The Spiritual Context Podcast

A mystical experience at nineteen changed David Cassian Cole's life forever — setting him on a journey through Celtic spirituality, Christian mysticism, Eastern Orthodox hesychasm, twenty years inside a dispersed new monastic order, and now the teaching of Fr. Bede Griffiths and a recontextualization of Christianity through the Upanishads. David's is a life devoted to truth, wherever it leads.We talk about the Cosmic Christ, panentheism and the sacredness of nature, the Jesus Prayer and Sanskrit mantra, suffering and spiritual dryness, and what it means, in his words, to "release the divine from all of our concepts."David Cassian Cole is the founder of Waymark Ministries and author of The Celtic Year, Celtic Prayers & Practices, The Mystic Path of Meditation, and The Art of Peace: Life Lessons from Christian Mystics. Visit: www.waymarkministries.orgChapters00:10 The Mystical Experience: Encountering the Cosmic Christ11:58 Living in the Mystery, Not in the Knowing15:48 Celtic Spirituality: Seeing and Experiencing the Divine in and through Nature21:27 Understandings of Nature: Reductionist, Pantheism, & Panentheism27:53 New Monasticism: A Structure for Spiritual Freedom33:29 New Monastic Vows: Simplicity, Purity, and Obedience38:05 Rhythms of Spiritual Practice44:15 Created to Be in Community: Individuation & Belonging48:10 Bede Griffiths and Christianity Through an Upanishadic Lens54:01 Devotion to Truth Over Tradition59:29 Bede Griffiths as Guru: The Marriage of East and West01:06:07 Shantivanam Ashram & Sanskrit Hymns and Chants01:10:31 The Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm01:14:39 Recontextualizing Sin as Deviation or False Belief01:18:44 Living from Higher Consciousness01:22:16 "God, rid me of God": Mystical Experience and Understanding of God01:28:57 Any Experience of Love is a Divine Experience01:31:30 Spirituality in Family Life01:36:12 Acceptance, Compassionate Response, and Suffering as an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth01:42:44 Dry Periods as Periods of Spiritual Transition01:46:23 "Words Aren't Always Necessary When You Are Praying"01:47:16 Balance between Action and Surrender01:53:36 Waymark Ministries, Forest Church, and Community EngagementMusic for this episode by Benjamin Bigelow

Dr. David R. Hawkins | Christ | Mystical Experience | Forgiveness | Love | Death | Devotion | Meditation | Silence | Prayer | Visions To mark the 25th episode of The Spiritual Context Podcast, I'm releasing a very special interview—one of the very first conversations I recorded when this podcast was still just an idea. My guest today is Sherry Ritley, a dear friend and someone who has deeply influenced my own spiritual journey. She is a private and ordinary person with an extraordinary inner life and a remarkable depth of devotion.Spirituality permeates every aspect of her life. Her life has become a prayer. Whether she is speaking about mystical visions, meditation, forgiveness, death, or simply caring for a garden, everything seems to arise from the same source, a profound trust in God and an ever-deepening understanding of love. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did. May it bring you closer to your own True Self.Chapters00:00 25th Episode Gratitude01:40 Love of Christ and Spiritual Experiences During Childhood08:23 Journey Through the Stages of Spiritual Growth12:16 Deep Surrender to God During Delivery15:08 Leaving Home and Family to Meditate19:23 Longing for God Gets Mixed Up with Approval from Other Humans21:21 The True Teacher: Dr. David R. Hawkins (Doc)25:54 Surrender and the Divine Visions of Jesus Christ36:55 Being in the Presence of a True Teacher45:58 Wandering No More: A Poem by Sherry50:12 Coming to Know True Love55:39 Forgiveness: Do Onto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You01:03:44 Living Life As a Prayer01:13:22 The Mind is Mostly Silent01:22:08 Blissful Experiences Surrounding Death01:27:43 Spiritual Energy: "Truth Juice"01:31:27 Handling Health Challenges01:35:08 The Vision of Jesus, Buddha, and Dr. David R. Hawkins Dancing Together 01:37:06Bereft of Love, We PerishMusic for this episode by Benjamin Bigelow

Is there within us a Presence that knows what we need before we do? How do we hear its guidance, and how do we trust it when it asks us to abandon what we thought we wanted?At eight years old, Patricia McBee felt an overwhelming Divine Presence, and she has followed its leadings since. A Quaker mystic and elder, she has spent a lifetime learning to recognize its guidance in all its forms. The fully formed verbal instruction. The way opening that arrives without warning. The way closing that refuses to budge. The bait-and-switch that has taken her places she never intended to go. Even the laziness that, in hindsight, brought her exactly where she needed to be. The Presence also communicates in visions. One showed her that she is absolutely safe even when wild beasts that could tear her limb from limb lurk in the forest. Through these leadings, her understanding of the Divine Presence has been completely transformed—from the traditional God of the Sistine Chapel with his flowing beard, through God as love, to a vision of Oneness.She calls her life "Wooed by the Spirit." This episode is an invitation into what such a courtship with the Divine Presence within each of us.Timestamps00:00 Spiritual Guidance: A Voice Told Me To Change My Major 04:47 Testing Spiritual Guidance: Waiting, Journaling, and Sharing with Elders09:04 Mystical Experience at 8: The Divine in First Communion16:49 Finding Elders, Spiritual Companions, and QuakerMystics19:48 Can Laziness Be a Form of Guidance? : First QuakerMeeting26:01 Way Opening, Way Closing: Living Inside QuakerDiscernment28:42 Cultivating and Expressing Spiritual Life33:01 Silence, Hymns, and the Vision of Perfect Safety37:36 Core Quaker Belief: That of God in Each Person43:31 Silence, Sleepiness, and Being Present to Friends48:06 Universal Truth Across Different Religions52:10 Evolving Understanding of God: Love, All-That-Is, and Oneness01:08:57 The Psychological Impact of Theology: Accepting All of Oneself01:15:10 All-That-Is, Oneness, and Perceptual Appearance01:21:23 Hard Work and Intelligence Alone Aren't Sufficient01:36:01 Returning to Love as All-That-Is and Oneness01:39:23 Bait-and-Switch Guidance: Life's Unexpected Turns01:49:19 Marriage as a Spiritual Discipline01:52:13 Death, Safety, and What Comes Next01:58:23 Prayer After Oneness Music for this episode by Benjamin Bigelow

Kirya Yoga | Kirtan | Samadhi | Meditation | Enlightenment | Kundalini | Yogananda | Autobiography of a Yogi | Siddhartha by Herman Hesse | Bhakti Neti Neti | ChakrasFrom dancing to Beatles records as a child and playing in progressive rock bands in his youth, to a distinguished academic career teaching music history and theory, John Covach achieved immense success in the material world. But his deepest satisfaction has come from a parallel, quieter path: the practice and teaching of meditation.As a Yogacharya — authorized teacher — of Kriya Yoga, John joins The Spiritual Context Podcast to trace his fascinating evolution. In this conversation, John traces how early literary influences like Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi shaped his worldview, how he uncovered the hidden spiritual underpinnings of modern music, and what life actually looks like after reaching the highly sought-after state of Samadhi.Chapters00:00 Identity: Not this, Not that08:56 Kirtan: Krishna Das, Performance Dynamics, & Spiritual Energy16:42 The Yogas: Approaches to Enlightenment25:46 Steady Spiritual Practice, Without Expectation29:16 Skillful Means: Different Teachings in Different Stages of Life35:25 Clear the Path & Kundalini Rises By Itself37:53 Rock Music, Herman Hesse, Yogananda, and Schoenberg50:36 Reading Hesse's Siddhartha & Mapping the Spiritual Path59:56 Kriya Yoga and Stilling the Mind01:04:46 Lahiri Mahasaya and the Evolution of Kriya Techniques01:15:39 Recommendations for Those Interested in Kriya Yoga01:17:29 Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Experience of Stillness in Meditation01:24:46 Kundalini Energy and Chakras01:34:19 Enlightenment Isn't What You Think It Is01:39:02 Brain, Filtered Perception, and the Possibility of Pure Perception01:50:15 Personal Transformation: Equanimity01:54:27 Releasing the Ego & Personal Motivation01:58:48 Using Music for MeditationFor more information, check out: https://www.facebook.com/JohnCovachMusicAndMeditation @JohnCovachMusicAndMeditation ​

A 15-year-old anti-war activist arrived at the Vedanta Society in Southern California to distribute protest flyers. Upon hearing that inner peace is the prerequisite for world peace, she realized that peace requires working in a domain far deeper than politics. She was snagged by the Divine. But it wasn't until ten years later, compelled by a close encounter with death, that she finally committed to the monastic path in the Ramakrishna Order. Realizing God is easy, her guru Swami Prabhavananda told her. Now, after five decades of monastic life, Pravrajika Vrajaprana shares her own experience of the ego gradually making way for the peace of Self-Realization.Intimate stories with spiritual luminaries — holy and hilarious. Devotion to her guru. Facing death. Embodying Kali. Life at the convent. And what it truly means to love God above all else.Chapters00:00 The First Encounter with Swami Prabhavananda: Tangible Holiness06:38 Why Politics Couldn’t Satisfy the Soul13:49 Lightning Bolt: The Day "Atman Is Brahman"Changed Everything17:59 The Car Accident That Led to The Convent27:35 Meditate With the Sword of Death Over Your Head36:50 What Is a Guru? The Eternal Relationship51:34 Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, and The Holy Mother58:25 Humor in Spiritual Teachings01:00:22 Are You a Bhakta or a Jnani?01:07:02 We Have Only Ever Loved God01:13:14 The Ego-Crushing Machine: Spiritual Life in aConvent01:18:34 She Whose Life is Devoted to God01:20:04 Mother Kali: The Mama Bear01:30:10 "Realizing God is Easier than QuittingSmoking" -- Really?01:32:17 Dry Spells & Burning Karma01:35:04 Humor and Compassion Work Better to Train the EgoThan Fighting It01:41:37 A Chaplain's Lessons: Seeing God in Everyone01:48:30 Most Attuned To the Divine01:52:50 Supporting Others on Their Spiritual Journey 

How many of your beliefs have you really questioned? What if it is these same unquestioned beliefs that cause suffering? And what if questioning is all that's required for stressful thoughts to let go of you?Grace Bell has used The Work of Byron Katie to question the thoughts underlying her eating disorder, divorce, grief, and cancer diagnosis, and found that without the filter of these thoughts, reality is far kinder than the mind insists.A certified facilitator of The Work for over two decades, Grace walks through the four questions and the turnaround as taught by Byron Katie, weaving the method into her own healing journey to show how self-inquiry works not as philosophy but as practice — in times of crisis and in the ordinary moments of daily life.Guest Bio: Grace Bell is a certified Byron Katie facilitator, licensed counselor, and founder of Work With Grace, dedicated to helping people find mental and emotional freedom through self-inquiry. She offers the Eating Peace process, drawing from personal experience to guide people away from food obsession toward relaxed, balanced eating. She also hosts the Peace Talk podcast and leads the Year of Inquiry, an immersive ten-month self-inquiry program.Resources:The Work of Byron Katie: https://thework.com/Work With Grace: https://workwithgrace.com/Eating Peace Process: https://eatingpeaceprocess.com/Work With Grace YouTube:  ⁨@QuestionWithGrace⁩  Chapters00:00 What does it mean to believe thoughts?07:03 South Africa, Adolescence, and the Birth of an Eating Disorder17:39 Eating Disorder is Really a Thinking Disorder25:20 Questioning Our Thoughts: The Work of Byron Katie40:21 The Work: Four Questions and Turnarounds53:41 Two Ways of Letting Go: Using Thoughts and Using Feelings57:49 Core Beliefs: I'm Not Safe, I Could Be Abandoned01:12:05 Life without an Eating Disorder01:14:58 Doing The Work on Divorce01:22:15 "I Am Willing to Get Cancer Again"01:28:42 "My Father Died - Is It True?": Grief Feels Like Love01:39:27 Questioning or Holding Space?01:45:28 Out of Suffering Arises New and Unexpected Growth01:57:15 12-Step, A Course in Miracles, and "Negative Grandiosity"02:06:03 "I Have What It Takes": A Practice for Finding GroundMusic for this episode  ⁨@BenBigelow3⁩  #byronkatie #selfinquiry #spirituality #eatingdisorderrecovery #questioningbeliefs #spiritualpodcast #grief

Waking up is not a departure from ordinary life but a deeper arrival into it. Rev. Busshō Lahn, a Zen priest and spiritual director, has spent decades practicing this arrival, responding to the infinite welcoming of reality. What he finds there, and what this conversation circles, is that turning toward suffering rather than away from it may be the most honest thing we can offer — to ourselves in meditation and one another in spiritual companionship. Somewhere between Dogen and dogs, kittens and mortality, laughter and silence, a quality of presence slowly comes into focus — the kind that doesn't try to fix what is broken or explain what cannot be explained, but simply stays.That quality has a name. It's what Busshō's name means: wide open wonder. If you've ever sensed that the spiritual life may be less about becoming and more about realizing what is already here, this conversation may feel strangely familiar and paradoxically new. Rev. Busshō Lahn is the guiding teacher of Flying Cloud Zen, a hybrid community offering both in-person and virtual practice opportunities. He is a speaker, retreat leader, spiritual director, and author, and was a Senior Staff Priest at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center for over a decade. He is the author of Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law: A Commentary on Hakuin's “Song of Zazen” (2023).Flying Cloud Zen: https://www.flyingcloudzen.org/Chapters00:00 Zen: Rebellion, Fusion, and the Place Beyond Words06:47 Compassion and Wisdom: How the Transcendent Shows Up in Time15:09 Waking Up in the Dream: Nonduality, Dogen, and the Christian Encounter 23:45Origin Story: A Catholic Brother, a Borrowed Text, and a Long Dance with Zen 32:03First Books on Zen: Katagiri, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Espresso Shot38:50Primarily a Student: On Identity, Role, and the Danger of Believing the Label51:00Making Meaning: Viktor Frankl, Empty Moments, and the Cat Who Just Eats01:05:53 Wide Open Wonder: Buddha Nature, Animals, and 'You Are That Thing'01:10:38 Zazen, Suffering, and Spiritual Direction: Buddha Shows Up01:25:13 Embracing Suffering with Compassion01:33:15 The Mountain Remains: Li Po, Self-Witnessing, and Part TwoMusic for this episode  ⁨@BenBigelow3⁩ 

From Japanese American internment camps to a successful career in dentistry. From vision quests in the wilderness to a second calling as a Shin Buddhist (Jodo Shinshu) minister. From grief and loss to a heart filled with gratitude — Rev. Kenji Akahoshi's remarkable life has taught him that joy emerges when life is received rather than grasped.Kenji Sensei's teaching is simple but radical: a shift in orientation from please to thank you. From a life driven by lack, desire, and striving, to a life awakened to what we have already received simply by being alive.Kenji Sensei shares a form of Buddhism grounded not in spiritual perfection, but in ordinary human life. We do not need to eliminate all desire, transcend the ego, or abandon our responsibilities in search of peace. Instead, we can begin exactly where we are, embracing ourselves and others as we are, while gradually waking up to the countless visible and invisible gifts that sustain our lives.This is Shin Buddhism at its most accessible — and perhaps its most profound.What We Cover• The lasting impact of Japanese American internment camps• Vision quests and awakening to one's "song"• The shift from please to thank you• The movement from "me" to "we"• Gratitude in the midst of grief, illness, and loss• Embracing the "idiot self" with honesty and compassion• Living the life we already have• Freedom from dependence on others' opinions • A spiritual path for ordinary people• Finding joy in elderhoodKirk Akahoshi's YouTube channel documenting his journey with cancer: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5EFiTiC59p5yGBF_lx3lHCiVCeQ-AB0ZChapters00:00 Early Experience of Internment and Its Influence on Life05:16 Philosophy, Depth Psychology, and Transpersonal Psychology11:46 The Vision Quest: Awakens to Truth and Sings its Beauty18:34 Finding One's Place in the Interdependent Reality24:39 Living Shin Buddhism: Lessons from Family and Culture28:34 Amida Buddha: The Life Energy We All Receive32:53 Interconnectedness: "Because of You, I am Fine"40:21 Waking Up: Consciousness Leads to Gratitude49:17 From Please to Thank You: A Shift in Mindset53:08 Gratitude in the Face of Adversity01:03:01 Start Now and Practice Daily01:07:29 Receiving All Things with Gratitude01:16:03 The Practice of No Practice: Acknowledging What WeReceive 01:20:21 "You are not an evil person, you are anidiot"01:23:24 Trusting the Evolutionary Trajectory of Life01:28:35 The Interconnectedness of Life01:29:50 Addressing the Shadow Self01:38:01 Exploring the Psyche and the Spiritual01:46:22 Joy at 84 Years of Age01:50:06 Advice for Young Adults on Community and Gratitude

What does it mean to truly care for another, even as they are dying? How do we move from head knowledge down into the heart, where love resides? What does it mean to lead from a place of stillness?Sister Mary Lou Mitchell has spent her life at the intersection of stillness and action. From her background in nursing and academia, to her time accompanying the elderly and those nearing death as a spiritual care provider, and now in her current role as President of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, New York, her work has always been centered on the heart.In this conversation, she shares what she calls the contemplative stance — a way of being present to others, to uncertainty, and to life through a daily descent into stillness. She offers not only transformative stories but her practice: how to be with difficult feelings, how to discern true inner promptings from fear and ego, and how to hold life's tensions with patience until clarity comes.A conversation about presence, listening, grief, hope, discernment, and leadership.Learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph: https://www.ssjrochester.org/Chapters00:00 The Bear: A Healing Symbol Comes from Within08:03 A Religious Calling13:14 A Contemplative in Action: When Knowledge Sinks into the Heart17:50 Daily Practice of Quieting Down22:33 Winter's Lessons: Slowing Down, Patience, and Hope25:44 Welcoming God's Presence: Surrendering the Desire for Security, Control, and Affection31:51 What Can We Control?37:52 A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way39:44 To Truly Care for Someone: Creating the Best Condition Possible for Healing49:43 Honoring the Grief55:50 A Contemplative Leader01:03:15 Working in a Team with a Contemplative Stance01:07:53 Obedience to God's Will, Not Ego's Fears01:12:48 Discerning God's Will01:22:10 Advice to New Leaders01:28:05 Advice to Graduating StudentsMusic for this episode by Ben Bigelow

She sings about dishes being holy, shovels being prayer, and the astounding beauty of human beings in the humdrum of daily life. This week's guest, singer, songwriter, and poet Carrie Newcomer says that when we pay attention, we can find the divine — what she calls the Great Luminous — in everything. Songwriting has been one such practice of attention for her, alongside decades of Quaker silence.In this conversation, rich with live music and language that arrives like poetry, Carrie speaks about the risk of loving something deeply, meeting human darkness with wonder rather than judgment, and what hope actually looks like when it's gritty and daily rather than wishful. Pull up a chair. This one is worth sitting with.About: Carrie Newcomer is a Grammy and Emmy-winning singer, songwriter, and poet with 20 nationally released albums, three collections of poetry and essays, and a devoted following on Substack where she writes weekly on music, spirituality, and the life of attention. She is co-host of The Growing Edge podcast with Parker Palmer.Carrie’s website: https://www.carrienewcomer.com/Carrie’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CarrieNewcomer Carrie’s Newcomer Substack “The Gathering of Spirits” https://carrienewcomer.substack.com/ The Growing Edge Podcast: https://www.newcomerpalmer.com/podcastTimestamp 00:00 Holy As the Day is Spent03:02 Seeing the Sacred in the Ordinary07:25 Songwriting and Singing as Spiritual Practices11:07 Songs, Stories, and the Universal Human Experience 16:58 Carrie's Job Description: Giving Words to that Which is Beyond Words 20:02 Vocation: Risking What You Love the Most30:21 Vocation and Making a Living35:35 "When I am True, the Way has been True" 40:07 Unprogrammed Quaker Meeting: A Silent Gathering of Friends 44:56 Silence Underneath the Sound47:59 Blessing Everything: Acknowledging the Holy54:42 Gathering in the Inner Silence : "Welcome Back" 01:00:10 Finding the Quaker Community01:03:48 The Mystical Within and Beyond Traditions01:08:18 The Experience of the Great Luminous 01:11:46 A Shovel is a Prayer01:17:09 The Love of Humans: What about the Dark Side? 01:28:53 The Nitty Gritty of Hope01:32:30 How do I fit with my soul? What will the harvest of my life be?01:36:58 Gratitude Practice and Love Lessons from Dogs01:44:12 What is my deepest question today?01:46:54 Creativity as a Spiritual Practice01:51:54 Lean in Toward the Light #carrienewcomer #spirituality #sacred #spiritualmusic #quakers #silence

Anxiety isn't an enemy to be vanquished, but a friend to be met with care and clarity. Stephanie Wagner knows this from the inside. In this episode, the Director of Learning and Development at HUMIN and meditation teacher at Tergar Institute — founded by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche — traces her path from chronic anxiety and the dead ends of compulsive shopping and emotional eating, to a life of genuine wellbeing rooted in practice.Her story unfolds alongside a science-based model of human flourishing with four trainable pillars — awareness, connection, insight, and purpose — developed through neuroscientific research at the Center for Healthy Minds, led by Dr. Richard Davidson, and deepened by the contemplative traditions of the world. This is where ancient wisdom and modern science converge to illuminate a path to thriving.What we explore:• The shift from external fixes to an inner source of well-being• Why Dr. Davidson calls well-being a trainable skill — and what the four pillars actually train • How suffering can become a doorway to meaning, empathy, and compassion• Why meditation isn't about silencing the mind — but befriending it• Building a daily meditation habit — and the surprising minimum dosage required to see real benefits• Where Buddhist awakening and the science of well-being point to the same thing• Tibetan Buddhist practices of Ngondro and deity yoga — skillful means for recognizing the awakened nature that is already hereLearn more about Stephanie Wagner: https://www.innerfirehealthcoach.com/aboutFollow her on Instagram: @stephaniewagner_meditatesHUMIN App: https://www.humin.org/wellbeing-tools/appCenter for Healthy Minds: https://centerhealthyminds.org/Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving: https://a.co/d/0fQdd8Wk Chapters:00:00 From Anxiety to Awareness09:18 Becoming a Coach: Health and Wellbeing to Meditation14:08 HUMIN: Bridging Science and Well-being16:30 Nothing is Wasted19:27 The Four Pillars of Flourishing: Awareness, Connection, Insight, Purpose20:44 Awareness: Being Present33:44 Connection: Developing and Widening the Circle of Care45:12 Insight: Be Curious58:08 Purpose: Finding Meaning in Everyday Life01:09:00 Meaning in Adversity and Suffering01:12:45 Healthy Minds Program App: Science-Based Free Resource01:15:23 "Awakening is the Essence of Well-Being"01:19:10 Buddhist Training : The Path of Liberation01:21:05 From Breath Awareness to Open Awareness: Journey in Meditation01:24:54 Vajrayana Training: Nundro and Yeshe Tsogyal Sadhana01:30:29 Developing a Habit: Inspiration, Intention, Action, and Repetition01:38:32 Navigating Grief, Loss, and Death01:43:22 Common Misconceptions About Meditation01:48:32 The Most Beautiful Path to Getting to Know Yourself01:50:42 Connect with Stephanie

What would you do if someone held a knife to you and threatened to kill you? Els Thissen did not react with fear. In fact, she ended up having dinner with this person at his home--she calls it a miracle. You may think her naive, but she isn't unaware of what we humans are capable of.  She has served as a police officer, facilitatied support groups in prisons, led workshops in war-torn regions, and helped people around the world who have faced traumatic events find healing. Her life is a testament to the power of  shifting from fear-based perception to seeing through the eyes of love. And when we learn to see that way, life becomes effortless.With wit, humor, and unbelievable real-life examples, Els discusses:The true meaning of a miracleForgiveness as the undoing of perception to reveal the one essenceFreedom from seeking approval, making excuses, and justifying oneselfHow stories create suffering and how to question themHow to not take anything personallyFinding peace regardless of external circumstancesBased in the Netherlands, Els Thissen has taught and led A Course in Miracles, Attitudinal Healing, and Family Constellation groups internationally. An artist and an author, she has written multiple books in Dutch and the book Effortless Living: Attitudinal Healing and A Course in Miracles in English.Check out her website: https://www.elsthissen.nl/els/Els's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@EThissenEffortless Living book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0482a0hhA Course in Miracles website: https://acim.org/The 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing: https://www.ahinternational.org/about/the-twelve-principles-of-ah/Timestamps 00:00 Welcome00:48 The Knife Encounter: "It's Lovely to Be NotAfraid"05:19 Journey to Spirituality: From Police Officer to Artist07:48 A Course in Miracles: A Love Affair with the Self10:26 What about the ego? Let go of its stories.16:26 It's not personal!19:58 Healing in Prison24:56 Forgiveness: Coming Home to the Essence31:03 The Essence of Our Being is Love37:54 Seeing Love, Even in a Murderer42:38 Appreciating Your Life45:51 Peace and Freedom Despite External Cirumstances53:18 The Way Out of Confusion: You Don't Have to Believe theMind57:17 No Thank Yous and No Excuses01:03:05 The Essence of Freedom: It's Like Peeing in theMorning01:06:09 Making Decisions: Effortless Living01:12:54 Applying the Principles to Daily Life: Practice and Persistence01:17:54 Keeping the World in Your Heart01:21:47 Health is Inner Peace01:25:45 Reflections on Death01:30:51 Not a Single True Thought: Reality As It Is01:38:29 Sin is an Illusion: Seeing Through Love Is SeeingTrulyMusic for this episode by  ⁨@BenBigelow3⁩  #eencursusinwonderen #acim #acourseinmiracles #AttitudinalHealing #spirituality #forgiveness #innerpeace

Giovina Caroscio is a spiritual director at Mercy Spirituality Center, Rochester, New York, and has been steeped in Ignatian Spirituality for decades. In this conversation, she invites us to notice how God is unfailingly present in our joys, struggles, and in the ordinary moments of everyday life. She shares how we can discover our true identity as the child of an infinitely loving God, and what it means to live with that certitude. Together we explore:- How letting go in the midst of suffering can lead to deepening of being - What it means to have hope when everything is lost - How our imagination can lead us to encounter Jesus in the Gospel (Ignatian Contemplation)- How to discern the movement of the Spirit within- How to make decisions that lead to greater peace and wholeness - The practice of offering each day in gratitude (the Daily Examen)- The role of a spiritual director and prayer guide I felt an instant connection with Giovina — a sense of reverent joy in her presence. May this conversation transmit that same joy, and deepen your own walk with God.Learn more about Giovina Caroscio and Mercy Spirituality Center: https://www.mercyspiritualitycenter.org/Chapters00:00 A Child of God04:27 A Childhood Steeped in Faith06:59 What does it mean to receive Christ in the Eucharist?10:30 God Became Alive in a New Way: Becoming the Hands and Feet of Christ17:02 The Meaning of Suffering: Death and Resurrection26:57 Hope and Faith: When All Else is Lost34:32 Prayer is Coming to Know Myself and God in a Deeper Way44:28 From a Knight to a Saint: Ignatius of Loyola52:00 The Spiritual Exercises : Disposition Days56:44 A Psychological Recap of the Exercises01:00:41 Imaginative Prayer (Ignatian Contemplation):Entering into the Gospel01:12:24 Discernment: Understanding Consolation andDesolation in Ignatian Spirituality01:27:06 How to Make A Decision Leading to Peace01:39:59 Guiding People as a Spiritual Director to See HowGod is Present in Their Lives01:46:01 Seeing in Creation the Creator01:51:41 The Daily Examen: A Guided Meditation02:03:06 Praying through Sticky Thoughts and Feelings02:07:06 Death: Crossing over the Threshold into Ongoing Life02:15:10 Misconceptions about God and Spiritual Life02:20:47 Jesus Christ: He is the One who Holds my Hand02:24:45 Book and Author Recommendations02:25:40 All is GraceMusic for this episode is provided by Ben Bigelow. The episode was recorded at Mercy Spirituality Center, Rochester, New York.

Addiction | Recovery | Sobriety | Surrender | Self-Realization | Nisargadatta Maharaj | Dr. David R. Hawkins | Devotion | Devotional Nonduality The emptiness within. Ryan McGinty sought to fill it with academic and athletic achievement. When that failed, alcohol and drugs seemed, for a time, to offer relief. But soon he found himself in the throes of addiction, unable to manage his life. And yet, the emptiness remained. Nothing can truly fill it, save the Truth itself. Now, 18 years sober, Ryan is filled with life, love, and joy. A father, husband, and guide to many young adults walking a similar path, his path of sobriety, carved through surrender, has become a path of Self-Realization. The pursuit of achievement has given way to a life of service. Drivenness has opened into devotion. In this conversation, we explore addiction not merely as a behavioral struggle, but as a spiritual one, and sobriety as a path of awakening.We discuss: • Ryan’s journey through addiction, and the difference between a habit and true addiction• The 12 Steps as a practical foundation for daily living and spiritual growth• What it means to surrender one’s will to a Higher Power • Zen Buddhism, the “I Am” practice of Nisargadatta Maharaj, and the pathway of Devotional Nonduality as taught by Dr. David R. Hawkins • Shadow work, making amends, and walking through fear as gateways to inner freedom• Marriage, fatherhood, and sports as spiritual pathways Ryan McGinty, MS, LAC, is a therapist and Executive Director at Red Mountain Sedona, an independent living facility supporting young adults. A long-time Zen practitioner, he integrates meditation and mindfulness into his work. He is a husband, father, and CrossFit athlete. Learn more about Ryan and Red Mountain Sedona: https://redmountainsedona.com/about-us/team-bios/ryan-mcginty/Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Milestones00:43 Step 1: Powerless, and Life is Unmanageable02:57 Step 2: Grace, A Power Greater Than Ourselves04:21 Was it Inevitable? Misplaced Spiritual Longing11:13 Compulsiveness and Powerlessness are Characteristic of Addiction14:57 Pathways to Recovery: The True Medicine of Spirituality19:57 Step 3: Surrendering to a Higher Power27:36 Practices for Surrender : Prayer and "I AM" Meditation38:34 The Heart of Devotion50:23 Mental Health and Spirituality: A Greater Paradigm of Reality56:36 Steps 4 & 5: Making an Inventory and Making Amends01:01:06 Step Nine: Making Amends and Discovering Inviolable Innocence01:07:18 Telling the Truth, Not Just the Convenient Ones01:12:33 Walking Through Fear: Listening to the Voice of Truth01:18:02 A Sponsor's Role in Recovery01:20:36 Effortless Connection: From Loneliness to Love01:30:37 Marriage as a Spiritual Path01:40:57 Why do we die?01:47:34 Spiritual Training through Sports01:49:49 Supporting Others: Purpose Born of PainMusic for the episode provided by Ben Bigelow

Sprituality | Health and Healing | Consciousness | Quantum Physics | Integrative Medicine | Holistic Healing | Placebo | Science and Spirituality | Awe | Inner Silence What are health and healing within a spiritual context rather than a materialist paradigm? How can scientific investigation and inner spiritual exploration inform each other? How can we encounter each moment of our lives, not as a problem to be solved, but as a mystery to be appreciated with wonder and awe?In this episode, Dr. Bernard Brom, a South African physician, pioneer of integrative medicine, and lifelong explorer of consciousness, invites us into a radically expanded understanding of healing, reality, and what it means to be human. His art is medicine — the practice of medicine transformed by decades of spiritual exploration and informed by emerging insights from quantum physics. His life at 85 is a song filled with a continuous reverence for the beauty in all things and beings. Having found within himself the depths beyond body and mind, Dr. Brom treats each person similarly — as more than time-and-space-bound physical entities. Over decades, he has explored and mapped this terrain with extraordinary clarity. The fruit of this exploration is not only the capacity to support healing in others, but a profound sense of peace, love, and presence that remains available even in moments of adversity.We explore:• Dr. Brom's life arc from conventional doctor to wandering artist to spiritual seeker to non-drug doctor to pioneer of integrative medicine• Reframing illness as an invitation to listen to the body's deeper intelligence rather than merely eliminating symptoms• The placebo as "meaning medicine" — and why intention, awareness, and coherence matter more than we realize• Quantum perspectives on human beings as expressions of energy-information, attractors, and a living field of intelligence• Moving from reactive patterns to experiencing emotions from a place of unconditional love• Living a life filled with wonder and awe, even at 85 ABOUT: Dr. Bernard Brom, widely regarded as a pioneer of Integrative Medicine in South Africa, is the author of numerous scientific articles and two key books: Healthy Medicine: The Philosophy and Principles of Natural Medicine and The Heart of Healing. He is the founder of Creating Health and the Society to Investigate the Unknown and the Unknowable. To learn more about his work, access his books/courses, or follow his ongoing reflections:• Main website: creatinghealth.co.za • Society to Investigate the Unknown and the Unknowable: siuu.co.za — articles on depth, mystery, healing, and consciousness.• Instagram: @bernardbrom • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drbernardbrom•YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healthymedicinefoundation• Check out a recent feature on Dr. Brom by Reflections of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odp6cClYjBITime Stamps00:00 Welcome and Happy Birthday!01:25 Glimmers of Mystery: Beyond What Meets the Eyes05:33 The Silence Beyond Thinking and Emotions11:16 Discovering Inner Space: Where Happiness Lies16:39 God/ Quantum Potential/ Consciousness23:09 The Illusion of the Body: It's Not What You Think30:10 The Greater Anatomy: Healing and Inner Peace41:33 Meditation and Movement as Pathways44:08 Healing vs. Treatment: Practicing Medicine from a Spiritual Context50:26 Meaning Beyond Thinking01:01:54 Transcending the Duality of Health and Disease: Ill-health Is the Voice of Health01:08:46 Changing the Story: Brom's Rules 1 & 201:17:11 No cause, No Name, and A Good Story01:20:52 Suffering is Real: To Dismiss it is an Error01:25:42 Dog Poo and Humility01:28:21 Integrative Approaches to Healing: Recommendations to Patients01:32:55 Working with Emotional Reactions: Stay with the Feeling01:37:35 Transcendental Love is a Non-Experience01:41:01 No Fear of Death, And Still Singing My Song of Awe and WonderMusic: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)

Saints | St. Patrick | St. Therese of Lisieux | Padre Pio | Surrender | Love | Contemplative Prayer | Everyday Holiness | Catholic Spirituality | ChristHow do the saints pray? How do they face suffering? What can we learn about God by entering into their lives? And what might it mean for us to become saints?In this episode, Lisa Lickona shares what she has discovered after years of studying and writing about the saints. Contrary to the popular image of saints as flawless spiritual heroes, their lives reveal something far more human, and far more hopeful. Holiness is not about perfection or extraordinary effort. It is about letting God enter the ordinary, and often messy, realities of our lives. It is a path of self-abandonment, trust, and surrender. Drawing on the lives of St. Patrick, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Takashi Nagai, and Dorothy Day — and on her own journey with the saints — Lisa shows how the saints find joy even in the face of tremendous suffering, and how they become instruments of God's love and peace in the world.What emerges is not a distant ideal of holiness, but a way of being that is at once deeply human and deeply open to God. A way that does not deny suffering, but transforms it, revealing a peace and joy at the heart of life itself. This conversation is an invitation to the way of the saints.  About Lisa Lickona: Lisa Lickona is a nationally recognized Catholic writer, speaker, and theologian who has spent years entering deeply into the lives of the saints. Her reflections on the saints appeared daily in Magnificat for eight years. She currently writes on sanctity for Seatonshine.com and serves as a consultant on the lives of the saints for Relevant Radio. She holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology and is an assistant professor of systematic and spiritual theology at St. Bernard’s School of Theology & Ministry in Rochester, New York. Lisa is also a spiritual director, offering monthly half-day retreats on the saints at St. Bernard’s, as well as longer retreats for women in the Finger Lakes region, where she has lived with her family for over twenty years.Lisa Lickona: https://www.lisalickona.com/ Lisa’s articles on Sanctity: https://setonshrine.org/author/lisa-lickonasetonshrine-org/Lisa’s faculty page at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry: https://www.stbernards.edu/faculty/lisa-lickona-s-t-lTimestamps 00:00 Welcome to a Conversation about the Lives of Saints00:38 The Story of Takashi Nagai: In the Heart of Devastation with Incredible Joy10:41 Saints: Olympians in Trust, Self-Abandonment, and Surrender15:35 God is Love17:59 Prayer is Allowing Ourselves to Be Loved by God23:23 The Journey of Studying Saints: Holiness is the Fullness of Humanity34:01 Let Go of Wanting to Become a Saint to Become a Saint39:11 Finding Joy in the midst of Suffering54:27 Seeing Ourselves Through the Eyes of Love01:01:39 Love is the Starting Point, Not a Reward at the End01:05:58 Heresy: False Voices in the Mind01:16:31 Detachment: Love and Letting Go01:24:41 Dark Night of the Soul: When the Old has Gone and the New is Not Yet01:36:40 The Non-Linear Path to Holiness01:43:57 The Little Way of Everyday Life01:48:23 Studying the Lives of the Saints and Connecting withLisa01:54:16"Loved" Music: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)

Buddhism | Awakening | Suffering | Tibetan Buddhism | Spiritual Teacher | Inner Serenity | Compassion | ReincarnationAn ancient aspiration to teach those who have no teacher. An eternal vow to work tirelessly for the liberation of all beings. A series of mysterious dreams and unlikely events.Born in Singapore to a Chinese family, Felix Lee was later recognized as a high Gelug Lharampa reincarnate and given the name Singha Thekchen Namdrol Rinpoche.In this episode of The Spiritual Context Podcast, Singha Rinpoche shares profound and practical insights into the heart of Buddhism, drawn from years of training in Theravada, Chinese Mahayana, and Tibetan Buddhism, and decades of teaching globally. With warmth, humor, and disarmingly simple analogies — chickens, apple trees, salt, and multi-plugs — Rinpoche cuts straight to what Buddhism is actually asking of us. • Why waking up means taking radical responsibility for both our suffering and our freedom • Why chasing happiness is a trap, and why inner serenity, not happiness, is the true foundation of awakening • Merit as the "digestive juice" that transforms intellectual understanding into genuine wisdom • Why praying for all beings means becoming a "multi-plug": allowing everyone in, discriminating against no one • What it means to be a "dharma detective" in daily life , and why Singha Rinpoche calls himself "the Buddha's receptionist" • How to recognize an authentic teacher and the Buddha’s transmission through a lineage About: Singha Thekchen Namdrol Rinpoche is the founder and spiritual director of Thekchen Choling temples and Dharma centers in Singapore, Malaysia (including Melaka and Kota Tinggi), and the United States (Syracuse, New York). Through his teaching, writing, and international travels, he is known for presenting the Buddha’s teachings with practical clarity, warmth, and humor. He is the author Timeless, a collection of reflections on Buddhist wisdom and the path to awakening.Thekchen Choling Singapore: https://www.thekchencholing.org/Thekchen Choling Singapore YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@ThekchenCholing_VideosThekchen Choling Syracuse: https://thekchencholing.us/Singha Rinpoche’s book Timeless: https://a.co/d/0h9URxHUMany thanks to the staff at Thekchen Choling Syracuse for recording the video of this interview. Timestamps 00:00 Tulku: Overcoming Oneself and Arising as a Deity07:29 Past Lives and Ancient Aspirations20:12 The Practice of Waking Up25:03 I Am Responsible for My Suffering and My Freedom31:14 Happiness Is a Big Trap! Focus on Inner Serenity Instead.36:15 Inner Serenity to Buddha-nature42:44 Firm Foundation of Merit50:38 Deity Yoga: Practicing Buddhism Instead of the Practicing Yourself01:05:55 "I am the Buddha's Receptionist"01:09:11 Praying for All Beings Is Surrendering All Resistance: Becoming Like a Multi-Plug01:12:49 Becoming a Dharma Detective01:14:46 Never Losing Sight of Awakening01:17:12 Complete Freedom from Suffering: Internal Glow of Pure Presence01:19:14 A True Teacher to Those Who Don't Have a Teacher01:24:15 Death Meditation01:26:20 The Presence of Shakyamuni Buddha: Nothing ComparesMusic: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)

From fear to compassion. From unworthiness to self-acceptance. From searching for answers to living in the question. This arc of Shinsen Troy Couillard's spiritual life is still unfolding to greater depths.After years of seeking in the Jesus Movement, existentialism, Christian mysticism, and both Rinzai and Soto Zen, Shinsen found a home in the silence of zazen. But even that home he holds loosely, not because he is searching for something else, but because he has discovered that openness itself is the Way. Beyond belief, religion, and any “ism,” he remains open to mystery in whatever form it appears in the present moment.In this conversation, Shinsen reflects on a lifetime of practice and shares hard-won insights on:• Why genuine spirituality must challenge our self-perceptions and transform us into more loving people • What "living in the question mark" looks like on the cushion and in daily life • What engaging life with our whole being, what he calls holistic living , actually means in practice • How we can encounter one another beyond our pre-conceived notions and labels • How to tell true compassion from guilt-driven caretaking, and genuine self-care from escapism • How facing death and vulnerability can open us to our shared humanityThe “monastery” is everywhere. The practice is life itself.Rev. Shinsen Troy Couillard teaches and leads retreats at Ryumonji Zen Monastery in Dorchester, Iowa. He began practicing Zen in 1991 and has been affiliated with Ryumonji since 2010. Ordained in 2014 by Taizan Verkuillen and Shoken Winecoff, he received Dharma Transmission from Shoken Winecoff in 2024. Now retired, he spent forty years in education as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and educational assessment professional. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife and dog, and delights in time with his two adult children and grandson.To learn more about Ryumonji Zen Monastery: https://ryumonji.org/Contact Shinsen Troy Couillard: [email protected] Intro and Outro Music: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)Timestamps00:00 Shinsen: Deep Well04:12 Vow To Live By06:19 From Fear and Fragmentation to Wholeness12:08 Zen Practice is about Opening and Allowing15:56 The Essence of Spirituality18:34 Spiritual Attunement22:45 Letting go of all "isms," including Buddhism29:08 Zazen is seeing the mind with compassion36:32 "Sitting in the Question"41:57 Opening to the Universe45:46 Truly being with reality rather than just wanting tofeel better53:04 Cultivating Awareness Throughout the Day58:58 Integrating Practice into Daily Life: Holistic Living01:10:40 "Do You Deserve to Be Happy?"01:18:46 Insights into Reality : Breaking Open the Mind01:24:35 Not Holding On To Experience, No Matter How Good01:27:40 Connecting with People Beyond Religion01:32:42 Listening from the Heart of the Universe01:36:53 Death Reveals Our Common Humanity01:42:51 Advice for Young Spiritual Seekers01:49:49 Living in the Question Mark 

This episode of The Spiritual Context Podcast features BenBigelow, a singer-songwriter, author of Loving Without Conditions: The Path of Christ, and a mentor to many on the spiritual path. Ben shares his journey from darkness and despair toincreasing beauty, joy, and peace through the lived practices of forgiveness and surrender. Deeply devoted to Christ, his spirituality transcends sectarian boundaries and draws from the teachings of David R. Hawkins, A Course in Miracles, 12-Step programs, and Advaita (nonduality) teachers such as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj.Together, we explore:Letting go with the whole being, not only the intellectThe paradox of loving life while seeing it as dream-likeChrist as our true, unchanging identity beyond form and every beliefSuffering as an artifact of perception, and forgiveness as the undoing of perceptionTrue seeing as the recognition of beauty and perfection in all thingsMiracles as a natural function of our true natureCreativity as a spiritual expression of consciousness in daily lifeCheck out Ben’s book Loving Without Conditions: https://a.co/d/0cRWenjhBen’s Spotify Channel: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3maAIwLLXBSWD9ss4vAsqJ?si=52QyrjM8RaGXOwd2Bqn6fABen’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3 Special thanks to Ben for providing the intro and outro music for this podcast.Chapters00:00 What are you?04:46 From Deep Dark Despair to Intense Awareness andAliveness11:28 The Nature of Consciousness16:25 Guidance for the Young Seeker19:22 What Does It Mean To Love Life?22:50 Shifting Paradigms, Until They All Fall Away31:19 Christ Consciousness36:31 Seeing and Loving One Self in All Beings39:31 Whatever's Arising is Part of the Perfection44:49 Surrendering: Letting Go with the Whole Being53:56 The Way to Make a Decision Is to Clear the EmotionalEnergy Around the Options01:00:11 Taking Responsibility for One's Perception01:03:45 God's Will Is Perfect Love and Peace01:09:25 Forgiveness is the Undoing of Perception01:14:13 Forgiveness: Seeing Only the Christ01:24:13 The Essence of Prayer01:26:29 Fanning the Flames of Devotion01:30:42 Fatherhood as a Spiritual Path01:36:13 The Miraculous and Synchronicities01:42:24 Creativity as a Spiritual Expression01:53:10 Head in the Clouds and Feet on the Ground01:55:39 Gratitude Has Replaces Goals and Desires02:00:05 God is Love: Be Fearless 

What is truly here, right now? What is revealed by listening without agenda, judgment, and urge to fix or change? What remains when self and other, inner and outer, past and future fall away?In this episode, Sandra Gonzalez reflects on decades of practicing direct observation of reality, moment by moment. Years of intense solitary retreats led her to the realization that the belief of separation is the root of suffering, healing her many physical and mental afflictions. When seen clearly, the energy of suffering returns home to spaciousness and well-being. Working with others further chipped away at the sense of separate self. Sandra discusses how practicing listening to reality as a community reveals the false assumptions that fuel conflict and collective suffering. In what she calls the “autumn of her life,” Sandra feels an urgency to share this practice with younger generations, not to preserve a tradition or establish a legacy, but because it is essential for our evolution, both individually and collectively.Born and raised in Nicaragua, Sandra began sitting at Springwater Center with Toni Packer in 1988. In 2003, she was one of the few invited by Toni to continue this work. She has since guided retreats and dialogues at Springwater and in California, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, and Nicaragua.Learn More about Sandra Gonzalez: https://www.springwatercenter.org/teachers/sandra-gonzalez/Learn More about Springwater Center: https://www.springwatercenter.orgMusic: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)Time Stamps: 00:34 "Deep Listening": Clearly Seeing the Present Moment Experience10:47 Not Judging the Judgment15:38 The Deepest Realization20:59 Peace and Spaciousness in the Process of Dying23:44 No Inner or Outer & No Self and Other28:44 The Experience of Time35:43 Breakthrough During the First Retreat with Toni Packer45:49 Healing of Migraine48:41 Five Years of Meditating Alone in a Room55:15 Transformation Really Comes in Everyday Life01:05:35 Finding the Practice01:13:09 Love Is Another Word for Awareness01:16:06 Meditative Dialogue: Listening Together01:27:25 "Awareness is Ethical"01:36:27 Addiction to the False Notion of a Separate Self01:39:14 The Future of Springwater01:43:02 Advice to a Young One01:44:30 "Don't Know, Will See"

Hitting bottom, a near-death encounter, surrender, traumaand healing, longing and belonging, “dying before you die,” poetry, and music—from a Sufi perspective.Rumi said, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” In this episode of The Spiritual Context podcast, Sufi teacher Ihsan Chris Covey shares his experience of finding God in the depths of despair, and of learning to let go while facing death quite literally at the bottom of a river.Weaving together the poetry of Hafiz and Rumi with his lived experience, Ihsan introduces us to the Sufi path as a universal way of opening the heart to the One True Being. He illuminates the paradoxes of the spiritual path: in descending into darkness, we may be born into light; what we yearn for is already closer to us than we can imagine; in dying before we die, we become fully alive; and in transforming ourselves we find the world transformed.About Ihsan Chris Covey: Ihsan Chris Covey is a Sufi teacher (murshid) in the SufiWay, a contemporary expression of the universal Sufism first established in the West by Hazrat Inayat Khan. He leads the Sufi Way group in the Denver, Colorado area, and hosts the monthly interview series Walking with Wisdom, where he explores lived spirituality through intimate, reflective conversations with teachers and practitioners of the Sufi Way.  An educator and consultant supporting whole-person health and wellbeing, Ihsan is a lifelong student of nature, comparative religion, poetry, music, and philosophy.Learn more about The Sufi Way: https://www.sufiway.org/Tune into Walking with Wisdom:  https://training.sufiway.org/checkout/Course/36371Books and poems mentioned in the interview: I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy by Hafiz (Renderings in English by Daniel Ladinsky) “Tripping over Joy” by Hafiz (included in I Heard God Laughing)“My Brilliant Image” by Hafiz (included in I Heard God Laughing)“The Guesthouse” by Rumi (included in The Illuminated Rumi, rendered into English poetry by Coleman Barks) “Childhood Friends” by Rumi (included in The EssentialRumi, rendered into English poetry by Coleman Barks) Music: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)Timestamps:00:00 Hitting Bottom: I Heard God Laughing06:32 Endarkenment: The Healing Inward Movement15:13 Surrendering to What Wants to Happen: The Process of Healing23:33 Surrender at the Bottom of a River: A Life and Death Situation30:25 From Preacher's Kid to Sufi Teacher37:39 Sufism: The Self-Cleaning Capacity of the Human Heart41:39 How Sufism found Ihsan46:04 Maybe I Need a Teacher?50:41 A Teacher is the Deepest Friend and Guide59:42 Understanding Chillas: Personal Spiritual Tasks01:06:23 Experiencing the Divine in Everyday Life01:09:25 Zikr: The Practice of Remembrance01:17:21 Seeing God in Other People01:23:44 Longing for the Beloved01:33:39 Becoming a More Loving Person01:42:31 Beauty01:48:55 Navigating Thoughts and Feelings01:54:00 Student Question: The Role of Music in Spirituality02:04:05 Student Question : Changing the World02:11:07 "That Was Unexpected"02:11:58 "The Stunning Light of Your Own Being"

What remains when you question everything? Stillness, says Stew Glick.In this episode of The Spiritual Context Podcast, Stew shares a practice that began with radical questioning—questioning religion, tradition, ritual, belief, hierarchy, labels, and even the sense of being a separate self. Pared down to the essential, his approach is what he calls "wondering": an open, curious awareness that doesn't seek to change experience, improve the self, or arrive anywhere else. Even the impulse to seek becomes something to be seen.Through this wondering, Stew has discovered an ever-present stillness, not separate from the world, but as the ground of all experience.In our conversation, we explore:The experience of stillness and what gets in the wayHow to work with "sticky" thoughts and emotionsThe difference between seeking and open inquiryLiving with the "me-circuit" versus living from awarenessPracticing open inquiry in relationshipsWhat truly matters in our brief time hereThe stillness Stew speaks of is present in this conversation. My hope for you, the listener, is not simply to understand what is being said here, but to touch that stillness, as I did while sitting with Stew. Listen for what is between, beneath, and beyond the words.About Stew Glick:Stew's journey began over fifty years ago at the Rochester Zen Center under Philip Kapleau, where he also served on staff. He later worked closely with Toni Packer, helping establish the Springwater Center for Meditative Inquiry. Though no longer on staff at Springwater, he continues to facilitate retreats and meditation groups.Learn more about Stew Glick: https://www.springwatercenter.org/teachers/stew-glick/Timestamps00:00 Stillness: The Highest Realization04:16 How can I discover this Stillness?10:20 Wondering: When sticky things come up in meditation14:35 Bringing Awareness to Desires18:58 What is the objective of "wondering"?21:29 Awareness and the "Me Circuit"32:01 Awareness and Sleep36:44 Who am I?: The Discovery of Stillness49:28 Love: "We are not separate"57:20 Practicing with Questions01:06:52 The Important Thing is the Presence Beyond the Words01:11:52 Effort and Effortlessness01:14:14 Clarifying Meditative Inquiry01:23:53 Practicing Inquiry in a Relationship01:29:46 Awakening01:44:26 The power of conditioning and the Light of Awareness01:47:16 Sitting with the Prospect of One's Death01:52:01 I Don't See Myself as a Teacher01:55:10 What's Most Important in the Brief Time We HaveTranscript Edit Assistance: Brodie MartinMusic: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)

Yoga, Bhagavad Gita, and the patient work of Self-Realization.In this conversation, Swami Asokananda, shares how we can continue to grow spiritually while resting in that which is already whole, complete, and perfect. He shares his experiences and insights on:1) Skillfully working with negative thoughts, while simultaneously loosening identification with thinkingness itself2) The Art of meeting reactivity with compassion and turning it into bliss3) Discovering the True Self beyond competition, comparison, and conditioning4) Cultivating discipline that is rigorous yet tender, structured yet flexible, and fueled not by anxiety and ambition but by devotionSwami Asokananda is a yogi and a monk of more than fifty years in the Integral Yoga tradition. He is a senior disciple of Swami Satchidananda, a formative figure in modern yoga and universal spirituality in the West. He currently serves as President of the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City and teaches internationally on the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher Training.Follow his daily brief teachings on the Bhagavd Gita here: https://www.facebook.com/swami.asokanandaTo learn more about his life, check out this episode of the Integral Yoga Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLyP2KsVbjkInternational Yoga Institute, New York City: https://iyiny.org/Timestamps:00:00 Welcome00:54 Not reacting to thoughts05:21 The Soul disidentifies with the mind and seeks to return Home07:39 Compassion for Negative Thoughts, Without Identifying with Them09:57 Dullness, Energy, and Poise12:39 The Relationship Between Psychology and Spirituality19:01 Healing from Past Traumas28:17 Insights from the Psychedelic Experience40:39 Swami Satchidananda's Teaching: Letting Go of Competitiveness and Jealousy47:38 Moving past rigid discipline: Right Relationship with Food and Sexual Energy56:24 Swami Satchidananda's Teaching: 'Try Softer'01:01:45 Cultivating Right Discipline: Neither Tyrannical, Nor Complacent01:05:56 Where do you see God?01:11:27 Transcending Limitations to Seeing Perfection01:19:09 Stages of Spiritual Growth: We can't force ourselves to be what we are not01:22:44 You can't force yourself to be more loving than you are01:26:46 Faith, Prayer, and Surrender01:35:24 Student Question: Human Evil and the Will of God01:39:36 Student Question: Goodness without God01:41:56 Karma Yoga: Letting Go of Attachment to Results01:44:36 The Bhagavad Gita and Integral Yoga01:47:02 "Still Crazy after All These Years"01:48:20 A Prayer

Monastic wisdom on embracing limitations, discerning ourpath in life, letting go of judgments to grow in love, and healing the worldthrough silence.Fr. Isaac Slater has chosen a life of radical constraint,and within it, discovered radical freedom. Our truest desires, he says, may actually guide us Home, but only if we learn to discern true desire from its impostors. For Fr. Slater, contemplation is steeping in the Divine Presenceuntil we know in our bones that the essence of our being is love. Tending to his ill and dying brothers, he learns from them how to live. As a poet, he works with language until words become transparent letting something largershine through. His life and practice weave together what many keep separate: he sits zazen while living as a Catholic monk; in solitude, he feels united with all; and he experiences God’s will not as a thundering decree but as a yielding Way--open, fluid, and free, like the Dao.Fr. Isaac Slater is a Cistercian monk at the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York, where he serves as novice master and infirmarian. He is the author of “Do Not Judge Anyone”: Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World (2025) and Beyond Measure: The Poetics of the Image in Bernard ofClairvaux. Under his secular name, John Slater, he has published the poetry collections Surpassing Pleasure (2011) and Lean (2016), co-translated The Tangled Braid: Ninety-Nine Poems by Hafiz of Shiraz (2010), and his upcoming book This and That: Selected Short Poems of Ryokan (March 2026).Abbey of the Genesse: https://geneseeabbey.org/"Do Not Judge Anyone": Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World:  https://share.google/6MBl75IyeFt75cLYTTimestamps:00:00 What is a monk?01:28 From Sheer Desperation to the Spaciousness of Monastic Life03:43 "You know you have found your vocation when you found the way of life in which it's easiest for you to love."06:28 "God puts a spiritual desire in our heart in the measure in which he plans to fulfill it."07:14 Discerning Spiritual Desire from Mere Impulse or Temptation 10:29 Monastic Life: Life of Prayer and Silence13:59 Freedom in Embracing Limitations18:50 Leaving the World to Become One with the World21:13 The Closer We Are to the Center of Our Being, The Closer We Are to Everyone23:55 Doing only the good one cannot not do26:58 God in the world is Love expressed as willingness to suffer28:45 Seeing how one is love even in one's shortcomings31:49 God's Will and Your Heart's Deepest Desire are Fundamentally One36:27 God's Will is like the Dao39:24 God's Judgment is the Non-Judgment of Love40:38 Truth is Love41:11 The Scandal of Particularity45:14 Let go of attachments, not Love48:04 Points of Commonality between Christianity and Eastern Religions50:26 Marriage Vows and Monastic Vows52:29 My faithfulness is an overflowing of God's faithfulness to me56:52 Starting with God's Love01:01:32 Contemplative Prayer: Steeping Oneself in Divine Love01:03:02 Possible Difficulties in the Contemplative Life01:05:35 "Let Through, Let Be, Let Go" & "Inhabit the Pain Fully to Be Free From It"01:09:08 Judgment, Discernment, and Unconditional Love01:15:20 When God's Presence Feels Unavailable01:17:00 "If you are paying attention, it's impossible to be bored."01:17:31 Poetry: When Language Becomes Transparent to Another Dimension01:21:00" I sit zazen and live as a Catholic monk"01:23:04 The Spirituality of Dying01:28:03 "Often challenges ina relationship make you aware of your limits and your sore spots."01:29:38 Surrender and acceptance rather than trying to feel better01:30:36 An Autobiography of My Non-Existent SelfTranscript Edit Assistance: Brodie MartinMusic: Ben Bigelow (https://www.youtube.com/@BenBigelow3)

A contemplative conversation on the nature of God, meditation, karma, and spiritual awakening.Decades of devoted practice, but no hankering after the fruit of Self-Realization. Trained rigorously in the Hindu tradition yet unbound by it. Ever seeking to learn from spiritual luminaries, be it Swami Chinmayananda in India or Dr. David R. Hawkins in the USA. Fully engaged in the world while abiding in the Divine Presence within. These are some of the qualities of Swami Chidatmananda, our guest on this episode of The Spiritual Context. Beginning with his miraculous birth, Swamiji shares his daily practices, insights into the spiritual journey, and profound experiences of inner stillness. He offers practical guidance on cultivating one-pointed awareness while acting in the world, discerning right action amid moral ambiguity, and learning to see the divine in others even when their behavior disappoints us. Along the way, he speaks of Krishna and Christ, non-duality and devotion, and form and formlessness.Swami Chidatmananda is a teacher of Sanātana Dharma, the Eternal Truth as taught in Hinduism. Teaching independently today, he previously served for more than three decades as a guiding teacher and regional head of an international spiritual organization in India. In addition to training spiritual aspirants, he offered regular spiritual discourses on Indian television and led workshops and seminars around the world for political leaders, business professionals, healthcare providers, and devoted seekers. He is the author of the popular Telugu book Learning through Relationships, and in English, The Greatness of the Mind, Essential Values of Mahatma Gandhi, Beyond the Suffering of the Ego, and Sundarakanda: Beautiful Values.For more information on Swami Chidatmananda, and to access his books freely, please visit:Inner Pathway: https://innerpathway.com/contributors...Mind in Bliss: https://mindinbliss.com/Timstamps00:00 Welcome00:34 Born for Spiritual Work04:17 Meeting Swami Chinmayananda06:09 Spiritual Training and Education07:17 Sharing the Spiritual Light09:39 Surrendering the Fruit of Self-Realization to God and Guru15:23 What is God?16:46 Maya19:44 Reconciling the Allness of God and Maya23:49 Where can one find God? The answer is Love.28:27 Love is the Presence of the Real even in the illusory30:03 Two ways of realizing God34:29 What does it mean to see God in another person?38:13 Finding Dr. David R. Hawkins42:38 The Unmoving State44:57 Daily Practice48:34 What is Contemplation?52:12 Practicing One-Pointedness of Mind throughout the Day55:32 How it is for Swamiji right now59:17 The Understanding of Karma01:05:31 Discernment of Right Action01:10:14 How can right action be possible if perception is illusory?01:12:47 Gandhi, Bhagavad Gita, and Morality01:25:22 Means and Ends on the Pathway of Self-Realization01:31:17 Spirituality in the Life of a Householder01:38:14 Unrealistic expectations on the Spiritual Pathway01:46:28 Spiritual Values01:48:20 Accepting the death of the bodyMusic: Ben Bigelow (   / @benbigelow3  )

A Zen practitioner for nearly fifty years, Daigaku Rumme trained for twenty-seven years under Sekkei Harada Rōshi at Hosshin-ji Monastery in Japan. He was later appointed Director of the North American Office of Japanese Sōtō Zen Buddhism—the first American to hold this position. After stepping down from this role, Rumme founded Confluence Zen Center in St. Louis, Missouri, where he currently teaches. He is the translator of Essence of Zen and Unfathomable Depths by Sekkei Harada Rōshi, as well as A Blueprint of Enlightenment and The Formless Record of the Transmission of Illumination, commentaries on the teachings of Dōgen and Keizan, respectively, by Gien Rōshi. Confluence Zen Center: https://www.confluencezen.org/Timestamps:00:00 Introduction03:04 Finding Zen10:55 Experience at Hosshin-ji Monastery16:37 Daigaku's Teacher, Harada Sekkei Roshi, An Awakened Being29:56 Life at Hōshin-ji Monastery35:48 What is Zazen?47:04 Zen is about studying the moment now01:01:26 Koan Practice01:04:24 Letting Go of Past and Future01:09:14 The Power of True Acceptance01:11:19 The Only Way to Bring an End to Anxiety01:12:14 To study the Self is to forget the self01:18:51 Practice is Awakening01:24:12 Letting Go of the Goal of Enlightenment, Without Losing Enlightenment01:29:27 "I have never given up"01:31:00 Loving Kindness and Compassion01:36:10 Married Life01:43:36 The Impact of Teaching on Practice01:46:20 Translation Work: Bridging Tradition and Modernity01:49:23 Becoming Completely One with Your Life01:54:12 How can one person save all beings?01:57:12 Alone with BuddhaThe Spiritual Context Podcast: Dedicated to the Ultimate Realization, this podcast features interviews with long-time spiritual practitioners and teachers, focusing on their spiritual biographies, core practices and perspectives, and approaches to integrating spirituality into everyday life. The host, Bishal Karna, is a professor of religious studies and a long-time spiritual practitioner.Music: Ben BigelowTranscript Edit Assistance: Brodie Martin