Responding to a variety of dharma questions on meditation, effort, and impermanence, Joseph Goldstein explores the mystery of consciousness.

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This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein responds to questions on:

- The benefits of doing walking meditation versus traditional seated meditation

- Cutting through our conceptual overlay and simply having raw experiences

- Passive voice construction: removing the self as subject when narrating the world around us

- Changing “let it go” to “let it be” when we are struggling to let go

- Being in the flow of changing experiences, the natural arising and passing away of all things

- The fine line of wholesome energy/effort versus striving and struggling

- Realizing the emptiness of thoughts and the suffering they bring to us

- The first experience of nirvana, ‘the zero’, and uprooting the view of self

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“This is the mystery of consciousness. There’s nothing there tangible to find; no color, no form, it can’t be found. Yet, the knowing is happening. It’s this union of emptiness and knowing.” –Joseph Goldstein

Founder of Fireside Project, Joshua White, reflects on becoming a ‘loving rock’ and how Ram Dass’s teachings sparked his creation of a psychedelic peer support line.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Joshua White outlines:

- How Joshua grew up feeling alienated from his Jewish roots

- The realization that we truly can just be observers of our own thoughts

- The inner knowing that there is more to this world

- Service as the highest form of psychedelic integration

- Being a ‘loving-rock’ for people in a psychedelic experience

- Becoming an environment in which someone can come up for air

- Connecting with our sense of ‘enoughness’ rather than brokenness

- Active listening and simply showing up for another person as a loving witness

- Welcoming all emotions and not referring to any as ‘wrong’

About Joshua White:

Joshua (he/him) is Fireside Project’s founder, the world's first psychedelic peer support line. He is a lawyer, peer support advocate, and psychedelic researcher who believes in the power of peer support and the role of support lines as foundational components of an equitable mental-health ecosystem.

Prior to founding Fireside Project, Joshua volunteered for many years as a counselor on Safe & Sound’s TALK Line and a psychedelic peer support provider for the Zendo Project.

Before devoting his life to the psychedelic field, Joshua spent more than a decade as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he focused on suing businesses exploiting vulnerable communities, serving as general counsel to City departments, and co-teaching a nationally renowned clinic at Yale Law School. He also clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and practiced civil litigation at Conrad | Metlitzky | Kane.

“Ram Dass’s experience encountering Maharaj-ji and having these magical experiences with him and all of the impact LSD and other psychedelics had on him, really showed me that these substances could be responsible tools for profound inner work.” –Joshua White

About The Host, 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 inter-spiritual 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.

For episode 272, we are launching a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, coming out on December 9th!

Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. To learn more about Sharon’s forthcoming children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/kind-karl

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them.

For the first episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Susan Kaiser Greenland. Susan is a mindfulness educator and bestselling author, specializing in distilling global wisdom traditions and scientific research into straightforward everyday practices. In the early 2000s, she helped pioneer the introduction of secular mindfulness into classrooms through her Inner Kids model. After decades of working with children and adults and writing two widely translated books, Susan’s latest book, Real-World Enlightenment, was published in 2024 by Shambhala.

In this conversation, Susan and Sharon speak about:

- Susan’s journey with meditation

- Meditation’s effect on Susan’s son

- Inspiration for writing The Mindful Child

- Volunteering in schools

- Creating the Inner Kids program

- The importance of storytelling

- The playful approach for young ages

- The positive effects of mindfulness in schools

- The “Pink Bubble” compassion exercise

- Mindfulness for family dynamics

- Susan’s UCLA research findings

- Susan’s most recent book, Real World Enlightenment

Merging art, science, and spirit, authors and intellectuals Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross illuminate why creativity is essential for humanity.

In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu, Susan, and Ivy explore:

- Redefining art as any medium that allows someone to express themselves

- Learning to see the world with fresh eyes and creative curiosity

- The powerful reflection: has there ever been a time when the arts have personally affected you?

- Resonance and vibration as the center of the universe

- Music as a pathway to experience oneness with all things

- The miracle of neuroplasticity—rewiring the brain and making new pathways

- Confronting ourselves with a new piece of art or doing a new arts practice

- Play through art: letting go of any preconceived outcome and simply playing with ideas and concepts

- Why change requires time, patience, and habitual practice

- Remembering that art in ancient cultures was highly valued and integrated into daily life

- The aesthetic mindset and walking through the world with attention to beauty in every detail

About Susan Magsamen:

Susan Magsamen is the founder and director of the International Arts + Mind Lab, Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she is a faculty member. She is also the co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint. Susan works with both the public and private sectors using arts and culture evidence-based approaches in areas including health, child development, education, workforce innovation, rehabilitation and social equity.

“It’s personal; it could be crocheting for her, gardening for somebody else, it could be I’m a collager, we’re all talking about personalized medicine and precision medicine, and the arts are probably the most personalized medicine that there is.” –Susan Magsamen

About Ivy Ross:

Ivy Ross is the Vice President of Design for hardware product area at Google, where she leads a team that has won over 225 design awards. She is a National Endowment for Arts grant recipient and was ninth on Fast Company's list of the one hundred Most Creative People in Business in 2019. Ross believes that the intersection of arts and sciences is where the most engaging and creative ideas are found.

“I think we’ve been focusing on productivity and efficiency and pushing these arts aside as a ‘nice to have’, not as an imperative to our health and wellness. Through the work on this book with Susan, learning more about the physiology of how we are wired to receive the sensorial nature of life, it’s no wonder when we deprive ourselves of that, why we’re in the state we’re in.” –Ivy Ross

Buddhist teacher David Nichtern explains that making friends with the mind and internal world is the first step to relating better with the people around us.

Through soulful insights on detaching from the ego and expanding the heart, Krishna Das reminds us that surrender is not defeat, it’s the deepest devotion to God.

Jack Kornfield and Prof. Rajiv S. Joshi explore ‘inner climate change,’ guiding us through meditation and reflection on transforming the world by becoming the Tree of Enlightenment.

Celebrating the release of There Is No Other, a new book of teachings from Ram Dass' lectures, Parvati Markus and Raghu Markus listen to and reflect on some of the material used in its creation.

This special episode of Here and Now celebrates the new book, There Is No Other, a collection of teachings taken from Ram Dass’ lectures. In these times, Ram Dass’ teachings on wholeness and unity are more needed than ever.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox: https://www.ramdass.org/fellowship/

We begin with a clip of Ram Dass exploring the mindset of “us versus them.” Who exactly is us? Who is them? Raghu and Parvati reflect on how this clip is central to the theme of There Is No Other.

The next clip features Ram Dass talking about the balance of heart and mind. Sharing a powerful real-life example, he explores how we cut ourselves off when we veil our hearts. Raghu and Parvati share how the book is about walking a path to harmony and wholeness.

The third clip finds Ram Dass examining Ramana Maharshi’s concept of “God, Guru, Self,” and how we can begin to appreciate that the Spirit is everywhere. Raghu and Parvati discuss how Ram Dass' new book speaks to this really important moment in our lives.

We end with a brief clip of Ram Dass talking about the path of love. “Finally,” he says, “you become an environment, a vibratory rate…”

“So the mind, if it gets too strong, out of balance with the heart, shuts down all the information that the heart can give. It cuts you off from your wisdom, really. You don’t even see all the stuff. I mean, you and I are simultaneously existing on so many planes of reality, but because of the power of our minds, we keep limiting which realities are real, and the rest of it we either treat as error or we don’t even notice. It’s so deeply unconscious, we just don’t even notice all the rest of us, of ourselves.” – Ram Dass

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him.

Carried by a discourse on The Heart Sutra, teacher and author Susan Piver joins Raghu to explore the truth of emptiness.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Susan chat about:

- Practicing The Heart Sutra with only one syllable: ahh

- The truth of emptiness through recitation of non-truths

- Understanding emptiness as bliss, not as voidness

- The commitment to self interest that many westerners experience

- Releasing the ego as the first step towards embracing emptiness

- Being both empty and luminous at the same time

- Thinking of emptiness as complete interconnection and fullness

- Susan’s psychedelic experience: staying in the present, being in the womb of bliss

- The six transcendent actions and how they all spring from generosity

- Check out this free, downloadable translation of The Heart Sutra from Plum Village

About Susan Piver:

Susan Piver has an international reputation as an exceptionally skillful meditation teacher. She teaches workshops and speaks on mindfulness, innovation, communication, relationships, and creativity. Susan has been a student of Buddhism since 1995, graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004, and was authorized to teach meditation in 2005. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project, the world’s largest online-only meditation center. Susan is also a New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book, Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra, is now available. You can keep up with Susan on Instagram.

“You’re empty of separate existence. Your parents, their parents, their parents, if someone ate a different sandwich a thousand years ago, you wouldn’t be here. Emptiness could just as easily be called fullness, completely connected.” –Susan Piver

Holding gratitude for the ways Mother Earth supports all beings, Spiritual Healer Taita Pacha Kanchay describes the indigenous mission to be a voice for the land.

This time on The Four Sacred Gifts, Anita and Taita Pacha Kanchay chat about :

- The profound indigenous connection to Mother Earth and the wisdom of listening to her deeply

- Healing the planet by embracing unity and recognizing all beings as brothers and sisters

- How to transform the world through indigenous systems of knowledge

- The sacred power of indigenous ceremonies and honoring our ancestors with reverence

- Opening your heart and mind in order to spread goodness in the world

- The practice of forgiveness—releasing resentment and anger to free ourselves from negative energy

- Living in harmony with the Earth and understanding why indigenous wisdom endures through generations

- Gratitude for Mother Earth’s gifts and the importance of living in reciprocity

- Listening to nature as a way to remember our deep interconnectedness with all life

“This is the time when indigenous tribes need to guide and share the wisdom of our Mother Earth because us as indigenous tribes, we have the mission to be the voices of the lands.” –Taita Pacha Kanchay

About Taita Pacha Kanchay:

Taita Pacha Kanchay is a healer whose ancestral name means "the sun-glint that penetrates the earth." As a Yanakuna Yachak, also known as a "spiritual authority," Pacha has devoted his life to studying and practicing the spiritual traditions passed down by his ancestors and elders.Today, he serves as a speaker and the Coordinator of the Great National Council of Indigenous Elders in Colombia (ONIC), representing a remarkable alliance of 115 tribes. He is also a representative of the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network, a United Nations Delegate, and an activist for Indigenous Sovereignty and environmental justice. A carrier of the sacred medicine of Yagé (Ayahuasca), Pacha's driving purpose is to exemplify and share the knowledge of coexistence in harmony with Mother Earth's spirit and wisdom. Affectionately known as “the healer of the healers” in Colombia, he offers healing on every level—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Pacha's transformative work inspires individuals worldwide to embrace the interconnectedness of all beings and rediscover their innate connection to nature and tap into the endless wellspring of wisdom that resides within.

You can reach him at [email protected].