Episodes

  • Reloading the Perennial Philosophy with Dana Sawyer

    Reloading the Perennial Philosophy with Dana Sawyer
    Jul 8 2024
    Dana Sawyer is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and World Religions at the Maine College of Art & Design. The author of biographies of two prominent 20th Century thinkers, Aldous Huxley (2002) and Huston Smith (2017), his primary expertise is in Hinduism and Buddhism. For more than twenty years Dana's work has focused on comparative mysticism, theories of the “perennial philosophy,” and the value of psychedelic experience in the study of mysticism. His most recent books are an analysis of the Transcendental Meditation Movement for Cambridge University Press (2023), and The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded, published by Monkfish in July, 2024. Our conversation focused on that last book, whose subject, Perennialism, is vital for understanding spirituality in today's complex, pluralistic landscape. www.danasawyer.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Adapting Buddhism To a Secular, Pluralistic America With Kaira Jewel Lingo

    Adapting Buddhism To a Secular, Pluralistic America With Kaira Jewel Lingo
    Jun 24 2024
    Kaira Jewel Lingo lived for 15 years as an ordained nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Plum Village. She now teaches internationally in the Zen and Vipassana traditions, as well as in a secular mindfulness context. Her work is at the intersection of racial, climate and social justice with a focus on activists, black, indigenous, and people of color, as well as artists, educators, families, and youth. Her work continues the Engaged Buddhism developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, interweaving nature, ecology, embodied mindfulness practice, art and play. She draws inspiration from her parents’ lives of service and her father’s work with Martin Luther King, Jr. She’s the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss and Disruption and the co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy and Liberation. She is married to, and sometimes works with, Adam Bucko, who has also been a guest on this podcast. https://www.kairajewel.com/books https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Revealing Unity in the World's Religions with Paul John Roach

    Revealing Unity in the World's Religions with Paul John Roach
    Jun 10 2024
    Paul John Roach is a native of Wales, UK. He earned BA and MA degrees in English from Oxford University and a postgraduate degree in education from the University of Wales. Paul was ordained at Unity Ministerial School in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1988 and served as the senior minister at Unity of Fort Worth until his retirement in 2018. He has also served the Unity movement in other ways, including as a board member of Unity World Headquarters. For 14 years, Paul hosted a program on Unity FM titled World Spirituality, where he interviewed spiritual leaders and authors from around the world. He is the author of the award-winning book Unity and World Religions, which focuses on the perennial philosophy within all spiritual traditions, which is prime focus of this conversation. Paul John Roach web site Connect with the host of Spirit Matters- Philip Goldberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Explore Vedic Wisdom and Roar Like a Goddess with Acharya Shunya

    Explore Vedic Wisdom and Roar Like a Goddess with Acharya Shunya
    May 29 2024
    Acharya Shunya is the first female head of a spiritual lineage that goes back 2,000 years in India. In her teaching, Acharya reinterprets and re-contextualizes Vedic wisdom, the nondual perspective of Advaita Vedanta, the lifestyle principles of Ayurveda, and Yoga philosophy and practices – and in so doing attempts to make the ancient insights relevant to modern sensibilities and needs. She says her purpose is “to create a learning and awakening path for contemporary seekers, empowering people everywhere to lead spiritually fearless, fulfilled and enlightened lives.” A motivational speaker, podcast host, workshop facilitator and retreat leader, she’s the founder of the Awakened Self Foundation and Vedika Global. She is the author of three books, Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom; Sovereign Self; and Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman's Guide to Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous, and Peaceful. Meet the host of Spirit Matters Philip Goldberg Author, Speaker, Spiritual Counselor, Writing Coach Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Mindfully Meeting a World in Crisis with Oren Jay Sofer

    Mindfully Meeting a World in Crisis with Oren Jay Sofer
    May 19 2024
    Oren Jay Sofer holds a degree in comparative religion from Columbia University and now teaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and communication internationally. A certified trainer of nonviolent communication, he is a practitioner of somatic experiencing for the healing of trauma and the author of several books. They include: Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication and his current book, Your Heart Was Made for This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love. We spoke mainly about that second book and the need for spiritual responses to current world conditions. Meet the host of Spirit Matters Philip Goldberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • A Nuanced Discussion of Spirituality, Religion and More With Swami Medhananda

    A Nuanced Discussion of Spirituality, Religion and More With Swami Medhananda
    May 9 2024
    Swami Medhananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and a distinguished academic, currently serving as Senior Research Fellow in philosophy at the Vedanta Society of Southern California. He received his Ph.D. in 2009 from the University of California at Berkeley, and also studied at Humboldt University in Berlin and at Oxford University in the UK. His current research focuses on the global philosophy of religion, the epistemology of mystical experience, cosmopsychism, Indian scriptural hermeneutics, and Vedantic philosophical traditions. The Section Editor for the International Journal of Hindu Studies, he has published over thirty articles in leading academic journals as well as several books, including Swami Vivekananda’s Vedāntic Cosmopolitanism; Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality; and Panentheism in Indian and Western Thought. He also serves as Hindu Chaplain at both UCLA and USC. Swami Medhananda Find Swami Medhananda on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Diving Into Kashmir Shaivism, Shaktipat, India and More With Swami Brahmananda

    Diving Into Kashmir Shaivism, Shaktipat, India and More With Swami Brahmananda
    Apr 29 2024
    Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, originally David Nowe of Pittsburgh, met Swami Muktananda and received Shaktipat initiation from him in 1975. He spent the next 8 years studying with and working for Muktananda in various ashram settings. Along the way he took initiation as a sannyasi and received the name Brahmananda. He returned to householder life for a period of time, then resumed the swami life. At one point he founded the God Realization Ministry, which taught the principles of siddha yoga in more than 200 churches, and was also the spiritual director of Simple Peace Retreats in Assisi, Italy. Since the time Covid broke out, he has been offering satsangs and conducting Shaktipat intensives in India. He is also a team member of American Veda Tours, co-leading (with the host of this podcast) journeys to sacred sites in India. We spoke about Muktananda, Kashmir Shaivism, and other illuminating topics. Find out more about Philip Goldberg books here Philip Goldberg Author, Speaker, Spiritual Counselor, Writing Coach Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Mysticism, Social Change, and African-American Religion with Alton B. Pollard III

    Mysticism, Social Change, and African-American Religion with Alton B. Pollard III
    Apr 18 2024
    Dr. Alton B. Pollard III is a scholar, author, consultant, and public speaker on the subject of African American and U.S. religion and culture. He is about to join Wake Forest University as the Chair of Baptist Studies in the School of Divinity and professor of African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. His prior positions include: President Emeritus of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Dean of the School of Divinity and professor at Howard University, Director of Black Church Studies at the Candler School of Theology, and Chair of American Religious Cultures at Emory University. He is the author of several books, including Mysticism and Social Change: The Social Witness of Howard Thurman, and a new edition of W.E.B. DuBois’s The Negro Church. He has also written dozens of book chapters, journal articles, and op-eds. We spoke about Thurman, DuBois, and the influence of Mahatma Gandhi on the American civil rights movement. Find our more about the host of Spirit Matters, Philip Goldberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins