The Buddha taught a path of awakened living, but how does that manifest in today’s world of constant connectivity and widespread suffering?

How do we keep our hearts open without being defined or hardened by the pain that surrounds us, whether personal, collective, or historical? How do we navigate the paradox of holding both pain and joy without mistaking suffering for punishment or personal failure? Can we infuse our compassion with wisdom and perspective to find the agency to take meaningful action in our communities? In her new series, Engaged Compassion, Sharon delves into these questions and more, engaging in candid conversations with a diverse group of teachers, activists, and changemakers.

For the sixth episode in the series, Sharon’s speaks with teacher and change-maker Reggie Hubbard, marking his third appearance on the Metta Hour. Reggie is an internationally recognized yoga and meditation teacher and the founder and chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga. Reggie’s yoga and meditation practice have served as a sanctuary of peace and perspective while navigating the stresses of being a Black man in the world. He has been a featured speaker on new consciousness, racial justice, and civic engagement for leading wellness publications. In addition, Reggie has held many senior strategic and logistical roles across a variety of fields, ranging from global marketing to Presidential campaigning. His life’s work sits at the intersection of bringing more peace and balance to activists, guiding the wellness community toward being more engaged, concerned citizens, and enhancing the well-being of all walks of life.

In this conversation, Reggie and Sharon speak about:

• Democracy as call and response

• Re-imagining our current circumstance

• What Reggie learned from his stroke

• The ability to hope is crucial

• Wisdom from Joanna Macy

• External circumstance is not the end of the story

• How spiritual life informs activism

• There is no harvest without planting seeds

• Reggie’s healing retreats for Men of Color

• The challenges men face from patriarchy

• Tending and mending grief

• The importance of not-being-okay

• Compassion versus the rising tides of hatred

• “Love’s in need of love today” – Stevie Wonder

• Why extend goodwill to those who harm us?

• Compassion doesn’t dictate certain actions

• Impermanence as a hope in dark times

• What sphere of influence can you impact?

• Joy as a radical act of self-care

• There must be dancing in the revolution

• Finding peace amidst extreme challenges

Additional Resources

To close out the episode, Reggie leads a gratitude and sound meditation. You can learn more about Reggie’s work right here.

Related Metta Hour Episodes

Episode 210: Reggie’s first appearance on the Metta Hour as part of the Mental Health Series, released in 2023.

Episode 250: Reggie’s second appearance on the Metta Hour, speaking on Election Stress, released in 2024.

]]> https://beherenownetwork.com/mindrolling-with-raghu-markus-ep-649-the-alchemy-of-compassion-equanimity-with-joseph-goldstein-noah-markus/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 20:00:00 +0000 https://beherenownetwork.com/ep-649-the-alchemy-of-compassion-equanimity-with-joseph-goldstein-noah-markus/ Joseph Goldstein, along with Noah & Raghu Markus, discuss how to maintain a balance of compassion and equanimity for a more peaceful life. This...]]>

Joseph Goldstein, along with Noah & Raghu Markus, discuss how to maintain a balance of compassion and equanimity for a more peaceful life.

This time on Mindrolling, Joseph, Noah, and Raghu explore:

• Buddhist philosophy on relative truth vs. ultimate truth
• Feeling the body as an energy field of changing sensations rather than something solid
• How one can tend the heart in troubled times
• The manifestations of reactivity that make the heart retract
• Seeing our reality as a blip in cosmic time
• Inspiring awe through nature as a way to open and soften the heart
• The book Fall of Civilizations by Paul Cooper
• Balancing the qualities of compassion and equanimity
• Investigating the phenomena of thinking rather than the content of a thought
• Lessons on direct experience from the Bāhiya Sutta

“At those times, you’re stronger on the compassion side and less strong on the equanimity side. When you see that, that can be a good reminder: ‘Oh yeah, this is what’s happening; I need to go out and look at the stars’. We need both. Either one by itself can tend to states that may not be that helpful.” –Joseph Goldstein

About Joseph Goldstein:

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

“In meditation, we can begin to feel our bodies not as anything solid but as a dynamic energy field of changing sensations in which the body as we typically perceive it is no longer there.” –Joseph Goldstein

About Noah Markus:

Noah Markus is a content curator & archivist for Love Serve Remember Foundation. He spends his time curating Ram Dass content for podcasts, courses, and much more.

Photo via by Mint_Images

More Mindrolling Podcasts:

Episode one of Mindrolling with Raghu Markus & David Silver

Using modern tools to support inner transformation, ServiceSpace founder Nipun Mehta offers innovative solutions for turning artificial intelligence into collective heart intelligence.

The Movie of Me to The Movie of We with Duncan Trussell & Raghu Markus

The Teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche with David Silver & Raghu Markus

Community organizer Britt Gondolfi joins Anita to explore the impact of knowing your roots, embracing your story, and becoming a force for good.

This time on The Four Sacred Gifts, Anita and Britt explore:

• What it means to understand the self and the shame we carry with us
• The importance of tracing where you come from
• Connecting to our ancestors in dream life and waking life
• Taking responsibility for the care of ecosystems
• The beauty of being in community with people who want to do something good
• Navigating conflict through love
• Going to court on behalf of our environment

About Britt Gondolfi:

Britt Gondolfi, born and raised in Southeast Louisiana, is a children’s book author, community organizer, and mother. Since 2017, Britt has worked with the Bioneers Intercultural Conversation Program, facilitating programming for students from Atlanta, Bogalusa, and Houma. While in law school, Britt supported the Bioneers Rights of Nature initiative by researching the intersection of tribal sovereignty and Federal Indian law, facilitating workshops on the Rights of Nature at the Ho-Chunk and Mashpee Wampanoag nations. She recently took a stand for women’s rights, running a fierce campaign for State Senate in Louisiana. Her first Children’s book, “Look Up! Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution,” is a hilarious social commentary on digital distraction and Nature’s fight to save us from ourselves.

“I have to recognize that all of that historical memory lives in me, and within this body and lifetime. How do I alchemize the lessons of all of my ancestors? ” – Britt Gondolfi

More Be Here Now Network Podcasts:

Exploring the factors of enlightenment, Vipassana teacher Trudy Goodman offers listeners ‘the good news’ of Buddhist Practice.

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.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Trudy Goodman explores:

• The balancing factor, energizing factors, and calming factors of enlightenment
• Manifesting metta through mindfulness
• Investigation into the truth of the dharma
• Offering compassion to the pain we feel
• The beauty and profound stillness of a unified heart-mind
• Being both the subject and object of experience
• Having faith in the strengthening of our mindfulness skills

This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed

About Trudy Goodman:

Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy’s flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com

“We can be both the subject and object of experience. We can drop the whole thing and be neither. We have this capacity when we are willing to focus our attention, and, to focus our attention somewhere besides here, we discover a whole world of empathy, love, and intimate connection.” –Trudy Goodman

More Be Here Now Network Podcasts:

Lama Rod Owens covers the dharma of freedom, loving ourselves, ancestral work, and the power of meditation: Dedication to Liberation

JoAnna Hardy shares a guided meditation all around the first foundation of mindfulness – mindfulness of the body: First Foundation Guided Meditation

Through bearing witness, love & service, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee shares how we can collectively heal the crisis of disconnection & ecological devastation: Love & Service

Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh explores how we can joyfully bring mindfulness into everyday activities like phone calls, driving, and walking: The Ojai Foundation Presents: Under the Teaching Tree with Thich Nhat Hanh

In the second half of this powerful wartime talk, Jack Kornfield guides us through the practice of lovingkindness and explores what it means to stay open-hearted in the face of exhaustion, grief, and overwhelm.

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

This time on Heart Wisdom, Jack Kornfield chats about:

• Lovingkindness (metta) as a practice of resilience
• Overcoming despair by using our inner resources
• Working with emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue
• The wisdom of allowing emptiness instead of fixing it
• The power of presence in shaping the future
• Becoming a force of peace in the world

“When we live in the present moment, we can be strong and loving no matter what. We don’t get lost in our fear. The practice of living in the present with mindful, loving awareness is a doorway to your freedom, to your well being.”  –Jack Kornfield

The episode was originally filmed for Mantra Ukraine, you can learn more about them on Instagram

About Jack Kornfield:

Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.

Jack is currently offering a wonderful array of transformational online courses diving into crucial topics like Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals, Walking the Eightfold Path, Opening the Heart of Forgiveness, Living Beautifully, Transforming Your Life Through Powerful Stories, and so much more. Sign up for an All Access Pass to explore Jack’s entire course library. If you would like a year’s worth of online meetups with Jack and fellow community, join The Year of Awakening: A Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield.

Stay up to date with Jack and his stream of fresh dharma offerings by visiting JackKornfield.com and signing up for his email teachings.

“You don’t have to rush your compassion. Just be where you are and hold even the emptiness with great kindness.”  –Jack Kornfield

Photo by Aaaarianne

Krishna Das reflects on Maharaj-ji’s teaching that all names, forms, and journeys lead to the same truth.

This week on Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das talks about:

• Neem Karoli’s teaching: Sub Ek (all one)
• Following the heart and our own individual path to God
• A dream message that Krishna Das had from Maharaj-ji
• Developing communication skills for improved relationships
• How being hard on ourselves makes it difficult to offer compassion to others
• Putting effort into daily practice
• Living with ease and being with all experiences, good and bad

“Maharaj-ji said one thing to us that was life-changing: sub ek. All one. Many names, many forms, many paths, all one. Different cultures call it by different names, they conceive of it differently, but underneath the thoughts it’s all the same…What Jesus realized is the same thing that the yogis in India realized, that the Zen Buddhists, Sufis, Muslims realized. They don’t get stuck in the difference of the forms. It’s just names; they’re all the names of the same thing which is our own true nature.” –Krishna Das

About Krishna Das:

Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Grammy nominee Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.”  With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling chant artist of all time. His album ‘Live Ananda’ (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.

KD spent the late ’60s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji. Krishna Das now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life, of Maharaji-ji, of his life on the Path and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops. To date, KD has released 15 well-received albums, most recently Trust in the Heart released in October 2017.

MORE INFORMATION and OFFERINGS VISIT: https://krishnadas.com/ KRISHNA DAS ON SOCIAL: FACEBOOK: facebook.com/KrishnaDasMusic INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/krishnadasmusic YOUTUBE: / krishnadasmusic X: @krishnadas #KrishnaDas

In the conclusion of this classic talk, Ram Dass explores giving up our rushes, working with death, not judging the trip, using a relationship to awaken, and much more.

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

This episode of Here and Now is from a retreat at the Embassy Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1980. Don’t miss the first part of this talk: Ep. 304 – The Wisdom of the Universe.

• Ram Dass begins by talking about how hard it can be to give up the rushes of life; it’s painful when the melodrama isn’t captivating anymore. He dives into his work with death and dying, reading “A Letter to Rachel.”
• Ram Dass transitions into an exploration of using a relationship to awaken. He says that when we want to become who we truly are badly enough, there’s no way not to use everything in our lives as a vehicle for awakening, including our relationships.
• As the talk draws to a close, Ram Dass reminds us that the basic social institution is the human heart. He tells us not to underestimate the power of giving ourselves the space to deepen our beings.

“If you are using a relationship to awaken, everything that your partner does is what they do, and that’s part of the humanness of the situation. And don’t deny the humanness. And don’t get lost in it.” – Ram Dass

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

Listen to more episodes of the Ram Dass Here and Now Podcast:

Go back to the very beginning of the journey as Ram Dass talks about his early years in life and the psychedelic experience that changed everything in Here and Now Ep. 1.

How does our perception shape our experience of suffering? Ram Dass investigates the many roots of suffering in Here and Now Ep. 132.

We all touch states of transcendence. Ram Dass explores how we can come into contact with the path of awakening in Here and Now Ep. 164.

Ram Dass breaks down the history of psychedelics and helps us understand the risks and rewards of these consciousness-altering chemicals in Here and Now Ep. 183.

With both insight and vulnerability, Author Annette Knopp explores how our earliest attachment experiences shape the way we love, relate, and walk in this world.

In this episode, David and Annette chat about:

• Connecting to our own personal experiences within a creative process
• The intersection of healing and liberation
• Annette’s journey through complex post-traumatic stress disorder
• How our unhealed parental projections create issues within our relationships
• Attachment trauma and somatic healing work
• How our psychological blueprint begins as early as the womb
• The theory of being a ‘good enough’ parent 30% of the time
• Offering repair and having a baseline of secure attachment
• Working with our unmet needs through awareness and observation
• Looking at the message (imprint) rather than the messenger (trigger)
• The motherly presence that is within the path of healing

Join Dharma Moon’s for their 100-hour course on teaching mindfulness meditation or for a course on meditation and embodied wisdom

About Annette Knopp:

Annette Knopp is the author of Mystic Nomad: A Woman’s Wild Journey to True Connection and co-founder of Blue Spirit Retreat Center in Costa Rica. A meditation teacher, somatic educator, and nature mystic rooted in 30 years of personal contemplative practice, she weaves Indo-Tibetan meditation, Andean earth-based practices, and modern Western approaches to trauma resolution into transformative teaching and mentorship. Her work bridges ancient wisdom and contemporary healing in service of human dignity, wholeness, and embodied connection.

Grab a copy of Annette’s book, Mystic Nomad: A Woman’s Wild Journey to True Connection, or join her in Costa Rica for an upcoming retreat.

“These imprints are laid down in phases before we have the brain development to have even a narrative around it. When we work in trauma with people, it’s all about making what has been implicit, explicit.” –Annette Knopp

More Be Here Now Network Podcasts:

Completing their 18-part dialogue, Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson explore the futility of control, the prison of knowledge, and how deep silence releases our need for answers and opens a door to the immeasurable.

This 18-part miniseries may be over, but stay subscribed to this feed for more talks by Krishnamurti. For a deeper dive into the teachings of Krishnamurti, check out the Krishnamurti Foundation of America’s ongoing series: The Krishnamurti Podcast

To start at the beginning of this multi-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson: Click Here

In this episode, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:

• Direction: time, control, will, and an end
• The futility of control and the controller as the controlled
• Considering whether we can live without control, will, and direction
• The division of inner and outer as a symptom
• How living only in the field of knowledge becomes a prison
• Preserving our energy with silence and opening the door to the immeasurable
• Stepping back from the obsession with answers and keeping doubt on a leash
• The biblical concept of the peace that surpasses understanding

“The search for the immeasurable has no meaning. I can give a meaning to it; it has no meaning. That’s just a supposition, a speculation, or the assertion of a few who think they know. When I have discarded all of that, and the mind is utterly silent, what is the immeasurable? What is the everlasting, the eternal? Not in terms of God and all these things man has invented. Silence in the deep sense of that word opens the door.” –J. Krishnamurti

This talk was originally recorded in 1974 at San Diego State University and curated by the Krishnamurti Foundation of America

About J. Krishnamurti:

For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.

About Dr. Allan W. Anderson:

Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.

Photograph Courtesy of Krishnamurti Foundations

More Be Here Now Network Podcasts:

Lama Rod Owens covers the dharma of freedom, loving ourselves, ancestral work, and the power of meditation: Dedication to Liberation

JoAnna Hardy shares a guided meditation all around the first foundation of mindfulness – mindfulness of the body: First Foundation Guided Meditation

Through bearing witness, love & service, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee shares how we can collectively heal the crisis of disconnection & ecological devastation: Love & Service

Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh explores how we can joyfully bring mindfulness into everyday activities like phone calls, driving, and walking: The Ojai Foundation Presents: Under the Teaching Tree with Thich Nhat Hanh

What does it mean to see psychedelics as tools or guides instead of solutions?

Dakota and his guest, Your Mate Tom, look at how transpersonal experiences provide insight yet still require real-world integration, self-work, and spiritual practice to fully embody.

If Dakota’s perspective resonates with you, you’ll enjoy Tom’s documentaries, vlogs, and in-depth interviews that explore psychedelics, personal transformation, and the world at large through a different lens. Check it out over on the ‘​​Your Mate Tom’ YouTube channel: Your Mate Tom

This time on The Flower Heads Show:

• How psychedelics give us a hall pass to accept our power
• What can be learned from spending time with shamans
• The pharmacy of the Amazon jungle
• How Bhavani Baba helped Dakota direct the wisdom of Sapo to the right place
• Putting what psychedelics show us into practice
• Loving yourself first and treating your mind, body, and heart well
• Wisdom and unconventional teachings from Neem Karoli Baba
• The basic yet profound practice of feeding people and chanting the name of God

About Dakota Wint:

Dakota Wint is a documentary filmmaker, vlogger, podcast host, and spiritual teacher from Detroit, Michigan. His films and podcasts revolve around current events, strange spirituality, and taboo traditions. You can subscribe to his podcast, A Place for Humans, HERE. Dakota grew to fame as an internet personality via his popular YouTube channel, Dakota of Earth. Dakota hosts retreats around the world and runs a non-profit focused on cultural and language preservation. Learn more about current happenings on his website.

“The sapo (toad) works. The psychedelics work. But we have to look at where they’re pointing and not confuse the light within the substance itself with what it shows us. It is a spotlight saying, ‘Hey, look over here.’” — Dakota Wint

More Be Here Now Network Podcasts: