Banyen Books ~ Branches of Wisdom

Sufi teacher and author Jamal Rahman speaks joyfully about the Sufi path of the heart and the importance of laughter in awakening the soul. This delightful podcast brings levity into spiritual teachings and brings insight into the cosmic joke of duality.

Caroline Myss speaks about a profound crisis facing humanity: the crisis of faith and the loss of connection to the Divine. Myss articulates what it means to be on a spiritual path, the importance of understanding our connection to the whole, and the deeply personal and impersonal aspect of God. Invoking prayer, inner guidance, and grace, Myss offers hope for restoring the connection to our sacred self.

Loch Kelly, spiritual teacher, author, and founder of Open-Hearted Awareness Institute, shares a radically different and simple approach to meditation- effortless mindfulness. Rooted in spacious awareness and connection to the heart, Loch offers glimpses into a state of being accessible to all and available in every moment. Students of meditation from beginners to long-time practitioners can tune in for a taste of something radically different and profoundly simple.

In this poignant and moving interview, Carina Stone, the wife of Michael Stone, an internationally recognized Buddhist teacher whose life ended tragically and suddenly, speaks about Michael's latest book and the legacy of his life and teachings. She is joined by Erin Robinsong, editor of Michael's book- The World Comes to You. This is a tender interview about life, loss, spiritual practice, impermanence, and the enduring quality of love.

In June 2011, Abbott of a monastery in India, Mingyur Rinpoche, left his esteemed post and spent four and a half years in a wandering Retreat. Living without money, clothing (other than the dhoti cloth on his body) or material comforts, he tested the boundaries of his meditation practice and found a freedom and happiness not bound by external conditions and comforts. In this illuminating interview, Rinpoche speaks about his near-death experience and the importance of dying every day in order to embrace the impermanence of life and experience the luminosity of pure awareness.

Swami Lalitananda, president of the Yasodhara Ashram, speaks about Divine Light and the re-building of the Temple of Light; a metaphor for the forces of destruction and creation and a testament to the possibility of creating opportunity and possibility in the moment of loss.

Buddhist wisdom and cognitive science teach that we create the world with our thoughts. This inspiring podcast with beloved Buddhist teacher, poet, and author Norman Fisher is all about using the imagination to create a different world and reality that allows us to honor the truest part of our human existence- that we are here to love and serve others in all ways and for all time.

Banyen's new interview with Deva Premal & Miten: A testament to the healing power of prayer and community, Miten speaks about his recovery from open heart surgery and the insights from having a second chance to live, love, and sing. Deva Premal and Miten speak about their life together touring the world on the wings of sacred music and the blessings it brings to them and to all those to gather and sing together.

With poetic language, inter-spiritual teacher, author, mother and lover of the Beloved, Mirabai Starr takes listeners on a journey invoking the awe of the feminine. Calling on women mystics of all traditions and Lineages, Mirabai weaves a tapestry of stories that have relevant lessons for our modern, broken world. This is a tender interview with a fierce message to rise up, love more, and give ourselves completely to the Beloved.

In this episode of Banyen Books & Sound's In Conversation, spiritual teacher and author Gangaji speaks about coming home to our inner freedom, a state that transcends emotions and suffering and is not subject to loss or gain. This requires a willingness to have no future and no past and to recognize what’s here. Gangaji eloquently speaks about how to overcome the trance of suffering, the illusion of thought and find immediate and lasting fulfillment of our Divine birthright.