Mindrolling with Raghu Markus

Coming together at the 2023 Love and Renewal Retreat, Raghu Markus, Jack Kornfield, Duncan Trussell, and Krishna Das discuss alleviating suffering and finding grace.In this recording from the 2023 Love & Renewal retreat, Raghu, Jack and Duncan, and Krishna Das come together to discuss:Samsara and returning home to familyWorking with cynicismHow depression blocks us into one side of a storyHumor as a coping mechanismPersonal and collective responsibilityThe Bodhisattva vowExploring our own identity and sufferingEmotional PyromaniaLiberating ourselves from the movie of meRam Dass’ lesson on serving others while fixing our own heartAbout Jack Kornfield:Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as. a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies. Learn more about Jack at www.jackkornfield.com.“We’re each in a certain mysterious place in this universe, born into this culture, this family, this moment, and so forth. And you can make something beautiful of it, make something better, alleviate suffering, and bring something of benefit. That’s the game. Well why should I do that? Because it brings happiness. There’s nothing that brings more satisfaction than uplifting us all together and letting it come through what’s unique in you.” – Jack KornfieldAbout 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.“The basic math is first to tend with your own attachments, your identity, or an exploration of your identity potentially being the root of suffering. Then, after that, we can start dealing with saving all sentient beings.” – Duncan TrussellAbout Krishna Das:Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Grammy nominee, Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling chant artist of all time. His album ‘Live Ananda’ (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.KD spent the late ’60s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji.Krishna Das now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life, of Maharaji-ji, of his life on the Path and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops. To date, KD has released 15 well-received albums, most recently Trust in the Heart released in October 2017. For more on Krishna Das events, music, and other offerings visit: KrishnaDas.com----In a world that often feels like it's teetering on the edge, it's not surprising that so many of us grapple with feelings of instability and overwhelm. On Tuesday, December 19th, join acclaimed Buddhist meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Ethan Nichtern for a free online conversation on staying grounded, available, and engaged, even when the world is on fire.Sharon and Ethan will also discuss the upcoming Dharma Moon Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and offer their insights on how studying Buddhism can help us show up more fully for ourselves and others during these challenging times.Visit dharmamoon.com/event for more info and to reserve your free spot!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu and his son Noah talk with Joseph Goldstein about the necessity of embracing suffering in order to activate compassion.Raghu, Joseph, and Noah explore these topics:Empathy and compassion for global sufferingFixing your own heart in order to offer compassion to othersLessons from Tsoknyi Rinpoche on “California Compassion”Checking in with our motivations and intentionsThe tendency to avoid sufferingHow a willingness to look at suffering is a precursor to compassionRenunciation and the willingness to let go of our own comfortReminding ourselves that it is okay to feel the unpleasantUsing suffering to learn something meaningfulThe suffering that comes along with agingMeditating on the our finitenessA guided Mudita practice with Joseph“Compassion arises when we’re willing to come close to suffering. That’s the cause for compassion, and if we don’t have that willingness, it’s not going to arise because the compassion is in response to the suffering in the world, in other people, even in ourselves.” – Joseph Goldstein----In a world that often feels like it's teetering on the edge, it's not surprising that so many of us grapple with feelings of instability and overwhelm. On Tuesday, December 19th, join acclaimed Buddhist meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Ethan Nichtern for a free online conversation on staying grounded, available, and engaged, even when the world is on fire.Sharon and Ethan will also discuss the upcoming Dharma Moon Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and offer their insights on how studying Buddhism can help us show up more fully for ourselves and others during these challenging times.Visit dharmamoon.com/event for more info and to reserve your free spot!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Musician David Block joins Raghu Markus to talk about interconnectivity, generosity, and The Great Way. They discuss David's relationship with Ram Dass, serving others, and the process of creating a track for the Love Serve Remember Vinyl. They also explore the beauty of being in the moment, accepting inner demons, and the power of silent contemplation.

Duncan Trussell returns to Mindrolling to talk about transporting oneself out of the movie of me and into the movie of we.This week on Mindrolling, Raghu Markus and Duncan Trussell get into:Writing, producing, directing, and acting in the movie of our own livesBeing born againSitting around the fire as a metaphor for deep connectionHonesty and being ‘a fake’Transactional relationships and holding emotional debt against peopleThe fraudulent activities of the EgoGratitude giving birth to patienceFocusing on others and being in the spirit of the BuddhaRam Dass’ lesson on moving from the head to the heartThe deep seeded fear of interconnectionBoundaries within generosityTransforming our identity from me to weLiberating ourselves through brutal self-honestySnag your copy of Raghu and Duncan’s new book The Movie of Me to The Movie of We“We have an ability to be honest with ourselves, tremendously honest with ourselves. So, all of the fakery, all of the stuff that has any vestiges of manipulation or rampant desire or pushing things away, whatever it may be, there is an honesty there to really understand the motivations and the pain and the suffering and not get lost in the fraud. Honesty allows you to not get lost in the fraudulent activity of the ego.” – Raghu MarkusAbout 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mindfulness teacher Oren Jay Sofer joins Raghu Markus to discuss keeping our hearts open through difficult times. Topics include Oren's mindfulness journey, navigating global conflict with mindfulness, expanding our hearts, the challenges faced by humanity, the importance of relationships and compassion, individual change impacting society, the abuse of the earth, and the importance of joy, gratitude, and vulnerability.

Pairing science and mysticism, Astrobiologist Dr. Bruce Damer visits Mindrolling for a sweeping discussion on the interconnected nature of the world.This week on Mindrolling, Raghu Markus and Dr. Bruce Damer dig into:Interconnected fields within natureGroup connection and relationshipPatterned memory in spaceAncestral memories, spirit, and the research of phenomenaBecoming the experience and playing with thought experimentsAlbert Einstein and scientific mysticismCollective intelligence and receiving downloadsThe operating system of the living worldRam Dass, Neem Karoli Baba, and mystical storiesMoving beyond the logical mind and tapping into possibilitiesGroup field as the antidote to separation, fear, and anxietyThe efficacy of psychedelic medicineThe revealing that comes after individual healingDr. Bruce Damer’s experience on AyahuascaDeath writing the code of lifeEmbodiment and the ‘gooeyness’ of being human About Dr. Bruce Damer:Dr. Bruce Damer is Chief Scientist at BIOTA Institute, UC Santa Cruz. He is an astrobiologist working on the science of life’s origins, spacecraft design, psychedelics and genius. Dr. Bruce has spent his life pursuing two great questions: how did life on Earth begin, and how can we give that life (and ourselves) a sustainable pathway into the cosmos? A decade of scientific research with his collaborator Prof. David Deamer at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering resulted in the Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life published in the journal Astrobiology in 2019. Dr. Damer also has a long career working with NASA on mission simulation and design and recently co-developed a spacecraft to utilize resources from asteroids. You can keep up with Dr. Bruce Damer on Twitter.“The common ancestor of all life is not a little, individual, primitive cell that is duking it out alone in the universe. It is actually a communal mass that is a body in growth, a body in adaptation.” – Dr. Bruce DamerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Philanthropist Jeff Walker discusses psychedelics, energy work in healthcare, meditation as healing practice, flow states, subtle energy and biofield healing practices, chakras, Ayurveda, sound healing, being addicted to psychedelics, developing trust and intuition, finding trusted relationships, psychedelic health equity, trauma from migration, political concerns, decriminalization and the need for good therapists.

David Silver returns to the Mindrolling Podcast for a conversation on the four Yugas.This week on Mindrolling, David and Raghu look into:The four Hindu Yugas (Satya, Treta, Dwapara, Kali)How consciousness changes with the Yugas and vice versaOur current place in the Kali YugaThe White Buffalo Vision and similarities between religionsThe way our actions can manifest in the YugasThe four worlds spoken of by the HopiThe world events within this age of darknessGrief for the Israeli-Hamas conflictElon Musk, space travel, and how those with advanced abilities still need spiritualityStories of Yogananda, KC Tewari, and Neem Karoli BabaWhy exploring the Yugas can expand our consciousnessCoupling reincarnation with the YugasKirtan, Mantra, and navigating Kali Yuga with spiritual practiceHow remembering the Yugas can remind us of our connection to a bigger pictureDavid Silver returns to the Mindrolling Podcast for a conversation on the four Yugas.“If you couple the Yugas with the dynamic of reincarnation, you can see redemption for the chains from this incarnation, this sheath, to another one and progress in that way.” – David SilverSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mindfully infused with various Buddhist skills, this episode features a dialogue between Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and Raghu Markus on the many opportunities for practice in our daily lives.This time on Mindrolling, Raghu Markus and Tenzin Palmo explore:Tenzin Palmo’s earliest experiences of connecting to The BuddhaThe imminence of deathTenzin’s Book, Reflections on a Mountain LakeWhat perfection is and how we can realize itTenzin’s journey to the guru in IndiaWomen on the path of BuddhismThe process of starting a nunneryNon-self, the ego, and Becoming nobodyRecommendations from the BuddhaTaming the mindStarting with ourselves when we cultivate compassionThe six paramitas (perfections) of the Bodhisattva pathOpportunities for practice in our daily livesDeath, letting people go, and expressing loveSpirituality as a path of joyA brief mindfulness meditation“During our daily life, we have so much opportunity to practice. To practice being generous, to practice being patient in the face of other people's problems, the opportunity to keep pure ethical conduct and never harm or lie or cause any problems for others. During our day, we have these endless opportunities for practicing these qualities of the heart, so we should be grateful because sitting on a cushion is not an opportunity really to practice being generous, ethical, or patient.” – Tenzin PalmoAbout Tenzin Palmo:Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (born 1943) is a bhikṣuṇī in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is an author, teacher and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India. She is best known for having spent twelve years living in a remote cave in the Himalayas, three of those years in strict meditation retreat.Links & Recommendations From this Episode:Pick up your copy of Tenzin Palmo’s Reflections on a Mountain Lake or one of her other works HERESee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In an expansive discussion around Steve Kanji Ruhl’s book, Appalachian Zen, Steve and Raghu explore finding equilibrium through zen practice.“In Buddhism, the true home is that place within each of us, it’s an inner heartland. We can call it original Buddha Nature; it is accessible to all of us anytime and any place. It’s really a matter of finding this inner equilibrium and being in this moment, in this place, and being fully alive.” – Steve Kanji RuhlIn this episode, Raghu Markus and Steve Kanji Ruhl discuss:Cultural Transformation in AppalachiaSteve Kanji’s experience of violence and PTSDZen practice and finding our inner equilibriumEnduring a soul injury and the journey of healingThe teachers that shape us for better or worseMeeting Ram Dass and receiving sanctuaryThe concept of home and the path as the guruHolding self and other simultaneouslyZazen meditation practiceLiving deliberately and obstructions of the willBalancing intention with surrenderBreaking down the conditioning that prevents us from being clear, kind, and presentDirect identification and Tantric intimacyCommunity as the antidote of dysfunctional solitudeAbout Steve Kanji Ruhl:Reverend Steve Kanji Ruhl, M.Div., is an innovative Zen Buddhist minister ordained in the Zen Peacemaker Order by Roshi Bernie Glassman, and is also a lay Zen dharma holder and preceptor authorized by Roshi Eve Myonen Marko. Formerly affiliated with Green River Zen Center in western Massachusetts where he helped to teach and assisted Roshi Eve, he now operates independently, teaching Zen students in person and through his Touch the Earth cyber-sangha to “be clear, be kind, be present” through instruction in koans, ethical precepts, and shikantaza (“just sitting”) meditation. Also a multi-published author, Steve Kanji Ruhl was awarded the Gold Prize for Best Spiritual Memoir in the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards for his book, Appalachian Zen: Journeys in Search of True Home, from the American Heartland to the Buddha Dharma.Get your copy of Appalachian Zen or one of Steve Kanji Ruhl’s other books HEREDiscover the transformative practice of teaching mindfulness in a new FREE 30-page ebook by Senior Buddhist teacher and Emmy award-winning musician, David Nichtern. With its blend of humor, wisdom, and accessible approach, The Art of Teaching Mindfulness ebook is a must-read for anyone interested in sharing the life-changing practices of mindfulness with others.Already downloaded by over 15k people, visit dharmamoon.com/ebook to get YOUR free copy of The Art of Teaching Mindfulness!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.