The Mystical Positivist

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Rawn Clark, author of A Bardon Companion: A Practical Companion for the Student of Franz Bardon's System of Hermetic Initiation. The Franz Bardon series of books on Magical Arts, Initiation into Hermetics (IIH), The Practice of Magical Evocation (PME), and The Key to the True Qabalah (KTQ), are considered by many as the most lucid and actionable written material on Hermetic practice. Initiation into Hermetics consists of a short introduction on theory and ten detailed lessons on practice covering work on the Mental, Astral, and Physical bodies. These lessons progress from very basic mental concentration and thought control practices through to advanced exploration of elemental and planetary realms and the merging with Unity. In A Bardon Companion, Rawn Clark combines two versions of his commentaries for each of the ten steps in IIH, additional commentaries on PME and KTQ, as well as years of correspondence with students of the Bardon system. It is an essential guide for anyone interested in exploring the Bardon system of Hermetics. Rawn Clark is a writer and video producer who dedicates his work to magical practice in general and providing support material for practitioners of the Bardon system. He began pursuing Bardon's system of Hermetic Initiation in the early 1980s at the age of 25. Years later he became involved in online blogging and discussion groups surrounding the Bardon work. He has emerged as one of the leading mentors for this system. His writings are clear, practical, and leavened with a gentle touch and humor. His work dispels many of the misconceptions associated with esoteric practice and makes the Bardon system available to anyone willing to put in the necessary consistent effort. More information about Rawn Clark's work can be found at: Rawn Clark's YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com, A Bardon Companion on Amazon: www.amazon.com, Franz Bardon on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Terje Tonne, author of the newly published book, Rodney Collin: a man who wished to do something with his life, from Karnak Press. Rodney Collin, a key figure in the history of esoteric thought and the Fourth Way tradition, is best known for his seminal works, The Theory of Celestial Influence, and The Theory of Eternal Life. This ground-breaking biography provides a wealth of information including Collin's close relationship to Peter Ouspensky and a detailed account of the events leading up to Ouspensky's death. The book goes on to describe the years that followed for Collin, his group activities in Mexico, his search for historical traces of The Work, and his mysterious death in Cusco, Peru, at the young age of 47. Terje Tonne came into contact with Gurdjieff's ideas in the early 1970s. Together with his wife, he has led a group in Oslo for 35 years. He has had a long and close relationship with professor Merideth Thring, George Cornelius, and Joyce Collin-Smith. He is the author of The Gurdjieff Puzzle Now (2001 - Gateways Books) and Werr sich verliert, derfindet sich (Random House, GmbH). Tonne is a retired conservator with expertise in fire damaged paintings. More information about Terje Tonne's work can be found at: Terje Tonne in The Gurdjieff International Review: www.gurdjieff.org, Terje Tonne at Karnak Press: tofathomthegist.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a recording of a live video stream with OM C. Parkin kicking off his new online series, Meeting with Teachers – Navigating the Wisdom Path. In this first installment, the Mystical Positivist hosts converse with OM about his book, The Birth of the Lion, as well as many profound aspects of his teachings on inner stillness. OM C. Parkin is a renowned European wisdom teacher and the founder of the mystery school, Enneallionce, and Gut Saunstorf, a modern monastery. His books also include Intelligence of Awakening - Navigating the Wisdom Path, The Birth of the Lion, and The Digital Age - A Critical View from a Wisdom Perspective. OM embodies in his work the link between Eastern non-duality and Christian mysticism, of depth psychology and philosophy, beyond the limits of religions and confessions. He often references the tradition of Advaita Vedanta, which has been revived in the 20th century by Shri Ramana Maharshi, Shri H.W.L. Poonja, the American Gangaji, and others. OM acts in the tradition of these teachers and by being rooted in early Christian teaching. His work in the tradition of silence can be described by three functions: teacher (of wisdom), healer (of the soul), seer (of the heart). He has been supporting people to find their true nature for more than 30 years and founded the modern Satsang movement in Europe. More information about OM C. Parkin's work can be found at: Meeting with Teachers YouTube Feed: www.youtube.com, OM C. Parkin website: www.om-c-parkin.com, OM C. Parkin at Gateways Books & Tapes: www.gatewaysbooksandtapes.com, OM C. Parkin previously on The Mystical Positivist: mysticalpositivist.blogspot.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Theresa Dintino, co-author of the newly published ebook, The Oscan Oracle: from the Ancient Janarra of the Moon. In this wide ranging and remarkable conversation, we discuss her latest book, the nature of lineage, Dagara Stick Divination as a way to connect people to their true lineages, cultural appropriation and ways to hold and practice an indigenous tradition, and the ethics of divination and interaction with non-corporeal beings. Theresa Dintino is the author of nine books and serves as a guide and spiritual mentor to many. While attempting to reclaim and restore her ancestral medicine lineage, the Italian Strega tradition, Dintino was surprised to be “claimed” by the West African Dagara tradition of stick divination. Honored by this invitation, Dintino pursued it, and in 2011 was initiated into this potent form of divination. Besides her family and daughter, this turned out to be the greatest gift of her life. Stick divination helped Dintino find her way back to her own lineage and enables her to help others find and restore theirs. This beautiful practice of Dagara stick divination continues to offer countless gifts. In multiple divination sessions, Dintino was taught about the spiritual membranes that protect, nurture, and inform lifesystems. More information about Theresa Dintino's work can be found at: Strega Tree Divination website: stregatree.com, The Ritual Goddess website: ritualgoddess.com, Nasty Women Writers website: www.nastywomenwriters.com.

Podcast: This week on the show, we present a pre-recorded conversation with Robin Bloor about his latest book, Gurdjieff & Kundabuffer – Food for the Moon. Bloor writes: “The idea that mankind is ‘food for the moon’ seems, when you first encounter the idea, to be ridiculous. Nevertheless, it may well be so… To understand this theory, one needs on the one hand, to examine it from a scientific perspective, and on the other, to study Beelzebub’s Tales deeply to uncover what Gurdjieff says about it and also what he relates about the implanting of the organ Kundabuffer in Man – and the subsequent consequences of its remarkable properties.” Robin was born in 1951 in Liverpool, UK. He obtained a BSc in Mathematics at Nottingham University and took up a career in the computer industry, initially writing software. From 1989 onwards, he became a technology analyst and consultant. He has thus been a writer of a kind ever since. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Computer Science by Wolverhampton University in the UK. He currently resides in and works from Austin, Texas in the USA. In 1988, Bloor met and became a pupil of Rina Hands. Rina was a one-time associate of J. G. Bennett, a student of Peter Ouspensky's, and later, a pupil of George Gurdjieff. Following Gurdjieff's death, she remained part of J. G. Bennett's group for a while. Subsequently, she formed groups both in London, where she lived, and in Bradford in the North of England - initially in conjunction with Madame Nott. She was an accomplished movements teacher and an inspirational group leader. She died in 1994 and is buried next to Jane Heap in a cemetery in North London. Robin leads a regular group, The Austin Gurdjieff Society, in Austin, Texas. He produces a monthly newsletter, The Lost Herald, and runs the website, ToFathomTheGist.com. He also organizes multiple on-line study groups to Gurdjieff’s writings and Gurdjieff’s Objective Science. Robin has written or edited nine books about the Work including the To Fathom the Gist series and Gurdjieff’s Hydrogens – Volume 1: The Ray of Creation. More information about Robin Bloor's work can be found at: Austin Gurdjieff Society Website: austingurdjieffsociety.weebly.com, To Fathom the Gist Website: www.tofathomthegist.com, Robin Bloor on YouTube: YouTube.com, The Lost Herald Website: The Lost Herald, Robin Bloor's email address: robin.bloor @ gmail.com.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In today’s conversation, we explore four ways of working in spiritual practice sometimes characterized by the archetypal forms of the King, the Warrior, the Magician, and the Lover. We discuss how these ways, Compassion, Will, Insight, and Ecstasy, can be brought into balance for a richer and more complete spiritual engagement with life. 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. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

Join the conversation with Ken McLeod, a visionary Buddhist teacher, as he shares insights on Vajrayana Buddhism, the modernization of traditional practices, embodying deities in rituals, exploring faith versus belief, and the concept of 'samaya'. Dive into the mystical realm of prayer, deity practices, and the importance of poetry in spiritual growth. Connect with the essence of student-teacher relationships, translation nuances, and contrasting approaches to practice in Western culture.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Jason Shulman, author of the 6-book series, Practical Guides to Enlightenment, Awakening, and Healing. Jason is an American spiritual teacher whose original work springs from his Judaic and Buddhist background. He is the founder of A Society of Souls: The School for Nondual Healing and Awakening, based in the United States and the Netherlands. There he teaches the distinctive body of nondual work he has developed to awaken the human spirit: Nondual Healing, Impersonal Movement, and the Work of Return. Jason’s main concern has been to develop paths of healing the mind, body, and spirit based on his own understanding of the difficulties inherent in the human condition. Through his studies and practice, Jason has developed a unique perspective on human consciousness and the nature of existence. His work seeks to translate this perspective into a replicable and clearly-delineated path for other seekers of truth to follow. He has been especially interested in applying personal spiritual work to methods of transforming society at large. To that end, he has created the MAGI Process, a nondual method of working with conflicts between people, institutions and governments. He is the author of numerous monographs and books, and several albums of his work as a singer and songwriter. More information about Jason Schilman's work can be found at: A Society of Souls website: www.societyofsouls.com, The Foundation for Nonduality website: www.nonduality.us.com, Nondual Healers Association website: nondualhealersassociation.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Bernardo Kastrup, philosopher and author of many books and essays including, The Idea of the World: A Multidisciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality and More Than Allegory: On Religious Myth, Truth, and Belief. Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association and Big Think, among others. More information about Bernardo Kastrup's work can be found at: Bernardo Kastrup's website: www.bernardokastrup.com, Essentia Foundation website: www.essentiafoundation.org.

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Carol Squire, Sufi Dervish, Fourth Way teacher, Transactional Analysis (TA) facilitator, Sound healer, Reiki Master, Leader, Woman, Mother and a student just like all of us. Carol Squire is also the co-founder of the International Akhaldans 4th Way School begun with Akash Dharmaraj in India. Together, they have co-created a unique style of transmission of the Fourth Way work using the movements as a vehicle for Awakening and Transformation. Carol is a loving, compassionate human who cares deeply about the Work and does this work of transmission only because she loves it. Carol has been leading groups all over the world for the past 35 years, integrating Sufi practices and Transactional Analysis into her work with high profile corporate leaders, non-profit organizations, personal groups, individuals, and whoever asks to learn. She has taught the Gurdjieff Sacred Dances in India (including in the Osho Commune in Pune), Israel, Portugal, Ethiopia, Israel and in North America where she is now based. From Whidbey Akhaldans, her center on a beautiful island in Puget Sound, WA, she conducts on-going classes, workshops, weekend retreats, and offers residential opportunities for those who wish a longer exposure to the Akhaldans Way. More information about Carol Squire's work can be found at: Akhaldans website: akhaldans.org, Caroil Squire on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com.