Andrew Holecek is a renowned author and humanitarian who teaches internationally on spirituality, meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying. He has studied sleep yoga, bardo yoga, and other traditional practices with living masters in India and Nepal. Andrew’s books include Dreams of Light, Dream Yoga, and Reverse Meditation. His work has appeared in Psychology Today, Parabola, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Utne Reader, Buddhadharma, Light of Consciousness, and many other periodicals. He hosts the popular Edge of Mind podcast and is the founder of the Night Club community, a support platform for nocturnal meditations. Learn more at andrewholecek.com.

Andrew’s new book is I’m Mindful Now What: Moving Beyond Mindfulness to Meet the Modern World.

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
  
• 01:26 – The Mindfulness Revolution
• 02:10 – Beyond Mindfulness: Exploring Deeper Practices
• 08:20 – The Importance of Integrating the Body
• 08:48 – The Concept of Spiritual Bypassing
• 09:11 – Embodiment in Meditation
• 18:43 – Reverse Meditations: Transforming Pain
• 21:55 – The Four Steps of Reverse Meditation
• 35:45 – The Role of Awareness and Distraction
• 42:23 – The Illusion of Desire and Happiness
• 43:12 – The Power of Meditation and Mindfulness
• 44:47 – Understanding True Happiness
• 45:39 – The Essence of Healthy Reductionism
• 48:24 – Introduction to Nocturnal Meditations
• 01:00:54 – The Ultimate Goal: Lucid Living and Dying

Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

Parvathy Baul is a practitioner, performer and teacher of the Baul tradition from Bengal, India.

She studied closely with two of the most respected Baul Gurus of the previous generation, Sri Sanatan Das Thakur Baul and Sri Shashanko Goshai.

​According to her Guru's vision, Parvathy Maa has created Sanatan Siddhashram - as a place of learning, practicing and preserving the oral history of the Baul tradition.

The poetry of Chandidas

Song of the Great Soul by Parvathy Baul

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:27 – The Poet Chandidas
• 19:50 – Vibrational Transmissions
• 21:58 – Instruments of the Baul
• 30:02 – Surrender and Devotion
• 37:46 – Lineage of Baul Music
• 46:04 – Sacred Music in a Concert Setting
• 54:50 – One of Parvathy’s First Songs

Muslim Spirituality Illuminating the Path to Freedom: An exploration of how the spiritual heart of the Islamic tradition can inspire and fuel contemporary struggles for liberation, justice and humanity.

Through their unique lens, this panel of visionaries modeled how spiritual life is not an escape from systemic injustice, but a revolutionary process which strengthens our collective capacity to transform unjust realities. They discuss Islam’s deepest essence and the spiritual fortitude to remain anchored in the commitment to truth, beauty and universal human flourishing.

Today’s episode is a live talk as part of the World People’s Premiere of 21 days of conversations on Palestine with the release of the film Where Olive Trees Weep by SAND. Today’s talk is entitled Dancing in the Fire: Muslim Spirituality Illuminating the Path to Freedom with Farah El-Sharif, Ayesha Kajee, Seemi Bushra Ghazi and hosted by Daniel Foor.

This talk is part of a package of talks that includes the 21 days of conversation with leading historians, spiritual teachers, trauma therapists, poets, artists, and more, plus extended interviews from the film, a live Q&A with Dr. Gabor Maté and Ashira Darwish from a live screening in Oakland, CA, a film discussion guide, and six community conversations on Palestine.

To find out more about purchasing this package and supporting the mission of SAND and the film, visit WhereOliveTreesWeep.com.

Dr. Farah El-Sharif is a writer, educator and research scholar. She received her PhD from Harvard University where she specialized in West African intellectual Islamic history. She earned degrees from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and served as Associate Director of the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford University, where she is currently a Visiting Scholar. Her writings have appeared in CNN, Newlines, and Muftah. Read more of her work on her Substack sermonsatcourt@substack.com

Ayesha Kajee is a human rights and governance consultant based in Johannesburg, Ayesha Kajee has conducted research across much of sub-Saharan Africa, and has observed elections and peace processes in several countries. Her published research and opinion-analyses appear in various academic and news media, and she is often called upon by media houses for comment on topical issues. She was previously the founding director of the International Human Rights Exchange program at Wits University in Johannesburg, where she also lectured in Politics and International Relations. Ayesha briefly directed South Africa’s Freedom of Expression Institute before leaving full-time work to care for an invalid parent. She now works on a freelance basis. Her focus areas include transitional justice, media and media rights, African political economy, gender justice, migration and environmental rights.

Seemi Bushra Ghazi is  lecturer in Classical Arabic at the University of British Columbia, specializes in Islamic literature, culture, and spirituality. A student in the Rifai Marufi lineage, she performs traditional Islamic arts, including Qur'anic recitation featured on BBC, CBC, NPR, and PBS. Her work appears in "Approaching Islam: the Early Revelations" and "A New Encyclopedia of Islam." Born in London and of South Asian origin, Ghazi studied at prestigious institutions in the U.S. and Middle East. Deeply involved in interfaith work, she hosts a monthly Unity Dhikr in Vancouver and is a founding board member of the Rumi Society and Vancouver Interspiritual Centre Society. Her expertise spans Islam, gender, and cross-cultural understanding

Daniel Foor is a doctor of psychology, experienced ritualist, and the author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing. He is a practicing Muslim and initiate in the Òrìṣà tradition of Yoruba-speaking West Africa who has also learned from Mahayan Buddhism and the older ways of his English and German ancestors. Daniel was a U.S. Fulbright scholar in Cairo, Egypt as a student of Arabic language, and he is passionate about generational healing and training leaders and change makers in the intersections of cultural healing, animist ethics, and applied ritual arts. He lives with his wife and daughters near his adoptive home of Granada, Spain in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

www.ancestralmedicine.org

Sumud: https://muftah.org/2024/05/16/sumud-as-a-key/

Topics:

• 0:00 - Introduction
• 01:27 - Daniel Foor's Introduction
• 07:27 - Farah El-Sharif
• 21:17 - Ayesha Kajee
• 33:51 - Seemi Bushra Ghazi
• 47:45 - Closing Statements

Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

Hadar Cohen shares her deep connection to her Middle Eastern Jewish ancestry and the intertwining of mysticism and activism in her work. She discusses the complexity of her Arab Jewish identity and the impact of colonialism on the narrative of Arab Jews. Hadar also delves into the weaponization of trauma and the need for a multi-religious, secular society in a free Palestine. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, including the concept of Zionism, the intersection of science and spirituality and her Jewish Mysticism School.

Hadar Cohen is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic and artist whose work focuses on multi-religious spirituality, politics, social issues, and community building. She is the founder of Malchut, a spiritual skill-building school teaching Jewish mysticism and direct experience of God. She teaches and consults in a variety of settings and formats, from one-on-one coaching to online group classes and in-person retreats.  Her podcast, Hadar’s Web, features community conversations on spirituality, healing, justice, and art. Hadar is a 10th-generation Jerusalemite with lineage roots also in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq and Iran. Subscribe to her Substack for access to her latest writings, offerings, and media appearances. hadarcohen.me or malchut.one.  // @hadarcohen32

Topics:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 02:52 - Ancestral Lineage
• 10:04 - Arab Judaism 
• 17:42 - Colonialism and Spiritual Division
• 21:15 - Zionist, Trauma, and the Empire Mind Virus
• 30:01 - Vision for a Secular Multi-religious Palestine
• 33:49 -  Science and Spiritually in Arab Culture
• 40:28 - Modernity and Religion
• 49:51 - Malchut Mysticism school
• 55:37 - Upcoming Retreats

Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member

Today, June 6, 2024, we’re celebrating the release of SAND’s new film Where Olive Trees Weep. And to celebrate the launch of the film, we welcome you to Donate and Watch the film by visiting WhereOliveTreesWeep.com.

Donating to watch the film will also enroll you in a 21-day online event called “The World People’s Premiere” which happening online from June 6-27 with conversations, music, poetry, and . And you can donate to watch the film and sign up to watch all the conversations with speakers such as, Ashira Darwish (star of the film), Dr. Gabor Maté, Angela Davis, V, Daniel Foor, Dareer Tatour, Ilan Pappé, Michael McBride, Mona Haydar, Norman Finkelstein, Pir Zia Inyat Khan, Neta Golan, Tara Brach, and directors of the film, Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo. Whom we also interview on episode #86 if you want to hear more of the story and vision on the film.

The film gives background to the current crisis in Israel/Palestine and brings to light the lives of people we met on our 2022 journey in the occupied West Bank. Their universally human stories speak of intergenerational pain, trauma and resilience.  We hope they touch your heart, stir compassion and understanding, and give rise to a pursuit for justice. For without justice, peace remains an empty slogan.

Cinema can be a powerful force for change.  Our aim is, beyond mere education, to truly move hearts and minds and inspire audiences to echo the calls for freedom, equality and dignity that have gone unanswered for far too long.

The film is our modest contribution towards our dream for an end to the occupation in Palestine, the attainment of equal rights and fair treatment for Palestinian people, and the spreading of healing for all intergenerational cycles of trauma in the region.

https://whereolivetreesweep.com/

A recording of excerpts from a live SAND Community Gathering hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo from Apr 20, 2024.

Storyteller Haneen Sabbah, a Palestinian Falahi woman and mother from Gaza, guided us through an experience of the vibrant and thriving place Gaza once was, before it became a pile of rubble. She transports us to the rich history and culture of this region through her enchanting drumbeats, meditations, and songs.

In this episode, we explore the connections woven into the very name "Gaza" غزة, unveil layers of history, traditions, and symbolism that this ancient land carries, discover the deep ties between land and people, and are reminded of the resilience that has sustained them through decades of challenges.

We share a vision of a once-again thriving and free Gaza.

Haneen Sabbah, a Palestinian Falahi woman now based in southern Portugal, is a writer at We Are Not Numbers and Global Voices, and an organizer, singer and storyteller at heart. She also teaches Arabic online to Israeli Activists and Jews who want to connect to their Arabic roots.

Having left Gaza in 2018, she moved to a community where she learned peace work and non-violent communication, which helped her advocate for nonviolent resistance with the Palestinian people. Shining a light on Palestinian culture with songs, food and stories, she is part of a dream circle of Palestinian and Israeli women who work toward supporting peace and the protection of life. Believing in the importance of inner healing for collective liberation, she leads a guided movement meditative practice. Her work is rooted in love.

Topics

• 0:00 - Introduction
• 04:30 - The Place of Gaza
• 18:50 - Stories from Gaza's Past
• 29:50 - "Halalaya" A Song from Haneen
• 34:50 - A Story of Haneen's Friends in Gaza
• 41:28 - Life in Diaspora
• 45:24 - Ways to Support Gaza
• 48:51 - Final Poem from Haneen

Visit WhereOliveTreesWeep.com for more information about SAND’s new film on Palestine

Also mentioned in this episode is SAND’s Fundraise to help relocate a family from the genocide in Gaza. https://givebutter.com/THzYSN

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

In this episode with filmmakers, producers, and founders of Science & Nonduality (SAND) Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo discuss their new film, Where Olive Trees Weep, which explores the impact of colonialism and intergenerational trauma on indigenous cultures, particularly in the occupied West Bank and Palestine. The film serves as a call to action for spiritual activism and aims to amplify the voices of those affected by oppression and injustice. The 21-day release of the film is accompanied by conversations, music, and poetry to provide a more holistic experience for viewers entitled World People's Premiere June 6–27, 2024. 

Their aim is, beyond mere education, to truly move hearts and minds and inspire audiences to echo the calls for freedom, equality and dignity that have gone unanswered for far too long. This film hopes to inspire a dream for an end to the occupation in Palestine, the attainment of equal rights and fair treatment for Palestinian people, and the spreading of healing for all intergenerational cycles of trauma in the region.

Visit WhereOliveTreesWeep.com for more information, to join the premiere, and to share in the vision.

Zaya Ralitza Benazzo is a producer and a film director born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. She is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization SAND. She has produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, America's Chemical Angels, and Wings and Strings.

Maurizio Benazzo grew up in Genova, Italy. At an early age he began actively traveling the spiritual path, exploring the practices of Zen Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation, Yogic philosophy, Catholicism and Philosophy. He has experience in all aspects of production both in front of and behind the camera, including acting, directing, cinematography, and distribution.

Topics

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 03:58 - The Path towards the Olive Trees
• 08:42 - History with Spiritual Activism
• 13:14 - The Reality in the West Bank
• 23:19 - Keeping Inspired During the Painful Moments
• 26:35 - Hopes for the Film
• 32:15 - The People’s Premiere Event
• 37:06 - Shadows of Modern Spirituality in the Face of Injustice

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network, International (WECAN). She works nationally and internationally with grassroots, Indigenous and business leaders, policy-makers and scientists to promote climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a clean energy future. Osprey is Co-chair of International Advocacy for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and the visionary behind the International Women's Earth and Climate Summit, which brought together 100 women leaders from around the world to draft and implement a Women's Climate Action Agenda. She teaches international climate trainings and directs WECAN’s advocacy work in areas such as Women for Forests, Rights of Nature and UN Forums. She has served on the board of the Praxis Peace Institute and on the Steering Committee for The UN Women’s Major Group for the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Awards include the National Women’s History Project Honoree, Taking The Lead To Save Our Planet, and the Woman Of The Year Outstanding Achievement Award from the California Federation Of Business And Professional Women.  Osprey is the author of the award-winning book, Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature.

Her new book is The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis

Topics:

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 08:05 — Path to the Book
• 14:42 — Moderns and Ancient Science
• 20:24 — Integrative and Interconnected Ways Forward 
• 25:28 — Gaza and the Polycrisis
• 35:28 — Composting Cultural Toxins
• 42:00 — Remembering How to Listen
• 45:40 — Stories of Resilience

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

A recording of excerpts from a live SAND Community Gathering hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo.

In these times of unbearable anguish, as the already beleaguered Palestinian community is being massacred and starved before our astonished eyes, our own grieving flows into the sea of human suffering and we remember that we belong to each other.

Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019”. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

Mona Haydar is a young Muslim Syrian-American poet, musician, workshop leader and speaker who gained global recognition through her “Ask A Muslim” project and the viral hip-hop music video “Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab).” Her debut EP “Barbarican” addresses global patriarchy, orientalism, immigration policy, white supremacy, and suicide. A Master’s graduate in Theology from Union Theological Seminary, Mona speaks at churches, synagogues, universities and international forums, engaging audiences on art, Islam, feminism, hip hop, theology, and interfaith dialogue.

Topics

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 06:52 — Mirabai’s Introduction
• 16:42 — Mona’s Introduction
• 21:06 — Interfaith Teachings on Grief
• 32:40 — Islamic Teachings on Grief
• 41:58 — The Grief of Loss
• 50:11 — Closing Prayer
• 55:58 — Song from Desiree Dawson & Mona Hayder

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member:

Also mentioned in this episode is SAND’s Fundraiser to help relocate a family from the Genocide in Gaza.

Mattias Daly is Taoist practitioner and a professional translator with a degree in acupuncture and a master’s in Chinese Literature. He was inducted into the Longmen lineage of Complete Reality Daoism by Abbess Liu of the Three Purities Monastery in Jilin province, China in 2013. He primarily translates for the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Chinese Taipei PEN quarterly.

His new translation of Taoist Inner Alchemy: Master Huang Yuanji's Guide to the Way of Meditation by Ge Guolong and Huang Yuanji is out now on Shambala Publications.

Topics:

• 04:42 — Core Principle of Taoism
• 10:59 — Path of Taoist Inner Alchemy
• 15:11 — Metaphor of Alchemy
• 22:44 — Energies of Inner Alchemy
• 27:09 — Chan Buddhism
• 35:36 — Physical Components of Inner Alchemy
• 43:45 —  Importance of Heart Practice
• 45:15 — Navigating the Polycrisis

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

A recording of excerpts from a SAND Community Gathering hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo.

Trauma has a severe impact that extends far beyond the individual survivor. It ripples through families, communities, and generations in ways both seen and unseen. Yet there is a path forward — through courageously sharing our stories and tapping into the body’s innate wisdom.

In this episode, Peter openly shares his own courageous journey to resolve severe childhood trauma, by using the very techniques he developed. He shows a pathway whereby giving voice to our stories can help reclaim our dignity, wholeness, and ignite an inner spark of healing.

Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., is the renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing. He holds a doctorate in Medical and Biological Physics from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. The recipient of four lifetime achievement awards, he is the author of several books, including Waking the Tiger, which has now been printed in 33 countries and has sold over a million copies.

His new book is An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey

Topics:

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 02:43 — Writing the new Autobiography
• 09:05 — Uncovering Layers of Trauma
• 19:52 — Trauma & Intimate Relationships
• 26:20 — Meeting Albert Einstein & Past Life Trauma
• 34:00 — Relationships with Parents
• 43:00 — Connections to Ancient Traditions
• 50:10 — Indigenous Healing Practices
• 57:12 — Closing

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

Also mentioned in this episode is SAND’s Fundraiser to help relocate a family from the genocide in Gaza.

Reem (DRĖĖĖMY) Abdou is a native Egyptian international interdisciplinary sound artist, embodiment and meditation guide, curator, cultural worker, and community building founder of the inclusive global impact agency for women+ & BIPOC holistic artists: The Collective BAE. As an intentional DJ and spoken word poet, her work harnesses music, movement, and meditation to activate real shifts at the intersection of transformational creativity, social and healing justice, and ecosystem consciousness.

Links:

• www.dreeemy.com
• instagram.com/dreeemy
• www.collectivebae.com

Upcoming projects:

• Join The BAE (RE)MEMBERSHIPS: An Ecology of Care for Conscious Creatives. We'll be launching a full training course this May.
• The release of the 2nd EP: SALTWATERS in the Mother & Water project. It will be released this May.

Topics:

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 03:00 — Ancestry & Dream work
• 06:45 — Communities
• 11:19 — Bass Yoga
• 17:19 — Gradients & Binaries
• 23:17 — Ecologies of Care
• 32:33 — Sacred Activism
• 36:51 — Post-COVID Shift
• 45:31 — Egyptian Lineage
• 53:44 — Upcoming Projects

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member:

Gigi Azmy merges 28 years of spiritual insights with scientific psychological research to guide individuals toward a profound realization of love—far beyond cultural and spiritual misconceptions. A trailblazer in her field, she introduced trauma healing into spiritual awakening workshops, emphasizing the importance of not only awakening, but also healing and evolving. Gigi excels at something seemingly impossible: helping others remove the blocks that keep them from attracting their ideal conscious relationship. Her work, rooted in personal spiritual knowledge and empirical studies in relational psychology, demystifies the art of building genuine connections and self-awareness. Additionally, Gigi extends her expertise to working with intentional communities committed to sustaining enduring relational bonds. She is currently finalizing her book, Spiritual Guide: Awakening to Love, and leads the HeartSword Sangha, a free biweekly online community focused on deep relational and personal growth. Gigi holds a master's degree in business and majored in psychology and social sciences. She lives with her husband and baby twins in Hawaii.

https://www.gigiazmy.com/

Topics

• 00:00 Introduction to Gigi Azmy and Her Work
• 01:24 Early Workshops and the Role of Trauma
• 04:21 Navigating Personal and Global Crises
• 11:43 The Complexity of Relationships and Spirituality
• 23:06 Inner Community and Divine Guidance
• 31:11 Navigating Opposing Ways of Thinking
• 34:00 Relationality and the Metacrisis Post-COVID
• 38:35 The Role of Individual Health in Community Success
• 51:39 Challenges and Dynamics in Intentional Communities
• 59:35 Future Visions for Community and Individual Growth

Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

Rev Deborah L Johnson (Rev D) is a dynamic organizer, strategist, facilitator, public speaker, and
spoken word artist, known for her ability to bring clarity to complex and emotionally charged
issues with humor and compassion. As an organizational consultant specializing in cultural
diversity, she serves the public, private, non-profit, and military sectors. Her clients have
included, MCA Universal, ATT, Apple Inc, Hewlett Packard, Kaiser Permanente, US Coast Guard
Academy, Ford Foundation, SBC Communications, UCSF, Prudential, and Kodak. Rev Deborah is
a successful co-litigant in two landmark civil rights cases in California. The first resulted in the
inclusion of sexual orientation in the state’s Civil Rights Bill in 1984 setting a national precedent,while the second staved off repeal of the state’s Domestic Partnership in 2005. For her social justice work, she has been featured in numerous books and films including Showtime’s Jumpin’ The Broom and has received many lifetime achievement awards including induction into the Board of Preachers at the MLK Jr. Chapel of Morehouse College.

RevD's Upcoming Courses:

Yes to Oneness
The 6-session “YES to Oneness” workshop is preventative medicine for divisiveness. Guided by divine downloads from my books The Sacred YES and Your Deepest Intent, we’ll go on a spiritually transformative experience.
 

How to Depolarize
The 3-session “How to Depolarize” workshop provides diagnostic techniques and treatment plans for divisiveness. It is an interactive skills building practicum based on my 40+ years as a movement organizer, corporate DEI consultant, spiritual leader, and successful co-litigant in two landmark civil rights cases. This workshop expands upon the concepts I recently presented at Harvard Divinity School.  

Topics:

• 0:00 — Introduction
•  2:51 — Reconnecting Post-Pandemic
• 4:29 — Keeping Hope Alive
• 7:41 — On Nonduality
• 12:27 — Balancing Social Justice
• 19:59 — Everything is in Vibrations of Possibilities
• 25:58 — Interfaith / Omnifaith Exploration
• 33:14 — Reconnecting to our Natural State
• 40:06 — Knowing Truth
• 45:10 — Advice for Burnout and Connection
• 50:42 — Learning and Growing in Community

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member

A recording of excerpts from a SAND Community Gathering hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo.

Trauma has a way of separating us from parts of ourselves. Painful experiences cause protective parts to take over, isolating our inner wounds in an effort to help us survive. Yet, avoiding our emotional injuries rarely leads to true healing.

In this conversation, Internal Family System (IFS) founder Richard Schwartz outlined how to transform our relationship with the wounded parts holding our unresolved injuries.

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, is the creator of Internal Family Systems, a highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic model that de-pathologizes the multi-part personality. His IFS Institute offers training for professionals and the general public. He is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and has published five books, including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago, close to his three daughters and his growing number of grandchildren.

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:00 –  Intro to Internal Family System (IFS)
• 16:48 – IFS work with Maurizio
• 29:16 – Ancestor and Legacy Work
• 38:12 – Altered States of Consciousness in IFS Work
• 44:20 – Exiled Parts That Become Cultural Patterns

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

In this episode we bring you excerpts from an online SAND Community Gathering with Gabor and Daniel Maté hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo from February 2024. Also present in this episode is Betsy Polatin offering guided meditation and grounding exercises as everyone navigates these difficult conversations. Lastly SAND presenter Deran Young ends the episode with a question on Racialized Trauma.

You can watch the full video conversation here

No statement, no words can speak to the immense suffering, devastation and horrendous humanitarian crisis intensifying in the Middle East. The current tragedy awakens existential fear, acute grief and deep despair. It also creates a rift among friends and families. Many are in a state of deep shock and in need of support, and the obstacles to communicating with loved ones only intensify the anguish.

In this Q&A session, Dr. Gabor Maté and his son Daniel discussed ways to listen and communicate across different perspectives and narratives.

Gabor Maté, M.D. is a specialist on trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development. After 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, Dr. Maté worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. For his groundbreaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. Gabor is also the creator of a psychotherapeutic approach, Compassionate Inquiry, now studied by thousands of therapists, physicians, counselors, and others in over 80 countries.

Daniel Maté is a composer, lyricist, and playwright for musical theatre based in BC and New York. He has been active since 2007, when he graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing. He also holds a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from McGill.

Daniel received the prestigious Edward Kleban Prize for Most Promising Lyricist in American Musical Theatre, a Jonathan Larson Foundation Grant, and the ASCAP Foundation’s Cole Porter Award for Excellence in Music and Lyrics (for his song cycle The Longing and the Short of It.) He has presented his work at the historic Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and New York’s Lincoln Center, and was an invited participant in the inaugural Johnny Mercer Writers Colony.

Betsy Polatin, MFA, SEP, an internationally recognized breathing/movement specialist and best- selling author, has been teaching for 45 years. Her unique and intuitive perspectives are greatly influenced by the study of movement, breath, and trauma, as well as the teachings of spiritual and meditation masters. She speaks at conferences around the world.

As a well-known educator, she’s had numerous articles published in the Huffington Post, and is the author of The Actor’s Secret and Humanual.

Deran Young is a licensed therapist specializing in racial trauma and legacy burdens. She is also a Co-Author of the New York Times Best Seller, You Are Your Best Thing, a retired military officer, & founder of Black Therapists Rock. Black Therapists Rock is a non profit organization with a network of over 30,000 mental health professionals committed to reducing the psychological impact of systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma. She obtained her social work degree from University of Texas, where she studied abroad in Ghana, West Africa for two semesters creating a high school counseling center for under-resourced students. Deran has visited over 37 different countries and her clinical experience spans across four different continents. Her passion for culture and people has led her to become a highly sought after diversity and inclusion consultant working with companies like BBERG, Facebook, Linked In, and YWCA. She resides in the Washington DC area with her 10 year old son.

Topics:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:04:10 – Gabor Maté Introduction
• 00:09:56 – Daniel Maté Introduction
• 00:18:48 – Gabor’s Learning During this Violence since October 7
• 00:21:23 – Betsy Polatin Grounding Practice
• 00:24:31 – Gabor Responds to Comments in the Chat, speaking to ALL suffering
• 00:26:47 – Question: "What is the most effective way to break through Zionists Friends"
• 00:35:58 – Question: “How to Respond to Friends and Circles on Social Media”
• 00:38:34 – Question: “Responding to Israeli Sufferings from October 7”
• 00:51:12 – Betsy Calming Exercise
• 00:54:33 – Question: “Legacy of Dehumanization in this Conflict”
• 00:59:43 – Question: “Speaking Out in Jewish Communities”
• 01:04:52 – Question: “Addressing the War Machine(s)”
• 01:10:27 – The Misconceptions About Safety and Comfort in these Discussions
• 01:14:48 – Deran Young on Racialized Trauma
• 01:19:56 – Betsy Closing Meditation

Support the mission of SAND the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member

Mauro Zappaterra obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Harvard Medical School. He completed his PhD doing work with neuronal stem cells and the effects of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in brain development and in the adult. He is published in numerous scientific articles on the CSF and his work was chosen as the cover image for the prestigious Neuron Journal.  He was also featured in the New England Journal of Medicine in teaching medical students about living with life threatening diseases and in Psychology Today on an article titled “Joy: The art of loving life."

Topics:

• 0:00 — Introduction
• 2:14 — Mauro’s Background
• 9:37 — Exploring Holistic Medicine at Harvard
• 17:31 — Evidence Based Medicine
• 19:00 — Sound and Light Therapy
• 24:10 — Day to Day Practice
• 28:22 — Chronic Pain
• 45:08 — Frontiers of Alternative Healing
• 54:10 — CSF Guided Meditation
  
  

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"This is a spiritual test, this is a spiritual war, as much as it is a material one. People say, ‘As above, so below.’ How we are interfacing with the physical realities of this moment, the ways that we are leveraging our daily energy are either making us complicit with life's desecration or helping us to affirm life and the spirit of resistance. The battle that we are in is right now!"
— Layla K. Feghali on the violence in Gaza, Sounds of SAND, Ep. #76

We are now over four months into a worsening genocide in Gaza — with over 30,000 murdered and over 2 million now enduring military-enforced famine enacted by Israel, the US, and their global allies. There is no way a 90-minute teaching can impact the depth of sorrow, injustice, betrayal, and state-sponsored violence unfolding in Palestine. And yet, we share a moral obligation to resist the life-desecrating forces at work.

In this gathering, our three guests share of their personal attempts as Earth-honoring ritualists and educators to embody core values and take tangible action in a time of genocide.

Calls to Action to Support these GoFundMe Campaigns:

 

• SAND’s GoFundMe to help Amina & her family
• Layla Feghali’s connection to Ahmed Al Munirawi’s campaign
• Layla Feghali’s connection to Reem Shaheen’s campaign

Guests:

Daniel Foor is a doctor of psychology, experienced ritualist, and the author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing. He is a practicing Muslim and initiate in the Òrìṣà tradition of Yoruba-speaking West Africa who has also learned from Mahayan Buddhism and the older ways of his English and German ancestors. Daniel was a U.S. Fulbright scholar in Cairo, Egypt as a student of Arabic language, and he is passionate about generational healing and training leaders and change makers in the intersections of cultural healing, animist ethics, and applied ritual arts. He lives with his wife and daughters near his adoptive home of Granada, Spain in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Taya Mâ Shere is a ritual artist embracing embodied, earth-honoring devotion as liberatory spiritual practice. She serves as a professor of Organic Multi-Religious Ritual at Starr King School for the Ministry and co-weaves Makam Shekhina, a Jewish and Sufi Muslim multi-religious community committed to counter-oppressive spiritual practice. Taya Mâ hosts the acclaimed podcast, Jewish Ancestral Healing and The Sarah & Hajar Series: Sacred Practice and Possibility at the Intersections of Judaism and Islam. She is currently tending Ceasefire movement chaplaincy and From the Deep, an emergent mystery school of earth-reverent ritual and counter-oppressive devotion. She co-founded the Kohenet movement and  is co-author of The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership. Her five albums of sacred chant have been heralded as “cutting-edge mystic medicine music.”

Layla K. Feghali is an ethnobotanist, cultural worker, and author who lives between her ancestral village in Lebanon and her diasporic home in California, where she was born and raised. Her dedication is the stewardship of our earth’s eco-cultural integrity and the many layers of relational restoration, systemic reckoning, and healing that entails. Feghali offers a line of plantcestral medicine and other culturally-rooted offerings, with an emphasis on Southwest Asia and its diasporas. Her recent book, The Land in Our Bones, documents cultural herbal and healing knowledge from Syria to the Sinai, while interrogating colonialism and its lingering wounds on the culture of our displaced world.

Topics:

• 00:00:00 — Introduction
• 00:05:43 — Daniel Foor
• 00:21:44 — Taya Mâ Shere
• 00:35:44 — Layla K. Feghali
• 01:00:28 — Guided Practice
• 01:10:22 — Questions from the Event Chat
• 01:20:29 — Yeye Luisha Teish
• 01:23:48 — Closing Statements

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This SAND Community Gathering was recorded live on February 10, 2024 with Omid Safi and SAND co-founders Zaya and Maurzio Benazzo. 

For the full video version of this conversation, please visit: https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/love-with-justice/

Omid Safi is a scholar of the Islamic mystical tradition of Radical Love and serves as a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University. Ten times nominated for professor of the year awards, Omid has published extensively on the foundational sources of Islam and Sufism. He has authored Memories of Muhammad and Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition.  He has offered the annual Martin Luther King lecture and appeared as an expert on Islam in the New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, Al-Jazeera, PBS, NPR, NBC, BBC and CNN.

Omid teaches online courses on Muslim mysticism and has his own podcast Sufi Heart.  He also offers spiritually oriented contemplative journeys and retreats for the general public. Information about the books, podcast, courses, and tours can be found at illuminatedcourses.com.

SAND’s Helpful Resources on Israel/Palestine

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Topics:
00:00:00 – Introduction
00:03:37 – Sufi Prayer and Omid’s Bio
00:06:44 – Setting a Context for the Discussion
00:22:32 – ”Whataboutism”
00:34:56 – Teachings from the Heart
00:46:38 – Balancing Love, Fear, and Righteous
00:59:19 – Responses from Spiritual Teachers on Gaza
01:10:36 – Remembering Mother Earth
01:14:42 – Letting Go of “You and I” / Nonduality
01:16:58 – Celebrating Life

Lama Tsomo is a spiritual teacher, author, and co-founder of Namchak Foundation and Namchak Retreat Ranch, which preserves and shares Tibetan Buddhist practice in accessible, contemporary ways. Under the tutelage of Tulku Sangak Rinpoche, international holder of the Namchak lineage, Lama Tsomo has done extensive spiritual retreats in the U.S. and abroad and is fluent in Tibetan. Today, she is dedicated to sharing the teachings of the Namchak lineage with Western students, bringing greater happiness and meaning to life through meditation practice, community, and retreat. She is passionate about reaching young people and supporting those working for positive social change.

Lama Tsomo holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and is the author of Ancient Wisdom for Our Times: Tibetan Buddhist Practice Series and coauthor of The Lotus & the Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity and the Taking a Breath meditation journal.  

Links:

• Namchak Website
• Saving Each Other Together Project
• Four Immeasurables Retreat
• Namchak’s Instagram
• Deepening Our Feeling for “Us”: Lama Tsomo from SAND19

Music from Today's episode:

• Chenrezig Sadhana – Tibetan Vajrayana Mantra Meditation
• Now I Walk In Beauty Libana- Fire Within
• Now I Walk in Beauty (sheet music)

Topics:

0:00 – Introduction

2:58 – Lama Intro Story and Path to Buddhism

8:13 – Major Schools of Buddhism in the U.S.

10:35 – Balancing Mindfulness & Compassion

16:45 – The Predictions of Guru Rinpoche

24:45 – The Importance of Mantra

25:53 – The One Ocean

32:13 – Sharing in Sangha in Mantra

37:49 – Chenrezig / Avalokiteśvara chanting practice

50:53 – Working Skillfully With Equanimity

54:19 – The Importance of Sangha

58:57 – Aspirational and Engaged Boddhicitta

From a SAND Community Gathering in January 2024.

You can watch the full video of this Community Gathering here: scienceandnonduality.com/event/bloodlines/

As many of us grapple with feelings of disillusionment, outrage, impotence and grief at the horrendous tragedy unfolding in Gaza, we gathered as a SAND community for an intimate conversation with meital yaniv, an ex-israeli soldier / ex-zionist fighter and Sulaiman Khatib, Palestinian co-founder of Combatants for Peace.

With meital and Souli reflecting on their personal journeys of loss and transformation, we uncovered ancestral legacies of trauma and coping, belonging and indoctrination, individual and collective grief, awakening, and resilience. Their dialog was facilitated by Rae Abileah, a Jewish faith leader, social change strategist, and writer. Through sharing our stories, and engaging in open and compassionate conversation, may we find collective healing.

Sulaiman Khatib is the Co-Founder of Combatants for Peace. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, he has been recognized internationally for his contributions to promoting peace, social justice and equality for all. In 2006, he co-founded Al-Qud’s Association for Democracy and Dialogue, a program which works with youth in order to create effective and sustainable projects focusing on the promotion of peace, democracy and civic participation in the Palestinian Territories. For the last twenty years, he has been a committed advocate for peace in the Middle East and an active member of various programs aiming to promote a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He is the author of In this Place Together.

meital yaniv was born into a sephardic and ashkenazi lineage of in/famous war heroes and pillars for the state of israel, meital is the author of bloodlines, an epic and intimate dive into the israeli apartheid regime from the perspective of an ex-israeli/ex-zionist soldier. In the book, meital yaniv traces their paternal family narrative from surviving the Holocaust of the second world war to migrating to Palestine and their subsequent indoctrination as zionist colonizers and defenders of the state of israel.  yaniv directs our attention to the cycles of history and how genocide not only repeats but grows monstrously in the crevices of state belonging. They see themselves as “a death laborer tending to a prayer for the liberation of the land of Palestine and the lands of our bodies.”

Rae Abileah (she/her) is a Jewish faith leader, social change strategist, writer, and facilitator. For the past two decades, she has worked with nonprofits and social movements, from volunteer to executive director.

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 00:24 – Introduction with Gazan Musician, Haneen Sabbah singing Reem Banna (The Absence one)
• 04:16 – Introduction from Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo
• 06:52 – Rae Abileah Introduction
• 12:12 – Sulaiman Khatib
• 17:32 – Sulaiman’s Time in Jail
• 33:18 – meital yaniv’s Story
• 48:16 – Healing the Land Through Ancestors

SAND's Helpful Resources on Israel/Palestine

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Vuyi Qubeka is a seer, artist, multidimensional storyteller, & a transformative healing practitioner whose work is anchored by the wisdoms of indigenous knowledge systems and unconditional love.

Vuyi considers herself a SoulSongSage and creates a container for individuals to remember the song of their soul through identifying the blockages keeping them from expressing their true nature by re-patterning childhood conditioning and trauma. Vuyi weaves together sound, ceremony, movement, visual art, and prose to conjure memory, activate healing and inspire truth seekers, creatives & pioneering leaders from all walks of life. Her work explores both feminine wisdom & the Mother Mind while confronting individual, familial & collective traumas, with a focus on sexual trauma, for our shared restoration.

Vuyi offers one-on-one soul healing sessions, storytelling & speaking immersions, rites of passage ceremonies, retreat facilitation, workshops and explorative collaborations. Vuyi's long term intention is to create a rehabilitation oasis for child trafficking survivors, a home within nature where small people can restore their innocence, joy, dignity and reclaim their essence.

Website: www.vuyiqubeka.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/vuyiqubeka/

Email: vuyiqubeka@gmail.com

Topics:

00:00:00 – Introduction
00:11:54 – Shamanism
00:17:39 – Ancestors
00:20:52 – Healing with Sound
00:22:11 – Connection with Nature
00:24:46 – The Authentic Self
00:30:14 – South Africa and Gaza
00:34:14 – Vuyi’s Message to Gaza
00:39:39 – ”Don’t Die with Your Music Still Inside You”
00:42:21 – TED Talk Excerpt
00:50:44 – We Are the Song
00:53:42 – ”Ancient Dreams” (AxisZulu Natural Mix) by Vuyi Qubeka
01:01:16 – Coming Up for Vuyi
01:13:12 – ”Moon Chant” by Vuyi Qubeka

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Join us for a conversation with Edward Frenkel, mathematician, Berkeley professor and author of the international bestseller Love and Math, as we explore the nature of reality and the fallacy of the naive ideas of determinism and computationalism. Drawing on the landmark achievements of modern mathematics and quantum physics, Frenkel makes the case that consciousness is not computational, that intuition and imagination cannot be captured by algorithms.

A regular presenter at the SAND conferences, Frenkel has long argued that the debate about the capabilities and dangers of artificial intelligence can be traced to the question “Who am I?” Hence it creates an opportunity for us to go deeper on the path of self-inquiry. To facilitate this process, it is essential to let go of the misconceptions of the science of the 19th century and to update our worldview with the paradigms of the science of the 21st century. A mind-expanding dialogue about the Infinite nature of consciousness, limits of knowledge, and the alchemy of transformation.

Edward Frenkel is a professor of mathematics at University of California, Berkeley, member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and winner of the Weyl Prize in Mathematical Physics. He is the author of the international bestseller Love and Math which has been published in 19 languages.

Links

• Website
• YouTube
• Edward’s SAND 2014 Talk
• Edward’s SAND 2015 talk
• Brian Grene’s interview quoted in this conversation
• Robert Sapolsky’s interview
• Jerome Feldman’s article about the incompleteness of current theories of neural computation
• Edward’s article “AI Safety: A First-Person Perspective“

Topics:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:04:36 – Journey to Mathematics
• 00:11:06 – Pythagoras
• 00:17:15 – Going Against Dogma
• 00:19:15 – First-Person Perspective
• 00:22:12 – Dogmas in Modern Science
• 00:36:47 – Kurt Gödel
• 00:40:58 – Agency and Free Will
• 00:58:20 – On AI
• 01:07:44 – Brain and Consciousness (with Peter Russell)

In this episode we present excerpts from the recent conversation (June 2024) as part of SAND’s “Conversations on Palestine” around the premiere of the film Where Olive Trees Weep hosted by the directors of the film and co-founders of SAND, Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo.

You can watch this full conversation and 22 others. SAND has created a program with leading historians, spiritual teachers, trauma therapists, poets and performers to complement the themes explored in the film and provide a larger historical, cultural and social context to the plight of the Palestinian people.

In this conversation, legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis and Dr. Gabor Maté, physician and author, explore the intersections between the Palestinian struggle for freedom and broader global movements for justice, equity, and human liberation.

Drawing parallels between the oppression faced by Palestinians and the systemic injustice confronting marginalized communities around the world, Angela and Gabor will shed light on the common roots of violence, occupation, and dehumanization. They will examine how trauma, both individual and collective, perpetuates cycles of conflict and how healing these wounds is integral to achieving genuine liberation.

Bios

Angela Y. Davis, Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies Departments at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is an internationally renowned activist, scholar, and writer who has dedicated her life to combating oppression in the U.S. and abroad. With a long-standing commitment to prisoners’ rights and a powerful critique of racism in the criminal justice system, Davis is a founding member of Critical Resistance, a national organization working to dismantle the prison industrial complex. She is the author of nine books, including Are Prisons Obsolete? and Women, Race, and Class, and has lectured in all fifty states and across the globe. Despite facing persecution for her activism and membership in the Communist Party, USA, which led to her false imprisonment and a massive “Free Angela Davis” campaign, Davis remains a tireless advocate for social justice and prison abolition.

Gabor Maté, M.D. is a specialist on trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development. After 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, Dr. Maté worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. For his groundbreaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. Gabor is also the creator of a psychotherapeutic approach, Compassionate Inquiry, now studied by thousands of therapists, physicians, counselors, and others in over 80 countries.

Topics

• 00:00 – Introduction and Welcome
• 01:28 – Background on the Conversation
• 02:10 – Angela Davis and Gabor Mate: Biographies
• 03:01 – Current Situation in Gaza and the West Bank
• 04:04 – Global Resistance and Solidarity
• 04:37 – Personal Reflections and Historical Context
• 05:42 – The Moral Litmus Test of Palestine
• 22:09 – The Role of Violence in Liberation Struggles
• 27:36 – The Impact of Incarceration
• 31:35 – Unity and Emotional Connection
• 42:17 – Reflections on Activism and Change
• 48:55 – Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Episode artwork: Wadsworth Jarrell, “Revolutionary” (1972)

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Without form, without figure, without resemblance am I;

Vitality of all senses, in everything I am;

Neither attached, nor released am I;

I am Consciousness, I am Bliss, I am Shiva, I am Shiva.

—Adi Shankara, Nirvana Shatakam, Hymns 3–6

Timothy Owen Desmond, aka Tod, is a philosopher and author. He majored in Philosophy and Political Science at Boston College University. Dedicated to a life of study, his unconventional path led to a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religion from CIIS. Desmond explores the intersections of holographic string theory and Jungian psychology, detailed in his 2018 book, Psyche and Singularity. In 2023, he launched an online course, "Immortality and the Unreality of Death," integrating insights from Joseph Campbell and Ernest Becker.

Tod’s Course: Immortality and the Unreality of Death: A Hero’s Journey Through Philosophy, Psychology, and Physics

Takeaways:

• The intersection of Jungian psychology, physics, and string theory offers a comprehensive understanding of the nature of reality.
• Near-death experiences and mystical experiences provide insights into the ultimate nature of existence.
• Plato's cave allegory and archetypes reveal the shadowy nature of the material world and the existence of higher forms.
• String theory and the holographic principle suggest that the universe is an inside-out black hole, and information is recorded on a two-dimensional surface.
• The concept of psyche as a singularity implies that each individual is a point of infinite density and contains the entire universe within.
• Exploring these ideas can lead to a deeper understanding of reality and the nature of consciousness. Understanding the eternal nature of the soul can help address the fear of death.
• Belief in God and performing heroically for God is important for the development of the human psyche.
• The journey towards singularity involves a ladder of understanding that leads to a belief in the ultimate idea of the good.
• Future explorations in physics, philosophy, and artificial intelligence can further deepen our understanding of the psyche and singularity.

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 5:50 – Jung’s Near-Death Experience
• 16:08 – Nondual Experiences: Dissolving Separateness
• 20:20 – Jungian Archetypes
• 23:46 – Platonic Philosophies
• 28:04 – Why there are seashells in the mountains?
• 33:30 – String Theory & Black Holes
• 43:16 – Infinity, Emptiness & Form
• 50:38 – Exploring the “why” of all of this?

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While Attachment Theory has offered many valuable insights, its foundations reflect certain limiting assumptions. Originally formulated based on white, Western nuclear family structures, Attachment Theory is rooted in White cis-het settler-colonizer patriarchal paradigms that hyper-emphasise dyadic relationships within a nuclear family. Yet we humans participate in relationships far beyond just our early caretakers.

Many of us feel profound connections across generations – to ancestors, spiritual traditions, and cultural lineages. We also bond deeply with the living world around us, from animals and plants to rivers and forests. And in today’s complex global society, our close relational circles extend to friends, chosen families, and communities near and far.

When we experience trauma, secure attachment with a handful of early caregivers alone cannot suffice to heal our deep relational wounds. We need a more expansive vision – one that engages the full web of relationships anchoring our lives. The connections we share run far deeper than any one theory can capture.

What would it mean to reconceptualize secure attachment more holistically? How might embracing the relational richness of our multi-layered lives help transform isolation into belonging?

These are some of the questions we will explore with Linda Thai, mental health clinician, storyteller, and educator.

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:20 – Orienting
• 07:45 – Linda's Journey
• 15:50 – Attachment Theory
• 22:00 – Grief
• 31:21 – Song at the Heart of Healing
• 47:40 – Ancestry

"If we knew how important it is to listen, to listen to our hearts, to listen to our loved ones, to birds, to animals… it’s the ability to listen that reconnects us to the all, the great spirit”
—Katie Gray

Katie Gray is an author, singer, counselor, and elder caregiver devoted to helping people connect with feeling, presence and Self awareness. Inspired and compelled by her own self-recovery from a 17 year addiction to food and bulimia, Katie utilizes the gift of her voice and wisdom to help others unravel from shame, insecurity and suffering. Her work, The Empowered Heart, is a methodological approach that helps assist people through the process of identifying and healing emotional wounds and is the basis of understanding that infuses her work as an author, counselor, and facilitator.

Her new book is The Empowered Heart Guidebook

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:08 – Connecting with SAND
• 07:03 – Listening
• 10:54 – Path to the Empowered Heart Guidebook
• 16:40 – Writing Process
• 19:34 – Circular Map
• 26:24 – The Rhythm of the Path
• 32:24 – Rushing Towards Solutions
• 40:20 – Remembering The Heart
• 48:38 – Healing in Community
• 53:22 – Empowered

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Join SAND co-founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo in conversation with Aboriginal elders and authors Uncle Paul Callaghan and Uncle Paul Gordon for a colorful community conversation, “On the Dreaming Path,” where we’ll explore some of the profound teachings shared in their latest book.

"Uncle" Paul Callaghan is an award-winning author and accomplished speaker. He has qualifications in a very diverse range of disciplines and a PhD in creative practice. He is also an Aboriginal story teller from the land of the Worimi people who has spent many years “out bush” listening and learning. He has life experience in many industries, Aboriginal culture and heritage and Aboriginal community services.

"Uncle" Paul Gordon is a Ngemba man. Born in Brewarrina, he grew up on the Barwon River in Northwestern New South Wales, Australia. Since 1983 he has spent most of his time with the Old Men learning about country and lore. Uncle Paul has dedicated his life to teaching and working with communities throughout Australia to support learning through lore and culture. For the past 15 years, he has been leading camps and workshops for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to reconnect to culture. As a traditional knowledge holder and custodian of Aboriginal lore, he continues to share as part of his obligation to thousands of years of Aboriginal culture.

The underpinning foundation of the book is his journey through depression and the role Aboriginal culture, spirituality and philosophy had in not only enabling him to recover, but also empowering him to live life by his truth rather than everybody else’s expectations. The book has a number of exercises and models based on his experience aimed at assisting people from all walks of life to build the courage and skills to live a life of purpose, choice and wellbeing. You will find it is a combination of styles including textbook, self help, Aboriginal history, Aboriginal philosophy, Aboriginal spirituality and an autobiography of his journey through depression.

The Dreaming Path: Indigenous Thinking to Change Your Life

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 4:33 – Dreamtime
• 13:00 – Aboriginal Lore
• 20:26 – A Dreamtime Story
• 32:16 – Importance of Relationality
• 41:26 – 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum

Welcome to the Sounds of SAND podcast and our final episode of the year. Today we present an Anthology episode culling poetry, song, talks and conversations from this podcast as well as Science and Nonduality conferences and events from the past decade.

As the world around us quiets down and a blanket of stillness descends, we find ourselves at the heart of an ancient cultural and spiritual celebration – the winter solstice. People through out time have revered this moment of deep winter for its mystical powers of regrowth, healing, and hope that it’s always darkest before the light returns.

Indeed many ancient civilizations noticed that the days were getting longer in the days just after the Winter Solstice. They celebrated the coming of longer days, the return of the sun in ancient Greece and Rome, Pagan religions and even the birth of Jesus in the Christian Religion all occurring in late December.

These days with the polycrises of environmental collapse, cultural fragmentation, economic inequality and the brutal violence of wars in places like Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan we are all entangled in the dark blanket of shared grief.

We’ll hear from SAND speakers like Maya Luna, Lama Rod Owens, Gabor Mate, Adyashanti, Mirabai Star, and Michael Meade who touch into themes of the dark night of the soul, silence, and a prayer for light to return to our collective consciousness.

You can find the full list of speakers with timestamps in the Topics section.
 

Please join us and settling in as we take a sonic journey as the season of silence is upon us. If you’re listening in the Southern part of the world, where the long days of summer are now expanding, I hope this episode finds you when deep winter arrives in June.

Thank you for listening and being the shared light of awareness.

Join SAND to support the mission and production of this podcast:

TOPICS:

 

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:04:44 – Joan Tollifson
• 00:09:42 – Pamela Wilson
• 00:16:48 – Adyashanti & Gabor Maté
• 00:24:48 – Lama Rod Owens
• 00:26:30 – Vera de Chalambert
• 00:38:58 – Fred LaMotte
• 00:47:32 – Mirabai Starr
• 00:58:50 – Maya Luna
• 01:04:36 – Amoda Maa
• 01:24:06 – Michael Meade

A live recording from a recent SAND Community Gathers (Sept. 2023) hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo (co-founders of SAND). Along with their guest, Francis Weller, they explore themes of emptiness, individualism, self-help, separation, religion, belonging, relationality, and Francis's deep work with grief.

Francis Weller, MFT, is a psychotherapist, writer and soul activist. He is a master of synthesizing diverse streams of thought from psychology, anthropology, mythology, alchemy, indigenous cultures and poetic traditions. Author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief; The Threshold Between Loss and Revelation, (with Rashani Réa) and In the Absence of the Ordinary: Essays in a Time of Uncertainty, he has introduced the healing work of ritual to thousands of people. He founded and directs WisdomBridge, an organization that offers educational programs that seek to integrate the wisdom from indigenous cultures with the insights and knowledge gathered from western poetic, psychological and spiritual traditions.

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Episode Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 4:00 – Emptiness & Individualism
• 9:00 – Religion & The Original Trauma
• 13:43 – Self-help & Separateness
• 18:22 – Belonging
• 23:46 – Grief & Emptiness
• 28:57 – Rationality vs. Relationship
• 34:32 – Joy & Grief
• 44:20 – Buddhism & Emptiness
• 46:48 – Guided Meditation from Francis

Peter Russell is on the faculty of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a fellow of The World Business Academy and The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest, and President of Science and NonDuality.

In 1982 he coined the term "global brain" with his 1980s bestseller of the same name in which he predicted the Internet and the impact it would have.

Peter Russell Interviews his AI Clone

Peter’s new book, Forgiving Humanity: How the Most Innovative Species Became the Most Dangerous

Peter’s Course on SAND, Enjoying Meditation

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:23 – Peter’s AI Clone
• 08:56 – The Black Box
• 10:21 – Non-linearity
• 11:17 – The Global Brain
• 13:18 – Usefulness of GPTs
• 15:52 – Forms of Intelligence
• 17:38 – The Unexpected
• 29:00 – AI & Consciousness
• 31:32 – Digital Reality and Consciousness
• 35:42 – Importance for Society
• 50:48 – AI and Inequality
• 53:57 – A Digital Dark Age?
• 01:01:12 – The Future of AI

SAND co-founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo join Euphrasia “Efu” Nyaki for a community conversation on holistic healing from trauma. Efu has developed a method that integrates ancestral wisdom from her Snail Clan in Tanzania, somatic therapy, and family constellations. Her approach helps resolve PTSD, depression, addiction, chronic illness, and more by releasing trauma at the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.

Euphrasia (Efu) Nyaki was born and raised on the slopes of mountain Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, where she gained the essence and vital healing energy from her ancestors. The strength of her ancestors lead her to earn a Bachelor of Science degree, train as a science teacher, and later to train as a healer using holistic methods. Efu enjoys helping others and for this reason joined an International Catholic Missionary community called Maryknoll sisters of Saint Dominick. Having arrived in Brazil as a missionary in 1993, Efu worked for 5 years with women who suffered from violence using mental health programs in the periphery of the city of João Pessoa, Brazil. In the year 2000 she co- founded two NGOs, and in the past 20 years, Efu has offered bodyworker and herbal medicine trainings for community leaders. For the past 10 years Efu has been teaching Family Constellation (trans-generational trauma healing) and Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) for trauma resolution in Brazil and other parts of the world. Efu was also asked by Dr. Peter A Levine, the developer of SE™, to join his Legacy Faculty to assist him and teach his Master Classes.

Efu’s new book:

Healing Trauma through Family Constellations and Somatic Experiencing: Ancestral Wisdom from the Snail Clan of Tanzania (Sacred Planet)

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Without either diploma or culture, Éric Baret has no special competence. Touched by the non-dual tradition through Jean Klein's teaching, he suggests that one turn towards listening, free of any notion of gain. Nothing taught, no teacher. Meetings for the joy of being nothing.

Let the Moon Be Free: Conversations on Conversations on Kashmiri Tantra

Articles and writings from Éric on SAND’s Website

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 3:26 – Lineage
• 5:18 – Jean Klein
• 11:53 – Guru / Student Relationship
• 23:46 – Arc of Awakening
• 29:56 – Sleep
• 38:38 – Dream Consciousness
• 42:56 – Body
• 50:44 – Listening
• 57:33 – Let the Moon Be Free

Episode Transcript

No statement, no words can speak to the immense human suffering, the devastation and the horrendous humanitarian crisis intensifying in the Middle East. The current tragedy is awakening existential fear, acute grief and deep despair. Unspeakable atrocities have left many in a state of deep shock and in need of support.

Gabor Maté, M.D. is a renowned speaker, and bestselling author who is is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics including addiction, stress and childhood development. Rather than offering quick-fix solutions to these complex issues, Dr. Maté weaves together scientific research, case histories, and his own insights and experience to present a broad perspective that enlightens and empowers people to promote their own healing and that of those around them.

Roots Run Deep Resources for Palestine / Israel

Full Video Recording of this Episode

Part two of this Roots Run Deep series live online with Dr. Gabor Maté, Dec 15, 9am PT

Federico Faggin is one of the greatest luminaries of high technology alive today. A physicist by education, he is the inventor of the microprocessor and the MOS silicon gate technology, both of which underlie the modern world's entire information technology. With the knowledge and experience of a lifetime in cutting-edge fields, Federico now turns his attention to consciousness and the nature of reality, sharing with us his profound insights on the classical and quantum worlds, artificial intelligence, life and the human mind. In “Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature" Federico's new book, discussed on Sounds of Sand, he elaborates on an monistic model of reality, produced after years of careful thought and direct experience, according to which nature's most fundamental level is that of consciousness as a quantum phenomenon, while the classical physical world consists merely of evocative symbols of a deeper reality.

FedericoFaggin.com

Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature

Additional production support: Robert Neville

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction and Importance of Exploring Consciousness and Reality
• 04:23 – Federico's Awakening Experience
  
• 15:29 – The Italian Verbs 'Conoscere' and 'Sapere'
• 20:28 – Federico's Theory: Unifying Science and Spirituality
• 30:08 – The Relationship Between Quantum Fields and Individuals
• 38:18 – Interiority and Exteriority of Consciousness
• 40:31 – AI
• 46:30 – More than Human Consciousness
• 51:54 – States of Consciousness
• 54:22 – Closing Thoughts

Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member.

Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself.

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 2:34 – Global Wars
• 6:29 – Self-Care at the End of the World
• 8:57 – Fierce Compassion
• 14:45 – Ma Tara
• 20:59 – New Saints
• 28:03 – Evangelism and Bodhisattva
• 41:05 – Do We Need Modern-Day Saints?
• 45:05 – Inclusivity
• 48:49 – Secular Buddhism and Liberation
• 55:29 – Prayer

In this live SAND Community Gathering SAND co-founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo discuss Thomas’ new book Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma.

Thomas Hübl is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator whose lifelong work integrates the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since the early 2000s, he has been leading large-scale events and courses that focus on the healing and integration of trauma, with a special focus on the shared history of Israelis and Germans. Over the last decade, he has facilitated dialogue with thousands of people around healing the collective traumas of racism, oppression, colonialism, genocides in the U.S., Israel, Germany, Spain, and Argentina.

Learn more about Thomas’ new book is Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma—and Our World.

Alixa García is a Colombian born, globally-raised, multi-disciplinary artist, activist, and cultural activator whose work is imbued in ritual, spirit, and deep reverence for our Great Mother, Great Lover, our Earth. She is an award-winning activist, poet, and filmmaker. She is also a professional writer, visual artist, musician, and facilitator. Her work has been published by Whit Press, AK Press, Hatchett, & Daraja Press.

Instagram and Linktree

Alixa’s upcoming course on A Course on the Imaginal: Cultivating the Visionary Self

Mentioned in the Episode the late artist and performer Tigre Bailando

Topics: 
 

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:05:45 – Alixa’s Work
•  00:12:08 – Indigenous Resilience
• 00:27:36 – Enchantment
• 00:43:10 – Burning Man 2023
• 00:59:52 – Surrender
• 01:18:24 – A Course on the Imaginal
• 01:22:36 – “A Message from the Future”

Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo host this captivating conversation into divine and personal love with two modern-day mystics, held dear by SAND.

Love, a powerful catalyst for transformation on the spiritual path, resonates at the core of our being. Through this dialogue, we will transcend the limitations of a narrow, individualized perception of love, immersing ourselves in the boundless realm of our true nature—a universal expression of pure love.

Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault divides her time between solitude at her coastal home in Maine and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative path. She is the founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School.

Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), Founder of the Diamond Approach, was born in the Middle East, but at age 18 he moved to the USA to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics, where he was studying Einstein’s theory of general relativity and nuclear physics, when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him more and more into inquiring into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature. Hameed is the founder of the Diamond Approach®—a spiritual teaching that utilizes a unique kind of inquiry into realization.

Dr. Angel Acosta works to bridge the fields of leadership, social justice & mindfulness. He completed his Ed.D. in the Curriculum and Teaching Department at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research explored healing-centered education as a promising framework for educational leadership development and community care. 

Angel is the director of the Wounded Healer Project. This portrait series captures the profiles of nine educators, community leaders and practitioners, all of whom have dedicated their lives to — in some shape or form — creating spaces for others to thrive, flourish and heal.

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 2:40 – Angel’s Background
• 10:54 – Spiritual Bypassing
• 17:06 – The Nuances of Race
• 21:42 – Wounded Healers
• 34:38 – The Power of the Voice
• 39:30 – A Unique Focus on the Teacher
• 44:41 – Reaction to the Wounded Healer Project
• 47:16 – Understanding “Systemic”
• 51:28 – What’s Coming Up for Angel

Mauro Zappaterra obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Harvard Medical School. He completed his PhD doing work with neuronal stem cells and the effects of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in brain development and in the adult. He is published in numerous scientific articles on the CSF and his work was chosen as the cover image for the prestigious Neuron Journal.  He was also featured in the New England Journal of Medicine in teaching medical students about living with life threatening diseases and in Psychology Today on an article titled “Joy: The art of loving life.”

You can view the video version of this talk on SAND’s website:

An upcoming course with Mauro presented by SAND: The Wisdom of Pain: an online course live with Mauro Zappaterra.

In this course we will:

• Explore the definition of pain, and the difference between pain and nociception.
• Apply this understanding to developing strategies to better cope with chronic pain.
• Examine the difference between acute pain and chronic pain, the importance of acute pain for survival, and the phenomenon of chronic pain.
• Discuss phantom limb pain and complex regional pain syndrome.
• Survey the evolution of treatment strategies that help people live more fully with these types of pain.

Mauro Zappaterra’s website: HoldingSpace.com

Episode Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 4:36 – Meeting Mauro
• 9:14 – Connection to the Source
• 15:46 – Third Ventricle
• 18:18 – Where does this fluid come from?
• 22:22 – Our Ancestral CSF in the Sea
• 25:58 – Cleaning the Brain
• 32:06 – Water and Veda Austin
• 33:24 – De. Deep and NADI
• 38:38 – Movement and Light
• 43:34 – Breathwork and DMT
• 51:51 – Yogananda
• 53:14 – CSF and Energy

Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen is a Historian of Religion, Ph.d from Uppsala University in Sweden. His research into Afro-diasporic strategies for maintaining animist reality in the modern world has lead him towards reading North European cultural history from the perspective of rejected animist knowledge and practice. The objective is to recover Euro-traditioanl forms of landconnectedness ecological knowledge and kinship with the greater community of beings. Rune has lived in a number of countries in Europe, Africa North- and South America and presently runs the platform “Nordic Animism”.

Links:

• Nordic Animism
• YouTube
• Instagram

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 2:39 – Christianity and Animism
• 5:13 – Heart of Nordic Animism
• 10:05 – Decolonization
• 12:39 – Animism in Academia
• 14:44 – Universal Animism
• 17:50 – Bio-ancestry
• 23:18 – Animism as a Spiritual Practice
• 41:50 – Animism and Societal Problems
• 48:00 – Animism and Trauma
• 55:24 – Getting Started with Animism

Recorded live at a Science and Nonduality Community Conversation hosted by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo on July 12, 2023.

Tyson Yunkaporta is an academic, an arts critic, and a researcher who is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland. He carves traditional tools and weapons and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledge at Deakin University in Melbourne. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 4:54 – Walking in Two Worlds
• 13:07 – Identity
• 20:57 – Logical Fallacies
• 28:04 – Nonduality
• 33:59 – Lineage Based Identity

Judith Blackstone, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist and innovative teacher in contemporary spirituality. She developed the Realization Process®, an embodied approach to personal and relational healing and nondual realization. She is the author of Trauma and the Unbound Body, Belonging Here, The Intimate Life, The Enlightenment Process, and The Empathic Ground. For more, see realizationprocess.org.

The Fullness of the Ground is a guide to embodied nondual realization and its profound effect on our senses, our ability to love, our experience of our own authentic existence, and our connection with other living beings. It distills Dr. Judith Blackstone’s decades of teaching into the essentials of the nondual spiritual path.

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 2:11 – Spiritual Path
• 7:16 – Grounded or Groundless?
• 12:06 – Realization Process
• 18:16 – Ancestors and Collective Trauma
• 23:02 – Attunement Practice
• 29:22 – Balancing and Striving
• 30:42 – Gradual vs. Direct Path
• 31:54 – Illusion of Separateness
• 34:06 – Upcoming Events
• 35:15 – Nondual Realization
• 36:52 – Guided Meditation

Mentioned in the episode – #48 Ancestral Healing: Daniel Foor

Today on the podcast, we welcome two special guests, Science and Nonduality co-founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo.

Zaya and Maurizio are both filmmakers and activists. They merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience.

In 2021 they released the acclaimed documentary The Wisdom of Trauma featuring Dr. Gabor Maté. And for the past year they have been traveling the globe working on their next documentary about indigenous cultures, resilience, and an expansion of what is meant by Nonduality and Science, all today on the Sounds of SAND Podcast.

Topics:

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 3:09 – The Wisdom of Trauma
• 11:16 – Exploring at the Edge
• 14:34 – Genesis of the Next Film
• 19:06 – Expansion of Nonduality
• 22:04 – New Paradigms of Healing
• 25:54 – Expansion of Science
• 30:24 – Transformations
• 34:50 – Learning to Listen
• 44:28 – The Tree and the Whale
• 56:30 – What’s Next with the Film?

Monica Gagliano is a research associate professor in evolutionary ecology and former fellow of the Australian Research Council. She is currently based at Southern Cross University, where she directs the Biological Intelligence Lab funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. She has pioneered the brand-new research field of plant bioacoustics, for the first time experimentally demonstrating that plants emit their own “voices” and detect and respond to the sounds of their environments. Her work has extended the concept of cognition (including perception, learning processes, memory) in plants. Her latest book is Thus Spoke the Plant (North Atlantic Books, 2018). 

monicagagliano.com

Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness

“Can Plants Talk?” in The New York Times

We wanted to create this episode highlighting some shimmering jewels from the first 50 episodes of the podcast. We know that getting into a podcast can be daunting when there are dozens of episodes to choose from. So we wanted to distill some of the varied guests from our previous episodes with some clips from the show.

Consider becoming a member of SAND to support the production costs of this podcast.

Thank you for listening and sharing the show.

Guest Clips

• 3:18 – Peter Russell from #8 Evolving with Consciousness
• 7:04 – Monica Gagliano from #23 The Songs of Gaia
• 12:18 – Donald Hoffman and Rupert Spira from #38 Weaving the Eternal Golden Braid
• 21:00 – Gabor Maté and Resma Menaken from #24 Somatic Abolitionism
• 26:42 – Eriel Tchekwie Deranger from #14 Healing Relationships in Community and Ourselves
• 29:00 – Neil Theise from #34 Conversations on Complexity
• 33:40 – Joan Tollifson from #30 Here. Now. Being.
• 37:10 – Bayo Akomolafe and Sophie Strand from #6 New Gods at the End of the World
• 41:54 – Parvathy Baul from #47 What Shines
  

Mauro Bergonzi taught ‘Indian Religion and Philosophy’ from 1985 to 2017 at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. About twenty years ago  - after 25 years of meditative practices -  a spontaneous fading out of his spiritual seeking just happened unexpectedly and only a radical non-dualism prevailed. From then on, he has been invited to hold regular meetings of ‘sharing of being’ (satsang). A survey of Mauro's non-dual communication is available in his book Il sorriso segreto dell’essere (Mondadori) and in his website.

E-mail: bergma@libero.it

Some video talks from Mauro’s Appearances at SAND Italy:

The Bottomless Pit Behind the Word "Consciousness"

The Utter Simplicity of What Is

Rays of the Absolute a film by SAND

Topics

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:12:41 – The Story of Mauro
• 00:34:15 – Types of Awakening
• 00:47:20 – Vastness and Meeting Nisargadatta Maharaj
• 00:58:08 – Accessing the Felt Sense of Emptiness
• 01:09:55 – Awareness of Awareness
• 01:16:47 – The feeling of “I Am”

Dr. Daniel Foor is a ritualist and educator focused on helping others to reclaim their innate capacity to relate with their ancestors and with the greater web of other-than-human kin.

He is the author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing and an internationally respected teacher of ancestor reverence and ritual. Since 2004 Daniel has guided over one hundred multi-day ancestor-focused healing rituals in eight countries, reached thousands of participants through personal sessions and online courses, and mentored over 150 practitioners to facilitate the work of ancestral healing.

Topics:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:02:41 – Daniel’s Lineage and Ancestry
• 00:05:03 – Genesis of Ancestral Medicine
• 00:07:42 – Ancestor Work Along the Spiritual Path
• 00:11:36 – Trauma and Ancestors
• 00:18:00 – Animism
• 00:24:36 –  Descendants, Ancestors, and Captain Kirk
• 00:26:10 – How to Begin Ancestor Work
• 00:35:25 – Special and Not-so-special Ancestors
• 00:40:58 – The Role of Ritual
• 00:44:12 – Ancestor Work and Children
• 00:48:34 – Ancestors Living Through Us and Addictions
  
• 00:54:04 – Expanding Ancestry
• 01:00:33 – Epigenentics
• 01:05:14 – Connecting to Our Ancestral Lands
• 01:09:50 – How to Connect

Parvathy Baul is a practitioner, performer and teacher of the Baul tradition from Bengal, India.

She studied closely with two of the most respected Baul Gurus of the previous generation, Sri Sanatan Das Thakur Baul and Sri Shashanko Goshai.

​According to her Guru's vision, Parvathy Maa has created Sanatan Siddhashram - as a place of learning, practicing and preserving the oral history of the Baul tradition.

The poetry of Chandidas

Song of the Great Soul by Parvathy Baul

Topics:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:27 – The Poet Chandidas
• 19:50 – Vibrational Transmissions
• 21:58 – Instruments of the Baul
• 30:02 – Surrender and Devotion
• 37:46 – Lineage of Baul Music
• 46:04 – Sacred Music in a Concert Setting
• 54:50 – One of Parvathy’s First Songs