The Mystical Positivist: The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #139

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #139 - 28DEC13

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:

A conversation with Sr. Greta Ronningen, a professed member of the Community of Divine Love, an Episcopal monastery in the Benedictine tradition located in San Gabriel, Ca. Greta is a chaplain working with both adult men and women, and young girls incarcerated in Los Angeles County jails. Greta holds a Master’s Degree from Claremont School of Theology in Spiritual Formation. She lectures and leads retreats inspired by her Master’s thesis - Becoming Beguines: Living Love both Mystically and Apostolically.

Sr. Greta began her spiritual journey in the eastern traditions. In the 70’s she was exposed to a wide variety of paths through the Ojai Foundation, then directed by Dr. (Roshi) Joan Halifax. She traveled to Nepal and had the occasion to take refuge with His Holiness Dudgem Rinpoche. In the mid 80’s she married a second-generation yoga master from South Africa. His lineage, ISHTA yoga, combined Hatha, Tantra and Ayurvedic practices. They created Yoga Works in Santa Monica, California and later Yoga Zone in New York. Greta has been immersed in yoga for 35 years and continues to teach hatha with an emphasis on breathing practices. In 2000 she found herself seeking God in a Christian context. Drawn to the monastic life of prayer and simplicity she became an Episcopal monastic in 2010 and co-founded the Community of Divine Love in San Gabriel, Ca. She has just completed her Master in Arts in Spiritual Formation through the Claremont School of Theology. Greta is a chaplain to the incarcerated serving both adults at Twin Towers, the largest jail in the world, and young girls at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.

More information about Sr. Gretta Ronningen's work and interests can be found at:

Community of Divine Love's Website: www.communityofdivinelove.com
Sr. Gretta Ronningen on Facebook: www.facebook.com/greta.ronningen

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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.