The Mystical Positivist: September 2014

Saturday, September 27, 2014

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #160 - 27SEP14

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

During the first hour, hosts Stuart Goodnick and Dr. Robert Schmidt discuss the book The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, which combines Benjamin Zander's experience as a conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and his talents as a teacher and communicator with Rosamund Stone Zander's genius for creating innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment. Hosts Goodnick and Schmidt delve into related questions of how self help modalities relate to and contrast with spiritual practice. In the second hour of the program, they begin looking at the phenomenon of being Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR) in anticipation of next week's interview with Linda Mercadante, author of Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual But Not Religious.

Stuart Goodnick and Rob Schmidt helped found and run Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol, CA. The store is a project of Tayu Meditation Center, where both Stuart and Rob were trained in the fiery alchemy of transformation over decades by Tayu founder Robert Daniel Ennis.

More information about Tayu Meditation Center can be found at:

Many Rivers Books and Tea Website: www.manyriversbooks.com
Tayu Meditation Center Website: www.tayu.org/~tayu/
Old Many Rivers Blog: www.manyriversbooks.com/blog1/

Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #159 - 13SEP14

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

A conversation with Ellen Tynan. Ellen Tynan creates opportunities for people to experience their true nature through exploration and contemplation in the wild (www.wildpresence.org). Ellen began exploring Zen and Tibetan Buddhism at a young age. For the past 10 years she has practiced Vipassana, or Insight Meditation and teaches with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC.

For nearly 20 years, Ellen worked with the World Bank to guide developing countries in protecting the environment and preserving their natural resources. A published photographer, her current project documents traditional boats and boat-builders from across the globe. Ellen also practices contemplative Miksang photography (a Dharma Art teaching of Chogyam Trungpa) which focuses on revealing a pure perception of the world around us. Ellen holds an M.A. from Yale University, an A.B. from Vassar College, and a certificate in Marine Conservation from Duke University.

She trained in tracking, traditional skills and awareness at the Roots School in northern Vermont, is a certified Wilderness First Responder and a licensed river guide in the state of Utah. Ellen is also an avid rock climber and practices yoga and a variety of Chinese martial arts. She is also a certified teacher of mindfulness for children and teens through the Mindfulness in Schools Project's curriculum.

More information about Ellen Tynan's work and interests can be found at:

Wild Presence website: www.wildpresence.org
Insight Meditation Community of Washinton website: imcw.org

"The Mystical Positivist" Radio Show

The Mystical Positivist is a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP FM 107.3 Occidental, CA, and on the web at KOWS-LP Live Feed, Saturdays from 4 - 6pm PST. Coming up on The Mystical Positivist:

April 20: A pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In this conversation, we plan to explore a compelling quote from Ian McGilchrist's The Matter with Things: If you had set out to destroy the happiness and stability of a people, it would have been hard to improve on our current formula: remove yourself as far as possible from the natural world; repudiate the continuity of your culture; believe you are wise enough to do whatever you happen to want and not only get away with it, but have a right to it—and a right to silence those who disagree; minimise the role played by a common body of belief; actively attack and dismantle every social structure as a potential source of oppression; reject the idea of a transcendent set of values.

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.