The Mystical Positivist: The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #203

Saturday, November 28, 2015

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #203 - 28NOV15

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 by telephone with William Mistele, author of Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and Salamanders: Dialogues with the Kings and Queens of Nature, as well as Undines and the forthcoming Mermaid Tales. Since 1975 he has been a student of Franz Bardon’s teachings on Hermetic magic, a system of training that includes the evocation of and communication with nature spirits. Mistele is devoted to integrating the wisdom of all spiritual traditions, along with transpersonal psychology, into Bardon’s system, which seeks to maximize the power and creativity of the individual.

By way of self-description, he writes: “I graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois with a BA in philosophy and a minor in economics. At that time, I began studying esoteric, oral traditions. In genuine mythology, individuals come into contact with the creative powers of the human spirit. Words and language possess a symbolic and imaginative quality that is magical. To understand an idea is to experience it from within. This involves a lifelong, transforming journey--if you change the self, you change the world.

“As part of my field research, I lived in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Berkeley, California. I next studied Hopi Indian culture and language at the University of Arizona where I received a Masters degree in linguistics. At that time I became the only accepted student of a Hopi Indian shaman.

“While living in Tucson, Arizona I began studying the Western hermetic traditions and the nature religions of Wiccans and Druids. I worked with a number of extremely gifted psychics and parapsychologists whose primary focus was on experimentation and research. I also practiced evocation with a Sufi master.

“I then moved to Hawaii in 1982. There I studied with the relocated abbot of a Taoist monastery that existed for over two thousand years in China, a Vietnamese Zen master, and one of the foremost Tai Chi Chuan masters of China.

“I consider myself a spiritual anthropologist. Expanding on Bardon’s purposes, I am integrating into his system the wisdom of all traditions. To this end, I have created a new genre of modern fairy tales. These stories are not about belief or faith but direct experience. They open gates to other realms where we discover the keys to what is missing from life.

More information about William Mistele's work and interests can be found at:

William Mistele's Website: www.williammistele.com
William Mistele's manuscripts: www.williamrmistele.com
William Mistele on Facebook: facebook.com

1 comment:

AnonymousDecember 1, 2015 at 6:48 PM
Thank you very much for this wonderful interview with William Mistele.
regards, Janet C.
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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.