The Mystical Positivist: The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #63

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #63 - 24MAR12

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

Part 1: A discussion with Susan Casslan, of San Francisco, California, author of Conversations with Richard Purcell: the Adventures of a San Francisco Renegade Priest. Richard Purcell was an openly gay Franciscan priest who died in 2011 of Lou Gehrig's disease. Although he had irreverent views of the Catholic Church, Purcell was widely known for his spiritual insights and his service to the poor. He lived as a true Franciscan, who garnered much of his spirituality from his two decades of work with Native Americans in Arizona. Purcell's final years were spent in San Francisco, where he ran a homeless shelter for men with AIDS. Although Purcell eventually became completely paralyzed, the peace and joy he exhibited throughout his illness were highly contagious. In this book, Susan Casslan, one of Purcell's caregivers in his final years, documents his journey. The book touches on healing from grief, the reconciling of sexuality with spirituality, and gives an insider's view San Francisco history and culture, especially of the Inner Mission District where Purcell lived. Susan Casslan's nonfiction has appeared in Communion and El Tecolote, and she has also published a chapbook, 24th Street and Other Poems.
Part 2: A discussion with Jerry Louis, local poet, esoteric philosopher, and KOWS Radio programmer who hosts a show on Fridays from 3 – 5pm featuring singers and songwriters from the 60s and 70s. Jerry was a practicing Clinical Hypnotist for over 10 years specializing in age regression, and was Co-Director of The Archimedes Foundation. Currently a poet, a novelist, and a KOWS Personality, Jerry’s latest book of poetry, Thee Alchemist's Magic Dragon Theater, explores the Alchemy of the Soul as it journeys through time, space, magic, and fantasy!

More information about Susan Casslan's work can be found at:

Susan Casslan's website: susancasslan.com

More information about Jerry Louis's work can be found at:

Jerry Louis's latest book: Thee Alchemist's Magic Dragon Theater

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"The Mystical Positivist" Radio Show

The Mystical Positivist is a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP FM 107.3 Occidental, CA, and on the web at KOWS-LP Live Feed, Saturdays from 4 - 6pm PST. Coming up on The Mystical Positivist:

April 20: A pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In this conversation, we plan to explore a compelling quote from Ian McGilchrist's The Matter with Things: If you had set out to destroy the happiness and stability of a people, it would have been hard to improve on our current formula: remove yourself as far as possible from the natural world; repudiate the continuity of your culture; believe you are wise enough to do whatever you happen to want and not only get away with it, but have a right to it—and a right to silence those who disagree; minimise the role played by a common body of belief; actively attack and dismantle every social structure as a potential source of oppression; reject the idea of a transcendent set of values.

One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions.

After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches.

In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life.

Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines.