Western Baul Podcast Series

Can’t We Just Have Fun? Seriousness, Humor, and Foolishness on the Path (Michelle Meaux)

The need for humor and for incorporating something of the clown’s state of mind into spiritual practice is discussed. Bernie Glassman was a Zen master who invited Moshe Cohen, a clown performer, to help him learn tools to work with students who were taking themselves too seriously. The clown doesn’t know what will happen when he or she enters the stage. His improvisation is about encounters with everything he comes in contact with--inside and outside. The clown lives in the present and has no history, no aim to say anything universal. He shows us his weaknesses and passions and mirrors our foibles, but not so that we see who we are. He is just being himself and so expresses our humanness in a non-judgmental way, which is why we like him. The clown’s empathetic nature innocently addresses others’ ailments. He is without self-importance, a nothing who is interested in everything, who inspires optimism and faces problems without being discouraged. He moves diagonally and plays with problems until they solve themselves. By not being ashamed to be foolish, to look at different sides of himself as he is, the clown explores contradictions that we don’t see in ourselves, which is funny. Self-obsession makes us heavy when we take our minds so seriously. Humor can feed practice and lighten our spirit and the path. The true art of humor is always humor at oneself. We all have a funny part of ourselves which has often been repressed in childhood. Humor comes from creativity, not the logical mind. All we have to practice with is ourselves; our sensations are the path to intuition. We can invite lightness into our awareness by taking a breath. Michelle Meaux is one of the managers of La Ferme de Jutreau, an ashram in France. She provides translation for spiritual books, teachers, and workshops focused on personal and spiritual growth.

Beginner's Mind: The "Goal" of Spiritual Practice (Vijaya Fedorschak)

Beginner’s mind is a Zen Buddhist principle of seeing everything as new, as it is, without preconception or expectation. It can be considered the simplest state but also the most advanced. Mind identifies, creates the illusion of separation, and focuses on survival of the individual body and psychological structure. But we can open to “big mind,” our true nature which has limited itself, as occurs in deep sleep and sometimes in meditation. We all experience freedom from the prison of ordinary mind at times in life—as the sun peeks through the clouds—because it is our nature. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind is a book by Suzuki Roshi, who referred to beginner’s mind as the “goal” of practice. Quotes from the book and from the American teacher Lee Lozowick are discussed. A matrix of practice is needed to hold beginner’s mind, which is not something we can bring about. We can see that everything is transient, but we often don't see that we’re always changing as well and that there is no solid self. Calmness arises as we give images in our mind a large spacious meadow, allowing them to come and go, which requires special effort. If we do not indulge our tendencies, ego will show us itself at deeper levels. Practice without gaining idea does not mean to have no purpose. Just to do something can be our purpose. If we have spiritual pride in our understanding, we will lose the characteristic of beginner’s mind, which cuts though pride in the knowledge that everything comes from big mind. Vajra pride is unshakable self-esteem rooted in recognition of our true nature, which everyone has. True creativity comes from nothing. The greatest moments of creativity come when we forget what we know. Life continues to put us in new situations where we are beginners again. VJ Fedorschak is the organizer of the Western Baul Podcast Series and the author of The Shadow on the Path and Father and Son.

Divine Alchemy: What Is It? (Mary Angelon Young)

The Latin phrase “magnum opus” means great work. Our early ancestors had an intuitive relationship with nature and received knowledge directly from it. In alchemy, great work refers to awakening consciousness, the primary metaphor being the transformation of lead into gold. It is about transformation, working with the primordial material we are given in incarnation, which is consciousness. But that is not separate from the body, which goes through transformation also. Tarot can lead us on a journey deeper into ourselves. Alchemical language is symbolic and is called twilight language in the eastern tradition. This talk focuses on alchemy in the western tradition, and twelve stages of alchemy are discussed as well as CG Jung’s four stages. Alchemical process is not linear or a one-time deal; it cycles as other parts of ourselves come forward. There is no top end, no settled final state. Everything dissolves, then comes back together. At the next level we’re a total beginner again. Grief is profoundly alchemical. What we are working for is already here, but we have to work to discover it. Alchemy cannot happen without the feeling heart. Any time we’re working with emptiness, the unknown, it’s scary for ego, for more superficial aspects of our being. Emptiness is a great mystery. Disappointment is the beginning of the spiritual path. There’s gold in the shadow. We can bring awareness to our process that begins to free up knots that don’t allow the free flow of graceful energy. The sage is always turning us to the sage within. So much of alchemy is about letting go. Mary Angelon Young is a workshop leader with a background in Jungian psychology, an editor and author of As It Is, Under the Punnai Tree, The Baul Tradition, Caught in the Beloved’s Petticoats, Enlightened Duality (with Lee Lozowick), The Art of Contemplation, and other books.

Gurdjieff’s Aphorisms 2: Crystallizing the Permanent I AM (Carl Grimsman)

The aim of self-transformation from a divided mechanical self to a unified self that is free and has will is the subject of this second talk on Gurdjieff’s aphorisms. Several quotes including some which were posted in the study house where the mystic worked with students at the Prieure near Paris in the 1920s are discussed. Crystallization occurs when substances coalesce and incrementally form a durable structure or soul, as in the crystallization of rock. If anything in a man is able to resist external influences and identification with worldly matters, then this soul may be able to resist the death of the body. Nature only gives the possibility of a soul, which can only be acquired through work. One of the best means to arouse the wish to work on self is to realize that we may die at any moment, but first we must learn to keep this in mind. Super efforts should be directed by our aim. Conscience and purity of aim can guide us in the right direction. A fire in us will expire if not fed. Surrender is one path; developing will is another. All energy spent on conscious work builds spiritual capital. It is an investment that is lost forever if spent mechanically. Being, the result of unification, allows Doing, which is conscious purposeful action that differs from automatic behavior. All true Doing is alignment with the Will of God and is service to humanity and creation. If we wish, we can. Wish is the most powerful thing in the world. It is something to contemplate, sit with, internalize, and make our own. To remember is to put oneself back together. I do not remember myself; I AM, my true self, remembers. Carl Grimsman was born into the Gurdjieff Work environment. He attended a children’s group and later worked with Mrs. March, a direct student of Gurdjieff at East Hill Farm in New York. The first two books in his “Soul’s Traverse Series” are Sun Bridge and The Kindling.

Red Hot Sadhana: In the Fire of Love and Loss (Jessica Jenns)

This talk focuses on parts of the story and the learning written about in Red Hot Steel: Love Behind Bars, which involves love and loss with a man incarcerated in a maximum security prison. Sadhana is a Sanskrit word about our individual spiritual path that has the quality of going through fire. Grief is love that has slipped out of view. We live in self-imposed prisons and the path is about the way out by seeing the false nature of the prison. Prison is a place of loss, a hell realm of unrelenting suffering from which there is no escape other than what is done with one’s own mind. The environment creates necessity for some to find inner peace, refuge, sanity, and conscience. Prison is a place where the culture dumps its collective shadow. Three types of karma are discussed including inexorable karma that we have no choice but to go through. Loss shouldn’t surprise us since it is built into reality, but we don’t tend to live as if this is so. Loss and change need not detract us from living full out. When things do not turn out as we wish, we can stay in the flow of grace without regret, refusing to be bitter or a victim. Writing is a way to deal with disappointment. Everything is learning. Prison can teach humility and gratitude for simple things. When we experience pain, we can feel others’ pain. We start fresh every day; there’s always a bounty of abundance coming in some way. Beauty and suffering go together in the fullness of life. Caregivers can be more involved in others’ experience than their own. It’s a gift to have empathy, but there is also a need for boundaries, for empathy regulation with wisdom added to compassion. We only learn by going through fire, which is why there are no mistakes. We come to earth to learn our lessons, to evolve and grow in consciousness. Jessica Jenns is a writer, meditation teacher and coach. Red Hot Steel is her first book.

Entering Silence: An Invitation and a Possibility (Regina Sara Ryan)

We intuitively know that there is a strong connection between silence, prayer, and inner wisdom. There are Hindu teachers who have maintained silence for many years, and Zen masters and Native American elders who communicated wisdom but spoke very little. Hermits and monks in religious traditions have used silence as a discipline to deepen the inner life, and Realizers have said that expansion into the great field of silence is not separate from God. There are many textures of silence such as at sunrise, sundown, and in the night sky. When the mind is busy with inner dialogue, we can take a moment to expand into the silence of the space we’re in, take a “silence bath” and let it interpenetrate our cells. Attention economy refers to forces that work on us and invite and take our attention. Social media is constructed to capture and consume attention so that we buy products, listen to programs, and have opinions influenced. We can look at what this costs us in terms of our ability to appreciate life around us. Gravity is a silent force; trees, mountains, and boulders do not make a sound. Cultivating silence can be a radical stand for uselessness in an age of productivity. The really important things in life are essentially useless. One way to build our attention economy, our personal attention account, is by consciously developing silence. Silence is a doorway to train and use attention. It allows us to sensitize to what is going on in the mind and body, but there is also a way the Divinity works on the soul that cannot be described. A lot of spiritual work is hidden and takes place in silence. Mystics have talked about entering the cave of the heart, the holy of holies, the inner temple. Regina Sara Ryan was the editor of Hohm Press for 35 years. She is a workshop leader, retreat guide, and author of The Woman Awake, Igniting the Inner Life, Praying Dangerously, Only God, and other books.

All Things Lovely Exist (Naomi Worob)

The way we identify ourselves and are identified in the world puts us into boxes of what we do rather than conveying who we are. Moving our bodies in any way we want to is dance. Part of “all things lovely” is having wide eyes on what is beautiful, intriguing, and awe-inspiring, and moving toward that. Pillars of pleasure activism are considered: we become what we practice, what we pay attention to grows, our no makes way for our yes and yes is the way, make justice and liberation feel good, when we are happy it is good for the world, and moderation is key. Practice is alive in every moment, and compassion for self and others are elements of it. “All things lovely” doesn’t mean that everything is easy. Meditation gives us space to notice where our attention goes and to realize that we have the power to shape thoughts and focus attention. We can label thoughts, let them go, and focus back on the present moment. The more we honor our yes and no and communicate that with kindness, the more we can move with strength toward beauty. Being able to listen to others and understand their perspectives affects our ability to be in relationship. Our wellness and joy impacts relationships and spaces we’re in. Resilience is rooted in being part of communities that offer the space to grieve and experience the whole spectrum of emotion. There is beauty and love at the depth of sorrow. Examples of people who have practiced in the most difficult circumstances and chosen to focus their attention on connection and beauty are discussed. Expressing a true yes or no is scary if we don’t have a strong anchoring core of self-compassion. Naomi Worob has practiced living with kindness, generosity, and compassion on Triveni Ashram in the high desert of Arizona. She has engaged in dance and theater performances with Nervous Theatre, Collective Movement, and Jacob’s Pillow.

The Urge to Win, Dominate, and Control (Bandhu Dunham)

Ego is the foil to our spiritual development, to fulfilling our capacity for awareness, compassion, creativity, and self-transcendence. The urge to win, dominate, and control is a pithy definition of ego. It can also be defined as the self-sense or survival instinct involving cognitive and emotional as well as physical survival, or as the freedom of mind choosing an alternative to God or a higher power. It’s pretty obvious when someone is trying to win, dominate, or control but challenging to see in ourselves. It is helpful in our spiritual evolution to pay more attention, have restraint, and take time to pause and reflect on our actions. Having a sense of purpose and sense of space can be useful reminders. It’s usually possible to have humor about situations. Responsibility is not control. Examples from the Japanese television series, La Grande Maison Tokyo, are discussed. Moments of peace and quiet are rewards of knowing we can’t control everything. We can only control ourselves and our conduct. Success on the path is not about winning, dominating and controlling, but about surrender and coming to center. We can’t tell if we’re off center if we’re not familiar with our center. Accepting what is as it is, and acting, can take us to the end of the path, to being one with the universe. Obstacles we encounter reveal the way to move forward. Four virtues of stoicism to be developed over a lifetime are wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. If things don’t go the way we want (e.g., with the outcome of an election), we can still live according to our principles and practices. Grief is loving something or someone we have lost; love is grieving for someone we haven’t lost yet. Negative personality features are the flip side of authentic manifestations. Our success depends on what we set up for ourselves. Bandhu Dunham is the author of Creative Life and an internationally recognized glass artist and teacher.

Present Attention is Objective Love (Red Hawk)

The being that occupies the body has two qualities—presence and attention—which is all that is needed to awaken. Attention has will and can place itself anywhere inside or outside the body. The present is the domain of the Divine and of love, which is not the emotional, sexual, or romantic love that we are taught and programmed to believe in. To be in service to the Divine, attention has to be present. If we’re not aware of the body, we’re identified and not present. Masculine energy holds attention in place, allowing the feminine to emerge by being receptive. When we’re present we can see what’s going on in the inner world. A distinction can be made between mechanical attention and conscious (or second) attention. Presence and attention in the inner world, which wears ego down, are like wind and water acting on stone in the outer world. We can watch the action of the ego structure, which slowly gives up its energy to the being, to attention and presence, but this is difficult because attention is weak. The great majority of humans live a life of constant distraction, identification and imagination. “There is only God” is a profound teaching. If God is love, then why is there violence and evil? In its mechanical state, the egoic structure alters love to assert its own desires. Conscience is easily overrun by the will of ego. Present attention corrects whatever is out of alignment with the love of God. Love—not my will, but Thy will—is the supreme intelligence which works through us. Ego does not want present attention; it wants identified attention. Effortless effort can only be unraveled by direct experience. Super effort does not come just from me but the being in harmony with the Divine. Red Hawk is an acclaimed poet and the author of 13 books, including Self Observation, Self Remembering, The Way of the Wise Woman, Return to the Mother, and Book of Lamentations.

Just This and the Practice of Assertion (Matthew Files)

Spiritual teachings can be easily understood in a conceptual and not a bodily way. Just This, or the practice of Assertion, is the recognition of what is real in every moment. It was a practice given by the American teacher Lee Lozowick which can be equated to “what is as it is, here and now.” But what is real to ego is everything that maintains the illusion of separation from what is. We may engage in spiritual practice because we sense there is more to life than what we see, which is full of illusion—projection, judgment and meaning-making. Just This is strong medicine to pierce such illusions that get in the way of accessing what is real about life. There is a lot that is real that we’re not aware of. It’s easy to fixate on the 3-dimensional realm as the scope of everything that is real. Yet, we are multidimensional beings. One aspect of Just This is that there is nothing missing right now. Just This is not a remedy, an affirmation to improve one’s life, or a mantra to repeat. Doing a practice in a relaxed way rather than trying to get somewhere without grasping makes the essence of a practice more available. When we accept what is as it is in the moment, the next moment may be a whole different experience of change. Just This is the reflection of reality in words, a doorway into the context of what is real in all of life which can be used at any time. This is Real is another expression of Assertion which can be done at specific times such as during completely natural bodily functions like eating, sleeping and eliminating that do not essentially involve ego. Just This needs a framework, a matrix to arise in that is built by traditional practice. Being human, which is more than having a body, is what we’re building through traditional practice. Matthew Files facilitates groups that support people to look deeper into their process, formulate their own questions, and become responsible for their choices.