Roger Housden is the author of 20 books, including the New York Times bestseller Ten Poems to Change Your Life. Housden’s work has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post. He lives in Sausalito, CA. For more, visit rogerhousden.com.

Other books:

Keeping the Faith Without a Religion (book)

Keeping the Faith Without a Religion (audio download)

For Lovers of God Everywhere: Poems of the Christian Mystics

Seven Sins for a Life Worth Living

Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation

Ten Poems to Open Your Heart

Ten Poems to Say Goodbye

Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again

Dancing with Joy: 99 Poems

Summary and Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded 5/17/2014

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction and Background

00:03:45 - Using Life's Circumstances for Growth and Reflection

00:07:14 - Visiting Karoli Baba's Ashram

00:10:39 - The Difference Between Faith and Belief

00:14:05 - Knowing Beyond Intellectual Belief

00:17:37 - The Voice in the Cave

00:21:36 - Functioning from a State beyond Mental Excitation

00:24:39 - The Benefits of Being with a Spiritual Teacher

00:28:13 - Resting in the Field of Awareness

00:31:40 - A Dimension of Awareness in Iran

00:34:40 - A Difficult Choice in a Vien Prison

00:37:48 - Clearing My Name and Debriefing

00:40:25 - The Intelligence in Randomness

00:43:05 - The Oneness of Everything

00:46:01 - Political Implications of Individualism vs Individuation

00:48:59 - The Narrow Gate of Hope and Despair

00:52:06 - Short-Term Thinking and Long-Term Vision

00:54:40 - Brutality and Imperfection in Organized Belief Systems

00:58:07 - Managing Imperfections and Organizational Clarity

01:00:34 - Trusting the Knowing

01:03:10 - Trust the Mystery and the Dark

01:06:31 - Remembering Something Larger

01:09:32 - Acknowledging Imperfection in the Aesthetics of Wabi-Sabi

01:12:23 - The Cathars and Perfection

01:15:48 - Moments of Beauty

01:18:44 - Kindness Towards Oneself

01:22:01 - The Difference between Materialist and Knowing Faith

01:25:43 - The Intelligence that Permeates the World

01:28:22 - The Pitfalls of Religious Beliefs

01:31:07 - Direct Experience and the Present Moment

01:33:05 - Website Features and Discussion Area