Podcast: Journals of Spiritual Discovery by spiritualteachers.org

Bart Marshall Interview

Bart Marshall is both a gifted writer and spiritual teacher.   I’ve known Bart Marshall for many years, but the inspiration for this interview is his article “Ultimate Between-ness” which contains these compelling lines:

There are two main things I think are worth studying.  One is how to wake up from this dream called life.  The other is how to get what you want within it.  As it happens, the formula for both is the same.

Intrigued?

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Selected Links and Notes from this Episode:

  • Announcement that the TAT Foundation’s April event features an excellent lineup of speakers: Paul Hedderman, Paul Rezendes, Paul Constant, Norio Kushi, and Bart Marshall.  Sign up for this incredible conference at Once in a Lifetime is Now.
  • For Bart Marshall’s background story, check out my film Closer than Close, his interview on ConsciousTV, and Bart’s interview on BATGAP.  [1:45]
  • An overview of Ultimate Between-ness. [3:57]
  • The Law of Attraction is better called The Law of Creation. [4:50]
  • The four aspects of Ultimate Between-ness: Intention, Confidence, Gratitude, and Indifference. [6:40]
  • The importance of wanting the truth at all cost. [10:30]
  • Prayer as a practice of indifference.  [15:29]
  • The importance of clarifying what you really want.  Why do you want the Truth? [19:20]
  • “The man who chases two mice catches none.” [21:34]
  • Guided self-inquiry. [22:40]
  • How to incorporate a habit of confidence. [27:19]
  • Does backing away from untruth conflict with setting an intention? [35:20]
  • Are there any spiritual nuggets Bart has uncovered since writing the Ultimate Between-ness essay? [43:55]
  • How to work with Bart Marshall.  He charges for the initial consultation, but not for follow on sessions. [49:45]
  • RealFace Press is Bart’s publishing company. [52:26]  His books include:
  • Reach Bart Marshall at SelfInquiry.org.


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Eshwar Segobind Interview

Eshwar Segobind
Eshwar Segobind

Eshwar Segobind was completely unknown to me before this interview, and I feel fortunate that his name was passed to me through friends in the TAT Foundation.  Eshwar’s spiritual path is remarkable both for its brevity and for the depth of practical insight he manifests.   In less than a year, Eshwar went from a recovery program to a profound spiritual awakening to his true nature.

Eshwar Segobind is happy to speak to those with sincere questions  and does not charge for his time.  You can reach him at: sensewithoutmind [@] gmail.  I trust you can decipher the last part of that means “@gmail.com”.

  • Listen to the interview on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.
  • Stream by clicking here, or download after you follow the link by using right-click and then “save as.”
  • Or listen on YouTube:
  • If you enjoy the podcast, join my monthly supporters.  Your help is appreciated.

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Selected Links and Notes from this Episode:

  • Announcement that the TAT Foundation’s April event features an excellent lineup of speakers: Paul Hedderman, Paul Rezendes, Paul Constant, Norio Kushi, and Bart Marshall.  Sign up for this incredible conference at Once in a Lifetime is Now.
  • Eshwar’s introduction to meditation [4:30]
  • Involvement with AA and the Twelve Steps and seeing how Step 4 deflates the ego. [4:50]
  • The 112 Steps of Shiva meditation techniques. [7:25]
  • Trying ayahuasca along with the Twelve Steps broke down a lot of the sense of self-identity. [10:14]
  • “There was something inside of me that was kind of guiding me.” [11:50]
  • “At the core of what I considered myself to be, there was nothing.” [14:00]
  • That “you have to die” is not a very popular thing. [29:30]
  • Enlightenment within a year. [32:00]
  • No one an make you feel sad or hurt.  It’s all based in thought. [37:15]
  • “You have to uproot ‘you’.  The thing that says it’s feeling all this stuff.  What is that?”[39:15]
  • “It’s not that the world is an illusion in itself.  It’s the thing that’s interpreting that – that’s the very thing that is the illusion.” [58:38]
  • “If a fear is coming up, go towards it not away from it.” [1:00:00]
  • An open invitation to email or call Eshwar.  Everyone is welcome to have a conversation free of charge.  [1:02:40]
  • The effect of awakening on family relationships. [1:04:30]
  • “There are very few pointers that are needed.” [1:08:55]
  • Reach Eshwar at: sensewithoutmind [@] gmail.  The last part of that means “@gmail.com”.


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Guided Meditation 1

A little holiday gift to you in this end of the year podcast: a guided meditation.  Though I rarely did guided meditation in my younger days, I now see it as skillful practice as well as having the potential to develop rapport when done in a group setting.  A guided meditation is the opportunity to step into a different perspective for a few minutes, to be coached, or inspired by the mind of another person.

I hope this guided meditation inspires you, and offers another step on your own unique path inward.

guided meditation

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What would make this guided meditation more useful?  Please let me know in the comments.

Selected Links and Notes from this Episode:

  • In case you’re wondering what story I’m reading from, it’s the play Our Town.  Other than that tidbit, it’s a guided meditation, so ‘nough said.

Thoughts on Richard Rose and the Spiritual Life

Richard Rose has been one of my 5-star teachers since the inception ofspiritual life spiritualteachers.org.  He passed away in 2005, but his work influences numerous contemporary teachers.  I thought it would be interesting to interview one of his long-time students, Michael Casari, and get a glimpse of life with Richard Rose as well as another person’s view on the key teachings of this self-styled West Virginia Zen master.

The interview concludes with Michael reading several poems from Richard Rose’s book Carillon, so be sure to listen to the end.

Michael Casari with Richard Rose
  • Listen to the interview on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.
  • Stream by clicking here, or download after you follow the link by using right-click and then “save as.”
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  • If you enjoy the podcast, join my monthly supporters.  Your help is appreciated.

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Selected Links and Notes from this Episode:

  • Announcement that TAT Press just published Awake at the Wheel: Norio Kushi’s Highway Adventures and the Unmasking of the Phantom Self,” which I highly recommend as Norio was a guest on this podcast. [0:30]
  • Arthur Janov’s Primal Scream.  [3:25]
  • Meeting Richard Rose at his home. [7:30]
  • Rose’s presence and lack of pretense. [11:43]
  • The window of opportunity resulting from LSD. [13:00]
  • What was Rose’s guidance? [14:00]
  • Richard Rose’s system of spiritual teaching [16:28]
  • Celibacy as a spiritual practice, conservation of energy, and focusing the attention. [17:25]
  • Books recommended by Richard Rose: Ouspensky’s The Fourth Way, Conquest of Illusion by Van Der Leeuw. [21:50]
  • The difficulty of working with a spiritual group. [27:14]
  • Why you should not hire the Russian mafia for your cross country move. [28:10]
  • “The perfect psychology will lead to Absolute Truth.” ~ Richard Rose [34:00]
  • Rose’s Psychology of the Observer.  You have to go through your psychology, you can’t ignore it.  [34:10]
  • Was there Richard Rose the spiritual teacher and Rose the “regular guy?” [36:10]
  • The power of making a commitment to help others. [38:30]
  • Mixing money and spirituality, making oneself a “truth machine.” [39:35]
  • “I’m willing to sacrifice your good opinion of me to tell you the truth.” ~ Richard Rose [41:00]
  • A 30-day winter retreat intensive on the Rose farm. [41:15]
  • The Direct Mind Experience and what does it mean to “step inside the head” of another person? [44:50]
  • Learning hypnosis to understand the human mind. [50:05]
  • “To know, to will, to dare, and to be silent.” [52:35]
  • Richard Rose’s book Energy Transmutation, Between-Ness and Transmission, and transmission of mind.  [53:00]
  • Allowing oneself to be more sensitive. [1:03:00]
  • “Essence recognizes essence, and that’s what rapport really is.” [1:08:20]
  • Michael’s essay “Richard Rose: The Man who was a Mirror” and Rose’s comment that “if you want direct mind, you have to avoid technology.” [1:08:30]
  • Michael’s recommendations for learning more about Richard Rose, include visiting tatfoundation.org, reading Carillon for Rose’s poetry, and the Three Books of the Absolute in the back of The Albigen Papers,  [1:17:00]
  • Michael reads several of Richard Rose’s poems. [1:19:35]

Pattiann Rogers Interview

Most of us, I would venture to say, have at some time or other had a feeling that something was present beyond our traditional senses, something without a name, not specific nor particular, but thoroughly present in a manner inexplicable, very near and very far away, beyond our current ability to explain. ~Pattiann Rogers

Pattiann Rogers is most recently the recipient of the John Burroughs Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Nature Poetry, “in recognition of the power and permanence of Rogers’ entire body of work.”  Her first book was The Expectations of Light, published in 1981.  Since then, Pattiann Rogers has published 15 other books and received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rockefeller Foundation residency.

Pattiann Rogers has been called a nature poet, a theological poet, an environment poet, and a spiritual poet.  As you’ll see in our interview, she’s really a poet of existence, and the grand paradoxes of a God who refuses to reveal itself, yet whose presence is felt everywhere.  She’s equally at home in the celebration and the examination of life, and that is reflected in her poetry which is at turns both ecstatic and probing.

This interview begins with Pattiann Rogers reading several of her poems specifically chosen for listeners of the Journals of Spiritual Discovery podcast.

Pattiann Rogers

  • Listen to the interview on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.
  • Stream by clicking here, or download after you follow the link by using right-click and then “save as.”
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  • If you enjoy the podcast, join my monthly supporters.  Your help is appreciated.

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Selected Links and Notes from this Episode:

  • Poems read by Pattiann Rogers in this episode: “Achieving Perspective,” “In Addition to Faith, Hope, and Charity,” “Being Accomplished,” “The Background Beyond the Background,” “The Greatest Grandeur,” “Address: The Archaeans, One Cell Creatures,” “Hail, Spirit,” “The Consequences of Death,” “The Possible Suffering of a God During Creation,” “Goddamn Theology,” and “Inside God’s Eye.”
  • “I hear and behold god in every object, yet understand him not in the least.” – Walt Whitman [0:15]
  • Part of confronting the mystery of life is questioning. [14:30]
  • “I wouldn’t be a poet if I didn’t have a few poems about death.” [24:18]
  • The work of poetry as spiritual practice. [40:00]
  • The Dream of the Marsh Wren: Writing As Reciprocal Creation by Pattiann Rogers
  • “When I write poetry I’m singing, when I write prose I’m talking and there’s all the difference in the world in how you can you the language to make the music you need.  And sometimes the music itself can direct you to the words you need.”  [41:20]
  • Paying attention to how the body reacts to the placement of words [42:28]
  • “Keats said, ‘the poetry of earth is ceasing never,’ and that’s the music of it I think, and I’ve wanted to express that music.” [50:45]
  • “One of the goals of poetry in to expand the use of the language.” [53:50]
  • “The best poetry opens avenues of thought… and make our perceptions and insights deeper than before.” [54:18]
  • The Jerry Wennstrom Interview [1:03:00]
  • “The major fault I find with writers – poets – is they don’t understand how hard the work is.” [1:06:45]
  • On yearning for criticism. [1:10:36]
  • Pattiann Rogers recommends these two books for a selection of her work: Song of the World Becoming and Firekeeper: Selected Poems, revised and expanded .  She also recommend Holy Heathen Rhapsody as a shorter introduction to her work.

For more about Pattiann Rogers, read these two in-depth interviews:

Many Edges to Explore at Terrain.org

The Iowa Review interview with Pattiann Rogers

And visit her personal page here at SpiritualTeachers.org.