Chris Grosso The Indie Spiritualist

Chris speaks with Dr. David Berceli about his innovative approach to therapy for patients suffering from trauma and addiction.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris sits down with Brad Warner to share his wisdom and experiences as a Soto Zen priest as well as his new book, “Don’t Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan’s Greatest Zen Master.” Brad Warner is the author of Don’t Be a Jerk and numerous other titles including Sit Down & Shut Up, Hardcore Zen, and Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate. A Soto Zen priest, he is a punk bassist, filmmaker, Japanese-monster-movie marketer, and popular blogger based in Los Angeles.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris sits down with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton to discuss the divine feminine, compassion and bouncing back from hard times. Sally Kempton is a powerful teacher of applied spiritual wisdom, known for her capacity to kindle meditative states in others and to help students work with meditative experience as a framework for practical life-change. She teaches teleclasses, retreats, and workshops, and is on the faculty at Esalen and Kripalu. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris brings on Damien Echols to discuss Ceremonial Magick and the spiritual path. They explore the practice and the important role it has had in Damien's life. Damien Echols is a ceremonial magician and artist who lives in NYC with his wife and cats. He spent 18 years on death row for a crime he did not commit and wrote the book "Life after Death" about his experiences. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Indie Spiritualist, Chris has an insightful conversation with the spiritual teacher and author, Gabor Maté, about trauma, addiction, and recovery. What do we get out of our addictions? How does trauma cause us to disconnect from ourselves and dismiss our own experience? Gabor raises these important questions and provides guidance to rise above our suffering and self-abuse so that we may better care for ourselves and our loved ones.   Show Notes Addictions Are Not The Problem – Gabor and I discuss how addictions are not the problem but instead are the person’s attempt to solve a problem in their life.   Growing Up – Gabor and I explore the emotional and psychological conditions of children and their environment while growing up as a key component of the root cause of addiction.   Trauma, Addiction, and the Brain – Gabor talks about the relationship between trauma, our brain, and addiction.   Making Change – Gabor breaks down how we can begin to understand and then work with the traumas in our lives for true healing.   Falling — Gabor talks about why many people who have tools, been in recovery, or on a spiritual path and work with mantras, meditation, prayer, yoga, and so forth, still fall into old self-defeating behaviors at times.   Rising – Gabor and I explore the shame, stress, self-loathing and other negative feelings that come along for those who fall back into self-defeating behaviors and what people can do to not get lost in those overwhelming negative feelings?   Watching Addiction – Gabor talks about what family members can do for a loved one who is caught in the grips of addiction.   God and Recovery — Gabor talks about what a power greater than ourselves really means and how we can begin to transcend our limited egoic selves. More About Gabor Maté Gabor Maté is a sought-after speaker and teacher, regularly addressing health professionals, educators, and lay audiences throughout North America. As an author, Dr. Maté has written several bestselling books including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction; When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress; and Scattered Minds: A New Look at the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder, and co-authored Hold on to Your Kids. His works have been published internationally in twenty languages. Dr. Maté is the co-founder of Compassion for Addiction, a new non-profit that focuses on addiction. He is also an advisor of Drugs over Dinner. Dr. Maté has received the Hubert Evans Prize for Literary Non-Fiction; an Honorary Degree (Law) from the University of Northern British Columbia; an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Simon Fraser University; and the 2012 Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Mothers Against Teen Violence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode of The Indie Spiritualist, Chris has on poet and author, J. Ivy. As a performance poet & author, Ivy’s passionate delivery always leaves spectators transfixed in a state of inspiration. His motto, “Dreams Don’t Come True, They Are True” has guided him from his hometown Chicago to hundreds of cities. J. Ivy’s new goal to get one million people to write a letter to their fathers is themed as “One Million Letters Written, One Million Hearts Healed!” This campaign’s mission is to help inspire healing through writing for children and adults who have grown up in fatherless homes, which will in turn help to prevent this hurt and imbalance from being perpetuated. Listen to Chris and J go deep about family, forgiveness, and inspiring the next generation.   Show Notes Chicago – J reminisces about his childhood years when he was still known as James Richardson and what it was like growing up in Chicago during the late seventies and early eighties. Changes – J talks about his experience of being a young teenager and watching his father’s life spiral out of control as he became an alcoholic, lost his job, his parents divorcing, and how that affected him.  Words – J shares candidly about a deep depression he experienced later on in his life, which led him to stop going to class and work, and how the art of writing helped him to find his way out of that. The Art Of Words – J & I explore various pieces of advice for aspiring writers. Thank You – J talks about the importance of gratitude in his life and how it can help to stop the negative self-talk our mind sometimes throws at us. Forgiveness – J talks about forgiveness as a teacher, and how to authentically forgive oneself and others. Dear Father – J talks about The Dear Father Letter Writing Campaign he started with his wife, whose mission is to help inspire healing through writing for children and adults who have grown up in fatherless homes, which will in turn help to prevent this hurt and imbalance from being passed on to the next generations. More About J. Ivy J. Ivy, a NAACP Image Award Winning Poet has been featured on Grammy Award Winning Platinum Albums with Kanye West, Jay-Z & John Legend.  He is the author of two books, Here I AM: Then & Now & Dear Father Breaking The Cycle of Pain published by Beyond Words/Atria/Simon & Schuster.  Find J on twitter @J_Ivy or at www.J-Ivy.com.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of The Indie Spiritualist Podcast, Chris has a compelling discussion with Ram Dass. From addiction to finding compassion for Donald Trump, Ram Dass shares his perspective on the spiritual path and using love to overcome our darkest moments.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tehya Sky Podcast   Tehya Sky is a metaphysical guide and healing facilitator who offers retreats and workshops internationally. Her work focuses on helping us integrate our humanity and our divinity, as well as honor our unique callings. Sky lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more, visit tehyasky.com   Dysfunction — Tehya discusses her formative childhood years, working in the music industry in LA, and finding her way onto the spiritual path.   Spirituality Today — Tehya and I discuss spirituality and whether people are looking for something different today or not.   Something Different — Tehya talks about what from A Ceremony Called Life offers that many of today’s “self-help” books don’t.   Influences — Tehya shares some of the important influences in her life, and I share about an experience including Radiohead, acid, and the millennium.   It All Is — Tehya and I discuss how spirituality can imbue all areas of our lives.   Vulnerability — Tehya shares about how vulnerability and how accepting our vulnerability leads to healing and growth.   Misunderstandings — Tehya and I discuss some of the common misunderstandings on the spiritual path, including the belief that we should get rid of our egos and have a silent mind.   Separation — Tehya talks about what causes the feeling of separation and how to work through the obstacles that keep us feeling separate.       Visit Tehya online HERE!   Check out Tehya’s book, A Ceremony Called Life HERE! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Interspirituality with Kurt Johnson Episode Recap Show Notes: • Early Years – Kurt discusses some of his early life events—including depression, scientific studies and much more—and how they led him to his life’s passion. • Wayne Teasdale – Kurt shares about his deep friendship with the wonderful Brother Wayne Teasdale, the impact he had on his life, and the continuing impact his work has in the world. • Interspirituality – In The Coming Interspiritual Age, Kurt writes, “Interspirituality is the natural discussion among human beings about what we are experiencing. In academic terms, it’s the intersubjective discussion among us all about who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. In the context of religion, interspirituality is the common heritage of humankind’s spiritual wisdom and the sharing of wisdom resources across traditions. In terms of our developing human consciousness, interspirituality is the movement of all these discussions toward the experience of profound interconnectedness, unity consciousness, and oneness.” Kurt and I explore what it means to be interspiritual and how it can deepen our spiritual paths. • Everyone’s A Mystic – Kurt and I explore our mutual friend Ken Wilber’s four quadrants of “I”, “We”, “It” and “It’s” and how they relate to each of us being a mystic. • Scientific Consciousness Studies – Kurt talks about scientific consciousness studies, discussing our basic experience of consciousness and “raw feeling”, quantum ideas of consciousness, and the future of unconsciousness.   Kurt's Website Kurt's Bio Kurt Johnson, Ph.D.  has worked in professional science and comparative religion for over 40 years and serves on many international committees, particularly at the United Nations.  In comparative culture and religion Kurt has been on the faculty of New York City’s One Spirit Interfaith Seminary for 12 years and is the co-author of the very influential 2013 book on the future of world religions: The Coming Interspiritual Age. In science, with a PhD in Evolution, Ecology and Comparative Biology he was on the staff of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 years and is currently associated with the McGuire Center for Biodiversity at the University of Florida.  Kurt has published over 200 scientific articles and seven books, including the popular science bestseller Nabokov’s Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius. In 2015 his book on science and the arts, Fine Lines, appears from Yale University Press along with contributions in a United Nations NGO publication:  Ethics, Spiritual Values, and the New United Nations Development Agenda. Kurt has presented regularly on science and religion at The Science and Nonduality Conference and the Parliament of the World’s Religions and published articles on this inter-relationship in many periodicals, including audio discussions with Ken Wilber at Integral Life. He is a founding member of the Contemplative Alliance and President of the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. At the United Nations he serves on the Executive Committee of the UN NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns and the NGO Forum 21 Institute.  Formerly a monastic for over 10 years, and active in contemplative and sacred activism across several traditions, Kurt is also an ordained Eco-Minister and recently co-edited the Namaste Insights internet magazine on the eco-vision of interfaith pioneers Thomas Berry and Wayne Teasdale. Kurt’s Books: The Coming Interspiritual Age,Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius, Fine Lines: Vladimir Nabokov’s Scientific Art   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Podcast Interview Bio Chandresh Bhardwaj is a seventh-generation lineage holder from a family of Indian gurus practicing the Tantric tradition. He is an internationally acclaimed speaker and founder of the Break The Norms Movement, with locations in New York, Los Angeles, New Delhi, and Amsterdam. For more visit breakthenorms.com.   Episode Outline:   • A Family of Gurus – Chandresh talks about his childhood and how he grew up in a family of spiritual Gurus.   • The Seeds of Questioning – Chandresh talks about the passing of his sister and a close childhood friend when he was younger, both of which happened within a few years of one another, and how they became a catalyst that planted seeds of questioning in him, particularly about life and death and meaning and how to live.   • Pain As A Teacher – Chandresh shares how we can use the pain in our lives as a catalyst towards our spiritual growth and development.   • Break the Norms – Chandresh talks about the Break The Norms movement and how that began.   • Today’s New Age Spirituality – Chandresh and I discuss today’s New Age Spirituality and chanting Sanskrit mantras, cursing freely, tattoos, veganism and more.   • Just Be You –Chandresh shares a practice he calls “Uncover Your Authenticity”.   • God – Chandresh and I discuss a humorous conversation he had with a Sanskrit scholar in regards to the nature of God, which we explore in greater detail.   • Edging God Out – You have a chapter discussing the ego, which is always a hot topic amongst spiritual enthusiast. I remember even Wayne Dyer humorously sharing about how he couldn’t even keep track of how many times he’s gone back and forth about it, one minute suggesting we befriend it, only to later say we need to destroy it, and back and forth etc. So what is ego from your perspective and what the hell do we do with it?   Recommendations:   Chandresh's Website   Break The Norms Website   Chandresh’s Book: Break The Norms   Other Books: 10% Happier by Dan Harris, Real Happiness by Sharon Salzberg See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.