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Posts by Heidi Mitchell
Can Our Democracy Be Healed? Taking Up the Fight
“To understand is to forgive.” – Dr. Michael Fischler?
In part 2 of Sliding Towards Authoritarianism, Constitutional Law expert and Ethics professor Mark Fischler continues to explain why our democracy is faltering and considers what we might do to heal it. He further unpacks the significance of the extreme lack of civic understanding in the United States and, well informed about students’ cognitive abilities and mental health status nationwide, Professor Fischler adds the precipitous drop in achievement scores and through-the-roof diagnoses of ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression to the mix, concluding, “You begin to see why an authoritarian world requiring only simple actions and answers would be more attractive than a democratic world that requires complexity, conversation, and the ability to see the intrinsic worth of the person across from you…the collective decision to honor democratic processes and the winner who was voted in.”
This is the challenge, Mark says: since everybody has a partial piece of the truth, we need to ask ourselves, am I curious enough to understand another’s partial piece of truth in order to enrich myself and help me understand that we are all in this together? We need to take up the fight for greater awareness that recognizes the good, the true, the beautiful, and the oneness of what is, Mark continues. Even after Mark’s poignant, in-depth look at the effects of the “course discourse” that has come to dominate the political arena and other significant factors contributing to the deterioration of our democracy, when asked what gives him hope, Mark answers, “A lot of things!” The discussion ends in a hopeful place—grim realities balanced with inspiring trends, including the growing recognition around the world that this is a global village we all live in together. Recorded December 4, 2025.
Read MoreSliding Towards Authoritarianism: Our Failing Democracy & What We Can Do About It
“An ignorant people can never remain a free people.” – Thomas Jefferson
Ep. 219 (Part 1 of 2) | Constitutional Law expert and Ethics professor Mark Fischler joins Deep Transformation again, to help us make sense of the slide towards authoritarianism happening in the United States today. Mark’s vast knowledge of the law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court, his deep comprehension of ethics and morality, his Integral understanding, and his profound contemplative awareness all make for an extraordinary exploration of what is going on in this country at levels we don’t often consider. Beginning with examples of events in 2025 that are representative of various facets of authoritarianism, Mark goes on to discuss how the very crassness of the current Administration is undermining democracy: “We need to demand civil, fact-based discussion from our leaders, but we’re all accepting it’s okay to act like toddlers and dehumanize each other.”
Mark cites some stunning figures illustrating the widespread ignorance of democratic processes and institutions among the populace in this country, and describes why a lack of civic understanding makes us susceptible to authoritarians coming in and taking over. He also acknowledges that progressives are at fault for marginalizing conservatives, and calls on us to recognize the honor and dignity of all people, regardless of their politics—this is part of the solution, he explains. Mark’s passionate caring, wanting the best for all people and all beings, is a current that flows throughout, grounding the discussion in a beautiful way, while also making for a heartbreaking contrast relative to the chilling events happening in the political arena now. Recorded December 4, 2025.
Read MoreWelcoming the Absolute: What Happens When Reality Lives Through You
“If we become mature enough to cease and desist, to let reality take its course… when we’re out of the way, true nature will come through—that’s what a true human is.”
Ep. 218 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the 17th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the great freedom we experience when we allow being itself to unfold through us—when we let reality take its course without our egoic selves getting in the way. When we are out of the way, Hameed explains, all the virtues come through us: responsibility, ethics, morality, compassion, caring, sensitivity, and more. These ideals are not human-made, he says, they are expressions of our true nature. In fact, Hameed adds, this is what a true human is; expressing the absolute is the fulfillment of life.
Just knowing the absolute does not eliminate all obstacles, Hameed continues. Even as we go very deep, there are “ego islands” that pose ongoing difficulties. But the practice is to be with our experience and let it inform us—allow our life experiences to become the arena for the expression of spirit. All we need to do is abide in the knowing that the absolute is expressing itself through us, Hameed says. And laughs telling a story about the “do nothing” instructions of lamas and Zen teachers, as they attempt to show their students that there is nothing to be done but get out of the way. All manifestation, our lives, even our problems and challenges and getting lost in the illusion is all a play of the absolute, Roger reflects. Another very rich, deeply nourishing conversation with A. H. Almaas. Recorded November 13, 2025.
Read MoreAwakening is Not the End of the Story: Living as the Radiance of the Absolute
“It is inherent to true nature for it to be lived in the world.”
Ep. 217 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 17th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the classic spiritual theme: the journey of descent. What happens after we awaken, having had a realization of the deepest kind? The path of descent, where we retain the awareness of what came with our experience of the absolute, and bring it into our life, expressing it with every aspect of our being. Many teachings talk about the ascent (the journey of awakening) and the descent, Hameed explains, but when they talk about the descent, they interpret it as an individual coming down the mountain with their great realization. Hameed thought this was how it happened too, he laughs. But then it became clear to him following his own descent that it is not an enlightened individual who descends back into the world—it’s the absolute. In Christian terms, it’s the father who comes, appearing as the son.
What was it like for Hameed as he descended, living in the absolute dimension at the same time as living in the everyday world? co-host John Dupuy asks. Something transcendent lives through the body with the individual as the organ of perception, Hameed responds. “The entire universe becomes subtle shimmerings…like the waves in quantum theory; the blackness so extreme that it shines—and that sheen is the world.” Different from the classic Eastern spiritual path, where what is significant is living the transcendent rather than living regular life, in the Diamond Approach (Hameed’s path), actualization is the goal, coming back to the everyday world and living life as an expression of the Absolute. Recorded November 13, 2025.
Embodying Compassion: The Practice of Loving Everyone with Jack Kornfield
“You think you’re separate – you think you exist. But you’re not who you think you are. You are consciousness in drag.”
Ep. 216 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of Deep Transformation’s first episode in the What is Real Greatness Series, longtime spiritual teacher Jack Kornfield declares that in his experience real greatness is a greatness of heart. In Buddhism, greatness of heart is embodied in the ideal of the bodhisattva—one whose life is dedicated to the well-being of all. Embodying compassion is not a grim proposition, Jack explains, but a joy! The whole point of it being human happiness and inner freedom. Because of his deep understanding of compassion, Jack was invited to the Oslo Freedom Forum to counsel global activists on how to prevent burnout, and when talking to them about their outrage, he told them, “You do this because you care—that is not a loss of power, it’s actually the deep power. Tune into the care.” Greatness of heart is the great power.
Jack relates that the experience of awakening can be felt in different ways: it might feel like everything is love, perfection, emptiness, or freedom. For me, the channel is love and my practice is to love everyone, he explains. We have to love both the lion and the gazelle, he continues, and shares a poignant story of how very loving Ram Dass became towards the end of his life, loving everything, even his pain. When the conversation turns towards the potential demise of humanity, Jack wonders, will we be able to do something beneficial with our consciousness now that we’re aware that we are all connected? What is the spirit you want to lead with? he asks. What is the dance you want to do? A thoroughly thought provoking, nourishing, inspiring conversation. Recorded October 2, 2025.
Read MoreSetting the Compass of Your Heart: What Really Matters with Jack Kornfield
“The beautiful thing about the bodhisattva ideal is that it becomes your intention… it becomes the setting of the compass of your heart.”
Ep. 215 (Part 1 of 2) | The first of Deep Transformation’s What is Real Greatness Series, this conversation with world-renowned meditation teacher Jack Kornfield is filled with beautiful teachings touching into the sacred at the heart of our lives and the point of our whole spiritual journey: to remember and embody our innate capacity to awaken and experience the reality of our own innate dignity and nobility. Respecting ourselves at the deepest level is what transforms us and transforms society too, Jack explains. “Do you hold yourself with nobility and respect?” he asks. “Can you remember your own beauty and dignity? Can you see it in others?”
The topic of greatness—real greatness—is woven throughout the dialogue, as Jack recounts the seed events of his own spiritual journey and ruminates on Roger’s question, what is the sacred question at the center of your life? This is a question Jack often asks his own students, and we are inspired to ponder it for ourselves, along with, if you were to write your own bodhisattva vow, what would it be? Jack is a master at inspiring us to live our ideals, to broaden the possibilities of our lives, and to remember the miracle of our existence. A warmly personal, deeply profound discussion. Recorded October 2, 2025.
Finding Our True Home in the Absolute: Experiencing Intimacy with Everything, with A. H. Almaas
“You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality.”
Ep. 214 (Part 2 of 2) | Part 2 of the 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series takes us on a sweet journey farther into our exploration of the nature of the absolute. Hameed Ali discusses the paradox of the absolute, being both source and cessation of all things, the nonduality of emptiness and beingness, these being two sides of the same coin, and explains why many nondual teachings do not touch upon the absolute. He makes sense of the difficult-to-fathom concept of pure emptiness, explaining that the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence—and relates that Mystery is the essence of the absolute, the fundamental essence of the nature of reality. “We are never going to know where it’s at, what’s happening, what life is about,” he laughs. Our knowledge is but “small islands in the vast ocean of mystery we live in;” mystery cannot be eliminated.
In the absolute, the soul finds its final resting place, Hameed tells us. The absolute is our true home—the essence of the meaning of home. All humans are searching for their true home, Hameed says, and they search in many places. But here the search is over. Reflections of the absolute bring us closer to love, like when we are in love, Hameed continues. Being in love with an outer beloved brings us closer to the inner beloved and we see deeper. “The absolute is total intimacy, Hameed finishes. “In the absolute we are intimate with everything.” How do we express this in the world, in our ordinary lives? “It becomes very simple,” Hameed says. “The absolute is the essence of simplicity—so simple, even though there is a profundity…” Recorded October 9, 2025.
Into the Absolute: At One with the Radiant Source of All, with A. H. Almaas (Part 1)
“The absolute itself is majesty, and the universe that emerges is beauty.”
Ep. 213 (Part 1 of 2) | The 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series is about the absolute, the source dimension of all manifestation, deeper than any other dimension, the vastness beyond vastness. In Part 1, Hameed gives a wonderful description of the majesty and the blackness of the absolute, and tells the story of when he first experienced being one with the absolute himself. When Roger Walsh asks him, what are the doorways to the absolute, Hameed talks about mystical poverty and also the way of the heart. “When the true beloved shines through the heart, it’s an amazing ecstasy… a mindblowing kind of beauty,” he says. He discusses the fear people often feel as they approach cessation of all perception, and the need for the basic trust we were born with (which often gets clobbered as we grow up) to proceed. What changes after an experience of the absolute? John Dupuy asks. If one abides in this realization, it cleanses the soul of all impurities, and our action embodies the virtues, Hameed answers.
In Part 2, which will be released December 25th, Hameed delves into the paradox of the absolute (the absolute is the elimination, the annihilation, the cessation of all things—and the source of all things), the nonduality of emptiness and awareness, and explains that mystery is the essence of the absolute: the absolute IS mystery, he says. There is laughter all around when Hameed says you can never completely “get” it, because there’s nothing there to get! Your mind disappears as you’re trying to get it. Towards the end, the conversation relaxes so deeply into the subject of the absolute, you can just about feel its presence. We become intimate with everything in the absolute, Hameed says. It is the soul’s final resting place, our true home, where the search ends. Recorded October 9, 2025.
Read MoreExposing Injustice & Suffering in Palestine & Around the World with Filmmakers Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
“Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time. We are all one; we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos.”
Ep. 212 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the compelling conversation with SAND founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, the discussion turns to the making of their 2021 documentary film about the tragic injustices inflicted upon Palestinians in the West Bank. Where Olive Trees Weep is a very beautiful, heartbreaking, and eye opening film we highly recommend to our listeners. “How do we stop the violence?” asks co-host John Dupuy. No one knows the answer, but “each of us can find a way to alleviate the suffering in Palestine now as we grapple with the question of how to stop the wounds that continue to bleed,” Zaya and Maurizio contend. “We can stand for justice, food, and human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians and fight for their freedom.”
Spiritual communities are mostly quiet on this issue, Zaya mentions. But “it’s not a political issue,” she says, “it’s a human issue—we are losing our humanity. If we believe in oneness, we need to face our discomfort and turn towards the pain, towards the suffering. Discomfort is the very essence of the issue on a psychological and archetypal level,” Zaya adds. Zaya and Maurizio are also working on a remarkable series of films called The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth teachings from Indigenous communities around the world. To date, they have released The Eternal Song, Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, and most recently If an Owl Calls Your Name. Thank you, Zaya and Maurizio, for contributing your gifts in these stunning films, so poignant and important in these disconnected, turbulent times, and for sharing your extraordinary wisdom with our Deep Transformation listeners. Recorded October 16, 2025.
Read MoreWhere Science, Spirituality & Indigenous Wisdom Meet: The Remarkable Contributions of Filmmakers Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo
“There is no spiritual work without trauma work.”
Ep. 211 (Part 1 of 2) | Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo are not only the founders of the longstanding and highly regarded Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND), but also brilliant filmmakers, producing stunning documentaries about the injustice and suffering occurring in Palestine and elsewhere, as well as films that feature the eternal wisdom of elders from Indigenous communities around the world. Zaya and Maurizio are clearly passionate about their work, and co-host Roger Walsh points out they do a beautiful job of intertwining the personal, professional, and spiritual into an offering that meets the needs of our time. As Maurizio says, “There is no spiritual work. Period. Everything is spiritual work! It’s life.”
In Part 1 of this episode, lively and inspired, Zaya and Maurizio share what they’ve learned about life, spirituality, trauma, healing, guidance, and the deep-time perspective of the Maori. They relate the trajectory of SAND’s evolution from featuring male-dominated nondual teachings to include an understanding of trauma, somatic healing, feminine, earth-oriented teachings, and Indigenous wisdom. “Healing never ends; it’s a lifelong journey—there’s no modern solution that will ‘fix’ you,” Zaya tells us. Also, “We are constantly being guided if we just listen.”
In Part 2, Zaya and Maurizio describe the making of their 2021 documentary about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, a beautiful, heartbreaking film called Where Olive Trees Weep. Also their film The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth Indigenous teachings, so valuable and timely for us now in our chaotic, disconnected world. This whole conversation is thought provoking, delightful, profound, paradigm shifting, and inspiring all at once. Recorded October 16, 2025.
Read MoreThe Force Behind Spiritual Evolution: Discovering the Source of Our Inner Fire
“Be attentive to the inner calling. Inner pleasure far surpasses outer pleasure.”
Ep. 210 (Part 3 of 3) | In Part 3 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali speaks about the evolutionary aspect of the creative dynamism of the universe. He explains there is an optimizing, transformative force that is responsible for one form changing to another, like a caterpillar to a butterfly. This developmental force is in alignment with Western concepts of evolution and progress, and applies to spiritual realization, too. There is also an optimizing force specific to the human soul, Hameed tells us, that fuels the hearts that burn with the desire for liberation. This is the force responsible for spiritual development. In Buddhism it is called bodhicitta, the desire for enlightenment.
Why do some people have a fierce desire to seek the truth, asks co-host Roger Walsh, but many do not? Hameed replies that most people are busy making a living, doing their best to get by. In this case the transformative force remains a potential but is not actualized. Seekers possessed by the flame of the search turn inward, asking, What is God? What is truth? What is reality? Scientists look at this externally, he says, but it is the inward turn that reveals the source of the inner fire, the logos, the word that speaks through our souls and through our hearts. Towards the end of the conversation, Hameed laughs at how upside down things are with us looking for answers everywhere but within and thinking the logos speaks through who we think we are, not realizing we ourselves actually are the logos. If we realize who we truly are, he says, the world itself becomes richer. Another infinitely inspiring talk with A. H. Almaas, filled with astonishing wisdom and loving humor. Recorded September 11, 2025.
Read MoreAligning with the Dynamism & Flow of the Cosmos with A. H. Almaas
“For the divine all is harmony, but for us human beings, it looks like mayhem.”
Ep. 209 (Part 2 of 3) | In Part 2 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali delves into the very creation of reality by the logos, the source of all life. Logos (an ancient Greek term) is often considered to mean “word,” but Hameed uses it in its deeper sense, where logos is not only the word but also the speaker—the living field of manifestation. The soul is very similar to the logos, Hameed adds, with the same sense of flow, dynamism, and creativity. Hameed points out that the universe could have been created haphazardly, but because it was created in an orderly fashion, it allows for our lives to be meaningful. And, he continues, it is the dimension of love implicit in the logos that brings a beautiful sense of harmony, love, and gratitude to the human soul.
What about all the disharmony in the world? co-host Roger Walsh asks. How can genocide happen in a world that is divinely harmonious? To help explain this, Hameed uses the human body as an example of two perspectives that co-exist: from the perspective of time, we die, he says, but from the perspective of the particle, all is perfect. Hameed also describes his personal experience of being aligned with the creative dynamism of the logos, creating himself and the world anew each moment, like the way frames in a movie are constantly being replaced. The more we live this, he says, the more we bring harmony to the world. Join us also for Part 3 of this deep and intriguing dive into the nature of reality, where Hameed continues to talk about creative dynamism and the logos, and explains how this pertains to our own individual spiritual evolution. Recorded September 11, 2025.
Read MoreHow Does Anything (Including Us) Change in a Nondual World? with A. H. Almaas
“All of reality is part of one unified fabric, so what does it mean when a bird flies from one place to another?”
Ep. 208 (Part 1 of 3) | In Part 1 of the 15th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali enlightens us about the dynamic, creative force that generates our reality. “Dynamism is constant,” Hameed explains, “it never stops—it is constantly creating what we experience, what we perceive.” Hameed calls this nondual dimension of true nature—of our nature—creative dynamism. How do you explain change, he asks, if it’s not happening in time, and all of reality is one fabric, nondual? The dynamism Hameed speaks of, ongoing and total, has a radical implication: the entire universe is re-created, instant by instant. Not only the physical dimension, Hameed adds, but all dimensions—mental, emotional, and spiritual—are re-created anew.
As co-host Roger Walsh points out, Hameed’s teachings come from direct experience, and Hameed describes his own mind-blowing experience of the moment-by-moment re-creation of himself and the world in Part 2 of this dialogue. Nothing persists, he discovers, movement is not continual. In Part 1, Hameed also explores the subjects of free will, action, and choice as addressed from a nondual perspective, and the fact that we and our actions emerge from the totality of reality. As always, Hameed transmits his joy and exuberance at the mysterious and marvelous ways true nature expresses itself, and it is exciting to realize our own nature is as dynamic, creative, flowing and changing, as the universe. Recorded September 11, 2025.
Read More(Part 2) Governor Jerry Brown on Life, Power, and the Future of Humanity
“The future is unknown, so don’t conclude that all is dark – or that all is bright! It’s unknown, so as long as we’re breathing and functioning, we have a lot to do.”
In this extraordinary, compelling conversation, visionary, activist, and long-time politician, former Governor of California Jerry Brown gets right to the heart of the things that matter most. From truth seeking on an individual level (the importance of inquiring into the depths of our reality), to the challenge of our democracy (getting a consensus in a population that has no coherence), to the problem of leadership (now it’s all about winning, which works on the football field but not for international relations), the fear and greed that drive the arms race (we’re not talking about the arms issue, and to not talk about it is to be complicit), and the existential danger of nuclear war (as important as it is underreported), Jerry nails the essence of our most pressing issues.
Jerry’s deep concern about the existential threats we face today, such as nuclear war and climate change, is matched by his enthusiasm for life and excitement over the fact that the future is unknowable. “We have to turn,” he says, “and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn.” We discover some of the key formative events that shaped Jerry’s keenly discerning character, so evident throughout his career and still today in his eighties, and why co-host Roger Walsh describes him as a “force of nature.” This conversation is thoroughly enjoyable, inspirational, eye opening, and disturbing too. “We are on the brink, but no one wants to hear it,” Jerry says. “How do you speak the truth in a way it can be heard?” Recorded August 7, 2025.
Read MoreGovernor Jerry Brown on Life, Power, and the Future of Humanity (Part 1)
“We should not sleep in the delusion that things are better than they are.”
Ep. 206 (Part 1 of 2) | In this extraordinary, compelling conversation, visionary, activist, and long-time politician, former Governor of California Jerry Brown gets right to the heart of the things that matter most. From truth seeking on an individual level (the importance of inquiring into the depths of our reality), to the challenge of our democracy (getting a consensus in a population that has no coherence), to the problem of leadership (now it’s all about winning, which works on the football field but not for international relations), the fear and greed that drive the arms race (we’re not talking about the arms issue, and to not talk about it is to be complicit), and the existential danger of nuclear war (as important as it is underreported), Jerry nails the essence of our most pressing issues.
Jerry’s deep concern about the existential threats we face today, such as nuclear war and climate change, is matched by his enthusiasm for life and excitement over the fact that the future is unknowable. “We have to turn,” he says, “and everyone can contribute to amplifying the turn.” We discover some of the key formative events that shaped Jerry’s keenly discerning character, so evident throughout his career and still today in his eighties, and why co-host Roger Walsh describes him as a “force of nature.” This conversation is thoroughly enjoyable, inspirational, eye opening, and disturbing too. “We are on the brink, but no one wants to hear it,” Jerry says. “How do you speak the truth in a way it can be heard?” Recorded August 7, 2025.
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