue unlike any other. May it be of benefit to all who listen.

We are back with full length interviews!!  I'd love to hear what you think of the conversation.  Episode 34 features Lama Rod Owens, a black queer Buddhist Lama and author of the recently published book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger. In this episode, we discuss the dangers of disembodied anger, what it feels like to navigate transhistorical trauma in the body, anger, and the woundedness beneath anger, as an entry point to embodiment, and Lama Rod's relationship with depression and much more.  It was a true honor to speak with Lama Rod Owens.  I really encourage you to read or listen to his books and follow him @lamarodowens.  Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation. Owens is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. Has been published in Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle and The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and offers talks, retreats and workshops in more than seven countries. In, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger (June 2020), Lama Rod shares his personal journey with rage—how, at a young age, he internalized the belief that his anger was dangerous. “I have seen over and over again,” he tells us, “that anger can get me killed. I know that this is how I have survived in a Black queer body in America. My fear of death and policing has translated into a self-policing of my anger to such an extent that if it weren’t for my meditation practice, I wouldn’t know how to find my anger.” You can find out more about Lama Rod @lamarodowens on instagram or www.lamarod.com  REGISTER for EMBODIED TESTIMONY (REGISTRATION ENDS 9/20/20)  LITQB Podcast: This is a podcast about the barriers to embodiment and how our collective body stories can bring us back to ourselves. This is a podcast for people who identify as queer or for people who might think of their relationship between their body and confining social narratives as queer. This can feel like an isolating experience.  Our wounded bodies need spaces to talk about struggles with nourishment/disordered eating, body image issues, dysphoria, racism, heterosexism, transphobia, xenophobia, substance use/abuse, chronic pain/disability, body changes in parenthood, intergenerational trauma, the medical/wellness/therapy industrial complex and its lack of inclusion of queer bodies and much more. Hopefully this podcast can illustrate the connections, and resonant pain points, that we have with one another.  Livinginthisqueerbody.com  @livinginthisqueerbody  The Host:  Asher Pandjiris Psychotherapist/ Podcaster/ Group Facilitator  SUPPORT https://www.patreon.com/livinginthisqueerbody  Sound Editing: Barry Orvin www.talkbox.studio  Music: Ethan Philbrick and Helen Messineo-Pandjiris --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/asher-pandjiris/message

Lama Rod Owens gilt als einer der Vorreiter einer neuen Generation von buddhistischen Lehrern. Er spricht klar und direkt über Sexuelle Orientierung, Gender, Hautfarbe, Schmerz und Identität. Als Schwarzer, Queerer Amerikanischer Mann mit traditionell Tibetisch-Buddhistischem Training eröffnet er eine neue Tradition von Offenheit und Konversation über Themen, die unbequem sein können. Lama Rod ist ein warmherziger, sanft sprechender Mensch voller Humor und scharfer Intelligenz. Großzügig mit seinem Wissen und seiner eigenen Lebensgeschichte spricht er mit Curse über sein Training, seine Arbeit als Aktivist und über die Vereinbarkeit von Liebe, Hass, Wut und Sanftmut. Ein tiefes, herzliches und inspirierendes Gespräch. Viel Freude mit dieser neuen Folge! Homepage von Lama Rod: https://www.lamarod.com/ Lama Rod’s Bücher „Love & Rage“ und „Radical Dharma“ sind überall auf englisch erhältlich

Welcome back to The Bus! We're breaking down the baby steps I've taken so far on the path to developing a spiritual relationship and life. Mentions in this podcast:Lama Rod's book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger: https://www.lamarod.com/ Follow me on Instagram: @SpiritalStruggleBus and @amy.vanmechelen Email & website coming soon.

Ruby talks to author, teacher and activist Lama Rod Owens about his new book, Love and Rage, which offers a new perspective on anger as a powerful tool for liberation—and an emotion that is deeply interwoven with the subject of substance abuse.Considering all that we have to be angry about in the world today, this subject and this book feels incredibly relevant. Especially as unprocessed anger can lead to depression and self-harm when turned inward against ourselves. In this episode we discuss: -Lama Rod’s definition of anger—and how it can be a tool for liberation-How to use anger in a constructive and restorative way-How alcohol and anger are intertwined – as we use it to numb our frustration or to express pent up anger-Practices for moving through anger to help us process it in a healthy way-Anger as a fuel for activism – and how to infuse our ongoing social justice work with the energy of love-How fear of anger prevents difficult yet necessary conversations from happening-The emotional labor of managing our own reactivity – and the violent reactions of others-Why we are living through “apocalypse” – and sobriety as its own version of this-The importance of working with complexity and understanding that the path forward lies beyond the binary-Why comfort is the antithesis of progress and positive changeGet your copy of Love and Rage HERE and  visit Lamarod.com or follow @lamarodowens on Instagram for upcoming talks, events, and retreats.This episode is supported by Lyres non-alcoholic spirits. Visit lyres.co/sobercurious and subscribe for 15% off.Thanks also to Monument—personalized online support to change your drinking. Visit joinmonument.com for plans and pricing.

Within the constant violence of the systems of oppression that structure our lives, there are infinite reasons for us to be enraged. As we recorded this conversation, hundreds of thousands of us were (and still are) taking our rage to the streets and to the page, protesting police violence and white supremacy around the world. Our righteous anger, as we can see clearly in this historical moment, exists as a sacred and necessary ingredient to our power and collective liberation. In this episode, we take a closer look at anger with Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens, kicking off a deeper season of study with his new book, “Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger,” as our summer 2020 Irresistible Book Club selection! We discussed ways in which anger pierces through to the truth of our reality, acting as a mirror, source of clarity, and catalyst for change. We also talked about how to consume anger rather than letting it consume us; Black rage; and the loving care we must also offer the wounds beneath it.  Transcript & full show notes at http://www.irresistible.org/podcast/68 ------- Join IRRESISTIBLE BOOK CLUB to read Lama Rod's new book, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger, with others all over the world. You'll also get access to a discussion guide, a live conversation with Lama Rod this fall, and a 35% discount from North Atlantic Books. ------- Check out the following episode to engage in an Anger Offering practice with Lama Rod. ------- Thanks to Zach Meyer for production, Josiah Werning & Alyson Thompson for design and social media, and Ana Cecilia for music. Irresistible is sponsored by Kalliopeia Foundation: Dedicated to reconnecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. Learn more at kalliopeia.org

How can we find the path of liberation through our anger? Lama Rod Owens speaks with Ethan about ways we can work with anger as a healing energy in our practice.Considered one of the leaders of the next generation of Dharma teachers, Lama Rod Owens has a blend of formal Buddhist training in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and life experience that gives him a unique ability to understand, relate and engage in a way that’s spacious and sincere. He invites you into the cross-sections of his life as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South and heavily influenced by the church and its community. Learn more about Lama Rod’s offerings and upcoming teaching events at lamarod.com.

Dharma instructor Lama Rod Owens joins Francesca Maximé for a conversation around the importance of showing up to difficult experiences and holding our love and trauma in balance. Considered one of the leaders of the next generation of Dharma teachers, Lama Rod Owens has a blend of formal Buddhist training in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and life experience that gives him a unique ability to understand, relate and engage in a way that’s spacious and sincere. He invites you into the cross-sections of his life as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South and heavily influenced by the church and its community. Learn more about Lama Rod’s offerings and upcoming teaching events at www.lamarod.com. The Dharma of Homecoming Lama Rod shares the work he has been doing sharing contemplative practices of healing that focus on the wounds caused by racism, marginalization, and patriarchy. He offers insight around how the act of creating a home can be a radically healing act. “I think it is a radical act – a revolutionary act – to make a home in the world; particularly if you have felt that the world has not ever been home for you. I love offering these teachings for people of color and for people who experience marginalization.” – Lama Rod Owens Find freedom at the edge of where fear and courage meet on Ep. 229 of the Mindrolling Podcast Love, Trauma & The Art of Showing Up (12:25) How can we balance the complex entanglement of love and woundedness in our hearts? Lama Rod and Francesca speak about finding that balance by facing our pain, hardship, and fear. They look at the unique traumas that emerge among different communities; exploring how we can find love for the pain of both the colonized and the colonizer – regardless of which side of the wounding we find ourselves on. “For me, it is about being OK. When I am OK, I am in balance. Balance doesn’t necessarily mean that I am comfortable or that I am loving the world or even enjoying anything. It means that I am in a position where I am able to hold the space for myself. All of course coming from a place of mindfulness where we are just trying to show up for what we are experiencing – we don’t have to like what we are showing up to but we have to have at least an aspiration to show up to it.” – Lama Rod Owens Love & Rage (30:35) Lama Rod talks about his upcoming book – Love and Rage – an exploration of how anger can be redirected as a constructive tool on the path to inner liberation.

Lama Rod Owens is an author, activist, and fully trained lama of the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. With Sounds True, he is presenting during the upcoming Wisdom of the Body Summit, an online event devoted to tuning into the natural intuition and awareness of our physical forms. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Lama Rod about the basics of Vajrayana and how its practices can be applied to modern life. Tami asks Lama Rod how his identity as an African-American, queer man informs his practice and teachings. In turn, Lama Rod comments on how spiritual teachings should meet people where they actually live and those parts of the Tantric tradition that he had to leave behind. Finally, Lama Rod explains how Vajrayana brings you into greater harmony with the body, as well as why love and anger aren't the polar opposites you might assume.(63 minutes)

On this episode of our show, we will have the founders of Drink Still Moon on our show.. Should be a great conversation and we look forward to hearing from these gentleman.  Still Moon was founded in 2014 by six co-owners named Gale Frasier Cox (Marketing), Ponce Tidwell Jr. (Counsel), Gary Duncan (Mixologist), Shon Yancey (President), Ralph Frasier (Counsel) and Kelvin Bratcher (Counsel). All North Carolina natives, the six co-owners attended NC A&T State University in Greensboro and met during their undergraduate years.  Moonshine has been secretly distilled in the quiet hollows of the Appalachian Mountains since the 1800s and transported under the still light of the moon. Down South Beverage Company harnessed the authenticity of our Great Granddaddy's moonshine recipies from the tobacco roads of the Carolinas and gave it a sophisticated flair.  Now, we introduce STILL MOON.  In addition to these fine gentleman, we will have artist, muralist, and educator Malcolm Goff on the show as well...Malcolm Goff is a fine artist living in Durham, with work in the permanent collection of the Capitol Broadcasting Corporation and many private collections. He has been art educator at E.K. Powe Elementary School for nearly  20 years. In his own words, The core of my art is a story about love in a crazy world. How do we grow as Americans, survive, and thrive together? All I have is my odd experiences that often surprises and inspire people. It is a story is about claiming the various cultural roots in a land that was built on being hostile toward African roots and the mixing of cultures. And, we will have Business consultants Tim Simpson.  And we can't forget Lama Rod.        

Lama Rod Owens was officially recognized by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism after receiving his teaching authorization from his root teacher the Venerable Lama Norlha Rinpoche when he completed the traditional 3-year silent retreat program at Kagyu Thubten Chöling Monastery (KTC) outside of New York City.  It was during this time that he dealt with years of past pain and trauma and found forgiveness and compassion for himself, what he views as a critical step before truly being able to help others. Since coming out of retreat he has completed his Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School. Lama Rod also practices, studies, and teaches secular mindfulness and is a teacher with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) where he is also a faculty member for the organization's teacher training program. He is also heavily engaged in social change activism and has just released a book with Rev. angel Kyodo williams  and Jasmine Syedullah  entitled, Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love and Liberation. 

This is an exploration of how to make radical self love with Lama Rod Owens. Acclaimed Buddhist teacher, author, & activist, Lama Rod shares his wisdom about the inner work required for self-love as an ethic of freedom and justice.

This week I sit down with Lama Rod Owens to discuss the intersection of Buddhist Dharma and American culture and politics. Lama Rod articulates his vision for Radical Dharma: a call to make the teachings of Buddhism relevant for tending to the suffering in the United States in this day and age, starting with addressing... The post #36: Radical Dharma with Lama Rod Owens appeared first on Hacking The Self.

Episode 039 |  Radical Presence, Vulnerability, and Messiness in Leadership featuring Lama Rod Owens, Radical Dharma co-author, Buddhist Teacher and Minister   www.lamarod.com Facebook: Lama Rod Owens Twitter: @lamarod1 Instagram: @lamarodowens     Lama Rod Owens is considered one of the emerging leaders of the next generation of Buddhist teachers. He is formally and receiving teaching authorization in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, he also holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. He is a teacher with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) where he works teaching teens mindfulness.   Lama Rod is a co-author of Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, which explores race in the context of American Buddhist communities. He is a founding teacher for the Awaken meditation app that offers meditations and contemplations focused on social change.   He is a regular guest on SiriusXM's Urban View hosted by Karen Hunter. He has offered --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/themindfulrebel/support

Lama Rod Owens is known for his deep wisdom and willingness to have conversations about things that we're scared to talk about: race, gender, sexuality, identity, and his ability to hold these conversations with love. In this conversation, we get clear about the difference between diversity and inclusivity, what it means to create inclusive spaces of practice, the responsibility we have now as 'ancestors-in-training', and much more. Lama Rod is co-author of the book 'Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation'.

In this episode of Waking Up Bipolar, Chris Cole speaks with Lama Rod Owens — a formally trained Buddhist teacher, Harvard Master of Divinity graduate, and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Lama Rod works to be as open, honest and vulnerable as possible and help others do the same, including discussing his journey with depression. Sitting with Lama Rod is to be guided into conversations and contemplations around things that affect us all but we’re scared to talk about like sex, race, identity, gender, class, power, depression and all the other stuff we tend to turn away from. I have personally benefited from Lama Rod's wisdom and love in both reading Radical Dharma and also attending a recent Living Radical Dharma retreat with Lama Rod Owens and Reverend angel Kyodo williams at the magnificent Shambhala Mountain Center. Stay in touch with Lama Rod Owens at lamarod.com Find Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation on Amazon. Watch the full interview on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/WiNmEEOkeQ8 Watch the full interview on Facebook here: http://fb.me/Ac9vD0Ng JOIN THE DISCUSSION at https://www.facebook.com/groups/wakingupbipolar Chris Cole hosts the Waking Up Bipolar podcast, focused on the intersection of bipolar disorder and spiritual awakening. He is the author of The Body of Chris: A Memoir of Obsession, Addiction, and Madness, inspired by his own journey of spiritual unfolding and mental health challenges. Chris Cole offers life coaching for any number of mental health conditions, specializing in bipolar disorder and spiritual emergence. Chris’s experience with addiction, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, psychosis, and spiritual emergency allows him to relate to a wide range of clients. He utilizes a holistic approach to mental health which views wellness in physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual domains. Learn more about Chris and his work at colecoaching.com. The Waking Up Bipolar podcast in now available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts | apple.wakingupbipolar.com Google Play | google.wakingupbipolar.com Stitcher | stitcher.wakingupbipolar.com TuneIn | tunein.wakingupbipolar.com wakingupbipolar.com

Lama Rod Owens (@lamarod1) holds the space for vulnerable conversation to unfold. I was going to write a spot-on bio, but the one posted on his website mirrors my experience and understanding of him: “Considered one of the leaders of the next generation of Dharma teachers, Lama Rod Owens has a blend of formal Buddhist training and life experience that gives him a unique ability to understand, relate and engage with those around him in a way that’s spacious and sincere. His gentle, laid-back demeanor and willingness to bare his heart and soul makes others want to do the same. Even when seated in front of a room, he’s next to you, sharing his stories and struggles with an openness vulnerability and gentle humor that makes you genuinely feel good about who you are, with all your flaws and foibles, you’re lovable and deserving of happiness and joy. He invites you into the cross sections of his life as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South, and heavily influenced by the church and its community.” (from lamarod.com) In this episode we cover Lama Rod’s journey into Tibetan Buddhism, issues of race in American Buddhism, sexuality, his contemplative practice and his thoughts on sex education. Lama Rod Owens is a teacher, activist and author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation. You can learn more about him through his website, lamarod.com, Instagram, Soundcloud and Twitter.