Kati Devaney

Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and Executive Director of the Alembic, Kati Devaney about meditation, the neuroscience of meditation, predictive processing, the wonder of travel, psychedelics, and more.Kathryn Devaney, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and meditation practitioner, with over 20 years of meditation experience. Kati earned her PhD in 2018, using fMRI to examine attention and default mode network function in experienced Vipassana meditators. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Kati moved to Berkeley CA to start The Berkeley Alembic Foundation with Michael Taft and Erik Davis. Kati is currently the Executive Director of The Alembic, the Chief Science Officer of Jhourney.io, and a researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and Executive Director of the Alembic, Kati Devaney about meditation, the neuroscience of meditation, predictive processing, the wonder of travel, psychedelics, and more.Kathryn Devaney, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and meditation practitioner, with over 20 years of meditation experience. Kati earned her PhD in 2018, using fMRI to examine attention and default mode network function in experienced Vipassana meditators. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Kati moved to Berkeley CA to start <a href="http://berkeleyalembic.org" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Berkeley Alembic Foundation</a> with Michael Taft and Erik Davis. Kati is currently the Executive Director of The Alembic, the Chief Science Officer of <a href="http://Jhourney.io" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jhourney.io</a>, and a researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://patreon.com/michaeltaft?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&amp;utm_source=copyLink&amp;utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&amp;utm_content=join_link" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

A Conversation with Kati Devaney

Jake Orthwein

Your host Michael Taft is interviewed by Jake Orthwein about the various kinds of nonduality, the difference between monoism and nondualism, fundamental confusions about nondual practice, the major contrast between the transcendence-orientation of dualistic religions and the world-engagement of nondual religions, as well as the crucial distinction between the two main types of nonduality.Jake Orthwein is a filmmaker based in Santa Monica, CA, and a dharma student of mine. You may have seen his Youtube video entitled, “How Politics Became Pro Wrestling,” and he is currently working on a series of films surrounding meditation, psychedelics, and predictive processing. Jake Orthwein on TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Your host Michael Taft is interviewed by Jake Orthwein about the various kinds of nonduality, the difference between monoism and nondualism, fundamental confusions about nondual practice, the major contrast between the transcendence-orientation of dualistic religions and the world-engagement of nondual religions, as well as the crucial distinction between the two main types of nonduality.Jake Orthwein is a filmmaker based in Santa Monica, CA, and a dharma student of mine. You may have seen his Youtube video entitled, “How Politics Became Pro Wrestling,” and he is currently working on a series of films surrounding meditation, psychedelics, and predictive processing. <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeOrthwein" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Jake Orthwein on Twitter</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

A Few Stray Points about Nonduality with Jake Orthwein

Christopher Wallis

Join host Michael Taft as he talks with Tantrik scholar and practitioner Christopher Wallis about the tradition of Nondual Shaiva Tantra, the full void pregnant with possibilities, savoring the transcendent in every sensual experience, the differences between Nondual Shaiva Tantra and Advaita Vedanta, the origins of Tantra and Vajrayana, sublime beauty, aesthetic rapture, and much more.Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen, and received education at yoga āshrams, both in India and the West. He holds several degrees including an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley. Hareesh is the author of Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, and of The Recognition Sutras, a translation and commentary on a 1000-year-old masterpiece on experiential recognition of oneself as a direct expression of universal divine Consciousness.Hareesh. orgYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join host Michael Taft as he talks with Tantrik scholar and practitioner Christopher Wallis about the tradition of Nondual Shaiva Tantra, the full void pregnant with possibilities, savoring the transcendent in every sensual experience, the differences between Nondual Shaiva Tantra and Advaita Vedanta, the origins of Tantra and Vajrayana, sublime beauty, aesthetic rapture, and much more.Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen, and received education at yoga āshrams, both in India and the West. He holds several degrees including an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley. Hareesh is the author of Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, and of The Recognition Sutras, a translation and commentary on a 1000-year-old masterpiece on experiential recognition of oneself as a direct expression of universal divine Consciousness.<a href="https://hareesh.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Hareesh. org</a>You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Exploring Nondual Shaiva Tantra with Christopher Wallis

Ken McLeod

Join host Michael Taft as he continues his talk with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken’s new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, and issues around receiving initiations and empowerments, the experiential component, aspects of White Tara and Mahakala practices, the power of mystical poetry, and the future of Vajrayana in the West.Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his new book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join host Michael Taft as he continues his talk with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken’s new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, and issues around receiving initiations and empowerments, the experiential component, aspects of White Tara and Mahakala practices, the power of mystical poetry, and the future of Vajrayana in the West.Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established <a href="https://unfetteredmind.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Unfettered Mind</a>, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his new book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

The Magic of Vajrayana Part 2 with Ken McLeod

Join host Michael Taft as he talks with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken's new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, particularly the tripartite practice structure of guru, deity, and protector in Tibetan Buddhism.Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his new book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana. You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join host Michael Taft as he talks with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken's new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, particularly the tripartite practice structure of guru, deity, and protector in Tibetan Buddhism.Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche’s center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher’s death in 1989, Ken established <a href="https://unfetteredmind.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Unfettered Mind</a>, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his new book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana. You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through <a href="http://patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

The Magic of Vajrayana with Ken McLeod

Shamil Chandaria

Host Michael Taft talks with philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and meditator Dr. Shamil Chandaria about predictive processing as it relates to meditation, our phenomenal self model, recognizing our own fabrication hierarchy, replacing our top level priors as a way to understand nondual enlightenment, and much more.Dr Shamil Chandaria OBE is a philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and academic with multi-disciplinary research interests spanning computational neuroscience, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and the philosophy and science of human well-being. His PhD, from the London School of Economics, was in mathematical modelling of economic systems using stochastic differential equations and optimal control theory. Later he completed an MA in Philosophy, with Distinction, from University College London where he developed an interest in philosophy of science and philosophical issues in biology, neuroscience, and ethics. In 2018 Dr. Chandaria helped to endow the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University, an interdisciplinary research institute focusing on the most important issues facing humanity. In 2019 he was a founder of the Centre for Psychedelic Research, in the department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, a neuroscience research institute investigating psychedelic therapies for a number of conditions including treatment resistant depression. He is also funding research on the neuroscience of meditation at Harvard University and Berkeley, University of California.In 2022 Dr Chandaria was awarded a British OBE for services to Science and Technology, Finance and Philanthropy. He is also a long-term meditation practitioner. The Bayesian Brain and Meditation Lecture, by Shamil ChandariaYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft talks with philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and meditator Dr. Shamil Chandaria about predictive processing as it relates to meditation, our phenomenal self model, recognizing our own fabrication hierarchy, replacing our top level priors as a way to understand nondual enlightenment, and much more.Dr Shamil Chandaria OBE is a philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and academic with multi-disciplinary research interests spanning computational neuroscience, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and the philosophy and science of human well-being. His PhD, from the London School of Economics, was in mathematical modelling of economic systems using stochastic differential equations and optimal control theory. Later he completed an MA in Philosophy, with Distinction, from University College London where he developed an interest in philosophy of science and philosophical issues in biology, neuroscience, and ethics. In 2018 Dr. Chandaria helped to endow the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University, an interdisciplinary research institute focusing on the most important issues facing humanity. In 2019 he was a founder of the Centre for Psychedelic Research, in the department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, a neuroscience research institute investigating psychedelic therapies for a number of conditions including treatment resistant depression. He is also funding research on the neuroscience of meditation at Harvard University and Berkeley, University of California.In 2022 Dr Chandaria was awarded a British OBE for services to Science and Technology, Finance and Philanthropy. He is also a long-term meditation practitioner. <a href="https://youtu.be/Eg3cQXf4zSE" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Bayesian Brain and Meditation Lecture, by Shamil Chandaria</a>You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through <a href="http://patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Meditation and the Bayesian Brain with Shamil Chandaria

John Vervaeke

Host Michael Taft speaks with professor John Vervaeke about relevance realization—the process by which we decide what matters in any given situation—and its application to meditation, how we gain an increased sense of meaning in life, and why there is no panacea in practice. John also answers the question: what is a wise person? John Vervaeke is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto in Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Buddhist Psychology. His areas of interest include wisdom, mindfulness, meditation, relevance realization, general intelligence, rationality. He is the author of the Youtube series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis and co-author of Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st Century Crisis.You can learn more about John’s work at: https://www.youtube.com/user/johnvervaekeYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft speaks with professor John Vervaeke about relevance realization—the process by which we decide what matters in any given situation—and its application to meditation, how we gain an increased sense of meaning in life, and why there is no panacea in practice. John also answers the question: what is a wise person? John Vervaeke is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto in Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Buddhist Psychology. His areas of interest include wisdom, mindfulness, meditation, relevance realization, general intelligence, rationality. He is the author of the Youtube series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis and co-author of Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st Century Crisis.You can learn more about John’s work at: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/johnvervaeke" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/user/johnvervaeke</a> You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through <a href="https://patreon.com/michaeltaf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

John Vervaeke on Relevance Realization

Rosa Lewis

In this episode, host Michael Taft talks with Rosa Lewis about spirituality, creativity, working with trauma, embracing the darkness, the inner critic, the power of meditation, and more.Rosa Lewis is a mystic and a meditation teacher. Her teaching combines Buddhist emptiness, shadow work, tantric embodiment, the archetypal realm, mysticism and a radically new way of relating to heartfulness.Her approach to spirituality involves healing the trauma or embracing the darkness that exists in all of us. She helps people uncover and nourish whatever it is that most wants to come alive in them, in order to create a more joyful presence in the world. You can learn more about Rosa on her website at https://rosalewis.co.uk/You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, host Michael Taft talks with Rosa Lewis about spirituality, creativity, working with trauma, embracing the darkness, the inner critic, the power of meditation, and more.Rosa Lewis is a mystic and a meditation teacher. Her teaching combines Buddhist emptiness, shadow work, tantric embodiment, the archetypal realm, mysticism and a radically new way of relating to heartfulness.Her approach to spirituality involves healing the trauma or embracing the darkness that exists in all of us. She helps people uncover and nourish whatever it is that most wants to come alive in them, in order to create a more joyful presence in the world. You can learn more about Rosa on her website at<a href="https://rosalewis.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> https://rosalewis.co.uk/</a> You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

A Conversation with Rosa Lewis

David McRaney

Host Michael Taft speaks with author, science journalist, and psychology nerd David McRaney about what sorts of conversations actually cause human beings to change their minds; the fascinating on-the-ground research of groups like Street Epistemology and Deep Canvassers,  the stories of people deciding to leave insular in-groups such as the Westboro Baptist church and 9-11 Truthers, the deep neuroscience behind "The Dress" phenomenon, the role of storytelling in human interactions, and much more. David McRaney currently hosts a bi-weekly, top-100 podcast about human judgment and decision-making, and recently created a documentary about IQ and genius and a television show about how to better predict the impact of technological disruption. His most recent book is How Minds Change, about the science, and the experience, of transformation.https://www.davidmcraney.com/You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft speaks with author, science journalist, and psychology nerd David McRaney about what sorts of conversations actually cause human beings to change their minds; the fascinating on-the-ground research of groups like Street Epistemology and Deep Canvassers, the stories of people deciding to leave insular in-groups such as the Westboro Baptist church and 9-11 Truthers, the deep neuroscience behind "The Dress" phenomenon, the role of storytelling in human interactions, and much more. David McRaney currently hosts a bi-weekly, top-100 podcast about human judgment and decision-making, and recently created a documentary about IQ and genius and a television show about how to better predict the impact of technological disruption. His most recent book is How Minds Change, about the science, and the experience, of transformation.<a href="https://www.davidmcraney.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.davidmcraney.com/</a>You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Changing Minds with David McRaney

Guy Sengstock

Host Michael Taft speaks with artist, bodyworker, and philosopher Guy Sengstock about the origin and creation of Circling practice, how the asynchronous qualities of new technologies have created a deeper hunger for basic human contact, the crucial importance of embodiment in communication, mindfulness of presence, as well as the new practice he’s creating with Jon Vervaeke, known as Dia-Logos.Guy Sengstock is the founder and creator of the Circling Method. He has been facilitating transformation for individuals, groups and corporations internationally for more than 20 years. He has a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is the co-founder of The Arête Center for Excellence and the Bay Area Men’s Circle, which is still thriving today. He is an artist, philosopher, poet, body-worker, and visionary.The Circling InstituteContribute to Michael’s Patreon or directly to help fund the creation of more of these podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft speaks with artist, bodyworker, and philosopher Guy Sengstock about the origin and creation of Circling practice, how the asynchronous qualities of new technologies have created a deeper hunger for basic human contact, the crucial importance of embodiment in communication, mindfulness of presence, as well as the new practice he’s creating with Jon Vervaeke, known as Dia-Logos.Guy Sengstock is the founder and creator of the Circling Method. He has been facilitating transformation for individuals, groups and corporations internationally for more than 20 years. He has a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is the co-founder of The Arête Center for Excellence and the Bay Area Men’s Circle, which is still thriving today. He is an artist, philosopher, poet, body-worker, and visionary.<a href="https://circlinginstitute.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Circling Institute</a>Contribute to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Michael’s Patreon</a> or <a href="https://deconstructingyourself.com/support-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">directly</a> to help fund the creation of more of these podcasts.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

A Conversation with Guy Sengstock

Dedicated to liberation in all its forms, Deconstructing Yourself is passionate about fearlessly investigating, attempting, and questioning all things to do with awakening, meditation, mindfulness, brain hacking, consciousness, neurofeedback, and more.Your host Michael W. Taft interviews some of the most interesting thinkers, authors, and teachers around, as well as other offerings. In this hard-hitting, radical, and fun podcast we look at secular post-, non-, un- Buddhism, Vajrayana, nondual Hindu Tantra, philosophy, the neuroscience of the sense of self, neurofeedback and the consciousness hacking movement, aspects of artificial intelligence, entheogens, and much more.If you’re looking for fresh directions, free from dogma and conformism, think of the Deconstructing Yourself podcast as the radical cafe where you can hear from the most interesting luminaries either from the outside edges of dharma, or a fresh take from more traditional teachers. If you’re interested in more, check out the Deconstructing Yourself website at https://deconstructingyourself.com.

The clarity and wisdom of Michael’s podcasts are wonderful.

Clarity

Absolutely Excellent if you are interested in a science based exploration of mindfulness!!

Deconstructing Yourself - Michael Taft

Dedicated to liberation in all its forms, Deconstructing Yourself is passionate about fearlessly investigating, attempting, and questioning all things to do with awakening, meditation, mindfulness, brain hacking, consciousness, neurofeedback, and more.Your host Michael W. Taft interviews some of the most interesting thinkers, authors, and teachers around, as well as other offerings. In this hard-hitting, radical, and fun podcast we look at secular post-, non-, un- Buddhism, Vajrayana, nondual Hindu Tantra, philosophy, the neuroscience of the sense of self, neurofeedback and the consciousness hacking movement, aspects of artificial intelligence, entheogens, and much more.If you’re looking for fresh directions, free from dogma and conformism, think of the Deconstructing Yourself podcast as the radical cafe where you can hear from the most interesting luminaries either from the outside edges of dharma, or a fresh take from more traditional teachers. If you’re interested in more, check out the Deconstructing Yourself website at <a href="https://deconstructingyourself.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://deconstructingyourself.com</a>.

Deconstructing Yourself

Andrew Holecek

Host Michael Taft speaks with Dream Yoga expert Andrew Holecek about how the dream state (and dreamless sleep) can effect meditation practice. Topics include: the fantasy-filling model of lucid dreaming vs. spiritual awakening; dream yoga, sleep yoga, and Bardo yoga; the love of napping, meditation in a dream or in dreamless sleep; reification as the "original sin of Buddhism"; lucid dreaming for meditators; and much more.Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and the art of dying. He is the author of many books, including Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep. Andrew is masterful at joining the wisdom traditions of Asia with the knowledge of the West. He holds degrees in classical music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery. Andrew Holecek's websiteSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft speaks with Dream Yoga expert Andrew Holecek about how the dream state (and dreamless sleep) can effect meditation practice. Topics include: the fantasy-filling model of lucid dreaming vs. spiritual awakening; dream yoga, sleep yoga, and Bardo yoga; the love of napping, meditation in a dream or in dreamless sleep; reification as the "original sin of Buddhism"; lucid dreaming for meditators; and much more.Andrew Holecek has completed the traditional three-year Buddhist meditation retreat and offers seminars internationally on meditation, dream yoga, and the art of dying. He is the author of many books, including Dream Yoga: Illuminating Your Life Through Lucid Dreaming and the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep. Andrew is masterful at joining the wisdom traditions of Asia with the knowledge of the West. He holds degrees in classical music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery. <a href="https://andrewholecek.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Andrew Holecek's website</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

What Does Dreaming Have to Do with Meditation? with Andrew Holecek

PAPER

Meditation teacher Shinzen Young and host Michael W. Taft talk about the relationship between mindfulness practice (as it is usually defined) and nondual-type practices (or non-practices, if you like), the way that focusing on the details of experience relates to focusing on awareness itself, micro-sessions &amp; nano-nirvanas, the thinness and lightness of the screen of awareness and much more. Learn more about Shinzen Young at Shinzen.org.Show Notes0:25 – Intro 4:12 – How does Advaita/Nonduality relate to Mindfulness? 7:45 – Shinzen defines modern mindfulness and the component parts of contemplative practice (concentration, clarity and equanimity) 9:51 – Michael’s simplified working definitions of mindfulness and advaita 10:37 – Shinzen asserts that mindfulness and advaita converge towards the same thing, under his own understanding of mindfulness 16:08 – How to investigate one’s own awareness through mindfulness; Shinzen’s quadrants of practice 20:50 – Appreciation practice (“note everything”) or “regular mindfulness” 22:54 – The arrow of attention 26:31 – Classical mindfulness in the Burmese tradition: penetrative awareness and working with the arrow of attention 31:48 – Outside time and space: what the arrow of attention reveals 34:06 – Shinzen defines primordial awareness in materialist, reductivist terms: the sound that’s not sound 39:15 – Are nondual experiences externally real, or do they reflect only subjective experience? 45:05 – Shinzen’s conjecture: connectivity vs thingness; cones of association 51:38 – By what criterion is connectivity assumed to be fundamental to reality, not only subjectively experienced? 56:55 – How appreciation and self-inquiry practices converge 1:01:01 – Reconciling the fruits of mindfulness and nonduality: differences in perception and language vs. differences in experience 1:06:25 – Deconstructing the arrow of attention in a nondual setting 1:07:50 – Micro-cessations vs lights-out cessations; the lightness and thinness of the ordinary 1:11:55 – Shinzen’s many-layered experience of cessations; the sphere of experience and the void 1:18:08 – Bigger cessations 1:19:38 – Disambiguations: what does it mean to be feather light and paper thin, and what are the characteristics of micro-cessations? 1:23:56 – The lightness of immediate experience 1:29:30 – OutroYou can help to create future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meditation teacher Shinzen Young and host Michael W. Taft talk about the relationship between mindfulness practice (as it is usually defined) and nondual-type practices (or non-practices, if you like), the way that focusing on the details of experience relates to focusing on awareness itself, micro-sessions &amp; nano-nirvanas, the thinness and lightness of the screen of awareness and much more. Learn more about Shinzen Young at <a href="http://shinzen.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shinzen.org</a>.Show Notes0:25 – Intro 4:12 – How does Advaita/Nonduality relate to Mindfulness? 7:45 – Shinzen defines modern mindfulness and the component parts of contemplative practice (concentration, clarity and equanimity) 9:51 – Michael’s simplified working definitions of mindfulness and advaita 10:37 – Shinzen asserts that mindfulness and advaita converge towards the same thing, under his own understanding of mindfulness 16:08 – How to investigate one’s own awareness through mindfulness; Shinzen’s quadrants of practice 20:50 – Appreciation practice (“note everything”) or “regular mindfulness” 22:54 – The arrow of attention 26:31 – Classical mindfulness in the Burmese tradition: penetrative awareness and working with the arrow of attention 31:48 – Outside time and space: what the arrow of attention reveals 34:06 – Shinzen defines primordial awareness in materialist, reductivist terms: the sound that’s not sound 39:15 – Are nondual experiences externally real, or do they reflect only subjective experience? 45:05 – Shinzen’s conjecture: connectivity vs thingness; cones of association 51:38 – By what criterion is connectivity assumed to be fundamental to reality, not only subjectively experienced? 56:55 – How appreciation and self-inquiry practices converge 1:01:01 – Reconciling the fruits of mindfulness and nonduality: differences in perception and language vs. differences in experience 1:06:25 – Deconstructing the arrow of attention in a nondual setting 1:07:50 – Micro-cessations vs lights-out cessations; the lightness and thinness of the ordinary 1:11:55 – Shinzen’s many-layered experience of cessations; the sphere of experience and the void 1:18:08 – Bigger cessations 1:19:38 – Disambiguations: what does it mean to be feather light and paper thin, and what are the characteristics of micro-cessations? 1:23:56 – The lightness of immediate experience 1:29:30 – Outro You can help to create future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Feather Light & Paper Thin, with Shinzen Young

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher, neuroscientist, and author John Yates, also known as Culadasa. Topics covered include: Are more people achieving stream entry these days?, a clear definition of stream entry, the Buddha’s concept of yathābhūtañāṇadassanaṃ or “seeing things as they really are,” reaching a tipping point of stream enterers to avert the coming world disasters, tips for meditation in action, using consciousness hacking and/or drugs to accelerate insight, paṭiccasamuppāda – the interpenetrating nature of phenomena, quantum entanglement and individual minds, the nondual viewpoint, an explanation of reincarnation and past life experiences, and much more.Culadasa has been practicing Buddhist meditation for over four decades, mainly in Tibetan lineages. He is the director of Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha in Tucson, Arizona where he teaches meditation and Buddhism from a modern, progressive scientific perspective. His groundbreaking book, The Mind Illuminated, is a modern road map to Buddhist meditation for a Western audience which combines age-old wisdom teachings of the Buddha with the latest research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Learn more at culadasa.com.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher, neuroscientist, and author John Yates, also known as Culadasa. Topics covered include: Are more people achieving stream entry these days?, a clear definition of stream entry, the Buddha’s concept of yathābhūtañāṇadassanaṃ or “seeing things as they really are,” reaching a tipping point of stream enterers to avert the coming world disasters, tips for meditation in action, using consciousness hacking and/or drugs to accelerate insight, paṭiccasamuppāda – the interpenetrating nature of phenomena, quantum entanglement and individual minds, the nondual viewpoint, an explanation of reincarnation and past life experiences, and much more.Culadasa has been practicing Buddhist meditation for over four decades, mainly in Tibetan lineages. He is the director of Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha in Tucson, Arizona where he teaches meditation and Buddhism from a modern, progressive scientific perspective. His groundbreaking book, The Mind Illuminated, is a modern road map to Buddhist meditation for a Western audience which combines age-old wisdom teachings of the Buddha with the latest research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Learn more at <a href="http://culadasa.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">culadasa.com</a>.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Are More People Achieving Stream Entry These Days? with Culadasa

Meditation teacher and neuroscience consultant Shinzen Young and host Michael W. Taft talk about what mindfulness teachers are getting wrong, Shinzen’s Periodic Table of Happiness Elements, informed consent for awakening, effective strategies for dealing with the Dark Night of the Soul, and the phenomenon that Shinzen calls “Enlightenment’s Evil Twin.”Learn more about Shinzen Young at Shinzen.org.Also here is a pdf of Shinzen’s Periodic Table of Happiness Elements.Show Notes0:25 – Introduction and overview2:38 – Defining mindfulness, and what mindfulness teachers can improve on15:20 – Fulfilling the ethical duty to inform students about the possibilities and challenges of deeper meditation work20:05 – The Dark Night and DP/DR, and the amount of guidance students need to integrate emptiness25:24 – Addressing student concerns about becoming derailed or idle if they make spiritual progress28:24 – Clarifying what the Dark Night is, what it might look like, and how to address it prophylactically and remedially51:31 – More about what mindfulness teachers can improve on1:19:28 – Frosting Shinzen’s buns by shutting down a meditator’s no-self experience1:26:06 – Being careful not to set up barriers that keep people away from practiceYou can help to create future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meditation teacher and neuroscience consultant Shinzen Young and host Michael W. Taft talk about what mindfulness teachers are getting wrong, Shinzen’s Periodic Table of Happiness Elements, informed consent for awakening, effective strategies for dealing with the Dark Night of the Soul, and the phenomenon that Shinzen calls “Enlightenment’s Evil Twin.”Learn more about Shinzen Young at <a href="http://shinzen.org" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Shinzen.org</a>.Also here is a pdf of <a href="https://deconstructingyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/HappinessElements_ver1.3.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Shinzen’s Periodic Table of Happiness Elements</a>.Show Notes0:25 – Introduction and overview2:38 – Defining mindfulness, and what mindfulness teachers can improve on15:20 – Fulfilling the ethical duty to inform students about the possibilities and challenges of deeper meditation work20:05 – The Dark Night and DP/DR, and the amount of guidance students need to integrate emptiness25:24 – Addressing student concerns about becoming derailed or idle if they make spiritual progress28:24 – Clarifying what the Dark Night is, what it might look like, and how to address it prophylactically and remedially51:31 – More about what mindfulness teachers can improve on1:19:28 – Frosting Shinzen’s buns by shutting down a meditator’s no-self experience1:26:06 – Being careful not to set up barriers that keep people away from practiceYou can help to create future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Enlightenment’s Evil Twin, with Shinzen Young

Michael Taft

In this episode, host Michael Taft shares a map of deconstructing sensory experience. This is intended to help orient you to your vipassana meditation practice; helping you to understand where you’re at, where you’re going, and what to look for next. A basic map of vipassana.Note: this is only a map, only a model. Just like a menu is not food, this model is not claiming to be reality. It’s just a handy way to help you orient your practice.This model doesn’t count for nondual meditations, high-concentration/jhana practice, etc. It is only to help you with your vipassana practice.Very important: the inclusion of “Cessation” as level 5 doesn’t mean that level 5 is the final goal of practice. It’s just something that can happen, and is included for the sake of completeness.These are not discrete or digital stages. They are analog, and shade into one another. Each stage is desirable and useful for various things. No stage is somehow better than another.In vipassana practice, however, we are usually attempting to tranverse the stack from stage one to stage four. Stage five may or may not be something that happens.When our practice is very skilled, we can also tranverse the stack from bottom to top (4 -&gt; 1) and do what we might call “nondual vipassana” or something akin to many Mahamudra practices. Summary of StagesStage 1 - Conceptual - Thinking about sensory experience objects using words. Stage 2 - Phenomenal Object - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences in the form of objects. Stage 3 - Flow / Change - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences as vibration, waves, or change. Stage 4 - Pure Awareness - Noticing awareness itself with no content. Stage 5 - Cessation - Sudden collapse of awareness.Support the Deconstructing Yourself podcast via Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, host Michael Taft shares a map of deconstructing sensory experience. This is intended to help orient you to your vipassana meditation practice; helping you to understand where you’re at, where you’re going, and what to look for next. A basic map of vipassana.Note: this is only a map, only a model. Just like a menu is not food, this model is not claiming to be reality. It’s just a handy way to help you orient your practice.This model doesn’t count for nondual meditations, high-concentration/jhana practice, etc. It is only to help you with your vipassana practice.Very important: the inclusion of “Cessation” as level 5 doesn’t mean that level 5 is the final goal of practice. It’s just something that can happen, and is included for the sake of completeness.These are not discrete or digital stages. They are analog, and shade into one another. Each stage is desirable and useful for various things. No stage is somehow better than another.In vipassana practice, however, we are usually attempting to tranverse the stack from stage one to stage four. Stage five may or may not be something that happens.When our practice is very skilled, we can also tranverse the stack from bottom to top (4 -&gt; 1) and do what we might call “nondual vipassana” or something akin to many Mahamudra practices. Summary of StagesStage 1 - Conceptual - Thinking about sensory experience objects using words. Stage 2 - Phenomenal Object - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences in the form of objects. Stage 3 - Flow / Change - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences as vibration, waves, or change. Stage 4 - Pure Awareness - Noticing awareness itself with no content. Stage 5 - Cessation - Sudden collapse of awareness. Support the Deconstructing Yourself podcast via <a href="http://patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Deconstructing Sensory Experience, with Michael Taft

Culadasa talks with Michael W. Taft. After decades of Buddhist practice, Culadasa exploded on the scene a few years ago with his groundbreaking book The Mind Illuminated, an incredibly comprehensive guide to meditation. It’s an erudite mixture of neuroscience, traditional Buddhist practice, and Culadasa’s own ideas about how to gt the most out of practice. In this episode we talk about his definitions of attention and awareness, how his system compares to that of his friend teacher Shinzen Young, how the meditative brain works, dealing with aging and death, and much more.Learn more about Culadasa and his teaching at culadasa.comShow Notes0:15 – Introduction and overview 2:30 – Culadasa’s system vs. Shinzen Young’s: stability of attention 7:55 – Sustained attention and effortlessness 10:20 – Culadasa’s system vs. Shinzen Young’s: sensory clarity and peripheral awareness 19:55 – Mindfulness as the optimal interaction between attention and awareness 22:55 – Conceptual overlays and the lower limits of conscious perception 32:50 – Attention selects objects from peripheral awareness 35:00 – The interactive role of attention and awareness in maintaining mindfulness in daily life 38:30 – How strong mindfulness affects emotions, wholesome and unwholesome behavior, and the practice of virtue 43:50 – The importance of the Eightfold Path post-awakening 47:20 – The Ten Fetter, Four Path Model: characteristics of paths and the dropping of fetters 59:49 – Spiritual development does not end at Fourth Path 1:01:57 – Old age, sickness and death are part of the Great AdventureYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Culadasa talks with Michael W. Taft. After decades of Buddhist practice, Culadasa exploded on the scene a few years ago with his groundbreaking book The Mind Illuminated, an incredibly comprehensive guide to meditation. It’s an erudite mixture of neuroscience, traditional Buddhist practice, and Culadasa’s own ideas about how to gt the most out of practice. In this episode we talk about his definitions of attention and awareness, how his system compares to that of his friend teacher Shinzen Young, how the meditative brain works, dealing with aging and death, and much more. Learn more about Culadasa and his teaching at <a href="http://culadasa.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">culadasa.com</a> Show Notes0:15 – Introduction and overview 2:30 – Culadasa’s system vs. Shinzen Young’s: stability of attention 7:55 – Sustained attention and effortlessness 10:20 – Culadasa’s system vs. Shinzen Young’s: sensory clarity and peripheral awareness 19:55 – Mindfulness as the optimal interaction between attention and awareness 22:55 – Conceptual overlays and the lower limits of conscious perception 32:50 – Attention selects objects from peripheral awareness 35:00 – The interactive role of attention and awareness in maintaining mindfulness in daily life 38:30 – How strong mindfulness affects emotions, wholesome and unwholesome behavior, and the practice of virtue 43:50 – The importance of the Eightfold Path post-awakening 47:20 – The Ten Fetter, Four Path Model: characteristics of paths and the dropping of fetters 59:49 – Spiritual development does not end at Fourth Path 1:01:57 – Old age, sickness and death are part of the Great Adventure You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Attention, Awareness, and the Great Adventure, with Culadasa

Leigh Brasington

Concentration master Leigh Brasington talks with Michael W. Taft about the jhanas, a Buddhist system of eight altered states of consciousness that arise in states of high concentration. The conversation dives deep into practicing each of these eight states, how the jhanas relate to vipassana practice, ways to work through major challenges that may arise, the so-called "powers" that are often attributed to concentration practice, and much more.Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation since 1985 and is the senior American student of the late Ven. Ayya Khema. Leigh began assisting Ven. Ayya Khemma in 1994, and began teaching retreats on his on in 1997. He teaches in Europe and North America and is the author of the book Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas. Find more about Leigh’s teaching and schedule at http://leighb.com.Show Notes0:31 - Introduction1:59 - The Jhanas, de-emphasis on jhana practice in American practice, the Visuddhimagga, Paw Auk Sawadaw, overview concentration vs vipassana5:23 - The variety of systems of jhana, why there are differences in what counts as jhana, sermons, meditation instructions and one on one interviews8:08 - The Jhanas - specific states10:16 - Did the Buddha learn the jhanas from his teachers?12:19 - The Buddha’s unique contribution – a well-concentrated mind can more accurately investigate reality – vipassana13:21 - Redefinition of the jhanas over time - Sutta to Abhidharma to Visuddhimagga15:37 - What makes concentration a jhana?17:36 - Jhana from a light switch or other object how to generate it, access concentration, feedback loops to generate piti-sukkha19:41 - Piti-sukkha gleeful happiness - variety of experience among meditators20:23 - How long does attention need to be there? Indistractability, and when to switch between access concentration and the first jhana22:26 - Why is this better than meditating on a cloud? Why meditate on piti-sukkha? A great way to set up your vipassana practice.24:34 - The higher jhanas, discussion of emotions with bodily components vs emotions as embodied with mental aspects.27:10 - Focus in the first four jhanas on the mental aspect of the emotion vs. the physical aspect28:36 - How long does it take to learn the jhanas29:36 - Unresolved psychological stuff may show up as a function of concentration, getting those up and out,32:04 -Example feeling of unworthiness, low self esteem, how to handle it,35:21 -Purification practice39:55 -Unwise action that won’t lead to the results you are hoping for, social media, where people are trying to get happiness and be safe42:21 -Strong piti in first jhana, moving from first to second jhana45:21 -Jhanic states and neurotransmitters and transition to third jhana, varying time in different jhanas47:56 -The Difference between the second and third jhana, third jhana afterglow49:38 - Moving into the fourth jhana, attention on the quiet stillness wherever you find it52:16 - Hanging out in the fourth jhana, and insight practice55:28 - Misinformation on the jhanas57:48  - The four immaterial jhanas1:00:40  - Getting to the fifth jhana1:02:17  - The sixth, seventh, and eighth jhanas1:05:03  - The ninth jhana - cessation of feeling and perception1:07:17 - Weird experiences with jhanic concentration, powers1:13:40 - Which jhanas are helpful for insight practice, even access concentration helps,1:15:01 - The jhanas and retreat1:15:17 - The importance of the jhanasYou can help to create future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Concentration master Leigh Brasington talks with Michael W. Taft about the jhanas, a Buddhist system of eight altered states of consciousness that arise in states of high concentration. The conversation dives deep into practicing each of these eight states, how the jhanas relate to vipassana practice, ways to work through major challenges that may arise, the so-called "powers" that are often attributed to concentration practice, and much more.Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation since 1985 and is the senior American student of the late Ven. Ayya Khema. Leigh began assisting Ven. Ayya Khemma in 1994, and began teaching retreats on his on in 1997. He teaches in Europe and North America and is the author of the book Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas. Find more about Leigh’s teaching and schedule at <a href="http://leighb.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://leighb.com</a>. Show Notes0:31 - Introduction1:59 - The Jhanas, de-emphasis on jhana practice in American practice, the Visuddhimagga, Paw Auk Sawadaw, overview concentration vs vipassana5:23 - The variety of systems of jhana, why there are differences in what counts as jhana, sermons, meditation instructions and one on one interviews8:08 - The Jhanas - specific states10:16 - Did the Buddha learn the jhanas from his teachers?12:19 - The Buddha’s unique contribution – a well-concentrated mind can more accurately investigate reality – vipassana13:21 - Redefinition of the jhanas over time - Sutta to Abhidharma to Visuddhimagga15:37 - What makes concentration a jhana?17:36 - Jhana from a light switch or other object how to generate it, access concentration, feedback loops to generate piti-sukkha19:41 - Piti-sukkha gleeful happiness - variety of experience among meditators20:23 - How long does attention need to be there? Indistractability, and when to switch between access concentration and the first jhana22:26 - Why is this better than meditating on a cloud? Why meditate on piti-sukkha? A great way to set up your vipassana practice.24:34 - The higher jhanas, discussion of emotions with bodily components vs emotions as embodied with mental aspects.27:10 - Focus in the first four jhanas on the mental aspect of the emotion vs. the physical aspect28:36 - How long does it take to learn the jhanas29:36 - Unresolved psychological stuff may show up as a function of concentration, getting those up and out,32:04 -Example feeling of unworthiness, low self esteem, how to handle it,35:21 -Purification practice39:55 -Unwise action that won’t lead to the results you are hoping for, social media, where people are trying to get happiness and be safe42:21 -Strong piti in first jhana, moving from first to second jhana45:21 -Jhanic states and neurotransmitters and transition to third jhana, varying time in different jhanas47:56 -The Difference between the second and third jhana, third jhana afterglow49:38 - Moving into the fourth jhana, attention on the quiet stillness wherever you find it52:16 - Hanging out in the fourth jhana, and insight practice55:28 - Misinformation on the jhanas57:48  - The four immaterial jhanas1:00:40  - Getting to the fifth jhana1:02:17  - The sixth, seventh, and eighth jhanas1:05:03  - The ninth jhana - cessation of feeling and perception1:07:17 - Weird experiences with jhanic concentration, powers1:13:40 - Which jhanas are helpful for insight practice, even access concentration helps,1:15:01 - The jhanas and retreat1:15:17 - The importance of the jhanas You can help to create future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Diving Deep into the Jhanas, with Leigh Brasington

Evan Thompson

In this episode, philosopher, author, and meditator, Evan Thompson speaks with host Michael Taft. Topics include: the meaning of awakening; lucid dreaming and noticing the construction of the waking state; the 3-fold structure of Awareness, Contents of Awareness, and then Identification with Contents; The cosmopolitanism of Buddhism, and the myth of Buddhist exceptionalism; consciousness hacking and psychedelics; and much more.Evan Thompson, PhD, works on the nature of the mind, the self, and human experience. His work combines cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially in Asian traditions. His most recent book, Waking, Dreaming, Being, examines the self and consciousness in neuroscience, meditation, and philosophy.Show Notes1:50 - Evan’s personal practice and retreat in Nelson, British Columbia.4:55 - Central metaphor of awakening from sleep-wake cycle. Fractal nature of awakening.8:50 - Phenomenal sense of insight into waking up, false awakening.11:40 - Is waking up a recurring process as in the ordinary sleep-wake cycle?15:10 - Awakening as metaphorical concept and not a state. Ethics, values tied to awakening.17:15 - Embodied nature of consciousness and awakening.19:55 - Extended consciousness involving brain, body and environment vs panpsychism.23:35 - Meditation is not first person science, more similar to dance and martial arts.28:25 - Basic structure of Waking, Dreaming, Being based on Upanishads.29:05 - Unpacking the Upanishadic structure in the context of meditation.33:45 - Lucid dreaming for cultivating awareness rather than dream control.37:45 - Connection between framing of dream and waking states.38:50 - Consciousness versus contents of consciousness. Sense of self while awake, dreaming.43:25 - Neuroscience of self and memory while dreaming.45:30 - Neuroscience of self and memory while awake.46:20 - Brain as active while asleep as awake, but in different local and network ways.48:00 - Sleep needed for memory consolidation, learning and self regulation.49:35 - Meditation not only limited to brain but an activity practiced in a social context.53:05 - Meditation embodied in a wider context that may be missed in brain only fMRI scans.55:40 - Wings needed for flight but flight is not in the wings, brain needed for meditation …56:55 - Meditation reduced to neuroscience correlates may be too reductionist.58:05 - Neuroscience being used to “prove” Buddhism. Fetishizing Buddhism.1:00:35 - Buddhism is a religion despite claims to the contrary, a lot of Buddhist exceptionalism.1:03:00 - Critique of Buddhist exceptionalism in new book. Cosmopolitan Buddhism preferred.1:05:35 - Evan’s book in progress Why I am not a Buddhist.1:07:05 - Hopeful signs in greater sensitivity to environment, equality.1:10:05 - Unbalanced approach to psychedelics. Consciousness hacking as fear of death.1:13:20 - OutroSupport the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, philosopher, author, and meditator, Evan Thompson speaks with host Michael Taft. Topics include: the meaning of awakening; lucid dreaming and noticing the construction of the waking state; the 3-fold structure of Awareness, Contents of Awareness, and then Identification with Contents; The cosmopolitanism of Buddhism, and the myth of Buddhist exceptionalism; consciousness hacking and psychedelics; and much more.Evan Thompson, PhD, works on the nature of the mind, the self, and human experience. His work combines cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially in Asian traditions. His most recent book, Waking, Dreaming, Being, examines the self and consciousness in neuroscience, meditation, and philosophy.Show Notes1:50 - Evan’s personal practice and retreat in Nelson, British Columbia.4:55 - Central metaphor of awakening from sleep-wake cycle. Fractal nature of awakening.8:50 - Phenomenal sense of insight into waking up, false awakening.11:40 - Is waking up a recurring process as in the ordinary sleep-wake cycle?15:10 - Awakening as metaphorical concept and not a state. Ethics, values tied to awakening.17:15 - Embodied nature of consciousness and awakening.19:55 - Extended consciousness involving brain, body and environment vs panpsychism.23:35 - Meditation is not first person science, more similar to dance and martial arts.28:25 - Basic structure of Waking, Dreaming, Being based on Upanishads.29:05 - Unpacking the Upanishadic structure in the context of meditation.33:45 - Lucid dreaming for cultivating awareness rather than dream control.37:45 - Connection between framing of dream and waking states.38:50 - Consciousness versus contents of consciousness. Sense of self while awake, dreaming.43:25 - Neuroscience of self and memory while dreaming.45:30 - Neuroscience of self and memory while awake.46:20 - Brain as active while asleep as awake, but in different local and network ways.48:00 - Sleep needed for memory consolidation, learning and self regulation.49:35 - Meditation not only limited to brain but an activity practiced in a social context.53:05 - Meditation embodied in a wider context that may be missed in brain only fMRI scans.55:40 - Wings needed for flight but flight is not in the wings, brain needed for meditation …56:55 - Meditation reduced to neuroscience correlates may be too reductionist.58:05 - Neuroscience being used to “prove” Buddhism. Fetishizing Buddhism.1:00:35 - Buddhism is a religion despite claims to the contrary, a lot of Buddhist exceptionalism.1:03:00 - Critique of Buddhist exceptionalism in new book. Cosmopolitan Buddhism preferred.1:05:35 - Evan’s book in progress Why I am not a Buddhist.1:07:05 - Hopeful signs in greater sensitivity to environment, equality.1:10:05 - Unbalanced approach to psychedelics. Consciousness hacking as fear of death.1:13:20 - Outro Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Lucid Dreaming, Meditation, and Consciousness, with Evan Thompson

Thomas Metzinger and Michael W. Taft discuss having moral integrity with yourself, intellectual honesty in the pursuit of spirituality, the overlapping goals of science and spirituality, the possibility of a fully secularized spirituality, neurofeedback and virtual reality, mortality denial, the simulation hypothesis, and a whole bunch more.Thomas Metzinger is full professor and director of the theoretical philosophy group and the research group on neuroethics/neurophilosophy at the department of philosophy, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. He is the founder and director of the MIND group and Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies, Germany. His research centers on analytic philosophy of mind, applied ethics, philosophy of cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. He is the editor of Neural Correlates of Consciousness and the author of Being No One and The Ego Tunnel.Thomas Metzinger’s website.A video of Metzinger’s Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty talk.Read an interview with Thomas Metzinger, entitled “What Is the Self?“Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:53 – Interesting times in the world4:12 – Summary of Thomas’ talk, “Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty”7:46 – Impact and divided reactions to “Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty”12:43 – Internal moral integrity: belief formation &amp; authority17:05 – Needing a teacher, master or guru21:10 – Surrender, Western enlightenment and the “crazy corner”24:13 – Getting science to say something interesting about human experience26:08 – Neurofeedback glasses for walking meditation; taking meditation into life30:00 – Virtuality and nothingness, consciousness as virtual reality34:03 – Suchness; spirituality as de-immersion from conscious experience, meditating on artifacts36:20 – The feeling of being real, transparently and opacity38:55 – Hyperreality &amp; derealization: hallucinogens, religious ecstasy and seizures40:42 – VR meditation, getting in touch with virtuality42:28 – Reaching earlier brain processing stages through meditation or hallucinogens45:43 – The Ruining Innocence podcast: a half-serious criticism of taxonomies and discussing meditation49:33 – Thomas’ thoughts on the Arrow of Attention; correlates in neuroscience53:20 – Mindfulness of inattention and avoidance, pitfalls of mindfulness56:07 – Discussing Douglas Harding: the Headless Way and immersion; more discussion of the Arrow of Attention1:00:14 – The self as a visual metaphor; the pre-3D lump of sensations and motor babbling1:03:23 – Thomas’ recent studies of subjectivity: the epistemic agent model of self1:09:48 – How it transpires that the Self is not conscious1:11:34 – Questioning science’s value for practice; the moral imperative of trying to improve contemplative practice1:15:12 – Thomas’ critique of the perennial philosophy; strategies of mortality denial1:22:07 – The simulation hypothesis; thoughts in the mind of god1:25:41 – Is suffering real, and how deep does reality go?1:29:05 – A hypothetical merging of science and subjectivity1:31:29 – OutroYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thomas Metzinger and Michael W. Taft discuss having moral integrity with yourself, intellectual honesty in the pursuit of spirituality, the overlapping goals of science and spirituality, the possibility of a fully secularized spirituality, neurofeedback and virtual reality, mortality denial, the simulation hypothesis, and a whole bunch more.Thomas Metzinger is full professor and director of the theoretical philosophy group and the research group on neuroethics/neurophilosophy at the department of philosophy, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. He is the founder and director of the MIND group and Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies, Germany. His research centers on analytic philosophy of mind, applied ethics, philosophy of cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. He is the editor of Neural Correlates of Consciousness and the author of Being No One and<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465020690?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwsamharris03-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;linkCode=xm2&amp;creativeASIN=0465020690" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> The Ego Tunnel</a>.Thomas Metzinger’s <a href="https://www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/fb05philosophieengl/institutes/theoretical-philosophy/thmetzinger/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>.A video of Metzinger’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgfJoCNDjr8&amp;t=352s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty</a> talk.Read an interview with Thomas Metzinger, entitled “<a href="https://deconstructingyourself.com/what-is-the-self-metzinger.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">What Is the Self?</a>“ Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:53 – Interesting times in the world4:12 – Summary of Thomas’ talk, “Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty”7:46 – Impact and divided reactions to “Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty”12:43 – Internal moral integrity: belief formation &amp; authority17:05 – Needing a teacher, master or guru21:10 – Surrender, Western enlightenment and the “crazy corner”24:13 – Getting science to say something interesting about human experience26:08 – Neurofeedback glasses for walking meditation; taking meditation into life30:00 – Virtuality and nothingness, consciousness as virtual reality34:03 – Suchness; spirituality as de-immersion from conscious experience, meditating on artifacts36:20 – The feeling of being real, transparently and opacity38:55 – Hyperreality &amp; derealization: hallucinogens, religious ecstasy and seizures40:42 – VR meditation, getting in touch with virtuality42:28 – Reaching earlier brain processing stages through meditation or hallucinogens45:43 – The Ruining Innocence podcast: a half-serious criticism of taxonomies and discussing meditation49:33 – Thomas’ thoughts on the Arrow of Attention; correlates in neuroscience53:20 – Mindfulness of inattention and avoidance, pitfalls of mindfulness56:07 – Discussing Douglas Harding: the Headless Way and immersion; more discussion of the Arrow of Attention1:00:14 – The self as a visual metaphor; the pre-3D lump of sensations and motor babbling1:03:23 – Thomas’ recent studies of subjectivity: the epistemic agent model of self1:09:48 – How it transpires that the Self is not conscious1:11:34 – Questioning science’s value for practice; the moral imperative of trying to improve contemplative practice1:15:12 – Thomas’ critique of the perennial philosophy; strategies of mortality denial1:22:07 – The simulation hypothesis; thoughts in the mind of god1:25:41 – Is suffering real, and how deep does reality go?1:29:05 – A hypothetical merging of science and subjectivity1:31:29 – Outro You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Consciousness, Spirituality, and Intellectual Honesty, with Thomas Metzinger

Leigh Brasington speaks with host Michael W. Taft about Dependent Arising. Dependent Arising, also called Dependent Origination, is a Buddhist theory of reality that is famously complex, arcane, important, and fascinating. In this episode they discuss early Buddhist metaphysics, Pratītyasamutpāda—the “curious old rune”, the four noble truths version of Dependent Arising, the Vedic Hymn of Creation, Leigh’s model of SODAPI (Streams of Dependently Arising Processes Interacting), and how to use the teaching of Dependent Arising in practice and in life.Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation for decades and is the senior American student of the late Venerable Ayya Khema. Leigh began assisting her in 1994, and began teaching retreats on his own in 1997. He teaches in Europe and North America and is the author of the book Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas. Find more about Leigh’s teaching and schedule at leighb.com. Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leigh Brasington speaks with host Michael W. Taft about Dependent Arising. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prat%C4%ABtyasamutp%C4%81da" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dependent Arising</a>, also called Dependent Origination, is a Buddhist theory of reality that is famously complex, arcane, important, and fascinating. In this episode they discuss early Buddhist metaphysics, Pratītyasamutpāda—the “curious old rune”, the four noble truths version of Dependent Arising, the Vedic Hymn of Creation, Leigh’s model of SODAPI (Streams of Dependently Arising Processes Interacting), and how to use the teaching of Dependent Arising in practice and in life.Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation for decades and is the senior American student of the late Venerable Ayya Khema. Leigh began assisting her in 1994, and began teaching retreats on his own in 1997. He teaches in Europe and North America and is the author of the book Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas. Find more about Leigh’s teaching and schedule at <a href="http://leighb.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leighb.com</a>. Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Deconstructing Dependent Arising, with Leigh Brasington

Loch Kelly

Host Michael Taft speaks with Loch Kelly on nondual practices, contemporary forms of ancient awareness techniques, dzogchen, mahamudra, advaita, the role of psychotherapy in awakening, the need—or not—for a guru, open-hearted awareness, internal family systems therapy, and more.Loch Kelly is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the non-profit, Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch teaches in a non-sectarian lineage based in the earliest non-dual wisdom traditions, modern science, and psychotherapy.Loch Kelly’s WebsiteSupport the Deconstructing Yourself podcast via Patreon.Show Notes:00:43 - Intro03:05 - Loch’s meditation background06:59 - Shifting from concentration practice to choiceless awareness practice10:01 - Meeting Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche12:23 - The experience vs explanation of ‘pure awareness’ in different traditions14:38 - Mahamudra15:31 - The dualism in stopping halfway at ‘pure/spacious awareness’17:54 - Recognition vs realization20:02 - The possibility of ‘awake awareness’ in different traditions22:53 - Contacting nondual awareness24:00 - How can awareness be aware of awareness, if you are not aware from awareness?28:10 - The contemporary teaching of unhooking ‘local awareness’34:42 - The vipassana model/map vs natural awakenings37:42 - Upgrading the mahamudra map and instructions (from ‘pure awareness’ to ‘awake awareness’) 43:07 - The four or five levels of the mind in mahamudra (1. everyday mind, 2. subtle mind, 3. pure awareness, 4. simultaneous mind, 5. open-hearted awareness/bodhicitta)46:13 - Thoughts and emotions in ‘open-hearted awareness’50:09 - Teaching moving from ‘spacious awareness’ to ‘awake awareness’56:02 - Wonder, freedom, and joy in wisdom mind01:02:14 - Postural yoga and pranayama in mahamudra01:05:18 - Integrating ‘one-pointed awareness’ into the ‘field of awareness’01:08:37 - Psychotherapy as a “preliminary” practice01:10:42 - The “crazy yogi”: waking up without growing up01:13:32 - The healing power of ‘open-hearted awareness’ in IFS (Internal Family Systems)01:16:40 - The role of the guru in different traditions; “energetic transmission”01:21:37 - Don’t stop halfway and come on in the water!01:27:30 - Teaching vipassana in a nondual way01:32:47 - Loch’s latest teaching- and personal inquiries01:35:14 - OutroWhat does nondual mean?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Michael Taft speaks with Loch Kelly on nondual practices, contemporary forms of ancient awareness techniques, dzogchen, mahamudra, advaita, the role of psychotherapy in awakening, the need—or not—for a guru, open-hearted awareness, internal family systems therapy, and more.Loch Kelly is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the non-profit, Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch teaches in a non-sectarian lineage based in the earliest non-dual wisdom traditions, modern science, and psychotherapy.<a href="https://lochkelly.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Loch Kelly’s Website</a>Support the Deconstructing Yourself podcast via <a href="http://patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.Show Notes:00:43 - Intro03:05 - Loch’s meditation background06:59 - Shifting from concentration practice to choiceless awareness practice10:01 - Meeting Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche12:23 - The experience vs explanation of ‘pure awareness’ in different traditions14:38 - Mahamudra15:31 - The dualism in stopping halfway at ‘pure/spacious awareness’17:54 - Recognition vs realization20:02 - The possibility of ‘awake awareness’ in different traditions22:53 - Contacting nondual awareness24:00 - How can awareness be aware of awareness, if you are not aware from awareness?28:10 - The contemporary teaching of unhooking ‘local awareness’34:42 - The vipassana model/map vs natural awakenings37:42 - Upgrading the mahamudra map and instructions (from ‘pure awareness’ to ‘awake awareness’) 43:07 - The four or five levels of the mind in mahamudra (1. everyday mind, 2. subtle mind, 3. pure awareness, 4. simultaneous mind, 5. open-hearted awareness/bodhicitta)46:13 - Thoughts and emotions in ‘open-hearted awareness’50:09 - Teaching moving from ‘spacious awareness’ to ‘awake awareness’56:02 - Wonder, freedom, and joy in wisdom mind01:02:14 - Postural yoga and pranayama in mahamudra01:05:18 - Integrating ‘one-pointed awareness’ into the ‘field of awareness’01:08:37 - Psychotherapy as a “preliminary” practice01:10:42 - The “crazy yogi”: waking up without growing up01:13:32 - The healing power of ‘open-hearted awareness’ in IFS (Internal Family Systems)01:16:40 - The role of the guru in different traditions; “energetic transmission”01:21:37 - Don’t stop halfway and come on in the water!01:27:30 - Teaching vipassana in a nondual way01:32:47 - Loch’s latest teaching- and personal inquiries01:35:14 - OutroWhat does <a href="https://deconstructingyourself.com/nonduality" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">nondual mean?</a> See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Loch Kelly on Awareness, Freedom, and Effortless Mindfulness

Daniel Ingram

In this session, host Michael W. Taft and radical dharma author and practitioner Daniel Ingram discuss the Fire Kasina practice, meditation and magick, working with archetypal forces and entities, Daniel’s description of a fruition experience, siddhis and visionary experiences, Daniel’s wizarding worldview, and much more. We also discuss the second edition of his classic work Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, as well as his new book on the Fire Kasina.Daniel Ingram is an emergency medicine physician and long-time dharma practitioner. He famously exploded the Buddhist world when he declared himself to be an arhat and published the seminal text Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: an Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book in 2008. He is also the main force behind the radical Dharma Overground website, which he founded together with Vince Horn, that specializes in a brand of unusually-frank discussion of meditation practice.You can learn more about Daniel at his website, www.integrateddaniel.info.You can download a free PDF of The Fire Kasina book here.Show Notes00:25 – Introduction and overview 2:10 – Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha 2, its purpose and release 4:55 – The fire kasina: what it is, what happens as concentration increases, and how it provides immediate feedback on the strength of concentration 8:01 – Fire kasina’s benefits beyond concentration: insight, crafting your reality, fusion of śamatha and vipassanā 12:57 – The awakening components of fire kasina practice, fruitions 17:28 – The ontological status of deities seen during fire kasina practice and the meaning of joint powers experiences 22:50 – Daniel’s fire kasina experiences and teaching the practice to others 29:42 – The line between madness and meditation 35:30 – Siddhis, synchronicities, and the collective unconscious 40:22 – Daniel’s cutting edge in practice and use of magick 51:24 – Dzogchen and the post-magickal 59:19 – Deconstructing sensory experience into fruition 1:10:44 – What meditation teachers get wrong: lack of warning about potential dangers 1:21:49 – The cross-pollination and experimentation the internet affords the meditation scene 1:24:51 – The Fire Kasina, a book with Shannon SteinYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.Listen to more with Daniel Ingram.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this session, host Michael W. Taft and radical dharma author and practitioner Daniel Ingram discuss the Fire Kasina practice, meditation and magick, working with archetypal forces and entities, Daniel’s description of a fruition experience, siddhis and visionary experiences, Daniel’s wizarding worldview, and much more. We also discuss the second edition of his classic work Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, as well as his new book on the Fire Kasina.Daniel Ingram is an emergency medicine physician and long-time dharma practitioner. He famously exploded the Buddhist world when he declared himself to be an arhat and published the seminal text Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: an Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book in 2008. He is also the main force behind the radical <a href="https://www.dharmaoverground.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dharma Overground</a> website, which he founded together with Vince Horn, that specializes in a brand of unusually-frank discussion of meditation practice.You can learn more about Daniel at his website, <a href="http://www.integrateddaniel.info" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.integrateddaniel.info</a>.You can download a free PDF of <a href="https://firekasina.org/2017/11/27/the-fire-kasina-book-by-shannon-stein-and-daniel-m-ingram/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Fire Kasina</a> book here. Show Notes00:25 – Introduction and overview 2:10 – Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha 2, its purpose and release 4:55 – The fire kasina: what it is, what happens as concentration increases, and how it provides immediate feedback on the strength of concentration 8:01 – Fire kasina’s benefits beyond concentration: insight, crafting your reality, fusion of śamatha and vipassanā 12:57 – The awakening components of fire kasina practice, fruitions 17:28 – The ontological status of deities seen during fire kasina practice and the meaning of joint powers experiences 22:50 – Daniel’s fire kasina experiences and teaching the practice to others 29:42 – The line between madness and meditation 35:30 – Siddhis, synchronicities, and the collective unconscious 40:22 – Daniel’s cutting edge in practice and use of magick 51:24 – Dzogchen and the post-magickal 59:19 – Deconstructing sensory experience into fruition 1:10:44 – What meditation teachers get wrong: lack of warning about potential dangers 1:21:49 – The cross-pollination and experimentation the internet affords the meditation scene 1:24:51 – The Fire Kasina, a book with Shannon Stein You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.Listen to more with <a href="https://deconstructingyourself.com/podcast/dy-017-popping-the-bubble-of-projection-with-guest-daniel-ingram" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Daniel Ingram</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Meditation, Magick, and the Fire Kasina, with Daniel Ingram

Tucker Peck

Tucker Peck, meditation teacher and clinical psychologist, talks with host Michael Taft about how whether awakening (both in the traditional “stream entry” sense or in other definitions) actually “fixes” a person’s psychology or not. Topics include: the validity of the Progress of Insight model, Tucker’s hellacious Dark Night experience and the dukkha ñanas in general, when to switch from shamatha to vipassana practice, whether people who have mental illness should practice meditation, and much more.Tucker Peck, Ph.D., is a meditation teacher and clinical psychologist whose specialties include working with advanced meditators and using meditation to help those suffering from psychological disorders. Tucker is a published author on the scientific study of meditation, focusing on how meditation affects the brain and is a faculty member of the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Tucker was also a founding board member of Culadasa’s Dharma Treasure sangha.Tucker Peck’s websiteShow Notes0:25 – Introduction2:54 – Tucker’s teaching activities, how his background in clinical psychology influences teaching meditation5:26 – The myth that you can lose your psychology/personality/emotions by meditating enough; getting smacked in the face with emotions on retreat8:29 – How Tucker got into meditation; hitting A&amp;P, and the heart opening13:43 – How Tucker got into clinical psychology; his long Dark Night experience, and using choiceless awareness to get out of it23:49 – Progressing towards first path; magga phala; how seeing nonself changed the experience of practice29:23 – How stable attention helps mitigate Dark Night effects; purification through samatha33:43 – Tucker’s challenges learning to practice with The Mind Illuminated; description of the TMI stages; when to introduce vipassana practices41:19 – Whether Tucker’s students are getting stream entry and whether the samatha-first way of working mitigates Dark Night effects in his students; the fetter model, and having only positive emotions45:47 – The potential for spiritual bypassing with attainment; “wake up, clean up, grow up”; the equanimity windshield; the need for unbiased feedback about one’s behavior and how it’s affecting people55:17 – Working with mental content outside of meditation, through psychotherapy; will meditation practice help people who have mental illness?; modifying the practice for people with bipolar or manic symptoms, etc.1:03:25 – Tucker’s experience of the path model; reduction in craving; seeming to go from dramatic changes back to normalcy, but with life altering differences; the individuality of each person’s path of purification1:12:28 – OutroFeel free to support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tucker Peck, meditation teacher and clinical psychologist, talks with host Michael Taft about how whether awakening (both in the traditional “stream entry” sense or in other definitions) actually “fixes” a person’s psychology or not. Topics include: the validity of the Progress of Insight model, Tucker’s hellacious Dark Night experience and the dukkha ñanas in general, when to switch from shamatha to vipassana practice, whether people who have mental illness should practice meditation, and much more.Tucker Peck, Ph.D., is a meditation teacher and clinical psychologist whose specialties include working with advanced meditators and using meditation to help those suffering from psychological disorders. Tucker is a published author on the scientific study of meditation, focusing on how meditation affects the brain and is a faculty member of the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Tucker was also a founding board member of Culadasa’s Dharma Treasure sangha.<a href="https://meditatewithtucker.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tucker Peck’s website</a> Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:54 – Tucker’s teaching activities, how his background in clinical psychology influences teaching meditation5:26 – The myth that you can lose your psychology/personality/emotions by meditating enough; getting smacked in the face with emotions on retreat8:29 – How Tucker got into meditation; hitting A&amp;P, and the heart opening13:43 – How Tucker got into clinical psychology; his long Dark Night experience, and using choiceless awareness to get out of it23:49 – Progressing towards first path; magga phala; how seeing nonself changed the experience of practice29:23 – How stable attention helps mitigate Dark Night effects; purification through samatha33:43 – Tucker’s challenges learning to practice with The Mind Illuminated; description of the TMI stages; when to introduce vipassana practices41:19 – Whether Tucker’s students are getting stream entry and whether the samatha-first way of working mitigates Dark Night effects in his students; the fetter model, and having only positive emotions45:47 – The potential for spiritual bypassing with attainment; “wake up, clean up, grow up”; the equanimity windshield; the need for unbiased feedback about one’s behavior and how it’s affecting people55:17 – Working with mental content outside of meditation, through psychotherapy; will meditation practice help people who have mental illness?; modifying the practice for people with bipolar or manic symptoms, etc.1:03:25 – Tucker’s experience of the path model; reduction in craving; seeming to go from dramatic changes back to normalcy, but with life altering differences; the individuality of each person’s path of purification1:12:28 – Outro Feel free to support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through <a href="http://patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Meditation, Madness, and Psychology, with Tucker Peck

Robert Anton Wilson

Erik Davis

Michael Taft speaks with Erik Davis about author Robert Anton Wilson, anarchism in the 1970s, Terrence McKenna, P.K. Dick, psychedelics, cultures of awakening now and then, Zen practice, and more. Erik Davis is an author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and popular speaker based in San Francisco. He is probably best known for his book TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information, a cult classic of visionary media studies that investigates how our fascination with technology intersects with the religious imagination. And his podcast, Expanding Mind has long been a favorite of mine.Techgnosis.comShow Notes0:25 – Introduction2:58 – Erik’s book, High Weirdness, Drugs, Visions, and Esoterica in the Seventies6:11 – The impact of Wilson’s Cosmic Trigger; guerrilla ontology; libertarianism, anarchy, and radical individualism13:34 – Wilson’s anarchism’s basis in his cosmic view against institutionalized and concentrated power15:43 – Ontological anarchism – ‘multiple perspectives all the way down’ ; relationship of metasystemic thinking and emptiness/nonduality; the challenge of wrestling with different perspectives that don’t quite fit together and the insight that comes from it23:10 – How trying to fit everything into one map doesn’t work, and the place of psychedelics in recognizing that; realizing that language constructs reality, and learning to deconstruct and go beyond language and maps27:23 – Wilson’s Quantum Psychology, its exercises in switching models and taking new perspectives; what makes a spiritual teacher different from somebody who is handing you a lot of very useful techniques and practices33:00 – Why tech/STEM people might be interested in meditation and psychedelics; how younger generations connect more horizontally rather than vertically (between generations or between different statuses in society); psychedelics as learning experiences rather than tool-using experiences37:26 – Capitalism’s influence on views and uses of psychedelics, how a potentially radical or even revolutionary compound can be whittled down into something that’s a performance enhancer40:00 – How mainstream materialism (“all reality is created by the brain”) requires explanations for what happens with psychedelic use; how the illegality of psychedelics affects the vibe and the relationship with them44:29 – Modern taming down of both psychedelics and meditation; reminding people about the potentials for radicality and weirdness: “The weird is part of reality. It’s not a distortion of what is otherwise seen with clarity.”48:21 – Pharmaceutical companies patenting synthetic psilocybin – “There’s still all these mushrooms growing up in the grass, and as long as there’s a culture of […] people who like weird experiences, there’s going to be this zone that’s outside of it”54:27 – How do you encourage the highest percentage of people who are doing corporate mindfulness, mainstream meditation to enter into the deeper folds of it1:04:46 – OutroYou can help to create future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael Taft speaks with Erik Davis about author Robert Anton Wilson, anarchism in the 1970s, Terrence McKenna, P.K. Dick, psychedelics, cultures of awakening now and then, Zen practice, and more. Erik Davis is an author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and popular speaker based in San Francisco. He is probably best known for his book TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information, a cult classic of visionary media studies that investigates how our fascination with technology intersects with the religious imagination. And his podcast, Expanding Mind has long been a favorite of mine.<a href="https://techgnosis.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Techgnosis.com</a> Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:58 – Erik’s book, High Weirdness, Drugs, Visions, and Esoterica in the Seventies6:11 – The impact of Wilson’s Cosmic Trigger; guerrilla ontology; libertarianism, anarchy, and radical individualism13:34 – Wilson’s anarchism’s basis in his cosmic view against institutionalized and concentrated power15:43 – Ontological anarchism – ‘multiple perspectives all the way down’ ; relationship of metasystemic thinking and emptiness/nonduality; the challenge of wrestling with different perspectives that don’t quite fit together and the insight that comes from it23:10 – How trying to fit everything into one map doesn’t work, and the place of psychedelics in recognizing that; realizing that language constructs reality, and learning to deconstruct and go beyond language and maps27:23 – Wilson’s Quantum Psychology, its exercises in switching models and taking new perspectives; what makes a spiritual teacher different from somebody who is handing you a lot of very useful techniques and practices33:00 – Why tech/STEM people might be interested in meditation and psychedelics; how younger generations connect more horizontally rather than vertically (between generations or between different statuses in society); psychedelics as learning experiences rather than tool-using experiences37:26 – Capitalism’s influence on views and uses of psychedelics, how a potentially radical or even revolutionary compound can be whittled down into something that’s a performance enhancer40:00 – How mainstream materialism (“all reality is created by the brain”) requires explanations for what happens with psychedelic use; how the illegality of psychedelics affects the vibe and the relationship with them44:29 – Modern taming down of both psychedelics and meditation; reminding people about the potentials for radicality and weirdness: “The weird is part of reality. It’s not a distortion of what is otherwise seen with clarity.”48:21 – Pharmaceutical companies patenting synthetic psilocybin – “There’s still all these mushrooms growing up in the grass, and as long as there’s a culture of […] people who like weird experiences, there’s going to be this zone that’s outside of it”54:27 – How do you encourage the highest percentage of people who are doing corporate mindfulness, mainstream meditation to enter into the deeper folds of it1:04:46 – OutroYou can help to create future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Robert Anton Wilson, High Weirdness, and Buddhist Meditation, with Erik Davis

In this special one-year anniversary episode, Shinzen Young talks with host Michael W. Taft about becoming a meditation teacher, the unrealistic paradigm about what meditation delivers, Shinzen’s codependency disaster, Bill Hamilton, the great unsung hero of vipassana in the Western world, homology theory, how science can influence meditation in the West, sociopathic teachers, and what we can do to make sure that good teachers don’t go bad. Who is a teacher? What’s the family test? These questions and more.Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant.His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Vermont in the burgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. You can learn more about Shinzen on his website shinzen.org.Show Notes1:40 – Shinzen Intro3:00 – Shinzen talks about Homology Theory7:50 – Meditation and science complement each other like algebra and geometry9:30 – Coupling of science and contemplative practice12:50 – What science can teach contemplative practice13:49 – In some ways scientists have less ego than meditation masters15:50 – All meditators are teachers20:55 – Ability of a “professional meditation teacher” to lead students through all goals24:24 – Why meditation teachers should have respectful but open and unhurried dialog to improve the field36:44 – Improving science by reducing ego in other ways via Meditation38:25 – The contradiction of advanced meditators exhibiting unacceptable behavior42:44 – The high profile flagrant behavior of a few tends to overshadow the overall positive impact of practice46:30 – What’s missing in the case of advanced meditators who go morally off track59:30 – Unrealistic paradigms of what liberation and meditation delivers and how it’s possible to do wrong from a place of emptiness1:10:20 – Role/Power of a meditation teacher and culture1:16:01 – Plane crash analogy and Shinzen’s story of going off-track1:21:40 – The feedback that helped Shinzen fix co-dependence1:24:50 – Bill Hamilton, “the great unsung hero of vipassana in the West” Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special one-year anniversary episode, Shinzen Young talks with host Michael W. Taft about becoming a meditation teacher, the unrealistic paradigm about what meditation delivers, Shinzen’s codependency disaster, Bill Hamilton, the great unsung hero of vipassana in the Western world, homology theory, how science can influence meditation in the West, sociopathic teachers, and what we can do to make sure that good teachers don’t go bad. Who is a teacher? What’s the family test? These questions and more.Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant.His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Vermont in the burgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. You can learn more about Shinzen on his website <a href="http://shinzen.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">shinzen.org</a>.Show Notes1:40 – Shinzen Intro3:00 – Shinzen talks about Homology Theory7:50 – Meditation and science complement each other like algebra and geometry9:30 – Coupling of science and contemplative practice12:50 – What science can teach contemplative practice13:49 – In some ways scientists have less ego than meditation masters15:50 – All meditators are teachers20:55 – Ability of a “professional meditation teacher” to lead students through all goals24:24 – Why meditation teachers should have respectful but open and unhurried dialog to improve the field36:44 – Improving science by reducing ego in other ways via Meditation38:25 – The contradiction of advanced meditators exhibiting unacceptable behavior42:44 – The high profile flagrant behavior of a few tends to overshadow the overall positive impact of practice46:30 – What’s missing in the case of advanced meditators who go morally off track59:30 – Unrealistic paradigms of what liberation and meditation delivers and how it’s possible to do wrong from a place of emptiness1:10:20 – Role/Power of a meditation teacher and culture1:16:01 – Plane crash analogy and Shinzen’s story of going off-track1:21:40 – The feedback that helped Shinzen fix co-dependence1:24:50 – Bill Hamilton, “the great unsung hero of vipassana in the West” Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Why Good Teachers Go Bad, with Shinzen Young

Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson and I discuss the tension between accepting how you're feeling and changing how you're feeling, spiritual bypassing, how to cultivate positive states of mind, the quivering potentiality at the front edge of now, the three branches of attention, why Buddhist aggressiveness is not an oxymoron, and, of course, ewoks.Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books include Buddha’s Brain, Hardwiring Happiness, and the new book Resilient. Rick began meditating in 1974, has trained in several traditions, and teaches at meditation centers around the world.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rick Hanson and I discuss the tension between accepting how you're feeling and changing how you're feeling, spiritual bypassing, how to cultivate positive states of mind, the quivering potentiality at the front edge of now, the three branches of attention, why Buddhist aggressiveness is not an oxymoron, and, of course, ewoks.Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books include Buddha’s Brain, Hardwiring Happiness, and the new book Resilient. Rick began meditating in 1974, has trained in several traditions, and teaches at meditation centers around the world.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Eddies in the Mind Stream, with Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

In this episode, host Michael Taft remixes his map of deconstructing sensory experience, and talks about how to use it to work in nondual traditions. Essentially the idea is to reverse the stack by starting out with Stage 4 (pure awareness) and then working your way up to stage 3, etc. Michael also spends some time talking about maps of meditation, problems therewith, and why he is already reworking this map after a short time.Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:11 – Michael’s reasons for opposing maps, and creating the Deconstructing SensoryExperience map5:05 – Critiques Michael has heard about the map since first presenting it, and his responses10:13 – Brief review of stages 1-4 of the map14:41 – The logic behind putting cessation as stage 5 in the previous map; why it’s nowremoved from the map18:19 – How each stage is useful and no stage is lesser than the others21:13 – Description of stage 4, pure awareness; how this stage is viewed in other traditions25:43 – Reversing the stack, using this model bidirectionally29:56 – The observer trap and how reversing the stack overcomes this problem34:34 – OutroNote: this is only a map, only a model. Just like a menu is not food, this model is not claiming to be reality. It’s just a handy way to help you orient your practice.This model doesn’t count for nondual meditations, high-concentration/jhana practice, etc. It is only to help you with your vipassana practice.These are not discrete or digital stages. They are analog, and shade into one another. Each stage is desirable and useful for various things. No stage is somehow better than another.In vipassana practice, however, we are usually attempting to tranverse the stack from stage one to stage four.When doing nondual practices, we transverse the stack from bottom to top (4 -&gt; 1) and do what we might call “nondual vipassana” or something akin to many Mahamudra practices—which is what this episode describes.Level 1 - Conceptual - Thinking about sensory experience objects using words.Level 2 - Phenomenal Object - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences in the form of objects.Level 3 - Flow / Change - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences as vibration, waves, or change.Level 4 - Pure Awareness - Noticing awareness itself with no content. Please support this podcast by contributing on Patreon See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, host Michael Taft remixes his map of deconstructing sensory experience, and talks about how to use it to work in nondual traditions. Essentially the idea is to reverse the stack by starting out with Stage 4 (pure awareness) and then working your way up to stage 3, etc. Michael also spends some time talking about maps of meditation, problems therewith, and why he is already reworking this map after a short time.Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:11 – Michael’s reasons for opposing maps, and creating the Deconstructing SensoryExperience map5:05 – Critiques Michael has heard about the map since first presenting it, and his responses10:13 – Brief review of stages 1-4 of the map14:41 – The logic behind putting cessation as stage 5 in the previous map; why it’s nowremoved from the map18:19 – How each stage is useful and no stage is lesser than the others21:13 – Description of stage 4, pure awareness; how this stage is viewed in other traditions25:43 – Reversing the stack, using this model bidirectionally29:56 – The observer trap and how reversing the stack overcomes this problem34:34 – OutroNote: this is only a map, only a model. Just like a menu is not food, this model is not claiming to be reality. It’s just a handy way to help you orient your practice.This model doesn’t count for nondual meditations, high-concentration/jhana practice, etc. It is only to help you with your vipassana practice.These are not discrete or digital stages. They are analog, and shade into one another. Each stage is desirable and useful for various things. No stage is somehow better than another.In vipassana practice, however, we are usually attempting to tranverse the stack from stage one to stage four.When doing nondual practices, we transverse the stack from bottom to top (4 -&gt; 1) and do what we might call “nondual vipassana” or something akin to many Mahamudra practices—which is what this episode describes. Level 1 - Conceptual - Thinking about sensory experience objects using words.Level 2 - Phenomenal Object - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences in the form of objects.Level 3 - Flow / Change - Contacting the phenomenology of sensory experiences as vibration, waves, or change.Level 4 - Pure Awareness - Noticing awareness itself with no content. Please support this podcast by contributing on <a href="http://patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Reversing the Stack— A Nondual Practice Map, with Michael Taft

Rob Burbea

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with Rob Burbea about Rob’s book, Seeing That Frees, the power of perception (ways of seeing), his creative methods of working with meditation practice, meditating with a more analytical vs more phenomenological focus, how analytical meditation works, Rob’s “soulmaking dharma,” the emptiness of conceptual frameworks, facing the end of life, and the meaning of emptiness.Rob Burbea is a meditation teacher, musician, author, who teaches at Gaia House in Devon, England. Rob is the author of the groundbreaking meditation practice book entitled, Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising. Rob and Michael discuss it at length in this episode.Seeing that Frees on AmazonShow Notes0:24 – Introduction1:49 – Seeing That Frees, the idea of ways of looking that are liberating4:34 – Example of the classical Buddhist anattā way of looking, unhooking identification, and moving towards less fabrication of perception14:14 – Rob’s teachers and how his creative meditative exploration unfolded22:57 – Following the lead of beauty and the sense of liberation into new territory27:01 – What is emptiness?35:10 – An example of analytical meditation on time and its effect on the fading of perception41:38 – Soulmaking, skillful fabrication, and broadening the scope of the purpose of meditation beyond just the release of obvious suffering44:55 – Working with soulmaking and images that are intrapsychic or in the world of material objects, contextualizing these practices, and parallels with meta-rationality48:54 – Gauging the progress of insight into emptiness through palpable senses of relief and release and senses of perception opening up in wondrous and beautiful ways53:12 – On a personal journey of soulmaking through health crises and the possibility of dying1:01:12 – OutroSupport the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with Rob Burbea about Rob’s book, Seeing That Frees, the power of perception (ways of seeing), his creative methods of working with meditation practice, meditating with a more analytical vs more phenomenological focus, how analytical meditation works, Rob’s “soulmaking dharma,” the emptiness of conceptual frameworks, facing the end of life, and the meaning of emptiness.Rob Burbea is a meditation teacher, musician, author, who teaches at Gaia House in Devon, England. Rob is the author of the groundbreaking meditation practice book entitled, Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising. Rob and Michael discuss it at length in this episode.<a href="http://a.co/d/0ZnqTkL" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Seeing that Frees</a> on Amazon Show Notes0:24 – Introduction1:49 – Seeing That Frees, the idea of ways of looking that are liberating4:34 – Example of the classical Buddhist anattā way of looking, unhooking identification, and moving towards less fabrication of perception14:14 – Rob’s teachers and how his creative meditative exploration unfolded22:57 – Following the lead of beauty and the sense of liberation into new territory27:01 – What is emptiness?35:10 – An example of analytical meditation on time and its effect on the fading of perception41:38 – Soulmaking, skillful fabrication, and broadening the scope of the purpose of meditation beyond just the release of obvious suffering44:55 – Working with soulmaking and images that are intrapsychic or in the world of material objects, contextualizing these practices, and parallels with meta-rationality48:54 – Gauging the progress of insight into emptiness through palpable senses of relief and release and senses of perception opening up in wondrous and beautiful ways53:12 – On a personal journey of soulmaking through health crises and the possibility of dying1:01:12 – Outro Support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Emptiness, Liberation, and Beauty, with Rob Burbea

Daniel Ingram talks with Michael W. Taft about teacher-student models, graduate school models of practice, creating meditation peer groups, working with “co-adventurers” on the spiritual path, overcoming projection as a teacher, and more.Daniel Ingram is an emergency medicine physician and long-time dharma practitioner. He famously exploded the Buddhist world when he declared himself to be an arhat and published the seminal text Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: an Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book in 2008. He is also the main force behind the radical Dharma Overground website, that specializes in a brand of unusually-frank discussion of meditation practice.You can learn more about Daniel at his website, www.integrateddaniel.info.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Daniel Ingram talks with Michael W. Taft about teacher-student models, graduate school models of practice, creating meditation peer groups, working with “co-adventurers” on the spiritual path, overcoming projection as a teacher, and more.Daniel Ingram is an emergency medicine physician and long-time dharma practitioner. He famously exploded the Buddhist world when he declared himself to be an arhat and published the seminal text Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: an Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book in 2008. He is also the main force behind the radical <a href="https://www.dharmaoverground.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dharma Overground</a> website, that specializes in a brand of unusually-frank discussion of meditation practice.You can learn more about Daniel at his website, <a href="http://www.integrateddaniel.info" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.integrateddaniel.info</a>.You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Popping the Bubble of Projection, with Daniel Ingram

Author and meditation teacher Daniel Ingram speaks with host Michael W. Taft about how the Fire Kasina practice can be used as an insight practice. Subjects include: the background of kasina practice in the Thervada tradition, using kasinas to go into jhana, how vipassana practice interacts with jhana practice, meditation on the Three Characteristics, and detailed instructions for doing the Fire Kasina practiceDaniel Ingram is an emergency medicine physician and long-time dharma practitioner. He is the author of the seminal text Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha — now out in its second edition- and also the main force behind the radical dharmaoverground website, which specializes in a brand of unusually-frank discussion of meditation.The book Michael mentions is Theravada Meditation by Winston KingDaniel explains how jhanas and ñanas can be matched across systems in this video.The Fire Kasina websiteShow Notes0:25 – Introduction2:13 – Michael’s experience with the fire kasina at Denman Island, realizing the practice can lead to awakening5:34 – Setting the general context for using any kind of kasina, and how it fits in with Theravada practice9:25 – How and why Daniel started kasina practice, objects he used; whether there’s something special about the fire kasina14:22 – Elemental imbalance, taking other elements (air, water, earth) besides fire; once you can do one element really well, you can get all the other colors and elements17:00 – Using kasina practice to enter the jhanas or develop jhanic factors; how insight slips into concentration practices21:21 – Beginning to describe the stages of working with a fire kasina, and what it means for jhanic factors (and the nanas)23:48 – The appearance of the red dot nimitta and its characteristics27:45 – The first jhanic factors that come with tracking and steadying the red dot nimitta; changes in the color of the nimitta and the dropping of sustained thought (being second jhanic factors); the second vipassana jhana’s correlation with the Arising and Passing Away30:33 – The appearance of the black/dark dot and entering the murk; the gifts and challenges of practicing with the murk; Neko’s triad of patience, faith, and curiosity37:57 – Learning color, image, and movement control in the murk; bringing in insight elements42:08 – Exiting the murk and entering fourth jhanic territory; what the transition from third to fourth jhana looks like47:20 – Things a practitioner can look for to know when they’ve made the transition to fourth jhana / fourth jhanic factors52:22 – Descriptions of the first through fourth ‘screens’, how the screens don’t perfectly correlate with the jhanas54:16 – Moving from fourth jhanic territory to awakening; cultivating the three characteristics1:02:50 – The challenge of taking the fire kasina to the immaterial type jhanas1:04:38 – What’s most exciting to Daniel about this practice and why he continues to do it1:09:21 – Community and learning resources for people who want to work with kasina practice; warnings about doing the practice intensely or without a support system when one has a serious mental health diagnosis1:14:51 – OutroYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author and meditation teacher Daniel Ingram speaks with host Michael W. Taft about how the Fire Kasina practice can be used as an insight practice. Subjects include: the background of kasina practice in the Thervada tradition, using kasinas to go into jhana, how vipassana practice interacts with jhana practice, meditation on the Three Characteristics, and detailed instructions for doing the Fire Kasina practiceDaniel Ingram is an emergency medicine physician and long-time dharma practitioner. He is the author of the seminal text Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha — now out in its second edition- and also the main force behind the radical <a href="https://www.dharmaoverground.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dharmaoverground</a> website, which specializes in a brand of unusually-frank discussion of meditation.The book Michael mentions is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/8120808428" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theravada Meditation</a> by Winston KingDaniel explains how jhanas and ñanas can be matched across systems i<a href="https://vimeo.com/69475208" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">n this video</a>.The <a href="https://firekasina.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fire Kasina website</a> Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:13 – Michael’s experience with the fire kasina at Denman Island, realizing the practice can lead to awakening5:34 – Setting the general context for using any kind of kasina, and how it fits in with Theravada practice9:25 – How and why Daniel started kasina practice, objects he used; whether there’s something special about the fire kasina14:22 – Elemental imbalance, taking other elements (air, water, earth) besides fire; once you can do one element really well, you can get all the other colors and elements17:00 – Using kasina practice to enter the jhanas or develop jhanic factors; how insight slips into concentration practices21:21 – Beginning to describe the stages of working with a fire kasina, and what it means for jhanic factors (and the nanas)23:48 – The appearance of the red dot nimitta and its characteristics27:45 – The first jhanic factors that come with tracking and steadying the red dot nimitta; changes in the color of the nimitta and the dropping of sustained thought (being second jhanic factors); the second vipassana jhana’s correlation with the Arising and Passing Away30:33 – The appearance of the black/dark dot and entering the murk; the gifts and challenges of practicing with the murk; Neko’s triad of patience, faith, and curiosity37:57 – Learning color, image, and movement control in the murk; bringing in insight elements42:08 – Exiting the murk and entering fourth jhanic territory; what the transition from third to fourth jhana looks like47:20 – Things a practitioner can look for to know when they’ve made the transition to fourth jhana / fourth jhanic factors52:22 – Descriptions of the first through fourth ‘screens’, how the screens don’t perfectly correlate with the jhanas54:16 – Moving from fourth jhanic territory to awakening; cultivating the three characteristics1:02:50 – The challenge of taking the fire kasina to the immaterial type jhanas1:04:38 – What’s most exciting to Daniel about this practice and why he continues to do it1:09:21 – Community and learning resources for people who want to work with kasina practice; warnings about doing the practice intensely or without a support system when one has a serious mental health diagnosis1:14:51 – Outro You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by <a href="https://www.patreon.com/michaeltaft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">contributing through Patreon</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

The Liberating Practice of the Fire Kasina, with Daniel Ingram

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