Be Here Now Network

Exploring life as a flowing, dynamic process, Jack shares the jewel of Buddha's awakening by unraveling the paradox of self and no-self.

This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.

"Each of those sets of words, 'self,' and 'no-self,' are concepts or ideas or words that we use in a very crude approximation of pointing to some mystery of this process of life that's neither self nor no-self." – Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:

- Unraveling the paradox of self and no-self

- The Jewel of the Buddha's Awakening

- Anattā (selflessness) and how it connects with respect

- Tales of a Magic Monastery

- Living in the reality of expansion and contraction

- Why Ajahn Chah shared 'self' and 'no self' both aren't true

- The word "happy/sad" in Japanese

- Opening to our life as a flowing, moving process

- Becoming aware of selflessness

- Interdependence, interconnection, codependent arising

- Learning to respect ourself and nourish beneficial qualities

- Developing yourself while also "losing yourself"

- Discovering your True Self

- The importance of integrating our spiritual practice into our lives

- Learning to live in your body and love well

"To be really present is to connect with the mystery." – Jack Kornfield

"You develop yourself as you lose yourself." – Jack Kornfield

This Dharma Talk estimated to be recorded on 4/23/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.

Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass! To take part in the two live online Q&A sessions, register by June 9 at bit.ly/InteractiveCohort

For episode 242, Sharon speaks with psychologist Zindel Segal, PhD, and neuroscientist Norman Farb, PhD, about their new book, Better in Every Sense: How the New Science of Sensation Can Help You Reclaim Your Life.

Zindel is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders, University of Toronto Scarborough. He is a clinical psychologist whose research examines the use of mindfulness meditation in promoting affect regulation skills in people suffering from a depressive and anxiety based disorder. Norm is an Associate Professor, University of Toronto Mississauga and studies the social neuroscience of the self and human emotion, with a focus on how biases in self-representation shape emotional reactions that determine well-being.

In this episode, Sharon, Zindel and Norm discuss:

- How Norm came to this work

- What inspired the new book, Better in Every Sense

- Why people are languishing

- The Default Mode Network versus Sensory Network

- The positives of the “house of habit,” aka DMN

- “Breaking Frame” to solve problems

- Sense Foraging: shifting from thinking to sensing

- The three steps in Sense Foraging

- The role of equanimity in the Sensory Network

- How Interoception relates to empathy

The conversation closes with a meditation breathing practice led by Zindel. You can learn more about Zindel and Norm’s book Better in Every Sense, right here. You can also check out Zindel’s first appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast from 2020 in Episode 144.

Gil Fronsdal discusses having confidence in what the Buddha represents within ourselves and being a refuge for all beings.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal explains:

How the Buddha defined confidence and fate

Instructions from the Buddha on making oneself a refuge

Being a refuge and support for all beings

Personal worth and finding yourself in community

The benefit of having confidence in ourselves and in our practice

The imperfections that stain the mind

Having confidence in that which the Buddha represents within ourselves

Reflecting on the times when our minds are not caught

How the dharma is visible here and now, not there and then

The balance between responsibility and allowing natural unfolding

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

This 2014 talk was originally published by Dharmaseed.

“The reference point for having confidence or faith or trust in the Buddha is not in the great power and wisdom of the Buddha, but rather something that we can know for ourselves, that we realize is reflected in the Buddha.” – Gil Fronsdal

Discussing his memoir, Down for the Cause, Bruce “Badri” Margolin talks with Raghu about his work in drug reform and meeting Ram Dass, Tim Leary, and Neem Karoli Baba.

Grab your copy of Down for the Cause HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Down-Cause-Bruce-Margolin/dp/B0CZCW86YL

This week on Mindrolling, Bruce and Raghu talk about:

What propelled Bruce on his journey as a lawyer

Bruce’s first marijuana defense case

The Campaign to Abolition Marijuana Prohibition (C.A.M.P.)

When Bruce received Be Here Now from his therapist

Bruce’s travels through Greece, Ethiopia, India and more

How Bruce met Ram Dass and Neem Karoli Baba in India

Readjusting to the western world

Bruce’s work in defending Tim Leary’s case

About Bruce Margolin:

Bruce Margolin is an American criminal defense attorney who specializes in marijuana and drug laws. Bruce defended Timothy Leary and is renowned for his work in Marijuana decriminalization. Since 1973, Bruce has served as the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). He is also the writer of the Margolin Guide to Marijuana Law and Down for the Cause. Follow Bruce on Instagram.

“Bruce has had the blessing to take such a huge role in helping change one of the most draconian laws that has been in existence.” – Raghu Markus

This week on Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das discusses freeing ourselves from abuse, finding support, embracing unconditional love, understanding our parents, and using psychedelics for positive karma.

This week on Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das holds a talk on:

Freeing ourselves from abusive situations

Finding love and support from people in similar circumstances

Loving from our soul and being unconditional

Letting other people be themselves

Understanding our parents as their own people with their own issues

Having an appreciation for being alive

Creating boundaries when necessary

All the negativity that can come from hatred and anger

Working on our own reactivity

Psychedelics as a pathway to unconditional love

Making positive karmas for ourselves and doing our practices

“If you get caught in reacting, that’s your problem, not theirs. Even though we may be angry at them, even though they may have done things that hurt us in many different ways, they are allowed to be who they are. It’s up to us to clean our hearts of the reaction, the betrayal, and all the hurt and the pain.” – Krishna Das

Today’s episode originally aired on Krisha Das’ “Hanging Out In the Heart Space” online satsang on May 12th, 2022. Be sure to subscribe to Krishna Das on Youtube to get new episodes of “Hanging Out In the Heart Space”, fresh music from KD and more: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtzvMbKEud7MqkIVdFjfHXQ

Sharing the blueprint for how to unlock true abundance, Jack reveals the secrets of letting go of greed, embracing generosity, and appreciating simplicity in life.

Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass cohort starting June 6! bit.ly/InteractiveCohort

"Abundance isn't about how much you have, but how much you appreciate." – Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:

- How to let go of our greed and live in true abundance

- The Buddhist notion of "dana" – generosity, service, open-hearted caring

- Greed as a strategy of impoverishment, rejection, and incompleteness

- Transforming our 'endless wanting' into a beneficial awakened dance with the world

- Expressing the Tao, the harmony of the universe, through our being

- The Dharmic alchemy of the Bodhisattva

- Meditation, listening, and finding out what we truly want in this life

- Where Suzuki Roshi meets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

- How abundance of the spirit connects with simplicity rather than things

- A personal story of Jack taking his unique Bodhisattva Vows in the Rocky Mountains while teaching at Chögyam Trungpa's Naropa University

- Taking your strong, grounded, noble seat that can handle it all

- How being there for others is abundance in their life

- The generosity and delight of authentically giving – things, space, silence, listening, attention, commitment, honesty, smiles, blessings

- Ram Dass and Maharajji's lesson of "feed people, love people."

- Is "selfless service" actually selfless?

"Abundance of the spirit doesn't mean things; it means discovering a kind of simplicity of our life where we're abundant in any circumstance." – Jack Kornfield

This Dharma Talk estimated to be recorded on 3/1/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.

In this Q&A session, Ram Dass talks about dealing with disturbances in meditation, letting go of identifications, seeing the guru as an imaginary playmate, being too formless, and more.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Use the code RAMDASS at checkout to get up to 50% off your subscription: Magic Mind

Want to listen to this podcast AD-FREE? Not interested in the commentary before each talk from Ram Dass? We hear you! Join our Patreon for all this, plus weekly guided meditations from Ram Dass and friends. Try free for 7 days by signing up at patreon.com/RamDassPodcast

This episode of Here and Now is taken from a talk given in Melbourne, Australia in 1981.

Ram Dass begins the Q&A by taking questions about dealing with disturbances in meditation, the relationship between concept and perception, and letting go of our identification with different roles and stances.

In response to a question about the role of the guru in the unfolding of his spiritual journey, Ram Dass talks about how his relationship with his guru is like that of a child with an imaginary playmate. He cautions us about getting too caught up in the concept of the guru, saying that there are no rules to this game.

After answering a question about free will, Ram Dass takes on an inquiry about being too formless and feeling disconnected from the physical. He talks about the importance of being grounded and getting your act together. Ram Dass ends this part of the session with a question about responsibility, especially as it pertains to social action.

Would you like to participate in the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join us for the SoulPod Meet-Up on June 4th at 8 p.m. EDT.

“It’s like having an imaginary playmate as a child, but then as you grow up you realize that the playmate was real and you were imaginary. It’s sort of that way with the guru. I mean, you realize that who you thought you were that was following the guru, that was the hype in the first place. And that it all just is. So Maharaj-ji and I are buddies, lovers; I hate him because every time I try to sneak something by, there he is. And I can’t even describe how much I love him.” – Ram Dass

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Ram Dass: An Imaginary Playmate – Here and Now Podcast Ep. 252 - https://youtu.be/FUPZbOZFuwo

Ram Dass – Here and Now – Ep. 252 – An Imaginary Playmate - https://beherenownetwork.com/(insert slug)

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Reflecting on spirituality and synchronicity, Dr. Lisa Miller talks with Raghu about the capacity to have an awakened mind and heart.

This time on Mindrolling, Dr. Lisa and Raghu talk about:

Dr. Miller’s synchronistic connection with Ram Dass

Identifying threads of lived, spiritual human life in clinical psychology

Being born with the capacity to awaken

Cultivating our relationship to the transcendent

The difference between a spiritual experience and a fully integrated spiritual life

An awakened heart and mind as a protective factor against despair

The mental health epidemic in our country

Trust and moments of unconditional love

Radical love on Dr. Lisa’s journey to parenthood

How suffering brings us closer to God

“There’s nothing at all in the clinical sciences and the social sciences that is as profoundly curative and protective against the diseases of despair (addiction, depression, even suicide) as an awakened heart, an awakened mind.” – Dr. Lisa Miller

About Dr. Lisa Miller:

Lisa Miller, Ph.D., is Professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University, Teachers College, where she founded the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. She is also the Editor of the Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality and Founder and Former Co-Editor of the APA journal, Spirituality in Clinical Practice. Dr Miller is the books The Awakened Brain and The Spiritual Child. Learn more about Dr. Miller on her

Jackie Dobrinska and Bruce Damer chat about insight into ourselves and outsight into the world in this recording from the Ram Dass Explorers Club.

The Ram Dass Explorers Club is a free virtual group wherein members delve into pivotal movements within the psychedelic renaissance while paying homage to the enduring legacy of Ram Dass. Join HERE: https://www.ramdass.org/fellowship/#specialty

In this episode, host Jackie Dobrinska speaks with Bruce Damer about:

Ram Dass’ work and how he continues to inspire others

How Bruce came to know Ram Dass

The way that Ram Dass hits on the center of things

Albert Einstein and thought experiments

Entering flows of connection and time

The etymology of psychedelics

How we create our own realities

Coming into embodied wisdom and the serpent of the internet

Ram Dass as a beacon to the reality we need

Navigating psychedelics and having adequate preparation

Knowing that we are always held by love

About Dr. Bruce Damer:

Dr. Bruce Damer is a scientist, psychonaut, and humanitarian. Dr. Damer is Chief Scientist at BIOTA Institute, UC Santa Cruz. He is an astrobiologist working on the science of life’s origins, spacecraft design, psychedelics and genius. Dr. Bruce has spent his life pursuing two great questions: how did life on Earth begin, and how can we give that life (and ourselves) a sustainable pathway into the cosmos? A decade of scientific research with his collaborator Prof. David Deamer at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering resulted in the Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life published in the journal Astrobiology in 2019. Dr. Damer also has a long career working with NASA on mission simulation and design and recently co-developed a spacecraft to utilize resources from asteroids. You can keep up with Dr. Bruce Damer on Twitter.

About Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an interspiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

Learn more about Jackie’s work at asimplevibrantlife.com.

“We can create our realities. We’ll determine whether we are constricted or opened at every moment by our choices of what we produce for our fellow humans.” – Bruce Damer

Unveiling how to grow your heart as big as the sky, Jack shares the spiritual antidote for aversion, negativity, and fear.

This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.

"Let your heart be as big as your whole experience, like the sky." – Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:

- Overcoming aversion by "bringing it into your heart" rather than your rational mind

- Touching into emotions, fears, and judgements with compassion instead of aversion

- Using techniques like "noting/naming" for moving past intense feelings

- Loving your negatives states as you would love your own child

- Seeing clearly the karma, value, and consequence of your personal patterns

- Who would you be if you dropped your opinions, views, identity?

- Growing your heart to the size of the sky

- Practicing the 'art of letting go'

- Learning to live in the reality 'the Now'

- Why Buddha had a better time than most

- Painting as a doorway to spiritual experience

- Transmuting difficulties by dropping our resistance to them

- How to hold healthy views without being attached to them

"In this space of Now, it's not necessary to have fear. In this place of Now, we can rest." – Jack Kornfield

"If we want to create peace, or if we want to live free from greed, hatred and delusion, the place to start is in ourselves." – Jack Kornfield

This Dharma Talk originally recorded on 1/1/1989 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.

Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass cohort starting this June at bit.ly/InteractiveCohort