Sitaram Dass spent several years serving his beloved teacher Ram Dass on Maui, where he was shown the path of Bhakti, the yoga of service and devotion to God. He is a writer, musician, counselor, and community volunteer working to strengthen our sense of the Timeless Sacred in today’s modern world. His new collection of prose and poetry, From and For God, is available now at all online retailers. “Love Serve Remember .. are instructions from our own heart.” Sitaram shares with us tales from Ram Dass’ final years, alongside lucid soulful discussions around service, vulnerability, perfectionism, and how the continual re-examination of faith is rooted in freedom. His book recommendations are: “Be Love Now” by Ram Dass The books of Mirabai Starr The Bhagavad Gita “Paths To God” by Ram Dass 100% of the profits from From and For God (www.fromandforgod.com) go to Hanuman Maui, a 501(c)3 nonprofit continuing Ram Dass’s presence on Maui. The author donates 100% of his profits to Hanuman Maui, a 501(c)3 nonprofit continuing Ram Dass’s presence on Maui. Hanuman Maui upholds his teachings of love, service and devotion through the Hanuman Temple and Loving Awareness Sanctuary. https://www.hanumanmaui.org/ Half of those proceeds are specifically designated for Kripa’s service projects through the Sacred Community Project, a program under the direct fiscal sponsorship of Hanuman Maui. Kripa works to lower the barriers of access to contemplative and devotional practices through affordable, free, and donation-based offerings, spiritual support, and prison outreach. Learn more about Kripa and listen to their music at: https://kripa.guru Learn more about Sitaram Dass and contact him at: https://sitaramdass.com Subscribe to our Be Where How? Show channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKRhNdi_EuVOUKJhZoHQ3uw/ Bringing the mountaintop to the here and now. More Be Where How? goodness — our Spotify / Apple Podcasts, Medium.com writing, Instagram, & higher consciousness apparel are here: https://linktr.ee/bewherehow
Esther Ladipo is a social impact inspiration. A proud Nigerian-American born in Columbus, Ohio, currently living in Austin Texas, Esther works at DoorDash on their Social Impact team, alongside being the cofounder and CEO of Ranowo.org, a donation platform supporting black and Latin-x nonprofits through donations of physical goods. We talk about her early motivations for service. We untangle ‘social impact’ being a trendy term—how to keep it all sincere, transcend the critics, and make a legitimate impact where it matters. And we close out about her own conscious intention to get where she is today. Check out Esther’s platform out and donate to a worthy local nonprofit: www.Ranowo.org Her book recs are: “The Midnight Library” by Matt Hague “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
Now in our 13th month live, we share creative project updates and introduce a new regular member of our pod panel: Maggie Burke, a former Big Tech strategist who’s now at NewStoryCharity.org ending global homelessness. We also talk about our favorite episodes from the past year—from Bob’s endless demystifying of mysticism to Marcelo’s deconstruction of “COVID”, practical breathing tips from Marie to Ram Dass stories told by Jeremy… we’ve had no shortage of fascinating conversations… grateful for our new friends and for many more to come. Heavy book recommendations list from the entire panel in this episode too: “Clarity and Connection” by Yung Pueblo “The Life of Yogananda” by Philip Goldberg “The Surrender Experiment” by Michael A. Singer “Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson “No Mud No Lotus” by Thich Nhat Hanh “Disappearance of the Universe” by Gary Renard “The World Religions” by Huston Smith The “Shadow and Bone” Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo “Braving the Wilderness” by Brene Brown “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda” “Radical Acceptance” by Tara Brach “The Places That Scare You” by Pema Chodron “The Little Book of Philosophy” by DK Publishing "Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West" by Daniel Ladinsky “A Mind at Home with Itself” by Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell
Aaron Jackson is the founder of PlantingPeace.org, a nonprofit he started fifteen years ago when he was 24 years old. His projects focus on a range of humanitarian and environmental initiatives, including a multi-national deworming campaign (they have successfully dewormed over 22 million starving children around the world); a network of orphanages and safe havens in developing countries (two orphanages in Haiti and two in India); LGBTQ rights advocacy, the Equality House and Transgender House; and rainforest conservation efforts in the Amazon. The team listens to Aaron’s riveting stories detailing the extremely DIY-nature of his nonprofit’s humble beginnings. He started with one rental property in Haiti to house a few orphans, which led to smuggling deworming medication in backpacks, and eventually international recognition as a CNN Hero. Donate to Aaron Jackson’s charity, Planting Peace, at https://www.plantingpeace.org Follow more from Aaron at https://www.facebook.com/plantingpeace
Elizabeth Nelson aka @lzbth.ai is a psych major turned graphic designer from Austin, Texas. When she’s not designing, she enjoys learning about maritime disasters, digging through thrift shops, and talking herself out of buying more houseplants. She’s currently freelancing in New York City, beating off the quarantine insanity by going on lots of long walks. “Existential crisis meets textbook diagram”, is Elizabeth’s bio, summarizing a lot about where she is right now after the pandemic completely upended her entire life plan. She transmuted this ‘floating consciousness’ into her design work, reaching new success in a new territory. We talk about using the creative process to help unravel our insecurities & vulnerabilities, and how crucial self-love is throughout it all. Follow this woman on instagram right now: https://www.instagram.com/lzbth.ai Subscribe to our Be Where How? Show channel: http://bit.ly/bewherehowshow More Be Where How? goodness — our Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Medium.com writing, Instagram, & higher consciousness apparel are here: https://linktr.ee/bewherehow
From the people who brought you “Too Poor for Canopy”, they’re here to start a revolution. Unknown Collective is an artist collective in Austin, Texas on a mission to connect the community to emerging art. Marcella Colavecchio & Jair Piñeros are two of the collective’s co-founders, who talk to Bob & Ryan about emerging art in Austin—how they started painting, how they’re supporting local artists, and how to help them elevate extremely talented grassroots creatives. Marcella’s advice to aspiring artists hits any writers’ block reluctance powerfully: do the art that you love everyday. We also happened to mention: The horror films of Dario Argento The sculptures & installations of Yayoi Kusama That Basquiat documentary “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” “The Dresden Files” The novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez Follow Unknown Collective on IG: @_unknowncollective @marcellaispainting @inkcolor Subscribe to our Be Where How? Show channel: http://bit.ly/bewherehowshow More Be Where How? goodness — our Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Medium.com writing, Instagram, & higher consciousness apparel are here: https://linktr.ee/bewherehow
Zevi Slavin is a Hasidic Jewish mystic and content creator of the channel “Seekers of Unity”. Zevi grew up in Australia, moved to LA when he was eighteen, then NY, and Cape Town, South Africa. Now living in Israel, Zevi is an ordained rabbi dedicated to teaching about the beauty of Judaism, philosophy, world mysticism, and all of their many benefits. Zevi explains the unique contributions of Jewish mysticism within the world’s mystic traditions—as we discuss, they integrate the legalistic with the ecstatic like no other tradition. They encourage the deification of the human being, and they sound a lot like the Upanishads! The mystic is not separate from God—that line is blurred! Outside of God, nothing else exists. Lastly, Zevi walked us through some of his daily practices, and how every aspect of his day is full of intention. His book recs are: “The Perennial Philosophy” & “The Doors of Perception” by Aldous Huxley “The Unity of Mystical Traditions” by Randall Studstill “Nonduality” by David R. Loy Stay looped in with Zevi & Seekers of Unity on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL9A83sJIYNAovCA92uaTRQ Subscribe to our Be Where How? Show channel: http://bit.ly/bewherehowshow
Marie Young is a body-based coach who helps clients reach their goals by connecting with their bodies and souls first. She has been studying yogic practices for over twenty years, and teaching for nearly ten. Marie empowers clients with grounding techniques and coaching tools so they can live their lives with purpose, passion, and focus. We discuss different meditation types, the body, and using physical sensations as a meditative technique. Different spiritual practices: how to find yours, or stick with one, or to listen to when to move on. Toning the vagus nerve (Cranial Nerve 10): the ventral and the dorsal. How scientific research validates a lot of what the 19th and 20th century Hindu swamis talked about. Guru stories. Shakti and Shiva as the Immanent and Transcendent. Chanting as a form of resilience, by amplifying the autonomic response. And then we end on one of Marie’s guided meditation sessions. Her book recs are: “Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve” by Stanley Rosenberg “Chakra Yoga” by Anadea Judith “Awakening Shakti” by Sally Kempton Sync up with Marie: https://mariebyoung.com Stay connected with us via email: https://bewherehow.com Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/bewherehowshow Shoutout to Meditative Mind behind the sound & visual during our meditation: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMeditativeMind
Marcelo Villaseñor is a visual artist based in Austin, Texas. He is originally from Monterrey Mexico. Marcelo works primarily with photography and design, with the intention to deconstruct life through creative and meditative processes. His creative brand is Visual Mantra, whose tagline is Mindful Art to Align Awareness. Marcelo led us through memory, intention and the deconstruction of concepts—in order to approach the essence. He reminded us to question everything. Marcelo deconstructs everything, even COVID. His book recommendations are: “Be Here Now” by Ram Dass “The Fifth Agreement” by don Miguel Ruiz “Altered Traits” by Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse “Consciousness: An Introduction” by Susan Blackmore and Emily Troscianko “Conscious” by Annaka Harris ‘A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle “How to Change Your Mind” by Michael Pollan “The Harvard Psychedelic Club” by Don Lattin “Waking Up” by Sam Harris “The Sophia Code” by Kaia Ra Follow Marcelo’s work on Instagram https://instagram.com/visual.mantra.art and his site https://visualmantra.art. Stay connected with us via email: https://bewherehow.com
Dr. Aaron Conrado holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Texas at Austin. While dedicating himself in graduate school to scientific progress for the betterment of others, he discovered a passion for communicating science to non-scientists, and decided to leave the halls of academia to pursue a career using this newfound talent to address societal problems by creating evidence-based policy solutions. Shortly after graduating, he left his home of Austin, TX and moved to Washington, DC to work on science policy in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President (The White House). Aaron is an old friend of the boys, and despite his secular-minded academic background and professional career as a scientist, he has a refreshingly open outlook on the transcendental. He hasn’t quite “jumped off the cliff”, but science does seem to be moving in closer proximity to spiritual ideals. As a science educator, Aaron’s ask is that we stick ...