logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
1h 23m

Ep. 201 – Ram Dass Fellowship: What’s Lo...

BE HERE NOW NETWORK
About this episode

Talking about everything, everybody, nothing and nobody, David shares stories about Trungpa Rinpoche and Ram Dass from the 1970s to now.

This conversation was recorded as part of the Ram Dass Fellowship’s regular online gatherings. To learn more about the Ram Dass Fellowship and sign up to join a fellowship gathering near you, visit RamDass.org/Fellowship.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode of the BHNN Guest Podcast, David and Jackie discuss:

  • The first meeting of Ram Dass and Trungpa Rinpoche
  • Seeing the ordinary magic of this reality 
  • David’s work with Krishna Das and receiving dream-messages
  • Conjoining love and bliss with emptiness
  • Ram Dass’ concept of ‘becoming nobody’
  • Nihilism and negativity versus an empty openness 
  • David’s work with the Ram Dass Legacy treats in Maui
  • Two different types of meditation (focus and discovery)
  • Showing up for practice rather than doing it perfectly 
  • Love and surrender within the guru tradition and other forms of love
  • How to respond to hate with love in these trying times 
  • Transforming anger and working with our emotions in a more productive way 

Check out David Nichtern’s Meditation Teacher Training Course - registration extended to Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025: Learn More

About David Nichtern:

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician. David’s journey has crisscrossed with the Maharaji/Ram Dass sangha for decades. He has produced multiple Krishna Das albums and frequently joins the Bhaktettes live on guitar. He considers himself to be a first cousin and honorary member of the Bhakti community. 

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves. 

Photo via PerfectLazybones

“There’s passionate love, deep love of a friendship, playful love, love for everything. In our culture love has gotten confusing, especially in romantic comedies. But, I think love doesn’t bend. It’s this deep, steadfast, force like gravity. That unconditional love that isn’t moved around by the wind.” – Jackie Dobrinska


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Aug 15
Ep. 220 - Dopey Hope: Cultivating Resilience Through Honesty & Service with Anne Lamott
Immersing listeners in hope and optimism, author Anne Lamott helps listeners cultivate resilience through stories of honesty and service.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best s ... Show More
50m 10s
Aug 8
Ep. 219 - Jellyroll Metta with Trudy Goodman
Opening our hearts in practice, Trudy Goodman takes us through her Jellyroll meditation to encourage the expansion of metta from the self to others.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being ... Show More
35m 43s
Aug 1
Ep. 218 - Anicca: Seeing The Inconstancy of All Things with Gil Fronsdal
Gil Fronsdal reflects on Anicca, the Buddhist teaching often translated as impermanence, and offers a more precise lens for Western minds to understand its meaning.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on yo ... Show More
50m 6s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
Ep. 122 - Essential Buddhism Part 1: Developing Our Field of Awareness
In this talk from 1974 at Naropa University, Joseph Goldstein gets into the essentials of Buddhism. He lectures about dharma, insight meditation, and developing our field of awareness.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with you ... Show More
37m 47s
Apr 2023
The Buddha’s Eight Part Recipe for Happiness | DaRa Williams
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- This episode kicks off our series on the Eightfold Path which will continue on Wednesdays for the next two weeks with Eugene Cash and Joseph Goldstein. DaRa ... Show More
50m 13s
Sep 2023
Ep. 235 – The Process of Awakening
In this recording from 1976, Ram Dass explores the process of awakening and becoming enlightened. Featuring a musical interlude from Krishna Das and an introduction from Raghu Markus.This episode is a continuation of the dharma talk from Here and Now Ep. 234 – The Awakening of th ... Show More
44m 58s
Jul 2023
Ep. 230 – The Truth of Your Deepest Being
Ram Dass explores how to find the balance between emptiness and compassion in the face of immense suffering and tap into the truth of your deepest being to hear your unique dharma.This episode is a continuation of the talk from Here and Now Ep. 229 – The Sword of DiscriminationTo ... Show More
55m 8s
Jan 2023
The Enlightened Mind | Part 5 of The Dalai Lama's Guide to Happiness
What is the Dalai Lama’s own meditation practice like? In this final episode, the Dalai Lama goes into great detail about the whys and wherefores of meditation, taking us way into the deep end. We cover single-pointed versus analytical meditation, gross and subtle levels of the m ... Show More
44m 49s
Apr 2021
Eiman Al Zaabi on Finding Grace
Eiman Al Zaabi is a Muslim spiritual teacher who integrates the principles of harmony, beauty and unity into her teachings. Eiman is a facilitator and transformational coach who helps individuals transform their relationships and careers, heal from past trauma, and live authentic ... Show More
43m 33s
Nov 2021
Beth Jacobs on Original Buddhist Psychology
Beth Jacobs is a clinical psychologist in private practice and a former faculty member of the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. She is also a teacher in the Soto Zen tradition and incorporates Buddhist studies and meditation into her work as both a psycholog ... Show More
47m 39s
Nov 2021
Ep. 135 – The Forgiving Heart
Jack Kornfield explores the forgiving heart, offering us the basic ingredients for wise forgiveness, and leads a powerful guided meditation practice called the three directions of forgiveness.This dharma talk was originally live-streamed by Spirit Rock on 9/20/21This podcast is b ... Show More
53m 36s
Nov 2021
How to Get Out of Your Head | Willa Blythe Baker
It is a common desire to get out of our heads, to escape the internal noise, the chatter, the Sturm und Drang, the sound and fury, etc. You hear about it in pop songs and poetry, this urge to be blown away, to transcend. But how do you actually do it? Willa Blythe Baker can help ... Show More
49m 47s