Mindrolling with Raghu Markus – Details, episodes & analysis

Neuroscientist Gül Dölen explores how psychedelics paired with mindful integration can reopen the brain’s sensitive learning windows to rewire habits, heal trauma, and expand consciousness.

Join the 2025 MAPS conference this June in Denver, Colorado and be a part of the movement that will shape the next era of mental health, medicine, and consciousness. MAPS, The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, is a nonprofit organization that provides public resources and leadership as we work together to create legal, responsible, evidence-based pathways to psychedelics. Learn more about the conference and use the coupon code LSRF15 for a special promotion at https://www.psychedelicscience.org

In this episode of Mindrolling, Gül and Raghu chat about:

•  Gül’s research on psychedelics and how we can translate animal studies into human neuroscience 
• Looking to Octopuses for sociological answers using MDMA
• Critical periods—windows when the brain is most open to learning and environmental influence.
• Psychedelics as the master key to reopening critical periods, especially when paired with therapy
• Inducing metaplasticity with psychedelics, reshaping harmful patterns, and promoting transformation.
• Non-substance methods to reopen critical periods, like sensory and social deprivation
• How mystical practices such as meditation and silent retreats can trigger a “beginner’s mind” state for deep insights
• How psychedelics propose a learning model rather than a biochemical imbalance model towards approaching depression, addiction, or PTSD
• Focusing on post-trip integration to harness long-term benefits from the psychedelic experience 
• Maximize the integration period to cement insights gained during psychedelic journeys
• The social and psychological changes we go through as we age and adapt to new environments/situations 
• The importance of “set and setting” and how it can influence psychedelic experiences and the formation of helpful or harmful habits

Mindrolling is brought to you by Reunion. Reunion is offering $250 off any stay to the Love, Serve, Remember community. Simply use the code “BeHere250” when booking. Disconnect from the world so you can reconnect with yourself at Reunion. Hotel | www.reunionhotelandwellness.com Retreats | www.reunionexperience.org

About Gül Dölen:

Dr. Gül Dölen is a Professor and the Bob & Renee Parsons Endowed Chair in the Department of Neuroscience, and Department of Psychology, the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Dölen also maintains an Adjunct Professorship in Neuroscience and Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine. Dr. Dölen researches the role psychedelics may have in unlocking critical periods in Dölen Lab. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards. 

“It turns out that our results really suggest that psychedelics are those master keys that we have been looking for all this time.” – Gül Dölen

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Honoring the life of a longtime friend of the Be Here Network, Ralph De La Rosa, this special episode explores Ralph’s wisdom on moving through trauma via the heart of compassion. 

If you’d like to honor Ralph De La Rosa’s legacy by supporting his family, a GoFundMe has been created to help with the significant and unexpected expenses following his passing - Honoring Ralph's Life: Support their family

In this conversation with Jackie Dobrinska from June 2024, Ralph shares his wisdom on the topics of:

• The nourishment that daily spiritual practice brought to Ralph's healing journey
• Ralph’s difficulties with mental health, bullying, neurodivergence, and gender non-conformity
• How spiritual bypassing can distract from real healing and disconnect us from reality
• The myth of constant happiness and why true bliss involves emotional depth
• Cultivating self-compassion to transform trauma, fear, and emotional heartbreak
• Healing from the inside out by embracing pain as a teacher and guide
• A 20-minute guided meditation/compassion practice led by Ralph
• Ralph’s transformative rehab experience and introduction to Buddhist teachings
• Developing an embodied sense of self-love, safety, and inner affection
• Exploring subjective perception and rewriting our personal and collective narratives
• Using curiosity as a stepping stone when we are struggling to get to compassion
• Healing trauma by reconnecting with the inner child (with therapeutic support)
• Acknowledging our defense mechanisms and communicating with the parts of ourselves that are stuck in survival mode
• Letting go of past emotional residue and rebuilding trust in the heart’s wisdom
• Understanding the difference between real love/compassion and codependent patterns/poor boundaries

Today's episode is sponsored by Reunion & Dharma Seed:

Mindrolling is brought to you by Reunion. Reunion is offering $250 off any stay to the Love, Serve, Remember community. Simply use the code “BeHere250” when booking. Disconnect from the world so you can reconnect with yourself at Reunion. Hotel | www.reunionhotelandwellness.com Retreats | www.reunionexperience.org

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

About Ralph De La Rosa:

Ralph De La Rosa (he/they) was a teacher of human spirituality, an internationally published author and a trauma-focused psychotherapist. Ralph worked in private practice and was a seasoned meditation teacher known for his radically open and humorous teaching style. He was personally mentored by Richard Schwartz, founder and developer of Internal Family Systems. Check out Ralph’s book, Outshining Trauma, which focuses on trauma and radical self-compassion. Learn more about Ralph on his website.

“We're all holding traumas. We've all been bruised by life in large or small ways. What that is, is an invitation to find and open the heart of compassion, the heart of loving kindness that already exists within you. It's right there.” – Ralph De La Rosa

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Recognizing the beauty in being human, Raghu and John Tarrant discuss incorporating the qualities of both soul and spirit into our lives.

Mindrolling is brought to you by Reunion. Reunion is offering $250 off any stay to the Love, Serve, Remember community. Simply use the code “BeHere250” when booking. Disconnect from the world so you can reconnect with yourself at Reunion.  Hotel | www.reunionhotelandwellness.com Retreats | www.reunionexperience.org

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and John discuss:

• John’s work with protecting Aboriginal land rights 
• How taking a Tibetan retreat changed the course of John’s life and directed him to Zen 
• Emptiness and love as the same principle 
• How each piece of the universe contains the entire thing 
• Reaching a crystalline view of reality through Buddhist practice 
• The importance of spiritual clarity and the mistake of rejecting our inner life 
• Qualities of soul/spirit and the beauty of being human 
• The parts of life we may miss with an over-focus on spirituality
• Not disapproving of what our hearts bring up in meditation 
• Jungian psychology, shadow work, and dream work 
• Stories that go into the psyche in a non-rational way
• Bringing the imagination into Buddhism 
• The peace of the Buddha found inside our daily lives
• The necessity of working with the inner life
• A short, guided practice from John

About John Tarrant:

John Tarrant is a Western Zen teacher and director of the Pacific Zen Institute, which has centers in California, Arizona, and Canada. He teaches and writes about the transformation of consciousness through the use of the Zen koan and trains koan meditation teachers. Tarrant is from Australia, he came from an old Tasmanian family and grew up in the City of Launceston on Bass Strait. His early influences included English literature, especially poetry, the Latin Mass, the Tasmanian bush, and Australian Aboriginal culture. Tarrant worked at many jobs, ranging from working as a laborer in an open-pit mine, to commercial fishing the Great Barrier Reef. Eventually, he also worked as a lobbyist for the Aboriginal land rights movement. Check out Tarrant’s book, The Story of the Buddha, or learn more about his work and events on his website.

 “Being at peace is to be at peace with the whole of you, with your soul, your frustration, your anger. They can appear, but you’re not fighting with it. In some way they fertilize your practice like rain on the earth.” – John Tarrant

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Comedian, Mike Finoia, joins Raghu to share his difficult patch with mental health and the tools that have helped him cultivate inner peace.

“I realized that there’s only two ways of operating: It’s either from a place of love or a place of fear. If you're operating from a place of fear, you really can’t be open to the love there is around us. But if you’re operating from a place of love, fear doesn’t stand a chance.” – Mike Finoia

Mike and Raghu go deep about:

• Anxiety and finding the tools that work to manage it
• Being vocal about the rough patches on Mike's public platform
• Practices for changing our internal landscapes
• Buddhist perspectives on anger, fear, good-enoughness, and emptiness
• Having a sense of humor about our “self-cherishing”
• "Mother recognition," or the essence of motherly compassion

“It takes way more courage to break through the constriction that we have in this society. And it takes courage to say, ‘I need some help.’” - Raghu Markus

Connect with Mike on his website or on social media @mikefinoia

Learn more about Vipassana meditation with Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg here

Check out The Zen of Therapy by Mark Epstein here

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Exploring the wisdom of Selfistry, Sarah Marshank joins to share her spiritual journey through the lens of Ram Dass's teaching of "from role to soul."

"There is a place that's always here that's in us and that holds us, that is 'okayness.' It's a relief to finally land there. And from there, to feel happy and sad, and witness the horrors as well as the exquisite beauty of the world, and feel okay with all of it. It's that dance—to know that everything is fundamentally okay and to address all the fucked up things in the world at the same time. Those are not mutually exclusive." – Sarah Marshank

In this episode, Raghu and Sarah mindfully explore:

• Stories and themes from Sarah's new memoir, Being Selfish: My Journey from Escort to Monk to Grandmother
• Sarah growing up in the religious container of Judaism, and how meditation helped her come to spirituality
• Ram Dass's teachings of role to soul, and cultivating the witness
• How Sarah came up with the term "selfistry" through playing with self and no-self
• Opening to the okay-ness beyond the horror and beauty of the world
• How Ram Dass's teaching of "loving awareness" is synonymous with "soul" as well as "okayness"

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Raghu is joined by singer and songwriter Kesha to talk about living authentically, finding happiness, and bringing spiritual practice into our busy lives.

Check out Kesha's new record, Gag Order, featuring a heartful interlude from Ram Dass.

Kesha joins Raghu on Mindrolling to chat about:

• Her experiences with Ram Dass’s teachings and her inspiration to sample him on her track, Ram Dass Interlude from her new album, Gag Order
• The emptiness Kesha felt from outward seeking, the world of fame, and feeling unaligned with her truth
• Feeding people to transform from “me land” to “we land”
• Having the space to work from a state of authenticity
• Motivations in the record business 
• The habitual patterns surrounding our spiritual practices
• Reincarnation and Ram Dass’ manifestations after death
• The surprising catalyst of Kesha's spiritual awakening
• Humor as an essential quality of the spiritual path

"You’re making enough space to serve yourself to get calm enough to be able to then give to others." - Kesha

Raghu's book recommendation from this episode: Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman

Sign up for the RamDass.org mailing list for a free five-day course that will help you build a daily practice of peace, presence, and spaciousness with Ram Dass: Enroll For Free

"You'd rather be vulnerable and be hurt than living dead." - Ram Dass

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"The Hidden Artists podcast is about people who haven't been discovered yet—entrepreneurs, musicians, someone who is creative in what they do. People have all these talents, but they don't all have an opportunity to be known for what they do. I just want to give these people a chance to be able to do what they love for a living." – Natalie Dayan

In this episode, Raghu and Natalie dive into:

• What it's like for Natalie being born Jewish, being raised in India, and now living in Los Angeles
• Exploring the various parts of your identity
• The inspiration behind starting her podcast, The Hidden Artists, which helps artists and entrepreneurs get discovered
• Obtaining her Masters degree in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine
• Working with feeling lost in life, and using fear as a way to motivate yourself
• The similarities and crossovers between Hinduism and Judiasm
• How we are not our thoughts, we are not our story
• Raghu's adventures through India, and learning Sab Ek (All One) wisdom from Maharaj-ji
• Having faith that the universe is always working for you, as well as helping you be of service
• ZaChoeje Rinpoche's wisdom to "stop struggling with struggle"
• How with people like Natalie, the future is going to be okay

"You're not your story, you're not your thoughts; who you are, of course, is way behind all of that." – Raghu Markus

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Raghu’s longtime friend, Daniel Goleman, returns to Mindrolling to catch up on his book co-authored with Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Why We Meditate.

“There’s more than normal consciousness. There are other possibilities that have their own kind of richness. There are paths to those possibilities.” – Daniel Goleman

In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu and Daniel chat about:

• Wild stories at Raghu’s family farm when they returned to the West 
• How Danny’s wife, Tara Bennet-Gorman’s book, Emotional Alchemy, along with traditional Tibetan practices served as Tsoknyi’s inspiration for addressing the things that get in the way of our lives, particularly as Westerners 
• Tsoknyi’s various methods for mindfulness: the handshake method, dropping practice, and more
• How Ram Dass came up with the term, “little shmoos”
• Cultivating a sense of “okayness” with things as they are
• The different types of love on the spectrum of “essence love”

“These kinds of practices get integrated into your being. They're a resource for that intuitive trust.” – Raghu Markus

Open a copy of Daniel Goleman and Tsoknyi Rinpoche's new book, Why We Meditate, here.

Pick up Emotional Alchemy, written by Daniel's wife, Tara Bennett-Goleman here.

If you’re interested in general teachings of Tibetan spirituality, check out Blazing Splendor.

About Daniel Goleman:

Daniel is an internationally known psychologist and author. His New York Times bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence, was named one of the 25 “Most Influential Business Management Books” by TIME Magazine. Daniel is also a board member of the Mind & Life Institute, an organization that fosters dialogues and research collaborations among contemplative practitioners and scientists. Daniel has organized a series of intensive conversations between the Dalai Lama and scientists, and further merged Dharma and science, coauthoring Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. Learn more about Daniel’s work at danielgoleman.info

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Dr. Shamini Jain connects with Raghu Markus to discuss harmonizing our autonomic nervous system via an integration of the mind and body.

“What we know now is that our emotions have a deep effect on our physiology; they're very interconnected. We can create health simply with our breathing, with our connection with energy, with our connection with a deeper core of who we are.” – Shamini Jain, Ph.D 

In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu talks with Dr. Shamini Jain about:

• The multiple ways to experience God within our consciousness
• Jainism and the main tenant of non-violence
• The nature of vibration and its relationship to the healing process
• Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and the mind-body connection
• How we can prevent disease by harmonizing our autonomic nervous system
• The subtlety of sound and Dr. Shamini's research on using music to heal
• Reiki, Chi Gong, meditation and other traditions of vibrational practices

“If you transform polarization inside yourself, you probably transform the development of cells that are in opposition to each other.” – Raghu Markus 

About Dr. Shamini Jain, Ph.D:

Dr. Shamini Jain is a psychologist, scientist, and social entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI), a nonprofit collaborative accelerator that connects scientists, health practitioners, educators, and artists to help lead humanity to heal ourselves. Dr. Jain also serves as adjunct faculty at UC San Diego, where she is an active member of the UC San Diego Center for Integrative Medicine’s Research Committee. Her bestselling book, Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health, via Sounds True Publications, is available at booksellers worldwide.

Learn more about Dr. Shamini and her upcoming events/courses/books at shaminijain.com

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On a mission to connect hearts all over the world through Indigenous wisdom, Anita Sanchez illuminates her new book, The Four Sacred Gifts, with Raghu.

Sign up for Ram Dass's Yoga of Heartfulness Course, starting May 15th, at RamDass.org/heart

“Out of the beingness that is whole, loving, collaborative, and grateful, then we do the doing. Wellbeing inspires well-doing.” – Anita Sanchez, Ph.D

This time on Mindrolling, Raghu talks with Anita Sanchez about:

• Receiving wisdom, dreams, and prophecies passed down by indigenous elders
• The healing path and how indigenous wisdom paved Anita’s way 
• Creating harmony in the heart, mind, body, and spirit to radiate it to the world
• ‘The Hoop of Life’ as an emblem for unity
• Forgiveness as a pathway to freedom, a pathway to love fully, and the passcode to your own divinity
• Putting ‘wise hope’ into action

“It’s a good day to heal. It's a good day to forgive. It’s a good day to be in unity. It’s a good day to have more dreams and more hope in action.” – Anita Sanchez, Ph.D

About Anita Sanchez, Ph.D:

Anita was born into a Midwest family that was economically poor, yet rich in Mexican-American and Nahua (also known as Aztec) heritage. Fortified with the strength of her elders and connection to the earth, she became the first in her family of over one hundred first cousins to earn a doctorate degree. She has gone on to a career as an international transformational leader.

Dr. Sanchez is committed to bridging indigenous wisdom and science with or contemporary work and life, to support our individual wholeness and collective conscious evolution in partnership with People, Spirit, and the Earth. With her loving spirit, presence and skill, Anita inspires people around the world to discover and trust their gifts, to become life-giving connections to all, in service and joy.

Learn more about Anita’s soul work at anita-sanchez.com and get the book, The Four Sacred Gifts, at foursacredgifts.com.

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