The Key to Improvisation

In this episode I’m joined by Dean Sluyter: meditation teacher, best-selling author of several books including his most recent ‘The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics’. Dean recounts his fortunate upbringing, how he began to realise he had an unusually fast mind, and the early mystical experiences that would change his life in profound ways. Dean talk about his parent’s radical left activism, and how one event caused him to re-examine his family’s beliefs. Dean shares the arc of his spiritual life, including his psychedelic sadhu period, his twenty years as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation while teaching English at the illustrious Pingry School, his studies in Buddhism and Dzogchen, and why he now considers himself to be a spiritual elder. … Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/163-dharma-bums-guide-to-western-literature-dean-sluyter Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Origins of the book 03:05 - Dean’s Moby Dick karma 04:02 - A literature primer 05:16 - Art comes through people 06:30 - Dean’s fortunate upbringing 07:55 - A special mind 09:01 - Spontaneous childhood mystical experiences 12:18 - The mystery of awakening experiences 16:13 - Is Dean spiritually talented? 17:48 - Teaching literature and enlightenment at the illustrious Pingry School 20:03 - Dean’s emotional and social development 21:51 - Radical left activism of Dean’s parents 24:40 - Being wrong is a precious opportunity 30:57 - The appeal of certainty 32:18 - How to examine one’s inherited views 36:59 - Dean’s psychedelic sadhu phase 42:35 - Encountering Transcendental Meditation 48:09 - Mood making enlightenment 52:09 - Making your day a practice 54:20 - Why Dean left TM 57:15 - True meditation is effortless 01:00:12 - Life after TM 01:05:17 - Interest in Buddhism and Dzogchen 01:06:39 - Studying with Ngakchang Rinpoche and Surya Dass. 01:07:45 - Umbanda explorations 01:09:31 - Becoming a spiritual elder 01:11:14 - Rupert Spira as a spiritual reality check 01:13:36 - Emily Dickinson’s pure nonduality 01:16:39 - Facing the impossible in art 01:17:44 - Dean’s writing routine 01:18:18 - Dean’s teaching activities … To find out more about Dean Sluyter, visit: - https://deansluyter.com/ … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com … Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James