The ZDoggMD Show

A spontaneous conversation between two friends walking the path together. Why 'you're already awake' can be harmful, the impossibility of bypassing the hard painful work, K-Pop Demon Hunters as dharma transmission, and much more. Full video here. Simon Brown's YouTube channel is here and his free Substack is here. Here's our earlier podcast on trauma. And here's our prior talk on compassion. Video archive, audio podcast, music, Supporter Tribe membership, email & more. Support us with a 1-time donation. More about Zubin. 0:00 Introduction - Spiritual Friendship Across the Atlantic 2:22 "You're One of the Dearest People I Turn To" 4:00 The Mind Creates the Abyss, The Heart Crosses It 5:00 The Relational Intimacy That's More Than Its Parts 7:00 Hell Is Other People vs. Recognition of Non-Separation 10:00 Opening the Clown Chakra (Becoming Baba Z-Dogg) 12:00 Why Ram Dass Makes You Cry Instantly 16:00 Alan Watts AI Warnings 18:00 Ram Dass's Journey from Harvard to Surrender 20:00 "He Can See All of Me and Still Loves Me" 23:00 Ram Dass's Decades of Practice (Not Just Surrender) 25:00 "Everything's Already Awake" - Why This Message Can Make People Sick 28:00 Unbearable Compassion and Meeting People Where They Are 33:00 Delusion as Seeing Incorrectly What's Actually Here 35:00 The Problem with One-and-Done Awakening 38:00 "You're Going to Die. Everyone You Know Will Die" 41:00 Ram Dass Holding Hands of Strangers as They Die 44:00 Only Sensible Response Is Compassion 47:00 Turn Towards the Unconditioned/Deathless 52:00 Society's Duality and Taking Sides 57:00 The Pure Freedom Beyond Conditions 1:00:00 Play, Spontaneity, and Shame 1:03:40 The Goldfish Bowl Story - How Play Gets Beaten Out 1:07:00 "This Really Hurt and I Love You" 1:09:00 The Trance of Unworthiness We All Inherit 1:13:34 K-Pop Demon Hunters as Liberation Teaching 1:16:00 Barbie Movie and Repressed Emotion 1:18:00 Perfect Days - Liberation Through Cleaning Toilets 1:21:00 "It's a Wonderful Life" and the Universal Heart 1:24:00 What's Gone That You Don't Notice 1:27:00 Taking the Exquisite Risk of Vulnerability 1:28:40 "Pee Here Now" - The Non-Dual Amusement Park Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We healthcare people love accomplishment, competition, clear instructions, and maps—which can make the awakening process feel like straight TORTURE 😂 From YouTube LIVE. 00:00 - Introduction: The Comparing Mind in Healthcare 01:37 - Bringing Your Own Folding Chair to Kiss God's Ass 03:06 - The Millisecond of Clarity vs. Macro Seconds of Ego 04:12 - You Can't Do Any of This Wrong 05:27 - 3 Levels: Gross Reality, Witness Consciousness, Absolute 08:22 - 3 Schools: Ram Das Work, Dogen Zen, Neo-Advaita 13:10 - All Three Approaches Have Their Place 16:08 - Nisargadatta: "I Am That" and the Absolute 19:07 - You Cannot Fuck This Up (The Perfection of Unfolding) 23:10 - Mind as Fabrication Machine: How Insights Recondition 29:50 - Spiritual Bypass: Go Ahead and Try It 36:47 - The Well of Grief: Drowning to Find Gold Coins 41:00 - Complex PTSD and Mismatched Jigsaw Mind 47:07 - Despair and Depression as a Stop Along the Way 53:23 - Extrasensory Powers, Dreams, and Karma 1:00:10 - Dreams Show You Have No Control 1:04:28 - The Paradox of Effort: Effortless vs. Mindfulness Practice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An intimate Christmas Eve morning livestream exploring what we're really celebrating: heart-based amazement and love as the pervasive fabric of reality, not some Hallmark conception. We discuss sitting in the unknown without the constant churn of thought creating expectation, how an itch evolved from meditative deconstruction to just allowing what is, and why all religions—Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism—point at the same unsayable thing through different words. Includes reflections on Jesus's teachings about unconditional love and kingdom of heaven, Adyashanti's "Resurrecting Jesus," my grandfather's journey from atheism to experiencing God as absolute magic, and why free will versus determinism is neither/both/doesn't ultimately matter when you're here now. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Timecodes and topics: 00:00 - Introduction: Christmas Eve Live 00:36 - What We're Celebrating: Heart-Based Amazement 01:31 - Love: Human Conception vs. Pervasive Fabric of Reality 03:05 - Working Holidays as a Hospital Doctor 05:44 - Sitting in the Unknown Without Expectation 11:24 - How Do You Stay in the Unknown? 14:16 - Being Itchy: From Deconstruction to Just Allowing 17:04 - Societal Constructs: Taking Sincerely, Not Seriously 19:04 - Religions Pointing at the Same Thing 22:43 - Jesus: Unconditional Love and Kingdom of Heaven 25:49 - Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti 27:18 - My Grandfather in India: From Atheist to "God is Real" 29:43 - Free Will, Determinism, or Neither and Both 32:28 - Kingdom of Heaven Spread Upon the Earth 35:07 - Closing: Stay in the Presence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From our Saturday night YouTube live conversation. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live conversation with Eshwar Segobind. We talk about why love skeptics become love advocates, the trauma response that becomes 'you,' why babies cry at birth (cosmic joke alert), and the nature of the clown chakra. Plus: there's a lot of duality in non-duality 😉 Our previous conversation is here. https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd for all the things. 00:00 Opening - The Creator and Clown Chakras 02:05 "There's a Lot of Duality in Non-Duality" 04:10 The Love Skeptic's Journey 07:00 Emptying to Be Filled with Love 10:00 The Child and the Immune Response 14:00 Seeing Love Everywhere 17:00 The Realest Fake Thing That Never Was 21:00 Trauma Response as the Self 28:00 Why Zubin Became ZDoggMD (Protection Mechanism) 30:14 "We're Already Dead - Now What?" 33:00 Devotion and True Prostration 39:00 The Cosmic Joke of Rebirth (Baby's First Cry) 42:00 Best Birth Buddies and Spiritual Gurus 45:00 Shadow Work Can't Be Avoided 49:00 The Child Calling You Home 56:00 Kathy Nails It: "Zubin is the Original Child" 1:00:00 Grocery Store Analogy and Payment Due 1:05:00 Buddhism and the Seeker's Problem 1:11:00 Everything Points Back to Love 1:17:00 Nihilism to Fullness Journey 1:23:00 The Projection Game 1:30:00 Depersonalization 1:36:00 2D Vision and Sensory Experiences 1:42:00 Two Nuts in a Sack (Closing) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A spontaneous live conversation about discovering an AI tool that pulls clips from long videos—creating decontextualized shorts that make me sound like an asshole, which is exactly what the algorithm wants. We explore why Buddhist stories ultimately don't matter, how the spiritual circus is just the next level of illusion, the whole "suffering is optional" nonsense, the raft metaphor and spiritual bypass, non-dual therapy and somatic experiencing, DMT as serious business that's also nothing, and the massive relief when awakening itself—the last belief—finally drops. 00:00 - Introduction: Going Live on a Whim 00:39 - "Asian Intelligence "and AI Discovery 01:23 - Discovering Vizard.ai for Clip Generation 02:04 - The Problem with Decontextualized Shorts 02:50 - Tich Nhat Hanh Quote and Dependent Origination 03:38 - Why These Shorts Make Me Sound Like an Asshole 04:24 - Feeding the Algorithm Beast 05:09 - Mental Masturbation and Going Live as Therapy 06:04 - Mountains Are Mountains: Why Stories Don't Matter 07:23 - The Spiritual Circus vs. The Regular Circus 08:43 - Psych Patients and Meaninglessness 09:49 - Suffering is Optional? Shut the Fuck Up 11:03 - Knowledge Acquisition and Adyashanti's Wall 12:03 - Psychedelics Discussion with Kids 12:52 - The Raft Metaphor and Spiritual Bypass 14:52 - Trust and Verify: Teachers Who Build Rafts 16:44 - DMT as Serious Business and Nothing 18:20 - How to Feel the Love Pouring from Awareness 20:33 - The Mystery of the Appearance 21:48 - Non-Dual Therapy: The Ultimate Paradox 24:30 - Somatic Experiencing and Bliss Sessions 25:22 - Radical Acceptance vs. Self-Love 27:04 - Watching Non-Duality Videos: "What's This Clown Saying?" 28:26 - The Orchestra Concert and Family Life 28:49 - Awakening: The Last Belief to Drop 29:41 - Closing: My Beloved, Peace Out, Only Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, make dinner for your kids and have them complain about it 😉 From my Friday Night LIVE show on YouTube. Here's a link to all the things. 00:00 Why Friday Night Zen Live? 01:13 The Adolescent Phase of Selfing/Not-Selfing 02:27 Alternating Between Self and Empty Radiance 05:04 Suffering and Core Unworthiness 10:03 Why Therapy's "Reframing" Misses the Point 14:00 Living in Story Land (Trump, Veganism, and Meaning) 17:20 Everything Driven by Unworthiness 22:21 Time Is a Story - This Has Always Been 26:04 Attachment to Outcomes and the Separate Self 30:14 The Primary Human Operating System: Unworthiness 35:31 What About Love? 41:03 On Medicine and Health 3.0 49:33 The Compulsion to Make Videos for No One 52:02 "After Awakening" - The Mind's Favorite Story 57:13 The 5-MeO-DMT Revelation: "It's Just This" 1:01:02 Privilege, Causation, and Different Gates 1:05:12 The Weather Pattern of Seeking 1:09:24 Music as Pure Emotion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spend our entire lives pretending to be something we think we really are—until one day the mask slips. In this live Facebook conversation we explore what happens when identity unravels, how negative self-talk might simply vanish, and how the body keeps the score even when the mind lets go. From Shakespeare's stage to the Bahiya Sutta, from catastrophic thinking to kundalini energy, we examine the deepest taboo in the human collective: that we might not be what we think we are. ALSO: f**k Halloween! 😭🎃 Video, blog post summary, and ways to join the Supporter Tribe here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Chapters and timecodes: 00:00 - Halloween Childhood Trauma 01:45 - The Human Costume: Living Behind the Mask 04:12 - When Identities Start to Unravel 07:18 - The Peace That Passes All Understanding 09:17 - Why Words Can't Capture "Reality" 10:52 - Shakespeare's Stage: All the World's a Play 13:43 - Belief in Thoughts as the Root of Suffering 16:48 - Beginnings and Endings Have No Middle 18:01 - Dread as a Self Knowing Texture 21:39 - Longchenpa: "One May Well Burst Out in Laughter" 23:05 - Catastrophic Thinking and Email Anxiety 25:29 - Can We Control Our Minds? The Illusion of Choice 28:28 - The Disappearance of Negative Self-Talk 31:00 - No Positive Self-Talk Either: Beyond Good and Bad 33:00 - Trauma, the Body Keeps the Score 35:27 - Kundalini Energy and Awakening Experiences 39:00 - Tai Chi in Flushing, Queens Botanical Gardens 42:00 - Yoga, Weight Loss, and Letting the Body Be 46:42 - We Are Everything: Control and Influence 48:10 - The Descriptive-Prescriptive Fallacy 52:04 - The Bahiya Sutta: "In the Seen, Merely the Seen" 57:16 - Thoughts Are Just Bird Songs 58:26 - Gratitude for Co-Creating This Space 01:00:12 - Two Types of Acceptance: Mind vs. Innate Reality 01:03:09 - Closing Thoughts and How To Support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On what would have been my father’s 86th birthday, I found myself reflecting not just on loss, but on the nature of belief itself—and how our attachments to ideas can become the very weapons that tear us apart. Originally from a conversation I had on Facebook live. Watch the video and read a summary here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of The ZDoggMD Show was recorded in front of a live studio audience...on Facebook. Which is always a little bit of magic 🪄 What happens when the appearance that seems to construct our sense of self, our sense of the one who EXPERIENCES experience...just stops? A (previously) live interactive exploration of what's left when YOU leave (listen to find out what the hell that means 😂). Full video with a great AI summary of everything covered, click here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Topics and chapters: 00:00 - Introduction: What is Freefall? 01:47 - Pure Experience and Centerless Wonder 03:15 - Flow States and the Dropping of "Me" 04:50 - The Spirituality Story Problem 06:38 - Speaking from Silence 08:29 - The Illusion of Self and Awakening 10:03 - When the "Me" Starts to Crack 14:23 - The Impossibility of Words 16:05 - Direct Experience vs. Conceptual Knowledge 18:04 - Birds Birding, Trees Treeing 21:06 - Problems with "Aware Space" Concepts 24:42 - Criticizing Spiritual Teachers and Concepts 27:11 - The Perfection of What Is 28:25 - Questions About Existence and Determinism 30:14 - Aging and Letting Go 32:40 - The Jupiter Storm Metaphor 34:18 - The Great Defeat: Personal Story 39:04 - Free Will vs. Determinism Discussion 41:14 - Exhaustion as Your Best Friend 44:00 - Life Without "Me" 46:06 - The Spiritual Seeking Trap 49:33 - Rick and Morty References and Mr. MeSeeks 52:31 - Final Thoughts and Closing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the threads of awakening drop and spirituality itself falls away, what's left? Peep our earlier introduction interview on the Multidharma Threads model ⁠here on YouTube⁠ or ⁠here on Apple Podcasts⁠. And a deeper dive into each thread here. ⁠⁠Dr. Pierce Salguero⁠⁠ has studied spirituality through decades of practice and scholarship, specializing in hathayoga, meditation, shamanic rituals, spirit healing, Thai medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. He is now a professor researching Asian history, religions, and healing traditions. His Multidharma framework distills the lessons from a lifetime of exploration of spirituality, providing a novel framework for modern seekers. Here's a⁠⁠ deep dive into the Multidharma Threads model⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Pierce's books and more⁠⁠. ⁠Pierce's newsletter to get notified when his full-length Threads book drops.⁠ ⁠And here's a link to zoom meetups that discuss the Threads model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kogen is a Zen priest in the Soto tradition, in the lineage of Tangen Harada Roshi. Find his books, retreats, and more here and follow him on YouTube here. In this conversation we talk about Kogen's Japanese Zen monastic background, the intersection of traditional monasticism and modern spiritual practices, the differences between early Chinese and later Japanese Zen, the format of the student-teacher relationship in Zen, monk life in a Japanese monastery, interpersonal dynamics among monks, the difference between spirituality and dogmatic religion, a deep pointing to non-separation as a relief for human suffering, the need for multimodal modern support for issues such as trauma in spiritual settings, two fantastic books Kogen has translated/edited, and much more. Watch the video here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A deep dive into the core experiential threads that might arise during spiritual awakening, ultimately unique to each human. Peep our earlier introduction interview on the Multidharma Threads model here on YouTube or here on Apple Podcasts. ⁠Dr. Pierce Salguero⁠ has studied spirituality through decades of practice and scholarship, specializing in hathayoga, meditation, shamanic rituals, spirit healing, Thai medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. He is now a professor researching Asian history, religions, and healing traditions. His Multidharma framework distills the lessons from a lifetime of exploration of spirituality, providing a novel framework for modern seekers. Here's a⁠ deep dive into the Multidharma Threads model⁠⁠. ⁠ ⁠Pierce's books and more⁠. Pierce's newsletter to get notified when his full-length Threads book drops. And here's a link to zoom meetups that discuss the Threads model. Two resources Pierce mentioned for spiritual emergencies/crises: Cheetah House Spiritual Emergence Network Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠⁠ Timecodes and Topics: 0:00 - Intro 0:05 - Recap of prior Threads discussion, psychiatric vs. spiritual crises 20:45 - The Emptiness Thread: Experiences, practices, pitfalls, integration & release 1:03:29 - The Unity Thread: Experiences, practices, integration & release 1:30:13 The non-dual endpoint of all the Threads 1:35:15 The Energy Thread: Experiences, practices, integration & release 2:09:36 - The Psyche Thread: Experiences, practices, pitfalls, integration & release 2:54:23 Integration and release of all the threads 3:04:46 Spiritual emergency or crisis vs. psychiatric & resources to help Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's the new Facebook "Awakening Stuff" channel. Here's the unlisted YouTube video for this show. Here's where you can join our Supporter Tribe to participate in Zoom meetings on this stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When our cherished beliefs painfully fall away, we're left squarely in the unknown and the unknowable...which is pure freedom itself 🔥 Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this live episode of Sunday Zen, we dive deep into the themes of trust, surrender, and the Threads of Awakening model introduced by Dr. Pierce Salguero. I've been reflecting on how traditional spiritual models can leave us feeling lost, stuck, or even scared, and how Pierce's approach offers a more inclusive framework that resonates with my own experiences. We share insights on the different threads—emptiness, energy, unity, and psyche—and how they manifest in our lives. We discuss the challenges of spiritual ego, which I've grappled with myself, and discuss the role of psychedelics in opening new pathways of understanding. And we touch on the importance of embracing the unknown as the true entry point to the nature of reality. General topic list: Trust, surrender, and the Threads of Awakening model by Dr. Pierce Salguero Critique of traditional spiritual models and their limitations Overview of the Threads of Awakening: emptiness, energy, unity, and psyche Correlation of different practices with specific threads The concept of trust and surrender in spiritual awakening The illusion of control and the orchestration of life Personal reflections on spiritual ego and its challenges The role of psychedelics in spiritual experiences and awakening Embracing the unknown and the nature of reality The integration and release of spiritual threads Personal experiences with fear and health challenges Reflections on retirement and identity loss The impact of spiritual teachings and teachers The role of community and religious services in spiritual growth The significance of heart-centered practices and connecting with others The influence of spiritual traditions and identities, such as veganism Reflections on personal spiritual journey and insights The importance of radical honesty and self-awareness The concept of non-doership and its implications Personal anecdotes and experiences related to spiritual growth Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many, traditional spiritual frameworks leave us feeling alienated and invalidated, firing up the engine of fear and seeking when our own experiences don't fit their mold. Multidharma is a new map that drops "stages of awakening" and instead recognizes multiple threads that might unfold—such as emptiness, oneness, energy, and psyche—providing a more inclusive space for the vast diversity of human experience. Dr. Pierce Salguero has studied spirituality through decades of practice and scholarship, specializing in hathayoga, meditation, shamanic rituals, spirit healing, Thai medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. He is now a professor researching Asian history, religions, and healing traditions. His Multidharma framework distills the lessons from a lifetime of exploration of spirituality, providing a novel framework for modern seekers. Here's a deep dive into the Multidharma Threads model. Pierce's books and more. Timecodes and topics: 0:00 Intro 0:55 Why Multidharma Threads awakening model was needed 22:21 What is awakening, intro to “emptiness” and “oneness” Threads 47:33 The “energy” Thread 1:00:31 The “psyche” Thread 1:23:33 The hero archetypes of each Thread and spiritual perfectionism 1:27:37 Guiding inquiry questions for each Thread 1:34:04 Braiding of the Threads 1:40:18 Integration of the Threads 1:50:56 Thread release and the Autopilot Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humans are gonna human, bro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chop wood, carry water 😉 Full video here. Contact form, videos, Supporter Tribe and more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At what point does spirituality eat its own tail? Full video here. Contact form, videos, Supporter Tribe and more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices