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CHITHEADS with Jacob Kyle (Embodied Philosophy) — Religion & Spirituality
CHITHEADS with Jacob Kyle (Embodied Philosophy)

Chitheads is a smorgasbord of contemplative education. Each episode is like a mini masterclass, exploring the diverse landscapes of spiritual practice, philosophy, and the transformative power of embodied knowledge. Each episode is crafted with the curious and open heart in mind, aiming to illuminate the path of self-inquiry and empowerment for yoga teachers, scholar-practitioners, meditators and other spiritual seekers and contemplative folks from around the world. From the profound teachings of Yoga and Buddhism to the sometimes complex theories of contemplative psychology and the vibrant tapestry of indigenous wisdom, our guests share insights that awaken, challenge, and inspire. With every episode, we dive into discussions that matter, exploring questions that guide us closer to our true selves and to a deeper understanding of the world around us. Our mission is to create a space where wisdom (and not fame, power, or money) is the center of gravity and what we are most concerned about cultivating in this lifetime. Join us on Chitheads as we explore the liminal spaces of consciousness, embrace the complexities of the human experience without dogma or self-righteousness, and discover the beauty again and again of the interconnectedness of all things. Subscribe to Chitheads on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform, and please consider leaving us a positive review on one iTunes, or your favorite podcast player. Come dive into these in-depth conversations that illuminate our path of contemplative discovery. If you’ve felt like you’re the only one full of chit – full of consciousness or awareness ˀ– welcome home. This community of listeners, seekers, and scholar-practitioners is for you.

Latest Episodes:

The Tao of Now with Diane Dreher Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Diane Dreher, Ph.D., is a bestselling author, researcher, and positive psychology coach. Her books, The Tao of Inner Peace, The Tao of Personal Leadership, The Tao of Womanhood, Inner Gardening, and Your Personal Renaissance, have been translated into ten languages and her work has been featured in media outlets including USA Today, Entrepreneur, Redbook, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Science of Mind, radio and TV talk shows, and websites on leadership and personal growth. Dreher has a Ph.D. in Renaissance English literature from UCLA as well as a Master’s Degree in Counseling. She is a HeartMath clinical practitioner and a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. Her research on positive psychology and hope has been published online and in academic books and journals. She is currently professor emerita and associate director of the Applied Spirituality Institute at Santa Clara University and a lecturer in the Positive Psychology Guild in the United Kingdom. In this episode, we discuss:

The fundamental principles of Taoism.
Nature and the wisdom of the Tao within and around us.
Watching and waiting, the radical act of Wu Wei.
Religious Taoism and Taoism as a philosophy.
Spiritual practices of the Tao, cultivating the balance of Tao in daily life.
The Tao of now, Taoist Politics and conflict resolution.
Reducing stress and anxiety with the Tao.

Read an excerpt from THE TAO OF INNER PEACE by Diane Dreher: Beginning the Journey: Tao Te ChingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gavin Flood on Hindu Monotheism & the 12 Kalis (Radical Theology Series) Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

Gavin Flood is the Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at Oxford University, and Senior Research Fellow at Campion Hall. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. Gavin read Religious Studies and Social Anthropology at Lancaster University and taught at the universities of Wales (Lampeter) and Stirling before coming to Oxford in 2005. His research interests are in medieval Hindu texts (especially from the traditions of Shiva), comparative religion, and phenomenology. Recent books are Religion and the Philosophy of Life (Oxford University Press, 2019); Hindu Monotheism (Cambridge University Press, 2021); and The Truth Within, a History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism (Oxford University Press, 2013). He is interested in Tantric Knowledge and is currently working on an edition and translation of a Sanskrit text called the Netra Tantra and a book, A Phenomenology of Holiness. He is general series editor of the Oxford History of Hinduism. In this episode, we discuss:

How to approach Hinduism as both a monotheism and polytheism.
Unpacking the distinction between monotheism, monism, and emanationism.
How one extracts an ethical perspective from Śaivism.
Why philology has received a bad reputation and how we might reconsider it.
Hinduism as an orthopraxy rather than an orthodoxy.
The theological significance of Śaiva-Śākta and the 13 Kālīs.
Śaiva-Śākta Meditation as expanded awareness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew Fox on Creation Spirituality (Radical Theology Series) Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

In 1993, Theologian and activist Matthew Fox, Ph.D., was expelled from the Dominican Order of the Catholic church after 34 years, by Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). His mistake was reviving Creation Spirituality, which decries original sin (the doctrine that we’re all born sinners) in favor of Everyone Born is a Blessing (seeing all creation as divine). Creation Spirituality blends teachings from the Christian mystics with science, the arts, social justice, environmentalism, and ideas from other spiritual traditions worldwide (including those of indigenous cultures). Wasting no time, Fox became an Episcopal priest the year following his ouster. His upcoming book, Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality will be released on March 23, 2022. In this episode, we discuss:

The Four Paths of Creation Spirituality.
Reinventing forms of worship.
The Cosmic Christ.
The distinction between sin and evil.
Matthew’s approach to a feminist theology.
Applying the 7 capital “sins” to the chakras.
Recovery of the sacred to save the planet.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Queer Dharma with Jacoby Ballard Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

Jacoby Ballard is a social justice educator and yoga teacher who leads workshops and trainings around the country on diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a yoga teacher with 20 years of experience, he leads workshops, retreats, teacher trainings, teaches at conferences, and runs the Resonance mentorship program for certified yoga teachers to find their niche and calling. In 2008, Jacoby co-founded Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn, to work at the nexus of healing and social justice. Since 2006, Jacoby has taught Queer and Trans Yoga, a space for queer folks to unfurl and cultivate resilience, and received Yoga Journal's Game Changer Award in 2014 and Good Karma Award in 2016. Jacoby has taught in schools, hospitals, non-profit and business offices, a maximum-security prison, a recovery center, a cancer center, LGBT centers, gyms, a veteran’s center, and yoga studios. Jacoby's book A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation offers a distinctly queer lens on yoga and meditation. He lives with his partner, child, and innumerable plant friends on unceded Goshute, Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone land, now known as Salt Lake City, Utah. More at jacobyballard.net. In this episode, we discuss:

What “queer dharma” means.
Working at the intersection of anti-oppression work and dharma practice.
Skillful attempts at social justice work that include healing and inner work.
The role of anger in anti-oppression and social justice work.
Differentiating apology versus forgiveness.
Discovering common ground by sitting in silence together.
What some of the unique needs are for queer and trans people in yoga spaces.

Liberatory models of yoga discussed in the episode:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Intellectual Bhakti (Tarka Journal Podcast Ep.1) with Stephanie Corigliano & Jacob Kyle Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

This episode of the Chitheads podcast is actually the first episode of a new podcast we’re releasing as a part of the new Embodied Podcasts Network – the Tarka Journal Podcast. So as some of you know, embodied philosophy publishes a quarterly journal called Tarka in print and digital, and Stephanie, the Editor in Chief of Tarka and I wanted a space where we could have conversations about the the topics we’re exploring in the journal. In this episode we talk about the inspiration behind Tarka and how it got started and where it's going. And if you decide to subscribe to the Tarka Journal Podcast, which you can do now, then in future episodes we’ll be joined by colleagues, fellow faculty of Embodied Philosophy and we’ll discuss the ideas in particular articles from Tarka. We’ll also explore some of the current debates, issues and perspectives in the fields of contemplative studies, dharma studies, as they relate to the experience of the scholar-practitioner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Body Theology with Michelle Voss Roberts (Radical Theology) Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

Rev. Dr. Michelle Voss Roberts is professor of theology and past principal at Emmanuel College, a multireligious theological school in the Toronto School of Theology and University of Toronto. She is a comparative theologian who works in Christian and Hindu traditions, as well as an ordained minister in relation to the United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ. Her teaching and research invite others to imagine themselves in relation to diverse religious worlds, in which particularities of embodiment—such as gender, gender identity, and sexuality, racialization, dis/ability, and culture—matter. Dr. Voss Roberts’ book-length works in comparative theology include Dualities: A Theology of Difference (Westminster John Knox, 2010), which centers medieval women theologians; and Tastes of the Divine: Hindu and Christian Theologies of Emotion (Fordham University Press, 2014), an exploration of rasa theory and theological aesthetics, which received the Award for Excellence from the American Academy of Religion. More recently, Body Parts: A Theological Anthropology (Fortress Press, 2017) reimagines the Christian teaching that human beings are created in the image of God through the prism of the tattvas in nondual Saiva thought. Voss Roberts is also the editor of a volume that brings interreligious comparison to the introductory study of theology, Comparative Theology: Insights for Systematic Theological Reflection (Fordham University Press, 2016), as well as the Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations, which was published last year. In this episode, we discuss:

Finding liberation within tradition.
What it’s like to be a Christian Theologian.
Defining theology - faith seeking understanding.
How we seek to understand this orientation towards the world.
The concept of the image of God from Christian theology.
Using the work of Abhinavagupta and his Śaiva teachings on the 36 tattvas to illuminate and expound upon the notion of the image of God in a more inclusive and expansive way.
Broadening the scope of theology and our understanding of the divine.
Why does comparative theology matter for our contemporary world?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Theology Without Walls with John J. Thatamanil (Radical Theology) Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

John J. Thatamanil is Associate Professor of Theology and World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He is the author of The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament. An East-West Conversation and, most recently, Circling the Elephant: A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity (Fordham, 2020). Presently, he is working on a book entitled, Desiring Truth: The Quest for Interreligious Wisdom. He is a past President of the North American Paul Tillich Society and the current Chair of the AAR’s Theological Education Committee. He teaches a wide variety of courses including, “Hindu Religious Thought and Practice,” “Buddhist-Christian Dialogue,” and “Paul Tillich as Public Theologian,” “Process Theology,” “Double Belonging: On Multiple Religious Participation.” Thatamanil is an Anglican/Episcopalian—a recently ordained Deacon in the Anglican Church of Canada—who also reads and practices in traditions of Hindu and Buddhist nondualism. In this episode, we discuss:

The de-religionization of religion.
John’s cultural dislocation and how it informed his approach to theology.
Truth and desire.
What does it mean to have a multi-religious identity?
The difference between salad bar spirituality and multi-religious identity.
3 kinds of religious wonder.
The multi-religious theologian as the embodiment of the hospitality of receiving.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Harvey on Sacred Activism and Radical Regeneration (#140) Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Andrew Harvey is an internationally acclaimed writer, poet, translator, and mystical teacher. He is the author of over 40 books, including Son of Man, The Hope, Way of Passion, Turn Me to Gold, and Savage Grace with Carolyn Baker. He has taught all over the world, given over 20 courses for the Shift Network, and is the founder of the Institute for Sacred Activism. In this episode, we discuss:

What is sacred activism?
Obstacles to cultivating ourselves as sacred activists.
The evolutionary global dark night.
The fantasy magical thinking of the new age.
Radical regeneration: tantra and sacred activism.
The three main varieties of mystical practice.
What is the tantric vision?

More from Andrew Harvey: Join Andrew Harvey and Ramesh Bjonnes on their 4-Module Course - Radical Regeneration: Tantra and Sacred Activism. Perhaps more than any other wisdom path, Tantra embodies spirituality in action, spirituality as sacred service to the other, to the world. Using Tantric philosophy and practice as inspiration, you will in this course learn the basic concepts of Harvey’s sacred activism fused with the dynamic spirit of Tantra and how you can turn them into practical tools for personal and planetary change. Learn more and register here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stephen Porges On Trauma & Polyvagal Theory (#139) Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Stephen W. Porges is a distinguished university scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. His more than 350 peer‐reviewed scientific papers, published across several disciplines, have been cited in approximately 40,000 peer-reviewed papers. He holds several patents involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state and originated the Polyvagal Theory, which emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation, The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, and Polyvagal Safety, as well as co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies, and Polyvagal Safety. In this episode, we discuss:

What is the vagus nerve and why should we care about it.
Symptomatology explained by Polyvagal Theory.
Understanding resilience and adaptive physiological states.
Shifting the negativity bias to a positive one.
How polyvagal theory is transforming trauma care.
Developing models for how polyvagal theory can inform other therapies.
The necessity of human interaction in coregulation.

More from Stephen Porges : Join Stephen Porges on his 4-Module Course - Polyvagal Theory: Neural Exercises for Safety and Social Connection. This course will elaborate on how Polyvagal Theory provides a neural foundation for a brain-body medicine that would lead to insights into the treatment of trauma and chronic stress-related mental and physical health challenges. Learn more and register here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Krishna Das on Chanting Divine Names (#138) Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Layering traditional kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, 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 western 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 ’60’s 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. Given the name Krishna Das, KD began to chant as part of following the path of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. In this episode, we discuss:

Spiritual awakening and the need for a deeper connection.
The potency of chanting the divine names.
Chanting divine names as a way to wake up.
The real meaning of divine names.
The role of a teacher in the life of a contemporary seeker.
The purpose of the spiritual path.
Finding freedom by learning to trust ourselves.

More from Krishna Das: Join Krishna Das on a journey with chanting, stories, and discussion in this 4-Module Course. Learn more and register here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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