so sad that AI raises a lot of concerns, without people taking risk and diving deep into the subject to find out that it was a mashup of their conciousness, that would not let them agree that this could possibly be the future :)

Teaching us to relax back into being held by spaciousness, Lama Rod Owens discusses the forces that help us remember real love, awakened freedom, and who we truly are. 

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.
https://youtu.be/4eGsv_-v7xw

In this episode, Chris and Lama Rod explore:
- The practice and embodiment of real love as revolutionary
- Transcending violence and harm and the yearning for all to be free
- Holding brokenheartedness with a lot of care and viewing it as a teaching 
- Continued practice even as an awakened being 
- Returning to a space of fluidity and openness
- Riding the middle line between form and emptiness 
- Cultivating a stronger relationship with Earth, even in an urban environment 
- Mystical breakthroughs and navigating mental health through the lens of spirituality 
- Getting distracted by euphoria / believing we are hyper-special instead of taking spiritual experiences as an opportunity to connect more deeply with humanity 
- Meditative experiences that can be found in daily life and in our pre-existing hobbies
- Allowing space for Western medicine when it is needed 
- Untangling the notion that we have to like something or someone in order to love 
- Returning agency back to community and the enduring spiritual traditions that will aid in our survival  

About Lama Rod Owens:
Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is to show you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Check out Lama Rod’s most recent publication, The New Saints, and his podcast on the Be Here Now Network, The Spirit Underground.

For current offerings and programs, click here.

“Is it taking you out of this moment, out of relationship with others around you? Are you having thoughts of being special and extraordinary? Is it helping you to be more human, or is it leading you towards this idealized state that seems to take you out of the messiness of humanity? I think that the real spiritual breakthrough brings us deeper into the experience of being human, of empathy." – Lama Rod Owens

Being Held by Space with Lama Rod Owens & Chris Grosso – The Indie Spiritualist Podcast Ep. 137

Dr. Melinda Edwards sits down with Raghu for a journey through psyche and spirit, revealing the doorways that led her out of trauma, into healing, and ultimately home to her heart. 

This time on Mindrolling, Raghu and Dr. Melinda Edwards discuss:

- How Dr. Melinda Edwards grew up as a child of medical missionaries in Guatemala 
- The build-up of trauma in Dr. Edwards’ life and how it manifested as an eating disorder
- How meeting Ram Dass transformed Melinda’s life and guided her to Neem Karoli Baba
- Ram Dass’ example of holding unconditional love and compassionate presence for others
- Using our issues and contractions as an individualized path forward for spiritual growth 
- Considering the value of psychedelics for accelerating a spiritual journey 
- The powerful impact of full commitment and surrender during meditation retreats
- Addressing common misconceptions about autism and how autistic individuals process emotions
- Dr. Melinda’s experience teaching her daughter “how to be human” and to navigate this chaotic world
- Living Darshan, Dr. Edwards’ non-profit, aimed at increasing the understanding of neurodiversity 
- The challenge and importance of keeping our hearts open, even in moments of resistance
- Finding shared humanity in the people and traits we fear, reject, or dislike in others
- Facing our inner rage, grief, and pain in response to the global political and emotional climate

This episode is sponsored by Reunion & Dharma Seed:
Mindrolling is brought to you by Reunion. Reunion is offering $250 off any stay to the Love, Serve, Remember community. Simply use the code “BeHere250” when booking. Disconnect from the world so you can reconnect with yourself at Reunion. Hotel | www.reunionhotelandwellness.com Retreats | www.reunionexperience.org

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

About Dr. Melinda Edwards:

Melinda Edwards, MD is a mother, writer and physician in Charleston, SC. Her medical training and her life’s journey home to her own heart inform her work as a psychiatrist. Supporting others in their discovery of the love that we all are is one of her greatest joys. She is the founder of the 501c3 nonprofit organization Living Darshan and is the author of Psyche & Spirit: How a Psychiatrist Found Divinity Through Her Lifelong Quest for Truth and Her Daughter’s Autism. 

"Our psychology, our contractions, our issues, whatever comes up is itself the doorway back home to our hearts. Isn't that a miracle? Each of us has a perfectly individualized path laid out right in front of our noses each moment." – Melinda Edwards, MD

A Journey Through Psyche & Spirit with Melinda Edwards & Raghu Markus – Mindrolling Podcast Ep. 593

Mystical feminist Mirabai Starr shares the fruits of many years of investigating, excavating, and uplifting women’s voices within global spiritual traditions.

This talk was recorded on Sept 22, 2020 as a part of the Virtual Ram Dass Fellowship.

This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Mirabai Starr discusses:

- An invitation to unknowing and allowing our preconceived notions to fall away
- The patriarchal roots of spiritual traditions and religious institutions 
- Highlighting women’s spiritual wisdom in the Ram Dass community
- Women's circles that are free of a masculine influence 
- Honoring feelings as they arise and having the capacity to hold them 
- Speaking spiritual truth to power while staying heart-centered
- The great mystery and ambiguity of the feminine heart space 
- Connecting with our higher selves and true purpose 
- Practicing contemplative meditation through creativity
- The necessity of community for transformation to take place 
- Trusting the journey to spiritual awakening and surrendering to the process
- Balancing active and contemplative energies as sacred feminine archetypes
- Remembering that we all have both feminine and masculine energies within us

This episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:
Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI: https://www.dharmamoon.com/heart

About Mirabai Starr:
Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialogue. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Check out her many books and learn more at MirabaiStarr.com.

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:
Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

"It's scary to dwell in the heart because it's a place of mystery, at least the feminine heart is. It is a place where there is a great degree of tolerance for ambiguity—that the masculine paradigm conditions us to believe is a problem to be solved. The feminine heart space sees ambiguity as a higher truth, paradox as a vast space of truth. This heart has the capacity, because it is so vast, to hold seemingly contradictory propositions." – Mirabai Starr

Ep. 207 - Ram Dass Fellowship Voices of the Sacred Feminine with Mirabai Starr & Jackie Dobrinska

In this time of global uncertainty, Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman call us to rise with fierce compassion and become Bodhisattvas of the Great Turning.

Ep. 289 – Still We Rise- Bodhisattvas of the Great Turning with Trudy Goodman

Embodied awareness practitioner Jill Satterfield joins Raghu to unpack how meditative poses, creativity, and slowing down can help us release pain, move energy, and heal somatically.

In this delightful episode of the Mindrolling Podcast, Raghu and Jill Satterfield converse about:
• Out-of-body experiences through immersive art and altered states of consciousness
• Jill’s college days and spiritual insights from taking peyote in the desert 
• Finding a spiritual path through chronic pain and emotional suffering
• How trauma and pain disconnect us from bodily awareness
• The physiological impact of imagination on the body and nervous system 
• How meditative and yogic poses can open areas of our body & psyche for exploration 
• Witnessing processes within the body via ‘slowing down, staying in something, and moving energy’
• Somatic healing during retreat and bringing concentration into the body 
• Adaptive postures for meditation and yoga, and allowing flexibility within our practice
• The benefit of curiosity for altering our perspectives and opening the heart 
• Noticing that pain is an umbrella for many feelings, including some that are pleasant or interesting

Today's episode is sponsored by Reunion & Dharma Seed:
Mindrolling is brought to you by Reunion. Reunion is offering $250 off any stay to the Love, Serve, Remember community. Simply use the code “BeHere250” when booking. Disconnect from the world so you can reconnect with yourself at Reunion. Hotel | www.reunionhotelandwellness.com Retreats | www.reunionexperience.org

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

About Jill Satterfield:

Jill Satterfield has been a quiet pioneer in the integration of embodied awareness practices and Buddhist teachings for over 30 years. Her heart/mind and body approach developed from somatic and contemplative psychology, 35 years of Buddhist study, extensive meditation retreat time and decades of living with chronic pain. At the invitation of her primary teacher, Ajahn Amaro, Jill was the first to offer mindful movement and somatic practices on silent retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and then the Insight Meditation Society 30 years ago. She has developed teacher trainings and mentoring programs that integrate embodied awareness with Dharma ever since. Learn more about Jill’s numerous offerings on her website.

"Imagination creates a physiological response. What you imagine changes your body—it changes your mind. If you're thinking about your guru, your teacher, someone you love, it changes your body." – Jill Satterfield

Embodied Awareness & Somatic Healing w/ Jill Satterfield & Raghu Markus | Mindrolling Podcast Ep.594

Recorded live at the 2022 Summer Mountain Retreat, Sharon Salzberg, Robert Thurman, and Raghu Markus explore the true essence of love through the lenses of service, social action, and selflessness.

Come join us this year at the 2025 Summer Mountain Retreat in Boone, North Carolina: https://www.ramdass.org/event/4th-ram-dass-legacy-summer-mountain-retreat/

In this episode, Sharon, Robert, and Raghu hold a discussion on:
• Reframing love as an ability we can develop, rather than a fleeting emotion
 • Taking responsibility for love—actively cultivating it instead of waiting for it to arrive
• Recognizing authentic love as a deep sense of connection
• Understanding the etymology of metta, the Buddhist concept of loving-kindness and the sincere wish for another’s happiness
• Considering if we can genuinely wish happiness for others if we are not happy ourselves
• Identifying the pitfalls of ego-driven self-love and how it disrupts true bliss and spiritual connection
• Moving beyond spiritual ego—being real and grounded instead of feeling superior for simply meditating
• Reflecting on how Ram Dass radiated full, compassionate attention to everyone around him
• Embracing love as the most powerful unseen force in the universe 
• Learning to forget ourselves and awaken true happiness through compassion and loving-awareness
• Facing the challenge of practicing loving-awareness with those closest to us—often the hardest test of all

This episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:
Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI: https://www.dharmamoon.com/heart

About Sharon Salzberg:

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. Learn more about Sharon and her books at www.sharonsalzberg.com

About Robert Thurman:

Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and President of the Tibet House U.S., and is the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. His new book, Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life, is now available.

About Raghu Markus:

Raghu Markus spent two years in India with Neem Karoli Baba and Ram Dass. He has been involved in music and transformational media since the early 1970s. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation and hosts the Mindrolling Podcast on the Be Here Now Network. Along with Duncan Trussell, Raghu also recently co-created The Movie of Me to the Movie of We.

“When I thought of love as a feeling, it was also a commodity. It was in someone else’s hands and they could bestow it upon me, or, they could take it away from me…when I think of it as an ability, it’s a capacity within me that other people might awaken or inspire or threaten, but ultimately it’s mine. It’s mine to tender, it’s my responsibility.”– Sharon Salzberg


Love & Reason: The Intersection of Bhakti & Buddhism | BHNN Guest Podcast Ep. 208

In this guided breath meditation, Jack Kornfield invites listeners into a space of ease, trust, and ardent gratitude for our bodies, hearts, and minds.

Ep. 290 –  Bowing to the Breath- An Embodied Mindfulness Practice

J. Krishnamurti considers the mechanical quality of seeing and listening that humans often suffer from, and why it prevents us from being free.

Ep. 10 - The Art of Seeing and Listening

Elon Musk has called it a compelling guide to the challenges and choices in our quest for a great future of life on Earth and beyond, while Stephen Hawking and Ray Kurzweil have referred to it as an introduction and guide to the most important conversation of our time. “It” is Max Tegmark's new book, Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

In this interview, Ariel speaks with Max about the future of artificial intelligence. What will happen when machines surpass humans at every task? Will superhuman artificial intelligence arrive in our lifetime? Can and should it be controlled, and if so, by whom? Can humanity survive in the age of AI? And if so, how can we find meaning and purpose if super-intelligent machines provide for all our needs and make all our contributions superfluous?

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence with Max Tegmark

Stuart Russell is one of AI's true pioneers and has been at the forefront of the field for decades. His expertise and forward thinking have culminated in his newest work, Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control. The book is a cornerstone piece, alongside Superintelligence and Life 3.0, that articulates the civilization-scale problem we face of aligning machine intelligence with human goals and values. Not only is this a further articulation and development of the AI alignment problem, but Stuart also proposes a novel solution which bring us to a better understanding of what it will take to create beneficial machine intelligence.

 Topics discussed in this episode include:

-Stuart's intentions in writing the book
-The history of intellectual thought leading up to the control problem
-The problem of control
-Why tool AI won't work
-Messages for different audiences
-Stuart's proposed solution to the control problem

You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2019/10/08/ai-alignment-podcast-human-compatible-artificial-intelligence-and-the-problem-of-control-with-stuart-russell/

Important timestamps: 

0:00 Intro
2:10 Intentions and background on the book
4:30 Human intellectual tradition leading up to the problem of control
7:41 Summary of the structure of the book
8:28 The issue with the current formulation of building intelligent machine systems
10:57 Beginnings of a solution
12:54 Might tool AI be of any help here?
16:30 Core message of the book
20:36 How the book is useful for different audiences
26:30 Inferring the preferences of irrational agents
36:30 Why does this all matter?
39:50 What is really at stake?
45:10 Risks and challenges on the path to beneficial AI
54:55 We should consider laws and regulations around AI
01:03:54 How is this book differentiated from those like it?

AIAP: Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control with Stuart Russell

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit working to reduce global catastrophic and existential risk from powerful technologies. In particular, FLI focuses on risks from artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nuclear weapons and climate change.

The Institute's work is made up of three main strands: grantmaking for risk reduction, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United Nations, US government and European Union institutions.

FLI has become one of the world's leading voices on the governance of AI having created one of the earliest and most influential sets of governance principles: the Asilomar AI Principles.

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence with Max Tegmark

Future of Life Institute

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