Saturday, May 26, 2018

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #293 - 26MAY18

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:
  • This week’s show features a conversation with Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick about what Mysticism means in a modern western oriented spiritual practice. In the first hour our hosts argue about whether non-theistic Buddhists such as Gil Fronsdal and Stephen Batchelor, and atheist/materialist Sam Harris represent the modern era voice of the Mystical project. In the second hour they reconcile with a more substantive discussion about what constitutes the Mystical and how certain types of practices and perspectives can cultivate access to it. In addition, they discuss the moral dimension of Mysticism.

    Rob Schmidt, Ph.D., and Stuart Goodnick co-direct Tayu Meditation Center, owner and operator of Many Rivers Books & Tea. They studied intensively with Tayu founder Robert Daniel Ennis, and are working to complete a book of his teachings this year called, Living Life As A Work Of Art: The Spiritual Work of Robert Daniel Ennis.
More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Saturday, May 19, 2018

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #292 - 19MAY18

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:
  • This week’s show features a conversation in the studio with our former Mystical Positivist host colleague Dr. Nicholas Egan, an educator and long-time practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism with his teacher Anam Thubten. Nick has had long career in independent schools including time as a Sixth Grade Lead Teacher, a History Department Chair, and Administrative roles, providing him first-hand knowledge of the various interconnected layers of a school. He is currently Head of School of The Healdsburg School. Nick has successfully helped design and implement in-depth Social & Emotional Learning curriculum that integrates emotional awareness, healthy relationships, and ethical decision-making. He is also the recipient of a lifetime Sara D. Barter Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University for his achievement in working with academically talented students. Additionally, Nick has created and taught an innovative world religions program emphasizing critical thinking through studying foundational beliefs and practices of the world’s major religious traditions. His doctoral work in Asian Studies, as well as his experience leading cultural and educational tours for children and adults to destinations including Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet, bring a rich layer of experience to his current position at The Healdsburg School. Nick lives in Healdsburg with his wife and three daughters.
More information about Nicholas Egan's work can be found at:

Saturday, May 12, 2018

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #291 - 12MAY18

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:
  • This week’s show features a conversation in the studio with Kittisaro and Thanissara, Buddhist teachers and practitioners who are strong proponents of the “Engaged Buddhism” movement. They are co-authors of Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism. Separately, Thanissara authored Time To Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth—The Buddha’s Life and Message through Feminine Eyes.

    Kittisaro grew up in Tennessee, graduated from Princeton as a Rhodes Scholar and went on to Oxford before going to Thailand to ordain with Ajahn Chah in 1976. He was a monk for 15 years and during that time helped found Chithurst Monastery and Devon Vihara in the UK. He also taught extensively during this time and was involved in the training of monks. He disrobed in 1991 and since then has taught internationally in the US, Europe, South Africa, and Israel. He has studied and practiced Chan and Pure Land since 1980, informed by the Chinese school of Master Hua. Kittisaro has completed two one year long silent self retreats and is currently writing in between continuing his teaching engagements.

    Thanissara was born into a London Anglo-Irish family, and started Buddhist practice in the Burmese school in 1975. She was inspired to ordain after meeting Ajahn Chah and spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun where she was a founding member of Chithurst Monastery and Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. She was also co-initiator of events for children and families at Amaravati. Thanissara has facilitated meditation retreats since 1989 and has an MA in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice from Middlesex University & the Karuna Institute in the UK. She is author of several books: Garden of the Midnight Rosary, The Heart of the Bitter Almond Hedge Sutra, co-authored with Kittisaro Listening to the Heart, and her latest is Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth.

    Both Thanissara and Kittisaro co-founded Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat in 2000 in South Africa, where they continue to lead retreats and support Kulungile, a loving home for vulnerable children and adults. They are core teachers at Insight Meditation Society, Massachusetts, co-founders of Chattanooga Insight, TN, and are are on the Teacher Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.​ They also co-founded Sacred Mountain Sangha, which is based in Sebastopol, CA, and which recently launched the Dharmapala - Protectors of the Earth & the Dharma - Training facilitated by Kittisaro & Thanissara.
More information about Kittisaro and Thanissara's work can be found at: