Curious Bodhi

What does the world need right now?! A "Bhakti Revival"! This is my new ambitious and REAL LIFE project (ie, not online), based right here in Portugal, where I am happily hosting live kirtan dancing and musical jam sessions in the near future. Please see my full dance performance at www.curiousbodhipodcast.com. Let's bring God back to life and to each other with limitless expressions of love and joy! Jai, jai, jai!

In this episode, we tackle the "problem" of whether we are truly infinite beings! Get ready for a philosophical and uplifting talk on how we can expand... and expand... and expand... Rodrigo and I 'argue' that we are completely infinite and that there are millions of ways to do a million things... and that no perspective in particular is right or wrong. We human beings limit ourselves based firstly on our parents' projections, then on our cultural upbringings and systems of thought (such as capitalism or communism) and believe that we are separate egos instead of the sea of love and bliss that we are. Because we are individuals, which is the beauty of life and of nature, this indivi-duality creates an unlimited scope for unlimited possibilities. If this is so, then we can go on to transcend our current limitations and become the all. Shakyamuni Buddha experienced this infinity during his enlightenment. Call it Moksha, or Mukti, or Nirvana, or Awakening -- yet it is the same. We talk Siddhis. We talk culture. We talk consciousness. And we talk our amazing human nature. ------------------------------- Enjoy, and email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com

Many feel as if they are not growing spiritually, nor positively, because their life-force energy is being held back in some way. This is usually due to cultural and social influences but also can be due to early trauma or emotions such as shame and guilt. But, these shadows can be overcome and we can be truly happy, in the Dharmic sense, by following the necessity of uplifting ourselves and each other through: compassion, bodily movement/imbibement, doing what pleases us, and even big changes such as getting out of the city or learning the needs of our spouse or child. In fact, I went through this myself -- for 7 years, I sacrificed nearly 100% of my life-force energy, though unknowingly, for a job I didn't enjoy in a large city (that is, London, England) with no free time to expand my consciousness or awareness. Through moving to Portugal and throwing away the keys to my old lifestyle, I am growing and expanding, because each day is precious: I now have time for nature, to enjoy the sunshine, to spend quality time with my family and friends, say hello to my community on my daily runs, to contemplate, dance, garden, paint, and worship the divine through both Kirtan and Sadhana (prayer). If your heart is calling you this way, I encourage you to follow your intuition so your energy becomes "unstuck" and you can again grow. Blessings, healing, and prayers for you, friends. Namaste! Email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com and visit www.curiousbodhipodcast.com. **Please look into: Samaneri Jayasara, Lama Surya Das, and Dharma Bytes Podcast for the awareness meditations mentioned in this episode.

The pinnacle of spiritual evolution is about other people -- and not just people, but animals and all those inhabiting this universal sphere with us: from Tibetan gods and goddesses to Shiva, Vishnu, Narayana, Krishna and all our spiritual friends both seen and unseen. Enjoy, and please reach out to me! I love you!

Do Buddhists simply focus on themselves rather than the greater good going on out there? Absolutely not! In this joint episode, I talk to Nick and Jared who host an awesome podcast called Revolution and Ideology, and we talk about whether Buddhism can make an impact from first the "individual level" and then on to a massive scale. But, we are not simply limited to Buddhism -- all Dharmic paths are involved, since they ultimately lead to final liberation. In the age of our pandemic, lasting one year now, we have a vital window of opportunity to harness the collapsing social, economic, political, and personal structures that have kept our minds and hearts encapsulated for too long. What type of world do we want to see in our not-so-distant future? Do we want to live from a place of truth, serenity, and harmony with each other and all other species and beings that inhabit this biosphere with us -- and beyond? Let's explore. Tell me what you think at curiousbodhi@zoho.com. Visit Nick and Jared at www.revolutionandideology.com and visit their Youtube channel for current episodes!

A short message on what the meaning of life is about. Loneliness, or the sense of being alone, is only down to a distorted view of what life means. True compassion -- what the Buddha realised under the Bodhi tree -- is knowing that focusing on OTHERS as opposed to the "me" is what makes us actually happy. It's a simple truth but as a wise man once said: "The truth is simple, but the seekers of truth are complex." Namaste!

Who are the greatest teachers, wholeheartedly devoted to truth, who deserve more time in the spotlight? Of the numerous masters I've studied over the past five years, the works of three great teachers stood the test of time: Sri Acharya of Dharma Nation, Leo Gura of Actualized.org, and Shunyamurti of the Sat Yoga Institute. In our episode, I give guidance on what these teachers are made of -- from ancient Vedic tradition to the mind-bending nature of reality. Also included in our episode is talk of the Golden Age we could now be entering, due to the pandemic and its cosmic influences on our planet. Email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com. See you next week, lovely fellow Human Beings!

The Dharma, meaning "the eternal, natural, way" is rich in ways to access the truth -- the Buddha most famously saying there are 84,000 doors to enlightenment. But what does this have to say about the way we interpret our own minds, and indeed, the world? Which perspective holds the most accountability for the deepest nature of reality, reflecting the entire picture of truth when we compare this with the western scientific view? The Dharma as a "better" way to know the truth and the divine is presented, along with multiple philosophical and epistemological debates that really can be elaborated upon for eternity. I encourage you to reflect and use your own creative imagination and justification to form your own ideas, here. I thank Dr. Robert AV Thurman for his talk: The Tibetan Path of Enlightenment; Sri Acharya for: Hierarchy, Dharma, and Modernity; and Leo Gura for his work on: Spiral Dynamics.

Clarity can be conceived as either a "small" and contracted concept or we can choose to see clarity in its larger sphere. Clarity in Buddhism is a sort of good habit to attain; indeed, if our goal is enlightenment, then Buddhahood is the ultimate clarity! Rodrigo Jacinto speaks with me, while taking a walk in the wild pear fields, about what clarity means in our everyday lives. He is an expert in having a positive worldview that he shares regularly with others. Rodrigo lives in Portugal and was utterly changed when a motorcycle accident nearly took his life in his early 20s, and it rearranged his mind to contain what is important: happiness, friends, family, flow, and taking every moment with a smile. Join us in this uplifting conversation, and don't forget to email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com with any questions or just to say hello. Om, Namaste, Hare Krishna, and may all be happy and peaceful!

We are joined by two guests: Rodrigo Jacinto, native to Portugal and Andrzej Idzikowski, native to Poland, to talk about what freedom means and our future after this epidemic. In my previous episode, 73, I went into detail on the premonitions I have had about the virus and its future implications, especially this coming Autumn, so tune in to hear more. It's important to preserve freedom of expression and speech, so we talk freely about "the epidemic" and how this will impact human beings' consciousness for our futures. I strongly encourage critical thinking and an open mind as we dive into this discussion. We talk technology, education, a little bit of politics, and what happiness means to all of us. Please email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com with comments or questions! Namaste!

After a long break, here are the various insights I've found on dreams and premonitions of what could come out of this auspicious, mysterious, and fully weird moment in history. As spiritual beings living a Dharmic lifestyle, sometimes it's necessary to follow our instinct to create seclusion in our environments, for reflection and relaxation, and see what comes to the surface. It's always a surprise, I tell you! Our dreams enrich our waking world... after all, the Buddha mentioned that life is like "a bubble, a dream", and he got into the fact that if we can wake up from our night-time dreams, then we can also wake up from our much longer daytime dream called "ME" and "my life". If you have anything to share, please email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com!

The Dhamma is really uncomplicated if we wish to make it so... but the trick is that we have to start where we are and be honest about what we know and what we don't know. For a western audience especially, this is imperative so that we start out with the fundamentals in mind and in heart before hurriedly moving to esoteric and highly ritualistic teachings, such as Tantrayana. Whether Vajrayana or Theravada, the overarching similarities all include the 8-fold path; compassion as a core component; critical thinking and analysis by trial and error, as instructed by the Buddha; and meditation and obtaining "loss" of average sense perception and self-image. Please consider supporting our show on www.curiousbodhipodcast.com/services-donations/.

Two simultaneous dreams that reveal the nature of reality, as I strive for the largest portrait of the truth in this lifetime. Can you help me interpret these dreams? Please email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com with your findings!

If you have the feeling that the pandemic is more than questionable and misleading - you are not alone! I go over the recent unfoldment of events from both my personal life and in the wider community where I have been avidly listening, watching, and researching for months. Youtube and Facebook are actively silencing, censoring, and banning "dissident" opinions if they are not in the view of the mainstream; however, qualified doctors and scientists are speaking out about the virus' lack of verification and its relation to the over-reaction of governments and authoratative bodies, who are actively killing world economies. We also talk about Bill Gates and forced vaccination, the "Test, Track, and Trace" app experiment put forth currently by the UK, and how the pieces of the puzzle fit together with plans for a less human world where digital economies and AI will become normal, if we don't STAND UP FOR OUR HUMAN DIGNITY AND LIBERTY NOW! Please research these professionals - if their Youtube channels are deleted, then find their independent platforms: Dr. Andrew Kaufman Dr. Rashid Buttar Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai David Icke Brian Rose of London Real Valuetainment with Patrick Bet-David

Good morning! A simple message about love and what you are.

This episode follows up on part 1 (episode 55) of building your own eco-home in Portugal, but it will help you with your dreams no matter which country you choose to build in. Here, we talk specifically about building out of shipping containers. What exactly is a "rough finish" for your container, and what steps do you need to take to start to build one? Step-by-step, we go over: types of industrial-grade metal paint for the outside, creating the skeleton and stud walls with plasterboard, joining the walls, sealing the screws, what to do about windows and doors, applying a mist coat of paint, laying concrete under each container for support, and more. These details are the bare minimum to get you started, so please ask questions! As promised, the best oil-based, rust-proof, industrial-grade paint we have found for the outside of our containers to protect against the weather is called: "Titan Industrial: 815 Esmalte Antioxidante, Rust Preventive Enamel, 8150599 Tinting Base White" with its partner dilutent: "Titan Industrial: Diluyente 872, 8720003". Please ask for any other brands of materials used! Email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com 

We give a brief overview of what the Buddha has to offer us in terms of wisdom; indeed, 2500 years ago, the Buddha discovered what we are discovering in quantum physics today, and we compare this with Einstein's knowledge. Spiritual science and material science really just explore different facets of the same reality. Both seek to explain the ultimate nature of existence, but the scope and focus is not the same: IE, the Buddhist explores the mind, body, and (non-physical) heart whereas science mainly explores material objects and projections. I start with the question, "Does time have an end?" - a very interesting philosophical and practical inquiry - and we go from there... Thank you to Bob Thurman of the Bob Thurman Podcast, and friend of the Dalai Lama at Tibet House US, for your guidance on the Buddha's theory of ultimate relativity! Email me at curiousbodhi@zoho.com.

Rarely do I do an opinion piece, but this is too big to ignore. Because of the global scale of the virus, we should be asking the same analytical questions, and more. Why are economies essentially destroying themselves? What excuses are being made to overturn our monetary system? Already, we are seeing blows to small businesses and farmer's markets - who are either forced to shut down completely or we are advised to stay away from. What extra measures will governments put in place to make sure we can't control our own food or medical choices anymore? Already, the UK has deployed the military to step into supermarkets; Spain is giving out fines for simply running or bicycling on the street; and airports are considering "forcibly quarantining people who may carry the virus" as a travel norm. What will this do to our freedom of movement? And most importantly: what can we do during this time instead of panic or experience fear and dread? If Buddhists express one thing clearly, it's that we need to look within and self-reflect rather than being constantly enamored with the material world. This is a great opportunity to explore ourselves: clearly, as the majority, we can take the situation into our own hands using our human spirit. It is crucial that we use our critical minds at this stage instead of being overtaken by survival mode or over-reacting.

Spirituality is for everyone! Although we have different capacities in terms of intellect and obtaining knowledge, creativity, physical abilities, and so on...  the same force operating the macrocosm - reality - is operating within each individual as a microcosm. What is the same within all humans, regardless of the coming-and-going of experiences? We all have consciousness, which is the only prerequisite for finding out the truth about ourselves. Spirituality transcends absolutely every individual, so the matter of expression is inconsequential; if you want to practice Bhakti and dance, then dance! If you want to obtain through knowledge, then Jnana is the way! If you want to sit and meditate, then meditate. If you want to experiment with entheogens, then go for it. There are 84,000 doors to the Dhamma, remember. Which way you choose is up to you. The spiritual life is truly all-inclusive!

We are all subject to what the Buddha called the "three poisons": greed, hatred, and delusion. If we look closely, it is clear that addiction - affecting not just oneself but loved ones and the wider community - are bound up with the poisons. Studying the Dhamma is a helpful motivator to move beyond addiction and free oneself. Since putting down his beer glass for the last time over 20 years ago, Vince Cullen has been practicing the Buddha Dhamma. He started his recovery at the Wat Thamkrabok monestary in Thailand at a detox retreat and took a vow never to take intoxicants again. He is now a charter member of the Buddhist Recovery Network, facilitates Hungry Ghost Retreats, and has held Sangha sit-and-share meetings in England, Scotland, Ireland, India, Nepal, Thailand, and the USA. If you are struggling with addiction and want help, Vince is able to travel anywhere in the world to come teach and see you. Just visit his website www.hungryghostretreats.org under the "Invitations to Teach" section. Namaste and Om!