Host Michael Taft talks with author and ayurvedic physician Dr. Robert Svoboda about the cemetary practices of the radical nondual Aghora sect, the story of his mentor Vimalananda’s initiation into Aghora and meeting with the goddess Smashan Tara, the path of bhakti vs. the path of jnana, working with the close karmic connections called rnanubandanas, and the importance of continuous remembrance of death.

Dr. Robert Svoboda is an American author and ayurvedic doctor who gives lectures and courses around the world, related to the subjects of ayurveda, jyotish, tantra, and Eastern religion. Svoboda is the first Westerner to graduate from a college of ayurveda and be licensed to practice ayurveda in India. He is author of eleven books, including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution (1989), and the Aghora trilogy about his guru, Vimalananda, and the Aghori sect.

Dr. Svoboda’s website

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Host Michael Taft talks with author and memory expert Anthony Metivier about using memory techniques to enhance meditation, memorizing and reciting scriptures in dead languages as a spiritual practice, using the ancient Memory Palace technique in combination with intense imagery, recall rehearsal, Giordano Bruno, Aristotle, learning foreign languages, nonduality, the Ribhu Gita, and more.

Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a modern systematic approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, names, music, poetry, and more. Dr. Metivier holds a Ph.D. in Humanities from York University and is widely known for his books, talks, and courses on memory improvement. He is the author of The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being.

Anthony Metivier's website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with author, philosopher, and neuroscientist Sam Harris about the fusion of vipassana and nondual practice as the “gold standard” for practitioners, insights into selflessness through mindfulness and concentration, the distinction between moment-to-moment experiences and peak experiences, personal experiences with MDMA and psilocybin, the role of psychedelics in initiating spiritual introspection, concerns about the misuse of psychedelics and potential pitfalls, and more. 

Sam Harris is a renowned author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and podcast host, who weights in on issues around religion, morality, and the human mind. Harris holds a degree in philosophy from Stanford and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA, and he has practiced meditation for more than 30 years with many Tibetan, Indian, Burmese, and Western meditation teachers. Harris is particularly recognized for his exploration of meditation and non-duality, delving into their significance in understanding consciousness and the self. He’s also well known in the meditation community for his book Waking Up, and for the app of the same name.

Get a free month of the Waking Up app here.

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Host Michael Taft talks with “Boss Jungian of Planet Earth” Stephen Aizenstat about diving into the depths of our authentic creativity, finding purpose in the imaginal, engaging "an imagination that opens from the inside out," the perils and promise of AI with regards to the human imagination, and asks the question: is working with the imagination simply a narcissistic bourgeois indulgence in this time of unprecedented worldwide existential peril, or might the imaginal actually be a source of our salvation?

Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is the founder of Pacifica Graduate Institute, and the Academy of Imaginal Arts and Sciences. He is a world renowned Professor of Depth Psychology, an imagination specialist and has collaborated with many notable masters in the field of depth psychology including Joseph Campbell, James Hillman, Marion Woodman, and Robert Johnson.

Dr. Aizenstat’s DreamTending site

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Host Michael Taft speaks with teacher, author, and founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization A. H. Almaas on the topic of Nondual Love, the qualities of awareness itself, the five dimensions of our fundamental nature, the differences between individual love and nondual love, the importance of being human, and how to know yourself as a “boundless ocean of nectar.” 

A. Hameed Ali, whose pen name is A. H. Almaas, is founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization, a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychology theories. Almaas has authored eighteen books about spiritual realization, including the Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, and The Alchemy of Freedom.

The Diamond Approach

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Host Michael W. Taft speaks with Tantra scholar and teacher Christopher Wallis about the word “enlightenment” in English and the words in Sanskrit it is typically the translation for; the differences between awakening and liberation; karma, samskara, and the deep unconscious; Shiva-oriented practice and the importance of including Shakti, the teachings of Abhinavagupta, and the centrality of embodied awakening.

Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen, and received education at yoga āshrams, both in India and the West. He holds several degrees including an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley. Hareesh is the author of several books including The Recognition Sutras, and a new book entitled Near Enemies of the Truth. 

Hareesh.org – Christopher Wallis’ website

Check out his new book, Near Enemies of the Truth

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Join host Michael Taft as he speaks with meditation teacher and author Andrew Holecek about “reverse meditation,” the Mahamudra-based practice of using difficult experiences as the focus of our meditation, how this moves us through our perceived limits and allows us to recognize the perfection of the moment, and allows us to make any situation a profound and excellent meditation.

Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and the art of dying. He is the author of many books, including Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep and a new book, Reverse Meditation. Andrew is masterful at joining the wisdom traditions of Asia with the knowledge of the West. He holds degrees in classical music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery. 

https://www.andrewholecek.com/

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Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and Executive Director of the Alembic, Kati Devaney about meditation, the neuroscience of meditation, predictive processing, the wonder of travel, psychedelics, and more.

Kathryn Devaney, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and meditation practitioner, with over 20 years of meditation experience. Kati earned her PhD in 2018, using fMRI to examine attention and default mode network function in experienced Vipassana meditators. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Kati moved to Berkeley CA to start The Berkeley Alembic Foundation with Michael Taft and Erik Davis. Kati is currently the Executive Director of The Alembic, the Chief Science Officer of Jhourney.io, and a researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. 

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Your host Michael Taft is interviewed by Jake Orthwein about the various kinds of nonduality, the difference between monoism and nondualism, fundamental confusions about nondual practice, the major contrast between the transcendence-orientation of dualistic religions and the world-engagement of nondual religions, as well as the crucial distinction between the two main types of nonduality.

Jake Orthwein is a filmmaker based in Santa Monica, CA, and a dharma student of mine. You may have seen his Youtube video entitled, “How Politics Became Pro Wrestling,” and he is currently working on a series of films surrounding meditation, psychedelics, and predictive processing.

Jake Orthwein on Twitter

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Join host Michael Taft as he talks with Tantrik scholar and practitioner Christopher Wallis about the tradition of Nondual Shaiva Tantra, the full void pregnant with possibilities, savoring the transcendent in every sensual experience, the differences between Nondual Shaiva Tantra and Advaita Vedanta, the origins of Tantra and Vajrayana, sublime beauty, aesthetic rapture, and much more.

Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen, and received education at yoga āshrams, both in India and the West. He holds several degrees including an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley. Hareesh is the author of Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, and of The Recognition Sutras, a translation and commentary on a 1000-year-old masterpiece on experiential recognition of oneself as a direct expression of universal divine Consciousness.

Hareesh. org

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Join host Michael Taft as he continues his talk with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken’s new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, and issues around receiving initiations and empowerments, the experiential component, aspects of White Tara and Mahakala practices, the power of mystical poetry, and the future of Vajrayana in the West.

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his new book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana.

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Join host Michael Taft as he talks with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken's new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, particularly the tripartite practice structure of guru, deity, and protector in Tibetan Buddhism.

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his new book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana. 

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Host Michael Taft speaks with eminent Buddhist teacher, translator, and author Ken McLeod about how to use the Diamond Sutra as a practice text. What is the sutra really getting at? Is it merely an ancient and enigmatic philosophical puzzle or can we use it as a powerful pointing out instruction?

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his latest book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana. 

Ken's website: Unfettered Mind

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Host Michael Taft talks with philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and meditator Dr. Shamil Chandaria about predictive processing as it relates to meditation, our phenomenal self model, recognizing our own fabrication hierarchy, replacing our top level priors as a way to understand nondual enlightenment, and much more.

Dr Shamil Chandaria OBE is a philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and academic with multi-disciplinary research interests spanning computational neuroscience, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and the philosophy and science of human well-being. His PhD, from the London School of Economics, was in mathematical modelling of economic systems using stochastic differential equations and optimal control theory. Later he completed an MA in Philosophy, with Distinction, from University College London where he developed an interest in philosophy of science and philosophical issues in biology, neuroscience, and ethics. 

In 2018 Dr. Chandaria helped to endow the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University, an interdisciplinary research institute focusing on the most important issues facing humanity. In 2019 he was a founder of the Centre for Psychedelic Research, in the department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, a neuroscience research institute investigating psychedelic therapies for a number of conditions including treatment resistant depression. He is also funding research on the neuroscience of meditation at Harvard University and Berkeley, University of California.

In 2022 Dr Chandaria was awarded a British OBE for services to Science and Technology, Finance and Philanthropy. He is also a long-term meditation practitioner. 

The Bayesian Brain and Meditation Lecture, by Shamil Chandaria

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Host Michael Taft speaks with professor John Vervaeke about relevance realization—the process by which we decide what matters in any given situation—and its application to meditation, how we gain an increased sense of meaning in life, and why there is no panacea in practice. John also answers the question: what is a wise person?

John Vervaeke is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto in Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Buddhist Psychology. His areas of interest include wisdom, mindfulness, meditation, relevance realization, general intelligence, rationality. He is the author of the Youtube series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis and co-author of Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st Century Crisis.

You can learn more about John’s work at: https://www.youtube.com/user/johnvervaeke

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In this episode, host Michael Taft talks with Rosa Lewis about spirituality, creativity, working with trauma, embracing the darkness, the inner critic, the power of meditation, and more.

Rosa Lewis is a mystic and a meditation teacher. Her teaching combines Buddhist emptiness, shadow work, tantric embodiment, the archetypal realm, mysticism and a radically new way of relating to heartfulness.

Her approach to spirituality involves healing the trauma or embracing the darkness that exists in all of us. She helps people uncover and nourish whatever it is that most wants to come alive in them, in order to create a more joyful presence in the world. You can learn more about Rosa on her website at https://rosalewis.co.uk/

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Host Michael Taft speaks with author, science journalist, and psychology nerd David McRaney about what sorts of conversations actually cause human beings to change their minds; the fascinating on-the-ground research of groups like Street Epistemology and Deep Canvassers, the stories of people deciding to leave insular in-groups such as the Westboro Baptist church and 9-11 Truthers, the deep neuroscience behind "The Dress" phenomenon, the role of storytelling in human interactions, and much more.

David McRaney currently hosts a bi-weekly, top-100 podcast about human judgment and decision-making, and recently created a documentary about IQ and genius and a television show about how to better predict the impact of technological disruption. His most recent book is How Minds Change, about the science, and the experience, of transformation.

https://www.davidmcraney.com/

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Host Michael Taft speaks with artist, bodyworker, and philosopher Guy Sengstock about the origin and creation of Circling practice, how the asynchronous qualities of new technologies have created a deeper hunger for basic human contact, the crucial importance of embodiment in communication, mindfulness of presence, as well as the new practice he’s creating with Jon Vervaeke, known as Dia-Logos.

Guy Sengstock is the founder and creator of the Circling Method. He has been facilitating transformation for individuals, groups and corporations internationally for more than 20 years. He has a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is the co-founder of The Arête Center for Excellence and the Bay Area Men’s Circle, which is still thriving today. He is an artist, philosopher, poet, body-worker, and visionary.

The Circling Institute

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Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and author Kelly Boys on the practice of non-sleep, deep rest—a modern name for the ancient practice of yoga nidra, using liminal states as gateways to profound meditative experiences, finding ways to let go more completely, how this practice relates to nonduality, and the transformative power of embodied practice. 

Kelly Boys is a mindfulness trainer and author of The Blind Spot Effect: How to Stop Missing What’s Right in Front of You. She co-developed the Peace on Purpose mindfulness and resilience program for UN humanitarian and development workers, training UN staff in the Middle East, Central Asia and beyond. She has worked with veterans with PTSD in the VA system and in San Quentin State Prison as part of the Prison Yoga Project. She directed a teacher training for the Search Inside Yourself Institute, bringing facilitators from around the world together to learn the emotional intelligence and mindfulness curriculum as taught at Google. Kelly is the founding advisor for the Simple Habit meditation app. She is passionate about engaging in the inner and outer work of antiracism. She holds a degree in Intercultural Religious Studies and has trained in yoga nidra in the nondual yogic tradition of Kashmir Shaivism

https://www.kellyboys.org/

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Host Michael Taft iterviews Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher and author Andrew Holecek on nondual practice and theory, finding your way back to the true nature of mind, the dangers of getting dropped off in the deep end too soon, challenging to notion of path, the art of doing nothing (and doing it well); Andrew also offers listeners a dream-based nondual guided practice.

Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and the art of dying. He is the author of many books, including Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep. Andrew is masterful at joining the wisdom traditions of Asia with the knowledge of the West. He holds degrees in classical music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery.

https://www.andrewholecek.com/

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Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation master and neuroscience consultant Shinzen Young on the background and history of Zen Master LinJi (aka Rinzai, in Japanese), the meaning of his famous phrase "the authentic person," various aspects of nonduality, an unpacking of LinJi's Four-fold Analysis, as well as cessations, the current state of Shinzen's research, using ultrasound to change the brain, and how to equanimize the biggest curveballs life can throw at you. 

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Vermont in the burgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience.

https://www.shinzen.org/

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Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about how psychology and meditation practice can work together to help people heal, working with trauma, the importance of heart-based practices such as metta, spiritual bypassing, using shamatha to build new brain networks, and Tina’s own story of her birth trauma and her path to healing.

Tina Rasmussen, Ph.D., began meditating at age 13, and has practiced in the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions for over 30 years. In 2003, she completed a year-long solo retreat, was later ordained as a Buddhist nun and became the first Western woman authorized to teach by renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Tina has been studied by the Yale Neuroscience Lab, and is the co-author of Practicing the Jhanas, as well as several books on human potential. 

Tina Rasumussen’s website: luminousmindsangha.com

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Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and meditator Ruben Laukkonen about the phenomenology of the insight experience, how the sequence of deepening meditative practices maps onto the model of predictive processing in the human brain, the Eureka heuristic, what neuroscience can tell us about the deconstructive model of meditation, the science of cessations, and much more.

Ruben Laukkonen is a postdoctoral fellow at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and lecturer at Amsterdam University College. Ruben seeks to uncover an empirically grounded and experientially authentic understanding of meditation, insight, and non-duality. Using a combination of neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology, he is investigating some of the rarest states of consciousness available to human beings. Ruben has an eclectic contemplative background, including traditions such as Zen, Advaita, and Theravada.

Learn more at https://rubenlaukkonen.com/

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Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Henry Shukman about love, original love vs. original sin, wellbeing intense enough to be called “blessedness,” seeing your original face outside of time, the four zones of love, experience as inseparable boundless space, experiencing love as the purpose of our lives, and much more. 

Henry Shukman is founder of the Original Love meditation program, spiritual director emeritus at Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM, and the author of several award-winning books of poetry and fiction. His newest book Original Love: the Four Inns on the Path of Awakening (HarperOne) is released in July 2024. Henry has taught at Google, Harvard Business School, the Institute of American Indian Arts and Oxford Brookes University. His poetry has been featured in the New Yorker, Sunday Times, and Guardian, and his essays in the New York Times and Outside. He has an M.A. from Cambridge and an MLitt from St Andrews. Henry is co-founder of The Way, a meditation app that offers a unique zero-choice path of deep meditation training.

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What can ancient Sanskrit poetry of love and longing teach us about our own deepest spirituality? Join host Michael Taft as he explores this question with professor, author, and teacher Rick Jarow. Further topics include the tantric aspect of poetry, how landscape and nature informs and embodies our spirituality, the role of the word in transcendence, sacred passion for the divine as expressed in the poetics of longing, and much more.

Rick Jarow Ph.D. is a author, teacher, and scholar of Indian languages and literature. Recently retired from his position as a Religious Studies professor at Vassar college in New York, Rick leads workshops and retreats worldwide. His books include: In Search of the Sacred, Tales for the Dying, and a new work: The Cloud of Longing: A New Translation and Eco-Aesthetic Study of Kalidasa's Meghaduta.

Rick Jarow's website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton about her recent work with the 21 manifestations of the Goddess Tara, some aspects of Green Tara, and especially the role of vision and visualization in Vajrayana, and Buddhism more generally. Beginning with the somewhat negative role of the eyes in early Buddhist practice, moving through the Mahayana sutras talking about "enlightened eyes," and the "Eye of the Buddha," and culminating with the rainbow light practices of Vajrayana and Dzogchen. Topics include: Nagarjuna's vision metaphor of emptiness, the esoteric subtle channel from the heart to the eyes, meditation on kasinas, and much more.

Chandra Easton has taught meditation and yoga since 2001. She has had the good fortune to study with many Tibetan and Western Buddhist teachers such as H.H. Dalai Lama, H.H. Karmapa, Lama Tsultrim Allione, B. Alan Wallace,Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche, and Jennifer Welwood. She is currently the Assistant Spiritual Director & Head Teacher at the Tara Mandala Retreat Center. You can learn more about Chandra's work at:

http://www.chandraeaston.com/

and

https://www.taramandala.org/

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Zen teacher, author, and poet Henry Shukman talks with host Michael Taft about Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Henry’s series on the Waking Up app, meditation for awakening vs. meditation as a “band aid,” the role of psychotherapy in spiritual practice, the power of working in the “old way,” the path of working with Zen koans as the journey of a lifetime.

Henry Shukman is a teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage, and is the Guiding Teacher of Mountain Cloud Zen Center, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Henry is an award-winning poet and author of several books, including One Blade of Grass, which details his spiritual journey. And is excellent. His struggles and traumatic experiences as a youth, combined with a spontaneous awakening experience at age 19, paved the way for Henry to develop a well-rounded approach to spirituality and meditation – one that includes love for self and the world as its foundation.

Henry Shukman at Mountain Cloud Zen Center

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Host Michael Taft talks with teacher and author Ken McLeod about his insights into Vajrayana, spiritual practice as "choosing a way to live," the Tibetan idea of lam khyer, the power of prayer as a kind of raw, naked stance, why the seeds of spirituality need to be nurtured in secret, difficulties Westerners face when attempting to work within traditional Asian religious systems, and the true meaning of spirituality.

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His published works include The Great Path of Awakening, Wake Up to Your Life, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River, and A Trackless Path. 

Ken's website: Unfettered Mind

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Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about ways to understand nondual awareness and the progress of nondual meditation, including her own unique comparison between the Formless Realms of early Buddhist meditation and the Boundless Dimensions taught by Hameed Ali (aka Almaas) of the Diamond Approach.

Tina Rasmussen, Ph.D., began meditating at age 13, and has practiced in the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions for over 30 years. In 2003, she completed a year-long solo retreat, was later ordained as a Buddhist nun and became the first Western woman authorized to teach by renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Tina has been studied by the Yale Neuroscience Lab, and is the co-author of Practicing the Jhanas, as well as several books on human potential.

Tina Rasumussen’s website: luminousmindsangha.com

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Show Notes

00:44 - Intro

03:30 - The

core four practices of Buddhism that help us with the current crisis: shamatha,

vipassana, heart, and self-transcending practices

06:19 - How

Tina teaches shamatha (the Theravada way: anapanasati and brahmaviharas)

09:08 - The difference between anapanasati and pranayama

11:45 - The similarities and differences between the Theravadan and Tibetan practices

16:18 - How Tina teaches a hybrid set of Theravadan and Tibetan practices on retreat

18:44 - Shamatha is needed for stability

20:44 - The

different flavors of nonduality (unity/emptiness)

24:37 - The Buddhist map of the realms of existence (form/material realm:

physical/brahmaviharas; formless/immaterial realms:

1) boundless space;

2) boundless consciousness;

3) no-thingness/void;

4) neither perception nor non-perception;

5) the Deathless/Absolute/Nameless mystery)

28:53 - How ‘awareness’ is more fundamental than ‘consciousness’

30:55 - Comparison of the formless realms in Buddhism and in the Diamond Approach

(Ridhwan); how different spiritual traditions focus on different formless realms

35:35 – Differing views in Theravada and Vajrayana

37:51 - Integrating boundless love and shamatha practices in Tina’s teachings

43:00 - The non-personal practices of the Eastern traditions and the personal practices of

the Western traditions

44:08 - The synergy between spiritual and psychological technologies; the ‘inquiry’ practice

46:27 - Tina’s birth trauma and the importance of trauma work

53:10 - The inquiry way of working with aversion

55:46 - Suffering is optional

58:00 - Outro

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Shinzen Young talks with host Michael Taft about his new ideas around applying the systematic mindset of mindfulness meditation and the scientific method to the many challenges of human communication and miscommunication. Topics include the coming of Unified Mindfulness to China, the new phenomena of online retreats, training the spirit of science into mindfulness and communication, and much more.

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Vermont in the burgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. Learn more about Shinzen at his website: Shinzen.org

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Host Michael Taft talks about the phenomenon of spiritual bypassing, what it is, what it means for our practice, and whether it is as big of an issue as many seem to think, as well as the importance of having a meditation buddy, and the ageless tradition of the “soul friend.” 

Michael Taft’s website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with spiritual teacher and author Thomas Hübl about trauma and healing, aspects of collective and cultural trauma, Jungian psychology, meditation, spirituality, and much more.

Thomas Hübl is a contemporary mystic, international spiritual teacher, and author whose work seeks to integrate the core insights of the great wisdom traditions with the discoveries of modern science. Thomas’ teachings combine somatic awareness, advanced meditative practices, and analysis of multigenerational and collective trauma with transformational processes that address trauma and shadow issues. Since 2004 Thomas has been leading workshops, multi-year training programs, events and festivals, and is the author of the book Healing Collective Trauma.

Thomas Hübl's Website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and shamanic practitioner Spring Washam about the "dharma of Harriet Tubman," the inner vs. the outer journey of finding liberation, how the "meditation bubble" can actually block spiritual growth, bringing the wisdom of meditation to activism, the role of plant medicines in healing ourselves and our world, and much more.

Spring Washam is a well-known meditation teacher, author, and visionary leader based in California and Peru. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based healing practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founders and core teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA.  She received extensive training from Jack Kornfield, is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California, and has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for the last 20 years. In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices for over a decade. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, an organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom. Her writing and teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications such as Lions Roar, Tricycle, and Belief.net. She has been a guest on many popular podcasts and radio shows. She currently travels and teaches meditation retreats, workshops and classes worldwide.

Spring Washam's website

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Host Michael Taft speaks with science journalist, author, and podcaster David McRaney about how people do (and do not) change their minds, how brains form their view of reality, conspiracy theory, the method of "technique rebuttal" vs. "topic rebuttal,' QAnon, motivated reasoning, the psychology of belief, and much more.

David McRaney is a science journalist and an internationally bestselling author, podcaster, and lecturer who created You Are Not So Smart.

David began a blog writing about the psychology of reasoning in 2009. That blog became an internationally bestselling book published by Penguin in 2011, now available in 17 languages. His second book, You Are Now Less Dumb, released in July of 2013, and his third book, How Minds Change, all about how people do and do not update their beliefs and attitudes as indiviudals and cultures, will be released by Penguin in 2021. 

David currently hosts a bi-weekly, top-100 podcast about human judgment and decision-making, and travels around the planet giving lectures on the topics he covers in his books, blog, and podcast. In 2015, David appeared as himself in a national ad campaign for Reebok which he co-wrote. His writing has also been featured in campaigns for Heineken, Duck Tape, and others. He is currently working on a documentary about IQ and genius and a television show about how to better predict the impact of technological disruption.

- youarenotsosmart.com

- medium.com/@davidmcraney

- twitter.com/davidmcraney

- davidmcraney.com

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Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation coach Peter McEwen about the traditional Tibetan Buddhist practice of tummo, deity yoga, the subtle body, ways that tummo practice can go wrong, bliss and semen retention, existential terror and staying with disturbing experience, and much more.

Peter McEwen is a meditation coach and the founder of The Field, which offers training, community, and the demystification of basic contemplative practices. Peter McEwen has been an ordained Vajrayana yogi since 1993 under the tutelage of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Lama Pema Dorje Rinpoche, and Bruce Tift. He has completed the traditional 3-year retreat curriculum of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Awakening Embodied Awareness Peter's new course page

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Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher Catherine McGee about Soulmaking Dharma; her journey into meditation practice; using the word “soul” in a Buddhist context; working with the energy body; connecting with the imaginal in meditation; what sort of person thrives in the Soulmaking Dharma practice; and expanding beauty and sacredness in our lives. 

CATHERINE McGEE has been teaching Insight Meditation at Gaia House and internationally since 1997. Her teaching emphasises working with perceptions of the body on the path of awakening and in the healing of the individual and collective crises of our times. She is an advisor to One Earth Sangha and a long term student of the Diamond Approach and collaborated with Rob Burbea in shaping and teaching a Soulmaking Dharma. 

Listen to Catherine McGee on Dharmaseed

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Depth Psychologist Steve Aizenstat speaks with host Michael Taft about dreams, the living image of dreams and their innate intelligence, the healing and creative power of the deep imagination; how dreams relate to meditation and spiritual practice, and the way that we are "all cyborgs now."

Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is the Founder of Dream Tending, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and Academy of Imaginal Arts and Sciences. He is a world renowned Professor of Depth Psychology, an imagination specialist and innovator. He has served as an organizational consultant to major companies, institutions, Hollywood films, and has lectured extensively in the U.S., Asia and Europe. He is affiliated with the Earth Charter International project through the United Nations where he has spoken. Professor Aizenstat is the Chancellor Emeritus and Founding President of Pacifica Graduate Institute. He has collaborated with many notable masters in the field including Joseph Campbell, James Hillman, Marion Woodman and Robert Johnson. 

Professor Aizenstat's pioneering work has impacted thousands of students, clients, major companies, institutions and influencers through one-on-one sessions, visionary courses, and sold-out lectures, webinars, digital pop-ups and wildly popular global seminars.

Steve Aizenstat’s website: dreamtending.com

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Spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas speaks with host Michael Taft about the centrality of love to our spiritual nature, how to tell the difference between emotional love and spiritual love, how the wounds of love can become openings for awakening, various “flavors” of love, and the necessity of love to approach truth. 

A. Hameed Ali, whose pen name is A. H. Almaas, is founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization, a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychology theories. Almaas has authored eighteen books about spiritual realization, including the Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, and The Alchemy of Freedom.

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Show Notes

00:38 - Intro

03:31 - The book ‘Love Unveiled’

04:24 - Love vs awareness in spirituality

07:11 - Difference between emotional love and spiritual love

10:59 - Relationship between consciousness and love

12:51 - Love is the maturation of realization

14:38 - Difference in the expressions of emotional vs spiritual/essential love

16:54 - Spiritual love as a medium and the nectars/flavors of love

19:07 - Yearning and desire in different traditions

25:37 - Teaching the opening of the heart

26:47 - Working with the barriers/obstacles in different qualities of love

31:03 - Pointing towards the way into the heart

32:20 - Nectars of love

34:08 - Phenomenology of love

36:09 - The three centers of human beings

37:49 - Difficulties with feeling love and loved

41:47 - Working with the wounds in the heart

44:20 - Hameed’s favorite flavor of love

45:18 - The three-volume series on love

48:23 - Outro

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Buddhist Teacher and author Lopön Chandra Easton talks with Michael Taft about Vajrayana, her own pilgrimage and experiences in India, the struggle to bring motherhood, sexuality, the feminine, and the female voice into spiritual life, the power of yidam or deity yoga, how Westerners relate to deity yoga, and a look into the practice of the 21 Taras.

Chandra Easton is a teacher and translator of Tibetan Buddhism who focuses on the lineage of the 11th-century yogini Maching Labdrön and Lama Tsultrim Allione, founder of Tara Mandala retreat center. She has taught Buddhism and yoga since 2001 and cotranslated the book Sublime Dharma: A Compilation of Two Texts on the Great Perfection. 

http://www.shunyatayoga.com/

https://www.taramandala.org/

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Host Michael Taft speaks with Rin’dzin Pamo and Jared Janes about their new project, entitled “Evolving Ground,” which is a community of practitioners that seeks to reinterpret and revitalize Vajrayana practice in a contemporary Western context. Topics include: the failure of Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to Western culture, the importance of the worldview in practice, creating new language around meditation, cheese-filled dorje snacks, and much more.

Rin’dzin Pamo is a British born Vajrayana practitioner living in the US. They were an apprentice in the Aro gTér tradition of Tibetan Buddhism for twenty years and are an experienced Dzogchen meditator and mentor. Rin’dzin received the London School of Economics Fei Xiaotong prize for their Masters research on the Chinese tech industry. They worked on international development projects in India, Africa and the Middle East and as a program director for Amnesty International.  

Rin’dzin writes at vajrayananow.com and tweets @_awbery_ 

Jared Janes is an American-born yogic practitioner living in Denver, Colorado. His early practice was influenced by pragmatic dharma, Unified Mindfulness, and The Mind Illuminated book. With the help of Rin’dzin, he transitioned into Vajrayana-inspired practice in early 2019. Jared’s career started in digital operations and management and he’s now a full-time consultant and podcast producer.

Jared Janes’ website

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Writer, translator, teacher, and business consultant, Ken McLeod speaks with host Michael Taft about the chaos unleashed by new forms of communication, dedicating your whole life to meditation and spiritual experience, what evokes a deep sense of the sacred?, how teachers point out awakening to students, what is it that epitomizes the essence of Vajrayana, and much more.

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His published works include The Great Path of Awakening, Wake Up to Your Life, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River and A Trackless Path.

Unfettered Mind

Ken’s article: How Is the Medium Changing the Method? https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/how-is-the-medium-changing-the-message/

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Author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and cultural historian Erik Davis speaks with host Michael Taft about QAnon as a new religion, Gnostic psychology and the power of the secret truth, new narrative warfare exploiting human psychology, technologically-sophisticated divination techniques, the “disenchanted paranormal,” taking responsibility for your own processing of reality, the angel of the library, Metal Hurlant, and more. 

Erik Davis is an author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and popular speaker based in San Francisco. He is probably best known for his book TechGnosis a cult classic of visionary media studies that investigates how our fascination with technology intersects with the religious imagination. Erik’s most recent book is High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies. 

Read Erik’s newsletter The Burning Shore

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Neuroscientist and mindfulness expert Jud Brewer speaks with host Michael Taft about his research into the four steps of Rigpa (with teacher and psychologist Dan Brown), effortlessness in meditation and the feeling of openness vs. closedness, the neurochemistry of reward, the historical Buddha's insight into the results of exploring gratification "to its end" and how that leads to effortless change (the system corrects itself), and the fact that willpower is a myth.

Judson Brewer is an MD-PhD and a thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” having combined nearly 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research. Jud is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as a research affiliate at MIT, and has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety.

Jud's website: DrJud.com

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Psychologist, author, translator, and meditation teacher, Dan Brown talks with host Michael Taft about the three levels of practice from a taste of awakening to "full buddhahood," the details of what a taste of awakening entails, the path to complete liberation, his neuroscience of nonduality studies with Jud Brewer, whether dzogchen is a complete path, and the future of dzogchen in the West.

Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D. has been Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard for 38 years. He trained and taught with top Indo-Tibetan Bon & Buddhist lamas for more than 48 years. He is the award-winning author of 24 Books, and winner of the 1999 Guttmacher Award from the American Psychiatric Association. He trained with the Dalai Lama throughout the 1970s and is one of only a few Western individuals trained in the Tibetan Bon tradition and he runs meditation retreats around the world to help the average person achieve awakening.

Dan's website: MindOnly.com

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Learn more about nonduality: https://deconstructingyourself.com/nonduality

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Writer, translator, teacher, and business consultant, Ken McLeod speaks with host Michael Taft about Coronavirus, social distancing, nature doing what it does, overcoming cultural conditioning, enlightenment as a "system change," practices for overcoming cultural conditioning and developing compassion, the importance of the teacher-student relationship, the viability of Vajrayana practice in the West, and much more.

Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His published works include The Great Path of Awakening, Wake Up to Your Life, An Arrow to the Heart, Reflections on Silver River and A Trackless Path.

Unfettered Mind

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Host Michael Taft speaks with entrepreneur and meditator Stephen Zerfas on using technology to potentially enhance the learning of the jhanas, Zerfas’ background in meditation and jhana practice, and the vision of scaling adoption of the jhanas on a global scale.

Stephen Zerfas a cofounder of Jhourney, a startup that is currently creatings meditation retreats using novel methods to teach novices to reach jhana. Stephen stumbled into the first three jhanas on his own, and has dedicated his career to scaling them after learning of their rich history. He's trained with several jhana teachers, including Leigh Brasington and Delson Armstrong.

jhourney.io

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Nondual teacher and psychotherapist Stephan Bodian and host Michael Taft discuss how and why narcissists rise to the top of spiritual organizations, the ways that nondual traditions like Zen may be especially prone to teacher misbehavior, the problem with “crazy wisdom” teachers, as well as exploring Stephan’s own spiritual journey with Suzuki Roshi, Maezumi Roshi, Jean Klein, and more.  

Stephan Bodian is a psychotherapist and a teacher in the nondual wisdom tradition of Zen and Advaita Vedanta. After training as a Zen monk and studying Advaita with Jean Klein, he received Dharma transmission from Adyashanti in 2001. His books include Wake Up Now; Beyond Mindfulness; and Meditation for Dummies.

Learn more about Stephan Bodian's work at stephanbodian.org

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Evan Thompson discusses his new book, “Why I Am Not a Buddhist” with host Michael Taft. Topics include the myth of Buddhist exceptionalism, how Buddhist modernism presented a false picture of Buddhism as a value-neutral “mind science” rather than a religion, his own lifelong journey with Buddhism, and much more.

Evan Thompson, PhD, works on the nature of the mind, the self, and human experience. His work combines cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially in Asian traditions. His most recent book, Why I Am Not a Buddhist, examines the role of Buddhism in the modern world.

Evan Thompson's website: https://evanthompson.me/

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Nondual teacher and psychotherapist John Prendergast speaks with host Michael Taft about the heart area as an opening to infinite space, contacting the “dark matrix” of the ground, the body as a vibrant expression of emptiness, moving out of the cycle of reactivity into the creative life, working with energy in meditation, and much more. 

John J. Prendergast, Ph.D., is the author of the books The Deep Heart  and In Touch. He is a spiritual teacher, psychotherapist, and retired adjunct professor of psychology who offers retreats in the U.S. and Europe. 

John Prendergast's website: www.listeningfromsilence.com

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Nondual teacher and psychotherapist Loch Kelly speaks with host Michael Taft about what nondualism is, schools of effort vs. non-effort (and those in between), the five foundations of effortless mindfulness, awake awareness and rigpa, stabilizing nondual awareness, balancing the brain's default mode network, and more.

Loch Kelly is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the non-profit, Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch teaches in a non-sectarian lineage based in the earliest non-dual wisdom traditions, modern science, and psychotherapy. 

Learn more at lochkelly.org

Read more about nondual awareness here.

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