Deep Transformation

Ep. 225 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of our eloquent, passionate, and humorous, dialogue with comedian John Fugelsang, author of the important and irreverent book, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, we come to understand what fundamentalism is, and what it signifies for our culture, our politics, and our future. John outlines five common features that characterize fundamentalism across religious traditions, pointing out that fundamentalist Christians have more in common with fundamentalist Muslims than they do with moderate and liberal Christians. “I go after fundamentalists of all religions,” John says, “because it’s turning people off to faith—ruining Christianity, ruining Islam, ruining Judaism.” This is the tragedy for John and what fuels his passion for calling out the hypocrites who do hateful things in the name of religion.John also enlightens us as to what Christian nationalism is all about, starting way back: “In the U.S., our history of Christianity is inseparable from our history of white supremacy.” Christian nationalism’s religion is power—a gospel of domination over love. Authoritarian leaders and their followers all worship power, he continues, and fills us in on how Christian nationalism is playing out in Russia now. John’s own message is not hateful; his intention is to make it clear that Jesus always taught love and kindness; to suggest that if the Church wants to survive, it needs to go back to the teachings of Jesus; and to help us come together in a common understanding of fundamental values. “It’s hard to love the bigot in your family,” John says. But we can “…hold to the deepest values, the most love, and do what needs to be done with love. We can’t hate the haters back, but we have to beat them without hating them—that’s the challenge.” Recorded December 18, 2025.“The greatest tragedy to me is when people think that something is religion and don’t realize it’s just fundamentalism.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Fundamentalist Christians have more in common with fundamentalist Muslims than they do with moderate & liberal Christians (00:39) 5 common features of fundamentalism across traditions: women are inferior, violence is okay, punishment over healing & a victimhood complex (00:51)MLK was deeply unpopular at the time of his death—just like Jesus (03:43)Every generation there’s a new word to smear the virtues of love, empathy & caring for others (05:01)Christian nationalism: a gospel of domination over love (07:59)Prosperity gospel: God will reward you if you give to our Church (09:50)Christian nationalism in Russia (13:47)Authoritarian leaders & followers all worship power (15:34)If the Church wants to survive, they need to go back to the teachings of Jesus (17:28)Recreating Jesus as a white guy led to centuries of racism and cruelty (19:55)Using the Bible as camouflage: most people haven’t read it & figure others haven’t either (21:06)What weirdness in the Bible stands out most for John? (26:02)Growing up, it seemed normal that Christianity was about love & helping people who don’t look like you (29:45)It’s hard to love the bigot in your family (30:58)We can’t hate the haters back, but we have to beat them without hating them—that’s the challenge (33:04)Abortion has redefined Christianity, but the Bible never mentions anything against it (34:35)Resources & References – Part 2John Fugelsang, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing FraudsJohn Fugelsang’s SiriusXM show: Tell Me EverythingJohn Fugelsang’s podcast: The Sanity-CastKing in the Wilderness, documentary about Martin Luther King focused on the final two years of his lifeJerry Falwell, televangelist & conservative activistFreedom From Religion 2026 ConventionProsperity theologyMatthew 25Sharon Salzberg, renowned meditation teacher---John Fugelsang is the author of the New York Times bestseller SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND HATE: A Sane Person’s Guide To Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds. He has been murdered on CSI and picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church. John is a Drama League–nominated actor, comedian, and broadcaster, who’s hosted many TV shows and podcasts, including the acclaimed Tell Me Everything series on SiriusXM Progress. He got George Harrison to give his final performance on VH1, debated Jerry Falwell and David Duke, and made many appearances on MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN. His epic PBS road trip film on the American Dream, Dream On, directed by Roger Weisberg, was named Best Documentary at the New York Independent Film Festival. Fugelsang lives in New York City with his family.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

3/12/26 • 40:50

Ep. 224 (Part 1 of 2) | John Fugelsang, author of the brilliant, irreverent book, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, talks eloquently about the difference between true Christianity as taught by Jesus and the hateful teachings of Christian nationalists and televangelists who are in it for the power and the money. John grew up with a clear notion of what Christianity should look like; his parents lived their faith grounded in peace, love, empathy, and service, dedicating their lives to helping people in need, no matter their color or differences. So John set out to take the Bible back from “small-minded, right-wing, nationalist racists,” because he finds it tragic that vast numbers of people are being alienated from faith altogether, and he wanted to give his readers arguments they could use to face off with right-wing Christians about what the Bible really says. Christians and atheists have told him his book validates all of their beliefs, and he has inspired crowds of atheists to cheer loudly for Jesus.John is an actor, comedian, and talk show host, and his quick wit and well-informed, well-intentioned intellect make for a fast-paced, enjoyable, and educational foray into subjects such as how right-wing nationalists have made Christianity out to be a religion of condemnation and domination; how they quote Saint Paul, with all of his sex hangups and homophobia, rather than Jesus; and how it’s always been the Christ followers pushing back against authoritarian Christianity—adding that Jesus’ teachings are as threatening to authoritarian power today as they were 2,000 years ago. This is a timely, very important conversation about a subject that involves all of us: reclaiming the foundational values of love, humility, open-mindedness, and service. Recorded December 18, 2025.“Jesus is not about condemnation or domination; his whole movement is about transformation.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing John Fugelsang, award-winning actor & comedian, author of Separation of Church and Hate (00:40)Feeling your religion of peace and love has been hijacked by small-minded, right-wing, nationalist racists (02:59)What was John’s experience writing Separation of Church and Hate? (05:15)How could a religion of love be the same as the fundamentalist stuff we hear on televangelical TV? (08:58)Religion didn’t invent hate, but hate has always found a home in religion (11:25)It’s always been the Christ followers who push back against authoritarian Christianity (14:26)It was Saint Paul—not Jesus—who was anti-woman, anti-gay, and a persecutor of Christians (16:51)Hypocrisy is what outraged Jesus (21:51)Right-wing Christianity does not care about the teachings of Christ, only about conservative Christian power (23:47)The media never covers all the ways people of different religions get along just fine (26:29)Showing our right-wing Christian relatives that Jesus is not an immigrant-hating homophobe in the Bible does more good than calling them out for being immigrant-hating homophobes (29:34)Using scripture & nonviolence to shame frauds out of the Christian nationalism racket (31:50)In the Bible, you can find anything you want to justify your actions (33:29)How has John’s book been received? (35:46)Fundamentalism in any religion means you know that God thinks you’re better than other people (38:19)Fundamentalism is rooted in a particular stage of development where absolute beliefs—black & white, right & wrong—are what’s most important (40:13)Resources & References – Part 1John Fugelsang, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing FraudsJohn Fugelsang’s SiriusXM show: Tell Me EverythingJohn Fugelsang’s podcast: The Sanity-CastDietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor who gave his life resisting Nazi Germany’s Christian nationalismPaul the Apostle was born Saul of TarsusBishop John Shelby Spong of NewarkMatthew 25Senator Raphael Warlock uses scripture & nonviolence to shame frauds out of the racket of Christian nationalism---John Fugelsang is the author of the New York Times bestseller SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND HATE: A Sane Person’s Guide To Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds. He has been murdered on CSI and picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church. John is a Drama League–nominated actor, comedian, and broadcaster, who’s hosted many TV shows and podcasts, including the acclaimed Tell Me Everything series on SiriusXM Progress. He got George Harrison to give his final performance on VH1, debated Jerry Falwell and David Duke, and made many appearances on MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN. His epic PBS road trip film on the American Dream, Dream On, directed by Roger Weisberg, was named Best Documentary at the New York Independent Film Festival. Fugelsang lives in New York City with his family.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

3/5/26 • 45:12

Ep. 223 | Four solid years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, integral thinkers Kateryna Yasko and Vytautas Bučiūnas relate what life in Ukraine is like—emotionally, physically, spiritually. Far from what you might expect of a conversation about the state of Ukraine after four years of war—far from being battered and downtrodden—this is a story of resilience, resourcefulness, courage, and accelerated human development. Kateryna likens Ukraine to a living laboratory of transformation—with everyone united in the fight to preserve democracy and their identity as a nation, “the social fabric is strong, the resilience is astonishing…heroes receive a lot of gratitude from the people they serve.” On a personal level, Kateryna and Vytas share how they have grown in ways they wouldn’t have expected: capacities have widened, appreciation of life has deepened, and experiences of profound joy arise in giving their all, together with their compatriots, for the future of the next generation.Leadership in Ukraine is in an evolutionary elevator, Vytautas, an integral leadership development consultant, tells us. Leaders no longer have the option to be reactive or habitual, and this has generated extraordinary creativity and courage in leadership in the military, business, politics, and social groups. Kateryna, a pedagogical psychologist, points out that human rights, democracy, and freedom are foundational for spiritual growth. People need to understand how to manifest their political self, she says, because if they don’t, they will tend to escape into spirituality in a form of spiritual bypassing. “What can we do to help? co-host John Dupuy asks. “Come to Ukraine!” Kateryna and Vytas respond. Come experience and co-create the vertical development happening in this living laboratory of modern crisis. Recorded February 8, 2026.“The best way to practice spirituality is human rights assurance and activism; all the rest is secondary.”Topics & Time StampsIntroducing from Kyiv, Kateryna Yasko, pedagogical psychologist & Vytautas Bučiūnas, integral coach & leadership development consultant (01:01)What is the psychological and physical weather in Ukraine after 4 years of war? (03:36)Russia is using this very cold winter as a weapon, deliberately targeting infrastructure that supplies electricity & heat (04:08)The social fabric is strong, the resilience is astonishing (06:34)There’s no choice—surrendering is not an option; the war would not end (12:10)Transformation has to include politics: assuring free speech and democracy comes before spiritual work (14:12)What forces are keeping Ukrainians together? (18:14)Humor is a big help (22:15)Leadership in Ukraine is in an evolutionary elevator (24:38) Courage, creative thinking, and gaming logic in the military (27:17)In Kyiv, with guns everywhere, the level of crime is very low (33:14)Putin is hostage to this war now; there are up to 50,000 Russian casualties per month (35:09)John shares his Ukraine! song and the accompanying YouTube video, created by Kateryna’s daughter (36:44)Come to Ukraine! Experience the vertical development happening in this living laboratory of modern crisis (42:10)Measuring teenagers’ developmental levels: Ukrainians are maturing faster, evolving faster (43:59)Donations are welcome (see recommended options under Resources below) (46:04)Passing the 1,418 days of war mark: this war has now run longer than Russia’s “Great Patriotic War,” so glorified after WWII (47:28)Resources & ReferencesJames Hillman & Michael Ventura, We’ve Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy and the World’s Getting WorseKeeping the Soul of Ukraine Alive: Maintaining Personal & National Ideals while Under Fire in Ukraine (Deep Transformation podcast)Валерій Пекар, Бесіди майстра Хай Тао про стратегію (Master Hai Tao’s Conversations About Strategy by Ukrainian Integralist Valeriy Pekar – as of this writing, this book is not yet available in English, but here is a YouTube interview with the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btADES9iwfYUkraine! Song by John Dupuy (YouTube video)Daniel Kirkpatrick, At The Edge of Democracy: A Pacifist’s Visit to UkraineRobert Kegan’s Stage Theory of Adult DevelopmentSusanne Cook-Greuter, Stages of Human Development (Elevating Consciousness podcast YouTube video)Recommended Donation Sites – Support Ukraine!United24, the official fundraising platform of Ukraine initiated by President Zelenskyy, founded to protect, save, and rebuild UkraineCome Back Alive, the Foundation for Competent Assistance to the ArmyYou are also welcome to donate to a cause of your choice (i.e., evacuating soldiers from the front lines, buying rifles, saving Ukrainian culture, and more, through Kateryna’s PayPal email below, full transparency guaranteed.Support via PayPal---Kateryna Yasko (Ukraine) is a psychologist and business trainer specializing in the development of emotional intelligence, trust, cooperation, effective communication, and peaceful conflict resolution. She is the co-founder of the civic and cultural initiatives Embassy of Ukrainian Sense-making and Prōstory. Her academic background includes degrees in international relations and law (MSc), business administration (MBA), and psychology (MSc). Kateryna’s programs are grounded in Integral Theory developed by Ken Wilber, Nonviolent Communication created by Marshall Rosenberg, Speech Act Theory, and the commitment-based organizational culture approach of Fernando Flores. She holds certifications from the Center for Nonviolent Communication, Spiral Dynamics Integral, Harthill Consulting (Leadership...

2/26/26 • 51:04

Ep. 222 (Part 2 of 2) | A. H. Almaas’ teachings on spiritual love and the inner beloved are based on his own experience, he explains in Part 2 of the first dialogue in the Path of Love Series. “In this path, experience is almost everything,” he says. Spiritual experience created the Diamond Approach—it isn’t a philosophy. What makes Hameed’s path of love unique and different from other paths of love, like the Sufi and the bhakti paths? First off, it is the methodology: the practice of inquiry. Inquiry combines both mind and heart, Hameed explains. It adds a means of discernment that helps to keep the force of love from going astray on its own; it brings understanding to our experience, and shows us our obstacles. “[This path] has in it the sensibilities of modern mind and modern life and how to live it from the perspective of the heart.” Another unique feature of A. H. Almaas’ path of love is how we experience drawing closer and closer to the inner beloved. Hameed describes the experience of approaching the inner beloved as a heartrending mixture of “sweetness, passion, ecstasy, drunkenness… many stages of melting, surrender, effulgence, fullness, radiance… all intertwined with yearning and pain and the feeling of being separate” from one’s heart’s true desire. With his customary concise eloquence, Hameed also answers several of the co-hosts’ questions: How does Hameed see contemporary society in the light of this vision of love? Does he think humanity will wake up? What is a fulfilled life? Hameed concludes by telling us that the question this path of love is designed to answer is, how do you live your life while also engaging in the way of the heart? Recorded December 11, 2025.“The mind asks the questions, the heart finds the answers. The mind gets clear, the heart melts.“Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2The difference between Hameed’s approach and other paths of love is the methodology: inquiry (00:32)Truth is a quality of the heart, not the mind; the heart knows truth, the mind doesn’t (05:43)Spiritual experience created Hameed’s teaching—it isn’t a philosophy (09:08)The union between inquiry and the force of love (11:19)The heart is patterned by our history, especially our history of love (15:39)Two common misunderstandings: attributing love to an external source, and believing there is only one manifestation of spirit (17:51)Nearing the inner beloved, there are many stages of melting, surrender, passion, ecstasy, all intertwined with yearning and pain, the feeling of separation (18:49)How does Hameed see contemporary society and its many discontents in the light of this vision of love? (20:53)Is humanity going to wake up? (23:03)What is a fulfilled life? (27:29)On the path, the ego self becomes not just secondary—it’s gone (31:11)The death wish: to dissolve into the inner beloved (32:07)A possible future series by Hameed: What happens after you’re enlightened? (34:21)How do you live your life and follow the way of the heart? (35:57)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas, The Inner Beloved: The Heart’s Journey to Divine UnityA. H. Almaas, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened HeartA. H. Almaas, Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of RealityBhakti, a concept common in Indian religions, may refer to loving devotion for a personal God, a formless ultimate reality, or an enlightened beingSeven Levels of Being, Sufi Path of LoveKen Wilber, The Spectrum of ConsciousnessExploring Gurdjieff’s Insight: Man as a Machine (Gurdjieff Central)Sri Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?---Deep Transformation’s Path of Love Series with A. H. AlmaasDeep Transformation’s Path of Love Series begins with an overview of Hameed Ali’s Love Trilogy — Love Unveiled, Nondual Love, and The Inner Beloved — to orient us on the spiritual path of love unique to Hameed Ali and the Diamond Approach, then delves into the profound and deeply touching topics Hameed addresses in his most recent book, The Inner Beloved, published in February 2026. Listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this extraordinary path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

2/19/26 • 38:45

Ep. 221 (Part 1 of 2) | Deep Transformation is excited to release the first episode in our new Path of Love Series with A. H. Almaas, in honor and celebration of Hameed Ali’s latest book, The Inner Beloved. The series begins with Hameed sharing his motivation for writing all three of the books in his Love Trilogy (Love Unveiled, Nondual Love, The Inner Beloved), namely, when he realized his prior books had omitted to teach specifically about the role of love on the spiritual path. Love is the energy, the driving force toward union with our inner nature, Hameed explains, and it is love that dissolves the obstacles that remain towards the end of the path. It is the path of heart that gets you all the way.Hameed orients us with an overview of the Diamond Approach’s experiential path of love, gifting us with some tremendous teachings on love as a prelude to delving deeply into his newest book, The Inner Beloved. When asked, What is the inner beloved? he responds, The beloved is not just love. Love serves the beloved, love is the way to the beloved. The inner beloved is what our deepest heart longs for. The path of the heart is painful at times, he continues, because we feel separate from what we yearn to become one with. At the end of the dialogue, Hameed shares that with his path of love teachings, he wants us to know there is a way to address our longing, our yearning. There is a way for it to complete itself, he assures us. Recorded December 11, 2025.“The beloved is the deepest nondual truth you can experience.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing A. H. Almaas and his trilogy of books on love: Love Unveiled, Nondual Love, and The Inner Beloved (00:48)Hameed’s motivation to write about love came when he realized his prior books had omitted teaching about the role of love on the spiritual path (04:27)The first book in the trilogy, Love Unveiled, talks about 3 kinds of love important in human life and in spiritual practice (07:01)The second book, Nondual Love, talks about the boundless dimension of universal love (09:05)The third book, The Inner Beloved, is about the path of love—the movement toward our fundamental nature through the heart (10:59)Roger points out that Hameed’s teachings on love go far beyond other spiritual teachings (12:20)The beloved is not just love: love serves the beloved, love is the way to the beloved (13:35)We all have 3 centers of operation: head, heart & belly—each one is a spiritual brain of its own (16:24)Love is the most explicit motivator for the spiritual journey (18:08)The Diamond Approach is not about being liberated or free from suffering, it’s about loving to know the truth (20:40)The path of the heart is painful because we feel separate from what we yearn to become one with (24:13)Emptying the heart of all other loves (26:01)The inner beloved is the most jealous of beloveds (30:21)Was there a certain point of surrender for Hameed? (33:04)Love’s function is to move us towards the inner beloved (35:55)(For fans of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, the Wisdom Series, based on Hameed’s book The Inner Journey Home, will be continued later in the spring.)Resources & References – Part 1A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series on Deep Transformation, based on Hameed’s book The Inner Journey HomeA. H. Almaas, The Inner Beloved: The Heart's Journey to Divine UnityA. H. Almaas, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened HeartA. H. Almaas, Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of RealityA. H. Almaas, The Point of Existence: Transformations of Narcissism in Self-RealizationA. H. Almaas, The Pearl Beyond Price: Integration of Personality into Being: An Object Relations ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Void: Inner Spaciousness and Ego StructureRam Dass, renowned spiritual teacher, psychologist, and authorBhakti, a concept common in Indian religions, may refer to loving devotion for a personal God, a formless ultimate reality, or an enlightened beingSri Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?Kabir, Indian mystic and poet---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by

2/12/26 • 38:21

Ep. 220 (Part 2 of 2) | In part 2 of Sliding Towards Authoritarianism, Constitutional Law expert and Ethics professor Mark Fischler unpacks the significance of the extreme lack of civic understanding in the United States and, well informed about students’ cognitive abilities and mental health status nationwide, adds the precipitous drop in achievement scores and through-the-roof diagnoses of ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression to the mix, concluding, “You begin to see why an authoritarian world requiring only simple actions and answers would be more attractive than a democratic world that requires complexity, conversation, and the ability to see the intrinsic worth of the person across from you… to collectively decide to honor democratic processes and the winner who was voted in.”This is the challenge, Mark says: “Since everybody has a partial piece of the truth, we need to ask ourselves, am I curious enough to understand another’s partial piece of truth in order to enrich myself and help me understand that we are all in this together?” “We need to take up the fight for greater awareness that recognizes the good, the true, the beautiful, and the oneness of what is,” he continues. Despite all that Mark has shared with us regarding the current Administration’s dehumanizing, authoritarian tactics and other significant factors contributing to the deterioration of our democracy, when asked what gives him hope, Mark answers, “A lot of things!” The discussion ends in a hopeful place—grim realities balanced with inspiring trends, including the growing recognition around the world that we are all in this together in what is essentially one global village. Recorded December 4, 2025.“To understand is to forgive.” – Dr. Michael FischlerTopics & Time Stamps – Part 2What the problem of pervasive civic ignorance signifies for our democracy (01:02)Our susceptibility to authoritarian leaders is not surprising considering our ignorance of civil responsibility (04:53)Future shock: people under stress regress psychologically, making it even easier for an authoritarian to take over (06:57)There is more than one reason for our pervasive civic ignorance (09:08)Using A.I. to fact-check what we see and hear (10:37)Education: cognitive understanding in young people has plunged below lowest-level functioning thresholds (16:35)Among students, autism, ADHD, anxiety & depression diagnoses are through the roof (18:03)Because of people’s lack of achievement & lack of civic understanding, it makes sense that people are willing to let democracy go (19:40)Cultivating a quest for truth is part of the solution (22:48)A call to contemplative warriors to take up the fight for greater awareness that recognizes the good, the true, the beautiful—and the oneness of what is (25:35)Everybody has a partial piece of the truth (28:36)To understand is to forgive (32:30)The Supreme Court is asking, should we even take race into account? (35:22)What gives Mark hope? A lot of things! (39:51)Resources & References – Part 2Professor Mark Fischler, Plymouth State UniversityThe Integral Justice Warrior series, co-hosted by Mark Fischler and Corey deVos (Integral Life website)Justice David Souter’s speech at UNH’s Franklin Pierce School of Law: Constitutionally Speaking: How Does The Constitution Keep Up With The TimesAlvin Toffler, Future ShockJia Lynn Yang, America’s Children Are Unwell (NY Times, Nov 2025)Ken Wilber, A Post-Truth World: Politics, Polarization, and a Vision for Transcending the ChaosLao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 27: “…what is a good man but a bad man’s teacher…”Ken Wilber’s prime directive: protect and promote the well-being of the whole developmental spiral of consciousness, rather than privileging just one level or worldview, A Theory of EverythingLouisiana v. CalaisGreg Thomas on the Deep Transformation podcast: Using the Dance of Our Differences to Wise Up, Harmonize, and Actualize---Mark Fischler is a professor of Ethics, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Procedure at Plymouth State University. Prior to joining the Plymouth State faculty, he practiced law, representing poor criminal defendants for the New Hampshire Public Defender’s Office. Mark left the law after being guided by the Universe to focus on his Spiritual Awareness for almost two years. Upon his return, he was called to become a teacher and accepted a job at Plymouth State in 2003.Since then, Mark has worked extensively with alternative theoretical models in law, constitutional law, and higher education, and has published on integral applications to teaching, being a lawyer, and legal theory. In his time at the university, he’s been a chair, Dean, and Interim VP. His focus in the classroom is ethics and criminal procedure and constitutional law. He is well respected for a teaching philosophy that emphasizes recognizing the humanity and dignity of each student. Professor Fischler was awarded the outstanding teaching award at his university in 2014. He currently offers a weekly Spiritual Inquiry class for college students and also for faculty and staff.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

2/5/26 • 47:23

Ep. 219 (Part 1 of 2) | Constitutional Law expert and Ethics professor Mark Fischler joins Deep Transformation again, to help us make sense of the slide towards authoritarianism happening in the United States today. Mark’s vast knowledge of the law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court, his deep comprehension of ethics and morality, his Integral understanding, and his profound contemplative awareness all make for an extraordinary exploration of what is going on in this country at levels we don’t often consider. Beginning with examples of events in 2025 that are representative of various facets of authoritarianism, Mark goes on to discuss how the very crassness of the current Administration is undermining democracy: “We need to demand civil, fact-based discussion from our leaders, but we’re all accepting it’s okay to act like toddlers and dehumanize each other.”Mark cites some stunning figures illustrating the widespread ignorance of democratic processes and institutions among the populace in this country, and describes why a lack of civic understanding makes us susceptible to authoritarians coming in and taking over. He also acknowledges that progressives are at fault for marginalizing conservatives, and calls on us to recognize the honor and dignity of all people, regardless of their politics—this is part of the solution, he explains. Mark’s passionate caring, wanting the best for all people and all beings, is a current that flows throughout, grounding the discussion in a beautiful way, while also making for a heartbreaking contrast relative to the chilling events happening in the political arena now. Recorded December 4, 2025.“An ignorant people can never remain a free people.” – Thomas JeffersonTopics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing a frequent guest on Deep Transformation: Ethics, Law & Criminal Justice professor Mark Fischler, to help us make sense of our deteriorating democracy (00:43)The trajectory of Trump’s presidency: the devolution of democracy towards authoritarian government (01:51)John presents defining characteristics of fascism according to A. I. (04:01)How does Mark define authoritarianism? (07:24)Mark offers examples of 12 hallmarks of authoritarian government that happened in 2025, beginning with the stifling of dissent and speech (08:12)Statistics on how U.S. citizens feel our democracy is performing (16:51)What surprises Mark the most? The crassness & crudeness of the Trump Administration (18:15) The deterioration in the greater culture at large: who and what is responsible? (21:19)Deflecting our attention using whataboutism breeds cynicism & corrodes our democracy (24:45)We need to demand civil, fact-based discussion from our leaders, but we’re all accepting it’s okay to act like toddlers and dehumanize each other (30:00)Recognizing the humanity & inner dignity of everyone is part of the solution (31:16)Progressives on their side are at fault for marginalizing conservatives (33:38)The red meme mentality (Spiral Dynamics) that is taking place (39:24)Why pervasive civic ignorance in the U.S. is a very significant problem (41:57)Resources & References – Part 1Professor Mark Fischler, Plymouth State UniversityThe Integral Justice Warrior series, co-hosted by Mark Fischler and Corey deVos (Integral Life website)NY Times Editorial Board, Are We Losing Our Democracy? (Oct 2025)Judge Michael Luttig, President for Life (The Atlantic, Dec 2025)Tom Nichols, A Confederacy of Toddlers (The Atlantic, Nov 2025)Supreme Court Justice David SouterKen Wilber’s prime directive: protect and promote the well-being of the whole developmental spiral of consciousness, rather than privileging just one level or worldview, A Theory of EverythingMona Charon, Whataboutism Is Rotting Our Brains, Our Consciences, and Our Politics (The Bulwark, June 2025)David Brooks, What if We’re the Bad Guys Here? (NY Times Opinion, Aug 2023)Don Beck & Christopher Cowan, Spiral Dynamics, Mastering Values, Leadership and ChangeKen Wilber, BoomeritisJustice David Souter’s speech at UNH’s Franklin Pierce School of Law: Constitutionally Speaking: How Does The Constitution Keep Up With The Times---Mark Fischler is a professor of Ethics, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Procedure at Plymouth State University. Prior to joining the Plymouth State faculty, he practiced law, representing poor criminal defendants for the New Hampshire Public Defender’s Office. Mark left the law after being guided by the Universe to focus on his Spiritual Awareness for almost two years. Upon his return, he was called to become a teacher and accepted a job at Plymouth State in 2003. Since then, Mark has worked extensively with alternative theoretical models in law, constitutional law, and higher education, and has published on integral applications to teaching, being a lawyer, and legal theory. In his time at the university, he’s been a chair, Dean, and Interim VP. His focus in the classroom is ethics and criminal procedure and constitutional law. He is well respected for a teaching...

1/29/26 • 46:00

Ep. 218 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the 17th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the great freedom we experience when we allow being itself to unfold through us—when we let reality take its course without our egoic selves getting in the way. When we are out of the way, Hameed explains, all the virtues come through us: responsibility, ethics, morality, compassion, caring, sensitivity, and more. These ideals are not human-made, he says, they are expressions of our true nature. In fact, Hameed adds, this is what a true human is; expressing the absolute is the fulfillment of life. Just knowing the absolute does not eliminate all obstacles, Hameed continues. Even as we go very deep, there are “ego islands” that pose ongoing difficulties. But the practice is to be with our experience and let it inform us—allow our life experiences to become the arena for the expression of spirit. All we need to do is abide in the knowing that the absolute is expressing itself through us, Hameed says. And laughs telling a story about the “do nothing” instructions of lamas and Zen teachers, as they attempt to show their students that there is nothing to be done but get out of the way. All manifestation, our lives, even our problems and challenges and getting lost in the illusion is all a play of the absolute, Roger reflects. Another very rich, deeply nourishing conversation with A. H. Almaas. Recorded November 13, 2025.“If we become mature enough to cease and desist, to let reality take its course… when we’re out of the way, true nature will come through—that’s what a true human is.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Is there such a thing as a false descent? (00:33)Most of the time, a realization of the absolute is incomplete—there are still some issues that haven’t been worked out (01:43)Hameed’s teachings expanded as his experience expanded (04:22)Even a spiritual teacher with an incomplete realization can be helpful; what causes trouble is when teachers don’t acknowledge their knowing is limited (07:26)All we need to do is abide in the knowing that the absolute is expressing itself through us (12:25)The practice is to be with our experience; the ego gets in the way by trying to take over (15:00)The great freedom of allowing reality to take its course: the do nothing meditation (18:02)Our life is fulfilled when we’re acting at the behest of the absolute (23:10)Even as we know the absolute, there is always more to be free from (24:17)The central issue of descent is letting go of all identification—of our ego, even of the absolute (28:41)Reality is such an interesting thing—even ignorance is an interesting thing (31:57)True nature is indestructible, incorruptible—at bottom it is perfect (34:26)Don’t get discouraged reading this chapter, if you just learn a few things, that’s all that matters (37:02)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityChogyal Namkhai Norbu & Adriano Clemente, The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde, initial Dzogchen book that says any spiritual practice will only delay enlightenment Seng-t’san, the Third Chinese Patriarch, The Hsin Hsin Ming, Verses on the Faith-MindA. H. Almaas, Runaway Realization: Living a Life of Ceaseless DiscoveryDzogchenLectio DivinaThe A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more. ---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

1/22/26 • 41:33

Ep. 217 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 17th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the classic spiritual theme: the journey of descent. What happens after we awaken, having had a realization of the deepest kind? The path of descent, where we retain the awareness of what came with our experience of the absolute, and bring it into our life, expressing it with every aspect of our being. Many teachings talk about the ascent (the journey of awakening) and the descent, Hameed explains, but when they talk about the descent, they interpret it as an individual coming down the mountain with their great realization. Hameed thought this was how it happened too, he laughs. But then it became clear to him following his own descent that it is not an enlightened individual who descends back into the world—it’s the absolute. In Christian terms, it’s the father who comes, appearing as the son.What was it like for Hameed as he descended, living in the absolute dimension at the same time as living in the everyday world? co-host John Dupuy asks. Something transcendent lives through the body with the individual as the organ of perception, Hameed responds. “The entire universe becomes subtle shimmerings…like the waves in quantum theory; the blackness so extreme that it shines—and that sheen is the world.” Different from the classic Eastern spiritual path, where what is significant is living the transcendent rather than living regular life, in the Diamond Approach (Hameed’s path), actualization is the goal, coming back to the everyday world and living life as an expression of the Absolute. Recorded November 13, 2025.“It is inherent to true nature for it to be lived in the world.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 17th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the journey of descent: actualizing the realization of the absolute (00:39)The path begins with the journey of ascent, then comes realization, then the path of descent: actualization, living your realization (04:46)Being in the world and not of it is an important principle of the Diamond Approach (06:44)What was it like for Hameed as he descended, living in the absolute dimension and the everyday world simultaneously? (08:17)It’s not the individual who descends but the Absolute (14:45)Differentiating from the Eastern spiritual path, where what’s important is living the transcendent rather than living life (19:33)Are there obstacles to the descent? (20:44)In descent, the entire universe becomes subtle shimmerings… like the waves in quantum theory (25:04)Something transcendent lives through the body; the individual is the organ of perception (27:06)Hameed was already a spiritual teacher, sharing about the journey of ascent, before he experienced the journey of descent (29:49)Can a person experience a series of cycles of ascent and descent? (31:06)In Christian language, the descent is the father coming into this world, appearing as the son (33:14) Authenticity: the practice is to be your experience, abide in it, and let it reveal its truth (34:29)The quintessence is the full integration of all the dimensions (36:13)The absence of substance is what gives the Absolute its power (37:46)Resources & References – Part 1A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityRamana Maharshi, Hindu sage and liberated beingCynthia Bourgeault, modern-day mystic, author, retreat leaderSri Nisargadatta MaharajArnold Toynbee’s cycle of withdrawal and return, A Study of HistoryDzogchenMahamudraDharmakāyaThe A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

1/15/26 • 41:04

Ep. 216 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of Deep Transformation’s first episode in the What is Real Greatness Series, longtime spiritual teacher Jack Kornfield declares that in his experience real greatness is a greatness of heart. In Buddhism, greatness of heart is embodied in the ideal of the bodhisattva—one whose life is dedicated to the well-being of all. Embodying compassion is not a grim proposition, Jack explains, but a joy! The whole point of it being human happiness and inner freedom. Because of his deep understanding of compassion, Jack was invited to the Oslo Freedom Forum to counsel global activists on how to prevent burnout, and when talking to them about their outrage, he told them, “You do this because you care—that is not a loss of power, it’s actually the deep power. Tune into the care.” Greatness of heart is the great power.Jack relates that the experience of awakening can be felt in different ways: it might feel like everything is love, perfection, emptiness, or freedom. For me, the channel is love and my practice is to love everyone, he explains. We have to love both the lion and the gazelle, he continues, and shares a poignant story of how very loving Ram Dass became towards the end of his life, loving everything, even his pain. When the conversation turns towards the potential demise of humanity, Jack wonders, will we be able to do something beneficial with our consciousness now that we’re aware that we are all connected? What is the spirit you want to lead with? he asks. What is the dance you want to do? A thoroughly thought provoking, nourishing, inspiring conversation. Recorded October 2, 2025.“You think you’re separate – you think you exist. But you’re not who you think you are. You are consciousness in drag.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2You think you’re separate, but you’re not who you think you are (00:27)The bodhisattva vow as aspiration, never off-duty (04:23)What real greatness is changes with each turning of Buddhism (08:26)The experience of awakening can be felt in different ways: love, perfection, emptiness, or freedom (12:19)Jack’s channel & inspiration is love; and a story of how very loving Ram Dass became (19:00)Teaching activists to remember to hold themselves in their own circle of compassion at the Oslo Freedom Forum (23:52)Jack’s upcoming workshop: Inner Technology for Outer Technologists (29:18)How do you embody the bodhisattva? Spiritual practice isn’t a grim duty—it’s actually joyful (31:08)As Andre Gidé said, joy is our moral obligation (32:49) What stands out to Jack about all the amazing people he’s encountered? (34:09)When there’s a greatness of heart…that is the great power (35:04)The hospice now is for humanity, not for Earth, which knows how to take care of itself (37:42)What is the spirit you want to lead with? What is the dance you want to do? (40:18)The end questions: Did I love well? Did I live fully? Did I learn to let go? (41:13)Your purpose here is to deliver your cargo, your gifts (41:47)Resources & References – Part 2Jack Kornfield, founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society, author of A Path with Heart and many moreStanislav Grof, LSD: Doorway to the NuminousRam Dass & Rameshwar Das, Be Love Now: The Path of the HeartThe Oslo Freedom Forum, bringing together the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, journalists, artists, tech entrepreneurs & world leaders to brainstorm ways to unleash human potential around the globeThe Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing WorldNobel prize winner André GideMalidoma Patrice Somé, shaman, writer & workshop leader, primarily in the field of spiritualityZen Master Seungsahn, The Compass of Zen---Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India, and Burma. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. He is one of the key teachers to introduce mindfulness practice to the West, has taught internationally since 1974, and is the author of 17 books which have sold 2 million copies.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

1/8/26 • 48:28

Ep. 215 (Part 1 of 2) | The first of Deep Transformation’s What is Real Greatness Series, this conversation with world-renowned meditation teacher Jack Kornfield is filled with beautiful teachings touching into the sacred at the heart of our lives and the point of our whole spiritual journey: to remember and embody our innate capacity to awaken and experience the reality of our own innate dignity and nobility. Respecting ourselves at the deepest level is what transforms us and transforms society too, Jack explains. “Do you hold yourself with nobility and respect?” he asks. “Can you remember your own beauty and dignity? Can you see it in others?”The topic of greatness—real greatness—is woven throughout the dialogue, as Jack recounts the seed events of his own spiritual journey and ruminates on Roger’s question, what is the sacred question at the center of your life? This is a question Jack often asks his own students, and we are inspired to ponder it for ourselves, along with, if you were to write your own bodhisattva vow, what would it be? Jack is a master at inspiring us to live our ideals, to broaden the possibilities of our lives, and to remember the miracle of our existence. A warmly personal, deeply profound discussion. Recorded October 2, 2025.“The beautiful thing about the bodhisattva ideal is that it becomes your intention… it becomes the setting of the compass of your heart.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the first of Deep Transformation’s What is Real Greatness? series (00:38)Introducing renowned meditation teacher, prolific author, and clinical psychologist Jack Kornfield (03:09)In discussing real greatness, Jack advises not to throw out money & power as being unworthy (04:47)The story of Emperor Ashoka, who shifted from seeking outer greatness to seeking inner greatness: peace of mind and heart (07:49)How the Buddha turned the Hindu caste system on its head, honoring young monks for their innate nobility (13:17)Can you remember your own beauty & dignity? Can you see it in others? (16:19)Each of us has a sacred question at the center of our lives, what’s been Jack’s? (17:30)Jack’s first draw to Buddhism: suffering and the relief from suffering (21:08)The seeds of our sacred journeys: the path doesn’t go from here to there but from there to here (24:15)It’s completely weird that we exist! (25:40)King Ashoka & other historical figures, good candidates for the What is Real Greatness Series (27:13)Do we ask ourselves, “How do I live?” (28:28)The beautiful thing about the bodhisattva ideal is that it becomes the setting of the compass of your heart (31:32)The prayer with which the Dalai Lama begins his day (36:37)Ideals illuminate the possibilities of how we might live (38:39)If you were to write your own bodhisattva vow… what would it be? (40:47)Sometimes it’s suffering and sometimes it’s an awakening experience that draws us to spirituality (44:28)Jane Goodall, interspecies bodhisattva, and the story of Joanna Macy’s wake (47:37)Resources & References – Part 1Jack Kornfield, founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society Mind & Life Institute, bringing science & contemplative wisdom together to better understand the mind and create positive change in the worldJack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual LifeJack Kornfield, The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist PsychologyJack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy Right Where You AreEmperor Ashoka the Great is credited with an important role in spreading Buddhism across ancient AsiaDr. Wing-tsit Chan, Chinese scholar and professorT. S. Eliot, “…the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time, ” from Eliot’s 1942 poem “Little Gidding”Meditations of Marcus AureliusShantideva, 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet & scholarDiane Ackerman’s poem “School Prayer,” “In the name of daybreak… I offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature…”The Sufi tradition of SohbetTrudy Goodman, founding teacher of InsightLA and co-founder of the Institute for Meditation and PsychotherapyRemembering Jane GoodallJoanna Macy, beloved environmental activist, author & scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep...

1/1/26 • 54:56

Ep. 214 (Part 2 of 2) | Part 2 of the 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series takes us on a sweet journey farther into our exploration of the nature of the absolute. Hameed Ali discusses the paradox of the absolute, being both source and cessation of all things, the nonduality of emptiness and beingness, these being two sides of the same coin, and explains why many nondual teachings do not touch upon the absolute. He makes sense of the difficult-to-fathom concept of pure emptiness, explaining that the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence—and relates that Mystery is the essence of the absolute, the fundamental essence of the nature of reality. “We are never going to know where it’s at, what’s happening, what life is about,” he laughs. Our knowledge is but “small islands in the vast ocean of mystery we live in;” mystery cannot be eliminated.In the absolute, the soul finds its final resting place, Hameed tells us. The absolute is our true home—the essence of the meaning of home. All humans are searching for their true home, Hameed says, and they search in many places. But here the search is over. Reflections of the absolute bring us closer to love, like when we are in love, Hameed continues. Being in love with an outer beloved brings us closer to the inner beloved and we see deeper. “The absolute is total intimacy, Hameed finishes. “In the absolute we are intimate with everything.” How do we express this in the world, in our ordinary lives? “It becomes very simple,” Hameed says. “The absolute is the essence of simplicity—so simple, even though there is a profundity…” Recorded October 9, 2025.“You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality.”​ Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Emptiness is nondual with consciousness, two sides of the same thing (01:03)Many nondual teachings don’t talk about the absolute (02:50)You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality (03:32)There’s no sense of individual self, but some teachings take the absolute as the ultimate Self (04:52)Making sense of pure emptiness: the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence (09:47) The absolute is the essence of mystery (12:59)Experiencing all phenomena as projections of the absolute (13:57)The absolute reveals that true nature itself is unmanifest (17:58)Mystery is the nature of the absolute; the absolute IS mystery (19:08)The absolute is the extreme limit of purity; the heart empty of everything except the love of God (23:13)We live in an ocean of mystery; what we know are little islands (25:07)The search ends in the absolute; the soul is home (27:32)Reflections of the absolute bring us closer to love, like when we are in love (32:28)The absolute can pour itself into a manifest being expressing itself in the world: beyond realization to actualization (33:46)The absolute is the essence of simplicity, even though there is a profundity… (35:23)The absolute is total intimacy; we are intimate with everything (38:28)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityStanislav Grof writes about the plenum void in Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in PsychotherapySri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am ThatKashmir ShaivismLongchenpa: A Guide For Readers (Shambhala)Samaneri Jayasāra’s YouTube readings: The Wisdom of the MastersSamaneri Jayasāra on the Deep Transformation podcast: Creating Priceless Gifts of WisdomHuston Smith’s autobiography, Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the DivineThe Ten Ox Herding Pictures from the Zen traditionIsaac Newton, “… to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore…”The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books,...

12/25/25 • 40:24

Ep. 213 (Part 1 of 2) | The 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series is about the absolute, the source dimension of all manifestation, deeper than any other dimension, the vastness beyond vastness. In Part 1, Hameed gives a wonderful description of the majesty and the blackness of the absolute, and tells the story of when he first experienced being one with the absolute himself. When Roger Walsh asks him, what are the doorways to the absolute, Hameed talks about mystical poverty and also the way of the heart. “When the true beloved shines through the heart, it’s an amazing ecstasy… a mindblowing kind of beauty,” he says. He discusses the fear people often feel as they approach cessation of all perception, and the need for the basic trust we were born with (which often gets clobbered as we grow up) to proceed. What changes after an experience of the absolute? John Dupuy asks. If one abides in this realization, it cleanses the soul of all impurities, and our action embodies the virtues, Hameed answers.In Part 2, which will be released December 25th, Hameed delves into the paradox of the absolute (the absolute is the elimination, the annihilation, the cessation of all things—and the source of all things), the nonduality of emptiness and awareness, and explains that mystery is the essence of the absolute: the absolute IS mystery, he says. There is laughter all around when Hameed says you can never completely “get” it, because there’s nothing there to get! Your mind disappears as you’re trying to get it. Towards the end, the conversation relaxes so deeply into the subject of the absolute, you can just about feel its presence. We become intimate with everything in the absolute, Hameed says. It is the soul’s final resting place, our true home, where the search ends. Recorded October 9, 2025.“The absolute itself is majesty, and the universe that emerges is beauty.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing dialogue #16 in the A.H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the source dimension, the apex of Hameed’s book The Inner Journey Home (00:41)“By simply witnessing the process of manifestation… the soul experiences itself as a vast silent witness… discovering a dimension deeper than any other, the absolute” (02:18)Being the absolute, one experiences an emptiness so empty there is no sensation (05:29)Cessation of perception, as the Buddha called it, was exactly Hameed’s experience (09:57)Neglected teachings of Nisargadatta: awareness that is not aware of itself can be experienced as “rock-like” (11:26)The story of Hameed’s first experience of the absolute (15:19)Is the absolute the destination? What is cessation? Is it the same as the absolute? (16:47)What changes after an experience of the absolute? (21:00) The absolute is majesty, the universe that emerges is beauty (23:18)The flowering of virtues follows true realization (24:24)The spiritual path has two sides: knowing who you are and living it (26:03)Moving towards cessation, people feel terror (26:53)Trust is essential; the more we are loved as an infant, the more we trust (28:25)What are the doorways into the realization of the absolute? (32:02)Mystical poverty is one doorway; the recognition that the soul has nothing of its own—it all comes from the Source (35:29)There is also the way of the heart, finding the true beloved within (38:03)Resources & References – Part 1A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityA. H. Almaas, The Inner Beloved: The Heart’s Journey to Divine UnityRamana Maharshi, Hindu sage and liberated beingDzogchen’s dharmakāyaThe black light in Sufism (see Henry Corbin’s The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism and others)Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, “I am rock-like; awareness that is not aware of itself”Advaita VedantaSt. John of the Cross talks about black light in The Dark Night of the SoulErik Erikson, Childhood and Society : The Landmark Work on the Social Significance of ChildhoodIbn Arabi, Sufi mystic, poet, philosopher, “… look for me in the heart of my lovers”The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more. ---Podcast produced by...

12/18/25 • 42:32

Ep. 212 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the compelling conversation with SAND founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, the discussion turns to the making of their 2021 documentary film about the tragic injustices inflicted upon Palestinians in the West Bank. Where Olive Trees Weep is a very beautiful, heartbreaking, and eye opening film we highly recommend to our listeners. “How do we stop the violence?” asks co-host John Dupuy. No one knows the answer, but “each of us can find a way to alleviate the suffering in Palestine now as we grapple with the question of how to stop the wounds that continue to bleed,” Zaya and Maurizio contend. “We can stand for justice, food, and human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians and fight for their freedom.” Spiritual communities are mostly quiet on this issue, Zaya mentions. But “it’s not a political issue,” she says, “it’s a human issue—we are losing our humanity. If we believe in oneness, we need to face our discomfort and turn towards the pain, towards the suffering. Discomfort is the very essence of the issue on a psychological and archetypal level,” Zaya adds. Zaya and Maurizio are also working on a remarkable series of films called The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth teachings from Indigenous communities around the world. To date, they have released The Eternal Song, Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, and most recently If an Owl Calls Your Name. Thank you, Zaya and Maurizio, for contributing your gifts in these stunning films, so poignant and important in these disconnected, turbulent times, and for sharing your extraordinary wisdom with our Deep Transformation listeners. Recorded October 16, 2025.“Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time. We are all one; we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Making the 2021 film Where Olive Trees Weep, about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank (00:58)Making films about the effects of colonization all over the world (04:36)The more hateful the emails Zaya & Mauriozio received, the more they answered & engaged (06:01)There are 80 years of history behind the conflict in Palestine; everywhere you look there’s injustice (06:57)Apartheid in Palestine is maybe more extreme than in South Africa (10:26)What can we do about Gaza now? Stand for justice, food & human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians & fight for their freedom (12:37)Netanyahu is not the problem, the system is rotten to the core (15:20)How do we stop the violence? (18:49)Acknowledging the beauty & power of Zaya & Maurizio’s Where Olive Trees Weep (20:37)The silence about Gaza in most spiritual communities: if we believe in oneness, we need to turn towards the suffering (25:38) Thanking Zaya & Maurizio for the film, and tales of the transformative effects of engaging with senders of hate mail (29:26)Zaya & Maurizio’s movie The Eternal Song came out in June 2025, but they are making many more films in Indigenous communities, like If an Owl Calls Your Name (link below) (34:10)Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time—we are all one, and we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos (37:57)Resources & References – Part 2Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, founders of the Science & Nonduality ConferenceThe Wisdom of Trauma featuring Gabor Maté, produced by Zaya & Maurizio BenazzoWhere Olive Trees Weep, produced by Zaya & Maurizio BenazzoRabbi Lynn GottliebMeital Yaniv, BloodlinesTara Brach, courageous spiritual teacherJohn Dupuy’s song, Ukraine! on YouTubeThe Eternal Song, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo If an Owl Calls Your Name, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo---Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience. Together they have produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, Where Olive Trees Weep, Mauri, and If an Owl Calls Your Name. Zaya and Maurizio live, work, and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people, in Sebastopol, California.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

12/11/25 • 41:51

Ep. 211 (Part 1 of 2) | Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo are not only the founders of the longstanding and highly regarded Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND), but also brilliant filmmakers, producing stunning documentaries about the injustice and suffering occurring in Palestine and elsewhere, as well as films that feature the eternal wisdom of elders from Indigenous communities around the world. Zaya and Maurizio are clearly passionate about their work, and co-host Roger Walsh points out they do a beautiful job of intertwining the personal, professional, and spiritual into an offering that meets the needs of our time. As Maurizio says, “There is no spiritual work. Period. Everything is spiritual work! It’s life.”In Part 1 of this episode, lively and inspired, Zaya and Maurizio share what they’ve learned about life, spirituality, trauma, healing, guidance, and the deep-time perspective of the Maori. They relate the trajectory of SAND’s evolution from featuring male-dominated nondual teachings to including an understanding of trauma, somatic healing, feminine, earth-oriented teachings, and Indigenous wisdom. “Healing never ends; it’s a lifelong journey—there’s no modern solution that will ‘fix’ you,” Zaya tells us. Also, “We are constantly being guided if we just listen.”In Part 2, Zaya and Maurizio describe the making of their 2021 documentary about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, a beautiful, heartbreaking film called Where Olive Trees Weep. Also their film The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth Indigenous teachings, so valuable and timely for us now in our chaotic, disconnected world. This whole conversation is thought provoking, delightful, profound, paradigm shifting, and inspiring all at once. Recorded October 16, 2025.“There is no spiritual work without trauma work.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, documentary filmmakers & founders of the Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND) (00:57)Tracing the trajectory of Zaya & Maurizio’s work, beginning in India (02:24)What was Nisargadatta Maharaj’s legacy? (03:47)Putting science and mystics together: the seed that created SAND (06:35)How SAND evolved from male-dominated nondual teachings to include the body, an understanding of trauma, and female & Indigenous teachers (08:18)Feminizing spiritual teachings: women mystics & their connection with the Earth (12:38)SAND focuses on educating the audience to be open, ask good questions, rather than uplifting particular teachers (16:09)How the film The Wisdom of Trauma with Gabor Maté went viral (20:08)All of life is spiritual work, and there’s no spiritual work without trauma work, but spiritual bypassing was very real at SAND (24:13)With Maté’s understanding about trauma, people find they’re not alone and they don’t need to “fix” the pain (26:39)Healing is a lifelong journey; trauma is systemic and intergenerational (32:08)The deep-time perspective and how the Maori trace their ancestors back to the stars (33:22)Indigenous teachers say we heal backwards and we heal forwards; nothing is individual, we are all interconnected (34:54)Now is the time for the Long Dark, not the time for the search for the light (38:52)We are all here for a purpose, and we are constantly being guided if we just listen (42:31)The suffering of today’s youth, isolated and without elders (45:00)Resources & References – Part 1Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, founders of the Science & Nonduality ConferenceZaya & Maurizio’s first movie together: The Rays of the Absolute: The Legacy of Sri Nisargadatta MaharajSri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am ThatDr. Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic CultureThe A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (on the Deep Transformation podcast)The Wisdom of Trauma featuring Gabor Maté, produced by Zaya & Maurizio BenazzoMauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, produced by Zaya & Maurizio BenazzoFrancis Weller: The Long Dark (YouTube video)Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History (the cycle of withdrawal and return)Where Olive Trees Weep, produced by Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo---Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience. Together they have produced and directed several award-winning documentaries including The Wisdom of Trauma, The Art of Life, Rays of the Absolute, Where Olive Trees Weep, Mauri, and If an Owl Calls Your Name. Zaya and Maurizio live, work, and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people, in Sebastopol, California.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

12/4/25 • 49:44

Ep. 210 (Part 3 of 3) | In Part 3 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali speaks about the evolutionary aspect of the creative dynamism of the universe. He explains there is an optimizing, transformative force that is responsible for one form changing to another, like a caterpillar to a butterfly. This developmental force is in alignment with Western concepts of evolution and progress, and applies to spiritual realization, too. There is also an optimizing force specific to the human soul, Hameed tells us, that fuels the hearts that burn with the desire for liberation. This is the force responsible for spiritual development. In Buddhism it is called bodhicitta, the desire for enlightenment.Why do some people have a fierce desire to seek the truth, asks co-host Roger Walsh, but many do not? Hameed replies that most people are busy making a living, doing their best to get by. In this case the transformative force remains a potential but is not actualized. Seekers possessed by the flame of the search turn inward, asking, What is God? What is truth? What is reality? Scientists look at this externally, he says, but it is the inward turn that reveals the source of the inner fire, the logos, the word that speaks through our souls and through our hearts. Towards the end of the conversation, Hameed laughs at how upside down things are with us looking for answers everywhere but within and thinking the logos speaks through who we think we are, not realizing we ourselves actually are the logos. If we realize who we truly are, he says, the world itself becomes richer. Another infinitely inspiring talk with A. H. Almaas, filled with astonishing wisdom and loving humor. Recorded September 11, 2025.“Be attentive to the inner calling. Inner pleasure far surpasses outer pleasure.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 3The developmental aspect of creative dynamism & the Western concept of evolution, of progress (00:39)Development is part of the order, the progression of one form to another, the process of maturation, like spiritual realization (03:36)The universe has an optimizing, transformative force, like a caterpillar to a butterfly (09:02)There is also an optimizing force specific to the human soul, where hearts burn with desire for liberation; this is responsible for spiritual development (11:41) Why do some people have this desire and most do not? (13:44)In the Western world, spiritual realization is a luxury; in the East there is some support for people pursuing realization (17:08)Intensifying & purifying spiritual aspiration with practice: we find pleasure when the soul turns inward (19:13)Be attentive to this inner calling: know thyself (22:40)The flame of the search reveals the source of the inner fire, the logos, the word that is speaking through our souls, our hearts (25:02)Resources & References – Part 3A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityMahamudra’s one taste, the third of the Four Stages of YogaDzogchenRamana MaharshiMarkabah, the second diamond vehicle to appear, is the vehicle of pleasure, understanding pleasure from the spiritual perspective---The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

11/27/25 • 31:34

Ep. 209 (Part 2 of 3) | In Part 2 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali delves into the very creation of reality by the logos, the source of all life. Logos (an ancient Greek term) is often considered to mean “word,” but Hameed uses it in its deeper sense, where logos is not only the word but also the speaker—the living field of manifestation. The soul is very similar to the logos, Hameed adds, with the same sense of flow, dynamism, and creativity. Hameed points out that the universe could have been created haphazardly, but because it was created in an orderly fashion, it allows for our lives to be meaningful. And, he continues, it is the dimension of love implicit in the logos that brings a beautiful sense of harmony, love, and gratitude to the human soul.What about all the disharmony in the world? co-host Roger Walsh asks. How can genocide happen in a world that is divinely harmonious? To help explain this, Hameed uses the human body as an example of two perspectives that co-exist: from the perspective of time, we die, he says, but from the perspective of the particle, all is perfect. Hameed also describes his personal experience of being aligned with the creative dynamism of the logos, creating himself and the world anew each moment, like the way frames in a movie are constantly being replaced. The more we live this, he says, the more we bring harmony to the world. Join us also for Part 3 of this deep and intriguing dive into the nature of reality, where Hameed continues to talk about creative dynamism and the logos, and explains how this pertains to our own individual spiritual evolution. Recorded September 11, 2025.“For the divine all is harmony, but for us human beings, it looks like mayhem.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2The soul is very similar to the logos, with the same sense of flow, dynamism & creativity (00:42)Quantum theory says the field is generated by physical phenomena—but the logos is created out of spiritual mass, it’s the living field of manifestation (01:25)The universe is alive and the logos is the source of all life (05:25)Creative dynamism is a nondual dynamism that brings order to the universe; this creative order is what makes our lives meaningful (05:50)An intelligence has created the universe so that it knows itself (09:42)All forms in the nondual are basically noetic forms, and the logos is an unfoldment of these forms (11:30)If the dimension of love is implicit in the logos, it brings a beautiful sense of harmony, love & gratitude to the human soul (12:35)What about all the disharmony in the world? For the divine all is harmony, but for us human beings, it looks like mayhem (13:24)Take the example of the human body: from the perspective of time we die, from the perspective of the particle it’s all perfect (14:47)Hameed’s experience of creating himself and the world each moment (17:01)The dualistic world is not an illusion; it’s one way the logos manifests reality (21:18)Direct transmission: the Black Hat Ceremony of the 16th Karmapa (22:30)In the Diamond Approach, transmission happens through words; the word is not separate from the state (25:59)The word transmission is a misnomer; it’s a direct invocation (28:53)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityFederico Faggin, Italian-American physicist, engineer, inventorThe Great Perfection, Center for Contemplative ResearchAdvaita VedantaRangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, the Black Hat CeremonyThe A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

11/20/25 • 32:46

Ep. 208 (Part 1 of 3) | In Part 1 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us about the dynamic, creative force that generates our reality. “Dynamism is constant,” Hameed explains, “it never stops—it is constantly creating what we experience, what we perceive.” Hameed calls this nondual dimension of true nature—of our nature—creative dynamism. How do you explain change, he asks, if it’s not happening in time, and all of reality is one fabric, nondual? The dynamism Hameed speaks of, ongoing and total, has a radical implication: the entire universe is re-created, instant by instant. Not only the physical dimension, Hameed adds, but all dimensions—mental, emotional, and spiritual—are re-created anew.As co-host Roger Walsh points out, Hameed’s teachings come from direct experience, and Hameed describes his own mind-blowing experience of the moment-by-moment re-creation of himself and the world in Part 2 of this dialogue. Nothing persists, he discovers, movement is not continual. In Part 1, Hameed also explores the subjects of free will, action, and choice as addressed from a nondual perspective, and the fact that we and our actions emerge from the totality of reality. As always, Hameed transmits his joy and exuberance at the mysterious and marvelous ways true nature expresses itself, and it is exciting to realize our own nature is as dynamic, creative, flowing and changing, as the universe. Recorded September 11, 2025.“All of reality is part of one unified fabric, so what does it mean when a bird flies from one place to another?”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing dialogue #15 in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the chapter “Logos & Creative Dynamism” in The Inner Journey Home (01:11)How do other spiritual traditions explain change? (03:05)Opening to the fact that our true nature has dynamism and flow (05:51)Where does the word the "logos" come from? (07:07)Radical dynamism: the entire universe is re-created, instant by instant (09:58)Replacement: reality is replaced each instant, just like in the movies when one screen replaces the last (13:13)Not just the physical dimension, but all dimensions—mental, emotional & spiritual—are created anew (18:51)Free will, action, choice addressed from a nondual perspective (21:15)We need to acknowledge our choice-making capacity and the fact that we and our actions are emerging from the totality of reality (24:49)Dynamism shows we don’t need the “doer”—the universe is what “does” (27:09)The teaching of transitoriness (30:20)Each soul is a ripple in the ocean, a part of what is being constantly recreated (30:49)Resources & References – Part 1A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityAdvaita VedantaDzogchenMahamudraKashmir ShaivismThe Sufi doctrine of “Renewing of Creation at each instant,” Introduction to Sufi Doctrine, chapter 10 (pdf)LogosThe A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

11/13/25 • 34:44

Ep. 207 (Part 2 of 2) | In this extraordinary, compelling conversation, visionary, activist, and long-time politician, former Governor of California Jerry Brown gets right to the heart of the things that matter most. From truth seeking on an individual level (the importance of inquiring into the depths of our reality), to the challenge of our democracy (getting a consensus in a population that has no coherence), to the problem of leadership (now it’s all about winning, which works on the football field but not for international relations), the fear and greed that drive the arms race (we’re not talking about the arms issue, and to not talk about it is to be complicit), and the existential danger of nuclear war (as important as it is underreported), Jerry nails the essence of our most pressing issues. Jerry’s deep concern about the existential threats we face today, such as nuclear war and climate change, is matched by his enthusiasm for life and excitement over the fact that the future is unknowable. “We have to turn,” he says, “and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn.” We discover some of the key formative events that shaped Jerry’s keenly discerning character, so evident throughout his career and still today in his eighties, and why co-host Roger Walsh describes him as a “force of nature.” This conversation is thoroughly enjoyable, inspirational, eye opening, and disturbing too. “We are on the brink, but no one wants to hear it,” Jerry says. “How do you speak the truth in a way it can be heard?” Recorded August 7, 2025.“The future is unknown, so don’t conclude that all is dark – or that all is bright! It’s unknown, so as long as we’re breathing and functioning, we have a lot to do.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Waking up with enthusiasm, excitement, and inherent appreciation (01:06)What is Jerry engaged in right now? (03:34)Roger’s summary of the global issues facing us today (05:50)The nuclear danger is as important as it is underreported, and the key to proliferation is fear (07:17)The ICBM Caucus (11:38)Not talking about the arms issue is to be complicit (13:52)  Sitting with the question, what can I do? (16:19)Social and political recognition of danger is so very important (18:12)We have to turn and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn (19:01)The future is unknowable, so we do what we can (20:05)Living in inquiry, the quest for truth (22:44)Why was Jerry drawn to work for the good of the environment? (23:47)The Jesuit belief in eternal damnation (27:55)What you can derive from Zen (30:45)Becoming individuators on the developmental path (33:15)What does Jerry wish he’d known sooner? (34:49)There’s always more to be learned (37:29)Resources & References – Part 2Jerry Brown, Chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC BerkeleyErnest Samuels, Henry AdamsBulletin of the Atomic ScientistsWilliam Hartung & Ben Freeman, The Trillion Dollar War MachineInside the ICBM Lobby: Special Interests or the Public Interest (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate and political activistDaniel Ellsberg, political activist, economist, and U.S. military analystDenis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth DaySt. Ignatius’ Meditations---Jerry Brown was born in San Francisco on April 7, 1938. He was elected Trustee for the LA Community College District in 1969, California Secretary of State in 1970, and Governor of California in 1974 and 1978. After his governorship, he lectured and traveled widely, practiced law, served as chair of the California Democratic Party and ran for president. Brown was elected Mayor of Oakland in 1998, California Attorney General in 2006, and Governor again in 2010 and 2014. Brown currently serves as chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley, executive chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, chair of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Advisory Board, on the board of the Council on Criminal Justice, and as chair of the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy, one of two public charter schools he founded in Oakland more than 20 years ago.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

11/6/25 • 41:32

Ep. 206 (Part 1 of 2) | In this extraordinary, compelling conversation, visionary, activist, and long-time politician, former Governor of California Jerry Brown gets right to the heart of the things that matter most. From truth seeking on an individual level (the importance of inquiring into the depths of our reality), to the challenge of our democracy (getting a consensus in a population that has no coherence), to the problem of leadership (now it’s all about winning, which works on the football field but not for international relations), the fear and greed that drive the arms race (we’re not talking about the arms issue, and to not talk about it is to be complicit), and the existential danger of nuclear war (as important as it is underreported), Jerry nails the essence of our most pressing issues. Jerry’s deep concern about the existential threats we face today, such as nuclear war and climate change, is matched by his enthusiasm for life and excitement over the fact that the future is unknowable. “We have to turn,” he says, “and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn.” We discover some of the key formative events that shaped Jerry’s keenly discerning character, so evident throughout his career and still today in his eighties, and why co-host Roger Walsh describes him as a “force of nature.” This conversation is thoroughly enjoyable, inspirational, eye opening, and disturbing too. “We are on the brink, but no one wants to hear it,” Jerry says. “How do you speak the truth in a way it can be heard?” Recorded August 7, 2025.“We should not sleep in the delusion that things are better than they are.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing former Governor of California, Jerry Brown (00:43)Jerry’s Jesuit background and the transformative process (02:29)What shaped Jerry’s orientation to life? Growing up in a more innocent, unambiguous time in San Francisco (04:10)Today’s chaos and confusion is what led to the presidency of Donald Trump (10:20)The challenge in a democracy is getting a consensus—right now the “We” in “We the People” doesn’t have coherence (14:44)Today the democratic ideal is up for grabs; it’s zero-sum—all about winning, and the payoff for scapegoating is very high (15:52)We need an enormous amount of resources to address our problems, but using tax dollars requires a public belief and commitment that is not there (17:41)The doomsday clock is ticking, the dangers are growing: nuclear, bio, climate, AI, satellites & weaponry (21:42)Planetary realism and the need to work together: shared vulnerability needs to give rise to shared interest (26:35)What can we do as individuals? Where you can be helpful and human and responsive, do that (32:05)We are in the power of forces that a) we don’t control and b) we can’t do anything about (35:50)We are on the brink, but no one wants to hear it: how do you speak the truth in a way it can be heard? (36:57)Sitting Zazen in the face of what’s happening (39:32)Jesuit slogan: Do what you’re doing (age quod agis) (42:20)Resources & References – Part 1Jerry Brown, Executive Chair of the the Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsJerry Brown, Chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley The Doomsday ClockWilliam (Bill) Perry, My Journey at the Nuclear BrinkBarry McGuire song “Eve of Destruction” (1965)Jerry Brown, A Stark Nuclear Warning (2016 NY Times book review of William Parry’s book)Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for MeaningLawrence Langer, Holocaust scholar who criticized Viktor Frankl’s bookWerner Erhard, “Life is empty and meaningless, and it’s empty and meaningless that it’s empty and meaningless.”Age quod agis, “Digging Deeper: Age Quod Agis”---Jerry Brown was born in San Francisco on April 7, 1938. He was elected Trustee for the LA Community College District in 1969, California Secretary of State in 1970, and Governor of California in 1974 and 1978. After his governorship, he lectured and traveled widely, practiced law, served as chair of the California Democratic Party and ran for president. Brown was elected Mayor of Oakland in 1998, California Attorney General in 2006, and Governor again in 2010 and 2014. Brown currently serves as chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley, executive chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, chair of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Advisory Board, on the board of the Council on Criminal Justice, and as chair of the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy, one of two public charter schools he founded in Oakland more than 20 years ago.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

10/30/25 • 45:32

Ep. 205 (Part 2 of 2) | In the fourteenth dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the nonconceptual nature of the dimension of pure awareness, guiding us into the realm that lies beyond conceptual dichotomies such as being/nonbeing, being/doing, duality/nonduality, good/bad, and meaningful/meaningless. Beyond knowing, this dimension exposes and challenges conceptual polarities, and when we arrive at this level of realization we are able to trust letting go of knowingness and wake up to pure awareness. People fear annihilation at the prospect of going beyond concepts, Hameed explains, and it does lead to a death: the death of mind, the death of the doer. But even here beyond knowing, Hameed continues, the nonconceptual always operates from compassion and love. How do we develop a continuity of nonconceptual awareness? Roger and John wonder. One way is when knowing is integrated into being, Hameed answers. Then everything just happens; the doing is funneled through the individual. And there is another way, through developing the “pearl beyond price,” the individual, Hameed adds, but this way is rare. As co-host Roger Walsh says, this is an especially nourishing, stimulating, and intriguing discussion, with Hameed doing a beautiful job of relating how our concepts form the basis of our existence and what it means to transcend them, let go of our mind, deconstruct our perception of ourselves as the “doer,” and wake up to pure awareness. Recorded August 14, 2025.“Conceptual dichotomies are important for the functioning of the human being, they are our building blocks… We need to recognize their usefulness—and also be able to be without them.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2The conceptual dichotomy between good and bad (00:28)The nonconceptual always operates from compassion (02:31)Most spiritual teachings focus on the dichotomy of being/nonbeing (04:40)Non-knowing is a deeper realization; if you become aware of it, you wake up to pure awareness (06:00)Goodness is inherent; Ram Dass understood loving awareness (07:43)The dichotomy of duality/nonduality (11:04)Conceptual dichotomies are important, they are our building blocks; we need to recognize their usefulness and also be able to be without them (13:07)The problem comes when we believe our concepts are fundamentally true and we become locked into our separate identities (18:27)The dichotomy of meaningful/meaningless (19:13)Purpose/purposelessness and the Buddhist idea that our purpose is enlightenment (23:05)Time/timelessness (25:32)Going beyond the concept of God: the universal heretic (26:33)The master of knowledge: you can use the knowledge but you are not bound by it or attached to it (28:01)The view of totality (32:22)Love & compassion are inherent to all spiritual teachings (33:43)Living in pure awareness: the 16th Karmapa (37:45)Hameed, Roger & John discuss Deep Transformation guests Frank Ostaseski of Zen Hospice and former CA governor Jerry Brown (40:16)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityRam Dass & Rameshwar Das, Be Love Now: The Path of the HeartDzogchenA. H. Almaas, Runaway Realization: Living a Life of Ceaseless DiscoveryIain McGilchrist, psychiatrist, philosopher, neuroscientist: Channel McGilchrist16th Karmapa: Interview with a BuddhaLearning From Death and Dying: Lessons for All of Us From Zen Hospice with Frank Ostaseski (Deep Transformation podcast)Jerry Brown (Deep Transformation podcast coming up October 30th; we’ll add the link here when it goes live.)---The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

10/23/25 • 44:41

Ep. 204 (Part 1 of 2) | In the fourteenth dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the nonconceptual nature of the dimension of pure awareness, guiding us into the realm that lies beyond conceptual dichotomies such as being/nonbeing, being/doing, duality/nonduality, good/bad, and meaningful/meaningless. Beyond knowing, this dimension exposes and challenges conceptual polarities, and when we arrive at this level of realization we are able to trust letting go of knowingness and wake up to pure awareness. People fear annihilation at the prospect of going beyond concepts, Hameed explains, and it does lead to a death: the death of mind, the death of the doer. But even here beyond knowing, Hameed continues, the nonconceptual always operates from compassion and love. How do we develop a continuity of nonconceptual awareness? Roger and John wonder. One way is when knowing is integrated into being, Hameed answers. Then everything just happens; the doing is funneled through the individual. And there is another way, through developing the “pearl beyond price,” the individual, Hameed adds, but this way is rare. As co-host Roger Walsh says, this is an especially nourishing, stimulating, and intriguing discussion, with Hameed doing a beautiful job of relating how our concepts form the basis of our existence and what it means to transcend them, let go of our mind, deconstruct our perception of ourselves as the “doer,” and wake up to pure awareness. Recorded August 14, 2025.“To be in the nonconceptual state, i.e. in sitting meditation, is half of it, but to actualize it is the other half.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 14th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on nonconceptual awareness & transcending conceptual dichotomies (00:51)Nondual reality, at the heart of The Inner Journey Home, is differentiated into five dimensions, each of which reveals something important about the deconstruction process that happens with spiritual practice (03:41)Nonconceptual means beyond the capacity of knowing (07:34)The experience of pure awareness transcends the dichotomy of existence/nonexistence (10:02)In Dzogchen, rigpa includes knowing—but pure awareness means no knowing, just perception (10:30)The dichotomy of being/doing is often a “sticking place” in our practice (16:10)How do we develop a continuity of nonconceptual awareness? (19:44)People fear annihilation at the prospect of going beyond concepts, and it does lead to the death of mind, the death of the doer (23:03) With this level of realization, we can trust letting go of our knowingness (27:10)What are ways for actualization to occur? (29:20)In true, deep sleep there is cessation, all awareness gone (34:38)When God manifests through the individual, the two dimensions of being and knowing can happen at the same (37:16)Many traditions think the individual is an illusion—it’s not an illusion, it’s an appearance (39:12)Most human beings get arrested at the ego stage of development, the separate stage (43:14)Resources & References – Part 1A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityGnosisReification, the process of treating an abstract concept or idea as a concrete, real thingAdvaita Vedanta---The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

10/16/25 • 47:36

Ep. 203 (Part 2 of 2) | In this rich, delightful, and profound conversation, Integral Theory informed Father David McCallum, SJ, currently serving the Catholic Church as executive director of the Program for Discerning Leadership, leads us into a world filled with mission, purpose, and service, foundational to which is the practice of discernment. David describes discernment as the capacity to exercise good judgment, hold complexity, and wait for clarity. This is not only a practice for individuals, he explains, but also a communal one, providing a way for communities to discern and design together the future they want to create—through listening, dialoguing, participating. Discernment is a way of knowing and making sense of reality, David continues, and especially important now in this era of changes and choices to be made.David enlightens us as to the beautiful and far-sighted reforms proposed by the late Pope Francis, who was all for changing the balance of authority and participation in the Church; for people to have direct experience of Presence and the capacity to practice discernment; who also advocated for taking swift action on behalf of our planet, even calling out the part in the Bible that says man has dominion over the Earth. From David’s description of “the journey worth making”—surrendering, opening, accepting divine grace and love—to using Otto Scharmer’s U Process to help find the courage to change and simplify our lives for the benefit of all, to the Church’s relationship with A.I., David provides us with an extraordinarily mind-broadening, motivating, and spiritually fulfilling perspective. Recorded July 10, 2025.“Disasters and oppression today are by-products of a spiritual crisis… We don’t see the unity of all.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Turning inward for guidance: making discernment practices & skills available to all (01:07)The hunger to get back to direct experience (04:04) Practicing with the Ignatius exercises including contemplation: the path of silence (06:40)Pope Francis’ call out for action on behalf of the Earth (09:39)Using Otto Scharmer’s U Process to gain the courage to simplify our lives and make the commitment to change (12:11)Pope Francis’ challenging the idea that men should have dominion over the earth (13:30)Disasters and oppression today are by-products of a spiritual crisis; we don’t see the unity of all (15:13) Liberation theology: awakening the poor to their plight, giving them tools to remediate systemic injustice (16:52)Why Jesuits were killed in El Salvador (19:28)In the current situation in the U.S., what shape will/should religiously motivated resistance take? (20:23)The church, A.I., and the danger of losing our human competencies to machines (27:32)Resources & References – Part 2Father David McCallum, SJ, The Program for Discerning LeadershipThe Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of LoyolaJesuit Roshi Bob Kennedy; award-winning documentary film about a 90-year-old Zen master who also happens to be a Jesuit priest (trailer)Frederic Laloux, Reinventing OrganizationsConnecting to Source: The U Process (The Systems Thinker website)Otto Scharmer, action researcher, author of Theory U, co-author of Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-system to Eco-system EconomiesPope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’Daniel Berrigan, Jesuit anti-war activistPope Leo XIV’s message concerning AI at the United Nations’ AI for Good Summit (Vatican News)The Friar Who Became the Vatican’s Go-To Guy on A.I. (New York Times article)Yuval Harari on AI and Human Evolution, WSJ Leadership Institute (YouTube video)Mustafa Suleyman, The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest DilemmaThey Asked ChatGPT Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling (New York Times article)ChatGPT is Becoming a Religion with Taylor Lorenz (YouTube video)Thomas Hubl, collective trauma expert, see also Deep Transformation podcast Healing Collective Trauma with Thomas Hubl, and Discerning Leadership’s Trauma Informed Leadership with Thomas Hubl (YouTube video)---Fr. David McCallum, S.J., Ed.D, is a Jesuit priest from the USA who serves as the founding Executive Director of the Program for Discerning Leadership, a special initiative of the Society of Jesus headquartered in Rome. The Program provides leadership formation and organizational development support for senior Vatican officials and major superiors of religious orders headquartered in Rome and internationally. From 2021 through 2024, Fr. McCallum has worked with the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops on the Commission on Methodology, as a member of the international group that developed the synthesis of the National and Regional Bishop’s Conferences reports at Frascati, and as a facilitator expert at the Synods in October 2023 and 2024. Formerly, Fr. McCallum served as faculty member and then the Dean of the Madden School of Business and as the VP of Mission Integration and Development at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. His doctoral research at Teachers College, Columbia University, focused on the implications of developmental diversity in meeting the leadership challenges of conflict, complexity, and ambiguity.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

10/9/25 • 39:57

Ep. 202 (Part 1 of 2) | In this rich, delightful, and profound conversation, Integral Theory informed Father David McCallum, SJ, currently serving the Catholic Church as executive director of the Program for Discerning Leadership, leads us into a world filled with mission, purpose, and service, foundational to which is the practice of discernment. David describes discernment as the capacity to exercise good judgment, hold complexity, and wait for clarity. This is not only a practice for individuals, he explains, but also a communal one, providing a way for communities to discern and design together the future they want to create—through listening, dialoguing, participating. Discernment is a way of knowing and making sense of reality, David continues, and especially important now in this era of changes and choices to be made.David enlightens us as to the beautiful and far-sighted reforms proposed by the late Pope Francis, who was all for changing the balance of authority and participation in the Church; for people to have direct experience of Presence and the capacity to practice discernment; who also advocated for taking swift action on behalf of our planet, even calling out the part in the Bible that says man has dominion over the Earth. From David’s description of “the journey worth making”—surrendering, opening, accepting divine grace and love—to using Otto Scharmer’s U Process to help find the courage to change and simplify our lives for the benefit of all, to the Church’s relationship with A.I., David provides us with an extraordinarily mind-broadening, motivating, and spiritually fulfilling perspective. Recorded July 10, 2025.“No secular, material, and empirical path is going to satisfy the longing we have for a transcendent purpose, for meaning, for existential belonging, in the ways that a healthy spirituality can.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Fr. David McCallum, integrally informed Jesuit priest currently serving the Catholic Church as the executive director of the Program for Discerning Leadership (00:48)How did David come to devote his life to the Catholic Church? (01:48)The journey worth making: surrendering, opening, accepting grace (09:42)So many are disconnected from the deeper wellspring of spirituality (13:07)Pope Francis was a reformer, focused on changing the balance of authority and participation (16:46)Pope Francis also focused on the process of synodality, real dialogue, the importance of discernment & following where the spirit wants to lead us (19:31)Pope Leo XIV, self-effacing, generous, hard working, introspective, bringing balance and discipline (22:27)How does David’s understanding of developmental stages inform his work? (25:28)Using metatheories as a map to make sense of the change in era we are living through now (28:09)The rise of secularism; also burgeoning fundamentalism (31:26)Without faith, how can we make sense of suffering? (33:25)The temptation of ideology in these anxiety-producing times (36:07)What is discernment?Communal discernment: What is the future we want to create together? (40:39)Resources & References – Part 1Father David McCallum, SJ, The Program for Discerning LeadershipGraham Greene, English writer and journalist, one of the leading novelists of the 20th centuryIntegral Christianity: Answering the Call to Evolve with Paul Smith and Ken Wilber (2011)Brother David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk, author, and lecturer, committed to interfaith dialogueIgnatius of Loyola, co-founder of the religious order of the Society of Jesus, Ignatian spiritualityPope Francis, first Jesuit pope, serving 2013 – 2025Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, elected in 2025Robert Kegan, leading developmental psychologist, The Evolving Self, In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern LifeKen Wilber’s collected worksPierre Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit paleontologist, philosopher, mystic, and teacherGeorge Coyne, director of the Vatican ObservatoryQuaker tradition of communal discernment ---Fr. David McCallum, S.J., Ed.D, is a Jesuit priest from the USA who serves as the founding Executive Director of the Program for Discerning Leadership, a special initiative of the Society of Jesus headquartered in Rome. The Program provides leadership formation and organizational development support for senior Vatican officials and major superiors of religious orders headquartered in Rome and internationally. From 2021 through 2024, Fr. McCallum has worked with the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops on the Commission on Methodology, as a member of the international group that developed the synthesis of the National and Regional Bishop’s Conferences reports at Frascati, and as a facilitator expert at the Synods in October 2023 and 2024. Formerly, Fr. McCallum served as faculty member and then the Dean of the Madden School of Business and as the VP of Mission Integration and Development at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. His doctoral research at Teachers College, Columbia University, focused on the implications of developmental diversity in meeting the leadership challenges of conflict, complexity, and ambiguity.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

10/2/25 • 44:33

Ep. 201 (Part 2 of 2) | In the thirteenth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali delves into the subject of knowing, or basic knowledge, at the deepest level of awareness. Different from ordinary knowledge, basic knowledge is inherent and immediate, an important feature of reality. You can know Being by being Being, he says; know consciousness by being consciousness, know peace by being peace. Being and knowing are the same thing, he explains, two sides of a coin. Some of what Hameed shares here is unique to his Diamond Approach teaching, and not found in other spiritual teachings, such as what he imparts about the origin of mind and the distinction he makes between pure being and pure awareness.Hameed explains that we need our conceptual mind (to do our taxes, he laughs), but that reification—treating concepts as if they were real things—creates obstacles and alienates us from our true nature. The aim of all spiritual practice is to go beyond reification to immediate experience, he says. When Hameed describes the difference between pure presence and pure awareness, John wonders, how does Hameed remember the state of pure awareness when there’s no knowing in that state? And what does it feel like to experience no ground of being? Hameed answers in his usual enlightening, gently humorous way, leaving listeners in a state of open-minded wonder. Vastly illuminating, this conversation goes directly to the heart of being and the heart of knowing at the very foundation of true nature. Recorded July 17, 2025.“Mind is not an obstacle. Not an enemy. The obstacle is the reified representation of mind. If we take the knowledge of that mind to be reality, that is the obstacle.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2How does Hameed remember the state of pure awareness when there’s no knowing in that state? (00:32)Most spiritual teachings have pure awareness and pure presence as inseparable, but in this teaching they can be distinguished (03:26)The experience of pure awareness: transparency, translucence, freedom (04:02) The world is not an illusion; it is the face of God (06:13)The logos is what makes things manifest (09:48)Connecting the dimensions of pure being and pure awareness: mind is not an obstacle (11:46)Gurdjieff’s “stupid saints” (13:14)Mind is not the enemy; it’s the reification of knowing that is the obstacle (14:07)Pure awareness is more fundamental than pure being because there are no concepts; freedom is more palpable in pure awareness (17:14)Hameed’s multiple kinds of freedom; freedom independent from the ground of being (22:10)What does it feel like to realize there is no ground? (25:02)Transcending conceptual dichotomies: in spiritual liberation dichotomies can be stumbling blocks, like being vs nonbeing (25:20)Will science start to accept the ground of being? (29:38)Is math, the Euclidean theorem, a property of reality? (32:42)Consciousness and quantum theory (34:27)Knowing is fundamental to the universe; it’s inherent to our true nature (38:41)There’s no reason to have to choose between knowing and being, they’re two sides of the same thing (39:51)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityDzogchenAdvaita VedantaKashmir ShaivismSri AurobindoThe Greek logos is what makes things manifestU. G. Krishnamurti, Thought is Your Enemy: Conversations with U.G. KrishnamurtiG. I. Gurdjieff, Views from the Real WorldDr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher who became Vice-President of IndiaNisargadatta Maharaj, I Am ThatA. H. Almaas, Runaway Realization: Living a Life of Ceaseless DiscoveryA. H. Almaas, The Alchemy of Freedom: The Philosophers’ Stone and the Secrets of ExistenceRoger Penrose, The Emperor’s New MindFederico Faggin, Science is Ready for ConsciousnessQuantum Consciousness Debate: Does the Wave Function Actually Exist? (YouTube video with Penrose, Faggin & Kastrup)Ken Wilber, Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World’s Greatest Physicists---The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to...

9/25/25 • 43:36

Ep. 200 (Part 1 of 2) | In the thirteenth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali delves into the subject of knowing, or basic knowledge, at the deepest level of awareness. Different from ordinary knowledge, basic knowledge is inherent and immediate, an important feature of reality. You can know Being by being Being, he says; know consciousness by being consciousness, know peace by being peace. Being and knowing are the same thing, he explains, two sides of a coin. Some of what Hameed shares here is unique to his Diamond Approach teaching, and not found in other spiritual teachings, such as what he imparts about the origin of mind and the distinction he makes between pure being and pure awareness.Hameed explains that we need our conceptual mind (to do our taxes, he laughs), but that reification—treating concepts as if they were real things—creates obstacles and alienates us from our true nature. The aim of all spiritual practice is to go beyond reification to immediate experience, he says. When Hameed describes the difference between pure presence and pure awareness, John wonders, how does Hameed remember the state of pure awareness when there’s no knowing in that state? And what does it feel like to experience no ground of being? Hameed answers in his usual enlightening, gently humorous way, leaving listeners in a state of open-minded wonder. Vastly illuminating, this conversation goes directly to the heart of being and the heart of knowing at the very foundation of true nature. Recorded July 17, 2025.“Being is the origin of mind.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing the 13th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the basic knowing at the foundation of our awareness & the reified way we see reality (00:46)The work is to recognize that reification is happening (02:55)We need to understand there are two kinds of knowing: ordinary knowing and basic knowing (04:12)There are degrees of how immediate our knowing is (07:55)Where does mind come from? (09:52)The recognition of Being and the knowing of Being are the same thing; this is a basic nondual understanding (11:45)The ground of mind is knowing: without knowing there is no mind (15:20)To know implies a concept: the concept of being (17:25)Reification is a developmental achievement (23:14)The story of Maharishi and the Senate committee (26:50)The aim of all spiritual practice is to go beyond reification to immediate experience (27:43)For the realized individual, basic knowing is primary (29:58)Knowing always means concept (31:56)We can get to an awareness that is free of knowing; what Hameed calls nonconceptual, pure awareness (35:41)Resources & References – Part 1A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityReification, the act of treating something abstract, like an idea, concept, or relationship, as if it were a concrete object or thing Bishop George Berkeley, Anglo-Irish philosopher and clergyman, regarded as the founder of immaterialism, later referred to as subjective idealism, for whom the university and town of Berkeley was namedGnosisRigpa, a central concept in DzogchenAdvaita VedantaPlotinus’ concept of nous, the origin of all things in the realm of Platonic FormsThe A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

9/18/25 • 42:52

Ep. 199 (Part 3 of 3) | Polarity management pioneer and author Barry Johnson and adult development expert Beena Sharma are masterful teachers on the subject of polarities and what polarity thinking can bring to the world, benefitting our well-being at every level. Together they explain what polarities are, why they matter, how to apply and leverage them, and the essence of polarity wisdom: pursuing the upsides of opposite poles. Barry is careful to explain that although either/or thinking is the root of our troubles, both/and thinking by itself isn’t the answer either. Integrating either/or with both/and thinking and recognizing the interdependence of all things is the road to transformation and, Beena adds, the engine of human development, of human maturity.Barry explains the profound spiritual understanding foundational to polarity wisdom and Beena details how polarities shift according to our developmental stage. Each of the polarities discussed—justice/mercy, claiming power/sharing power, being/doing, to name a few—illuminates its sphere, whether it relates to democracy, social justice, or spiritual practice. Barry and Beena are passionate about the promise of polarity thinking and their excitement is contagious in this fast-paced, delightfully lucid dialogue, jam-packed with information that is practical, inspiring, and potentially life changing. Recorded May 22, 2025.“Universal interdependence is the most clear example of divine, unconditional love, and the polarity is the smallest element within universal interdependence—the interdependence of two.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 3Back to stages: from self-interest to harmonizing, to independence, multiperspectivality, and oneness (00:35)We are born unique and we become more unique; we are born connected and appreciate being connected more and more (08:23)Applying polarity thinking to contemporary politics: immigration (09:29)The language of compassionate action (12:08)How polarity thinking can help us with the metacrisis (16:02)Leveraging polarities in everyday life, socially & culturally (20:11)How do we select what to do when faced by an overwhelming amount of choices? (25:42)We have to consciously become more competent, more masterful (27:28)Polarity tension is always there, and we need to forgive ourselves and others for not always doing a good job with leveraging key polarities, i.e. work & home, self-care & achievement (28:51)Resources & References – Part 3Barry Johnson, And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox, or DilemmaBarry Johnson, Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable ProblemsBeena Sharma, founder Vertical Development Academy (VeDA)The 8 Stages of Vertical Development with Beena Sharma (Deep Transformation podcast)Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative PrayerDaniel Schmachtenberger, “Development in Progress” (Consilience Project website)---Barry Johnson, Ph.D., is a founder of Polarity Partnerships LLC, whose mission is to “enhance our quality of life on the planet by supplementing Or Thinking with And Thinking.” Barry has been involved in movement politics since his first march on Washington in 1963; in 1970 he turned his attention to understanding how systems became dysfunctional and how to co-create systems that worked for everyone. In that pursuit, the first polarity map and set of principles were generated. Barry has worked with organizations large and small, including business, industry, governments, educational and healthcare systems, and movement organizations to discover how And Thinking can be useful in accomplishing their mission. Barry’s recent work has been focused on how a polarity lens can be useful in addressing the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and around the world.Along the way, Barry published three books and coordinated the publishing of a fourth: Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith Communities, with Roy Oswald, And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox or Dilemma, Volume One, and And, Volume 2, Applications (written by 54 professionals who have applied And-thinking in their settings).---Beena Sharma currently stewards Vertical Development Academy (VeDA) as its founding president, with a vision to enhance the practice of human development in service of civilizational resilience. Beena’s focus is on facilitating human maturity through a deep appreciation of the theory and practice of adult learning that catalyzes the development of wiser, more integrated human beings who can respond to personal, interpersonal, community, and larger systems challenges in more adequate ways. One of Beena’s unique contributions lies in leveraging the wisdom of polarities in service of human maturity, and Beena is one of the world’s leading teachers of polarity thinking. Beena is currently working on launching services that seek to build polarity wisdom in leaders and organizations around the world.Beena is a gifted master coach, consultant, teacher, and thought leader. She has been recognized nationally and internationally for her achievements in successfully conceptualizing, developing, and delivering systemic leadership development initiatives. She is a regular keynote faculty member for McKinsey’s Executive Leadership Program serving leaders in Australia and New Zealand, and has led efforts as an executive and consultant for various agencies of the US Government, leading private sector companies in healthcare and other industries in the US, UK, Europe, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and India.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

9/11/25 • 31:42

Ep. 198 (Part 2 of 3) | Polarity management pioneer and author Barry Johnson and adult development expert Beena Sharma are masterful teachers on the subject of polarities and what polarity thinking can bring to the world, benefitting our well-being at every level. Together they explain what polarities are, why they matter, how to apply and leverage them, and the essence of polarity wisdom: pursuing the upsides of opposite poles. Barry is careful to explain that although either/or thinking is the root of our troubles, both/and thinking by itself isn’t the answer either. Integrating either/or with both/and thinking and recognizing the interdependence of all things is the road to transformation and, Beena adds, the engine of human development, of human maturity.Barry explains the profound spiritual understanding foundational to polarity wisdom and Beena details how polarities shift according to our developmental stage. Each of the polarities discussed—justice/mercy, claiming power/sharing power, being/doing, to name a few—illuminates its sphere, whether it relates to democracy, social justice, or spiritual practice. Barry and Beena are passionate about the promise of polarity thinking and their excitement is contagious in this fast-paced, delightfully lucid dialogue, jam-packed with information that is practical, inspiring, and potentially life changing. Recorded May 22, 2025.“Love is a natural byproduct of seeing completely.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Looking at the pole preferences that show up at each stage of development (00:37) The integrative stage of development doesn’t reject either/or thinking or both/and thinking (04:42)Embracing polarities’ upsides elevates you; you come to a higher place (08:05)Tyranny and democracy: how do you both provide direction and encourage participation? (08:54)The spiritual polarity of doing and being and Martin Buber’s I and thou (14:08)How polarities nest and stack: Beena leads a nesting and upleveling exercise (18:10)Relating polarity thinking to quantum physics & the richness of the subject of universal interdependence (22:32)How do we respond to opposition at different developmental stages? (24:33)Jack Gibb’s trust theory: love is a natural byproduct of seeing completely (28:24)Seeing life and death as two poles and the violence in nature (29:28)Enhancing our capacity to love: individuals, enemies, countries; universal interdependence is a manifestation of divine love (32:44)Taking radical responsibility for our own incapacity to see (36:42)Love as a natural response to seeing fully and defenselessly (38:23)Barry’s profound realization about heaven, hell, and universal love (40:14)Resources & References – Part 2Barry Johnson, And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox, or DilemmaBarry Johnson, Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable ProblemsBeena Sharma, founder Vertical Development Academy (VeDA)The 8 Stages of Vertical Development with Beena Sharma (Deep Transformation podcast)Martin Buber, I and ThouCalifornia Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), Sanjay ManchandaCarlo Rovelli, Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum RevolutionJack R. Gibb, Trust: A New View of Personal And Organizational DevelopmentRichard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation’s Daily Meditations---Barry Johnson, Ph.D., is a founder of Polarity Partnerships LLC, whose mission is to “enhance our quality of life on the planet by supplementing Or Thinking with And Thinking.” Barry has been involved in movement politics since his first march on Washington in 1963; in 1970 he turned his attention to understanding how systems became dysfunctional and how to co-create systems that worked for everyone. In that pursuit, the first polarity map and set of principles were generated. Barry has worked with organizations large and small, including business, industry, governments, educational and healthcare systems, and movement organizations to discover how And Thinking can be useful in accomplishing their mission. Barry’s recent work has been focused on how a polarity lens can be useful in addressing the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and around the world.Along the way, Barry published three books and coordinated the publishing of a fourth: Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith Communities, with Roy Oswald, And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox or Dilemma, Volume One, and And, Volume 2, Applications (written by 54 professionals who have applied And-thinking in their settings).---Beena Sharma currently stewards Vertical Development Academy (VeDA) as its founding president, with a vision to enhance the practice of human development in service of civilizational resilience. Beena’s focus is on facilitating human maturity through a deep appreciation of the theory and practice of adult learning that catalyzes the development of wiser, more integrated human beings who can respond to personal, interpersonal, community, and larger systems challenges in more adequate ways. One of Beena’s unique contributions lies in leveraging the wisdom of polarities in service of human maturity, and Beena is one of the world’s leading teachers of polarity thinking. Beena is currently working on launching services that seek to build polarity wisdom in leaders and organizations around the world.Beena is a gifted master coach, consultant, teacher, and thought leader. She has been recognized nationally and internationally for her achievements in successfully conceptualizing, developing, and delivering systemic leadership development initiatives. She is a regular keynote faculty member for McKinsey’s Executive Leadership Program serving leaders in Australia and New Zealand, and has led efforts as an executive and consultant for various agencies of the US Government, leading private sector companies in healthcare and other industries in the US, UK, Europe, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and India. ---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

9/4/25 • 45:52

Ep. 197 (Part 1 of 3) | Polarity management pioneer and author Barry Johnson and adult development expert Beena Sharma are masterful teachers on the subject of polarities and what polarity thinking can bring to the world, benefitting our well-being at every level. Together they explain what polarities are, why they matter, how to apply and leverage them, and the essence of polarity wisdom: pursuing the upsides of opposite poles. Barry is careful to explain that although either/or thinking is the root of our troubles, both/and thinking by itself isn’t the answer either. Integrating either/or with both/and thinking and recognizing the interdependence of all things is the road to transformation and, Beena adds, the engine of human development, of human maturity.Barry explains the profound spiritual understanding foundational to polarity wisdom and Beena details how polarities shift according to our developmental stage. Each of the polarities discussed—justice/mercy, claiming power/sharing power, being/doing, to name a few—illuminates its sphere, whether it relates to democracy, social justice, or spiritual practice. Barry and Beena are passionate about the promise of polarity thinking and their excitement is contagious in this fast-paced, delightfully lucid dialogue, jam-packed with information that is practical, inspiring, and potentially life changing. Recorded May 22, 2025.“Either/or thinking without both/and thinking is the root cause of poverty, racism, sexism, and war.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing polarity management pioneer & author Barry Johnson and adult development expert Beena Sharma (00:48)How did Barry discover polarities? (02:15)The essential dimension of polarities—interdependent pairs—and the universal interdependence of all of life (03:08)The capacity to integrate and recognize interdependence is the driving force of adult human development (03:47)The difference between polarity management and polarity wisdom (05:37)A key polarity in leadership and democracy: claiming power & sharing power (07:20)Experiential exercise: the infinity loop (08:11)What is true for all polarities: each pole brings something special that is essential to the relationship (11:15)The integrating wisdom that includes and transcends both polarities encompasses all dualities, reflecting traditional East Indian wisdom (12:12)As a leader, how can we be both clear & flexible, self-assured & humble, and as an organization, centralized & decentralized? (13:51)The oscillation between activity and rest (14:55)Leveraging polarities: maximizing upsides and minimizing downsides (16:22)Either/or thinking is essential, but it needs to be supplemented with both/and thinking (16:34)Privileging one pole as better, you enter into dysfunction (19:33)Interpersonal relationships: we see the positive value of our preferred pole but the downside of the other’s opposite preferred pole (20:56)The essence of polarity wisdom: embracing the wisdom of the opposite pole (21:41)Polarity thinking is an antidote to rigidity; it heals polarization (22:25)Either/or thinking without both/and thinking is the root cause of evil (23:09)Pursuing justice to the neglect of mercy (its interdependent pole) (26:47)Does both/and thinking require a certain level of maturity? (32:14)Resources & References – Part 1Barry Johnson, And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox, or DilemmaBarry Johnson, Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable ProblemsBeena Sharma, founder Vertical Development Academy (VeDA)Desmond Tutu, No Future Without ForgivenessThe 8 Stages of Vertical Development with Beena Sharma (Deep Transformation podcast)---Barry Johnson, Ph.D., is a founder of Polarity Partnerships LLC, whose mission is to “enhance our quality of life on the planet by supplementing Or Thinking with And Thinking.” Barry has been involved in movement politics since his first march on Washington in 1963; in 1970 he turned his attention to understanding how systems became dysfunctional and how to co-create systems that worked for everyone. In that pursuit, the first polarity map and set of principles were generated. Barry has worked with organizations large and small, including business, industry, governments, educational and healthcare systems, and movement organizations to discover how And Thinking can be useful in accomplishing their mission. Barry’s recent work has been focused on how a polarity lens can be useful in addressing the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and around the world.Along the way, Barry published three books and coordinated the publishing of a fourth: Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith Communities, with Roy Oswald, And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox or Dilemma, Volume One, and And, Volume 2, Applications (written by 54 professionals who have applied And-thinking in their settings).---Beena Sharma currently stewards Vertical Development Academy (VeDA) as its founding president, with a vision to enhance the practice of human development in service of civilizational resilience. Beena’s focus is on facilitating human maturity through a deep appreciation of the theory and practice of adult learning that catalyzes the development of wiser, more integrated human beings who can respond to personal, interpersonal, community, and larger systems challenges in more adequate ways. One of Beena’s unique contributions lies in leveraging the wisdom of polarities in service of human maturity, and Beena is one of the world’s leading teachers of polarity thinking. Beena is currently working on launching services that seek to build polarity wisdom in leaders and organizations around the world.Beena is a gifted master coach, consultant, teacher, and thought leader. She has been recognized nationally and internationally for her achievements in successfully conceptualizing, developing, and delivering systemic leadership development initiatives. She is a regular keynote faculty member for McKinsey’s Executive Leadership Program serving leaders in Australia and New Zealand, and has led efforts as an executive and consultant for various agencies of the US Government, leading private sector companies in healthcare and other industries in the US, UK, Europe, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and India.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

8/28/25 • 36:14

Ep. 196 (Part 2 of 2) | n the twelfth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali guides us into the profound experience of pure being, which lies at the core of all mystical teachings. There are two nondual ways of experiencing the fullness of being, he explains. We can recognize we are infinite and boundless—as if we were the sky, but still experiencing this through our being—or, we can experience the oneness of being from the perspective of all manifestation: the mountain, the rocks, the molecules and atoms... “Wherever you go, physically or mentally, is pure being.” Hameed calls the first recognition “unity,” and the latter “oneness.”Hameed clarifies the paradox of nothingness: “being and nothing are two ways of knowing the same thing; you can feel it as a fullness or you can feel it as an emptiness.” And he explains that being being and knowing being are the same thing, when knowing  is understood in its deeper sense as gnosis. “Awakening is knowing our being or our awareness for what it is,” he says. Why is Hameed so uniquely articulate in talking about the experience of pure being? John asks him. This talk is an amazing teaching—visual and sensory, scientific and mathematical, deeply mystical and spiritual—Hameed comes at the subject of pure being from all angles. Recorded June 26, 2025.“Practice is clearing the way, but whether awakening emerges or not is not up to you.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2Why Hameed is so uniquely articulate talking about these experiences, and why some teachers don’t talk about these things (00:27)The nothingness side of pure presence (04:28)The spaciousness here appears different; it is non-Euclidean (07:44)Being and nothing are two ways of knowing the same thing; you can feel it as a fullness or you can feel it as an emptiness (09:22)What other traditions teach about emptiness (11:34)Awareness is pure beingness too (13:53)Awareness is an ontological reality; it is an “is-ness” we can recognize and it includes knowing (18:14) Being being is the same thing as knowing being; this is gnosis: knowing by being (20:23)Awakening is knowing our being or our awareness for what it is (23:44)Knowing and mind are fundamental, not just intellectual (25:52)Awakened awareness: realizing that awareness is the nature of everything (27:10)Awakening cannot be earned; it is a recognition, but there are obstacles in the way (29:37)We’ll get into knowing and reification next time (32:45)This teaching affirms you are a real being, and you are an expression of the being of God (33:55)Resources & References – Part 2A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond ApproachA. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of RealityBernard Riemann, German mathematician who developed Riemannian geometry, a type of non-Euclidean geometrySaccidānanda, the subjective experience of the ultimate unchanging realityMahmud Shabistari, 14th-century mystical Persian poet, The Secret Rose GardenRigpa is a central concept in DzogchenMahamudra practice, the highest form of Tibetan Buddhist meditation---The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.---Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.---Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

8/21/25 • 38:39