The Mystical Positivist: The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #211

Saturday, January 23, 2016

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #211 - 23JAN16

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 in the studio with spiritual teacher Kenny Johnson, author of the autobiographical book The Last Hustle, wherein Johnson recounts his early and middle life, during which period Kenny was arrested thirty-seven times and spent much of his life in prison, or on the run. Each time behind bars sent him into a deep and profound despair. Eventually his desire for lasting freedom would drive him to find a power that could not only get him through his final sentence, but free him from prison forever. That new direction opened when he met spiritual teacher Gangaji in prison.

About that spiritual awakening, Kenny has written:

“I had to find a power that would not only get me through my current sentence, but would free me from prison forever.

"During my early years in prison, I spent most of my time participating in religious and substance abuse groups. It was my inner desire for freedom that led me and a band of truth-seekers to a meeting in the prison chapel.

"There, Gangaji, a spiritual teacher, answered my most pressing question:

“It is my understanding that we have to wait until we die before we can receive God’s Grace. Is that so?” Gangaji replied, “Kenny, God’s Grace is here now! Kenny you think you are a convict, you think you are your name, you think you are a black man. Kenny you are none of these things.

"Instantly I knew I would never be a thief again. But how do you re-enter the world outside without resorting to old weaknesses? How would I survive and how would it be possible to maintain this newly found experience of grace?

“This ever present Grace supports me in each moment now.”

After his release, Kenny set up a foundation called This Sacred Space to bring the message of spiritual clarity and freedom to those still incarcerated. Today he offers satsang to everyone struggling to escape the prisons of their hearts and minds.

More information about Kenny Johnson's work can be found at:

This Sacred Space Website: thissacredspace.org

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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.