Ep. 253 - The Way of Effortless Mindfulness with Loch Kelly

Sarah Anderson joins Raghu to explore her new book, The Lost Art of Silence, and how we can reconnect to the beauty of quiet.

Get your copy of Sarah’s book HERE

In this episode, Sarah and Raghu delve into:

• How crucial and nurturing silence can be
• Sarah’s childhood trauma
• Silence’s relationship to the inner journey
• Sarah’s investigation into the art of silence
• Silence as the link between so many religions and traditions
• The way that being quiet makes us a better listener
• Raghu’s story of meeting Ram Dass
• How nature can teach us about silence
• The fear caused from sensory deprivations
• Becoming aware of God through silent meditation
• Concerns for our youth and the loudness of technology

About Sarah Anderson:

Sarah Anderson founded the Travel Bookshop in London in 1979, the shop later featured in the film Notting Hill. She studied Chinese at the London University college of SOAS, and at Heythrop, where she earned an MA in the psychology of religion. She has taught travel writing at City University, writes regular travel pieces, reviews books, and gives talks worldwide. Also an artist, Sarah’s paintings have been exhibited throughout London. Sarah is the author of several books. Her most recent book, The Lost Art of Silence, celebrates the power in being quiet.

“Even in the cacophony of going into the woods, of the birds singing, animals speaking to each other, in that cacophony is a delightful silence. Because the real silence, to me, is that your mind stops turning out this avalanche of thoughts and stories.” – Raghu Markus

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Philosopher, author, and activist Peter Singer joins Raghu to chat about his new book, The Buddhist and the Ethicist.

Pick up your copy of Peter Singer’s book HERE

This week on Mindrolling, Peter and Raghu have a comprehensive conversation on:

• Singer’s coming of age in the 60’s
• The background of Venerable Shih Chao-Hwei
• The ethical outlook of utilitarianism
• Examining the consequences of our actions
• The problems that come with not thinking about the future
• The Bodhisattva tradition
• Bhakti Yoga and merging with the supreme being
• Having compassion for those that suffer, human and non-human
• Looking at theories of human nature and basic goodness
• Karma’s compatibility with utilitarianism
• The ways that we leave traces in the world

About Peter Singer:

Peter Singer is an Australian moral philosopher and Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He also is also an author, and is best known for his writings about poverty and liberating animals. He wrote the book Animal Liberation, in which he argues for vegetarianism and co-founded the Australian Federation of Animal Societies, now Animals Australia, the country’s largest and most effective animal organization. Most recently, he published a book of eye-opening dialogues with Venerable Shih Chao-Hwei, a Taiwanese Buddhist monastic and social activist. Learn more about Peter Singer on his website.

“Compassion is one way of looking at how we ought to be thinking about all sentient beings. We ought to be thinking about them with concern for their well-being. When you use the term compassion, at least to westerners, that suggests a feeling, an emotion, something like we might say empathy that we have with them. That’s something that utilitarians would want to encourage because we need to think about what its like for other beings in the various possible states of the world that could result from our doing a variety of things.” – Peter Singer

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Indigenous healer Paul Callaghan teaches us about aboriginal wisdom and being a part of the collective story of humanity.

Check out Paul’s book, The Dreaming Path, to learn more about contentment, purpose, healing, and reconnecting with your story—and ultimately the universe.

In this episode of Mindrolling, Paul and Raghu get into:

• Aboriginal Dreamtime stories
• The creation myth of mother earth
• Being still in nature to receive insights
• How acute anxiety and a mental health crisis lead Paul to a life change
• Why reconnecting to his aboriginal roots lead to Paul’s healing and self-discovery
• Defining the dreaming path and promoting individuality
• How does relying on nature and living sustainably allow one to slow down?
• Finding power in unity and getting resources to all people
• Examining whether we add or take away from the collective story of humanity
• Self-care and finding out who we really are
• Going with the flow of life

About Paul Callaghan:

Paul Callaghan is a First Nations custodian in the land now called Australia and a leading Indigenous healer. Paul belongs to the land of the Worimi people which is located on the east coast of Australia about 2 hours north of Sydney, New South Wales. He is an Aboriginal storyteller and dancer. Paul has held a number of senior executive positions in his career and has qualifications in a diverse range of disciplines including surveying, drafting, accounting, economics, training, executive leadership, emotional intelligence, company boards, and executive/organizational coaching. Paul has been ‘going bush’ for many, many years and learning traditional ‘Lore’ from his Elders much of which he is willing to share with those who respect it. Check out Paul’s cultural consulting website to learn more.

“We are one thing. We are one. Humans aren’t separate from the trees, aren’t separate from the soil, aren’t separate from the waters. We use this in our western aboriginal medical systems and organizations; our definition of well-being is ‘I can’t be well if everything around me isn’t well’. So that’s non-aboriginal people, that’s my brothers and sisters, that’s everything, and then we’re all well.” – Paul Callaghan

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Focusing on the uniqueness of each of our brains, Dr. Nicole Tetreault sits down with Raghu to discuss her book, Insight into a Bright Mind.

Get your copy of Dr. Nicole’s book HERE

This week on Mindrolling, Nicole and Raghu go over:

• Nicole’s devotion to Maharaj-ji and her background in neuroscience
• Nicole’s research in Parkinsons and Autism
• How cancer influenced Nicole’s life course as a scientist
• Fixing models of healing versus bearing witness
• Coming to terms with death and suffering
• Impermanence and remembering to be present
• Changing our karmas through shifting into compassion
• The definition of neurodiversity and advocating
• Neuroplasticity and the capacity for change
• Hallucinogens and opening a doorway for learning
• Letting go of our self-critical voice
• Mirror neurons and empathy
• The pros of anxiety
• The gut-brain connection and the microbiome

About Dr. Nicole Tetreault:

Dr. Nicole Tetreault is a compassion-based neuroscientist, international speaker, author, and meditation teacher, fusing ancient Asian meditation with modern neuroscience to support people accessing the vast benefits of wiring their minds for love! Keep up with Dr. Nicole on her website.

“A big part of the advocacy around neurodiversity is to say no, different isn’t less, it’s just different, and there are so many beautiful strengths about it.” – Dr. Nicole Tetreault

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Nina Rao and Chandra Easton join Raghu to talk about embodying the goddess Tara through chanting.

Interested in seeing Nina and Chandra? Here are two upcoming events on the East Coast: Tibet House, NYC, May 11 and Kripalu, MA, May 12-17

Raghu, Nina, and Chandra spend this episode discussing:

• Chandra’s Buddhist upbringing
• The deity Tara and the sacred feminine
• Nina and Chandra’s collaboration with chanting and mantras
• An acapella chant offered from Nina
• Tara for harmony
• Tantra and spirituality for the people
• The 21 praises to Tara
• Durga, Saraswati, and other feminine deities we can invoke through mantras
• The eighth Tara as a fierce and invincible embodiment
• The mara of doubt

About Nina Rao:

Nina Rao is a devotional singer. She tours with Krishna Das, playing cymbals, singing, and acting as his business manager. Nina has two of her own albums, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts” and “Anubhav”. Nina regularly leads kirtan, workshops, and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York and beyond. Together with Chandra and Genevieve Walker, Nina operates the 21 Taras Collective. You can keep up with Nina on her website or find her on Instagram @nina_rao and on Facebook @NinaRaoChant.

About Chandra Easton:

Chandra Easton is a teacher, scholar, practitioner, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism. She has taught Buddhism and Hatha Yoga since 2001. In 2015, she was given the title of Vajra Teacher, Dorje Lopön, for Tara Mandala Retreat Center by Lama Tsultrim Allione and H. E. Gochen Sang Ngag Rinpoche. Seeking to bring forth the voice of the empowered feminine in Buddhism, Lopön Chandra regularly leads retreats and classes on Tara for various organizations, develops programs and curricula for Tara Mandala, and teaches nationally and internationally. She has also co-written melodies and recorded music for the twenty-one-Taras mantras found in her new book, Embodying Tara: Twenty-One Manifestations to Awaken Your Innate Wisdom. You can find Chandra on Instagram & Facebook @loponchandra.

“The main purpose of doing this aspect of the 21 Tara’s practice through chanting and more of a kirtan style is to uplift people, just like kirtan does. To bring joy, open people’s heart to the blessings of these Taras and to Devi and to the universal way. And also to help them remember the mantra, because some of them are pretty long they can be a little challenging to remember.” – Chandra Easton

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Exploring the Jewish psychedelic underground, Madison Margolin joins Raghu to talk about Ram Dass, psychedelics and her new book, Exile and Ecstasy.

Get your copy of Exile and Ecstasy HERE

In this episode, Raghu and Madison have an expansive discussion about:

• Madison’s upbringing in the Ram Dass community
• Influences of psychedelic culture and eastern mysticism
• Madison’s intrinsic connection to her Jewish roots
• ‘Hinjewism’ and honoring multiple traditions at once
• The ways that Madison struggled with the overuse of ‘be here now’
• Ram Dass’ Jewish legacy
• How journalism school enabled Madison to connect orthodox Judaism and psychedelics
• Judaism as a container for psychedelic experiences
• Discovering altered states without psychedelics
• The history of the Baal Shem Tov
• Treatment of women in Judaism and the divine feminine
• How Rainbow Gathering changed Madison’s life
• Anchoring ourselves through practice

About Madison Margolin:

“I’m a journalist straddling California, New York, and Israel-Palestine, focused on psychedelics, cannabis, and Judaism (in jest, I’ll say “Jews & Drugs”). I also cover culture, policy, and science. I’m passionate and curious about how people can transcend their minds to access something greater than themselves — be it through getting high off acid or God, meditating, creating art, or something somatic, I’ve set out to explore the various ways people nourish their souls. This is what drives me, and most of my writing, in some way or another, connects back to this theme.

These days, I work as an editor at  DoubleBlind, the print and digital magazine I co-founded, covering psychedelics and where they intersect with mental health, spirituality, environmental justice, and social equity. I also co-founded the Jewish Psychedelic Summit and host a podcast called Set & Setting on the Be Here Now Network. I’ve been practicing journalism since 2014 and have been published in outlets like Rolling Stone, Vice, Playboy, High Times, Tablet, and Nylon, among others.

I got my start with a column on cannabis at the Village Voice, just after graduating from Columbia Journalism School. Prior to that, I lived in Tel Aviv, working with Israel’s African refugee community. In a past life, I also lived at a crazy co-op called Cloyne, while studying rhetoric and linguistics at UC Berkeley.

I’m a nerd about language and speak or dabble in French, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. When not working, writing, or reporting, I’m usually dancing, spinning my hula hoop, or practicing yoga.”

“Having done psychedelics myself on Shabbat and other Jewish holidays, you realize that Judaism really does offer a container and different rituals, ways of experiencing time, and time out of time, and sort of these psychedelic notions through Kabbalah and different practices. That there is an avenue for altered experience and expanded consciousness and presence of mind and heart and soul, without psychedelics. But, combining psychedelics with Jewish practice can at least wake you up to that so you can then do it on your own, potentially without needing medicine.” – Madison Margolin

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Raghu Markus and Duncan Trussell share the story behind their new book, The Movie of Me to the Movie of We.

Snag your copy of The Movie of Me to The Movie of We

This week on Mindrolling, listen to Raghu and Duncan chat about:

• Spiritual emaciation in a world of excess
• The meaning of ‘the movie of me’
• Pyromania within humanitarianism
• Reflecting on caricatures of the self for brutal self-honesty
• Meditation and experiencing our true selves
• Our inheritance of being human
• Spiritual community and moving from student to teacher
• The perspective of non-judgement throughout The Movie of Me to the Movie of We
• Paradoxes of spiritual materialism

About Duncan Trussell:

Duncan Trussell is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, and actor. His popular podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, has been downloaded over 25 million times and is known for its blend of humor, fringe ideas, eclectic guests, and great interviews. The DTFH is the foundation for Duncan’s Netflix animated series, The Midnight Gospel, which he co-created with Pendleton Ward in 2020. To learn more about Duncan’s work, visit his website at duncantrussell.com.

Check out movieofme.com to learn more about the making of The Movie of Me to the Movie of We

“We are emaciated. We eat beyond what we can actually take in. We enjoy beyond enjoyment. We despair beyond despair over life’s events and that’s because we are emaciated, which is why we did this book. I think both of us felt emaciated spirituality, emaciated awareness wise.” – Raghu Markus

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In a discussion on Buddhism and wellness, author George Pitagorsky joins Raghu to explore his new book, The Peaceful Warrior’s Path.

Get your copy of George’s book HERE

In this episode, Raghu and George explore:

• George’s history with yoga and meditation
• The clear canon of Buddhism and Non-dualism
• Compassion beyond the ego
• The continuous dance between the relative and the absolute
• Cultivating patience
• Creating new patterns to replace our habits
• Hope in neuroplasticity and changing behaviors
• What is behind witnessing
• Remaining open to all skillful means
• The current suffering in the world
• Opportunities to practice self-awareness

Links & Recommendations From this Episode:

Check out this Hanuman statue from the NKB Ashram mentioned by Raghu

Joseph Goldstein’s book on Mindfullness

About George Pitagorsky:

George Pitagorsky, PMP, is a master of process who understands the way process, technology and people come together to accomplish objectives. He has advised organizations on the implementation and improvement of project management practices and methodologies. He has extensive experience in the creation and implementation of process improvements in financial, manufacturing, government and professional service environments. He also advises and coaches individuals to help them to achieve and sustain optimal performance. George brings a unique perspective to his work, combining 40 years of meditation practice and teaching with real-world business experience. He is the author of The Zen Approach to Project Management, The Peaceful Warrior’s Path, and more. Learn more about George and his offerings HERE.

“Chances are you’re not going to be completely enlightened next week, no matter what you do, though it could happen. So you take on the work of becoming as well as possible. Wellness is the subtitle of this book, and it’s not just about physical wellness. Wellness has got like eight dimensions to it including spiritual, mental, physical, financial, and all of that. Your goal is how can I cultivate wellness, how can I be as well as possible given my condition?” – George Pitagorsky

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Focusing on the climate crisis, Author Susan Murphy joins Raghu to talk about her new book, A Fire Runs Through All Things.

Susan Murphy and Raghu discuss:

• Susan’s background and growing up in touch with the earth
• Applying the fierce love and protection of parenthood to the earth
• Susan’s journey through meditation to zen practice
• The realities of the climate crisis and forest fires
• Our tendency to ignore and reject discomfort
• Lessons from indigenous elders
• A mindfulness practice to connect with the earth
• Social action through heartful connection
• How humility and not knowing leaves room for creative solutions

“The experience of it, basically it was like a graveyard spread out over enormous swaths of land and burnt hills. All to say is, this is part of our plight, I think, in terms of waking up.” – Raghu Markus

About Susan Murphy:

Susan Murphy is an Australian Zen teacher whose passionate feeling of kinship with the natural world began dueing her early childhood years living near the Great Barrier Reef and the Gondwanaland rainforest. A successful filmmaker, radio producer, and writer, she received dharma transmission from Ross Bolleter and John Tarrant in 2001. She leads regular retreats around Australia and teaches an Australia-wide sangha that extends internationally online. She is the author of Upside-Down Zen, Minding the Earth Mending the World, Red Thread Zen, and most recently, A Fire Runs Through All Things.

“The earth is inviting us to think along with her, or it. That suffering is mutual. The earth is suffering and our suffering, our agreeing to suffer with it, is the earth’s care for us. It will wake us up.” – Susan Murphy

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Wrapping up 2023, Thanissara and Raghu discuss how we can use mindfulness to relate to and make sense of the times we are living in.

Thanissara and Raghu examine these topics:

• The depth of the illusions we have built our civilization on
• The shifts that need to happen to enable us to live sustainably
• Political positioning and moral stances
• Becoming desensitized to the chaos and pain of the world
• Taking social action to create a better future for the next generation
• How mindfulness can be a huge part of the path forward
• Being receptive to how it is and taking small steps in our practice
• Fears that can be awakening versus the habit of fear
• Collectively working on a shift in consciousness
• The sangha as the coming Buddha

Links & Recommendations From this Episode:

Dive deeper into Kabir’s book that Raghu recites from for more mystical poetry

Check out The Movie of Me to the Movie of We, the audio-book collaboration between Duncan Trussell and Raghu Markus

About Thanissara:

Thanissara is a teacher, poet, climate activist, and co-founder of the Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat. She spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun and holds an MA in Core Process Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice. Thanissara was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati Buddhist Monasteries in England. She helped initiate/support a number of HIV/Aids response projects in deep rural South Africa. In addition, she has facilitated meditation retreats internationally for 30 years. She teaches across the U.S., in South Africa, and the UK. She is the author of several books, including her most recent, Time To Stand Up, A Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth. 

“We are getting, in a very weird way, conditioned by and inured to all of this climate change, violence, wars, pestilence, all of this. It’s a lot. We are getting inured to it. It is just becoming part of the fabric where we don’t pause the way we paused when it first came out.” – Raghu Markus

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