Gangaji Podcasts

We have been blessed to hear Aea Luz sing at Gangaji's retreats. Now, we are happy to share her beautiful voice with you. This podcast extra features a new song from Aea that was actually inspired while she was on retreat with Gangaji— One Thing Goin' On. It is taken from of her recently released album, Dust & Light available on aealuz.com.

A key strategy for our human survival is to "be special." If we stand out in some way, get noticed by others, we may find ourselves better positioned in the "herd." That isn't necessarily a problem, until the drive to be more and more special becomes an addiction and in that, is ultimately destructive. This lively exchange offers great insight into what it means to be absolutely ordinary and still...

"Stop all effort to get whatever it is you think will give you fulfillment.  All that is required is one instant of truly stopping." The longing for true freedom, for lasting fulfillment is no ordinary desire. Unlike the desires for food, shelter, or social connection that serve our physical survival, true fulfillment cannot be attained, even if we employ spiritual techniques and meditation practi...

In dealing with life's hardships, we naturally identify what is broken, what emotions need to be controlled, which circumstances need to get better. That is part of the human drive to survive. But there is something beyond brokenness, beyond any emotions we wish would go away. In the willingness to directly meet the pain we fear, rather than trying to control or get rid of it, there is a life-chan...

Our most sublime experiences of acceptance, wholeness, and truth, are commonly followed by a fierce "mind attack." If there is a willingness to investigate what is underneath the experience, there is a revelation of what is untouched in the wake of any mental phenomena.

"All of your life you have wanted to be who you are.  That is what authentic means, isn't it?" Recognizing you are just "faking it" is a moment of discriminating wisdom that reveals an essential choice point. Will you keep faking it? When the desire for the truth of who you are overwhelms every other human desire, the choice becomes clear. In this exchange, Gangaji takes us on a deep dive into the...

Many have taken a spiritual path to escape the pain of human suffering that flows from war and injustice. But the truth is, we are never separate from it all. Where can we discover the strength and the capacity to bear that pain? How can our lives be beacons of true peace?

A new composition from Scott Reich blends Gangaji's spoken word with his music. Listening is an opportunity to drop deeply into the message, "You, yourself, are Home."

If you were totally and completely seen and heard, what would that give you? As human beings living in relationship to each other, we play many different roles: partner, mother, father, son, daughter, or co-worker. In these roles, we may have the experience of not being seen or feeling invisible. In this inquiry, Gangaji takes us into the direct experience of "not being seen" to discover what is a...

"The willingness to be silence is the willingness not to be who you think you are. To not get what you think you need. Not have what you think you have. There is a nakedness in that." In her latest podcast, Gangaji and interviewer Mark Groves share a compelling conversation about what it means to be still, to stop.  How does our fear of silence lead us away from our true self, especially in the mi...

"There is some force that is seeking itself.  That desires itself. That is praying for itself." As we begin a new year, you can take a moment for reflection. You can tell the truth about what you are desiring, what you are hoping for, what you are praying for as you walk on your spiritual path. Sharing her own personal experience, Gangaji also invites you to inquire into the source of your prayers...

Musician and composer Scott Reich incorporates Gangaji's spoken word into a his new composition entitled "This Space of Stillness."  "I write music to create a place of refuge - for myself, and for all who are drawn to a place of deeper peace."

"We are here to retreat from the trouble, so that actually when the trouble returns, we have a bigger capacity, a stronger foundation to meet whatever appears." When we choose to walk on a spiritual path, our first aspiration may be to transcend our problems or at least transcend the world's problems. From the mundane to the catastrophic, problems are part of living a human life. So where is peace...

"Maybe grace, deliverance comes to get you.  Knocks on your door and says, 'You have a chance to be at peace.'  In your willingness to take that chance, to accept that invitation to be at peace, then you have an opportunity to share this peace, everywhere." Living our daily lives, we may find ourselves actually attracted to war. We can also be fed up with that attraction.  We can recognize that th...

The human desire for understanding is powerful. We naturally want to understand where we fit in or how best to fix a problem. Understanding satisfies particular needs in our daily life, but on the spiritual path, is understanding enough? Gangaji addresses the crucial difference between realization and understanding that transforms our life experience.  

When we are willing to set aside our beliefs, our thoughts, our powers of mind for an instant, the peace we long for and search for, is immediately revealed. In this lively exchange, Gangaji speaks to the experience of "losing our peace" because some thing has changed, and where finally it is always found. "You live your life in Truth, you live your life knowing that even though 'my breath changes...

Perhaps your search for peace and happiness has taken you down many different roads. It may be rooted in a desire for security, spiritual attainments,  personal power, or even just an end to feeling afraid. In this monologue, Gangaji shares how it is possible to discover the limitless peace of being that is not subject to our ideas, definitions, or circumstances. "What this appearance in your cons...

Many spiritual seekers hope to realize a "quiet mind" What is actually possible given the stream of thoughts that go through our minds every day? In this month's podcast, Gangaji speaks to the life-changing opportunity to "overhear your stories" and stop following any thought no matter how elevated or mundane the thought is. BONUS: Gangaji reads a powerful report  from a prisoner who is participat...

Take a moment to join Gangaji for a short, but revealing inquiry: "What blocks your fulfillment?" 

"To be true to the eternal truth of yourself is to ignore nothing."  Our spiritual discovery of the absolute truth of one's being can be turned into a hiding place, where we ignore harsh realities and deny the cruelest aspects of our shared humanity. Ignorance is not "bliss." Rather, it is the root of all suffering. In this powerful monologue delivered in 1999, Gangaji shares that the end of ignor...

"The more you are willing to face the helplessness of being human, the more being human is not the problem." When we step onto the spiritual path, often we hope to transcend our fears. Our fear of death and loss can drive a lack of compassion and perpetuate our unnecessary suffering. Gangaji encourages us to meet our fear, not avoid it. In a moment of giving up control and simply being undeniably...

The sacred hunger for truth, for God, for love, for peace, for freedom is the force calling us home. This deep longing doesn't leave us alone. It persists even with a lifetime of disillusionments or "unfulfilled promises." No matter what spiritual path we have taken or not taken, Gangaji offers all this encouragement: "Let this hunger for Truth have you. It is a glorious feast, and it is time to s...

At its root the desire for control is an infantile thought: "What I want is what I should have." We do have a limited capacity to control many things within our life circumstances, our relationships, or our emotions. But when we try to control what cannot be controlled, we suffer and cause others to suffer. On this podcast, Gangaji speaks to what that moment of letting go of control really is and...

Many take a spiritual path in life with a sincere desire to contribute to the well-being of all sentient beings. In this month's episode of Being Yourself , a young man asks, "How can I cultivate the heart of a Bodhisattva?" Gangaji speaks to how we can be true to the Bodhisattva heart in the face of our human, cultural, and spiritual conditioning.  

We naturally value self-reliance and independence especially in Western culture. Considering our personal survival, the desire to not be dependent on others makes sense, but is it real? In this podcast, Gangaji helps us discover the self we can truly rely on and the self-love that is revealed in that discovery.   "I would like to share with you exactly what I mean when I say self-reliant and how e...