Ep. 216 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of Deep Transformation’s first episode in the What is Real Greatness Series, longtime spiritual teacher Jack Kornfield declares that in his experience real greatness is a greatness of heart. In Buddhism, greatness of heart is embodied in the ideal of the bodhisattva—one whose life is dedicated to the well-being of all. Embodying compassion is not a grim proposition, Jack explains, but a joy! The whole point of it being human happiness and inner freedom. Because of his deep understanding of compassion, Jack was invited to the Oslo Freedom Forum to counsel global activists on how to prevent burnout, and when talking to them about their outrage, he told them, “You do this because you care—that is not a loss of power, it’s actually the deep power. Tune into the care.” Greatness of heart is the great power.

Jack relates that the experience of awakening can be felt in different ways: it might feel like everything is love, perfection, emptiness, or freedom. For me, the channel is love and my practice is to love everyone, he explains. We have to love both the lion and the gazelle, he continues, and shares a poignant story of how very loving Ram Dass became towards the end of his life, loving everything, even his pain. When the conversation turns towards the potential demise of humanity, Jack wonders, will we be able to do something beneficial with our consciousness now that we’re aware that we are all connected? What is the spirit you want to lead with? he asks. What is the dance you want to do? A thoroughly thought provoking, nourishing, inspiring conversation. Recorded October 2, 2025.

“You think you’re separate – you think you exist. But you’re not who you think you are. You are consciousness in drag.”

1. You think you’re separate, but you’re not who you think you are (00:27)
2. The bodhisattva vow as aspiration, never off-duty (04:23)
3. What real greatness is changes with each turning of Buddhism (08:26)
4. The experience of awakening can be felt in different ways: love, perfection, emptiness, or freedom (12:19)
5. Jack’s channel & inspiration is love; and a story of how very loving Ram Dass became (19:00)
6. Teaching activists to remember to hold themselves in their own circle of compassion at the Oslo Freedom Forum (23:52)
7. Jack’s upcoming workshop: Inner Technology for Outer Technologists (29:18)
8. How do you embody the bodhisattva? Spiritual practice isn’t a grim duty—it’s actually joyful (31:08)
9. As Andre Gidé said, joy is our moral obligation (32:49)
10. What stands out to Jack about all the amazing people he’s encountered? (34:09)
11. When there’s a greatness of heart…that is the great power (35:04)
12. The hospice now is for humanity, not for Earth, which knows how to take care of itself (37:42)
13. What is the spirit you want to lead with? What is the dance you want to do? (40:18)
14. The end questions: Did I love well? Did I live fully? Did I learn to let go? (41:13)
15. Your purpose here is to deliver your cargo, your gifts (41:47)

1. Jack Kornfield, founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society, author of A Path with Heart and many more
2. Stanislav Grof, LSD: Doorway to the Numinous
3. Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das, Be Love Now: The Path of the Heart
4. The Oslo Freedom Forum, bringing together the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, journalists, artists, tech entrepreneurs & world leaders to brainstorm ways to unleash human potential around the globe
5. The Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
6. Nobel prize winner André Gide
7. Malidoma Patrice Somé, shaman, writer & workshop leader, primarily in the field of spirituality
8. Zen Master Seungsahn, The Compass of Zen

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Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India, and Burma. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. He is one of the key teachers to introduce mindfulness practice to the West, has taught internationally since 1974, and is the author of 17 books which have sold 2 million copies.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 215 (Part 1 of 2) | The first of Deep Transformation’s What is Real Greatness Series, this conversation with world-renowned meditation teacher Jack Kornfield is filled with beautiful teachings touching into the sacred at the heart of our lives and the point of our whole spiritual journey: to remember and embody our innate capacity to awaken and experience the reality of our own innate dignity and nobility. Respecting ourselves at the deepest level is what transforms us and transforms society too, Jack explains. “Do you hold yourself with nobility and respect?” he asks. “Can you remember your own beauty and dignity? Can you see it in others?”

The topic of greatness—real greatness—is woven throughout the dialogue, as Jack recounts the seed events of his own spiritual journey and ruminates on Roger’s question, what is the sacred question at the center of your life? This is a question Jack often asks his own students, and we are inspired to ponder it for ourselves, along with, if you were to write your own bodhisattva vow, what would it be? Jack is a master at inspiring us to live our ideals, to broaden the possibilities of our lives, and to remember the miracle of our existence. A warmly personal, deeply profound discussion. Recorded October 2, 2025.

“The beautiful thing about the bodhisattva ideal is that it becomes your intention… it becomes the setting of the compass of your heart.”

1. Introducing the first of Deep Transformation’s What is Real Greatness? series (00:38)
2. Introducing renowned meditation teacher, prolific author, and clinical psychologist Jack Kornfield (03:09)
3. In discussing real greatness, Jack advises not to throw out money & power as being unworthy (04:47)
4. The story of Emperor Ashoka, who shifted from seeking outer greatness to seeking inner greatness: peace of mind and heart (07:49)
5. How the Buddha turned the Hindu caste system on its head, honoring young monks for their innate nobility (13:17)
6. Can you remember your own beauty & dignity? Can you see it in others? (16:19)
7. Each of us has a sacred question at the center of our lives, what’s been Jack’s? (17:30)
8. Jack’s first draw to Buddhism: suffering and the relief from suffering (21:08)
9. The seeds of our sacred journeys: the path doesn’t go from here to there but from there to here (24:15)
10. It’s completely weird that we exist! (25:40)
11. King Ashoka & other historical figures, good candidates for the What is Real Greatness Series (27:13)
12. Do we ask ourselves, “How do I live?” (28:28)
13. The beautiful thing about the bodhisattva ideal is that it becomes the setting of the compass of your heart (31:32)
14. The prayer with which the Dalai Lama begins his day (36:37)
15. Ideals illuminate the possibilities of how we might live (38:39)
16. If you were to write your own bodhisattva vow… what would it be? (40:47)
17. Sometimes it’s suffering and sometimes it’s an awakening experience that draws us to spirituality (44:28)
18. Jane Goodall, interspecies bodhisattva, and the story of Joanna Macy’s wake (47:37)

1. Jack Kornfield, founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society
2. Mind & Life Institute, bringing science & contemplative wisdom together to better understand the mind and create positive change in the world
3. Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
4. Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology
5. Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy Right Where You Are
6. Emperor Ashoka the Great is credited with an important role in spreading Buddhism across ancient Asia
7. Dr. Wing-tsit Chan, Chinese scholar and professor
8. T. S. Eliot, “…the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time, ” from Eliot’s 1942 poem “Little Gidding”
9. Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
10. Shantideva, 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet & scholar
11. Diane Ackerman’s poem “School Prayer,” “In the name of daybreak… I offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature…”
12. The Sufi tradition of Sohbet
13. Trudy Goodman, founding teacher of InsightLA and co-founder of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy
14. Remembering Jane Goodall
15. Joanna Macy, beloved environmental activist, author & scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology

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Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India, and Burma. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. He is one of the key teachers to introduce mindfulness practice to the West, has taught internationally since 1974, and is the author of 17 books which have sold 2 million copies.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 214 (Part 2 of 2) | Part 2 of the 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series takes us on a sweet journey farther into our exploration of the nature of the absolute. Hameed Ali discusses the paradox of the absolute, being both source and cessation of all things, the nonduality of emptiness and beingness, these being two sides of the same coin, and explains why many nondual teachings do not touch upon the absolute. He makes sense of the difficult-to-fathom concept of pure emptiness, explaining that the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence—and relates that Mystery is the essence of the absolute, the fundamental essence of the nature of reality. “We are never going to know where it’s at, what’s happening, what life is about,” he laughs. Our knowledge is but “small islands in the vast ocean of mystery we live in;” mystery cannot be eliminated.

In the absolute, the soul finds its final resting place, Hameed tells us. The absolute is our true home—the essence of the meaning of home. All humans are searching for their true home, Hameed says, and they search in many places. But here the search is over. Reflections of the absolute bring us closer to love, like when we are in love, Hameed continues. Being in love with an outer beloved brings us closer to the inner beloved and we see deeper. “The absolute is total intimacy, Hameed finishes. “In the absolute we are intimate with everything.” How do we express this in the world, in our ordinary lives? “It becomes very simple,” Hameed says. “The absolute is the essence of simplicity—so simple, even though there is a profundity…” Recorded October 9, 2025.

“You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality.”

1. Emptiness is nondual with consciousness, two sides of the same thing (01:03)
2. Many nondual teachings don’t talk about the absolute (02:50)
3. You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality (03:32)
4. There’s no sense of individual self, but some teachings take the absolute as the ultimate Self (04:52)
5. Making sense of pure emptiness: the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence (09:47)
6. The absolute is the essence of mystery (12:59)
7. Experiencing all phenomena as projections of the absolute (13:57)
8. The absolute reveals that true nature itself is unmanifest (17:58)
9. Mystery is the nature of the absolute; the absolute IS mystery (19:08)
10. The absolute is the extreme limit of purity; the heart empty of everything except the love of God (23:13)
11. We live in an ocean of mystery; what we know are little islands (25:07)
12. The search ends in the absolute; the soul is home (27:32)
13. Reflections of the absolute bring us closer to love, like when we are in love (32:28)
14. The absolute can pour itself into a manifest being expressing itself in the world: beyond realization to actualization (33:46)
15. The absolute is the essence of simplicity, even though there is a profundity… (35:23)
16. The absolute is total intimacy; we are intimate with everything (38:28)

1. A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
2. A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
3. Stanislav Grof writes about the plenum void in Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy
4. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
5. Kashmir Shaivism
6. Longchenpa: A Guide For Readers (Shambhala)
7. Samaneri Jayasāra’s YouTube readings: The Wisdom of the Masters
8. Samaneri Jayasāra on the Deep Transformation podcast: Creating Priceless Gifts of Wisdom
9. Huston Smith’s autobiography, Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine
10. The Ten Ox Herding Pictures from the Zen tradition
11. Isaac Newton, “… to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore…”

The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

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Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 213 (Part 1 of 2) | The 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series is about the absolute, the source dimension of all manifestation, deeper than any other dimension, the vastness beyond vastness. In Part 1, Hameed gives a wonderful description of the majesty and the blackness of the absolute, and tells the story of when he first experienced being one with the absolute himself. When Roger Walsh asks him, what are the doorways to the absolute, Hameed talks about mystical poverty and also the way of the heart. “When the true beloved shines through the heart, it’s an amazing ecstasy… a mindblowing kind of beauty,” he says. He discusses the fear people often feel as they approach cessation of all perception, and the need for the basic trust we were born with (which often gets clobbered as we grow up) to proceed. What changes after an experience of the absolute? John Dupuy asks. If one abides in this realization, it cleanses the soul of all impurities, and our action embodies the virtues, Hameed answers.

In Part 2, which will be released December 25th, Hameed delves into the paradox of the absolute (the absolute is the elimination, the annihilation, the cessation of all things—and the source of all things), the nonduality of emptiness and awareness, and explains that mystery is the essence of the absolute: the absolute IS mystery, he says. There is laughter all around when Hameed says you can never completely “get” it, because there’s nothing there to get! Your mind disappears as you’re trying to get it. Towards the end, the conversation relaxes so deeply into the subject of the absolute, you can just about feel its presence. We become intimate with everything in the absolute, Hameed says. It is the soul’s final resting place, our true home, where the search ends. Recorded October 9, 2025.

“The absolute itself is majesty, and the universe that emerges is beauty.”

• Introducing dialogue #16 in the 
• A.H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the source dimension, the apex of Hameed’s book The Inner Journey Home (00:41)
• “By simply witnessing the process of manifestation… the soul experiences itself as a vast silent witness… discovering a dimension deeper than any other, the absolute” (02:18)
• Being the absolute, one experiences an emptiness so empty there is no sensation (05:29)
• Cessation of perception, as the Buddha called it, was exactly Hameed’s experience (09:57)
• Neglected teachings of Nisargadatta: awareness that is not aware of itself can be experienced as “rock-like” (11:26)
• The story of Hameed’s first experience of the absolute (15:19)
• Is the absolute the destination? What is cessation? Is it the same as the absolute? (16:47)
• What changes after an experience of the absolute? (21:00) 
• The absolute is majesty, the universe that emerges is beauty (23:18)
• The flowering of virtues follows true realization (24:24)
• The spiritual path has two sides: knowing who you are and living it (26:03)
• Moving towards cessation, people feel terror (26:53)
• Trust is essential; the more we are loved as an infant, the more we trust (28:25)
• What are the doorways into the realization of the absolute? (32:02)
• Mystical poverty is one doorway; the recognition that the soul has nothing of its own—it all comes from the Source (35:29)
• There is also the way of the heart, finding the true beloved within (38:03)

• A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Beloved: The Heart’s Journey to Divine Unity
• Ramana Maharshi, Hindu sage and liberated being
• Dzogchen’s dharmakāya
• The black light in Sufism (see Henry Corbin’s The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism and others)
• Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, “I am rock-like; awareness that is not aware of itself”
• Advaita Vedanta
• St. John of the Cross talks about black light in The Dark Night of the Soul
• Erik Erikson, Childhood and Society : The Landmark Work on the Social Significance of Childhood
• Ibn Arabi, Sufi mystic, poet, philosopher, “… look for me in the heart of my lovers”

The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

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Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more. 

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 212 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the compelling conversation with SAND founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, the discussion turns to the making of their 2021 documentary film about the tragic injustices inflicted upon Palestinians in the West Bank. Where Olive Trees Weep is a very beautiful, heartbreaking, and eye opening film we highly recommend to our listeners. “How do we stop the violence?” asks co-host John Dupuy. No one knows the answer, but “each of us can find a way to alleviate the suffering in Palestine now as we grapple with the question of how to stop the wounds that continue to bleed,” Zaya and Maurizio contend. “We can stand for justice, food, and human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians and fight for their freedom.” 

Spiritual communities are mostly quiet on this issue, Zaya mentions. But “it’s not a political issue,” she says, “it’s a human issue—we are losing our humanity. If we believe in oneness, we need to face our discomfort and turn towards the pain, towards the suffering. Discomfort is the very essence of the issue on a psychological and archetypal level,” Zaya adds. Zaya and Maurizio are also working on a remarkable series of films called The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth teachings from Indigenous communities around the world. To date, they have released The Eternal Song, Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, and most recently If an Owl Calls Your Name. Thank you, Zaya and Maurizio, for contributing your gifts in these stunning films, so poignant and important in these disconnected, turbulent times, and for sharing your extraordinary wisdom with our Deep Transformation listeners. Recorded October 16, 2025.

“Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time. We are all one; we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos.”

• Making the 2021 film Where Olive Trees Weep, about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank (00:58)
• Making films about the effects of colonization all over the world (04:36)
• The more hateful the emails Zaya & Mauriozio received, the more they answered & engaged (06:01)
• There are 80 years of history behind the conflict in Palestine; everywhere you look there’s injustice (06:57)
• Apartheid in Palestine is maybe more extreme than in South Africa (10:26)
• What can we do about Gaza now? Stand for justice, food & human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians & fight for their freedom (12:37)
• Netanyahu is not the problem, the system is rotten to the core (15:20)
• How do we stop the violence? (18:49)
• Acknowledging the beauty & power of Zaya & Maurizio’s Where Olive Trees Weep (20:37)
• The silence about Gaza in most spiritual communities: if we believe in oneness, we need to turn towards the suffering (25:38) 
• Thanking Zaya & Maurizio for the film, and tales of the transformative effects of engaging with senders of hate mail (29:26)
• Zaya & Maurizio’s movie The Eternal Song came out in June 2025, but they are making many more films in Indigenous communities, like If an Owl Calls Your Name (link below) (34:10)
• Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time—we are all one, and we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos (37:57)

• Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, founders of the Science & Nonduality Conference
• The Wisdom of Trauma featuring Gabor Maté, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
• Where Olive Trees Weep, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
• Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
• Meital Yaniv, Bloodlines
• Tara Brach, courageous spiritual teacher
• John Dupuy’s song, Ukraine! on YouTube
• The Eternal Song, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo 
• Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo 
• If an Owl Calls Your Name, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo

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Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience. Together they have produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, Where Olive Trees Weep, Mauri, and If an Owl Calls Your Name. 

Zaya and Maurizio live, work, and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people, in Sebastopol, California.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 211 (Part 1 of 2) | Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo are not only the founders of the longstanding and highly regarded Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND), but also brilliant filmmakers, producing stunning documentaries about the injustice and suffering occurring in Palestine and elsewhere, as well as films that feature the eternal wisdom of elders from Indigenous communities around the world. Zaya and Maurizio are clearly passionate about their work, and co-host Roger Walsh points out they do a beautiful job of intertwining the personal, professional, and spiritual into an offering that meets the needs of our time. As Maurizio says, “There is no spiritual work. Period. Everything is spiritual work! It’s life.”

In Part 1 of this episode, lively and inspired, Zaya and Maurizio share what they’ve learned about life, spirituality, trauma, healing, guidance, and the deep-time perspective of the Maori. They relate the trajectory of SAND’s evolution from featuring male-dominated nondual teachings to including an understanding of trauma, somatic healing, feminine, earth-oriented teachings, and Indigenous wisdom. “Healing never ends; it’s a lifelong journey—there’s no modern solution that will ‘fix’ you,” Zaya tells us. Also, “We are constantly being guided if we just listen.”

In Part 2, Zaya and Maurizio describe the making of their 2021 documentary about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, a beautiful, heartbreaking film called Where Olive Trees Weep. Also their film The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth Indigenous teachings, so valuable and timely for us now in our chaotic, disconnected world. This whole conversation is thought provoking, delightful, profound, paradigm shifting, and inspiring all at once. Recorded October 16, 2025.

“There is no spiritual work without trauma work.”

• Introducing Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, documentary filmmakers & founders of the Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND) (00:57)
• Tracing the trajectory of Zaya & Maurizio’s work, beginning in India (02:24)
• What was Nisargadatta Maharaj’s legacy? (03:47)
• Putting science and mystics together: the seed that created SAND (06:35)
• How SAND evolved from male-dominated nondual teachings to include the body, an understanding of trauma, and female & Indigenous teachers (08:18)
• Feminizing spiritual teachings: women mystics & their connection with the Earth (12:38)
• SAND focuses on educating the audience to be open, ask good questions, rather than uplifting particular teachers (16:09)
• How the film The Wisdom of Trauma with Gabor Maté went viral (20:08)
• All of life is spiritual work, and there’s no spiritual work without trauma work, but spiritual bypassing was very real at SAND (24:13)
• With Maté’s understanding about trauma, people find they’re not alone and they don’t need to “fix” the pain (26:39)
• Healing is a lifelong journey; trauma is systemic and intergenerational (32:08)
• The deep-time perspective and how the Maori trace their ancestors back to the stars (33:22)
• Indigenous teachers say we heal backwards and we heal forwards; nothing is individual, we are all interconnected (34:54)
• Now is the time for the Long Dark, not the time for the search for the light (38:52)
• We are all here for a purpose, and we are constantly being guided if we just listen (42:31)
• The suffering of today’s youth, isolated and without elders (45:00)

• Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, founders of the Science & Nonduality Conference
• Zaya & Maurizio’s first movie together: The Rays of the Absolute: The Legacy of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
• Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
• Dr. Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
• The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (on the Deep Transformation podcast)
• The Wisdom of Trauma featuring Gabor Maté, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
• Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
• Francis Weller: The Long Dark (YouTube video)
• Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History (the cycle of withdrawal and return)
• Where Olive Trees Weep, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo

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Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience. Together they have produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, Where Olive Trees Weep, Mauri, and If an Owl Calls Your Name. 

Zaya and Maurizio live, work, and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people, in Sebastopol, California.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 210 (Part 3 of 3) | In Part 3 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali speaks about the evolutionary aspect of the creative dynamism of the universe. He explains there is an optimizing, transformative force that is responsible for one form changing to another, like a caterpillar to a butterfly. This developmental force is in alignment with Western concepts of evolution and progress, and applies to spiritual realization, too. There is also an optimizing force specific to the human soul, Hameed tells us, that fuels the hearts that burn with the desire for liberation. This is the force responsible for spiritual development. In Buddhism it is called bodhicitta, the desire for enlightenment.

Why do some people have a fierce desire to seek the truth, asks co-host Roger Walsh, but many do not? Hameed replies that most people are busy making a living, doing their best to get by. In this case the transformative force remains a potential but is not actualized. Seekers possessed by the flame of the search turn inward, asking, What is God? What is truth? What is reality? Scientists look at this externally, he says, but it is the inward turn that reveals the source of the inner fire, the logos, the word that speaks through our souls and through our hearts. Towards the end of the conversation, Hameed laughs at how upside down things are with us looking for answers everywhere but within and thinking the logos speaks through who we think we are, not realizing we ourselves actually are the logos. If we realize who we truly are, he says, the world itself becomes richer. Another infinitely inspiring talk with A. H. Almaas, filled with astonishing wisdom and loving humor. Recorded September 11, 2025.

“Be attentive to the inner calling. Inner pleasure far surpasses outer pleasure.”

• The developmental aspect of creative dynamism & the Western concept of evolution, of progress (00:39)
• Development is part of the order, the progression of one form to another, the process of maturation, like spiritual realization (03:36)
• The universe has an optimizing, transformative force, like a caterpillar to a butterfly (09:02)
• There is also an optimizing force specific to the human soul, where hearts burn with desire for liberation; this is responsible for spiritual development (11:41) 
• Why do some people have this desire and most do not? (13:44)
• In the Western world, spiritual realization is a luxury; in the East there is some support for people pursuing realization (17:08)
• Intensifying & purifying spiritual aspiration with practice: we find pleasure when the soul turns inward (19:13)
• Be attentive to this inner calling: know thyself (22:40)
• The flame of the search reveals the source of the inner fire, the logos, the word that is speaking through our souls, our hearts (25:02)

• A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
• Mahamudra’s one taste, the third of the Four Stages of Yoga
• Dzogchen
• Ramana Maharshi
• Markabah, the second diamond vehicle to appear, is the vehicle of pleasure, understanding pleasure from the spiritual perspective

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The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

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Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 209 (Part 2 of 3) | In Part 2 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali delves into the very creation of reality by the logos, the source of all life. Logos (an ancient Greek term) is often considered to mean “word,” but Hameed uses it in its deeper sense, where logos is not only the word but also the speaker—the living field of manifestation. The soul is very similar to the logos, Hameed adds, with the same sense of flow, dynamism, and creativity. Hameed points out that the universe could have been created haphazardly, but because it was created in an orderly fashion, it allows for our lives to be meaningful. And, he continues, it is the dimension of love implicit in the logos that brings a beautiful sense of harmony, love, and gratitude to the human soul.

What about all the disharmony in the world? co-host Roger Walsh asks. How can genocide happen in a world that is divinely harmonious? To help explain this, Hameed uses the human body as an example of two perspectives that co-exist: from the perspective of time, we die, he says, but from the perspective of the particle, all is perfect. Hameed also describes his personal experience of being aligned with the creative dynamism of the logos, creating himself and the world anew each moment, like the way frames in a movie are constantly being replaced. The more we live this, he says, the more we bring harmony to the world. Join us also for Part 3 of this deep and intriguing dive into the nature of reality, where Hameed continues to talk about creative dynamism and the logos, and explains how this pertains to our own individual spiritual evolution. Recorded September 11, 2025.

“For the divine all is harmony, but for us human beings, it looks like mayhem.”

• The soul is very similar to the logos, with the same sense of flow, dynamism & creativity (00:42)
• Quantum theory says the field is generated by physical phenomena—but the logos is created out of spiritual mass, it’s the living field of manifestation (01:25)
• The universe is alive and the logos is the source of all life (05:25)
• Creative dynamism is a nondual dynamism that brings order to the universe; this creative order is what makes our lives meaningful (05:50)
• An intelligence has created the universe so that it knows itself (09:42)
• All forms in the nondual are basically noetic forms, and the logos is an unfoldment of these forms (11:30)
• If the dimension of love is implicit in the logos, it brings a beautiful sense of harmony, love & gratitude to the human soul (12:35)
• What about all the disharmony in the world? For the divine all is harmony, but for us human beings, it looks like mayhem (13:24)
• Take the example of the human body: from the perspective of time we die, from the perspective of the particle it’s all perfect (14:47)
• Hameed’s experience of creating himself and the world each moment (17:01)
• The dualistic world is not an illusion; it’s one way the logos manifests reality (21:18)
• Direct transmission: the Black Hat Ceremony of the 16th Karmapa (22:30)
• In the Diamond Approach, transmission happens through words; the word is not separate from the state (25:59)
• The word transmission is a misnomer; it’s a direct invocation (28:53)

• A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
• Federico Faggin, Italian-American physicist, engineer, inventor
• The Great Perfection, Center for Contemplative Research
• Advaita Vedanta
• Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, the Black Hat Ceremony

The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

---

Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 208 (Part 1 of 3) | In Part 1 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us about the dynamic, creative force that generates our reality. “Dynamism is constant,” Hameed explains, “it never stops—it is constantly creating what we experience, what we perceive.” Hameed calls this nondual dimension of true nature—of our nature—creative dynamism. How do you explain change, he asks, if it’s not happening in time, and all of reality is one fabric, nondual? The dynamism Hameed speaks of, ongoing and total, has a radical implication: the entire universe is re-created, instant by instant. Not only the physical dimension, Hameed adds, but all dimensions—mental, emotional, and spiritual—are re-created anew.

As co-host Roger Walsh points out, Hameed’s teachings come from direct experience, and Hameed describes his own mind-blowing experience of the moment-by-moment re-creation of himself and the world in Part 2 of this dialogue. Nothing persists, he discovers, movement is not continual. In Part 1, Hameed also explores the subjects of free will, action, and choice as addressed from a nondual perspective, and the fact that we and our actions emerge from the totality of reality. As always, Hameed transmits his joy and exuberance at the mysterious and marvelous ways true nature expresses itself, and it is exciting to realize our own nature is as dynamic, creative, flowing and changing, as the universe. Recorded September 11, 2025.

“All of reality is part of one unified fabric, so what does it mean when a bird flies from one place to another?”

• Introducing dialogue #15 in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the chapter “Logos & Creative Dynamism” in 
• The Inner Journey Home (01:11)
• How do other spiritual traditions explain change? (03:05)
• Opening to the fact that our true nature has dynamism and flow (05:51)
• Where does the word the "logos" come from? (07:07)
• Radical dynamism: the entire universe is re-created, instant by instant (09:58)
• Replacement: reality is replaced each instant, just like in the movies when one screen replaces the last (13:13)
• Not just the physical dimension, but all dimensions—mental, emotional & spiritual—are created anew (18:51)
• Free will, action, choice addressed from a nondual perspective (21:15)
• We need to acknowledge our choice-making capacity and the fact that we and our actions are emerging from the totality of reality (24:49)
• Dynamism shows we don’t need the “doer”—the universe is what “does” (27:09)
• The teaching of transitoriness (30:20)
• Each soul is a ripple in the ocean, a part of what is being constantly recreated (30:49)

• A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
• Advaita Vedanta
• Dzogchen
• Mahamudra
• Kashmir Shaivism
• The Sufi doctrine of “Renewing of Creation at each instant,” Introduction to Sufi Doctrine, chapter 10 (pdf)
• Logos

The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

---

Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Ep. 207 (Part 2 of 2) | In this extraordinary, compelling conversation, visionary, activist, and long-time politician, former Governor of California Jerry Brown gets right to the heart of the things that matter most. From truth seeking on an individual level (the importance of inquiring into the depths of our reality), to the challenge of our democracy (getting a consensus in a population that has no coherence), to the problem of leadership (now it’s all about winning, which works on the football field but not for international relations), the fear and greed that drive the arms race (we’re not talking about the arms issue, and to not talk about it is to be complicit), and the existential danger of nuclear war (as important as it is underreported), Jerry nails the essence of our most pressing issues. 

Jerry’s deep concern about the existential threats we face today, such as nuclear war and climate change, is matched by his enthusiasm for life and excitement over the fact that the future is unknowable. “We have to turn,” he says, “and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn.” We discover some of the key formative events that shaped Jerry’s keenly discerning character, so evident throughout his career and still today in his eighties, and why co-host Roger Walsh describes him as a “force of nature.” This conversation is thoroughly enjoyable, inspirational, eye opening, and disturbing too. “We are on the brink, but no one wants to hear it,” Jerry says. “How do you speak the truth in a way it can be heard?” Recorded August 7, 2025.

“The future is unknown, so don’t conclude that all is dark – or that all is bright! It’s unknown, so as long as we’re breathing and functioning, we have a lot to do.”

• Waking up with enthusiasm, excitement, and inherent appreciation (01:06)
• What is Jerry engaged in right now? (03:34)
• Roger’s summary of the global issues facing us today (05:50)
• The nuclear danger is as important as it is underreported, and the key to proliferation is fear (07:17)
• The ICBM Caucus (11:38)
• Not talking about the arms issue is to be complicit (13:52)  
• Sitting with the question, what can I do? (16:19)
• Social and political recognition of danger is so very important (18:12)
• We have to turn and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn (19:01)
• The future is unknowable, so we do what we can (20:05)
• Living in inquiry, the quest for truth (22:44)
• Why was Jerry drawn to work for the good of the environment? (23:47)
• The Jesuit belief in eternal damnation (27:55)
• What you can derive from Zen (30:45)
• Becoming individuators on the developmental path (33:15)
• What does Jerry wish he’d known sooner? (34:49)
• There’s always more to be learned (37:29)

• Jerry Brown, Chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley
• Ernest Samuels, Henry Adams
• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
• William Hartung & Ben Freeman, The Trillion Dollar War Machine
• Inside the ICBM Lobby: Special Interests or the Public Interest (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
• Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate and political activist
• Daniel Ellsberg, political activist, economist, and U.S. military analyst
• Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day
• St. Ignatius’ Meditations

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Jerry Brown was born in San Francisco on April 7, 1938. He was elected Trustee for the LA Community College District in 1969, California Secretary of State in 1970, and Governor of California in 1974 and 1978. After his governorship, he lectured and traveled widely, practiced law, served as chair of the California Democratic Party and ran for president. Brown was elected Mayor of Oakland in 1998, California Attorney General in 2006, and Governor again in 2010 and 2014. Brown currently serves as chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley, executive chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, chair of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Advisory Board, on the board of the Council on Criminal Justice, and as chair of the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy, one of two public charter schools he founded in Oakland more than 20 years ago.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell