What is the future of consciousness hacking? Organic molecules, blinky machines, good old fashioned meditation, or some combination of them all? In this episode, recorded live in San Francisco on October 24th 2018, Michael Taft of Deconstructing Yourself , Vincent Horn of Buddhist Geeks , and host Mikey Siegel of Consciousness Hacking discuss the possibilities, the challenges, and the many ways forward in the transformation of human consciousness. Audience dialogue and questions took center stag...
Dec 13, 2018•1 hr 36 min•Season 2Ep. 401
In this episode I'm joined in dialogue by David Gold to explore the path of Love. David shares the story of meeting his beloved, Juli Reeves, and how their meeting kicked off a process of being disrupted by Love. Listen in as we inquiry into Love, Life, Trust, Emergence, & Evolution. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Memorable Quotes: “Whatever stands in the way of me loving her more, may it be removed.” - David Gold “I will not have another God before Love. I don’t know what Gods will ap...
Oct 15, 2018•59 min•Ep. 400
During this episode I'm joined by an old friend and mentor, David Gold , to discuss, as he puts it, his "evolution from a non-teacher to a non-teacher." We talk about our shared history, going back to my time as college student at NC State, where he was a facilitator of the Self-Knowledge Symposium. He also shares his history with American mystic, Richard Rose, and with the fallen guru, Andrew Cohen. He shares the learnings that were borne out of working with those teachers, and the way that his...
Sep 17, 2018•59 min
In this episode I'm joined by my old friend and colleague, Rohan Gunatillake . Rohan is the founder of Mindfulness Everywhere , a creative studio combining meditation, technology, & design. Mindfulness Everywhere is perhaps best known for it's popular meditation app buddhify , and for it's innovative-indie approach to developing digital mindfulness products. In this conversation we talk about the importance of making mindfulness accessible, about the discontinuous changes that have happened ...
Sep 05, 2018•1 hr 10 min
I discovered Christoper Vitale 's writing after doing a google search on the "philosophy of networks." At the time I had recently started doing the Buddhist Geeks podcast again and had formulated a new tagline for the project: Dharma in the Age of the Network . I wanted to dive deeper into what networks are, not in a specific sense (of say a "computer network"), but in more general & philosophical terms. What I discovered in Chris' writing was a clear philosophy of networks, and a generalize...
Aug 29, 2018•22 min
In this episode I was joined by my dharma friend Lama Karma . During our time together we explored his time in Peru, using the native plant medicine ayahuasca. He said he couldn't help but relate to his experience through the lens of his vajrayana training, and shares some of how he makes sense of the experiences he had while using ayahuasca ceremonially. We also get into a heart-felt conversation about Lama Karma's teacher, Lama Norlha, who recently passed away and who at the very end of his li...
Aug 01, 2018•1 hr 7 min
This episode comes from a live event on " Waking Up with Psychedelics " that occurred in Los Angeles, co-hosted by InsightLA . I was joined in this dialogue by Trudy Goodman , Spring Washam , & Dr. Charles Grob . Ram Dass joined us at the end of this dialogue, and his talk is on available for Buddhist Geeks Patrons as a bonus episode. Memorable Quotes "An untrained mind may go into panic, but a mind that's steeped in wisdom can start to say, 'Oh, this is the teaching right here.'" - Spring W...
Jul 09, 2018•1 hr 12 min
I’m joined in this raw & intimate conversation by meditation teacher & author Spring Washam , as we discuss the integration of Buddhist contemplative practice with the Peruvian plant medicine ayahuasca . We begin with Springs dharma journey and the way that silent practice no longer served her deeper healing journey, and how the ultimately brought her to the jungles of Peru. I share parallels on my path of working with psilocybin and healing ancestral trauma, and we go into how a deeper ...
Mar 27, 2018•58 min
I don’t want to over-hype this episode too much, but listening back over it today and preparing these notes, I was left feeling that this was perhaps the most intimate, raw, & profound conversation I’ve had throughout the Meditating on Psychedelics series so far. It might have something to do with the fact that my guest is Trudy Goodman , who is also one of my teachers. My wife Emily & I had the great honor of being authorized to teach by Trudy last year, at her center InsightLA , where ...
Mar 12, 2018•53 min
On this episode I had the great pleasure of speaking with Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care, Roshi Joan Halifax. One of my previous guests, Raghu Markus, recommended I speak with her as part of the Meditating on Psychedelics series, and so that's where the conversation began. I think it's fair to say that by the end of our discussion it had expanded out quite a bit to include broader questions about the relationship between contemplation &...
Feb 26, 2018•57 min
In this episode I'm joined by one of my favorite productivity writers, Tiago Forte. Tiago is part of a new generation of productivity thinkers, whose exploring new ways of working in the digital age. I've found his writing both refreshing and insightful, and when I discovered that he also has a serious interest in meditation & spirituality I knew I'd have to invite him onto Buddhist Geeks. The first part of our dialogue explores Tiago's background and work, and then we get into the relations...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr
In this episode we speak with meditation teacher & author Michael Taft about his experience of meditating on LSD. Michael describes himself as someone who has likely done more LSD than anyone you've ever known, while also being a hardcore meditator, a skilled teacher, and one of the more high-functioning & well integrated adults that you're likely to meet. In addition to discussing the potential dangers and downsides of using LSD, Michael also shares his unique experience of the 3 charac...
Jan 29, 2018•1 hr 15 min
This week we speak with Albert Grabb, an LA-based radiologist & meditator, who was one of the 1st legal participants in a Johns Hopkins study of seasoned meditators using psilocybin (aka "magic mushrooms"). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Nov 16, 2017•1 hr 25 min
In this episode we speak with author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and dharmic psychonaut Erik Davis about the intersection of psychedelic practice & culture with dharmic practice & culture. Episode Links : - Become a Buddhist Geeks Patreon - TechGnosis - Expanding Mind Podcast - " Zig, Zag, Zen " - Dharma Protectors - Erowid - Cognitive liberty See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Oct 26, 2017•1 hr 16 min
During the 2nd part of my conversation with Raghu Markus, director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation, we speak about the powerful fusion of bhakti (devotion) practice and more traditional Buddhist meditation practice. Episode Links : - Rick Doblin’s Psychedelic Studies - Ram Dass - Be Here Now Network - SHARANAGATI: The True Meaning of Surrender from the Bhakti Yoga Tradition See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sel...
Sep 19, 2017•34 min
Raghu Markus lives in Asheville (my hometown) and is the executive director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation, the same organization that runs RamDass.org. Raghu traveled with Ram Dass (formerly Richard Alpert) in the 70s to India and studied with the Indian guru Neem Karoli Baba. There he also met Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, & Lama Surya Das, who all became lifelong friends. During this first part of our conversation Raghu & I met up at a local tea shop and sp...
Aug 31, 2017•33 min
In this episode we speak with Dr. Douglas Osto, author of "Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America". Episode Links : - Become a Buddhist Geeks Patreon - Douglas Osto - “ Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America ” - “ Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections by Contemporary Buddhist Scholars ” - “ Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics ” - 'She didn't know what was real': Did 10-day meditation retreat trigger woman's suicide? See Privacy Policy at h...
Aug 15, 2017•52 min
The intention of this series is to gain a deeper understanding of the relative merits and dangers of the mixing Buddhist contemplative practice and ritualized psychedelic use. Episode Links : " Meditating on Pyschedelics: What Camp Are You In? " See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Aug 03, 2017•28 min
Buddhist Geeks is stirring from the state in-between lives. It looks like a rebirth is eminent. Episode Links: - www.buddhistgeeks.org - The Buddhist Geeks Death Poem: https://goo.gl/w9csbS See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 23, 2017•49 min
Rev. angel Kyodo williams Sensei is a maverick spiritual teacher, master trainer, and founder of Center for Transformative Change. She is the author of "Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation". Sensei williams joins host Vincent Horn to continue the current series on ethics in a talk about race, love, and liberation. They address race and class in American capitalism, the construct of “whiteness” as a social form of ego structure, and how Buddhism provides the tools to uncover entren...
Jun 14, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Stephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. He is the author of "Buddhism Without Beliefs" and most recently has written "After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age". In this entry to the Buddhist Geeks series on ethics, Stephen joins host Vincent Horn to consider what it means to secularize Buddhist ethics. They discuss the process of removing early Buddhist ethics from its early Indian metaphysics, a...
Jun 04, 2016•48 min
EMMA SEPPÄLÄ, Ph.D is Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Emma joins host Vincent Horn to share the science behind compassion. She describes the current state of compassion research, and she and Vincent discuss the effects of unbundling mindfulness, compassion, and ethics in a capitalist society. Episode Links Emma Seppala - http://www.emmaseppala.com The Happiness Track - http://www.emmaseppala.com/book/ @emmaseppala - https://twi...
May 28, 2016•35 min
James Hughes is the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and the author of "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future". Continuing in our series On Ethics, James joins host Vincent Horn to discuss the ethical frameworks that underpin our social systems. From economics and social justice to conservative vs liberal values, to a newly emerging technoprogressivism, James and Vincent deconstruct and explore various ...
May 28, 2016•55 min
David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He blogs on several sites including the hypertext book Meaningness.com. In part two of a conversation on ethics with David Chapman and Vincent Horn, the discussion continues to explore a series of blog articles that David wrote on the theme of “Buddhist ethics”. They consider the usefulness of tantric ethics, examine Western Buddhism in context of Robert Kegan’s 5-stage developmental psychology model, and they spe...
May 14, 2016•1 hr 2 min
David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He blogs on several sites including the hypertext book Meaningness.com. Beginning a season of episodes on the theme of ethics, Vincent Horn welcomes David to explore a series of blog articles that David wrote on the theme of “Buddhist ethics.” Together they question some long held secular, leftish beliefs about Buddhist ethics, they explore the distinction between morality and ethics, and they examine how Buddhist...
Mar 30, 2016•52 min
Roland Griffiths is the lead investigator of the Psilocybin Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins and one of the United States’ leading psychopharmacologists. In the conclusion to his conversation with host Vincent Horn, Roland provides more details on the Hopkins Meditation Study, Vincent shares his personal story of psychedelic experimentation, and they discuss the risks and benefits of mixing meditation practice with the psilocybin experience. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to p...
Jan 02, 2016•37 min
Roland Griffiths is the lead investigator of the Psilocybin Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins and one of the United States’ leading psychopharmacologists. In this episode Roland describes his research into the medicinal uses of psychedelics. He explains his history in the field, his current research around psychedelics and meditation, and he extends an invitation to the Buddhist Geeks audience to consider becoming a part of a meditation on psilocybin study at John Hopkins. This is part one of...
Dec 17, 2015•40 min
Caroline Contillo is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, & writer. In the conclusion to their conversation, Caroline and Vincent Horn examine the rewards and perils of storytelling in our daily lives. They share the concept of mindfulness as a Reality Tunnel and consider what happens when we forget that mindfulness is also part of a larger story that influences what reality is. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one "BG 375: The Story of Things as They Are". [ http://ww...
Dec 08, 2015•26 min
Caroline Contillo is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, & writer. She joins host Vincent Horn for a free flowing conversation about mindfulness, science fiction, and the human penchant for telling stories. Together they make connections between mindfulness and story-telling, and examine the way that mindful practice can uncover certain kinds of “reality tunnels”, while introducing its own unique story line. This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two "BG 376: The Mindfulnes...
Nov 30, 2015•29 min
Vincent Horn is part of a new generation of teachers translating age-old wisdom into 21st century code. In this talk given to the Buddhist Geeks Dojo and the UNC Asheville Mindfulness Club, Vincent describes Mindfulness++, a multi-paradigm programming language for the mind. The “multi” part refers to multiple training paradigms--including both Buddhist and mindfulness-based ones--and how they differ based on the ‘view’ and ‘intentions’ that power them. Finally Vincent explores using a feedback l...
Nov 02, 2015•24 min
