Guru Viking Podcast

In this episode I am joined by Brandon Lee, philosopher, martial artist, and host of the Magus in the Media Youtube channel. Brandon presents his view of art as magick, laments the loss of the sacred in modern entertainment, and reveals what he believes to be an esoteric thread of sacred tradition that connects the epics of Homer to Frank Herbert’s Dune. Brandon explains why he considers Dune to b...

In this episode I am joined by Dr Johannes Niederhauser, philosopher and Founder of Halkyon Philosophy Academy. Dr Niederhauser recalls his childhood pursuit of a classical education, early interest in ancient languages, and training as a philosopher at Kings College London and the University of Warwick. Dr Niederhauser considers the problems with religious conversion, reflects on the differences...

In this episode I am once joined by Christiana Polites for a bonus episode to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of her independent publishing house, Sky Press Publications. Christiana recounts the origin of Sky Press Publications, her ongoing collaboration with Dr Nida Chengatsang, and reveals why their venture has never had a coherent business plan. Christiana takes us through the entire catalogu...

In this episode I am joined by Christiana Polites, practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, long time collaborator of Tibetan spiritual teacher Nida Chenagtsang, and founder of Sky Press Books, Pure Land Farms, the Sowa Rigpa Institute, and more. Christiana recalls her privileged upbringing in Manhattan, New York; her education in comparative religions at Harvard University; and her deep involvement in t...

In this episode I am once again joined by Samuel Bercholz, a senior teacher in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, founder of Shambala publications, and author of “Rude Awakenings:An Unconventional Guide to the Buddhist Path”. Sam reflects on the controversial behaviour of his guru, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa; explores the uneasy relationship between enlightenment and...

In this episode I am once again joined by Alan Chapman, British writer, occultist, and spiritual teacher. In episode 370, Alan shared a prophecy and predicted that a major disaster would occur in New York on the 11th of September 2026. No such disaster occurred. In this episode, Alan wrestles with the implications of his failed prediction; confronts the possible suffering he may have caused others...

In this episode I am joined by Jessica Messenger psychic, occultist and founder of a new occult bookshop, CraftHaus, in the city of Derby, England. Jessica recalls her idyllic childhood in the Midlands of England, her early affinity for the weird and metaphysical, and how a life changing experience at age 17 drove her to a lifelong study of the occult. Jessica discusses psychic gifts, mediumship,...

In this episode, filmed in London, England, I am once again joined by Delson Armstrong, spiritual teacher, meditation virtuoso, and author of ”A Mind Without Craving”. Delson recounts his recent close encounter with death in severe floods in Missouri. He recalls fighting for his life as ten feet of water filled his retreat cabin, and how he escaped with deep laceration in his foot. Delson describe...

In this episode, filmed in the city of London, I am joined by Har-Prakash Khalsa, artist, meditation teacher, and senior student and archivist of American meditation teacher Shinzen Young. Har-Prakash takes a walk through London drawing on the sights and sounds of the environment to demonstrate meditation techniques and express his experience as an advanced meditator. Har-Prakash reflects on being...

In this episode I am joined by Graham Nicholls, a leading teacher and writer of out of body experiences (OBE). Graham recalls his working class upbringing in London, his unusual schooling in a Marxist-Feminist school, and reflects at length about the British class system and its effect on his personal life and his work as a teacher. Graham details his occult explorations including contact with Goe...

In this episode I am once again joined by Leigh Brasington, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of “Right Concentration, A Practical Guide to the Jhanas”. Leigh discusses his new book “Love, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity: The Brahma Viharas – Suttas, Stories, Practices, Hidden Gems” in which he delves into the Pali canon of Buddhist scripture to shed new light on how to understand and practice th...

In this episode I am joined by Peter Kelly, independent spiritual teacher and author of “The Phoenix Birth” and “The Saturated Breath”. Peter recalls his troubled childhood, struggles with crime and addiction, imprisonment, and subsequent spiritual quest. Peter recounts what he describes as a series of powerful spiritual initiations that he believes have led him to the level of adept, how his use...

In this episode I am joined by Stuart Camps, a 30 year devotee of the American spiritual teacher Adi Da, long time curator of Adi Da’s zoo, the “Fear No More Zoo”, and author of “Lightning Thunder Cows”, a memoir of Stuart’s life with his guru. Stuart recalls his upbringing in Papa New Guinea, his later struggles to reintegrate into Australian society, and his lifelong connection with animals. Stu...

In this episode I am once again joined by Dr Ben Joffe anthropologist and scholar practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. Dr Joffe shares his recent research and publications on the topic of gegs sel, Tibetan writing about how to remedy the various obstacles and illnesses that can arise during meditation. Dr Joffe draws on Tibetan gegs sel texts to describe three types of meditation problems and five ca...

In this episode I am joined by Raya Thorne, occultist, psychic, and spiritual mentor. Raya recounts her troubled childhood, early ghost encounters, and teenage experiments in the occult and witchcraft. She describes terrifying encounters with summoned entities, details an ongoing working with a demon of the Goetia, and reveals her current understanding of the nature of spirit pacts and psychic con...

In this episode I am joined by Samuel Bercholz, a senior teacher in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, founder of Shambala publications, and author of “Rude Awakenings: An Unconventional Guide to the Buddhist Path”. Samuel recalls his childhood as the son of holocaust survivors, his arrival in America as a refugee, his rapid ascent in the Democratic party as part of the Kennedy ca...

In this episode I am joined by James Ellis - independent researcher; writer; host of the Hermitix podcast; and founder of the online magick school, the Hermitage. James traces his spiritual journey including new atheism, explorations in the occult, Gurdjieff work, conversion to and deconversion from Catholicism, and the founding of his online magick school, the Hermitage. James offers his critique...

In this episode I am once again joined by Muho, Sōtō Zen teacher, Youtuber, and previous abbot of Antai-Ji monastery in Japan. Muho recalls the early days of his marriage and of his abbotship of Antai-Ji monastery, compares Japanese to Western students, and addresses the shortcomings of Western Buddhism. Muho considers the role of the true teacher, the tension between tradition and innovation, and...

In this episode I am once again joined by Alan Chapman, British writer, occultist, and spiritual teacher. Alan takes a deep dive into his understanding of the phenomenon of prophecy, how it operates, and its surprising purpose. Alan explains the different between prophecy and prediction, the tests a prophet will face, and contrasts his approach to that of the Old Testament prophets. Alan also shar...

During a recent trip to Nepal, I met with Lama Glenn Mullin, spiritual teacher, Tibetologist, and author of over 30 books on Buddhism. Glenn was in Kathmandu to lead a group of pilgrims into tantric retreat and graciously agreed to film with me at various sacred sites before and after their retreat. In this video, Glenn and I travel to Pharping where we explore sacred sites, temples, and meditatio...

In this episode I am once again joined by Dr Francisco José Luis, scholar of Indo-Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion trained at the Sorbonne, Paris and SOAS, London. Francisco describes the religious and philosophical view of Traditionalism, tracing the ideas of figures such as René Guénon, Julius Evola, and Henry Corbin to give a sense of the different strands of this increasingly influenti...

In this interview I am once again joined by Martin Faulks: author, hermeticist, meditation adept, and memory expert. Martin discusses the recent death of his mother, reflects on the profound power of her positive support in his own life successes, and describes the surprising consequence of her loss in his own mindset and practice. Martin discusses his latest book “Long Livers”, a new edition of a...

I was recently interviewed by Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho from the Clear Mountain Monastery Project. They asked wonderful questions and we talked a lot about the power of listening. ... Their shownotes: In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Steve James, meditation teacher & host of the Guru Viking Podcast (https://www.guruviking.com/). 00:00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:01...

In this episode I am once again joined by Leigh Brasington, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of “Right Concentration, A Practical Guide to the Jhanas”. This episode begins with a brief comment from Leigh about his appearance in “Ep329: Enlightened Politics” in which he explored the relationship between Buddhism and political ideology. After that we discuss Leigh’s new book “On the Way to the...

In this episode I am once again joined by Lorin Roche PhD, meditation teacher and author of “The Radiance Sutras”. I first met Lorin at the Summit at Sea conference in 2015 where we were both teaching. We attended each others’ workshops and immediately hit it off. In those days, we both taught on the California conference circuit and were often booked to teach at the same gatherings. Over the year...