Mindrolling With Raghu Markus

Ram Dass talks with the Mindrollers about NDE, the safety of death, light beings, the Soul Pod, the Tibetan Book of the Dead…and G-d’s extensive wardrobe. He ends with describing his joy at witnessing the awakenings of so many people he has influenced. Episode Outline: • Ram Dass’ Impression of the NDE - We are ushered into the perspective of the Soul, and encounter other ‘light beings’ that seek to understand our connection to our previous incarnation. These beings are our ‘Soul Land Companions’ • From Ego to Soul - When we operate at the Soul level, our perception shifts into a heightened state of compassionate awareness • The Soul comes directly from God - The Atman (the One) is in everything. We move from Ego, to Soul, to the One - from that place of awareness, we are all indistinguishable • The Soulpod Satsang • The Unifying Bond of the ‘Soul Complex’ (The Undying Soul) • Drop, Become, Merge - Moving out of the perceptual mind and into the ocean of Love • ‘Death is Safe’ - Approaching death, without bein

Our guest is teacher David Wagner, and we talk with him about cultivating versatile wisdom, the role of psychedelics in finding a path, trauma as gateway, and, once again, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. This podcast fuses practical living and spiritual aspiration, with an unpretentious dude, always looking for ways to help, leaving his pride at the door, traveling on the inner plane both on and off his Harley...

Is positive thinking always positive? Conversely, do we repeatedly talk ourselves into a nasty, negative self-image? R & D drill deep into some new - and scientific - views on all this mental manipulation. And how does mindfulness affect our ability to ameliorate how we think and behave? Along with this, Raghu waxes all medical and recommends a book to improve our gut feeling about…our gut.

Jack Carroll is a 16 year old comedian/seeker who has had outstanding media success in Britain. He happens to have cerebral palsy, but you would be hard put to find a young dude who is more cerebrally on top of things than Jack. We talk about comedy, Hare Krishna, Russell Brand, Bob Marley, kindness and madness - and personal inner peace.

Imbibe seven intoxicating tracks from the Triloka Trance Planet series. This should result in a rapid rebooting of your consciousness, where the magic music takes over and the blues fade away. With commentary by R & D, this episode should take you to the heights of your head and the depths of your heart. These potent sounds go from pure folkloric to totally out there fusion…travel with the trancers and enjoy!

It’s all about the present of the present. Alan Watts on the “constantly retreating phantom” of the future... Ram Dass banishing methods/techniques if they are a trap to “end up free” - loving and living our exact present - one of the big big clues to happiness. Oh, and Raghu introduces the medical miracle of poop transplants.

Do G-d and science have a problem with each other, seriously? What are “non overlapping magisteria”? What is the true power of friendship? R & D ramble through very different realms of reality, ending in the great vibe of merely mentioning Nirvikalpa Samadhi…

Mining the inner vigilance to stop your world and reset…meditation on ugliness…harming the self-cherishing mind…the transparent karma, the mysterious karma…all this as the second part of our take on the Dalai’s Lama’s thought transformation commentary plus a little Leonard Cohen music.

His Holiness’s ”Commentary On The Verses Of Thought Transformation” is our podcast 79 stimulus, where we explore the dangers of self-cherishing, the wisdom of the witness, the cunning of the ego-mind, the temptation of anger addiction, the glory of loving awareness, ending in a sublime George Harrison song. We - Raghu & David & Rachael & Noah & Nathan (the team) - love this podcast, possibly at the risk of subtle self-cherishing!

How do we neutralize the annoying and damaging inner judge? Relentlessly parsing other people’s words and worth is, simply put, really unhealthy and besides hurting other people, it upsets profoundly your own balancing act of living life. Within this mix, R&D also chat about India, William F. Buckley Jr. and the hidden treasures of Padmasambhava...

Roshi Joan honors us with her wisdom and illuminated presence. She gets into the need for authentic daily practice and avoidance of the quick fix...dealing with moral distress...actualized compassion and retaining buoyancy in a difficult world...Thich Nhat Hanh and Alan Watts's influence...working with the great folklorist, Alan Lomax...bodhicitta and the awakened heart - a lot to chew upon

Bruce Margolin, America's leading lawyer fighting unjust pot laws, talks about the whole spectrum of marijuana legal insanity, plus the racist, xenophobic origins of the "reefer madness" myth making. Plus we talk about a miraculous cannabis oil toddler's recovery. Laws are easing, but Bruce lets us know how the prejudice and ignorance continues, despite the overwhelmingly benign results of sensible pot usage, sensorium pot smoking.

We tackle how to be happy, how to find equanimity within suffering...tough stuff...the mega ironies of the pleasure/desire chase..."love people, use things"...the strange fact that happiness and unhappiness are not actually opposites...death the leveler and finally "Dying" stores in strip malls - "Be Dead Now"...still, this is a happy podcast from two "cheerful melancholics."

When someone says “I’m spiritual not religious” what does that mean? How important is mysticism in spirituality? R & D roll this around, along with cheaper solar, no hating, Jesus as yogi, and the angel on 5th and 42nd…

Stream of consciousness about…consciousness. Its abiding continuity behind and throughout “ordinary trauma"…its persistent existence beyond karma...its ultimately redemptive resonance. And what does it mean to see our body as merely a “rented house”? Also, R&D insist on knowing nothing once again.

R & D with Jamie Catto, film-maker best known for his iconic “One Giant Leap” global consciousness film. We enter into exploration of JC’s transformative films, workshops and lifestyle, which we trust will move listeners to check out his movies, so they too can create for themselves a quantum leap of awareness. Compelling conversation, definite food for thought...

Tami Simon’s amazing company, Sounds True, has gathered and published for all of us a treasure trove of teachings – spoken word, music, more…so we just had to talk to her. Her mission, without pretension, was always to “disseminate spiritual wisdom.” Tami’s teachers and catalysts affected her as if she were “being held by an unlimited field of awe and wonder.” We hear her wisdom regarding ambiguity, so-called broken-ness and the constant conversation on the inner plane. Tami is a rare example of mindful private enterprise, passionate about relaying knowledge and inward grasp to everyone.

Potent, beautiful perspectives brought about by shattering epiphanies out of the blue - R & D get into this with chat ranging from the edge of awakening caused by everything from a heart attack to a post-concussion Jersey cow. And what is the real difference between acquisitive quid pro quo “love” and pure, unconditional love?

Mirabai Starr speaks truth from profound personal experience, her dark night of the soul – as well as kindly communicating to us the curative possibilities of transformation via grief. It’s just so special to hear her visions and interpretations of amazing mystics as well as her lucid articulation of the Oneness of all authentic spiritual paths. Mirabai’s transcendent work and perspective is a healing in itself. Meeting Mirabai’s heart and soul is like drinking cool, clear water in the flame of the hot desert.

Should Hedge Funders find their edge through meditation? Is it OK for killers to practice mindfulness? R & D get into that plus Mr. Rogers, the Quaker Oats man, the fine art of eye contact, Maria Shriver, martial arts and the Gita. Good luck.