Inflections of the Mystic Message

"Beginner’s Mind" is a phrase used in Zen to point to that state of innocent simplicity that exists before our discriminating mind parses the indivisible One into the ten thousand things. In Christian terminology we might call it living in the paradise of the Garden of Eden before our fall from grace.

Conceptually, it can seem difficult to understand and impossible to realize. But intuitively understood by the True Self i...

“Enlightenment,” says D.T. Suzuki, “is the absolute reason of the universe.”

Enlightenment, according to Sadhguru, is the one and only cure for the one and only malady that ails us: ignorance of our true nature.

Countless saints, sages, and spiritual teachers from all corners of the world echo these claims from throughout the ages, hailing enlightenment as the inevitable end to our struggles, and the very goal and purpose of life.

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Inflections of the Mystic Message returns for 2024 with 12 new episodes tailor-made for seekers of Truth.

In season 3 we ask: What is enlightenment? What does it mean to spiritually awaken, and what does enlightenment tell us about how to live according to universal laws? How do we best serve the world? How do we contribute the greatest good in life, according to the teachings of our wisest sages? What about the words that we use, ...

Naren Schreiner is a former monk, present day pujari, and always and forever lover of the Divine who joins Brian for this final conversation of season 2. They talk about the perfect bliss underlying this often chaotic world, and how that blissful perfection holds human suffering within it … or does it?

Naren shares stories from his own life, as well as the divine life of Paramahansa Yogananda, that great Indian yogi and guru to tho...

Follow your breath and find your bliss.

This bliss — a kind of cosmically perfect peace — is inside of you, and by participating in this pleasant and accessible half hour meditation, it can help you experience this peace and rest for yourself.

You don’t have to chase after bliss. You don’t need to go anywhere else to find it.

All you have to do is shift attention away from restlessness, and dwell in the center of awareness within y...

The struggle is real ... Or is it?

Our experience says largely that it is - for we cannot deny the angst of this age, and the suffering experienced in this body, on this earth.

But the enlightened sages say differently. The world's great sages, saints and spiritual teachers all share a crystal clear message that beneath the suffering lies an unimaginable and immense universal power known as love, and this love is an intelligen...

Brendan J. Fox is sometimes described as a modern day St. Francis or (more often) a real life Disney princess - someone who befriends wild animals in a way that most of us surely find astonishing and unimaginable. He is also a wise soul on a conscious spiritual path; a good-humored guide who is helping others to develop mental toughness, physical wellness, and cultivate inner peace.

Join host Brian Clark as he asks Brendan about th...

Take a break from your conditioning and attune to the true nature of life that is within and all around you. It is deliciously restful and full of infinite harmony and peace.

Usually we think in terms of being separate from the world of nature. We’re conditioned to believe that I am in here and nature is out there; but what is the truth?

Could it be that rather than being separate from the rest of the world, we instead belong to a ...

Many enlightened sages have realized the truth about reality while immersed in the world of nature. Many sensitively attuned nature-lovers have seen through the surface of this world and into her mystic depths. For many souls — perhaps you are one? — nature is a sacred temple; the church where you go to commune with the Divine One.

So what does all of this say about spiritual Truth? How precisely does nature reveal, and how does sh...

Brian is joined by his mother and 13-year-old niece for a stimulating conversation about how we find true happiness and how - underneath the conditioning of our confused minds - we are happiness itself.

For all of Sofia’s life, Uncle Brian has spearheaded an annual charity drive in honor of Sofia’s September birthday. In this conversation, he talks to Sofia for the first time about this annual tradition and the spiritual lessons be...

Join Brian for a simple but powerful practice following the sound of a bell as it fades into silence.

Inspired by Eckhart Tolle, this meditation brings our awareness immediately out of the noisy mind and into the silent Presence that underlies every moment of existence. Brian explains how we can use this technique throughout our day with any sound - or any sight - we perceive, and takes us through this peaceful practice several tim...

“Replace greed by love, and everything will come right,” says Mohandas Gandhi, one of the many saints who has ordered his life around the ideal of selfless service.

In this profound and quite possibly life-changing episode of Inflections of the Mystic Message, we identify the limitations of living a self-centered life — a life that most people would describe as “normal” — and elaborate upon the immense spiritual benefit of serving ...

For this first back-and-forth conversation of Inflections of the Mystic Message, Brian is joined by his partner, Shannon Lynn Smith, to discuss a plethora of interesting subjects relating to wisdom, knowledge, and spiritual understanding.

Included in the hour-long discussion is an emphasis on embodying wisdom, the role of intuition, meditation and prayer, and tips for rooting in a lived experience of yoga.

Spiritual inspiration abo...

What is meditation? Why should I meditate? How do I do it?

Brian gives a nuts and bolts 15-minute introduction to meditation in all of its simple essence and all of its peaceful power, before leading an accessible 20-minute guided meditation where you can experience this delicious peace and delectable rest for yourself.

Designed for the beginner, this Meditation 101 primer is equally valuable to experienced meditators, as we re-con...

What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge?

What did Laozi mean when he said, “To realize our knowledge is ignorance, this is a noble insight. To regard our ignorance as knowledge, this is mental disease”?

What understanding was the Zen master Huang-Po referring to when he said, "If you wish to understand, know that a sudden comprehension comes when the mind has been purged of all the clutter of conceptual and discriminato...

What is the one thing that has remained constant amidst the never-ending changes of life? What is the truth about that continuous identity of I, that unbroken sense of self which constitutes the core of this very life?

In other words: Who or what am I?

In this meditative self-inquiry, we shine the light of awareness on awareness itself, discovering what happens when this self-luminous light returns to its source. What is the truth ...

What more relevant question can there be than to ask: Who Am I? What more pertinent investigation can we undertake than to discover the truth about this very Self?

Join host Brian Clark for this final talk of season one of Inflections of the Mystic Message as he weaves together the teachings of Yoga gurus, Christian saints, nondualist sages, and enlightened contemporary teachers all expounding upon the truth of our true identity.

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If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that the only statement we can make with any certainty is: I Am.

We may not know exactly who or what this I Am is, but we know (quite obviously) that we exist, and (quite obviously) that we are that existence. We are that being, that life, which is self-evident and ever-existing within us.

The mystic messenger Robert Adams, an awakened 20th century American sage, invites us to rest in ...