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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In this special episode, Raghu, RamDev (Dale Borglum), and Jackie Dobrinska weave the tapestry for heartfulness as a way of life.

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

“The development of heartfulness will help—we expect—to transform the polarity that we’re living in within ourselves and in our society and culture.” – Raghu Markus

In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu, RamDev, and Jackie tap into:

• The path for cultivating heartfulness
• The abundance of ways that one can be in the presence of the divine
• Raghu meeting Ram Dass for the first time
• Navigating suffering with an open heart
• Practices for developing the heart-mind
• The antidote for isolation and separateness
• A heart-awakening meditation guided by RamDev
• 
  

“The heart begins to reveal how spacious it is, how connected it is. It's as vast as the sky. It's boundless.” – RamDev

“To hold our humanity in the context of our divinity, that’s the work.” – RamDev

About RamDev:

Dale Borglum is the founder and Executive Director of The Living/Dying Project. He is a pioneer in the conscious dying movement and has worked directly with thousands of people with life-threatening illness and their families for over 30 years. In 1981, Dale founded the first residential facility for people who wished to die consciously in the United States, The Dying Center. He has taught and lectured extensively on the topics of spiritual support for those with life-threatening illness, on caregiving as a spiritual practice, and on healing at the edge, the edge of illness, of death, of loss, of crisis.

Learn more about The Living/Dying Project at livingdying.org

About Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass' Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an interspiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages - the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves. 

Learn more about Jackie’s work at asimplevibrantlife.com.

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Author, musician, and astrologist, Ahad Cobb dissects his new memoir, Riding the Spirit Bus, with Raghu Markus.

“The very fact of living in cooperative community on the earth together is itself a gift to many people in our culture.” – Ahad Cobb

This time on mindrolling, Raghu Markus and Ahad Cobb discuss:

• Ahad Cobb's background with Ram Dass
• Maharaj-ji's grace
• Writing Riding the Spirit Bus
• The Lama Foundation and becoming grounded
• Communal living
• Walking in the forest as meditation

About Ahad Cobb:

Ahad is the author, editor, and publisher of six books, including Image Nation and Early Lama Foundation. A musician and leader of Dances of Universal Peace, he has also served as a continuing member, officer, and trustee of the Lama Foundation. He studies and teaches Jyotish (Vedic astrology). He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Check out Ahad's new memoir about spiritual awakening and Ram Dass, Riding the Spirit Bus, HERE

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Teacher, translator, and Rumi Scholar, Kabir Helminski, gets together with Raghu to discuss Sufi mysticism and his new book, The Mysterion.

"In Sufism, sincerity would be understood to be something like doing whatever you do for the sake of God; not for anyone's approval, not for attention, not for pleasure." – Kabir Helminski

In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu Markus and Kabir Helminski chat about:

• Kabir's encounter with Ram Dass
• The tradition of Rumi
• Sufism and sincerity 
• The sense of self in the Sufi tradition
• Presence as a single field of awareness
• Relief from judgment and the power of laughter

About Kabir Helminski:

Kabir has been translating Rumi and writing about spirituality for more than forty years. He is a respected teacher, a Shaikh of the Mevlevi Order, which traces back to Rumi. Kabir Helminski is co-director, with his wife, Camille Helminski, of the Threshold Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge and practice of Sufism. He is the author of Living Presence and the translator of four volumes of Rumi’s poetry, including Love Is a Stranger and Rumi: Daylight. His most recent book, The Mysterion: Rumi and the Secret of Becoming Fully Human, can be purchased HERE.

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Getting down to earth and into the heart, Rebecca Bradshaw joins Raghu to discuss balancing masculine and feminine energy in the dharma.

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 time on Mindrolling, Raghu and Rebecca chat about:

• Rebecca’s journey of waking up and finding her path
• Earth-based religions and getting down to earth
• Rebecca’s 5-month stint in silent meditation
• Approaching practice from the heart rather than the mind
• Discovering the feminine archetype within the dharma
• The masculine energy often found within Buddhist communities and early scriptures
• Going deep down within the receptive heart space
• Cultivating intimacy with all things and focusing on relationship
• Dissolving the three roots of suffering (greed hatred and delusion)
• The practice of useless gazing and surrendering to the moment without an agenda
• Acclimating to the truth of impermanence and letting go of the need to control
• The acquired taste of being open and working at it over time

Snag a copy of Rebecca’s book, Down to Earth Dharma: Insight Meditation to Awaken the Hear, HERE

About Rebecca Bradshaw:

Rebecca is Guiding Teacher Emeritus of the Insight Meditation Society and the Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley in Easthampton, Massachusetts. She has been practicing Buddhist Vipassana meditation since 1983 in the United States and Myanmar (Burma) and teaching since 1993. She completed her dharma teacher training at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where she is part of the three-month retreat teacher team and leads retreats for young adults. Rebecca has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked as a bi-lingual (Spanish/English) psychotherapist. Her upcoming book, Down to Earth Dharma, was published by Shambhala Publications in November 2024. Check out Rebecca’s website, HERE.

“There’s this emphasis on transcendence, energetic striving, independence, and all these things that are in the masculine archetype. They felt like some balance was missing, that’s how it felt to me, and that a lot of it had to do with dropping into the heart, dropping into the body, feeling.” – Rebecca Bradshaw

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Making friends with death, David Silver and Raghu Markus explore Tibetan Traditions and the wisdom of death and dying.

"'Mindfulness is the path to the deathless, headlessness is the path to death. The mindful do not die, but the headless are as if dead already.' If you are not mindful through the flow of your earthly life, that will bring death and its fury." – David Silver quoting/commenting on the Dhammapada 

In this episode, David Silver joins Raghu Markus to explore:

• Death and dying in the Tibetan tradition
• Individual success within the collective 
• Viewing death as an adventure
• The ego as a servant instead of a master
• Surrendering the bubble of separation

"Certainly a cause of sickness is the way we guard ourselves and the way we act in the world from this separated place. That's why you do not need to be old to get any benefit from some of the incredible wisdom of the Tibetan culture." – Raghu Markus 

About David Silver:

David Silver is the former co-host of the Mindrolling podcast. He is a filmmaker and director, most recently coming out with Brilliant Disguise. Brilliant Disguise tells the unique story of a group of inspired Western spiritual seekers from the 60s, who in meeting the great American teacher, Ram Dass, followed him to India to meet his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, familiarly known as Maharaji. Two days before he left his body, Maharaji instructed K.C. Tewari to take care of the Westerners, which he did resolutely until the day he died in 1997. K.C. Tewari—in the guise of a headmaster of a boys school in the foothills of the Himalayas—was secretly a High Yogi, frequently able to go into altered states of trance, known as Samadhi, at any moment.

Watch Brilliant Disguise HERE

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Integrating the self, identity, and belonging; mindfulness researcher, Dr. Dan Siegel, joins Raghu Markus to explore his new book, IntraConnected.

"From a mathematical point of view, the modern construction of a separate solo self is actually a violation of a complex system's ability to adapt and learn." – Dr. Dan Siegel

In this episode Raghu Markus and Dr. Dan Siegel ponder:

• The integration of self, identity, and belonging
• Radical Trauma and losing the sense of self
• Science and contemplative wisdom
• The Optimal Flow of Harmony
• Death as a space of possibility 
• Being a part of a whole

About Dr. Dan Siegel:

Dr. Siegel is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. An award-winning educator, he is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and recipient of several honorary fellowships. Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organization, which offers online learning and in-person seminars that focus on how the development of Mindsight in individuals, families, and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes. His psychotherapy practice includes children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. He serves as the Medical Director of the LifeSpan Learning Institute and on the Advisory Board of the Blue School in New York City, which has built its curriculum around Dr. Siegel’s Mindsight approach.

Keep up with Dr. Dan Siegel and purchase his books on his website here

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In a discussion on transcendence, Raghu Markus and Zen Priest Hozan Alan Senauke describe embodying zen practices and having a stable mind.

"What really impressed me about the Chinese/Japanese poetry was that there was a sense of the ordinary. There was something marvelous and transcendent in ordinary perceptions." – Hozan Alan Senauke

In this episode Raghu Markus and Hozan Alan Senauke explore:

• The practice of Zen
• Magic within the ordinary 
• Meeting spiritual teachers and guides
• Seeing both sides of everything and finding balance
• Embodiment and putting our practice into the world
• Being Happy and being in the moment 

Hozan Alan Senauke:

Hozan Alan Senauke is a Soto Zen priest, folk musician, poet and the Abbot of Berkeley Zen Center in California. As a socially engaged Buddhist activist, Hozan has worked closely with the International Network of Engaged Buddhists and Buddhist Peace Fellowship since 1991. In 2007, he founded Clear View Project, developing Buddhist-based resources for relief and social change in Asia and the U.S. He is author of The Bodhisattva’s Embrace: Dispatches from Engaged Buddhism’s Front Lines. In another realm, Hozan has been a student and performer of American traditional music for more than fifty years.

For Alan Senauke dharma talks, click here

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Scholar Michael Meade sits down with Raghu Markus for a mythical episode on storytelling, symbolism, and human nature.

"Myth is about vertical imagination. Myth opens up the connections we have to the heavens and the connections we have to the underworld... On the surface a myth is false, but it carries deeper truths than you can find anywhere else." – Michael Meade

In this episode Raghu Markus and Michael Meade converse about:

• Michael's induction into the realm of myth 
• Storytelling with musical instruments
• Oral and literary traditions in mythology
• Finding truth within imagination
• Life, death, and renewal
• The mythic nature of humans and dreams
• A connection between endings and beginnings 
•  The African myth of the eagle and the child

About Michael Meade: 

Michael Meade is a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. He combines hypnotic storytelling, street-savvy perceptiveness, and spellbinding interpretations of ancient myths with a deep knowledge of cross-cultural rituals.

He is the author of Awakening the Soul, The Genius Myth, Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of The Soul, Why the World Doesn't End, The Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul; editor, with James Hillman and Robert Bly, of Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart; and the creator of the Living Myth Podcast.

Michael Meade is the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a nonprofit network of artists, activists, and community builders that encourages greater understanding between diverse peoples.

Discover more from Michael Meade and purchase his books HERE

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Moving out of constriction and into connection with reality, Sharon Salzberg reunites with Raghu to talk about her new book, Real Life.

"When we are out of harmony with the truth, we are not realistic. Everything is distorted, we reach for happiness in all the wrong places, we let other people define us instead of finding out who we truly are." – Sharon Salzberg

In this episode we hear Sharon Salzberg and Raghu Markus explore:

• How to 'get real' and see the truth 
• Constriction versus connection
• Being bound by habitual patterns
• One-pointedness 
• Dealing with greed, hatred, delusion
• How to avoid spiritual bypassing 
• Toxic optimism
• A reinterpretation of Dharma

About Sharon Salzberg:

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness.

Her forthcoming release, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom, is set for release in April of 2023 from Flatiron Books. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.

Learn more about Sharon and pre-order her new book at www.sharonsalzberg.com

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Centering on her new book, Big Mama Speaks, Dr. Sabrina N'Diaye and Raghu discuss forgiveness and the wisdom we gain from our ancestors.

"The older I get, the more I realize being a good therapist has nothing to do with all these acronyms behind my name. I know my grandmother didn't even graduate from high school, but she had a degree in the soul." – Dr. Sabrina N'Diaye

In this episode Dr. Sabrina N'Diaye and Raghu discuss:

• Understanding trauma 
• Dialoguing with our ancestors
• Dr. Sabrina's writing process
• The magic of forgiveness
• Deriving lessons from painful experiences
• Applying ancestral wisdom to therapy practice
• Making a commitment to compassion

About Sabrina N'Diaye:

Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye is an integrative psychotherapist and founder of the Heart Nest Center for Peace and Healing in Baltimore. There, she lovingly serves women, couples, other healers, and small groups. Her approach to healing is a blend of wisdom, science, and ancient spiritual practices. She is a student of the late Sufi Master Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal of Jerusalem and incorporates Sufi healing into her with individuals, families, and communities. Keep up with Dr. N'Diaye on Instagram or her website and stay tuned for her upcoming book, Big Mama Speaks.

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Author and teacher, Kevin Griffin sits down with Raghu to discuss finding a higher power and responding to everything with love.

"The Dharma can be your higher power rather than praying to some sort of Abrahamic God. The Dharma itself is powerful and provides all you need for turning your life over to the Dharma." – Kevin Griffin

In this episode Kevin Griffin and Raghu explore:

• A Buddhist path to recovery 
• How practicality can lead to spirituality 
• Dharma as a higher power
• Initial transformation in the 12-step program 
• Applying a metta practice to our daily lives
• How we can bring balance into our inner world

About Kevin Griffin:

Kevin Griffin is a Buddhist teacher and author of several books, including Living Kindness: Metta Practice For The Whole Of Our Lives, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, and Buddhism & the Twelve Steps DAILY REFLECTIONS. A longtime Buddhist practitioner and 12 Step participant, he is a leader in the mindful recovery movement and one of the founders of the Buddhist Recovery Network. Kevin is a husband, father and musician. His album “Laughing Buddha” is a collection of rock and world-beat tunes with Buddhist themes. Learn more at www.kevingriffin.net.

Check out Kevin Griffin's upcoming events on Spiritrock.org

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Devotional Musician Jai Uttal joins Raghu to chat about his new album which explores the deepest spiritual longings of the human psyche.

"The Bhakti's of the past, their songs are so deeply personal and intimate in their relationship to God; it's stepping into that stream, as gracefully as possible." – Jai Uttal

In this episode Jai Uttal and Raghu weave together:

• Devotional Music
• The art of translation
• Inherited sentiments and emotions
• The beauty of expressing our deepest experiences
• Intimacy with God
• The Yoga of Devotion
• Following the path of the heart 

Online Kirtan Camp with Jai Uttal – Level 2 - The Ocean of Bhakti

 Journey into the heart of devotion with Jai Uttal. 

Sign Up Here

Do you ever wish you could learn to chant? Do you have an existing mantra or kirtan practice and want to go deeper? Have you been wanting to connect with other people who love yoga, mantra and kirtan?

Begin slowly, at your own pace, and make a small and very easy commitment to chant three to five minutes a day, watering that tender shoot of devotion in the deepest recesses of your soul. Before you can even say 108 RAMs, the seed of bhakti within your heart will blossom into a beautiful tree of spiritual connection and love, and become a shelter of peace and compassion for others.

'Dust & Tears' Jai Uttal's New Album 

The nine compositions on this album continue this ancient steam of devotion. These mystical songs, though veined with heart-wrenching sorrow, express the deepest spiritual longings of the human psyche. Yet, when sung with beauty, heartfelt intensity, and vulnerability, these primordial emotions give birth to an unspoken well of sublime joy. The lyrics, composed by Nubia and I, rest on the very breath of our mystical ancestors. The inspiration is from their passionate hearts and ardent poetry. These songwriters of Bhakti were untamed revolutionaries, proclaiming the triumph of love over hate. May we, in our small way, sing like they sang, fearlessly and with abandon, longing for darshan, praying for all beings to be free. 

Each of these songs grew from a seed found in an ancient text – sometimes it was a line, sometimes just a word, and sometimes simply the sentiment – which was planted in the soil of our souls to sprout into the music you hear today. 

Listen Here

"Kirtan is the calling, the crying, the reaching across infinite space — digging into the heart’s deepest well to touch and be touched by the Divine Presence." – Jai Uttal

http://www.jaiuttal.com

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Discussing their book You Are The Universe, Amy Buetens and Julie Weinstein join Raghu to talk about Ram Dass in the next generation.

You Are The Universe is an impactful guidebook, chronicling the unconventional journey and self-discovery of Ram Dass, one of the world’s most beloved spiritual teachers. Sourced from five decades of recordings, Ram Dass shares his life story and transformative teachings in his own words with honesty and humor. These teachings from Ram Dass offer teens and adults of all ages life-altering inspiration for understanding universal truths, navigating their unique paths with compassion and awareness, and living a meaningful life. Vibrant hand-drawn and water-colored images illustrate Ram Dass’s captivating story of transformation. You Are The Universe offers an accessible perspective on our world through Ram Dass’s eyes, and explores timeless answers for today’s most urgent questions.

Grab your copy of You are the Universe here 

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ZaChoeje Rinpoche joins Raghu for a talk on being recognized as a Tulku (reincarnated Tibetan master) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the true nature of struggling.

Help others improve their mental and emotional well-being, reduce stress, improve focus, increase self-awareness and self-regulation — all while deepening your own practice and understanding.

Join Buddhist teacher David Nichtern and special guest Professor Robert Thurman for a free online program on Tuesday, February 14th at 6:00pm ET. Visit dharmamoon.com/beherenow for more info and to reserve your spot for the free info session!

"The difference between the enlightened being and the un-enlightened being is: we are all struggling, but an enlightened being stops struggling over the struggles; and we struggle over the struggles. That is the truth of suffering." – ZaChoeje Rinpoche

In this episode ZaChoeje Rinpoche and Raghu dive into:

• Growing up in India as a Tibetan refugee child, and becoming a monk
• Being recognized as a Tulku (reincarnated Tibetan master) by His Holiness The Dalai Lama
• Moving to the U.S. and founding Emaho Foundation a Tibetan Buddhist center serving the greater Phoenix area
• Retranslating the Buddha's First Noble Truth (the truth of struggling)
• Disentangling from getting caught in the story of the "Movie of Me" – the fixed idea of who we are
• The role of devotion, faith, and guru in spiritual development through the lens of Tibetan Buddhism
• Connecting with the true nature of the mind as clear light
• An illuminating guided meditation practice on the sky like nature of mind and heart

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Raghu Markus and Norman Ohler explore the history of drugs in the Third Reich and how this ultimately lead to the psychedelic age in America.

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In this riveting and historical episode, Raghu and Norman talk about:

• Norman’s research into the history of psychedelics in Germany
• ‘Truth drugs’ and using psychedelics for interrogation tactics
• Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist known for his work with LSD
• America’s early interest in psychedelics for military use
• MK-Ultra, mind control, and how the CIA took over the quest for truth drugs.
• Norman Ohler’s meeting with Leonard Pickard, a major player in the LSD underground
• How the CIA saw psychedelics as a potential weapon to manipulate people
• Truth that can be discovered on psychedelic journeys
• How psychedelics can help heal relationships with ourselves and others

Get a copy of Norman’s 2024 book, Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age

About Norman Ohler:

Norman Ohler is a German journalist and New York Times bestselling author, novelist and screenwriter, best known for his book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, which has been published in over 30 languages. Most recently, Norman furthered his research into drug use in the Third Reich and it’s connection to the CIA and the age of psychedelics in the United States. This produced his 2024 book, Tripped.

Learn more about Tripped and Norman’s other works on his website, HERE.

 “Basically what happened in the US was a continuation of the unethical human experiments that the Nazi’s did, obviously not in a concentration camp, but at American universities, at American and Canadian clinics.” – Norman Ohler

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In a conversation about fallibility and self-honesty, spiritual advisor Jaymee Carpenter and Raghu Markus talk about surrender and transcending victimhood.

"When I was younger I was getting high on my identity of being a victim and I got high on drugs. Then I got sober and I got high on this new identity of a sober person. It was just a transference of ego." – Jaymee Carpenter

"We all have that generational karma in one way or the other that we are dealing with." – Raghu Markus 

In this episode Jaymee Carpenter and Raghu Markus discuss:

• Overcoming the lies we tell ourself
• Coming back from rock bottom
• Kinship and mentorship
• Meditation and miracles
• Recovery from drug and alcohol addiction
• Identity and being nobody

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Through the lens of her new book, Spring Washam joins Raghu Markus for a discussion on collective ancestry, divine destiny, and lighting the fire of change.

In this episode, Spring Washam and Raghu Markus discuss:

• Conductors of spirit
• Mystical visions and messages
• Collective ancestors
• Mystical visions and messages
• The Dharma of Harriet Tubman
• Crossing planes of existence
• Awakening through generations

“We’re talking about awakening from the underground, we’re talking about consciousness, we’re talking about this dream through the mind of freedom.” — Spring Washam

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Through a mixture of storytelling and conversation, Raghu Markus, Krishna Das, and David Silver all describe their experiences with K.C. Tewari.

NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommune.com/ramdass 

"As I recognized that I didn't need to keep secrets and I didn't need to pretend to be anybody—I could just be me. It was so liberating." – Krishna Das

"When I was looking at Tewari in this film, every single time I saw him it had a flashy effect on me. It did something to me just like when I met him." – David Silver.

"With everything else, his incredible deep spiritual nature, his wisdom, but the delight of just hanging out with him. We would look forward to going to India and just hanging out even if he'd be doing his all night puja" – Raghu Markus 

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Telling tales of Ram Dass and psychedelic escapades, Raghu Markus and Jeff Krasno discuss that which is beyond our rational mind.

Discover integrating transcendent experiences into daily life using a process versus product mentality, learn about the Bhakti path, and enjoy many stories of our spiritual teachers.

NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommune.com/ramdass 

"To have a different experience of yourself or of consciousness—not as a separate self but as a feeling, as a sensation of being completed integrated into the universe—to taste that, even if you just taste it for a moment and you come back down, it sparks something." – Jeff Krasno

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On a journey to release the stories that hold us back from our true selves, Dharma teacher Judith Ragir and Raghu Markus review healing wounds and changing karma for generations.

In this episode they discuss family trauma, moving beyond our conditioning, and how to repair our hearts.

NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommune.com/ramdass 

Judith Ragir (also known as Byakuren in Buddhist circles) is a Dharma teacher in the Zen lineage of Katagiri Roshi. She was instrumental in founding the Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she was the Guiding Teacher for nine years and is currently Senior Dharma Teacher Emeritus. An accomplished artist, Ragir makes Buddhist-inspired quilts which are on display in Buddhist Centers around the United States. Her written pieces have appeared in many anthologies, including The Eightfold Path, Zen Teachings in Challenging Times, The Hidden Lamp, The Path of Compassion, Seeds of Virtue-Seeds of Change and Receiving the Marrow. Check out her newly released book, Untangling Karma: Intimate Zen Stories on Healing Trauma.

"The woundedness gets healed both psychologically but also through spiritual practice, through God consciousness entering you. Then you feel like something larger than yourself is holding you, helping you, and giving you love." – Judith Ragir

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Anthropologist and psychotherapist, Geral T. Blanchard, LPC, joins Raghu to discuss how to awaken the soul with indigenous wisdom for today's world.

Geral (Gerry) Blanchard, LPC, is university trained in psychological and anthropological approaches that can address a variety of mental health issues including trauma and addictions in a holistic fashion. He has decades of experience addressing matters of interpersonal violence, traumatization, as well as behavioral and substance addictions. Geral has served as a consultant and trainer for scores of social service agencies, prisons, and chemical dependency treatment centers. Geral has lectured widely throughout the U.S. and additionally in Sweden, Canada, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. He has authored a variety of books on the subjects of sexual abuse, post-traumatic growth (PTG), and the incorporation of indigenous healing traditions in today’s psychotherapeutic settings. Gerry is a regular contributor to the UK Shamanism magazine, Sacred Hoop. Order his new book Awakening the Soul: Indigenous Wisdom for Today's World. For more info please visit Geralblanchard.com

"One of the basic tenants of shamanism is that the first thing you do with any patient is you remove all obstacles to healing, and almost always fear is the number one obstacle." – Geral T. Blanchard 

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In an inspiring conversation on serving the next generation with sacred rites and mindful guidance, director Frederick Marx joins Raghu Markus.

Frederick Marx is an internationally acclaimed, Oscar and Emmy-nominated director/writer with 40 years in the film business. He was named a Chicago Tribune Artist of the Year, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a recipient of a Robert F. Kennedy Special Achievement Award. His film HOOP DREAMS played in hundreds of theaters nationwide after winning the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was the first documentary ever chosen to close the New York Film Festival.

“I’ve always been looking for ways to bring the sacred back into the every day and to make our lives that much more meaningful.” – Frederick Marx

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Dr. Sará King and Duncan Trussell join Raghu at the Ram Dass retreat to talk trust, interbeing, vulnerability, loneliness, and getting contact high.

Dr. Sará King is a UCLA-trained neuroscientist, political and learning scientist, social entrepreneur, public speaker, and yoga and mindfulness meditation instructor. She has over 20 years of experience as a research scientist, and specializes in the study of the relationship between mindfulness, complementary alternative medicine, and social justice. She is the scientific consultant for Peace in Schools, a dharma teacher with Presence Collective, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurology, and the founder of MindHeart Consulting, a scientific consultancy offering seminars, research and development, and trauma healing circles.

For more on Sará’s offerings, please visit mindheartconsulting.com and follow her at @mindheartcollective.

"That feeling of being in our heads with our egos is part of the experience of being human. So you can have great compassion for yourself around that experience—it's natural, it's okay, and it's part of the practice of recognizing in that moment and bringing yourself that compassion." – Dr. Sará King

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Multidimensional artist, podcaster, and comedian Ramin Nazer rejoins Raghu for an episode on wisdom givers, death, and the eternal 'I am'. 

Ramin Nazer is a multi-talented artist, podcaster, comedian, game creator and musician based out of LA. He is best known for his consistent stream of unique, psychedelic-spiritual, bite-sized art for the social media age, as well as his podcast, with comedian Shane Mauss, Mind Under Matter, where they take a hilarious and scientific approach to human behavior. You can tap into Ramin’s steady flow of art on his Instagram, tap into his solo podcast Rainbow Brainskull, and peer into his myriad offerings at RaminNazer.com.

“It’s all about the giving, the spreading, the charging others with it. And it’s not like it leaves you, it can only grow. It’s not by giving it away that you are losing the crystal—it’s helping it multiply. A positive virus in a way.” – Ramin Nazer

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Yael Schonbrun joins Raghu to talk working, parenting, healthy relationships, projection, curiosity, and thriving in our roles.

Yael Schonbrun is a licensed clinical psychologist, assistant professor at Brown University, and writer about parenting, work, and relationships. In her work, she draws on scientific research, clinical experience, and real life experiences with three small superheroes who provide with constant inspiration. Her new book, Work, Parent Thrive, offers a fresh perspective on working parenthood and a scientifically-backed approach to a happier and more successful life with multiple demanding roles.

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Raghu welcomes Tibetan Buddhist teacher Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche for a conversation on being diligent and consistent in our practice.

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In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu and Dzigar have a discourse on:

• Dzigar’s upbringing in a Tibetan refugee camp in India
• The magic of the great Buddhist masters
• Using discriminating wisdom and blending Bhakti & Buddhism
• Practical ways to have a balanced life
• Being a non-judgmental witness to ourselves, others, and the world
• Meeting our intention with action rather than getting lost in the mundane
• Remedying the three forms of laziness through consistent effort
• The fruits of being diligent in our practice
• Shantideva, an 8th-century Indian philosopher, monk, and scholar
• Motivation and understanding how our actions serve us
• Knowing when to take a break in order to reenergize ourselves for full engagement
• The joy in seeing through our intentions to the end

About Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche:

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche was born in the Northern Indian province of Himachal Pradesh to Tibetan refugee parents. Rinpoche grew up in a monastic environment. He was trained in the Longchen Nyingtik lineage of the Nyingma school as well as the Khyen-Kong Chok-Sum lineages. He moved to the United States in 1989 with his family and began a five-year tenure as a professor of Buddhist philosophy at Naropa University (then Institute) in 1990. Not long after arriving in the United States, Rinpoche founded Mangala Shri Bhuti, an organization established to further the practice of the Longchen Nyingtik and Khyen-Kong Chok-sum lineages. He established a mountain retreat center, Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, in southern Colorado, where he spends much of his time in retreat and guides students in long-term retreat practice. When not in retreat, Rinpoche travels widely throughout the world teaching and furthering his own education. Keep up with Rinpoche’s happenings HERE.

Pick up your own copy of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche’s book, Diligence: The Joyful Endeavor of the Buddhist Path.

“We need to succeed in our field to be able to meet our intention with action, to have concrete outcomes. Whether that is in the spiritual path, sports, business, or creating a balanced life with health and well-being for oneself and one’s family, in all of this, the effort is essential. Effort in a way that is not sporadic, but consistent effort.“ – Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

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Word Woman, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, returns with Raghu to dive deep into poetry, spirituality, silence, grief, love, trust, and listening. 

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer lives in Southwest Colorado with her family, served as the third Colorado Western Slope Poet Laureate (2015-2017) and was a finalist for Colorado Poet Laureate (2019). Her poetry has appeared in O Magazine, on A Prairie Home Companion and PBS New Hour, in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry, in back alleys and on river rocks. Rosemerry is the co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast on creative process; and teaches and performs poetry for addiction recovery programs, hospice, mindfulness retreats, women’s retreats, teachers and more. For more info, poetry books, and daily poetry offerings please visit, WordWoman.com

"To be a wide open listener, that's the real invitation of any poem. People say they need to find their voice; actually we need to be wide open listeners. That's what's really being asked of us. How widely can you listen? How openly can you listen?" – Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

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Writer, speaker, and traveler, Ann Tashi Slater, returns with Raghu to talk the bardos, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, trust, travel, NDE's, letting go, Padmasambhava, and faith. 

Ann Tashi Slater is a writer, speaker and traveler, born on a summer evening in Andalusia to an American father and a Tibetan mother. Ann lived in Spain for two years, Darjeeling and Kathmandu for a year, and then moved to the States. Her fiction, essays, and interviews have been published by The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Catapult, Guernica, Tin House, AGNI, Granta, Kyoto Journal, and the HuffPost, among others, and she is a contributing a contributing editor at Tricycle. Her writing also appears in Women in Clothes (Riverhead) and American Dragons (HarperCollins); a translation of fiction by Reinaldo Arenas was published in Old Rosa (Grove). She speaks and teaches workshops throughout the world. More info at AnnTashiSlater.com

"One thing we know for sure is that things are going to change and end, including us. We dread this, of course, but in the Tibetan Buddhist way of thinking, it's really an opportunity to find meaning and think about the things that matter to us." – Ann Tashi Slater 

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Raghu is back fresh from an India trip to talk with OG Mindroller, David Silver, about life, death, Pema Chödrön, and the way you live.

"I took my first acid trip and experienced groundlessness as if I was dead. I was terrified. Working through that—as everybody does who does psychedelic transformative substances in the right way—I realized there was groundlessness in my life as if I were dead. I was shocked. Going through that, I began to notice this was worth massive focus." – David Silver

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Noah Markus hijacks this episode to present an anthology of the practical Buddhist wisdom he has received during his Mindrolling conversations with Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and Joseph Goldstein.

“It’s not the problem that you have the thoughts; they’re creative in a way, they could hire you in Hollywood, you’d make some really good horror movies. It’s not the content, it’s the fact that you believe that shit.” – Jack Kornfield

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Comedian, Duncan Trussell, and mindfulness teacher, David Nichtern, join Raghu to explore the intersection of Bhakti and Buddhism.

In this special live recording from the LSRF 2022 Summer Mountain Retreat in Boone, North Carolina, Mindrolling favorites, Duncan Trussell and David Nichtern, join Raghu for a deep and hilarious discussion spanning the variant and connected nuances of the spiritual paths of Bhakti and Buddhism. 

Take an online course with David at Dharma Moon & check out Duncan Trussell's podcast The Duncan Trussell Family Hour

"The reason I’m meditating is so that the next time I’m sitting in front of a Hanuman statue, experiencing some sort of transcendent bliss, I'm not drowning it out with a machine gun rattle of seventy questions regarding what that is.” – Duncan Trussell

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In this anthology, Mary Clare PhD, Gary Ferguson, John Lockley, Sarah Wilson, & Alastair McIntosh join Raghu to talk Dharma & Ecology.

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Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 460 – Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, & Compassion w/ Koshin Paley Ellison

Koshin Paley Ellison returns with Raghu to explore social action, suffering, pleasure, honoring it all, hungry ghosts, taking risks, and getting untangled.

Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN, co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, which is the first Zen-based organization to offer fully accredited ACPE clinical chaplaincy training in America. He is the academic advisor for the Buddhist students in the Master in Pastoral Care and Counseling program at New York Theological Seminary. Check out his upcoming book, Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion. Learn more about Koshin and his offerings at zencare.org.

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Raghu Markus is joined by Deborah Eden Tull for a thoughtful discussion about the potential presented by the darkness inside and outside of ourselves.

Deborah Eden Tull is a zen meditation and engaged dharma teacher, public speaker, author, and sustainability educator. She is also the founder of Mindful Living Revolution. She trained for seven and a half years as a Buddhist monk at a silent zen monastery and has taught engaged dharma for over 20 years. Deborah has lived in sustainable communities and as an organic gardener/farmer for decades and celebrates the essential wisdom of nature. She currently resides in the mountains of western North Carolina, originally Cherokee land, with her husband. She offers retreats, workshops, classes, and consultations nationally and internationally, integrating presence and partnership with nature. Her newest book, Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown, is now available for purchase.

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Wise beyond her years, Raghu’s granddaughter, Zoey Markus, returns to share Gen Z insights on closing the divide of separateness through awareness and understanding.

Support podcasts like this through the Be Here Now Network 6th-Anniversary Fundraiser Drive - win tickets to the Ram Dass Legacy retreat in Maui, shop limited edition BHNNxBrunofsky merch and more: beherenownetwork.com/fundraiser

Fresh back from the classroom, a Mindrolling favorite and Raghu's wise granddaughter, Zoey Markus, returns to offer her opinion on the zeitgeist of modern society, exploring her Gen Z perspective on war, self-awareness, polarity, redeemability, distraction, effort, paying attention, the environment, woke culture, and understanding.

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Ramdev joins Raghu to talk about deepening our compassion through devotion and a willingness to meet suffering with an open heart.

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 time on Mindrolling, RamDev and Raghu discuss:

• Coping within the current climate of our country
• Considering if it must get worse before it gets better
• Concerns with ICE and deportation
• Seeing suffering in the context of wholeness
• The problem with over-identification with negative emotions
• Requesting our needs and desires from Maharaj-ji
• A devotee's story from the book By His Grace
• Using our grief and longing as a spiritual path
• The loss that is going on worldwide
• Perspectives on depression and spirituality within the book The Awakened Brain
• Meeting suffering with a wide open heart

Book recommendation from this episode: Tantric Quest by Daniel Odier

This episode is also brought to you by Dharma Moon. Join Buddhist teachers David Nichtern and Professor Robert Thurman for a free online event on Tuesday, March 4th at 6pm ET. Together, they'll explore the power of lineage, tradition, and the evolution of mindfulness practices. They’ll also discuss Dharma Moon’s renowned mindfulness meditation teacher training program. Visit dharmamoon.com/lineage for more info and to reserve your spot for the free online event with David Nichtern and Professor Robert Thurman!

About RamDev:

Dale Borglum is the founder and Executive Director of The Living/Dying Project. He is a pioneer in the conscious dying movement and has worked directly with thousands of people with life-threatening illness and their families for over 30 years. In 1981, Dale founded the first residential facility for people who wished to die consciously in the United States, The Dying Center. He has taught and lectured extensively on the topics of spiritual support for those with life-threatening illness, on caregiving as a spiritual practice, and on healing at the edge, the edge of illness, of death, of loss, of crisis. Learn more about The Living/Dying Project at livingdying.org.

Be sure to also check out RamDev’s podcast, Healing at the Edge, on the Be Here Now Network.

“Compassion is the open heart meeting suffering. Tibetans say this remarkable thing, that compassion is the mixture of sadness and joy. You’re sad because you’re touching human suffering, but there’s a joyfulness that transcends happiness and sadness because your heart is open.” – RamDev

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Parvati Markus and Pete Holmes join Raghu to share stories from Parvati's new book, Whisper in the Heart, on the ongoing presence of Maharaj-ji. 

Parvati Markus is an author, a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba, and longtime friend of Ram Dass. She recently released the book, Whisper in the Heart: The Ongoing Presence of Neem Karoli Baba. Pete Holmes is a comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. You can listen to him on his podcast You Made It Weird. His book Comedy, Sex, God offers a comedic and autobiographical philosophical inquiry on living a spiritual life.

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Dream expert, Machiel Klerk joins Raghu for a conversation on how we can build a trusting communicative relationship with our dreams.

Support podcasts like this through the Be Here Now Network 6th-Anniversary Fundraiser Drive - win tickets to the Ram Dass Legacy retreat in Maui, shop limited edition BHNNxBrunofsky merch and more: beherenownetwork.com/fundraiser

Machiel Klerk is a social entrepreneur, licensed mental health therapist, international speaker, dream worker, and published author. Machiel founded the organization Jung Platform based on a night-time dream. This organization focuses on providing quality programs for personal development from a soul-centered perspective. Machiel is an internationally-recognized and gifted dream worker. His book Dream Guidance shows how one can connect and find guidance from the soul through dreams. He further travels extensively to Africa, Europe and through the United States, lecturing on soul-oriented psychological topics. More at MachielKlerk.com

“Dreams are not just little fragments that happen at night, but is coexisting reality or stream of consciousness that continues to exist when you wake up.” – Machiel Klerk

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John Lockley returns with Raghu for a conversation on overcoming inner apartheid, learning from animals, dream tracking, and finding your edge.

John Lockley began his journey as a young medic drafted into the South African military. He then trained under Zen master Su Bong from South Korea, and returned to post-Apartheid South Africa to spend 10 years in apprenticeship with MaMngwevu, a medicine woman from the Xhosa tribe. John now splits his time teaching in South Africa, Ireland, Europe, and the US. Find out more about John’s work learn more about his retreats and offerings at JohnLockley.com.

Learn more about how you can support Be Here Now Network podcasts like the Mindrolling Podcast through our 6th-Anniversary Fundraiser Drive - win tickets to the Ram Dass Legacy retreat in Maui, shop limited edition BHNNxBrunofsky merch and more: beherenownetwork.com/fundraiser

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