Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

Exploring Vedanta and Vipassana practices, Ram Appalaraju discusses interfaith spirituality and his work as an eco-chaplain, honoring the dignity of all beings.
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This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Ram and Vincent discuss:
Encountering dukkha (suffering) on a day-to-day basis
Resourcing ourselves so that we can be a resource for others
Self-discovery and learning how to process our suffering
The yoga of meditation and cultivating the core aspect of inner growth
The sense of ease that comes from deepening our practice
Weaving together Vedanta and Vipassana practices
Fostering trust in our own experiences
Transitioning from a high-stress work environment to living a more spiritual life
Offering dignity to ourselves and others, no matter their circumstance
Ram’s work in prisons and offering compassionate, attentive care to others
How preconceived notions hinder us from truly connecting with and caring for people
“There’s a human sense of dignity that we can offer to another person and that can only happen when we have dignity within ourselves when we have a sense of acceptance of who we are.” –Ram Appalaraju
This conversation was originally recorded on the Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE.
About Ram Appalaraju:
Ram Appalaraju has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations for over eight years after retiring from the high-tech industry where he worked for 35 years. Ram has been studying Buddhism under Gil Fronsdal and is currently in the Insight Meditation Center’s Dharma Leaders Training. He also graduated as a chaplain and an eco-chaplain from the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. He now teaches as a faculty member at Sati Center’s Eco-Chaplaincy program and is one of the organizing team members at IMC’s Earth Care community group. He also serves as a Buddhist chaplain and Mindfulness Meditation teacher at Santa Clara County Jails and is currently pursuing Clinical Pastoral Education.
Ram has been practicing Buddhism for over 14 years and has engaged with several underprivileged and marginalized communities, teaching meditation and offering support. He is deeply committed to social and ecological causes and serves various groups in nature-based education through science and spirituality. He currently serves on the board of Insight Meditation Center at Redwood City and teaches at the San Jose Insight Meditation Sangha. Ram has also studied Vedanta at Sri Ramakrishna Mission and Chinmaya Mission for over 20 years.
Ram serves as president of Insight World Aid. For more information about Insight World Aid, please see HERE.
“My own capacity to care started to unfold. It is not just an external activity of me learning how to care for someone, that’s a byproduct. The intent is self-discovery: how did I process my own suffering and how and when it's relevant to engage with others who may be suffering for their own reasons.” –Ram Appalaraju
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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Vipassana teacher Trudy Goodman provides practical tools for staying present.
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This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Trudy Goodman explores:
Staying connected to the flow of the breath
The breath as our life-long companion and source of presence
The loneliness of thought and being caught in the trap of our own thinking
How the breath is our anchor and our teacher
Cultivating the power of the mind to focus
The pause at the end of a breath
Balancing our energies and moving through each breath with care
Stepping out of our familiar reactivity
Accepting this as they are so that we can let them go
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 episode was originally published on Dharmaseed
“All the ways of being mindful are ways that the Buddha asks us to be true to our own hearts and minds. Mindfulness is a form of honesty, of telling ourselves the truth of what is happening. It's showing us that when we're present with the breath, the breath is not just our companion, it's our dharma friend, it's our teacher.” –Trudy Goodman
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Explaining how imagination creates both beauty and suffering, Gil Fronsdal offers a skillful way to tap into inspiration without becoming lost in a dream.
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This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal dives into:
The poem “Thursday” by William Carlos Williams
Transformation through presence during mundane experiences
Dreaming as an important part of being human
How the imagination helps to create connections
The Zen principle of present moment awareness
Allowing reality to move through the world of our imagination
Not becoming lost or stuck in a dream
The Buddha as a man of tremendous imagination
Imagining the possibility of being freed from suffering
This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed
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.
“Dreaming, I think, is a very important part of being a human being. The imagination that can imagine possibilities, potential, that can create wonderful connections between things.” –Gil Fronsdal
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With embodied loving awareness, Dr. Sará King invites us into ancestral intelligence, shadow healing, and remembering our living connection to our lineage.
This recording is from our 2nd Annual Ram Dass Legacy Summer Mountain Retreat in Boone, North Carolina. Keep up with upcoming retreats and events HERE.
This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Dr. Sará King explores:
Ancestral intelligence and the collective nervous system as an interdependent web of being
The concept of ‘Beloved Community’ and what it feels like to embody loving awareness
Meeting the pain, grief, and responsibility of climate change with compassion
Coming into contact with our shadows and healing our ancestral bloodline
Recognizing that our ancestors are truly present with us, guiding us in the here and now
Breathwork and grounding to reconnect with earth
Sending metta to those around us and to our ancestors
Shifting our neural connections and transforming our hearts through practice
Grab a copy of the book that Dr. King reads from: In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens
About Dr. Sará King:
Dr. Sará King is a Mother, a neuroscientist, political and learning scientist, medical anthropologist, social entrepreneur, public speaker, and certified yoga and meditation instructor. She is an internationally recognized thought leader in the interdisciplinary field that examines the relationship between complementary alternative medicine, social justice, art, and mindfulness from the perspective of neuroscience. Keep up with Dr. King on Instagram or HERE
“So many of us have lineages of complexity. I hold both ancestors who were oppressors as well as the oppressed inside of my body, so I can practice with this integration of loving presence and shadow every time that I connect to my embodiment.” –Dr. Sará King
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Exploring the connections between Bharata Natyam dance and zazen, Anusha Enryu Fernando helps listeners remember the joy of practice.
This conversation was originally recorded on the 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, Anusha and Vincent discuss:
Zen practice and doing full-body meditations
Bharata Natyam: a sacred and ancient dance that focuses on the mind-body connection
Paying attention to the body so intently that there is no space for thought
The non-abiding mind and continuing to move through human experience
Understanding the devotional gestures that are built into zen practice
Anusha’s profound experience learning Sanskrit for both ancient dance and studying the dharma
The most important vow: to really be alive in this life
Food preparations, making offerings, and connecting with the ancestors through food
How people get stuck on the first noble truth and forget that there is joy in practice
Check out The Great Vow Zen Monastery in Oregon and learn more about residencies, workshops, and more.
About Anusha Enryu Fernando:
Anusha Enryu Fernando was born in Sri Lanka to a Theravadin Buddhist family. Her grandparents founded the Vipassana Meditation Centre located in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1957. She began practicing Zen Meditation with Hogen and Chozen Roshi in 2007, and became a dharma holder in 2021. She holds a BA in Religious Studies, specializing in Buddhism and Hinduism from McGill University, and a Masters of Arts in Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia, specializing in Sanskrit. In her dissertation, she translated a Sanskrit poem of the life story of the Buddha, called the Padyacudamani. Enryu has been a teacher and performer of Bharata Natyam, a form of Indian Classical Dance, for the past thirty years and is the founder and Artistic Director of Shakti Dance Society. She has also been the book purchaser at Banyen Books and Sound, Vancouver’s iconic spiritual and metaphysical bookstore, for the past twenty-eight years. She is the mother of an adult daughter and lives with her husband, parents, and multiple furry friends in Vancouver, Canada. Read more about Anusha’s work in Shakti Dance HERE.
"Movement is a huge part of the experience of zazen. You're not sitting there like a fallen rock. The connecting with just the aliveness of that experience, that juicy, wonderful aliveness which is movement, is the practice.” –Anusha Enryu Fernando
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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