Everyone has spent time wondering about it, but no one can say for sure: What happens after we die? In the last episode of the season, all of the guests in the series consider this question and consider how believing or not believing in the afterlife impacts how they live. If death is simply a transition from one state to the next, then how do we imagine life after?   View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 14:45. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin, donate,...

One thing is for certain: one day you will die. But what happens when you die? And how does knowledge of your inevitable death impact how you live now? In this episode, all the guests in the series reflect on these questions and consider how grappling with our mortality is part of what makes us human. View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 18:07. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin, donate, and more. AWAKEN Season 3 is hosted by singer and songwriter Falu....

If faced with bravery and awareness, conflict can bring great insight into what is right or needed. From the Buddhist perspective, it’s not the conflict itself that matters, but how we react to it. Because if we are too guarded, protecting ourselves from the difficult emotions that come with conflict, we might miss out on the opportunity for growth and new possibilities.  View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 25:07. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin,...

In Buddhism, morality isn’t just about avoiding harm but helping others. It comes down to taking responsibility for our actions. We can never truly know our morals until they are tested. But faced with that test, it can wake us up to new ways of thinking, being, and relating to one another in the world. View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 20:58. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin, donate, and more:...

Aspiration involves desire and ambition, whether it’s the pursuit of a new job or to be a better friend. It’s something that gives us a north star to move toward in our daily life. But what happens once we get there? And how can the Buddhist concept of attachment help us make sense of the inevitable ups and downs along the way?  View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 22:18. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin, donate, and more. AWAKEN Season 3 is hosted by...

Emotions aren’t just the feelings in the body—they reflect neurons firing in the brain, and from the Buddhist perspective, they offer opportunities for profound insight. When we hold too tightly to our emotions, we risk getting caught up in them. But when we step back and harness the power of simply observing them, there is great potential for transformation.  View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 22:07. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin, donate, and...

It’s often in the most challenging moments that we learn the most about ourselves and others. Not only do we have the opportunity to rewire our brains, but we get to see things with newfound clarity. From the Buddhist and neuroscientific perspectives, learning is all about allowing for curiosity and openness. What does the process of learning have to teach us? View the artwork discussed in this episode, beginning at 18:50. Read about this artwork, learn more about the Rubin, donate, and...

Welcome to Season 3 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In this season, hosted by singer and songwriter Falu, artists, writers, scientists, poets, Buddhist teachers, and others delve into the notion of life after and explore how we navigate the key events and qualities of human life—birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death—as well as grapple with the ultimate mystery: the afterlife. Everything is...

Welcome to Season 3 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In this season hosted by singer and songwriter Falu, authors, musicians, poets, psychologists, Buddhist teachers, and others delve into the notion of life after and explore how we navigate the key events and qualities of human life—birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death—as well as grapple with the ultimate mystery: the afterlife.  Episode...

Because of the amazing response we received for AWAKEN Season 2, we wanted to extend the conversations about the five afflictive mind states we discuss in the series: Pride, Attachment, Envy, Anger, and Ignorance. In this episode, hosted by AWAKEN executive producer Tania Ketenjian, we have interwoven conversations from the Rubin’s BRAINWAVE®program series with neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary’s understanding of the challenging emotions explored in the podcast. Guests include Bibi...

In this special bonus episode of AWAKEN, we turn the mic onto our host, singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora, to hear her own story of awakening. Listen to her reflect on growing up as a first generation American, inspirations for her music and creativity, her deep connection to the Rubin Museum, and how she navigates her own challenging emotions. To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more:...

In this final episode, we return to the mandala, our visual guide on our path to awakening. We might survive without the wisdom we have gained by examining our emotions, but what is possible—for ourselves, our relationships, and our world—if we stay curious? AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist Mark Epstein, artist and activist...

While we often don’t think of ignorance as a feeling, its antidote, awareness, resides at the heart of the mandala. It may be the mind state most difficult to explain, yet it may be the most important, and more complex than meets the eye. If ignorance is used the right way, it can move us from a closed mind to an open one. Is awareness the key to awakening? AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include author and activist adrienne...

We have all experienced anger from a very early age. In Buddhism, anger is one of the five afflictive emotions, or kleshas, that can cloud our understanding of the world, along with pride, envy, attachment, and ignorance. But if we pay attention to the emotion, can it transform to give us a sense of clarity, to help us see what is important? AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy...

No one wants to admit they are envious, yet in the age of social media, envy is a bitter taste in everyone's mouth from time to time. But envy dismantled can point you in the right direction and show you your heart’s desire. Can feelings of envy be transformed from an isolating experience to one that actually connects us? AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, artist and...

From a psychological perspective, attachment is vital to the mental well-being of a developing human. But from the Buddhist viewpoint, attachment is the mind state that trips us up constantly. It’s the one that pulls us out of the present and into a state of longing for an imagined future or clinging to the past, leaving us with nothing but dissatisfaction. But what if we could release our grip and truly be in the moment? AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora....

Pride can be celebratory—a powerfully affirming emotion. But its dark side can bring a sense of supremacy. It can be so full of self-importance that there isn’t room for other views, other ways of life. It can even be a little lonely to be so rigid. In Buddhism, pride is one of the five afflictive emotions, or kleshas, that can cloud our understanding of the world, along with attachment, envy, anger, and ignorance. When we get curious about pride, ask questions, and move beyond certainty,...

Welcome to Season 2 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In this new season hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora, Buddhist teachers, writers, artists, activists, and others use a Tibetan Buddhist mandala as a guide and share how they wrestle and learn from five challenging emotions—anger, pride, attachment, envy, and ignorance. What is a mandala? Like many Tibetan Buddhist artworks, a mandala is a visual catalyst...

Welcome to Season 2 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In this new season hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora, Buddhist teachers, writers, artists, activists, and others use a Tibetan Buddhist mandala as a guide and share how they wrestle and learn from five challenging emotions—anger, pride, attachment, envy, and ignorance.

What is enlightenment? What does it mean to be truly awake? Are you awake? Enlightenment can take many forms. In this final episode, we will look back at highlights from all our guests and consider enlightenment from Tibetan Buddhist perspective with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a highly respected Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher from the Kagyu tradition, one of the four main lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. This episode features Youngey Mingyur Rinpoche along with Aparna Nancherla, Alok...

Remarkable experiences can inspire, but without integration, they can also bring a sense of alienation. What role does integration play in the process of awakening? In this episode, we speak with Patricia James, a Medicine Woman of Seminole tribe heritage who has been formally trained in the Cheyenne tradition as a Priest and a Pipe Carrier, which means that she is a steward of a sacred pipe and the religious ceremonies for which it is used. To begin, Patricia considers a sculpture of an...

Can letting go into death be the ultimate act of awakening? In this episode we explore how the process of dying can be an act of truly living. We speak with hospice and palliative medicine physician and author BJ Miller, who discusses his first encounter with death, facing his own mortality as a triple amputee, and what it means to have a good death. To start, BJ responds to a four-foot-tall sculpture of the fierce protector Vajrabhairava. Enormous and terrifying, he embodies the power and...

What is the ego, and what role might it play in the process of awakening? In this episode we ponder these questions with best-selling author, activist, and Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens, who shares his story of working through trauma, embracing pleasure, and both accepting and letting go of his ego. Before we dive in, Lama Rod responds to a ritual object called the flaying knife-chopper. In Tibetan Buddhist art, this weapon is typically wielded by a fierce guardian deity who uses the tool...

Is it possible to bridge the sacred with everyday, ordinary life? In this episode, we speak with artist Tsherin Sherpa, whose work suggests that the sacred and mundane are not separate, but inseparable. He shares his story of being trained by his father in the art of traditional thangka painting, discovering his own artistic voice as a contemporary artist, and how he finds potential for awakening in the simple moments of life, like enjoying a cup of coffee. Tsherin begins by introducing us...