Turning back time to 2018, we revisit a conversation between Dr. Thurman and Raghu Markus about facing reality, transforming our reactivity, and understanding karma.

You can help continue Dr. Thurman’s life’s work to preserve Tibetan culture. Visit Tibet House to learn more.

In this episode, Robert Thurman and Raghu explore:

• Buddhism as a realistic approach to understanding reality
• The projections and stories we tell ourselves every day
• Working with fear and judgment in meditation
• Entering the gaps of mental reactivity
• Karma: an intentional action with evolutionary consequences
• The relationship between self-awareness and the direction of our karma
• Buddhist perspectives on rebirth and reincarnation
• The distinction between unconscious rebirth and consciously choosing to return
• Neem Karoli Baba and the experience of living completely in reality
• The intimate connection between absolute reality and unconditional love

About Dr. Robert Thurman:

Robert Thurman (1941-2026) was an American Buddhist author and academic who wrote, edited, and translated many books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University before retiring in June 2019. He held the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. After education at Phillips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He wrote both scholarly and popular books and lectured widely all over the world. As President of the American Institute for Buddhist Studies, he convened the First Inner Science Conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Amherst College in 1984. He was also a founding trustee of Tibet House New York. Check out his most recent book Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life. Robert Thurman made many appearances on our network, and he is greatly missed.

“Being realistic is the best approach because the better you understand reality, the happier you will be. The less you understand it, the more unnecessary trouble you will put yourself through. That’s why when people ask what Buddhism is, I tell them that Buddhism is realism.” –Robert Thurman

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Tommy Rosen, Gagan Levy, and Raghu Markus explore addiction and the everyday choices that shape recovery and a meaningful life.

Be part of the Recovery 2.0 community with online recovery meetings that are open to anyone: Click Here to Register

This time on Mindrolling, Tommy, Gagan and Raghu explore:

• Growing up in a home filled with anxiety and developing a sense that something is always wrong
• How oftentimes addiction comes from seeking relief and homeostasis
• Distraction and Procrastination as forms of addiction
• Ram Dass’s approach to working with habits of the mind
• Facing the long, dark night of the soul
• The ‘nitty-gritty’ of how we choose to live our lives
• The five core tenets of Tommy’s program, ‘Recovery 2.0’
• How working the 12-steps guarantees a spiritual experience
• Tending to the needs of mind, body, and soul

About Tommy Rosen:

Tommy Rosen is the founder and host of the Recovery 2.0: Beyond Addiction Online Conference and presents workshops annually at Esalen, Omega, and Kripalu. One of the pioneers in the burgeoning field of Yoga and Recovery, he holds advanced certifications in both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga and has 20 years of recovery from acute drug addiction. Tommy and his wife, noted yoga instructor, Kia Miller, live in Venice, California, where they teach yoga and grow organic vegetables in their backyard. Check out Tommy’s upcoming retreats and his book, Recovery 2.0.

“In recovery circles, we see a lot of people who struggle for a lifetime. They aren’t going to implode their life like we did, but if you asked any human being, do you want to ‘get through life’ or do you really want to seize this day and realise yourself, your heart’s desires and dreams, everyone would say ‘of course I do’. Well, maybe you have to change the ways that you’re facing a 24-hour period of time.” –Tommy Rosen

About Gagan Levy:

Gagan Levy is the Founder/CEO of Guru, an award-winning creative agency dedicated to serving purpose-driven movements, brands, and organizations. They work with impactful brands like Patagonia, Traditional Medicinals, Nalgene, Non-GMO, The Organic Alliance, Bring Change to Mind and many natural products brands, including EO / Everyone Products, OM Mushroom Superfoods, and REBBL. Gagan also serves as Chief Evangelist at MAHA Global, a platform focused on helping businesses adapt to stakeholder needs using data-driven reputation intelligence. As former Co-chair of Social Venture Circle, one of the country’s most prestigious impact investor and social business communities, Gagan leads the way to a next economy that is regenerative, just, and prosperous for all. Gagan Levy is also a current board member to his prolific teacher Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation, he has been instrumental in strategizing how to connect the greatest wisdom keepers of our time to a new generation. Grab a copy of Gagan’s book, Start Your Own Damn Cult, A Founder’s Field Guide, for a practical and actionable framework for building from coherence, holding power without unraveling, and winning without wrecking yourself, your team, or the planet.

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Melvin McLeod, editor of Lion’s Roar, shares his new vision of mindfulness as a complete way of living, from cultivating concentration and awareness to understanding our place in the universe.

Check out Melvin’s podcast series, The Complete Path of Mindfulness, where he talks with leaders in the field about a groundbreaking new advance in mindfulness practice. Melvin and his guests explore mindfulness as not only a helpful meditation technique, but as a complete, transformative path of life.

This time on Mindrolling, Melvin and Raghu explore:

• Looking into what this life and universe is all about
• Leading happier and more meaningful lives
• Seeing mindfulness as a complete path of life
• Melvin’s four identified keys of mindfulness
• Inspiration from Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the most important spiritual teachers of this age
• Developing the power of concentration
• Following a path without adopting a formal religion
• Recognizing our deep, intimate connection with all things
• Investigating the nature of awareness
• Taming the mind and the RAIN method taught by Tara Brach
• Be Here Now: Inhabiting the moment with loving-awareness
• Melvin’s interview with Joanna Macy, renowned Buddhist thinker, environmental activist, and author

About Melvin McLeod:

Melvin McLeod is the editor-at-large of Lion's Roar, the largest media organization in the English language devoted to Buddhist meditation and mindfulness, and co-founder of Mindful magazine. He has been practicing for more than 40 years and is a well-known and respected authority on mindfulness and meditation. His ground-breaking teaching on the Complete Path of Mindfulness has been praised by leaders in the field as an important advance in how mindfulness is defined and practiced. Check out his new book to learn more about this innovative work: With a Single Breath: The Complete Path of Mindfulness.

“When mindfulness is seen not simply as a helpful meditation technique but as a complete path of life, it can offer the same powerful tools for personal and societal transformation traditionally only offered by religion in an evidence-driven, common-sense format, for all of those people who are not especially interested in following a capital ‘R’ religious path.” –Melvin McLeod

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