Guru Viking Podcast

In this episode I host a dialogue between Buddhist teacher and doctor of Tibetan Medicine Dr Nida Chenagtsang and adult psychiatrist and family and systemic psychotherapist Dr Caroline Van Damme.

Drs Nida and Caroline reflect on a half decade of collaboration in which they have explored the meeting of Western psychology and psychiatry with Tibetan medical and Buddhist models.

They discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each others’ systems, consider placebo as an explanatory mechanism for traditional health systems, question the benefits of an over-therapised culture, and contrast Tibetan and European approaches to knowledge.

Drs Nida and Caroline also discuss the role of traditional ideas of spirit possession in today’s clinical contexts, share anecdotes of exorcisms and psychosis, and offer their best insights and techniques to truly nurture the mind.

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Link in bio.

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
01:04 - How did their collaboration begin?
02:38 - Dr Nida’s long standing interest in Western Psychology
06:38 - Meeting Dr Caroline
08:30 - Sowa Rigpa Counsellor Course
13:23 - The power of individualised therapy
16:14 - Reflections on Buddhist psychology and Sowa Rigpa
22:23 - Trauma and childhood conditioning
23:52 - Tibetan vs European ways of thinking
28:50 - Industrial revolution, scientism, and mind-body dualism
30:43 - Open-mindedness when working with psychotic patients
33:04 - Family therapy
36:57 - Weaknesses of Tibetan medicine
42:59 - Traditional medicine leans into placebo
45:46 - Do malevolent spirits cause psychological illnesses?
46:54 - African cultural ideas about spirits and black magic
47:40 - Do exorcisms cause further trauma?
53:12- Dr Nida reflects on the strengths of Western Psychology
57:05 - Too much digging for trauma
58:49 - European Garden vs Tibetan Forest
01:03:23 - Psychological illness from a spirit-influence perspective
01:05:04 - Exorcism rituals as a psychological tool
01:08:01 - Machig Labdron and the greatest evil spirit
01:08:40 - Using spirit-beliefs to encourage personal hygiene
01:09:23 - Exposure therapy
01:11:53 - A Canadian account of possession
01:14:32 - Dr Nida’s African patients
01:15:33 - A ghost story case study
01:21:04 - Duty of care
01:23:00 - The importance of sleep
01:27:54 - Nurturing the mind
01:33:42 - Blaming parents
01:36:55 - Compassion vs positivity
01:39:30 - Attributing everything to childhood trauma
01:42:09 - “Nurturing the Mind” online course

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To find out more about “Nurturing the Mind: A Dialogue between a Psychiatrist & a Yogi“, visit:
- https://www.sowarigpainstitute.org/course/nurturing-the-mind

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Previous episodes with Dr Nida Chenagtsang:
- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=nida

Previous episodes with Dr Caroline van Damme:
- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=caroline

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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

In this episode, I am joined by Dr Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis, a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra.

Christopher recounts his unusual upbringing, early meetings with Osho and Muktananda, early shaktipat experiences, and powerful spiritual awakenings.

Christopher traces his educational journey under professors such as Douglas Brooks and Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson, offers his opinions about optimal pedagogy for Sanskrit language study, and questions lineage claims made in Tibetan Buddhism.

Christopher also considers the tension between religious faith and academic skepticism, explains why he thinks it is possible to receive spiritual benefit from corrupt gurus, and descries why he believes spiritual awakening leads to a deep trust in the unfolding of life.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
00:57 - An unusual family of origin
03:28 - Mother’s conversion to Hinduism
03:50 - Meeting Osho and Swami Muktananda
05:17 - Awakening experience at 16 years old
05:55 - Attraction to Tantric Shaivism
07:35 - Academic training and intellectual infatuation
09:00 - Multiple teachers
10:13 - Seeing through intellectual ego
12:57 - Teenage rebellion and psychedelics
14:44 - Love of sci fi and fantasy
17:05 - Siddha yoga shaktipat
18:33 - Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
20:33 - Heart opening shaktipat
24:01 - Saint or psychopath?
28:26 - The guru’s shadow
30:18 - Transmission from a disgraced guru
32:25 - No single objective reality
35:32 - No doubts despite guru’s flaws
38:18 - Has Christopher missed the point?
39:53 - Parsing subjective certainty
41:55 - A belief but not really
43:21 - Innate intelligence and trusting the unfolding of life
46:50 - Harmonising with the pattern
50:17 - Don’t pretend to be more enlightened that you are
51:56 - The same awakening as the Buddha’s
54:22 - Waking up out of your tradition
55:32 - Agnosticism about reincarnation
57:29 - BA at Rochester
01:00:53 - Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson
01:05:40 - Great professors at Rochester
01:08:22 - Learning Sanskrit
01:11:12 - Art of translation
01:13:27 - Sanskrit pedagogy
01:16:42 - Christopher’s approach to teaching Sanskrit
01:21:19 - Why learn Sanskrit?
01:24:10 - Parallel primer method
01:26:06 - Does academia ruin religious faith?
01:30:39 - Mantra disillusionment
01:34:40 - Disillusionment with saints and siddhas
01:38:10 - Religious professors
01:39:13 - Debunking tantric lineage claims
01:42:05 - Did Tibetan Buddhists fabricated their lineages?
01:43:10 - Tantric Shaivism as a living tradition
01:46:16 - Is Christopher a lineage holder?
01:48:04 - Critique of lineage holders and lamas

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To find our more about Dr Wallis visit:
- https://hareesh.org/

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

In this episode I am joined by British occultists, authors, and creative collaborators Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford.

Alan and Duncan reflect on their decades of shared magickal practice and creative collaboration. They recall their first meeting at the secret society the “Illuminates of Thanateros” and muse on the gatekeeping and status games of the Chaos magick scene. They explain why they feel their emphasis on awakening and association with Buddhist writer and self-proclaimed arhat Daniel Ingram has contributed to their being shunned by leading figures in British occultism.

Alan and Duncan take a deep dive into their controversial new understanding of Aleister Crowley, address criticism levelled at them, and reveal the idealogical mistake that drove Alan to withdraw one of his biggest public projects.

Alan and Duncan also share their current practices, detail how to develop visionary capability, give their best understanding about how magick really works, and offer their advice for those who wish to enter the path of Western occultism.

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Video: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep345-magick-awakening-crowley-alan-chapman-duncan-barford

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Meeting at an occult secret society
06:29 - Formative experiences of group magick
07:36 - Should you join the IoT?
07:53 - The importance of group magick
08:19 - Timidity in magickal practice
10:20 - What does magick have to do with enlightenment?
12:03 - Jealousy in spiritual circles
14:38 - Peter Carroll vs Neoplatonism
17:11 - Alan and Duncan’s contribution to Chaos Magick
19:07 - Feuds between religionists
20:33 - What kind of person is drawn to Chaos Magick?
22:25 - Gatekeeping and status games
23:10 - The best thing about Chaos Magicians
25:45 - Bad uses of Chaos Magick
28:38 - Being ignored by the magickal community
29:24 - Why were Alan and Duncan ignored?
30:!4 - Controversial association with Daniel Ingram
31:54 - Why did Peter Carroll dislike Alan and Duncan?
33:01 - How to understand magickal results and synchronicities
36:46 - How Duncan’s practice has changed over time
40:13- Awakening and the structure of things
43:16 - Alan’s current practice
43:57 - The everyday as a basis
45:07 - How to get started in magick
52:35 - Permission and confidence
53:41 - Developing visionary capability
54:55 - Alan’s understanding of the path
01:00:32 - Pinnacle of practical magick
01:01:46 - Duncan’s Goddess vision
01:03:14 - The basis of the path
01:07:50 - How magick works
01:09:00 - Criticism of Alan abandoning projects
01:16:14 - Sigmund Freud
01:16:57 - Why do people criticise Alan?
01:18:56 - One thing that really annoys Alan
01:20:53 - Resentment and psychological shadow
01:22:43 - Malevolence and denying enlightenment
01:29:26 - A dark occult conference experience
01:31:20 - Envy and counter-initiation
01:33:51 - Creative journey
01:35:49 - The toxic belief in cultural progress
01:39:38 - Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory
01:41:10 - Daniel Ingram’s pivot to science
01:42:19 - The spirit of the times
01:44:08 - Realising cultural chauvinism
01:49:53 - Desire to do something else
01:51:30 - Source of many problems
01:53:23 - The Crowley project
02:01:15 - Alan’s academic approach
02:03:53 - Legal challenges
02:06:34 - Crowley on Chinese wisdom
02:09:05 - Dao De Jing
02:17:24 - Misunderstandings about the Dao De Jing
02:19:03 - Jung’s (mis?)undersanding of Asian classics
02:21:06 - Western alchemy and spirit writing
02:23:19 - Two kinds of researchers
02:290:02 - Life of Aleister Crowley
02:31:28 - The Inner Church
02:33:28 - The Bornless Rite
02:35:18 - The Book of the Law
02:45:24 - Crossing the abyss
02:47:39 - Mad or enlightened?
02:52:20 - Liber 31
02:53:53 - Crowley’s failures
02:55:57 - Jung and Philip K Dick
02:56:41 - Controversial take on Crowley
03:00:48 - Why follow Crowley’s path?

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

In this episode, filmed on location in Kathmandu, Nepal, I am joined by Buddhist nun Guruma Dhamma Vijaya.

Guruma recalls her childhood in Kathmandu Valley, the religious life of her Newar Vajrayāna family, and why she turned to Theravāda Buddhism and took ordination as a nun.

Guruma recounts her extensive training in Mahasi and Goenka meditation styles, compares tantric techniques to ānāpānassati, and offers her understanding of the essence of Buddhist teaching.

Guruma details her educational journey, describes her life-changing encounter with feminism while studying in the USA, and tells the story of obtaining a PhD on the subject of Buddhist Feminism.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep344-nepali-buddhist-nun-guruma-dhamma-vijaya

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Homage to Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha
01:54 - Blessing and welcome
02:33 - Question etiquette in different cultures
03:17 - Guruma’s Newar childhood in Kathmandu Valley
06:11 - Guruma’s education pathway to PhD
06:36 - Family dynamics
07:30 - First meeting with Buddhist nuns
09:46 - From Vajrayāna to Theravāda
11:12 - Desire to be a nun
12:48 - Attending a teaching by the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya
13:54 - The loss of the bhikkhunī ordination lineage
14:28 - Becoming a nun
17:54 - 4 years of study in Taiwan
19:20 - Meditation and further studies in Burma and India
20:02 - Studying meditation under Mahasi Sayadaw and S.N. Goenka
26:37 - Mahasi vs Goenka
27:37 - 4 points of Goenka meditation
29:10 - Ānāpānassati meditation is the Buddha’s teaching
29:55 - Guruma’s practie
30:51 - Vajrayāna vs Theravāda
36:27 - Body mantras and Vajrayāna threats
39:15 - Choosing Ānāpānassati over Vajrayāna
43:23 - Freedom from suffering
45:38 - The essence of Buddhist teaching
47:25 - Encountering feminism
54:58 - Messy status of nuns in Nepal
01:03:02 - Theravāda revival
01:05:39 - Tragic reason why Guruma’s teacher became a nun
01:08:14 - Buddhist pilgrimage sites
01:08:54 - Life is precious and exhortation to practice
01:1341 - Dedication prayer and blessing

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Kathmandu Interviews playlist:
- https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlkzlKFgdknwvU82dU487LhF_mF4AkGek&si=4U8rRVEHKA4Z28oF

Find out more about Guruma here:
- http://tartaruspress.com/russell-rampa.html
- https://www.arthurmachen.org.uk/

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

R.B. Russell, author and founder of Tartarus Press, takes us on a deep dive into the life and works of Welsh author and mystic Arthur Machen. 

Ray traces the religious life of Machen, his involvement with the occult society the Golden Dawn, and his friendship with famed occultist A.E. Waite.

Ray details Machen’s fascination with the esoteric symbolism of the Grail mythology; his role in originating and spreading the supernatural, urban myth of the Bowman; and impact of his notorious horror-fantasy novella ”The Great God Pan”.

Ray also shares his reflections on literary theory, the various interpretations of Shakespeare, and the prevalence of psychoanalytic readings of classic genre fiction.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep343-the-mystic-arthur-machen-rb-russell

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.


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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
01:07 - First encounter with the works of Arthur Machen
05:25 - Hill of Dreams and an abiding interest
06:21 - Mysteries of Machen
07:12 - Life of Arthur Machen
09:29 - Involvement with occultism
17:11 - The Great God Pan
22:19 - Machen, Lovecraft, and the mystical
26:17 - Reflections on literary theory
27:26 - Why so many psychoanalytic readings of horror?
29:13 - Historicism vs textualism
31:40 - Shakespeare and classic vs modern productions
34:38 - The Great God Pan needs to be Victorian
35:25 - Machen’s involvement in the Golden Dawn
38:43 - Grail Myth as a spiritual path and an early Welsh church
39:26 - Friendship with occultist A.E. Waite
40:05 - The Great Return and the evolution of awe
43:41 - Why were so many writers fascinated by the Grail Myth and King Arthur?
46:15 - Esoteric symbolism of the Grail
48:52 - Links to Roman Britain
49:58 - Machen’s Oxford disappointment and subsequent work
53:05 - The Bowmen and urban myths
57:28 - Reading vs collecting books
01:02:27 - Ray’s prized item and Machen collection
01:03:34 - Tartarus Press and Machen publishing projects
01:05:28 - Friends of Arthur Machen society
01:07:06 - Faunus journal
01:07:22 - Where to start with Machen for those interested in the occult and mysticism

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Previous episode with Ray:
- https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/p319-mystery-of-t-lobsang-rampa-rb-russell

Find out more about Ray here:
- http://tartaruspress.com/russell-rampa.html
- https://www.arthurmachen.org.uk/

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James