Episode 2, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion" Featuring: Norman Farb, Ph.D., Juanita Campbell Rasmus, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

Depression can drain the color from life, often returning even after symptoms subside. In this episode, our expert panel explores:

• How to recognize depression
• The potential of meditation in easing symptoms
• Strategies for avoiding relapse during recovery
• Insights from scientific research, spirituality, and personal experience

Join us for this live online conversation as we navigate the journey beyond depression.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 1, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

In this inaugural episode of the CyberSangha Podcast, join us for a transformative teaching, originally broadcast on March 3, 2023, as we begin our journey of "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion." 

With the start of the Tibetan New Year, the focus of the month was on meeting any depression we may experience in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways of joy that are inherent to us. Recordings of simultaneous interpretation are available in Spanish and French.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 4, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: psychologist Ann Friedman, Ph.D.; researcher and thought leader Jud Brewer, M.D., Ph.D.; Tibetan meditation master Geshe Tenzin Wangyal; and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

We welcome you to join us online as experts from the realms of science and spirituality share their best practices for living with and healing from anxiety. Nearly everyone is familiar with the sense of tension, worry, and insecurity that anxiety brings. When severe, anxiety can limit our daily activities. What is its ultimate source? Can we prevent or limit the symptoms? Are we better off ignoring them, or going closer to them? What role can meditation play?

“As a psychologist, having panic attacks brought me to my knees,” says panelist Ann Friedman. “Today, I consider it one of the blessings of my life, allowing me to find mindfulness, which helped me eliminate the panic attacks and minimize my anxiety.”

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 3, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Our focus this month is on meeting any anxiety we may experience in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways of calmness that are inherent to us.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 5, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for a live online teaching as we begin Month 3 of his new yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all! Our focus this month is on meeting any loneliness we may experience in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening a deeper, more fulfilling sense of connection to ourselves and others.

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 7, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for a live online teaching as we begin Month 4 of his yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all! Our focus this month is on meeting any sense of attachment we may experience in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways of generosity that are inherent to us.

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 6, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Sharon Salzberg, Emily Lindsay, Ph.D.; Geshe Tenzin Wangyal; and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

No matter how many friends we have on social media or how many people we are surrounded by, loneliness can be a constant companion. We may be yearning for a sense of support or connection, or feeling that we don’t quite fit in. We search for friendship, community, and intimacy, but what are we really seeking? Can meditation help us to feel more fulfilled and connected, even when we’re alone? Our panelists discuss the roots of loneliness from the perspectives of both science and spirituality.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 8, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Roshi Joan Halifax, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

To be truly generous of spirit, we must loosen our attachments — not only to what we are giving, but also to our expectations for an outcome. What is the true meaning of generosity? How can we know if it’s spontaneous or effortful? What are the benefits of giving from the heart? Are there healthier forms of attachment or detachment? Our esteemed panelists discuss the how’s and why’s of living a compassionate, generous life, through to life’s end.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 12, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

When caught in ignorance you can feel deeply disconnected, unsure, uncertain, lost. You may feel you are not fully present, not at home in yourself. You doubt yourself and others and feel ill at ease. In a live online teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting any ignorance we are experiencing in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways of wisdom that are inherent to our true nature. The broadcast marks the start of Month 6 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 11, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Robert Thurman, Ph.D.; Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D.; Geshe Tenzin Wangyal; and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

How do we balance the importance of honoring anger when it arises and not feeding it in a way that causes harm? Is it possible to separate out the wisdom aspects of anger, such as boundary-setting and clear-seeing, from its destructive side? What does it mean to transform anger into love, on a practical level? This lively dialogue will explore working with the energy of anger from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhist and Bön spirituality, alongside Western psychological approaches. The conversation will also explore both scientific and spiritual understandings on cultivating love and positive states of mind. Central to the inquiry will be the question of how to work with emotion that arises without suppressing or acting out in destructive ways, as well as how to apply antidotes that bring about transformative shifts in our energy and emotions.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 10, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Marina and Bob Felix, Larissa Scherbatow, Marion Chaygneaud-Dupuy, Erick Rinner, and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.

Our panelists share with host Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche two very personal stories of organ donation as an expression of selfless love and generosity. Last February Marion Chaygneaud-Dupuy of Lhasa, China, offered one of her kidneys to her partner, Erick Rinner. Larissa Scherbatow of North Carolina donated a kidney in 2013 to her daughter, Marina Felix. Marina’s husband, Bob, joins us in this inspiring discussion of uncertainty, challenge, giving, and acceptance.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 9, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for a live online teaching as we begin Month 5 of his yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all! Our focus this month is on meeting any anger we may experience in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways of loving-kindness that are inherent to us.

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

This content is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical professionals for physical or mental health concerns. Use headphones and avoid meditating while driving or operating machinery.

Learn more at CyberSangha.net or on the CyberSangha community app.

Episode 13, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Emily McRae, Ph.D.; Margaret Plews-Ogan, M.D.; Geshe Tenzin Wangyal; and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

“Truth is always joyful, though the journey to the truth may be painful,” writes Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Why do some people thrive when facing adversity while others struggle immensely? How can we use difficult challenges as a catalyst for positive transformation? This lively dialogue will explore the notions of wisdom and ignorance from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhist and Bön spirituality, alongside Western philosophical, physiological, psychological systems, looking at what these terms really mean and what they imply for the possibility of transforming difficult circumstances.

Episode 17, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

In a live online teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting any pride we may be experiencing with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways to our inherently peaceful nature. The broadcast marks the start of Month 9 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 16, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

Jealousy is said to be one of the fundamental afflictions of human beings according to the Tibetan Bön and Buddhist traditions. Constantly comparing ourselves to others and wanting what others have leaves us perpetually dissatisfied, competitive, stressed, and exhausted. How can we acknowledge and accommodate our own jealousy such that it can shift or transform on its own? Are there positive ways in which we can channel the energy of jealousy into being of benefit to others or supporting our practice? Is there an “awakened” expression of jealousy?

Episode 15, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

You might compare yourself with another or feel that another’s success reveals your own failure. You might feel bitter or unpleasantly competitive. Perhaps you find yourself thinking, “How come they got it and I didn’t?” In a live online teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting any jealousy we are experiencing in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing the pathways to our inherently spacious nature. The broadcast marks the start of Month 8 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 14, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

When you are caught in fear, you can feel small, uncertain, unsafe, ungrounded. You might be afraid of what will happen. You lack trust. You might find yourself thinking, “I will never be able to do that.” In a live online teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting any fear we are experiencing in our body, speech, and mind with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways of confidence that are inherent to our true nature. The broadcast marks the start of Month 7 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 18, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

In a live online teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting any sense of exhaustion or burnout we may be experiencing with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways to abiding deeply and restfully in open awareness. The broadcast marks the start of Month 10 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 25, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.”

Featuring: Mario Martinez, Willa Blythe Baker, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

Do cultural beliefs affect how your body manifests? Do some subconscious cultural mindsets actually contribute to addiction, obesity, and poor health, even more so than genetics? In mindful breath practice we experience, and science documents, healthy changes in mind and body. Supported by breath, we can cultivate a sense of joy and recognize our inner connectedness. We know this sense of belonging leads to longer life. What other factors can unlock the biocognitive(mind/body/culture) blocks to happiness and longevity?

For this inspiring and free online Science & Spirituality dialog, the speaker panel includes pioneering clinical neuropsychologist Mario Martinez who brings an illuminating vocabulary and understanding of biocognition to neuropsychology; meditation teacher/lama and scholar Willa Blythe Baker whose practices on breath, embodiment, and wilderness, address stress and resilience in a time of eco-anxiety; Dzogchen master and teacher Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich. From their varied perspectives, they will share practices that allow your inner wisdom, unbound by cultural bias, to guide you to greater spiritual and physical wellbeing.

Episode 24, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.”

Featuring: film director Shenpenn Khymsar, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and host Jhama Lhamo.

Meet Shenpenn Khymsar, director of Broken Wings, the first Bollywood feature film directed by a Tibetan and the first feature to come out of Darjeeling in the Indian/International cinema world. Inspired by true events, it’s a tragic love story set in the post-1986 Gorkhaland agitation in Darjeeling, India. The film can be viewed in theaters throughout India (and later Nepal) beginning Friday, April 29, 2022; and will be released on streaming platforms by fall 2022. Produced by Monk and the Warrior Productions.

The conversation can be considered a family affair, as Shenpenn Khymsar is the nephew of Tenzin Rinpoche’s wife, Khandro Tsering Wangmo Khymsar; and host Jhama Lhamo is Rinpoche’s half-sister.

Episode 23, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Resting our voice in silence is a doorway to deep inner peace. It allows the light of pure awareness to dawn in us, and helps us to realize our true voice. In a live internet broadcast, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaches and guides a meditation that helps us to connect with that true voice and to realize its power to help us communicate more clearly and effectively.

Episode 22, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.”

Featuring: Eve Ekman, Bessel van der Kolk, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

Presenters and hosts delve into trauma and emotions and how the body keeps score by affecting the very perception through which an individual meets life. The panel presented differing understandings on how trauma can be healed and why.

Eve Ekman draws from her work on a Dalai Lama-supported project to increase emotion awareness through an online Atlas of Emotions and her recent research on the meditation practice of working with difficult emotions: Feeding Your Demons. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, brings poignant insight into the impact of emotions and how the body keeps score of them. One particular topic of interest is the use of psychedelics, specifically MDMA, and how this effective treatment must be presented in sacred space and not abused.

Episode 21, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

In a live online teaching and guided meditation, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting our “pain identity” — the mistaken sense of self who continually suffers  — with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways to realizing the liberating truth of no-self. The broadcast marks the start of Month 12 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

Episode 20, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

In a live online teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides us in meeting any sense of apathy we may be experiencing with openness and warmth, clearing and opening the pathways to fuller, more joyful engagement in life. The broadcast marks the start of Month 11 in Rinpoche’s yearlong program, “Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion.” Free and open to all!

In his teaching, Rinpoche emphasizes the importance of facing challenges, cultivating joyful engagement, and paying attention to our emotions. He also touches on our potential for personal change, the significance of getting a good sleep, and the need to be mindful of engaging with social media and technology. He highlights the role of self-awareness and the power of meditation, particularly loving kindness meditation, in promoting personal growth and reducing stress.

In advance of the broadcast Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 19, Series 1: "Embracing Life with Wisdom & Compassion"

Featuring: Nikki Mirghafori, Paul Condon, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich.

It’s one thing to be fatigued. It’s another to be exhausted. When we put too much effort over time into thinking, speaking, or doing, at some point we can cross the line into irritability, extreme fatigue, even burnout. We may lose the ability to concentrate or remember, and our motivation for engaging in what we love most. Excessive fatigue can lead to headaches, digestive problems, or illness from a weakened immune system. How much effort is too much? Before crossing the line into burnout, how can we use exhaustion to our advantage? What role can awareness play in the cure? Join us in a fascinating discussion from the perspectives of both science and spirituality.

Episode 31, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Mind refers to our disturbing emotions and other distracted movements of the mind, as well as to the vast, open nature of mind — the source of all positive qualities — and the capacity to distinguish the difference. As we deepen our familiarity with resting in a state of spacious awareness, the obstacles and obscurations of our habitual patterns naturally dissolve into the openness of our true nature and our positive qualities spontaneously arise from this source to benefit others.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 30, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Laura Schmalzl, Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

About one in five U.S. adults practices some form of yoga. An ancient Indian practice with asanas (body postures) and pranayama (breathing practices), yoga is well known for its many health benefits. Just how do yoga-based practices help us to think more clearly, balance our emotions, and improve our bodily awareness? Can we view the breath as one of yoga’s active ingredients? Invited presenters draw on their clinical and academic expertise and their experience as practitioners and teachers as they discuss the future of yoga in health care, its importance as a body-breath-mind practice, and the key role of the breath.

Episode 29, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Speech refers not only to the words we speak, but also to the energy carried by our voice and our breath. The teachings, discussions, and practices of this month explore using speech, mantra, other forms of sound, and/or breathing practices to support us to connect with the pure, unceasing awareness of our true nature. Through allowing our voice to rest in silence, we draw attention to inner silence and continue to release effort that separates us from being fully present. A doorway to deep inner peace, resting in silence allows the light of pure awareness to dawn, awareness that illuminates the source of positive qualities within us and all beings. It helps us to realize our true voice.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 28, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

“Body” refers here not only to our physical body and the tangible world around us, but also to our individual sense of identity as a human being. The teachings, discussions, and practices explored during the Month of the Body help us to connect to the door of the body, clearing obstacles to health and well-being through movement and stillness. Resting our awareness in the stillness of the body opens the door to the clear, open, unchanging experience of our true nature and awakens clear, positive action.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 27, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.”

Featuring: Sid Desai, Dr. Linda Carlson, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Dr. Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

As the digital technology of virtual reality (VR) becomes more available, carefully designed VR programs have the potential to change states of mind and attitude. The immersive nature of VR may be one of the solutions to support people in their meditation and mindfulness practices. It may help users to focus, or shift their attention, but there has been little research in the use of virtual reality as a therapeutic tool. Dr. Carlson and Sid Desai are pioneers in this area, and in a first-of-its-kind study they are assessing the results of a virtual reality guided mindfulness (VRGM) intervention program in adult cancer patients with chronic cancer-related pain. In this Science & Spirituality dialog, our esteemed panel discuss exciting possibilities of VR in integrative health care, its abilities to introduce users to expanded awareness, as well as its challenges and limitations.

Episode 26, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Our true nature is pure, spacious awareness. The more familiar we are with this spaciousness of mind, the closer we are to the source of spontaneous creativity. In a live internet broadcast, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaches and guides a meditation that helps us to rest in the vast openness within, let go of any negative sense of identity that limits our true potential, and realize our innate power to benefit ourselves and our world through boundless creativity.

Episode 34, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Stephan Rechtschaffen, M.D.; Wenli Liu, M.D.; Geshe Tenzin Wangyal; and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

What are the latest trends in natural wellness modalities? How effective are they, really? How important is the mind-body-spirit connection to well-being and longevity? Our knowledgeable panelists explore topics ranging from wellness retreats and intermittent fasting to Blue Zones projects — built environments that that support an active, high-quality lifestyle among community members.

This engaging dialog builds on the June 28, 2022, CyberSangha conversation, “Natural Paths to Longevity.”

Episode 33, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

“Body” refers here not only to our physical body and the tangible world around us, but also to our individual sense of identity as a human being. The teachings, discussions, and practices explored during the Month of the Body help us to connect to the door of the body, clearing obstacles to health and well-being through movement and stillness. Resting our awareness in the stillness of the body opens the door to the clear, open, unchanging experience of our true nature and awakens clear, positive action.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 32, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Wendy Hasenkamp and Adam Hanley, Geshe YongDong, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich.

As we make our way through life, each of us forms a unique perspective of the world and of our place in it. Having a simplified outlook tends to make our day go more smoothly and efficiently — until the world inevitably shifts around us, and our predictable responses no longer serve us. Research suggests that being attuned to the present moment can help us respond more accurately and fluidly to the challenges we face. Our panelists engage in lively conversation about the research and about meditation practices that can bring us to the present moment.

Episode 45, Series 3: "A Year of Body, Speech & Mind"

Featuring: Lorenzo Cohen, Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

In the first of a series of 2021 Science & Spirituality Dialogs on wellness of body, breath, and mind, invited panelists discuss the mind-body connection in movement-based practices such as hatha yoga, kundalini yoga, and Tibetan yoga (tsa lung trul khor). How can such physical practices serve us in transforming our state of mind? How can the research inform our practice? The dialog is part of a free yearlong online program related to body, speech, and mind, known in the Tibetan tradition as the “three doors to enlightenment. Learn more

Episode 44, Series 3: "A Year of Body, Speech & Mind"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

What challenges are you facing right now? How well are you dealing with them? Whether you’re reacting in anger or accommodating your circumstances with serenity and joy, how you respond has everything to do with your sense of who you are. In a Facebook Live broadcast, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche explains how to distinguish your “pain identity” from your genuine self, and guides a meditation to help you find more serenity through awareness of stillness of the body. He also discusses suggested “homework” for the weeks to come.

Episode 35, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Speech refers here not only to the words we speak, but also to the energy carried by our voice and our breath. The teachings, discussions, and practices of this month explore using speech, mantra, other forms of sound, and/or breathing practices to support us to connect with the pure, unceasing awareness of our true nature. Through allowing our voice to rest in silence, we draw attention to inner silence and continue to release effort that separates us from being fully present. A doorway to deep inner peace, resting in silence allows the light of pure awareness to dawn, awareness that illuminates the source of positive qualities within us and all beings. It helps us to realize our true voice.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 43, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life"

Featuring: David R. Vago, Ph.D., Amishi Jha, Ph.D., Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

Can we live more fully just by paying more attention? Our panelists discuss the science behind attention, how mindfulness can help us achieve our greatest potential and strategies for being more present in each moment. Using metaphors from Dr. Jha’s recent bestselling book, Peak Mind, the panelists will discuss three subsystems of attention: the flashlight (selective focus), floodlight (receptive attention), and juggler (executive functioning). They will also discuss the similarities and differences between neuroscientific and Buddhist models of attention, plus recent findings from lab-based and field studies of contemplative training.

Episode 42, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life"

Featuring: Menpa Phuntsok Wangmo, Dr. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and Alejandro Chaoul

Join us for the public premiere of a recorded science/spirituality dialog featuring Menpa Phuntsok Wangmo, Dr. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and moderator Alejandro Chaoul. The talk was first presented to an in-person audience at the Serenity Ridge Retreat Center (plus private online audience) during Serenity Ridge Dialogues, October 2022.

Certain breathing practices, such as the tsa lung exercises of the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition, can serve as a powerful tool for balancing the elements and winds of one’s body, speech and mind. Tibetan doctor and dzogchen practitioner Menpa Phuntsok Wangmo discusses the five elements from the perspective of Tibetan medicine, as well as the importance of breathing practice in balancing the elements and healing illness. Breath researcher and Kundalini practitioner Dr. Sat-Bir Khalsa Singh describes much of the research done on breathing practices and their health benefits. Dzogchen master Geshe Tenzin Wangyal describes the five elements from the perspective of the dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Bön Buddhism and responds to related research into the Tibetan breathing practices of tsa lung and trul khor (Tibetan yoga).

This dialog is a must watch for pranayama and tsa lung practitioners, as well as for those interested in the correlations between breathing practice and the five elements and their potential health benefits. It is presented here as part of the Month of Speech in the yearlong program “Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life.” Learn more about the yearlong program.

Episode 41, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life"

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

“Speech” refers here not only to the words we speak, but also to the energy carried by our voice and our breath. The teachings, discussions, and practices of this month explore using speech, mantra, other forms of sound, and/or breathing practices to support us to connect with the pure, unceasing awareness of our true nature. Through allowing our voice to rest in silence, we draw attention to inner silence and continue to release effort that separates us from being fully present. A doorway to deep inner peace, resting in silence allows the light of pure awareness to dawn, awareness that illuminates the source of positive qualities within us and all beings. It helps us to realize our true voice.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 40, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life"

Featuring: Leslie Eisenberg, Ph.D.; Tawni Tidwell, Ph.D.; Geshe Tenzin Wangyal; and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D.

We all aim to live well, but little is understood about how to die well. Our expert panelists discuss research into tukdam, a post-death meditative state in which the bodies of advanced meditation practitioners show delayed signs of decomposition for as many as three weeks or longer. What insights into the dying process can this research provide for both the dying and their support communities? What are its implications for living and practicing well? What is the role of the physical body in meditation?

Episode 39, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

“Body” refers here not only to our physical body and the tangible world around us, but also to our individual sense of identity as a human being. The teachings, discussions, and practices explored during the Month of the Body help us to connect to the door of the body, clearing obstacles to health and well-being through movement and stillness. Resting our awareness in the stillness of the body opens the door to the clear, open, unchanging experience of our true nature and awakens clear, positive action.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 38, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life

Featuring: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

Even when pain is unavoidable, suffering is optional. The practices of both mindfulness and dzogchen are renowned for changing how we relate to psychological, emotional, and physical pain, thereby easing our pain-related suffering and even lessening or eliminating the pain itself. Our esteemed presenters all share a deep, abiding interest in easing pain through meditation practice and in the research supporting its effectiveness. The CyberSangha broadcast is part of the Month of the Mind in “Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life,” a free yearlong program of live teachings, practices, and science & spirituality dialogs. Learn more

Episode 37, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life

Featuring: Mauricio Obón Dent, Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

Does the value of exercise grow when we do it mindfully, purposefully? Is medicine more powerful when combined with mantra recitation and visualization? How can a lifestyle that prioritizes good nutrition, healthy sleep habits, and regular exercise prevent disease and enhance spiritual practice? Join us for this engaging dialog for answers and inspiration.

This dialog is built upon in a second dialogue from September 20, 2022, “Natural Paths to Well-Being.”

Episode 36, Series 2: "Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life”

Featuring: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Mind refers here to our disturbing emotions and other distracted movements of the mind, as well as to the vast, open nature of mind — the source of all positive qualities — and the capacity to distinguish the difference. As we deepen our familiarity with resting deeply in a state of spacious awareness, the obstacles and obscurations of our habitual patterns naturally dissolve into the openness of our true nature, and our positive qualities spontaneously arise from this source to benefit others.

In advance of his teaching, Rinpoche encourages creating a bit of space for meditation in your house — in a quiet, peaceful location where you can feel some sense of warmth and connection to yourself. You might provide a comfortable cushion to sit on, and a candle or stick of incense. A supportive outer space can support your inner space during meditation.

Episode 66 · Series 3 — A Year of Body, Speech & Mind

With Mark Siegert, Harvey Aronson, and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

This video begins with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s sweet offering, “I Am No One.” For some this may be enjoyed as a poem, a creative expression; others may recognize it as a pointing out instruction which can be experienced as well as understood.

Rinpoche and his guests then discuss their sometimes similar and sometimes differing views on identity as well as the processes for dealing with painful identity. This group speak as therapists, practitioners, teachers. All agree that spaciousness is desirable for goals of both Buddhist practitioners and patients of psychotherapy, regardless of the ultimate goal.

When pain and inner struggle are engrained and become so familiar, they are not necessarily even experienced as pain but rather are simply experienced as “me.” How do we find the path back to natural mind or even to ability to enjoy life? What are the obstacles to being able to host our pain with self-compassion? While the goals of psychotherapy and dzogchen meditation may be very different, just how do the approaches differ? Can they complement one another? How can the psychotherapist’s view allow for the possibility of spontaneous recognition?

Episode 65 · Series 3 — A Year of Body, Speech & Mind

With Eric Garland, Fadel Zeidan, David Vago, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

In this fascinating conversation our distinguished presenters share neuroscience discoveries and effects of powerful interventions such as mindfulness, reappraisal and savoring that enable health-enhancing changes in one’s perspective and habitual mindsets. Learn also what brings these scholars to study the effects of ancient meditation traditions on pain relief, opioid addiction and human suffering. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche joins the conversation from Nepal with less than ideal internet service. He is however totally present and connected.

Episode 56 · Series 3 — A Year of Body, Speech & Mind

With Richard Freeman, Mary Taylor, Paul Dallaghan, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

For millennia, yogis have made the breath an integral part of spiritual practice. Even the simple, intimate practice of breath awareness can help us to quickly silence thoughts, calm nerves, soothe anger, and dispel fear. In a live CyberSangha broadcast, invited presenters look at pranayama and other breath practices from Ashtanga, Tibetan, and other forms of yoga. The group will also share scientific interpretations of what goes on as we bring light to our sacred bodies.

Episode 55 · Series 3 — A Year of Body, Speech & Mind

With James Duffy, Charles Raison, and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve lost your mind, you’re not alone — even top scientists remain uncertain of the mind’s location. Based on both contemplative science and anecdotal evidence from direct meditative experience, researchers are reconsidering the relationship between the brain and the mind. In a live online discussion, James Duffy, Charles Raison, and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich discuss the role of the physical nervous system according to modern science and ancient Tibetan wisdom. The CyberSangha broadcast is part of “A Year of Body, Speech, and Mind,” a free 2021 online program of live teachings, practices, and science & spirituality dialogs. Learn more

Episode 54 · Series 3 — A Year of Body, Speech & Mind

With Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Before we can experience the joy of recognizing our true nature — the larger sense of self that is open, spacious, and fully perfected — we must recognize our smaller self: the “pain mind” that is continually dominated by emotions, mental images, and scattered thoughts. In a live online broadcast, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche explains the pain mind and teaches a meditation practice for healing and moving beyond it. This broadcast is part of “A Year of Body, Speech, and Mind,” a free 2021 online program of live teachings, practices, and science & spirituality dialogs. Learn more