Mindrolling With Raghu Markus

Uber useful conversation with wisdom writer Sylvia Boorstein: her clear and helpful grasp of present-ness… her words on true mindfulness cut with goodwill…her thoughts on thoughts, seeing them as always potentially co-operative and not so bad after all.  Making friends with the present is just that, even if it startles you, “relax, take a rest, calm down” – R & D listen, interrupt, and have a fine time with Sylvia…

Gelek Rimpoche is our honored guest.  A reincarnated tulku, a lucid and unpretentious disperser of essential knowledge, Gelek is a treasured being we are so lucky to have in the U.S.  Because of the ruthless Chinese invasion, Gelek was forced to leave his beloved homeland in 1959.  Tibet’s tragedy became our great fortune.  Hear what he has to say about wiping out negative emotions and achieving equanimity.  His honest-to-the-bone words about his own basic humanity is a balm for all of us.  Rimpoche shares his own Allen Ginsberg stories with David, who was also a friend of the legendary poet/kind soul.  The Mindrollers are so pleased to present this famed and revered Rimpoche, a sacred yet approachable transformative being, there for all of us.  

The Mindrollers with Duncan Trussell and Noah Lampert host our panel guests from our Indiegogo event. Brian, Brian and George. We get an idea of their awakening triggers, pretty heavy ones at that- and they shine a light on the importance of intention. We all talk about practice and how difficult it is to motivate daily unless you are really up against the wall! Duncan admits to his fall down on learning the Hanuman Chaleesa when he can’t even remember his phone number. David regales us with sacred chants - Raghu relates his story of doubt - And finally Duncan pulls out his trusty Bible and leads us in a Bible study group.

Forgiveness wisdom from George Pitagorsky (Balaram) who demonstrates the huge upside of being able to authentically forgive, and how forgiving often benefits the forgiver maybe even more than the forgiven. Is it weakness for a Holocaust victim to embrace one of her tormentors? Wasn’t it incredible for the afflicted Charleston families to espouse forgiveness immediately? George, via both Dzogchen (Great Perfection) and common sense, helps to heal the hating …David apologizes for getting ridiculously irate about a lost bottle top, along with Raghu lamenting his legendary impatience…

R&D travel down diverse roads to happiness, encountering on the way 50 years since Dylan’s Newport electric war cries; Aristotle’s eudaimonia; Jefferson’s iconic requisite declaration; the crazy off-ramp into consumerism and “the cycle of escalating desire”; Andy Puddicombe’s mega mindfulness app; Google’s Chade-Meng Tan…and the rewards of real seva. Check this out, Pharrell…

Raghu and David bring up a very timely topic - prison reform. BJ Wasserman and Jared “Gagan” Levy discuss Inside Circle, a nonprofit organization that helps prisoners and parolees heal from the inside. We talk about “operational transformation” of men in Folsom prison as a model for the entire prison system. Robert Allbee, founder of Inside Circle, created a concept for the word “spirit” or “God” which the Dagara tribe in Africa call “Yielbongura” - “The thing that Knowledge can’t eat.” This phrase sums up the spiritual core from which Inside Circle operates. Where are you imprisoned in your life? The process that the prisoners go through in revealing their deep authentic truths create an atmosphere of trust that is dramatically changing the static model of prison reform.

Can we learn to become a Bodhisattava, and what is a Bodhisattva, for G-d’s sake? Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s simple yet brilliant instructions on this path of treating everyone as your “guest”…plus chat about meditating away the neurotic “escape routes” polluting our inner calm, and reactions from both Raghu M. and Ramana M. about being attacked by angry hornets. Finally, David’s thoughts on an irate Facebook comment putting down the ancient sentiment “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle”…

Mindrolling through the toll of role playing; the dark art of Trumpism; the Rolling Stones revisited; the Karmapa chanting; spiritual practice as heart/mind rehearsal; the dis-ease of the wandering mind; the magic of Biocentrism & intelligence preceding matter; the amazing Swiffer...plus thoughts on suicide’s sides, Jimmy Carter’s lust in the heart, and the generosity of our listeners…listen…

Thupten Jinpa, HH The Dalai Lama’s English translator, is our truly honored guest. Anyone who has been present at any one of His Holiness’s live events knows how vibrant and deep Jinpa’s translations always are. Jinpa’s new book, “A Fearless Heart: How The Courage To Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives” totally knocked out the Mindrollers, and we are so very pleased to visit with him on the podcast. Just check out Jinpa’s markedly unpretentious yet potent teachings on the real nature of compassion.

Raghu and Duncan Trussell have a relaxed hang out with Roshi Joan Halifax, Abbot of Upaya Zen Center. They discuss Roshi’s involvement and history with Nepal, and the recent work she’s done there related to the earthquake. Then they have a lively back and forth around the dualistic Bhakti tradition vs. the sublime Zen tradition. Roshi gives credit to what she calls “the juicy love”…

Mindrollers’ Miscellany: 5 sagacious slogans to straighten you out at work and play …fetishization of mindfulness…Evan Thompson’s rap about “the mind is not the brain”…”making up people” (ergo reducing people)…”are we kinder, better, more compassionate after decades of teachings?”…walking in the woods along with the witness…and Pico Iyer’s “The Art of Stillness" – right, a jam-packed podcast!

Teal Swan – young psychic intuitive and spiritual mentor - graces us with her vibrant awareness and startling insights. Teal is the real deal, an authentic wisdom channel, motivated by altruism, sharing her preternatural yet totally penetrating - and ultimately useful - knowledge. Coming out of youthful severe suffering, her ways of looking at the world truly move the Mindrollers and explicate what she calls the current global “emotional epidemic” – don’t miss Teal’s world view and her thoughts on neglect, marijuana, love – she is as clear as a bell…

Mindful comedian Pete Holmes is our effervescent guest and he talks about...everything, including diametrically opposing views on G-d from two of his podcast guests, Deepak Chopra and Oasis’s Noel Gallagher. His rap about the dangers of Google is funny and profound, his love for Ram Dass and Joseph Campbell tells us where his head is at, and his statement “Leave the transcendent where it belongs – the transcendent” left us laughing and thoughtful…

The Mindrollers examine the Upper East Side Rich Wives Tribe and its rituals…banishing boredom via the cultivation of the awesome…puzzlement at the rise of the selfish…David Brooks's words on spiritual capital…and swooning over the 16th and 17th Karmapas.

Raghu misses Dave - Raghu and Duncan discuss the reality of the physical Guru vs the non - Duncan tells his sighting of Maharaji down by the river- Jared talks Gyan (intellect) yoga and Saraswati counters with Bhakti (heart) yoga- and can we measure the inner world through imagination? Duncan has the last word on the energy behind the thing we call Maharaji.

The shock of recognition is a phenomenon that can manifest in a teacher’s spoken wise words or a written mindblower or a magical musical moment. We talk through a great Anais Nin paragraph and a Krishna Das sound bite that illuminate this. Plus, what is the difference between reality and pretense in a vision, an icon, or the apparent sudden 3D appearance of a deity? Does so-called objective, provable truth matter if you are inarguably elevated or awakened?

Duncan & The Mindrollers evict pollution-people from the brain, searching for authentic cadences and benign radiations. Plus Duncan rants rationally about self-reliance and the illusions of governance. David recalls almost becoming a right-wing speechwriter and Raghu delights in meeting not one, but two Karmapas, #’s 16 & 17, who seemed to be the same soul. The intense reality of intimate connections, within the oneness of being, begin and end the podcast.

David and Raghu introduce a third generation military man- a marine who had a major transformation from PTSD - and re-integrated his trauma through the psychedelic experience. What followed was overwhelming compassion and a direct line to Eastern Mysticism, Ram Dass and the great Buddhist masters. As Ryan says about his healing- “ It sure feels good, on this journey, to stop on the road, drop our packs and break bread with our brothers and sisters”.

R&D introduce Bernadine - the newest member of the Mindrolling team… new End of the World situation with Indiana and the Chem trails conspiracy… Karmapa the 17th - at 29 years old yet 1800 years old really - talks to Harvard about LGBT rights, race relations and the environment. And is meditation an obsession of the middle class? As a special treat, Raghu and David read from the sublime poetry of Steven Levine.