The New Monastics

In this episode, we have a roundtable discussion of spiritual issues with psychotherapist, Lisa Chatham. In Part I, we talk about the complex legacies of brilliant spiritual teachers, like Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who are associated with inappropriate behavior or scandals. In Part II, we explore the spirituality of our most distant past in European and Middle-Eastern cave art and artifacts, and the spiritual futurism and metaphor of Star Wars. In Part III, we discuss the role and importance of technology in our lives and how we can deal with it spiritually.

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Born in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Grandmother Arapata is a healer who holds the indigenous lineages of both the Maori and Samoan ancestral bloodlines.

In this episode we talk about Grandmother Arapata’s upbringing with traditional teachings, the stigmas of colonization, the different challenges of indigenous peoples in the United States and New Zealand, reclaiming lost traditions, trusting chaos and intuition, working with the womb and generational pain (in the seen and unseen worlds), as well as injuries from power and greed. We also discuss appropriation and cultural reclamation among colonizing peoples, treating the whole being,  the necessity of play and joy for re-rooting, working with men, 'whiteness' and the white-washing of culture and indigeneity, learning from and giving to our ancestors, the relationship of creativity to healing, and the necessity of pain in healing.

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Nataraja Kallio is a scholar-practitioner of Yoga and Hindu tantra. He is the Chair of the B.A. Yoga Studies program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and the co-designer of Naropa’s M.A. Yoga Studies program.

In this episode, we discuss Kallio’s upbringing in an American Hindu spiritual community, his travels in India and meetings with his guru, the origins of Hindu tantra (utilizing “the fecund material of our existence”), the spectrum of tantric deities, the transformation of intense emotions to crack the shell of identity, the pros and cons of asceticism, desire, the story of Shankaracharya and the exploration of the flesh, the story of Shiva and the forest ascetics, authentic and inauthentic tantra, neo-tantra and the western obsession with sex, cultural appropriation, epicureanism and sacralization, the ‘tantric’ dimension of all religions, and the treasure of spiritual friendship.

Nataraja Kallio

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Lily Fangz is a respected Colorado-based hip-hop artist and freestyle performer, who  brings an authentic presence to the stage. Her lyrics are playful, introspective, and often spiritually-oriented. Lily is also a talented visual artist and public speaker with a background in science.

In this episode, we explore the connections between public artistic performance and spiritual teaching, how each may be responsive to the ‘living moment’ and draw on an unseen source. We also discuss art and ritual, tuning oneself or others to the right ‘frequency,’ training and performance, connecting to the body, ‘subversive spirituality,’ self-purifying inspiration, trust and curiosity, true vocation, facing our fears, and becoming comfortable with the unknown and mystery.

Instagram: Lily Fangz

Bandcamp: Lily Fangz

TED Talk by Lily Fangz

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Rabbi Or N. Rose is a scholar of Hasidism and Neo-Hasidism who is deeply involved in interreligious dialogue. He is the Director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership at Hebrew College in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, and co-editor of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi: Essential Teachings.

In this episode, we explore Rabbi Rose’s interest in interreligious understanding, the distinction between interreligious dialogue and ‘deep ecumenism,’ ideals and reality in dialogue, and the dialogue of the head, heart, and hands. We then turn to the relationships between Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and the Reverend Howard Thurman and Father Thomas Merton. We also explore the origins of Hasidism and Neo-Hasidism, what it means to be a Neo-Hasid from a personal perspective, the spiritual practices of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and the tension between universalism and particularism in Judaism.

Miller Center for Interreligous Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College

With Head and Heart: The Autobiography of Howard Thurman

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In this episode, we have a roundtable discussion of spiritual issues with our friend, Deepa Patel. In Part I, we explore the question of what it means to take a vow of silence in our world, and talk about the value and meaning of silence. In Part II, we talk about the difficulty of changing ourselves or anyone else when we are not necessarily vulnerable to change. And in Part III, we dig into the problems of living a spiritual life ‘in the world’ amid the concerns of work and paying bills, not to mention the corrupting influences of capitalism.

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Dr. Edward W. Bastian is an American-born filmmaker, scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, member of the Snowmass Conference, founder of the Spiritual Paths Institute, and the author of Interspiritual Meditation and Mandala. In this episode, we discuss how he found his way to Buddhism, the importance of learning-styles in religions, his meeting with Father Thomas Keating and experiences with the Snowmass Conference, the emergence of the interspiritual, the creation of an interspiritual meditation process, the seven steps of Interspiritual Meditation, the structure of tantric practice, interspiritual ‘processes’ versus ‘practices,’ and the mandala as a discernment tool for spiritual seekers.

Links:

Spiritual Paths Institute

Spiritual Paths Book Series:
Interspiritual Meditation, Mandala, & Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice

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Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project  where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer and facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine, and profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.

In this episode, we discuss Chris's personal journey,  her discovery of the Wild Woman Archetype, starting the Wild Woman Project, how the Project has unfolded, the 'superpowers' of women, future visions for humanity,  Tolkien's idea of art as 'real,' the 'architecture of circle,'  and  Charis Foundation's interspiritual dialogues.

Links:

The Wild Woman Project

Wild Woman Underground

Wild Woman Project Instagram

Wild Woman Project Facebook

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Though a professor of religion at Naropa University, and the author of numerous books on spirituality (and a frequent dialogue partner for our guests), Netanel Miles-Yépez is also a well-known artist, philosopher, and spiritual teacher. On this episode, we have asked Netanel to discuss his life at the crossroads of art and spirituality, the archetype of the artist, the internal origins and ‘midwifing’ of a vision, art as spiritual nourishment, artistic ‘jealousy,’ the essential spirituality of art, the relationship between art and prophesy, the muse and 'revelatory contents,' the difference between talent and training in art and spirituality, art and a 24/7 spirituality, projections on the spiritual artist, the holy mystery of human experience, depth and quality in the artist and artisan, Hasidism and the investment of intentionality,  the contemplative attitude, and art that lives.

You can view and/or purchase some of Netanel's artwork at his Etsy shop, and learn more about his work in general on his personal site.

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Dr. Amelia Hall is a British-born scholar-practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and professor in the Department of Wisdom Traditions at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. In this episode, we discuss the issues of taking on a religious tradition that comes from another culture, cyclical and linear orientations, cultural ‘exotification,’ the evolution of Buddhism outside of India, investigations of human relations with non-human beings, sacred landscapes and the health of the planet, personal and place-oriented re-indigenization and re-wilding, accepting the ‘magical’ in the academy, outer-inner and secret understandings, violence against the Earth and its beings, primeval relational consciousness versus the modern utility mind, commodity culture and the reclamation of the indigenous traditions of the British Isles, the modern interest in magick, and the nature of truth and reality around our experiences.

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