The Spiritual Context Podcast

"God, Rid Me of God": Celtic Spirituality, Bede Griffiths, and the Cosmic Christ | David Cassian Cole

A mystical experience at nineteen changed David Cassian Cole's life forever — setting him on a journey through Celtic spirituality, Christian mysticism, Eastern Orthodox hesychasm, twenty years inside a dispersed new monastic order, and now the teaching of Fr. Bede Griffiths and a recontextualization of Christianity through the Upanishads. David's is a life devoted to truth, wherever it leads. We talk about the Cosmic Christ, panentheism and the sacredness of nature, the Jesus Prayer and Sanskrit mantra, suffering and spiritual dryness, and what it means, in his words, to "release the divine from all of our concepts." David Cassian Cole is the founder of Waymark Ministries and author of The Celtic Year, Celtic Prayers & Practices, The Mystic Path of Meditation, and The Art of Peace: Life Lessons from Christian Mystics. Visit: www.waymarkministries.org Chapters 00:10 The Mystical Experience: Encountering the Cosmic Christ 11:58 Living in the Mystery, Not in the Knowing 15:48 Celtic Spirituality: Seeing and Experiencing the Divine in and through Nature 21:27 Understandings of Nature: Reductionist, Pantheism, & Panentheism 27:53 New Monasticism: A Structure for Spiritual Freedom 33:29 New Monastic Vows: Simplicity, Purity, and Obedience 38:05 Rhythms of Spiritual Practice 44:15 Created to Be in Community: Individuation & Belonging 48:10 Bede Griffiths and Christianity Through an Upanishadic Lens 54:01 Devotion to Truth Over Tradition 59:29 Bede Griffiths as Guru: The Marriage of East and West 01:06:07 Shantivanam Ashram & Sanskrit Hymns and Chants 01:10:31 The Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm 01:14:39 Recontextualizing Sin as Deviation or False Belief 01:18:44 Living from Higher Consciousness 01:22:16 "God, rid me of God": Mystical Experience and Understanding of God 01:28:57 Any Experience of Love is a Divine Experience 01:31:30 Spirituality in Family Life 01:36:12 Acceptance, Compassionate Response, and Suffering as an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth 01:42:44 Dry Periods as Periods of Spiritual Transition 01:46:23 "Words Aren't Always Necessary When You Are Praying" 01:47:16 Balance between Action and Surrender 01:53:36 Waymark Ministries, Forest Church, and Community Engagement Music for this episode by Benjamin Bigelow

Visions of Christ, Surrender, and the True Meaning of Love | Sherry Ritley

Dr. David R. Hawkins | Christ | Mystical Experience | Forgiveness | Love | Death | Devotion | Meditation | Silence | Prayer | Visions To mark the 25th episode of The Spiritual Context Podcast, I'm releasing a very special interview—one of the very first conversations I recorded when this podcast was still just an idea. My guest today is Sherry Ritley, a dear friend and someone who has deeply influenced my own spiritual journey. She is a private and ordinary person with an extraordinary inner life and a remarkable depth of devotion. Spirituality permeates every aspect of her life. Her life has become a prayer. Whether she is speaking about mystical visions, meditation, forgiveness, death, or simply caring for a garden, everything seems to arise from the same source, a profound trust in God and an ever-deepening understanding of love. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did. May it bring you closer to your own True Self. Chapters 00:00 25th Episode Gratitude 01:40 Love of Christ and Spiritual Experiences During Childhood 08:23 Journey Through the Stages of Spiritual Growth 12:16 Deep Surrender to God During Delivery 15:08 Leaving Home and Family to Meditate 19:23 Longing for God Gets Mixed Up with Approval from Other Humans 21:21 The True Teacher: Dr. David R. Hawkins (Doc) 25:54 Surrender and the Divine Visions of Jesus Christ 36:55 Being in the Presence of a True Teacher 45:58 Wandering No More: A Poem by Sherry 50:12 Coming to Know True Love 55:39 Forgiveness: Do Onto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You 01:03:44 Living Life As a Prayer 01:13:22 The Mind is Mostly Silent 01:22:08 Blissful Experiences Surrounding Death 01:27:43 Spiritual Energy: "Truth Juice" 01:31:27 Handling Health Challenges 01:35:08 The Vision of Jesus, Buddha, and Dr. David R. Hawkins Dancing Together 01:37:06Bereft of Love, We Perish Music for this episode by Benjamin Bigelow

Wooed By The Spirit: A Quaker Mystic on Hearing God, Silence, and Oneness | Patricia McBee

Is there within us a Presence that knows what we need before we do? How do we hear its guidance, and how do we trust it when it asks us to abandon what we thought we wanted? At eight years old, Patricia McBee felt an overwhelming Divine Presence, and she has followed its leadings since. A Quaker mystic and elder, she has spent a lifetime learning to recognize its guidance in all its forms. The fully formed verbal instruction. The way opening that arrives without warning. The way closing that refuses to budge. The bait-and-switch that has taken her places she never intended to go. Even the laziness that, in hindsight, brought her exactly where she needed to be. The Presence also communicates in visions. One showed her that she is absolutely safe even when wild beasts that could tear her limb from limb lurk in the forest. Through these leadings, her understanding of the Divine Presence has been completely transformed—from the traditional God of the Sistine Chapel with his flowing beard, through God as love, to a vision of Oneness. She calls her life "Wooed by the Spirit." This episode is an invitation into what such a courtship with the Divine Presence within each of us. Timestamps 00:00 Spiritual Guidance: A Voice Told Me To Change My Major 04:47 Testing Spiritual Guidance: Waiting, Journaling, and Sharing with Elders 09:04 Mystical Experience at 8: The Divine in First Communion 16:49 Finding Elders, Spiritual Companions, and QuakerMystics 19:48 Can Laziness Be a Form of Guidance? : First QuakerMeeting 26:01 Way Opening, Way Closing: Living Inside QuakerDiscernment 28:42 Cultivating and Expressing Spiritual Life 33:01 Silence, Hymns, and the Vision of Perfect Safety 37:36 Core Quaker Belief: That of God in Each Person 43:31 Silence, Sleepiness, and Being Present to Friends 48:06 Universal Truth Across Different Religions 52:10 Evolving Understanding of God: Love, All-That-Is, and Oneness 01:08:57 The Psychological Impact of Theology: Accepting All of Oneself 01:15:10 All-That-Is, Oneness, and Perceptual Appearance 01:21:23 Hard Work and Intelligence Alone Aren't Sufficient 01:36:01 Returning to Love as All-That-Is and Oneness 01:39:23 Bait-and-Switch Guidance: Life's Unexpected Turns 01:49:19 Marriage as a Spiritual Discipline 01:52:13 Death, Safety, and What Comes Next 01:58:23 Prayer After Oneness   Music for this episode by Benjamin Bigelow

Music Professor Finds Samadhi: Kriya Yoga, Kirtan, and Undramatic Enlightenment | John Covach

Kirya Yoga | Kirtan | Samadhi | Meditation | Enlightenment | Kundalini | Yogananda | Autobiography of a Yogi | Siddhartha by Herman Hesse | Bhakti Neti Neti | Chakras From dancing to Beatles records as a child and playing in progressive rock bands in his youth, to a distinguished academic career teaching music history and theory, John Covach achieved immense success in the material world. But his deepest satisfaction has come from a parallel, quieter path: the practice and teaching of meditation. As a Yogacharya — authorized teacher — of Kriya Yoga, John joins The Spiritual Context Podcast to trace his fascinating evolution. In this conversation, John traces how early literary influences like Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi shaped his worldview, how he uncovered the hidden spiritual underpinnings of modern music, and what life actually looks like after reaching the highly sought-after state of Samadhi.Chapters00:00 Identity: Not this, Not that08:56 Kirtan: Krishna Das, Performance Dynamics, & Spiritual Energy16:42 The Yogas: Approaches to Enlightenment25:46 Steady Spiritual Practice, Without Expectation29:16 Skillful Means: Different Teachings in Different Stages of Life35:25 Clear the Path & Kundalini Rises By Itself37:53 Rock Music, Herman Hesse, Yogananda, and Schoenberg50:36 Reading Hesse's Siddhartha & Mapping the Spiritual Path59:56 Kriya Yoga and Stilling the Mind01:04:46 Lahiri Mahasaya and the Evolution of Kriya Techniques01:15:39 Recommendations for Those Interested in Kriya Yoga01:17:29 Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Experience of Stillness in Meditation01:24:46 Kundalini Energy and Chakras01:34:19 Enlightenment Isn't What You Think It Is01:39:02 Brain, Filtered Perception, and the Possibility of Pure Perception01:50:15 Personal Transformation: Equanimity01:54:27 Releasing the Ego & Personal Motivation01:58:48 Using Music for MeditationFor more information, check out: https://www.facebook.com/JohnCovachMusicAndMeditation @JohnCovachMusicAndMeditation  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCQgJ5OeD8nhjd5Rl20spLXQ]

Snagged by the Divine — Pravrajika Vrajaprana on Self-Realization, Devotion, & the Ramakrishna Tradition

A 15-year-old anti-war activist arrived at the Vedanta Society in Southern California to distribute protest flyers. Upon hearing that inner peace is the prerequisite for world peace, she realized that peace requires working in a domain far deeper than politics. She was snagged by the Divine. But it wasn't until ten years later, compelled by a close encounter with death, that she finally committed to the monastic path in the Ramakrishna Order. Realizing God is easy, her guru Swami Prabhavananda told her. Now, after five decades of monastic life, Pravrajika Vrajaprana shares her own experience of the ego gradually making way for the peace of Self-Realization. Intimate stories with spiritual luminaries — holy and hilarious. Devotion to her guru. Facing death. Embodying Kali. Life at the convent. And what it truly means to love God above all else. Chapters 00:00 The First Encounter with Swami Prabhavananda: Tangible Holiness 06:38 Why Politics Couldn’t Satisfy the Soul 13:49 Lightning Bolt: The Day "Atman Is Brahman"Changed Everything 17:59 The Car Accident That Led to The Convent 27:35 Meditate With the Sword of Death Over Your Head 36:50 What Is a Guru? The Eternal Relationship 51:34 Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, and The Holy Mother 58:25 Humor in Spiritual Teachings 01:00:22 Are You a Bhakta or a Jnani? 01:07:02 We Have Only Ever Loved God 01:13:14 The Ego-Crushing Machine: Spiritual Life in aConvent 01:18:34 She Whose Life is Devoted to God 01:20:04 Mother Kali: The Mama Bear 01:30:10 "Realizing God is Easier than QuittingSmoking" -- Really? 01:32:17 Dry Spells & Burning Karma 01:35:04 Humor and Compassion Work Better to Train the EgoThan Fighting It 01:41:37 A Chaplain's Lessons: Seeing God in Everyone 01:48:30 Most Attuned To the Divine 01:52:50 Supporting Others on Their Spiritual Journey