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The Monk on a Motorbike

The Monk on a Motorbike

By Danny Hill

This podcast is all about transformation-mindfulness and mental health, community and sharing. Real people, real stories.....and loads of other lovely stuff. Hosted by Danny Hill, the Monk on a Motorbike.
Inspire, empower, transform.
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An Interview with Meditation teacher Ethan Pollock

The Monk on a MotorbikeOct 15, 2023

00:00
01:36:34
An Interview with Meditation teacher Ethan Pollock

An Interview with Meditation teacher Ethan Pollock

Today my guest is Ethan Pollock, meditation teacher and co-founder of Mindful Living Community. Ethan has been facilitating mindfulness groups and retreats for over a decade. In his early twenties he gave up a career as a commercially successful artist and spent five years training at Plum Village with the internationally recognized mindfulness teacher & Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a qualified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher. He facilitates and teaches around the UK including at the Sharpham Trust, Schumacher College, The Royal Drawing School, and local groups in Devon

This is one of a series of interviews I am doing profiling meditation teachers linked with Gaia House

I met Ethan on a recent retreat at the Barn which is closely linked with Gaia House where he was giving a talk. I was struck by how well he taught and interested to hear more about his training at Plum village

I’m afraid my mic started to give up on this episode. I’ll have a nice shiny new one for my next podcast, I promise.

Please enjoy

Oct 15, 202301:36:34
An interview with Gaia House meditation centre 'teacher in residence' Kirsten Kratz
Apr 02, 202301:18:50
An Interview with Gaia House Dhamma Teacher Gavin Milne

An Interview with Gaia House Dhamma Teacher Gavin Milne

Today my guest is meditation teacher Gavin Milne. Gavin teaches at Gaia House retreat centre in Devon, one of the largest Buddhist meditation centres in Europe

Gavin has been practicing meditation for twenty years and gave up a career as a design engineer for the Red Bull Formula One race team to travel to Asia and the US to explore the Dhamma intensively before returning to the UK. There he became involved with Gaia House and started his teacher training in 2015 and became authorized in 20219. His teachings emphasize exploring the path of practice amidst the challenges of daily life

If you’d like to hear more of Gavin’s talks then go to dharrmaseed.org and search for his name

If you enjoy this or any other Monk on a Motorbike podcast please leave a review on Apple podcasts (or whatever app your'e using). Thanks

Enjoy

Jan 30, 202301:49:23
How to Make Great Decisions with Professor Marc Buehner
Jul 19, 202201:05:28
An Interview with Sally Kempton

An Interview with Sally Kempton

Sally Kempton Is a meditation teacher and author.

As a young successful journalist and feminist living in New York in the early 70s Sally had an awakening experience after dropping acid for the first time. This got her interested in meditation and yoga and led her to become a monastic under the guidance of the Indian yogi Swami Muktananda

For the next twenty years, she studied and practiced Hindu Vedanta and the north Indian tantric tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism, traveling and teaching with Muktananda and living in an ashram

In 2002 she disrobed and took to creating new teaching paths which she considered more suitable for the 21st century, integrating neurobiology and psychology and working with likes of integrative philosopher Ken Wilbur

Her teachings are based on Tantra, in particular deity practices involving deep and transformative visualizations, invoking and embodying the qualities of Hindu goddesses like Lakshmi and Saraswathi

This style of visualization is common to most traditions but often involves male figures. Sally transformed this by focusing on the feminine energies instead

She is the author of the books Awakening Shakti and Meditation for the Love of it and leads workshops worldwide

I met sally at one her workshops in London which I signed up for after reading her book

Awakening Shakti and she kindly agreed to a podcast interview

You can find out more about Sally, her teachings and books, and so on at her website sallykempton.com

Enjoy

Mar 23, 202201:55:20
Artificial Intelligence: Terminator or Saviour?

Artificial Intelligence: Terminator or Saviour?

There are a lot of bleak predictions going around about artificial intelligence creating mass unemployment or even becoming sentient and enslaving humankind or killing us all off. In this episode, I speak to one of the world's leading authorities on AI, Professor Dave Cliff about whether the computers of the future will finish us off or save us. 

Dave is a professor of Computer Science at Bristol University in the UK, with an impressive CV that includes developing the first automated trading software that revolutionized global financial markets, and advising the British Government on trends in technology

He is confident that AI is not the threat many believe it to be and for the most part believes it is a force for good and here he tells us why

Jan 18, 202201:22:47
Corporate Mindfulness: Does it measure up? An Interview with EY's Michael Von Der Geest

Corporate Mindfulness: Does it measure up? An Interview with EY's Michael Von Der Geest

Today my guest is Michael Von Der Geest. Michael helps to run one of the big four accountancy firms EY which used to be called Ernst and Young. He is also the CEO of EY Seren their digital platform.

He has helped to make mindfulness teaching widely available to their 250, 000 staff worldwide and sponsors their internal mindfulness support network which now has 10,000 members.

Here he talks about how mindfulness has helped him deal with the challenges of leadership, how it helps with team dynamics, and how he has used it to deal with his own anger issues, and balance a busy work and family life

Corporate mindfulness has come under fire in some meditative circles. Sometimes referred to as McMindfulnness it is seen as diluted and franchised. I was keen to hear how it shapes up against these claims by someone who is at the top of the corporate ladder and is a keen meditator. I found what he said to say very encouraging: it makes him less reactive and angry, enhances team harmony and integrity and increased the company’s sense of engagement with corporate responsibility

This was recorded in the Summer of 2019 pre-coronavirus, whilst Extinction Rebellion were making headlines

.If you have any questions or comments please feel free to get in touch. My email is on my website   www.monkonamotorbike.com

If you enjoy this or any other episodes please take the time to write a review on iTunes, it really helps to spread the word

Many thanks

Danny Hill  (the Monk on a Motorbike)

Aug 15, 202047:08
Magick: it's not what you think! An interview with Daniel Ingram Part One

Magick: it's not what you think! An interview with Daniel Ingram Part One

If you’re interested in Magick, what it is, and just as importantly what It isn’t, then you have to tune into this interview with Daniel Ingram

This is the second time Daniel has appeared on my show. Daniel is famous for his teachings on Buddhist meditation and his controversial views about meditative attainments-but is less well known as a practitioner of Magick, something which he has been doing for years

As  a former critical care doctor and  a data-crunching researcher, he is a well-grounded in scientific rationalism as well as being an expert in conservative, systematic meditation practices So I figured it would be very interesting to get his perspective on a subject that many, if not most people, would consider pretty out there if not downright scary or wrong or evil or all of the above

This is a fascinating interview and its really turned my head around to the reality of Magick and has me fired up to start some practices as well as realizing how much I am already practicing it without knowing

I’ve divided the interview into three parts. Each part builds on the other so it’s worth listening all the way through. Feel free to stop and start. There are show notes on my website -www.monkonamotorbike.com - with timings so you can pick up where you left off or go back and forth

If you enjoy this interview please take a little time to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks

Jun 18, 202043:21
Magick: it's not what you think! An interview with Daniel Ingram Part Two

Magick: it's not what you think! An interview with Daniel Ingram Part Two

If you’re interested in Magick, what it is, and just as importantly what It isn’t, then you have to tune into this interview with Daniel Ingram

This is the second time Daniel has appeared on my show. Daniel is famous for his teachings on Buddhist meditation and his controversial views about meditative attainments-but is less well known as a practitioner of Magick, something which he has been doing for years

As  a former critical care doctor and  a data-crunching researcher, he is a well-grounded in scientific rationalism as well as being an expert in conservative, systematic meditation practices So I figured it would be very interesting to get his perspective on a subject that many, if not most people, would consider pretty out there if not downright scary or wrong or evil or all of the above

This is a fascinating interview and its really turned my head around to the reality of Magick and has me fired up to start some practices as well as realizing how much I am already practicing it without knowing

I’ve divided the interview into three parts. Each part builds on the other so it’s worth listening all the way through. Feel free to stop and start. There are show notes on my website -www.monkonamotorbike.com - with timings so you can pick up where you left off or go back and forth

If you enjoy this interview please take a little time to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks

Jun 18, 202052:59
Magick: it's not what you think! An interview with Daniel Ingram Part Three

Magick: it's not what you think! An interview with Daniel Ingram Part Three

If you’re interested in Magick, what it is and just as importantly what It isn’t, then you have to tune into this interview with Daniel Ingram

This is the second time Daniel has appeared on my show. Daniel is famous for his teaching on Buddhist meditation and his controversial views about meditative attainments-but is less well known as a practitioner of Magick, something which he has been doing for years

As  a former critical care doctor and  a data-crunching researcher he is a well-grounded in scientific rationalism as well as being an expert in conservative, systematic meditation practices So I figured it would be very interesting to get his perspective on a subject that many, if not most people, would consider pretty out there if not downright scary or wrong or evil or all of the above

This is a fascinating interview and its really turned my head around to the reality of Magick and has me fired up to start some practices as well as realizing how much I am already practicing it without knowing

I’ve divided the interview into three parts. Each part builds on the other so it’s worth listening all the way through. Feel free to stop and start. There are show notes on my website -www.monkonamotorbike.com - with timings so you can pick up where you left off or go back and forth

If you enjoy this interview please take a little time to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks

Jun 18, 202001:14:21
How to become Indistractable! An interview with Nir Eyal

How to become Indistractable! An interview with Nir Eyal

Today my guest is Nir Eyal. Nir is a bestselling author, tech entrepreneur university lecturer and investor who literally wrote the book on how to build habit-forming products

The model he described in his first book Hooked has been used by countless tech startups such as Fitbod to build a huge customer base

But in is his latest book, Indistractable, he explains how to stop getting distracted by tech and get on with the business of living a fulfilling life

Here he talks about his own journey to becoming indistractable, how getting on with our stuff is less about the external distractions than about out our own inner state and how wasting time isn’t always a waste of time

If you find you can’t keep away from Facebook or Netflix and knuckle down to do whatever it is you’d really like to be doing then listen in

As always there are show notes on my website www.monkonamotorbike.com. 

Enjoy

Jun 02, 202044:35
An Interview with Suvaco

An Interview with Suvaco

Today I'm talking to former Buddhist monk, therapist and climate change activist, Suvaco. Suvaco spent twenty years living as a monk in the jungles of northeast Thailand, getting up before three in the morning, meditating for many hours a day and walking for miles to beg for one meal a day.

Born in Denmark and raised in Italy he now lives in the UK and works as a psychotherapist. Here he talks about the benefits and limitations of his tough monastic training, why transformation is always messy, and why in the current global crisis we need to follow our conscience and our hearts and do what we are here to do, not what we are told to  do by society

This is  a long interview so feel free  to pick it up and put it down. There are show-notes on my website www.monkonamotorbike.com with timings of what is being said and when

May you be happy!

Apr 27, 202001:37:12
Everyday shamanism. An interview with Ya'Acov Darling-Khan

Everyday shamanism. An interview with Ya'Acov Darling-Khan

This time round I’m talking to shaman and healer, Ya’Acov Darling Khan. Ya’acov is very much a 21st century shaman. Based in Devon in the UK, he is a bestselling author and founder of the School of Movement Medicine. He has devoted the last 30 yeas of his life to bringing together ancient shamanic practices from different indigenous cultures around the world to make what he calls everyday shamanism

Here he talks about the benefits of being buried alive,  Coronavirus, cultural misappropriation, plant medicine, the need for occasional heartbreak and how shamanism can be used to help heal and change our lives

For shownotes and more see my website www.monkonamotorbike.com

Apr 13, 202001:29:26
An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part Four

An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part Four

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after you die, how the world looks when you’re enlightened, or can’t understand why you’re spending all this time meditating but still seem to get anxious and angry, then you absolutely, positively, 100% have to tune into this episode of the Monk on a Motorbike podcast

This time around I’m talking to former critical care doctor, Daniel Ingram, who very controversially claimed he was an arahat or fully enlightened a number of years ago.

Here he talks about how being enlightened isn’t all its cracked up to be, the uproar his announcement caused, why he did it, magical powers, life after death, psychedelics and pretty much anything else connected with this long and winding spiritual path we are all walking

Daniel knows more about meditation and other spiritual practices than practically anybody I’ve met and he’s articulate and funny and explains things in a way that are really easy to relate to

We ended up talking for a long time and I’ve divided the episode into four parts so do yourself a favour, whether you’re stuck at home on lockdown during Coronavirus or wondering what the f*ck is going on in these dark days, use your time well and  tune into some of this awesome wisdom!

Mar 27, 202001:20:20
An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part Three

An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part Three

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after you die, how the world looks when you’re enlightened, or can’t understand why you’re spending all this time meditating but still seem to get anxious and angry, then you absolutely, positively, 100% have to tune into this episode of the Monk on a Motorbike podcast

This time around I’m talking to former critical care doctor, Daniel Ingram, who very controversially claimed he was an arahat or fully enlightened a number of years ago.

Here he talks about how being enlightened isn’t all its cracked up to be, the uproar his announcement caused, why he did it, magical powers, life after death, psychedelics and pretty much anything else connected with this long and winding spiritual path we are all walking

Daniel knows more about meditation and other spiritual practices than practically anybody I’ve met and he’s articulate and funny and explains things in a way that are really easy to relate to

We ended up talking for a long time and I’ve divided the episode into four parts so do yourself a favour, whether you’re stuck at home on lockdown during Coronavirus or wondering what the f*ck is going on in these dark days, use your time well and  tune into some of this awesome wisdom!

Mar 26, 202001:29:60
An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part Two

An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part Two

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after you die, how the world looks when you’re enlightened, or can’t understand why you’re spending all this time meditating but still seem to get anxious and angry, then you absolutely, positively, 100% have to tune into this episode of the Monk on a Motorbike podcast

This time around I’m talking to former critical care doctor, Daniel Ingram, who very controversially claimed he was an arahat or fully enlightened a number of years ago.

Here he talks about how being enlightened isn’t all its cracked up to be, the uproar his announcement caused, why he did it, magical powers, life after death, psychedelics and pretty much anything else connected with this long and winding spiritual path we are all walking

Daniel knows more about meditation and other spiritual practices than practically anybody I’ve met and he’s articulate and funny and explains things in a way that are really easy to relate to

We ended up talking for a long time and I’ve divided the episode into four parts so do yourself a favour, whether you’re stuck at home on lockdown during Coronavirus or wondering what the f*ck is going on in these dark days, use your time well and  tune into some of this awesome wisdom!

Mar 26, 202049:55
An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part One

An Interview with Daniel Ingram Part One

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after you die, how the world looks when you’re enlightened, or can’t understand why you’re spending all this time meditating but still seem to get anxious and angry, then you absolutely, positively, 100% have to tune into this episode of the Monk on a Motorbike podcast

This time around I’m talking to former critical care doctor, Daniel Ingram, who very controversially claimed he was an arahat, or fully enlightened, a number of years ago.

Here he talks about how being enlightened isn’t all its cracked up to be, the uproar his announcement caused, why he did it, magical powers, life after death, psychedelics and pretty much anything else connected with this long and winding spiritual path we are all walking

Daniel knows more about meditation and other spiritual practices than practically anybody I’ve met and he’s articulate and funny and explains things in a way that are really easy to relate to

We ended up talking for a long time and I’ve divided the episode into four parts so do yourself a favour, whether you’re stuck at home on lockdown during Coronavirus  or just wondering what the f*ck is going on in these dark days, use your time well and  tune into some of this awesome wisdom!

Mar 26, 202050:08
Mindfulness, Knitting and Rebellion: An Interview with political activist and textile artist Rachael Matthews

Mindfulness, Knitting and Rebellion: An Interview with political activist and textile artist Rachael Matthews

To celebrate International Women’s Day, I’m launching a new season of Monk on a Motorbike podcasts with an interview with political activist, textile artist, and author Rachael Matthews.

Rachael first came to fame in the 1990s when she was organizing knit-ins on the London Underground, and in clubs, pubs, museums and open spaces around the city.

Here she talks about knitting as a politically subversive act, her spiritual journey through wool, selling knitted willy warmers and dealing with burn out!!

Rachael is the author of the beautifully written book the Mindfulness in Knitting. She teaches textile design and knitting at London’s prestigious Central St Martin’s School of art and design

Mar 08, 202001:30:34
Doing Time, Doing Mindfulness

Doing Time, Doing Mindfulness

Today my guest is Paul Douglas. Jailed at the age of 16 for his part in a murder Paul spent 12 years in prison where he learned mindfulness. Here he talks openly about the constant violence and the endless fear and depression of life behind bars. and how he eventually discovered meditation which he says transformed his life. Now he has been released he is training to teach mindfulness in the prison system himself

Sep 01, 201901:43:42
Trouble in Paradise: An interview with Venerable Canda

Trouble in Paradise: An interview with Venerable Canda

Today I’m talking to Venerable Candavissudhi. Ven Canda is a Buddhist nun in the Theravadan Thai forest tradition.

Born and raised in England Ven Canda went to Asia at the Age of 19 where she discovered Vipassana meditation. She spent the next 10 years practicing mostly with her teacher  S N Goenkaji at his centres in India before becoming a nun and moving to Burma to deepen her practice and commitment to the Dhamma

Here she came across the teachings of Ajahn Brahm an English monk, based in Australia and she moved over to study with him in Perth, Western Australia

Under his supervision she received the training and rules to become a Bhikkhuni, or fully ordained Buddhist nun.

Only a few nuns in Asia and the west have been given full ordination, and the practise has been condemned by many especially in Thailand.

On the face of it this may seem quite niche and of interest only to those involved in Buddhism, but actually many see it as a huge victory for gender equality round the globe

Asian Buddhism is traditionally very patriarchal, with monks enjoying a much higher status than nuns, who for centuries have been viewed as secondary to their male counterparts. 

Spiritual life is arguably at the core of any culture and is often the driver of positive change. In a world that seems to be out of control restoring the feminine to its rightful place in spirituality is seen as an important move in the efforts to restore balance to the world at a time of crisis

If you'd like to know more about the project or would like to help please visit the website at  https://anukampaproject.org/ or email  

team@anukampaproject.org 

Jul 06, 201901:24:06
Mindfulness Behind Bars

Mindfulness Behind Bars

In this episode I'm talking to mindfulness teacher Sonya Russo. Sonya teaches mindfulness to prisoners in London's overcrowded and often violent jails.  

Here she tells the story of turning her back on a successful career in journalism when,  after struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues she was introduced to mindfulness in rehab. 

Cynical about it at first she credits the practice with changing her life and from there she went on to set up her her award-winning business, Plan B Mindfulness, teaching meditation in jails. 

Initially treated with suspicion her courses are now oversubscribed and prisoners are flocking to her classes where they can find a measure of peace in their difficult lives. This has in turn lead to a reduction in levels of violence and depression  behind bars.


Jun 23, 201901:25:19
Trading the City for Peace

Trading the City for Peace

In this episode I'm talking to former city Trader  Johnny Walter about being signed off work with dangerously high levels of cholesterol and stress and his journey to healing with mindfulness and diet 

Jun 09, 201901:15:53
It's not what you think

It's not what you think

In this episode  I'm talking to Greenpeace scientist Dr Kevin Brigden about how he dealt with perfectionism and panic attacks using CBT and mindfulness

May 19, 201901:02:13
Love in the Time of Extinction

Love in the Time of Extinction

In this episode hear internationally respected meditation teacher, Yanai Postelnik, talking about Buddhism and breaking the law, his involvement with Extinction Rebellion, getting arrested twice during  protests against climate change in London. his spiritual path, living solely on donations from his students, going back to protest whilst on bail, and loads of  other interesting stuff, 

Apr 14, 201901:41:21
Me and my podcast!

Me and my podcast!

In this episode I talk a about myself, who I am and how I spend my days, and about my podcast-why I decided to do it, how and how I hope it will change peoples' lives. 

Mar 24, 201909:27
Dealing with emotional health problems with mindfulness

Dealing with emotional health problems with mindfulness

This is one of a series of interviews with people who have dealt with mental and emotional health problems using mindfulness and other practices and gone on to flourish

Mar 23, 201901:11:21