The Spiritual Context Podcast

The Ego is About Five: A Vow to Meet Suffering with Compassion | Zen Teacher Bussho Lahn

Waking up is not a departure from ordinary life but a deeper arrival into it. Rev. Busshō Lahn, a Zen priest and spiritual director, has spent decades practicing this arrival, responding to the infinite welcoming of reality. What he finds there, and what this conversation circles, is that turning toward suffering rather than away from it may be the most honest thing we can offer — to ourselves in meditation and one another in spiritual companionship. Somewhere between Dogen and dogs, kittens and mortality, laughter and silence, a quality of presence slowly comes into focus — the kind that doesn't try to fix what is broken or explain what cannot be explained, but simply stays. That quality has a name. It's what Busshō's name means: wide open wonder. If you've ever sensed that the spiritual life may be less about becoming and more about realizing what is already here, this conversation may feel strangely familiar and paradoxically new. Rev. Busshō Lahn is the guiding teacher of Flying Cloud Zen, a hybrid community offering both in-person and virtual practice opportunities. He is a speaker, retreat leader, spiritual director, and author, and was a Senior Staff Priest at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center for over a decade. He is the author of Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law: A Commentary on Hakuin's “Song of Zazen” (2023). Flying Cloud Zen: https://www.flyingcloudzen.org/ Chapters 00:00 Zen: Rebellion, Fusion, and the Place Beyond Words 06:47 Compassion and Wisdom: How the Transcendent Shows Up in Time 15:09 Waking Up in the Dream: Nonduality, Dogen, and the Christian Encounter 23:45Origin Story: A Catholic Brother, a Borrowed Text, and a Long Dance with Zen 32:03First Books on Zen: Katagiri, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Espresso Shot 38:50Primarily a Student: On Identity, Role, and the Danger of Believing the Label 51:00Making Meaning: Viktor Frankl, Empty Moments, and the Cat Who Just Eats 01:05:53 Wide Open Wonder: Buddha Nature, Animals, and 'You Are That Thing' 01:10:38 Zazen, Suffering, and Spiritual Direction: Buddha Shows Up 01:25:13 Embracing Suffering with Compassion 01:33:15 The Mountain Remains: Li Po, Self-Witnessing, and Part Two Music for this episode  ⁨@BenBigelow3⁩  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCu4YSZ3Z-DlgouWcgH9xwUQ]

Waking Up Due to the Efforts of Others: Rev. Kenji Akahoshi on Shin Buddhism and Gratitude

From Japanese American internment camps to a successful career in dentistry. From vision quests in the wilderness to a second calling as a Shin Buddhist (Jodo Shinshu) minister. From grief and loss to a heart filled with gratitude — Rev. Kenji Akahoshi's remarkable life has taught him that joy emerges when life is received rather than grasped.Kenji Sensei's teaching is simple but radical: a shift in orientation from please to thank you. From a life driven by lack, desire, and striving, to a life awakened to what we have already received simply by being alive.Kenji Sensei shares a form of Buddhism grounded not in spiritual perfection, but in ordinary human life. We do not need to eliminate all desire, transcend the ego, or abandon our responsibilities in search of peace. Instead, we can begin exactly where we are, embracing ourselves and others as we are, while gradually waking up to the countless visible and invisible gifts that sustain our lives.This is Shin Buddhism at its most accessible — and perhaps its most profound.What We Cover• The lasting impact of Japanese American internment camps• Vision quests and awakening to one's "song"• The shift from please to thank you• The movement from "me" to "we"• Gratitude in the midst of grief, illness, and loss• Embracing the "idiot self" with honesty and compassion• Living the life we already have• Freedom from dependence on others' opinions • A spiritual path for ordinary people• Finding joy in elderhoodKirk Akahoshi's YouTube channel documenting his journey with cancer: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5EFiTiC59p5yGBF_lx3lHCiVCeQ-AB0Z Chapters 00:00 Early Experience of Internment and Its Influence on Life 05:16 Philosophy, Depth Psychology, and Transpersonal Psychology 11:46 The Vision Quest: Awakens to Truth and Sings its Beauty 18:34 Finding One's Place in the Interdependent Reality 24:39 Living Shin Buddhism: Lessons from Family and Culture 28:34 Amida Buddha: The Life Energy We All Receive 32:53 Interconnectedness: "Because of You, I am Fine" 40:21 Waking Up: Consciousness Leads to Gratitude 49:17 From Please to Thank You: A Shift in Mindset 53:08 Gratitude in the Face of Adversity 01:03:01 Start Now and Practice Daily 01:07:29 Receiving All Things with Gratitude 01:16:03 The Practice of No Practice: Acknowledging What WeReceive 01:20:21 "You are not an evil person, you are anidiot" 01:23:24 Trusting the Evolutionary Trajectory of Life 01:28:35 The Interconnectedness of Life 01:29:50 Addressing the Shadow Self 01:38:01 Exploring the Psyche and the Spiritual 01:46:22 Joy at 84 Years of Age 01:50:06 Advice for Young Adults on Community and Gratitude

The Contemplative Stance: Stillness, Caring for Others, and Leadership | Sr. Mary Lou Mitchell

What does it mean to truly care for another, even as they are dying? How do we move from head knowledge down into the heart, where love resides? What does it mean to lead from a place of stillness? Sister Mary Lou Mitchell has spent her life at the intersection of stillness and action. From her background in nursing and academia, to her time accompanying the elderly and those nearing death as a spiritual care provider, and now in her current role as President of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, New York, her work has always been centered on the heart. In this conversation, she shares what she calls the contemplative stance — a way of being present to others, to uncertainty, and to life through a daily descent into stillness. She offers not only transformative stories but her practice: how to be with difficult feelings, how to discern true inner promptings from fear and ego, and how to hold life's tensions with patience until clarity comes. A conversation about presence, listening, grief, hope, discernment, and leadership. Learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph: https://www.ssjrochester.org/ Chapters 00:00 The Bear: A Healing Symbol Comes from Within 08:03 A Religious Calling 13:14 A Contemplative in Action: When Knowledge Sinks into the Heart 17:50 Daily Practice of Quieting Down 22:33 Winter's Lessons: Slowing Down, Patience, and Hope 25:44 Welcoming God's Presence: Surrendering the Desire for Security, Control, and Affection 31:51 What Can We Control? 37:52 A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way 39:44 To Truly Care for Someone: Creating the Best Condition Possible for Healing 49:43 Honoring the Grief 55:50 A Contemplative Leader 01:03:15 Working in a Team with a Contemplative Stance 01:07:53 Obedience to God's Will, Not Ego's Fears 01:12:48 Discerning God's Will 01:22:10 Advice to New Leaders 01:28:05 Advice to Graduating Students Music for this episode by Ben Bigelow

Carrie Newcomer | Awe and Wonder: The Spirituality of Singing and Songwriting

She sings about dishes being holy, shovels being prayer, and the astounding beauty of human beings in the humdrum of daily life. This week's guest, singer, songwriter, and poet Carrie Newcomer says that when we pay attention, we can find the divine — what she calls the Great Luminous — in everything. Songwriting has been one such practice of attention for her, alongside decades of Quaker silence. In this conversation, rich with live music and language that arrives like poetry, Carrie speaks about the risk of loving something deeply, meeting human darkness with wonder rather than judgment, and what hope actually looks like when it's gritty and daily rather than wishful. Pull up a chair. This one is worth sitting with. About: Carrie Newcomer is a Grammy and Emmy-winning singer, songwriter, and poet with 20 nationally released albums, three collections of poetry and essays, and a devoted following on Substack where she writes weekly on music, spirituality, and the life of attention. She is co-host of The Growing Edge podcast with Parker Palmer. Carrie’s website: https://www.carrienewcomer.com/Carrie’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CarrieNewcomer Carrie’s Newcomer Substack “The Gathering of Spirits” https://carrienewcomer.substack.com/ The Growing Edge Podcast: https://www.newcomerpalmer.com/podcast Timestamp 00:00 Holy As the Day is Spent 03:02 Seeing the Sacred in the Ordinary 07:25 Songwriting and Singing as Spiritual Practices 11:07 Songs, Stories, and the Universal Human Experience 16:58 Carrie's Job Description: Giving Words to that Which is Beyond Words 20:02 Vocation: Risking What You Love the Most 30:21 Vocation and Making a Living35:35 "When I am True, the Way has been True" 40:07 Unprogrammed Quaker Meeting: A Silent Gathering of Friends 44:56 Silence Underneath the Sound 47:59 Blessing Everything: Acknowledging the Holy 54:42 Gathering in the Inner Silence : "Welcome Back" 01:00:10 Finding the Quaker Community 01:03:48 The Mystical Within and Beyond Traditions 01:08:18 The Experience of the Great Luminous 01:11:46 A Shovel is a Prayer 01:17:09 The Love of Humans: What about the Dark Side? 01:28:53 The Nitty Gritty of Hope 01:32:30 How do I fit with my soul? What will the harvest of my life be? 01:36:58 Gratitude Practice and Love Lessons from Dogs 01:44:12 What is my deepest question today? 01:46:54 Creativity as a Spiritual Practice 01:51:54 Lean in Toward the Light #carrienewcomer #spirituality #sacred #spiritualmusic #quakers #silence

Anxiety to Awareness: The Four Pillars of Human Flourishing | Stephanie Wagner

Anxiety isn't an enemy to be vanquished, but a friend to be met with care and clarity. Stephanie Wagner knows this from the inside. In this episode, the Director of Learning and Development at HUMIN and meditation teacher at Tergar Institute — founded by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche — traces her path from chronic anxiety and the dead ends of compulsive shopping and emotional eating, to a life of genuine wellbeing rooted in practice. Her story unfolds alongside a science-based model of human flourishing with four trainable pillars — awareness, connection, insight, and purpose — developed through neuroscientific research at the Center for Healthy Minds, led by Dr. Richard Davidson, and deepened by the contemplative traditions of the world. This is where ancient wisdom and modern science converge to illuminate a path to thriving. What we explore: • The shift from external fixes to an inner source of well-being • Why Dr. Davidson calls well-being a trainable skill — and what the four pillars actually train • How suffering can become a doorway to meaning, empathy, and compassion • Why meditation isn't about silencing the mind — but befriending it • Building a daily meditation habit — and the surprising minimum dosage required to see real benefits • Where Buddhist awakening and the science of well-being point to the same thing • Tibetan Buddhist practices of Ngondro and deity yoga — skillful means for recognizing the awakened nature that is already here Learn more about Stephanie Wagner: https://www.innerfirehealthcoach.com/about Follow her on Instagram: @stephaniewagner_meditates HUMIN App: https://www.humin.org/wellbeing-tools/app Center for Healthy Minds: https://centerhealthyminds.org/ Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving: https://a.co/d/0fQdd8Wk Chapters: 00:00 From Anxiety to Awareness 09:18 Becoming a Coach: Health and Wellbeing to Meditation 14:08 HUMIN: Bridging Science and Well-being 16:30 Nothing is Wasted 19:27 The Four Pillars of Flourishing: Awareness, Connection, Insight, Purpose 20:44 Awareness: Being Present 33:44 Connection: Developing and Widening the Circle of Care 45:12 Insight: Be Curious 58:08 Purpose: Finding Meaning in Everyday Life 01:09:00 Meaning in Adversity and Suffering 01:12:45 Healthy Minds Program App: Science-Based Free Resource 01:15:23 "Awakening is the Essence of Well-Being" 01:19:10 Buddhist Training : The Path of Liberation 01:21:05 From Breath Awareness to Open Awareness: Journey in Meditation 01:24:54 Vajrayana Training: Nundro and Yeshe Tsogyal Sadhana 01:30:29 Developing a Habit: Inspiration, Intention, Action, and Repetition 01:38:32 Navigating Grief, Loss, and Death 01:43:22 Common Misconceptions About Meditation 01:48:32 The Most Beautiful Path to Getting to Know Yourself 01:50:42 Connect with Stephanie