Gangaji Podcasts

 As the new year approaches, we can to shift our focus from what we think we need to fix, and give our full attention to what is already whole and perfect. In this podcast, Gangaji speaks of the catalyst for a deeper awakening—the willingness to "unlearn" and open to what is fresh, alive, and who you are. Not a concept or memory of who you are, but as a true, living freshness. Also: We share a son...

On the spiritual search we often ask, "What do I have to do?" to find resolution and fulfillment. We look for "masters" of spirituality and enlightenment who we hope will tell us how to behave or will direct us in practices  necessary for true happiness. Gangaji makes clear that true resolution can be discovered when you set aside your cosmologies, theologies, and formulas for that which is much,...

Since 1990, Gangaji has shared Papaji's invitation to call off the search. This essential teaching serves our conscious discovery of who we truly are and is profoundly relevant to living our daily lives. In this recording, Gangaji shares a teaching story, written by a sangha member, that is relatable and true. What is discovered when we are willing to completely call off the search and simply let...

"Our minds can be agitated and we can still be aware of what is at peace, regardless of circumstances."   Gangaji speaks to the maturity needed when we are confronted with significant life challenges.  It is absolutely possible to live our lives fully as Peace and as human beings with choices. In the midst of the challenges, we may find ourselves in individually and collectively, what is our respo...

"Finally, integrity means honesty. But honesty is a moving target because of our conditioning . We have to be willing to be humbled in the recognition that what we perceived as being honest or truthful was revealed to be just a conditioned "version" of truth."   When we recognize what we have long overlooked or denied, we can have one of the most valuable experiences a human being can have: to be...

This month our conversation on the subject of racism continues. Taking us more deeply to the underlying fear that is the source of racism, Gangaji speaks about the fear of death and the fear of our own and others' freedom. Recalling her early life in Mississippi, she shares the moment when her racist conditioning was first challenged and how that awakening set her on the path to discovering true f...

This month Gangaji sits down for an interview on the subject of racism. Gangaji grew up in Mississippi, raised a white southern girl in the segregated town of Clarksdale. In this interview, she speaks about how her own racist conditioning first began to be dismantled. She invites us not only to meet the cruelty and wrongs of the past 400 years, but also to meet the internal system of racism within...

In this historic moment, white people have an opportunity to redress the long, cruel legacy of racism in America. Author Ibram X. Kendi said, "The history of racism is a history of denial." So that is where we begin with this episode: the resolve to end denial and face hard truths. In this recording from 1998, Gangaji recounts an article about Bishop Desmond Tutu. His commitment to truth and recon...

What is revealed when we stay conscious in the midst of great upheaval? When we are willing to inquire with an open mind, we can move beyond simply coping with disaster and discover a life changing truth untouched by any loss. Recorded in March of 2011 following a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, this monologue is relevant to the times we find ourselves in now, confronting a worldwide...

Mistakenly, we define who we are by the roles we play in the theater we call our lives. Then we further define ourselves with our evaluations of how well or how poorly we play those roles. When Gangaji first met Papaji, he told her to stop everything. In her willingness to stop everything and just be, Gangaji saw past the roles (mother, daughter, spiritual seeker, wife, student) and recognized her...

"When fear is experienced as energy, as feelings, without a story attached to it, without thoughts defining it, when it is not fought or made war with, what is it? What is it in your experience?" Together we are facing a global pandemic. It is something none of us has ever faced, something that is truly unknown. Naturally fear arises in uncertainty, fear that can lead to panic. How can we meet thi...

"Thank God you haven't been able to escape the dissatisfaction with life as it is prescribed."—Gangaji When we are filled with doubt and overwhelm, and all seems to be falling apart, there is the potential through self-inquiry to discover home. This enlivening exchange with Gangaji, recorded in Santa Fe in 1998, demonstrates how in our willingness to fall apart, we ultimately see what falls away a...

Is your inner critic running your life? The inner critic tells us how we are not enough, how we should be more, how we should be better than we think we are. Thinking about what is wrong with us can eat up our lives and ultimately distracts us from the essential truth. In this episode of Being Yourself , Gangaji demonstrates how to confront the inner-critic without judgment, and finally end the wa...

Where is your attention? Our minds are designed to recognize what is "wrong" and needs fixing. This aspect of our ego serves our survival as human animals. There is nothing wrong with this aspect of our ego, but if we only look for what is wrong and neglect to honor what is already whole and free, then we suffer unnecessarily. Wherever you find yourself, you can take this moment to shift your atte...

"The door is open." How can you discover freedom and peace exactly where you are right now, in your current circumstances, without changing anything? This month, reading a former prisoner's letter, Gangaji speaks to the egoic prisons we live our lives in, and how it is possible to recognize the door to freedom that is already open.    

We all play many roles in our lives: parent, child, student, seeker, teacher, boss, and many, many more. But what do we want our lives to be used for ? In this episode, Gangaji shares her own experience of being in the role of teacher and addresses how the roles we play can serve the deepest truth—the truth of who we are. Also: In a special interview, Hillary Larson, host of A Conversation with Ga...

What if the last obstacle to discovering true freedom and fulfillment is just a thought? Often hiding in plain sight, our common doubts— "I am stuck," "I am separate," "I can't help it"—are how we create our reality and suffer unnecessarily. In this episode of Being Yourself, Gangaji offers a radical invitation and demonstrates how being aware of what we are actually thinking can open the door to...

One of the ways we commonly define ourselves is by our "problems." In this episode of Being Yourself , Gangaji powerfully challenges the assumptions we have about our problems and what it means if we can or cannot find the respective solutions. If we can't solve our day-to-day problems, does that exclude us from living a free and authentic life? What really is the last obstacle that keeps one from...

    When we let go of our worldly desires, we often replace them with spiritual desires. When we want enlightenment, what is it that we imagine enlightenment will give us? Really? In this podcast Gangaji dares us to set aside all our desires just for one moment, and discover what is already here, completely fulfilled, and awake. "If you have nothing, you only have yourself. When you truly only hav...

Chasing success and avoiding failure are natural aspects of our human drive to survive. On the spiritual path, however, ending our struggle with avoiding failure offers a profound realization. This illuminating dialogue between Gangaji and a retreat participant gives us a fresh look at failure, perhaps one you have never considered. Gangaji challenges all of our assumptions and leads us to the rec...

"Enlightenment at the core is heart opening, and heart opening reveals wisdom. And wisdom is mercy. It's impossible to be merciful to anyone else if your heart is closed to yourself." We continue the investigation into self-hatred with this episode of Being Yourself. Gangaji speaks to the necessity of "kissing the toad" if you truly want to be free of patterns of self-hatred and live a life rooted...

This month, Gangaji begins an exploration into the many facets of self-hatred. Our first installment in a series begins with the egoic cycle of inflation and deflation. How do we get off this wheel of suffering? We are all familiar with feeling great and feeling horrible, but what does that have to do with who we are? This powerful monologue helps us see how the egoic structure works, and that is...

We have looked at how we project onto the so-called "other" and the unnecessary suffering that projection generates. This month, we look at how we relate to ourselves as an object in our own minds, overlooking our true face. Objectification also leads to unhappiness and suffering. In this episode, Gangaji offers the possibility to completely simplify our narratives saying, "The ultimate universal...

Projection is an aspect of our human minds that allows us to survive and to function, but projection can also lead us to suffer unnecessarily in all kinds of relationships and within our our minds. In the extreme, when we project fear and hatred onto the so-called "other", tragically it can manifest into horrendous violence. So what can we do as individuals? In this episode, Gangaji addresses how ...

In this podcast, we take a look what drives our desire for purpose and consider, what is our deepest purpose. In two powerful exchanges, Gangaji addresses how the deep fear of being nobody, and the search to be a somebody, becomes its own burden.