Aired 5 May 2020 – 5:00 PM EDT
Interview with Practitioner, Teacher and Author Philip Goldberg
“Timeless wisdom is always timely.” — Swami Beyondananda
As our attention is drawn “out there” to the latest news or latest speculation or latest commentary about COVID-19, information given ostensibly to safeguard our health is making people more stressed, and consequently less healthy. The question is not so much how do we tune that information out, but how do we attune ourselves in to the resources that will help us process this information in a helpful, healthy way?
Long-time meditation teacher, practitioner and author Philip Goldberg has a new book out that couldn’t be more timely – Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times. And anyone who doesn’t think these are crazy times must be nuts.
Philip Goldberg has been studying the world’s spiritual traditions for more than 50 years, as a practitioner, teacher, and writer. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 books, including The Intuitive Edge; Get Out of Your Own Way; and Roadsigns on the Spiritual Path: Living at the Heart of Paradox. His 2010 book American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West chronicles the remarkable influence of India’s traditional spiritual teachings on the West and was named one of the top 10 religion books of the year by both Huffington Post and the American Library Association’s Booklist. His most recent book, published by Hay House, was The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru. He also appears onscreen in the award-winning documentary Awake: The Life of Yogananda. A screenwriter and published novelist (This Is Next Year), Phil is an ordained interfaith minister, spiritual counselor, and meditation teacher trained in 1970 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Now I have to be honest. Phil and I go back a long, long ways – since before I knew him. We both attended John Marshall Junior High School in Brooklyn at the same time, even though I didn’t know him then, and we grew up in the same spiritual tradition – as Brooklyn Dodger fans.
I’ve had a chance to go through Phil’s prescriptions for creating a “sane asylum” during these crazy times, and they are filled with humor, down-to-earth pragmatic wisdom, and uncommonly commonsensical practices.
If you’re ready to “go sane” and help others in your community do the same, please tune in.
To find out more about Phil Goldberg’s work, please go here.