Spirit Matters

Stephan Bodian studied and practiced for many years with masters in the nondual wisdom traditions of Zen, Dzogchen-Mahamudra, and Advaita Vedanta, and in 2001 received authorization to teach from Adyashanti. He offers webinars, retreats, videos, books, and spiritual counseling that, his words, “make profound spiritual teachings and practices accessible to a global audience.” He has taught at major retreat centers and other venues, and, since 2007, has led an annual, months-long intensive program in spiritual transformation known as the School for Awakening. A trained psychotherapist as well, he has been a pioneer in the integration of nondual wisdom and Western Psychology and in the embodiment of awakened awareness in everyday life. He also has a literary background, with a degree in English Literature from Columbia, graduate work at Stanford, and 10 years as editor-in-chief of Yoga Journal. His 1998 book, Meditation for Dummies, has sold nearly a half million copies. His other books include: Wake Up Now; Timeless Visions, Healing Voices; Beyond Mindfulness; and his latest, Infinite Awakening: A Guide to Nondual Wisdom and the Pathless Path, which is what we focus on in this conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Nepo returns to Spirit Matters for a conversation about spirituality in the second half of life. Mark is a poet, a spiritual teacher, and a bestselling author of some 26 books, including You Don't Have to Do it Alone: The Power of Friendship; Falling Down and Getting Up; Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity; and best-known of all, The Book of Awakening, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide over the last 20 years. Mark has won numerous awards, has appeared on several national television shows, including Oprah's, and has made personal appearances throughout the world - all devoted to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. His latest book, the one we talk about here, is The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life, which, he says, celebrates "living from the inside of the one life we’re given." Learn more about Mark here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rodger Kamenetz is an award-winning poet, author and teacher. He has authored nine books of poetry and several nonfiction books, including (not in chronological order) The History of Last Night’s Dream, which earned him an interview with Oprah Winfrey on her “Soul Series” program; Burnt Books; Stalking Elijah, which won the National Jewish Book Award; and his best known book, The Jew in the Lotus, about an historic dialogue between the Dalai Lama and a group of rabbis that became an international bestseller and prompted a reevaluation of Judaism in the light of Buddhist thought. He is also the founder of Natural Dreamwork, an approach to using dreams for spiritual growth. Now he's written a new book, Seeing Into the Life of Things, which is about the use of imagination in the spiritual life. We spoke mainly about that book, but also about many other intriguing and practical topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second episode in which Spirit Matter's host, Philip Goldberg, moves to the other side of the interview table. The occasion is the publication of his latest book, Karmic Relief: Harnessing the Laws of Cause and Effect for a Joyful, Meaningful Life. In it, he dives into what karma is, what it is not, and all the practical implications of understanding the laws of karma. His interlocutor this time is Beryl Bender⁠, who has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1971 and has been training yoga teachers through her school, The Hard & The Soft Yoga Institute, for nearly 50 years. She’s also the best-selling author of several books on yoga, including ⁠Power Yoga⁠; ⁠Beyond Bower Yoga⁠; and ⁠Yoga for Warriors: Basic Training for Strength, Resilience, and Peace of Mind. She also co-founded the Give Back Yoga Foundation has been a leader in addressing the relationship between yoga practice and activism and service. [Listen as well to an earlier interview about the book with Rabbi Rami Shapiro interviewing Phil.] ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Yvonne Kason is a retired family physician, psychotherapist, and faculty member at the University of Toronto. She is also an internationally known expert on near-death experiences, kundalini awakening, and other spiritually transformative experiences (STEs). In 1990, she became the first Canadian MD to specialize in researching and counseling patients with diverse types of STEs, a term she coined in 1994. She is past-president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies and the current president of the organization she founded, Spiritual Awakenings International (SAI). SAI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about all types of spiritually transformative experiences. Dr. Kason has published six books, the most recent of which is Soul Lessons From the Light: How Spiritually Transformative Experiences Changed my Life. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Learn more about Dr. Kason here, and Spiritual Awakenings International here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Kyle is a scholar, educator, yoga teacher, meditation teacher, and writer. He holds a master of philosophy degree in classical Indian religions from Oxford University, an MA in philosophy from the New School for Social Research, an MS in political theory from the London School of Economics (2007), and is currently earning a doctorate at Oxford, researching a philosophy of creativity rooted in Kashmir Shaivism. A passionate advocate and practitioner of Kashmir Shaivism, he is the founding director of Embodied Philosophy, an online learning platform with an extraordinary collection of courses, lectures, and workshops, which is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. He also hosts the podcast “Chitheads” (chit means consciousness in Sanskrit). His guiding mission, he says, is “to re-imagine the modern function of the yoga teacher so as to be in greater alignment with the teachings, texts, and traditions of yoga's rich and profound history.” We spoke about the challenges of doing that, the origin and purpose of Embodied Philosophy, and more. Jacob's website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special episode of Spirit Matters. Regular host Philip Goldberg moves to the other side of the table, turning over hosting duties to Rabbi Rami Shapiro for a conversation about Phil's forthcoming book, Karmic Relief: Harnessing the Laws of Cause and Effect for a Joyful, Meaningful Life. It's an in-depth discussion of the concept of karma, which is at once simple and complex. The term, which is used more and more frequently in ordinary conversation, is often misconstrued. The conversation delves into common misunderstandings of karma and teases out a lot of its nuances and its relevance to everyday life. Karmic Relief will be released in October; click here to pre-order it on Amazon (authors are grateful for pre-orders as they upgrade the book's position on Amazon). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices