In this episode, host Stephan Bodian and yoga teacher Billy Doyle draw on their training under the late Advaita master Jean Klein to explore how Hatha Yoga and body awareness intersect with Advaita Vedanta.

While conventional yoga often falls into a dualistic self-improvement trap, Klein’s unique “body approach” is intended to actively release the physical contractions that mirror the ego.

By tuning into the energetic "body of light" through non-interpretive listening, a practitioner can shift from conceptual thinking into a global spaciousness that dissolves the artificial boundaries between inside and outside and reveals the true listener behind all listening, the ultimate subject behind all objects.

To demonstrate this visceral portal to our essential nature, Billy guides a practical, seated energy meditation.

The episode concludes with reflections on the profound transmission of silence embodied by their late teacher and readings from Billy’s poetry celebrating the return to our nondual true nature.

For more information, visit https://stephanbodian.substack.com.

In this episode, host Stephan Bodian welcomes Tibetan Buddhist teacher Lama Palden Drolma to explore the interface of Vajrayana, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen.

Drawing on her extensive spiritual journey—including a pivotal encounter with Kalu Rinpoche that led to a rigorous three-year monastic retreat—Lama Palden reframes the traditional preparatory and progressive practices of Tibetan Buddhism as vital foundations for nondual realization. She explains that while direct realization paths like Mahamudra and Dzogchen are, as the term implies, directly accessible, the relative methodologies of Vajrayana are essential for dismantling deeply ingrained egoic habits, uncovering shadow material, and purifying karmic obstructions.

Ultimately, both teachers emphasize that true nondual awakening is a lifelong, endlessly deepening process that must be integrated, embodied, and humbled by everyday human challenges.

The dialogue culminates in the recognition of the ultimate unity of wisdom and compassion, framing the heart-opening practice of Tonglen not as a separate relative pursuit, but as a direct portal to experiencing reality as the process of love dynamically loving itself.

For more information, visit https://stephanbodian.substack.com.

In this episode, host Stephan Bodian welcomes Zen teacher Ryushin Marchaj to discuss the intersection of psychedelics, Zen meditation, and nondual awakening. Ryushin shares his personal spiritual trajectory, from childhood insight into the mystery of time and experience to over two decades in intense practice and teaching at Zen Mountain Monastery.

The conversation shifts to plant medicine and Ryushin’s more than a dozen years exploring ayahuasca, as he explains that he approaches it not to seek altered states, but to uncover a "non-altered", natural state of consciousness that mirrors the nondual essence of everyday reality. He frames ayahuasca as a radical non-human form of intelligence that demands absolute surrender and dismantles the egoic illusion of a voluntary "letting go" by instead requiring a deep relaxation into the present moment.

Ultimately, both teachers emphasize that spiritual realization—whether accessed through the rigorous discipline of Zen koans, deep meditation, or sacred medicines—is fundamentally about reclaiming our innate intimacy with the world to live in service and connection to all beings.

For more information, visit https://stephanbodian.substack.com.