Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

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Ep. 202 - The Wood Wide Web of Being with Trudy Goodman Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

Learning from the networks of connection among trees and fungi, Trudy Goodman offers a dharma talk about nature, the breath, and oneness.

This 2016 recording is from Spirit Rock’s Fall Insight Meditation Retreat and was originally published on Dharmaseed.

In this episode, Trudy Goodman discusses:

The fallacy of separate self and how we tend to forget our universal connection
The matrix of identity that we create as we practice together
Networks of connection in the natural world
Inter-breathing and the web of connection via breath
The breath as the bridge between our conscious and unconscious
Taking the backward step, a practice in subtle relaxation and receiving the moment
Allowing things to appear and disappear as the path to awakening
Noticing our patterns of reaction as our body and breath anchor us
Seeing the changing way of life and how it can flow through us and in us
Finding freedom in the present moment
Feeling more sane, little by little, through practice
Tools for remembering our oneness

About Trudy Goodman:

Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy’s flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com

“We are surrounded by these beautiful trees and plants, being so close to nature. I feel like they’re supporting, modeling, and showing us a way to be together here. We can experience this web in our own breath. We inter-breathe. We’re breathing not just each other's breath, but we’re breathing the breath of our ancestors. We’re breathing molecules that dinosaurs breathed, that the Buddha and his community breathed. We’re sharing air with all creatures really, and all those who came before us, all those who are currently in existence, and this breath will flow into all the future beings too.” – Trudy Goodman

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Ep. 201 – Ram Dass Fellowship: What’s Love Got to Do With It? with David Nichtern & Jackie Dobrinska Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Talking about everything, everybody, nothing and nobody, David shares stories about Trungpa Rinpoche and Ram Dass from the 1970s to now.

This conversation was recorded as part of the Ram Dass Fellowship’s regular online gatherings. To learn more about the Ram Dass Fellowship and sign up to join a fellowship gathering near you, visit RamDass.org/Fellowship.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode of the BHNN Guest Podcast, David and Jackie discuss:

The first meeting of Ram Dass and Trungpa Rinpoche
Seeing the ordinary magic of this reality
David’s work with Krishna Das and receiving dream-messages
Conjoining love and bliss with emptiness
Ram Dass’ concept of ‘becoming nobody’
Nihilism and negativity versus an empty openness
David’s work with the Ram Dass Legacy treats in Maui
Two different types of meditation (focus and discovery)
Showing up for practice rather than doing it perfectly
Love and surrender within the guru tradition and other forms of love
How to respond to hate with love in these trying times
Transforming anger and working with our emotions in a more productive way

Check out David Nichtern’s Meditation Teacher Training Course - registration extended to Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025: Learn More

About David Nichtern:

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician. David’s journey has crisscrossed with the Maharaji/Ram Dass sangha for decades. He has produced multiple Krishna Das albums and frequently joins the Bhaktettes live on guitar. He considers himself to be a first cousin and honorary member of the Bhakti community.

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

Photo via PerfectLazybones

“There’s passionate love, deep love of a friendship, playful love, love for everything. In our culture love has gotten confusing, especially in romantic comedies. But, I think love doesn’t bend. It’s this deep, steadfast, force like gravity. That unconditional love that isn’t moved around by the wind.” – Jackie Dobrinska

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Ep. 200 – Flow of Grace: Hanuman Chalisa Workshop with Krishna Das and Band Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

In a full episode dedicated to the Hanuman Chalisa, Krishna Das chants with retreat attendees and explains the power of this moving mantra.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this 2019 recording from the Ram Dass Open Your Heart in Paradise Retreat, Krishna Das is joined onstage with his band for a Hanuman Chalisa workshop. Harkening the Hanuman Chalisa as “a long invocation to awaken our hearts and to move us deeper into ourselves, into that love,” Krishna Das describes this particular mantra as a practice that connects us to Hanuman’s flow of grace. Chanting the Chalisa helps to remove obstacles from our path while fulfilling our purest desires.

With these intentions set, Krishna Das and friends lead a cascading waterfall of some of their most potent and recognizable Hanuman Chalisa melodies. Communing together as we listen to this episode, we’re able to sense our universal connection and tap into that love that Krishna Das speaks of.

Interested in joining us in Maui for the 2025 Ram Dass Open Your Heart In Paradise Retreat? Click HERE to learn more.

About Krishna Das:

Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Grammy nominee Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling chant artist of all time. His album ‘Live Ananda’ (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.

KD spent the late ’60s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji. Krishna Das now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life, of Maharaji-ji, of his life on the Path and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops. To date, KD has released 15 well-received albums, most recently Trust in the Heart released in October 2017.

For more wisdom and worship from Krishna Das, be sure to check out his podcast Pilgrim Heart on the Be Here Now Network.

MORE INFORMATION and OFFERINGS VISIT: https://krishnadas.com/ KRISHNA DAS ON SOCIAL: FACEBOOK: facebook.com/KrishnaDasMusic INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/krishnadasmusic YOUTUBE: / krishnadasmusic X: @krishnadas #KrishnaDas

“This is a long invocation to awaken our hearts and to move us deeper into ourselves, into that love. You don’t have to know what all these words mean, but you can read the translation. But what we can do, even if we don’t understand the actual meaning of the words, we can understand that this practice is a practice of connecting, connecting with that flow of grace that is Hanuman. The flow of grace that removes all obstacles from our path and allows to recognize that love in ourselves and others.” – Krishna Das

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Ep. 199 - Ram Dass Explorer's Club: Our Self-Healing Capacity with Annie & Michael Mithoefer and Jackie Dobrinska Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

Dynamic duo Annie & Michael Mithoefer speak with Jackie Dobrinska about how we can reach our innate healing capacity via psychedelic-assisted therapy, breathwork, and more.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This week, Annie & Michael Mithoefer discuss:

Ram Dass’ influence on Annie and Michael’s life
A story of meditative guidance from Neem Karoli Baba
Our capacity to self-heal via psychedelics or other non-ordinary states
The power of breath work as a pathway to inner healing
Researching MDMA-assisted therapy
Separating the self from the medicine
How avoidance perpetuates trauma
Utilizing psychedelics to re-open social reward learning networks
The importance of integration sessions after psychedelic-assisted therapy
How PTSD affects people, relationships, and more
Allowing the lows to become just as interesting as the highs

About Michael and Annie Mithoefer

Michael and Annie Mithoefer have been instrumental in developing the MDMA protocols and standards of care that have been used in the ongoing MAPS FDA trials. They crafted the MAPS MDMA Therapy Training Program, a clinical training program that facilities learning in the theory, skills and practice of MDMA-assisted therapy. The MAPS training program has reportedly introduced MDMA-assisted therapy to over 2,000 interested mental health care professionals. Michael Mithoefer, M.D., is a psychiatrist living in Asheville, NC, with a research office in Charleston, SC. Annie Mithoefer, B.S.N., is a Registered Nurse living in Asheville NC, where she is now focused primarily on training and supervising therapists conducting MAPS-sponsored clinical trials, as well as continuing to conduct some MAPS research sessions in Charleston, SC. Learn more about the art of psychedelic care HERE.

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

“These are tools for accessing these non-ordinary states of consciousness. It’s not about the medicine, and the medicines are not the only way to do it, which Ram Dass demonstrated in the latter part of his life. That was very much the philosophy, and very much the philosophy that there’s this inner healing intelligence, self-healing capacity, and what we’re doing is helping people access that. – Michael Mithoefer

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Ep. 198 - Stilling The Constructions Of Mind with Gil Fronsdal Mar 08, 2025

Show notes

Considering how we relate to the world, Gil Fronsdal offers insight into freedom from our mental constructs through stillness of mind.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, Gil Fronsdal offers wisdom on:

The relationship between fundamental insight and fundamental happiness
Dividing the present moment into three parts (what's happening, our relationship to it, and the self)
The Anicca Vata Sankhara chant, an important chant among Theravada Buddhists
Seeing happiness through stilling our mental constructions
Objective reality versus human-made conventions
Understanding the world of relatedness and settling it down
Being aware of the breath within the breath
The season of being in relationship and the season of letting things be
The ever-presence of awareness and the freedom it can bring
Buddhist practice helps us see when something is a construction
Seeing the arising and passing of all mental activity

We have all these conventions and they’re useful, we play with them, they’re antidotes, they settle things. It’s also possible to relate to the breathing, to be present for the breath, without a convention, but present. The mind doesn’t go towards the breath, the breath doesn’t go to you, the breath arises in awareness. The awareness doesn’t go anywhere.” – Gil Fronsdal

This 2008 recording was originally published on Dharmaseed

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

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Ep. 197 - Ram Dass Fellowship: Tools for Spiritual Healing During Uncertain Times with RamDev Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

Ram Dev joins the Ram Dass Fellowship to provide tools for spiritual healing to all listeners during this time of uncertainty.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

Hosted by Jackie Dobrinska, Ram Dev discusses:

The anxiety that arose during the pandemic
Navigating uncertainty in life and death
Reframing uncertainty as a positive and exciting phenomena
Finding inspiration in uncertainty for deepening our practice
Having compassion for our anxiety and our fear when it does arise
Caregiving as spiritual practice & avoiding burnout
Fear vs. faith and transmuting grief into compassion
Seeing everyone as the guru, the mother, or God
How to have a conscious dying process
Opening our hearts and being with things the way they are

This conversation was recorded as part of the Ram Dass Fellowship’s regular online gatherings. To learn more about the Ram Dass Fellowship and sign up to join a fellowship gathering near you, visit RamDass.org/Fellowship.

About RamDev:

RamDev Dale Borglum is the founder and Executive Director of The Living/Dying Project. He is a pioneer in the conscious dying movement and has worked directly with thousands of people with life-threatening illness and their families for over 30 years. In 1981, Dale founded the first residential facility for people who wished to die consciously in the United States, The Dying Center. He has taught and lectured extensively on the topics of spiritual support for those with life-threatening illness, on caregiving as a spiritual practice, and on healing at the edge, the edge of illness, of death, of loss, of crisis. Check out RamDev’s podcast, Healing at the Edge, on the Be Here Now Network.

Learn more about The Living/Dying Project at livingdying.org

RamDev’s March Healing at the Edge workshops: https://livingdying.org/2025workshop/

About Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an interspiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

Learn more about Jackie’s work at asimplevibrantlife.com.

“Is it possible to use uncertainty, not as something that’s a problem or something we are getting tight in relationship to, but it’s bringing juice to our life, it’s bringing excitement in a certain way.” – RamDev

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Ep. 196 - Mindfulness of the Body with Gil Fronsdal Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

Renowned Buddhist teacher Gil Fronsdal outlines how a connection to the body is the gateway into the present moment.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal dives into:

Reminding ourselves to be in the present moment
Finding the dharma in the here and now
Our lived spaces of awakening
Not being in conflict with reality
Staying aware and being able to trust ourselves
Relishing in our own uniqueness and allowing it to flower
The importance of the body in Buddhist practice
Watching the rhythms in our body
The body as a royal road to the unconscious

This episode is also brought to you by Dharma Moon. Join Buddhist teachers David Nichtern and Professor Robert Thurman for a free online event on Tuesday, March 4th at 6pm ET. Together, they'll explore the power of lineage, tradition, and the evolution of mindfulness practices. They’ll also discuss Dharma Moon’s renowned mindfulness meditation teacher training program. Visit dharmamoon.com/lineage for more info and to reserve your spot for the free online event with David Nichtern and Professor Robert Thurman!

About Gil Fronsdal:

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed

“The body is really like a meditation hall. So much unfolds. So much emphasis in Buddhism is made for practicing within the body, becoming embodied, where we feel like we are inhabiting our body rather than just pulling it around.” – Gil Fronsdal

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Ep. 195 - Anapanasati: Beginning with the Breath, A Guided Meditation Led By Trudy Goodman Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

Beginning with the Buddha’s teaching of Anapanasati, Trudy Goodman explores the breath as our most reliable and loving life-long companion.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, renowned Buddhist teacher Trudy Goodman explores:

The breath as our life-long, trusted companion
The Buddhist teaching of breath-awareness (Anapanasati)
Developing heartful awareness along with the breath
Coming back to the ‘teddy bear’ of our breath
Staying with the breath while being aware of other things in our minds
A guided breath practice and deepening our sense of focus
Breath practice as a method of relaxation
The tender caress of the breath in the body

About Trudy Goodman:

Learn more about Trudy’s offerings at trudygoodman.com

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

The breath is our life-long companion, it’s our partner. It’s the partner that never deserts us, never goes away, never betrays us. It’s always with us, as long as we’re alive, in each moment of our existence. It’s such a trustworthy companion all the time.” – Trudy Goodman

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Ep. 194 - Wisdom Beyond Lineage: Buddhism and Bhakti Yoga with Krishna Das & Robert Thurman Feb 07, 2025

Show notes

Exploring Bhakti, Buddhism, and lessons from wise teachers, Krishna Das and Robert Thurman come together for a wide-ranging discussion.

This recording is from the 2020 Cultivating Wise Hope Virtual Retreat. Find more heart-focused teachings like this, along with practices and digital courses from Ram Dass and friends with Ram Dass’ Inner Academy: Learn More

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, Krishna Das and Robert Thurman discuss:

The miracles of Maharaj-ji
How all people are wholly embraced by divine love
Bhakti as devotional heart-to-heart merging
An exploration of dreams and being happy to let go
Being brave enough to have a heart and experience wonder
A breakdown of the three parts of ‘Om’
Sovereignty and the tremendous power we all have
Recognizing that Nirvana is everywhere
Lessons from Jesus and Christianity
Looking to Kali and being fierce but always with love

About Krishna Das:

About Robert Thurman:

Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and President of the Tibet House U.S., and is the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. His new book, Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life, is now available.

“To be fully alive in union, in heart-merger with love, it has to be beyond heartbreak. Yet, beyond heartbreak is not without coming back and being brave enough to have a heart and expressing. It has to be still wonder. You still have to be living in wonder.” – Robert Thurman

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Ep. 193 – Ram Dass Explorer’s Club: Encountering Spirit with Martina Hoffmann Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Visionary artist, Martina Hoffmann, describes her encounters with spirit through dreams, nature, psychedelics and more.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, Martina Hoffman offers a talk on:

Encountering spirit through dreaming, nature, and more
The interweaving of creativity and spirit
Attempting to express the ineffable
Entering into meditation through art
Martina’s expansive spiritual evolution
Lucid dreaming and transitioning from dream to awakening
Out of body experiences and feeling everything deeply
Martina’s experience with psychedelics and receiving grace
The many ways that one can heal (physically, spiritually, emotionally)
Letting go and embracing new beginnings
How challenging moments prepare us for the final journey

About Martina Hoffmann:

German-born, Martina Hoffmann partially grew up in Cameroon, West Africa. She studied art education with and sculpting at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. During this time she also met the Fantastic Realist, Robert Venosa, and greatly inspired by his work, began her work as a painter. During their 30 year relationship they closely worked together, taught workshops worldwide and shared studios, both in the US as well as in Europe. Today Martina Hoffmann works as a painter and sculptress and remains a central figure in contemporary Visionary Art. Her paintings offer the viewer a detailed glimpse into her inner landscapes – imagery that has been inspired by expanded states of consciousness. Her Visionary Realism is decidedly feminine and places the ‘Universal Woman’ in an intimate cosmos. She transcribes her ecstatic experiences but also her subtle reflections on the nature of women in a realistic style which marries the fantastic to the sacred. Check out Martina’s work on her website.

“My eyes opened, this beautiful blue sphere appeared in front of me and was suspended by electric energy. I made a painting of it. It had a message that said don’t be afraid. They explained to me how I had to go through this process to help me become the person I was supposed to be.” – Martina Hoffmann

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

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