The Alchemical Mind

Rumi was a thirteenth century Muslim poet and mystic who is often touted as one of the more famous mystics to ever come out of the Islamic world. His poetry has been read by billions of people over the past eight hundred years and with good reason. He is not only a master of language, but someone who truly understood the deep and mystical aspects of the universe. Rumi comes from the Sufi tradition of Islam, so I briefly discuss what that is before diving into the poetry and it's meaning.

On this episode of The Alchemical Mind, I dive into the mystical aspects of his poetry by reading and analyzing a small selection. If you'd like to read more of his poetry pick up a copy of The Essential Rumi. Through Rumi's poetry, I discuss fear, embracing the darkness and the light, dealing with societal norms, and more. Even if you're not very familiar with Islam and Sufism, Rumi's work is well worth reading. Knowledge and understanding can come from every mystical tradition, and Sufism is a particularly beautiful one. If you enjoyed this episode, look for part two in the coming weeks.

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Music provided by Kabbalistic Village. Huge thanks!

"The kingdom of God is within you," says the famous quote from Luke 17:21. Yesterday, the president of the United States asked that all places of worship reopen to the public so people can worship God, as this should be an essential service. Is this true? Do we need to enter a "holy" place in order to gain some insight into the divine? Do we need to follow the words of some type of guru to gain any mystical insight?

On this episode of The Alchemical Mind, I dive into this topic and how we have lost our personal relationship with the divine in the Western world. I dive into a beautiful quote from Rumi on the subject as well as reading a passage from the Gospel of Thomas that discusses how to find a connection with the divine and finding the kingdom of god. If you would like to read the Gospel of Thomas on your own, check out the following Amazon link. You can also read the full text of The Blind Men and The Elephant mentioned on this episode right here.

After you listen to this episode, you may want to listen the last episode, Krishnamurti on meditation, authority, and fear, to prepare for a series of upcoming episodes on those topics. 

Krishnamurti was an amazing mystic and philosopher. He was born in India in 1895 and led a fascinating life as a member of Theosophy. He was brought into the organization at the age of 14 and regarded as the next World Teacher, a person born to usher in a new era for mankind, according to Theosophy. While it can be argued he lived a life of leisure as a result of his position, Krishnamurti rejected his mentors and followers and dissolved the Order of the Star of the East, an organization created to support the idea of him as the World Teacher.

This episode of the podcast is something new. It is the start series serving to introduce you to people who truly understand what lies beyond the veil of illusion.

For the first episode of this series, I have chosen one of my favorite speeches from Krishnamurti in which he discusses the true purpose of meditation, what authority is, why you give it away, why you give into fear, and so much more. This speech was chosen as an introduction to some deeply important topics I'll be diving into on the podcast over the next few episodes. Be sure to subscribe to get those episodes as they come out. It also serves as a bridge between some of the topics we have discussed over the last several weeks. Now that we have begun established some of the basics, it's time to dive in deep, so get ready.

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On the latest episode of The Alchemical Mind podcast, I bring you a guided shamanic breathwork meditation. This is a practice I perform at least a couple of times a week in order to recenter myself, so I hope you will try it and incorporate it into your own practice. If you'd like to learn more about shamanic breathwork, be sure to check out the last episode Simple Meditation Techniques To Quiet Your Mind.

If you'd like to learn more about shamanic breathwork on your own, there are some great books available on the topic. As always, do your own research and try what works for you. You are it.

Meditation has become ever more popular and chances are that even if you've never tried any type of mediation - and I bet you have - you have a general idea of what meditation involves. Since we recently dove into the problem with the monkey mind, I wanted to take a bit of time to dive into a few simple meditation techniques which have been invaluable for me to achieve some peace and mental quietude.

As always, you can get a full transcript of this episode by visiting The Alchemical Mind. If you haven't done so yet, don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Twitter, @mindalchemical, and Instagram, @thealchemicalmind.

For the third episode of The Alchemical Mind podcast, Martin dives into one of his favorite ancient texts, the Upanishads. What are the Upanishads and what can they teach us about ourselves? Can such an ancient text guide us into finding a deeper understanding of why we do the things we do?

This episode was originally published as an installment of The Bibliophile Adventures. You can find the Upanishads to read for free over at Sacred Texts. You can also purchase a copy directly through our Amazon affiliate link.

If you enjoyed this episode, contact Martin directly on Twitter, Instagram, or e-mail. Feel free to leave us a voice message via Anchor.fm.

As the world continues to deal with the current worldwide pandemic, you may find yourself filled with stress and worries which are beyond your control. You worry about washing your hands. You worry if you've washed your produce well enough. Will you be able to find toilet paper on your next visit to the store? This is an attitude that forms the basis for the monkey mind. Let's take some time to understand what the monkey mind is, how it arises, and why we allow it to be.

You can find a full transcript of this episode at The Alchemical Mind.

In this introductory episode of The Alchemical Mind podcast, Martin discusses how the podcast will differ from and complement the written site content. We will also discuss what to expect from the show. I hope the concepts presented in the podcast will generate both internal and external discussions. If you want, you can contact Martin directly on Twitter @mindalchemical, on Instagram @thealchemicalmindcom, or via e-mail at [email protected].