Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 278 – Martha Beck

Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 278 - Martha Beck

Martha Beck visits the Mindrolling Podcast for a conversation with Raghu that touches on how we can best navigate the waves of change, uncover our true nature and find freedom through telling the truth.

Martha Beck is the author of several bestselling memoirs and self-help books, life coach and columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine. Learn more at marthabeck.com.

Surfing the Waves of Change

Martha shares her approach to meeting the growing waves of change in the world. How do we cope when our best isn’t big enough? Martha explores the possibility of turning inward to face our fears, strip away our illusions and find balance.

“The only way we are going to handle this is not to run into the institutions we have created and hope they keep us safe, because they are all going. The way to surf change these days is you get pretty much naked and run straight into it with a board. That’s it. That is how we are going to survive, and have a great ride by the way.” – Martha Beck 

True Nature (10:30)

What is our true nature? Martha examines what lies behind the mask of our ego. She shares an experience of being close to death that brought her close to that place and gave her life direction.

“Our deeper true nature, even deeper than our biology, has no name. You could call it soul, you could call it consciousness or essence. You could call it the nameless like Leonard Cohen does. When you get to that, there is nothing but pure peace. A stillness that is so completely calm and yet, within it, it can generate everything.” – Martha Beck

Near Death (24:25)

We are given a detailed account of Martha’s own near-death experience. Martha and Raghu talk about the presence that exists in the space beyond death and how we can return to that place through practice. They look at the continuous self-work required for sustained transformation and to see through our illusions.

“For a long while, all I wanted to do was go back there. That was the object of my meditation. Then at a certain point, everything became meditative practice. Everything, including pain and anger and everything.” – Martha Beck    

The Truth Cleanse (35:10)

Will the truth set you free? Martha talks about a year-long commitment she made, to tell the truth at all times – regardless of the consequence. She looks at the way that all of our little lies and self-betrayals keep us separate from our true nature.

“Know what you really know. Say what you really feel. Say what you really mean. Only do what you know feels right. In all circumstances – always.” – Martha Beck    

Oneness (46:00)

Martha talks about the experience of oneness and how it is observed and documented in neuroscience and anthropology. Raghu shares Neem Karoli Baba’s teaching around the oneness of all things.

 

          

Images via Bloomberg and Martha Beck