Guru Viking Podcast

Ep18: Leigh Brasington - Guru Viking Interviews In this episode I am joined by Leigh Brasington, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of ‘Right Concentration, A Practical Guide to the Jhanas’. Leigh talked about how he transformed from a self described pot-head to a serious meditation practitioner in his very first retreat. We learn how learning the jhanas - 8 altered states of consciousness, br...

In this episode I talk with Stephen K Hayes, martial arts master and ex security advisor to the Dalai Lama. We discuss Stephen’s early interest in the martial arts and his journey to Japan in search of the Ninja. We learn about his training and relationship with the iconoclastic sensei Masaaki Hatsui, and how it was the Stephen first met the Dalai Lama. Stephen then gives a detailed analysis of th...

In this episode I travel to the deepest Wales to meet Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, English Lamas and lineage holders in a non-celibate Tantric Buddhist order. For the video version of this Episode, click here: https://www.guruviking.com/ep16-ngapka-chogyam-and-khandro-dechen-guru-viking-interviews/ I interviewed Ngakpa Chögyam about his early life and training with Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche way...

In this episode I interview Godfrey Devereux, yoga and meditation teacher of over 45 years experience, and author of several books - including ‘Dynamic Yoga’ and ‘Yoga Unveiled’, a translation and commentary of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In this fascinating conversation we discuss how watching his uncle, an Anglican minster, pray in tree-pose sparked an overwhelming sense of reverence, how Godfrey’s...

New episode! In this interview I am joined by meditation teacher and author Daniel Ingram. Daniel sparked great controversy when in 2008 he published his first book ‘Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha: An Unusual Hardcore Dharma Book’, signing it as the Arahant Daniel Ingram. Naming himself an arahant, which is one of the highest attainments in Buddhism, flew in the face of cultural taboos...

In this episode I am joined by John Yates, PhD, aka Culadasa. Culadasa is a meditation master with more than four decades of experience in the Tibetan and Theravadin Buddhist traditions. A former professor, he taught physiology and neuroscience for many years, and later worked in the field of complementary and alternative medicine. His book ‘The Mind Illuminated’ has been described as ‘a rare and...

37-year old Bhante Jason is an Australian monk who left a career in law to wander the countryside as an aescetic Buddhist monk. Ordained in the Theravanda tradition in Sri Lanka over eight years ago, he lives outdoors without possessions except for his robes and begging bowl. Seeing hypocrisy in much of modern Buddhism's approach, Bhante Jason describes his approach to Buddhist practice as 'Classi...

In this interview I talk with Robert Beer, an internationally renowned artist who has dedicated his life to both the study of Indo-Tibetan sacred art and to experiential contact with the afterlife. Robert is the author and illustrator of the The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motif, and The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbol, as well as having his work featured in countless publications and...

Glenn H. Mullin is a Tibetologist, Buddhist writer, translator of classical Tibetan literature, and teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation. He divides his time between writing, teaching, meditating, and leading tour groups to the power places of Nepal and Tibet. In this interview we discuss Glenn’s early fascination with Tibet, his decades of rigorous study in India with the Dalai Lama’s two perso...

In this interview I am joined by Ngakpa Chögyam a blues loving, horse riding Ngakpa, who with his wife Khandro Déchen, is the Lineage Lama (principal teacher) of the Aro tradition, a tantric Buddhist house holder tradition. Ngakpa Chögyam is the author of many books and today we discuss Wisdom Eccentrics. It is ‘a rare account of remarkable lamas in the final years of a lost era’ …which chronicles...

Today I’m joined by my co-teacher Michaela Boehm for a special interview about facing adversity. Michaela's house was destroyed in the Thomas fire, the largest wild fire in California state history. We discuss the story of what happened, how Michaela used her extensive training and lifetime of practice to face this crisis, and the surprisingly inspiring themes of determination and community. Disas...

In this episode I'm joined once again by meditation teacher and Sanskrit translator Lorin Roche PhD. Our last interview was so popular, with so many requests for more, that Lorin agreed to another one! In this conversation we dive into Lorin's unique approach to meditation, look at why the way meditation is usually taught is actually damaging for most people, why monasteries psychologically castra...

Today I’m talking with Traver Boehm. I first met Traver on his fortieth birthday in the aftermath of having lost his marriage and business in a single day. Devastated by these events he had embarked on a Year to Live, inspired by the Stephen Levine book of the same title, whereby he lived an entire year as if it was his last. This conversation is very touching and insightful - we discuss the reali...

In this interview I’m joined by musicians and artists Michael Cuming and Silvana van Dijk from the Australian musical duo Visions of a Nomad. I’ve known them for a couple of years now and they’re really fascinating. In the interview we dive into the ancient wisdom of Australia including dreamtime stories, how to read nature signs, and dream interpretation. We discuss how Michael and Silvana met, w...

I was recently interviewed by Dan Doty on the Evryman Podcast and we had a really great conversation. We talked about my childhood on a remote Scottish Island, extreme outdoor survival, mystical experiences, and a bunch of other interesting things.  Enjoy! More about me: www.guruviking.com More about Dan: https://www.evryman.co/dan/

In this interview I talk with Keith McKenzie. Keith is a meditation teacher and Buddhist chaplain for the British Armed Forces and works extensively with veterans in retreats and ongoing community projects. We discuss Keith’s career as an elite soldier in the Parachute Regiment of the British army, and how severe PTSD ended Keith’s 22 years in the fire service and led to heavy substance abuse and...

In this candid interview I talk with lucid dreaming teacher and Hay House author Charlie Morley. We delve into the mysteries of lucid dreaming and and how we can use the practices of dream yoga to harness the third of our lives we spend sleeping as an inner laboratory of exploration, adventure, and even healing. We also discover how a book by the Dalai Lama radically changed Charlie's path from a...

In this interview I had the pleasure of talking with my good friend Lorin Roche. Lorin is an author, a translator, and has been teaching meditation since 1968. In our discussion we cover the multi-dimensional meanings of Sanskrit, Lorin’s early years as a renegade meditation teacher in the 60s, the possibilities and dangers of meditation, the oppressed spiritual genius of women, and why each indiv...