Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and lived experience, Matt Zeemon discusses the power of psychedelics for quieting the ego, rekindling love, facing pain, and opening the heart.

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This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Matt Zeemon explores:

• Psychedelics as catalysts for healing, not cures
• Matt’s first psychedelic experience and reconnecting with his mother
• Western psychological medicine as a bandaid approach versus working to find the root cause
• Breaking repetitive thinking patterns ourselves
• Uncovering what relative risk means
• The mental health crisis in our country, especially among veterans
• How we all have psychedelic usage within our lineage
• The social politics of psychedelic substances
• Ways to create safe, sacred space for yourself and others on their journeys
• What it truly means to walk each other home

About Matt Zeemon:

Matt Zemon, MSc, is a best-selling author and thought leader at the intersection of psychedelics, science, and spiritual experience. With a Master’s in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health, he blends modern research with timeless wisdom to support safe, intentional psychedelic use. Inspired by teachers like Ram Dass, Matt’s work empowers spiritual seekers, veterans, and others on the path of healing and transformation. Learn more about Matt on his website.

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.

“With these medicines, we have the real ability to heal ourselves. It’s not that the medicines did it, it’s that we rewrote our own stories. We are the medicine when we use psychedelics and entheogens. They don’t bring back people we’ve lost, they don’t change the past, they bring it close where we can look at it, discover it, understand it, and decide how to make more of our present. That’s why psychedelics are catalysts and not cures.” –Matt Zeemon

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Offering listeners a way to live life fully, Trudy Goodman explores how to overcome the brain's negative bias by inclining the mind toward appreciation.

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, Trudy Goodman gives a lecture on:

• The mind’s tendency to view things negatively
• How evolutionary wiring shapes what we notice and what we miss
• A powerful teaching from loved ones at the end of life: do all things with joy
• Remembering that our heart is inclined toward that which we pay attention to
• How micro-moments of mindfulness accumulate into lasting transformation
• Building new neural pathways through steady, repeated practice
• Living fully with both joy and difficulty instead of moving into denial
• Ensuring that we do not overlook that which will grow our spiritual wealth
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• Realizing that both our feelings about a situation and the situation itself do not really matter
• Why the Buddha wanted us to look deeply at our suffering and to question it
• Taking in the goodness of your very own being

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.

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

“This took me so long to understand in my practice: that what I think about what’s happening doesn’t matter. Actually, what’s happening doesn’t even matter. All that matters is do we know it? Can we be with it without being hard on ourselves, shaming ourselves, blaming somebody else? All that matters is our quality of attention to it.” –Trudy Goodman

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Connecting to the timelessness of the present moment, Gil Fronsdal offers practical steps towards the only source of true happiness: contentment.

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 explores:

• Seeing the timeless present through photographs
• Enjoying the preciousness of our limited time here on earth
• How corporate, capitalist America prefers people who are discontent
• What the Buddha said about the vital importance of contentment
• How many desires often dissipate on their own if you ride them out
• The ways in which desire alienates us from ourselves
• The embodied quality of contentment and being in touch with ourselves
• Freedom in the Buddhist sense: freedom ‘from’ rather than freedom ‘to do’
• Cultivating contentment by valuing it and seeing it as an important part of life
• Activities which encourage contentment versus remaining frantic
• Facing discontentment head-on so that it does not drive us

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.

“Contentment is a falling away of anxiety, restlessness, reaching forward, fear, being fragmented, and disconnected. It is a kind of settling. If we’re driven by desires, fears, preoccupations, or fantasies, often our energy, our center of attention, is upwelling in an unhealthy way. As we are contented, we feel the settling down, settling down into the center of gravity.” –Gil Fronsdal

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. 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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Uncovering the deep connection between Buddhism and Martial Arts, Damiano Seiryū Finizio joins Vincent Moore to explore what it truly means to face our most powerful opponent: the mind.

This conversation was originally recorded on Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE.

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, Damiano and Vincent discuss:

• What initially brought Damiano to Buddhism after growing up in Italy, a predominantly Catholic country
• How Buddhism can be harmonious with martial arts
• Working on self-development and mutual growth rather than sparring
• Maintaining perfect mental presence during times of physical discomfort
• Following the Buddhist precepts and adopting a vegan diet for the principal of no-harm
• Mountains as natural energy centers
• Damiano’s global work and exposure to unique cultures in Vietnam, Cambodia, The Canary Islands, and more
• Bringing the message of peace, awareness, and compassion into the west
• Damiano’s advice for beginners walking the Buddhist path

About Damiano Seiryū Finizio:

Damiano Finizio was born in Italy in 1992. He began practicing traditional Japanese martial arts in 2012, where he met the Buddhist monk Seiun, who transformed his curiosity for Eastern disciplines and philosophies into dedicated practice. In 2014, he officially took refuge in the Dharma at Tenryuzanji Temple, receiving the name Seiryu, symbolizing his deep bond with his teacher and the temple. Since 2020, he has been living and working in Spain as a hostel owner, while also working seasonally in Italy and Croatia as a trip leader during the warmer months. Despite his commitments, he remains an active member of the Tenryuzanji community and continues to participate in its activities whenever possible.For more information about Tenryuzanji Temple, please click HERE. To keep up with Damiano, visit his Instagram.

“The advice is don’t do it yourself. It’s very likely to happen that you’re trying to tame your mind, but if you don’t know how to do it, most likely your mind will tame you and make you feel like you’re moving forward, but you’re just looking for comfort. This is why a teacher is important.“ –Damiano Seiryū Finizio

About Vincent Moore:

Vincent Moore is a creative and creative consultant living in San Francisco, California, with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and holds a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies. For years, he performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improv and sketch comedy theatre based in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor, Vincent performed on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Above Average, and The UCB Show on Seeso. As a writer, he developed for television as well as stage, including work with the Blue Man Group, and his own written projects have been featured on websites such as Funny or Die. Additionally, he received a Masters of Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies and engages in a personal Buddhist practice within the Soto Zen tradition. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. Learn more on Vincent’s website HERE.

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Founder of Fireside Project, Joshua White, reflects on becoming a ‘loving rock’ and how Ram Dass’s teachings sparked his creation of a psychedelic peer support line.

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, Joshua White outlines:

• How Joshua grew up feeling alienated from his Jewish roots
• The realization that we truly can just be observers of our own thoughts
• The inner knowing that there is more to this world
• Service as the highest form of psychedelic integration
• Being a ‘loving-rock’ for people in a psychedelic experience
• Becoming an environment in which someone can come up for air
• Connecting with our sense of ‘enoughness’ rather than brokenness
• Active listening and simply showing up for another person as a loving witness
• Welcoming all emotions and not referring to any as ‘wrong’

About Joshua White:

Joshua (he/him) is Fireside Project’s founder, the world's first psychedelic peer support line. He is a lawyer, peer support advocate, and psychedelic researcher who believes in the power of peer support and the role of support lines as foundational components of an equitable mental-health ecosystem.

Prior to founding Fireside Project, Joshua volunteered for many years as a counselor on Safe & Sound’s TALK Line and a psychedelic peer support provider for the Zendo Project.

Before devoting his life to the psychedelic field, Joshua spent more than a decade as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he focused on suing businesses exploiting vulnerable communities, serving as general counsel to City departments, and co-teaching a nationally renowned clinic at Yale Law School. He also clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and practiced civil litigation at Conrad | Metlitzky | Kane.

“Ram Dass’s experience encountering Maharaj-ji and having these magical experiences with him and all of the impact LSD and other psychedelics had on him, really showed me that these substances could be responsible tools for profound inner work.” –Joshua White

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.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Buddhist teacher David Nichtern explains that making friends with the mind and internal world is the first step to relating better with the people around us.

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.

LIVE from the 2024 Ram Dass Summer Mountain Retreat, David Nichtern explores:

• How our minds shape the reality we experience and perceive
• The importance of positive mantra versus focusing on negativity
• Taking comfort and refuge within our own minds
• Understanding restless, “hot” boredom versus calm, “cool” boredom
• Musical examples for how we relate to one another
• The bridge between the everyday world and the internal, spiritual experience
• Mental patterns that destabilize us and hinder resilience
• Becoming open to our environment during mindfulness meditation

“Mindfulness meditation would be good because you’re developing patience and familiarity with yourself that’s accepting, not rejecting. It is, in a way, making love to yourself. It’s being intimate with yourself; it’s just you and your mind. You develop a kind of willingness to be where you are.” –David Nichtern

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.

“If you examine the self-talk, the narrative dialing through our minds, there’s a lot of criticism, harshness towards our selves and others. We start with kindness and gentleness, that’s it, if you can’t get anywhere else, that’s really a good place.” –David Nichtern

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Vipassana teacher Trudy Goodman explores how trusting in the dharma and in ourselves leads to a more peaceful, present life.

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, Trudy Goodman gives a lecture on:

• The dharma as our reliable refuge
• Trusting the simple process of being alive
• Offering metta (loving-kindness) to ourselves and others
• Practicing mudita, aka, taking joy in the joy of others
• How the principle of sila (ethical conduct) protected the Buddha from his demons
• What to do when we are swayed by temptation
• Concerning ourselves only with what our minds are doing in this very minute
• Living in the way instead of worrying about a result
• Making each thing we do the most important thing in the world
• Using our karma instead of being used by it

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.

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

“Trust yourself then, to this simple process of being alive, letting go of all elaborations and returning to the body, the breath, step by step, moment by moment, just returning to this simple basic fundamental fact of our own aliveness—our embodied being.” –Trudy Goodman

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.