Author and nonviolence practitioner Kazu Haga explores why fierce vulnerability is a vital practice for inner and outer transformation.

Read an excerpt of Kazu’s book, Fierce Vulnerability, and purchase your own copy HERE.

This time on Mindrolling, Raghu and Kazu Haga chat about:

• Kazu’s difficult upbringing and how meeting Japanese Buddhist monastics transformed his life
• Combining social action and spirituality
• The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and addressing both inner violence of the spirit and outer systemic violence
• How an “us vs. them” worldview fuels division, suffering, and ecological destruction
• Healing childhood trauma and collective trauma by integrating the fractured parts of ourselves
• How getting vulnerable opens up our capacity to heal
• The Seven Fires Prophecies from the Anishinaabe people
• Rebuilding the world through spiritual practice rather than material accumulation
• Remembering that personal healing is inseparable from collective healing in an interdependent world
• Listening deeply and being comfortable with uncertainty

Check out the book Hospicing Modernity for more powerful insights on social action

About Kazu Haga:

Kazu Haga is a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice, a core member of the Ahimsa Collective and the Fierce Vulnerability Network. He is a Jam facilitator and author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm and Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging from Collapse. He works with incarcerated people, youth, and activists from around the country. He has over 25 years of experience in nonviolence and social change work. He is a resident of the Canticle Farm community on Lisjan Ohlone land, Oakland, CA, where he lives with his family. You can find out more about his work at www.kazuhaga.com.

“The work of nonviolence has to start by looking at the ways in which we hold internal violence of the spirit, that unhealed anger, hatred, resentment, delusion, as well as our unhealed traumas, and understanding how all of that is the source of external violence in the world. Yes we need the social movements, but if we’re not grounded in some sort of inner work and introspection a lot of the violence we want to change out there gets replicated in our own work, in our own communities.” –Kazu Haga

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Longtime friends David Silver and Raghu Markus discuss Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and the legacy of Dzogchen maintained by his four sons.

Grab a copy of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s memoirs, Blazing Splendor, for a deeper look into his magnificent life.

This time on Mindrolling, Raghu and David have a discussion about:

• The life and teachings of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, one of the greatest Dzogchen meditation masters of the 20th century
• Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s sons and how they continue to spread Dzogchen wisdom to the West
• Core principles of Dzogchen philosophy, including the nature of mind and nondual awareness
• Understanding cognitive emptiness and the illusion of a solid identity
• Why contemplating death and impermanence can be a path to liberation
• Working consciously with loss and mortality before the end of life
• Not falling into the trap of believing this life is permanent
• Viewing dreams and meditation as parallel practices for awakening
• The patience and discipline required to form new spiritual habits
• Living fully while recognizing the inevitability of death

Learn about dealing with the bardo of dying in the book In Love with the World by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche or hop into The Bardo Guidebook by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche

About David Silver:

David Silver is the former co-host of the Mindrolling podcast. He is a filmmaker and director, most recently coming out with Brilliant Disguise. Brilliant Disguise tells the unique story of a group of inspired Western spiritual seekers from the 60s, who in meeting the great American teacher, Ram Dass, followed him to India to meet his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, familiarly known as Maharaj-ji. Two days before he left his body, Maharaj-ji instructed K.C. Tewari to take care of the Westerners, which he did resolutely until the day he died in 1997. Silver’s #1 charting MGM/UA/Warners film, “The Compleat Beatles” is the critically acclaimed biopic movie about history’s most famous band. The term ‘rockumentary’ was first applied to this two-hour movie. Rolling Stone recently described the film as a “masterwork.” Silver’s Warner Brothers’ feature film, “No Nukes” also started the whole trend of music/activism feature documentaries.

“Urgyen and his sons and all Dzogchen people believe that dreaming is as important as meditating. Dreams are fluid, anything can happen in a dream. You can fly, you can walk through a wall. What Mingyur says is that is the perfect analogy for life itself; life is as fluid and as transparent as that dream, but we don’t know it because we think it’s solid because we can’t put our finger through our hand.” –David Silver

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In this music-filled re-release, Raghu Markus is joined by spiritual musician Jai Uttal to chat about opening our hearts through the magnitude of melodies.

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Let this new book be your guide, as Jack reveals how to navigate our human experience with wisdom and care. Inside you’ll find a beautiful collection of stories, inspiration for conflict resolution, and powerful teachings on healing, justice, and human kindness—anchored in the teachings of the Buddha and poetry from luminary voices like Mary Oliver. Click here to learn more!

In this episode, Raghu and Jai Uttal discuss:

• The formation of melodic structures and how music is as boundless as an ocean
• Letting go of the idea that we must master an instrument in order to create music
• Getting into the flow of devotional music and honoring God through our presence rather than perfection
• The friendship between Jai Uttal and Ram Dass and Jai’s journey to India
• The Baul’s of Bengal and mystical, spontaneous verse
• Jai’s single, Holy Mad Men, inspired by Bengali-style music
• More Bengali-influenced music by The Band
• The dotara, an Indian folk instrument Jai frequently uses
• Musical creation as the legacy of satsang and a path to continued connection

Check out Ali Akbar Khan to hear some classical Indian Ragas and the sarod instrument that Raghu and Jai discuss.

About Jai Uttal:

Jai Uttal is a Grammy-nominated sacred music composer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist. Having traveled extensively in India, he met many great saints and singers and Bhakti Yoga became his personal path. Jai has been leading, teaching, and performing kirtan around the world for nearly 50 years. He creates a safe environment for people to open their hearts and voices.

“Music is way more vast than any one human person can understand.” –Jai Uttal

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Anne Lamott, Raghu Markus, and RamDev reveal that letting go of how life should be opens the door to compassion, healing, and contentment with reality.

This Dharma Session was recorded at the December 2025 Ram Dass Open Your Heart in Paradise Retreat. Learn about upcoming community events HERE.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu, Anne, and RamDev hold a talk on:

• Standing in presence with change and impermanence
• Ram Dass’ eye-opening story of a farmer and his son
• How investing in that which changes leads to suffering
• Collective healing through all the grief in the world
• The negative emotions that arise when we resist change
• Creating an intimate, compassionate relationship with the sense of loss
• Anne’s experiences of radicalizing change in her own life
• Wise Hope: taking leaps of faith and hoping that things will work out as they should

About Anne Lamott:

Anne Lamott is the New York Times best-selling author of many books, including collections of essays, novels, and long-form non-fiction, including the classic writing manual Bird by Bird and child-rearing memoir Operating Instructions. In addition to being a novelist and nonfiction writer, Lamott is also a progressive political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher. Keep up with Anne on Instagram.

“It's very hard to be human here; it's scary. I feel like Cindy-Lou Who sometimes, like this tiny little being. ‘Be still my heart and wait without hope’–what I hope is that things will sort out the way they should for the common welfare.” - Anne Lamott

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

“When we’re in the heart, it gives us the possibility of being with grief and change in a way that leads to healing. There is a profoundly wonderful line by Rumi where he says ‘grief is the garden of compassion.” –RamDev

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Looking through a Jungian lens, Psychologist Dr. John Price and Raghu Markus have a discussion on the mechanics of awakening.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and John chat about:

• What we can learn from the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
• Jungian philosophy and creating balance within the psyche
• Attraction to the arts, music, and alternative ways of being
• Comparing youth and coming of age today versus in the past
• The growth and learning that happens through adversity
• Cultivating trust with those who are wounded
• Making compassionate response our default state, especially when dealing with children
• Leaving one’s culture to truly understand where we come from
• Various ways of cultivating non-ordinary states
• How society often stifles our experiences of mystical events
• The current psychedelic revolution and therapeutic utility of entheogens

Check out William Blake’s The Book of Urizen for a deep dive into mystical literature

“That’s obviously one’s religious and spiritual experience that is totally, uniquely yours. We know the definition of a mystical experience: it’s ineffable, it’s transitive, it’s a unitive experience. I’m willing to say that most of us have had these kinds of experiences, and yet because our culture doesn't support that world view, we write them off as what you can call the ‘nothing but’.” –Dr. John Price

About Dr. John Price:

Dr. John Price is a Jungian psychotherapist, co-founder of The Center for Healing Arts & Sciences, and host of The Sacred Speaks podcast. John’s journey from touring musician to single fatherhood reshaped his understanding of human transformation. John’s work bridges ancient wisdom with modern psychology—offering tools for shedding the adaptations that once saved us but now imprison us. Learn more about John’s offerings on his website.

“Jung would call this the inferior function given that I’m so feeling-oriented and intuitive. To actually get into the thinking and sensing function is something that I’m very much trying to counterbalance. That’s my inferior function. From his philosophical orientation, it’s a way to create wholeness where you counterbalance the one-sidedness of our psyche.” –Dr. John Price

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Celebrating the release of There Is No Other, a new book of teachings from Ram Dass’ lectures, Parvati Markus and Raghu Markus listen to and reflect on some of the material used in its creation.

This special episode of Mindrolling celebrates the new book, There Is No Other, a collection of teachings taken from Ram Dass’ lectures. In these times, Ram Dass’ teachings on wholeness and unity are more needed than ever.

• We begin with a clip of Ram Dass exploring the mindset of “us versus them.” Who exactly is us? Who is them? Raghu and Parvati reflect on how this clip is central to the theme of There Is No Other.
• The next clip features Ram Dass talking about the balance of heart and mind. Sharing a powerful real-life example, he explores how we cut ourselves off when we veil our hearts. Raghu and Parvati share how the book is about walking a path to harmony and wholeness.
• The third clip finds Ram Dass examining Ramana Maharshi’s concept of “God, Guru, Self,” and how we can begin to appreciate that the Spirit is everywhere. Parvati and Raghu discuss how Ram Dass’ new book speaks to this really important moment in our lives.
• We end with a brief clip of Ram Dass talking about the path of love. “Finally,” he says, “you become an environment, a vibratory rate…”

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

“So the mind, if it gets too strong, out of balance with the heart, shuts down all the information that the heart can give. It cuts you off from your wisdom, really. You don’t even see all the stuff. I mean, you and I are simultaneously existing on so many planes of reality, but because of the power of our minds, we keep limiting which realities are real, and the rest of it we either treat as error or we don’t even notice. It’s so deeply unconscious, we just don’t even notice all the rest of us, of ourselves.” – Ram Dass

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Raghu Markus and Psychoanalyst Dr. Jeffrey Rubin unpack how mindfulness, empathy, and self-understanding connect the worlds of Buddhism and Western therapy.

In this Mindrolling episode, Raghu and Dr. Rubin discuss:

• Jeffrey’s traditional upbringing and the unexpected spiritual experience he had during a basketball game
• Key parallels between Western psychotherapy and Buddhist wisdom
• How “hovering attention” and mindfulness support both therapists and clients
• Identifying pure presence in numerous activities, from chanting to sports and beyond
• The marriage of Buddha and Freud: moment-to-moment non-judgmental, non-interfering presence
• Why some Buddhist practitioners can be “one with experience” but struggle to articulate what that truly means
• Viewing our symptoms as beautiful gateways to transformation rather than obstacles
• Putting practice into everyday life and helping people truly live differently
• Empathetically understanding those we disagree with
• Becoming open to feedback and growth instead of shutting down new ideas
• The ways in which we maladaptively try to cure ourselves
• What real, sustainable transformation actually looks like in practice

Grab one of Jeffrey’s central works, Meditative Psychotherapy: The Marriage of East and West

About Dr. Jeffrey B. Rubin:

Dr. Rubin practices psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapy and teaches meditation in New York City and Bedford Hills, New York. Widely regarded as a leading integrator of the Western psychotherapeutic and Eastern meditative traditions, Dr. Rubin created Meditative Psychotherapy based on decades of study, teaching and helping people to flourish. Dr. Rubin is the author of six books and numerous publications. He has taught at universities, psychoanalytic institutes and Buddhist and yoga centers. Dr. Rubin lectures in the US and has given workshops at the UN, the Esalen Institute, the Open Center and the 92nd Street Y. His pioneering approach to psychotherapy and Buddhism has been featured in The New York Times Magazine.​ Sign up HERE for a workshop on self-transformation with Dr. Rubin

“I call it the marriage of Buddha and Freud. It’s any practice that cultivates moment-to-moment, non-judgmental, non-interfering presence. That can be qigong, prayer, or Sufi dancing. I don’t want the audience to think it has to be Buddhist; it can be many things. It just happens to be very well done in Buddhism. It’s any sincere path that will help you focus, concentrate, have more self-compassion and compassion for others.” –Dr. Jeffrey B. Rubin

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