Episodes
Host Michael Taft speaks with artist, bodyworker, and philosopher Guy Sengstock about the origin and creation of Circling practice, how the asynchronous qualities of new technologies have created a deeper hunger for basic human contact, the crucial importance of embodiment in communication, mindfulness of presence, as well as the new practice he’s creating with Jon Vervaeke, known as Dia-Logos.
Published 06/01/22
Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and author Kelly Boys on the practice of non-sleep, deep rest—a modern name for the ancient practice of yoga nidra, using liminal states as gateways to profound meditative experiences, finding ways to let go more completely, how this practice relates to nonduality, and the transformative power of embodied practice.
Published 05/04/22
Host Michael Taft iterviews Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher and author Andrew Holecek on nondual practice and theory, finding your way back to the true nature of mind, the dangers of getting dropped off in the deep end too soon, challenging to notion of path, the art of doing nothing (and doing it well); Andrew also offers listeners a dream-based nondual guided practice.
Published 04/25/22
Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation master and neuroscience consultant Shinzen Young on the nondual teachings of Zen Master LinJi, and more.
Published 03/14/22
Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about how psychology and meditation practice can work together to help people heal, working with trauma, the importance of heart-based practices such as metta, spiritual bypassing, using shamatha to build new brain networks, and Tina’s own story of her birth trauma and her path to healing.
Published 01/19/22
Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and meditator Ruben Laukkonen about the phenomenology of the insight experience, how the sequence of deepening meditative practices maps onto the model of predictive processing in the human brain, the Eureka heuristic, what neuroscience can tell us about the deconstructive model of meditation, the science of cessations, and much more.
Published 01/04/22
What can ancient Sanskrit poetry of love and longing teach us about our own deepest spirituality? Join host Michael Taft as he explores this question with professor, author, and teacher Rick Jarow.
Published 11/30/21
Host Michael Taft speaks with Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton about her recent work with the 21 manifestations of the Goddess Tara, some aspects of Green Tara, and especially the role of vision and visualization in Vajrayana, and Buddhism more generally.
Published 11/01/21
Zen teacher, author, and poet Henry Shukman talks with host Michael Taft about Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Henry’s series on the Waking Up app, meditation for awakening vs. meditation as a “band aid,” the role of psychotherapy in spiritual practice, the power of working in the “old way,” the path of working with Zen koans as the journey of a lifetime.
Published 08/18/21
Host Michael Taft talks with teacher and author Ken McLeod about his insights into Vajrayana, spiritual practice as "choosing a way to live," the Tibetan idea of lam khyer, the power of prayer as a kind of raw, naked stance, difficulties Westerners face when attempting to work within traditional Asian religious systems, and why the seeds of spirituality need to be nurtured in secret.
Published 07/20/21
Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about ways to understand nondual awareness and the progress of nondual meditation, including her own unique comparison between the Formless Realms of early Buddhist meditation and the Boundless Dimensions taught by Hameed Ali (aka Almaas) of the Diamond Approach.
Published 06/30/21
Shinzen Young talks with host Michael Taft about his new ideas around how we can apply the systematic mindset of mindfulness meditation to the many challenges of human communication and miscommunication.
Published 06/02/21
Host Michael Taft talks about the phenomenon of spiritual bypassing, as well as the importance of having a spiritua friend.
Published 05/17/21
Host Michael Taft speaks with spiritual teacher and author Thomas Hübl about trauma and healing, aspects of collective and cultural trauma, meditation, spirituality, and much more.
Published 04/01/21
Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and shamanic practitioner Spring Washam about the "dharma of Harriet Tubman," the inner vs. the outer journey of finding liberation, how the "meditation bubble" can actually block spiritual growth, bringing the wisdom of meditation to activism, the role of plant medicines in healing ourselves and our world, and much more.
Published 03/12/21
Host Michael Taft speaks with science journalist, author, and podcaster David McRaney about how people do (and do not) change their minds, how brains form their view of reality, conspiracy theory, the method of "technique rebuttal" vs. "topic rebuttal,' QAnon, neurology, psychology, belief, and much more.
Published 02/03/21
Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher Catherine McGee about the practice of Soulmaking Dharma.
Published 12/08/20
Depth Psychologist Steve Aizenstat speaks with host Michael Taft about the living image of dreams and their innate intelligence, the healing and creative power of the deep imagination; dreams, meditation and spiritual practice; and the way that we are "all cyborgs now."
Published 11/06/20
Spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas speaks with host Michael Taft about the centrality of love to our spiritual nature, how to tell the difference between emotional love and spiritual love, how the wounds of love can become openings for awakening, various “flavors” of love, and the necessity of love to approach truth.
Published 10/07/20
Buddhist Teacher and author Lopön Chandra Easton talks with Michael Taft about Vajrayana, her own pilgrimage and experiences in India, the struggle to bring motherhood, sexuality, the feminine, and the female voice into spiritual life, the power of yidam or deity yoga, how Westerners relate to deity yoga, and a look into the practice of the 21 Taras.
Published 09/21/20
Host Michael Taft speaks with Rin’dzin Pamo and Jared Janes about their new project, entitled “Evolving Ground,” which is a community of practitioners that seeks to reinterpret and revitalize Vajrayana practice in a contemporary Western context.
Published 08/25/20
A wide-ranging conversation between writer, translator, teacher, and business consultant, Ken McLeod and host Michael Taft about meditation, Vajrayana, and more.
Published 08/03/20
Author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and cultural historian Erik Davis speaks with host Michael Taft about paranoia and conspiracy in the current moment.
Published 07/14/20
Neuroscientist and mindfulness expert Jud Brewer speaks with host Michael Taft about his research into mindfulness meditation and effortlessness.
Published 06/07/20
Psychologist, author, translator, and meditation teacher, Dan Brown talks with host Michael Taft about the three levels of practice from a taste of awakening to "full buddhahood," and much more.
Published 05/20/20