A Conversation With Gangaji

Some people have no fear of death while others brace against it, either consciously or unconsciously. If we do the best we can in life, if we live a conscious life, is it possible that we can somehow increase our own potential for a good death? Is there such a thing as making the wrong decision when it comes to death? As we struggle with subjects like prolonging life and assisted suicide, Gangaji opens the door to for us to inspect our deepest fears around our own mortality. When we put all spiritual concepts aside, what does it mean to have a “good” death?

From the time we are born we are bombarded with countless messages that tell us that in order to be fulfilled we need to be different than who we are. In our everyday lives our attention is directed to how we look, what we feel, what we have and how we behave. But how do these unavoidable aspects of life keep us engaged in the endless cycle of thinking we are actually a “thing” that constantly needs to be fixed.? If ultimate peace is not found in losing the next pound, solving the next problem, making the next dollar or understanding the next teaching then where is it?

The act of forgiving another, not to mention ourselves, is a great power. Forgiveness has the potential to annihilate even the most intense feelings of betrayal and isolation. But what about situations that seem impossible to forgive? What is the cost if we are unable or unwilling to forgive? And what is revealed when we are willing to experience the pain underneath “should forgive” or “can't forgive”? This month, on A Conversation with Gangaji we're talking about the complexity of betrayal and what's possible when it comes to forgiveness.

Going back through human history, there have been individuals who have had profound spiritual awakenings. As a result, they seem to possess a deeper understanding of what we might call God or stillness or presence. They are sometimes called “enlightened beings”. They stand before us as proof that we too can connect to this essential part of ourselves. For more than twenty years, Gangaji has said that she is just like us, but how do our beliefs that she is different, that she has something we don't have, keep us from the exact thing that we are searching for?  

What if in reality there is no God; that despite our spiritual beliefs and practices we discover that they are no more than mental concepts that somehow comfort us as human beings? What if peace and stillness are merely the result of the sophisticated inner workings of the brain? Are God and the brain the same? At the end of the day, the answer to that question may not even matter, but actually facing the core of our doubt might be the most important thing we ever do. Where is God? Where is stillness? What is true?

There are so many aspects that make up a human life: where we live, who we choose for a partner, what our spiritual beliefs are, how we want to raise our children, what political views we support. The list is certainly different for each of us. However, the least discussed and most vulnerable conversation we could have might be around the subject of sex. From sexual intimacy, to shame, to the tangle of addiction, today we're talking about facing the rawness of humanity and what that has to do with discovering the truth of who we are.

This month on A Conversation with Gangaji we're asking the tough and less obvious questions about how we cause our own suffering. Is there a way that we knowingly or unknowingly receive something from our suffering? Is it even possible to suffer if we are taking full responsibility for our own lives? When calling off the search means putting an end to victimhood could it be that the freedom we desire is truly in our own hands?

Some people might experience it as insecurity and for others it might feel like outright self-hatred. The desire to protect ourselves from this feeling of unworthiness shows up in different ways. There are those who try to outrun it by building themselves up in the hope that no one will see their flaws, while others tear themselves down as proof of this not-enoughness. Either can be seen as an avoidance of actually experiencing the core of what we perhaps fear ourselves to be. What would a happen if we gave up on trying to be “enough”?

In this episode of A Conversation of Gangaji we’re going to take a look at what it is we put our trust in on a daily basis. When we rely on our thoughts, emotions, circumstances and who we think we are then we fall victim to the roller coaster of life, because all of those [...]The post #8: Trusting Life appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

Money is woven into our very sense of survival. We ask ourselves questions like: How will I make it? How can I keep it from going away? And once I have it, how can I get more? Being human requires having money to pay for what we need, but in this episode of a Conversation [...]The post #7 Financial Insecurity: Is It Really About The Money? appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

It is normal for human beings to search for happiness. We all go about it in our own way. For some it’s the perfect job or being in a loving relationship. For others it is living in a beautiful house, becoming a parent, reaching for the next peak experience, or simply ending the pain we [...] The post #6 The Search for Happiness appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

Love can be blissful and in the next moment it can be unexpectedly painful. How is it that we sometimes reject the exact thing we are longing for? Can a heart be healed once it’s been broken? Is there hope for fear of commitment? What are we willing to give up in the name of [...]The post #5 Love and Intimacy appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

There are countless types of addictions. Some are deadly and some are so engrained they go almost overlooked. But whether our addiction is to drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping, technology, relationships, or even the subtle addiction to thought itself, they are all guaranteed to result in suffering in some way. In this episode, Gangaji addresses [...]The post #4 Freedom from Addiction appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

The stress of everyday life presents endless opportunities for fear and anxiety to show itself. Whether it’s acute or chronic anxiety, it’s natural for us as humans to want to control it in the hope that it won’t get bigger. So we tell ourselves to “just let go”. But when does the idea of “letting [...] The post #3 Fear and Anxiety appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

In this episode we will take a deeper look at depression, as well as some of the common questions that surround it. Is depression anger turned inward? Is it an expression of a deeper spiritual awakening, as in a dark night of the soul? Gangaji’s exploration into the core of despair reveals something that we [...]The post #2 Inquiring Into the Core of Depression appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.

All of us will at one time or another be confronted with some type of acute or chronic pain, both emotional and physical. As humans, it’s normal to try to search for ways to get rid of it, or at least find some relief. In this first episode of A Conversation with Gangaji, we look [...]The post #1 Facing Chronic Pain appeared first on PAGATIM.fm.