Western Baul Podcast Series

Can’t Get There from Here: The Overlay of Mind on Reality (Bala Zuccarello)

As children, we take in everything and are not generally introduced to the idea of thinking about what we are thinking about. Our thinking is constant and we tend to repetitively think about the same things. Thinking overlays reality. Mind creates identification, is wary of everything as a threat, and seeks to survive at all costs. Throughout our lives, it looks for something to make things better while being averse to recognizing that something is not quite right. The best way to consider reality is to work with accepting what is as it is here and now, including our own reactions. Bala is manager of Hohm Press, which has published a few hundred books of spiritual literature.

Deepening Compassion in Times of Groundlessness, Uncertainty, and Fear (Nachama Greenwald)

Feeling groundless is common when there is a great deal of instability in the world or in our personal lives. At such times, our attention may be heightened so that all suffering people are felt as our companions. We can bodily experience the need for the world to cherish feminine qualities of receptivity and compassion, and we may also discover within ourselves a greater capacity for letting go. Nachama is a physical therapist, editor, and musician who for seventeen years was a member of the Shri blues band which performed Western Baul music.

Dig into the Mud to Get to the Sky (Karuna Fedorschak)

Part of the human condition is that there are parts of ourselves that we don’t see or want to see about ourselves. It may seem counterintuitive that real freedom, healing, and innocence is only possible in descent, and that the underworld (personal and archetypal) is a doorway that holds the key to real change and transformation. Whatever is buried carries creativity and life force and by learning to relate with it we can come to accept the full spectrum of life. Karuna was a singer and musician in the Western Baul bands LGB and Small Change and author of Parenting: A Sacred Task.

Cultivating the View that Everything is in Transit: A Consideration of Death in the Spiritual Traditions (Vijaya Fedorschak)

The reality that we see around us shows us that everything changes. Death brings an end to everything relative. But the spiritual traditions indicate that it is possible to know, or perhaps to build, something that continues beyond the separate self that we identify as. If we are to come in contact with our true nature at death, we can prepare ourselves in life. We can practice being with and moving through transitional states that are occurring all the time, as they will be more magnified at death. VJ is author of Shadow on the Path and Father and Son.

Wonder and Radical Amazement: Relearning the Forgotten Language of the Soul (Regina Sara Ryan)

There is a human quality which allows us to be aware that there is a potential in us yet to be realized. Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s consideration that the goal of life is to live in wonder and radical amazement is explored in this talk. We can enliven this approach which nourishes the soul; without this, the experience of the Divine is diminished in the world. Regina is the author of Igniting the Inner Life, The Woman Awake, Praying Dangerously, and Only God. She is a workshop leader, editor of Hohm Press, and a former Catholic nun.

The Tyranny of the Past (Angelon Young)

We are attached and identified with everything we have experienced from the past. The present moment is defined by the past so that we react instead of respond, cling to the familiar, and fear the future that is unknown. But the past is not the enemy. The issue is that we become crystallized and fixated in believing that our accumulated identity from the past is who we are. Angelon is a workshop leader, editor, and author of As It Is, Under the Punnai Tree, The Baul Tradition, Caught in the Beloved’s Petticoats, On the Road to Enlightened Duality (e-book), and Krishna’s Heretic Lovers.

There is a Crack in Everything—That’s How the Light Gets In: The Myth of Self-Perfection (Matthew Files)

This iconic lyric from a song by Leonard Cohen hints at the cracks in our self-image: the wounds, weaknesses, and apparent flaws which we usually want to ignore or cover up. Rather than trying to fix ourselves or perfect some image that we have, can we simply see the cracks for what they are, let the light in, and allow the light within us to shine out? Matthew has facilitated spiritual groups that support people to look deeper into their process, formulate their own questions, and become responsible for their choices.

My Body is a Temple: Creating a Life of Practice (Christina Sell)

The body as a temple is a metaphor in many spiritual traditions. We can build a temple of the body dedicated to our heart's intention, inner freedom, and self-knowledge through a life of practice. But how can any practice we engage shift us from perfectionistic notions towards greater compassion for ourselves and others? True practice needs a solid foundation and to focus on the highest spiritual principle. Christina has been teaching yoga for over twenty years and is the author of three books on yoga and body image: Yoga from the Inside Out, My Body is a Temple, and A Deeper Yoga.

Be Kind, Be Generous, Be Tender-Hearted (Rick Lewis)

There is a tendency to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. But we can learn to extend the kindness that we have within us to others, despite any fear and insecurity, in order to embody that which we intend to be. We can explore mechanics that continue to separate us and keep us in a comfort zone. Rick provides inspirational presentations for conferences and events. He has been deeply involved in a few spiritual communities and is author of You Have the Right to Remain Silent, The Perfection of Nothing, and 7 Rules You Were Born to Break.

Neither Attracted nor Repelled—The Value of Cultivating Equanimity (Nachama Greenwald)

Equanimity is a principle that is woven into the dharma of many different traditions, including Buddhism and yoga. We are all subject to what attracts and repels us, what we push away and what we grasp for. Our daily experience of life is our mirror, gauge, and training ground. We can learn to ride the waves of experiences of fixation and reactivity in a world of polarities, develop discrimination, and live in a bigger world. Nachama is a physical therapist, editor, and musician who was a member of the Shri blues band for seventeen years