Deconstructing Yourself

Erik Davis, an author and podcaster, discusses author Robert Anton Wilson, anarchism in the 1970s, psychedelics, and Zen practice. They explore the impact of Wilson's book, High Weirdness, and the concept of metasystemic thinking. The podcast also delves into the absorption of psychedelics into capitalist society, the parallelism between meditation and corporate influence, and ways to support the Deconstructing Yourself podcast.

AI researcher Joscha Bach discusses the relationship between AI and the human mind, including topics such as motivation, emotion, and behavior. He also explores the transformation of civilizations, the embodiment idea in AI, and the concept of metasystematicity.

Experienced meditator and teacher, Daniel Ingram, discusses Fire Kasina practice, deep awakening through mental object focus, balancing wisdom and faith, processing trauma with meditation, beauty as support, increasing stream entry, and over-diagnosis of attainment. Also, explored are faith and guru practice, impermanence insight, hindrances for smart people, and rapture.

Chandra Easton and Michael Taft talk about gender and sexual misconduct in Buddhism, why compassion must be a part of spiritual practice, and the place of the guru in modern culture. Chandra shares her personal story of dealing with sexual misconduct at the hands of her teacher, tantric practices as a technology for awakening, internalized patriarchy, and how love and kindness is the whole point of spiritual practice. Also included are guidelines for choosing a teacher, reimagining Tantric practices in non-binary ways, and much more.Chandra Easton studied Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and Tibetan language at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, and translated Tibetan Buddhist texts on meditation with B. Alan Wallace. Chandra has taught meditation and yoga since 2001. She has studied with many Tibetan and Western Buddhist teachers such as H.H. Dalai Lama, H.H. Karmapa, Lama Tsultrim Allione, B. Alan Wallace,Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche, and Jennifer Welwood. She is currently the Assistant Spiritual Director & Head Teacher at the Tara Mandala Retreat Center. To learn more visit www.shunyatayoga.com and www.taramandala.org.LinksThe teachings of ChödNamkhai NorbuLama Tsultrim AllioneThe Alchemical BodyThe Anam Cara Show Notes2:57 - Chandra’s move to Colorado4:14 - The Tara Mandala retreat center6:35 - The Chöd practices11:33 - Namkhai Norbu and “self-secret”14:33 - The technology of Tantra20:38 - The motivation of compassion25:54 - Guru sexual misconduct and The Feminine in Buddhism34:04 - The Buddha’s views on women37:38 - The Tantra movement40:01 - Women in Buddhism and what needs to change44:41 - Women-run sanghas47:39 - Gender in Tantric practices52:16 - Sexual abuse and spiritual leaders59:05 - How to choose a teacher1:05:04 - Qualities to look for in a teacher1:10:11 - Is the guru still needed?1:13:05 - The Soul Friend1:15:40 - The story of the Grandma and the Dog’s Tooth1:19:54 - The teacher vs. the teachings1:28:35 - Education changing the female experience in Buddhism You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Turning the tables on the usual show format, host Michael Taft gets interviewed by Erik Newton. They talk about the meaning of awakening, the paradox of suffering, the end of seeking, the value of personal experience vs. scriptural understanding, Erik’s awakening experience, new technologies of awakening, the genesis of the Deconstructing Yourself podcast, and more.Erik Newton is a lawyer and was the head of a successful family law firm, which gave him the opportunity to take part in 1000s of divorces. As the result of his experience, two things happened: one was that he created the wildly popular podcast entitled “Together” — the podcast that explores the truth of human relationships — in which Erik uses his hard-won knowledge of the many failure modes of relationships to help couples understand how come together. The second was that he had a major awakening experience.LinksKenneth Folk on DYAm I Mindful Right NowThe Cosmic JokeMasters of OblivionThe Forest Refuge Michael’s Book on Non-DualityDaniel Ingram on DYMeditation Magick Fire KasinaPopping the Bubble of ProjectionMichael’s Article on AwakeningThe Mindful GeekShow Notes3:50 – How The DY Podcast Began6:58 – The Conversation of Awakening as a Creative Journey9:30 – The Joy of Getting Inside Somebody Else’s Mind10:40 – What is “The Path”?12:09 – Where Did the Name “Deconstructing Yourself” Come From?14:48 – Deconstructing Leads to Reconstructing16:13 – Deconstruction and Reconstruction in Buddhism16:57 – Erik’s Awakenings and Emptiness Experiences18:58 – “Heaven is a Place Where Nothing Ever Happens”20:24 – The “What Next” Factor Leads Us Back to The World21:30 – The Pros and Cons of Michael’s Style of Learning and Teaching24:04 – The Value of Academia and Scripture25:24 – Everything is Partially True and False26:43 – Michael’s Time as a Seeker28:00 – What is a Seeker?28:36 – The Slow Death of the Seeker31:02 – Awakening Can Save the World32:36 – Nothing Matters and A Lot Matters34:51 – Does It Hurt to Be Aware of Suffering?36:03 – The Game of Recognizing Emptiness and Engaging Anyway37:37 – Awake People Are Still People38:46 – A Perfect Relationship Doesn’t Exist40:21 – Popping the Bubbles of Projection41:33 – Redefining Awakening Through Science43:06 – Empathizing with Critics43:54 – Teaching for The Western Mind45:42 – The Practical Impact of Awakening46:26 – Plant Medicine as a Shortcut for Awakening47:15 – Technology’s Place in Awakening51:48 – The Power of Communication Technology52:19 – Normalizing Awakening53:46 – Nudges Towards Awakening55:22 – Teaching Meditation at Erik’s Start Up56:33 – Beginner’s Mind57:18 – Goals, Motivations, and Ethics in Meditation58:42 – Waking Up in Silicon Valley You can help to create future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with Rob Burbea about Rob’s book, Seeing That Frees, the power of perception (ways of seeing), his creative methods of working with meditation practice, meditating with a more analytical vs more phenomenological focus, how analytical meditation works, Rob’s “soulmaking dharma,” the emptiness of conceptual frameworks, facing the end of life, and the meaning of emptiness.Rob Burbea is a meditation teacher, musician, author, who teaches at Gaia House in Devon, England. Rob is the author of the groundbreaking meditation practice book entitled, Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising. Rob and Michael discuss it at length in this episode.Seeing that Frees on AmazonShow Notes0:24 – Introduction1:49 – Seeing That Frees, the idea of ways of looking that are liberating4:34 – Example of the classical Buddhist anattā way of looking, unhooking identification, and moving towards less fabrication of perception14:14 – Rob’s teachers and how his creative meditative exploration unfolded22:57 – Following the lead of beauty and the sense of liberation into new territory27:01 – What is emptiness?35:10 – An example of analytical meditation on time and its effect on the fading of perception41:38 – Soulmaking, skillful fabrication, and broadening the scope of the purpose of meditation beyond just the release of obvious suffering44:55 – Working with soulmaking and images that are intrapsychic or in the world of material objects, contextualizing these practices, and parallels with meta-rationality48:54 – Gauging the progress of insight into emptiness through palpable senses of relief and release and senses of perception opening up in wondrous and beautiful ways53:12 – On a personal journey of soulmaking through health crises and the possibility of dying1:01:12 – OutroSupport the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, host Michael W. Taft speaks with senior dharma teacher Christopher Titmuss about yatra—meditative pilgrimage without a destination—the power of nature, the importance of deconstructing the self, the psychedelic 60s, Vietnam, engaged Buddhism, the role of spiritual practice in the current world crisis, and the central role of liberation in meditation.Christopher Titmuss is an insight meditation teacher, author, and former Theravada Buddhist monk. He is the co-founder of Gaia House, a large Buddhist retreat center in Devon, England, where he has been teaching since the early 1980s. A renowned proponent of engaged Buddhism, Christopher is the author of numerous books, and twice ran for election as a top Green Party candidate in England. Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Philosopher, author, and meditator Evan Thompson discusses lucid dreaming, the 3-fold structure of awareness, the cosmopolitanism of Buddhism, consciousness hacking and psychedelics, and the embodied nature of meditation. They explore the relationship between awakening and consciousness, the framework of meditation and cognitive states, and the potential benefits and problems with consciousness hacking and psychedelics.

Meditation teacher, Culadasa, discusses stream entry, insight, and consciousness. They explore merging traditional Buddhism with modern psychology, reaching a tipping point for awakening, using drugs or consciousness hacking for insight, reincarnation, and quantum entanglement. Culadasa shares tips for meditation and cultivating altruism amidst societal challenges.

In this episode emotions researcher and meditation teacher Eve Ekman speaks with Michael W. Taft about embodied emotions, the difference between suppression and healthy expression, impermanence of sensation and moment by moment contact with emotion, emotion-laden cognitions, HH the Dalai Lama, punk rock and Gilman St., surfing, being nice to cats, the Vagus nerve and kundalini, the epidemic of stress and burnout, modern dystopia, struggling with cynicism, the embedded ethnography of heartbreak, and much, much more.Eve Ekman PhD, MSW designs, delivers and evaluates trainings on the development of emotional awareness and the cultivation of deep seated contentment. Eve draws from educations and life experience in clinical social work, integrative medicine and contemplative practice. Eve is a second generation emotion researcher and has had meaningful collaborations with her father, renowned emotion researcher Dr. Paul Ekman. Their most recent project, The Atlas of Emotions, is an online visual tool to teach emotional awareness, a project commissioned and supported by the Dalai Lama. Eve is a founding teacher for Cultivating Emotional Balance, an evidenced based training with a rich contemplative science lineage of Western and Eastern approaches to emotional and genuine happiness.eveekman.comatlasofemotions.org You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.