Open Question

In this final episode of Open Question season one, Elizabeth speaks with Fleet Maull, prison activist, Buddhist practitioner, and author of "Dharma in Hell" and "Radical Responsibility." He has a fascinating story to tell us about his 14 years of Buddhist practice in prison, starting the first prison hospice program, and the practice of bearing witness. One of the messages Elizabeth took away from this conversation with Fleet, was the need to take ownership of one's life circumstances. Fleet uses the term "radical responsibility" to describe how agency comes from accepting our own karma. Fleet's example shows us that it is possible to find agency even in an environment like prison, which, by all conventional definitions, is the antithesis of freedom.

Elizabeth explores the value and potency of ritual in our personal lives, culture, and spiritual practice. She also shares a meaningful conversation she had with Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the head of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, about the role of ritual and ceremony in indigenous culture.

Lyla June Johnston is an indigenous environmental scientist, doctoral student, educator, community organizer and musician of Din-ay (or Navajo), Cheyenne, and European lineages. She is from Taos, NM. Elizabeth first encountered Lyla at The Festival of Faiths annual gathering in Louisville, KY. She was struck by Lyla's fierce presence, which she interpreted as a strong connection to the wisdom of her spiritual lineage. In this interview Elizabeth and Lyla discuss the nature of creativity, prayer, self love, and the notion that "all we have to do is change everything."

In this episode, Elizabeth guides us through a process of inquiry and meditation grounded in the path of the bodhisattva. These teachings provide us with a clear and practical directive for cultivating a healthy relationship with others. We often look at the "ego" as a hindrance to spiritual liberation, but here, the instructions not only suggest that we don't have to get rid of the ego, but rather make it as big as possible, in order to include others, and make them the recipients of the love and care, we usually only reserve for ourselves.

Elizabeth speaks with Lama Willa Miller, a teacher in the Kagud lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Willa is the spiritual director of Natural Dharma Fellowship, located in Boston. Starting from their initial meeting 35 years ago, Elizabeth and Lama Willa discuss entering a lineage, the value of mediation, and the significance of heartbreak. https://www.elizabethmattisnamgyel.com/lama-willa-miller

The natural expression of mind will never cease. To stop experience is not the point of meditation. The crucial question is: How do we poise the mind in meditation? Is there a way to clearly observe the rich energy of mind regardless of it expression? Is it possible to allow ourselves to have a full experience? …and perhaps even enjoy it?

Anam Thubten Rinpoche joins Elizabeth to discuss how, as spiritual practitioners, our traditions provide us with tools to work with challenge. In particular, their dialogue brings us to our "inner cemetery" - the shadowy territory of experience we often leave uncharted. https://www.elizabethmattisnamgyel.com/anam-thubten

In this episode, Elizabeth explores the term "Open Question" and how the practice of "Open Questioning" has been such a powerful approach along her own spiritual path. https://www.elizabethmattisnamgyel.com/OQpodcast-introduction