Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck with David Nichtern

Facing the obstacles on a spiritual path, Lama Rod Owens, David Nichtern, and Michael Kammers, discuss the seven sorrows of the new saint.

Grab Lama Rod’s new book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors

In this episode, David, Michael and Lama Rod chat about:

• Realizing that liberation is driven by uncomfortable contradictions
• The seven great sorrows of the new saint
• Leaving people behind on a spiritual journey
• Offering space to paradoxes in order to find clarity
• Support on the Boddhisatva path
• Focusing our energy on ourselves
• Prayer as an imperative part of spiritual work
• Being relevant and speaking the language of the times
• Teachers who inspired and helped Lama Rod
• Being yourself and using your own qualities to help others
• Commitment to a reduction of violence
• Getting active in getting free

About Lama Rod Owens:

Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive.

For current offerings and programs, click here. 

“The whole project of The New Saints was to delve into the frustrations of paradox, of contradictions. One of the things that deepens our suffering is our attempt to make everything make sense. That’s how we get trapped in delusion, trying to make it make sense when instead we are trying to transcend it.” – Lama Rod Owens

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Exploring the themes in his new book, Confidence, Ethan Nichtern chats with his dad, David, about vulnerability, truth, and the state of the world.

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

In this episode, David and Ethan speak about:

• Ethan’s new book and what real confidence is
• False confidence and manipulation
• The current political environment and seeking the truth
• Why authenticity is so important
• Examples of people who radiate confidence and light the candles of others
• How sadness can be an authentic response to the state of the world
• The Eight Worldly Winds and practicing confidence
• How we are all vulnerable to imposter syndrome
• Awareness and tuning into our inner knowing to avoid being caught in emotions
• Remembering our powerful and tender hearts

Check out these on-demand online courses from David Nichtern and an upcoming course from Ethan Nichtern based around his new book HERE.

About Ethan Nichtern:

Ethan Nichtern is a Buddhist teacher, and is the author of the acclaimed book The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path, which was selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2015, and one of Tech Insider’s “9 Books That Define 2015.” He also wrote The Dharma of The Princess Bride: What The Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships and most recently, Confidence: Holding Your Seat through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds.

For the past 20+ years, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around New York City and North America and Europe, along with working with students privately. He has primarily studied in the Shambhala and other Tibetan traditions, but has also studied Theravadan and Soto Zen Buddhism. He is also an avid yoga practitioner. He served as Shastri, or Senior Teacher-In-Residence, for the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York, from 2010-2018. Continue listening to Ethan on his podcast, The Road Home.

“I think there is a compassion element to genuine confidence where you’re using your own confidence to light other people’s candle.” – Ethan Nichtern

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Highlighting the intersection between love and awareness, Rhonda V. Magee joins David to discuss real change in a culture of separation.

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

This time on the CSM podcast, David and Rhonda converse about: 

• Rhonda’s background and personal definition of love
• Real change through love, inspiration and a sense of connection
• The inter-being of mindfulness and metta
• The principle of loving everyone and telling the truth
• What happens when truth is met with resistance or denial
• Living in a time where we have constant reminders of fear and anger
• How our culture has reduced us and objectified us
• Intergenerational phenomena and walking through many phases of life
• What we leave behind for the next generation and what we can learn from youth
• Real and perceived differences
• Deepening our own well-being so that we can be there for others

Join David Nichtern for a free online talk on teaching mindfulness and the role of the teacher, Tuesday, May 28th, 2024 at 6:00 PM: FREE ONLINE TALK

About Rhonda V. Magee:

Rhonda V. Magee is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and a leading mindfulness teacher and practice innovator with a focus on applying mindfulness to the hardest challenges of our times. She is an internationally-recognized teacher, guide and mentor, focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law and social change work. A prolific author, she draws on law and legal history to weave storytelling, poetry, analysis and practices into inspiration for changing how we think, act and live better together in a rapidly changing world. Keep up with Rhonda on her website or on social media.

“I fully believe, for most of us, especially in the West, grounding in a quality of love and care as how we experience awareness is pretty important because we have so much healing to do. We’ve been so alienated from ourselves, each other, from the planet.” – Rhonda V. Magee

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Ramin Nazer and David Nichtern explore the individual’s place in an ever-changing and technologically-advancing world.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

This time on CSM, we hear about: 

• Technological advancement and the collective mind
• Sci-Fi and fear vs. hope for the future
• The unsustainability of bliss
• Eternalism and the hellscape of pointlessness
• The dystopia of A.I and ChatGPT
• Safe zones versus growth zones
• Creativity and trying to guess what the world wants to see
• Creating a balance in a chaotic world
• The fundamental experiences that ground us
• Psychedelics as a liberating disruption
• Simulations, robots, and ‘I am-ness’
• The dynamics of polarity

About Ramin Nazer:

Ramin Nazer is a multi-talented artist, podcaster, comedian, game creator and musician based out of LA. He is best known for his consistent stream of unique, psychedelic-spiritual, bite-sized art for the social media age, as well as his podcast, with comedian Shane Mauss, Mind Under Matter, where they take a hilarious and scientific approach to human behavior. You can tap into Ramin’s steady flow of art on his Instagram, tap into his solo podcast Rainbow Brainskull, and peer into his myriad offerings at RaminNazer.com.

“According to Buddhism, the solution is you maintain your status as a human being who has ups and downs, who has lungs, and disappointments, yet there’s a seed of real depth of wisdom and understanding and compassion in it. You bypass the God realms.” – David Nichtern

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Discussing his experience with panic attacks, Dan Harris describes the tools that have helped him move from resistance to acceptance.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

In this episode, David and Dan dive into:

How Dan went from experiencing panic attacks to finding meditation

Dan’s definition of happiness

Stabilizing our well-being

The compounding effect of meditation practice

Navigating difficult external experiences

Working on a loving-kindness practice

Pith instructions from spiritual teachers

Allowing feelings instead of resisting

The fear of death and all pervasive suffering

Temporal experiences and observing the pause of time

Impermanence and not taking everything so seriously

Equanimity and looking at our emotions as passing weather

Grab your copy of the 10th-anniversary edition of Dan's book, 10% Happier, HERE to learn more about the benefits of meditation in his life.

About Dan Harris:

Dan Harris is an author, podcaster, and a retired American journalist for ABC News. He was an anchor for Nightline and co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America. After an on-air panic attack, Dan dedicated himself to meditation and spreading the word about its benefits. His “10% Happier” podcasts feature interviews with other meditators. Dan’s book, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Really Works – a True Story, was published in March 2014.

“Panic is just a set of physical sensations, which as a panic sufferer, I have experienced countless times and always survived. So, it’s okay, just let it go. Let the sensations be there, it’s okay to feel it. What is making it worse is my resistance to it.” – Dan Harris

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Examining the interplay between mind and body, neuroscientist Dr. Sarà King and David Nichtern talk trauma, dream-work, and the sense of self.

David and Dr. Sarà traverse these topics:

• Dr. Sarà’s research on generational trauma and ancestral intelligence
• The autonomic nervous system and how trauma is stored in the body
• Fight, Flight, Freeze, Faint, and gauging if a situation is safe or dangerous
• How contemplative practices can modulate the trauma response
• What the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for
• How we create personal narratives
• Neuroscience and quantum energy
• Dr. Sarà’s own journey to liberation from trauma
• Co-Creating our own reality with the universe
• Dreams, trips, bardos and beyond
• Dr. Sarà’s work in creating a map of awareness
• The relationship between biometrics and story-telling
• AI, cosmology, and merging biosynthetic beings with human consciousness

“There is this real delicate dance and interplay that’s happening between the mind and the body to construct a sense of self, me, I, at any given moment.” – Dr. Sará King

About Dr. Sará King:

Dr. Sará King is a UCLA-trained neuroscientist, political and learning scientist, social entrepreneur, public speaker, and yoga and mindfulness meditation instructor. She has over 20 years of experience as a research scientist, and specializes in the study of the relationship between mindfulness, complementary alternative medicine, and social justice. She is the scientific consultant for Peace in Schools, a dharma teacher with Presence Collective, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurology, and the founder of MindHeart Consulting, a scientific consultancy offering seminars, research and development, and trauma healing circles.

Keep up with Dr. King on Instagram or HERE

Join Ethan Nichtern and Shelly Tygielski on January 9th for a free online event: "Right Livelihood: What Capitalism Can Learn From Buddhism"

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Focusing on the relative and absolute, Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson and David Nichtern explore mindfulness, mysticism, and more.

David and Jay spend this episode discussing:

- Jay’s interdisciplinary background and seizing the day

- Mindfulness and Jewish mysticism

- Spiritual and Sensual Exploration

- Relying on a joyful state of mind

- The intersection of psychedelics and spirituality

- The sweet spot between contemplative practice and engaged activism

- Economics, politics, and the elites

- Bliss states and relative experiences

- Neurodiversity and the Enneagram

- Generational shifts of awareness

Already downloaded by over 15k people, visit dharmamoon.com/ebook to get YOUR free copy of The Art of Teaching Mindfulness!

“In my actual life, having those relative experiences enables me to touch into the absolute in the midst of daily life. That’s especially true with the dharmic use of psychedelics. The experience itself, especially if it’s a long experience, has its own teaching, and it’s possible to train the mind to remember.” – Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson

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Mindfulness teacher, Kaira Jewel Lingo, chats with David Nichtern about the power of spiritual community and self-assessment.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

In this episode, David and Kaira discuss:

• The practice of sharing appreciations and regrets
• Community support within nunneries and monasteries
• Co-regulating the nervous system to mitigate conflict
• Social change and recognizing our shared humanity
• Doing the inner work to have a bigger impact on the world
• Living simply and being aligned with our purpose
• Using resources to build a better future
• Neuroscience & Buddhism
• Kaira’s upcoming books and events

“There needs to be inner work for outer work to really have an impact.” – Kaira Jewel Lingo

Discover the transformative practice of teaching mindfulness in a new FREE 30-page ebook by Senior Buddhist teacher and Emmy award-winning musician, David Nichtern. 

With its blend of humor, wisdom, and accessible approach, The Art of Teaching Mindfulness ebook is a must-read for anyone interested in sharing the life-changing practices of mindfulness with others.

Already downloaded by over 15k people, visit dharmamoon.com/ebook to get YOUR free copy of The Art of Teaching Mindfulness!

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David Nichtern explores how mindfulness meditation is the primary tool on our journey of joining Heaven and Earth, which are our highest aspirations and our day-to-day practicalities.

This episode is taken from one of David’s Dharma Moon Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training sessions. The Intro to Mindfulness and the Path of Meditation program, which serves as the foundation for the next Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, begins on October 13th.

To learn more, register now for a free online talk, Teaching Mindfulness Meditation and the Role of the Teacher, with David Nichtern and Robert Thurman on Tuesday, August 22nd.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

In this episode, David explores:

• The classic paradigm of Heaven and Earth, our highest aspirations and our day-to-day practicalities, as a way to frame our journeys
• The role that humanity plays in this paradigm and what the path of the warrior truly means
• How mindfulness meditation is the primary tool we can use for joining Heaven and Earth and finding balance in our lives

“Earth is nothing but obstacles, actually, from the point of view of Heaven. It’s just a clump of obstacles. But from the point of view of joining Heaven and Earth, it’s a clump of obstacles that actually can be manifested as opportunities for joining Heaven and Earth.” – David Nichtern

About David Nichtern:

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician.

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David is joined by Emmy Award-winning composer, author, multi-Platinum record producer and songwriter Richard Wolf for a conversation about music, mindfulness, and success. 

Join David Nichtern and Robert Thurman on Tuesday, August 22nd to discuss teaching meditation and find out more about Dharma Moon and Tibet House's renowned mindfulness meditation teacher training: FREE ONLINE TALK

In this episode, Richard joins David to discuss:

• The Twelve Bridges between music & meditation
• Zen & Silent Illumination
• Practice and success

Links From This Episode:

• Darker the Night, Brighter the Stars
• Discovering Elegance

“It’s not about your ego when you’re making music. It’s not about you. It’s about the music.

If you’re trying to perform, you want to just have the best performance possible. If you’re writing music, you just want to take the song where the song wants to go. You want to help it go. It’s not about your self-referential agenda; it’s about the music. 

It’s not about you, and so you’re transcending yourself.” – Richard Wolf

About Richard Wolf:

Richard “Wolfie” Wolf is an Emmy Award ™ winning composer, multi-Platinum RIAA awarded record producer and songwriter, teacher and noted author. 

Wolf is on the faculty of The University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music where he teaches a class on “Music & Mindfulness” which was the first course at a university level to explore the special relationship between the two practices.

His book “In Tune: Music As The Bridge To Mindfulness” is acclaimed as an innovative guide to contemplative practices for musical people and was the inspiration for his podcast “Wolf In Tune”. The book was written up in The New Yorker, Parade Magazine, Mindful Magazine, Mashable, Spirituality & Health and others.

Learn more about Richard at richardwolf.net.

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