Spirit Matters

Ann Gleig is a Professor of Religion and Cultural Studies at the University of Central Florida. Her research specialties include Buddhism in America and American spiritualities that draw on Buddhism and Hinduism. On a personal level she has practiced in the Insight and Tibetan Nyingma traditions of Buddhism and has been a student of the Diamond Approach for over two decades. She is author of American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity, which was published in  2019, the co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of American Buddhism from 2024, and the co-editor of the anthology Homegrown Gurus: From Hinduism in America to American Hinduism. Plus, two forthcoming books. One of them, co-authored with Amy Langenberg, is about sexual abuse in American Buddhism, which we talked about in this interview. The other, now available from the University of Georgia Press, is titled Talking About Cults: Abuse and the Study of New Religious Movements. We focused on that as well, along with related topics having mainly to do with sexual abuse in American spiritual circles and the most efficacious ways to understand it, confront it, and prevent it. NOTE: in the latter part of the interview there is a glitch in the recording. Ann is referring there to the fraternity house sex scandal at Cornell University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The prolific and provocative priest, Matthew Fox, returns to Spirit Matters to speak about two totally different but strangely relate new books. Fr. Fox earned a doctorate in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and was a priest in the Dominican order for more than 30 years before running into trouble with the Vatican. He subsequently became an Episcopal priest, renowned as an innovative theologian, author, and outspoken activist for social justice. His 44 books have been translated into other languages more than 70 times. Among them are Original Blessing; The Coming of the Cosmic Christ; One River, Many Wells; The Hidden Spirituality of Men; Christian Mystics; and The Pope’s War. His work has contributed a great deal to the modern rediscovery of the Christian mystical tradition and to a rethinking of Christian theology. As the founder of the University of Creation Spirituality in California, he has reinvented forms of education and worship. His Cosmic Mass, which mixes music, dance, and other contemporary art forms with the western liturgical tradition, has been celebrated more than 100 times in cities throughout North America.  He conducts dozens of workshops each year, serves as visiting scholar at the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe NM, and continues to turn out books. Here, we talk about two of them: The Beloved Will Guide You: St. John of the Cross and the Triple Dark Night of Our Times, and the provocatively titled Trump and the MAGA Movement as Antichrist. This conversation is not to be missed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dana Sawyer is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and World Religions at the Maine College of Art & Design and the author of biographies of both Aldous Huxley and Huston Smith. His primary expertise is in Hinduism and Buddhism but his work has focused on comparative mysticism, theories of the “perennial philosophy,” and the value of psychedelic experience in the study of mysticism. His most recent book is The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded, which we discussed on this show when it was released two years ago. We spoke about all the above and a lot more about life on the spiritual path. NOTE: If you’re going to be anywhere near Portland Maine on October 31, come to the workshop Dana and Phil are leading together. Details and registration here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode's guest is Michael Schauch . Michael is an alpinist—meaning he climbs high mountains—and an award-winning author who, in his words, “lives to explore the depths of nature and the human spirit and share the beauty of connection he discovers along the way.”A resident of Canada—specifically the mountains of British Columbia—he is a world-traveler and explorer and a Buddhist practitioner who has, for fifteen years, served as a mentor and supporter of Tibetan Buddhist youth in Kathmandu, Nepal, and to young members of his local community in Canada. He also holds an MBA from Queens University and is a member of the Explorers Club—probably a combination you don’t find very often.He has been published in numerous magazines and his books have been praised by reviewers and well-known spiritual leaders. Those books include A Story of Karma: Finding Love and Truth in the Lost valley of the Himalaya and his new release, Anatta: Heart of Wisdom, which is mainly what we spoke about in this conversation. We touched on a range of topics, including the spiritual value of time in nature, why he says "The way to resolve conflicts with others is to first resolve conflicts within ourselves," and why he quotes his friend, who said, "Those moving about in crazy ways only appear to be crazy until you can hear the music." You'll find much to draw upon moving forward. Learn more about Michael here:  www.michaelschauch.com. NOTE: We recorded this episode before the devastating floods that destroyed parts of Nepal and the lives of many Nepalese and pilgrims. I wish we could have discussed the tragedy.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mirabai Starr returns for her third visit to Spirit Matters. Mirabai is an award-winning author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught philosophy and world religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. I first became aware of Mirabai because of her books about – and translations of – some of the pre-eminent Christian mystics—John of the Cross, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila—and later interviewed her about her other excellent books, such as Wild Mercy, which is about female mystics from different traditions, Caravan of No Despair, which is about her own heart-wrenching loss and the transformation that can come from grief, a subject she’s helped a great many people deal with in workshops and online programs, and Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground. She’s back now with a revised and expanded edition of her 2012 book, God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As always with Mirabai, the conversation offers much to learn and much to feel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices