What can ancient Sanskrit poetry of love and longing teach us about our own deepest spirituality? Join host Michael Taft as he explores this question with professor, author, and teacher Rick Jarow. Further topics include the tantric aspect of poetry, how landscape and nature informs and embodies our spirituality, the role of the word in transcendence, sacred passion for the divine as expressed in the poetics of longing, and much more.

Rick Jarow Ph.D. is a author, teacher, and scholar of Indian languages and literature. Recently retired from his position as a Religious Studies professor at Vassar college in New York, Rick leads workshops and retreats worldwide. His books include: In Search of the Sacred, Tales for the Dying, and a new work: The Cloud of Longing: A New Translation and Eco-Aesthetic Study of Kalidasa's Meghaduta.

Rick Jarow's website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton about her recent work with the 21 manifestations of the Goddess Tara, some aspects of Green Tara, and especially the role of vision and visualization in Vajrayana, and Buddhism more generally. Beginning with the somewhat negative role of the eyes in early Buddhist practice, moving through the Mahayana sutras talking about "enlightened eyes," and the "Eye of the Buddha," and culminating with the rainbow light practices of Vajrayana and Dzogchen. Topics include: Nagarjuna's vision metaphor of emptiness, the esoteric subtle channel from the heart to the eyes, meditation on kasinas, and much more.

Chandra Easton has taught meditation and yoga since 2001. She has had the good fortune to study with many Tibetan and Western Buddhist teachers such as H.H. Dalai Lama, H.H. Karmapa, Lama Tsultrim Allione, B. Alan Wallace,Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche, and Jennifer Welwood. She is currently the Assistant Spiritual Director & Head Teacher at the Tara Mandala Retreat Center. You can learn more about Chandra's work at:

http://www.chandraeaston.com/

and

https://www.taramandala.org/

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Zen teacher, author, and poet Henry Shukman talks with host Michael Taft about Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Henry’s series on the Waking Up app, meditation for awakening vs. meditation as a “band aid,” the role of psychotherapy in spiritual practice, the power of working in the “old way,” the path of working with Zen koans as the journey of a lifetime.

Henry Shukman is a teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage, and is the Guiding Teacher of Mountain Cloud Zen Center, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Henry is an award-winning poet and author of several books, including One Blade of Grass, which details his spiritual journey. And is excellent. His struggles and traumatic experiences as a youth, combined with a spontaneous awakening experience at age 19, paved the way for Henry to develop a well-rounded approach to spirituality and meditation – one that includes love for self and the world as its foundation.

Henry Shukman at Mountain Cloud Zen Center

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Host Michael Taft talks with teacher and author Ken McLeod about his insights into Vajrayana, spiritual practice as "choosing a way to live," the Tibetan idea of lam khyer, the power of prayer as a kind of raw, naked stance, why the seeds of spirituality need to be nurtured in secret, difficulties Westerners face when attempting to work within traditional Asian religious systems, and the true meaning of spirituality.

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His published works include The Great Path of Awakening, Wake Up to Your Life, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and A Trackless Path. 

Ken's website: Unfettered Mind

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Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about ways to understand nondual awareness and the progress of nondual meditation, including her own unique comparison between the Formless Realms of early Buddhist meditation and the Boundless Dimensions taught by Hameed Ali (aka Almaas) of the Diamond Approach.

Tina Rasmussen, Ph.D., began meditating at age 13, and has practiced in the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions for over 30 years. In 2003, she completed a year-long solo retreat, was later ordained as a Buddhist nun and became the first Western woman authorized to teach by renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Tina has been studied by the Yale Neuroscience Lab, and is the co-author of Practicing the Jhanas, as well as several books on human potential.

Tina Rasumussen’s website: luminousmindsangha.com

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Show Notes

00:44 - Intro

03:30 - The

core four practices of Buddhism that help us with the current crisis: shamatha,

vipassana, heart, and self-transcending practices

06:19 - How

Tina teaches shamatha (the Theravada way: anapanasati and brahmaviharas)

09:08 - The difference between anapanasati and pranayama

11:45 - The similarities and differences between the Theravadan and Tibetan practices

16:18 - How Tina teaches a hybrid set of Theravadan and Tibetan practices on retreat

18:44 - Shamatha is needed for stability

20:44 - The

different flavors of nonduality (unity/emptiness)

24:37 - The Buddhist map of the realms of existence (form/material realm:

physical/brahmaviharas; formless/immaterial realms:

1) boundless space;

2) boundless consciousness;

3) no-thingness/void;

4) neither perception nor non-perception;

5) the Deathless/Absolute/Nameless mystery)

28:53 - How ‘awareness’ is more fundamental than ‘consciousness’

30:55 - Comparison of the formless realms in Buddhism and in the Diamond Approach

(Ridhwan); how different spiritual traditions focus on different formless realms

35:35 – Differing views in Theravada and Vajrayana

37:51 - Integrating boundless love and shamatha practices in Tina’s teachings

43:00 - The non-personal practices of the Eastern traditions and the personal practices of

the Western traditions

44:08 - The synergy between spiritual and psychological technologies; the ‘inquiry’ practice

46:27 - Tina’s birth trauma and the importance of trauma work

53:10 - The inquiry way of working with aversion

55:46 - Suffering is optional

58:00 - Outro

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Shinzen Young talks with host Michael Taft about his new ideas around applying the systematic mindset of mindfulness meditation and the scientific method to the many challenges of human communication and miscommunication. Topics include the coming of Unified Mindfulness to China, the new phenomena of online retreats, training the spirit of science into mindfulness and communication, and much more.

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Vermont in the burgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. Learn more about Shinzen at his website: Shinzen.org

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Host Michael Taft talks about the phenomenon of spiritual bypassing, what it is, what it means for our practice, and whether it is as big of an issue as many seem to think, as well as the importance of having a meditation buddy, and the ageless tradition of the “soul friend.” 

Michael Taft’s website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with spiritual teacher and author Thomas Hübl about trauma and healing, aspects of collective and cultural trauma, Jungian psychology, meditation, spirituality, and much more.

Thomas Hübl is a contemporary mystic, international spiritual teacher, and author whose work seeks to integrate the core insights of the great wisdom traditions with the discoveries of modern science. Thomas’ teachings combine somatic awareness, advanced meditative practices, and analysis of multigenerational and collective trauma with transformational processes that address trauma and shadow issues. Since 2004 Thomas has been leading workshops, multi-year training programs, events and festivals, and is the author of the book Healing Collective Trauma.

Thomas Hübl's Website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and shamanic practitioner Spring Washam about the "dharma of Harriet Tubman," the inner vs. the outer journey of finding liberation, how the "meditation bubble" can actually block spiritual growth, bringing the wisdom of meditation to activism, the role of plant medicines in healing ourselves and our world, and much more.

Spring Washam is a well-known meditation teacher, author, and visionary leader based in California and Peru. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based healing practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founders and core teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA.  She received extensive training from Jack Kornfield, is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California, and has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for the last 20 years. In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices for over a decade. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, an organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom. Her writing and teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications such as Lions Roar, Tricycle, and Belief.net. She has been a guest on many popular podcasts and radio shows. She currently travels and teaches meditation retreats, workshops and classes worldwide.

Spring Washam's website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with science journalist, author, and podcaster David McRaney about how people do (and do not) change their minds, how brains form their view of reality, conspiracy theory, the method of "technique rebuttal" vs. "topic rebuttal,' QAnon, motivated reasoning, the psychology of belief, and much more.

David McRaney is a science journalist and an internationally bestselling author, podcaster, and lecturer who created You Are Not So Smart.

David began a blog writing about the psychology of reasoning in 2009. That blog became an internationally bestselling book published by Penguin in 2011, now available in 17 languages. His second book, You Are Now Less Dumb, released in July of 2013, and his third book, How Minds Change, all about how people do and do not update their beliefs and attitudes as indiviudals and cultures, will be released by Penguin in 2021. 

David currently hosts a bi-weekly, top-100 podcast about human judgment and decision-making, and travels around the planet giving lectures on the topics he covers in his books, blog, and podcast. In 2015, David appeared as himself in a national ad campaign for Reebok which he co-wrote. His writing has also been featured in campaigns for Heineken, Duck Tape, and others. He is currently working on a documentary about IQ and genius and a television show about how to better predict the impact of technological disruption.

- youarenotsosmart.com

- medium.com/@davidmcraney

- twitter.com/davidmcraney

- davidmcraney.com

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