Ep113: American Gurus - Arthur Versluis PhD 2
In this interview, I am once again joined by Professor Arthur Versluis, a professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University, author of over 25 books on subjects ranging from Western esotericism, magic, Christian Theosophy, ancient mystery schools, and more. In this episode we discuss Arthur’s 2015 book, ‘American Gurus’ and trace the uniquely American cultural and philosophical factors that lead to the prevalence of independent spiritual teachers such as Adi Da, Andrew Cohen, and Ken Wilber. Arthur argues that a philosophy he calls immediatism is the key cultural force and traces its origins from Plato to Emerson to the 60s counter-culture and beyond. Arthur recounts personal meetings with figures such as Stephen Gaskins, Bill Ayers, and Bernadette Roberts as well as reflecting on his own affiliation with Tibetan Buddhism as both a practitioner and teacher. Arthur also shares his take on the psychedelic movement, the revolutionary politics of the counter-culture figures, and the essential ingredients of the modern American Guru. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep113-arthur-versluis-phd-2-american-gurus/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:12 - Current writing projects 02:42 - Immediatism and the transcendentalists 08:26 - American individualism and the emphasis n personal mystical experiences 12:14 - Meister Eckart to Bernadette Roberts 14:56 - Adi Da as the avatar of immediatism 19:24 - The psychedelic movement 21:57 - Stephen Gaskin and the counter-culture of the 60s 28:29 - Mysticism and revolutionary politics 40:02 - The confidence of the American gurus 46:53 - Social dynamics and the role of the devotee 58:54 - The charismatic powers of the guru 57:36 - Arthur as a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and teacher 01:03:01 - American Gnosis and writing about heresy 01:04:54 - American influence on Zen and Tibetan Buddhism … Previous episode with Dr Arthur Versluis: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep106-arthur-versluis-phd-conversations-in-apocalyptic-times/ … To find out more about Dr Arthur Versluis, visit: - https://arthurversluis.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com … Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
17 Sep 20211h 19min
Ep112: Relaxing into Nibbana - Bhante Vimalaramsi
In this interview I am joined by Bhante Vimalaramsi: author, American Buddhist monk, and abbot of the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Annapolis, Missouri. In this episode Bhante Vimalaramsi describes how twenty years of dedicated practice of Mahasi-style vipassana meditation left him unsatisfied and how discarding that method and learning to relax and smile unlocked the spiritual path. Bhante describes how his current teaching approach, based not on Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga but on Vimalaramsi’s interpretation of the earlier Buddhist scriptures, sees anything from 25% to 50% of his students attain nibbana in a single 10-day retreat. Bhante Vimalaramsi also details the four path model of enlightenment found in the Theravada schools, and claims that his advanced students experience a permanent cessation of sexual activity and the ability to meditate for up to 7 days without breathing or heart beat. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep112-bhante-vimalaramsi-relaxing-into-nibbana/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … 00:00 - Intro 01:05 - Krishnamurti and Ram Dass 02:30 - Beginnings in Mahasi-style vipassana meditation 07:55 - Attending to U Sīlānanda and ordaining in Thailand 09:56 - Dissatisfaction with the Mahasi method 13:49 - Learning to relax and discarding the Visuddhimagga 32:05 - 50% of students attain stream entry in Bhante’s 10-day retreats in Asia 37:10 - How to handle hinderances 44:59 - Defining ‘mindfulness’ 46:39 - The importance of having fun 52:41 - 25-30% of students attain nibbana in Bhante’s 10-day retreats in America 54:37 - How to become enlightened 59:38 - Overcoming anxiety and PTSD 01:03:58 - Effects of becoming a stream enterer, sakadāgāmin, anāgāmi, and arahant 01:09:30 - Dipa Ma and other anagamis can sit for up to 7 days without breathing … To find our more about Bhante Vimalaramsi, visit: - https://www.dhammasukha.org/ … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com … Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
10 Sep 20211h 15min
Ep111: Secret Drugs of Buddhism - Mike Crowley
In this interview I am joined by Mike Crowley, Buddhist Lama, musician/composer, and author of ’Secret Drugs of Buddhism: Psychedelic Sacraments and the Origins of the Vajrayana’. We learn about Mike’s childhood as the son of a psychopath, and his extensive experimentation with all manner of drugs and psychoactive substances. Mike recalls his encounters with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and his 7 year apprenticeship with Lama Yungdrung which eventually resulted in Mike becoming a lama himself. Mike reveals details of his training and experiences practicing the yogas of Naropa including dream yoga, tummo, and more. Mike lays out his argument that psychedelic sacrament was an essential part of Buddhist Vajrayana, discussing symbolism in sacred art, references in hagiographical accounts, and artefacts of psychedelic use in modern practice forms. Mike also discusses how to transform negative emotion into wisdom, and compares Taoist inner alchemy to the inner yogas of Tibet. … Video version at: https://www.guruviking.com/ep111-mike-crowley-secret-drugs-of-buddhism/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 01:05 - Upcoming books and memoirs 05:17 - Growing up with a psychopathic father 07:45 - Extensive drug and psychedelic experimentation 09:52 - A life-changing vision of Indra’s net 14:53 - Mike’s understanding of the fifth precept 18:41 - Meeting Chogyam Trungpa and studying with Lama Yungdrung 21:37 - Hippy vs vajrayana psychedelic use 25:12 - Drug use in Buddhism 34:34 - 7 year training apprenticeship with Lama Yungdrung and becoming a lama 45:22 - Tummo, dream yoga, and the 6 Yogas of Naropa 56:16 - Learning Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese 01:01:47 - Tummo and pranayama as psychedelic substitutes? 01:07:18 - Longchenpa’s psychedelic ganacharka 01:10:13 - Tantric deities emerging from psychedelic experience 01:27:45 - To those who doubt the use of psychedelics in Buddhism 01:32:37 - Implications for vajrayana practitioners who have been practicing without psychedelics 01:35:39 - Transforming negative emotions into wisdom energy 01:42:07 - Taoist drugs, and comparing Taoist alchemy with Tibetan inner yogas 01:53:24 - Mike demonstrates some of his musical instruments … Buy ‘Secret Drugs of Buddhism’: - https://synergeticpress.com/catalog/secret-drugs-of-buddhism-psychedelic-sacraments-and-the-origins-of-the-vajrayana/ To find our more about Mike, visit: - http://amritadzong.com/AD_LamaMike.html - https://www.facebook.com/SecretDrugs/ … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
3 Sep 20211h 55min
Ep110: Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation - Leigh Brasington, Shinzen Young, Fasano, & Dr Sanguinetti
In this episode special guest Leigh Brasington, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of ‘Right Concentration, A Practical Guide to the Jhanas’, joins the ongoing conversation featuring: - Shinzen Young, meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant - Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience student, - Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Assistant Director for the Center for Consciousness Studies and Research Professor at the University of New Mexico In this episode Leigh shares his work with jhana meditation and neuroscience, summarising his 2013 paper ‘Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation’ and showing his brain scans in profound states of samadhi. Dr Sanguinetti offers his own interpretation of Leigh’s scans, and Chelsey asks why mystics report states of nothingness as so much more satisfying than the mundane pleasures associated with the reward systems of the brain. Listen in as Shinzen and Leigh, old friends with decades of elite-level meditation experience, engage in far reaching discussions of samadhi, , the nature of spiritual insights, deathlessness vs immortality, bliss and the cosmic leela, and what foundational math debates about set vs category have to say about Buddhist notions of paticca-samuppada. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep110-case-study-of-ecstatic-meditation-leigh-brasington-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-dr-sanguinetti/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 01:22 - Leigh overviews his work in jhana meditation and neuroscience 06:10 - Leigh’s brain scans in jhana states 10:26 - What are the jhanas? 15:32 - Dr Sanguinetti comments on Leigh’s brain scans 17:50 - Samadhi and the positive feedback loop 26:53 - Shinzen and Leigh on foundational math, set vs category, and paticca-samuppada 39:42 - Why is no-self so fulfilling? 47:00 - Shinzen and Leigh on death 54:07 - Jhanas are just the warm-up 01:00:01 - What are spiritual insights and why are they so rewarding? 01:08:29 - Dr Sanguinetti comments on nested levels and jhana practice protocol 01:16:30 - Retraining the default mode to nothingness 01:22:34 - A test of spiritual liberation and sensory deprivation hallucination 01:33:19 - Attention both amplifies and inhibits 01:35:37 - ‘The Emperor’s New Mind’ 01:38:37 - SODAPI 01:40:59 - Bliss and the Cosmic Leela 01:50:47 - Three Gates of Liberation 01:55:31 - Immortality project vs deathlessness … Previous episodes in this series: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep72-shinzen-young-and-chelsey-fasano-tantra-neuroscience-and-true-enlightenment/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep76-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-2-the-science-of-enlightenment/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep81-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-3-orgasm-epilepsy-mystical-experience/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep86-bliss-enlightenment-fristonian-physics-feat-chelsey-fasano-shinzen-young-dr-jay-sanguinetti/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep94-the-enlightenment-button-feat-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-dr-jay-sanguinetti/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep103-dopamine-meditation-fibonacci-feat-shinzen-young-chelsey-fasano-dr-jay-sanguinetti/ To find out more about Leigh, visit, - https://www.guruviking.com/ep18-leigh-brasington-guru-viking-interviews/ - http://www.leighb.com/ - Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation: fMRI and EEG Evidence of Self-Stimulating a Reward System - https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2013/653572/ To find out more about Shinzen, visit: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep37-shinzen-young-pandemic-edition-guru-viking-podcast/ - www.shinzen.org To find out more about Chelsey, visit: - www.chelseyfasano.com To find our more about Dr Sanguinetti, visit: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep102-dr-jay-sanguinetti-cults-science-the-dalai-lama/ - https://www.jaysanguinetti.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
26 Aug 20212h 4min
Ep109: Choose Your Yidam - Lama Glenn Mullin
In this interview I am once again joined by Tibetologist, author, and Tantric Buddhist Lama Glenn Mullin. Glenn takes a deep dive into the use of yidam, or meditation deities, in Buddhist tantra including the role of personal preference, karmic coincidence, and divination in choosing the right yidam for you. Glenn reveals his own primary yidam practice and details the unusual experiences around his initiation as well the effects of the yidam practice over his lifetime. Glenn also explains the use of ritual instruments, mudra, and choreographed hand gestures in Tantric practice, and discusses what it means to become an accomplished practitioner of these disciplines. … Full episode link in bio. Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:47 - How to choose a practice deity 11:54 - How to determine your karmic dispositions and tales of empowerments 18:13 - Divination and karmic coincidence 24:57 - Effects of Yamantaka tantric practice on Glenn 44:42 - What is a yidam really? 54:10 - What does it mean accomplish a practice? 01:02:23 - Tantric use of ritual instruments, mudra, and choreographed hand gestures 01:26:04 - Founding ‘The Mystical Arts of Tibet’ touring group … Previous Glenn Mullin episodes: - https://www.guruviking.com/?s=glenn+mullin Buy ‘The Dalai Lamas on Tantra’: - https://www.shambhala.com/from-the-heart-of-chenrezig-2783.html To find our more about Glenn, visit: - http://www.glennmullin.com/ - https://www.facebook.com/Maitripa.Glenn … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
20 Aug 20211h 42min
Ep108: From Tolkien to Tibet - Erik Jampa Andersson
In this episode I am joined by Erik Jampa Andersson, a teacher of Tibetan medicine, astrology, and meditation endorsed by luminaries of the field such as Dr Nida Chenagtsang and Lama Tsultrim Allione. Erik recounts how childhood tragedy and an early interest in the occult saw him deeply influenced by the works of J.R.R Tolkien, and to eventually become a Buddhist in the Nyingma lineage of Tibet. Erik reveals his personal journey in resolving friction points with the Buddhist religion, including doctrines of hell realms and heteronormative ethical standards. Erik also discusses his education in Tibetan medicine, and shares his deep interest in and personal experience of the realm of spirits and unseen beings, both as mythic devices and also as influences in mental health and physical disease. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep108-erik-jampa-andersson-from-tolkien-to-tibet/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:28 - Childhood interest in the occult 04:39 - From Tolkien to Tibetan Buddhism 11:15 - Becoming a student of Lama Tsultrim Allione 13:12 - Attraction to Tibetan Buddhism 17:37 - Christian vs Buddhist ethics 20:51 - Frictions points with Buddhism 26:09 - Homosexuality and Buddhism 40:39 - Queer liberation and religious marginalisation 48:15 - S3xual ethics and Buddhism 50:52 - The myth of Padmasambhava 55:13 - From acting to Tibetan medical studies 01:01:36 - Modern vs traditional education styles 01:09:13 - Cultural and medical exchange in antiquity 01:17:47 - Erik’s work on unseen beings and spirit provocations 01:28:17 - Endorsed by Lama Tsultrim Allione and Dr Nida Chenagtsang 01:32:57 - Becoming a professional astrologer 01:47:26 - Personal entity encounters 01:53:33 - Experiments with states of high concentration and plant medicines 02:03:20 - The genius of Tolkien 02:17:02 - Erik’s upcoming book on rational animism 02:27:09 - Contacting Erik … To find out more about Erik Jampa Andersson, visit: - https://www.shrimala.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
13 Aug 20212h 28min
Steve James interviewed on 'Engaging the Phenomenon'
I was recently interviewed by James Iandoli at 'Engaging the Phenomenon', where we discussed meditation, psychic powers, and UFOs 👽 00:00 - Who is Steve? 02:10 - Why ‘Guru Viking’? 05:05 - Becoming interested in meditation 07:52 - Contemplative Christianity 10:13 - UFOs 18:08 - Close encounters as catalysts for awakening 21:58 - Siddhi and psychic experiences 34:15 - CE5 and contacting entities 48:27 - Meditation, perennialism, and being fun at parties 58:59 - Advice when starting meditation Check out James Iandoli's 'Engaging the Phenomenon' podcast at: - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnFc2oM4A60NcG0LCjKoH8g Find out more about Steve and the 'Guru Viking Podcast' at: - www.guruviking.com
10 Aug 20211h 5min
Ep107: Zen’s True Miracle - Henry Shukman 2
In this episode I am once again joined by Henry Shukman, award-winning poet, Zen teacher, and author of ‘One Blade of Grass; a Zen memoir’. In this interview Henry reveals what he calls Zen’s true miracle, and shares his own personal journey of healing childhood trauma in the context of spiritual awakening and integration of enlightenment. Henry also explores the two purposes of Zen koan training, contrasts different models of enlightenment, and explains how to awaken in the midst of intense suffering and pain. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep107-henry-shukman-2-zens-true-miracle/ Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:36 - Endorsed by Dr Rick Hanson 01:25 - Evolving definitions of trauma 05:16 - Cold War espionage and Henry’s infant trauma 08:18 - Profound insights from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 10:43 - Exploring Jungian dream work 17:36 - Can one be enlightened and traumatised? 21:08 - Integration and the Heart Sutra 29:46 - Asymptote of enlightenment vs ‘just this’ 37:04 - Awakening in extreme trauma 40:40 - The two purposes of koan training 49:19 - Extraordinary states of mind vs ordinary reality 57:40 - Addendum: The true miracle of Zen … Previous episode with Henry Shukman: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep101-henry-shukman-one-blade-of-grass/ To find out more about Henry Shukman, visit: - https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/henry-shukman/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James …
6 Aug 20211h 10min
