Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck with David Nichtern
David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context – including Goldman Sachs, Journey Meditation, Creative Live, True Nature Meditation (Tokyo), Balanced Athlete, The Center for Health & Healing, Om Births, and Kobre & Kim law firm among others. He has been featured in The New York Times, FOX News, Netflix's The Midnight Gospel, Huffington Post, The Buddhist Geeks podcast, Duncan Trussell Family Hour Podcast, Pete Holmes' You Made it Weird Podcast, and many others. David is the author of the critically acclaimed Awakening From the Daydream: Reimagining The Buddha’s Wheel of Life and his recently released Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck. He mentors individual students both in person and online, and leads meditation teacher training programs around the world. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician. He has recorded and played with Stevie Wonder, Christopher Guest, 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 has produced multiple records for and periodically tours with Grammy-nominated kirtan artist Krishna Das. Creativity Spirituality & Making A Buck with David Nichtern highlights creative people who share a passion for integrating their livelihood with their personal well-being and spiritual life. David hosts in-depth conversations with artists, musicians, comedians, authors, and thought leaders about life, creative pursuits, meditation, and how to build a sustainable business doing what you love.
Episodes
Blending creativity, business, and parenthood, Jonathan and Miya Eden join David Nichtern to discuss bringing stories to life through animation.
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In this episode, David, Jonathan and Miya explore:
Discussing their newest project, Strawberry Moons Media, David Nichtern and Debbie Nutley get into how they truly merged creativity with spirituality and ‘making a buck’.
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This time on the CSM Podcast, David and Debbie share about:
- The creation of Strawberry Moons Media as a hub f...
Dissecting the process of her book, The Power of Meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith joins David to explore bringing depth to our lives via belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling.
Pick up Emily's book, The Power of Meaning, HERE.
This time on the CSM Podcast, David and Emily discuss:
- Positive Psychology: shifting from a focus on what’s wrong to the science of well-being and human flourishing
- How connecting to someth...
Blending together Bhakti and Buddhism, best of friends Krishna Das and David Nichtern discuss the gradual cultivation of practice and finding your ‘niche’ within the dharma.
Join the Wisdom & Wellbeing Week 1 Intensive with Krishna Das & Nina Rao | January 3 - 10, 2026 | Click to Learn More
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Old friends Sharon Salzberg and David Nichtern meet to discuss the calamity of misplaced faith and the expansion that can come from individualized social action.
Join Sharon's Upcoming Course with Tricycle to uncover your Buddhist Personality Type
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This week on the CSM ...
Meditation teacher, Susan Piver, joins David Nichtern to share her profound and ever-evolving connection to The Heart Sutra.
Learn about the heart and mind of practice with David Nichtern and Krishna Das in an upcoming free online talk! Register HERE.
In this episode, David Nichtern and Susan Piver explore:
- The many variations of The Heart Sutra and why it deeply inspires Susan
- Focusing on the sound of the words in The Hea...
Facing the obstacles on a spiritual path, Lama Rod Owens, David Nichtern, and Michael Kammers, discuss the seven sorrows of the new saint.
Grab Lama Rod’s new book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors
In this episode, David, Michael and Lama Rod chat about:
- Realizing that liberation is driven by uncomfortable contradictions
- The seven great sorrows of the new saint
- Leaving people behind on a spiritu...
Exploring the themes in his new book, Confidence, Ethan Nichtern chats with his dad, David, about vulnerability, truth, and the state of the world.
This episode 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.
In this episode, David and Ethan speak about:
- Ethan’s new book and what real confidence is
- False confidence and m...
Highlighting the intersection between love and awareness, Rhonda V. Magee joins David to discuss real change in a culture of separation.
This episode 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 CSM podcast, David and Rhonda converse about:
- Rhonda’s background and personal definition of love
- Real cha...
Ramin Nazer and David Nichtern explore the individual’s place in an ever-changing and technologically-advancing world.
Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow
This time on CSM, we hear about:
- Technological advancement and the collective mind
- Sci-Fi and fear vs. hope for the future
- The unsustainabi...
Discussing his experience with panic attacks, Dan Harris describes the tools that have helped him move from resistance to acceptance.
Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow
In this episode, David and Dan dive into:
How Dan went from experiencing panic attacks to finding meditation
Dan’s definition of happ...
Examining the interplay between mind and body, neuroscientist Dr. Sarà King and David Nichtern talk trauma, dream-work, and the sense of self.
David and Dr. Sarà traverse these topics:
- Dr. Sarà’s research on generational trauma and ancestral intelligence
- The autonomic nervous system and how trauma is stored in the body
- Fight, Flight, Freeze, Faint, and gauging if a situation is safe or dangerous
- How contemplative practices ...
Focusing on the relative and absolute, Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson and David Nichtern explore mindfulness, mysticism, and more.
David and Jay spend this episode discussing:
- Jay’s interdisciplinary background and seizing the day
- Mindfulness and Jewish mysticism
- Spiritual and Sensual Exploration
- Relying on a joyful state of mind
- The intersection of psychedelics and spirituality
- The sweet spot between contemplative practice...
Mindfulness teacher, Kaira Jewel Lingo, chats with David Nichtern about the power of spiritual community and self-assessment.
Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow
In this episode, David and Kaira discuss:
- The practice of sharing appreciations and regrets
- Community support within nunneries and monast...
David Nichtern explores how mindfulness meditation is the primary tool on our journey of joining Heaven and Earth, which are our highest aspirations and our day-to-day practicalities.
This episode is taken from one of David’s Dharma Moon Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training sessions. The Intro to Mindfulness and the Path of Meditation program, which serves as the foundation for the next Mindfulness Me...
David is joined by Emmy Award-winning composer, author, multi-Platinum record producer and songwriter Richard Wolf for a conversation about music, mindfulness, and success.
Join David Nichtern and Robert Thurman on Tuesday, August 22nd to discuss teaching meditation and find out more about Dharma Moon and Tibet House's renowned mindfulness meditation teacher training: FREE ONLINE TALK
In this episod...
Matt Sydal joins David to talk about wisdom gained through imperfection, and how professional wrestling connects to the Middle Way.
Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow
In this episode, Matt joins David to discuss:
- The variations of professional wrestling in different cultures
- The “not too tight, no...
Emmy-winning composer Sean Callery and David discuss true fearlessness, how Trungpa Rinpoche heard music, and the symphony of impermanence.
Join David Nichtern and Robert Thurman to discuss teaching meditation and find out more about Dharma Moon and Tibet House's renowned mindfulness meditation teacher training: FREE ONLINE TALK
In this episode, David and Sean dive into:
- Sean’s absolutely legendary Emmy-winning career as ...
Author, architect, and feng shui expert, Anjie Cho, joins David Nichtern to inspire listeners to revitalize their homes and their lives through the practice of mindful design.
Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow
Join David Nichtern and Buddhist scholar Professor Robert Thurman for an online...
Exploring Vedic principles in a modern era, Vedic scholar and Lineage Holder Acharya Shunya joins David Nichtern in a reflection on infinity and emptiness.
Take part in a free online evening of exploration with Acharya Shunya and David Nichtern. Enjoy a presentation by Acharya Shunya titled “Awakening Goddess Saraswati with Mantra, Meditation & Sacred Visioning”, followed by a dialogue between her and David, and wi...
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