Season 1, Episode 9: Navigating a Material World: Spiritual Life In The Modern Era with April Stevens
The world and your life are not in a bubble; they effect everything that you encounter. So [it’s important] to have a sense of what it means to be connected to others, other human beings and the natural world, how we're connected to all life. And we are made up of the very things that make up all things on this planet, which is an amazing thing just to think about. We are the very thing that stars are made of. —April Stevens
In this episode, spiritual thinker and artist April Stevens and I explore what a meaningful spiritual life looks like during our modern era. We consider teachings from Buddhist meditation masters Chogyam Trungpa and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche that provide a deeper insight into our mind’s interconnection with the natural world. We also discuss living through pandemic times, and April closes our conversation with a powerful poem by Naomi Shihab Nye.
April Stevens is a seasoned meditation practitioner in the Buddhist tradition, as well as a trained artist and art educator. She runs the Meditation Training Center of Denver with her husband Jeffrey Stevens, providing a space for people to come together to explore spiritual practice and cultivate community.
Episode Links:
In Love with the World: A Monk’s Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying By Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche with Helen Tworkov
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior By Chogyam Trungpa
Image credit: Buki Dan