Guru Viking Podcast

I was recently interviewed by James Iandoli at 'Engaging the Phenomenon', where we discussed meditation, psychic powers, and UFOs 👽 00:00 - Who is Steve? 02:10 - Why ‘Guru Viking’? 05:05 - Becoming interested in meditation 07:52 - Contemplative Christianity 10:13 - UFOs 18:08 - Close encounters as catalysts for awakening 21:58 - Siddhi and psychic experiences 34:15 - CE5 and contacting entities 4...

In this episode I am once again joined by Henry Shukman, award-winning poet, Zen teacher, and author of ‘One Blade of Grass; a Zen memoir’.  In this interview Henry reveals what he calls Zen’s true miracle, and shares his own personal journey of healing childhood trauma in the context of spiritual awakening and integration of enlightenment. Henry also explores the two purposes of Zen koan training...

In this interview, I am joined by Professor Arthur Versluis, a professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University, author of over 25 books on subjects ranging from Western esotericism, magic, Christian Theosophy, ancient mystery schools, and more. In this episode we discuss Arthur’s latest book, ‘Conversations In Apocalyptic Times’ and...

In this interview, I am joined by Dr Angelo Dilullo, anaesthesiologist, spiritual teacher, and author of ‘Awake! It’s your Turn’. We learn how a profound existential angst in childhood and adolescence propelled Angelo into spiritual practice and, at the age of 24, precipitated a radical spiritual awakening. Angelo details the practices, shifts, and consequences of his awakening, and shares the pro...

In this episode, I am once again joined by David Curtis, a Lama in the Shangpa-Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Tibetan Language Institute. In this interview, David shares his passion for the Tibetan language and insights gained from his 27 year career teaching Tibetan to thousands of students. We learn about David’s unique approach to language learning, the unique characteristics...

In this episode I host part 6 of an ongoing conversation between Shinzen Young, meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant, Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience student, and Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Assistant Director for the Center for Consciousness Studies and Research Professor at the University of New Mexico. In this episode we take a deep dive into the dopaminergic rewar...

In this interview I am joined by Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Research Professor at the University of Arizona, Assistant Director at the Center for Consciousness Studies, and co-director of the SEMA Lab with Shinzen Young. In this episode, Jay recalls his upbringing in Mississippi, falling in love with science, and how his work synthesising MDMA as a promising undergraduate brought him o an ethical crisis...

In this episode I am joined by Henry Shukman, award-winning poet, Zen teacher, and author of ‘One Blade of Grass, a Zen memoir’. In this interview Henry discusses his upbringing in Oxford, as the son of a don and a graduate of the illustrious Dragon School, and how in poetry he found the liberating aspect of literary life. Henry reveals his first awakening experience, the breakdown that occurred t...

In this episode I am once again joined by Dr Ian A. Baker, international fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographic Society, author of 7 books, and an initiate of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu Tantric lineages. In this interview Ian recounts a life-changing encounter with a Shakta tantric Siddha in Nepal, who healed Ian of severe climbing injuries and initiated him into the Kaula Tantric...

In this episode, I am once again joined by David Curtis, a Lama in the Shangpa-Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Tibetan Language Institute. In this interview, we pick up David’s story as he emerges from 3 years of closed retreat as a fully qualified Lama, and see his return to America to teach both the Tibetan language and the Buddhist religion. David also recounts many unexpected...

In this interview I am joined by Meido Roshi, Rinzai Zen Abbot of Korinji Monastery, Wisconsin, and author of ‘Hidden Zen: Practices for Sudden Awakening and Embodied Realisation’. In this episode we discuss how childhood existential panic set Meido Roshi on a quest for spiritual meaning, travelling Asia to meet famous meditation masters such as Shri Munindra, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima R...

In this episode I am once again joined by Tibetologist, author, and Tantric Buddhist Lama Glenn Mullin. Glenn explains the 4 Classes of Buddhist Tantra - Kriya, Charya, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga - including their history and development, and what distinguishes them from each other in practice and view. Glenn reveals the structures of each level of Tantra, compares their creation and completion stage...

In this interview I am joined by Gregory Blann: mystic, artist, author, and initiate of the Inayati and Halveti-Jerrahi orders of Sufism. Gregory reveals the rich history and practices of Sufism, including meditation techniques, Zikr, and the dream practices of the Halveti-Jerrahi. Gregory also recounts his own spiritual journey from Evangelical Christianity to Gurdjieff to encounters with great S...

In this episode I am once again joined by Dr Ben Joffe, anthropologist and scholar practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. In this interview Ben takes us on a deep dive into the theory, practice, and scholarship of coitus reservatus as a Tantric religious practice. Ben compares these practices within various Buddhist lineages, as well as exploring the similarities and differences between Shaiva Tantra,...

In this episode I host part 5 of an ongoing trialogue between Shinzen Young, meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant, Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience student, and Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Assistant Director for the Center for Consciousness Studies and Research Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico. In this episode we discuss topics such as is there an en...

In this episode I am joined by Amalia Rubin - internationally known singer, Buddhist practitioner, 8 language polyglot, and scholar currently conducing her PhD research on ‘Gesar as an ongoing mode of reality in the lives of modern Tibetan youths in Eastern Tibet’ at the University of Leeds. In this interview, Amalia reveals her unusual upbringing and subsequent life of adventure, intensive langua...

In this episode I am joined by Alejandro Chaoul PhD, author, meditation teacher, Huffington Foundation Endowed Director of the Mind Body Spirit Institute at the Jung Center of Houston. Alejandro is an expert in tsa lung trulkhor, also known as Tibetan Yoga, and in this episode we discover the practices and encounters that kindled Alejandro’s fascination with this subject. We learn about Alejandro’...

In this episode I am joined by Anna Lutkajtis author of ‘Dark Side of the Dharma: Meditation, Madness, and Other Maladies on the Contemplative Path’. Anna is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Sydney who’s research focuses on mysticism, the dark night of the soul, and the healing potential of altered states of consciousness. We learn how Anna’s own existential crisis saw her embark on...

In this episode I am joined by Andrew Holecek, author, spiritual teacher, and expert on lucid dreaming and the Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep. In this interview, Andrew reveals his childhood fascination with the occult, including seances, Ouija boards, and channellers such as Edgar Cayce and Jane Roberts. We learn how a series of powerful spiritual openings set Andrew on a quest into the world’s...

In June 2020 I was interviewed for the second time by Dan Doty of DanDoty.com. Topics include: 0:00 - Living on a boat 2:59 - ‘Is Steve living the dream?’ 05:51 - Steve’s premonition 08:04 - A strange dream 12:00 - Unravelling and thinning out 15:12 -Steve’s practice approach 19:00 - Service and attention 22:38 - Being in shape 25:08 - Braindump on how to get a daily practice 31:51 - Confidence an...

In this episode I host a dialogue between Dr Ian Wickramasekera, Bön Buddhist practitioner and associate professor of Mindfulness Based Transpersonal Counselling at Naropa University, and Petra Tauchner, a student at the University of Vienna with a degree in microbiology and genetics, whose current batchelor’s thesis in psychology is based on Dr Ian’s ‘Empathic Involvement Theory’ of hypnosis. In...

In this episode I am joined by Har-Prakash Khalsa, artist, meditation teacher, and founder of the Expand Contract Youtube Channel, which hosts the video teachings of Shinzen Young. Har-Prakash discusses his early life, including ten years of heavy drug use, near death experiences in the Andes and India, and a life changing encounter with Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga. We learn of Har-Prakash’s rese...

In this episode I am joined by Drukmo Gyal Dakini, an International singer, recording artist, and practitioner of Tibetan mantra healing. Drukmo discusses her childhood in Amdo, Tibet, and the early musical and spiritual influences of her family and community. Drukmo reveals how a chance meeting with the man who would become her root guru, Dr Nida Chenagtsang, kindled a passion for Tibetan medicin...

In this episode I host part 4 of an ongoing dialogue between Shinzen Young, meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant, and Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience student. But now the dialogue has become a trialogue as we have the great pleasure of being joined by Dr Jay Sanguinetti, Assistant Director for the Center for Consciousness Studies and Research Assistant Profess...

In this episode, I am joined by Wendy and Ronnie Barry who discuss their quest to find the reincarnations of their two sons who, in 1997, died in a car crash. Upon learning of the deaths of their sons, Andy and Bobby, the Barrys immediately turned to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and entered the world of the supernatural as they followed the instructions within to guide their sons through the afte...