Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

• Ep. 207 - Ram Dass Fellowship: Voices of the Sacred Feminine with Mirabai Starr & Jackie Dobrinska

  Mystical feminist Mirabai Starr shares the fruits of many years of investigating, excavating, and uplifting women’s voices within global spiritual traditions.This talk was recorded on Sept 22, 2020 as a part of the Virtual Ram Dass Fellowship.This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Mirabai Starr discusses:An invitation to unknowing and allowing our preconceived notions to fall awayThe patriarchal roots of spiritual traditions and religious institutions Highlighting women’s spiritual wisdom in the Ram Dass communityWomen's circles that are free of a masculine influence Honoring feelings as they arise and having the capacity to hold them Speaking spiritual truth to power while staying heart-centeredThe great mystery and ambiguity of the feminine heart space Connecting with our higher selves and true purpose Practicing contemplative meditation through creativityThe necessity of community for transformation to take place Trusting the journey to spiritual awakening and surrendering to the processBalancing active and contemplative energies as sacred feminine archetypesRemembering that we all have both feminine and masculine energies within usThis episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTIAbout Mirabai Starr:Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialogue. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Check out her many books and learn more at MirabaiStarr.com.About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves."It's scary to dwell in the heart because it's a place of mystery, at least the feminine heart is. It is a place where there is a great degree of tolerance for ambiguity—that the masculine paradigm conditions us to believe is a problem to be solved. The feminine heart space sees ambiguity as a higher truth, paradox as a vast space of truth. This heart has the capacity, because it is so vast, to hold seemingly contradictory propositions." – Mirabai StarrSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Ep. 206 - No Part Left Out: The Unity Of Wisdom And Compassion with Gil Fronsdal

  Gil Fronsdal explores the heart of Buddhist tradition by blending mindfulness with the transformative power of compassion and loving kindness.This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp & Dharma Seed:Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.Join Buddhist Teacher David Nichtern and Duncan Trussell for a conversation about finding our own voice, our own expression, and our own way of connecting with people. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - AUTHENTIC PRESENCE: FINDING YOUR OWN VOICEOn this episode of the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil gives a dharma talk on:Discovering how love is foundational in Buddhist tradition and spiritual practiceExploring the two wings of Buddhism: balancing compassion and wisdomUnderstanding why compassion is essential in both practice and realizationLearning how mindfulness can become fixated on the goal of enlightenmentShifting focus from attaining enlightenment to embodying compassionGil’s journey of softening the heart and embracing inner sufferingInsights from the Buddha on cultivating loving kindness in daily lifeHealing inner conflict by embracing the parts of ourselves we often rejectPracticing meeting every experience with radical compassion and presenceLetting compassion bloom as a natural expression of inner peaceRecognizing shared suffering and connecting with others as equalsDiscovering how the dharma reveals itself through all aspects of life.Today's recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.orgAbout Gil Fronsdal:Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.“People will say, 'Oh she realized a really deep enlightenment'. But how often do you hear someone say 'oh I got compassioned' or 'that person, he reached the fourth stage of compassion, he was fully compassioned'? I think we all need more compassion than enlightenment—if we want to separate the two. If we don't separate the two, then compassion has to be an integral part of it." – Gil Fronsdal See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Ep. 205 - This Life Giving Breath, Guided Meditation with JoAnna Hardy

  Returning to the refuge of breath that is present from birth to death, JoAnna Hardy guides listeners through a grounding and connective breath-based practice. Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.In this practice-infused episode, JoAnna guides listeners through:The first foundation of mindfulness, according to the BuddhaWhole-body awareness and inviting our body fully into the practiceThe individuality of each breath and becoming familiar with our breathRemembering that the breath is always with us, from birth to deathFinding calm, peace, energy, rapture, and joy within the breath Becoming completely interested in each one of our inhales and exhales Our exhale as the connection between us and nature, us and all beings Landing in the rhythm of the breath and allowing it to rock youLetting the breath be our home base and refuge when our mind wanders during practiceBecoming aware of sensations on and in our body via the throughline of the breathFeeling the body rather than thinking about your body Exploring practice one breath at a time, one bodily sensation at a time, with curiosityThis recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.orgJoin Buddhist Teacher David Nichtern and Duncan Trussell for a conversation about finding our own voice, our own expression, and our own way of connecting with people. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - AUTHENTIC PRESENCE: FINDING YOUR OWN VOICEAbout JoAnna Hardy: JoAnna Hardy is an insight meditation (Vipassanā) practitioner and teacher; she is on faculty at the University of Southern California, a meditation trainer at Apple Fitness+, a founding member of the Meditation Coalition, a teacher’s council member at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a visiting retreat teacher at Insight Meditation Society, and a collaborator on many online meditation Apps and programs. Her greatest passion is to teach meditation in communities that are dedicated to seeing the truth of how racism, gender inequality and oppression go hand in hand with the compassionate action teachings in Buddhism and related perspectives to social and racial justice. “That exhale is going far beyond this body. It's what connects us to this earth, to nature, to all beings.” – JoAnna Hardy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Ep. 204 - Ram Dass Explorers Club: LSD, Creativity, and the Grateful Dead with Dr. Raymond Turpin & Jackie Dobrinska

  Psychedelic expert, Dr. Raymond Turpin, discusses how psychedelics shut down our ‘default-mode’ and expand our creativity in music, art, and more. Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.In this episode, Raymond and Jackie discuss:LSD and how it effects the creative processThe history of LSD, bicycle day, and morePainting under the influence of LSD for greater imaginationUsing LSD to tackle professional problems and crack emotional blocksLSD and increased concentration/focus for accelerated solutionsHow Psychedelics shut down our default-mode network of the brainSeeing wider possibilities for creativity for the use of psychedelics The Grateful Dead, musical telepathy, and their role in the culture of LSDSynergy of music, musician, and audience via flow states and psychedelicsThe power of psychedelic co-creationThe therapeutic potential of LSD for the treatment of anxiety, depression, and moreThis conversation was recorded as part of the Ram Dass Fellowship’s regular online gatherings. To learn more about the Ram Dass Fellowship and sign up to join a fellowship gathering near you, visit RamDass.org/Fellowship.About Raymond Turpin:Dr. Raymond Turpin is the Clinical Director for The Pearl Psychedelic Institute and President of the Board of Directors. He also serves as Co-Principal Investigator of The Pearl MDMA Project. Dr. Turpin has been studying the therapeutic uses of psychedelics and the relevant literature since the mid-1980s hoping to eventually legally use these medicines in his psychology practice. Specializing in the treatment of trauma, Dr. Turpin has extensive experience with children, adolescents, and families in a multitude of settings but has focused his practice on older adolescents and adults in recent years. Join Buddhist Teacher David Nichtern and Duncan Trussell for a conversation about finding our own voice, our own expression, and our own way of connecting with people. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - AUTHENTIC PRESENCE: FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE“What they found with the LSD art, some of the precise craftsmanship that these artists normally had suffered a bit, but it had greater aesthetic value, greater imagination, more evidence of abstract perceptions.” – Raymond TurpinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Ep. 203 - The Four Resolves with Gil Fronsdal

  Outlining the four resolves of wisdom, truth, relinquishment, and peace, Gil Fronsdal takes us down the path of freedom.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal explores:The four resolves of wisdom, truth, relinquishment, and peaceHow many people’s lives are founded on their attachments Finding the dharma path in our lives Arriving where we are rather than being in the future or past The many beautiful meanings of being committed to truth Connecting to our lived experience and finding truth in the present momentAdorning the mind through practicing generosity Relinquishment as a means to enhance ourselves and to let goGaining more from release than we do from holding Using daily meditation to slowly become more peaceful This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.“When you’re engaged in a path of freedom, of mindfulness, of showing up, it’s partly a journey from living a life that has stress and suffering in it, to a life that doesn’t.” – Gil Fronsdal See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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