Podcasts about tibetan buddhists

I thought today I would share with you a book by David Bentley Hart. Hart wrote that translation of the New Testament that I'm very much enjoying, because it mirrors the same language that the Gnostic gospel uses in the Nag Hammadi codices, particularly the Tripartite Tractate, which is what I share with you here at Gnostic Insights. David Bentley Hart is extremely eloquent and erudite. His prose puts me to shame. He is a great writer and a brilliant mind. He's an Eastern Orthodox scholar of religion and a philosopher. And the deal is, he does seem to love God. So his philosophy and his theology goes through what seems to me to be a very Gnostic heart and orientation on his part. So I'm reading this book now called, That All Shall Be Saved, Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation, because I could tell from reading the footnotes in his New Testament that he and I agree on this universal salvation. I seem to be coming at it from a different place than he does. My major reason why everyone and everything that's living now will return to heaven is that everything comes from heaven. So if everything doesn't return to heaven in the end, if most of it, as a matter of fact, was thrown into eternal fires of torment, well, God itself would be lessened. The Father would be less than he was at the beginning, and that's an impossibility, because the Father was, is, and ever shall be the same. He is not diminished by the love and consciousness and life that flows out of him. But if that life, love, and consciousness winds up in a black hole at the bottom of an eternal pit of torment, well, there's so many things wrong with that statement, just absolutely wrong. And that's what David Bentley Hart's book is all about, and he has several ways he's going to explain why that can't be so. The reason I say it can't be so is that all consciousness, life, and love come from the Father. So in the big roll-up, if we accept the proposition that there will be an end to this material existence, which is what all Christians and Jews profess, and if everything that emanated from the Father in the beginning, beginning with the Son, which is the first and only direct emanation, and then everything else emanates through the Son, well, if it doesn't return at the end of material time, then the Father and the ethereal plane would be diminished, because it poured out all of this love and consciousness into this material realm, and it all has to return. The Tripartite Tractate says that everything that existed from the beginning will return at the end of time. In verses 78 and 79 of the Tripartite Tractate, it's speaking about the shadows that emerged from Logos after the Fall, and it says, Therefore their end will be like their beginning, from that which did not exist they are to return once again to the shadows. “Their end will be like their beginning,” in that they didn't come from above—they were shadows of the fallen Logos. And so when the light comes and shines the light, the shadows disappear. Furthermore, in verses 80 and 81, the Tripartite Tractate says, The Logos, being in such unstable conditions, that is, after the Fall, did not continue to bring forth anything like emanations, the things which are in the Pleroma, the glories which exist for the honor of the Father. Rather, he brought forth little weaklings, hindered by the illnesses by which he too was hindered. It was the likeness of the disposition which was a unity, that which was the cause of the things which do not exist from the first. So these shadows didn't exist in the Pleroma; they were shadows, they were imitations of the unity which existed from the first, and that unity is the Fullness of God—the Aeons of the Fullness of God. And it is only these shadows that will be evaporated at the end of time, that will not go to the ethereal plane. All living things will, because we're not shadows of the Fall. We are actually sent down from the unity, from the Fullness of God, with life, consciousness, and love. And so all of that has to return to the Father. So that is where I'm coming from, that God can't be lessened, made less than it was at the beginning. So everything will be redeemed and returned. And of course, practically all of Christianity nowadays believes that most everything that was emanated from the beginning will be destroyed, or put into a fire of torment for all eternity. Anyone who wasn't baptized, or anyone who didn't come forward to profess a belief in Christ—and that's most of the other cultures and people of the world. The conventional Christian church doesn't even realize that animals are going to heaven. I often comfort people whose pet has just passed away, and they're missing them so badly, and they love them so much, and it hurts so much, and I say to them in comfort, “Well, your pet is waiting for you in heaven, and you'll be reunited when you cross over, and then you'll have them again, and you'll all be very happy forever together.” That's my basic approach. franny and zoey sunset As a matter of fact, I'm waiting for my pack—that's who I expect to greet me. I'm not waiting for my dead relatives, or my late husband. I'm not expecting them on the other shore waiting for me, although perhaps they will be. Who I really am looking forward to seeing are my dogs and cats, every dog and cat I've ever had. And I figure they're all up there together as a big pack, playing on the beach. So that's what keeps me comforted, and keeps me looking forward. I'm very happy to imagine that that will be what greets me when I cross over. So this morning, what I'd like to share with you are some of Hart's writing that he shares in his introduction that's called, The Question of an Eternal Hell, Framing the Question. So this is before he even gets into his various apologetics of how it is that everyone will be saved. But I really wanted to share this with you. Hart writes in a very high-minded manner, so I'll attempt to translate it for us all. So on page 16, Hart says, And as I continued to explore the Eastern Communions as an undergraduate, I learned at some point to take comfort from an idea that one finds liberally scattered throughout Eastern Christian contemplative tradition, from late antiquity to the present, and expressed with particular force by such saints of the East as Isaac of Nineveh, who lived between 613 and 700, and Silouan of Athos, who lived between 1866 and 1938. And the idea is this, that the fires of hell are nothing but the glory of God, which must at the last, when God brings about the final restoration of all things, pervade the whole of creation. For although that glory will transfigure the whole cosmos, it will inevitably be experienced as torment by any soul that willfully seals itself against love of God and neighbor. To such a perverse and obstinate nature, the divine light that should enter the soul and transform it from within must seem instead like the flames of an exterior chastisement. That's pretty interesting. He's saying that after the final roll-up, the glory of God, or the light of God, will fill all of space and eternity, and that we will be able to see it and experience it. We will stand before the glory of God. But anyone who is hiding from God, or that is a hateful person, will experience that same glory as flames of fire that torment. And so that will be their punishment. But it's not coming from God. God's bringing glory and love and light. But they, because they are resistant, they will experience it as those flames of hell. So Hart goes on to say, This I found not only comforting, but also extremely plausible at an emotional level. It is easy to believe in that version of hell, after all, if one considers it deeply enough, for the very simple reason that we all already know it to be real in this life, and dwell a good portion of our days confined within its walls. A hardened heart is already its own punishment. The refusal to love, or to be loved, makes the love of others, or even just their presence, a source of suffering and a goad to wrath. And isn't that true? That a hateful person views everything that's going on around them, and anything that someone else says, to be irritating, and worthy of punishment, or worthy of disdain, because it doesn't agree with their own opinion. He goes on to say on page 17, and so perhaps it makes perfect sense to imagine that a will sufficiently intransigent in its selfishness and resentment and violence might be so damaged that, even when fully exposed to the divine glory for which all things were made, it will absolutely hate the invasion of that transfiguring love, and will be able to discover nothing in it but terror and pain. It is the soul, then, and not God, that lights hell's fires, by interpreting the advent of divine love as a violent assault upon the jealous privacy of the self. Now, we've talked about that a lot here on Gnostic Insights, and I cover that in my discussions of Overcoming Death. My argument about Overcoming Death primarily comes from the Tibetan Buddhist book known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and in that book it describes this passage after life. And, by the way, it's not only when the whole entire cosmos melts away, it's every time we die. When your body passes away, suddenly you're in that non-material state. Your ego goes forward without the attachment of the body, and in that state of not being attached to the material world, it is like, at the end of time, when the entire cosmos goes through the same process and is no longer attached to the material world. At that point, delusion drops away, the confusion of this cosmos and the confusion of our culture and the demiurgic culture that we are surrounded with, as well as the pulls of the material upon our bodies. It's gone, it's lifted, it's no longer there, and your spirit is able to see with clear eyes. As Paul said in the first letter to Corinthians, chapter 13, For we know partially, and we prophesy partially. But when that which is complete comes, what is partial will be rendered futile. When I was an infant, I spoke like an infant, I thought like an infant, I reckoned like an infant. Having become a man, I did away with infantile things. For as yet we see by way of a mirror, in an enigma, but then we will see face to face. As yet I know partially, but then I shall know fully, just as I am fully known. But now abide faith, hope, and love, these three, and the greatest of these is love. And in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, it talks about these things called bardos, which are levels of hell, basically, or levels of purgatory that people go through as they are learning to get rid of the mistaken notions that they picked up here during the lifetime. The samskara is stripped away. I would call the samskara the confounding memes that we cling to. We pick up these meme bundles from the people and from the things we read and learn and are indoctrinated into in school and then through the media. Those are memes, meme bundles, and they have to be let go of. You have to drop them in order to get past the ego that's holding on to those memes and rediscover the purity of the Father and the Son in the ethereal plane—rediscover the purity of your true Self. And the longer someone holds on to those memes after death, the more difficult is their passage into purity. And that's explained in depth in the Overcoming Death episode. Well, that Tibetan description of the fires of hell very much resemble the fires of hell that were talked about from these ancient saints of the Christian tradition. By the way, this idea that most everyone and everything is going to hell rather than going to heaven, that is a relatively recent addition to Christianity, but it has been grasped so firmly with the great assistance of the Catholic Church and their doctrines that by now most Christians think that most people won't go to heaven. So even the Protestants who protest Catholicism—that's what the word Protestant means, one who protests—they've lost the original thread of universal salvation that Jesus was teaching. The Anointed came to save everyone, it says, over and over in the New Testament. And in Hart's translation, which comes directly from the original writing rather than down through the Latin that had already been filtered by the Catholics, you don't find the eternal torment of hell. Remember, the word Aeon, which we in Gnostic belief generally translate as ethereal beings or part of the Fullness of God above, Aeon is also translated as a period of time, and throughout most of the translations of the New Testament, which derive from the Latin Vulgate, Aeon is translated as a period of time. And so when it says eternal torment, it's really saying aeonic torment. And in my opinion, it's the torment people bring upon themselves when they return to the aeonic realm. The Aeons aren't the punishers. God is not the punisher. It's our own grasping onto our past lives and the demiurgic culture and the demiurgic memes that we hold onto after death that are experienced like burning flames. But no one's imposing it upon us. It's our own lack of willing to give it up and turn and face the light. The eternal fires of hell are actually the aeonic reckoning that comes at the end of each lifetime and will come at the end of time itself when the material cosmos passes away. At least that's what I think. So when Hart says on page 17 there that “a will, a personal will, sufficiently intransigent in its selfishness and resentment and violence,” intransigence means not giving up, stubbornness, “might be so damaged that even when it comes face to face with glory, it will experience it as torment.” Now, for those of us who have accepted the anointing of the Christ and have come to true gnosis, (that is a remembrance that we come from above and will happily return to the above, that's all you need to know), we will not cling onto this material world. We will not be clinging onto those demiurgic memes that keep us from coming face to face with our aeonic parents in the Fullness of God. We will happily cross over. We will joyfully meet with those who are on the other side, be they family, spouses, or pets, because the grasses and the flowers, the butterflies, the birds, everything that is alive down here on earth will be alive in heaven because all life comes from above. We will not be experiencing that chastening fire—that coming to grips with the lies that we've been holding onto. That's the painful part, coming to grips with our own lies and the harms we have done to other people. If we're not repentant of those harms we have done to other people, we will have to come face to face with those harms after we cross over, and we will see from that other person's point of view what we did to them and how much we hurt them, and that will come back to us. We will experience their pain, and that is the pain and suffering of death, but it's not being imposed by the Father or the Son or our aeonic parents above. On page 18, Hart says, Because Christians have been trained at a very deep level of their thinking, to believe that the idea of an eternal hell is a clear and unambiguous element of their faith, and that therefore the idea must make perfect moral sense. They are in error on both counts, as it happens, but a sufficiently thorough conditioning can make an otherwise sound mind perceive even the most ostentatiously absurd proposition to be the very epitome of rational good sense. You know, there's some big words in that sentence, but I think you can tell by the context what they mean, right? Ostentatiously means open, flaunting. Epitome means the highest. So he's saying that because the Church has taught that everyone's going to hell except those very few, which is an ostentatious point of view, you see, ostentatiously absurd proposition, yet they have been taught that it is the very highest of good sense, and you can't go against it. And so people are conditioned not to question it. And what this book, That All Shall Be Saved, is, is a very thorough and deep description and rationale of how that cannot be true, of how everyone must be going to heaven. I covered my version of why everyone's going to heaven in this episode. Further episodes, I think I'll do a series here, further episodes will each cover chapters in Hart's book, and we'll hear what his rationale is for why everyone is going to heaven. But returning to this page 18 again, he says, In fact, where the absurdity proves only slight, the mind that has been trained most thoroughly will, as often as not, fabricate further and more extravagant absurdities in order to secure the initial offense against reason within a more encompassing and intoxicating atmosphere of corroborating nonsense. In other words, you'll have to spin a bunch of nonsensical rationalizations and excuses about why everyone's going to hell, just to make the story float. Quoting again, Sooner or later it will all seem to make sense, simply through ceaseless repetition and restatement and rhetorical reinforcement. As I'm reading this, of course he's talking about religious ideologies here, but I'm seeing these mechanisms at play in media bias. Do you see that? Just through sheer repetition, over and over, it doesn't matter if things are true or lies. If you say it often enough, people will begin to accept it unquestioningly. And you can see that going on in the politics, can't you? Hart goes on to say, The most effective technique for subduing the moral imagination is to teach it to mistake the contradictory for the paradoxical, and thereby to accept incoherence as profundity or moral idiocy as spiritual subtlety. If this can be accomplished with sufficient nuance and delicacy, it can sustain even a very powerful intellect for an entire lifetime. In the end, with sufficient practice, one really can, like the White Queen (of Alice in Wonderland), learn to believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast. In my limited attempts to discuss Gnosticism face-to-face with people, I discover this continually, that if I present them with the absurdity of everyone going to hell, for example, they will say, Well, it's a mystery. We can't know the mind of God. It's a mystery. Who are you to presume? And this is the way they cover up that it doesn't work, by just shunting it off to God's incomprehensibility. But our God is rational. Our God is logical. Our God doesn't say one thing and do another. Our God doesn't lie. Our God doesn't say it's all about life and living and love and then enslave and slaughter. That is not the God of Gnosticism. The Father that Jesus spoke of is not that God. Going on with page 19, Hart says, Not that I am accusing anyone of consciously or cynically seeking to manipulate the minds of faithful Christians. The conspiracy, so to speak, is an entirely open one, an unpremeditated corporate labor of communal self-deception, requiring us all to do our parts to sustain one another in our collective derangement. I regard the entire process as the unintentional effect of a long tradition of error, one in which a series of bad interpretations of Scripture produced various corruptions of theological reasoning, which were themselves then preserved as immemorial revealed truths and, at last, rendered impregnable to all critique by the indurated mental habits of generations, all despite the logical and conceptual incongruities that this required believers to ignore within their beliefs. He writes with big words. The gist of this entire paragraph was that the church didn't set out to be deceptive. Well, it may have with the Nicene Council when they stripped the Gnosis out, but from about 600 A.D. onward, it's just become such an ingrained thought that by now it's unassailable. By now you can't even question it. But that's what we're doing here at Gnostic Insights. So stay with me for the next few episodes, and we'll go into depth concerning hell, resurrection, salvation, and the ultimate redemption of all living things by the Christ, the Anointed, that will return us all to that paradise above. With love, onward and upward, and God bless us all. This book puts all of this gnosis together in a simplified form. Gnosis is as easy as you want it to be, or as complicated as you desire. This Simple Explanation will guide you through the often confusing terms and turns of gnostic thought and theology. The glossary alone is worth having on your bookshelf. Now available in paperback, hardback, and ebook/kindle, and an audio book narrated by Miguel Conner. Available at amazon.com or through your local independent bookstore. Please remember to leave a review at amazon if you purchase the book there. We need reviews in order to raise the book in amazon's algorithm!

*** This programme contains graphic descriptions of body mutilation *** In the Nepalese Himalaya, one of the world's rarest and most spiritually profound funeral rites is still practised: the Sky Burial. In some circumstances when a person dies, their body is offered to wild vultures. According to local Bon and Tibetan Buddhist customs, this burial is reserved only for those whose karma is deemed pure and whose astrological signs align with sacred guidance. The ritual represents the highest form of cremation, allowing the soul to ascend freely to the heavens. But the arrival of infrastructure projects and modern roads into these remote valleys have also created challenges for monastics and Sky Burial practitioners too. We follow Tashi Bista as he meets the guardians of this ceremony and comes eye to eye with human mortality. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.

“Stop and think, why am I having this reaction? And observe instead of being in it.” In this episode, Nick speaks with Lybi Ma about the importance of embracing all emotions, including those that are often deemed negative. They emphasize the need to sit with and process feelings rather than suppressing them, highlighting that experiencing emotions is a natural part of life. What to listen for: It’s important to feel all emotions, not just the positive ones. Emotional acceptance is crucial for mental well-being. Processing emotions can be a daily practice. You don’t have to dwell on feelings forever; it’s about acknowledgment. Sharing feelings with others can foster a deeper connection and greater understanding. “We spend a lot of time negating half of our emotions. We want to feel happy and not depressed or not anxious, or we don’t want to feel anger. Feel these things.” Avoiding “negative” emotions actually gives them more power over us Emotions like anger, sadness, and anxiety are signals, not flaws Trying to feel only happy creates emotional suppression, not healing Feeling emotions fully helps them move through instead of getting stuck Emotional wholeness comes from allowing all feelings, not just the pleasant ones “People stop breathing when they’re tense and in the moment of being reactive to an unhappy situation. And when you stop breathing, cortisol goes up, and you become alert, and you’re looking for the predator. Just breathe and let your body work it out.” Tension often causes shallow or stopped breathing without us realizing it Holding the breath signals danger, triggering a cortisol stress response The body goes into survival mode, scanning for threats that may not exist Slow, intentional breathing helps calm the nervous system naturally Sometimes regulation isn't mental—it's physical: breathe and let the body reset About Lybi Ma Lybi is the executive editor of Psychology Today. In addition to producing the print magazine, she also edits its website and blog platform, which hosts more than nine hundred authors, academic researchers, and journalists. She edited a Psychology Today book series covering topics such as anger, food addiction, and bipolar disorder. She has a blended family of five adult children and lives with her husband in Westchester, New York. Her newest book, HOW TO BE LESS MISERABLE, is available now from Blackstone Publishing. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/lybi-ma https://www.linkedin.com/in/lybi-ma-b982941/ https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-hb9q?variant=46150345883786 Resources: Interested in starting your own podcast or need help with one you already have? https://themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com/podcasting-services/ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe on iTunes and give us a 5-Star review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mindset-and-self-mastery-show/id1604262089 Listen to other episodes here: https://themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com/ Watch Clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk1tCM7KTe3hrq_-UAa6GHA Guest Inquiries right here: podcasts@themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com Your Friends at “The Mindset & Self-Mastery Show” Click Here To View The Episode Transcript Nick McGowan (00:00.971)Hello and welcome to the Mindset and Self Mastery Show. I’m your host, Nick McGowan. Today on the show we have Libby, how you doing today? Lybi Ma (00:10.338)Good. Thank you for having me. Nick McGowan (00:13.233)Absolutely, I’m excited that you’re here. I told you, I thought you were gonna be really academic and I think you’re gonna be able to tie that in with being an actual human. And I’m excited with all this. So why don’t you get us started? Yes, thank you. Thank you for breathing air with the rest of us. Why don’t you get this started? Tell us what you do for a living and what’s one thing most people don’t know about you that’s maybe a little odd or bizarre? Lybi Ma (00:25.121)breathing. Lybi Ma (00:38.39)I am the executive editor at Psychology Today, and I’ve been there for quite a few decades. Not gonna tell you completely because I don’t want you to know my age. And something that, well, the thing about me is that we take my ex-husband on vacation with us. There you go. Nick McGowan (01:06.644)So I appreciate that you basically just hold the mic there, like about to drop it and like, what do you want to do with this? I feel like there are people that would be like, and here’s some context to it. So I’ve got to ask what, what do you mean? How does that work? Does he physically go with you or is he like in a box? Okay. Lybi Ma (01:22.222)Yeah, he’s, he comes with us. He shows up. We had three weddings in 13 months between my second husband and me. And they’re grown kids. And he came to my stepkids’ weddings and they call him Uncle Carl. Nick McGowan (01:44.628)Cool. That’s really awesome. That is an odd thing that I, unfortunately that I think most people don’t experience. Yeah. Well, this is, this is a good thing to start on too. Cause I’ve actually had this conversation with somebody recently where they’re like, yeah, I’ve got a young kid and the mom and I don’t really, we don’t work, but we work really well together for the kid. Lybi Ma (01:54.211)I gave you one, didn’t I? I gave you one. Nick McGowan (02:10.919)And that was really important. Like I could see him almost like put his foot in the ground. Like this is what we’re doing specifically for a child. That’s not how I grew up. Like my mom and dad, they’re still basically like a town or two apart from each other. They’ll see each other at a bar somewhere and like snarl at each other. Like I am 41 years old, calm down. It’s been a long ass time. However, my dad and his ex-wife are great friends because of the relationship that they had and all that. My dad actually… Lybi Ma (02:29.613)Okay. Nick McGowan (02:40.827)met her husband, shook his hand with a hundred dollar bill and said, thank you. It’s your turn. I’m like, the kahones on that man for that. But that’s an interesting thing that you can actually have that. Now I would imagine, look, you work for psychology today. You’ve probably done a lot of work on yourself and through your relationships and healed through things. But can you give us a little bit of context of like how the heck that works? Lybi Ma (02:48.59)I like that. That’s funny. Lybi Ma (03:07.8)So in the beginning when I first got divorced, I thought, I’m never speaking to this person again. And that lasted for a little while. And I actually worked through his second wife. I needed her to pick up the kids. So as you know, we had a very friendly situation. And I thought, well, this is not really good for the kids. So I think I better. start being more amenable to the whole thing. And I got this job and it helped me. This job, I read a lot of information. Constance Ahrens did research. She did a good book on divorced kids. And basically divorced kids can do well if The parents get along and there’s no conflict in their household. And as long as each parent has a good relationship with the child, they’re probably going to do well. And I will have to say that my children did very well. So yeah, it worked out. And yeah, and it also helps when you have a person like my ex-husband who is very amiable. He wants to be friendly and he has a crazy romance with my husband, a bromance, sorry, not romance, a bromance. They have a thing going on. So there you go. Nick McGowan (04:28.454)awesome. Nick McGowan (04:48.86)Ha Nick McGowan (04:54.473)Which you probably didn’t think like we’re getting a divorce at some point I’ll be married again and he’ll be great friends with my then husband. Like could you have written that you know? Lybi Ma (05:01.13)No, no, I had no idea. No idea. No. Getting along is better. Yeah. Nick McGowan (05:06.097)Yeah. That’s interesting. Yeah. But I, I find it interesting how sometimes we, people can say, there was this period of time and then a period of lapse. And then I realized this thing and then another period and here we are. There was a lot of time in between then and this conversation right now. And even the times where I’m sure you were super frustrated, upset, pissed the whole nine and then maybe I could do things different. And I think sometimes we blow past that because Lybi Ma (05:33.25)Yeah. Nick McGowan (05:39.312)Maybe context isn’t always important in all the situations. However, I want to say it’s pretty much always super important. And that’s really what the purpose of the show is to be able to kind of talk about those tough times. Like you went through a divorce, but you saw it as I’m going to help with the kids. And this is more important for my kids. And now you’re seeing your kids in action from the result of what you guys have done. It’s really hard for people to see the stuff that they need to work on and be open to that, especially when they’re in a really, really difficult time going through it. or post divorce or something like that. Now, how does that tie into the work that you’ve done and worked with for maybe just a couple decades? Don’t need to know your age. But being able to actually go through that stuff on your own and then literally work with psychology today and the psychologists and other people doing important work and you being a researcher yourself. Lybi Ma (06:33.026)Well, I’ll be honest with you. First of all, I’m not a researcher. take the researcher’s information and try to put it in accessible language so that people can relate. So you see all this information coming through and everything makes a whole lot of sense. Nick McGowan (06:53.02)sense. Lybi Ma (07:02.38)And I started to apply it to my own life. And it was very helpful. I became a wiser person because I work at this magazine. Yeah. Nick McGowan (07:15.751)Sure. Were there things that you can kind of look back to? Like kind of hovering around the same topic here, because I know it’s important, divorce kids and families and all that, but for you to be able to look back to and say, you know, if I wasn’t in the job that I am in, I probably would have been in different spot because you learn certain things because of the information you were seeing coming to you. And then just putting it into action. Like, is there anything that really stands out to you? Like, if I didn’t learn this. Lybi Ma (07:23.95)huh. Nick McGowan (07:45.233)I didn’t learn it this way, it would have all been different. Lybi Ma (07:48.259)Well, I think that when I was younger and the kids were little, I was newly divorced. I fought with life quite a bit. And I think that is a main message in my book is fighting with life, it just doesn’t work. We have to plug on and not fight with it. I turn to, also turn to, you know, spiritual thought a little bit like Buddhism. Buddhists accept things. This is how it is. So let’s just take this. You can’t change it. So let’s just try to make it work. Work with what you have. So that’s what I did. I worked with what I had. So I take a little bit of psychology and I mix it. My family. Nick McGowan (08:56.134)Little bit of this, little bit of that. Lybi Ma (08:57.198)Yeah, right. My family comes from the Tibetan, Ching Hai Plateau. And it is, Ching Hai is next door to Tibet. And actually, my grandfather was a trader, he had a donkey, and he put all his tea and shoelaces and whatever, know, spices on his Nick McGowan (09:26.704)Yeah. Lybi Ma (09:27.032)donkey and then he would go back and forth from Tibet to Qinghai. And they are, and these people in that area, there’s Tibetan Buddhists and they’re also Hui. The Hui are Chinese Muslims, which my family are Chinese Muslims. They come from that area and they’re very similar. They have a very similar sort of way of thinking. and acceptance is a big part of it. And that didn’t work out. So we better turn over here and see if this is gonna work out. That’s the way it is. Nick McGowan (10:09.637)You yeah. So let’s, let’s talk about that for a bit. Cause that does tie into even just being miserable or not miserable, let alone less miserable. So if we think of like, it’s funny cause I struggle with that at times. I, I curse like a fucking cartoon at different times. Like this thing doesn’t work. I’m like, just making noises and shit. And my partner on the other hand will go completely calm, silent almost and just methodical. Lybi Ma (10:22.67)Yeah, right. Nick McGowan (10:42.717)And it’s a thing that’s, I believe is actually part of her design, how she is. And I can get up at E and Nancy and all that. But then there are also layers to this where there’s trauma involved. There are different experiences, even things back to how our parents related to things. Like my parents would throw their arms up in the air about things. And I learned, I guess I do that. Like I get upset and pissed and like throw my arms up and flail. And my body still reacts at times that way where it’s like, yo, calm down. It’s totally fine. Being able to accept a thing. Lybi Ma (10:57.44)Nick McGowan (11:13.172)in the split second and then start to move in a different direction can be harder for people because of the things that they’ve gone through and even the way that they are. But how have you found to be able to work within the way that you best operate to say, all right, well, I can find acceptance and I can move on from here. Because I think that’s really where, that’s where the change happens is those macro moments where we actually do something. Cause it’s easy for you and I to shoot the shit and talk about this stuff. Lybi Ma (11:22.881)yeah, certainly. Nick McGowan (11:42.073)But it’s in that moment where you’re like, and how you don’t do that. You know what I mean? Lybi Ma (11:42.126)Yeah. Lybi Ma (11:48.493)You know, I never had a moment of epiphany. It just sort of moved along in the right direction. So I’m not going to say, wow, I had this aha that I had to accept things in life. No, was in my mind, I was hanging this guy up by his toes for a long time. So, and I don’t think there’s wrong, there’s anything wrong with doing that. if you have to feel it, then feel it. We spend a lot of time negating half our emotions. And that is something quite important and well studied. We want to feel happy and not depressed or not anxious or Nick McGowan (12:19.897)Yeah. Nick McGowan (12:36.866)Yeah. Lybi Ma (12:46.362)We don’t want to feel anger or I don’t know. Well, you feel these things and okay, feel them. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to lash out and burn a car. No, you’re just going to feel them. Sit there and feel it and watch it. Watch it. Nick McGowan (12:57.507)Yeah. Lybi Ma (13:05.102)with you and then okay well I gotta get up and cook dinner for the family so I gotta get moving here so I’m not gonna sit here and dwell about it. Maybe I’ll make an appointment and that’s another therapy tool. Make an appointment. If you need to feel crummy then okay I felt crummy at 4 30 to 5. I’m gonna do the same thing tomorrow 4 30 to 5 and I’m gonna Nick McGowan (13:13.365)Yeah. Yeah. Lybi Ma (13:33.772)sit with my feelings and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Nick McGowan (13:36.109)Yeah. Nick McGowan (13:40.544)I’m right there with you. I think it’s important for us to feel that stuff where if you think about where we’re at right now, almost 2026 with technology and the amount of information, like we see all these things like social media, for example, you hop on, you see somebody doing this big thing, but you don’t have the context of all the other things that have happened before that or even 20 minutes before that when they’re screaming at somebody to get out of their way in the grocery store or whatever. And it’s like, This is what I said to you, I appreciate you being human because that moment where you’re like, this really hurts. I still got to make dinner for these people. We all got to eat tonight. Let me do that. And let me not also then just drag that out. And I find having the amount of conversations I have with people on the podcast and outside of that with clients, just random people that I come into contact with, it’s always interesting to me how somebody will, we want to always put up a better face than what’s really going on. Lybi Ma (14:17.102)Yeah Nick McGowan (14:38.499)And you also don’t want to just be completely shitty and just the world is on fire and totally. people have seemed to have a hard time finding equanimity within themselves to then be able to have a conversation outside of that. And it sounds to me like what you’ve experienced that a lot of us have, where it’s like over the course of time, the rock just gets smoother because the water was going over it. You finally go, okay, it’s been six months. I’ve been upset about this for so long, but some people still. Lybi Ma (15:05.486)Exactly. Nick McGowan (15:07.296)they still just keep going with that hatred for it, which I guess is kind of a different topic. But your book with being less miserable. Lybi Ma (15:15.404)No, think hatred is, no, hatred is important. I mean, if you’re gonna wallow in it, that’s probably not good, but sometimes anger, good anger used constructively will make you do things that are important in life. But hating people outright, I don’t know. I’m not too sure about that. Nick McGowan (15:25.954)Yeah. Nick McGowan (15:35.394)Yeah. Nick McGowan (15:43.811)Yeah, there are enough of those people that are sitting in an office. The rest of the government shut down right now. yeah, it’s interesting because I think that’s where I was headed with the wallowing in it. Like any of this, you don’t want to wallow in it, but you do need to sit in it. Like I’ve had conversations with people that they have a really hard time. It’s like the stove is too hot to even get close to touch it. And then there are other people that like they can put their entire body on it. Lybi Ma (15:50.894)my goodness. Nick McGowan (16:13.142)They can roll around on it like a bed of needles almost, you know, and just sit there. I find that that’s an interesting thing because that’s part of maybe their design, but also they’ve gotten to a point, some of them, where they go, look, I can’t do anything outside of the stuff that’s happening. So I can only do something with what I have here. So why waste my time anymore? Like they’ve wallowed enough or they’ve gone through enough of it. Lybi Ma (16:36.031)Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Nick McGowan (16:40.054)But how does this tie back into the stuff that you talk about specifically with miserable? Like that was part of the reason why I wanted to have you on here. was like, the word miserable is one of those things where there’s not really anything pleasant to it. It’s just fucking miserable. Like here we are. Lybi Ma (16:54.638)It’s the truth. Because we put the Western society puts a lot of weight on happiness. Happiness has to be a goal. And everybody runs around with their bucket lists and they have to do this and that to be happy. Well, no. Sure, you’re gonna go and see the Northern Lights. That’s nice. And you’re gonna be happy. But then you come down to your set level of mood that is well studied. We go up, we come down. grumpy people are in a certain spot. More upbeat people are up here and they move higher, but they always move down to their set level. And that is a hedonic adaptation. We just come back down to where. where we are in life. So the word happiness is not on my book cover because, you know, it’s, we should feel okay about not being happy all the time. That’s all there is to it. We’re not going to reach that crazy happiness all the time. It’s just not, I don’t think that’s realistic. I would rather be. Nick McGowan (18:22.177)Great. Lybi Ma (18:23.02)I want to be practical. And the other part is when we judge how we feel, I’m not happy, I must be a loser. any time you judge this feeling that you’re having, well, guess what? People have studied that and you kind of feel worse. You feel worse because you’re judging it. Nick McGowan (18:25.141)Yeah. Lybi Ma (18:50.766)It’s a funny thing. Yeah, I think it was came from UC Berkeley, researchers there. Yeah, you’re gonna sit there and say things about yourself that are not true. You’re making them up really. You’re gonna feel worse. So I don’t think we should try to be happy all the time. We can just. Nick McGowan (18:51.403)Yeah. Lybi Ma (19:18.604)be practical and just own up to all these things that we feel and not judge them. Nick McGowan (19:26.305)Obviously easier said than done for a good chunk of people. But that is, it’s such a critical piece where it’s like, if we, if we spend that time, like I know I’ve done this personally, where being angry or upset about something, you feel like you’re being active in it, but you’re just being animated in it. And you just keep going deeper and deeper down. I would spiral in that many, many years ago. And then learning from it, you go, Yeah, you can reach a point where you go, I’m just kind of bored with this. And this doesn’t make any sense to do this anymore. So why would I do that? But we do see stuff where people are talking about all the success that they had and the 15 year overnight success sort of situations where it’s like, if this person’s happy constantly, cause that’s all they post or whatever. And stepping outside of that, actually being within ourselves. I’d love that you’d said that you’re more in the country than you are with everybody else and being by yourself and being away from people, I would imagine you then have more time to actually be able to say, how do I feel right now? And do what you want with it instead of saying, well, I’m told I need to do something different, you know? Lybi Ma (20:39.95)Right, right. Well, who’s telling you to do it, first of all? Which one? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. Nick McGowan (20:44.794)Yeah, well, sometimes it’s, Yeah. One of the voices, one of the many up there. So what actually led you to start the process to write the book? Did you just get so frustrated within yourself of like, have to put this out there? Did this kind of come up organically? Lybi Ma (20:55.69)Yeah, I don’t know. Lybi Ma (21:07.944)No, well, you know, I got over my… Lybi Ma (21:17.366)negative feelings about divorce and all that. And I moved on and plugged on. So that was good. I just, every time I read a new piece of research, I would squirrel it away. And I thought, yeah, that goes with the feelings that I had back then of being miserable. So I would squirrel it away. And then when COVID happened, I watched people. and they were interesting to watch. Some people did very well. Some people did very poorly. And I don’t want to get into a conversation about the introvert and the extrovert, whatever. I’m just talking about emotions and sitting with them generally, because even introverts need people. We’re all social. So that’s not really part of what I’m talking about. I just watched all of it and I thought, you know what, I think I have enough information here to write a book. So COVID sort of pushed me a little bit. Nick McGowan (22:31.231)Thanks, COVID. Yeah. Lybi Ma (22:32.398)I guess so. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know about that. Yeah, people were, I watched people and they had a lot of, you know, negative reaction to a negative thing that was happening. They were told to stay at home and then, and then get into a loop of bad feelings. It just went on and on and on. And I found that the thoughts that they had were quite irrational. And that is something also well studied. The brain is not very logical. It also has a very negative bias. are evolved into thinking negatively. Yeah, ancient man needed to be worried about predators and being eaten. They needed to be alert. is that a bad thing around the corner that’s going to eat me? Well, we the human brain has not changed that much. And we still do it. did that person insult me? And we got Nick McGowan (23:56.958)Yeah. Lybi Ma (23:57.535)And then you start doing this thing and it’s very, very not rational. It’s not positive. It’s pretty negative. And you just keep going in this distorted fashion. these negative things have a lasting impression and positive things are less important. And there was an interesting study where researchers Nick McGowan (24:03.496)Yeah. Lybi Ma (24:27.102)showed study subjects photographs. people on a roller coaster maybe or something neutral like a hairdryer and a gun pointed at you and people remember the gun. So negative things have a lasting impression. And this bias that we have, it makes sure that we hold on to our insults and grievances. We do a lot of things in our head that are irrational. Jump to conclusions, my date hated me, a fortune teller. Why would they even call me back anyway? Mind read. Nick McGowan (25:09.854)Yeah. Lybi Ma (25:22.39)I know that you’re thinking about me and it’s bad, all or nothing. I will not be happy until the end of time. Those sort of things. We do these things over and over and over to ourselves. really it doesn’t seem to be helping. Nick McGowan (25:44.625)No, but we all, I think, are somewhat addicted to it. And we don’t think that other people go through it. It’s almost like when we say, well, this person’s looking at me or what are they thinking about me? They’re probably not. And if they did, they noticed something and then they’re thinking about themselves. Like, I had that same jacket. Do I look like an asshole in that jacket? Is that me? And they’re off thinking about themselves. Meanwhile, both of them are like, my God, what are they thinking? Lybi Ma (25:49.761)Yeah, yeah. Lybi Ma (25:59.139)That you’re right. Lybi Ma (26:09.368)They’re so right. You are so right. They’re too busy thinking about themselves like we are too busy thinking about ourselves. It’s just we’re worried about how we look, how we appear. Did I say that? was it stupid? Did I sound stupid? whatever. Nick McGowan (26:19.911)Yeah. Nick McGowan (26:27.71)I think there’s a bit of a caveat though, because there are also times where we can grow from that stuff, because we can say, the situation in this whatever office or this call or whatever didn’t go the way that I wanted to, what could I have done differently? Like sort of watching game tape in a sense on yourself, but not beating yourself up with it and not in every single situation. Lybi Ma (26:51.278)Yeah, that part. Nick McGowan (26:54.235)Yeah, and being like, all right, well, what can I learn from this? What can I do a little differently? There’s a power within that, but then also removing the nonsensical shit. I’ve gotten to the point where I probably talk to myself more so than I did before and be like, easy there, asshole, calm down. Because like, random noises will come from other rooms, it seems, in the back of my head. Like, you can’t do that. You look like an asshole, that jacket. I’m like, shut up. Like, let me just kind of go. But being able to understand that there’s a balance to learning and growing and being able to review things and say, could I do a little differently? And beating yourself up can be a razor’s edge. But what kind of advice do you give for people that are trying to figure that stuff out? And they obviously don’t want to be miserable, but they’re also sort of addicted to that feeling of it because they’re so used to it, you know? Lybi Ma (27:50.062)One of the main things that I’ve read We have to be more aware that we’re doing it. and speak to ourselves. maybe in the third person. Libby’s doing that again. She’s disappointed and it’s turning into this thing. And now that distorted thinking is taken off. Okay, Libby, stop that. We have to be aware and point it out. So great research from University of Michigan. Nick McGowan (28:12.177)Yep. Lybi Ma (28:35.15)you observe. And that’s Buddhist to me. You observe this thought and meditation is a little like that. there’s a thought, watch it go by. That’s nice. Whatever. It’s a thought. It’s not real. And a lot of times our thoughts lie to us. So don’t do it. at least if you if you keep doing it, know that you’re doing and then in addition to that, you label it. So if it’s a feeling, well, Libby is angry at not right now because XYZ happened and she’s going to hold on to this grievance and nurse that grievance until whenever. Okay, that’s nice. You know, you’re doing that again. So We label how we feel. I’m feeling sad right now. That’s good. I’m feeling angry right now. And talk to yourself a little bit, but not in a, you say, beat yourself up mode. And then you turn to self-sabotage. So you want to numb yourself. It goes into this cycle of… Nick McGowan (30:02.747)Yeah, vicious cycle. Lybi Ma (30:04.502)Yeah, yeah, turns into a cycle. You beat yourself up and it leads leads to this negativity and you’re not very nice to yourself. So that’s another thing. Self-compassion is very important. Water research on that. You want to count right. You want to be compassionate to your to ourselves and breathe while you’re being compassionate. Nick McGowan (30:21.915)Yeah, grace with ourselves even. Lybi Ma (30:34.626)People stop breathing and when they’re tense and in the moment of being reactive to an unhappy situation and when you stop breathing, well, cortisol goes up and you become alert and you’re looking for the predator. No, you know what? Just breathe and let your body work it out. It’s not bad. Nick McGowan (30:36.815)Yeah. Nick McGowan (30:52.165)Yeah. Nick McGowan (31:03.226)I love this sort of stuff. I love that we’re able to get into this because I know there are other, I don’t want to talk bad about any podcasts or other people’s interviews or anything like that. But there are conversations out there that are very surfacey where it can talk about, yeah, you want to be aware and you want to look at these things and then do some with it. You want to show grace to yourself. And we also need to talk about when it’s really difficult to do that because even in like the moment you just said where you stopped breathing. scientifically, that takes oxygen away from your blood. Your blood is no longer moving oxygen through the rest of your fucking body. And your brain is a part of that. So it’s like science-wise, that makes sense. I think there’s also a balance of not just saying, I’m aware of this thing and if I’m shitty again, then so be it. I’m aware of it. It’s doing something with it, not beating yourself up and still being able to understand that I can’t bypass this. Lybi Ma (31:37.538)Right. Nick McGowan (32:02.521)Because I think that’s where the happiness stuff comes in. If you’re feeling bad, just go be happy. cool, great. Fuck the trauma and all the other nonsense that I absolutely need to process out of my body. Let me just go be happy. And then you go be happy and you do a thing and you go, like you said earlier, right back to your own little status quo and you go, shit, I am still a miserable bastard. What do I do from here? Let me look for another happy thing. And you’re like, off to do it again. Just bypassing the bullshit, you know? Lybi Ma (32:10.574)I Lybi Ma (32:28.846)Right. doesn’t really, you always go back to where you were. Nick McGowan (32:37.294)Yeah, awareness is such a big thing that my logical and smart-ass mind thinks, well, that makes total sense to me. Because if you’re not aware, how the fuck are you aware? Like if you don’t know a thing’s there, you can’t do anything about it. But that’s really when the work begins. Like you’re aware and you go, I’m aware of this feeling. And I’m glad that you brought up the next part of that being naming it. That is really difficult for a lot of people to name. Lybi Ma (32:41.046)Yeah. Nick McGowan (33:05.24)what their emotion is. They go, I’m just angry. Really, maybe you’re grieving or maybe you’re really upset that’s not just anger, but it’s a betrayal that happened or something like that. And actually being able to call what it is instead of just going, just a sticker almost. You’re like, and I’m shitty right now and push it off to the next thing and just move along instead of actually doing that work. But that, I don’t know. I feel like I can go. Lybi Ma (33:29.944)Right. Nick McGowan (33:32.557)deep with it because that’s where systems come into play that tell us, don’t do this, just keep working, just keep hustling, keep grinding, keep blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It makes me almost just wanna fucking throw up in my mouth every time I even think about it. Cause it’s like, we are hurting ourselves, we’re hurting each other and we’re perpetuating it because none of us are just going, time out. Give me a fucking second. What is this? What am I feeling? So talk to us about how the book relates to that. Lybi Ma (34:02.349)Lybi Ma (34:06.018)Sitting with our emotions, you mean? Nick McGowan (34:08.677)And understanding like if you’re feeling miserable and being less miserable is still taking away that but it’s not bypassing it. It’s not letting you bypass it. Lybi Ma (34:17.386)No, no, you have to feel what you feel. Otherwise, it’s not true. You have this feeling and it’s a true feeling and you should feel it. once you do that, you let yourself do that, you will probably break through a bit more to get beyond and be less miserable. You know, you will probably thank yourself. I do. I do. You know, it’s an interesting thing. My husband and I don’t fight very often, but we’ve been through tense, you know, when you move and all that stuff. And yeah, it’s not easy. And I can catch myself. Oh, wait, I’m being reactive at this moment. And I’ll just stop and think, wow, that’s interesting. I’m doing it. I’m doing it at this very moment. And I start talking out loud. all right, hang with me for a minute here while I think about why I’m having this reaction. Why am I having this reaction? What is bringing this up? Nick McGowan (35:39.383)Yeah. Lybi Ma (35:46.219)I think we need to stop because you start spinning in that in a certain direction of negativity and you might as well just stop it and just ask yourself, what’s what is this and observe and instead of being in it, just step outside and and look at it. Yeah. Nick McGowan (35:54.274)Yeah. Nick McGowan (36:07.256)and look at it. Yeah. Huh. And that’s, that’s a simple, like incredible thing though, to say live in the moment, like, hold on, give me a second. I’m feeling something. Let me work through this and come back to you. it’s almost like having a conversation, a heated conversation and saying, I need a second and stepping away. That could be really, really difficult for a lot of people in that moment because you’re so in it, but If you think about any time you’ve ever said that, even to yourself or to your husband or anybody else. Lybi Ma (36:40.942)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (36:45.816)Probably most every single time they’ve respected it. Lybi Ma (36:49.686)Yes. Yes, you’re not, you’re not trying to run from the situation. You’re just trying to understand what’s going on inside yourself. And a lot of times when you’re in a fight with a partner or someone, usually it’s person closest to you, because they’re the ones who are gonna forgive you. But usually it’s just sort of, you know, not, it isn’t about that moment. It’s about something else. Something else is going on. Yeah, it brings up some, yeah, go ahead. Nick McGowan (37:33.815)And it’s not… Yeah. It’s not just those people. We often will take it out on the people we love because they’re the closest and they know us the most. And yes, you said they will forgive us, but that doesn’t give us a license to abuse the shit out of them because you’re angry that somebody took the last fucking piece of bread at whatever grocery store or whatever happened earlier. And you’re like, God damn the person closest to me. It’s like, but what do they do? what? Yeah. Lybi Ma (37:51.246)to do that. Lybi Ma (38:00.303)Yeah. Lybi Ma (38:04.682)nothing. They’re just standing there. They’re standing there. I don’t know. They’re just standing there. Yeah. I think one another way to, since you’re looking for ways to counter it, I mean, you know, there’s many things to do, you start being more mindful. So I try to call out my reactivity with being mindful, breathe, I write things down. Nick McGowan (38:10.327)Yeah. Lybi Ma (38:34.67)And I try to be grateful in the moment. You’re having a fight and I try to be grateful to the person I’m fighting with. If you show them grace and your self grace and you’ll get through the dumb fight, whatever it was that you’re, and just go with the flow of things. I don’t mean lay down and just die. What I mean is, Nick McGowan (38:44.47)Sure. Yeah. Nick McGowan (38:54.548)Yeah. Lybi Ma (39:04.301)You. get into the flow of life. And there’s been quite a lot of work on the topic of flow for decades. we move with what is happening. Flow is more complicated than that. mean, it has to do with… Nick McGowan (39:13.056)Yeah. Nick McGowan (39:26.208)Yeah. Lybi Ma (39:33.132)being very, very engaged in what you’re doing. So a writer would feel flow when they’re writing or the piano player is really into the music or even listening to music, you running, you get in the flow, but you can apply the flow theory into life, everyday life. Just go with it. I think that’s important. Nick McGowan (39:58.038)That’s really important. And I appreciate that you point out these things that in some ways, and as I said earlier, there are other conversations that get real surfacey and they go, yeah, go with the flow. Cool. Let’s stop there. Just go with the flow. Being able to be mindful, to talk about these things, even with the gratitude. Like I’ve heard for years and years, people are like, just be grateful and gratitude this and gratitude that and have a gratitude journal, blah, blah, blah. It’s like all those things can be good and helpful if they are good and helpful. If you’re just being Lybi Ma (40:24.192)Right. Nick McGowan (40:25.065)grateful and you’re like, I fucking had this and God, I’m grateful for it. But even in that moment of being grateful that you have a partner to be able to argue with and, and yeah. And then that’ll automatically just disarm you a little bit. Like even as you’re saying that I’m picturing it and picturing, you know, me with my partner arguing about whatever. And to think of that, I just want to hug her because I love her. I love that I have the partner to be able to Lybi Ma (40:29.518)All right. Lybi Ma (40:35.778)Right? A lot of people don’t. Lybi Ma (40:42.755)Yeah. Nick McGowan (40:53.737)bitch can complain about things with or whatever. And it’s like, if we can be aware of that and actually show the grace and do the thing in the moment, instead of just saying, just be grateful and gratitude this and gratitude that. It’s like, fuck your gratitude unless you’re actually gonna do something with it. Because then it’s the moment, that moment right there where you do something with it instead of just saying, well, I’m just gonna go back to my old ways and just be kind of shitty about it. So for the people that are trying to be less miserable. Lybi Ma (41:09.23)Ha Nick McGowan (41:23.375)or trying to just wrap their head around how they can give themselves grace and kind of work through life at their pace instead of just what the rest of the world tells us we should do. What’s your advice for somebody that’s on their path towards self mastery? Lybi Ma (41:40.275)Give yourself a break, please. Good Lord. I don’t know why we have to be so hard on ourselves. And we run around looking for solutions to everything. Well, sometimes, you know, life does work out. It does work out. And I think we don’t have to make it harder. Nick McGowan (41:42.793)Nice. Lybi Ma (42:09.774)We make it harder, we fight with life, and I think we can watch it a little. Doesn’t mean that we should not be proactive and move forward and reach our goals, but we can calm down a bit about how we treat ourselves, and you will be less miserable. Nick McGowan (42:35.093)I love that, especially like the come down. Like that’s the vibe I got like right off the bat. Chill out, give yourself a break. Just relax. It’s not the end of the world. And yeah, just chill out. Lybi Ma (42:39.95)Yeah. It isn’t. It is not the end of the world. Bad things do happen and it feels like it’s going to be the end of the world, but actually things do work out. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. Nick McGowan (42:55.379)Yeah, divorces. You know, the people that have gone through it, you understand that. I had different people when I got a divorce, they were like, man, I was in bad shape for years. And I was like, well, that sucks. I don’t want to go through that. And I’m like, well, I didn’t get a, I didn’t get married to get a divorce, but I didn’t get a divorce to die. So, and I’m thankful it happened. I mean, I wish her the best, but I wouldn’t have my partner now. I wouldn’t have my business and all the other things that have come from it. Lybi Ma (43:06.296)Right, right. Lybi Ma (43:14.927)Right. Nick McGowan (43:24.777)But I want to touch on something you pointed out where it’s like, give yourself a break, the things will work out and things happen. I was actually sort of joking, but sort of like, this is just a mind fuck of a thing with my coach recently, where I understand that the right things happen at the right times. Always. It’s actually an affirmation of mine. It’s the anxiety before and the anxiety after that exact one moment. Because that one moment is where like, these things happen at the right time. Like, look. Lybi Ma (43:50.828)Okay. Nick McGowan (43:54.45)And I’ve seen it happen. Like it lines up where it’s like, I couldn’t have scripted this. God was like, this is how this thing’s going to work. And it’s like, that’s incredible. But there’s anxiety for the 98 % before and all the other stuff after it, where it’s like that one moment. But that one moment happens and happens more often than not, know? So it’s just a weird little situation that we can get lost in all the other minutia of it. Lybi Ma (44:17.825)Right, right. Nick McGowan (44:23.912)So I appreciate you being as real as you are. I’m like, just calm down, chill out. It’ll be okay. Lybi Ma (44:24.152)Right. It’s gonna be okay. I wish I told my, knew that when I was younger. It’s gonna be okay. It will be. Nick McGowan (44:36.616)Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. And just like, if you could go back and talk to your 18 year old self, what would you say? And I think most people probably say it with a fist and then shake them a little bit with whatever, like whatever you’re going to do, don’t. but that’s what this podcast is for. Like, let’s talk about these things because we’re all going through it. Like, let’s not shy away from that. We all go through this stuff. So, Libby, I really appreciate you being on today. I appreciate the work that you’re doing. Lybi Ma (44:51.224)Hahaha Lybi Ma (45:03.894)All right. Nick McGowan (45:05.208)and you’re putting out the books that you are and just that you’re able to work with that information that’s coming to you and help spread that out and being as real as you are. So thank you for being here. Of course, and before I let you go, where can people find you and where can they connect with you? And of course, where can they get the book? Lybi Ma (45:14.882)Thank you. Lybi Ma (45:22.478)Well, of course, I’m on Psychology Today. You’ll find me there on the website. And you’ll find my book on the, you know, any major source like Amazon or Barnes & Noble, that sort of thing. Nick McGowan (45:44.541)Perfect. And I’ll have some of those links in the show notes too. So again, thank you so much for being with us today. Appreciate it. Lybi Ma (45:50.933)Thank you.

While a Mahayana text, The Way of the Bodhisattva encodes tantric teachings about harnessing the creative sexual energy. Literally the seminal force in Tibetan Buddhist tantric texts, bodhichitta is the power of awakening enlightened compassion through selfless love, especially within a perfect matrimony. In other words, bodhichitta is the power of ennobled or chaste sexuality, whereby dense desires are transformed into unlikely and impactful virtues: generosity, altruism, ethics, patience, diligence, concentration, meditative serenity, and wisdom, otherwise known as the paramitas or perfections of a genuine spiritual master. It is also the fuel by which real faith is generated—the direct spiritual experience of divine, ultimate reality—which inspires any initiate to serve and sacrifice for humanity. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/bodhichitta-alchemical-medicine-for-the-soul

Lama Yeshe guides a meditation of immersive presence in our own consciousness incorporating elements of shamatha (tranquility) and vipashyana (insight) practice.FULL MOON SIT is an ongoing series offering Tibetan Buddhist meditation instruction and practice ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Make a dana offering⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PRAJNA FIRE is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by applicable law.Learn more about meditative inquiry and the integrative dharma practice of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠listening, contemplating, and meditating ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠from Prajna Rising, our online journal.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PUBLISHED ARTICLES⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prajnafire.com/media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prajna Fire's newsletter on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://prajnafire.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FOLLOW US⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Prajna Fire Global Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Private Teaching Sessions ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book Online at Prajna Fire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with immediate confirmation (https://www.prajnafire.com/book-online)EMAIL US sparks@prajnafire.comFIND US on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prajna Fire website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prajnafire.com/sparks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)@prajnasparks on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRUzGmU7c4_TJdLhG9R8IDA/videos)

Losar, the Tibetan Buddhist celebration of New Years, is the most important holiday in Tibetan Buddhism and is focused on putting the old year to rest and starting the New Year fresh.This is Venerable Tarpa's Losar address to the SBT sangha. Venerable Tenzin Tarpa is the founder and director of SBT – The Secular Buddhist Tradition. A fully ordained Buddhist monk and student of The Dalai Lama, Venerable Tarpa is a teacher, author, and philosopher with nearly three decades in Buddhist studies, including a decade in Buddhist monasteries in India. SBT – the Secular Buddhist Tradition, is an international spiritual community dedicated to Secular Buddhism and the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. SBT presents the Buddha's teachings as neither a religion nor exotic belief system, sharing a practical presentation focused on the positive life-affirming message of the Buddha, while emphasizing and prioritizing those aspects that we deem most credible, illuminating, and effective. The aim of SBT is to inform and guide without sharing presumptions of what to believe. Learn more about SBT and Venerable Tarpa at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://SBTonline.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#buddhism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #secularbuddhism⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #meditation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#mindfulness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#happiness⁠⁠⁠ #Dalailama #spirituality ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kevin Townley Jr. is one of those fascinatingly multi-talented creative people who doesn't fit neatly into any box—he's an actor, filmmaker, writer, meditation teacher, and now author of "Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again," a book that connects 26 artists to Tibetan Buddhist teachings about transforming negative emotions into wisdom. His upbringing was pretty wild: raised in 1990s Colorado by his father in a spiritual commune filled with tarot cards, alchemy experiments, and Native American rituals after his parents had a messy divorce (his mom literally punched his dad in the school playground). Despite growing up poor and dealing with instability, Kevin learned early on to embrace his theatrical, queer sensibility—dyeing his hair orange and wearing purple suits to middle school as an act of defiant self-expression that basically made bullies back off. He didn't formally start practicing Buddhism until his 30s, though it was always part of his world growing up in Boulder's spiritual scene. Now he's making independent films the DIY way, gathering NYC creative friends to shoot projects over months without traditional Hollywood budgets or gatekeeping. His approach to everything—from Buddhism to filmmaking—seems to be about creating nurturing, non-judgmental spaces where people can express themselves authentically. The whole conversation reveals someone who turned a chaotic childhood into a superpower: an ability to see possibilities where others see obstacles and to gather communities around creative visions without manipulation or cruelty. BIO: Kevin Townley is a writer, filmmaker, actor, singer, and meditation teacher. He began formally studying Buddhism in 2010 and currently practices with the Sokuko-Ji Zen community under the guidance of Kyoun Sokuzan. He has taught Buddhism and meditation for over a decade. His film and television work include appearances in My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Men in Black III, The Detour, and Law & Order. With his band, Bambï, Townley adapted Rossner's Looking for Mr. Goodbar into the rock opera called GOODBAR, performed at The Public Theater. He has written extensively for the Waterwell theater company and Rookiemagazine. He has also led hundreds of art tours in museums across the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

In this episode, Sean MacCracken reflects on his experience at the American Academy of Religion, noticing a shift toward more participatory, contemplative, and integrative approaches in religious studies. He discusses his course, Kashmiri Shaivism: Supreme Non-Dualism, highlighting how meditation, contemplation, and embodied practices cultivate awareness, ethical self-reflection, and creative engagement with the world. Sean also explores how his study of Indian philosophy and Tantric traditions opens broader, integral ways of knowing that move beyond reductionist frameworks. He discusses his article, “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue,” showing how Buddhist and Tantric insights deepen our understanding of humanism, development, and collective ethical responsibility. This episode offers listeners a glimpse into how contemplative and Integralist approaches can reshape learning, thinking, and living—showing philosophy as a path toward grounded, ethically engaged, and transformative ways of being in the world. Sean K. MacCracken is adjunct faculty at California Institute of Integral Studies. He recieved a M.A. and Ph.D in Asian and Comparative Studies from CIIS, and a M.A. in Religious Studies from University of Virginia. “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue” https://processcenturypress.com/unprecedented-evolution-continuities-and-discontinuities-between-human-and-animal-life-and-the-future-of-humanity/ The EWP Podcast credits Connect with EWP: Website • Youtube • Facebook Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP Core Faculty) and Jonathan Kay (EWP PhD grad) Produced by: Stephen Julich and Jonathan Kay Edited and Mixed by: Jonathan Kay Music: Mosaic, by Monsoon on the album Mandala Introduction Voiceover: Roche Wadehra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this episode, Sean MacCracken reflects on his experience at the American Academy of Religion, noticing a shift toward more participatory, contemplative, and integrative approaches in religious studies. He discusses his course, Kashmiri Shaivism: Supreme Non-Dualism, highlighting how meditation, contemplation, and embodied practices cultivate awareness, ethical self-reflection, and creative engagement with the world. Sean also explores how his study of Indian philosophy and Tantric traditions opens broader, integral ways of knowing that move beyond reductionist frameworks. He discusses his article, “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue,” showing how Buddhist and Tantric insights deepen our understanding of humanism, development, and collective ethical responsibility. This episode offers listeners a glimpse into how contemplative and Integralist approaches can reshape learning, thinking, and living—showing philosophy as a path toward grounded, ethically engaged, and transformative ways of being in the world. Sean K. MacCracken is adjunct faculty at California Institute of Integral Studies. He recieved a M.A. and Ph.D in Asian and Comparative Studies from CIIS, and a M.A. in Religious Studies from University of Virginia. “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue” https://processcenturypress.com/unprecedented-evolution-continuities-and-discontinuities-between-human-and-animal-life-and-the-future-of-humanity/ The EWP Podcast credits Connect with EWP: Website • Youtube • Facebook Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP Core Faculty) and Jonathan Kay (EWP PhD grad) Produced by: Stephen Julich and Jonathan Kay Edited and Mixed by: Jonathan Kay Music: Mosaic, by Monsoon on the album Mandala Introduction Voiceover: Roche Wadehra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

In this episode, Sean MacCracken reflects on his experience at the American Academy of Religion, noticing a shift toward more participatory, contemplative, and integrative approaches in religious studies. He discusses his course, Kashmiri Shaivism: Supreme Non-Dualism, highlighting how meditation, contemplation, and embodied practices cultivate awareness, ethical self-reflection, and creative engagement with the world. Sean also explores how his study of Indian philosophy and Tantric traditions opens broader, integral ways of knowing that move beyond reductionist frameworks. He discusses his article, “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue,” showing how Buddhist and Tantric insights deepen our understanding of humanism, development, and collective ethical responsibility. This episode offers listeners a glimpse into how contemplative and Integralist approaches can reshape learning, thinking, and living—showing philosophy as a path toward grounded, ethically engaged, and transformative ways of being in the world. Sean K. MacCracken is adjunct faculty at California Institute of Integral Studies. He recieved a M.A. and Ph.D in Asian and Comparative Studies from CIIS, and a M.A. in Religious Studies from University of Virginia. “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue” https://processcenturypress.com/unprecedented-evolution-continuities-and-discontinuities-between-human-and-animal-life-and-the-future-of-humanity/ The EWP Podcast credits Connect with EWP: Website • Youtube • Facebook Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP Core Faculty) and Jonathan Kay (EWP PhD grad) Produced by: Stephen Julich and Jonathan Kay Edited and Mixed by: Jonathan Kay Music: Mosaic, by Monsoon on the album Mandala Introduction Voiceover: Roche Wadehra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

In this episode, Sean MacCracken reflects on his experience at the American Academy of Religion, noticing a shift toward more participatory, contemplative, and integrative approaches in religious studies. He discusses his course, Kashmiri Shaivism: Supreme Non-Dualism, highlighting how meditation, contemplation, and embodied practices cultivate awareness, ethical self-reflection, and creative engagement with the world. Sean also explores how his study of Indian philosophy and Tantric traditions opens broader, integral ways of knowing that move beyond reductionist frameworks. He discusses his article, “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue,” showing how Buddhist and Tantric insights deepen our understanding of humanism, development, and collective ethical responsibility. This episode offers listeners a glimpse into how contemplative and Integralist approaches can reshape learning, thinking, and living—showing philosophy as a path toward grounded, ethically engaged, and transformative ways of being in the world. Sean K. MacCracken is adjunct faculty at California Institute of Integral Studies. He recieved a M.A. and Ph.D in Asian and Comparative Studies from CIIS, and a M.A. in Religious Studies from University of Virginia. “Regarding Humanism: Some Observations Concerning the Tibetan Buddhist and Transhumanist Dialogue” https://processcenturypress.com/unprecedented-evolution-continuities-and-discontinuities-between-human-and-animal-life-and-the-future-of-humanity/ The EWP Podcast credits Connect with EWP: Website • Youtube • Facebook Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP Core Faculty) and Jonathan Kay (EWP PhD grad) Produced by: Stephen Julich and Jonathan Kay Edited and Mixed by: Jonathan Kay Music: Mosaic, by Monsoon on the album Mandala Introduction Voiceover: Roche Wadehra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/central-asian-studies

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Politics of Tranquility: The Material and Mundane Lives of Buddhist Nuns in Post-Mao Tibet (Cornell University Press, 2025) concerns the Tibetan Buddhist revival in China, illustrating the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and exploring the political effects that arise from their nonpolitical daily engagements in the remote, mega-sized Tibetan Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar. Yasmin Cho's book challenges two assumptions about Tibetan Buddhist communities in China. First, against the assumption that a Buddhist monastic community is best understood in terms of its esoteric qualities, Cho focuses on the material and mundane daily practices that are indispensable to the existence and persistence of such a community and shows how deeply gendered these practices are. Second, against the assumption that Tibetan politics toward the Chinese state is best understood as rebellious, incendiary, and centered upon Tibetan victimhood, the nuns demonstrate how it can be otherwise. Tibetan politics can be unassuming, calm, and self-contained and yet still have substantial political effects. As Politics of Tranquility shows, the nuns in Yachen Gar have called forth an alternative way of living and expressing themselves as Tibetans and as female monastics despite a repressive context. ------------------ Jing Li teaches Chinese language, literature, and cinema. Her research focuses on rural China, independent filmmaking, and digital media cultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

 We spend about a third of our lives sleeping and yet the question of why we sleep and dream has remained a mystery for much of human existence. But recently scientists have developed the tools to begin to reveal some astonishing insights into lucid dreaming and its uses.  In this episode, we'll talk to neuroscientist Ken Paller about the science of Lucid dreaming. Whether it's something any of us can learn to do and what benefits it might offer. And while the science of lucid dreaming and its possible uses is still in its infancy, Tibetan Buddhists found ways to master it centuries ago using a practice they call Dream Yoga.  We'll talk with Geshe Thabkhe, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, about how members of his tradition have long been using this technique to enhance their spiritual lives, and how he and other monks are now working with Western scientists like Ken Paller and neuroscientist Robin Nusslock to research this special type of dream state and whether people in the outside world can influence or even communicate with them while they're dreaming. Robin Nusslock, PhD is a neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. Ken Paller is Professor of Psychology and Director of  the Cognitive Neuroscience program at Northwestern University. You can find out more about his work on his website. 

In this episode of The Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken is joined by David M. DiValerio. Join David and Daniel as they discuss David's newest book, Mountain Dharma: Meditative Retreat and the Tibetan Ascetic Self. David shares his journey into Tibetan Buddhist studies, as well as his experiences and research on Tibetan retreats over the […] The post David M. DiValerio: Mountain Dharma (#221) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

Lama Yeshe guides a meditation that invokes creative imagination to cultivate familiarity with our innate quality of being love within a space of active repose.FULL MOON SIT is an ongoing series offering Tibetan Buddhist meditation instruction and practice ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Make a dana offering⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PRAJNA FIRE is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by applicable law.Learn more about meditative inquiry and the integrative dharma practice of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠listening, contemplating, and meditating ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠from Prajna Rising, our online journal.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PUBLISHED ARTICLES⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prajnafire.com/media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prajna Fire's newsletter on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://prajnafire.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FOLLOW US⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Prajna Fire Global Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Private Teaching Sessions ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book Online at Prajna Fire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with immediate confirmation (https://www.prajnafire.com/book-online)EMAIL US sparks@prajnafire.comFIND US on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prajna Fire website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prajnafire.com/sparks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)@prajnasparks on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRUzGmU7c4_TJdLhG9R8IDA/videos)

Combining modern science and ancient Buddhism to treat anxiety, anger, and impatience. John Makransky is a professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, AND ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Paul Condon is an associate professor of psychology at Southern Oregon University and a research fellow at the Mind & Life Institute. Both are the authors of How Compassion Works: A Step-by-Step Guide to Cultivating Well-Being, Love, and Wisdom. In this episode we talk about: The sales pitch for compassion—even at a time when what most of us really want is for other people to be nicer The connection between attachment theory and compassion Why compassion is our natural state How Sustainable Compassion Training helps you access warmth without forcing it How to apply compassion practice to burnout, conflict, and difficult emotions Join Dan's online community here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris  

Sometimes the thing you're *naturally best at* is the thing you've spent years avoiding.

In this episode, spiritual director John Bruna continues his commentary on the text “How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path.” He discusses how renunciation is a gateway to great compassion, also known as "bodhicitta" in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This episode was recorded on September 24th, 2025.Welcome to the Way of Compassion Dharma Center Podcast. Located in Carbondale, Colorado, the Way of Compassion Dharma center's primary objective is to provide programs of Buddhist studies and practices that are practical, accessible, and meet the needs of the communities we serve.  As a traditional Buddhist center, all of our teachings are offered freely. If you would like to make a donation to support the center, please visit www.wocdc.org.  May you flourish in your practice and may all beings swiftly be free of suffering.

Step into a powerful, wide ranging conversation with actress and artist Jessica Pimentel, the Brooklyn born Dominicana whose talent and spirit stretch across continents and creative worlds. Known globally for her seven season role as Maria Ruiz on Orange Is the New Black, Jessica is a three time SAG Award winner, a classically trained musician, and the fierce female vocalist of the heavy metal band Brujeria. A graduate of NYC’s iconic High School of Performing Arts and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Jessica’s artistry runs deep. She sings, plays violin, guitar, and bass, and brings a level of discipline and soul shaped by her journey as a Tibetan Buddhist, a practice she embraced back in the 90s. In our interview, she opens up about growing up Dominican in Brooklyn, the path that led her from city blocks to global stages, and why Sweden stole her heart as she now splits her life between Switzerland and New York. We get into everything, from her family’s stories and political views to the healing work behind the scenes and why we really shouldn’t eat the mangoes. It’s culture, creativity, spirituality, music, and truth told with cariño. A conversation about identity, legacy, and life en español, straight from a woman who has lived many lives and carries them all with power.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, spiritual director John Bruna continues to give his commentary on the text “How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path.” John discusses the subject of Bodhicitta, also known as Great Compassion in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  He takes us step by step along the journey of generating an aspiration for Bodhicitta, which is the underlying motivation for enlightenment. This episode was recorded on September 17th, 2025.Welcome to the Way of Compassion Dharma Center Podcast. Located in Carbondale, Colorado, the Way of Compassion Dharma center's primary objective is to provide programs of Buddhist studies and practices that are practical, accessible, and meet the needs of the communities we serve.  As a traditional Buddhist center, all of our teachings are offered freely. If you would like to make a donation to support the center, please visit www.wocdc.org.  May you flourish in your practice and may all beings swiftly be free of suffering.

In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, I share something a little different: a Dharma talk I recently offered in my monthly class for yoga teachers. These monthly gatherings are one of my favorite places to teach—intimate, thoughtful, and deeply rooted in practice—and this particular talk felt important to bring to the podcast. Over the last several months, as the political situation in the United States has become more extreme and more frightening, I've been turning again and again to a Buddhist teaching known as The Four Reminders. These contemplations come from the Tibetan Buddhist lineage, and while they are simple, they cut right to the heart of what matters most. They have become the anchor of my own personal practice during this time of rising fascism, fear, and widespread suffering. In this episode, I share how I came back to these teachings—interestingly, prompted not by the worst harm being done in this country, but by the moment Jimmy Fallon was taken off the air for criticizing the administration. Watching someone with so much privilege get silenced instantly made me realize that we weren't sliding toward fascism. We were already living inside it. And from that moment, I knew I didn't want to get stuck in despair. I wanted to stay awake, engaged, loving, and grounded. The Four Reminders helped me do that. In this episode, you'll hear: Why these four contemplations feel so powerful and clarifying How reflecting on the preciousness of human life expands our compassion for ourselves, each other, and the planet The truth of impermanence — and how it can become a liberatory force rather than a source of fear The reality of karma and interdependence, and why even the smallest actions matter The universality of suffering, and why it is not inevitable How these teachings help me hold a vision of a world where every being is safe, free, and fed Why joy is not a luxury but an essential part of practice—especially in oppressive times The role of protest, collective action, and tiny daily choices in shaping the world we believe is possible After the Dharma talk, I share some of the reflections and questions that came up in conversation with the teachers in class. One theme that surfaced again and again was how grounding it feels to hold a positive vision—not in a naïve or spiritually bypassing way, but as a guiding truth that helps us stay resourced, energized, and committed. I talk about the small actions I take to stay connected to this vision, like calling my representatives or supporting my local food bank, and why these seemingly insignificant acts matter. We may not see the fruits of our labor in our lifetime, but as the Gita reminds us, that doesn't mean the work isn't ours to do. If you're feeling overwhelmed right now… I hope this episode reminds you that your life is precious, your presence matters, and your choices—however small—ripple outward. I hope it gives you permission to feel your grief and to feel joy. And I hope it encourages you to stay rooted in your own vision of what is possible for humanity. Thank you for being on this path with me. OfferingTree is a proud sponsor of this episode and I am honored to be an affiliate.  Visit OfferingTree at www.offeringtree.com/mentor and you'll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan).   OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up and I'm proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.

Five years ago, we created A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment (now called How to Train a Happy Mind) to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation. We take a secular approach to meditation that requires no belief beyond our current understanding of science and psychology. It's based on powerful Buddhist mind training techniques that use imagination, intelligence, and emotions to probe our inner and outer realities, and expand our compassion.Episode 1: What Is A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment?Support the show

Tulku Orgyen P'huntsok Rinpoche is a Vajrayana Buddhist teacher at the Odiyana Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, and one of Jaymee's root guru's in Tibetan Buddhism. At 18 months of age he was recognized as the reincarnation of an important teacher by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, and was raised since childhood to fulfill his incarnation. He is a beautifully tender and peaceful man, who speaks with simplicity, humor, and the lightest touch imaginable. On this, his fourth and most profound conversation with Jaymee on the podcast, teacher and student discuss Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, the true nature of mind, the mechanisms of karma and the exponential heart of devotion.www.loveistheauthor.comLITA PODCAST: hosted, produced, edited and music by Jaymee Carpenter. ODIYANA CHARITABLE SOCIETY: www.odiyanacs.orgInterested in Trauma Counseling/Mentorship with Jaymee?email: lacee@loveistheauthor.com to set up a free consultation,or visit: www.loveistheauthor.com/mentorship SPONSORS: YERBA MADRE www.yerbamadre.comBOSSANOVA SOAP & CANDLES www.bossanovasoap.comTOTALLY BLOWN ⁠⁠⁠www.totallyblown.us⁠⁠⁠RAUM GOODS www.raumgoods.comINDIAN LODGE ROAD www.indianlodgeroad.comTHiS SHOW is a LABOR of LOVE. PLEASE SUPPORT IT: www.patreon.com/loveistheauthorpodcastFAN CONTACT: lacee@loveistheauthor.comON INSTAGRAM:  @loveistheauthor / @unconventionalgardenerTHiS SHOW is a LABOR of LOVE. PLEASE SUPPORT IT: www.patreon.com/loveistheauthorpodcastFAN CONTACT: lacee@loveistheauthor.comON INSTAGRAM:  @loveistheauthor / @unconventionalgardener

erasureemulating sand mandalas(note: you can read the original posting here)It's November 1st, 2025 and as you can hear, I'm not at home. We've been traveling for the last couple of weeks in Ecuador. We're now in the Amazon near Tena in the territory of the Kichwa people (Anaconda Lodge).I'm reading you this a calm presence posting called erasure. What I've just done, or I will do soon, is erase all 81 postings that I have made in French and in English, on this Substack.I'm starting from scratch, and it feels good.Let me explain…When I first launched a calm presence in February of 2024, my intentions were to share my learnings ‘for those in need of a calm presence'. That's a term that I borrowed from Dharma teacher Catherine Ingram.And it was successful. People would respond and I would essentially think out loud.But I've come to realize that these essays and opinion pieces - heartfelt as they might be - are snapshots in time that quickly become outdated. They weren't meant to be kept, really, but I kept them anyway, because that's the way we do things.We don't throw things out, partially because of vanity, but also to have a trail of one's work or thinking. A few days ago we were hiking in the Andes and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of sand mandalas came to mind, so I went to Wikipedia. Sand mandalas are defined as :the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Once complete, the sand mandala's ritualistic dismantling is accompanied by ceremonies and viewings to symbolize Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life. The transitory nature of material life, which is more or less what a calm presence is about. This got me thinking : what if, with all due respect to Tibetan culture and any cultural borrowings, I emulated the creation and the destructive process of sand mandalas with the content and form of a calm presence. If not emulate, then at least be inspired by this way of creating, knowing that it will be returned to the Earth, so to speak.And since this is a digital art or digital project, I started thinking about what it meant for all those digits that retain the knowledge somehow, or at least carry it, what happens when they get dispersed? And so it opened up a whole new world, new way of thinking about writing and dissemination and memory and related issues. I was inspired by the sand mandala tradition. I'll read you a quote of how it's described : into flowing water to symbolize the cycle of life and the dissolution of the physical world.So when the sand is returned, it is through water and then dispersed back into nature. And there's the healing energy side to things that also interests me and that I will explore further. I think the idea is when somebody reads a calm presence posting, it is metabolized. They retain whatever they want to retain. It can be a word or two, a couple of thoughts, and then that's it. There's no need to go back to it. After a few weeks of it being present in our lives, it disappears.And another comes along when it's relevant and so on and so forth. There isn't the accumulation, there's simply an experiencing that goes on as part of day-to-day life. I like that and I'm going to give it a try. And if you so wish, you can continue to follow and hear or read these postings, which won't be much longer than this one today. And before leaving, I want to thank the 290 subscribers to a calm presence. It's been good to have the company and the exchange, but I also want to remind you that you're more than welcome to unsubscribe if you want to take a break. Don't feel obliged, I won't be offended.This is a kind of word-of-mouth activity. The way that I read and share, I think, is the way I like to work. If something inspires you or motivates you or resonates somehow, I just let that be shared in whichever way you want. Sometimes it's a story, sometimes it's an electronic transfer passing on. This is the first of these new postings, the Sand Mandela inspired series which will disappear soon. I wish you all the best.*Cover photo of moss at 4100 meters, Quito, Ecuador by Claude Schryer *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I've been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It's my way to give back.In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I I publish a free ‘a calm presence' monthly Substack see https://acalmpresence.substack.com.Your feedback is always welcome at claude@conscient.ca and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tik Tok, YouTube and Substack.Share what you like, etcI am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. Claude SchryerLatest update on November 13, 2025

Lama Yeshe guides a rich and delicate practice of tonglen, or open-handed welcome. Instructions include shamatha or tranquility meditation, meditative inquiry, and an intimate tonglen practice that begins with you, your joys and aspirations, your pains and challenges. We invite you to let this practice connect you with the deepest resources of mind's true nature on a daily basis.FULL MOON SIT is an ongoing series offering Tibetan Buddhist meditation instruction and practice ⁠⁠⁠⁠Make a dana offering⁠⁠⁠⁠PRAJNA FIRE is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by applicable law.Learn more about meditative inquiry and the integrative dharma practice of ⁠⁠⁠⁠listening, contemplating, and meditating ⁠⁠⁠⁠from Prajna Rising, our online journal.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PUBLISHED ARTICLES⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prajnafire.com/media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prajna Fire's newsletter on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://prajnafire.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FOLLOW US⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Prajna Fire Global Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Private Teaching Sessions ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book Online at Prajna Fire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with immediate confirmation (https://www.prajnafire.com/book-online)EMAIL US sparks@prajnafire.comFIND US on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prajna Fire website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prajnafire.com/sparks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)@prajnasparks on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRUzGmU7c4_TJdLhG9R8IDA/videos)

What does it mean to truly awaken—and how do we live with full awareness in every moment, even in the face of impermanence? Eugene Cash's warm, playful, and deeply sincere style invites us into a rich exploration of mindfulness, death, and the immediacy of life. Drawing from the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Eugene emphasizes the experiential nature of awareness, encouraging us to feel our bodies, notice our breath, and recognize the fleeting nature of each moment. He shares personal stories, including a near-death experience and the dissolution of San Francisco Insight to illustrate how impermanence can be a gateway to freedom.Eugene's teaching is grounded in both classical Buddhist texts and lived experience. He references the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10), Zen master Dogen, Longchenpa of the Dzogchen tradition, and Shantideva, offering poetic and powerful quotes that illuminate the path to awakening, focusing on:Mindfulness of posture, breath, and bodily elements (earth, air, fire, water)Awareness in all activities—“no one at Safeway has to know you're meditating”The normality of death and the intoxications of youth, health, and lifeAwakening as “springing into being” and “the freshness of reality”The insight that freedom arises when we stop clinging to anythingHe offers us a gentle nudge to wake up to the miracle of being here, now.______________Eugene Cash is the founding teacher of the San Francisco Insight Meditation Community of San Francisco which ended in October 2025 after more than 30 years. He now teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and leads intensive meditation retreats internationally. His teaching is influenced by both Burmese and Thai streams of the Theravada tradition as well as Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practice. He is also a teacher of the Diamond Approach, a school of spiritual investigation and self-realization developed by A. H. Almaas. Learn more at https://www.insightdharmacenter.org/ ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to participate live Find our schedule of upcoming speakers Join our mailing list or discussion forum Enjoy many hundreds of these recorded talks dating back to 1996 CREDITSAudio Engineer: George HubbardProducer: Tom BrueinMusic/Logo/Artwork: Derek Lassiter

On this episode of the MY FOURTH ACT podcast, I have the distinct thrill of speaking with 5 extraordinary women who jointly wrote a just-released book, “Women Unbound: Navigating Transitions Gracefully,” published by Balboa Press, an imprint of Hay House.It is a tale of how five voices, strangers at first, with decidedly different life journeys and experiences, joined in courage and kindness, and over a period of two years blossomed into a chorus of truth and tenderness.The extraordinary women?Maria Hernandez, a technology and innovation thought leader who served as Chief Innovation Officer for IBM Latin America.Lama Karma Chotso, an ordained Tibetan Buddhist nun for over 35 years, and the former leader of a Dharma center in Florida.Jennifer DiMarco: An executive with 30 years of expertise in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, and a special focus on quality and compliance.Sarah Lewis: An architect and urban planner, with 25 years of expertise in both the private sector and as a public sector planner in the Boston area.Catherine Seo, PH.D.: An educator, filmmaker, and passionate advocate for those living with lipedema and related chronic conditions.It was my privilege to serve as a Mastermind host for these spectacular humans and write the Foreword for “Women Unbound.”

Today I welcome my dear sister Ju Brunnquell back to This Cosmic Life. We open a living conversation on the language of the Orishas, the art of offerings as mandala, and how mediumship, music, and movement become bridges between worlds. Ju shares her path through Santo Daime to Umbanda, what it meant to be “caught” by mediumship, and how archetypal forces like Eshu and the Boiadeiros teach protection, surrender, and right timing.This is a tender invitation to feel first, understand later, and let devotion become the way we walk, speak, and listen.In This EpisodeWhat the Orishas are as archetypal forces of nature and how they appear across traditionsThe African diaspora in Brazil and the weaving of Umbanda with Spiritism and ChristianityMediumship as a pedagogy of the body — vibration, sensation, vision, and discernmentEshu as opener of the roads and guardian at the crossroadsOfferings as poetry and mandala — moving intention from the mental to the materialThe Boiadeiros (Wranglers) as humble guides of faith, simplicity, and steady actionParallels with Tibetan Buddhist offering practice and daily devotionJu is an ordained Priestess of Sacred Umbanda, initiated by Alexandre Cumino at Colégio Pena Branca in São Paulo. She is also a Fire Alchemist through the same lineage and an Alchemist of Exú, initiated by Fátima Saraceni. Deeply rooted in the mysteries of Exú, Pombagira, and the healing forces of Obaluaê, Ju channels transformative teachings through ritual, voice, and presence.She is the founder of Escola do Pentagrama, a spiritual school dedicated to autonomy, oracular wisdom, and the living language of the Orixás offering e-books, courses, and meditations to seekers and make Afro-Brazilian spirituality accessible across the worlds. → Explore her work or join her next offering at: ⁠escoladopentagrama.com⁠Tara Samadhi, a sound mystic, astrologer, and devotional guide weaving together True Sidereal wisdom, plant medicine, and the sacred currents of sound. This Cosmic Life is my soul altar — a space for sacred dialogue, mystical study, and remembering ourselves as divine.More at: ⁠tarasamadhi.com⁠Ways to walk deeper with us:Share this episode with someone who is waking up to their spiritual force.Leave a review to support the temple of voice. Subscribe to This Cosmic Life for more transmissions.

Queens without a Kingdom worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities is a fascinating study of nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling in Kathmandu. Written by Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm, who was a member of this monastic community for nearly a decade, it offers a rare perspective on life in a nunnery. The book explores nuns' lives, their studies, and their and aspirations--we see how young girls and women become nuns, what a day in the life is like, and how their scholastic study is structured, as well as some of the obstacles that the nuns much navigate. It also explores how recent changes in technology, demographics, and secular education are continuing to transform monastic life. This book is a rich and extremely readable blend of ethnographic detail, historical and textual background, and incisive analysis. It would make an excellent contribution to any syllabus on Tibetan Buddhism, women in Buddhism, or Buddhism and modernity. The author, Chandra Chiara Ehm, is a postdoctoral researcher at the the Ecole Francaise d'Èxreme Orient (EFEO) and the Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale (CRCAO). She received her PhD in a double degree program in Buddhist Studies at the LMU in Munich and in anthropology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris . She employs multiple academic methods--notably both philology and qualitative ethnographic work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Queens without a Kingdom worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities is a fascinating study of nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling in Kathmandu. Written by Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm, who was a member of this monastic community for nearly a decade, it offers a rare perspective on life in a nunnery. The book explores nuns' lives, their studies, and their and aspirations--we see how young girls and women become nuns, what a day in the life is like, and how their scholastic study is structured, as well as some of the obstacles that the nuns much navigate. It also explores how recent changes in technology, demographics, and secular education are continuing to transform monastic life. This book is a rich and extremely readable blend of ethnographic detail, historical and textual background, and incisive analysis. It would make an excellent contribution to any syllabus on Tibetan Buddhism, women in Buddhism, or Buddhism and modernity. The author, Chandra Chiara Ehm, is a postdoctoral researcher at the the Ecole Francaise d'Èxreme Orient (EFEO) and the Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale (CRCAO). She received her PhD in a double degree program in Buddhist Studies at the LMU in Munich and in anthropology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris . She employs multiple academic methods--notably both philology and qualitative ethnographic work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Queens without a Kingdom worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities is a fascinating study of nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling in Kathmandu. Written by Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm, who was a member of this monastic community for nearly a decade, it offers a rare perspective on life in a nunnery. The book explores nuns' lives, their studies, and their and aspirations--we see how young girls and women become nuns, what a day in the life is like, and how their scholastic study is structured, as well as some of the obstacles that the nuns much navigate. It also explores how recent changes in technology, demographics, and secular education are continuing to transform monastic life. This book is a rich and extremely readable blend of ethnographic detail, historical and textual background, and incisive analysis. It would make an excellent contribution to any syllabus on Tibetan Buddhism, women in Buddhism, or Buddhism and modernity. The author, Chandra Chiara Ehm, is a postdoctoral researcher at the the Ecole Francaise d'Èxreme Orient (EFEO) and the Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale (CRCAO). She received her PhD in a double degree program in Buddhist Studies at the LMU in Munich and in anthropology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris . She employs multiple academic methods--notably both philology and qualitative ethnographic work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Queens without a Kingdom worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities is a fascinating study of nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling in Kathmandu. Written by Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm, who was a member of this monastic community for nearly a decade, it offers a rare perspective on life in a nunnery. The book explores nuns' lives, their studies, and their and aspirations--we see how young girls and women become nuns, what a day in the life is like, and how their scholastic study is structured, as well as some of the obstacles that the nuns much navigate. It also explores how recent changes in technology, demographics, and secular education are continuing to transform monastic life. This book is a rich and extremely readable blend of ethnographic detail, historical and textual background, and incisive analysis. It would make an excellent contribution to any syllabus on Tibetan Buddhism, women in Buddhism, or Buddhism and modernity. The author, Chandra Chiara Ehm, is a postdoctoral researcher at the the Ecole Francaise d'Èxreme Orient (EFEO) and the Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale (CRCAO). She received her PhD in a double degree program in Buddhist Studies at the LMU in Munich and in anthropology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris . She employs multiple academic methods--notably both philology and qualitative ethnographic work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Queens without a Kingdom worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities is a fascinating study of nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling in Kathmandu. Written by Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm, who was a member of this monastic community for nearly a decade, it offers a rare perspective on life in a nunnery. The book explores nuns' lives, their studies, and their and aspirations--we see how young girls and women become nuns, what a day in the life is like, and how their scholastic study is structured, as well as some of the obstacles that the nuns much navigate. It also explores how recent changes in technology, demographics, and secular education are continuing to transform monastic life. This book is a rich and extremely readable blend of ethnographic detail, historical and textual background, and incisive analysis. It would make an excellent contribution to any syllabus on Tibetan Buddhism, women in Buddhism, or Buddhism and modernity. The author, Chandra Chiara Ehm, is a postdoctoral researcher at the the Ecole Francaise d'Èxreme Orient (EFEO) and the Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale (CRCAO). She received her PhD in a double degree program in Buddhist Studies at the LMU in Munich and in anthropology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris . She employs multiple academic methods--notably both philology and qualitative ethnographic work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

It takes a special talent in our politicians to make Leh's Tibetan Buddhists so belligerent, ThePrint Political Editor DK Singh elaborated in this episode of #PoliticallyCorrect   To read the latest column: https://theprint.in/opinion/politically-correct/modi-silent-on-ladakh-manipur/2757998/

In this week's show, Lian is joined by Nicholas Breeze Wood. Nicholas has practiced shamanism for over 40 years, combining it with the 'earthier' end of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as with 'medicine' teachings from Native North American peoples. He has worked with many gifted medicine people and shamans over the years, and is deeply apprenticed to his own spirit helpers, whose teachings never fail to awe and surprise him. Nick's shamanism is a fusion of traditional Himalayan and Mongolian forms, combined with teachings from his own spirits. He works especially deeply with ritual objects - such as bronze shaman's mirrors, phurba daggers and many other Mongolian and Tibetan shamanic and Buddhist ritual objects - for which he holds traditional teachings and, where required, traditional initiations. Despite being a ‘rather uneducated Buddhist,' he is an ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama, a type called a ngakpa, whose role is similar to a shaman's. Ngakpas are non-monastic, non-celebrate lamas who live in the community, specialising in ritual and magic for people within their community. Nick is the editor of Sacred Hoop Magazine - a leading international magazine about shamanism - which has been published since 1993. He is also a musician and artist.  He is the author of several books including, 'Walking with the Tiger,' 'Sacred Drums of Siberia,' 'A Little Book of Revealing,' 'Voices From The Earth,' 'The Book of the Shaman,' 'The Shaman Box,' and 'The Resplendent Other'.  He runs the large Facebook group 3Worlds Shamanism, has done a podcast called the 3Worlds shamanism podcast on and off since 2006 and also has a somewhat neglected YouTube channel, also called 3Worlds Shamanism. In this conversation, Lian and Nick trace the line between animism and shamanism. They explore how industrial life thinned our old ways, and what simple rites restore a living conversation with the more-than-human world. They look at what actually helps: a small daily offering that slows you down, a tree-side ceremony that teaches you to listen, and the humility of walking behind the sacred rather than in front. Listen if you have felt the pull back to nature and wondered whether it means animist, shamanist, or simply human… answering an innate way of seeing. We'd love to know what YOU think about this week's show. Let's carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you'll learn from this episode: How a living-matter view changes our lives, and why calling it “animism” might clarify the pull you already feel Why simple offerings reshape your pace and attention, and how reciprocity steadies you when life gets noisy What happens when humility leads, and the subtle signs that tell you a deeper calling is knocking Resources and stuff spoken about: Visit Nick's websites: Sacred Hoop Magazine 3Worlds Podcast Buy Nick's books Join Nick on YouTube Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul. This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul's calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https://www.bemythical.com/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul's calling to truly live your myth: https://www.bemythical.com/unio Go Deeper: https://www.bemythical.com/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening! There's a fresh episode released each week here and on most podcast platforms - and video too on YouTube. If you subscribe then you'll get each new episode delivered to your device every week automagically. (that way you'll never miss a show).

Text reading taken from:Treasures from Juniper Ridge (Padmasambhava's Advice #3) by Padmasambhava by Tulku Urgyen, Erik Pema Kunsang (Translator) , Marcia Binder Schmidt (Translator).Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru), was an Indian Vajrayana Buddhist master from the 8th century who introduced Tantric Buddhism to Tibet. He is considered the founder of the Nyingma school, the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and is revered as the "Second Buddha" by his followers. He is believed to have come to Tibet at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen to help establish the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Samye Monastery.

In this episode, I am once again joined by Lopon Yudron Wangmo, American teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and author of several books including, her most recent, “Clearing the Way to Awakening”. Lopon Yudron Wangmo shares stories of her discipleships under various spiritual gurus such as Lama Tharchin, recalls her memories of the California Vajrayāna scene, and remarks on the qualities she has observed in realised masters. Lopon Yudron Wangmo reflects on her ADHD struggles with concentration in meditation, offers a critique of śamatha practice, and shares her own relationship to the dialectic between effort and rest. Lopon Yudron Wangmo explains how Dzogchen works, shares her experiences in extended solo retreat, and warns about the possibility of psychological regression during Tibetan Buddhist 3-year retreat. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep325-my-spiritual-journey-lopon-yudron-wangmo-3 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast'. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:58 - New audiobook of “Clearing the Way to Awakening” 06:34 - Text and oral cultures in Tibet 09:44 - Ngondro workbook 11:58 - Discipleship under various Tibetan Lamas 15:09 - Attraction to Vajrayāna 15:20 - Memories of Lama Tharchin 22:53 - 3 year retreat 25:28 - Solo retreats 26:09 - Longchen Nyingthig practice 27:00 - Desire for practice and further retreats 29:15 - Evidence of attainment 32:51 - The nature of mind and the 6 bardos 34:29 - Lama Tharchin's spaciousness 36:26 - Dzogchen vs Mindfulness 39:28 - Critique of śamatha meditation 41:43 - Effortful practice vs Dzogchen 45:01 - Rewards of a life of practice 46:18 - Uncontrived resting 48:05 - How Dzogchen works 54:21 - Practicing in old age 56:05 - Production-line teaching style 58:21 - Regression to childlike state in 3 year retreat 59:00 - Peak experiences and being good enough 01:00:22 - The California Vajrayāna scene 01:03:52 - Encouragement to practice Vajrayāna … Previous episode with Lopon Yudron Wangmo: - https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=yudron To find our more about Lopon Yudron Wangmo, visit: - https://www.yudronwangmo.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - https://www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi' by Steve James

Join Geshe Sherab for a deeply reflective guided meditation on the emptiness of self—one of the core insights of Buddhist wisdom. Gently explore how the sense of “I” arises, appears, and ultimately dissolves under careful examination. This session invites you to rest in the awareness that the self, as it seems, is empty of inherent existence—opening the door to deeper freedom, compassion, and clarity. This guided journey is perfect for both beginners and experienced practitioners looking to deepen their understanding of emptiness.Episode #203: Emptiness of Self Guided Meditation with Geshe SherabFrom August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We'll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and loneliness—and cultivate the deeper causes of a happy mind; connected, loving relationships; and a better world. It all happens in the beautiful redwood forests of California, while enjoying delicious vegetarian meals and meeting thoughtful new friends.SIGN UP NOWSupport the show

Join Tami Simon and Andrew Holecek for the second half of their exploration of reincarnation. Here, they delve deeper into Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on death, rebirth, and the power of "dark retreat" practice, revealing practical guidance for navigating everyday life. What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process? In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the "gap between lives." Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.  Join them to explore:  How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live The nature of awareness and the influence of habits How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives, and more Note: These interviews 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join Tami Simon and Andrew Holecek for the second half of their exploration of reincarnation. Here, they delve deeper into Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on death, rebirth, and the power of "dark retreat" practice, revealing practical guidance for navigating everyday life. What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process? In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the "gap between lives." Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.  Join them to explore:  How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live The nature of awareness and the influence of habits How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives, and more Note: These interviews 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.

Join Tami Simon and Andrew Holecek for the second half of their exploration of reincarnation. Here, they delve deeper into Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on death, rebirth, and the power of "dark retreat" practice, revealing practical guidance for navigating everyday life. What happens after we die? And what do habits have to do with the process? In this episode of Insights at the Edge, host Tami Simon welcomes Andrew Holecek, scholar, author, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and non-dual wisdom traditions. Together, they dive into the mysteries of reincarnation and the "gap between lives." Drawing from Tibetan teachings on the bardos, dream yoga, and the art of dying, Andrew shares practical insights on how these ancient teachings are not just about what happens after death, but also about navigating the transitions and challenges we face here and now.  Join them to explore:  How our beliefs about death deeply inform how we live The nature of awareness and the influence of habits How cultivating lucidity transforms both our dreams and our waking lives, and more Note: These interviews 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.

Dr. Rick and Forrest are joined by Mingyur Rinpoche, a renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher, to explore calming anxiety with awareness, relaxing unhealthy wanting, and finding a deeper sense of our innate goodness. Rinpoche shares how a near-death experience during his four-year “wandering retreat” transformed his relationship to fear and deepened his gratitude for life. They discuss practical ways to see the true nature of the mind, soften the grip of aversion and attachment, reframe fear as care, and embrace impermanence as a path to freedom. Learn more about Rinpoche's live teaching in South Africa and join for free online at https://tergar.org/southafrica. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 3:33: How a near-death experience dissolved Rinpoche's fear 7:06: Learning not to fight panic attacks 10:25: Seeing anxiety as clouds in the sky 14:18: Awareness, wisdom, and love as innate qualities 18:39: Recognizing basic goodness even in self-hatred 25:28: Courage to be with doubt and uncertainty 27:51: “Anytime, anywhere” meditation practice 33:57: Awareness and emptiness as inseparable 46:49: Letting old selves die and embracing change 52:41: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Level up your bedding with Quince. Go to Quince.com/BEINGWELL for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Join hundreds of thousands of people who are taking charge of their health. Learn more and join Function at functionhealth.com/BEINGWELL. Listen now to the Life Kit podcast from NPR. Go to Zocdoc.com/BEING to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beingwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A step-by-step guide to reclaiming the soul• Shares four maps for spiritual rebirth based on Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, and the precession of the equinoxes• Traces the author's journey of rebirth, covering his transformation through a spiritual crisis and the creation of a more meaningful life• Provides visualization practices based on ancient Tibetan wisdom to support you on the path of self-realizationExploring wisdom from mystical traditions and perennial philosophy on "dying before you die," Buddhist psychotherapist Miles Neale shares his own hero's journey of rebirth, providing a detailed roadmap for the pilgrimage through dissolution, into the great mystery, and back again to the world. He shares his transformation through a spiritual crisis and, ultimately, his creation of a more meaningful life. He provides four intersecting maps to help guide readers through the experiential process of metaphoric death, reclaiming the soul, and sharing one's genius with others. These four maps—the cosmological map, psychological map, alchemical map, and mythopoetic map—draw on the mythological stages of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung's process of individuation, the Tibetan Buddhist alchemy of conscious rebirth, and the astrological phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes, offering a detailed philosophical underpinning for the soul's journey to immortality. He also provides in-depth visualization practices based on ancient Tibetan wisdom to support you on the path of self-realization.Integrating Tibetan Buddhism with psychology, trauma healing, neuroscience, and mythology, along with profound personal experience, Neale provides a step-by-step manual for spiritual rebirth, revealing how to reframe life's unrelenting challenges and transitions as opportunities for psychological growth.Dr. Miles Neale, PsyD is a psychotherapist in private practice, teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, founder of the Gradual Path for inner and outer journeys, author of Gradual Awakening, and co-editor of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy.His forthcoming book, Return with Elixir: Four Maps for the Pilgrimage of the Soul Through Death and Rebirth (Inner Traditions, 2025), integrates Joseph Campbell's mythology, Carl Jung's psychology, Tibetan Buddhist alchemy, and the precession of the equinoxes.Over the past twenty-five years, Miles has fused Eastern spirituality with Western psychology. He earned a Masters in meditation research from New York University, a Doctorate in clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and trained in long-term mentor-student relationships with preeminent American Buddhist scholars Professor Robert Thurman, PhD, and Dr. Joseph Loizzo, MD, PhD as well as Tibetan master Geshe Tenzin Zopa.Miles has taught psychology and meditation at the integrative medical clinics of Harvard, Columbia, and Cornell Universities, designed and led the Contemplative Studies Immersion certificate program based on the Tibetan gradual path (lam rim), offers courses and workshops internationally including at the Tibet House, US, and has initiated fundraising campaigns for nunneries in the Himalayan region.Miles curates and leads life-changing pilgrimages to sacred sites around the world and lives with his wife and two kids in Bali, Indonesia.www.milesneale.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.

What can be illuminated when you explore in the darkness of your subconscious mind, through lucid dreaming or darkness retreats? We get to the heart of mystery in this mind-bending episode with Andrew Holecek, one of the most brilliant and poetic explorers of consciousness I know.We go deep into the transformative crucible of dark retreat—something I experienced firsthand. What happens when you face your own mind in complete darkness? No distractions, nowhere to hide. Magic happens, that's what.Andrew weaves together decades of wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, offers cutting edge dream research on lucid dreaming, and shares his own profound encounters in the dark. The stories he tells will leave you questioning the very fabric of reality.This episode has it all—quantum physics paradoxes, Sufi teaching tales, and practical tools for your own path of discovery. Andrew has a way of making the most esoteric ideas feel like a chat with a wise friend. That's a rare gift.Andrew is also the host of the "Edge of Mind" podcast, where he interviews luminaries in science, philosophy, spirituality, and psychology. His work has been featured in major outlets, including Wired magazine, and he is recognized for his innovative approach to integrating Eastern and Western perspectives on consciousness and transformation.Edge of Mind podcast | https://edgeofmindpodcast.com/Find out more about Andrews teachings books and events: https://www.andrewholecek.com/This episode is sponsored by►Metal Mark Golden Collectable Art |  https://mtlmrk.com/►Korrect Energy | https://korrectlife.com/►Hone Health | https://shorturl.at/JvhAJ| Aubrey Marcus |Website | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/2GesYqi ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/2BlfCEO ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/2F4nBZk ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X |  ⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/2BlGBAdAd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Aubrey Marcus newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.aubreymarcus.com/pages/email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To partner with the Aubrey Marcus Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Aubrey Marcus podcast:iTunes | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://apple.co/2lMZRCn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://spoti.fi/2EaELZO ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stitcher | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/2G8ccJt ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IHeartRadio | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ihr.fm/3CiV4x3 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠