Mindrolling with Raghu Markus

Duncan Trussell joins Raghu Markus and Kelly Rego for a heartfelt conversation on Ram Dass’s enduring legacy and the auspicious experiences that brought the Be Here Now Network team together.In this episode, Duncan, Raghu, & Kelly discuss:Duncan’s introduction to Ram Dass: swimming, playing, and seeing the light again How Ram Dass helped Duncan process the loss of his motherSpreading Ram Dass’s love and legacy through the Be Here Now NetworkHow the universe guides us right to where we need to beMoving through a dark night of the soul The lasting love we have for those we have lost The profound generosity of giving our full attention to another About Kelly Rego:Kelly Rego is an Integrated Marketing & Media Specialist. An Emerson College alumni, Kelly has over 15 years experience of facilitating projects into reality. She has worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer with women’s groups and dairy cooperatives in Costa Rica, a media strategist and buyer in New York City, and has produced a full-length documentary.Kelly is the Marketing Director for Ram Dass’s Love Serve Remember Foundation, as well as the project manager of Be Here Now Network, a podcast network dedicated to spirituality, mindfulness, and personal growth.  About Duncan Trussell:Duncan Trussell is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, and actor. His popular podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, has been downloaded over 25 million times and is known for its blend of humor, fringe ideas, eclectic guests, and great interviews. The DTFH is the foundation for Duncan’s Netflix animated series, The Midnight Gospel, which he co-created with Pendleton Ward in 2020. To learn more about Duncan’s work, visit his website at duncantrussell.com.“At the time, I was living in a roach motel. Literally roaches everywhere, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, super depressed. I would just lie on this mattress listening to Ram Dass; it was really helping a lot. LA can be so lonely and weird. On the website, it said you can arrange these phone calls with Ram Das—I signed up. All of a sudden, Ram Dass is on the screen...beaming out from Hawaii into this garbage apartment” –Duncan TrussellSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meditation master and teacher Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche explores tools for success from Tibetan wisdom on mindfulness, gratitude, and more. Get your own copy of The Tibetan Book of Success HERE.This week on Mindrolling, Orgyen and Raghu discuss: What life was like for Orgyen growing up in a remote village in Tibet The Tibetan Buddhist leader Khenpo Jigme PhuntsokReframing the construct of ‘success’The 10 powers that lead us to success: wisdom, integrity, decency, mindfulness, fairness, reliability, gratitude, hopefulness, faith, generosity Lessons from Mipham RinpocheThe necessity of respect for good communication Navigating conflict through mindfulness and decency Self-awareness as the number one tool for good communication How inner emptiness shapes how we see the worldDiscriminating awareness, deciding what to accept vs. what to rejectAbout Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche:Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche is a meditation teacher and master in the Nyingma lineage of the Buddhist tradition residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the author of Our Pristine Mind: A Practical Guide to Unconditional Happiness, and is known for his accessible, passionate, and joyful approach to personal transformation. Rinpoche teaches regularly in the Bay Area, and travels throughout the world speaking to a broad range of audiences about how to improve their lives through meditation. He received his education and training for nine years starting at the age of fourteen at Larung Gar in Serta, eastern Tibet, with his teacher, the great Jigmed Phuntsok Rinpoche, who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of the twentieth century. Learn more about Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche’s work and his non-profit, The Pristine Mind Foundation. “Even if someone is in conflict, you need to be mindful, reliable, you need to be a decent person at the same time. Then, it works. If your mind is in conflict, if there’s anger, resentment, that totally destroys communication.” –Orgyen Chowang RinpocheSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Be Here Now Network invites you to listen to this special look back at Dr. Robert Thurman’s many appearances on Mindrolling. We hear about Ram Dass, surfing reality, keeping an open heart, and so much more. You can help continue Dr. Thurman’s life’s work to preserve Tibetan culture. Visit Tibet House to learn more.Spanning 10 years of collaboration with the podcast, Dr. Thurman talks about: His decades-long friendship with Ram DassUnclamping the heart and seeing our connection with all people Clearing out the poison of fear and judgment The precious gem of our human embodiment, the waking bardo Surfing through reality, rather than trying to control itA realistic take on the Eightfold Path and right livelihood How releasing selfishness actually benefits us and creates joyLessons on altruism & education from the Dalai Lama Cultivating both a clever mind and an open heart About Dr. Robert Thurman:Robert Thurman (1941-2026) was an American Buddhist author and academic who wrote, edited, and translated many books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University before retiring in June 2019. He held the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. After education at Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He wrote both scholarly and popular books and lectured widely all over the world. As President of the American Institute for Buddhist Studies, he convened the First Inner Science Conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Amherst College in 1984. He was also a founding trustee of Tibet House New York. Check out his most recent book Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life. “When you’re not generous enough, when you’re not open-hearted enough, when you haven’t cultivated opening yourself, then you shoot right past it, just like we shoot through our life. At the moment of death, people report, ‘My life flashed before my eyes in a split second.’ What that means is they didn’t live lucidly. They ran around making money, getting pleasure, doing things, and they have only one split second of quality time when they were there now somewhere” –Dr. ThurmanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author Phil Goldberg explores the laws of karma as an educational tool for awakening rather than as a system of spiritual judgment. Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give here: BHNN 10th Birthday FundraiserThis week on Mindrolling, Phil and Raghu discuss: The rise of karma in American pop culture The Law of Karma by Dr. Robert Svoboda Looking to science to understand the laws of karma Exploring consciousness through The Secret of Secrets by Dan BrownHow the same action can produce different karmas depending on our states of mindEvery moment as the result of karmaGrab a copy of Phil's book, Karmic Relief, and explore more about karma and how it can be used.About Phil Goldberg:Philip Goldberg is the author or co-author of numerous books, including the award-winning American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the World (2010); the definitive biography of Paramahansa Yogananda, The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru (2018); the timeless Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Calm, Clarity, and Courage (2020); and his latest, Karmic Relief: Harnessing the Laws of Cause and Effect for a Joyful, Meaningful Life (2025). His numerous articles have appeared in publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times to Huffington Post to Spirituality & Health. As a public speaker and workshop leader, he has presented at leading venues online and in person. A spiritual counselor, meditation teacher, and ordained Interfaith Minister as well, he hosts the Spirit Matters podcast and writes substantive essays on his Substack, Practical Spirituality with Philip Goldberg. He is also an active board member of the Association for Spiritual Integrity. “The same action can produce different karma depending on the state of the mind of the person doing it and their intention. Someone can write a big check, but if they’re doing it to get their name on a plaque, it doesn’t have the same karmic impact as a humble person giving what they can without any hope of recognition or any ego.” –Phil GoldbergSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Old friends RamDev and Raghu revisit memories of Maharaj-ji as they explore the wisdom of holding both joy and sorrow in the awakened heart.Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give here: BHNN 10th Birthday FundraiserIn this episode, Raghu and RamDev have a conversation on: Memories with Maharaj-ji from Allahabad (now Prayagraj), IndiaThe Tibetan Buddhist concept of Rigpa (the awakened mind)K.C. Tewari’s constant mindfulness and advanced yogic stateHonoring the religion of our roots as we explore spirituality Compassion: keeping your heart open when there is suffering Tantric Buddhism and empowerment Holding both joy and sadness at the same time Shifting from the cerebral to embodied mindfulness practice ‘Minding the gap’ between thoughts and the breath Coming out on June 16th, preorder RamDev’s newest book: How to Live So You Can Die Without FearAbout RamDev: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. Check out RamDev’s podcast, Healing at the Edge, on the Be Here Now Network. “He’s looking at this picture, and the feeling started getting so thick. Some tears started coming down Maharaj-ji’s cheeks. The feeling was that he was remembering the moment when Ram embraced Hanuman. All the people in the front began weeping; there was so much love.”–RamDevSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give at: BHNN 10th Birthday FundraiserJoseph Goldstein, along with Noah & Raghu Markus, discuss how to maintain a balance of compassion and equanimity for a more peaceful life. This time on Mindrolling, Joseph, Noah, and Raghu explore: Buddhist philosophy on relative truth vs. ultimate truth Feeling the body as an energy field of changing sensations rather than something solidHow one can tend the heart in troubled timesThe manifestations of reactivity that make the heart retract Seeing our reality as a blip in cosmic time Inspiring awe through nature as a way to open and soften the heartThe book Fall of Civilizations by Paul Cooper Balancing the qualities of compassion and equanimity Investigating the phenomena of thinking rather than the content of a thought Lessons on direct experience from the Bāhiya SuttaAbout Joseph Goldstein:Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.“At those times, you’re stronger on the compassion side and less strong on the equanimity side. When you see that, that can be a good reminder: ‘Oh yeah, this is what’s happening; I need to go out and look at the stars’. We need both. Either one by itself can tend to states that may not be that helpful.” –Joseph GoldsteinAbout Noah Markus:Noah Markus is a content curator & archivist for Love Serve Remember Foundation. He spends his time curating Ram Dass content for podcasts, courses, and much more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author and speaker Eric Zimmer shares how committing to small, sustainable habits transformed his life—moving him from addiction and homelessness to integrity and meaning.Grab Eric’s book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life.This week on Mindrolling, Eric and Raghu chat about: Burning the house to the ground: Eric’s experience with kleptomania, addiction, and homelessness Embarking on a life-long spiritual quest and journey of self-transformationHow meditation creates more space between stimulus and responseThe opportunity to make better choices when we slow down through mindfulnessWhy lasting change is so difficult Cultivating new habits of both thought and behaviorTreating yourself as if you are a friend or childBecoming a positive force in the world  “Things that feel insurmountable now often can become almost second nature down the line." –Eric ZimmerAbout Eric Zimmer:Eric Zimmer is an author, teacher, speaker, and the creator of The One You Feed podcast—an award-winning show with over 50 million downloads across 800+ conversations exploring meaningful living. At 24, Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin, and facing prison. His journey from those depths sparked his lifelong inquiry into human transformation and resilience. Through his behavior coaching, workshops, and mentorship, he has guided thousands worldwide in creating sustainable habits that last—not through willpower or epiphany, but through steady change. His approach combines cutting-edge science with timeless wisdom, providing practical pathways to greater integrity and deeper meaning. His story and his work have been featured in the media, including TedX, Mind Body Green, Elephant Journal, the BBC and Brain Pickings. Check out his new book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life. “One of the critiques of the modern mindfulness movement is that it divorces the practice from the ethical structures from which it evolved, which leads to ‘I’m just focused on me getting better and feeling better.’ While that’s an important and useful aim, it’s only half the game. The other half of the game is that it is in service of other people and being able to be a positive force in the world. We all have the ability to be a positive force in the world.” –Eric ZimmerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From her research into female spiritual role models, Writer Erica Bassani joins Raghu to discuss her new book which offers an exploration of faith, practice, and feminine power.Grab your copy of Women in Love with the Divine or join Erica in Awakening Softness, transformational 1 on 1 sessions for rediscovering the sacredness of daily life. This week on Mindrolling, Erica and Raghu have a conversation on: Honoring femininity and presence  through the wisdom of modern female spiritual teachersErica’s inspiration from her father’s spirituality and her year-long monastery stay at 19 years old.Gratitude practice towards the divine mother and our own mothers Considering how the wisdom of women may differ from the wisdom of menThe extraordinary warmth and compassion of Garchen RinpocheMoving away from one-dimensional ways of overcoming conflictEntering into feminine gentleness and finding our power within ourselvesHow transcending the ego can actually become spiritual bypassingBecoming present when we start to doubt the existence of GodCultivating inner peace as our individual contribution to the chaos of the world “I started writing it 3 years ago from a need of meeting living women who dedicate their life to the divine. I really needed in that time of my life, I was going through personal crisis and spiritual crisis, I realized all my teachers had been men. Which, I am very grateful to them, but at that point I started really needing female role models, the examples of women who are today in this world doing the spiritual life." –Erica BassaniAbout Erica Bassani:Erica Bassani is a writer based in Italy. A graduate of the Academy of Storytelling in Turin, she spent a year living in a Theravadan Buddhist monastery at the age of 23. Since then, she has turned to female spiritual teachers from diverse traditions to help her navigate her inner journey. She created the Women Awakening Project—an initiative that highlights the wisdom of female spiritual role models and explores spiritual practice through the lens of women’s experiences—to share their wisdom and create a bridge between generations of seekers. Bassani is author of Donne che Esplorano il Divino, co-author (with Massimo Bonomelli) of Va Bene Così, and the Italian translator of The Four Noble Truths of Love by Susan Piver. “Women didn’t follow their own way of coming to power. They followed more the masculine way, the patriarchal way of getting to power. This, of course, creates a very weird shift inside. It creates suffering ultimately because of a disconnection with where actually is the source of power in us, especially as women, and possibly for men as well. The source of power can be in the heart, can be more embodied and exclusive, more aware of the different parts of the situation instead of this focused way which cuts out many other things, it's a more gentler way.” –Erica BassaniSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author, journalist, and co-founder of DoubleBlind, Madison Margolin, joins Raghu to explore her latest project: creating a roadmap to tripping, microdosing, and beyond.Grab your copy of The DoubleBlind Guide to PsychedelicsIn this episode, Madison and Raghu step into the world of: Emerging theories of Ibogaine use in Parkinson's treatment Defining ‘psychedelics’ and Dr. Ben Malcom’s (aka The Spirit Pharmacist) view on psychedelic & somatic awarenessWhat the clinical world can take away from indigenous plant medicine ritualsRam Dass’s journey from psychedelic research to spirituality Spiritual seekers: from India to South America How regular practice helps us connect to deeper layers of realityFeeling beyond time and space Punctuating psychedelic experiences with spiritual practiceAltered states in the history of Judaism Psychedelics for war zones, trauma, and religious leadersAccessing your set, setting, and mental health dispositions  “Doing psychedelics under the stewardship of an indigenous culture is equally legitimate to doing it in a clinical context, and it’s also legitimate to do it at a Grateful Dead show. What I really want to get at is that the way the tribes or indigenous cultures regard these medicines is through community, song, prayer, connection to nature, reciprocity, those are all values that even the clinical world can borrow and emulate as they design their trials." –Madison MargolinAbout Madison Margolin:Madison is an author and journalist who straddles California, New York, and the Israel-Palestine region, with a focus on psychedelics, cannabis, and Judaism — jokingly referring to it as “Jews & Drugs.” Her reporting also spans culture, policy, and science. At the center of her work is a sustained curiosity about how people transcend the mind to access something larger than themselves, whether through psychedelics, spirituality, meditation, art, or somatic practice. Much of her writing explores the different ways people nourish the soul. Madison is the co-founder of DoubleBlind, the print and digital magazine that covers psychedelics and their intersections with mental health, spirituality, environmental justice, and social equity. She also co-founded the Jewish Psychedelic Summit and hosts the podcast Set & Setting on the Be Here Now Network. She has worked in journalism since 2014, with bylines in outlets including Rolling Stone, Vice Media, Playboy, High Times, Tablet Magazine, and Nylon.She began her journalism career with a cannabis column at The Village Voice shortly after graduating from Columbia Journalism School. Before that, she lived in Tel Aviv, where she worked with Israel’s African refugee community. Earlier in her life, she lived at the Cloyne co-op while studying rhetoric and linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.She is a language enthusiast who speaks or dabbles in French, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Outside of work and writing, she is usually dancing, spinning a hula hoop, or practicing yoga.Madison Margolin is also the author of Exile and Ecstacy, a book on Growing Up with Ram Dass and Coming of Age in the Jewish Psychedelic Underground. Learn more about Madison’s work at madisonmargolin.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Exploring the healing power of prayer and belief, Dr. Joshua Brown interweaves cognitive neuroscience with faith-based experiences.Preorder a copy of Joshua’s book, Proving a Miracle, HERE.This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Joshua explore: Joshua’s fascination with the brain as a machine How a medical crisis shifted Joshua’s life path The impact of the spiritual on our physical selves Living between the worlds of neuroscience and faithHow we form beliefs and how those beliefs affect our healthThe power of community and seeking out unique experiencesJoshua’s own experience witnessing miracles Choosing hope and accepting the risk of disappointment How Artificial Intelligence is trained through predictions About Joshua Brown, PhD:Dr. Joshua W. Brown is a professor of Psychological and Brain Science at Indiana University, where he directs the Cognitive Control Lab. He also co-founded the Global Medical Research Institute. With decades of experience in computational neuroscience and over 79 peer-reviewed publications, he brings the same rigorous scientific methodology to extraordinary claims of healing that he applies to understanding the brain. His book, Proving a Miracle, will be released on May 12th of 2026. “Practically, you are what you eat, and your beliefs reflect the experiences that you have. If you want to develop more nuanced beliefs in a certain direction, you have to immerse yourself in experiences that match those beliefs.” –Joshua BrownSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Drawing from decades of Buddhist practice and lived experience, Lodro Rinzler helps listeners overcome self-doubt and reconnect with their inherent goodness.Grab a copy of Lodro Rinzler’s recently released book, You Are Good, You Are Enough.This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Lodro explore: Keeping an open mind towards all wisdom traditions Lessons from Tibetan master Khandro RinpocheHaving gratitude for obstacles and challenges Recognizing where seeds of doubt have been planted in our livesThe insidious inner voice that tries to convince us we are not complete as isGetting in touch with our awakened natureHow doubt can actually manifest as arrogance (I know better than to trust these people, these things)Capitalism and how industries make money off the idea that we are not okayLearning to love ourselves unconditionallyGrappling with the fact that every human being has inherent, basic goodnessThe gift of offering another our undivided attentionAbout Lodro Rinzler:Lodro Rinzler is a Buddhist meditation teacher and award-winning author of 7 books, including the bestseller The Buddha Walks Into A Bar, and Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times. He is co-founder of MNDFL Meditation studios in NYC, and was named one of ’50 Innovators Shaping the Future of Wellness’ by SONIMA. Rinzler’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Good Morning America, CBS, and NBC. He has taught meditation for 20 years in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and has spoken across the world at conferences, universities, Google, Harvard, and the White House. Lodro resides in the Hudson Valley with his wife and their four-legged family of animals. More at LodroRinzler.com “The world is on fire, it’s troubling times. I think if we start to recognize basic goodness in one another, then it will really transform the world.” –Lodro RinzlerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.