Ep. 168 – David Nichtern: Awakening from the Daydream

Raghu is joined once again by musician, author, and teacher, David Nichtern. David chats with Raghu about his new book, “Awakening from the Daydream,” which reimagines the ancient Buddhist parables of the Wheel of Life and Samsara. David describes a few of the realms of Samsara and where we see them playing out in our world today. He also gives us practices to overcome these obstacles to our inner balance. This conversation about Buddhism is not one to be missed. Everyone can learn something, as David relates the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in a way that is accessible to anyone. “In each of these realms, the peace that you are talking about has been mistaken. You think the peace is, ‘ If I keep competing and keep getting to the top, then I will have peace.’ In The Hungry Ghost realm,’ If I keep consuming if I keep craving things that act will bring me peace.’ But it is exactly that act which keeps you from having peace.” – David Nichtern,Awakening from the Daydream: Reimagining the Buddha’s Wheel of Life   More About David David Nichtern is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. This tradition combines a contemporary, secular approach to meditation with the ancient practices and philosophies of Tibetan Buddhism. David was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. David has been co-director of the LA Shambhala Center and Karme Choling Meditation Center in Vermont, as well as Director of Expansion for Shambhala Training International and Director of Buddhist Practice and Study for OM yoga. He has been a featured writer and regular contributor to The Huffington Post and leads meditation workshops around the world and online. David also works individually with meditation students in person and via Skype. He does a weekly live broadcast on Ustream (via his Facebook page) and has several online meditation workshops available through creativeLIVE.com. His DVD/CD package OM YOGA & MEDITATION WORKSHOP, created in conjunction with yoga teacher Cyndi Lee, is widely available David Nichtern is also a well-known composer, producer and guitarist – a four-time Emmy winner and a two-time Grammy nominee. He is the founder of Dharma Moon and 5 Points Records. David has recorded and played with Stevie Wonder, Jerry Garcia, Lana Del Rey, Maria Muldaur, Paul Simon and many others. Among his many credits in records, film and tv, David wrote the classic song “Midnight at the Oasis” and composed the score for Christopher Guest’s film “The Big Picture”. As the Beyman Bros, he collaborated with Guest and CJ Vanston on an album “Memories of Summer as a Child” and has produced multiple records for Grammy nominated kirtan performer Krishna Das. For more conversation with David, listen to his last visit to the Mindrolling Podcast.