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Tantra Illuminated with Dr. Christopher Wallis — Religion & Spirituality
Tantra Illuminated with Dr. Christopher Wallis

Tantra Illuminated with Dr. Christopher Wallis is a journey through the depths of the human experience, as viewed through the lens of the tradition called nondual Shaiva Tantra. This multi-format podcast, hosted by professional Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner Dr. Christopher Wallis, delves into the fascinating world of Classical Tantra and its intersections with philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, healing arts, and the broader world of spirituality. Discover how the ancient wisdom of Classical Tantra offers profound insights for today’s world, and prepare to challenge conventional narratives about self, reality, and consciousness. The aim is to inspire, educate, and ignite transformative conversations. The podcast includes four types of episodes: conversations with prominent spiritual teachers and philosophers, readings of translations from luminous Sanskrit scriptures, guided meditations, and contemplative reflections. Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings and courses at tantrailluminated.org. Podcast Art by Jesse Molina camatkaracreative.com.

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Copyright: © Christopher Wallis

Latest Episodes:

Purity and Power by Alexis Sanderson Dec 20, 2024

Show notes

This episode offers a special reading of Alexis Sanderson's groundbreaking academic article, Purity and Power among the Brāhmans of Kashmir. Professor Emeritus of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Sanderson is widely regarded as the greatest living scholar of Tantric studies in the Western world. His illustrious 40-year career began with this article, written after 14 years of meticulous research, and it remains one of the most impressive first publications by a scholar in the field. The reading explores the interplay of purity and power within Indian religious traditions, examining the dynamic relationships between the orthodoxy of Brahmanic purity, the transformative practices of Tantric traditions, and the visionary radicalism of heterodox movements in medieval Kashmir (8th–12th centuries). While the reading is substantial, the second half contains some truly remarkable passages that are well worth the journey.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bridging Scholarship and Practice: Interview by Jacob Kyle Dec 13, 2024

Show notes

This week’s episode features an archival interview with Jacob Kyle, yoga and meditation teacher, writer, philosophy educator, and founder of Embodied Philosophy, an online educational platform for wisdom studies and contemplative practices, as well as host of the Chitheads podcast. The conversation explores the role of the scholar-practitioner in bridging the gap between rigorous academic scholarship and lived spiritual practice. The discussion delves into the distinction between awakening and liberation, emphasizing that while awakening involves recognizing one’s true nature, liberation requires the integration of that awakening into daily life. They also examine the challenges of bringing spiritual realizations into relationships and daily conduct, highlighting the importance of integration to avoid spiritual bypassing. Additionally, the conversation contrasts non-dual Shaiva Tantra with other traditions, offering insights into the philosophical and practical relevance of these teachings in everyday life.

Get 25% off Embodied Philosophy’s Wisdom School for life with the coupon code ILLUMINATED25.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listening with the Whole Body Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

This week's episode is a guided meditation centered on a simple yet profound somatic inquiry: What might it feel like to listen with the whole body? We are invited to listen to the whole of experience, cultivating presence by tuning into the vibrancy of awareness. Through gentle attention, we explore what it means to listen, not just with the ears, but with the entirety of our body. The meditation concludes with a beautiful Sanskrit verse from the Upanishads, reminding us of the wholeness at the heart of all existence. Take this time to settle into stillness and embrace the experience of simply being.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unraveling into the Infinite with Kiran Trace Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

This episode features a conversation with Kiran Trace, a renowned teacher, speaker, and author who has helped thousands of people worldwide on their path to awakening. Kiran has developed a powerful set of tools to support people in freeing themselves from suffering and integrating their spiritual awakening into daily life. Her own journey began with a radical, spontaneous awakening—with no prior spiritual training or context. In a transformative moment, she died and instantly became the vastness of pure presence and being, and then had to find her way back into form and normality. Through this experience, she gained insights that she shares in her book Tools for Sanity. In this conversation, Kiran shares her story of self-discovery and healing, providing insights into releasing trauma and reconnecting with the innate vibrancy of awareness. Topics include the challenges of integrating deep spiritual experiences, the journey from suffering to freedom, and the creation of tools that empower others to transform what Eckhart Tolle might call their "pain bodies." With her fresh and candid perspective, Kiran offers a unique view of how awakening can unfold and deepen in unexpected ways.

Take Kiran’s free course here.

Send an email to team@kirantrace.com with the subject ‘Ready for FYM!’ to receive 50% off the course Free Your Mind.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Essence of Tantra, Chapter Five (Part Three) Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

This episode concludes our reading of Chapter Five of Abhinavagupta's Tantrasāra. Here, we learn about The Rite of the Phonemes, or varṇa-uccāra (also known as varṇa-vidhi) in Sanskrit, exploring teachings on two of the most significant bīja mantras of the Trika lineage, the seed syllables of dissolution and creation. These mantras are uniquely powerful by virtue of their inherent vibrational potency which doesn’t require their conceptual understanding. They are divinely revealed vibrations, the innate vibrancy of awareness itself, that transcend the need for conceptual representation by the mind.

You can read the text in the related blog post here.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tantrik Sādhanā in the Modern World with Ben Joffe and Katherine Bennett Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

This week’s episode features an archival conversation with Ben Joffe and Katherine Bennett, exploring what it means to practice tantrik sādhanā in today’s world. We share personal stories about our journey as scholar-practitioners, discussing how to balance academic rigor with spiritual practice, and how to integrate philosophical study with lived experience. The conversation touches on the critical role of initiation in tantrik traditions, the importance of having a guru, and how these practices have evolved in contemporary contexts. We draw parallels between the historically guarded nature of tantric teachings and the more accessible forms available today, addressing the challenges faced by modern practitioners who want to engage with these spiritual systems in an authentic way.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The View and the Goal of Practice Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

In this solo episode, we talk about one of the most fundamental aspects of tantric practice which is the alignment of view, practice, and goal in the non-dual Shaiva Tantra tradition. Our practice must be empowered by a view of reality that aligns with our ultimate goal, because without this alignment, even the most diligent practice may not lead to the desired outcome. Traditionally, the threefold goal of tantric practic is awakening (bodha), liberation (mokṣa or mukti), and enjoyment (bhōga). What we call awakening (bodha) is just really a form of clarified and intensified awareness of the nature of reality which begins with awakening to our true nature - to our own fundamental being. This process liberates ourselves from mental constructs, and egoic conditionings and limitations, and ultimately from suffering. The view of reality, as expressed and explained here, serves as a foundation that nurtures and sustains this transformative process. Only then, awakening can open the door to liberation, which means to freedom, and to the full enjoyment of life.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

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The Nature of Reality with Shamil Chandaria Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

In this week's episode, we welcome Dr. Shamil Chandaria, a philanthropist, entrepreneur, technologist, and academic with interdisciplinary research interests spanning computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and the philosophy and science of human wellbeing. His PhD from the London School of Economics focused on the mathematical modeling of economic systems, and he later earned an MA in philosophy from University College London. Here, he developed an interest in the philosophy of science and explored philosophical issues in biology, neuroscience, and ethics. In 2018, Shamil contributed to founding the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University—an interdisciplinary research center addressing humanity's most pressing issues. The following year, he co-founded the Centre for Psychedelic Research in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, which investigates psychedelic therapies for conditions like treatment-resistant depression. He has also supported research on the neuroscience of meditation at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. Shamil is not only a brilliant mind but also a person with a great, open heart, whose smile and enthusiasm are infectious. In our conversation, we discuss the intersections between spirituality, meditative practices, and neuroscience—how the latest brain science connects spiritual experiences with emerging understanding in the field. Shamil introduces the ‘free energy’ approach—a paradigm developed over the last 15 years in neuroscience, also known as predictive processing or active inference. We look into questions such as: Why does conscious experience exist at all? What is the brain's goal in experiencing? How do neurotransmitters function? What role does the self play? Why do we get to act as we do? How does this model interact with the tantric view of reality? And many more topics.

Read Ruben Laukkonen & Shamil Chandaria’s latest paper: A beautiful loop: An active inference theory of consciousness

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Near Enemies of the Truth: Interview by Ralph Cree Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, I was interviewed by Ralph Cree for his "Evolving Spiritual Practice” podcast. Ralph, a seasoned traveler with extensive studies in Central Asian and ancient Indian religions as well as the world’s shamanic traditions, also has a profound interest in psychedelics and entheogens. Our conversation explores the core themes of my latest book, "Near Enemies of the Truth," addressing spiritual misconceptions in contemporary culture and the nuanced truths they often obscure. This dialogue was recorded shortly after the book’s release last year.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Essence of Tantra, Chapter Five (Part Two) Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, we continue with the scriptural reading from Abhinavagupta's "Tantrasāra," specifically with the second part of Chapter Five, titled "Illumination of the Individual/Embodied Method (ānava-upāya)." Here the focus is on the practice of prāṇa-uccāra, the elevation of the life-force.

In this chapter, Abhinavagupta presents some esoteric teachings in the form of homologies, associations, between the five prāṇa-vāyus, the five cakras, the five (or six) stages of bliss, and the five mystical experiences that one can experience in these yogic processes. These associations are elucidated with clarity in this blogpost. The episode includes a guided meditation to illustrate how to engage with these teachings, offering a practical application.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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