Guru Viking Podcast

In this interview I am joined by John Brehm, American poet and author of ‘The Dharma of Poetry’. John recalls his early life in Nebraska, formation as an unlikely poet, use of psychedelics, and discovery of the aesthetic impulse. John reads ‘Non-Harming’, a poem from his latest book ‘Dharma Talk’, and reflects on the use of poetry for personal and religious edification, as well as the power of exposing one’s darker dimensions in verse. John also discusses how to achieve profundity in poetry, the skilful use of language, why T.S. Eliot is so often criticised, and how to detect the unmistakable whiff of ego. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep230-the-dharma-of-poetry-john-brehm
 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:49 - A controversial poem 02:58 - Self awareness of one’s foibles 04:21 - How poets present themselves 04:56 - Ikkyu 05:21 - Making the sinful sacred 07:02 - Overly solemn poetry readings 07:52

In this interview I am joined by John Riley Perks, author, teacher, and was for seven years the butler and attendant of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Born in 1934, John recounts his childhood during World War 2, where he learned how to harness his intuition and psychic capacities under the guidance of his mother while avoiding air strikes and other dangers. John recalls moving to the USA in 1950 and tells of his life there through the decades of cultural change that marked the latter half of the 20th century. John describes his first meeting with renowned guru of Tibetan Buddhism Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the subsequent years in his service as personal attendant and butler. John recalls the powerful spiritual field of tantric masters and details how Trungpa worked to dismantled John’s ego in a variety of potent ways. John also reflects on the line between so called crazy wisdom activity intended to enlighten students and the abuse of trust of which so many celebrity spiritual masters, including Trungpa hi

In this interview I am joined by Buddhist teacher and doctor of Tibetan Medicine Dr Nida Chenagtsang and author and Buddhist teacher Justin Von Bujdoss. Dr Nida and Justin discuss the esoteric Dzogchen practices of trekchö and tögal, and comment on their application to inner emotional disturbance and to times of external conflict and war. Dr Nida and Justin extensively discuss the mysterious practice of dark retreat, in which the retreatant seals himself in complete darkness for days or weeks at a time, triggering powerful hallucinations which can be worked with using special techniques for spiritual advancement. Dr Nida and Justin discuss the history of dark retreat, compares the differences in the various schools of its practice, warns of its dangers in terms of psychosis, and considers the potential it offers for attaining Buddhist enlightenment. Dr Nida and Justin also explore themes of fixation, nationalism, translation, and spiritual trauma. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep22

In this interview I am joined by Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, a tantric priest in a centuries old Newari Buddhist family lineage, and master of the religious dance tradition of Charya Nritya. Prajwal Vajracharya recounts his upbringing and early training, explains why his lineage was kept secret for hundreds of years, the reasons for its emergence into public awareness, and why his family received criticism for opening up their sacred secrets. Prajwal describes the holy dance tradition of Charya Nritya and details its layers of spiritual meaning, impact on the subtle energetic body, and emphasis on embodied awakening. Prajwal also shares the application of Charya Nritya to meditation, deity yoga, and ritual, and reveals the stages of enlightenment in the Newari Buddhist tradition. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep227-the-vajra-master-prajwal-ratna-vajracharya Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:54 - Praj

In this interview I am joined by Lama Lhanang, a spiritual teacher of the Nyingma Longchen Nyingthig lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and an expert in meditation, anuyoga, geomancy, art, cultural and historical studies, and Tibetan medicine. Lama Lhanang describes his upbringing in a nomad family in Golok, Tibet, and how an encounter with a wrathful mahasiddha changed his childhood for ever. Lama Lhanang details his education in religion, ritual, and meditation as well as the disciplines of astrology and Tibetan medicine; and recounts stories of his teachers’ miraculous powers and spiritual realisations. Lama Lhanang also reveals his initial struggles upon arriving in America, highlights the distinctive qualities of American disciples, and shares his perspective on today’s turbulent events such as war in Europe and the Middle East and political division in the USA. … Link in comments. Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:06 - Noma

In this episode I am once again joined by David Johnson, a meditation teacher and author of ‘A Path to Nibbana’. In this episode David describes the forgiveness meditation technique that he teaches to his students who encounter emotional blocks in meditation practice. David recalls his own journey with forgiveness, including his experience forgiving a toxic boss, and shares his students’ accounts using this technique. David also explains the links between keeping Buddhist precepts and a peaceful mind, and details other benefits of a moral life, including increase in personal power and acquisition of siddhi. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep225-forgiveness-meditation-david-johnson-2 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:47 - Dealing with emotional blocks in meditation 01:47 - Metta vs breath as meditation object 02:37 - Advantages of metta meditation 03:16 - Emotional and psychological blocks to feeling g

In this episode I am joined by Joe Evans, founder of the Rangdröl Foundation and teacher of Dzogchen under the name Jigme Rangdröl. Joe discusses his impoverished upbringing, recounts unusual childhood resonances with aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, and reveals how his boyish fantasies about meeting a guru were shattered when he met Gelek Rinpoche in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Joe shares his own practice journey, including his dream yoga skills and understanding of the Great Perfection, and recalls a transformative Vajrayogini retreat in which powerful meditation and dream experiences saw him seek the guidance of famous Dzogchen master Namkhai Norbu. Joe also shares his love of books, gives a tour of his library, highlights volumes of particular significance, and discusses the role of study in the path of Dzogchen. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep224-american-dzogchenpa-joe-evans Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro

In this episode I am once again joined by Naomi Levine, author, under her birth name Norma Levine, of multiple books including ‘The Miraculous 16th Karmapa’, ‘A Quest For The Hidden Lands’, and ‘Chronicles of Love and Death: My Years With The Last Spiritual King of Bhutan’. In this interview, Naomi discusses the life of Freda Bedi, born in 1911 and also known as Sister Palmo; activist, radical, and the first Western woman to take full ordination in Tibetan Buddhism. Naomi recounts Freda’s upbringing, education at Oxford University, controversial marriage to the communist activist BPL Bedi, flight from Nazi Germany, and arrival in India. Naomi describes Freda’s conversion to Buddhism, ordination, and founding of the ‘Young Lama’s Homeschool’, where she taught English to young Tulkus such as Chogyam Trungpa, Ringu, Thupten Zopa, Chokyi Nyima, and more. Naomi also discusses Freda’s religious practice, the remarkable circumstances of her death, and shares the accounts of Buddhist lamas who ascribe to Freda

In this interview, I am once again 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 Arthur discusses his latest book ‘American Gnosis’ in which he explores the surprising connections between the Gnostic tradition and contemporary American spirituality, politics, and popular media. Arthur shows the ways in which gnostic religious themes explicitly and implicitly express in political groups such as the dissident right, probes Eric Voegelin’s theories which propose links between gnosticism and left wing political movements, and explores the blend of cosmological and metaphysical gnosis in the writings of David Icke. Arthur also details the key features of neognosticism, discusses the meme battles over the Matrix film’s ‘red pill’, and considers the overlaps b

In this episode I am once again joined by John Myrdhin Reynolds, also known as Lama Vajranatha: writer, teacher, translator, and scholar/practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.  John begins with a discussion about the unique characteristics of Dzogchen, common misunderstandings that have arisen from its widespread popularity, and the differences between Dzogchen, Mahāmudrā, and the kenshō of Zen. John discusses his extensive field research into Himalayan shamanism, spirit possession and rituals of exorcism, shamanic diagnosis and healing, and what it takes to become a shaman. John also explores the various classes of spirit including gyalpo spirits who manifest as authoritarianism and sectarianism, recounts experiences of spirit attacks, and explains the differences between the shaman, lama, and magician. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep221-exorcism-himalayan-shamanism-john-myrdhin-reynolds-3 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include:

In this episode I am once again joined by Morgan O Smith, teacher of non-duality, and under the stage name ‘Mista Mo’, was a stand-up comedian and host of the Gemini award winning television show ‘Buzz’. In this episode Morgan discusses his latest book ‘Bodhi in the Brain’, a guide to meditation using Morgan’s Yinnergy method. Morgan describes how he developed the method, as well as its role in his own awakening journey, and shares the results of applying it in schools, prisons, and in his role as a youth worker. Morgan also reveals how it was he integrated the devotional path of Bhakti yoga into his spiritual, what he has learned about the power of the guru’s shaktipat energy transmission, the necessity of purification and catharsis, and the transformative effects of awakening the heart and not just the head. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep220-bodhi-in-the-brain-morgan-o-smith-3 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00

In this episode I am once again joined by Lionel Snell, a contemporary English magician, publisher, and, under various pen names such as Ramsey Dukes, a renowned author on magic and philosophy. Lionel explores the idea that people, societies, and even cultures cycle through 4 distinct phases with profound affects. Lionel traces the history of the last hundreds and even thousands of years and identifies the emergence of these phases with periods of religious fervour, scientific progress, magickal revivals, and artistic eruption. Lionel explains the similarities and differences between magick and art, the archetypes of the feminine, and the fear of the free woman. Lionel also provides analysis of our current time, reveals how finding the Trickster can unravel polarised and dualistic thinking, and how a deep understanding of the occult can be noted in leading political and cultural figures. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep219-cycles-of-the-occult-ramsey-dukes-2 Also available on Yo

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 reveals his upcoming solo retreat plans and personal meditation goals and considers why it is that he continues to meditate after so many decades of practice. Leigh recalls his career as a computer programmer and draws analogies from the computer world to the workings of human beings on the Dharma path. Leigh expresses his views on AI, in particular whether or not AI will replace meditation teachers, and goes on to explore what makes a great meditation teacher and what makes a bad one, as well as the importance of heart connection when leading retreats, and answers the question ‘how enlightened should someone be before they can teach meditation?. Leigh also shares an exchange he had with an AI in which he asks questions about jhana meditation and evaluates the AI’s answers. Leigh goes on to offer his take on Shinzen Young’s ultrasound neurom

In this episode I am once again joined by Dr Alexander Arguelles, world-renowned polyglot, linguist, and scholar of comparative religion. Dr Arguelles discusses the spiritual dimension of language, recounts his own experiences of self-transcendence, and comments on the power of reading sacred works in their original languages. Dr Arguelles reflects on his personal explorations in meditation, pranayama, and prayer and shares his own method to silence the monkey mind with a combination of breath control and linguistic meditation. Dr Arguelles also discusses how to include work and study as a part of spiritual practice, details the lifestyle habits required to nourish the life of the mind, and warns against the deleterious effects of the convenience traps found in modern life. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep217-spiritual-life-of-the-mind-dr-alexander-arguelles-3 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:56 - Sp

In this interview I am joined by Mordy Levine, serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Beginners’ with Lama Lhanang and published by Sounds True. Mordy reveals the origins of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, considers the validity of the claims of its supernatural transmission, and pulls back the curtain on his own writing process in collaboration with Nyingma meditation master Lama Lhanang. Mordy discusses the subject of money and spirituality and recounts his own journey from poverty and avarice to financial and business success and beyond, to a more enlightened view informed by Buddhist doctrines. Mordy also addresses the range of dysfunctional money attitudes found in American Buddhism such aversive attitudes to money based on beliefs that money is fundamentally unspiritual, immoral, and evil. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep216-death-money-dharma-mordy-levine

 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking

In this interview I am once again joined by Anthony Metivier, author and internationally renowned memory expert who’s meditation practice is reciting sacred Sanskrit texts from memory. Anthony takes us on a journey through the memory techniques that enable them to memorise hours of material in a variety of languages, including Sanskrit texts such as the Ribhu Gita, swathes of Shakespeare, and detailed facts and figures. Anthony demonstrates his use of the memory palace technique, pulls back the curtain on the art of spaced repetition, and recounts the life of 16th century Hermetic occultist and memory master Giordano Bruno. Anthony also reveals how he used memory techniques to face severe childhood trauma, to untangle a pattern of generational rage, and reflects on subjects such as non-duality, radical honesty, and consciousness. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep215-unlocking-the-power-of-memory-anthony-metivier-3 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking

In this episode I am once again joined by Dr Julian Schott, Indologist & Tibetologist, trained at institutions such as the renowned Center for the Study of Manuscript Culture at the University of Hamburg. In the first section of the episode, Dr Schott discusses the idea that Buddhist Studies as an academic discipline is in decline, with meagre enrolment, falling standards, and the deemphasis on philology and mastery of the tradition’s scriptural languages. Dr Schott also reflects on the skills and attitudes that make a good scholar. For the rest of the episode Dr Schott discusses his re-edition of ‘Indrabhūtis Jñānasiddhi: An In-depth Study of it’s Indian Origins and Early Tradition within the Indo-Tibetan Mahāmudrā Teachings’, details the philological process of reconstructing this important text and explains the pathway from the inception of the idea to obtaining funding to eventual publication. Dr Schott also remarks on the early tantric tradition in India, compares its character to later tantric forms

In this episode I am joined by Dr Nicholas Van Dam, the inaugural Director of the Contemplative Studies Centre and an Associate Professor in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, and Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience graduate. Dr Van Dam discusses his 2018 paper ‘Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation’ which levels serious criticisms at his own field of mindfulness research and contemplative neuroscience, taking aim at poor methodological practices, problems with definitions, and the strong incentives in the field which can conflict with the pursuit of science. Dr Van Dam reveals what he calls the unholy triad of mindfulness research, explores the theme of elitism in meditation, and raises questions about the studies conducted on Buddhist contemplative Matthieu Ricard, known as the ‘happiest man in the world’. Dr Van Dam also considers the degree to which mindfulness can be meaningfu

I was recently interviewed by Mark V Wiley for his ‘Transformations Podcast' with a particular focus on ritual, religion, meditation, martial arts, my teenage apprenticeship to a Christian mystic, and more. ... Mark's Shownotes: Our discussion touched a wide variety of subjects from Steve early childhood entering karate, being an altar boy and the comparative rituals of both, early fiction writing, and introduction to a Celtic mystic; crossing thresholds, energy work, altered states and meditation; ways to manage pain, merge with it and let it go; Movement Koan Method and migraine relief. 0:14 The Guru Viking - not just a guy on a boat 4:38 Non-ordinary lifestyle, aesthetic and embodied nature of karate 7:45 Profound Altar boy ritual experience, shared ideology but private faith, personal contemplative space 11:45 Story: Wado-Ryu karate 12:17 crossing thresholds: martial art and religious space and ritual 16:56 The young contemplative, TV sound meditation and thought problems 19:02 Observation of ma

In this episode I am joined by David Johnson, a meditation teacher and author of ‘A Path to Nibbana’, a complete meditation guide to TWIM. David shares details about the life of his recently deceased teacher, Bhante Vimalaramsi, including their first meetings in the 1970s meditation scene, the last days of Bhante Vimalaramsi’s life, and the consequences of his death for the religious organisation he left behind. David recounts his own life story, including twenty years of meditation in the Vipassana movement and a detailed description of how he achieved its version of stream entry. David explains how practicing Bhante Vimalaramsi’s teachings showed to him that the stream entry achieved through Vipassana meditation is merely a mental blackout, and explains how to achieve true awakening through the practice of TWIM. David also defines enlightenment, discusses psychic siddhi powers, and questions the enlightenment of figures such as Dipa Ma, suggesting their attainments were much less than widely believe