Walt Whitman was a Yogi | Dylan Giles

Jul 2, 2025

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Imagine words so sincere, that the author appears as a close friend, speaking directly through time to the deepest part of who we are? This week, Dylan Giles joins Rosalind to share how reading Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” in a time of personal drift opened a direct experience of connection. Dylan describes nights spent under the Californian moon, feeling Whitman’s words as a living presence, breaking him free of rigid traditions.

In this episode I find out from Dylan about Whitman as mystic, and we use him to understand yogic ideas such as shaktipat, ishta, and guru parampara.

We explore how reading Whitman can lead to a shift from cleverness to sincerity in our own writing, the subtle ways we unconsciously believe we are separate from greatness, and the challenge of integrating moments of inspiration into daily life.

In this conversation we track the shift from being a FAN of a mystic like Whitman of William Blake, to being a fellow participant in the great mystery called life. With our artists and mystics holding our hands.

Subjects Explored

Meeting Whitman in a moment of drift and loneliness

The freedom of Whitman’s meterless, sincere poetry

Sensing Whitman’s living presence through reading

How sincerity cuts through patterned language

Moving beyond cleverness to honest writing

Recognizing unconscious beliefs of separation

Yoga as the way we integrate grace into our lives

Key Phrases or Quotes

“I was reading this and feeling from the page that Walt Whitman was directly communicating to me, like he was in the room.”

“True sincerity really moves me.”

“I felt as if his words were so sweet. I felt it in my heart that he was just around me somehow.”

“There’s erosion of spontaneous human expression. You sort of felt like you’d discovered a fountain of spontaneous human expression in a desert.”

“I realized he wasn’t different from me. We are made of the same stuff.”

Key Takeaways

Sincerity Creates Real Connection – Honest words carry a power that reaches others directly.

Poetry Reveals Yoga – Words infused with life transmit a sense of presence and unity.

Admiration Sparks Recognition – Seeing beauty in Whitman helps us see it in ourselves.

Yoga Grows in Integration – Grace opens possibilities, and Yoga helps us live them fully.

Spontaneous Words Are Alive – Breaking from scripts nourishes life and brings clarity.

We Share the Creative Force – The same life that moved Whitman moves through each of us.