In this episode I’m joined by Dean Sluyter: meditation teacher, best-selling author of several books including his most recent ‘The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics’.

Dean recounts his fortunate upbringing, how he began to realise he had an unusually fast mind, and the early mystical experiences that would change his life in profound ways.

Dean talk about his parent’s radical left activism, and how one event caused him to re-examine his family’s beliefs.

Dean shares the arc of his spiritual life, including his psychedelic sadhu period, his twenty years as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation while teaching English at the illustrious Pingry School, his studies in Buddhism and Dzogchen, and why he now considers himself to be a spiritual elder.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/163-dharma-bums-guide-to-western-literature-dean-sluyter

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics Include:

00:00 - Intro

00:55 - Origins of the book

03:05 - Dean’s Moby Dick karma

04:02 - A literature primer

05:16 - Art comes through people

06:30 - Dean’s fortunate upbringing

07:55 - A special mind

09:01 - Spontaneous childhood mystical experiences

12:18 - The mystery of awakening experiences

16:13 - Is Dean spiritually talented?

17:48 - Teaching literature and enlightenment at the illustrious Pingry School

20:03 - Dean’s emotional and social development

21:51 - Radical left activism of Dean’s parents

24:40 - Being wrong is a precious opportunity

30:57 - The appeal of certainty

32:18 - How to examine one’s inherited views

36:59 - Dean’s psychedelic sadhu phase

42:35 - Encountering Transcendental Meditation

48:09 - Mood making enlightenment

52:09 - Making your day a practice

54:20 - Why Dean left TM

57:15 - True meditation is effortless

01:00:12 - Life after TM

01:05:17 - Interest in Buddhism and Dzogchen

01:06:39 - Studying with Ngakchang Rinpoche and Surya Dass.

01:07:45 - Umbanda explorations

01:09:31 - Becoming a spiritual elder

01:11:14 - Rupert Spira as a spiritual reality check

01:13:36 - Emily Dickinson’s pure nonduality

01:16:39 - Facing the impossible in art

01:17:44 - Dean’s writing routine

01:18:18 - Dean’s teaching activities

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To find out more about Dean Sluyter, visit:

- https://deansluyter.com/

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James