Humans Are Divine

Dave and I shot the shit about the absurdity (and snobbery) of Zen, Soto vs Rinzai styles, gradual vs sudden Buddhahood, the perfect in the imperfect, and more!

Kelly and I dialogued on paganism, the shadow self, moon circles, tarot, healthy community (as opposed to toxic authority/control), and more!

Jake and I pondered about subjective truth, Sufism, Inuit parenting, team evolution vs individual evolution, Thich Nhat Hanh, being a helpful force in the world, how we see/value/treat fellow humans, and more!

Steve and I conversed about quantum mechanics, being teachable and open to learn from unfamiliar/uncomfortable terrain, the positive connection between science and faith, and more.

Scott and I talked about finding and following your own unique path, Kambo (the ritualistic frog medicine from South America), using the force within your suffering... to end your suffering, Tibetan Buddhism and more. 

Jonah and I chatted about TM (Transcendental Meditation), taking care of your mental health, the fallibility of all humans (including the spiritual and "good" ones), creativity and more. 

Our first international guest! Grace and I talk about Wise Serpent fest, the art of rebirth, your personal responsibility in this thing we call Life, and Life's responsibility in you and to you, being open to those outside our familiarity zone, and we end the chat with a great, inspirational message of hope from Grace (and a song!).

Jory and I go deep, and talk about the sometimes painful, dark moments we go through in our meditative journey (and in life), as the isolated, separate self and impermanent "realities" that we cling to, come tumbling down and show themselves for what they are: illusions that can give us no true and lasting contentment, security and happiness. We speak mainly from the Christian-mystic-framework, but sprinkle in insights from all over. 

Continuing my series on the works of the first official Zen Master, Bodhidharma (5th century). We are in the middle of his talk, Bloodstream Sermon. I comment on karma's relationship to satori, your untouchable nature, non-personal awareness and more. This is not a dense, academic, boring "lecture." It's a person buzzed off the Dharma sharing his ecstatic thoughts and musings. This might be my favorite series so far, and I'm not just saying that to hype it up. I'm getting inspired and enlivened by it. I believe you will too!

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Ward and I talk about the four foundations of mindfulness, being compassionate to yourself, being present with others, personal results from dharma practice and more. 

Continuing my series on the works of the first official Zen Master, Bodhidharma (5th century). Hear my thoughts on the start of his talk, Bloodstream Sermon. My comments touch on seeing who you really are, transcendence, being connected to people who have themselves "woken up," and more. This is not a dense, academic, boring "lecture." It's a person buzzed off the Dharma sharing his ecstatic thoughts and musings. This might be my favorite series so far, and I'm not just saying that to hype it up. I'm getting inspired and enlivened by it. I believe you will too! 

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New series on the works of the first official Zen Master, Bodhidharma (5th century). Hear my thoughts on his talk, Outline of Practice. I talk the oneness of all, enlightened life/regular life balance, Buddha-vision, and more. This is not a dense, academic, boring "lecture." It's a person buzzed off the Dharma sharing his ecstatic thoughts and musings. This might be my favorite podcast so far, and I'm not just saying that to hype it up. I got inspired and enlivened by it. I believe you will too!

Mahlia St. Cyr and Tyler Martin are two of the co-founders of St. Thomas Collective. We talk about our journey out of and outside of conservative Christianity and religion. 

The core of your "you" has not been touched, influenced or conditioned by your particular life upbringing. It is infinite in knowledge, wisdom and counsel. It wants to communicate direction to you, to lead you to your best life. Join in on Jesse's Zoom class as he goes deep into how to tune in to the spirit guide that is inside of all us. You don't have to light a candle, buy a crystal or draw a pentagram to access the God within. No special blessing is needed. You take this with you, on the go, in the midst of your ordinary, daily life. Learn how to take life a little easier, by trusting the interior, higher power, that has been with you since you were born. You are human, but you are also divine. This is a lesson for the divine "part" of you, but honestly, is there a difference?

Spontaneous dharma talk. You'll get more out of this if you meditate for 10-15 mins beforehand.

What Buddhists call Enlightenment, some Christians have called Union with God. Jesse dives into the Jesus stuff you don't hear about at your local church, and has a bunch of (third)eye opening quotes from Jesus mystics and monks, like Gregory of Nyssa, Meister Eckhart, John of the Cross and more.

My time with Christianity didn't give me a deep transformation of self, but Buddhism did. Buddhists are more like Jesus than most Christians. Weird, right? Tune in for more.

Some are too closed off from connection, in the name of "independence," when it's really just self-centered isolation.
Others are too attached and enmeshed in their relationships, but call it "love," when it's just fear of being alone.
Jesse speaks on the mindful-solution in this spontaneous dharma talk.

Jim Martin is the founder of The Unusual Buddha.