From her research into female spiritual role models, Writer Erica Bassani joins Raghu to discuss her new book which offers an exploration of faith, practice, and feminine power.

Grab your copy of Women in Love with the Divine or join Erica in Awakening Softness, transformational 1 on 1 sessions for rediscovering the sacredness of daily life.

This week on Mindrolling, Erica and Raghu have a conversation on:

• Honoring femininity and presence through the wisdom of modern female spiritual teachers
• Erica’s inspiration from her father’s spirituality and her year-long monastery stay at 19 years old.
• Gratitude practice towards the divine mother and our own mothers
• Considering how the wisdom of women may differ from the wisdom of men
• The extraordinary warmth and compassion of Garchen Rinpoche
• Moving away from one-dimensional ways of overcoming conflict
• Entering into feminine gentleness and finding our power within ourselves
• How transcending the ego can actually become spiritual bypassing
• Becoming present when we start to doubt the existence of God
• Cultivating inner peace as our individual contribution to the chaos of the world

“I started writing it 3 years ago from a need of meeting living women who dedicate their life to the divine. I really needed in that time of my life, I was going through personal crisis and spiritual crisis, I realized all my teachers had been men. Which, I am very grateful to them, but at that point I started really needing female role models, the examples of women who are today in this world doing the spiritual life." –Erica Bassani

About Erica Bassani:

Erica Bassani is a writer based in Italy. A graduate of the Academy of Storytelling in Turin, she spent a year living in a Theravadan Buddhist monastery at the age of 23. Since then, she has turned to female spiritual teachers from diverse traditions to help her navigate her inner journey. She created the Women Awakening Project—an initiative that highlights the wisdom of female spiritual role models and explores spiritual practice through the lens of women’s experiences—to share their wisdom and create a bridge between generations of seekers. Bassani is author of Donne che Esplorano il Divino, co-author (with Massimo Bonomelli) of Va Bene Così, and the Italian translator of The Four Noble Truths of Love by Susan Piver.

“Women didn’t follow their own way of coming to power. They followed more the masculine way, the patriarchal way of getting to power. This, of course, creates a very weird shift inside. It creates suffering ultimately because of a disconnection with where actually is the source of power in us, especially as women, and possibly for men as well. The source of power can be in the heart, can be more embodied and exclusive, more aware of the different parts of the situation instead of this focused way which cuts out many other things, it's a more gentler way.” –Erica Bassani

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Exploring the healing power of prayer and belief, Dr. Joshua Brown interweaves cognitive neuroscience with faith-based experiences.

Preorder a copy of Joshua’s book, Proving a Miracle, HERE.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Joshua explore:

• Joshua’s fascination with the brain as a machine
• How a medical crisis shifted Joshua’s life path
• The impact of the spiritual on our physical selves
• Living between the worlds of neuroscience and faith
• How we form beliefs and how those beliefs affect our health
• The power of community and seeking out unique experiences
• Joshua’s own experience witnessing miracles
• Choosing hope and accepting the risk of disappointment
• How Artificial Intelligence is trained through predictions

About Joshua Brown, PhD:

Dr. Joshua W. Brown is a professor of Psychological and Brain Science at Indiana University, where he directs the Cognitive Control Lab. He also co-founded the Global Medical Research Institute. With decades of experience in computational neuroscience and over 79 peer-reviewed publications, he brings the same rigorous scientific methodology to extraordinary claims of healing that he applies to understanding the brain. His book, Proving a Miracle, will be released on May 12th of 2026.

“Practically, you are what you eat, and your beliefs reflect the experiences that you have. If you want to develop more nuanced beliefs in a certain direction, you have to immerse yourself in experiences that match those beliefs.” –Joshua Brown

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Drawing from decades of Buddhist practice and lived experience, Lodro Rinzler helps listeners overcome self-doubt and reconnect with their inherent goodness.

Grab a copy of Lodro Rinzler’s recently released book, You Are Good, You Are Enough.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Lodro explore:

• Keeping an open mind towards all wisdom traditions
• Lessons from Tibetan master Khandro Rinpoche
• Having gratitude for obstacles and challenges
• Recognizing where seeds of doubt have been planted in our lives
• The insidious inner voice that tries to convince us we are not complete as is
• Getting in touch with our awakened nature
• How doubt can actually manifest as arrogance (I know better than to trust these people, these things)
• Capitalism and how industries make money off the idea that we are not okay
• Learning to love ourselves unconditionally
• Grappling with the fact that every human being has inherent, basic goodness
• The gift of offering another our undivided attention

About Lodro Rinzler:

Lodro Rinzler is a Buddhist meditation teacher and award-winning author of 7 books, including the bestseller The Buddha Walks Into A Bar, and Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times. He is co-founder of MNDFL Meditation studios in NYC, and was named one of ’50 Innovators Shaping the Future of Wellness’ by SONIMA. Rinzler’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Good Morning America, CBS, and NBC. He has taught meditation for 20 years in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and has spoken across the world at conferences, universities, Google, Harvard, and the White House. Lodro resides in the Hudson Valley with his wife and their four-legged family of animals. More at LodroRinzler.com

“The world is on fire, it’s troubling times. I think if we start to recognize basic goodness in one another, then it will really transform the world.” –Lodro Rinzler

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Exploring her “No-BS” approach to yoga and mindfulness, Oneika Mays joins Raghu Markus to discuss the amazing things that happen when we sit down and get in tune with ourselves.

Grab a copy of Oneika’s recently released book, Sit with Me

In this episode, Raghu and Oneika chat about:

• The false sense of protection that comes from building emotional walls
• Grief and coping with the sense that things are unfinished
• Finding oneself over and over again through yoga and mindfulness practice
• Noticing internal sensations, emotions, desires, and beyond on the yoga mat
• Oneika’s transformative work in the prison system and learning to appreciate the concept of seva (service)
• Looking deeply into our sense of resistance
• Love as a strength rather than a weakness
• Ram Dass’s practice of loving awareness and getting excited about the power of love
• A prayer for all beings to be happy and free
• Healing and restoration rather than punishment and incarceration

About Oneika Mays:

Oneika Mays, she/her, LMT, E-RYT, is a multi-hyphenate facilitator who leads with joy, passion, and wisdom. She is a grounded leader with lived experience that centers on mindfulness and transformation. She brings a poignant lens to building a world that is more compassionate and understanding. With deep roots and knowledge in Buddhist and yogic teachings, Oneika delivers practical application and authentic connection through her facilitation skills. With openness and vulnerability, she facilitates the space to talk about change and embrace every part of ourselves. Check out Oneika’s recently released book, Sit with Me, and learn more about her on her website.

“It’s me, inside out and connecting to the world rather than pushing back against something. It was one of the first times I felt like love wasn’t a weakness, but instead gave me strength to show up fully.” –Oneika Mays

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With loving remembrance for Raghu’s nephew, Shiva Baum, Mindrolling presents this 2014 rerelease, in which Shiva, Raghu, and David Silver explore how music shapes an era, from the wild sixties to the weird now.

Please consider supporting Shiva’s family via GoFundMe. Funds raised will go toward cremation and memorial expenses, immediate living and housing costs, and ongoing support as Radha and Mohan navigate life after his passing. Learn more: Supporting Shiva Baum And His Family

In this episode, Raghu, Shiva, and David discuss:

• The magic of Bruce Springsteen and the collective heart that he creates
• How changes in music signify the shift of an era
• How Neil Young’s song Sugar Mountain shaped Shiva’s conscious relationship to music
• The divine consciousness that was active in popular music throughout the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s
• Voting for a higher consciousness in politics
• How the internet and being hyper-aware of global tragedies can be overwhelming
• Shiva and Raghu’s work with Triloka Records involves producing fusion world music
• Shiva’s work with musician Clark Graham and the creation of “The Way Things Were”

About Shiva Baum:

Aside from being Raghu’s beloved nephew, Shiva Baum was a record producer and peak performance coach. With expertise in sacred mantra chanting, Shiva was the head of music programming for the world-renowned yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest.

“What’s going on with us being more connected, we’ve absolutely voluntarily given up our privacy, we see atrocities all over the world and it’s so overwhelming that almost the form of activism is to tune it out...it does set the scene for a movement to transpire, certainly brilliant art in literature, music, and cinema. I think we’re still waiting to see the explosion. I hope it comes this decade, it might not come till next decade, but something is going on.” –Shiva Baum

About David Silver:

David Silver is the former co-host of the Mindrolling podcast. He is a filmmaker and director, most recently coming out with Brilliant Disguise. Brilliant Disguise tells the unique story of a group of inspired Western spiritual seekers from the 60s, who in meeting the great American teacher, Ram Dass, followed him to India to meet his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, familiarly known as Maharaj-ji. Two days before he left his body, Maharaj-ji instructed K.C. Tewari to take care of the Westerners, which he did resolutely until the day he died in 1997. Silver’s #1 charting MGM/UA/Warners film, “The Compleat Beatles” is the critically acclaimed biopic movie about history’s most famous band. The term ‘rockumentary’ was first applied to this two-hour movie. Rolling Stone recently described the film as a “masterwork.” Silver’s Warner Brothers’ feature film, “No Nukes” also started the whole trend of music/activism feature documentaries.

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Discussing the inspiration behind her upcoming album, Bhumi Devi, Nina Rao and Raghu Markus explore preserving the planet and devotion to the sacred mother.

Support the pre-sale of Bhumi Devi with exclusive reward levels on Kickstarter until June 2. Click here for more information.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Nina chat about:

• Moderating our consumption and doing our best to heal the earth
• Nina’s work in preserving wilderness areas
• Wisely receiving gifts from Mother Earth while preserving uncorrupted lands
• The unconditional love and presence that resonates through Maharaj-ji
• The reciprocal relationship we have with the divine
• When Nina met Siddhi Ma, and seeing her as merged with Maharaj-ji
• The first time Nina chanted for Siddhi Ma
• Satsang: connecting with Maharaj-ji through community
• Prayers to the Goddess in Nina’s new album, Bhumi Devi

Connect with Nina Rao this Summer at the Ram Dass Legacy Summer Mountain Retreat! Learn more HERE.

About Nina Rao:

Nina Rao is a devotional singer. She tours with Krishna Das, playing cymbals, singing, and acting as his business manager. Nina has two of her own albums, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts” and “Anubhav”. Nina regularly leads kirtan, workshops, and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York and beyond. Together with Chandra and Genevieve Walker, Nina operates the 21 Taras Collective. You can keep up with Nina on her website or find her on Instagram @nina_rao and on Facebook @NinaRaoChant.

“Even if we’ve never met Maharaj-ji, we understand presence, we understand sacred divine presence that holds love, peace, equanimity, understanding, a place where you feel free on some level. That happened to me as a child, chanting to my grandpa, living close to the earth, engaging in ritual, and creating a space where we can offer gratitude.” –Nina Rao

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Interfaith peace counselor Patrick McCollum and documentary filmmaker Gabe Polsky share the powerful prophecy that united the Amazon and led to making their film, The Man Who Saves the World?

Click here to find screenings of The Man Who Saves the World? near you.

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu speaks with his guests, Gabe and Patrick, about:

• The origin story behind The Man Who Saves the World? and the real-life journey that inspired the film
• How diverse Amazonian tribes are connected through shared spiritual practices and plant communication
• The meaning of the Roxa Prophecy and why the Amazon is considered the “heart of the world”
• Efforts to unite the Amazonian tribes to save the rainforest and its inhabitants
• Our universal journey to understand reality and our purpose in life
• How psychedelics, indigenous wisdom, and other spiritual pursuits open doors to new perspectives
• Bursting the bubble of our constructed reality
• Patrick’s work as a bridge between “the people of the concrete” (modern society) and the indigenous

About Patrick McCollum:

Patrick McCollum ​​is an interfaith chaplain, spiritual mentor, and peace counselor. Patrick was inspired by the Great Mother to promote a sacred universal vision that respects religious and cultural diversity and advances pluralism. As a dedicated peacemaker, Patrick brings forth a well-timed meta-narrative of universal magnitude that is alerting the world of the sacredness of all beings. Patrick is the founder and president of The McCollum Foundation for Peace, which aims to discover and implement positive, workable, and sustainable strategies that create local and global change and peace in all areas of life.

“Their ancient story said that one day, thousands of years later, the Amazon would be in trouble. It would be burning, the water would be poisoned, and the indigenous people and their wisdom would be wiped out. When that happened, the creator would send the spirit of Roxa into a man or woman, and that person would unite all of the indigenous people of the Amazon and help them create a strategy to save the heart of the world.” –Patrick McCollum

About Gabe Polsky:

Gabe Polsky is a filmmaker, director, producer, and writer best known for the documentaries Red Army (2014) and In Search of Greatness (2018). Known for pushing the boundaries of documentary filmmaking, Gabe Polsky has built a reputation for uncovering stories that challenge perception, provoke thought, and entertain. His work has premiered at major international festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival.

“After eight years of pursuit from these tribes, he agreed to try and unfold this prophecy. I learned about this, and I got caught up in this story as well, following Patrick down to the Amazon to try and fulfill this prophecy. It’s this wild spiritual adventure, very funny, very strange, it’s a film that has a lot of deep meaning.” –Gabe Polsky

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