Western Baul Podcast Series

Part of the human condition is that there are parts of ourselves that we don’t see or want to see about ourselves. It may seem counterintuitive that real freedom, healing, and innocence is only possible in descent, and that the underworld (personal and archetypal) is a doorway that holds the key to real change and transformation. Whatever is buried carries creativity and life force and by learning...

The reality that we see around us shows us that everything changes. Death brings an end to everything relative. But the spiritual traditions indicate that it is possible to know, or perhaps to build, something that continues beyond the separate self that we identify as. If we are to come in contact with our true nature at death, we can prepare ourselves in life. We can practice being with and movi...

There is a human quality which allows us to be aware that there is a potential in us yet to be realized. Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s consideration that the goal of life is to live in wonder and radical amazement is explored in this talk. We can enliven this approach which nourishes the soul; without this, the experience of the Divine is diminished in the world. Regina is the author of Igniting the Inn...

We are attached and identified with everything we have experienced from the past. The present moment is defined by the past so that we react instead of respond, cling to the familiar, and fear the future that is unknown. But the past is not the enemy. The issue is that we become crystallized and fixated in believing that our accumulated identity from the past is who we are. Angelon is a workshop l...

This iconic lyric from a song by Leonard Cohen hints at the cracks in our self-image: the wounds, weaknesses, and apparent flaws which we usually want to ignore or cover up. Rather than trying to fix ourselves or perfect some image that we have, can we simply see the cracks for what they are, let the light in, and allow the light within us to shine out? Matthew has facilitated spiritual groups tha...

The body as a temple is a metaphor in many spiritual traditions. We can build a temple of the body dedicated to our heart's intention, inner freedom, and self-knowledge through a life of practice. But how can any practice we engage shift us from perfectionistic notions towards greater compassion for ourselves and others? True practice needs a solid foundation and to focus on the highest spiritual...

There is a tendency to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. But we can learn to extend the kindness that we have within us to others, despite any fear and insecurity, in order to embody that which we intend to be. We can explore mechanics that continue to separate us and keep us in a comfort zone. Rick provides inspirational presentations for conferences and events. He ha...

Equanimity is a principle that is woven into the dharma of many different traditions, including Buddhism and yoga. We are all subject to what attracts and repels us, what we push away and what we grasp for. Our daily experience of life is our mirror, gauge, and training ground. We can learn to ride the waves of experiences of fixation and reactivity in a world of polarities, develop discrimination...

Castaneda’s stories about his experiences with his teacher, Don Juan, illustrate spiritual principles through use of specific language that we can consider in self-study: tonal and nagual (which comprise the totality of ourselves), seeing, death as an advisor, losing self-importance, stalking, stopping internal dialogue, dreaming, assemblage point, warriorship, omens, man of knowledge, etc. Karl K...

It is inevitable that we bring our conditioning, beliefs, and life experience to the path, but inner work involves an examination of the way that we relate to spiritual teaching through the filters of mind. This talk covers six basic traps outlined by Lee Lozowick: unrealistic expectations, a tendency to idolize, mistaking intellectual understanding for bodily knowledge, the seduction of peak expe...

Working with confirmation bias, the tendency to look for validation of our worldview, involves examining assumptions we make about ourselves and reality and the inclination to seek, interpret, and remember information which confirms our particular perspective. But the spiritual traditions point to an underlying Organic Innocence or openness to life and the possibilities that lie beyond our own bia...

Survival is the first concept that a child is impressed with when he or she is born. This talk considers the formation of ego, principles of ego functioning and the search to substantiate itself, practical work with our condition of assumed separation, and the spiritual freedom pointed to in the traditions. Only the universal process that can resolve the human dilemma; yet, something is required o...

Tantra works with both duality and non-duality, with both the immanent and transcendent aspects of the Divine. It involves gathering and focusing one’s energy toward a specific aim. The whole purpose of tantra is to be in relationship with Truth. In this talk, Angelon Young discusses principles of tantra, one of the most misunderstood teachings of the East. Angelon is a workshop leader, editor, an...

“What Is Spiritual Authority? How to Recognize and Use It.” While taking responsibility for our lives is a necessary part of the spiritual process, there is also a need for help to realize the presence of the divine and who we are beyond our identifications. In this talk, Regina Sara Ryan considers the question of our own trustworthiness and the trustworthiness of spiritual authority on the path....